bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
E‐inclusion or digital divide: An integrated model of digital inequality
Authors: Yu Biyang , Ndumu Ana , Liu Jiqun , Fan Zhenjia
Published: December 2016

To address the dearth of integrative theories on the digital divide problem, this study proposes an integrative model including both measurements and causes of the digital divide. In order to test the applicability of this model, the authors applied secondary analysis to a 2014 dataset comprised of survey responses from 398 Chinese migrant workers. The results showed how the integrative model can be applied as a potential analytical framework to understand the digital divide. The model suggests that Chinese migrant worker partially accept ICT. However, due to their lack of motivational, intellectual, and social access they remain minimally e‐included. Enhanced industrial and public resources may be required to address the challenge of the digital divide. Socio‐economic disparity remains the main force that inhibits their e‐inclusion and acceptance of ICT.
Engaging young children in visual literacy instruction
Authors: Lopatovska Irene
Published: December 2016

Visual literacy is a critical skill that enables individuals to navigate the world of visual media. While research shows multiple benefits of introducing visual literacy early in life, there is a scarcity of visual literacy programs for young children. In an effort to advance development of visual literacy programs for children, we explored techniques for engaging young children in visual literacy instruction using artworks. Our paper reports preliminary study findings and recommendations and outlines directions for future work.
Examining user roles in social Q&A: The case of health topics in Zhihu.com
Authors: Wang Zhe , Zhang Pengyi
Published: December 2016

Social question answering (SQA) sites have become a popular online community platform for information seeking and social interaction. Prior SQA research has focused more on questions and answers, but has not examined user roles and their characteristics and activity patterns. In this poster, we identified four collaborative roles (starter, answerer, technical editor and follower) inZhihu.com, a popular expert SQA site in China, and examined their characteristics and activity patterns. Our data set contained 14,779 users, 2,362 questions, and 8,486 answers from 12 health‐related topics. Results show that, starters and technical editors ask more questions, make more technical edits, answers a few questions, and are not well connected to other users. Answerers contribute more content, attract the most followers and received the most likes and votes. Followers contribute little content, and receive the least likes and votes, but follow more topics and users. Content contributing activities such as answering questions gain more likes and votes, but posting a question and making a technical edit can get more pageviews. Users have overlapping roles and more research is needed to fully understand the interaction and interplay among user roles in SQA collaboration.
Indexing quality and effectiveness: An exploratory analysis of electronic theses and dissertations representation
Authors: Alemneh Daniel , Phillips Mark
Published: December 2016

Theses and dissertations (ETDs) represent a wealth of scholarly and artistic content created by graduate students in masters and doctoral programs in the degree‐seeking process. Considering the multi‐disciplinarity and interdiciplinarity characteristics of ETDs, often several subjects and indexing terms need to be supplied to adequately represent ETDs for efficient access.

This study analyzes the quality and effectiveness of indexing terms – both authorized terms from controlled vocabularies and free‐text keywords – used to succinctly describe the content of the electronic theses and dissertations (ETDs). Based on the comparisons of the search terms entered by users to discover and access the ETDs, the authors also discuss the subjectivity and objectivity of the process and the need to distinguish functional representation from mere descriptions of a topic.
Information worth spreading: An exploration of information sharing from social q&a to other social media platforms
Authors: Liu Jiqun , Wang Yiwei
Published: December 2016

Social Q&A (SQA) sites that allow users to exchange knowledge by asking and answering questions in natural language have become increasingly popular due to their ability to leverage the wisdom of crowds and provide personalized answers. Considerable research efforts have been devoted to studying users' information and knowledge sharing within SQA sites. Past research, however, has neglected users' information sharing behavior from SQA to other social media platforms (e.g., microblogs). In this study, we utilized Zhihu, one of the most popular Chinese SQA sites, as a lens to explore users' information sharing from SQA to third parties, as this has become a widespread behavior among Chinese Web users. A survey that gathered 591 valid responses yielded interesting findings. Overall, respondents who had higher educational levels and who spent more daily time on the Internet via mobile devices were more likely to share SQA posts to other virtual spaces. Their experiences with Zhihu, their content preferences, and their friends' sharing behavior also significantly influenced their sharing behavior. Our findings generate quite a few directions for future research.
Investigating perceptions and support for transparency and openness in research: Using card sorting in a pilot study with academic librarians
Authors: Lyon Liz , Mattern Eleanor , Jeng Wei , He Daqing
Published: December 2016

This paper explores the role of academic librarians as advocates for research transparency and open research. We describe the design and piloting of a qualitative card‐sorting research protocol that investigates academic librarians' attitudes, awareness and practices related to research transparency. We report on preliminary results from interviews with librarians, presenting their conceptualizations of research transparency and open research, existing library services that support and advocate for both concepts, and potential services that would augment this support and advocacy. Library activities they feel are most important to the advancement of transparency and openness are identified and perceptions of disciplinary differences are noted.
Library of congress subject heading (LCSH) browsing and natural language searching
Authors: Julien Charles‐Antoine , Asadi Banafsheh , Dinneen Jesse D. , Shu Fei
Published: December 2016

Controlled topical vocabularies (CVs) are built into information systems to aid browsing and retrieval of items that may be unfamiliar, but it is unclear how this feature should be integrated with standard keyword searching. Few systems or scholarly prototypes have attempted this, and none have used the most widely used CV, the Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH), which organizes monograph collections in academic libraries throughout the world. This paper describes a working prototype of a Web application that concurrently allows topic exploration using an outline tree view of the LCSH hierarchy and natural language keyword searching of a real‐world Science and Engineering bibliographic collection. Pilot testing shows the system is functional, and work to fit the complex LCSH structure into a usable hierarchy is ongoing. This study contributes to knowledge of the practical design decisions required when developing linked interactions between topical hierarchy browsing and natural language searching, which promise to facilitate information discovery and exploration.
Mapping the UK information workforce in the library, archives, records, information management, knowledge management and related professions
Authors: Hall Hazel , Raeside Robert
Published: December 2016

A workforce mapping project was carried out in the UK between August 2014 and October 2015. It was commissioned by the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (CILIP) and the Archives and Records Association (ARA) to enhance understanding of the nation's workforce in Library, Archives, Records, Information Management, Knowledge Management and related professional roles. Based on the statistical analysis of secondary data sources such as the UK Labour Force Survey, as well as responses to an online survey, a long‐needed data baseline was produced by a project team of six from Edinburgh Napier University. Key findings relate to an estimated population of 86,376 workers, their general demographics, qualifications and memberships and the diversity of the population as a whole. Of particular interest are the findings on pay differences and seniority according to gender, and the low ethnic diversity of the population surveyed.
Perceptions of accessibility and usability by blind or visually impaired persons: A pilot study
Authors: Tomlinson Shannon M.
Published: December 2016

This pilot study utilizes qualitative interviews to explore perceptions of accessibility and usability from the perspective of blind or visually impaired (BVI) persons. Using the frameworks of everyday life information seeking (ELIS) and the sense‐making approach, this research addresses a gap in the literature; most studies with this population are either quantitative, outdated, or task‐based observations. Through five in‐depth interviews, this study provides a more nuanced understanding of the perceptions, experiences, and opinions of BVI persons who use screen readers with a voice synthesizer as a primary modality of interaction with web content. Understanding the information needs and information behavior of BVI persons is important for proper web design, since technical accessibility does not ensure usability. In particular, it is the perception of accessibility and usability that affects information behavior. Design must be informed by empirical research in order for it to be effective in assisting a variety of users to accomplish their information goals.
“Push a badly built cart with bumpy wheels along a marshy meadow” or: A short tale on the importance of information science
Authors: Peters Isabella , Mainka Agnes
Published: December 2016

The poster will present a summary of the arguments and topics raised in protest and support letters against the forthcoming closure of the Department for Information Science at the University of Duesseldorf, Germany. Case study‐like this will shed light on how peers and stakeholders perceive the role and relevance of information science in general as well as the contribution of the Duesseldorf Department in particular. The poster aims, however, at providing a historical description on the actions taken and the arguments made. It will rather present indicators than significant evidence about perceptions of information science. The results of the small‐scale topical analyses of the support letters, tweets, and comments to an online petition reveal that typical fields like information retrieval and knowledge management as well as skills like research or assessment of information are seen as assets of information scientists. However, popularizing the benefits of and – along with it – establishing information science as main subject within the (information) society is still due.
Quality over time: A longitudinal quantitative analysis of metadata change in RDA‐based MARC bibliographic records representing video resources
Authors: Zavalina Oksana L. , Zavalin Vyacheslav , Miksa Shawne D.
Published: December 2016

Everyday hundreds of millions of metadata records provide users access to information. To remain functional, metadata schemas changes in response to shifts in information user needs and standards of information representation. This poster presents results of the longitudinal quantitative analysis of change occurring in a select group of library metadata records over time. This study traces the evolution of a sample of OCLC WorldCat metadata records created in MARC format according to new RDA standard of information representation. The same records were obtained at four data collection points at approximately one year intervals. Findings reveal a significant increase in the number of instances of a variety of metadata elements: both those introduced by the RDA standard and traditional pre‐RDA elements. This study, along with related research, contributes to the understanding of metadata change and its relation to improvements in metadata quality and information access.
Reflections on the use of participatory mapping to study everyday health information seeking by LGBTQ youth
Authors: Freund Luanne , Hawkins Blake , Saewyc Elizabeth
Published: December 2016

Participatory mapping is a promising data collection method for use in information behavior (IB) research. It provides an opportunity for participants to think spatially and critically about their community‐based information practices. This methodology paper provides an example and offers some critical insights into the use and value of participatory mapping. We present our experiences using this method in a study of community‐based health information seeking by LGBTQ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer) youth.
Representation of Kanaka Maoli (Hawaiian) culture: A case of hula dance
Authors: Hajibayova Lala , Buente Wayne , Quiroga Luz , Valeho‐Novikoff Shanye
Published: December 2016

This paper explores representation of Kanaka Maoli (Hawaiian) Hula Dance representation in traditional systems of representation and organization. The paper found baises and diasportization of representation of Hawaiian Culture. Study emphasizes the need to recognize the “inherent beauty in how and why Indigenous people express and fulfill their desire to learn, preserve, organize, and share knowledge” (Metoyer & Doyle, , p. 475) and advocates a decolonizing methodology to promote alternative information structures in Indigenous communities.
Research data services in european and north american libraries: Current offerings and plans for the future
Authors: Tenopir Carol , Pollock Danielle , Allard Suzie , Hughes Dane
Published: December 2016

As management of research data becomes increasingly important to scholars and academic institutions, academic libraries can play a major role by offering research data services (RDS). This poster presents the results of a survey of the Ligue des Bibliothèques Européennes de Recherche‐Association of European Research Libraries (LIBER) academic member library directors to find out what types of RDS their libraries are currently offering and what services they plan to offer in the future. The survey found that while most of these libraries currently offer or are planning to offer at least some RDS, consultative or reference‐type services are offered more often than are technical or hands‐on services. Most of these libraries are in discussions regarding data policies, collaborate with other organizations within or outside their own institutions to offer RDS, and most provide support for RDS skills development for staff members. This poster discusses the implications of these findings and offers directions for future research.
Scholarly communication and practices in the world of metrics: An exploratory study
Authors: Ma Lai , Ladisch Michael
Published: December 2016

Metrics have become objective standards for evaluating research performance. Measurements such as citation counts and h‐index are used for evaluating individual research performance as well as the ranking of research institutions and universities. This exploratory study aims to understand the implications of the increasing use of metrics on scholarly communication and practices. A pilot study was conducted in universities in Ireland. Preliminary findings show that researchers use Google Scholar and ResearchGate for self‐monitoring and that they perceive bibliometric measures as indicators of achievements. The pilot study also shows that there are mixed feelings toward bibliometrics: while the participants emphasise that research interest is the most important criterion in choosing research topics and publication channels and that citation counts, h‐index, and RG scores are coincidental of their research activities, they also perceive the quantitative measures as objective evaluation of research performance without knowing how the h‐index or RG scores are calculated.
“Shorts last sunday, snow pants today”: Delving into the information values of immigrant and expatriate users of twitter
Authors: Hyduk Alyssa , Worrall Adam
Published: December 2016

Information‐centric online communities are frequent sources for users who are seeking and sharing information, with greater sharing encouraged when users share similar judgments of information value. Information sharing and ICT use are especially important for immigrants and expats, but further research is needed into immigrants' use of ICTs and their information value judgments. This poster presents in‐progress research on how the ICTs used by expat and immigrant members of Twitter interact with the information values of community members. Findings show information value determination and negotiation are important for immigrants and expats online, with cultural, contextual, and economic values being most frequently invoked both explicitly and implicitly. A strong role for boundaries and some establishment of common ground was observed, but further exploration is necessary and planned of cases of information value negotiation, information sharing, and ICT use among this population to further our understanding of them in social, technical, and cultural contexts.
Supporting the modern research workflow
Authors: Grguric Ekatarina , Davis Hilary , Davidson Bret
Published: December 2016

Libraries are uniquely positioned to support the quickly shifting landscape of modern research practice. The NCSU Libraries has paired user research approaches with iterative design practice to determine contextually relevant services to support researchers.

This poster will showcase two case studies as examples of successful avenues of support through library services, the user research and application of frameworks that supported the development of these services, and the project management methodology that applied research to practice. Each case study will outline strategies used to develop services that support modern research practice through the investigation of a complex problem space.
The retrieval of moving images at Spanish film archives: The oversight of content analysis
Authors: Domínguez‐Delgado Rubén , Hernández María‐Ángeles López
Published: December 2016

In the field of library and information science, content analysis is a crucial task for an effective retrieval of information by users at an archive. In this research, we analyse the current state of this task and the possibilities of retrieval of film information at six Spanish important film archives, interviewing their responsible librarians for film cataloguing and comparing the content fields inside their film cataloguing records used by each one of these six organizations.
The role of information in the settlement experiences of refugee students
Authors: Shankar Saguna , O'Brien Heather L. , How Elissa , Lu Yilei (Wendy) , Mabi Millicent , Rose Cecilia
Published: December 2016

We conducted a pilot study to explore refugee students' access to and use of information during the settlement process. Using arts‐based elicitation and semi‐structured interview techniques, we probed the information world of a refugee student studying in Canada. Our findings begin to identify the scope and variety of information sources that students consult at various stages of settlement and their utility. Our continued work in this area seeks to assist the Student Refugee Program (SRP) on our campus to advocate for and meet the information needs of refugee students by understanding what information is needed, when it is needed, and how to provide optimal access to it.
Towards a seamless multilingual Semantic Web: A study on constructing a cross‐lingual ontology
Authors: Cheng Yi‐Yun , Chen Hsueh‐Hua
Published: December 2016

Cross‐lingual ontology research has become a pivotal concern in the global age. Researchers worldwide try to be interoperable with ontologies written not only in English, but also in other languages. Yet, constructing a cross‐lingual ontology can be difficult, and a detailed mapping method is often hard to find. This study investigates the practice for constructing a cross‐lingual ontology, in the case of the Semantic Sensor Network (SSN) ontology and the Semantic Web for Earth and Environmental Terminology (SWEET) ontologies. By adopting a three‐phase research design, a cross‐lingual ontology method between English and Traditional Chinese is constructed through the implementation of Protégé. The mapping results between the two languages reveal an accuracy of 80.66% on the exact‐match terms, while the Chinese synonyms and related terms expressed by SKOS labels are all proven searchable in our primary evaluation. These promising results demonstrate the feasibility of the methodology proposed by this study, and further suggest that such approach is suitable to be adopted by future researchers to model their cross‐lingual ontologies.
Translocal meaning making: Examining the information practices of migrants from the Philippines to Winnipeg
Authors: Allard Danielle
Published: December 2016

This poster describes the process of translocal meaning making, a set of information practices by which newcomers from the Philippines to Winnipeg, Canada, came to make sense of and operate within the Winnipeg information context. It describes how newcomers constructed meaning as they migrated to Winnipeg, encountering and incorporating diverse, complex, and often contradictory information and information resources into their daily lives as they migrated and settled in an unknown information context. This 5 step process demonstrates that migrants' information practices are more dynamic, fluid, and iterative than articulated in previous studies that examine the information practices of migrants.
Understanding scientific data sharing outside of the academy
Authors: Pollock Danielle
Published: December 2016

Sharing and reuse of scientific data, which can enhance the transparency and reproducibility of research and lead to the creation of new knowledge from existing data, is both a growing scholarly communication practice and an expanding area of interest in information science. However, much of the literature to date has focused on the data practices of scientists working in academic environments, with less research done on understanding the practices of scientists working in other types of environments, such as government or industry. This poster presents the results of a study in which data from a worldwide survey of scientists were analyzed to determine if differences in data practices, perceptions, and access to resources for data sharing existed between scientists who reported their primary work sector as academic and those who reported a non‐academic primary work sector. Researchers' perceptions of data sharing and reuse were generally positive and did not differ significantly by work sector. However, differences were found in actual reported data sharing practices, even when controlling for researchers' age, geographic location, and subject discipline. Researchers outside of academia had lesser odds of reporting sharing all their data. Differences were also found in reported barriers to data sharing, as well as in reported access to and use of data sharing resources, suggesting that data sharing challenges faced by scientists working outside of academia may differ from those faced by their academic peers. Implications for the adoption of data sharing practices and technologies, as well as for knowledge sharing and creation across work sectors, are discussed, and suggestions are offered for further research.
Understanding the needs of scholars in a contemporary publishing environment
Authors: Fenlon Katrina , Bonn Maria , Green Harriett , Maden Christopher R. , Senseney Megan F. , McCullough Aaron
Published: December 2016

The advent of digital scholarship, together with the increasing momentum of open access for research, have thrown scholarly publishing into flux. In the shifting landscape of scholarly communication, libraries are taking on new roles in order to publish scholarship in innovative forms: by building institutional and data repositories, for example, or collaborating with faculty to develop multimedia monographs or open access journals. The Publishing Without Walls project at the University of Illinois is developing a service model for university libraries to support scholar‐driven, openly accessible, scalable, and sustainable publishing practices. To this end, we are conducting a multimodal study of scholars' needs, objectives, and practices in this new age of publishing. This poster presents preliminary results of a large‐scale survey of scholars, which aims to shed light on what and how scholars want to publish, when and why they choose to publish digitally, and how they understand the success of their digital publications. This survey, in tandem with the results of a series of interviews and focus groups, is actively informing the development of two digital monograph series at the University of Illinois University Library, along with a model for their development that may be useful to other libraries involved with publishing new modes of scholarship.
What are we talking about when we talk about sustainability of digital archives, repositories and libraries?
Authors: Eschenfelder Kristin R. , Shankar Kalpana , Williams Rachel , Lanham Allison , Salo Dorothea , Zhang Mei
Published: December 2016

This paper reports on how LIS authors depict the concept of sustainability of digital archives, repositories and libraries in English language texts from 2000‐ 2015 indexed in three major LIS databases. Our results show that sustainability is not as popular a topic as one might expect. Results show that most authors discuss sustainability at a superficial level rather than in‐depth. Sustainability is a multi‐faceted concept, and we explore the prevalence of nine codes, representing different facets of sustainability, in the texts. We found most authors discussed sustainability in terms of technology, management, relationships or revenue. Fewer described assessment, disaster planning or policy facets. We also describe the range and variation in subthemes we encountered within each code. We conclude with suggestions for advancing conversation about organizational sustainability in the LIS literature.
What social media data should i use in my research?: A comparative analysis of twitter, youtube, reddit, and the new york times comments
Authors: Choi Dongho , Matni Ziad , Shah Chirag
Published: December 2016

The emergence of popular social media allows people to generate and share information in unprecedented and multiple ways. While studies concerning social media data are plentiful and can be found across a variety of scholarly disciplines, there has been little research done that compares multiple social media while considering topics and goals of an investigation. We collected and analyzed comparable data from four different social media sources:Twitter, YouTube, Reddit, and theNew York Timeswebsite, across five research topics. We then analyzed these data sets across several criteria, such as richness and the diversity of information that they contain. Our analysis shows the trade‐offs between different social media services and also provides a new framework to compare cross‐platform data collection and analysis utility.
Addressing recent docking challenges: A hybrid strategy to integrate template‐based and free protein‐protein docking
Authors: Yan Yumeng , Wen Zeyu , Wang Xinxiang , Huang Sheng‐You
Published: December 2016

Protein–protein docking is an important computational tool for predicting protein–protein interactions. With the rapid development of proteomics projects, more and more experimental binding information ranging from mutagenesis data to three‐dimensional structures of protein complexes are becoming available. Therefore, how to appropriately incorporate the biological information into traditional ab initio docking has been an important issue and challenge in the field of protein‐protein docking. To address these challenges, we have developed a Hybrid DOCKing protocol of template‐based and template‐free approaches, referred to as HDOCK. The basic procedure of HDOCK is to model the structures of individual components based on the template complex by a template‐based method if a template is available; otherwise, the component structures will be modeled based on monomer proteins by regular homology modeling. Then, the complex structure of the component models is predicted by traditional protein‐protein docking. With the HDOCK protocol, we have participated in the CPARI experiment for rounds 28‐35. Out of the 25 CASP‐CAPRI targets for oligomer modeling, our HDOCK protocol predicted correct models for 16 targets, ranking one of the top algorithms in this challenge. Our docking method also made correct predictions on other CAPRI challenges such as protein–peptide binding for 6 out of 8 targets and water predictions for 2 out of 2 targets. The advantage of our hybrid docking approach over pure template‐based docking was further confirmed by a comparative evaluation on 20 CASP‐CAPRI targets. Proteins 2017; 85:497–512. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
57Fe Mössbauer spectroscopy on iron based pnictides and chalcogenides in applied magnetic fields
Authors: Kamusella Sirko , To Lai Kwing , Harnagea Luminita , Beck Robert , Pachmayr Ursula , Singh Thakur Gohil , Klauss Hans‐Henning
Published: December 2016

In this article, we show possibilities and limitations of the 57Fe‐Mössbauer spectroscopy applied to iron‐based pnictides and chalcogenides. The principle structure of these materials are FePn‐ or FeCh‐layers with tetragonally coordinated Fe2+ ions. These layers are the electronically active structures for the competing magnetic and superconducting ground states. Mössbauer spectroscopy is frequently applied to investigate zero field local magnetic properties of both powder and single crystal materials. However, the absolute size of the hyperfine parameters often is small and the study can benefit from the application of an external field. With the help of an applied field it is possible to study magnetic interactions, ferromagnetic impurities, the sign of the electric field gradient (EFG) and magnetoelastic coupling. We show different aspects of applied magnetic field measurements and discuss results in iron‐based pnictides and chalcogenides.

The field distribution induced by applied fields is in the ideal case described by exchange and anisotropy fields. Due to sample inhomogeneity, a model independent analysis can be necessary as in case of our LaFeAsO transverse field measurements.
Impurity effects on spin dynamics in magnetic and superconducting iron pnictides and chalcogenides
Authors: Surmach M. A. , Portnichenko P. Y. , Park J. T. , Rodriguez‐Rivera J. A. , Sun D. L. , Liu Y. , Lin C. T. , Inosov D. S.
Published: December 2016

In this article, we summarize the effects of magnetic and nonmagnetic impurities on the spin dynamics in Fe‐based superconductors and their parent compounds. The effects of chemical substitution, vacancies, and disorder on the suppression or stabilization of superconductivity and spin‐density‐wave phases are reviewed in the context of recent neutron‐spectroscopy measurements of spin excitations. We also present new results on the structure of magnetic fluctuations in single crystals doped with Mn local moments and discuss them in relationship to the previously reported branch of checkerboard magnetic excitations.
Subseasonal variability of mesoscale convective systems over the tropical northeastern Pacific
Authors: Berthet S. , Roca R. , Duvel J. P. , Fiolleau T.
Published: December 2016

Mesoscale Convective Systems (MCS) properties during large‐scale easterly and westerly regimes of the low‐level winds over the tropical northeastern Pacific (TEP) are analysed during boreal summers of years 2012–2014. East of 120°W, two regions located north and south of 10°N present different sensitivity of the MCS properties to the zonal wind regime. Long‐lasting and large MCS are favoured during the westerly regime over the northern region, while more numerous MCS, but with a steady lifetime distribution, are triggered during the easterly regime over the southern part of the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ). For long‐lasting MCS (lifetime longer than 10 h), the moderate low‐level wind shear conditions during the westerly regime are associated with larger MCS covering longer distances. The MCS cold cloud cover and the MCS lifetime tend to locally increase with the moisture of the mid‐troposphere. Conversely, the TEP area west of 120°W becomes less favourable to MCS development during the low‐level westerly regime, in accordance with the diminution of rainfall observed locally.
A hierarchical task analysis of shoulder arthroscopy for a virtual arthroscopic tear diagnosis and evaluation platform (VATDEP)
Authors: Demirel Doga , Yu Alexander , Cooper‐Baer Seth , Dendukuri Aditya , Halic Tansel , Kockara Sinan , Kockara Nizamettin , Ahmadi Shahryar
Published: December 2016

Background

Shoulder arthroscopy is a minimally invasive surgical procedure for diagnosis and treatment of a shoulder pathology. The procedure is performed with a fiber optic camera, called arthroscope, and instruments inserted through very tiny incisions made around the shoulder. The confined shoulder space, unintuitive camera orientation and constrained instrument motions complicates the procedure. Therefore, surgical competence in arthroscopy entails extensive training especially for psychomotor skills development. Conventional arthroscopy training methods such as mannequins, cadavers or apprenticeship model have limited use attributed to their low‐fidelity in realism, cost inefficiency or incurring high risk. However, virtual reality (VR) based surgical simulators offer a realistic, low cost, risk‐free training and assessment platform where the trainees can repeatedly perform arthroscopy and receive quantitative feedback on their performances. Therefore, we are developing a VR based shoulder arthroscopy simulation specifically for the rotator cuff ailments that can quantify the surgery performance. Development of such a VR simulation requires a through task analysis that describes the steps and goals of the procedure, comprehensive metrics for quantitative and objective skills and surgical technique assessment.

Methods

We analyzed shoulder arthroscopic rotator cuff surgeries and created a hierarchical task tree. We introduced a novel surgery metrics to reduce the subjectivity of the existing grading metrics and performed video analysis of 14 surgery recordings in the operating room (OR). We also analyzed our video analysis results with respect to the existing proposed metrics in the literature.

Results

We used Pearson's correlation tests to find any correlations among the task times, scores and surgery specific information. We determined strong positive correlation between cleaning time vs difficulty in tying suture, cleaning time vs difficulty in passing suture, cleaning time vs scar tissue size, difficulty passing vs difficulty in tying suture, total time and difficulty of the surgery.

Conclusion

We have established a hierarchical task analysis and analyzed our performance metrics. We will further use our metrics in our VR simulator for quantitative assessment.
Control‐oriented modeling and deployment of tensegrity–membrane systems
Authors: Yang Shu , Sultan Cornel
Published: December 2016

This study addresses control‐oriented modeling and control design of tensegrity–membrane systems. Lagrange's method is used to develop a control‐oriented model for a generic system. The equations of motion are expressed as a set of differential‐algebraic equations (DAEs). For control design, the DAEs are converted into second‐order ordinary differential equations (ODEs) based on coordinate partitioning and coordinate mapping. Because the number of inputs is less than the number of state variables, the system belongs to the class of underactuated nonlinear systems. A nonlinear adaptive controller based on the collocated partial feedback linearization (PFL) technique is designed for system deployment. The stability of the closed‐loop system for the actuated coordinates is studied using the Lyapunov stability theory. Because of system complexity, numerical tests are used to conduct stability analysis for the dynamics of the underactuated coordinates, which represents the system's zero dynamics. For the tensegrity–membrane systems studied in this work, analytical proof of zero dynamics stability remains an open theoretical problem. An H∞ controller is implemented for rapid stabilization of the system at the final deployed configuration. Simulations are conducted to test the performance of the two controllers. The simulation results are presented and discussed in detail. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Immune Cell‐Mediated Biodegradable Theranostic Nanoparticles for Melanoma Targeting and Drug Delivery
Authors: Xie Zhiwei , Su Yixue , Kim Gloria B. , Selvi Erhan , Ma Chuying , Aragon‐Sanabria Virginia , Hsieh Jer‐Tsong , Dong Cheng , Yang Jian
Published: December 2016

Although tremendous efforts have been made on targeted drug delivery systems, current therapy outcomes still suffer from low circulating time and limited targeting efficiency. The integration of cell‐mediated drug delivery and theranostic nanomedicine can potentially improve cancer management in both therapeutic and diagnostic applications. By taking advantage of innate immune cell's ability to target tumor cells, the authors develop a novel drug delivery system by using macrophages as both nanoparticle (NP) carriers and navigators to achieve cancer‐specific drug delivery. Theranostic NPs are fabricated from a unique polymer, biodegradable photoluminescent poly (lactic acid) (BPLP‐PLA), which possesses strong fluorescence, biodegradability, and cytocompatibility. In order to minimize the toxicity of cancer drugs to immune cells and other healthy cells, an anti‐BRAF V600E mutant melanoma specific drug (PLX4032) is loaded into BPLP‐PLA nanoparticles. Muramyl tripeptide is also conjugated onto the nanoparticles to improve the nanoparticle loading efficiency. The resulting nanoparticles are internalized within macrophages, which are tracked via the intrinsic fluorescence of BPLP‐PLA. Macrophages carrying nanoparticles deliver drugs to melanoma cells via cell–cell binding. Pharmacological studies also indicate that the PLX4032 loaded nanoparticles effectively kill melanoma cells. The “self‐powered” immune cell‐mediated drug delivery system demonstrates a potentially significant advancement in targeted theranostic cancer nanotechnologies.
Canopy tree species and openness affect foliar endophytic fungal communities of understory seedlings
Authors: Kato Saya , Fukasawa Yu , Seiwa Kenji
Published: December 2016

There is growing evidence demonstrating the diversity of foliar endophytic fungi and their ecological roles in the survival of tree seedlings. However, the factors that shape fungal communities in tree seedlings within natural forest ecosystems remain poorly understood. Here, we evaluated the composition of foliar endophytic fungi growing in current‐year seedlings of Cornus controversa and Prunus grayana in a cool temperate deciduous forest through a seed‐sowing experiment and fungal isolation. The composition of endophytic fungi was affected by canopy tree species, canopy openness, and time after germination. In total, 27 and 22 fungal taxa were isolated from C. controversa and P. grayana seedlings, respectively. The dominant fungal taxa in both seedling species were Colletotorichum spp., and their isolation frequencies were higher under C. controversa canopies than under P. grayana canopies; the frequencies also increased with time after germination. These results suggest that overstory tree species strongly influences the endophytic fungal communities of understory seedlings.
Prophylactic Postoperative Antibiotics May Not Reduce Pin Site Infections after External Fixation
Authors: Fragomen Austin T. , Miller Andy O. , Brause Barry D. , Goldman Vladimir , Rozbruch S. Robert
Published: December 2016

Background

Pin infection continues to be a nuisance when using definitive external fixation. Prophylactic antibiotic treatment has been proposed in an effort to decrease pin complications.

Questions/Purposes

We performed a prospective, randomized, single-blinded study to answer the following questions: (1) what was the effect of a 10-day course of oral prophylactic antibiotics administered immediately after external fixation surgery on the incidence of a subsequent pin infection, (2) what was the effect on the severity of a subsequent pin infection, and (3) what was the effect on the timing of a subsequent pin infection?

Methods

Patients were randomized into antibiotic treatment and control groups, and incidence, severity, and time of onset of pin infection were recorded.

Results

The incidence of pin infection for the entire cohort during the 90-day observation period was 46/58 (79%) without a statistically significant difference ( p = 0.106). There was no statistical difference found ( p = 0.512) in pin infection severity. There was no significant difference in the time of onset of infection between the two groups from the date of surgery ( p = 0.553).

Conclusions

Our randomized data do not suggest that oral antibiotics alter the incidence, timing, or severity of pin infection. This study does not support the use of prophylactic oral antibiotics in healthy patients.
Brief report: The role of three dimensions of sexual well‐being in adolescents' life satisfaction
Authors: Espinosa‐Hernández Graciela , Vasilenko Sara A. , McPherson Jenna L. , Gutierrez Estefania , Rodriguez Andrea
Published: December 2016

Guided by theoretical (Brooks‐Gunn & Paikoff, 1997) and empirical work (Horne & Zimmer‐Gembeck, 2005), this cross‐sectional study examined whether sexual well‐being (sexual self‐acceptance, importance of mutual consent, importance of safe sex) was associated with life satisfaction among Mexican adolescents, and whether these associations were moderated by gender, age, and familism. Mexican adolescents (54% girls, 72% middle schoolers, 30% sexually active) completed surveys. Findings indicated that a greater belief in the importance of safe sex was associated with higher levels of life satisfaction. Greater sexual self‐acceptance was associated with life satisfaction, and familism moderated this association. This association was stronger among adolescents who reported low familism. This study contributes to the understanding of sexual adolescent well‐being and psychological adjustment in Mexico, an understudied cultural context.
Back to Basics: Preventing Perioperative Pressure Injuries
Authors: Spruce Lisa
Published: December 2016

Pressure injury prevention is essential to patient safety in the perioperative setting. Perioperative nurses should be knowledgeable about the risk factors for pressure injury and the safety precautions that can be taken to prevent this injury from occurring. Perioperative nurses should be able to identify patients who are at high risk for developing a pressure injury. Perioperative patients are at risk for developing pressure injuries because they can experience intense or prolonged pressure during lengthy surgical procedures, may have increased pressure on bony prominences from positioning, are exposed to friction or shear during transfer to the OR bed and positioning, and often have significant comorbidities. This Back to Basics article examines the risk factors for pressure injuries in the perioperative patient population and discusses screening and prevention measures that can be implemented.
Transoral Robotic Surgery
Authors: Yee Shokjean
Published: December 2016

Transoral robotic surgery (TORS) is a technique used to treat oral, throat, and skull base cancers using a minimally invasive robotic approach through the mouth and throat. The TORS procedure allows deeper access and dissection of suspicious lesions and neoplastic growths in the oral cavity and those that extend from the throat to the base of the skull. Robotic surgery allows the surgeon to operate in tight spaces without a large open incision. This article discusses symptoms and risk factors of oral, throat, and skull base cancers; types of procedures that can be performed using the TORS approach; specialized instrumentation; patient selection; surgical advantages and disadvantages; patient benefits; and the role of the surgical team in preparing to intraoperatively care for the TORS patient.
Application of noninvasive brain stimulation for post‐stroke dysphagia rehabilitation
Authors: Wang Zhuo , Song Wei‐Qun , Wang Liang
Published: December 2016

Noninvasive brain stimulation (NIBS), commonly consisting of transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), transcranial direct‐current stimulation (tDCS), as well as paired associative stimulation (PAS), has attracted increased interest and been applied experimentally in the treatment of post‐stroke dysphagia (PSD). This review presented a synopsis of the current research for the application of NIBS on PSD. The intention here was to understand the current research progress and limitations in this field and to stimulate potential research questions not yet investigated for the application of NIBS on patients with PSD. Here we successively reviewed advances of repetitive TMS (rTMS), tDCS, and PAS techniques on both healthy participants and PSD patients in three aspects, including scientific researches about dysphagia mechanism, applied studies about stimulation parameters, and clinical trials about their therapeutic effects. The techniques of NIBS, especially rTMS, have been used by the researchers to explore the different mechanisms between swallowing recovery and extremity rehabilitation. The key findings included the important role of intact hemisphere reorganization for PSD recovery, and the use of NIBS on the contra‐lesional side as a therapeutic potential for dysphagia rehabilitation. Though significant results were achieved in most studies by using NIBS on swallowing rehabilitation, it is still difficult to draw conclusions for the efficacy of these neurostimulation techniques, considering the great disparities between studies.
P2 asymmetry of Au's M-band flux and its smoothing effect due to high-Z ablator dopants
Authors: Li Yongsheng , Zhai Chuanlei , Ren Guoli , Gu Jianfa , Huo Wenyi , Meng Xujun , Ye Wenhua , Lan Ke , Zhang Weiyan
Published: December 2016

X-ray drive asymmetry is one of the main seeds of low-mode implosion asymmetry that blocks further improvement of the nuclear performance of “high-foot” experiments on the National Ignition Facility [Miller et al., Nucl. Fusion 44, S228 (2004)]. More particularly, the P2 asymmetry of Au's M-band flux can also severely influence the implosion performance of ignition capsules [Li et al., Phys. Plasmas 23, 072705 (2016)]. Here we study the smoothing effect of mid- and/or high-Z dopants in ablator on Au's M-band flux asymmetries, by modeling and comparing the implosion processes of a Ge-doped ignition capsule and a Si-doped one driven by X-ray sources with P2 M-band flux asymmetry. As the results, (1) mid- or high-Z dopants absorb hard X-rays (M-band flux) and re-emit isotropically, which helps to smooth the asymmetric M-band flux arriving at the ablation front, therefore reducing the P2 asymmetries of the imploding shell and hot spot; (2) the smoothing effect of Ge-dopant is more remarkable than Si-dopant because its opacity in Au's M-band is higher than the latter's; and (3) placing the doped layer at a larger radius in ablator is more efficient. Applying this effect may not be a main measure to reduce the low-mode implosion asymmetry, but might be of significance in some critical situations such as inertial confinement fusion (ICF) experiments very near the performance cliffs of asymmetric X-ray drives.