bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Ground Penetrating Radar digital imaging and modeling of microbialites from the Salitre Formation, Northeast Brazil
Authors: Lima Rebeca Seabra de , Teixeira Washington Luiz Evangelista , Albuquerque Filipe Ramos de , Lima-Filho Francisco Pinheiro
Published: August 2018

Thanks to the discovery of new giant oil fields in the South Hemisphere in the last decades, named Pre-salt, there has been a considerable interest in the geometrical and sedimentological characterization of microbial deposits, coquinas, and collapsed caves, which represent a considerable part of these reservoirs. It is known that exposures analogous to oil reservoirs are an important source of information at the sub-seismic scale, as this information is helpful in parametrizing and modeling reservoirs, especially microbial reservoirs. This scenario is more favorable when the Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) method is used in analogous exposures located in arid regions with scarce or no soil, such as the Fazenda Arrecife, in the Chapada Diamantina (Salitre Formation), Northeastern Brazil. Although rarely mentioned in the literature on microbialite geophysical imaging, GPR has been used in microbial deposits associated with the Neoproterozoic storm deposits of the Salitre Formation. The results of 3D imaging of a microbial colony, using the 200 MHz antenna, with both conventional processing and processing using geophysical attributes, are presented in this study. The conventional processing produced a 3D digital model that allowed the geometrical characterization and parametrization of the imaged microbial colony. The use of four geophysical attributes yielded good results, establishing the contact between the microbial colony and tempestite deposits, and determining the internal geometry of microbial deposits. The processing with “instantaneous amplitude” and “Hilbert trace with energy” highlighted the contact between the microbialite colony (low amplitude) and tempestite deposits (high amplitude), whereas the processing with the “energy” attribute provided a better visualization of the internal lamination of columnar microbialites, result similar to that obtained in the processing with “Hilbert trace with similarity”. GPR obtained images of up to 10 m in depth, with excellent resolution for microbial deposits and tempestites associated with them. The processing using geophysical attributes achieved considerably better results when compared to conventional processing, allowing a better visualization of the internal and external geometry of the imaged colony.
Aspidistra bella (Asparagaceae), a new species from northern Vietnam
Authors: AVERYANOV LEONID V. , TILLICH HANS JÜRGEN , NGUYEN KHANG SINH , MAISAK TATIANA V
Published: August 2018

This paper continues the publication of newly obtained results of a successive taxonomic investigation of the genus Aspidistra Ker Gawler (1822: 628) in Vietnam summarized in a series of recent publications (Averyanov & Tillich 2016, Averyanov et al. 2016, 2017, 2018, Vislobokov 2016, Vislobokov et al. 2016, 2017, Nguyen 2017, Nuraliev et al. 2017). A new recently discovered species is described and illustrated below.
A new species of the spider genus Wirada (Araneae, Theridiidae) from Mexico, with taxonomic notes on the genus and a key to the species
Authors: CAMPUZANO EMMANUEL F. , IBARRA-NÚÑEZ GUILLERMO
Published: August 2018

Wirada Keyserling, 1886 is one of the smallest genera of Theridiidae with only five South American species (World Spider Catalog 2018). Keyserling (1886) described first Wirada punctata (male) from Peru. Simon (1895) described W. rugithorax and W. tovarensis (males) from Venezuela, but Levi (1963) synonymized W. rugithorax with W. punctata. Later, Levi (1967) described W. tijuca (male) from southeastern Brazil, and lately Lise et al. (2009) described W. sigillata Lise, Silva & Bertocello, 2009 and W. araucaria Lise, Silva & Bertocello, 2009 (males and females) from southern Brazil. Simon (1894) placed Wirada in its group Histogonieae, and stated it is close to Pholcommateae. Until now, none species of Wirada has been included in any phylogenetic study of Theridiidae, only Agnarsson (2004) when commented the Pholcommatinae said “Based on the synapomorphies of the group it is likely that ... Wirada belong to this subfamily.” Recently, this genus was reported (as Wirada sp1) from two localities in Mexico (Ibarra et al. 2011; Álvarez-Padilla 2015; Rivera-Quiroz et al. 2016) and subsequent samplings on three other sites from Chiapas (Campuzano et al. 2016) exposed more specimens. After examining these specimens, we found they do not match any of the known species and therefore we propose a new species. We also include taxonomic and biological notes about the genus and a key to the species.
Subversive Self-Employment: Intersectionality and Self-Employment Among Dependent Visas Holders in the United States
Authors: Banerjee Pallavi
Published: August 2018

Drawing on intersectionality theory, I examine how U.S. visa policies shape the informal self-employment experiences of Indian women and men who migrated to the United States on “dependent visas” to accompany their highly skilled spouses on temporary work visas. Dependent visa policy prohibits employment for the visa holders for a period that can last from 6 to 20 years. Despite this, only a handful of those on dependent visas pursued informal self-employment in my sample, with fewer men than women. This study is based on interviews with 45 participants, with a special focus on 18 dependent spouses (men and women), who had engaged in active self-employment, and tries to understand their experiences with self-employment, particularly their choice of businesses and the role of self-employment in their lives as dependents. I conclude that the complexities of the experiences of self-employment for my research participants are embedded in the intersections of their gender, class, race, and immigration status. Additionally, self-employment itself inadvertently becomes an act of subversion against their state-imposed dependence.
Papillary-Type Carcinoma of the Thyroglossal Duct Cyst: The Case for Conservative Management
Authors: Wood C. Burton , Bigcas Jo-Lawrence , Alava Ibrahim , Bischoff Lindsay , Langerman Alexander , Kim Young
Published: August 2018

Objectives:

Thyroglossal duct cyst (TGDC) is the most common congenital neck mass, presenting in up to 7% of the population. TGDC carcinoma is much less common, occurring in roughly 1% of patients diagnosed with TGDC. The vast majority of these tumors are papillary-type thyroid cancer. Given its rarity, there is wide variation in management recommendations for this disease. Extent of surgical management and need for adjuvant therapy including radioactive iodine ablation (RAI) are particularly debated, with some authors arguing aggressive therapy including RAI for any patients who undergo concurrent thyroidectomy with the Sistrunk procedure for TGDC carcinoma. We present a series of patients treated for TGDC carcinoma at our institutions and discuss our management algorithm.

Methods:

This is a retrospective chart review of patients with TGDC treated at 2 separate institutions. Factors reviewed included patient age, sex, preoperative diagnosis, preoperative work-up, extent of therapy, and use of adjuvant therapy.

Results:

Six patients who were treated for TGDC carcinoma at our institutions were identified. One patient was excluded because the patient had been treated at an outside facility prior to referral. All patients had papillary-type thyroid cancer. One patient underwent the Sistrunk procedure alone, and the remaining 4 underwent the Sistrunk procedure plus total thyroidectomy. Two of 4 patients were noted to have malignancy in the thyroid. Two of 4 patients who underwent thyroidectomy additionally received adjuvant RAI.

Conclusion:

Thyroglossal duct cyst carcinoma is uncommon and management is controversial. In low-risk patients (single tumor focus, negative margins, normal preoperative neck/thyroid imaging, no extension of TGDC carcinoma beyond the cyst wall), the Sistrunk procedure alone with observation of the thyroid may be sufficient. In this patient population, RAI is unlikely to be of any substantial benefit.
Carnosine supplementation does not affect serum concentrations of advanced glycation and precursors of lipoxidation end products in autism: a randomized controlled clinical trial
Authors: Ghodsi Ramin , Kheirouri Sorayya , Nosrati Rahmat
Published: August 2018

Background

Abundant evidence indicate the increased levels of oxidative stress in patients with autism. Advanced glycation end products and advanced lipoxidation end products and their precursors play a major role in increased oxidative stress in numerous metabolic and neurologic diseases. Carnosine is a natural dipeptide with antiglycation effects. The aim of this trial was to examine the effects of carnosine supplementation on the advanced glycation end products and the precursors of advanced lipoxidation end products in patients with autism.

Method

This randomized double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial was conducted on 36 autistic children, 18 in the carnosine group and 18 in the placebo group. The groups received a daily supplement of 500 mg carnosine or placebo for two months, respectively. Plasma concentrations of glycation and precursors of lipoxidation markers were evaluated by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay method.

Results

In all, 63.9% of the autistic children had normal nutritional status. Carnosine supplementation did not significantly alter plasma concentrations of advanced glycation end products and precursors of advanced lipoxidation end products in autistic children.

Conclusion

The findings indicate that supplementation of carnosine could not change advanced glycation end products and precursor of advanced lipoxidation end products in autistic children.
Desiring and Being Desired by Christ: Sebastian Moore’s Notion of Desire in Dialogue with Ignatian Spirituality
Authors: Messias Teresa
Published: August 2018

This article explores the Christian theological work of Sebastian Moore O.S.B. and his notion of human desire as the existential point of impact or subjective dynamics where a human being may discover a call to communion in Love, a presence of the Creating God himself as hidden source of joy and fulfilment, attracting a person to his or her ultimate meaning. Human desire is, in its deepest reality, the emergent presence of the Self as gift. This gift is attracted, oriented, healed and liberated by the presence of Jesus and the discipleship that he awakes in every one of those to whom he revels himself as the Loving other. Desire is, therefore, considered an ontological and theological via to access and undergo the transformative three-phased process of union to God or divinization, following Jesus’ destiny: an awakening, an emptying and a fulfilling of desire. A conscious and consented transformative union ( théosis) may occur, in desire, between God and a human person. Moore’s Christian spiritual itinerary of transformation of human desire is, in a second moment, paralleled with the experience of prayer and transformation that are the Spiritual Exercises of Saint Ignatius of Loyola. We draw attention to the fact that the Christian spiritual itinerary exposed in Moore’s theology of desire is strikingly interlocked with the structure and key theological moments of the Ignatian Spiritual Exercises.
Predicting Sagittal Plane Lifting Postures From Image Bounding Box Dimensions
Authors: Greene Runyu L. , Hu Yu Hen , Difranco Nicholas , Wang Xuan , Lu Ming-Lun , Bao Stephen , Lin Jia-Hua , Radwin Robert G.
Published: August 2018

Objective:

A method for automatically classifying lifting postures from simple features in video recordings was developed and tested. We explored if an “elastic” rectangular bounding box, drawn tightly around the subject, can be used for classifying standing, stooping, and squatting at the lift origin and destination.

Background:

Current marker-less video tracking methods depend on a priori skeletal human models, which are prone to error from poor illumination, obstructions, and difficulty placing cameras in the field. Robust computer vision algorithms based on spatiotemporal features were previously applied for evaluating repetitive motion tasks, exertion frequency, and duty cycle.

Methods:

Mannequin poses were systematically generated using the Michigan 3DSSPP software for a wide range of hand locations and lifting postures. The stature-normalized height and width of a bounding box were measured in the sagittal plane and when rotated horizontally by 30°. After randomly ordering the data, a classification and regression tree algorithm was trained to classify the lifting postures.

Results:

The resulting tree had four levels and four splits, misclassifying 0.36% training-set cases. The algorithm was tested using 30 video clips of industrial lifting tasks, misclassifying 3.33% test-set cases. The sensitivity and specificity, respectively, were 100.0% and 100.0% for squatting, 90.0% and 100.0% for stooping, and 100.0% and 95.0% for standing.

Conclusions:

The tree classification algorithm is capable of classifying lifting postures based only on dimensions of bounding boxes.

Applications:

It is anticipated that this practical algorithm can be implemented on handheld devices such as a smartphone, making it readily accessible to practitioners.
Book Review: Usha Mujoo Munshi and Neeta Verma (Eds.), Data Science Landscape: Towards Research Standards and Protocols
Authors: Sahoo Pravakar
Published: August 2018

Usha Mujoo Munshi and Neeta Verma (Eds.), Data Science Landscape: Towards Research Standards and Protocols. Singapore: Springer, 2018, 339 pp., ₹8,865.
Synchronous machine analysis and modelling in LabVIEW: An educational tool for transient stability studies
Authors: Karnavas Yannis L , Lygouras Eleytherios I
Published: August 2018

A three-phase synchronous machine was, and still is, one of the most important element in today’s power generation systems (operating as a generator) or in distribution–load systems (operating as a motor). Thus, a suitable and detailed model is required to be used by students and future engineers in order to deal with transient stability analyses. For this purpose, the paper presents and analyses a procedure by which the mathematical modelling of a three-phase, four-pole, synchronous machine can be implemented in the LabVIEW environment. A suitable graphics user interface is proposed and case studies under different machine operating conditions are shown. The corresponding results illustrate the validity and accuracy of the model. Furthermore, a reactive power PI controller is also implemented. The overall graphics user interface/simulation model is applied to an undergraduate course as a teaching tool and assessed thoroughly. It is shown that the proposed tool may be utilized in under/post-graduate studies as well as in power utilities practician engineers courses.
Types of Supplementary Aids and Services for Students With Significant Support Needs
Authors: Kurth Jennifer A. , Ruppar Andrea L. , McQueston Jessica A. , McCabe Katie M. , Johnston Russell , Toews Samantha Gross
Published: August 2018

Supplementary aids and services (SAS) have been a provision in special education law since PL 94-142, however, almost no guidance has been provided to help teams make decisions about their appropriate selection and use. In this exploratory study, we explore the types of SAS selected for students with significant support needs using a conventional content analysis of individualized education program (IEPs) from 88 students in Grades K–12. Results illustrate the wide variation in types of SAS chosen for students overall. Curricular accommodations and personnel supports were the most commonly identified supports, while supports to assist students to communicate and make meaning of curriculum (e.g., curricular modifications) were less common, as were less intrusive supports such as peer-assisted learning. Implications for policy, practice, and research are provided.
The implementation and development of narrow-gauge railways in Portugal as a case of knowledge transfer (c. 1850–c. 1910)
Authors: Pereira Hugo S. , Navarro Bruno J.
Published: August 2018

When Portugal began building railways in its mainland territory in the 1850s, the main goal was to connect its harbours (mainly Lisbon) to the border with Spain (and beyond to Central Europe). This strategy left out of the network vast areas of the nation, some of which were perceived as very rugged, poor, and with low economic potential, where the construction of a railway was not cost effective. The same quandaries existed in the colonies, where investment in public works started in the 1870s. To bring railroads to these regions, it was necessary to find a low-cost technical solution. That solution was narrow-gauge railroads. In this paper, we analyse how this technology was transferred from Central Europe to Portugal and its colonies via a travel circuit of learning by Portuguese engineers and how it was developed through a mixture of Portuguese and foreign expertise.
Impact assessment of tail-vein injection in mice using a modified anaesthesia induction chamber versus a common restrainer without anaesthesia
Authors: Resch Marlene , Neels Tania , Tichy Alexander , Palme Rupert , Rülicke Thomas
Published: August 2018

Intravenous (IV) administration in mice is predominantly performed via the lateral tail veins. The technique requires adequate training before it can be used safely and routinely. A novel anaesthesia induction chamber has been developed to simplify the treatment and to facilitate IV injection in mice, particularly for untrained personnel. We have assessed the benefits of the chamber in refining IV injection in isoflurane-anaesthetized mice in direct comparison with the common restrainer method on conscious animals. The body weight, nesting behaviour and concentrations of faecal corticosterone metabolites were taken as indicative of distress induced by the various procedures. The results suggest that both methods of tail-vein injection induce similar levels of momentary stress in the animals, revealed by a short-term increase in the levels of stress hormone metabolites in faeces. A temporary reduction of body weight was observed after IV injection under isoflurane anaesthesia but not for conscious mice injected in the common restrainer. We conclude that the severity of tail-vein injection in mice is ‘mild’ for both methods. There was no evidence that refining the procedure by using isoflurane anaesthesia in the induction chamber was associated with any benefit.
The Poetry of Grief: Beyond Scientific Portrayal
Authors: Stroebe Margaret
Published: August 2018

To comprehend grief, we need knowledge about the range of diverse reactions incorporated within it. While scientists have documented the phenomena and manifestations following the loss of a loved one in quite some detail, poets can add to our understanding by portraying these vividly, bringing the feelings to life. In this article, I map the array of grief reactions identified in scientific investigations. I then go on to give short, selective illustrations from poetry, ones that have enhanced my own understanding of grief. These choices are naturally influenced by my own preferences; I include those that I find personally appealing and evocative of the multifaceted manifestations of grief. My aim is to demonstrate the value of artistic representation for scientific comprehension.
Strengthening the Effectiveness of National, State, and Local Efforts to Improve HPV Vaccination Coverage in the United States: Recommendations From the National Vaccine Advisory Committee
Authors:   Approved by the National Vaccine Advisory Committee on June 25, 2018
Published: August 2018

In February 2018, recognizing the suboptimal rates of human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination in the United States, the assistant secretary for health of the US Department of Health and Human Services charged the National Vaccine Advisory Committee (NVAC) with providing recommendations on how to strengthen the effectiveness of national, state, and local efforts to improve HPV vaccination coverage rates. In the same month, the NVAC established the HPV Vaccination Implementation Working Group and assigned it to develop these recommendations. The working group sought advice from federal and nonfederal partners. This NVAC report recommends ways to improve HPV vaccination coverage rates by focusing on 4 areas of activity: (1) identifying additional national partners, (2) guiding coalition building for states, (3) engaging integrated health care delivery networks, and (4) addressing provider needs in rural areas.
Conductivity, superhydrophobicity and mechanical properties of cotton fabric treated with polypyrrole by in-situ polymerization using the binary oxidants ammonium Peroxodisulfate and ferric chloride
Authors: Lee Suhyun , Park Chung Hee
Published: August 2018

In this study, polypyrrole deposition and a superhydrophobic coating were applied to cotton fabrics to develop a self-cleaning and conductive fabric with electric heating performance. The binary oxidants ammonium peroxodisulfate and ferric chloride were introduced during the polymerization to adjust the size of the polypyrrole particles for creating diverse nano-scale roughness on the surface of the cotton fabrics and to prevent degradation in the mechanical properties of textiles.

The in-situ polymerization of polypyrrole that introduced the binary oxidants succeeded in depositing polypyrrole particles on the surface of the cotton fabrics. Binary oxidants formed small polypyrrole particles contrary to the single oxidants. In terms of conductivity, the surface resistivity decreased as the FeCl3 ratio in the oxidants increased. The binary oxidants led to a similar level of conductivity even though the amount of polypyrrole deposition was less than that in the case of the single oxidant. The electrical heating performance improved as the surface resistance was decreased, resulting in an up to 20℃ increase in the surface temperature. On the other hand, the duration of the electro-heating effect was shorter with higher surface temperature. In terms of wettability, a superhydrophobicity with a contact angle of 150° or higher and a shedding angle of less than 10° was achieved under all oxidant conditions because of the nano-scale roughness caused by polypyrrole. Polypyrrole deposition reduced the tensile strength of the cotton fabric and increased its stiffness. The binary oxidants exhibited smaller changes in the mechanical properties of the textile than the single oxidants.
A New Score Generation Algorithm for Student Concept Map Evaluation
Authors: Mukhopadhyay Aashijit , Sur Sneharshi , Ghosal Akash , Acharya Anal
Published: August 2018

This article presents a new score generation algorithm to compute the accuracy of student concept maps in comparison to teacher maps. The algorithm follows a compare and remove method to remove the extra vertices and wrong edges of student concept map with respect to teacher map. A group of 230 students were taken to generate student maps on a pretaught chapter for finding multivariate regression coefficients for different independent factors incorporated in the study. It was found that there exists a positive correlation between the score obtained by the students and the degree of knowledge acquired by him while constructing concept maps.
Are incidentally detected gall bladder cancers really incidental? A report of two cases from a developing nation
Authors: Gupta Ashish , Gupta Amit , Gupta Sweety , Chauhan Udit , Joshua Lokavarapu Manoj
Published: August 2018

Gallbladder cancer (GBC) is a rare gastrointestinal tumour. It occurs in women with pre-existing cholelithiasis. These tumours pose therapeutic as well as diagnostic challenges to treating clinicians. Early suspicion and optimal surgery for suspected GBC results in the best outcome. We describe two cases of metastatic GBC initially treated by simple cholecystectomy for gallstone despite disease pointers towards a malignant pathology. Subsequent presentation was with histopathologically proven metastatic GBC. In an area of high gallsone prevalence, a high index of suspicion and correct management of patients with suspicion of GBC is mandatory.
Doctors at times of national instability: What Balint seminars reveal
Authors: Antoun Jumana , Johnson Alan , Clive Brock , Romani Maya
Published: August 2018

Background

It is not known in what ways is the doctor whose practice is secure in a clinic challenged to maintain a therapeutic doctor–patient relationship when confronting a flood of immigrants within a country that is politically volatile, internally fractionalized, and surrounded by sporadic military incursions?

Methods

During Balint seminars, a family medicine resident presents a troubling case which all group members reflect upon from the perspective of the doctor, the patient, and their relationship. Balint leaders later debrief and review the work of the group. Lebanon has passed through many political, social, and religious conflicts and was affected by the onset of the Syrian Civil War in 2010. The Balint leaders had begun to see in resident case presentations reflections of war’s disruption of the doctor–patient relationship. Two Balint leaders reviewed a log of all the cases between 2013 and 2016.

Results

In our observations, the discussion of the presented cases mirrored the cultural, social, religious, and political context of the country. First, the political situation was reflected in the dynamics of the group: agitation, conflicts, hopelessness, and a search for norms. Second, the residents subconsciously chose words in their discussion that reflect the country’s situation. Third, the presented case was stirred by a tragic war-related event.

Conclusions

The social/political/religious context in which the physician is practicing distracts the doctor from fulfilling his/her professional role. Balint seminars are an example of direct, experiential learning that provide an excellent opportunity for the special training of primary care physicians who deal with refugees and citizens to self-reflect on war’s impact on them and their profession.
Word-embedding-based pseudo-relevance feedback for Arabic information retrieval
Authors: El Mahdaouy Abdelkader , El Alaoui Saïd Ouatik , Gaussier Eric
Published: August 2018

Pseudo-relevance feedback (PRF) is a very effective query expansion approach, which reformulates queries by selecting expansion terms from top k pseudo-relevant documents. Although standard PRF models have been proven effective to deal with vocabulary mismatch between users’ queries and relevant documents, expansion terms are selected without considering their similarity to the original query terms. In this article, we propose a method to incorporate word embedding (WE) similarity into PRF models for Arabic information retrieval (IR). The main idea is to select expansion terms using their distribution in the set of top pseudo-relevant documents along with their similarity to the original query terms. Experiments are conducted on the standard Arabic TREC 2001/2002 collection using three neural WE models. The obtained results show that our PRF extensions significantly outperform their baseline PRF models. Moreover, they enhanced the baseline IR model by 22% and 68% for the mean average precision (MAP) and the robustness index (RI), respectively.
Drug-induced Glomerulonephritis: The Spectre of Biotherapeutic and Antisense Oligonucleotide Immune Activation in the Kidney
Authors: Frazier Kendall S. , Obert Leslie A.
Published: August 2018

Prevalence of immune-mediated glomerulonephritis has increased in preclinical toxicity studies, with more frequent use of biotherapeutic agents (especially antigenic humanized molecules) and antisense oligonucleotide (ASO) therapies. Immune complex disease affects a small number of study monkeys, often correlates with antidrug antibody (ADA) titers, and occurs at a dose that favors immune complex formation or impedes clearance. While preclinical glomerulonephritis often fails to correlate with evidence of glomerular or vascular injury in human clinical trials and is not considered predictive, additional animal investigative immunohistochemical work may be performed to substantiate evidence for immune complex pathogenesis. While ADA is most commonly encountered as a predisposing factor with biotherapeutic agents, complement activation may occur without circulating complexes, and other mechanisms of non-ADA immune-mediated glomerulonephritis have been observed including nonendogenous immune aggregates and immunoregulatory pharmacology. Although glomerulonephritis associated with oligonucleotide therapies has been noted occasionally in preclinical studies and more rarely with human patients, pathophysiologic mechanisms involved appear to be different between species and preclinical cases are not considered predictive for humans. ADA is not involved in oligonucleotide-associated cases, and complement fixation plays a more important role in monkeys. Recent screening of ASOs for proinflammatory activity appears to have decreased glomerulonephritis incidence preclinically.
Exploring the Ovarian Reserve Within Health Parameters: A Latent Class Analysis
Authors: Hardy Theresa M. , Garnier-Villarreal Mauricio , McCarthy Donna O. , Anderson Richard A. , Reynolds Rebecca M.
Published: August 2018

The process of ovarian aging is influenced by a complex and poorly understood interplay of endocrine, metabolic, and environmental factors. The purpose of this study was to explore the feasibility of using latent class analysis to identify subgroups based on cardiometabolic, psychological, and reproductive parameters of health and to describe patterns of anti-Müllerian hormone levels, a biomarker of the ovarian reserve, within these subgroups. Sixty-nine lean (body mass index [BMI] ⩽ 25 kg/m2) and severely obese (BMI ⩾ 40 kg/m2) postpartum women in Edinburgh, Scotland, were included in this exploratory study. The best fitting model included three classes: Class 1, n = 23 (33.5%); Class 2, n = 30 (42.2%); Class 3, n = 16 (24.3%). Postpartum women with lower ovarian reserve had less favorable cardiometabolic and psychological profiles. Examining the ovarian reserve within distinct subgroups based on parameters of health that affect ovarian aging may facilitate risk stratification in the context of ovarian aging.
Searching for Ontological Security via Homeland Media Use: The Case of Korean Temporary Visa-Status Migrants in the United States
Authors: Lee Claire S.
Published: August 2018

Temporary visa-status migrants initially might be perceived as emancipated mobilities who are privileged enough to enter and exit the United States without taking any major risks. This article examines the struggles involved in the experiences of the Korean temporary visa-status migrants living in the United States, and especially the role of media in their transnational everyday lives. Using a quasi-ethnographic approach by conducting qualitative interviews with 40 Korean visa-status migrants, this article argues that the homeland media, both television and Internet, sustain “ontological security” throughout the radical transitions, feeling of “existential outsideness,” and transnational insecurities and precariousness. The study offers a helpful insight in both understanding the contemporary dispersed audiences and contextualizing different migrant positions within the easily lumped category of mobile elites or cosmopolitans.
The Effect of Educational Workshops in an Art Gallery on Children’s Evaluation and Interpretation of Contemporary Art
Authors: Szubielska Magdalena , Ratomska Marta , Wójtowicz Marzena , Szymańska Anna
Published: August 2018

Our experiment, conducted in an art gallery, was designed to investigate how educational classes, provided for children of different ages, affect their (a) esthetic judgment and (b) interpretation of contemporary art. We found that curator-led tours and art workshops affected the ratings given by the youngest children (aged 4–5 years), while interpretation was influenced by contextual cues only in the case of older children (aged 6–7 and 8–9 years). In addition, in the control condition (uncued exhibition tour), the oldest children (aged 8–9 years) rated the artworks higher than the youngest children (4–5). We conclude that the deeper understanding of the context of art increases its attractiveness and may change the way in which artworks are interpreted. Our results suggest that cognitive development is not an indispensable requirement to appreciate art, as contextual cues provided to preschool-aged children substantially affect their esthetic assessment of contemporary art.
Third generation dual-energy CT with 80/150 Sn kV for head and neck tumor imaging
Authors: Suntharalingam Saravanabavaan , Stenzel Elena , Wetter Axel , Guberina Nika , Umutlu Lale , Schlosser Thomas , Nassenstein Kai
Published: August 2018

Background

Dual-energy CT (DECT) provides additional image datasets which enable improved tumor delineation or reduction of beam hardening artifacts in patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (SCC).

Purpose

To assess radiation dose and image quality of third-generation DECT of the head and neck in comparison to single-energy CT (SECT).

Material and Methods

Thirty patients with SCC who underwent both SECT (reference tube voltage 120 kVp) and DECT (80/150 Sn kVp) of the head and neck region for staging were retrospectively selected. Attenuation measurements of the sternomastoid muscle, internal jugular vein, submandibular gland and tongue were compared. Image noise was assessed at five anatomic levels. Subjective image quality was evaluated by two radiologists in consensus.

Results

CTDIvol was 55% lower with DECT (4.2 vs. 9.3 mGy; P = 0.002). Median image noise was equal or lower in DECT at all levels (nasopharynx: 3.9 vs. 5.8, P < 0.0001; floor of mouth: 3.6 vs. 4.5, P = 0.0002; arytenoids: 3.6 vs. 3.1, P = 0.096; lower thyroid: 4.4 vs. 5.7, P = 0.002; arch of aorta: 5.6 vs. 6.5, P = 0.001). Attenuation was significantly lower in DECT ( P < 0.05). Subjective image analysis revealed that DECT is equal or superior to SECT with regard to overall image quality (nasopharynx: 5 vs. 5, P = 1; floor of mouth: 5 vs. 5, P = 0.0041; arytenoids: 5 vs. 5, P = 0.6; lower thyroid: 5 vs. 3, P < 0.0001; arch of aorta: 5 vs. 4, P < 0.0001).

Conclusion

Head and neck imaging with third-generation DECT can reduce radiation dose by half compared to SECT, while maintaining excellent image quality.
Pathogenesis of medication-related osteonecrosis of the jaw: a comparative study of in vivo and in vitro trials
Authors: Holtmann Henrik , Lommen Julian , Kübler Norbert R. , Sproll Christoph , Rana Majeed , Karschuck Patrick , Depprich Rita
Published: August 2018

Objective

This study was performed to determine whether the results of prevailing in vivo and in vitro studies offer a reliable model for investigation of medication-related osteonecrosis of the jaw (MRONJ).

Methods

Embase, Medline, and the Cochrane Library were searched for articles published from September 2003 to June 2017 involving experimental approaches to the pathogenesis of MRONJ. In vivo and in vitro trials were analyzed with respect to the scientific question, study design, methodology, and results.

Results

Of 139 studies, 87, 46, and 6 conducted in vivo, in vitro, and both in vivo and in vitro experiments, respectively. Rats, mice, dogs, minipigs, sheep, and rabbits were the preferred animal models used. Osteoblasts, osteoclasts, fibroblasts, keratinocytes, macrophages, and human umbilical vein endothelial cells were the preferred cell types. Zoledronate, alendronate, ibandronate, and risedronate were the most frequent bisphosphonates used. MRONJ was most reliably induced in minipigs because of the close relationship with human bone physiology. In vitro studies showed that reduced viability, growth, and migration of cells in the bone and soft tissues were causative for MRONJ. Other than exposed jawbone after tooth extraction, no reliable cofactors were found.

Conclusion

The minipig is the most suitable animal model for MRONJ.
Pre- and postoperative headache in patients with meningioma
Authors: Guenther Franziska , Swozil Ferdinand , Heber Stefan , Buchfelder Michael , Messlinger Karl , Fischer Michael JM
Published: August 2018

Background

Meningiomas are generally slowly growing intracranial tumors. They are often incidentally diagnosed, given that symptoms may be absent even in cases of an enormous tumor size. Headache is a frequent but not consistent symptom. Therefore, we examined the association between structural, biochemical and histochemical tumor parameters with preoperative as well as postoperative occurrence of headache.

Methods

In our study, we prospectively investigated 69 consecutive patients enrolled for meningioma neurosurgery. Anatomical, histological and biochemical parameters were acquired, and headache parameters were registered from the clinical report and from a questionnaire filled by the patients before neurosurgery. The headache was re-evaluated one year after neurosurgery. The study was designed to exploratively investigate whether there is an association of acquired clinical and biological parameters with the occurrence of preoperative and postoperative headache.

Results

Edema diameter and the proliferation marker MIB-1 were negatively associated with the incidence and intensity of preoperative headache, while the content of prostaglandin E2 in the tumor tissue was positively associated with preoperative headache intensity. Headache was more prevalent when the meningioma was located in the area supplied by the ophthalmic trigeminal branch. Compared to preoperative headache levels, an overall reduction was observed one year postoperative, and patients with a larger tumor had a higher headache remission. In parietal and occipital meningiomas and in those with a larger edema, the percentage of the headache remission rate was higher compared to other locations or smaller edema. Multivariable analyses showed an involvement of substance P and prostaglandin E2 in preoperative headache.

Conclusions

The study demonstrates new associations between meningiomas and headache. The postoperative headache outcome in the presented patient sample is encouraging for the performed neurosurgical intervention. These results should be tested in a prospective study that incorporates all patients with meningiomas.
Challenges in Monitoring Regional Trail Traffic
Authors: Lindsey Greg , Singer-Berk Lila , Wilson Jeffrey S. , Oberg Eric , Hadden-Loh Tracy
Published: August 2018

This study reports traffic monitoring results at 30 locations on a 972-mi shared-use trail network across the east-central United States. We illustrate challenges in adapting the principles in the Federal Highway Administration’s Traffic Monitoring Guide to a regional trail network. We make four contributions: 1) we use factor analysis and k-means clustering to implement a stratified random process for selecting monitoring sites; 2) we illustrate quality assurance procedures and the challenges of obtaining valid results from a multi-state monitoring system; 3) we describe variation in trail traffic volumes across five land use classes in response to daily weather and seasons; and 4) we report two performance measures for the network: annual average daily trail traffic and trail miles traveled. The Rails to Trails Conservancy deployed passive infrared traffic monitors in 2015 through 2017. Site-specific regression models were used to impute missing daily traffic volumes. The effects of weather were consistent across land use classes but the effects of temporal variables, including weekend and season of year, varied. A plan for short-duration monitoring is presented. Results confirm the FHWA monitoring principles and the difficulties of implementing them regionally.
Simulation-Based Method of Capacity Utilization Evaluation to Account for Uncertainty in Recovery Time
Authors: Lai Yung-Cheng (Rex) , Chen Kuan-Ting , Yan Tzu-Hao , Li Ming-Hua
Published: August 2018

A typical objective of a railway agency is to design an efficient and reliable service plan. Although enhancing the level of capacity utilization may increase efficiency, the stability of the service plan may also decrease due to stochastic railway disruptions. Past studies used recovery time to evaluate the stability of a service plan; however, the variation of recovery time was not fully examined. Therefore, we developed a Monte Carlo simulation framework to address this issue and proposed four capacity-based indices for the evaluation of service efficiency and stability. These indices are capacity utilization efficiency, mean recovery time, dispersion of recovery time, and probability of unacceptable recovery time. The latter two new indices explored the variation of recovery time and probability of unacceptable long recovery time, which is undesired for railway operation. We conducted a real-world case study on the Taiwan Railways Administration before and after the service plan revision. Consequently, the northbound service plan needed a deliberate review and revision before implementation, whereas the southbound plan successfully increased capacity usage while not necessarily worsening stability. This result demonstrated that our study introduced uncertainty analysis into the evaluation framework and provided flexible information on the service plan. These developments can provide improved support in the decision-making of railway agencies to strike a balance between service level and asset usage.
Evaluating the Reliability, Coverage, and Added Value of Crowdsourced Traffic Incident Reports from Waze
Authors: Amin-Naseri Mostafa , Chakraborty Pranamesh , Sharma Anuj , Gilbert Stephen B. , Hong Mingyi
Published: August 2018

Traffic managers strive to have the most accurate information on road conditions, normally by using sensors and cameras, to act effectively in response to incidents. The prevalence of crowdsourced traffic information that has become available to traffic managers brings hope and yet raises important questions about the proper strategy for allocating resources to monitoring methods. Although many researchers have indicated the potential value in crowdsourced data, it is crucial to quantitatively explore its validity and coverage as a new source of data. This research studied crowdsourced data from a smartphone navigation application called Waze to identify the characteristics of this social sensor and provide a comparison with some of the common sources of data in traffic management. Moreover, this work quantifies the potential additional coverage that Waze can provide to existing sources of the advanced traffic management system (ATMS). One year of Waze data was compared with the recorded incidents in the Iowa’s ATMS in the same timeframe. Overall, the findings indicated that the crowdsourced data stream from Waze is an invaluable source of information for traffic monitoring with broad coverage (covering 43.2% of ATMS crash and congestion reports), timely reporting (on average 9.8 minutes earlier than a probe-based alternative), and reasonable geographic accuracy. Waze reports currently make significant contributions to incident detection and were found to have potential for further complementing the ATMS coverage of traffic conditions. In addition to these findings, the crowdsourced data evaluation procedure in this work provides researchers with a flexible framework for data evaluation.
Weigh Station Impact on Truck Travel Time Reliability: Results and Findings from a Field Study and a Simulation Experiment
Authors: Samandar M. Shoaib , Williams Billy M. , Ahmed Ishtiak
Published: August 2018

Weigh stations are necessary for safeguarding highway infrastructure by enforcing truck weight limits. However, mandating all trucks to stop at all weigh stations decreases travel time reliability. This decrease in travel time reliability adversely impacts the productivity of the trucking industry and to a lesser degree impacts personal travel reliability as well. This study, conducted at the Lumberton weigh station on Interstate 95 in North Carolina, quantifies the impact of weigh stations on truck travel time reliability. Truck travel times were observed over periods of weigh station operation and weigh station closure. Comparison of these two states sheds light on the variability in travel time caused by weigh station operation. Results show that when the weigh station is operational, truck travel time reliability degrades significantly. VISSIM microsimulation software was used to quantify the expected impact of weigh in motion (WIM) on truck travel time reliability assuming different scenarios of WIM truck bypass. The model results indicate that WIM technology does increase travel time reliability and provides benefits to both trucking companies and enforcement agencies. It was also found that increases in the proportion of WIM bypass result in increases in route travel time reliability. However, this simulation model improvement was not uniform, with the highest marginal improvement occurring in the 30%–40% WIM bypass range.
Low-Temperature Vacuum Drying Procedure for Rapid Asphalt Emulsion Residue Recovery
Authors: Malladi Haritha , Asnake Meron , LaCroix Andrew , Castorena Cassie
Published: August 2018

Asphalt emulsions are used extensively in tack coats and preservation surface treatments. The current specifications for asphalt emulsion residue recovery in AASHTO PP 72 are based on low-temperature evaporative drying. The shortest residue recovery procedure included in AASHTO PP 72 requires 6 h of conditioning in an oven to dry an emulsion. The ability to recover emulsion residues efficiently is of great interest given the ongoing efforts to develop emulsion performance-graded specifications based on residual binder properties. In this study, a rapid, vacuum drying technology was evaluated for asphalt emulsion residue recovery. The procedure enables the recovery of sufficient residual binder for dynamic shear rheometer (DSR) testing within 20–40 min. Five emulsions of different classifications were evaluated using both the vacuum drying procedure and the AASHTO PP 72 procedures. The vacuum drying procedure leads to similar water loss to the AASHTO PP 72 procedures. Based on the temperature-frequency sweep and multiple stress creep and recovery (MSCR) test results, the vacuum-dried residues are softer and more viscous than residues recovered using the AASHTO PP 72 procedures. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) was performed to identify if oxidation levels could explain the observed in rheological trends. However, the results suggest no clear trend in the oxidation levels of residues recovered using AASHTO PP 72 compared with the rapid vacuum procedure. Future work is necessary to infer which method best reflects residual binders placed in the field.