bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
New directions in voicing a vocation
Authors: Myers Sally
Published: May 2019

This article compares contemporary theological frameworks used to define ‘vocation’ and ‘ministry’ with the reported experience of those overseeing, exploring and exercising a calling to ministry within the Church of England. A comprehensive study of the recommended reading for those exploring vocation and ministry revealed the terms to be ill-defined and tending towards polarization around two viewpoints – sacerdotal priesthood rooted in the Old Testament, and presbyteral leadership rooted in the Epistles – with little theological attention being given to other perspectives, not least the ministry of Jesus as presented in the gospels. It also revealed many missing voices within the recommended reading. It found that candidates rehearsed a limited and polarized understanding of vocation and ministry, effectively learning ‘BAPspeak’ (a language to be used at bishops’ advisory panels that recommend whether candidates should enter ministry training), but that their personal experience of vocation and subsequent ministry was much more diffuse, diverse and Jesus-shaped.
Kernelized movement primitives
Authors: Huang Yanlong , Rozo Leonel , Silvério João , Caldwell Darwin G
Published: May 2019

Imitation learning has been studied widely as a convenient way to transfer human skills to robots. This learning approach is aimed at extracting relevant motion patterns from human demonstrations and subsequently applying these patterns to different situations. Despite the many advancements that have been achieved, solutions for coping with unpredicted situations (e.g., obstacles and external perturbations) and high-dimensional inputs are still largely absent. In this paper, we propose a novel kernelized movement primitive (KMP), which allows the robot to adapt the learned motor skills and fulfill a variety of additional constraints arising over the course of a task. Specifically, KMP is capable of learning trajectories associated with high-dimensional inputs owing to the kernel treatment, which in turn renders a model with fewer open parameters in contrast to methods that rely on basis functions. Moreover, we extend our approach by exploiting local trajectory representations in different coordinate systems that describe the task at hand, endowing KMP with reliable extrapolation capabilities in broader domains. We apply KMP to the learning of time-driven trajectories as a special case, where a compact parametric representation describing a trajectory and its first-order derivative is utilized. In order to verify the effectiveness of our method, several examples of trajectory modulations and extrapolations associated with time inputs, as well as trajectory adaptations with high-dimensional inputs are provided.
A Data-Driven Test for Cross-Cultural Differences in Face Preferences
Authors: Zhang Lingshan , Holzleitner Iris J. , Lee Anthony J. , Wang Hongyi , Han Chengyang , Fasolt Vanessa , DeBruine Lisa M. , Jones Benedict C.
Published: May 2019

Previous research has shown strong cross-cultural agreement in facial attractiveness judgments. However, these studies all used a theory-driven approach in which responses to specific facial characteristics are compared between cultures. This approach is constrained by the predictions that can be derived from existing theories and can therefore bias impressions of the extent of cross-cultural agreement in face preferences. We directly addressed this problem by using a data-driven, rather than theory-driven, approach to compare facial attractiveness judgments made by Chinese-born participants who were resident in China, Chinese-born participants currently resident in the UK, and UK-born and UK-resident White participants. Analyses of the principal components along which faces naturally varied suggested that Chinese and White UK participants used face information in different ways, at least when judging women’s facial attractiveness. In other words, the data-driven approach used in this study revealed some cross-cultural differences in face preferences that were not apparent in studies using theory-driven approaches.
Percy Crowe: a forgotten pioneer quantitative geographer and climatologist
Authors: Johnston Ron
Published: May 2019

Climatology was for long a Cinderella specialism within physical geography. Many of its pioneers’ research was in descriptive climatology, set in the regionalism paradigm that dominated geography until the 1960s. As such, much of their work is now only rarely cited. One of those pioneers was Percy Crowe, who sought to change the nature of that descriptive work through a more robust and systematic application of statistical methods. Indeed, he was one of the very first geographers to apply standard statistical techniques and his applications – in three main projects – were the stimulus for one of his students who played a major role in promoting the use of statistical methods more widely in geography from the late 1950s on: Crowe’s influence was much wider and more influential than the citations to his climatological studies suggests. He was also prescient regarding the need for methodological/philosophical changes in human geography.
Automatic Ground Points Identification Method for Roadside LiDAR Data
Authors: Wu Jianqing , Xu Hao , Lv Bin , Yue Rui , Li Yang
Published: May 2019

Roadside light detection and ranging (LiDAR) provides a solution to fill the data gap under mixed traffic situations. The real-time high-resolution micro traffic data (HRMTD) of all road users from the roadside LiDAR sensor provides a new opportunity to serve the connected-vehicle system during the transition period from unconnected vehicles to connected vehicles. Ground surface identification is the basic data processing step for HRMTD collection. The current ground points identification algorithms based on airborne and mobile LiDAR do not work for roadside LiDAR. A novel algorithm is developed in this paper to identify and exclude ground points based on the features of LiDAR, terrain, and point density in the space. The scan feature of different beams is used to search ground points. The whole procedure can be divided into four major parts: points clustering in each beam, slope-based filtering, shape-based filtering, and ground points matrix extraction. The proposed algorithm was evaluated using the real-world LiDAR data collected at different scenarios. The results showed that this algorithm can be used for ground points exclusion under different situations (differing terrain types, weather situations, and traffic volumes) with high accuracy. This algorithm was compared with previously developed algorithms. The overall performance of the proposed algorithm is superior. The low computational load guarantees this method may be applied for real-time data processing.
Structural Evaluation of the Transverse Joint of a Concrete Pavement Considering the Degradation Process
Authors: Nishizawa Tatsuo , Wakabayashi Yuya , Uchida Masataka , Yabu Masayuki
Published: May 2019

Effective maintenance of a concrete pavement requires precise evaluation of the load transfer efficiency (LTE) at the transverse joint, which is simply calculated from the falling weight deflectometer (FWD) deflections at the loaded and unloaded slabs. In this study, the FWD deflections were simulated with the randomly generated elastic moduli of the pavement layers using the three dimensional finite element method considering the degradation process at a joint, which was categorized into five stages, from completely sound, to having broken dowels and a void underneath the joint. A database of FWD deflections, layer elastic moduli and the associated stage was created from the simulation results. The layer moduli were identified from the measured FWD deflections at a joint by searching the closest calculated FWD deflections to those measured from the database. The results of the analysis not only provide the layer moduli, but also the degradation stage of the joint to help engineers determine the appropriate rehabilitation measures. The method was validated on a 16 year old concrete pavement, on which the FWD measurements were performed three times: just before opening to traffic, after 9 years and 16 years of service. The identified layer moduli were not changed after 16 years of service, and some joints degraded owing to dowel corrosion, broken dowels and the existence of voids underneath the joints. The developed method is able to show the entire picture of the state of the joints in a section and also provide information on which parts of a particular joint have deteriorated.
Emotional Compliance and Emotion as Resistance: Shame and Anger among the Long-Term Unemployed
Authors: Peterie Michelle , Ramia Gaby , Marston Greg , Patulny Roger
Published: May 2019

Contemporary governments employ a range of policy tools to ‘activate’ the unemployed to look for work. Framing unemployment as a consequence of personal shortcoming, these policies incentivise the unemployed to become ‘productive’ members of society. While Foucault’s governmentality framework has been used to foreground the operation of power within these policies, ‘job-seeker’ resistance has received less attention. In particular, forms of emotional resistance have rarely been studied. Drawing on in-depth interviews with 80 unemployed welfare recipients in Australia, this article shows that many unemployed people internalise activation’s discourses of personal failure, experiencing shame and worthlessness as a result. It also reveals, however, that a significant minority reject this framing and the ‘feeling rules’ it implies, expressing not shame but anger regarding their circumstances. Bringing together insights from resistance studies and the sociology of emotions, this article argues that ‘job-seeker’ anger should be recognised as an important form of ‘everyday resistance’.
From the writing cure to the talking cure: Revisiting the French ‘discovery of the unconscious’
Authors: Bacopoulos-Viau Alexandra
Published: May 2019

It is often said that the advent of the Freudian talking cure around 1900 revolutionised the psychiatric setting by giving patients a voice. Less known is that for decades prior to the popularisation of this technique, several researchers had been experimenting with another, written practice aimed at probing the mind. This was particularly the case in France. Alongside neurologist Jean-Martin Charcot’s spectacular staging of hypnotised bodies, ‘automatic writing’ became widely used in fin-de-siècle clinics and laboratories, with French psychologists regularly asking entranced patients to scribble down words to validate their nascent theories on the divided self. This article traces the emergence of automatic writing in French psychological discourse at the close of the 19th century. By focusing on the early work of Dr Pierre Janet and some of his contemporaries, it re-examines the role played by this practice in what Henri Ellenberger famously called ‘The Discovery of the Unconscious’. It also considers the various levels of reconstruction at play in recent historical accounts. What does it mean to give subjects a (written) voice? How does automatic writing differ from the Freudian talking cure as respective expressions of the unspeakable? And how might these questions inform future historical practice?
Designing a novel solar-assisted heat pump system with modification of a thermal energy storage unit
Authors: Aktaş Mustafa , Koşan Meltem , Arslan Erhan , Tuncer Azim Doğuş
Published: May 2019

The integrated usage of solar energy systems, heat pump applications, and thermal energy storage units is an effective way for heating systems due to their sustainability and stability in operations. In this study, a novel direct solar-assisted heat pump with thermal energy system has been designed which uses the solar collector as the evaporator of the heat pump. Besides, two-dimensional transient numeric analyses have been conducted for the thermal energy storage unit using the ANSYS Fluent 16.2 commercial software package. With this direct system, the heat required for heating systems is supplied from the condenser with the heat received from the solar collector of the working fluid. For an effective and high performance system, the solar collector is designed as a double-pass which provided superheating of the working fluid. It is aimed to store the surplus energy from the solar energy in the thermal energy storage unit and to operate the system continuously and efficiently in both sunny and overcast weather conditions. Furthermore, the system has been analyzed theoretically and the results show that coefficient of performance may improve. As a result, this newly designed system can be successfully applied for thermal applications.
On the Normative Elements of Marxism
Authors: Jain Satish K.
Published: May 2019

This article is concerned with the normative structure underlying the Marxist doctrine and its logical consistency. Two of the most fundamental elements of Marxism are historical materialism and the idea of justice underlying an exploitation-free society. It is argued in the paper that these two elements do not cohere with each other; and that the construction of an interpretation that would make the normative structure underlying Marxism logically consistent poses intractable difficulties.

JEL: B51
Post-traumatic dissecting aneurysm in a child presenting with stridor: A diagnostic dilemma
Authors: Bhim Raju Roncall , Bellapukonda Snigdha , Mohanty Chittaranjan , Mallick Manaswini , Kumar Lohith , Das Soumitra
Published: May 2019

Introduction:

Stridor is one of the common presentations of children admitting to emergency department with respiratory distress. The most common etiology of stridor in pediatric age group is infective pathology or ingestion of foreign body. The presentation of dissecting aneurysm causing stridor in pediatric population is very rare and has never been reported in the literature.

Case Presentation:

A 14-year-old boy presented to the Emergency Department with sub-acute onset of stridor after fall from height on an uneven surface. A suspicion of foreign body or an infective pathology was made and the child was shifted to the operating room. After performing a successful intubation under general anesthesia, diagnostic rigid bronchoscopy and esophagoscopy were done which revealed a pulsating external compression of trachea. The child was further evaluated and managed for dissecting aneurysm of the aorta.

Discussion:

Among the various causes for stridor in pediatric-trauma population, dissecting aortic aneurysm is a rare cause. The association of elevated renal parameters to dissecting aortic aneurysm has been documented in various studies. Wheezing, shortness of breath, and stridor indicate a tracheal obstruction in a patient with aortic aneurysm. Computed tomography angiography is the investigation of choice. The defect needs to be repaired by a vascular graft under cardiopulmonary bypass.

Conclusion:

Stridor in pediatric population with etiology as dissecting aneurysm is unusual. A rare presentation like this deserves to be kept in mind while evaluating stridor in pediatric trauma patients by an emergency physician.
Developing a Rubric for Evaluating Reading Applications for Learners With Reading Difficulties
Authors: Mize Minnie , Park Yujeong , Schramm-Possinger Megan , Coleman Mari Beth
Published: May 2019

Tablet devices, as assistive and instructional technologies, can be highly effectual pedagogical tools with multifaceted benefits, such as the ability to integrate multimedia and the ability to track student progress over time. The unique value of particular assistive and instructional technologies explains, in part, why they are more widely used to teach struggling learners, as well as learners in general who demonstrate a spectrum of strengths and weaknesses. Given the centrality of reading and the cultivation of attendant skills as a prerequisite for learning all subjects, assessing the quality of literacy-based applications for tablet use is important. No such evaluative tool currently exists, necessitating the creation of a systematic tool, for use by both parents and educators, to select appropriate applications for their children or students who are struggling readers. To address this need, this article distills the effective instructional components for reading and provides a comprehensive rubric for reading applications. Suggestions from practitioners informed this process and were also implemented to enhance the usability of the rubric for educational reading applications. Descriptions of each rubric item and examples based on the sample reading application are provided.
The Urge to Decide and Act: Implications for Brain Function and Dysfunction
Authors: Carland Matthew A. , Thura David , Cisek Paul
Published: May 2019

Humans and other animals are motivated to act so as to maximize their subjective reward rate. Here, we propose that reward rate maximization is accomplished by adjusting a context-dependent “urgency signal,” which influences both the commitment to a developing action choice and the vigor with which the ensuing action is performed. We review behavioral and neurophysiological data suggesting that urgency is controlled by projections from the basal ganglia to cerebral cortical regions, influencing neural activity related to decision making as well as activity related to action execution. We also review evidence suggesting that different individuals possess specific policies for adjusting their urgency signal to particular contextual variables, such that urgency constitutes an individual trait which jointly influences a wide range of behavioral measures commonly related to the overall quality and hastiness of one’s decisions and actions. Consequently, we argue that a central mechanism for reward rate maximization provides a potential link between personality traits such as impulsivity, as well as some of the motivation-related symptomology of clinical disorders such as depression and Parkinson’s disease.
Combining Poetry and Science to Create Scientific “Thesis Poetry” as a Tool for the Communication of Science
Authors: Tada Mitsuru
Published: May 2019

Research scientists are expected to communicate their science to the lay public. However, lay people need scientific literacy in order to understand science. Both science and poetry are aspects of culture that connect people and might be able to expand their reach by incorporating elements of each other. “Thesis poetry” based on the IMRaD (Introduction, Methods, Results, and Discussion) scientific paper format could promote understanding and empathy between scientists and the lay public, and foster and improve scientific literacy. This article proposes a thesis poem format incorporating empirical and personal logic and data drawn from original papers as a tool for the communication of science.
News Values and the Ethical Dilemmas of Covering Violent Extremism
Authors: Abubakar Abdullahi Tasiu
Published: May 2019

This article examines the relationship between news media and violent extremism to explore the ethical issues emanating from it. It draws on news value theory and journalism ethics literature and analyzes data from individual and group interviews with 41 journalists and newsroom observations to highlight the ethical challenges of covering the Boko Haram insurgency. Findings suggest that journalists face dilemmas in content selection, source relationship, framing stories, and dealing with victims; and that terror reporting impacts on their personal safety and professional sustainability. The elements of newsworthiness push the media toward excessive reporting of extremism but journalism ethics plays restraining roles.
Structural Brain Changes in Delirium: An Integrative Review
Authors: Kalvas Laura Beth , Monroe Todd B.
Published: May 2019

Delirium is a serious complication of acute illness. Little is known, however, regarding the neurobiology of delirium, largely due to challenges in studying the complex inpatient population. Neuroimaging is one noninvasive method that can be used to study structural and functional brain abnormalities associated with delirium. The purpose of this integrative literature review was to examine the content and quality of current structural neuroimaging evidence in delirium. After meeting inclusion criteria, 11 articles were included in the review. Commonly noted structural abnormalities were impaired white matter integrity, brain atrophy, ischemic lesions, edema, and inflammation. Findings demonstrated widespread alterations in several brain structures. Limitations of the studies in this review included small sample sizes, inappropriate or questionable delirium measurements, and failure to consider confounding variables. This review provides insight into possible structural changes responsible for the signs and symptoms seen in patients with delirium, but more high-quality studies are needed.
Do minimally verbal and verbally fluent individuals with autism spectrum disorder differ in their viewing patterns of dynamic social scenes?
Authors: Plesa Skwerer Daniela , Brukilacchio Briana , Chu Andrea , Eggleston Brady , Meyer Steven , Tager-Flusberg Helen
Published: May 2019

Attending preferentially to social information in the environment is important in developing socio-communicative skills and language. Research using eye tracking to explore how individuals with autism spectrum disorder deploy visual attention has increased exponentially in the past decade; however, studies have typically not included minimally verbal participants. In this study, we compared 37 minimally verbal children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder with 34 age-matched verbally fluent individuals with autism spectrum disorder in how they viewed a brief video in which a young woman, surrounded by interesting objects, engages the viewer, and later reacts with expected or unexpected gaze-shifts toward the objects. While both groups spent comparable amounts of time looking at different parts of the scene and looked longer at the person than at the objects, the minimally verbal autism spectrum disorder group spent significantly less time looking at the person’s face during the episodes where gaze following—a precursor of joint attention—was critical for interpreting her behavior. Proportional looking-time toward key areas of interest in some episodes correlated with receptive language measures. These findings underscore the connections between social attention and the development of communicative abilities in autism spectrum disorder.
A novel on-top inverse sunspace conception and the passive heating effects on a typical northern China rural house
Authors: Wang Weishu , Li Chuang , Li Yun-Ze , Yuan Man
Published: May 2019

Building energy of rural areas accounts for a non-negligible proportion in total building energy consumption. Taking rural areas in Xingtai, a city in northern China, as an example, a novel on-top inverse sunspace, is different from traditional attached sunspace, is presented to improve indoor thermal environment in winter. This design could become an effective method of energy saving in rural buildings. We built the model and researched the influence of on-top inverse sunspace on the energy demand and indoor temperature for the building by EnergyPlus software. Meanwhile, we also studied the effect of these factors which include transmittance and angle of on-top inverse sunspace, window to wall ratio and wall radiation heating system. The simulation results showed that the optimal transmittance of on-top inverse sunspace could reduce energy up to 964 kWh and the best angle of on-top inverse sunspace could save 400 kWh energy. Further, energy consumption was the smallest when window to wall ratio is 0.5. Wall radiation heating system increased indoor temperature by 1.2°C. In addition, a reference for rural housing design can be provided based on the results of our simulation.
Comparative international studies of election campaign communication: What should happen next?
Authors: Esser Frank
Published: May 2019

The article not only identifies important achievements of comparative international research of election campaign communication but also highlights their challenges. Focusing in particular on content analyses, the article finds that comparative studies examine either the messages of the news media (and here, so far, only the reporting of traditional media is considered) or the messages of the candidates (here, their social media channels are preferentially studied). The combination of both, meaning election studies that are devoted to the interplay of traditional and new channels in an international comparison, are extremely rare and should be intensified. It is encouraging that our knowledge of campaign reporting in a country-by-country comparison has increased in recent years because content analyses have increasingly concentrated on an established set of relevant reporting features – as this articles illustrates with many examples. However, more collaborative, internationally linked comparative scholarship is needed, even if the demands placed on researchers further increase as a result.
Introduction to special issue about election reporting: Why journalism (still) matters
Authors: Cushion Stephen , Jackson Daniel
Published: May 2019

This introduction unpacks the eight articles that make up this Journalism special issue about election reporting. Taken together, the articles ask: How has election reporting evolved over the last century across different media? Has the relationship between journalists and candidates changed in the digital age of campaigning? How do contemporary news values influence campaign coverage? Which voices – politicians, say or journalists – are most prominent? How far do citizens inform election coverage? How is public opinion articulated in the age of social media? Are sites such as Twitter developing new and distinctive election agendas? In what ways does social media interact with legacy media? How well have scholars researched and theorised election reporting cross-nationally? How can research agendas be enhanced? Overall, we argue this Special Issue demonstrates the continued strength of news media during election campaigns. This is in spite of social media platforms increasingly disrupting and recasting the agenda setting power of legacy media, not least by political parties and candidates who are relying more heavily on sites such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to campaign. But while debates in recent years have centred on the technological advances in political communication and the associated role of social media platforms during election campaigns (e.g. microtargeting voters, spreading disinformation/misinformation and allowing candidates to bypass media to campaign), our collection of studies signal the enduring influence professional journalists play in selecting and framing of news. Put more simply, how elections are reported still profoundly matters in spite of political parties’ and candidates’ more sophisticated use of digital campaigning.
Twitter as a tool for agenda building in election campaigns? The case of Austria
Authors: Seethaler Josef , Melischek Gabriele
Published: May 2019

During the 2017 Austrian national election campaign, political parties that had traditionally focused on press releases and conferences to influence the media’s agenda made extensive use of Twitter for the very first time. This study examines the impact of the parties’ Twitter campaigns on the substantive issue agendas of five leading legacy media outlets. Compared with the impact of parties’ news releases, the results show that, on an aggregated level, Twitter feeds significantly increase the parties’ agenda-building power, but are not influenced by the media agenda – with the exception of the personal accounts of the top candidates (particularly the new leader of the winning conservative party), who follow the media agenda to a significant extent. On an individual level, incumbent parties are the most successful in using Twitter, while small parties suffer from interactions with other parties in communicating their issue priorities (which is in line with the ‘normalisation thesis’).
Self-rated Attractiveness and Sociosexual Behavior Predict Gay Men’s Preferences for Masculine Cues in Male Voices in China
Authors: Zhang Jing , Zheng Lijun , Zheng Yong
Published: May 2019

Theory and some evidence suggest that masculine characteristics (e.g., lower pitched voice) will predict indices of men’s long-term health. In a related finding, researchers have demonstrated that the attractiveness of individuals predicts variation in their mate preferences. As self-perceived attractiveness may predict sociosexuality (i.e., the willingness of individuals to engage in restricted or unrestricted sexual relationships), we investigated how self-rated attractiveness and sociosexuality influence preferences regarding male voices among 338 gay men across different cities in China. Each participant was randomly presented with six pairs of male voices and gave preferences using a forced-choice method; each pair of male voices consisted of a masculine (lower pitched) and feminine (higher pitched) version of the same original voice. Our findings suggested that gay men who perceived themselves as more attractive showed stronger preference for lower pitched voices compared with self-perceived less attractive individuals. In addition, we found that gay men’s sociosexuality score was positively correlated with their preference for masculine cues in male voices, indicating that gay men who were less sociosexually restricted preferred lower pitched voices over higher pitched versions compared with men who were more restricted. Our study presents evidence contributing to a better understanding of condition-dependent strategies of partner choice in gay men.
Fedor Krause (1857-1937) and His Innovations in Neurosurgery
Authors: Laios Konstantinos , Lytsikas-Sarlis Pavlos , Kostoulas Georgios , Zamparas Athanasios , Mavrommatis Evangellos , Konofaou Vassiliki , Androutsos George
Published: May 2019

Although Ernst von Bergmann (1837-1907) is considered the father of neurosurgery in Germany, Fedor Krause (1857-1937) should be considered as its main founder. He was principally a general surgeon but he had a special interest in neurosurgery, a field in which he introduced many new techniques. He also fabricated innovative surgical methods for the treatment of patients with epilepsy.
Instructional Coaching: Navigating the Complexities of Leadership
Authors: Miller Rebecca J. , Wargo Elizabeth , Hoke Ian
Published: May 2019

This case provides opportunities for school leaders, including coaches, to examine ways to lead learning and build teacher capacity. Told from the perspective of a newly hired elementary instructional coach in a suburban district experiencing rapid growth, the intent of this case study is to explore how leaders and coaches can work together to develop collaborative learning experiences that cultivate reflection and professional growth among all teachers. In addition, school leaders using this case should examine the conditions and resources necessary to build strong professional communities that maximize student learning.
Sodium alginate/cellulose nanocrystal fibers with enhanced mechanical strength prepared by wet spinning
Authors: Liu Jie , Zhang Rui , Ci Meiyu , Sui Shuying , Zhu Ping
Published: May 2019

Sodium alginate/cellulose nanocrystal fibers were prepared using a wet spinning method to enhance the mechanical strength of sodium alginate fibers. Cellulose nanocrystals were prepared by sulfuric acid hydrolysis method. The particle diameter size was measured, and the morphology of cellulose nanocrystals was characterized by transmission electron microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. The structure and mechanical properties of sodium alginate/cellulose nanocrystal fibers were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and mechanical strength testing. The incorporation of cellulose nanocrystals significantly improved the strength of alginate fibers because of the uniform distribution of cellulose nanocrystals in the alginate matrix. The tensile strength and elongation at break of the alginate fibers increased from 1.54 to 2.05 cN/dtex and from 8.29% to 15.05% with increasing cellulose nanocrystals content from 0 to 2 wt%, respectively.
Catalysts for Change: Accelerating the Lifestyle Medicine Movement Through Professionals in Training
Authors: Mondala Melissa M. , Sannidhi Deepa
Published: May 2019

While the Western diet has evolved to become increasingly high in saturated fat, cholesterol, protein, sugar, and salt intake, nutrition education and training of health care professionals to counsel their patients on the hazards of such a diet has trailed behind. Primary care physicians have an opportunity to bridge the gap by providing nutrition and dietary counseling as key components in the delivery of preventive services. Increasing research points to the value of a whole-foods plant-based diet in combating chronic disease, yet the knowledge of health professionals about the topic is comparable to that of the general public. This education crisis is apparent in medical training with restricted time for dedicated lectures on nutrition, physical activity, restorative sleep, emotional well-being, and avoidance of risky substance use. Together, educators and learners are valuable catalysts for culture change in medical education, training, and clinical practice. Barriers to physician ability to counsel about lifestyle are many, but one that stands out is lack of training and comfort with counseling. This has implications for the training of health care professionals. American College of Lifestyle Medicine has a committee, Professionals in Training, composed of interprofessional and multidisciplinary students, residents, and fellows nationally and worldwide who are committed to expanding exposure to lifestyle medicine and implementation of lifestyle medicine in parallel curriculum and personal care.
Volume based feeding versus rate based feeding in the critically ill: A UK study
Authors: Bharal Mina , Morgan Sally , Husain Tariq , Hilari Katerina , Morawiec Charlie , Harrison Kirsty , Bassett Paul , Culkin Alison
Published: May 2019

Background

Underfeeding in intensive care patients on enteral nutrition is commonplace and multifactorial. This can be exacerbated by interruptions caused by routine fasting for procedures and investigations. Our study aims to demonstrate that a volume based feeding protocol can overcome the barriers of underfeeding and safely increase energy and protein delivery in UK intensive care patients, potentially improving clinical outcomes.

Methods

In this single centre cohort study, data were collected from adult mechanically ventilated patients. We compared the standard care of rate based feeding, from an International Nutrition Survey (2014/15) to the new intervention of volume based feeding, in a mixed medical and surgical intensive care unit. The primary outcomes were the proportion of energy and protein daily targets delivered. Secondary outcomes compared the effects on gastrointestinal tolerance, glycaemic control, mortality, mechanical ventilation days, length of stay in intensive care unit and hospital.

Results

From a total of 82 patients (rate based feeding = 27, volume based feeding = 55), volume based feeding patients received significantly more prescribed energy (52% versus 81%; p < 0.001) and protein (40% versus 74%; p < 0.001). There was no significant difference in gastrointestinal symptoms such as gastric residual volumes (p = 0.62), glycaemic control (p = 0.94) or insulin usage (p = 0.75). Although there was an improvement in energy and protein delivery, there were no differences in mechanical ventilation days (p = 0.12), mortality (p = 0.06), length of stay in intensive care unit (p = 0.93) and hospital (p = 0.72) between the groups.

Conclusion

Compared to rate based feeding, volume based feeding significantly improved energy and protein provision with no adverse effects on glycaemic control or gastrointestinal tolerance, clinical outcomes were not affected.
Craterellus cornucopioides Edible Mushroom as Source of Biologically Active Compounds
Authors: Kosanić Marijana , Ranković Branislav , Stanojković Tatjana , Radović-Jakovljević Marina , Ćirić Andrija , Grujičić Darko , Milošević-Djordjević Olivera
Published: May 2019

Here we determined the phenolic compounds and antioxidant, antimicrobial, genotoxic, and anticancer potential of edible mushrooms Craterellus cornucopioides. The phytochemical analysis was evaluated using high-performance liquid chromatography. Antioxidant activity was evaluated by free radical scavenging, superoxide anion scavenging, and reducing power. Craterellus cornucopioides extract had potent antioxidant activity. Further, the antimicrobial potential was determined by a microdilution method, where minimum inhibitory concentration values ranged from 0.1 to 10 mg/mL. Genotoxic potential was determined by cytokinesis block micronucleus test. The separate treatment did not show genotoxic effect, whereas the combined treatment with mitomycin C significantly reduced the micronuclei frequency in a dose-dependent manner. The highest concentration significantly reduced nuclear division index in comparison to untreated human peripheral blood lymphocytes, whereas in combined treatment, the extract did not significantly affect this parameter. Finally, the cytotoxic activity was tested using microculture tetrazolium test where measured IC50 values ranged from 65.5 to 131.7 μg/mL.
Absolute Configuration of a New Phenethylcyclohexanetriol and a New Natural Bibenzyl From Amomum celsum
Authors: Giang Phan Minh , Tu Lai Anh , Trang Vu Minh , Binh Nguyen Quoc , Hyodo Tadashi , Yamaguchi Kentaro , Kawakami Susumu , Otsuka Hideaki
Published: May 2019

Methanol extracts of the rhizomes or fruit of Amomum celsum Lamxay & M.F. Newman (Zingiberaceae) yielded 5 compounds one of which, 1,3 S,5 S-trihydroxy-1-(4-hydroxyphenylethyl)cyclohexane (2), is new and one, 4-hydroxybibenzyl (1), is reported as a natural product for the first time. In addition, 3 known compounds, 5-hydroxy-3,7,3′,4′-tetramethoxyflavone (3), 3,5-diacetoxy-1,7- bis(3,4-dihydroxyphenyl)heptane (4), and 1,4-hydroquinone (5), were also isolated. Their structures were determined by performing extensive analysis of high-resolution electrospray ionization-mass spectrometry and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopic data. The absolute configuration of 2 was unambiguously established by X-ray crystallography and Mosher’s method. Cytotoxicity of compounds 1 and 2 against MCF-7 and Hep-G2 human cancer cell lines were tested in the sulforhodamine B cytotoxic assay. A plausible biosynthesis of 1 and 2 in A. celsum was proposed.
Effects of Alpinia pricei on the Neuropharmacological Activities in Mice
Authors: Tsao Nai-Wen , Cheng Wei-Wen , Tseng Yen-Hsueh , Wang Sheng-Yang
Published: May 2019

Alpinia pricei Hayata (Zingiberaceae) is a spicy plant endemic to Taiwan. In this study, several behavioral analyses were used to evaluate the neuropharmacological activity of A. pricei in mice. Oral administration of 100, 300, and 500 mg/kg of A. pricei extract (APE) significantly prolonged pentobarbital-induced sleeping time in mice by 24.5%, 74.7%, and 79.0%, respectively. Also, the antidepressant effect of APE was evaluated using suspended tail and forced swimming tests. The immobility periods of mice in the suspended tail and forced swimming tests were reduced after the administration of APE. Further, an elevated plus-maze test was used to study the anxiolytic activity of APE. After treatment with 500 mg/kg of APE the time the mice spent in the open arms (31.55 ± 13.65 seconds) and the number of times they entered the open arms (51.75 ± 16.51 times) ( P < 0.05) of the plus-maze increased significantly compared to a saline-treated group. Our results also revealed that APE showed potent analgesic activity in the tail-flick test; all dosages of APE prolonged the tail-flick time for up to 90 minutes. In conclusion, APE had a potent effect on the neuropharmacological activities of mice. Finally, the main compounds of APE were separated, and spectral analysis was conducted. The major constituents of APE were characterized as 5,7-dimethoxyflavanone (1), desmethoxyyangonin (2), 2′,4′,6′-trimethoxychalcone (3), cardamonin (4), trans/ cis-3,5-dimethoxystilbene (5), and flavokawain B (6).
Three New Constituents From the Parasitic Plant Balanophora laxiflora
Authors: Tai Bui Huu , Anh Nguyen Thi Hong , Cuc Nguyen Thi , Yen Pham Hai , Nhiem Nguyen Xuan , Quang Tran Hong , Ha Do Thi , Hang Dan Thi Thuy , Hoai Nguyen Thi , Minh Chau Van , Kiem Phan Van
Published: May 2019

Three new constituents (1-3) were isolated from the whole plant of Balanophora laxiflora. Their chemical structures were elucidated by extensive analysis of high-resolution electrospray ionization mass spectrometry and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Absolute configurations of new compounds were determined by circular dichroism spectra and modified Mosher’s method. The isolated compounds weakly inhibited on both NO production and COX-2 mRNA expression in RAW264.7 macrophages.
Subtalar Fusion Preparation: What Are We Really Doing? A Cadaver Study
Authors: Abyar Eildar , McKissack Haley M. , Pinto Martim C. , Littlefield Zachary L. , Moraes Leonardo V. , Stefani Kelly , Shah Ashish
Published: May 2019

Introduction. The open, lateral sinus tarsi approach is the most commonly used technique for subtalar arthrodesis. In this cadaver study, we measured the maximum joint surface area that could be denuded of cartilage and subchondral bone through this approach. Methods. Nine fresh frozen above-knee specimens were used. The subtalar joint was accessed through a lateral incision from the fibular malleolus distally over the sinus tarsi area to the level of the calcaneocuboid joint. Cartilage was removed from the anterior, middle, and posterior facets of the calcaneus and talus using an osteotome and/or curette. ImageJ was used to calculate the surface areas of undenuded cartilage. Results. No specimens were 100% denuded of cartilage on all 6 measured surfaces. The greatest percentages of unprepared surface area remained on the middle facet of the talus (18.66%) and the middle facet of the calcaneus (14.51%). The anterior facet of the talus was 100% denuded in 6 specimens, while the middle and posterior facets were 100% denuded in 3 specimens. The anterior facet of the calcaneus was also 100% denuded in 6 specimens, while the middle and posterior facets were 100% denuded in 3 and 4 specimens, respectively. The average total unprepared surface area per specimen was 8.67%. Conclusion. The lateral sinus tarsi approach provides adequate denudation of cartilage of the subtalar joint in most cases. Total percentage of unprepared joint surface may range from approximately 2% to 18%. Future clinical studies are warranted to assess whether this technique results in optimal union rates.

Levels of Evidence:V, Cadaveric Study
Participation in Georgia’s Pre-K as a Predictor of Third-Grade Standardized Test Scores
Authors: Early Diane M. , Li Weilin , Maxwell Kelly L. , Ponder Bentley D.
Published: May 2019

Propensity score matching was used to compare third-grade test scores in English language arts, mathematics, science, and social studies for children who had and had not participated in Georgia’s Pre-K 4 years earlier. After matching, each group included 46,262 children (mean age 8.36 years in third grade). In all subject areas, children who had participated in Georgia’s Pre-K scored significantly higher (Cohen’s D = .06 to .09), and pre-K participation was associated with an 11% to 17% increase in the odds of scoring proficient or above. Among children enrolled in free or reduced-price lunch, participation in Georgia’s Pre-K was associated with higher test scores and greater likelihood of scoring proficient or above; however, the opposite was true for children not enrolled in free or reduced-price lunch. Associations between pre-K participation and math scores were stronger for children whose home language was not English as compared to those whose home language was English.
Childhood use of antimicrobials and risk of Hodgkin lymphoma: a Danish register–based cohort study
Authors: Hjalgrim Henrik , Søegaard Signe Holst , Hjalgrim Lisa Lyngsie , Rostgaard Klaus
Published: May 2019

Key Points

Low early childhood antimicrobial use supports the late infection hypothesis in young adult nodular sclerosis HL. High childhood antimicrobial use suggests immune dysfunction to be important in young adult mixed cellularity HL etiology.
3D slowness time coherence for sonic imaging
Authors: Bennett Nicholas N.
Published: May 2019

Although sonic imaging can provide higher resolution images of the near-wellbore region than lower frequency seismic and borehole seismic measurements, many challenges confront its more widespread use. The traditional sonic imaging workflow of first filtering the borehole modes and then migrating the underlying reflected arrival events ignores a critical interpretation step, namely, characterizing these reflected arrivals in terms of their azimuths, raypath types, and other attributes. Furthermore, using sonic imaging results in subsequent modeling and simulation workflows requires determining the 3D coordinates or at least the true dip and azimuth of these near-wellbore reflectors, and feature extraction from noisy 2D sonic imaging migration images cannot provide either of these. To address these interpretation challenges and develop a means of mapping these reflectors without requiring a migration, a central issue that arises is whether we can determine the slowness and propagation direction of a reflected wavefield using a standard array of receiver sensors mounted around the circumference of a tool sonde. To accomplish this task, we have developed 3D slowness time coherence (STC). We combine an automated time pick with a ray-tracing procedure and our 3D STC processing to evaluate the many candidate arrival events that may be present in the filtered waveform measurements, which leads to a 3D map of the reflectors that can be readily integrated into digital models of the surrounding subsurface as well as logs of reflector true dip and azimuth that can be compared with similar logs produced from borehole images.
The Behavior of the Salesforce Tower, the Tallest Building in San Francisco, California Inferred from Earthquake and Ambient Shaking
Authors: Çelebi Mehmet , Haddadi Hamid , Huang Moh , Valley Michael , Hooper John , Klemencic Ron
Published: May 2019

The newly constructed tallest building designed in conformance with performance-based design procedure in San Francisco, California is a 61-story building equipped with an accelerometric array that recorded the January 4, 2018 M4.4 Berkeley earthquake. The building is designed with concrete core shear walls and perimeter gravity steel columns. The earthquake records as well as on-demand recorded ambient responses of the building are studied to determine its dynamic characteristics and building-specific behavior. At the level of shaking of either the earthquake or ambient excitation, the frequencies and low modal damping ratios (<2%) are similar. The building exhibits torsional behavior most likely due to abrupt asymmetrical changes in the size of the core shear wall. The translational and torsional modes during the earthquake are closely coupled, which leads to a beating effect, the period of which is calculable. Due to the relatively low-amplitude shaking during the earthquake, the drift ratios were small and did not cause any damage. It is expected that during stronger shaking levels, these characteristics may change.