bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Dimethylarsenic acid (DMA) accumulation positively correlates with realgar-induced subchronic toxicity in rats
Authors: Yi Yan , Gao Shuangrong , Xia Jing , Zhao Yong , Li Chunying , Zhang Yushi , Wang Lianmei , Pan Chen , Liu Suyan , Han Jiayin , Liang Aihua , Shen Ji
Published: August 2018

The toxicity of realgar depends largely on different arsenic species accumulation and distribution in the body. Here, after continuous oral administration of different doses of realgar for 90 days and subsequent 60-day withdrawal period, clinical observations, food consumption, body weights, blood biochemistry, hematology, and histomorphological examination of rats were performed. Realgar 40mg·kg−1·d−1 and 170 mg·kg−1·d−1 of realgar (which is equivalent to 40-fold and 100-fold the maximum clinical dose, respectively) can cause toxicity in rats, including degreased body weight, peripheral blood neutrality abnormal ratio of granulocytes and lymphocytes, hypercoagulability of the blood, liver and kidney tissue damage, liver and kidney may be the main toxic target organs of realgar. The no observed adverse effect level (NOAEL) dose is 10 mg·kg−1. At the same time, the content and distribution of arsenic species in tissues were determined. The content of total arsenic (tAs) and Dimethylarsenic acid (DMA) in the tissues of the realgar group was significantly higher than those of the control group. After 60 days of discontinuation, the DMA content in the realgar group decreased, but it was still higher than that in the control group, and liver and kidney damage occurred during the administration period basically returned to normal. Therefore, the authors speculated that when the DMA content in the tissue exceeds a certain range, liver and kidney toxicity will be induced. However, when the DMA content is lower than the above threshold after drug withdrawal, the liver and kidney lesions can return to normal.
An algebraic approach to cooperative rotations in networks of interconnected rigid units
Authors: Campbell Branton , Howard Christopher J. , Averett Tyler B. , Whittle Thomas A. , Schmid Siegbert , Machlus Shae , Yost Christopher , Stokes Harold T.
Published: August 2018

Crystalline solids consisting of three-dimensional networks of interconnected rigid units are ubiquitous amongst functional materials. In many cases, application-critical properties are sensitive to rigid-unit rotations at low temperature, high pressure or specific stoichiometry. The shared atoms that connect rigid units impose severe constraints on any rotational degrees of freedom, which must then be cooperative throughout the entire network. Successful efforts to identify cooperative-rotational rigid-unit modes (RUMs) in crystals have employed split-atom harmonic potentials, exhaustive testing of the rotational symmetry modes allowed by group representation theory, and even simple geometric considerations. This article presents a purely algebraic approach to RUM identification wherein the conditions of connectedness are used to construct a linear system of equations in the rotational symmetry-mode amplitudes.
Service productivity vs service quality: a zero-sum game?
Authors: Rew Dongjun , Jung Joo , Cha Wonsuk
Published: August 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to verify the relationship between productivity and quality in the services sector. More specifically, this study investigates the relationship between productivity and customer satisfaction and its effect on a firm’s performance. In addition, this study investigates the roles of productivity and customer satisfaction in the structural relationships among variables.

Design/methodology/approach

A theoretical model was proposed among innovation, productivity, customer satisfaction and firm performance. A sample of 127 firms from data sets of the American Customer Satisfaction Index and COMPUSTAT was collected. To test the hypotheses, this study used ordinal least squares analysis and path analysis.

Findings

The findings of this study verified that a positive relationship exists between productivity and customer satisfaction and that service productivity and customer satisfaction are positively associated with a firm’s performance. In addition, customer satisfaction was found to fully mediate the relationship between productivity and a firm’s performance.

Research limitations/implications

This study only focused on a short period for each variable due to the difficulty of matching all the data sets used for measuring each variable, which limited the observation of the different effects of service productivity among industries.

Practical implications

The findings of this study suggest that managers can improve productivity without sacrificing customer satisfaction. In addition, services firms should consider innovation, productivity and customer satisfaction in a holistic way because all of these affect a firm’s performance. Furthermore, services firms need to pay more attention to customer satisfaction, which plays an important role as a mediator in increasing a firm’s performance.

Originality/value

This study highlights the importance of the relationship between productivity and customer satisfaction in the services sector. In particular, this study extended the theory of service productivity by Rust and Huang (2012) to explore the role of service productivity and customer satisfaction in measuring a firm’s performance.
A multi-year SEM model predicting the impact of behavior attributes on overall patient satisfaction
Authors: Nottingham Quinton , Johnson Dana M. , Russell Roberta
Published: August 2018

Purpose

Pressure from competition; inflexible third-party reimbursements; greater demand from government, regulatory and certifying agencies; discerning patients; and the quest of healthcare entities for greater profitably place demands and high expectations for service quality impacting overall patient experience. Extending a prior multivariate, single-period model of varied medical practices predicting patient experience to a three-year time period to understand whether there was a change in overall assessment using data analytics. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Design/methodology/approach

SEM was employed on a per year and aggregated, three-year basis to gain insights into qualitative psychometric constructs predicting overall patient experience and strength of the relationships.

Findings

Statistically significant differences were uncovered between years indicating the strength of the relationships of latent variables on overall performance.

Research limitations/implications

Study focused on data gathered from a questionnaire mailed to patients who visited various outpatient medical clinics in a rural community with over 4,000 responses during the three-year study period. A higher percentage of female respondents over the age of 45 may limit the generalizability of the findings.

Practical implications

Practitioners can gain a broader understanding of different factors influencing overall patient experience. Administrative processes associated with the primary care provider are inconsequential. Patients are not as concerned with patient flow as they are with patient safety and health.

Originality/value

This research informs healthcare quality management of psychometrics and analytics to improve the overall patient experience in outpatient medical clinics.
Reliability/risk centered cost effective preventive maintenance planning of generating units
Authors: E. Umamaheswari , S. Ganesan , M. Abirami , S. Subramanian
Published: August 2018

Purpose

Finding the optimal maintenance schedules is the primitive aim of preventive maintenance scheduling (PMS) problem dealing with the objectives of reliability, risk and cost. Most of the earlier works in the literature have focused on PMS with the objectives of leveling reserves/risk/cost independently. Nevertheless, very few publications in the current literature tackle the multi-objective PMS model with simultaneous optimization of reliability, and economic perspectives. Since, the PMS problem is highly nonlinear and complex in nature, an appropriate optimization technique is necessary to solve the problem in hand. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Design/methodology/approach

The complexity of the PMS problem in power systems necessitates a simple and robust optimization tool. This paper employs the modern meta-heuristic algorithm, namely, Ant Lion Optimizer (ALO) to obtain the optimal maintenance schedules for the PMS problem. In order to extract best compromise solution in the multi-objective solution space (reliability, risk and cost), a fuzzy decision-making mechanism is incorporated with ALO (FDMALO) for solving PMS.

Findings

As a first attempt, the best feasible maintenance schedules are obtained for PMS problem using FDMALO in the multi-objective solution space. The statistical measures are computed for the test systems which are compared with various meta-heuristic algorithms. The applicability of the algorithm for PMS problem is validated through statistical t-test. The statistical comparison and the t-test results reveal the superiority of ALO in achieving improved solution quality. The numerical and statistical results are encouraging and indicate the viability of the proposed ALO technique.

Originality/value

As a maiden attempt, FDMALO is used to solve the multi-objective PMS problem. This paper fills the gap in the literature by solving the PMS problem in the multi-objective framework, with the improved quality of the statistical indices.
The application of quality tools in effective implementation of HACCP
Authors: Kharub Manjeet , Limon Shah , Sharma Rajiv Kumar
Published: August 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to empirically investigate the quality tool’s impact on the effectiveness of the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP)-based food safety system and correlation studies between HACCP effectiveness and business performance in food and pharmaceutical industries.

Design/methodology/approach

A total of 116 survey responses of prominent food and pharmaceutical firms are used to fulfil the aim of this study. The principal component analysis (PCA) method was applied to classify quality tools into a finite number of groups. Further, multiple regression methods are employed to investigate the correlation between HACCP effectiveness and firm’s performance indicators.

Findings

Quality tools are classified into three categories on the basis of their application by using the PCA method: quality tools for hazard identification, quality tools for hazard analysis (QTHA) and quality tools for hazard control. The regression analysis revealed that QTHA has a substantial impact on HACCP objectives (hazard identification, hazard assessment and hazard control). Additionally, the results suggest that the successful implementation of HACCP-based food safety system also delivers a direct influence on the operational and financial performance of the food and pharmaceutical industries.

Originality/value

This paper contributes to the existing body of HACCP knowledge by providing a framework supported by an empirical case study. The case study clustered quality tools into three broad categories related to their application of a HACCP project. Study results can guide and motivate managers to use quality tools with the aim of successful implantation of the HACCP-based food safety system, especially in food and pharmaceutical industries.
Transforming the stakeholders’ Big Data for intellectual capital management
Authors: Uden Lorna , Del Vecchio Pasquale
Published: August 2018

Purpose

This paper aims to define a conceptual framework for transforming Big Data into organizational value by focussing on the perspectives of service science and activity theory. In coherence with the agenda on evolutionary research on intellectual capital (IC), the study also provides momentum for researchers and scholars to explore emerging trends and implications of Big Data for IC management.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper adopts a qualitative and integrated research method based on a constructive review of existing literature related to IC management, Big Data, service science and activity theory to identify features and processes of a conceptual framework emerging at the intersection of previously identified research topics.

Findings

The proposed framework harnesses the power of Big Data, collectively created by the engagement of multiple stakeholders based on the concepts of service ecosystems, by using activity theory. The transformation of Big Data for IC management addresses the process of value creation based on a set of critical dimensions useful to identify goals, main actors and stakeholders, processes and motivations.

Research limitations/implications

The paper indicates how organizational values can be created from Big Data through the co-creation of value in service ecosystems. Activity theory is used as theoretical lens to support IC ecosystem development. This research is exploratory; the framework offers opportunities for refinement and can be used to spearhead directions for future research.

Practical implications

The paper proposes a framework for transforming Big Data into organizational values for IC management in the context of entrepreneurial universities as pivotal contexts of observation that can be replicated in different fields. The framework provides guidelines that can be used to help organizations intending to embark on the emerging paradigm of Big Data for IC management for their competitive advantages.

Originality/value

The paper’s originality is in bringing together research from Big Data, value co-creation from service ecosystems and activity theory to address the complex issues involved in IC management. A further element of originality offered involves integrating such multidisciplinary perspectives as a lens for shaping the complex process of value creation from Big Data in relationship to IC management. The concept of how IC ecosystems can be designed is also introduced.
Jungian dialogism and the problem of depth
Authors: Smythe William E.
Published: August 2018

Notions of dialogical inquiry and of the dialogical self have become increasingly influential in contemporary psychology in response to the limitations of the traditional view of monologically encapsulated and radically disengaged consciousness. Conceptions of self and inquiry as intrinsically embedded in and constituted by our shared life with others seem to do better justice to the richly interconnected character of contemporary life. At the same time, our highly interconnected global world has also tended to foster a flattening of cultural and inter‐cultural horizons that undermines dialogical engagement in any deeply meaningful sense. What is needed is to enrich current conceptions of dialogue with an understanding of experiential and cultural depth. This paper seeks an understanding of the depth dimensions of dialogue through an engagement of dialogical self theory with Jungian dialogical thought. Critical to this engagement is to appreciate the expressive potential of Jungian dialogism beyond Jung's theoretical claims about dialogue.
Investigating the effect of an abnormal cervico‐vaginal and endometrial microbiome on assisted reproductive technologies: A systematic review
Authors: Bracewell‐Milnes Timothy , Saso Srdjan , Nikolaou Dimitrios , Norman‐Taylor Julian , Johnson Mark , Thum Meen‐Yau
Published: August 2018

The female reproductive tract has an active microbiome, and it is suggested that these microbes could influence the outcome of assisted reproductive technologies (ART). This systematic review aimed to assess the vaginal/uterine microbiome, specifically with regard to improving the outcome of ART. English peer‐reviewed journals were searched for studies investigating the vaginal/uterine micriobiome and female reproductive tract, using PRISMA guidelines. Twenty‐six studies were included, 19 studying the vaginal and seven investigating the uterine microbiome. Studies using culture‐based technologies found an abnormal vaginal microbiome AVM was not associated with ART outcome. However, studies using sequence‐based technologies found an abnormal vaginal microbiome had a negative effect on ART. An abnormal uterine microbiome impacted ART outcome in all of the studies which used culture‐based methods and the most extensive of the two studies using metagenomic sequencing. This review has revealed a lack of translational data relating an abnormal vaginal/uterine microbiome to ART outcomes, with inconsistencies between the results of the different studies. Therefore the nature of the relationship between the vaginal/uterine microbiome and fertility remains unknown. As we better characterize this relationship using modern metagenomic techniques, the potential to manipulate the female reproductive tract microbiome to improve ART could be a reality.
Commensuration, performativity, and the reform of statistics in Turkey
Authors: SILVERSTEIN BRIAN
Published: August 2018

Turkey's application to join the European Union, while currently a distant prospect, has nonetheless required the Turkish state to learn new things about the country in light of new norms and to use new formats and methodologies. The reform of its statistics is a key mechanism through which this transformation is taking place. A focus of intensive reforms is agricultural statistics, and these reforms have had an impact on farmers’ practices and livelihoods. The attempt to measure agriculture in new ways in Turkey is changing it through a logic of performativity. It is in and through this performativity that important work of institutional commensuration between Turkey and the EU is happening, illustrating the technopolitical nature of reform in many parts of the world. [statistics, commensuration, technopolitics, performativity, agriculture, European Union, Turkey]
Immersive invisibility in the settler‐colonial city:
Authors: HACKL ANDREAS
Published: August 2018

The inclusion of indigenous people into settler‐colonial cities is often highly conditional. For middle‐class Palestinian citizens of Israel in Tel Aviv, the invisibility of their ethnonational identity is a precondition for their access to the city's neoliberal economy and “liberal” lifestyle. To increase their mobility and socioeconomic opportunities, they employ diverse tactics of immersive invisibility. Some, in hopes of overcoming their stigmatized identity, aspire to be recognized as unmarked individuals and successful professionals. Although immersive invisibility does not change settler‐colonial exclusion, it determines how much individuals can achieve within existing parameters. Tactics of immersive invisibility do not necessarily enable one to transcend categorical difference and racialized exclusion, but they reveal how neoliberal inclusion and the settler‐colonial politics of exclusion become entangled and constitute each other. [visibility,identity,urban inclusion,stigmatization,settler colonialism,Palestine,Israel]
Contesting love through commodification:
Authors: NUHRAT YAĞMUR
Published: August 2018

Soccer in Turkey has in recent decades become increasingly commodified. This process has been reinforced by a national law passed in 2011 that promises to prevent violence in the stands and “civilize” fandom. For upper‐middle‐class fans, the new “cleaned‐up” version of soccer secures class distinction, but among less affluent and working‐class fans, it has inspired resistance. Class conflict is here indexed through contestations over what it means to be a true fan and especially the quality of one's love for the team. Working‐class fans often describe their love as maddening or self‐sacrificing, while more affluent fans, sponsors, and administrators associate love with consumption. In the context of increasing political repression, fan resistance to commodification is discursively entangled with love and violence. [soccer, love, affect, resistance, social class, commodification, Turkey]
The effect of rate of injection on injection pressure profiles measured using in‐line and needle‐tip sensors: an in‐vitro study
Authors: Saporito A. , Quadri C. , Kloth N. , Capdevila X.
Published: August 2018

Alongside ultrasonic visualisation, measurement of injection pressure is an effective tool for reducing the risk of intraneural injection during peripheral nerve block. The aim of this study was to compare injection pressure profiles when measured along the injection line with the pressure measured directly at the needle tip using different rates of injection. A syringe pump delivered a 5‐ml injection of saline into silicone gel at three different speeds (5 ml.min−1, 10 ml.min−1 and 15 ml.min−1). Fibreoptic pressure sensors recorded real‐time pressure profiles of the injection pressure directly at the needle tip and along the injection line. A total of 15 injections were successfully performed, five for each injection rate, totalling 30 recorded pressure profiles. More rapid rates of injection caused peak pressure measured in‐line to increase, whereas pressure measured at the needle tip remained constant (mean (SD) pressure in‐line 30.76 (3.45) kPa vs. 72.25 (1.55) kPa and mean (SD) pressure at needle tip 19.92 (1.22) kPa vs. 20.93 (2.66) kPa at 5 ml.min−1 and 15 ml.min−1, respectively). Injection pressure profiles showed that in‐line pressure measurement failed to record precise real‐time pressure changes occurring at the needle tip (mean (95%CI) pressure difference 10.8 (6.98–14.70) kPa vs. 51.2 (47.52–54.89) kPa for in‐line and needle‐tip measures, respectively). We conclude that, in order to accurately monitor the true injection pressure generated, independent from operator and injection parameters, measurement at the needle tip is necessary, as injection pressure measured along the injection line is an unreliable surrogate.
Charting New Terrain in Work Design: A Study of Hybrid Work Characteristics
Authors: Xie Jia Lin , Elangovan A.R. , Hu Jing , Hrabluik Coreen
Published: August 2018

Research on work design to date has focused on work characteristics associated primarily with one of three domains—task, social, or contextual. The present paper introduces a new concept—hybrid work characteristics—that refer to work characteristics which are not fully captured within any one of the three domains but possess features from more than one domain. We identify boundarylessness, multitasking, non‐work‐related interruptions, and demand for constant learning as hybrid work characteristics in the modern work environment. Furthermore, we theorise that boundarylessness, multitasking, and demand for constant learning carry both enriching and depleting potential, but non‐work‐related interruptions have only depleting potential. In our study, we developed instruments to assess the four work characteristics and tested their relationship with jobholders’ job satisfaction, occupational commitment, emotional exhaustion, and somatic health symptoms, through three independent studies (a total of 968 employees across a wide range of jobs). The results demonstrated convergent, predictive, and discriminant validity for the newly developed scales, and showed partial support for the prediction that boundarylessness and multitasking are beneficial as well as detrimental for jobholders and consistent support for the depleting potential inherent in non‐work‐related interruptions. We conclude with a discussion of how our exploration of hybrid work characteristics contributes to research on work design and management practices.
Adverse events and concurrent medications associated with parenteral nutrition use
Authors: Eum Seenae , Ock Miyoung , Lee Sera , Kim Hyunah
Published: August 2018

In this study, clinical manifestations of adverse events and frequently used medications in patients receiving parenteral nutrition (PN) in Korea were evaluated using Korea Adverse Event Reporting System (KAERS) database records between 2011 and 2015. Amino acids, fat emulsions, carbohydrates, combinations and solutions for PN were identified as causative agents. Adverse events classified as “certain”, “probable” and “possible” based on the WHO‐Uppsala Monitoring Centre criteria were analysed. In total, 6439 adverse events from 4260 patients were included for analysis. Mean patient age was 54.4 ± 18.1 years and the mean number of adverse events per patient was 1.5 ± 1.1. Frequent adverse events were gastrointestinal (2159 events, 33.5%), skin/appendage (1344 events, 20.9%), general (846 events, 13.1%) and central/peripheral nervous system (716 events, 11.1%) disorders. Common clinical symptoms were nausea (1248 events, 19.4%), vomiting (558, 8.7%), pruritus (456 events, 7.1%), rash (386 events, 6.0%) and dizziness (329 events, 5.1%). The frequently reported concomitant agents were tramadol (n = 475, 3.1%), fentanyl (n = 405, 2.7%), paracetamol (n = 329, 2.2%), ketorolac (n = 322, 2.1%) and metoclopramide (n = 289 cases, 1.9%). The frequent adverse events remained consistent after accounting for concurrent medications. Our findings from a nationwide reporting system database found that gastrointestinal disorders (nausea and vomiting) were the leading adverse events, requiring further studies on their prevalence, mechanisms and therapeutic options.
Prenatal sonographic findings and prognosis of craniosynostosis diagnosed during the fetal and neonatal periods
Authors: Harada Aya , Miyashita Susumu , Nagai Ryuhei , Makino Shintaro , Murotsuki Jun
Published: August 2018

The aim of the study was to explore the sonographic findings of fetuses with craniosynostosis and investigate their prognosis. We conducted a 5‐year, multicenter retrospective study and collected data on patients with craniosynostosis diagnosed in the perinatal period. Of 41 cases, 30 cases (73%) were syndromic craniosynostosis, eight cases (20%) were non‐syndromic craniosynostosis and the other three cases (7%) were secondary craniosynostosis of chromosomal deletion syndromes. The prenatal ultrasound detection rate was 61%. Half of the cases of syndromic craniosynostosis detected during the perinatal period were Pfeiffer syndrome; there were also six cases of Apert syndrome, three cases of Crouzon syndrome and other rare form of syndromic craniosynostosis (Beare‐Stevenson syndrome, Saethre‐Chotzen syndrome, cranioectodermal dysplasia, and thanatophoric dysplasia). Abnormal shape of the skull was the most common finding leading to prenatal diagnosis of craniosynostosis. Abnormal head biometry, which was the second most frequent finding, was closely correlated with deformation of the cranial shape. Three cases presented with ventriculomegaly and exophthalmos but normal cranial shape and size. The overall survival rate of infants with syndromic craniosynostosis was 79%, while all of the infants with non‐syndromic craniosynostosis survived. In conclusion, prenatal diagnosis of craniosynostosis is difficult, especially when dysmorphic change of the fetal cranium is not evident. Abnormal head biometry and ventriculomegaly could potentially be additional markers of fetal craniosynostosis and consequently increase the prenatal detection rate.
Does it matter why we do restoration? Volunteers, offset markets and the need for full disclosure
Authors: Maron Martine , Louis Winnifred R.
Published: August 2018

Volunteers are behind much of the ecological restoration work done in Australia. Private landholders, environmental nongovernment organisations (ENGOs) and community groups all donate time and money to much‐needed restoration and revegetation efforts. Biodiversity offsetting has emerged as a potential source of financial support for such work. We consider the question: should it matter to practitioners of restoration, particularly landholders and volunteers, how it is financed? We argue it should, because when offsets fund restoration work, the net environmental outcome is usually intended to be neutral – not an environmental gain. This is often not clear, because only the localised environmental gain is seen by the restoration practitioner, not the associated loss. For mandated offsets, the restoration work is required to occur regardless of whether the volunteer contributes to it or not, so their contribution only replaces work that would otherwise be done by a commercial provider. We contend that informed involvement in offset provision requires full disclosure, particularly to volunteers and landholders. Unfortunately, however, such transparency does not always occur. We acknowledge that there are valid reasons why well‐informed practitioners might willingly subsidise offset provision, but they might equally choose not to. Furthermore, offsets are intended to cover the full cost of biodiversity damage, creating a disincentive for damage by developers. Yet, subsidies from offset providers work against sending market signals that reflect the true replacement cost of biodiversity. We recommend that all ENGOs, developers, offset funders and brokers commit to transparency, particularly to landholders, donors and volunteers, about the environmental impact that is to be offset and the fact that their involvement generates no additional environmental benefit, as the offset is a condition of approval for a permitted loss, much like the rehabilitation of a mine site. Providing restoration services in partnership with industry may be something that landholders, volunteers and ENGOs are happy to support. But this must be decided consciously, not through unnoticed incremental changes that contradict some volunteers’ values or donors’ understanding of an organisation's mission.
Propensity to plan, financial capability, and financial satisfaction
Authors: Xiao Jing Jian , O'Neill Barbara
Published: August 2018

Propensity to plan is an indicator of financial capability that contributes to consumer financial well‐being. Previous research has shown that propensity to plan is positively related to objective financial well‐being but little research was found to examine its association with subjective financial well‐being. Using financial satisfaction to measure subjective financial well‐being, this study addressed this research gap and had three objectives: (1) to explore factors associated with propensity to plan, (2) to examine the association between propensity to plan and financial capability factors, and (3) to examine the association between propensity to plan and financial satisfaction. Using data from the 2015 US National Financial Capability Study, the results showed socioeconomic differences in propensity to plan. The results suggest consumers with more economic resources had higher scores in propensity to plan. In addition, propensity to plan was positively associated with financial capability factors, suggesting financial planning is a desirable financial behavior. Finally, propensity to plan made unique contributions to financial satisfaction after controlling for socioeconomic and other financial capability factors.
Caste‐specific microRNA expression in termites: insights into soldier differentiation
Authors: Matsunami M. , Nozawa M. , Suzuki R. , Toga K. , Masuoka Y. , Yamaguchi K. , Maekawa K. , Shigenobu S. , Miura T.
Published: August 2018

Eusocial insects have polyphenic caste systems in which each caste exhibits characteristic morphology and behaviour. In insects, caste systems arose independently in different lineages, such as Isoptera and Hymenoptera. Although partial molecular mechanisms for the development of eusociality in termites have been clarified by the functional analysis of genes and hormones, the contribution of microRNAs (miRNAs) to caste differentiation is unknown. To understand the role of miRNAs in termite caste polyphenism, we performed small RNA sequencing in a subterranean termite (Reticulitermes speratus) and identified the miRNAs that were specifically expressed in the soldier and worker castes. Of the 550 miRNAs annotated in the R. speratus genome, 74 were conserved in insects and 174 were conserved in other termite species. We found that eight miRNAs (mir‐1, mir‐125, mir‐133, mir‐2765, mir‐87a and three termite‐specific miRNAs) are differentially expressed (DE) in soldiers and workers of R. speratus. This differential expression was experimentally verified for five miRNAs by real‐time quantitative PCR. Further, four of the eight DE miRNAs in soldier and worker termite castes were also differentially expressed in hymenopteran castes. The finding that Isoptera and Hymenoptera shared several DE miRNAs amongst castes suggests that these miRNAs evolved independently in these phylogenetically distinct lineages.
Association Between Physical Therapy in the Emergency Department and Emergency Department Revisits for Older Adult Fallers: A Nationally Representative Analysis
Authors: Lesser Adriane , Israni Juhi , Kent Tyler , Ko Kelly J.
Published: August 2018

Objectives

To determine whether providing physical therapy (PT) services in the emergency department (ED) improves outcomes for older adults who fall.

Design

We used Medicare claims data to examine differences in recurrent fall‐related ED revisit rates of older adults who presented to the ED for a ground‐level fall and whether they received PT services in the ED. Our logistic regression model controlled for age, sex, Medicaid eligibility, acute injury, and certain known chronic comorbidities associated with risk of falling.

Setting

We analyzed national 2012–13 Medicare claims data for individuals aged 65 and older.

Participants

This was a claims‐based analysis. We defined an index visit as any ED claim that included an International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification E‐Code indicating a ground‐level fall. Visits resulting in admission were excluded, as were claims associated with an individual who died during follow‐up; 17,975 of the 560,277 claims for eligible outpatient index visits included revenue center codes for PT services.

Measurements

We calculated the proportion of index visits associated with a fall‐related ED revisit within 30 and 60 days and assessed differences in these proportions between individuals who did and did not receive PT services in the ED.

Results

Receiving PT services in the ED during an index visit for a ground‐level fall was associated with a significantly lower likelihood of a fall‐related ED revisit within 30 days (odds ratio (OR)=0.655, p<.001) and 60 days (OR=0.684, p<.001).

Conclusion

Expanding PT services in the ED may reduce future fall‐related ED use of older adults. Additional analyses could assess characteristics of individuals receiving PT in the ED and follow‐up PT use after discharge. J Am Geriatr Soc 66:2205–2212, 2018.
The Meat in the Sandwich: Welfare Labelling and the Governance of Meat‐chicken Production in Australia
Authors: Parker Christine , Carey Rachel , Scrinis Gyorgy
Published: August 2018

This article critically examines the degree to which higher‐animal welfare label claims change animal welfare regulation and governance within intense meat‐chicken ('broiler') production in Australia. It argues that ethical labelling claims on food and other products can be seen as a ‘governance space’ in which various government, industry and civil society actors compete and collaborate for regulatory impact. It concludes that ethical labelling can act as a pathway for re‐embedding social concerns in the market, but only when it prompts changes that become enshrined in standard practice and possibly the law itself. Moreover, the changes wrought by ethical labelling are small and incremental. Nevertheless, labelling may create ongoing productive tension and ‘overflow’ that challenges the market to listen to and accommodate actors (including animals) on the margins to create ongoing incremental changes.
Guilty Pleas in an Inquisitorial Setting – An Empirical Study of France
Authors: Soubise Laurène
Published: August 2018

Anglo‐American guilty pleas have inspired criminal justice reformers in many inquisitorially based systems in recent years, in response to caseload pressures. In France, two different procedures based on the defendant's confession were introduced in 1999 and 2004 respectively: an out‐of‐court disposal (the composition pénale) and a prosecution pathway (the comparution sur reconnaissance préalable de culpabilité). Basing its analysis upon direct observations and interviews with French public prosecutors, this article examines the impact of these procedures on the French criminal justice system and its actors. Rather than a move from an inquisitorial to a more adversarial system, data collected for this study show a bureaucratization of the French criminal justice process. The role of public prosecutors is changing from that of judicial officers to caseload managers who have delegated part of their workload to less qualified staff for efficiency purposes.
Microstructural and Mechanical Characterization of CAD/CAM Materials for Monolithic Dental Restorations
Authors: Furtado de Mendonca Arthur , Shahmoradi Mahdi , Gouvêa Cresus Vinicius Depes de , De Souza Grace M. , Ellakwa Ayman
Published: August 2018

Purpose

To determine and compare the microstructure, flexural strength, flexural modulus, fracture strength, and microhardness of four types of computer‐aided design/computer‐aided manufacturing (CAD/CAM) materials for monolithic dental restorations.

Materials and Methods

A lithium disilicate (LD; IPS e.max CAD), a zirconia‐reinforced lithium silicate (ZLS; VITA Suprinity), a hybrid high‐performance polymer (HPP) composite resin (GC Cerasmart), and a hybrid polymer‐infiltrated ceramic network (PICN) material (VITA Enamic) were used to manufacture monolithic ceramic posterior crowns (n = 10) that were adhesively cemented on resin‐based composite dies and loaded until fracture. In addition, 40 rectangular bars (n = 10) were milled and polished for three‐point flexural strength testing. Microhardness (Vickers indentation), as well as quantitative (energy dispersive spectroscopy) and qualitative (scanning electron microscopy) structural analysis were conducted on fracture surfaces. Data were analyzed by one‐way ANOVA and Tukey HSD post‐hoc test (p = 0.05).

Results

Mechanical testing results showed that the material type has a significant effect on the fracture strength (p < 0.0001) of the monolithic crowns with ZLS and LD presenting significantly higher fracture strength than the PICN and HPP hybrid materials. LD showed the highest flexural strength (p < 0.0001) followed by ZLS, HPP, and PICN, respectively. The lowest flexural modulus and hardness were presented by HPP whereas ZLS had the highest flexural modulus and hardness. The LD presented the highest modulus of resilience and the PICN the lowest.

Conclusions

All CAD/CAM crown materials exhibited high values of fracture and flexural resistance, making them suitable materials for posterior full‐crown restorations. Glass‐ceramics suffered more from catastrophic and nonreparable fracture patterns, whereas minimal chipping and type II fracture patterns were more common in hybrid materials. The combination of more flexibility, less stiffness, and increased softness with satisfactory flexural and fracture strength values observed in PICN and HPP makes these two hybrid materials suitable choices for chairside monolithic crown fabrication.
Evaluation of gross protein and lipid requirements in formulated feed for honey gourami, Trichogaster chuna (Hamilton 1822)
Authors: Mithun Sukumaran , Vijayagopal Pananghat , Chakraborty Kajal , Chan Diana P. S.
Published: August 2018

Gross protein and fat requirements in formulated feeds designed for the honey gourami, Trichogaster chuna (initial weight 1.34–1.38 g), were investigated. Feeds containing 30%, 40%, and 50% protein and 6% and 9% lipid at each protein level were tested. Protein and energy sources used were from fishmeal, shrimp meal, clam meal, soy flour, and wheat flour. An equal mixture of crude sardine oil and groundnut oil was used as the source of lipids. Comparison of the whole gourami amino acid profiles before and after the dietary treatments indicated a relative decline in all amino acids except methionine and lysine. Fatty acid profiles of whole individuals after dietary treatment showed a substantial increase in monounsaturated fatty acids relative to the initial fatty acid profiles. No significant differences were observed in fish growth between dietary treatments (p > .05). Feeds containing 30% protein and 6% lipid were found to be adequate for normal growth, while feeds with 40% protein and 6% lipid were seen to help accelerate growth and reproduction. In this study, protein and lipid levels required for regular maintenance, sexual maturation, and spawning of aquarium‐reared gourami were established.
How to clarify the Baveno VI criteria for ruling out varices needing treatment by noninvasive tests
Authors: Calès Paul , Buisson François , Ravaioli Federico , Berger Arthur , Carboni Carlotta , Marasco Giovanni , Festi Davide
Published: August 2018

Background & Aims

Baveno VI criteria enabled the screening of varices needing treatment (VNT) without endoscopy but created confusion by not stating the method used to calculate the 5% missed VNT limit, resulting in different calculations across validation studies. We analysed those calculations to clarify their diagnostic meaning.

Methods

(a) Literature review and recalculation of the missed VNT rates according to the three definitions encountered. (b) Contingency table comparison of these latter to determine their diagnostic meanings. (c) Real case analysis. 4/Simulation of variations in the three main statistical descriptors (VNT, missed VNT or spared endoscopies).

Results

Missed VNT rates in the three definitions varied five‐ to 10‐fold across 7 papers. The contingency table showed that the definitions based on VNT prevalence and spared endoscopy as reference corresponded, respectively, to sensitivity and negative predictive value (NPV). The whole population‐based definition corresponded to diagnostic accuracy (not pertinent in that setting). Real case analysis showed that concerning liver stiffness, the 95% sensitivity and NPV cut‐offs for VNT were, respectively, 14.1 and 26.5 kPa. The VNT‐based definition offered a more statistically powerful paired comparison between diagnostic tests, whereas the definition based on spared endoscopies was hampered by an unpaired comparison. Case simulation showed that the VNT‐based definition was the most sensitive to descriptor variations.

Conclusion

The definitions of missed VNT rate placing VNT or spared endoscopy as the denominator are appropriate, providing, respectively, sensitivity and NPV for VNT. We privilege the first since it corresponds to the true proportion of missed VNT.
A Welcome Conversation: Toward a New Historiography of Intellectual Property
Authors: Murray Kali
Published: August 2018

This essay considers what tools should be used to study the legal history of intellectual property. I identify three historiographical strategies: narration, contest, and formation. Narration identifies the diverse “narrative structures” that shape the field of intellectual property history. Contest highlights how the inherent instability of intellectual property as a legal concept prompts recurrent debates over its meaning. Formation recognizes how intellectual property historians can offer insight into broader legal history debates over how to consider the relationship between informal social practices and formalized legal mechanisms. I consider Kara W. Swanson's Banking on the Body: The Market in Blood, Milk and Sperm in Modern America (2014) in light of these historiographical strategies and conclude that Swanson's book guides us to a new conversation in the legal history of intellectual property law.
High‐resolution optical mapping of gastric slow wave propagation
Authors: Zhang Hanyu , Yu Han , Walcott Gregory P. , Paskaranandavadivel Niranchan , Cheng Leo K. , O’Grady Gregory , Rogers Jack M.
Published: August 2018

Background

Improved understanding of the details of gastric slow wave propagation could potentially inform new diagnosis and treatment options for stomach motility disorders. Optical mapping has been used extensively in cardiac electrophysiology. Although optical mapping has a number of advantages relative to electrical mapping, optical signals are highly sensitive to motion artifact. We recently introduced a novel cardiac optical mapping method that corrects motion artifact and enables optical mapping to be performed in beating hearts. Here, we reengineer the method as an experimental tool to map gastric slow waves.

Methods

The method was developed and tested in 12 domestic farm pigs. Stomachs were exposed by laparotomy and stained with the voltage‐sensitive fluorescence dye di‐4‐ANEPPS through a catheter placed in the gastroepiploic artery. Fiducial markers for motion tracking were attached to the serosa. The dye was excited by 450 or 505 nm light on alternate frames of an imaging camera running at 300 Hz. Emitted fluorescence was imaged between 607 and 695 nm. The optical slow wave signal was reconstructed using a combination of motion tracking and excitation ratiometry to suppress motion artifact. Optical slow wave signals were compared with simultaneously recorded bipolar electrograms and suction electrode signals, which approximate membrane potential.

Key Results

The morphology of optical slow waves was consistent with previously published microelectrode recordings and simultaneously recorded suction electrode signals. The timing of the optical slow wave signals was consistent with the bipolar electrograms.

Conclusions and Inferences

Optical mapping of slow wave propagation in the stomach is feasible.
Pollen aggregation by viscin threads inRhododendronvaries with pollinator
Authors: Song Yun‐Peng , Huang Zhi‐Huan , Huang Shuang‐Quan
Published: August 2018

Pollen grains can be dispersed singly or variously aggregated in groups. Whether the evolution of pollen aggregation is driven by the pollinator remains unexplored. We hypothesize that an extensive pollen aggregation is favored under a scarcity of pollinators.

Variation in pollen aggregation by viscin threads in 13Rhododendronspecies was measured as it is related to pollen removal in a visit. Visitation rates of functional pollinator groups that vary in their grooming behavior were investigated in each species. Pollen deposited on stigmas in the field was also sampled.

SevenRhododendronspecies were infrequently pollinated by low‐intensity grooming animals, including birds, butterflies and moths. The other six species were more frequently pollinated by bees with a high intensity of pollen grooming. Bird‐ and Lepidoptera‐pollinated species produced longer pollen‐connecting threads that connected more pollen grains. Phylogenetically independent contrast analysis of the 13 species showed that pollinator visitation frequency was negatively related to amounts of pollen removal per visit but not to stigmatic pollen loads.

The finding of interspecific patterns in pollen removal related to pollinator visitation frequency suggests pollinator‐mediated selection on pollen packaging strategies, supporting the hypothesis of floral evolution via pollen export.
A novel de novo frameshift mutation in NR0B1 and low prenatal estriol in adrenal hypoplasia congenita
Authors: Khattab Ahmed , Nelson‐Williams Carol , Cabreza Vivienne , Macdonald Anne , Loring Erin , Saland Jeffrey , New Maria I.
Published: August 2018

Mutations in the gene NR0B1 have been associated with several clinical phenotypes of X‐linked adrenal hypoplasia congenita (AHC). The degree and onset of adrenal insufficiency and involvement of hypogonadotropic hypogonadism is variable and may not be concordant with the identified mutation. We review a patient with AHC in which prenatal estriol levels were low, presenting with early‐onset mineralocorticoid deficiency in the newborn period followed by glucocorticoid deficiency 2 years later. The reported child is hemizygous for a novel mutation that is deemed de novo in the ligand‐binding site of the protein (DAX1) expressed by NR0B1. The identified frameshift mutation results in a T407N/fs protein change. Low prenatal estriol levels may represent a sensitive marker of potentially fatal disorders associated with adrenal insufficiency and should be utilized more frequently. Additionally, accurate reporting of mutations in NR0B1 and the associated phenotype are important to eventually establish a genotype–phenotype correlation that may help anticipate guidance in AHC.