bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Ultrasound‐guided femoral nerve blocks are not superior to ultrasound‐guided fascia iliaca blocks for fractured neck of femur
Authors: Cooper Alannah L , Nagree Yusuf , Goudie Adrian , Watson Peter R , Arendts Glenn 
Published: September 2018

AbstractObjectiveTo determine if an ultrasound‐guided femoral nerve block (FNB) is superior to an ultrasound‐guided fascia iliaca compartment block (FICB) in providing pain relief to patients with a neck of femur or proximal femoral fracture.MethodsA double‐blind randomised controlled trial was conducted. All participants received two blocks, one active and one placebo. An active FICB was administered to 52 participants and 48 participants received an active FNB.ResultsAnalysis was completed on data collected from 100 participants. Most patients were elderly and the majority were female. Both FICB and FNB achieved clinically significant mean reductions in pain scores (2.62 for FICB and 2.3 for FNB). There was no significant difference in reduction in pain scores between the two cohorts, P = 0.408.ConclusionsUltrasound‐guided FNB is not superior to ultrasound‐guided FICB, with both facilitating an equivalent analgesia effect in patients with a neck of femur or proximal femur fracture.
The Influence of Ultrasound and Cultivar Selection on the Biocompounds and Physicochemical Characteristics of Dried Blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum L.) Snacks
Authors: Celejewska Karolina , Mieszczakowska‐Frąc Monika , Konopacka Dorota , Krupa Tomasz 
Published: September 2018

AbstractThe aim of the study was to characterize physical and chemical composition of four highbush blueberry cultivars (“Bluecrop,” “Late Blue,” “Chandler,” and “Elliot”). The assessment of ultrasound influence at the osmotic dehydration step and during hybrid drying on mass transfer and the nutritional quality of all cultivars was also done. The experiment consisted of two stages: (1) initial: optimization of osmotic dehydration procedure, (2) the main experiment including all stages of dried blueberry production (pretreatment, osmotic dehydration chosen in the initial stage, and drying). In both parts, the effect of US and cultivar were considered as factors influencing the most important quality indices. The osmotic dehydration, in the mixture (1:1) of sucrose solution and apple juice concentrate (65°Bx) at a fruit to syrup ratio 1:4, was carried out in water bath fitted with ultrasonic transducers (25 kHz, 27.8 W/L) at a temperature of 40°C for 150 min. After pretreatment osmo‐dehydrated fruits were subjected to drying in hybrid (microwave‐ultrasound‐convective) drum dryer. Regardless of the cultivar US had positive influence on mass transfer (up to 22% for intact and 12% for mechanically scratched) at the osmotic dehydration stage. Unfavorably, its action tend to decrease phenolic compounds content. The final effect, however, was strongly influenced by the choice of cultivar. With regard to ultrasound applied at the drying step, no explicit effect, either on the drying process efficiency or on final product quality, was identified. In the same processing conditions “Elliot” turned out to be the most promising to produce ready‐to‐eat fruit snacks in terms of the final product stability and bioactives content.Practical ApplicationHybrid drying was proposed as a novel approach in blueberry drying. Ultrasound application as a part of abovementioned drying technique is considered an efficient way of shortening drying time due to mass transfer intensification and the interaction with dehydrated tissue. However, no experiments studying the impact of ultrasound on various cultivars within one species were carried out. This study contributes to the understanding that appropriate cultivar selection in the production of ready‐to‐eat dried blueberry fruit is just as important as process parameters in obtaining an attractive product with a high level of natural bioactive compounds.
Margin trading and price efficiency: information content or price‐adjustment speed?
Authors: Lv Dayong , Wu Wenfeng 
Published: September 2018

AbstractThe literature offers contradictory views on the effect of margin‐trading activities on price efficiency. Based on data from a Chinese margin‐trading pilot programme in 2010, we separate price efficiency into information content and price‐adjustment speed and investigate the effect of margin‐trading activity on price efficiency. We find that after adding to the eligible list, pilot stocks experience a decrease in information content, but an increase in price‐adjustment speed. Furthermore, increased margin‐buying activities are associated with lower information content, but faster price adjustment. Our results reconcile the debate over the effect of margin trading on price efficiency.
Placebo effects in adult and adolescent patients with schizophrenia: combined analysis of nine RCTs
Authors: Kubo K. , Fleischhacker W. W. , Suzuki T. , Yasui‐Furukori N. , Mimura M. , Uchida H. 
Published: September 2018

ObjectiveTo examine characteristics of placebo responders and seek optimal criteria of early improvement with placebo for predicting subsequent placebo response in patients with schizophrenia.MethodData of 672 patients with schizophrenia randomized to placebo in nine double‐blind antipsychotic trials were analyzed. Multiple logistic regression analyses were conducted to examine associations between placebo response at week 6 (i.e., a ≥ 25% reduction in the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale [PANSS] score) and gender, age, study locations, baseline PANSS total or Marder 5‐Factor scores, and per cent PANSS score reduction at week 1. Predictive power of improvement at week 1 for subsequent response was investigated; sensitivity and specificity of incremental 5% cutoff points between 5% and 25% reduction in the PANSS total score at week 1 were calculated.ResultsPer cent PANSS total score reduction at week 1 and lower PANSS Marder disorganized thought scores at baseline were significantly associated with subsequent placebo response. A 10% reduction in a per‐protocol analysis or a 15% reduction in last‐observation‐carried‐forward analysis in the PANSS total score at week 1 showed the highest predictive power.ConclusionThese findings are informative to identify potential placebo responders at the earliest opportunity for optimal trial design for schizophrenia.
Rethinking Justice: Struggles For Environmental Commons and the Notion of Socio‐Ecological Justice
Authors: Yaka Özge 
Published: September 2018

AbstractThis article introduces a notion of socio‐ecological justice based on theoretically informed empirical research on community struggles against run‐of‐river hydropower plants in Turkey. Framing this particular case as representative of a broader movement for environmental commons, and adopting an action‐theoretical perspective, it translates the emergent justice claims produced by grassroots environmental movements to the conceptual vocabulary of the theory of justice. Using Fraser's tripartite model as a starting point, it explores possibilities of expanding the borders of justice as a concept. Maintaining the intrinsic relationship between social and ecological phenomena, it calls for rethinking “sociality” and “social justice” in the light of a relational ontology of human and non‐human worlds. The notion of socio‐ecological justice, thus, extends the community of justice, framing the relational existence of human and non‐human ecologies as a matter of justice.
Loneliness and Self‐Esteem in Children and Adolescents Affected by Parental HIV: A 3‐Year Longitudinal Study
Authors: Du Hongfei , Li Xiaoming , Chi Peilian , Zhao Shenran , Zhao Junfeng 
Published: September 2018

BackgroundSociometer theory posits that self‐esteem is a subjective monitor of the quality of one's interpersonal relationships. When people feel excluded by others, they may have negative relational evaluation about themselves—low self‐esteem. In the present study, we hypothesised and tested that feelings of loneliness among children and adolescents affected by parental HIV would decrease their self‐esteem over time; moreover, low self‐esteem would intensify feelings of loneliness.MethodsWe utilised longitudinal data from a sample of children and adolescents affected by parental HIV to estimate the reciprocal effects between self‐esteem and loneliness over time. The sample included 195 children and early adolescents affected by parental HIV (age range 7–15, Mage = 10.62, 82 females) who served as a control group in a large intervention study on psychological well‐being. Seven waves of longitudinal panel data were collected from participants in three years.ResultsIn cross‐lagged panel models that tested the reciprocal effects of loneliness and self‐esteem, loneliness predicted decreased levels of self‐esteem over time; in addition, low self‐esteem predicted increased levels of loneliness over time.ConclusionsThese findings support sociometer theory and suggest that loneliness is a risk factor for children's and adolescents’ self‐esteem. The implications for improving vulnerable children's and adolescents’ psychological well‐being are discussed.
Transanal completion proctectomy with close rectal dissection and ileal pouch‐anal anastomosis for ulcerative colitis
Authors: Levic Souzani Katarina , Nielsen Claus Buhl , Bulut Orhan 
Published: September 2018

AbstractIntroductionLaparoscopic dissection in the pelvis is still a challenge. A transanal approach to rectal dissection allows better visualization during the dissection of the rectum and the creation of an anastomosis. Although initially used for patients with rectal cancer, the transanal approach may also have benefits in the surgical treatment of ulcerative colitis (UC). The aim of this study was to describe our initial experience with transanal completion proctectomy and ileal pouch‐anal anastomosis for UC.MethodsThis study included all consecutive patients who underwent transanal completion proctectomy and ileal pouch‐anal anastomosis for UC between September 2017 and February 2018.ResultsEleven patients were included in the study; they had a median age of 30 years (range, 13–51 years). The median operative time was 285 min (range, 190–375 min). There were no intraoperative complications or conversions to open surgery. Postoperative complications occurred in only one patient (anastomotic leak), and the median length of hospital stay was 7 days (range, 5–37 days).ConclusionOur initial experience with transanal completion proctectomy and ileal pouch‐anal anastomosis shows promising results, demonstrating the feasibility of the transanal approach in patients with UC.
Development of a physiologically based pharmacokinetic model for mefloquine and its application alongside a clinical effectiveness model to select an optimal dose for prevention of malaria in young Caucasian children
Authors: Johnson Trevor N. , Cleary Yumi , Parrott Neil , Reigner Bruno , Smith James R. , Toovey Stephen 
Published: September 2018

AimsTo predict the optimal chemoprophylactic dose of mefloquine in infants of 5–10 kg using physiologically based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) and clinical effectiveness models.MethodsThe PBPK model was developed in Simcyp version 14.1 and verified against clinical pharmacokinetic data in adults; the final model, accounting for developmental physiology and enzyme ontogeny was then applied in the paediatric population. The clinical effectiveness model utilized real‐world chemoprophylaxis data with stratification of output by age and including infant data from the UK population.ResultsPBPK simulations in infant populations depend on the assumed fraction of mefloquine metabolized by CYP3A4 (0.47, 0.95) and on the associated CYP3A4 ontogeny (Salem, Upreti). However, all scenarios suggest that a dose of 62.5 mg weekly achieves or exceeds the exposure in adults following a 250 mg weekly dose and results in a minimum plasma concentration of 620 ng ml–1, which is considered necessary to achieve 95% prophylactic efficacy. The clinical effectiveness model predicts a 96% protective efficacy from mefloquine chemoprophylaxis at 62.5 mg weekly.ConclusionsThe PBPK and clinical effectiveness models are mutually supportive and suggest a prophylactic dose of 62.5 mg weekly in the Caucasian 5–10 kg infant population travelling to endemic countries. This dual approach offers a novel route to dose selection in a vulnerable population, where clinical trials would be difficult to conduct.
Ethics and HIV prevention research: An analysis of the early tenofovir PrEP trial in Nigeria
Authors: Peterson Kristin , Folayan Morenike O. 
Published: September 2018

AbstractIn 2004, the first ever multi‐sited clinical trials studied the prospect of HIV biomedical prevention (referred to as pre‐exposure prophylaxis—‘PrEP’). The trials were implemented at several international sites, but many officially closed down before they completed. At most sites, both scientists and community AIDS advocates raised concerns over the ethics and scientific rationales of the trial. Focusing on the Nigerian trial site, we detail the controversy that emerged among mostly Nigerian research scientists who scrutinized the research design and protocol. While some of the disputes, especially those pertaining to community engagement mechanisms, were ultimately resolved in international fora and implemented in later PrEP trials, concerns over science rationales and assumptions were never addressed. We argue that scientific rationales should be treated as ethical concerns and suggest that such concerns should be deliberated at host sites before the trial protocol is finalized.
Ethnographic study of the use of interventions during the second stage of labor in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
Authors: Altaweli Roa , McCourt Christine , Scamell Mandie , Curtis Tyler Katherine 
Published: September 2018

AbstractBackgroundRoutine use of medical interventions during labor has been identified as a clinical area for concern, since such routinized practice is not consistent with an evidence‐based approach to care and continues to increase despite efforts to encourage normal childbirth. Therefore, the aim of our study was to explore maternity health professionals’ use of interventions during the second stage of labor in two hospitals in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, to understand what influences their decision‐making and practices.MethodsThis was an exploratory study using an ethnographic approach. Data collection methods included participant observations of 19 labors and births (n = 8 at City Hospital and n = 11 at King's Hospital) and semi‐structured interviews with 29 health care professionals. In addition, the hospital labor and delivery ward policies and guidelines from those hospitals were collected. Data were analyzed thematically.ResultsMedical interventions were used during the second stage of labor routinely, regardless of clinical indication. Three core influences that shaped the clinical decision‐making were identified as follows: (a) organizational culture, (b) a medical concept of birth, and (c) a hierarchical system of control. We suggest that the clinical decision‐making and routine practice in this setting arises out of the interface between these three core influences whereby hierarchical control and clinicians’ exercise of power and feelings of powerlessness are fundamental drivers for an organizational culture of medicalized childbirth, despite the differing models of childbirth which professionals described.ConclusionsClinical decisions relating to the use of interventions during childbirth are both complex and socially negotiated. The findings reflect the complexity of the use of interventions during the second stage of labor and the multiple influences on professionals’ practices. We have shown how three key influences interact to shape clinical decision‐making during the second stage of labor in this cultural setting and how the use of medical interventions can be analyzed as an illustration of the power dynamic in the maternity health care system. We suggest that written policies are insufficient to bring about evidence‐based practice and approaches to change need to take into account these different levels of influence.
Moth body size increases with elevation along a complete tropical elevational gradient for two hyperdiverse clades
Authors: Brehm Gunnar , Zeuss Dirk , Colwell Robert K. 
Published: September 2018

The body size of an animal is probably its most important functional trait. For arthropods, environmental drivers of body size variation are still poorly documented and understood, especially in tropical regions. We use a unique dataset for two species‐rich, phylogenetically independent moth taxa (Lepidoptera: Geometridae; Arctiinae), collected along an extensive tropical elevational gradient in Costa Rica, to investigate the correlates and possible causes of body‐size variation. We studied 15 047 specimens (794 species) of Geometridae and 4167 specimens (308 species) of Arctiinae to test the following hypotheses: 1) body size increases with decreasing ambient temperature, as predicted by the temperature–size rule; 2) body size increases with increasing rainfall and primary productivity, as predicted from considerations of starvation resistance; and 3) body size scales allometrically with wing area, as elevation increases, such that wing loading (the ratio of body size to wing area) decreases with increasing elevation to compensate for lower air density.To test these hypotheses, we examined forewing length as a proxy for body size in relation to ambient temperature, rainfall, vegetation index and elevation as explanatory variables in linear and polynomial spatial regression models. We analysed our data separately for males and females using two principal approaches: mean forewing length of species at each site, and mean forewing length of complete local assemblages, weighted by abundance.Body size consistently increased with elevation in both taxa, both approaches, both sexes, and also within species. Temperature was the best predictor for this pattern (–0.98 < r < –0.74), whereas body size was uncorrelated or weakly correlated with rainfall and enhanced vegetation index. Wing loading increased with elevation. Our results support the temperature–size rule as an important mechanism for body size variation in arthropods along tropical elevational gradients, whereas starvation resistance and optimization of flight mechanics seem to be of minor importance.
Biochar enhances soil hydraulic function but not soil aggregation in a sandy loam
Authors: Zhou H. , Fang H. , Zhang Q. , Wang Q. , Chen C. , Mooney S. J. , Peng X. , Du Z. 
Published: September 2018

SummaryBiochar has the potential to modify soil structure and soil hydraulic properties because of its small particle density, highly porous structure, grain size distribution and surface chemistry. However, knowledge of the long‐term effects of biochar on soil physical properties under field conditions is limited. Using an 8‐year field trial, we investigated the effects of successive additions of high‐dose maize‐cob‐derived biochar (9.0 t ha−1 year−1, HB), low‐dose maize‐cob‐derived biochar (4.5 t ha−1 year−1, LB), straw return (SR) and control (no biochar or straw, CK) on soil aggregate distribution, three‐dimensional (3‐D) pore structure, hydraulic conductivity and water retention in the upper 10 cm of a sandy loam soil from the North China Plain. Results showed that LB and HB treatments increased soil organic C content by 61.0–116.3% relative to CK. Interestingly, biochar amendment did not enhance the proportion of macroaggregates (> 2 and 0.25–2 mm) or aggregate stability, indicating limited positive effects on soil aggregation. The HB treatment decreased soil bulk density, and increased total porosity and macroporosity (> 30 μm). The retention of soil water, including gravitational water (0–33 kPa), capillary water (33–3100 kPa) and hygroscopic water (> 3100 kPa), was improved under HB soil. The HB and LB treatments increased plant‐available water content by 17.8 and 10.1%, respectively, compared with CK. In contrast, SR showed no significant increase in soil porosity and water retention capacity but improved the water stability of macroaggregates. We concluded that biochar used in the coarse‐textured soil enhanced saturated hydraulic conductivity and water‐holding capacity, but did not improve soil aggregation.Highlights
Pore structure and hydraulic properties were studied in an 8‐year biochar‐amended sandy loam.
HB (high‐dose biochar) increased total soil porosity and CT‐identified macroporosity (> 30 μm).
Water retention improved under HB soil.
Biochar addition had no effect on the formation of macroaggregates.
The Role of Parents in Emerging Adults’ Psychological Well‐Being: A Person‐Oriented Approach
Authors: García Mendoza María Del Carmen , Sánchez Queija Inmaculada , Parra Jiménez Águeda 
Published: September 2018

The purpose of this study was to gain an overview of Spanish emerging adults’ family relationships and their link with psychological well‐being and psychological distress. The sample comprised 1502 undergraduate students (903 women and 599 men) aged between 18 and 29 (M = 20.32 and SD = 2.13), recruited from two universities in Spain. A cluster analysis identified three groups of families based on the centrality of five family variables: parental involvement, parental support for autonomy, parental warmth, behavioral control, and psychological control. The three groups or clusters were labeled high‐quality family relationships (HQ), intermediate‐quality family relationships (IQ), and low‐quality family relationships (LQ). Women were overrepresented in the HQ cluster, whereas men were overrepresented in the IQ cluster. Moreover, emerging adults who perceived better family relationships (high levels of parental involvement, parental support for autonomy and parental warmth, and low levels of behavioral and psychological control) were found to have a higher level of psychological adjustment. Thus, our results indicate that family plays a key role in the psychological well‐being of emerging adults. The discussion focuses on the implications of this finding for the parent‐child relationship, and explores how it extends our knowledge about family relationships during emerging adulthood.
‘MILITANZ’ AND MORALISED VIOLENCE: HAMBURG'S ROTE FLORA AND THE 2017 G20 RIOT
Authors: Jones Ali 
Published: September 2018

ABSTRACT‘Militanz’ as moralised political violence has been applied by the radical Left since the 1960s, but has scarcely been defined in academic literature. In the particular West German context, ‘Militanz’ has been restricted to attacks against objects rather than persons, in contradistinction to the terrorist attacks of the 1970s. The Autonomist movement has further theorised this concept through the caveat of the ‘three Antis’ (racism, sexism, capitalism), against which they consider their violence to be morally justified. This article offers a genealogy and definition of this 1990s Autonomist ‘Militanz’ by relying on extensive archival research and oral histories collected within the Hamburg Rote Flora Autonomist milieu. It then interrogates both this concept and the group's claims to moral authority by working within the Autonomists’ own conceptual definition to apply ‘Militanz’ categorically to a riot during the 2017 G20 summit. The article disentangles the various ideological factions who took part in this riot, and challenges media discourses that the Rote Flora Autonomists were responsible. However, it also concludes that ‘Militanz’ as a purely ‘Anti’ stance cannot legitimate moralised violence without offering any affirmative definition of appropriate political action, lest all violence become acceptable ‘Militanz’.