bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Incidence and outcome of group B streptococcal invasive disease in Omani infants
Authors: Masroori Eman AL. , Uraba Wafa Bani , Hashami Hilal Al 
Published: May 2019

Objectives:
Group B streptococcus (GBS) infection is a serious disease that continues to cause high morbidity and mortality. It is one of the leading cause of sepsis; particularly meningitis, in infants and young children all around the world. In this study, we aim to identify the incidence of GBS sepsis in Omani infants less than 3 months of age who were born at Royal Hospital and who presented with clinical sepsis and positive culture. In addition, we aim to describe the clinical presentation and complications noted on admission and then on follow-up visit.

Methods:
This is an observational retrospective chart review study. It included all Omani infants (0–3 months) who were diagnosed to have GBS sepsis/meningitis from 2006 to 2016 at the Royal Hospital, Muscat, Sultanate of Oman.

Results:
There were 83,000 live births in the Royal Hospital over a period of 10 years. Thirty-eight babies had culture proven GBS infection, with an overall incidence rate of neonatal GBS of 0.46 per 1000 live births with 95% confidence intervals. There were no significant variations in the annual rates of infection during the study period, ranging from around 1–7 cases per year. Additional 5 cases of GBS sepsis presented to Royal Hospital are either through Emergency Department or as referrals from other hospitals, giving us a total of 43 cases of proven GBS infections. Out of the 43 cases, 8 were born prematurely (19%), either before (<34 weeks, n = 2) or during (34–36 weeks, n = 6). Term babies were 35 out of 43 with percentage of 81% of the total. Three died, resulting in a case mortality of 7.0%.

Conclusion:
Our GBS incidence is comparable to that of screened population internationally. At the time being, with the best available results, maternal screening might not seem cost effective in our current settings. A cost effective study is required before implemented a national screening programme in the Country. However, this research will definitely help in the process of any future plans of implantation of new guidelines, as it can be used as leading point for future prospective studies.
Sudanese Women’s Groups on Facebook and #Civil_Disobedience:Nairat or Thairat?(Radiant or Revolutionary?)
Authors: Ali Nada Mustafa 
Published: May 2019

Abstract:The first two decades of the twenty-first century witnessed expanded digital connectivity, with important political implications, evident in the way activists used Facebook and Twitter to mobilize for political change in North Africa and beyond in 2010/2011, and in Sudan, including in 2018 and 2019. These platforms are also often sites where women may articulate narratives on the body and the body politic. Through digital ethnographic research, this study explores social and cultural narratives on everyday body aesthetics that Sudanese women articulate in selected groups on Facebook. I argue that the role some of these groups played in organizing civil disobedience in Sudan in November 2016 disrupts the binary inherent in the question:Nairat or Thairat?
Survival physiology and sex ratio of the Chinese white pine beetleDendroctonus armandi(Coleoptera: Scolytinae) during host colonization and overwintering
Authors: Dai L. , Zheng J. , Wang Y. , Sun Y. , Chen H. 
Published: May 2019

AbstractThe Chinese white pine beetleDendroctonus armandi(Coleoptera: Scolytinae) typically displays bivoltinism at altitudes below 1700 m in the Qinling Mountains, China. The periods of host colonization and larval overwintering are two important phases in the life cycle of bark beetles, as it is during these periods that they have to contend with host plant defences and periods of intense cold, respectively. Although during different seasons, the females and males of Chinese white pine beetles show varying tolerances to host plant terpenoids, the sex ratio and survival physiology condition of the two beetle generations are unknown. We investigated the sex ratio of individuals, and also examined the body mass, energy stores, and detoxication enzymes of males and females in each of the two generations in order to determine the overall population stability of each generation. We identified a female-biased sex ratio among adults in both generations. Furthermore, patterns of body mass, energy stores, and detoxication enzymes were found to differ between the two sexes and two seasons. Compared with the males, the females have a larger body mass and higher amounts of stored lipids, which are assumed to be adaptations designed to overcome host resistance and facilitate subsequent oviposition.
The Israel Ombudsman: An Appraisal
Authors: Elman Peter 
Published: May 2019

Very soon after the establishment of the State (and as an important part of its constitutional structure) the office of State Comptroller, responsible to the Knesset alone and independent of the Government, was established under statute—the State Comptroller Law of 1949. After undergoing a number of amendments, the Law was eventually replaced in 1958 by a Consolidated Version but without any substantive change being made in the functions and powers of the Comptroller, a fact which goes far to demonstrate the proven worth of the office.Briefly, the functions of the Comptroller are to carry out “inspection of the finances and the management of the finances and the property and administration of the State and of the bodies subject to the inspection of the Comptroller, and to perform the other functions assigned to the Comptroller by this Law”.The bodies subject to inspection include, in addition to every government department, state enterprises and institutions and local authorities, persons or bodies holding, otherwise than under contract, or managing or controlling any state property or funds in the management of which the Government has a share or which are made subject to inspection by the Knesset or by agreement with the Government.
Nathan Feinberg: A Tribute
Authors:   The Editorial Board
Published: May 2019

It is a great pleasure and honour for us to present to Professor Nathan Feinberg on his 80th birthday, as a token of admiration and affection, this issue of the Israel Law Review, which marks the conclusion of the first ten years of publication.As teachers and students of the Law Faculty of the Hebrew University, we are grateful to him for the leading role he played in the creation of that Faculty. As jurists we admire his undisputed mastery of international law, and as Jews and Israelis we are indebted to him for the service he has rendered to the entire Jewish people, to the Zionist cause and to the State of Israel.Nathan Feinberg was born in Kovno on June 6, 1895. His aptitude for learning was such that the severe numerus clausus did not prevent his admission to the Russian high school, from which he graduated with distinction in 1914. At the same time he was given a Jewish and Hebrew education privately. He then proceeded to the Faculty of Law of the University of Zurich, from which he graduatedmagna cum laudein 1918.
Persistence of coagulase negative staphylococcal intramammary infections in dairy goats
Authors: Bernier Gosselin Véronique , Dufour Simon , Adkins Pamela R. F. , Middleton John R. 
Published: May 2019

AbstractThe objectives of the research described here were to describe the persistence of intramammary infections (IMI) caused by coagulase negative staphylococci (CNS) in goats using strain-typing, and to evaluate the relationship between species-specific CNS IMI and somatic cell score (SCS) at the udder-half level. Udder-half milk samples were collected from all 909 lactating goats (1817 halves; 1 blind half) in a single herd. Milk samples were cultured on Columbia blood agar, and 220 goats with at least one half yielding a single colony type CNS were enrolled for two additional half-level samplings at approximately 1-month intervals. Isolates were identified to the species level by matrix-assisted laser desorption-ionisation time-of-flight mass spectrometry or PCR amplification and partial sequencing of tuf or rpoB. An IMI was defined as persistent when ≥1 follow-up sample yielded the same species and strain as on Day 0 based on pulsed-field gel electrophoresis. A generalised mixed linear model was used to evaluate the odds of persistence as a function of CNS species. A mixed linear model was used to evaluate the relationship between IMI status on a given day and SCS. Among 192 IMI, 69.8% were persistent based on species and strain-type. Staphylococcus simulans IMI had higher odds of persistence than Staphylococcus arlettae IMI. In primiparous goats, Staphylococcus epidermidis IMI was associated with higher SCS than S. arlettae, Staphylococcus xylosus and ‘other CNS’ IMI. The differences detected in the present study between CNS species, with regard to persistence of IMI and association with SCS, highlight the need to study CNS at the species and strain level to understand the pathogenicity and epidemiology of CNS in goats.
The effects of fish skin mucus on hatching in the monogenean parasite Entobdella soleae from the skin of the common sole, Solea solea
Authors: Kearn Graham C. 
Published: May 2019

Previously it has been shown that eggs of the skin-parasitic monogenean Entobdella soleae, maintained free of host contamination at constant temperature (12 °C) and exposed to alternating 12 h periods of light and darkness, hatch during the first few hours of each period of illumination as a result of endogenous processes in the larva in conjunction with the illumination cycle. Washings, prepared by immersing the parasite's host (the common sole, Solea solea) for 1 h in seawater (just sufficient to cover the body), enhance this ‘morning’ hatching. Furthermore, the application of host washings during the latter half of the period of illumination or during the dark period also stimulates hatching. Experiments have shown that the hatching factor is present in sole skin mucus, is not destroyed by boiling for 5 min or by freezing and is produced by small soles measuring 4–5 cm in length as well as by larger soles (15–21 cm long).When eggs are incubated at about 12°C in the absence of fish washings, hatching begins about 30 days after laying, but there is evidence that some of the larvae inside their shells are fully developed and capable of hatching in response to host hatching factor 1–3 days earlier.When fish washings are added to eggs which range in age from 25 to more than 30 days (at 12 °C) many eggs are stimulated to hatch (in addition to ‘morning’ hatching as a result of endogenous rhythmical processes and the illumination cycle) and others fail to hatch. These remaining unhatched eggs, in the absence of further treatment with host hatching factor, will complete their development and subsequently will hatch during the ‘morning’ hours in response to the illumination cycle. Further contact with host hatching factor is likely to stimulate the hatching of some of these remaining eggs.The host hatching factor is not specific to S. solea; washings from plaice, dab, halibut, whiting and ray induce hatching in E. soleae. In experiments in which oncomiracidia were offered scales from dab and sole, most of the attached larvae were found on sole skin, irrespective of whether the hatching stimulant had been provided by dab or by sole.The relationship between the behaviour of the common sole and hatching phenomena in the skin parasite is discussed; hatching rhythms and the use of host hatching factors adapt the parasite to take advantage of most opportunities to infect the host.
LA SOCIETÀ POST-INDUSTRIALE TRA SVILUPPO E CRISI
Authors: Fisichella Domenico 
Published: May 2019

IntroduzioneNon ha torto Bertrand de Jouvenel quando scrive che la «previsione sociale» è relativamente meno difficile della «previsione politica»; ma non ha torto a condizione che le trasformazioni economiche e tecnologiche — alle quali inerisce la previsione sociale — continuino a configurare processi di mutamento «lento e faticoso». Se il quadro cambia, e se cambia la «velocità», la differenza tra previsione sociale e previsione politica può attenuarsi fino a sparire del tutto.
LA TEORIA DELL'ORGANIZZAZIONE: LINEAMENTI DI SVILUPPO E RECENTI ORIENTAMENTI
Authors: Balducci Massimo , Martini Massimo 
Published: May 2019

IntroduzioneDa lungo tempo si sta avendo, negli Stati Uniti d'America ed in alcuni paesi europei, una fioritura di studi relativi al fenomeno organizzativo, studi pressoché assenti in Italia. Con questo lavoro ci proponiamo di dare un rapido resoconto di tali lavori: a tal uopo cercheremo di sistemare le varie teorie organizzative fin qui elaborate secondo alcuni parametri di fondo che sembrano aver guidato lo sviluppo storico di quella che, ormai, può venire identificata come una disciplina a sé stante.
LE RELAZIONI INTERNAZIONALI: TEORIA E AZIONE
Authors: Papisca Antonio 
Published: May 2019

IntroduzioneÈ stato asserito che la disciplina delle relazioni internazionali è una scienza sociale a finalità applicative, la quale difetterebbe ancora di una corrispondente scienza ≪ pura ≫, a carattere teoretico. Nel nostro campo non potrebbero quindi darsi rapporti del tipo di quelli intercorrenti, per esempio, tra fisica nucleare (scienza pura) e ingegneria nucleare (scienza applicata).
LA POLITICA NELLA SOCIETÀ POSTINDUSTRIALE
Authors: Huntington Samuel P. 
Published: May 2019

IntroduzioneIl concetto di società postindustriale fu proposto, all'inizio degli anni sessanta, da Daniel Bell come modello di società paragonabile — anche se notevolmente diverso — con i modelli delle società agricola e industriale. Nel decennio che seguí, il concetto fu perfezionato dallo stesso Bell, riformulato da altri e infine ribattezzato.
INTERPRETAZIONI DEL SISTEMA POLITICO ITALIANO
Authors: Pasquino Gianfranco 
Published: May 2019

IntroduzioneLa produzione scientifica sul sistema politico italiano, nel suo complesso e su alcuni aspetti specifici, ha registrato di recente notevoli passi avanti sia in senso quantitativo sia in senso qualitativo. Predominano, naturalmente, gli studi e le ricerche empiriche svolte dagli stranieri, anche per una piú o meno naturale riluttanza degli studiosi italiani ad impegnarsi in un lavoro di descrizione-spiegazione globale del funzionamento del sistema politico italiano che potrebbe oscillare pericolosamente tra la Scilla dell'eccessiva genericità e la Cariddi della preminenza dell'interpretazione politica a scapito dell'apporto descrittivo. La rassegna critica qui presentata, oltre ad offrire un contributo al lettore che voglia orientarsi nella letteratura recente, seppur non analizzata in maniera esaustiva, intende enucleare quei temi che piú si prestino ad approfondimenti con ricerche empiriche e sottolineare novità di approccio e di metodo degli scritti esaminati.
MISURE DI DEMOCRAZIA E DI LIBERTÀ: DISCUSSIONE DI ALCUNE ANALISI EMPIRICHE
Authors: Morlino Leonardo 
Published: May 2019

IntroduzioneIl dibattito sulle democrazie reali, cioè sui modi di realizzazione di sistemi politici detti ≪ democratici ≫, si è fissato soprattutto intorno a due ordini di problemi, spesso trattati congiuntamente. Da un lato, si sono cercate le condizioni culturali, sociali, economiche, o anche politiche, della genesi e della persistenza di un regime democratico. Dall'altro, si sono enucleati gli indicatori piú sicuri di tale regime, e poi gli indici e le misure di democraticità. Ci occuperemo qui del secondo ordine di problemi, che ha attirato un'attenzione sempre maggiore anche in seguito alla spinta quantitativizzante della letteratura politologica dell'ultimo ventennio. In particolare, mostreremo le due strade percorse nel tentativo di rilevare e misurare la democrazia: quella che considera alcuni processi ritenuti tipicamente democratici, e quella che rileva soprattutto il quantum di libertà, politiche e civili, esistenti nei sistemi politici. L'ultima parte presenterà i risultati di un ampio survey sulle misure di libertà, condotto tra il 1972 e il 1974. Occorre anche premettere che la democrazia che si vuole misurare è quella che si è realizzata, in diversi modi e forme, soprattutto nel mondo occidentale. Stiamo parlando, cioè, delle liberal. democrazie o poliarchie, come le definisce Dahl per evitare pericolose confusioni terminologiche, o delle democrazie costituzionali secondo la definizione preferita da Gastil — attento agli istituti tipici di regimi legibus non soluti — nel survey che presenteremo nella terza parte.
Sex and age distributions of persons in foodborne disease outbreaks and associations with food categories
Authors: Strassle P. D. , Gu W. , Bruce B. B. , Gould L. H. 
Published: May 2019

AbstractSex and age differences in food preferences may be reflected in the demographics of outbreaks. Outbreaks from 1998–2015 with a single confirmed implicated food source in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Foodborne Disease Outbreak Surveillance System were analysed using logistic regression to assess associations between a food category, sex and age. Males were more likely to be involved in outbreaks attributed to beef, pork, game, dairy and shellfish; females were more likely to be involved in grains-beans, nuts-seeds, fruits, sprouts and vegetable row crops outbreaks. Children <5-years-old were more likely than other age groups to be involved in dairy outbreaks, children 5–19-years-old were most likely to be involved in beef and game outbreaks, adults 20–49-years-old were most likely to be involved in fish, shellfish and sprout outbreaks and adults ⩾50-years-old were most likely to be involved in turkey outbreaks. Age and sex are associated with specific food categories in outbreaks. This information may be useful in helping to identify sources of foodborne disease outbreaks.
MULTIPLE REASONABLE BEHAVIORS CASES: THE PROBLEM OF CAUSAL UNDERDETERMINATION IN TORT LAW
Authors: Gilboa Maytal 
Published: May 2019

ABSTRACTThis article introduces a significant yet largely overlooked problem in the law of torts: causal underdetermination. This problem occurs when the causal inquiry of a but-for test produces not one but two results, which are contradictory. According to the first, the negligent defendant is the likely cause of the plaintiff's injury, whereas according to the second, she is not. The article explains why causal underdetermination has escaped the radar of tort scholars and is perceived by courts as lack of causation. It demonstrates that the current practice in cases of causal underdetermination might lead to erroneous decisions, absolving negligent defendants of tort liability even when the evidence suggests that they are in fact the likely cause of the plaintiff's injury. This, in turn, the article asserts, may not only lead to underdeterrence among potential defendants, but also encourage manipulative litigation strategy to escape liability in retrospect. The article then proposes solutions that contend with causal underdetermination and resolve the difficulties that the current practice entails.
Using energy requirements to compare the suitability of alternative methods for broadcast and site-specific weed control
Authors: Coleman Guy R. Y. , Stead Amanda , Rigter Marc P. , Xu Zhe , Johnson David , Brooker Graham M. , Sukkarieh Salah , Walsh Michael J. 
Published: May 2019

AbstractThe widespread use of herbicides in cropping systems has led to the evolution of resistance in major weeds. The resultant loss of herbicide efficacy is compounded by a lack of new herbicide sites of action, driving demand for alternative weed control technologies. While there are many alternative methods for control, identifying the most appropriate method to pursue for commercial development has been hampered by the inability to compare techniques in a fair and equitable manner. Given that all currently available and alternative weed control methods share an intrinsic energy consumption, the aim of this review was to compare methods based on energy consumption. Energy consumption was compared for chemical, mechanical, and thermal weed control technologies when applied as broadcast (whole-field) and site-specific treatments. Tillage systems, such as flex-tine harrow (4.2 to 5.5 MJ ha−1), sweep cultivator (13 to 14 MJ ha−1), and rotary hoe (12 to 17 MJ ha−1) consumed the least energy of broadcast weed control treatments. Thermal-based approaches, including flaming (1,008 to 4,334 MJ ha−1) and infrared (2,000 to 3,887 MJ ha−1), are more appropriate for use in conservation cropping systems; however, their energy requirements are 100- to 1,000-fold greater than those of tillage treatments. The site-specific application of weed control treatments to control 2-leaf-stage broadleaf weeds at a density of 5 plants m−2 reduced energy consumption of herbicidal, thermal, and mechanical treatments by 97%, 99%, and 97%, respectively. Significantly, this site-specific approach resulted in similar energy requirements for current and alternative technologies (e.g., electrocution [15 to 19 MJ ha−1], laser pyrolysis [15 to 249 MJ ha−1], hoeing [17 MJ ha−1], and herbicides [15 MJ ha−1]). Using similar energy sources, a standardized energy comparison provides an opportunity for estimation of weed control costs, suggesting site-specific weed management is critical in the economically realistic implementation of alternative technologies.
Selective cell death of latently HIV-infected CD4+ T cells mediated by autosis inducing nanopeptides
Authors: Zhang Gang , Luk Brian T. , Wei Xiaoli , Campbell Grant R. , Fang Ronnie H. , Zhang Liangfang , Spector Stephen A. 
Published: May 2019

AbstractDespite significant advances in the treatment of human immunodeficiency virus type-1 (HIV) infection, antiretroviral therapy only suppresses viral replication but is unable to eliminate infection. Thus, discontinuation of antiretrovirals results in viral reactivation and disease progression. A major reservoir of HIV latent infection resides in resting central memory CD4+ T cells (TCM) that escape clearance by current therapeutic regimens and will require novel strategies for elimination. Here, we evaluated the therapeutic potential of autophagy-inducing peptides, Tat-Beclin 1 and Tat-vFLIP-α2, which can induce a novel Na+/K+-ATPase dependent form of cell death (autosis), to kill latently HIV-infected TCM while preventing virologic rebound. In this study, we encapsulated autophagy inducing peptides into biodegradable lipid-coated hybrid PLGA (poly lactic-co-glycolic acid) nanoparticles for controlled intracellular delivery. A single dose of nanopeptides was found to eliminate latent HIV infection in an in vitro primary model of HIV latency and ex vivo using resting CD4+ T cells obtained from peripheral blood mononuclear cells of HIV-infected patients on antiretroviral with fully suppressed virus for greater than 12 months. Notably, increased LC3B lipidation, SQSTM1/p62 degradation and Na+/K+-ATPase activity characteristic of autosis, were detected in nanopeptide treated latently HIV-infected cells compared to untreated uninfected or infected cells. Nanopeptide-induced cell death could be reversed by knockdown of autophagy proteins, ATG5 and ATG7, and inhibition or knockdown of Na+/K+-ATPase. Importantly, viral rebound was not detected following the induction of the Na+/K+-ATPase dependent form of cell death induced by the Tat-Beclin 1 and Tat-vFLIP-α2 nanopeptides. These findings provide a novel strategy to eradicate HIV latently infected resting memory CD4+ T cells, the major reservoir of HIV latency, through the induction of Na+/K+-ATPase dependent autophagy, while preventing reactivation of virus and new infection of uninfected bystander cells.