bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Mid‐trimester sonographic cervical consistency index to predict spontaneous preterm birth in a low‐risk population
Authors: Baños N. , Murillo‐Bravo C. , Julià C. , Migliorelli F. , Perez‐Moreno A. , Ríos J. , Gratacós E. , Valentin L. , Palacio M. 
Published: March 2017

ABSTRACTObjectivesTo investigate the effectiveness of mid‐trimester sonographic cervical consistency index (CCI) for the prediction of spontaneous preterm birth (sPTB) in low‐risk pregnancies and to compare its performance with that of mid‐trimester sonographic cervical‐length (CL) measurement.MethodsThis was a prospective cohort study of women with a singleton pregnancy examined by ultrasound at 19 + 0 to 24 + 6 weeks' gestation. All women underwent transvaginal ultrasound examination of the cervix, but CCI and CL were measured, offline, only in women without a risk factor for sPTB. Staff and participants were blinded to CL and CCI results. CCI was obtained by calculating the ratio between the anteroposterior diameter of the uterine cervix at maximum compression and at rest. The primary outcome was prediction of sPTB before 37 + 0 weeks. Receiver–operating characteristics (ROC) curves were produced and sensitivity and specificity were calculated for the optimal cut‐off based on the ROC curve and for the 1st, 5th and 10th centiles of CCI and CL. Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) and Bland–Altman plots were used to estimate intra‐ and interobserver agreement and reliability for measurement of CCI and CL.ResultsOf the 749 women who underwent ultrasound examination of the cervix, 532 were included for analysis. The rates of sPTB before 37 + 0 and before 34 + 0 weeks were 4.1% (22/532) and 1.3% (7/532), respectively. The rates of short cervix < 25 mm and ≤ 20 mm were 0.9% (5/532) and 0.4% (2/532), respectively. The area under the ROC curve (AUC) with regard to predicting sPTB before 37 + 0 weeks was 0.84 (95% CI, 0.75–0.93) for CCI compared with 0.68 (95% CI, 0.56–0.81) for CL (P = 0.03). The optimal cut‐off based on the ROC curve was 64.6% for CCI (sensitivity, 77.3%; specificity, 82.7%) and that for CL was 37.9 mm (sensitivity, 72.7%; specificity, 61.2%). The AUC with regard to predicting sPTB before 34 + 0 weeks was 0.87 (95% CI, 0.71–1.0) for CCI compared with 0.71 (95% CI, 0.47–0.94) for CL (P = 0.25). The optimal cut‐off based on the ROC curve was 63.6% for CCI (sensitivity, 85.7%; specificity, 84.0%) and that for CL was 37.9 mm (sensitivity, 85.7%; specificity, 61.3%). Intraobserver ICC was > 0.90 both for CCI and CL, while interobserver ICC was 0.89 for CCI and 0.90 for CL.ConclusionsSecond‐trimester CCI is a better predictor of sPTB < 37 weeks in low‐risk pregnancies than is CL. External validation is needed as well as studies assessing the value of CCI as a screening tool in unselected and high‐risk populations. Copyright © 2017 ISUOG. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
The terrestrial hydrologic cycle: an historical sense of balance
Authors: Duffy Christopher J 
Published: March 2017

In this article, I explore the evolving historical views of the terrestrial hydrologic cycle through a lens that might be called ‘a model of balance.’ The notion of balance in western literature, seems to me to capture a central theme for how scholars of natural history, medieval mathematicians, designers of scientific instruments, and early waterworks engineers viewed the complexities and evaluated the evidence for how water moves in the terrestrial landscape. Using historical images and text, this study attempts to document how we arrived at the modern interpretation, its sources, origins, and relationships within the terrestrial earth. By comparing ancient models for the hydrologic cycle one can begin to construct a plausible story of its evolution as well as the important actors. I pay particular attention to the origins and sources of springs, rivers, and groundwater, the kinds of evidence proposed, and its relation to the sense of balance that emerges. Finally, I argue that at by the end of the 18th and into the early 19th century, the modern view of the terrestrial hydrologic cycle that emerged became a necessary foundation for the geophysical, ecological, and cultural Earth science themes that still flourish today. WIREs Water 2017, 4:e1216. doi: 10.1002/wat2.1216This article is categorized under:

Science of Water > Hydrological Processes
Human Water > Water as Imagined and Represented
Surface roughness measurements in NFMQL assisted turning of titanium alloys: An optimization approach
Authors: Gupta Munish K. , Sood P. K. 
Published: March 2017

AbstractThe prediction and optimization of surface roughness values remain a critical concern in nano-fluids based minimum quantity lubrication (NFMQL) turning of titanium (grade-2) alloys. Here, we discuss an application of response surface methodology with Box–Cox transformation to determine the optimal cutting parameters for three surface roughness values, i.e., Ra, Rq, and Rz, in turning of titanium alloy under the NFMQL condition. The surface roughness prediction model has been established based on the selected input parameters such as cutting speed, feed rate, approach angle, and different nano-fluids used. Then the multiple regression technique is used to find the relationship between the given responses and input parameter. Further, the experimental data were optimized through the desirability function approach. The findings from the current investigation showed that feed rate is the most effective parameter followed by cutting speed, different nano-fluids, and approach angle on Ra and Rq values, whereas cutting speed is more effective in the case of Rz under NFMQL conditions. Moreover, the predicted results are comparatively near to the experimental values and hence, the established models of RSM using Box-Cox transformation can be used for prediction satisfactorily.
Effects of nicorandil on renal function and histopathology in rats with partial unilateral ureteral obstruction
Authors: Ozturk Hayrettin , Firat Tulin , Tekce Buket Kin , Yilmaz Fahri , Ozturk Hulya 
Published: March 2017

AbstractTo evaluate the effects of nicorandil in a rat kidney model of partial unilateral ureteral obstruction (PUUO). Thirty male rats were randomly divided into three groups as follows: (1) Group 1 (Sham‐control), ureters of the rats were manipulated but not ligated; (2) Group 2 (PUUO‐untreated), PUUO was performed with two‐thirds of the left ureter embedded in the psoas muscle; and (3) Group 3 (PUUO‐nicorandil treated). After PUUO was established, nicorandil (15 mg/kg/day) was administered by gastric lavage for 21 days to determine its effects on PUUO‐induced histopathological‐, functional‐, and oxidative stress‐induced changes. The serum levels of blood urea nitrogen and creatinine were reduced in Group 3. The level of urinary albumin and the ratio of urinary protein/creatinine were increased in the kidneys of Group 2 but decreased in Group 3. Malondialdehyde value was decreased in Group 3 compared with Group 2. Antioxidant enzyme activities (catalase, superoxide dismutase, and glutathione peroxidase) were decreased in Group 2. Nicorandil treatment caused an increase in these enzyme activities. In Group 3, leukocyte infiltration and tubular dilatation were significantly reduced. Other parameters, such as degeneration of tubular epithelium and fibrosis, also showed a marked improvement in Group 3. Expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase in Group 2 and expression of endothelial nitric oxide synthase in Group 3 were significantly elevated. Nicorandil can inhibit renal tubular damage and tubulointerstitial fibrosis by reducing the effects of oxidative stress after PUUO.
Among the Romantics: E. P. Thompson and the Poetics of Disenchantment
Authors: Epstein James 
Published: March 2017

AbstractThis article examines key themes in the political and intellectual life of E. P. Thompson. It argues for the centrality of romanticism to his work; it focuses on his unfinished study of the early Romantics. Thompson drew parallels between socialist hopes and disappointments of his own day and the reactions of the early romantic poets to the failed promise of the French Revolution. This article charts the trajectory of the early Romantics as they moved from political engagement to retreat, and relates this trajectory to Thompson's own politics. Thompson discerned a pattern whereby intellectuals and artists moved through stages from political engagement to disenchantment and then to “apostasy” or default. Disenchantment could be a productive condition; at issue was how the poet handled the “authenticity of experience,” how disenchantment was dealt with in verse. Both Thompson and the Romantics privileged the concept of “experience” which they set in opposition to abstract theory. The article's final section turns to themes that Thompson had intended to address but left unfinished, including shifting views of patriotism and the defeated cause of women's rights. For Thompson the romantic impulse was ultimately linked to utopian desire, to the capacity to imagine that which is “not yet.”
Sex before the State: Civic Sex, Reproductive Innovations, and Gendered Parental Identity
Authors: MURPHY TIMOTHY F. 
Published: March 2017

Abstract:Certain changes in the way that states classify people by sex as well as certain reproductive innovations undercut the rationale for state identification of people as male or female in signifying gendered parental relationships to children. At present, people known to the state as men may be genetic mothers to their children; people known to the state as women may be genetic fathers to their children. Synthetic gametes would make it possible for transgender men to be genetically related to children as fathers and transgender women to be genetically related to children as mothers, even if they have otherwise relied on naturally-occurring gametes to be genetic mothers and genetic fathers of children respectively. Synthetic gametes would presumably make it possible for any person to be the genetic father or genetic mother of children, even in a mix-and-match way. Other reproductive innovations will also undercut existing expectations of gendered parental identity. Uterus transplants would uncouple the maternal function of gestation from women, allowing men to share in maternity that way. Extracorporeal gestation ((ExCG)—gestation outside anyone’s body—would also undercut the until-now absolute connection between female sex and maternity. In kind, effects such as these—undoing conventionally gendered parenthood—undercut the state’s interest in knowing whether parents are male or female in relation to a given child, as against knowing simply whether someone stands in a parental relationship to that child, as a matter of rights and duties.
Health Information Technology as a Universal Donor to Bioethics Education
Authors: GOODMAN KENNETH W. 
Published: March 2017

Abstract:Health information technology, sometimes called biomedical informatics, is the use of computers and networks in the health professions. This technology has become widespread, from electronic health records to decision support tools to patient access through personal health records. These computational and information-based tools have engendered their own ethics literature and now present an opportunity to shape the standard medical and nursing ethics curricula. It is suggested that each of four core components in the professional education of clinicians—privacy, end-of-life care, access to healthcare and valid consent, and clinician–patient communication—offers an opportunity to leverage health information technology for curricular improvement. Using informatics in ethics education freshens ethics pedagogy and increases its utility, and does so without additional demands on overburdened curricula.
Legitimacy and the UN Security Council Agenda
Authors: Frederking Brian , Patane Christopher 
Published: March 2017

ABSTRACTIs the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) a legitimate organization? Do the veto powers legitimately pursue international security, or do they protect their narrow national interests? One way to evaluate the legitimacy of the UNSC is through its agenda. Does it address the most significant conflicts in world politics? Or is it influenced by the national interests of the veto powers? This article addresses these questions with a dataset that includes the number of UNSC meetings held and resolutions passed on 40 conflicts from 1991 to 2013. This analysis provides evidence for the legitimacy of the UNSC—conflicts with more refugees and more deaths are significantly more likely to be on the agenda. The analysis does not support critics of the UNSC—the national interests of the veto powers, measured as arms sales to and trade with the conflict participants, do not significantly alter the UNSC agenda.
Going Beyond the Existing Consensus: The Use of Games in International Relations Education
Authors: Lee Michael , Shirkey Zachary C. 
Published: March 2017

ABSTRACT
Despite the popularity of using games to teach international relations, few works directly assess their effectiveness. Furthermore, it is unclear if games help all students equally, or if certain students are more likely to benefit than others. Finally, how closely the game must mirror the concept being taught to be an effective pedagogical tool has received scant attention. We address these points by discussing the use of an updated version of the classic American election game, Consensus, to help illustrate the role of domestic political coalitions in an international political economy course. Assessing the performance of 39 students via a pre- and post-quiz, we find that student performance improved overall, particularly among frequent gamers.
Ages and chemical compositions of massive clusters in NGC147 and M31
Authors: Sharina Margarita , Shimansky Vladislav 
Published: March 2017

AbstractWe present estimates of ages, [Fe/H], helium content (Y) and abundances of C, N, Mg, Ca, and several other elements for the following globular clusters (GCs): GC7 in NGC147, and Mayall II, Mackey 1 and Mackey 6 in M31. Medium-resolution integrated-light spectra of the GCs were conducted with the 6m telescope. To derive the ages and abundances for the GCs we carried out their population synthesis using model stellar atmospheres, the Padova YZVAR isochrones and the Chabrier mass function. We compare the results with the corresponding data obtained using the same method for several massive Galactic GCs. We show that the differences in the light-element abundances between GCs with similar ages and metallicities may reach 0.5-0.6 dex. The corresponding differences for other elements are usually 2-3 times smaller. We suggest that at least partially the detected differences may be due to light-element abundance variations in the atmospheres of high-luminosity red giant branch stars as a consequence of the transportation of the produced elements to the surface layers.
Theoretical evolutionary framework for low-mass stars in massive star clusters
Authors: Cassisi Santi 
Published: March 2017

AbstractRecent spectroscopic and photometric surveys of Galactic Globular Clusters have shown that these stellar systems host distinct sub-populations of stars characterised by peculiar chemical patterns. In the following we wish to address the issue of how these specific chemical patterns affect both the structural and evolutionary properties of stars as well as their spectral energy distribution. The implications of these effects on the photometric appearance of multiple stellar populations in different photometric planes are also briefly discussed.
Accretion onto Protoplanetary Discs: Implications for Globular Cluster Evolution
Authors: Wijnen T. P. G. , Pols O. R. , Pelupessy F. I. , Zwart S. Portegies 
Published: March 2017

AbstractIn the past decade, observational evidence that Globular Clusters (GCs) harbour multiple stellar populations has grown steadily. These observations are hard to reconcile with the classical picture of star formation in GCs, which approximates them as a single generation of stars. Bastian et al. recently suggested an evolutionary scenario in which a second, chemically distinct, population is formed by the accretion of chemically enriched material onto the protoplanetary disc of low-mass stars in the initial GC population. Using assumptions that represent the (dynamical) conditions in a typical GC, we investigate whether a low-mass star surrounded by a protoplanetary disc can accrete sufficient enriched material to account for the observed abundances in ‘second generation’ stars. We compare the outcome of two different smoothed particle hydrodynamics codes and focus on the lifetime and stability of the disc and on the gas accretion rate onto both the star and the disc.
Initial conditions of formation of starburst clusters: constraints from stellar dynamics
Authors: Banerjee Sambaran 
Published: March 2017

AbstractHow starburst clusters form out of molecular clouds is still an open question. In this article, I highlight some of the key constraints in this regard, that one can get from the dynamical evolutionary properties of dense stellar systems. I particularly focus on secular expansion of massive star clusters and hierarchical merging of sub-clusters, and discuss their implicationsvis-á-visthe observed properties of young massive clusters. The analysis suggests that residual gas expulsion is necessary for shaping these clusters as we see them today, irrespective of their monolithic or hierarchical mode of formation.
A critical assessment of models for the origin of multiple populations in globular clusters
Authors: Bastian Nate 
Published: March 2017

AbstractA number of scenarios have been put forward to explain the origin of the chemical anomalies (and resulting complex colour-magnitude diagrams) observed in globular clusters (GCs), namely the AGB, Fast Rotating Massive Star, Very Massive Star, and Early Disc Accretion scenarios. We compare the predictions of these scenarios with a range of observations (including young massive clusters (YMCs), chemical patterns, and GC population properties) and find that all models are inconsistent with observations. In particular, YMCs do not show evidence for multiple epochs of star-formation and appear to be gas free by an age of ~ 3 Myr. Also, the chemical patterns displayed in GCs vary from one to the next in such a way that cannot be reproduced by standard nucleosynthetic yields. Finally, we show that the “mass budget problem” for the scenarios cannot be solved by invoking heavy cluster mass loss (i.e. that clusters were 10-100 times more massive at birth) as this solution makes basic predictions about the GC population that are inconsistent with observations. We conclude that none of the proposed scenarios can explain the multiple population phenomenon, hence alternative theories are needed.
The Initial Mass Function of Young Open Clusters in the Galaxy: A Preliminary Result
Authors: Lim Beomdu , Sung Hwankyung , Hur Hyeonoh , Park Byeong-Gon 
Published: March 2017

AbstractThe initial mass function (IMF) is an essential tool with which to study star formation processes. We have initiated the photometric survey of young open clusters in the Galaxy, from which the stellar IMFs are obtained in a homogeneous way. A total of 16 famous young open clusters have preferentially been studied up to now. These clusters have a wide range of surface densities (log σ = −1 to 3 [stars pc−2] for stars with mass larger than 5M⊙) and cluster masses (Mcl = 165 to 50, 000M⊙), and also are distributed in five different spiral arms in the Galaxy. It is possible to test the dependence of star formation processes on the global properties of individual clusters or environmental conditions. We present a preliminary result on the variation of the IMF in this paper.
Multiple populations in globular clusters: constraints from kinematics and dynamics
Authors: Hénault-Brunet Vincent 
Published: March 2017

AbstractWe discuss constraints on the formation of multiple populations in globular clusters (GCs) imposed by their present-day kinematics (velocity dispersion and anisotropy) and spatial distribution. We argue that the observational evidence collected so far in the outer parts of clusters is generally consistent with an enriched population forming more centrally concentrated compared to the primordial population, in agreement with all the scenarios proposed to date (in some cases by design), but not sufficient to favour a particular scenario. We highlight that the differential rotation of subpopulations is a signature that may provide crucial new constraints and allow us to distinguish between various scenarios. Finally, we discuss the spatial distribution of subpopulations in the central regions of GCs and speculate that mass segregation between subpopulations may be due to a difference in their binary fraction.
Formation of the twin galactic starburst regions NGC 6357 and NGC 6334
Authors: Torii Kazufumi , Hasegawa Keisuke , Ohama Akio , Yamamoto Hiroaki , Tachihara Kengo , Fukui Yasuo 
Published: March 2017

AbstractNew CO J=1–0 observations with NANTEN and NANTEN2 reveal that extensive collisions between two molecular clouds at relative velocity of 15 km s−1 triggered the O star formation in the Galactic mini-starbursts NGC 6357 and NGC 6334. Correlated/anti-correlated gas distributions and intermediate velocity features between the two clouds lend support for the cloud-cloud collision scenario. The timescale of the collision and high-mass star formation is as short as less than 0.5 Myrs, suggesting rapid O star formation.
Twins born in different environments? Nuclei of two dSphs: isolated galaxy KKS3 and E269-66, a close neighbor of NGC5128
Authors: Sharina Margarita , Kniazev Alexei , Karachentsev Igor 
Published: March 2017

AbstractWe present the results of age, metallicity and radial velocity determination for central massive globular clusters (GCs) in dwarf spheroidal galaxies: KKs3 and ESO269-66. KKS3 is a unique isolated galaxy. ESO269-66 is a close neighbor of the giant S0 Centaurus A. The results contribute to the knowledge about the origin of massive star clusters and their host dSphs. The structure and star formation histories of the two dwarf galaxies look rather similar. Both of them have experienced several star-forming events. The most recent ones occurred 1-2 Gyr ago, and most powerful bursts happened 12-14 Gyrs ago. Our analysis has shown that both GCs appear to be 1-2 Gyr younger and 0.1-0.3 dex more metal-rich than the most ancient metal-poor stars in the host dSphs. We examine signatures of multiple stellar population in the GCs using our data. Since central star-forming bursts were extended in time, the massive clusters might be considered as nuclei of the galaxies.
Non-thermal emission in Cyg OB2
Authors: Fenech D. , Morford J. , Prinja R. 
Published: March 2017

AbstractWe report here on the first results from the Cyg OB2 Radio Survey (COBRaS), which is a UCL-led e-MERLIN legacy project to provide a deep-field radio mapping of the Cygnus OB2 association. The project has been awarded a total allocation of 252 hours at C-band (5 GHz) and 42 hours at L-band (1.6 GHz) to image the core of the cluster.We discuss in particular the presence of non-thermal radio emission at 20 cm (L-band), and its potential as a highly efficient way to identify binaries via single-epoch observations, particularly for colliding-wind binaries. COBRaS data will provide a powerful tool for establishing binary incidence in Cyg OB2, specifically in the difficult intermediate-period range (1–100 yr).Ultimately, we aim to assemble a substantial and uniquely sensitive radio dataset, which will be exploited to address several fundamentally important areas of stellar astrophysics, including mass-loss, binary frequency, stellar cluster dynamics, and triggered star-formation.