bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Intrapartum mean platelet volume is not a useful predictor of new‐onset delayed postpartum pre‐eclampsia
Authors: Vilchez Gustavo , Londra Laura , Hoyos Luis R. , Sokol Robert , Bahado‐Singh Ray 
Published: June 2015

AbstractObjectiveTo determine whether intrapartum mean platelet volume (MPV) can predict new‐onset delayed postpartum pre‐eclampsia.MethodsIn a retrospective study, data were obtained for women with delayed postpartum pre‐eclampsia (≥ 48 hours after delivery) who attended the Detroit Medical Center, Detroit, MI, USA, between January 2002 and July 2010. Patients were divided into two subgroups: new‐onset delayed postpartum pre‐eclampsia (no history of hypertensive disorder before 48 hours after delivery) and other late‐onset/delayed postpartum pre‐eclampsia (history of hypertensive disorders). Cases with no hypertensive disorders paired by delivery date were selected as controls. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were used to determine whether MPV could distinguish between cases and controls.ResultsData for 130 cases of new‐onset delayed postpartum pre‐eclampsia, 71 cases of other late‐onset/delayed postpartum pre‐eclampsia, and 405 controls were collected. MPV was significantly different between the pre‐eclampsia subgroups (P = 0.007). ROC curves showed that MPV significantly distinguished new‐onset delayed postpartum pre‐eclampsia cases (area under the curve 0.6, 95% confidence interval 0.5–0.6; P = 0.02), with a sensitivity and specificity of 58.1% and 55.4%, respectively.ConclusionAlthough MPV was significantly lower in women who went on to develop new‐onset delayed postpartum pre‐eclampsia than among controls, it is not a useful predictor. The low MPV suggests a different mechanism for the development of new‐onset delayed postpartum pre‐eclampsia.
An approach for machining allowance optimization of complex parts with integrated structure
Authors: Zhang Ying , Zhang Dinghua , Wu Baohai 
Published: June 2015

Abstract
Currently composite manufacturing process, such as linear friction welding plus NC machining, is the main method for the manufacturing and repairing of complex parts with integrated structure. Due to different datum position and inevitable distortion from different processes, it is important to ensure sufficient machining allowance for complex parts during the NC machining process. In this paper, a workpiece localization approach for machining allowance optimization of complex parts based on CMM inspection is developed. This technique concerns an alignment process to ensure sufficient stock allowance for the single parts as well as the whole integrated parts. The mathematical model of the constrained alignment is firstly established, and then the symmetric block solution strategy is proposed to solve the optimization model. Experiment result shows that the approach is appropriate and feasible to distribute the machining allowance for the single and whole parts for adaptive machining of complex parts.
Highlights An approach for machining allowance optimization of complex parts based on CMM inspection is developed. An alignment process to ensure sufficient stock allowance for the whole integrated parts is concerned. The symmetric block solution strategy is proposed to solve the constrained alignment model.
Targeting gene therapies enhance sensitivity to chemo‐ and radiotherapy of human oral squamous cell carcinoma
Authors: Tanzawa Hideki , Uzawa Katsuhiro , Kasamatsu Atsushi , Endo‐Sakamoto Yosuke , Saito Kengo , Ogawara Katsunori , Shiiba Masashi 
Published: June 2015

AbstractWe have developed two methods to enhance the sensitivity of chemo‐ and/or radioresistant oral squamous carcinoma cells (OSCC).One is a method to inhibit a chemoresistant gene and to enhance sensitivity to chemotherapy. Most of the cases with resistance to cis‐diaminedichloro‐platinum II (cisplatin, CDDP) shows significant upregulated expression of phosphodiesterase 3B (PDE3B) and inhibition of PDE3B by cilostazol, which is clinically used as an antiplatelet drug for peripheral vascular disease, suppressing multidrug resistance‐associated proteins (MRPs), a subfamily of adenosine triphosphate (ATP)‐binding cassette (ABC) transporters, thus resulting in an increased amount of anticancer drugs such as CDDP. The combination usage of cilostazol and CDDP in vitro and in vivo indicated greater growth suppression of chemoresistant OSCC than that of either cilostazol alone or CDDP alone. The other method involves using a drug that inhibits radioresistance and enhances sensitivity to radiotherapy. Human oral squamous cancer cell lines exhibiting radioresistance show significant upregulated expression of the fibroblast growth factor receptor 3 (FGFR3). In vitro and in vivo, PD173074, a chemical agent inhibiting FGFR3, showed significant enhanced effect of radiation therapy on radioresistant cancer cells. These results provided novel information on which to base further mechanistic study on developing strategies to improve outcomes with concurrent chemo‐ and/or radiotherapy.
Intergovernmental Relations in Canada's Immigration System: From Bilateralism towards Multilateral Collaboration
Authors: Schertzer Robert 
Published: June 2015

AbstractThis article has two objectives. The first is to highlight a turn towards multilateral collaboration in the immigration sector and the resulting focus on pan-Canadian policy objectives and initiatives. This account is set against the current literature, which argues a bilateral approach to intergovernmental relations in the sector has resulted in asymmetrical policies and programs. The second objective is to demonstrate the value of explicitly focusing on the nature of intergovernmental relations as unilateral, bilateral or multilateral. Applying this lens, the article draws out the drivers and complexity of the turn towards multilateral collaboration in the immigration sector, arguing it is motivated by an increased provincial engagement in economic immigration and also by the federal government's desire to reassert its own role in response.
A late surviving xenopod (Arthropoda) from the Ordovican Period, Wales
Authors: LEGG DAVID A. , HEARING THOMAS W. 
Published: June 2015

AbstractThe Middle Ordovician Llanfallteg Formation has yielded remains of soft-bodied organisms previously known only from Cambrian Burgess Shale-type deposits. A new arthropodEtania howellsorumgen. et sp. nov. is described here, characterized by a semi-circular cephalon, clusters of spinose endites on the endopod and exopods with ovoid distal lobes. These characters are consistent with xenopod affinities, a clade otherwise known exclusively from the Cambrian Period. The discovery ofE. howellsorumdemonstrates that a number of Burgess Shale-type taxa, including xenopods, survived past the Cambrian Period (albeit within a restricted environment) and may have been outcompeted during the Great Ordovician Biodiversification Event (GOBE).
Future distribution of cotton and wheat in Australia under potential climate change
Authors: SHABANI F. , KOTEY B. 
Published: June 2015

SUMMARYThe present study applies refined and improved scenarios for climate change to quantify the effects of potential alterations in climatic factors on localities for wheat and cotton production, which are two crops important to Australia's economy. The future distributions of Gossypium (cotton) and Triticum aestivum L. (wheat) were modelled using CLIMEX software with the A2 emission scenario generated by CSIRO-Mk3·0 and MIROC-H global climate models. The results were correlated to identify areas suitable for these economically important crops for the years 2030, 2050, 2070 and 2100 in Australia. The analysis shows that the areas where wheat and cotton can be grown in Australia will diminish from 2030 to 2050 and 2070 through to 2100. While cotton can be grown over extensive areas of the country until 2070, the area grown to wheat will decrease significantly over the period.
Effects of nitrogen fertilizer and manure application on storage of carbon and nitrogen under continuous maize cropping in Arenosols and Luvisols of Zimbabwe
Authors: MUJURU L. , RUSINAMHODZI L. , NYAMANGARA J. , HOOSBEEK M. R. 
Published: June 2015

SUMMARYSoil organic matter (SOM) is important for long-term crop productivity through maintenance of soil quality and is also now receiving attention due to its potential for climate change mitigation. The objectives of the present study were to investigate the effects of 9 years of fertilization on soil organic carbon (SOC) and total organic nitrogen (TON) and their fractions for the 0–50 cm profile in clayey (Luvisols) and sandy (Arenosols) soils in Murewa District, Zimbabwe. Three treatments were assessed: unfertilized (Control), nitrogen fertilizer (Nfert) and nitrogen fertilizer plus cattle manure (Nfert+manure). Density fractionation was used to assess the distribution of SOC and TON in three SOM fractions and their sensitivity to fertilization in fields 0–50 m away from homesteads (Homefields) and > 100 m away from homesteads (outfields). The relationship between light and heavy fraction organic carbon (C) were analysed to determine equilibrium levels that give an indication of carbon storage potential. In clayey soils total organic C under Nfert+manure was 4% higher than Nfert and 16% higher than the control. In sandy soils, SOC stocks were lowest in the control and highest in Nfert treatments at all depths. Nine years of fertilization significantly influenced SOC concentrations and storage up to 20 cm depth, below which stocks and concentrations of C and N were statistically insignificant. Distribution of C and N in density fractions showed greater stabilization under Nfert+manure in clayey soils, whereas it was greater under Nfert in sandy soils. Estimation of equilibrium levels suggested that homefields had potential to store more C, whereas outfields and control treatments had limited capacity due to attainment of lower equilibrium levels. Application of manure can be a low-cost alternative for enhancing soil quality and promoting soil C sequestration under conventionally tilled continuous maize cropping systems in Zimbabwe.
Algal bloom in a melt pond on Canada Basin pack ice
Authors: Lin Ling , He Jianfeng , Zhang Fang , Cao Shunan , Zhang Can 
Published: June 2015

ABSTRACTMelt ponds are common on the surface of ice floes in the Arctic Ocean during spring and summer. Few studies on melt pond algae communities have been accomplished. These studies have shown that these melt ponds were ultra-oligotrophic, and contribute little to overall productivity. However, during the 6th Chinese Arctic Cruise in the Arctic Ocean in summer 2014, a closed coloured melt pond with a chlorophyll a concentration of 15.32 μg/L was observed on Arctic pack ice in the Canada Basin. The bloom was caused by the chlorophyte Carteria lunzensis at an abundance of 15.49×106 cells/L and biomass of 5.07 mg C/L. Primary production within surface melt ponds may need more attention along with Arctic warming.
Callous-unemotional traits drive reduced white-matter integrity in youths with conduct problems
Authors: Breeden A. L. , Cardinale E. M. , Lozier L. M. , VanMeter J. W. , Marsh A. A. 
Published: June 2015

Background.Callous-unemotional (CU) traits represent a significant risk factor for severe and persistent conduct problems in children and adolescents. Extensive neuroimaging research links CU traits to structural and functional abnormalities in the amygdala and ventromedial prefrontal cortex. In addition, adults with psychopathy (a disorder for which CU traits are a developmental precursor) exhibit reduced integrity in uncinate fasciculus, a white-matter (WM) tract that connects prefrontal and temporal regions. However, research in adolescents has not yet yielded similarly consistent findings.Method.We simultaneously modeled CU traits and externalizing behaviors as continuous traits, while controlling for age and IQ, in order to identify the unique relationship of each variable with WM microstructural integrity, assessed using diffusion tensor imaging. We used tract-based spatial statistics to evaluate fractional anisotropy, an index of WM integrity, in uncinate fasciculus and stria terminalis in 47 youths aged 10–17 years, of whom 26 exhibited conduct problems and varying levels of CU traits.Results.Whereas both CU traits and externalizing behaviors were negatively correlated with WM integrity in bilateral uncinate fasciculus and stria terminalis/fornix, simultaneously modeling both variables revealed that these effects were driven by CU traits; the severity of externalizing behavior was not related to WM integrity after controlling for CU traits.Conclusions.These results indicate that WM abnormalities similar to those observed in adult populations with psychopathy may emerge in late childhood or early adolescence, and may be critical to understanding the social and affective deficits observed in this population.
Augustine on will, freedom, and foreknowledge: De libero arbitrio, III, 1–3
Authors: HUGHES CHRISTOPHER 
Published: June 2015

AbstractTowards the beginning of the third book of De libero arbitrio, Augustine defends the compatibility of human freedom and divine foreknowledge. His defence appears to involve the idea that the will is essentially free. I discuss and evaluate Augustine's reasons for thinking that the will is essentially free, and the way that Augustine moves from the essential freedom of the will to the compatibility of human freedom and divine foreknowledge.
Older people and decision-making following acute stroke in China: ‘hiding’ as a barrier to active involvement
Authors: WANG YUE , NOLAN MIKE 
Published: June 2015

ABSTRACTDecision-making among older patients with stroke, their families and professionals has been extensively studied in a Western context, but there has been little prior work in China. The study reported here explored how decision-making took place between older people with stroke, their family carers and professionals in an acute care context in mainland China using a constructivist grounded theory approach. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews, participant observation and documentary analysis. Constant comparative analysis of the data was carried out. This paper focuses on the key social process of ‘hiding’ and its dynamic relationship with the core category ‘keeping the peace’. In order to meet the traditional Chinese cultural value of ‘maintaining harmony’, both family carers and professionals hid essential information from older stroke survivors who, as a consequence, were effectively precluded from playing an active role in major decisions. In understanding ‘hiding’, the paper draws upon both Chinese cultural values and ‘awareness context theory’ and in so doing questions the relevance to the Chinese context of key Western notions such as involvement in health-care decision-making. A better understanding of the experiences of decision-making processes between older people with stroke, their family carers and professionals in China will help professionals to provide the best possible support and care whilst promoting informed decision-making amongst all concerned.
Theory, ‘truthers’, and transparency: Reflecting on knowledge in the twenty-first century
Authors: FLUCK MATTHEW 
Published: June 2015

AbstractThe current era is often described in epistemic terms, as an ‘information age’ or ‘knowledge society’. Such claims reflect ideals that are deeply ingrained in modern societies. There is a widespread assumption that successful social and political interaction involves access to information and that political power is gained when knowledge replaces obscurity. Such assumptions reflect contemporary ‘epistemic folkways’, which are manifested in two widespread epistemic phenomena – faith in ‘transparency’ and conspiracy theorisingInternational Relations (IR) theorists should be well-equipped to understand such developments. However, reflection concerning epistemic matters in IR is in under attack, increasingly presented as a distraction from the formulation of empirically grounded accounts of international politics. This article argues that reflexive theory can in fact play an important role in helping IR scholars to understand contemporary epistemic folkways. Drawing on the Critical Theory of Theodor Adorno, it is argued that the transparency ideal and conspiracy theorising reflect the efforts of individuals to increase their influence in a world in which they are both objects of technical knowledge and, in principle, epistemically empowered subjects. Reflection on the subject-object relationship suggests that the pursuit of increasingly unmediated access to information is in fact a key source of reification and disempowerment.
War is peace: the rearticulation of ‘peace’ in Japan’s China discourse
Authors: HAGSTRÖM LINUS , HANSSEN ULV 
Published: June 2015

AbstractThis article demonstrates that a national identity defined by a normative commitment to peace is not necessarily an antidote to remilitarisation and war. More specifically, the article takes issue with the debate about the trajectory of Japan’s security and defence policy. One strand of the debate holds that Japan is normatively committed to peace while the other claims that Japan is in the process of remilitarising. This article argues that the two positions are not mutually exclusive – a point that has been overlooked in the literature. The article uses discourse analysis to trace how ‘peace’ was discussed in debates about China in the Japanese Diet in 1972 and 2009–12. It demonstrates how rearticulations by right wing discourses in the latter period have depicted peace as something that must be defended actively, and thus as compatible with remilitarisation or military normalisation. Japan’s changing peace identity could undermine rather than stabilise peaceful relations with its East Asian neighbours.
Crisis stability or general stability? Assessing Northeast Asia’s absence of war and prospects for liberal transition
Authors: CHOI JONG KUN 
Published: June 2015

AbstractIs the relatively long peace of Northeast Asia a result of crisis stability or general stability? The article introduces two stability concepts – crisis and general stability. Crisis stability occurs when both sides in military crisis are so secure due to its military capability and are able to wait out a surprise attack fully confident that it would be able to respond with a punishing counter attack. On the other hand, general stability prevails when two powers greatly prefer peace even to a victorious war whether crisis stability exists or not, simply because war has become inconceivable as a means of solving any political disagreements and conflicts. While crisis stability entails delicate balance of military power from the deterrence literature of security studies, general stability bases its logic of inquiry on constructivism where the idea of war aversion – categorically rejecting war as a means to end conflicts – becomes the prevailing norm. Therefore, this article empirically examines how Northeast Asia has sustained its peace through crisis stability and presents a new trend toward general stability.
PCA-based method to fuse behaviors from place characterization for robot navigation
Authors: Poncela Alberto 
Published: June 2015

SUMMARYThis paper presents a method to calculate the fusing rule among three reactive behaviors, Wall Following, Corridor Following and Door Crossing, from place characterization for robot navigation. The technique is supported by a local grid of the closest area to the robot, which is built from sonar readings. The contour of this grid is extracted, represented by itsFFTand, finally, it is reduced to a short feature vector with a principal component analysis (PCA). This feature vector is used to decide the fusing rule among the three behaviors. The algorithm is very fast in terms of its time performance, being then valid to be used in robot navigation, since the robot would rapidly react to new situations. It has also been successfully tested in simulated and real environments, with a Pioneer robot equipped with eight frontal sonar sensors, both in manually driven tasks and autonomous navigation tasks, proving its feasibility and effectiveness.
Factoring in the hyperelliptic Torelli group
Authors: BRENDLE TARA E. , MARGALIT DAN 
Published: June 2015

AbstractThe hyperelliptic Torelli group is the subgroup of the mapping class group consisting of elements that act trivially on the homology of the surface and that also commute with some fixed hyperelliptic involution. Putman and the authors proved that this group is generated by Dehn twists about separating curves fixed by the hyperelliptic involution. In this paper, we introduce an algorithmic approach to factoring a wide class of elements of the hyperelliptic Torelli group into such Dehn twists, and apply our methods to several basic types of elements. As one consequence, we answer an old question of Dennis Johnson.
Hepatitis C virus in Mexican Americans: a population-based study reveals relatively high prevalence and negative association with diabetes
Authors: WATT G. P. , VATCHEVA K. P. , BERETTA L. , PAN J. J. , FALLON M. B. , McCORMICK J. B. , FISHER-HOCH S. P. 
Published: June 2015

SUMMARYThis study aimed to estimate the prevalence and risk factors for hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection in Mexican Americans living in South Texas. We tested plasma for the presence of HCV antibody from the Cameron County Hispanic Cohort (CCHC), a randomized, population-based cohort in an economically disadvantaged Mexican American community on the United States/Mexico border with high rates of chronic disease. A weighted prevalence of HCV antibody of 2·3% [n = 1131, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1·2–3·4] was found. Participants with diabetes had low rates of HCV antibody (0·4%, 95% CI 0·0–0·9) and logistic regression revealed a statistically significant negative association between HCV and diabetes (OR 0·20, 95% CI 0·05–0·77) after adjusting for sociodemographic and clinical factors. This conflicts with reported positive associations of diabetes and HCV infection. No classic risk factors were identified, but important differences between genders emerged in analysis. This population-based study of HCV in Mexican Americans suggests that national studies do not adequately describe the epidemiology of HCV in this border community and that unique risk factors may be involved.
Human anthrax outbreak associated with livestock exposure: Georgia, 2012
Authors: NAVDARASHVILI A. , DOKER T. J. , GELEISHVILI M. , HABERLING D. L. , KHAROD G. A. , RUSH T. H. , MAES E. , ZAKHASHVILI K. , IMNADZE P. , BOWER W. A. , WALKE H. T. , SHADOMY S. V. ,   the Anthrax Investigation Team
Published: June 2015

SUMMARYHuman anthrax cases reported in the country of Georgia increased 75% from 2011 (n= 81) to 2012 (n= 142). This increase prompted a case-control investigation using 67 culture- or PCR-confirmed cases and 134 controls matched by residence and gender to investigate risk factor(s) for infection during the month before case onset. Independent predictors most strongly associated with disease in the multivariable modelling were slaughtering animals [odds ratio (OR) 7·3, 95% confidence interval (CI) 2·9–18·1,P< 0·001] and disposing of dead animals (OR 13·6, 95% CI 1·5–119·8,P= 0·02). Participants owning or working with livestock (n= 131) were additionally interviewed about livestock management practices during the previous 6 months: 53 (44%) of 121 respondents vaccinated livestock against anthrax; 19 (16%) of 116 moved livestock >1 km; 15 (12%) of 125 had sick livestock; and 11 (9%) of 128 respondents reported finding dead livestock. We recommend joint public health and veterinary anthrax case investigations to identify areas of increased risk for livestock anthrax outbreaks, annual anthrax vaccination of livestock in those areas, and public awareness education.