bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Fatigue behavior of double-edge notched oxide/oxide ceramic matrix composite in a combustion environment
Authors: Singh Abhendra K , Sabelkin Volodymyr , Mall Shankar
Published: February 2017

Tension–tension fatigue tests in a combustion environment were performed on double-edge notched oxide/oxide ceramic matrix composite specimens. The composite, designated as N720/A, constituted woven 0°/90° Nextel™720 fibers in alumina matrix. Monotonic tensile and cyclic loads at a frequency of 1 Hz and a stress ratio of 0.05 were applied on the specimens in a combustion environment. The maximum specimen temperature due to combustion flame impingement in the notch region was 1250 ± 50℃. A stiffness reduction of less than 10% evaluated for the run-out specimens showed the harsh combustion environment had a minimal effect on specimen degradation. The residual strength was evaluated to be ∼75%–85% the strength of non-fatigued (virgin) double-edge notch specimens in room temperature. The monotonic tensile strength and the fatigue limit for 90,000 cycles (run-out) were found to be ∼40 MPa less in the combustion environment when compared to published results for 1200℃ laboratory air environment. The damage mechanisms were also the same in the two environments. Finite element analyses showed that the reduction in strength and fatigue limit in the combustion environment (as compared to the laboratory air environment) was due to the presence of thermal gradient stresses because of non-uniform specimen temperature distribution.
Mechanisms Linking Ethical Leadership to Ethical Sales Behavior
Authors: Wu Yu-Chi
Published: February 2017

This study investigated the relationship between ethical leadership and ethical sales behavior. A total of 248 matched surveys with participant responses from insurance agents and their customers were collected. The insurance agents were asked to rate the ethical leadership of their leaders, the ethical climate in their organization, and their individual moral identity. Customers were asked to rate the perceived ethical sales behavior of the insurance agents. This empirical study utilized moderated mediation techniques to analyze the data. Results indicated that ethical climate mediated the relationship between ethical leadership and ethical sales behavior when moral identity was high, however, did not when moral identity was low. The research framework including contextual effects (i.e., ethical climate) and individual differences in moral judgment (i.e., moral identity) can provide a comprehensive picture of how ethical leadership influences ethical sales behavior. Theoretical and practical implications of these findings are also discussed.
Crossing Boundaries
Authors: Ku Leighton , Steinmetz Erika , Bysshe Tyler , Bruen Brian K.
Published: February 2017

Objectives:

Previous state interagency collaborations have led to successful tobacco cessation initiatives. The objective of this study was to assess the roles and interaction of state Medicaid and public health agency efforts to support tobacco cessation for low-income Medicaid beneficiaries.

Methods:

We interviewed Medicaid and state public health agency officials in 8 states in September and October 2015 about collaborations in policy development and implementation for Medicaid tobacco cessation, including Medicaid coverage policies, quitlines, and monitoring.

Results:

Collaboration between Medicaid and public health agencies was limited. Smoking cessation quitlines were the most common area of collaboration cited. Public health officials were typically not involved in developing Medicaid coverage policies. States covered a range of US Food and Drug Administration–approved tobacco cessation medications, but 7 of the 8 states imposed limitations, such as charging copayments or requiring previous authorization. States generally lacked data to monitor implementation of tobacco cessation efforts and had little ability to determine the effectiveness of their policies.

Conclusions:

To strengthen efforts to reduce smoking and tobacco-related health burdens and to monitor the effectiveness of policies and programs, Medicaid and public health agencies should prioritize tobacco cessation and develop and analyze data about smoking and cessation efforts among Medicaid beneficiaries. Recent multistate initiatives from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services seek to promote stronger collaborations in clinical prevention activities, including tobacco cessation.
Digital romance: the sources of online love in the Muslim world
Authors: Sotoudeh Ramina , Friedland Roger , Afary Janet
Published: February 2017

Social media creates new virtual public spaces where young women and men living in socially conservative non-Western societies can communicate in order to meet and engage in forbidden intimacies. In this essay, using survey data on thousands of Facebook users from Muslim-majority countries, we look at the relationship between romance in public physical spaces and cyberspaces. To what extent do Facebook users make use of the Internet to pursue romance? And what are the attributes of individuals who use it in this way?
Efficiency of three treatment strategies on occupational and quality of life impairments for chronic low back pain patients: is the multidisciplinary approach the key feature to success?
Authors: Ronzi Yoann , Roche-Leboucher Ghislaine , Bègue Cyril , Dubus Valerie , Bontoux Luc , Roquelaure Yves , Richard Isabelle , Petit Audrey
Published: February 2017

Objective:

To compare the effectiveness of three treatment strategies for chronic low back pain with varying biomechanical intensity and multidisciplinary approach.

Methods:

A monocentric randomized controlled trial with a 12-months follow-up, conducted in the French Valley Loire region from May 2009 to April 2013. Participants were working-aged patients with chronic low back pain referred to a French chronic low back pain care-network to support medical and occupational issues. Three treatment strategies, each for five weeks were compared: (i) intensive and multidisciplinary program conducted in a rehabilitation center; (ii) less intensive outpatient program conducted by a trained private physiotherapist; (iii) mixed strategy combining the same outpatient program associated with a weekly multidisciplinary intervention. The effects of treatment conditions were compared using an “intention to treat” approach: Number of days’ sick leave during the 12-months following treatment, and quality of life and social ability assessed by auto-questionnaires.

Results:

A total of 159 patients (58.9% men, 41.5 ± 10.3 years old, median duration of sick leave = 221.0 days (127.5–319.0)) were included. Sick leave duration significantly decreased during the 12-months following treatment in the three groups. There was no significant difference for the evolution of participants’ quality of life, social ability, and personal beliefs between the three groups.

Conclusion:

This study confirms that disparate treatments might show similar effectiveness because they could all work through concomitant changes in beliefs, attitudes, and coping mechanisms. The original mixed strategy can treat a larger number of chronic low back pain patients, at a lower cost and provide local community-based care. Clinical Trial registration: NCT02030171
Understanding meaning in life interventions in patients with advanced disease: A systematic review and realist synthesis
Authors: Guerrero-Torrelles Mariona , Monforte-Royo Cristina , Rodríguez-Prat Andrea , Porta-Sales Josep , Balaguer Albert
Published: February 2017

Background:

Among patients with advanced disease, meaning in life is thought to enhance well-being, promote coping and improve the tolerance of physical symptoms. It may also act as a buffer against depression and hopelessness. As yet, there has been no synthesis of meaning in life interventions in which contextual factors, procedures and outcomes are described and evaluated.

Aims:

To identify meaning in life interventions implemented in patients with advanced disease and to describe their context, mechanisms and outcomes.

Design:

Systematic review according to Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines and realist synthesis of meaning in life interventions using criteria from the Realist And Meta-narrative Evidence Syntheses: Evolving Standards project.

Data sources:

The CINAHL, PsycINFO, PubMed and Web of Science databases were searched.

Results:

A total of 12 articles were included in the systematic review, corresponding to nine different interventions. Five articles described randomized controlled trials, two were qualitative studies, two were commentaries or reflections, and there was one pre–post evaluation, one exploratory study and one description of a model of care. Analysis of context, mechanisms and outcomes configurations showed that a core component of all the interventions was the interpersonal encounter between patient and therapist, in which sources of meaning were explored and a sense of connectedness was re-established. Meaning in life interventions were associated with clinical benefits on measures of purpose-in-life, quality of life, spiritual well-being, self-efficacy, optimism, distress, hopelessness, anxiety, depression and wish to hasten death.

Conclusion:

This review provides an explanatory model of the contextual factors and mechanisms that may be involved in promoting meaning in life. These approaches could provide useful tools for relieving existential suffering at the end of life.
Dual time point method for the quantification of irreversible tracer kinetics: A reference tissue approach applied to [18F]-FDOPA brain PET
Authors: Lopes Alves Isadora , Meles Sanne K , Willemsen Antoon TM , Dierckx Rudi A , Marques da Silva Ana M , Leenders Klaus L , Koole Michel
Published: February 2017

The Patlak graphical analysis (PGAREF) for quantification of irreversible tracer binding with a reference tissue model was approximated by a dual time point imaging approach (DTPREF). The DTPREF was applied to 18 [18F]-FDOPA brain scans using the occipital cortex as reference region (DTPOCC) and compared to both PGAOCC and striatal-to-occipital ratios (SOR). Pearson correlation analysis and Bland–Altman plots showed an excellent correlation and good agreement between DTPOCC and PGAOCC, while correlations between SOR and PGAOCC were consistently lower. Linear discriminant analysis (LDA) demonstrated a similar performance for all methods in differentiating patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD) from healthy controls (HC). Specifically for [18F]-FDOPA brain imaging, these findings validate DTPOCC as an approximation for PGAOCC, providing the same quantitative information while reducing the acquisition time to two short static scans. For PD patients, this approach can greatly improve patient comfort while reducing motion artifacts and increasing image quality. In general, DTPREF can improve the clinical applicability of tracers with irreversible binding characteristics when a reference tissue is available.
Developing an Antiracist Stance: How White Youth Understand Structural Racism
Authors: Thomann Catharine R. B. , Suyemoto Karen L.
Published: February 2017

This qualitative study explored how White youth understand structural racism on an abstract and personalized level and the process of developing these understandings. Structural racism encompasses both institutional racism and the broader effects of racism embedded within social structures. Semistructured interviews were conducted with 16 White youth in seventh or eighth grade in a suburban school. Grounded theory qualitative analysis indicated that developing structural racism understanding for White youth involved a process of (a) developing an initial understanding of the existence and meaning of structural racism, (b) reflecting on this awareness independently and with others, (c) developing emotional connections to these issues (sympathy), (d) developing perspective taking skills and empathy, and (e) engaging and struggling with one’s identity as a White person. Results also provided support for the importance of parental racial socialization practices and multicultural antibias education in the process of developing structural racism understanding for White youth.
Thymoma metastatic to liver and pancreas: case report and review of the literature
Authors: Passuello Nicola , Pozza Gioia , Blandamura Stella , Valmasoni Michele , Sperti Cosimo
Published: February 2017

A 71-year-old man presented with a thymic mass involving the superior vena cava. A mediastinoscopical biopsy initially suggested a diagnosis of type A thymoma. After neoadjuvant chemotherapy, the patient underwent en-bloc thymectomy and vascular resection for a pathology-confirmed type B3 thymoma involving the superior vena cava, the left brachiocephalic vein and the distal part of the right brachiocephalic vein. Adjuvant radiotherapy was administered. Two years after the primary surgery, abdominal computed tomography (CT) and whole body fluorodeoxyglucose (18-FDG) positron emission tomography (PET) scans showed a single hepatic lesion that was treated with wedge liver resection. Pathological examination confirmed metastatic type B3 thymoma. Almost 4 years later, abdominal CT and 18-FDG PET revealed a 2.9-cm solid mass involving the body of the pancreas. Distal pancreatectomy with lymph node dissection was performed. Pathological examination showed a pancreatic metastasis from a type B3 thymoma, without lymph node involvement. The patient is alive and free of disease 6 months after the pancreatectomy (68 months after the initial thymectomy surgery). Intra-abdominal recurrence and pancreatic metastases are very uncommon manifestations of thymoma, but this event should be kept in mind when an abdominal mass is seen during follow-up.
Migration and the Life Course: Mobility in Haut Bugey (France) during the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries
Authors: Bideau Alain , Foroni Fabrice , Brunet Guy
Published: February 2017

In order to study geographical mobility at the end of the nineteenth century and the beginning of the twentieth century, we construct the biography of two cohorts of individuals born in the villages of Chezery and Forens during the periods 1871–1880 and 1901–1910. We seek to define the boundaries of emigration from that area and look for successive migrations. Movers are identified in the census schedules of a set of 580 communes surrounding the place of birth. Migration is studied according to sex, age, familial history and individual activity; and the features of movers and stayers are compared.
The Impact of Participation in Research About Abuse and Intimate Partner Violence: An Investigation of Harms, Benefits, and Regrets in Young Adolescents in the Western Cape of South Africa
Authors: McClinton Appollis Tracy , Eggers Sander Matthijs , de Vries Petrus J. , de Vries Hein , Lund Crick , Mathews Cathy
Published: February 2017

There is very little evidence whether recalling and answering questions about abuse or interpersonal violence has a positive or negative impact on participants of such research. This is an important ethical dilemma to ensure an appropriate risk-benefit ratio in research with young people is maintained. We assessed reported harms, benefits, and regrets of young adolescents who participated in a sensitive research project, and compared the harms and benefits in those who had and had not been victims and/or perpetrators of abuse or intimate partner violence. Participants were 3,264 adolescents aged 12 to 15 years in 41 public schools in the Western Cape, South Africa, who completed a survey about intimate partner violence, verbal, physical, and sexual abuse, as part of an HIV prevention cluster randomized controlled trial. The majority of participants reported research participation as beneficial (70.3%), while 27.7% reported harms and 14% regrets. Victims of abuse were more likely than non-victims to report benefits (71.9% vs. 67.1%; p = .02) and harms (31% vs. 20.9%; p < .01) and were less likely to report regret (13.1% vs. 16.7%; p = .02). Perpetrators of abuse were less likely than non-perpetrators to report benefits (67.4% vs. 72.8%; p = .01) and more likely to report harms (36.4% vs. 26.1%; p < .01) and regrets (17.4% vs. 13.3%; p = .01). Our findings suggested that research participation was more likely to have a positive rather than a negative emotional impact on young adolescents and that relatively few regretted participating. Victims and perpetrators of abuse were more likely to report benefits than harms, supporting the ethical appropriateness of ongoing research on abuse and violence. We recommend that further research is required to clarify and standardize terminology and instruments to quantify these kinds of evaluations, including measurement of the severity and intensity of reported benefits, harms and regrets, and the longer term impact of participation in sensitive research.
Mandatory Minimum Sentences: Arizona's Ineffective Tool for the Social Control of Driving Under the Influence
Authors: Fradella Henry F.
Published: February 2017

Throughout the past 20 years or so, the social construction of driving under the influence (DUI) as a social problem has effectuated changes in both formal and informal social controls over the DUI offender. The imposition of mandatory minimum sentences for DUI offenders appears to be one of the more popular tools of formal social control of late. This study examines the legislative history of Arizona's DUI laws from 1975 through 1995 and the corresponding changes in the DUI arrest rate in the state throughout the course of that same time period. The data suggest that a statistically significant decrease in DUI occurred as a result of the implementation of informal social controls throughout the relevant time frame but that ever-increasing criminal sanctions, including the imposition of mandatory minimum sentences for first-time offenders, have had little or no effect on DUI behaviors in Arizona.
Is Preferential Treatment of Female Offenders a Thing of the Past? A Multisite Study of Gender, Race, and Imprisonment
Authors: Spohn Cassia , Beichner Dawn
Published: February 2017

Dramatic increases in the number of women incarcerated in state and federal prisons have led some researchers to conclude that differential sentencing of female offenders is a thing of the past. This study uses data on offenders convicted of felonies in Chicago, Miami, and Kansas City to address this issue. The authors find no evidence to support this “gender neutrality” hypothesis. In all three jurisdictions, women face significantly lower odds of incarceration than do men. The results also reveal that the effect of race is conditioned by gender but the effect of gender, with only one exception, is not conditioned by race; harsher treatment of racial minorities is confined to men but more lenient treatment of women is found for both racial minorities and Whites.
Perceptions of the Police and Fear of Crime in a Rural Setting: Utility of a Geographically Focused Survey for Police Services, Planning, and Assessment
Authors: Benedict Wm. Reed , Brown Ben , Bower Douglas J.
Published: February 2017

This study focuses on a survey designed to determine what crime-related issues citizens are most concerned with, and how they perceive the police. The survey utilized a geographically focused sampling technique. To discern any differences in concerns among the different areas of the city, the sample was stratified in accordance with the police department's beats. A breakdown of the survey data by police beat indicates that residents in the Northern beats are more concerned about their personal safety, their children's safety, drugs in their neighborhoods, and the safety of their property than residents of other areas. The analysis also indicates that women have significant concerns about their personal safety at night, both indoors and outdoors. The majority of respondents indicated that they thought the police were responsive to the needs of the community but would like to see friendly interaction between officers and citizens.
Persons with Serious Mental Illness in the Criminal Justice System: Background, Prevalence, and Principles of Care
Authors: Lurigio Arthur J.
Published: February 2017

This article describes the major factors that have led to the criminalization of persons with serious mental illness (PSMIs), and it presents several core principles for improving the care of PSMIs in the criminal justice system. These principles include mental health training for criminal justice staff, pretrial diversion projects, coordinated services for criminally involved PSMIs, integrated treatment for PSMIs with co-occurring disorders, aftercare linkage for PSMIs released from jails and prisons, continuous care models with single-point access to services for PSMIs with lengthy records of hospitalization and arrest, and more and better research on PSMIs involved in the criminal justice system.
Guilty Until Proven Innocent: An Analysis of Post-Furman Capital Errors
Authors: Harmon Talia Roitberg
Published: February 2017

The issue of erroneous convictions in capital cases has recently gained considerable nationwide media attention. This article builds on prior research by examining 76 cases of inmates who were released from death rows between 1970 and 1998 because of doubts about their guilt. By using sources, or persons who have extensive insider knowledge about these cases, as well as published court opinions, it was possible to identify the causes of the wrongful convictions as well as the significant events that led to the discovery of the miscarriages of justice. The data indicate that prosecutorial misconduct, perjury of witnesses, police misconduct, and racial discrimination were influential factors that led to the wrongful convictions. In addition, continued investigation by the defense attorney, new witnesses coming forward, and/or a confession from another person were the factors most often leading to the discovery of errors. These findings suggest that there have not been any significant changes in causes of erroneous convictions since the implementation of contemporary safeguards. As a result, policy changes are suggested to decrease the chances of erroneous executions.
Presentence Investigation Reports: A Relevant Justice Model Tool or a Medical Model Relic?
Authors: Stinchcomb Jeanne B. , Hippensteel Daryl
Published: February 2017

As the clinically driven paradigm associated with the earlier era of criminal justice policy making known as the medical model has been replaced more recently by the legislatively defined prescriptions of the justice model, accompanying changes have occurred throughout the system. From the discretion of judges to the crowding of correctional institutions, few criminal justice operational practices have escaped the influence of changing public policy ideologies as the political pendulum has swung over time; presentence investigation (PSI) reports are no exception. Once the back-bone of a microoriented emphasis on the individual offender's potential for change, the nature, role, and impact of PSIs have been transformed as the system has shifted to policy-based sentencing practices that place higher value on personal accountability and procedural uniformity. Social forces that have shaped these alterations over time are explored in this article, along with how they have progressively affected and altered the basic functions of PSIs. Practical staff-related consequences of these developments are discussed, along with implications for future PSI utility and alternative research methodologies for exploring its potential influence.
Teachers’ Views of Their Preparation for Inclusive Education and Collaboration
Authors: Zagona Alison L. , Kurth Jennifer A. , MacFarland Stephanie Z. C.
Published: February 2017

There is a need to advance inclusive education for students with significant disabilities, and one way to support this effort is to ensure educators have expertise in, and are prepared to implement, inclusive practices. We surveyed and interviewed general and special education teachers to understand their experiences and preparation to demonstrate skills associated with inclusive education and collaboration and identify the factors that may contribute to their preparation. There was a relationship between educators’ preparedness for inclusive education and whether they have taken university courses or had special training on inclusive education. Analysis of interviews with a subset of participants supported this finding and provided a deeper understanding of the educators’ preparation and experiences in implementing inclusive practices for students with significant disabilities.
Commercial Residential Telephone Lists: Their Characteristics and Uses in Survey Design
Authors: Tucker Clyde , Lepkowski James M. , Casady Robert J. , Groves Robert M.
Published: February 2017

The use of a commercial file of listed residential telephone numbers can improve the efficiency of samples drawn for telephone surveys. The extent of this improvement depends, however, upon characteristics of the file that are usually not available to the user. This paper addresses the problem by examining the characteristics of commercial files both at the national level and for particular localities that vary by size and geography.
The Law, Policy, and Portrayal of Zero Tolerance School Discipline: Examining Prevalence and Characteristics Across Levels of Governance and School Districts
Authors: Curran F. Chris
Published: February 2017

Reform of school zero tolerance discipline policies is complicated by a lack of systematic evidence on the prevalence and characteristics of such policies. Through document analysis, this study compares explicit zero tolerance laws/policies and mandatory expulsion laws/policies across the domains of federal law, state law, district policy, and media portrayal. Results suggest that explicit zero tolerance laws and policies are rare, appearing in less than one in seven states or districts, whereas mandatory expulsion laws/policies are more common. Districts serving high proportions of minority students as well as districts consisting only of charter schools are more likely to have mandatory expulsion policies for certain offenses. Additionally, district zero tolerance policies apply to a broader set of offenses than state laws. Finally, state and district laws/policies tend to not apply to minor offenses to the degree suggested by media coverage. Implications for policy and practice are discussed.
Exploring Holistic Comfort in Children Who Experience a Clinical Venipuncture Procedure
Authors: Bice April A. , Hall Joanne , Devereaux Matthew J.
Published: February 2017

Purpose: Children often experience the uncomfortable effects of invasive procedures as a part of primary care and during times of illness. Holistic comfort has been well documented in adult literature but little research exists on the understanding of holistic procedural comfort from the child’s perspective. In this study, holistic comfort related to an invasive venipuncture procedure was explored in children age 5 to 7 years and their caregivers of all ages. Design: A qualitative descriptive design described by Sandelowski was used. Method: The philosophical underpinnings of naturalistic inquiry of Guba and Lincoln were used. Semistructured interviews were conducted with 13 child and 15 caregiver participants. Children also drew pictures to help describe their perceptions. Findings: Traditional thematic content analysis described by Hsieh and Shannon yielded four overarching themes of holistic comfort related to venipuncture procedures in children: Body Comfort, Cognitive and Emotional Comfort, Comfort in the Procedure Surroundings, and Comfort Play. Conclusions: Numerous recommendations for future research are included. Implications for nursing and related health sciences, organizational and administrative policy, invasive procedures, theory, and methods were found and are discussed. Findings from this study will assist nurses in providing procedure management for children from a holistic care perspective.
Synthesis and physicochemical properties of sulfonated poly(aryl ether) PEMs containing phthalazinone and oxadiazole moieties
Authors: Jin Cuihong , Zhu Xiuling
Published: February 2017

In this work, 2,5-bis(4-fluorophenyl)-1,3,4-oxadiazole (2F-Oz) is synthesized and successfully polymerized with 4-(4-hydroxyaryl)-phthalazin-1-one (DHPZ) through polycondensation to produce poly(ether 1,3,4-oxidiazole) containing phthalazinone units (PPEO) with intrinsic viscosity 1.54 dL g−1. A series of sulfonated poly(ether-1,3,4-oxidiazole)s (SPPEOs) with different degrees of sulfonation are prepared via postsulfonation reaction. The chemical structure of PPEO and SPPEOs was characterized through FT-IR and proton nuclear magnetic resonance, respectively. SPPEOs have excellent film-forming properties and readily dissolve in polar aprotic solvents, such as dimethyl sulfoxide, N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP), and so on. The water uptake of these SPPEO membranes with measured ion-exchange capacity of 1.13–1.61 mmol g−1 was 15.7–34.1% at 25°C and 17.9–59.8% at 60°C, and swelling ratio was 5.9–14.2% at 25°C and 6.6–18.1% at 60°C, respectively. The proton conductivity of SPPEO-1.61 is 0.045 S cm−1 at 30°C and 0.065 S cm−1 at 80°C, and the tensile strength of the SPPEO-1.61 is 48 MPa, and its elongation at break was 21%. The thermal and chemical stability of the SPPEOs is also examined.
Genital herpes in pregnancy: is screening cost-effective?
Authors: Qutub Mohammed , Klapper Paul , Vallely Pamela , Cleator Graham
Published: February 2017

We investigated the cost-effectiveness of strategies for screening pregnant women for herpes simplex virus (HSV) genital infection. The cost of performing tests for HSV-1 antibody and for HSV-2 antibody on each serum was likely to average approximately £10 per sample and the total cost of screening 37,500 pregnancies in Manchester would be between £0.4 and £0.5 million per year. This estimated cost might prevent the development of neonatal herpes due to a primary HSV infection. However, initial HSV-2 infection is also associated with neonatal herpes and therefore the above cost-estimates might be a gross underestimate.
Hepatitis C virus among genitourinary clinic attenders in Scotland: unlinked anonymous testing
Authors: Goldberg D , Cameron S , Sharp G , Burns S , Scott G , Molyneaux P , Scoular A , Downie A , Taylor A
Published: February 2017

Our objective is to gauge the prevalence of hepatitis C virus (HCV) antibodies among a population at risk of contracting sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and, thus, the efficiency with which the virus is transmitted sexually. The investigators undertook an unlinked anonymous HCV antibody testing study of residual syphilis serology specimens taken from attenders of genitourinary clinics in Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen during 1996/97. The results were linked to non-identifying risk information. Anti-HCV prevalences among non-injecting heterosexual men and women, and non-injecting homosexual/bisexual males ranged between 0 and 1.2%; the only exception to this was a 7.7% (4/52) prevalence among homosexual/bisexual males in Aberdeen. The overall anti-HCV prevalence for homosexual/bisexual males was 0.6% (4/668), for heterosexual males 0.8% (32/4135), for heterosexual females 0.3% (10/3035) and for injecting drug users 49% (72/148). Only 3 (all female) of the 46 non-injectors who were antibody positive were non-UK nationals or had lived abroad. HCV antibody positive injectors were less likely to have an acute STI and more likely to know their HCV status than non-injectors; no differences in these parameters were found between positive and negative non-injectors on anonymous HCV antibody testing. Our findings are in keeping with the prevailing view that HCV can be acquired through sexual intercourse but, for most people, the probability of this occurring is extremely low. Interventions to prevent the spread of HCV should be targeted mainly at injecting drug user (IDU) populations.
Serological approaches to subtyping of HIV-1 in injecting drug users in Russia: evidence of subtype homogeneity at the main sites of the epidemic
Authors: Bobkova Marina R , Kazennova Elena V , Selimova Ludmila M , Buravtsova Evgenia V , Lister Simon , Prilipov Aleksei G , Weber Jonathan N , Pokrovsky Vadim V , Bobkov Aleksei F
Published: February 2017

The aim of this study was to develop and evaluate a simple V3 peptide-based enzyme immunoassay (PEIA) for large-scale serotyping of HIV-1 specimens derived from injecting drug users (IDUs) in the Russian Federation. Two synthetic peptides were evaluated, named P1 (RKSIHIGPGRAFYATGD) and P2 (RTSVRIGPGQVFYKTGD), in an PEIA on 63 HIV-1 IDUs sera for which genotypes had been determined by heteroduplex mobility assay (HMA) and sequencing. The sensitivities of P1 (subtype B) and P2 (subtype A) were 87% and 75% respectively. Specificity of the assay was 100% for both peptides, with 100% predictive values of a monoreactive positive test for both peptides. Using the PEIA with peptides P1 and P2, we have serotyped 375 of 477 serum samples derived from IDUs in 4 main sites of the HIV-1 epidemic in Russia. The results demonstrated a high level of subtype homogeneity in all regions studied. In 3 of 4 territories, Tver' (n=345), and Rostov-on-Don (n=61) regions, and Krasnodar Kray (n=27), 100% of typable sera were found to belong to env subtype A. On the other hand, all specimens serotyped in the Kaliningrad region (n=38) belonged to env subtype B, and there is strong evidence that the recombinant gagAenvB virus which has caused the largest outbreak of HIV-1 in Russia is located in this region. At the present time another parental strain with gagBenvB genotype is of minor importance in the IDUs HIV-1 epidemic in Russia.
AIDS knowledge, attitudes, and behaviour in Russia: results of a population-based, random-digit telephone survey in St Petersburg
Authors: Amirkhanian Yuri A , Kelly Jeffrey A , Issayev Dmitri D
Published: February 2017

In this paper, we report on the results of what we believe to be the first population-based, random-digit telephone AIDS survey conducted in Russia. Recent and rapidly increasing STD and HIV rates show the extremely urgent need for HIV prevention programmes in Russia. HIV sexual risk behaviour, knowledge, attitudes, and personal concern characteristics were assessed in a sample of men and women aged 15–55 years living in 435 St Petersburg households. Many factors related to high HIV risk were found in this study. Only 6% of respondents reported consistent condom use, and 78% reported that they never or seldom used condoms. At the same time, over 13% had 3 and more sexual partners during the last year and 12% had 10 and more lifetime partners. Occasional or frequent anal sex was reported by 13% of those surveyed. Two-thirds of respondents acknowledged personal risk for getting HIV but fewer than 25% indicated that they had taken steps to reduce the risks. One-third of respondents believed that condoms are not an effective protection against HIV. Forty-eight per cent of respondents believed that HIV could be transmitted through kissing, 56% through mosquito bites, and 29.2% through sharing cigarettes. HIV/AIDS prevention efforts for the general public and also targeted campaigns directed toward high-risk communities must be quickly undertaken in Russia.
The bio-politics of population control and sex-selective abortion in China and India
Authors: Eklund Lisa , Purewal Navtej
Published: February 2017

China and India, two countries with skewed sex ratios in favor of males, have introduced a wide range of policies over the past few decades to prevent couples from deselecting daughters, including criminalizing sex-selective abortion through legal jurisdiction. This article aims to analyze how such policies are situated within the bio-politics of population control and how some of the outcomes reflect each government’s inadequacy in addressing the social dynamics around abortion decision making and the social, physical, and psychological effects on women’s wellbeing in the face of criminalization of sex-selective abortion. The analysis finds that overall, the criminalization of sex selection has not been successful in these two countries. Further, the broader economic, social, and cultural dynamics which produce bias against females must be a part of the strategy to combat sex selection, rather than a narrow criminalization of abortion which endangers women’s access to safe reproductive health services and their social, physical, and psychological wellbeing.
Low frequency and infrasound: A critical review of the myths, misbeliefs and their relevance to music perception research
Authors: Mühlhans Jörg H.
Published: February 2017

Over the last several decades low frequency and infrasound have become relevant to many fields of research – most recently psychology and musicology, among others. Interpretation of data from experimental research has raised concern that low frequency and infrasound could be potentially harmful to humans’ well-being. While the physiological and psychological effects of infrasound are well documented, a variety of myths promulgated by pseudoscientific authors and newspapers still make it difficult to distinguish between fact and fiction, especially for people with little or no knowledge in acoustics. Myths are widespread today and result mainly from the one-dimensional view on sound, out-of-context citations, and a number of “sensational” findings from biased studies. The aim of this review is to evaluate the relevance of data from a music-psychological and psychoacoustic point of view, to give a consistent overview of the history of research, to examine the transferability of findings, and to trace the origins of myths to debunk them. Additionally, general information about the characteristics of low frequency sound, its production, measurement, and difficulties in experimental research is given to avoid mistakes in future research.
Workers’ rights and transatlantic trade relations: The TTIP and beyond
Authors: Tyc Aneta
Published: February 2017

In the context of the working-class backlash against free trade represented by Brexit, the recent surge of right-wing political parties in Europe and the 2016 US presidential election, it is timely to take stock of the threats to jobs and wages posed by recent negotiations over the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership. The European Commission selectively relied on econometric analyses, predicting a positive impact of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership. Its proposed legal text on ‘Trade and sustainable development’ fell short of the European Parliament’s negotiating guidelines, which themselves failed to ensure protection of labour standards. The activities of corporate lobbies threatened the effective protection of workers’ rights. Major risks to workers’ rights are posed by discrepancies between US and European Union labour and social law and labour standards. The most recent legal text lacks compliance monitoring provisions and sanction mechanisms against member states failing to ratify core labour conventions. The investment court system does not resolve the problems of the discredited investor-state dispute settlement mechanism for which it is the proposed replacement. The year 2016 has provided a foretaste of the dislocation likely from trade and investment regulation that sees social and environmental standards and labour rights simply as barriers to corporate profits.
Understanding Compliance Dynamics in Community Justice Settings
Authors: Ugwudike Pamela
Published: February 2017

This article seeks to expand the existing literature on compliance in community justice settings by highlighting the importance of service user participation in efforts to achieve compliance. The article’s central argument is that although co-productive strategies can enhance service user participation, the degree to which co-production is achievable in penal supervision is perhaps uncertain, and has received insufficient theoretical or empirical attention. To address the gap in knowledge, the article draws on the data generated from a study of compliance in Wales, United Kingdom, and employs the Bourdieusian concepts of habitus, field, and capital to argue that the convergence of two key factors undermines the viability of co-productive strategies in penal settings. One factor is the service users’ habitus of powerlessness which may breed passivity rather than active participation. The second also relates to the power dynamics that characterize penal supervision contexts. Within these contexts, practitioners are statutorily empowered to implement and enforce the requirements of community orders. In the current target-focused policy climate in England and Wales, practitioners may prioritize measurable compliance over forms of compliance that stem from service user participation and engagement perhaps because these are not readily quantifiable.
The Periodicity of Violent and Property Crime in Tshwane, South Africa
Authors: Cohn Ellen G. , Breetzke Gregory D.
Published: February 2017

In this article, we identify and analyze the periodicity of violent and property crimes committed in Tshwane, South Africa, from 2001 to 2006. This is done using Fourier analysis, an advanced explorative mathematical technique commonly used in the physical sciences to detect the presence of a frequency or periodicity in a large time-series data set. The use of this technique in criminology is in its infancy, and in this study, Fourier analysis is used to identify periodic moments in time at which the risk of being a victim of violent and property crime in the city of Tshwane is heightened. Results indicated that violent crime peaks roughly every 7 and 75 days over the 5-year study period, with a marginal peak every 150 days. Property crimes peak every 75 days and every 150 days. Periodic peaks of crime observed in this study are explained using the central tenets of routine activities theory. Fourier analysis is an underused, powerful data-driven mathematical tool that should be added to the methodological arsenal available to criminologists when analyzing the temporal dimension of crime.
Esmolol: A Novel Cardioselective, Titratable, Intravenous Beta-Blocker with Ultra-Short Half-Life
Authors: Covinsky Joel O.
Published: February 2017

Esmolol is an ultra-short-acting, cardioselective, intravenous beta-blocker with an elimination half-life of about nine minutes. After administration of a loading dose, its full therapeutic effect is evident within five minutes. Its efficacy in treating supraventricular arrhythmias is equal to that of propranolol, but unlike propranolol, the action of esmolol is titratable and is largely reversed within 10 to 30 minutes after stopping its administration. Esmolol is also effective in attenuating life-threatening perioperative tachycardia and hypertension caused by adrenergic stimulation in high-risk patients.
Amsacrine Evaluation
Authors: Van Mouwerik Timothy J. , Caines Patricia M. , Ballentine Ron
Published: February 2017

Amsacrine, an antineoplastic agent currently undergoing clinical trials in the U.S., has been shown to be active against adult and pediatric leukemias, Hodgkin's disease, and non-Hodgkin's lymphomas. Amsacrine is highly bound to plasma proteins and is eliminated primarily via hepatic metabolism. Severe hepatic dysfunction will result in a decreased excretion rate of the drug. The primary side effect is a dose-related suppression of bone marrow function. Other reported toxic effects include mucositis, nausea, vomiting, cardiotoxicity, liver dysfunction, and alopecia. Despite these negative effects, amsacrine appears to have a role in the combination therapy of acute leukemias.
Elevated Serum Carbamazepine Concentrations following Diltiazem Initiation
Authors: Eimer Michelle , Carter Barry L.
Published: February 2017

A case of carbamazepine neurotoxicity following the addition of diltiazem is reported. A patient with previously stable carbamazepine serum concentrations was treated with diltiazem for atrial fibrillation and a rapid ventricular response. After three days on the combined regimen, the patient developed neurological symptoms resulting in hospitalization. After a review of the patient's medication usage and carbamazepine concentrations, an interaction between diltiazem and carbamazepine was suspected. Carbamazepine's elimination appears to have been decreased, resulting in neurotoxicity. The toxicity resolved when the carbamazepine dosage was decreased 62 percent.
Comparative Evaluation of Benzydamine Oral Rinse in Children with Antineoplastic-Induced Stomatitis
Authors: Lever Shelley A. , Dupuis L. Lee , Chan Helen S.L.
Published: February 2017

This nonblinded, crossover study was undertaken to compare the extent and duration of analgesia after administration of benzydamine 0.15% oral rinse and Hospital for Sick Children (HSC) mouthwash for pain (nystatin 7000 U/ml, lidocaine viscous 0.58 ml/ml in NaCl 0.9%) in pediatric patients with antineoplastic-induced stomatitis. Each mouthwash was administered as a paint or a gargle q2h while the child was awake on two consecutive days. Patients older than three years were asked to describe their pain by means of a pictorial or a visual analog scale. Pain was assessed by the investigator, parent, or nurse caring for the patient as well as the patient whenever possible before each dose and 10, 30, and 60 minutes after the first three doses each day for four days. Stomatitis severity was graded daily. Four patients completed the study protocol; an additional three patients dropped out of the study due to severe stinging when benzydamine oral rinse was administered. The case histories of the patients who completed the study are presented. Both preparations reduced pain for at least one hour in most instances but not for two hours. Three of four patients elected to continue treatment with HSC mouthwash for pain. Study recruitment was halted due to the ethical concern of continuing with the knowledge that benzydamine oral rinse causes oral pain and stinging, especially in patients with severe stomatitis.
Maintenance Therapy for Prevention of Recurrent Peptic Ulcers
Authors: Berardi Rosemary R. , Savitsky Maureen E. , Nostrant Timothy T.
Published: February 2017

Peptic ulcer disease is a chronic, relapsing disease. Successful healing of duodenal and gastric ulcers with antacids, cimetidine, ranitidine, famotidine, or sucralfate is frequently followed by ulcer recurrence. The need for long-term, low-dose maintenance therapy is based on disease severity, ulcer history, complications, therapeutic intervention, response to treatment, and potential risk factors. Comparison of ulcer maintenance trials requires consideration of important factors such as frequency of endoscopy, duration of follow-up period, and the method used to calculate ulcer recurrence rates. Clinical trials indicate that chronic treatment with low-dose cimetidine, ranitidine, famotidine, and probably sucralfate decreases the frequency of duodenal ulcer recurrence and that ranitidine may be superior to cimetidine. Preliminary studies indicate that higher doses of these same medications may be required to prevent gastric ulcer recurrence. Long-term maintenance therapy with these agents must be continuous in order to prevent relapses, but treatment should be limited to one year because of unknown consequences beyond this period.