bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
(Digital) tools as professional and generational identity badges in the Chinese creative industries
Authors: Liboriussen Bjarke
Published: April 2015

Animators, architects, designers, and others active in the Chinese creative industries are expert users of tools, both analog and digital. Performances of expert tool use (the wearing of professional identity badges) are strategic ways of signaling creativity understood as sets of skills and character traits essential for attracting work projects but also for professional identity formation. Analogue tools are generally associated with creative openness and fluidity whereas digital tools are discursively constructed as a technological other to the analogue. ‘Older’ creatives (born before 1980) tend to apply some of the media-inflected discourse around the balinghou generation (born 1980–1989) to their younger competitors, including an assumed affinity with digital media and technologies (the pinning on of a generational identity badge). Such generational assumptions can have the effect of reinforcing project hierarchies and denying expert users of digital tools their claims to creativity.
Play to the camera
Authors: Taylor Nicholas
Published: April 2015

Electronic sports (e-sports) represents an increasingly popular and profitable array of organizations, communities, and sets of practices, all of which place tremendous value on audiences; for example, playing games competitively, in front of a crowd, represents the legitimization of gaming as spectator sport. This article reports on an audiovisual ethnography of a community of competitive gamers for whom the video camera became not so much a research tool but a promotional resource. Examining the transformations the camera enacted, both to the practice of ethnographic fieldwork and to participants’ embodied performances of competitive gaming, this article explores the central role played by recording technologies in the production of e-sports. It concludes by considering some of the intersections of surveillance, gaming, and emergent leisure practices – including the use of digital recording technologies to collect social scientific data, at a time when watching and being watched is increasingly pervasive, pleasurable, and problematic.
Pre-service teacher perspectives of case-based learning in physical education teacher education
Authors: Hemphill Michael A , R Richards K Andrew , Gaudreault Karen Lux , Templin Thomas J
Published: April 2015

Case-based learning (CBL) is a constructivist pedagogy in which students read hypothetical accounts of real world situations and consider how they would respond if facing similar challenges. In physical education teacher education, research has shown that CBL has the potential to promote critical thinking, contribute to students’ cognitive growth and affect students’ value orientations. The purpose of this study was to examine pre-service teachers’ (PSTs’) impressions of and experiences with CBL. Occupational socialization theory and the shared inquiry cycle guided the use of case studies. Nineteen PSTs (6 female, 13 male) enrolled in a third-year seminar course at a large American university took part in this investigation. The PSTs read and responded to 10 unique case studies and engaged in reflection and group discussions. Data were collected from interviews, course documents and non-participant observations. Qualitative analysis revealed that the PSTs demonstrated cognitive growth as evidenced by their consideration of multiple sources of knowledge, engagement with the CBL and focusing on future teaching situations. The findings of this research suggest that CBL may provide a method for instructors to introduce new ideas and allow PSTs to consider them along with their own pre-conceived notions.
Evaluation and management of symptomatic isolated spontaneous celiac trunk dissection
Authors: Galastri Francisco Leonardo , Cavalcante Rafael Noronha , Motta-Leal-Filho Joaquim Mauricio , De Fina Bruna , Affonso Breno Boueri , de Amorim Jorge Eduardo , Wolosker Nelson , Nasser Felipe
Published: April 2015

The purpose of this study is to describe 10 cases of symptomatic isolated spontaneous celiac trunk dissection (ISCTD) in order to evaluate the initial clinical presentation, diagnosis, treatment modalities and outcomes. A retrospective search was performed from 2009 to 2014 and 10 patients with ISCTD were included in the study. Patients with associated aortic and/or other visceral artery dissection were excluded. The following information was collected from each case: sex, age, associated risk factors, symptoms, diagnostic method, anatomic dissection pattern, treatment modality and outcome. Most patients were male (90%), with an average age of 44.8 years, and the most common symptom was abdominal pain (100%). Hypertension and vasculitis (polyarteritis nodosa) were the most frequent risk factors (40% and 30%, respectively). Diagnosis was made in all patients with computed tomography. Dissection was limited to the celiac trunk in three patients and extended to celiac branches in the other seven. Initial conservative treatment was attempted in every case and was successful in nine patients. In one case, initial conservative treatment was unsuccessful and arterial stenting with coil embolization of the false lumen was performed. After successful initial treatment, late progression of the dissection to aneurysmal dilatation was observed in two patients and it was decided to perform endovascular treatment. Mean follow-up was 19 months, ranging from 2 to 59 months. In conclusion, initial conservative treatment seems adequate for most patients with ISCTD. Long-term follow-up is mandatory, owing to the risk of later progression to aneurysm.
Support for learning goes beyond academic support: Voices of students with Asperger’s disorder and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder
Authors: Bolic Baric Vedrana , Hellberg Kristina , Kjellberg Anette , Hemmingsson Helena
Published: April 2015

The purpose of this study was to describe and explore the experiences of support at school among young adults with Asperger’s disorder and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and also to examine what support they, in retrospect, described as influencing learning. Purposive sampling was used to enroll participants. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with 13 young adults aged between 20 and 29 years. A qualitative analysis, based on interpreting people’s experiences, was conducted by grouping and searching for patterns in data. The findings indicate that the participants experienced difficulties at school that included academic, social, and emotional conditions, all of which could influence learning. Support for learning included small groups, individualized teaching methods, teachers who cared, and practical and emotional support. These clusters together confirm the overall understanding that support for learning aligns academic and psychosocial support. In conclusion, academic support combined with psychosocial support at school seems to be crucial for learning among students with Asperger’s disorder and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.
The health status of adults on the autism spectrum
Authors: Croen Lisa A , Zerbo Ousseny , Qian Yinge , Massolo Maria L , Rich Steve , Sidney Stephen , Kripke Clarissa
Published: April 2015

Compared to the general pediatric population, children with autism have higher rates of co-occurring medical and psychiatric illnesses, yet very little is known about the general health status of adults with autism. The objective of this study was to describe the frequency of psychiatric and medical conditions among a large, diverse, insured population of adults with autism in the United States. Participants were adult members of Kaiser Permanente Northern California enrolled from 2008 to 2012. Autism spectrum disorder cases ( N = 1507) were adults with autism spectrum disorder diagnoses (International Classification of Diseases-9-Clinical Modification codes 299.0, 299.8, 299.9) recorded in medical records on at least two separate occasions. Controls ( N = 15,070) were adults without any autism spectrum disorder diagnoses sampled at a 10:1 ratio and frequency matched to cases on sex and age. Adults with autism had significantly increased rates of all major psychiatric disorders including depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, obsessive–compulsive disorder, schizophrenia, and suicide attempts. Nearly all medical conditions were significantly more common in adults with autism, including immune conditions, gastrointestinal and sleep disorders, seizure, obesity, dyslipidemia, hypertension, and diabetes. Rarer conditions, such as stroke and Parkinson’s disease, were also significantly more common among adults with autism. Future research is needed to understand the social, healthcare access, and biological factors underlying these observations.
Child characteristics associated with outcome for children with autism in a school-based behavioral intervention
Authors: Pellecchia Melanie , Connell James E , Kerns Connor M , Xie Ming , Marcus Steven C , Mandell David S
Published: April 2015

This study examined the extent to which clinical and demographic characteristics predicted outcome for children with autism spectrum disorder. Participants included 152 students with autism spectrum disorder in 53 kindergarten-through-second-grade autism support classrooms in a large urban public school district. Associations between child characteristics (including age, language ability, autism severity, social skills, adaptive behavior, co-occurring psychological symptoms, and restrictive and repetitive behavior) and outcome, as measured by changes in cognitive ability following one academic year of an intervention standardized across the sample were evaluated using linear regression with random effects for classroom. While several scales and subscales had statistically significant bivariate associations with outcome, in adjusted analysis, only age and the presence of symptoms associated with social anxiety, such as social avoidance and social fearfulness, as measured through the Child Symptom Inventory-4, were associated with differences in outcome. The findings regarding the role of social anxiety are new and have important implications for treatment. Disentangling the construct of social anxiety to differentiate between social fearfulness and social motivation has important implications for shifting the focus of early treatment for children with autism spectrum disorder.
Governmentality and guru-led movements in India
Authors: Pandya Samta P
Published: April 2015

The concept of governmentality has a textual and philosophical basis as well as being concerned with what might be called the practices of government. This article discusses and develops the governmentality argument with respect to the guru-led movements. It outlines the basics of Michel Foucault’s concept of governmentality, its analytical frame, the fact that governmentality moves beyond only the practices of the state and its nuances in a neoliberal frame of reference, drawing on Zygmunt Bauman and others. It then discusses the governmentality of guru-led movements through: (1) the political acts and powers of the gurus; (2) the supplementary and complementary efforts to aid the state by the guru-led movements; (3) instances of resistance and taking on the state, and (4) the flipside of governmentality, which manifests as hegemony, Hindutva politics and Hindu nationalism. Through the governmentality argument, aspects of the surveillance, discipline, control, interactivity and competition of the guru-led movements emerge. What is discussed is a post-disciplinary model of governance which devolves power downwards from crumbling state institutions to new agencies of control, in this case, the gurus and their institutions. This devolution, however, is not without its tensions and the article also argues that guru governmentality betrays traces of hybridity and non-linearity.
Professionals and nonprofessionals on Goodreads: Behavior standards for authors, reviewers, and readers
Authors: Matthews Jolie C
Published: April 2015

In 2013, Goodreads, a social media Website for book lovers, announced policy changes that included the deletion of reviews that discuss an author’s behavior. These changes occurred after a series of author/reviewer incidents in 2012 and 2013. This article presents a case study of one of those incidents in 2012, when a Goodreads reviewer wrote a negative review of a novel, the author and agent responded on Twitter, and a public discussion ensued around behavior standards for both literary professionals and nonprofessionals. The above incident, and how it does or does not foreshadow the later changes in Goodreads policy, offers a lens through which to examine evolving reading and writing practices and literary censorship, as well as how nonprofessional book reviewers and readers conceive of their and literary professionals’ roles in a complex social media literary landscape.
Building resilience through group visual arts activities: Findings from a scoping study with young people who experience mental health complexities and/or learning difficulties
Authors: Macpherson Hannah , Hart Angie , Heaver Becky
Published: April 2015

This article reports research that aimed to identify and evaluate potential resilience benefits of visual arts interventions for young people with complex needs. The study involved a review of the ‘arts for resilience’ literature and a case study of 10 weekly resilience-building arts workshops for 10 young people experiencing mental health complexities and/or learning difficulties.

Findings

We found a significant existing evidence-base linking visual arts practice to individual and community resilience, across disciplinary fields including art therapy, social work, community health, visual arts practice and geographies of health. Visual art activities were utilised to both educate young people about resilience and enhance young people’s overall resilience. Qualitative research material developed from the case study shows that even short-term visual arts interventions can impact on young people’s resilience – crucially, participation was extremely beneficial to young people’s sense of belonging and ability to cope with difficult feelings (topics which arose repeatedly during interview, focus group discussion and observation).

Applications

Our review and findings from this small case study provide some initial insights into the resilience benefits of participation in visual arts activities. This, combined with the resilience-based practice framework presented here, could aid the effective targeting of interventions for social workers and others working with young people with complex needs. Alongside this research paper, an arts for resilience practice guide has been produced by the project team (including young people). It contains instructions on how to conduct a range of practical visual arts activities that we identified as being resilience-promoting.
Prepared enough to practise? Evaluating a study programme in social work
Authors: Engelberg Elisabeth , Limbach-Reich Arthur
Published: April 2015

Following the so-called Bologna reform in Luxembourg, 70 supervisors assessed the knowledge and skills of employees having qualified with a Bachelor’s degree under the recently introduced curriculum in social work and pedagogy. The supervisors were solicited as part of quality assurance regarding the study programme and their assessments were gathered by means of a questionnaire. The University of Luxembourg funded the study.

Findings

The newly qualified practitioners were evaluated as adequately trained, while the need was highlighted for a better understanding of the process through which beginner practitioners are socialised into the profession. The results furthermore suggest that practice proficiency extensively draws on generic skills of particular relevance to the social professions.

Applications

The findings prompt a more specific focus on generic skills and their role in developing proficiency during practice placements as well as during the first year of employment. Overall, the study serves as one example of how to evaluate the readiness to practise of newly qualified practitioners in the social professions. The output of such skills assessments could inform on any need for curriculum revision at a local level. With a cross-national and comparative approach, evaluations of this kind could potentially guide any adaptations needed in response to the increasing internationalisation of social problems.
Crossing boundaries: Understanding the pro-asylum narratives of young Australians
Authors: Laughland-Booÿ Jacqueline , Skrbiš Zlatko , Tranter Bruce
Published: April 2015

This paper uses interview data collected from young people in Queensland, Australia, to report the narratives of young Australians on the issue of ‘boat people’ and to explore the ‘accepting’ viewpoint. Consistent with existing literature, the ‘anti-asylum’ interviewees construct symbolic boundaries via language to justify why they believe exclusionary measures should be taken against asylum seekers who attempt to reach Australia by boat. In order to challenge this language of exclusion, our findings suggest the ‘pro-asylum’ participants adopt narratives aligned with the cosmopolitan principles of responsibility, openness and compassion. By doing so, they defend their belief that Australia’s obligations towards the broader global community should take precedence over any challenges ‘boat people’ present to the Australian nation.
Property rights and methods of nomocratic planning
Authors: Slaev Aleksandar D
Published: April 2015

This paper examines the methods of planning of complex systems. More precisely, it applies property rights analysis to the methodology of nomocracy, a leading branch of the theory of complexity in planning. To study the methodology of planning, the paper focuses on its objectives and methods, as well as the characteristics of nomocratic rules. It briefly examines the literature on the methods of planning of complex systems, the methods of the nomocratic approach, and the methods of regulation theory. It then develops a theoretical structure of the methodology of nomocratic planning by employing property rights analysis and finds that the purpose of nomocracy is the allocation of entitlements. Finally, to emphasise the importance of property rights, it discusses some specific findings of Holcombe’s work “Planning and the Invisible Hand”. Holcombe’s work is a well-developed study of the relevance of the nomocratic approach to market functions; planning practices, such as zoning; and topical issues of contemporary urban development, such as sprawl and related new urbanism/smart growth principles. This paper focuses on Holcombe’s particularly critical view of the latter. However, while the application of property rights analysis fully supports Holcombe’s understanding of the positive connection between nomocratic planning and the market, it also leads to a more favourable view of zoning and new urbanist principles. The paper concludes that the main objective and defining characteristic of nomocratic rules is that they serve to allocate property rights over commonly owned resources.
An Act of Terrorism
Authors: Cowin-Mensah Michelle
Published: April 2015

Diana Taylor asserts that the discipline of performance studies allows scholars to rethink what constitutes an event as performance. Taylor contends that ethnicity, race, and issues of social justice are rehearsed and performed daily in the public sphere. To understand these events as performance suggests that performance also functions as an epistemology: embodied practices that are bound up with other cultural practice and offer us a way of knowing. I will attempt to examine the tragic events of Trayvon Martin’s death on February 26, 2012, within the scope of performance studies as a way of further illustrating how performativity is intrinsically tied to cultural practices. These practices are habitually rehearsed daily in the public sphere. In some cases, cultural performances can produce violent and atrocious outcomes.
Evaluation of the Electroporation Efficiency of a Grid Electrode for Electrochemotherapy
Authors: Ongaro A. , Campana L. G. , De Mattei M. , Dughiero F. , Forzan M. , Pellati A. , Rossi C. R. , Sieni E.
Published: April 2015

Electrochemotherapy (ECT) is a local anticancer treatment based on the combination of chemotherapy and short, tumor-permeabilizing, voltage pulses delivered using needle electrodes or plate electrodes. The application of ECT to large skin surface tumors is time consuming due to technical limitations of currently available voltage applicators. The availability of large pulse applicators with few and more spaced needle electrodes could be useful in the clinic, since they could allow managing large and spread tumors while limiting the duration and the invasiveness of the procedure. In this article, a grid electrode with 2-cm spaced needles has been studied by means of numerical models. The electroporation efficiency has been assessed on human osteosarcoma cell line MG63 cultured in monolayer. The computational results show the distribution of the electric field in a model of the treated tissue. These results are helpful to evaluate the effect of the needle distance on the electric field distribution. Furthermore, the in vitro tests showed that the grid electrode proposed is suitable to electropore, by a single application, a cell culture covering an area of 55 cm2. In conclusion, our data might represent substantial improvement in ECT in order to achieve a more homogeneous and time-saving treatment, with benefits for patients with cancer.
Using Impairment Simulation Tools to Demonstrate Age-Related Challenges in Everyday Tasks and Promote Universal Design
Authors: O’Brien Marita A. , Fausset Cara B. , Mann Elizabeth L. , Harrington Christina N.
Published: April 2015

The increasing proportion of the population that is over age 65 stimulates the need for more technologies that can be safely and easily used by older adults to allow them to continue living in their homes. Yet, even designers who know typical age-related declines may not understand specifically how the declines affect interaction with everyday technologies to complete activities of daily living. Thus, technologies may not be effectively designed to accommodate these declines. Through demonstration, participants will develop this experience by completing activities typical of older adults while wearing tools that simulate typical sensory and motor declines. Facilitators will encourage discussion of the specific difficulties experienced by participants with other observers, highlighting features that may facilitate or hinder use given the simulated disability. Highlighting limitations and task difficulties that may be experienced through use of simulation tools will encourage a better understanding of universal design criteria that will be more inclusive of the overall population.
Virtually Real
Authors: You Sukkyung , Kim Euikyung , Lee Donguk
Published: April 2015

Research interest has increasingly focused on the psychosocial factors related to online game addiction. This study examines the relationship of various psychosocial variables to online game addiction, and the mediation effect of avatar identification on the relationship. Questionnaires assessing self-esteem, depression, social skills, game addiction, and avatar identification were completed by 163 third-year middle school students. Correlation and structural equation modeling analyses were conducted. Results indicated (a) that self-esteem and social skills had significant negative correlations with game addiction, while depression had a significant positive correlation with game addiction, (b) that depression had an indirect effect on game addiction via avatar identification, and (c) that social skills had both indirect (via avatar identification) and direct effects on game addiction. Implications and future directions are discussed.
Diabetes and Sports
Authors: Yurkewicz Michael , Cordas Michael , Zellers Amy , Sweger Michael
Published: April 2015

More than 29 million people in the United States have diabetes mellitus, including both type 1 and type 2 diabetes. The CDC also estimates that upward of 86 million people can be classified as prediabetic, with as many as 30% of these people transitioning into diabetes within the next 5 years. Individuals with type 1 diabetes account for roughly 5% of those patients. Dating back to 2008 and 2009, roughly 18 000 youth were diagnosed with type 1 diabetes each year. The prevalence of diabetes is well known; most of the studies that are completed today relate to the progression and/or treatment of those with type 2 diabetes. Yet most physicians will have to take care of a type 1 diabetic patient who will want to be active. Having a fundamental knowledge of how exercise affects insulin and blood glucose and how to manage these patients is important. Time must be taken to modify each treatment regimen for each individual. One cannot stress enough the importance of providing patient education, ensuring adequate hydration, recognizing signs and symptoms of hypoglycemia/hyperglycemia, and how to treat and prevent these serious complications. All patients must have a care plan and access to supplies during exercise. It is known that poorly controlled blood glucose can have detrimental consequences in the long term. The question is if type I diabetic athletes who are allowed to have higher blood glucose during exercise are at the same risk for these potential complications.
A Lifestyle Perspective on Infertility and Pregnancy Outcome
Authors: McKinney Amanda
Published: April 2015

American dietary patterns have shifted over the past 100 years, resulting in a diet based on animal foods and highly processed carbohydrates. This shift has produced the current epidemics of obesity, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, as well as many cancers. In addition, the Western diet is also negatively affecting the reproductive capacity of the population. The birth rate is in decline and infertility and subfecundity are on the rise secondary to both ovulatory infertility and declining sperm quality. Pregnancy outcomes and maternal morbidity and mortality are also being affected. This diet, high in fat and sugar, is also contributing to the epidemic levels of autism.
The role of Th17/Treg balance and Th22 cell in the pathogenesis of DSS-induced colitis in mice
Authors: Wen Juan , Yang Pingrong , Chen Xinjun , Fang Yuan , Chang Qi , Li Chenhui , Zhang Chunjiang
Published: April 2015

T-helper (Th) cells play a critical role in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), especially the two new types: Th17 and Th22. But whether they are protective or pathogenic in the gut is still controversial. Unlike them, regulatory T (Treg) cells have undoubtedly suppressive function and can maintain immune homeostasis. Our current aims were to examine the change of Treg/Th17 balance, Th22 proportion, and the expression of Th17-related and/or Th22-related cytokines in inflammatory bowel disease. In this study, 3% dextran sulphate sodium (DSS) was administered orally to C57BL/6 mice to induce colitis. The morbidity was evaluated by daily body weight, colon length, disease activity index, and histology score of colonic lesions. Th17, Th22, and Treg cells were measured using flow cytometry. IL-17A, IL-17F, and IL-22 were quantified using enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kits. DSS administration induced severe clinical manifestations, such as body weight loss, colon shortening, relatively high disease activity index, and histological damage in colitis mice. Both CD4+IL-17A+IL-22− cells and CD4+IL-22+IL-17A− cells were significantly increased, which associated with the increasing expression of IL-17A, IL-17F, and IL-22. On the contrary, CD4+CD25+Foxp3+ cells reduced. In brief, our findings clearly show that: the drift balance of Th17/Treg is apparently in DSS-induced colitis. The increasing concentration of IL-17A, IL-17F, and IL-22, as well as the increasing Th17 and Th22 cells count, suggesting Th17 and Th22 are involved in the pathological process. Further studies are warranted to develop drugs, which are effective for colitis by targeting the Th17/Treg and Th22 pathways.
Remembering Mayberry in White and Black: The Andy Griffith Show’s construction of the south
Authors: McElroy Kathleen
Published: April 2015

The 1960s situation comedy The Andy Griffith Show and its fictional setting, Mayberry, comprise a lieu de mémoire, a site of memory, with multiple and shifting meanings tied to history and identity. The series relied on sophisticated notions of nostalgia to invent a seemingly traditional yet unconventional American South. Although its lead character was a Southern sheriff during the volatile Civil Rights Movement, Mayberry eschewed racial tension by having no recognizable Black residents. Yet, the obituaries for its star, Andy Griffith, in 2012 not only illustrated the program’s stamp on American and Southern identity and memory but also the ways Mayberry as a site of memory had been embraced, reinterpreted, and reimagined by a twenty-first century audience that includes African Americans. Decades after its prime-time run, The Andy Griffith Show is a beloved reconstruction of Southern history, memory, and identity that spurs nostalgic notions of community even from African Americans shut out of its original narrative.
Genetimes and lifetimes: DNA, new media, and history
Authors: Stevens Hallam
Published: April 2015

The last decade has seen the increased use of direct-to-consumer genetic testing for constructing genealogies. These services, offered by companies such as 23andMe, combine biotechnology with new media technologies such as blogging and social networking. Individual consumers are able to construct new identities, communities, and personal histories on the basis of their DNA. Such technology-based and technology-mediated historical reconstructions have the potential to reshape our relationship to the past. In particular, DNA histories entail a particular notion of temporality, specific standards of evidence, and a particular vision of identity. By analyzing the development and use of these new technologies, we can begin to identify specific ways in which biotechnologies and new media technologies are impacting the construction of social memory in the twenty-first century.
The Fast and the Erroneous
Authors: Voorhees Steve , Keith Susan
Published: April 2015

This study analyzes how journalists reacted to Cable News Network’s (CNN) incorrect reporting, on June 28, 2012, that the U.S. Supreme Court had struck down the Affordable Care Act as unconstitutional. The interpretive analysis of 117 print and online articles, using techniques of grounded theory, found that coverage of the error focused on five main themes: speed, accountability, complexity, context, and audience reaction. Drawing on themes from political economy and media ethics, the authors argue that journalists’ reactions to the error were often two sided, on the one hand castigating CNN for stressing speed, while themselves stressing who had the information first. Additionally, it is suggested that journalists attempted to fulfill the dual role of ombudsman and protector, admonishing colleagues who had made mistakes while simultaneously trying to protect the reputation of their industry as a whole.
Big Data Technologies
Authors: Bellazzi Riccardo , Dagliati Arianna , Sacchi Lucia , Segagni Daniele
Published: April 2015

The so-called big data revolution provides substantial opportunities to diabetes management. At least 3 important directions are currently of great interest. First, the integration of different sources of information, from primary and secondary care to administrative information, may allow depicting a novel view of patient’s care processes and of single patient’s behaviors, taking into account the multifaceted nature of chronic care. Second, the availability of novel diabetes technologies, able to gather large amounts of real-time data, requires the implementation of distributed platforms for data analysis and decision support. Finally, the inclusion of geographical and environmental information into such complex IT systems may further increase the capability of interpreting the data gathered and extract new knowledge from them. This article reviews the main concepts and definitions related to big data, it presents some efforts in health care, and discusses the potential role of big data in diabetes care. Finally, as an example, it describes the research efforts carried on in the MOSAIC project, funded by the European Commission.
Youth-Perceived Burden of Type 1 Diabetes
Authors: Markowitz Jessica T. , Volkening Lisa K. , Butler Deborah A. , Laffel Lori M. B.
Published: April 2015

Background:

Management of type 1 diabetes in childhood can be challenging and overwhelming. Despite availability of advanced treatments and new technologies, the burden has not decreased as current approaches to intensive therapy are not without need for patient involvement. This study aimed to design and validate a measure of youth-reported burden related to type 1 diabetes management.

Method:

A multidisciplinary pediatric diabetes team designed the survey, based on a previously validated parent measure of diabetes-related burden (PAID-PR); survey revisions and pilot testing followed. The 20-item PAID-Peds assesses burden over the past month. Youth with type 1 diabetes (N = 126, ages 8-17, intensively treated with insulin pump therapy or multiple daily injections) completed the new survey, along with other surveys; parents completed companion measures. Electronic medical records and blood glucose meter download provided other salient data.

Results:

The PAID-Peds displayed excellent internal consistency (α = .94) and acceptable test–retest reliability (intraclass correlation .66, P < .0001). The PAID-Peds correlated significantly with both youth and parent reports of diabetes-specific family conflict, negative affect around blood glucose monitoring, depressive symptomatology, trait anxiety, and quality of life. It was not correlated with demographic or clinical characteristics of the youth.

Conclusions:

This new measure, the PAID-Peds, of youth-reported burden related to type 1 diabetes may have clinical and research utility, particularly in the current era of emerging diabetes technologies that require ongoing patient input.
Public Islam in Post-Apartheid South Africa: The Radio Islam Controversy
Authors: Ingram Brannon
Published: April 2015

This article examines the Radio Islam controversy of 1997, in which a South African Muslim radio station, affiliated with the conservative Deobandi organization Jamiatul Ulama, forbade women’s voices on its airwaves, citing the notion that women’s voices in this context were `awrah (part of the body that must be concealed), and thus should not be heard on the radio. It locates this event and the legal, ethical and theological debates that ensued within the context of emergent post-apartheid constitutional discourses on gender and religious freedom, and post-apartheid religious media. The article then situates these debates against the nature of ‘public’ religion during and after apartheid. It concludes by suggesting the Radio Islam case is a particularly salient example of the porousness of the ‘secular’ and ‘post-secular’ in a specific constitutional and legal arrangement.
Introduction
Authors: Lloyd Vincent William , Viefhues-Bailey Ludger
Published: April 2015

This article surveys the role of religion in postcolonial theory and the role of colonialism in studies of secularism. Despite a secularist image, postcolonial theory from its start has critically engaged with questions of religion. Similarly, despite secularism’s Eurocentric image, some studies of secularism have reflected on the way the category of religion is constructed in colonial encounters. Bringing these conversations together, we examine the secular–modern–colonial conceptual knot. The article concludes that close study of specific examples of the intersection of the modern, the colonial, and the secular is the most effective method of answering the article’s animating question.
CT urography as the first line investigation for haematuria: is it truly indicated? A single centre analysis of the use of CT urography in the haematuria clinic
Authors: Devlin Conor M , Hull Giselle , Coupland Alex , Gill Kanwar , Browning Anthony
Published: April 2015

Introduction:

Computed tomographic urography (CTU) is gaining popularity as the first line investigation for haematuria. It can be used to produce a ‘true’ one-stop clinical assessment. However, a large number of investigations can be negative, exposing patients to a number of risks.

Objective:

We set out to evaluate the use of CTU in our one-stop haematuria clinic to see if it supported the utilisation of CTU as a triage investigation for haematuria.

Methods:

Retrospective analysis of all CT urograms performed (508) in our trust in 2013 took place. CTUs requested from the haematuria clinic were identified and analysed further.

Results:

A total of 1086 patients attended the haematuria clinic in 2013. 168 males and 78 females (median age 64, range 25 to 90) went on to have further CTU investigation after ultrasonography (USS) and cystoscopy. Visible haematuria (VH) was reported in 95% of cases. All 9 confirmed cases of upper tract urothelial carcinoma lesions presented with VH (age > 50); 8 out of 9 had reported hydronephrosis on USS. The overall negative predictive CTU rate was 96%.

Conclusion:

Our results show that a large number of CTUs are negative. The use of risk stratification, with particular emphasis on the ultrasonography result, gives adequate guidance on the cases that require further CTU investigation, supportive of the current European Association of Urology guidelines. Our results do not support the use of CTU as a first line or triage investigation for haematuria.
Personalized activity index, a new safety monitoring tool for multiple sclerosis clinical trials
Authors: Zhao Yinshan , Kondo Yumi , Traboulsee Anthony , Li David KB , Riddehough Andrew , Petkau A John
Published: April 2015

Background

An abnormal increase of contrast-enhancing lesion (CEL) counts on frequent MRIs is interpreted as a signal of potential worsening in multiple sclerosis (MS) clinical trials. We demonstrate the utility of the MR personalized activity index (MR-pax) to identify such increases.

Methods

We analyzed a previous Phase II study in relapsing patients ( n = 167) with MRIs at screening, baseline and months 1–6. We performed five consecutive reviews at 90-day intervals. At each review, we evaluate the MR-pax for each patient and also identify those who meet the rule-of-five (an ad-hoc guideline currently in use). To evaluate its clinical relevance, we assess the relation between having a small MR-pax (≤0.05; indicating an unexpected CEL increase) and relapse status in the 12 weeks post-review.

Results

Of the 399 patient reviews, 35 cases met the rule-of-five; 35 had an MR-pax ≤ 0.05; 18 met both criteria. The proportions experiencing clinical relapse are 63% among those meeting the rule-of-five, 61% among those with MR-pax ≤0.05, and 83% for those meeting both criteria, more than double the rate of those meeting neither criterion (40%).

Conclusion

A guideline combining this new personalized index and the existing threshold-based criterion is able to better identify patients with a higher risk of experiencing relapses.
Who Will Walk Again? Effects of Rehabilitation on the Ambulatory Status in Elderly Patients Undergoing Hemiarthroplasty for Femoral Neck Fracture
Authors: Zhang Junren , Ang Mu Liang , Kwek Ernest Beng Kee
Published: April 2015

Introduction:

Femoral neck fractures in elderly patients result in significant reduction in mobility. Deconditioning takes place quickly without early ambulation postsurgery. A recent Cochrane review found inconclusive evidence on the rehabilitation protocol required to effectively restore patients’ prefracture mobility status. This study was conducted to determine the effects of different rehabilitation approaches on the functional and mobility outcomes of elderly patients after hip hemiarthroplasty for femoral neck fractures.

Materials and Methods:

We enrolled consecutive patients aged >65 years, admitted into a tertiary orthopedic unit from January to December 2010, who had undergone hip hemiarthroplasty. They were divided into 3 cohorts: (a) home with outpatient rehabilitation, (b) intensive short rehabilitation, and (c) extended slow-stream rehabilitation. Clinical variables were collected along with outcome variables of Modified Harris Hip Score, Parker Mobility Score (PMS), and the return to near premorbid ambulatory status at 1 year (PMS decrease of ≤2).

Results:

A total of 133 patients were recruited and followed up for a year. The 3 cohorts were found to be comparable for prefall cardiovascular diseases, PMS, and Katz Index, although it was found that in the slow-stream cohort, there was a greater percentage of patients with previous cerebrovascular accidents. Patients in the intensive short rehabilitation cohort were found to have a higher proportion of patients returning to prefracture mobility, with the odds ratio of 2.3478 (95% confidence interval: 1.0667 to 5.1674; P = .042) after multivariate analysis.

Conclusions:

Elderly patients >65 years who had undergone hemiarthroplasty would likely benefit most from an intensive inpatient rehabilitation program.
Rotator Cuff Tears in the Elderly Patients
Authors: Geary Michael B. , Elfar John C.
Published: April 2015

Rotator cuff tears (RCT) are a common clinical problem in the geriatric population, and debate exists over how to best provide pain relief and restore shoulder function. Treatment options can be broadly divided into nonsurgical and surgical, with the majority of patients initially placed on a trial of conservative therapy. For those with irreparable RCT, low functional demand, or interest in nonoperative management, there are a number of nonsurgical treatments to consider, including rehabilitation and injections of corticosteroids, hyaluronate, and platelet-rich plasma. Surgical treatment is increasingly common, as geriatric patients remain active with high functional demands. Studies in elderly populations have demonstrated satisfactory healing and clinical results following surgical repair. Predictors of poor outcome after repair are large tear size as well as higher stages of fatty infiltration. Decompression is a less invasive surgical option that has been shown to provide short-term pain relief, though the lasting effects may deteriorate over time. A number of factors must be weighed when considering which patients are likely to benefit from surgical intervention.
Native and Non-native Speech Perception by Hearing-Impaired Listeners in Noise- and Speech Maskers
Authors: Kilman Lisa , Zekveld Adriana , Hällgren Mathias , Rönnberg Jerker
Published: April 2015

This study evaluated how hearing-impaired listeners perceive native (Swedish) and nonnative (English) speech in the presence of noise- and speech maskers. Speech reception thresholds were measured for four different masker types for each target language. The maskers consisted of stationary and fluctuating noise and two-talker babble in Swedish and English. Twenty-three hearing-impaired native Swedish listeners participated, aged between 28 and 65 years. The participants also performed cognitive tests of working memory capacity in Swedish and English, nonverbal reasoning, and an English proficiency test. Results indicated that the speech maskers were more interfering than the noise maskers in both target languages. The larger need for phonetic and semantic cues in a nonnative language makes a stationary masker relatively more challenging than a fluctuating-noise masker. Better hearing acuity (pure tone average) was associated with better perception of the target speech in Swedish, and better English proficiency was associated with better speech perception in English. Larger working memory and better pure tone averages were related to the better perception of speech masked with fluctuating noise in the nonnative language. This suggests that both are relevant in highly taxing conditions. A large variance in performance between the listeners was observed, especially for speech perception in the nonnative language.
How Hearing Impairment Affects Sentence Comprehension: Using Eye Fixations to Investigate the Duration of Speech Processing
Authors: Wendt Dorothea , Kollmeier Birger , Brand Thomas
Published: April 2015

The main objective of this study was to investigate the extent to which hearing impairment influences the duration of sentence processing. An eye-tracking paradigm is introduced that provides an online measure of how hearing impairment prolongs processing of linguistically complex sentences; this measure uses eye fixations recorded while the participant listens to a sentence. Eye fixations toward a target picture (which matches the aurally presented sentence) were measured in the presence of a competitor picture. Based on the recorded eye fixations, the single target detection amplitude, which reflects the tendency of the participant to fixate the target picture, was used as a metric to estimate the duration of sentence processing. The single target detection amplitude was calculated for sentence structures with different levels of linguistic complexity and for different listening conditions: in quiet and in two different noise conditions. Participants with hearing impairment spent more time processing sentences, even at high levels of speech intelligibility. In addition, the relationship between the proposed online measure and listener-specific factors, such as hearing aid use and cognitive abilities, was investigated. Longer processing durations were measured for participants with hearing impairment who were not accustomed to using a hearing aid. Moreover, significant correlations were found between sentence processing duration and individual cognitive abilities (such as working memory capacity or susceptibility to interference). These findings are discussed with respect to audiological applications.
Prediction and validation of quaternary high entropy alloys using statistical approaches
Authors: Domínguez L. Asensio , Goodall R. , Todd I.
Published: April 2015

Prediction of the crystalline structure formation of high entropy alloys is addressed in a novel way by applying principal components analysis to their thermodynamic and electronic parameters. In the simplest form, it shows an excellent discrimination between both face and body centred cubic structures when taking into account the valence electron concentration and enthalpy of mixing. Our analysis indicates that there is a stronger correlation between the formation of multiprincipal components alloys and these parameters than with entropy. The successful prediction of a multiphase structure in TiMnFeNi and the discovery of two novel four component HEAs, MnFeCoNi and TiVMnNb, lends credence to this approach.