bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
5-HT1A Receptors Mediate Analgesia Induced by Emulsified Sevoflurane in Thermal Nociception but Have Little Effect on Chemical Nociception
Authors: Yan Chen , Ti-jun Dai , Xin Li , Gao Cao , Shen Jiang , Hong Tao , Zhi-xiu Meng
Published: March 2017

Objective: The study aimed to investigate the relationship between the analgesic effect of sevoflurane and 5-serotonin receptor 1A (5-HT1A R) in the spinal cords of mice. Methods: Analgesic mouse models were established by intraperitoneal injection of emulsified sevoflurane, and the influence of p-MPPF (a specific antagonist of 5-HT1A Rs) intrathecal injection on the changes in tail-flick latency in tail-withdrawal test, pain threshold in hot-plate test (HPPT), and writhing times in acetic acid-induced writhing test were recorded. Results: Intraperitoneal injection of emulsified sevoflurane alone produced an analgesic effect (p < 0.05). p-MPPF (2, 4, and 8 μg) alone had no impact on tail-flick latency, HPPT, and writhing times in mice (p > 0.05). The 3 doses of p-MPPF reduced the tail-flick latency or HPPT. p-MPPF 8 μg can increase the writhing times (p < 0.05) in analgesic mice with sevoflurane, while p-MPPF 2 and 4 μg did not affect the writhing times. Conclusion: 5-HT1A Rs in the spinal cord may be an important target for the analgesic effect of sevoflurane on the thermal nociception, but it has little relation to the anti-chemical chemical nociceptive effect of sevoflurane.
Selected Food Consumption Mediates the Association between Education Level and Metabolic Syndrome in Korean Adults
Authors: Kim Oh Yoen , Kwak So-Young , Kim Boeun , Kim Young-Sun , Kim Hye Young , Shin Min-Jeong
Published: March 2017

Background/Aims: Low socioeconomic status (SES) is linked to higher incidence/mortality of cardiovascular disease, but emerging evidence inconsistently reported that education level, a proxy for SES, is related to cardiovascular risk and metabolic syndrome (MetS) in Koreans. Furthermore, limited information is available on whether dietary components would mediate the relationship between education level and cardiovascular risk. We hypothesized that selected food consumption mediates the association between education level and MetS prevalence. Methods: Data from the Korea National Health and Nutritional Examination Survey (2008-2011) were included in cross-sectional analyses (n = 11,029, 30-64 years). The possible mediating effect of selected food groups (fruits, raw vegetables, red meat, milk, and soft drinks) on the association between education level and MetS was tested using a multiple mediation model. Results: Education level was negatively associated with MetS prevalence. The association between lower education level and higher MetS prevalence was partially mediated by selected food consumption (lower intakes of fruit, red meat and milk; higher intakes of vegetable and soft drink) after adjusted for covariates. Gender also modified the association between education level and MetS prevalence that was more prominent in women than in men. Conclusions: Selected food consumption substantially contributes to the association between education level and MetS in Korean adults, especially among women.
Paradoxes of Putinism
Authors: Colton Timothy J.
Published: March 2017

Vladimir Putin's trademark since taking charge of Russia's government almost two decades ago has been stability. He has achieved much in terms of this master goal, including economic and demographic recovery. But development on the part of Russian society has been juxtaposed with growing rigidity and control-mindedness on the part of the state. The accumulation of economic, social, and foreign-policy problems in recent years naturally raises questions about the sustainability of the current regime. Paradoxically, Putin's personal popularity has not always been matched by confidence in his policies, although the 2014 annexation of Crimea from Ukraine gave that confidence a boost. Another paradox is that Russia bucks the global trend that seemingly links social and economic modernization to political democratization. The essays in this issue that follow will probe dimensions of this knot of puzzles.
The Prospects for a Color Revolution in Russia
Authors: Bunce Valerie
Published: March 2017

From 1998 to 2005, six elections took place in postcommunist Europe and Eurasia that led to the defeat of authoritarian incumbents or their anointed successors, the empowerment of opposition forces, and, thereafter, the introduction of democratic reforms. Because Putin's regime closely resembles those regimes that were successfully challenged by these dramatic changes in politics, Russia is a logical candidate for such a “color revolution,” as these electoral turnovers have been termed. Moreover, the color revolutions have demonstrated an ability to spread among countries, including several that border Russia. However, the case for a color revolution in Russia is mixed. On the one hand, the many costs of personalized rule make Putin's Russia vulnerable. On the other hand, Putin has been extraordinarily effective at home and abroad in preempting the possibility of an opposition victory in Russian presidential and parliamentary elections.
Russian Patronal Politics Beyond Putin
Authors: Hale Henry E.
Published: March 2017

Russian politics from the tsars through Vladimir Putin has been shaped by patronalism, a social equilibrium in which personal connections dominate, collective action happens primarily through individualized punishments and rewards, and trends in the political system reflect changing patterns of coordination among nationwide networks of actual acquaintances that typically cut across political parties, firms, nongovernmental organizations, and even the state. The “chaotic” Yeltsin era reflects low network coordination, while the hallmark of the Putin era has been the increasingly tight coordination of these networks’ activities around the authority of a single patron. In at least the next decade, Russia is unlikely to escape the patronalist equilibrium, which has already withstood major challenges in 1917 and 1991. The most promising escape paths involve much longer-term transitions through diversified economic development and integration with the Western economy, though one cannot entirely rule out that a determined new ruler might accelerate the process.
The Atlas That has Not Shrugged: Why Russia's Oligarchs are an Unlikely Force for Change
Authors: Markus Stanislav
Published: March 2017

There is demand among Russia's oligarchs for systemic change, but not for the rule of law proper. Instead, it is the de facto accountability of political elites and improved relations with the West that the Russian oligarchs want from the Kremlin. However, the oligarchs currently lack the capacity to effect change. Their insufficient leverage vis-à-vis Putin is rooted in their competition for rents, which prevents them from confronting the Kremlin as a united force. In addition to analyzing the lack of systemic pressure for change from the oligarchs, this essay considers the prospects of individual oligarchs who have nevertheless pushed openly for liberalization or tried to effect incremental change. It also draws on comparisons with other countries to chart the political behavior of Russia's business elites in the future.
From Boom to Bust: Hardship, Mobilization & Russia's Social Contract
Authors: Greene Samuel A.
Published: March 2017

This essay revisits the debate about Russia's “social contract,” arguing that the ability of the Russian system to maintain macro-political stability in the face of significant and prolonged micro-level economic hardship hinges on a peculiarly disengaged relationship between Russian citizens and their state. Russian citizens are seen clearly to understand the failings of the political system and leadership, reinforcing habits of “involution” learned over decades of institutional dysfunction. A review of recent protest movements, indeed, demonstrates that general quiescence coexists with a deep-seated antipathy toward the country's ruling elite, which lends particular animus to grassroots contention in a variety of settings. The question for Russia's sociopolitical future, however, remains an old one: can reactive civic mobilization lead to a proactive process of bottom-up agenda setting?
Russian Revanche: External Threats & Regime Reactions
Authors: Darden Keith A.
Published: March 2017

Has the development of post-Soviet Russia in an international system dominated by a democracy-promoting United States bred an authoritarian reaction in Russia as a response to perceived threats from the West? Beginning with the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia in 1999, Russian elites have increasingly seen the United States as a distinctively threatening power, one with a strategy to exploit civic organizations, ethnic groups, and other forms of domestic pluralism as “fifth columns” in an effort to overthrow unfriendly regimes. With each new crisis in U.S.-Russian relations – Ukraine 2004, Georgia 2008, Ukraine 2014 – the Russian leadership has tightened controls over society, the press, and the state. The result is that the United States’ muscular promotion of democracy abroad has produced the opposite of its intended effect on Russia, leading successive Russian governments to balance the perceived threat from the United States by pursuing greater military and intelligence capacity to intervene abroad, and by tightening internal authoritarian controls at home to prevent foreign exploitation of the nascent internal pluralism that emerged in the wake of Communism.
How Data Drive Early Word Learning: A Cross-Linguistic Waiting Time Analysis
Authors: Mollica Francis , Piantadosi Steven T.
Published: March 2017

The extent to which word learning is delayed by maturation as opposed to accumulating data is a longstanding question in language acquisition. Further, the precise way in which data influence learning on a large scale is unknown—experimental results reveal that children can rapidly learn words from single instances as well as by aggregating ambiguous information across multiple situations. We analyze Wordbank, a large cross-linguistic dataset of word acquisition norms, using a statistical waiting time model to quantify the role of data in early language learning, building off Hidaka ( 2013 ). We find that the model both fits and accurately predicts the shape of children’s growth curves. Further analyses of model parameters suggest a primarily data-driven account of early word learning. The parameters of the model directly characterize both the amount of data required and the rate at which informative data occurs. With high statistical certainty, words require on the order of ∼ 10 learning instances, which occur on average once every two months. Our method is extremely simple, statistically principled, and broadly applicable to modeling data-driven learning effects in development.
A View from the Muslim Arabic Press, 1928: The International Missionary Conference in Jerusalem
Authors: Womack Deanna Ferree
Published: March 2017

This essay situates the 1928 meeting of the International Missionary Council (imc) in Jerusalem in the historical context of British Mandate Palestine. Mission historians represent this conference as a turning point in the ecumenical missionary movement because delegates rejected Euro-centrism and demonstrated openness to partnerships with members of other faiths. Beyond the gates of the conference grounds where British soldiers stood guard, however, Palestinian Muslims and Christians expressed a different view of this gathering in the city of God. Arabic newspapers covered the widespread protests against the meeting, but imc publications gave little attention to this local response. Blinded by the inspiring Biblical scenery below, John Mott and other imc leaders failed to exhibit the sort of cultural sensitivity many delegates advocated behind the closed doors of their hilltop conference.
Causativisation in Wobzi and other Khroskyabs dialects
Authors: Lai Yunfan
Published: March 2017

Mainly basing on first hand data, this paper deals with the causative constructions in the Khroskyabs language (Rgyalrongic, Sino-Tibetan), focusing on the Wobzi dialect. Causative prefixes, anti-causative, analytic causative and labile verbs are described. In addition, comparative analyses within Rgyalrongic as well as the Sino-Tibetan family are made. 

En se basant principalement sur des données de première main, cet article traite des constructions causatives en khroskyabs (langue rgyalronguique, sino-tibétain), en se concentrant sur le dialecte wobzi. Les préfixes causatifs, l’anti-causatif, le causatif analytique et les verbes labiles sont décrits. Des analyses comparatives au sein du rgyalronguique et du sino-tibétain sont également effectuées.
The Sethian Figures Micheus and Michar and their Relationship to Micah the Morasthite
Authors: Roukema Riemer
Published: March 2017

In five Sethian texts, the supracelestial powers Micheus and Michar are involved in the baptism of those wishing to be initiated into the salvation that would enable them to ascend to a higher spiritual level. The provenance of these two names is unknown. This paper proposes two hypotheses: first, that Micheus and Michar are corruptions of the name of the biblical prophet Micah the Morasthite (Μιχαίας in the Septuagint and מיכה in Hebrew), and second, that Micheus and Michar may be considered Micah’s supracelestial archetype. In favour of the first hypothesis, other examples of such corruptions in Sethian documents are given: Iesseus Mazareus Iessedekeus for Jesus Ναζωραῖος and δίκαιος, and Setheus for Seth. For the second hypothesis this paper refers to Melchizedek, Jacob, Jezebel, Joel, Malachi, and John the Baptist as other contemporaneous examples of heavenly or supracelestial archetypes of biblical persons. That Micah’s archetype was involved in baptism may have been inspired by the final verses of the book of Micah on casting sins into the depths of the sea, which was interpreted as a reference to baptism.
The Ascent of the Soul and the Pachomians: Interpreting the Exegesis on the Soul (nhc ii,6) within a Fourth-Century Monastic Context
Authors: Fowler Kimberley A.
Published: March 2017

The Exegesis on the Soul (nhc ii,6) allegorizes the degradation and re-ascent of the soul. Recently, scholars have reconsidered whether Pachomian monks produced and read the Nag Hammadi Codices, largely based upon codicological evidence. For Pachomians, the soul’s ascent from the body constituted the fulfilment of their ascetic regime. This article offers support for the ‘Pachomian connection’ by analyzing the Exegesis on the Soul alongside Pachomian literature. It argues that shared exegetical tendencies and a common approach to modes of ascetic practice and repentance strengthen the case for monastic readership and ownership of the Nag Hammadi Codices.
New data on the Pterophoridae fauna of Liberia (Lepidoptera: Pterophoridae)
Authors: USTJUZHANIN PETR , KOVTUNOVICH VASILY , SÁFIÁN SZABOLCS
Published: March 2017

There have been no special studies on plume moths of Liberia until recently. In the World Catalogue of Insects (Gielis 2003) only two species are reported from Liberia: Agdistis tamaricis (Zeller, 1847) and Megalorhipida leucodactyla (Fabricius, 1794) despite its well-known richness for other Lepidoptera groups (Fox et al. 1965, Larsen 2005) and its biogeographic position in the centre of the Upper Guinean biodiversity hotspot (Myers et al. 2000).
A new species of Aplectana (Nematoda: Cosmocercidae) parasite of Pleurodema nebulosum (Anura: Leptodactylidae) from the Monte desert, Argentina, with a key to Neotropical species of the genus Aplectana
Authors: PIÑEIRO GOMEZ MAURICIO D. , GONZÁLEZ CYNTHYA E. , SANABRIA EDUARDO A.
Published: March 2017

Here we describe a new cosmocercid nematode, Aplectana nebulosa sp. nov., from the small and large intestines of Pleurodema nebulosum (Anura: Leptodactylidae), from the Monte desert of San Juan, Argentina. The new species belongs to the Aplectana group that possesses a gubernaculum and unpaired adcloacal papilla anteriorly to cloaca. It resembles A. membranosa, A. paraelenae and A. travassosi by the presence of four adcloacal papillae, but differs from those species by the following characters: number and arrangement of precloacal papillae; number and arrangement of postcloacal papillae; shape and size of spicules and gubernaculum, and by the presence of lateral alae in caudal region of males. The description of the new species is based on light microscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and we also provide a key to Neotropical species of Aplectana.
Review of the Alompra ferruginea Moore, 1872 complex with description of a new species from Taiwan (Lepidoptera, Lasiocampidae)
Authors: WU SHIPHER , LEE HSUEH , ZOLOTUHIN VADIM V.
Published: March 2017

The present study reviews the Alompra ferruginea Moore, 1872 group. A. ferruginea bidiensis Tams, 1953 (TL: Borneo) and A. ferruginea cerastes Tams, 1953 (TL: Mindanao) are both raised to bona species level. The population of Taiwan is described as a new species, A. yibinfani sp. nov. The lectotype of A. ferruginea is designated from BMNH, the holotype of A. ferruginea cerastes is designated from USNM. A. ferruginea is listed here from Vietnam for the first time.
Effects of Vertical Eddy Diffusivity Parameterization on the Evolution of Landfalling Hurricanes
Authors: Zhang Feimin , Pu Zhaoxia
Published: March 2017

As a result of rapid changes in surface conditions when a landfalling hurricane moves from ocean to land, interactions between the hurricane and surface heat and moisture fluxes become essential components of its evolution and dissipation. With a research version of the Hurricane Weather Research and Forecasting Model (HWRF), this study examines the effects of the vertical eddy diffusivity in the boundary layer on the evolution of three landfalling hurricanes (Dennis, Katrina, and Rita in 2005).

Specifically, the parameterization scheme of eddy diffusivity for momentum Km is adjusted with the modification of the mixed-layer velocity scale in HWRF for both stable and unstable conditions. Results show that the change in the Km parameter leads to improved simulations of hurricane track, intensity, and quantitative precipitation against observations during and after landfall, compared to the simulations with the original Km.

Further diagnosis shows that, compared to original Km, the modified Km produces stronger vertical mixing in the hurricane boundary layer over land, which tends to stabilize the hurricane boundary layer. Consequently, the simulated landfalling hurricanes attenuate effectively with the modified Km, while they mostly inherit their characteristics over the ocean and decay inefficiently with the original Km.
Local Energetic Constraints on Walker Circulation Strength
Authors: Wills Robert C. , Levine Xavier J. , Schneider Tapio
Published: March 2017

The weakening of tropical overturning circulations is a robust response to global warming in climate models and observations. However, there remain open questions on the causes of this change and the extent to which this weakening affects individual circulation features such as the Walker circulation. The study presents idealized GCM simulations of a Walker circulation forced by prescribed ocean heat flux convergence in a slab ocean, where the longwave opacity of the atmosphere is varied to simulate a wide range of climates. The weakening of the Walker circulation with warming results from an increase in gross moist stability (GMS), a measure of the tropospheric moist static energy (MSE) stratification, which provides an effective static stability for tropical circulations. Baroclinic mode theory is used to determine changes in GMS in terms of the tropical-mean profiles of temperature and MSE. The GMS increases with warming, owing primarily to the rise in tropopause height, decreasing the sensitivity of the Walker circulation to zonally anomalous net energy input. In the absence of large changes in net energy input, this results in a rapid weakening of the Walker circulation with global warming.
Broadening of Cloud Droplet Spectra through Eddy Hopping: Turbulent Adiabatic Parcel Simulations
Authors: Grabowski Wojciech W. , Abade Gustavo C.
Published: March 2017

This paper investigates spectral broadening of droplet size distributions through a mechanism referred to as the eddy hopping. The key idea, suggested a quarter century ago, is that droplets arriving at a given location within a turbulent cloud follow different trajectories and thus experience different growth histories and that this leads to a significant spectral broadening. In this study, the adiabatic parcel model with superdroplets is used to contrast droplet growth with and without turbulence. Turbulence inside the parcel is described by two parameters: (i) the dissipation rate of the turbulent kinetic energy ε and (ii) the linear extent of the parcel L. As expected, an adiabatic parcel without turbulence produces extremely narrow droplet spectra. In the turbulent parcel, a stochastic scheme is used to account for vertical velocity fluctuations that lead to local supersaturation fluctuations for each superdroplet. These fluctuations mimic the impact of droplets hopping turbulent eddies in a natural cloud. For L smaller than a few meters, noticeable spectral broadening is possible only for strong turbulence—say, ε > 100 cm2 s−3. For L typical for grid lengths of large-eddy simulation (LES) models (say, L between 10 and 100 m), the impact is significant even with relatively modest turbulence intensities. The impact increases with both L and ε. The representation of eddy hopping developed in this paper can be included in a straightforward way in the subgrid-scale scheme of a Lagrangian LES cloud model and may lead to a significant acceleration of simulated rain development through collision–coalescence.
The Statistical Properties of Sea Ice Velocity Fields
Authors: Agarwal Sahil , Wettlaufer John S.
Published: March 2017

By arguing that the surface pressure field over the Arctic Ocean can be treated as an isotropic, stationary, homogeneous, Gaussian random field, Thorndike estimated a number of covariance functions from two years of data (1979 and 1980). Given the active interest in changes of general circulation quantities and indices in the polar regions during the recent few decades, the spatial correlations in sea ice velocity fields are of particular interest. It is thus natural to ask, “How persistent are these correlations?” To this end, a multifractal stochastic treatment is developed to analyze observed Arctic sea ice velocity fields from satellites and buoys for the period 1978–2015. Since it was previously found that the Arctic equivalent ice extent (EIE) has a white noise structure on annual to biannual time scales, the connection between EIE and ice motion is assessed. The long-term stationarity of the spatial correlation structure of the velocity fields and the robustness of their white noise structure on multiple time scales is demonstrated; these factors (i) combine to explain the white noise characteristics of the EIE on annual to biannual time scales and (ii) explain why the fluctuations in the ice velocity are proportional to fluctuations in the geostrophic winds on time scales of days to months. Moreover, it is shown that the statistical structure of these two quantities is commensurate from days to years, which may be related to the increasing prevalence of free drift in the ice pack.
Improved AIRS Temperature and Moisture Soundings with Local A Priori Information for the 1DVAR Method
Authors: Jang Hyun-Sung , Sohn Byung-Ju , Chun Hyoung-Wook , Li Jun , Weisz Elisabeth
Published: March 2017

A moving-window regression technique was developed for obtaining better a priori information for one-dimensional variational (1DVAR) physical retrievals. Using this technique regression coefficients were obtained for a specific geographical 10° × 10° window and for a given season. Then, regionally obtained regression retrievals over East Asia were used as a priori information for physical retrievals. To assess the effect of improved a priori information on the accuracy of the physical retrievals, error statistics of the physical retrievals from clear-sky Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) measurements during 4 months of observation (March, June, September, and December of 2010) were compared; the results obtained using new a priori information were compared with those using a priori information from a global set of training data classified into six classes of infrared (IR) window channel brightness temperature. This comparison demonstrated that the moving-window regression method can successfully improve the accuracy of physical retrieval. For temperature, root-mean-square error (RMSE) improvements of 0.1–0.2 and 0.25–0.5 K were achieved over the 150–300- and 900–1000-hPa layers, respectively. For water vapor given as relative humidity, the RMSE was reduced by 1.5%–3.5% above the 300-hPa level and by 0.5%–1% within the 700–950-hPa layer.
Introduction: An invitation to spatial sociology
Authors: Fuller Martin G , Löw Martina
Published: March 2017

As an invitation to spatial sociology, this article introduces key concepts and contexts to situate the articles in this monograph issue of Current Sociology. Spatial sociology is presented here as broad in scope and usefulness, but specific as a relational approach to space. As both a category of analysis and a lens through which to address sociological research questions, the gains of relational spatial research are shown in this monograph issue through articles exploring bodies, borders, units and mobilities. Outlining some of the history of relational thinking and space, clarifying some misconceptions about spatial theory, and developing a heuristic of the uses of spatial sociology, this article’s main aim is to invite specialists and non-specialists alike to spatial sociology.
The Case-time-control Method for Nonbinary Exposures
Authors: Sjölander Arvid
Published: March 2017

A popular way to reduce confounding in observational studies is to use each study participant as his or her own control. This is possible when both the exposure and the outcome are time varying and have been measured at several time points for each individual. The case-time-control method is a special case, which, under certain assumptions, allows the analyst to control for confounding by time-varying covariates, while controlling for all time-stationary characteristics of the study participants. There are two formulations of the case-time-control method. One formulation requires that the exposure be binary, and the other requires that there be no more than two time points per individual. In this article the author proposes a generalization of the case-time-control method for nonbinary exposures and an arbitrary number of time points. The author derives the asymptotic properties of the resulting estimator and assesses its finite sample properties in a simulation study.
Social class and the cultural turn: Anthropology, sociology and the post-industrial politics of 21st century Britain
Authors: Evans Gillian
Published: March 2017

The social science of the contemporary moment in Britain, and Europe, requires an interdisciplinary and ethnographic study of social class. The time is ripe for a mutually critical conversation between sociology and anthropology about the cultural turn in the study of social class. This matters, because the cultural turn in the social sciences must be adequate to the task of charting the potential threat to progressive society posed by the cultural turn in the general population and in politics. The political vacuum in post-industrial cities has led to emergent forms of cultural nationalism that flirt with fascism and give rise to a populist challenge to the political establishment and the cohesion of a class-based configuration of collective action under the conditions of advanced capitalism.
‘Doing your best’ in a London secondary school: Valuing, caring and thinking through neoliberalism
Authors: Winkler-Reid Sarah
Published: March 2017

Focusing on pupils in the run up to their GCSEs exams, this article examines notions of success, worth and ‘doing your best’ as they emerge in everyday life in a London secondary school. This discussion is in critical dialogue with debates on neoliberalism and the particular interdisciplinary relations they entail. Whilst recognising that neoliberalism represents an important arena of shared exchange, the author also argues that we need to be wary of writing out the complexities of lived experience as we utilise these analytical framings. Drawing from 14 months’ ethnographic fieldwork, the author highlights how performance and audit shape everyday life in school. Whilst these practices rest on processes of commensuration – the production of equivalence – a focus on the emergence of different forms of value and worth draws attention to the incommensurable dimensions of selves also in circulation within school. Furthermore, a focus on the care extended by teachers to all their pupils, not just the ones defined as ‘successful’ within the terms of audit and performance, highlights the importance of an ordinary ethics within school that cannot necessarily be analysed in terms of broader political projects of inequality.
Dispatch Work in China: A Study from Case Records, Part I
Authors: Huang Philip C. C.
Published: March 2017

This article employs all basic-level court cases adjudged in 2012 involving “labor disputes” over “dispatch work” 劳务派遣 (in the Supreme People’s Court’s large database of court judgments) to clarify the practical and theoretical implications of the new legal category of “dispatch work relationships” 劳务关系, as opposed to the old-style “labor relationships” 劳动关系. The article examines also disputes between the new dispatch agencies and the workers they contract with to clarify how that dispatch-agency-to-workers-relationship is different both from the new “dispatch work relationship” and the old “labor relationship” between enterprises and their workers. These comparisons of the three different kinds of work relationships bring to light a black hole in labor law theory and practice, related to its construction of a severing of contracting from management and of the laborer’s “person” from the laborer’s “work.” The article concludes by placing dispatch work into the context of the globalized social and legal history of labor.
Recommendation System for Adaptive Learning
Authors: Chen Yunxiao , Li Xiaoou , Liu Jingchen , Ying Zhiliang
Published: March 2017

An adaptive learning system aims at providing instruction tailored to the current status of a learner, differing from the traditional classroom experience. The latest advances in technology make adaptive learning possible, which has the potential to provide students with high-quality learning benefit at a low cost. A key component of an adaptive learning system is a recommendation system, which recommends the next material (video lectures, practices, and so on, on different skills) to the learner, based on the psychometric assessment results and possibly other individual characteristics. An important question then follows: How should recommendations be made? To answer this question, a mathematical framework is proposed that characterizes the recommendation process as a Markov decision problem, for which decisions are made based on the current knowledge of the learner and that of the learning materials. In particular, two plain vanilla systems are introduced, for which the optimal recommendation at each stage can be obtained analytically.
Changing Labour Market and Industrial Relations, Changing Times: Make in India and Ensuing Labour Reforms
Authors: Mamkoottam Kuriakose
Published: March 2017

This article argues that the ‘Make-in-India’ and the proposed labour reforms are unlikely to succeed given the unequal structure of the Indian labour market, with the large majority of the Indian labour force remaining in the unorganized sector and unprotected by the labour laws. It is further argued that the introduction of some of the proposed labour reforms are likely to create further imbalance in the bargaining power in favour of management, which may not help to develop a balanced labour market, and may further increase the social and economic inequality.
Effectiveness of neuromuscular electrical stimulation for management of shoulder subluxation post-stroke: a systematic review with meta-analysis
Authors: Lee Jae-Hyoung , Baker Lucinda L , Johnson Robert E , Tilson Julie K
Published: March 2017

Objectives:

To examine the effectiveness of neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) for the management of shoulder subluxation after stroke including assessment of short (1 hour or less) and long (more than one hour) daily treatment duration.

Data sources:

MEDLINE, CENTRAL, CINAHL, WOS, KoreaMed, RISS and reference lists from inception to January 2017

Review methods:

We considered randomized controlled trials that reported neuromuscular electrical stimulation for the treatment of shoulder subluxation post-stroke. Two reviewers independently selected trials for inclusion, assessed trial quality, and extracted data.

Results:

Eleven studies were included (432 participants); seven studies were good quality, four were fair. There was a significant treatment effect of neuromuscular electrical stimulation for reduction of subluxation for persons with acute and subacute stroke (SMD:–1.11; 95% CI:–1.53, –0.68) with either short (SMD:–0.91; 95% CI:–1.43, –0.40) or long (SMD:–1.49; 95% CI:–2.31, –0.67) daily treatment duration. The effect for patients with chronic stroke was not significant (SMD:–1.25; 95% CI:–2.60, 0.11). There was no significant effect of neuromuscular electrical stimulation on arm function or shoulder pain.

Conclusion:

This meta-analysis suggests a beneficial effect of neuromuscular electrical stimulation, with either short or long daily treatment duration, for reducing shoulder subluxation in persons with acute and subacute stroke. No significant benefits were observed for persons with chronic stroke or for improving arm function or reducing shoulder pain.
Imaging the physiological evolution of the ischemic penumbra in acute ischemic stroke
Authors: Leigh Richard , Knutsson Linda , Zhou Jinyuan , van Zijl Peter CM
Published: March 2017

We review the hemodynamic, metabolic and cellular parameters affected during early ischemia and their changes as a function of approximate cerebral blood flow ( CBF) thresholds. These parameters underlie the current practical definition of an ischemic penumbra, namely metabolically affected but still viable brain tissue. Such tissue is at risk of infarction under continuing conditions of reduced CBF, but can be rescued through timely intervention. This definition will be useful in clinical diagnosis only if imaging techniques exist that can rapidly, and with sufficient accuracy, visualize the existence of a mismatch between such a metabolically affected area and regions that have suffered cell depolarization. Unfortunately, clinical data show that defining the outer boundary of the penumbra based solely on perfusion-related thresholds may not be sufficiently accurate. Also, thresholds for CBF and cerebral blood volume ( CBV) differ for white and gray matter and evolve with time for both inner and outer penumbral boundaries. As such, practical penumbral imaging would involve parameters in which the physiology is immediately displayed in a manner independent of baseline CBF or CBF threshold, namely pH, oxygen extraction fraction ( OEF), diffusion constant and mean transit time ( MTT). Suitable imaging technologies will need to meet this requirement in a 10–20 min exam.
A Validation Study of Classroom Assessment Scoring System–Secondary in the Finnish School Context
Authors: Virtanen T. E. , Pakarinen E. , Lerkkanen M.-K. , Poikkeus A.-M. , Siekkinen M. , Nurmi J.-E.
Published: March 2017

This study examined the reliability and validity of the Classroom Assessment Scoring System–Secondary (CLASS-S) in Finnish classrooms. Trained observers coded classroom interactions based on video recordings of 46 Grade 6 classrooms (450 cycles). Concurrent associations were investigated with respect to teacher self-ratings (e.g., efficacy beliefs and teaching-related stress). Confirmatory factor analysis showed that the hypothesized three-factor structure of the original CLASS-S (Emotional Support, Organizational Support, and Instructional Support), with some modifications, provided a better fit for the data compared with one- and two-factor structures. Structural validity was demonstrated by mostly high factor loadings. Except for two interrater intraclass correlations, all item, scale, and interrater reliabilities were either acceptable or good. The study found some evidence for concurrent associations between the three CLASS-S factors and teacher self-ratings. The results provide evidence of the applicability of the CLASS-S instrument in educational contexts (Finland) outside the United States.
Does a social/behavioural gradient in dental health exist among adults? A cross-sectional study
Authors: Arrica Mariantonietta , Carta Giovanna , Cocco Fabio , Grazia Cagetti Maria , Sale Silvana , Ierardo Gaetano , Strohmenger Laura , Ottolenghi Livia , Campus Guglielmo
Published: March 2017

Objective

To explore the potential presence of a social/behavioural gradient in dental health among Italian adults using a cross-sectional study.

Methods

Caries indices were recorded among 480 subjects (52.9% men, 47.1% women) who also completed a structured self-administered social and behavioural questionnaire. A social/behavioural gradient was generated as the sum of the worst circumstances recorded on the questionnaire (cariogenic diet, smoking, lowest occupational profile, brushing teeth < twice daily, lowest educational level, uneven dental examination attendance).

Results

Caries figures (DMFT) and the number of filled sound teeth (FS-T) were statistically significantly linked to the social/behavioural gradient (DMFT: χ2(9) = 20.17 p = 0.02, Z = 0.02 p = 0.99; FS-T: χ2(9) = 25.68 p < 0.01, Z = −4.31 p < 0.01). DMFT was statistically significantly associated with gender and with social and behavioural variables. FS-T was higher in women (p = 0.03) and was linked to smoking ( p < 0.01).

Conclusions

The proposed social/behavioural gradient demonstrated how subjects reporting the worst circumstances on the questionnaire exhibited the worst dental health. The use of the gradient demonstrates that health promotion and prevention cannot be compartmentalized.
Identification of a novel nonsense mutation of the neurotrophic tyrosine kinase receptor type 1 gene in two siblings with congenital insensitivity to pain with anhidrosis
Authors: Wang Ting , Li Haibo , Xiang Jingjing , Wei Bin , Zhang Qin , Zhu Qin , Liu Minjuan , Sun Miao , Li Hong
Published: March 2017

Objective

To explore the aetiology of congenital insensitivity to pain with anhidrosis (CIPA) in two Chinese siblings with typical CIPA symptoms including insensitivity to pain, inability to sweat, and self-mutilating behaviours.

Methods

Clinical examination and genetic testing were conducted of all available family members, and the findings were used to create a pedigree. Mutation screening using PCR amplification and DNA Sanger sequencing of the entire neurotrophic tyrosine kinase receptor type 1 gene ( NTRK1) including intron–exon boundaries was used to identify mutations associated with CIPA.

Results

A novel nonsense mutation (c.7C > T, p. Arg3Ter) and a known splice-site mutation (c.851-33 T > A) were detected in NTRK1 and shown to be associated with CIPA.

Conclusion

Our findings expand the known mutation spectrum of NTRK1 and provide insights into the aetiology of CIPA.
Predictors of preference for caesarean delivery among pregnant women in Beijing
Authors: Zhang Hongwei , Wu Jing , Norris Jessie , Guo Li , Hu Yifei
Published: March 2017

Objective

To evaluate factors associated with preference for caesarean or vaginal delivery among pregnant Chinese nulliparous and parous women.

Methods

In this cross-sectional study, a self-administered questionnaire was used to collect information on sociodemographic characteristics, preference/reasons for delivery mode, and knowledge of delivery complications.

Results

Of the 450 participants, 85 (18.9%) reported a preference for caesarean section (CS) pre-partum. Compared with women who would prefer a vaginal delivery, nulliparous women who preferred CS were more likely to be: ≥35 years; have no medical insurance; have had two or more pregnancies; have access to only one source of information about birthing options; knowledge of the complications of vaginal delivery and think doctors have no right to decide the type of delivery. For parous women who preferred CS, they were more likely to have had a previous caesarean delivery and live outside Beijing.

Conclusions

From this study conducted at a large, maternity centre in Beijing, the proportion of pregnant women with preference pre-partum for CS was moderate and their reasons were varied.
Pax8, Napsin A, and CD10 as Immunohistochemical Markers of Canine Renal Cell Carcinoma
Authors: Peat Tyler J. , Edmondson Elijah F. , Miller Margaret A. , DuSold Dee M. , Ramos-Vara José A.
Published: March 2017

Pax8, napsin A, and CD10 are useful immunohistochemical markers of human renal cell carcinoma (RCC); however, their diagnostic utility in canine RCC is unclear. Forty formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded renal cell carcinomas from dogs (15 papillary, 12 solid, and 13 tubular) and 10 metastases were evaluated for expression of Pax8, napsin A, and CD10. Thirty-nine (98%), 24 (60%), and 19 (50%) tumors expressed Pax8 (nuclear labeling), napsin A (cytoplasmic labeling), and CD10 (cytoplasmic and membranous labeling), respectively. Pax8 was expressed in 92% of solid, 100% of papillary, and 100% of tubular tumors. Napsin A was expressed in 58% of solid, 60% of papillary, and 62% of tubular RCC. CD10 was expressed in 33% of solid, 47% of papillary, and 62% of tubular RCC. Pax8 was expressed in 80% of the metastatic tumors, napsin A in 60%, and CD10 in 50%. Additionally, Pax8 immunoreactivity was stronger overall than that of napsin A or CD10. In summary, Pax8 is a more sensitive marker than napsin A or CD10 for primary and metastatic canine RCC; its nuclear and more intense reactivity also makes it easier to interpret. Tubular and papillary RCCs were more likely than solid RCC to express all 3 markers. These findings highlight the utility of Pax8 as an immunohistochemical marker in diagnosing all major subtypes of canine primary and metastatic renal cell carcinoma.
Black Wednesday: Radiation, stigma and property values
Authors: Pitkanen Laura
Published: March 2017

In the 1970s the community of Port Hope, Ontario was discovered widely contaminated with radioactive waste from a local refinery. Under conditions of mounting waste, inadequate remediation, growing publicity, and no compensation, the implications of the waste for property values manifested into intense social conflict. The author traced these tensions over the last 40 years, showing how the primacy of private property disintegrated social relations while securing political and economic power for the state. Indeed, the state is actively involved in the institution of private property, not simply in regulating property markets and upholding property ownership as a de facto component of capitalism, but in manipulating its disciplinary effects as a form of social control.
Analysis of temperature and strain rate dependencies of softening regime for tempered martensitic steel
Authors: Eisenträger Johanna , Naumenko Konstantin , Altenbach Holm , Gariboldi Elisabetta
Published: March 2017

This article aims to analyse the influence of temperature and strain rate on the mechanical behaviour of the high-chromium martensitic steel X20CrMoV12-1. The analysis is based on two series of high-temperature uniaxial tensile tests. In a first series, the tensile tests are conducted until rupture, and temperature as well as strain rate are varied systematically. The corresponding stress–strain curves show an extended softening stage. In order to examine softening, it is crucial to distinguish between microstructural changes and strain localisation due to necking. For this reason, a tensile test at low strain rate is performed several times, while the test is terminated at different strain levels in order to examine the onset of necking. Based on the test results and surface measurements of the deformed specimens, the strain level at which necking starts is determined, and possible interactions between softening and necking are discussed. The tensile tests have been conducted in order to calibrate a mechanical model which supplies reliable predictions on the material behaviour under different loading scenarios at elevated temperatures. For this reason, a framework based on microstructural processes is presented in the second part of the article. The model applies a binary mixture approach in conjunction with an iso-strain concept. Furthermore, backstress and softening variables are introduced to consider hardening and softening effects. This procedure results in a system of three differential equations describing the mechanical behaviour.
Group Analytic Methods Beyond the Clinical Setting—Working with Researcher–Managers
Authors: Mowles Chris
Published: March 2017

Group analytic scholars have a long history of thinking about organizations and taking up group analytic concepts in organizational contexts. Many still aspire to being more of a resource to organizations given widespread organizational change processes which provoke great upheaval and feelings of anxiety. This article takes as a case study the experience of running a professional management research doctorate originally set up with group analytic input to consider some of the adaptations to thinking and methods which are required outside the clinical context. The article explores what group analysis can bring to management, but also what critical management scholarship can bring to group analysis. It considers some of the organizational difficulties which the students on the doctoral programme have written about, and discusses the differences and limitations of taking up group analytic thinking and practice in an organizational research setting.
Compressive load, thermal and acoustic properties of wood/polyvinyl chloride composite log-wall panels
Authors: Pulngern T , Eakintumas W , Rosarpitak V , Sombatsompop N
Published: March 2017

The cross-section design of wood/polyvinyl chloride composite log-wall panels was studied for effects on compressive load, thermal and acoustic properties. Variation in the slenderness ratio (2, 4, 8, 10 and 12) on compressive load was also included. Two parameters of log-wall cross sections consisting of web thickness (3.5, 7.0 and 10.0 mm) and flange spacing (45, 60 and 90 mm) were also investigated. Experimental results indicated that higher web thickness and lower flange spacing of wood/polyvinyl chloride composite log-wall cross sections increased the ultimate compressive load and noise reduction. However, lateral deflection and thermal resistance decreased. Increasing the slenderness ratio of the log-wall panels resulted in lower ultimate compressive load and higher lateral deflection. Empirical equations for predicting the ultimate compressive load of wood/polyvinyl chloride composite log-wall panels in practical uses were proposed regarding web thickness, flange spacing and slenderness ratio.