bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
MicroRNA-92a-3p Regulates Aggrecanase-1 and Aggrecanase-2 Expression in Chondrogenesis and IL-1β-Induced Catabolism in Human Articular Chondrocytes
Authors: Mao Guping , Wu Peihui , Zhang Ziji , Zhang Zhiqi , Liao Weiming , Li Yukang , Kang Yan
Published: December 2017

Background/Aims: Aggrecanase-1 (ADAMTS-4) and aggrecanase-2 (ADAMTS-5) are secreted enzymes belonging to the ADAMTS (a disintegrin and metalloproteinase with thrombospondin motifs) family that play significant roles in the progression of osteoarthritis (OA). Here, we aimed to determine whether the expression of ADAMTS-4/5 in chondrogenesis and inflammation is regulated by microRNA-92a-3p (miR-92a-3p). Methods: MiR-92a-3p and ADAMTS-4/5 expressions were determined by quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). To investigate the repressive effect of miR-92a-3p on ADAMTS-4/5 expression, chondrogenic human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) and human chondrocytes were transfected with mature miR-92a-3p or an antisense inhibitor (anti-miR-92a-3p), respectively. ADAMTS-4/5 protein production was quantified by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and miR-92a-3p involvement in IL-1β-mediated catabolic effects was examined by immunoblotting. The roles of activated MAP kinases (MAPK) and nuclear factor (NF)-κB were evaluated by using specific inhibitors. Interaction between miR-92a-3p and its putative binding site in the 3′-untranslated region (3′-UTR) of ADAMTS-4/5 mRNA was confirmed by luciferase reporter assay. Results: miR-92a-3p expression was elevated in chondrogenic hMSCs, with significantly lower expression in OA cartilage than in normal cartilage. Stimulation with IL-1β significantly reduced miR-92a-3p expression in primary human chondrocytes (PHCs). Transfection of chondrocytes with miR-92a-3p downregulated IL-1β-induced ADAMTS-4/5 expression, and the activity of a reporter construct containing the 3′-UTR of human ADAMTS-4/5 mRNA. MiR-92a-3p expression was suppressed upon IL-1β-induced activation of MAPK and NF-κB in chondrocytes. Conclusion: MiR-92a-3p is an important regulator of ADAMTS-4/5 in human chondrocytes and may contribute to the development of OA.
Postural grounding in the physical education classes: a bioenergetic analysis
Authors: Rocha Diane Ferraz Lopes da , Antério Djavan , Andrade Fernando Cézar Bezerra de , Gomes-da-Silva Pierre Normando
Published: December 2017

O objetivo deste estudo foi realizar a análise psicocorporal das atividades realizadas em aulas de Educação Física Escolar por discentes entre 10 e 13 anos. Adotou-se o conceito de grounding postural que, segundo a Análise Bioenergética, favorece a dinâmica de adequação psicocorporal às condições de autossustentação, equilíbrio e expressão da vitalidade. Toma-se como premissa que as experiências psicocorporais de contato entre corpo, solo e circunstâncias ambientais (físicas e sociais) ampliam as chances para alcançar-se coerência e coesão psicocorporais no ato de movimentar-se. Assim, questionou-se: há atividades nas aulas de Educação Física que possibilitem identifi car o grounding postural? A pesquisa caracteriza-se por natureza descritiva e abordagem qualitativa, do tipo participante, empregando, como instrumentos de coleta e tratamento de dados: observação protocolada, entrevista semiestruturada e análise de conteúdo. Exploraram-se indicadores referentes ao grounding postural, passíveis de observação, dentre os quais a postura, a manutenção do equilíbrio e a projeção corpo-espacial. Defi niram-se ainda categorias operacionais que permitiram subsidiar a análise e discussão dos dados: a realidade interna e a realidade externa. Como resultado, observou-se que as aulas de Educação Física promoviam, sem intencionalidade, condições para desenvolver o grounding postural entre os alunos, através de posturas em jogos, como a coluna ereta, a fl exão de joelhos, a projeção do corpo sobre a parte frontal dos pés, mantidos descalços, o que se aproximam de posições terapêuticas, descritas pela Análise Bioenergética. Todavia, as aulas careceram de refl exão sobre a experiência, necessária ao um maior desenvolvimento da autopossessão.
Public policies on healthcare-associated infections: a Brazil and UK case study
Authors: Padoveze Maria Clara , Melo Sara , Bishop Simon , Poveda Vanessa de Brito , Fortaleza Carlos Magno Castelo Branco
Published: December 2017

To summarize the historical events and drivers underlying public policy for the prevention and control of healthcare-associated infections in Brazil and in the United Kingdom. In doing so, the article aims to identify lessons and recommendations for future development of public policy. The analysis is based on a historical overview of national healthcare-associated infections programs taken from previously published sources. Findings highlight how the development of healthcare-associated infections prevention and control policies followed similar trajectories in Brazil and the United Kingdom. This can be conceptualized around four sequential phases: Formation, Consolidation, Standardization, and Monitoring and Evaluation. However, while we identified similar phases of development in Brazil and the United Kingdom, it can be seen that the former entered each stage around 20 years after the latter.
Short Leukocyte Telomere Length Precedes Clinical Expression of Atherosclerosis
Authors: Benetos Athanase , Toupance Simon , Gautier Sylvie , Labat Carlos , Kimura Masayuki , Rossi Pascal M. , Settembre Nicla , Hubert Jacques , Frimat Luc , Bertrand Baptiste , Boufi Mourad , Flecher Xavier , Sadoul Nicolas , Eschwege Pascal , Kessler Michèle , Tzanetakou Irene P. , Doulamis Ilias P. , Konstantopoulos Panagiotis , Tzani Aspasia , Korou Marilina , Gkogkos Anastasios , Perreas Konstantinos , Menenakos Evangelos , Samanidis Georgios , Vasiloglou-Gkanis Michail , Kark Jeremy D. , Malikov Serguei , Verhulst Simon , Aviv Abraham
Published: December 2017

Rationale:

Short telomere length (TL) in leukocytes is associated with atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD). It is unknown whether this relationship stems from having inherently short leukocyte TL (LTL) at birth or a faster LTL attrition thereafter. LTL represents TL in the highly proliferative hematopoietic system, whereas TL in skeletal muscle represents a minimally replicative tissue.

Objective:

We measured LTL and muscle TL (MTL) in the same individuals with a view to obtain comparative metrics for lifelong LTL attrition and learn about the temporal association of LTL with ASCVD.

Methods and Results:

Our Discovery Cohort comprised 259 individuals aged 63±14 years (mean±SD), undergoing surgery with (n=131) or without (n=128) clinical manifestation of ASCVD. In all subjects, MTL adjusted for muscle biopsy site (MTL
A
) was longer than LTL and the LTL-MTL
A
gap similarly widened with age in ASCVD patients and controls. Age- and sex-adjusted LTL (
P
=0.005), but not MTL
A
(
P
=0.90), was shorter in patients with ASCVD than controls. The TL gap between leukocytes and muscle (LTL-MTL
A
) was wider (
P
=0.0003), and the TL ratio between leukocytes and muscle (LTL/MTL
A
) was smaller (
P
=0.0001) in ASCVD than in controls. Findings were replicated in a cohort comprising 143 individuals.

Conclusions:

This first study to apply the blood-and-muscle TL model shows more pronounced LTL attrition in ASCVD patients than controls. The difference in LTL attrition was not associated with age during adulthood suggesting that increased attrition in early life is more likely to be a major explanation of the shorter LTL in ASCVD patients.

Clinical Trial Registration:

URL:
http://www.clinicaltrials.gov
. Unique identifier: NCT02176941.
Tribal Courts, Restorative Justice and Native Land Claims
Authors: Akhtar Zia
Published: December 2017

The Native American tribes in the United States have maintained distinctive customs which they practice within their ‘eviscerated’ sovereignty. The tribes exercise their jurisdiction as ‘sovereign’ nations under devolution of their lands granted by the federal government, which still has a right of preemption and the power of alienation. The tribal courts exercise the restorative justice principles that are integral to their judicial procedures and where the emphasis is on healing. The disputes in tribal courts are settled by mediation through Peacekeeping Circles that restore the parties to the pre-trial status and there is input from elders in the community. The Native people not only have to differentiate and preserve their justice framework, but also claim title to land where it has been extinguished by treaty, eminent domain or Executive order of the us government. The argument in this paper is that the restorative justice principle is part of the customary law of the tribes in the us and in Canada, and their dormant land claims can be revisited if this judicial process is maintained in the context of sustaining their customs within the federal legal framework.
Regulatory Enforcement as Policy: Exploring Factors Related to State Lawsuits Against For-Profit Colleges
Authors: Ward James Dean , Tierney William G.
Published: December 2017

Regulatory enforcement is a policy decision in itself. Given the current federal commitment to deregulate the for-profit college market, state regulations will likely become increasingly important. This study examines the factors contributing to the enforcement of state-level proprietary college regulations. Using event history analysis, the authors test diffusion and innovation theories as potential explanations for patterns of enforcement. The findings suggest that geographic diffusion plays an important role in state lawsuits against for-profit colleges, although the specific mechanisms of diffusion may differ across regions. Moreover, loan repayment rates of for-profit students appear to contribute to the likelihood of a lawsuit being filed as states may seek to intervene when objective metrics suggest that students and state economic interests seem to be harmed. The article also suggests that market factors may play an influential role in state governments enforcing regulations on for-profit colleges.
The Role of State Policy in Ensuring Access, Achievement, and Attainment in Education
Authors: Ward James Dean , Tierney William G.
Published: December 2017

This volume focuses on the importance of state policy for ensuring equity in postsecondary access, achievement, and attainment. America has a federalist system of education that gives states significant autonomy in their governance of schools, colleges, and universities. This system has created significant variation across states; variation that provides opportunities for state governments to learn from one another. This volume underscores the importance of context and uses differentiation across state lines to highlight the roles internal and external factors play in policy development and issues pertaining to postsecondary access, achievement, and attainment. This collection of papers includes a diverse set of theoretical and methodological approaches to address a range of topics that makes clear the scope and importance of a multitude of state policies. This volume will serve as a source of new information regarding state policies that will be useful for policymakers and researchers alike. It is also suggests important new avenues for research that focus on theoretical and methodological considerations as well as topical areas including funding, accountability, transparency, and policy framing.
State Policy and the Educational Outcomes of English Learner and Immigrant Students: Three Administrative Data Stories
Authors: Flores Stella M. , Park Toby J. , Viano Samantha L. , Coca Vanessa M.
Published: December 2017

Recent years have seen a shift to individual states as the battlegrounds for ensuring the educational rights of the rapidly growing populations of immigrant and English-learning students enrolled at all stages in the educational pipeline. It is, therefore, essential that state policy makers understand how the educational trajectories of immigrant and English learner students can be dramatically influenced by decisions that are made by state legislatures. In this article, we highlight how state and district longitudinal administrative data sets could be leveraged to provide valuable insight in this policy arena. We make use of descriptive portraits of the data systems in Florida, Texas, and New York City, noting both the strengths of each and how all could stand to benefit by incorporating elements of the others. We conclude by offering recommendations for both researchers and policy makers in the use of state data systems to help inform policy affecting the future of immigrant and English-learning students.
Viola Forum
Authors: Oppelt Robert , Riley Maurice W.
Published: December 2017

Our readers are invited to submit articles for this column, or, please request that certain topics of interest be dealt with. Future articles will address subjects of new and old literature now available, performance practices of composers such as Bach, courses of study for students, and interviews with leading artists.
Specialize and Diversify
Authors: Denig Lynne , Dunn Phyllis
Published: December 2017

Dr. Lynne Day Denig wrote to AST from Sarajevo, Yugoslavia, where her husband is on post with the US Foreign Service. She studied violin and pedagogy with Donald Portnoy (WW Univ.), Raul Rolland (Univ. of Illinois) and earned a doctorate with Leopold LaFosse at the University of Iowa. Her Suzuki training was with Joellyn Keranen and Ronda Cole. She has taught at Northern Michigan University-Marquette, has been a Rolland Clinician, and over the last 14 years has taught students from age three to more than 70, at all levels of proficiency.

Lynne travels each month to Belgrade to teach her students there, and has given two recitals in the city. In the fall of 1983 she gave what was probably the country's first presentation of the Suzuki Method. She hopes to give more concerts of American music throughout Yugoslavia.
Goals, Techniques, and Repertoire for the Teenage Cellist
Authors: Potter Louis
Published: December 2017

Editor's Note: This article forms the basis of a lecture-demonstration presented by Prof. Potter and some of his students at the Annual Midwestern Music Conference at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, January 19, 1985. [P.Y.]
Statenotes
Authors: Meitzer Eugenia
Published: December 2017

Editor's Note:

We would like to communicate what's happening in our state units for all members to appreciate. Special activities, awards, news, events, etc. will be noted here, as space and time allow. Do send your state newsletter to the AST editor's office: PO Box 49-0039, Key Biscayne, FL 33149. [J.A.]
Chamber Music Forum: Interpretive Philosophy and the Beethoven Quartets
Authors: Katz Paul
Published: December 2017

Editor's note:

It is with great enthusiasm that I begin my association with AMERICAN STRING TEACHER. It seems to me we are living in an Age of Chamber Music, a time of enormously vital professional and educational activity. I hope in the issues ahead to solicit articles that will contribute to the continued growth and excellence of the field. In such a dynamic environment the possibilities for Chamber Music Forum topics are endless: I would appreciate hearing from the readership as to your particular interests and needs.
Guitar Forum: The Flute, Viola, Guitar Trio: Its History, Literature and Performance
Authors: Hensley Douglas
Published: December 2017

Douglas Hensley has been an active chamber musician ever since he took up serious study of the classical guitar. He received bachelor and master's degrees under the direction of David Tanenbaum from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and he has studied with many other musicians in private lessons and master classes.

Over the past ten years he has premiered close to fifty new compositions, performed numerous U.S. premieres and the West Coast premiere of Elliott Carter's “Changes” for solo guitar. For Opus One Records in New York he has recorded Larry Polansky's “Hensley Variations” and David Loeb's “Trois Cansos” with flautist Kenneth Kramer and violist John Casten. He has also recorded a collection of duets with Japanese shakuhachi master Masayuka Koga, “Autumn Mist,” for Fortuna Records of Novato, California.

His principal activities are as cofounder (with violist/violinist John Casten) and guitarist of the San Francisco-based contemporary performance ensemble ISKRA, which is made up of flute, clarinet, guitar, violin/viola, doublebass and soprano voice. Anyone with additional information about flute, viola, guitar trios (or other chamber music with guitar), or queries, is urged to contact him at 607-A Frederick St., San Francisco, CA 94117.
Interpretation
Authors: Marsh Peter
Published: December 2017

All my life I have had a dream of the consummate artist who would incorporate into his playing the many profiles of humanity, who seemed to embrace the whole universe in his vision. It is with great joy and gratitude that I dedicate the following thoughts on interpretation to my dear friend, Mstislav Rostropovitch, whose generosity of heart speaks for humanity and whose unique artistry has meant the realization of my dream.

Raphael Bronstein

September 1976
They've Got Pluck: CHA Youth Orchestra a Survival Kit for Kids in Public Housing
Authors: Mahany Barbara
Published: December 2017

EDITORIAL: Sweet Notes in the Projects

The notion of letting children in Chicago Housing Authority developments take violins, cellos and string basses home to practice music composed a few centuries before the birth of Michael Jackson or Kool Moe Dee may seem bizarre to some, particularly those who have the benighted belief that nothing good can come out of “the projects.” It is a novel idea but, as Chicago has seen with CHA night basketball, the novel often sounds like nonsense but works quite nicely. The good that can be found in the quarter-million children who call CHA developments home is well represented in the 26 chosen so far for the Music Cultivation Program for CHA Youth. They range from kinder-garteners to 9th graders and were selected in July from four developments by teachers from the not-for-profit Merit Music Program. Officials of CHA and the 11-year-old Merit Music Program hope the Music Cultivation Program eventually will become a full symphony orchestra with bass, winds, percussion and strings. But for now, the children's parents must endure, like other good parents everywhere, the bittersweet joy and agony of hearing young hands become familiar with bows and strings. It may comfort them to know that the CHA's classical music pioneers are engaging in an experience that will help give structure and meaning to their lives no less than it does for children who live anywhere else. Whether or not they achieve their dreams of performing in Orchestra Hall someday—and who is to say some won't?—the lessons of form, grace, teamwork and discipline will serve them well, no matter what fields they pursue later in their lives. With determination on their part and support from others, the young musicians will find their horizons broadened and their self-esteem improved. And everyone else should have their hopes and dreams for the next generation boosted a little with the knowledge that, behind the torn window screens and graffiti-covered walls of public housing, some budding young talents are making beautiful music together.
A Personal Journey toward Teaching Success
Authors: Pressley Margaret , Henry Rebecca
Published: December 2017

Margaret Pressley is well known in the Pacific Northwest as a teacher of gifted pre-college violinists and as an enabler of conservatory-level music education in Seattle. Attending the University of Washington, with a major in violin performance, she chose a career in violin pedagogy, which has spanned 30 years. Pressley has built a highly successful class of continuously prize-winning students, who are eagerly sought by conservatories. She is the founder and director of the Pressley Conservatory of Music in Seattle. Pressley is a lecturer at Western Washington University and is also on the faculty of the Indiana University Summer String Academy, a member of the advisory board of the Seattle Young Artist Music Festival and the National Music Teachers Association Competition String Repertoire Committee, and string chair for the Washington State Music Teachers Association. She was named ASTA's 1994 Washington State Studio Teacher of the Year.
Advanced Intermediate Chamber Music for Double Bass and Unusual Combinations
Authors: Ryan Pamela , Castleman Heidi
Published: December 2017

Pamela Ryan is an associate professor of viola at Florida State University in Tallahassee and in May becomes president of ASTA's Florida state unit. Previously, she taught at Bowling Green State University, Cincinnati College-Conservatory, Brooklyn College, and Aspen Music School.

A graduate of the North Carolina School of the Arts, she received her B.M. from the University of Maryland, an M.A. in performance from the Conservatory of Music of Brooklyn College, and a D.M.A. from the Cincinnati College-Conservatory. She was a winning soloist of the Aspen Concerto Competition and has performed with the Bowling Green String Quartet at Carnegie Hall and in Mexico City. Recently, she has performed on chamber music radio broadcasts in New Orleans and with the Louisiana Philharmonic. She now serves as principal violist of the Tallahassee Symphony Orchestra.
Fifty Years of Training String Teachers on the UT Austin Campus: An Interview with Phyllis Young
Authors: Witt Anne C. , Racin Laura Reed
Published: December 2017

To commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the University of Texas String Project, Anne Witt spoke with Phyllis Young, who served as the String Project director from 1958 to 1993. Phyllis Young teaches cello and string pedagogy at the University of Texas at Austin, where she holds the Parker C. Fielder Regents Professorship in Music. She was the first female president of ASTA, from 1978 through 1980, and is the author of The String Play, published by the University of Texas Press, and Playing the String Game, published by Shar Publications.

The following comments are those of Phyllis Young, recorded during her interview with Anne Witt in the spring of 1998.
Recruitment and Retention of University String Education Students: Advice from around the Country
Authors: McNulty Loretta , Wagner Mary
Published: December 2017

String teacher training has always been an important focus of ASTA with NSOA, whose leaders recognize that well-trained teachers are best able to attract and develop the greatest number of well-trained string players. ASTA with NSOA also recognizes the realities of the current job market—well-trained teachers have a better chance of finding gainful employment than well-trained performers who do not have teaching skills. The job market for public school string teachers seems especially optimistic in many regions of the United States today.
Four Journeys: String Quartets in Chamber Music Education
Authors: Romer Bryony
Published: December 2017

“I don't know anyone who just plays in Carnegie Hall—the music is bigger than that.” As Annie Fullard of the Cavani Quartet implies, a performance in one of the world's most prestigious concert halls has always been a coveted prize, and the definitive sign of success as a performing musician. But for today's musicians, another thrill—that of passing on the love of music-making to the next generation—is taking its place alongside their concert ovations. In the string world, a group of Chamber Music America's member string quartets are taking their music into classrooms, auditoriums, and rehearsal rooms nationwide, in collaboration with string teachers, other educators, and community partners. Four rising string quartets describe the path each has taken to make education an integral part of its burgeoning career.
Dorothy DeLay's Energy List: A Process Model for Musical Interpretation
Authors: Gholson Sylvia
Published: December 2017

Many string educators use their own performance as a primary means for transmitting musical and technical concepts. Sometimes, models of musical performance can be ambiguous because they represent the solution to a problem of musical interpretation rather than the procedural route of problem solving and decision making that led to that interpretation. In his book Knowledge as Design, David Perkins claims that many models are ambiguous because the features that are most consequential are not always readily apparent unless “an accompanying explanation of structure highlights those features.” 1
A Snapshot of New String Programs around the Country
Authors: Wendell Sarah
Published: December 2017

The factors and elements that go into creating a string program are discussed in the article “How to Develop Community-Wide Support for String Study” by Robert Culver, which begins on page 48. Many of these elements are visible in the following stories of school and private string programs and youth orchestras created within the last few years.
Research Linking Music and Intelligence: Helpful or Harmful to the String Teaching Profession?
Authors: Racin Laura Reed
Published: December 2017

Music education has been enjoying a great deal of publicity concerning research that shows a correlation between music study and improved spatial-temporal reasoning or improved test scores. This so-called neuromusicology research—a term coined by New York Times critic Alex Ross—has been especially welcomed by the string teaching community and is often used to advocate for new string programs, as well as for additional funding for existing programs. 1
Modeling Educational Inequalities: Class, Academic Achievement, and Regional Differences in Turkey
Authors: Ataç Ela
Published: December 2017

As it has been realized that education is a key to a long-term economic growth and to reducing social and economic disadvantages, educational inequality and its reflections in the geography have become some of the major issues in many countries. Turkey is in many ways a good example to analyze the relations between class, education, and regional inequalities where education is strongly a class-related issue and there has also been a strong dimension of “geography” as far as the educational provision and performance are considered. The purpose of the article is to contribute to two debates on the relation of education and inequality in Turkey. One is a specific and practical way of understanding about the effect of socioeconomic backgrounds of the students on their educational achievement. The other is an understanding on causal relations based on socioeconomic variables and geographical variations and how these lead to or indeed are partly caused by regional inequalities in Turkey. Using the datasets of PISA (Program for International Student Assessment) database, the datasets of National University Entrance Examination and Census, the article finds that for Turkish students where (the region and the place of residence) and with whom (socioeconomic qualifications of parents) they live are the powerful indicators of academic achievement.
Using digital storytelling to promote the sexual health and well-being of migrant and refugee young people: A scoping review
Authors: Botfield Jessica R , Newman Christy E , Lenette Caroline , Albury Kath , Zwi Anthony B
Published: December 2017

Objective:

Digital storytelling and other methods of self-expression and autobiography have become an increasingly important tool for those working with young people, including those from migrant, refugee or other ‘culturally diverse’ backgrounds. A structured scoping review was undertaken to better understand the potential value and challenges of using digital stories to promote the health and well-being of these diverse groups of young people and to identify key knowledge gaps.

Design:

The review process comprised a systematic search of the literature and strategic consultations with professionals working with young people in the area of sexual and reproductive health promotion and care. A descriptive-analytic method was used to collate and synthesise the literature and apply narrative and thematic analyses.

Results:

In total, 28 papers were deemed eligible for inclusion. Findings are presented as two analyses: what is known from the literature and key knowledge gaps. Identified themes included the use of digital stories as social activism and as research intervention, recognition of digital stories as complex terrain and recommendations for good practice. Three key gaps of particular relevance to our research aims were identified. These were (1) the lack of digital stories on sexual health and relationships by ‘culturally diverse’ young people in Australia, (2) the need for discussion of the ethical considerations of using digital storytelling and related methods in sexual health fields and (3) the value of exploring opportunities to employ digital methods as self-representation and autobiography to generate new knowledge and build organisational capacity.

Conclusion:

As confirmed in discussions with professionals working in the youth, migrant and sexual health sectors, the literature highlighted the many potential applications of digital storytelling to promoting the sexual health and well-being of young people from diverse backgrounds. Additional research is required to understand the particular ethical and contextual issues shaping, and at times constraining, this engagement in specific cultural contexts.
Alley-gates and domestic burglary
Authors: Rogers Colin
Published: December 2017

The introduction of Crime Prevention Through Environmental design (CPTED) initiatives such as alley-gating is now widespread across the United Kingdom (UK), and has become part of the urban landscape. For practitioners and policy makers alike, erecting steel gates at entrances to alleys is seen as a major initiative for reducing domestic burglary. In particular, in the current climate of economic austerity, such apparently cost-effective measures may seem more attractive to policy makers and planners alike as they struggle to maintain public confidence in the criminal justice system and reduce levels of criminality. This paper examines one such alley-gate initiative at Cadoc, Barry, South Wales, based on 10 years of data collection, and considers the long-term impact upon recorded domestic burglary. It also probes local community perceptions of the gates in tackling the problem of crime.
Providing victims of crime with information on police response activity: The challenges faced by the police non-emergency call-handler
Authors: Stafford Andrew B
Published: December 2017

Police policy in England and Wales is to always explain to a member of the public who contacts the police what will happen as a result of them doing so. During initial contact between a victim of crime and the police, this task often falls to police call-handlers. This article examines information on police response activity provided to victims by police non-emergency call-handlers during such instances of contact. Empirical analysis highlights the importance that call-handlers place on providing accurate information on response activity to those who call the police, and the various challenges that they can encounter when attempting this.
Subvert the dominant paradigm: a critical analysis of rationalism’s status as a paradigm of International Relations
Authors: Rathbun Brian Christopher
Published: December 2017

It is frequently maintained that rationalism is something other than an ‘ism’ of International Relations. Inspired by critical theory but using quantitative survey data, this article takes issue with that notion, arguing that rationalist work – with its emphasis on interests, institutions, and information – has a distinct logic of individualistic utilitarianism. It therefore exhibits all of the subjective biases of other ‘isms’, defining both the answers and the very questions that are asked. Using data from the 2011 TRIP survey, I show that those substantive commitments reveal themselves in the economic ideology of those who make rationalist assumptions in their work. Parallel to a view of international relations in which egoistic units seek material gains, rationalists identify as economic libertarians at a much higher rate than non-rationalists. All of this suggests that rationalists have an unacknowledged and unconscious bias in their scholarship that threatens the positivistic epistemology to which most claim to be committed.
Effect of Detailed Contracts and Partner Irreplaceability on Interfirm Conflict in Cross-Border Package Tour Operations: Inbound Tour Operator’s Perspective
Authors: Mwesiumo Deodat , Halpern Nigel , Buvik Arnt
Published: December 2017

The purpose of this study is to explore the effect of detailed contracts and partner irreplaceability on interfirm conflict in cross-border package tour operations. The study is based on an analysis of relations between 129 inbound tour operators and their overseas outbound tour operator partners. Data were collected using a standard questionnaire containing questions that capture constructs of interest. Hypotheses were tested with partial least squares structural equation modeling using SmartPLS 3. The results show that more detailed contracts significantly reduce conflict. The direct effect of partner irreplaceability on conflict is not significant. However, partner irreplaceability significantly weakens the efficacy of detailed contracts to reduce conflict.
A new class of stabilizing controllers for stochastic nonlinear systems with mismatched conditions
Authors: Li Guifang , Chen Ye-Hwa
Published: December 2017

This paper considers global asymptotic stabilization in probability for a class of cascaded stochastic nonlinear systems. The uncertainties do not meet the general matched conditions, and only boundedness of the uncertainties is assumed. Drawing on the stochastic asymptotic stability theorem, a novel robust controller is constructed based on the state transformation technique and the gradient method, which ensures that the closed-loop systems are globally asymptotically stable in probability. A numerical example is given to illustrate the effectiveness of the result.
Modeling Regional Growth and Innovation
Authors: Kourtit Karima , Nijkamp Peter , Stough Roger R.
Published: December 2017

This article introduces the papers for the special edition entitled “Modeling Regional Growth and Innovation.” It first provides an overview of the special edition and then presents short summaries of the papers.
The Effects of Two Video Modeling Interventions on the Independent Living Skills of Students With Autism Spectrum Disorder and Intellectual Disability
Authors: Wynkoop Kaylee Stahr , Robertson Rachel E. , Schwartz Rachel
Published: December 2017

Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and intellectual disability (ID) often have deficits in independent living skills. One way to improve skills in this area is through the use of video modeling (VM) interventions. The purpose of the study was to compare the effects of two VM interventions and a third non-video-based intervention on the independent living skills of four students with ASD and/or ID. Using an adapted alternating treatments design, we investigated the comparative effects of VM plus prompting and reinforcement (VM + P&R), continuous video modeling (CVM) plus prompting and reinforcement (CVM + P&R), and prompting and reinforcement alone (P&R). Results indicated that two students responded well to both VM + P&R and P&R, while CVM + P&R was most effective for one student. For the last student, all interventions had only minimal effects on target skill performance, and results were inconclusive. Overall, students required fewer adult-delivered prompts with VM + P&R and/or CVM + P&R, but P&R required less preparation and instructional time.
Monitoring the performance of human and automated scores for spoken responses
Authors: Wang Zhen , Zechner Klaus , Sun Yu
Published: December 2017

As automated scoring systems for spoken responses are increasingly used in language assessments, testing organizations need to analyze their performance, as compared to human raters, across several dimensions, for example, on individual items or based on subgroups of test takers. In addition, there is a need in testing organizations to establish rigorous procedures for monitoring the performance of both human and automated scoring processes during operational administrations. This paper provides an overview of the automated speech scoring system SpeechRaterSM and how to use charts and evaluation statistics to monitor and evaluate automated scores and human rater scores of spoken constructed responses.
Scedosporium apiospermum infection: lethal complication after extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation
Authors: Mei Yong , Chen Xufeng , Sun Kai , Lv Jinru , Sun Hao , Zhang Jinsong
Published: December 2017

In recent years, the development of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) technology has led to its extensive use in clinical practice. In particular, ECMO can play an important role in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). The American Heart Association CPR guidelines recommend its use in patients with cardiac arrest due to reversible disorders, along with high-quality CPR. This is called extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation (ECPR). However, it is important to be aware of the possibility of infection-related complications. Here, we report on a patient who suffered a cardiac arrest in hospital and was rescued with ECMO, but who subsequently developed an infection with Scedosporium apiospermum.
The Pastophorion Revisited: Owners and Users of ‘Priests' Houses’ in Ptolemaic Pathyris and Elsewhere in Egypt*
Authors: Thomas Siân E.
Published: December 2017

This article draws on legal texts written in demotic Egyptian and in Greek to investigate the ownership and use of the pastophoria (Egyptian s.wt (n ḥ.t-nṯr), ‘places (of the temple)’) of ancient Egyptian temple complexes. The focus is on the pastophoria of the temple of Hathor in Pathyris in Upper Egypt during the Ptolemaic period. The Pathyrite evidence is compared with that provided by documents from other Egyptian sites. The relationship between the temple functionary known as the pastophoros (Egyptian wn(?)) and the pastophorion is examined.
Crocodile Breeding in the Crocodile Cults of the Graeco-Roman Fayum*
Authors: Molcho Michal
Published: December 2017

The discovery of thousands of crocodile mummies during excavations in the Fayum town of Tebtunis has raised questions as to where they were produced and by whom, and whether they were produced in an organised manner as part of the local crocodile cults. This article examines the textual and archaeological evidence for the breeding of crocodiles for mummification as votive offerings, and offers a reconstruction of what this practice may have entailed. The textual evidence in both Greek and Demotic is fragmentary, and sources related to contemporary animal cults complement the picture and provide an insight as to how this cultic practice operated. A recently discovered crocodile nursery in the town of Narmouthis and the multitude of crocodile mummies discovered in crocodile cemeteries throughout the Fayum suggest that crocodile breeding may have been a large-scale enterprise. The examination of this evidence in the light of modern methods of crocodile and alligator breeding sheds new light on how breeding may have been carried out the in the crocodile cults of the Graeco-Roman Fayum.
A unique case of perforated bilateral parietal bone thinning in a Third Intermediate Period Egyptian mummy (Geneva Museum D 0242)*
Authors: Seiler Roger , Rühli Frank
Published: December 2017

Since the early nineteenth century, the Museum of Art and History in Geneva has held the mummy of the Lady Tjes-Mut-peret with her coffin (Third Intermediate Period). The mummy was unwrapped in 1824 and the detailed description of this operation mentions several pathological findings. A CT scan was performed in the University Hospital in Geneva in 2011 allowing for the findings of 1824 to be reinterpreted and complemented by the diagnosis of a bilateral parietal bone thinning of the skull.
New Kingdom activities in the Kharga Oasis: The scribe Userhat travels westwards
Authors: Rossi Corinna , Ikram Salima
Published: December 2017

Notes on a New Kingdom graffito of a scribe, found along the Darb Ain Amur, an area between Kharga and Dakhla Oases.
High and low Niles: A natural phenomenon and its mythological interpretation according to Plutarch, De Iside et Osiride 38 and Coffin Texts Spell 168*
Authors: Willems Harco
Published: December 2017

Plutarch' De Iside et Osiride 38 identifies the Nile with Osiris' bodily fluids, the riparian lands with Isis, the part of the floodplain closest to the desert with Nepthys, and the desert with Seth. Moreover, the Nile flood is interpreted as Osiris impregnating Isis with Horus and Nephthys with Anubis. This can be interpreted as a new source about Seth's impotence and Osiris' committing adultery with Seth's wife Nephthys. CT spell 168, a hitherto obscure text about ‘joining the river banks,’ may be rooted in the same atmosphere. The text seems to describe Isis and Nephthys as the two river banks, and may relate the low Nile to the impotence of Seth, whose testicles are said to be crushed by the hands of Shesmu.
Tell El-Amarna, 2014–15
Authors: Kemp Barry
Published: December 2017

Three separate field projects were undertaken between late 2014 and early 2015. The first was a re-examination of a small workshop in the southern part of the city first located by the EES in 1922. The second was a further period of re-examination of the front part of the Great Aten Temple. The results add to the sense of disconnection from the cult of the Aten as portrayed in the tomb pictures. The third is a new venture, the excavation of a cemetery of the Amarna period towards the northern end of the site, where the purpose is to broaden the basis for understanding the factors which bore on the lives of the inhabitants of the city.
Theban Harbours and Waterscapes Survey, 2015*
Authors: Graham Angus , Strutt Kristian D. , Toonen Willem H. J. , Pennington Benjamin T. , Löwenborg Daniel , Masson-Berghoff Aurélia , Emery Virginia L. , Barker Dominic S. , Hunter Morag A. , Lindholm Karl-Johan , Johansson Carolin
Published: December 2017

Report on the 2015 season of the Theban Harbours and Waterscapes Survey (THaWS). The paper discusses the extension of geoarchaeological and geophysical investigations to the east of the Ramesseum, the continuing work in and around the Temple of Millions of Years of Amenhotep III, and the topographic survey and geophysical survey of the western mounds of the Birket Habu.
An Evident Desideratum in Egyptian Lexicography: Comments on some Obscure Passages in the Coffin Texts and the Instructions of Amenemhat
Authors: Sokolova Marina
Published: December 2017

It has been over 50 years since the publication of the final volume of the Coffin Texts in 1961, but one of the most extensive corpora of Egyptian texts is far from having been investigated with the degree of attention and accuracy it deserves. The scrutiny of the Coffin Texts can enlarge knowledge of Egyptian lexica, as these texts allow not only to refine the meanings of some words that have not been accurately defined yet, but even to reveal new words unattested in modern dictionaries. The examples in the first part of this article substantiate the point. Furthermore, the corpus of the Coffin Texts provides clues to some complicated passages in well-known texts. This is demonstrated in the second part of the article for the Instructions of Amenemhat.
Un Cercueil En Bois Provenant de Touna El-Gebel Conservé Au Musée De L'Université Du Caire*
Authors: El-Dine Hassan Nasr
Published: December 2017

On peut constater 75 années après les célèbres découvertes de S. Gabra dans les galeries souterraines de Touna el-Gebel, au cours des fouilles réalisées dans les années 1931–1952, que ces monuments si importants qui y ont été retrouvés sont loin d'être épuisés.1 Des dizaines d'objets ont été publiés;2 mais sur des milliers d'objets variés, combien sont encore inédites! Parmi des centaines de cercueils en bois consacrés aux ibis momifiés, et découverts dans les galeries souterraines de Touna el-Gebel, la pluparts sont restés sur place. Quelques uns sont conservés actuellement au magasin d'el-Aschmounein et au Musée de Mallawi.3 Notre cercueil est un des rares cercueils en bois inscrit en hiéroglyphes. On sait que la plupart de ce genre est inscrit en démotique.4 Il est aussi le seul cercueil, contenant un ibis, conservé au Musée de l'Université du Caire. Il porte le no. d'inv. de Gabra 1099 (453) et son numéro au Musée de l'Université du Caire est 1618.
‘Put the Statues in the Oven’: Preliminary Results of Research on Steatite Sculpture from the Late Middle Kingdom*
Authors: Connor Simon , Tavier Hugues , De Putter Thierry
Published: December 2017

Identifying the material used to carve a statue is particularly significant. A sculpture might appear to be of a hard, prestigious stone, requiring a laborious process of manufacture, while actually be of a soft, more affordable stone. A large part of the corpus of sculptures of the Late Middle Kingdom and the Second Intermediate Period is made from a peculiar stone: steatite, also called soapstone or talc. Its specific characteristics allowed sculptors to produce pieces for the lower ranks of the elite. Soft and easily carved, steatite is transformed into a much harder material, enstatite (a mineral belonging to the pyroxene group) by firing. It also changes the soft and greyish appearance of steatite into a hard, dark or reddish stone. Steatite could thus be used to produce statues similar to those of higher officials (showing the same postures, gestures, clothes, headdresses, colour and apparent hardness), but using a much more affordable material. This process of transformation often makes steatite difficult to identify and it is frequently taken for basalt, greywacke or granodiorite, although basalt is rarely attested in statuary, and greywacke and granodiorite require slow, laborious carving. This article presents the corpus and gives keys to identify steatite statues, and describes the authors' experimentations to reconstruct the process of sculpting and firing steatite statuettes of the Egyptian lower elite.
P. Carlsberg 326: a letter from the late New Kingdom*
Authors: Christiansen Thomas , Olsen Dora
Published: December 2017

Editio princeps of a letter from the late New Kingdom (inv. P. Carlsberg 326) that mentions a prophet of Sobek by the name of Peuhrai. The authors argue that the letter is of Theban provenance and that it belongs to the corpus collected by Jaroslav Černy under the heading ‘Late Ramesside Letters’. The article is supplemented by a hieroglyphic transcription, a facsimile (fig. 1) and a scan (fig. 2).
Zu zwei Versen aus Die Menge vorlassen: ‘Orthographie’ in einem spätmittelägyptischen Ritualtext*
Authors: Backes Burkhard
Published: December 2017

Discussion of two brief passages from the ritual text Introducing the Multitude on the Last Day of Tekhi on the basis of all available versions. In both cases, new readings can be proposed, the stable transmission of seemingly unusual writings providing the main argument.
Alexander the Great's name in contemporary Demotic sources
Authors: Bosch-Puche Francisco , Moje Jan
Published: December 2017

Analysis of the Demotic variant writings in which Alexander the Great's name occurs in the whole body of available contemporary documentation.
New light on S3-Rnnwtt, Ṯ3wy, ‘the royal cup bearer’ (UC69964)*
Authors: Ouda Ahmed M. Mekawy
Published: December 2017

This paper presents the first known publication of a curved mud brick, kept at the Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology, London (UC69964). The museum does not have any documentation for this object in its archives. In this brief communication, I assemble the archaeological context for this brick. My method for its tentative reconstructing is based on the identification of another brick of S3-Rnnwtt, Ṯ3wy of the late Eighteenth Dynasty at the Egyptian Museum Berlin (15704), and some other published objects of his.