bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
East Asian Religious Tolerance—A Myth or a Reality? Empirical Investigations of Religious Prejudice in East Asian Societies
Authors: Clobert Magali , Saroglou Vassilis , Hwang Kwang-Kuo , Soong Wen-Li
Published: August 2014

Is East Asian religious tolerance, as opposed to Western monotheistic prejudice, a stereotype or a reality? Based on theoretical and empirical evidence, we hypothesized low prejudice as a function of East Asian religiosity. We examined whether this holds true for interreligious, anti-atheist, ethnic, and anti-gay prejudice. In Study 1, analysis of the International Social Survey Program (ISSP) 2008 data from Eastern religious and Christian samples in Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan (total N = 3,555) showed, contrarily to Christians, high interreligious tolerance and weaker if no anti-gay prejudice as a function of Eastern religiosity. In Study 2, Eastern religiosity among Taiwanese ( n = 222) was negatively related to prejudice against various religious outgroups (except atheists), especially among those low in authoritarianism. In Study 3, Eastern religiosity among Taiwanese ( n = 102) was negatively related to implicit interreligious (Muslims) and ethnic (Africans) prejudice; prosociality partially mediated the former association. Eastern religious tolerance seems to be true, but not unlimited.
A Theory of Secondary Teachers’ Adaptations When Implementing a Reading Intervention Program
Authors: Leko Melinda M. , Roberts Carly A. , Pek Yvonne
Published: August 2014

This study examined the causes and consequences of secondary teachers’ adaptations when implementing a research-based reading intervention program. Interview, observation, and artifact data were collected on five middle school intervention teachers, leading to a grounded theory composed of the core component, reconciliation through adaptation, and four component concepts: program features, teacher qualities, contextual characteristics, and individual student needs. Findings indicated the most skilled implementers’ adaptations capitalized on their professional strengths and the strengths of the intervention to provide students with more engaging and responsive instruction. Implications for future research and practice in the implementation of reading intervention programs for secondary students with disabilities are discussed.
Performing Belonging in Public Space
Authors: Quiroz Becerra M. Victoria
Published: August 2014

Playing soccer in public parks, participating in parades, or marching in religious processions are public performances that express membership in a political community. When these practices are performed by noncitizens, they highlight how the public space—in its physical and symbolic character—is not a space exclusive to members of the political community. Rather, public space is a terrain subject to contestation. In this article, I explore the ways Mexican migrants in New York City use and appropriate public spaces and in doing so expand the boundaries of the political community. I argue that by gaining access to public spaces, appropriating them, and then transforming them, noncitizens claim recognition as members of the political community and thus unsettle its boundaries.
Conviviality, Rights, and Conflict in Africa’s Urban Estuaries
Authors: Landau Loren B.
Published: August 2014

Varied forms of mobility are rapidly transforming communities across the world. In Africa’s cities and urban peripheries, the results of human movements include ever more diverse sets of new arrivals living alongside longer-term residents as they seek protection, profit, and passage elsewhere. Some move on and others return home, while still others shift within in search of new opportunities or security. In the absence of muscular state institutions or dominant cultural norms, these areas have become estuarial zones in which varied communities of convenience are taking shape. Unlike well-documented urban gateways or ghettos, these communities range from radical forms of exclusion to remarkable modes of accommodation that enable people to extract usufruct rights: to live in but not become fully part of the cities they occupy. Using examples from Maputo, Johannesburg, and Nairobi, this article explores the nature of these estuaries in ways that challenge the conceptual foundations typically informing debates over migrant rights, integration, and the boundaries of belonging. This means eroding clear distinctions between hosts and guests along with a call to reevaluate the relative importance of state institutions and policies. Most fundamentally, it questions new residents’ interests in localized political and social recognition and participation. The article concludes by suggesting the need to reconsider the forms and scale of community through which the newly urbanized claim rights and the nature of the rights they desire.
The effects of recurrent stretching on the performance of electro-textile and screen-printed ultra-high-frequency radio-frequency identification tags
Authors: Virkki Johanna , Björninen Toni , Merilampi Sari , Sydänheimo Lauri , Ukkonen Leena
Published: August 2014

Future welfare and healthcare applications require wearable radio-frequency identification (RFID) tags where the tag antenna is an integral part of clothing and endures repeated stretching. In this study, wearable passive ultra-high-frequency (UHF) RFID tag antennas were fabricated from silver-plated stretchable fabric and by screen printing them on non-conductive, stretchable fabric. The reliability of the tags was studied by stretching them repeatedly from the initial length of 10 cm to 13.5 cm, up to 200 stretching cycles. According to our results, the electro-textile tags achieved read ranges of 6.5 meters, also after the 200 harsh stretches. The screen-printed tags initially achieved read ranges of 9.5 meters and after the 200 stretches the read ranges were only 2.5 meters shorter, that is, still about 7 meters. These measurement results and the strengths and weaknesses of both types of wearable tags are discussed in this paper.
A finite element analysis of an auxetic warp-knitted spacer fabric structure
Authors: Wang Zhengyue , Hu Hong
Published: August 2014

This paper reports the tensile deformation behavior of an auxetic warp-knitted spacer fabric structure by using the finite element (FE) method. The precise geometry of the outer layer structure of the fabric was firstly obtained from a micro X-ray computerized tomography scan and then inputted to an ANSYS 13.0 software to generate geometrical models. The geometrical models were then meshed using the PLANE 183 element to build FE models. Based on the FE models built, deformation behaviors of the auxetic fabric in the course direction and wale direction were simulated and compared with experimental results. The FE analysis showed that the simulated fabric deformations at different tensile strains were very close to the real fabric deformations and the FE-generated Poisson’s ratio-strain curves agreed well with the experimental ones. Therefore, the FE models could be used for predicting the deformation behaviors of the auxetic warp-knitted spacer fabric stretched in different fabric plane directions.
The forgotten role of pedestrian transportation in urban life: Insights from a visual comparative archaeology (Gothenburg and Toulouse, 1875–2011)
Authors: Cochoy Franck , Hagberg Johan , Canu Roland
Published: August 2014

This paper explores consumer logistics in urban settings by focusing on the evolution of pedestrian transportation. It accounts for how people carry things in the city and how this is related to the frames of the city and other means of transportation. The methodology combines archaeology, observation, and statistics, and rests on systematic coding of photographical archives. It analyses two streets, one in Gothenburg, Sweden and one in Toulouse, France, over four distinctive periods: before World War I, the wars and interwar period, the 1950s–1960s, and the present. Both dramatic and discrete changes are found, such as the simultaneous proliferation in the use of pedestrians’ bags and motorised types of transportation. The paper identifies geographical, technical, and cultural differences, while yielding surprising similarities between the two cities. The paper concludes that the neglected issue of consumer logistics need to be brought into the contemporary discourse on sustainable cities.
Producer service linkages and city connectivity in the mega-city region of China: A case study of the Pearl River Delta
Authors: Yeh Anthony GO , Yang Fiona F , Wang Jiejing
Published: August 2014

This paper examines the intra- and inter-firm producer service linkages and city connectivity of the Pearl River Delta (PRD), one of the fastest growing and globalising mega-city regions in China. The study reveals that the rapid growth of producer services in the recent two decades has emerged as a crucial contributor to the formation of the regional network that was previously shaped mainly by manufacturing activities. To provide a better understanding of the mechanisms of mega-city regions, a nexus between the literature on globalisation and mega-city regions and the studies on the service economy must be developed to consider not only intra-firm office connections, but also the linkages of producer services between different firms and economic sectors. Through a questionnaire survey covering 1020 producer service firms in three major PRD cities, we provide evidence that in a manner different from manufacturing activities, producer services linkages, both intra-firm and inter-firm, bind the cities into a hierarchical and localised regional system.
Must We Play to Win? A Reply to Morgan
Authors: Del Mar Maksymilian
Published: August 2014

This paper offers a brief reply to William Morgan’s critique of my review of Andrei Marmor’s Social Conventions (2009). Morgan’s principal critique is that I am wrong to think that the constitutive rules of games do not determine their aims and values. In particular, with regards to chess, Morgan argues that the rules of chess determine that the aim of playing chess is to win the game. I defend my position that one can play the game of chess without the aim of winning - e.g. one can aim to play beautifully, and not, as Morgan suggests, only to win beautifully. More broadly, I argue for an account of games that is sensitive to the gap between playing and the game’s constitutive rules. Ultimately, the argument points to the descriptive priority for the social sciences of the concept of ‘play’ over the concept of games understood as ‘rule-governed domains’.
Diverse According to Whom? Racial Group Membership and Concerns about Discrimination Shape Diversity Judgments
Authors: Bauman Christopher W. , Trawalter Sophie , Unzueta Miguel M.
Published: August 2014

People often treat diversity as an objective feature of situations that everyone perceives similarly. The current research shows, however, that disagreement often exists over whether a group is diverse. We argue that diversity judgments diverge because they are social perceptions that reflect, in part, individuals’ motivations and experiences, including concerns about how a group would treat them. Therefore, whether a group includes in-group members should affect how diverse a group appears because the inclusion or apparent exclusion of in-group members signals whether perceivers can expect to be accepted and treated fairly. Supporting our claims, three experiments demonstrate that racial minority group members perceive more diversity when groups included racial in-group members rather than members of other racial minority groups. Moreover, important differences exist between Asian Americans and African Americans, which underscore the need for more research to explore uniqueness rather than commonalities across racial minority groups.
Elevated Alkaline Phosphatase in Infants With Parenteral Nutrition–Associated Liver Disease Reflects Bone Rather Than Liver Disease
Authors: Nandivada Prathima , Potemkin Alexis K. , Carlson Sarah J. , Chang Melissa I. , Cowan Eileen , O'Loughlin Alison A. , Gura Kathleen M. , Puder Mark
Published: August 2014

Background: Elevated serum alkaline phosphatase (ALP) in infants with intestinal failure (IF) can be due to parenteral nutrition–associated liver disease (PNALD) or metabolic bone disease (MBD). The purpose of the study was to determine the utility of serum ALP in the diagnostic criteria for PNALD by measuring tissue‐specific levels in infants with IF and PNALD. Methods: A retrospective review of patient data for 15 infants diagnosed with PNALD between December 2012 and August 2013 was performed. PNALD was defined as the presence of 2 consecutive direct bilirubin (DB) levels >2 mg/dL. Fractionated serum alkaline phosphatase was measured in each patient, while the DB was >2 mg/dL. Parathyroid hormone (PTH), vitamin D3, calcium, and phosphate levels were recorded where available. Results: In 15 infants with PNALD, elevation in total ALP was due to marked elevations in bone‐specific ALP. The median liver‐specific ALP remained within the normal range. PTH, vitamin D3, calcium, and phosphate levels were within normal limits. Conclusion: While elevated ALP can reflect biliary stasis, the ALP elevation observed in infants with IF and PNALD is predominantly of bone rather than hepatic origin. An elevated unfractionated ALP in infants with PNALD should therefore raise suspicion of underlying bone disease, rather than being attributed to liver disease alone.
Firm Resources, Governmental Power, and Privatization
Authors: Xu Kehan , Tihanyi Laszlo , Hitt Michael A.
Published: August 2014

We examine how firms’ resources and the power of their governmental owners influence the likelihood of privatization of state-owned enterprises. Using data on 206 Chinese pharmaceutical firms over the period of 2000 to 2007, we found that firm financial performance (a proxy for firm resources) increased the likelihood of privatization. In addition to firm resources, we investigated how a heterogeneous body of decision makers within the governmental hierarchy influences the likelihood of firms’ privatization. We found that provincial governmental owners’ willingness to privatize firms increased when they had higher fiscal power. The results of this study also indicated a negative moderating influence of provincial fiscal power: Higher fiscal power of provincial governmental owners weakened the relationship between firm financial performance and the likelihood of privatization.
Trust in Interorganizational Relationships
Authors: Zhong Weiguo , Su Chenting , Peng Jisheng , Yang Zhilin
Published: August 2014

Prior research on interorganizational trust (IOT) has drawn on multiple theories across disciplines, resulting in mixed findings. This meta-analysis combines the three major theories of IOT, namely, transaction cost economics, social embeddedness theory, and resource dependence theory, to retheorize about these IOT relationships. Specifically, we consolidate 168 tests of IOT across theories and corroborate the additive predictive validity of each of the three theories and their combined explanations on IOT development. In particular, by combining IOT theories, we find an inverted U-shaped relationship between relationship duration and IOT; we also find an intertemporal link among the three IOT theories, and relationship duration as the spanning factor functions to moderate the IOT relationships across theories. These findings serve to reconcile prior conflicting findings and shed new light on IOT development. We conclude our meta-analysis by providing directions for future research.
‘Men own television’: why women leave media work
Authors: O’Brien Anne
Published: August 2014

While all media workers face challenges particular to flexible specialization in a networked economy, there are differences in career outcomes for men and women, which occur as a result of gendered work cultures. Within media production these gendered contexts manifest through three main factors, which compromise women workers and can eventually cause them to exit their professions mid-career. Women leave media work because of a combination of the gendered nature of work cultures, the informalisation of the sector and structural restrictions placed on women’s agency to participate in networks. The interplay of these factors ultimately creates an impossible bind for many female media workers forcing them to exit media work.
Chimeric Mice with Hepatocyte-humanized Liver as an Appropriate Model to Study Human Peroxisome Proliferator–activated Receptor-α
Authors: Tateno Chise , Yamamoto Toshinobu , Utoh Rie , Yamasaki Chihiro , Ishida Yuji , Myoken Yuka , Oofusa Ken , Okada Miyoko , Tsutsui Naohisa , Yoshizato Katsutoshi
Published: August 2014

Peroxisome proliferator (PP)–activated receptor-α (PPARα) agonists exhibit species-specific effects on livers of the rodent and human (h), which has been considered to reside in the difference of PPARα gene structures. However, the contribution of h-hepatocytes (heps) to the species-specificity remains to be clarified. In this study, the effects of fenofibrate were investigated using a hepatocyte-humanized chimeric mouse (m) model whose livers were replaced with h-heps at >70%. Fenofibrate induced hepatocellular hypertrophy, cell proliferation, and peroxisome proliferation in livers of severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) mice, but not in the h-hep of chimeric mouse livers. Fenofibrate increased the expression of the enzymes of β- and ω-hydroxylation and deoxygenation of lipids at both gene and protein levels in SCID mouse livers, but not in the h-heps of chimeric mouse livers, supporting the studies with h-PPARα-transgenic mice, a hitherto reliable model for studying the regulation of h-PPARα in the h-liver in most respects, except the induction of the peroxisome proliferation. This study indicates the importance of not only h-PPARα gene but also h-heps themselves to correctly predict effects of fibrates on h-livers, and, therefore, suggests that the chimeric mouse is a currently available, consistent, and reliable model to obtain pharmaceutical data concerning the effects of fibrates on h-livers.
Metastatic index of non-small-cell lung cancer and long-term survival
Authors: Poullis Michael , Shackcloth Michael , Page Richard , Asanti-Siaw Julius , Woolley Steven , Mediratta Neeraj
Published: August 2014

Aim

We aimed to determine whether metastatic index is a factor determining long-term survival in patients undergoing curative resection for non-small-cell lung cancer.

Methods

There were 2695 consecutive pulmonary resections performed between October 2001 and September 2011 in our institution; 1795 were potentially curative resections for non-small-cell lung cancer with bronchial margin length data available. Benchmarking against the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer data set was performed. Cox multivariate analysis was undertaken. Metastatic index was defined as N stage× bronchial resection margin length.

Results

Benchmarking failed to reveal any significant differences between our data and the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer data set. Univariate analysis identified metastatic index as a significant factor determining long-term survival ( p = 0.04). Cox regression demonstrated that metastatic index (hazard ratio 1.29, p = 0.0002), age (hazard ratio 1.02, p < 0.0001), body mass index (hazard ratio 0.98, p = 0.006), female sex (hazard ratio 0.65, p < 0.0001), T1 stage (hazard ratio 0.67, p < 0.0001), T2 stage (hazard ratio 2.13, p < 0.0001), T3 stage (hazard ratio 1.59, p = 0.03), forced expiratory volume in 1 s (hazard ratio 0.70, p < 0.0001), pneumonectomy (hazard ratio 1.43, p = 0.001), histology subtype adenosquamous (hazard ratio 3.77, p = 0.01) and squamous (hazard ratio 0.83, p = 0.03) were all significant determinants of long-term survival.

Conclusion

Metastatic index is a significant factor determining long-term survival in patents with adenocarcinoma undergoing potentially curative surgery with a lobectomy.
Use of previously divided latissimus dorsi muscle for bronchopleural fistula
Authors: Kaplan Tevfik , Kaya Basar , Kazbek Baturay Kansu , Kocer Bulent , Han Serdar , Yormuk Erdem
Published: August 2014

Management of postpneumonectomy bronchopleural fistula remains a major challenge for thoracic surgeons. Successful closure of a postpneumonectomy bronchopleural fistula was performed in a 60-year-old man, using a flap made by a combination of serratus anterior and latissimus dorsi muscle which had been divided during the pneumonectomy operation. The flap was prepared on the presence of a dependable collateral serratus anterior branch to the lateral thoracic artery, which provides retrograde flow to the latissimus dorsi muscle.
Left ventricular assist device in the management of refractory electrical storm
Authors: Pourdjabbar A , Maze R , Hibbert B , Ruel M , Haddad H
Published: August 2014

Electrical storm refers to a state of cardiac electrical instability characterized by multiple episodes of ventricular tachycardia (VT) or ventricular fibrillation (VF) within a relatively short period of time and is associated with increased mortality and morbidity. The management of electrical storm involves a variety of strategies, including sedation, anti-arrhythmic and electrolyte replacement as well as revascularization and electrical ablation. However, the management strategy in patients with refractory storm is less clear and may require more invasive approaches. We present a case of severe ventricular tachycardia storm refractory to conservative management that was managed with a HeartMate II left ventricular assist device.
Clinical outcome and blood transfusion after infant cardiac surgery with a routine use of conventional ultrafiltration
Authors: Golab HD , Kissler J , de Jong PL , van de Woestijne PC , Takkenberg JJM , Bogers AJJC
Published: August 2014

Objective

Priming-related hemodilution is the culprit behind excessive body water accumulation, postoperative coagulopathy and enhanced blood transfusion in infant cardiac surgery patients. In this retrospective, observational study, clinical data were analyzed to assess the effect of conventional ultrafiltration on allogenic blood transfusion and patient clinical outcome.

Methods

All infants with a bodyweight up to 10 kg who underwent consequent cardiac surgery in 2011 and 2012 were eligible for the audit. Seventy patients, operated in accordance with existing pediatric protocol, enrolled in the control group. The study group consisted of 55 patients who were operated employing conventional ultrafiltration during bypass and recently adjusted hematocrit targets. The following variables were primarily investigated: hematocrit and colloid osmotic pressure value, total volume of blood products transfused and duration of postoperative mechanical ventilation. Secondary outcome measures were: postoperative urine production, postoperative blood loss, length of stay at the intensive care unit and hospital stay.

Results

There were no significant differences between the groups in relation to demographics or hematological and cardiopulmonary bypass data. The ultrafiltration volume removed from circulation during bypass in the study group was 171 ± 99 ml. No significant difference between the groups was found with regard to the total allogenic blood transfusion (study group 216 ± 92 ml versus control group 191 ±93 ml; p = 0.136). All recorded clinical end points, duration of mechanical ventilation, duration of chest tube in situ, stay in ICU and stay in hospital, were similar between the groups.

Conclusions

Routine use of conventional ultrafiltration during the cardiac surgery for patients with a bodyweight less than 10 kg was a safe technique that allowed us to achieve higher hematocrit levels at the end of the operation without additional transfusions of allogenic blood. On the other hand, ultrafiltration did not improve the clinical end points.
The role of transapical cannulation in the operative management of acute aortic dissection
Authors: Djukanovic BP , Micovic S , Peric MS , Milojevic PS , Cirkovic MV , Boricic M , Vukovic PM
Published: August 2014

Objectives:

The aim of the study was to investigate the usefulness of transapical cannulation as the routine cannulation site in patients with acute aortic dissection and to compare it with other cannulation methods.

Methods:

Between January 2010 and December 2013, emergency surgery was performed in 111 consecutive patients with acute type A aortic dissection. Patients were divided into two groups: transapical cannulation group and other cannulation sites group (including femoral and axillary artery cannulation). Pre-, intra- and postoperative data were compared between these two groups of patients.

Results:

Transapical cannulation was the most frequent cannulation site (78 patients, 70.3%), the femoral artery was selected in 24 patients (21.6%) and the axillary artery in 9 patients (8.1%). The mortality rate in the transapical group was 16.7% and 18.2% when other cannulation sites were chosen (p=0.85). No difference in postoperative stroke rate (6.4% vs 9.1%, p=0.62, transapical vs other cannulation sites group, respectively), myocardial infarction (6.4% vs 6.1%, p=0.94) and postoperative acute renal insufficiency incidence (9% vs 6.1%, p=0.61) was found.

Conclusions:

Routine transapical cannulation in patients with acute type A aortic dissection is a fast and safe way to establish cardiopulmonary bypass. There is no difference in major operative outcomes after transapical cannulation when compared to the other cannulation sites.
Effects of tobacco smoke constituents, anabasine and anatabine, on memory and attention in female rats
Authors: Levin Edward D , Hao Ian , Burke Dennis A , Cauley Marty , Hall Brandon J , Rezvani Amir H
Published: August 2014

Nicotine has been well characterized to improve memory and attention. Nicotine is the primary, but not only neuroactive compound in tobacco. Other tobacco constituents such as anabasine and anatabine also have agonist actions on nicotinic receptors. The current study investigated the effects of anabasine and anatabine on memory and attention. Adult female Sprague-Dawley rats were trained on a win-shift spatial working and reference memory task in the 16-arm radial maze or a visual signal detection operant task to test attention. Acute dose-effect functions of anabasine and anatabine over two orders of magnitude were evaluated for both tasks. In the radial-arm maze memory test, anabasine but not anatabine significantly reduced the memory impairment caused by the NMDA antagonist dizocilpine (MK-801). In the signal detection attentional task, anatabine but not anabasine significantly attenuated the attentional impairment caused by dizocilpine. These studies show that non-nicotine nicotinic agonists in tobacco, similar to nicotine, can significantly improve memory and attentional function. Both anabasine and anatabine produced cognitive improvement, but their effectiveness differed with regard to memory and attention. Follow-up studies with anabasine and anatabine are called for to determine their efficacy as therapeutics for memory and attentional dysfunction.
Effects of ecstasy on cooperative behaviour and perception of trustworthiness: A naturalistic study
Authors: Stewart LH , Ferguson B , Morgan CJA , Swaboda N , Jones L , Fenton R , Wall MB , Curran HV
Published: August 2014

Background:

Acute recreational use of 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA; ‘ecstasy’) can promote pro-social effects which may alter interpersonal perceptions.

Aims:

To explore such effects, this study investigated whether acute recreational use of ecstasy was associated with changes in individual perception of trustworthiness of people’s faces and co-operative behaviours.

Method:

An independent group, repeated measures design was used in which 17 ecstasy users were tested on the night of drug use (day 0) and again three days later (day 3); 22 controls were tested on parallel days. On each day, participants rated the trustworthiness of 66 faces, carried out three co-operative behaviour tasks (public good; dictator; ultimatum game) and completed mood self-ratings.

Results:

Acute ecstasy use was associated with increased face trustworthiness ratings and increased cooperative behaviour on the dictator and ultimatum games; on day 3 there were no group differences on any task. Self-ratings showed the standard acute ecstasy effects (euphoria, energy, jaw clenching) with negative effects (less empathy, compassion, more distrust, hostility) emerging on day 3.

Conclusions:

Our findings of increased perceived trustworthiness and co-operative behaviours following use of ecstasy suggest that a single dose of the drug enhances aspects of empathy. This may in turn contribute to its popularity as a recreational drug and potentially to its enhancement of the therapeutic alliance in psychotherapy.
Analysis of sociability and preference for social novelty in the acute and subchronic phencyclidine rat
Authors: McKibben Claire E , Reynolds Gavin P , Jenkins Trisha A
Published: August 2014

Both acute and sub-chronic phencyclidine administration produce behavioural and pathophysiological changes that resemble some features of schizophrenia. The present study aimed to determine if acute and sub-chronic phencyclidine treatment in male rats produces deficits in sociability and social novelty preference, which may reflect aspects of the negative symptomatology observed in schizophrenia. Rats were treated with phencyclidine acutely (2 or 5 mg/kg) or subchronically (2 or 5 mg/kg bi-daily for one week followed by a one week wash-out period) or vehicle. Social affiliative behaviour was assessed using the sociability and preference for social novelty paradigm where social interaction time was measured in (a) a chamber containing an unfamiliar conspecific vs an empty chamber (sociability), or (b) a chamber containing an unfamiliar conspecific vs a chamber containing a familiar conspecific (preference for social novelty). Results showed that acute administration of phencyclidine produced a reduction in measures of sociability but had no effect on preference for social novelty while sub-chronic administration of phencyclidine had no effect on sociability or social novelty. This study provides further evidence for the usefulness of phencyclidine models in modelling the symptomatology of schizophrenia.
Randomized controlled trial of the orexin receptor antagonist filorexant for migraine prophylaxis
Authors: Chabi Almira , Zhang Ying , Jackson Saheeda , Cady Roger , Lines Christopher , Herring W Joseph , Connor Kathryn M , Michelson David
Published: August 2014

Background

This study explored whether antagonism of orexin receptors might be an effective mechanism for migraine prevention.

Methods

We conducted a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, pilot trial. Patients experiencing four to 14 days with migraine during a one-month baseline period were randomized to the orexin receptor antagonist filorexant 10 mg nightly or placebo for three months. Efficacy was assessed by mean monthly migraine days (headache plus at least one associated migraine symptom) and headache days. Safety and tolerability were assessed by adverse event reports and laboratory tests.

Results

Of 120 patients treated with filorexant and 115 treated with placebo, 97 (81%) and 101 (88%), respectively, completed the trial. There was no statistically significant difference between treatments for change from baseline in mean monthly migraine days (filorexant = −1.7, placebo = −1.3, difference = −0.4 (95% CI: −1.3, 0.4)) or headache days (filorexant = −1.7, placebo = −1.2, difference = −0.5 (95% CI: −1.4, 0.4)). Filorexant was generally well tolerated but was associated with a higher proportion of patients who reported adverse events than placebo (47% vs 37%), particularly somnolence (13% vs 4%).

Conclusions

These data fail to provide evidence that antagonism of orexin receptors with filorexant, when administered at night, is effective for migraine prophylaxis.
Does an Injection of a Stromal Vascular Fraction Containing Adipose-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells Influence the Outcomes of Marrow Stimulation in Osteochondral Lesions of the Talus?
Authors: Kim Yong Sang , Lee Ho Jin , Choi Yun Jin , Kim Yong Il , Koh Yong Gon
Published: August 2014

Background:

Marrow stimulation for the treatment of osteochondral lesions of the talus (OLTs) is controversial in patients with poor prognostic factors of OLTs. Currently, mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are expected to biologically augment the treatment of OLTs.

Purpose:

To compare the clinical and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) outcomes between an injection of MSCs with marrow stimulation and marrow stimulation alone in patients with OLTs.

Study Design:

Cohort study; Level of evidence, 3.

Methods:

A total of 49 patients (50 ankles) with OLTs underwent follow-up MRI after arthroscopic treatment. Among these 50 ankles, 26 underwent marrow stimulation alone (conventional group), and 24 underwent marrow stimulation with an injection of a stromal vascular fraction (SVF) containing MSCs (MSC group). Clinical outcomes were evaluated according to the visual analog scale (VAS) for pain, American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society (AOFAS) Ankle-Hindfoot Scale, and Tegner activity scale. The magnetic resonance observation of cartilage repair tissue (MOCART) score was used for the MRI evaluation of repaired lesions.

Results:

The mean VAS score, AOFAS score, and Tegner score improved from 7.1 ± 1.2, 68.5 ± 5.6, and 3.4 ± 0.6 to 3.9 ± 0.8, 78.3 ± 4.9, and 3.5 ± 0.8, respectively, in the conventional group and from 7.1 ± 0.8, 67.7 ± 4.7, and 3.4 ± 0.5 to 3.2 ± 0.8, 83.3 ± 7.0, and 3.9 ± 0.7, respectively, in the MSC group. All clinical outcomes, including the VAS, AOFAS, and Tegner scores, improved significantly in the MSC group compared with the conventional group ( P = .003, .009, and .041, respectively). There was a significant difference ( P = .037) in the mean MOCART score between the conventional and MSC groups (49.4 ± 16.6 vs 62.1 ± 21.8, respectively), and significant correlations of the MOCART score with clinical outcomes were found in both groups ( P < .05). Patient age (≥46.1 years), large lesion size (≥151.2 mm2), and the presence of subchondral cysts were associated with a worse MOCART score in the conventional group ( P = .015, .004, and .013, respectively) but not in the MSC group.

Conclusion:

Clinical and MRI outcomes of an injection of an SVF containing MSCs with marrow stimulation were encouraging, compared with marrow stimulation alone, for the treatment of OLTs. Therefore, an injection of an SVF containing MSCs with marrow stimulation should be considered as a treatment for OLTs, even when poor prognostic factors, including older age, large-sized lesion, or the presence of subchondral cysts, exist.
38th S.H. Foulkes Annual Lecture: Intimacy and Social Suffering in a Globalized World
Authors: Rohr Elisabeth
Published: August 2014

How is intimacy possible in a globalized world—and how does the loss of intimacy effect societies as well as individuals? This is the central question of the following article.

It is argued that sociology alone cannot find any convincing answers, because we need to understand the unconscious dynamics of global developments that undermine the human capacity to bond and to experience intimacy. Group analysis offers quite a unique position ‘on the edge’, that allows us to observe and to connect, to analyse and to understand not only patients, but also people and situations outside of the clinical world. In this sense it is social group analysis that turns out to be a valid research method and an approach that is capable of deciphering the ‘social unconscious’. An extensive case study out of a research project about transnational children in Ecuador (South America) and the story of Daqui are offered to show what is unconsciously at stake in a modern and globalized world, how much intimacy has degenerated already and how this can be understood in terms of group analysis.
Effective thermal conductivity of lithium multipurpose grease filled with metal particles
Authors: Verma Kamalesh , Dabas Manju , Upadhyay Anupama , Singh Ramvir
Published: August 2014

Two-phase samples were prepared by mixing Fe, Cu, and Al particles (<50 µm) in lithium multipurpose grease with different weight fractions of Fe, Cu, and Al powders. Effective thermal conductivity of these samples has been measured by a laboratory-made thermal conductivity probe as a function of weight fraction of filled metal particles. Grease-Fe, Grease-Cu, and Grease-Al systems showed maximum thermal conductivity enhancement of 35.28%, 72.28%, and 97.40% at weight fraction of 0.3, 0.4, and 0.4 of Fe, Cu, and Al particles, respectively. An artificial neural network approach is used to model the effective thermal conductivity of these samples with three input parameters, viz. thermal conductivity of grease, thermal conductivity of metal particles, and weight fraction of metal particles, respectively. A theoretical prediction was also done using a model developed by Verma et al. Results obtained were compared based on coefficient of determination and mean absolute error between experimental and predicted values of effective thermal conductivity by artificial neural network and theoretical formulation. It is found that artificial neural network approach showed better agreement with the experimental results.
Novel polymer composites from waste ethylene-propylene-diene-monomer rubber by supercritical CO2 foaming technology
Authors: Jeong Keuk Min , Hong Yeo Joo , Saha Prosenjit , Park Seong Ho , Kim Jin Kuk
Published: August 2014

In this study, a composite has been prepared by mixing waste rubber, such as ethylene-propylene-diene-monomer and low-density poly ethylene foaming, with supercritical carbon dioxide. In order to optimise the foaming process of the waste ethylene-propylene-diene-monomer–low-density poly ethylene composite, the variations of pressure and temperature on the foamed Microcell formation were studied. As indicated in scanning electron microscope photographs, the most uniform microcellular pattern was found at 200 bar and 100 °C using 30% by weight of waste ethylene-propylene-diene-monomer. Carbon dioxide could not be dissolved uniformly during foaming owing to extensive cross-linking of the waste ethylene-propylene-diene-monomer used for the composite. As a result the presence of un-uniform microcells after foaming were observed in the composite matrix to impart inferior mechanical properties of the composite. This problem was solved with uniform foaming by increasing the cross-link density of low-density poly ethylene using 1.5 parts per hundred dicumyl peroxide that enhances composite tensile and compressive strength up to 57% and 15%, respectively. The composite has the potential to be used as a foaming mat for artificial turf.
What Predicts Method Effects in Child Behavior Ratings
Authors: Low Justin A. , Keith Timothy Z. , Jensen Megan
Published: August 2014

The purpose of this research was to determine whether child, parent, and teacher characteristics such as sex, socioeconomic status (SES), parental depressive symptoms, the number of years of teaching experience, number of children in the classroom, and teachers’ disciplinary self-efficacy predict deviations from maternal ratings in a multitrait-multimethod (MTMM) confirmatory factor analysis. The study included 978 families from the National Institute of Child Health and Development Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development. Results indicated that teachers with more disciplinary self-efficacy, teaching experience, and children in their classrooms generally rated their students’ behavior in a more consistent manner with ratings completed by the students’ mothers. In addition, fathers who reported more symptoms of depression rated their children’s behavior in a less consistent manner with ratings completed by mothers. Finally, the perspectives of mothers generally deviated more from the perspectives of fathers and teachers when they were rating boys.
Sex Differential Item Functioning in the Inventory of Early Development III Social-Emotional Skills
Authors: Beaver Jessica L. , French Brian F. , Finch W. Holmes , Ullrich-French Sarah C.
Published: August 2014

Social-emotional (SE) skills in the early developmental years of children influence outcomes in psychological, behavioral, and learning domains. The adult ratings of a child’s SE skills can be influenced by sex stereotypes. These rating differences could lead to differential conclusions about developmental progress or risk. To ensure that differences between boys and girls in SE skills are accurate, validity evidence should support that differences are not based on such issues as stereotypes influencing ratings. Differential item functioning (DIF) analysis allows for the assessment of group differences in item responses while controlling for ability. This study utilized a new multilevel Mantel–Haenszel (MMH) DIF procedure to examine sex differences in item responses for examiner ratings of children’s SE skills on the Brigance Inventory of Early Development III SE scale. Of 50 items examined, 4 were identified as large DIF items. The scores do not appear to be influenced by item-level rating distortions based on sex stereotypes.
A comparative pathological finding in pigs exposed to fumonisin B1 and/or Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae
Authors: Pósa Roland , Stoev Stoycho , Kovács Melinda , Donkó Tamás , Repa Imre , Magyar Tibor
Published: August 2014

A more complicated pathology was observed in female pigs infected with Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae, when the same were exposed to 20 ppm dietary levels of fumonisin B1 (FB1) starting 14 days before infection for a period of 42 days as was assessed by gross pathology and pathomorphological examinations or computed tomography, and also manifested by the strong deterioration of the pneumonic process in two pigs and the subsequent euthanizing of one pig. Typical damages in FB1-fed pigs were a strong oedema in the lung and slight oedema in the other internal organs and mild degenerative changes in the kidneys, whereas the typical pathomorphological changes in M. hyopneumoniae-infected pigs corresponded to the morphologic pattern of a catarrhal bronchointerstitial pneumonia more pronounced in the cranial and middle lobes or in the cranial third of the caudal lobe of the lung. The pigs treated by both pathogens (toxic and infectious) revealed strong oedematous changes in the interstitium of lung in addition to deteriorated and extended bronchointerstitial pneumonic process.
Comparison of three different cell viability assays for evaluation of vanadyl sulphate cytotoxicity in a Chinese hamster ovary K1 cell line
Authors: Zwolak Iwona
Published: August 2014

Previously, evaluation of sodium metavanadate (NaVO3) cytotoxicity after 24 h exposure of Chinese hamster ovary K1 (CHO-K1) cells revealed different sensitivity of the in vitro assays used starting from the neutral red (NR, 3-amino-7-dimethylamino-2-methylphenazine hydrochloride) test (detecting lysosomal and possibly the Golgi apparatus damage) as the most sensitive followed by the 2,3-bis[2-methoxy-4-nitro-5-sulfophenyl]-2H-tetrazolium-5-carboxyanilide inner salt (XTT) and resazurin (7-hydroxy-3H-phenoxazin-3-one-10-oxide) tests (mitochondrial disruption). The trypan blue (TB) staining (plasma membrane permeability) showed cytotoxicity of NaVO3 at a much higher NaVO3 concentration than the above-mentioned assays. In the current study, using the same experimental approach, we have assessed the toxicity of vanadyl sulphate (VOSO4) and compared the obtained results with NaVO3 action. Unlike metavanadate, VOSO4 treatment at 24 h resulted in similar sensitivity of the NR and resazurin tests. Nevertheless, following the 48-h incubation with VOSO4, the NR test showed markedly higher sensitivity than the resazurin test when comparing the half maximal inhibitory concentration values (61 and 110 µM for the NR and resazurin test, respectively, p < 0.05). The TB staining method was the least susceptible for detecting vanadyl cytotoxicity at each exposure time point. In summary, both the NR and resazurin tests can be advocated as similarly sensitive in detection of VOSO4-induced cytotoxicity in the CHO-K1 cell line at 24 h. However, the longer incubation time with VOSO4 showed that the NR test is more sensitive than the resazurin assay. The differences in the results between the cytotoxicity tests employed probably arise from dissimilar susceptibility of the endpoints (targets) measured with these tests to the damage by vanadium. Considering this, the current and the previous studies highlight the role of lysosomes (and possibly the Golgi apparatus) apart from mitochondria in the toxicity mechanism induced by inorganic vanadium in mammalian cells.
Succinic Semialdehyde Dehydrogenase Deficiency in a Chinese Boy
Authors: Tay Chee Geap , Ariffin Hany , Yap Sufin , Rahmat Kartini , Sthaneshwar Pavai , Ong Lai Choo
Published: August 2014

Succinic semialdehyde dehydrogenase deficiency is a rare autosomal recessive disorder affecting catabolism of the neurotransmitter gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), with a wide range of clinical phenotype. We report a Malaysian Chinese boy with a severe early onset phenotype due to a previously unreported mutation. Urine organic acid chromatogram revealed elevated 4-hydroxybutyric acid. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the brain demonstrated cerebral atrophy with atypical putaminal involvement. Molecular genetic analysis showed a novel homozygous 3-bp deletion at the ALDH5A1 gene c.1501_1503del (p.Glu501del). Both parents were confirmed to be heterozygotes for the p.Glu501del mutation. The clinical course was complicated by the development of subdural hemorrhage probably as a result of rocking the child to sleep for erratic sleep-wake cycles. This case illustrates the need to recognize that trivial or unintentional shaking of such children, especially in the presence of cerebral atrophy, can lead to subdural hemorrhage.
Rates and Characteristics of Radiographically Detected Intracerebral Cavernous Malformations After Cranial Radiation Therapy in Pediatric Cancer Patients
Authors: Gastelum Erica , Sear Katherine , Hills Nancy , Roddy Erika , Randazzo Dominica , Chettout Nassim , Hess Christopher , Cotter Jennifer , Haas-Kogan Daphne A. , Fullerton Heather , Mueller Sabine
Published: August 2014

Rates and characteristics of intracerebral cavernous malformations after cranial radiation therapy remain poorly understood. Herein we report on intracerebral cavernous malformations detected on follow-up imaging in pediatric cancer patients who received cranial radiation therapy at age ≤18 years from 1980 to 2009. Through chart reviews (n = 362) and phone interviews (n = 104) of a retrospective cohort, we identified 10 patients with intracerebral cavernous malformations. The median latency time for detection of intracerebral cavernous malformations after cranial radiation therapy was 12 years (range 1-24 years) at a median age of 21.4 years (interquartile range = 15-28). The cumulative incidence was 3% (95% confidence interval 1%-8%) at 10 years post cranial radiation therapy and 14% (95% confidence interval 7%-26%) at 15 years. Three patients underwent surgical resection. Two surgical specimens were pathologically similar to sporadically occurring intracerebral cavernous malformations; one was consistent with capillary telangiectasia. Intracerebral cavernous malformations are common after cranial radiation therapy and can show a spectrum of histologic features.