bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Modern Vernacular Reassessed
Authors: Lin Jin-Ann , Chen Liang-Chuan
Published: February 2015

This article aims to establish the Taipei walkup apartment building as a case of the modern vernacular. Taipei walkups were the first type of multistoried multifamily housing in Taiwan, originating in the 1960s and continuing to dominate Taipei’s cityscape today. We examine the political and economic influences of the United States on the birth of this type of housing architecture in Taiwan and, by further exploring vernacular elements applied to the buildings’ façades, point to the important role that local building culture played in the adoption and transfiguration of this modernist architecture. The article provides an example of the interactions between the modern and the vernacular, arguing that it is rather hard to defend the position that these are two entirely discrete categories.
Service Access in Premodern Cities
Authors: Stanley Benjamin W. , Dennehy Timothy J. , Smith Michael E. , Stark Barbara L. , York Abigail M. , Cowgill George L. , Novic Juliana , Ek Jerald
Published: February 2015

Spatial equity studies measuring urban service access have been conducted in variety of modern settings, but this research has not been extended to premodern cities. This article presents an exploratory, transdisciplinary pilot study of service access in six premodern urban environments to better understand the historical origins of inequality. Using archaeological and historical spatial data, neighborhood and household access to three types of service facility is studied across different urban traditions. Findings reveal that the size, shape, and spatial structure of cities may influence service accessibility as much as political influence over facility siting or residential choice. Most cities display a spatially concentric pattern of accessibility, and denser cities tend to display more equitable service access. Elite groups possess consistently better service access than nonelite groups. Although this exploratory study must be expanded to produce firmer results, it indicates the importance of interpreting modern urban inequalities from a long-term perspective, and points to the efficacy of comparative, spatially oriented, urban historical research for generating new insights into urban processes.
Managing School Integration and White Flight
Authors: Steffes Tracy L.
Published: February 2015

This article explores the policy conversation and efforts around school integration in Chicago during the 1960s. It analyzes how a conversation that originated in demands for equality for black students was transformed into one about keeping whites in the city and analyzes the consequences of this shift. Worried that integration might produce more segregation as whites fled, the school board responded to the advice of experts and pleas of some white liberals to manage and stabilize integration in racially changing neighborhoods. Civil rights groups tried to keep educational equity for black students forefront in these discussions of integration, but the shift to managed integration put whites’ interests and needs first and stripped the discussion of integration of much of its structural critique. Yet managed integration did not work, undermining support for integration altogether and reinforcing fears and assumptions about the inevitability and undesirability of racial change.
Low Health Literacy Predicts Misperceptions of Diabetes Control in Patients With Persistently Elevated A1C
Authors: Ferguson Monica O. , Long Judith A. , Zhu Jingsan , Small Dylan S. , Lawson Brittany , Glick Henry A. , Schapira Marilyn M.
Published: February 2015

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to identify factors associated with perceived control of diabetes in a group of poorly controlled patients. Identifying factors associated with perceived control in these patients is an important step in improving actual control as measured by A1C. As health literacy is essential for understanding complex medical information, we hypothesized that low health literacy would be associated with inaccurate perceptions of diabetes control.

Methods

A cross-sectional analysis was performed on 280 adults with type 2 diabetes whose last 2 A1C measurements were >8.0%. Participants were recruited primarily from 6 University of Pennsylvania primary care practices. Perceived control and factors potentially associated with this outcome, including health literacy, were assessed during an in-person interview. Health literacy was measured using the Rapid Estimate of Adult Literacy.

Results

Thirty-nine percent of patients responded that they were managing to control their diabetes well or very well. However, 57% of those at the seventh to eighth-grade health literacy level and 61% of those at the level of sixth grade and below reported that they were controlling their diabetes well or very well.

Conclusions

In this population of patients with poorly controlled diabetes, a majority of those with low health literacy believed that they were controlling their disease well or very well. Patients who believe that they are already controlling their diabetes well may be less likely to make changes to improve control. Health care providers and educators should consider health literacy when discussing control of diabetes and when setting management goals with patients.
Safety and Dose Escalation Study of Intravenous Zinc Supplementation in Pediatric Critical Illness
Authors: Cvijanovich Natalie Z. , King Janet C. , Flori Heidi R. , Gildengorin Ginny , Vinks Alexander A. , Wong Hector R.
Published: February 2015

Background: Critically ill children have low plasma zinc (pZn), correlating with organ failure. Since Zn influences inflammation, immune function, and glucose control, Zn supplementation is a plausible therapeutic modality. We sought to determine a safe dose of intravenous (IV) Zn to restore pZn in critically ill children. Methods: Stepwise dose escalation study of IV Zn supplementation at a tertiary children's hospital. All children (<10 years) admitted to the pediatric intensive care unit with a Pediatric Risk of Mortality III score >5, or ≥1 new organ failure were eligible. After consent, patients were sequentially enrolled into 4 dosing groups: (1) no zinc, (2) Zn250: 250 mcg/kg/d ZnSO4, (3) Zn500: 500 mcg/kg/d ZnSO4, or (4) Zn750: 750 mcg/kg/d ZnSO4. ZnSO4 was administered 3 times daily for 7 days. pZn was measured at baseline, end of first ZnSO4 infusion, 1 hour postinfusion, and 7 hours postinfusion on day 1, then daily through days 2–7. Interleukin‐6 (IL‐6), C‐reactive protein (CRP), and lymphocyte subsets were measured on days 1 and 3. Glucose was measured 3 times daily for 7 days. Results: Twenty‐four patients were enrolled. Baseline demographics were similar among groups. Baseline pZn was low in all patients (mean [SD], 41.8 [16.0] mcg/dL). pZn increased over the study period in supplemented groups; however, mean pZn in the Zn750 group exceeded the 50th percentile. pZn was not associated with IL‐6, CRP, or lymphocyte subsets among groups. Degree of hyperglycemia did not differ among groups. No patient had a study‐related adverse event. Conclusions: IV zinc supplementation at 500 mcg/kg/d restores pZn to near the 50th percentile and is well tolerated.
Don’t Just Read Books, Write Them! Four Lessons Learned from a Multiyear Student-authored Book Project in Social Theory
Authors: Jones Ellis
Published: February 2015

This article documents the process of having students research, create, edit, and self-publish a book of social theorist profiles (arranged alphabetically from Adorno to Weber) for a required theory course I teach in the department of sociology. An ongoing project, it currently spans over three semesters worth of theory students with each class building on the work of the last. It is both a guide to implementing a similar project in any course (though particularly relevant to those specifically looking to engage students in their sociological theory course) and an analysis of the lessons I have learned along the way that may help others overcome a number of the inherent challenges. Although others are certainly implementing projects like this in their own college classrooms, the materials available in peer-reviewed journals are almost nonexistent. I assert that public sociologists, in particular, should consider taking on these kinds of projects as they both benefit larger communities and allow us to reconsider the long-term results of our teaching efforts.
Surfistas Locales: Transnationalism and the Construction of Surfer Identity in Nicaragua
Authors: Usher Lindsay E. , Kerstetter Deborah
Published: February 2015

Surfers have created their own subculture, which has been associated with concepts such as environmentalism, masculinity, place, and nonconformity, yet the increasing global reach of their sport has created transnational surf communities that bring into question the definition of what it means to be a “local” surfer. This ethnographic study examines identity construction in local Nicaraguan surfers, the ways in which their subculture has formed within a transnational context, how they accept/reject resident foreign surfers, and how foreign surfers see themselves in Nicaragua’s globalized surf space. The findings indicate that Nicaraguan surfers have formed their own local surf subculture from globalized influences, and determining whether foreigners are accepted or rejected from this subculture depends on a complex set of factors related to their relationship with local surfers and the local indigenous community.
The arrival of information literacy
Authors: Machin-Mastromatteo Juan D , Lau Jesus
Published: February 2015

Paul Zurkowski coined the term Information Literacy in 1974, since then it has evolved into a dynamic research area within library and information science, with many milestones achieved in Europe and the United States, reflected in English-written literature. This issue of Developing Latin America traces an alternative route, exploring the arrival of information literacy to the region and its main developments.
Consciousness in SLA: A modular perspective
Authors: Truscott John
Published: February 2015

Understanding the place of consciousness in second language acquisition (SLA) is crucial for an understanding of how acquisition occurs. Considerable work has been done on this topic, but nearly all of it assumes a highly non-modular view, according to which language and its development is ‘nothing special’. As this assumption runs counter to much of the thinking in SLA, there is a need for an account of the place of consciousness within a framework that assumes that core aspects of language compose a distinct module (or modules) of the mind: that language is something special. This article offers such an account within the reasonably well-established MOGUL framework, with its approach to consciousness and the place of consciousness in the cognitive system. After briefly reviewing existing work and then the topics of modularity and consciousness, it presents MOGUL and its treatment of consciousness and then considers the way that this account applies to (1) the initial establishment of linguistic representations in perception, (2) the way these representations are then consolidated, (3) restructuring of the system of representations, and (4) the development of linguistic knowledge outside the language module, i.e. conceptual linguistic knowledge.
Does attentional focus during balance training in people with Parkinson’s disease affect outcome? A randomised controlled clinical trial
Authors: Landers Merrill R , Hatlevig Rebecca M , Davis Alyssa D , Richards Amanda R , Rosenlof Leslee E
Published: February 2015

Objective:

To compare the effects of attentional focus to augment balance outcomes in individuals with Parkinson’s disease.

Design:

Randomised controlled clinical trial.

Setting:

University gait and balance research laboratory.

Participants:

Forty-nine individuals with idiopathic Parkinson’s disease.

Interventions:

Participants were randomly assigned into one of four groups (three balance intervention groups and one control). The three intervention groups all received the same 4-week balance training program augmented with either external, internal, or no focus instructions. The control group did not receive any balance training.

Main measures:

Outcomes were measured at baseline, post intervention, 2-weeks post intervention, and 8-weeks post intervention and included: Sensory Organization Test, Berg Balance Scale, Self-Selected Gait Velocity, Dynamic Gait Index, Activities-Specific Balance Confidence Scale, and obstacle course completion time.

Results:

There were no differences among the groups in trajectory over the course of the trial for all outcomes (ps ⩾ .135). All groups improved from baseline to post intervention and from baseline to 2-weeks post intervention for all outcomes (ps ⩽ .003), except Self-Selected Gait Velocity, which did not change over the course of the trial ( P = .121).

Conclusions:

Attentional focus instructions to augment a 4-week balance training program did not result in any change over and above a control group in measures of gait and balance in individuals with Parkinson’s disease. Additionally, while all four groups improved, there was no difference among the groups, including the control, suggesting that the 4-week balance training program in this trial was not effective.
Oligoclonal bands and increased cytokine levels in idiopathic intracranial hypertension
Authors: Altıokka-Uzun Güneş , Tüzün Erdem , Ekizoğlu Esme , Ulusoy Canan , Yentür Sibel , Kürtüncü Murat , Saruhan-Direskeneli Güher , Baykan Betül
Published: February 2015

Objectives

The pathogenesis of idiopathic intracranial hypertension (IIH) is currently unknown and there are speculations about the contribution of some immunologic factors. The aim of this study is to investigate the presence of oligoclonal bands (OCBs) and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and/or serum cytokine levels in patients with IIH.

Methods

Patients fulfilling revised diagnostic criteria for IIH were included. Their demographic, clinical, ophthalmologic and laboratory features were examined. Serum and CSF samples were detected by isoelectric focusing and immunoblotting for OCBs. The samples of IIH patients and control groups were investigated by ELISA for cytokine levels.

Results

We detected OCBs in eight (30.77%) patients diagnosed with IIH. There were no other obvious clinical and laboratory differences of IIH profiles between the patients with and without OCBs, but frequency of vision loss was significantly higher in the group with OCBs in comparison to OCB negatives ( p = 0.038). Patients with IIH had highly elevated TNF-α, IFN-γ, IL-4, IL-10, IL-12, IL-17 in their sera compared to patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) and healthy controls. Furthermore, all cytokines except TNF-α in the CSF were found significantly higher in IIH patients compared to MS controls.

Conclusion

The presence of OCBs and elevated cytokine levels in IIH patients may support an immunologic background in the pathophysiological pathway of this disorder.
It Pays to Bend the Rules
Authors: Smith D. Randall
Published: February 2015

Scandals in big-time college sports receive considerable attention in the media, scrutiny that can potentially damage the reputation of host institutions. The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) monitors any rule-breaking behaviors of members and sanctions the most egregious offenders. I use panel data for colleges and universities fielding Division I football or basketball teams to seek effects of those sanctions that could produce general deterrence. The literature on organizational and white-collar crime is used to identify control variables for models of deterrent effects. Most penalties for major violations do not affect the outcomes investigated. Recently instituted sanctions for poor academic performance are slightly more effective, resulting in a small change in the football winning percentage especially when scholarships are taken away. Overall, the results suggest that colleges and universities suffer little economic or reputational damage when their athletic programs are penalized for violating Association rules.
Writing Disabilities and Reading Disabilities in Elementary School Students
Authors: Costa Lara-Jeane C. , Edwards Crystal N. , Hooper Stephen R.
Published: February 2015

This longitudinal study was conducted to determine (a) the rate of co-occurrence of reading disabilities (RDs) in a writing disability (WD) population of students followed from first grade to fourth grade and (b) the cognitive burden that is assumed by having a WD and a RD (WD + RD). The sample included 137 first-grade students from a single school district who initially were placed into three groups based on the Wechsler Individual Achievement Test–Second Edition (WIAT-II) Written Expression subtest: Typically Developing (TD; n = 83), WD-Only ( n = 38), and WD + RD ( n = 16). Results indicated that the rate of a WD + RD increased with advancing grades, ranging from 30% in first grade to 47% in fourth grade. This increase was secondary to the instability of group membership across all three groups. The number of students with a WD + RD remained relatively constant over the 4 years, with about 50% of first-grade students with a WD + RD continuing to manifest this co-occurrence through the fourth grade. There was increased cognitive burden for the students in the WD + RD group across the four grades in language and executive dysfunctions. Along with the use of progress monitoring strategies for both reading and writing in the early grades, these findings suggest the importance of assessing the cognitive underpinnings for students with a WD + RD.
Intergenerational Programs in Schools
Authors: Cohen-Mansfield Jiska , Jensen Barbara
Published: February 2015

This study examined the prevalence, types, and perceived impact of intergenerational programs in schools. Programs involving senior volunteers assisting children, or children participating in activities with older people were considered. Of the schools reached, 47% reported intergenerational programming. Thirty-three schools in the Tel-Aviv region participated in the study. Data were collected from 85 seniors, 26 teachers, and 20 coordinators. Assessments included program characteristics, program preparation, and perceived benefits and difficulties. Both programs were reported to have beneficial effects for seniors and to benefit children in the academic, social, and emotional domains. However, programs appeared to attract different types of volunteers and different degrees of volunteer commitment. Findings suggest that there is a need to pay additional attention to both participants’ specific requests and needs and to the allocation of resources to improve the design and implementation of intergenerational programs.
The Relationship Between Subjective Falls-Risk Assessment Tools and Functional, Health-Related, and Body Composition Characteristics
Authors: Smee Disa J. , Berry Helen L. , Anson Judith M. , Waddington Gordon S.
Published: February 2015

We sought to explore the relationship between two subjective falls-risk assessment tools (Falls Efficacy Scale–International [FES-I] and Activities-Specific Balance Confidence [ABC] Scale) and functional, health-related, and body composition characteristics. A total of 245 community-dwelling people aged 60 to 88 years underwent assessments for subjective falls risk (using the FES-I and ABC Scale), health-related (cognitive; Short-Form Health Survey [SF-12]), functional (physical activity and physical function), and body composition characteristics (measured by dual X-ray absorptiometry). The FES-I and ABC Scale are strongly correlated with each other for females and males ( r = −.70, p < .001; r = −.65, p < .001), respectively. There are substantial differences between males and females when they self-assess their risk of falling as well as what characteristics contribute to explaining these self-assessments. Females are potentially more self-aware of their functional, body composition and health-related characteristics to better estimate their own risk of falling. FES-I correlates better with functional, body composition, and health-related characteristics, and thus may be more appropriate for use than the ABC in community-dwelling older adults.
Acculturation in a Pretreatment Sample of Latino Adolescents
Authors: Burrow-Sánchez Jason J. , Ortiz-Jensen Cynthia , Corrales Carolina , Meyers Kimberly
Published: February 2015

The Acculturation Rating Scale for Mexican Americans–II (ARSMA-II) is one of the most widely used measures of acculturation for Latinos. While the ARSMA-II is used quite often, there has been little research examining the latent factor structure of the measure. Furthermore, there has only been one prior study examining the factor structure with a sample of Latino adolescents. The primary purpose of the current study is to test three competing factor models of a brief version of the ARSMA-II in a pretreatment sample of Latino adolescents ( n = 106). Results from confirmatory factor analyses supported a nine-item two-factor structure for the sample in this study. A path analysis indicated that one of the factors was predictive of depressive symptoms but was mediated by the cultural variables familism and ethnic identity. The implications of study findings and suggestions for further refinement of this measure are discussed.
The Durability of Immigration-Related Barriers to Health Care Access for Hispanics Across Generations
Authors: Balcazar Alexander J. , Grineski Sara E. , Collins Timothy W.
Published: February 2015

Conventional manners of operationalizing generational status in studies of health care access in the United States implicitly assume that individuals assimilate into U.S. culture by the 3rd generation. This limits understandings of immigrant health care access as it remains unknown if disparities persist beyond the 3rd generation. Survey data from caretakers of Hispanic schoolchildren in El Paso (Texas, USA; n = 1,568) were utilized in generalized linear models to analyze relationships between immigrant generational status and access to health care. Results showed that higher immigrant generations had better access to care. The greatest disparities between consecutive generational groups occurred between 1st generation noncitizens/naturalized citizens, the 2.5/3rd generations, and the 3rd/4th generations. Results reveal greater durability of barriers in access to health care than has previously been documented.
Chronic Stress Among Latino Day Laborers
Authors: Galvan Frank H. , Wohl Amy Rock , Carlos Juli-Ann , Chen Ying-Tung
Published: February 2015

Latino day laborers endure many hardships as they struggle to adjust as an immigrant community in the United States. This study sought to identify the extent of chronic stress reported by day laborers and the factors associated with stress. A total of 725 Latino day laborers were interviewed. The most reported sources of stress were having immigration-related problems, not having enough money to cover basic needs, having no savings, and having work hours change for the worse. Higher chronic stress was associated with homelessness ( p < .001) and HIV-related risk behaviors in the previous 12 months ( p < .05). In addition, chronic stress was found to be higher among respondents reporting incomes of US$5,000 to US$10,000 ( p = .007) and still higher among respondents reporting incomes greater than US$10,000 ( p < .001) compared with those in the lowest income level. Lower chronic stress was associated with having a partner ( p < .05) or being single ( p = .001) compared with being married. Addressing the stress experienced by day laborers is necessary to prevent potential negative health and mental health consequences among this population.
Assessing U.S. Public School Quality
Authors: Price Heather E.
Published: February 2015

The school quality assessment process under No Child Left Behind (NCLB) is criticized for oversimplifying and overemphasizing standardized test results and unfairly targeting diverse, urban schools. There has been much development in alternative test score evaluations, especially value-added models. These developments have tilted the public discourse away from the original discussion about how to best assess school quality. Although test scores are an important metric for learning, school quality embodies more than this external evaluation. Stakeholders are uniquely positioned to internally evaluate the school learning environment that is central to school quality. This study compares the external NCLB testing-based assessment to the internal stakeholder assessment using longitudinal data from Milwaukee’s School Climate Report Cards. Each tool is found to have scope limits and vulnerabilities to exogenous bias based on school and student-body characteristics. Combining both evaluations forms a broader assessment, reduces biases, and widens the evaluation of school quality.
Workplace partnership and legitimacy: a multi-layered analysis of the shop steward experience
Authors: Butler Peter , Tregaskis Olga
Published: February 2015

The phenomenon of workplace partnership has attracted significant academic interest. This article uses case study evidence from a traditional heavy engineering MNC context to examine how the pursuit of collaborative strategies affected the roles of a multi-layered, mature community of trade union shop stewards. The analytical lens of legitimacy is used to provide insight into the contrasting experiences of senior and sectional stewards – a hitherto overlooked area. This study suggests limitations at one level of representation may be offset by advances at another and thus aids understanding of the conditions underpinning the impact of partnership.
The work-related affordances of business travel: a disaggregated analysis of journey stage and mode of transport
Authors: Hislop Donald , Axtell Carolyn
Published: February 2015

Sociological understanding of how business travellers make use of travel time is somewhat lacking. This article addresses this gap in knowledge via presenting an analysis of survey-based data collected from business people travelling by plane, train and car. Through disaggregating the data by travel mode, journey stage, technology use and task type the article provides a level of granular detail in the general patterns of business travellers’ travel time behaviour not previously provided by other surveys. Utilizing the concept of ‘affordances’, the article shows how the type of work activities undertaken are shaped by the dynamic interaction between the characteristics in the travel environment, the type of work tasks undertaken and work technologies utilized in carrying out these tasks and the active choices of business travellers.
Managing patient emotions as skilled work and being ‘one of us’
Authors: Kessler Ian , Heron Paul , Dopson Sue
Published: February 2015

While the literature on emotional labour has concentrated on worker feelings, this article assesses the capacity of an occupational role to deal with the feelings of the service user and, in particular, whether this capacity constitutes a skill. It focuses on the healthcare assistant, an unregulated role increasingly important in the delivery of hospital care. The capacity of this role to manage the emotions of patients has been questioned. However, drawing upon case study data, the role is presented as an effective manager of patient emotions, an outcome partly related to the HCAs’ abilities, but more closely to the patients viewing HCAs as ‘one of us’.
Coping with unemployment among journalists and managers
Authors: Raito Petteri , Lahelma Eero
Published: February 2015

This study explores the relationship between occupational background and coping with unemployment in two occupational groups. Longitudinal qualitative data are analysed in a life-story context by classifying types of themes found in the narratives. The study is theoretically rooted in the latent deprivation hypothesis, the agency restriction hypothesis and the theory of social exclusion. Occupational background and identity constituted the key foundations in which the journalists and managers anchored their strategies for coping with the labour market in general and with long-term unemployment in particular. Being able to cope was experienced as supportive and even minor success in the labour market enhanced active behaviour. However, repeated failure was related to deterioration in mental well-being. Institutional support was the most beneficial when it provided the unemployed with tools that enabled them to understand the situation they were facing and the need to consider occupational change.
Gas pipeline modelling and control
Authors: Whalley R , Abdul-Ameer A
Published: February 2015

The distributed parameter modelling of the gas flow through long pipelines is considered. Procedures which incorporate the gas stream energy storage, the pipeline frictional resistance and pressure attenuation characteristics are introduced. The pipeline input–output, transfer function, pressure and volume flow representations are formulated. An optimum, least effort, closed loop regulation strategy is proposed. Frequency response techniques are invoked enabling the derivation of simple, robust control algorithms. Confirmation of the results obtained, from the transient response computation of the outputs following input reference and load disturbance changes, are presented. The accuracy and novelty of the approach presented is commented upon.
High dosage of monosodium glutamate causes deficits of the motor coordination and the number of cerebellar Purkinje cells of rats
Authors: Prastiwi D , Djunaidi A , Partadiredja G
Published: February 2015

Monosodium glutamate (MSG) has been widely used throughout the world as a flavoring agent of food. However, MSG at certain dosages is also thought to cause damage to many organs, including cerebellum. This study aimed at investigating the effects of different doses of MSG on the motor coordination and the number of Purkinje cells of the cerebellum of Wistar rats. A total of 24 male rats aged 4 to 5 weeks were divided into four groups, namely, control (C), T2.5, T3, and T3.5 groups, which received intraperitoneal injection of 0.9% sodium chloride solution, 2.5 mg/g body weight (bw) of MSG, 3.0 mg/g bw of MSG, and 3.5 mg/g bw of MSG, respectively, for 10 consecutive days. The motor coordination of the rats was examined prior and subsequent to the treatment. The number of cerebellar Purkinje cells was estimated using physical fractionator method. It has been found that the administration of MSG at a dosage of 3.5 mg/g bw, but not at lower dosages, caused a significant decrease of motor coordination and the estimated total number of Purkinje cells of rats. There was also a significant correlation between motor coordination and the total number of Purkinje cells.
Childhood-onset lupus with clinical neurocognitive dysfunction shows lower streamline density and pairwise connectivity on diffusion tensor imaging
Authors: Jones J T , DiFrancesco M , Zaal A I , Klein-Gitelman M S , Gitelman D , Ying J , Brunner H I
Published: February 2015

Objectives

The objective of this report is to use diffusion-tensor imaging (DTI) for investigating white-matter connectivity changes associated with neurocognitive dysfunction in childhood-onset lupus (cSLE-NCD) as measured by formal neuropsychological testing.

Methods

DTI was performed in six individuals with (cSLE-NCD) and nine without neurocognitive dysfunction (cSLE-noNCD) as well as 14 healthy controls. Presence of neurocognitive deficits was identified by formal neuropsychological testing. The brain was divided into 116 regions, and pairwise connectivity (defined as the number of streamlines with an endpoint in each of those regions) and streamline density (defined as the number of streamlines passing through a region regardless of endpoints) were evaluated. Group comparisons were made for regional and global measures of streamline density and pairwise connectivity.

Results

A significant decrease in global streamline density was observed in the cSLE-NCD vs. control group (1189 vs. 1305 p = 0.002) and vs. cSLE-noNCD (1189 vs 1320 p = 0.001). The cSLE-noNCD and control groups had similar streamline density. A similar pattern for pairwise connectivity was observed with a significant decrease in the cSLE-NCD group (217) versus the cSLE-noNCD (236; p = 0.013) and control group (238; p = 0.004). Regional measures of pairwise connectivity displayed mixed results.

Conclusions

The analysis of DTI in this pilot study shows cSLE-NCD is associated with global loss of streamline density and pairwise connectivity, suggesting breakdown of the structural network. These results complement previously reported functional and volumetric findings that suggest cSLE-NCD is associated with measurable changes in gray and white matter. If confirmed in larger cohorts, DTI abnormalities could be used as imaging biomarkers of cSLE-NCD.
Stress and Immune Function During Pregnancy
Authors: Christian Lisa M.
Published: February 2015

Maternal psychosocial stress during pregnancy is associated with risks to maternal health and birth outcomes, as well as adverse health and behavioral outcomes in offspring. Maternal immune dysregulation, particularly disruption of inflammatory processes, is also implicated in adverse perinatal health outcomes, with the greatest evidence in relation to preterm birth. Increasingly, the extent to which psychosocial stress induces dysregulation of inflammatory processes during pregnancy is being considered. In this article, I describe studies linking stress to immune function during pregnancy, with an emphasis on studies from my research group on inflammation. As reviewed here, research utilizing psychoneuroimmunology models in pregnancy is a rapidly developing area with abundant opportunities to address questions of clinical relevance for both maternal and child health.
Category Learning Stretches Neural Representations in Visual Cortex
Authors: Folstein Jonathan R. , Palmeri Thomas J. , Van Gulick Ana E. , Gauthier Isabel
Published: February 2015

In this article, we review recent work that shows how learning to categorize objects changes how those objects are represented in the mind and the brain. After category learning, visual perception of objects is enhanced along perceptual dimensions that were relevant to the learned categories, an effect we call dimensional modulation. Dimensional modulation stretches object representations along category-relevant dimensions and shrinks them along category-irrelevant dimensions. The perceptual advantage for category-relevant dimensions extends beyond categorization and can be observed during visual discrimination and other tasks that do not depend on the learned categories. Evidence from fMRI studies shows that category learning causes ventral-stream neural populations in visual cortex representing objects along a category-relevant dimension to become more distinct. These results are consistent with a view that specific aspects of cognitive tasks associated with objects can account for how our visual system responds to objects.
The Changing Face of Attentional Development
Authors: Ristic Jelena , Enns James T.
Published: February 2015

The field of attentional development has recently undergone a quiet revolution. Attention is no longer being studied as a static gatekeeper of consciousness and action; instead, it is being reconceptualized as a dynamic system that both influences and is influenced by the interactions between individuals and their environments. In this review, we first revisit the conventional understanding of attentional development, showing that a large body of research conducted using a handful of laboratory tasks failed to deliver deep theoretical insights. We then trace the revolution to show how investigators have been changing their research questions in response to this impasse. Finally, we speculate on what the future of attentional development research might look like from this emerging dynamic perspective.
Identity Fusion
Authors: Swann William B. , Buhrmester Michael D.
Published: February 2015

Identity fusion is a visceral sense of “oneness” with a group and its individual members that motivates personally costly, pro-group behaviors. Past approaches, most notably social identity theory, have assumed that when people align with groups, the group category eclipses both the personal self and the relationships among individual group members. Also, social identity researchers have focused on intergroup processes. In contrast, fusion theory emphasizes the role of the personal self and intragroup relationships in extreme pro-group action. Strongly fused persons are especially inclined to endorse pro-group action when either the personal or the social self is salient, when physiological arousal is high, or when they perceive that group members share essential qualities (e.g., genes, core values) with one another. Moreover, feelings of personal agency, perceptions of family-like ties to other group members, and a sense of group-related invulnerability mediate the link between identity fusion and pro-group behaviors. All of these effects emerged while controlling for identification, which predicted the effects weakly if at all. By specifying some of the key antecedents of extreme pro-group behavior as well as the role of the personal self and familial ties in such behavior, the identity-fusion approach fills an important explanatory gap left largely unaddressed by earlier perspectives.
The Intrinsic Dynamics of Psychological Process
Authors: Vallacher Robin R. , Van Geert Paul , Nowak Andrzej
Published: February 2015

Psychological processes unfold on various timescales in accord with internally generated patterns. The intrinsic dynamism of psychological process is difficult to investigate using traditional methods emphasizing cause–effect relations, however, and therefore is rarely incorporated into social psychological theory. Methods associated with nonlinear dynamical systems can assess temporal patterns in thought and behavior, reveal the emergence of global properties in mental and social systems due to self-organization of system elements, and investigate the relation between external influences and intrinsic dynamics. The dynamical perspective preserves the insights that inspired the field’s early theorists while connecting social psychology to other areas of science.
Religion’s Profound Influences on Psychology
Authors: Cohen Adam B.
Published: February 2015

Religion affects psychological processes in many important ways and is the subject of increasing attention on the part of psychologists. I discuss four reasons why religion is important, including that religion is a central foundation for moral judgment (e.g., Protestants but not Jews find lustful thoughts to be morally suspect) and that religion strongly affects intergroup relations (e.g., theology regarding forgiveness affects intergroup relations). I then propose that religion broadly shapes self-construal (e.g., Protestants tend toward independent selves) and that the myriad ways in which religion shapes individuals’ psychologies is a complex issue that can be instructive in terms of how culture gets inside people’s heads.
Dame Maud McCarthy (1859–1949): Matron-in-Chief, British Expeditionary Forces France and Flanders, First World War
Authors: Shields Rosemary , Shields Linda
Published: February 2015

Emma Maud McCarthy was one of the most decorated nurses of the First World War. Born in Sydney in 1859, she trained as a nurse at The London Hospital in England. She was one of the first nurses to go to the South African War and in 1914 was one of the first members of Queen Alexandra’s Imperial Nursing Service. Maud McCarthy went to France as Matron-in-Chief of British, Colonial and US nursing services until the end of hostilities in 1918. After the First World War she became Matron-in-Chief of the Territorial Army Nursing Service and retired five years later. She was appointed Dame Grand Cross in 1918 and earned awards from Britain, France, Belgium and America. Her influence on nursing was profound. One of the first senior nurses to recognise the impact of war on minds, she set up separate units for men who had self-harmed and she pioneered nurse anaesthetists in the British Armed Forces. Dame Maud McCarthy was an administrator par excellence whose determination to provide the best conditions possible for both her nurses and the men for whom they cared made possible the highest standards of nursing care in the First World War.
Ludwig Edelstein (1902–1965): a German historian of medicine in North American exile and the emergence of the modern Hippocratic Oath
Authors: Pow Stephen , Stahnisch Frank W
Published: February 2015

Already emerging as an original thinker in the field of classical philology and history of medicine, German scholar Ludwig Edelstein became one of many scholars who lost his academic position when the National Socialists came to power in early 1933. This paper details his life before and after his difficult transition from Europe to North America, while reviewing the lasting significance of his translation and commentary on the Hippocratic Oath.
Nerve-stretching in the 19th century
Authors: Silver John Russell , Weiner Marie-France
Published: February 2015

Operative nerve-stretching was first described in 1872 to relieve incurable pain from sciatica and tabes dorsalis. It became popular for 20 years and numerous articles were published on the subject. It had many complications but relief was only transient and, consequently, it fell into disuse. This paper analyses the literature, contemporary views on the benefits of nerve stretching and its influence on more recent neurological practice.
Walter Mercer’s (1891–1971) contribution to the surgical treatment of low back pain
Authors: Hughes SPF
Published: February 2015

In 1936, Walter Mercer described a new method for the operative treatment of patients with spondylolisthesis. Using a transabdominal approach in two patients he inserted iliac crest bone graft into the intervertebral disc. His publication in the Edinburgh Medical Journal caused a furore as the levels operated on did not reflect the description and one of the two patients died post-operatively. However, Mercer continued to promote the operation in his textbooks. The anterior approach to the lumbar spine is now performed routinely. This paper explores Mercer’s contribution to anterior spinal surgery.
Discrepancy in the diagnosis of avian Borna disease virus infection of Psittaciformes by protein analysis of feather calami and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay of plasma antibodies
Authors: McHugh Josephine M. , de Kloet Siwo R.
Published: February 2015

The present study compares diagnosis of avian Borna disease virus (ABV) infection of psittacine birds by Western blot of bornaviral proteins in dried feather stems with the detection of anti-bornaviral protein antibodies to bornaviral proteins in plasma by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The detection of ABV proteins P40 and P24 in feather calami by Western blotting was possible even after storage of the dried feathers for several years at ambient temperature. Serological identification of anti-bornaviral antibodies may fail (e.g., in young birds, hatched from infected parents), whereas bornaviral P40 and P24 proteins were detected in feather stems. This failure can last at least 10 months after the birds are hatched. In some older birds (>5 years), ABV protein was only detectable in the brain, but not in some peripheral tissues, suggesting that the immune system had succeeded in removing the infecting ABV from tissues outside the brain. These results show that a combination of feather stem analysis for the presence of bornaviral proteins by Western blot combined with serological detection of anti-bornaviral antibodies by ELISA is the most reliable procedure for the detection of a bornaviral infection.
Dual piezoelectric beam robot: The effect of piezoelectric patches’ positions
Authors: Hariri Hassan , Bernard Yves , Razek Adel
Published: February 2015

Inspired from linear traveling wave ultrasonic motors, a dual piezoelectric beam robot is presented. It consists of an aluminum beam structure, with two non-collocated piezoelectric patches bonded on its surface. The aim of this article is to study the effect of the piezoelectric patches’ positions on the performance of the robot. For a given robot dimension, a finite element model developed in a previous work for the robot structure is verified experimentally here and then used to determine the optimal piezoelectric patches’ position. It has been found that locating the piezoelectric patches near the ends of the beam will lead to best performance, and that the traveling wave is mainly generated between the two patches. Two prototypes have been manufactured for this aim and have shown good agreement with simulation results.
Transplant Trajectory and Relational Experience Within Living Kidney Dyads
Authors: Ummel Deborah , Achille Marie
Published: February 2015

Living kidney donation is considered common practice across most Westernized countries. While extensive research has documented the experience of living donors, few studies have addressed the perspective of recipients, and even fewer have examined the experience of donor and recipient as an interactive dyad. In this study, our aim was to examine the reciprocal influence between donors and recipients across the transplantation process. We recruited a homogeneous sample of 10 donors and recipients, who were interviewed individually. Data were analyzed using interpretative phenomenological analysis. The presentation of results follows the stages of the transplantation process: the disease experience, the experience of offering and accepting a kidney, the screening period, the surgery, and the post-transplantation period. Results are discussed within the framework of Mauss’s gift exchange theory, social roles, and altruism. This comprehensive description of the dyadic experience provides a way to frame and understand psychosocial aspects and relational implications of living renal transplantation.
New Evidence on the Persistence of Health Spending
Authors: Hirth Richard A. , Gibson Teresa B. , Levy Helen G. , Smith Jeffrey A. , Calónico Sebastian , Das Anup
Published: February 2015

Surprisingly little is known about long-term spending patterns in the under-65 population. Such information could inform efforts to improve coverage and control costs. Using the MarketScan claims database, we characterize the persistence of health care spending in the privately insured, under-65 population. Over a 6-year period, 69.8% of enrollees never had annual spending in the top 10% of the distribution and the bottom 50% of spenders accounted for less than 10% of spending. Those in the top 10% in 2003 were almost as likely (34.4%) to be in the top 10% five years later as one year later (43.4%). Many comorbid conditions retained much of their predictive power even 5 years later. The persistence at both ends of the spending distribution indicates the potential for adverse selection and cream skimming and supports the use of disease management, particularly for those with the conditions that remained strong predictors of high spending throughout the follow-up period.