bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Regional Comparison of GOES Cloud-Top Properties and Radar Characteristics in Advance of First-Flash Lightning Initiation
Authors: Mecikalski John R. , Li Xuanli , Carey Lawrence D. , McCaul Eugene W. , Coleman Timothy A.
Published: July 2012

Lightning initiation (LI) events over Florida and Oklahoma are examined and statistically compared to understand the behavior of observed radar and infrared satellite interest fields (IFs) in the 75-min time frame surrounding LI. Lightning initiation is defined as the time of the first lightning, of any kind, generated in a cumulonimbus cloud. Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) infrared IFs, contoured frequency by altitude diagrams (CFADs) of radar reflectivity, and model sounding data, analyzed in concert, show the mean characteristics over time for 36 and 23 LI events over Florida and Oklahoma, respectively. CFADs indicate that radar echoes formed 60 min before Florida LI, yet Oklahoma storms exhibited a ~30-min delayed development. Large ice volumes in Florida developed from the freezing of lofted liquid hydrometeors formed by long-lived (~45 min) warm rain processes, which are mostly absent in Oklahoma. However, ice volumes developed abruptly in Oklahoma storms despite missing a significant warm rain component. GOES fields were significantly different before 30 min prior to LI between the two locations. Compared to Florida storms, lower precipitable water (PW), higher convective available potential energy, and higher 3.9-μm reflectance in Oklahoma, suggest stronger and drier updrafts producing a greater abundance of small ice particles. Somewhat larger 15-min 10.7-μm cooling rates in Oklahoma confirm stronger updrafts, while clouds in the 60–30-min pre-LI period show more IF variability (e.g., in the 6.5–10.7-μm difference). Florida storms (high PW, slower growth) offer more lead time for LI predictability, compared to Oklahoma storms (low PW, explosive growth), with defined anvils being obvious at the time of LI.
Investigating ESL Students’ Performance on Outcomes Assessments in Higher Education
Authors: Lakin Joni M. , Elliott Diane Cardenas , Liu Ou Lydia
Published: July 2012

Outcomes assessments are gaining great attention in higher education because of increased demand for accountability. These assessments are widely used by U.S. higher education institutions to measure students’ college-level knowledge and skills, including students who speak English as a second language (ESL). For the past decade, the increasing number of ESL students has changed the landscape of U.S. higher education. However, little research exists documenting how ESL students perform on outcomes assessments. In this study, the authors investigated ESL students’ performance on the Educational Testing Service Proficiency Profile in terms of factor structure, criterion validity, and differential item functioning. The test showed partial measurement invariance between ESL and non-ESL students, consistent criterion validity, and few examples of differential item functioning. The results suggest the critical need for consideration of language background in outcomes assessment research in higher education.
The relationship between sugar-containing methadone and dental caries: A systematic review
Authors: Tripathee Sheela , Akbar Tahira , Richards Derek , Themessl-Huber Markus , Freeman Ruth
Published: July 2012

Objectives:

To review the evidence of a relationship between sugar-containing methadone and dental caries.

Data sources:

A systematic search of Cochrane Library, PubMed, PsychINFO, EMBASE, MEDLINE, Current Controlled Trials, WHO, OHRN, SIGLE and ERIC databases was conducted from January 1978 up to June 2010.

Study selection:

Articles were assessed and data abstracted independently by two reviewers. Papers that provided information about methadone and dental caries and were written in English were included, regardless of type of publication, authors, source of financial support and outcomes. Nineteen articles were identified; of these only three contained quantitative evidence, one of which was a survey.

Conclusions:

Many people on oral methadone maintenance programmes have been reported to have high levels of dental caries. However, there is no strong evidence to support a direct link between sugar-containing methadone and an increase in dental caries. High quality studies are required to assess the potential adverse effects of methadone on oral health.
What Does It Take to Deter? Regional Power Nuclear Postures and International Conflict
Authors: Narang Vipin
Published: July 2012

Existing nuclear deterrence scholarship evinces a pervasive “existential bias,” assuming that once a state merely possesses nuclear weapons, it should be able to deter armed conflict. The empirical literature expresses this bias by simply dichotomously coding a state based on whether it has nuclear weapons, thereby treating all nuclear states as equivalent. Thus, whether nuclear weapons deter conflict, and how much is required to do so, is unclear. This article shifts the unit of analysis away from nuclear weapons to postures, hypothesizing that different nuclear postures are distinct and generate differential deterrent power, particularly amongst the non-superpower states which comprise the lion’s share of nuclear powers. I find that an asymmetric escalation nuclear posture uniquely deters conflict initiation and escalation. Not only do small arsenals have little deterrence success, but I find that even assured retaliation postures fail to deter intense conventional conflict. This suggests that the deterrence dividend is distributed unequally across nuclear powers, and that states may need to do more than simply acquire nuclear weapons to successfully deter conventional attacks.
Dynamics of political instability in the United States, 1780–2010
Authors: Turchin Peter
Published: July 2012

This article describes and analyses a database on the dynamics of sociopolitical instability in the United States between 1780 and 2010. The database was constructed by digitizing data collected by previous researchers, supplemented by systematic searches of electronic media archives. It includes 1,590 political violence events such as riots, lynchings, and terrorism. Incidence of political violence fluctuated dramatically over the 230 years covered by the database, following a complex dynamical pattern. Spectral analysis detected two main oscillatory modes. The first is a very long-term – secular – cycle, taking the form of an instability wave during the second half of the 19th century, bracketed by two peaceful periods (the first quarter of the 19th century and the middle decades of the 20th century, respectively). The second is a 50-year oscillation superimposed on the secular cycle, with peaks around 1870, 1920, and 1970. The pattern of two periodicities superimposed on each other is characteristic of the dynamics of political instability in many historical societies, such as ancient Rome and medieval and early-modern England, France, and Russia. A possible explanation of this pattern, discussed in the article, is offered by the structural-demographic theory, which postulates that labor oversupply leads to falling living standards and elite overproduction, and those, in turn, cause a wave of prolonged and intense sociopolitical instability.
Screening science, producing the nation: popular science programs on Israeli television (1968–88)
Authors: Katz-Kimchi Merav
Published: July 2012

From 1968 on, the state of Israel deployed television as a tool in the service of its ongoing project of reproducing the nation and as a propaganda tool that targeted the population of the newly occupied territories and the Palestinian Arab citizens of Israel. With the collaboration of the scientific elite, the televising of original popular science programs, aired on the sole government-controlled channel at prime time, contributed immensely to these projects. Through these programs, the state disseminated a specific image of the nation’s scientific prowess for popular consumption in the euphoric aftermath of the Six Day War. This article examines the first 20 years of the state’s projects, during which the grip of Zionist collectivism was still strong, the monopoly of the government-controlled channel was not yet challenged, and the programs enjoyed astonishingly high ratings. My examination focuses on the ideology and motivations of the producers; the ways in which the communication elite and the scientific elite, enjoying a position of hegemony, collaborated by disseminating the nation’s accomplishments in both the Arabic and Hebrew programs; and the actual content of the programs at large and specifically that of four episodes of Tazpit, the popular science program of the 1980s.
‘Feminism rules! Now, where’s my swimsuit?’ Re-evaluating feminist discourse in print media 1968–2008
Authors: Mendes Kaitlynn
Published: July 2012

Using both content and critical discourse analysis, this article traces the emergence of and changes in the ways feminism has been discursively constructed in 998 British and American news articles between 1968 and 1982 – which I define as the ‘height’ of the Second Feminist Wave, and 2008 – marking 40 years after feminism began gaining momentum in both nations. In analysing the British Times, Daily Mirror, Daily Mail, and Guardian newspapers, as well as the American New York Times, Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, Washington Times, I argue that not only has there been an erasure of feminist activism from these newspapers over time, but that discourses of feminism have become both de-politicized and de-radicalized since the 1960s, and can now largely be considered neoliberal in nature – a problematic construction for those seeking collective social change.
Histomorphological and ultrastructural changes of the placenta in mice exposed to formaldehyde
Authors: Monfared Ali Louei
Published: July 2012

Formaldehyde (FA) is widely used in industrial and medical settings. It has long been suspected of causing adverse reproductive and developmental effects. However, the effects of exposure to FA on the reproduction are still a matter of scientific controversy. In this study, we evaluate the hypothesis that adverse developmental outcomes of the exposure to FA might be due to its effects on the placental structure. So, histological changes of the placenta in the mice exposed to FA gas were assessed at light and electron microscopy levels. A total of 40 pregnant Balb/C mice were randomly allotted to four groups in which the animals were exposed to FA at the doses of 0 (control), 7, 14 and 28 ppm, respectively, by inhalation, consecutively, for 8 h/d during the organogenesis period. On day 17 of gestation, the animals were killed and the histological specimens of the placentas were taken for light and electron microscopy studies. Also, morphological parameters of the placentas were measured manually. The results showed that the effects of FA on the placenta are not dose dependent. In the FA-exposed mice, an increase in the number and size of trophoblastic giant cells and an enlargement of spongiotrophoblastic cells in the basal zone of placenta were seen. Also, a significant increase in placental weight as well as the ratio of placental to fetal weight but a decrease in the fetal weight were found in the treated groups when compared with those in the control mice ( p < 0.05). Moreover, ultrastructural results demonstrated that the diameter of labyrinth interhemal membrane as well as the thickness of trophoblastic basement membranes were significantly increased in the FA-exposed mice. In addition, in the FA-treated animals, a severe accumulation of cytoplasmic droplets in the II and III trophoblastic layers of the placenta were seen. In conclusion, this study may suggest that the exposure to FA during the organogenesis period at doses of 7–28 ppm induces toxic changes in the placental structure. These changes disrupt placental functions and leads to a decrease in the fetal weight.
Hepatoprotective potential of astaxanthin against 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin in cultured rat hepatocytes
Authors: Turkez Hasan , Geyikoglu Fatime , Yousef Mokhtar I , Togar Basak , Gürbüz Hasan , Celik Kubra , Akbaba Giray B , Polat Zuhal
Published: July 2012

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of carotenoid astaxanthin (ASTA) on cultured primary rat hepatocytes treated with 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo- p-dioxin (TCDD) on the cell viability (3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide, MTT), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) activity, 8-oxo-2-deoxyguanosine (8-OH-dG), total antioxidant capacity (TAC), and total oxidative stress (TOS) levels, and liver micronucleus rates. ASTA (2.5, 5, and 10 µM) was added to cultures alone or simultaneously with TCDD (5 and 10 µM) for 48 h. The results of MTT and LDH assays showed that both doses of TCDD caused significant decrease in cell viability. Also, TCDD significantly increased TOS and decreased TAC level in rat hepatocytes. On the basis of increasing doses, the dioxin caused significant increase in micronucleated hepatocytes) and 8-OH-dG level as compared to control culture. The presence of ASTA with TCDD minimized its effects on primary hepatocytes cultures and DNA damages.
Associations Between the Use of Critical Care Procedures and Change in Functional Status at Discharge
Authors: Kuwabara Kazuaki , Matsuda Shinya , Fushimi Kiyohide , Ishikawa Koichi B. , Horiguchi Hiromasa , Fujimori Kenji
Published: July 2012

Quality improvement initiatives in intensive care units (ICUs) have increased survival rates. Changes in functional status following ICU care have been studied, but results are inconclusive because of insufficient consideration of the combinations of critical care procedures used. Using the Japanese administrative database including the Barthel Index (BI) at admission and discharge, we measured the changes in functional status among the adult patients and determined whether longer ICU stay or use of various critical care procedures was associated with functional deterioration. Of the 12 502 528 patients admitted to 1206 hospitals over 5 consecutive years from 2006, we analyzed data from patients aged 15 years or older who survived ICU admission in 320 hospitals. Critical care procedures evaluated were ventilation, blood purification (hemodialysis, hemodiafiltration, or hemadsorption), and cardiac support devices (intra-aortic balloon pump or percutaneous cardiopulmonary support system). Functional outcomes were determined by the difference between BI at admission and at discharge and were divided into improvement, no change, or deterioration. We compared patient characteristics, principal diagnosis, comorbidities, timing of surgical procedure, complications, days in ICU, and use of critical care procedures among the 3 categories. Associations between critical care procedures and functional deterioration were identified using multivariate analysis. Of 234 209 patients with complete BI information, 7137 (3.1%) received blood purification, 27 100 (11.7%) received ventilation, 2888 (1.2%) received blood purification and ventilation, 5613 (2.4%) received a cardiac support device, 247 (0.1%) received a cardiac support device and blood purification, 10 444 (4.5%) received a cardiac support device and ventilation, and 1110 (0.5%) received a cardiac support device, ventilation, and blood purification. Longer use of blood purification or ventilation and a longer ICU stay were associated with functional deterioration. Intensivists should be aware of the effects of critical care procedures on functional deterioration and advance the appropriate use of functional support according to each patient’s condition.
Cross-undressing in Colette: Performance, gender and music-hall labour practice
Authors: Gray Margaret E.
Published: July 2012

Colette’s 1913 memoir, L’Envers du music-hall, documents the behind-the-scenes lives of music-hall performers, contrasting their staged glamour to their private indigence. Generally read as an admiring but uncomplaining depiction of performers’ heroism in early twentieth-century Paris, the text – I argue – deploys mute practices of spectation that ultimately indict the stage’s exploitive labour practice. Such tensions culminate in a rehearsal scene in which an actress, stripping down after long hours of effort, no longer resembles the royal mistress she portrays. Comparing her instead to a young, revolutionary drummer-boy, the text positions her to step offstage, sound the call to revolt, and summon her fellow performers to strike. In ironising the topos of the stripper disrobing for the pleasure of the male gaze, such cross-undressing joins other textual strategies in ‘laying bare’ the polemical energy straining this ‘uncomplaining’ memoir.
Professionalising motherhood: Cora Millet-Robinet and the maternal as profession
Authors: Lastinger Valérie
Published: July 2012

This article presents the contributions of Cora Millet-Robinet to the education of women in their motherly role. Millet-Robinet, a well-noted published scientist of her period, broke many barriers when she became active in the silkworm industry and later became a champion of the education of genteel country women as well as farmers’ wives. This essay focuses on the ways Milllet-Robinet applied the scientific rigour she learned in the laboratory to her childcare manual, the Conseils aux jeunes femmes sur leur condition et leurs devoirs pendant l’allaitement (1841). She wanted mothers to be organised, efficient and self-reliant so that they could free themselves from domestic tasks and be able to have time for another kind of work. The cultural importance of Millet-Robinet’s work is begging for our attention, as she helped shape women’s role at home and in the workplace.
Âge tendre et têtes de bois: Nostalgia, television and popular music in contemporary France
Authors: Tinker Chris
Published: July 2012

This article examines the significance of popular-music-related nostalgia broadcast on French television, particularly since the launch of the successful Âge tendre et têtes de bois series of concert tours in 2006 and holiday cruises in 2008. Building on existing academic accounts, particularly in psychological science and consumer and marketing research, my study demonstrates how television coverage of popular music emphasises joy, rather than the ‘bittersweetness’ often associated with nostalgia, views the past more positively than the present (‘simple nostalgia’), represents a fantasy return to youth, and promotes social and cross-generational cohesion. On occasion, however, such coverage is tempered with expressions of ambivalence or reticence. While popular-music-related nostalgia is defined by television coverage as an ‘emotion’ or ‘experience’, it is also viewed as a commercial force and in terms of its own problematic status within the wider musical and cultural field.
Common-sense anti-racism in book group talk: The role of reported speech
Authors: Benwell Bethan
Published: July 2012

This article explores the rhetorical accomplishment by British book group members of anti-racist identities through their discussions of fictional texts in exploring themes of race and immigration. ‘Common-sense anti-racism’ is a social action or stance that is presented as self-evidently taken by speakers, yet explicitly flagged at the same time. Speakers in book group discussions routinely display enlightened, anti-racist views, principally by invoking the figure of the ‘racist other’ and their reported speech. Many of the examples of reported speech do not involve explicit markers of quotation or shifts in footing, meaning that the attribution of certain utterances to a racist ‘other’ relies on an assumption of shared values.

The article questions why anti-racism tends to be packaged as an accountable matter in need of some impression management in the way that racism often is, and concludes that this is linked to the way in which it operates in contexts where anxieties around issues of race and racism continue to exist.
‘Wheatish’ grooms and ‘innocent’ divorcées: Commodifying attributes in the discourse of Indian matrimonials
Authors: Ramakrishnan Srilakshmi
Published: July 2012

Matrimonial advertisements, or matrimonials, are the principal conduits of a type of communication that facilitates arranged marriages within Indian society. As examples of simplified registers, matrimonials are formulaic texts of identity that follow a specific schematic structure and are replete with culturally nuanced lexical items referencing caste/sub-caste, patrilineal descent, and planetary positions at birth. They are written in Indian English and are semantically incomprehensible to cultural outsiders. A sub-genre of the classified advertisements, matrimonials may be interpreted through the Matrimonial Ads Register, which explicates language use in the textual discourse of matrimony in terms of functionality and simplicity as read against sociocultural norms and ideologies.
The 5.1 ka aridization event, expansion of piñon-juniper woodlands, and the introduction of maize (Zea mays) in the American Southwest
Authors: Drake Brandon L , Wills WH , Erhardt Erik B
Published: July 2012

Pollen analysis is frequently used to build climate and environmental histories. A distinct Holocene pollen series exists for Chaco Canyon, New Mexico. This study reports linear modeling and hypothesis testing of long distance dispersal pollen from radiocarbon-dated packrat middens which reveal strong relationships between piñon pine ( Pinus edulis) and ponderosa pine ( Pinus ponderosa). Ponderosa pollen dominates midden pollen assemblages during the early Holocene, while a rapid shift to a much higher proportion of piñon to ponderosa pine pollen between c. 5440 and 5102 cal. yr BP points to an aridization episode. This shift is associated with higher δ18O values in Southwest speleothem records relative to the preceding millennium. The period of aridization is followed by a sharp increase in El Niño/Southern Oscillation events that would have caused highly variable precipitation and lasted until c. 4200 cal. yr BP. Bayesian change-point analysis suggests that this aridization episode led to stable ecotonal boundaries for at least 3000 years. The piñon/ponderosa transition may have been caused by punctuated multiyear droughts, analogous to those in the 20th century. The earliest documented instance of Zea mays cultivation on the Colorado Plateau is around c. 3940 14C yr BP ( c. 4364 cal. yr BP) (Hall SA (2010) Early maize pollen from Chaco Canyon, New Mexico, USA. Palynology 34(1): 125–137) in Chaco Canyon. The introduction of this labor-intensive cultigen from Mesoamerica may have been facilitated by changes in the regional ecosystems, specifically by an increase in piñon trees, that promoted increasing human territoriality. Linear modeling and hypothesis testing can complement traditional palynological techniques by adding greater resolution in vegetation patterning to climate/environmental histories.
Inconsistent results should not be overlooked: A reply to Brooks et al. (2012)
Authors: Velle G , Brodersen KP , Birks HJB , Willassen E
Published: July 2012

Empirical data in the form of many chironomid-based temperature reconstructions give an excellent opportunity to assess the chironomid approach to temperature reconstruction by testing its reproducibility. Brooks et al. ( The Holocene 22(12) 2012 (this issue)) offer a critique of points discussed in Velle et al. ( The Holocene 20 (2010) 989–1002), but fail to explain the poor reproducibility found when Holocene chironomid-based temperature reconstructions are compared. We discuss the issues raised by Brooks et al. (2012) and cite studies that demonstrate the complexity involved. We are grateful to Brooks et al. (2012) for contributing to the discussion. However, they overly rely uncritically on transfer functions and the resulting reconstructions as representatives of true patterns in nature. A major source of bias involved when chironomids are used as a palaeoenvironmental proxy is the response to confounding gradients. Many of the challenges discussed in the Forum Article, in the comment, and in the reply are also valid for other research fields within palaeoecology. The challenges should still be properly addressed in chironomid research.
Diagnostic value of serum anti-C1q antibodies in patients with lupus nephritis: a meta-analysis
Authors: Yin Y , Wu X , Shan G , Zhang X
Published: July 2012

The autoantibodies against C1q (anti-C1q) have been reported in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). In the past decade, though there were increasing studies suggesting it is relatively specific in lupus nephritis (LN), its overall diagnostic value in LN has not been evaluated. The meta-analysis was conducted to quantitatively evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of autoantibodies against C1q in patients with LN, and to provide more precise evidence of a correlation between anti-C1q antibodies and activity of LN. We searched Medline, Embase and Cochrane databases and contacted authors if necessary. A total of 25 studies including 2,502 patients with SLE and 1,317 with LN met our inclusion criteria for this meta-analysis. Among all 25 studies, 22 studies were available for comparison between SLE with and without LN, and 9 studies compared anti-C1q between patients with active and inactive LN. Summary receiver operating characteristic (SROC) curve was used to summarize comprehensive test performance. The QUADAS tool was used to assess the quality of the studies. For the diagnosis of LN, the pooled sensitivity and specificity, positive likelihood ratio (PLR), negative likelihood ratio (NLR), and diagnostic odds ratio (DOR) of anti-C1q were 0.58 (0.56–0.61, 95% confidence interval [95% CI]), 0.75 (0.72–0.77, 95% CI), 2.60 (2.06–3.28, 95% CI), 0.51 (0.41–0.63, 95% CI), and 6.08 (3.91–9.47, 95% CI) respectively. The area under the SROC curve (AUC) was 0.7941. For comparison between active and inactive LN, the weighted sensitivity, specificity, PLR, NLR and DOR were 0.74 (0.68–0.79, 95% CI), 0.77 (0.71–0.82, 95% CI), 2.91 (1.83–4.65, 95% CI), 0.33 (0.19–0.56, 95% CI), and 10.56 (4.56–24.46, 95% CI) respectively. The AUC was 0.8378. In conclusion, this meta-analysis indicates that anti-C1q antibodies have relatively fair sensitivity and specificity in the diagnosis of LN, suggesting that the presence of anti-C1q antibodies may be a valuable adjunct for predicting LN and assessing renal activity.
India and Nepal Treaty of 1950
Authors: Thapliyal Sangeeta
Published: July 2012

What is the efficacy of treaties if one of the signatories has reservations? Nepal, a signatory in the Bilateral Treaty on Peace and Friendship with India, has been raising objections on the Treaty at formal and informal levels. The signatories have agreed to review the Treaty but not much progress has been made on this. Is it because not much thought has gone in the cost–benefit analysis if the Treaty is revised and also no work has been done on the alternatives. To understand the nuances of the discourse on the Treaty, it becomes imperative to understand the discourse on the Treaty amongst the political actors, policy experts, academia in Nepal and the responses of India. What are the issues of divergence and convergence between them? How do they view their own national interests and relations, and how would it impact on the bilateral relations in case the Treaty is revised?
An Observational Study of Insomnia and Nightmare Treated With Trazodone in Patients With Advanced Cancer
Authors: Tanimukai Hitoshi , Murai Tasuku , Okazaki Namiko , Matsuda Yoichi , Okamoto Yoshiaki , Kabeshita Yasunobu , Ohno Yumiko , Tsuneto Satoru
Published: July 2012

Patients with cancer often experience insomnia. Nightmares are also a strong factor that interferes with the maintenance of comfortable and satisfying sleep. However, the prevalence and standard treatment of nightmares in patients with cancer have not been established yet. We aimed to treat insomnia and nightmares with trazodone. From 2008 to 2011, trazodone was prescribed to 30 patients with cancer who reported experiencing insomnia with or without nightmares to the palliative care team in Osaka University Hospital. Effective treatment was seen in 15 patients (50%). Four patients with cancer reported having severe nightmares and 2 patients had beneficial effects, with frightening dreams transformed into acceptable ones. Trazodone may be an effective drug for the treatment of insomnia and nightmares in patients with advanced cancer.
Shifting Hospital–Hospice Boundaries
Authors: Risse Guenter B. , Balboni Michael J.
Published: July 2012

Social forces have continually framed how hospitals perceive their role in care of the dying. Hospitals were originally conceived as places of hospitality and spiritual care, but by the 18th century illness was an opponent, conquered through science. Medicalization transformed hospitals to places of physical cure and scientific prowess. Death was an institutional liability. Equipped with new technologies, increased public demand, and the establishment of Medicare in 1965, modern hospitals became the most likely place for Americans to die—increasing after the 1940s and spiking in the 1990s. Medicare’s 1983 hospice benefit began to reverse this trend. Palliative care has more recently proliferated, suggesting an institutional shift of alignment with traditional functions of care toward those facing death.
Clinicopathological Significance of NUT Rearrangements in Poorly Differentiated Malignant Tumors of the Upper Respiratory Tract
Authors: Fang Wei , French Christopher A. , Cameron Michael J. , Han Yiding , Liu Honggang
Published: July 2012

Nuclear protein in testis (NUT) midline carcinoma (NMC) is a highly malignant carcinoma originating from the midline of the body. This study investigated the clinicopathological significance of NUT rearrangements in poorly differentiated malignant tumors (PDMTs) of the upper-respiratory tract (URT) in China. The clinical and pathological features of 155 PDMTs of the URT were reviewed. Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-encoded RNA and NUT were investigated by in situ hybridization and immunohistochemistry (IHC), respectively. NUT-positive cases were examined by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) and immunohistochemical staining with a set of cytokeratins (CKs) and neuroendocrine markers. One case was observed by transmission electron microscopy. Four cases of poorly differentiated squamous cell carcinomas and sinonasal undifferentiated carcinomas were diffuse positive for NUT by IHC and also stained for antibodies to CKs and P63 but were negative for neuroendocrine markers. Only 2 of these 4 cases showed rearrangements of the NUT and BRD4 genes by FISH; both these patients died within 12 months. The remaining 2 patients showed no NUT rearrangement by FISH and did not have an aggressive clinical course. NMC is a rare, poorly differentiated carcinoma, which occurs most often in midline organs, and in this first series from China, affected the sinonasal tract of older adults and was not associated with EBV infection. Determination of NUT protein expression and gene rearrangement can allow the differentiation of NMC from other URT PDMTs. The authors suggest that molecular determination of NUT gene rearrangements should therefore represent the gold standard for NMC diagnosis.
Chemical contamination during the preparation of cytotoxics: Validation protocol for operators in hospital pharmacies
Authors: Sadeghipour F , Lorenzini K Ing , Ziewitz C , Dobrinas M , Fleury M , Bonnabry P
Published: July 2012

Background and objectives: The chemical contamination during the preparation of cytotoxics remains a serious problem in hospital pharmacies and the operators could contribute to this risk during their manipulations. A validation protocol was developed using a non-toxic, highly detectable tracer, quinine dihydrochloride.

Method: Further, a method for a high recovery extraction and quantification of this marker, and a protocol covering the critical operations of cytotoxic preparation, was developed and validated. Various devices were used to fill the syringes and perfusion bags. All the filled containers and used materials were collected at the end of the protocol and the tracer was extracted in water. The contaminated water was analyzed by fluorimetry. The number of spots on the working pads was counted under ultraviolet light. During a total of 28 sessions, the procedure was applied by 20 different operators.

Results: The mean cumulated quantities of contamination were 6.2 µL (0.6–23.8) and >10 spots (0–20), which was considered as high. No correlation was observed between the contamination rate and the operator’s experience.

Conclusion: This validation protocol facilitates controlling the operators’ working ‘cleanliness’ and helps to improve the initial and continuing training. This simple test presents an effective answer for the important issue of the chemical safety of operators.
Modeling the Mind and the Milieu
Authors: Vancouver Jeffrey B. , Weinhardt Justin M.
Published: July 2012

Theorists in management and organizational science rarely use computational modeling to support theoretical development or refinement, particularly at the micro level of analysis. This article argues that organizational scholars, who strive to understand dynamic behavior in a complex context, are particularly in need of the support computational models offer. Moreover, organizational scholars can build on (a) the plethora of informal theories extant in the literature and (b) the computational architectures and model building platforms developed in recent years. To increase the number of organizational scholars building and evaluating computational models, the article provides a tutorial in model building and simulation. Specifically, a new computational model is built and assessed. Surprising realizations emerge in the process. There is also an extensive section on model evaluation involving empirical observations.
Building communities: Teachers researching literacy lives
Authors: Cremin Teresa , Mottram Marilyn , Collins Fiona , Powell Sacha , Drury Rose
Published: July 2012

In the light of wide recognition that the traffic between home and school is traditionally one-way, this article reports on a deliberately counter-cultural project that involved teachers in researching children’s everyday literacy practices and ‘funds of knowledge’ (González, Moll, & Amanti, 2005) over a year. Eighteen primary teachers from 10 schools in five local authorities in England were involved; this article focuses on two of the practitioners’ experiences. Drawing on a wide range of data, it is argued that the project challenged teachers’ perceptions and beliefs about children and families, prompting dispositional shifts and new understandings of difference and diversity. However, creating responsive curricula that connected to the lived social realities of the children represented a considerable professional challenge. The article highlights the affordances of collaborative research partnerships, and argues that considerable time, space and support is needed in order for teachers to appreciate and understand children’s and families’ funds of knowledge and blur the boundaries between home and school.
Opening doors for bilingual students: Recommendations for building linguistically responsive schools
Authors: Heineke Amy J , Coleman Elizabeth , Ferrell Elizabeth , Kersemeier Craig
Published: July 2012

In this article, we outline the necessary action steps for schools to improve the achievement of bilingual students. We review, summarize, and utilize the pertinent scholarly literature to make suggestions for school-wide, collaborative efforts to support the achievement of bilingual learners through linguistically responsive pedagogy and practice. Our research-based recommendations include the need for school actors to negotiate language policy and mandates, lay the necessary ideological foundations, build effective school structures and systems, and foster meaningful collaboration with families and communities. When teachers, administrators, counselors, families, and community members work together, schools can improve to promote the social, cultural, linguistic, and academic achievement of bilingual students.
Funny things happen at the Grange: Introducing comedy activities in day services to older people with dementia – innovative practice
Authors: Hafford-Letchfield Trish
Published: July 2012

This paper shares outcomes from the evaluation of a community project where comedy activities were introduced into a day centre for older people with dementia as a result of a partnership between the day centre, a local university and a specialist comedy provider. Four workshops were provided using improvisatory activities and comedy, as a medium to engage older people in reflecting on aspects of their care environment. The main output resulted in a 30 minute ‘mockumentary’ of the ‘Her Majesty the Queen’ visiting the day centre, in the form of a digital reusable learning object to be used by social work and mental health professionals. The evaluation demonstrated some additional outcomes for those involved and highlighted the benefits of laughter and fun in promoting a positive climate.
Association and recognition in authoritarian societies: A theoretical beginning
Authors: Brinton Aspen
Published: July 2012

This paper presents a theoretical sketch for how the existence of civic associations in authoritarian regimes might be analysed. By relating the concepts of ‘civil society’ and ‘recognition’, I explore how associations are a potential locus of mutual recognition in any society, democratic or undemocratic. While there are many theorizations of both civil society and recognition in relation to democratic political contexts, normative theories seeking to explain the existence of associations in authoritarian societies are less robustly developed. Recognition, more specifically mutual recognition, is theorized not only as one key ‘good’ sought through the act of forming the associations of civil society, but also as a human need which will prompt the act of association within dangerous contexts. This analysis informs thinking behind acts of civil disobedience springing from civil society, as well as rationalizations for dissident activities undertaken by associations within authoritarian regimes.
Clinical equipoise and risk–benefit assessment
Authors: Miller Franklin G
Published: July 2012

Clinical equipoise is widely regarded as an ethical requirement for the design and conduct of randomized controlled trials (RCTs). Underlying clinical equipoise is the norm that no patient should be randomized to treatment known (or believed by the expert clinical community) to be inferior to the established standard of care. This implies that patient–subjects should not be exposed to net risks in control groups of randomized trials – risks that are not compensated by the prospect of direct medical benefits from the control intervention. However, proponents of clinical equipoise have no moral objections to permitting net risks for ‘nontherapeutic’ research procedures employed in clinical trials. This differential assessment makes risk–benefit assessment of randomized trials incoherent. In this article, I examine critically four arguments in defense of clinical equipoise as a requirement for risk–benefit assessment. Each of these arguments fails to support clinical equipoise, leading to the conclusion that we should dispense with this principle in risk–benefit assessment of RCTs.
Creature comforts: personal communities, pets and the work of managing a long-term condition
Authors: Brooks Helen L , Rogers Anne , Kapadia Dharmi , Pilgrim Jack , Reeves David , Vassilev Ivaylo
Published: July 2012

Objectives:

To explore in the context of peoples’ personal social networks, the contribution that pets make to ‘the work’ associated with the management of long-term conditions.

Method:

Mixed methods survey with nested parallel qualitative study; 300 participants were drawn from diabetes and chronic heart disease registers of General Practices across Greater Manchester in the North West of England. Notions of ‘work’ were used to describe the illness and everyday activities associated with chronic illness.

Results:

Nineteen percent of participants identified at least one pet within their network. Pets contributed mostly to managing emotions (emotional work), to enhancing a sense of self identity (biographical work) and to a lesser extent practical tasks (everyday work). There were indicators that pets mediated relationships for people living with a long-term condition through very weak ties with others in domestic and community settings.

Conclusion:

The findings suggest that pets have unique qualities and are not simply substitutes for human relationships in long-term condition management. The study has potential implications for furthering a social contextual analysis of chronic illness, the understanding of relationships, and the meaning and the role of companion animals in long-term condition management.
Citizenship education and the promise of democracy: A study of UNESCO Associated Schools in Brazil and Canada
Authors: Shultz Lynette , Guimaraes-Iosif Ranilce
Published: July 2012

With current manifestations of globalization creating local problems, including widening equity gaps, increased environmental destruction and burgeoning poverty, many policymakers, civil society, organizations and educators are seeking models of education that promise social justice and a democratic public sphere that reflects more than democracy of and for elites. This study of UNESCO Associated Schools, located in Brazil and Canada, identified how educators negotiate contradictory global agendas and employ UNESCO ideals of a peaceful world, human rights and democracy, and a healthy environment to create a platform for citizenship education. While there is no package of liberation and transformational education that comes with being a UNESCO Associated School, there is encouraging evidence that educators are working in creative and critical ways to educate toward more engaged citizens who are capable of contributing to a strengthened public sphere. This article compares the Brazilian and Canadian experiences with the UNESCO Associated Schools project, and examines both commonalities and differences. While global neoliberalized governance structures define much of what happens even in local contexts, the schools in this study demonstrated innovative ways in which citizenship education can be a pathway to understanding and resisting destructive global agendas while, simultaneously, maintaining a critical global awareness and citizenship engagement. Recommendations are made for citizenship education that prepares activist citizens to participate in a pubic sphere that challenges normative elitism and opens possibilities for a justice to be the common foundation of public engagement.
How placement affects force and contact pressure between a volar plate of the distal radius and the flexor pollicus longus tendon: a biomechanical investigation
Authors: Matityahu A. M. , Lapalme S. N. , Seth A. , Marmor M. T. , Buckley J. M. , Lattanza L. L.
Published: July 2012

Open reduction and internal fixation of a distal radius fracture can leave a volar plate in close proximity or touching the tendons of the wrist. This cadaveric study examines the how volar plate position changes contact pressure and force against the flexor pollicis longus (FPL) tendon in multiple wrist extension positions. This study suggests that moving the plate from an ideal position (distal edge at the watershed line) to a malposition (5 mm distal to the watershed line) significantly increased the force by 72.7% and contact pressure by 33.5% on the FPL. Multiple clinical case reports have described rupture of the flexor tendons associated with distally positioned plates or protruding screw heads, creating prominent or sharp edges. This study illustrates that in order to minimize contact pressure on the flexor tendons, plating distal to the watershed line should be avoided when possible.
Molecular targeted therapies in advanced gastric cancer: does tumor histology matter?
Authors: Wong Hilda , Yau Thomas
Published: July 2012

It is increasingly recognized that gastric cancer is a heterogeneous disease which may be divided into subgroups based on histological, anatomical, epidemiological and molecular classifications. Distinct molecular drivers and tumor biology, and thus different treatment targets and predictive biomarkers, may be implicated in each subtype. However, there is little evidence in the literature regarding the correlation among these different classifications, and particularly the molecular aberrations present in each subtype. In this review, we approach advanced gastric cancer (AGC) by presenting aberrant molecular pathways and their potential therapeutic targets in gastric cancer according to histological and anatomical classification, dividing gastric cancer into proximal nondiffuse, distal nondiffuse and diffuse disease. Several pathways are involved predominantly, although not exclusively, in different subtypes. This may help to explain the disappointing results of many published AGC trials in which study populations were heterogeneous regardless of clinicopathological characteristics of the primary tumor. Histological and anatomical classification may provide insights into tumor biology and facilitate selection of an enriched patient population for targeted agents in future studies and in the clinic. However, some molecular pathways implicated in gastric cancer have not been studied in correlation with histological or anatomical subtypes. Further studies are necessary to confirm the suggestion that such classification may predict tumor biology and facilitate selection of an enriched patient population for targeted agents in future studies and in the clinic.
On assemblages and geography
Authors: Anderson Ben , Kearnes Matthew , McFarlane Colin , Swanton Dan
Published: July 2012

In this paper we explore what assemblage thinking offers social-spatial theory by asking what questions or problems assemblage responds to or opens up. Used variously as a concept, ethos and descriptor, assemblage thinking can be placed within the context of the recent ‘relational turn’ in human geography. In this context, we argue that assemblage thinking offers four things to contemporary social-spatial theory that, when taken together, provide an alternative response to the problematic of ‘relational’ thought: an experimental realism orientated to processes of composition; a theorization of a world of relations and that which exceeds a present set of relations; a rethinking of agency in distributed terms and causality in non-linear, immanent, terms; and an orientation to the expressive capacity of assembled orders as they are stabilized and change. In conclusion, we reflect on some further questions of politics and ethics that follow from our account of the difference assemblage thinking makes to relational thought.
Economic geography and island life: A contribution to debate
Authors: Thorns David C.
Published: July 2012

The possibility of new islands to be discovered/created is raised that might lead to a rethinking of the dominant paradigm within contemporary economics which could provide a richer basis for understanding the social, cultural and institutional context in which markets are embedded. Such an approach, it is argued, would allow a better understanding of the dynamics of change than that currently provided by neoclassical economics. The need for such an expanded understanding is explored by drawing on research into housing markets, knowledge economies and the growing work of social scientists on environmental and climate change.