bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Preoperative 18F-FDG PET/CT predicts disease-free survival in patients with primary invasive ductal breast cancer
Authors: Jo Ji Eun , Kim Jin You , Lee Suck Hong , Kim Suk , Kang Taewoo
Published: November 2014

Background

Previous studies have correlated the maximum standardized uptake value (SUVmax) of breast cancer lesions with histological and biological characteristics such as tumor size, histologic grade, or hormonal receptor expression status. However, controversy remains concerning the prognostic value of SUVmax in breast cancer.

Purpose

To determine if the SUVmax of a tumor on 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (18F-FDG PET) is associated with disease-free survival in patients with primary invasive ductal breast cancer.

Material and Methods

The institutional review board of our hospital approved this retrospective study. From 2009 to 2011, 508 women (mean age, 53.6 years; age range, 26–85 years) with newly diagnosed invasive ductal breast cancer who had undergone preoperative 18F-FDG PET/CT followed by surgery were identified. Clinicopathological variables and FDG uptake quantified by SUVmax were analyzed. The Cox proportional hazards model was used to evaluate the association between SUVmax and disease-free survival after controlling for clinicopathological parameters.

Results

There were 21 recurrences at a median follow-up of 46 months. The mean SUVmax of the primary tumor was significantly higher in patients with a recurrence than those who remained disease-free (9.5 ± 3.5 vs. 6.6 ± 4.2, P < 0.001). A receiver operating characteristic curve indicated that a SUVmax of 5.95 was the optimal cut-off value to predict disease-free survival. Multivariate analysis identified a high SUVmax (≥5.95) and high T stage as independent significant variables associated with worse disease-free survival.

Conclusion

A high primary tumor SUVmax on 18F-FDG PET/CT was an independent factor associated with worse disease-free survival in patients with primary invasive ductal breast cancer.
Analysis of Risk and Protective Factors for Recidivism in Spanish Youth Offenders
Authors: Cuervo Keren , Villanueva Lidón
Published: November 2014

Although a large body of research has studied the factors associated to general recidivism, predictive validity of these factors has received less attention. Andrews and Bonta’s General Personality and Social-Psychological Model attempts to provide an in-depth explanation of risk and protective factors in relation to youth recidivism. The Youth Level of Service/Case Management Inventory was administered to 210 adolescents aged between 14 and 18 with a criminal record to analyse risk and protective factors in relation to youth recidivism. Their possible differential contribution over a 2-year follow-up period was also examined. Risk factors showed good levels of recidivism prediction. The factors that emerged as the most discriminative were education/employment, leisure/recreation, and personality. Protective factors differentiated between recidivists and non-recidivists in all factors. Hence, results showed that not only individual but also social factors would be crucial in predicting recidivism.
Modified creep constitutive equation for an epoxy-based adhesive with nonlinear viscoelastic behavior
Authors: Zehsaz Mohammad , Vakili-Tahami Farid , Saeimi-Sadigh Mohammad-Ali
Published: November 2014

This article presents the procedure to obtain constitutive equations to express the creep behavior of Araldite 2015 epoxy adhesive using the results of the uniaxial creep tests. The experimental data show that the examined adhesive has a nonlinear viscoelastic behavior. Three types of constitutive equations have been used: (a) Bailey–Norton equation, (b) generalized time-hardening model and (c) rheological model which is a series combination of springs and dampers known as Maxwell and Zener combination. The first two models have vast application in commercial finite element–based software. It is shown that the generalized time-hardening model can simulate the creep behavior of the adhesive better than the Bailey–Norton model. However, this model is less accurate at the elevated temperatures. Therefore, an empirical equation based on Maxwell and Zener’s was proposed which demonstrates a very good consistency with the results of the experimental data over the assumed range of stress and temperatures.
Intramuscular Compartment Pressure Measurement in Chronic Exertional Compartment Syndrome
Authors: Roscoe David , Roberts Andrew J. , Hulse David
Published: November 2014

Background:

Patients with chronic exertional compartment syndrome (CECS) have pain during exercise that subsides with rest. Diagnosis is usually confirmed by intramuscular compartment pressure (IMCP) measurement. Controversy exists regarding the accuracy of existing diagnostic criteria.

Purpose:

(1) To compare dynamic IMCP measurement and anthropometric factors between patients with CECS and asymptomatic controls and (2) to establish the diagnostic utility of dynamic IMCP measurement.

Study Design:

Cohort study (diagnosis); Level of evidence, 2.

Methods:

A total of 40 men aged 21 to 40 years were included in the study: 20 with symptoms of CECS of the anterior compartment and 20 asymptomatic controls. Diagnoses other than CECS were excluded with rigorous inclusion criteria and magnetic resonance imaging. The IMCP was measured continuously before, during, and after participants exercised on a treadmill, wearing identical footwear and carrying a 15-kg load.

Results:

Pain experienced by study subjects increased incrementally as the study progressed ( P < .001). Pain levels experienced by the case group during each phase of the exercise were significantly different ( P = .021). Subjects had higher IMCP immediately upon standing at rest compared with controls (23.8 mm Hg [controls] vs 35.5 mm Hg [subjects]; P = .006). This relationship persisted throughout the exercise protocol, with the greatest difference corresponding to the period of maximal tolerable pain (68.7 mm Hg [controls] vs 114 mm Hg [subjects]; P < .001). Sensitivity and specificity were consistently higher than the existing criteria with improved diagnostic value (sensitivity = 63%, specificity = 95%; likelihood ratio = 12.5 [95% CI, 3.2-49]).

Conclusion:

Anterior compartment IMCP is elevated immediately upon standing at rest in subjects with CECS. In patients with symptoms consistent with CECS, diagnostic utility of IMCP measurement is improved when measured continuously during exercise. A cutoff of 105 mm Hg in phase 2 provides better diagnostic accuracy than do the Pedowitz criteria of 30 mm Hg and 20 mm Hg at 1 and 5 minutes after exercise, respectively.
An in-depth literature review of the waste electrical and electronic equipment context: Trends and evolution
Authors: Pérez-Belis V , Bovea MD , Ibáñez-Forés V
Published: November 2014

The consumption of electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) is continuously increasing worldwide and, consequently, so is the amount of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) it generates at its end-of-life. In parallel to this growth, legislation related to this issue has been passed in different countries with the aim of improving the management of WEEE. In order to raise awareness about the situation in which the generation, composition, management or final treatment of this kind of waste currently finds itself, an extensive number of articles have been published around the world. The aim of this paper is to define and analyse the main areas of research on WEEE by offering a broader analysis of the relevant literature in this field published between 1992 and August 2014. The literature researched comprises 307 articles, which are analysed according to the topic they focus on (WEEE management, WEEE generation, WEEE characterisation, social aspects of WEEE, re-use of EEE or economic aspects of WEEE). In addition, a deeper analysis is also presented, which takes into account the temporal evolution (globally and by topic), location of the study, categories and subcategories analysed, etc.
The Pay Gap From a Different Perspective
Authors: Kilgour John G.
Published: November 2014

There is a campaign afoot to pass the Paycheck Fairness Act. It would strengthen the Equal Pay Act of 1963 in an effort to address the pay gap between the earnings of men and women. The proposal is premised on the claim that women earn about 77% of what men earn. This article finds that when we control for hours worked, that number is much higher. In addition, there are important differences among the states. If we were to control for additional factors, we would find that the pay gap is gone. Indeed, women on average may now earn more than men. The considerable progress that has been made in this area is due much more to the operation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Executive Order 11246 of 1965 than to the Equal Pay Act.
Understanding Special Educators’ Learning Opportunities in Collaborative Groups
Authors: Leko Melinda M. , Kiely Mary Theresa , Brownell Mary T. , Osipova Anna , Dingle Mary P. , Mundy Charlotte A.
Published: November 2014

The purpose of this study was to investigate the discourse patterns characterizing individual special education teachers as they participated in a collaborative professional development (PD) group, and how these individual discourse patterns influenced other group members’ opportunities to learn about reading instruction for upper elementary students with disabilities. Videotaped cohort meetings and associated artifact data were collected during a 2-year period and analyzed using Gee’s (2005) methods of discourse analysis. Findings indicate that teachers’ individual discourse varied along the two dimensions: knowledge (integrated, implementation, and low) and inquiry (high and low). Teachers whose discourse conveyed both integrated knowledge and a proclivity for inquiry provided other group members with the most sophisticated learning opportunities related to PD content. Additional implications for future research and practice regarding collaborative learning groups as a method of PD are provided.
Synthesis and characterization of novel organosoluble poly(aryl ether ketone)s and poly(aryl ether ketone sulfone)s containing 1,4-naphthylene units
Authors: Wen Huan , Wang Pingping , Cheng Shaojuan , Yan Tao , Cai Mingzhong
Published: November 2014

Two monomers containing naphthalene, 4,4′-di(1-naphthoxy)benzophenone (DNOBN) and 4,4′-bis(1-naphthoxy)diphenyl sulfone (BNODPS), were prepared by the condensation reactions of 4,4′-difluorobenzophenone and 4,4′-dichlorodiphenyl sulfone with 1-naphthol, respectively. Novel poly(aryl ether ketone)s (PAEKs) and poly(aryl ether ketone sulfone)s containing 1,4-naphthylene units were synthesized from DNOBN and BNODPS via the electrophilic Friedel–Crafts acylation polycondensation with various aromatic diacid dichlorides, in the presence of anhydrous aluminum chloride and N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone in 1,2-dichloroethane. Because of the incorporation of 1,4-naphthylene units, the resulting PAEKs and poly(aryl ether ketone sulfone)s exhibited outstanding thermal stability and improved solubility in common organic solvents. The glass transition temperatures are above 200°C, and the temperatures at a 5% weight loss are above 548°C under nitrogen atmosphere. All these polymers are amorphous and can form strong, transparent, and flexible films with tensile strengths of 89.4–100.6 MPa, Young’s moduli of 2.13–2.65 GPa, and elongations at break of 15.5–25.3%. All these polymers had low dielectric constants of 2.70–2.89 at 1 MHz and low water sorption of 0.51–0.59%.
Riveting parameter design that satisfies requirements for driven rivet head dimensions
Authors: Wang SF , Zhang JH , Liu ZG , Zhang XW , Hong J , Nan KG , Wang W
Published: November 2014

Riveted joints are extensively adopted in designing aircraft structures. Riveting implies a squeezing process of the rivet with large plastic deformations to form the driven rivet head. The driven rivet head dimensions (height H, diameter D) depend on riveting force ( X1), rivet length and diameter tolerance ( X2 and X3), as well as rivet hole tolerance ( X4). Incorrect selection in these parameters could induce the excessive stress concentration that results in initial crack and also results in improper rivet head deformation leading to loose rivet. The present research is conducted on a MS2047AD6-6 rivet and 2.286 mm thick aluminum alloy sheets and mainly focuses on the design of riveting parameters X1, X2, X3, and X4 using the proposed three-step statistical experiment designs including fractional factorial design, steepest ascent design, and central composite design while satisfying the quality requirements for driven rivet head dimensions ( H, D) mentioned in Standard Aircraft Handbook. Fractional factorial design is used to evaluate the impact of riveting parameters X1, X2, X3, and X4 on H and D. Based on the effective ranges of the significant riveting parameters obtained from steepest ascent design, a five-level central composite design is proposed to derive the statistical relations between H, D and the significant riveting parameters, and the statistical models are used to find the feasible region resulting from the combination of the significant riveting parameters while satisfying the quality requirements for H and D. Finally, the feasible ranges of X1, X2, X3, and X4, namely [16,470 N 22,730 N], [−0.1491 mm 0.3891 mm], [−0.0466 mm 0.1216 mm], and [−0.0375 mm 0.2125 mm], are determined from the perspective of adjustable accuracy of X1 and that of the manufacturability for X2, X3, and X4. It implies that any combination of X1, X2, X3, and X4 that falls within this feasible region can result in a good quality riveted joins, namely that the quality requirements for the driven riveting head dimension ( H, D) can be satisfied.
Dynamic reliability models of mechanical load-sharing parallel systems considering strength degradation of components
Authors: Gao Peng , Xie Liyang
Published: November 2014

Conventional reliability analysis of load-sharing parallel systems is mainly based on failure rate of components, in which failure dependence of components and load redistribution are also characterized by specified failure rates. However, the failure rate of mechanical components always varies with time, which is difficult to measure. Therefore, in this paper, quantitative dynamic reliability models of mechanical load-sharing parallel systems are developed in terms of stress parameters and strength parameters rather than failure rate of components, which consider the degradation mechanism of mechanical components. The proposed models take into account the strength degradation path dependence (SDPD) of a component, the strength degradation process dependence between different components in a system, and the random load redistribution. In addition, Monte Carlo simulation is carried out to verify the proposed models. The results show that SDPD and the load-sharing effect have considerable influences on dynamic reliability of mechanical load-sharing parallel systems.
Building resilience to climate change impacts after the 2011 flood disaster at the University of Ibadan, Nigeria
Authors: Adewole Isaac F , Agbola S B , Kasim Oluwasinaayomi Faith
Published: November 2014

This paper describes how the University of Ibadan has sought to build greater resilience to flooding, through its response to the devastating flood in 2011. This included both structural and non-structural components, as well as measures to address the increased risk levels that climate change is bringing or may bring in the future. The paper also draws out some lessons that have wide relevance for other universities.
The impact of the Balanced Scorecard in libraries: From performance measurement to strategic management
Authors: de la Mano Marta , Creaser Claire
Published: November 2014

A literature review of the development of the Balanced Scorecard in libraries was used to develop a series of hypotheses on the main characteristics of its implementation, use and outcomes. These were tested via an electronic questionnaire sent to a sample of 49 academic, public and national libraries worldwide known to be using the Balanced Scorecard, with 15 respondents. The results show that the key driver for most was to improve library management; considerable support was needed in developing the framework; selecting the Key Performance Indicators was the most challenging implementation issue; and most felt they had benefited from using the Balanced Scorecard.
Smart divide: Paradigm shift in digital divide in South Korea
Authors: Lee Seungmin
Published: November 2014

There is still much controversy about whether the broad dissemination of smart devices is closing or deepening the digital divide. However, it certainly is clear that the adoption of smart devices has fundamentally evolved the traditional digital divide. This research empirically identified the existence and factors making up the smart divide, which is the evolving digital divide generated by the use of smart devices. After analysing the effects of smart devices, it has identified that the smart divide is being generated among the traditional information-haves not only by external factors such as gender and economic status, but also by an internal factor which is the literacy of smart devices. The smart divide, instead of generating a dichotomic divide, rather is evolving a multilayered interdigitated segmentation within groups of people who own smart devices. In addition, it is a future-oriented divide because it is tied to the opportunities to get information through more information channels on smart devices.
Increased prevalence of JC polyomavirus viruria was associated with arthritis/arthralgia in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus
Authors: Lu M-C , Yin W-Y , Liu S-Q , Koo M , Tung C-H , Huang K-Y , Lai N-S
Published: November 2014

Objective

The objective of this paper is to investigate the prevalence of reactivation of the human polyomavirus John Cunningham virus (JCV) in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and its associated clinical manifestations.

Methods

Sixty-one patients with SLE and 22 controls were enrolled. Urine JCV viral load was quantified by real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Length variants of the VP1 gene were analyzed using capillary electrophoresis.

Results

The prevalence of JCV viruria (63.9% vs. 18.2%, p < 0.001) and urine JCV viral load (2.92 ± 2.76 vs. 0.81 ± 1.85 copies/ml by log10 scale, p < 0.001) were significantly higher in patients with SLE compared with controls. JCV viruria (+) SLE patients had a higher occurrence of arthritis/arthralgia compared with JCV viruria (−) SLE patients (64.1% vs. 22.7%, p = 0.003). In SLE patients, the urine JCV viral load was significantly associated with the occurrence of arthritis/arthralgia. SLE patients with urine JCV viral load >10,000 copies/ml exhibited a 12.75-fold (95% confidence interval 2.88–56.40) risk in clinical arthritis/arthralgia, 18.90-fold (95% confidence interval 2.10–170.39) risk in persistent arthritis, and significantly greater number of length variants in the VP1 gene of JCV compared with JCV viruria (−) SLE patients.

Conclusion

Reactivation of JCV in the urinary tract of SLE patients was very common. Both JCV viruria and urine JCV viral load were associated with the occurrence of arthritis/arthralgia in patients with SLE. High urine JCV viral load also was associated with the genetic variant in the VP1 gene.
Marketing Facilitation for Improving Livelihoods of Tribal Producers
Authors: Shankar S. Bhavani
Published: November 2014

Government regulations constrained tribals’ integration with market economy and its benefits. Marketing facilitation institutions established by Government of India for minor forest produce trade had severe limitations. In this regard, an alternative to supplement or compliment government’s work is necessary to improve tribal livelihoods. Non-government organizations (NGOs) which gained importance since seventh five-year plan were taking efforts for linking tribals to markets. Dhruva is one such NGO established in Gujarat state. Through orchard programme, it created alternative asset base for tribal producers and established production, processing and marketing facilities. It also created community-based organizations to sustain activities in the long run. This article, based on qualitative research, presents an analysis of Dhruva’s efforts in integrating tribal producers with markets and changes taking place in their livelihoods.
Microfinance Banks and Rural Development
Authors: Agbaeze E.K. , Onwuka I.O.
Published: November 2014

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) launched the microfinance banking scheme on December 2005 as part of government strategies to achieve one of the cardinal agendas of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) of reducing extreme poverty by 2015. The microfinance banks (MFBs) were promoted to provide financial services to the economically active poor in the society and to create an environment of financial inclusion to boost the capacity of micro, small and medium enterprises that abound in our rural areas. The impact of the MFBs in rural development in Nigeria was empirically evaluated in this study using some performance indicators. These include growth in deposit mobilization, aggregate credit extension, loan per rural person (LPRP), total assets of MFBs, etc. The ordinary least square econometrics was used to generate the regression coefficients and other statistics. Data for the study were gathered from the Annual Report and Accounts published by the MFBs and collated and analyzed by the CBN in the Statistical Bulletins. The impetus for the study was largely derived from the renewed interest in microfinancing by the World Bank, International Development Institutions, the Nigerian Government and other International Development Partners. The results of the study show that MFBs have impacted positively on our rural economy. The regression coefficients for all the key factors analyzed in the research were positive though not statistically significant. This means that the full impact possibilities of these institutions as catalyst for rural development are yet to be realized. The findings also provide significant support to the rationale earlier canvassed by the CBN for the recent re-engineering of the various microfinance institutions in the country in order to improve their impact possibilities. The researchers noted that the recent re-engineering and retooling of the MFBs scheme is one step in the right direction and recommends that government should provide key infrastructures especially electricity and ensure stable macroeconomic environment to enable micro and other business enterprises to thrive in the country.
Rurality and Competitiveness. Some Observations on the Local Area
Authors: Balestrieri Mara
Published: November 2014

The article presents the results of a study on the classification of municipalities in the Region of Sardinia (Italy) based on the relationship between existing levels of rurality/urbanity and competitiveness in order to evaluate similarities and differences. The study was carried out via multivariate analysis of two sets of indicators, defining the two issues and a subsequent comparison of the results. Not only a clear link, but also signs of inconsistency arose from the study between urbanity and competitiveness. If, generally speaking, the municipalities close to conditions of urbanity are characterized by conditions of greater competitiveness and well-being, from the point of view of population dynamics, their performance is somewhat disappointing. An increase in the level of rurality does not always correspond to a higher degree of discomfort, although this tendency still represents the normal condition. Identifying and analyzing these situations might constitute an important step towards building more specific rural development strategies. Recommendations are therefore made regarding the need for further research on these issues in order to improve the quality and relevance of information used by public policymakers.
Walter Patrick’s Contribution Toward Public Health Education in Sri Lanka
Authors: Abeyagunawardene Lakshman
Published: November 2014

Professor Walter Patrick entered the Colombo Medical Faculty in Sri Lanka in 1957 and completed MBBS in 1962. In 1975, Walter obtained his MPH from the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor and was posted to the Health Education Bureau (HEB) in Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Health where he was placed in charge of the Education and Training Subunit. Walter Patrick’s achievements as the head of the Education and Training Subunit are discussed under various sections of this article. It was mainly the achievements and untiring efforts of Walter Patrick that made HEB Director Dr Munasinghe’s stupendous task in building up the HEB and the discipline of health education that much easier. In his personal life, Walter was married to Viji, herself a doctor. Apart from Walter’s professional talents, he was a fine human being.
Undergraduate Double Majors’ Perceptions of Performer and Teacher Identity Development
Authors: Sieger Crystal
Published: November 2014

The purpose of this research was to investigate music performer/music teacher identity by examining double majors in various stages of their programs of study aspiring to become a performer and music educator. Unlike their single-major peers, double majors cope with additional challenges as they simultaneously develop both identities, determining who they are and who they hope to become. Using individual and focus group interviews and e-mail prompts, I investigated the experiences of five undergraduate students majoring in music education and music performance. Participants expressed various degrees of blended musician identity. Although they described similar socialization processes, training as performers and teachers—in conjunction with challenging schedules—enhanced and exacerbated those processes. Participants identified performer and teacher qualities influencing self-perceptions and described conflict between performance and music education majors within studios and university. Music teacher educators can use their role as socialization agents as they guide performer-teachers through dual- and single-degree programs.
Corticosteroids in Stevens-Johnson Syndrome/Toxic Epidermal Necrolysis
Authors: Law Ernest H. , Leung May
Published: November 2014

Objective: To review the evidence for the use of steroids in adults presenting with Stevens-Johnson Syndrome (SJS), toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN), or overlap. Data Sources: EMBASE (1974 to April 2014), MEDLINE (1946 to April 2014), Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, and International Pharmaceutical Abstracts (1970 to January 2014) were searched using the terms: prednisone, methylprednisolone, dexamethasone, prednisolone, steroids, glucocorticoids, corticosteroids, Stevens-Johnson Syndrome, toxic epidermal necrolysis, and SJS/TEN overlap. Study Selection and Data Extraction: English-language, full reports of experimental and observational studies were included. Bibliographies from pertinent publications were reviewed for additional references. Prespecified outcomes included survival, survival to discharge, hospitalization without intensive care, length of intensive care stay, duration of hospitalization, ophthalmological complications, infection rates, and adverse events. Data Synthesis: Six studies that used steroids for SJS, TEN, and/or overlap were included. All studies were retrospective cohort studies with no case-control or cross-sectional studies; 5 studies reported on steroid doses, and 2 studies reported time from disease onset to steroid use (2-4 days). Only 1 of 6 studies reported a statistically significant impact on mortality with steroids use (odds ratio = 0.4; 95% CI = 0.2-0.9). Adverse event rates were not reported in any of the studies. Conclusions: A review of the current evidence reveals a need for prospective, randomized controlled studies to provide more definitive conclusions on steroid use in patients with SJS, TEN, and/or overlap.
Evaluation of sorghum flour functionality and quality characteristics of gluten-free bread and cake as influenced by ozone treatment
Authors: Marston Kathryn , Khouryieh Hanna , Aramouni Fadi
Published: November 2014

Commercially milled food-grade sorghum flour was subjected to ozone at the rate of 0.06 L/min for 15, 30, and 45 min. The pH of ozone-treated flour decreased as exposure time increased. The L* (lightness) values of sorghum flour significantly increased ( p < 0.05), while the b* (yellowness) values significantly decreased as ozone exposure time increased. Peak viscosity significantly increased as time of ozonation increased from 0 to 45 min. Results showed that gluten-free cake volume significantly increased as ozonation time increased. Additionally, longer ozonation exposure times increased cells per slice area, lightness, and slice brightness values in gluten-free cakes while reducing crumb firmness. Despite improving lightness and slice brightness values, ozonation did not significantly increase the specific volume of gluten-free batter-based bread. While ozonation improved the volume and texture in cakes, it did not have the same positive effects on gluten-free bread. Bread made from ozonated sorghum flour had an open ragged structure with equivalent volume to the control flour. In both applications, the increased brightness and lightness values due to ozone exposure is recommended to increase the acceptability of sorghum products.
Methadone in combination with medetomidine as premedication prior to ovariohysterectomy and castration in the cat
Authors: Slingsby Louisa S , Bortolami Elisa , Murrell Joanna C
Published: November 2014

Objectives

The aim of the study was to evaluate the tolerability, sedative and analgesic effects of methadone in combination with medetomidine for premedication prior to neutering in healthy cats.

Methods

This was an assessor-blinded, randomised, clinical research study. Forty-five cats were recruited and divided into three treatment groups of 15. Following premedication with medetomidine (20 µg/kg) and one of the three test drugs – methadone 0.5 mg/kg, buprenorphine 20 µg/kg or butorphanol 0.4 mg/kg intramuscularly – anaesthesia was induced with propofol and maintained with isoflurane, and neutering was carried out. Sedation and physiological parameters were assessed before premedication, after premedication before induction of anaesthesia, and at 90 mins and 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8 and 24 h after premedication. Pain and mechanical nociceptive threshold were assessed at similar time points.

Results

There were no differences between groups with respect to age, sex, duration of anaesthesia or surgery. Most cats had low pain scores in the postoperative period, with small differences in pain scores between groups at individual time points only. Five, two and no cats required additional rescue analgesia in the postoperative period in the butorphanol, methadone and buprenorphine groups, respectively, representing no significant difference between groups.

Conclusions and relevance

Medetomidine combined with methadone for premedication prior to neutering in healthy cats provided adequate analgesia for the first 6 h after administration with no adverse effects; effects overall were comparable with medetomidine combined with buprenorphine or butorphanol. Administration of further analgesia with methadone at 6 h and a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug at 8 h provided adequate analgesia for the first 24 h after surgery.
Prising open the ‘black box’: An epistemological critique of discursive constructions of scaling up the provision of mental health care in Africa
Authors: Cooper Sara
Published: November 2014

Global mental health research is increasingly highlighting the high levels of untreated mental illness in Africa and calling for the scaling-up of services in order to redress this situation. A particular model of care is being strongly advocated for such scale-up, and a recent explosion of research is providing guidelines for its implementation. This article seeks to open up the ‘black box’ of international research on scaling up the provision of mental health care in Africa, unearthing the hidden assumptions and power dynamics underpinning the knowledge produced. It insists that gaining a better understanding of care provision demands that we not only fill the gaps in knowledge but also problematize the assumptions upon which existing knowledge is based. This article demonstrates how two interrelated paradigms are strongly mediating research in this area – those of ‘scientific evidence’ and ‘human rights’. Drawing on recent research within the sociology of scientific knowledge, and strands of postcolonial thought, it demonstrates how these paradigms are both underpinned by several contentious epistemological assumptions, assumptions which are deeply inserted within the epistemological order of Western modernity. The main argument is that through their shared ideological undertones of ‘objectivity’, ‘universalism’ and ‘rationalism’, these paradigms are potentially marginalizing other possibly important ways of thinking about care in Africa, ways which might not originate from modernist forms of consciousness. This article makes a plea for a more inclusive and plural archive of knowledge on scaling up mental health care in Africa, one which is more hospitable to diverse epistemological politics and moral landscapes.
Bareback sex: Breaking the rules of sexual health and the assumption of risks
Authors: Ávila Rubén
Published: November 2014

Many studies have provided information about different individual, social and cultural factors underlying the assumption of risk in sexual practices among men who have sex with other men (MSM). However, there has been little analysis of the role of sexual health programmes in the understanding of bareback sex. Following sociological debates about the effects of governmentality in health promotion, this article examines the extent to which HIV prevention campaigns addressed to MSM in Spain are implicated in the construction of a social context where bareback sex is possible. It argues that the implication of Spanish LGBTI activism and the social link between AIDS and masculine homosexuality from the outset of the epidemic have given safer sex a moral value. At the same time, the creation of a scenario where sexual care is perceived as desirable also raises a subjection process where individuals are urged to answer whether they engage in safer sex practices or not. This article concludes that a new perspective on intervention is necessary to address the realities of HIV infections among MSM in contemporary western culture.
Bisexual citizenship in the Netherlands: On homo-emancipation and bisexual representations in national emancipation policies
Authors: Maliepaard Emiel
Published: November 2014

Studies in sexual citizenship have been successful in revealing heteronormative assumptions that underlie most mainstream models on sexual citizenship and contemporary sexual politics. Discussions about sexual citizenship, however, focus on heterosexuals and homosexuals, and less on bisexual citizenship. This article aims to discuss the in/exclusion of bisexuals in Dutch sexual citizenship as described in Dutch national LGBT emancipation policies (known as ‘homo-emancipation’). The analysis of policy documents shows that bisexuality is rendered invisible in multiple ways. Based on this analysis I argue that bisexual representation within sexual citizenship discourses and public policy documents is important to realize claims of self-identification, self-expression, and self-realization for bisexual citizens.
Reproductive health professionals’ adoption of emerging technologies for health promotion
Authors: Smith Peggy B , Buzi Ruth S
Published: November 2014

The purpose of this study was to assess reproductive health professionals’ familiarity with and use of various electronic technologies to support health promotion. The study also examined the relationship between demographic characteristics and attitudes and beliefs of the effectiveness of new technologies and perceived barriers for usage. A total of 165 reproductive health professionals at two conferences related to reproductive health in the United States completed the study survey. Personal and organizational factors affected the adoption of electronic technologies for health promotion. This included lack of knowledge, skills, and confidence as well as privacy concerns. The results of the study also suggested that being from an older generation was associated with having lower levels of knowledge, skills, and confidence in using new media. These findings highlight the importance of creating learning opportunities on the use of new technology for health promotion as well as addressing specific perceived barriers among reproductive health professionals in order to promote the adoption of these technologies.
Entangled ethics: Piety and agency in Turkey
Authors: Shively Kim
Published: November 2014

Anthropologist Saba Mahmood has critiqued the Western, feminist concept of liberal selfhood that assumes individual agency naturally resists constraints on autonomy in the process of self-realization. Based on her study of the women’s mosque movement in Egypt, Mahmood suggests that pious Egyptian women readily submit to disciplinary practices that emphasize feminine modesty, humbleness, and obedience – practices that would appear oppressive to many Western feminist observers but allow the women to cultivate a proper and (for them) desirable Muslim piety. While Mahmood’s critique is welcome, she tends to discuss individual ethical cultivation as occurring within only one normative system or another. This article will instead explore the fact that at any point in time, most individuals, especially those in a complex society like Egypt, operate under multiple normative systems and must engage with several layers of authority – family, religion, community, state – some of which may make contradictory demands on the participants in those systems. In such situations acts of submission to one set of norms may entail resistance to another set, so that acts of submission and resistance become entangled with each other. Drawing on examples from fieldwork conducted in a women’s Koran study group in Turkey, the article will explore these entanglements and discuss how they further complicate theorizing about the nature of individual agency.
Containment in interlocution-based fieldwork encounters: Thought, theory, and transformative thinking
Authors: Borneman John
Published: November 2014

This article theorizes a single dimension of interlocution-based fieldwork: that of serving as a ‘container’ for the emotions of our interlocutors. I focus on the dynamic of ‘containment’ of messages in fieldwork interactions that arrest the ethnographer in the task of thinking. This arrest draws attention to the need to connect emotion to thought in order to learn from experience. That connection contributes essentially to the goal of ‘transformative thinking’: to awaken new qualities of relatedness and aliveness. I argue that not all interactions produce encounters that result in experience in which we are prodded to think. Many interactions are immediately cognized and understood because they seem to leave us emotionally untouched. Scholars who avoid or dismiss such moments of arrest tend to unwittingly replace the verification of perceptions with the authorization of results as the primary legitimation of knowledge acquisition. Verification requires thinking through the lived experience of the ethnographic encounter, whereas authorization makes knowledge production contingent on the application of key thoughts, words, concepts, and positions derived from inherited sources, methods, and paradigms.
A dispositional account of causality: From herbal insecticides to anthropological theories on emergence and becoming
Authors: Remme Jon Henrik Ziegler
Published: November 2014

This article employs ethnography on the use of an herbal insecticide in Ifugao, the Philippines, to discuss what notions of causality are at work in vernacular understandings of causes and effects and in current anthropological theories on the processes of emergence and becoming. It is argued that Ifugao herbal insecticide use rests upon a notion of causality which is polygenic and dispositional. This means that causation is understood as located in an assemblage of elements that together enable the manifestation of a disposition to eradicate a certain type of worm from irrigated rice fields. The article argues further that contemporary anthropological theories inspired by ANT, material semiotics and the philosophy of Deleuze operate with an implicit notion of causality and that a notion of dispositional causality can be used to explicate the causal assumptions of these theories.
Hijab as commodity form: Veiling, unveiling, and misveiling in contemporary Iran
Authors: Gould Rebecca
Published: November 2014

This article considers how state-mandated veiling and unveiling reinforce modern capitalism. State regulations regarding veiling incorporate the female body into the political economy of the commodity form. In addition to serving as an empty signifier to be filled with exchange value for the male observer, the veil operates as an ideological apparatus of the state. In showing through fieldwork conducted in Iran how the fault lines of political agency are inscribed into the veil, I argue that subverting its commodity function radically relativises its meaning. Because the veil is an empty signifier lacking intrinsic content, its meaning must be determined contingently. By combining a critique of secular discrimination against veiling with a critique of state-mandated veiling, I show how European and Iranian societies incorporate the veil into the capitalist world-system and use it to suppress women’s agency.
‘It’s this pain in my heart that won’t let me stop’: Gendered affect, webs of relations, and young women’s activism
Authors: Kennelly Jacqueline
Published: November 2014

Interrogating the oft-stated emotion of ‘guilt’ amongst young female activists, I develop a theoretical account of why young women seem to be more burdened with such negative emotions than young men. Drawing on feminist theorising, I posit that young women’s emotional accounts of activist work highlight the retraditionalisation of gender under neoliberal modernity. I provide evidence of the gender-differentiated demands that heightened forms of reflexivity place on women, young women in particular. I then consider alternative conceptions of politics, grounded in the work of Hannah Arendt, and extending my own earlier work on relational agency ( Kennelly, 2009 ). Drawing on phenomenology to offer an account of political engagement grounded in the lived experiences of activists, I suggest that social movements might be bolstered through a deepened understanding of the role played by webs of relations and world-building practices, without losing sight of the gendered implications of such a turn.
‘Neoliberal motherhood’: Workplace lactation and changing conceptions of working motherhood in the contemporary US
Authors: Boyer Kate
Published: November 2014

Through an analysis of policy texts, population statistics, and the popular press, this article advances knowledge about working motherhood in the contemporary US and proposes a refinement to how wage-work/care-work relations are conceptualised. I focus on the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2011 which grants certain rights and protections to women seeking to combine lactation with wage-work. I argue that this policy represents a form of work–life integration that is particularly burdensome for working mothers, and that expectations relating to working motherhood in the contemporary US are being reshaped around the demands of neoliberalism, producing what I term ‘neoliberal motherhood’. I assert that this policy represents a way of combining wage-work and care-work that is not captured within existing conceptualisations, and suggest that a re-working of theory in this area is needed to address cases in which embodied care-work is enfolded within the time and space of wage-work.
Growing intimate privatepublics: Everyday utopia in the naturecultures of a young lesbian and bisexual women’s allotment
Authors: Moore Niamh , Church Andrew , Gabb Jacqui , Holmes Claire , Lee Amelia , Ravenscroft Neil
Published: November 2014

The Young Women’s Group in Manchester is a ‘young women’s peer health project, run by and for young lesbian and bisexual women’, which runs an allotment as one of its activities. At a time when interest in allotments and gardening appears to be on the increase, the existence of yet another community allotment may seem unremarkable. Yet we suggest that this queer allotment poses challenges for conventional theorisations of allotments, as well as for understandings of public and private. In this article we explore how the allotment project might be understood to be intensely engaged in ‘growing intimate publics’, or what we term ‘privatepublics’. These are paradoxical intimacies, privatepublic spaces which are not necessarily made possible in the usual private sphere of domestic homes. Here we focus on the work involved in materialising the allotment, which we understand as a queer privatepublic ‘natureculture’ ( Haraway, 2008 ) which appears as an ‘everyday utopia’ ( Cooper, 2014 ).
Assessing the colour quality of LED sources: Naturalness, attractiveness, colourfulness and colour difference
Authors: Jost-Boissard S , Avouac P , Fontoynont M
Published: November 2014

The CIE General Colour Rendering Index is currently the criterion used to describe and measure the colour-rendering properties of light sources. But over the past years, there has been increasing evidence of its limitations particularly its ability to predict the perceived colour quality of light sources and especially some LEDs. In this paper, several aspects of perceived colour quality are investigated using a side-by-side paired comparison method, and the following criteria: naturalness of fruits and vegetables, colourfulness of the Macbeth Color Checker chart, visual appreciation (attractiveness/ preference) and colour difference estimations for both visual scenes. Forty-five observers with normal colour vision evaluated nine light sources at 3000 K, and 36 observers evaluated eight light sources at 4000 K. Our results indicate that perceived colour differences are better dealt by the CIECAM02 Uniform Colour Space. Naturalness is better described by fidelity indices even if they did not give perfect predictions for all differences between LED light sources. Colourfulness is well described by gamut-based indices and attractiveness was found to correlate best with gamut-based indices but also with a preference index or a memory index calculated without blue and purple hues. A very low correlation was found between appreciation and naturalness indicating that colour quality needs more than one metric to describe subjective aspects.