bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Understanding effectual decision-making in a science-based business: The case of Hart Biologicals
Authors: Pattinson Steven
Published: December 2018

This case focuses on the effectual decision-making processes of an individual entrepreneur. It examines a proposed acquisition by Hart Biologicals, a small biotechnology company based in the Northeast England. Alby Pattison, the Managing Director, is currently considering an acquisition with a ‘symbiotic’ business. The firm is working in the same area as Hart Biologicals (haematology) but is not a competitor. Alby considers that the acquisition would help the company grow more rapidly and add to its current portfolio of products. The case considers how effectual decision-making is employed by the entrepreneur to identify, evaluate and pursue new opportunities. This concept is explored in the context of the current dilemma of Hart Biologicals proposed acquisition. Finally, the case also considers the impact of the acquisition on the performance and behaviour of a family firm.
Commentary—After Triangulation, What Next?
Authors: Morgan David L.
Published: December 2018

This commentary agrees with the editors’ recent decision to do away with triangulation as a term in mixed methods research, but before doing so, it argues for a review of its original popularity, and a careful consideration of what should replace it. Triangulation depends on the comparison of results from qualitative and quantitative studies that attempt to answer the same research question(s), so there are three possible outcomes: convergence, complementarity, and divergence. After reviewing each of these alternatives, I present an approach that cross-tabulates tests of hypotheses as quantitative results and themes as qualitative results, based on the extent to which those results are convergent, complementary, or divergent.
A postapocalyptic return to the frontier: The Walking Dead as post-Western
Authors: Keeler Amanda
Published: December 2018

This article argues that The Walking Dead is a post-Western, a genre that extracts classical Hollywood Western themes and iconography, and resituates them in a dystopian, postapocalyptic setting. The program features characters forced to reconquer the frontier amid the disintegration of modern society, who must battle undead walkers and other human survivors. As a post-Western, the program inverts the ideological optimism of the classical Hollywood Western. In doing so, it highlights the linkages between the seemingly unconnected narrative universes of the Western and the postapocalyptic tale.
‘Robosurgeons vs. robosceptics’: can we afford robotic technology or can we afford not to?
Authors: Sandhu Jasmesh
Published: December 2018

Aim:

To investigate the clinical effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of robotic technology in robotic-assisted radical prostatectomy in comparison with laparoscopic radical prostatectomy and open radical prostatectomy.

Methods:

Cochrane, Medline and Embase databases were searched for randomised controlled trials to date on robotic-assisted radical prostatectomy versus laparoscopic radical prostatectomy and robotic-assisted radical prostatectomy versus open radical prostatectomy to assess clinical effectiveness. The British Association of Urology Surgeons database (2014–2016) and Cancer Research UK (2012–2014) were accessed in conjunction with media; keywords included: ‘Da Vinci’, ‘first robotic prostatectomy’, ‘hospital’ to estimate the cost-effectiveness of robotic-assisted radical prostatectomy in the National Health Service.

Results:

Functional outcome rates improved with robotic-assisted radical prostatectomy; this benefits the National Health Service financially although the clinical effectiveness may not meet the threshold of clinical importance. Regarding cost-effectiveness, approximately 12/43 (27.9%) centres achieved 150 robotic-assisted radical prostatectomies per year while 26/43 (60.4%) centres have managed to meet 100 robotic-assisted radical prostatectomies per year in 2014–2016. A national mean of 120–130 robotic-assisted radical prostatectomies per year for 2014–2016 was estimated.

Conclusion:

The cost of robotic-assisted radical prostatectomy is adequately justified if a high volume of surgeries (>150) are performed in high volume centres by high volume experienced surgeons per year. This can be achieved by subsidising the cost of robotic technology, centralisation and establishing robotic training centres.
Stages of Hong Kong’s democratic movement
Authors: Tai Benny Yiu-ting
Published: December 2018

Bill Moyer observed that there are eight stages in a social movement: seeming normal, exposing injustice, ripening conditions, taking off, losing heart, winning the majority, reaping success and consolidating achievement. For more than 30 years, Hong Kong people have been striving for democracy. Applying Moyer’s model, Hong Kong should be now at a stage close to reaching its ultimate goal of establishing a genuine democratic system in the territory after years of work, especially the triggering event in September 2014 and the occupation during the Umbrella Movement. However, Moyer’s model cannot be mechanically applied to the case of Hong Kong in light of the unique situation faced by Hong Kong people. Hong Kong’s authoritarian sovereign holds the final key to Hong Kong’s door to democracy. Unless there is a significant shift in the balance of powers in the Chinese polity, Hong Kong’s democracy may be so near and yet so far.
Role of Leadership and Corporate Governance: The Case of Tata Group and Infosys
Authors: M. C. Arvind Babu , Rentala Satyanarayana
Published: December 2018

Is your job secured? Do layoffs happen? How long do you plan to work in the same organization? How is your performance rated? These are the set of typical questions asked to bottom-level employees working in multinational corporations. Possibly, gone are the days when an employee used to engage with a firm for a long period of their career. Attrition rate is becoming higher in many firms due to endless reasons. But how far do such trends apply to top-level or C-suite employees? Are they equally impacted such as middle- and bottom-level employees in various circumstances or taken care well by founders and boards of the organization? In this case study, an attempt was made to see if we can get some answers to these questions by considering the recent issues that happened in Tata Group and Infosys during recent times. Expulsion of Cyrus Mistry from Tata Group in 2016 and Infosys 2017 saga rocked the Indian corporate image worldwide and raised issues concerning corporate governance practices. The journeys of an insider chairman of a conglomerate and a technocrat CEO were cut short by two business tycoons Ratan Tata and Narayana Murthy in a much unexpected manner which brought a bad reputation to them. It raises issues regarding leadership styles and roles in such business empires. Transparency, accountability and security are the three pillars of corporate governance, which seem to have failed in these two organizations. It also raises a serious question of credibility, integrity and business ethics of leaders in handling these two issues with the verbal criticism which continued for days in public forum.
The Pupil Dilation Response During Speech Perception in Dark and Light: The Involvement of the Parasympathetic Nervous System in Listening Effort
Authors: Wang Yang , Kramer Sophia E. , Wendt Dorothea , Naylor Graham , Lunner Thomas , Zekveld Adriana A.
Published: December 2018

Recently, the measurement of the pupil dilation response has been applied in many studies to assess listening effort. Meanwhile, the mechanisms underlying this response are still largely unknown. We present the results of a method that separates the influence of the parasympathetic and sympathetic branches of the autonomic nervous system on the pupil response during speech perception. This is achieved by changing the background illumination level. In darkness, the influence of the parasympathetic nervous system on the pupil response is minimal, whereas in light, there is an additional component from the parasympathetic nervous system. Nineteen hearing-impaired and 27 age-matched normal-hearing listeners performed speech reception threshold tests targeting a 50% correct performance level while pupil responses were recorded. The target speech was masked with a competing talker. The test was conducted twice, once in dark and once in a light condition. Need for Recovery and Checklist Individual Strength questionnaires were acquired as indices of daily-life fatigue. In dark, the peak pupil dilation (PPD) did not differ between the two groups, but in light, the normal-hearing group showed a larger PPD than the hearing-impaired group. Listeners with better hearing acuity showed larger differences in dilation between dark and light. These results indicate a larger effect of parasympathetic inhibition on the pupil dilation response of listeners with better hearing acuity, and a relatively high parasympathetic activity in those with worse hearing. Previously observed differences in PPD between normal and impaired listeners are probably not solely because of differences in listening effort.
When hydrosociality encounters sediments: Transformed lives and livelihoods in the lower basin of the Ganges River
Authors: de Micheaux Flore Lafaye , Mukherjee Jenia , Kull Christian A
Published: December 2018

The hydrosocial cycle is a central analytical framework in political ecological approaches to water. It helps foreground multiple and subtle interactions between water and society, culture and politics. However, to date it has dealt little with matters other than water flows. In river contexts, biotic and abiotic components play critical roles in the way people engage with and make a living out of rivers, beyond water. This article aims to advance the hydrosocial framework with a deeper consideration of the materiality of rivers. To initiate this approach, the focus is here on sediments. Lives and livelihoods connected to river sediments remain both officially and academically under-explored. This certainly applies to the context of the Lower Ganges basin whose active channels transport huge loads of sediments mainly originating from the Himalayan slopes. Building upon an environmental history perspective and drawing on three spatially nested cases in West Bengal, India, the paper analyses instances of water-sediment-society interactions. The general case study presents colonial state interventions in the Lower Ganges basin waterscapes. The second case study zooms the focus on the 2 km long Farakka Barrage. These explorations reveal how an ‘imported’ conceptual land-water divide infused those interventions, leading to unforeseen effects on riverine lives and livelihoods. Focusing on Hamidpur char, situated few kilometres upstream of the barrage, the third case study recounts the contemporary efforts of local communities to obtain revision of administrative decisions unable to deal with ‘muddyscapes’. Finally, the paper engages with recent debates on the concept of hybridity in land-water nexus to reflect on the specific meaning and role of sediments.
It's a bird! It's a plane! An aerial biopolitics for a multispecies sky
Authors: Wrigley Charlotte
Published: December 2018

Bird strikes were catapulted into headline news in 2009 when US Airlines flight 1549's engines ingested a flock of Canada geese and lost all power, leaving the pilot no option but to ditch into the freezing cold Hudson River. Although everyone on board survived, thousands of birds were killed in the years that followed in attempt to redress aviation safety concerns. This article follows the story of Flight 1549 and considers the different stages of bird strike prevention at a variety of sites: the factory, the airfield, the sky and the accident aftermath. Drawn from empirical research and grey literature analysis of aviation safety documents, it unpicks the various assemblages that are formed at each site and how they are gathered together through inhuman air forces. Situated within theories of biopolitics, it moves beyond a materialist analysis of the solid and the visible and attends to the immateriality of air and its elemental properties which are integral to both life and death. Through an analysis of the aerial as a socio-material spatial categorisation, it considers bird strike management within a multispecies perspective by examining the frictions and entanglements of both human and non-human agency that are generated by differential air spaces. By highlighting the different forms of biopolitics produced by the aerial, it shows how configurations of life shift in relation to the dynamic and unpredictable inhuman forces of air, and how aviation safety practices attempt to harness these forces.
“The good guys are doing it anyway”: The accommodation of environmental concern among English and Welsh farmers
Authors: Wheeler Rebecca , Lobley Matt , Winter Michael , Morris Carol
Published: December 2018

Farmers today are increasingly facing pressure from policy and market forces to improve their environmental performance. Yet – despite widespread recognition of the negative externalities of agriculture on a national and global scale – many farmers would argue that, as “custodians of the countryside” they have always respected and cared for the local environment, and play a central role in creating and maintaining the countryside as we know it today. In this paper, we use evidence emerging from research with farmers across England and Wales to explore farmer accounts of environmental concern and action in the context of both traditional farming values and contemporary imperatives. We draw particularly on scholarly work around constructs of “good farming” to consider the extent to which environmental concern has been accommodated within a wide range of farming contexts across England and Wales. Our findings highlight an intrinsic sense of care towards the environment among farmers and reveal how environmental management has in many ways become an integral part of farming discourse; recognised as synergistic with personal and business goals concerning (i) personal respect for the environment and conservation; (ii) countryside custodianship; (iii) farm legacy and succession; (iv) “good” agricultural practice and compliance with regulation; and/or (v) financial profitability. We discuss some of the issues arising from our findings and offer our thoughts on implications for efforts to encourage farmers to carry out environmentally beneficial activities. Whilst expressions of environmental concern do not necessarily equate to effective action on the ground, recognising that many farmers believe environmental management to be part of good farming practice provides a more positive foundation for engaging with them on this topic than assuming they need to be cajoled into action.
Single-cell analyses demonstrate that a heme–GATA1 feedback loop regulates red cell differentiation
Authors: Doty Raymond T. , Yan Xiaowei , Lausted Christopher , Munday Adam D. , Yang Zhantao , Yi Danielle , Jabbari Neda , Liu Li , Keel Siobán B. , Tian Qiang , Abkowitz Janis L.
Published: December 2018

Erythropoiesis is the complex, dynamic, and tightly regulated process that generates all mature red blood cells. To understand this process, we mapped the developmental trajectories of progenitors from wild-type, erythropoietin-treated, and Flvcr1-deleted mice at single-cell resolution. Importantly, we linked the quantity of each cell’s surface proteins to its total transcriptome, which is a novel method. Deletion of Flvcr1 results in high levels of intracellular heme, allowing us to identify heme-regulated circuitry. Our studies demonstrate that in early erythroid cells (CD71+Ter119neg-lo), heme increases ribosomal protein transcripts, suggesting that heme, in addition to upregulating globin transcription and translation, guarantees ample ribosomes for globin synthesis. In later erythroid cells (CD71+Ter119lo-hi), heme decreases GATA1, GATA1-target gene, and mitotic spindle gene expression. These changes occur quickly. For example, in confirmatory studies using human marrow erythroid cells, ribosomal protein transcripts and proteins increase, and GATA1 transcript and protein decrease, within 15 to 30 minutes of amplifying endogenous heme synthesis with aminolevulinic acid. Because GATA1 initiates heme synthesis, GATA1 and heme together direct red cell maturation, and heme stops GATA1 synthesis, our observations reveal a GATA1–heme autoregulatory loop and implicate GATA1 and heme as the comaster regulators of the normal erythroid differentiation program. In addition, as excessive heme could amplify ribosomal protein imbalance, prematurely lower GATA1, and impede mitosis, these data may help explain the ineffective (early termination of) erythropoiesis in Diamond Blackfan anemia and del(5q) myelodysplasia, disorders with excessive heme in colony-forming unit-erythroid/proerythroblasts, explain why these anemias are macrocytic, and show why children with GATA1 mutations have DBA-like clinical phenotypes.
Factors Related to Advanced Stage of Cancer Presentation in Botswana
Authors: Anakwenze Chidinma , Bhatia Rohini , Rate William , Bakwenabatsile Lame , Ngoni Kebatshabile , Rayne Sarah , Dhillon Preet , Narasimhamurthy Mohan , Ho-Foster Ari , Ramogola-Masire Doreen , Grover Surbhi
Published: December 2018

Purpose

Botswana, a country with a high prevalence of HIV, has an increasing incidence of cancer-related mortality in the post–antiretroviral therapy era. Despite universal access to free health care, the majority of Botswana patients with cancer present at advanced stages. This study was designed to explore the factors related to advanced-stage cancer presentation in Botswana.

Methods

Patients attending an oncology clinic between December 2015 and January 2017 at Princess Marina Hospital in Gaborone, Botswana, completed a questionnaire on sociodemographic and clinical factors as well as cancer-related fears, attitudes, beliefs, and stigma. Odds ratios (ORs) were calculated to identify factors significantly associated with advanced stage (stage III and IV) at diagnosis.

Results

Of 214 patients, 18.7% were men and 81.3% were women. The median age at diagnosis was 46 years, with 71.9% of patients older than 40 years. The most commonly represented cancers included cervical (42.3%), breast (16%), and head and neck (15.5%). Cancer stages represented in the study group included 8.4% at stage I, 19.2% at stage II, 24.1% at stage III, 11.9% at stage IV, and 36.4% at an unknown stage. Patients who presented at advanced stages were significantly more likely to not be afraid of having cancer (OR, 3.48; P < .05), believe that their family would not care for them if they needed treatment (OR, 6.35; P = .05), and believe that they could not afford to develop cancer (OR, 2.73; P < .05). The perception that symptoms were less serious was also significantly related to advanced stage ( P < .05). Patients with non–female-specific cancers were more likely to present in advanced stages (OR, 5.67; P < .05).

Conclusion

Future cancer mortality reduction efforts should emphasize cancer symptom awareness and early detection through routine cancer screening, as well as increasing the acceptability of care-seeking, especially among male patients.
Human nuclear RNAi-defective 2 (NRDE2) is an essential RNA splicing factor
Authors: Jiao Alan L. , Perales Roberto , Umbreit Neil T. , Haswell Jeffrey R. , Piper Mary E. , Adams Brian D. , Pellman David , Kennedy Scott , Slack Frank J.
Published: December 2018

The accurate inheritance of genetic material is a basic necessity in all domains of life and an unexpectedly large number of RNA processing factors are required for mitotic progression and genome stability. NRDE2 (nuclear RNAi defective-2) is an evolutionarily conserved protein originally discovered for its role in nuclear RNA interference (RNAi) and heritable gene silencing in Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans). The function of the human NRDE2 gene remains poorly understood. Here we show that human NRDE2 is an essential protein required for suppressing intron retention in a subset of pre-mRNAs containing short, GC-rich introns with relatively weak 5′ and 3′ splice sites. NRDE2 preferentially interacts with components of the U5 small nuclear ribonucleoprotein (snRNP), the exon junction complex, and the RNA exosome. Interestingly, NRDE2-depleted cells exhibit greatly increased levels of genomic instability and DNA damage, as well as defects in centrosome maturation and mitotic progression. We identify the essential centriolar satellite protein, CEP131, as a direct NRDE2-regulated target. NRDE2 specifically binds to and promotes the efficient splicing of CEP131 pre-mRNA, and depleting NRDE2 dramatically reduces CEP131 protein expression, contributing to impaired recruitment of critical centrosomal proteins (e.g., γ-tubulin and Aurora Kinase A) to the spindle poles during mitosis. Our work establishes a conserved role for human NRDE2 in RNA splicing, characterizes the severe genomic instability phenotypes observed upon loss of NRDE2, and highlights the direct regulation of CEP131 splicing as one of multiple mechanisms through which such phenotypes might be explained.
Discipline-specific open access publishing practices and barriers to change: an evidence-based review
Authors: Severin Anna , Egger Matthias , Eve Martin Paul , Hürlimann Daniel
Published: December 2018

Background: Many of the discussions surrounding Open Access (OA) revolve around how it affects publishing practices across different academic disciplines. It was a long-held view that it would be only a matter of time for all disciplines to fully and relatively homogeneously implement OA. Recent large-scale bibliometric studies show however that the uptake of OA differs substantially across disciplines. This study investigates the underlying mechanisms that cause disciplines to vary in their OA publishing practices. We aimed to answer two questions: First, how do different disciplines adopt and shape OA publishing practices? Second, what discipline-specific barriers to and potentials for OA can be identified?

Methods: In a first step, we identified and synthesized relevant bibliometric studies that assessed OA prevalence and publishing patterns across disciplines. In a second step, and adopting a social shaping of technology perspective, we studied evidence on the socio-technical forces that shape OA publishing practices. We examined a variety of data sources, including, but not limited to, publisher policies and guidelines, OA mandates and policies and author surveys.

Results: Over the last three decades, scholarly publishing has experienced a shift from “closed” access to OA as the proportion of scholarly literature that is openly accessible has increased continuously. The shift towards OA is however uneven across disciplines in two respects: first, the growth of OA has been uneven across disciplines, which manifests itself in varying OA prevalence levels. Second, disciplines use different OA publishing channels to make research outputs OA.

Conclusions: We conclude that historically grown publishing practices differ in terms of their compatibility with OA, which is the reason why OA can be assumed to be a natural continuation of publishing cultures in some disciplines, whereas in other disciplines, the implementation of OA faces major barriers and would require a change of research culture.
Plasma DNA Analysis in Prostate Cancer: Opportunities for Improving Clinical Management
Authors: Wu Anjui , Attard Gerhardt
Published: December 2018

BACKGROUND

Molecular characterization of tumors could be important for clinical management. Plasma DNA obtained noninvasively as a liquid biopsy could be widely applicable for clinical implementation in biomarker-based treatment strategies.

CONTENT

Prostate cancer is a disease with variable clinical outcomes and molecular features and therefore presents multiple opportunities for biomarker-based treatment optimization. Tissue analysis may not be representative of the lethal clone in localized disease or of intrapatient, intermetastases heterogeneity; fresh tissue is often challenging to obtain by biopsy of metastasis, whereas archival samples may not represent current disease and may be of insufficient quality. Plasma DNA is of variable tumor-to-normal fraction that requires accurate estimation using sensitively measured genomic events. In plasma with sufficient tumor content, the spectrum of genomic aberrations closely resembles tissue and could be used to molecularly characterize patients in real time. In this review we discuss the opportunities for improving clinical management by using plasma DNA analysis in different clinical scenarios across the disease spectrum, from detection of prostate cancer and disease relapse to treatment response prediction, response assessment, and interrogation of treatment resistance in metastatic prostate cancer. Combinational strategies may incorporate other modalities, including circulating tumor cells, circulating microRNA, and extracellular vesicles analysis, which could help to achieve more accurate characterization.

There are many opportunities for plasma DNA analyses to change clinical management. However, there are challenges that need to be addressed to clinically implement a test, including the development of accurate, fit for purpose, and technically reproducible assay, followed by prospective validation in a large cohort of patients.
„Ezt a Gyönyör tervezte veled...”
Authors: Ormos Bálint
Published: December 2018

This study is about the poetry of Publius Papinius Statius at the end of the first century AD. Statius’s poetry was closely linked to the Flavian-dinasty and also to the emperor Domitianus. In this study I am going to examine Statius’s collection of occasional poems, named Silvae (Forest). From this collection I choose one particular piece of work: a poem about the luxurious villa of Manilius
Vopiscus at Tibur (today Tivoli, 30 km far from Rome, at Lazio). Now I am going to write about the possible functions of this collection as a communication form for the contemporary elite. As a social group this elite was based upon different elements, for example traditionally old noble
families (like senators or knights), wealthy and talented men from another regions of the ancient Italy or from the romanized provinces of the Empire and the liberated slaves. The collected verses with the establishment of the cliental poetry offered a way for the elite to represent its wealth,
taste of art, education and prestige in the roman society. The villa as a poetic motive and a real estate was able to express its owners’ material aboundance and also their philosophical and literary interest. Statius’s villa-poem created not only a toleranted (against Horatius’s poetry)
but a celebrated literary image of a lavish villa, like Pliny the Younger about his villas in Latium and Etruria in his letters.
Ki tanít?
Authors: Fejős Anna
Published: December 2018

While there is an increasing number of Roma students in basic education in Hungary, the teacher force hardly changes: most teachers are of majority middle-class background. Meanwhile, we know little about the experiences of the few Roma in the profession. The paper shows, through the analysis of interviews, the career trajectories of ten Roma pedagogues, along with some aspects of their professional practice. The wish to lead by example is strong in all narratives, and it is embedded in the teachers’ way of educating pupils, conveying curricula, and keeping contact with families. These are also the areas, where in addition to professional expertise, interviewees build upon their ethnic belonging. Sometimes the two compliment each other, while in other cases conflicts arise due to differing expectations. The analysis reveals that Roma pedagogues can actively shape the educational practices.
A roma gyermeket örökbefogadó szülõk roma identitásról alkotott képe
Authors: Keresztes-Takács Orsolya , Erõs Barbara
Published: December 2018

The number of interethnic adoptions when non-Roma parents adopt Roma children is gradually growing in Hungary. The aim of the study is to introduce the perception of the Roma within a special segment of those Hungarian adoptive parents who adopt children with presumably Roma origins, but they do not identify themselves being Roma. The analysis discusses once the conceptualization and its appearance of the presumable Roma origin in nuclear or wider families that do not embody Roma identity. Also touches upon the contents and significations related to Roma identity and the importance of its transfer from adoptive parents to the adoptee. The study further highlights results of a research based on questionnaires focusing on Roma identity.
Roma generációk értékválasztásai és az LMBTQ
Authors: Máté Dezső
Published: December 2018

The aim of the study, to examine the mentioned Roma generations value similarities and identities, in parallel with the Roma LGBTQ movement. My research question is, which social values and norms are excluded from the first intellectual Roma generation’s focuses, and what were the main reasons of it. In my paper I using discourse analysis method, which are reflecting on the mentioned Roma generations own lived experiences and social values. Roma LGBTQ people facing not only with discrimination and xenophobia because of their ethnic origin, but also with homophobia and transphobia because of their gender and LGBTQ identities as, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer people.
A roma képzőművészet korunk modernitásának kontextusában
Authors: Illés Barbara
Published: December 2018

The objective of the current paper is defining of the notion of fine art of the Roma minority with an overview of its short history as for the largest population of ethnicity who more than six centuries living in Hungary. Apart from the definition of Roma Art, I am discussing the processes of change and the self-representation of the present, mainly from the aspect of the artist, the ethnic classification of Roma identity through self-confessions. I set up the Roma Art scene based on traditions, then the Modern Hungarian-Roma Fine Arts that emerged from it, and finally define the categories of Professional Fine Art in relation to each other and to their association with Hungarian Fine Art and European Gypsy Art and Universal Art. Apart from the interpretation of Roma Art, the study offers an opportunity for contemporary artists to get more accurate and detailed knowledge and to understand and evaluate their works more closely and sophisticated.
Historical ecology and archaeology in theory and practice
Authors: Stahl Peter W.
Published: December 2018

Although historical ecology has become a highly popular framework for contemporary archaeological research, archaeologists have always, in some form or another, been engaged with its study. Historical ecology and archaeology are inseparable; the techniques and methods of the latter are essential for accessing the deep time of human-environmental relationships, while interest in the former is implicated, whether explicitly or not, in all empirical, field-based archaeology. Two recent edited compilations, bringing together authors from a range of disciplines with a common interest in historical ecology, contribute significant theoretical and practical insights related to its study for archaeologists.
Tai Chi Combined With Resistance Training for Adults Aged 50 Years and Older: A Systematic Review
Authors: Qi Meiling , Moyle Wendy , Jones Cindy , Weeks Benjamin
Published: December 2018

Background and Purpose:

Despite Tai Chi and resistance training being recommended as suitable exercise for older adults, there are no systematic reviews synthesizing the effectiveness of a combination of Tai Chi and resistance training on health promotion of older adults. This study aimed to review the existing literature regarding the effect of Tai Chi and resistance training on physical health, mental health, pain, health-related quality of life, and age-related impairment in adults aged 50 years and older.

Methods:

A systematic review was conducted to report the health outcomes of Tai Chi combined with resistance training research in adults aged 50 years and older. Articles were identified by searching PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, CINAHL, MEDLINE, Physiotherapy Evidence Database (PEDro), and the Cochrane library using search terms representing “Tai Chi” and “resistance” and “older adults.” Quantitative experimental studies with participants aged 50 years and older, where one of the interventions was Tai Chi and resistance training, were included.

Results and Discussion:

The literature search yielded 648 articles from which 7 met the inclusion criteria. Collectively, the studies involved 703 participants aged 50 years and older, including healthy older adults, older adults with history of falls, postmenopausal women, and people diagnosed with end-stage hip osteoarthritis. Studies included different Tai Chi forms in combination with various types of resistance training. Training sessions were 2 to 7.5 h/wk and lasted between 12 weeks and 12 months. After long-term Tai Chi and resistance training, the participants showed significant improvement in upper and lower extremity muscle strength, aerobic endurance, balance, and mobility. However, 1 study failed to show improvement in Functional Movement Screening compared with traditional Tai Chi and nonexercise groups. No study examined the effects of Tai Chi and resistance training on health-related quality of life, fear of falling, or mental health in adults aged 50 years and older.

Conclusions:

The review supports that Tai Chi in combination with resistance training improves physical function and muscle strength in adults aged 50 years and older.
A clinically functioning gonadotroph adenoma presenting with abdominal pain, ovarian hyperstimulation and fibromatosis
Authors: Broughton Chloe , Mears Jane , Williams Adam , Lonnen Kathryn
Published: December 2018

Pituitary adenomas can be classified as functioning or non-functioning adenomas. Approximately 64% of clinically non-functioning pituitary adenomas are found to be gonadotroph adenomas on immunohistochemistry. There are reported cases of gonadotroph adenomas causing clinical symptoms, but this is unusual. We present the case of a 36-year-old female with abdominal pain. Multiple large ovarian cysts were identified on ultrasound requiring bilateral cystectomy. Despite this, the cysts recurred resulting in further abdominal pain, ovarian torsion and right oophorectomy and salpingectomy. On her 3rd admission with abdominal pain, she was found to have a rectus sheath mass which was resected and histologically confirmed to be fibromatosis. Endocrine investigations revealed elevated oestradiol, follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) at the upper limit of the normal range and a suppressed luteinising hormone (LH). Prolactin was mildly elevated. A diagnosis of an FSH-secreting pituitary adenoma was considered and a pituitary MRI revealed a 1.5 cm macroadenoma. She underwent transphenoidal surgery which led to resolution of her symptoms and normalisation of her biochemistry. Subsequent pelvic ultrasound showed normal ovarian follicular development. Clinically functioning gonadotroph adenomas are rare, but should be considered in women presenting with menstrual irregularities, large or recurrent ovarian cysts, ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome and fibromatosis. Transphenoidal surgery is the first-line treatment with the aim of achieving complete remission.

Learning points:

Pituitary gonadotroph adenomas are usually clinically non-functioning, but in rare cases can cause clinical symptoms.

A diagnosis of a functioning gonadotroph adenoma should be considered in women presenting with un-explained ovarian hyperstimulation and/or fibromatosis.

In women with functioning gonadotroph adenomas, the main biochemical finding is elevated oestradiol levels. Serum FSH levels can be normal or mildly elevated. Serum LH levels are usually suppressed.

Transphenoidal surgery is the first-line treatment for patients with functioning gonadotroph adenomas, with the aim of achieving complete remission.
Standards of care for hypoparathyroidism in adults: a Canadian and International Consensus
Authors: Khan Aliya A , Koch Christian A , Van Uum Stan , Baillargeon Jean Patrice , Bollerslev Jens , Brandi Maria Luisa , Marcocci Claudio , Rejnmark Lars , Rizzoli Rene , Shrayyef M Zakarea , Thakker Rajesh , Yildiz Bulent O , Clarke Bart
Published: December 2018

Purpose: To provide practice recommendations for the diagnosis and management of hypoparathyroidism in adults.

Methods: Key questions pertaining to the diagnosis and management of hypoparathyroidism were addressed following a literature review. We searched PubMed, MEDLINE, EMBASE and Cochrane databases from January 2000 to March 2018 using keywords ‘hypoparathyroidism, diagnosis, treatment, calcium, PTH, calcidiol, calcitriol, hydrochlorothiazide and pregnancy’. Only English language papers involving humans were included. We excluded letters, reviews and editorials. The quality of evidence was evaluated based on the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) approach. These standards of care for hypoparathyroidism have been endorsed by the Canadian Society of Endocrinology and Metabolism.

Results: Hypoparathyroidism is a rare disease characterized by hypocalcemia, hyperphosphatemia and a low or inappropriately normal serum parathyroid hormone level (PTH). The majority of cases are post-surgical (75%) with nonsurgical causes accounting for the remaining 25% of cases. A careful review is required to determine the etiology of the hypoparathyroidism in individuals with nonsurgical disease. Hypoparathyroidism is associated with significant morbidity and poor quality of life. Treatment requires close monitoring as well as patient education. Conventional therapy with calcium supplements and active vitamin D analogs is effective in improving serum calcium as well as in controlling the symptoms of hypocalcemia. PTH replacement is of value in lowering the doses of calcium and active vitamin D analogs required and may be of value in lowering long-term complications of hypoparathyroidism. This manuscript addresses acute and chronic management of hypoparathyroidism in adults.

Main conclusions: Hypoparathyroidism requires careful evaluation and pharmacologic intervention in order to improve serum calcium and control the symptoms of hypocalcemia. Frequent laboratory monitoring of the biochemical profile and patient education is essential to achieving optimal control of serum calcium.
Metformin induces weight loss associated with gut microbiota alteration in non-diabetic obese women: a randomized double-blind clinical trial
Authors: Ejtahed Hanieh-Sadat , Tito Raul Y , Siadat Seyed-Davar , Hasani-Ranjbar Shirin , Hoseini-Tavassol Zahra , Rymenans Leen , Verbeke Kristin , Soroush Ahmad-Reza , Raes Jeroen , Larijani Bagher
Published: December 2018

Objective

The increasing prevalence of obesity over the past few decades constitutes a global health challenge. Pharmacological therapy is recommended to accompany life-style modification for obesity management. Here, we perform a clinical trial to investigate the effects of metformin on anthropometric indices and gut microbiota composition in non-diabetic, treatment-naive obese women with a low-calorie diet (LCD).

Design

Randomized double-blind parallel-group clinical trial

Methods

Forty-six obese women were randomly assigned to the metformin (500 mg/tab) or placebo groups using computer-generated random numbers. Subjects in both groups took two tablets per day for 2 months. Anthropometric measurements and collection of blood and fecal samples were done at the baseline and at the end of the trial. Gut microbiota composition was assessed using 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing.

Results

Twenty-four and twenty-two subjects were included in the metformin + LCD and placebo + LCD groups, respectively; at the end of trial, 20 and 16 subjects were analyzed. The metformin + LCD and placebo + LCD caused a 4.5 and 2.6% decrease in BMI from the baseline values, respectively (P < 0.01). Insulin concentration decreased in the metformin + LCD group (P = 0.046). The overall fecal microbiota composition and diversity were unaffected in the metformin + LCD group. However, a significant specific increase in Escherichia/Shigella abundance was observed after metformin + LCD intervention (P = 0.026). Fecal acetate concentration, but not producers, was significantly higher in the placebo + LCD group, adjusted for baseline values and BMI (P = 0.002).

Conclusions

Despite the weight reduction after metformin intake, the overall fecal microbiota composition remained largely unchanged in obese women, with exception of changes in specific proteobacterial groups.
Propuesta de un modelo de la inteligencia emocional aplicado a la experiencia de la lectura en contexto escolar
Authors: G-Pedreira Rocío
Published: December 2018

La consideración de la dimensión emocional de la lectura en las planificaciones docentes forma parte de una de las innovaciones educativas más importantes en el ámbito de la didáctica de la lengua y la literatura. No obstante, todavía es un campo inexplorado y con pocas concreciones teóricas que organicen los aspectos de la educación emocional implicados. El presente trabajo ofrece una propuesta de modelo mixto de la inteligencia emocional aplicado a la experiencia de la lectura en contexto escolar que explica las fases del proceso de mediación docente y las destrezas de las que depende la relación afectiva y efectiva de los agentes emocionales implicados: el mediador, el lector, la obra y el grupo de iguales. En el marco teórico se realiza una revisión de los principales modelos de inteligencia emocional propuestos por distintos expertos en la materia aplicados al ámbito empresarial y, en menor medida, al educativo, que parten de la revolucionaria teoría de las inteligencias múltiples de Howard Gardner (1983) y el concepto de inteligencia emocional de Salovey y Mayer (1990).
Desarrollo de la competencia global en la formación del maestro. El caso de la asignatura Practicum
Authors: Cornejo Sosa María José , Gómez-Jarabo Inmaculada
Published: December 2018

El hecho de que las aulas de infantil y primaria sean cada vez más multiculturales, hace necesario que los futuros maestros posean un grado de dominio alto en competencia intercultural. Así lo señala la OCDE a través de la evaluación de PISA al incluir para este 2018 la evaluación de la competencia global definida como “capacidad de analizar asuntos globales e interculturales, valorar distintas perspectivas desde el respeto por los derechos humanos, para interrelacionarse con personas de diferentes culturas emprender acciones por el bien común y por el desarrollo sostenible” (OCDE, 2016, p. 4). Sin embargo, si observamos los programas de los actuales Grados, la presencia de asignaturas y orientaciones que faciliten el conocimiento y comprensión de asuntos globales, las destrezas de pensamiento crítico y las actitudes de apertura y empatía hacia puntos de vista diferentes al propio, no es suficiente. En este sentido, el objetivo de este artículo es doble. En primer lugar, llamar la atención sobre la escasa preparación del estudiante universitario, en concreto de los Grados de Educación Infantil y Primaria, como responsable de desarrollar esta competencia en las siguientes generaciones y, en segundo lugar, proponer la asignatura de Practicum como medio propicio para desarrollar una pedagogía que familiarice a los chicos con diferentes contextos culturales.
Tiempo y memoria del Instituto-Escuela
Authors: Martínez Alfaro Encarnación
Published: December 2018

La conmemoración del centenario del Instituto-Escuela en 2018 es una oportunidad para reivindicar una institución trascendental en la educación española y, sin embargo bastante desconocida, al margen de determinados ámbitos académicos. Quizás es la menos conocida de las instituciones que dirigió la Junta para Ampliación de Estudios e Investigaciones Científicas (JAE) con el fin de modernizar e impulsar la ciencia, la cultura y la educación españolas, en el primer tercio del siglo XX. El Instituto-Escuela fue concebido como un centro experimental de Enseñanza Secundaria y de formación del profesorado, donde se ensayó un nuevo y ambicioso modo de educar que recogía la herencia de la Institución Libre de Enseñanza (ILE) y la pedagogía europea más avanzada de la época. Abrió sus puertas en 1918 en Madrid y desarrolló su proyecto pedagógico sin interrupción hasta 1936, cuando estalló la Guerra Civil. Fue tras ésta cuando su historia y su legado entraron en un largo periodo de casi absoluto olvido hasta fechas bastante recientes.Una de las sedes que tuvo el Instituto-Escuela, la Sección Retiro, localizada junto al famoso parque madrileño, es desde 1939 el Instituto Isabel la Católica. Por este motivo en él se han conservado, además del propio edificio, un archivo con expedientes de alumnos, un fondo bibliográfico de unos 1.500 libros con el sello del propio centro y abundante material científico-educativo. Desde el año 2006, un grupo de profesores hemos venido trabajando en la recuperación del patrimonio histórico-educativo del Instituto-Escuela para dar a conocer su existencia y significado en la historia de la educación española, descubrir la vigencia de muchas de las innovaciones pedagógicas que introdujo, y utilizarlo como recurso didáctico en proyectos interdisciplinares que llevamos a cabo cada curso con nuestros alumnos.
Impulso y resistencia en la creación de centros integrados en Aragón
Authors: Andrés Rubia Fernando
Published: December 2018

El curso 2017-18 se crearon por primera vez en Aragón los dos primeros Institutos-Escuela, con el nombre de centros integrados, a partir de la ampliación de colegios de infantil y primaria. La administración apuesta por la transformación de algunos centros existentes y la planificación en el futuro de nuevos centros con estas características como respuesta a la falta de plazas escolares de Secundaria en algunos barrios y zonas periféricas. Celebramos el centenario de la creación de los primeros Institutos-Escuela reconociendo sus aportaciones educativas innovadoras especialmente en aspectos relacionados con las transiciones de etapas. El Departamento de Educación, Cultura y Deporte del Gobierno de Aragón ha planificado la creación en los próximos años de hasta 18 centros y ha empezado a desarrollar una normativa específica para abordar su nueva estructura y organización. Ante esta apuesta escolar y este cambio de modelo de centro, analizaremos la respuesta y la reacción de los diferentes sectores de la comunidad educativa, destacando los apoyos y las principales resistencias que se presentan frente al cambio de modelo.
Los Institutos Escuela en Catalunya: recuperando la mejor tradición pedagógica de la república
Authors: Martínez Muñoz Màrius , Pinya Salomó Carmina
Published: December 2018

El artículo ofrece la síntesis de un estudio desarrollado en 2011 en 12 de los 18 Institutos Escuela (IE) que funcionaban en Catalunya en el marco de la Ley de Educación de Catalunya. El estudio, financiado por el Consell Superior d'Avaluació del Sistema Educatiu y el Instituto de Ciencias de la Educación de la UAB, abordó la visión que de estas instituciones tenían los directivos de los centros, una muestra del profesorado, de los tutores y tutoras y de las famílias, en los ámbitos organizativo, curricular, de orientación y de relación con el entorno. También se estudiaron dinámicas de coordinación entre centros de educación infantil y primaria y centros de secundaria en los mismos territorios con el fin de comprobar y contrastar otras dinámicas de coordinación en los mismos ámbitos en instituciones separadas. Los resultados mostraron una visión muy positiva por parte de todos los colectivos vinculados a los IE y también permitieron identificar 50 prácticas de referencia en la coordinación de las dos etapas en los planos citados, que se reseñan también en el artículo. El artículo termina con diez conclusiones que, en opinión de los autores, siguen perfectamente vigentes en la actualidad.