bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Properties of Biological Mutation Networks and Their Implications for ALife
Authors: Droop Alastair P. , Hickinbotham Simon J.
Published: July 2011

We report a study of networks constructed from mutation patterns observed in biology. These networks form evolutionary trajectories, which allow for both frequent substitution of closely related structures, and a small evolutionary distance between any two structures. These two properties define the small-world phenomenon. The mutation behavior between tokens in an evolvable artificial chemistry determines its ability to explore evolutionary space. This concept is underrepresented in previous work on string-based chemistries. We argue that small-world mutation networks will confer better exploration of the evolutionary space than either random or fully regular mutation strategies. We calculate network statistics from two data sets: amino acid substitution matrices, and codon-level single point mutations. The first class are observed data from protein alignments; while the second class is defined by the standard genetic code that is used to translate RNA into amino acids. We report a methodology for creating small-world mutation networks for artificial chemistries with arbitrary node count and connectivity. We argue that ALife systems would benefit from this approach, as it delivers a more viable exploration of evolutionary space.
Marketing Linkages: Secretariat Governance of the Climate-Biodiversity Interface
Authors: Jinnah Sikina
Published: July 2011

In this article I argue that, the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), led by its autonomously entrepreneurial Executive Secretary, influences overlap management by strategically linking biodiversity and climate change issues. Specifically, the Secretariat marketed (filtered, framed, and reiterated) strategic frames of the biodiversity-climate change interface that reframed biodiversity from a passive victim of climate impacts, to an active player in climate response measures (i.e. adaptation). This reframing is significant in that a major hurdle to selling the benefits of biodiversity conservation to countries with more pressing development concerns has been the perceived limited relevance of conservation to human well-being. In emphasizing biodiversity's role in human adaptation and security, the Secretariat has begun to shape member state discourse surrounding the biodiversity-climate change linkage. Ultimately aimed at enriching our emerging theoretical understanding of the role of international bureaucracies in global governance, this article illuminates: (1) how the Secretariat understands and manages biodiversity-climate linkages; (2) the origins of the Secretariat's understanding and activities surrounding this issue; and (3) how Secretariat participation in overlap management is beginning to influence CBD political processes and outcomes.
Jumping on the Human Rights Bandwagon: How Rights-based Linkages Can Refocus Climate Politics
Authors: Nicholson Simon , Chong Daniel
Published: July 2011

This paper makes a normative argument for the greater strategic utilization of human rights institutions, practices, and discourses by those seeking a robust response to climate change. Bandwagoning between these two regimes is hardly a new thing. The environmental movement has long looked to the human rights movement for ideas and support, and vice versa. Here, we argue that there is potential for even more explicit bandwagoning in ways that will most directly benefit those who are suffering, and will continue to suffer, from climate change's greatest impacts. The human rights framework offers a guide to more effective climate action via two interconnected arenas: a legal arena that provides an established set of tools for climate activists, and a political arena that provides a normative underpinning for a range of judicial and non-judicial actions in support of ‘climate justice.’ Ultimately, moral and strategic guidance from the human rights movement points the way to a more equitable and enduring climate politics, with fairness at its heart.
The Challenges of Planetary Bandwagoning
Authors: Wapner Paul
Published: July 2011

This article explores a paradox at the heart of climate bandwagoning. Numerous actors have hitched their efforts to climate policy formation in an effort either to advance their own interests or genuinely contribute to addressing this most urgent global dilemma or both. At the same time, the large number of stakeholders complicates climate negotiations as exceeding numbers of actors bring related but tangential issues into discussions and demand to be heard. The international community is thus faced with an almost existential situation: to address climate change in an effective manner requires nearly everyone in the room (regime bandwagoning); with everyone in the room, however, less is accomplished (regime sclerosis). This article explains such a paradox by stepping back from the cases presented in this special issue, and bringing into high relief the lineaments of regime congestion as they manifest in global climate affairs, and outlining the promises and perils involved.
Interest Groups and Pro-Animal Rights Legislation
Authors: Lutz Brenda J. , Lutz James M.
Published: July 2011

The American states have demonstrated varying levels of support for animal rights legislation. The activities of interest groups, including pressures from competing groups, help to explain the presence or absence of ten pro-animal regulations and laws. This article analyzes and ranks each of the fifty states with regard to ten key areas of animal protection and welfare legislation. The analysis reveals that states with a more agricultural economic base are less likely to provide protection to animals. In addition, states with a more traditional political culture are less likely to have pro-animal legislation in place.
Uncertainty Avoidance and Innovative Differences in a Multi-ethnic Society: A Female Perspective
Authors: Idris Aida
Published: July 2011

In multi-ethnic societies, the subject of cultural diversity and its effects on various aspects of entrepreneurship is often a significant area of research. Related studies contribute to the formulation of organisational strategies, as well as national plans, which aim to address economic imbalances among the various ethnic groups. Unfortunately, most studies in developing countries are conceptual and, therefore, lack empirical evidence to support their arguments. Furthermore, they tend to combine both sexes in a single sample and make little attempt to understand the value and behavioural differences between male and female entrepreneurs. At the same time, more recent scholars of gender have called for greater research on contextual differences among groups of women. The current study attempts to fill some of these gaps in the literature by examining how one particular cultural dimension, namely uncertainty avoidance, affects the entrepreneurial behaviour of Malay and Chinese women entrepreneurs in Malaysia. Innovation is chosen as the measure of entrepreneurial behaviour as it is often considered critical for growth; in turn, uncertainty avoidance is linked to innovation due to its association with novelty, changes, ambiguity and risk-taking. Results of the study affirm that uncertainty avoidance is a significant determinant of innovativeness. However, the study also suggests that women entrepreneurs may not necessarily conform to the values traditionally expected of them.
Rethinking the Concept of Masculinity and Femininity: Focusing on Iran’s Female Students
Authors: Cheng Karen Kow Yip , Ghajarieh Amir Biglar Beigi
Published: July 2011

Iran, with the world’s youngest population, needs to pay utmost attention to the content of textbooks used to instruct at the primary and secondary school levels because, in many parts of Iran (except for some affluent parts of the capital), the textbooks are the only reference books for the teachers and students. If these textbooks reflect gender-bias in their language and illustrations, especially at lower levels of education, future generations who are the hope for sustainable development in Iran as a developing country can be affected by the pictures of gender stereotypes and the bias generated through these textbooks. In this article, it is argued that due to the religious and social context of Iran, there is still great emphasis on the social theory of differences between men and women. This social role theory in Iran, together with mores and cultural values, leave no room for other versions of femininity and masculinity to emerge in the social sphere of Iranian society.
Probability Distribution Characteristics for Surface Air–Sea Turbulent Heat Fluxes over the Global Ocean
Authors: Gulev Sergey K. , Belyaev Konstantin
Published: July 2011

To analyze the probability density distributions of surface turbulent heat fluxes, the authors apply the two-parametric modified Fisher–Tippett (MFT) distribution to the sensible and latent turbulent heat fluxes recomputed from 6-hourly NCEP–NCAR reanalysis state variables for the period from 1948 to 2008. They derived the mean climatology and seasonal cycle of the location and scale parameters of the MFT distribution. Analysis of the parameters of probability distributions identified the areas where similar surface turbulent fluxes are determined by the very different shape of probability density functions. Estimated extreme turbulent heat fluxes amount to 1500–2000 W m−2 (for the 99th percentile) and can exceed 2000 W m−2 for higher percentiles in the subpolar latitudes and western boundary current regions. Analysis of linear trends and interannual variability in the mean and extreme fluxes shows that the strongest trends in extreme fluxes (more than 15 W m−2 decade−1) in the western boundary current regions are associated with the changes in the shape of distribution. In many regions changes in extreme fluxes may be different from those for the mean fluxes at interannual and decadal time scales. The correlation between interannual variability of the mean and extreme fluxes is relatively low in the tropics, the Southern Ocean, and the Kuroshio Extension region. Analysis of probability distributions in turbulent fluxes has also been used in assessing the impact of sampling errors in the Voluntary Observing Ship (VOS)-based surface flux climatologies, allowed for the estimation of the impact of sampling in extreme fluxes. Although sampling does not have a visible systematic effect on mean fluxes, sampling uncertainties result in the underestimation of extreme flux values exceeding 100 W m−2 in poorly sampled regions.
A New Scheme for Effective Roughness Length and Effective Zero-Plane Displacement in Land Surface Models
Authors: Zhong Zhong , Lu Wei , Song Shuai , Zhang Yaocun
Published: July 2011

Based on the similarity theory of the atmospheric surface layer and the flux conservation and mass conservation laws, a new scheme for determining the effective roughness length (ERL) and the effective zero-plane displacement (EZPD) for a heterogeneous terrain is proposed. The test for a two-category system case shows that the ERL (EZPD) is larger (smaller) than the area-weighted logarithmic (linear) averaged one, whereas differences between the new ERL/EZPD and their average values are increased with roughness ratio and rough-portion zero-plane displacement (RZPD) in the grid square. Though the ERL and EZPD show some dependence on atmospheric stability, they can be treated as constants in the land surface models unless the seasonal variation must be taken into account. This is due to the fact that the error percentage of the effective drag coefficients, which are dependent on the ERL and EZPD, is less than 2% under all stability conditions. Moreover, the dynamical effects of the underlying surface can be represented jointly by the ERL and the EZPD, either for a heterogeneous terrain or for a homogeneous terrain with high obstacles. The enhancement effect of the roughness ratio on ERL and EZPD is magnified by the RZPD. However, the ratio of rough area over smooth area, where the maximum ratio of ERL over the area-weighted mean as well as the maximum difference between EZPD and area-weighted mean occurs, is dependent on the roughness ratio but independent of the RZPD. The ERLs computed by this new model are also compared with other schemes and large-eddy simulation, where the effect of RZPD is not considered.
Encounter of Foehn Wind with an Atmospheric Eddy over the Black Sea as Observed by the Synthetic Aperture Radar Onboard Envisat
Authors: Alpers Werner , Ivanov Andrei Yu. , Dagestad Knut-Frode
Published: July 2011

Foehn wind blowing through the Kolkhida (Kolkheti) Lowland in the southwestern Caucasus (western Georgia) was observed on an Envisat synthetic aperture radar (SAR) image as it encountered an atmospheric cyclonic eddy over the Black Sea on 13 September 2010. This SAR image reveals unprecedented finescale features of the near-surface wind fields that cannot be resolved by other sensors. It shows, among others, the deflection of the foehn wind by the atmospheric eddy. Quantitative information on the near-surface wind field over the sea is extracted from the SAR image.
A Scale-Selective Data Assimilation Approach to Improving Tropical Cyclone Track and Intensity Forecasts in a Limited-Area Model: A Case Study of Hurricane Felix (2007)
Authors: Liu Bin , Xie Lian
Published: July 2011

Accurately forecasting a tropical cyclone’s (TC) track and intensity remains one of the top priorities in weather forecasting. A dynamical downscaling approach based on the scale-selective data assimilation (SSDA) method is applied to demonstrate its effectiveness in TC track and intensity forecasting. The SSDA approach retains the merits of global models in representing large-scale environmental flows and regional models in describing small-scale characteristics. The regional model is driven from the model domain interior by assimilating large-scale flows from global models, as well as from the model lateral boundaries by the conventional sponge zone relaxation. By using Hurricane Felix (2007) as a demonstration case, it is shown that, by assimilating large-scale flows from the Global Forecast System (GFS) forecasts into the regional model, the SSDA experiments perform better than both the original GFS forecasts and the control experiments, in which the regional model is only driven by lateral boundary conditions. The overall mean track forecast error for the SSDA experiments is reduced by over 40% relative to the control experiments, and by about 30% relative to the GFS forecasts, respectively. In terms of TC intensity, benefiting from higher grid resolution that better represents regional and small-scale processes, both the control and SSDA runs outperform the GFS forecasts. The SSDA runs show approximately 14% less overall mean intensity forecast error than do the control runs. It should be noted that, for the Felix case, the advantage of SSDA becomes more evident for forecasts with a lead time longer than 48 h.
There’s Still No Free Lunch
Authors: Ransdell Sarah
Published: July 2011

School-level performance on standardized reading comprehension was obtained for 259 public schools in a South Florida district with 270,000 children. Eleven percent of the students were English Language Learners (ELLs), and another 20% were English proficient (EP) and former ELLs, for a total of 31% or about 87,000 ELL students. Thirty-eight percent of all children, or about 100,000, qualified for free or reduced lunch (FRL) because of low family income. This study conducts a school-level analysis where SES markers are as available (and reliable) in both poor and relatively rich schools. Socioeconomic status included the percentage of children in the school with FRL, the average family income, and the average cost of the homes in the neighborhood of the school. Poverty is particularly important to define in a complex way in South Florida because bilingual status interacts with it to a substantial degree. Six unit-weighted composite variables including poverty, bilingualism, ethnicity, child risk behaviors, school resources, and teacher resources were created from 22 measured school-level variables. Schools identified as resilient are important because they have higher reading scores and higher poverty levels than other schools. Other notable characteristics of these resilient schools are that they obtain more state money per pupil, have less crime, and have a better student to teacher ratio.
Behavioral Economics
Authors: Etzioni Amitai
Published: July 2011

This article discusses the challenges behavioral economics poses for neoclassical economics and the ways in which the young field may move forward. After reviewing some of behavioral economics’ accomplishments and the responses to these accomplishments, the article asks whether its findings can be incorporated into the neoclassical paradigm and suggests additional steps behavioral economics may consider undertaking in order to expand its reach.
A Paradigm for Quantitative Behavioral Finance
Authors: Caginalp G. , DeSantis M.
Published: July 2011

With increasing evidence challenging the efficient market hypothesis, there is a need for a unified methodology capable of quantifying the various, sometimes conflicting, effects suggested by behavioral finance. A paradigm for quantifying these effects is presented in this article. The authors review recent studies of large-scale New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) data modeling the daily price change and formulate an augmented version of the methodology in which the impact of and over- or underreaction to news announcements are considered. Variables that are more difficult to consider, such as the “affect heuristic,” are also considered within the context of this theory.
Magnetic Resonance Imaging of the Brain in Children With Headache
Authors: Streibert Phillipp Fridolin , Piroth Werner , Mansour Michael , Haage Patrick , Langer Thorsten , Borusiak Peter
Published: July 2011

The aim of this study was to evaluate the frequency of abnormal findings in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in children with headache, the clinical relevance of these findings, and whether more sophisticated technologies also result in more relevant abnormal findings. The MRIs of 1004 children with age ranging from 1 to 17 years were retrospectively analyzed. Children who were investigated with established sequences (n = 419) were compared with those examined with state-of-the-art MRI acquisition technology (n = 585). In 216/1004 investigations, MRI was performed because of headache (74/216 with established sequences, 142/216 with state-of-the-art acquisition technology). In 114/216 (52.8%) patients with headache, the MRI was abnormal with relevant findings in 23/114 patients and findings without clinical relevance in 91/114 children. A higher incidence of abnormal findings than in previous reports was found but there was only limited clinical gain of information using modern sequences in children with headache.
Ecologically Based, Culturally Concordant Responding Following Disasters
Authors: Spokane Arnold R. , Inman Arpana G. , Weatherford Ryan D. , Davidson Anju Kaduvettoor , Straw Rebecca
Published: July 2011

This article reviews the existing theory, research, policy, and practice of disaster mental health and the role of counseling psychology in post-disaster and catastrophic situations, all from a social justice perspective. Specifically, we discuss the phases and stages, social ecology, and individual reactions to disasters. A case study is presented, followed by mental health interventions and counseling psychology’s role in these interventions at both the individual and systemic levels. We conclude with an overview of professional issues that often emerge when working in disaster areas, cultural issues that arise, and ways for counseling psychologists to become involved in this work.
Symbolic Violence and Prison Wives
Authors: Trammell Rebecca
Published: July 2011

Donaldson and Kupers describe protective pairing as a form of prison violence in which men protect other inmates in exchange for sex. In this article, interview data with male parolees who describe the conditions under which these relationships occur are used to update our understanding of this behavior. They describe protective pairs in gendered terms and the weaker of the two in the relationship is called a prison wife. This behavior is identified as symbolic violence by Pierre Bourdieu, who argues that the mere threat of violence is enough to control and dominate those in a subordinated social position. Typically, this form of male domination is used to control women. However, men explain that the threat of prison violence force some inmates to perform sexual acts for protection.
Suicide Risk at Young Adulthood
Authors: Hooven Carole , Snedker Karen A. , Thompson Elaine Adams
Published: July 2011

Young adult suicide is an important social problem, yet little is known about how risk for young adult suicide develops from earlier life stages. In this study the authors report on 759 young adults who were potential high school dropouts as youth. At both adolescence and young adulthood, measures of suicide risk status and related suicide risk factors are collected. With a two-by-two classification on the basis of suicide risk status at both adolescence and young adulthood, the authors distinguish four mutually exclusive groups reflecting suicide risk at two life stages. Using ANOVA and logistic regression, both adolescent and young adult suicide risk factors are identified, with evidence of similarity between risk factors at adolescence and at young adulthood, for both individual-level and social-context factors. There is also support for both continuity and discontinuity of adolescent suicide risk. Implications for social policy are discussed.
Re-assessing the current assessment practice of children with special education needs in Europe
Authors: Lebeer Jo , Birta-Székely Noémi , Demeter Kármen , Bohács Krisztina , Candeias Adelinda Araujo , Sønnesyn Gunvor , Partanen Petri , Dawson Lorna
Published: July 2011

This article reports the results of the European ‘DAFFODIL’’ (Dynamic Assessment of Functioning and Oriented at Development and Inclusive Learning) Project on the question of how functional and learning assessment systems facilitate or inhibit participation of children with developmental difficulties in inclusive education. Questionnaires were sent to medical, psychological, educational professionals, and parents in Sweden, Portugal, Hungary, Belgium, Romania, Norway, and the Virgin Islands. Interviews and focus groups were organized. Results (95%) showed that static standardized psychometric tests of intellectual, behavioural, and language functioning were mainly used, with the WISC-III being the most frequent test applied. Less than 5% of the 166 professionals in our sample used formative assessment and contextual observation to reveal learning or developmental potential in a process-oriented way. Experts were generally not satisfied with current assessment practices. Reported weaknesses included lack of time, human resources, materials, cooperation, and follow-up. Assessment practice was mainly used to determine whether a child should be placed in a special needs programme, a special school, or an institutional setting, depending on whether a country has inclusive education practice or not. Parents were satisfied with static functional assessment when its purpose was to obtain disability benefits (financial, special education resources, recognition), but were unhappy with the negative outlook of reports. The main complaint of teachers and parents was about the poverty of recommendations on how to work with the child. Our conclusion is that the current practice of standardized psychometric testing seems to contribute to barriers to learning if it is used in a deterministic or predictive way. In this regard, dynamic and functional assessment methods that are qualitatively oriented seem promising in addressing the issues of learning and development in a different way. The methods also contribute to an understanding of the child’s needs in learning and development. However, interpretation and communication of assessment results in a way that emphasizes a more adequate and challenging educational intervention for the child seems to be central.
‘Using Attachment Theory with Offenders’ by Maria Ansbro
Authors: Forbes David , Reilly Sigrun
Published: July 2011

This article is a response to ‘Using Attachment Theory with Offenders’ by Maria Ansbro which was published in the September 2008 issue of Probation Journal. The authors describe how they have promoted the importance of attachment theory and outline how they have applied it in the context of a risk training course in which Ansbro’s article is required reading. In particular, the authors advocate the need for offender managers not only to pay greater attention to an offender’s attachment history as an essential part of the risk assessment process, but also to recognize the centrality of the quality of the professional relationship in managing risk. In addition, the authors suggest approaching OASys (Offender Assessment System) from a new perspective that takes account of attachment issues.
The Ombudsman’s Role in Probation
Authors: Shaw Stephen
Published: July 2011

This article describes and analyses the involvement of the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman (PPO) with the Probation Service since 2001 when first complaints, and latterly the deaths of hostel residents, have come within its remit. The Ombudsman’s office now has two operational arms — one investigating complaints, and the other investigating fatal incidents — each with around 30 investigators. So far as probation is concerned, the fatal incidents remit only embraces the residents of approved premises, although it is possible for complaints to be made about other deaths of those subject to supervision.
The place of an advice and support service in a magistrates’ court
Authors: Auburn Tim , Hay Will , Wilkinson Tina
Published: July 2011

Against the backdrop of some important changes to the criminal justice system, this article reports an evaluation of an advice and support service in a large magistrates’ court. We also identify the main local drivers for the establishment of this service, namely the requirement to address the presence of several groups of low risk offenders on the probation caseload. Observations were made of the service’s day-to-day practices and interviews were conducted with key court personnel and a sample of the service’s clients. The findings identify two main issues: the ways in which the service engaged with offenders and court personnel; and the dilemmas associated with working in partnership with other agencies. We conclude by noting that despite various tensions and dilemmas, the service was highly valued by probation, magistrates and service users.
Ultra-Low-Velocity Knee Dislocations
Authors: Azar Frederick M. , Brandt Jason C. , Miller Robert H. , Phillips Barry B.
Published: July 2011

Background: Reports of low-velocity knee dislocations have focused primarily on dislocations occurring during athletic competition. The authors identified a subset of patients with low-velocity knee dislocations that occurred during activities of daily living, such as stepping off a curb, stepping off a stair, or simply falling while walking (ultra-low-velocity dislocations).

Hypothesis: Ultra-low-velocity knee dislocations are common in obese individuals and are associated with more complications than high-velocity knee dislocations.

Study Design: Case series; Level of evidence, 4.

Methods: A review of records identified 17 patients with knee dislocations that occurred during daily activities. All 17 were clinically obese, with an average body mass index (BMI) of 48 (BMI <25 is normal; ≥40 is severe obesity). Ligament injuries occurred in all 17 patients, neurologic injuries in 7, and popliteal artery injuries in 7. Thirteen (76.4%) of the 17 dislocations were anterior, 2 (11.8%) were posterior, and 2 (11.8%) were lateral. All dislocations were reduced closed and stabilized with splints, crossed pins, or external fixation; ligament reconstructions were done in 8 patients and popliteal artery repairs in 7. Above-knee amputations were required in 2 patients with vascular repairs because of tissue ischemia; 1 patient died from cardiac arrest 7 days after injury; and 3 were lost to follow-up. Of the 11 remaining patients, 6 had ligament reconstructions and 5 did not.

Results: Four standardized knee scoring systems (International Knee Documentation Committee [IKDC], Hospital for Special Surgery [HSS], Lysholm, Tegner) were used to evaluate outcome at an average follow-up of 28.5 months. Although scores were low in all patients, those with ligamentous reconstruction had better outcomes (“fair”: 74 ± 22) than those without reconstruction (“poor”: 21 ± 8.5), with a statistically significant ( P = .013) difference in HSS scores. Lysholm scores also were higher in those with reconstruction (average 67) than in those without (average 53), but the difference was not statistically significant ( P = .45).

Conclusion: These results indicate that (1) neurovascular injuries are frequent with these ultra-low-velocity dislocations in severely obese patients, (2) the likelihood of combined neurovascular injury tends to increase as BMI increases, and (3) surgical ligament reconstruction with emphasis on posterolateral corner repair appears to improve outcomes.
The Plantar Gap
Authors: Lee Kyung Tai , Park Young Uk , Young Ki Won , Kim Jin Su , Kim Jun Beom
Published: July 2011

Background: There have been diverse results, even in the same Torg type classification, in cases with fifth metatarsal stress fracture.

Hypothesis: The “plantar gap” is correlated with the time for bone union and complications. It might be used for a prognostic factor.

Study Design: Cohort study; Level of evidence, 3.

Methods: Seventy-five cases with a fifth metatarsal stress fracture treated with modified tension band wiring from January 2003 to December 2008 were evaluated retrospectively. This consecutive series of patients included 71 male and 2 female patients with a mean of 19.8 years of age at the time of surgery. All of the enrolled patients were elite-level athletes. Each case was classified according to Torg classification and the degree of plantar gap was also measured. After the surgery, bone union was determined by computed tomography findings. Statistical analysis of the Torg classification and time for bone union, as well as plantar gap and time for bone union, was performed.

Results: The mean time for bone union for each Torg type was 71.05 ± 21.77 days for type I, 104.48 ± 54.62 days for type II, and 122.92 ± 51.75 days for type III. There was a significant difference in the time for bone union among the 3 Torg types ( P = .008). The mean time for bone union in group A (plantar gap <1 mm) was 71.21 ± 29.95 days and it was 126.4 ± 51.99 days for group B (plantar gap ≥1 mm) (significantly different; P < .001). In addition, there was a positive correlation of the time for bone union with the degree of plantar gap (ρ = .661, P < .001). In cases with Torg type II classification, there was a significant difference in the time for bone union between groups A and B ( P < .001) In addition, there was a strong correlation between the time for bone union and the degree of plantar gap (ρ = .657, P < .001). There were 8 cases of nonunion in Torg type II, and 1 case in Torg III. With regard to the plantar gap, there was 1 case of nonunion in group A, and 8 cases in group B.

Conclusion: The results of this study suggest that the plantar gap might be used for prognosis in cases with a fifth metatarsal stress fracture, even in patients with the same Torg classification.
Analytic Review: Neurological Complications of Transplantation
Authors: Pustavoitau Aliaksei , Bhardwaj Anish , Stevens Robert
Published: July 2011

Recipients of solid organ or hematopoietic cell transplants are at risk of life-threatening neurological disorders including encephalopathy, seizures, infections and tumors of the central nervous system, stroke, central pontine myelinolysis, and neuromuscular disorders—often requiring admission to, or occurring in, the intensive care unit (ICU). Many of these complications are linked directly or indirectly to immunosuppressive therapy. However, neurological disorders may also result from graft versus host disease, or be an expression of the underlying disease which prompted transplantation, as well as injury induced during radiation, chemotherapy, surgery, and ICU stay. In rare cases, neuroinfectious pathogens may be transmitted with the transplanted tissue or organ. Diagnosis may be a challenge because clinical symptoms and findings on neuroimaging lack specificity, and a biological specimen or tissue diagnosis is often needed for definitive diagnosis. Management is centered on preventing further neurological injury, etiology-targeted therapy, and balancing the benefits and toxicities of specific immunosuppressive agents.
Review of a Large Clinical Series: Focused Bedside Echocardiography in the Surgical Intensive Care Unit: Comparison of 3 Methods to Estimate Cardiac Index
Authors: Gunst Mark , Matsushima Kazuhide , Sperry Jason , Ghaemmaghami Vafa , Robinson Melissa , O'Keeffe Terence , Friese Randall , Frankel Heidi
Published: July 2011

We sought to determine which of 3 methods used to evaluate cardiac index (CI) is the most accurate using focused bedside echocardiography (ECHO). We hypothesized that the fractional shortening (FS) method would provide a more accurate estimate of CI than the left ventricular outflow tract/velocity-time integral (LVOT/VTI) or Simpson’s methods. This was a prospective observational cohort study conducted in the surgical ICU of an urban level 1 trauma center utilizing all patients with a pulmonary artery catheter (PAC) in place. Three surgical intensive care unit (SICU) faculty and 3 fellows underwent focused cardiac ultrasound training. Focused ECHO exams—bedside echocardiographic assessment in trauma/critical care (BEAT)— were performed using the Sonosite portable ultrasound device (Bothall, Washington). Stroke volume (SV) measurements were prospectively obtained on all trauma/SICU patients, with a PAC in place, using FS, LVOT/VTI, and Simpson’s methods. The investigators were blinded to the PAC data. From each measurement, CI was calculated and categorized as low, normal, or high, based on a normal range of 2.4 to 4.0 L/min per m2. Each CI obtained from the PAC was similarly categorized. The association between the BEAT and PAC estimates of CI was evaluated for each method using chi-square goodness of fit. Eighty five BEAT exams were performed on consecutive SICU patients, 56% were on trauma and 44% on emergency general surgery patients. There was a statistically significant association between the CI estimate using the FS method (P = .012), but not the LVOT/VTI (P = .33) or Simpson’s method (P = .74). Our data showed a significant association between the PAC estimate of CI and our estimate using the FS method. The other methods were difficult to obtain, subjective, and inaccurate. Fractional shortening was the method of choice to estimate CI for the BEAT exam performed by intensivists in SICU patients.
Update on the Critical Care Management of Severe Burns
Authors: Kasten Kevin R. , Makley Amy T. , Kagan Richard J.
Published: July 2011

Care of the severely injured patient with burn requires correct diagnosis, appropriately tailored resuscitation, and definitive surgical management to reduce morbidity and mortality. Currently, mortality rates related to severe burn injuries continue to steadily decline due to the standardization of a multidisciplinary approach instituted at tertiary health care centers. Prompt and accurate diagnoses of burn wounds utilizing Lund-Browder diagrams allow for appropriate operative and nonoperative management. Coupled with diagnostic improvements, advances in resuscitation strategies involving rates, volumes, and fluid types have yielded demonstrable benefits related to all aspects of burn care. More recently, identification of comorbid conditions such as inhalation injury and malnutrition have produced appropriate protocols that aid the healing process in severely injured patients with burn. As more patients survive larger burn injuries, the early diagnosis and successful treatment of secondary and tertiary complications are becoming commonplace. While advances in this area are exciting, much work to elucidate immune pathways, diagnostic tests, and effective treatment regimens still remain. This review will provide an update on the critical care management of severe burns, touching on accurate diagnosis, resuscitation, and acute management of this difficult patient population.
Pneumothorax Following Ultrasound-Guided Jugular Vein Puncture for Central Venous Access in Interventional Radiology
Authors: Oner Banu , Karam Adib R. , Surapaneni Padmaja , Phillips David A.
Published: July 2011

Purpose:

The purpose of our study was to review the rate of pneumothorax following central venous access, using real-time ultrasound guidance.

Materials and methods:

Data related to ultrasound-guided venous puncture, for central venous access, performed between July 1, 2004 and June 30, 2008 was retrospectively and prospectively collected. Access route, needle gauge, catheter type, and diagnosis of pneumothorax on the intraprocedure spot radiographs and or the postprocedure chest radiographs, were recorded.

Results:

A total of 1262 ultrasound-guided jugular venous puncture for central venous access were performed on a total of 1066 patients between July 1, 2004 and June 30, 2008. Access vessels included 983 right internal jugular veins, 275 left internal jugular veins, and 4 right external jugular veins. No pneumothorax (0%) was identified.

Conclusion:

Due to an extremely low rate of pneumothorax following ultrasound-guided central venous access, 0% in our study and other published studies, we suggest that routine postprocedure chest radiograph to exclude pneumothorax may be dispensed unless it is suspected by the operator or if the patient becomes symptomatic.
A Critical Review of the Impact of Continuing Breastfeeding Education Provided to Nurses and Midwives
Authors: Ward Kathryn Nicole , Byrne Jennifer P.
Published: July 2011

This review of 15 studies from nine different countries analyzes the practice of continuing education on breastfeeding for health professionals, with a specific focus on nurses and midwives. Continuing breastfeeding education improves the knowledge, clinical skills and practices, and counseling skills of nurses and midwives, and it improves the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative compliance of institutions. Education of any duration is beneficial; however, findings support the recommendation of the World Health Organization that at least 18 hours’ education for all health professionals who advise pregnant women and mothers should be undertaken.
Where they Walk: What Aging Black Women’s Geographies Tell of Race, Gender, Space, and Social Transformation in Brazil
Authors: Henery Celeste S.
Published: July 2011

This article proposes aging black women’s geographies as a critical forum to rethink human-spatial relationships in Brazil. It ethnographically explores aging black women’s life narratives recounted while walking through their neighborhood in the city of Belo Horizonte. Their accounts of their lives in the neighborhood speak to racial, gender, and class positioning in Brazil and how these positions manifest in spatial configurations. However, their stories also reimagine the relationship between individuals, communities, and space offer counter-narratives to traditional concepts of geographic hierarchy, domination, and separation, suggested in ideas such as the ‘favela’. The analysis shows how aging black women’s geographies model possibilities for re-envisioning liberatory practices and environments.
Moving the crowd, ‘crowding’ the emcee: The coproduction and contestation of black normativity in freestyle rap battles
Authors: Samy Alim H. , Lee Jooyoung , Mason Carris Lauren
Published: July 2011

This article shows how participants in freestyle rap battles coproduce and contest hip hop as a black space. Through discourse analysis of long-term ethnographic fieldwork at an open mic venue in Los Angeles, we show how black normativity is co-constructed and sometimes challenged by non-black emcees and audience members. Specifically, we examine videotaped data of verbal artistic duels between a black and a Latino emcee, analyzing instances in which the black emcee draws on stereotypes of Mexicans to racialize the Latino emcee. We show how the Latino emcee sometimes participates in his own racialization, while, in other instances, he opposes this process with the support of the audience. This multiparty coproduction and contestation of black normativity highlights the fact that the normative status of particular social identities across sociocultural contexts cannot be seen as given, but rather, as constantly challenged and maintained by invested actors.
Isomorphism-based robust right coprime factorization realization for non-linear feedback systems
Authors: Bu N , Deng M
Published: July 2011

The realization of the system design problem for a non-linear feedback control system is considered by robust right coprime factorization and isomorphism. First, a feedback system with a series compensator and a feedback compensator is designed to construct a stable isomorphic subspace of the controlled plant’s input space, and then the right factorization of the plant can be realized. Moreover, the right factorization can be guaranteed to be a right coprime factorization by satisfying a Bezout identity. Further, based on asymptotic stability, a quantitative design scheme is proposed to guarantee the robust stability of the non-linear feedback system and the plant output tracking to the reference input. The effectiveness of the proposed design scheme is confirmed by the simulation results.
Actuator fault detection on a process control experimental system using combined observers
Authors: Deng M , Maekawa T , Bu N , Inoue A
Published: July 2011

This paper is concerned with the actuator fault detection problem for a process control experimental system using combined observers. That is, a fault detection system is designed for a water level control valve of a process experimental system by using a disturbance observer. Moreover, for the process experimental system with uncertainties, an adaptive observer using an unknown parameter identification mechanism combining with a disturbance observer is proposed to deal with the actuator fault detection problem. The effectiveness of the proposed method is confirmed by experimental results.
Slip parameter estimation for tele-operated ground vehicles in slippery terrain
Authors: Song X , Seneviratne L D , Althoefer K
Published: July 2011

Operating a ground vehicle remotely is a cooperative activity between the vehicle and the operator. Existing tele-operated/driven vehicles suffer from poor traversability in slippery terrain during task execution. Improving vehicle traversability will facilitate their efficiency when manoeuvring in difficult environments. Slip is important for determining traction forces and handling characteristics when vehicles traverse slippery terrain. This paper presents a slip-estimation approach using an optical-flow technique and a non-linear observer/filter. An onboard downward-looking camera acquires image sequences of the terrain surface during vehicle motion. By tracking salient natural features on terrain surfaces, the optical-flow algorithm provides estimates of vehicle pose and velocity. Using estimates from the optical-flow algorithm and wheel angular velocity obtained from wheel encoders, the observer estimates longitudinal slip values and the slip angle. The proposed approach has been evaluated on test rigs and a skid-steering mobile robot. A comprehensive comparison has been made between a sliding mode observer (SMO) and an extended Kalman filter (EKF) in terms of estimation accuracy, convergence speed, robustness, and computational costs. The SMO is shown to have good accuracy and fast convergence speed comparable to that of the EKF; moreover, the SMO does not require knowledge of noise statistics, and computes faster than the EKF.
Assisting control for pendulum-like juggling in human adaptive mechatronics
Authors: Furuta K , Kado Y , Shiratori S , Suzuki S
Published: July 2011

Human Adaptive Mechatronics consists of human and mechatronics, and aims to develop mechatronics systems adapting and assisting human operations. In this paper, an operation assisting system is presented, and the effectiveness was confirmed experimentally using a haptic interface device for the pendulum-like juggling operation, which is appropriate for evaluation of an assistance control method since it requires human voluntary motion control inevitably used in a human–machine interface operation. The presented assistant control system consists of three control sub-systems: a virtual-internal-model force controller, a servo controller to match the response of the controlled machine to the virtual model, and the correction force controller to assist the human operator. Applying the presented control to the juggling task experimentally, it was demonstrated that not only assistant to the operator but also recovering against human inadequate operation could be realized without switching the system structure. Additional identification analysis of the trained operator’s frequency characteristic proved that the operator had mastered the interface-device manipulation because the cross-over model property which is a sign of a skilled operator was confirmed.
Coronary Artery Disease Risk Factors in Urban Areas of Yazd City, Iran
Authors: Lotfi Mohammad Hassan , Sadr Saied Mahmmoud , Nemayandea Saied Mahdea
Published: July 2011

Background: Coronary artery disease (CAD) is a major cause of mortality and morbidity with high health care cost in both developed and developing countries. CAD accounts for nearly 50% of all yearly deaths in Iran. Objective: The aim of this study is to explore the main CAD risk factors in the urban areas of Yazd in the Islamic Republic of Iran. Methods: A hospital-based case–control study was conducted to investigate the role of the important CAD risk factors in urban area of Yazd city from December 2007 to June 2008. A total of 436 subjects in the age group of 30 to 75 years (218 cases and 218 controls) were included in this study. The tools of enquiry were a pretested and precoded questionnaire, physical examination, and laboratory findings. A confidence level of 95% and study power of 80% were considered for the interpretation of possible significant findings. Gender-wise stratified analysis was separately done for men and women using multiple conditional logistic regression. Results: A total of 75.5% of the participants were men and 24.5% were women. Five variables, including unskilled jobs, physical inactivity, giving positive history of hypertension, high levels of waist/hip ratio, and low levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) were the factors that could account for significant predictors of CAD in males on the logistic model ( P < .05). No such significant CAD predictors were found for women. Conclusion: The findings showed that categories of nonprofessional, physical inactivity, positive history of hypertension, wais/hip ratio ≥0.9 and HDL levels ≤40 mg/dL are the significant risk factors that can predict CAD in male residents of Yazd.