bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Two putative zinc metalloproteases contribute to the virulence of Clostridium perfringens strains that cause avian necrotic enteritis
Authors: Wade Ben , Keyburn Anthony L. , Haring Volker , Ford Mark , Rood Julian I. , Moore Robert J.
Published: January 2020

Two putative zinc metalloproteases encoded by Clostridium perfringens have been implicated in the pathogenesis of necrotic enteritis, an economically significant poultry disease that is caused by this anaerobic bacterium. These proteases have ~64% amino acid identity and are encoded by the zmpA and zmpB genes. We screened 83 C. perfringens isolates by PCR for the presence of these genes. The first gene, zmpB, is chromosomally located and was present in all screened strains of C. perfringens, regardless of their origin and virulence. The second gene, zmpA, is plasmid-borne and was only found in isolates derived from chickens with necrotic enteritis. We describe the generation of insertionally inactivated mutants of both zmpA and zmpB in a virulent C. perfringens isolate. For each mutant, a significant ( p < 0.001) reduction in virulence was observed in a chicken necrotic enteritis disease model. Examples of each mutant strain were characterized by whole genome sequencing, which showed that there were a few off-site mutations with the potential to affect the virulence of these strains. To confirm the importance of these genes, independently derived zmpA and zmpB mutants were constructed in different virulent C. perfringens isolates and shown to have reduced virulence in the experimental disease induction model. A zmpA–zmpB double mutant also was generated and shown to have significantly reduced virulence, to the same extent as the respective single mutants. Our results provide evidence that both putative zinc metalloproteases play an important role in disease pathogenesis.
Cortisol urinary metabolites in dogs with hypercortisolism, congestive heart failure, and healthy dogs: pilot investigation
Authors: Quilez Ester , Burchell Richard K. , Thorstensen Eric B. , Weidgraaf Karin , Parbhu Stacey E. , Lopez-Villalobos Nicolas , Gal Arnon
Published: January 2020

Nonadrenal diseases (NAD), including congestive heart failure (CHF), can affect the conversion of cortisone to cortisol favoring the production of cortisol’s urinary downstream metabolites 5α/5β-tetrahydrocortisol (THF) relative to tetrahydrocortisone (THE). We hypothesized that healthy dogs would have lower urinary levels of cortisol, cortisone, THF, and THE than dogs with hypercortisolism (HC) or CHF, and the latter would have higher urinary levels of THF and lower THE than dogs with HC. Four, 9, and 8 dogs with HC, CHF, and normal health, respectively, were included in a pilot prospective cross-sectional study. A single morning voided urine sample was analyzed for urinary cortisol metabolites by liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry. The percentages of conjugated urinary metabolites were significantly higher in dogs with CHF than in healthy dogs ( p = 0.001), and not different in HC dogs ( p = 0.07). Log-transformed urine cortisol metabolites–to–creatinine ratios in healthy dogs were significantly lower than the 2 other groups ( p < 0.001). The urinary free THE:THF ratio was significantly higher ( p < 0.001) than the urinary total and conjugated THE:THF ratios. Health status did not affect the total, conjugated, and free THE:THF ratios ( p = 0.61). Additional studies are needed to investigate differences in cortisol metabolites between dogs with HC and NAD to accurately discriminate between the groups.
Comparison of the Strength and Electromyography of the Evertor Muscles With and Without Toe Flexion in Patients With Chronic Ankle Instability
Authors: Ahn Sun-hee , Hwang Ui-jae , Gwak Gyeong-tae , Yoo Hwa-ik , Kwon Oh-yun
Published: January 2020

Background:

Weakness of evertor strength is controversial in chronic ankle instability (CAI). Ankle evertor muscles are attached to the toe joints as well as to the metatarsal bone. Therefore, it is necessary to consider toe joint position for the measurement of evertor strength. The purpose of this study was to compare ankle evertor strength and muscle activity during eversion with and without toe flexion (TF) in individuals with CAI and individuals in a healthy group.

Methods:

Fifteen subjects with CAI and 15 healthy subjects participated in this study. Isometric ankle evertor strength and muscle activity of the peroneus longus (PL), peroneus brevis (PB), and extensor digitorum longus (EDL) were measured during eversion with and without TF.

Results:

The results indicated a significant interaction effect in evertor strength ( P = .03) and no significant interaction effect on EMG of the PL ( P = .08), PB ( P = .12), and EDL ( P = .28). However, measurements of muscle activity of the PL and PB between eversion with and without TF revealed a significant difference in the CAI group ( P < .01) and no significant difference in the healthy group (PL: P = .07; PB: P = .13).

Conclusion:

The results indicated that subjects with CAI had increased EDL compensation and reduced selective activation of the PL and PB during eversion.

Clinical Relevance:

Our findings suggest that clinicians should consider the activation of EDL when training the evertor of patients with CAI.
I Surrender to the Sacred Ways and Walk the Inner Places: Donovan’s Poem
Authors: Machado Silvio
Published: January 2020

The following is a poetic transcription presented as a 12-part poem. The author constructed the poem from an email interview conducted with “Donovan,” a 61-year-old, White, gay man. The interview was part of a larger study on the experience of LGBTQ+ identity as spiritual identity, which focused on individuals who believe their LGBTQ+ identity is imbued or imbues their life with spiritual qualities. Donovan is a monk in a tradition that blends Hinduism, Buddhism, Native American Spirituality, and Paganism and that honors the “Hayamoni,” a Pali word for Two-Spirit people. The narrative poem reflects his perspective on the experience and meaning of LGBTQ+ spiritual identity in his life. The poem is presented without a literature review in an effort to privilege Donovan’s lived experience and perspective.
Working With Indigenous Elders in Narrative Inquiry: Reflections and Key Considerations
Authors: Lessard Sean , Kootenay Isabelle , Whiskeyjack Francis , Chung Simmee , Clandinin Jean , Caine Vera
Published: January 2020

The Canadian research context shifted with the adoption of the report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and its focus on considerations of Indigenous peoples. Drawing on multiple years of working together, this article explores the experiences of members of a research team that includes Indigenous Elders. The authors revisit three significant research encounters: engaging in teachings of “silent walking,” engaging in teachings through the processes of drum making with youth, and engaging in teachings on the importance of language. Three important considerations for working in research teams with Elders are the importance of continuing to find ways to be in relation, to live reciprocity beyond the rhetoric often associated with Indigenous research, and to see our work as marked by mutuality.
Spatial–Temporal Neighborhood Patterns in Four Legacy Cities
Authors: Kinahan Kelly L.
Published: January 2020

Legacy cities are characterized by long-term, declining trends in both population and economic characteristics, but how these events translate to the neighborhood scale is less well understood. This research investigates the evolution of neighborhood types in four legacy cities—Baltimore, Cleveland, Philadelphia, and St. Louis—from 1970 to 2010. Working from a multidimensional framework of variables across five census decades, hierarchical cluster analysis and discriminant analysis are used to develop a neighborhood typology, identify temporal trends, and describe the pathways of transition. Results reveal four crosscutting neighborhood types: Black Distressed; Lower Middle; Multifamily, Educated, Turnover; and Upper Middle, which persist across space and time. Most neighborhoods (61%) remained classified within the same type over 40 years, and transitions were concentrated in two decades (1970–1980 and 2000–2010). The results offer a new descriptive dimension for understanding the unevenness present across legacy cities and suggest that existing policy approaches continually reproduce the same neighborhood outcomes.
Ultrasound-guided percutaneous retrieval of transected radial artery catheter
Authors: Derycke Lucie , Mallios Alexandros
Published: January 2020

Objective:

To report our technique for percutaneous ultrasound-guided retrieval of accidentally transected arterial lines.

Cases description:

Two patients are reported herein; in both of these patients, a part of the 20-gauge catheter inserted for invasive monitoring of their blood pressure in the intensive care unit was accidentally transected with part of the catheter remaining in the radial artery. Both patients were initially asymptomatic; therefore, a minimally invasive technique was sought to remove the catheters without inducing significant risk. Under local anesthesia and ultrasound guidance at the patient bedside, a 6Fr slender sheath was introduced and with the help of a Fogarty catheter in one case, and in the other case, a 0.014-in hydrophobic wire was used to cannulate the catheter, and it was withdrawn into the sheath and removed with it uneventfully.
Molecular dynamics simulation and experimental study on the lubrication of graphene additive films
Authors: Zhang Lixiu , Lu Bing , Wu Yuhou , Wang Junhai , Zhang Xinyue , Wang Liyan , Xi Dongyang
Published: January 2020

Friction between silicon nitride (Si3N4) and bearing steel (GCr15) affects the hybrid bearing performance. The effects of graphene as an additive in n-hexadecane (C16H34) lubricating oil on the lubricating properties of a Si3N4-GCr15 friction pair were studied. The effects of pressure and shear velocity on the coefficient of friction and friction force were probed experimentally, while the changes in the van der Waals energy, shear stress, and thickness of the solid film in the lubrication area were simulated by molecular dynamics methods. Graphene additives increased the van der Waals energy and thickness of the solid film in the lubrication region, while reducing the shear stress of the Si3N4-GCr15 friction pair, coefficient of friction, and friction force. Furthermore, the lower the overall shearing velocity, the lower was the van der Waals energy and shear stress, and the thicker was the solid film. Finally, as the pressure and shear velocity increased, graphene exerted a greater influence on the lubricating properties of the Si3N4-GCr15 friction pair.
Comparison between psychological responses to ‘object colour produced by paint colour’ and ‘object colour produced by light source’
Authors: Lee Heewon , Park Jiyoung , Lee Jinsook
Published: January 2020

This study aimed to systematically analyse the differences in emotions evoked by the same colour, depending on whether it is an object or light colour. To this end, an assessment was conducted using mock experimental spaces created with either object or light colours (red, green, blue and yellow) and with different levels of illuminance (10 lx or 100 lx). The participants comprised 30 graduate students (19 men; 20–30 years) majoring in colour and lighting, and the vocabulary selected for emotional assessment included the words ‘comfortable’, ‘stable’, ‘tense’, ‘anxious’, ‘cool’ and ‘warm’. The results demonstrated differences between participants’ emotional reactions to the object colour and light colour environments when the same colour was used. For red, green and blue, the object colour was rated higher than the light colour for positive responses of ‘comfortable’ and ‘stable’. For yellow, however, the response differed only slightly between object colour and light colour. Finally, emotional differences varied significantly depending on illuminance level for object colour but not for light colour.
Mental health professional perspectives on health data sharing: Mixed methods study
Authors: Grando Adela , Ivanova Julia , Hiestand Megan , Soni Hiral , Murcko Anita , Saks Michael , Kaufman David , Whitfield Mary Jo , Dye Christy , Chern Darwyn , Maupin Jonathan
Published: January 2020

This study explores behavioral health professionals’ perceptions of granular data. Semi-structured in-person interviews of 20 health professionals were conducted at two different sites. Qualitative and quantitative analysis was performed. While most health professionals agreed that patients should control who accesses their personal medical record (70%), there are certain types of health information that should never be restricted (65%). Emergent themes, including perceived reasons that patients might share or withhold certain types of health information (65%), care coordination (12%), patient comprehension (11%), stigma (5%), trust (3%), sociocultural understanding (3%), and dissatisfaction with consent processes (1%), are explored. The impact of care role (prescriber or non-prescriber) on data-sharing perception is explored as well. This study informs the discussion on developing technology that helps balance provider and patient data-sharing and access needs.
Physical configuration-based feedforward active noise control using adaptive second-order truncated Volterra filter
Authors: Peng Tongrui , Zhu Quanmin , Tokhi MO , Yao Yufeng
Published: January 2020

This paper presents a physical configuration-based feedforward active noise control scheme with an adaptive second-order truncated Volterra filter for point source cancellation in three-dimensional free-field acoustic environment. The inertial particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm is used as the parameter adjustment mechanism for tuning the coefficients of the adaptive Volterra filter. The first motivation of this paper is to provide a precise description of the relationship between the degree of cancellation and the physical distances between system components. The second motivation is to improve the cancellation performance in the presence of nonlinearities with the adaptive Volterra filter in light of the characteristics of sensing microphone and actuating loudspeaker. The reason for choosing the inertial PSO algorithm is that it can avoid the trap of local optima. The work thus presented makes two main contributions. The first is using the degree of cancellation as a function of the physical distances between system components to provide a quantitative analysis of system performance. The second is the application of the adaptive Volterra filter, which achieves improvements in the cancellation performance of the system under different physical configurations with a reasonable compromise with complexity. For consistency with the numerical analysis, several simulation experiments are conducted using MATLAB/Simulink.
Technology Intervention: Rethinking the Role of Education and Faculty in the Transformative Digital Environment
Authors: Rosenbusch Katherine
Published: January 2020

The Problem

Technology has affected almost every aspect of our lives, including education. Higher education is shifting the dynamics of delivery methods from traditional face-to-face to online to blended modes. Many universities are reaching a physical space capacity and therefore are attempting to increase online enrollment and geographical footprint. These changes are shifting the nature of higher education and how faculty are being viewed, evaluated, and, to some degree, hired. This article will focus on highlighting the challenges and opportunities of utilizing technology within universities, especially human resource development (HRD) programs.

The Solution

Technology is transforming higher education. Institutions can serve as an incubator to reimagine and redesign education altogether for the good of society. Online, mobile, and blended learning have become a part of our future. An important step is tracking how these models are actively enriching learning outcomes. Universities must be at the forefront of advancing progressive learning approaches and understanding the impact of technology on faculty and students.

The Stakeholders

The key stakeholders for this article include faculty, students, and university administrators. It will also affect businesses and human resource professionals for talent acquisition.
Mechanisms of liver fibrosis and its role in liver cancer
Authors: Dhar Debanjan , Baglieri Jacopo , Kisseleva Tatiana , Brenner David A
Published: January 2020

Hepatic fibrogenesis is a pathophysiological outcome of chronic liver injury hallmarked by excessive accumulation of extracellular matrix proteins. Fibrosis is a dynamic process that involves cross-talk between parenchymal cells (hepatocytes), hepatic stellate cells, sinusoidal endothelial cells and both resident and infiltrating immune cells. In this review, we focus on key cell-types that contribute to liver fibrosis, cytokines, and chemokines influencing this process and what it takes for fibrosis to regress. We discuss how mitochondria and metabolic changes in hepatic stellate cells modulate the fibrogenic process. We also briefly review how the presence of fibrosis affects development of hepatocellular carcinoma.

Impact statement

Advanced liver fibrosis results in cirrhosis, portal hypertension, and liver failure and often requires liver transplantation. Advanced liver fibrosis and cirrhosis are also major risk factors for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) play a pivotal role in the pathogenesis of liver fibrosis. In this review, we summarize the basic mechanisms that influence liver fibrosis development and how oxidative stress, mitochondrial dysfunction, and metabolic remodeling modulate HSC activation and indicate areas of potential therapeutic intervention.
Coaches and parents hold contrasting perceptions of optimal youth development activities in track and field athletics
Authors: Kearney Philip E , Comyns Thomas M , Hayes Philip R
Published: January 2020

This study examined track and field coaches’ and parents’ knowledge of (a) the relationship between adolescent and later success, (b) factors contributing to adolescent success, particularly in relation to relative age effects, and (c) optimal athlete development practices, such as the timing of sport specialisation. Fifty-two coaches and 116 parents completed a survey comprising both closed and open questions. Compared to coaches, parents were more likely to believe that successful adults had achieved success during early adolescence and to connect that success to innate ability rather than relative development. However, there was no difference in the proportion of parents and coaches who reported familiarity with the relative age effect (approximately 50%). The most pronounced differences between coaches and players were in relation to optimal youth development practices, with parents more likely to encourage year-round training at an earlier age, and specialising in a single sport at an earlier age. Contrasting the knowledge reported by coaches and parents with the results of quantitative studies of youth development suggests that bespoke education is required for both groups. Furthermore, the explanations provided by parents and coaches for their beliefs about youth sport practices suggest that professional bodies need to provide more nuanced instruction to stakeholders on how to implement general guidelines on healthy youth sport practices into their individual practice.
Readiness to train: Return to baseline strength and velocity following strength or power training
Authors: Vernon Alexander , Joyce Christopher , Banyard Harry G
Published: January 2020

This study investigated the return to baseline of movement velocity and maximal strength following a strength-orientated session and power-orientated session in the free-weight back-squat performed with maximal concentric velocity. Fourteen strength-trained males completed a strength-orientated session (five sets of five repetitions @80% of a one-repetition maximum) and a power-orientated session (three sets of six repetitions @50% one-repetition maximum ) in a randomised order over two weeks (e.g. strength week 1, power week 2). The back-squat was then performed with loads of 20%, 40%, 60%, 80%, 90% and 100% one-repetition maximum at 24, 48, 72 and 96 h following the strength and power exercise sessions to assess return to baseline of squat velocity and maximal strength. Dependent variables included one-repetition maximum, back-squat mean velocity and peak velocity and countermovement jump peak velocity. Meaningful changes ((effect size) ≥ −0.60) were reported for mean velocity and peak velocity at loads ≥ 60% one-repetition maximum at 24 and 48 h after the strength-orientated session. Trivial to small (effect size ≤ −0.59) differences were reported for squat velocities following the power-orientated session. Only trivial to small effect size differences were observed for countermovement jump peak velocity and one-repetition maximum at all time points following both sessions. Squat velocity (mean velocity and peak velocity) across the load–velocity profile had recovered at 72 h following the strength-orientated session. However, the return to baseline of squat velocity (mean velocity and peak velocity) did not coincide with the return to baseline of one-repetition maximum or countermovement jump peak velocity. Therefore, measuring and monitoring meaningful changes in velocity may be a more valid and practical alternative in determining full recovery and readiness to train.
Debating terrorism in a political transition: Journalism and democracy in Tunisia
Authors: Høigilt Jacob , Selvik Kjetil
Published: January 2020

In March 2015, in the midst of a political transition, Tunisia was rocked by a terrorist attack at the Bardo Museum in downtown Tunis in which 21 people were killed. How did Tunisian journalists manage the tension between a heightened sense of insecurity and the country’s uncertain democratic development? This article analyses journalistic commentary on the causes and implications of terrorism four years into the transition sparked by the Arab uprisings. It provides an empirically nuanced perspective on the role of journalism in political transitions, focusing on journalists as arbitrators in public debate. We argue that influential Tunisian journalists fell back on interpretive schema from the Ben Ali era when they tried to make sense of the Bardo attack, thus facilitating the authoritarian drift of the Tunisian government at the time. They actively contributed to the non-linearity of a political transition, despite enjoying real freedom of speech.
The English school and the classical approach: Between modernism and interpretivism
Authors: Bevir Mark , Hall Ian
Published: January 2020

This article analyses the evolution of the English school’s approach to international relations from the work of the early British Committee in the late 1950s and early 1960s to its revival in the 1990s and afterwards. It argues that the school’s so-called ‘classical approach’ was shaped by the crisis of developmental historicism brought on by the First World War and by the reactions of historians like Herbert Butterfield and Martin Wight to the rise of modernist social science in the twentieth century. It characterises the classical approach, as advanced by Hedley Bull, as a form of ‘reluctant modernism’ with underlying interpretivist commitments and unresolved tensions with modernist approaches. It argues that to resolve some of the confusion concerning its preferred approach to the study of international relations, the English school should return to the interpretivist commitments of its early thinkers.
‘Umbrella construct’ – an innovative technique for reconstruction of the proximal humerus after curettage in locally aggressive benign bone tumours
Authors: Gulia Ashish , Puri Ajay , Gupta Srinath , Kurisunkal Vineet
Published: January 2020

Aim

Reconstructing locally aggressive benign bone tumours of the proximal humerus after intralesional curettage is a challenge. We present a novel reconstruction technique ‘ Umbrella construct’ where a femoral head and a strut allograft are combined to reconstruct the cavity. Complications, graft incorporation time, functional (Musculoskeletal Tumor Society score [MSTS]) and oncological outcomes were evaluated.

Methods

Between January 2006 and June 2017, 11 cases (10 giant cell tumours, 1 chondroblastoma) underwent curettage followed by reconstruction with Umbrella construct. There were six females and five males with a mean age of 23 years (range 14–36 years). The maximum longitudinal extent of disease was 9 cm (range 5–9 cm).

Results

The median follow-up was 54 months (range 34–122 months). The mean allograft incorporation time was 7 months (5–8 months). One patient had a graft fracture which was managed conservatively. Two cases developed local recurrence and the construct was revised to a prosthesis in both. The mean MSTS score for the nine cases with retained graft was 27 (23–29).

Conclusions

Umbrella construct is an effective reconstruction modality which helps to maintain joint congruity and limb length. It has acceptable oncological outcomes with good function.
Hematoma following total elbow arthroplasty: incidence, management, and outcomes
Authors: Zmistowski Benjamin , Chapman Talia , Sheth Mihir , Getz Charles L , Ramsey Matthew L , Namdari Surena
Published: January 2020

Introduction

This study investigates the incidence, risk factors for, and clinical outcomes of hematoma following total elbow arthroplasty.

Methods

We retrospectively reviewed patient and surgical characteristics as predictors of post-operative hematoma in 382 total elbow arthroplasty (196 primary, 157 revision, and 29 conversion) between May 2004 and February, 2017. For comparison of outcomes, cases were matched (1:2) with controls by age, gender, type of surgery, and surgical indication.

Results

Nineteen post-operative hematomas (5.0%; 19/382) were identified. Total elbow arthroplasty for post-traumatic arthritis (6.7%; 4/60), aseptic loosening (7.9%; 3/38), sequelae of periprosthetic joint infection (6.1%; 5/81), and non-union (28.6%; 2/7) had the highest incidence of hematoma. Clinic aspiration and compressive wrap was performed in 14 patients and avoided a return to the operating room in 78.6% (11/14). Seven patients (36.8%) required a return to the operating room, of which five (71.4%) had positive cultures and required treatment for prosthetic joint infection. Compared to the matched controls, hematoma formation predicted a higher rate of reoperation (36.8% versus 7.9%; p = 0.007) and a higher rate of subsequent prosthetic joint infection (35.7% versus 0%; p = 0.008).

Conclusion

Hematoma formation is associated with both prosthetic joint infection and return to the operating room after total elbow arthroplasty. Strategies to prevent hematoma formation after total elbow arthroplasty may reduce complication rates.
Entitlements, Capabilities, and Crisis in the United Kingdom
Authors: Hartworth Christopher , Richards Carol , Convery Ian
Published: January 2020

This paper examines whether Amartya Sen’s entitlements and capabilities concepts can be transferred in their application from low-income countries to high-income countries, specifically Cumbria, Northern England. Originally used to understand the causes of famine, these concepts have previously been used in several different geographical contexts to broadly understand poverty and inequality but almost entirely in low-income countries. This paper applies these concepts to a United Kingdom context in an attempt to understand the causes of poverty and inequality among people experiencing “livelihood crisis.” The research uses data from two nongovernmental social welfare projects to examine the causes of crisis and the remedial effects of the intervention. Our findings indicate that these concepts can help to explain how people find themselves in crisis in Cumbria. On a broader level, they can also be used to explain poverty, inequality, and disadvantage in communities in the United Kingdom. The authors put forward that entitlements and capabilities provide a useful framework to advance the policy and political debate on the causes of poverty by providing a straightforward language and broad application. Entitlement and capabilities can also assist social welfare programs in framing their aims and objectives and through improved understanding about the causes of inequality, will be better able to support people out of disadvantage by strengthening entitlements and building capabilities, without the necessity of large-scale investment.
Pat, Play, and Pay: Trialing a Pay-What-You-Want Model for an Up-Close Animal Encounter
Authors: Borg Kim , Jungbluth Lena , Smith Liam
Published: January 2020

Zoos provide an opportunity for individuals to connect with nature. When individuals feel connected to nature, they are more likely to have positive attitudes toward the environment and to donate to pro-environmental causes. The purpose of the current study was to test the effectiveness of employing a “Pay-What-You-Want” (PWYW) pricing model in a not-for-profit zoo environment. We were interested in financial and nonfinancial outcomes of asking participants to determine their own price. Although the trial resulted in a decrease in per-person payments, there was a positive relationship between payment amount and customer satisfaction and attitude toward the zoo, and a negative relationship between the payment amount and group size. We also found some evidence that engaging in PWYW encouraged central route information processing (as per the elaboration likelihood model theory of persuasion). However, additional research is required to further understand effect of PWYW on elaboration and attitude.
Is Self-Reported Propensity for Everyday Illusions of Control Higher in Gamblers and Is It Associated With Gambling-Specific Erroneous Beliefs?
Authors: Delfabbro Paul , Georgiou Neophytos , Malvaso Catia , King Daniel
Published: January 2020

People who engage in gambling are known to hold erroneous views about the nature of gambling. One of the most commonly observed cognitive biases is the illusion of control, where people’s subjective appraisal of contingency between behavior and events is greater than the objective contingency. Such beliefs have been found to be strongest in problem gamblers and can lead to over-confidence in the ability to win money from gambling. A question, however, is whether such perceptions are (a) specific to gambling and whether gamblers display a tendency to over-estimate contingencies in everyday life and (b) if a tendency to endorse everyday illusion of control beliefs is related to specific gambling-related beliefs among those who gamble. Answers to these questions might provide insights into whether some people are potentially more vulnerable to beliefs that might have implications for gambling. An online sample of 788 adults completed a survey about simple everyday situations where people might attempt to exert control (e.g., pressing elevator buttons more often, throwing dice in games). The survey included a scale that captured everyday situations as well as established measures of illusion of control and superstition in gambling. The results showed that those who report greater control in everyday tasks scored higher on standardized measures of beliefs about chance and gambling-related cognitions relating to illusory control. Scores on both types of measures were higher in gamblers than non-gamblers. The findings suggest that gamblers may differ in how they generally perceive and respond to situations involving tasks largely dominated by chance or limited opportunities for genuine control.
Creating the Recognition of Heterogeneity in Circle Rituals: An Ethnographic Study in a German Primary School
Authors: Chen Hongyan , Zeng Qingdan , Peng Zhengmei
Published: January 2020

This study focuses on “circle time,” an innovative technique to promote classroom organization in primary schools across Germany and the rest of the world. Unlike previous research which primarily emphasizes on the functional and instrumental dimensions of circle time, the current study examines the non-cognitive aspects that emerged “in the middle” of circles. Since 2013, an ethnographic study has been conducted in a progressive pedagogy (Reformpädagogik) primary school in Berlin, Germany. The empirical data from this study contain observations from the ethnographic videotaping of students aged 6 to 9 years old. The findings suggest that three aspects are crucial to generating and handling heterogeneity in a circle: symbolic construction, bodily movement, and ludic interaction. In addition, it is indicated that in a pluralistic, multi-cultural society, a teacher’s authority becomes conditional rather than automatic.
Technology and Social Media Usage in Higher Education: The Influence of Individual Innovativeness
Authors: Aldahdouh Tahani Z. , Nokelainen Petri , Korhonen Vesa
Published: January 2020

This article presents a two-phase study exploring the usage of technology in higher education as well as the role of the general innovativeness in predicting the actual use of technology. During the first phase of the study, which involved 502 staff members, a descriptive analysis of their usage of social media, technological devices, and Microsoft Office 365 cloud services was performed, with various demographic variables being considered. During the second phase, which involved a subsample of 106 staff members, structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to examine a model in which the general innovativeness and the demographic variables acted as predictors of the actualized innovativeness. The results showed that the staff used social media, devices, and cloud services quite satisfactorily. The examination of their user profiles revealed that there were significant differences among the staff members on the basis of their demographic variables, especially their gender, job type, and discipline. The results of the SEM showed that the general innovativeness contributed positively, as was expected, to predicting the adoption of devices, non-academic social networking sites and Office 365 cloud services. The results further suggested that males were early adopters of devices, while academics were early adopters of commercial services and academic social networking sites. However, the academics appeared to lag behind the administrators in terms of adopting Office 365 cloud services. The implications of the study and directions for future research are also presented.
“You’re Not Supposed to Be into Rock Music”: Authenticity Maneuvering in a White Configuration
Authors: Schaap Julian , Berkers Pauwke
Published: January 2020

The authors investigate how American and Dutch rock music consumers navigate the whiteness of rock music practice and discourse. In doing so, they address the complex connection between aesthetic categories (popular music) and ethnoracial categories and to what extent this relationship is open or resistant to structural change. Connecting literature on the racialization of cultural genres and on symbolic violence, the authors demonstrate how authentication through faithfulness to preestablished sociocultural configurations reinforces the whiteness of rock music consumption in both countries in very similar ways. The analysis of 27 in-depth interviews produces a threefold typology of positions that rock consumers take up vis-à-vis the sociocultural configuration of rock music authenticity: complying, amending, and replacing. From a position of complicity to this configuration, people of color are often a priori regarded as inauthentic participants, also by outsiders who consider them to “act white.” However, the analysis indicates that the shift toward a symbolic economy of authenticity enables actors to resist white hegemony as discursive authenticity at the expense of the more rigid dispositional and agentic variations underlying symbolic violence. This allows an active amending of the hegemonic configuration within the genre— authenticity maneuvering—by replacing the discourse, forging new spaces of consumption, and installing heavily policed inclusive practices.
Development, Implementation, and Evaluation of an In-Hospital Optimized Early Warning Score for Patient Deterioration
Authors: O’Brien Cara , Goldstein Benjamin A. , Shen Yueqi , Phelan Matthew , Lambert Curtis , Bedoya Armando D. , Steorts Rebecca C.
Published: January 2020

Background. Identification of patients at risk of deteriorating during their hospitalization is an important concern. However, many off-shelf scores have poor in-center performance. In this article, we report our experience developing, implementing, and evaluating an in-hospital score for deterioration. Methods. We abstracted 3 years of data (2014–2016) and identified patients on medical wards that died or were transferred to the intensive care unit. We developed a time-varying risk model and then implemented the model over a 10-week period to assess prospective predictive performance. We compared performance to our currently used tool, National Early Warning Score. In order to aid clinical decision making, we transformed the quantitative score into a three-level clinical decision support tool. Results. The developed risk score had an average area under the curve of 0.814 (95% confidence interval = 0.79–0.83) versus 0.740 (95% confidence interval = 0.72–0.76) for the National Early Warning Score. We found the proposed score was able to respond to acute clinical changes in patients’ clinical status. Upon implementing the score, we were able to achieve the desired positive predictive value but needed to retune the thresholds to get the desired sensitivity. Discussion. This work illustrates the potential for academic medical centers to build, refine, and implement risk models that are targeted to their patient population and work flow.
Engaging political histories of urban uprisings with young people: The Liverpool riots, 1981 and 2011
Authors: Benwell Matthew C , Davies Andrew , Evans Bethan , Wilkinson Catherine
Published: January 2020

Based on a participatory research project which involved academics and young people at KCC Live, a community radio station in Merseyside, exploring the 1981 and 2011 riots in Liverpool, UK, this paper argues that co-produced research involving young people and radio provides an under-utilised avenue for research on historical and political geographies. Working together for a year in 2012–13, the academic and non-academic participants produced a radio documentary exploring how and why the 1981 riots in Liverpool occurred, and what we could learn from those historical events to help understand the more recent 2011 riots. Young people’s capacities to engage with past events that took place before they were born, in order to reflect on and understand the political present, are seldom explored in research. The research that this paper is based on therefore provides an original and significant contribution to debates on conducting research with young people, in particular developing approaches to thinking through how young people engage with, and make sense of, politics and political activity, especially disruptive or insurgent activities like riots/urban uprisings. As a result, the paper makes an important contribution to work being done on the political capacities of young people; collective histories and memories in young people’s understandings of politics, place, and space; and knowledges of urban uprisings. We argue that bringing children’s/youth geographies into dialogue with political and historical geographies such as those discussed here is a useful avenue for future research.
Translation, cross-cultural adaptation, and validation of the Italian language Forgotten Joint Score-12 (FJS-12) as an outcome measure for total knee arthroplasty in an Italian population
Authors: Sansone Valerio , Fennema Peter , Applefield Rachel C. , Marchina Stefano , Ronco Raffaella , Pascale Walter , Pascale Valerio
Published: January 2020

Background

With ever-increasing numbers of patients undergoing elective total knee arthroplasty (TKA) and as TKA is performed in increasingly younger patients, patient demands and expectations have also increased. With improved patient outcomes, new PROMs with heightened discriminatory power in well-performing patients are needed. The present study aimed to translate and validate the Italian version of the Forgotten Joint Score (FJS-12) as a tool for evaluating pre-operative through longitudinal post-operative outcomes in an Italian population.

Methods

In this prospective study, patients with unilateral osteoarthritis, undergoing TKA surgery between May 2015 and December 2017 were recruited to participate in the study. The FJS-12 and WOMAC were collected pre-operatively and at six and 12 months post-operatively. According to the COSMIN checklist, reliability, internal consistency, validity, responsiveness, effect size, and ceiling effects and floor effects were evaluated.

Results

One hundred twenty patients completed the study, 66 of which participated in the evaluation of test-retest reliability. Good test-retest reliability was found (ICC = 0.90). The FJS-12 also showed excellent internal consistency (Cronbach α = 0.81). Construct validity with the WOMAC, as a measure of the Pearson correlation coefficient, was moderate (r = 0.45 pre-operatively; r = 0.46 at 6 months and r = 0.42 at 12 months post-operatively). From six to 12 months, the change was slightly greater for the WOMAC than for the FJS-12 patients (effect size d = 0.94; d = 0.75, respectively). At 12-months follow-up, the ceiling effects reflecting the maximum score were 12% for the FJS-12 and 6% for the WOMAC; however, scores within 10% of the maximum score were comprised 30% of the FJS-12 scores and 59% for the WOMAC.

Conclusion

The Italian FJS-12 demonstrated strong measurement properties in terms of reliability, internal consistency, and construct validity in TKA patients. Furthermore, a more detailed look at ceiling effects shows a superior discriminatory capacity when compared to the WOMAC at 12-months follow-up, particularly in better-performing patients.

Trial registration

clinicaltrials.govNCT03805490. Registered 18 January 2019 (retrospectively registered).
Arthroscopic rotator cuff repair with and without subacromial decompression is safe and effective: a clinical study
Authors: Longo Umile Giuseppe , Petrillo Stefano , Candela Vincenzo , Rizzello Giacomo , Loppini Mattia , Maffulli Nicola , Denaro Vincenzo
Published: January 2020

Background

Subacromial decompression, that consists of the release of the coracoid-acromial ligament, subacromial bursectomy and anterior-inferior acromioplasty, has traditionally been performed in the management of this pathology. However, the purpose of subacromial decompression procedure is not clearly explained. Our reaserch aimed to analyse the differences among the outcomes of arthroscopic rotator cuff repair (RCR) made with suture anchors, with or without the subacromial decompression procedure.

Methods

116 shoulders of 107 patients affected by rotator cuff (RC) tear were treated with Arthroscopic RCR. In 54 subjectes, the arthroscopic RCR and the subacromial decompression procedure (group A) were executed, whereas 53 took only arthroscopic RCR (group B). Clinical outcomes were evaluated through the use of the modified UCLA shoulder rating system, Wolfgang criteria shoulder score and Oxford shoulder score (OSS). Functional outcomes were assessed utilizing active and passive range of motion (ROM) of the shoulder, and muscle strength. The duration of the follow up and the configuration of the acromion were used to realize the comparison between the two groups.

Results

In patients with 2 to 5 year follow up, UCLA score resulted greater in group A patients. In subjectes with longer than five years of follow up, group B patients showed considerably greater UCLA score and OSS if related with group A patients. In subjectes that had the type II acromion, group B patients presented a significant greater strength in external rotation.

Conclusion

The long term clinical outcomes resulted significantly higher in patients treated only with RCR respect the ones in patients underwent to RCR with subacromial decompression.
Postoperative diagnostic potentials of median nerve strain and applied pressure measurement after carpal tunnel release
Authors: Yoshii Yuichi , Tung Wen-lin , Yuine Hiroshi , Ishii Tomoo
Published: January 2020

Bakground

The objective of this study is to investigate the prognostic values of median nerve strain and applied pressure measurement for the assessment of clinical recovery after carpal tunnel release.

Methods

Forty-five wrists, from 45 idiopathic carpal tunnel syndrome patients who treated with open carpal tunnel release, were evaluated by ultrasound. Median nerve strain, pressure applied to the skin, and ratio of pressure-strain were measured at the proximal part of the carpal tunnel. In addition, distal latencies in the motor and sensory nerve conductions studies and cross-sectional area of median nerve were measured. The parameters were compared before and after the open carpal tunnel release. According to patient recovery, the receiver operating characteristic curves were generated to evaluate the prognostic values of the parameters. The areas under the receiver operating characteristic curves were compared among parameters.

Results

There was a significant increase in the median nerve strain, and significant decreases in the pressure applied to the skin and ratio of pressure-strain after carpal tunnel release (P < 0.01). There were significant decreases in the distal latencies and the cross-sectional area after carpal tunnel release (P < 0.01). The areas under the curves were 0.689, 0.773, 0.811, 0.668, 0.637, and 0.562 for the pressure, strain, pressure-strain ratio, motor latency, sensory latency, and area, respectively.

Conclusions

The results suggest that elasticity of the median nerve and pressure around the nerve recover quickly after carpal tunnel release. Pressure-strain ratio was the most reliable parameter to reflect clinical recovery. The measurement of strain and applied pressure can be useful indicators to evaluate effectiveness of the carpal tunnel release.

Trial registration

Registered as NCT04027998 at ClinicalTrials.gov. Retrospectively registered on July 22, 2019.