bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Exploring Cultural Differences in Expressive Suppression and Emotion Recognition
Authors: Sun Michael , Lau Anna S.
Published: April 2018

Previous research has shown that the habit of suppressing emotional expressions is associated with long-term, general reductions in social cognitive abilities and interpersonal adjustment. This may be because theoretically, habitual suppression requires the fixation of attention to the self instead of to others. The present research explored the association between the habitual tendency to suppress one’s own emotions and accuracy in recognizing the emotions of others. Emotion recognition accuracy was tested across two tasks, a limited-channel task that presents limited emotional information and a multimodal full-channel task. We further explored cultural differences in this association given that expressive suppression may be normative for individuals of Asian descent due to cultural motivations toward social harmony and interdependence. Our findings revealed few cultural group differences. U.S.-born Asian Americans outperformed foreign-born Asian Americans and European Americans in limited-channel emotion recognition. However, the three groups did not differ in terms of interdependent self-construal, habitual emotion suppression, and full-channel emotion recognition ability. Interdependent self-construal was related to greater habitual suppression and emotion recognition accuracy in the full-channel task. Habitual emotion suppression was negatively related to limited-channel but not full-channel emotion recognition. There was no evidence of cultural differences in the link between habitual suppression and emotion recognition.
Keeping an eye on the neighbours: Police, citizens, and communication within mobile neighbourhood crime prevention groups
Authors: Pridmore Jason , Mols Anouk , Wang Yijing , Holleman Frank
Published: April 2018

Mobile neighbourhood crime prevention has become increasingly popular in the Netherlands. Since 2015, 7,250 WhatsApp neighbourhood crime prevention (WNCP) groups have been registered online, most of which are initiated and moderated by citizens. This entails a form of participatory policing aimed at neighbourhood crime prevention, which may provoke increased feelings of anxiety and interpersonal surveillance. Community police officers and citizens need to adapt to changed interactions and trust relations in the neighbourhood. This mixed-methods research examines both the mediation of messaging applications and its implementation by both citizens and police, indicating the tensions and negotiations around formal and informal ‘policing’.
How Safety Risk Information and Alternative Forms of Presenting It Affect Traveler Decision Rules in International Flight Choice
Authors: Koo Tay T.R. , Collins Andrew T. , Williamson Ann , Caponecchia Carlo
Published: April 2018

This article develops a “latent elimination” choice model to examine how travelers respond to different levels of safety risk in making decisions about flight choices. We find a pattern of eliminatory and compensatory decision-mix where travelers have varying thresholds of risk acceptance. Below this threshold the options are eliminated, whereas above the threshold the safety attribute can be traded off with other flight attributes. The “safe” versus “unsafe” dichotomy in risk perception is thus a special case where a traveler’s threshold is especially high. Based on a sample of 509 Australians, our stated choice experiment utilized six alternative forms of safety information presentation, and found that they influenced the decision rules adopted by tourists and their willingness to pay. The latent elimination choice model can be used for retrieving elimination behavior in an information-rich online decision context that characterizes many tourism choices, including for understanding how travelers respond to destination safety risk information.
Democracy Confronts Diversity: Descriptive Representation in Victorian Britain
Authors: Conti Gregory
Published: April 2018

Today political theorists and the public generally often associate descriptive representation with democracy. However, in Victorian Britain supporters of descriptive representation tended to be arrayed against democracy. The impression that democracy was incompatible with descriptive representation and a set of related values, primary among which was deliberation, formed one of the great obstacles which democratic theory faced in this period. These values belonged to a traditional theory of representation which held that Parliament ought to be a mirror of the nation in its diversity and which judged democracy, in contrast, to be an illiberal mode of regulating the franchise because it risked handing the representation wholly to one part or class within society. In response to this school of thought, democratic theory developed two conflicting responses: first, that democracy could accommodate social and ideological diversity; second, that democracy was irreconcilable with the goal of mirroring diversity, but that nevertheless democracy had to be preferred on grounds of fairness and non-arbitrariness.
Race/Ethnicity and Traumatic Brain Injury: Are There Disparities in Positive Screenings and Diagnoses Among Service Members Returning From Afghanistan and Iraq?
Authors: Kysar-Moon Ashleigh , Mustillo Sarah
Published: April 2018

The authors examine racial/ethnic differences in screening positive for traumatic brain injury (TBI) and in diagnosis among service members upon returning from war in Afghanistan and Iraq. Using data from the Post-Deployment Health Assessment and Re-Assessment, and military health-care encounters from 2008 to 2009, they estimate logistic regressions in a sample of 46,488 service members. Hispanic and Asian service members do not differ from White service members in screening positive for TBI but have 19% and 33% lower odds of diagnosis, respectively. Compared to White service members, Black service members are less likely to screen positive for TBI immediately after deployment and about as likely 3–6 months later, yet have 27% lower odds of diagnosis. Further, racial/ethnic minority service members have a lower probability of TBI diagnosis than White service members at all self-reported symptom levels, suggesting there is a discrepancy between symptoms and diagnosis related to race/ethnicity.
The role of Local Economic Development Agencies in South Africa’s developmental state ambitions
Authors: Khambule Isaac
Published: April 2018

South Africa’s Local Economic Development Agencies have emerged as appropriate institutional structures for advancing socio-economic development in the local government-led development landscape, due to the inability of local municipalities to lead local economic development. This shift signifies that South Africa is turning to local economic development strategies to address developmental challenges, such as poor socio-economic conditions (unemployment, poverty and inequality), by creating local development solutions and employment opportunities. This article utilises the developmental state theory to examine the role of Local Economic Development Agencies in South Africa’s aspirations of becoming a capable developmental state. While the developmental state literature is concerned with the central role of the state in economic development, this article extends the developmental state theory to the subnational level by arguing that the developmental local government is the local developmental state. In addition, the article locates Local Economic Development Agencies within the developmental state paradigm by showing that Local Economic Development Agencies were established as economic development coordinators at the subnational level to assist local government in addressing South Africa’s triple challenges. Although the roles and functions of South African Local Economic Development Agencies are aligned to the developmental state ideology, their developmental mandate is undermined by the lack of coordination within local institutions.
Towards efficient and scalable visual homing
Authors: Stelzer Annett , Vayugundla Mallikarjuna , Mair Elmar , Suppa Michael , Burgard Wolfram
Published: April 2018

Visual homing describes the ability of a robot to autonomously return to its starting position along a previously traversed path using visual information. In this paper, we propose a method for visual homing that is solely based on bearing angles to landmarks. During the first traversal of a path, the robot creates a sequence of viewframes, which are rotationally aligned landmark angle configurations at certain locations. While homing, the robot calculates homing vectors which subsequently align the currently perceived set of landmark observations with the reference viewframe until the home location is reached. This paper discusses methods for homing vector calculation and proposes new methods which are more robust and yield straighter homing paths in non-isotropic landmark distributions and false landmark matches. Furthermore, we present the Trail-Map, which is a novel data structure for storing a sequence of viewframes in a non-redundant and scalable way. The Trail-Map exploits the fact that the bearing angles to both distant landmarks and landmarks in the direction of movement hardly change when the robot moves, whereas close landmarks change their bearing angles quickly. Thus, the Trail-Map enables easy downscaling by deleting observations that correspond to nearby, fast-changing landmarks and, thus, retains the stable, translation invariant landmark information. We demonstrate the memory efficiency and scalability of the data structure in simulations and in real-world indoor and outdoor experiments. This makes the proposed method for visual homing suitable for mobile robots with limited computational and memory resources.
Preliminary experience of tigecycline treatment in critically ill children with ventilator-associated pneumonia
Authors: Lin Shupeng , Liang Lingfang , Zhang Chenmei , Ye Sheng
Published: April 2018

Objective

Ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) is a life-threatening complication for children who are treated in a paediatric intensive care unit. Tigecycline treatment of children with VAP has not been well studied. This study aimed to describe tigecycline use in children with VAP in a tertiary care hospital.

Methods

We conducted a retrospective chart review in a tertiary hospital from May 1, 2012 to May 1, 2017.

Results

Twenty-four children (20 girls) with median age of 8 months (range, 27 days to 6 years and 9 months) were treated with tigecycline. In-hospital mortality was 41.7% (10/24). The primary diagnosis was congenital heart disease (15/24). A total of 70.8% (17/24) of patients received a loading dose (1.5 mg/kg), followed by 1 mg/kg every 12 hours. The median duration of tigecycline therapy was 10.75 days (range, 3–21.5 days). Sulperazone was the most frequently used concomitant antibiotic. Eighteen pathogens were isolated in 16 cases. Tigecycline therapy failed in 41.6% (10/24) of patients and 20.8% (5/24) died. The pathogen was eradicated in 37.5% (6/16) of patients. No serious adverse effects were detected.

Conclusion

Tigecycline combined with other agents as salvage therapy in children with VAP is well tolerated. Our preliminary results show a positive clinical response.
A Model of Ridesourcing Demand Generation and Distribution
Authors: Lavieri Patrícia S. , Dias Felipe F. , Juri Natalia Ruiz , Kuhr James , Bhat Chandra R.
Published: April 2018

Ridesourcing has experienced exponential growth in recent years, yet its impact on individual travel are unclear and have not been adequately examined. Recently, an Austin-based ridesourcing company released a large dataset containing disaggregate trip-level information. In this research, we use this new dataset in tandem with several publicly available data sources to estimate two models: a spatially lagged multivariate count model, which is used to describe how many trips are generated in a specific zone on both weekdays and weekend days; and a fractional split model, which helps us identify the characteristics of zones that attract ridesourcing trips. Our results show spatial dependence in ridesourcing trips among proximally located zones, as well as correlation between weekday and weekend day trips originating in a zone. Another interesting finding is the identification of a possible substitution effect between ridesourcing and transit use for weekday trips. Moreover, our results suggest that different income segments in the population may use ridesourcing for different activity purposes. From a travel behavior researcher perspective, the results in this paper identify aggregate area-level variables impacting ridesourcing, which can guide future efforts to better understand the demand for ridesourcing as well as the demand for autonomous and connected vehicles.
Predicting Outcomes in Critically ill Patients with Acute Kidney Injury Undergoing Intermittent Hemodialysis - A Retrospective Cohort Analysis
Authors: Franzen Daniel , Rupprecht Cornelia , Hauri Dimitri , Bleisch Jorg A. , Staubli Max , Puhan Milo A.
Published: April 2018

Purpose

Despite advances in the management of critically ill patients with acute kidney injury (AKI), the prognosis is poor. The evidence base on risk factors for poor outcomes in these patients is scarce. Our aim was to identify predictors of outcome in AKI patients undergoing intermittent hemodialysis (IHD).

Methods

We retrospectively analyzed patient records from consecutive, critically ill patients with AKI treated with IHD in one teaching secondary care hospital from 2002 to 2006. We used multivariate Cox proportional hazard regression analysis to identify predictors of mortality, hemodynamical instability during hemodialysis and failing renal recovery.

Results

Totally, we included 39 patients with a mean APACHE II score of 20.1 (SD 7.5) who had an average of 5.1 ± 4.8 hemodialysis sessions. All-cause mortality was 35.9% (14/39 patients). In multivariate analysis, pre-existing cardiac co-morbidity (HR 1.92 [0.58–6.47]), metabolic acidosis (2.40 [0-74-7.74]) and presence of ARDS (1.83 [0.52–6.46]) were the strongest predictors. 7 patients (18%) sustained new hemodynamic instability during hemodialysis, for which ARDS (6.42 [0.64–64.03]) was a strong predictor. Among survivors, 20 patients (80%) had partial or complete renal recovery. Preexisting renal insufficiency (3.13 [0.34–29.13]) and high net ultrafiltration quantities (3.30 [0.40–26.90]) were the strongest predictors for failing renal recovery. As a consequence of the small samples size none of the associations was statistically significant.

Conclusions

Presence of ARDS and high net ultrafiltration rates seem to represent key factors affecting prognosis in patients with AKI undergoing IHD. Targeting these risk factors may improve the poor prognosis of these patients.
Improvement of Immune Dysfunction in Patients with Severe Acute Pancreatitis by High-Volume Hemofiltration: A Preliminary Report
Authors: Gong Dehua , Zhang Peng , Ji Daxi , Chen Zhaohong , Li Weiqin , Li Jieshou , Li Leishi , Liu Zhihong
Published: April 2018

Objective

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of high-volume hemofiltration (HVHF) on ameliorating immune dysfunction in patients with severe acute pancreatitis (SAP).

Methods

Twelve patients diagnosed with SAP admitted to the intensive care unit of general surgery, Jinling Hospital, from January 2004 to December 2006 were included in this study. They were assigned to the standard medical therapy group (SMT group, n=4) or HVHF group (n=8) immediately after enrollment, in a 1:2 ratio. The SMT group were given standard treatment for SAP, while the HVHF group were given standard as well as 72-hour HVHF treatment initiated within 2 hours after enrollment. Patients in the 2 groups were comparable for the baseline clinical parameters. All patients were monitored over a 72-hour observation period for continuous clinical status, blood cell counts including monocytes, CD4+ and CD8+ T cells, and HLA-DR expression on monocytes. Blood samples were collected from those patients at 0, 6, 12, 24, 48, and 72 hour after enrollment for measurement of plasma Th1-type cytokines (interleukin-1 [IL-1], IL-2, interferon-γ [IFN-γ], and tumor necrosis factor-α [TNF-α]) and Th2-type cytokines (IL-4, IL-5, IL-6, IL-10, and IL-13) using ELISA.

Results

Within 72 hours, all measured cytokines except IL-4 were maintained at high levels, accompanied with a low level of peripheral monocytes, CD4+ and CD8+ T cell counts, and HLA-DR expression. Seventy-two hours later, plasma cytokines IFN-γ, IL-1, IL-2, IL-5, IL-10, and IL-13 (p<0.05), but not TNF-α and IL-6, in patients in the HVHF group were significantly reduced, while there was no change for these parameters in the SMT group. Plasma levels of IFN-γ, TNF-α, IL-1, IL-2, IL-5, and IL-13 in the HVHF group were significantly lower than those in the SMT group. Peripheral CD4+ and CD8+ T cells, monocyte count, and HLA-DR expression were increased significantly (p<0.05) only in the HVHF group, not in the SMT group. HLA-DR expression in the HVHF group was significant higher than that in the SMT group (p<0.05).

Conclusions

HVHF significantly reduced plasma inflammatory cytokine concentrations including those of IFN-γ, TNF-α, IL-1, IL-2, IL-5, and IL-13, while it increased monocyte HLA-DR expression in patients with SAP. The association of plasma cytokine reduction and cellular immune function recovery and clinical outcome needs further investigation.
Special Educators’ Experiences of Roles and Responsibilities in Self-Contained Classes for Students With Emotional/Behavioral Disorders
Authors: Bettini Elizabeth , Wang Jun , Cumming Michelle , Kimerling Jenna , Schutz Sarah
Published: April 2018

Cultivating and retaining special educators competent to serve students with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBDs) has proven persistently difficult. Improving educational systems’ capacity to meet this challenge will require better understanding of the roles special educators in these settings should be prepared for and supported to fulfill. The purpose of this qualitative investigation was to explore how four special educators in self-contained classes for students with EBD defined and experienced their roles. We found that teachers defined their primary roles as promoting students’ behavioral and academic growth; however, they also described experiencing dissonance between their ideal roles and their actual daily work. This dissonance was evident in two respects. First, extra responsibilities and emergent responsibilities occupied substantial energy. Second, social and material contexts often facilitated their behavioral role but less often supported their academic role. Findings have implications for improving the quality of the teacher workforce in self-contained settings for students with EBD.
Urban Start-up Districts: Mapping Venture Capital and Start-up Activity Across ZIP Codes
Authors: Florida Richard , King Karen M.
Published: April 2018

Previous research has identified the clustering of high-tech industries, entrepreneurial start-ups, and venture capital across metropolitan areas. Using detailed ZIP code data on start-up activity and venture capital investment, this research tests three hypotheses informed by urban theory on the clustering of innovation, entrepreneurship, and high-technology industry: (1) that start-up activity and venture capital investment will concentrate in distinct microclusters within metro areas, (2) that a substantial level of start-up activity and venture capital investment will cluster in dense urban neighborhoods or ZIP codes, and (3) that the clustering of start-ups and venture capital investment will vary by industry or type of technology. The authors find evidence to support all three. Start-up activity and venture capital investment are concentrated in a relatively small number of ZIP codes in the United States, the majority of which are in dense urban neighborhoods, and this clustering varies by industry and type of technology.
An adaptive control allocator for autonomous vehicles with parameter uncertainty
Authors: Chen Dong-liang , Liu Guo-ping
Published: April 2018

In this article, an adaptive control allocation scheme for a class of nonlinear vehicles is proposed. The parameter uncertainty of the effectors is considered in the design of the control allocation algorithm. A reference model is integrated in the framework to overcome the negative effects brought by the parameter uncertainty. The optimum of the solution is discussed for a class of objectives. Stability proof is given. Compared to most existing methods, the conditions to guarantee the stability of the system are relaxed, which is addressed in the theoretical analysis and the experiment. Finally, a digital simulation and an experiment based on a spacecraft simulator are implemented. The results of the simulation and the experiment validate the effectiveness and advantages of the proposed adaptive control allocator.
Decoding and modelling of time series count data using Poisson hidden Markov model and Markov ordinal logistic regression models
Authors: Sebastian Tunny , Jeyaseelan Visalakshi , Jeyaseelan Lakshmanan , Anandan Shalini , George Sebastian , Bangdiwala Shrikant I
Published: April 2018

Hidden Markov models are stochastic models in which the observations are assumed to follow a mixture distribution, but the parameters of the components are governed by a Markov chain which is unobservable. The issues related to the estimation of Poisson-hidden Markov models in which the observations are coming from mixture of Poisson distributions and the parameters of the component Poisson distributions are governed by an m-state Markov chain with an unknown transition probability matrix are explained here. These methods were applied to the data on Vibrio cholerae counts reported every month for 11-year span at Christian Medical College, Vellore, India. Using Viterbi algorithm, the best estimate of the state sequence was obtained and hence the transition probability matrix. The mean passage time between the states were estimated. The 95% confidence interval for the mean passage time was estimated via Monte Carlo simulation. The three hidden states of the estimated Markov chain are labelled as ‘Low’, ‘Moderate’ and ‘High’ with the mean counts of 1.4, 6.6 and 20.2 and the estimated average duration of stay of 3, 3 and 4 months, respectively. Environmental risk factors were studied using Markov ordinal logistic regression analysis. No significant association was found between disease severity levels and climate components.
Justifying and resisting public park commercialisation: The battle for Battersea Park
Authors: Smith Andrew
Published: April 2018

Urban parks have always been contested and contradictory spaces: highly ordered and elitist, yet valued as democratic places and public amenities. In an era of neoliberal austerity there are greater pressures for parks to pay for themselves and the associated commercialisation often exacerbates conflicts between park users and managing authorities. This paper focuses on how their increased use as venues for commercial events affects the publicness of urban parks. This issue is explored via the case of Battersea Park in London, which was used as a venue for Formula E motor races in 2015 and 2016. These events disrupted park access during race weekends, but also in the periods when the venue was assembled/disassembled. The events were resisted by a community action group whose campaigning eventually resulted in the decision by Formula E to cease racing in Battersea Park. The paper analyses how Formula E events were justified and opposed using a form of rhetorical analysis inspired by the work of Michael Billig. Interviews were undertaken with key stakeholders involved in the case and their arguments were analysed to reveal different ways of thinking about public parks. The dispute is understood as one underpinned by different interpretations of who and what a park is for, and by contrasting views on the impact of interruptions to everyday routines. The Formula E events reduced public access, but the dispute surrounding the events arguably made Battersea Park more public by generating debate and by provoking local activists to defend their park.
Sustainability in global production networks – Introducing the notion of extended supplier networks
Authors: Alexander Rachel
Published: April 2018

Research considering globalized production as taking place within global production networks and global value chains has potential to provide insights into the challenges of sustainable production. However, studies employing these approaches to look at manufactured products have often concentrated on connections between lead buyers and upper tier suppliers and given insufficient attention to exploring interactions across all stages of production. In this article, the concept of extended supplier networks is introduced to address this gap by explicitly looking at how all stages of production are connected. The extended supplier network model that is presented provides an analytical framework that enables multiple scales of analysis in the study of sustainability challenges.
Presentation of a Rare Lobulated Tongue Anomaly
Authors: Schultz Kelly P. , Lambert Elton M. , Buchanan Edward P.
Published: April 2018

The presence of a bilobed tongue is a rare congenital malformation. There are multiple reports of a bifid anterior lobe; however, a case with complete separation of isolated anterior and posterior lobes has not been previously described. We report the case of a 2-year-old male, who presented with a V-shaped mandible and glossoptosis in the setting of respiratory distress and difficulty feeding, incidentally found to have a bilobed tongue with independent anterior and posterior lobes.
A role for enhanced functions of sleep in psychedelic therapy?
Authors: Froese Tom , Leenen Iwin , Palenicek Tomas
Published: April 2018

After a hiatus of several decades, there has been a resurgence of studies into the therapeutic potential of serotonergic psychedelics. When administered in controlled settings, they have been reported to induce a wide variety of long-lasting positive psychological changes. However, the mechanisms by which psychedelics impart these long-lasting benefits remain poorly understood. Here, we highlight one possibility that has remained underexplored: a beneficial interaction with the self-optimizing functions of sleep.
Some basic theorems on a recent model of linear thermoelasticity for a homogeneous and isotropic medium
Authors: Shivay Om N , Mukhopadhyay Santwana
Published: April 2018

This paper investigates a thermoelasticity theory based on the recent heat conduction model proposed by Quintanilla ( Mech Res Commun 2011; 38: 355–360). Taylor’s expansion of this model leads to an interesting problem of heat conduction. Serious attention has been paid by researchers in the last few years to investigating various heat conduction models. We have considered this newly proposed model of heat conduction given by Quintanilla and employed for coupled thermoelastic problems. We derive the basic governing equations for a homogeneous and isotropic medium and aim to derive some important theorems. Firstly, the uniqueness theorem of a mixed initial and boundary value problem of linear thermoelasticity in the present context is proved. A variational principle is derived for the basic governing equations of motion on the basis of a functional in the context of the present problem. A reciprocity theorem is established by using Laplace transformation. Furthermore, generalization of Somigliano and Green’s theorem for this model is proved on the basis of our reciprocity relation.
The Relationships of Intergroup Ideologies to Ethnic Prejudice: A Meta-Analysis
Authors: Whitley Bernard E. , Webster Gregory D.
Published: April 2018

This meta-analysis summarizes the results of research on the relationships of majority group members’ endorsement of assimilation, colorblindness, multiculturalism, and the relative relationships of colorblindness and multiculturalism to ethnic prejudice. Random effects analyses found that assimilation was positively related to explicit prejudice ( g. = 0.80), multiculturalism was negatively related to both explicit ( g. = −0.26) and implicit prejudice ( g. = −0.19), and colorblindness was negatively related to explicit prejudice ( g. = −0.07). Multiculturalism was more closely associated with low prejudice than colorblindness ( g. = 0.15). Effect sizes varied as a function of methodology (experimental vs. correlational), country in which research was conducted (United States vs. other countries), and, in experimental studies of multiculturalism, type of prime used (abstract vs. concrete). Discussion points include methodological issues, groups used as targets of prejudice, national diversity norms, additional issues raised in the studies reviewed, and directions for future research.
Perceived Stress, Its Physiological Correlates, and Quality of Life in Patients With Irritable Bowel Syndrome
Authors: Weaver Kristen R. , Melkus Gail D’Eramo , Fletcher Jason , Henderson Wendy A.
Published: April 2018

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a chronic, common disorder of the gastrointestinal tract associated with high psychological comorbidity and diminished quality of life. Patients with IBS display a heightened sensitivity to stress, although the literature is inconsistent as to whether they have a dysregulated stress response. The purpose of the present investigation, a substudy of a larger research effort, was to examine physiological correlates of perceived stress in patients with IBS (cortisol and adrenocorticotropic hormone) and to explore associations between perceived stress and quality of life. A total of 101 participants (35 with IBS [predominant subtypes IBS-constipation and IBS-diarrhea] and 66 healthy controls [HCs]) completed self-report inventories regarding perceived stress and quality of life, and fasting peripheral blood was drawn. Participants with IBS did not differ from the HC in demographic or physiological measures but did differ in psychological measures, reporting significantly higher levels of perceived stress and lower levels of quality of life. Perceived stress and quality of life were not significantly associated in IBS participants. However, differential findings of the stress response were found within IBS participants by sex, race, and subtype. These findings illustrate the heterogeneity of the IBS patient population, underscore the necessity of evaluating larger sample sizes and increasing the diversity of such samples to include males and ethnic minorities, and demonstrate the importance of taking an individualized approach to evaluation and treatment in the IBS patient population.
Single long scleral tunnel technique for prevention of Ahmed valve tube exposure
Authors: Eslami Yadollah , Azaripour Ebrahim , Mohammadi Masoud , Kiarudi Mohammad Yaser , Fakhraie Ghasem , Zarei Reza , Alizadeh Yousef , Moghimi Sasan
Published: April 2018

Purpose:

To evaluate the outcome of single long scleral tunnel technique for the prevention of conjunctival erosions caused by the Ahmed glaucoma valve.

Methods:

This study was a retrospective case series that included 30 eyes of 30 patients who underwent glaucoma valve implantation surgery by the single long scleral tunnel technique.

Results:

The mean age of patients at the time of surgery was 52 ± 21.6 years (range: 10–90 years). The mean visual acuity was 1.5 ± 0.81 logMAR preoperatively. The intraocular pressure was 40.7 ± 9.18 mm Hg (range: 25–58) before surgery that decreased significantly to 19.7 ± 3.1 mm Hg (range: 14–25; p < 0.0001) after a mean follow-up of 37.2 ± 5.9 months. During follow-up, no case of tube exposure was detected in patients.

Conclusion:

Single long scleral technique was efficacious with no occurrence of tube exposure in relatively long period of follow-up. In this method, there is no need to harvest any additional material, and in situations with limited access to patch grafts, it is performable with the minimal facilities.
From research on girls to girlhood studies: Exploring Israeli girlhood studies from an international and historical perspective
Authors: Lachover Einat , Preis Heidi , Peled Einat
Published: April 2018

This review, based on analysis of the abstracts of 271 academic publications, critically examines the development of girlhood studies within a specific sociocultural context – Israeli society. By examining one particular context the authors hope to contribute to the discourse on the worldwide evolution of girlhood studies. The following research questions were posed: How did the body of literature on Israeli girls develop over time? What is the distribution of disciplines and topics represented? Who are the girls at the focus of the writing? What are the methodological and paradigmatic approaches adopted? The findings point to the tentative development of a girlhood studies perspective that began in the 1980s and expanded over time, revealing the spread and reclaiming of feminist theoretical tenets as embodied in the study of girls. The review both sheds light on the pace and the manner in which Western feminist ideas spread to a specific local arena, and identifies unique local influences impacting this process.
Frosties: Feminist cultural analysis of frozen cells and seeds documentaries
Authors: Kroløkke Charlotte
Published: April 2018

Developments within cryobiology have turned the freezing of biological parts into standard clinical procedure. This article turns to the cryopolitics of egg freezing and seed conservation to focus on the cultural imaginaries of (frozen) cells and seeds revealed in the two documentaries: Motherhood on Ice (2014) and Seeds of Time (2014). The cultural imaginaries of frozen cells and seeds reiterate an understanding of reproduction as kinship-through-genes, extending the reproductive temporality of the body and the affective temporalities associated with climate change, turning cells and seeds into desirable insurance objects and objects of human manipulation. The article concludes that while Seeds of Time upholds a masculinist and scientific imaginary of humans as gods over seeds, in Motherhood on Ice, the cultural imaginary cements a gendered and straight temporality in which ice synchronizes straight, white women’s middle-class femininity and reproductive potential with ideals of romantic time.
Ageing, migration and new media: The significance of transnational care
Authors: Wilding Raelene , Baldassar Loretta
Published: April 2018

The experiences of ageing for today’s older people present a striking contrast to those of the past. They are entering older age in a world that is characterised by complex mobilities and flows, in which large numbers of people are ageing in countries other than the one in which they were born and often at a distance from their closest family members. At the same time, new media are providing unprecedented opportunities to bring distant places and people together in new ways. These dramatic shifts are transforming the context within which older people provide and receive care. In this article, we argue that it has become both necessary and urgent for researchers and practitioners of ageing to reconsider their emphasis on the proximate care networks of older people, by incorporating closer attention to the increasingly global, transnational and virtual contexts within which ageing and aged care now routinely takes place.
A Resource Perspective on Abusive Supervision and Extra-Role Behaviors: The Role of Subordinates’ Psychological Capital
Authors: Ahmad Jawwad , Athar Muhammad Razzaq , Azam Rauf I , Hamstra Melvyn R. W. , Hanif Muhammad
Published: April 2018

Abusive supervision (perceived enduring hostile verbal and nonverbal behavior) results in a host of detrimental consequences for the individual subordinate and for the organization. In the current research, we tested whether abusive supervision relates negatively to beneficial extra-role behaviors of subordinates (individual-directed and organization-directed citizenship behaviors; OCBI and OCBO) and positively to deviant extra-role behaviors of subordinates (individual-directed and organization-directed counterproductive work behavior; CWBI and CWBO). Moreover, reasoning from a resource perspective, we examined whether subordinates’ psychological capital (PsyCap: hope, resilience, self-efficacy, and optimism) mediates these relations. PsyCap is a resource variable that is amenable to situational influences such as leadership. This makes PsyCap align with a theoretically viable, but previously not explicitly tested, mechanism underlying the effects of abusive supervision. We conducted a time-lagged, multisource study among 408 university faculty members. Abusive supervision and PsyCap were measured at Time 1 from focal participants. At Time 2, data for OCBs were collected from their supervisors and data for CWBs were collected from their peers. Results indicate that PsyCap mediated the relations between abusive supervision and OCBI, OCBO, CWBI, and CWBO. Shedding light on this process helps researchers and practitioners develop ways in which to mitigate the consequences of abusive supervision, for example, by seeking to develop PsyCap using different resources.
That’s My Truth: Evidence for Involuntary Opinion Confirmation
Authors: Gilead Michael , Sela Moran , Maril Anat
Published: April 2018

Past research has investigated deliberate mental acts that allow people to remain entrenched in their convictions. The purpose of the current investigation was to examine whether opinion-confirmation processes can occur involuntarily. We conducted experiments wherein participants made speeded judgments of the grammatical accuracy of statements pertaining to various matters of opinion, and subsequently rated their agreement with those statements. The results show that participants more readily verify the grammaticality of a statement when it corresponds to their opinion. These findings may help explain why opinions are sometimes change resistant, in showing that acceptance (rejection) of confirmatory (contradictory) opinions can occur involuntarily. We discuss possible applications of the paradigm described herein.
Deeply Confusing: Conflating Difficulty With Deep Revelation on Personality Assessment
Authors: Stein Randy , Swan Alexander B.
Published: April 2018

The factors that contribute to lay expectations of personality assessments are not well understood. Five studies demonstrate that people conflate difficulty of personality assessment items with revelations of deep insights. As a result, popular yet invalid assessments of personality can be seen as “deeper” than assessments from social and personality psychology. In Study 1, participants evaluated items from a popular personality “type” assessment as more difficult and better at revealing deep insights into personality than Big-Five personality inventory items. Studies 2 and 3 replicate this effect experimentally using a manipulation of assessment items’ difficulty. Studies 4 and 5 show that the same effect also holds for a less direct method of supposed personality assessment (e.g., assessments that ask about which colors are associated with trivial concepts). Moderating factors and the popularity of shoddy personality assessments are discussed.
Self-laundering of the proceeds of tax evasion in comparative law
Authors: Maugeri Anna Maria
Published: April 2018

The supranational and, in particular, European legislation impose the inclusion of tax evasion among the predicate offences of the money laundering and urge the introduction of the offence of self-laundering. Despite these inputs, the criminalization of self-laundering is problematic in terms of respect of the rule of law. In this perspective, the article highlights the difficulty of considering, in comparative law, the proceeds of tax evasion as a criminal profit which can be laundered, as well as the problems posed by the criminalization of self-laundering of this tax saving with respect to the principles of both ne bis in idem and proportionality. Subsequently, the article will focus on the aims of criminalizing the act of self-laundering, and also in this perspective the link emerges with tax evasion, before evaluating the necessity of such a tool in the broader armamentarium available today in the fight against the accumulation of illicit capital.
Judicial dialogue in three silences
Authors: Mitsilegas Valsamis
Published: April 2018

The Taricco litigation before the Court of Justice and the Italian Constitutional Court has generated a number of fundamental questions about the relationship between EU law and national constitutional law and about the impact of EU law on domestic criminal justice systems. The ensuing dialogue between the two Courts has resulted in a considerable degree of mutual accommodation, while leaving a number of issues unresolved. The aim of this comment is to contextualize the Taricco litigation by focusing not on what the Courts have said, but on what the Courts have actually chosen to omit or sideline in their direct conversation, focusing thus on judicial dialogue via the two Courts’ silences. Three silences will be analysed here, one for each of the rulings in the Taricco litigation in sequence.
Effectiveness of EU law and protection of fundamental rights
Authors: Sicurella Rosaria
Published: April 2018

The decision of the Court of Justice in the M.A.S. and M.B. case marks a very significant step forward in the Taricco saga. It clearly shows the intention of the European Court to tone down the confrontation with the Italian Constitutional Court, while at the same time maintaining the most relevant achievement of the decision in the Taricco case, that is to say the fact to consider Article 325 TFEU as having direct effect. The author expresses quite a critical view on the solution adopted by the ECJ which finally results in a sort of “flexibilization” of the principle of legality at EU level in order to meet some of the claims by the Italian Constitutional Court. In the author's opinion, such a solution risks to undermine the overall coherence and soundness of the protection of fundamental rights at EU level, although it can appear at a first glance to boost the legality principle. A better solution could have been to develop a different reasoning relying on rights in the Charter other that the nullum crimen principle, and avoid to touch at the well-established scope of this principle as established in Article 49 Charter and also in Article 7 of the European Convention on Human Rights.
Keeping one step ahead: A qualitative study among Norwegian health-care providers in hospitals involved in care coordination for patients with complex needs
Authors: Høyem Audhild , Gammon Deede , Berntsen Gro , Steinsbekk Aslak
Published: April 2018

Introduction

Various efforts aim to enhance continuity of care for patients with long-term health-care needs. Since 2012, Norwegian hospitals are mandated to appoint individual care coordinators for patients with complex needs to ensure continuity in the care pathway. New roles must meld with current practice. Implementation has been slow. This study investigates current care coordination across hospital contexts, from the perspective of health-care providers, a scarcely researched area.

Methods

A qualitative study using semi-structured individual, duo, and group interviews with 16 purposefully selected Norwegian health-care providers from different hospitals, departments, professions and with various roles. A thematic cross-case analysis using systematic text condensation was performed.

Results

Common for the interviewees’ care coordination experiences was to “keep one step ahead.” The scope of their coordination activities varied from diagnostics and treatment to orchestrating long-term, cross-sectional multidisciplinary care. This work was often performed without designated resources. The interviewees applied experience, knowledge, and sensitivity when defining the patients’ needs and searching for resources to orchestrate coordination work. They strived to balance the needs of patients with the resources available and adjusted the continuity ambitions on behalf of their patients to what they considered doable in the relevant contexts. However, many told of negotiating special solutions for selected patients with particularly complex needs.

Discussion

Care coordination for patients with complex needs emerged as diverse and context-sensitive. Acknowledgement of coordination activities that go beyond established workflow routines and clinical pathways, together with flexible leadership support and accessible infrastructural resources are needed.
Stenting Coarctation of the “Fifth Aortic Arch”: A Safe and Attractive Therapeutic Alternative to Surgery
Authors: Figueras-Coll Marc , Sabaté-Rotés Anna , Betrián-Blasco Pedro , Ortuño-Muro Pedro
Published: April 2018

“Persistence of the fifth aortic arch” is a rare congenital cardiovascular anomaly that consists of an abnormal vessel arising from the distal ascending aorta connecting with the systemic or pulmonary circulation. We report a case of a type A interruption of the aortic arch and a coarctation of the fifth aortic arch, which connected the ascending with the descending aorta. No cardiac surgery was required because a covered stent was successfully implanted in the fifth aortic arch when the patient was 4 years old. A chromosome 9 q arm duplication of uncertain significance was also found, an anomaly never described before in this clinical context.
Three’s a Crowd—A Unique Combination of Coronary Artery Atresia, Fistula, and Stenosis: Multiple Congenital Coronary Artery Anomalies
Authors: Pandya Nischal R. , Venugopal Prem , Wildschut Jason , Alphonso Nelson
Published: April 2018

The incidence of congenital coronary artery anomalies in the general population is low. The combination of various significant coronary artery anomalies in a single patient is not very common. We describe a case of a 20-month-old child with a unique combination of congenital coronary anomalies (atresia, stenosis, fistula) which were accurately delineated by multimodal imaging and successfully managed surgically.
Diagnostic Performance of Plain Film, Ultrasonography, and Computed Tomography in Nasal Bone Fractures: A Systematic Review
Authors: Hwang Kun , Jung Joon Soo , Kim Hun
Published: April 2018

Purpose:

The aim of this study was to compare the diagnostic performance (accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value) of plain film (PF), ultrasonography (USG), and computed tomography (CT) in diagnosing nasal bone fractures (NBFs).

Methods:

In a search of PubMed and Scopus, “nasal bone fracture” AND “X-ray OR CT OR USG OR MRI” were searched. Among the 369 titles from PubMed and 379 titles from Scopus, 257 duplicate titles were excluded and 491 titles were reviewed. Among them, 36 full articles were reviewed. From these, 21 were excluded and 1 mined article was added; thus, 16 articles were reviewed.

Results:

The accuracy of CT (94.4% ± 2.3%) was significantly higher ( P < .001) than that of USG (85.0% ± 3.6%). The accuracy of USG was significantly higher ( P < .001) than that of PF (67.7% ± 4.7%). Computed tomography (89.3% ± 3.1%) and USG (87.2% ± 3.3%) were significantly more sensitive than PF ( P < .001 and P < .001, respectively). The specificity of CT (94.2% ± 2.3%) was significantly higher ( P = .001) than that of USG (87.4% ± 3.3%). The specificity of USG was significantly higher ( P < .001) than that of PF (67.8% ± 4.7%). Among the PF techniques, combining a lateral view and the Water’s view (71.8% ± 4.5%) had significantly higher accuracy than a lateral view alone (62.4% ± 4.8%) or the Water’s view alone (61.0% ± 4.9%). In USG, there was no significant difference ( P = .300) in accuracy among lateral and dorsal views (95.8% ± 2.0%), a lateral view alone (84.2% ± 3.7%), and a dorsal view alone (84.2% ± 3.6%).

Conclusion:

The results of this review might be helpful in choosing the most appropriate diagnostic tool in patients suspected having NBF.