bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Value of High-Resolution Met Office Regional Climate Models in the Simulation of Multihourly Precipitation Extremes
Authors: Chan Steven C. , Kendon Elizabeth J. , Fowler Hayley J. , Blenkinsop Stephen , Roberts Nigel M. , Ferro Christopher A. T.
Published: March 2014

Extreme value theory is used as a diagnostic for two high-resolution (12-km parameterized convection and 1.5-km explicit convection) Met Office regional climate model (RCM) simulations. On subdaily time scales, the 12-km simulation has weaker June–August (JJA) short-return-period return levels than the 1.5-km RCM, yet the 12-km RCM has overly large high return levels. Comparisons with observations indicate that the 1.5-km RCM is more successful than the 12-km RCM in representing (multi)hourly JJA very extreme events. As accumulation periods increase toward daily time scales, the erroneous 12-km precipitation extremes become more comparable with the observations and the 1.5-km RCM. The 12-km RCM fails to capture the observed low sensitivity of the growth rate to accumulation period changes, which is successfully captured by the 1.5-km RCM. Both simulations have comparable December–February (DJF) extremes, but the DJF extremes are generally weaker than in JJA at daily or shorter time scales. Case studies indicate that “gridpoint storms” are one of the causes of unrealistic very extreme events in the 12-km RCM. Caution is needed in interpreting the realism of 12-km RCM JJA extremes, including short-return-period events, which have return values closer to observations. There is clear evidence that the 1.5-km RCM has a higher degree of realism than the 12-km RCM in the simulation of JJA extremes.
Producing European armaments: Policymaking preferences and processes
Authors: DeVore Marc R
Published: March 2014

Nothing is more important to Europe’s future as a security actor than supplying its armed forces with modern weaponry. Because individual states lack the research and development budgets and scale economies to remain autarkic, the survival of Europe’s defence-industrial base depends on international cooperation. As in other areas of international affairs, the ability of states to cooperate ‘under anarchy’ is inextricably tied to the existence of international institutions. However, the nature of arms production renders the design of institutions particularly challenging. Problems lie in both the multiplicity of potential cooperative outcomes and the variety of policy tools available. Ultimately, the choice of policies and policy tools can generate friction between the key groups of actors involved in defence-industrial policymaking. This study systematically explores how variations in the structure of international armaments institutions have shaped both the influence of different groups of actors and the nature of collaborative weapons projects. To preview my conclusions, three broad trends can be observed in the evolution of armaments institutions. These are as follows: (1) the gradual incorporation of a larger number of actors into the arms cooperation process; (2) the incremental exclusion of military professionals from armaments institutions; and (3) the growing influence of corporate actors.
Reassessing the Problem
Authors: Cerulo Karen A.
Published: March 2014

This article offers reflections on Jerolmack and Khan’s article “Talk is Cheap: Ethnography and the Attitudinal Fallacy.” Specifically, I offer three suggestions aimed at moderating the authors’ critique. Since the sociology of culture and cognition is my area of expertise, I, like Jerolmack and Khan, use this literature to mine supporting examples.
Bureaucratic Interests and the Outsourcing of Security
Authors: Cusumano Eugenio , Kinsey Christopher
Published: March 2014

In spite of its sensitivity, diplomatic protection has received very sporadic scholarly attention. This article provides a comparative analysis of US and UK diplomatic security policies, focusing on the increasing use of private military and security companies (PMSCs) for the protection of foreign service and development agencies’ personnel. The existing theoretical explanations of the privatization of security tasks cannot explain why countries displaying similar material incentives and similar political and market cultures have outsourced diplomatic protection to different degrees, nor can they account for variance in the use of PMSCs by different agencies within the same country. Our analysis highlights the importance of investigating organizations’ interests in providing a more accurate explanation of the varying propensity to outsource armed protection. In both the United States and the United Kingdom, the outsourcing of diplomatic security was a resultant of foreign policy bureaucracies and military organizations’ preferences.
Patient Perception of Midlevel Providers in Pediatric Diabetes Care
Authors: Andrews Erica Brecht , Thomas Joan , Jaacks Lindsay , D’Agostino Ralph , Ward Dianne , Mayer-Davis Elizabeth J.
Published: March 2014

Purpose

The purpose of this study was to evaluate perceptions of the role of midlevel providers among pediatric type 1 diabetes patients.

Methods

The study population was a convenience sample of 82 youth with type 1 diabetes who were enrolled in the SEARCH for Diabetes in Youth Study, Carolina site, and attended either baseline (n = 22) or follow-up (n = 60) visits between May 25, 2012, and October 3, 2012. Self-administered surveys queried participants’ understanding of providers’ roles and perceived employment at clinics and whether participants had seen providers since diagnosis. Midlevel providers of interest included dietitians, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and medical social workers. Mean proportions for each provider were compared to dietitians (referent) via a t test. Fisher exact tests were used to determine associations between survey responses.

Results

Baseline participants reported seeing a dietitian since diagnosis more often than they reported seeing an nurse practitioner, physician assistant, or medical social worker. Baseline and follow-up participants both reported understanding the role of dietitians significantly more than the role of other providers. Dietitians were reported by all participants to be employed at clinics more frequently than physician assistants or medical social workers. Seeing the provider was associated with patients’ self-reported understanding of providers and their employment at diabetes care clinics.

Conclusions

The survey population reported a high understanding of dietitian roles. However, the roles of other midlevel providers were not as well understood by youth with type 1 diabetes and their parents, which could represent a missed opportunity for care.
Organizational Ingenuity: Concept, Processes and Strategies
Authors: Lampel Joseph , Honig Benson , Drori Israel
Published: March 2014

In this introduction to the special issue we explore the main features of ‘organizational ingenuity’, defined as ‘the ability to create innovative solutions within structural constraints using limited resources and imaginative problem solving’. We begin by looking at the changing views of the importance of ingenuity for economic and social development. We next analyse the nature of ingenious solutions. This is followed by a discussion of structural, resource and temporal constraints that face problem solvers. We next turn our attention to creative problem solving under constraints. We contrast ‘induced’ and ‘autonomous’ problem solving. The first arises when external stakeholders or top managers impose tasks that define problems for the individuals and groups that must solve them; the second arises when these individuals and groups recognize and define the problems for themselves. We argue that in both induced and autonomous problem solving, individuals and groups that wish to act creatively confront two types of constraint. The first are ‘product constraints’ that define the features and functionalities that are necessary for a successful solution. The second are ‘process constraints’ that stand in the way of creative problem solving in a given organizational context. We argue that both types of constraints can lead to organizational ingenuity, but that dealing with process constraints is crucial for organizational ingenuity, and hence for sustaining organizational ingenuity more generally. We provide an overview summary of the articles in the special issue, and conclude with suggestions for future research.
Becoming a young mother: Teenage pregnancy and parenting policy
Authors: Rudoe Naomi
Published: March 2014

As part of New Labour’s commitment to reducing social exclusion, their Teenage Pregnancy Strategy (1999–2010) aimed to reduce teenage conceptions in England and Wales and to increase the participation of young parents in education, employment and training. The Coalition government, while discontinuing the Strategy, has increased the focus on early intervention, parenting and targeted support for ‘troubled families’. This article examines teenage pregnancy and parenting policies in the context of an alternative educational setting for pregnant young women and mothers. Young women and staff in this setting held complex attitudes towards the Teenage Pregnancy Strategy and towards parenting interventions and ideas about ‘good’ motherhood. The data demonstrate both resistance to and support for such policy interventions, as well as a contested and unstable notion of the ‘good mother’. The article argues that parenting education needs to be sensitive towards structural inequalities and difficulties rather than purely focusing on behaviour change.
Prevalence of hypertension and circadian blood pressure variations in patients with obstructive sleep apnoea–hypopnoea syndrome
Authors: Wang Yan , Li Caili , Feng Liting , Feng Jing , Cao Jie , Chen Baoyuan
Published: March 2014

Objective

To investigate the prevalence of hypertension and circadian blood pressure (BP) variations in patients with obstructive sleep apnoea–hypopnoea syndrome (OSAHS).

Methods

Patients referred to a sleep clinic underwent polysomnography with measurement of BP at four time points. They were classified into four groups (control, and mild, moderate or severe sleep apnoea) using the apnoea–hypopnoea index (AHI). Circadian variation was assessed using night-time to daytime mean BP ( RN/D) and morning to evening mean BP ( RM/E) ratios.

Results

Hypertension was significantly more common in patients with OSAHS (50.5%) than in controls (30.4%). AHI was positively correlated with hypertension after controlling for related confounders. Mean BP values at all four time points rose with increasing AHI. The increase in night-time and morning values was more pronounced than the increase in daytime and evening values in patients with OSAHS, resulting in loss of the normal BP diurnal rhythm. The RN/D and RM/E ratios increased with increasing AHI. Daytime BP was significantly correlated with AHI and the lowest oxygen saturation value.

Conclusion

OSAHS was shown to be an independent risk factor for hypertension. It was also associated with loss of the normal BP diurnal rhythm.
Postoperative haemodynamic changes in transplanted liver: Long-term follow-up with ultrasonography
Authors: Han Hong , Liu Rong , Wang Wen-Ping , Ding Hong , Wen Jie-Xian , Lin Xi-Yuan
Published: March 2014

Objective

To investigate haemodynamic changes in the transplanted liver without postoperative complications.

Methods

Colour Doppler ultrasound was used to monitor recipients of liver transplants who had no postoperative complications. The haemodynamic data for the hepatic vasculature were compared at different time-points during the first 4 years after liver transplantation.

Results

A total of 144 liver transplant patients were enrolled in the study. Portal vein flow velocity decreased significantly from 72.1 ± 30.3 cm/s at 1 day to 44.2 ± 20.1 cm/s at 1 month after liver transplantation. Hepatic artery flow velocity was 61.4 ± 33.2 cm/s at day 1; it then decreased slowly but significantly to 48.3 ± 20.4 cm/s at 3 years after transplantation. There were 81 (56.3%) patients with high hepatic artery resistance index (HARI) (>0.80) and 19 (13.2%) with low HARI (<0.50) measured at least once during the 4-year follow-up examination.

Conclusions

Decreased portal vein flow velocity was the typical change observed during the first month after liver transplantation. Abnormal haemodynamic Doppler results should be interpreted with caution because they may not be clinically significant and may improve spontaneously.
The Anglophone International(e)
Authors: Fejes Andreas , Nylander Erik
Published: March 2014

Research funding, promotions, and career trajectories are currently increasingly dependent on the emerging economy of publications and citations across the globe. Such an economy encourages scholars to publish in international journals that are indexed in databases such as Scopus and Web of Science. These developments place an increased emphasis on the question of who is allowed to publish in the journals listed there and whose research counts as valuable. Based on bibliographic data from articles submitted to three main journals in the field of adult education research between 2005 and 2012, we scrutinize the extent to which the emerging economy of publications and citations is dependent on national and regional boundaries. Our results show how four Anglophone countries dominate the field in relation to both published articles and the share of most cited articles and where the publication pattern of these authors are national and regional rather than international.
A biased random key genetic algorithm approach for inventory-based multi-item lot-sizing problem
Authors: Chan FTS , Tibrewal Rupak Kumar , Prakash Anuj , Tiwari MK
Published: March 2014

In this article, we have explored multi-item capacitated lot-sizing problem by addressing the backlogging and associated high penalty costs incurred. At the same time, penalty cost for exceeding the resource capacity has also been taken into account. Penalty cost related to both backlogging and overutilizing capacity has been included in main objective function. The main objective is to achieve such a solution that minimizes the total cost. The ingredients of total cost are the setup cost, production cost, inventory holding cost and aforementioned both the penalty costs. To solve this computationally complex problem, a less explored algorithm “biased random key genetic algorithm” has been applied. To the best of our knowledge, this research presents the first application of biased random key genetic algorithm to a lot-sizing problem. To test the effectiveness of proposed algorithm, extensive computational tests are conducted. The encouraging results show that the proposed algorithm is an efficient tool to tackle such complex problems. A comparative study with other existing heuristics shows the supremacy of proposed algorithm in terms of quality of the solution, number of generation and computational time.
Prediction of loading path for tube hydroforming with radial crushing by combining genetic algorithm and bisection method
Authors: Yang Lianfa , Tao Zhihua , He Yulin
Published: March 2014

Tube hydroforming with radial crushing is a new tube hydroforming process to manufacture very long components with complex cross sections. A loading path is generally considered a major factor that greatly affects the formability of a component by tube hydroforming. In this study, the tube hydroforming with radial crushing process of a square cross-sectional component was investigated by using the finite element method, and a method to predict the optimal loading path for the tube hydroforming with radial crushing process was developed from the finite element simulation. A multi-object function was first built in terms of the die-filling ability, cross-sectional symmetry, and wall thickness uniformity. Subsequently, a multi-strategy approach, characterized by a genetic algorithm and the bisection method, was developed to predict the optimal loading path. The effectiveness of the prediction method was verified by comparing the formability of components deformed under the optimal and conventional loading paths. Furthermore, the developed multi-strategy approach was demonstrated to have high efficiency when the total calculation times for the multi-strategy approach and for genetic algorithm alone were compared.
Fasting ameliorates metabolism, immunity, and oxidative stress in carbon tetrachloride-intoxicated rats
Authors: Sadek KM , Saleh EA
Published: March 2014

Background:

Fasting has been recently discovered to improve overall health, but its beneficial effects in the presence of hepatic insufficiency have not been proven.

Aim:

The influence of fasting on the metabolism, immunological aspects, and oxidative stress of 40 male carbon tetrachloride (CCl4)-intoxicated Wistar rats was investigated in the present study.

Methods:

The rats were divided into four groups, including a placebo group, CCl4-intoxicated rats, which were injected subcutaneously with 1.0 ml/kg of CCl4 solution, a fasting group, which was fasted 12 h/day for 30 days, and a fourth group, which was injected with CCl4 and fasted.

Results:

The metabolism, immunity, and oxidative stress improved in CCl4-intoxicated rats fasted for 12 h/day for 30 days, as evidenced in significant increase ( p < 0.05) in total protein, globulin, immunoglobulin M (IgM) and IgG levels, and total antioxidant capacity. In contrast, significant decrease ( p < 0.05) in blood glucose, total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol, alanine aminotransferase, C-reactive protein, and malondialdehyde levels were observed. Compared with CCl4-intoxicated rats, significant differences in the albumin, triacylglycerol, high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol, very low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol, cardiovascular risk factor, calcium and magnesium levels were not detected.

Conclusions:

The results of the present study showed that fasting improved metabolism, immunity, and oxidative stress in CCl4-intoxicated rats. Thus, fasting during Ramadan is safe for patients with hepatic disorders, as the prophet Mohammed (S) said “Keep the fast, keep your health”.
Chinese SLE Treatment and Research group (CSTAR) registry: II. Prevalence and risk factors of pulmonary arterial hypertension in Chinese patients with systemic lupus erythematosus
Authors: Li M , Wang Q , Zhao J , Li Z , Ye Z , Li C , Li X , Zhu P , Wang Z , Zheng Y , Li X , Zhang M , Tian Z , Liu Y , He J , Zhang F , Zhao Y , Zeng X ,   CSTAR co-authors
Published: March 2014

Objectives

To estimate the prevalence of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) and risk factors for PAH in patients registered in the Chinese SLE Treatment and Research group (CSTAR) database, the first online registry of Chinese patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).

Methods

A prospective cross-sectional study of patients with SLE was conducted using the CSTAR registry. Resting transthoracic echocardiography was used to estimate pulmonary artery pressure (PAP); PAH was defined as systolic PAP (PASP) ≥40 mmHg. Patients with interstitial lung disease, valvular disease or cardiomyopathy were excluded because of disease influence on PAP. We explored potential risk factors for PAH including patient characteristics, organ involvement, laboratory findings and SLE disease activity.

Results

Of 1934 patients with SLE, 74 had PASP with 54.2 ± 17.1 (40,106) mmHg and were diagnosed with probable PAH. The incidences of lupus nephritis, pleuritis, pericarditis, hypocomplementemia, anti-SSA, and anti-ribonucleoprotein (RNP) were significantly higher in patients with PAH than in those without ( p<0.05). SLE disease activity was significantly higher in patients with PAH than in unaffected patients ( p<0.05). Multivariate analysis indicated that pericarditis (odds ratio (OR) = 4.248), pleuritis (OR = 3.061) and anti-RNP (OR = 2.559) were independent risk factors for PAH in patients with SLE ( p<0.05).

Conclusions

The possible prevalence of PAH was 3.8% in Chinese patients with SLE in the CSTAR registry. The significant association of pericarditis, pleuritis and anti-RNP positivity with PAH suggests that higher disease activity and vasculopathy may both contribute to the development of PAH in SLE, which need be treated aggressively to improve prognosis.
A Demon with Ruby Eyes
Authors: Asif Manan Ahmed
Published: March 2014

This essay takes a longitudinal look at how different communities dealt with political and theological difference in the same space. It examines accounts of Uch Sharif, in contemporary Pakistan, from the thirteenth century to the present. It specifically traces a motif of ‘ruby eyes’ in Arabic and Persian historiography in an effort to delineate how difference was represented and assimilated. It argues that until the late colonial period, religious difference was mutually comprehensible, even if incommensurate. The rupture of meaning in recognising difference continued in different ways in the post-colonial state of Pakistan. The study provides a methodological argument for reshaping the ways in which we look at landscape, built environment and community, in contemporary South Asia. By situating the textual production of the past alongside the material remnants of the past, this essay reads simultaneously ethnographic and textual understandings of difference in Uch Sharif.
State-building and the Management of Diversity in India (Thirteenth to Seventeenth Centuries)
Authors: Lefèvre Corinne
Published: March 2014

How has political diversity—and, first of all, administrative and institutional diversity—been handled within the succeeding polities that prevailed in the Indian subcontinent from 1200 to 1700? In order to provide the non-specialist reader with a first insight into this complex question, the present article opens with a presentation of the sources available for reconstructing the administrative organisation and functioning of medieval and early modern Indian polities. Despite the fragmentary and biased nature of the information they provide, these sources (mainly epigraphic materials and narrative texts) have often been elevated to the rank of a solid substratum that allowed for the development of highly sophisticated yet antagonistic analyses of both the nature and the working of the Indian state in pre-British times. Besides a strong focus on the question of centralisation, most of these analyses have also long been marred by an implicit but ever-present Western point of comparison. From the middle of the 1980s, however, a number of voices have argued in favour of an alternative approach that would value both the processual character of state- and institution-building and its ideological dimension while stressing at the same time the need to take into account the diversity of the forms assumed by this process in the various regions that came to constitute a given polity and to pay more attention to the wide range of actors involved in state-formation and to the latter’s political cultures. Taking its cue from these non-aligned or revisionist studies, as they are often termed, the last part of the essay shifts from the purely institutional perspective presiding over the first and largely historiographical section and proposes to examine instead the politics of diversity that were theorised and implemented by pre-colonial South Asian dynasties as well as the way these politics were perceived and handled by those who bore their brunt most directly, that is to say the subordinate functional elites.
Approaching Diplomatic and Courtly Gift-giving in Europe and Mughal India
Authors: Siebenhüner Kim
Published: March 2014

This article deals with courtly gift-giving practices in Europe and Mughal India from a comparative and interwoven perspective. Given the historiographical lacunae on Mughal gift-giving, the article presents preliminary observations for further research. Unlike most contributions to this volume, this article understands the notion of diversity in terms of an intercultural diversity that came to the fore in courtly contexts and in diplomatic encounters. My arguments are bifold. On the one hand, European and Mughal rulers and their envoys shared a common ground of diplomatic gift-giving practices that were shaped by an understanding of what was worthy of giving and of the symbolic power of the given objects. On the other hand, courtly gift-giving practices were embedded in different social and cultural environments in Europe and India. By looking at the notion of the ‘gift’ and the social organisation of the Mughal elite, it becomes clear that pīshkash was an idiosyncratic concept in South and Central Asian contexts and that offerings of manṣabdārs to the Mughal emperor had a different character than those of European courtiers to their rulers.
Team Decision Making and Individual Satisfaction With the Team
Authors: de la Torre-Ruiz José M. , Ferrón-Vílchez Vera , Ortiz-de-Mandojana Natalia
Published: March 2014

The literature on team members’ satisfaction has mainly focused on analysis at the team level; however, studies of team members’ satisfaction at the individual level are less frequent. In this work, we analyzed how team members’ attitudes and perceptions developed before starting the team decision-making process, how their perceptions developed during the team decision-making process, and how the consequences of the team decision-making process influence individual satisfaction with the team. Questionnaires were filled out by 84 undergraduate students working in 28 teams that had to make a management decision. The results show that individual satisfaction with the team is positively related to team members’ self-efficacy for teamwork and to their perception of the decision’s comprehensiveness, but negatively related to their perception of team debate and the deviation between their individual preference and the team decision.
The Discipline’s Escalating Whisper
Authors: Watkins Daphne C. , Hawkins Jaclynn , Mitchell Jamie A.
Published: March 2014

Objective:

Though sparse in previous years, research on the mental health of Black men has recently experienced a gradual increase in social work journals. This article systematically organizes and critically examines peer-reviewed, social work evidence on the mental health of Black men.

Methods:

Twenty-two peer-reviewed articles from social work journals were examined based on their contribution to social work research and practice on the mental health of Black men.

Results:

The social work evidence on Black men’s mental health can be grouped into one of four categories: psychosocial factors; mental health care and the role of clinicians; fatherhood; and sexual orientation, HIV status, and sexual practices.

Conclusions:

This representation of the social work literature on Black men’s mental health neglects critical areas germane to social work research and practice with this population. Implications include ways to extend current social work research and practice to improve the health for Black men.
Early Administration of Infliximab for Severe Ipilimumab-Related Diarrhea in a Critically Ill Patient
Authors: Merrill Steven P. , Reynolds Paul , Kalra Avash , Biehl Jason , Vandivier R. William , Mueller Scott W.
Published: March 2014

Objective: To report a case of ipilimumab-associated life-threatening diarrhea responding quickly to a single dose of infliximab. Case Summary: A 67-year-old man presented 3 weeks after his second dose of ipilimumab with severe diarrhea, acute kidney injury, and hypotension. After 2 days of high-dose corticosteroids and supportive care, he continued to have 2.8 L of stool output per day (grade 4 National Cancer Institute Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events). The patient was transferred to the medical intensive care unit requiring endotracheal intubation because of concerns of worsening mental status, metabolic acidosis, and increased work of breathing, with a serum bicarbonate concentration of <5 mmol/L. Despite aggressive fluid resuscitation and a sodium bicarbonate infusion, he remained hypotensive and hyponatremic with persistent premature ventricular contractions. On the evening of day 3, infliximab (5 mg/kg) was given, resulting in a rapid decrease in diarrhea. After 48 hours, the acidosis was corrected and electrolytes, renal function, and fluid status were improving. At discharge, diarrhea, acute kidney injury, and acidosis had resolved, and he was discharged on a slow steroid taper. Discussion: Autoimmune colitis is a described immune-related adverse event of ipilimumab. Prompt recognition, initiation of steroids, and supportive therapy are key to the management of diarrhea. Infliximab should be considered early in steroid-nonresponsive or life-threatening diarrhea. Conclusion: Infliximab is a life-saving intervention in patients with ipilimumab-induced diarrhea.
Endomyometriosis (“Uterus - like mass”) in an XY Male
Authors: González Raul S. , Vnencak-Jones Cindy L. , Shi Chanjuan , Fadare Oluwole
Published: March 2014

Male endometriosis and endomyometriosis (also termed “uterus-like mass”) are 2 unusual manifestations of endometriosis. We report a case of male endomyometriosis with immunohistochemical and molecular confirmation. A 52-year-old man presented with stabbing pelvic pain. Computed tomography scan showed a mass in the right inguinal area, at the site of prior hernia repair. The lesion was tubular in shape, with a thick muscular wall and a central blood-filled lumen. Microscopically, the tissue showed layers of concentric smooth muscle, with endometrial glands and stroma lining the lumen. Many theories have been proposed regarding the etiology of both endomyometriosis and male endometriosis, including remnant rests of Müllerian tissue and metaplasia. Cases of male endometriosis typically have been linked to estrogen therapy for prostate cancer. Our patient had a history of cirrhosis and took spironolactone, possibly leading to an altered hormonal state that interacted with a reactive/metaplastic process at a site of prior surgery.
Vibration suppression of an optical table with inverse disturbance response decoupling
Authors: Wang Fu-Cheng , Wu Sheng-Yao
Published: March 2014

This paper proposes the use of inverse disturbance response decoupling (DRD) for an optical table to suppress vibration in precision machinery. Optical tables are normally adopted in precision engineering to repress two vibration sources: ground disturbances from the environment and load disturbances from machines. The suspension settings for restraining these disturbances are conflicting; therefore, in previous studies, we developed a DRD structure that could independently control the disturbance responses: using soft passive elements to isolate the ground disturbances and improving the load responses by active control. This paper extends these ideas by proposing an inverse DRD structure that uses stiff passive elements to suppress load disturbances and improve ground responses by active control employing robust loop shaping techniques. The designed inverse DRD structure and controllers are implemented and verified by experiments. Based on the results, the proposed inverse DRD structure and robust control are deemed effective in improving the performance of an optical table.
Triple Entitlement and Homicidal Anger
Authors: Madfis Eric
Published: March 2014

In the Unites States, middle-class Caucasian heterosexual males in their teenage years and in middle age commit mass murder, the killing of at least three victims during a single episode at one or more closely related locations, in numbers disproportionately high relative to their share of the population. Utilizing an intersectional theoretical approach, this article investigates the convergences of (1) white entitlement, (2) middle-class instability and downward mobility in the postindustrial economy, and (3) heterosexual masculinity and its relationship to violence. Such analysis concludes that, among many mass killers, the triple privileges of white heterosexual masculinity which make subsequent life course losses more unexpected and thus more painfully shameful ultimately buckle under the failures of downward mobility and result in a final cumulative act of violence to stave off subordinated masculinity.
Management of carpal hyperextension injury in a cat using combined temporary transarticular internal and external skeletal fixation
Authors: Greeff Duncan R , Owen Martin , Bush Mark
Published: March 2014

This report describes the successful management of a carpal hyperextension injury in a cat using combined temporary transarticular internal and external skeletal fixation, without performing an arthrodesis. To our knowledge, there have been no previous reports of management of feline carpal hyperextension injuries in this fashion.
Mould germination and the growth rate on wallpapers with different physical properties and the surface structures
Authors: Ryu Seung Ho , Moon Hyeun Jun
Published: March 2014

Mould infestation problems in building are a complex phenomenon involving various causes such as environmental conditions, substrates, exposure time, and so on. The physical properties of building materials, e.g. surface structure, can be a key factor for mould germination and growth. The aim of this study is to determine the influence of the hygroscopic properties and surface structures of the wallpapers on the mould growth. An experimental study was conducted to characterize the hygroscopic properties and surface structures of the wallpapers. Four types of wallpapers with low chemical emissions were selected in order to exclude influence on chemicals on mould germination. Cross sections of the selected wallpapers were observed in order to characterize the surface structure of wallpapers using the scanning electron microscope. Three different fungi species were inoculated on the wallpapers, and mould growth on the selected wallpapers were observed for about two weeks. The results showed that the wallpapers with irregular patterns or a flat surface structure could delay mould growth. Wallpapers with higher moisture sorption capability would limit the development of mould growth under the experimental condition. Our study has shown a clear correlation between the mould growth rate and hygroscopic properties of the wallpapers.
Volunteer tourism and its (mis)perceptions: A comparative analysis of tourist/host perceptions
Authors: Wright Hayley
Published: March 2014

It is imperative to ensure that the volunteer tourism sector is perceived in an accurate light to ensure that the tourists are signing up for what they are actually going to get, and to ensure that the hosts are aware of the industry that they may be entering. In order to ensure a profit maximising, long lasting and sustainable industry that delivers the intended benefits, it is important that the industry is portrayed accurately. At present this does not appear to be the case. This paper examines the perceptions of the volunteer tourism sector from both a Western tourists’ perspective and a hosts’ perspective and identifies three key research themes demonstrating substantial differences and the possibility of misperceptions of the industry: educational benefit, tourists living and working in the host community and the possible contribution to community development. Discussion of the limitations of definitional boundaries and associated sectors provides justification for the potential misperceptions of the industry. Through the use of 26 in-depth interviews, the study reveals a number of key concepts and highlights areas that warrant further research.
Quantitative Evaluation of Changes in the Clock-Watching Behavior of a Patient With Semantic Dementia
Authors: Nonaka Takahiro , Suto Shunji , Yamakawa Miyae , Shigenobu Kazue , Makimoto Kiyoko
Published: March 2014

Background:

Clock-watching activity in patients with dementia has not been documented in detail.

Methods:

A male patient having semantic dementia was monitored at a dementia care unit in a general hospital in Japan. We used an integrated circuit monitoring system to record the distance and location of ambulation and the total number of movements that occurred outside the patient’s room.

Results:

The patient was reported to clock watch a couple of years prior to monitoring. In 2011, when monitoring started, he regularly came out of his room saying, “8 o’clock” about 40 minutes into every hour. It seemed as if he could only recognize the minute hand. The median number of sensor detections increased by 4-fold at this clock-watching phase. Behavior consistent with his clock-watching patterns was also detected during the night. In 2012, clock-watching activity disappeared.

Conclusions:

This study documented the progression of clock-watching and subsequent disappearance with worsening cognitive function.
Translation and Validation of the Chinese Cardiff Wound Impact Schedule
Authors: Huang Yao , Wu MinJie , Xing PengChao , Xie Ting , Cao YeMin , Qian Peifen , Ruan Hong
Published: March 2014

The objectives of the study were to translate the Cardiff Wound Impact Schedule (CWIS), a disease-specific quality-of-life measure, into Chinese, and to evaluate its psychometric properties. The CWIS went through the full linguistic translation process and was evaluated in patients with current diabetic foot ulcers (DFU). Patients were categorized using the Wagner grade. Mean CWIS scores were compared between categories to evaluate the scale’s ability to differentiate ulcer severity (Wagner grade). There were a total of 131 consecutive patients included in the study. Except item A22 (I am confident that the wound I have will heal), the results of item–domain correlation ( r ranged from .391 to .827) and small-group analysis (critical ratio, P < .05) were satisfactory. Furthermore, the Chinese CWIS also demonstrated good criterion validity when correlated with the Short Form-36 ( r = .79, P < .01). After deleting item 22, exploratory factor analysis of the items confirmed the existence of 3 hypothesized domains, physical symptoms and daily living (12 items), social life (7 items), and well-being (6 items), and totally explained 57.194% of the variance. The internal consistency of all scales of the Chinese CWIS was consistently high (Cronbach’s α ranged from .789 to .929). Split-half reliability was 0.748. Sensitivity was demonstrated between patients with different etiologies of diabetic foot ulcer and those with different ulcer severity (Wagner grade). From the authors’ view, the lately validated Chinese CWIS has good psychometric performance and may be appropriately used to assess the health-related quality of life of Chinese patients with DFUs.
Personalized State-space Modeling of Glucose Dynamics for Type 1 Diabetes Using Continuously Monitored Glucose, Insulin Dose, and Meal Intake
Authors: Wang Qian , Molenaar Peter , Harsh Saurabh , Freeman Kenneth , Xie Jinyu , Gold Carol , Rovine Mike , Ulbrecht Jan
Published: March 2014

Background:

An essential component of any artificial pancreas is on the prediction of blood glucose levels as a function of exogenous and endogenous perturbations such as insulin dose, meal intake, and physical activity and emotional tone under natural living conditions.

Methods:

In this article, we present a new data-driven state-space dynamic model with time-varying coefficients that are used to explicitly quantify the time-varying patient-specific effects of insulin dose and meal intake on blood glucose fluctuations. Using the 3-variate time series of glucose level, insulin dose, and meal intake of an individual type 1 diabetic subject, we apply an extended Kalman filter (EKF) to estimate time-varying coefficients of the patient-specific state-space model. We evaluate our empirical modeling using (1) the FDA-approved UVa/Padova simulator with 30 virtual patients and (2) clinical data of 5 type 1 diabetic patients under natural living conditions.

Conclusion:

Compared to a forgetting-factor-based recursive ARX model of the same order, the EKF model predictions have higher fit, and significantly better temporal gain and J index and thus are superior in early detection of upward and downward trends in glucose. The EKF based state-space model developed in this article is particularly suitable for model-based state-feedback control designs since the Kalman filter estimates the state variable of the glucose dynamics based on the measured glucose time series. In addition, since the model parameters are estimated in real time, this model is also suitable for adaptive control.
Materialism, dialectics, and theology in Alain Badiou
Authors: Karlsen Mads Peter
Published: March 2014

This article examines the relationship between materialism, dialectics, and theology in Alain Badiou's work. The first three sections of the article focus on Badiou's reading of Hegelian dialectics in his 1982 work, Theory of the Subject. The first section accounts for Badiou's splitting of Hegel into an idealist and materialist dialectic, and presents an exposition of the latter. The second section outlines Badiou's critical analysis of the theological model implicit in Hegel's dialectics. The third section investigates the core of this criticism through a discussion of Badiou's reading of the “negation of the negation.” The remaining four sections examine the anti-dialectical interpretation of the Christ-event that Badiou presents in his book Saint Paul. Here the article illustrates how Badiou's insistence on separating the death of Christ from the resurrection is linked to his rejection of the doctrines of Trinity and Incarnation, and how this drives Badiou towards idealism.
Neolithic Priorities: Ritual and Visual Preferences within Burials and Corporeality in the Balkans
Authors: Naumov Goce
Published: March 2014

Neolithic bodies are not only manifestations of subjective principles. Social and symbolic norms are also incorporated within the bodies of both actual and represented individuals. These norms often relate to economic and religious notions of society, as well as to effigies. Owing to high population densities in Neolithic villages, only a select group of the inhabitants were buried within settlements or represented in images. This generated a category of privileged individuals and body features, which were related to symbolic principles rather than social hierarchy. Such practices among Neolithic societies in the Balkans are evident within burials and human representations. Individuals buried inside settlements, anthropomorphic house models, and figurines from several sites in Ovče Pole, Pelagonia, and the Skopje Valley are used as case studies in this paper. Placing these sites into a wider geographical context, it is argued that gender, age and body parts were significant criteria in funerary practices and features of corporeality.
Friction stir welding of mild steel: Tool durability and steel microstructure
Authors: De A. , Bhadeshia H. K. D. H. , DebRoy T.
Published: March 2014

In previous work, we have established a scheme that exploits a three-dimensional heat and mass flow model to assess tool durability and define the domains of satisfactory tool life in the context of welding difficult aluminium alloys. We now apply this scheme to the friction stir welding of steel and extend the calculations to cover consequences on the microstructure of the steel while optimising tool life. This is the first published model that covers both the processing parameters and the consequences on the physical metallurgy of the steel.
Image-guided intrathymic injection of multipotent stem cells supports lifelong T-cell immunity and facilitates targeted immunotherapy
Authors: Tuckett Andrea Z. , Thornton Raymond H. , Shono Yusuke , Smith Odette M. , Levy Emily R. , Kreines Fabiana M. , van den Brink Marcel R. M. , Zakrzewski Johannes L.
Published: March 2014

Key Points

Image-guided intrathymic injection of cells or drugs permits implementation of clinically relevant strategies to improve thymic function. Intrathymic injection of hematopoietic stem cells generates long-lasting antigen-specific T-cell immunity.
Erythro-megakaryocytic transcription factors associated with hereditary anemia
Authors: Crispino John D. , Weiss Mitchell J.
Published: March 2014

Most heritable anemias are caused by mutations in genes encoding globins, red blood cell (RBC) membrane proteins, or enzymes in the glycolytic and hexose monophosphate shunt pathways. A less common class of genetic anemia is caused by mutations that alter the functions of erythroid transcription factors (TFs). Many TF mutations associated with heritable anemia cause truncations or amino acid substitutions, resulting in the production of functionally altered proteins. Characterization of these mutant proteins has provided insights into mechanisms of gene expression, hematopoietic development, and human disease. Mutations within promoter or enhancer regions that disrupt TF binding to essential erythroid genes also cause anemia and heritable variations in RBC traits, such as fetal hemoglobin content. Defining the latter may have important clinical implications for de-repressing fetal hemoglobin synthesis to treat sickle cell anemia and β thalassemia. Functionally important alterations in genes encoding TFs or their cognate cis elements are likely to occur more frequently than currently appreciated, a hypothesis that will soon be tested through ongoing genome-wide association studies and the rapidly expanding use of global genome sequencing for human diagnostics. Findings obtained through such studies of RBCs and associated diseases are likely generalizable to many human diseases and quantitative traits.
From root to fruit: RNA-Seq analysis shows that arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis may affect tomato fruit metabolism
Authors: Zouari Inès , Salvioli Alessandra , Chialva Matteo , Novero Mara , Miozzi Laura , Tenore Gian Carlo , Bagnaresi Paolo , Bonfante Paola
Published: March 2014

Background

Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) establishes a beneficial symbiosis with arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi. The formation of the mycorrhizal association in the roots leads to plant-wide modulation of gene expression. To understand the systemic effect of the fungal symbiosis on the tomato fruit, we used RNA-Seq to perform global transcriptome profiling on Moneymaker tomato fruits at the turning ripening stage.

Results

Fruits were collected at 55 days after flowering, from plants colonized with Funneliformis mosseae and from control plants, which were fertilized to avoid responses related to nutrient deficiency. Transcriptome analysis identified 712 genes that are differentially expressed in fruits from mycorrhizal and control plants. Gene Ontology (GO) enrichment analysis of these genes showed 81 overrepresented functional GO classes. Up-regulated GO classes include photosynthesis, stress response, transport, amino acid synthesis and carbohydrate metabolism functions, suggesting a general impact of fungal symbiosis on primary metabolisms and, particularly, on mineral nutrition. Down-regulated GO classes include cell wall, metabolism and ethylene response pathways. Quantitative RT-PCR validated the RNA-Seq results for 12 genes out of 14 when tested at three fruit ripening stages, mature green, breaker and turning. Quantification of fruit nutraceutical and mineral contents produced values consistent with the expression changes observed by RNA-Seq analysis.

Conclusions

This RNA-Seq profiling produced a novel data set that explores the intersection of mycorrhization and fruit development. We found that the fruits of mycorrhizal plants show two transcriptomic “signatures”: genes characteristic of a climacteric fleshy fruit, and genes characteristic of mycorrhizal status, like phosphate and sulphate transporters. Moreover, mycorrhizal plants under low nutrient conditions produce fruits with a nutrient content similar to those from non-mycorrhizal plants under high nutrient conditions, indicating that AM fungi can help replace exogenous fertilizer for fruit crops.