bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Attitude May Be Everything, But Is Everything an Attitude? Cognitive Distortions May Not Be Evaluations of Rape
Authors: Nunes Kevin L. , Hermann Chantal A. , White Kristen , Pettersen Cathrine , Bumby Kurt
Published: January 2016

Cognitive distortions are often referred to as attitudes toward rape in theory, research, and clinical practice pertaining to sexual aggression. In the social-psychological literature, however, attitudes are typically defined as evaluations; thus, in this context, attitudes toward rape are considered evaluations of rape (e.g., rape is negative vs. positive). The purpose of the current study was to explore whether a widely used measure of cognitive distortions (RAPE Scale; Bumby, 1996) assesses evaluation of rape, and, if not, whether evaluation of rape and the cognitions assessed by the RAPE Scale are independently associated with sexually aggressive behavior. Participants (660 male undergraduate students) completed the RAPE Scale as well as measures of evaluation of rape and sexually aggressive behavior. An exploratory factor analysis revealed that the RAPE Scale items formed a correlated but distinct factor from the Evaluation of Rape Scale items. Regression analyses indicated that the Evaluation of Rape Scale and the RAPE Scale had small to moderate independent associations with self-report measures of sexually aggressive behavior. Our results suggest that evaluation of rape may be distinct from cognitive distortions regarding rape, and both evaluation and cognitive distortions may be relevant for understanding sexual violence.
The mutual effects between two unequal collinear cracks under compression
Authors: Fan Yong , Zhu Zheming , Kang Jiming , Fu Yangcheng
Published: January 2016

For two unequal collinear cracks under compression, which crack would propagate first, the longer one or the shorter one, and how they affected each other was studied. By using complex stress function theory and considering crack surface friction, the analytical formula of stress intensity factors (SIFs) for an infinite plane containing two unequal collinear cracks was obtained and the analytical results have been validated through numerical simulation by employing ABAQUS code, photoelastic experiments, and compressive tests. The results show that the numerical, photoelastic, and compressive test results agree well with the analytical result. Finally, the effects of crack length, crack surface friction, and crack interval distance between two crack tips on SIFs were analyzed, and the results show that the SIF values at the longer crack tips are always higher than those at the shorter crack tips; for each crack, the SIF value at the internal tip is always larger than that at the external tip.
Queering the trans: Gender and sexuality binaries in Icelandic trans, queer, and feminist communities
Authors: Josephson Jyl , Einarsdóttir Þorgerður , Sigurðardóttir Svandís Anna
Published: January 2016

Activists in feminist, queer, and trans movements share in common a critique of the existing gender order. Yet activists may have different understandings of what is wrong with existing gender arrangements, and different understandings of what might be required to establish greater social equality. Using data from interviews with activists in the feminist, queer, and trans movements in Iceland, this article looks at the ways that gender equality and the gender binary are understood by individuals who identify with feminist, queer, and/or trans activism, and some of their shared and conflicting critiques of the existing gender order.
Telephone communication between practice nurses and older patients with long term conditions – a systematic review
Authors: Raphael Deborah , Waterworth Susan , Gott Merryn
Published: January 2016

Background and aims

Long term conditions are a significant health problem faced by older people worldwide. Telephone communication is often used to deliver health care to patients and is an important tool in improving access to care. Previous research has shown that primary health care nurses communicate with patients by telephone, but little is known about the way in which telephone communication can be used to benefit older patients with long term conditions. The aims of this review were to identify the range and scope of telephone use between practice nurses working in primary health care and older people with long term conditions, explore which elements of this communication has been successful, and determine whether older people see telephone communication as useful for their needs.

Methods

A systematic search of the literature was conducted through CINAHL, Medline, Web of Science and EMBASE between July and August 2015. Included were English language articles containing older adults, primary care nurses and both qualitative and quantitative designs.

Results

Five studies met the inclusion criteria. All were intervention studies, and none looked at routine telephone communication between nurse and patient. Most studies showed that telephone based interventions were successful in improving pre-determined disease-specific health indicators.

Conclusions

All telephone communication interventions in this review focused on a specific long term condition, which they aimed to help patients self-manage. While all studies' samples included older patients, they did not consider them separately in relation to the effectiveness of the intervention. What was also lacking was the patient perspective regarding effectiveness in all but one study.
Socio-demographic inequalities in overweight and obesity among Lithuanian adults: time trends from 1994 to 2014
Authors: Kriaucioniene Vilma , Petkeviciene Janina , Klumbiene Jurate , Sakyte Edita , Raskiliene Asta
Published: January 2016

Aim: The aim was to examine trends in socio-demographic differences in the prevalence of overweight and obesity among the Lithuanian adult population from 1994 to 2014. Methods: The data from 11 postal surveys were analysed. For every survey, a nationally representative random sample aged 20–64 was drawn from the National Population Register. The sample consisted of 3000 individuals in each of the 1994–2008 surveys and 4000 in the last three surveys. Altogether, 8738 men and 11,822 women participated in the surveys. Self-reported weight and height were used to calculate BMI. Results: From 1994 to 2014, the prevalence of overweight and obesity increased in all socio-demographic groups of men, reaching 58.6% and 19.5% respectively. Highly educated men and those living in cities had higher BMI values than lower educated and non-urban inhabitants without substantial changes in the differences in BMI over the study period. In women, the prevalence of overweight decreased from 51.7% to 46%, whereas the prevalence of obesity did not change being 19.2% in 2014. Overweight and obesity were more common among lower educated women and those living in non-urban areas than in the others. Educational inequalities in weight status of women increased due to the decrease of BMI only in women with university education. Conclusions: Time trends in BMI were more pronounced among Lithuanian men than women, whereas socio-demographic inequalities were greater among women. The strategies for prevention and control of obesity should target all men and women with lower education and living in non-urban areas of Lithuania.
Multi-objective optimization of friction stir welding process parameters for joining of dissimilar AA5083/AA6063 aluminum alloys using hybrid approach
Authors: Gupta Saurabh Kumar , Pandey KN , Kumar Rajneesh
Published: January 2016

Joining of dissimilar aluminum alloys are widely used in automobile, aerospace and shipbuilding industries. The defect-free joining of aluminum alloys using conventional technique is a challenging task for a welding engineer. Friction stir welding has been established as one of the most promising processes for defects-free joining of aluminum alloys. In this study, a hybrid approach of grey relational analysis with principal component analysis, is applied for multi-objective optimization of process parameters for friction stir welding of dissimilar AA5083/AA6063 aluminum alloys. Three responses namely tensile strength, average hardness at weld nugget zone and average grain size at weld nugget zone, and four process parameters with three levels have been selected for the study. Taguchi method based L27 orthogonal array design matrix is used for experiments. The optimal set of process parameters using hybrid approach was found as 900 r/min of tool rotational speed, 60 mm/min of welding speed, 18 mm of shoulder diameter and 5 mm of pin diameter. Improved performance of each response was obtained from the confirmation tests at optimum level of parameters.
Studying the quality of democracy: Two cross-national measures of democratic citizenship
Authors: Ledet Richard
Published: January 2016

This article provides new cross-national measures of two dimensions of democratic citizenship with great import for the study of democratic quality, expressive participation, and intolerance of diversity. Using data from the 2000–2001 wave of the World Values Survey, the paper present new ways to measure participation and intolerance, as well as a ranking of countries from every geographical region of the world. As discussed, democratic theory provides a firm basis for including these measures when comparing the quality of democracy between nations. No causal claims regarding these concepts are made, but the case is made that political democracies in which citizens expressively participate and exhibit tolerance are of a higher quality than political democracies where citizens do not expressively participate and are intolerant.
Fault diagnosis for the complex manufacturing system
Authors: Nguyen Dang Trinh , Duong Quoc Bao , Zamai Eric , Shahzad Muhammad Kashif
Published: January 2016

Present manufacturing systems are equipped with sensors that provide a basis for real-time monitoring and diagnosis; however, placement of these sensors is constrained by the the functions that they perform and the system’s structure. Moreover, sensors cannot be placed across all components in the equipment due to significant data challenges. This results in non-observable components, which limit our ability to support effective real-time monitoring and fault diagnosis initiatives. Consequently, product quality drifts found during inspection often result in unscheduled breakdown of all equipment involved in respective production operation. This situation becomes more complex for automated manufacturing lines, where success depends on our ability to capitalize maximum production capacities. This paper proposes a methodology that exploits historical data over unobserved equipment components to reduce the search space of potential faulty components, followed by a more accurate diagnosis of failures and causes. The purpose is to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of both the real-time monitoring of potential faulty components and the diagnosis of causes. In the proposed approach, we use a logical diagnosis approach to reduce the search space of suspected equipment in the production flow, which is then formulated as a Bayesian network. The proposed approach computes the risk priority for suspected equipment with corresponding factors (such as human factor and recipe), using joint and conditional probabilities. The objective is to quickly and accurately localize the possible fault origins in real-time and support effective corrective maintenance decisions. The key advantages offered by this approach are: (i) reduced unscheduled equipment breakdown duration, and (ii) stable production capacities, required for success in highly competitive and automated manufacturing systems. Moreover, this is a generic methodology and can be deployed on fully or semi-automated manufacturing systems.
The Search for Innovative Ideas
Authors: Taylor Nick , Maxwell Gerri
Published: January 2016

There is a friendly conflict between field broadcast journalists and broadcast journalism instructors. The conflict centers on the development of best instructional practices for the student journalists. This qualitative study is an attempt to bridge the gap between field journalists and journalism instructors. To accomplish this goal, first, a review of the academic literature was conducted to establish a research base. Then, interviews were conducted with field broadcast journalists ( n = 4) to answer the following guiding research question: According to field broadcast journalists, what knowledge, skills, and training are required when transitioning from MC student into professional broadcast journalist? This study presents the findings of these interviews. Areas of focus are technology, internships, and student motivation. The study concludes with a discussion of academic advisory groups. However, the ultimate goal of the study is to get the two groups talking rather than scowling at each other from across the news desk.
Relationship Between Hiding Emotions and Health Outcomes Among South Korean Interactive Service Workers
Authors: Lee Bokim
Published: January 2016

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships among hiding emotions, psychological well-being, and presenteeism for South Korean interactive service workers. This study is a secondary analysis of data extracted from the 2011 Korean Working Conditions Survey (KWCS), a longitudinal study conducted by the Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency (KOSHA). For the present analysis, 15,669 workers who interacted with others at work were selected. Based on existing literature, a set of variables was chosen from the KWCS. Psychological well-being was measured using the World Health Organization (WHO)-5 Well-Being Index. The results indicated that frequently hiding feelings is related to presenteeism. Also, among workers who hide emotions at work, an inverse relationship was found between the degree to which these workers hide their feelings and their psychological well-being. Based on these results, the researchers offered practical suggestions to assist interactive service workers adjust to duties that require emotion management.
Major Depression With Seasonal Variation
Authors: Traffanstedt Megan K. , Mehta Sheila , LoBello Steven G.
Published: January 2016

Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) is based on the theory that some depressions occur seasonally in response to reduced sunlight. SAD has attracted cultural and research attention for more than 30 years and influenced the DSM through inclusion of the seasonal variation modifier for the major depression diagnosis. This study was designed to determine if a seasonally related pattern of occurrence of major depression could be demonstrated in a population-based study. A cross-sectional U.S. survey of adults completed the Patient Health Questionnaire–8 Depression Scale. Regression models were used to determine if depression was related to measures of sunlight exposure. Depression was unrelated to latitude, season, or sunlight. Results do not support the validity of a seasonal modifier in major depression. The idea of seasonal depression may be strongly rooted in folk psychology, but it is not supported by objective data. Consideration should be given to discontinuing seasonal variation as a diagnostic modifier of major depression.
T cells from patients with Candida sepsis display a suppressive immunophenotype
Authors: Spec Andrej , Shindo Yuichiro , Burnham Carey-Ann D. , Wilson Strother , Ablordeppey Enyo A. , Beiter Evan R. , Chang Katherine , Drewry Anne M. , Hotchkiss Richard S.
Published: January 2016

Background

Despite appropriate therapy, Candida bloodstream infections are associated with a mortality rate of approximately 40 %. In animal models, impaired immunity due to T cell exhaustion has been implicated in fungal sepsis mortality. The purpose of this study was to determine potential mechanisms of fungal-induced immunosuppression via immunophenotyping of circulating T lymphocytes from patients with microbiologically documented Candida bloodstream infections.

Methods

Patients with blood cultures positive for any Candida species were studied. Non-septic critically ill patients with no evidence of bacterial or fungal infection were controls. T cells were analyzed via flow cytometry for cellular activation and for expression of positive and negative co-stimulatory molecules. Both the percentages of cells expressing particular immunophenotypic markers as well as the geometric mean fluorescence intensity (GMFI), a measure of expression of the number of receptors or ligands per cell, were quantitated.

Results

Twenty-seven patients with Candida bloodstream infections and 16 control patients were studied. Compared to control patients, CD8 T cells from patients with Candidemia had evidence of cellular activation as indicated by increased CD69 expression while CD4 T cells had decreased expression of the major positive co-stimulatory molecule CD28. CD4 and CD8 T cells from patients with Candidemia expressed markers typical of T cell exhaustion as indicated by either increased percentages of or increased MFI for programmed cell death 1 (PD-1) or its ligand (PD-L1).

Conclusions

Circulating immune effector cells from patients with Candidemia display an immunophenotype consistent with immunosuppression as evidenced by T cell exhaustion and concomitant downregulation of positive co-stimulatory molecules. These findings may help explain why patients with fungal sepsis have a high mortality despite appropriate antifungal therapy. Development of immunoadjuvants that reverse T cell exhaustion and boost host immunity may offer one way to improve outcome in this highly lethal disorder.
Reported burden on informal caregivers of ICU survivors: a literature review
Authors: van Beusekom Ilse , Bakhshi-Raiez Ferishta , de Keizer Nicolette F. , Dongelmans Dave A. , van der Schaaf Marike
Published: January 2016

Background

Critical illness and the problems faced after ICU discharge do not only affect the patient, it also negatively impacts patients’ informal caregivers. There is no review which summarizes all types of burden reported in informal caregivers of ICU survivors. It is important that the burdens these informal caregivers suffer are systematically assessed so the caregivers can receive the professional care they need. We aimed to provide a complete overview of the types of burdens reported in informal caregivers of adult ICU survivors, to make recommendations on which burdens should be assessed in this population, and which tools should be used to assess them.

Method

We performed a systematic search in PubMed and CINAHL from database inception until June 2014. All articles reporting on burdens in informal caregivers of adult ICU survivors were included. Two independent reviewers used a standardized form to extract characteristics of informal caregivers, types of burdens and instruments used to assess these burdens. The quality of the included studies was assessed using the Newcastle-Ottawa and the PEDro scales.

Results

The search yielded 2704 articles, of which we included 28 in our review. The most commonly reported outcomes were psychosocial burden. Six months after ICU discharge, the prevalence of anxiety was between 15 % and 24 %, depression between 4.7 % and 36.4 % and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) between 35 % and 57.1 %. Loss of employment, financial burden, lifestyle interference and low health-related quality of life (HRQoL) were also frequently reported. The most commonly used tools were the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), Centre for Epidemiological Studies-Depression questionnaire, and Impact of Event Scale (IES). The quality of observational studies was low and of randomized studies moderate to fair.

Conclusions

Informal caregivers of ICU survivors suffer a substantial variety of burdens. Although the quality of the included studies was poor, there is evidence that burden in the psychosocial field is most prevalent. We suggest screening informal caregivers of ICU survivors for anxiety, depression, PTSD, and HRQoL using respectively the HADS, IES and Short Form 36 and recommend a follow-up period of at least 6 months.
Does Valproic Acid or Levetiracetam Improve Survival in Glioblastoma? A Pooled Analysis of Prospective Clinical Trials in Newly Diagnosed Glioblastoma
Authors: Happold Caroline , Gorlia Thierry , Chinot Olivier , Gilbert Mark R. , Nabors L. Burt , Wick Wolfgang , Pugh Stephanie L. , Hegi Monika , Cloughesy Timothy , Roth Patrick , Reardon David A. , Perry James R. , Mehta Minesh P. , Stupp Roger , Weller Michael
Published: January 2016

Purpose

Symptomatic epilepsy is a common complication of glioblastoma and requires pharmacotherapy. Several uncontrolled retrospective case series and a post hoc analysis of the registration trial for temozolomide indicated an association between valproic acid (VPA) use and improved survival outcomes in patients with newly diagnosed glioblastoma.

Patients and Methods

To confirm the hypothesis suggested above, a combined analysis of survival association of antiepileptic drug use at the start of chemoradiotherapy with temozolomide was performed in the pooled patient cohort (n = 1,869) of four contemporary randomized clinical trials in newly diagnosed glioblastoma: AVAGlio (Avastin in Glioblastoma; NCT00943826), CENTRIC (Cilengitide, Temozolomide, and Radiation Therapy in Treating Patients With Newly Diagnosed Glioblastoma and Methylated Gene Promoter Status; NCT00689221), CORE (Cilengitide, Temozolomide, and Radiation Therapy in Treating Patients With Newly Diagnosed Glioblastoma and Unmethylated Gene Promoter Status; NCT00813943), and Radiation Therapy Oncology Group 0825 (NCT00884741). Progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) were compared between: (1) any VPA use and no VPA use at baseline or (2) VPA use both at start of and still after chemoradiotherapy. Results of Cox regression models stratified by trial and adjusted for baseline prognostic factors were analyzed. The same analyses were performed with levetiracetam (LEV).

Results

VPA use at start of chemoradiotherapy was not associated with improved PFS or OS compared with all other patients pooled (PFS: hazard ratio [HR], 0.91; 95% CI, 0.77 to 1.07; P = .241; OS: HR, 0.96; 95% CI, 0.80 to 1.15; P = .633). Furthermore, PFS and OS of patients taking VPA both at start of and still after chemoradiotherapy were not different from those without antiepileptic drug use at both time points (PFS: HR, 0.92; 95% CI, 0.74 to 1.15; P = .467; OS: HR, 1.10; 95% CI, 0.86 to 1.40; P = .440). Similarly, no association with improved outcomes was observed for LEV use.

Conclusion

The results of this analysis do not justify the use of VPA or LEV for reasons other than seizure control in patients with newly diagnosed glioblastoma outside clinical trials.
Puerarin Protects Pancreatic β-Cells in Obese Diabetic Mice via Activation of GLP-1R Signaling
Authors: Yang Lei , Yao Dongdong , Yang Haiyuan , Wei Yingjie , Peng Yunru , Ding Yongfang , Shu Luan
Published: January 2016

Diabetes is characterized by a loss and dysfunction of the β-cell. Glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor (GLP-1R) signaling plays an important role in β-cell survival and function. It is meaningful to identify promising agents from natural products which might activate GLP-1R signaling. In this study, puerarin, a diet isoflavone, was evaluated its beneficial effects on β-cell survival and GLP-1R pathway. We showed that puerarin reduced the body weight gain, normalized blood glucose, and improved glucose tolerance in high-fat diet-induced and db/db diabetic mice. Most importantly, increased β-cell mass and β-cell proliferation but decreased β-cell apoptosis were observed in puerarin-treated diabetic mice as examined by immunostaining of mice pancreatic sections. The protective effect of puerarin on β-cell survival was confirmed in isolated mouse islets treated with high glucose. Further mechanism studies showed that the circulating level of GLP-1 in mice was unaffected by puerarin. However, puerarin enhanced GLP-1R signaling by up-regulating expressions of GLP-1R and pancreatic and duodenal homeobox 1, which subsequently led to protein kinase B (Akt) activation but forkhead box O1 inactivation, and promoted β-cell survival. The protective effect of puerarin was remarkably suppressed by Exendin(9–39), an antagonist of GLP-1R. Our study demonstrated puerarin improved glucose homeostasis in obese diabetic mice and identified a novel role of puerarin in protecting β-cell survival by mechanisms involving activation of GLP-1R signaling and downstream targets.
Minds, Composition, and Hume's Skepticism in the Appendix
Authors: Cottrell Jonathan
Published: January 2016

This essay gives a new interpretation of Hume's second thoughts about minds in the Appendix, based on a new interpretation of his view of composition. In Book 1 of the Treatise, Hume argued that, as far as we can conceive it, a mind is a whole composed by all its perceptions. But—this essay argues—he also held that several perceptions form a whole only if the mind to which they belong supplies a “connexion” among them. In order to do so, it must contain a further perception or perceptions. But when the perceptions in question are all of those belonging to a given mind—as in the section “Of personal identity” and the Appendix—there cannot be a further perception in that mind, and so those perceptions do not form a whole. Hence, Hume's views were inconsistent. This essay argues that, unlike most others, this interpretation explains his retreat to skepticism in the Appendix.
The Family Toxic: Triaging Obligation in Post-Welfare Chicago
Authors: Fennell Catherine
Published: January 2016

This essay examines anxieties concerning interpersonal obligations that gathered within and around low-income households of a redeveloping Chicago public housing project in the years following comprehensive public housing and welfare reform. These households navigated competing demands. Leaseholders continued to feel beholden to expectations that they distribute any resources to which they had access, such as shelter. At the same time, increased monitoring of dwindling resources resulted in gossip and suspicion that made such expectations difficult to manage. Drawing on anthropological studies of witchcraft, I argue that what was at stake in the expression and management of resource anxieties was not households' “dysfunction” or “cooperation,” but something far more explosive: the constant triaging of obligations in relation to the risks they could pose at any moment.
Welfare and the Politics and Historicity of the Anthropocene
Authors: Bauer Andrew M. , Bhan Mona
Published: January 2016

Ongoing discussions of welfare and human viability that focus on state responsibility to provide care and services rarely consider how new sources of vulnerability are emerging within the context of climate change. Scholars attentive to these processes often use the designation “Anthropocene” to characterize the current period of large-scale anthropogenic environmental changes. This essay argues that although the Anthropocene adds a much-needed corrective to climate change narratives that view human action as inconsequential, it treats humans as if they were a single, homogenous force, undifferentiated by history, geography, vulnerabilities, and relationships to the reproduction of sociomaterial environments. Most crucially, this essay problematizes the historical and ontological separation of natural and anthropogenic environmental conditions and human and nonhuman social actors that undergird narratives of the Anthropocene. Such forced distinctions, it argues, limit the ability to recognize emerging vulnerabilities that pose a threat to human and nonhuman well-being. More specifically, this essay relies on fieldwork from South Asia to examine how everyday social, material, and affective relationships bind people to nonhumans and shape the ways they envision welfare that are not captured in overwhelming state emphases on landlessness, housing, or services.
Sensory Attunements: Working with the Past in the Little Cities of Black Diamonds
Authors: Peterson Marina
Published: January 2016

This essay focuses on the qualities and textures of the present in a place long conditioned by decline. In the Little Cities of Black Diamonds, a microregion of Appalachian Ohio, a legacy of coal mining and its aftermath continues to reverberate into the present, shaping towns, lives, and imaginaries. The present figures as a moment of sensory attunement, orienting people toward one another and to the region's past even as they work toward another future. Care for the well-being of people and place takes shape across sensory and affective registers that include the experience of heat at an annual festival, renovation of buildings driven by love of place, and the embodied circulation of a miner's stance.
A Brief History of the Social Wage: Welfare Before and After Racial Fordism
Authors: Makhulu Anne-Maria
Published: January 2016

This essay explores the legacy of racially allocated welfare in South Africa, focusing on the history of the migrant labor system. In outlining a relationship between racial capitalism and precarity—the immediate consequence of the denial of welfare—the essay argues that the promises of universal welfare that came with the transition to democracy were ultimately displaced given the advent of neoliberalism after 1994. If the anti-apartheid struggles strove to dismantle white supremacy, in practical terms, such struggles lacked the concrete capacities to address the abject everyday material conditions of life under apartheid. The enormity of the historical injury and the implementation of less than effective policies to address land, housing, services, and employment has led to renewed social struggles since 1994 that have been primarily focused on restoring the idea of welfare for all.
Go the Fuck to Sleep: Well-Being, Welfare, and the Ends of Capitalism in US Discourses on Infant Sleep
Authors: Amrute Sareeta
Published: January 2016

Current debates in the United States on baby sleep index how economic unease manifests itself variably across class and race in the neoliberal contemporary. Drawing on sleep guides, SIDS (sudden infant death syndrome) discourse, popular tomes about baby sleep and governmental public health policies, this essay demonstrates a split discourse on welfare—understood as care of the social body—that at once privatizes child care and continues to treat poor, often black and brown, parents as dangerous caregivers. Characterized by vociferous polemics about where, with whom, and for how long babies should sleep, debates on sleep as a locus of care imagine both a future of productive sleep and a present of risky sleep for babies. This split in care for infants suggests that welfare itself should be reconceptualized both in terms of the care of populations through government regulation and in terms of the elaboration of privatized forms of care. In other words, infant sleep both continues to fall within the parameters of child welfare and is subject to an explosion in techniques made possible by the problematization of infant sleep itself.
Work in the Constitution of the Human: Twentieth-Century South African Entanglements of Welfare, Blackness, and Political Economy
Authors: Barchiesi Franco
Published: January 2016

In twentieth-century South African history, from the consolidation of a racially hierarchical social order to the country's transition to democracy, ideologies and policies linking work to welfare have defined the precarious predicament of blackness in highly specific ways. Experiences of state formation and capitalist development under white rule made “natives” the target of normative interventions predicated upon the “dignity of work” as a self-justifying imperative. Therefore, while for whiteness work was allowed to operate as a foundation of socially inclusive citizenship compacts, blacks confronted ideas of wage labor and welfare as paradigmatically coincidental, to the exclusion of further expectations. Moreover, images of personal responsibility and community life attached to work ethics have shaped the imagination of African nationalist politics and its claims to emancipation. As a result, South Africa's racial order articulated two mutually exclusive modalities of being African. One is the “native” as a subject premising a politics of recognition and popular sovereignty on economic activity and participation. The other, antagonistically opposed by the former, is the black, cast as a threatening and unpredictable entity on account of its aversion to capitalist employment. The centering of African desire and well-being around labor not only has played a decisive role in structuring sociopolitical conflicts in contemporary South Africa. It also has underpinned modalities of subjugation, suffering, and invisibility that continue to manifest themselves in the violence and lethality that still pervade black workers' lives, a most dramatic example of which was, in 2012, the police killing of strikers at the Marikana platinum mine.
Democratic Economy Conference: An Introductory Note
Authors: Madra Yahya M.
Published: January 2016

In late 2014, a two-day conference devoted to establishing the basic principles of a democratic economy in Northern Kurdistan was held by the Democratic Society Congress in the city of Wan. The conference was organized to initiate a process of putting into practice the Kurdish movement's ecological, gender egalitarian, council communalist, socioeconomic vision. This brief note provides a sketch of the historical conjuncture of the conference and identifies the important assets of the movement as well as the challenges it is facing in its struggle to build a “new life” through the democratization of economy.
Early eukaryotic origins for cilia-associated bioactive peptide-amidating activity
Authors: Kumar Dhivya , Blaby-Haas Crysten E. , Merchant Sabeeha S. , Mains Richard E. , King Stephen M. , Eipper Betty A.
Published: January 2016

Ciliary axonemes and basal bodies were present in the last eukaryotic common ancestor and play crucial roles in sensing and responding to environmental cues. Peptidergic signaling, generally considered a metazoan innovation, is essential for organismal development and homeostasis. Peptidylglycine α-amidating monooxygenase (PAM) is crucial for the last step of bioactive peptide biosynthesis. However, identification of a complete PAM-like gene in green algal genomes suggests ancient evolutionary roots for bioactive peptide signaling. We demonstrate that the Chlamydomonas reinhardtii PAM gene encodes an active peptide-amidating enzyme (CrPAM) that shares key structural and functional features with the mammalian enzyme, indicating that components of the peptide biosynthetic pathway predate multicellularity. In addition to its secretory pathway localization, CrPAM localizes to cilia and tightly associates with the axonemal superstructure, revealing a new axonemal enzyme activity. This localization pattern is conserved in mammals, with PAM present in both motile and immotile sensory cilia. The conserved ciliary localization of PAM adds to the known signaling capabilities of the eukaryotic cilium and provides a potential mechanistic link between peptidergic signaling and endocrine abnormalities commonly observed in ciliopathies.
Locomotion as an emergent property of muscle contractile dynamics
Authors: Biewener Andrew A.
Published: January 2016

Skeletal muscles share many common, highly conserved features of organization at the molecular and myofilament levels, giving skeletal muscle fibers generally similar and characteristic mechanical and energetic properties; properties well described by classical studies of muscle mechanics and energetics. However, skeletal muscles can differ considerably in architectural design (fiber length, pinnation, and connective tissue organization), as well as fiber type, and how they contract in relation to the timing of neuromotor activation and in vivo length change. The in vivo dynamics of muscle contraction is, therefore, crucial to assessing muscle design and the roles that muscles play in animal movement. Architectural differences in muscle–tendon organization combined with differences in the phase of activation and resulting fiber length changes greatly affect the time-varying force and work that muscles produce, as well as the energetic cost of force generation. Intrinsic force–length and force–velocity properties of muscles, together with their architecture, also play important roles in the control of movement, facilitating rapid adjustments to changing motor demands. Such adjustments complement slower, reflex-mediated neural feedback control of motor recruitment. Understanding how individual fiber forces are integrated to whole-muscle forces, which are transmitted to the skeleton for producing and controlling locomotor movement, is therefore essential for assessing muscle design in relation to the dynamics of movement.
Bridging the myoplasmic gap II: more recent advances in skeletal muscle excitation–contraction coupling
Authors: Bannister Roger A.
Published: January 2016

In skeletal muscle, excitation–contraction (EC) coupling relies on the transmission of an intermolecular signal from the voltage-sensing regions of the L-type Ca2+ channel (CaV1.1) in the plasma membrane to the channel pore of the type 1 ryanodine receptor (RyR1) nearly 10 nm away in the membrane of the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR). Even though the roles of CaV1.1 and RyR1 as voltage sensor and SR Ca2+ release channel, respectively, have been established for nearly 25 years, the mechanism underlying communication between these two channels remains undefined. In the course of this article, I will review current viewpoints on this topic with particular emphasis on recent studies.
Non-crossbridge stiffness in active muscle fibres
Authors: Colombini Barbara , Nocella Marta , Bagni Maria Angela
Published: January 2016

Stretching of an activated skeletal muscle induces a transient tension increase followed by a period during which the tension remains elevated well above the isometric level at an almost constant value. This excess of tension in response to stretching has been called ‘static tension’ and attributed to an increase in fibre stiffness above the resting value, named ‘static stiffness’. This observation was originally made, by our group, in frog intact muscle fibres and has been confirmed more recently, by us, in mammalian intact fibres. Following stimulation, fibre stiffness starts to increase during the latent period well before crossbridge force generation and it is present throughout the whole contraction in both single twitches and tetani. Static stiffness is dependent on sarcomere length in a different way from crossbridge force and is independent of stretching amplitude and velocity. Static stiffness follows a time course which is distinct from that of active force and very similar to the myoplasmic calcium concentration time course. We therefore hypothesize that static stiffness is due to a calcium-dependent stiffening of a non-crossbridge sarcomere structure, such as the titin filament. According to this hypothesis, titin, in addition to its well-recognized role in determining the muscle passive tension, could have a role during muscle activity.
Molecular networks in skeletal muscle plasticity
Authors: Hoppeler Hans
Published: January 2016

The skeletal muscle phenotype is subject to considerable malleability depending on use as well as internal and external cues. In humans, low-load endurance-type exercise leads to qualitative changes of muscle tissue characterized by an increase in structures supporting oxygen delivery and consumption, such as capillaries and mitochondria. High-load strength-type exercise leads to growth of muscle fibers dominated by an increase in contractile proteins. In endurance exercise, stress-induced signaling leads to transcriptional upregulation of genes, with Ca2+ signaling and the energy status of the muscle cells sensed through AMPK being major input determinants. Several interrelated signaling pathways converge on the transcriptional co-activator PGC-1α, perceived to be the coordinator of much of the transcriptional and post-transcriptional processes. Strength training is dominated by a translational upregulation controlled by mTORC1. mTORC1 is mainly regulated by an insulin- and/or growth-factor-dependent signaling cascade as well as mechanical and nutritional cues. Muscle growth is further supported by DNA recruitment through activation and incorporation of satellite cells. In addition, there are several negative regulators of muscle mass. We currently have a good descriptive understanding of the molecular mechanisms controlling the muscle phenotype. The topology of signaling networks seems highly conserved among species, with the signaling outcome being dependent on the particular way individual species make use of the options offered by the multi-nodal networks. As a consequence, muscle structural and functional modifications can be achieved by an almost unlimited combination of inputs and downstream signaling events.
The Sound Insulation of Double Facades with Openings for Natural Ventilation
Authors: Bajraktari Egzon , Lechleitner Josef , Mahdavi Ardeshir
Published: January 2016

Natural ventilation represents a potentially sustainable scheme for the provision of good indoor air quality and free cooling in buildings. Noise pollution is an impediment in this case, as buildings under noise exposure cannot effectively deploy the natural (window) ventilation option. The present contribution focuses on a double-leaf facade solution, which offers sufficient sound insulation while facilitating natural ventilation. The impact of various variables of such a system (e.g., the size of the opening, location of the openings, the relative displacement of the openings in the two layers, the cavity sound absorption) were examined via parametric laboratory sound transmission measurements using an experimental modular double-leaf wall. An empirically-based equation and a simple analytical one were developed for the prediction of the sound insulation of double-leaf facades with openings for natural ventilation. The results of these computational estimations are compared with the measurements results to discuss the potential and limitations of their predictive performance.
Οι γονείς πηγή πληροφοριών για την επικοινωνιακή και γλωσσική ανάπτυξη των παιδιών τους: μελέτη συγχρονικής εγκυρότητας του Τεστ Επικοινωνιακής ως Ανάπτυξης (ΤΕΑ)
Authors: Καρούσου Αλεξάνδρα , Νικολαΐδου Κυριακή
Published: January 2016

Η πρώιμη εκτίμηση της επικοινωνιακής και γλωσσικής ανάπτυξης των παιδιών αποτελεί σημαντική ανάγκη τόσο της εκπαιδευτικής όσο και της κλινικής πρακτικής. Τα ψυχομετρικά ερωτηματολόγια γονέων έχουν αναδειχθεί τα τελευταία χρόνια ως μία αξιόπιστη πηγή πληροφοριών σχετικά με τις επικοινωνιακές δεξιότητες των πολύ μικρών παιδιών. Στόχος της μελέτης που παρουσιάζεται είναι o έλεγχος της συγχρονικής εγκυρότητας του Τεστ Επικοινωνιακής Ανάπτυξης (ΤΕΑ, Καρούσου & Πετρογιάννης, υπό έκδοση), ενός ερωτηματολογίου γονέων το οποίο αναπτύχθηκε και σταθμίστηκε στη χώρα μας για την εκτίμηση της επικοινωνίας παιδιών 7 μηνών έως 30 μηνών. Για τις ανάγκες της μελέτης, 54 παιδιά βιντεοσκοπήθηκαν σύμφωνα με ένα πρωτόκολλο παρατήρησης που αναπτύχθηκε ειδικά για τους σκοπούς της έρευνας. Την ίδια ημέρα οι γονείς τους συμπλήρωσαν το ΤΕΑ. Παρουσιάζονται οι δείκτες συσχέτισης των δύο ανεξάρτητων αξιολογήσεων, οι οποίοι κυμαίνονται σε υψηλά επίπεδα για όλες τις διαστάσεις επικοινωνιακής ανάπτυξης που εκτιμά το ΤΕΑ (προλεκτική επικοινωνία, γλωσσική κατανόηση, εκφραστικό λεξιλόγιο, μορφολογία και σύνταξη). Επιπροσθέτως, διερευνάται η επίδραση του μορφωτικού επιπέδου των γονέων και της ηλικίας των παιδιών στις συσχετίσεις αυτές. Συνολικά, τα αποτελέσματα στηρίζουν την εγκυρότητα του ψυχομετρικού αυτού εργαλείου και την ικανότητα των γονέων να παρέχουν αξιόπιστες πληροφορίες σχετικά με τις πρώιμες επικοινωνιακές και γλωσσικές δεξιότητες των παιδιών τους, ανεξάρτητα από το μορφωτικό τους επίπεδο.  
Can follicular helper T cells be targeted to improve vaccine efficacy?
Authors: Linterman Michelle A. , Hill Danika L.
Published: January 2016

The success of most vaccines relies on the generation of antibodies to provide protection against subsequent infection; this in turn depends on a robust germinal centre (GC) response that culminates in the production of long-lived antibody-secreting plasma cells. The size and quality of the GC response are directed by a specialised subset of CD4+T cells: T follicular helper (Tfh) cells. Tfh cells provide growth and differentiation signals to GC B cells and mediate positive selection of high-affinity B cell clones in the GC, thereby determining which B cells exit the GC as plasma cells and memory B cells. Because of their central role in the production of long-lasting humoral immunity, Tfh cells represent an interesting target for rational vaccine design.
Characteristics of Audit of Accumulation and Utilisation of Doubtful Debts Provision
Authors: Калачева  , Kalacheva Olga
Published: January 2016

Th e article reviews key aspects that must be attended during the audit of accumulation and utilisation of doubtful debts provision. Th e author reveals the aspects not only of accounting, but of taxation as well.
Research Note—In CARSs We Trust: How Context-Aware Recommendations Affect Customers’ Trust and Other Business Performance Measures of Recommender Systems
Authors: Panniello Umberto , Gorgoglione Michele , Tuzhilin Alexander
Published: January 2016

Most of the work on context-aware recommender systems has focused on demonstrating that the contextual information leads to more accurate recommendations. Little work has been done, however, on studying how much the contextual information affects the business performance. In this paper, we study how including context in recommendations affects customers’ trust, sales, and other crucial business-related performance measures. To do this, we delivered content-based and context-aware recommendations through a live controlled experiment with real customers of a commercial European online publisher. We measured the recommendations’ accuracy and diversification, how much customers spent purchasing products during the experiment, the quantity and price of their purchases, and the customers’ level of trust. We show that collecting and using contextual information in recommendations affects business-related performance measures, such as company sales, by improving the accuracy and diversification of recommendations, which in turn improves trust and, ultimately, business performance results.
Who are you going to be in 2016?
Authors: Oshikanlu Ruth
Published: January 2016

Despite good intentions, many people give up on their new year's resolutions shortly after making them. Perhaps it is time to try a different strategy. Instead of writing a ‘to-do’ list for the year, how about generating a ‘to-be’ list?
Celebrating health visiting across North West London communities
Authors: Moffat Polly
Published: January 2016

The North West London Communities of Practice Network held a 1-day conference in November 2015 to share and celebrate best practice aimed at delivering high-quality care to families across the region.
The lecturer–practitioner role in the public health nursing team
Authors: Thurtle Val , Horsfall Jane
Published: January 2016

Val Thurtle and Jane Horsfall discuss the benefits the lecturer–practitioner can bring to the public health team as a bridge between theory and practice.