bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Measuring Adolescent Violent Behavior Across Groups
Authors: Cotter Katie L. , Evans Caroline B. R. , Smokowski Paul R.
Published: May 2015

Measures of violent behavior are often assumed to function identically across different groups (e.g., gender, race/ethnicity). However, failure to verify measurement invariance can lead to biased cross-group comparisons. The current study examines the measurement invariance of the Violent Behavior Checklist–Modified across genders and race/ethnicities. Using multiple group confirmatory factor analysis, configural and metric invariance are assessed in a sample of racially/ethnically diverse middle and high school students ( N = 4,128) in two rural counties. Results indicate that the Violent Behavior Checklist–Modified has partial measurement invariance across genders and race/ethnicities. Specifically, four out of six items were non-invariant across genders, while one out of six items was non-invariant across race/ethnicities. Findings suggest that the latent factor of violence may be qualitatively different across males and females. Implications are discussed.
The Arkansas Lottery Scholarship Act
Authors: Copeland Kristopher D. , Mamiseishvili Ketevan
Published: May 2015

State lottery policies have been created to generate additional funds to support public initiatives, such as higher education scholarships. Through 18 participant interviews and document analysis, this study examined how decision makers in Arkansas socially constructed citizens while forming lottery policy. The social construction of target populations theory provides a framework for better understanding how social constructions became embedded into the policy design process. Participants noted that beneficiaries included higher education students and the retail and vendor community. In addition, discussion centered on burdens being placed on people who derive from low income and people who have gambling addiction.
Influence of initial stress and gravity on torsional surface wave in heterogeneous medium
Authors: Kr Mukhopadhyay Anup , Kr Gupta Asit , Kundu Santimoy , Manna Santanu
Published: May 2015

The present paper investigates the effect of gravity and initial stress on the propagation of torsional surface waves in heterogeneous medium. The dispersion equation has been obtained for rigid and traction free boundaries in terms of Whittaker function. The present study reveals that torsional surface waves can propagate in both the cases. In this paper, we assume the expansion of Whittaker function up to linear term. It is observed that, in presence of initial stress and gravity for both rigid and traction free boundary, the phase velocity of torsional surface waves increases with the growth of rigidity. In both the cases, it has also been noticed that as the gravity increases, the phase velocity of the torsional surface waves decreases in presence of heterogeneity and initial stress. It is concluded that in presence of traction free boundary, the phase velocity of the torsional surface waves is more than the rigid boundary.
Evaluability Assessment Thesis and Dissertation Studies in Graduate Professional Degree Programs
Authors: Walser Tamara M. , Trevisan Michael S.
Published: May 2015

Evaluability assessment (EA) has potential as a design option for thesis and dissertation studies, serving as a practical training experience for both technical and nontechnical evaluation skills. Based on a content review of a sample of EA theses and dissertations from graduate professional degree programs, the authors of this article found that some technical skills, such as understanding the knowledge base of evaluation, evaluation design, qualitative methods, identifying data sources, data collection, and data analysis, were demonstrated through the EA thesis and dissertation studies. However, the review also indicated a lack of understanding of EA and its essential elements and application of standards of quality evaluation. Recommendations are offered to enhance the quality of EA theses and dissertations, the learning experiences of students, and, ultimately, evaluation capacity building.
Resistive index for kidney evaluation in normal and diseased cats
Authors: Tipisca Vlad , Murino Carla , Cortese Laura , Mennonna Giuseppina , Auletta Luigi , Vulpe Vasile , Meomartino Leonardo
Published: May 2015

Objectives

The objectives were to determine the resistive index (RI) in normal cats and in cats with various renal diseases, and to evaluate the effect of age on RI.

Methods

The subjects were cats that had ultrasonography (US) of the urinary tract and RI measurement at our centre between January 2003 and April 2014. Based on clinical evaluation, biochemical and haematological tests, urinalysis and US, the cats were classified as healthy or diseased. RI measurements were made from the interlobar or arcuate arteries. Data were analysed for differences between the right and the left kidney, the two sexes, different age groups in healthy cats, and between healthy and diseased cats.

Results

A total of 116 cats (68 males, 48 females) were included: 24 healthy and 92 diseased. In the healthy cats, RI (mean ± SD) differed significantly ( P = 0.02) between the right kidney (0.54 ± 0.07) and the left kidney (0.59 ± 0.08). For the left kidney, RI was significantly higher in cats with chronic kidney disease (0.73 ± 0.12) and acute kidney injury (0.72 ± 0.08) ( P = 0.0008). For the right kidney, RI was significantly higher in cats with chronic kidney disease (0.72 ± 0.11), acute kidney injury (0.74 ± 0.08), polycystic kidney disease (0.77 ± 0.11) and renal tumour (0.74 ± 0.001) ( P <0.0001). There was no significant effect on RI value in either kidney in terms of age or sex.

Conclusions and relevance

RI could be considered a valuable diagnostic tool in cats, useful in the differential diagnosis of diffuse renal diseases. While it does not change with the age of the cat, ultrasonographers should be aware that RI may differ between the two kidneys.
Catch a Glimpse of Me: The development of staff videos to promote person-centered care
Authors: Gendron Tracey L , King Seymour Lindsay , Welleford E Ayn
Published: May 2015

Catch a Glimpse of Me is an ongoing project that uses video to help staff deliver more person-centered care for people with dementia living in long-term care. Focus groups consisting of residents, family and staff members were conducted to develop a template for the development of the videos. The five themes they identified as being important to include are: family; interests and hobbies; memories and moments; life space and getting personal. The article describes the process of developing the videos and discusses the ongoing potential of the Catch a Glimpse of Me project.
Do-it-yourself biology: Action research within the life sciences?
Authors: Golinelli Stefano , Ruivenkamp Guido
Published: May 2015

Do-it-yourself biology, or garage biology, is a set of practices through which lay people can practice biotechnology and thus also challenge the exclusive control exercised on biotech R&D by Big Bio. This article describes how garage biologists aim to radically transform biotechnological socio-material products and indicate a way of engaging with science and technology that is praxis oriented and builds on sharing, participation, and creativity. We argue that these do-it-yourself biology practices contain significant epistemological similarities with the well-established tradition of action research and indicate that both practices share the political objective to empower individuals to actively build their own future but that they prioritize different strategies. Action research investigates opportunities for empowerment in typical social domains while do-it-yourself biology focuses on the material dimension of socio-technical realities. By reviewing some do-it-yourself biology practices from the core basic principles of action research, the article aims to develop insight whether and in which forms a connectivity can be realized between these different practices leading to future collective actions among these practices.
Montage
Authors: Kennedy Fiona , Bathurst Ralph , Carroll Brigid
Published: May 2015

The Problem

Adaptive leadership calls for leaders to open up conflicts and differences and to help others engage with them. However, this sets up some tension with organizational priorities such as order and productivityWorking with difference and conflict is built on assumptions other than those that privilege efficiencies and smooth functioning. Taken-for-granted habits and assumptions about what is “good” and productive are at issue. Engaging with differences and conflict is not just a matter of learning new skills, it involves engaging with questions of mind-set and assumptions. The prospect of making space for differences may be threatening or seem to be out of bounds, particularly in traditional organizations.

The Solution

In this article, we argue that new practices privileging conflict and difference call for methods that disrupt habitual ways of working and that support people as they learn to respond to familiar situations in new ways. We offer montage, a technique adopted from the movie industry that sets disparate images side-by-side, as promising in this regard, providing temporary “new rules” that enable people to experience new ways of working.

The Stakeholders

This article will be of interest to human resource (HR) professionals who select and sponsor leadership development interventions It will be particularly relevant for those in the area of learning and development who support new learning beyond workshops, in the context of day-to-day organizational life. It will also be of interest to researchers who seek to understand felt experiences in organizations and managers who are interested in reshaping their practice.
Exploring Critical Perspectives of Toxic and Bad Leadership Through Film
Authors: Edwards Gareth , Schedlitzki Doris , Ward Jenna , Wood Martin
Published: May 2015

The Problem

This article considers concepts of toxic and bad leadership from a critical, post-structuralist perspective and illustrates how this can be conveyed to management students through the use of film analysis. In response to the paucity of critical approaches within toxic and bad leadership studies, we suggest that film is a useful way of developing in-depth discussion in student and management groups to uncover underlying subtleties and complexity in leadership theory and practice.

The Solution

We connect to film clips from Batman: The Dark Knight, and explain how this film is used with students and managers to illustrate the ambiguous nature of “good” and “bad” leadership and explore the fluid, shifting, and relational nature of these two concepts. We conclude that students and managers can recognize this more readily through viewing, discussing, and analyzing film clips such as the ones discussed herein.

The Stakeholders

University lecturers and students, executive educators and managers, general human resource development (HRD) professionals
Flow-diverter stenting in post-traumatic pseudoaneurysm of cavernous internal carotid artery with epistaxis
Authors: Giorgianni Andrea , Pellegrino Carlo , Minotto Renzo , Mercuri Anna , Baruzzi Fabio , Cantoni Alfredo , Cardim Larissa Nocchi , Valvassori Luca
Published: May 2015

This paper is a case report of a young patient after a major head trauma causing multiple skull base fractures. The trauma occasioned pseudoaneurysm (PSA) from intracavernous C4 segment of left internal carotid artery (ICA) protruding in the sphenoidal sinus. After two months, two episodes of massive epistaxis occurred. Consequently, the post-traumatic PSA was treated, after carotid occlusion test, with flow-diverter stent positioning. A computed tomography angiography study performed in the following days showed complete resolution of the post-traumatic PSA lesion and ICA patency.
Aggressive change of a carotid-cavernous fistula in a patient with Ehlers–Danlos syndrome type IV
Authors: Kojima Atsuhiro , Saga Isako , Tomio Ryosuke , Kosho Tomoki , Hatamochi Atsushi
Published: May 2015

The authors report a rare case of a carotid-cavernous fistula (CCF) secondary to Ehlers–Danlos syndrome (EDS) type IV which showed an aggressive angiographical change.

A 59-year-old woman presented with headache, right pulsatile tinnitus, and diplopia on the right side. The diagnostic angiography demonstrated a right CCF. Accordingly transarterial embolization of the fistula was attempted 5 days later. The initial right internal carotid angiography showed an aneurysm on the petrous portion of the internal carotid artery (ICA) which was not recognized in the diagnostic angiography. Spontaneous reduction of the shunt flow and long dissection of the ICA were also revealed. The aneurysm was successfully occluded with coils, and only minor shunt flow was shown on the final angiogram. EDS type IV was diagnosed with a skin biopsy for a collagen abnormality. After the operation, the stenosis of the right ICA gradually progressed, although there was no recurrence of the CCF.

Interventional treatment for patients with EDS can cause devastating vascular complication. We should be aware of the possibility of EDS type IV when a spontaneous CCF shows unusual angiographical change because early diagnosis of EDS type IV is crucial for determination of the optimum treatment option.
Evaluation of hydrodynamic forces on turbine ring gate during emergency shutdown process
Authors: Mo Zhenwei , Xiao Juliang , Wang Gang
Published: May 2015

This work uses numerical methods to investigate the hydrodynamic forces that act on a turbine ring gate during emergency shutdown. Accurately predicting the hydrodynamic forces on such gates is important because the forces constitute a design criterion of ring gates, especially in the case of the downward-pulling hydrodynamic force, which directly affects the opening or closing of the gate. In this article, we use Fluent, which is a computational fluid dynamics code, to simulate the flow patterns around the ring gate and to calculate the hydrodynamic forces on the gate. We numerically simulate the three-dimensional unsteady turbulence over the entire flow passage of the turbine. The numerical results show that the hydrodynamic forces are induced mainly by flow acceleration under the bottom surface of the ring gate. When the ring gate is at 90% closing position, the downward-pulling hydrodynamic force is maximal; near the completely closed position, the hydrodynamic force is more sensitive to the position of the ring gate. This investigation of the hydrodynamic forces that act on the ring gates provides the theoretical basis for determining the operational capacity and the optimal design of ring gates.
Research on safety analysis for airborne system based on extended functional model
Authors: Jiang Quan , Zhu Chunling , Cao Dejian , Huang Chuanlin , Xie Jian
Published: May 2015

With the widespread use of embedded system in safety critical areas, system safety assurance has become one of the research hotspots of engineering technologies. System safety analysis mainly concentrates on the requirement specification and the recent design, and in the process of the actual development of the software, safety requirement analysis and design are two independent processes. This article expands the safety requirements described by fault tree into state diagram and proposes the new concept “fault state diagram,” which can unify safety requirement model and functional model. Based on the fault state diagram, this article proposes the method of airborne system safety analysis, including the following: gives out one method for abstracting and describing safety requirements from system fault tree based on Backus Normal Form; defines the transformation rules from fault tree logic gates and continuous time into state diagram elements; designs safety requirement information mapping table which translates safety requirements into state diagram elements; and designs the automatic construction algorithm of fault state diagram, which is based on the transformation rules and mapping table. Finally, a small gas stove control system case using the method proves the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed method.
When People Evaluate Others, the Level of Others’ Narcissism Matters Less to Evaluators Who Are Narcissistic
Authors: Wallace Harry M. , Grotzinger Andrew , Howard Tyler J. , Parkhill Nousha
Published: May 2015

Prior studies have documented how people in general respond to others’ narcissism, but existing research offers few clues about whether and how evaluator narcissism influences judgments of traits associated with narcissism. Participants completed the Narcissistic Personality Inventory and then evaluated hypothetical target persons. Target narcissism was conveyed through a single trait description (Study 1), a list of traits (Study 2), or Facebook content (Study 3). Narcissistic qualities were reliably viewed unfavorably, but narcissistic participants were comparatively less bothered by target narcissism and less positive in their judgments of targets without narcissistic qualities. In each study, symptoms of the presence or absence of narcissism had less impact on the social judgments of participants who were narcissistic.
Higher specialist urology trainees’ opinions on preparation for the consultant role
Authors: Cleaveland Paul , Parnham Arie , Tang Vincent , Ali Zubeir , Brown Stephen
Published: May 2015

Introduction:

Trainees are objectively assessed during their surgical training rotations in order to be awarded the certificate of completion of training, thereby allowing independent consultant practice. Our study looks at senior trainees’ opinions on UK urology training in preparation to becoming a consultant.

Patients and methods:

A questionnaire was sent to UK senior urology trainees ST 6 or above and new consultants. Parameters including demographics, qualifications, sub-specialist interests and questions related to the candidates’ perceived readiness to carry out a range of activities as a consultant were recorded.

Results:

Twenty-eight candidates completed the questionnaire. All trainees thought the FRCS exam covered topics useful for consultant practice. The majority of respondents felt comfortable dealing with emergencies, general urological procedures and managing research/audit (85%, 96% and 90%, respectively). However, a number of respondents felt unprepared for educational and leadership/management roles (30% and 40%). A further 55% felt unprepared to achieve a good work/life balance. Overall, 93% felt training prepared them for the consultant role.

Conclusion:

The survey has highlighted that most trainees feel confident in dealing with clinical and academic aspects of urology. However, there seem to be concerns with achieving a good work/life balance and in particular limited confidence in delivering educational, management and leadership roles. With an increasing emphasis within the NHS for consultants to adopt managerial roles and increasing pressures on their personal time, this survey highlights the need for specific training to address these issues.
Awareness and Utilization of Welders’ Personal Protective Eye Devices and Associated Factors
Authors: Eze Boniface I. , Okoye Obiekwe , Aguwa Emmanuel N.
Published: May 2015

This study assessed commercial welders’ awareness and utilization of personal protective eye devices (PPEDs), and their associations, in Enugu, Nigeria, between January and March, 2011. The participants included 343 males, age 33.9 years ± 10.0 SD years. The participants reported high awareness of welding-associated ocular hazards (99.4%) and PPEDs (75.2%-98.3%), but low PPED possession and utilization rates. Cost and “presumed lack of utility” were the leading barriers to PPED possession; non-utilization was mainly attributed to “user inconvenience” and “presumed lack of protective benefit.” PPED utilization was significantly associated with lower educational status ( p = .030) and electric welding ( p < .0001). The underlying causes are amenable to preventive occupational eye health education, enhanced ergonomics and affordability of PPEDs, and legislative enforcement of their use.
Guidelines for Establishing Reliability When Coding Narrative Data
Authors: Syed Moin , Nelson Sarah C.
Published: May 2015

The use of quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods approaches has been foundational to research on emerging adulthood, yet there remain many unresolved methodological issues pertaining to how to handle qualitative data. The purpose of this article is to review best practices for coding and establishing reliability when working with narrative data. In doing so, we highlight how establishing reliability must be seen as an evolving process, rather than simply a focus on the end product. The review is divided into three broad sections. In the first section, we discuss relatively more quantitatively focused methods of coding and establishing reliability, whereas in the second section we discuss relatively more qualitatively focused methods. In the final section, we provide recommendations for researchers interested in coding narrative and other types of open-ended data. This article is intended to serve as an essential resource for researchers working on a variety of topics related to emerging adulthood and beyond.
How Do Muslims Vote? Case of Seemanchal 2014 Parliamentary Elections
Authors: Thakur Manindra Nath
Published: May 2015

The voting behaviour of the Muslim community has always been a puzzle for the students of Indian democracy. There are available two extreme positions: (a) Muslim community always votes en bloc and hence it is treated as vote bank by the political parties and (b) like any other community in India Muslim community too is not monolithic, and there are many subcommunities based on language, region, local interest and so on; the voting behaviour of this community is influenced by these factors and hence does not vote en bloc. This article aims at examining these positions by conducting a fieldwork in the Seemanchal region of Bihar during the parliamentary elections 2014. The finding suggests that Muslim community is sociologically heterogeneous and this has impact on the electoral behaviour of the community; however, at times the community do go for en bloc voting depending on the contingent factors. In the parliamentary elections 2014, the community’s voting behaviour was guided by the Modi factor and it voted en bloc to any candidate who had an advantage over the BJP candidate.
Book Review: Suhas Palshikar, K.C. Suri and Yogendra Yadav, eds, Party Competition in Indian States
Authors: Dubey Amitabh
Published: May 2015

Suhas Palshikar, K.C. Suri and Yogendra Yadav, eds, Party Competition in Indian States. New Delhi: Oxford University Press. 2014. 592 pages. ₹1,445.
Prevalence and Pattern of Chronic Kidney Disease in Antiretroviral-Naïve Patients with HIV/AIDS
Authors: Adedeji Tewogbade Adeoye , Adedeji Nife O. , Adebisi Simeon A. , Idowu Ademola A. , Fawale Michael B. , Jimoh Kayode A.
Published: May 2015

Background:

Chronic renal failure and HIV/AIDS are both prevalent in Nigeria. We performed a cross-sectional analysis of renal function in newly diagnosed, treatment-naive HIV-infected patients before initiating highly active antiretroviral therapy.

Methods:

Treatment-inexperienced individuals were recruited. Patients with diabetes mellitus and hypertension were excluded. Plasma creatinine level was used to measure the estimated glomerular filtration rate ([eGFR] by Modification of Diet in Renal Disease equation). Predictors of creatinine and eGFR were determined by univariate and multivariate analyses.

Results:

We evaluated 183 patients. In all, 44 (24%) patients had a GFR <60 mL/min/1.73 m2, implying moderate chronic kidney disease (CKD). Considering the eGFR, 22 (12%) patients had stage 1, 117 (63.9%) stage 2, 13 (7.1%) stage 3, 27 (14.8%) stage 4, and 4 (2.2%) stage 5 CKD. Creatinine inversely correlated with CD4 ( r = −.228, P = .025). CD4 predicts creatinine (odds ratio 1.6, 95% confidence interval 1.0-1.8, P = .003).

Conclusion:

In ART-naive patients, CKD is common, and low eGFR was associated with lower CD4 counts.
Influence of Health Insurance Status on the Timing of Surgery and Treatment of Bucket-Handle Meniscus Tears
Authors: Sood Amit , Gonzalez-Lomas Guillem , Gehrmann Robin
Published: May 2015

Background

Lack of insurance has been shown to lead to delays in seeking care as well as fewer preventive medicine visits and poorer overall health status.

Purpose

To investigate the effects of insurance status on the timing and treatment of patients with bucket-handle meniscus tears.

Study Design

Cohort study; Level of evidence, 3.

Methods

Charts from 2004 to 2013 were retrospectively reviewed for patients diagnosed with bucket-handle meniscus tears. Patients were divided into 2 groups: insured or underinsured. The insured group included patients with commercial insurance or Medicare. The underinsured group included patients with Medicaid or Charity Care. Time intervals were categorized as <6 weeks or ≥6 weeks.

Results

A total of 52 patients were included in this study: 15 (29%) insured and 37 (71%) underinsured. Underinsured patients experienced delays in initial presentation to an orthopaedic surgeon ( P = .004), time from magnetic resonance imaging to surgery ( P = .01), and time from injury to surgery ( P = .007). Repair rates were 40% and 38% ( P > .999) for the insured and underinsured, respectively. Repair rates for <6 weeks from injury to surgery were 75% for insured ( P = .007) and 100% for underinsured patients ( P = .001). Repair rates for ≥6 weeks from injury to surgery were 0% for insured and 30% for underinsured patients. Overall, patients with an injury-to-surgery time of <6 weeks had a significantly higher repair rate (87%) than those managed >6 weeks (19%) ( P < .001).

Conclusion

Underinsured patients experience significant delays in time to presentation and overall time to surgery. However, the overall repair rate between the insured and underinsured is similar. Regardless of insurance status, patients undergoing arthroscopy within 6 weeks of injury have a significantly higher repair rate than those after 6 weeks.

Clinical Relevance

Patients undergoing arthroscopy within 6 weeks of injury have a significantly higher repair rate than those after 6 weeks.
Socioeconomic Attainments of Japanese Brazilians and Japanese Americans
Authors: Maia Alexandre Gori , Sakamoto Arthur , Wang Sharron Xuanren
Published: May 2015

This paper investigates the socioeconomic attainments of Japanese Brazilians and Japanese Americans. The findings indicate that Japanese Brazilians have higher levels of education and wages than white Brazilians, while Japanese Americans have higher levels of education and wages than white Americans. These results are inconsistent with a conventional “white supremacy” model that is popular in contemporary American sociology. We argue that that model needs to be reformulated to more systematically encompass class characteristics such as education given their salience in the twenty-first century. When smaller demographic minority groups are able to obtain high levels of a scarce class resource that is greatly valued in a competitive economy, racist relations against them in the labor market may be ameliorated. In this case, the cost of discriminating against the minority greatly exceeds the gain by not discriminating. With “white supremacy,” white employers and white employees are rewarded with a long-term racial dividend by engaging in short-term public goods behaviors (i.e., a discriminatory “united front”) that promote institutionalized racism. Because economic transactions with a very small minority group are so limited, whites as a whole do not commonly receive much long-term economic gain from discriminating against them. The maintenance of institutionalized racism against a very small minority group with high levels of class credentials therefore breaks down as individual whites are more economically rewarded by hiring and transacting with productive members of the minority group in the short-term rather than waiting for a long-term racial dividend that is likely to be trivial.
Phosphatase Wip1 controls antigen-independent B-cell development in a p53-dependent manner
Authors: Yi Weiwei , Hu Xuelian , Chen Zhiyang , Liu Leiming , Tian Yuan , Chen Hui , Cong Yu-sheng , Yang Fan , Zhang Lianfeng , Rudolph Karl Lenhard , Zhang Zhixin , Zhao Yong , Ju Zhenyu
Published: May 2015

Key Points

Wip1 controls antigen-independent B-cell development in the bone marrow via a p53-dependent pathway. Wip1 is essential to prevent an aging-related decline in B-cell development.
Low parental support in late adolescence predicts obesity in young adulthood; Gender differences in a 12-year cohort of African Americans
Authors: Assari Shervin , Caldwell Cleopatra Howard , Zimmerman Marc A.
Published: May 2015

Background

Most studies that have investigated the link between parenting behaviors and risk of obesity among offsprings have mostly used a cross-sectional design, enrolled Caucasian samples, focused on childhood obesity, and covered aspects of parenting behaviors that directly influence energy balance and food intake of the children. Thus, more longitudinal research is needed on how more general aspects of parenting influence obesity in young ethnic minority adults. The current longitudinal study aimed to test if baseline parental support predicts change in body mass index (BMI) of African Americans, and if this prediction varies based on gender of offspring.

Methods

The current study followed 227 young African American adults (109 male and 118 female) for 12 years from year 2000 (mean age 20) to year 2012 (mean age 32). All participants were enrolled from a disadvantaged urban area in the Midwest of the United States. Baseline demographics (age, gender), socio-economics (family structure, and parental employment), psychological symptoms (anxiety and depression), general parental support (maternal support, and paternal support) were measured. BMI was measured at baseline and at follow up. We used gender-specific linear regressions to test the predictive role of baseline paternal and maternal support (year 2000) on change in BMI (from 2000 to 2012).

Results

Regression analysis showed that among female African American young adults, high baseline maternal support was predictive of a lower increase in BMI from 2000 to 2012. The association remained significant while all covariates were in the model. We could not find such an association for male African American young adults.

Conclusion

High maternal support appears to be protective against increases in BMI among African American female young adults. As parental support is a modifiable factor within available evidence-based interventions that enhance parenting, it should be included in obesity prevention programs for African American women. Policies and programs should support African American mothers in disadvantaged neighborhoods to enable them to provide high levels of parental support for their young adult daughters. Future research should test the efficacy of such programs and policies for reducing obesity among African American women.
Outdoor occupational environments and heat stress in IRAN
Authors: Heidari Hamidreza , Golbabaei Farideh , Shamsipour Aliakbar , Rahimi Forushani Abbas , Gaeini Abbasali
Published: May 2015

Background

The present study aimed at demonstrating the heat stress situation (distribution and intensity) based on a standard and common heat stress index, Wet Bulb Globe Temperature (WBGT), during hot seasons and interpret the obtained results considering global warming and rising temperature in different parts of the country based on climate changes studied in Iran.

Methods

Heat stress assessment was done using WBGT index. Environmental parameters were measured simultaneously in the early, middle and end of shift work. The personal parameters including cloth thermal insulation and metabolic rate of 242 participants from 9 climatic categories were recorded for estimating effective WBGT (measured WBGT plus cloth adjustment factor as well as metabolic rate effect). The values of the indicator were categorized in the statistical software media and then linked to the climatic zoning of the data in the GIS information layers, in which, WBGT values relating to selected stations were given generalization to similar climatic regionalization.

Results

The obtained results showed that in the summer about 60 % and more than 75 % of the measurements relating to 12 pm and 3 pm, respectively, were in heat stress situations (i.e. the average amount of heat stress index was higher than 28 °C). These values were found to be about 20–25 % in the spring. Moreover, only in the early hours of shift work in spring could safe conditions be seen throughout the country. This situation gradually decreased in the middle of the day hours and was replaced by the warning status and stress. And finally, in the final hours of shift work thermal stresses reached their peaks. These conditions for the summer were worse.

Conclusions

Regarding several studies related to climate change in Iran and the results of present study, heat stress, especially in the central and southern parts of Iran, can be exacerbated in the decades to come if climate change and rising temperature occurs. Therefore, paying attention to this critical issue and adopting macro-management policies and programs in the field of workplace health is essential.
Predictors of round window accessibility for adult cochlear implantation based on pre-operative CT scan: A prospective observational study
Authors: Park Edward , Amoodi Hosam , Kuthubutheen Jafri , Chen Joseph M. , Nedzelski Julian M. , Lin Vincent Y. W.
Published: May 2015

Background

Cochlear implantation has become a mainstream treatment option for patients with severe to profound sensorineural hearing loss. During cochlear implant, there are key surgical steps which are influenced by anatomical variations between each patient. The aim of this study is to determine if there are potential predictors of difficulties that may be encountered during the cortical mastoidectomy, facial recess approach and round window access in cochlear implant surgery based upon pre-operative temporal bone CT scan.

Methods

Fifty seven patients undergoing unilateral cochlear implantation were analyzed. Difficulty with 1) cortical mastoidectomy, 2) facial recess approach, and 3) round window access were scored intra-operatively by the surgeon in a blinded fashion (1 = “easy”, 2 = “moderate”, 3 = “difficult”). Pre-operative temporal bone CT scans were analyzed for 1) degree of mastoid aeration; 2) location of the sigmoid sinus; 3) height of the tegmen; 4) the presence of air cells in the facial recess, and 5) degree of round window bony overhang.

Results

Poor mastoid aeration and lower tegmen position, but not the location of sigmoid sinus, are associated with greater difficulty with the cortical mastoidectomy. Presence of an air cell around the facial nerve was predictive of easier facial recess access. However, the degree of round window bony overhang was not predictive of difficulty associated with round window access.

Conclusion

Certain parameters on the pre-operative temporal bone CT scan may be useful in predicting potential difficulties encountered during the key steps involved in cochlear implant surgery.
Impact of Radiotherapy When Added to Androgen-Deprivation Therapy for Locally Advanced Prostate Cancer: Long-Term Quality-of-Life Outcomes From the NCIC CTG PR3/MRC PR07 Randomized Trial
Authors: Brundage Michael , Sydes Matthew R. , Parulekar Wendy R. , Warde Padraig , Cowan Richard , Bezjak Andrea , Kirkbride Peter , Parliament Matthew , Moynihan Clare , Bahary Jean-Paul , Parmar Mahesh K.B. , Sanders Karen , Chen Bingshu E. , Mason Malcolm D.
Published: May 2015

Purpose

The NCIC CTG PR3/MRC PR07 randomized phase III trial compared androgen-deprivation therapy (ADT) alone versus ADT with radiotherapy (RT) for patients with locally advanced prostate cancer. This article reports the health-related quality-of-life (HRQOL) outcomes of this trial.

Patients and Methods

A total of 1,205 patients were randomly allocated to either ADT alone or ADT with RT. HRQOL was assessed at baseline and every 6 months thereafter using the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer Core Questionnaire and a prostate cancer–specific checklist or the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy–Prostate questionnaire. Mean changes from baseline scores for five function domains and nine symptom domains were analyzed as those most relevant to ADT and RT. The proportions of patients with improved, stable, or worsened HRQOL scores according to instrument-specific minimal important differences were calculated.

Results

Baseline questionnaires were completed by 1,028 patients (88%). At 6 months, RT had a statistically significant impact on mean score for bowel symptoms (P = .02), diarrhea (P < .001), urinary function (P = .003), and erectile dysfunction (P = .008); by 3 years, however, there were no significant between-group differences in any domain. Generalized linear mixed modeling revealed no significant between-arm differences in any of the function scales but showed significant deterioration in both arms over time for Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy–Prostate total score, treatment outcome index, and physical and functional well-being.

Conclusion

The addition of RT to ADT for patients with locally advanced prostate cancer significantly improved overall survival and had only modest and transient negative impact on relevant domains of HRQOL.
Health-Related Quality of Life in a Randomized Phase III Study of Bevacizumab, Temozolomide, and Radiotherapy in Newly Diagnosed Glioblastoma
Authors: Taphoorn Martin J.B. , Henriksson Roger , Bottomley Andrew , Cloughesy Timothy , Wick Wolfgang , Mason Warren P. , Saran Frank , Nishikawa Ryo , Hilton Magalie , Theodore-Oklota Christina , Ravelo Arliene , Chinot Olivier L.
Published: May 2015

Purpose

As glioblastoma progresses, patients experience a decline in health-related quality of life (HRQoL). Delaying this decline is an important treatment goal. In newly diagnosed glioblastoma, progression-free survival was prolonged when bevacizumab was added to radiotherapy plus temozolomide (RT/TMZ) versus placebo plus RT/TMZ (phase III AVAglio study; hazard ratio, 0.64; 95% CI, 0.55 to 0.74; P < .001). To ensure that addition of bevacizumab to standard-of-care therapy was not associated with HRQoL detriment, HRQoL assessment was a secondary objective.

Patients and Methods

Patients completed European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaires C30 and BN20 at each tumor assessment (Appendix Table A1 , online only). Raw scores were converted to a 100-point scale and mean changes from baseline scores were evaluated (stable: < 10-point change; clinically relevant deterioration/improvement: ≥ 10-point change). Deterioration-free survival was the time to deterioration/progression/death; time to deterioration was the time to deterioration/death.

Results

Most evaluable patients who had not progressed (> 74%) completed all HRQoL assessments for at least 1 year of treatment, and almost all completed at least one HRQoL assessment at baseline (98.3% and 97.6%, bevacizumab and placebo arms, respectively). Mean changes from baseline did not reach a clinically relevant difference between arms for most items. HRQoL declined at progression in both arms. The addition of bevacizumab to RT/TMZ resulted in statistically longer (P < .001) deterioration-free survival across all items. Time to deterioration was not statistically longer in the placebo plus RT/TMZ arm (v bevacizumab) for any HRQoL item.

Conclusion

The addition of bevacizumab to standard-of-care treatment for newly diagnosed glioblastoma had no impact on HRQoL during the progression-free period.
Feasibility of Large-Scale Genomic Testing to Facilitate Enrollment Onto Genomically Matched Clinical Trials
Authors: Meric-Bernstam Funda , Brusco Lauren , Shaw Kenna , Horombe Chacha , Kopetz Scott , Davies Michael A. , Routbort Mark , Piha-Paul Sarina A. , Janku Filip , Ueno Naoto , Hong David , De Groot John , Ravi Vinod , Li Yisheng , Luthra Raja , Patel Keyur , Broaddus Russell , Mendelsohn John , Mills Gordon B.
Published: May 2015

Purpose

We report the experience with 2,000 consecutive patients with advanced cancer who underwent testing on a genomic testing protocol, including the frequency of actionable alterations across tumor types, subsequent enrollment onto clinical trials, and the challenges for trial enrollment.

Patients and Methods

Standardized hotspot mutation analysis was performed in 2,000 patients, using either an 11-gene (251 patients) or a 46- or 50-gene (1,749 patients) multiplex platform. Thirty-five genes were considered potentially actionable based on their potential to be targeted with approved or investigational therapies.

Results

Seven hundred eighty-nine patients (39%) had at least one mutation in potentially actionable genes. Eighty-three patients (11%) with potentially actionable mutations went on genotype-matched trials targeting these alterations. Of 230 patients with PIK3CA/AKT1/PTEN/BRAF mutations that returned for therapy, 116 (50%) received a genotype-matched drug. Forty patients (17%) were treated on a genotype-selected trial requiring a mutation for eligibility, 16 (7%) were treated on a genotype-relevant trial targeting a genomic alteration without biomarker selection, and 40 (17%) received a genotype-relevant drug off trial. Challenges to trial accrual included patient preference of noninvestigational treatment or local treatment, poor performance status or other reasons for trial ineligibility, lack of trials/slots, and insurance denial.

Conclusion

Broad implementation of multiplex hotspot testing is feasible; however, only a small portion of patients with actionable alterations were actually enrolled onto genotype-matched trials. Increased awareness of therapeutic implications and access to novel therapeutics are needed to optimally leverage results from broad-based genomic testing.
Thyrostimulin Regulates Osteoblastic Bone Formation During Early Skeletal Development
Authors: Bassett J. H. Duncan , van der Spek Anne , Logan John G. , Gogakos Apostolos , Bagchi-Chakraborty Jayashree , Murphy Elaine , van Zeijl Clementine , Down Jenny , Croucher Peter I. , Boyde Alan , Boelen Anita , Williams Graham R.
Published: May 2015

The ancestral glycoprotein hormone thyrostimulin is a heterodimer of unique glycoprotein hormone subunit alpha (GPA)2 and glycoprotein hormone subunit beta (GPB)5 subunits with high affinity for the TSH receptor. Transgenic overexpression of GPB5 in mice results in cranial abnormalities, but the role of thyrostimulin in bone remains unknown. We hypothesized that thyrostimulin exerts paracrine actions in bone and determined: 1) GPA2 and GPB5 expression in osteoblasts and osteoclasts, 2) the skeletal consequences of thyrostimulin deficiency in GPB5 knockout (KO) mice, and 3) osteoblast and osteoclast responses to thyrostimulin treatment. Gpa2 and Gpb5 expression was identified in the newborn skeleton but declined rapidly thereafter. GPA2 and GPB5 mRNAs were also expressed in primary osteoblasts and osteoclasts at varying concentrations. Juvenile thyrostimulin-deficient mice had increased bone volume and mineralization as a result of increased osteoblastic bone formation. However, thyrostimulin failed to induce a canonical cAMP response or activate the noncanonical Akt, ERK, or mitogen-activated protein kinase (P38) signaling pathways in primary calvarial or bone marrow stromal cell-derived osteoblasts. Furthermore, thyrostimulin did not directly inhibit osteoblast proliferation, differentiation or mineralization in vitro. These studies identify thyrostimulin as a negative but indirect regulator of osteoblastic bone formation during skeletal development.
Effect of Synthesis Route on Structural, Morphological Properties of Ce0.8Y0.2−xLaxO2 (x = 0, 0.1, 0.2)
Authors: Aouissi Mohamed Lamine , Ghrib Abdelaziz
Published: May 2015

In the present study, the solid solutions with a chemical composition of Ce0.8Y0.2−xLaxO2 (x = 0, 0.1, 0.2) were synthesized via two routes, by hydrothermal method using NaOH as precipitating agent at 230 °C for 15 h and by the sol–gel process using citric acid as chelating agent. Compounds have been characterized by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and differential thermal analysis (DTA) techniques for appropriate characterization of the distinct thermal events occurring during synthesis. All the compounds crystallize in cubic fluorite structure. The ceria lattice expands depending on the ionic radii of the dopant cations, as indicated by X-ray diffraction study. The sol–gel oxide Ce0.8Y0.1La0.1O2 exhibits a good thermal stability compared with hydrothermal oxide. The microstructure of oxides synthesized by sol–gel showed porosity which increased with the lanthanum La3+ contents and on the other side the hydrothermal method gives single crystal oxides.
EnD-Seq and AppEnD: sequencing 3′ ends to identify nontemplated tails and degradation intermediates
Authors: Welch Joshua D. , Slevin Michael K. , Tatomer Deirdre C. , Duronio Robert J. , Prins Jan F. , Marzluff William F.
Published: May 2015

Existing methods for detecting RNA intermediates resulting from exonuclease degradation are low-throughput and laborious. In addition, mapping the 3′ ends of RNA molecules to the genome after high-throughput sequencing is challenging, particularly if the 3′ ends contain post-transcriptional modifications. To address these problems, we developed EnD-Seq, a high-throughput sequencing protocol that preserves the 3′ end of RNA molecules, and AppEnD, a computational method for analyzing high-throughput sequencing data. Together these allow determination of the 3′ ends of RNA molecules, including nontemplated additions. Applying EnD-Seq and AppEnD to histone mRNAs revealed that a significant fraction of cytoplasmic histone mRNAs end in one or two uridines, which have replaced the 1–2 nt at the 3′ end of mature histone mRNA maintaining the length of the histone transcripts. Histone mRNAs in fly embryos and ovaries show the same pattern, but with different tail nucleotide compositions. We increase the sensitivity of EnD-Seq by using cDNA priming to specifically enrich low-abundance tails of known sequence composition allowing identification of degradation intermediates. In addition, we show the broad applicability of our computational approach by using AppEnD to gain insight into 3′ additions from diverse types of sequencing data, including data from small capped RNA sequencing and some alternative polyadenylation protocols.