bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Between feminism and anorexia: An autoethnography
Authors: Holmes Su
Published: December 2014

Critical feminist work on eating disorders has grown substantially since its establishment in the 1980s, and has increasingly incorporated the use of anorexic stories, voices and experiences. Yet rarely do such accounts offer the anorexic a space to respond to the now established feminist conceptions of the problem which structure the books or articles in which they appear. Anorexic or recovered anorexic voices are used by the researcher to interpret the role played by gender, even while the subjects are invited to respond to and critique, medical and popular discourses on the disorder. This lack of dialogue is all the more striking in the context of the feminist aim to challenge the silencing of the anorexic voice when it comes to women’s own interpretations of their starving, treatment and construction. As someone who suffered from anorexia for 20 years, this article offers an autoethnographic account of my experience of encountering the feminist literature on anorexia in a bid to speak back, or enter into a dialogue between feminist politics and eating disorder experience.
Sleep in Psychogenic Nonepileptic Seizures and Related Disorders
Authors: Pavlova Milena K. , Allen Rebecca M. , Dworetzky Barbara A.
Published: December 2014

Psychogenic nonepileptic seizures (PNES), a form of functional neurological symptom disorder (FNSD), are very rarely seen in genuine, electroencephalography (EEG)-confirmed sleep. However, they are more commonly reported as a nocturnal occurrence, likely from a state that is misidentified as sleep (termed by some as “pseudosleep”). Sleep state can be helpful to distinguish FNSD from other neurological disorders. Pseudo-cataplexy, a form of “psychogenic” narcolepsy, “pseudo-parasomnia” and PNES can have a similar presentation. PNES and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) frequently share previously experienced psychological trauma, and therefore the sleep abnormalities found in PTSD may be similarly present in PNES. Future research should use EEG monitoring to evaluate the sleep physiology of patients with FNSD such as PNES, as insights into sleep abnormalities may enable further understanding of the etiology and manifestations of PNES.
Placing Latin American memory: Sites and the politics of mourning
Authors: Andermann Jens
Published: December 2014

This introduction sketches out some spatial and locational aspects of memory and mourning in postdictatorial Latin America. The special issue aims to shed light on memorial sites’ role in the process of reclaiming individual and collective stories from victims of dictatorial repression. If, as Susana Draper has argued, during Latin America’s “return to democracy,” an “architectonics of transition” inscribed in urban spaces new diagrams of citizenship and exclusion predicated on the timeless present of consumption, memory’s “architectures of affect” commemorating victims of past state terror represent both an interruption and a challenge to neoliberalism’s postdictatorial city. Beyond the limits of the urban, rural landscape and the marking of diasporic locations of exile overseas also speak to the dispersive and uprooting effects of violence. The collection also asks for the frictions emerging between global forms of commemoration and local constellations of historical experience as manifest in particular sites.
Overview of indications, preferred methods and technical tips for hand fractures from around the world
Authors: Tang J. B. , Blazar P. E. , Giddins G. , Lalonde D. , Martínez C. , Solomons M.
Published: December 2014

This article presents techniques used by six senior surgeons from different parts of the world. Our commentaries on treating hand fractures are included, together with the methods we use. While non-operative treatment is appropriate and effective for the majority of the hand fractures (including those many practitioners currently treat surgically), we describe how we try to manage difficult cases with less invasive surgical methods. We recommend simple, efficient, non-operative or less invasive operative methods for almost all fractures, except for some open or very complex injuries.
Fracture-dislocations of the carpometacarpal joints of the ring and little finger
Authors: Gehrmann S. V. , Kaufmann R. A. , Grassmann J. P. , Lögters T. , Schädel-Höpfner M. , Hakimi M. , Windolf J.
Published: December 2014

We report the functional and radiographic results of 16 patients with fracture-dislocations of the ring and little finger carpometacarpal joints and 23 cases with fracture-dislocations of only the little finger carpometacarpal joint treated between 2006 and 2012. The above two cohort populations of patients were treated with either open reduction and pin fixation or closed reduction and pin fixation. These patients were followed for a mean of 13 months (range 9 to 48). The DASH scores for patients with fracture-dislocations of the ring and little finger carpometacarpal joints were 6.0 and of the little finger carpometacarpal joint 7.2. We found no functional differences in term of DASH scores after treatment between patients with fracture-dislocations of only the little finger carpometacarpal joint and both the ring and little finger carpometacarpal joints.

Level of evidence: IV
New conceptual and operational approach to the link between individual and region: Regional belonging
Authors: Charton-Vachet Florence , Lombart Cindy
Published: December 2014

This research has a dual objective: (1) Increase knowledge of the link between individuals and regions through a qualitative exploratory study (comprising 16 individual semi-structured interviews and two focus groups of eight people each), and consequently propose a new specific concept: regional belonging. Regional belonging is defined as a positive identity link between an individual and a physical, social and cultural place, understood by individuals as their regional territory. (2) Develop a measurement scale for this new concept that is reliable, valid, synthetic and generalizable. To do this, we conducted a qualitative exploratory study to generate a sample of items for each of the three dimensions of this concept (physical, social and cultural). Four series of quantitative data collections were done on 1691 consumers to purify and confirm the measurement scale developed, establish the convergent, discriminant and predictive validity of the scale (comprising three dimensions measured by 12 items) and test its ecological validity.
Societal implications of antidiscrimination policy in Europe
Authors: Ziller Conrad
Published: December 2014

The enactment and implementation of European Union Directives on antidiscrimination have received substantial scholarly attention. However, there is little knowledge about whether and how antidiscrimination measures influence citizens’ experiences and perceptions of discrimination. This study investigates the relationship between antidiscrimination policies, citizens’ knowledge in this policy area, and their handling of discrimination. Using data from a standardized policy indicator and repeated cross-sectional survey waves of EU countries, I first examine the relationship between antidiscrimination policy and societal levels of knowledge about victims’ rights. Subsequently, multilevel models test how differences in policy and knowledge levels predict individuals’ reported levels of experienced and perceived discrimination. The results show that people who live in countries with effective antidiscrimination laws know more about their rights to equal treatment than those from countries with less effective policies. For the most part, policy differences across countries are unsystematically related to discrimination-related outcomes. However, an increase in knowledge levels over time is associated with higher reports about witnessed discrimination, lower sociotropic perceptions of discrimination, and less individual self-identification with a discriminated group. The findings suggest that, to the extent that antidiscrimination policies foster knowledge of the law, they contribute to citizens’ awareness and empowerment against discrimination.
Welfare migration? Free movement of EU citizens and access to social benefits
Authors: Blauberger Michael , Schmidt Susanne K
Published: December 2014

This article analyzes the political impact of the European Court of Justice’s (ECJ) case law concerning the free movement of EU citizens and their cross-border access to social benefits. Public debates about ‘welfare migration’ or ‘social tourism’ often fluctuate between populist hysteria and outright denial, but they obscure the real political and legal issues at stake: that ECJ jurisprudence incrementally broadens EU citizens’ opportunities to claim social benefits abroad while narrowing member states’ scope to regulate and restrict access to national welfare systems. We argue that legal uncertainty challenges national administrations in terms of workload and rule-of-law standards, while domestic legislative reforms increasingly shift the burden of legal uncertainty to EU migrants by raising evidentiary requirements and threatening economically inactive EU citizens with expulsion. We illustrate this argument first with a brief overview of the EU’s legal framework, highlighting the ambiguity of core concepts from the Court’s case law, and then with empirical evidence from the UK, Germany and Austria, analyzing similar domestic responses to the ECJ’s jurisprudence. We conclude that EU citizenship law, while promising to build the union from below on the basis of equal legal entitlements, may, in fact, risk rousing further nationalism and decrease solidarity across the union.
The emerging role of Big Data in key development issues: Opportunities, challenges, and concerns
Authors: Kshetri Nir
Published: December 2014

This paper presents a review of academic literature, policy documents from government organizations and international agencies, and reports from industries and popular media on the trends in Big Data utilization in key development issues and its worthwhileness, usefulness, and relevance. By looking at Big Data deployment in a number of key economic sectors, it seeks to provide a better understanding of the opportunities and challenges of using it for addressing key issues facing the developing world. It reviews the uses of Big Data in agriculture and farming activities in developing countries to assess the capabilities required at various levels to benefit from Big Data. It also provides insights into how the current digital divide is associated with and facilitated by the pattern of Big Data diffusion and its effective use in key development areas. It also discusses the lessons that developing countries can learn from the utilization of Big Data in big corporations as well as in other activities in industrialized countries.
Determining Provider Needs for Respite Training, Results of an Alabama Survey
Authors: Geiger Brian F. , O’Neal Marcia R.
Published: December 2014

The Alabama Lifespan Respite Resource Network™ enhances respite services for family caregivers. University evaluators conducted a statewide assessment of respite providers using multiple formats. The purpose was to determine met and unmet needs for respite training among providers serving family caregivers of individuals with disabilities and chronic illnesses. A total of 317 respite providers attempted and 191 completed survey items, revealing respite experience, disabilities and chronic illnesses, areas of difficulty, prior training and confidence, training needs and preferences. Results will be used by a state Network to match content and delivery of training to providers’ needs. Respite providers have important roles to play, sharing information about respite services and providers, advocating for caregiver eligibility to receive services, and participating in training paid and volunteer providers.
“I Grew Up a Working-Class Evangelical”
Authors: Lane Amy M.
Published: December 2014

This article explores three ways intersubjectivity is implicated in an ethnography of the lived experience of members of an interfaith and labor coalition. First challenging dualistic thinking and the strict application of typologies, I emphasize the importance of understanding faith practices through the study of lived experience. When one studies lived experience, several layers of intersubjectivity are at play. Because I grew up in a religious, working-class family, aspects of my life now serve as cultural capital in understanding the daily challenges of coalition participants who redefine the institutional boundaries between religion and work. Furthermore, field interactions between the researcher and participants affect members’ explanations of their activism. Finally, the life of the ethnographer is affected by the overall experience of fieldwork.
Business and Academic Interests in the Maintenance of Standards in Online Higher Education
Authors: Kingsley Paul , Sharon Taly
Published: December 2014

This article questions whether there is a conflict between the academic and business interests of a university in addressing grade inflation. A survey of online master’s degree students at a British university was carried out. It asked students about a number of possible changes aimed at reducing the sacrifices involved in gaining a degree; making it less likely that students would fail modules or their degree; and reducing the degree drop-out rate to almost zero. Changes in the perceived value of a degree or the university’s perceived reputation were measured. The conclusion is that students saw such changes as reducing the value of their degree. The research suggests that in certain circumstances, academic and business interests can be aligned in opposing grade inflation.
Serious Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injuries at the Individuals who have Irregular Sport Activity on the Artificial Playing Surfaces
Authors: Malkoc Melih , Korkmaz Ozgur , Seker Ali , Erdil Mehmet , Kara Adnan , Oltulu Ismail , EnesKayaalp Mahmut
Published: December 2014

Objectives:

The goals of this study that to present the individual’s features who have serious Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) injuries of the knee that performing irregular sportive activities on the Artificial Playing Surface (APS).

Methods:

87 patients who underwent arthroscopic ACL reconstruction Between April 2011 and March 2014, were evaluated. All patients questioned about the injury mechanisms, shoe types, frequency of sporting activity, time of warm-up exercises before sporting activity, types of APS, body mass index (BMI), return to work, frequency of return to previous sportive activity after surgery and rehabilitation period.

Conclusion:

Irregular sportive activity with unsufficient equipment on the artificial playing surface causes the serious ACL injuries that have to managed by surgical procedures resulting with loose of working time due to indispensable hospitalisation and rehabilitation period and significant economical losses.
Recurrent Anterior Glenohumeral Instability-Arthroscopic Results of Bankart Repair
Authors: Guney Ahmet , Karaman İbrahim , Kahraman Murat , Öner Mithat , Uzun Erdal , Bilal Ökkeş
Published: December 2014

Objectives:

In the treatment of traumatic anterior shoulder instability there is still not formed a ideal consensus. Although the results of the open technique for repairing Bankart lesions detected in these patients, in recent years with the development of arthroscopic methods, arthroscopic Bankart repair with the successful results are obtained. We aimed to present our results of Bankart repair with the arthroscopic method.

Methods:

The study included 42 patients who underwent arthroscopic Bankart repair in our clinic between the years 2011-2014. Mean age was 26.3 (18-37). Preoperative and postoperative pain and functions of the patients were assessed using the Constant and Rowe scores. The mean follow-up period was 19 months (range 6 to 30 months). Patients with at least two dislocations were included in the study. The mean number of dislocations was 4.8 (2-10). The mean time from the first trauma to surgical intervention was 2.5 years (range 0.5 to 10 years). Patients with multidirectional instability were excluded. Repair was performed using double-stranded double with the standard anterior portal. Decision for surgical treatment was made based on limitation of activities because of fear of having a dislocation and on positive results of instability tests. Before surgery for all patients, a detailed clinical examination, conventional radiography and conventional MRI were evaluated. All the patients had labral tears on preoperative magnetic resonance scans and had complaints of instability even during daily activities.

Results:

The mean passive shoulder abduction was 155 (145-170) degrees and mean external rotation was measured 80 (60-90) degrees. The mean preoperative Rowe score was 42 points, while the postoperative score was 89.1 points at the last time follow up. The difference was statistically significant (p <0.05). The Constant score was 52 preoperatively and increased to 85 points after the surgery. The difference was statistically significant (p <0.05). The mean loss of external rotation was observed %28.75 and the last time follow up decreased to %8.2. The difference was statistically significant (p <0.05). All of the patients returned to their daily activities and no dislocation has been occurred.

Conclusion:

Although, in the past, the results of arthroscopic repair were less satisfactory compared to open and mini open surgery. This condition has changed remarkably. The results of arthroscopic repair in our study were good enough compared to open surgeries. Also in patients who underwent arthroscopic repair, length of hospital stay is shorter, less pain and less scar tissue occurs after the surgery. We believe that, with enhanced experience and advances in arthroscopic repair techniques, arthroscopic treatment may outweigh open surgery.
Upper Quarter Y-Balance Test Score of Patients with Shoulder Impingement Syndrome
Authors: Hazar Zeynep , Ulug Naime , Yuksel Inci
Published: December 2014

Objectives:

The Upper Quarter Y Balance Test (UQYBT) is a reliable upper extremity closed kinetic chain test that can be used to assess unilateral upper extremity performance in a closed chain manner. However, UQYBT was tested only in recreational athletes and there are no studies investigating UQYBT scores in patients with various upper extremity musculoskeletal injuries. The purpose of this study was to examine differences in performance on the Upper Quarter Y Balance Test between patient with shoulder impingement syndrome and healthy controls.

Methods:

A sample of fifteen patients with shoulder impingement syndrome (mean age 32.2±4.2 years) and fifteen healthy control (mean age 33.8±6.2 years) performed the UQYBT. UQYBT was collected bilaterally in three directions (medial, inferolateral, and superolateral). The maximum reach distance for each direction was normalized to upper extremity length (spinous process of C7 to tip of middle finger) and used for analysis

Results:

A significant difference in performance between patients with shoulder impingement syndrome and healthy controls existed in the medial direction (P<0.05) and the inferolateral direction (P<0.05) where the healthy controls performed better. There was no significant difference in superolateral performance.

Conclusion:

The results of this study suggest that patients with shoulder impingement syndrome will perform worse on the UQYBT in the medial and inferolateral directions than healthy controls. Thus, upper extremity closed kinetic chain exercises should be added in shoulder rehabilitation programs.
Relationship Between Functional Knee Joint Position Sense and Functional Performance Scores Following Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction (Pilot Study)
Authors: Kafa Nihan , Ataoglu Muhammed Baybars , Hazar Zeynep , Citaker Seyit , Ozer Mustafa
Published: December 2014

Objectives:

The aim of this study was to assess the relationship between functional knee joint position sense (JPS) and functional performance following ACL reconstruction

Methods:

Seven male patients (mean age=32,66 ±6,47) who had undergone ACL reconstruction and 10 male healthy control subjects participated in the study. Knee joint position sense was evaluated by reproduction of 20° knee flexion angle in weight-bearing position with single and bilateral limb movement into flexion and extension. The deviations in the angle were recorded and compared to both noninjured side and healthy controls’. Functional performance was evaluated with Single Leg Hop Test in both injured and non-injured sides. The scores were also compared with healthy controls and non-injured sides. Relationship between measured values was tested with Spearman Correlation Analysis.

Results:

There was no significant difference in knee joint position sense in functional position between the operated and uninjured knees of patients or between patients and healthy controls (p>0,05). However, there is significant difference in Single Leg Hop test scores between operated and non-operated or between patients and healthy controls (p=0,037; p<0,05). There was no significant correlation between Single Leg Hop test scores and knee joint position sense (p>0,05).

Conclusion:

There was no evidence of impaired joint position sense in weight-bearing positions in subjects with ACL reconstruction but there was a decrease in functional performance. This decrease in functional performance may depend on the other parameters except proprioceptive deficits.
Is it Easier to Prepare Femoral Tunnel for Anatomic ACL in Figure 4 Position?
Authors: Bek Doğan , Parkan Adnan , Eser Mehmet , Erdem Yusuf , Ege Tolga
Published: December 2014

Objectives:

Eccentric external rotator (ER) and concentric internal rotator (IR) strength is expressed as a functional strength ratio (ER:IR) for shoulder. The difference in functional strength ratio has been well documented in athletes, but no one compared the functional ratio in athletes with glenohumeral internal rotation deficit (GIRD). The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of GIRD on functional ER:IR strength ratio of the adolescent athletes.

Methods:

20 patients who had been applied anatomical anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction with hamstring autograft by same surgeon in 2014 were included, 10 patients in each group. The randomization was performed by beginning with the flexion technique and changing the technique in each subsequent patient according to operation order. The mean age was 28 years (22-35 years) for flexion group and 29 years (23-35) for figure four group. Operations were performed by dropping down the limb from table without leg holder. During the preparation of femoral tunnel, the limb was hyperflexed sagittally in the flexion group and was hyperflexed in figure four position in the figure four group. Patients were evaluated in terms of imagination of femoral tunnel entrance during surgery, surgery duration at the time of femoral tunnel preparation, outlet of the guidewire from the thigh and postoperative radiological image of the tunnel.

Results:

At figure four group, arthroscopic view of femoral tunnel inlet was found subjectively more satisfying, shorter preparation time of tunnel and outlet point of guidewire from the skin closer to posterior than other group, but did not observe peroneal nerve injury. In the measurement made by radiological assessment, there was no difference the angle of femoral tunnel with femoral anatomical axis.

Conclusion:

In our study, when the figure four position is used, a better arthroscopic view was obtained for femoral tunnel of ACL. While control of movements of hip joint is required to hold the knee in the appropriate position in flexion group, a flexion applied from the ankle is sufficient in figure four position. As the knee height from the ground changes when the knee flexed over 120° sagittally, the operation table height should be set according to surgeon’s length. We found that this process extends the surgery duration. The outlet of guidewire from skin was more posterior in figure four group compared to flexion group. Because of the root of peroneal nerve, this was identified as disadvantage. Although there are some limitations, the findings support our hypothesis: during the femoral tunnel preparation, the surgeon’s job is facilitated by figure four position of the knee.
An Eight-Week Thoracic Stabilization Exercise Program Improves Postural Back Pain and Spine Alignment of University Students with Back Pain
Authors: Çelenay Şeyda Toprak , Kaya Derya Özer
Published: December 2014

Objectives:

The study aimed to investigate effects of thoracic stabilization exercises on postural back pain, spinal alignment and inclination in university students who had postural back pain.

Methods:

University students who had minor to moderate postural back pain (18-25 years) were randomly allocated into Exercise (n = 28) and Control (n = 25) Groups. The programs were carried out 8 weeks and 3 days/week. The postural back pain intensity was assessed by Visual Analogue Scale. Spinal alignment and spinal inclination were evaluated with the Spinal Mouse® (Idiag, Fehraltorf, Switzerland). Assessments were applied before (BP) and after program (AP). Wilcoxon and Mann Whitney U tests were utilized.

Results:

The significant differences were observed for postural back pain (BP: 1.33 (1.16); AP: 0.33 (1.16)), thoracic curvature (BP: 44.50 (11.75); AP: 36.50 (13.25)), lumbar curvature (BP: -29.00 (10.00); AP: -7.00 (19.50)) and spinal inclination (BP: 5.00 (5.25); AP: 0.00 (4.00)) in Exercise Group between BP and AP (p<0.05). No significant differences were observed in Control group for all the parameters (p>0.05). The intergroup comparison showed that postural back pain, thoracic curvature, lumbar curvature and spinal inclination decreased in Exercise Group in comparison to Control Group (p<0.05).

Conclusion:

The exercise program with eight weeks regular practice was effective on improving postural back pain, spinal alignment and inclination in university students with postural back pain.
Scapular Winging
Authors: Çelenay Şeyda Toprak , Kaya Derya Özer
Published: December 2014

Objectives:

To investigate the effects of scapular muscle training with proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation techniques (PNF) on shoulder muscle strength, endurance and function in subjects with winging scapula.

Methods:

Forty subjects with bilateral winging scapula were randomly allocated into PNF Group (n=20, age:20.85±1.34 years), and Controls (n=20, age:20.77±1.77 years). PNF techniques in scapular diagonals were applied for scapular positioning and toning of the surrounding muscles for 3 days/week, 5 weeks. Shoulder muscle strength was evaluated diagonally with Biodex System 3 Pro isokinetic dynamometer (Biodex Medical Systems, Shirley, USA) at 60 and 180º/s. The scapular muscle endurance with Scapular Isometric Pinch Test, functional ability with Disability of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand Questionnaire (DASH) was assessed. Paired and independent t tests were used for analysis.

Results:

For pre (1) and post (2) applications, significant improvement on 60º/s flexion peak torque/bodyweight (1:36.78±13.05; 2:61.22±29.75), 60º/s extension peak torque/bodyweight (1:65.35±23.27; 2:80.18±38.66), 180º/s flexion peak torque/bodyweight (1:40.69±15.32; 2:50.84±23.90) on dominant sides; scapular endurance (1:31.95±23.06; 2:51.15±31.08 sn) and DASH score (1:7.86±12.00; 2:5.25±9.28) were found in PNF group (p<0.05). However, no significant difference was observed for Controls (p>0.05). Scapular endurance, flexion and extension peak torque/bodyweight at 60º/s were different in favor of PNF group in intergroup comparisons (p<0.05).

Conclusion:

Scapular muscle training with PNF may be effective in improving scapular and shoulder muscle strength, endurance and function in subjects with winging scapula.
Health-Related Physical Fitness Profiles of Women who Attend Regular Activity Classes
Authors: Kaya Derya Özer , Çelenay Şeyda Toprak
Published: December 2014

Objectives:

The study aimed to investigate physical fitness profiles of women who attend activity classes of a regularly.

Methods:

Two hundred thirty one healthy women (age: 37.80±9.45years, weight: 75.46±13.72 kg, height: 1.62±0.05 m.) who regularly attended activity classes of a town sport center were participated. Body composition with bioelectrical impedance analysis (Bodystat 1500, Bodystat Ltd., England), cardio-respiratory fitness with UKK 2 km walk test, muscle strength of lower extremity with Biodex System 3 isokinetic dynamometer (Biodex Medical Systems, USA), hand grip with hand dynamometer (Chattanooga, TN, USA) and upper extremity endurance with push-ups test, trunk strength and endurance with back/leg/chest dynamometer (Baseline, USA) and static back extension, flexibility with sit and reach test were assessed.

Results:

Body mass index, fat mass, fat percentage, dry lean mass and waist hip ratio were as follows: 28.69±5.11 kg/cm2; 28.65±10.22 kg; 37.08±7.59; 12.74±2.47 kg; 0.83±0.06. They were overweight and fat percentage was over the border. One hundred forty eight participants completed the 2 km walk test. VO2 max according to the calculations of the test was found 132.63±17.80 which is slightly over the normal values. Lower extremity muscle strength at 60º/s for knee extension (123.43±45.02; 115.76±44.19 N/M) and flexion (70.68±27.49; 68.13±26.11 N/M) of right and left extremities were given respectively. Hand grip was 26.59±7.05 N on the dominant side. Push up scores were 19.09±6.24 rep/40 sec. Trunk strength 71.44±24.90 N, trunk endurance with static back extension was 45.14±29.36 sec. which is quite poor. Flexibility was 10.73±7.58 cm.

Conclusion:

Although the cardio respiratory functions of the participants who had tolerate the test were fine, body composition and musculoskeletal fitness results were found poor. Attention must be paid for the musculoskeletal fitness and weight control for these women.
Acute Effect of Thumb Spica Taping on Grip Strength and Endurance in Professionals Handball Player
Authors: Demirci Serdar , Kalaycıoğlu Tuğçe , Baltacı Gül
Published: December 2014

Objectives:

Thumb metacarpophalangeal (MCP) joint injury is frequently seen due to dynamic character of handball game. Spica taping is generally applied to protect thumb during returning to sports activities following rehabilitation in handball player. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of spica taping on grip strength and grip endurance in professional handball players.

Methods:

Thirteen female handball players who was playing in Turkey Handball Federation Super League participated in the study. Mean age was 25.23±5.47 years, mean age of beginning to sports was 13.15±5.62 years, mean body mass index was (BMI) 22.38±2.74 kg/cm2. Hand grip strength and grip endurance in dominant side were evaluated before and after spica taping. “Jamar Hand Dynamometer” was used to assess hand grip strength. Grip endurance was measured in seconds during half of average grip strength sustaining for each players. All assessments were applied while sitting during shoulder adduction and neutral rotation with 90° elbow flexion, forearm midrotation, and neutral wrist position. Measurements were repeated 3 times and average values were recorded.

Results:

There was a statistically significant difference in grip strength between before and after spica taping application (p<0.001). There was a statistically difference in grip endurance between before and after spica taping application (p<0.001).

Conclusion:

Our results demonstrated that thumb spica taping is effective in improving grip strength and grip endurance in handball players. We suggest that supporting thumb stabilization without limiting hand functions might protect the MCP joint, and contribute injury prevention accompanying with improving sports performance. Consequently, thumb taping is recommended to handball players before competition.
Comparison of MRI Results of Grafts Obtained by Unilateral Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction Either Using Anteromedial Portal Only or Transtibial Method with Contralateral Healthy Knee
Authors: Güler Olcay , Mahirogulları Mahir , Mutlu Serhat , Çerci Mehmet Halis , Şeker Ali , Çakmak Selami
Published: December 2014

Objectives:

Our aim is to compare graft angles and tibial tunnel insertion in patients undergone single bundle ligament reconstruction using anatomical anteromedial (AM) and transtibial (TT) method with the contralateral healthy knee by using MR imaging. And to investigate correlation of this evaluation with functional results.

Methods:

We investigated 96 knees of 48 patients undergone anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction with AM or TT method. 23 of 48 patients were operated with AM method. These patients were named as Group A. 25 patients were operated with TT method and named as group B. MRI was taken for both knees in each group postoperatively at the mean 10.47 (9-15) and 11.72 (9-17) months, respectively. Angle between ACL graft and anatomical axis of tibia in coronal and sagittal plane, [Sagittal ACL graft angle (SAGA), Frontal ACL graft angle (FAGA)], middle insertion point on tibial articular surface, [ Sagittal ACL middle point (SGMP), Frontal ACL tibial tunnel middle point (FTMP), and Sagittal ACL tibial tunnel middle point(STMP)] was assessed by three orthopaedic surgeons. Values in both groups, inter observer, values between operated and healthy knees and differences between two groups were statistically evaluated. Functional scores between operated and healthy knees were evaluated with the Lysholm scoring system.

Results:

Inter observer results were statistically significant in group A between operated and healthy knees for 1st and 2nd observers in SAGA values and for 1st and 3rd, and 2nd and 3rd observers in FAGA values (p<0.05). In group B there was statistically significant difference in SAGA values for 1st and 2nd, and for 2nd and 3rd observers and in FTMP values for 1st and 3rd, and 2nd and 3rd observers (p<0.05). Statistically significant difference was detected between SAGA, FAGA and SGMP values of operated and healthy knees of A and B groups in all three observers’ evaluation (p<0.05). No statistically significant difference was detected between STMP values of operated knees and SGMP values of healthy knees in both groups (p>0.05). Statistically significant difference was detected between SAGA and FAGA values of operated knees in both groups (p<0.05). There was statistically significant difference in Lysholm scores between group A and B (p<0.05). Nonetheless there was no statistically significant difference between the Lysholm scores of operated knees in A and B groups (p>0.05).

Conclusion:

ACL reconstruction surgery with TT and AM methods do not provide anatomical reconstruction in Sagittal plane. Moreover, functional results were not as good as contralateral healthy knees. Although tibial tunnel was in anatomical position in both TT and AM methods, the posterior insertion of graft is thought to be the result of anterior placement of interference screw.
Forward-Masking Recovery and the Assumptions of the Temporal Masking Curve Method of Inferring Cochlear Compression
Authors: Pérez-González Patricia , Johannesen Peter T. , Lopez-Poveda Enrique A.
Published: December 2014

The temporal masking curve (TMC) method is a behavioral technique for inferring human cochlear compression. The method relies on the assumptions that in the absence of compression, forward-masking recovery is independent of masker level and probe frequency. The present study aimed at testing the validity of these assumptions. Masking recovery was investigated for eight listeners with sensorineural hearing loss carefully selected to have absent or nearly absent distortion product otoacoustic emissions. It is assumed that for these listeners basilar membrane responses are linear, hence that masking recovery is independent of basilar membrane compression. TMCs for probe frequencies of 0.5, 1, 2, 4, and 6 kHz were available for these listeners from a previous study. The dataset included TMCs for masker frequencies equal to the probe frequencies plus reference TMCs measured using a high-frequency probe and a low, off-frequency masker. All of the TMCs were fitted using linear regression, and the resulting slope and intercept values were taken as indicative of masking recovery and masker level, respectively. Results for on-frequency TMCs suggest that forward-masking recovery is generally independent of probe frequency and of masker level and hence that it would be reasonable to use a reference TMC for a high-frequency probe to infer cochlear compression at lower frequencies. Results further show, however, that reference TMCs were sometimes shallower than corresponding on-frequency TMCs for identical probe frequencies, hence that compression could be overestimated in these cases. We discuss possible reasons for this result and the conditions when it might occur.
A Note on the Names of Selected Magicians
Authors: Nuessel Frank
Published: December 2014

AbstractThis note defines the concept of “magic” and comments on the meaning of its various synonyms. Second, it suggests a typology of names based on 150 selected stage names or pseudonyms employed by magicians. Finally, it contains an appendix with a selected list of magicians’ stage names and real names including birth and death dates (where available) and place of birth (where available).
In Search of Water: Hydrological Terms in Oman’s Toponyms
Authors: Kharusi Nafla S. , Salman Amel
Published: December 2014

AbstractThis study investigates Arabic terms related to fresh water sources expressed in Oman’s toponyms. It presents their classification and discusses the semantic and structural properties of both the place names and the hydrological lexicon. A description of oasis agriculture among the inhabitants is also given as necessary background for understanding the importance of locating water and its effect on landscape delimitation and categorization. In an environment without permanent water bodies, the significance of this resource is reflected in the way people conceptualize their landscape, minutely classifying its hydrological features and expressing them in toponyms. Historically, their knowledge of water sources has contributed to better land use management and sustainability of Oman’s oasis agriculture.
“The Course of a Particular”: Names and Narrative in the Works of Joseph Mitchell
Authors: Adams Michael
Published: December 2014

AbstractJoseph Mitchell (1908–1996) wrote about unusual New York people for The New Yorker. For journalists like Mitchell, a name identifies a “who,” an essential component of a news story even more central to a profile. For Mitchell, however, names are strangely significant: they are textual loci at which narratology, epistemology, and ontology enmesh. The balance of these categories and their mutual engagements are idiosyncratic and define Mitchell’s style. It is a style that proves how intellectually and emotionally powerful journalistic uses of names can be. A catalog of names confirms one’s knowledge of phenomena by reconstituting it narratively. Naming in narrative is a mode of knowing one’s experience. But maybe the stakes are higher: maybe names insist on the reality of the things named. Onomastic specificity underwrites our ontological confidence, but the ontological significance of names is never wholly persuasive, not even when justified within a narrative. Confronting its limitations, as Mitchell did, brings on melancholy. Joy and melancholy wrought of names are intimately related in Mitchell’s style and integral to it, as, after all, they are to living.
Homogenous ensemble phonotactic language recognition based on SVM supervector reconstruction
Authors: Liu Wei-Wei , Zhang Wei-Qiang , Johnson Michael T , Liu Jia
Published: December 2014

Currently, acoustic spoken language recognition (SLR) and phonotactic SLR systems are widely used language recognition systems. To achieve better performance, researchers combine multiple subsystems with the results often much better than a single SLR system. Phonotactic SLR subsystems may vary in the acoustic features vectors or include multiple language-specific phone recognizers and different acoustic models. These methods achieve good performance but usually compute at high computational cost. In this paper, a new diversification for phonotactic language recognition systems is proposed using vector space models by support vector machine (SVM) supervector reconstruction (SSR). In this architecture, the subsystems share the same feature extraction, decoding, and N-gram counting preprocessing steps, but model in a different vector space by using the SSR algorithm without significant additional computation. We term this a homogeneous ensemble phonotactic language recognition (HEPLR) system. The system integrates three different SVM supervector reconstruction algorithms, including relative SVM supervector reconstruction, functional SVM supervector reconstruction, and perturbing SVM supervector reconstruction. All of the algorithms are incorporated using a linear discriminant analysis-maximum mutual information (LDA-MMI) backend for improving language recognition evaluation (LRE) accuracy. Evaluated on the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) LRE 2009 task, the proposed HEPLR system achieves better performance than a baseline phone recognition-vector space modeling (PR-VSM) system with minimal extra computational cost. The performance of the HEPLR system yields 1.39%, 3.63%, and 14.79% equal error rate (EER), representing 6.06%, 10.15%, and 10.53% relative improvements over the baseline system, respectively, for the 30-, 10-, and 3-s test conditions.
Palmitate-Induced Impairments of β-Cell Function Are Linked With Generation of Specific Ceramide Species via Acylation of Sphingosine
Authors: Manukyan Levon , Ubhayasekera Sarojini J. K. A. , Bergquist Jonas , Sargsyan Ernest , Bergsten Peter
Published: December 2014

Prolonged exposure to palmitate impairs β-cell function and mass. One of the proposed mechanisms is alteration in ceramide (Cer) generation. In the present study, exposure to palmitate induced the level of palmitoyl transferase and Cer synthases, enzymes of the Cer de novo and salvage pathways, and doubled total Cer levels, which was associated with decreased insulin secretion and augmented apoptosis in MIN6 cells and human islets. By inhibiting enzymes of the pathways pharmacologically with myriocin (ISP-1) or fumonisin B1 or by small interfering RNA (siRNA), we showed that Cer(14:0), Cer(16:0), Cer(20:1), and Cer(24:0) species, generated by the salvage pathway, are linked to the harmful effect of palmitate on β-cells. Oleate attenuates negative effects of palmitate on β-cells. When oleate was included during culture of MIN6 cells with palmitate, the palmitate-induced up-regulation of the enzymes of the de novo and salvage pathways was prevented resulting in normalized levels of all Cer species except Cer(20:1). Our data suggest that enhanced Cer generation in response to elevated palmitate levels involves both de novo and salvage pathways. However, the negative effects of palmitate on β-cells are attributed to generation of Cer species Cer(14:0), Cer(16:0), and Cer(24:0) via acylation of sphingosine.
Decolonizing Ecomedia
Authors: Cubitt Sean
Published: December 2014

Ecocritical work on media has developed from a genre criticism of nature-themed films to address cinema, TV, and media arts more broadly as articulations of the human-natural relation and its mediation through technologies. Embracing the environmental impacts of product life cycles, from materials extraction and industrial production to energy use and recycling, these advances in ecocriticism have begun to address the differential experiences of affected populations. This essay looks at the “environmentalism of the poor” with specific reference to indigenous peoples affected by the digital media industries. It seeks to address a lacuna in mainstream Green politics, drawing on colonial, postcolonial, and decolonial analyses and indigenous methodologies, in order to propose a de-Westernizing move in ecopolitics.
The Call of the Anthropocene
Authors: Beck John
Published: December 2014

In late 2012 a communications satellite called EchoStar XVI launched into space from Kazakhstan where it remains in a geostationary orbit around Earth. The satellite contains artist and geographer Trevor Paglen’s The Last Pictures, a collection of one hundred images, sourced from libraries and artists, microetched onto a gold-plated disc. Paglen’s project is both a continuation of, and a critical response to, the notion of the time capsule as a means of delivering, either to a terrestrial future or to some extraterrestrial destination, an abbreviated representative sample of “civilization.” The utopianism that motivates many time-capsule projects, whether it is articulated through a belief in the power to communicate with a distant future or with some cosmically remote intelligence, is also a manifestation, this article argues, of progressive modernity’s commitment to timekeeping—to the successful capture and command, interpretation and anticipation, of past and future times. Paglen’s project is considered here as a retort to the repressions and exclusions that underwrite the optimism of the conventional capsule; The Last Pictures is the futureless call of the Anthropocene.
Studies on the Impact of Road Traffic Noise inside Selected Schools of Tiruchirappalli City, Tamilnadu, India
Authors: Nittala Someswara Rao , Mallikarjun Lalitha , Bhanumathy V , Rama Pattabi , Lagudu Krishna , Lanka Mohana Krishna , Bikkina Ajay
Published: December 2014

Traffic noise is one of the major factors causing noise pollution in schools, interfering with learning and teaching activities. School going children are reported to have difficulty in processing the acoustic signals that are presented in noisy environment. The present study provides a reliable estimate of the decibel levels inside chosen class rooms of three selected schools of Tiruchiurapalli, Tamilnadu, India. The students and teachers of all the above schools felt that their school environments were noisy which interfered with their learning / teaching activities. Based on the self reported health status, audiometric tests were conducted on selected students suspected to have hearing problems, which revealed that the chosen children suffer from mild to moderate hearing impairment. In all the schools studied, the ambient sound levels were found to be above the threshold limit of 50 dB (A) for a silent zone prescribed by the Central Pollution Control Board, India.
Soccer: Detailed Analysis of Played Passes in the UEFA Euro 2012
Authors: Mitschke Christian , Milani Thomas L.
Published: December 2014

Many studies investigate kinematic and kinetic aspects of instep and inside soccer kicks to understand these techniques. However, there are currently no studies which show how often these techniques are used in a soccer match. Therefore, soccer games of the UEFA EURO 2012 in the Ukraine and Poland were studied to close this gap. The focus was on which part of the foot or body was used to pass the ball. Length and height of the passes, accuracy, starting position of the pass on field and the change of all these statistics during the whole match were investigated. From all 28271 analysed passes, 59.6% were played in different forms using the inside of the foot, 14.6% with the inner instep, 9.1% with the instep and 16.7% with other body parts, like the outside of the foot, the toes or head.