bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Synthesis of poly(3, 4-ethylenedioxythiophene) coating on textiles by the vapor phase polymerization method
Authors: Trindade Isabel G , Matos João , Lucas José , Miguel Rui , Pereira Madalena , Silva Manuel Santos
Published: August 2014

In this article, plain weave fabrics of polyester were functionalized by means of a polymeric coating synthesized for high conductivity, using the vapor phase polymerization method. The method is considerably more efficient and sustainable than traditional wet methods and has been previously applied to synthesize poly(3, 4-ethylenedioxythiophene) in yarns and fabrics, using oxidant agents with organic solvents. In this article, aqueous oxidant solutions were used in addition to those based in ethanol, providing textile substrates with high electrical conductance. The effect of the concentration of the oxidant solution on the electrical and mechanical characteristics of the samples was investigated and correlated to their morphology, analyzed by electron microscopy imaging. A strong decrease of the sheet resistivity of the samples with the concentration of oxidant increase was obtained, while the fabrics’ original mechanical tenacity remained unchanged. The sheet resistivity of the samples could be further decreased by a factor of 5 by the application of multiple polymerization layers and was a function of the conjugated polymer content. The effect of washing/drying cycles on the electrical conductance of the samples is presented. The electrical and mechanical characteristics obtained have potential for smart textile applications such as electromagnetic shielding and physiological sensing.
Understanding neighbourhood perceptions of alcohol-related anti-social behaviour
Authors: Taylor Joanna , Twigg Liz , Mohan John
Published: August 2014

Negative perceptions of anti-social behaviour have been shown by previous research to have harmful repercussions to both an individual’s mental and physical health as well as the neighbourhood’s long-term prospects. Studies in the USA have previously found that the location of alcohol supply points is associated with these negative perceptions, whereas recent, more qualitative and ethnographic research from the UK emphasises the heterogenous and contingent nature of attitudes and perceptions towards alcohol consumption patterns and behaviour. Using multilevel models applied to data from a national crime survey and geocoded data on pubs, bars and nightclubs, this paper focuses on the complex relationship between perceptions of alcohol-related anti-social behaviour and the density of such establishments across England. The findings support the general link between unfavourable perceptions and density of outlets but also highlight the complexity of this association by showing that these relationships are dependent on other characteristics of the neighbourhood, namely deprivation and the proportion of young people in the neighbourhood.
Metro Manila through the gentrification lens: Disparities in urban planning and displacement risks
Authors: Choi Narae
Published: August 2014

Using Metro Manila as a case study, this paper investigates whether and how its current urban form and pattern of transformation can be explained by the theories of gentrification developed within the cities of the Global North. Two core features of gentrification are examined: the production of exclusive spaces and the related displacement of the poor or low-income households. The uneven development across the metropolis is discussed in terms of the longstanding tension between the weak city-state and the dominance of the landed elites. Falling through the gap are the urban poor, who arrange their housing within informal settlements and are exposed to multiple vulnerabilities, including the risk of displacement. Drawing on an empirical study of the displacement impacts of a public transportation project, this paper provides useful insights into how gentrification-induced displacement may unfold if land-based development takes place in a densely populated metropolis such as Metro Manila.
Consuming urban living in ‘villages in the city’: Studentification in Guangzhou, China
Authors: He Shenjing
Published: August 2014

Against the backdrop of higher education expansion, studentification refers to a particular type of urban sociospatial restructuring resulting from university students’ concentration in certain residential areas. Over the last decade, studentification has evolved into different forms and has spread to different locales. This study aims to provide a contextualised understanding of this distinct phenomenon in China so as to decode the complex dynamics of urban sociospatial transformation in the Chinese city. In this paper, I present a line of empirical evidence based on fieldwork in Xiadu Village and Nanting Village, two studentified villages close to university campuses in Guangzhou. These two villages exemplify different consumption and spatial outcomes of studentifcation, owing to different institutional arrangements, types of studentifiers and roles of villagers. Yet, in both villages, studentification has profoundly transformed the economic, physical, social and cultural landscapes. Notably, rather than the spatialisation of compromised and marginalised residential choices by higher education students, studentification in China is better interpreted as the spatial result of students’ conscious residential, entrepreneurial and consumption choices to escape from the rigid control of university dorms, to accumulate cultural and economic capital, as well as to actualise their cultural identity. In the Chinese context, studentification provides a useful prism to understand a unique trajectory of urbanisation: re-urbanising the ‘villages in the city’ through bringing in urban living/urban consumptions. In the long run, studentification could provide a potential solution to sustain and upgrade the villages in the city.
Institutional barriers to climate change adaptation in decentralised governance structures: Transport planning in England
Authors: Walker Benjamin JA , Adger W Neil , Russel Duncan
Published: August 2014

Climate change poses governance challenges at diverse scales and across the dimensions of risk and responsibility. Local governments are central to the delivery of action on both decarbonisation and adapting to the risks of climate change. Yet there are likely to be significant differences across local governments in terms of their capacity to act on climate change. This research documents and explains differences in the capacity to act within response spaces to risks to transport infrastructure and systems. We examine 80 Transport Plans across local governments in England, specifically their efforts to incorporate climate change adaptation. Data are generated from content analysis of the 80 documents and key informant interviews in a sample of 15% of authorities. The results show significant disparities across authorities. We explain differential outcomes as dependent on internal coordination, local prioritisation processes and political opposition. The results highlight that there are significant governance barriers associated with differential response capacity in the face of climate change risks.
Rainbow belt: Singapore’s gay Chinatown as a Lefebvrian space
Authors: Tan Chris KK
Published: August 2014

Since the mid-1990s, Singapore’s Chinatown has been serving as the country’s de facto gay district. Gay businesses thrive in one of Singapore’s most socially conservative neighbourhoods, because the state allows relative free rein on the usage of preserved buildings after conserving the ethnic enclave as a bastion of Chineseness. Invoking Lefebvrian spatial concepts, I argue that the uneasy interface between moral conservatism and economic neoliberalism opened up intersticial spaces of business opportunities. Gay entrepreneurs took advantage of these spaces and their thriving businesses became the cluster today. I further maintain that as spaces of social interactions for gay men and lesbians, these enterprises help develop Singaporean queer identities. Yet, they simultaneously retard the country’s nascent LGBT rights movement by remaining largely closeted. By granting access to privatised consumption without challenging the heteronormative status quo of Singaporean society, gay Chinatown buttresses homonationalism (Kulick, 2009; Puar, 2007).
On the interaction between landownership and regional designs for land development
Authors: van Dijk Terry , van der Vlist Arno
Published: August 2014

This paper examines how landownership patterns are, partially, both a result of and a condition for the designs that planners make for sites. Designs emerge in the process of arriving at a development plan, preceding formal plans and decisions. We claim that during that process, landownership and designs are responsive to each other. To explore this interaction, we analysed two large development projects in the Netherlands. These two projects involve regional designs followed by anticipatory land acquisition by private and public agents. For these projects we reconstructed a timeline for the designing process that we positioned parallel to the changes in landownership. The result shows that the governments that took the lead in the projects added more detail to the plans only after they secured their active role for themselves by acquiring a dominant ownership position on sites eventually meant for housing. This analysis prompts an ethical discussion on government’s double role in active land policy.
On the Upward Bias of the Dissimilarity Index and Its Corrections
Authors: Mazza Angelo , Punzo Antonio
Published: August 2014

The dissimilarity index of Duncan and Duncan is widely used in a broad range of contexts to assess the overall extent of segregation in the allocation of two groups in two or more units. Its sensitivity to random allocation implies an upward bias with respect to the unknown amount of systematic segregation. In this article, following a multinomial framework based on the assumption that individuals allocate themselves independently and that unit sizes are not fixed, we provide (1) a mathematical proof of the nonnegativity of the bias, (2) an analytic way of obtaining the same results of a recent bootstrap-based bias correction but without using resampling, and (3) a new bias correction that outperforms, in terms of both bias and mean square error, those based on grouped jackknife, bootstrap, and double bootstrap.
“What Is the FDA Going to Think?”
Authors: Darling Katherine W. , Boyce Angie M. , Cho Mildred K. , Sankar Pamela L.
Published: August 2014

The US National Institute of Health’s Human Microbiome Project aims to use genomic techniques to understand the microbial communities that live on the human body. The emergent field of microbiome science brought together diverse disciplinary perspectives and technologies, thus facilitating the negotiation of differing values. Here, we describe how values are conceptualized and negotiated within microbiome research. Analyzing discussions from a series of interdisciplinary workshops conducted with microbiome researchers, we argue that negotiations of epistemic, social, and institutional values were inextricable from the reflective and strategic category work (i.e., the work of anticipating and strategizing around divergent sets of institutional categories) that defined and organized the microbiome as an object of study and a potential future site of biomedical intervention. Negotiating the divergence or tension between emerging scientific and regulatory classifications also activated “values levers” and opened up reflective discussions of how classifications embody values and how these values might differ across domains. These data suggest that scholars at the intersections of science and technology studies, ethics, and policy could leverage such openings to identify and intervene in the ways that ethical/regulatory and scientific/technical practices are coproduced within unfolding research.
Active Social Participation and Mortality Risk Among Older People in Japan
Authors: Minagawa Yuka , Saito Yasuhiko
Published: August 2014

A large literature suggests that active social participation contributes to the well-being of older people. Japan provides a compelling context to test this hypothesis due to its rapidly growing elderly population and the phenomenal health of the population. Using the Nihon University Japanese Longitudinal Study of Aging, this study examines how social participation, measured by group membership, is related to the risk of overall mortality among Japanese elders aged 65 and older. Results from Cox proportional hazards models show that group affiliation confers advantages against mortality risk, even after controlling for sociodemographic characteristics, physical health measures, and family relationship variables. In particular, activities geared more toward self-development, such as postretirement employment and lifelong learning, are strongly associated with lower levels of mortality. Findings suggest that continued social participation at advanced ages produces positive health consequences, highlighting the importance of active aging in achieving successful aging in the Japanese context.
Educational Differences in the Cognitive Functioning of Grandmothers Caring for Grandchildren in South Korea
Authors: Jun Hey Jung
Published: August 2014

This study examined the effects of grandchild care on the cognitive functioning of Korean grandmothers and the moderating role of education. Data were drawn from the Korean Longitudinal Study of Ageing (KLoSA), a nationally representative sample of middle-aged and older adults ( N = 2,341). Contrary to much of the current literature, grandchild care was found to be potentially beneficial for grandmothers. For the entire sample, child care had instantaneous effects on grandmothers’ cognition, although there were no longitudinal effects. However, when the sample was divided into grandmothers with higher and lower education, child care was both instantaneously and longitudinally beneficial to cognition for grandmothers with higher education. For less educated grandmothers, child care did not have either immediate or lagged effects on cognition. The results partially support the “Use It or Lose It” hypothesis and the “Scaffolding Theory of Cognitive Aging,” suggesting that engagement in social activities is beneficial to cognitive health in later life. Results are congruent with previous studies noting that the effects of grandchild care on grandparents are contingent on various conditions and factors such as the educational level of grandparents.
Direct-to-Consumer Racial Admixture Tests and Beliefs About Essential Racial Differences
Authors: Phelan Jo C. , Link Bruce G. , Zelner Sarah , Yang Lawrence H.
Published: August 2014

Although at first relatively disinterested in race, modern genomic research has increasingly turned attention to racial variations. We examine a prominent example of this focus—direct-to-consumer racial admixture tests—and ask how information about the methods and results of these tests in news media may affect beliefs in racial differences. The reification hypothesis proposes that by emphasizing a genetic basis for race, thereby reifying race as a biological reality, the tests increase beliefs that whites and blacks are essentially different. The challenge hypothesis suggests that by describing differences between racial groups as continua rather than sharp demarcations, the results produced by admixture tests break down racial categories and reduce beliefs in racial differences. A nationally representative survey experiment (N = 526) provided clear support for the reification hypothesis. The results suggest that an unintended consequence of the genomic revolution may be to reinvigorate age-old beliefs in essential racial differences.
Exploring Regional Differences in the Reading Competencies of Italian Students
Authors: Matteucci Mariagiulia , Mignani Stefania
Published: August 2014

Background:

Recently, the study of territorial differences in educational outcomes has assumed a particular importance for the policy strategies related to the socioeconomic conditions of different geographical areas. In Italy, international surveys for student assessments have introduced a regional stratification only recently, and regular national student assessments started only in 2008.

Method:

In this article, the reading performances of Italian students based on OECD-PISA 2009 are investigated, taking into account regional and macro-area partition. Student outcomes are explored by using a multilevel analysis, where school membership, socioeconomic and cultural background of students, and regional gross domestic product are introduced.

Results:

The results show that, despite the existence of a unified educational system in Italy, regional and macro-area differences in student reading achievements are consolidated and variability in performances among schools is especially noticeable. Comparisons based on national assessments by INVALSI at the end of compulsory school confirm these findings.

Conclusion:

Italian policy makers are advised to take into account these results to improve learning opportunities and to reduce educational gaps. In particular, targeted regional policies are needed to improve the mean performance especially in the Southern regions of Calabria, Campania, and Sicilia, and to strengthen the system equity in several regions, such as Emilia-Romagna. To decrease the school differences, possible suggestions are to postpone the choice of the school type (currently, at age 14) and to motivate good teachers to work in schools located in the worst socioeconomic and cultural environments.
A Qualitative Investigation of the Significance of Companion Dogs
Authors: Maharaj Nandini , Haney Colleen J.
Published: August 2014

Using a qualitative design, the purpose of this study was to examine how people describe their relationship with their dog and what they do that suggest this bond represents a meaningful relationship. Dog owners ( N = 27) aged 19 years and older were invited to participate in one of seven focus group discussions. A qualitative content analysis revealed the presence of three themes: (a) the impact of dogs on interpersonal relationships, (b) dogs as subjective beings, and (c) psychological and health benefits of dogs. The second theme reflects the personal agency of dogs and their unique contributions to the human–dog relationship. These themes are discussed in light of the current research in the field. The findings suggest implications for counseling research and practice in improving the health and well-being of dog owners.
Differences in Otosclerotic and Normal Human Stapedial Osteoblast Properties Are Normalized by Alendronate in Vitro
Authors: Gronowicz Gloria , Richardson Yvonne L. , Flynn John , Kveton John , Eisen Marc , Leonard Gerald , Aronow Michael , Rodner Craig , Parham Kourosh
Published: August 2014

Objective

Identify and compare phenotypic properties of osteoblasts from patients with otosclerosis (OSO), normal bones (HOB), and normal stapes (NSO) to determine a possible cause for OSO hypermineralization and assess any effects of the bisphosphonate, alendronate.

Study Design

OSO (n = 11), NSO (n = 4), and HOB (n = 13) cultures were assayed for proliferation, adhesion, mineralization, and gene expression with and without 10–10M‐10–8M alendronate.

Setting

Academic hospital.

Methods

Cultures were matched for age, sex, and passage number. Cell attachment and proliferation + alendronate were determined by Coulter counting cells and assaying tritiated thymidine uptake, respectively. At 7, 14, and 21 days of culture + alendronate, calcium content and gene expression by quantitative reverse transcription‐polymerase chain reaction (qRT‐PCR) were determined.

Results

OSO had significantly more cells adhere but less proliferation than NSO or HOB. Calcification was significantly increased in OSO compared to HOB and NSO. NSO and HOB had similar cell adhesion and proliferation rates. A dose‐dependent effect of alendronate on OSO adhesion, proliferation, and mineralization was found, resulting in levels equal to NSO and HOB. All cultures expressed osteoblast‐specific genes such as RUNX2, alkaline phosphatase, type I collagen, and osteocalcin. However, osteopontin was dramatically reduced, 9.4‐fold at 14 days, in OSO compared to NSO. Receptor activator of nuclear factor κB ligand/osteoprotegerin (RANKL/OPG), important in bone resorption, was elevated in OSO with decreased levels of OPG levels. Alendronate had little effect on gene expression in HOB but in OSO increased osteopontin levels and decreased RANKL/OPG.

Conclusions

OSO cultures displayed properties of hypermineralization due to decreased osteopontin (OPN) and also had increased RANKL/OPG, which were normalized by alendronate.
Trigeminal Nerve Deficit in Large and Compressive Acoustic Neuromas and Its Correlation with MRI Findings
Authors: Karkas Alexandre , Lamblin Eléa , Meyer Mikael , Gay Emmanuel , Ternier Jessica , Schmerber Sébastien
Published: August 2014

Objectives

Evaluate the prevalence of preoperative trigeminal nerve deficit in large/compressive acoustic neuromas and try to find a correlation between pre/postoperative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings and pre/postoperative trigeminal nerve deficit.

Study Design

Case series with chart review.

Setting

University medical center.

Subjects and Methods

Retrospective study (1994‐2009) including patients with stage 4 or 5 acoustic neuromas (Zini‐Magnan classification). All patients underwent surgical resection. Pre‐ and postoperative trigeminal symptoms were sought. Imaging criteria were sought on pre‐ and 3‐month postoperative MRI scans. Pearson χ2 statistical test was used.

Results

Fifty‐three patients (27 females, mean 51 years) were operated on. Preoperatively, 3 patients (5.7%) had trigeminal neuralgia, 1 (1.9%) trigeminal anesthesia, and 28 (52.8%) trigeminal hypoesthesia. Sixteen patients (30.2%) had no corneal reflex (ophthalmic branch); keratitis occurred in 1 patient (1.9%). Postoperatively, 2 patients (3.8%) had trigeminal neuralgia, 1 (1.9%) trigeminal anesthesia, and 24 (45.3%) trigeminal hypoesthesia. Twenty‐six patients (49%) had no corneal reflex; keratitis occurred in 11 patients (20.7%). Preoperative trigeminal hypoesthesia was statistically correlated with impaction of the tumor on cerebellar peduncles on preoperative MRI. Postoperative trigeminal hypoesthesia was statistically correlated with nonvisibility of the trigeminal nerve on postoperative MRI.

Conclusion

In large/compressive acoustic neuromas, trigeminal nerve deficit has to be sought to avoid corneal complications in particular. Trigeminal hypoesthesia occurs preoperatively in about half of the cases. It remains relatively stable after tumor removal, but there appears to be an increased rate of absent corneal reflex and keratitis postoperatively. We were able to correlate pre/postoperative trigeminal hypoesthesia with pre/postoperative MRI findings.
Current Utilization of Balloon Dilation versus Endoscopic Techniques in Pediatric Sinus Surgery
Authors: Ference Elisabeth H. , Schroeder James W. , Qureshi Hannan , Conley David , Chandra Rakesh K. , Tan Bruce K. , Shintani Smith Stephanie
Published: August 2014

Objectives

To study the utilization of balloon catheter dilation (BCD) compared to traditional endoscopic surgery (ESS) in pediatric patients.

Study Design

Cross‐sectional analysis.

Setting

Hospital and freestanding ambulatory surgery centers in California, Florida, Maryland, and New York

Subjects

Patients less than 18 years who underwent BCD(316) or ESS(2346), as identified by CPT codes from the State Ambulatory Surgery Databases 2011.

Methods

Patient and facility demographics, mean charges, and operating room time were examined using bivariate and multivariate analyses.

Results

A total of 2662 children underwent surgery, with BCD used in 10.6% of maxillary, 8.4% of sphenoid, and 11.8% of frontal procedures. Adjusted analysis found that children with asthma, allergic rhinitis (AR), GERD, or concomitant adenoidectomy were more likely to have BCD compared to patients without these comorbidities, asthma odds ratio (OR) = 1.94 (95% CI, 1.84‐3.41), AR OR = 1.77 (95% CI, 1.03‐3.07), GERD OR = 2.79 (95% CI,. 59‐4.90), or without adenoidectomy OR = 2.50 (95% CI, 1.84‐3.41). Patients with cystic fibrosis were less likely to have BCD, OR = 0.33 (95% CI, 0.11‐0.95). Median charges for patients undergoing maxillary antrostomy alone by BCD (P =. 042) or with adenoidectomy (P <. 001) were approximately $2100 and $4200 greater than the median of patients undergoing those procedures with ESS. However, operating room time was similar (P =. 81) between patients undergoing maxillary antrostomy, regardless of whether BCD was used, but was longer (P <. 001) in those undergoing maxillary antrostomy and adenoidectomy when BCD was utilized.

Conclusions

BCD was used in 11.9% of pediatric sinus surgery and had higher average charges with no decrease in OR time compared to procedures that only utilized ESS. Future research is necessary to evaluate whether BCD may lead to improved outcomes and eventually decreased operating room time for pediatric patients with chronic rhinosinusitis.
Characteristics of Otolaryngology Claims to Medicare in 2012
Authors: Bhattacharyya Neil , Lin Harrison W.
Published: August 2014

The Medicare provider utilization and payment public use datafile for 2012 was analyzed with respect to otolaryngology specialty providers to characterize otolaryngology services billed to and reimbursed by Medicare, both overall and according to provider characteristics. Among 8450 otolaryngology specialty providers submitting claims, the top 5 billed services were (count in millions): 99213 (2.23), 95165 (1.81), 99203 (0.92), 99214 (0.83), and 69210 (0.71), and the top 5 total reimbursed services were (aggregate total reimbursements in millions): 99213 ($114), 99203 ($68), 99214 ($63), 31231 ($60), and 31575 ($47). There was a mean of 1567 services billed per provider with an average (yearly) total reimbursement from Medicare of $76,068 per provider. These data characterize the current level of provision of otolaryngology services to the Medicare population.
Sevoflurane-enriched blood cardioplegia: the intramyocardial delivery of a volatile anesthetic
Authors: van der Baan A , Kortekaas K A , van Es E , Meier S , Klautz R J M , Engbers F H M
Published: August 2014

Myocardial ischemia/reperfusion injury is a major problem in cardiac surgery, characterized by an enhanced inflammatory response postoperatively. Sevoflurane has anti-inflammatory effects and may attenuate this injury. This study describes a novel approach to using sevoflurane as a local anti-inflammatory drug and not as an anesthetic. Therefore, a pediatric oxygenator with a sevoflurane vaporizer was integrated into the blood cardioplegia system of an adult bypass system. In addition, a gas blender was implemented to regulate pO2 and pCO2 concentrations in the cardioplegia. This proof-of-principle study was tested in vivo and shows that it is feasible to deliver sevoflurane locally while regulating O2 and CO2 concentrations. Moreover, this set-up enables one to use only the specific cardioprotective features of sevoflurane. Inflammatory responses were attenuated, both locally (i.e. the heart) as well as systemically through intramyocardial delivery of sevoflurane.
Complementarity of visual and voxel-based FDG-PET analysis to detect MCI-like hypometabolic pattern in elderly patients with hypertension and isolated memory complaints
Authors: Van Der Gucht Axel , Verger Antoine , Yagdigul Yalcin , Poussier Sylvain , Joly Laure , Watfa Ghassan , Benetos Athanase , Karcher Gilles , Marie Pierre-Yves
Published: August 2014

Background

18F-FDG PET can be used to aid in the diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and clarify the diagnosis and prognosis of patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI).

Purpose

To compare the results of a quantitative analysis of FDG-PET brain images to a standard visual analysis (SVA) with regards to the detection of MCI-like hypometabolic pattern in elderly patients with hypertension and subjective, isolated memory complaints.

Material and Methods

FDG-PET brain was performed in 71 patients (mean age, 76.4 ± 5.1 years; women, 53.5%). Images were analyzed for the presence of an MCI-like hypometabolic pattern using an SVA by 2 physicians and a voxel-based statistical procedure (statistical parametric mapping [SPM]) that compared each patient’s images to normal reference samples from 19 elderly individuals obtained using the same PET camera. The reliability of these analyses was evaluated according to neuropsychological assessment results, including the Grober & Buschke Free and Cued Selective Reminding Test, and a combined analysis by a neuropsychologist.

Results

An MCI-like hypometabolic pattern was documented in 5 patients (7%) by SVA and 7 patients (10%) by SPM analysis; however, only 2 of these patients were selected by both methods. The group characteristics of the 7 patients identified by the quantitative method were consistent with the MCI pattern, which included a higher rate of abnormal GB-FCSRT in Free Recall (57% vs. 9%, p < 0.05) or in Total Recall (29% vs. 8%, p < 0.05) when compared with other patients. In contrast, the group identified by SVA did not exhibit these characteristics.

Conclusion

A combined visual and quantitative analysis improves the diagnostic accuracy to detect an MCI-like hypometabolic pattern in elderly patients with hypertension and subjective, isolated memory complaints.
The ‘Standard of Civilisation’ as an English School Concept
Authors: Buzan Barry
Published: August 2014

The ‘standard of civilisation’ has its roots in the culturally widespread trope of ‘civilised’ versus ‘barbarian’. It took its specific modern form in the 19th century, primarily as a European legal term. No specific set of criteria for the ‘standard of civilisation’ was ever codified, but the general practice was to define the standard by the contemporary forms of government prevailing in Europe. Its political role was to gate-keep membership of international society, and to justify colonialism. The term collapsed after 1945 when the right of self-determination opened membership to nearly all peoples. In the English School literature, the ‘standard of civilisation’ has been used to tell a variety of historical encounter stories, and to critique the School’s neglect of colonialism. Its contemporary relevance in the literature concerns debates about whether human rights, democracy, capitalism and possibly environmentalism are being used to construct a new ‘standard of civilisation’ operationalised through conditionality and other discriminatory practices. Another important link is between the colonial obligation to raise ‘less advanced’ peoples to the standard and the post-1945 obligation to provide aid and development to the ‘less developed’. The English School concept of the ‘standard of civilisation’ is thus both refreshingly frank politically and of durable relevance for thinking about international relations.
Civilising Missions and the Rise of International Hierarchies in Early Modern Asia
Authors: Phillips Andrew
Published: August 2014

When IR scholars examine ‘standards of civilisation’, they typically privilege the Western civilisational standard that structured international society during the colonial era. Conversely, this article compares the ‘civilising missions’ of non-Western empires in the early modern period in Mughal India and Qing China. As foreign conquerors ruling huge and diverse empires, Mughals and Manchus faced common problems legitimating their dominance over indigenous majorities that vastly outnumbered them. In both cases, they formulated elaborate civilising missions to justify their rule, recruit collaborators and sustain the hierarchical international orders that formed around their empires. In foregrounding these parallels, this article helps us to better understand how hierarchies form in international politics, while also illuminating the specific role civilising missions and processes played in constituting international hierarchies in non-Western settings.
The Standard of ‘Civilisation’ Redux: Towards the Expansion of International Society 3.0?
Authors: Zhang Yongjin
Published: August 2014

This article interrogates the recent return of the discourse of the standard of ‘civilisation’ in international relations. Looking at the expansion of international society as an ongoing civilising project, it examines three important macro societal transformations of the international from a grand historical perspective. The classical civilising project, it argues, gives a particularistic interpretation and a truncated meaning to civilisation in international relations, while creating a pluralistic and functional order populated by Westphalian states. The globalisation of the modern sovereign order in the mid-20th century is equally a civilising project, as it redefines legitimate statehood and rightful membership in the making of a post-colonial international society. The current attempts at embedding democracy and human rights in the normative fabric of global international society, contentious and contested as they are, are an integral story of the expansion of international society 3.0, which is marked by a significantly expanded normative scope for making collective judgements of legitimate statehood and rightful state action. In bringing the expansion story up to date and giving it a hermeneutically different reading, the article suggests that as global international society resides in a multi-civilisational world, the civilising project as a form of inter-civilisational communicative actions will always have its place in the evolution of international society.
Civilisation, Barbarism and the Making of Latin America’s Place in 19th-Century International Society
Authors: Schulz Carsten-Andreas
Published: August 2014

The present study revisits the position accorded to Latin American states in the conventional account of the expansion of international society. Drawing on English School theory and legal history, it develops a critique of the ‘standard of civilisation’, contending that the boundaries of international society were much more malleable and diffuse than the conventional narrative suggests. The argument is illustrated with reference to the historical experience of Latin American states: despite the profound impact that European colonisation had on the region, the marginalisation of Latin American states within international society was commonly framed in civilisational terms. Rather than taking their ‘western’ identity and thus membership for granted, the paper demonstrates the role that civilisational rhetoric played in the making of Latin America’s place in the heterarchical international order of the ‘long 19th century’. The article concludes by discussing some implications for theorising the evolution of international society.
Posterior Cruciate Ligament Graft Fixation Angles, Part 1
Authors: Kennedy Nicholas I. , LaPrade Robert F. , Goldsmith Mary T. , Faucett Scott C. , Rasmussen Matthew T. , Coatney Garrett A. , Engebretsen Lars , Wijdicks Coen A.
Published: August 2014

Background:

Currently, no consensus exists for the optimal graft fixation angle for anatomic single-bundle (SB) posterior cruciate ligament reconstructions (PCLRs). Additionally, direct graft forces have not been measured. Alternative graft fixation angles and the resultant graft forces should be investigated to optimize the stability of SB PCLRs without overconstraining the knee.

Hypothesis:

Graft fixation angles of 75°, 90°, and 105° for SB PCLR were hypothesized to improve knee stability compared with the sectioned posterior cruciate ligament state with no evidence of knee overconstraint.

Study Design:

Controlled laboratory study.

Methods:

Nine fresh-frozen human cadaveric knees were biomechanically evaluated for the intact, sectioned, and SB PCLR states with the anterolateral bundle graft fixed at 75°, 90°, and 105°. A 6 degrees of freedom robotic system assessed knee laxity with a 134-N posterior load applied at 0° to 120° and 5-N·m external, 5-N·m internal, and 10-N·m valgus rotation torques applied at 60° to 120°. By securing the graft to an external load cell, graft forces were measured throughout kinematic testing.

Results:

No significant kinematic differences were found among the 3 fixation angles. Each fixation angle resulted in significantly less posterior translation than in the sectioned state at all flexion angles ( P < .05), with 4.1 mm of average residual laxity during an applied posterior loading. For all graft fixation angles, internal rotation was significantly increased between 60° and 120° of flexion, and external rotation was significantly increased at 90°, 105°, and 120° of flexion compared with the intact state. Graft forces were not significantly different among the 3 fixation angles and remained below reported loads observed during activities of daily living.

Conclusion:

All tested SB PCLR graft fixation angles restored knee laxity to similar levels; however, persistent laxity resulted in significant increases in knee laxity compared with the intact state during posterior tibial loading at all flexion angles, internal rotation at flexion angles ≥60°, and external rotation at ≥75° of flexion.

Clinical Relevance:

The results of this study suggest that SB PCL graft fixation angles of 75°, 90°, and 105° were comparable in restoring knee kinematics and exposed the graft to similar time-zero loads. However, SB PCLRs did not fully reduce knee laxity to the intact state.
Platelet-Rich Plasma in Rotator Cuff Repair
Authors: Malavolta Eduardo Angeli , Gracitelli Mauro Emilio Conforto , Ferreira Neto Arnaldo Amado , Assunção Jorge Henrique , Bordalo-Rodrigues Marcelo , de Camargo Olavo Pires
Published: August 2014

Background:

Although platelet-rich plasma (PRP) has been used in rotator cuff repair, most authors have been unable to report the advantages of this method in clinical trials.

Hypothesis:

The use of PRP promotes better functional and structural results in arthroscopic rotator cuff repair.

Study Design:

Randomized controlled trial; Level of evidence, 1.

Methods:

This was a prospective, randomized, double-blind study with 2 groups of 27 patients each (PRP group and control group). Complete supraspinatus tears with retraction of less than 3 cm were subjected to arthroscopic single-row repair; at the end of the surgical procedure, liquid PRP prepared by apheresis was given to the patients in the PRP group with autologous thrombin. The outcomes were assessed by the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) and Constant scales, visual analog scale (VAS) for pain, and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) before and 3, 6, 12, and 24 months after surgery. The significance level was 5%.

Results:

The 2 groups of patients exhibited significant clinical improvement ( P < .001). Between the preoperative assessment and 24-month follow-up, the mean UCLA score increased from 13.63 ± 3.639 to 32.70 ± 3.635 and from 13.93 ± 4.649 to 32.44 ± 4.318 in the control and PRP groups, respectively ( P = .916). The mean Constant score increased from 47.37 ± 11.088 to 85.15 ± 9.879 in the control group and from 46.96 ± 11.937 to 84.78 ± 14.048 in the PRP group ( P = .498). The mean VAS score varied from 7.00 ± 1.939 and 6.67 ± 1.617 before surgery to 1.15 ± 1.916 and 0.96 ± 2.244 at the 24-month assessment in the control and PRP groups, respectively ( P = .418). The only difference was in the mean UCLA score at 12 months, with 30.04 ± 4.528 in the control group and 32.30 ± 3.506 in the PRP group ( P = .046). The control group exhibited 1 case of a complete retear and 4 partial retears, and the PRP group exhibited 2 cases of partial retears ( P = .42).

Conclusion:

Platelet-rich plasma prepared by apheresis and applied in the liquid state with thrombin did not promote better clinical results at 24-month follow-up. Given the numbers available for analysis, the retear rate also did not change.
Incidence and Trends of Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction in the United States
Authors: Mall Nathan A. , Chalmers Peter N. , Moric Mario , Tanaka Miho J. , Cole Brian J. , Bach Bernard R. , Paletta George A.
Published: August 2014

Background:

Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury is among the most commonly studied injuries in orthopaedics. The previously reported incidence of ACL injury in the United States has varied considerably and is often based on expert opinion or single insurance databases.

Purpose:

To determine the incidence of ACL reconstruction (ACLR) in the United States; to identify changes in this incidence between 1994 and 2006; to identify changes in the demographics of ACLR over the same time period with respect to location (inpatient vs outpatient), sex, and age; and to determine the most frequent concomitant procedures performed at the time of ACLR.

Study Design:

Descriptive epidemiological study.

Methods:

International Classification of Diseases, 9th Revision (ICD-9) codes 844.2 and 717.83 were used to search the National Hospital Discharge Survey (NHDS) and the National Survey of Ambulatory Surgery (NSAS) for the diagnosis of ACL tear, and the procedure code 81.45 was used to search for ACLR. The incidence of ACLR in 1994 and 2006 was determined by use of US Census Data, and the results were then stratified based on patient age, sex, facility, concomitant diagnoses, and concomitant procedures.

Results:

The incidence of ACLR in the United States rose from 86,687 (95% CI, 51,844-121,530; 32.9 per 100,000 person-years) in 1994 to 129,836 (95% CI, 94,993-164,679; 43.5 per 100,000 person-years) in 2006 ( P = .015). The number of ACLRs increased in patients younger than 20 years and those who were 40 years or older over this 12-year period. The incidence of ACLR in females significantly increased from 10.36 to 18.06 per 100,000 person-years between 1994 and 2006 ( P = .0003), while that in males rose at a slower rate, with an incidence of 22.58 per 100,000 person-years in 1994 and 25.42 per 100,000 person-years in 2006. In 2006, 95% of ACLRs were performed in an outpatient setting, while in 1994 only 43% of ACLRs were performed in an outpatient setting. The most common concomitant procedures were partial meniscectomy and chondroplasty.

Conclusion:

The incidence of ACLR increased between 1994 and 2006, particularly in females as well as those younger than 20 years and those 40 years or older. Research efforts as well as cost-saving measures may be best served by targeting prevention and outcomes measures in these groups. Surgeons should be aware that concomitant injury is common.
Building on Past Successes
Authors: Vaughn Sharon
Published: August 2014

This article provides an overview of my experiences in special education as a teacher and subsequently as an intervention researcher providing background on where we were in providing instruction to individuals with disabilities 40 years ago (prior to legal protections and supports) compared with the present. This article acknowledges the progress that has been made in providing opportunities for students with disabilities to participate in the educational system including greater access to the general education classroom for increasing numbers of students with disabilities. However, stakeholders including special educators have inadequately targeted academic and behavioral improvements as their goals for individuals with disabilities. This is largely because the research base for students with disabilities with intensive academic and behavior needs is underdeveloped. Several recommendations are provided including increased funding for research on individuals with persistent learning and behavior problems that addresses how to acquire a more complete knowledge base about effective intensive interventions for these students.
Characterization of a new composite PMMA-HA/Brushite bone cement for spinal augmentation
Authors: Aghyarian Shant , Rodriguez Lucas C , Chari Jonathan , Bentley Elizabeth , Kosmopoulos Victor , Lieberman Isador H , Rodrigues Danieli C
Published: August 2014

Calcium phosphate fillers have been shown to increase cement osteoconductivity, but have caused drawbacks in cement properties. Hydroxyapatite and Brushite were introduced in an acrylic two-solution cement at varying concentrations. Novel composite bone cements were developed and characterized using rheology, injectability, and mechanical tests. It was hypothesized that the ample swelling time allowed by the premixed two-solution cement would enable thorough dispersion of the additives in the solutions, resulting in no detrimental effects after polymerization. The addition of Hydroxyapatite and Brushite both caused an increase in cement viscosity; however, these cements exhibited high shear-thinning, which facilitated injection. In gel point studies, the composite cements showed no detectable change in gel point time compared to an all-acrylic control cement. Hydroxyapatite and Brushite composite cements were observed to have high mechanical strengths even at high loads of calcium phosphate fillers. These cements showed an average compressive strength of 85 MPa and flexural strength of 65 MPa. A calcium phosphate-containing cement exhibiting a combination of high viscosity, pseudoplasticity and high mechanical strength can provide the essential bioactivity factor for osseointegration without sacrificing load-bearing capability.
Swelling, sealing, and hemostatic ability of a novel biomaterial: A polyethylene glycol-coated collagen pad
Authors: Lewis Kevin M , Spazierer Daniel , Slezak Paul , Baumgartner Bernhard , Regenbogen Johannes , Gulle Heinz
Published: August 2014

Trends in the development of hemostatic agents are towards self-adhering pads. This study investigates a novel biomaterial made of a polyethylene glycol-coated collagen pad (PCC). The swelling and adherence of PCC were investigated in vitro, and the hemostatic and sealing ability was investigated in vivo. In vitro, the maximum swell of PCC submerged in human plasma for 24 h is 65%. The greatest swell was in thickness, averaging 24% to a mean thickness of 2.5 ± 0.19 mm (mean±SD) ( N = 20). PCC withstood clinically relevant pressures when applied to a collagen casing washed with bile, lymph, urine, saline, and cerebrospinal fluid mixed at 33% and 67% with blood. In vivo, PCC provided complete hemostasis when applied to severe, arterial bleeds of actively ventilated pulmonary parenchyma at 3, 5, 8, and 10 min after application in a heparinized porcine pulmonary segmentectomy model. The mean rate of bleeding was 17.7 ± 8.6 ml/min. The lungs were ventilated at 15 ± 4 breaths per min and an airway pressure of 19 ± 2 cm H2O. PCC had no incidence of hematoma and an 11% incidence of intraoperative air leak ( N = 36). These data are promising for future clinical application of a new versatile, self-adhering hemostatic sealing pad consisting of a polyethylene glycol-coated collagen.