bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Management and 1-Year Outcomes of Patients With Atrial Fibrillation in the Middle East
Authors: Zubaid Mohammad , Rashed Wafa A. , Alsheikh-Ali Alawi A. , Al-Zakwani Ibrahim , AlMahmeed Wael , Shehab Abdullah , Sulaiman Kadhim , Qudaimi Ahmed Al , Asaad Nidal , Amin Haitham
Published: June 2014

We describe management and outcomes of patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation (AF) in the Middle East. Consecutive patients with AF presenting to emergency departments (EDs) were prospectively enrolled. Among 1721 patients with nonvalvular AF, mean age was 59 ± 16 years and 44% were women. Comorbidities were common such as hypertension (59%), diabetes (33%), and coronary artery disease (33%). Warfarin was not prescribed to 40% of patients with Congestive heart failure, Hypertension, Age, Diabetes mellitus, Stroke/TIA2 score of ≥2. One-year rates of stroke/transient ischemic attack (TIA) and all-cause mortality were 4.2% and 15.3%, respectively. Warfarin use at hospital–ED discharge was independently associated with lower 1-year rate of stroke/TIA (odds ratio [OR], 0.38; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.17-0.85; P = .015) and all-cause mortality (OR, 0.51; 95% CI, 0.32-0.83; P = .006). Prior history of heart failure and peripheral vascular disease was independent mortality predictors. Our patients are relatively young with significant cardiovascular risk. Their anticoagulation treatment is suboptimal, and 1-year all-cause mortality and stroke/TIA event rates are relatively high.
Association Between Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease and Carotid Artery Inflammation Evaluated by 18F-Fluorodeoxyglucose Positron Emission Tomography
Authors: Moon Seung Hwan , Noh Tae Soo , Cho Young Seok , Hong Seon Pyo , Hyun Seung Hyup , Choi Joon Young , Kim Byung-Tae , Lee Kyung-Han
Published: June 2014

We assessed the association between nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and carotid artery inflammation measured by 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography/computed tomography. Participants were 755 consecutive otherwise healthy adult males who underwent a general health screening program. Carotid FDG uptake, represented as maximum target-to-background ratio, was increased with mild (n = 237; 1.61 ± 0.14; P = .033) and moderate NAFLD (n = 145; 1.63 ± 0.16; P = .005) compared with controls (n = 373; 1.58 ± 0.15). In patients aged >50 years, moderate NAFLD was the only independent risk factor for high carotid FDG uptake (odds ratio, 2.12; 95% confidence interval, 1.10-4.07; P = .001). Apparently healthy adult males with NAFLD have elevated carotid FDG uptake as well as increased carotid intima–media thickness, suggesting that they may be at an increased risk of having inflammatory atherosclerotic plaques in the carotid arteries.
Correlation of Carotid Artery Disease Severity and Vasomotor Response of Cerebral Blood Vessels
Authors: Krdžić Ivana , Čovičković-Šternić Nadežda , Katsiki Niki , Isenović Esma R. , Radak Đorđe
Published: June 2014

We assessed reactivity of cerebral vessels on hypercapnia in patients with carotid occlusive disease. The effects of vascular risk factors on carotid atherosclerosis and vasomotor reactivity (VMR) of cerebral arterioles were also examined. Patients (n = 50) with carotid stenosis (≥30% in 1 or both sides) were included; 30 patients acted as controls. Hypertension, hyperlipidemia, diabetes, cardiac diseases, inflammation, and smoking were recorded. Vasomotor reactivity was assessed with the apnea test by transcranial Doppler ultrasonography and estimated by flow velocity changes in the middle cerebral artery before and after hypercapnia induction. Vasomotor reactivity was defined by the breath holding index, and values under 0.69 were considered critical for VMR impairment. Vasomotor reactivity reduction was significant ( P = .004) in patients with severe carotid stenosis (>70%) and with symptomatic carotid disease ( P < .05). The risk factors did not significantly influence VMR reduction. Severe carotid stenosis impairs VMR and may increase the risk of stroke, especially in symptomatic patients.
Pathway to care for psychiatric patients in a developing country: Malawi
Authors: Kauye Felix , Udedi Michael , Mafuta Chitsanzo
Published: June 2014

Background:

Paramedics dominate primary health care in Malawi where native healers also play a major role in the provision of health care and psychiatric nurses are the backbone of district mental health services.

Aim:

The aim is to improve understanding of prior care-seeking and treatment of new patients seen at mental health services in a developing country like Malawi.

Method:

For one calendar month, 128 newly referred patients to the mental health services in the three psychiatric units in Malawi were interviewed using an encounter form.

Results:

Most of the patients went through a first carer before attending a psychiatric unit with only 11.7% going straight to a psychiatric unit. All patients who went straight to a psychiatric unit involved the private/Christian Health Association of Malawi (CHAM) unit in the northern region of Malawi. About 22.7% of the patients had a native healer as a first carer. Only 23% of all patients seen went through a second carer, with none going through a third carer. Over 8% of those who had a paramedic as their first carer had a native healer as their second carer. Duration of stay at different carers varied a lot with about half (48.2%) of all patients who saw a native healer as the first carer spending more than 2 weeks before referral while about 67.0% of those who saw convectional health workers spent 3 days or less before referral.

Conclusion:

The pathway to care for patients with psychological problems in Malawi is not very much different to pathways to care in other developing countries whereby native healers and paramedics play a significant role. With the high proportion of patients being seen by native healers and the fact that most patients stay longer at native healers before referral, there is need for official collaboration and training of native healers on mental health.
Editorial craft and francophone African literature: The case of Malick Fall
Authors: Bush Ruth
Published: June 2014

This article considers Senegalese novelist Malick Fall’s 1967 novel La Plaie [The Wound] in the light of material from the archives of Parisian publishers Editions du Seuil. It explores to what extent and with what effect traces of editorial mediation revealed in publishers’ archives can be written into the history of francophone African literature. Fall’s long-neglected text is one of the earliest francophone African novels of post-independence disillusionment. Described by an early critic as the first African “existentialist” novel, its fragmented narrative draws on seams of poetic symbolism, burlesque comedy, and philosophical reflection to portray a vagrant protagonist. The complex structure and unstable narrative voice mark a departure from realist modes of African novels in the 1950s. Moreover it troubles any reductive account of a linear transition from realism to modernism. Yet Fall’s work remains much less known than the celebrated stylistic innovation of Ahmadou Kourouma’s Les Soleils des indépendances (1968) or Yambo Ouologuem’s Le Devoir de violence (1968). Readers’ reports at Le Seuil, a publisher with clear anti-colonial sympathies, show how editors sought to revise Fall’s manuscript according to normative ideas of language, genre, and literary craft, tentatively pointing to the text’s modernist leanings without fully articulating what such modernity might constitute or imply. While clearly not exclusive to African or postcolonial literature, such stylistic tempering (or tampering) arguably shaped the text’s meditations on trauma, freedom, and alienation. This evidence leads to a revised, multivalent understanding of Fall’s literary innovation.
Why can’t we be friends? Entitlements and the costs of conflict
Authors: Kimbrough Erik O , Sheremeta Roman M
Published: June 2014

We design an experiment to explore the impact of earned entitlements on the frequency and intensity of conflicts in a two-stage conflict game where players may attempt to use non-binding side-payments to avoid conflict. In this game, Proposers make offers and Responders decide simultaneously whether to accept the offers and whether to engage in a conflict. A simple theoretical analysis suggests that Proposers should never offer side-payments because Responders should always accept them and then still choose to enter conflict; however, our experiment reveals that some individuals use this non-binding mechanism to avoid conflict. Moreover, when subjects earn their roles (Proposer or Responder), conflicts are 44% more likely to be avoided than when roles are assigned randomly. Earned entitlements impact behavior in three important ways: (1) Proposers who have earned their position persistently make larger offers; (2) larger offers lead to a lower probability of conflict; but (3) Proposers whose offers do not lead to conflict resolution respond spitefully with greater conflict expenditure. Hence, with earned rights, the positive welfare effects of reduced conflict frequency are offset by higher conflict intensity. This result differs from previous experimental evidence from ultimatum games in which earned entitlements tend to encourage agreement and increase welfare; thus, our findings highlight the important consequences of endogenizing the costs of conflict. Our analysis suggests that earned entitlements alter behavior by influencing the beliefs of Proposers about the willingness of Responders to accept a peaceful resolution. As a result, these Proposers make persistent high offers, and when their beliefs are disappointed by a Responder’s decision to accept a side-payment and still enter conflict, they retaliate.
Explaining political jiu-jitsu
Authors: Sutton Jonathan , Butcher Charles R , Svensson Isak
Published: June 2014

The use of violent coercion to repress unarmed protests, such as that seen during the Arab Spring, sometimes backfires on the government – an outcome called ‘political jiu-jitsu’. Examining unique global data covering extreme violence used by governments against unarmed protests from 1989 to 2011 (drawn from UCDP) and the Nonviolent and Violent Campaigns and Outcomes (NAVCO) data, this study aims to explain the conditions under which this outcome occurs. This study contributes to both the nonviolent action and one-sided violence literatures by further disaggregating this effect into both domestic and international outcomes, a distinction that has not previously been made in empirical studies. We find evidence that a pre-existing campaign infrastructure increases the likelihood of increased domestic mobilization and security defections after violent repression, but is unrelated to international backlash. Within ongoing NAVCO campaigns we find that parallel media institutions increase the likelihood of increased domestic mobilization and international repercussions after repression, and that this effect holds true for both traditional media and ‘new’ (i.e. internet-based) media. One of the novel contributions of this study is that we identify an important selection effect in the NAVCO data and the critical role of organizational infrastructure, especially communications infrastructure, in generating preference changes that create the conditions where killing unarmed civilians becomes costly for repressive governments. We conclude with a discussion of the potential implications of this study and avenues for future research.
String Music Educators’ Perceptions of the Impact of New String Programs on Student Outcomes, School Music Programs, and Communities
Authors: Gillespie Robert , Russell Joshua A. , Hamann Donald L.
Published: June 2014

The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of newly initiated string programs on teachers, schools, districts, communities, and existing music program administration and students. Research questions pertained to (a) locations, student access, and instructional offerings; (b) educators; and (c) perceived impact on student outcomes. Data from 64 participants were analyzed. Results indicated that new string programs were largely developed at the middle and high school levels, located in suburban (59%), urban (23%), and rural (18%) areas, with instruction held during the regular school day. The majority (86%) of teachers were credentialed string specialists. While participants cited some frustrations, such as scheduling difficulties and lack of performance facilities, they identified several benefits from the new programs, including increased student participation in all music programs, more student collaborative opportunities, increased community and local music business support, and the more comprehensive nature of the music curriculum.
Race, Age, and Identity Transformations in the Transition from High School to College for Black and First-generation White Men
Authors: Wilkins Amy C.
Published: June 2014

Race and class differences in academic and social integration matter for educational success, social mobility, and personal well-being. In this article, I use interview data with students attending predominantly white four-year research universities to investigate the integration experiences of black and first-generation white men. I examine each group’s accounts of both high school and college. Both groups of men reported having positive social experiences in high school. However, while first-generation white men were able to transport their identity strategies to college, the transition to college complicated integration and identities for black men. These processes supported white men’s collegiate goals but undermined black men’s, increasing the emotional costs of college for black men, undermining academic support, and blocking their ability to construct satisfying pathways to adulthood. I argue that identity experiences in high school matter for identity processes in college, where contextual intersectional identity expectations can change in unexpected ways for different groups. More attention is needed to the relationship between precollegiate and collegiate identities and to the ways intersectionality complicates identity processes.
On Sanitation: A Memory Ethnography
Authors: Srivastava Vinay Kumar
Published: June 2014

This paper is an account of the toilets and manual scavenging in Delhi of the 1960s and the early 1970s. The author, born and brought up in Old Delhi, systematically looks at his memories and makes observations on toilets and lavatories therein, providing their first-hand account. The intricacies of social life are explored here. In a sequel to this paper the author intends to write on how the house and the living patterns changed when flush toilets were installed in the neighbourhoods of Old Delhi.
Book Review: Ayesha Ray, The Soldier and the State in India: Nuclear Weapons, Counterinsurgency, and the Transformation of Indian Civil–Military Relations
Authors: Joseph Josy
Published: June 2014

Ayesha Ray, The Soldier and the State in India: Nuclear Weapons, Counterinsurgency, and the Transformation of Indian Civil–Military Relations, New Delhi: SAGE, 2013, ₹595.
Book Review: Deepak K. Mishra, Vandana Upadhyay and Atul Sarma, Unfolding Crisis in Assam’s Tea Plantations: Employment and Occupational Mobility
Authors: Sharma Chandan Kumar
Published: June 2014

Deepak K. Mishra, Vandana Upadhyay and Atul Sarma, Unfolding Crisis in Assam’s Tea Plantations: Employment and Occupational Mobility, New Delhi: Routledge, 2012, xvi + 246 pp.
Assessing the Impact of the Inner Belt
Authors: Moss Hilary , Zhang Yinan , Anderson Andy
Published: June 2014

Between 1948 and 1971, the Massachusetts Department of Public Works released plans to build a freeway through Cambridge. One route would carve up a working-class neighborhood while another would run alongside MIT. First, we assess the impact of the planning process. While no highway was built, housing stock declined and uncertainly complicated urban renewal. Second, we explore MIT’s role in this story. Because its campus lay near a proposed route, the university functioned much like any other stakeholder. Yet its economic importance and its involvement with federal defense gave its administrators access to arguments unavailable to local residents or politicians. MIT functioned as both agent and subject, as a private entity at the mercy of federal and state prerogatives and as an influential public force in its own right, whose institutional knowledge, national importance, and civic significance overshadowed city and community prerogatives.
The Influence of the Design Matrix on Treatment Effect Estimates in the Quantitative Analyses of Single-Subject Experimental Design Research
Authors: Moeyaert Mariola , Ugille Maaike , Ferron John M. , Beretvas S. Natasha , Van den Noortgate Wim
Published: June 2014

The quantitative methods for analyzing single-subject experimental data have expanded during the last decade, including the use of regression models to statistically analyze the data, but still a lot of questions remain. One question is how to specify predictors in a regression model to account for the specifics of the design and estimate the effect size of interest. These quantitative effect sizes are used in retrospective analyses and allow synthesis of single-subject experimental study results which is informative for evidence-based decision making, research and theory building, and policy discussions. We discuss different design matrices that can be used for the most common single-subject experimental designs (SSEDs), namely, the multiple-baseline designs, reversal designs, and alternating treatment designs, and provide empirical illustrations. The purpose of this article is to guide single-subject experimental data analysts interested in analyzing and meta-analyzing SSED data.
A Clinical Protocol to Increase Chewing and Assess Mastication in Children With Feeding Disorders
Authors: Volkert Valerie M. , Peterson Kathryn M. , Zeleny Jason R. , Piazza Cathleen C.
Published: June 2014

Children with feeding disorders often cannot or do not chew when presented with table food. Children with chewing deficits also often swallow the bite before masticating it appropriately, which we will refer to as early swallowing. In the current study, we evaluated a clinical protocol to increase chews per bite, assess mastication, and eliminate early swallowing with three children with feeding disorders. The current study adds to a small body of literature on chewing and mastication of children with feeding disorders. Suggestions for future research are also discussed.
Social understanding and self-regulation predict pre-schoolers’ sharing with friends and disliked peers
Authors: Paulus Markus , Licata Maria , Kristen Susanne , Thoermer Claudia , Woodward Amanda , Sodian Beate
Published: June 2014

This study examined longitudinal relations between early measures of prosocial action in infancy as well as cognitive and social-cognitive abilities, and the sharing behaviour of preschool children. The results reveal relations between delay-of-gratification at 24 months and inhibitory control at 30 months, and children’s sharing at 5 years. Moreover, the analyses showed specific relations between distress understanding at 24 months and preschool children’s sharing with friends, and a relation between goal encoding at 7 months and sharing with a disliked other at 5 years. Yet, there were no relations between early measures of prosociality in infancy and preschool children’s sharing. The results support the view that inhibitory control competencies and social-cognitive abilities play an important role in the early development of prosocial action.
Information Manipulation Theory 2
Authors: McCornack Steven A. , Morrison Kelly , Paik Jihyun Esther , Wisner Amy M. , Zhu Xun
Published: June 2014

Information Manipulation Theory 2 (IMT2) is a propositional theory of deceptive discourse production that conceptually frames deception as involving the covert manipulation of information along multiple dimensions and as a contextual problem-solving activity driven by the desire for quick, efficient, and viable communicative solutions. IMT2 is rooted in linguistics, cognitive neuroscience, speech production, and artificial intelligence. Synthesizing these literatures, IMT2 posits a central premise with regard to deceptive discourse production and 11 empirically testable (that is, falsifiable) propositions deriving from this premise. These propositions are grouped into three propositional sets: intentional states (IS), cognitive load (CL), and information manipulation (IM). The IS propositions pertain to the nature and temporal placement of deceptive volition, in relation to speech production. The CL propositions clarify the interrelationship between load, discourse, and context. The IM propositions identify the specific conditions under which various forms of information manipulation will (and will not) occur.
Theorizing About Deception
Authors: Levine Timothy R. , McCornack Steven A.
Published: June 2014

This essay provides a unifying commentary concluding this special issue on new theories of deception. Information Manipulation Theory 2 (IMT2) and Truth-Default Theory (TDT) offer perspectives of deception that contrast with many past and current approaches. Key points of difference between these new theories and prior works include how deception is defined, the centrality of deception cues, the role of stakes in deception, the importance of communication media or channel, and whether or not deception is intrinsically more cognitively effortful than truthtelling. IMT2 and TDT shift focus away from deception cues and toward situated, contextualized information and communication content. Theory-data consistency is argued to be paramount. The overarching goal of these new theories is to chart the course for future deception research.
Antipsychotics use in children and adolescents: An on-going challenge in clinical practice
Authors: Schneider Carolina , Taylor David , Zalsman Gil , Frangou Sophia , Kyriakopoulos Marinos
Published: June 2014

Antipsychotic medications (APs) are a well-established pharmacological treatment in adults with serious mental health problems. However, many adult mental health disorders have their origins and onset in childhood or adolescence. The understanding that neuropsychiatric conditions of childhood are in part biologically determined, led to an increase in the number of clinical trials supporting evidence on the efficacy of antipsychotic agents as first-line treatment for childhood psychotic disorders and therapeutic augmentation of nonpsychotic conditions. In recent years the use of antipsychotics in children and adolescents for neurodevelopmental, behavioural and psychiatric disorders has significantly increased while the age of prescription has decreased. These trends have not been matched by advances in the understanding of APs’ safety profile in this group of patients. It is therefore crucial that current and future practice is informed by up-to-date synthesis of the evidence and clinical guidelines about the use and monitoring of these treatments in paediatric populations, since the effectiveness of early therapeutic interventions in children can affect positively the long-term outcome.
Changes in hospital and out-patient events and costs following implant naltrexone treatment for problematic alcohol use
Authors: Kelty Erin , Hayes Lesleigh , O’Neil Graeme , Kyle Sarah , Jeffrey Gary P , O’Neil George , Hendrie Delia , Mukhtar Aqif , Hulse Gary
Published: June 2014

The harmful use of alcohol places a considerable burden on the community, both socially and financially. The aim of this study was to determine if the use of implant naltrexone is associated with a reduction in health care events and costs in patients treated for problematic alcohol use. Ninety four patients (60.6% male) treated between 2002 and 2007 were matched against state hospital, emergency department (ED), mental health out-patients and mortality data sets for 6 months prior to and 6 months post treatment. The number of patients, events, and costs associated with each health event were compared before and after treatment. Overall health care events and costs were reduced from $509033 prior to treatment to $270001 following treatment. Costs associated with hospital admission showed the most significant reduction, falling from $424605 (82 admissions/36 patients) before treatment to $203462 (43 admission/24 patients) after. While costs associated with ED attendances also fell ($74885 to $54712), costs associated with mental health out-patient attendances increased ($9543 to $11827). The use of implant naltrexone was associated with a reduction health events and costs in patients with problematic alcohol use in the first 6 months following treatment.
Role of bicyclol in preventing chemotherapeutic agent-induced liver injury in patients over 60 years of age with cancer
Authors: Li Xiaoyuan , Zhou Jianfeng , Chen Shuchang , Guan Mei , Wang Yingyi , Zhao Lin , Ying Hongyan , Zhou Yanping
Published: June 2014

Objective

To evaluate the efficacy of bicyclol in preventing chemotherapy-induced liver damage.

Methods

Patients ≥60 years of age with cancer were equally randomized into control (chemotherapy alone) or prophylactic (chemotherapy supplemented with 75 mg bicyclol, oral, daily) groups. Liver function indices were assessed immediately before treatment, during each therapy cycle and following treatment.

Results

Of 306 patients enrolled, 300 patiets completed the study ( n = 147 and n = 153; prophylactic and control groups, respectively). Incidence of grade I–IV elevation of serum transaminase and/or bilirubin was significantly lower in the prophylactic group (17.1%) compared with the control group (47.1%). Incidence of grade II–IV hepatic injury was also significantly lower in the prophylactic group (0.7%) than in the control group (12.4%).

Conclusions

Prophylactic bicyclol (75 mg daily) could significantly reduce the incidence and degree of chemotherapeutic agent-induced liver damage in elderly patients with cancer. Further studies are recommended with larger sample sizes and long-term follow up.
The role of magnetic resonance diffusion-weighted imaging and three-dimensional arterial spin labelling perfusion imaging in the differentiation of parasellar meningioma and cavernous haemangioma
Authors: Xiao Hua-Feng , Lou Xin , Liu Meng-Yu , Wang Yu-Lin , Wang Yan , Chen Zhi-Ye , Shi Kai-Ning , Ma Lin
Published: June 2014

Objective

To evaluate the diagnostic value of magnetic resonance diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) and three-dimensional arterial spin labelling perfusion imaging (3D-ASL) in distinguishing cavernous haemangioma from parasellar meningioma, using histological data as a reference standard.

Methods

Patients with parasellar meningioma or parasellar cavernous haemangioma underwent conventional T1- and T2-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) followed by DWI and 3D-ASL using a 3.0 Tesla MRI. The minimum apparent diffusion coefficient (minADC) from DWI and the maximal normalized cerebral blood flow (nCBF) from 3D-ASL were measured in each tumour. Diagnosis was confirmed by histology.

Results

MinADC was significantly lower and nCBF significantly higher in meningioma ( n = 19) than cavernous haemangioma ( n = 15). There was a significant negative correlation between minADC and nCBF ( r = −0.605).

Conclusion

DWI and 3D-ASL are useful in differentiating cavernous haemangiomas from parasellar meningiomas, particularly in situations when the appearance on conventional MRI sequences is otherwise ambiguous.
Feline Upper Respiratory Tract Lymphoma
Authors: Santagostino S.F. , Mortellaro C.M. , Boracchi P. , Avallone G. , Caniatti M. , Forlani A. , Roccabianca P.
Published: June 2014

Lymphoma is the most common feline upper respiratory tract (URT) tumor. Primary nasal and nasopharyngeal lymphomas have been evaluated as distinct pathological entities; however, data on their differing clinical behavior are missing. A total of 164 endoscopic- guided URT pinch biopsies were formalin fixed and routinely processed. Imprint cytological specimens were stained with May Grünwald-Giemsa. Immunohistochemistry for anti-CD20, CD3, FeLVp27, and FeLVgp70 was performed. Prognostic significance of clinicopathological variables was investigated by univariate and multivariate analysis. Lymphoma was diagnosed in 39 cats (24%). Most cats with lymphoma were domestic shorthair (32 [82%]), were male (F/M = 0.56), and had a mean age of 10.3 years (range, 1–16 years). Lymphomas were primary nasal in 26 cats (67%), nasopharyngeal in 6 (15%), and in both locations (combined lymphomas) in 7 cats (18%). Neoplastic growth pattern was diffuse in 35 cases (90%) and nodular in 4 (10%). Epitheliotropism was observed in 10 cases (26%). Tumor cells were large in 15 cases, were small and medium in 11 cases each, and 2 had mixed cell size. Submucosal lymphoplasmacytic inflammation was observed in 23 cases (59%). Cytology was diagnostic for lymphoma in 12 of 25 cases (48%). A B-cell origin prevailed (34 [87%]). Feline leukemia virus (FeLV) p27or gp70 antigen was detected in 21 lymphomas (54%). URT lymphomas were aggressive, with survival varying from 0 to 301 days (mean, 53 days). Epitheliotropism in 8 B-cell lymphomas (80%) and in 2 T-cell lymphomas (20%) correlated with prolonged survival. Age younger or older than 10 years had a negative prognostic value. Lymphoplasmacytic inflammation and FeLV infection may represent favoring factors for URT lymphoma development.
Perceptions of the Previously Convicted
Authors: Edwards Emily Rachel , Mottarella Karen
Published: June 2014

The present study explores individuals’ desires for social distance from violent versus non-violent offenders and investigates whether disclosure of the offender’s therapy completion influences this desire for distance. The study also investigates relationships between participants’ desires for social distance and their perceptions of therapy effectiveness with offenders. Using a 2 × 2 factorial design, 150 undergraduate participants completed measures of social distance and perceived offender therapy effectiveness. Overall, respondents indicated higher desires for social distance from offenders convicted of violent versus non-violent crimes. Respondents also reported lower desire for social distance when the offenders reported completing therapy, even when their perception of therapy effectiveness was low. The results of this study have implications for treatment development. Results attest to the value of preparing incarcerated offenders with an accurate expectation of levels and patterns of stigma to be faced upon release and also speak to the value of disclosing treatment completion, especially in the context of healthy interpersonal relationship development and maintenance.
You, Me, or Her
Authors: McClelland Sara I. , Holland Kathryn J.
Published: June 2014

We examined how university leaders described what and who needed to change in order to increase the representation of female faculty in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) departments. Thirty-one (28 men and 3 women) STEM departmental chairs and deans at a large, public university participated in semi-structured interviews. Data were examined using both qualitative and quantitative procedures. Analysis focused on participants’ descriptions of responsibility for changes related to gender equity. Using the distinction of high versus low responsibility, themes were examined for their qualitative characteristics as well as their frequency. Leaders who exhibited high personal responsibility most frequently saw themselves as needing to change and also named their male colleagues as concurrently responsible for diversity. Conversely, leaders who exhibited low personal responsibility most frequently described female faculty as responsible and described women’s attitudes and their “choice” to have a family as obstacles to gender diversity in STEM. We argue that the dimensions of high and low responsibility are useful additions to discussions of leadership, workplace diversity initiatives, and gender equity more broadly. To this end, we provide several methodological tools to examine these subtle, yet essential, aspects of how diversity and change efforts are imagined and discussed.
Research Ethics and Case Studies in Psychology
Authors: Cheit Ross E.
Published: June 2014

Loftus and Guyer have been criticized for the methods they employed in investigating an anonymous case study published by Corwin and Olafson. This article examines the ethical dimensions of their investigation. Loftus and Guyer have offered three defenses for their actions. All three of those defenses lack merit. Their investigation did not constitute oral history because it failed to comport with the basic requirements of that practice. Their investigation did not constitute ethical journalism because of the unjustified use of anonymous sources and the clear violation of basic fairness. Their investigation did not constitute justified medical research because of a failure to analyze or weigh the harms against the benefits. Their methods also violated ethical principles for psychologists, including the rule against activities that could reasonably be expected to impair the psychologist’s objectivity. This case demonstrates that there is no ethical way to investigate a clinical case, without the patient’s approval, that is both comprehensive enough to provide strong scholarship and yet respectful enough of privacy and medical confidentiality to honor important professional norms.
Published Case Reports
Authors: Kluemper Nicole S.
Published: June 2014

This is a personal story regarding one woman’s experience of serving as a case study protagonist and later having a psychologist uncover her identity and retell her life story in the name of scientific investigative journalism. As a participant in a psychological case report, I believed that my confidentiality would be protected. Unfortunately, this case study participant found herself in the middle of the Memory Wars, and that turned out to be the catalyst for an unwanted inquiry into my life. A well-known memory researcher hired a private investigator to find me, gained access to a great deal of private information about me, and published this in detail without my permission. I discuss in this article how these actions affected my life in some very serious ways. I raise several issues about the meaning of my experience for further case study authors and the clients whose lives they present, as well as questions about the duties of psychologists to the subjects of their research and inquiry.
Free vibration and buckling characteristics of laminated composite and sandwich plates implementing a secant function based shear deformation theory
Authors: Grover Neeraj , Singh Bhrigu N , Maiti Dipak K
Published: June 2014

A generalized finite element modeling of recently developed secant function based shear deformation theory is formulated and implemented for free vibration and buckling characteristics of laminated-composite and sandwich plates. The shear deformation is expressed in terms of a secant function of thickness coordinate. The theory inherently satisfies the zero transverse shear conditions on top and bottom surfaces of the plate. An eight-noded C0 continuous element is chosen by an adequate choice of nodal field variables. The governing equations are obtained for the free vibration and buckling responses of laminated-composite and sandwich plates. Intensive numerical experiments are conducted to investigate the influence of span-thickness ratio, boundary conditions, etc. on the free vibration and buckling behavior. The comparison of present results with the published results indicates the performance and range of applicability of the present theory in the framework of finite element analysis.
Evaluation of the influences of process parameters while selective laser sintering PMMA powders
Authors: Velu Rajkumar , Singamneni Sarat
Published: June 2014

Polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) is a synthetic resin, widely used for bio-medical applications and is usually mixed with some other ingredients to form a soft substrate, which gradually hardens. Medical implants and other products of different shapes are generated either by moulding while it is still soft or by machining further to hardening. While these methods limit the freedom to achieve the much needed geometrical complexities, porosity also gets adversely affected. Rapid prototyping or additive manufacturing techniques allow for complex shapes to be easily produced together with a degree of control over the porosity. Though fused deposition modelling was attempted earlier with PMMA, more promising approaches such as selective laser sintering attained very little attention in this regard. In particular, the mechanism of material consolidation and the effects of significant process parameters on critical responses need sufficient attention, and this paper attempts this by experimental means.
Optimum pattern of piezoelectric actuator placement for stress concentration reduction in a plate with a hole using particle swarm optimization algorithm
Authors: Jafari Fesharaki Javad , Golabi Sa’id
Published: June 2014

This paper focuses on pattern recognition of the best position of piezoelectric patches around the hole in a plate under tension to attain the maximum reduction in stress concentration factor. For this purpose, using particle swarm optimization algorithm, the area and the best location of piezoelectric patches are investigated and the optimum pattern recognition around the hole is presented. Then, the effect of increasing the area of piezoelectric patches and voltage on stress concentration reduction are investigated for all percentage area of piezoelectric patches. To confirm the results, by considering two experimental tests, the results are compared with those reported in presented paper.
Attitude control of a small-scale helicopter based on backstepping
Authors: Tang Shuai , Yang QiuHui , Qian ShaoKe , Zheng ZhiQiang
Published: June 2014

In this paper, the attitude control of a small-scale helicopter is investigated. The main rotor flapping dynamics is explicitly explored to improve the control performance. Backstepping technique is adopted to derive the control law, and extended state observer is applied to estimate the immeasurable states and disturbance. Together with these two approaches, sliding mode controller is designed to force the actual attitude of the closed-loop system to converge to the reference attitude. Simulation and experimental results show that the proposed controller yields excellent performance and robustness.
Sinusoidal function weighted optimal guidance laws
Authors: Lee Chang-Hun , Lee Jin-Ik , Tahk Min-Jea
Published: June 2014

In this paper, new optimal guidance laws for a stationary or a slowly moving target are proposed by solving the optimal control problem with the energy performance index weighted by sinusoidal functions. This weighting function is adopted to shape the specific guidance command: introducing a small acceleration at the initial and final time. This property is desirable for reducing the sensitivity against the initial heading error and improving terminal guidance performance. Numerical simulations are performed to determine the performance of the proposed guidance laws.
Real-time decentralized cooperative robust trajectory planning for multiple UCAVs air-to-ground target attack
Authors: Gu Xueqiang , Zhang Yu , Chen Jing , Shen Lincheng
Published: June 2014

Planning cooperative trajectories in real time is of great importance for multiple unmanned combat aerial vehicles (multi-UCAV) in performing autonomous time-critical cooperative air-to-ground target attack missions. The models of the vehicle, constraints, and a multi-criteria objective function are set up, and then the problem is formulated as a decentralized cooperative receding horizon optimal control problem. An elaborate framework for provable effective decentralized cooperative trajectory planning in two-degree-of-freedom decentralized receding horizon control is presented to provide the robustness and adaptivity for trajectory planning in dynamic and uncertain environments. Furthermore, a two-stage iterative optimization algorithm is developed to solve the problem. The novel algorithm integrates the differential flatness theory to generate trajectories, and the coordination variable-based strategy to coordinate the arrival time of multi-UCAV online, which can improve the computational efficiency and achieve the cooperative objective. The results of numerical simulations show that the proposed approach is feasible and well suited for the real-time implementation in dynamic and uncertain environment.
Aeroelastic analysis of helicopter rotors using computational fluid dynamics/comprehensive analysis loose coupling model
Authors: Xiao Yu , Xu Guo-Hua , Shi Yong-Jie
Published: June 2014

A new rotor computational fluid dynamics(CFD)/comprehensive analysis (CA) loose coupling model is presented in this paper. In the coupled analysis, moderate deflection beam theory is employed to obtain the blade motions, while a high fidelity, overset grid based N-S solver is adopted to compute airloads. In order to improve the computation efficiency, the delta method is used to integrate the airloads computed by CFD analysis into the CA module. Based on the aforementioned method, the airloads at two challenging level-flight conditions of the UH-60A Blackhawk helicopter are investigated, and the simulated results show that the CFD/CA coupling model developed in this paper is efficient and accurate in capturing the rotor unsteady airloads.
Mid-Holocene sea surface conditions and riverine influence on the inshore Great Barrier Reef
Authors: Roche Ronan C , Perry Christopher T , Smithers Scott G , Leng Melanie J , Grove Craig A , Sloane Hilary J , Unsworth Catherine E
Published: June 2014

We present measurements of Sr/Ca, δ18O, and spectral luminescence ratios (G/B) from a mid-Holocene Porites sp. microatoll recovered from the nearshore Great Barrier Reef (GBR). These records were used as proxies to reconstruct sea surface temperature (SST), the δ18O of surrounding seawater (δ18Osw), and riverine influence, respectively, and compared with records from a modern Porites sp. microatoll growing in the same environment. Strong riverine influence in the mid-Holocene record is indicated by (1) an increased annual δ18Osw range in the mid-Holocene record, (2) negative peaks in δ18O characteristic of flood events, and (3) a higher G/B luminescence ratio. Seasonal cycles in G/B suggest that humic acid inputs were elevated for a longer portion of the year during the mid-Holocene. The seasonal cycle of δ18Osw peaked earlier in the year in the mid-Holocene record relative to the modern, while mean δ18Osw values from the mid-Holocene record were similar to modern values. These records provide an insight into the oceanographic conditions the nearshore GBR experienced during mid-Holocene climatic shifts and are consistent with a strong Australian–Indonesian Summer Monsoon (AISM) system at ~ 4700 cal. yr BP.
Isolation of Moraxella bovoculi from racehorses with keratoconjunctivitis
Authors: Liu Huimin , Yan Jing , Wang Yutian , Yan Qi , Zhao Linping , Yan Ruoqian , He Hongxuan
Published: June 2014

Moraxella bovoculi was isolated and identified in ocular fluid samples collected from 9 racehorses with infectious keratoconjunctivitis in China in 2013. All 9 M. bovoculi isolates were hemolytic, Gram-negative diplococci that were phenylalanine deaminase positive. The sequence of the 16S ribosomal DNA (rDNA) gene of the isolates matched the 16S rDNA sequence of M. bovoculi. Amplification of the 16S–23S intergenic spacer region followed by AfaI digestion produced a 600–base pair product, a result characteristic of M. bovoculi isolates. The phylogenetic analysis based on the 16S rDNA sequence confirmed the strain isolated in the current study had genetic homology with M. bovoculi.
Association of a Behaviorally Based High School Health Education Curriculum With Increased Exercise
Authors: Annesi James J. , Trinity John , Mareno Nicole , Walsh Stephanie M.
Published: June 2014

Increasing exercise in children and adolescents through academic classes is an understudied area. Potential benefits include associated improvements in health, psychosocial, and quality-of-life factors. A sample of 98 students ( Mage = 14.3) from high school health education classes received six, 40-min lessons incorporating cognitive–behavioral methods to increase exercise over 6 weeks. Significant within-group improvements in exercise, mood, and body satisfaction were found, with slightly larger effect sizes identified for the boys. Increase in exercise was significantly associated with reduced mood distress (β = −.17, p < .001). For the girls only, change in body satisfaction significantly mediated that relationship, and a reciprocal relationship between changes in mood and body satisfaction was also identified. Incorporation of lessons emphasizing goal setting and self-regulation within high school health education classes may foster increased exercise and associated improvements in mood and body satisfaction. For girls, the positive effects may reinforce one another.
Integrated modeling and simulation with in-line motion captures for automated ergonomic analysis in product lifecycle management
Authors: Joung Youn-Kyoung , Noh Sang Do
Published: June 2014

Ergonomics analysis helps to improve workers’ safety and the working environment, as well as aiding in the design of tools and equipment for effective production. It plays an important role in time and cost savings, and moreover it improves the quality in product development and production. Furthermore, ergonomics analysis is part of an epidemiological study or safety engineering for the prevention of industrial or musculoskeletal disease. In order to conduct modeling and simulation for ergonomic analysis, creating digital environments and digital human models is essential. However, to create a digital environment, a massive and time-consuming workload is needed for gathering information or the computer-aided design data of equipment, tools, products, and so on, and the location or direction as to where these objects are positioned. Also, when creating a digital human model, it requires expert knowledge, effort and massive time for creating digital humans, postures, detailed moving paths, and time consumed for each posture, which also leads to a massive workload. In this article, an innovative framework, which proposes Product, Process, Plant, and Resource management through the product lifecycle management system for the automation of creating a digital environment, as well as the application of in-line motion capturing technology for automated creations of digital human model are designed; furthermore, the base system for the proposed framework is developed and presented.
Hereditary Pheochromocytoma
Authors: Santos Pedro , Pimenta Tiago , Taveira-Gomes Antonio
Published: June 2014

Introduction. Pheochromocytomas (PHEO) and paragangliomas (PGL) are rare neuroendocrine tumors with an estimated occurrence of 2 to 5 patients per million per year and an incidence of about 1 per 100 000 in the general population. These tumors may arise sporadically or be associated to various syndromes, namely multiple endocrine neoplasia type 2, neurofibromatosis type 1, Von Hippel–Lindau syndrome, and hereditary paraganglioma–pheochromocytoma syndromes. Objectives. This article aims to review the current epidemiology, pathogenesis, clinical presentation, and genetic aspects of syndromes associated with hereditary PHEO/PGL. Methods. The literature research, conducted at PubMed database, included review articles, published from February 2009 to February 2014, written in English or Portuguese, using as query: “Hereditary AND Pheochromocytoma.” Conclusion. These tumors can be part of a myriad hereditary conditions that are not yet fully understood. Nevertheless, important systemic symptoms and even fatal outcomes can occur. Knowledge of these hereditary conditions can ensure a more efficient detection, treatment, and even prevention of these neuroectodermal tumors, thus new tests and studies should be conducted.