bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Adolescent girls’ reactions to nutrition and physical activity assessment tools and insight into lifestyle habits
Authors: Metos Julie , Gren Lisa , Brusseau Timothy , Moric Endi , O’Toole Karen , Mokhtari Tahereh , Buys Saundra , Frost Caren
Published: November 2017

Objective:

The objective of this study was to understand adolescent girls’ experiences using practical diet and physical activity measurement tools and to explore the food and physical activity settings that influence their lifestyle habits.

Design:

Mixed methods study using quantitative and qualitative methods.

Setting:

Large city in the western USA. Participants were recruited from a larger study of girls and families.

Methods:

A total of 10 girls aged 13–17 years completed a 3-day food diary, a Food Frequency Questionnaire and wore a Fitbit wrist bracelet to measure physical activity for 30 days. Following the data collection period, a structured focus group using a phenomenological approach was held to understand girls’ experiences with the collection tools and to understand the internal and external environments in which they make eating and physical activity decisions.

Results:

Participants completed an average of 8,459 steps/day. Girls had an average Healthy Eating Index score of 37 (out of 100), with diets being particularly high in added sugars and low in nutrients found in fruits and vegetables. Girls perceived the 3-day food diaries and the Fitbit as representing their lives accurately, and had negative perceptions of the Food Frequency Questionnaire. Finally, girls described influences on their lifestyle behaviours, including boredom, summer-break, part-time work, availability and cost.

Conclusion:

This study demonstrates the efficacy and willingness of girls to utilise food diaries and activity trackers. Results confirm poor dietary intake and physical activity in this population, and describe influences on lifestyle behaviours unique to adolescent girls.
Living with a chronic health condition: Students’ health narratives and negotiations of (ill) health at university
Authors: Spencer Grace , Lewis Sophie , Reid Megan
Published: November 2017

Objective:

Increasing numbers of young people live with a chronic health condition. Much research to date has explored young people’s self-management of their illness and related symptomatology. Relatively less is known about how young people manage their long-term condition in everyday social contexts. This paper reports on findings from a qualitative study examining the perspectives of university students with a chronic health condition, including how they negotiate their health (and experiences of ill health) while at university.

Design:

A qualitative interview study was conducted with 16 students with a medically diagnosed chronic health condition.

Setting:

The study was conducted at a major university in Australia.

Methods:

Data were collected via in-depth semi-structured interviews and analysed thematically and inductively.

Results:

Findings illustrate how young people sought to position themselves as being ‘healthy’ while simultaneously distancing themselves from labels of ill health and disability. The relative invisibility of their health conditions enabled participants to align with and enact a preferred health identity. Yet, this invisibility presented particular challenges for students when navigating university systems and processes. Indeed, the fluctuating nature of their (ill) health status prompted a felt need continuously to prove their ill health to the university in order to receive academic support. Inevitably, this illness identity was at odds with participants’ own health narratives – triggering additional anxieties and (academic and social) exclusions for these young people.

Conclusion:

These contradictory (ill) health positions carry a number of implications for how best to support young people living with chronic health conditions while at university.
Framing travel and terrorism: Allegory in The Reluctant Fundamentalist
Authors: White Mandala
Published: November 2017

In contrast to others who have read Mohsin Hamid’s The Reluctant Fundamentalist exclusively as a political novel, I argue that the novel’s most significant contribution to the body of post-9/11 literature is formal in nature. The novel indeed mobilizes political issues, but it achieves this by creating a series of allegories that centre on various forms of travel connected to the terrorism hinted at in the term “fundamentalist” in the title. These allegories, which I examine in the first part of this article, revolve around the interactions between the protagonist and those he encounters as he travels: the hosts and guests in the travel interactions function as allegories of different nations, and the relationships between nations within global space. However, while the novel’s travel allegories indeed raise political concerns, these are often conflicted and ambiguous owing to the unreliability of the narrator. Rather than selecting one of the unreliable perspectives brought forth by the travel allegories as “true”, I read them as part of a larger meta-allegorical project in which the narrative itself becomes an allegory of the uncertainties of the post-9/11 environment. In the second part of this article, I discuss this meta-allegorical project through an examination of the novel’s narrative structure, particularly its frame narrative which, I argue, provides a means for Hamid to allegorically explore the ways that permeable borders engender paranoia and fear of terrorism in the post-9/11 context.
Effects of (micron+submicron+nano) multisized SiC particles on microstructure and mechanical properties of magnesium matrix composites
Authors: Shen MJ , Wang XJ , Li H , Zhang MF , Ying T , Nie KB , Wu K
Published: November 2017

Many interesting studies on composites with nano or submicron SiCp have been performed since the size advantages of fine SiC particles. However, it is extremely hard to disperse fine particles in metal melts due to their poor wettability and large surface-to-volume ratio, especially the fabrication of composites with multisized SiCp (5 µm, 0.5 µm, and ∼60 nm) is very difficult. The use of multisized reinforcements is required to solve the dispersion problem. The stir casting technology and hot extrusion method could be used to disperse the multisized SiCp in the matrix. The effects of multisized SiCp on the dynamic recrystallization behavior of the composites are discussed. The large-scale dynamic recrystallization caused by adding multisized SiCp results in a fine matrix microstructure. Compared with the as-accepted AZ31B alloy (YS: 195 MPa, UTS: 277 MPa), the yield strength and ultimate tensile strength of the AZ31B/SiCp/n-1 + S-4 + 5-10 composite were enhanced to 73.8 and 44.8%, respectively. The better tensile properties were attributed to the uniform distribution of reinforcement, strengthening effect of multisized SiCp, and grain reﬁnement of magnesium matrix.
Finite element study of the microdroplet test for interfacial shear strength: Effects of geometric parameters for a carbon fibre/epoxy system
Authors: Zhao Q , Qian CC , Harper LT , Warrior NA
Published: November 2017

A 3D finite element model has been developed to identify the main causes of variability in the microdroplet test, which is commonly used to characterise the interfacial shear strength between polymer matrices and single filaments. A more realistic droplet shape and test configuration, including meniscus details and prismatic shear blades, have been modelled for a carbon fibre/epoxy system to simulate a more representative set up than is commonly used in the literature. The interfacial behaviour has been modelled using a cohesive surface contact and fibre breakage has been captured using a maximum stress criterion. A statistical study has been performed to systematically evaluate the influence of key geometrical test parameters on the variability in the measured interfacial shear strength values and the likelihood of fibre breakage. Parameters studied are fibre embedded length, fibre diameter, shear blade radial opening distance and shear blade axial misalignment.

 Results of the studied carbon fibre /epoxy system suggest that fibre embedded length and the combined effects of the shear blade radial distance and the shear blade axial misalignment are the most significant sources of variability for the measured interfacial shear strength. However, fibre embedded length and the shear blade radial distance are the most significant variables contributing to fibre breakage.
Nonlinear Dynamical Systems and Humanistic Psychology
Authors: Pincus David , Kiefer Adam W. , Beyer Jessica I.
Published: November 2017

The recent debunking by Brown, Sokal, and Friedman of some high-profile results applying chaos theory to positive psychology creates the opportunity to shed light on the quality work that has been done by others in this area. Too many humanists may be unaware of the large volume of legitimate work that exists in the literature apart from Fredrickson and Losada’s article. Often, such legitimate lines of research are ignored, not for lack of scientific merit, but because of artificial guild boundaries and similar silos that separate groups of scientists—even when working in similar areas. It would be unfortunate to have one “bad apple” of an article spoil the reputation of the good scientific progress that has been made over the past couple of decades applying nonlinear dynamical systems theory to humanistic concepts. The present article is intended to help prevent and correct some of these problems, by providing an accesible review of some of this higher quality work.
“Next-Generation” Accountability? Evidence From Three School Districts
Authors: Portz John
Published: November 2017

Educational accountability is dominated by a focus on test scores to assess academic achievement. An emerging trend toward “next-generation” accountability includes a broader conception of student learning and multiple metrics. A policy design approach is used to analyze this trend. Four design elements—goals, actors, metrics, and consequences—are used to compare accountability systems in New York City, Los Angeles, and Chicago. Key design trends include broader accountability goals, multiple metrics with different data types, and an emphasis on school improvement. Although facing challenges, urban school districts have opportunities to play a role in shaping this accountability debate.
Effects of Cable News Watching on Older Adults’ Physiological and Self-Reported Stress and Cognitive Function
Authors: Deal Caroline , Bogdan Ryan , Miller J. Phil , Rodebaugh Tom , Caburnay Charlene , Yingling Mike , Hershey Tammy , Schweiger Julia , Lenze Eric J.
Published: November 2017

Older adults are the largest consumer of cable news, which includes negative and politicized content and may constitute a daily stressor. As older adults are also vulnerable to the negative consequences of stress, we hypothesized that cable news watching could induce a stress reaction and impair cognitive function. We tested exposures to cable news (i.e., Fox News and MSNBC) in a within-subject randomized controlled design in 34 healthy older adults. We also included negative (Public Broadcasting Station) and positive (trier social stress test) controls. Cable news watching had no effect on psychological stress, physiological stress, or cognitive function. This remained true even if the news exposures were discordant with participants’ political affiliation. We conclude that brief cable news watching does not induce a physiological or subjective stress response or cognitive impairment among healthy older adults.
2017 Hans O. Mauksch Address: Using the Science of Learning to Improve Student Learning in Sociology Classes
Authors: Messineo Melinda
Published: November 2017

The 2017 Mauksch Address invites readers to consider how the field of sociology might benefit from greater inclusion of the science of learning into its pedagogy. Results from a survey of 92 teaching and learning experts in sociology reveal the degree to which the discipline’s understanding of teaching and learning is informed by the science of learning. The address suggests strategies for increased student success.
All Equal in Death? Fighting inequality in the contemporary funeral industry
Authors: Audebrand Luc K. , Barros Marcos
Published: November 2017

This paper examines how alternative economic organizations can fight inequality without help from traditional partners such as social movement organizations. We focus on co-operatives’ successful battle against corporate dominance in the Québec funeral industry. We analyse their actions through the lens of Nancy Fraser’s tridimensional theory of justice, which utilizes the cultural dimension of recognition, political dimension of representation, and economic dimension of distribution. We demonstrate how funeral co-ops empowered their federation to influence institutional inequality while maintaining a co-op identity by embodying the potentially contradictory flexibility of social movements along with co-op principles. This paper contributes to scholarship on collective social action by exploring the dual role of model and movement played by secondary co-ops such as the federation of Québec funeral co-ops, which draws on local institutional and organizational resources to disrupt unfair structures. We also extend Fraser’s theory, using it as a framework for understanding the dynamic relationships between inequality and its potential remedies at different levels of analysis.
Endovascular repair of subclavian artery aneurysms: results from a single-center experience
Authors: Gao XiXiang , Li LiQiang , Gu YongQuan , Guo LianRui , Cui ShiJun , Qi LiXing , Li JianXin , Zhang Jian
Published: November 2017

Objective:

To present our experience of the endovascular treatment of subclavian artery aneurysms (SAAs) and analyze the clinical manifestations, imaging findings and treatment outcomes.

Methods:

In this retrospective study, nine patients with SAAs underwent endovascular stent placement in our center between July 2011 and June 2016. Clinical features, imaging findings, treatment outcomes and follow-up results of these SAA patients were retrospectively analyzed.

Results:

Nine patients were diagnosed with SAAs by computer tomography angiography (CTA). Five patients underwent percutaneous endovascular stent placement in the subclavian artery. Three patients underwent endovascular repair of the SAAs with coil embolization and stent graft. One patient underwent stent graft implantation by the simultaneous kissing stent technique. Five patients had their symptoms relieved and thrombosis occurred in one case. The mean follow-up period was 17 months, ranging from 8 to 40 months.

Conclusion:

For patients with SAAs, endovascular treatment is a feasible choice, with a high success rate, few complications and good clinical outcomes.
Endosomal trafficking regulates receptor-mediated transcytosis of antibodies across the blood brain barrier
Authors: Haqqani Arsalan S , Delaney Christie E , Brunette Eric , Baumann Ewa , Farrington Graham K , Sisk William , Eldredge John , Ding Wen , Tremblay Tammy-Lynn , Stanimirovic Danica B
Published: November 2017

Current methods for examining antibody trafficking are either non-quantitative such as immunocytochemistry or require antibody labeling with tracers. We have developed a multiplexed quantitative method for antibody ‘tracking’ in endosomal compartments of brain endothelial cells. Rat brain endothelial cells were co-incubated with blood-brain barrier (BBB)-crossing FC5, monovalent FC5Fc or bivalent FC5Fc fusion antibodies and control antibodies. Endosomes were separated using sucrose-density gradient ultracentrifugation and analyzed using multiplexed mass spectrometry to simultaneously quantify endosomal markers, receptor-mediated transcytosis (RMT) receptors and the co-incubated antibodies in each fraction. The quantitation showed that markers of early endosomes were enriched in high-density fractions (HDF), whereas markers of late endosomes and lysosomes were enriched in low-density fractions (LDF). RMT receptors, including transferrin receptor, showed a profile similar to that of early endosome markers. The in vitro BBB transcytosis rates of antibodies were directly proportional to their partition into early endosome fractions of brain endothelial cells. Addition of the Fc domain resulted in facilitated antibody ‘redistribution’ from LDF into HDF and additionally into multivesicular bodies (MVB). Sorting of various FC5 antibody formats away from late endosomes and lysosomes and into early endosomes and a subset of MVB results in increased antibody transcytosis at the abluminal side of the BBB.
Optimization of T2-weighted imaging for shoulder magnetic resonance arthrography by synthetic magnetic resonance imaging
Authors: Lee Seung Hyun , Lee Young Han , Hahn Seok , Yang Jaemoon , Song Ho-Taek , Suh Jin-Suck
Published: November 2017

Background

Synthetic magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) allows reformatting of various synthetic images by adjustment of scanning parameters such as repetition time (TR) and echo time (TE). Optimized MR images can be reformatted from T1, T2, and proton density (PD) values to achieve maximum tissue contrast between joint fluid and adjacent soft tissue.

Purpose

To demonstrate the method for optimization of TR and TE by synthetic MRI and to validate the optimized images by comparison with conventional shoulder MR arthrography (MRA) images.

Material and Methods

Thirty-seven shoulder MRA images acquired by synthetic MRI were retrospectively evaluated for PD, T1, and T2 values at the joint fluid and glenoid labrum. Differences in signal intensity between the fluid and labrum were observed between TR of 500–6000 ms and TE of 80–300 ms in T2-weighted (T2W) images. Conventional T2W and synthetic images were analyzed for diagnostic agreement of supraspinatus tendon abnormalities (kappa statistics) and image quality scores (one-way analysis of variance with post-hoc analysis).

Results

Optimized mean values of TR and TE were 2724.7 ± 1634.7 and 80.1 ± 0.4, respectively. Diagnostic agreement for supraspinatus tendon abnormalities between conventional and synthetic MR images was excellent (κ = 0.882). The mean image quality score of the joint space in optimized synthetic images was significantly higher compared with those in conventional and synthetic images (2.861 ± 0.351 vs. 2.556 ± 0.607 vs. 2.750 ± 0.439; P < 0.05).

Conclusion

Synthetic MRI with optimized TR and TE for shoulder MRA enables optimization of soft-tissue contrast.
Between a guest and an okupa: Migration and the making of insurgent citizenship in Buenos Aires’ informal settlements
Authors: Bastia Tanja , Montero Bressán Jerónimo
Published: November 2017

In this paper, we explore initiatives for the construction of substantive citizenship by transnational migrants in Buenos Aires. In looking at migrants’ political participation across the city, we found that the spatiality of citizenship practices is important. At the city level, there are migrant organisations representing specific nationalities. However, in informal settlements, where many migrants reside, we found that migrants engage in political practices across nationality and ethnic lines by coming together with their neighbours in grassroots organisations. These different forms of organising embody critically different views of migrants in their relationship with rights. While the former promote practices linked to ethnic belonging and see migrants as ‘guests’ in a foreign country, unable to make claims to the local or national governments, the latter see them as rights-bearing individuals with power to claim their right to the city. We argue that activism at the scale of the neighbourhood proves to hold more potential for the building of substantive citizenship than actions by organisations active at the city level. This is because migrant organisations active at the city level organise on the basis of nationality, while those at the neighbourhood level bring migrants and non-migrants together on the basis of their class-based interests.
Imagining social justice and the false promise of urban park design
Authors: Larson Scott M
Published: November 2017

Urban park designers have long championed the social underpinnings of their work. Of late, however, certain landscape practitioners have articulated a more explicit connection between park design and social objectives, arguing that the fundamental role of urban parks is to foster equity and justice. Drawing on Marxian geographer David Harvey’s notion of the geographical imagination, this paper interrogates the relationship between parks and social processes by exploring the role that social issues have historically played in urban park design and by unpacking the prevailing imaginaries of social justice landscape architects and designers have employed in contemporary urban park projects. In doing so, it juxtaposes the lofty rhetoric of designing for social justice against the material reality of development-driven urban regeneration. In this way, the geographic imaginary provides a framework for understanding the limited capacity of urban park design to address broader social issues, even as it offers a mechanism for conceiving and articulating alternatives that more completely address the conditions through which social injustice occurs.
Historical geography III: Hope persists
Authors: McGeachan Cheryl
Published: November 2017

The final report in this series focuses on the emerging intersections between historical geography, archaeology and the law. Whilst staying attuned to the darkest of geographies emerging from the sub-field, this report turns its attention to the creative and critical ways in which the dead are being used to reveal past lives and worlds that have been destroyed and forgotten. Using soil and the archaeological imagination as a pivot, this report centres on the interweaving themes of fragile environments, resurfacing and legal worlds in order to suggest the emerging possibilities for a hopeful excavation of new historical geographies.
Converging or Diverging: Shifting Ethnoracial Composition and the Urban-suburban Distinction in Attitudes toward Immigrants in Houston, 1995–2016
Authors: O’Connell Heather A. , Raker Ethan J.
Published: November 2017

We examine the political position of the suburbs relative to the city by focusing on attitudes toward immigrants. Using 22 years of survey data for the Houston area, this paper addresses three questions. First, how has the attitudinal position of the suburbs relative to the city changed over time? Second, does the city-suburb distinction differ depending on the respondent’s race/ethnicity? Finally, do these results differ depending on the content of the question? Multivariate results indicate an overall increase in positive attitudes, but the increase is slower in the suburbs relative to the city. The resulting divergence is driven exclusively by non-Hispanic whites and is only evident when focusing on more contentious questions regarding immigrants in the United States. Our results suggest a persistent suburban cultural context despite recent demographic shifts, and they highlight the multidimensional nature of the (racialized) attitudes toward immigrants held by non-Hispanic whites in the United States.
Building Better Caregivers: A Pragmatic 12-Month Trial of a Community-Based Workshop for Caregivers of Cognitively Impaired Adults
Authors: Lorig Kate , Ritter Philip L. , Laurent Diana D. , Yank Veronica
Published: November 2017

Building Better Caregivers (BBC), a community 6-week, peer-led intervention, targets family caregivers of those with cognitive impairments. BBC was implemented in four geographically scattered areas. Self-report data were collected at baseline, 6 months, and 1 year. Primary outcome were caregiver strain and depression. Secondary outcomes included caregiver burden, stress, fatigue, pain, sleep, self-rated health, exercise, self-efficacy, and caregiver and care partner health care utilization. Paired t tests examined 6 month and 1-year improvements. General linear models examined associations between baseline and 6-month changes in self-efficacy and 12-month primary outcomes. Eighty-three participants (75% of eligible) completed 12-month data. Caregiver strain and depression improved significantly (Effect Sizes = .30 and .41). All secondary outcomes except exercise and caregiver health care utilization improved significantly. Baseline and 6-month improvements in self-efficacy were associated with improvements in caregiver strain and depression. In this pilot pragmatic study, BBC appears to assist caregivers while reducing care partner health care utilization. Self-efficacy appears to moderate these outcomes.
Case study shows disconnect on civic journalism’s role
Authors: Tully Melissa , Harmsen Shawn , Singer Jane B. , Ekdale Brian
Published: November 2017

This in-depth case study examines attempts to transform a traditional newsroom to one oriented around civic journalism principles, offering a unique look at the resistance toward those principles even in a digital environment that facilitates new audience relationships. Civic journalism emphasizes understanding and addressing community concerns from a citizen perspective. This study finds that journalists still struggle to integrate citizens’ contributions into newsroom practice in meaningful ways.
The neuro-ophthalmological effects related to long-term occupational exposure to organic solvents in painters
Authors: Allam Heba Khodary , Soliman Shaimaa , Wasfy Tamer , Ghoneim Ahmed , Serag Yasser , Sembajwe Grace
Published: November 2017

Purpose:

Organic solvents are widely used in many industries, and usually, exposure occurs with mixtures of solvents. Organic solvent mixtures are known for their ability to affect tissues of high lipid content including the myelin sheath in the nervous system. The purpose of this work was to study the evidence that long-term (more than 10 years) exposure to organic solvent mixtures among painters can induce neuro-ophthalmological effects on the function of retinal ganglion cells and the optic tract.

Methods:

Twenty workers with long-term occupational exposure to mixed organic solvents were compared to 40 control subjects. The controls were matched for age, gender, and demographic characteristics but were not occupationally exposed to any known organic solvents, using the following comparators: visual evoked potential (VEP), electroretinogram (ERG), color vision (CV), and contrast sensitivity (CS) testing. Environmental monitoring was done in the work environment with consideration to the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists Threshold Limit Values (ACGIH-TLVs).

Results:

The exposed group had significantly longer latency and higher amplitude of VEP waves especially P100, higher Color Confusion Index (CCI), especially affecting the blue–yellow spectrum, and lower Log CS. There was no significant difference between exposed and nonexposed groups in full-field flash ERG response; however, in the pattern ERG, the exposed group had significantly longer latency of P50, which reflects changes in the retinal ganglion cell.

Conclusion:

Long-term occupational exposure to mixed organic solvents appeared to affect the optic tract functions in the form of increasing latency of VEP response, affecting the quality of CV and decreasing CS. It also affects the retinal ganglion cell layer with increased latency of P50 of the pattern ERG response.
Biobehavioral Pathways to Cancer Incidence, Progression, and Quality of Life
Authors: Fagundes Christopher P. , Murdock Kyle W. , Chirinos Diana A. , Green Paige A.
Published: November 2017

Cancer research within the fields of psychoneuroendocrinology and psychoneuroimmunology has made substantial progress in understanding how psychological factors impact cancer. Although the pathways by which stress “gets under the skin” to impact cancer incidence, progression, and quality of life are not yet fully understood, the answers to key questions about how stressful life events and the negative emotions they generate can impact cancer initiation, progression, and survivorship have advanced quite dramatically. In this review, we summarize the state of the science in a way that is accessible to a broad audience. We then discuss future directions in cancer research, with a focus on ways psychological science can contribute to the next generation of cancer care.
Clinical governance breakdown: Australian cases of wilful blindness and whistleblowing
Authors: Cleary Sonja , Duke Maxine
Published: November 2017

Background:

After their attempts to have patient safety concerns addressed internally were ignored by wilfully blind managers, nurses from Bundaberg Base Hospital and Macarthur Health Service felt compelled to ‘blow the whistle’. Wilful blindness is the human desire to prefer ignorance to knowledge; the responsibility to be informed is shirked.

Objective:

To provide an account of instances of wilful blindness identified in two high-profile cases of nurse whistleblowing in Australia.

Research design:

Critical case study methodology using Fay’s Critical Social Theory to examine, analyse and interpret existing data generated by the Commissions of Inquiry held into Bundaberg Base Hospital and Macarthur Health Service patient safety breaches. All data was publicly available and assessed according to the requirements of unobtrusive research methods and secondary data analysis.

Ethical considerations:

Data collection for the case studies relied entirely on publicly available documentary sources recounting and detailing past events.

Findings:

Data from both cases reveal managers demonstrating wilful blindness towards patient safety concerns. Concerns were unaddressed; nurses, instead, experienced retaliatory responses leading to a ‘social crisis’ in the organisation and to whistleblowing.

Conclusion:

Managers tasked with clinical governance must be aware of mechanisms with the potential to blind them. The human tendency to favour positive news and avoid conflict is powerful. Understanding wilful blindness can assist managers’ awareness of the competing emotions occurring in response to ethical challenges, such as whistleblowing.
The Power of PowerPoint in the Music Classroom
Authors: Dunbar Laura
Published: November 2017

Projectors and the Microsoft Office software are typically available to music educators in the public schools. Here are a few ways to enhance PowerPoint presentations to allow for even more content interaction in the music classroom.
“Love Is a Choice”: Couple Responses to Continuing Pregnancy With a Lethal Fetal Diagnosis
Authors: Côté-Arsenault Denise , Denney-Koelsch Erin
Published: November 2017

While it is known that couples experience pregnancy differently from one another, the circumstance of continuing pregnancy after learning of a lethal fetal diagnosis has received little attention. This longitudinal, naturalistic study of 16 mothers and 14 spouses/partners aimed to describe pregnant couples’ responses and relationships in continued pregnancy with lethal fetal diagnosis and to examine similarities and differences within those couple responses. Individual and joint interviews with parents were conducted across pregnancy, birth, and death of the baby. Within and across couple analysis was performed. Three categories emerged (Pregnant vs. Not Pregnant; Individual Responses to Adversity; Strength of the Couple Relationship) with 12 themes. Findings indicate that individual responses to these stressful pregnancies were inherent in who was physically pregnant, choosing whether to love and embrace the unborn baby, personal characteristics, and the strength of the couple relationship. Care providers should assess couple dynamics. Couples with committed relationships, shared decision-making, and mutual support fared the best in the aftermath of their baby’s death.
Older People, Loss, and Loneliness: The Troublesome Nature of Increased Contact With Adult Children
Authors: Hagan Robert J. , Taylor Brian J. , Mallett John , Manktelow Roger , Pascal Jan
Published: November 2017

Older people may experience considerable loss when they endure emotional or social loneliness. Emotional loneliness is related to the loss or absence of a confidant while social loneliness describes the discrepancy between the nature of one’s desired and actual social network. In this article, both concepts are examined in relation to new attendees at time-limited day center reablement programs in Northern Ireland. Using group work activities, reablement programs aim to motivate participants to continue to live independently, often in the face of later life losses. Out of a total of 91 initial respondents (range, 61–94), 13 lived with adult children (10 of whom were lone parents). Those living with, or who had daily contact with, adult children had significantly higher levels of emotional loneliness at the start of their program, but not at the end. For this sample, reductions in emotional loneliness in certain cohorts of older adults who attend these programs have been identified. In conclusion, it is proposed that fourth age losses mediate older people’s living arrangement and may create greater vulnerability to emotional loneliness in those living with adult children. In addition, social groups may be effective in helping reduce emotional loneliness.
Functional Behavior Assessment and Function-Based Intervention Planning: Considering the Simple Logic of the Process
Authors: Scott Terrance M. , Cooper Justin T.
Published: November 2017

While functional behavior assessment (FBA) has been a part of special education law and embedded in Individuals With Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) since 1997, a precise definition of what actions or processes constitute a legal FBA has never been adequately addressed in the law. This article provides an overview of the underlying logic of FBA leading to effective function-based intervention. When focusing on a simplification of the logic behind FBA, there are three big ideas that serve as a foundation for considering the intersection of effectiveness and practicality: function matters, FBA requires repeated observations of behavior, and the only purpose of an FBA is to develop an effective intervention. These big ideas are discussed, leading to a conclusion as to how logic and simplicity must share priority in the process.
You Can Help Every Provider Have a Better Understanding of Functional Behavior Assessment! A Review of the Website: Basic FBA to BSP
Authors: Shultz Gwendolyn Joy , Havens Nathan , Gurney Beth Newberry , Burt Jon
Published: November 2017

Managing problematic classroom behavior is a challenge for many teachers, regardless of population. The website, www.basicfba.com , designed by researchers at Portland State University, offers teachers and practitioners a wealth of materials to assist them in conducting and maintaining a functional behavior assessment and behavior support plan. Tools are also provided to allow participants to graph and analyze data. This article gives an overview of the resources available and how they may be used.
The Prevalence, Reasons, and Risk Factors for Hospital Readmissions Among Home Health Care Patients: A Systematic Review
Authors: Ma Chenjuan , Shang Jingjing , Miner Sarah , Lennox Lauren , Squires Allison
Published: November 2017

Preventing hospital readmissions is one of the top priorities of the U.S. health care system. This systematic review examined the current evidence about hospital readmissions from home health care (HHC). Literature was searched in PubMed, CINAHL, PsycINFO, Scopus, and Web of Science. Eligible studies were reviewed and evaluated using a validated tool. Eighteen articles were reviewed. Reported readmission rates and risk factors varied dramatically between studies. Reasons for readmissions were understudied. Findings of reviewed studies were limited by small sample sizes, single data source, and methodological flaws. Future studies should use multiple national data sources across patients’ care spectrum and advanced statistical models to identify who among HHC patients are most likely to be readmitted to hospital and for what reason.
Perioperative Management of Patients with Diabetes
Authors: Leung Vivien , Ragbir-Toolsie Kristal
Published: November 2017

Hyperglycemia has long been recognized to have detrimental effects on postoperative outcomes in patients undergoing surgery. The manifestations of uncontrolled diabetes are manifold and can include risk of hyperglycemic crises, postoperative infection, poor wound healing, and increased mortality. There is substantial literature supporting the role of diligent glucose control in the prevention of adverse surgical outcomes, but considerable debate remains as to the optimal glucose targets. Hence, most organizations advocate the avoidance of hypoglycemia while striving for adequate glucose control in the perioperative period. These objectives can be accomplished with careful preoperative evaluation, clear patient instructions the day of surgery, frequent blood glucose monitoring during the perioperative period, and use of effective strategies for insulin initiation and titration. This article highlights the major issues concerning patients with diabetes undergoing surgery and reviews the management recommendations put forth by general consensus guidelines and expert opinion.
The Impact of Complications on Patients’ Assessment of the Outcome of Tension-Free Vaginal Tape Procedure
Authors: Shaker David , Lindgren Alexander J , Chapman Gwenda
Published: November 2017

Introduction:

Our study aimed to assess the impact of managed complications of tension-free vaginal tape (TVT) on the patients’ assessment of the results as measured by Patient Global Impression of Improvement (PGI-I).

Materials and methods:

This was a retrospective study, supplemented with a telephone interview, comparing patients who had complications of TVT procedures with those where no complications recorded. The primary outcome was the PGI-I score in the 2 groups.

Results:

A total of 118 invitations were sent. In all, 60 patients returned the signed consent and completed the telephone interview with one of the authors (response rate = 50.8%). Complications were recorded in 21 patients (group 1) and no complications in 39 patients (group 2). There was no statistically significant difference between PGI-I in both groups.

Conclusions:

Managed complications of TVT do not seem to affect patients’ assessment of outcome as measured by PGI-I score.
Border as “Zone of Indistinction”: The State of Exception and the Spectacle of Terror Along Turkey’s Border With Syria
Authors: Gürkaş Ezgi Tuncer
Published: November 2017

Turkey’s border with Syria today is a laboratory in which biopolitics and the spectacle coincide in new ways. As a consequence of the ongoing war between the state and Kurdish insurgents, and the state of emergency accompanying it, this border region has incrementally transformed into a “zone of indistinction” in which the spatial concepts of inside and outside interpenetrate. As exception is normalized, the logic of “the camp” (in Agamben’s sense) tends to become a dispositif. Exceptional routines are being exercised in this border region both to (re)construct the figure of the “Kurd” as a citizen and to generalize the domain of the camp, while also producing bare life in the context of counterterrorism. However, the “Kurd” as a subject cannot be ambiguously constructed, neither can the region be politically homogenized. Based on multisited fieldwork in the border city of Mardin, I claim that this zone of indistinction is simultaneously the place of revolt and resistance for the Kurdish case. Against this backdrop, the article argues the practical implications of counterterrorism policies in the region by focusing on how the state of exception is enforced on the Kurdish population as a biopolitical tool while being represented as a public spectacle to the rest of Turkey.
The effect of district magnitude on turnout: Quasi-experimental evidence from nonpartisan elections under SNTV
Authors: Muraoka Taishi , Barceló Joan
Published: November 2017

The relationship between district magnitude and turnout remains hotly debated, and previous studies suggest positive, negative, and nonlinear effects depending on other institutional characteristics. This article contributes to the empirical literature by conducting a quasi-experimental test on the effect of district magnitude in a context of a single nontransferable vote (SNTV) system with weak partisan ties: municipal council elections in Japan. Exploiting a credible source of exogenous variation in district magnitude and using a fuzzy regression discontinuity design, we reveal that a 5-seat increase in an average-magnitude district reduces turnout by 4 percentage points, which accounts for a 6.9% drop in the size of the electorate. We reason that, in the context of SNTV with weak parties, higher district magnitude leads to information overload, which may lower voters’ incentives to turn out.
The impact of deployment and traumatic brain injury on the health and behavior of children of US military service members and veterans
Authors: Brickell Tracey A , French Louis M , Lippa Sara M , Lange Rael T
Published: November 2017

This study examined the impact of service member/veteran (SMV) combat deployment and traumatic brain injury (TBI) on the health and behavior of his or her children. Participants were 104 female spouse caregivers of US SMVs who had sustained a mild, severe, or penetrating TBI. Participants completed the Children’s Health and Behavior Questionnaire (CHBQ; r = .758 to .881) that evaluates school grades, behavior, medical health, emotional health, and social participation: (a) prior to the first combat deployment, (b) in the month prior to the TBI, (c) within 2 years after the TBI, and (d) 2 or more years after the TBI. A substantial number of children experienced a decline in health and behavior following the TBI (41.7%–79.1%). Of those who declined (a) 68.8%–75.5% declined within the first 2 years post-injury, followed by improvement or stabilization; (b) 6.7%–15.6% declined only after 2 or more years post-injury; (c) 15.6%–25.0% declined within the first 2 years post-injury and then again 2 or more years post-injury; and (d) 16.9%–26.5% experienced a decline as a result of deployment, followed by an additional decline after the SMV’s TBI. Services are required for children of SMVs following TBI and deployment, particularly children at risk for poor outcome.
Baseline sleep quality is a significant predictor of quit-day smoking self-efficacy among low-income treatment-seeking smokers
Authors: Nair Uma S , Haynes Patricia , Collins Bradley N
Published: November 2017

Compared to non-smokers, smokers have an increased risk for poor sleep quality, which could undermine confidence to quit. This study examined whether baseline sleep quality was associated with quit-day smoking self-efficacy among smokers enrolled in a smoking cessation trial. Treatment-seeking low-income smokers were randomized to either a low-intensity physical activity integrated with standard smoking cessation intervention or standard care cessation only. Poor sleep quality was significantly associated with lower quit-day (week 4) smoking self-efficacy ( β = –0.61; standard error = 8.1; p = .03). Over half the samples (53%) reported poor sleep quality, thus addressing baseline sleep quality is an important consideration in smoking cessation programs.
The longue durée of Spengler’s thesis of the decline of the West
Authors: Rojek Chris
Published: November 2017

Spengler’s The Decline of the West was a major publishing success in Weimar Germany. The study presents the end of Western civilization as an inevitable process of birth, maturity and death. Civilization is conceived as an inflexible ‘morphology’. Spengler’s thinking was influenced by a profound distaste with the optimism of the Belle Epoque, which he found to be complacent. The argument had a good deal of attraction to readers, especially German readers, who were suffering under the ‘Carthaginian Peace’ of the Treaty of Versailles of 1919. Adorno and others were critical of Spengler’s thesis. The article examines Spengler’s thesis and its implications for the West today.
Nanoscale investigation of the influence of water on the elastic properties of C–S–H gel by molecular simulation
Authors: Tavakoli Davoud , Tarighat Amir , Beheshtian Javad
Published: November 2017

Calcium silicate hydrate (C–S–H) gel contains almost 50% to 70% of cement paste, which has a significant effect on the cement paste properties. An attempt is made to assess the atomistic structure of calcium silicate hydrate and the impact of water on it through molecular dynamics simulation. The most similar compositions (tobermorite 14Å, tobermorite 11Å, and jennite) are chosen and the effect of water thereof is studied. This study is presented in two phases: (1) water removal from the structure and simulating difference of water-to-calcium ratios through grand canonical Monte Carlo method. Next, the effect of water on the mechanical properties of C–S–H gel is examined through molecular dynamics method. (2) Defects in the existing molecular structures were introduced, which lead to newer Ca–Si proportions followed by the examination of the effect of water on the new structures. The obtained results revealed that as W/Ca ratio increases, the Young's modulus decreases. An increase in the Ca/Si ratio, owing to the defects in the structure, leads to the reduction in the Young's modulus.
Food and cuisine image in destination branding: Toward a conceptual model
Authors: Lai Mun Y , Khoo-Lattimore Catheryn , Wang Ying
Published: November 2017

This study addresses the conceptualization of food image and examines the role food and cuisine play in the formation of destination brand image. By tracing the destination branding literature with a specific focus on image and three components that influence food image formation, the authors map the current state of food image research in tourism. They then provide a dual-perspective review of food image—one that is projected and/or perceived by destination marketers and their food producers and suppliers, and the other a mental representation as perceived by tourists. The evaluation aligns the various dimensions, underlying variables, and indicators of food destination attractiveness as reflected in host–tourist perspectives. The paper offers a comprehensive conceptual framework of food tourism branding and suggests a pathway for future empirical research on destination image and branding.