bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
What screens do: The role(s) of the screen in academic work
Authors: Decuypere Mathias , Simons Maarten
Published: December 2015

This article reports of an ethnographic study conducted in two academic research centers. The article is centrally directed at the role of digital technologies and devices in contemporary academic work, and more particularly at the role of the screen in the daily composition of this work. Three central questions are raised. First, which positional relations do academics need to uphold with the screen in order for the screen to be able to operate? Second, in which forms do these digital devices come into being? Third, which sorts of (in)compatibility between activities are established because of the mutual interplay between academics and screens? By adopting a relational, sociomaterial approach, the study gives an account of the established choreographies that are enacted likewise, provides an overview of the role and operations of the screen in contemporary academic work, and analyzes which sorts of time and space are generated likewise.
Producing data through e-assessment: A trace ethnographic investigation into e-assessment events
Authors: O’Keeffe Cormac
Published: December 2015

In this paper, I examine the role of human and digital actants in various material and spatial configurations during the Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) e-assessment events. It reports on an investigation into how data are produced and subsequently fed into statistical models that in turn produce analyses of skills in ‘centres of calculation’. These data are then used to produce reports, scientific papers, marketing documents and visualizations that profoundly affect how we understand concepts such as literacy or skill. Drawing upon the theoretical resources of Actor Network Theory, this investigation employs a new and innovative methodology, trace ethnography, to follow the distributed agency of hypermobile digital actants. I examine the detail of e-assessment events and interactions between coded technologies and people and how these are translated into statements about what it means to be literate. This, in turn, highlights the role of non-governmental organizations in influencing educational and economic policy-making through the intensification of data production.
Trust in numbers? Digital Education Governance and the inspection process
Authors: Ozga Jenny
Published: December 2015

The aim of the paper is to contribute to the critical study of digital data use in education, through examination of the processes surrounding school inspection judgements. The interaction between pupil performance data and other (embodied, enacted) sources of inspection judgement is scrutinised and discussed with a focus on the interaction between people (in this case inspectors) and data in the forming of judgements. I look at the changing position, work and personnel of the Office for Standards in Education (Ofsted) in England, drawing on recent Economic and Social Research Council funded research, with an emphasis on changes in the basis of authority claims of personnel (who traditionally operated through elite social networks and knowledges) and the rise of data (especially in its new interactive forms) in order to illustrate how the demands and logics of data production and use influence the performance of authority in school inspections in England, and with some reference to wider developments in Europe.
Digital education governance: An introduction
Authors: Williamson Ben
Published: December 2015

Educational governance today increasingly needs to be understood as digital educational governance. The monitoring and management of educational systems, institutions and individuals is taking place through digital systems that are normally considered part of the backdrop to conventional policy instruments and techniques of government; technical systems that are brought into being and made operational by certain kinds of actors and organizations, and that are imbued with aims to shape the actions of human actors distributed across education systems and institutions. The aim of the original articles collected in this special issue of the European Educational Research Journal is to bring into the foreground the digital technologies, software packages, database platforms and related forms of technical expertise involved in the rise of digital educational governance. The authors seek to understand how such digital technologies and techniques may be contributing to, or transforming, trends such as governing through data, the globalizing and Europeanizing of educational policy, accountability and performativity, global comparison and benchmarking, and to emerging local, national and supranational objectives.
From governing through data to governmentality through data: Artefacts, strategies and the digital turn
Authors: Souto-Otero Manuel , Beneito-Montagut Roser
Published: December 2015

The article argues that current discussions about governance through data in education can be fruitfully extended through: (1) the establishment of connections with wider debates about the role of commensuration processes and governmentality in the recreation of education systems; (2) greater emphasis on the ‘artefacts’ through which data – increasingly in the form of digital data – is collected, displayed and retrieved; and (3) the strategies of alignment and resistance that social actors adopt to deal with the increase in data availability and capacity for the automated interrogation of that data. The article concludes that these artefacts and strategies are providing a wide set of ‘active’ social actors with new resources in, and arenas for, their struggles for economic as well as social advancement, processes of self-monitoring and also, crucially, of self-formation. The article focuses on the interplay and tensions between governments and bureaucracies, private companies, education institutions, and various types of ‘active’ individuals (the individual customer, the individual manager and the individual worker) in the process of surveillance and recreation of education through digital data.
Effect of treatment with rosiglitazone on high-sensitivity cardiac troponin levels among patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus
Authors: Salahuddin Usman I , Pandey Ambarish , Ayers Colby R , See Raphael , Neeland Ian J , Gore M Odette , Grinsfelder D Bennett , Abdullah Shuaib M , Khera Amit , de Lemos James A , McGuire Darren K
Published: December 2015

Objective:

To assess the impact of intermediate-term treatment with rosiglitazone on high-sensitivity cardiac troponin T levels among patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus with or at high risk of coronary artery disease.

Methods:

High-sensitivity cardiac troponin T level was measured at baseline and after 6 months of study treatment in a randomized trial comparing rosiglitazone versus placebo in patients with type 2 diabetes and prevalent cardiovascular disease or multiple cardiovascular disease risk factors. Univariable and multivariable linear regression analyses were performed to assess the effect of rosiglitazone versus placebo on high-sensitivity cardiac troponin T levels.

Results:

The study included 150 randomized participants, of whom 106 had paired baseline and end-of-study blood samples for analysis (mean age: 56 ± 8 years, 42% women; 8.8 years average type 2 diabetes duration; mean haemoglobin A1c of 7.5). Almost all study participants (93%) had detectable high-sensitivity cardiac troponin T (⩾3 ng/L) at baseline, including 23% with high-sensitivity cardiac troponin T levels exceeding the threshold commonly used to diagnose myocardial infarction (⩾14 ng/L). Change in high-sensitivity cardiac troponin T levels from baseline to follow-up was not significantly different between rosiglitazone and placebo groups ( p = 0.316).

Conclusion:

Rosiglitazone did not impact high-sensitivity cardiac troponin T levels, adding to the growing body of literature suggesting that the incremental heart failure risk associated with rosiglitazone is not mediated by direct myocardial injury.
The National Problem of Untested Sexual Assault Kits (SAKs): Scope, Causes, and Future Directions for Research, Policy, and Practice
Authors: Campbell Rebecca , Feeney Hannah , Fehler-Cabral Giannina , Shaw Jessica , Horsford Sheena
Published: December 2015

Victims of sexual assault are often advised to have a medical forensic exam and sexual assault kit (SAK; also termed a “rape kit”) to preserve physical evidence (e.g., semen, blood, and/or saliva samples) to aid in the investigation and prosecution of the crime. Law enforcement are tasked with submitting the rape kit to a forensic laboratory for DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) analysis, which can be instrumental in identifying offenders in previously unsolved crimes, confirming identify in known-offender assaults, discovering serial rapists, and exonerating individuals wrongly accused. However, a growing number of media stories, investigative advocacy projects, and social science studies indicate that police are not routinely submitting SAKs for forensic testing, and instead rape kits are placed in evidence storage, sometimes for decades. This review article examines the growing national problem of untested rape kits by summarizing current research on the number of untested SAKs in the United States and exploring the underlying reasons why police do not submit this evidence for DNA testing. Recommendations for future research that can guide policy and practice are discussed.
Analysis of spherical compression performance of warp-knitted spacer fabrics
Authors: Du Zhaoqun , Li Ming , Wu Yuanxin , He Linge
Published: December 2015

Warp-knitted spacer fabrics for cushion products are in contact with different parts of human body. Surface shapes of most contacting parts can be simplified as spherical caps, while there are few reports on relationship between sphere diameter and compression property of spacer fabric. Therefore, the main content dealt with in the paper was to conduct spherical compression and simulation analysis of warp-knitted spacer fabrics. Five spherical indenters were selected and three compression indices were featured. Comparisons of compression indices results of spacer fabrics amongst five spherical indenters exhibited good relations. Moreover, spherical compression behavior was simulated by finite element method to better understand the mechanism of spherical compression deformation of warp-knitted spacer fabrics. The results that relative errors of the compression indices were all small showed a good accordance between theoretical and experimental results; then, stress distribution and displacement evolutions were analyzed to discover deformation mechanism of spacer filaments compressed. It is effective to simulate the spherical compression performance between different parts of human body and spacer fabric.
Partisan Social Pressure and Voter Mobilization
Authors: Condon Meghan , Larimer Christopher W. , Panagopoulos Costas
Published: December 2015

Social voting norms persistently impel citizens to the polls. To date, most research in this field has focused on norms coming from the community at large rather than voters’ particular social groups. But pressure to conform to in-group norms may have an even stronger effect; inquiry across disciplines repeatedly demonstrates that group identity can be an important moderator in the relationship between norms and behavior. We apply this lesson to political behavior, testing the effect of partisan social pressure on turnout. We report the results of a randomized field experiment conducted during the 2012 Iowa primary election, comparing the mobilization effects of partisan and nonpartisan direct mail messages. We test the interaction between social pressure and the partisan nature of the message and find that partisan direct mail messages alone do not effectively mobilize voters. When partisan and social pressure elements are combined, turnout increases, but no more so than when communitarian and social pressure elements are combined. We conclude that simply referencing a voter’s party does not seem to render mobilization messages more effective.
A Community Cultural Wealth Examination of Sources of Support and Challenges Among Latino First- and Second-Generation College Students at a Hispanic Serving Institution
Authors: Kouyoumdjian Claudia , Guzmán Bianca L. , Garcia Nichole M. , Talavera-Bustillos Valerie
Published: December 2015

Growth of Latino students in postsecondary education merits an examination of their resources/challenges. A community cultural wealth model provided a framework to examine unacknowledged student resources and challenges. A mixed method approach found that first- and second-generation college students report equal numbers of sources of support/challenges. Understanding student needs can assist with program development to increasing college completion rates.
Altered Network Characteristics of Spike-Wave Discharges in Juvenile Myoclonic Epilepsy
Authors: Lee Chany , Im Chang-Hwan , Koo Yong Seo , Lim Jung-Ah , Kim Tae-Joon , Byun Jung-Ick , Sunwoo Jun-Sang , Moon Jangsup , Kim Dong Wook , Lee Soon-Tae , Jung Keun-Hwa , Chu Kon , Lee Sang-Kun , Jung Ki-Young
Published: December 2015

Epilepsy is a disease marked by hypersynchronous bursts of neuronal activity; therefore, identifying the network characteristics of the epileptic brain is important. Juvenile myoclonic epilepsy (JME) represents a common, idiopathic generalized epileptic syndrome, characterized by spike-and-wave discharge (SWD) electroencephalographic (EEG) waveforms. We compare herein the network properties of periods of SWD and baseline activity using graph theory. EEG data were obtained from 11 patients with JME. Functional cortical networks during SWD and baseline periods were estimated by calculating the coherence between all possible electrode pairs in the delta, theta, alpha, beta and gamma bands. Graph theoretical measures, including nodal degree, characteristic path length, clustering coefficient, and small-world index were then used to evaluate the characteristics of epileptic networks in JME. We also assessed short- and long-range connections between SWD and baseline networks. Compared to baseline, increased coherence was observed during SWD in all frequency bands. The nodal degree of the SWD network, particularly in the frontal region, was significantly higher compared to the baseline network. The clustering coefficient and small-world index were significantly lower in the theta and beta bands of the SWD versus baseline network, but the characteristic path length did not differ among networks. Long-range connections were increased during SWD, particularly between frontal and posterior brain regions. Our study suggests that SWD in JME is associated with increased local (particularly in frontal region) connectivity. Furthermore, the SWD network was associated with increased long-range connections, and reduced small-worldness, which may impair information processing during SWD.
Using Spatial Autocorrelation Analysis to Guide Mixed Methods Survey Sample Design Decisions
Authors: Brown Timothy T. , Wood Jennifer D. , Griffith Daniel A.
Published: December 2015

Mixed methods researchers share a commitment to knowing their sampling frames and minimizing discovery failure, especially when using surveys. Notwithstanding advances in sampling strategies, the geographic clustering of perceptions has not been fully considered for its relevance to sampling. This article examines the value of spatial autocorrelation analysis to guide sampling decisions. Spatial autocorrelation refers to the clustering of (dis)similar phenomena and signals the likely existence of perception subgroups. Through a spatial autocorrelation analysis of Dallas, Texas, the authors identify sampling frames for collecting data about perceptions of West Nile Virus eradication measures. They furnish some empirical confirmation of the geographic clustering of perceptions and argue for designs that identify perception clustering, which can affect qualitative sampling as well as advance the integration of quantitative and qualitative research.
Professional standards and performance evaluation for principals in China
Authors: Liu Shujie , Xu Xianxuan , Grant Leslie , Strong James , Fang Zheng
Published: December 2015

This article presents the results of an interpretive policy analysis of China’s Ministry of Education Standards (2013) for the professional practice of principals. In addition to revealing the evolution of the evaluation of principals in China and the processes by which this policy is formulated, a comparative analysis was conducted to compare it with the Interstate School Leaders Licensure Standards 2008 (ISLLC 2008). The analysis was conducted on the specific standards and indicators across the two documents. The results indicate the presence of both significant similarities and differences in performance expectations for principals: differences are explained by the cultural and national contexts within which school leaders work in both countries. In February 2013 the Ministry of Education in China issued for the first time the national Professional Standards for Compulsory Education School Principals, which provide the specific expectations of quality school leadership. The unprecedented interest in international benchmarking of student academic performance has led to the belief that there are common elements in education policy and school leadership practices. It is hoped that this research sheds new light onto the current thinking on the expectations and evaluation of principal leadership.
Job satisfaction among secondary teachers in Korea
Authors: You Sukkyung , Kim Ann Y. , Lim Sun Ah
Published: December 2015

This study applied multilevel modeling to examine how individual characteristics, such as gender and teaching experience, and contextual characteristics, such as principal leadership and perceived colleague support, influenced Korean secondary school teachers’ sense of job satisfaction. Previous research identified teachers with high job satisfaction to have positive influences on their students, making it important to understand teacher job satisfaction not only for teachers but also for students. Using data from a nationally representative sample of 2908 teachers from 150 middle schools, the results indicated that (1) among teachers’ individual characteristics, teacher efficacy had significant effects on teacher job satisfaction, and (2) among institutional, school-level characteristics, perceptions of academic climate, support from colleagues, and supportive principal leadership had significant impacts on teacher job satisfaction. The findings of this study provide reason for individual teachers to reflect on their sense of efficacy and the influence it can have on their professional practice. The study also suggests ways to create better education policies on the basis of its empirical data.
Patients with triangular fibrocartilage complex injuries and distal radioulnar joint instability have reduced rotational torque in the forearm
Authors: Andersson J. K. , Axelsson P. , Strömberg J. , Karlsson J. , Fridén J.
Published: December 2015

A total of 20 patients scheduled for wrist arthroscopy, all with clinical signs of rupture to the triangular fibrocartilage complex and distal radioulnar joint instability, were tested pre-operatively by an independent observer for strength of forearm rotation. During surgery, the intra-articular pathology was documented by photography and also subsequently individually analysed by another independent hand surgeon. Arthroscopy revealed a type 1-B injury to the triangular fibrocartilage complex in 18 of 20 patients. Inter-rater reliability between the operating surgeon and the independent reviewer showed absolute agreement in all but one patient (95%) in terms of the injury to the triangular fibrocartilage complex and its classification. The average pre-operative torque strength was 71% of the strength of the non-injured contralateral side in pronation and supination. Distal radioulnar joint instability with an arthroscopically verified injury to the triangular fibrocartilage complex is associated with a significant loss of both pronation and supination torque.

Level of evidence: Case series, Level IV.
Evaluation of vitamin D levels in women with carpal tunnel syndrome
Authors: Lee S. H. , Gong H. S. , Kim D. H. , Shin H. S. , Kim K. M. , Kim J. , Baek G. H.
Published: December 2015

Studies suggest that vitamin D has a role in neuroprotection. We investigated whether vitamin D status is associated with carpal tunnel syndrome. Vitamin D levels were compared between carpal tunnel syndrome women ( n = 135) and healthy control women ( n = 135) or patients with other upper limb conditions ( n = 135). There were no differences in vitamin D levels between the patients with carpal tunnel syndrome and the controls. However, women with carpal tunnel syndrome younger than 50 years old had significantly lower vitamin D levels than age-matched healthy control women ( P = 0.023) or patients with other upper limb conditions ( P = 0.035). When women with carpal tunnel syndrome and healthy control women were pooled, the incidence of carpal tunnel syndrome was higher in vitamin D deficient women than in non-deficient women, especially in those younger than 50 years. This study suggests a potential link between vitamin D status and the occurrence of carpal tunnel syndrome in women younger than 50 years but causation is not established.

Type of study/level of evidence: Prognostic Level III
Supraventricular tachycardia presenting in labour: A case report achieving vaginal birth and review of the literature
Authors: Bircher CW , Farrakh S , Gada R
Published: December 2015

Arrhythmias are one of the most common forms of cardiac disease presenting in pregnancy. Women with underlying arrhythmias may only present to health care professionals when they are pregnant. The most common type of sustained arrhythmia presenting in pregnancy is a supraventricular tachycardia (SVT). This can be difficult to diagnose, as symptoms such as palpitations, dizziness and shortness of breath are also common symptoms of pregnancy. We present the management of a woman who developed intrapartum SVT. Her case highlights the importance of considering the diagnosis in the antenatal period, the use of antiarrhythmic drugs, as well as the fact that achieving vaginal delivery is possible in correctly selected cases while the mother and baby remain stable.
Viability of Pathologic Cartilage Fragments as a Source for Autologous Chondrocyte Cultures
Authors: Guillén-García Pedro , Rodríguez-Iñigo Elena , Guillén-Vicente Isabel , Guillén-Vicente Marta , Fernández-Jaén Tomás , Concejero Vicente , Val Daniel , Maestro Antonio , Abelow Steve , López-Alcorocho Juan Manuel
Published: December 2015

Objective

To study if a culture of chondrocytes can be obtained from pathologic hyaline cartilage (PHC) fragments.

Design

Twenty-five men and 9 women with osteochondritis dissecans (OCD) in 11 cases, arthrosis in 13 patients, and trauma in the remaining 10 cases were included. The PHC fragments and a small sample of the next healthy cartilage were extracted by arthroscopy. According to the appearance, the PHC samples were divided into fixed (3 cases), flapped (6 patients), or loose bodies (25 cases), depending on the attachment degree of the cartilage to the subchondral bone. Approximately half of each pathologic sample and the whole healthy one were digested to isolate the cells trying to establish the cell culture.

Results

We were able to establish a cell culture in 7 out of 34 (20.6%) PHC samples (positive samples), whereas in the remaining 27 (79.4%) no cell growth was observed (negative samples). Most of the negative samples were loose bodies ( P = 0.005) taken from patients with OCD or arthrosis ( P = 0.001) with an evolution time of more than 1 year ( P < 0.001). The best binary logistic regression model ( P < 0.001) showed that the only factor affecting the establishment of cell culture was the evolution time ( P = 0.044).

Conclusion

It is possible to culture chondrocytes from osteochondral fragments if they are traumatic, within a year of injury and not from fragments due to arthrosis or OCD.
Patients Scheduled for Chondrocyte Implantation Treatment with MACI Have Larger Defects than Those Enrolled in Clinical Trials
Authors: Foldager Casper Bindzus , Farr Jack , Gomoll Andreas H.
Published: December 2015

Objective

To compare characteristics for patients scheduled for autologous chondrocyte implantation with matrix-assisted chondrocyte implantation (MACI) with those enrolled in clinical trials and to describe differences in patient selection between countries.

Design

Anonymized data from patients scheduled for MACI treatment in the knee in Europe and Australia/Asia were obtained from the Genzyme/Sanofi database. Average age, defect size, and male-female ratio were analyzed and compared by country. Clinical cohort studies and prospective comparative trials using autologous chondrocyte implantation and related treatments were identified and weighted average age, weighted defect size, and male-female ratio were analyzed and compared with data from the database.

Results

From the database 2,690 patients were included with mean age 33.7 years and male-female ratio of 67:33. Mean defect size was 5.64 cm2 and 70% of the defects were 3 to 10 cm2. There were significant differences between patients’ mean defect sizes between countries. Sixty-nine studies (57 cohorts and 12 prospective comparative trials) with a total of 5,449 patients were identified. The combined weighted mean age was 34.2 years, and the combined weighted mean defect size was 4.89 cm2. Patients scheduled for MACI had significantly larger defects that those included in clinical trials. There was no significant difference in age. No differences were found between cohorts and prospective comparative trials.

Conclusion

The vast majority of patients scheduled for autologous chondrocyte implantation with MACI have chondral defect comparable to that generally recommended, but differences exist between countries. Patients enrolled in clinical trials have significantly smaller defects than those undergoing treatment outside controlled trials.
Rare combined variation of left suprarenal vessels associated with retroaortic left renal vein
Authors: Shanthakumar Ravindra Swamy , Kumar Naveen , Badagabettu Satheesha Nayak , Kappettu Gadahad Mohandas Rao , Reghunathan Deepthinath , Patil Jyothsna
Published: December 2015

Suprarenal vascular variations should be known to surgeons performing laparoscopic adrenalectomy, partial nephrectomy, living donor nephrectomy and renal transplantation. A rare case of vascular variation of the left suprarenal gland was observed, in which the left suprarenal vein was draining into the inferior vena cava after crossing the abdominal aorta anteriorly, just below the origin of the superior mesenteric artery. The left inferior suprarenal artery was originating from the left gonadal artery, which originated from the abdominal aorta in front of the left renal artery. Besides this, the left renal vein passed obliquely downwards behind the abdominal aorta and drained into the inferior vena cava. The retroaortic left renal vein may lead to unilateral hematuria, left varicocele and could be a cause of infertility in men.
Metabolically healthy obesity and cardiovascular events: A systematic
review and meta-analysis
Authors: Eckel Nathalie , Meidtner Karina , Kalle-Uhlmann Tamara , Stefan Norbert , Schulze Matthias B
Published: December 2015

Aims

Previous studies have provided inconsistent results about the cardiovascular risks for participants with metabolically healthy obesity (MHO). These uncertainties might partly reflect the lack of a uniform definition of MHO. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to examine whether there is a suitable approach that identifies obese participants who are not at an increased risk of cardiovascular events compared with healthy normal-weight participants.

Methods and results

Twenty-two prospective studies were eligible for the meta-analysis. Using random-effect models, pooled relative risks (RRs) were calculated for the combined effects of obesity with the presence or absence of metabolic syndrome, insulin resistance, hypertension, diabetes, hyperlipidaemia and any of these metabolic factors. Participants with MHO defined by the absence of metabolic syndrome were at increased risk for cardiovascular events compared with healthy normal-weight participants (pooled RR 1.45, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.20–1.70), but had lower risks than unhealthy normal-weight (RR 2.07, 95% CI 1.62–2.65) and obese (RR 2.31, 95% CI 1.99–2.69) participants. The risk associated with participants who had MHO was particularly high over the long term. Similar risk estimates were observed when MHO was defined by other approaches.

Conclusions

None of the approaches clearly identified an obese subgroup not at increased risk of cardiovascular events compared with normal-weight healthy participants. A benign obese phenotype might be defined by strict definitions, but insufficient studies exist to support this. More research is needed to better define MHO.
Takotsubo Cardiomyopathy in an Adult Woman With Repaired Tetralogy of Fallot
Authors: Nguyen Lan T. , Schelbert Erik B. , Cook Stephen C.
Published: December 2015

Takotsubo cardiomyopathy is a reversible form of cardiomyopathy rarely reported in the adult congenital patient. We describe a case of a 49-year-old woman with repaired tetralogy of Fallot who presented with acute dyspnea. A 12-lead electrocardiogram revealed diffuse anterolateral T-wave inversion suggestive of myocardial ischemia. Cardiac catheterization was performed, demonstrating angiographically normal coronary arteries. A cardiovascular magnetic resonance examination showed apical akinesis with associated myocardial edema, but no myocardial damage on late gadolinium enhancement imaging, which is a characteristic of Takotsubo cardiomyopathy. The patient was treated medically. A follow-up echocardiogram demonstrated normalization of left ventricular systolic function and apical wall motion abnormalities.
Functionally Univentricular Heart With Right Atrial Isomerism and Mixed Total Anomalous Pulmonary Venous Drainage
Authors: Talwar Sachin , Agarwal Palkesh , Choudhary Shiv Kumar , Airan Balram
Published: December 2015

Patients with right atrial isomerism and total anomalous pulmonary venous connection (TAPVC) in a functionally univentricular heart are a challenging subset with a high mortality rate. We present the case of a patient with univentricular heart who had right atrial isomerism and associated mixed TAPVC (supracardiac, cardiac, and infracardiac). The anatomy was delineated precisely, and the patient underwent first-stage univentricular palliation consisting of TAPVC repair and bilateral bidirectional superior cavopulmonary anastomosis.
Replacement of Regurgitant Bicuspid Aortic Valve in a Dilated, Non-Compacted Left Ventricle
Authors: Schenone Aldo L. , Cohen Aaron , Pettersson Gosta , Majdalany David
Published: December 2015

Bicuspid aortic valve (BAV) is the most common form of congenital heart disease, with 20% of asymptomatic adults with BAV presenting with significant valve insufficiency. Yet, limited data exist regarding surgical indications and outcomes when BAV is accompanied by left ventricular dilation, systolic dysfunction, or left ventricle non-compaction (LVNC) syndrome. We present a case of dilated cardiomyopathy due to severe BAV regurgitation and partial LVNC syndrome and the decision to undergo aortic valve replacement. Our patient represents the most extreme documented case of regurgitant BAV with dilated, dysfunctional, and partially non-compacted left ventricle. Yet, surgical intervention provided improvement in systolic performance and ventricular dimensions.
A Case Report of Contegra Conduit Dissection With Subsequent Heart Failure
Authors: Buelow Matthew W. , Loomba Rohit S. , Woods Ronald K.
Published: December 2015

The surgical palliation of several congenital heart defects requires the use of a conduit, particularly between the right ventricle and the pulmonary artery. Contegra, a valved bovine vein conduit, is a conduit frequently used. Pseudoaneurysms, aneurysms, and dissections have seldom been reported with Contegra conduits but are potential complications associated with these conduits. We report a new case of Contegra dissection.
Cardiac Magnetic Resonance Characterizes Myocarditis in a 16-Year-Old Female With Lyme Disease
Authors: Avitabile Catherine M. , Harris Matthew A. , Chowdhury Devyani
Published: December 2015

Myocarditis may occur during early disseminated Lyme disease. A 16-year-old girl with serologic evidence of Borrelia burgdorferi infection and transient first-degree atrioventricular block underwent cardiac magnetic resonance imaging, which demonstrated myocardial hyperemia, edema, and delayed gadolinium enhancement. We discuss the use of T1- and T2-weighted dark blood sequences in addition to inversion recovery delayed enhancement imaging to support the diagnosis of Lyme myocarditis.
Modulatory Effects of Ferulic Acid on Cadmium-Induced Brain Damage
Authors: Adefegha Stephen A. , Omojokun Olasunkanmi S. , Oboh Ganiyu , Fasakin Olasunkanmi , Ogunsuyi Opeyemi
Published: December 2015

Studies have shown the pharmacological relevance of phenolics like ferulic acid (FA) in promoting health. This study sought to investigate the modulatory effects of FA on cadmium-induced brain damage in rats. Brain damage was induced in Wistar strain rats by oral administration of cadmium (5 mg/kg body weight) for 21 days. Assays for malondialdehyde (MDA) content, acetylcholinesterase (AChE), butyrylcholinesterase (BChE), monoamine oxidase (MAO), and Na+/K+-ATPase activities were carried out. The study revealed significant ( P < .05) increases in the MDA content and all enzymes’ (AChE, BChE, MAO, and Na+/K+-ATPase) activity investigated following cadmium administration. However, rats administered FA (10 and 20 mg/kg body weight) alongside cadmium significantly ( P < .05) protected the brain by reversing the level of lipid peroxidation as measured by the MDA content as well as the enzymes’ activity. This study, therefore, substantiates the neuroprotective potentials of FA especially in the management of cadmium-induced toxicity.
Interlinkage between Psychological and Network Characteristics: A Preliminary Analysis
Authors: Ray Abhishek , Sarkar Koushiki , Mukherjee Diganta
Published: December 2015

Humans are social beings. Every day-to-day decision as well as life-building processes are often influenced by the peer group of an individual. In this context, it may be interesting to study the actual effects of one\textquoteright s peer group on one\textquoteright s mentality. In this article, we have done a survey on an undergraduate batch of students studying in Kolkata to recognize and understand the factors that influence lifestyle, decision-making processes and major psychological characters. We observe that the social characteristics of a student significantly influence his/her psychological set-up and also vice versa. Thus, it is worth while to study a person's social surroundings and linkages to understand her psychological health.
Impact of Social Network on Financial Decisions
Authors: Sarkar Koushiki , Ray Abhishek , Mukherjee Diganta
Published: December 2015

Using a financial data set with attribute vectors, we simulate a network graph based on the mutual distances of the attribute vectors of the individuals. We learn that a network graph simulated via means of distance computation is most likely to be transitive. Running a triad census in our actual network graph from Facebook, we find that the number of transitive triads is much more than what is to be expected from chance. So, we guessed at whether this transitivity is from attribute similarity. To verify our guess, we focus on the attribute information of network data of Facebook. We construct the attribute vectors of the individuals by defining a similar metric as in the case of financial data, we simulate the graph of the attribute information of the individuals. We saw that a considerable percentage of the edges of the actual network graph is being predicted by the simulated graph, although the simulated graph grossly overestimates the total number of edges. As attributes play roles in network formation, it is likely that the network parameters will add information and improve the regression on the financial data set. So, we run the regression with both types of variables and find that eigenvector centrality and the clustering coefficient indeed improve the regression results as additional regressors.
Asymptotic Collusion-proofness of Voting Rules: The Case of Large Number of Candidates
Authors: Dey Palash , Narahari Y.
Published: December 2015

Classical results in voting theory show that strategic manipulation by voters is inevitable if a voting rule simultaneously satisfies certain desirable properties. Motivated by this, we study the relevant question of how often a voting rule is manipulable. It is well known that elections with a large number of voters are rarely manipulable under impartial culture (IC) assumption. However, the manipulability of voting rules when the number of candidates is large has hardly been addressed in the literature and our article focuses on this problem. First, we propose two properties: (i) asymptotic strategy-proofness and (ii) asymptotic collusion-proofness, with respect to new voters, which makes the two notions more relevant from the perspective of computational problem of manipulation. In addition to IC, we explore a new culture of society where all score vectors of the candidates are equally likely. This new notion has its motivation in computational social choice and we call it impartial scores culture (ISC) assumption. We study asymptotic strategy-proofness and asymptotic collusion-proofness for plurality, veto and [Formula: see text]-approval, and Borda voting rules under IC as well as ISC assumptions. Specifically, we prove bounds for the fraction of manipulable profiles when the number of candidates is large. Our results show that the size of the coalition and the tie-breaking rule play a crucial role in determining whether or not a voting rule satisfies the above two properties.
A Teaching Note on a Theorem due to Kreps (1979)
Authors: Lahiri Somdeb
Published: December 2015

In this note we are concerned with the proof of a theorem due to Kreps (1979) which goes thus: A reflexive, complete and transitive preference relation over a collection of intertemporal opportunities such that the available set of second period opportunity sets associated with each first period alternative is closed under unions can be represented as a sum of a finite number of indirect utility functions, if and only if two reasonably harmless properties are satisfied. We provide a tidy presentation of the original proof.
What Czech Judges Can and Cannot Do? Practice of Judicial Disciplinary Authorities in the Czech Republic: Empirical Analyses of All Disciplinary Decisions between 2008 and 2014
Authors: Friedel Tomáš , Urban Michal
Published: December 2015

The article analyzes all judicial disciplinary decisions issued by the disciplinary court in the Czech Republic since 2008, when the reform of the disciplinary court took place. The authors, after introducing the Czech disciplinary system, describe the conduct of the judges, which were found inappropriate by the court. In the second part of the article, they offer an analysis of the cases tried by the disciplinary court, in which the court found no substantial breach of the standards of professional judicial ethics or which were suspended before reaching a decision. In the last part of the article, the authors summarize their findings, offer their interpretation and place their findings in a broader Czech context. The article, thus, offers an overview of the most recent practice of the Czech disciplinary court, which may be used for international comparison with the judicial disciplinary practice in other states.
Marginalization of Chinese in the Chinese Courtroom: The Need of Chinese Training for Legal Professionals in Hong Kong
Authors: Kim-hung Lee
Published: December 2015

As a former British colony, Hong Kong has adopted the common law system for more than 150 years and English was the sole language of the law in Hong Kong before the 1970s. To acknowledge the language rights of the majority of the city’s population whose mother tongue is Chinese, the Judiciary Administration of Hong Kong introduced Chinese as a trial language in the magistracies 40 years ago. Chinese, however, is still struggling to secure its place as a courtroom language. Judges often resort to English in Chinese courtrooms. There are a number of reasons for the phenomenon: ( a) the Judiciary Administration does not have a rigid policy of ‘using Chinese only in a Chinese courtroom’; ( b) magistrates seem to be more at ease using English than Chinese; ( c) magistrates are under the influence of the counsel who also prefer using English rather than Chinese; and ( d) pre-service and in-service education on using Chinese as a trial language for judges and counsel is inadequate, and lawyer training universities place little emphasis on Chinese oral skills in their curricula. This article is a pioneering attempt to investigate the last reason. It illustrates and analyzes the issue with a court case, interviews with judges, lawyers, a law teacher and law students, as well as an examination of law school curricula, and suggests means to promote Chinese as a trial language in Hong Kong. Although the sampling size of the research is small, the findings provide a glimpse into an important field which has hitherto attracted little attention.
Attitude of Students to Clinical Legal Education: A Case Study of Faculty of Law, University of Ibadan
Authors: Adewumi Afolasade A. , Bamgbose Oluyemisi A.
Published: December 2015

The students of the Faculty of Law, University of Ibadan were introduced to the clinical way of legal education in the year 2008. This is a new teaching method different from the traditional method of teaching law. A specialized Women’s Law Clinic was also inaugurated to complement the clinical work in the faculty.

This article reflects on the attitude of the students to this development, using the results of an unstructured interview of some third- and fifth-year law students, some law graduates and some non-law students and graduates who were exposed to the clinical legal education (CLE) method of instruction.

The article discusses the new teaching method and the effects on legal and advocacy skills, teamwork and students’ interest in the teaching of law courses. Results show that the attitude of students particularly is very positive towards CLE and it is preferred to the traditional method of teaching.
Book Review: The Ashgate Handbook of Legal Translation, Series: Law, Language and Communication. Edited by Le Cheng, King Kui Sin & Anne Wagner
Authors: Ghosh Amit
Published: December 2015

The Ashgate Handbook of Legal Translation, Series: Law, Language and Communication. Edited by Le Cheng, King Kui Sin & Anne Wagner. Ashgate Publishing Company, Burlington, VT, 2014, 315 Pp., £ 90.
Book Review: Legal Education Simulation in Theory and Practice. Edited by Caroline Strevens, Richard Grimes & Edward Phillips
Authors: Sarker Shuvro Prosun
Published: December 2015

Legal Education Simulation in Theory and Practice. Edited by Caroline Strevens, Richard Grimes & Edward Phillips, Ashgate Publishing Limited, England, 2014, 279 Pp., 70 Euro, ISBN: 9781472412591.
Race, Place, and Unsolicited Job Leads
Authors: McDonald Steve , Hamm Lindsay , Elliott James R. , Knepper Pete
Published: December 2015

Does the ethnoracial composition of local labor markets influence informal regulation of employment opportunities? To address this question, we link Census data on racial composition with survey data on unsolicited job leads in the 23 largest U.S. metro areas. The aim is twofold: (1) to operationalize three distinct conceptualizations of ethnoracial composition (general diversity, co-ethnic presence, and particularistic representation), and (2) to examine the influence of each at two distinct levels of local labor markets (the metropolis as a whole and occupational segments within each respective metropolis). Logistic regression results reveal that the odds of receiving unsolicited job leads do not vary by metro-level composition, but they do increase significantly with shares of white workers in local occupational segments. These results suggest that racial preference and privilege scale up to influence how employment opportunities are socially regulated in and across local occupational fields.
Teacher Education’s Challenge of Changing Research Relationships With Schools
Authors: Cornelissen Frank , Liou Yi-Hwa , Daly Alan J. , van Swet Jacqueline , Beijaard Douwe , Bergen Theo , Canrinus Esther T.
Published: December 2015

Globally, teacher education (TE) is challenged to change relationships with schools and teachers and become more collaborative in teaching and research. This study examined the way knowledge is developed, shared, and used when school and institution of higher education (IHE) partners create research networks in the context of master’s programs for in-service teachers. These knowledge processes were studied from a social network perspective and compared in two different TE contexts. During 10 months, this mixed method study obtained two school networks and 36 personal networks and 124 critical incidents from 36 individual logs and interviews. Cross-case analyses provide insight in the social network structures, interpersonal relationships, and knowledge processes among IHE’s and school’s partners as well as the challenges in developing closer research relationships in a TE context.
A Comparison of Community and Clinic Baby Showers to Promote Safe Sleep for Populations at High Risk for Infant Mortality
Authors: Ahlers-Schmidt Carolyn R. , Schunn Christy , Lopez Venessa , Kraus Stacey , Blackmon Sheila , Dempsey Millicent , Sollo Natalie
Published: December 2015

Community baby showers have provided education and free portable cribs to promote safe sleep for high-risk infants. We evaluated knowledge gained at these showers and the effectiveness of holding baby showers at a primary care clinic as an alternative to traditional community venues. Participants at the community venue were more likely to exhibit risk factors associated with unsafe sleep and to report an unsafe sleep location for their infant without the provided portable crib. Following the showers, both groups showed improvement in knowledge and intentions regarding safe sleep. However, to connect with the highest risk groups, showers held at community venues appeared to be preferable to those held at high-risk clinics.
Generative Learning in a Service-Learning Project and Field-Base Teacher Education Program
Authors: Assaf Lori Czop , López Minda Morren
Published: December 2015

Research on literacy tutoring such as working in an after-school reading or writing club, situated as a service-learning project, suggests that such work can foster culturally responsive teaching for prospective teachers by increasing additive perspectives toward students from diverse backgrounds and transforming views of diversity. The purpose of this qualitative study was to document the value of participating in a semester long, field-based university course combined with a service-learning program to enhance prospective teachers’ generative learning of culturally responsive pedagogy. Building on generative learning theories, we identified the ways prospective teachers became more metacognitive of their past experiences and beliefs, developed caring relationships, and gained confidence about the positive impact they were having on students’ literacy learning.