bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Cyanate ester resins containing pentadecyl-substituted cyclohexyl moiety: Synthesis, curing and structure–property relationship
Authors: Kulkarni Arun D. , Tawade Bhausaheb V. , Wadgaonkar Prakash P.
Published: November 2012

Cyanate ester (CE) monomers containing pentadecyl-substituted cyclohexyl moieties such as 1,1-bis(4-cyanatophenyl) 3-pentadecylcyclohexane and 1,1-bis(4-cyanatophenyl) cyclohexane were synthesized and characterized by Fourier transform infrared, proton-nuclear magnetic resonance (1H-NMR) and carbon-nuclear magnetic resonance (13C-NMR) spectroscopies as well as differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Both 1,1-bis(4-cyanatophenyl) 3-pentadecylcyclohexane and 1,1-bis(4-cyanatophenyl) cyclohexane exhibited better processability coupled with lower melting points, lower cure onset with broad cure exotherm than the commercially available CE monomer, namely, 2,2-bis(4-cyanatophenyl) propane. Glass transition temperatures of cured 2,2-bis(4-cyanatophenyl) propane, 1,1-bis(4-cyanatophenyl) cyclohexane and 1,1-bis(4-cyanatophenyl) 3-pentadecylcyclohexane were observed to be 288°C, 302°C and 160°C, respectively. Cured 1,1-bis(4-cyanatophenyl) cyclohexane displayed higher storage modulus (1.59 × 10 9 Pa) than 1,1-bis(4-cyanatophenyl) 3-pentadecylcyclohexane (1.07 × 10 9 Pa) and 2,2-bis(4-cyanatophenyl) propane (1.39 × 10 9 Pa). The order of thermal stability of cured polycyanurates was found to be 2,2-bis(4-cyanatophenyl) propane > 1,1-bis(4-cyanatophenyl)cyclohexane > 1,1-bis(4-cyanato phenyl) 3-pentadecylcyclohexane. The moisture absorption of cured resins derived from 1,1-bis(4-cyanatophenyl) 3-pentadecyl cyclohexane and 1,1-bis(4-cynatophenyl)cyclohexane was found to be lower than that of 2,2-bis(4-cynatophenyl) propane implying the role of pentadecyl substituent and/or cyclohexyl moiety in imparting hydrophobicity to the polycyanurates.
Comparative study on polyimides derived from isomeric diphenylsulfonetetracarboxylic dianhydrides
Authors: Pei Xueliang , Chen Guofei , Hou Yijia , Fang Xingzhong
Published: November 2012

In this study, three diphenylsulfonetetracarboxylic dianhydride (DSDA) isomers namely 2,2′,3,3′-DSDA (3,3′-DSDA), 2,3,3′,4′-DSDA (3,4′-DSDA) and 3,3′,4,4′-DSDA (4,4′-DSDA) were prepared from the corresponding diphenylthioethertetracarboxylic dianhydride isomers. Based on the three DSDA isomers, a series of isomeric polyimides were prepared. The properties, such as film-forming ability, solubility, wide-angle x-ray diffraction, thermal and mechanical properties as well as rheological behavior, were compared among the isomeric polyimides. It was found that 4,4′-DSDA-based polyimides had much better film-forming ability than 3,3′-DSDA- and 3,4′-DSDA-based polyimides. 3,4′-DSDA-based polyimides had better solubility than 3,3′-DSDA- and 4,4′-DSDA-based polyimides. Furthermore, for a given diamine, the glass transition temperatures of the polyimides from the three DSDA isomers decreased in the order of 3,3′-DSDA > 3,4′-DSDA > 4,4′-DSDA, while the 5% weight loss temperatures in both air and nitrogen atmospheres of the polyimides mainly increased in the order of 3,3′-DSDA < 3,4′-DSDA < 4,4′-DSDA. Moreover, 3,4′-DSDA- and 4,4′-DSDA-based polyimides showed much better melt stability than 3,3′-DSDA-based polyimide.
Static response of stranded wire helical springs to axial loads: A two-state model
Authors: Wang Shilong , Zhao Yu , Zhou Jie , Li Chuan , Li Xiaoyong
Published: November 2012

Stranded wire helical springs are fundamental mechanical components used in high-end vibration absorption systems. The static axial response model is an important tool for the design and manufacturing of the spring. The wires within the spring have been assumed to be in contact with each other when the spring is unloaded by commonly used models for modelling the static axial response; hence, significant error has been introduced. To improve the estimation accuracy of the static axial response, this article proposes a two-state model by assuming that the spring possesses two states during the loading process. Moreover, in this model, the friction between adjacent wires is neglected and the spring is unwound to be a straight strand in the initial step of the analysis. The model is almost piecewise linear and is able to model the nonlinearity of the load–strain relationship of the spring. Adopting the proposed model, the dependence of the stiffness of the spring on the spring geometries is analysed. To evaluate the presented model, the compression experiments are carried out. Compared to a commonly used static response model, the proposed two-state model features better accuracy that is validated by the experimental results.
Design of an active trailer-steering system for multi-trailer articulated heavy vehicles using real-time simulations
Authors: Ding Xuejun , Mikaric Steve , He Yuping
Published: November 2012

This paper presents the design for an active trailer-steering system of multi-trailer articulated heavy vehicles using driver-software-in-the-loop real-time simulations. A linear yaw-plane multi-trailer articulated heavy-vehicle model is generated to derive an optimal active trailer-steering controller. Then, the controller is reconstructed in LabVIEW and integrated with a vehicle model for a tractor– double-trailer combination developed in TruckSim. The driver-software-in-the-loop real-time simulations are conducted on a vehicle simulator. The driver-software-in-the-loop real-time simulations indicate that the active trailer-steering controller can effectively improve the low-speed manoeuvrability and high-speed stability of the multi-trailer articulated heavy vehicle when testing using a low-speed 360° roundabout path-following manoeuvre and a high-speed single-lane-change manoeuvre respectively. The investigation based on the driver-software-in-the-loop real-time simulations paves the way to future development of electronic control units for the active trailer-steering system using driver-hardware-in-the-loop real-time simulations.
Frictional response of normal and osteoarthritic articular cartilage in human femoral head
Authors: Lee Sang-Soo , Duong Cong-Truyen , Park Sang-Hu , Cho Younho , Park Sungchan , Park Seonghun
Published: November 2012

We evaluated the microscale frictional response of human articular cartilage in different osteoarthritis stages using an atomic force microscope. Four human femoral heads (60–80 years old) with different osteoarthritis stages were explanted, and two cylindrical cartilage samples were sectioned from each femoral head. The microscale frictional coefficient µ of human cartilage in phosphate-buffered saline increased with increasing osteoarthritis stages, resulting in µ = 0.119 ± 0.036 for stage 0 (normal cartilage), 0.151 ± 0.039 for stage 1, 0.158 ± 0.041 for stage 2, and 0.409 ± 0.119 for stage 3. Statistically significant differences of µ values for different osteoarthritis stages were detected only between stage 3 and other stages ( p < 0.0001). The average surface roughness Rq significantly increased with increasing osteoarthritis stages, ranging from 137 ± 25 nm for stage 0 to 533 ± 196 nm for stage 3. A significant correlation between µ and Rq for different osteoarthritis stages was observed ( R2 = 0.981). These results demonstrate a positive correlation between the osteoarthritis stages and cartilage surface roughness, and the dependence of the human cartilage frictional response, on osteoarthritis progression. The results could be due to a decrease in the superficial zone protein concentration during the natural progression of osteoarthritis.
The ideology of sustainability and the globalization of a future
Authors: Baptista João Afonso
Published: November 2012

Through its moving frontiers, the ideology of sustainability prescribes or challenges orderings in the imaginary of societies. Accordingly, sustainability leads to obvious struggles between different systems of representations worldwide, and temporal orderliness is at the core of these battles. In this article, I focus on the future. Domesticating the future by sustainability is a central element, in particular, of the cultural confrontation between the ‘West and the Rest’. Moreover, the ideology of sustainability proves to be self-contradictory: on one side promotes cultural diversity, but on the other side operates only under a singular and homogeneous construct of the future.
What does time imply? The contribution of longitudinal methods to the analysis of the life course
Authors: Bidart Claire
Published: November 2012

Longitudinal panel methods are particularly suited to studying the life course as a process. They make it possible to compare different moments in time, to analyse the intervals and to identify ‘ways of moving’. Such an approach reveals turning points and helps to identify the relevant objective and subjective elements and driving forces that help to shape life transitions. These elements and rhythms are embedded in diverse life spheres, networks and social frames. The ways in which they interact, evolve and synchronize with each other are particularly crucial for young people. Based upon a longitudinal panel survey of young French people, this methodological discussion provides an original insight into processes of socialization.
A Phase I/II trial design when response is unobserved in subjects with dose-limiting toxicity
Authors: Braun Thomas M , Kang Shan , Taylor Jeremy MG
Published: November 2012

We propose a Phase I/II trial design in which subjects with dose-limiting toxicity are not followed for response, leading to three possible outcomes for each subject: dose-limiting toxicity, absence of therapeutic response without dose-limiting toxicity, and presence of therapeutic response without dose-limiting toxicity. We define the latter outcome as a ‘success,’ and the goal of the trial is to identify the dose with the largest probability of success. This dose is commonly referred to as the most successful dose. We propose a design that accumulates information on subjects with regard to both dose-limiting toxicity and response conditional on no dose-limiting toxicity. Bayesian methods are used to update the estimates of dose-limiting toxicity and response probabilities when each subject is enrolled, and we use these methods to determine the dose level assigned to each subject. Due to the need to explore doses more fully, each subject is not necessarily assigned the current estimate of the most successful dose; our algorithm may instead assign a dose that is in a neighborhood of the current most successful dose. We examine the ability of our design to correctly identify the most successful dose in a variety of settings via simulation and compare the performance of our design to that of competing approaches.
A Bayesian normal mixture accelerated failure time spatial model and its application to prostate cancer
Authors: Wang Songfeng , Zhang Jiajia , Lawson Andrew B
Published: November 2012

In the United States, prostate cancer is the third most common cause of death from cancer in males of all ages, and the most common cause of death from cancer in males over age 75. It has been recognized that the incidence of the prostate cancer is high in African Americans, and its occurrence and progression may be impacted by geographical factors. In order to investigate the spatial effects and racial disparities for prostate cancer in Louisiana, in this article we propose a normal mixture accelerated failure time spatial model, which does not require the proportional hazards assumption and allows the multi-model distribution to be modeled. The proposed model is estimated with a Bayesian approach and it can be easily implemented in WinBUGS. Extensive simulations show that the proposed model provides decent flexibility for a variety of parametric error distributions. The proposed method is applied to 2000–2007 Louisiana prostate cancer data set from the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results Program. The results reveal the possible spatial pattern and racial disparities for prostate cancer in Louisiana.
The Dynamics of Electricity Consumption and Growth Nexus: Empirical Evidence from Three Developing Regions
Authors: Das Anupam , Chowdhury Murshed , Khan Syeed
Published: November 2012

In this article, a panel of 45 developing countries for the 1971–2009 period is used to investigate the dynamic relationship between electricity consumption and economic growth. We employ the system generalised method of moments (system GMMs) approach proposed by Blundell and Bond (1998), which is an information-efficient means of obtaining consistent coefficient estimates. Our result suggests a positive relationship between electricity consumption and economic growth when the full panel is estimated. Regional analysis suggests a positive growth–electricity nexus for Asia and the Pacific and the sub-Saharan African region, although the size and significance levels are different. We do not find any statistically significant relationship between electricity consumption and economic growth in Latin America and the Caribbean.

JEL Classification: Q43, O13, O44, C23
Efficiency and Productivity Growth in Indian Banking
Authors: Rajan S. S. , Pandit V.
Published: November 2012

This article attempts to examine technical efficiency and productivity performance of Indian scheduled commercial banks, for the period 1979–2008. We model a multiple output/multiple input technology production frontier using semi-parametric estimation methods. The endogeneity of multiple outputs is addressed by semi-parametric estimates in part by introducing multivariate kernel estimators for the joint distribution of the multiple outputs and correlated random effects. Output is measured as the rupee value of total loans and total investments at the end of the year. The estimates provide robust inferences about the productivity and efficiency gains due to economic reforms.

JEL Classification: E23, G21, D24
The Role of Cultural Background and Team Divisions in Developing Social Learning Relations in the Classroom
Authors: Rienties Bart , Nanclares Núria Hernández , Jindal-Snape Divya , Alcott Peter
Published: November 2012

A common assumption is that students prefer to work together with students from similar cultural backgrounds. In a group work context, students from different cultural backgrounds are “forced” to work together. This might lead to stress and anxiety but at the same time may allow students to learn from different perspectives. The prime goal of this article is to understand how international and home students from different cultural backgrounds build learning and work relationships with other students in and outside their classroom using an innovative quantitative method of Social Network Analysis in a pre-post test manner. In Study 1, 50 Spanish and 7 Erasmus economics students worked in self-selected teams. In Study 2, 69 primarily international students in a postgraduate management program in the United Kingdom worked in randomized teams. The results indicate that in Study 1 learning ties after 14 weeks were significantly predicted by the initial team division and friendship ties. The seven international students integrated well. In Study 2, learning ties after 14 weeks were primarily predicted by the team division, followed by initial friendship ties and conational friendships. Although international students developed strong (multinationality) team learning relationships, international students also kept strong links with students with the same cultural background. As the initial team division had an 8 times stronger effect on learning ties than cultural backgrounds, these results indicate that the instructional design of team work has a strong influence on how international and home students work and learn together.
Legitimacy in Cross-Border Higher Education
Authors: Farrugia Christine A. , Lane Jason E.
Published: November 2012

When colleges and universities set up outposts such as international branch campuses (IBCs) in foreign countries, the literature suggests that the success of that outpost can be tied to its ability to build its own legitimacy. This article investigates the process of legitimacy building by IBCs through identifying who IBCs view as their salient stakeholders and analyzing how IBCs legitimize their international presence to those stakeholders in the home country, host country, regional and global environments. Data are drawn from 45 branch campus mission statements collected from university websites. Findings indicate that IBCs embrace a global identity to legitimize themselves to both home country and host country stakeholders. Orientation to the IBC’s home country is utilized to signify quality and indicate the brand of education offered in the host country, whereas orientation to the host country is framed as furthering host country development. The findings suggest that there may be a lack of deep integration of the internationalization experience into IBC curricula and the home campus’s organizational learning. Furthermore, some IBCs have not prioritized local development needs in the host country.
“Creating Futures” in Papua New Guinea: just the beginning
Authors: Hunter Ernest
Published: November 2012

Objectives:

“Creating Futures 2012: PNG” was the largest mental health conference to date in Melanesia. This paper describes the history, purpose and content of this initiative as a means to facilitate capacity building in Papua New Guinea (PNG), increase binational cooperation and develop a regional mental health network.

Conclusions:

Fifty Australian professionals were recruited to work with PNG colleagues to develop a suite of 20 workshops on locally identified themes. Over 300 delegates from across PNG and the western Pacific attended the four-day meeting, which was framed by Professor Vikram Patel in a series of presentations on global health. Feedback from PNG delegates and potential ongoing activities are described.
Does the Disorder Matter? Investigating a Moderating Effect on Coached Noncredible Overreporting Using the MMPI-2 and PAI
Authors: Veltri Carlo O. C. , Williams John E.
Published: November 2012

The use of psychological tests to help identify the noncredible overreporting of psychiatric disorders is a long-standing practice that has received considerable attention from researchers. The purpose of this study was to experimentally determine whether feigning specific psychiatric disorders moderated the influence of coaching on the detection of noncredible overreporting using the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory–2 (MMPI-2) and the Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI). Using a 2 × 3 experimental analogue design, 265 undergraduates were asked to feign schizophrenia, posttraumatic stress disorder, or generalized anxiety disorder and were either coached about validity scales and disorders or not. The results of this study indicated that the specific psychiatric disorder being feigned did moderate the impact coaching had on the detection of overreported psychopathology using several scales on the MMPI-2 and PAI. Future research examining noncredible overreporting should take into account the impact caused by the interaction of psychiatric disorder with coaching on the detection of symptom overreporting and also identify other important moderating/mediating variables in order to develop more effective means of identifying response bias.
The Effect of Client Ethnicity on Clinical Interpretation of the MMPI-2
Authors: Knaster Cara A. , Micucci Joseph A.
Published: November 2012

Client ethnicity has been shown to affect clinicians’ diagnostic impressions. However, it is not known whether interpretation of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory–2 (MMPI-2) clinical scales is affected by ethnic bias. In this study, clinicians (82 males, 60 females) provided severity ratings for six symptoms based on three MMPI-2 profiles (representing the 27/72, 49/94, and 68/86 code-types) with the ethnicity of the client randomly assigned as either African American or Caucasian. To determine whether symptom severity ratings based on MMPI-2 profiles were affected by ethnicity, a 3 (code-type) × 2 (ethnicity) MANOVA was performed. Neither the main effect for ethnicity nor the ethnicity × code-type interaction was significant. These results indicated that the symptom severity ratings based on the MMPI-2 clinical scales were not affected by the client’s identification as African American or Caucasian. Future studies are needed to explore the interpretation of profiles from clients representing other ethnic groups and for female clients.
Factorial Validity and Invariance of the GHQ-12 Among Clinical and Nonclinical Samples
Authors: Fernandes Helder Miguel , Vasconcelos-Raposo José
Published: November 2012

The purpose of this study was to examine the internal reliability, factorial validity, and measurement invariance of a Brazilian–Portuguese version of the General Health Questionnaire–12 (GHQ-12) across clinical and nonclinical groups. The clinical sample consisted of 228 chronic hemodialysis patients (41.7% female), with a mean age of 48.23 ( SD = 16.02) years, whereas the nonclinical sample comprised 350 university students (59.1% female), with a mean age of 21.15 ( SD = 2.04) years. Initial model fit comparison of 16 factor structures reported in the literature, through confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), provided mixed results. Additional revisions based on CFA modification indices demonstrated that a reduced (8-item) one-factor model with three error covariances provided the best fit to the data in both samples (comparative fit index > .98 and root mean square error of approximation < .05) and acceptable internal reliability estimates (>.70). Pearson’s correlations between the original and the reduced scale was .96 for both samples. Multigroup analysis supported partial strong measurement equivalence across groups. Latent mean differences showed an expected higher factor mean for the clinical sample. Overall results demonstrated that the 8-item one-factor of the GHQ-12 showed good psychometric properties in both samples and provided preliminary support for meaningful comparisons of factor means across clinical and nonclinical groups.
Supporting Shared Decisions When Clinical Evidence Is Low
Authors: Politi Mary C. , Lewis Carmen L. , Frosch Dominick L.
Published: November 2012

There is growing interest in shared decision making (SDM) in the United States and globally, at both the clinical and policy levels. SDM is typically employed during “preference-sensitive” decisions, where there is equipoise between treatment options with equal or similar outcomes from a medical standpoint. In these situations, patients’ preferences for the possible risks, benefits, and trade-offs between options are central to the decision. However, SDM also may be appropriate in clinical situations besides those in which data demonstrate equipoise. In situations of low evidence, where evidence is conflicting, unavailable or not applicable to an individual patient, supporting SDM can present unique challenges, above and beyond the challenges faced during more standard preference-sensitive decisions. This article discusses challenges in supporting shared decisions when clinical evidence is low, describes strategies that can facilitate SDM despite low evidence, and suggests avenues for future research to explore further these proposed strategies.
Supporting Shared Decision Making When Clinical Evidence Is Low
Authors: Braddock Clarence H.
Published: November 2012

Shared decision making (SDM) is the process of providing the patient with critical information that can support his or her informed participation in decision making. Shared decision making has become accepted as an important component of quality health care. Influenced by its foundations in law and ethics and by empirical work on its value as a tool to reduce variability in care, a perception has developed that SDM is relevant primarily to clinical situations with high-quality clinical evidence. This raises the question of the role of SDM in situations when clinical evidence is lacking or of low quality. This article posits that SDM is equally relevant and important to low-evidence situations in four ways—SDM fosters shared acceptance of uncertainty, closes the gap in knowledge between patient and physician, promotes patient empowerment, and enhances trust through transparent communication.
Rounding rituximab dose to nearest vial size
Authors: Patel Samit , Le Ann
Published: November 2012

Purpose:

To determine the feasibility of dose-rounding rituximab by looking at the potential deviation from the prescribed dose to the dose rounded to the nearest vial size.

Methods:

This study is a retrospective chart review of all rituximab orders prescribed for hematologic or oncologic indications over a period of 24 months. The feasibility of dose-rounding rituximab to the nearest vial size was evaluated by looking at the potential deviation of the prescribed dose to the rounded dose. Physician opinion towards dose rounding rituximab was assessed through a survey.

Results:

From October 2008 through September 2010, 2028 orders of rituximab were prescribed and processed. Ninety-nine percent of all rituximab doses fell within 10% dose deviation if rounded to the nearest 100-mg vial size and 66.1% of all rituximab orders fell within 5% dose deviation. All responding physicians were comfortable with at least a 5% dose deviation, projecting a yearly savings of approximately US$37,000 through rounding down and capturing additional cost of approximately US$43,000 through rounding up.

Conclusion:

The projected savings of dose-rounding rituximab to the nearest vial size resulted in both substantial financial savings and reduced unnecessary wastage of unused drug.
Unified magnetomechanical homogenization framework with application to magnetorheological elastomers
Authors: Chatzigeorgiou George , Javili Ali , Steinmann Paul
Published: November 2012

The aim of this work is to present a general homogenization framework with application to magnetorheological elastomers under large deformation processes. The macroscale and microscale magnetomechanical responses of the composite in the material and spatial description are presented and the conditions for a well-established homogenization problem in Lagrangian description are identified. The connection between the macroscopic magnetomechanical field variables and the volume averaging of the corresponding microscopic variables in the Eulerian description is examined for several types of boundary conditions. It is shown that the use of kinematic and magnetic field potentials instead of kinetic field and magnetic induction potentials provides a more appropriate homogenization process.
Polynomial eigenstress inducing polynomial strain of the same degree in an ellipsoidal inclusion and its applications
Authors: Liu Liping
Published: November 2012

We present a rigorous proof of polynomial eigenstress inducing polynomial strain of the same degree in an ellipsoidal inclusion. The coefficients of the induced polynomial strain are explicitly given in terms of elliptic integrals. The analogous Eshelby's tensor for polynomial eigenstress is also computed, and applied to solve the inhomogeneous problem as an example of applications.
Approximate elasticity solutions for functionally graded circular plates subject to a concentrated force at the center
Authors: Yang B , Chen WQ , Ding HJ
Published: November 2012

The axisymmetric bending of a functionally graded circular plate, which is subjected to a concentrated transverse force at the center, is investigated based on a generalization of England’s method. The complex variable function method adopted in this paper involves four analytic functions of the complex variable, in which the unknown constants can be determined from cylindrical boundary conditions, similar to that in classical plate theory. The axisymmetric bending problem of a functionally graded circular plate concentrically loaded at the center can be converted into a bending problem of a functionally graded annular plate subject to shear forces uniformly distributed over the inner boundary. The elasticity solutions of a transversely isotropic and functionally graded circular plate subject to a concentrated force at the center are then derived, from which elasticity solutions for a transversely isotropic (or isotropic) and homogeneous circular plate can be obtained from the analysis as a special case. Finally, numerical examples are presented to compare the proposed analytical solutions with those of a finite-element method. The results show that the proposed elasticity solutions are very simple and usable.
How Big Is Big Coal? Public Perceptions of the Coal Industry’s Economic Impact in West Virginia
Authors: Blaacker Debra , Woods Joshua , Oliver Christopher
Published: November 2012

The coal industry has played a major role in the culture and history of the state of West Virginia, establishing an identity as the “backbone” of the economy in this region. However, as the mining process has become more mechanized, employment has declined and risks have increased, but support for the industry continues. This study explores research that could provide explanations for this phenomenon and examines whether there is an overestimation of the role of the coal industry in the regional economy. We also examine factors that may affect one’s perceptions of the economic impact of the industry. In particular, certain demographic qualities or ideological tendencies described in previous work by Bell and York are shown to have some effect on these perceptions.
Comparison of 3 Kidney Injury Multiplex Panels in Rats
Authors: John-Baptiste Annette , Vitsky Allison , Sace Frederick , Zong Qing , Ko Mira , Yafawi Rolla , Liu Ling
Published: November 2012

Kidney injury biomarkers have been utilized by pharmaceutical companies as a means to assess the potential of candidate drugs to induce nephrotoxicity. Multiple platforms and assay methods exist, but the comparison of these methods has not been described. Millipore’s Kidney Toxicity panel, EMD/Novagen’s Widescreen Kidney Toxicity panel, and Meso Scales Kidney Injury panel were selected based on published information. Kidney injury molecule 1, cystatin C, clusterin, and osteopontin were the 4 biomarkers common among all kits tested and the focus of this study. Rats were treated with a low and high dose of para-aminophenol, a known nephrotoxicant, and urine samples were collected and analyzed on the Bio-Plex 200 or MSD’s Sector Imager 6000, according to manufacturers specifications. Comparatively, of the 3 kits, Millipore was the most consistent in detecting elevations of 3 out of the 4 biomarkers at both dose levels and indicated time points.
“The beat will make you be courage”: The role of a secondary school music program in supporting young refugees and newly arrived immigrants in Australia
Authors: Marsh Kathryn
Published: November 2012

This article documents one case in a multi-case study of the role of music in refugee and newly arrived immigrant children’s and young people’s lives within a number of school, home, and community contexts in Sydney, Australia. It explores the ways in which a range of music activities operating within a specialist secondary school catering for newly arrived immigrants and refugees contribute to students’ processes of acculturation and integration within the host culture. A number of school-based musical experiences that provide opportunities for cultural maintenance, cross-cultural transmission, and verbal and non-verbal communication are described. The development of interpersonal connections, social cohesion, and student empowerment through varied learning, teaching, and performance opportunities is examined. A major outcome for students is a feeling of belonging, both to communities of practice within the school and to the wider Australian community, as well as to a global music community disseminated through various technological media.
Phosphorous free antiwear formulations: Zinc thiosemicarbazones–borate ester mixtures
Authors: Rastogi Rashmi B , Maurya Jiya L , Jaiswal Vinay
Published: November 2012

Antiwear properties of zinc(II) complexes of salicylaldehyde N(4)-phenyl- p-substituted thiosemicarbazones and their synergic action with Vanlube 289 additive were evaluated in paraffin oil on four ball tester using steel balls of 12.7 mm diameter and the results were compared with those of zinc dibutyl dithiophosphate. On the basis of mean wear scar diameter, mean wear volume, friction coefficient, running-in and steady-state wear rate under optimum conditions, the following order of efficiency emerged: Zinc(II) thiosemicarbazones + Vanlube 289 > Vanlube 289 > ZDDP > Zinc(II) thiosemicarbazones. Among the zinc(II) complexes alone or their synergic formulations, salicylaldehyde N(4)- p-methoxyphenylthiosemicarbazones [Zn(HSTC- p-OMePh)2] exhibits best antiwear properties followed by salicylaldehyde N(4)- p-chlorophenylthiosemicarbazone [Zn(HSTC- p-ClPh)2], salicylaldehyde N(4)- p-methylphenylthiosemicarbazone [Zn(HSTC- p-MePh)2] and salicylaldehyde N(4)- p-phenyl thiosemicarbazones [Zn(HSTC-Ph)2] derivatives. The topography of the wear scar studied by atomic force microscopy and scanning electron microscopy in absence and presence of the additives indicated reduced roughness of the surface in presence of the additives. The admixtures containing zinc(II) complexes and their synergic formulations with Vanlube 289 showed presence of sulfur, nitrogen, oxygen and zinc in the energy-dispersive X-ray analysis of the wear scar.
Co-occurrence of two cases of progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy in a natalizumab “infusion group”
Authors: Havla J , Berthele A , Kümpfel T , Krumbholz M , Jochim A , Kronsbein H , Ryschkewitsch C , Jensen P , Lippmann K , Hemmer B , Major E , Hohlfeld R
Published: November 2012

We observed two cases of progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML) that occurred in the same “infusion group”. The group consisted of four patients with relapsing–remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) who had been treated with natalizumab (NAT) in the same medical practice for more than four years at the same times and in the same room, raising concerns about viral transmission between members of the infusion group.

DNA amplification and sequence comparison of the non-coding control region (NCCR) of JC virus (JCV) present in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples from PML patients #1 and #2 revealed that the amplified JCV sequences differed from the JCV archetype. The NCRR of the viral DNA was unique to each patient, arguing against the possibility of viral transmission between patients. Statistical considerations predict that similar co-occurrences of PML are likely to happen in the future.
Understanding context for quality improvement: Artefacts, affordances and socio-material infrastructure
Authors: Allen Davina
Published: November 2012

Against a backdrop of growing concern for patient safety and service quality, modern health-care systems are witnessing a proliferation of improvement initiatives. The impact is often variable, however, and a key theme to emerge from evaluations of these efforts is a recognition of the effects of local context on the success or otherwise of an intervention. However, the ‘context’ tends to be understood in terms of higher order issues such as structure, culture and leadership. This article explores a dimension of context not typically taken into account in the health-care improvement literature: the infrastructural context. Many quality improvement interventions hinge on the introduction of artefacts to support behavioural change in the workplace. Despite calls from scholars of technology in practice for a greater acknowledgement of the role of such mundane artefacts in supporting the organisation of health-care work, they are rarely considered in these terms in evaluations of improvement efforts. In this article, I argue that understanding the potential generative effects of artefacts for quality improvement purposes requires an understanding of their ‘affordances’ and how these relate to the socio-material infrastructure into which they are to be introduced, and/or the technologies they are designed to replace. Integrated care pathway implementation is examined to illustrate this position. Drawing on qualitative case studies of integrated care pathway development processes undertaken in the UK National Health Service and ethnographic research on the international care pathway community, I consider the infrastructural reasons behind the challenges of making pathways work in organising health care, and why, contrary to the aspirations of their proponents, they often appear to increase rather than decrease paperwork.
Interrogating discourse: The application of Foucault’s methodological discussion to specific inquiry
Authors: Fadyl Joanna K , Nicholls David A , McPherson Kathryn M
Published: November 2012

Discourse analysis following the work of Michel Foucault has become a valuable methodology in the critical analysis of a broad range of topics relating to health. However, it can be a daunting task, in that there seems to be both a huge number of possible approaches to carrying out this type of project, and an abundance of different, often conflicting, opinions about what counts as ‘Foucauldian’. This article takes the position that methodological design should be informed by ongoing discussion and applied as appropriate to a particular area of inquiry. The discussion given offers an interpretation and application of Foucault’s methodological principles, integrating a reading of Foucault with applications of his work by other authors, showing how this is then applied to interrogate the practice of vocational rehabilitation. It is intended as a contribution to methodological discussion in this area, offering an interpretation of various methodological elements described by Foucault, alongside specific application of these aspects.
Perceived importance of cross-race targets facilitates recall: Support for a motivated account of face memory
Authors: Baldwin Matthew , Keefer Lucas A. , Gravelin Claire R. , Biernat Monica
Published: November 2012

The cross-race effect (CRE) is the tendency to remember same-race (SR) faces better than cross-race (CR) faces. While there has been debate about the causes of the CRE, recent perspectives suggest that a lack of motivation to remember CR faces causes this effect. We provide direct support for this model across two studies manipulating the perceived importance of target faces. In Study 1 participants were outcome-dependent on a Black or White research partner. When participants were dependent on a Black partner compared with a White partner, the CRE was reduced through an increase in Black face recognition. In Study 2 we used a novel procedure to increase the perceptual size of target faces. According to conceptual metaphor theory, targets that appear subjectively large will be perceived as more important. We found that the CRE was eliminated when CR faces appeared larger than SR faces.
Specificity of partner feedback as moderator of group motivation gains in Olympic swimmers
Authors: Hüffmeier Joachim , Kanthak Jens , Hertel Guido
Published: November 2012

Recent research has demonstrated that group motivation gains due to social indispensability are not restricted to the research laboratory but can be found in existing groups performing meaningful tasks. Our own previous research showed that freestyle swimmers at the 2008 Olympics swam faster in the relay than in the individual competition when swimming at the relay’s later positions. Using aggregated data of freestyle and medley relays from the final heats of the four most recent Olympic Games, we show that high specificity of information on the partners’ performance is a precondition for indispensability effects to occur. As expected, motivation gains in the relay as compared to the individual competition were demonstrated for swimmers at relay positions 2–4, but only in freestyle relays where effort and efficiency of preceding swimmers could be reliably assessed by swimmers. In medley relays, where such feedback is more ambiguous, no motivation gains occurred.
Recombining micro/macro
Authors: Krause Monika
Published: November 2012

This article analyses the patterns underlying debates in sociological theory, using the debate surrounding the distinction between ‘micro’ and ‘macro’ as its case. Although – and indeed because – few authors have attempted explicit definition of the distinction, a number of different distinctions have been subsumed under these labels and research has been shaped by packages of assumptions that have gone largely unexamined in their contradictory nature. The article disaggregates the different distinctions that have been associated with the terms ‘micro’ and ‘macro’ and situates theoretical strategies of the past decades in the grammar of oppositions that makes them possible and innovative. Gap-bridging has been the attempt to bring together aspects of the distinction that have been construed as direct opposites; recombination has been the attempt to release certain aspects of the distinction from their association with one side of the divide. Disaggregating the distinction can help us isolate specific theoretical problems for further work, including work that asks how aspects emphasized by different theoretical approaches vary empirically.
Adaptation and validation of the Cambridge pulmonary hypertension outcome review for Sweden
Authors: Selimovic Nedim , Rundqvist Bengt , Kjörk Ewa , Viriden Johan , Twiss James , Mckenna Stephen P.
Published: November 2012

Background: The Cambridge pulmonary hypertension outcome review (CAMPHOR) is the first pulmonary hypertension-specific instrument for the assessment of the patient’s perceived symptoms, activity limitations and quality of life (QoL). Purpose: To produce and validate a Swedish language version of the CAMPHOR. Methods: Bilingual ( n = 5) and lay panels ( n = 5) were conducted to translate the CAMPHOR into Swedish. This new questionnaire was then field-tested with 14 patients and finally, it underwent psychometric evaluation by means of a postal validation study involving 38 patients with pulmonary hypertension (PH). Results: Few problems were experienced in translating the CAMPHOR into Swedish. The field-test participants found the scales relevant, comprehensible and easy to complete. Psychometric analyses showed that the Swedish adaptation was successful. The Swedish CAMPHOR scales had good internal consistency. Cronbach’s alpha coefficients were 0.92 for the symptoms scale, 0.92 for activity limitations and 0.95 for the quality of life. Predicted correlations with the Nottingham Health Profile provided evidence of the construct validity of the scales. The Swedish scales also indicated known groups validity. Conclusions: The Swedish version of the CAMPHOR is a reliable and valid measure of the impact of pulmonary hypertension on the lives of affected patients. It is recommended for use in clinical studies and routine practice in pulmonary hypertension patients.
A note on non-linear phenomena in a non-ideal oscillator, with a snap-through truss absorber, including parameter uncertainties
Authors: de Godoy Wiliam RA , Balthazar José M , Pontes Bento R , Felix Jorge LP , Tusset Angelo M
Published: November 2012

This work considers the vibrating system that consists of a snap-through truss absorber coupled to an oscillator under excitation of an electric motor with an eccentricity and limited power, characterizing a non-ideal oscillator. It is aimed to use the non-linearity and quasi-zero stiffness of absorber (snap-through truss absorber) to obtain a significantly attenuation the jump phenomenon. There is also an interest to exhibit the reduction of Sommerfeld effect, to confirm the saturation phenomenon occurrence and show the power transfer in a non-linear structure, evidencing the pumping energy. As shown by simulations in this work, this absorber allows the energy pumping before and during the jump phenomenon, decreasing the higher amplitudes of considered system. Additionally, the occurrence of saturation phenomenon due use of snap-through truss absorber is verified. The analysis of parameter uncertainties was introduced. Sensitivity of system with parametric errors demonstrated a trustable system.
Police violence in West Africa: Perpetrators’ and ethnographers’ dilemmas
Authors: Beek Jan , Göpfert Mirco
Published: November 2012

This article explores the use of violence by police officers and gendarmes in Ghana and Niger. We analyse how popular discourses, legal and organizational conditions frame the police use of violence. Acts of violence by police are situated in this inconsistent framework and can be seen as legal and appropriate, despicable and brutal, or as useful and morally legitimate. Thus, every time the police use violence, they face a major dilemma: legally and morally justified violence can be a source of long-term legitimacy; but because of multiple possible readings of a certain situation (according to different, conflicting moral and legal discourses), the very same action has potentially delegitimizing effects. Our own position as participant observers made us aware of these contradictions because, as researchers, we were confronted with a similar dilemma.
Intersectional what? Social divisions, intersectionality and levels of analysis
Authors: Anthias Floya
Published: November 2012

This article contributes to the growing debate on intersectionality by proposing a theoretical framing which attends to different levels of analysis in terms of what is being referred to (social categories or concrete social relations); societal arenas of investigation; and historicity (processes and outcomes). It discusses questions of social ontology, categories, groupings and more concrete social relations relating to boundaries and hierarchies in social life. The article presents a particular analytical sensitivity which attends to the dialogical nature of social relations, the centrality of power and social hierarchy, and the importance of locating these within spatial and temporal contexts.
Experiences of commodified nature: Performances and narratives of nature-based tourists on Stewart Island, New Zealand
Authors: Reis Arianne C
Published: November 2012

This article explores the performances and narratives of nature-based tourists, more specifically of trampers, on Stewart Island, a remote tourism destination located in the southern waters of Aotearoa/New Zealand. It does so by reflecting on the concepts of commodification and of spectacle and how these may influence the experiences of tourists on the wild landscapes of Stewart Island. The study used an interpretive and embedded methodology, where the author was able to engage with the experiences of Others while tramping for extended periods of time on the island. This article concludes that the trampers’ experience of nature on Stewart Island is modulated by a media-constructed and media-sold tourism concept that fits well in a cultural and physical landscape that is able to provide an experience associated with a produced ‘nature’. Nature is therefore constructed to allow for an experience that is designed prior to the actual performance.