bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Purchasing Power Parity, Wages and Inflation in Emerging Markets
Authors: Goyal Ashima
Published: October 2014

Three open economy puzzles are, first, the price level of an advanced economy (AE) is higher compared to that of an emerging or developing economy (EDE) measured in the same currency. But, second, inflation tends to be much higher in EDEs. Third, there is a persistent deviation of real exchange rates from equilibrium values although nominal shocks, which cause such deviation, are expected to have only short-run effects. Balassa Samuelson (BS) explained the first puzzle by introducing two sectors with differential productivity growth. The article presents a framework that allows a new simple proof of the BS result. Inflation in EDEs is often attributed to the catch-up process where productivity in traded goods starts growing faster than that in non-traded goods. But if wages grow at a relatively higher non-traded goods productivity growth, nominal shocks can trigger deviations from equilibrium and adjustments that sustain inflation. This explanation retains the BS ranking of relatively lower traded goods productivity in EDEs, yet explains the second and third puzzles. Tests with Indian data support the hypotheses, suggesting that they provide a better explanation of Indian inflation.
An Examination of the Predictive Validity of the Structured Assessment of Risk and Need–Treatment Needs Analysis (SARN-TNA) in England and Wales
Authors: Tully Ruth J. , Browne Kevin D. , Craig Leam A.
Published: October 2014

The Structured Assessment of Risk and Need–Treatment Needs Analysis (SARN-TNA) is routinely used by the National Offender Management Service (NOMS) in England and Wales to aid assessment of risk of sexual offenders. This structured professional judgment tool’s predictive validity was examined with convicted sexual offenders in this field study. Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) was not significant at 2 years (Area Under the Curve [AUC] = 0.59, n = 304, p = .193) or at 4 years (AUC = 0.57, n = 161, p = .242). Survival analysis did not reveal significantly different sexual reconviction rates between SARN-TNA risk groups. Individual domains were also examined, with the sexual interests domain being the only predictive element of the SARN-TNA risk assessment tool. Results support further examination of how SARN-TNA risk group is calculated and more heavily weighting the importance of the sexual interests domain. The SARN-TNA should not be relied upon as a predictor scale of sexual reoffending.
Biocompatibility and Immunophenotypic Characterization of a Porcine Cholecyst–derived Scaffold Implanted in Rats
Authors: Muhamed Jaseer , Revi Deepa , Rajan Akhila , Geetha Surendran , Anilkumar Thapasimuthu V.
Published: October 2014

Comparative histomorphological assessment of local response to implanted reference biomaterial, also called biocompatibility testing/evaluation, in an appropriate animal model is a widely practiced safety evaluation procedure performed on biomaterials before clinical use. Standardized protocols and procedures, originally designed for testing synthetic materials, available for the testing/evaluation do not account for the immunogenic potential of a candidate biomaterial. Therefore, it is appropriate to supplement the routine biocompatibility test reports with adjunct data that may provide insight into the immunogenic potential of candidate biomaterials, especially when testing biomaterials that are derived from mammalian sources. This article presents expanded safety evaluation data of a porcine cholecyst–derived scaffold (CDS) intended as a xenogeneic graft. The biocompatibility was tested in rat subcutaneous model in comparison with a reference material and the CDS was found biocompatible. However, when studied by immunohistochemistry and real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction for the number and/or polarization of M1 macrophage, M2 macrophage, cytotoxic T-cell, helper T cell, TH1 cell, and TH2 cell, the CDS appeared to induce a differential local immunopathological tissue reaction despite the similarity in biocompatibility with the reference material. The adjunct data collected were useful for objectively assessing the safety of CDS as a xenograft.
The incremental contribution of TOEIC® Listening, Reading, Speaking, and Writing tests to predicting performance on real-life English language tasks
Authors: Powers Donald E. , Powers Andrew
Published: October 2014

Typically, English language proficiency tests yield multiple scores – usually for each of the four traditional language domains. In order to maximize the usefulness of test scores, they may need to be accompanied by information concerning how they complement one another.

Using self-assessments by some 2300 TOEIC test takers, this study aimed to show that language performance in a particular domain (speaking, for instance) can be predicted by using a test that corresponds specifically to that domain (i.e., the TOEIC Speaking test), but also that it can be even better predicted by supplementing domain-related scores with scores (e.g., TOEIC Listening scores) that do not correspond directly to the target domain.

The results of a hierarchical linear regression analysis revealed that adding test scores that did not correspond directly to the target performance domain made statistically and practically significant contributions to prediction in the target domain. Thus, more precise estimates of English language proficiency in a specific domain are possible by assessing skills not only in that domain but in other related domains as well.
What preoperative patient-related factors predict inpatient recovery of physical functioning and length of stay after total hip arthroplasty? A systematic review
Authors: Elings J , Hoogeboom TJ , van der Sluis G , van Meeteren NLU
Published: October 2014

Objective:

To identify the preoperative patient-related characteristics predicting inpatient recovery of functioning and/or length of hospital stay after elective primary total hip arthroplasty.

Design:

A search was conducted of the electronic databases MEDLINE, EMBASE and CINAHL from inception through April 2014. Observational studies were selected for systematic review if they identified clinically relevant preoperative prognostic factors and reported an association between inpatient recovery of physical functioning and/or length of hospital stay. Study participants were adults undergoing an elective primary total hip arthroplasty.

Results:

Fourteen studies were included, a total of 199,410 individual total hip arthroplasty procedures. Two studies investigated inpatient recovery of physical functioning, no strong level of evidence was found for a relationship between functional recovery and any of the preoperative predictors. Twelve studies investigated the length of hospital stay and reported 19 preoperative prognostic factors. A strong level of evidence suggested that higher scores on the American Society of Anaesthesiologists assessment (OR 3.34 to 6.22, +0.20 days), increased number of comorbidities (RR of 1.10, +0.59 to 1.61 days), presence of heart disease, (RR of 1.59, +0.26 days), and presence of lung disease (RR of 1.30, +0.34 days) were associated with longer lengths of hospital stay following total hip arthroplasty.

Conclusion:

For the prediction of inpatient recovery of physical functioning no factors with a strong level of evidence were found. For length of stay there was a strong level of evidence for the American Society of Anaesthesiologists score, number of comorbidities, and presence of heart or lung disease.
Preliminary study of dose reduction and image quality of adult pelvic low-dose CT scan with adaptive statistical iterative reconstruction
Authors: Li Wei , Zhang Cheng-Qi , Li Ai-Yin , Deng Kai , Shi Hao
Published: October 2014

Background

Because pelvic computed tomography (CT) is widely used in clinical practice, there are increasing concerns regarding the associated risks of radiation-induced cancer. Therefore, the capability to reduce the CT radiation dose without compromising image quality is desirable.

Purpose

To assess the radiation dose and image quality of adult pelvic CT using both a routine dose and low radiation dose with filtered back projection (FBP) and adaptive statistical iterative reconstruction (ASIR).

Material and Methods

Forty-five patients underwent both routine-dose CT with FBP reconstruction and low-dose CT with FBP and 50% ASIR blending ratio (ASIR50) reconstruction, respectively. Three different groups of image data were compared for subjective and objective image quality. CT dose index volume (CTDIvol), dose-length product (DLP), and effective dose (ED) were recorded.

Results

The resulting CTDIvol, DLP, and ED following low-dose pelvic CT were 10.80 ± 6.0 mGy, 265.0 ± 55.0 mGy.Cm, and 3.97 ± 0.82 mSv, respectively. When compared with the values obtained following routine-dose pelvic CT, the low-dose pelvic CT values decreased by 62%, 55%, and 56%, respectively ( P < 0.001). The results following evaluation of subjective and objective image quality revealed that there was no significant difference ( P > 0.05) between routine-dose CT with FBP, and low-dose CT with ASIR50. However, significant differences were detected between low-dose CT with FBP, routine-dose CT with FBP, and low-dose CT with ASIR50 ( P < 0.01).

Conclusion

The application of low-dose pelvic CT with ASIR50 could dramatically reduce the radiation dose and substantially improve image quality.
Single chords convey distinct emotional qualities to both naïve and expert listeners
Authors: Lahdelma Imre , Eerola Tuomas
Published: October 2014

Previous research on music and emotions has been able to pinpoint many structural features conveying emotions. Empirical research on vertical harmony’s emotional qualities, however, has been rare. The main studies in harmony and emotions usually concern the horizontal aspects of harmony, ignoring emotional qualities of chords as such.

An empirical experiment was conducted where participants ( N = 269) evaluated pre-chosen chords on a 9-item scale of given emotional dimensions. 14 different chords (major, minor, diminished, augmented triads and dominant, major and minor seventh chords with inversions) were played with two distinct timbres (piano and strings).

The results suggest significant differences in emotion perception across chords. These were consistent with notions about musical conventions, while providing novel data on how seventh chords affect emotion perception. The inversions and timbre also contributed to the evaluations. Moreover, certain chords played on the strings scored moderately high on the dimension of ‘nostalgia/longing,’ which is usually held as a musical emotion rising only from extra-musical connotations and conditioning, not intrinsically from the structural features of the music. The role of background variables to the results was largely negligible, suggesting the capacity of vertical harmony to convey distinct emotional qualities to both naïve and expert listeners.
Adolescences: Adolescence Re-staged. The Interplay between Small Groups and the Large Group in a Group Analytic Training Situation
Authors: Roth Wolfgang Martin
Published: October 2014

The author focuses on observed clinical material of interplay between the large group and small groups in a training situation. Cross border interplay have seldom been described: specific material from a large group setting is brought up in the context of another, the small group, or vice versa. These phenomena need to be conceptualized. The author makes use of Freud’s and Mario Erdheim’s concept of the antagonism between family and civilization, developing a conceptualization from Erdheim’s interpretation of adolescence as a dynamic factor of progress in civilization. The interplay between the small and large group is seen as a re-staging of the adolescent process. After applying this concept to the described material, the implications and consequences for group-analytic interpretation are discussed.
Boron-containing fire retardant rigid polyurethane–polyisocyanurate foams: Part I – polyol precursors based on boric acid and di(hydroxymethyl)urea derivatives
Authors: Paciorek-Sadowska Joanna , Czupryński Bogusław , Liszkowska Joanna
Published: October 2014

Development of a method for synthesis of boroorganic polyols based on boric acid and di(hydroxymethyl)urea derivatives is described. The polyols obtained were characterized in terms of their suitability for production of rigid polyurethane–polyisocyanurate foams, with infrared and nuclear magnetic resonance analyses confirming the presence of active hydroxyl groups. Results obtained from the determination of density, viscosity and hydroxyl number enabled formulation of the polyols for use in the production of fire retardant rigid polyurethane–polyisocyanurate foams, the preparation and properties of which are described in Part II of this article.
External threats and political survival: Can dispute involvement deter coup attempts?
Authors: Arbatli Cemal Eren , Arbatli Ekim
Published: October 2014

Diversionary war theory holds that insecure leaders are more likely to pursue aggressive foreign policies than their more secure counterparts. This hypothesis rests on the premise that interstate dispute involvement helps leaders deter potential challenges against their rule. We offer strong support for this premise by looking at coup attempts. Cross-national time-series evidence from interstate dispute participation over the period 1960–2000 indicates that a country in a militarized confrontation with another state is about 60% less likely to experience a coup attempt in the subsequent year. Consistent with our hypothesis, we establish that it is mainly militarized involvement in disputes, rather than non-militarized involvement, that is associated with lower coup likelihood. The results are robust to controlling for a wide set of potential correlates of coups and remain qualitatively intact when we focus entirely on within-country variations in coup attempts and interstate disputes.
Sociocritical Matters
Authors: Núñez Anne-Marie , Gildersleeve Ryan Evely
Published: October 2014

Migrant students face many educational, economic, social, and cultural challenges to college access. Anti-bilingual, anti-affirmative action, and anti-immigrant policies also constrain their postsecondary pathways. With these issues in mind, this article draws on quantitative and qualitative research to examine the influence of a residential outreach program at a public university on migrant student participants’ college access. We find evidence that cultivating sociocritical skills to challenge exclusionary political and economic systems while also cultivating academic skills and knowledge about college can broaden migrant students’ sense of postsecondary possibilities. To expand college access for migrant students, we suggest that outreach programs address the development of these and other skills.
The proposal of validation metrics for the assessment of the quality of simulations of the dynamic behaviour of railway vehicles
Authors: Bogojević Nebojša , Lučanin Vojkan
Published: October 2014

This paper introduces new validation metrics that may be used for the validation of models of railway vehicles. The proposed validation metrics are based on a comparison between the cumulative distribution functions of selected parameters obtained by simulation and measurements. A model of a freight railway vehicle has been developed and the proposed validation metrics were used in model validation. The results of the validation were compared with the results of validation metrics used in the ‘DynoTRAIN’ project. It was shown that the proposed metric is more severe than the metrics used in the project; a result of it comparing the complete domains of the cumulative distribution functions and not only the selected characteristic values.
Mapping modernity: The feminine middlebrow and the belle époque
Authors: Holmes Diana
Published: October 2014

Part of the remit of French Cultural Studies is surely to study the ‘littérature de grande consommation’ largely ignored by more canonical critical approaches, especially in France, but vital to the shaping of ideas and values. This article explores the aesthetics and function of the middlebrow novel ( roman de mœurs, roman d’idées) at the belle époque, the period when technology and cross-class demand for entertaining and instructive fictions converged to produce a golden age of publishing. The main focus is on middle-class women as readers; contrary to modernist orthodoxy, I argue that the mainstream, formally conventional ‘middlebrow’ novel, at least in the hands of women authors, could perform a radicalising function, bringing ‘new woman’ plots into respectable drawing-rooms, offering pleasurably immersive stories that quietly confronted readers with the gap between Republican values and the reality of sexual inequality, and welcomed modernity as an age of potential for women.
The future of the nation foretold in its museums
Authors: Lebovics Herman
Published: October 2014

With the opening of several new musées de la société in France we gain an exceptionally rich and revelatory way of understanding the society-wide debates about what France is and what it should be in the new millennium. Each of the museums discussed offers pieces of the contested stories of a new France in a new age. Taken together, they ask whether it is possible, or even desirable, today to tell a single and teleological national narrative, the roman national of the patriot-historians of the Third Republic. What did immigrants contribute to the making of today’s nation? What is the relationship of postcolonial France to its one-time colonial empire? How did biological and cultural evolution combine to make human societies? And now, with the opening of the Musée des Civilisations de l’Europe et de la Méditerranée, how did, and how do, French vernacular cultures relate to those of Europe and the Mediterranean world? The article argues that a way of understanding this complex of questions is to follow the stories that the new museums tell – or the disagreements about what stories they ought to tell. For these questions go to matters of high state policy, international economic interests, cultural outreach, the relations of regions to capitals, tourism, and indeed claims about what it means to be French today.
Not dead yet: Three takes on auteurism in contemporary French and Francophone cinema
Authors: Burgin Alice , McGregor Andrew , Nettelbeck Colin
Published: October 2014

Sixty years have passed since the term une politique des auteurs was first coined by François Truffaut in the pages of Les Cahiers du cinéma. Initially an approach to filmmaking reacting against its own socio-political context, la politique evolved into something of an ideological celebration of the personal worldview of the artist, and became a dominant element in determining a new canon of cinéma d’art. Since the fall of the French colonial empire, the end of the Cold War and the rise of a vastly transformed global order, the French cinema industry, including many historians and critics, seems to have largely maintained the auteur-based model in terms of its funding and self-projection on both a national and an international level. But is that not an anomaly? What is the real place and meaning of the auteur paradigm within the context of a diverse and fractured Francophone world? This article provides three different perspectives regarding the critical purchase of la politique des auteurs within the contemporary postcolonial Francophone cinematic landscape. Through these perspectives, we argue that while the auteur paradigm can claim relevance within the confines of the Franco-French film industry, its wider applicability as a model for Francophone filmmaking raises pertinent questions about the continuing influence of the metropolitan centre on how minority identities are constructed and received.
From Meurtres pour mémoire to Missak: Literature and historiography in dialogue
Authors: Atack Margaret
Published: October 2014

Didier Daeninckx has devoted many novels to the history and memory of the Occupation. This article explores the relationship between his fiction and historiographical frameworks with reference to Meurtres pour mémoire, contrasted with Missak published 25 years later. After discussion of 1980s historiography of the Occupation and the Algerian War, it looks particularly at narrative structure and the thematics of order (both obedience and orderly documentation), seeking to establish the differences in the ways these two novels historicise the past, and the historiographical differences in their approach to guilt, knowledge and interpretation.
Dijon, ville d’art et capitale de la gastronomie: L’invention d’une image urbaine (1919–1935)
Authors: Poirrier Philippe
Published: October 2014

Résumé

Maire de Dijon de 1919 à 1935, Gaston-Gérard marque profondément la scène municipale locale. Dans une politique qui vise à dynamiser le développement de la ville, le maire de Dijon se distingue, de bien de ses pairs, par la place essentielle qu’il accorde à l’intervention de la ville dans les domaines culturels. Le discours met en scène trois registres complémentaires qui fondent la légitimité de cette action : le rayonnement de la ville ; le renouveau régionaliste et la démocratisation des arts. La création de la Foire gastronomique, en 1921, participe de cette nouvelle image urbaine : « Dijon, ville d’art et capitale de la gastronomie ».
Le regard de l’étranger: What French cultural studies brings to French cultural history
Authors: Kelly Michael
Published: October 2014

French cultural studies cast a stranger’s gaze over French cultural history. This article analyses the distinctive character of French cultural studies through the work of the journal French Cultural Studies over 25 years. It sets this work in the context of the academic community it serves and the finalities it pursues, in order to identify the distinctive contributions it has made to the study of French cultural history. It particularly suggests that French Cultural Studies has been able to work across disciplinary boundaries that are less easy to cross in the academic communities in France. This has enabled it to use a range of perspectives and methodologies that enable it to cast fresh light on many areas of French culture and understand them in their broader social context. It also suggests that the self-reflexive stranger’s gaze may offer a paradigm for research in cultural history and in the humanities more generally.
Blinded with science: Trivial graphs and formulas increase ad persuasiveness and belief in product efficacy
Authors: Tal Aner , Wansink Brian
Published: October 2014

The appearance of being scientific can increase persuasiveness. Even trivial cues can create such an appearance of a scientific basis. In our studies, including simple elements, such as graphs (Studies 1–2) or a chemical formula (Study 3), increased belief in a medication’s efficacy. This appears to be due to the association of such elements with science, rather than increased comprehensibility, use of visuals, or recall. Belief in science moderates the persuasive effect of graphs, such that people who have a greater belief in science are more affected by the presence of graphs (Study 2). Overall, the studies contribute to past research by demonstrating that even trivial elements can increase public persuasion despite their not truly indicating scientific expertise or objective support.
The Adult Brain Makes New Neurons, and Effortful Learning Keeps Them Alive
Authors: Shors Tracey J.
Published: October 2014

The brain continues to produce new neurons throughout life. For instance, the hippocampus (a brain region necessary for select learning processes) produces thousands of new neurons each day. However, a significant number of them die and do so within just a few weeks of their birth. Laboratory animals that are trained to learn a new skill between one and two weeks after the new cells are generated retain most cells that would have otherwise died. The types of skills that keep new cells alive are not limited to those that depend on the hippocampus but rather include those that are effortful to learn, requiring more training trials or time spent training. Importantly, training alone is not sufficient to increase cell survival; animals that are trained but do not learn do not retain more cells than animals that are not trained. Therefore, learning increases the survival of newly generated cells in the hippocampus as long as the learning experience is new, effortful, and successful. Once rescued, the vast majority of these cells differentiate into neurons, thereby forming synapses and generating action potentials as they become incorporated into the existing architecture and functional circuitry of the adult brain.
Optional Stopping and the Termination of Memory Retrieval
Authors: Dougherty Michael R. , Harbison J. Isaiah , Davelaar Eddy J.
Published: October 2014

Recent years have seen an increased interest in understanding memory-retrieval dynamics and, in particular, what makes a person decide to terminate the memory-search process. We review research that has employed the open-ended retrieval paradigm (Dougherty & Harbison, 2007) and focus on the behavioral regularities it has revealed. The main finding of this research is that people’s memory-search behavior follows a lawful pattern of a convex decreasing relation between exit latency, or the time between the final retrieval and the decision to terminate search, and the number of items retrieved. Theoretical work has converged on a stopping rule that treats the retrieval process as a costly cognitive process that is truncated on the basis of a comparative judgment of perceived relative benefit. Parallels with other search domains are highlighted.
On the Existence and Implications of Nonbelieved Memories
Authors: Otgaar Henry , Scoboria Alan , Mazzoni Giuliana
Published: October 2014

In this article, we review the state of knowledge about a previously-assumed-to-be-rare memory phenomenon called nonbelieved memories. Nonbelieved memories are a counterintuitive phenomenon in which vivid autobiographical memories are no longer believed to have happened even though vivid recollective features remain present. Such memories stand in contrast to the more typical situation that when events are recollected they are also believed to have genuinely occurred. We review data on the frequency, characteristics, and factors that contribute to the development of naturally occurring and laboratory-induced nonbelieved memories and discuss the relationships of nonbelieved memories with theories of autobiographical remembering and the study of remembering in applied domains.
Relationships Between Caregiver Violence Exposure, Caregiver Depression, and Youth Behavioral Health Among Homeless Families
Authors: McGuire-Schwartz Mandy , Small Latoya A. , Parker Gary , Kim Patricia , McKay Mary
Published: October 2014

Homelessness affects a large and increasing number of families in the United States, and exposure to violence and other potentially traumatic events is common among homeless families. It is important to understand more about this population and, more specifically, about the relationship between youth mental health and caregiver mental health and trauma exposure among homeless families, in order to better serve the needs of this vulnerable population. The objective of this study is to explore the relationships between caregiver exposure to violence, caregiver depression, and youth depression and behavioral problems among homeless families. Preliminary findings indicate that among this sample of homeless families, caregiver violence exposure has statistically significant relationships with both youth behavioral problems and youth depression symptoms, as mediated by caregiver depression. These findings indicate that youth behavioral health is associated with caregiver mental health, which, in turn, is associated with caregiver trauma exposure. This highlights the importance of taking into account adult mental health while treating youth externalizing and internalizing behaviors and ensuring that caregivers, too, have access to adequate treatment and supports. Furthermore, this treatment should be trauma informed, given the link between trauma and mental health.
Primary Cutaneous Mucoepidermoid Carcinoma
Authors: Gartrell Richard , Pauli John , Zonta Mark
Published: October 2014

Mucoepidermoid carcinoma (MEC) of the skin is a rare neoplasm with few cases reported in the medical literature. We report a case of MEC of the skin in a 76-year-old man who presented with an infiltrative multinodular lesion on his right cheek. Histological description showed a multilobulated nodulocystic tumor extending throughout the dermis exhibiting glandular and squamoid differentiation. Cribiform nests of epidermoid cells contained glandular spaces with mucin. The nuclei were mildly atypical and contained scattered mitotic figures. A small focus of perineural invasion was evident within the tumor not extending beyond the deep margin with no lymphovascular invasion. There was no overlying intraepidermal carcinoma. Immunohistochemical analysis revealed staining for EMA, PanCK, and p63 whereas CK7, CK20, and CEA were negative. It is important to differentiate primary cutaneous MEC from cutaneous adenosquamous carcinoma, direct extension from an underlying primary salivary gland MEC, or metastasis of MEC from another site. We conclude that primary MEC of the skin is a low-grade neoplasm that should be differentiated from adenosquamous carcinoma. Immunohistochemical staining for p63 has proven to be helpful in differentiating primary epidermal or adnexal tumours and metastatic neoplasms to the skin.
The effect of race on the CYP3A-mediated metabolism of vincristine in pediatric patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia
Authors: Sims Rosalyn P
Published: October 2014

Objective

The purpose of this preliminary study was to compare racial background and CYP3A distribution in pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia patients as it relates to vincristine-related neurotoxicity.

Methods

Patients with B-precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia treated at Children’s Hospital of Michigan were eligible to participate in this study. Determination of the CYP3A variant for each patient was done using Qiagen DNA Blood Mini Kit and polymerase chain reaction amplification. Patients were monitored during their leukemia treatment course for vincristine-related neurotoxicity.

Results

Fifty-four patients were enrolled. Twenty-nine Caucasian patients (81%) and 13 African-American patients (77%) experienced neurotoxicity. CYP3A genotyping was done for 52 patients. Two African-American and two Caucasian patients were homozygous A/A for the CYP3A5*3 polymorphism. Three of these patients (75%) experienced grade 2 neuropathy. Two Caucasian patients and one African-American patient were heterozygous A/G. Two of these patients (66.7%) experienced grade 2 or 3 neuropathy. Thirty-five patients (67.3%) were homozygous for the mutant inactive G/G allele for CYP3A5*3, eight African-American and 27 Caucasian patients. Of these, six of the African-American patients (75%) and 22 of the Caucasian patients (81.5%) experienced neuropathy.

Conclusion

The CYP3A5*3 genotype causes very low expression of the CYP3A5 protein and hence decreased vincristine metabolism. In this study, patients who expressed CYP3A5*3 had an increased incidence of vincristine-related neurotoxicity. Overall, a greater percentage of Caucasian patients had documented incidences of neurotoxicity. A larger sample size and more detailed gene analysis are needed for future studies.
Twist in soft-core sandwich plates
Authors: Elmalich Dvir , Rabinovitch Oded
Published: October 2014

This paper studies the twist behavior of soft-core sandwich plates. The paper adopts a comparative analytical approach, derives a geometrically nonlinear extended high-order sandwich plate theory, and compares this theory with the classical high-order one. The extended theory takes all stiffness components of the core and its Poisson effect into account and considers the direct contribution of the in-plane shear stresses in the core to the twist resistance mechanism. The classical high-order sandwich plate theory, which is presented for comparison, neglects the in-plane shear and normal stiffness of the core and attributes the twist mechanism to the composite action of the face sheets and to the ability of the core to resist out-of-plane shear and out-of-plane normal stresses. Both theories account for large displacements, moderate rotations, and small strains in the face sheets and serve as platforms for the development of specially tailored finite elements. Along with the development of the extended sandwich plate theory, the paper studies the twist behavior, compares the two theories, compares the results with experimental ones taken from the literature, and looks into the impact of the geometrical nonlinearity on the twist response.
A sustainable model for training teachers to use pivotal response training
Authors: Suhrheinrich Jessica
Published: October 2014

The increase in the rate of autism diagnoses has created a growing demand for teachers who are trained to use effective interventions. The train-the-trainer model, which involves training supervisors to train others, may be ideal for providing cost-effective training and ongoing support to teachers. Although research supports interventions, such as pivotal response training, as evidence-based, dissemination to school environments has been problematic. This study assessed the benefits of using the train-the-trainer model to disseminate pivotal response training to school settings. A multiple-baseline design was conducted across three training groups, each consisting of one school staff member (trainer), three special education teachers, and six students. Trainers conducted the teacher-training workshop with high adherence to training protocol and met mastery criteria in their ability to implement pivotal response training, assess implementation of pivotal response training, and provide feedback to teachers. Six of the nine teachers mastered all components of pivotal response training. The remaining three teachers implemented 89% of the pivotal response training components correctly. The majority of trainers and teachers maintained their abilities at follow-up. These results support the use of the train-the-trainer model as an effective method of disseminating evidence-based practices in school settings.
Revenge by photoshop: Memefying police acts in the public dialogue about injustice
Authors: Bayerl Petra Saskia , Stoynov Lachezar
Published: October 2014

In this article, we are interested in the role digital memes in the form of pictures play in the framing of public discourses about police injustice and what it is that makes memes successful in this process. For this purpose, we narrate the story of one such meme: the ‘pepper-spray cop’. In our analysis, we link the creation and spread of the meme to the democratization of online activism and the subversive acts of hierarchical sousveillance. Based on our findings, we discuss features of the meme and the process linked to its initiation, rapid spread and disappearance as vital for the success of visual memes in the context of online protests.
Adopting or resisting 24-hour news logic on evening bulletins? The mediatization of UK television news 1991−2012
Authors: Cushion Stephen , Lewis Rachel , Roger Hugh
Published: October 2014

This study carries out a longitudinal content analysis of United Kingdom (UK) fixed time evening news bulletins between 1991 and 2012 (N = 2040) in order to systematically examine whether they have adapted their format for the rolling news age with more live and instant conventions. Drawing on the concepts of mediatization and journalistic interventionism to interpret editorial changes, our findings broadly indicate that the media logic shaping bulletins has changed from reflecting the ‘day’s news’ to covering more ‘news as it happens’ (as news channels now claim). We found an increasing reliance on less pre-scripted material and greater emphasis on live reporting from journalists (rather than external sources) who were routinely asked to instantly react, update, and interpret news, particularly in the world of politics. We suggest this represents a mediatization of television news bulletins, with broadcasters increasingly subscribing to a journalistic logic associated more with 24-hour news values than fixed time programming.
Old methods and new technologies: Social media and shifts in power in qualitative research
Authors: Reich Jennifer A
Published: October 2014

This article explores how online communications and social networking sites raise new ethical and methodological questions for qualitative researchers who design studies to be primarily ‘off-line’. The author explores how social media affect efforts to recruit participants, gain informed consent, collect data, leave the field, and disseminate results, particularly as participants have greater ability to respond to those findings. In examining the dilemmas ethnographers increasingly encounter, this article points to the shifts of power between participants and researchers and suggests that this might promise greater equity between participants and researchers, while also potentially introducing new pitfalls.
Pedaling in pairs toward a ‘dialogical performance’: Partnerships and the sensory body within a tandem cycling group
Authors: Hammer Gili
Published: October 2014

Focusing on social dialogue and the sensory body within a tandem cycling group pairing blind and sighted riders, this article addresses the creation of a ‘dialogical performance’ (Conquergood, 1985), arguing for the ways integrated tandem cycling challenges distinct binary categories, bodily hierarchies, and constructs of social otherness. Based on one year of fieldwork conducted during cycling, I examine the form of ‘togetherness’ this activity creates, as well as the ‘intersensory’ aspects of this activity, discussing the ways it allows group members to critically reflect upon their bodily and sensory identities, and to re-embody sight as an active and somatic sense. Contributing to and integrating disability ethnography, anthropology of the senses, and the sociology of sporting bodies, I examine the ways this mutual experience enriches the meanings of both blindness and sight, and challenges rigid definitions of and boundaries around the senses, social identities, and bodily functions.
Maximum scour depth based on magnetic field change in smart rocks for foundation stability evaluation of bridges
Authors: Chen Genda , Schafer Brandon P , Lin Zhibin , Huang Ying , Suaznabar Oscar , Shen Jerry , Kerenyi Kornel
Published: October 2014

Scour was responsible for most of the US bridges that collapsed during the past 40 years. Due to erosion and refilling of riverbed deposits under strong current, the maximum scour depth is difficult to measure with existing technologies during a flood event. In this study, a new methodology is proposed to embed permanent magnets in a natural rock and integrate the so-called smart rock into the process of bridge scour for real-time monitoring. Once properly designed, the smart rock can continually fall into the bottom of a gradually growing scour hole during a flood event and thus register the maximum scour depth. Emphasis in this study is placed on the working principle of smart rocks, the maximum measurement distance with a magnetometer, and various calibration and validation tests. It was demonstrated that the magnetic field intensity is a function of measurement distance and magnet orientation and, once calibrated, can be strongly correlated with the increase in scour depth over time.
A Novel, New Robotic Platform for Natural Orifice Distal Pancreatectomy
Authors: Thakkar Shyam , Awad Michael , Gurram Krishna C. , Tully Steven , Wright Cornell , Sanan Siddharth , Choset Howie
Published: October 2014

Laparoendoscopic technology has revolutionized the practice of surgery; however, surgeons have not widely accepted laparoscopic techniques for pancreatic surgeries due to the complexity of the operation. Natural orifice transluminal endoscopic surgery (NOTES) offers a great new potential for pancreatic procedures, with early data showing benefits of reduced visible scarring and the potential for decreased wound infections, hernias, pain, and postoperative complications. However, there are significant limitations to the currently used flexible endoscopy tools, including a diminished visual field, spatial orientation and tissue manipulation issues, and 2-dimensional visual feedback. We have adopted a novel snake-like robot, the minimally invasive cardiac surgery (MICS) robot, which addresses these issues. In the current pilot study, the MICS robot was evaluated for transrectal distal pancreas exploration and resection in 2 nonsurvival porcine models. Abdominal navigation and accessing the pancreas was investigated in the first pig, and based on its success, pancreas resection was studied in pig 2. The MICS robot was successful in accessing and visualizing the right upper, left upper, and left lower quadrants of the abdomen in pig 1 and was able to perform a successful complex NOTES procedure with distal pancreas resection in pig 2, with only minimal laparoscopic retraction assistance. In conclusion, preliminary results showing the MICS robot in natural orifice distal pancreatectomy are positive. Enhancements to optics and instrumentation will help further increase the usability in pancreatic interventions. Future indications may include transgastric NOTES approaches, endoluminal procedures, and single-port applications.
Is It PANS, CANS, or PANDAS?
Authors: Bagian Kathy , Hartung Sheila Q.
Published: October 2014

The terms pediatric autoimmune neuropsychiatric disorders associated with streptococcal infections (PANDAS), pediatric acute-onset neuropsychiatric syndrome (PANS), and childhood acute neuropsychiatric symptoms (CANS) have all been used to describe certain acute onset neuropsychiatric pediatric disorders. Additionally, controversy is ongoing concerning the diagnosis and etiology of the disorders. The school nurse, as a member of a multidisciplinary team, benefits from an awareness of these disorders, the resulting impact on school performance, and the recommended treatment. The school nurse assists the team through the development of an Individualized Healthcare Plan to help the student to achieve success in school.
Immunization Practices of Pediatricians for Children Younger Than Five Years in Coastal South India
Authors: Mithra P. Prasanna , Unnikrishnan B. , T. Rekha , Kumar Nithin , Chatterjee Pratik Kumar , Holla Ramesh
Published: October 2014

Context: Immunization helps in controlling infectious diseases. Child immunization is an important component of child survival programs in India, which mainly follows the National Immunization Schedule. Also, many of the injection practices followed are not safe. Aims: To study the practices of pediatricians toward the immunization of children younger than 5 years and injection-related waste management. Settings and Design: Cross-sectional study carried out in the city of Mangalore, a rapidly developing city in southern India. Methods and Material: All the practicing pediatricians were included in the study and an interview was done on prior appointment using pretested interview schedule in March 2012, after obtaining clearance from the institutional ethics committee. Data were analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 11.5. Results: Among the 54 practicing pediatricians in Mangalore, 42 were included in this study after exclusion criteria were applied. Among them, 71.4% were following the National Immunization Schedule, 5% did not prefer to give combination vaccines, 17% reported vaccine failure at least once in their practice, and 85.7% motivated the parents for future doses. Distance to the clinic and affordability were the major reasons for loss of follow-up. Only 38.1% used auto-disabled syringes, 11.9% did not observe the children following the immunization, and 45.2% did not use color coding for disposal of injection-related wastes. Mechanical hub cutters were preferred by 41% of the respondents. Conclusion: The study showed the diversity in immunization practices. The National Immunization Schedule is the most commonly followed schedule. However, the safety of the injection practices was limited.
Embolic Myocardial Infarction in a Patient With a Fontan Circulation
Authors: Hastings Ramin S. , McElhinney Doff B. , Saric Muhamed , Ngai Calvin , Skolnick Adam H.
Published: October 2014

Coronary artery embolism is an uncommon cause of acute myocardial infarction (MI). We present a patient with pulmonary atresia and severe right heart hypoplasia who underwent a lateral tunnel Fontan procedure in childhood and presented with an acute ST-segment elevation MI at 19 years of age. In addition to the known risk of thrombotic complications associated with a Fontan circulation, potential predisposing factors to thromboembolism in this patient included a right ventricle to left anterior descending coronary connection and a Fontan baffle leak. The patient was treated with device closure of the baffle leak and anticoagulation. This is one of the first reports of an embolic MI in a patient with a Fontan circulation. The optimal method of reducing thromboembolic risk in this patient, and those with a Fontan circulation in general, is complicated and no consensus exists.
Plasmoblastic Lymphoma as Cause of Perianal Fistula
Authors: Isfahani Firoozeh , Amar Surabhi , Dave Harikrishna , Gridley Daniel
Published: October 2014

We report the case of a 33-year-old HIV-infected man who presented with a recurrent, nonhealing perianal fistula. After multiple benign biopsies, the diagnosis of plasmablastic lymphoma (PBL) eventually was made. The patient underwent chemotherapy and radiation with a complete response. Perianal fistulas are frequent in HIV-positive patients, but PBL as a cause is extremely rare. This often delays the diagnosis and treatment of this highly aggressive disease. We review the literature and discuss the pitfalls in the diagnosis and management of the disease.
Knowledge, Attitudes, and Ordering Patterns for Routine HIV Screening among Resident Physicians at an Urban Medical Center
Authors: Bares Sara , Steinbeck Jennifer , Bence Lauren , Kordik Abbe , Acree Mary Ellen , Jih Jane , Farnan Jeanne , Watson Sydeaka , Rasinski Kenneth , Schneider John , Pitrak David
Published: October 2014

Background:

We sought to measure resident physician knowledge of HIV epidemiology and screening guidelines, attitudes toward testing, testing practices, and barriers and facilitators to routine testing.

Methods:

Resident physicians in internal medicine, pediatrics, obstetrics and gynecology, and emergency medicine were surveyed.

Results:

Overall response rate was 63% (162 of 259). Half knew details of the HIV screening guidelines, but few follow these recommendations. Less than one-third reported always or usually performing routine testing. A significant proportion reported only sometimes or never screening patients with risk factors. This was despite a strong belief that HIV screening improves patient care and public health. The most common barriers to testing were competing priorities and forgetting to order the test. Elimination of written consent and electronic reminders was identified as facilitators to routine testing. Although an institutional policy assigns responsibility for test notification and linkage of HIV-positive patients to care to the HIV care program, only 29% were aware of this.

Conclusions:

Few resident physicians routinely screen for HIV infection and some don’t test patients with risk factors. While competing priorities remain a significant barrier, elimination of written consent form and electronic reminders has facilitated testing. Increasing the awareness of policies regarding test notification and linkage to care may improve screening.