bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Micro-XCT-based finite element method for prediction of elastic modulus of plane woven carbon fiber-reinforced ceramic matrix composites
Authors: Gao Xiguang , Luo Piaoyang , Yu Guoqiang , Fang Guangwu , Song Yingdong
Published: December 2014

In this study, an X-ray computer tomography-based finite element method was developed to predict the elastic modulus of a 2D plane woven carbon fiber-reinforced carborundum matrix composite. Micro-X-ray computer tomography was used to construct a geometrical model of the material. Then, the elastic parameters of each element were determined by the grey level of pixels in the images captured. A standard finite element model process was performed to calculate all of the elastic moduli of the material. In addition, a volume average method for determining the proper representative volume element size was developed to reduce the computational time without losing accuracy.
Climate, Affluence, and Trust
Authors: Robbins Blaine G.
Published: December 2014

Recent theory predicts that climatic demands in conjunction with wealth-based resources serve to enhance socio-psychological functioning and facilitate the development of cognitive processes such as generalized trust. Past research, however, has provided only cross-sectional evidence to support this theory. In this study, I analyzed a repeated cross-sectional data set that included representative data from 123 societies spread over a 29-year time period. Unbalanced random-effects models and ordinary least squares regression showed that thermal climate and wealth-based resources interacted in their influence on generalized trust. Although the observed associations were robust to potential sources of bias, conditional marginal effect sizes for thermal climate were significantly reduced with the inclusion of confounding control variables. The findings support climatic demands–resource theory of generalized trust, invite new research directions, and yield important implications for trust research and theory.
Independent, dependent, and employee: Contractors and New Zealand’s Pike River Coal Mine disaster
Authors: Lamare J Ryan , Lamm Felicity , McDonnell Nadine , White Helen
Published: December 2014

In this paper, we use the case study of the Pike River Coal Mine explosions, which occurred outside Greymouth, New Zealand, in November 2010 and killed 29 workers, to examine the vulnerability of contracted workers, particularly with regards to occupational health and safety, at times of disasters. We first consider how the literature defines ‘employees’ and ‘contracted workers’, and the notion that many contractors are in fact dependent, vulnerable individuals. We next explain that this group of workers has been overlooked within the disaster and occupational health and safety literatures. We use the Pike River mine explosion as a case study for exploring the health and safety consequences facing vulnerable contractors at a heavily subcontracted employer willing to disregard necessary protections for these workers. Our findings indicate that contractors were especially vulnerable when the Pike River mine exploded, relative to other employee types. In addition, we find that financial outlays to these workers’ families following the explosion have been slow or nonexistent, largely due to a lack of legal guarantees granted to these individuals. This study highlights the need to consider the nuanced levels of subcontracting and multiple types of employees whose health and safety are affected when disaster occurs.
Student Neighborhoods, Schools, and Test Score Growth
Authors: Carlson Deven , Cowen Joshua M.
Published: December 2014

Schools and neighborhoods are thought to be two of the most important contextual influences on student academic outcomes. Drawing on a unique data set that permits simultaneous estimation of neighborhood and school contributions to student test score gains, we analyze the distributions of these contributions to consider the relative importance of schools and neighborhoods in shaping student achievement outcomes. We also evaluate the sensitivity of estimated school and neighborhood contributions to the exclusion of an explicit measure of the other context, indicating the extent to which bias may exist in studies where either measure is unavailable. Taken together, results of these analyses provide substantial insight into the influences of two of the most important contextual settings in students’ lives.
What Is Hip-Hop-Based Education Doing in Nice Fields Such as Early Childhood and Elementary Education?
Authors: Love Bettina L.
Published: December 2014

Hip-Hop-Based Education (HHBE) has resulted in many positive educational outcomes, ranging from teaching academic skills to teaching critical reflection at secondary levels. Given what HHBE initiatives have accomplished, it is troubling that there is an absence of attention to these methods in education programs for elementary and early childhood educators. For that reason, I intend to use theories of sociocultural learning to examine how young urban children’s Hip Hop communities of practice influence their early learning and identities. Through personal narratives, this work theorizes young urban children’s Hip Hop identities by utilizing children’s situated learning activities. The goal of the work is to begin a dialogue for the application of HHBE in early childhood and elementary education pre-service teacher programs.
Framing Hip Hop
Authors: Dimitriadis Greg
Published: December 2014

This article revisits the central impulse behind early advocacy for ethnographic approaches to hip hop—that critics should try as much as possible to limit their own certainties around what hip hop can and might mean. While ethnographic approaches can engender the kinds of personal dislocations that allow for this negotiation, they do not necessarily do so. Moreover, certain ethnographic approaches risk overly localizing the study of popular culture at a time when cultural phenomena need to be understood in global context. New forms of self-reflexivity are necessary for scholars and critics who look to “frame” hip hop as an object of analysis.
What is straight cannot fall: Gothic architecture, Scholasticism, and dynamics
Authors: Walton Steven A , Boothby Thomas
Published: December 2014

It has long been shown that medieval builders primarily used geometrical constructions to design medieval architecture. The thought processes involved, however, have been considered to be remote from the natural philosophical speculations of the Scholastics, who, following Aristotle, had taken the basis of physics to be the study of dynamics, or change. However, investigations of the Expertises of Chartres, Florence, Milan, and other documents related to medieval building suggest that medieval architects, in speaking of their work, resort to recognizable dynamic arguments, structured similarly to the speculations of Scholastic philosophers. These dynamic explanations of structural behaviour persist at least into the 17th century, but thereafter lost out to the arguments based on statics made by modern scholars attempting to explain the endurance of these structures.
Oxford Serialized: Revisiting the Huxley–Wilberforce debate through the periodical press
Authors: Kaalund Nanna Katrine Lüders
Published: December 2014

The debate between the Bishop of Oxford, Samuel Wilberforce, and the scientific naturalist, Thomas Huxley, at the 1860 meeting of the British Association for the Advancement of Science has come to represent an iconic moment in the history of the relationship between science and religion. This article uses the digitalized databases of nineteenth-century British periodicals to re-examine the reception of the Huxley–Wilberforce debate. By combining methods and insights from digital humanities with the vast literature on the Huxley–Wilberforce debate, and the secondary literature on science and print culture, I show that the narrative of Huxley’s victory over Wilberforce was not the prevalent story told in the press immediately after the event occurred. Rather, this study shows that there is still much to be learned from looking at the ways in which the press influenced nineteenth-century understandings of iconic moments in the history of science, even in cases that have been well examined, such as the Huxley–Wilberforce debate.
Charles Bell’s seeing hand: Teaching anatomy to the senses in Britain, 1750–1840
Authors: Berkowitz Carin
Published: December 2014

Charles Bell’s Bridgewater Treatise on the hand should be read as elaborating philosophies of pedagogy and the senses, and as fitting with Bell’s work on the nervous system. In The Hand, Bell argues that sensory reception must be coupled with muscular action to establish true knowledge, elevating the ‘doing’ hand to epistemological parity with the long-superior ‘seeing’ eye. Knowledge in anatomy was typically couched in terms to do with sight and depiction; but according to Bell, anatomy simply could not teach the sort of feeling that one would encounter inside a living body. Instead, anatomy taught students to map the parts so that their fingers, moving through a surgical field, could ‘see’ and therefore could know and could act. This elevation of the status of the hand also had social implications that fit with Bell’s reformist politics.
The national mentoring program in Israel – Challenges and achievements
Authors: Zorman Rachel , Rachmel Shlomit , Bashan Zipi
Published: December 2014

The National Mentoring Program was created in 2009 by the Division for Gifted and Outstanding Students in the Ministry of Education and is implemented by the Szold Institute. The program aims to cultivate future leaders in Israel. Highly gifted 10th and 11th graders are matched with top rate professionals in students’ areas of interest. They work for a year on a project of mutual interest. Forty-four per cent of students live in geographical or social periphery. The article details program rationale and phases, and presents results of qualitative program evaluation. Each of the 50 students who completed the first three cohorts of the program produced high quality university level work. Some students also received significant recognition by the professional community, publishing their work and presenting it in professional conferences.
The effect of a structured model for stroke rehabilitation multi-disciplinary team meetings on functional recovery and productivity: a Phase I/II proof of concept study
Authors: Tyson Sarah F , Burton Louisa , McGovern Alison
Published: December 2014

Objective:

Regular multidisciplinary team meetings are the main way that teams operate, yet our earlier research found they can sometimes be suboptimal. We developed a model to structure multidisciplinary team meetings and assessed the feasibility, acceptability and impact of its implementation on meeting quality and patient outcomes.

Design:

Longitudinal cohort design with non-participant observation of multidisciplinary team meetings before and after implementation of the intervention.

Setting:

Inpatient stroke rehabilitation units.

Subjects:

Members of the multidisciplinary inpatient stroke rehabilitation teams.

Intervention:

A model to structure multidisciplinary team meetings.

Main measures:

Quality of multidisciplinary team meetings (using a predefined checklist); change in independence (Barthel Index) during admission; length of stay; meeting duration and the number of patients discussed.

Results:

At baseline, meeting quality was generally low. Following implementation, all aspects of meeting quality improved by 5%–58%. This was achieved without loss of staff productivity or additional resources: The mean number of patients treated during the observation periods was 36 (SD 17.6), which was unchanged after implementation. Nor were there any significant changes in the length of meetings (mean = 76 minutes), time spent discussing each patient (5.4 vs. 7 minutes) or length of stay (26.7 vs. 30.3 days), but there was a greater increase in Barthel Index score after implementation (3.8 vs. 4.7) indicating greater functional recovery.

Conclusions:

A feasible and acceptable model to structure multidisciplinary stroke team meetings has been developed and implemented. This increased meeting quality without increase in resources and may increase patient recovery.
Real-time large-scale dense RGB-D SLAM with volumetric fusion
Authors: Whelan Thomas , Kaess Michael , Johannsson Hordur , Fallon Maurice , Leonard John J. , McDonald John
Published: December 2014

We present a new simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) system capable of producing high-quality globally consistent surface reconstructions over hundreds of meters in real time with only a low-cost commodity RGB-D sensor. By using a fused volumetric surface reconstruction we achieve a much higher quality map over what would be achieved using raw RGB-D point clouds. In this paper we highlight three key techniques associated with applying a volumetric fusion-based mapping system to the SLAM problem in real time. First, the use of a GPU-based 3D cyclical buffer trick to efficiently extend dense every-frame volumetric fusion of depth maps to function over an unbounded spatial region. Second, overcoming camera pose estimation limitations in a wide variety of environments by combining both dense geometric and photometric camera pose constraints. Third, efficiently updating the dense map according to place recognition and subsequent loop closure constraints by the use of an ‘as-rigid-as-possible’ space deformation. We present results on a wide variety of aspects of the system and show through evaluation on de facto standard RGB-D benchmarks that our system performs strongly in terms of trajectory estimation, map quality and computational performance in comparison to other state-of-the-art systems.
Radiological–pathological correlation of yolk sac tumor in 20 patients
Authors: Li YangKang , Zheng Yu , Lin JianBang , Xu GuiXiao , Cai AiQun , Chen RuoWei , Wu MingYao
Published: December 2014

Background

Yolk sac tumor (YST) is a rare tumor. Familiarity of its radiological characteristics may permit preoperative diagnosis and improve surgical management of patients. However, a detailed description of the imaging features of YST with pathological correlation in particular is scarce.

Purpose

To investigate computed tomography (CT) findings of YSTs with pathological correlation.

Material and Methods

CT images of 20 patients with pathologically proven YST were retrospectively reviewed. The location, size, margin, internal architecture, and pattern and degree enhancement of the lesion were evaluated. Radiological findings were correlated with pathological results.

Results

The locations of 20 tumors were distributed between the testis ( n = 3), ovary ( n = 6), sacrococcygeal area ( n = 6), rectum ( n = 1), and mediastinum ( n = 4). The median age was 13 years. On CT images, all tumors were seen as oval ( n = 14) or irregular ( n = 6), well-defined ( n = 16) or ill-defined ( n = 4) masses with a mean size of 9.7 cm. The lesions were solid cystic ( n = 10), entirely solid ( n = 6), or predominantly cystic ( n = 4). Intratumoral hemorrhage, calcification, and fatty tissue were seen in nine, three, and two tumors, respectively. Discontinuity of the tumor wall was seen in eight tumors. After contrast media administration, most tumors showed heterogeneous moderate to marked enhancement ( n = 7) or heterogeneous marked enhancement ( n = 9). Enlarged intratumoral vessels were seen in 17 tumors.

Conclusion

YST usually appears as a large solid-cystic mass with intratumoral hemorrhage, capsular tear, marked heterogeneous enhancement, and enlarged intratumoral vessels on CT images. Intratumoral calcification and fatty tissue, although rare, may indicate a mixed YST containing teratoma component.
Reduced CSF hypocretin-1 levels are associated with cluster headache
Authors: Barloese Mads , Jennum Poul , Lund Nunu , Knudsen Stine , Gammeltoft Steen , Jensen Rigmor
Published: December 2014

Background

Cluster headache (CH) is a debilitating disorder characterized by unilateral, severe pain attacks with accompanying autonomic symptoms, often waking the patient from sleep. As it exhibits strong chronobiological traits and genetic studies have suggested a link with the hypocretin (HCRT) system, the objective of this study was to investigate HCRT-1 in CH patients.

Methods

Cerebrospinal fluid HCRT-1 concentration was measured in 12 chronic and 14 episodic CH patients during an active bout, and in 27 healthy controls. The patients were well characterized and clinical features compared to the HCRT concentration.

Results

We found significantly lower HCRT levels both in chronic ( p = 0.0221) and episodic CH ( p = 0.0005) patients compared with controls. No significant relationship was found with other clinical features.

Conclusions

This is the first report of significantly reduced HCRT concentrations in CH patients. We speculate that decreased HCRT may reflect insufficient antinociceptive activity of the hypothalamus. The mechanism of the antinociceptive effect of HCRT is not known and requires further investigation. This study supports the hypothesis of a connection between arousal regulation and CH.
An Adapted Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Program for Elders in a Continuing Care Retirement Community
Authors: Moss Aleezé S. , Reibel Diane K. , Greeson Jeffrey M. , Thapar Anjali , Bubb Rebecca , Salmon Jacqueline , Newberg Andrew B.
Published: December 2014

The purpose of this study was to test the feasibility and effectiveness of an adapted 8-week Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program for elders in a continuing care community. This mixed-methods study used both quantitative and qualitative measures. A randomized waitlist control design was used for the quantitative aspect of the study. Thirty-nine elderly were randomized to MBSR ( n = 20) or a waitlist control group ( n = 19), mean age was 82 years. Both groups completed pre–post measures of health-related quality of life, acceptance and psychological flexibility, facets of mindfulness, self-compassion, and psychological distress. A subset of MBSR participants completed qualitative interviews. MBSR participants showed significantly greater improvement in acceptance and psychological flexibility and in role limitations due to physical health. In the qualitative interviews, MBSR participants reported increased awareness, less judgment, and greater self-compassion. Study results demonstrate the feasibility and potential effectiveness of an adapted MBSR program in promoting mind–body health for elders.
The effect of the frequency-dependent stiffness of rail pad on the environment vibrations induced by subway train running in tunnel
Authors: Wei Kai , Wang Ping , Yang Fan , Xiao Junhua
Published: December 2014

The influence of the frequency-dependent stiffness of rail pad on the frequency distribution of vibrations created by a subway train running in tunnel is investigated using a frequency-domain algorithm. The theoretical approach combines vehicle–track coupling dynamics and spectrum analysis using the finite element method. The proposed approach is validated by a comparison with measured data. The comparison further shows that the theoretical approach and the selection of calculation parameters are reasonable and they create high calculation accuracies in the considered frequency range. Compared with a constant stiffness pad, the frequency-dependent stiffness of rail pad has little effect on vibrations below the one-third octave center frequency of 25 Hz; however, it significantly changes the vibrations observed above that center frequency. It is also found that simply increasing the constant stiffness of rail pad can lead to predictions of the vibration that have only a small error in either the low-frequency or high-frequency domains.
Using adjusted Blue Intensity data to attain high-quality summer temperature information: A case study from Central Scandinavia
Authors: Björklund Jesper , Gunnarson Björn E , Seftigen Kristina , Zhang Peng , Linderholm Hans W
Published: December 2014

The inexpensive Blue Intensity proxy has been considered a complement or surrogate to maximum latewood density (MXD), but is associated with biases from differential staining between sapwood and heartwood and also between deadwood samples and living-wood samples that compromise centennial-scale information. Here, we show that, with some minor adjustments, ΔBlue Intensity (ΔBI) is comparable with MXD or ΔDensity (Δ = the difference or contrast between latewood and earlywood density) in dendroclimatological reconstructions of summer temperatures in the Central Scandinavian region, using Pinus sylvestris L. (Scots pine), on annual and multi-centennial timescales. By using ΔBI, this bias is significantly reduced, but the contrast between earlywood and latewood in BI is altered with degree of staining, while for density it is not. Darker deadwood samples have a reduced contrast compared with the lighter living-wood samples that make ΔBI and ΔDensity chronologies diverge. Here, we quantify this behaviour in BI and offer an adjustment that can reduce this bias. The adjustment can be derived on independent samples, so in future work on BI, parallel density measurements are not necessary. We apply this methodology to two Central Scandinavian Scots pine chronologies that averaged into a composite is able to reconstruct summer temperatures with an explained variance in excess of 60% in each verification period using a split sample calibration verification procedure. Although the amount of data used to derive this contrast adjustment produces desirable results, more tests are needed to confirm its performance, and we suggest that future work on the BI proxy should aim for a small subset of parallel BI and density measurements while the bulk of the data is only measured with the BI technique. This is to ensure that the adjustment is continuously updated with new data and that the conclusions derived here are robust.
Lupus nephritis in Croatian children: clinicopathologic findings and outcome
Authors: Batinić D , Milošević D , Čorić M , Topalović-Grković M , Jelušić M , Turudić D
Published: December 2014

We report clinical and histopathological features, treatment and outcome of 37 Croatian children with biopsy-proven lupus nephritis seen over a 30-year period. The mean age at lupus nephritis presentation was 12.11 ± 2.59 years (range 4.66–17.0). The most frequent histopathological finding was class IV (37.8%), followed by class III (35.1%), class V (16.2 %) and class II (10.8 %) lupus nephritis. Compared with other classes there were more boys among patients with class IV lupus nephritis, and hypertension, nephrotic syndrome and decreased estimated glomerular filtration rate at presentation were more common. The median histopathological activity and total scores were highest in class IV lupus nephritis patients. The mean follow-up was 7.14 ± 4.71 years, ranging from 1.1 years to 21.0 years. Kaplan–Meier estimates of patient and kidney (without renal failure) survival rates were 90.5% and 87 % at five years. The renal survival rate of class IV lupus nephritis patients was found significantly lower compared with other histological classes combined. Decreased estimated glomerular filtration rate at the time of diagnosis, class IV lupus nephritis versus other lupus nephritis classes, and high total histological score were the parameters significantly associated with adverse outcome. The therapy with cyclophosphamide showed as superior to the therapy with azathioprine.
Subclinical right ventricle systolic dysfunction in childhood-onset systemic lupus erythematosus: insights from two-dimensional speckle-tracking echocardiography
Authors: Leal G N , Silva K F , França C M P , Lianza A C , Andrade J L , Campos L M A , Bonfá E , Silva C A
Published: December 2014

Objective

The objective of this article is to evaluate right ventricle strain imaging by two-dimensional speckle-tracking (2DST) in childhood-onset systemic lupus erythematosus (c-SLE).

Methods

Thirty-five c-SLE patients with no signs or symptoms of heart failure and 33 healthy volunteers were evaluated by standard echocardiogram and 2DST. Conventional parameters included tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion (TAPSE), RV tissue-Doppler-derived Tei index and systolic pulmonary artery pressure. Global peak longitudinal systolic strain (PLSS) and strain rate (PLSSR) of RV were obtained by 2DST. Demographic/clinical features, SLEDAI-2K/SLICC/ACR-DI and treatment were also assessed.

Results

The median current age was similar in patients and controls (14.75 vs. 14.88 years, p = 0.62). RV PLSS was significantly reduced in c-SLE (−24.5 ± 5.09 vs. −27.62 ± 3.02%, p = 0.003). Similar findings were observed after excluding patients with pulmonary hypertension (−24.62 ± 4.87% vs. −27.62 ± 3.02%, p = 0.0041). RV PLSS was positively correlated with TAPSE ( r = +0.49, p = 0.0027) and negatively correlated with Tei index ( r = −0.34, p = 0.04) in c-SLE. RV PLSSR was not different comparing patients and controls (−0.65 s−1 ± 0.47 vs. −1.87 ± 0.49 s−1, p = 0.07). Further analysis of c-SLE patients revealed higher frequencies of neuropsychiatric manifestations (39% vs. 0%, p = 0.007) and antiphospholipid antibodies (55% vs. 18%, p = 0.035) in those with RV PLSS ≤ −23.7% vs >−23.7%. No differences were evidenced in demographic data, disease activity/damage or treatments ( p > 0.05).

Conclusions

The present study, using a new and more sensitive technique, revealed subclinical RV systolic dysfunction in c-SLE patients that may have future prognostic implications. The novel association of asymptomatic RV dysfunction with neuropsychiatric manifestations and antiphospholipid antibodies may suggest common physiopathological pathways.
Augmented mixed models for clustered proportion data
Authors: Bandyopadhyay Dipankar , Galvis Diana M , Lachos Victor H
Published: December 2014

Often in biomedical research, we deal with continuous (clustered) proportion responses ranging between zero and one quantifying the disease status of the cluster units. Interestingly, the study population might also consist of relatively disease-free as well as highly diseased subjects, contributing to proportion values in the interval [0, 1]. Regression on a variety of parametric densities with support lying in (0, 1), such as beta regression, can assess important covariate effects. However, they are deemed inappropriate due to the presence of zeros and/or ones. To evade this, we introduce a class of general proportion density, and further augment the probabilities of zero and one to this general proportion density, controlling for the clustering. Our approach is Bayesian and presents a computationally convenient framework amenable to available freeware. Bayesian case-deletion influence diagnostics based on q-divergence measures are automatic from the Markov chain Monte Carlo output. The methodology is illustrated using both simulation studies and application to a real dataset from a clinical periodontology study.
Public engagement with scientific evidence in health: A qualitative study among primary-care patients in an urban population
Authors: Schapira Marilyn M. , Imbert Diana , Oh Eric , Byhoff Elena , Shea Judy A.
Published: December 2014

The purpose of this study is to explore the experience and perspective of patients regarding scientific evidence in health and the degree that this information impacts health behavior and medical decision making. A focus group study was conducted. Participants were recruited from an urban primary-care practice. The focus group discussions were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim, and coded by two independent investigators. Emergent themes were identified. Participants ( n = 30) ranged in age from 30 to 79 years, 60% were female, 77% were black, and 50% had at least some college experience. Three thematic areas informed a wide range in level of interest regarding scientific study design and result information: (1) scientific literacy, (2) medical decision making style, and (3) impact of culture and community on decision making. Our findings indicate that communication strategies that incorporate key elements of scientific study design, methods, and results will most effectively translate findings from comparative effectiveness research to patient-informed decision making regarding evidence-based health interventions.
Decline in breast cancer mortality: How much is attributable to screening?
Authors: Njor Sisse Helle , Schwartz Walter , Blichert-Toft Mogens , Lynge Elsebeth
Published: December 2014

Objectives

When estimating the decline in breast cancer mortality attributable to screening, the challenge is to provide valid comparison groups and to distinguish the screening effect from other effects. In Funen, Denmark, multidisciplinary breast cancer management teams started before screening was introduced; both activities came later in the rest of Denmark. Because Denmark had national protocols for breast cancer treatment, but hardly any opportunistic screening, Funen formed a “natural experiment”, providing valid comparison groups and enabling the separation of the effect of screening from other factors.

Methods

Using Poisson regression we compared the observed breast cancer mortality rate in Funen after implementation of screening with the expected rate without screening. The latter was estimated from breast cancer mortality in the rest of Denmark controlled for historical differences between Funen/rest of Denmark. As multidisciplinary teams were introduced gradually in the rest of Denmark from 1994, the screening effect was slightly underestimated.

Results

Over 14 years, women targeted by screening in Funen experienced a 22% (95% confidence interval 11%–32%) reduction in breast cancer mortality associated with screening (a reduction in breast cancer mortality rate from 61 to 47 per 100,000). The estimated reduction for participants corrected for selection bias was 28% (13%–41%). Excluding deaths in breast cancer cases diagnosed after end of screening, these numbers became 26% and 31%, respectively.

Conclusions

There is additional benefit in reducing breast cancer mortality from the early detection of breast cancer through mammographic screening over and above the benefits arising from improvements in treatment alone.
Prediction of fatigue response of composite structures by monitoring the strain energy release rate with embedded fiber Bragg gratings
Authors: Keulen Casey J , Akay Erdem , Melemez Fatih F , Kocaman Esat S , Deniz Ataman , Yilmaz Cagatay , Boz Talha , Yildiz Mehmet , Turkmen Halit S , Suleman Afzal
Published: December 2014

Composite materials are becoming increasingly more valuable due to their high specific strength and stiffness. Currently, most components are operated for a number of service cycles and then replaced regardless of their actual condition. Embedded fiber Bragg gratings are under investigation for monitoring these components in real time and estimating their remaining life. This article presents research conducted on a novel technique for prediction of the remaining life of composites under fatigue loading using embedded fiber Bragg grating sensors. A prediction is made of the remaining life at every cycle based on data collected from the sensors and the previous loading history.
Palliative Care in Iran
Authors: Rassouli Maryam , Sajjadi Moosa
Published: December 2014

Cancer is the third leading cause of death in Iran and its incidence has been increasing in recent years. Patients’ quality of life is altered rather enormously due to cancer, which doubles the importance of and the need for providing palliative care in Iran. Although many steps have been taken toward the development and providing of palliative care in Iran, there is still a large gap between the status quo and the desirable state. This study presents the current state of palliative care for cancer patients and discusses the barriers, challenges and outlook of palliative care in Iran. If infrastructural projects that have recently been launched prove successful, proper advancement toward the providing of palliative care services in Iran will then not far on the horizon.
Global-local approach to the design of dynamic vibration absorber for damped structures
Authors: Anh Nguyen Dong , Nguyen Nguyen Xuan , Quan Nguyen Hoang
Published: December 2014

The dynamic vibration absorber (DVA) has attracted attention since its invention. This paper deals with the optimization problems of the standard DVA and two other models of DVA called three-element DVA and non-traditional DVA for damped primary structures. Unlike the standard configuration, the three-element DVA contains two spring elements in which one is connected to a dashpot in a series and the other is placed in parallel. Meanwhile the non-traditional DVA has a linear viscous damper connecting the absorber mass directly to the ground. There have been some studies on the design of three-element and non-traditional dynamic vibration absorbers in the case of undamped primary structures. These studies have shown that both three-element and non-traditional DVAs perform better than the standard DVA. When the primary structure is damped, there are very few studies on the three-element and non-traditional DVAs in the literature. This article proposes a global-local approach to give approximate analytical solutions of the [Formula: see text] optimization for all standard, three-element and non-traditional DVAs attached to damped primary structures. The main idea of the study is based on the global-local criterion of the equivalent linearization method in order to replace approximately the original damped structure by an equivalent undamped one. Afterwards, the already derived expressions of the optimal parameters for the undamped primary system case are used with the equivalent undamped structure that was just obtained. The numerical simulations are carried out to verify the effectiveness of the obtained results. Additionally, design aids, which show the variation of the optimal design quantities for various DVA mass ratios and inherent structural damping ratios are also provided.
Robust second-order PDα type iterative learning control for a class of uncertain fractional order singular systems
Authors: Lazarević Mihailo P , Tzekis Panagiotis
Published: December 2014

This paper presents a robust second-order feedback [Formula: see text] type iterative learning control (ILC) for a class of uncertain fractional-order singular systems. Sufficient conditions for the robust convergence of the proposed [Formula: see text] type of learning control algorithm, with respect to the bounded external disturbance and uncertainity, have been established and specified for time domain. Finally, simulation examples are presented to illustrate the performance of the proposed fractional order ILC.
The effect of preload of angular contact ball bearings on durability of bearing system
Authors: Kaczor Jaroslaw , Raczynski Andrzej
Published: December 2014

Angular contact ball bearings are commonly used in such situations when you need to reach high bearing stiffness. However, a significant stiffness increase can be achieved only through the introduction of preload to the angular contact bearings. The purpose of this paper is to present a method for assessing the effect of preload of the angular contact ball bearings for their durability.
Navigating the ‘archive city’
Authors: Roberts Les
Published: December 2014

This article examines the idea of the ‘archive city’: a spatiotemporal construct oriented around the central metaphor of the ‘city as archive’. Surfing the cusp between the material and immaterial, the tangible and intangible, the embodied and virtual, the producer and consumer and – not least – the analogue and the digital, the archive city denotes a conceptualization of ‘archival space’ that straddles the material and symbolic city and which invites reflection on the ways cultural geographies of memory – in this case those specific to cities and other urban landscapes – are enfolded across the multi-sited and multilayered spaces of everyday urban practice. Reframing the ontological question of ‘what is the archive in the digital age?’ in terms of ‘ where is the archive?’, in the first part of the article I survey the theoretical precincts of the archive city before moving on to discuss how we might conceive of a digital spatial humanities in which this more open and purposefully elusive conceptualization of the archive can productively inform debates and practices relating to urban cultural memory. The article then discusses two case studies, both of which map the cinematic geographies of cities: Liverpool in the north west of England and Bologna in Italy. The article ends with some concluding thoughts on the role of digital spatial humanities in urban-based cultural memory studies and the broader theoretical and practical implications this has in relation to digital and ‘open’ archival practices.
Repatriating American film heritage or heritage hoarding? Digital opportunities for traditional film archive policy
Authors: Frick Caroline
Published: December 2014

This article investigates the high-profile film repatriation projects between such organizations as the US Library of Congress, the Museum of Modern Art, the National Film and Sound Archive in Australia, and the New Zealand Film Archive. Heralded for bringing ‘home’ the so-called lost films, repatriation projects capture public imagination and prove vital in galvanizing the much needed press interest in the media preservation movement. National film archives, however, continue to pursue traditional modes of repatriating film material, spending thousands of dollars to ship nitrate film prints to underfunded and overwhelmed US media repositories, and perpetuating the dominance of the nation-state in preservation discourse. This article challenges the long-standing, celluloid-focused approach by providing an overview of media repatriation practice and policy, contemporary analysis of cultural property theory and law, and offering a pragmatic suggestion for digital repatriation models that can empower a greater number of regional participants.
The Culturally-Enhanced Videofeedback Engagement (CEVE) Framework: Qualitative findings in families of children with disruptive behavior problems
Authors: Yasui Miwa , Wakschlag Lauren S.
Published: December 2014

While cultural competence has been promoted as a way to reduce mental health disparities among ethnic minority populations, there remains a gap between theory and practice. This study examined the use of the Culturally Enhanced Videofeedback Engagement (CEVE) intervention as a clinical tool to facilitate culturally anchored shared understanding to foster treatment engagement among ethnic minority families with children with disruptive behavior disorders (DBDs) participating in a family clinic. In-depth qualitative analysis of individual interviews compared parents’ experiences of the therapy process among 9 intervention families and 10 families participating in treatment as usual. Thematic analysis of semistructured interviews with parents revealed that for families in the intervention group, clinician cultural and clinical competence and the therapeutic relationship were important characteristics of the intervention condition that enhanced parents’ experience of treatment.
The effect of vegetation on indoor and outdoor thermal comfort conditions: Evidence from a microscale study of two similar urban buildings in Akure, Nigeria
Authors: Morakinyo Tobi Eniolu , Adegun Olumuyiwa Bayode , Balogun Ahmed Adedoyin
Published: December 2014

This study assessed thermal conditions in and around two typical buildings on a university campus in Akure, Nigeria. One of the buildings was shaded by trees, while the other was unshaded. The aim is to evaluate the effect of vegetation (tree shading) on indoor and outdoor thermal comfort. Air temperature and relative humidity were measured simultaneously inside and outside both buildings for six months (September 2010 to February 2011). Results show that the unshaded building is generally less comfortable in comparison with the tree-shaded one, especially during the daytime. The unshaded building becomes less comfortable as early as 10:00 h during the dry season, and that can even extend till around 18:00 h during the wet season. Also, the outdoor area around the tree-shaded building is more thermally comfortable than around the unshaded one, irrespective of the season. A strong relationship between outdoor and indoor comfort conditions, irrespective of seasonal or diurnal variations and thermal comfort index, also emerged. While the positive role of tree shading in thermal comfort is not new, this study contributes additional evidence from an understudied sub-Saharan African region like Nigeria. It points to the need for tree planting (greening) as a means to improve thermal comfort in Nigerian cities.
Forming limit diagram of tubular hydroformed parts considering the through-thickness compressive normal stress
Authors: Hashemi R , Abrinia K , Assempour A , Khakpour Nejadkhaki H , Shahbazi Mastanabad A
Published: December 2014

In this study, the effect of a compressive normal stress has been considered in the determination of forming limit diagrams and forming limit stress diagrams to predict neck initiation failure in tube hydroforming of T-shaped parts. Computation of the forming limit diagrams and FLSDs is based on the generalized Marciniak and Kuczynski method to consider the existence of through-thickness compressive normal stress. The proposed forming limit diagrams and FLSDs were used in conjunction with ABAQUS/EXPLICIT finite element simulations to predict the onset of necking in tube hydroforming of T-shaped part. The amount of calibration pressure and axial feeding required to produce an acceptable part in finite element method was compared to published experimental data, and a satisfactory agreement between the FEM and test results has been achieved. Therefore, the present approach can be used as a reliable criterion to design tube hydroforming processes and reduce the number of costly trials.
Quantitative assessment methods for determining luminous environmental zones in Korea
Authors: Ko TK , Kim IT , Choi AS , Sung MK
Published: December 2014

International organizations have proposed laws, regulations and standards to control light pollution. Korea enacted the Light Pollution Prevention Act on 2 February 2013. This Act designates ‘the luminous environmental zone’ through ‘the luminous environmental impact assessment’ and restricts light emission in the designated area according to the related light emission standards. This paper proposes a quantitative assessment methodology for the luminous environmental impact assessment. For decorative and advertisement lighting, a method using minimum field measurement is suggested. For street lighting, the total emitted luminous flux density is calculated based on security lighting data. Based on such data, a determination is made as to whether a luminous environmental zone for a particular area should be designated or not.
Points of Convergence in Music Education
Authors: Fitzpatrick Kate R.
Published: December 2014

Although the mixing of quantitative and qualitative data is an essential component of mixed methods research, the process of integrating both types of data in meaningful ways can be challenging. The purpose of this article is to describe the use of data labels in mixed methods research as a technique for the integration of qualitative and quantitative data within equivalent-status mixed methods research designs. The music education study described utilized a combination of focus group, survey, and case study data to provide a fuller view of instrumental music teaching within the urban context. Using this study as an exemplar, the author discusses the application of data labels to points of convergence between qualitative and quantitative strands of mixed methods studies in order to achieve integration between both data sets.
Autologous platelet-rich plasma in treatment of chronic venous leg ulcers: A prospective case series
Authors: Yilmaz Seyhan , Aksoy Eray , Doganci Suat , Yalcinkaya Adnan , Diken Adem I , Cagli Kerim
Published: December 2014

Study

We report our results on a case series of 19 patients receiving platelet-rich plasma application in treatment of patients with chronic unhealing venous leg ulcers.

Material and methods

There were 16 males and three females with a mean age of 38.55 ± 16.46 years. Planimetric size measurements were performed and pain was tested throughout the treatment period. Follow-up was made in seven-day periods. Patients received 5 ml of platelet-rich plasma for each 5 cm2 of the wound surface with half of the amount being injected 1–2 mm deep into the wound and the wound surface was covered with the remaining half.

Results

Complete wound healing occurred in 18 of 19 patients (94.7%) within a mean of 4.82 ± 2.16 week. There were significant reductions in wound area among all consecutive measurements except for first week. A significant reduction in wound volume was apparent even in first week and sustained among consecutive measurements.

Conclusion

Platelet-rich plasma seems effective in terms of promoting healing of venous leg ulcers. Improvement in wound depth was slightly more prominent than that in wound area, indicating a potential role of platelet-rich plasma especially in deep venous ulcers.
Surrogacy assessment using principal stratification with multivariate normal and Gaussian copula models
Authors: Taylor Jeremy MG , Conlon Anna SC , Elliott Michael R
Published: December 2014

Background

The validation of intermediate markers as surrogate markers ( S) for the true outcome of interest ( T) in clinical trials offers the possibility for trials to be run more quickly and cheaply by using the surrogate endpoint in place of the true endpoint.

Purpose

Working within a principal stratification framework, we propose causal quantities to evaluate surrogacy using a Gaussian copula model for an ordinal surrogate and time-to-event final outcome. The methods are applied to data from four colorectal cancer clinical trials, where S is tumor response and T is overall survival.

Methods

For the Gaussian copula model, a Bayesian estimation strategy is used and, as some parameters are not identifiable from the data, we explore the use of informative priors that are consistent with reasonable assumptions in the surrogate marker setting to aid in estimation.

Results

While there is some bias in the estimation of the surrogacy quantities of interest, the estimation procedure does reasonably well at distinguishing between poor and good surrogate markers.

Limitations

Some of the parameters of the proposed model are not identifiable from the data, and therefore, assumptions must be made in order to aid in their estimation.

Conclusions

The proposed quantities can be used in combination to provide evidence about the validity of S as a surrogate marker for T.
The effect of political decentralization on school leadership in German vocational schools
Authors: Gessler Michael , Ashmawy Iman K
Published: December 2014

In this explorative qualitative study the effect of political decentralization on vocational school leadership is investigated. Through conducting structural interviews with 15 school principals in the states of Bremen and Lower Saxony in Germany, the study was able to conclude that political decentralization entails the creation of elected bodies through which various stakeholders are involved in the decision-making process, and that schools are able to discretionally plan their own goals and objectives. As a result, it can be seen that school leadership adopts a participatory leadership model.