bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Role of Leadership Support for Health Promotion in Employee Wellness Program Participation, Perceived Job Stress, and Health Behaviors
Authors: Hoert Jennifer , Herd Ann M. , Hambrick Marion
Published: December 2016

Purpose:

The purpose of the study was to explore the relationship between leadership support for health promotion and job stress, wellness program participation, and health behaviors.

Design:

A cross-sectional survey design was used.

Setting:

Four worksites with a range of wellness programs were selected for this study.

Participants:

Participants in this study were employees (n = 618) at 4 organizations (bank, private university, wholesale supplier, and public university) in the southeastern United States, each offering an employee wellness program. Response rates in each organization ranged from 3% to 34%.

Measures:

Leadership support for health promotion was measured with the Leading by Example instrument. Employee participation in wellness activities, job stress, and health behaviors were measured with multi-item scales.

Analysis:

Correlation/regression analysis and descriptive statistics were used to analyze the relationships among the scaled variables.

Results:

Employees reporting higher levels of leadership support for health promotion also reported higher levels of wellness activity participation, lower job stress, and greater levels of health behavior ( P = .001). To ascertain the amount of variance in health behaviors accounted for by the other variables in the study, a hierarchical regression analysis revealed a statistically significant model (model F7,523 = 27.28; P = .001), with leadership support for health promotion (β = .19, t = 4.39, P = .001), wellness activity participation (β = .28, t = 6.95, P < .001), and job stress (β = −.27, t = −6.75, P ≤ .001) found to be significant predictors of health behaviors in the model. Exploratory regression analyses by organization revealed the focal variables as significant model predictors for only the 2 larger organizations with well-established wellness programs.

Conclusion:

Results from the study suggest that employees’ perceptions of organizational leadership support for health promotion are related to their participation in wellness activities, perceived job stress levels, and health behaviors.
Controlled foaming of polycarbonate/polymethyl methacrylate thin film with supercritical carbon dioxide
Authors: Luo Yuanxiang , Ding Yajun , Wang Changchun , Tan Linghua , Ying Sanjiu
Published: December 2016

The polycarbonate (PC)/polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) (10/90) blends with microcellular foams were prepared by the two-step process using supercritical carbon dioxide as physical foaming agent. The effects of saturation temperature, saturation pressure, foaming temperature, and foaming time on the cell morphology structure were investigated by scanning electron microscopy. The results indicated that the mean diameter of cells in foamed PC/PMMA films decreased with the increment of saturation temperature and saturation pressure but increased with the increment of the foaming time. Moreover, the mean diameter of cells decreased first, but then increased with the increment of the foaming temperature. The cell density ( Nc) increased with the increment of saturation temperature and saturation pressure but decreased with the increment of the foaming time. However, the Nc increased first but then decreased with the increment of the foaming temperature.
The Language Policy of Placement Tests for Newcomer English Learners
Authors: King Kendall , Bigelow Martha
Published: December 2016

U.S. public schools are required to establish policies ensuring that English language learners have equal access to “meaningful education.” This demands that districts put into place mechanisms to determine student eligibility for specialized English language services. For the most states, this federal requirement is fulfilled through the local administration of the WIDA–Access Placement Test (W-APT), arguably the most widely used, yet under-studied, English language assessment in the country. Through intensive participant observation at one, urban new student intake center, and detailed qualitative, discursive analysis of test administration and interaction, we demonstrate how the W-APT works as a high-stakes assessment, screener, and sorter, and how test takers and test administrators locally negotiate this test and enact this federal and state policy. Our analysis indicates that the W-APT is problematic in several respects, most importantly because the test does not differentiate adequately across students with widely different literacy skills and formal schooling experiences.
Community College Teacher Education Baccalaureate Programs: Early Evidence Yields Mixed Results
Authors: Park Toby J. , Tandberg David A. , Shim Hyun-Ki , Hu Shouping , Herrington Carolyn D.
Published: December 2016

Faced with declining numbers of students in teacher education programs, policymakers in many states are considering new actions that might increase teacher supply. One approach that has gained increasing popularity is community colleges beginning to offer 4-year degrees in teacher education. This study explores state adoption of these programs and its effect on the number and diversity of students earning bachelor’s degrees in teacher education. Overall, we find no effect of these programs; however, in the limited case of a state with widespread use of community college baccalaureate (CCB) teacher education programs we find that degree production increased, yet the diversity of the graduates declined.
Explaining vertical gender segregation: a research agenda
Authors: Longarela Iñaki R
Published: December 2016

This research agenda outlines possible routes to pursue an explanation of vertical gender segregation. The analysis emphasizes the expanding opportunities brought about by a combination of Big Data and public policies, like gender quotas, and uncovers important challenges for which possible solutions are offered. Experimental work is likely to remain very useful in the pursuit of answers to this asymmetric gender presence.
Technology maturity assessment of micro and nano manufacturing processes and process chains
Authors: Vella Pierre C , Dimov Stefan S , Minev Roussi , Brousseau Emmanuel B
Published: December 2016

This article presents a systematic approach for assessing the maturity of manufacturing technologies. A methodology is proposed that is based on modelling the capability of the individual processes and technology interfaces between them. It is inspired by a capability maturity model which has been applied successfully in the field of software engineering. The methodology was developed to assess the maturity levels of individual processes and the combined maturity of pairs or chains of processes. To demonstrate its validity, it was applied for assessing the maturity of technologies in the micro and nano manufacturing domain. The results demonstrated its applicability as a tool for evaluating the maturity of micro and nano manufacturing pairs and their constituent processes. Also, it was shown that the methodology can be employed for identifying process pairs, suitable for integration in process chains, together with their potential weaknesses.
Terrestrial and aquatic palynomorphs in Holocene sediments from the Chukchi–Alaskan margin, western Arctic Ocean: Implications for the history of marine circulation and climatic environments
Authors: Kim So-Young , Polyak Leonid , Delusina Irina
Published: December 2016

Two sediment cores from the Chukchi Sea margin north of Alaska were analyzed for palynological composition including terrestrial and aquatic palynomorphs. Based on 13 radiocarbon ages, the investigated sedimentary record represents most of the Holocene with a century to multidecadal age resolution. Three palynological zones were discriminated based on the abundance of major palynomorph groups (terrestrial and freshwater palynomorphs and dinoflagellate cysts) and composition of spore and pollen assemblages. They are interpreted in terms of depositional and paleoclimatic changes including predominance of redeposition by meltwater or sea ice in the early-Holocene, a strong input of contemporaneous material related to Pacific water advection culminating after ca. 6000 yr BP, and more subtle changes in the late-Holocene. It is concluded that depositional environments, such as current transportation and mixing, have an overall major control on palynomorph distribution. The climatic factors may have also played an important role in palynomorph abundance and composition, especially in the middle- to late-Holocene, when circulation changes were less dramatic than during the flooding of the Bering Strait and the shallow Chukchi Sea shelf. Comprehending these linkages requires a better knowledge of the Holocene vegetation history in the coastal areas of Alaska and Chukchi Peninsula.
Detection of imprinting effects for qualitative traits on X chromosome based on nuclear families
Authors: Zhou Ji-Yuan , You Xiao-Ping , Yang Ran , Fung Wing Kam
Published: December 2016

Methods for detecting imprinting effects have been developed primarily for autosomal markers. However, no method is available in the literature to test for imprinting effects on X chromosome. Therefore, it is necessary to suggest methods for detecting such imprinting effects. In this article, the parental-asymmetry test on X chromosome (XPAT) is first developed to test for imprinting for qualitative traits in the presence of association, based on family trios each with both parents and their affected daughter. Then, we propose 1-XPAT to deal with parent–daughter pairs, each with one parent and his/her affected daughter. By simultaneously considering family trios and parent–daughter pairs, C-XPAT (the combined test statistic of XPAT and 1-XPAT) is constructed to test for imprinting. Further, we extend the proposed methods to accommodate complete (with both parents) and incomplete (with one parent) nuclear families having multiple daughters of which at least one is affected. Simulation results demonstrate that the proposed methods control the size well, irrespective of the inbreeding coefficient in females being zero or non-zero. By incorporating incomplete nuclear families, C-XPAT is more powerful than XPAT using only complete nuclear families. For practical use, these proposed methods are applied to analyse the rheumatoid arthritis data and Turner’s syndrome data.
It’s All About the Self
Authors: Sassenrath Claudia , Hodges Sara D. , Pfattheicher Stefan
Published: December 2016

Although abundant research has documented positive interpersonal outcomes of perspective taking, a growing body of evidence indicates that perspective taking can also induce negative interpersonal outcomes—in other words, it backfires. We aim at integrating these seemingly contradictory findings, suggesting that perspective taking backfires when it causes the perspective-taking individual to feel threatened. Threat can emerge from the very act of perspective taking if the target of perspective taking is perceived as too different from the self or if adopting another’s perspective creates the potential for negative self-evaluation. Furthermore, threat may emerge if perspective taking successfully creates perceptions of self-other overlap, but the overlapping characteristics accentuate potentially threatening characteristics of the target. Our theoretical model affords predictions for other conditions in which perspective taking is linked to self-threat and may backfire.
The Heroin Overdose Mystery
Authors: Siegel Shepard
Published: December 2016

Heroin overdose deaths in the Unites States more than tripled from 2010 to 2014, reaching almost 11,000 per year. Despite the use of the term “overdose,” many of these victims died after self-administering an amount of opiate that would not be expected to be fatal for these drug-experienced, and drug-tolerant, individuals. Various explanations of this overdose mystery have been proposed. I describe an explanation based on Pavlovian conditioning. Organisms associate cues present at the time of drug administration with the systemic effect of the drug. These drug-predictive cues come to elicit responses that attenuate the effect of a drug. Such anticipatory conditional responses mediate chronic tolerance. If the drug is administered in the presence of novel cues, tolerance fails to occur and the victim suffers an overdose. Overdose prevention strategies should incorporate information about the contribution of drug-associated cues to drug tolerance.
Hierarchical Task Representation
Authors: Schumacher Eric H. , Hazeltine Eliot
Published: December 2016

Human behavior is remarkably complex—even during the performance of relatively simple tasks—yet it is often assumed that learned associations between stimuli and responses provide the representational substrate for action selection. Here, we introduce an alternative framework, called a task file, that includes hierarchical associations between stimulus features, response features, goals, and drives, which may overcome the limitations inherent in the conceptualization of response selection as being based solely on associations between stimuli and responses. We then review evidence from our own experimental research showing that even in the context of performing relatively easy tasks, the stimulus-response-association approach to response selection is inadequate to account for the interactions between discrete responses. Instead, response selection may emerge from competition between linked representations at multiple levels.
The Importance of Psychological Science in a Voter’s Ability to Cast a Vote
Authors: Kortum Philip , Byrne Michael D.
Published: December 2016

Ensuring the integrity of elections is one of the most important elements in maintaining democracy. While it is commonly believed that threats to election integrity are primarily due to security issues, the reality is that voting systems that are not designed to support human perceptual and cognitive limitations also pose a serious and immediate threat. This mismatch between system design and human capabilities can cause tremendous difficulty for voters who are trying to cast a ballot, and has almost certainly altered the outcome of elections in the United States. This article describes the psychological issues that can impact the ability of a voter to cast a vote as intended.
Pilot Evaluation of a Palliative and End-of-Life Communication Intervention for Parents of Children With a Brain Tumor
Authors: Hendricks-Ferguson Verna L. , Pradhan Kamnesh , Shih Chie-Schin , Gauvain Karen M. , Kane Javier R. , Liu Jingxia , Haase Joan E.
Published: December 2016

Providing timely palliative and end-of-life care (PC/EOL) information to parents of children with a serious illness is a national health care priority. The goals of this study were to determine feasibility, acceptability, and parent responses related to a PC/EOL communication intervention, titled “Communication Plan: Early through End of Life (COMPLETE)” to parents of children with a brain tumor. The study was a 2-site prospective, single-group pilot study targeting parents’ stress and coping outcomes. The sample included 13 parents of 11 children (ie, 11 families). During the first 6 months postdiagnosis, we evaluated parent outcomes at 4 time points (baseline and 3 post-sessions). Our findings included significant decline in decision regret ( P = .0089); strong, significantly increased hope ( P ≤ .0001); and significantly decreased uncertainty ( P = .04). Over time, more than half of the parents (61.5%) preferred to receive information about their child’s current condition and PC/EOL options. Our findings provide evidence to suggest that the COMPLETE intervention is feasible and acceptable and produces promising effects on 3 parent outcomes (ie, decision regret, hope, and uncertainty) in parents of children with a brain tumor. Further research is indicated to evaluate COMPLETE with a larger sample of parents of children with cancer and with a control group.
A protocol for modeling and tracking engineering design process through structural complexity metrics applied against communication networks
Authors: Mathieson James , Summers Joshua D
Published: December 2016

A protocol for tracking the interconnection of design communication elements as a mixed temporal hypergraph network which evolves in real time is presented here. The protocol uses email and limited human reporting data to develop the time-stamped connections of the network. At any time, this network, or a filtered subset, may be subjected to an analysis of graph and network complexity properties. The response of these properties may then be correlated to either events, such as design stages, or performance metrics, such as designer effort. This approach is applied to emails generated in the course of an undergraduate mechanical engineering senior design project demonstrating an ability to identify member roles, work schedules, and project phase changes from the network properties.
Envy in Relationships Between Maternal Dyads
Authors: Greenwood Sallie
Published: December 2016

Family forms such as foster, adoptive, and blended families where there may be two maternal figures are increasingly common. The relationship between the two women is complex, and it is argued that envy is an affect that may be present yet difficult to acknowledge and work through. Envy is a powerful and painful emotion that can override feelings of compassion, love, and gratitude. Consequently, because envy blocks emotions such as gratitude and generosity, while it is in play, the formation of cooperative relationships between the women are inhibited with potentially deleterious consequences for the family. This article explores contemporary understandings of envy, its potential sources and effects, and implications for counselling and therapy, so that women can be supported to negotiate these relationships if and when they encounter conflict.
The Validity of CAAS Scores in Divergent Social Occupations
Authors: McIlveen Peter , Perera Harsha N. , Hoare P. Nancey , McLennan Brad
Published: December 2016

This research investigated the latent structure and full measurement invariance of the Career Adapt-Abilities Scale (CAAS) in three independent samples of social occupations for the first time, namely, preservice teachers ( n = 344), retail workers ( n = 394), and mothers ( n = 160). Convergent and divergent validity of the CAAS data was tested against scores on the Career Adaptability Scale of the Career Futures Inventory (CA-CFI) using a multitrait-multimethod (MTMM) framework. The criterion validity of the CAAS scores with respect to data on self-efficacy and satisfaction with life was also investigated. The results support the multidimensional, hierarchical latent structure of the CAAS data. The invariance of the retained structure across the distinct samples as well as support for convergent, divergent, and test-criterion validity further attests the suitability and wide applicability of the CAAS as a measure of career adaptability.
Accuracy and Reproducibility Using Patient-Specific Instrumentation in Total Ankle Arthroplasty
Authors: Daigre Justin , Berlet Gregory , Van Dyke Bryan , Peterson Kyle S. , Santrock Robert
Published: December 2016

Background:

Implant survivorship is dependent on accuracy of implantation and successful soft tissue balancing. System instrumentation for total ankle arthroplasty implantation has a key influence on surgeon accuracy and reproducibility. The purpose of this study was to determine the accuracy and reproducibility of implant position with patient-specific guides for total ankle arthroplasty across multiple surgeons at multiple facilities.

Methods:

This retrospective, multicenter study included 44 patients who received a total ankle implant (INBONE II Total Ankle System; Wright Medical Technology, Memphis, TN) using PROPHECY patient-specific guides from January 2012 to December 2014. Forty-four patients with an average age of 63.0 years underwent total ankle arthroplasty using this preoperative patient-specific system. Preoperative computed tomography (CT) scans were obtained to assess coronal plane deformity, assess mechanical and anatomic alignment, and build patient-specific guides that referenced bony anatomy. The mean preoperative coronal deformity was 4.6 ± 4.6 degrees (range, 14 degrees varus to 17 degrees valgus). The first postoperative weightbearing radiographs were used to measure coronal and sagittal alignment of the implant vs the anatomic axis of the tibia.

Results:

In 79.5% of patients, the postoperative implant position of the tibia corresponded to the preoperative plan of the tibia within 3 degrees of the intended target, within 4 degrees in 88.6% of patients, and within 5 degrees in 100% of patients. The tibial component coronal size was correctly predicted in 98% of cases, whereas the talar component was correctly predicted in 80% of cases.

Conclusion:

The use of patient-specific instrumentation for total ankle arthroplasty provided reliable alignment and reproducibility in the clinical situation similar to that shown in cadaveric testing. This study has shown that the preoperative patient-specific instrumentation provided for accuracy and reproducibility of ankle arthroplasty implantation in a cohort across multiple surgeons and facilities.

Level of Evidence:

Level III, retrospective comparative series.
An implementation of the Social Distances Model using multi-GPU systems
Authors: Kłusek Adrian , Topa Paweł , Wąs Jarosław , Lubaś Robert
Published: December 2016

We propose a new approach for using GPUs in large scale simulations of pedestrian evacuation. The Social Distances Model is designed for efficient modeling of pedestrian dynamics. This cellular automata based model, when implemented on the most modern GPUs, can simulate up to 106–108 entities. However, a valuable simulation of pedestrian evacuation must include various factors that govern pedestrian movement, for example, information provided by event organizers and navigation or allocation of other pedestrians. The most common method for introducing such information into simulations is the application of different floor fields. The floor fields provide “local knowledge” that affects pedestrians by modifying the transition functions of an applied cellular automaton. The main disadvantage of this method is its time consuming updating process. We propose a GPU based calculation of static and dynamic floor fields, whereby simulations that use several different floor fields can be efficiently calculated. A single GPU is able to cope with the Social Distance Model calculations, while other GPUs update dynamic floor fields constantly or when required. We also present the classic approach to performing cellular automata based simulations on systems with multiple processing units. The lattice is simply partitioned between the available GPUs. We compare these two approaches in terms of performance and functionality.
Training to curb police corruption in developing countries
Authors: Hope Kempe Ronald
Published: December 2016

Most of the anti-corruption training that currently exists for the police in developing countries lacks an appropriate focus and is not provided in the manner of a coherent concentration. It tends to be delivered primarily in the form of police orientation to existing anti-corruption laws, or other criminal laws in general. It also does not provide a thorough understanding of the phenomenon of corruption and how it looks within policing practice in the society, nor does it impart even basic knowledge and skills on how to adhere to professional standards and avoid the temptation of accepting gifts, favors or gratuities, or engaging in other corrupt acts. The purpose of this work is to set out one suggested model of a basic training framework and approach for curbing police corruption in developing countries pursuing democratic policing. It outlines learning goals and training objectives, proposes a training approach model, suggests training content and coverage, and indicates the expected outcomes from the training approach and process. The article draws on the author’s fieldwork experience in police anti-corruption and ethics training, and assessments of best practices in training to improve police integrity and ethical behavior in developing countries. It advocates for the application of problem-based learning as the most appropriate and successful training approach method to curb police corruption in developing countries.
Insecure positions, heteronomous autonomy and tourism-cultural capital: A Bourdieusian reading of tour guides on BBC Worldwide’s Doctor Who Experience Walking Tour
Authors: Garner Ross
Published: December 2016

This article contributes towards debates concerning media tourism and tour guiding by using Pierre Bourdieu’s arguments regarding field and capital to analyse performed tour guide identities on BBC Worldwide’s Doctor Who Experience Walking Tour in Cardiff Bay. The article pursues three core arguments: first, a Bourdieusian framework provides an enhanced understanding of the insecure positions that tour guides occupy in what is referred to throughout as the tourism field; second, the divergent pulls between heteronomous and autonomous poles which position tour guides are magnified in officially-located media tours because of the presence of branding and theming discourses; third, drawing upon empirical data from the Doctor Who tour, the symbolic capital of official guides involves demonstrations of what is named tourism-cultural capital, but such displays do not result in an increase in individualised status as any accrued capital transfers to the institutional level.
Structural damage detection using transmissibility together with hierarchical clustering analysis and similarity measure
Authors: Zhou Yun-Lai , Maia Nuno M.M. , Sampaio Rui P.C. , Wahab Magd Abdel
Published: December 2016

Maintenance and repairing in actual engineering for long-term used structures, such as pipelines and bridges, make structural damage detection indispensable, as an unanticipated damage may give rise to a disaster, leading to huge economic loss. A new approach for detecting structural damage using transmissibility together with hierarchical clustering and similarity analysis is proposed in this study. Transmissibility is derived from the structural dynamic responses characterizing the structural state. First, for damage detection analysis, hierarchical clustering analysis is adopted to discriminate the damaged scenarios from an unsupervised perspective, taking transmissibility as feature for discriminating damaged patterns from undamaged ones. This is unlike directly predicting the structural damage from the indicators manifestation, as sometimes this can be vague due to the small difference between damaged scenarios and the intact baseline. For comparison reasons, cosine similarity measure and distance measure are also adopted to draw out sensitive indicators, and correspondingly, these indicators will manifest in recognizing damaged patterns from the intact baseline. Finally, for verification purposes, simulated results on a 10-floor structure and experimental tests on a free-free beam are undertaken to check the suitability of the raised approach. The results of both studies are indicative of a good performance in detecting damage that might suggest potential application in actual engineering real life.
Identifying human trafficking in Norway: A register-based study of cases, outcomes and police practices
Authors: Bjelland Heidi F.
Published: December 2016

This article examines the identification of human trafficking crimes in Norway. By combining two different sources of police registry data that contain the total set of human trafficking cases reported to the Norwegian police between 2003 and 2013, the study examines the role of the police in the creation of human trafficking complaints, the characteristics of the complaints and their outcomes. Findings suggest that, despite a growing number of reported human trafficking complaints, the police seem to play a decreasing part in the identification of human trafficking crimes. The potential under-representation of police initiatives and its consequences for case outcomes is discussed in light of a theory of discretionary decision-making among police officials.
The Contribution of Managers to Organizational Success
Authors: Muehlheusser Gerd , Schneemann Sandra , Sliwka Dirk , Wallmeier Niklas
Published: December 2016

We study the impact of managers on the success of professional soccer teams using data from the German Bundesliga, where we are exploiting the high turnover rate of managers between teams to disentangle the managers’ contributions. Teams employing a manager from the top of the ability distribution gain on average considerably more points than those employing a manager from the bottom. Moreover, estimated abilities have significant predictive power for future performance. Managers also affect teams’ playing style. Finally, teams whose manager has been a former professional player perform worse on average compared to managers without a professional player career.
Dynamic analysis of a cable-stayed bridge subjected to a continuous sequence of moving forces
Authors: Song Mitao , Cao Dengqing , Zhu Weidong
Published: December 2016

In this work, an eigenfunction expansion approach is used to study the dynamic response of a cable-stayed bridge excited by a continuous sequence of identical, equally spaced moving forces. The nonlinear dynamic response of the cable-stayed bridge is obtained by simultaneously solving nonlinear and linear partial differential equations that govern transverse and longitudinal vibrations of stay cables and transverse vibrations of segments of the deck beam, respectively, along with their boundary and matching conditions. Orthogonality conditions of exact mode shapes of the linearized cable-stayed bridge model are employed to convert the coupled nonlinear partial differential equations of the original nonlinear model to a set of ordinary differential equations by using the Galerkin method. The dynamic response of the cable-stayed bridge is numerically solved. Convergence of the dynamic response from the Galerkin method is investigated. Effects of close natural frequencies, mode localization, the distance between any two neighboring forces, and geometric nonlinearities of stay cables on the forced dynamic response of the cable-stayed bridge are captured using a convergent modal truncation.
Optimal sheet metal fixture locating layout by combining radial basis function neural network and bat algorithm
Authors: Wang Zhongqi , Yang Yuan , Yang Bo , Kang Yonggang
Published: December 2016

Considering that sheet metal part has the properties of thin wall, low rigidity, easy to deform, and difficult to locate, this article proposes a new approach to optimizing sheet metal fixture locating layout by combining radial basis function neural network and bat algorithm. First, taking fixture locating layout as design variables based on the “ N-2-1” locating principle, this article generates limited training and testing sample sets by Latin hypercube sampling and finite element analysis. Second, the radial basis function neural network prediction model with the description of the nonlinear mapping relationship between the fixture locating layout and the corresponding sheet metal deformation is constructed through learning from the training sample sets. Third, bat algorithm is applied to search the optimal layout of the “ N” fixture locators for the minimum sheet metal deformation. Finally, two case studies are presented to demonstrate the optimization procedure and the effectiveness of the proposed method.
Exploring novel paths towards protein signatures of chronic pain
Authors: Gomez-Varela David , Schmidt Manuela
Published: December 2016

Pain is a major symptom of many medical conditions and the worldwide number one reason for people to seek medical assistance. It affects the quality of life of patients and poses a heavy financial burden on society with high costs of treatment and lost productivity. Furthermore, the treatment of chronic pain presents a big challenge as pain therapeutics often lack efficacy and exhibit minimal safety profiles. The latter can be largely attributed to the fact that current therapies target molecules with key physiological functions throughout the body. In light of these difficulties, the identification of proteins specifically involved in chronic pain states is of paramount importance for designing selective interventions. Several profiling efforts have been employed with the aim to dissect the molecular underpinnings of chronic pain, both on the level of the transcriptome and proteome. However, generated results are often inconsistent and non-overlapping, which is largely due to inherent technical constraints. A potential solution may be offered by emerging strategies capable of performing standardized and reproducible proteome analysis, such as data- independent acquisition- mass spectrometry (DIA-MS). We have recently demonstrated the applicability of DIA-MS to interrogate chronic pain-related proteome alterations in mice. Based on our results, we aim to provide an overview on DIA-MS and its potential to contribute to the comprehensive characterization of molecular signatures underlying pain pathologies.
Visualizing whole-body treatment response heterogeneity using multi-parametric magnetic resonance imaging
Authors: Blackledge Matthew D , Rata Mihaela , Tunariu Nina , Koh Dow-Mu , George Angela , Zivi Andrea , Lorente David , Attard Gerhardt , de Bono Johann S , Leach Martin O , Collins David J
Published: December 2016

A novel post-processing methodology able to assess whole-body tumor heterogeneity in patients with metastatic disease is proposed. The method is demonstrated on paired pre- and post-treatment data sets obtained from an initial cohort of six patients with metastatic disease from primary prostate or ovarian cancers. Whole-body diffusion-weighted imaging and T1-weighted contrast-enhanced imaging data were acquired covering the chest, abdomen, and pelvis. Joint histograms of Apparent Diffusion Coefficient and Fractional Enhancement values were calculated within volumes of interest and were modeled as a Gaussian mixture of two classes. Probability maps and volumetric estimates of the magnetic resonance data-derived classes providing visualization of pre- and post-treatment data are shown in three patient examples. This technique provided spatially heterogeneous characterization of regions following treatment as defined by the combined analysis of apparent diffusion coefficient and fractional enhancement. A new whole-body magnetic resonance data analysis has been demonstrated enabling visualization of intra-patient response heterogeneity in patients with metastatic cancer. Changes in the parameters of each subpopulation derived from this technique (apparent diffusion coefficient and fractional enhancement) reflect changes in the tissue properties of each subpopulation following treatment. Furthermore, the volume change of each population can be quantified. Such techniques may be essential for personalized anti-cancer therapy where there is a need to detect early drug-resistance and monitor heterogeneous response.
Refugees welcome? A dataset on anti-refugee violence in Germany
Authors: Benček David , Strasheim Julia
Published: December 2016

The recent rise of xenophobic attacks against refugees in Germany has sparked both political and scholarly debates on the drivers, dynamics, and consequences of right-wing violence. Thus far, a lack of systematic data collection and data processing has inhibited quantitative analysis to help explain this current social phenomenon. This paper presents a georeferenced event dataset on anti-refugee violence and social unrest in Germany in 2014 and 2015 that is based on information collected by two civil society organizations, the Amadeu Antonio Foundation and PRO ASYL, who publicize their data in an online chronicle. We webscraped this information to create a scientifically usable dataset that includes information on 1 645 events of four different types of right-wing violence and social unrest: xenophobic demonstrations, assault, arson attacks, and miscellaneous attacks against refugee housing (such as swastika graffiti). After discussing how the dataset was constructed, we offer a descriptive analysis of patterns of right-wing violence and unrest in Germany in 2014 and 2015. This article concludes by outlining preliminary ideas on how the dataset can be used in future research of various disciplines in the social sciences.
Reanalysis: Are coups good for democracy?
Authors: Miller Michael K.
Published: December 2016

Several recent studies find that coups in autocracy raise the ensuing likelihood of democratization. In a recent critique (“Are coups good for democracy?”), Derpanopoulos et al. dispute this link. This paper shows that their modeling approach, which includes fixed effects for each autocratic regime spell, suffers from severe bias. A reanalysis that applies similar models to the data without this bias recovers significant effects of coups and coup attempts on democratization, although only during the post-Cold War era.
The Role of Electrodiagnostic Testing, Imaging, and Muscle Biopsy in the Investigation of Muscle Disease
Authors: Rosow Laura K. , Amato Anthony A.
Published: December 2016

Purpose of Review: This article reviews the roles of electrodiagnostic testing, imaging studies (MRI and ultrasound), and muscle biopsy in evaluating patients for possible muscle diseases.

Recent Findings: In addition to electrodiagnostic testing and muscle biopsy, muscle imaging is increasingly being used in the evaluation of patients with suspected muscle disease. MRI and ultrasound can help identify patterns of muscle involvement that may narrow the differential diagnosis and guide further testing. In addition, imaging can identify potential targets for muscle biopsy and can help evaluate for and exclude certain conditions that may mimic muscle disease.

Summary: This article provides a comprehensive overview of various testing modalities used in the evaluation of patients with suspected muscle disease, including electrodiagnostic studies, muscle imaging, and biopsy. In combination with a thorough history and clinical examination, these modalities can help narrow the differential diagnosis or, in certain cases, can confirm a specific etiology of muscle disease.
Autoimmune Myopathies
Authors: Mammen Andrew L.
Published: December 2016

Purpose of Review: This article provides guidelines for diagnosing and treating the different subtypes of autoimmune myopathies.

Recent Findings: The most common subtypes of autoimmune myopathies are dermatomyositis, immune-mediated necrotizing myopathy, antisynthetase syndrome, and overlap syndromes; isolated polymyositis is an exceptionally rare disease. Specific autoantibodies are associated with unique clinical phenotypes and may be used for diagnostic and prognostic purposes, such as to assess the risk of coexisting malignancy.

Summary: Diagnosing the specific subtype of autoimmune myopathy can be achieved by combining relevant features of the history, neuromuscular examination, muscle biopsy, and serologic studies.
Coding in Muscle Disease
Authors: Jones Lyell K. , Ney John P.
Published: December 2016

Accurate coding is critically important for clinical practice and research. Ongoing changes to diagnostic and billing codes require the clinician to stay abreast of coding updates. Payment for health care services, data sets for health services research, and reporting for medical quality improvement all require accurate administrative coding. This article provides an overview of administrative coding for patients with muscle disease and includes a case-based review of diagnostic and Evaluation and Management (E/M) coding principles in patients with myopathy. Procedural coding for electrodiagnostic studies and neuromuscular ultrasound is also reviewed.
Registry Participation in Neuromuscular Disease
Authors: Shenoy Anant M.
Published: December 2016

Patient registries are a resource to better study neurologic disease and may facilitate the development of future treatments. Clinicians should become comfortable with the strengths and limitations of patient registries and be able to discuss them with their patients. This article discusses the use of patient registries through the example of registries for patients with neuromuscular disease.
Time as Myth, Time as History in Afrophone Novels on Ujamaa (Tanzanian Socialism) and the Second Chimurenga/Umvukela (Zimbabwean Liberation War)
Authors: Rettová Alena
Published: December 2016

A central discussion in African Philosophy concerns the “African concept of time,” famously theorized by John S. Mbiti. Mbiti makes a distinction between a circular and a linear concept of time, associating the former with Africa and the latter with the West. Critical of such essentialist binaries, this article develops a nuanced understanding of the concepts of time and history expressed in two categories of novels in three African languages: Ujamaa novels in Swahili (Tanzania) and Chimurenga/Umvukela novels in Shona and Ndebele (Zimbabwe). While Ujamaa novels often operate on a circular concept of time, the Zimbabwean novels are based on a view of time as linear progress. The article argues that these concepts of time are determined by the genre conventions of the novel and the tale and that the adoption and hybridization of these genres has been decisively impacted by the state ideologies in Tanzania and Zimbabwe.
Space and Potentiality: The Crime Scenes of Roberto Bolaño and Teresa Margolles
Authors: Larisch Sharon
Published: December 2016

In traditional crime literature, the cordoned-off crime scene functions as a spatialized representation, fixing the now-absent crime in preparation for a subsequent interpretative process. This article questions such spatial stasis as well as the pretension of the crime scene to define and contain criminal traces, arguing that Roberto Bolaño's and Teresa Margolles's works point, rather, to the potentiality of criminal space to project itself onto other locations. Their diffuse and globalized crime scenes have structural similarities with what Giorgio Agamben terms generalized spaces of exception, where (im)potentiality and actuality merge, where everything, however unthinkable, can be realized. This article focuses on several of Margolles's crime-scene installations and two of Bolaño's works: the essay “Los personajes fatales” and “La parte de Amalfitano” from 2666.
Notes on Digital Community and Revolution
Authors: Franklin Seb
Published: December 2016

This essay addresses the forms of utopian imagination that are produced when concepts such as society, community, and revolution are rendered using computational and communicational metaphors. By connecting recent phenomena such as the notion of “Twitter revolution” and Sheryl Sandberg's ongoing Lean In project to a longer genealogy of cybernetic imaginaries, capitalist economism, and governmentality, the author questions the assumptions and occlusions that result when sociality and digitality are conflated.
Invitation to Perform Utopia and Catastrophe: On Okin Collective's Video Works
Authors: Kim Jihoon
Published: December 2016

This article examines a series of video works by Okin Collective, a group of three Korean artists (Jin Shiu, Kim Hwayong, and Yi Joungmin) who have over the past few years been productively concerned with an array of political, social, and cultural issues from both local and global perspectives. Such issues include the process of urban redevelopment in Seoul, the global environmental crisis, utopian aspirations in the neoliberal economy, and the Korean authorities' ideological control of citizenship. The collective's imperative to engender sensory and affective engagement with these issues has led them to produce several video works derived from their open-form performances. I argue that the videos can be read as projects that foreground and explore an array of interrelated ideas or issues revolving around collectivity. Taking individuals' performative acts as their nodal point, the videos demonstrate open forms that are produced through and resonate with these individuals' collective participation. Presenting both the catastrophic situation of contemporary society and utopian aspirations, the videos present the “space of the common” that is made by participants' performative practices. These performances produce a common affective understanding of the present and a shared envisioning of the future as the overlapping temporalities of collectivity.
Validation of commercially available sphingosine kinase 2 antibodies for use in immunoblotting, immunoprecipitation and immunofluorescence
Authors: Neubauer Heidi A. , Pitson Stuart M.
Published: December 2016

Sphingosine kinase 2 (SK2) is a ubiquitously expressed lipid kinase that has important, albeit complex and poorly understood, roles in regulating cell survival and cell death. In addition to being able to promote cell cycle arrest and apoptosis under certain conditions, it has recently been shown that SK2 can promote neoplastic transformation and tumorigenesis in vivo. Therefore, well validated and reliable tools are required to study and better understand the true functions of SK2. Here, we compare two commercially available SK2 antibodies: a rabbit polyclonal antibody from Proteintech that recognizes amino acids 266-618 of human SK2a, and a rabbit polyclonal antibody from ECM Biosciences that recognizes amino acids 36-52 of human SK2a. We examine the performance of these antibodies for use in immunoblotting, immunoprecipitation and immunofluorescence staining of endogenous SK2, using human HEK293 and HeLa cell lines, as well as mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs). Furthermore, we assess the specificity of these antibodies to the target protein through the use of siRNA-mediated SK2 knockdown and SK2 knockout (Sphk2-/-) MEFs. Our results demonstrate that the Proteintech anti-SK2 antibody reproducibly displayed superior sensitivity and selectivity towards SK2 in immunoblot analyses, while the ECM Biosciences anti-SK2 antibody was reproducibly superior for SK2 immunoprecipitation and detection by immunofluorescence staining. Notably, both antibodies produced non-specific bands and staining in the MEFs, which was not observed with the human cell lines. Therefore, we conclude that the Proteintech SK2 antibody is a valuable reagent for use in immunoblot analyses, and the ECM Biosciences SK2 antibody is a useful tool for SK2 immunoprecipitation and immunofluorescence staining, at least in the human cell lines employed in this study.
Client-oriented organizational culture as a vector of transformation of Higher school
Authors: Демененко  , Demenenko Inna , Данакин  , Danakin Nikolay , Шавырина  , Shavyrina Irina
Published: December 2016

In the article the role of organizational culture as a customer-oriented trajectory of management at university is considered. The authors analyze the main clients of the educational environment on the basis of which the model of customer-oriented organizational culture of the university is proposed, reflecting the structural platform of organizational culture, the integration of internal and external customers in the socio-cultural environment of the university, as well as sequential communications and transformations of external customers in the internal customers.