bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
DNA Methylation Predicts Progression of Human Gastric Lesions
Authors: Schneider Barbara G. , Mera Robertino , Piazuelo M. Blanca , Bravo Juan C. , Zabaleta Jovanny , Delgado Alberto G. , Bravo Luis E. , Wilson Keith T. , El-Rifai Wael , Peek Richard M. , Correa Pelayo
Published: August 2015

Background: Development of the intestinal subtype of gastric adenocarcinoma is marked by a progression of histopathologic lesions. Residents of the Andean regions of Colombia are at high risk for gastric cancer.

Methods: A cohort of 976 Colombian subjects was followed over 16 years examining effects of Helicobacter pylori eradication and treatment with antioxidants on progression of lesions. We performed methylation analysis of DNA from baseline antral biopsies from 104 subjects for whom follow-up data were available for at least 12 years. Methylation was quantitated for AMPH, CDKN2A, CDH1, EN1, EMX1, NKX6-1, PCDH10, RPRM, RSPO2, SORCS3, ZIC1, and ZNF610 genes, using Pyrosequencing.

Results: Levels of DNA methylation were associated with baseline diagnosis for AMPH, EMX1, RPRM, RSPO2, SORCS3, and ZNF610. After adjusting for baseline diagnosis and H. pylori infection, methylation levels of AMPH, PCDH10, RSPO2, and ZNF610 had progression coefficients that increased and P values that decreased over 6, 12, and 16 years. Methylation for SORCS3 was associated with progression at all 3 time points but without the continual strengthening of the effect. Scores for mononuclear leukocytes, polymorphonuclear leukocytes, or intraepithelial lymphocytes were unrelated to progression.

Conclusions: Methylation levels of AMPH, PCDH10, RSPO2, SORCS3, and ZNF610 predict progression of gastric lesions independent of the effect of duration of H. pylori infection, baseline diagnosis, gender of the patient, or scores for mononuclear leukocytes, polymorphonuclear leukocytes, or intraepithelial lymphocytes.

Impact: DNA methylation levels in AMPH, PCDH10, RSPO2, SORCS3, and ZNF610 may contribute to identification of persons with gastric lesions likely to progress. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev; 24(10); 1607–13. ©2015 AACR.
Anticancer Properties of a Novel Class of Tetrafluorinated Thalidomide Analogues
Authors: Beedie Shaunna L. , Peer Cody J. , Pisle Steven , Gardner Erin R. , Mahony Chris , Barnett Shelby , Ambrozak Agnieszka , Gütschow Michael , Chau Cindy H. , Vargesson Neil , Figg William D.
Published: August 2015

Thalidomide has demonstrated clinical activity in various malignancies affecting immunomodulatory and angiogenic pathways. The development of novel thalidomide analogs with improved efficacy and decreased toxicity is an ongoing research effort. We recently designed and synthesized a new class of compounds, consisting of both tetrafluorinated thalidomide analogues (Gu973 and Gu998) and tetrafluorobenzamides (Gu1029 and Gu992). In this study, we demonstrate the antiangiogenic properties of these newly synthesized compounds. We examined the specific antiangiogenic characteristics in vitro using rat aortic rings with carboxyamidotriazole as a positive control. In addition, further in vitro efficacy was evaluated using human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) and PC3 cells treated with 5 and 10 μmol/L doses of each compound. All compounds were seen to reduce microvessel outgrowth in rat aortic rings as well as to inhibit HUVECs to a greater extent, at lower concentrations than previously tested thalidomide analogs. The antiangiogenic properties of the compounds were also examined in vivo in fli1:EGFP zebrafish embryos, where all compounds were seen to inhibit the extent of outgrowth of newly developing blood vessels. In addition, Gu1029 and Gu973 reduced the anti-inflammatory response in mpo:GFP zebrafish embryos, whereas Gu998 and Gu992 showed no difference. The compounds' antitumor effects were also explored in vivo using the human prostate cancer PC3 xenograft model. All four compounds were also screened in vivo in chicken embryos to investigate their teratogenic potential. This study establishes these novel thalidomide analogues as a promising immunomodulatory class with anticancer effects that warrant further development to characterize their mechanisms of action. Mol Cancer Ther; 14(10); 2228–37. ©2015 AACR.
Continuous Amplitude-Integrated Electroencephalographic Monitoring Is a Useful Prognostic Tool for Hypothermia-Treated Cardiac Arrest Patients
Authors: Oh Sang Hoon , Park Kyu Nam , Shon Young-Min , Kim Young-Min , Kim Han Joon , Youn Chun Song , Kim Soo Hyun , Choi Seung Pill , Kim Seok Chan
Published: August 2015

Background—

Modern treatments have improved the survival rate following cardiac arrest, but prognostication remains a challenge. We examined the prognostic value of continuous electroencephalography according to time by performing amplitude-integrated electroencephalography on patients with cardiac arrest receiving therapeutic hypothermia.

Methods and Results—

We prospectively studied 130 comatose patients treated with hypothermia from September 2010 to April 2013. We evaluated the time to normal trace (TTNT) as a neurological outcome predictor and determined the prognostic value of burst suppression and status epilepticus, with a particular focus on their time of occurrence. Fifty-five patients exhibited a cerebral performance category score of 1 to 2. The area under the curve for TTNT was 0.97 (95% confidence interval, 0.92–0.99), and the sensitivity and specificity of TTNT<24 hours after resuscitation as a threshold for predicting good neurological outcome were 94.6% (95% confidence interval, 84.9%–98.9%) and 90.7% (95% confidence interval, 81.7%–96.2%), respectively. The threshold displaying 100% specificity for predicting poor neurological outcome was TTNT>36 hours. Burst suppression and status epilepticus predicted poor neurological outcome (positive predictive value of 98.3% and 96.4%, respectively). The combination of these factors predicted a negative outcome at a median of 6.2 hours after resuscitation (sensitivity and specificity of 92.0% and 96.4%, respectively).

Conclusions—

A TTNT<24 hours was associated with good neurological outcome. The lack of normal trace development within 36 hours, status epilepticus, and burst suppression were predictors of poor outcome. The combination of these negative predictors may improve their prognostic performance at an earlier stage.
Translating the Gospels into Arabic from Syriac: Vatican Arabic 13 Restored Section, Strategies and Goals*
Authors: Monferrer-Sala Juan Pedro
Published: August 2015

We analyze two pericopes (Mt 3, 1-12, 13-17) of the Arabic version contained in Codex Vat. Ar. 13 corresponding to the restored section of the Gospels rendered from an original Syriac text. Our aim in this article is to contribute to the hypothesis that the two sections of the translation of the Gospels have been made from two different originals. So while the text contained in the oldest section has been translated from a Greek original, though revised with a Syriac text, however the text of the restored section (corresponding to four hands) has been rendered from a Syriac text apparently previous to the Pešīṭtā, or maybe revised from a Greek text. At the same time, we also emphasize the difference between these two corpora of translations, which not only come from two different Vorlagen, but they also are the result of different strategies followed by the translator.
Revision of Aphelagathis (Hymenoptera, Braconidae, Agathidinae, Agathidini)
Authors: SHARKEY MICHAEL J. , CHAPMAN ERIC G. , JANZEN DANIEL H. , HALLWACHS WINNIE , SMITH M. ALEX
Published: August 2015

One previously described (Aphelagathis verticalis) and ten new species (A. bonnieirwinae, A. ceciliapinedae, A. ericgrisselli, A. genehalli, A. mclintocki, A. mikeirwini, A. rociofernandezae, A. schlingeri, A. stangei, and A. wendymooreae) are included. Aphelagathis is limited to the Nearctic and the northern part of the Neotropics. A. rociofernandezae parasitizes the caterpillars of grass-feeding Hesperiidae (Lepidoptera) as does A. verticalis.
A remarkable structure in a peculiar species of Sarcophagidae (Diptera): description of the male of Lepidodexia (Harpagopyga) albida Lopes
Authors: MELLO-PATIU CÁTIA A. DE
Published: August 2015

The subgenus Harpagopyga Aldrich has 15 nominal species, 14 from the Neotropical Region and one from the Nearctic Region (Pape 1996). The members of this subgenus are recognized by the following combination of characters: row of frontal setae ending level with the base of antenna, ocellar setae not differentiated, arista with plumosity reaching the apex or almost so, proepisternum with few setulae, 3 postsutural dorsocentral and 2 katepisternal setae, postalar wall bare, male midfemur without a ctenidium, phallus with juxta almost right-angled relative to the phallic tube, female tergite 6 well-developed, spermatheca with two differentiated portions (Lopes 1951; Pape 1996).
Object-Based Evaluation of a Numerical Weather Prediction Model’s Performance through Forecast Storm Characteristic Analysis
Authors: Cai Huaqing , Dumais Robert E.
Published: August 2015

Traditional pixel-versus-pixel forecast evaluation scores such as the critical success index (CSI) provide a simple way to compare the performances of different forecasts; however, they offer little information on how to improve a particular forecast. This paper strives to demonstrate what additional information an object-based forecast evaluation tool such as the Method for Object-Based Diagnostic Evaluation (MODE) can provide in terms of assessing numerical weather prediction models’ convective storm forecasts. Forecast storm attributes evaluated by MODE in this paper include storm size, intensity, orientation, aspect ratio, complexity, and number of storms. Three weeks of the High Resolution Rapid Refresh (HRRR) model’s precipitation forecasts during the summer of 2010 over the eastern two-thirds of the contiguous United States were evaluated as an example to demonstrate the methodology. It is found that the HRRR model was able to forecast convective storm characteristics rather well either as a function of time of day or as a function of storm size, although significant bias does exist, especially in terms of storm number and storm size. Another interesting finding is that the model’s ability of forecasting new storm initiation varies substantially by regions, probably as a result of its different skills in forecasting convection driven by different forcing mechanisms (i.e., diurnal heating vs synoptic-scale frontal systems).
Lived Experiences of Democratic Republic of Congo Refugees facing Medical Xenophobia in Durban, South Africa
Authors: Zihindula Ganzamungu , Meyer-Weitz Anna , Akintola Olagoke
Published: August 2015

This research was undertaken to explore experiences of xenophobia by refugees from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) with the health care system in Durban, South Africa. The study adopted a qualitative methodology consisting of 31 in-depth interviews with refugees from the DRC. Framework analysis was conducted. The findings revealed that refugees face medical xenophobia during their encounter with health care workers with language barriers and documentation as the first stumbling block in efforts to seek health care services. The pervasiveness of xenophobia is also experienced in prejudice evident in ethnic slurs, unwelcome and insensitive comments and discriminatory practices, including denial of treatment, contributing to inequality in health care delivery.
Secret Societies: Intimations of Organization
Authors: Parker Martin
Published: August 2015

This paper uses the secret society to pose questions about the politics, epistemology and ontology of organizing. Against assumptions of transparency, or the possibility of hermeneutic understanding, I suggest that much organizing is actually invisible and opaque. The paper begins with a consideration of the characteristics of historical and contemporary organizational conspiracies, and then moves on to elaborate what sort of ‘facts’ need to be claimed about a secret society to bring it into existence. After a section on the politics of contemporary organizational conspiracies, the paper concludes with some speculations on what the example of the secret society can tell us about the paranoia required by contemporary organizational researchers, as well as the ontology of organizations. After all, we have still never seen an organization.
Differential and long-term language impact on math
Authors: Chen Fang , Chalhoub-Deville Micheline
Published: August 2015

Literature provides consistent evidence that there is a strong relationship between language proficiency and math achievement. However, research results show conflicts supporting either an increasing or a decreasing longitudinal relationship between the two. This study explored a longitudinal data and adopted quantile regression analyses to overcome several limitations in past research. The goal of the study is to detect more accurate and richer information on the long-term relationship between language and math, taking into consideration the socioeconomic status, gender, and ethnicity background at the same time. Results confirmed a persistent relationship between math achievement and all the factors explored. More importantly, it revealed that the strength of the relationship between language and math differed for students with various abilities both within and across grades. Model comparison suggests that language demand contributes to the achievement gap between ELLs and non-ELLs in math. There also seems to be a disadvantage for the geographically isolated group in academic achievement. Interpretation and implications for teaching and assessment are discussed.
Doctors discussing religion and spirituality: A systematic literature review
Authors: Best Megan , Butow Phyllis , Olver Ian
Published: August 2015

Background:

Discussion of religion and/or spirituality in the medical consultation is desired by patients and known to be beneficial. However, it is infrequent. We aimed to identify why this is so.

Aim:

We set out to answer the following research questions: Do doctors report that they ask their patients about religion and/or spirituality and how do they do it? According to doctors, how often do patients raise the issue of religion and/or spirituality in consultation and how do doctors respond when they do? What are the known facilitators and barriers to doctors asking their patients about religion and/or spirituality?

Design:

A mixed qualitative/quantitative review was conducted to identify studies exploring the physician’s perspective on discussion of religion and/or spirituality in the medical consultation.

Data sources:

We searched nine databases from inception to January 2015 for original research papers reporting doctors’ views on discussion of religion and/or spirituality in medical consultations. Papers were assessed for quality using QualSyst and results were reported using a measurement tool to assess systematic review guidelines.

Results:

Overall, 61 eligible papers were identified, comprising over 20,044 physician reports. Religion and spirituality are discussed infrequently by physicians although frequency increases with terminal illness. Many physicians prefer chaplain referral to discussing religion and/or spirituality with patients themselves. Such discussions are facilitated by prior training and increased physician religiosity and spirituality. Insufficient time and training were the most frequently reported barriers.

Conclusion:

This review found that physician enquiry into the religion and/or spirituality of patients is inconsistent in frequency and nature and that in order to meet patient needs, barriers to discussion need to be overcome.
Who I Am
Authors: Tatlow-Golden Mimi , Guerin Suzanne
Published: August 2015

Self-concept research in early adolescence typically measures young people’s self-perceptions of competence in specific, adult-defined domains. However, studies have rarely explored young people’s own views of valued self-concept factors and their meanings. For two major self domains, the active and the social self, this mixed-methods study identified factors valued most by 526 young people from socioeconomically diverse backgrounds in Ireland (10-12 years), and explored the meanings associated with these in a stratified subsample ( n = 99). Findings indicate that self-concept scales for early adolescence omit active and social self factors and meanings valued by young people, raising questions about content validity of scales in these domains. Findings also suggest scales may under-represent girls’ active and social selves; focus too much on some school-based competencies; and, in omitting intrinsically salient self domains and meanings, may focus more on contingent (extrinsic) rather than true (intrinsic) self-esteem.
The determinants of the commuting burden of low-income workers: evidence from Beijing
Authors: Zhao Pengjun
Published: August 2015

The commuting burdens of disadvantaged groups have recently become a renewed topic of concern with social inequities and just city. It is widely believed that social restrictions and individual’s self-etermined actions become more important determinants of low-income workers’ commuting costs than spatial constraints. However, it is doubtable to recognise the belief as a ‘universal’ truth since the evidences for this are still fragmented and particularly are dominated by cases from the Western-developed countries. This paper reports on an initial investigation into low-income workers’ commuting burden and its determinants in a rapidly developing city, looking at the case of Beijing. Spatial constraints caused by uncontrolled urban sprawl, an insufficiency of affordable housing and lower levels of public transport services are still major factors leading to additional commuting time for low-income workers, in particular, for those who travel by public transit. Individuals’ preferences for housing have effects on low-income workers’ commuting times. For the car users, the effects are greater than that spatial constraints have. However, a preference for greater proximity to the workplace rather than a better quality living environment in a community has a significant influence on low-income workers’ commuting times. It suggests the basic need for housing and jobs explains the greater commuting burden on low-income workers. Thus, today’s commuting burden in China for low-income workers could be generally understood by social–spatial structure rather than social–cultural forces. But it seems that the impacts of individual’s self-determined actions on commuting burden will increase in the context of individualisation of the society in China.
Stakeholder perspectives on shale gas fracking: a Q-method study of environmental discourses
Authors: Cotton Matthew
Published: August 2015

The rapid expansion of shale gas exploration worldwide is a significant source of environmental controversy. Successful shale gas policy-making is dependent upon a clear understanding of the dynamics of competing stakeholder perspectives on these issues, and so methods are needed to delineate the areas of agreement and conflict that emerge. This empirical study, based in the United Kingdom, examines emergent perspectives on a range of environmental, health and socio-economic impacts associated with shale gas fracking using Q-methodology: a combined qualitative–quantitative approach. The analysis reveals three typologies of perspectives amongst key industry, civil society and non-affiliated citizen stakeholders; subsequently contextualised in relation to Dryzek's typology of environmental discourses. These are labelled (A) ‘Don't trust the fossil fuels industry: campaign for renewables’ (mediating between sustainable development and democratic pragmatism discourses), (B) ‘Shale gas is a bridge fuel: economic growth and environmental scepticism’ (mediating between economic rationalism and ecological modernisation discourses) and (C) ‘Take place protective action and legislate in the public interest’ (reflecting a discourse of administrative rationalism). The implications of these competing discourses for nascent shale gas policy in the UK are discussed in light of recent government public consultation on changes to national planning policy.
‘Modes of governing’ and solid waste management in Maui, Hawaii, USA
Authors: Howell Jordan P
Published: August 2015

Maui, Hawaii, USA is an island with sensitive ecosystems and sharply circumscribed spatial resources for waste disposal. Despite the State of Hawaii's preferences to the contrary, Maui remains heavily dependent on landfilling and to a lesser extent, landfill diversion techniques to manage its solid waste. This article examines the history of solid waste management on Maui through the lens of Bulkeley, Watson, and Hudson's (2007) ‘modes of governing’ framework for the analysis of environmental and infrastructural policy issues. This approach asks users to consider equally and simultaneously the structures, processes, technologies, and ultimately, multiplicities of governance activities. Based on an analysis of approximately 200 government, private firm, and news media documents, it is demonstrated that private firms played a very significant role in shaping solid waste management on Maui, and were able to introduce their own desired modes for governing solid waste management that supplanted the preferences of State and County entities. In making this addition to the original modes of governing framework, it is argued that differences in both legal authority over and functional proximity to the practices and processes of solid waste management on Maui spurred the deployment of and competition between multiple modes of governing solid waste management there, as well as the eventual entry of private firms into the solid waste management process. Ultimately, the fragmentation of solid waste management practices on Maui has resulted in a somewhat ambivalent outcome for the natural environment. As such, this study adds to growing literatures examining both solid waste management and environmental policy issues.
Air classification: Potential treatment method for optimized recycling or utilization of fine-grained air pollution control residues obtained from dry off-gas cleaning high-temperature processing systems
Authors: Lanzerstorfer Christof
Published: August 2015

In the dust collected from the off-gas of high-temperature processes, usually components that are volatile at the process temperature are enriched. In the recycling of the dust, the concentration of these volatile components is frequently limited to avoid operation problems. Also, for external utilization the concentration of such volatile components, especially heavy metals, is often restricted. The concentration of the volatile components is usually higher in the fine fractions of the collected dust. Therefore, air classification is a potential treatment method to deplete the coarse material from these volatile components by splitting off a fines fraction with an increased concentration of those volatile components. In this work, the procedure of a sequential classification using a laboratory air classifier and the calculations required for the evaluation of air classification for a certain application were demonstrated by taking the example of a fly ash sample from a biomass combustion plant. In the investigated example, the Pb content in the coarse fraction could be reduced to 60% by separation of 20% fines. For the non-volatile Mg the content was almost constant. It can be concluded that air classification is an appropriate method for the treatment of off-gas cleaning residues.
Decoding the Dyad
Authors: Heerey Erin A
Published: August 2015

Social relationships are central to human life and are underpinned by the social interactions that constitute them. Both the behavioral sequences and the quality of these interactions vary significantly from individual to individual and conversation to conversation. This makes it difficult to understand the mechanisms that cause individual differences in social behavior and how such differences affect social outcomes. In order to gain insight into this problem, research must involve the study of real social interactions in parallel with experimental laboratory work. The aim of this review is to present three challenges in the study of face-to-face social behavior and to review results that have begun to address the question of how individual differences predict social behavior, which in turn determines social outcomes. Importantly, this review demonstrates that natural social behavior can be used as an outcome variable in experimental settings, making it possible to examine the mechanisms that drive social behavior and individual differences therein.
Words and the World
Authors: Lupyan Gary , Clark Andy
Published: August 2015

Can what we know change what we see? Does language affect cognition and perception? The last few years have seen increased attention to these seemingly disparate questions, but with little theoretical advance. We argue that substantial clarity can be gained by considering these questions through the lens of predictive processing, a framework in which mental representations—from the perceptual to the cognitive—reflect an interplay between downward-flowing predictions and upward-flowing sensory signals. This framework provides a parsimonious account of how (and when) what we know ought to change what we see and helps us understand how a putatively high-level trait such as language can impact putatively low-level processes such as perception. Within this framework, language begins to take on a surprisingly central role in cognition by providing a uniquely focused and flexible means of constructing predictions against which sensory signals can be evaluated. Predictive processing thus provides a plausible mechanism for many of the reported effects of language on perception, thought, and action, and new insights on how and when speakers of different languages construct the same “reality” in alternate ways.
Body and Odors
Authors: Pazzaglia Mariella
Published: August 2015

Interpersonal interactions are primarily mediated through vision. However, crucial information concerning other individuals is also captured through different senses. New evidence suggests that body odors can implicitly initiate, filter, and guide the integrated perceptions that characterize real human impressions. Human body-odor processing helps rapidly differentiate kin from friends and friends from foes, as well as identify potential threats or increase alertness to the proximity of strangers, thereby guiding social preference. Body odors, which are potent sources of discriminative, affective, and motor knowledge, elicit neural activity partly or exclusively outside the primary olfactory cortices in the brain areas responsible for the processing of social information, which are activated by equivalent visual signals. Body odors, which can act as an authenticator of truth and are reliably invoked to shape social relations, require us to revise our view of the traditional body-communication models.
Determination of CYP3A4 Inducing Properties of Compounds Using a Laboratory-Developed Cell-Based Assay
Authors: Seah Tiong Chai , Tay Yea Lu , Tan Heng Kean , Tengku Muhammad Tengku Sifzizul , Wahab Habibah Abdul , Tan Mei Lan
Published: August 2015

A cell-based assay to measure cytochrome P450 3A4 (CYP3A4) induction was developed to screen for potential CYP3A4 inducers. This 96-well format assay utilizes HepG2 cells transfected with a gene construct of CYP3A4 proximal promoter linked to green fluorescence protein (GFP) gene, and the expression of the GFP is then measured quantitatively. Bergamottin at 5 to 25 µmol/L produced low induction relative to the positive control. Both curcumin and lycopene were not found to affect the expression of GFP, suggesting no induction properties toward CYP3A4. Interestingly, resveratrol produced significant induction from 25 µmol/L onward, which was similar to omeprazole and may warrant further studies. In conclusion, the present study demonstrated that this cell-based assay can be used as a tool to evaluate the potential CYP3A4 induction properties of compounds. However, molecular docking data have not provided satisfactory pointers to differentiate between CYP3A4 inducers from noninducers or from inhibitors, more comprehensive molecular screening may be indicated.
Predictors of Interest in Sexual and Sentimental Relationships among Gay Males
Authors: Passarelli Marcello , Vidotto Giulio
Published: August 2015

Little is known of the factors that influence an individual’s interest in stable relationships. The drive to have support in child care is one, as evidenced by evolutionary theory, but that does not explain the formation of stable homosexual relationships, in which there is no risk of pregnancy from casual sex. Surveys were administered to 177 gay males to understand this phenomenon. Anxious attachment style and base sex drive were found to be the strongest predictors of, respectively, interest in uncommitted sex and interest in (stable) sentimental relationships. Avoidant attachment, sexual attitudes, and internalized homophobia also have an influence on the type of relationship sought. Interestingly, interest in sentimental relationships and interest in uncommitted sex appear not to be correlated.
Predictors of Sustained Implementation of School-Wide Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports
Authors: McIntosh Kent , Mercer Sterett H. , Nese Rhonda N. T. , Strickland-Cohen M. Kathleen , Hoselton Robert
Published: August 2015

In this analysis of extant data from 3,011 schools implementing school-wide positive behavioral interventions and supports (SWPBIS) across multiple years, we assessed the predictive power of various school characteristics and speed of initial implementation on sustained fidelity of implementation of SWPBIS at 1, 3, and 5 years. In addition, we partitioned variance in whether schools sustained SWPBIS at the school, district, and state levels. Results showed that the largest differences in fidelity were at the state level. In addition, school characteristics (particularly grade levels served) and speed of initial implementation were significant but small predictors of sustained implementation. Results are discussed in terms of effective supports at the state and district levels, as well as addressing types of schools at greater risk of abandonment, such as high schools.
Heterodoxy: Challenging orthodoxies about heterosexuality
Authors: Beasley Chris , Holmes Mary , Brook Heather
Published: August 2015

The intention of this article is to challenge orthodoxies regarding heterosexuality, which have tended to constitute it as a static monolith and queer as the only potential site for a less oppressive sexuality. By contrast, we consider heterodox possibilities for pleasure and change within the realm of the dominant. We examine three examples – divergence, transgression and subversion – and then consider some terminologies that might flesh out experiential aspects of these examples of social change in heterosexuality. This conjunction offers a means to acknowledge heterosexuality’s coercive aspects while attending to its more egalitarian, less orthodox forms.
How and for whom does gender matter? Rethinking the concept of sexual orientation
Authors: Better Alison , Simula Brandy L
Published: August 2015

While the gender reliant binary hetero/homo sexual orientation model shapes our social understanding of sex and desire, there is often a disjuncture between individuals’ self-described sexual orientations and the gender(s) of their sexual partners. This article examines the complex relationships between individuals’ sexual orientations, sexual experiences, and choices of sexual and intimate partners. Using qualitative data gathered from samples of two sexual subcultures, this article explores new ways of conceptualizing sexual selves, desires, and relationships outside of the traditional categories of heterosexual and homosexual. We explore resistance to heterosexual identification, conventional heterodoxies, and heteronormativity and provide a framework for a rethinking of the concept of sexual orientation to move beyond the current gender-centric model.
Reactions to anti-male sexism claims: The moderating roles of status-legitimizing belief endorsement and group identification
Authors: Wilkins Clara L. , Wellman Joseph D. , Schad Katherine D.
Published: August 2015

Men increasingly identify as victims of gender discrimination, but it is unclear how people react to men who claim to be victims of gender bias. We examined how status-legitimizing belief endorsement (SLBs) and gender identification (GID) moderated men and women’s reactions to a man who claimed to have lost a promotion because of anti-male sexism or another cause. Consistent with theory that claiming bias against high-status groups reinforces the status hierarchy, SLB endorsement was associated with more positive reactions toward an anti-male bias claimant for both men and women. Group identification, in contrast, affects group-specific concerns and thus differentially predicted male and female participants’ reactions. Men evaluated the claimant more positively the more strongly they identified with their gender. The more women identified with their gender, the more negatively they evaluated the male claimant. We also demonstrated that SLBs and GID moderated the extent to which the claimant was perceived as sexist. We discuss how these reactions may perpetuate gender inequality.
Rhabdomyolysis: A rare complication of hypothyroidism
Authors: Chang Zi Ying , Boo Alicia Ying Ying , Tulsidas Haresh
Published: August 2015

Hypothyroidism is known to be associated with muscle pain, weakness, stiffness and mildly elevated muscle enzymes. However, rhabdomyolysis due to hypothyroidism is very rare, especially in the absence of any precipitating factors, such as heavy exercise, alcohol or medication. We report a case of rhabdomyolysis associated with hypothyroidism in a 24-year-old man who presented with choking sensation, generalized lethargy, low backache and facial swelling with markedly raised muscle enzymes which normalized after thyroxine replacement.
Tracheostomy procedures in the intensive care unit: an international survey
Authors: Vargas Maria , Sutherasan Yuda , Antonelli Massimo , Brunetti Iole , Corcione Antonio , Laffey John G. , Putensen Christian , Servillo Giuseppe , Pelosi Paolo
Published: August 2015

Introduction

Percutaneous dilatational tracheostomy (PDT) is one of the most frequent procedures performed in the intensive care unit (ICU). PDT may add potential benefit to clinical management of critically ill patients. Despite this, no clinical guidelines are available. We sought to characterize current practice in this international survey.

Methods

An international survey, endorsed and peer reviewed by European Society of Intensive Care Medicine (ESICM), was carried out from May to October 2013. The questionnaire was accessible from the ESICM website in the ‘survey of the month’ section.

Results

429 physicians from 59 countries responded to this survey. Single step dilatational tracheostomy was the most used PDT in ICU. Almost 75 % of PDT’s were performed by intensive care physicians. The main indication for PDT was prolonged mechanical ventilation. Tracheostomies were most frequently performed between 7–15 days after ICU admission. Volume control mechanical ventilation, and a combination of sedation, analgesia, neuromuscular blocking agents and fiberoptic bronchoscopy were used. Surgical tracheostomy was mainly performed in ICU by ENT specialists, and was generally chosen when for patients at increased risk for difficult PDT insertion. Bleeding controlled by compression and stoma infection/inflammation were the most common intra-procedural and late complications, respectively. Informed consent for PDT was obtained in only 60 % of cases.

Conclusions

This first international picture of current practices in regard to tracheostomy insertion demonstrates considerable geographic variation in practice, suggesting a need for greater standardization of approaches to tracheostomy insertion.
Saintly Animals
Authors: Taneja Anand Vivek
Published: August 2015

In this article I explore stories and rituals surrounding sanctified birds, snakes, cats, and stones in contemporary Delhi and rural Uttar Pradesh. These stories and rituals, while drawing on long-standing Indic and Islamic traditions that centrally feature animals, are in many ways novel and unprecedented. They serve as a critique of dominant anthropocentric discourses of religion, and they point us toward possibilities of reimagining the relations between animals and humans, especially in the face of the ecological devastation we inhabit.
On the Killing and Killability of Animals
Authors: Singh Bhrigupati , Dave Naisargi
Published: August 2015

In this article we explore particular sacred and profane forms in which animals are killed in contemporary India. Taking up religious and secular, rural and urban, industrial and domestic instances from our fieldwork, we examine the affects, doubts, pleasures, cruelties and forms of indifference expressed by our ethnographic interlocutors while witnessing or executing the death of animals. Rather than indicting such acts and emotions, we emphasize a different question within the anthropology of ethics. Instead of asking (only) how one ought to live, we suggest that the question of how one ought to kill is an equally significant question of ethics that is simultaneously long-standing (particularly in South Asian thought) and very contemporary. In relation to discussions of human-animal relations, we show how the idea of “companionship,” variously proposed by Veena Das, Stanley Cavell, and Donna Haraway, is not necessarily a resolution to ethical quandaries, since being together might also involve various forms of mutual violence. Instead, we ask: in thinking of the quality of life, can we also speak of a quality of death? And further, what does it mean for animals (among humans) to be alive or not quite alive in contemporary India?
Vighnaharta Shree Siddhivinayak
Authors: Dwyer Rachel
Published: August 2015

Ganesh is a popular deity all over India, invoked before all Hindu ceremonies as the Lord of Beginnings and Remover of Obstacles (Vighnaharta). His close association with Mumbai is well attested through the Ganapati Utsav, the Ganesh festival, not least because images of his immersion in the sea against a backdrop of skyscrapers have become a visual cliche about the paradox of the modern and the traditional in today's India. But while this form of Ganesh is a temporary visitor to the city, Ganesh as Siddhivinayak has become perhaps the most visible deity in the city with a large new temple built during the period when the name of the city, Bombay, was changed to the local version of the city's name, said to derive from the goddess Mumba Devi. The article looks at a devotional film about Siddhivinayak, produced in cooperation with the shrine, to see how Ganesh is understood today by the way the shrine tells the story of the deity and his devotees.
Pondering the Text as Change Maker
Authors: Bang Anne K.
Published: August 2015

This article discusses Isabel Hofmeyr's Gandhi's Printing Press: Experiments in Slow Reading. It highlights the many ways in which the rise of the printing press, and the increasingly important role of both the editor and the reader, was also pivotal in creating an Islamic public sphere in the Indian Ocean. The essay discusses the efforts of Gandhi to create a “reading public” as well as the reformist orientation, the importance of translation, the provisional nature of the printed texts, and the use of multiple languages and scripts.
Test Quality Analysis during Specialist Certification on Acoustic Emission Nondestructive Testing of Railway Objects
Authors: Платунов  , Platunov Andrey , Богдан  , Bogdan Olga , Волкова  , Volkova Lyudmila , Муравьёва  , Muraveva Olga , Муравьёв  , Muravev Vitaliy , Байкалова  , Baykalova Tatyana
Published: August 2015

The results of qualification exams during specialist certification on acoustic emission nondestructive testing of railway objects are analyzed. The correspondence of task test difficulty with the level of specialist preparedness for certification is considered using the Rush method. Analysis of test results in specialist certification has shown:

- the presence of the deviation in the distribution of test task difficulty level histograms from the uniform law, especially for special exam tests, that requires the elimination of the tasks with very low and very high difficulty level logits, as well as increasing the number of the tasks with the minimum function of task test difficulty logit;

- the necessity of training intensification in the test topics corresponding to minimum specialist preparedness logits.

The obtained results are the bases for following analyses of the test task difficulty; the reasons of insufficient learning topic tasks with a low percentage of answer; making the possible adjustments in the consulting sessions, as well as the content and form of the test.

To exclude the test bias, the interview with certified specialist is carried out in examination center allowing specifying whether the specialist knows the basic concepts and has acoustic emission testing technology skills.

In general the performed analysis showed a high preparedness degree for most specialists due to regular training and at least a year work experience on acoustic emission testing.
The biology of vaccine responses
Authors: Clutterbuck Elizabeth
Published: August 2015

Since the 1990s, a number of new additions have been made to the vaccine schedule (as well as reformulation of old vaccines), which now covers 24 infectious diseases and has reduced rates of many diseases, and eradicated others. Health professionals administering vaccines should have an understanding of the human immune system and how different vaccines types (live-attenuated, killed or sub-unit, and conjugated) work.
Medicines management: what nurses need to know
Authors: Wright Kerri
Published: August 2015

Our ageing population requires an increasing number of medications. Statistics have shown that many of these medications are administered incorrectly. Kerri Wright considers the essential knowledge and skills nurses need to safely care for their residents
Social media in the workplace: approach with caution
Authors: Stott Ian
Published: August 2015

Social media can be of great value to health professionals, creating a forum for discussion and the opportunity to share information. However, it is important to make a distinction between professional and private use, as the NMC have highlighted in their latest report
Ten ways to get the best out of your staff
Authors: Bernstein Adam
Published: August 2015

Care home staff are intrinsic to running any successful home, yet many managers can approach staffing issues in the wrong way. Adam Bernstein offers some valuable advice in getting the best out of staff, ensuring your home is a happy place to be in
DECISION-MAKING WITH MULTIPLE CRITERIA IN THE SELECTION OF ULTRASONIC SCANNING SYSTEM IN A PRIVATE HOSPITAL IN BRAZIL
Authors: Montevechi Jose , Guimaraes Italo Freire , De Oliveira Mona Liza Moura , Friend Jonathan Daniel
Published: August 2015

This article presents the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) as an aiding approach in decision-making, applied to the technical evaluation of the acquisition process of ultrasonic device in a private hospital in Brazil. Some steps and principles of AHP, such as the complexity of hierarchical decomposition, comparative judgments, priorities synthesis, and sensitivity analysis show, themselves to be utilities for the success of the technical evaluation process, going from meeting the hospital’s necessity for transparency to auditable process documentation. The hospital’s management’s expectation of separating the hospital’s medical technical evaluation process from the commercial evaluation process was achieved through the application of AHP. Despite the great number of possible variables for the ultra-sound’s technical evaluation, the decision-making team adapted itself easily and quickly to the employed method, contributing to the success of the work. The range of medical equipment installed in Brazil presents geographic concentration, with a large percentage of the equipment remaining unused due to lack of maintenance or inadequate staff to operate them, and the quantity of determined image devices per habitant above the average of other developed countries. That reality leads to the waste of resources in the health sector and adverse effects to the population’s health. This confirms the pertinence of the instrument’s application in this work, and indicates the potential increase in its utilization in the planning and control of public and private resources in the health sector.

 

http://dx.doi.org/10.13033/ijahp.v2i1.70
SUPPORTING THE DESIGN OF A PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENT SYSTEM WITH THE ANALYTIC NETWORK PROCESS
Authors: Piratelli Claudio Luis , Belderrain Mischel Carmen N.
Published: August 2015

The development process for a Performance Measurement System (PMS) can be split into four phases: (1) design; (2) planning and construction; (3) implementation, and; (4) operation and updating. The design phase focuses on the choice of performance indicators and is crucial to the success both of the PMS and the organization. This paper deals with the design phase for a PMS based on the Performance Prism using the Analytic Network Process (ANP) for modeling and ranking of the performance indicators. The application of the ANP as support for the PMS design was executed in the higher education sector with a view to the management of an undergraduate course in Production Engineering. The model and its results assured the representation of the various stakeholders´ objectives – in a significant and balanced manner – through 58 performance indicators distributed in four clusters: satisfaction, processes, capabilities and contribution.

http://dx.doi.org/10.13033/ijahp.v2i1.72
AN INTERPRETATION OF THE AHP EIGENVECTOR SOLUTION FOR THE LAY PERSON
Authors: Lipovetsky Stan
Published: August 2015

An AHP priority vector represents the importance, preference, or likelihood of its elements with respect to a certain property or criterion and here we examine how that priority vector can be derived through an iterative process applied to the pairwise comparison matrix. Further, we show that the vector obtained in this way satisfies the definition for an eigenvector of the original judgment matrix. Practical managers using AHP in decision making would most likely be better able to appreciate this approach than they would a process phrased in the language of linear algebra. The overall priority vector for the alternatives in a hierarchy and, further, in a network, can be obtained in the same way by applying the iterative process to the supermatrix of the ANP. This claim is examined in depth in a forthcoming paper that will appear in this journal.

http://dx.doi.org/10.13033/ijahp.v2i2.42
THE EIGENVECTOR IN LAY LANGUAGE
Authors: Saaty Thomas L.
Published: August 2015

Decision making depends on identifying a structure of criteria and alternatives of a decision. It also depends on experience and judgments to select the best alternative. In the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) for decision making the criteria and alternatives are prioritized by forming matrices of judgments and from these judgments priorities are derived for each matrix in the form of the principal eigenvector. An eigenvector is a technical mathematical idea that would benefit from a simplifying explanation. That is what this note does - in two ways.

http://dx.doi.org/10.13033/ijahp.v2i2.87