bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Modes of information seeking
Authors: Al Shboul Mohammad Khaled , Abrizah A.
Published: January 2016

Persona is increasingly used to create a model that represents user behaviour. This requires a thorough understanding of users’ information-seeking behaviour, their goals, their expectations, their needs, and their forms of action. The objective of this study is to use personas to gain insight into the information seeking activities of humanities scholars. The humanities scholars at Yarmouk University Jordan, which is situated in an ICT-enriched setting, are selected as a case. Five models of information seeking behaviour are integrated to be the conceptual model of this study. Seven modes of active information seeking emerged from the research findings: a) decision to seek information by the scholars or intermediary, b) exploration, c) monitoring, d) accessing, e) categorization, f) purification, and g) satisfaction. The four personas uncovered in this study had different judgments of information seeking, depending on their computer literacy and the types and formats of information sources needed. Similarly, the personas had different priority lists on exploring, monitoring, accessing, categorizing and purifying information. However, the reaction of satisfaction after the search closure was similar in all personas. Using personas as a precise description of a typical library user and what he or she wishes to accomplish provides a clear picture of humanities scholars’ information seeking behaviour. This may lead to a better understanding of the information seeking activities and strategies they believe can address their information needs. Knowing users’ information seeking behaviour is crucial for librarians in order to provide suitable information sources and desirable library services. The library management can use the personas to focus on the unique goals of a specific person to develop a product and service that satisfies the needs of various library users.
Supervisors’ perceptions of library and information science doctoral degree programmes in Nigerian universities
Authors: Aina L. O.
Published: January 2016

The characteristics of postgraduate supervisors in library and information science in Nigerian universities and their perceptions of the timely completion of doctoral programmes were investigated, employing a questionnaire as data collection instrument. Thirty-eight supervisors from 11 university-based library schools that had already produced doctoral graduates were used for the study, and 23 respondents completed the questionnaire. The findings reveal that the supervisors are highly qualified and experienced in terms of their academic qualifications, employment status, experience in supervisory work, and their involvement in all types of research activities, including serving as external examiners both within and outside the country, and their involvement in managing journals, peer-review of journal articles, etc. The supervisors identified poor writing skills as the major obstacles to the timely completion of doctoral programmes. A t-test analysis and Spearman rho coefficient were used to determine factors that could possibly affect timely completion of doctoral programmes. The results show that gender and the experience of supervisors in term of the number of past and present supervisees had significant relationships with the timely completion of doctoral programmes.
Involvement of allopregnanolone in the anti-PTSD-like effects of AC-5216
Authors: Zhang Li-Ming , Qiu Zhi-Kun , Chen Xiao-Fei , Zhao Nan , Chen Hong-Xia , Xue Rui- , Zhang You-Zhi , Yang Ri-Fang , Li Yun-Feng
Published: January 2016

Cholesterol import into mitochondria through the translocator protein (18 KDa) (TSPO) is the starting point and an important rate-limiting step in neurosteroidogenesis. For this reason TSPO has received increased attention in the pathophysiology of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). In an effort to explore the role of TSPO in mediating the anti-PTSD effect, we first assessed the effects of the TSPO ligand AC-5216 in alleviating the enhanced anxiety and fear response in a time-dependent sensitization (TDS) procedure, a rat PTSD animal model. In the present study, we showed that chronic treatment with AC-5216 caused significant suppression of the enhanced anxiety and contextual fear induced in post-TDS rats; these effects were blocked by PK11195. Furthermore, AC-5216 treatment increased the levels of allopregnanolone in the serum, prefrontal cortex, and hippocampus of post-TDS rats, and these effects were antagonized by PK11195. These results demonstrate that AC-5216 has a clear anti-PTSD-like effect, which might be partially mediated by binding to TSPO and the subsequent synthesis of allopregnanolone.
Transfer function analysis of dynamic cerebral autoregulation: A white paper from the International Cerebral Autoregulation Research Network
Authors: Claassen Jurgen AHR , Meel-van den Abeelen Aisha SS , Simpson David M , Panerai Ronney B ,   on behalf of the international Cerebral Autoregulation Research Network (CARNet)
Published: January 2016

Cerebral autoregulation is the intrinsic ability of the brain to maintain adequate cerebral perfusion in the presence of blood pressure changes. A large number of methods to assess the quality of cerebral autoregulation have been proposed over the last 30 years. However, no single method has been universally accepted as a gold standard. Therefore, the choice of which method to employ to quantify cerebral autoregulation remains a matter of personal choice. Nevertheless, given the concept that cerebral autoregulation represents the dynamic relationship between blood pressure (stimulus or input) and cerebral blood flow (response or output), transfer function analysis became the most popular approach adopted in studies based on spontaneous fluctuations of blood pressure. Despite its sound theoretical background, the literature shows considerable variation in implementation of transfer function analysis in practice, which has limited comparisons between studies and hindered progress towards clinical application. Therefore, the purpose of the present white paper is to improve standardisation of parameters and settings adopted for application of transfer function analysis in studies of dynamic cerebral autoregulation. The development of these recommendations was initiated by (but not confined to) the Cerebral Autoregulation Research Network (CARNet – www.car-net.org ).
Analysis of changes in expression of IL-4/IL-13/STAT6 pathway and correlation with the selected clinical parameters in patients with atopic asthma
Authors: Antczak Adam , Domańska-Senderowska Daria , Górski Paweł , Pastuszak-Lewandoska Dorota , Nielepkowicz-Goździńska Agnieszka , Szewczyk Karolina , Kurmanowska Zofia , Kiszałkiewicz Justyna , Brzeziańska- Lasota Ewa
Published: January 2016

Introduction:

Asthma is associated with activation of interleukin-4 (IL-4)/interleukin-13 (IL-13)/signal transducer and activator of transcription factor-6(STAT6) inflammatory response via overexpression of all pathway components: IL-4, IL-13, and STAT6.

Objectives:

To evaluate the association of IL-4, IL-13, and STAT6 expression and immunoexpression with atopic asthma development.

Patients and methods:

Fifty patients with atopic asthma and 20 healthy controls were enrolled into the study. Relative gene expression was analyzed by qPCR method. Immunoexpression was assessed by ELISA method.

Results:

The expression levels of IL-4, IL-13, and STAT6 were higher in patients compared to the controls, but a statistically significant difference was observed only for IL-13 ( P = 0.03). In immunoexpression analysis, a statistically significant difference between patients and controls was found for IgE ( P = 0.03). Significant positive correlations in the patient group were found between IL-13 gene expression and total level of serum IgE (rho = 0.230, P = 0.033), STAT6 gene/STAT6 protein and total level of serum IgE ( STAT6: rho = 0.077, P = 0.038; STAT6: rho = 0.049, P = 0.042), IL-4, and STAT6 expression (rho = 0.098, P = 0.048). Any significant correlations were found between expression/immunoexpression levels of the studied genes and clinical classification, clinical features, or lung function parameters.

Conclusions:

Our data support the role of Th2 cytokines (IL-4, IL-13) and STAT6 in Th1/Th2 imbalance and highlight the etiological relationship between IL-4/IL-13/STAT6 signaling and atopy and asthma.
Cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterase isoforms in human basophils and mast cells
Authors: Eskandari Nahid , Tashrifi Fatemeh , Bastan Reza , Andalib Alrieza , Yousefi Zahra , Peachell Peter T
Published: January 2016

Cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterase (PDE) exists as multiple molecular forms. Of the 11 families of PDE identified so far, PDE4, a cAMP-specific PDE, has been identified as the major isoform regulating inflammatory activity. The principle aim of the present study was to determine whether human basophils and human lung mast cells express PDE4. Four sub-classes of PDE4 (A, B, C, and D) have been identified and expression of these was determined by RT-CPR and by western blotting. In basophils, prominent expression of mRNA for PDE4A and PDE4D was observed whereas little if any expression of PDE4B and PDE4C was detected. These findings were paralleled by immunoblotting experiments as human basophils were found to express PDE4A and PDE4D with little evidence for the presence of either PDE4B or PDE4C. By contrast, human lung mast cells expressed very little, if any, mRNA for PDE4 sub-classes although, in some preparations, some modest levels of mRNA for PDE4D were detected. However, there was no evidence, at the protein level, that mast cells express PE4. Overall, these data indicate that basophils express PDE4 (4A and 4D) whereas human lung mast cells do not.
La rhétorique incarnée de l’activisme consumériste au regard de la théorie de la métaphore conceptuelle : étude exploratoire et perspectives de recherche
Authors: Bouillé Julien , Basso Frédéric , Robert-Demontrond Philippe
Published: January 2016

Cet article propose une analyse de la rhétorique militante des mouvements d’activisme consumériste sous l’angle de la Théorie de la Métaphore Conceptuelle (TMC). Cette théorie développée en linguistique cognitive met en lumière le fait que notre langage métaphorique n’est pas que littéral. Il ordonne également notre pensée et notre action. Nous montrons tout d’abord dans quelle mesure cette théorie s’avère utile à une compréhension approfondie des mouvements d’activisme consumériste comparativement à d’autres approches conceptuelles. La TMC permet notamment de mieux cerner la manière dont les acteurs font l’expérience de leurs démarches militantes. Nous examinons ensuite, par une ethnographie virtuelle, le contenu de communications verbales et non verbales produites et diffusées sur le Web par des activistes. Divers cas réels d’activisme consumériste sont ainsi étudiés à travers le langage métaphorique employé par les militants. Les résultats de nos observations permettent d’identifier les aspects de l’activisme mis en avant auprès des consommateurs dans une optique d’information et de persuasion de ces derniers. Enfin, les perspectives conceptuelles et méthodologiques de cette recherche sont discutées.
Disability and ‘care’: managers, employees and colleagues with impairments negotiating the social order of disability
Authors: Mik-Meyer Nanna
Published: January 2016

This study explores how the ‘care’ of able-bodied employees and managers (observers) affects their relationships with colleagues with cerebral palsy. Disability researchers have established that ‘help’ and ‘care’ may cause feelings of dependency with the recipient. However, few workplace studies have investigated the potential negative consequences of ‘caring for’ colleagues with disabilities. Through open-ended interviews conducted in 2013 in 13 Danish work organizations with 13 employees with cerebral palsy and 62 observers, the study examines how the relational aspect of ‘care’ may result in relationships between colleagues of ‘parent–child’ or ‘helper–helpless’. The study thus clarifies the inherent contradictions embedded in the dynamics of organizational behaviour in relation to employees with disabilities, namely that workplaces may hire a person with physical limitations (perhaps to deflect accusations of social discrimination) and still end up stigmatizing these workers because of the stereotypical assumptions related to employees with disabilities.
Psychiatric care at a national mental institution during the Spanish Civil War (1936–39): Santa Isabel de Leganés
Authors: Vázquez de la Torre Paloma , Villasante Olga
Published: January 2016

The scanty research available regarding the health of the mentally ill during the Spanish Civil War is largely due to the loss of most documents, and to the difficulty in accessing the existing archives for decades. Up to the present time, historiography has described overcrowded facilities for the mentally disturbed and the fact that old buildings such as convents and spas were turned into establishments for treating patients with mental problems during the Civil War. However, research reviewing the institutional life and conditions of psychiatric patients during this war is still rather scarce.

The aim of our article is to discuss the characteristics of the patients at Santa Isabel National Mental Asylum between 1936 and 1939, as well as the functioning of this institution located in Leganés, a city to the south of Madrid (Spain). The method for this study includes a review of the medical records, statistical registers and other documents kept in the institution’s Historical Archive. In addition, using documents from other Spanish archives, as well as information obtained from contemporary and secondary sources, we attempt to describe similarities to and differences from other mental institutions.
Role of Clonidine in Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome
Authors: Streetz Vonya N. , Gildon Brooke L. , Thompson Dennis F.
Published: January 2016

Objective: To provide a systematic review of the current role of clonidine in neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS). Data Sources: A MEDLINE literature search inclusive of the dates 1946 to November 2015 was performed using the search terms clonidine and abstinence syndromes, neonatal. Excerpta Medica was searched from 1980 to November 2015 using the search terms clonidine and newborn. Additionally, Web of Science was searched using the terms clonidine and neon* inclusive of 1945 to November 2015. Study Selection and Data Extraction: We utilized the PRISMA guidelines to select English language, human primary literature, review articles, and supporting data assessing the efficacy of clonidine in the treatment of NAS. Data Synthesis: Three clinical trials and 5 observational studies demonstrated evidence of clonidine’s effectiveness in NAS. Clonidine’s therapeutic use as monotherapy and in combination with other agents was shown to reduce the time needed for pharmacotherapy treatment. Adverse reactions associated with clonidine in neonates, when reported, are mild. Conclusion: The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends opioids as first-line agents in the treatment of NAS when pharmacological treatment is indicated. Limited data suggest that clonidine, in combination with other agents or as monotherapy, may be as effective, with minimal adverse effects and reduced treatment time. Prospective clinical trials are necessary to clarify the ultimate role of clonidine in NAS and establish long-term safety.
Human Laboratory Acquired ARBO-, ARENA-, and Hantavirus Infections
Authors: Gaidamovich S. Ya. , Butenko A. M. , Leschinskaya H. V.
Published: January 2016

A total of 78 cases of laboratory acquired infections occurred at D. I. Ivanovsky Institute of Virology, M. P. Chumakov Institute of Poliomyelitis and Viral Encephalitis and Rostov na Donu Institute of Epidemiology, Microbiology and Hygiene. All these cases were caused by accidental infection of the staff with the following viruses: Venezuelan equine encephalomyelitis (n=34), Kyasanur forest disease (n=1), Omsk hemorrhagic fever (n=1), Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) (n=2), Dhori (n=5), vesicular stomatitis (n=1), Machupo (n=3), and hemorrhagic fever with the renal syndrome (n=31). The majority of cases were caused by inhaling virus aerosols. All cases were a result of accidents or neglect of safety measures. Diagnoses were confirmed by virus isolation and/or detection of specific antibodies in convalescent serum. With the exception of one lethal case of CCHF, patients recovered without disability. The pathogenicity of Dhori virus in man was discovered as a result of laboratory infection of 5 staff members.
Certification of Biosafety Level 3 (BSL3) Facilities
Authors: Party Esmeralda , Reiman James , Gershey Edward L.
Published: January 2016

The increasing need to work with airborne infectious agents places greater reliance upon the personnel and environmental protection that biocontainment facilities provide. Ensuring that these facilities function properly depends on carefully reviewing post-construction performance and establishing operating protocols that take advantage of a facility's attributes while recognizing its individual limitations. Our review process expands on the work done by others and provides a foundation for developing standard certification procedures for biocontainment facilities.
Aerosol Infection of Mice with Mycobacteria Using a Nose-Only Exposure Device
Authors: Tsenova Liana , Moreira André , Party Esmeralda , Freedman Victoria H. , Kaplan Gilla
Published: January 2016

The effectiveness of an aerosol producing system (In-Tox Products, Albuquerque, NM) commonly used for toxicological studies of chemicals and radioisotopes was evaluated for experimental tuberculosis infection of mice. Previously, experimental tuberculosis of rodents has been accomplished by aerosol infection devices which exposed the entire animal to the aerosol within a chamber. We utilized the In-Tox system to infect animals via the respiratory route with Mycobacterium bovis strain Bacille Calmette-Guerin (BCG) as a model for experimental pulmonary tuberculosis. The advantage of the device tested is that exposure to the infectious aerosol is limited to the nose of the animal. The present instrument was found to yield good implantation of mycobacteria into the lungs. The infectious load was reproducible and, with the addition of some filtration, the infectious agent was well contained within the device. Our results showed that this device is easy to operate, produces an effective experimental aerosol infection and is safe for the investigator.
Achieving Biosafety Level 3 through the Use of Biosafety Level 2 Facilities and Biosafety Level 3 Practices: A Prevalence Survey of Medical Research and Academic Institutions
Authors: Emery Robert J. , Lee Pek , Garman James
Published: January 2016

Heightened interest in pathogens with the potential for aerosol transmission and for which prevention and medical treatment is not readily available has resulted in a need for more work environments that meet Biosafety Level 3 (BSL 3) criteria. Recognizing that the facility-based criteria for BSL 3 cannot be achieved by some existing laboratories, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and National Institutes of Health (NIH) biological safety guidelines provide an option for attaining BSL 3 status through the use of Biosafety Level 2 (BSL 2) facilities and strict adherence to BSL 3 practices (BSL 2/3). Inherent to this provision is a greater emphasis on safe work practices. Since the extent to which this approach is actually used in practice is not known, a nationwide mail survey of medical academic and research institutions was conducted to provide an objective indication of the proportion of BSL 3 operations actually being carried out in the BSL 2/3 mode. The results obtained indicate that 2% of activities designated as BSL 3 in the study population actually achieve this level of protection using the BSL 2/3 approach. The findings quantitatively estimate for the first time the proportion of BSL 3 activities being carried out in this fashion, and can serve as a reference point for future studies to evaluate usage trends. The results also demonstrate the utility of flexible, performance-based health and safety guidelines, as a significant amount of clinical and research work is being accommodated with the BSL 2/3 provision.
Letter to the Editor
Authors: Baldwin Charles L. , Runkle Robert S.
Published: January 2016

The need for a symbol to warn of potential infection hazards became apparent during Public Health Service contract work on the development of containment facilities for virus-leukemia research. A program of direct inquiry and a search of the literature revealed that there was no universally used signal and that scientific and safety organizations concurred in the need for one. Criteria for symbol design were established, and final section was based on “uniqueness” and “memorability.” The National Institutes of Health is recommending use of the symbol as a warning of biological hazard.
Nebulizer Characteristics for Certification Tests of Biosafety Cabinets with Bacteria and Simulants
Authors: First Melvin W. , Macher Janet , Gussman Robert , Stuart David , Webb Terence
Published: January 2016

NSF International Standard 49–1992, that covers certification of biological safety cabinets, makes “special note” that a “stainless steel 6-jet Collison refluxing nebulizer will deliver the [required] bacterial spore aerosol” when certain stated conditions are met and “need not be retested for performance before use” (Appendix-C, page C1) (1). The basis on which this nebulizer was vetted was presented at the XXV Biological Safety Conference (Boston, MA, 1984) but never published in the open literature. In view of the importance of this device for the procedures used to certify the performance of biological safety cabinets, the authors are of the opinion that the test protocols and test data on which the selection was based should be made a matter of record.

Collison nozzle studies were conducted to determine (a) whether all 6 Collison nozzles manufactured by BGI give the same spore output when operated at 140 kPa (20 psig) with an equal number spore suspension in the flask (b) whether spore delivery by the 6-jet Collison nozzle equals or exceeds the minimum number specified by NSF 49 when charged with the recommended spore suspension (c) whether performance of Collison nozzles with a bacterial spore aerolsol can be predicted accurately with a monodisperse 1.1 μm polystyrene latex spherical simulant, and (d) the optimum nebulizer flask geometry.
Survival of Mycobacteria on Hepa Filter Material
Authors: Ko Gwangpyo , Burge Harriet A. , Muilenberg Michael , Rudnick Stephen , First Melvin
Published: January 2016

Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) is transmitted through the air, and can be captured on ventilation air filters. People handling these filters may be exposed to infectious material. We studied the survival of strains of Mycobacterium on high efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filter material. We used a model ventilation system to evaluate survival over time of Mycobacterium chelonae and H37Ra (an avirulent stain of MTB) aerosolized and then captured on HEPA filter material. Survival curves for M. chelonae incubated at 55% and 75% RH under static conditions were not different with less than 4% survival at 24 hours. H37Ra was subjected to continuous airflow at the design airflow for the filter material following deposition on the HEPA filter material, and less than 0.1% of cells survived to 48 hours (RH not controlled). H37Ra was resistant to immobilized biocide (trimethoxysilylpropyl dimethyloctadecyl ammonium chloride) on HEPA filter material as well as the same biocide in solution. Finally, survival of H37Ra and virulent MTB strain (H37Rv) were not different following deposition onto HEPA filter material from liquid suspension and incubation under static conditions.
Permitting, the Public and the Future of Animal Biosafety Facilities
Authors: Quimby Fred W.
Published: January 2016

Biocontainment facilities for animals are complex structures which must comply with numerous, sometimes conflicting, federal, state and local regulations. Agencies responsible for funding the construction of or permitting of such facilities must address the environmental impacts of the operation including the treatment and disposal of regulated medical waste.

Our experience illustrates the complex nature of the biocontainment facility permitting process. Furthermore, these experiences have taught us to seek public input early in the planning process and incorporate the public's concerns during the environmental quality review process. Finally, the recent decision in New York to regulate ABSL-3 facilities as regulated medical waste treatment facilities has added significant new requirements and resulted in a cost escalation that threatens the entire project.
Open-field study comparing an essential oil-based shampoo with miconazole/chlorhexidine for haircoat disinfection in cats with spontaneous microsporiasis
Authors: Nardoni Simona , Costanzo Angela Grazia , Mugnaini Linda , Pisseri Francesca , Rocchigiani Guido , Papini Roberto , Mancianti Francesca
Published: January 2016

Objectives

The goal of the present study was to compare the antifungal efficacy of an essential oil (EO) shampoo proven to be effective against Microsporum canis with miconazole/chlorhexidine for topical haircoat disinfection in cats treated concurrently with oral itraconazole.

Methods

Cats received treatment with oral itraconazole (Itrafungol) at a dose of 5 mg/kg/day pulse administration for 1 week, every 2 weeks for at least 6 weeks and were washed twice a week with a neutral shampoo with added EOs of Thymus serpyllum (2%), Origanum vulgare and Rosmarinus officinalis (5% each) for the period of systemic treatment. This protocol was compared with a conventional treatment (oral itraconazole + 2% miconazole/2% chlorhexidine shampoo).

Results

The treatment was well tolerated and adverse effects were not recorded. All cats were clinically negative at week 11. With respect to animals with extensive lesions, the speed of resolution was higher in cats with focal lesions. The animals showing diffuse lesions required more than a course of treatment to achieve a mycological cure. There was no significant difference between the number of weeks to obtain mycological cure for cats treated with EOs and animals treated conventionally.

Conclusions and relevance

The treatment appeared to be effective and well appreciated by the owners. The use of shampoo with the added EOs of T serpyllum, O vulgare and R officinalis would seem an interesting, natural alternative to conventional topical treatment.
Between history and apocalypse: Stumbling
Authors: Lalu Premesh
Published: January 2016

Apartheid rested on a division of the senses as much as it did on a reductive politics of racial subjection and its accompanying violence. As an instance of the division of the senses, it produced a condition of stasis in which history and a post-apartheid future were increasingly marked by a politico-religious discourse of apocalypse, and a moral claim formed around family melodrama. In seeking to escape this nightmare, I ask whether we may discover in the dream of the post-apartheid a concept of stasis that does not amount to a dead end. Instead, we might return to a formulation of stasis that for the ancient Greeks approximates something akin to movement at rest. Drawing on the resources of cinema, jazz, soundtrack and memory, I argue that apartheid’s exteriorization of technology proved disastrous both for the critique of apartheid and for elaborating a concept of the post-apartheid. Philosophy does not serve the State or the Church, who have other concerns. It serves no established power. The use of philosophy is to sadden. A philosophy that saddens no one, that annoys no one, is not a philosophy. It is not useful for harming stupidity, for turning stupidity into something shameful. Its only use is the exposure of all forms of baseness of thought. (Deleuze, 1983: 106).
“The fire below”: Towards a new study of literatures and cultures (in English?) A letter from a literary scholar in a South African university in transition
Authors: Collis-Buthelezi Victoria J
Published: January 2016

This letter was first read as a seminar paper in the Institute for the Humanities in Africa at the University of Cape Town in which I offer a series of provocations about what our current moment asks of us. It is concerned with the future of literary and cultural studies (in English) at that university and in South Africa in the wake of the RhodesMustFall movement. I look at the formation of English literature in colonial India and the rise of black studies in the US as I think through the emerging cry for decolonization of curricula in higher education in South Africa. I contemplate literary and cultural studies as modes of reading and making consent.
Males’ Awareness of Benign Testicular Disorders: An Integrative Review
Authors: Saab Mohamad M. , Landers Margaret , Hegarty Josephine
Published: January 2016

Disorders that affect the testes can range from painless and benign to debilitating and life threatening. Despite the availability of literature on the etiology, diagnosis, and treatment of benign testicular disorders (BTD), very little is known about men’s awareness of these conditions. The aim of this review was to extract and analyze evidence from studies that explored males’ awareness of BTD. Four e-databases (CINAHL, MEDLINE, PsychINFO, and PubMed) were thoroughly searched and four articles met the review inclusion criteria. The quality of the included studies was appraised and data were extracted and cross-checked using a standardized data extraction table. It was determined that participants lacked education about testicular self-examination and scrotal signs and symptoms which contributed to their lack of awareness of BTD. Help seeking in the event of scrotal abnormalities was suboptimal which is alarming given the acuteness of some BTD such as testicular torsion. Individuals who are at risk for health disparities were underrepresented in the reviewed literature. Findings from this review highlight the need to address barriers to BTD knowledge and help seeking. This could be achieved through making use of past interventions that succeeded in increasing men’s awareness of testicular cancer such as university campaigns and mass media. From a practical standpoint, clinicians must be encouraged to educate young men about BTD. This could be attained through tailoring creative educational interventions that are sensitive to the needs of individuals who are at risk for health disparities.
Types and Factors Associated With Online Health Information Seeking Among College Men in Latino Fraternities: A Qualitative Study
Authors: Chavarria Enmanuel Antonio , Chaney Elizabeth Hensleigh , Stellefson Michael Leland , Chaney J. Don , Chavarria Nikita , Dodd Virginia Jones
Published: January 2016

Despite the fact that a large percentage of Americans go online to seek health information, literature pertaining to online health information (OHI) seeking among college men in Latino fraternities (CMLF) has been nonexistent. Thus, the purpose of this study was to (a) identify the types of OHI that CMLF seek and (b) to determine the factors motivating OHI seeking among CMLF. Four 1- to 1.5-hour focus groups were conducted in two public universities in Florida with 41 college-aged Latino males in an established Latino fraternity. E-mails were used to recruit fraternity members. Qualitative analysis of the focus group transcripts identified that CMLF search for a variety of OHI types including searches on symptoms, diagnoses, weight loss, and treatments for conditions or diseases among other types of OHI. Factors motivating OHI seeking included informational needs of others and concerns for others, worries due to lack of health insurance, preoccupations with health condition, concerns over physical appearance, and clarification through social media. CMLF may be elicited to serve as information conduits to increase access to health information on chronic diseases for older non-English-speaking Latino adults. Lack of health insurance along with other factors in this segment of the population have led to self-diagnosis and self-treatment of illness. Thus, empirical research and health promotion on the potential risks due to self-diagnosing and self-treatment of illness is warranted among CMLF.
OPTIMA: sensitive and accurate whole-genome alignment of error-prone genomic maps by combinatorial indexing and technology-agnostic statistical analysis
Authors: Verzotto Davide , Teo Audrey S M , Hillmer Axel M , Nagarajan Niranjan
Published: January 2016

Background

Resolution of complex repeat structures and rearrangements in the assembly and analysis of large eukaryotic genomes is often aided by a combination of high-throughput sequencing and genome-mapping technologies (for example, optical restriction mapping). In particular, mapping technologies can generate sparse maps of large DNA fragments (150 kilo base pairs (kbp) to 2 Mbp) and thus provide a unique source of information for disambiguating complex rearrangements in cancer genomes. Despite their utility, combining high-throughput sequencing and mapping technologies has been challenging because of the lack of efficient and sensitive map-alignment algorithms for robustly aligning error-prone maps to sequences.

Results

We introduce a novel seed-and-extend glocal (short for global-local) alignment method, OPTIMA (and a sliding-window extension for overlap alignment, OPTIMA-Overlap), which is the first to create indexes for continuous-valued mapping data while accounting for mapping errors. We also present a novel statistical model, agnostic with respect to technology-dependent error rates, for conservatively evaluating the significance of alignments without relying on expensive permutation-based tests.

Conclusions

We show that OPTIMA and OPTIMA-Overlap outperform other state-of-the-art approaches (1.6–2 times more sensitive) and are more efficient (170–200 %) and precise in their alignments (nearly 99 % precision). These advantages are independent of the quality of the data, suggesting that our indexing approach and statistical evaluation are robust, provide improved sensitivity and guarantee high precision.
Negotiating solidarity with potential donors: a study of the images in fundraising letters by not-for-profit organizations
Authors: Lipovsky Caroline
Published: January 2016

Letters mailed by not-for-profit organizations in their fundraising campaigns derive their persuasive appeal from a complex interplay of verbal text, typographic features and images, combined in a visual design by means of layout. Drawing on an analysis of photographs from a corpus of fundraising letters and using the visual grammar developed by Kress and van Leeuwen (2006), this study highlights the significant role played by images in orienting potential donors attitudinally towards the text that follows, thus contributing to the persuasive appeal of fundraising letters. More specifically, the study investigates how photographs might contribute to overcoming futility thinking from potential donors. The study also contributes to a richer account of the persuasive appeal of fundraising letters than is currently available in the fields of linguistics and psychology through an integrated methodology that draws on the fields of multimodal analysis and decision-making research.
The Origin of Relative Stability of Di-µ-oxo M–M Chiral Salen Complexes [M–M = Ti(IV)–Ti(IV), V(IV)–V(IV), Cr(IV)–Cr(IV), and Mn(IV)–Mn(IV)]: A Quantum-Chemical Analysis
Authors: Narayanan Radhika , Velloth Archana , Kurahashi Takuya , Fujii Hiroshi , Hada Masahiko
Published: January 2016

Di-µ-oxo dimetal cores can form dinuclear complexes with definite stereochemistries. Recent studies describing the synthesis and evaluation of titanium(IV) and manganese(IV) di-µ-oxo dimetal chiral salen complexes prompted us to explore the corresponding vanadium(IV) and chromium(IV) complexes. We therefore modeled a series of di-µ-oxo dimetal complexes of titanium(IV), vanadium(IV), chromium(IV), and manganese(IV) with tetradentate salen ligands bearing different degrees of steric bulk. Quantum mechanical calculations were conducted to compare the stabilities and molecular structures of these complexes. The results of natural population analysis gave an insight into the charge distribution characteristics of the di-µ-oxo dimetal cores of these complexes. Our calculations showed that the di-µ-oxo dimetal complexes bearing the least sterically encumbered model ligand 1 preferred the M-helical form over the P-helical one. In the titanium(IV) and chromium(IV) complexes containing a practical chiral salen ligand 2, the P-helical form was found to be more stable than the corresponding M-form. In contrast, the corresponding vanadium(IV) and manganese(IV) complexes preferred to exist in the M-helical form. The degree of distortion of the di-µ-oxo dimetal core and the inter ligand interactions were key factors for determining the stability of these complexes.
Selective and Sensitive Chromogenic Detection of Trivalent Metal Cations in Water
Authors: Lozano-Torres Beatriz , El Sayed Sameh , Costero Ana M , Gil Salvador , Parra Margarita , Martínez-Máñez Ramón , Sancenón Félix
Published: January 2016

An azopyridine derivative for the selective and sensitive chromogenic detection of trivalent metal cations in water is described.
Recent advances in understanding dengue
Authors: Yacoub Sophie , Mongkolsapaya Juthathip , Screaton Gavin
Published: January 2016

Dengue is an emerging threat to billions of people worldwide. In the last 20 years, the incidence has increased four-fold and this trend appears to be continuing. Caused by one of four viral serotypes, dengue can present as a wide range of clinical phenotypes with the severe end of the spectrum being defined by a syndrome of capillary leak, coagulopathy, and organ impairment. The pathogenesis of severe disease is thought to be in part immune mediated, but the exact mechanisms remain to be defined. The current treatment of dengue relies on supportive measures with no licensed therapeutics available to date. There have been recent advances in our understanding of a number of areas of dengue research, of which the following will be discussed in this review: the drivers behind the global dengue pandemic, viral structure and epitope binding, risk factors for severe disease and its pathogenesis, as well as the findings of recent clinical trials including therapeutics and vaccines. We conclude with current and future dengue control measures and key areas for future research.
A clinical test for visual crowding
Authors: Pelli Denis G. , Waugh Sarah J. , Martelli Marialuisa , Crutch Sebastian J. , Primativo Silvia , Yong Keir X. , Rhodes Marjorie , Yee Kathryn , Wu Xiuyun , Famira Hannes F. , Yiltiz Hörmet
Published: January 2016

Crowding is a major limitation of visual perception. Because of crowding, a simple object, like a letter, can only be recognized if clutter is a certain critical spacing away. Crowding is only weakly associated with acuity. The critical spacing of crowding is lowest in the normal fovea, and grows with increasing eccentricity in peripheral vision. Foveal crowding is more prominent in certain patient groups, including those with strabismic amblyopia and apperceptive agnosia. Crowding may lessen with age during childhood as reading speed increases. The range of crowding predicts much of the slowness of reading in children with developmental dyslexia. There is tantalizing evidence suggesting that the critical spacing of crowding indicates neural density (participating neurons per square deg) in the visual cortex. Thus, for basic and applied reasons, it would be very interesting to measure foveal crowding clinically in children and adults with normal and impaired vision, and to track the development of crowding during childhood. While many labs routinely measure peripheral crowding as part of their basic research in visual perception, current tests are not well suited to routine clinical testing because they take too much time, require good fixation, and are mostly not applicable to foveal vision. Here we report a new test for clinical measurement of crowding in the fovea. It is quick and accurate, works well with children and adults, and we expect it to work well with dementia patients as well. The task is to identify a numerical digit, 1-9, using a new “Pelli” font that is identifiable at tiny width (0.02 deg, about 1 minarc, in normal adult fovea). This allows quick measurement of the very small (0.05 deg) critical spacing in the normal adult fovea, as well as with other groups that have higher critical spacing. Preliminary results from healthy adults and children are presented.
Production of Estonian quantity contrasts by Japanese speakers
Authors: Meister Einar , Nemoto Rena , Meister Lya
Published: January 2016

Estonian and Japanese are quantity languages both exploiting the duration cue to implement phonological contrasts. However, the quantity systems of the two languages are different – Estonian features a three-way quantity contrast while Japanese has a binary contrast. This paper studies how L2 subjects with Japanese-language background (L2-JP) produce the Estonian quantity contrasts. For the acoustic analysis the speech recordings by six L2-JP subjects and 12 native Estonian (L1-EE) subjects were used. The material analyzed consists of read sentences comprising triplets of segmentally identical disyllabic target words in the quantities Q1 (short), Q2 (long) and Q3 (overlong). In their production, the L2-JP subjects successfully produced the Q1/Q2 contrast but failed in contrasting vocalic Q2 and Q3 (CVVCV vs. CVVːCV) oppositions; however, the subjects managed to produce the Q2/Q3 consonantal quantity contrasts (CVCCV vs. CVCːCV). The L2-JP subjects’ segment durations differing from those of the L1-EE subjects, reveal the role of native durational patterns on the acquisition of Estonian quantity oppositions.Kokkuvõte. Einar Meister, Rena Nemoto, Lya Meister: Eesti välted jaapani emakeelega keelejuhtide häälduses. Eesti ja jaapani keel on kvantiteedikeeled, st mõlemad keeled kasutavad kestust fonoloogiliste vastanduste väljendamiseks. Kvantiteedisüsteemid kahes keeles on siiski erinevad – eesti keelt iseloomustab kolmene vältevastandus, jaapani keeles on kestusvastandus binaarne. Artiklis uuriti eesti väldete hääldust jaapani emakeelega keelejuhtide kõnes ja võrreldi seda eesti emakeelega keelejuhtide hääldusega. Akustiliseks analüüsiks kasutati kuue eesti keelt võõrkeelena kõneleva jaapanlase ja 12 eesti emakeelega keelejuhi etteloetud lausete salvestusi, milles esinesid vältevastandusi kandvad kahesilbilised sõnad. Tulemused näitasid, et jaapani keelejuhid hääldasid kontrastiivselt esma- ja teisevältelisi sõnu, kuid ei eristanud teise- ja kolmandavältelisi vokaalikeskse vastandusega (CVVCV vs CVVːCV) sõnu. Samas hääldasid nad erinevalt teise- ja kolmandavältelisi konsonandikeskse vastandusega (CVCCV vs CVCːCV) sõnu. Leitud segmendikestuste erinevused jaapanlaste ja eestlaste kõnes peegeldavad emakeelsete kestusmustrite erinevusi kahes keeles.Märksõnad: eesti keel, jaapani keel, aktsendiga kõne, fonoloogiline kestus, välted
Sõnajärg, infostruktuur ja objekti kääne eesti keeles
Authors: Ogren David
Published: January 2016

Objekti kääne eesti keeles oleneb eelkõige tegevuse ja objekti piiritle- (ma)tusest, kuid da-infinitiiviga konstruktsioonides leidub palju varieerumist objekti käändes, mida ei ole võimalik seletada piiritletuse mõiste abil. Suur osa sellest varieerumisest on seotud sõnajärjega: da-infinitiivile järgnev objekti on pigem totaalne, infinitiivile eelnev objekt on pigem partsiaalne. Artiklis vaadeldakse seoseid sõnajärje ja objekti käände vahel neljas sagedases da-infinitiiviga konstruktsioonis. Kuna eesti keele sõnajärg sõltub suuresti infostruktuurist, uuritakse, kas ja kuivõrd on sõnajärjega seotud varieerumine seletatav infostruktuuriliste parameetrite abil. Jõutakse järeldusele, et objekti käände varieerumist ei mõjuta mitte infostruktuur, vaid sõnajärg ise. Artikli lõpuosas arutletakse selle üle, miks võiks sõnajärg üldse mõjutada objekti käänet ning miks selle mõju piirdub infiniitsete konstruktsioonidega.Abstract. David Ogren: Word order, information structure and object case in Estonian. While object case in Estonian depends primarily on the boundedness of the action and the object nominal, numerous constructions with da-infinitive verb forms exhibit object case variation that cannot be explained by the boundedness criterion. A considerable amount of this variation is related to word order: VO word order in the da-infinitive phrase favors the use of the total object, OV word order favors the partial object. The article examines the relationship between word order and object case in four common da-infinitive constructions. As word order in Estonian is heavily dependent on information structure, the article also investigates whether the relationship between word order and object case can be explained by information-structural features, and finds that the relevant parameter is in fact not information structure, but rather word order itself. The article closes with a discussion of the possible explanations for the relationship between word order and object case and for why this relationship is found only in non-finite constructions.Keywords: object case, da-infinitive, information structure, word order, variation, analogy
Shakespeare’s Pauses, Authorship, and Early Chronology
Authors: Bruster Douglas
Published: January 2016

This paper explores the implications of Ants Oras’s Pause Patterns in Elizabethan and Jacobean Drama: An Experiment in Prosody (Oras 1960) for the chronology and authorship of plays in early modern England. Oras’s brief monograph has been noticed by a relatively few scholars, mainly those interested in changes to Shakespeare’s pentameter line. Recent developments in the field, however, have rendered his data newly attractive. Compiled by hand, Oras’s figures on the punctuated pauses in pentameter verse offer computational approaches a wealth of information by which writers’ stylistic profiles and changes can be measured. Oras’s data for a large number of playwrights and poets, as well as his methodology generally, may prove instrumental in constructing a portrait of the aesthetic environment for writers of pentameter verse during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries in England. In particular, pause percentages may lend context to our attributions of texts of uncertain authorship. A hypothetical chronology is offered for Shakespeare’s earliest writing, including his contributions to Arden of Faversham, 1 Henry VI, and Edward III.
Research of the Interaction Problem Between Universities and Employers (Regional Aspect)
Authors: ��������  , Saburova Marina
Published: January 2016

This article presents the view of government, business and higher education of the Ulyanovsk region in determining the problems of interaction between

the labor market and the market of educational services of high school. The author of the article presents data obtained by means of a fi eld marketing

research in the Ulyanovsk region. In-depth interviews of the expert group was the basic method of research. An expert assessment of the present relations

between universities and employers as in the country as a whole as in the region was obtained. Besides it, experts vision of prospects of these relations for

the next 3-5 years was determined as well as factors and eff ective ways of improving the interaction between universities and business.