bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Comparative Study on the Roles of the Number of Accelerations and Rotation Angle in the Treatment Maneuvers for Posterior Semicircular Canal Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo
Authors: Tian Liang , Sheng Hai-Bin , Wang Jing , Luo Xu , Yu Jing , Jia Xian-Hao , Cheng Xiang , Han Zhao , Chi Fang-Lu
Published: December 2015

Aims: This study aims to investigate the roles of the number of accelerations and rotation angle in the treatment of posterior semicircular canal benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (PC-BPPV). Methods: We enrolled 344 patients with unilateral PC-BPPV. Of these, 167 patients in the simple-step maneuver (SSM) group were accelerated twice and rotated 120° per step, whereas 177 patients in the multi-step maneuver (MSM) group were accelerated 4 times and rotated 60° per step. Dix-Hallpike (DH) tests were performed to categorize the treatment outcome as follows: ‘symptom free' if the result was negative, ‘symptom persistent' if the result remained positive after performing the maneuver 3 times or ‘canal conversion' if horizontal nystagmus was evoked. Results: Of the patients in the SSM and MSM groups, 78.4 and 91.5% became symptom free, respectively, while canal conversion occurred in 13.8 and 5.1%, respectively (p = 0.003, χ2 test). The success rate after performing the maneuver once was 57.1% in the MSM and 32.3% in the SSM symptom-free patients (p = 0.001, χ2 test). One month after the treatment, 22.0 and 9.6% of the SSM and MSM patients had symptom relapse, respectively (p = 0.007, χ2 test). Conclusions: More accelerations and a smaller rotation angle improved the effectiveness and efficiency of the repositioning maneuvers and reduced canal conversion.
The Effects of Diabetes Mellitus on Ovarian Injury and Reserve: An Experimental Study
Authors: Nayki Umit , Onk Didem , Balci Gurhan , Nayki Cenk , Onk Alper , Gunay Murat
Published: December 2015

Objective: The study aims to investigate the effects of diabetes mellitus (DM) on ovarian injury and reserve in a rat model. Study Design: In this prospective experimental study, 16 female Sprague-Dawley albino rats (12 weeks, 220-240 g) were randomly divided into 2 groups. Group 1 included 8 normal healthy rats as controls. No drug was administered to the controls. Group 2 included the other 8 rats in which diabetes was induced by intraperitoneal injections of streptozotocin (STZ). After overt DM occurred (blood glucose >250 mg/dl), all the animals were euthanized and blood samples were collected by cardiac puncture for biochemical analysis. Bilateral oophorectomy was performed for histopathological examination. Immunoexpressions of nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-kB) and caspase-3 as well as anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) levels were assessed. Values were analyzed by t test. Results: Immunoexpressions of NF-kB and caspase-3 were significantly higher in non-treated diabetic rats than in the control group (p = 0.011 and p = 0.010, respectively). In healthy control group, AMH levels (3.22 ± 0.58 ng/ml) were significantly higher than in the non-treated diabetic group (1.41 ± 0.25 ng/dl; p = 0.024). Conclusion: Hyperglycemia causes severe ovarian injury via NF-kB pathway and caspase-3 apoptotic pathway, leading to the decrease in ovarian reserve in STZ-induced diabetic rats.
Perspectives on Translational Genomics and Public Health in India
Authors: Chakrabarty Sanjiban , Kabekkodu Shama Prasada , Brand Angela , Satyamoorthy Kapaettu
Published: December 2015

It is now recognized worldwide that anticipation and prevention of diseases have significant advantages for the health and healthy ageing of the population. Early recognition of the disease in a vulnerable population such as in children aged <5 years and adults aged >60 years enhances our preparedness for any eventualities and future burden of the diseases to society. It is also recognized that current public health practices alone cannot bring about the desired outcome. When tackling public health-related issues, such problems must be recognized and state-of-the-art principles and innovations from genomic sciences, information technologies, and medical specialties must be encompassed and embraced. These will enhance strategies for preparedness and provide us with a better understanding of how to identify, manage, and control disease burdens. The ever expanding landscape of genomics research also includes experimental and computational approaches for effectively utilizing DNA sequence information. From these perspectives, the intricacies of Mendelian single gene disorders are the least challenging compared to intricacies of multi-dimensional host factors for infectious diseases or complex disorders such as cancer. The concepts of public health in India are on firm footing; however, integration of contemporary advances to implement public health principles into practice has neither been attempted nor impacted on disease burden or our preparedness to prevent eventualities. At the same time, translational genomics is gradually paving the way for personalized medicine. Principles of personalized medicine remain to be fully understood and practiced despite the pharmacogenomics-based future of drug development, and treatment has not been as exciting as the advances in genomics we are witnessing today. The relevance, importance, and translational impediments of these advances will be discussed.
Main Trunk and Division Middle Cerebral Artery Occlusions: Differences in Recanalization Times, Number of Stent Retriever Passes and Clinical Outcomes: A Single-Center Experience
Authors: Qureshi Ihtesham A. , Maud Alberto , Cruz-Flores Salvador , Rodriguez Gustavo J.
Published: December 2015

Background and Purpose: In this article, we present our experience with the recanalization of the middle cerebral artery (MCA), we hypothesize that there are higher rates of recanalization with fewer stent retriever passes and better clinical outcomes in patients with division MCA occlusions. A more complex anatomy at the bifurcation may prevent a faster recanalization in main trunk MCA occlusions. Methods: We retrospectively identified consecutive patients admitted with MCA occlusions who underwent mechanical thrombectomy using stent retrievers. We categorized patients into division MCA and main trunk MCA occlusions based on angiography. Variables were compared between the groups. We further analyzed patients with trunk MCA occlusions to identify reasons for delays in recanalization. Results: There were 32 MCA occlusions that underwent mechanical thrombectomy and eligible for the analysis during the study period. Of those, 11 were main trunk MCA occlusions. Univariate analysis disclosed a trend toward a lower GP-to-recanalization time (p = 0.05) and a lower number of passes required for recanalization in division MCA occlusions. However, there was a significantly better outcome in patients with division MCA occlusion after multivariate analysis. Analyzing main trunk MCA occlusion data, we found that the need for more than one pass to achieve recanalization led to a trend toward a longer GP-to-recanalization time and a worse outcome. When the stent was placed in the dominant division, the chances of recanalization were significantly higher. Conclusions: Division MCA occlusions have higher recanalization rates with fewer stent retriever passes and better clinical outcomes than main trunk MCA occlusions, likely due to a more favorable anatomy. Measures like placing the stent retriever in the dominant division may decrease recanalization times and improve clinical outcomes in main trunk MCA occlusions.
Notas para um estudo sobre a Unión de Cinematecas de América Latina
Authors: Núñez Fabián
Published: December 2015

O presente artigo visa lançar as bases para uma análise da formação da Unión de Cinematecas de América Latina (UCAL). Criada em 1965, a UCAL visa dar visibilidade e articulação às jovens cinematecas latino-americanas. Por sua vez, a segunda metade dos anos 1960 pode ser interpretada como a consolidação ideológica do Nuevo Cine Latinoamericano (NCL), o que também põe em questão o papel de uma cinemateca em nosso subcontinente.
Imagens que faltam, imagens que restam: a tortura em Cabra Marcado para Morrer.
Authors: Machado Patrícia Furtado Mendes
Published: December 2015

Diante da falta de imagens das torturas praticadas durante a ditadura militar brasileira, quais as estratégias usadas por Cabra Marcado para Morrer (1984), de Eduardo Coutinho, para transformar em experiência sensível essa ausência? Exibido em 1984, no início do processo de redemocratização, o filme elabora memórias sufocadas pela repressão. Nesse artigo, propomos uma análise minuciosa das imagens e falas que remetem à tortura. Para dar um sentido renovado aos testemunhos e aos registros que restam da época, retomados no filme, fomos em busca de documentos da polícia política que se referem aos personagens que o regime procurou tornar invisíveis.

 

 
Paratextos, programas de ação?
Authors: Falcao Thiago
Published: December 2015

Este artigo tem como intuito contribuir para com a discussão acerca do modo através do qual os elementos relativos a uma mídia incidem sobre sua experiência. Na década de 1980, Gérard Genette escreveu um tratado acerca do modo como títulos e prefácios enquadravam a experiência textual. Estes paratextos foram apropriados por Mia Consalvo para discursar a respeito de conteúdo apropriado a partir dos jogos eletrônicos. Nossa questão, portanto, recai sobre a relação entre videogames e seus paratextos: consistem estes em meros adendos à experiência – adereços, intermediários – ou serão eles capazes de agenciar comportamentos, mediar relações, sugerir o rumo das ações tomadas em um mundo cuja própria existência depende destas, para fazer sentido?
Regression of Atherosclerosis
Authors: Fisher Edward A.
Published: December 2015

Cardinal events in atherogenesis are the retention of apolipoprotein B–containing lipoproteins in the arterial wall and the reaction of macrophages to these particles. My laboratory has been interested in both the cell biological events producing apolipoprotein B–containing lipoproteins, as well as in the reversal of the damage they cause in the plaques formed in the arterial wall. In the 2013 George Lyman Duff Memorial Lecture, as summarized in this review, I covered 3 areas of my past, present, and future interests, namely, the regulation of hepatic very low density lipoprotein production by the degradation of apolipoprotein B100, the dynamic changes in macrophages in the regression of atherosclerosis, and the application of nanoparticles to both image and treat atherosclerotic plaques.
The Now and the Passage of Time
Authors: Dorato Mauro , Wittmann Marc
Published: December 2015

The notion of the “present moment” has intrigued philosophers, physicists, and psychologists alike. Here we review the literature in the physics and the neuropsychology of the “now” in order to connect those two yet unrelated fields. Such a unitary perspective helps us to explain why there cannot be an objective and absolute “now” and why we naïvely tend to believe in a cosmically extended present. In particular, invoking the recent identification in the Cognitive Neurosciences of various temporal integration windows underlying an individual’s temporal experience within physical spacetime enables us to qualify in a more precise way in what sense the now, as frequently claimed by philosophers, is mind-dependent.
The Fate of Environmentally Relevant Chemical Compounds
Authors: Smolen Jean M.
Published: December 2015

Over the last few generations, our quality of life has improved with the development of specialized chemical compounds that have led to new products and new sources of pollution. Time is of the essence as we consider the prevalence of these compounds in the natural environment well past their intended lifetimes. The scientific community has gained insights into the reactivity and persistence of organic pollutants, insights that ought to allow society to make better decisions regarding the use and disposal of chemical substances in the future. History illustrates many examples of how using poorly understood substances can result in unintended consequences, reinforcing the need for the Precautionary Principle for decision-making under uncertainty. A case study examining drilling for natural gas in the Marcellus Shale of the eastern United States exemplifies how a new use of multiple chemicals may have such consequences, a situation calling for application of the Precautionary Principle.
Fake Paintings, Fake Clues, and True Crimes in French Cinema (1911-1914)
Authors: Costa de Beauregard Raphaëlle
Published: December 2015

A major consequence of the capture of images by photography was a reevaluation of idealist philosophy on behalf of material philosophy. But with the projection of images in movement, the capture of a much more immaterial essence of this reality was foregrounded. Two French films of the period when cinema had fully developed its narrative strategies are examined in this paper: a short burlesque, Jean Durand’sLe Rembrandt de la rue Lepic(Gaumont, 1911), and a serial of five films, Louis Feuillade’sFantômas(Gaumont, 1913-1914). The two films rely on the instability of images for the dramatic progression of plots that are devoted to the pursuit of an “authentic” image, whether a painting or a fingerprint, itself understood as the reliable “trace” of the materiality of the real world. This paper examines the various meanings of the word “trace” in these films within the cultural context of the 1910s and the prominent questioning of time issues.
Medical Liability in Europe at the Dawn of Cross-border Healthcare: Time to Reflect on the Possibility of Harmonising the Policies Regarding Medical Liability?
Authors: Panagiotou Athanasios
Published: December 2015

Due to the incorporation of Directive 2011/24/eu into national legislations European citizens will seek cross-border healthcare services. However, medical errors are an inherent part of medical practice. Major differences in European redress systems might create an environment of legal uncertainty and reduce the confidence of patients in seeking cross-border healthcare. After assessing European citizens’ perception regarding errors, we will try to examine if the aforementioned uncertainty is clarified by the eu legislation. Given that formal harmonization measures have not been legislated, the total convergence of redress systems is currently infeasible. Nevertheless, Member States could achieve a natural convergence through the reform of their national rules and the gradual adoption of common principles. The article will try to propose these principles and emphasize the key objectives reform in this area should aim at, in order to be effective in both enhancing legal certainty and balancing conflicting goals.
A revision of Pseudoparonella, Plumachaetas, Parachaetoceras and Lawrenceana (Collembola: Paronellidae), with description of three new species from New Caledonia
Authors: ZHANG FENG , DEHARVENG LOUIS
Published: December 2015

The relationship of Pseudoparonella to other paronellid genera is currently unresolved. Authors have proposed different taxonomical systems for which the proposed subgeneric divisions have not been compared. We compared these genera in detail and conclude here that antennal length is a reliable diagnostic character. The antennae of species in the genera Plumachaetas and Parachaetoceras, are longer than body and bear long chaetae but are not longer than body in Pseudoparonella. The subapical chaeta on the maxillary outer lobe is another character potentially discriminant as it is pointed in Pseudoparonella but thick and blunt in Plumachaetas. The subgenus Lawrenceana is synonymised here with Plumachaetas because of long antennae. Three new species, Pseudoparonella seminigra sp. nov., Plumachaetas yoshii sp. nov., and Plumachaetas sunae sp. nov., are described from New Caledonia. Variation in colour patterns of Pseudoparonella griseocoerulea Yoshii is reported. New records of Pseudoparonella tanimbarica Yoshii & Suhardjono and Ps. shibatai Yosii, as well as a key to genera, are also provided.
Question Order Affects the Measurement of Bullying Victimization Among Middle School Students
Authors: Huang Francis L. , Cornell Dewey G.
Published: December 2015

Bullying among youth is recognized as a serious student problem, especially in middle school. The most common approach to measuring bullying is through student self-report surveys that ask questions about different types of bullying victimization. Although prior studies have shown that question-order effects may influence participant responses, no study has examined these effects with middle school students. A randomized experiment ( n = 5,951 middle school students) testing the question-order effect found that changing the sequence of questions can result in 45% higher prevalence rates. These findings raise questions about the accuracy of several widely used bullying surveys.
Simplified fuzzy ARTMAP network-based method for assessment of structural damage applied to composite structures
Authors: de Oliveira Mario A , Inman Daniel J
Published: December 2015

This paper addresses a novel method for structural damage assessment based on the electromechanical impedance (EMI) technique applied to composite structures. This method is based on a high-frequency excitation range in order to overcome the difficulties caused when the low vibration modes are excited. A structure made up of unidirectional carbon fiber pre-impregnated with resin-epoxy is excited using a chirp signal which varies the frequency in a wide range through the PZT (Lead Zirconate Titanate) patches. From the structural response signal, the Euclidean Distance (ED) is computed from each structural condition considering the pristine condition as a reference (baseline). The ED is used as input to the Simplified Fuzzy ARTMAP Network (SFAN) which is responsible for identifying various different structural conditions. It is shown that the robustness provided by SFAN allows the evaluation of the progress of structural damage even under critical conditions. The structural damage was simulated by loosening bolts in a structure. Furthermore, the repaired condition was also considered by retightening bolts. The paper discusses the advantages and drawbacks of the approach in light of the experimental results.
The American Psychological Association and the Hoffman Report
Authors: Elkins David N.
Published: December 2015

Based on findings documented in the Independent Review Relating to APA Ethics Guidelines, National Security Investigations, and Torture, more commonly known as the Hoffman report, this guest editorial describes how the American Psychological Association (APA) colluded with the Department of Defense during the Bush administration to provide ethical cover for the Department of Defense’s interrogation program and for psychologists working in the program. Describing the actions of APA as “one of the greatest ethical breaches in the history of psychology,” the article discusses APA’s offenses, what has been done about them to date, and what remains to be done.
Rethinking the state in urban outcasts
Authors: Marwell Nicole P
Published: December 2015

Wacquant’s treatment of the state’s role in producing urban marginality rests on outdated assumptions about a centralised state operating uniformly across one nation’s urban territories. More than a decade’s worth of urban scholarship focuses on a process more productively labelled ‘governance,’ which points to the multiplex relations among government, business, nongovernmental organisations and hybrid organisational forms in the production of urban inequality. While Wacquant gestures towards these ideas, a greater engagement with the range of extant empirical work on this subject is warranted.
Scrutinising the reflexive ethnography of Urban Outcasts
Authors: Schultz Larsen Treols
Published: December 2015

The core of Bourdieu and Wacquant’s ‘epistemic reflexivity’ demands an embodied reflexivity which takes up the point of view of the practice and the social problems under study via a reflection and reconstruction of the point of view of the ethnographer as an agent embedded in a scientific practice in the scientific field. This must be done to cast light over the social conditions and conditionings that have a possible effect on the construction of the given scientific object under study. However, measured by these standards, Urban Outcasts remains not as pedagogical as one might wish. Despite all the qualities of this neo classic, it makes the critical assessment of its core results more difficult than necessary and tends to impede the possible transfer of the underlying propositions which were intended to ‘invigorate the comparative sociology of polarization from below’.
Properties of natural rubber latex-compatibilized natural rubber/recycled chloroprene rubber blends
Authors: Salleh SZ , Ismail H , Ahmad Z
Published: December 2015

The effect of natural rubber latex (NRL) on the properties of natural rubber/recycled chloroprene rubber (NR/rCR) blends was investigated. The properties of NR/rCR-NRL blends were compared with those of NR/rCR blends without the NRL. The addition of NRL showed an improvement in tensile strength, elongation at break, fatigue life, and swelling resistance with respect to those rubber blends without NRL. However, the gel content and glass transition of NR/rCR blends were not significantly affected by NRL. The scanning electron microscopic images showed better rCR dispersion in NR/rCR-NRL blends, indicating that the interfacial adhesion between NR and rCR blends was enhanced. A single tan δ is observed from the dynamic mechanical analysis supported that NRL can be used as compatibilizer in the NR-rich blend.
Exclusionary attitudes toward the allocation of welfare benefits to Chinese immigrants in Hong Kong
Authors: Lee Siu-Yau , Ng Isabella FS , Chou Kee-Lee
Published: December 2015

Studies on migration often assume that members of the same ethnic category are less likely to develop exclusionary attitudes toward each other. In order to explain why many Hong Kong people exhibit exclusionary attitudes toward granting social rights to Chinese immigrants who share the same ethnic ancestry with them, we conducted a phone survey to examine four important factors: (1) economic threat; (2) social threat; (3) negative stereotypes; and (4) contact with immigrants. We find that the economic threat—either at the societal or individual level—perceived by respondents does not explain their exclusionary attitudes. The results are consistent with alternative explanations emphasizing cultural and non-economic concerns commonly associated with ethnocentrism.
Fuel poverty-induced ‘prebound effect’ in achieving the anticipated carbon savings from social housing retrofit
Authors: Teli D , Dimitriou T , James PAB , Bahaj AS , Ellison L , Waggott A
Published: December 2015

Social housing retrofit is often seen as a way to contribute to carbon reductions as it typically encompasses large-scale interventions managed by one landlord. This work investigates the carbon savings potential of a deep retrofit in a local authority owned 107-flat tower block, taking into account the tenants' pre-retrofit heating strategies. Prior to the retrofit, temperature and relative humidity monitoring were undertaken in 18 flats for 35 days. The measurements were then used to develop occupant heating profiles in the 18 homes. Dynamic thermal simulation of the flats pre- and post-retrofit using the identified user heating profiles highlights that for these fuel poverty-constrained flats, the estimated carbon savings of retrofit will be typically half those predicted using standard rules for temperatures in living spaces.

Practical application: The findings presented in this paper demonstrate the impact of fuel poverty on the expected benefits from social housing retrofit schemes, providing information relevant to multiple stakeholders: (1) building industry: The study highlights the need to use empirical data in building energy modelling, as typical conditions could be far from representative in social homes (2) Policy makers and social landlords: Targets for CO2 reduction may not be achieved through retrofitting, but the social impact could be much greater and more critical than assumed. The findings under this work help to direct incentives for retrofit schemes towards the social and health benefits achieved.
Truth through Fiction
Authors: Keating Barbara R.
Published: December 2015

This qualitative analysis describes the parallels between Carolyn Heilbrun’s nonfiction writing, her Amanda Cross novels, and Heilbrun’s real-life experiences as the first woman tenured at Columbia University amid the social movements of the 1960s and 1970s. Heilbrun’s nonfiction insightfully deconstructs gender issues in society. She turned to fiction as Amanda Cross, however, to expose the unrelenting differential privilege in the academy. Conflict theory, although not identified as such, permeates her writings, both novels and nonfiction. The underlying theme, differential privilege, is examined through four manifestations: response to war, women’s perspectives on women, the attitudes of the privileged toward others, especially men toward women, and the institutionalized privilege in the highly stratified practice of higher education. These observations remain relevant and applicable for dealing with today’s issues with differential privilege.
Advanced Clinical Imaging and Tissue-based Biomarkers of the Eye for Toxicology Studies in Minipigs
Authors: Atzpodien Elke-Astrid , Jacobsen Bjoern , Funk Juergen , Altmann Bernd , Silva Munoz Manuel A. , Singer Thomas , Gyger Cyrill , Hasler Pascal , Maloca Peter
Published: December 2015

There is increased interest to use minipigs in ocular toxicology studies due to their anatomical similarities with human eyes and as a substitute for nonhuman primates. This requires adaptation of enhanced optical coherence tomography (OCT) techniques and of ocular relevant immunohistochemistry (IHC) or in situ hybridization (ISH) markers to porcine eyes. In this study, OCT and OCT angiography (AngioOCT) were performed on adult Göttingen minipigs. To increase structural information on retinal and choroidal vasculature, OCT data were speckle denoized and choroidal blood vessels were segmented with threshold filtering. In addition, we established a set of IHC and ISH markers on Davidson’s fixed paraffin-embedded minipig eyes: neurofilament-160, neuronal nuclei, calretinin, protein kinase C-α, vimentin, glial fibrillary acidic protein, glutamine synthetase, ionized calcium-binding adaptor molecule-1, rhodopsin, synaptophysin, postsynaptic density protein-95, retinal pigment epithelium (RPE)-specific protein-65, von Willebrand factor, α-smooth muscle actin, desmin, and Ki-67, thus enabling visualization of retinal neuronal and glial cells, photoreceptors, synapses, RPE, blood vessels, myocytes, macrophages, or cell proliferation. Using ISH, transcripts of vascular endothelial growth factor A, angiopoietin-2, and endothelial tyrosine kinase were visualized. This article describes for the first time in minipig eyes speckle noise–free OCT, AngioOCT, and a set of IHC/ISH markers on Davidson’s fixed paraffin-embedded tissues and helps to establish the minipig for ocular toxicology and pharmacology studies.
Single coronary artery anomaly: Report of an extremely rare variation
Authors: Gholoobi Arash , Poorzand Hoorak
Published: December 2015

A 43-year-old man presented with unstable angina. Coronary angiography revealed a single coronary artery originating from the left sinus of Valsalva, giving rise to a left main stem trifurcating to the left anterior descending artery, left circumflex artery, and an anomalous right coronary artery. The anomalous right coronary artery had a retroaortic course and significant proximal tubular stenosis which was stented. The coronary anomaly and abnormal course was confirmed by transesophageal echocardiography. The patient was symptom-free at one-year follow-up. This anomaly does not predispose to accelerated atherosclerosis, and the premature atherosclerosis in our patient was probably due an unhealthy lifestyle.
The surface and the abyss/Rethinking topology
Authors: Lata Iulian Barba , Minca Claudio
Published: December 2015

Through a critical deployment of the surface/depth metaphor, this article explores the catalytic potential of topological thinking to establish points of articulation between apparently opposed notions and canons of thought. Starting from a genealogy of mathematical developments and philosophical mediations toward the end point of geography, we address the interplay between the formal (axiomatic) and conceptual (problematic) dimensions of topology in suggesting some potentially alternative ways of re-imagining the role of topological thinking for spatial theory and human geography.
Assessing Perceptions of the Integrative Justice Model Propositions
Authors: Facca-Miess Tina M. , Santos Nicholas J. C.
Published: December 2015

Propositions underlying the theoretical tenets of the Integrative Justice Model (IJM), a normative, ethical framework for engaging in impoverished markets, are investigated for reliability in application. Santos and Laczniak provide numerous decision principles to help the marketer to evaluate fairness in the marketplace exchange, yet which are most reflective of the core tenets and most useful in application? Managerial perceptions of the extent to which the propositions reflect the core tenets of the IJM are evaluated in this critical step toward operationalizing the model. Factor analysis is implemented with a relatively small sample, a challenge particularly common in research with the impoverished or marginalized, to evaluate the decision principles most reflective of the core tenets, from the perspective of the marketer/manager. Normality is not considered a critical assumption of factor analysis where groups of like variables are clustered into underlying constructs. This work articulates a critical step in macromarketing research methods, exemplifying an approach resilient to micro samples under macro frameworks.
Dilated cardiomyopathy following use of xenadrine EFX
Authors: Riccioni Graziano , Speziale Giuseppe , Scotti Luca , Bucciarelli Valentina , Cappetti Silvia , Nasso Giuseppe , Gallina Sabina , Bucciarelli Tonino
Published: December 2015

We describe a case of a 35-year-old man presented at the emergency room of our institution with acute onset of dyspnea and dizziness. He was a body builder and had been using Xenadrine EFX for weight loss reduction. The laboratory analyses were normal. A chest radiograph showed an enlarged cardiac silhouette with clear lung fields. Transtoracic two-dimensional color Doppler echocardiography revealed a diffuse hypokinesia with a marked decreased in systolic function and a high teledyastolic diameter. This case document the possible relation to use of Xenadrine EFX for weight loss and the recurrence of dilated cardiomyopathy.
Local and global: Seafaring communities in the North Sea area, c. 1600–2000
Authors: Davids Karel
Published: December 2015

A seafaring community is a village, a small town or a neighbourhood where a substantial part of the population earns its livelihood wholly or partly by work at sea or is directly dependent on seafaring. A seafaring community can arise because an established population at a particular locality increasingly takes up seafaring, or it can be created by the settlement of a sizeable number of seafaring immigrants. The former type of community might be called ‘endogenous’, the latter one ‘exogenous’. This essay analyses in what respect seafaring communities of these two types (or mixtures between them) in the North Sea area changed over time and in what ways these changes were connected to larger, transnational processes or to local conditions. It examines three periods of great transformation: the seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries; the period between about 1850 and the First World War; and the last decades of the twentieth century.

The story of endogenous seafaring communities in the North Sea area differed from the story of exogenous communities in many ways. While seafaring communities in villages and small towns vanished in one region and emerged in another, social differentiation within communities increased as well, with shipmasters organising separately from common seamen; eventually, this type of seafaring community disappeared in the late twentieth century. Seafaring communities in big port cities, by contrast, thanks to immigration, continued to exist, although this category, too, has seen shifts in geography in the last 150 years, notably from Amsterdam and London to Rotterdam and Hamburg; moreover, the origin of immigrant seamen vastly changed. This article offers several explanations for these changes and variations.
Greenland whalers and life on a Wadden Sea Island in the eighteenth century
Authors: Ax Christina Folke
Published: December 2015

Focusing on the Danish island Rømø, this article explores how the local community was influenced by the fact that, from the late seventeenth until the early nineteenth century, most of the men migrated every year to the big European cities to work as captains or crew on whaling and sealing ships bound for Arctic waters. This way of living brought the men from Rømø into contact with the cultural and financial centres of Europe. Several aspects of life and practices on Rømø were influenced by the annual migration of labour. While the men were away, women had to take responsibility for running both farms and households. Due to the men’s absence, farming became part of the women’s sphere to such a degree that it was almost the norm that older people would hand over the farm to a daughter and not a son. Farming was, however, marginal and the main incomes of families were earned at sea. Because the men were paid in money and not in kind, the island was permeated by an economy based on the exchange and investment of money. The material culture on the island was influenced by a growing wealth among the islanders and their connections to the world beyond. This was shown through both the cotton shirts of the women and the buildings richly decorated with Dutch tiles. On one hand, certain practices were practical solutions to specific problems connected to the conditions in a maritime community, rather than being inspired by life and practices seen elsewhere. On the other hand, living and behaving in this manner may have been a premise for upholding a connection to the networks that bound the men to communities in the European harbours.
How to transform peasants into seamen: The manning of the Swedish navy and a double-faced maritime culture
Authors: Hammar AnnaSara
Published: December 2015

During the seventeenth century Sweden rapidly changed from a small insignificant country in Europe’s northern periphery to a great military power. The navy was a crucial part of the expansion, but to maintain a standing navy was a demanding task for a comparatively poor and sparsely populated country. One of many difficulties was to recruit skilled and competent seamen. Sweden had no large merchant fleet that could serve the navy with experienced men, and to hire professional crews would have been too expensive. The solution was to recruit poor men from the lower strata of society in coastal villages and towns through what is known as the allotment system (in Swedish: indelningsverket). Those men normally had very little experience of handling large sailing vessels but were soon trained for the task. Once conscripted in the navy they lived two lives. In the summer during the sailing season they were naval seamen. During winter they became farmhands, workers and craftsmen ashore. Thus they constructed a maritime culture of their own, with ideals and values that sometimes were closely linked to a broader maritime culture in Europe and sometimes had more in common with a Swedish rural community culture. This article investigates how this maritime/rural culture was shaped; to what extent the seamen adjusted themselves to a military order and finally what happened when the seamen’s values and ideas collided with the hierarchy and power relations within the navy.
Political culture in St. Barthélemy 1800–1820
Authors: Pålsson Ale
Published: December 2015

The Swedish colony of St. Barthélemy was a meeting place in the early nineteenth century for merchants and mariners from across the Atlantic World, seeking to take advantage of Swedish neutrality. Yet not just goods, capital and people transited through the free port of Gustavia, but also information, culture and political discourse. This flow influenced the political culture of the island and its inhabitants’ relation to the Swedish colonial power and their new Swedish citizenship.
‘The want of sufficient men’: Labour recruitment and training in the British North Sea fisheries, 1850–1950
Authors: Wilcox Martin
Published: December 2015

Between 1815 and 1950 the British fishing industry underwent fundamental and far-reaching changes. The industry expanded rapidly in the half-century prior to the First World War, before entering a period of stagnation thereafter. The technology of fishing was transformed by the spread of trawling, and the application of steam, and later motor power to the catching sector. All of this was driven by an expansion of demand for fish, consequent upon improvements in overland transport, which saw distribution and marketing arrangements transformed. This had major implications for labour in the industry. Fishermen became more numerous, and in many cases more specialised, as technological development introduced specialists such as the engineer and wireless operator into fishing vessels’ crews. The period also saw the rise of tied labour in the industry, in the form of thousands of teenaged apprentices brought in to man the North Sea trawling fleets, before apprenticeship declined in favour of more informal training arrangements. The impact of all of this was highly uneven. Some sectors of the industry were rapidly transformed, whereas others developed more slowly. The rapid growth and evolution of trawling promoted the widespread use of apprenticeship, for example, whereas concomitant developments in the herring fisheries had no such ramifications. This article seeks to provide an overview of labour recruitment and training in the British fisheries between 1815 and 1950, highlighting the scale and scope of the most important developments, and setting the best known facet of the subject, the apprenticeship system, in context.
Effects of Smart-Tablet-Based Neurofeedback Training on Cognitive Function in Children with Attention Problems
Authors: Shin Min-Sup , Jeon Hyejin , Kim Miyoung , Hwang Taeho , Oh Seo Jin , Hwangbo Minsu , Kim Ki joong
Published: December 2015

We sought to determine whether smart-tablet-based neurofeedback could improve executive function—including attention, working memory, and self-regulation—in children with attention problems. Forty children (10-12 years old) with attention problems, as determined by ratings on the Conners Parent Rating Scale, were assigned to either a neurofeedback group that received 16 sessions or a control group. A comprehensive test battery that assessed general intelligence, visual and auditory attention, attentional shifting, response inhibition and behavior rating scales were administered to both groups before neurofeedback training. Several neuropsychological tests were conducted at posttraining and follow-up assessment. Scores on several neuropsychological tests and parent behavior rating scales showed significant improvement in the training group but not in the controls. The improvements remained through the follow-up assessment. This study suggests that the smart-tablet-based neurofeedback training program might improve cognitive function in children with attention problems.
Screening for Partner Violence Among Family Mediation Clients: Differentiating Types of Abuse
Authors: Cleak Helen , Schofield Margot J. , Axelsen Lauren , Bickerdike Andrew
Published: December 2015

Family mediation is mandated in Australia for couples in dispute over separation and parenting as a first step in dispute resolution, except where there is a history of intimate partner violence. However, validation of effective well-differentiated partner violence screening instruments suitable for mediation settings is at an early phase of development. This study contributes to calls for better violence screening instruments in the mediation context to detect a differentiated range of abusive behaviors by examining the reliability and validity of both established scales, and newly developed scales that measured intimate partner violence by partner and by self. The study also aimed to examine relationships between types of abuse, and between gender and types of abuse. A third aim was to examine associations between types of abuse and other relationship indicators such as acrimony and parenting alliance. The data reported here are part of a larger mixed method, naturalistic longitudinal study of clients attending nine family mediation centers in Victoria, Australia. The current analyses on baseline cross-sectional screening data confirmed the reliability of three subscales of the Conflict Tactics Scale (CTS2), and the reliability and validity of three new scales measuring intimidation, controlling and jealous behavior, and financial control. Most clients disclosed a history of at least one type of violence by partner: 95% reported psychological aggression, 72% controlling and jealous behavior, 50% financial control, and 35% physical assault. Higher rates of abuse perpetration were reported by partner versus by self, and gender differences were identified. There were strong associations between certain patterns of psychologically abusive behavior and both acrimony and parenting alliance. The implications for family mediation services and future research are discussed.
Marxism and Postcolonial Theory: What’s Left of the Debate?
Authors: Sinha Subir , Varma Rashmi
Published: December 2015

This article provides an introduction to the special issue, ‘Marxism and Postcolonial Theory: What’s Left of the Debate?’ It casts a critical glance at the long history of engagements between Marxism and postcolonial theory that have been both collaborative and antagonistic. The authors argue that far from materializing the end of either postcolonial theory or of Marxist approaches, these exchanges have been productive and have underscored the continuing currency of both, pointing to ways that go beyond the impasse. The article also provides a critical overview of the debates within different disciplines and suggests new and creative ways of reconceptualizing Marxism and postcolonial theory for the current conjuncture.
Atopia Awaits! A Critical Sociological Analysis of Marx’s Political Imaginary
Authors: Worrell Mark P. , Krier Dan
Published: December 2015

Marx’s (1844) estranged labor manuscript maps processes that stultify spontaneous human relations under the division of labor in the regime of capital accumulation. For Marx, negating absolutes would put ‘Man’ back on its natural trajectory toward positive freedom. Such evacuation of mediating ‘substances’ results in either frivolity or pragmatic barbarism rather than positive freedom. Marx’s political imaginary rejected philosophical mysticism but overlooked finer points of Hegel’s dialectic that contribute to an immanent critique of Marxist political ideology. Missing from Marx’s thought is the logic of post-capitalist mediation and a trace of the subjective modalities that correspond with the objective forms of alienation. Lacking an adequate psychology, Marx did not see that he had constructed a communism that mirrored the subjective spirit of bourgeois society. We draw upon philosophical, sociological, and psychoanalytic currents to remap the genome of Marxist political philosophy with a Whitmanesque imaginary congenial to free, poetic social mediation.
Design and experimental studies of a novel double-row radial piston pump
Authors: Zhao Shengdun , Guo Tong , Yu Yanghuiwen , Dong Peng , Liu Chen , Chen Wanqiang
Published: December 2015

This paper proposed a novel double-row radial piston pump. In this pump, the transformation from the rotation of the shaft to the reciprocation of the piston is realized by a pentagon mechanism, and the oil is distributed by check valves, which are integrally designed on the pump body. Theoretical calculation demonstrated that this improved design can substantially reduce the force on the main shaft of pump. The formulas of instantaneous flow rate and fluctuation coefficient of the pump are deduced. For studying the working characteristics of the pump further, a prototype was manufactured and tested. Results show that when the rotation speed is over 125 r/min, the performances of pump prototype are qualified, the fluctuation rate is limited to 20% and the volumetric efficiency can reach 90%. Moreover, the pump was disassembled after 100 h of service and the wear condition was checked. Except for the pentagon which has indentation on the surface, the components of the pump are all kept intact.
ISO 12189 standard for the preclinical evaluation of posterior spinal stabilization devices – I: Assembly procedure and validation
Authors: La Barbera Luigi , Villa Tomaso
Published: December 2015

The International Standardization Organization introduced standard 12189 for the preclinical evaluation of the mechanical reliability of posterior stabilization devices. The well-known vertebrectomy model formalized in standard F1717 by the American Society for Testing and Materials was modified with the introduction of a modular anterior support made up of three calibrated springs, which allows to describe a more realistic scenario, closer to the effective clinical use, as well to test even very flexible and dynamic posterior stabilization implants. Despite these important improvements, ISO 12189 received very little attention in the literature. The aim of the work is to provide a systematic procedure for the assembly and validation of a finite element model capable of describing the experimental test according to ISO 12189. The validated finite element model is able to catch very well the effective stiffness of the unassembled and assembled constructs (percentage differences <2% and <10%, respectively). As concern the assembled construct, the experimentally measured and predicted strains were found in a good agreement (R2 > 0.75, root mean square error < 30%), but the procedure without precompression lead to much better results (R2 > 0.96, root mean square error < 10%). Given the prediction errors of the assembled construct fall within the experimental range of repeatability, the finite element model can be systematically implemented to support the mechanical design of a variety of spinal implants, to quantitatively investigate the load-sharing mechanism, as well as to investigate the loading conditions set by ISO 12189 standard.
Consciousness and apparent motion: Paradox resolved
Authors: Aksentijevic Aleksandar
Published: December 2015

A perceptual phenomenon called apparent motion has been described as a paradox that challenges the notions of causality and temporal order. While the illusion has generated a passionate and often highly technical debate about the relationship between subjective experience and its objective description, no accounts so far have examined the possibility that the source of the paradox lies not in the mysterious workings of the brain but in the inadequacy of the reductionist explanation. Here, I suggest that the paradox is created by the deep estrangement between subjective and objective perspectives which has created two separate and conflicted worldviews. The illusion itself reflects a veridical perceptual experience, while its analytical explanation fails because it lacks the very qualities it is trying to account for. Although the proposed solution is controversial, it offers a simple and potentially far-reaching explanation for a long-standing problem in psychology and consciousness research.