bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Seniors’ Body Weight Dissatisfaction and Longitudinal Associations With Weight Changes, Anorexia of Aging, and Obesity
Authors: Roy Mathieu , Shatenstein Bryna , Gaudreau Pierrette , Morais José A. , Payette Hélène
Published: August 2014

Objective: We examined longitudinal associations between weight dissatisfaction, weight changes, anorexia of aging, and obesity among 1,793 seniors followed over 4 years between 2003 and 2009. Method: Obesity prevalence (body mass index [BMI] ≥ 30) and prevalence/incidence of weight dissatisfaction, anorexia of aging (self-reported appetite loss), and weight changes ≥5% were assessed. Predictors of weight loss ≥5%, anorexia of aging, and weight dissatisfaction were examined using logistic regressions. Results: Half of seniors experienced weight dissatisfaction (50.6%, 95% confidence interval [CI] = [48.1, 53.1]). Anorexia of aging and obesity prevalence was 7.0% (95% CI = [5.7, 8.3]) and 25.1% (95% CI = [22.9, 27.3]), whereas incidence of weight gain/loss ≥5% was 6.6% (95% CI = [1.3, 11.9]) and 8.8% (95% CI = [3.3, 14.3]). Weight gain ≥5% predicts men’s subsequent weight dissatisfaction (odds ratio [OR] = 6.66, 95% CI = [2.06, 21.60]). No other association was observed. Discussion: Weight dissatisfaction is frequent but not associated with subsequent eating disorders. In men, weight gain predicted weight dissatisfaction. Seniors’ weight dissatisfaction does not necessarily equate weight changes. Due to its high prevalence, it is of public health interest to understand how seniors’ weight dissatisfaction may impact health.
The capacity of social policies to combat poverty among new social risk groups
Authors: Rovny Allison E
Published: August 2014

This article considers groups who are most likely to be vulnerable to new social risks and tests the effects of social policies on their poverty levels. Specifically, the article conducts multi-level regression analyses across 18 OECD countries around the year 2004, analysing the effects of social policies on the likelihood of being poor for low-skilled young women and men, and for those at risk of possessing obsolete skills, namely low-educated men aged 55–64 years. The central question asks which policies – active labour market policies (ALMP), passive labour market policies (PLMP), employment protection legislation (EPL), family policies, and government daycare spending – are effective at combating new social risks. In addition to analysing social policies, the article also considers union density and representation of women in national parliaments as two measures that depict agents who are most intent on combating old and new social risks, respectively. The findings show that ALMP are the most important predictor of a decrease in poverty levels among the low skilled. The negative effect of PLMP on poverty is only significant for the older male group. Family policies are related to a reduction in poverty for both low-skilled young women and men. Gross public social spending as a measure of overall welfare generosity is found to be associated with a reduction in poverty only of the older male group, but not that of the younger groups. The article’s analyses suggest that some social policies remain geared towards older segments of society, leaving the younger population at greater financial and therefore social risk.
Sedimentary record of V, U, Mo and Mn in the Pierre-Blanche lagoon (Southern France) – Evidence for a major anoxia event during the Roman period
Authors: Elbaz-Poulichet Francoise , Sabatier Pierre , Dezileau Laurent , Freydier Remi
Published: August 2014

The distribution of redox-sensitive elements (V, U, Mo, Mn) was studied in a sedimentary archive of the Pierre-Blanche lagoon encompassing 3500 years of sedimentation. Between 240 and 255 cm (i.e. between 0 and 350 cal. ad) in the core, there was a dark layer with no mollusc shells. Enrichments of V, U and Mo and depletion of Mn were observed in this layer compared with overlying and underlying sediments. This was attributed to the occurrence of anoxia in bottom water or at the sediment/water interface during the Roman period. This episode was concomitant with the formation of a sandy barrier, which now isolates the lagoon from the sea. Our results suggest that the isolation of the lagoon, which was deeper in the period concerned than at present, favoured stagnation of the water. Combined with the excess nutrient inputs because of human activities in Lattara harbour, stagnation may have caused anoxia in bottom water at least in some parts of the Palavasian lagoon system. Bottom conditions nevertheless remained sufficiently reducing for the accumulation of U and Mo to persist until around 800 cal. ad. Although the lagoon has been hyper-eutrophic since at least the middle of the 20th century and although anoxia occurs frequently in summer, redox proxies show no evidence for their occurrence. The shallow water and associated resuspension and reoxidation events explain the lack of V, Mo and U enrichment in recent sediments.
Multi-Family Groups for Multi-Stressed Families
Authors: Jackson Jerrold M.
Published: August 2014

Purpose:

To examine the influence of caregiver stress on attendance among urban families involved in a multiple family group (MFG) intervention, as well as pre/post changes in childhood behavioral difficulties, caregiver stress, caregiver depressive symptoms, caregiver coping by substance use, and caregiver motivation to change.

Methods:

Univariate analyses assessed pre/post differences in outcomes between and within stress groups. Post hoc analyses accounted for missing data and the potential influence of regression to the mean.

Results:

High caregiver stress was associated with lower rates of attendance in MFG over time. Despite attending the fewest sessions, highest stressed caregivers experienced the most pre/post improvement on measures of caregiver stress and childhood behavioral difficulties.

Discussion:

Involvement in an MFG intervention is associated with high rates of attendance and meaningful improvements in child and caregiver outcomes, with the most distressed families reporting the greatest reduction in both caregiver stress and childhood behavioral difficulties.
Special Educators and Data Recording
Authors: Jasper Andrea D. , Taber Doughty Teresa
Published: August 2014

This study examined the effects of delayed recording on the accuracy of data recorded by special educators serving students with high- or low-incidence disabilities. A multi-element design was used to compare the accuracy of data recorded across three conditions: (a) immediately after a student’s target behavior occurred, (b) immediately after the conclusion of the instructional lesson, and (c) 3 hr after the conclusion of the instructional lesson. Results indicated special educators achieved higher levels of agreement recording data immediately after a student’s target behavior occurred and immediately after the conclusion of the instructional lesson.
Does Organizational Structure Matter? Investigation Centralization, Case Clearances, and Robberies
Authors: McCluskey John D. , Cancino Jeffrey M. , Tillyer Marie Skubak , Tillyer Rob
Published: August 2014

This study examines the reorganization of robbery detectives from a decentralized to centralized model in one large department, with the purpose of understanding whether organizational structure affects robbery clearance. Time-series regression models (Auto-Regressive, Integrated, Moving Average) demonstrate that the percentage of investigation-eligible robberies cleared by arrest increased and reported robberies decreased subsequent to the reorganization. Additionally, interviews indicated organizational changes in case processing with respect to information collection and use, cooperation among detectives and other police, and the police–prosecutor interface. The organization of robbery detectives appears to be important to case clearances and crime reduction. A more comprehensive research program on police investigations is recommended to fully assess the costs and benefits of detective configurations.
The neoliberal turn and the marketization of care: The transformation of eldercare in Sweden
Authors: Andersson Katarina , Kvist Elin
Published: August 2014

The care for older and disabled people has been described as a core area of the Nordic model. The Nordic countries’ welfare model has also been described as women friendly, as women are not forced to make harder choices than men between work and family. The Swedish eldercare system has, during the last several decades, undergone significant changes. Previously, eldercare could be described as universal, meaning a publicly provided, comprehensive, high-quality service available to all citizens according to need and not based on the ability to pay. In later years transformation of eldercare has been influenced by neoliberal politics, which emphasize economic efficiency and cost reduction through competition. Eldercare has become a more diverse multidimensional system, and a private market for home-based eldercare has been created. The numbers of eldercare providers have increased considerably, and new ways of organizing eldercare have been established. In January 2009, the Act on System of Choice in the Public Sector was introduced (in Swedish: Lagen om valfrihetssystem [LOV]). The Act was supposed to provide an opportunity for interested municipalities and county councils to expose their publicly provided services to market competition, and to enable users to choose their providers. This article aims to illustrate how neoliberal reasoning dominated the policy process leading to adoption of the Act on System of Choice in the Public Sector. With the use of a discursive policy analysis the authors specifically explore how neoliberal logic dominated, and also how choice and equality were understood and interpreted in the policy process. They conclude that the neoliberal turn in eldercare claiming to centre on the individual choice of persons in need of care runs the risk of creating unequal care that decentres the eldercare worker and creates precarious work situations.
Attaining khinem: Challenges, coping strategies and resilience among Eveny adolescents in northeastern Siberia
Authors: Ulturgasheva Olga
Published: August 2014

This article examines challenges, coping strategies, and resilience among Eveny adolescents in northeastern Siberia. It explores situations which the study participants associate with challenge and hardship, namely their experiences of transition from life in the family reindeer herding camp to schooling at the age of 7, bullying, boredom, and violence. By situating the data within the Eveny framework of resilience ( khinem), the study provides the ethnographic context for coping strategies and efforts (e.g., sharing, inter- and intragenerational support, availability of safe homes) undertaken by the community in order to mitigate the situations of risk and hardship and to facilitate adolescents’ resilience. The account emphasizes that instead of identifying adolescents as either resilient or vulnerable, it is necessary to explore culturally specific processes and practices which potentially contribute to their acquisition of resilience.
Critical Race Theory and HRD
Authors: Rocco Tonette S. , Bernier Judith D. , Bowman Lorenzo
Published: August 2014

The Problem

The problem is that racism, sexism, and discrimination exist. Critical race theory (CRT) is concerned with equity in terms of a person’s complete identity, which may begin with race and include gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, and/or some other characteristic.

The Solution

CRT advocates radical change in systems and organizations. CRT critiques power structures in an attempt to provide guidance to those who maintain inequitable and racialized structures. Corporate policies and programs should be scrutinized to see how they affect all workers. The assumption that policies and programs are neutral should be abandoned. The acknowledgment of race (including Whiteness as a race) and racism is central. Change should embrace all people and provide equivalent opportunities to all employees. Change means breaking the glass ceiling, erasing salary differentials, and eliminating harassment and discrimination.

The Stakeholders

The power structures that support societal-level stakeholders create policy and law. These policies and legal mandates are implemented by Human Resource Development (HRD) practitioners and rarely questioned. Stakeholders include employees, staff, and clients. Individuals at all ranks within organizations, clients, consumers, and suppliers uphold the racism inherent in society by ignoring it or being blind to it. We all have a stake in seeing racism and all bias so we can work as a community of stakeholders to eliminate it.
Insulin Treatment Prevents the Increase in D-Serine in Hippocampal CA1 Area of Diabetic Rats
Authors: Yang Jing , Song Yang , Wang Hongxin , Liu Chunna , Li Zhongzhe , Liu Ying , Kong Yawei
Published: August 2014

Purpose:

Diabetes is a high risk factor for dementia. Employing a diabetic rat model, the present study was designed to determine whether the content of d-serine (d-Ser) in hippocampus is associated with the impairment of spatial learning and memory ability.

Methods:

Diabetes was induced by a single intravenous injection of streptozotocin (STZ). The insulin treatment began 3 days after STZ injection.

Results:

We found that both water maze learning and hippocampal CA1 long-term potentiation (LTP) were impaired in diabetic rats. The contents of glutamate, d-Ser, and serine racemase in the hippocampus of diabetic rats were significantly higher than those in the control group. Insulin treatment prevented the STZ-induced impairment in water maze learning and hippocampal CA1-LTP in diabetic rats and also maintained the contents of glutamate, d-Ser, and serine racemase at the normal range in hippocampus.

Conclusions:

These results suggest that insulin treatment has a potent protection effect on CA1-LTP, spatial learning and memory ability of the diabetic rats in vivo. Furthermore, insulin may take effect by inhibiting the overactivation of N-methyl-d-aspartate receptors, which play a critical role in neurotoxicity.
The transitioning from trials to extended follow-up studies
Authors: Drye Lea T , Casper Anne S , Sternberg Alice L , Holbrook Janet T , Jenkins Gabrielle , Meinert Curtis L
Published: August 2014

Background:

Investigators may elect to extend follow-up of participants enrolled in a randomized clinical trial after the trial comes to its planned end. The additional follow-up may be initiated to learn about longer term effects of treatments, including adverse events, costs related to treatment, or for reasons unrelated to treatment such as to observe the natural course of the disease using the established cohort from the trial.

Purpose:

We examine transitioning from trials to extended follow-up studies when the goal of additional follow-up is to observe longer term treatment effects.

Methods:

We conducted a literature search in selected journals from 2000 to 2012 to identify trials that extended follow-up for the purpose of studying longer term treatment effects and extracted information on the operational and logistical issues in the transition. We also draw experience from three trials coordinated by the Johns Hopkins Coordinating Centers that made transitions to extended follow-up: the Alzheimer’s Disease Anti-inflammatory Prevention Trial, Multicenter Uveitis Steroid Treatment trial, and Childhood Asthma Management Program.

Results:

Transitions are not uncommon in multicenter clinical trials, even in trials that continued to the planned end of the trial. Transitioning usually necessitates new participant consents. If study infrastructure is not maintained during the transition, participants will be lost and re-establishing the staff and facilities will be costly. Merging data from the trial and follow-up study can be complicated by changes in data collection measures and schedules.

Limitations:

Our discussion and recommendations are limited to issues that we have experienced in transitions from trials to follow-up studies.

Discussion:

We discuss issues such as maintaining funding, institutional review board and consent requirements, contacting participants, and combining data from the trial and follow-up phases. We conclude with a list of recommendations to facilitate transitions from a trial to an extended follow-up study.
Patient-centred care in general practice
Authors: Dambha Hajira , Griffin Simon , Kinmonth Ann Louise
Published: August 2014

Patient-centred care is a core value in general practice and is increasingly recognised as a hallmark of good quality healthcare. It describes healthcare that considers the needs, expectations and preferences of the individual patient, and places the patient at the centre of the GP consultation. It encourages GPs to take into account a patient’s subjective experiences of their illness, rather than focussing solely on the management of the disease. This approach to caring for patients has been associated with an improvement in both health and patient-reported outcomes. This article explores the concept of patient-centred care, the evidence-base and the practicalities of implementing this approach into GP consultations.
Al-Qaeda messaging evolution and positioning, 1998–2008: Propaganda analysis revisited
Authors: Baines Paul R , O’Shaughnessy Nicholas J
Published: August 2014

We present an analysis of terrorist propaganda using Al-Qaeda (AQ) between 1998 and 2008 as a case study using semiotic and propaganda analytic approaches. Our findings suggest AQ position themselves using a variety of propaganda techniques, especially on the notion of a global conspiracy, an existential threat, against Islam. Their key contribution to the evolution of conflict has been to emancipate the political marketing/public relations component and, thus, to redefine the essence of conflict. AQ design sophisticated propaganda, use segmented message design and have improved their production values over time. They have also crudely attempted to influence Western European and US elections. The authors conclude that AQ’s positioning strategy is based on framing a death-centred militant worldview as its precise opposite, a pious life of struggle with rewards in the afterlife. This article makes descriptive and methodological contributions to the interdisciplinary literature on propaganda. It makes a contribution by explaining how AQ’s positioning strategy evolved between 1998 and 2008, an analysis which will be of particular interest to those who seek to understand the wider societal applications of terrorist use of propaganda and who seek to counter its effects. It makes a further methodological contribution by providing an integrated method by which to evaluate propaganda, using a combination of semiotic, content and propaganda analysis approaches.
Propaganda and ‘manufactured hatred’: A reappraisal of the ethics of First World War British and Australian atrocity propaganda
Authors: Robertson Emily
Published: August 2014

Following the end of the First World War, British and Australian atrocity propaganda fell into disrepute. Progressive liberal authors such as British parliamentarian Arthur Ponsonby condemned atrocity propaganda as a series of manipulative lies designed to dupe a naïve populace into supporting a morally meaningless war. However, atrocity propaganda, which focused on the abuse of Belgian women and children at the hands of German soldiers, was not all lies. Yet because propaganda had come to be regarded as a synonym for ‘lies’, very few historians from the mid-20th century onwards were willing to entertain the idea that some aspects of atrocity propaganda were truthful. Therefore, the just war elements contained in atrocity propaganda, which maintained that the British and Australians fought for the rights of small nations and the protection of non-combatants from military abuse, have not been given appropriate consideration until recently. This article contributes to the revision of Australian and British home front attitudes to the war by using atrocity propaganda as valuable primary source material, rather than merely dismissing it as lies, which to date has been the main approach of historians.
Src family kinases: at the forefront of platelet activation
Authors: Senis Yotis A. , Mazharian Alexandra , Mori Jun
Published: August 2014

Src family kinases (SFKs) play a central role in mediating the rapid response of platelets to vascular injury. They transmit activation signals from a diverse repertoire of platelet surface receptors, including the integrin αIIbβ3, the immunoreceptor tyrosine–based activation motif–containing collagen receptor complex GPVI-FcR γ-chain, and the von Willebrand factor receptor complex GPIb-IX-V, which are essential for thrombus growth and stability. Ligand-mediated clustering of these receptors triggers an increase in SFK activity and downstream tyrosine phosphorylation of enzymes, adaptors, and cytoskeletal proteins that collectively propagate the signal and coordinate platelet activation. A growing body of evidence has established that SFKs also contribute to Gq- and Gi-coupled receptor signaling that synergizes with primary activation signals to maximally activate platelets and render them prothrombotic. Interestingly, SFKs concomitantly activate inhibitory pathways that limit platelet activation and thrombus size. In this review, we discuss past discoveries that laid the foundation for this fundamental area of platelet signal transduction, recent progress in our understanding of the distinct and overlapping functions of SFKs in platelets, and new avenues of research into mechanisms of SFK regulation. We also highlight the thrombotic and hemostatic consequences of targeting platelet SFKs.
The Babesia bovis gene and promoter model: an update from full-length EST analysis
Authors: Yamagishi Junya , Wakaguri Hiroyuki , Yokoyama Naoaki , Yamashita Riu , Suzuki Yutaka , Xuan Xuenan , Igarashi Ikuo
Published: August 2014

Background

Babesia bovis is an apicomplexan parasite that causes babesiosis in infected cattle. Genomes of pathogens contain promising information that can facilitate the development of methods for controlling infections. Although the genome of B. bovis is publically available, annotated gene models are not highly reliable prior to experimental validation. Therefore, we validated a preproposed gene model of B. bovis and extended the associated annotations on the basis of experimentally obtained full-length expressed sequence tags (ESTs).

Results

From in vitro cultured merozoites, 12,286 clones harboring full-length cDNAs were sequenced from both ends using the Sanger method, and 6,787 full-length cDNAs were assembled. These were then clustered, and a nonredundant referential data set of 2,115 full-length cDNA sequences was constructed. The comparison of the preproposed gene model with our data set identified 310 identical genes, 342 almost identical genes, 1,054 genes with potential structural inconsistencies, and 409 novel genes. The median length of 5' untranslated regions (UTRs) was 152 nt. Subsequently, we identified 4,086 transcription start sites (TSSs) and 2,023 transcriptionally active regions (TARs) by examining 5' ESTs. We identified ATGGGG and CCCCAT sites as consensus motifs in TARs that were distributed around -50 bp from TSSs. In addition, we found ACACA, TGTGT, and TATAT sites, which were distributed periodically around TSSs in cycles of approximately 150 bp. Moreover, related periodical distributions were not observed in mammalian promoter regions.

Conclusions

The observations in this study indicate the utility of integrated bioinformatics and experimental data for improving genome annotations. In particular, full-length cDNAs with one-base resolution for TSSs enabled the identification of consensus motifs in promoter sequences and demonstrated clear distributions of identified motifs. These observations allowed the illustration of a model promoter composition, which supports the differences in transcriptional regulation frameworks between apicomplexan parasites and mammals.
Off-treatment virologic relapse and outcomes of re-treatment in chronic hepatitis B patients who achieved complete viral suppression with oral nucleos(t)ide analogs
Authors: Sohn Hyung Rae , Min Bo Young , Song Joon Chang , Seong Mun Hyuk , Lee Sang Soo , Jang Eun Sun , Shin Cheol Min , Park Young Soo , Hwang Jin-Hyeok , Jeong Sook-Hyang , Kim Nayoung , Lee Dong Ho , Kim Jin-Wook
Published: August 2014

Background

The durability of off-treatment virologic responses has not been fully elucidated in chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients who have previously achieved complete virologic suppression with nucleos(t)ide analog (NA) therapy. This study aimed to assess off-treatment virologic relapse rates and to characterize the outcomes of subsequent re-treatment in CHB patients who have discontinued oral NA following complete virologic suppression.

Methods

Ninety-five CHB patients who showed complete virologic suppression were withdrawn from NAs: entecavir, lamivudine, and clevudine in 67, 15, and 13 patients, respectively. Consolidation therapy was given for 6 and 12 months for HBeAg-positive and -negative CHB, respectively, before cessation. Virologic relapse was managed with the same NA that had induced complete virologic response before discontinuation.

Results

The cumulative rates of virologic relapse at 12 and 24 months were 73.8% and 87.1%, respectively. The relapse rates were independent of HBeAg positivity, HBeAg seroconversion, and type of oral NA. In a multivariate analysis, duration of oral NA therapy was the only significant predicting factor associated with off-treatment virologic relapse. Although the majority of patients regained complete virologic suppression, some patients did not respond to re-treatment with the initial NA and developed genotypic resistance.

Conclusions

NA consolidation therapy for 6 and 12 months is associated with high off-treatment virologic relapse in HBeAg-positive and -negative CHB patients, respectively. Drugs with high genetic barriers to resistance should be considered as a rescue therapy for off-treatment relapse in CHB.
Radiographic analysis of the restoration of hip joint center following open reduction and internal fixation of acetabular fractures: a retrospective cohort study
Authors: Shi Hong-fei , Xiong Jin , Chen Yi-xin , Wang Jun-fei , Wang Yin-he
Published: August 2014

Background

Unfavorable reduction is considered one of the key factors leading to joint degeneration and compromised clinical outcome in acetabular fracture patients. Besides the columns, walls, and superior dome, the postoperative position of hip joint center (HJC), which is reported to affect hip biomechanics, should be considered during the assessment of quality of reduction. We aimed to evaluate the radiographic restoration of HJC in acetabular fractures treated with open reduction and internal fixation.

Methods

Patients with a displaced acetabular fracture that received open reduction and internal fixation in the authors’ institution during the past five years were identified from the trauma database. The horizontal and vertical shifts of HJC were measured in the standard anteroposterior view radiographs taken postoperatively. The radiographic quality of fracture reduction was graded according to Matta’s criteria. The relationships between the shift of HJC and the other variables were evaluated.

Results

Totally 127 patients with 56 elementary and 71 associated-type acetabular fractures were included, wherein the majority showed a medial (89.0%) and proximal (93.7%) shift of HJC postoperatively. An average of 2.8 mm horizontal and 2.2 mm vertical shift of HJC were observed, which correlated significantly with the quality of fracture reduction (P < 0.001 for both). The horizontal shift of HJC correlated with the fracture type (P = 0.022).

Conclusions

The restoration of HJC correlates with the quality of reduction in acetabular fractures following open reduction and internal fixation. Further studies are required to address the effects of HJC shift on the biomechanical changes and clinical outcomes of hip joint, especially in poorly reduced acetabular fractures.
Tailoring magnetic anisotropy gradients by ion bombardment for domain wall positioning in magnetic multilayers with perpendicular anisotropy
Authors: Matczak Michał , Szymański Bogdan , Kuświk Piotr , Urbaniak Maciej , Stobiecki Feliks , Kurant Zbigniew , Maziewski Andrzej , Lengemann Daniel , Ehresmann Arno
Published: August 2014

Graded anisotropy magnetic materials possess a coercive field changing laterally with position. A simple fabrication procedure to produce such an anisotropy gradient in a polycrystalline Au/Co layer system without lateral thickness variation and with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy, prototypical for a large variety of thin film systems, is shown. The procedure uses light-ion bombardment without the use of a mask. Magnetization reversal in this polycrystalline layer system takes place by unidirectional movement of a single domain wall only in regions with larger anisotropies and anisotropy gradients. In this anisotropy/anisotropy gradient regime, the domain wall is oriented perpendicular to the coercive field gradient, and it can be positioned along the gradient by an appropriate magnetic field pulse. For smaller anisotropies/anisotropy gradients, the natural anisotropy fluctuations of the polycrystalline layer system induce magnetization reversal dominated by domain nucleation.

PACS

75.30.Gw; 75.70.Cn; 75.60.Ch
Reliability and validity of a simple and clinically applicable pain stimulus: sustained mechanical pressure with a spring-clamp
Authors: O’Neill Søren , Graven-Nielsen Thomas , Manniche Claus , Arendt-Nielsen Lars
Published: August 2014

Background

Generalized hyperalgesia, a widespread increased sensitivity to painful stimuli, has been demonstrated in a range of chronic pain conditions including low-back pain. The evidence suggests, that generalized hyperalgesia may be an important factor in the development of chronicity, but it is not commonly assessed in clinical practice. Whereas a range of tools and procedures for the quantitative sensory testing of pain sensitivity is available for laboratory pain research, most experimental pain stimuli are not well suited for clinical practice. In the current study, a simple and inexpensive mechanical spring-clamp was tested as a potential experimental pain stimulus.

Methods

Ten seconds of mechanical pressure was applied to the thumb of 242 study participants: Healthy volunteers and low-back-pain patients (hospital and primary care). Pain intensity was measured by visual analogue scale before and after conditioned pain modulation by cold-pressor test (CPT). Correlation to pressure pain threshold (PPT) of the infraspinatus muscle and cold-pressor test pain intensity, time to pain onset and time to non-tolerance, was examined. Test/re-test reliability of clamp pain was also assessed and the stimulus–response relationship was examined with a set of 6 different clamps.

Conclusions

Clamp pain was sensitive to changes in pain sensitivity provoked by conditioned pain modulation (CPM). Test/re-test reliability of the spring-clamp pain was better for healthy volunteers over a period of days, than for hospital patients over a period of weeks. A strong correlation (ρ = 0.73, P |003E; 0.0001) was found between clamp force and evoked pain intensity. Correlation to other pain stimuli varied, with a strong correlation between pre and post-CPM clamp pain intensity (ρ = 0.81, P > 0.0001), moderate correlation between clamp pain and PPT (ρ = −0.43, P > 0.0001), as well as CPT pain intensity (ρ = 0.32, P > 0.0001) and a weak correlation with time to onset of CPT pain (ρ = −0.14, P < 0.05).

The application of mechanical pressure is commonly employed to assess general pain sensitivity, and a simple spring-clamp seems a potentially useful instrument for quantitative sensory testing in a clinical setting.
The effect of surface roughness and mixed-mode loading on the stiffness ratio κx/κz for fractures
Authors: Choi Min-Kwang , Bobet Antonio , Pyrak-Nolte Laura J.
Published: August 2014

The characterization of fractures using elastic waves requires a parameter that captures the physical properties of a fracture. Many theoretical and numerical approaches for wave propagation in fractured media use normal and shear fracture specific stiffness to represent the complexity of fracture topology as it deforms under stress. Most effective medium approaches assume that the normal and shear fracture specific stiffness are equal, yielding a shear-to-normal specific stiffness ratio of one. Yet several experimental studies show that this ratio can vary from zero to three. We conducted a series of experiments to determine the stiffness ratio for fractures with different surface roughness subjected to mixed-mode loading conditions. Specimens containing a single fracture were subjected to either normal loading or combined normal and shear loading during ultrasonic measurements of transmitted and reflected P- and S-waves. Theoretical analysis based on the displacement discontinuity theory shows, for P- and S-waves with the same wavelength, that the theoretical stiffness ratio is not equal to one, but depends on the ratio of S- to P-wave velocities. The conventional stiffness ratio limit of unity is determined to be appropriate for very smooth fracture surfaces even under mixed-mode loading conditions. However, rough fracture surfaces result in stiffness ratios that are greater than the theoretical limit and the magnitude of the ratio depended on the relative ratio of shear-to-normal stress. The results from the experiments suggest that the conventional practice of assuming a constant stiffness ratio equal to 1.0 may not be appropriate. Therefore, the ratio of shear-to-normal fracture specific stiffness depends on the roughness of the fracture surface and the loading conditions.
Temporal binding of neural responses for focused attention in biosonar
Authors: Simmons James A.
Published: August 2014

Big brown bats emit biosonar sounds and perceive their surroundings from the delays of echoes received by the ears. Broadcasts are frequency modulated (FM) and contain two prominent harmonics sweeping from 50 to 25 kHz (FM1) and from 100 to 50 kHz (FM2). Individual frequencies in each broadcast and each echo evoke single-spike auditory responses. Echo delay is encoded by the time elapsed between volleys of responses to broadcasts and volleys of responses to echoes. If echoes have the same spectrum as broadcasts, the volley of neural responses to FM1 and FM2 is internally synchronized for each sound, which leads to sharply focused delay images. Because of amplitude–latency trading, disruption of response synchrony within the volleys occurs if the echoes are lowpass filtered, leading to blurred, defocused delay images. This effect is consistent with the temporal binding hypothesis for perceptual image formation. Bats perform inexplicably well in cluttered surroundings where echoes from off-side objects ought to cause masking. Off-side echoes are lowpass filtered because of the shape of the broadcast beam, and they evoke desynchronized auditory responses. The resulting defocused images of clutter do not mask perception of focused images for targets. Neural response synchronization may select a target to be the focus of attention, while desynchronization may impose inattention on the surroundings by defocusing perception of clutter. The formation of focused biosonar images from synchronized neural responses, and the defocusing that occurs with disruption of synchrony, quantitatively demonstrates how temporal binding may control attention and bring a perceptual object into existence.
New Magnesium-ion Conductive Electrolyte Solution Based on Triglyme for Reversible Magnesium Metal Deposition and Dissolution at Ambient Temperature
Authors: Fukutsuka Tomokazu , Asaka Keisuke , Inoo Akane , Yasui Ryohei , Miyazaki Kohei , Abe Takeshi , Nishio Koji , Uchimoto Yoshiharu
Published: August 2014

New electrolyte solutions for rechargeable magnesium metal batteries were studied. The electrolyte solution composed of triethylene glycol dimethyl ether (triglyme) and butyl methyl triglyme as solvents and magnesium(II) bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)amide as a magnesium salt. The reversible deposition and dissolution of magnesium metal was achieved in these electrolyte solutions at ambient temperature. The electrochemical stability of triglyme-based electrolyte solutions showed high stability toward oxidation.
Dynamic Call Center Routing Policies Using Call Waiting and Agent Idle Times
Authors: Chan Wyean , Koole Ger , L'Ecuyer Pierre
Published: August 2014

We study call routing policies for call centers with multiple call types and multiple agent groups. We introduce new weight-based routing policies where each pair (call type, agent group) is given a matching priority defined as an affine combination of the longest waiting time for that call type and the longest idle time or the number of idle agents in that agent group. The coefficients in this combination are parameters to be optimized. This type of policy is more flexible than traditional ones found in practice, and it performs better in many situations. We consider objective functions that account for the service levels, the abandonment ratios, and the fairness of occupancy across agent groups. We select the parameters of all considered policies via simulation-based optimization heuristics. This requires only the availability of a simulation model of the call center, which can be much more detailed and realistic than the models used elsewhere in the literature to study the optimality of certain types of routing rules. We offer a first numerical study of realistic routing rules that takes into account the complexity of real-life call centers.
Models of Bus Queueing at Curbside Stops
Authors: Gu Weihua , Cassidy Michael J. , Li Yuwei
Published: August 2014

We consider curbside bus stops of the kind that serve multiple bus routes and that are isolated from the effects of traffic signals and other stops. A Markov chain embedded in the bus queueing process is used to develop steady-state queueing models of this stop type, as illustrated by two special cases. The models estimate the maximum number of buses that can arrive at and serve a stop and still satisfy a specified target of average bus delay. These models can be used to determine, for example, a stop’s suitable number of bus berths, given the bus demand and the specified delay target. The solutions for the two cases are used to derive a closed-form, parsimonious approximation model for general cases. This approximation matches simulations reasonably well for many conditions that arise in real settings; differences of less than 10% were common. Our results unveil how suitable choices for the number of bus berths are influenced by both the variation in the time that buses spend serving passengers at the stop and the specified delay target. The models further show why the proxy measure commonly used for the delay target in previous bus stop studies is a poor one.
Correlates of Adolescent and Young Adult Sexual Initiation Patterns
Authors: Reese Bianka M. , Choukas‐Bradley Sophia , Herring Amy H. , Halpern Carolyn T.
Published: August 2014

CONTEXT

Identifying adolescent characteristics associated with different patterns of sexual initiation is critical to promoting healthy sexual development.

METHODS

Patterns of sexual initiation were examined among 12,378 respondents to Waves 1 (1994–1995) and 4 (2008) of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health. Multinomial logistic regression explored associations between adolescent characteristics and membership in five latent classes capturing the timing, sequence, pace and variety of sexual initiation patterns.

RESULTS

Age and indicators of greater psychosocial conventionality were associated with membership in the atypical “postponers” class (characterized by postponement of oral, vaginal and anal sexual activity until early adulthood), although patterns of associations varied by gender. For example, compared with males who attended religious services at least once a week, males who never attended religious services were more likely to appear in the vaginal initiators/multiple behaviors class (characterized by initiation of vaginal sex first and then initiation of another behavior after at least one year), rather than in the postponers class (relative risk ratio, 2.5). Compared with women who prayed at least once a day, those who never prayed were more likely to be in the vaginal initiators/single behavior class (whose members typically engaged in only one type of behavior), rather than in the postponers class (2.0).

CONCLUSIONS

Individuals who are more adherent, and presumably more committed, to the attitudes, values and expectations of conventional society are more likely than others to delay multiple types of sexual activity until well beyond the norm for their peers.
Transplantierte Alltage
Authors: Amelang Katrin
Published: August 2014

Eine Organtransplantation verspricht Schwerkranken, wieder zu einem »normalen Alltag« zurückzufinden. Doch wie gelingt ihnen dies? Katrin Amelangs ethnografische Studie gibt Einblick in die Erfahrungswelten Lebertransplantierter und leuchtet die Verschränkung von klinischen und alltäglichen Praktiken in ihren Körpern und Leben detailliert aus. Indem sie sich der unspektakulären Seite der Organtransplantation widmet und die Selbstverständlichkeiten des Alltags unter die Lupe nimmt, durchkreuzt sie die übliche Gegenüberstellung von »außergewöhnlicher« Transplantationsmedizin und »unproblematischem« Alltag und stellt so beide auf den Prüfstand. »Ein starkes Buch - und dabei unprätentiös und gut lesbar geschrieben.« (David Wagner, Preisträger »Belletristik« der Leipziger Buchmesse 2013)
... dem Gehirn beim Denken zusehen?
Authors: Fitsch Hannah
Published: August 2014

Die Hirnforschung greift seit einigen Jahren wieder verstärkt in gesellschaftspolitische Debatten über die »Natur« des Menschen ein. Ausschlaggebend für diese Entwicklung sind weniger neue Theorien über die Funktionsweise des Gehirns, sondern Technologien der Sichtbarmachung. Insbesondere das bildgebende Verfahren der funktionellen Magnetresonanztomographie (fMRT) scheint einen direkten, unvermittelten Einblick in und Erkenntnisse über das denkende Gehirn zu ermöglichen. Hannah Fitsch spürt in ihrem Buch den visuellen Logiken des Erkenntnisprozesses, den Vorannahmen sowie den Standardisierungs- und Objektivierungsweisen der funktionellen Magnetresonanztomographie nach und hinterfragt so die Evidenz der »bunten Bilder«.
Warum Hits Hits werden
Authors: Kramarz Volkmar
Published: August 2014

Es gibt bestimmte Konstruktionsmerkmale, die sich bei erfolgreichen Popmusik-Stücken mithilfe unterschiedlicher Analysekriterien feststellen lassen. Diesen variablen und invariablen Vorgaben geht Volkmar Kramarz detailliert nach. Darüber hinaus zeigt er durch Befragungen von Pop-Hörern und beispielsweise über die Messung ihrer Gehirnaktivitäten Erkenntnisse in Bezug auf die begleitenden Harmonie-Abfolgen auf, die sich als maßgeblich für den Erfolg eines Stückes erweisen. Damit rückt bei dieser Betrachtung von weltweit erfolgreichen Hits die Musik mit ihrer direkten emotionalen Wirkung auf den Rezipienten in den Mittelpunkt.
Produktsprachen
Authors: Schwer Thilo
Published: August 2014

Die Welt des Gegenständlichen hat sich verändert. Angeregt durch die Do-it-yourself-Ästhetik werden auch industriell gefertigte Produkte immer häufiger ihrer eindeutigen Lesbarkeit entledigt. Über Bedeutung und Nutzung entscheiden nunmehr die Konsumenten, die mit Umarbeitungen und Ergänzungen aus dem vorgefertigten ein individuelles Produkt kreieren. Thilo Schwer befragt dieses Phänomen der nicht mehr eindeutigen Produktsprache vor der Folie der Systemtheorie von Niklas Luhmann und der Beiträge von Jochen Gros zum Offenbacher Ansatz - und beschreibt auf diese Weise die neuen Mensch-Objekt-Beziehungen umfassender als zuvor.
Climate Justice vs. Klimaneoliberalismus?
Authors: Bedall Philip
Published: August 2014

Wie sich die internationale Klimapolitik ausgestaltet, ist nicht ausschließlich Ergebnis zwischenstaatlicher Verhandlungen. Mit Gramsci gilt die Zivilgesellschaft als Verhandlungsort darüber, was als klimapolitisch adäquat oder legitim angesehen wird. Philip Bedall untersucht die Ausbildung und Anfechtung dieses Konsenses während der Weltklimakonferenz 2009 in Kopenhagen anhand der Forderungen transnationaler NGOs und sozialer Bewegungen und macht hierfür die Diskurstheorie von Laclau und Mouffe handhabbar. Er zeigt, dass sich NGOs und Bewegungen nicht binär in affirmativ und revolutionär unterteilen lassen, und spürt der affirmativen Essenz artikulierter Kritik mit Hilfe der Methode der Dekonstruktion nach. So gelingt ihm eine differenzierte Beurteilung der Akteure und ihrer Forderungen.
Interpreting Networks
Authors: Krieger David J. , Belliger Andréa
Published: August 2014

After postmodern critique has deconstructed, decentered, and displaced order and identity on all levels, we are faced with the Humpty Dumpty question of how to put the pieces back together again. This book brings together the seldom associated discourses of hermeneutics, actor-network theory, and new media in order to formulate a theory of a global network society. Hermeneutics re-opens the question of unity in a fragmented world. Actor-network theory reinterprets the construction of meaning as networking. New media studies show how networking is done. Networks arise, are maintained, and are transformed by communicative actions that are governed by network norms that make up a social operating system. The social operating system offers an alternative to the imperatives of algorithmic logic, functionality, and systemic closure that dominate present day solutions to problems of over-complexity in all areas. The world of meaning constructed by the social operating system is a mixed reality in which filters and layers replace the physical restraints of space and time as parameters of knowing and acting. Society and nature, humans and non-humans come together in a socio-sphere consisting of hybrid, heterogeneous actor-networks. This book proposes reinterpreting hermeneutics as networking and networking as guided by a social operating system whose norms are based on new media. There emerges a theory for a global network society described by different concepts than those typical of Western modernity.
Postural Behaviour in Gilts Housed on Concrete and Rubber Slats During four Seasons
Authors: Pavičić Željko , Ostović Mario , Menčik Sven , Kabalin Anamaria Ekert , Vučemilo Marija , Matković Kristina , Antunović Boris , Pavešić Rajko , Ilieski Vlatko
Published: August 2014

In the present study, postural behaviour was compared between gilts kept in service unit with different types of flooring during all seasons. The study included four 28-day production cycles and 10 gilts per cycle, equally divided into a control and an experimental group. Control gilts were housed in gestation stalls with slatted concrete floor, whereas in the experimental group the floor was covered with an adjusted rubber mat. Postural behaviour of gilts was observed 4 times per cycle for 4 hours. Study results showed that during cooler seasons, gilts in concrete stalls spent more time standing and lying sternally, whereas gilts in matted stalls were mostly lying, predominantly laterally (P<0.001 all). There were no significant between group differences according to the time the gilts spent sitting or the frequency of changing posture in any season observed. Nevertheless, experimental animals spent significantly less time changing standing to both lying positions during all seasons (P<0.01 all). In conclusion, rubber mats may improve lying comfort in gilts; however, when using rubber mats, the house thermal conditions should be taken in consideration.