bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Environmental Sustainability
Authors: Bodunde Charles A. , Aliyu Saeedat B.
Published: March 2017

Western ecofeminists’ perspective on the connections between the domination, oppression, and abuse of women and the abuse of the natural environment would be an overgeneralization of the challenges facing women and the natural environment across cultures and spaces. The position in this essay is that the challenges faced by women derive mostly from cultural factors whereas the contemporary degradation of the environment stems mainly from economic considerations. This essay, rather than associating the domination of African women with the pillaging of the natural environment, contends that African women themselves are frontline environmental activists who see the linkage between sustaining the natural environment and the successful fulfilment of the biological and cultural role of nurturing. By stressing the importance of achieving environmental sustainability, the African perspective of a symbiotic relationship between man and the environment emerges. This essay thus concludes that as the contemporary world assumes concern for gender equality and responsibility for environmental sustainability, ingenious solutions to these challenges from Africa need to be recognized, adopted, and adapted to diversify global approaches to the challenges of gender equity and environmental balance.
Contesting Meanings in the Postmodern Age
Authors: Gbogi Michael Tosin
Published: March 2017

Recent years have seen an explosion in the production and consumption of hip hop music in Nigeria. From the MTV Africa Music Awards to the BET Awards, Nigerian hip hop heads have continued to push the boundaries of their music on the international front, linking it, in the process, to a sort of global Hip Wide Web. Yet, despite these breakthroughs, the general perception of the discursive landscape of this music is not altogether positive in Nigeria itself. In particular, the message(s) of the music’s lyrics has been severally described as a venture that has no meaning beyond its noisy character. This is especially the case when the music is being evaluated by older generations of Nigerian critics who do not share in, and are almost averse to, the hip hop culture that has newly ascended as the dominant youth culture. Problematizing these evaluations under five paradigms—crossing, multilingualism, and styling, repetition, inversion of order, meaninglessness, and pornography—this essay contends that what appears as meaninglessness in Nigerian hip hop music inscribes a masked matrix of meanings in the postmodern age. It argues that the elements of the lyrical gamut that are often perceived as meaningless are in fact meaningful and valuable resources that the artists, and by extension their audience members, harness to perform their generational ingroupness and multiplex postmodern identities.
VW’s ‘Defeat Devices’ and Liability for Claims for Lost Emissions Tax Revenue
Authors: Truby Jon , Kratsas George
Published: March 2017

Volkswagen Group’s utilisation of a ‘defeat device’ to produce inaccurate results for vehicle emissions tests in multiple consumer states, leads it to face potentially crippling fines, possible criminal liability, civil suits, and detriment to its own company caused by the loss of trust. However, this article considers a further issue, namely implications of the violations on taxation legislation and pursuant claims for losses as a result of lost tax revenue or recalculated taxes.

With vehicles falling outside of the tax band they were purchased within, there is confusion around the world about how this will affect the tax status of the vehicles and those that own them. Vehicles could be re-banded or reassessed for a variety of different tax purposes, increasing the tax liability of the vehicle historically and prospectively to reflect the actual emissions or fuel consumption based on how the charge is designed.

Through a comparative study, this article considers varying tax issues in several different countries across the globe for which the manufacturer may be liable for the life of the vehicle. This will seek to establish the scale of the potential liability for Volkswagen (vw) Group that has not yet been explored. Finally it examines how international cooperation could produce more satisfactory settlements for nations and customers.
Powers of One: The Mathematicalization of the Occult Sciences in the High Persianate Tradition
Authors: Melvin-Koushki Matthew
Published: March 2017

Occultism remains the largest blind spot in the historiography of Islamicate philosophy-science, a casualty of persistent scholarly positivism, even whiggish triumphalism. Such occultophobia notwithstanding, the present article conducts a survey of the Islamicate encyclopedic tradition from the 4th–11th/10th–17th centuries, with emphasis on Persian classifications of the sciences, to demonstrate the ascent to philosophically mainstream status of various occult sciences (ʿulūm ġarība) throughout the post-Mongol Persianate world. Most significantly, in Persian encyclopedias, but not in Arabic, and beginning with Faḫr al-Dīn Rāzī, certain occult sciences (astrology, lettrism and geomancy) were gradually but definitively shifted from the natural to the mathematical sciences as a means of reasserting their scientific legitimacy in the face of four centuries of anti-occultist polemic, from Ibn Sīnā to Ibn Ḫaldūn; they were simultaneously reclassified as the sciences of walāya, moreover, which alone explains the massive increase in patronage of professional occultists at the Safavid, Mughal and Ottoman courts in the runup to the Islamic millennium (1592 CE). I argue that the mathematicalization, neopythagoreanization and sanctification of occultism in Ilkhanid-Timurid-Aqquyunlu Iran is the immediate intellectual and sociopolitical context for both the celebrated mathematization of astronomy by the members of the Samarkand Observatory in the 9th/15th century and the resurgence of neoplatonic-neopythagorean philosophy in Safavid Iran in the 10th/16th and 11th/17th, whereby Ibn Sīnā himself was transformed into a neopythagorean-occultist—processes which have heretofore been studied in atomistic isolation.
Under the Dome
Authors: Pan Weixian
Published: March 2017

This article looks at the use of mobile phones to capture images of China’s smog. Seeking to move beyond the familiar stated benefits of circumscribing state censorship and supporting offline mobilization, it employs instead an interpretive framework that views digital capture as a process of cultural production. In doing so, it enables comparisons with other forms of visual production, situating it in relation to other modes of realism and questioning the very definition of environmental activism. It also enables a more nuanced analysis of the social and geographical biases that are reflected in the use of mobile phones when used for environmental engagement.
Digital Religion and Religious Life in Southeast Asia
Authors: Muslim Acep
Published: March 2017

This article describes an online Islamic community in Indonesia called One Day One Juz (odoj). This research shows howodojencourages its members to recite a section of the Quran every day, thus transforming some of its members’ religious practices and enabling a ‘new way of being religious’. Understandingodojas a ‘digital religion’, this article details the social and technological dimensions of the group’s disciplinary mechanisms as a new type of religious institution. These include the structure ofodoj’s online network, the reflective engagement of the members with its regulations, and the specific technological affordances of the applications and devices used.
“Evaluating the Four Books” (四書評)
Authors: Rudenko Nikolai
Published: March 2017

The article is devoted to the problem of authorship ofEvaluating the Four Books(Sishu ping四書評), presenting a review of academic discussion that took place in Chinese historiography in 20th century and providing some new ideas as the continuation of this discussion in order to solve the problem.Evaluating the Four Booksis often considered to be the work of Li Zhi (李贄, 1527–1602), who is famous for his original ideas and critical attitude toward neo-confucianism in the interpretation of Zhu Xi and the Cheng brothers. Li Zhi died in jail, where he was put in accordance to the order of emperor Shenzong (Era name Wanli 1572–1620), and his death attracted a lot of attention by late Ming educated people. Against the background of Li Zhi’s increased popularity, a lot of book sellers signed books with his name for commercial purposes, while in fact these books were not written by Li Zhi. We suppose thatEvaluating the Four Booksbelongs to such type of works and give some argument for the point that it is a fabrication made by Ye Zhou (葉晝, ?–1625), a late Ming scholar who is also generally considered to be the true author of commentaries to classical Chinese novels e.g. “Water Margin”, “Romance of Three Kingdoms” and “Journey to the West”, also signed with the name of Li Zhi.
The Role of Social Cue Utilization and Closing-the-Loop Communication in the Performance of Ad Hoc Dyads
Authors: Yee Daniel J. , Wiggins Mark W. , Searle Ben J.
Published: March 2017

Objective:

To examine whether social cue utilization impacts the performance of ad hoc dyads through its relationship with closing the loop, a communication process whereby team members respond more frequently to initiating statements made by others.

Background:

There lacks unequivocal experimental evidence for any single cognitive-based process that might predict the performance of ad hoc teams.

Method:

Using a quasi-experimental design, 80 participants were classified into 40 dyads based on their levels of social cue utilization and attempted a team problem-solving task. A serial mediation model revealed an indirect effect of social cue utilization on the performance of ad hoc dyads through closing the loop.

Results:

Analyses indicated that social cue utilization impacts on the performance of ad hoc dyads independently of nonverbal reasoning ability and emotional intelligence. Further, the level of social cue utilization within dyads exhibits a positive indirect impact on the performance of ad hoc dyads through closing the loop.

Conclusion:

Ad hoc dyads with higher levels of social cue utilization engaged in a greater frequency of closing-the-loop statements and showed better subsequent performance on a problem-solving task in comparison to dyads with lower levels of social cue utilization.

Application:

Potential applications include the optimization of ad hoc team composition within high reliability environments like aviation and power control as well as improving training interventions with a specific mechanism for improving the performance of ad hoc teams.
An unexpected image on a chest radiograph
Authors: Hemsinli Dogus , Mutlu Hasan , Altun Gokalp , Pulathan Zerrin , Ozdemir Ahmet C
Published: March 2017

Introduction

Central venous catheterisation is an essential component of patient care in hospital. A forgotten complete guide-wire is a rare complication, although the reported incidence has increased rapidly over the last decade.

Case report

We report a 72-year-old man with a complete guide-wire inadvertently overlooked during catheter insertion. A central venous catheter had been inserted for total parental nutrition during treatment for pancreatitis. Five years later, the patient was readmitted with a painful lesion on his neck and the sensation of a sharp object under his skin. He was discharged without complication following removal of the free part of the guide-wire that had not become attached to the endothelial layer.

Conclusion

Inattention, inexperience and lack of supervision by a more experienced clinician are considered the most important contributing factors to this complication. Ultrasonography assistance during the procedure, senior supervision, a set count and a chest X-ray after the procedure are recommended in order to prevent forgotten guide-wires.
Raters Interpret Positively and Negatively Worded Items Similarly in a Quality of Life Instrument for Children
Authors: Lin Chung-Ying , Strong Carol , Tsai Meng-Che , Lee Chih-Ting
Published: March 2017

Measurement invariance is an important assumption to meaningfully compare children’s quality of life (QoL) between different raters (eg, children and parents) and across genders. Moreover, QoL instruments may combine using negatively and positively worded items—a common method to reduce response bias. However, the wording effects may have different levels of impact on different raters and genders. Our aim was to investigate the measurement invariance of Kid-KINDL, a commonly used QoL instrument, across genders and raters and to consider the wording effects simultaneously. Third to sixth graders (208 boys and 235 girls) completed the self-rated Kid-KINDL, and 1 parent each of 241 children completed the parent-rated Kid-KINDL. The wording effects were accounted for by correlated traits-uncorrelated methods model. The measurement invariance was examined using multigroup confirmatory factor analysis. Item loadings and item intercepts were invariant across gender and rater when we simultaneously accounted for the wording effects of Kid-KINDL. Our results suggest that Kid-KINDL could be used to compare QoL across gender and that parent-rated Kid-KINDL could be used to measure children’s QoL. Specifically, the invariant factor loadings across child-rated and parent-rated Kid-KINDL suggest that the score weights in each item were the same for both children and parents (ie, the important items identified by the children are the same items identified by the parents). The invariant item intercepts suggest that both children and parents share the same threshold for each item. Based on the results, we tentatively recommend that each score of a parent-rated Kid-KINDL can stand for each child’s QoL.
A cross-sectional survey of South African psychology interns’ perceptions of negative supervision events
Authors: Hendricks Shariefa , Cartwright Duncan James
Published: March 2017

Prevalence rates of negative supervision events among Psychology interns in South Africa are non-existent. This article investigates the incidence of negative supervision events and explores the influence of various contextual variables on supervision outcomes. Quantitative data were obtained via a web survey from a sample ( N = 92) of Clinical and Counselling psychology interns across nine provinces in South Africa. In all, 42 (or 45.6%) of the 92 participants had a negative supervision event during their internship, 26.19% categorized their experience as ‘Harmful’, and 73.81% (or 31) had an ‘Inadequate’ experience. A total of 14 (or 22.6%) interns experienced a negative supervision event on a weekly basis. Proportionately more White interns reported experiencing negative supervision events and had the highest number of reported harmful experiences. Neither race nor gender significantly impacted the feedback and evaluation process. A significantly larger number of mixed race and mixed culture dyads reported harmful negative supervision compared to same race/culture dyads. There was no significant positive relationship between inadequate or harmful negative supervision event and sexual orientation, theoretical orientation, gender, religion, and language. Implications for training and professional development are discussed.
Minimum variance lower bound estimation with Gaussian Process models
Authors: Ghasemi Naraghi Mehdi , Alipouri Yousef
Published: March 2017

In this paper, we utilize the probability density function of the data to estimate the minimum variance lower bound (MVLB) of a nonlinear system. For this purpose, the Gaussian Process (GP) model has been used. With this model, given a new input and based on past observations, we naturally obtained the variance of the predictive distribution of the future output, which enabled us to estimate MVLB as well as estimation uncertainty. Also, an advantage of the proposed method over others is its ability to estimate MVLB recursively. The application of this method to the real-life dynamic process (experimental four-tank process) indicates that this approach gives very credible estimates of the MVLB.
Nicotine enhances an auditory Event-Related Potential component which is inversely related to habituation
Authors: Veltri Theresa , Taroyan Naira , Overton Paul G
Published: March 2017

Nicotine is a psychoactive substance that is commonly consumed in the context of music. However, the reason why music and nicotine are co-consumed is uncertain. One possibility is that nicotine affects cognitive processes relevant to aspects of music appreciation in a beneficial way. Here we investigated this possibility using Event-Related Potentials. Participants underwent a simple decision-making task (to maintain attentional focus), responses to which were signalled by auditory stimuli. Unlike previous research looking at the effects of nicotine on auditory processing, we used complex tones that varied in pitch, a fundamental element of music. In addition, unlike most other studies, we tested non-smoking subjects to avoid withdrawal-related complications. We found that nicotine (4.0 mg, administered as gum) increased P2 amplitude in the frontal region. Since a decrease in P2 amplitude and latency is related to habituation processes, and an enhanced ability to disengage from irrelevant stimuli, our findings suggest that nicotine may cause a reduction in habituation, resulting in non-smokers being less able to adapt to repeated stimuli. A corollary of that decrease in adaptation may be that nicotine extends the temporal window during which a listener is able and willing to engage with a piece of music.
Hip Arthroscopy for Atypical Posterior Hip Pain: A Comparative Matched-Pair Analysis
Authors: Levy David M. , Cvetanovich Gregory L. , Kuhns Benjamin D. , Greenberg Mitchell J. , Alter Jennifer M. , Nho Shane J.
Published: March 2017

Background:

Femoroacetabular impingement (FAI) most commonly manifests as anterior groin pain. Patients occasionally have posterior pain but otherwise have clinical and radiographic evidence of FAI.

Purpose:

To compare outcomes of hip arthroscopy for FAI in patients with atypical posterior pain versus a matched group with the typical anterior pain presentation.

Study Design:

Cohort study; Level of evidence, 3.

Methods:

Patients undergoing primary hip arthroscopy for FAI were identified from a clinical repository between January 2012 and 2014. Of 503 patients during the study period, 31 (6.2%) had posterior hip or buttock pain reproduced with flexion, adduction, and internal rotation (FADDIR) and were classified as “atypical,” while those with anterior hip or groin pain were classified as “typical.” Atypical patients were matched in a 1:2 cohort to the typical group based on sex, age, and body mass index (BMI). Postoperative patient-reported outcomes included visual analog scale (VAS) for pain, modified Harris Hip Score (mHHS), and Hip Outcome Scores with Activities of Daily Living (HOS-ADL) and Sports-Specific (HOS-SS) subscales.

Results:

Of the 31 atypical patients, 28 (90.3%) were available for a minimum 2-year follow-up (mean ± SD, 2.6 ± 0.6 years). These patients were matched with 56 typical patients. No differences were noted between typical and atypical cohorts in preoperative demographic or radiographic parameters. Postoperatively, both groups demonstrated significant improvements in mHHS (atypical 60.1 ± 12.4 to 78.8 ± 12.9; typical 60.0 ± 12.3 to 76.9 ± 13.6; P < .001), HOS-ADL (atypical 68.5 ± 17.0 to 88.6 ± 11.0; typical 69.2 ± 17.1 to 86.8 ± 14.7; P < .001), and HOS-SS (atypical 42.0 ± 25.5 to 71.0 ± 26.2; typical 44.4 ± 24.9 to 71.3 ± 27.3; P < .001). No differences were found in 2-year score improvements between the atypical and typical cohorts (mHHS 18.7 ± 13.4 vs 16.9 ± 13.1, P = .48; HOS-ADL 20.1 ± 16.8 vs 17.6 ± 14.6, P = .19; HOS-SS 29.0 ± 30.2 vs 26.9 ± 27.3, P = .93). Also, no significant differences were found in VAS pain improvement (5.0 ± 3.2 vs 5.6 ± 2.8, P = .56) or postoperative satisfaction (79.5 ± 5.5 vs 77.5 ± 4.1, P = .78).

Conclusion:

Atypical posterior hip pain is an uncommon presentation of FAI. Patients demonstrate similar significant improvements after hip arthroscopy in outcome scores, postoperative pain, and satisfaction compared with patients who have classic anterior groin pain.
Impact of Low-Dose Hydrocortisone on the Incidence of Atrial Fibrillation in Patients With Septic Shock: A Propensity Score-Inverse Probability of Treatment Weighting Cohort Study
Authors: Launey Yoann , Lasocki Sigismond , Asehnoune Karim , Gaudriot Baptiste , Chassier Claire , Cinotti Raphael , Maguet Pascale Le , Laksiri Leila , Mimoz Olivier , Tawa Audrey , Nesseler Nicolas , Malledant Yannick , Perrot Bastien , Seguin Philippe
Published: March 2017

Purpose:

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is common in the intensive care unit (ICU), notably in patients with septic shock for whom inflammation is an already identified risk factor. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of low-dose hydrocortisone on AF occurrence in patients with septic shock.

Methods:

We performed a prospective nonrandomized observational study in 5 academic ICUs in France. From November 2012 to June 2014, all patients ≥16 years having septic shock were included, except those who had a history of AF, had a pacemaker, and/or experienced AF during hospitalization before the onset of shock or in whom the onset of shock occurred prior to admission to the ICU. Hydrocortisone was administered at the discretion of the attending physician. The incidence of AF was compared among patients who received hydrocortisone, and the effect of low-dose hydrocortisone on AF was estimated using the inverse probability treatment weighting method based on propensity scores.

Results:

A total of 261 patients were included (no-hydrocortisone group, n = 138; hydrocortisone group, n = 123). Atrial fibrillation occurred in 57 (22%) patients. Atrial fibrillation rates were 33 (24%) and 24 (19%) in no-hydrocortisone patients and hydrocortisone patients, respectively. In the weighted sample, the proportion of patients who developed AF was 28.8% in the no-hydrocortisone group and 16.8% in the hydrocortisone group (difference: −11.9%; 95% confidence interval: −23.4% to −0.5%; P = .040).

Conclusion:

In patients with septic shock, low-dose hydrocortisone was associated with a lower risk of developing AF during the acute phase.
Application of an indicator-immobilized-gel-sheet for measuring the pH surrounding a calcium phosphate-based biomaterial
Authors: Masuda Taisuke , Maruyama Hisataka , Arai Fumihito , Anada Takahisa , Tsuchiya Kaori , Fukuda Toshio , Suzuki Osamu
Published: March 2017

The present study was designed to investigate the local microenvironment of octacalcium phosphate in a granule form upon biomolecules adsorption utilizing an indicator-immobilized-gel-sheet for measuring pH. We previously showed that octacalcium phosphate enhances bone regeneration during its progressive hydrolysis into hydroxyapatite if implanted in bone defects. The gel-sheet was made from a photocrosslinkable prepolymer solution, which can easily immobilize a pH indicator (bromothymol blue; BTB) in the hydrogel. The indicator-immobilized-gel-sheet was mounted on a biochip which was made of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) with a flow channel. The pH value was calculated by detecting the color changes in the gel-sheet and displayed as the pH distribution. After pre-adsorption of bovine albumin, β-lactoglobuline or cytochrome C onto octacalcium phosphate granules, the granules with the gel-sheet were further incubated in Tris-HCl buffer solution in the absence or presence of fluoride, known as an accelerator of octacalcium phosphate hydrolysis. pH values of the gel-sheet surrounding octacalcium phosphate granules showed a decrease from pH 7.4 to 6.6 in relation to the proteins adsorbed. Overall, the proposed pH-sensitive gel can be used to detect the pH around octacalcium phosphate granules with a high spatial resolution.
Impact of Pharmacist Intervention on Selection and Timing of Appropriate Antimicrobial Therapy in Septic Shock
Authors: Laine Melanie E. , Flynn Jeremy D. , Flannery Alexander H.
Published: March 2017

Background:

Current guidelines for septic shock management recommend administration of appropriate, broad-spectrum antimicrobials within 1 hour of recognition.

Objective:

To evaluate the interventions pharmacists make as part of a sepsis response team and to determine if these interventions increase the proportion of patients with appropriate empiric antimicrobial therapy.

Methods:

A retrospective cohort study was undertaken reviewing adult patients in a large, academic medical center with confirmed septic shock who had an order for a “sepsis bundle,” which includes notification of a pharmacist to assess adequacy of empiric therapy. Pharmacist interventions with regard to selection of empiric antimicrobials were documented. The proportion of patients with initial successful selection of antimicrobial therapy (SSAT) before and after pharmacist intervention was assessed as well as the time to first antimicrobial administration and time to appropriate antimicrobial administration.

Results:

A total of 76 patients were included. Pharmacist intervention increased the proportion of patients with SSAT from 66% to 80% ( P = .04). Median time to first antimicrobial administration was 43 minutes, and time to appropriate antimicrobial therapy was 1 hour, 34 minutes for the entire cohort, with pharmacist intervention decreasing the latter time significantly in patients without SSAT on initiation of the “sepsis bundle” ( P < .001).

Conclusion:

Pharmacist assessment of patients in septic shock offers the opportunity to improve SSAT. Systems designed to use a pharmacist responder for the care of patients with septic shock maximize the selection of antimicrobials, facilitate rapid administration, and improve surrogate outcomes for mortality in septic shock.
The Use of Intravenous Lidocaine for the Management of Acute Pain Secondary to Traumatic Ankle Injury: A Case Report
Authors: Sin Billy , Gritsenko Diana , Tam Grace , Koop Kimberly , Mok Eva
Published: March 2017

Sports-related injuries are a frequent cause of visits to the emergency department (ED) across the United States. A majority of these injuries affect the lower extremities with the ankle as the most frequently reported site. Most sports-related injuries are not severe enough to require inpatient hospitalization; however, they often lead to acute distress and pain which require prompt treatment with analgesics. Approximately 22% of patients who presented to the ED required pharmacotherapy for acute pain management. Opioids have been traditionally used for the management of severe acute pain in the ED; however, there are growing concerns for opioid overuse and misuse. As a result, there is growing controversy regarding the appropriate selection of analgesic agents, optimal dosing, and need for outpatient therapy which has contributed to changes in prescribing patterns of opioids in the ED. Lidocaine, a class 1b antiarrhythmic, has been utilized as an analgesic agent. Its use has been documented for the management of intractable chronic pain caused by cancer, stroke, neuropathies, or nephrolithiasis. However, literature describing the use of intravenous lidocaine for the management of acute pain secondary to trauma is limited to a single case series. This case report describes the use of intravenous lidocaine in a 17-year-old male who presented to the ED in acute distress secondary to ankle dislocation and fracture. This report serves to describe additional clinical experience with intravenous lidocaine for the management of acute pain secondary to ankle fracture in the emergency department.
Context and Pedagogy: A Quarter-Century of Change in an Introductory Management Course
Authors: Hendry Jamie R. , Hiller Tammy Bunn , Martin Eric C. , Boyd Neil M.
Published: March 2017

Twenty-five years after John A. Miller described his seminal experiential Introduction to Organization and Management course in JME, MGMT 101 (formerly MG 101) continues to be the foundation of management education at Bucknell University. In this article, the current MGMT 101 faculty members provide their perspective on contextual and operational changes in the course by providing an overview of MGMT 101’s foundations, nuts-and-bolts elements of the course that have remained consistent and those that have evolved, and key elements that have either been affected by or have led to changes in the course. In all, this is the story of our ongoing efforts to assure that student learning is deep, meaningful, and responsive to the uncertain, daunting, provocative, and intriguing circumstances faced by organizations today.
“I Would Never Start a Fight but…”
Authors: Ravn Signe
Published: March 2017

This article explores the link between masculinity and violence in socially integrated young men’s discussions about risk-taking and violence. Traditionally, violence, or rather the capability of violence, is depicted as a key cultural marker of masculinity. However, recent theoretical developments point to changes in the normative boundaries for performing appropriate masculinities not least among young people. These discussions about potential cultural changes form the backdrop of this article. By combining focus group methodology and an interactionist analytical approach, I investigate how the boundary between legitimate and illegitimate physical aggression is negotiated and how acceptable masculine identities are performed as part of these negotiations. Through this, the article sheds light on the narrow boundaries between “legitimate” and “illegitimate” violence, the highly situational character of these judgments and the intersections between gender and ethnicity in the performance of morally superior masculinities. The research is conducted in Denmark in 2013–2014.
Sleep Quality Associated With Different Work Schedules: A Longitudinal Study of Nursing Staff
Authors: Niu Shu-Fen , Miao Nae-Fang , Liao Yuan-Mei , Chi Mei-Ju , Chung Min-Huey , Chou Kuei-Ru
Published: March 2017

Purpose:

To explore the differences in sleep parameters between nurses working a slow, forward rotating shift and those working a fixed day shift.

Method:

A longitudinal parallel-group comparison design was used in this prospective study. Participants (female) were randomly assigned to a rotating shift or a fixed day shift group. Participants in the rotating shift group worked day shift for the first 4 weeks, followed by evening shift for the second and night shift the third. Those in the day shift group worked day shift for all 12 weeks. Each kept a sleep diary and wore an actigraph (actigraph data were used to calculate total sleep time [TST], sleep onset latency [SOL], wake after sleep onset [WASO], and sleep efficiency [SE]) for 12 days, from Workday 1–4 in each of Weeks 4, 8, and 12.

Results:

TST in nurses working evening rotating shift was higher than that for those working the day or night rotating shift and fixed day shift. WASO was significantly longer on Day 2 for rotating shift participants working evening versus day shift. SOL and SE were significantly shorter and lower in rotating shift nurses working night versus both day and evening shifts.

Conclusions:

A comprehensive understanding of the sleep patterns and quality of nurses with different work shifts may lead to better management of work shifts that reduces the influence of shift work on sleep quality.
Use of Biomedical Ontologies for Integration of Biological Knowledge for Learning and Prediction of Adverse Drug Reactions
Authors: Zaman Shadia , Sarntivijai Sirarat , Abernethy Darrell R
Published: March 2017

Drug-induced toxicity is a major public health concern that leads to patient morbidity and mortality. To address this problem, the Food and Drug Administration is working on the PredicTox initiative, a pilot research program on tyrosine kinase inhibitors, to build mechanistic and predictive models for drug-induced toxicity. This program involves integrating data acquired during preclinical studies and clinical trials within pharmaceutical company development programs that they have agreed to put in the public domain and in publicly available biological, pharmacological, and chemical databases. The integration process is accommodated by biomedical ontologies, a set of standardized vocabularies that define terms and logical relationships between them in each vocabulary. We describe a few programs that have used ontologies to address biomedical questions. The PredicTox effort is leveraging the experience gathered from these early initiatives to develop an infrastructure that allows evaluation of the hypothesis that having a mechanistic understanding underlying adverse drug reactions will improve the capacity to understand drug-induced clinical adverse drug reactions.
Unmasking the Role of Uptake Transporters for Digoxin Uptake Across the Barriers of the Central Nervous System in Rat
Authors: Taskar Kunal S , Mariappan T Thanga , Kurawattimath Vishwanath , Singh Gautam Shashyendra , Radhakrishna Mullapudi TV , Sridhar Srikanth K , Kallem Raja Reddy , Marathe Punit , Mandlekar Sandhya
Published: March 2017

The role of uptake transporter (organic anion–transporting polypeptide [Oatp]) in the disposition of a P-glycoprotein (P-gp) substrate (digoxin) at the barriers of central nervous system, namely, the blood-brain barrier (BBB), blood-spinal cord barrier (BSCB), and brain-cerebrospinal fluid barrier (BCSFB), was studied using rat as a preclinical species. In vivo chemical inhibition of P-gp and Oatp was achieved using elacridar and rifampicin, respectively. Our findings show that (1) digoxin had a low brain-to-plasma concentration ratio (B/P) (0.07) in rat; (2) in the presence of elacridar, the B/P of digoxin increased by about 12-fold; (3) rifampicin administration alone did not change the digoxin B/P significantly when compared with digoxin B/P alone; (4) rifampicin administration along with elacridar resulted only in 6-fold increase in the B/P of digoxin; (5) similar fold changes and trends were seen with the spinal cord-to-plasma concentration ratio of digoxin, indicating the similarity between BBB and the BSCB; and (6) unlike BBB and BSCB, the presence of rifampicin further increased the cerebrospinal fluid-to-plasma concentration ratio (CSF/P) for digoxin, suggesting a differential orientation of the uptake transporters at the BCSFB (CSF to blood) compared with the BBB (blood to brain). The observations for digoxin uptake, at least at the BBB and the BSCB, advocate the importance of uptake transporters (Oatps). However, the activity of such uptake transporters became evident only after inhibition of the efflux transporter (P-gp).
Sex differences in disease-specific health status measures in patients with symptomatic peripheral artery disease: Data from the PORTRAIT study
Authors: Roumia Mazen , Aronow Herbert D , Soukas Peter , Gosch Kensey , Smolderen Kim G , Spertus John A , Abbott J Dawn
Published: March 2017

Peripheral artery disease (PAD) is associated with poor health status (symptoms, functioning, quality of life (QOL)). Whether sex differences exist in PAD-specific health status is unknown. In patients presenting to a specialty clinic with new-onset or recent exacerbation of PAD, we examined sex differences as assessed by the Peripheral Artery Questionnaire (PAQ). The Patient-centered Outcomes Related to TReatment Practices in Peripheral Arterial Disease: Investigating Trajectories (PORTRAIT) study is a multicenter, international prospective study of patients with new or worsening PAD symptoms. Baseline characteristics and mean PAQ scores were compared among women ( n=481) and men ( n=793) before they underwent treatment. The independent association of sex with health status was assessed with multivariable linear regression. As compared with men, women were less often Caucasian, married and employed, and more often lacking health insurance, living alone (36.2% vs 23.6%, p<0.001), had depression and avoided care due to cost (17.0% vs 12.3%, p=0.018). Women and men were of a similar age and education level, and had similar ankle–brachial index (ABI) values (0.7 ± 0.2 in both groups, p=0.052). Female sex was independently associated with lower PAQ scores on all domains (physical functioning adjusted mean difference of −8.40, p<0.001; social functioning adjusted mean difference of −6.8, p<0.001; QOL adjusted mean difference of −6.7, p<0.001), although no differences were observed in treatment satisfaction (adjusted mean difference −0.20, p=0.904). Despite similar ABIs, women presenting with symptoms of PAD had poorer PAD-specific functioning as compared with men, impacting all major health status domains, independent of socio-economic and clinical characteristics.
Relationship between physiological and parent-observed auditory over-responsiveness in children with typical development and those with autism spectrum disorders
Authors: Takahashi Hidetoshi , Nakahachi Takayuki , Stickley Andrew , Ishitobi Makoto , Kamio Yoko
Published: March 2017

The objective of this study was to investigate relationships between caregiver-reported sensory processing abnormalities, and the physiological index of auditory over-responsiveness evaluated using acoustic startle response measures, in children with autism spectrum disorders and typical development. Mean acoustic startle response magnitudes in response to 65–105 dB stimuli, in increments of 10 dB, were analyzed in children with autism spectrum disorders and with typical development. Average peak startle latency was also examined. We examined the relationship of these acoustic startle response measures to parent-reported behavioral sensory processing patterns in everyday situations, assessed using the Sensory Profile for all participants. Low-threshold scores on the Sensory Profile auditory section were related to acoustic startle response magnitudes at 75 and 85 dB, but not to the lower intensities of 65 dB. The peak startle latency and acoustic startle response magnitudes at low-stimuli intensities of 65 and 75 dB were significantly related to the low-threshold quadrants (sensory sensitivity and sensation avoiding) scores and to the high-threshold quadrant of sensation seeking. Our results suggest that physiological assessment provides further information regarding auditory over-responsiveness to less-intense stimuli and its relationship to caregiver-observed sensory processing abnormalities in everyday situations.
Using professional expertise in partnership with families
Authors: Clerke Teena , Hopwood Nick , Chavasse Fran , Fowler Cathrine , Lee Sally , Rogers Julie
Published: March 2017

The first five years of parenting are critical to children’s development. Parents are known to respond best to interventions with a partnership-based approach, yet child and family health nurses (CFHNs) report some tension between employing their expertise and maintaining a partnership relationship. This article identifies ways in which CFHNs skilfully use their professional expertise, underpinned by helping qualities and interpersonal skills, to assist families build confidence and capacity, and thus buffer against threats to parent and child well-being. It reports on an Australian ethnographic study of services for families with young children. Fifty-two interactions were observed between CFHNs and families in day-stay and home visiting services in Sydney. A new model is presented, based on four partnership activities and the fluid movement between them, to show how CFHNs use their expertise to identify strengths and foster resilience in families in the longer term, without undermining the principles of partnership.
How accessible is IB schooling? Evidence from Australia
Authors: Dickson Anisah , Perry Laura B. , Ledger Susan
Published: March 2017

This study examines access to International Baccalaureate schools in Australia. It is important to examine whether, as a highly regarded form of rigorous academic education, IB programmes are available to a wide range of students. We examine the location of schools in Australia that offer one or more of the IB Primary Years Programme, Middle Years Programme or Diploma Programme, their fees and admissions policies, and what types of students they enrol. The findings show that most schools in Australia that offer any of these three IB programmes are located in affluent communities of large cities, are privately-funded, charge moderate to high fees, and enrol mostly students from privileged socioeconomic backgrounds.
Health status of COPD patients undergoing pulmonary rehabilitation: A comparative responsiveness of the CAT and SGRQ
Authors: Sciriha Anabel , Lungaro-Mifsud Stephen , Scerri Josianne , Magro Rosalie , Camilleri Liberato , Montefort Stephen
Published: March 2017

The St. George’s Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ) and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) assessment test (CAT) are the measures used to assess health status. This study aims to examine the responsiveness of these tools by severity of dyspnoea category in patients with COPD. Forty-nine COPD patients who underwent a 12-week pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) programme were assessed at baseline, 12 weeks and at 28-week follow-up. Patients were categorized into two groups by severity of dyspnoea category (i.e. mild to moderate (modified Medical Research Council (mMRC) 1–2) and severe to very severe (mMRC 3–4)) using the mMRC dyspnoea scale. Effect size (ES) was computed as estimates of responsiveness. The SGRQ demonstrated greater responsiveness by total sample (SGRQ, ES = 0.87; CAT, ES = 0.75) and for the mMRC 3–4 category (SGRQ, ES = 0.91; CAT, ES = 0.76) on completion of PR. At 28-week follow-up, overall comparable responsiveness of the CAT and SGRQ was identified by total sample (SGRQ, ES = 0.75; CAT, ES = 0.74) and by severity of dyspnoea category. The symptom, impact and activity domains of the SGRQ showed good responsiveness, with greater ESs obtained overall for the mMRC 3–4 category. On completion of PR, the SGRQ demonstrates a greater responsiveness with COPD patients, especially in relation to the mMRC 3–4 category, while both the CAT and SGRQ show comparable responsiveness on follow-up.
Anime’s Performativity: Diversity through Conventionality in a Global Media-Form
Authors: Suan Stevie
Published: March 2017

Anime is a globally prominent media-form with a multitude of styles, yet it maintains a relative uniformity to sustain a recognizable identity as a particular category of media. The performance of the recognizably ‘anime-esque’ is what distinguishes anime as a type of animation, allowing it to be sold and consumed as ‘anime’. Anime, and its recognizable identity, are performatively constituted by a series of anime-esque acts performed in animation, citing a system/database of conventionalized models in each iteration. What we recognize as ‘anime proper’ are not just ‘animations from Japan’, but animations that perform large quantities of anime-esque acts. However, anime must continuously work through the problematic of maintaining its identity without redundancy, each performance working through the tensions of diversity and uniformity: in straying too far from a conventional model, it loses anime-esque recognizability and cannot be sold/consumed as anime. As such, anime’s identity negotiates the dynamic divisions between uniformity, repetition and the global on the one hand, and diversity, variation and the local, on the other. Working through this problematic entails a different type of creativity as combinations of citations from conventional models in each performance negotiate that particular anime’s identity as an anime production and its distinction from other anime. Anime’s problematic is not only invoked through the engagement of conventionalized models of character design and narrative, but also in the technical processes/materiality of animation, which cite character models and conventionalized acting expressions when animated. Yet it is not just the material limits of the medium of animation. There is another limit in the performance of anime in the act of citation that facilitates the doing (and selling) of anime: in the repeated acts of the anime-esque, in the serialization of anime as a media-form, the contours of anime’s formal system become a factor of convergence.
Resolving a gender and language problem in women’s leadership: Consultancy research in workplace discourse
Authors: Baxter Judith
Published: March 2017

This article considers the contribution that consultancy research might make to resolving communication problems that women have identified in their leadership practices. Within the intersecting fields of gender and language and workplace discourse, consultancy research – that is, practitioner-commissioned research to resolve work-related, communication problems – is still uncommon. This article presents a study of Monika, a senior leader in an engineering company, who commissioned me to find out why she was experiencing communication problems with her teams. By using interactional sociolinguistic analysis, I was able to show Monika how her authority was being resisted on gendered, linguistic grounds. In making the case for more consultancy research, I discuss how we might use insights from discourse analysis to offer guidance to practitioners seeking our help.
Outgrowing endothelial and smooth muscle cells for tissue engineering approaches
Authors: Kolster Moritz , Wilhelmi Mathias , Schrimpf Claudia , Hilfiker Andres , Haverich Axel , Aper Thomas
Published: March 2017

In recent years, circulating progenitors of endothelial cells and smooth muscle cells were identified in the peripheral blood. In our study, we evaluated the utilization of both cell types isolated and differentiated from peripheral porcine blood in terms for their use for tissue engineering purposes. By means of density gradient centrifugation, the monocyte fraction from porcine blood was separated, split, and cultivated with specific culture media with either endothelial cell growth medium-2 or smooth muscle cell growth medium-2 for the differentiation of endothelial cells or smooth muscle cells. Obtained cells were characterized at an early stage of cultivation before the first passage and a late stage (fourth passage) on the basis of the expression of the antigens CD31, CD34, CD45, nitric oxide synthase, and the contractile filaments smooth-muscle alpha-actin (sm-alpha-actin) and smoothelin. Functional characterization was done based on the secretion of nitric oxide, the formation of a coherent monolayer on polytetrafluoroethylene, and capillary sprouting. During cultivation in both endothelial cell growth medium-2 and smooth muscle cell growth medium-2, substantially two types of cells grew out: early outgrown CD45-positive cells, which disappeared during further cultivation, and in 85% (n = 17/20) of cultures cultivated with endothelial cell growth medium-2 colony-forming late outgrowth endothelial cells. During cultivation with smooth muscle cell growth medium-2 in 80% (n = 16/20) of isolations colony-forming late outgrowth smooth muscle cells entered the stage. Cultivation with either endothelial cell growth medium-2 or smooth muscle cell growth medium-2 had selective effect on the late outgrown cells to that effect that the number of CD31-positive cells increased from 34.8% ± 13% to 83.9% ± 8% in cultures cultivated with endothelial cell growth medium-2 and the number of sm-α-actin+ cells increased from 52.6% ± 18% to 88% ± 5% in cultures cultivated with smooth muscle cell growth medium-2, respectively. Functional analyses revealed significantly higher levels of nitric oxide secretion, endothelialization capacity, and capillary formation in not expanded cultures cultivated with endothelial cell growth medium-2 in comparison to later stages of cultivation and mature aortic cells. Blood seems to be a reliable and feasible source for the isolation of both endothelial and smooth muscle cells for application in tissue engineering approaches. Whereas, early co-cultures of early and late outgrowth cells provide functional advantages, the differentiation of cells can be directed selectively by the used culture medium for the expansion of highly proliferative late outgrowth endothelial cells and late outgrowth smooth muscle cells, respectively.