bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Structural equation model linking dementia cognitive functioning, caregiver mental health, burden, and quality of informal care in Argentina
Authors: Morlett Paredes Alejandra , Perrin Paul B , Peralta Silvina V , Stolfi Miriam E , Morelli Eliana , Arango-Lasprilla Juan Carlos
Published: November 2015

The purpose of this study was to create a path model linking cognitive functioning in individuals with dementia, caregiver burden and mental health, and quality of care provided for the individual with dementia in Argentina. One hundred and two dementia caregivers from San Lucas, Argentina completed questionnaires assessing these constructs. Regressions found that caregiver burden, depression, anxiety, and satisfaction with life explained 18.8% of the variance in quality of care—respect and 14.7% of the variance in quality of care—provide. A structural equation model with generally adequate fit indices uncovered that cognitive functioning in individuals with dementia was inversely associated with caregiver burden, caregiver burden was inversely associated with mental health, and mental health was positively associated with quality of care. Further, patient cognitive functioning yielded a significant indirect effect on caregiver mental health through caregiver burden, as did burden on quality of care through mental health. Despite this negative cascade, these relationships may also be reversed with the development and use of dementia caregiver interventions that improve caregiver burden and mental health and as a result, the quality of care for individuals with dementia in Latin America.
‘A sprinkling of sugar dust’: synaesthetic practices, affective entrainment and non-representational communication
Authors: Banfield Janet
Published: November 2015

This article describes research undertaken with a ‘drawing dance’ project, which suggests that thinking about cultural practices in terms of synaesthesia and developing research methods that involve inter-practice encounters to enliven these synaesthetic qualities might help to invigorate non-representational efforts to apprehend affect.
Reflexivity as Interpretation and Genealogy in Research
Authors: Pillow Wanda S.
Published: November 2015

Building from conversations in a 2011 special issue in this journal, “Contestation and Opportunity in Reflexivity,” in which the omnipresent status yet contested terrain of reflexivity in research is highlighted, this essay takes up ontological and theoretical investments surrounding reflexivity as a way to map and make sense of what reflexivity does to research. After an overview of how reflection and reflexivity are currently put to use, Pillow turns to Kathy Ferguson’s essay, “Interpretation and Genealogy in Feminism,” as a model for tracing interpretation and genealogy in research reflexivity. Differentiating reflexivity as interpretation and reflexivity as genealogical identifies unmarked intentionalities in research as well as the irreducible necessity of both approaches in research reflexivity. The essay concludes with a discussion of how attending to the investments of reflexivity begins to address issues of epistemic privilege that continue to limit research.
The Sundance Kid
Authors: van Herk Aritha
Published: November 2015

The Canadian west differed from the American west in its depiction and its disposition. This is most strongly evident in outlaw history and mythology. This article is an intertextual and ficto-critical speculation on the bandit known as the Sundance Kid. His representation in the 1969 film Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid is read in counterpoint to his brief sojourn in southern Alberta, Canada, in the early 1890s, as Harry Longabaugh, horse breaker. His historical trace, as evidenced by census documents and vernacular histories, is juxtaposed with his folkloric depiction, and unfolded through the eyes of a viewer both skeptical and entranced by the enactment of the outlaw’s vanishing.
What a Man
Authors: Joudrey Susan L.
Published: November 2015

The Calgary Stampede is a week of entertainment born out of the practices of agricultural exhibitions and American Wild West shows. It provides a cultural display of shared attitudes concerning the popular heritage and development of Canada’s prairie west. This article specifically focuses on the image of First Nations men circulated by the Calgary Exhibition and Stampede during the 20th century. Members of the Treaty 7 Nations—Siksika, Kainai, Piikani, Tsuu T’ina, and Stoney Nakoda Nations—have always contributed to the success of the Calgary Stampede by performing their cultural past for tourists and Calgarians in the Indian Village, in parades, and as competitors. While each of these venues presented specific depictions of Canadian First Nations men, it is in the print materials that popular, White cultural expectations about Indian-ness were most widely circulated. Many portrayals of Stampede First Nations performers focused heavily on their bodies. In some of the promotional materials, as with a number of depictions of indigenous peoples, the Victorian notions of modesty and civility were often literally stripped from the Native body, and “Indians”—in the case of the Stampede, especially men— were depicted partially dressed, often exposing muscular bare-chests. Male aboriginal nudity was mostly the creation of White colonizers, and could be described as a portrayal of “manly Indianness” as they were depicted as physically strong warriors who possessed mastery over their environment.
Enacting Civility Through Comic Opera; or, Nation, Race, and Ned McGowan’s War
Authors: Davis-Fisch Heather
Published: November 2015

Popular historians have frequently described the strange events now known as Ned McGowan’s War in theatrical terms, specifically as comic opera. By taking up June Schlueter’s suggestion that “virtually all” definitions of genre “have rested their case on the ending,” this essay considers how the “generic end” of this comic opera “pointedly involves itself in ideological concerns” by examining the social world that emerges via the climax and denouement of the “War.” Considering the fears of American annexation and occupation that motivated the colonial response to the “War,” its “happy” ending reveals a highly unstable relationship between civil action and national identity at this particular moment. By considering what—and specifically who—fails to be incorporated into the world that emerges at the end of the comic opera, this essay argues that emergent notions of “white civility” in the colony relied on the drawing of and policing of strategic boundaries, in this case along not national but racial lines. The “War” was comprised of social performances which reveal not only the extent to which colonial British Columbia was a “performing society” but also that the boundaries of civil society were negotiated through theatricalized social performances.
Emerging Role of MRI for Radiation Treatment Planning in Lung Cancer
Authors: Cobben David C. P. , de Boer Hans C. J. , Tijssen Rob H. , Rutten Emma G. G. M. , van Vulpen Marco , Peerlings Jurgen , Troost Esther G. C. , Hoffmann Aswin L. , van Lier Astrid L. H. M. W.
Published: November 2015

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) provides excellent soft-tissue contrast and allows for specific scanning sequences to optimize differentiation between various tissue types and properties. Moreover, it offers the potential for real-time motion imaging. This makes magnetic resonance imaging an ideal candidate imaging modality for radiation treatment planning in lung cancer. Although the number of clinical research protocols for the application of magnetic resonance imaging for lung cancer treatment is increasing ( www.clinicaltrials.gov ) and the magnetic resonance imaging sequences are becoming faster, there are still some technical challenges. This review describes the opportunities and challenges of magnetic resonance imaging for radiation treatment planning in lung cancer.
Effects of Chronic Endurance Exercise on Doxorubicin-Induced Thymic Damage
Authors: Quinn Colin J. , Burns Patrick D. , Gibson Noah M. , Bashore Alex , Hayward Reid , Hydock David S.
Published: November 2015

The use of prior exercise training has shown promise in minimizing doxorubicin (DOX)-induced physical impairments. The purpose of this study was to compare changes in thymus mass, thymocyte (T-cell) number, and tissue peroxidation following chronic endurance exercise and DOX treatment in the rat. The thymus mass, number of viable T-cells, and levels of malondialdehyde and 4-hydroxyalkenals (MDA+4-HAE) were compared 3 days post-injection between rats assigned to the following treatment conditions: ( a) 10 weeks of endurance training, followed by a saline injection 24 hours after the last training session (TM+SAL); ( b) treadmill training as above, followed by a single, bolus 10-mg/kg injection of DOX (TM+10); ( c) treadmill training with 12.5 mg/kg of DOX (TM+12.5); ( d) sedentary (without exercise) and a saline injection (SED+SAL); ( e) sedentary with 10 mg/kg of DOX (SED+10); and ( f) sedentary with 12.5 mg/kg (SED+12.5). Thymic mass and T-cell numbers significantly decreased following DOX injections. TM rats exhibited significantly less lipid peroxidation compared with paired-dose SED groups. TM+10 did not significantly differ from SED+SAL in thymic levels of lipid peroxidation. We conclude that chronic endurance exercise decreases levels of lipid peroxidation in the thymus seen with acute DOX treatment.
Jian Pi Li Qi Decoction Alleviated Postembolization Syndrome Following Transcatheter Arterial Chemoembolization for Hepatocellular Carcinoma
Authors: Xu Litao , Wang Shiying , Zhuang Liping , Lin Junhua , Chen Hao , Zhu Xiaoyan , Bei Wenying , Zhao Qi , Wu Hongbin , Meng Zhiqiang
Published: November 2015

Objective. To evaluate the effectiveness of Jian Pi Li Qi (JPLQ) decoction in improving quality of life of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) following transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE). Methods. A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial was conducted. A total of 150 patients with HCC were randomly assigned into 3 groups. Groups were designed as follows: neither herbal medicine nor placebo administration (group A), placebo treatment (group B), and JPLQ decoction treatment (group C). The measurement methods of the observed outcomes include MD Anderson Symptom Inventory–Gastrointestinal module, armpit temperature, and laboratory tests. Results. Among the 140 patients studied, the 12 symptoms rated as most severe, which characterize postembolization syndrome (PES), were fever, pain, fatigue, nausea, disturbed sleep, distress, lack of appetite, drowsiness, dry mouth, vomiting, constipation, and feeling bloated. All these increased significantly (all P < .05) after TACE; 7 symptoms, including fever, pain, fatigue, lack of appetite, drowsiness, dry mouth, and constipation (all P < .05), were found to be relieved significantly by JPLQ. JPLQ also improved the liver function damage caused by TACE. Conclusion. JPLQ decoction may be an effective modality to relieve PES and protect liver function in patients with HCC after TACE.
“Call Me a Little Critical if You Will”
Authors: Chang Aurora
Published: November 2015

This article examined a group of Latina students studying abroad. It highlighted ways in which identity manifests itself for Latinas in different contexts. It used counterstories, stories of historically marginalized groups in education. Primary findings were cultural dissonance; a reflection of past, present, and privilege; and the critical consumption of knowledge. Institutional suggestions to increase participation of students of color in study abroad programs and recommendation of effective practices are provided.
Violent and Nonviolent Youth Offenders
Authors: Lai Violet , Zeng Gerald , Chu Chi Meng
Published: November 2015

Youth violence is a costly social problem. This study compared the risk and needs of nonviolent youth offenders, with those who had committed violent offenses only (violent only) and those who had committed violent and nonviolent offenses (violent plus) to determine whether violent youth were a different “type” from nonviolent youth. The case files of 3,744 youth offenders (3,327 males and 417 females, between 12 and 18 years old) were retrospectively coded, before official recidivism records were obtained. Multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA), χ2, and Cox regressions were conducted. Violent-plus youth were younger; higher in their total risk and all criminogenic needs; more likely to have several noncriminogenic needs; and at higher risk of any reoffending, violent reoffending, and nonviolent reoffending than nonviolent youth. Violent-only youth had the same total risk and risk of general and violent recidivism as nonviolent offenders but presented different criminogenic and noncriminogenic needs and risk of nonviolent recidivism. Compared to violent-only youth, violent-plus youth were younger, had higher total risk and criminogenic needs on five domains, were more likely to have several noncriminogenic needs, and were at higher risk of all types of reoffending (except sexual reoffending), suggesting subtypes of violent youth offenders. The implication is that nonviolent and violent youth offenders require different dosage and types of intervention.
Lost and Found and Lost Again
Authors: Nyman Elizabeth , Teten Ryan Lee
Published: November 2015

The popularity of video games is at an all-time high among today’s population. Game designers and producers spend years on plot and character development, the creation of appropriate settings, and providing the player with a ludic experience that is both enriching and perplexing. This article looks at the creation of virtual utopian societies as the basis for contemporary video games. Just as the world today sees many conflicts over island rights, island sovereignties, and, sometimes, the creation of artificial islands that seek to escape governance of existing countries, video games have embraced the creation of a separate society for settings that explore new or extreme forms of individual, societal, and political development. Examining the BioShock series, this article looks at how video games and their designers have used utopic theories of society to create new experiences, potentialities, and ethical dilemmas for the players.
Biological Response of Positron Emission Tomography Scan Exposure and Adaptive Response in Humans
Authors: Schnarr Kara , Carter Timothy F. , Gillis Daniel , Webber Colin , Lemon Jennifer A. , Dayes Ian , Dolling Joanna A. , Gulenchyn Karen , Boreham Douglas R.
Published: November 2015

The biological effects of exposure to radioactive fluorodeoxyglucose (18F-FDG) were investigated in the lymphocytes of patients undergoing positron emission tomography (PET) procedures. Low-dose, radiation-induced cellular responses were measured using 3 different end points: (1) apoptosis; (2) chromosome aberrations; and (3) γH2AX foci formation. The results showed no significant change in lymphocyte apoptosis, or chromosome aberrations, as a result of in vivo 18F-FDG exposure, and there was no evidence the PET scan modified the apoptotic response of lymphocytes to a subsequent 2 Gy in vitro challenge irradiation. However, lymphocytes sampled from patients following a PET scan showed an average of 22.86% fewer chromosome breaks and 39.16% fewer dicentrics after a subsequent 2 Gy in vitro challenge irradiation. The effect of 18F-FDG exposure on phosphorylation of histone H2AX (γH2AX) in lymphocytes of patients showed a varied response between individuals. The relationship between γH2AX foci formation and increasing activity of 18F-FDG was not directly proportional to dose. This variation is most likely attributed to differences in the factors that combine to constitute an individual’s radiation response. In summary, the results of this study indicate18F-FDG PET scans may not be detrimental but can elicit variable responses between individuals and can modify cellular response to subsequent radiation exposures.
Middle cerebral artery aneurysm surgery after stent misplacement: A case report
Authors: Al-Schameri Abdul Rahman , Lunzer Manuel , Daller Cornelia , Kral Michael , Killer Monika
Published: November 2015

Stent misplacement during endovascular treatment of middle cerebral artery (MCA) aneurysms can cause challenges and be problematic, if clipping becomes necessary. This article reports on a 56-year-old woman with an unruptured, multi-lobulated MCA aneurysm, whom primarily refused surgery; therefore, she was scheduled for stent-assisted coiling. After successful deployment of the stent, it unfortunately then became snagged by the microcatheter and was pulled backwards. The subsequent surgical procedure (i.e. clipping of the MCA aneurysm) was challenging, due to the position of the dislodged stent. Such as misplacement of the stent is rarely documented: It resulted in the difficult handling of a MCA aneurysm. Aneurysms of the MCA should primarily be considered for surgical clipping. In conclusion, an increased risk for eventual surgery should be considered, in cases where endovascular treatments with stents are performed.
Complete-member Ethnography
Authors: Chuang Hsun-Yu Sharon
Published: November 2015

Within the vast array of ethnographic research methodology, complete-member ethnography (CME) is one ethnographic inquiry whose methodological development is still in infantile in intercultural communication research. Specifically in this article, the author includes four major sections to understand and to advance CME. First, the author reviews the historical development of CME, and realizes epistemological intimacy as the core of CME and as how researchers’ complete-memberships may be established. Second, the author explains the concept and practice of epistemological intimacy in extant literature. Third, the author advances the concept of epistemological intimacy to identify and explain five contextual factors that influence a complete-member ethnographer’s complete-membership to his or her research community. The five factors include historicity of identity, institutional memory, situational (inter)subjectivity, consensual membership, and symbolic codes. In order to elucidate that said factors are essentially interrelated, the author supplements the five factors with her conceptualizations of selfhood/identity. In the end, the author discusses three potential contributions of how CME can advance critical communication research, which pertain to (a) praxis and reflexivity, (b) challenging struggles and inequalities in power and privilege, and (c) promote hopeful social justice from within.
The Methodological Dynamism of Grounded Theory
Authors: Ralph Nicholas , Birks Melanie , Chapman Ysanne
Published: November 2015

Variations in grounded theory (GT) interpretation are the subject of ongoing debate. Divergences of opinion, genres, approaches, methodologies, and methods exist, resulting in disagreement on what GT methodology is and how it comes to be. From the postpositivism of Glaser and Strauss, to the symbolic interactionist roots of Strauss and Corbin, through to the constructivism of Charmaz, the field of GT methodology is distinctive in the sense that those using it offer new ontological, epistemological, and methodological perspectives at specific moments in time. We explore the unusual dynamism attached to GT’s underpinnings. Our view is that through a process of symbolic interactionism, in which generations of researchers interact with their context, moments are formed and philosophical perspectives are interpreted in a manner congruent with GT’s essential methods. We call this methodological dynamism, a process characterized by contextual awareness and moment formation, contemporaneous translation, generational methodology, and methodological consumerism.
A Novel Visual Method for Studying Complex Health Transitions for Older People Living With Dementia
Authors: Parke Belinda , Hunter Kathleen F. , Marck Patricia Beryl
Published: November 2015

Understanding the complexity of health services for older people living with dementia is a challenging research endeavor. We discuss a novel research approach that combines photographic methods with storyboarding techniques to understand the views of older people living with dementia who encounter the emergency department. A social ecological theoretical position was taken to study relationships between health care systems and processes and the social arrangements of those receiving care. The research approach uncovers complex contextual factors in health care systems that are amenable to change. The approach strengthens the contribution of older people living with dementia to have their voice included in research endeavors.
The Less Said, the Better
Authors: Kawabata Makie , Gastaldo Denise
Published: November 2015

Silence has not been fully appreciated in qualitative research, despite an increased awareness of its significance in communication. Cultural indifference toward silence not only inhibits researchers’ abilities to construct meaningful accounts but also negatively influences research outcomes. Drawing on the findings from our study, this article illustrates ways in which silence can be used in data analysis and how our reflexive approach reveals the underlying meanings of silence. We discuss cultural and historical contexts that have shaped the meanings of silence in a collectivist society and contrast them with the values of individualistic cultures. We also provide recommendations for researchers to treat silence as relevant and for reviewers to be culturally sensitive in evaluating it in research conducted in non-Western settings. Finally, we propose that qualitative research assessment criteria should be considered as a manifestation of Anglo-American academic culture in a globalized era of knowledge production in qualitative research.
Grounded Theory
Authors: Martínez Pérez Guillermo , Mubanga Mwenya , Aznar Concepción Tomás , Bagnol Brigitte
Published: November 2015

A study on how Zambian migrants living in Cape Town perceive and experience the implications of labial elongation on women’s health was conducted. Labia minora elongation (LME) is a genital modification that some women in east and southern Africa practice. This tradition is not common in Western Cape province (southwestern part of South Africa). The aim of this article is to discuss the methodological choices made in the design and conduct of this study, in which a White European male interviewed the female study participants on the health implications of a practice that is considered a woman’s private issue. Constructivist grounded theory informed by a feminist perspective was chosen as the most suitable methodological approach to enable cogeneration of knowledge with the female participants. The methods and tools used by the lead investigator facilitated access to the participants’ emic views. Grounded theory methodology holds the potential to be an appropriate methodological approach for researchers who seek to erode the power imbalances influencing research processes that aim to explore the associated meanings and health implications of female genital modifications, such as LME, as narrated by the women who practice them.
Design and analysis of a wheel-legged hybrid locomotion mechanism
Authors: Zheng Change , Liu Jinhao , Grift Tony E , Zhang Zichao , Sheng Tao , Zhou Jiangwenjie , Ma Yuliang , Yin Ming
Published: November 2015

A wheel-legged hybrid robot was put forward. First, the mechanical design of this chassis was introduced. Second, based on the kinematic analysis, comparison between the robot with the active transition system and that with the passive transition system was made. Third, the process of overcoming three kinds of obstacles was simulated. Finally, the conclusion can be made that this hybrid locomotion mechanism with the active transition system has good performance on rough terrains.
Research on the induction motor current signature for centrifugal pump at cavitation condition
Authors: Luo Yin , Zhixiang Xiong , Sun Hui , Yuan Shouqi , Yuan Jianping
Published: November 2015

Cavitation is a major undesirable phenomenon for centrifugal pump because it can cause hydraulic performance deterioration, pump damage by pitting and material erosion, and structural vibration and noise. Cavitation can appear within the entire range of the operating conditions; therefore, it must be prevented by all means. Sensorless monitoring technology based on motor current signature analysis is non-intrusive and economic for monitoring motor-driven equipment. Thus, this technology is suitable for centrifugal pump systems. The motor current signature for centrifugal pump load at the cavitation condition is the basis of this technology. However, systematic research is lacking on sensorless monitoring technology based on motor current signature. As a result, the tentative exploration for motor current signature at cavitation load was conducted in this study. The results show that the stator current is still a sinusoidal alternating current strictly to the law of sine. Moreover, the root mean square of the current fluctuates because of different flow regimes in the cavitation progress and decreases because vapor density is smaller than water density when cavitation is fully formed. For the stator current spectrum, the noise level, noise distribution, rotation speed, and vane pass frequency components show features in the cavitation process. These indicator indexes change according to the stage of cavitation development. Thus, the motor current signature analysis is found to be a feasible and cost-effective method for the stages of cavitation condition.
Studying abroad inclusively
Authors: Prohn Seb M , Kelley Kelly R , Westling David L
Published: November 2015

Postsecondary education programs have increased opportunities for students with and without intellectual disabilities to study abroad as inclusive classes. Using open-coding qualitative techniques, the authors examined an inclusive study abroad group’s daily reflective journals during a study abroad trip to London and Dublin. Three shared categories emerged from analysis: personal development, bonding/social inclusion, and learning from English and Irish adults with intellectual disabilities. Each group reported two distinct categories as well. Students with intellectual disabilities described the importance of mobility/transportation and fun, while their classmates without intellectual disabilities described the importance of inclusive learning and an increasing awareness of barriers to full participation for people with disabilities. Student-constructed categories are used to describe the benefits of inclusive study abroad and build future inclusive international opportunities.
The Practical Use of Other Realities: Taking Berger and Luckmann into the Wild
Authors: Hoffman Steve G.
Published: November 2015

The sociology of knowledge that followed The Social Construction of Reality shifted from the study of rarified ideas to practical activity, focusing on the stabilization of a sense of shared reality. The opposite side of this shift in emphasis has received much less attention – activities that place reality into a state of play and, in so doing, call attention to its ephemerality. I discuss three empirical areas where the practical use of other realities is central to the sociology of knowledge. First, I document cases in which skilled practitioners, such as airline pilots, safety engineers, and athletes, use simulation to prepare for events that are understood as highly uncertain and risky. Next, I describe how other realities are mobilized epistemologically, such as through experimentation in technoscience and experimentalism in unrealized or ‘unbuilt’ art and architecture. Finally, I consider autotelic and transcendent social experiences through fantasy and technological mediations like augmented realities.
The Five Pillars of Essentialism: Reification and the Social Construction of an Objective Reality
Authors: Zerubavel Eviatar
Published: November 2015

Drawing on Berger and Luckmann’s discussion of reification, this paper examines the five aspects of essentialism that make the social construction of a seemingly objective reality possible. The five aspects are religion (as typically manifested in the idea of ‘God’), science (as typically manifested in the idea of ‘Nature’), reason (as typically manifested in the notion of ‘Logic’), universalism (as typically manifested in the notion of ‘Everybody’), and eternalism (as typically manifested in the notion of ‘Always’). They constitute the foundations of the process of making the merely intersubjective and conventional seem objective and inevitable.
The safety and efficacy of single balloon enteroscopy in the elderly
Authors: Davis-Yadley Ashley H. , Lipka Seth , Rodriguez Andrea C. , Nelson Kirbylee K. , Doraiswamy Vignesh , Rabbanifard Roshanak , Kumar Ambuj , Brady Patrick G.
Published: November 2015

Background:

Single balloon enteroscopy (SBE) is an important tool in the management of small bowel disease with limited data available on its performance in the elderly. We aimed to evaluate the safety, efficacy, diagnostic and therapeutic outcomes of SBE in the elderly.

Methods:

A retrospective review was performed on 366 patients undergoing 428 SBEs from 2010 to 2014. Patients were divided into different age groups: control <55, 55–64, 65–74 and ⩾75 years. Data on comorbidities, complications, findings, diagnostic and therapeutic yield were compared between groups.

Results:

Anterograde and retrograde SBE were performed in 340 and 49 patients, respectively, with 63 patients requiring more than 1 procedure. Diagnostic yield was significantly higher for age ⩾75 years compared with <55, 66.3% versus 50%, odds ratio (OR) 1.97 [95% confidence interval (CI) 1.14–3.41]. Therapeutic yield was significantly higher in all three older age groups compared with <55 years, 20.3%: 55–64 years, 44.4%, OR 3.13(95% CI 1.7–5.78); 65–74 years, 42%, OR 2.84 (95% CI 1.59–5.06); and >75 years, 47.5%, OR 3.55 (95% CI 1.96–6.43). No significant difference was seen between age groups in complications or failures. Our overall complication rate was 2.3% with 5 minor and 5 major complications. There was a higher yield of angioectasias in the elderly. Argon plasma coagulation (APC) and multipolar electrocoagulation were used more often in older age groups.

Conclusion:

SBE is safe in elderly patients and delivers higher diagnostic and therapeutic yields compared to younger patients. The elderly are more likely to have angioectasias and undergo APC and electrocoagulation.
The role of neoadjuvant therapy in the management of locally advanced renal cell carcinoma
Authors: Borregales Leonardo D. , Adibi Mehrad , Thomas Arun Z. , Wood Christopher G. , Karam Jose A.
Published: November 2015

In the past decade, the armamentarium of targeted therapy agents for the treatment of metastatic renal cell carcinoma (RCC) has significantly increased. Improvements in response rates and survival, with more manageable side effects compared with interleukin 2/interferon immunotherapy, have been reported with the use of targeted therapy agents, including vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitors (sunitinib, sorafenib, pazopanib, axitinib), mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) inhibitors (everolimus and temsirolimus) and VEGF receptor antibodies (bevacizumab). Current guidelines reflect these new therapeutic approaches with treatments based on risk category, histology and line of therapy in the metastatic setting. However, while radical nephrectomy remains the standard of care for locally advanced RCC, the migration and use of these agents from salvage to the neoadjuvant setting for large unresectable masses, high-level venous tumor thrombus involvement, and patients with imperative indications for nephron sparing has been increasingly described in the literature. Several trials have recently been published and some are still recruiting patients in the neoadjuvant setting. While the results of these trials will inform and guide the use of these agents in the neoadjuvant setting, there still remains a considerable lack of consensus in the literature regarding the effectiveness, safety and clinical utility of neoadjuvant therapy. The goal of this review is to shed light on the current body of evidence with regards to the use of neoadjuvant treatments in the setting of locally advanced RCC.
Pazopanib in the treatment of advanced renal cell carcinoma
Authors: Cella David , Beaumont Jennifer L.
Published: November 2015

Pazopanib is an orally available multitargeted tyrosine kinase inhibitor (a class of targeted therapies) that inhibits tumor angiogenesis and cell proliferation. The safety and efficacy of pazopanib (noninferior to sunitinib for progression-free survival) in patients with advanced or metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC) have been demonstrated in several clinical trials. However, in addition to therapeutic efficacy, treatment choices should also take into account health-related quality of life (HRQoL) aspects of cancer therapy. Here, we summarize the HRQoL findings related to pazopanib use, based on patient-reported outcome measures; pazopanib has been shown to be superior to sunitinib on several HRQoL domains (including patient preference). A further consideration for treatment choice is how well the findings from clinical trials correlate with evidence from general clinical practice. This review therefore includes descriptions of real-world experience of pazopanib use in the treatment of patients with mRCC, following its approval by medical regulatory authorities in a number of countries. Naturalistic observational studies demonstrate that the efficacy of pazopanib in patients with mRCC is consistent with clinical trial findings. Similarly, consistent results were observed for the safety profile of pazopanib between observational studies and clinical trials, with most treatment-associated adverse events being mild to moderate in severity, and manageable.
The reliability of the McCabe score as a marker of co-morbidity in healthcare-associated infection point prevalence studies
Authors: Reilly JS , Coignard B , Price L , Godwin J , Cairns S , Hopkins S , Lyytikäinen O , Hansen S , Malcolm W , Hughes GJ
Published: November 2015

This study aimed to ascertain the reliability of the McCabe score in a healthcare-associated infection point prevalence survey.   A 10 European Union Member States survey in 20 hospitals (n = 1912) indicated that there was a moderate level of agreement (κ = 0.57) with the score. The reliability of the application of the score could be increased by training data collectors, particularly with reference to the ultimately fatal criteria. This is important if the score is to be used to risk adjust data to drive infection prevention and control interventions.
Artificial Pancreas Device Systems for the Closed-Loop Control of Type 1 Diabetes
Authors: Trevitt Sara , Simpson Sue , Wood Annette
Published: November 2015

Background:

Closed-loop artificial pancreas device (APD) systems are externally worn medical devices that are being developed to enable people with type 1 diabetes to regulate their blood glucose levels in a more automated way. The innovative concept of this emerging technology is that hands-free, continuous, glycemic control can be achieved by using digital communication technology and advanced computer algorithms.

Methods:

A horizon scanning review of this field was conducted using online sources of intelligence to identify systems in development. The systems were classified into subtypes according to their level of automation, the hormonal and glycemic control approaches used, and their research setting.

Results:

Eighteen closed-loop APD systems were identified. All were being tested in clinical trials prior to potential commercialization. Six were being studied in the home setting, 5 in outpatient settings, and 7 in inpatient settings. It is estimated that 2 systems may become commercially available in the EU by the end of 2016, 1 during 2017, and 2 more in 2018.

Conclusions:

There are around 18 closed-loop APD systems progressing through early stages of clinical development. Only a few of these are currently in phase 3 trials and in settings that replicate real life.
The Designed Environment and How it Affects Brain Morphology and Mental Health
Authors: Golembiewski Jan A.
Published: November 2015

Background:

The environment is inextricably related to mental health. Recent research replicates findings of a significant, linear correlation between a childhood exposure to the urban environment and psychosis. Related studies also correlate the urban environment and aberrant brain morphologies. These findings challenge common beliefs that the mind and brain remain neutral in the face of worldly experience.

Aim:

There is a signature within these neurological findings that suggests that specific features of design cause and trigger mental illness. The objective in this article is to work backward from the molecular dynamics to identify features of the designed environment that may either trigger mental illness or protect against it.

Method:

This review analyzes the discrete functions putatively assigned to the affected brain areas and a neurotransmitter called dopamine, which is the primary target of most antipsychotic medications. The intention is to establish what the correlations mean in functional terms, and more specifically, how this relates to the phenomenology of urban experience. In doing so, environmental mental illness risk factors are identified.

Conclusions:

Having established these relationships, the review makes practical recommendations for those in public health who wish to use the environment itself as a tool to improve the mental health of a community through design.
Protest and Accountability without the Press
Authors: Hughes Sallie , Mellado Claudia
Published: November 2015

We examine political news in Chilean newspapers after elections were reestablished, including a recent period of civic protests of policies linked to the authoritarian past. Data show that similar to journalism in Western democracies, throughout the twenty-one years under study, journalists relied upon official sources, allowed politicians to set the news agenda, and eschewed civil society in favor of representing citizens as voiceless individuals. However, news frames changed during the protest period in unexpected ways given current understandings of the press and civil society. During the protest period, the press framed a greater percentage of coverage as issues and offered contextualization while continuing to privilege official sources, defer agenda setting to politicians, and disregard collective organizations. Based on research elsewhere, issue frames and context may reorient causal attribution for social problems and encourage greater participation. Shortly after the study period, reform topped the political agenda, and disputed policies were overhauled. Connecting content to protests through time sequencing, findings suggest rethinking the relationship between civil society visibility in the press and processes of social accountability. They also provide an example of how legacies of authoritarianism may affect the press under democracy, helping advance theories of press performance beyond experiences in the West.
Stereoscopy Amplifies Emotions Elicited by Facial Expressions
Authors: Hakala Jussi , Kätsyri Jari , Häkkinen Jukka
Published: November 2015

Mediated facial expressions do not elicit emotions as strongly as real-life facial expressions, possibly due to the low fidelity of pictorial presentations in typical mediation technologies. In the present study, we investigated the extent to which stereoscopy amplifies emotions elicited by images of neutral, angry, and happy facial expressions. The emotional self-reports of positive and negative valence (which were evaluated separately) and arousal of 40 participants were recorded. The magnitude of perceived depth in the stereoscopic images was manipulated by varying the camera base at 15, 40, 65, 90, and 115 mm. The analyses controlled for participants’ gender, gender match, emotional empathy, and trait alexithymia. The results indicated that stereoscopy significantly amplified the negative valence and arousal elicited by angry expressions at the most natural (65 mm) camera base, whereas stereoscopy amplified the positive valence elicited by happy expressions in both the narrowed and most natural (15–65 mm) base conditions. Overall, the results indicate that stereoscopy amplifies the emotions elicited by mediated emotional facial expressions when the depth geometry is close to natural. The findings highlight the sensitivity of the visual system to depth and its effect on emotions.
Quality Bible Translation in Minority Languages: Can It Be Done?
Authors: Daams Nico
Published: November 2015

This article aims to establish that a Bible team translating the Bible in a minority language can have the same level of quality as a translation carried out by a large, well-funded team in a national language. In order to validate this claim, the article first looks at the criteria of a good-quality translation, and then investigates how these criteria are affected by the different contexts in which Bible translation takes place. The final conclusion states what conditions must be met in minority Bible translation projects to achieve good-quality translations.
Framing the Anthropocene: The good, the bad and the ugly
Authors: Dalby Simon
Published: November 2015

The Anthropocene has become a key theme in contemporary speculations about the meaning of the present and the possibilities for the future. While ecomodernists argue that current circumstances present opportunities and possibilities for a thriving future for humanity, a ‘good Anthropocene’, critics suggest that the future will be bad for at least most of humanity as we accelerate the sixth extinction event on the planet. The geopolitics of all this, which may be very ugly in coming decades, requires much further elucidation of the common Anthropocene tropes currently in circulation. As with the classic Western movie, in the search for the gold neither ‘the good’ nor ‘the bad’ have the whole story; ‘the ugly’ will probably turn out to be decisive in determining how things play out. How the Anthropocene is interpreted, and who gets to invoke which framing of the new human age, matters greatly both for the planet and for particular parts of humanity. All of which is now a key theme in the discussions of political ecology that requires careful evaluation of both how geology has recently become so important in global politics, and in discussions of humanity’s future, and how scholars from various disciplines might now usefully contribute to the discussion.
The Affordances of Social Networking Sites for Relational Maintenance in a Distrustful Society: The Case of Azerbaijan
Authors: Pearce Katy E. , Barta Kristen , Fesenmaier Margaret A.
Published: November 2015

The Internet and social media afford opportunities for relational maintenance, but most scholarship has focused on relational maintenance in high-trust environments. This study explores relational maintenance online and offline in a distrustful society. In distrustful societies, trust is situated within one’s particularized kin network, and friendships have strategic significance and are characterized by norms of reciprocity. In distrustful societies, relational maintenance behaviors are different from trustful societies and take on greater significance. This preliminary study, based on informant interviews in Azerbaijan, examines both offline relational maintenance and the affordances of social networking sites (SNSs) for relational maintenance in such an environment. SNSs do provide for some relational maintenance behaviors through supplementing offline behaviors at a low cost and give some additional benefits like status display, yet SNSs do not replace traditional relational maintenance behaviors in Azerbaijan.
Picturing probation: Exploring the utility of visual methods in comparative research
Authors: Carr Nicola , Bauwens Aline , Bosker Jacqueline , Donker Andrea , Robinson Gwen , Sučić Ines , Worrall Anne
Published: November 2015

A previous review of research on the practice of offender supervision identified the predominant use of interview-based methodologies and limited use of other research approaches (Robinson and Svensson, 2013). It also found that most research has tended to be locally focussed (i.e. limited to one jurisdiction) with very few comparative studies. This article reports on the application of a visual method in a small-scale comparative study. Practitioners in five European countries participated and took photographs of the places and spaces where offender supervision occurs. The aims of the study were two-fold: firstly, to explore the utility of a visual approach in a comparative context; and secondly, to provide an initial visual account of the environment in which offender supervision takes place. In this article, we address the first of these aims. We describe the application of the method in some depth before addressing its strengths and weaknesses. We conclude that visual methods provide a useful tool for capturing data about the environments in which offender supervision takes place and potentially provide a basis for more normative explorations about the practices of offender supervision in comparative contexts.
Economic Hardship, Parents’ Depression, and Relationship Distress among Couples With Young Children
Authors: Williams Deadric T. , Cheadle Jacob E.
Published: November 2015

Using data from the FFCW ( n = 1,492 couples), the authors assessed stress, health selection, and couple-crossover hypotheses by examining (1) the bidirectional association between economic hardship and depressive symptoms one, three, and five years after the birth of a child; (2) the association between economic hardship and depression on relationship distress for both parents; and (3) whether the associations vary by marital status. The results suggest a pernicious cycle for mothers after the birth of a child. Economic hardship increases depression, but maternal depression also increases economic hardship. These reinforcing mechanisms increase both mothers’ and fathers’ relationship distress. Taken together, policies aimed at strengthening couples’ relationships should work in tandem with economic and mental health policies to reach optimal outcomes for couples with young children. Effect patterns were generally consistent between married and cohabiting couples, with some variation in levels of statistical significance.
EMDR and the Treatment of Medically Unexplained Symptoms
Authors: Proudlock Simon
Published: November 2015

This current research used a single case study design to examine how Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) was effective for one individual experiencing medically unexplained chronic pain in his abdomen. EMDR is briefly explained as is how it has been adapted to be used with pain. A brief literature review is also included.