bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Young victims’ positioning: Narrations of victimhood and support
Authors: Thunberg Sara , Bruck Kjerstin Andersson
Published: June 2019

The present study aims to analyze how young people narratively negotiate their position as victims, how their social surroundings react to their victim positioning and what types of support they are offered. It is argued that those who position themselves as innocent victims receive support, while those who do not position themselves as such are left to fend for themselves. It is concluded that receiving support functions as a way for young victims to keep intact their narratives of who they are; while young people who did not receive support and acceptance for their positioning needed to re-negotiate their narrative to make sense of who they are after the victimization. Thereby, the victimizing event was incorporated into their narrative identity.
Orbitofrontal cortex volume prospectively predicts cannabis and other substance use onset in adolescents
Authors: Wade Natasha E , Bagot Kara S , Cota Claudia I , Fotros Aryandokht , Squeglia Lindsay M , Meredith Lindsay R , Jacobus Joanna
Published: June 2019

Background:

Identifying neural characteristics that predict cannabis initiation is important for prevention efforts. The orbitofrontal cortex is critical for reward response and may be vulnerable to substance-induced alterations.

Aims:

We measured orbitofrontal cortex thickness, surface area, and volume prior to the onset of use to predict cannabis involvement during an average nine-year follow-up.

Methods:

Adolescents ( n=118) aged 12–15 years completed baseline behavioral assessment and magnetic resonance imaging scans, then were followed up to 13 years with annual substance use interviews. Logistic regression examined baseline (pre-substance use) bilateral medial and lateral orbitofrontal cortex characteristics (volume, surface area, or cortex thickness) as predictors of regular cannabis use by follow-up. Post-hoc multinomial logistic regression assessed whether orbitofrontal cortex characteristics significantly predicted either alcohol use alone or cannabis+alcohol co-use. Brain-behavior relationships were assessed through follow-up correlations of baseline relationships between orbitofrontal cortex and executive functioning, reward responsiveness, and behavioral approach traits.

Results:

Larger left lateral orbitofrontal cortex volume predicted classification as cannabis user by follow-up ( p=0.025, odds ratio=1.808). Lateral orbitofrontal cortex volume also predicted cannabis+alcohol co-user status ( p=0.008, odds ratio=2.588), but not alcohol only status. Larger lateral orbitofrontal cortex volume positively correlated with greater baseline reward responsiveness ( p=0.030, r=0.348). There were no significant results by surface area or cortex thickness ( ps>0.05).

Conclusions:

Larger left lateral orbitofrontal cortex measured from ages 12–15 years and prior to initiation of substance use was related to greater reward responsiveness at baseline and predicted classification as a cannabis user and cannabis+alcohol co-user by final follow-up. Larger lateral orbitofrontal cortex volume may represent aberrant orbitofrontal cortex maturation and increasing vulnerability for later substance use.
Hypertension Knowledge and Willingness of Government Officials in a Southwestern Nigerian City to Self-Monitor Blood Pressure
Authors: Adebanjo Moses A. , Oluwasanu Mojisola M. , Arulogun Oyedunni S.
Published: June 2019

Self-monitoring of blood pressure (BP) is indispensable for the prevention and management of hypertension. Attitude and willingness to self-monitor BP have not been well investigated in Nigeria. This study investigated hypertension knowledge, attitude, and willingness of government officials in a southwestern Nigerian city to self-monitor BP. The study was a descriptive cross-sectional survey and 280 respondents completed a pretested, semistructured questionnaire. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and χ2 test. Mean age was 35.7 ± 10.6 years, 57.5% were women and 72.1% had tertiary education. Majority (65.7%) had poor knowledge about hypertension, only 1.8% recognized its symptomless nature. Majority (77.9%) had positive attitude toward being trained to self-monitor BP, while 82.1% were willing to buy self-monitoring devices. Hypertension knowledge was associated with age and marital status ( p < .05), while attitude was associated with willingness to self-monitor BP ( p < .05). Population-wide, educational interventions should be intensified to improve hypertension knowledge and enhance skills to self-monitor BP.
Antiretroviral Therapy Adherence Among People Living With HIV: Directed Content Analysis Based on Information-Motivation-Behavioral Skills Model
Authors: Movahed Ehsan , Morowatisharifabad Mohammad Ali , Farokhzadian Jamileh , Nikooie Rohollah , Hosseinzadeh Mahdieh , Askarishahi Mohsen , Bidaki Reza
Published: June 2019

Antiretroviral therapy (ART) is one of the complexities of treatment and care for people living with HIV (PLHIV). It is essential to understand the challenges of admitting ART in PLHIV based on the Information Motivation Behavioral skills (IMB) model. This study was conducted using qualitative and directed content analysis on 15 participants. The participants included 10 patients and five health-care providers selected from the behavioral diseases counseling center affiliated with a medical university in southeast of Iran using purposive sampling method. Data were collected through semistructured interviews. Data analysis has led to three main categories—information, motivation, and behavioral skills—and eight subcategories. ART adherence in an Iranian context is like an iceberg that the IMB model can deeply identify underwater and unanticipated motivations and factors that lead to nonadherence. Therefore, it can be useful in designing and developing context-based nonadherence to ART interventions.
Fostering Civic Health: An Analysis of the Generative and Mediating Activities of Community-Based Organizations
Authors: Fernandez Kandyce , Robichau Robbie , Alexander Jennifer
Published: June 2019

Civic engagement in U.S. political life has declined since the 1950s resulting in a deluge of studies that explore its causes and implications. Research to date has directed little attention to the institutional role of associations as the foundation for civic engagement in all of its forms. This article utilizes institutional theory as a lens to examine the ways in which community-based organizations (CBOs), in tandem with local government, foster civic engagement, and enhance representation in their communities. Through interview data obtained from stakeholders of 18 local education foundations (LEFs) in Florida, we examine the ways in which CBOs nurture civic health with client communities (generative role) and represent their interests in local policy arenas (mediating role). Based on the results of this initial study, we argue that greater attention should be directed to the relationships between CBOs and measures of civic health given their unique capacity to foster it. Results indicate the relationship between generative and mediating activities is such that CBOs’ engagement with client communities establishes the foundational knowledge necessary for representing their interests in the interorganizational arena. In addition, CBOs were found to establish both bridging and bonding capital in the interorganizational arena through their efforts to exert influence on behalf of client communities.
Transnational urbanism interrupted: A Chinese developer’s attempts to secure approval to build the ‘New York of Africa’ at Modderfontein, Johannesburg
Authors: Ballard Richard , Harrison Philip
Published: June 2019

This article examines how developers attempt to move into new settings, and how such attempts sometimes fail. Unlike long-standing developers, who are in various ways ‘embedded’ ( Henneberry and Parris, 2013 ), newcomers have to overcome their lack of familiarity with the context of their intended project. Using the case of a proposed megaproject at Modderfontein in Johannesburg, we examine how a Chinese developer worked to articulate with the Johannesburg planning environment. It produced an extensive network by deploying its staff to Johannesburg, hiring local professional staff, winning the favour of provincial politicians and hiring consultants in the UK in order to help close a deal with planners responsible for approval. Sophisticated efforts to pitch the project to municipal planners using win-win narratives failed to satisfy the planners’ material concerns that the project would break up urban space, would be financially exclusionary and could undermine economies elsewhere in the city. The developer ultimately withdrew as a result of delays in approval combined with a financial crisis it faced in its home context. The article considers the interplay between the transnational networks that emerge around megaprojects; the communicative space of project negotiations that is characterised by different cultures of planning; and the political economic context that allows – or interrupts – transnational development.
The new knowledge politics of digital colonialism
Authors: Young Jason C.
Published: June 2019

While the impacts of information and communication technologies (ICTs) on society have been extensively studied, the most nuanced research approaches continue to focus on urban geographies in the Global North. There remains a paucity of critical work that focuses on ICT use in Indigenous, rural, and Global South communities. This paper responds to that gap by critically examining how the introduction of ICTs within Indigenous communities can exert epistemic violence against local knowledge systems. It does so through a case study of ICT usage within an Inuit community in the Canadian Arctic. I use a combination of participant observation, archival research, and semi-structured interviews to ask how the introduction of ICTs is transforming knowledge politics that impact Inuit Qaujimaningit (IQ; Inuit knowledge). I find that digital engagement erodes key components of the IQ system, including social practices within Inuit communities, travel outside of the community, and experiential learning while outside of the community. These findings have implications for the study of global digital geographies, applied research within the area of ICT for development, and Indigenous engagements with emerging technologies.
Planning for Social Equity and Emerging Technologies
Authors: Kuzio Jacqueline
Published: June 2019

Emerging technologies such as autonomous vehicles, connected vehicles, and the internet of things are rapidly advancing. Testing of autonomous vehicles is being undertaken in 24 cities across the U.S.A., and an additional 74 cities worldwide ( 1). The introduction and expansion of these new modes of transport and supporting technologies will have vast implications for social equity, depending on planning practices and policymaking. This paper explores how 20 metropolitan planning organizations prepare for emerging technologies and consider their implications for equity. A qualitative content analysis of Regional Transportation Plans (RTPs) was conducted looking for evidence of these efforts. It found that 80% of plans included planning for social equity beyond the current environmental justice requirements, 70% mentioned emerging technologies, and 20% considered the equity implications of those technologies. The results showed promising practices from a number of areas, with the Southern California Association of Governments leading the way in addressing both equity and emerging technology planning; and the RTP of Madison, WI providing the best consideration of the equity implications of emerging technologies.
Estimation of Queue Lengths, Probe Vehicle Penetration Rates, and Traffic Volumes at Signalized Intersections using Probe Vehicle Trajectories
Authors: Zhao Yan , Zheng Jianfeng , Wong Wai , Wang Xingmin , Meng Yuan , Liu Henry X.
Published: June 2019

With the development of connected vehicle technologies and the emergence of e-hailing services, a vast amount of vehicle trajectory data is being collected every day. This massive amount of trajectory data could provide a new perspective for sensing, diagnosing, and optimizing transportation networks. There has been some literature estimating traffic volumes and queue lengths at intersections using the data collected from these probe vehicles. Nevertheless, some of the existing methods only work when the penetration rate of the probe vehicles is high enough. Some other methods require two critical inputs, the distribution of the queue lengths and the penetration rate of the probe vehicles. However, these two inputs might vary a lot both spatially and temporally and are not usually known in the real world. To fill the gap, this paper proposes a novel method for the estimation of queue lengths, probe vehicle penetration rates, and traffic volumes at signalized intersections. The key step is to estimate the penetration rate of the probe vehicles from the distribution of their stopping positions at the intersections. Then, scaling up the number of probe vehicles in the queues and in the traffic according to the estimated penetration rate will give an estimate of the total queue length and the total traffic volume, respectively. The proposed method has been validated by both simulation data and real-field data. The testing results have shown that the method is ready for large-scale real-field applications.
Value stream mapping for identification and assessment of material waste in construction: A case study
Authors: Vilventhan Aneetha , Ram VG , Sugumaran S
Published: June 2019

Construction sites are plagued with numerous problems, such as improper planning and management, high amounts of waste generation and low awareness of waste reduction. Construction and demolition waste literature provides several best practises and prescriptive strategies that help minimise waste during construction. However, it lacks in the systematic identification and minimisation approach of all possibilities of waste. Therefore, studies focusing on principles and tools that help systematically analyse the inefficiencies of on-site processes leading to waste generation and philosophies addressing waste minimisation are necessary. As eliminating waste is one of the key lean principles, this article discusses the need and importance of integrating the lean construction with the construction and demolition waste management. This article aims to estimate and assess the causes of waste generation in a high-rise building construction through a case study in Chennai city (India) using value stream mapping, a key lean construction tool. Onsite monitoring and measurement were performed to quantify the amount of waste generated. A waste generation rate of 66.26 kg m−2 was identified, of which concrete, cement mortar and brick waste represented almost 90% of the total construction waste. Direct observation and interviews of site personnel were conducted to understand the causes of waste generation. A strategic framework has been proposed to improve construction and demolition waste minimisation depicting the synergy of combining lean construction principles with construction and demolition waste management strategies. The proposed framework helps in the systematic identification, assessment and minimisation of on-site construction waste generation.
Heat transfer and smoke flow filling progress in a super-high atrium under influence of fire source characteristics
Authors: Chen Yanqiu , Wang Dong , Chen Junmin
Published: June 2019

Heat transfer and smoke flow filling progress in a super-high atrium is studied in this article. The influences of heat release rate and fire source height were considered. It was found that the fire smoke layer could not reach the top of the atrium when the heat release rate was very low and the fire source was located at the bottom of the atrium. The temperature of smoke layer interface and Δ Tmax were linearly positively related to Q2/3, while Δ Pmax was quadratically positively related to Q2/3. At the top of the atrium, the temperature rise and fire source height were consistent with the Boltzmann model. As the fire smoke rose with a velocity, a relatively low-pressure area was generated below. The pressure variation in this area was negatively index-related to the fire source height.
Arensberg, Kimball and de Valera: A story of sex and censorship
Authors: Byrne Anne , O’Sullivan Eoin
Published: June 2019

A curious Irish-American ‘international incident’ occurred at the onset of World War 2 and during the Irish ‘Emergency’ in 1940. An invitation to Éamon de Valera from Earnest Hooton, Director of the Harvard-Irish Survey, to write a preface to Family and Community in Ireland, authored by American anthropologists, Conrad Arensberg and Solon Kimball, resulted in a request to impose restrictions on the about-to-be-published text. Offended by the frequent references to sex and to the content of chapter 11, ‘Familism and Sex’, the Taoiseach (Prime Minister) of Ireland advised the Director of Harvard University Press to reconsider publication of the entire book. We investigate what happened, who was involved and how the ‘crisis’ was resolved – at least for the protagonists. We reveal some of the original unpublished text by Arensberg and Kimball, consider the circumstances of the censorship conducted on both sides of the Atlantic, the impact on the published text and the responses by the authors. We propose that further investigation into the excised content and the legacy of anthropological constructions of Irish sexualities is now warranted.
The grammar of social theory, or, negotiations in hell
Authors: Hall John A
Published: June 2019

This paper makes two claims about the grammar of social theory. The first claim is that there are three—and only three—fundamental positions in modern social theory, named here ‘enlightenment’, ‘belonging’ and ‘lower depths’. The second claim is that no position is complete, thereby allowing each position of expose the weaknesses of its rivals.
“Nothing About Us Without Us”: Reading Protests against Oppressive Knowledge Production as Guidelines for Solidarity Research
Authors: Yarbrough Dilara
Published: June 2019

Drawing from my analysis of sex worker and homeless protests as well as my experience doing ethnographic research with people experiencing homelessness and people in the sex trade, I put forth recommendations for ethical, policy-relevant research with groups of people who experience routine, normalized violence, and who are frequently silenced and misrepresented by academics and policy makers. This article analyzes protests against what activists identify as oppressive knowledge production by “outsiders” who are not sex workers or homeless. Protest events against research “about us without us” occurred between 2012 and 2015, and targeted academic researchers and policymakers. I draw lessons from marginalized groups’ protests against knowledge production by outsider “experts” to present three problems with traditional poverty research: pathologization, paternalism, and extractive exotification. I use my observations of protests and service provision to develop guidelines for solidarity research, a knowledge production practice that prioritizes the needs and perspectives of marginalized communities.
Disrupted Daily Activities From Interruptive Smartphone Notifications: Relations With Depression and Anxiety Severity and the Mediating Role of Boredom Proneness
Authors: Elhai Jon D. , Rozgonjuk Dmitri , Alghraibeh Ahmad M. , Yang Haibo
Published: June 2019

Little prior research on computer or smartphone interruptive notifications (INs) has examined psychological constructs associated with their adverse effects. We examined several mental health constructs in relation to disruptions in various daily activities resulting from INs. A total of 316 undergraduate students completed a web survey querying severity of depression, anxiety, boredom proneness, emotional distress tolerance, and frequency of IN-related activity disruptions. Bivariate correlations revealed that IN-related activity disruptions were positively related to levels of depression, anxiety, and boredom proneness. Using structural equation modeling, boredom proneness mediated relations between depression severity and IN-related disruptions. Results are discussed within the context of theories on cognitive resource limitations and excessive Internet use.
The Long Life of US Institutionalized White Supremacist Terror
Authors: Shor Fran
Published: June 2019

Emerging as a racial formation under specific socio-historical conditions, white supremacy enacted racial projects that institutionalized terror as a function of its hegemonic rule. From the war capitalism of the settler colonialist period in North America to the racial capitalism of that same time frame, extermination of Native Americans and enslavement of people of African descent became instruments of institutionalized white supremacist terror. From colonial to contemporary times white supremacist savage war and white racial framing of policing reinforced institutionalized white supremacist terror. Nonetheless, resistance to and deconstructions of white supremacy contested and continues to contest those racial projects and that white racial frame.
Managing supply chain uncertainty and risk in the pharmaceutical industry
Authors: Wang Michael , Jie Ferry
Published: June 2019

The purpose of the conceptual paper is to present a framework for managing pharmaceutical supply chain uncertainty and risk. The supply chain risk management strategy is critical and significant to strategically support the firms to success in the long run. However, very little research has been conducted in the pharmaceutical firms so far. Based on literature review, the supply chain integration capability is considered as effective risk management tools for mitigating the supply chain uncertainty and risk. The authors identified main types of pharmaceutical supply chain uncertainty and risk. The conceptual framework focuses on the relationships among the supply chain integration capability and pharmaceutical supply chain uncertainty and risk. This provides insights into the pharmaceutical supply chain risk management. The study focuses on the pharmaceutical industry. However, the proposed framework can be validated with an empirical work in different sectors. Moreover, this contributes to the pharmaceutical supply chain management literature.
Improvement of both handling stability and ride comfort of a vehicle via coupled hydraulically interconnected suspension and electronic controlled air spring
Authors: Qi Hengmin , Chen Yuanchang , Zhang Nong , Zhang Bangji , Wang Dong , Tan Bohuan
Published: June 2019

The trade-off between handling stability and ride comfort is a disadvantage for the bus fitted with passive suspension due to its high center of gravity and heavy load. A novel suspension configuration with both hydraulically interconnected suspension and electronic controlled air spring is created to handle this conflicting requirement. The proposed whole vehicle system model has three subsystems: a 9-degree-of-freedom vehicle multi-body model, hydraulically interconnected suspension model, and electronic controlled air spring. The electronic controlled air spring comprises an air spring and an auxiliary air chamber, and its height can be adjusted by a fuzzy controller. Then, analytical work is performed to evaluate the handling stability and ride comfort of the vehicle with different suspension configurations under various maneuvers and suspension height modes. Finally, the vehicle on-road test is conducted to experimentally validate the proposed models. Both analytical and experimental results indicate that the vehicle fitted with hydraulically interconnected suspension and electronic controlled air spring can obtain high performance for both handling stability and ride comfort.
Conceptual-level evaluation of a variable stiffness skin for a morphing wing leading edge
Authors: Wang C , Haddad Khodaparast H , Friswell MI , Magrini A , Ponza R , Benini E , Landersheim V , Laveuve D , Contell Asins C
Published: June 2019

A morphing leading edge produces a continuous aerodynamic surface that has no gaps between the moving and fixed parts. The continuous seamless shape has the potential to reduce drag, compared to conventional devices, such as slats that produce a discrete aerofoil shape change. However, the morphing leading edge has to achieve the required target shape by deforming from the baseline shape under the aerodynamic loads. In this paper, a conceptual-level method is proposed to evaluate the morphing leading edge structure. The feasibility of the skin design is validated by checking the failure index of the composite when the morphing leading edge undergoes the shape change. The stiffness of the morphing leading edge skin is spatially varied using variable lamina angles, and comparisons to the skin with constant stiffness are made to highlight its potential to reduce the actuation forces. The structural analysis is performed using a two-level structural optimisation scheme. The first level optimisation is applied to find the optimised structural properties of the leading edge skin and the associated actuation forces. The structural properties of the skin are given as a stiffness distribution, which is controlled by a B spline interpolation function. In the second level, the design solution of the skin is investigated. The skin is assumed to be made of variable stiffness composite. The stack sequence of the composite is optimised element-by-element to match the target stiffness. A failure criterion is employed to obtain the failure index when the leading edge is actuated from the baseline shape to the target shape. Test cases are given to demonstrate that the optimisation scheme is able to provide the stiffness distribution of the leading edge skin and the actuation forces can be reduced by using a spatially variable stiffness skin.
Composite adaptive posicast controller for the wing rock phenomenon in a delta-wing aircraft
Authors: Yousefimanesh Amir , Khosravi Alireza , Sarhadi Pouria
Published: June 2019

The nonlinear dynamic phenomenon like wing rock is one of the important issues in the high performance aircraft autopilot design. This phenomenon occurs in the form of constant amplitude oscillations in the roll dynamics, during the flight at high angles of attack (AOAs) and endangers carrying out the mission of an aircraft. In this paper, a composite adaptive posicast controller is designed for the wing rock phenomenon in a delta-wing aircraft with known input delay. The existence of the input delay besides the parametric uncertainties of the system dynamics adds to the complexity of the problem and can cause undesirable troubles in regulation and tracking performance or instability in the control system. Consequently, there is a need for a controller that can provide the stability and desirable regulation and tracking for the system. The proposed control method uses the system state forecasting and the composite model reference adaptive controller in an integrated control structure based on linear quadratic regulator (LQR). Combining the tracking error and the prediction error to form the adaptive laws in the composite model reference adaptive controller improves the characteristics of the system response and provides a better performance compared to the model reference adaptive controller in which the adaptive laws are formed only with the tracking error. Simulation results show the efficiency of the composite adaptive posicast controller in counteracting the system uncertainties in the presence of considerably large input delay cases.
Aquaporin-4 IgG antibody-related disorders in patients with juvenile systemic lupus erythematosus
Authors: Moraitis E , Stathopoulos Y , Hong Y , Al-Obaidi M , Mankad K , Hacohen Y , Sen D , Hemingway C , Eleftheriou D
Published: June 2019

Objective

The aim of this study was to: (a) screen a large group of unselected patients with juvenile systemic lupus erythematosus for anti-aquaporin 4 antibodies (AQP4-Ab); (b) identify clinical and laboratory predictors of the presence of AQP4-Ab positivity in juvenile systemic lupus erythematosus.

Methods

Sera from 90 patients with juvenile systemic lupus erythematosus were tested for the presence of AQP4-Ab using a cell-based assay. Demographics, clinical and immunological features, treatment received were summarized. Fisher’s exact test was used to identify clinical predictors of positivity for AQP4-Ab.

Results

Five of 90 (5.5%) patients tested positive for AQP4-Ab, all of which had neurological involvement, mainly transverse myelitis and optic neuritis. AQP4-Ab-positive patients were more likely to have neurological symptoms ( P = 0.002), less likely to experience dermatological manifestations ( P = 0.045), and less likely to have detectable anti-dsDNA antibodies ( P = 0.022). These patients were also more likely to have received anti-epileptic ( P = 0.023) and anti-coagulant ( P = 0.007) drugs.

Conclusions

The findings of this study indicate that some patients with juvenile systemic lupus erythematosus develop antibodies against aquaporin-4 and may be at risk of developing a neurological clinical phenotype. We suggest that all juvenile systemic lupus erythematosus patients should be systematically screened for the presence of AQP4-Ab and this may help identify a high risk for neurological involvement in juvenile systemic lupus erythematosus.
Development of a polarized hyperspectral imaging system for investigation of absorption and scattering properties
Authors: Xu Jun-Li , Gobrecht Alexia , Gorretta Nathalie , Héran Daphné , Gowen Aoife A , Bendoula Ryad
Published: June 2019

This study was carried out to investigate the feasibility of an original polarized hyperspectral imaging setup in the spectral range of 400–1100 nm for enhancement of absorbance signal measurement on highly scattering samples. Spatial response and spectral calibration have been verified, indicating the consistency of this system and reliability of the acquired data. Model samples consisting of layered sand were prepared and used to uncover the hidden spectral information. In the model matrix, sand worked as scattering particle and dye E141 as absorbing material. Cross ([Formula: see text]) and parallel ([Formula: see text]) reflectance signals, along with the back-scattered reflectance, [Formula: see text]([Formula: see text]+[Formula: see text]) and the weakly scattered reflectance [Formula: see text] ([Formula: see text]−[Formula: see text]) spectra were computed and compared. Results demonstrated that cross-polarized images showed more subsurface information from the second layer due to the rejection of the superficial reflectance, while weakly scattered reflectance ([Formula: see text]) preserved only the surface information from the first layer. In addition, polarized light spectroscopy absorbance based on Dahm's equation in the frame of the representative layer theory and standard normal variate preprocessing [Formula: see text] spectra were also obtained from the prepared model matrix. The visual inspection of spectral curves revealed that [Formula: see text] and PoLiS absorbance showed two narrow peaks at 405 nm and 630 nm that were less impacted by multi-scattering effects. Partial least squares regression models were developed to predict dye concentration in the mixture sample. Consistent with the spectral profiles, [Formula: see text] and PoLiS absorbance presented the best model performances with determination of coefficients of prediction ([Formula: see text]) equal to 0.96 and 0.95, respectively. The resulting distribution maps of S1/S2 sand sample again confirmed the superior performance of [Formula: see text] and PoLiS absorbance, manifesting their better ability to reveal chemically related information. The overall results obtained in this research showed that the developed polarized-hyperspectral imaging system coupled with scattering correction methods has great potential for the analysis of powdered or turbid samples.
Governing urban diversity: Multi-scalar representations, local contexts, dissonant narratives
Authors: Raco Mike , Tasan-Kok Tuna
Published: June 2019

In recent academic and urban policy writings the term urban diversity is usually understood, or discussed within the context of, increasing ‘socio-cultural’ diversity in cities or is explicitly connected to debates over immigration and demographic change. Although policy agendas follow certain common trends ‘to deal with’ the consequences of diversity, there is a lack of evidence-based research on how representations of diversity are mobilised and implemented by institutions of governance operating at multiple scales and how these narratives relate to each other. Policy-makers are faced with new dilemmas over how to govern and manage cities that are becoming increasingly diverse, on the one hand, and increasingly ‘sensitive’ to certain channels of flows of people (such as refugees), on the other. In some cases, city authorities promote the idea of inclusive diversity as a mark of modernisation and tolerance. In others, its recognition may be seen as a threat to an imagined social order and is perceived to be fuelling neo-assimilationist policies in many European Union cities. This special issue aims to fill this gap by providing evidence-based research outcomes that tackle different dimensions of the governance of diversity in cities. The principal aim of the research project, named DIVERCITIES, that underpins this collection was to critically assess evidence concerning the range of socio-economic outcomes that may emerge from the presence of greater urban diversity. DIVERCITIES has shown that city policy agendas across Europe are often more ‘positive’ towards diversity than national policies and media reports. Moreover, local policy initiatives, mostly formed at the bottom-up scale, sometimes as a cooperation between state and civic actors and sometimes as purely private or even individual arrangements, address the actual needs of certain population groups by acting as bridge-builders between public authorities and target groups. This collection aims to provide a clear understanding of how diversity is understood, operationalised and dealt with at different scales of policy-making. In focusing on European examples, it provides an important addition to a literature that has become Anglo-American focused, both in terms of the concepts and policy interventions.
The connection between logic models and systems thinking concepts
Authors: Renger Ralph , Atkinson Lewe , Renger Jessica , Renger Jirina , Hart Gary
Published: June 2019

This article examines the relationship between systems thinking concepts and the logic model. Two notable shortcomings of the logic model are illustrated: depicting the program theory linearly and failing to place the program in context. Both issues lead to an artificial depiction of reality making evaluation findings difficult to interpret. Systems thinking concepts are defined and how they address these shortcomings is discussed. This article then demonstrates how many systems thinking concepts are evident in the logic model; although in a limited way. This article concludes by noting the importance of using system concepts when answering evaluation questions related to system dynamics and interrelationships.
Dynamic First Tarsometatarsal Instability During Gait Evaluated by Pedobarographic Examination in Patients With Hallux Valgus
Authors: Min Byung Cho , Chung Chin Youb , Park Moon Seok , Choi Young , Koo Seungbum , Jang Seonpyo , Lee Kyoung Min
Published: June 2019

Background:

This study aimed to investigate the pedobarographic characteristics of tarsometatarsal instability and to identify factors associated with pedobarographic first tarsometatarsal instability in patients with hallux valgus.

Methods:

Fifty-seven patients (mean age, 59.7 years; standard deviation, 11.4 years; 6 men and 51 women) with a hallux valgus angle (HVA) greater than 15 degrees were included. All patients underwent a pedobarographic examination along with weightbearing anteroposterior (AP) and lateral foot radiography. Radiographic measurements were compared between the 2 groups with and without pedobarographic first tarsometatarsal instability. The association between the radiographic and pedobarographic parameters of the first tarsometatarsal instability was analyzed using the chi-square test. Binary logistic regression analysis was performed to identify significant factors affecting pedobarographic first tarsometatarsal instability.

Results:

The HVA ( P < .001), intermetatarsal angle ( P = .001), and AP talo-first metatarsal angle were significantly different between the pedobarographically stable and unstable tarsometatarsal groups. There was no significant association between radiographic and pedobarographic instability of the first tarsometatarsal joint ( P = .924). The HVA was found to be the only significant factor affecting pedobarographic tarsometatarsal joint instability ( P = .001).

Conclusion:

The pedobarographic examination has possible clinical utility in evaluating first tarsometatarsal joint instability in patients with hallux valgus. Patients with a greater HVA should be assessed for the presence of first tarsometatarsal instability, and the necessity of the Lapidus procedure should be considered.

Level of Evidence:

Level III, comparative study.
Health and Quality of Life Outcomes Among Patients Undergoing Surgery for End-Stage Ankle Arthritis
Authors: Rajapakshe Shanika , Sutherland Jason M. , Wing Kevin , Crump Trafford , Liu Guiping , Penner Murray , Younger Alastair , Veljkovic Andrea , Redfern Kate
Published: June 2019

Background:

There is little research investigating which aspects of health-related quality of life change following ankle arthrodesis and total ankle replacement surgery. The objective of this study was to report on statistically and clinically relevant changes in multiple dimensions of health-related quality of life among patients undergoing ankle replacement or fusion surgery.

Methods:

This study was based on a prospective sample of ankle arthrodesis and total ankle replacement patients. Participants complete the Ankle Osteoarthritis Scale, EuroQoL’s EQ-5D-3L, the Patient Health Questionnaire–9, and the pain intensity, interference with enjoyment of life, and general activity pain instrument. Instruments were completed preoperatively and postoperatively. Multivariate regression models were used to measure the change in health-related quality of life outcomes, adjusting for demographic, clinical, and health service utilization.

Results:

Participants achieved statistically significant improvements in health-related quality of life in each domain of measurement. The majority of participants reported clinically significant improvement in pain. Mild depressive symptoms were common, and clinically significant improvement in depression symptoms occurred in 22% of patients. Gains in health were more pronounced among participants reporting the worst preoperative health in all domains quality of life measured.

Conclusions:

Pain showed a clinically important improvement among 64% of participants whereas 22% reported a clinically meaningful improvement in their depression symptoms postoperatively. Clinically significant gains in health-related quality of life were not experienced by all participants in all dimensions. Further research is warranted to better understand the failure of some patients to improve in dimensions of health studied.

Level of Evidence:

Level III, comparative study.
Strengthening Progress Monitoring Procedures for Individual Student Behavior Support
Authors: Conley Kathleen M. , Everett Susannah R. , Pinkelman Sarah E.
Published: June 2019

Progress monitoring is an essential element of effectively implementing individualized behavior support. Behavioral progress monitoring allows student support teams to evaluate both the effectiveness of interventions and the fidelity of plan implementation. The purpose of this discussion article is to provide recommendations and guiding questions for student support teams to build progress monitoring structures and routines across the areas of outcome and fidelity measures, implementation, and decision systems.
Influence of Interleukin-6 (IL-6) Promoter Gene Polymorphisms (−174G>C, −572G>C, and −597G>A) on IL-6 Plasma Levels and Their Impact in the Development of Acute Ischemic Stroke in Young Indians
Authors: Akhter Mohammad Suhail , Biswas Arijit , Abdullah Saleh Mohammed , Hobani Yahya , Ranjan Ravi , Behari Madhuri , Saxena Renu
Published: June 2019

This study aimed to determine whether there is an influence of interleukin 6 ( IL-6) gene promoter polymorphisms on IL-6 plasma levels and its role in the development of ischemic stroke in young Indians. One hundred young patients with ischemic stroke (age ≥ 45 years) and equal number of age- and sex-matched controls were genotyped for 174G>C, −572G>C, and −597G>A promoter polymorphisms by polymerase chain reaction–restriction fragment length polymorphism. Plasma IL-6 levels were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Plasma IL-6 levels were significantly higher in patients as compared to controls (patients: 28.61 ± 8.61 pg/mL, controls: 7.60 ± 4.10 pg/mL, P = .001). Both −174G>C (allelic χ2/ P value: 4.79/.028, genotypic χ2/ P value: 5.3/.021) and −572G>C (allelic χ2/ P value: 9.63/.00113 Genotypic χ2/ P value: 74/.0002) polymorphisms exhibited genotypic as well as allelic significant association with the disease phenotype. Comparison was made between patients and controls for all 3 polymorphisms using a recessive model with respect to plasma IL-6 levels; no polymorphism showed any significant correlative association with the increased IL-6 levels ( P = .31, .51, .32). Interleukin 6 is an inflammatory marker that is considerably influenced by nongenetic factors and is not a good candidate gene for studying genetic components associated with ischemic stroke. It seems that the variability in IL-6 levels is an integrated effect of nongenetic influences and the inflammatory events that follow ischemic stroke instead of being its cause. It is suggested that there is no direct association between −174G>C, −572G>C, and −597G>A polymorphisms and elevated IL-6 levels in the development of ischemic stroke.
Are We Differentiating Effectively for the Gifted or Not? A Commentary on Differentiated Curriculum Use in Schools
Authors: VanTassel-Baska Joyce
Published: June 2019

After reviewing curriculum materials and observing instructional practices, the author identified trends and issues in school districts related to the implementation of differentiated curriculum and stakeholders’ views. Although primary stakeholders hold positive views of a differentiated curriculum, limited differentiation is being used in the regular curriculum. When teachers used differentiated curriculum, they were quite effective in the fidelity of implementation. However, principals appeared to be disinterested in differentiating the general curriculum and left its implementation to the discretion of teachers and the gifted coordinator, and superintendents were more focused on differentiation strategies for all learners and the inclusion of underrepresented groups in the gifted program. Moreover, the implementation of differentiation was influenced by the type of grouping and concerns about student performance on the state test. The author concluded with a discussion of remedies to administrative perceptions about gifted curriculum and grouping models.
Vibroacoustic behavior of a plate surrounded by a cavity containing an inclined part–through surface crack with arbitrary position
Authors: Motaharifar F. , Ghassabi M. , Talebitooti R.
Published: June 2019

Acoustical investigation of a thin plate having a part–through surface crack surrounded by an air enclosure is studied in this paper. The enclosure comprises five rigid walls and a flexible plate based on the Kirchhoff plate theory. It is also assumed that the crack is located at an arbitrary position and orientation with a specific length. Accordingly, partial differential equation related to the coupled cracked plate–cavity system is presented. In order for the partial differential equation (PDE) to be solved, firstly, the sound pressure inside the cavity is estimated by a suitable number of the plate modes. Then, the coupled PDE decomposes to some ordinary differential equations in the time-domain by employing the Galerkin method for three different boundary conditions. In addition, the linear natural frequencies are obtained in vacuo and coupled conditions for an uncracked plate and then, a similar procedure is performed for a cracked plate. Furthermore, comparing the results with available data in the literature shows the reliability and accuracy of the present work. Finally, the influences of the crack angle, crack length, crack position, and cavity depth on the natural frequencies are investigated.
Effect of damage and support damping mechanisms on unimorph piezoelectric energy harvester
Authors: Khazaee Majid , Rezania Alireza , Rosendahl Lasse
Published: June 2019

Damping plays a critical role in power generation by piezoelectric energy harvesting, and yet there is a lack of sensitivity studies on different sources of damping. In this paper, two damping sources in unimorph piezoelectric energy harvesters, namely support loss and damage damping mechanisms, are experimentally investigated. Variations of the power generation are evaluated with respect to the sources of damping. Accordingly, the power generation model is developed according to the experimental results in this work and using a single degree of freedom analytical model. This study focuses on the debonding effect, as an internal damping source, and support loss, as a critical source of external energy dissipation. The results show that the debonding reduces the output power dramatically at resonance and, particularly, at anti-resonance frequencies. Moreover, investigation of the support loss shows that the material of clamp as well as installation torque have an impact on the support loss and, consequently, affect the output power.
Does vitamin E highly-crosslinked polyethylene convey an advantage in primary total hip replacement? A systematic review and meta-analysis
Authors: Wyatt Michael C , Roberton Andrew , Foxall-Smi Michael , Beswick Andrew D , Kunutsor Setor K , Whitehouse Michael R
Published: June 2019

Background:

Vitamin E highly cross-linked polyethylene (HXLPE) was developed to reduce wear in total hip replacement (THR). This formal systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to provide independent synthesis of wear characteristics of Vitamin E treated HXLPE compared to HXPLE/UHMWPE. Secondary outcome measures were differences in revision rates and functional scores.

Methods:

We performed a formal systematic review as per PRISMA guidelines; literature searches were conducted on 14 November 2017 (MEDLINE, Embase on Ovid, and the Cochrane Library). We included randomised controlled trials, analyses of joint registries, and case-controlled studies of primary THR comparing cups with a vitamin E HXLPE bearing with bearing surfaces made from other types of polyethylene. Initial screening was performed by 2 independent assessors; disagreement resolved in discussion with a third reviewer. Studies were evaluated using the Cochrane risk of bias tool. Data extraction permitted meta-analysis.

Results:

372 studies were identified on initial screening, 5 studies met the eligibility criteria. There was no significant heterogeneity between studies. There was variable risk of bias. At a mean of 35 (range 20–60) months, Vitamin E HXLPE had significant advantages over highly cross-linked polyethylene with regards total femoral head penetration ( p = 0.004). Given the RSA measurement errors this may not be clinically significant. There were neither significant differences in revision rates nor Harris Hip Scores ( p = 0.06).

Conclusion:

At a minimum of 3 years follow-up there was reduced total femoral head penetration for vitamin E HXLPE over HXLPE. This bearing surface does not, as yet, have clinically significant advantages in terms of revision rates or patient function over HXLPE.