bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Low Serum Vitamin D Is Not Correlated With the Severity of a Rotator Cuff Tear or Retear After Arthroscopic Repair
Authors: Ryu Keun Jung , Kim Bang Hyun , Lee Yohan , Dan Jinmyoung , Kim Jae Hwa
Published: April 2015

Background:

Despite the essential role of vitamin D in muscle function, the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency has been reported to be very high. Recently, low vitamin D level was found to correlate with fatty degeneration of the rotator cuff tendon in humans and to negatively affect early healing at the rotator cuff repair site in an animal study. However, the effects of vitamin D level on severity of rotator cuff tear and healing after surgical repair have not been documented.

Purpose:

To evaluate (1) the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency among patients who underwent arthroscopic repair for a full-thickness rotator cuff tear, (2) the relationship of vitamin D level with severity of the rotator cuff tear, and (3) surgical outcomes after repair.

Study Design:

Cohort study; Level of evidence, 2.

Methods:

A consecutive series of 91 patients (age, 50-65 years) who underwent arthroscopic rotator cuff repair for full-thickness, small-sized to massive tears were evaluated. Preoperative serum vitamin D levels (25-hydroxyvitamin) were analyzed to detect correlations with the features of a preoperative rotator cuff tear as well as postoperative structural and functional outcomes. All patients were followed clinically for a minimum of 1 year.

Results:

Preoperative vitamin D levels were deficient (<20 ng/mL) in 80 subjects (88%), insufficient (20-30 ng/mL) in 8 subjects (9%), and normal (>30 ng/mL) in 3 subjects (3%). No correlation was found between preoperative tear size ( P = .23), extent of retraction ( P = .60), degree of fatty infiltration of each cuff muscle ( P > .50 each), or the global fatty infiltration index ( P = .32). Similarly, no correlations were detected between vitamin D level and postoperative Sugaya type ( P = .66) or any of the functional outcome scores ( P > .50 each).

Conclusion:

Low serum vitamin D level was not related to tear size, extent of retraction, or the degree of fatty infiltration in cuff muscles. It also had no significant relationships with postoperative structural integrity and functional outcomes after arthroscopic repair. The results suggest that low serum vitamin D level is not a significant risk factor for the severity of rotator cuff tear or poor healing after repair.
Rétrospective et perspective d’avenir: un plan d’action pour la recherche en marketing social
Authors: Rundle-Thiele Sharyn
Published: April 2015

La pratique du marketing social est basée sur un ensemble de principes sous-jacents qui n’ont pas encore été testés. Dans le futur, une série d’expériences sera nécessaire pour amener l’application du marketing à son apogée. Cet article souligne un plan d’action pour la recherche en marketing social afin d’en repousser les limites.
“Don’t Take the Social Out of Social Work”
Authors: Johnstone Marjorie
Published: April 2015

Through an historical biographical lens, this article examines the career of an early Canadian social worker, Bessie Touzel (1904–1997). Touzel was a socialist feminist and practiced a left-leaning form of social work during the formative years of the profession. This was in tension with the earlier dominant ideas based on an imperial Anglo-Christian worldview. Two world wars, the Great Depression, and the establishment of the welfare state in Canada are the backdrop to contested ideas on the identity of the newly establishing female-dominated profession. As a woman in senior administration in early public social services, Touzel was a feminist pioneer with a vision of equal rights within a framework of universal rights. A closer look at her career illuminates not only the obstacles and challenges she faced as she strove to defend her personal social work values but also highlights the debates, which the profession struggled to reconcile.
Safety of Popular Herbal Supplements in Lactating Women
Authors: Amer Marwa R. , Cipriano Gabriela C. , Venci Jineane V. , Gandhi Mona A.
Published: April 2015

The increasing popularity and use of dietary supplements has required health care professionals to become more knowledgeable of their properties, interactions, and adverse effects. The objectives of this review were to evaluate the safety of popular dietary supplements in breastfeeding mothers and the effects on the infants. Nine of the most popular herbal dietary supplements were identified based on the 2011 US market report of the top 10 selling botanicals and the most frequently received inquiries by the Ruth A. Lawrence Lactation Study Center at the University of Rochester Medical Center. Relevant publications were identified through June 2014 using PubMed and EMBASE; tertiary references, including the Drugs and Lactation Database and Natural Medicine Comprehensive Database, were also reviewed. These herbals include black cohosh, cranberry, echinacea, evening primrose, garlic, ginseng, melatonin, milk thistle, and St John’s wort. Studies varied greatly with regard to study design, herbal intervention, and outcome measures. Findings suggested that dietary/herbal supplements have not been evaluated in high-quality clinical trials, and there is limited evidence supporting safety of use, particularly among lactating women. Therefore, it is essential for physicians to provide counseling for nursing mothers seeking information on dietary supplements, highlighting reliable safety profiles, inquiring about the potential benefits the patient is seeking, and assessing the patient’s perception of this supplement during breastfeeding. More research and clinical trials are required in this area to guide the recommendations and expand our current knowledge of these products.
Not So Innocent
Authors: Jara-Ettinger Julian , Tenenbaum Joshua B. , Schulz Laura E.
Published: April 2015

Adults’ social evaluations are influenced by their perception of other people’s competence and motivation: Helping when it is difficult to help is praiseworthy, and not helping when it is easy to help is reprehensible. Here, we look at whether children’s social evaluations are affected by the costs that agents incur. We found that toddlers can use the time and effort associated with goal-directed actions to distinguish agents, and that children prefer agents who incur fewer costs in completing a goal. When two agents refuse to help, children retain a preference for the more competent agent but infer that the less competent agent is nicer. These results suggest that children value agents who incur fewer costs, but understand that failure to engage in a low-cost action implies a lack of motivation. We propose that a naive utility calculus underlies inferences from the costs and rewards of goal-directed action and thereby supports social cognition.
‘Merguez Capitale’: The merguez sausage as a discursive construction of cosmopolitan branding, colonial memory and local flavour in Marseille
Authors: Giovanangeli Angela
Published: April 2015

Official cultural sectors increasingly deploy cosmopolitan branding efforts, based on the diversity of migrant populations, to market a city as attractive and open. These strategies, meanwhile, continue to coexist with attachments to place as well as a sense of local identification and belonging. In this paper I refer to the way food, and in particular the merguez sausage, is used as a marker to evoke both the cosmopolitan and the local specificities of the city of Marseille, once celebrated as the gateway to France’s empire. This work examines cultural initiatives, city streets, film and published Pied-Noir testimonials to argue that the merguez, a spicy sausage associated with North African cuisine, is used as a discursive construction of cosmopolitan branding, attached to a colonial memory, notably Algerian, while coexisting with the formation of local specificities in Marseille.
Semiparametric Bayesian analysis of censored linear regression with errors-in-covariates
Authors: Sinha Samiran , Wang Suojin
Published: April 2015

The accelerated failure time (AFT) model is a well-known alternative to the Cox proportional hazard model for analyzing time-to-event data. In this paper we consider fitting an AFT model to right censored data when a predictor variable is subject to measurement errors. First, without measurement errors, estimation of the model parameters in the AFT model is a challenging task due to the presence of censoring, especially when no specific assumption is made regarding the distribution of the logarithm of the time-to-event. The model complexity increases when a predictor is measured with error. We propose a non-parametric Bayesian method for analyzing such data. The novel component of our approach is to model (1) the distribution of the time-to-event, (2) the distribution of the unobserved true predictor, and (3) the distribution of the measurement errors all non-parametrically using mixtures of the Dirichlet process priors. Along with the parameter estimation we also prescribe how to estimate survival probabilities of the time-to-event. Some operating characteristics of the proposed approach are judged via finite sample simulation studies. We illustrate the proposed method by analyzing a data set from an AIDS clinical trial study.
Studies on Mounted Warfare in Asia III: The Iranian Tradition – Cavalry Equipment, Infantry, and Servants, c. ce 550–1350
Authors: Alofs Eduard
Published: April 2015

The author gives a description of the arms, armour, infantry, and servants of the Iranian military tradition of West Asia.
The Challenge of Finance in South East Asia during the Second World War
Authors: Huff Gregg , Majima Shinobu
Published: April 2015

This article analyses finance in South East Asia during the Second World War in terms of three challenges. Beginning in December 1941, Japan swiftly occupied South East Asia and immediately faced the challenge of how to finance occupation. Finance largely through printing money gave rise to a further challenge in the need to avoid hyperinflationary pressures. After the war the reoccupying powers faced their own, and a third, challenge of wartime finance in deciding how to deal with a large stock of money created during the conflict. Comparison with war finance elsewhere shows that the three challenges were met in sometimes unusual but rather effective ways.
Somali asylum seekers’ perceptions of privacy in healthcare
Authors: Eklöf Niina , Abdulkarim Hibag , Hupli Maija , Leino-Kilpi Helena
Published: April 2015

Background:

Privacy has been recognized as a basic human right and a part of quality of care. However, little is known about the privacy of Somali asylum seekers in healthcare, even though they are one of the largest asylum seeker groups in the world.

Objectives:

The aim of the study was to describe the content and importance of privacy and its importance in healthcare from the perspective of Somali asylum seekers.

Research design:

The data of this explorative qualitative study were collected by four focus group interviews with 18 Somali asylum seekers with the help of an interpreter. The data were analysed by inductive content analysis.

Ethical considerations:

Research permissions were obtained from the director of the reception centre and from the Department of Social Services. Ethical approval was obtained from the Ethics Committee of Turku University.

Findings:

The content of privacy includes visual privacy, physical privacy and informational privacy. All contents can be shared with healthcare professionals. The importance of privacy includes respect, dignity and freedom.

Discussion:

Privacy is strongly connected to the collectivism of Somali culture and religion. Unlike the Western cultures, privacy is not important only for the individual; most of all, it is seen to support collectivism.

Conclusion:

Even though all contents of privacy can be shared with healthcare professionals, it is important to recognize the cultural aspect of privacy especially when using interpreters with Somali background.
Ethical issues experienced by healthcare workers in nursing homes
Authors: Preshaw Deborah HL , Brazil Kevin , McLaughlin Dorry , Frolic Andrea
Published: April 2015

Background:

Ethical issues are increasingly being reported by care-providers; however, little is known about the nature of these issues within the nursing home. Ethical issues are unavoidable in healthcare and can result in opportunities for improving work and care conditions; however, they are also associated with detrimental outcomes including staff burnout and moral distress.

Objectives:

The purpose of this review was to identify prior research which focuses on ethical issues in the nursing home and to explore staffs’ experiences of ethical issues.

Methods:

Using a systematic approach based on Aveyard (2014), a literature review was conducted which focused on ethical and moral issues, nurses and nursing assistants, and the nursing home.

Findings:

The most salient themes identified in the review included clashing ethical principles, issues related to communication, lack of resources and quality of care provision. The review also identified solutions for overcoming the ethical issues that were identified and revealed the definitional challenges that permeate this area of work.

Conclusions:

The review highlighted a need for improved ethics education for care-providers.
Personas to Guide Understanding Traditions of Gay Men Living With HIV Who Smoke
Authors: Phillips J. Craig , Rowsell Derek J. , Boomer Jack , Kwon Jae-Yung , Currie Leanne M.
Published: April 2015

Gay men living with HIV (GMLWH) who smoke are less responsive to generalized smoking reduction and cessation (SRC) programs than heterosexual persons. This study explored perspectives of GMLWH during the design of a web-based SRC intervention. Participatory design techniques were used to guide the creation of personas that are composite representations of a person who would use the web-based SRC intervention. Researcher-participants ( n = 13) created all data. Data analysis involved thematic coding drawing from an ethnographic perspective. Thematic analysis revealed seven intersecting themes related to SRC among participants, and an overarching theme navigating life. Concepts drawn from our ethnographic approach highlight cultural differences between GMLWH and mainstream society. Personas offer a mechanism for interpreting experiences and traditions of GMLWH. SRC interventions with GMLWH must address their social realities that include tools for navigating life, disease, and social identity.
Roads Less Traveled
Authors: Ramadurai Vandhana , Sharf Barbara F. , Ramasubramanian Srividya
Published: April 2015

An increasing number of health seekers in the United States are looking outside conventional medicine to address their health needs. It is estimated that in the United States, 38% of adults use complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). Extant research characterizes CAM users as a unified homogeneous group, with little understanding of the differences among them in terms of attitudes toward body, wellness, disease, and pivotal aspects of their personal histories. In this article, we seek to better understand the nuances of who uses CAM and why, using the following questions: How do people communicate their life stories that explain their decision to use CAM? How do the life stories enable us to understand the similarities and differences among CAM users? Based on analysis of the narratives of 18 individuals, three clusters or types of CAM users emerged: natives, immigrants, and tourists. In an effort to push our analysis further, we theorized three dimensions that help to explain CAM users’ objectives, motives, and resultant sense of empowerment. Together, these dimensions comprise The Pathfinder Model of CAM Usage. The Pathfinder Model can be useful to clarify self-understanding among CAM users themselves, as well as for conventional and alternative practitioners, as they establish a working relationship and communicate with their patients during medical encounters. Understanding the path of the health seeker can help influence the quality of the relationship and the communicative strategies providers use to educate and influence.
Innovations in the Delivery of Content Knowledge in Special Education Teacher Preparation
Authors: Kennedy Michael J. , Alves Kat D. , Rodgers Wendy J.
Published: April 2015

Teacher educators are expected to provide preservice special education teachers with extensive knowledge about a variety of topics as well as allowing candidates a chance to engage in higher-level thinking about content. Today, some teacher educators are thinking “outside the box” when it comes to instructional delivery by moving beyond the traditional lecture format for instruction. This article discusses three alternatives to lecture-style instruction: (a) interteaching, (b) video-based reflection, and (c) content acquisition podcasts. Each of these strategies is a way to improve candidates’ engagement with the material while improving learning. The features and benefits of each approach are provided in addition to steps for using these strategies within teacher preparation.
Training for Fluency and Generalization of Math Facts Using Technology
Authors: Musti-Rao Shobana , Lynch Tom Liam , Plati Erin
Published: April 2015

As American students struggle with basic mathematical skills, the importance of math fact fluency has gained the attention of educators and researchers. Generalization of math fact fluency is also important for the transfer of skills to other settings and formats, assisting students in the completion of more varied and complicated math tasks. This column explores technology in the classroom and use of mobile applications (i.e., apps) to train students in fluency and generalization of math facts. Key features of apps that teachers should consider for classroom use are described and ways in which apps can provide students with a variety of stimulus and response conditions to promote fluency and generalization of math facts are highlighted.
Fictions of the Possible
Authors: Beyes Timon
Published: April 2015

If the study of public entrepreneurship is directed at processes of social transformation, then it invariably encounters the manifold experiments of contemporary art and their socio-political effects. This short paper seeks to throw this encounter into sharper relief. After contextualizing the relation of art and social transformation, an example of a recent artistic intervention is presented. In conclusion, it is argued that art’s paradoxical potential to identify and disidentify with forms of life offers fictions of the possible: ambiguous, performative and preliminary reorderings of what can be perceived, expressed and done.
Histological Spectrum of Idiopathic Noncirrhotic Portal Hypertension in Liver Biopsies From Dialysis Patients
Authors: Lee Hwajeong , Ainechi Sanaz , Singh Mandeep , Ells Peter F. , Sheehan Christine E. , Lin Jingmei
Published: April 2015

Objectives. Liver biopsy is performed for various indications in dialysis patients. Being a less-common subset, the hepatic pathology in renal dialysis is not well documented. Idiopathic noncirrhotic portal hypertension (INCPH) is a clinical entity associated with unexplained portal hypertension and/or a spectrum of histopathological vascular changes in the liver. After encountering INCPH and vascular changes of INCPH in 2 renal dialysis patients, we sought to further investigate this noteworthy association. Materials and methods. A random search for patients on hemodialysis or peritoneal dialysis with liver biopsy was performed. Hematoxylin and eosin, reticulin, trichrome, and CK7 stains were performed on formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissue sections. Histopathological features were reviewed, and the results were correlated with clinical findings. Results. In all, 13 liver biopsies were retrieved. The mean cumulative duration of dialysis was 50 months (range = 17 months to 11 years). All patients had multiple comorbidities. Indications for biopsy were a combination of abnormal liver function tests (6), portal hypertension (4), ascites (3), and possible cirrhosis (3). Two patients with portal hypertension underwent multiple liver biopsies for diagnostic purposes. All (100%) biopsies showed some histological features of INCPH, including narrowed portal venous lumen (9), increased portal vascular channels (8), shunt vessels (3), dilated sinusoids (9), regenerative nodule (5), and features of venous outflow obstruction (3). No cirrhosis was identified. Conclusion. Liver biopsies from patients on dialysis demonstrate histopathological vascular changes of INCPH. Some (31%) patients present with portal hypertension without cirrhosis. The histological changes may be reflective of underlying risk factors for INCPH in this group.
The Double-Edged Sword of Popularization
Authors: Walsh Lynda
Published: April 2015

The decision by Popsci.com editors to shut off public comments in 2013 surprised many scholars of science journalism—particularly since the decision was justified in large part by reference to science communication scholarship. This commentary engages in a rhetorical analysis of the events surrounding the decision—in particular, the popularization of Anderson et al. (2014), the editorial stance at Popsci.com , and the content of blog comments leading up to the shutoff—to better appreciate what led to the foreclosure of a significant forum for protodeliberation on science research and policy.
Capecitabine-induced ventricular fibrillation arrest: Possible Kounis syndrome
Authors: Kido Kazuhiko , Adams Val R , Morehead Richard S , Flannery Alexander H
Published: April 2015

We report the case of capecitabine-induced ventricular fibrillation arrest, possibly secondary to type I Kounis syndrome. A 47-year-old man with a history of T3N1 moderately differentiated adenocarcinoma of the colon, status-post sigmoid resection, was started on adjuvant capecitabine approximately five months prior to presentation of cardiac arrest secondary to ventricular fibrillation. An electrocardiogram (EKG) revealed ST segment elevation on the lateral leads and the patient was taken emergently to the cardiac catheterization laboratory. The catheterization revealed no angiographically significant stenosis and coronary artery disease was ruled out. After ruling out other causes of cardiac arrest, the working diagnosis was capecitabine-induced ventricular fibrillation arrest. As such, an inflammatory work up was sent to evaluate for the possibility of a capecitabine hypersensitivity, or Kounis syndrome, and is the first documented report in the literature to do so when evaluating Kounis syndrome. Immunoglobulin E (IgE), tryptase, and C-reactive protein were normal but histamine, interleukin (IL)-6, and IL-10 were elevated. Histamine elevation supports the suspicion that our patient had type I Kounis syndrome. Naranjo adverse drug reaction probability scale indicates a probable adverse effect due to capecitabine with seven points. A case of capecitabine-induced ventricular fibrillation arrest is reported, with a potential for type 1 Kounis syndrome as an underlying pathology supported by immunologic work up.
The Process Model of Group-Based Emotion
Authors: Goldenberg Amit , Halperin Eran , van Zomeren Martijn , Gross James J.
Published: April 2015

Scholars interested in emotion regulation have documented the different goals and strategies individuals have for regulating their emotions. However, little attention has been paid to the regulation of group-based emotions, which are based on individuals’ self-categorization as a group member and occur in response to situations perceived as relevant for that group. We propose a model for examining group-based emotion regulation that integrates intergroup emotions theory and the process model of emotion regulation. This synergy expands intergroup emotion theory by facilitating further investigation of different goals (i.e., hedonic or instrumental) and strategies (e.g., situation selection and modification strategies) used to regulate group-based emotions. It also expands emotion regulation research by emphasizing the role of self-categorization (e.g., as an individual or a group member) in the emotional process. Finally, we discuss the promise of this theoretical synergy and suggest several directions for future research on group-based emotion regulation.
Breast Cancer Screening Among Dominican Latinas
Authors: Abraído-Lanza Ana F. , Martins Mariana Cunha , Shelton Rachel C. , Flórez Karen R.
Published: April 2015

With the marked increase of the Latino population in the United States during the past 20 years, there has been growing interest in the social, cultural, and structural factors that may impede breast cancer screening among Latino women, especially among those subgroups that have been understudied. Acculturation and fatalism are central cultural constructs in these growing fields of research. However, there is great debate on the extent to which acculturation and fatalism affect breast cancer screening among Latinas relative to other social or structural factors or logistical barriers. Moreover, little theoretical work specifies or tests pathways between social, structural, and cultural determinants of screening. This study tests a theoretical model of social and structural (socioeconomic status and access to health care) and cultural factors (acculturation and fatalism) as correlates of mammography screening among Dominican Latinas, a group that has been understudied. The study expands prior work by examining other factors identified as potential impediments to mammography screening, specifically psychosocial (e.g., embarrassment, pain) and logistical (e.g., not knowing how to get a mammogram, cost) barriers. Interview-administered surveys were conducted with 318 Latinas from the Dominican Republic aged 40 years or older. Fatalistic beliefs were not associated with mammogram screening. Greater acculturation assessed as language use was associated with decreased screening. The strongest predictor of decreased screening was perceived barriers. Results highlight the importance of assessing various self-reported psychosocial and logistical barriers to screening. Possible avenues for screening interventions include intensifying public health campaigns and use of personalized messages to address barriers to screening. Results add to a limited body of research on Dominicans, who constitute the fifth largest Latino group in the United States.
Moderating Effects of Genetic Polymorphisms on Improvements in Cognitive Impairment in Breast Cancer Survivors Participating in a 6-Week Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Program
Authors: Lengacher Cecile A. , Reich Richard R. , Kip Kevin E. , Paterson Carly L. , Park Hyun Y. , Ramesar Sophia , Jim Heather S. L. , Alinat Carissa B. , Park Jong Y.
Published: April 2015

Breast cancer (BC) survivors often report cognitive impairment, which may be influenced by single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). The purpose of this study was to test whether particular SNPs were associated with changes in cognitive function in BC survivors and whether these polymorphisms moderated cognitive improvement resulting from the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction for Breast Cancer (MBSR[BC]) program. BC survivors recruited from Moffitt Cancer Center and the University of South Florida’s Breast Health Program, who had completed adjuvant radiation and/or chemotherapy treatment, were randomized to either the 6-week MBSR(BC) program ( n = 37) or usual care (UC; n = 35) group. Measures of cognitive function and demographic and clinical history data were attained at baseline and at 6 and 12 weeks. A total of 10 SNPs from eight genes known to be related to cognitive function were analyzed using blood samples. Results showed that SNPs in four genes (ankyrin repeat and kinase domain containing 1 [ ANKK1], apolipoprotein E [ APOE], methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase [ MTHFR], and solute carrier family 6 member 4 [ SLC6A4]) were associated with cognitive impairment. Further, rs1800497 in ANKK1 was significantly associated with improvements in cognitive impairment in response to MBSR(BC). These results may help to identify individuals who would be better served by MBSR(BC) or other interventions.
Online/offscreen
Authors: Ashuri Tamar , Frenkel Atara
Published: April 2015

As televised news content is no longer being solely produced by professionals and consumed by family members staring at the box, the traditional television industry has entered a new era. This article introduces a set of theoretical propositions relating to the industry’s responses to such changes and, in particular, to the implementation of networked technologies and social media in television news organizations. The technological frames analytic lens was used to identify journalists’ assumptions and expectations about technology use and to explain the outcomes of technological and professional change in the journalistic environment. Through interviews conducted with journalists working for television news desks in Israel, we show that the interviewees’ perceptions of the technologies, the role of their organization, and the essence of their profession provide a meaningful explanation of the actual implementation of networked technologies. The findings resolve the contradiction between potential contribution of the emerging technologies and their limited use in journalistic organizations.
Association between low ankle-brachial index and accelerometer-derived sedentary and exercise time in the asymptomatic general population
Authors: Kulinski Jacquelyn P , Sanghavi Monika , Ayers Colby R , Das Sandeep R , Banerjee Subhash , Berry Jarett D , Addo Tayo , De Lemos James A , Kumbhani Dharam J
Published: April 2015

Sedentary behavior is an adverse health risk factor that is independent of physical activity. The relationship between sedentary behavior, exercise activity and the ankle-brachial index (ABI) is not well understood. We analyzed data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2003–2004. Accelerometer data were used to quantify exercise and sedentary time for each participant. A low ABI was defined as a value <1.0 (including borderline values). Multi-variable adjusted logistic regression analyses were performed with sedentary and exercise times as independent variables, adjusting for important confounders. There were 1443 asymptomatic participants (mean age 61 years, 49% female, 55% current/prior smokers) with mean daily sedentary and exercise times of 454±144 and 18±20 minutes, respectively. Of the participants, 23% had an ABI <1.0 (8.7% with ABI <0.9). Sedentary time was positively associated with a low ABI (odds ratio [OR] 1.22 per 1 standard deviation [SD], [95% confidence interval (CI), 1.03–1.43]; p=0.02) while exercise time was inversely associated with a low ABI (OR 0.71 per 1 SD, [95% CI, 0.57–0.89]; p=0.003). Sedentary time is associated with low ABI values in the asymptomatic population. This association appears to be independent of exercise time and warrants further investigation.
Is there still a ‘crisis in public communication’ (if there ever was one)? The UK experience
Authors: Gaber Ivor
Published: April 2015

This article takes a considered look at the debates surrounding the notion of ‘the crisis in political communications’ as it applies, in particular, to the United Kingdom. The article begins by seeking to make the Habermasian notion of the public sphere relevant to contemporary political communications in the United Kingdom. It then goes on to detail the evolution of the argument that there is a crisis, by tracing it, mainly but not exclusively, through the works of Jay Blumler and his collaborators. It places these arguments within the context of the changes in the relations between politicians and the media as set out by both scholars and through the author’s reflections on his own professional practice. The article suggests that despite what some have described as a deterioration in the political communications system, the dramatic changes that have been, and are, taking place in the increasingly digital public sphere, an argument can be sustained that we are moving into a period when, because the public (or its online component) have greater access to political information and debate, the crisis, if it ever existed in the first place, is passing and we are now moving towards an enhanced and healthier digital public sphere.
Ethnic groupism: Understanding ethnicisation of work in Malaysia
Authors: Olmedo Eric , Smith Wendy , Noor Mansor M.
Published: April 2015

This paper examines the degree to which work is becoming de-ethnicised in the Malaysian tourism industry sector. This so-called de-ethnicisation of work is formulated in the Malaysian Government’s 10th Malaysia Plan (2011–2015) as an indicator of Malaysian society’s entry into modernity, the overall yardstick being Malaysia’s progression to a high-income nation by 2020. Empirical research was conducted among employees of 10 ‘Western’ luxury five-star hotels in the greater Kuala Lumpur. The degree of association of occupation with ethnicity was tested through a quantitative survey of 786 respondents from a representative sample of the parent population in 2010. Contrary to the Government’s de-ethnicisation agenda, findings show a continuing strong correlation between ethnicity and occupation, reinforced by qualitative research conducted between 2010 and 2011, which reveals specific ethno-marketing practices and an ‘ethnic groupism’ phenomenon as plausible explanations, among other causal factors.
Balance between angiotensin converting enzyme and angiotensin converting enzyme 2 in patients with chronic heart failure
Authors: Wang Jiang , Li Nan , Gao Feng , Song Rong , Zhu Shanjun , Geng Zhaohua
Published: April 2015

Aim:

It has been reported that angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) is an endogenous counter-regulator of the renin–angiotensin–aldosterone system. However, angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE)/ACE2 balance in the development of human heart failure is not well established.

Methods:

Here we evaluated the expression of ACE and ACE2 at the mRNA and protein levels in the myocardium of 78 patients with mild or moderate to severe heart failure and in 13 cases with normal myocardium.

Results:

In the myocardium of patients with dilated or ischemic cardiomyopathy, ACE and ACE2 expression at the mRNA and protein levels was significantly increased compared with those in normal myocardium ( P<0.01, P<0.01, respectively). The ratios of ACE/ACE2 mRNA and ACE/ACE2 were lower in the myocardium of patients with mild heart failure than those in normal myocardium but higher than those in patients with moderate to severe heart failure.

Conclusions:

ACE and ACE2 expression at the mRNA and protein levels are significantly increased in the myocardium of patients with heart failure. The compensatory mechanism of patients with mild heart may cause the decreased ACE/ACE2 ratio. However, increased ACE/ACE2 ratios may induce angiotensin II over-activation and accelerate cardiac remodeling in patients with moderate to severe heart failure.
Education and legitimation crisis: Systemic tendencies of capitalism in the work of Habermas
Authors: Crioni Renato , Gomes Luiz Roberto , Zuin Antônio Álvaro Soares
Published: April 2015

The extensive work of Habermas’s intellectual legacy is comparable to the depth and complexity of his reflections. The debates among thinkers close to the conclusions of Adorno and Horkheimer and the mature positions of Habermas are also known. However, despite the marked differences, both of them seem to share a common interpretation: that capitalism has entered a self-regenerating stage which perpetuates itself ad aeternum – the last and endless stage of late capitalism – because it has abolished all structural contradictions which could point out the system’s tendency towards a breakdown. The broad aim of this study is to contribute to a profitable dialogue between the various strands of the critical theory of society on this issue. As for the specific aim, it was intended to highlight the analyses of Habermas in relation to the systemic tendencies of capitalism, following the path taken by Marx – a little-known aspect of Habermas’s work, whose contemporaneousness distinguishes itself in times of global economic crisis. This discussion may contribute to the debate of themes associated with education, both in regard to the issues of cultural education ( Bildung) and in problems related to public policies.
Positional WAR in the National Football League
Authors: Hughes Andrew , Koedel Cory , Price Joshua A.
Published: April 2015

We empirically estimate positional “wins above replacement” (WAR) in the National Football League (NFL). Positional WAR measures the value of players in the NFL, by position, in terms of generating wins. WAR is a commonly used metric to evaluate individual players in professional baseball and basketball in the United States, but to the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to construct WAR measures for American football. A key challenge in constructing these measures is that individual statistics for many football players are not as well developed as in baseball and basketball. Related to this point, the productivity of individual football players, perhaps more than players in any other major sport, is highly dependent on context. We circumvent issues related to measuring productivity for individual players by constructing WAR measures at the position rather than individual level. The identifying variation that we leverage in our study is generated by arguably exogenous player injuries and suspensions. Using data from three seasons and all 32 NFL teams, we show that the most valuable positions in the NFL are quarterback, wide receiver, tight end/fullback, and offensive tackle. Perhaps our most surprising finding is that positional WAR for all positions on the defensive side of the football is zero.
Improved Efficacy of Liposomal Doxorubicin Treatment of Superficial Tumors by Thermotherapy
Authors: Ping Xiong , Angang Ding , Xia Gong , Yinzhu Zhao , Jia Li , Guofeng Shen , Yazhu Chen
Published: April 2015

Our study aimed to investigate the effect of ultrasonic thermotherapy on the targeted delivery of liposomal doxorubicin to superficial tumors, local drug concentrations in tumor tissue, and the curative effect of chemotherapy. Twenty rabbits with VX2 tumors transplanted into the superficial muscle of the hind limb were randomly assigned to the following 4 treatment groups: (1) free doxorubicin, (2) liposomal doxorubicin hydrochloride, (3) liposomal doxorubicin hydrochloride plus 41°C thermotherapy, and (4) liposomal doxorubicin hydrochloride plus 43°C thermotherapy. Ultrasonic thermotherapy was delivered at 41°C to 43°C. Plasma, tumor, and organ/tissue homogenates were analyzed by high-pressure liquid chromatography to determine doxorubicin concentrations. The drug concentration in plasma and tumor tissue was significantly higher in the liposomal doxorubicin hydrochloride plus thermotherapy group than in the liposomal doxorubicin hydrochloride and free doxorubicin groups, but there were no significant differences among the 4 groups in the concentration in heart or kidney tissue. Combining thermotherapy with liposomal doxorubicin hydrochloride chemotherapy significantly increased the concentration of the drug in tumor tissue. The doxorubicin concentration was significantly higher in the liposomal doxorubicin hydrochloride plus 41°C thermotherapy group.
The temporal outcomes of open versus arthroscopic knotted and knotless rotator cuff repair over 5 years
Authors: Lucena Thomas R , Lam Patrick H , Millar Neal L , Murrell George AC
Published: April 2015

Background

The present study aimed to determine how repair technique influenced structural and clinical outcomes at 5 years post-surgery.

Methods

Three cohorts of patients had repair of a symptomatic rotator cuff tear using (i) an open double-row mattress repair technique ( n = 25); (ii) arthroscopic single-row simple suture knotted technique ( n = 25); or (iii) arthroscopic single-row inverted mattress knotless technique ( n = 36) by one surgeon. Standardized patient- and examiner-determined outcomes were obtained pre-operatively and postoperatively with a validated protocol, ultrasound were also performed at the same time.

Results

Retear occurred more often after open repair (48%) at 5 years than after arthroscopic knotted (33%) and arthroscopic knotless (26%) repair. Retear was associated with increasing age, pre-operative tear size and weaker pre-operative and 5 years postoperative cuff strength. Between 2 years and 5 years, the open repair group experienced an increase in the frequency of pain during activity, as well as in the difficulty experienced and the severity of pain during overhead activities ( p < 0.05) and, at 5 years, also experienced more difficulty with overhead activities, compared to the arthroscopic knotless repair group.

Conclusions

At 5-year follow-up, arthroscopic rotator cuff repair techniques resulted in fewer retears and better outcomes compared to an open double-row technique.
Ketamine and other N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor antagonists in the treatment of depression: a perspective review
Authors: Iadarola Nicolas D. , Niciu Mark J. , Richards Erica M. , Vande Voort Jennifer L. , Ballard Elizabeth D. , Lundin Nancy B. , Nugent Allison C. , Machado-Vieira Rodrigo , Zarate Carlos A.
Published: April 2015

Current pharmacotherapies for major depressive disorder (MDD) and bipolar depression (BDep) have a distinct lag of onset that can generate great distress and impairment in patients. Furthermore, as demonstrated by several real-world effectiveness trials, their efficacy is limited. All approved antidepressant medications for MDD primarily act through monoaminergic mechanisms, agonists or antagonists with varying affinities for serotonin, norepinephrine and dopamine. The glutamate system has received much attention in recent years as an avenue for developing novel therapeutics. A single subanesthetic dose infusion of the noncompetitive N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonist ketamine has been shown to have rapid and potent antidepressant effects in treatment-resistant MDD and BDep. In a reverse translational framework, ketamine’s clinical efficacy has inspired many preclinical studies to explore glutamatergic mechanisms of antidepressant action. These studies have revealed enhanced synaptic plasticity/synaptogenesis via numerous molecular and cellular mechanisms: release of local translational inhibition of brain-derived neurotrophic factor and secretion from dendritic spines, mammalian target of rapamycin activation and glycogen synthase kinase-3 inhibition. Current efforts are focused on extending ketamine’s antidepressant efficacy, uncovering the neurobiological mechanisms responsible for ketamine’s antidepressant activity in biologically enriched subgroups, and identifying treatment response biomarkers to personalize antidepressant selection. Other NMDA receptor antagonists have been studied both preclinically and clinically, which have revealed relatively modest antidepressant effects compared with ketamine but potentially other favorable characteristics, for example, decreased dissociative or psychotomimetic effects; therefore, there is great interest in developing novel glutamatergic antidepressants with greater target specificity and/or decreased adverse effects.
Enlisting in the Military
Authors: Beaver Kevin M. , Barnes J. C. , Schwartz Joseph A. , Boutwell Brian B.
Published: April 2015

Given that enlistment in the U.S. military is completely voluntary, there has been a great deal of interest in identifying the various factors that might explain why some people join the military, whereas others do not. The current study expanded on this line of literature by estimating the extent to which genetic and environmental factors explained variance in the liability for lifetime participation in the military. Analysis of twin pairs drawn from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health) revealed that 82% of the variance was the result of genetic factors, 18% of the variance was the result of nonshared environmental factors, and none of the variance was accounted for by shared environmental factors. In light of a number of limitations, replication studies are needed to determine the robustness of these findings and whether they are generalizable to other samples and populations.
Acquisition of the Closing Diphthongs /əʊ/ and /eɪ/ in English L2 and Jamaican Creole
Authors: Mousa Ahmed
Published: April 2015

This study investigates the claim that the strategies used by second/foreign language learners are, more or less, the same as those used by speakers of pidgin/creole languages. To this end, the speech of two speakers of the well-known Broad Jamaican Creole is compared with the performance of Saudi learners of English, with respect to the pronunciation of the closing diphthongs /əʊ/ and /eɪ/. The results show that the above claim is valid. Also, the behavior of the two groups corroborates that of child language, which will be taken as external evidence that adds to the existent literature of the logical problem of language learning. The behavior of the speakers in the three domains (i.e., L1, L2, and pidgin/creole languages) goes hand in hand with norms of historical change. That is, the two diphthongs have historically developed from the monophthongs used as substitutes. In addition, the centrality component in these diphthongs is a marked parameter, which is yet to be set before they could be mastered. The substitutes made by the speakers of Jamaican Creole and by Arab learners are the same chosen by the child.
Needs and Needs Assessments
Authors: Beran David
Published: April 2015

It is argued that to improve health, health systems are required to meet people’s needs and therefore health systems should identify these needs and find a way to prioritize these. For those with chronic diseases, these needs are necessary to manage their condition and go beyond purely the health system. A literature search found that studies published on identifying the needs of people with chronic diseases fall into the following categories: standardized tools, comparison of needs between individuals and health professionals, tools for evaluation, and description of needs. This review highlights the gap between tools used to assess health care needs versus needs for health. It found that a considerable portion of articles focused solely on health care needs. Many tools focused specifically on psychological or psychosocial needs and only one tool identified included a broad range of needs for health. The literature fails to address the wider needs of people with chronic conditions and is still focused on medical interventions. Given the disease burden and the impact of needs outside of the formal health system, needs assessments should be able to capture the full range and scope of the needs of an individual.
Selecting Testlet Features With Predictive Value for the Testlet Effect
Authors: Paap Muirne C. S. , He Qiwei , Veldkamp Bernard P.
Published: April 2015

High-stakes tests often consist of sets of questions (i.e., items) grouped around a common stimulus. Such groupings of items are often called testlets. A basic assumption of item response theory (IRT), the mathematical model commonly used in the analysis of test data, is that individual items are independent of one another. The potential dependency among items within a testlet is often ignored in practice. In this study, a technique called tree-based regression (TBR) was applied to identify key features of stimuli that could properly predict the dependence structure of testlet data for the Analytical Reasoning section of a high-stakes test. Relevant features identified included Percentage of “If” Clauses, Number of Entities, Theme/Topic, and Predicate Propositional Density; the testlet effect was smallest for stimuli that contained 31% or fewer “if” clauses, contained 9.8% or fewer verbs, and had Media or Animals as the main theme. This study illustrates the merits of TBR in the analysis of test data.