bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A Structural Model of Health-Related Quality of Life in Parkinson’s Disease Patients
Authors: Lee JuHee , Choi MoonKi , Jung Dukyoo , Sohn Young H. , Hong JinYong
Published: April 2014

Disability-adjusted life expectancy is focused on more than just extending life span; thus, health-related quality of life (HRQOL) has emerged as an important issue for elderly patients with chronic disease. The number of patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD) is predicted to grow along with the aging population, so it is essential to identify the predictors of HRQOL. This study utilized structural equation modeling (SEM) to predict the HRQOL of patients with PD. Participants ( N = 217) were patients diagnosed with PD ( M age = 66.01). Demographic and disease-related characteristics, sleep quality, pain, depression, and HRQOL were investigated via a structured questionnaire. Participants’ functional factors were measured using physical function evaluations. The hypothetical model verified disease-related factors, depression, and pain as direct factors that significantly predicted HRQOL of patients with PD (Goodness of Fit Index = 0.93 and Comparative Fit Index = 0.96). These findings are useful for developing comprehensive interventions to improve the HRQOL of patients with PD.
A Patient‐Centered Approach to Clinical Practice Guidelines in Otolaryngology
Authors: Pynnonen Melissa A. , Hawley Sarah T.
Published: April 2014

Patient education is used to engage patients in their own health care and is relevant in most clinical situations. Shared decision making (SDM) is used to engage patients when a choice needs to be made about a diagnostic or therapeutic procedure and the medical evidence does not indicate which choice is best. American Academy of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery (AAO‐HNS) clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) include multiple action statements that may benefit from patient education or SDM. In this commentary, we discuss patient education and SDM using examples from AAO‐HNS CPGs. We believe that use of patient education and decision support materials for SDM will enhance the effectiveness of SDM and improve the uptake of CPGs. We issue a call to action for all stakeholders to consider how to put these materials into the hands of our patients.
Massive Bochdalek diaphragmatic hernia in adult with hypoplastic lung
Authors: Karamustafaoglu Yekta Altemur , Yoruk Yener , Kuzucuoglu Mustafa , Yanik Fazli
Published: April 2014

Bochdalek diaphragmatic hernia is generally congenital and rarely diagnosed incidentally in adults. A 21-year-old man presented with a diaphragmatic hernia suspected during routine examination. Chest radiography showed the colon and small intestine herniating into the left hemithorax and the ileocecal appendix in the superior thoracic apertura. We performed a thoracoabdominal incision and the stomach, omentum, colon, and small intestine were retracted back into the abdomen. The diaphragm was repaired with Prolene mesh following adhesiolysis. Two months later, there was no recurrence but no lung expansion. The space was filled with effusion, but the patient had no complaints.
Inaccuracy of transthoracic echocardiography for the identification of right‐sided vegetation in patients with no history of intravenous drug abuse or cardiac device insertion
Authors: Xie Jiang , Liu Shuang , Yang Jinghua , Xu Jie , Zhu Guangfa
Published: April 2014

Objective:

The use of transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) to identify right-sided infective endocarditis (RSIE) vegetation is controversial. Data are scarce for patients with no history of intravenous drug abuse (IVDA) or cardiac device insertion. This study analysed the consistency of presurgical echocardiographic results with surgical findings for vegetation identification, and the factors that influence accuracy of echocardiography.

Methods:

This retrospective trial divided infective endocarditis (IE) patients into three subgroups according to the results of their presurgical TTE: left-sided native IE (LSNIE), left-sided prosthetic valve IE (LSPIE) and RSIE. The accuracy of TTE was tested by comparing vegetation (number and location), detected presurgery by TTE, with actual findings during surgery.

Results:

In total, 416 patients were analysed, 322 with LSNIE, 31 with LSPIE and 63 with RSIE. Consistency between TTE findings and surgical results was lower in the RSIE group compared with the LSPIE and LSNIE groups. Consistency was lowered by the presence of vegetation in multiple locations and atypical distribution – both of which were increased in the RSIE group. The chance of vegetation in both sides of the heart rose with increased numbers of vegetation locations in RSIE patients. A high proportion of RSIE patients had congenital heart defects, mostly ventricular septal defects.

Conclusions:

TTE may be unsuitable for RSIE patients with no history of IVDA or cardiac device insertion, because multifocal and atypically distributed vegetation may influence detection accuracy.
A theoretical analysis of stress wave propagation in the head under primary blast loading
Authors: Zhu Feng , Chou Clifford C , Yang King H , King Albert I
Published: April 2014

Traumatic brain injury due to primary blast loading has become a signature injury in recent military conflicts. Efforts have been made to study the stress wave propagation in the head. However, the relationship of incident pressure, reflected pressure and intracranial pressure is still not clear, and the experimental findings reported in the literature are contradictory. In this article, an analytical model is developed to calculate the stress wave transfer through a multiple-layered structure which is used to mimic the head. The model predicts stress at the scalp–skull and skull–brain interfaces as the functions of reflected pressure, which is further dependent on incident pressure. A numerical model is used to corroborate the theoretical predictions. It is concluded that scalp has an amplification effect on intracranial pressure. If scalp is absent, there exists a critical incident pressure, defined as Pcr at approximately 16 kPa. When peak incident pressure σin is higher than 16 kPa, the pressure at the skull–brain interface is greater than σin; otherwise, it is lower than σin.
Prelinguistic Infants Are Sensitive to Space-Pitch Associations Found Across Cultures
Authors: Dolscheid Sarah , Hunnius Sabine , Casasanto Daniel , Majid Asifa
Published: April 2014

People often talk about musical pitch using spatial metaphors. In English, for instance, pitches can be “high” or “low” (i.e., height-pitch association), whereas in other languages, pitches are described as “thin” or “thick” (i.e., thickness-pitch association). According to results from psychophysical studies, metaphors in language can shape people’s nonlinguistic space-pitch representations. But does language establish mappings between space and pitch in the first place, or does it only modify preexisting associations? To find out, we tested 4-month-old Dutch infants’ sensitivity to height-pitch and thickness-pitch mappings using a preferential-looking paradigm. The infants looked significantly longer at cross-modally congruent stimuli for both space-pitch mappings, which indicates that infants are sensitive to these associations before language acquisition. The early presence of space-pitch mappings means that these associations do not originate from language. Instead, language builds on preexisting mappings, changing them gradually via competitive associative learning. Space-pitch mappings that are language-specific in adults develop from mappings that may be universal in infants.
Agreement Between Self-Reported Knowledge and Medical Record Data
Authors: Voss Joachim G. , Cesan Annushka , Jensen Kelly , Yahiaoui Anella , Steiner Cassandra , Bajwa Sundeep , Eilers Kristi , Applin Shauna
Published: April 2014

People living with HIV (PLWH) see their providers quarterly to go over their laboratory results and discuss problems with antiretroviral treatment (ART) regimens. Our purpose was to determine whether socially and economically marginalized PLWH were accurate in self-reporting their most recent CD4 count, viral load, and ART regimen, and whether demographic differences influenced self-reporting. We conducted a secondary data analysis based on results from ( N = 200) PLWH. We found moderate agreement for CD4 count ( k = .58), and viral load ( k = .43), but only 43% were able to recall their ART regimens accurately. PLWH ≥ age 50 ( k = .77) and those with health insurance coverage ( k = .61) were more accurate to self-report CD4. Women were more accurate in reporting viral load than men ( k = .53, p = .003 vs. k = .38). These findings suggest that PLWH need multiple modalities of education to relate CD4 counts, viral load, and ART regimens to their personal health understanding.
In-Home Counseling for Young Children Living in Poverty
Authors: Tate Kevin A. , Lopez Cinthia , Fox Robert , Love Joanna R. , McKinney Erica
Published: April 2014

Home-based counseling is increasingly an alternative mode of providing counseling services for children and families, reduces barriers to accessing traditional counseling services, and has also been shown to be effective. As such, the purpose of this qualitative study was to explore and describe the competencies needed to provide such counseling services. This study yielded five categories of competencies— necessary knowledge sets, case conceptualization, counseling behaviors, flexibility in session, and professional dispositions and behaviors. We also outline implications for counseling practice, counselor education, and public policy.
Retrograde Intramedullary Nail With Femoral Head Allograft for Large Deficit Tibiotalocalcaneal Arthrodesis
Authors: Bussewitz Bradly , DeVries J. George , Dujela Michael , McAlister Jeffrey E. , Hyer Christopher F. , Berlet Gregory C.
Published: April 2014

Background:

Large bone defects present a difficult task for surgeons when performing single-stage, complex combined hindfoot and ankle reconstruction. There exist little data in a case series format to evaluate the use of frozen femoral head allograft during tibiotalocalcaneal arthrodesis in various populations in the literature.

Methods:

The authors evaluated 25 patients from 2003 to 2011 who required a femoral head allograft and an intramedullary nail. The average time of final follow-up visit was 83 ± 63.6 weeks (range, 10-265).

Results:

Twelve patients healed the fusion (48%). Twenty-one patients resulted in a braceable limb (84%). Four patients resulted in major amputation (16%).

Conclusion:

This series may allow surgeons to more accurately predict the success and clinical outcome of these challenging cases.

Level of Evidence:

Level IV, case series.
Relationship Between Nutritional Knowledge and the Amount of Sugar-Sweetened Beverages Consumed in Los Angeles County
Authors: Gase Lauren N. , Robles Brenda , Barragan Noel C. , Kuo Tony
Published: April 2014

Although consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) is associated with many negative health outcomes, including obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease, the relationship between consumer nutritional knowledge and the amount consumed is poorly understood. The objective of this study was to examine the relationship between knowledge of daily calorie recommendations and the amount of SSBs consumed in a large, economically and racially diverse sample of adults recruited at selected Metro subway and bus shelters in Los Angeles County. In June 2012, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health conducted street intercept surveys to assess food attitudes and consumption behaviors and public opinions related to a recent 8-week health marketing campaign targeting SSB consumption. Descriptive and comparative analyses were conducted, including a negative binomial regression model, to examine the relationship between knowledge of the daily calorie recommendations and the amount of SSBs consumed. Among survey respondents ( n = 1,041), less than one third correctly identified the daily calorie recommendations for a typical adult. After controlling for sociodemographics and weight status, respondents who correctly identified recommended calorie needs reported, on average, drinking nine fewer SSBs per month than respondents who did not. Results suggest that efforts to reduce SSB consumption might benefit from the inclusion of educational interventions that empower consumers to make healthy choices.
“Where I can be myself … where I can speak my mind” : Networked counterpublics in a polymedia environment
Authors: Renninger Bryce J
Published: April 2014

This article takes note of affordances for counterpublic communication on social networking sites (SNSs). Because of the important ways that counterpublic communication is tied to specific platforms, it is necessary to understand why certain platforms are especially conducive (or are seen to be conducive) to counterpublic address. This article uses the example of the asexual community’s use of the SNS Tumblr to explore the affordances of the Tumblr platform for counterpublic communication, comparing Tumblr to the bulletin boards on the popular Asexuality Visibility Education Network website. This article modifies and extends boyd’s analysis of SNSs as networked publics to account for the technological affordances for networked counterpublics. It ends by briefly considering ways that networked counterpublics can be antagonized.
Adult videogame consumption as individualised, episodic progress
Authors: Molesworth Mike , Watkins Rebecca D.
Published: April 2014

Drawing from phenomenological interviews with 24 adult videogamers, we explore videogame consumption as a source of individualised, episodic progress. We first consider the relationship between play, progress, technology and the market. We then document adults' accounts of progress through the acquisition of new consoles and software, in the accumulation of in-game resources, and in creative achievements within videogames. Alongside an understanding of technological improvements as representing both technological and personal progress, we see how individuals may also turn to videogames in search of quick and easy episodes of achievement; here, progress is not some grand plan, but a series of small events helpfully structured by the latest game releases. Thus, in a society which aspires to a life where things ‘get better’ and time is usefully spent, adults who fail to actualise progress elsewhere may use videogames and related hardware to perform the idea of achievement as individualised episodes of play. In integrating the accepted cultural idea of progress, perceptions of adult play as ‘frivolous’ can be overcome and such practices may be normalised as a legitimate adult activity. However, play emerges from its frivolousness as legitimate only in compensating for working practices that remain alienated through technology-driven productivity, and through the latest technological commodities. The enjoyable nature of games as a leisure pursuit can become overshadowed by an obligation to achieve at the same time as distancing players from areas of their lives where progress is not experienced.
Shoulder-to-shoulder research with children: Methodological and ethical considerations
Authors: Griffin Krista M , Lahman Maria KE , Opitz Michael F
Published: April 2014

This paper presents a methodological study with children where two different interview methods were utilized: the walk-around (a form of mobile interview) and the shoulder-to-shoulder. The paper reviews the methodological aspects of the study then provides a brief review of the history of methods employed in research with children. Finally the paper considers issues around conducting research with children in the areas of data generation, interview environment, power, and participant engagement. Throughout the article, narrative interludes, and the author’s personal reflections as parents and researchers are provided space for thought and narrative glimpses into the research experience.
Judicial Independence and Opinion Clarity on State Supreme Courts
Authors: Goelzhauser Greg , Cann Damon M.
Published: April 2014

We contribute to the literature on judicial independence and performance in the states by analyzing opinion clarity. Written opinions are the primary means of communication for state supreme court justices, and clarity is a core component of judicial performance. Using automated text analysis on a sample of state supreme court opinions from all 50 states, we find that variation in judicial retention systems is not associated with substantively meaningful differences in opinion clarity. Furthermore, elected judges do not seem to produce clearer opinions in salient cases notwithstanding the increased public visibility of those decisions. These results suggest that judges tend to conform to prevailing professional norms despite differing institutional pressures.
Reevaluating the Effects of Redistricting on Electoral Competition, 1972–2012
Authors: Carson Jamie L. , Crespin Michael H. , Williamson Ryan D.
Published: April 2014

In this note, we revisit the work of Carson and Crespinto examine the effect of different redistricting plans on competitiveness in U.S. House elections. Similar to the previous results, our probit estimates on an expanded dataset that includes redistricting cycles from 1972 to 2012 reveal that commission and court-drawn districts experience more competition on average than those drawn by legislatures. These results provide additional support for the hypothesis that one way to increase the competitiveness of congressional elections is to allow extra-legislative bodies to draw congressional district boundaries.
Revising the Western
Authors: Castleberry Garret L.
Published: April 2014

In this article, I analyze the TV show Sons of Anarchy ( SOA) and how the cable drama revisits and revises the American Western film genre. I survey ideological contexts and tropes that span Western mythologies like landscape and mise-en-scene to struggles for family, community, and the continuation of Native American plight. I trace connections between the show’s fictitious town setting and how the narrative inverts traditional community archetypes to reinsert a new outlaw status quo. I inspect the role of border reversal, from open expansion in Westerns to the closed-door post-globalist world of SAMCRO. I quickdraw from a number of film theory scholars as I trick shoot their critiques of Western cinema against the updated target of SOA’s fictitious Charming, CA. I reckon that this revised update of outlaw culture, gunslinger violence, and the drama’s subsequent popularity communicates a post-9/11 trauma playing out on television. Through the sage wisdom of autoethnography, I recall personal memories as an ideological travelogue for navigating the rhetoric power this drama ignites. As with postwar movements of biker history that follow World War II and Vietnam, SOA races against Western form while staying distinctly faithful. Ultimately, I argue the show’s Western evocation updates audience concerns amidst the ideological war on terror.
The effects of low-frequency ultrasound and microbubbles on rabbit hepatic tumors
Authors: Shen Zhi-Yong , Xia Gan-Lin , Wu Ming-Feng , Shi Min-Xin , Qiang Fu-Lin , Shen E , Hu Bing
Published: April 2014

High-intensity focused ultrasound in combination with microbubbles (MBs) is able to inhibit the growth of VX2 rabbit liver tumors in vivo and prolong the survival time of the animals. In this study, we attempt to investigate the feasibility of VX2 tumor growth inhibition using low-frequency ultrasound (US)-mediated MB disruption. Forty-eight New Zealand rabbits with hepatic VX2 tumors were divided into four groups: control, MBs group, low-frequency US group, and US + MB group. The parameters of the US were 20 kHz, 2 W/cm2, 40% duty cycle, 5 min, and once every other day for 2 weeks. At the end of the therapy experiment, 24 rabbits were euthanized, and the cancers were collected and cut into five sections for histological examination, immunohistochemistry, laser confocal microscopy, western blotting assays, and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Another 24 rabbits were saved, and overall survival time was recorded. The tumor volumes in control, MB, US, and US + MB groups were 6.36 ± 0.58, 5.68 ± 0.42, 5.29 ± 0.26, and 2.04 ± 0.14 cm3, respectively (US + MB versus the other three groups, P < 0.01). Tumor cells manifested coagulation necrosis with internal calcification. Hematoxylin and eosin (H–E) staining revealed interstitial hemorrhage and intravascular thrombosis. The intensity of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in the US + MB group in the immunohistochemical staining, laser confocal microscopy, and western blotting assays was lower than that of the other three groups ( P < 0.05). TEM of the US + MB group revealed vascular endothelial cell wall rupture, widened endothelial cell gaps, interstitial erythrocyte leakage, and microvascular thrombosis, while intact vascular endothelial cells and normal erythrocytes in the tumor vessels were observed in control, MB, and US groups. Rabbits treated with US + MB had a significantly longer overall survival than those in the other three groups (χ2 = 9.328, P = 0.0242). VX2 tumor growth could be inhibited by cavitation induced using low-frequency US and MB.
Calm Technologies: A New Trend for Educational Technologies
Authors: Tugui Alexandru
Published: April 2014

Over the last 50 years, technological development has been significantly influenced by computers and associated technologies. The massive investments made in information technology and communication development have benefitted all the world's economies, and especially the interconnected ones. All business areas have therefore adopted computers as an indispensable tool, and all economic and social processes have come to rely on computers for support and intermediation.

The education field has been, and will continue to be, receptive to the evolutions of information- and communications-related technologies. Educators will use them on a wide scale in projects such as e-books, e-learning, university networks, and digital libraries. Technological miniaturization and steady improvements in performance have resulted in the abandonment of classical technologies (white chalk, blackboard, paper, pencil, etc.) and their extensive replacement by PC tablet, video projectors, intelligent boards, e-pen, and other new applications.

According to various authors, deculturalization is one megatrend predictable for the long-term future of human society. Information technologies and communication will become increasingly omnipresent and will progressively acquire calm technology characteristics. The purpose of this paper is to focus on the contribution that these new educational technologies may have on deculturalization, and on the role of calm technologies in education.
What If We Loved the Poor?
Authors: Meade Eric
Published: April 2014

This article explores what the future might look like if strategies to reduce poverty were centered on love for the poor. First, the author provides a conceptual description of parenthood, drawing on complexity theory and developmental psychology. The author then shows that the same concepts apply to poverty reduction. These concepts serve as the basis for the description of a visionary scenario for the year 2030 in which poverty has been significantly reduced through strategies centered on love for the poor. The author then addresses a potential critique, arguing that, while rejecting this approach as “paternalistic” protects against the intentional denigration of the poor, it also constrains our thinking and delays the day when global poverty will ultimately be eliminated.
A Conceptual Structure of Futures Studies for Higher Education
Authors: Liang Shing-Ko
Published: April 2014

Most futures studies in higher education take place at the graduate level. Conspicuously missing is an undergraduate bachelor’s degree program. How might such a program be designed for futures studies in higher education? And how might this undergraduate bachelor’s degree program be linked to the graduate program as a whole? What should be the theoretical foundation for its design? This article will address these concerns.
Challenging the dogma: a randomized trial of standard vs. half‐dose concomitant nonbismuth quadruple therapy for Helicobacter pylori infection
Authors: Sharara Ala I , Sarkis Fayez S , El-Halabi Mustapha M , Malli Ahmad , Mansour Nabil M , Azar Cecilio , Eloubeidi Mohamad A , Mourad Fadi H , Barada Kassem , Sukkarieh Ismail
Published: April 2014

Background

Current treatment of Helicobacter pylori consists of three or four drugs for 7–14 days with important associated cost and adverse events.

Aims

This study compared efficacy and safety of standard dose vs. half‐dose concomitant nonbismuth quadruple therapy (NBQT) for 7 days. The standard dose consisted of twice daily rabeprazole 20 mg, amoxicillin 1 g, metronidazole 500 mg, and clarithromycin 500 mg.

Methods

This was a prospective randomized trial. 14 C‐urea breath test was performed ≥4 weeks after treatment and ≥2 weeks off acid suppressive therapy. Compliance and adverse events were monitored during treatment.

Results

A total of 200 consecutive treatment‐naïve patients were enrolled. Baseline characteristics were similar between groups, with 15.5% of subjects reporting prior macrolide use. Eradication occurred in 78% (95% CI 68.6–85.7%) in both groups on intention‐to‐treat analysis. Per‐protocol rates were 82.1 vs. 83.9% for standard‐dose patients vs. half‐dose patients, respectively (p  = NS). Adverse events (only mild) were reported in 57 vs. 41% of standard‐dose patients vs. half‐dose patients (p  = 0.024), with metallic taste and nausea notably less frequent in the latter (36 vs. 12% and 18 vs. 7%, respectively; p  < 0.05 for both). Overall, eradication failed in 38.7% of prior macrolide users vs. 18.9% without such exposure (p  = 0.019). On multivariate logistic regression, prior macrolide exposure was the only factor associated with failed eradication (OR 2.60, 95% CI 1.06–6.39; p  = 0.038). Treatment was cheaper with the half‐dose regimen.

Interpretation

A 50% reduction in antibiotic dosage does not diminish efficacy of concomitant nonbismuth quadruple therapy but leads to significant reduction in cost and adverse events. Seven‐day concomitant NBQT is suboptimal for H. pylori independent of prior macrolide exposure.
“I Don’t Like Watching Japanese Adult Videos Because You Like It”
Authors: Wong Heung-wah , Yau Hoi-yan
Published: April 2014

This article focuses on women’s use of pornography in modern Taiwan, with an eye to making sense their “claimed” preference for American pornography. Our research shows that men and women display vast differences in pornography use and pornography preference with men tending to identify with Japanese adult videos and women with American pornography. Such gendered use of pornography has been substantially documented and examined through multiple disciplinary lenses. While illuminating, these studies tend not to examine further how such gender differences come about. It fosters an impression that gender can be used to explain away the reasons that men and women will differ in pornography use and sex. Gender is thus seen as universally applicable and able to explain everything without providing any concrete explanations. From this vantage, the specific, concrete gender norms that gave rise to the differences in pornography use in different cultures are dismissed as just manifestations of their genders. This article therefore aims to recover the specific gender norms and politics in Taiwan, which are often lumped together and explained away as gender inclinations and see how these specific contents gave rise to gender differences in pornography use. To understand how these gender differences ultimately come about, one needs to first explore how and why men and women consume pornography, respectively. Elsewhere, we have explored Taiwanese men’s use of, and preference for, pornography. This article therefore aims to examine Taiwanese women’s use of pornography with reference to gender norms in Taiwan.
Negative Self-Beliefs in Eating Disorders
Authors: Yiend Jenny , Parnes Charlotte , Shepherd Kirsty , Roche Mary-Kate , Cooper Myra J.
Published: April 2014

In eating disorders (EDs), interest commonly focuses on eating, weight, and shape rather than on beliefs. In this study, we investigated the importance of negative self-beliefs in EDs by examining whether manipulating those beliefs would elicit symptom-relevant change. The technique cognitive-bias modification is ideal for this purpose because it permits experimental manipulation of beliefs. Using content derived from the clinical literature, we applied cognitive-bias modification to a sample of 88 subclinical participants. Results demonstrated a wide range of effects, including significant change in target beliefs, ED behaviors, related intrusive thoughts, anxiety, and depression, some of which were maintained at 1-week follow-up. Although one measure of ED symptoms remained unaltered, our data nevertheless evidence a causal role of negative self-beliefs in ED pathology and suggest that future work in clinical samples is warranted, including identification of factors determining susceptibility to the technique.
Time to antibiotics and outcomes in cancer patients with febrile neutropenia
Authors: Perron Thomas , Emara Mohamed , Ahmed Shahid
Published: April 2014

Background

Febrile neutropenia is an oncologic emergency. The timing of antibiotics administration in patients with febrile neutropenia may result in adverse outcomes. Our study aims to determine time-to- antibiotic administration in patients with febrile neutropenia, and its relationship with length of hospital stay, intensive care unit monitoring, and hospital mortality.

Methods

The study population was comprised of adult cancer patients with febrile neutropenia who were hospitalized, at a tertiary care hospital, between January 2010 and December 2011. Using Multination Association of Supportive Care in Cancer (MASCC) risk score, the study cohort was divided into high and low risk groups. A multivariate regression analysis was performed to assess relationship between time-to- antibiotic administration and various outcome variables.

Results

One hundred and five eligible patients with median age of 60 years (range: 18–89) and M:F of 43:62 were identified. Thirty-seven (35%) patients were in MASCC high risk group. Median time-to- antibiotic administration was 2.5 hrs (range: 0.03-50) and median length of hospital stay was 6 days (range: 1–57). In the multivariate analysis time-to- antibiotic administration (regression coefficient [RC]: 0.31 days [95% CI: 0.13-0.48]), known source of fever (RC: 4.1 days [95% CI: 0.76-7.5]), and MASCC high risk group (RC: 4 days [95% CI: 1.1-7.0]) were significantly correlated with longer hospital stay. Of 105 patients, 5 (4.7%) died & or required ICU monitoring. In multivariate analysis no variables significantly correlated with mortality or ICU monitoring.

Conclusions

Our study revealed that delay in antibiotics administration has been associated with a longer hospital stay.
That “certain cut”: towards a characterology of Mandarin Chinese
Authors: Halliday MAK
Published: April 2014

In his book Language: An Introduction to the Study of Speech, published in 1921, Edward Sapir wrote that ‘ … there is such a thing as a basic plan, a certain cut, to each language’. Linguists of the Prague school referred to the “characterology” of language; for example Vilém Mathesius, in his article ‘On linguistic characterology with illustrations from Modern English’ written in 1928, wrote that ‘… linguistic characterology deals only with the important and fundamental features of a given language at a given point in time’, noting as an example that ‘… Modern English shows a characteristic tendency for the thematic conception of the subject’. It is a concept that proves extremely difficult to make explicit; whatever it is that constitutes the unity of all the components of the picture seems elusive. Can we give any overall characterisation of that ‘certain cut’, or is it simply ineffable?
Teachers and teacher aides initiating five-year-olds into science
Authors: Thwaite Anne
Published: April 2014

Apprenticing children into discourses necessary for success at school begins at a very early age. In this paper I look at five-years-olds being introduced to Science and Technology while at the same time being involved in talk around literacy. The various adults who surround the children engage differentially in talk and action while merging the discourses of literacy and science.

Data for this study were obtained during the course of the project ‘Early literacy through science in Indigenous and culturally diverse communities’, funded by Edith Cowan University in Australia from 2009–2010, in which the author was involved as a researcher. The project involved observing and recording a series of lessons over nine weeks in a Pre-Primary classroom of five year-olds from diverse backgrounds in a metropolitan school. Various functional analyses were used in order to bring out some of the differences in the discourse of the trained teachers compared with that of the other adults working with the children. Analyses included Field, Tenor, Exchange Structure and Speech Function. Differences were apparent in the structure of the discourse, Questions, Commands, vocabulary and the teacher-student relationships. As an example of the contrast between teachers and teacher aides, I look more closely at two lessons involving photography and use of electronic resources. These lessons show the teachers and the teacher aide constructing different relationships with the children and the teacher using a wider variety of linguistic resources in her interactions.
Activity and views of service users involved in mental health research: UK survey
Authors: Patterson Sue , Trite Jenny , Weaver Tim
Published: April 2014

Background

Optimisation of the process and outcomes of service user involvement in research is dependent on understanding current practice, challenges and opportunities.

Aims

To describe activities, roles and experiences of service users involved in mental health research.

Method

National cross-sectional online questionnaire survey, using snowball sampling. Descriptive statistics and framework analysis undertaken collaboratively with a service user reference group.

Results

The survey revealed a previously undescribed, highly qualified service user research workforce. Positioned within and alongside mainstream research, respondents reported drawing on extensive service use, and passion for service improvement to challenge perceived clinical academic dominance of research. The support of peers was crucial to involvement, which typically enhanced mental health but for some, pervasive stigma and scrutiny undermined self-confidence and practical difficulties challenged equitable participation.

Conclusions

Recognition of the service user research workforce will support the constructive amalgamation of academic and experiential expertise needed to shape and realise investment in mental health research.
Spectrum of Fates: a new approach to the study of the developing zebrafish retina
Authors: Almeida Alexandra D. , Boije Henrik , Chow Renee W. , He Jie , Tham Jonathan , Suzuki Sachihiro C. , Harris William A.
Published: April 2014

The ability to image cells live and in situ as they proliferate and differentiate has proved to be an invaluable asset to biologists investigating developmental processes. Here, we describe a Spectrum of Fates approach that allows the identification of all the major neuronal subtypes in the zebrafish retina simultaneously. Spectrum of Fates is based on the combinatorial expression of differently coloured fluorescent proteins driven by the promoters of transcription factors that are expressed in overlapping subsets of retinal neurons. Here, we show how a Spectrum of Fates approach can be used to assess various aspects of neural development, such as developmental waves of differentiation, neuropil development, lineage tracing and hierarchies of fates in the developing zebrafish retina.
Noonan and LEOPARD syndrome Shp2 variants induce heart displacement defects in zebrafish
Authors: Bonetti Monica , Paardekooper Overman Jeroen , Tessadori Federico , Noël Emily , Bakkers Jeroen , den Hertog Jeroen
Published: April 2014

Germline mutations in PTPN11, encoding Shp2, cause Noonan syndrome (NS) and LEOPARD syndrome (LS), two developmental disorders that are characterized by multiple overlapping symptoms. Interestingly, Shp2 catalytic activity is enhanced by NS mutations and reduced by LS mutations. Defective cardiac development is a prominent symptom of both NS and LS, but how the Shp2 variants affect cardiac development is unclear. Here, we have expressed the most common NS and LS Shp2-variants in zebrafish embryos to investigate their role in cardiac development in vivo. Heart function was impaired in embryos expressing NS and LS variants of Shp2. The cardiac anomalies first occurred during elongation of the heart tube and consisted of reduced cardiomyocyte migration, coupled with impaired leftward heart displacement. Expression of specific laterality markers was randomized in embryos expressing NS and LS variants of Shp2. Ciliogenesis and cilia function in Kupffer's vesicle was impaired, likely accounting for the left/right asymmetry defects. Mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling was activated to a similar extent in embryos expressing NS and LS Shp2 variants. Interestingly, inhibition of MAPK signaling prior to gastrulation rescued cilia length and heart laterality defects. These results suggest that NS and LS Shp2 variant-mediated hyperactivation of MAPK signaling leads to impaired cilia function in Kupffer's vesicle, causing left-right asymmetry defects and defective early cardiac development.
Recapitulation of morphogenetic cell shape changes enables wound re-epithelialisation
Authors: Razzell William , Wood Will , Martin Paul
Published: April 2014

Wound repair is a fundamental, conserved mechanism for maintaining tissue homeostasis and shares many parallels with embryonic morphogenesis. Small wounds in simple epithelia rapidly assemble a contractile actomyosin cable at their leading edge, as well as dynamic filopodia that finally knit the wound edges together. Most studies of wound re-epithelialisation have focused on the actin machineries that assemble in the leading edge of front row cells and that resemble the contractile mechanisms that drive morphogenetic episodes, including Drosophila dorsal closure, but, clearly, multiple cell rows back must also contribute for efficient repair of the wound. Here, we examine the role of cells back from the wound edge and show that they also stretch towards the wound and cells anterior-posterior to the wound edge rearrange their junctions with neighbours to drive cell intercalation events. This process in anterior-posterior cells is active and dependent on pulses of actomyosin that lead to ratcheted shrinkage of junctions; the actomyosin pulses are targeted to breaks in the cell polarity protein Par3 at cell vertices. Inhibiting actomyosin dynamics back from the leading edge prevents junction shrinkage and inhibits the wound edge from advancing. These events recapitulate cell rearrangements that occur during germband extension, in which intercalation events drive the elongation of tissues.
A review of the genus Xorides Latreille, 1809 (Hymenoptera, Ichneumonidae, Xoridinae) in the Ukrainian Carpathians
Authors: Varga Alexander
Published: April 2014

Species of the genus Xorides Latreille, 1809 in the Ukrainian Carpathians are reviewed. All eight recorded species are new for the studied region. X alpestris (Habermehl, 1903), X. brachylabis (Kriechbaumer, 1889), X. csikii Clement, 1938, X. irrigator (Fabricius 1793), and X. niger (Pfeffer, 1913) are recorded as new to the Ukrainian fauna. Diagnostic features and illustrations of species are provided. Seasonal dynamics and high-altitude zone distribution of Xorides species in the Ukrainian Carpathians are discussed.
Categorical mapping from estimates of continuous forest attributes – classification and accuracy
Authors: Trubins Renats , Sallnäs Ola
Published: April 2014

Spatially explicit data on forest attributes is demanded for various research with landscape perspective. Existing datasets with estimates of continuous forest variables are often used as the basis for producing categorical forest type maps. Normally, this type of maps are used without knowing their accuracy. This paper presents a Bayesian network model for estimating pixel level class membership probabilities of thus derived categorical maps. Class membership probabilities can be used as a post-classification measure of map accuracy and in the process of map classification affecting the assignments of class labels. The method is applied in mapping deciduous dominated forests on the basis of the k-NN Sweden 2005 dataset in a study area in southern Sweden. The results indicate rather low accuracy for deciduous class regardless of the map classification method: 0.48 versus 0.50 in the maps classified without and with the use of the class membership probabilities given equal deciduous area. When probability-based classification is applied, the level of accuracy varies with the assumed map class proportions. Thus, when deciduous class area corresponding to the National Forest Inventory estimate was used, the accuracy of only 0.35 was obtained for the deciduous map class.
Chemical composition and physic-chemical stability and microbiological cereal bars with almonds native to the Mid-North of Brazil and peel pineapple.
Authors: Carvalho Michelle Garcêz , Silva Larissa Morais Ribeiro , Maia Geraldo Arraes , Sousa Paulo Henrique Machado , Figueiredo Evânia Altina Teixeira , Costa José Maria Correia
Published: April 2014

Cereal bars are classified as healthy and nutritious foods, being sources of vitamins, minerals, fiber, protein and carbohydrates. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the chemical composition and physical and chemical stability and microbiological of cereal bars with almonds chichá, sapucaia and-nut Gurguéia, supplemented with pineapple peel. The cereal bars were subjected to the determination of its value energy and chemical composition (moisture, carbohydrate, lipid, crude protein, fiber and ash) and evaluate its physical and chemical stability (humidity, water activity and pH) and microbiological (Salmonella sp., Coliforms at 45°C, coagulase positive Staphylococcus, Bacillus cereus, molds and yeasts) during 120 days of storage. The cereal bars had different nutritional values, and the cereal bar with almond chichá with the highest percentage protein, while the cereal bar with almonds sapucaia had the highest percentage lipid. The cereal bars attended the microbiological standards recommended by the Brazilian legislation, maintaining the physico-chemically and microbiologically stable during the 120 days of storage. Therefore, it is feasible to use the almonds chichá, sapucaia and-nut Gurguéia as well as peel pineapple in developing cereal bars.

 

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.14685/rebrapa.v4i1.101
Microbiological evaluation of hands of foods handlers from public schools in Pirenópolis-GO.
Authors: Santos Nayara Melo , Souza Keili Maria Cardoso
Published: April 2014

The participation of food handlers in epidemiological chain of toxinfections and other foodborne diseases have been reported with frequency in several studies. The handlers can eliminate pathogenic microorganisms, however without any symptoms of disease, compromising the food by inadequate hygiene habits. The aim of this study was to analyze the presence of Staphylococus aureus and Escherichia coli in the hands of food handlers in four public schools in city of Pirenópolis, Goiás, Brazil. The samples were collected through rinse the hands of food handlers in saline solution contained in sterile plastic bag, before and after washing hands with soap and anti-septic (70% alcohol). The samples were cultivated in Manitol and EMB Agars for 24-48 hours at 35 ºC. Furthermore, was applied a questionnaire for data collection on hygienic and sanitary habits of these handlers. It was found that 70% of handlers were carriers of Staphylococcus aureus and the presence of Escherichia coli was not observed. There was a considerable decrease in the count of S. aureus (64% to 100%) when was performed the correct washing hands. Regarding the data from the questionnaires, handlers demonstrated knowledge about the proper food handling proceeding; however, it was observed that they did not practice washing hands properly.

 

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.14685/rebrapa.v4i1.116
A multivariate analysis of the partitive genitive in Dutch. Bringing quantitative data into a theoretical discussion
Authors: Pijpops Dirk , Van de Velde Freek
Published: April 2014

This article takes a usage-based perspective on the partitive genitive construction in Dutch (iets moois, ‘something beautiful’), which has previously drawn scholarly attention from a theoretical perspective, due to the challenges it presents to Dutch nominal morphosyntax. We will argue that a good understanding of the construction at issue cannot circumvent the enormous variation in the expression of the genitive marker. Within the wide variation space, regular patterns can be discerned, which we uncovered by using mixed-effects logistic regression. This approach allows us to assess the precise contribution of internal factors (e.g. length of the adjective, or the type of quantifier) and external factors (e.g. regional variety, or register), as well as their interactions. This article has three objectives then: first, it wants to contribute to the description of Dutch syntax, second it aspires to advance methodological standards in grammatical investigation, and third, it makes a theoretical plea for a usage-based perspective, with full recognition of variation.
Periphere Kooperation am Beispiel der Anschläge in Norwegen 2011 / Peripheral Cooperation in Crises: Norway 22/7/11
Authors: Büscher Monika , Perng Sung-Yueh , Weise Sebastian
Published: April 2014

Dieser Beitrag thematisiert, wie Zivilbürger während der Anschläge in Norwegen vom 22. Juli 2011 soziale Medien nutzten um Hilfe zu leisten. Bei den Anschlägen detonierte der Attentäter Anders Behring Breivik zunächst eine Bombe in Oslo und riss acht Menschen in den Tod. Danach fuhr er auf die 40 Kilometer entfernte Insel Utøya, wo er 69 Jugendliche ermordete. Unsere Analyse erarbeitet ein neues Konzept der „peripheren Kooperation”, um die öffentliche Beteiligung an der Ressourcenmobilisierung am Rande der offiziellen Krisenhilfe besser zu beschreiben.
Kreative Nutzung der verfügbaren Netzwerkinfrastruktur im Katastrophenfall / Creative usage of available network infrastructure in disaster situations
Authors: Al-Akkad Amro , Boden Alexander
Published: April 2014

In diesem Beitrag untersuchen wir Herausforderungen für Nutzer von mobilen Geräten in Situationen, in denen die Netzwerkinfrastruktur gestört ist. Ein besonderer Fokus liegt dabei auf den durch Nutzer entwickelten Strategien, um solche Störungen mit Überbleibseln der Infrastruktur zu umgehen und ihre Fähigkeit zur mobilen Kommunikation wiederherzustellen. Aufbauend auf Interviews mit Nutzern, die Krisensituationen erlebt haben, sowie mit professionellen Ersthelfern, Berichten über Katastrophen und der einschlägigen Literatur beschreiben wir fünf architektonische Qualitäten, die die Resilienz von Systemen für Krisenkommunikation bei Ausfällen der Kommunikationsinfrastruktur erhöhen können. Dazu zeigen wir beispielhaft anhand zweier von uns entwickelter Prototypen, wie diese auf Basis etablierter Technologien umgesetzt werden können.