bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
False memory syndrome vs. total repression
Authors: Abrams Stan
Published: September 2018

A major debate exists within the mental health field regarding the authenticity of recovered repressed memories involving childhood sexual abuse. Since it is difficult to document events that occurred years ago, a study was conducted in which polygraphy was utilized to test alleged child abusers accused on the basis of recovered memories versus those abusers whose purported victims experienced no repression. The former group was found to be deceptive in only 4% of the cases, in contrast to 78% for the latter subjects. These findings strongly argue against the validity of the concept of repression for acts that might have persisted for years.
A proposal for mental health provisions in state anti-stalking laws
Authors: Fritz Jeffrey P.
Published: September 2018

The author examines state legislatures' approaches to provisions for mental health assessment and treatment in anti-stalking laws. The article includes a review of studies relating to the diagnosis and treatment of mental illnesses associated with stalking, mainly erotomania. The author discusses possible constitutional implications raised by the inclusion of mental health provisions and proposes amending anti-stalking laws to include a mental health assessment of all offenders, identification of appropriate treatment, and an assessment of the offender's amenability to treatment.
Recovered memories: Unearthing the past in court
Authors: Loftus Elizabeth F. , Rosenwald Laura A.
Published: September 2018

In the past seven years, hundreds of lawsuits based upon repressed memories have forced courts to deal with a new set of issues, including the reliability of such memories, what kind of expert testimony would help judges and juries evaluate the memories, and whether professionals who help retrieve repressed memories should be held liable when therapy goes awry. Research has demonstrated the fallibility of human memory. Experts can help illuminate the controversy over memory in general and repressed memory in particular, as well as the external factors that may distort resurfaced memories.
Does childhood sexual abuse cause adult psychiatric disorders? Essentials of methodology
Authors: Pope Harrison G. , Hudson James I.
Published: September 2018

Numerous recent studies have suggested a possible link between childhood sexual abuse and adult psychiatric disorders. However, these studies must be interpreted with careful attention to the problems of selection bias, information bias, and the effects of confounding variables. To our knowledge, no available studies in the scientific literature have adequately controlled for all three of these sources of error. Indeed, many published studies are so vulnerable to these forms of error that they are rendered almost valueless. Therefore at present we cannot reasonably conclude whether childhood sexual abuse is, or is not, an etiologic factor in adult psychiatric disorders.
The recovered memory controversy: An anthropologist's view
Authors: Kenny Michael G.
Published: September 2018

The false memory controversy falls in the border zone between facts and values. Scientific claims are made that are also heavily influenced by moral and political convictions. Observations are offered on the sociology of this affair, on the politics of knowledge, and on the influence of the DSM rubric in setting up the terms of the debate. Several non-Western “psychiatric” conditions are discussed that reveal the interpenetration of theory and experience in the interpretation of illness, and that reciprocally tell us something about this relationship in the practice of Western psychiatry itself.
Consequences of the therapist's claim “I'm not a detective”
Authors: Moen Steve Paul
Published: September 2018

Clinicians providing mental health therapy have long accepted the use of free narrative and the resulting “narrative truth” that provides a basis for exploring the patient's/client's problems. Since the legal system in the 1990s has allowed claims of “recovered memories” of childhood sexual abuse to be heard in criminal and civil cases years—even decades—after the alleged events occurred, the therapists' patients/clients now must prove the “historical truth” of their perceived memories in order to prevail. The difference between these “truths” requires therapists to exercise increased care in working with persons who may come to have false beliefs about their past. The failure to do so may result in a disservice to the patient/client and further legal problems for the therapist.
HIV-infected prisoners: What mental health services are constitutionally mandated?
Authors: Mayer Connie
Published: September 2018

State and federal correctional facilities currently have approximately 23,000 inmates who are infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). These inmates suffer from the same mental health disorders as uninfected inmates but are additionally subject to mental health problems uniquely related to their HIV infection. Many prison systems are struggling to provide minimal mental health care to uninfected inmates. How will prisons address the additional mental health needs of the staggering number of inmates being diagnosed with AIDS and HIV? This article describes the type of mental health services that are constitutionally mandated and discusses whether and how prisons will have to respond to the distinct mental health issues related to HIV infection.
“Three's a Crowd”: The Presence of Third Parties during the Forensic Psychiatric Examination
Authors: Simon Robert I.
Published: September 2018

The forensic psychiatric examination is conducted best in privacy. Lawyers seek to be present during these examinations to ensure an accurate record and to effectively challenge any misrepresentations or inaccuracies at trial. Institutional settings often present daunting venues for the conduct of a private examination. If third parties must attend the examination, they should do so as observers only. The process of litigation should not be allowed to convert the consultation room into a courtroom. The forensic psychiatrist must ensure that vigorous advocacy does not undermine the integrity of the examiner nor the conduct of a valid, impartial professional examination.
Repressed Memory or Dissociative Amnesia: What the Science Says
Authors: Scheflin Alan W. , Brown Daniel
Published: September 2018

Legal actions of alleged abuse victims based on recovered memories of childhood sexual abuse (CSA) have been challenged arguing that the concept of repressed memories does not meet a generally accepted standard of science. A recent review of the scientific literature on amnesia for CSA concluded that the evidence was insufficient. The issues revolve around: (1) the existence of amnesia for CSA, and (2) the accuracy of recovered memories. A total of 25 studies on amnesia for CSA now exist, all of which demonstrate amnesia in a subpopulation; no study failed to find it, including recent studies with design improvements such as random sampling and prospective designs that address weaknesses in earlier studies. A reasonable conclusion is that amnesia for CSA is a robust finding across studies using very different samples and methods of assessment. Studies addressing the accuracy of recovered abuse memories show that recovered memories are no more or no less accurate than continuous memories for abuse.
Are 25% of Clinicians Using Potentially Risky Therapeutic Practices? A Review of the Logic and Methodology of the Poole, Lindsay et al. Study
Authors: Olio Karen A.
Published: September 2018

Conclusions from the Poole, Lindsay et al. study are often cited to document claims regarding the frequency and potential risks of using so-called suggestive memory recovery techniques or memory recovery therapies. This study has also been used to document the alleged number of persuaded clients who have developed false memories of childhood abuse. The basis for these claims seems questionable when the Poole, Lindsay et al. study is examined carefully. Lack of operational definitions, flawed survey construction, lack of face validity, misclassification of techniques, and fallacious inferences about causality, such as mistaking correlation for causation, make it impossible to use these data to draw scientific conclusions about the nature and outcomes of clinicians' practices.
The Jurisprudence of Unconscious Intent
Authors: Cohen Daniel I. A.
Published: September 2018

Intention is a most difficult and illusory mental process. It is our contention that the law would become more functional and less convoluted (while not decreasing injustice) by abandoning distinctions based on this unprofitable phantasm. To this end, we first offer a paradigmatic definition of intention against which we survey its philosophical meaning and explore its boundaries. We examine the possibility that seemingly unintentional acts are, in fact, generated by the deliberations of the unconscious mind. We explore the consequences of bringing the jurisprudential concept of intention into harmony with Freudian doctrine. This, we conclude, necessitates expanding criminal and civil liability for one's actions from those called intentional under the current definition to include also those actions intentionally generated by the unconscious mind. Whatever benefit there is to society in holding one liable for consciously intentional acts extends, correspondingly, to unconsciously intentional acts as well. We explain how this may be done in practice.
Forensic Psychiatry: The Making—and Breaking—of Expert Opinion Testimony
Authors: Wilkinson Allen P.
Published: September 2018

Expressing an expert opinion in an open courtroom or other legal proceeding as to a person's mental condition presents a number of challenges for both the forensic psychiatrist and the attorney employing the psychiatrist. Both the forensic psychiatrist and the attorney must become thoroughly educated as to what goes into the forming of a valid, unimpeachable expert psychiatric opinion. The psychiatrist must conduct a thorough investigation and examination of the person whose mental condition is at issue in a variety of criminal and civil situations. While testifying as a psychiatric expert on the witness stand in open court can be an exhilarating experience, it also opens the psychiatrist to scrutiny surpassing even that to which we subject our presidential candidates.
I the People—the Most Perfect Union: The Psychodynamics of Constitutional Law
Authors: Cohen Daniel I. A.
Published: September 2018

The Founders unknowingly but deliberately established in the Constitution a government inform and function analogous to the psychodynamic structures of the human mind as described by Freud. The executive, legislative and judicial branches correspond in poignantly meaningful ways, in definition and operation, to the ego, id and superego in the mind of a single individual. The nature of the system of checks and balances and the interactions and conflicts between the branches directly parallel the dynamic interplay of the agencies of the mind. This correspondence is an inescapable consequence of the Founders' desire to build a growing and self-correcting governing system that would be able to master challenges while developing and progressing in a manner necessarily consistent, in principle, with the essential political tenets of its establishment. This observation has direct legal and political implications relevant to some of the most important dilemmas in American Constitutional Law.
Representing the Client from Hell: Divorce and the Borderline Client
Authors: Margulies Sam
Published: September 2018

This article explores the difficulties that arise for divorce lawyers and their clients when the client has borderline personality disorder. The borderline is characterized by instability in interpersonal relationships, poor impulse control, chronic rage, and a pervasive fear of abandonment. Successful divorce requires the management of separation and strong emotions, adaptation to change, and the necessity of negotiation and compromise. These tasks constitute a severe challenge to the limited behavioral repertory of the borderline. For the borderline, divorce is like being in hell. And for the lawyer, this is a very difficult client to please.
Highlights in the history of law and psychiatry with focus on the United States
Authors: Slovenko Ralph
Published: September 2018

This article is a comprehensive overview of the highlights in the history of law and psychiatry. It presents a synopsis of the leading cases in various areas of law and psychiatry. The author presents the evolution of law and psychiatry in each of the areas by summaries of cases from early times to present. Brief critical comments and citations for additional study are included. The article aims to be of assistance to those studying law and psychiatry.
Juvenile Transfer Cases: Risk Assessment and Risk Management
Authors: Witt Philip H. , Dyer Frank J.
Published: September 2018

This article reviews the issues involved in performing clinical evaluations of juveniles with regard to transfer from family court to adult court. Base-rate concerns are examined in detail. Then the article reviews what risk factors and protective factors have an established empirical relationship to recidivism. The characteristics of three groups of aggressive and delinquent teens are described, along with their relative recidivism levels. The article then discusses the research on the effect of various legal and clinical risk-management strategies—such as transfer to adult court or various forms of treatment—on recidivism.
What Science Says—and Doesn't Say—About Repressed Memories: A Critique of Scheflin and Brown
Authors: Piper August
Published: September 2018

Scheflin and Brown recently asserted that 25 investigations confirm the reality of dissociative amnesia in sexually abused individuals. The present author reviews Scheflin and Brown's study and shows that because of several methodological weaknesses in these investigations, such a conclusion is unwarranted.
On Property as Self
Authors: Cohen Daniel I. A.
Published: September 2018

Certain objects are, at certain times, invested with a psychological importance by certain people that is tantamount to the establishment of a property right analogous to the right of self-protection. We refer to this circumstance by the phrase “property as self” We maintain that when property has been thus “cathected,”2 the attachment is reasonable, and the world has been put on notice, the property should be protected, under public and private law, as would be the investing individual. Thus certain acts against objects should be considered direct affronts against persons, thereby changing the severity of the offenses. Arguments are presented as to why and how this could be implemented and how justice would thus be served.
Is Homosexuality Normal?
Authors: Brill Norman Q.
Published: September 2018

In 1973 the American Psychiatric Association removed homosexuality from its list of diagnoses, thereby implying that it is a normal variant of sexual behavior. Since then, when homosexuals have sought professional help for emotional problems, psychiatrists have tended increasingly to assist them to believe that their emotional discomfort is the result of society's bias and intolerance and to accept and enjoy their preference for individuals of the same sex. The World Health Organization, however, still includes homosexuality as a medical diagnosis in the International Classification of Diseases. Normally, a child can be expected to develop into an adult with its genetically determined sex. When a boy who is physically and hormonally normal develops a preference for sex with another male, it is an indication that something is amiss. A pathologic family environment is often present in the family of homosexuals. Yet not all boys exposed to a pathologic family during early development become homosexuals. Because of this, the role of disturbed relationships in causing homosexuality is questioned. However, psychoanalyses of male homosexuals have convincingly revealed the existence of a fear of heterosexuality in individuals with genetically predisposed personalities.
New Jersey's Sex Offender Risk Assessment Scale: Preliminary Validity Data
Authors: Ferguson Glenn E. , Eidelson Roy J. , Witt Philip H.
Published: September 2018

The Registrant Risk Assessment Scale (RRAS) was developed to aid New Jersey law enforcement representatives in assigning convicted sex offenders to risk tier classifications. The three risk tier classifications (low, moderate, and high risk) are linked to corresponding levels of community notification. The present study examined the scores of 574 adult males convicted of sex offenses in New Jersey on the seven RRAS items that assess static indicators of recidivism risk. Based on sentencing decisions, the sample included three groups of offenders: probationers, state prisoners, and those assigned to the Adult Diagnostic and Treatment Center (ADTC), an inpatient sex offender treatment facility for repetitive and compulsive offenders. An exploratory factor analysis of the RRAS items identified two important orthogonal factors: a forcible assault factor and a sexual deviance factor. One-way ANOVAs revealed significant differences among the three placement groups, with state prisoners tending to score highest on items reflecting antisocial orientation and forcible sexual assault and ADTC offenders scoring highest on items reflecting deviant sexual behavior. A discriminant analysis generated two distinct functions that classified well over half of the sample into their correct sentencing groups. Taken as a whole, the results provide preliminary support for the use of the RRAS in making sex offender risk determinations.
It's Time for Me to Die: An inside Look at Death Row
Authors: Ross Michael B.
Published: September 2018

The author, a convicted serial killer, writes of his experiences on Connecticut's death row as the first man sentenced to death in that state in some 20–plus years and who may possibly be the first man executed in Connecticut since 1960. The author describes the paraphiliac mental disorder that led to the crimes, his treatment for that disorder, the decision that led to his failed attempt to accept the death penalty, and his hopes that something might be learned from his experiences that would prevent future victimizations. At the time of this writing, his fate has not yet been determined.
Off-label Prescribing of Antidepressants and Anxiolytics: An Attorney's Guide to Psychoactive Drugs
Authors: Kuntz Richard M.
Published: September 2018

“Off-label” prescribing of psychoactive drugs for indications other than those approved by the FDA is a common practice among psychiatrists as well as general practitioners. A major off-label use is the prescription of sedating antidepressants for sedative-hypnotic purposes. This practice is examined, and the major categories of antidepressant, anxiolytic, and hypnotic medications are explored, based on their FDA-approved indications as well as common usage. The implications for physician and hospital liability for this practice are reviewed. The off-label usage of antidepressants for the treatment of non-depressed alcoholics is also reviewed, and on-line research tools for attorneys to obtain updated information in this area are evaluated.
Synopsis of Sweet! Mouse Models of Diabetic Kidney Disease
Authors: Heinz-Taheny Kathleen M. , Harlan Shannon M. , Qi Zhonghua , Heuer Josef G.
Published: September 2018

Diabetes mellitus (types 1 and 2) is the leading cause of glomerular disease and end-stage renal disease in most developed countries, with estimates that one-third of people living with diabetes will develop diabetic kidney disease (DKD). The current standard of care medications slow but do not arrest progression of kidney disease, and therefore, therapy for DKD is a highly unmet medical need for patients. To discover and test novel and durable new therapies, it is necessary to develop animal models of human DKD, which authentically recapitulate the human disease state and provide translatable efficacy to human patients. Here, we review selected mouse models of human DKD, which demonstrate many of the features of type 2 human DKD.
The Sensitivity of Impact Estimates to Data Sources Used: Analysis From an Access to Postsecondary Education Experiment
Authors: Ford Reuben , Grékou Douwêrê , Kwakye Isaac , Hui Taylor Shek-wai
Published: September 2018

Background:

This article reports on the Future to Discover Project—a Canadian randomized controlled trial of two high school interventions—where data on key postsecondary enrollment outcomes were collected for two phases. During the initial phase, outcomes were recorded from administrative data and follow-up surveys. During the later phase, data came from administrative records only.

Objectives:

The article provides analyses that are informative about the consequences of a change from administrative-only data to survey-only data (and vice versa) for the estimation of impacts.

Results:

The change from administrative-only to survey-only data tended to produce apparent drops in postsecondary enrollment rates that varied by subgroup and education outcome. Nonetheless, levels and significance of impact with respect to postsecondary enrollment remained relatively stable.

Conclusions:

The findings of the article provide evidence that estimating education program impacts in the context of a randomized experiment can be relatively robust to the data sources chosen. They suggest that internal validity and conclusions for policy need not be affected by changing data sources even when the change produces marked changes in levels of the outcome of interest observed.
Effects of punishment, social norms, and peer pressure on delinquency: Spare the rod and spoil the child?
Authors: Chadee Derek , Ali Stacia , Burke Ariel
Published: September 2018

Parental behavior regulation and delinquency is well established in the literature. While the precise direction of the relationship seems elusive, delinquency remains a recurring behavioral outcome of punitive forms of discipline. Opponents of punishment propose that it leads to a greater likelihood of conduct issues in adolescence and adulthood. The present study assessed the influence of punishment, social norms, and age on delinquency while examining peer pressure as a mediator. Further, gender and ethnicity were controlled. A random sample of 2011 participants from a southern Caribbean island responded to a questionnaire administered by field interviewers. Data were analyzed using path analysis, multiple group analysis, and one-way analysis of variance. Results showed that all independent variables were significant in predicting delinquency while peer pressure mediated these relationships. Further, gender and ethnic differences were observed with males and African-Trinidadians rating highest on delinquency. Findings are discussed within the theoretical frameworks of social bond theory, PARTheory, and in relation to previous research. Limitations and future research are also highlighted.
Gendered outcomes of the gender composition of jobs and organizations: A multilevel analysis using employer–employee data
Authors: Kim Young-Mi
Published: September 2018

This study aimed to find how demographic compositions at job- and establishment-levels affect the wages of women and men. Using employer–employee matched data, this study found that the proportion of females at the job-level produces opposite results for men and women, when the jobs are embedded in female-dominated workplaces; as a consequence, the within-job gender wage gap becomes greater as the proportion of females at the workplace increases. In sum, female concentration at the workplace fortifies the negative effect of gender devaluation, a pattern that previous studies focusing on occupational-level might have missed.
Exploring the impact of brain cancer on people and their participation
Authors: Hammill Kathrine , Stewart Catherine G , Kosic Natasha , Bellamy Lauren , Irvine Hannah , Hutley Dawn , Arblaster Karen
Published: September 2018

Introduction

Brain cancer diagnoses are rising, and the prognosis is commonly life-limiting. Brain cancer symptoms and the side effects of treatment are imposing and harmful. Little is known about the effect of these symptoms and treatments on occupational participation or about the role that occupational therapy can play for people with brain cancer.

Methods

Sixteen participants with brain cancer were purposively recruited from a single site. Data was collected using semi-structured interviews. Interviews were analysed thematically.

Results

Three overarching themes were identified: (a) ‘there’s a lot of things that I can’t do anymore’: adverse effects of tumour and treatments; (b) ‘you adjust with adversity’: accepting altered occupational participation levels; (c) occupational therapy: ‘why is she here?’

Conclusions

Findings highlight a connection between brain cancer symptoms, treatment side effects and occupational participation. A disconnect was found between occupational therapy services and occupational needs. Further research could explore whether realigning occupational therapy services to address the concerns identified in this study leads to enhanced occupational participation through the journey of brain cancer.
The ‘magic of the mall’ revisited: Malls and the embodied politics of life
Authors: Miller Jacob C. , Laketa Sunčana
Published: September 2018

This article reviews recent literature on shopping malls that reaffirms their importance for human geography. Taking Goss’s seminal work on the ‘magic of the mall’ as a starting point, we trace how recent works attuned to emotion and affect have updated and inspired a re-conceptualization of this potential ‘magic’. Synthesizing the linkages between consumer architecture with spatial politics and emotional and affective sensibilities in those spaces, the article seeks to help set the agenda for further research in this field by emphasizing how social difference infuses the retail atmosphere and the way it reveals the workings of geopolitics.
A prospective pilot study of the effect on catecholamines of mindfulness training vs pharmacological prophylaxis in patients with chronic migraine and medication overuse headache
Authors: Grazzi Licia , Raggi Alberto , D’Amico Domenico , Sansone Emanuela , Leonardi Matilde , Andrasik Frank , Gucciardi Antonina , Guido Davide , D’Andrea Giovanni
Published: September 2018

Aim

To address whether, in patients with chronic migraine and medication overuse headache, mindfulness-based treatment is associated with changes in plasma levels of catecholamines and elusive amines that are similar to those observed in patients undergoing pharmacological prophylaxis.

Methods

In this non-randomized, clinic-based effectiveness study, patients aged 18–65, with a history of chronic migraine ≥ 10 years and overuse of triptans or non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs ≥ 5 years, were enrolled. Upon completion of a structured withdrawal program, patients received either pharmacological prophylaxis or six weekly sessions of mindfulness-based treatment and were followed for 12 months. Daily headache diaries were used to record headache frequency and medication intake; catecholamines (noradrenaline, epinephrine and dopamine) and levels of elusive amines were assayed from poor platelet plasma.

Results

Complete follow-up data were available for 15 patients in the pharmacological prophylaxis-group (14 females, average age 44.1) and 14 in the mindfulness treatment-group (all females, average age 46.4), and all variables were comparable between groups at baseline. At 12 months, significant improvement ( p < .001) was found in the pharmacological prophylaxis group for headache frequency and medication intake (by 51% and 48.7%, respectively), noradrenaline, epinephrine and dopamine (by 98.7%, 120.8% and 501.9%, respectively); patients in the mindfulness treatment-group performed similarly. For elusive amines, no longitudinal changes were found.

Conclusions

The similar improvement trends observed in the two groups of patients further support the utility of mindfulness-based treatment in migraine care, and reinforce the hypothesis that alteration and normalization of tyrosine metabolism are implicated in migraine chronification and in remission of chronic migraine.
The Feminist Question in Realism
Authors: Sweet Paige L.
Published: September 2018

Feminist standpoint theory and critical realism both offer resources to sociologists interested in making arguments that account for causal complexity and epistemic distortion. However, the impasse between these paradigms limits their utility. In this article, I argue that critical realism has much to gain from a confrontation with feminist theory. Feminist theory’s emphasis on boundary-crossing epistemologies and gendered bodies can help critical realism complicate its notion of the bifurcation between epistemology and ontology. But taking feminist theory seriously also involves careful attention to the risks of epistemic violence, to questions about credible witnesses. I argue that both paradigms will be improved by better theorization of (1) ideology as part of social ontology and (2) interactions between the context of knowledge production and social ontology. Attending to what is missing, distorted, or occluded between the knower, knowledge, and object of knowledge can provide resources for theorizing social ontology.
Aspirational Differences Between Students With and Without IEPs: Grades Earned Matter
Authors: Sinclair James , Poteat V. Paul
Published: September 2018

Using data from the 2015 Dane County Youth Assessment ( n = 12,886 students, 22 high schools), we identified disparities between students with Individualized Education Programs (IEP) and without IEPs across multiple post–high school aspirations. We identified significant IEP status × grades earned interactions in predicting students’ reported likelihood of pursuing post–high school placements. Higher reported average grades earned were more strongly associated with students’ greater reported likelihood of attending college/university for students without IEPs than for students with IEPs. Also, higher grades were associated with less likelihood of foregoing postsecondary education and only looking for a job for students without IEPs whereas this association was not significant for students with IEPs. Implications for research and practice are discussed.
Effects of fibrin glue as a three-dimensional scaffold in cultivated adult human retinal pigment epithelial cells
Authors: Balagholi Sahar , Rezaei Kanavi Mozhgan , Alizadeh Shaban , Dabbaghi Rasul , Karami Samira , Kheiri Bahareh , Daftarian Narsis
Published: September 2018

This study was conducted to examine morphological, genotypic, and phenotypic alterations occurring in cultured adult human retinal pigment epithelial cells when encapsulated with different concentrations of fibrin glue. Cultivated adult human retinal pigment epithelial cells were encapsulated with different concentrations of fibrin glue, namely FG1 (42 mg/dl), FG2 (84 mg/dl), FG3 (124 mg/dl), FG4 (210 mg/dl), followed by the evaluation of genetic and cytomorphological changes and protein expression. Cultured adult human retinal pigment epithelial cells showed dendritiform morphology during the early days of encapsulation with fibrin glue. Moreover, an increasing inhibitory effect on cell growth was observed with increasing concentrations of fibrin glue. At the transcriptional level, the expression of MMP2, PAX6, and ITGB1 in FG1-encapsulated cells was significantly higher than that in other treated groups; however, the expression of ACTA2 was lower in all fibrin glue-encapsulated groups compared to that in the controls. Immunocytochemistry showed that FG2-encapsulated cells expressed cytokeratin 8/18, RPE65, and ZO-1 proteins, but not PAX6. In conclusion, fibrin glue at a concentration of 84 mg/dl allows proper encapsulation of adult human retinal pigment epithelial cells, while preserving the morphometric, genotypic, and phenotypic features of the cells. This three-dimensional biopolymer can be considered a reliable vehicle for retinal pigment epithelium cell transplantation in cell-based therapies.
Metaphor and Irony in the Public Criminological Discourse of Lithuania
Authors: Gedzevičienė Dalia
Published: September 2018

This article discusses metaphor and irony as discursive strategies employed by the Lithuanian media while construing the imagery of crime, criminal, and criminality. The method applied to analyse metaphor and irony in Lithuanian criminological discourse combines the framework offered by conceptual metaphor theory with corpus linguistics. First of all, metaphorical and ironical expressions were inventoried, and then conceptual paradigms were reconstructed from them. The conceptual-level analysis revealed that the relations between the conceptual domains of metaphor and irony are processed by different types of mapping (similarity [metaphor] vs. dissimilarity [irony]). Despite differences in the processing of cross-domain mapping, metaphor and irony realised in public criminological discourse carry out the same or very similar rhetorical and social functions. The main function of these discursive strategies is the vivid expression of emotional attitudes and values directed at the criminal—the text adresser evaluates the criminal and crime negatively, dissociates from the offender, and isolates him symbolically from our community. In this way, the contemporary Lithuanian media constructs and shapes the community’s approach to particular social phenomena—crime, criminal, and criminality.
Rheological and electrical properties of multiwalled carbon nanotubes–polyvinyl alcohol nanocomposites treated at different pH conditions
Authors: Dahoud Mahmoud S , Abdel-Rahem Rami A , Farrag Emad AM , Ibrahim SS , Ayesh Ayman S , Alshoaibi Adil
Published: September 2018

This work demonstrates the physical properties of polymer nanocomposites of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and functionalized multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) at different weight ratios. The results demonstrate that the rheological and electrical properties are significantly improved. The improvement over PVA properties suggests that the functionalization of MWCNTs, at optimum pH condition, will improve their dispersion in the PVA matrix and enhance their interaction with polymer matrix. The storage modulus and thermal stability are enhanced with the increase of MWCNTs up to 1.0 wt%. Alternating current electrical results show that the incorporation of MWCNTs into PVA will enhance PVA conductivity and polar character while decreasing impedance.
Development and mechanical characterization of microwave-cured thermoplastic based natural fibre reinforced composites
Authors: Singh Manoj Kumar , Zafar Sunny
Published: September 2018

In the present work, polypropylene (PP)- and polyethylene (PE)-based composites were cured using microwave energy with 15% weight percentage of jute and kenaf fibres. The detailed mechanism of microwave curing of the composites has been discussed with suitable illustrations. The mechanical characterization of the microwave-cured composites was carried out using various tests. The scanning electron microscope (SEM) fractographs were used to study the mechanisms of failure. The ultimate tensile strength of various microwave-cured composites was in the range of 44–50 MPa. The interlaminar shear strength of the PP-based composites was 62% higher than the PE-based composites. The impact energy of the microwave-cured composites was in the range of 18–24 kJ. The mechanical performance of the microwave-cured composites was comparable to the composites obtained through traditional manufacturing routes.
Framing Resistance: Identifying Frames That Guide Resistance Interpretations at Work
Authors: Deline Mary Beth
Published: September 2018

Programs aimed at implementing change in organizations regularly experience high failure rates. Exploring resistance to change is one promising way to better understand what might be done to improve these rates. Resistance to change has often been envisioned as employee noncompliance with one-way change messages. This study instead conceptualizes resistance as an interpretive system between implementers and employees. The project developed a grounded typology of the interpretive structures that employees and implementers used to interpret others’ behaviors as resistance or not. Four frames (or cognitive schema) that guide resistance interpretations were identified: (a) disagreeability, (b) protecting role performance, (c) conflicting stakes, and (d) habitual environment. Analyses examined patterns in these frames. This work develops a map of resistance frames that researchers studying resistance to change, communication campaigns, and implementation communication will find useful.
The Legal Construction of Precarity: Lessons from the Construction Sectors in Beijing and Delhi
Authors: Pang Irene
Published: September 2018

This article seeks to disentangle the concepts of “precarity” and “informality” to examine the role of the state in structuring and reproducing precarious labor conditions. Using two cases of labor disputes from the construction sectors in Beijing and Delhi, this article traces the ways through which precarity is structured and reproduced by the state through the law, and reflects on the implications for worker resistance and claim-making.
The programmatic elite in German health policy: Collective action and sectoral history
Authors: Hornung Johanna , Bandelow Nils C
Published: September 2018

Do biographies of policy elites make a difference for the policy process and output? Leading theories of the policy process focus on other explanations that mostly have been derived from peculiarities of American politics. This article transfers a French approach to the study of policy processes in German health policy. It emphasizes how this French perspective presents an added value in the form of the programmatic action framework. At its core, the programmatic action framework proposes that programmatic elites in policy sectors form on the basis of shared biographical intersections and connect to a joint program. Applying the programmatic action framework to the German case of a programmatic elite in health policy that dominated the last quarter-century of major reforms, the analysis reveals the explanatory power of the programmatic action framework in other political contexts. A transfer of the programmatic action framework to other countries and policy issues, however, must respect the specificities of the political system and policy subsystem. In Germany, the specific role of self-governance enhances the analytical categories of the programmatic action framework, moving beyond the traditional conflict between custodians and austerians of state.
Sport as culture: Social class, styles of cultural consumption and sports participation in Canada
Authors: Gemar Adam
Published: September 2018

Cultural consumption writ large has had a prominent place in the sociological discipline since Pierre Bourdieu. While Bourdieu often considered sport in analyses of culture, there have since been relatively few studies that are focused on considering sport within the broader landscape of cultural consumption. This paper seeks to assess the place of sports participation within the cultural lifestyles of Canadians. To this end, this paper employs multiple latent class analyses of various cultural and sporting variables from a large-scale Canadian government survey. It also employs regression analyses of those latent class groups. The results show three primary groups of consumers, pointing strongly to confirming the omnivore thesis in Canada. The results of the core of the analysis show, however, strong delineations in which sports these different groups consume. Ultimately then, the cultural domain of sports may be an area where omnivores practise more distinctive consumption, eschewing the sports of other consumer groups.
Effects of Mindfulness-Based Psychoeducation on the Internalized Stigmatization Level of Patients With Schizophrenia
Authors: Yılmaz Emine , Kavak Funda
Published: September 2018

The aim of this study was to determine the effects of mindfulness-based psychoeducation on internalized stigma in patients with schizophrenia. The patients were recruited from the community mental health centers. This quasiexperimental study was conducted using pretests and posttests with a control group. The participants were 69 patients with schizophrenia; 34 were part of the experimental group and 35 were part of the control group. The patients in the experimental group participated 2 days a week for 6 weeks in a total of 12 sessions which were given in the form of face-to-face group training. The difference between the scale mean posttest scores of the patients in the experimental and control groups was found to be statistically significant ( p < .05). In the intragroup comparisons, a significant difference was found between the stigma mean scores in the experimental group ( p < .05). It was concluded that mindfulness-based psychoeducation was effective in reducing stigma in patients with schizophrenia.
Opening the Black Box: A Meta-Analytic Examination of the Effects of Top Management Team Diversity on Emergent Team Processes and Multilevel Contextual Influence
Authors: Roh Hyuntak , Chun Kyungmi , Ryou Yeejeong , Son Jooyeon
Published: September 2018

This study attempts to open the black box of top management team (TMT) diversity research by examining the following research questions: (a) how TMT diversity has effects on emergent team processes, (b) when those effects are shaped by key environmental contingencies, and (c) whether emergent team processes mediate the TMT diversity and firm performance relationship. To address these issues, we conduct a series of meta-analytic examination. First, using a sample of 208 effect sizes from 51 studies covering multiple industries across 10 countries, we test how two distinct types of diversity (task- and relations-oriented diversity) are differentially associated with two types of emergent team processes (information elaboration and social categorization) in TMTs. Second, meta-analytic regression analyses are conducted to examine how national culture (power distance and collectivism) and industry characteristics (munificence and dynamism) influence the diversity effects on emergent team processes. Third, we conduct a structural equation modeling analysis to examine the relationships among diversity (input)–information elaboration and social categorization–based processes (mediators)–firm performance (output), incorporating additional 895 effect sizes from 152 studies. Our findings indicate that while relations-oriented diversity has apparent relationships with social categorization–based processes, task-oriented diversity is strongly associated with both information elaboration and social categorization–based processes. Industry munificence and dynamism as well as collectivism in national culture moderate the diversity–social categorization relationships. The result of structural equation modeling also confirms the mediating paths of the TMT diversity–information elaboration/social categorization–performance links.
Do Voters Discount Political Scandals over Time?
Authors: Pereira Miguel M. , Waterbury Nicholas W.
Published: September 2018

This paper explores how political scandals are discounted over time. Previous research has shown that voters respond disproportionately to recent economic conditions when evaluating incumbents. We argue that voters discount not only the performance of incumbents in office but also information about their personal character, largely due to accessibility biases. Building on a comprehensive database of congressional scandals covering the last four decades, we show that the electoral consequences of political scandals fade fairly quickly. Only cases emerging in the election-year systematically affect the vote share of incumbents. Moral scandals are the exception, with negative effects persisting over the entire term. In line with the mechanism proposed, additional analyses suggest this pattern results from disproportional levels of media attention, making moral scandals more easily retrieved from memory. The results broaden our understanding of the nature of myopic voting and provide an explanation for the increasing reliance on negative campaigning.
Leader Survival, Sources of Political Insecurity, and International Conflict
Authors: DiLorenzo Matthew
Published: September 2018

Recent research identifies the risk and consequences of losing office as important factors in leaders’ decisions to initiate international conflicts. This paper argues that the institutional source of a domestic threat to a leader should condition the relationship between political insecurity and international conflict. Specifically, existing theoretical mechanisms linking international conflict to security in office should not apply to threats that come from outside a leader’s selectorate. Natural disasters provide a convenient opportunity to test this argument since others have argued that disasters not only affect the risk that all types of leaders lose office but that they do so by creating threats that operate through different mechanisms in different domestic institutional contexts. I find that deaths from disasters are positively associated with conflict initiation among large-coalition leaders throughout the period of 1950 to 2007. I also find that neither disaster deaths nor events are related to conflict behavior for small-coalition leaders. In arguing that not all threats to leader survival matter for international conflict, the paper offers an important qualification to theories of leader survival and international conflict.
Clinical Significance of Squamous Differentiation in Urothelial Carcinoma of the Bladder
Authors: Minato Akinori , Noguchi Hirotsugu , Tomisaki Ikko , Fukuda Atsushi , Kubo Tatsuhiko , Nakayama Toshiyuki , Fujimoto Naohiro
Published: September 2018

The prognostic value of squamous differentiation (SD) in urothelial carcinoma (UC) of the bladder is unclear. The aim of this study was to identify the clinical significance of SD in UC in terms of oncological outcomes in patients undergoing radical cystectomy (RC). We evaluated consecutive patients with muscle-invasive bladder cancer (MIBC; clinical T2-4aN0M0) treated with RC at our institution from March 2003 to March 2017. We enrolled 20 and 81 patients with UC with SD (UCSD) and pure UC, respectively. Postoperative survival outcomes were compared between the patients with UCSD and pure UC using the Kaplan-Meier method. Pre- and postcystectomy factors that influenced the overall survival (OS) and recurrence-free survival (RFS) were investigated in these patients. Multivariate Cox regression models were used to identify the predictors of OS and RFS. With a median follow-up time of 31 months, the 5-year OS rate of the UCSD and pure UC groups was 41.1% and 69.7% ( P = .002) and the 5-year RFS rate was 51.8% and 59.5% ( P = .027), respectively. The shape of the Kaplan-Meier curves for UCSD suggested a more rapid course of the disease within the first 2 years than observed in pure UC. Multivariate analyses suggested that SD in UC was significantly associated with OS (hazard ratio [HR]: 4.22; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.20-14.8; P = .024) and close to significance for a lower RFS (HR: 2.13, 95% CI: 0.74-6.15, P = .064). Our results indicate that SD may be an independent predictor of OS and RFS in UC of MIBC in patients undergoing RC.
Today's Adjuvant Therapy in Breast Cancer: Who Should Receive What?
Authors: Roberge Anne E. , Erban John K.
Published: September 2018

Breast cancer remains a major public health problem. Prospective randomized trials comparing therapies are essential to improve current therapy but, for those women unable or unwilling to participate in clinical trials, treatment plans are needed. Treatment recommendations can be based on available information from individual trials and from a large collaborative overview. This information will be reviewed with treatment recommendations presented for subpopulations of breast cancer patients.