bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The efficacy of cognitive behavioral therapy for Chinese people: A meta-analysis
Authors: Ng Ting Kin , Wong Daniel Fu Keung
Published: November 2017

Objective:

Over the past decade, cognitive behavioral therapy has been applied to an increasingly wider range of disorders and problems in Chinese societies. However, no meta-analysis has been conducted to synthesize the studies on cognitive behavioral therapy for Chinese clients. The purpose of this meta-analytic study was to examine the overall efficacy of cognitive behavioral therapy for Chinese people.

Method:

A literature search was conducted using electronic databases, including Web of Science, PsycINFO and PubMed. Pooled mean effect sizes were calculated using the random-effects model.

Results:

The literature search identified 55 studies with 6763 Chinese participants. The overall short-term effect of cognitive behavioral therapy on the primary outcome was medium in size. Effect sizes were medium for anxiety, depression/well-being and caregiving stress and small for psychotic symptoms and addictive behaviors. The effects of cognitive behavioral therapy on process variables, dysfunctional thoughts and coping, were in the small range. The overall longer-term effect of cognitive behavioral therapy on the primary outcome was medium in size. Moderator analyses showed that the short-term effect was stronger for culturally adapted cognitive behavioral therapy than for unadapted cognitive behavioral therapy. Type of primary outcome, type of control group, recruitment method, study design, the format of delivery and region were found to moderate the efficacy of cognitive behavioral therapy.

Conclusion:

The findings of this study provide evidence for the overall efficacy of cognitive behavioral therapy for Chinese people and the benefit of cultural adaptation of cognitive behavioral therapy to Chinese culture.
Media technology, covert action, and the politics of exposure
Authors: Joseph Michael F , Poznansky Michael
Published: November 2017

States wishing to use force in the modern era frequently face strong incentives to exploit secrecy. Successful covert operations can reduce the likelihood of unwanted escalation with powerful rivals and help leaders conceal unpopular actions from domestic and foreign audiences alike. The many benefits of secrecy, however, can only be realized if covert operations remain covert. We argue that access to information and communications technologies (ICTs) is a critical factor that increases the chances that a covert mission will be exposed. As a result, leaders are much less likely to reach for the quiet option when a potential target has dense ICT networks. We illustrate our mechanism through US national security archival vignettes. We test our argument using a dataset of declassified US military and electoral interventions intended to subvert incumbent regimes throughout the Cold War. The core finding, that leaders are less likely to pursue covert action relative to alternative options when the chances of exposure are high, holds across five distinct measures of ICT networks as well as different model specifications and placebo tests. Our findings suggest that Cold War-style covert operations may well be a thing of the past in an age where communication and media technologies have proliferated to the far corners of the globe. We advance debates on communications technologies, covert action, and political violence.
CAD/CAE for stress–strain properties of a wide range of multifilament twisted man-made filament yarns
Authors: Sriprateep Keartisak
Published: November 2017

In a previous paper, the computer aided design (CAD)/computer aided engineering (CAE) approach was presented and compared via the stress–strain curves of high-tenacity rayon yarn and the energy method. The maximum stress–extension curves showed very good agreement with experimental results and were more accurate than the previous methods. In this paper, the CAD/CAE method is considered in relation to multifilament yarn, which is equally applicable to a wide range of man-made filament yarns from nine material types. The results of this prediction model were compared with the stress–strain curves of experimental results and the energy method. The maximum stress–extension curves showed very good agreement with the experimental results except for the high-tenacity Terylene and Fortisan. The reasons for the poor agreement between the experimental and predicted curves are discussed. The breaking points obtained with this method are also compared with experimental results and discussed.
Ordinary Men: Genocide, Determinism, Agency, and Moral Culpability
Authors: Pleasants Nigel
Published: November 2017

In the space of their 16-month posting to Poland, the 500 men of Police Battalion 101 genocidally massacred 38,000 Jews by rifle and pistol fire. Although they were acting as members of a formal security force, these men knew that they could avoid participation in killing operations with impunity, and a substantial minority did so. Why, then, did so many participate in the genocidal killing when they knew they did not have to? Landmark historical studies by Christopher Browning and Daniel Goldhagen proffer contrasting explanatory answers to this troublesome question. This article focuses on a criticism that has often been leveled at the internal coherence of Goldhagen’s controversial explanatory theory. Goldhagen’s explanation is that the men freely, willingly, and responsibly participated in the genocidal killing because of their beliefs about Jews—beliefs that they were causally determined to hold. Critics charge that this is incoherent: How could perpetrators have been passive recipients of deterministically acquired action-determining beliefs and freely responsible agents of genocidal killing? I defend Goldhagen’s explanation against this charge of incoherence, and go on to explore the implications of his account, and Browning’s, for the moral culpability of the perpetrators.
Serum zinc, copper and iron status of children with coeliac disease on three months of gluten-free diet with or without four weeks of zinc supplements: a randomised controlled trial
Authors: Negi K , Kumar R , Sharma L , Datta SP , Choudhury M , Kumar P
Published: November 2017

Data about the effect of zinc supplementation with gluten-free diet on normalisation of plasma zinc, copper and iron in patients with coeliac disease are scanty. We evaluated the effect of zinc supplementation on serum zinc, copper and iron levels in patients with coeliac disease, by randomising 71 children newly diagnosed with coeliac disease into two groups: Group A = gluten-free diet (GFD); and Group B = gluten-free diet with zinc supplements (GFD +Zn). The rise in iron and zinc was significantly higher in the latter, but the mean rise of copper levels was slightly higher in the former, but the difference was not significant.
The Politicization of the Chinese National Judicial Examination, 2007–2012
Authors: Ahl Björn
Published: November 2017

The introduction of a unified judicial examination marked an important step toward legal professionalization in China. Following a conservative turn in judicial reforms between 2007 and 2012, political content was included in the exam. On the basis of exam texts, model answers, and legal and other documents, this article investigates the content of political questions on the judicial exam. The analysis of exam questions reveals the party-state’s perception of the law-politics nexus and the significance of the political content of the exam for aspiring legal professionals. Candidates learn that they have to grasp the current party ideology in order to be able to deliver the correct interpretation of the law for serving the “overall political situation.” The article argues that the examination questions imply that political guidelines serve as an instrument for fine-tuning the application of law according to new policy aims as well as social and economic change.
Categorizing Competence: Consumer debt and the reproduction of gender-based status differences
Authors: Buchanan Sean , Ruebottom Trish , Riaz Suhaib
Published: November 2017

We examine how gender inequalities are reproduced through categorization processes in mainstream discourse. Drawing from an analysis of six years of US media coverage of credit card borrowers throughout the recent financial crisis, we show how categorization processes facilitate gender-based status differences by categorizing male and female credit card borrowers based on competence. We find that three dimensions of competence—savviness, responsibility, and agency—are constructed through two discursive mechanisms: accounts and vocabularies. Additionally, we highlight how vocabularies work to amplify stereotype-consistent accounts, yet undermine stereotype-inconsistent accounts. We contribute to research on institutional maintenance by highlighting the role of categorization processes in the reproduction of institutionalized relations of inequality. Further, we contribute to research on gender inequality by offering an in-depth examination of the micro-processes involved in the social construction of gender-based status differences. In this way, we shed new light on the cultural means through which gender inequalities are reproduced.
Childhood Adversity, Daily Stress, and Marital Strain in Same-Sex and Different-Sex Marriages
Authors: Donnelly Rachel , Umberson Debra , Kroeger Rhiannon A.
Published: November 2017

Childhood adversity has enduring consequences for individuals throughout life, including increased reactivity to stress that may contribute to marital strain in adulthood. Past research on gendered experiences of heterosexual spouses raises questions about how the influence of childhood adversity might differ for men and women in same-sex marriages. We analyze dyadic diary data from 756 individuals in 106 male same-sex, 157 female same-sex, and 115 different-sex marriages to consider how childhood adversity moderates the association between daily stress and marital strain. Results suggest that the negative consequences of daily stress for marital strain are amplified by past childhood adversity with variation for men and women in same- and different-sex unions, such that women and those in same-sex marriages may experience some protection from the adverse consequences of childhood adversity.
Single Motherhood and Life Satisfaction in Comparative Perspective: Do Institutional and Cultural Contexts Explain the Life Satisfaction Penalty for Single Mothers?
Authors: Pollmann-Schult Matthias
Published: November 2017

Life satisfaction research regularly identifies single mothers as relatively unhappy. This comparative study refines this view by assessing how broader institutional and cultural contexts shape the life satisfaction of single mothers. Using data from the European Social Survey for 24 European countries, this study shows that generous family benefits, extensive child care provision, and high levels of gender equality are associated with smaller life satisfaction penalties for single mothers, whereas societal attitudes toward single motherhood are not related to the life satisfaction of single mothers. Overall, the life satisfaction gap between single mothers and childless singles is substantially smaller than that between single mothers and partnered mothers. Moreover, single women residing in countries with supportive family policies and high levels of gender equality report similar levels of life satisfaction than childless singles. This latter finding challenges the notion that single motherhood inevitably reduces women’s life satisfaction.
Meaning in Life Among Middle-Aged and Older Gay and Heterosexual Fathers
Authors: Shenkman Geva , Ifrah Kfir , Shmotkin Dov
Published: November 2017

This study explored differences in meaning-in-life indicators, namely purpose in life and personal growth, among 76 community-dwelling middle-aged and older Israeli gay men, who had become fathers through a heterosexual relationship (mean age = 59.42, SD = 6.15, range: 50-78), 110 gay men that were not fathers (mean age = 60.37, SD = 9.69, range: 50-84), and 114 heterosexual fathers (mean age = 62.27, SD = 8.09, range: 50-87). As hypothesized, after controlling for 10 sociodemographic characteristics, personal growth was higher among middle-aged and older gay fathers compared with heterosexual fathers. No difference emerged for purpose in life. In line with a second hypothesis, both purpose in life and personal growth were higher among middle-aged and older gay fathers compared with middle-aged and older gay men that were not fathers. The ﬁndings emphasize the possible strengths, manifested by elevated levels of meaning in life, which fatherhood embodies for gay men.
Using Observational Data to Calibrate Simulation Models
Authors: Murray Eleanor J. , Robins James M. , Seage George R. , Lodi Sara , Hyle Emily P. , Reddy Krishna P. , Freedberg Kenneth A. , Hernán Miguel A.
Published: November 2017

Background. Individual-level simulation models are valuable tools for comparing the impact of clinical or public health interventions on population health and cost outcomes over time. However, a key challenge is ensuring that outcome estimates correctly reflect real-world impacts. Calibration to targets obtained from randomized trials may be insufficient if trials do not exist for populations, time periods, or interventions of interest. Observational data can provide a wider range of calibration targets but requires methods to adjust for treatment-confounder feedback. We propose the use of the parametric g-formula to estimate calibration targets and present a case-study to demonstrate its application. Methods. We used the parametric g-formula applied to data from the HIV-CAUSAL Collaboration to estimate calibration targets for 7-y risks of AIDS and/or death (AIDS/death), as defined by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention under 3 treatment initiation strategies. We compared these targets to projections from the Cost-effectiveness of Preventing AIDS Complications (CEPAC) model for treatment-naïve individuals presenting to care in the following year ranges: 1996 to 1999, 2000 to 2002, or 2003 onwards. Results. The parametric g-formula estimated a decreased risk of AIDS/death over time and with earlier treatment. The uncalibrated CEPAC model successfully reproduced targets obtained via the g-formula for baseline 1996 to 1999, but over-estimated calibration targets in contemporary populations and failed to reproduce time trends in AIDS/death risk. Calibration to g-formula targets improved CEPAC model fit for contemporary populations. Conclusion. Individual-level simulation models are developed based on best available information about disease processes in one or more populations of interest, but these processes can change over time or between populations. The parametric g-formula provides a method for using observational data to obtain valid calibration targets and enables updating of simulation model inputs when randomized trials are not available.
The machine in the market: Computers and the infrastructure of price at the New York Stock Exchange, 1965–1975
Authors: Kennedy Devin
Published: November 2017

This article traces the development and expansion of early computer systems for managing and disseminating ‘real-time’ market data at the most influential stock market in the United States, the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). It follows electronic media at the NYSE over a roughly ten-year period, from the time of the deployment of a computer called the Market Data System (MDS) through debates surrounding the National Market System and the passage of the 1975 Securities Acts Amendments. Building on research at the archives of the NYSE and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), this history emphasizes the regulatory and managerial contexts in which market data became computerized. The SEC viewed market automation as both necessary for the viability of the securities industry and a mechanism for expanding regulatory oversight over the venues of stock trading. Moving from the MDS to later technical projects in the late 1960s and early 1970s, this article charts the changing meaning of electronic governance in a market increasingly conceptualized as a technical object. Adding to recent work in the social studies of finance and financial technologies, this history sites early NYSE computerization programs within managerial efforts to consolidate control over the clerical labor of financial markets, and in contests between regulatory and market institutions. It concludes by exploring the differing forms of electronic governance activated in these efforts to bring computers into the market.
“The Whole Is Greater Than the Sum of the Parts”: Prison Staff Perceptions of Domestic Violence Rehabilitation Programs
Authors: Shoham Efrat , Zelig Anat , Hasisi Badi , Weisburd David , Haviv Noam
Published: November 2017

This qualitative study is part of a mixed methods research project that examined the effectiveness of the primary rehabilitation program for domestic violence offenders in the Israeli Prison Services—the “House of Hope.” The quantitative part of the study showed that the “House of Hope” program was effective in reducing recidivism among participating inmates. The purpose of this qualitative study was to describe the rehabilitation program according to the perspectives of the program staff. For this purpose, semistructured interviews were conducted with the department staff during the study as well as with past directors. The qualitative findings suggested that the success of the program probably stemmed from a synergistic combination of several components, for example, identifying the characteristics of domestic violence offenders and adjusting treatment programs to their needs, along with exposure to psychological treatment in varied therapies (cognitive behavioral therapy, psychoeducational, and psychodynamic) and formats (group therapy and individual therapy) during a 1-year stay in a hierarchical therapeutic community. Other components mentioned are staff professionalism, stability, and the program’s location in a therapeutic-oriented prison that is architecturally designed and built to create a less stressful environment for the inmates and the staff.
Subchondral Bone Degradation After Microfracture for Osteochondral Lesions of the Talus: An MRI Analysis
Authors: Shimozono Yoshiharu , Coale Max , Yasui Youichi , O’Halloran Amanda , Deyer Timothy W. , Kennedy John G.
Published: November 2017

Background:

Microfracture is the most common cartilage-reparative procedure for the treatment of osteochondral lesions of the talus (OLTs). Damage to the subchondral bone (SCB) during microfracture may irreversibly change the joint-loading support of the ankle, leading to reparative fibrocartilage degradation over time.

Purpose:

To investigate the morphological change in the SCB after microfracture for OLT by developing a novel magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scoring system specifically for evaluating the SCB. Furthermore, this study assesses the influence of the morphological changes of the SCB on clinical outcomes based on the new score.

Study Design:

Case series; Level of evidence, 4.

Methods:

Forty-two patients who underwent microfracture for OLT were included. An SCB Health (SCBH) scoring system was developed according to the amount of edema, subchondral cyst diameter, and qualitative and thickness change in the SCB, with a total score of 12 indicating normal SCB. MRI was obtained postoperatively from 6 months to 1 year, 1 to 2 years, 2 to 4 years, and 4 to 6 years. The Foot and Ankle Outcome Score (FAOS) was evaluated preoperatively and at 2 years and final follow-up.

Results:

The mean patient age was 38.4 ± 15.6 years, with a mean follow-up of 51.7 ± 22.8 months. The mean FAOS improved significantly from 57.8 ± 14.4 preoperatively to 84.3 ± 7.2 at 24 months ( P < .001) and decreased to a final mean value of 77.1 ± 12.6 ( P < .001). The mean SCBH score decreased from 8.6 ± 1.9 preoperatively to 7.1 ± 1.8 on the first follow-up MRI ( P < .001) and significantly decreased to 5.9 ± 2.3 on the fourth follow-up MRI ( P < .001). Subchondral cysts were noticeably worse at the fourth follow-up MRI than at the first and second ( P < .001, P = .006, respectively). There was a positive correlation between the final FAOS and the SCBH score on the third and fourth follow-up MRI ( r = 0.55, P < .001; r = 0.70, P < .001, respectively), but no correlation was found on the first and second follow-up.

Conclusion:

The SCBs following microfracture for OLT were not restored at midterm follow-up. There was a significant decrease of the overall SCBH score over time. Noticeably, subchondral cysts deteriorated over time consistently. In addition, the SCBH score at midterm follow-up was positively correlated with clinical outcomes. Lasting morphological changes in the SCB may be indicative of longer-term failure of the microfracture procedure.
Social Class and Disaster Exposure
Authors: Banerjee Lopamudra
Published: November 2017

Risk of disaster exposure is often associated with prior conditions of economic deprivation, and it is held that risk would be less for an asset-rich household than an asset-poor one. Observational data may, however, contradict this expected pattern. The contradiction is resolved when we examine risk distribution through the lens of Weberian class distribution, and associate risk with peoples’ class situations. This paper draws upon the household survey data from Tanzania to illustrate this argument.
Protective effects of dietary omega-3 fatty acid supplementation on organophosphate poisoning
Authors: Avci Bahattin , Bilge S. Sirri , Arslan Gokhan , Alici Omer , Darakci Ozge , Baratzada Turkhan , Ciftcioglu Engin , Yardan Turker , Bozkurt Ayhan
Published: November 2017

In this study, we aimed to study the possible preventive effect of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), a dietary omega-3 fatty acid, on toxicity caused by chlorpyrifos (CPF). Six groups of Sprague Dawley rats (200–250 g) consisting of equal numbers of males and females (n = 8) were assigned to study. The rats were orally given for 5 days. The control group was administered pure olive oil, which was the vehicle for CPF. The CPF challenge groups were administered oral physiological saline, pure olive oil, or DHA (50, 100 and 400 mg/kg dosages) for 5 days. The animals were weighed on the sixth day and then administered CPF (279 mg/kg, subcutaneously). The rats were weighed again 24 h following CPF administration. The body temperatures and locomotor activities of the rats were also measured. Blood samples, brain and liver tissues were collected for biochemical, histopathological and immunohistochemical examinations.

A comparison with the control group demonstrated that CPF administration increased malondialdehyde (MDA) levels in blood, brain and liver, while it reduced catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) concentrations ( p < 0.05–0.001). Advanced oxidation protein products (AOPPs) increased only in the brain ( p < 0.001). DHA reduced these changes in MDA and AOPP values ( p < 0.05–0.001), while it increased CAT, SOD and GPx concentrations ( p < 0.05–0.001). Similarly, DHA prevented the decreases in body weight, body temperature and locomotor activities caused by CPF at 100 mg/kg and 400 mg/kg dosages ( p < 0.05–0.001). Similar to the physiological and biochemical changes, the histopathological damage scores, which increased with CPF ( p < 0.05–0.01), decreased at all three dosages of DHA ( p < 0.05–0.01).

Our findings suggest that DHA, by supporting the antioxidant mechanism, reduces toxicity caused by CPF.
Hyperacute Hemodynamic Effects of BiPAP Noninvasive Ventilation in Patients With Acute Heart Failure and Left Ventricular Systolic Dysfunction in Emergency Department
Authors: Moret Iurilli Cinzia , Brunetti Natale Daniele , Di Corato Paola Rita , Salvemini Giuseppe , Di Biase Matteo , Ciccone Marco Matteo , Procacci Vito
Published: November 2017

Background:

Acute heart failure (AHF) is one of the leading causes of admission to emergency department (ED); severe hypoxemic AHF may be treated with noninvasive ventilation (NIV). Despite the demonstrated clinical efficacy of NIV in relieving symptoms of AHF, less is known about the hyperacute effects of bilevel positive airway pressure (BiPAP) ventilation on hemodynamics of patients admitted to ED for AHF. We therefore aimed to assess the effect of BiPAP ventilation on principal hemodynamic, respiratory, pulse oximetry, and microcirculation indexes in patients admitted to ED for AHF, needing NIV.

Methods:

Twenty consecutive patients admitted to ED for AHF and left ventricular systolic dysfunction, needing NIV, were enrolled in the study; all patients were treated with NIV in BiPAP mode. The following parameters were measured at admission to ED (T0, baseline before treatment), 3 hours after admission and initiation of BiPAP NIV (T1), and after 6 hours (T2): arterial blood oxygenation (pH, partial pressure of oxygen in the alveoli/fraction of inspired oxygen ratio, Paco2, lactate concentration, HCO3−), hemodynamics (tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion, transpulmonary gradient, transaortic gradient, inferior vena cava diameter, brain natriuretic peptide [BNP] levels), microcirculation perfusion (end-tidal CO2 [etco2], peripheral venous oxygen saturation [SpvO2]).

Results:

All evaluated indexes significantly improved over time (analysis of variance, P < .001 in quite all cases.).

Conclusions:

The BiPAP NIV may rapidly ameliorate several hemodynamic, arterial blood gas, and microcirculation indexes in patients with AHF and left ventricular systolic dysfunction.
Decreases in Mixed Venous Blood O2 Saturation in Cardiac Surgery Patients Following Extubation
Authors: Williams Jeffrey , McLean Anna , Ahari Jalil , Jose Arun , Al-Helou Georges , Ibi Italo , Najam, MD Farzad , Gutierrez Guillermo
Published: November 2017

Background:

Decreases in mixed venous O2 saturation (SvO2) have been reported to occur in postcardiac surgery patients during weaning from mechanical ventilation. Our aim was to establish whether the physiological mechanism responsible for this phenomenon was a decrease in systemic O2 delivery (DO2) or an increase in global O2 consumption ([Formula: see text] O 2).

Methods:

We studied 21 mechanically ventilated, postoperative cardiac patients for 30 minutes before and 60 minutes after extubation. We monitored continuously arterial O2 saturation by pulse oximetry (SaO2) and central venous O2 saturation (ScvO2) with an oximetry catheter. Mixed venous O2 saturation (SvO2) and cardiac output were also measured continuously with an oximetry pulmonary artery catheter. Systemic O2 delivery and [Formula: see text] O 2 were calculated according to accepted formulae.

Results:

Immediately following extubation, ScvO2 and SvO2 decreased rapidly ( P < .01). Systemic O2 consumption increased from 65 (57) mL·min−1 to 194 (66) mL·min−1 ( P < .05) with no changes in DO2. Consequently, systemic O2 extraction rose from 38% (8%) to 45% (9%; P < .01). Preoperative left ventricular ejection fraction correlated with the decline in SvO2 postextubation. All patients weaned successfully.

Conclusions:

Decreases in SvO2 after discontinuation of ventilatory support in postcardiac surgery patients occur as [Formula: see text] O 2 increases in response to greater energy requirements by muscles of ventilation that are not initially matched by increases in DO2.
Soft poly(2-chloroaniline)/pectin hydrogel and its electromechanical properties
Authors: Kongkaew Wanar , Sangwan Watchara , Lerdwijitjarud Wanchai , Sirivat Anuvat
Published: November 2017

Pectin hydrogels were successfully fabricated with various physical crosslinkers and concentrations for soft actuator applications. A small amount of synthesized P2ClAn was added as a dispersed phase into the pectin matrix. The electromechanical properties of the pectin hydrogels and blends were investigated under the effects of electric field strength, ionic crosslinker type and concentration, and P2ClAn concentration. The electromechanical properties of the pectin hydrogel as crosslinked by Fe2+ were superior to other pectin hydrogels. The pristine pectin hydrogel and the P2ClAn/Pectin hydrogel blended with 0.10%v/v P2ClAn provided the high storage modulus sensitivity values of 8.61 and 14.01, respectively, under the electric field strength of 800 V/mm. The P2ClAn/Pectin hydrogel blend responded to the electric field with higher dielectrophoretic forces, but lower deflections relative to the pristine pectin hydrogel due to the additional P2ClAn polarization and the latter lower rigidity.
(Un)Becoming a Man: Legal Consciousness of the Third Gender Category in Pakistan
Authors: Nisar Muhammad Azfar
Published: November 2017

In the past decade, a few countries have created a third gender category to legally recognize gender-nonconforming individuals. However, we know relatively little about the response of the gender-nonconforming individuals toward the legal third gender category. To address this gap, this article analyzes the different social, religious, and institutional discourses that have emerged around the recently created third gender category in Pakistan and their influence on the legal consciousness of the Khawaja Sira community, a marginalized gender-nonconforming group. Even though the third gender category was created to address the unique gender identity of the Khawaja Sira community, most continue to legally register as men. My research indicates that the patriarchal stigma, high compliance costs, and limited material benefits associated with the legal third gender category dissuade the Khawaja Sira community from choosing to register. My findings point to the limitations of a legal third gender category within a patriarchal sociolegal order where important benefits associated with the masculine identity are forfeited by registering. In doing so, I caution against over emphasizing the symbolic value of legal recognition for gender-nonconforming groups.
It is in the Contract: How the Policies Set in Teachers’ Unions’ Collective Bargaining Agreements Vary Across States and Districts
Authors: Strunk Katharine O. , Cowen Joshua M. , Goldhaber Dan , Marianno Bradley D. , Kilbride Tara , Theobald Roddy
Published: November 2017

We examine more than 1,000 collective bargaining agreements (CBAs) in place across California, Michigan, and Washington. We investigate the prevalence of a set of 43 key provisions between and within these states, providing the first comprehensive comparison of CBA terms using data drawn from economically and demographically different districts, as well as districts that vary considerably by student enrollment. We find that CBAs vary substantially within and across states, and that this variation is more associated with district size than the proportion of low-income students within districts. We conclude by discussing the implications of these findings for research and policy.
Vulnerability assessment of combat aircraft to blast loading
Authors: Han Lu , Han Qing , Ge Yu-Xue , Sang Xiao-Qing
Published: November 2017

Blast wave is a non-negligible killing mechanism for aircraft vulnerability assessment because of its destructive damaging effort in short distance encounter. The existing kill criteria for blast wave damage are mostly obtained from practical and numerical experiments, which are time-consuming and costing. This paper presents a more efficient way to get kill criterion by modeling and assessing the structure vibration of aircraft components with the simplified elastic plastic method, and developing the force model in plastic stage under blast wave. First the complex aircraft is modeled by a combination of flat, beam, arched, and rectangular elements. Then the kill criteria are proposed by comparing the maximum displacement with the allowable deflection of the element in the whole elastic–plastic process. Two illustrative examples of aircraft are studied and tested under blast wave impact with LS-DYNA solver. The results of kill proportions and blast kill contours show that the proposed method is feasible and practical for aircraft vulnerability assessment.
Looking Back, Looking Forward
Authors: Boyd Susan B , Parkes Debra
Published: November 2017

This article offers a review of shifts in feminist legal theory since the early 1990s. We first use our respective histories and fields of expertise to provide a brief overview and highlight some key themes within feminist legal theory. We then examine Social & Legal Studies ( SLS), asking whether it has met its key goal of integrating feminist analyses at every level. Our review suggests that SLS has offered many important contributions to feminist legal scholarship but has not fulfilled its lofty goal of integrating feminist analyses at every level of scholarship. It features feminist work quite consistently and some degree of mainstreaming is evident, as is the international reach of SLS. Too many articles fail, however, to incorporate or even mention feminist approaches. We end with thoughts about, and hopes for, the future of legal feminism, examining efforts to revitalize the field and suggesting possible directions for the future.
‘In This Interregnum’
Authors: Carvalho Henrique , Norrie Alan
Published: November 2017

In this article, we offer a critical examination of the long and rich history of criminal justice scholarship in the pages of Social and Legal Studies. We do so by identifying and exploring a dialectical tension in such scholarship, between the recognition of the role of criminal justice as an instrument of violence, exclusion and control on the one hand and the effort to seek, through or perhaps beyond the critique of criminal justice, an emancipatory project. We explore this tension by examining four areas in scholarship: popular justice, social control and governmentality, gender and sexuality and transitional justice. Relating forms of critique to the historical development of a unipolar political world order from the time of the journal’s inception, we argue that the criminal justice scholarship in Social and Legal Studies positions it, like the world it describes, in a sort of ‘interregnum’. This is a place where the tension between the two poles of emancipation and control is evident but shows few signs of resolution. Each of the four themes displays a different critical perspective, one that reflects a different response to living in a world where legal, social and political emancipation struggles against the weight and direction of history. Critique nonetheless reflects on criminal justice to reaffirm the need for emancipatory change and consider how it may be achieved.
Regulation
Authors: Picciotto Sol
Published: November 2017

In the quarter-century that Social & Legal Studies has been published, regulation has emerged as a new, and for many exciting, interdisciplinary field. The concept itself requires a wider view of normativity than the narrow positivist one of law as command. It is certainly protean, ranging over many fundamental questions about the changing nature of the public sphere of politics and the state, and its interactions with the ‘private’ sphere of economic activity and social relations, as well as the mediation of these interactions, especially through law. This survey aims to outline and evaluate some of the main contours of the field as it has developed in this recent period, focusing on the regulation of economic activity. Regulation is seen as having emerged with the withdrawal by governments from direct provision of many economic and social services, to be replaced by corporatist bureaucracies and quasi-public agencies managing the complex public–private interactions of financialized capitalism. The arguments for ‘smart’ regulation have, in an era fixated on neo-liberalism, generally legitimized delegation of responsibility to big business. Its advocates, having been drawn into policy fields, have perhaps too often lost their critical edge, and allowed it to become instrumentalized, reflecting the technicist character of its practice.
The Limits of Socio-Legal Radicalism
Authors: Harrington John , Manji Ambreena
Published: November 2017

In this review to mark the 25th anniversary of Social and Legal Studies ( SLS), we offer an assessment of the evolution of socio-legal scholarship on the Third World. We seek to locate the journal in the broader history of socio-legal studies and legal education in the United Kingdom and to consider its engagement with the work of Third World scholars. In order to do this, we recall the founding commitment of the journal’s first editorial board to non-western perspectives on law and locate this commitment both historically and biographically. We explore a number of important interventions concerned with socio-legal studies in the Third World, but also point to significant gaps and omissions since 1992. To end, we argue for a reassertion of SLS’s founding commitments to anti-imperial scholarship and the challenges posed by critical, non-western perspectives.
Disparities Associated With Inpatient Palliative Care Utilization by Patients With Metastatic Gynecologic Cancers: A Study of 3337 Women
Authors: Rosenfeld Emily B. , Chan John K. , Gardner Austin B. , Curry Natasha , Delic Lejla , Kapp Daniel S.
Published: November 2017

Objective:

To determine the factors associated with inpatient palliative care (PC) use in patients with metastatic gynecologic cancer.

Methods:

Data were obtained from the Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS) for patients with metastatic cervical, uterine, and ovarian cancers. Chi-square and multivariate models were used for statistical analyses.

Results:

Of 67 947 inpatients with metastatic gynecologic cancer, 3337 (5%) utilized PC (median age: 63 years, range: 18-102 years). For the entire cohort, the majority was white (59%) and the remainder was black (10%), Hispanic (8%), and Asian (3%). Sixty-one percent had ovarian, 25% uterine, and 14% cervical cancers. Forty-four percent had Medicare, 37% private insurance, 12% Medicaid, and 3% were uninsured. Fifty-three percent of patients were treated at teaching hospitals, while 33% were treated at nonteaching hospitals. In multivariate analysis, the use of PC was associated with older age (≥63, median; odds ratio [OR] = 1.52, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.36-1.70; P < .0001) and black race (OR = 1.22, CI: 1.08-1.39; P < .01). Compared to patients with ovarian cancer, patients with uterine (OR = 1.63, CI: 1.46-1.83; P < .0001) and cervical (OR = 1.14, CI: 1.104-1.25; P < .01) cancer had higher rates of PC utilization. The proportion of patients receiving PC increased from 2% in 2005 to 10% in 2011. In a subset analysis of the 4517 patients who died during hospitalization, only 1056 (23%) patients received PC.

Conclusion:

Patients who were older, black, or had uterine and cervical cancers were more likely to use PC. Although the overall use of PC has increased, less than one-quarter of patients who died in the hospital used PC services during their final hospital admission.
The Selection of Death Place Among Patients Receiving Hospital-Based Palliative Care Service in Taiwan
Authors: Ho Ching-Sung
Published: November 2017

Introduction:

To analyze the selection of a place to die and its related factors in patients who received hospice shared care service in Taiwan.

Methods:

This study included patients who received hospice shared care service in a metropolitan hospital as the research participants. A total of 172 questionnaires were collected, and 146 of them were used as valid samples for analysis. This study applied the multivariate logistic regression analysis to assess the significance of independent variables associated with the selection of place of death.

Results:

The results revealed that 52.6% of the patients select hospital as the place to end their life, while 43.8% of them select their home as the place of death. Furthermore, younger adult patients (<65), those who with a higher educational level (≥10 years), and those with a clear cognizance of the disease progression tended to select hospital as the place to spend their last days.

Conclusions:

The research disclosed that more patients with the hospice shared care service prefer hospital to their home as the place to die. In order to provide end-of-life care for patients with low cost and appropriate treatment, it is important to understand the related sociodemographic factors and the need of the patients to provide well-designed hospice/specialist palliative care regimen.
Clinical Interviews: Assessing and Designing Mathematics Instruction for Students With Disabilities
Authors: Lewis Katherine E. , Fisher Marie B.
Published: November 2017

Mathematics assessment is integral in enabling teachers to implement specially designed instruction for students with disabilities. This article presents an overview of an underutilized form of assessment, the clinical interview. A type of diagnostic assessment, clinical interviews are critically important when designing individualized instruction because the assessment provides information about how a student understands something or why a student is struggling. A rationale for its use is provided along with step-by-step instructions on how to implement a clinical interview to effectively document students’ strengths and weaknesses. The article concludes with an example of how a clinical interview can be used to directly inform instruction.
Deformation and damage dynamic characteristics of coal–rock materials in deep coal mines
Authors: Xu Jiankun , Zhou Rui , Song Dazhao , Li Nan , Zhang Kai , Xi Danyang
Published: November 2017

The deformation and damage characteristics of surrounding rock grow gradually with the increase of mining depth, and the mechanical behavior and damage mechanism of coal–rock materials vary greatly. In order to reveal the deformation and damage dynamic characteristics of coal–rock materials in deep mines, the macroscopic deformation characteristics of coal, rock, and concrete samples under uniaxial compression were studied. The macroscopic deformation amount, velocity, and acceleration of different samples were analyzed. The coal and rock samples exhibit regular dynamic characteristics before they lose stability and fail. The axial strain response of the coal samples changes significantly during the compact and elastic deformation stages. Besides, the relationship between the surface damage and the macroscopic deformation of sample was studied by means of visualization and image processing. The macroscopic deformation index of coal–rock materials changes significantly before and after the destabilization and failure. Based on the deformation and failure dynamic characteristics of coal and rock, the evolution rule of deformation critical values was taken as the deformation and destruction stages, which revealed the dynamic characteristics during the deformation and failure process of coal–rock materials in deep mines. The deformation critical values can be used to realize early warning of deformation and fracture of coal and rock materials in deep mines.
Association Between Metformin Adherence and All-Cause Mortality Among New Users of Metformin: A Nested Case-Control Study
Authors: Simard Patrice , Presse Nancy , Roy Louise , Dorais Marc , White-Guay Brian , Räkel Agnès , Perreault Sylvie
Published: November 2017

Background: Metformin presents better survival rates than other oral antidiabetics in the treatment of type 2 diabetes. However, these benefits may be dampened by inadequate treatment adherence. Objective: We aimed to investigate the relationship between adherence level to metformin therapy and all-cause mortality over 10 years in incident metformin users. Methods: A nested case-control study was conducted using a large cohort of beneficiaries of the Quebec public drug insurance plan, aged 45 to 85 years, who initiated metformin between 2000 and 2009. Each case of all-cause death during follow-up was matched with up to 10 controls. Adherence to metformin was measured using the medication possession ratio (MPR). Conditional logistic regression models were used to estimate rate ratios (RRs) for mortality between adherent (MPR ≥ 80%) and nonadherent patients (MPR < 80%). Subgroup analyses were conducted according to age (45-64 and 65-85 years) and comedication use (antihypertensive/cardiovascular drugs and statins). Results: The cohort included 82 720 incident metformin users, followed up for 2.4 [0.8-4.4] years (median [interquartile range]) and 4747 cases of all-cause deaths. Analyses revealed decreased mortality risks after long-term adherence to metformin. Specifically, RRs were 0.84 (95% CI = [0.71-0.98]) and 0.69 [0.57-0.85] after 4 to 6 and ≥6 years of adherence to metformin, respectively. Survival benefits of long-term adherence (≥4 years) were also observed across most subgroups and particularly in patients using neither antihypertensive/cardiovascular drugs nor statins (0.57 [0.41-0.77]). Conclusions: Long-term adherence to metformin is associated with decreased risks of all-cause mortality in incident metformin users. Further research should investigate whether survival benefits vary according to the comorbidity burden of patients.
Intraoperative Hemodynamic Instability and Diagnosis of Pheochromocytoma During Excision of Adrenal Incidentaloma With Incomplete Workup: A Case Report
Authors: Chang Anthony , Silvay George , Goldberg Andrew
Published: November 2017

Preoperative evaluation of incidentalomas for pheochromocytoma is imperative. This case report describes a scheduled adrenalectomy in an asymptomatic patient with what was eventually determined to be an incomplete biochemical workup. The intraoperative course was complicated by labile and rapid increases in blood pressure and heart rate, suggesting the missed diagnosis of pheochromocytoma. It is important for anesthesiologists to ensure adequate preoperative biochemical workup before excluding the possibility of coexisting pheochromocytoma.
Association Between Nutrition Resource Stress and Dietary Consumption: Results From a U.S. Nationally Representative Survey
Authors: Grenen Emily , Kent Erin E. , Hennessy Erin , Hamilton Jada G. , Ferrer Rebecca A.
Published: November 2017

Background. There is little research on how affective reactions (e.g., stress) to perceptions of nutritious food accessibility contribute to dietary behaviors. Aims. This study explores whether stress associated with limited access to nutritious foods—termed nutrition resource stress (NRS)—contributes to diet outcomes, and whether these associations are mediated by health-related self-efficacy. Method. Using data from the cross-sectional National Cancer Institute’s Health Information National Trends Survey, analyses were conducted to examine whether reported NRS was associated with specific dietary behaviors (i.e., fewer servings of fruit/vegetables; more servings of sugar-sweetened soda; N = 3,112). Results. Analyses revealed a main association such that NRS was negatively associated with fruit/vegetable consumption (β = −0.08, p = .016). There was a negative association between NRS and self-efficacy (β = −0.11, p < .001). There was no significant association between NRS and soda consumption. Mediation analyses revealed a significant indirect association between NRS and fruit/vegetable consumption, mediated by perceived health-related self-efficacy (β = −0.03, 95% confidence interval [−.04, −.01], p < .0001). Given that self-efficacy (the mediator) was not significantly associated with soda consumption (β = 0.01, p = .912), mediation analyses were not conducted for this outcome. Conclusion. This study suggests that stress associated with perceptions of inability to access nutritious foods may influence dietary behaviors, and points to a psychological mechanism (i.e., self-efficacy) that may explain the association. In addition to improving objective barriers of access to healthy foods, future interventions might address ways of improving nutritious food–related self-efficacy or perceived stress related to obtaining healthy foods.