bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Synthesis of efficient gene delivery systems by grafting pegylated alkylcarboxylate chains to PAMAM dendrimers: Evaluation of transfection efficiency and cytotoxicity in cancerous and mesenchymal stem cells
Authors: Ayatollahi Sara , Hashemi Maryam , Kazemi Oskuee Reza , Salmasi Zahra , Mokhtarzadeh Ahad , Alibolandi Mona , Abnous Khalil , Ramezani Mohammad
Published: August 2015

The applications of polyamidoamine (PAMAM) dendrimers have attracted much attention in biomedicine specially non-viral gene delivery because of thier unique characteristics including hyperbranching, multivalency, and well-defined uniform globular three-dimensional structures. In the current study, in order to enhance the transfection efficiency and reduce the cytotoxicity of PAMAMs, bromoalkylcarboxylates with different chain length (2-bromoacetic, 6-bromohexanoic, 10-bromodecanoic and 16-bromohexadecanoic acids) were covalently conjugated with 10% and 30% of primary amines of generation 4 and 5 (G4 and G5) of PAMAM dendrimers to increase the hydrophobicity of the carrier. At the next stage, the alkylcarboxylate-PAMAMs were pegylaed to further modify the PAMAM structures for biological applications. Obtained results demonstrated that the prepared PAMAM derivatives had particle size around 140 nm with net-positive surface charge. None of the prepared PAMAM-based non-viral vactors exhibited significant hemolytic activity and also cytotoxicity. Meanwhile decahexanoate–PAMAM G4 [G4(16C-10%)] and decanoate–PAMAM G4 conjugated to polyethylene glycol (PEG) (G4[(10C-30%)(10C-PEG)]) showed highest transfection efficiency in murine neuroblastoma (Neuro-2a) cell line, interestingly only the latter had improved transfection efficiency in mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). This study proved the potential utility of alkylcarboxylate-grafted PAMAM dendrimers (G4 and G5) with or without PEG modification for efficient gene transfer into cancerous cells as well as MSCs.
Mobilizing Community Resources to Enhance Postdischarge Support for Breastfeeding in Massachusetts (USA)
Authors: Colchamiro Rachel , Edwards Roger A. , Nordstrom Christina , Eshelman Jill , Ghiringhelli Kara , Forgit Julie , Tolan Ellen , Mainello Kristen , Foley Judi
Published: August 2015

Background:

The Massachusetts Department of Public Health’s (MDPH) Mass in Motion Program (MiM) facilitates the adoption of community-level strategies that promote healthy weight in 52 municipalities. MiM provided the platform for enhancing postdischarge continuity of care for breastfeeding.

Objective:

This study aimed to improve the continuity of breastfeeding care and support for mothers by enhancing postdischarge care infrastructure and supportive contacts for women and families.

Methods:

The MDPH awarded catalyst grants to community-based organizations (CBOs) that facilitated the formation of teams for improving breastfeeding support. The effort focused on populations that often experience disparities in breastfeeding outcomes such as minority women and women receiving Medicaid. The Added Value Model of Community Coalitions was used to qualitatively assess effect across multiple levels of the socioecological model of influence.

Results:

Six communities were awarded grants to enhance or convene Breastfeeding Continuity-of-Care Teams consisting of at least 3 CBOs, including 1 maternity hospital, the local Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children, and the local MiM representative. Teams implemented customized plans with performance indicators to create and strengthen infrastructure for supportive contacts with breastfeeding mothers. The project included Baby Café pilots in 3 additional MiM communities. Across all grantee communities, there was an average total increase of 491 contacts with mothers per month, an improvement of 8.5% over baseline. The project created 153 added value outcomes of community collaboration at 5 levels in the socioecological framework.

Conclusion:

The project demonstrated how cross-sector, coordinated efforts focused on vulnerable populations can leverage local strengths to establish/enhance breastfeeding support services customized to local needs.
Breastfeeding Resources in Maternity Hospitals and Birth Centers in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts (USA)
Authors: Eshelman Jill , Edwards Roger A. , Ghiringhelli Kara , Mainello Kristen , Colchamiro Rachel , Forgit Julie , Tolan Ellen , Nordstrom Christina
Published: August 2015

Background:

Few studies have analyzed patient education materials provided at discharge. To the best of our knowledge, there are no comprehensive studies analyzing and reporting the content of breastfeeding discharge packets within the United States.

Objective:

This study analyzed the extent to which patient education materials provided at discharge from maternity facilities in Massachusetts cover topics that support successful breastfeeding.

Methods:

We collected discharge packets from all 48 maternity hospitals/birth centers. Topics for analysis were based on recommendations associated with the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative and content identified for discharge packets generally. Materials were reviewed independently and scored according to 39 criteria that we assembled from various sources for optimal breastfeeding information at discharge. Bivariate and multivariate analyses were used to explore if any hospital characteristics predicted presence of breastfeeding education topics in written information provided at discharge.

Results:

An average of 25.4 of 39 criteria (65.2%, ranging from 30.7%-97.4%) were included in packets submitted by all 48 facilities. Exploratory multivariate analyses did not show relationships of hospital characteristics to contents of packets. Each facility received a 2-page report noting strengths, suggestions for improvement, and individual scores on all 39 criteria.

Conclusion:

Discharge packet contents varied widely; whereas some institutions’ information met and/or exceeded recommended content, others were limited and/or missing information. These analyses provide a thorough review of discharge packet content for all facilities in Massachusetts; however, further study is needed to identify the implications of such variation for breastfeeding outcomes.
What is the Difference between Slave Patrols and Modern Day Policing? Institutional Violence in a Community of Color
Authors: Durr Marlese
Published: August 2015

Do performances of brutality have to be part of institutional social control in African American communities? Are these communities haunted by historical beliefs, practices, and stereotypes that once disenfranchised them? More important, if so, why in a post-civil rights era do African Americans receive abuse from our institutional sentinels – the police? Why do our guardians utilize informal and formal social control mechanisms, similar in nature, type, and in some instance in kind to slave patrols? This article examines criminologists’ analyses of policing in the African American community. Despite a substantial amount of work addressing the complaints of violence and distrust in the Black community, policy-makers as well as police departments have ignored their findings. Does the will exist to bring about a different form of social change in the configuration of justice or does African American marginalization persist as one of the strongest elements of social stratification.
Time, Motion, Discipline: The Authoritarian Syllabus on American College Campuses
Authors: Agger Ben , Shelton Beth Anne
Published: August 2015

In this paper, we read college course syllabi as material objects that shed light on larger issues, specifically conflict between faculty and students. We explore the commodification of ‘college labor’ where degreed labor and credit hours are produced. Under these conditions, the syllabus becomes a labor contract detailing faculty expectations of students. Rather than merely introducing the course subject matter or providing only basic information, the syllabus increasingly spells out the precise conditions under which student work will be evaluated and credit hours awarded, and the behavioral and attitudinal expectations of students. By observing how power is transacted through the syllabus, we better understand the role that faculty/student relations play in further undermining academic community.
On joint mobility design in multi-structural systems
Authors: Lee Dooho , Kim Yong-Dae , Lee Nam-Young , Lee Sang-Woo
Published: August 2015

This article aims to develop a measure that can estimate the isolator performance in joint design problems. The relationships between the receptances of the connection points and the isolator bushes in multi-structural car-body systems are explored from the perspective of a frequency-response-function-based substructuring method. From the formulation for the frequency-response-function-based substructuring method, the desirable magnitude difference between the receptances is proposed through an order analysis of a one-dimensional system. The receptance magnitude concept is extended to a multi-structural system using a singular-value diagram. In order to represent the magnitude of the receptance matrices, matrix measures are introduced. Using the defined measures, a joint design index is proposed in order to assess the structural joint system which consists of two structures and isolator bushes. Finally, two numerical examples are used to demonstrate the relationships between the suggested joint design concept and the relevant responses (i.e. the vibrations, the force and the power) of the structures. The proposed joint design index can estimate the isolator performance and indicate the possibilities for improvement in multi-structural systems, which is very useful for noise and vibration reduction in the automotive industry.
Aerodynamic characteristics of a wing-and-flap configuration in ground effect and yaw
Authors: Roberts Luke S , Correia Joao , Finnis Mark V , Knowles Kevin
Published: August 2015

The influence of the yaw angle on a model representative of a monoposto racing car’s front wing and nose section operating in close proximity to the ground is discussed. The yawed condition is representative of a car operating in a crosswind or with side-slip while cornering. Because of the need for downforce in corners rather than on a straight, it is standard practice to test a racing car at various orientations of yaw, pitch and roll quasi-statically. Wind tunnel testing with a 50%-scale model at a unit Reynolds number of 1.69 × 106 was used to investigate the forces and the surface flow structures. The results were then used to validate simulations with the three-equation k– kL– ω transitional turbulence model to observe the surface pressures and the wake structures. It was found that a change in the surface pressure caused asymmetric loading of the wing, the strengthening or inhibiting of vortices depending on their rotational sense and an overall reduction in both the downforce and the drag of the wing; all these were amplified as the yaw angle was increased or the ground clearance reduced. The fundamental aerodynamic flow features of a racing car’s front wing operating at yaw are established.
Modeling heat transfer in spray impingement under direct-injection engine conditions
Authors: Deng Peng , Han Zhiyu , Reitz Rolf D
Published: August 2015

A spray–wall heat transfer model based on a newly published spray–wall interaction model was developed and implemented in the KIVA-3V engine computational fluid dynamics code to simulate the heat transfer related to wall films under spray impingement with application to direct-injection engines. The adopted spray–wall interaction model accounts for various wall impingement regimes including rebounding drops, drops sliding along the surface, and those that become wall films. In order to estimate the film formation accurately, a new correlation, which is developed on the basis of diesel spray impingement measurements instead of single-drop impingement results, is introduced to calculate the splashed mass ratio when spray droplets impinge on a wall. In the proposed wall-film heat transfer model, heat exchange between the ambient gas and the film, heat exchange between the film and the wall, heat exchange between the rebounding droplets and the film, and heat exchange due to vaporization are taken into consideration. Correlations from spray impingement measurements are used to calculate the heat flux instead of invoking boundary layer assumptions, so that the impingement-induced enhancement to the heat transfer can be effectively reflected. The heat transfer predictions are compared with studies in which the wall heat flux was measured experimentally. These studies include evaporating sprays directed on to cool surfaces and heat transfer from a hot surface to a cooler impinging spray. The comparisons show that a great improvement is achieved by the proposed model, both in estimations of the film thickness and in predictions of the spray–wall heat transfer. In most validations the estimations of the proposed model and the experimental results are in good agreement. It is thus suggested that the proposed model provides a useful alternative for prediction of the spray–wall heat transfer, especially under conditions relevant to modern direct-injection diesel and gasoline engines.
Invariant set based sliding mode control for near-space vehicles with attitude constraints
Authors: Fu Jian , Wang Liangming , Chen Mou
Published: August 2015

In this article, a robust attitude control scheme, which is called sliding mode control with unidirectional auxiliary surfaces (UAS-SMC), is proposed for the near-space vehicle with attitude constraints and time-varying unknown disturbance. Firstly, the positively invariant sets are designed with the UAS-SMC method. The invariant property of these sets can be utilized to guarantee the attitude constraints. Secondly, a UAS nonlinear disturbance observer is firstly developed for the NSV with time-varying unknown disturbance. By introducing the information of UAS surfaces, the performance of this observer is enhanced. The convergence of all closed-loop signals is rigorously proved via Lyapunov analysis method under the developed robust UAS-SMC scheme. Finally, simulation results are given to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed attitude control scheme.
Numerical study on the flow and performance of an open cross-flow mini-hydraulic turbine
Authors: Uchiyama Tomomi , Uehara Shou , Fukuhara Haruki , Iio Shouichiro , Ikeda Toshihiko
Published: August 2015

This study simulates the flow through a small-scale open cross-flow hydraulic turbine and analyzes the turbine’s performance. The simulation employs a two-dimensional particle method that was used for the simulation of a small-scale impulse-type hydraulic turbine in a prior study. Flow in the turbine is successfully simulated, with the simulated turbine performance showing good agreement with experimental measurements. The simulations also clarify that the deterioration in performance with increasing water flow rate is caused by the degeneration of the radially outward flow between the rotor blades.
Plant domestication, cultivation, and foraging by the first farmers in early Neolithic Northeast China: Evidence from microbotanical remains
Authors: Liu Li , Duncan Neil A , Chen Xingcan , Liu Guoxiang , Zhao Hao
Published: August 2015

North China is regarded as a center of domestication for broomcorn millet ( Panicum miliaceum) and foxtail millet ( Setaria italica ssp. italica). The Neolithic Xinglonggou site (ca. 8000–7500 cal. BP) in the Liao River region has revealed the earliest macrobotanical evidence of domesticated millets in Northeast China, but controversy remains as to the importance of the millets in human diet. We employed an interdisciplinary approach involving analyses of starch grains, phytoliths, and usewear patterns to study a range of materials from Xinglonggou, including grinding stones, human dental calculus, and vegetative charcoal. The results demonstrate a broad spectrum of plant exploitation by the first farmers in Northeast China rather than dependence upon singular crops. Furthermore, three types of underground storage organs appear to be major staples, while millets were secondary to another early and important cultivated cereal, Job’s tears ( Coix lacryma-jobi L.). Wild grasses and acorns also account for small portions of plants used. This study documents the northernmost and earliest occurrence of Job’s tears in temperate Northeast China, a species which may have originated in the subtropical regions. We argue that Job’s tears may have been one of the earliest domesticates in China along with millets.
Reconstructing Holocene vegetation on the island of Gran Canaria before and after human colonization
Authors: de Nascimento Lea , Nogué Sandra , Criado Constantino , Ravazzi Cesare , Whittaker Robert J , Willis Kathy J , Fernández-Palacios José María
Published: August 2015

We provide the first fossil pollen and charcoal analysis from the island of Gran Canaria (Canary Islands). The pollen record obtained from Laguna de Valleseco (870 m a.s.l.) spans the late Holocene ( c. 4500–1500 cal. yr BP) and thereby captures the impact of human colonization. During the earliest period, pollen composition resembled contemporary thermophilous communities, with palms ( Phoenix canariensis) and junipers ( Juniperus cf. turbinata) being the dominant trees, suggesting that these elements were more widespread in the past. Vegetation in Valleseco began to change at around 2300 cal. yr BP, 400 years before the earliest archaeological evidence of human presence in the island ( c. 1900 cal. yr BP). Our data show an increased frequency of fires at that time, coinciding with the decline of palms and the increase of grasses, indicating that humans were present and were transforming vegetation, thus showing that the demise of Gran Canaria’s forest began at an early point in the prehistoric occupation of the island. In the following centuries, there were no signs of forest recovery. Pollen from cultivated cereals became significant, implying the introduction of agriculture in the site, by 1800 cal. yr BP. The next shift in vegetation ( c. 1600 cal. yr BP) involved the decrease of grasses in favour of shrubs and trees like Morella faya, suggesting that agriculture was abandoned at the site.
Holocene lake level history of the Tangra Yumco lake system, southern-central Tibetan Plateau
Authors: Ahlborn Marieke , Haberzettl Torsten , Wang Junbo , Fürstenberg Sascha , Mäusbacher Roland , Mazzocco Jeaneth , Pierson James , Zhu Liping , Frenzel Peter
Published: August 2015

Massive carbonate banks representing ancient lacustrine deposits are exposed in the catchment of the lake Tangra Yumco (southern-central Tibetan Plateau) and nearby lake Xuru Co. Nine sediment samples were taken below and above these lacustrine deposits to determine periods of changing lake level using optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) applying a multiple-aliquot regeneration (MAR) protocol. According to facies and stratigraphy, samples below the carbonate banks indicate a rising and samples from above a falling lake level. The results indicate that the rising lake level of Tangra Yumco passed the sampling location at 10.5 and 2.1 ka while a falling lake level passed the sampling location at 0.9 ka. The rising lake level of Xuru Co passed the sampling location at 7.9 and 1.7 ka and a falling lake level at 0.5 ka showing a similar trend as at Tangra Yumco. Combining these results with recalculated cosmogenic nuclide ages and previously published feldspar luminescence data allows the establishment of a Holocene lake level reconstruction for Tangra Yumco, which is unique for the southern-central Tibetan Plateau. The lake level of Tangra Yumco crested a lake level highstand of 181–183 m above the recent lake level prior to 8.5 ka and has generally fallen after 8.5 ka, with a minor lake level rise at 2.1 ka. Lake level variations at Tangra Yumco occur simultaneously with other lakes on the Tibetan Plateau indicating that variations were controlled by monsoonal dynamics with a moist early Holocene and a successive reduction of available moisture thereafter. The average rate of the lake level rise between 10.5 and 8.5 ka is at least 0.05 m a−1 (compared with a modern value of 0.38 m a−1), providing valuable insights in the monsoonal impact on lake level change on the southern-central Tibetan Plateau.
Abrogated cardioprotective effect of ischemic preconditioning in ovariectomized rat heart
Authors: Goyal A , Semwal BC , Yadav HN
Published: August 2015

Background:

Ischemic heart disease is the leading cause of death in postmenopausal women. The expression of caveolin, a membrane protein and a negative regulator of nitric oxide (NO), increases after menopause. The present study was designed to determine the effect of daidzein (DDZ), a phytoestrogen in attenuated cardioprotective effect of ischemic preconditioning (IPC) in ovariectomized rat heart.

Methods:

Heart was isolated from ovariectomized rat and mounted on Langendorff’s apparatus, subjected to 30 min ischemia and 120 min reperfusion. IPC was mediated by four cycles of 5 min ischemia and 5 min reperfusion. The infarct size was estimated using triphenyltetrazolium chloride stain, and coronary effluent was analyzed for lactate dehydrogenase and creatine kinase MB (CK-MB) release to assess the degree of myocardial injury. The release of NO was estimated indirectly by measuring the release of nitrite in coronary effluent.

Results:

IPC-induced cardioprotection was significantly attenuated in ovariectomized rats as compared to normal rats, which was restored by treatment of DDZ, a caveolin inhibitor (0.2 mg/kg subcutaneously) for 1 week. However, this observed cardioprotection was significantly attenuated by perfusion of l-nitroarginine methyl ester, an endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) inhibitor (100 µM/L) and glibenclamide, an adenosine triphosphate-sensitive potassium ion channel blocker (10 µM/L) alone or in combination, noted in terms of increase in myocardial infarct size, release of LDH and CK-MB, and also decrease in the release of NO.

Conclusion:

Thus, it is suggested that DDZ restores the attenuated cardioprotective effect in ovariectomized rat heart, which may be due to downregulation of caveolin and subsequent increase in the activity of eNOS.
Bias-corrected estimates for logistic regression models for complex surveys with application to the United States’ Nationwide Inpatient Sample
Authors: Rader Kevin A , Lipsitz Stuart R , Fitzmaurice Garrett M , Harrington David P , Parzen Michael , Sinha Debajyoti
Published: August 2015

For complex surveys with a binary outcome, logistic regression is widely used to model the outcome as a function of covariates. Complex survey sampling designs are typically stratified cluster samples, but consistent and asymptotically unbiased estimates of the logistic regression parameters can be obtained using weighted estimating equations (WEEs) under the naive assumption that subjects within a cluster are independent. Despite the relatively large samples typical of many complex surveys, with rare outcomes, many interaction terms, or analysis of subgroups, the logistic regression parameters estimates from WEE can be markedly biased, just as with independent samples. In this paper, we propose bias-corrected WEEs for complex survey data. The proposed method is motivated by a study of postoperative complications in laparoscopic cystectomy, using data from the 2009 United States’ Nationwide Inpatient Sample complex survey of hospitals.
A vine copula mixed effect model for trivariate meta-analysis of diagnostic test accuracy studies accounting for disease prevalence
Authors: Nikoloulopoulos Aristidis K
Published: August 2015

A bivariate copula mixed model has been recently proposed to synthesize diagnostic test accuracy studies and it has been shown that it is superior to the standard generalized linear mixed model in this context. Here, we call trivariate vine copulas to extend the bivariate meta-analysis of diagnostic test accuracy studies by accounting for disease prevalence. Our vine copula mixed model includes the trivariate generalized linear mixed model as a special case and can also operate on the original scale of sensitivity, specificity, and disease prevalence. Our general methodology is illustrated by re-analyzing the data of two published meta-analyses. Our study suggests that there can be an improvement on trivariate generalized linear mixed model in fit to data and makes the argument for moving to vine copula random effects models especially because of their richness, including reflection asymmetric tail dependence, and computational feasibility despite their three dimensionality.
Sparse estimation of gene–gene interactions in prediction models
Authors: Lee Sangin , Pawitan Yudi , Ingelsson Erik , Lee Youngjo
Published: August 2015

Current assessment of gene–gene interactions is typically based on separate parallel analysis, where each interaction term is tested separately, while less attention has been paid on simultaneous estimation of interaction terms in a prediction model. As the number of interaction terms grows fast, sparse estimation is desirable from statistical and interpretability reasons. There is a large literature on sparse estimation, but there is a natural hierarchy between the interaction and its corresponding main effects that requires special considerations. We describe random-effect models that impose sparse estimation of interactions under both strong and weak-hierarchy constraints. We develop an estimation procedure based on the hierarchical-likelihood argument and show that the modelling approach is equivalent to a penalty-based method, with the advantage of the models being more transparent and flexible. We compare the procedure with some standard methods in a simulation study and illustrate its application in an analysis of gene–gene interaction model to predict body-mass index.
Unbiased estimation for response adaptive clinical trials
Authors: Bowden Jack , Trippa Lorenzo
Published: August 2015

Bayesian adaptive trials have the defining feature that the probability of randomization to a particular treatment arm can change as information becomes available as to its true worth. However, there is still a general reluctance to implement such designs in many clinical settings. One area of concern is that their frequentist operating characteristics are poor or, at least, poorly understood. We investigate the bias induced in the maximum likelihood estimate of a response probability parameter, p, for binary outcome by the process of adaptive randomization. We discover that it is small in magnitude and, under mild assumptions, can only be negative – causing one’s estimate to be closer to zero on average than the truth. A simple unbiased estimator for p is obtained, but it is shown to have a large mean squared error. Two approaches are therefore explored to improve its precision based on inverse probability weighting and Rao–Blackwellization. We illustrate these estimation strategies using two well-known designs from the literature.
Comparison of bias-corrected covariance estimators for MMRM analysis in longitudinal data with dropouts
Authors: Gosho Masahiko , Hirakawa Akihiro , Noma Hisashi , Maruo Kazushi , Sato Yasunori
Published: August 2015

In longitudinal clinical trials, some subjects will drop out before completing the trial, so their measurements towards the end of the trial are not obtained. Mixed-effects models for repeated measures (MMRM) analysis with “unstructured” (UN) covariance structure are increasingly common as a primary analysis for group comparisons in these trials. Furthermore, model-based covariance estimators have been routinely used for testing the group difference and estimating confidence intervals of the difference in the MMRM analysis using the UN covariance. However, using the MMRM analysis with the UN covariance could lead to convergence problems for numerical optimization, especially in trials with a small-sample size. Although the so-called sandwich covariance estimator is robust to misspecification of the covariance structure, its performance deteriorates in settings with small-sample size. We investigated the performance of the sandwich covariance estimator and covariance estimators adjusted for small-sample bias proposed by Kauermann and Carroll ( J Am Stat Assoc 2001; 96: 1387–1396) and Mancl and DeRouen ( Biometrics 2001; 57: 126–134) fitting simpler covariance structures through a simulation study. In terms of the type 1 error rate and coverage probability of confidence intervals, Mancl and DeRouen’s covariance estimator with compound symmetry, first-order autoregressive (AR(1)), heterogeneous AR(1), and antedependence structures performed better than the original sandwich estimator and Kauermann and Carroll’s estimator with these structures in the scenarios where the variance increased across visits. The performance based on Mancl and DeRouen’s estimator with these structures was nearly equivalent to that based on the Kenward–Roger method for adjusting the standard errors and degrees of freedom with the UN structure. The model-based covariance estimator with the UN structure under unadjustment of the degrees of freedom, which is frequently used in applications, resulted in substantial inflation of the type 1 error rate. We recommend the use of Mancl and DeRouen’s estimator in MMRM analysis if the number of subjects completing is ( n + 5) or less, where n is the number of planned visits. Otherwise, the use of Kenward and Roger’s method with UN structure should be the best way.
Bayesian nonparametric mixed-effects joint model for longitudinal-competing risks data analysis in presence of multiple data features
Authors: Lu Tao
Published: August 2015

Recently, the joint analysis of longitudinal and survival data has been an active research area. Most joint models focus on survival data with only one type of failure. The research on joint modeling of longitudinal and competing risks survival data is sparse. Even so, many joint models for this type of data assume parametric function forms for both longitudinal and survival sub-models, thus limits their use. Further, the common data features that are usually observed in practice, such as asymmetric distribution and missingness in response, measurement errors in covariate, need to be taken into account for reliable parameter estimation. The statistical inference is complicated when all these factors are considered simultaneously. In the article, driven by a motivating example, we assume nonparametric function forms for the varying coefficients in both longitudinal and competing risks survival sub-models. We propose a Bayesian nonparametric mixed-effects joint model for the analysis of longitudinal-competing risks data with asymmetry, missingness, and measurement errors. Simulation studies are conducted to assess the performance of the proposed method. We apply the proposed method to an AIDS dataset and compare a few candidate models under various settings. Some interesting results are reported.
Political implications of science popularisation strategies: Frontiers ofScience
Authors: Burns Maureen
Published: August 2015

This examination of the mediation strategies of a very popular factual science comic strip series from the 1960s and 1970s illustrates, in this case by highlighting the ways in which women were targeted as an audience, that science popularisations are always political. For that reason, they should not be evaluated merely in terms of scientific accuracy. I demonstrate tensions between the dissemination model of communication used in the distribution of science popularisations, on the one hand, with the advocacy of a dialogue model in their content, on the other.
Representing climate change on public service television: A case study
Authors: Debrett Mary
Published: August 2015

Publicly funded broadcasters with a track record in science programming would appear ideally placed to represent climate change to the lay public. Free from the constraints of vested interests and the economic imperative, public service providers are better equipped to represent the scientific, social and economic aspects of climate change than commercial media, where ownership conglomeration, corporate lobbyists and online competition have driven increasingly tabloid coverage with an emphasis on controversy. This prime-time snapshot of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s main television channel explores how the structural/rhetorical conventions of three established public service genres – a science programme, a documentary and a live public affairs talk show – impact on the representation of anthropogenic climate change. The study findings note implications for public trust, and discuss possibilities for innovation in the interests of better public understanding of climate change.
UK science press officers, professional vision and the generation of expectations
Authors: Samuel Gabrielle , Williams Clare , Gardner John
Published: August 2015

Science press officers can play an integral role in helping promote expectations and hype about biomedical research. Using this as a starting point, this article draws on interviews with 10 UK-based science press officers, which explored how they view their role as science reporters and as generators of expectations. Using Goodwin’s notion of ‘professional vision’, we argue that science press officers have a specific professional vision that shapes how they produce biomedical press releases, engage in promotion of biomedical research and make sense of hype. We discuss how these insights can contribute to the sociology of expectations, as well as inform responsible science communication.
Defining criteria for good environmental journalism and testing their applicability: An environmental news review as a first step to more evidence based environmental science reporting
Authors: Rögener Wiebke , Wormer Holger
Published: August 2015

While the quality of environmental science journalism has been the subject of much debate, a widely accepted benchmark to assess the quality of coverage of environmental topics is missing so far. Therefore, we have developed a set of defined criteria of environmental reporting. This instrument and its applicability are tested in a newly established monitoring project for the assessment of pieces on environmental issues, which refer to scientific sources and therefore can be regarded as a special field of science journalism. The quality is assessed in a kind of journalistic peer review. We describe the systematic development of criteria, which might also be a model procedure for other fields of science reporting. Furthermore, we present results from the monitoring of 50 environmental reports in German media. According to these preliminary data, the lack of context and the deficient elucidation of the evidence pose major problems in environmental reporting.
Facility Mammography Volume in Relation to Breast Cancer Screening Outcomes
Authors: Onega Tracy , Goldman L. Elizabeth , Walker Rod L. , Miglioretti Diana L. , Buist Diana SM , Taplin Stephen , Geller Berta M. , Hill Deirdre A. , Smith-Bindman Rebecca
Published: August 2015

Objectives

To clarify the relationship between facility-level mammography interpretive volume and breast cancer screening outcomes.

Methods

We calculated annual mammography interpretive volumes from 2000–2009 for 116 facilities participating in the U.S. Breast Cancer Surveillance Consortium (BCSC). Radiology, pathology, cancer registry, and women’s self-report information were used to determine the indication for each exam, cancer characteristics, and patient characteristics. We examined the effect of annual total volume and percentage of mammograms that were screening on cancer detection rates using multinomial logistic regression adjusting for age, race/ethnicity, time since last mammogram, and BCSC registries. “Good prognosis” tumours were defined as screen-detected invasive cancers that were <15 mm, early stage, and lymph node negative at diagnosis.

Results

From 3,098,481 screening mammograms, 9,899 cancers were screen-detected within one year of the exam. Approximately 80% of facilities had annual total interpretive volumes of >2,000 mammograms, and 42% had >5,000. Higher total volume facilities were significantly more likely to diagnose invasive tumours with good prognoses (odds ratio [OR] 1.32; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.10–1.60, for total volume of 5,000–10,000/year v. 1,000–2,000/year; p-for-trend <0.001). A concomitant decrease in tumours with poor prognosis was seen (OR 0.78; 95%CI 0.63–0.98 for total volume of 5,000–10,000/year v. 1,000–2,000/year).

Conclusions

Mammography facilities with higher total interpretive volumes detected more good prognosis invasive tumours and fewer poor prognosis invasive tumours, suggesting that women attending these facilities may be more likely to benefit from screening.
Identification of Temporal Construal Effects on Entrepreneurial Employment Desirability in STEM Students
Authors: Hallam Cory , Leffel Anita , Calvoz Raúl
Published: August 2015

As universities expand the influence entrepreneurial programmes have on science, engineering, technology and math (STEM) students, we investigate the impact Temporal Construal Theory has on measures of entrepreneurial employment desirability in identifying nascent entrepreneurs. This quasi-experiment sampled 464 undergraduate students over a five-year period, measuring the time construal influence in desirability to start a business between STEM students and an intentionally biased sample of entrepreneurship students. Our findings show that temporal construal significantly influences student entrepreneurial employment desirability in STEM students. The biased sample of entrepreneurship students validated the instrument with positive short-term and highly positive long-term entrepreneurial employment desirability ( p < 0.001). Our study suggests the temporal construal effect on employment intention is a key consideration in identifying nascent entrepreneurs at a university, and can heavily influence who is targeted for exposure to entrepreneurship training.
Gender and Business Ethics of Enterprise Students and Nascent Entrepreneurs Engaged in Entrepreneurship Education
Authors: Lourenço Fernando , Sappleton Natalie , Cheng Ranis
Published: August 2015

It has generally been argued that women have higher moral standards or display greater concern about the effects of their actions on others when responding to ethical dilemmas. However, the findings of empiricists have hardly been conclusive. We contend that it is important to investigate the ethical attitudes towards business practice of those who are at the early phase of the entrepreneurship path such as enterprise students ( n = 128) and nascent entrepreneurs ( n = 204). The findings revealed sex differences in the ethical attitudes of enterprise students, but not of nascent entrepreneurs. In addition, the business ethics of male nascent entrepreneurs were significantly higher than those of male enterprise students. We argue that sex-role socialisation reduces differences among individuals performing similar activities, and use moral development theory to explain that ethical values evolve over time.
Impact of Social Capital on Small Firm Performance in West Bengal
Authors: Saha Mausumi , Banerjee Sharmistha
Published: August 2015

Formal and informal networks empower small firms to generate social capital by forging network ties, building on trust and sharing a vision among stakeholders. It enables them to obtain necessary resources, support, information and knowledge, which may be otherwise inaccessible to them. This study analyses the impact of social capital on firm performance through the constructs of network ties, trust and shared vision while drawing a comparison between firms associated with formal and informal networking. An empirical study was conducted via a structured questionnaire on a sample of 100 small firms in West Bengal with 50 firms having membership in industry/trade associations as the experimental group and another 50 firms having only informal connections as the control group. Findings of the multiple regression analysis reveal that the impact of social capital on firm performance is significantly greater in firms engaged in formal and informal networking in contrast to firms embedded only in the informal network.
Book Review: Prashant Das and Divyanshu Sharma, Real Estate Finance in India
Authors: Dwivedi Amit Kumar
Published: August 2015

Prashant Das and Divyanshu Sharma, Real Estate Finance in India. New Delhi: SAGE Publications. 2014, 327 pages, ₹ 995, ISBN 9788132111641
Book Review: Dean A. Shepherd (Ed.), Entrepreneurial Failure
Authors: Shankar Raj K.
Published: August 2015

Dean A. Shepherd (Ed.), Entrepreneurial Failure. Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar Publishing, 2013, 757 pp.
Book Review: J. P. Das, Consciousness Quest: Where East Meets West: On Mind, Meditation, and Neural Correlates
Authors: Misra Shalini
Published: August 2015

J. P. Das, Consciousness Quest: Where East Meets West: On Mind, Meditation, and Neural Correlates, New Delhi: SAGE Publications, 2014, 307 pp.
Entrepreneurial Abilities and Barriers to Microenterprise Growth: A Case Study in Nepal
Authors: Villanger Espen
Published: August 2015

Studies of microbusinesses in poor countries find high marginal returns to capital but also lack of investments. This article analyses how segmentation in the capital and labour markets can act as an obstacle for high-ability entrepreneurs to invest in microbusinesses and also explain high marginal returns to capital. Using a household survey purposively designed for assessing barriers to microbusiness growth, we find that segmentation leads to inefficient allocation of entrepreneurial talent, labour and capital. This, in turn, leads to lower wages and smaller and less profitable businesses for lower castes, and lower economic growth of the local economy. The study covers a range of barriers to doing business, and finds that in addition to market segmentation, access to capital, lack of skills and knowledge are the main constraints to microbusiness growth.
Dependent Variables in Entrepreneurship Research
Authors: Mattingly Eric Shaunn
Published: August 2015

Phenomena relevant to the emergence of new economic activity or interruptions and changes to current economic activities, rather than contexts, are what constitute entrepreneurship. A re-emphasis on phenomenon-driven research will widen the context of entrepreneurship research, help delineate entrepreneurship as a domain and provide greater emphasis on the selection and operationalisation of dependent variables. Entrepreneurship is a multi-level discipline, which provides some benefits as well as challenges. One benefit is the contribution to other fields within social science that results from research at various levels. A resulting challenge is dealing with heterogeneity that occurs at various levels. This article discusses and offers illustrative examples of each of these implications of phenomenon-driven entrepreneurship research.
Who bets on sports? Some further empirical evidence using German data
Authors: Gassmann Freya , Emrich Eike , Pierdzioch Christian
Published: August 2015

Given the rapid expansion of the German sports-betting market and recent changes in market regulations, it is interesting to reexamine the socioeconomic profile of German sports bettors: Who bets on sports? In order to analyse this question, this study used an online survey to collect data on sports-betting behaviour ( N=634). It modelled participation in sports betting by means of a logit model that recovers determinants of a person’s propensity to participate in sports betting. Results show that the typical sports-bettor is 32 years old and male, has a low household income, is highly interested in sports, and is willing to take risks.
A modular torsional actuator using shape memory alloy wires
Authors: Shin Bu Hyun , Jang Taesoo , Ryu Bong-Jo , Kim Youngshik
Published: August 2015

In this study, novel modular shape memory alloy wire–based torsional actuators were designed and fabricated. These shape memory alloy–based actuators provide rotational displacements. The mechanical and thermal properties of a single module shape memory alloy torsional actuator were characterized. Next, a modular shape memory alloy torsional actuator was configured by connecting single actuator modules in series. This modular actuator can be used directly as a soft or biologically inspired robot. Finally, the rolling motion and shape transformation of the modular shape memory alloy torsional actuator (soft robot) were demonstrated with a simple open-loop-based control scheme experimentally validating the novel mobility and actuation of the proposed actuator. For a control input, sequentially coordinated square waves of electric current were supplied to the shape memory alloy actuating units.
The Experiences of Korean Young Adult Survivors of Childhood Cancer
Authors: Yi Jaehee , Kim Min Ah , An Sangmin
Published: August 2015

Photovoice was used to understand the impact of childhood cancer on Korean young adult survivors. Seven survivors of childhood cancer (currently aged 20–27 years), diagnosed before the age of 19 and with cancer treatment completed, participated in five sessions. The participants took photographs that captured their group’s weekly topics and participated in discussions about their feelings and experiences. Fifty-six photo images with narratives on the survivors’ experiences were produced on these four participant-selected themes: Relationships With Others, Stigma, Overcoming Difficulties, and The Future. This study on Korean childhood cancer survivors sheds light on their perspectives about the impact of cancer. Using an innovative methodology that takes the participants’ point of view, this study contributes to the literature on young adult cancer survivors’ quality of life and their psychosocial adjustment. The results can inform educational programs and increase public awareness by providing survivors’ schoolteachers and peers with knowledge about childhood cancer.
The Role of Contempt in Intercultural Cooperation
Authors: Matsumoto David , Hwang Hyisung C.
Published: August 2015

Little is known about the proximal variables linked to the fact that intercultural interactions produce less cooperation and more competition than intracultural interactions. A recent study demonstrated that comparatively poorer performances in intercultural dyads were linked to differences in the dyad’s home country scores on Hofstede’s dimension Power Distance. This finding suggested a potential role for the emotion of contempt because Power Distance refers to the distribution of power and status in a hierarchy, and contempt is an emotion related to perceptions of hierarchical status violations. We propose that intercultural interactions make status and hierarchical differences among individuals salient, thereby eliciting contempt; elicited contempt, in turn, has detrimental effects on cooperative behaviors. We tested this idea by reanalyzing the emotion data from the recent study described above. Non-U.S. interactants, who were from relatively higher Power Distance cultures compared with their U.S. counterparts, reported more contempt than did the U.S. interactants at the start of game play. Higher presession contempt, in turn, was associated with less cooperative and more competitive behaviors initially and at the end of game play. The findings provided support for the possible asymmetrical function of contempt in intercultural interactions.