bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Conflict Prevalence in Primary School and How It Is Understood to Affect Teaching and Learning in Ghana
Authors: Opoku-Asare Nana Afia Amponsaa , Takyi Harriet , Owusu-Mensah Margaret
Published: July 2015

Verbal and non-verbal interactions that occur daily between teachers and headteachers, teachers and pupils, and among pupils can generate conflict that may adversely affect teaching, learning, and schooling effectiveness. Little attention is, however, paid to the quality of relationships that exists between teachers and pupils, among teachers, among pupils, between teachers and their school heads, and between schools and their local communities. This study sought to investigate conflict prevalence in Ghana’s primary schools, and how relationship conflict is understood to affect teaching and learning at the level of headteachers as administrators, teachers as classroom managers, and pupils as learners, and direct beneficiaries of primary education. Using data gathered via interview, questionnaire administration, and observation in 30 public primary schools in 10 circuits of one district of Ashanti Region, the findings revealed a high prevalence of fighting, heckling, bullying, and other forms of relationship conflict among pupils; strained teacher–pupil relations due to insolence, indiscipline, and use of offensive language; and teacher–parent arguments and quarrels due to harsh punishment and verbal assault of pupils. Teacher–pupil conflicts may extend to teachers excluding the affected pupils from teaching and learning activities, denying them the rights to ask and answer questions, and have their class exercises marked, leading to lowered pupil self-esteem, reduced concentration during lessons, and passive involvement in learning activities, which could result in truancy and school dropout. Strengthening guidance mechanisms and encouraging peer mediation could significantly curb conflict in school environments and thereby raise educational standards in the district.
HIPAA and the Occupational Health Nurse
Authors: Litchfield Sheila M.
Published: July 2015

Occupational health nurses routinely manage client records and apply confidentiality standards in their practice. The applicability of Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) regulations is often not well understood. Also, these regulations are frequently confused as being broader in scope.
Caterpillar Stings—A Case Study
Authors: Paraska Karen K. , Childre Frances
Published: July 2015

Lepidoptera can cause serious injury from toxic envenomation to humans. This case study involves a report of a caterpillar stinging a greens keeper foreman while working.
Cardiovascular Risk Factors among Career Firefighters
Authors: Drew-Nord Dana C. , Hong OiSaeng , Froelicher Erika S. , Berryman Phyllis , Lukes Eileen
Published: July 2015

Sudden cardiac death is the leading cause of on-duty death among firefighters. Determining firefighters' risk of cardiovascular death or all-cause mortality, cardiovascular risk factor profiles, and energy demands while firefighting may aid in understanding why this occupational group is at risk for on-duty sudden cardiac death. A literature review conducted between 2006 and 2009 did not demonstrate that firefighters are at increased risk of all-cause death compared to the general population. In addition, cardiovascular risk profiles of firefighters are similar to those of the general population. Firefighters may be part of the national obesity epidemic; their hypertension and hypercholesteremia often are not diagnosed or are undertreated. The combination of personal cardiovascular risk factors and extreme physical work demands may contribute to sudden cardiac death in this population.
A Theoretical Model for Understanding Mental Health, Substance Use, and Work Performance among Asian Immigrants
Authors: Tsai Jenny Hsin-Chun , Salazar Mary K. , Strasser Patricia B.
Published: July 2015

Mental illness and substance use disorders are prevalent among workers. Each year businesses lose billions of dollars to decreased work performance associated with these issues. This article discusses a theoretical model that depicts relationships between social discrimination, job concerns, and social support and workers' mental health problems and substance use and work performance. The focus is Asian immigrant workers, a population underrepresented in the literature. This model serves to assist occupational health nurses in the practice and research arenas better understand the complexities of mental health problems and substance use among Asian immigrant workers. Occupational health nurses are in a prime position to recognize, identify, and respond to at-risk workers. Examples of areas that might be considered by occupational health nurses when using this model are included.
Communication and Teleworking: A Study of Communication Channel Satisfaction, Personality, and Job Satisfaction for Teleworking Employees
Authors: Smith Stephanie A. , Patmos Alyssa , Pitts Margaret J.
Published: July 2015

This study examines teleworkers’ job satisfaction related to the use of and satisfaction with a variety of communication channels and workers’ personality type. U.S. teleworkers ( N = 384) completed an online survey and self-reported on dimensions of communication channel satisfaction, job satisfaction, and personality. Results indicated that extraversion, openness, agreeableness, and conscientiousness are positively correlated with job satisfaction. Additionally, significant moderating effects were found for the relationship between openness and phone and video communication, and agreeableness and phone communication on job satisfaction. Findings from this study yield important practical implications for organizations including suggestions for optimizing communication satisfaction for employees of differing personality types and recommendations to help organizations effectively hire and retain teleworkers.
Questions as Interactional Resource in Team Decision Making
Authors: Halvorsen Kristin
Published: July 2015

This study explores how professionals in an operational planning meeting in the petroleum industry employ questions as an interactional resource in team decision making. The empirical site is characterized by considerable uncertainty and frequent change as it is tightly bound to the sharp end of high-risk industrial production. A weekly meeting for optimizing well service plans was observed and recorded on nine occasions. The data were analyzed within the framework of Activity Analysis, emphasizing the relevance of the activity type for the analysis and interpretation of interactional features, in this case questions. Structural and interactional mapping of the meeting data provide an interpretive frame in which the role of questions in decision-making trajectories can be understood in light of the activity-specific context. The article presents one extended decision-making episode from opening to closure to show how questions play a role in decision making in this setting. Analysis shows that the questions are characterized by being brief and unelaborated, topically implicit, and fact-oriented, which is seen to be an efficient format in a setting that requires frequent adjustments of the commitments made in response to changes in the operational situation. While questions can function collaboratively by opening up the conversational space and seeking the expertise of others, they are also seen to function strategically, driving the decision-making trajectory in specific directions by setting the agenda and constraining subsequent interaction. The study contributes to the investigation of team decision making and professional reasoning in a setting rarely studied from a discourse analytic viewpoint.
Talk Matters at Work: The Effects of Leader-Member Conversational Quality and Communication Frequency on Work Role Stressors
Authors: Jian Guowei , Dalisay Francis
Published: July 2015

Although it is clear that leadership plays a significant role in followers’ psychological health, the specific mechanisms by which leadership effects may take place await further theorizing and investigation. We argue that communication practices may constitute such specific mechanisms. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to examine how leader-member conversational quality (LMCQ) and communication frequency are associated with members’ perception of work role stressors. Through an online survey, the study found that LMCQ has a significant predictive effect on work role ambiguity and role overload. However, LMCQ interacts with communication frequency in their effects on role conflict. These findings contribute to theories of leadership communication and the continuous development of role dynamics theory.
Stewardship Challenges Abortion: A Proposed Means to Mitigate Abortion's Social Divisiveness
Authors: Tardiff Robert G.
Published: July 2015

Since 1973 the legislated constitutional right to abortion has produced a political dichotomy (anti-abortion versus pro-abortion) within the United States, even while witnessing a gradual decline in the rate of abortions. A third paradigm, moral stewardship, is advanced as an effective means to ameliorate this social divisiveness. Incorporating the concept of stewardship into deliberations of pregnancy termination would require recognition, through fact-based education programs, of the life circumstances that prompt the consideration to terminate a pregnancy. Based on collective responsibility, policies, and programs are needed to foster social justice for parents and for the offspring brought to term, without creating excessive burdens on women faced with an unwanted pregnancy. Moral stewardship is perceived as humanitarian to family and community and advantageous to society overall. It also offers a serious opportunity to reshape our society from divisiveness to inclusiveness, and to guide science policy judgment that enhances and strengthens social justice.

Lay summary

Differing opinions over the ethics of human abortion have been legion since Roe v. Wade (1973). The disputes between pro- and anti-abortion factions have segregated society with few improvements in social justice. This study offers an alternative approach, one capable of social assimilation and justice for unwanted offspring and pregnant mothers bearing them. It promotes moral stewardship toward the unborn whose humanity and personhood are recognized genetically and supported philosophically by long-standing ethical principles. Stewardship incorporates all people at all levels of society based on collective responsibility, supported by government policies, yet not restricting a mother's choices for the future of her unborn offspring.
A mutation in the Gardos channel is associated with hereditary xerocytosis
Authors: Rapetti-Mauss Raphael , Lacoste Caroline , Picard Véronique , Guitton Corinne , Lombard Elise , Loosveld Marie , Nivaggioni Vanessa , Dasilva Nathalie , Salgado David , Desvignes Jean-Pierre , Béroud Christophe , Viout Patrick , Bernard Monique , Soriani Olivier , Vinti Henri , Lacroze Valérie , Feneant-Thibault Madeleine , Thuret Isabelle , Guizouarn Hélène , Badens Catherine
Published: July 2015

Key Points

The Gardos channel is a potassium channel involved in red cell volume modification. A mutation in KCNN4 encoding the Gardos channel is presented as the genetic basis for a new type of hereditary xerocytosis.
Preparation of Core-Shell Hybrid Materials by Producing a Protein Corona Around Magnetic Nanoparticles
Authors: Weidner A , Gräfe C , von der Lühe M , Remmer H , Clement J H , Eberbeck D , Ludwig F , Müller R , Schacher F H , Dutz S
Published: July 2015

Nanoparticles experience increasing interest for a variety of medical and pharmaceutical applications. When exposing nanomaterials, e.g., magnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (MNP), to human blood, a protein corona consisting of various components is formed immediately. The composition of the corona as well as its amount bound to the particle surface is dependent on different factors, e.g., particle size and surface charge. The actual composition of the formed protein corona might be of major importance for cellular uptake of magnetic nanoparticles. The aim of the present study was to analyze the formation of the protein corona during in vitro serum incubation in dependency of incubation time and temperature. For this, MNP with different shells were incubated in fetal calf serum (FCS, serving as protein source) within a water bath for a defined time and at a defined temperature. Before and after incubation the particles were characterized by a variety of methods. It was found that immediately (seconds) after contact of MNP and FCS, a protein corona is formed on the surface of MNP. This formation led to an increase of particle size and a slight agglomeration of the particles, which was relatively constant during the first minutes of incubation. A longer incubation (from hours to days) resulted in a stronger agglomeration of the FCS incubated MNP. Quantitative analysis (gel electrophoresis) of serum-incubated particles revealed a relatively constant amount of bound proteins during the first minutes of serum incubation. After a longer incubation (>20 min), a considerably higher amount of surface proteins was determined for incubation temperatures below 40 °C. For incubation temperatures above 50 °C, the influence of time was less significant which might be attributed to denaturation of proteins during incubation. Overall, analysis of the molecular weight distribution of proteins found in the corona revealed a clear influence of incubation time and temperature on corona composition.
Quantifying the healthcare costs of treating severely bleeding major trauma patients: a national study for England
Authors: Campbell Helen E. , Stokes Elizabeth A. , Bargo Danielle N. , Curry Nicola , Lecky Fiona E. , Edwards Antoinette , Woodford Maralyn , Seeney Frances , Eaglestone Simon , Brohi Karim , Gray Alastair M. , Stanworth Simon J.
Published: July 2015

Introduction

Severely bleeding trauma patients are a small proportion of the major trauma population but account for 40 % of all trauma deaths. Healthcare resource use and costs are likely to be substantial but have not been fully quantified. Knowledge of costs is essential for developing targeted cost reduction strategies, informing health policy, and ensuring the cost-effectiveness of interventions.

Methods

In collaboration with the Trauma Audit Research Network (TARN) detailed patient-level data on in-hospital resource use, extended care at hospital discharge, and readmissions up to 12 months post-injury were collected on 441 consecutive adult major trauma patients with severe bleeding presenting at 22 hospitals (21 in England and one in Wales). Resource use data were costed using national unit costs and mean costs estimated for the cohort and for clinically relevant subgroups. Using nationally available data on trauma presentations in England, patient-level cost estimates were up-scaled to a national level.

Results

The mean (95 % confidence interval) total cost of initial hospital inpatient care was £19,770 (£18,177 to £21,364) per patient, of which 62 % was attributable to ventilation, intensive care, and ward stays, 16 % to surgery, and 12 % to blood component transfusion. Nursing home and rehabilitation unit care and re-admissions to hospital increased the cost to £20,591 (£18,924 to £22,257). Costs were significantly higher for more severely injured trauma patients (Injury Severity Score ≥15) and those with blunt injuries. Cost estimates for England were £148,300,000, with over a third of this cost attributable to patients aged 65 years and over.

Conclusions

Severely bleeding major trauma patients are a high cost subgroup of all major trauma patients, and the cost burden is projected to rise further as a consequence of an aging population and as evidence continues to emerge on the benefits of early and simultaneous administration of blood products in pre-specified ratios. The findings from this study provide a previously unreported baseline from which the potential impact of changes to service provision and/or treatment practice can begin to be evaluated. Further studies are still required to determine the full costs of post-discharge care requirements, which are also likely to be substantial.
Psychosocial and Neurocognitive Outcomes in Adult Survivors of Adolescent and Early Young Adult Cancer: A Report From the Childhood Cancer Survivor Study
Authors: Prasad Pinki K. , Hardy Kristina K. , Zhang Nan , Edelstein Kim , Srivastava Deokumar , Zeltzer Lonnie , Stovall Marilyn , Seibel Nita L. , Leisenring Wendy , Armstrong Gregory T. , Robison Leslie L. , Krull Kevin
Published: July 2015

Purpose

To characterize psychological and neurocognitive function in long-term cancer survivors diagnosed during adolescence and early young adulthood (AeYA).

Methods

Six thousand one hundred ninety-two survivors and 390 siblings in the Childhood Cancer Survivor Study completed the Brief Symptom Inventory-18 and a Neurocognitive Questionnaire. Treatment and demographic predictors were examined, and associations with social attainment (employment, education, and living independently) were evaluated. Logistic regression models were used to compute odds ratios (ORs) and corresponding 95% CIs.

Results

Among survivors, 2,589 were diagnosed when AeYA (11 to 21 years old). Adjusted for current age and sex, these survivors, compared with siblings, self-reported higher rates of depression (11.7% v 8.0%, respectively; OR, 1.55; 95% CI, 1.04 to 2.30) and anxiety (7.4% v 4.4%, respectively; OR, 2.00; 95% CI, 1.17 to 3.43) and more problems with task efficiency (17.2% v 10.8%, respectively; OR, 1.72; 95% CI, 1.21 to 2.43), emotional regulation (19.1% v 14.1%, respectively; OR, 1.74; 95% CI, 1.26 to 2.40), and memory (25.9% v 19.0%, respectively; OR, 1.44; 95% CI, 1.09 to 1.89). Few differences were noted between survivors diagnosed with leukemia or CNS tumor before 11 years old versus during later adolescence, although those diagnosed with lymphoma or sarcoma during AeYA were at reduced risk for self-reported psychosocial and neurocognitive problems. Unemployment was associated with self-reports of impaired task efficiency (OR, 2.93; 95% CI, 2.28 to 3.77), somatization (OR, 2.29; 95% CI, 1.77 to 2.98), and depression (OR, 1.94; 95% CI, 1.43 to 2.63).

Conclusion

We demonstrated that risk for poor functional outcome is not limited to survivors' diagnoses in early childhood. AeYA is a critical period of development, and cancer during this period can impact neurocognitive and emotional function and disrupt vocational attainment.
Tumor Cell Adhesion As a Risk Factor for Sentinel Lymph Node Metastasis in Primary Cutaneous Melanoma
Authors: Meves Alexander , Nikolova Ekaterina , Heim Joel B. , Squirewell Edwin J. , Cappel Mark A. , Pittelkow Mark R. , Otley Clark C. , Behrendt Nille , Saunte Ditte M. , Lock-Andersen Jorgen , Schenck Louis A. , Weaver Amy L. , Suman Vera J.
Published: July 2015

Purpose

Less than 20% of patients with melanoma who undergo sentinel lymph node (SLN) biopsy based on American Society of Clinical Oncology/Society of Surgical Oncology recommendations are SLN positive. We present a multi-institutional study to discover new molecular risk factors associated with SLN positivity in thin and intermediate-thickness melanoma.

Patients and Methods

Gene clusters with functional roles in melanoma metastasis were discovered by next-generation sequencing and validated by quantitative polymerase chain reaction using a discovery set of 73 benign nevi, 76 primary cutaneous melanoma, and 11 in-transit melanoma metastases. We then used polymerase chain reaction to quantify gene expression in a model development cohort of 360 consecutive thin and intermediate-thickness melanomas and a validation cohort of 146 melanomas. Outcome of interest was SLN biopsy metastasis within 90 days of melanoma diagnosis. Logic and logistic regression analyses were used to develop a model for the likelihood of SLN metastasis from molecular, clinical, and histologic variables.

Results

ITGB3, LAMB1, PLAT, and TP53 expression were associated with SLN metastasis. The predictive ability of a model that included these molecular variables in combination with clinicopathologic variables (patient age, Breslow depth, and tumor ulceration) was significantly greater than a model that only considered clinicopathologic variables and also performed well in the validation cohort (area under the curve, 0.93; 95% CI, 0.87 to 0.97; false-positive and false-negative rates of 22% and 0%, respectively, using a 10% cutoff for predicted SLN metastasis risk).

Conclusion

The addition of cell adhesion–linked gene expression variables to clinicopathologic variables improves the identification of patients with SLN metastases within 90 days of melanoma diagnosis.
Biological network analysis with CentiScaPe: centralities and experimental dataset integration
Authors: Scardoni Giovanni , Tosadori Gabriele , Faizan Mohammed , Spoto Fausto , Fabbri Franco , Laudanna Carlo
Published: July 2015

The growing dimension and complexity of the available experimental data generating biological networks have increased the need for tools that help in categorizing nodes by their topological relevance. Here we present CentiScaPe, a Cytoscape app specifically designed to calculate centrality indexes used for the identification of the most important nodes in a network. CentiScaPe is a comprehensive suite of algorithms dedicated to network nodes centrality analysis, computing several centralities for undirected, directed and weighted networks. The results of the topological analysis can be integrated with data set from lab experiments, like expression or phosphorylation levels for each protein represented in the network. Our app opens new perspectives in the analysis of biological networks, since the integration of topological analysis with lab experimental data enhance the predictive power of the bioinformatics analysis.
Fenofibrate in cancer: mechanisms involved in anticancer activity
Authors: Koltai Tomas
Published: July 2015

Objective: To review the mechanisms of anti-cancer activity of fenofibrate (FF) and other Peroxisome Proliferator Activator Receptor α (PPARα) agonists based on evidences reported in the published literature.

Methods: We extensively reviewed the literature concerning FF as an off target anti-cancer drug. Controversies regarding conflicting findings were also addressed.

Results:The main mechanism involved in anti-cancer activity is anti-angiogenesis through down-regulation of  Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF), Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Receptor (VEGFR) and Hypoxia Inducible factor-1 α (HIF-1α), inhibition of endothelial cell migration, up-regulation of endostatin and thrombospondin-1, but there are many other contributing mechanisms like apoptosis and cell cycle arrest, down-regulation of Nuclear Factor Kappa B (NF-kB) and Protein kinase B (Akt) and decrease of cellular energy by impairing mitochondrial function. Growth impairment is related to down-regulation of Phospho-Inositol 3 Kinase (PI3K)/Akt axis and down-regulation of the p38 map kinase (MAPK) cascade. A possible role should be assigned to FF stimulated over-expression of Tribbles Homolog-3 (TRIB3) which inhibits Akt phosphorylation. Important anti-cancer and anti-metastatic activities are due to down-regulation of MCP-1 (monocyte chemotactic protein-1), decreased Metalloprotease-9 (MMP-9) production, weak down-regulation of adhesion molecules like E selectin, intercellular adhesion molecules (ICAM) and Vascular Endothelial Adhesion Molecules (VCAM), and decreased secretion of chemokines like Interleukin-6 (IL-6), and down-regulation of cyclin D-1. There is no direct link between FF activity in lipid metabolism and anticancer activity, except for the fact that many anticancer actions are dependent from PPARα agonism. FF exhibits also PPARα independent anti-cancer activities.

Conclusions: There are strong evidences indicating that FF can disrupt growth-related activities in many different cancers, due to anti-angiogenesis and anti-inflammatory effects. Therefore FF may be useful as a complementary adjunct treatment of cancer, particularly included in anti-angiogenic protocols like those currently increasingly used in glioblastoma. There are sound reasons to initiate well planned phase II clinical trials for FF as a complementary adjunct treatment of cancer.
Finding small molecules for the ‘next Ebola’
Authors: Ekins Sean , Southan Christopher , Coffee Megan
Published: July 2015

The current Ebola virus epidemic may provide some suggestions of how we can better prepare for the next pathogen outbreak. We propose several cost effective steps that could be taken that would impact the discovery and use of small molecule therapeutics including: 1. text mine the literature, 2. patent assignees and/or inventors should openly declare their relevant filings, 3. reagents and assays could be commoditized, 4. using manual curation to enhance database links, 5. engage database and curation teams, 6. consider open science approaches, 7. adapt the “box” model for shareable reference compounds, and 8. involve the physician’s perspective.
Equilibrium Innovation Ecosystems: The Dark Side of Collaborating with Complementors
Authors: Mantovani Andrea , Ruiz-Aliseda Francisco
Published: July 2015

We provide a rationale for the recent burst in the amount of collaborative activities among firms selling complementary products, highlighting factors that may result in a lower profitability for such firms overall. To this end, we examine a game-theoretic model in which firms can collaborate with producers of complementary goods to enhance the quality of the systems formed by their components. Collaboration makes it cheaper to enhance such quality, so building innovation ecosystems results in firms investing more than if collaboration were impossible. In markets reaching saturation, firms are trapped in a prisoner’s dilemma: the greater investments create more value, but this does not translate into greater value capture because the value created relative to competitors does not change. We also examine the (dis)advantages for a firm of having open or closed interfaces for the component it sells when the environment is competitive as well as how this is related to the endogenous emergence of two-sided platforms.

This paper was accepted by Bruno Cassiman, business strategy.
Day-to-Day Flow Dynamics and Congestion Control
Authors: Guo Ren-Yong , Yang Hai , Huang Hai-Jun , Tan Zhijia
Published: July 2015

For a predetermined set of an upper bound of link flows, this paper proposes a price-based congestion control scheme for achieving such a restraint target of traffic flow that evolves from day to day. On each day, drivers have to pay a toll selected from a feasible set. The tolls on each day are determined by the link flows and toll charges on the previous day and the predetermined upper bound of link flows. Several properties of the dynamical system model with the control scheme are analyzed, including the invariance of its evolutionary trajectories; the equivalence between its stationary state and user equilibrium under toll charge; the uniqueness, existence, and boundedness of its stationary state; and the convergence of its evolutionary trajectories. A special case of the model and implementation of the control scheme for several alternative targets are also given. Finally, application of the model to a traffic network is demonstrated with a numerical example. The study is helpful for better understanding the mechanism of congestion control under day-to-day traffic flow dynamics.
Expanding Horizons for Abdominal Aortic Aneurysms
Authors: Rolph Rachel , Waltham Matthew , Smith Alberto , Kuivaniemi Helena
Published: July 2015

Recent technological advances have allowed researchers to interrogate the genetic basis of abdominal aortic aneurysms in great detail. The results from these studies are expected to transform our understanding of this complex disease with both multiple genetic and environmental risk factors. Clinicians need to keep abreast of these genetic findings and understand the implications for their practice. Patients will become increasingly informed on genetic risk, and a new era of individualized risk assessment for AAA is just beginning. This brief update aims to provide the clinician with a succinct précis of the recent progress in this area.
Application of the Bolton Relay Device for Thoracic Endografting In or Near the Aortic Arch
Authors: Riambau Vincent
Published: July 2015

Endovascular correction of aortic arch pathology remains a challenge, with a variety of techniques proposed over the years to minimize complications and enhance the probability of a successful result. A variety of approaches have been developed in order to deal with the aortic arch pathology and its idiosyncrasies. We review potential interventional techniques for the repair of aortic arch pathologies, beginning with conventional aortic arch surgery, followed by hybrid treatments and those along the endovascular spectrum (parallel and fenestrated endografts, scalloped endografts, and ascending and new branched endografts). We finish with an overview of all the Bolton Medical (Barcelona, Spain and Sunrise, FL, USA) thoracic platforms. Endovascular techniques show acceptable results in selected cases. Both proximal Bolton Relay configurations (with and without a bare stent) offer conformability and accuracy on deployment with very low rates of stroke. Fenestrated and scalloped designs are also useful for selected cases. Ascending and branched Bolton devices are very promising platforms for a serious, full endovascular approach to the aorta.
Ruptured Pneumococcal Aortic Aneurysm Presenting as ST-Elevation Myocardial Infarction
Authors: Guo Xiaoyue , Bonde Pramod
Published: July 2015

Ruptured mycotic aneurysms occur infrequently in current clinical practice, and a pneumococcal etiology is even more rare. This case report describes a patient who initially presented with catheter lab activation for an acute ST-elevation myocardial infarction, receiving a full Plavix load. She was subsequently found to have a ruptured aortic aneurysm and underwent emergency surgical repair, with intraoperative findings of an aorta seeded with Streptococcus pneumonia. A retrospective evaluation of her history revealed clues of a previous upper respiratory infection and long-standing back pain. The subsequent literature review summarizes presentations and outcomes in previously reported, ruptured pneumococcal aneurysms and describes the relatively common occurrence of aortic conditions masquerading as acute myocardial infarctions. We provide recommendations to help approach similar situations in the future.
Meaning-making through transformative learning for HCA education
Authors: Hayes Catherine
Published: July 2015

This article provides an overview of the impact of transformative learning and how as a teaching strategy for HCAs it can enable mechanisms of self-reflection and critical introspection via means other than written reports, such as metaphors, storytelling, the exploration of life histories and their direct involvement in social action. By exploring the seminal theory of Mezirow, transformative education is framed as a mechanism of educating students that reproduces the ambiguity, and uncertainty they will face in everyday healthcare practice.

Discussion around the tensions between objectivity and affective engagement explores the processes by which students consciously reframe their thinking. The article ends with an insight into a small-scale research project on metaphors as a mechanism of visually stimulating self-expression.

The value of transformative learning is contextualised, amid recommendations from the Cavendish Review (2013) and the Frances Report (2013) . The new regulatory framework for HCA education provides an ideal foundation for the development of the notion of meaning-making in education. The article also provides an overview of how staff can best facilitate transformative education in practice.
Transition cow clinical forum
Authors: Atkinson Owen , Brearley Ben , Whitehead Martyn , Knight Richard , Cooper Richard
Published: July 2015

Transition cow management has long been acknowledged as a key part of successful dairy cow health and production. It is estimated that around 30–50% of dairy cows suffer a clinical disorder associated with the transition period ( LeBlanc, 2010 ), and the prevalence of subclinical metabolic disease is likely to be even higher. There is currently a renewed focus on transition cow management and nutrition, part fuelled by some recent research findings regarding fat metabolism and the influence of energy supply pre calving ( Janovick et al 2011 ); effects of social stress associated with group changes ( Von Keyserlingk et al, 2008 ); and the influence of body condition score and transition cow management on lameness ( Machado et al, 2010 ). The recent availability of a licensed slow release ruminal bolus containing monensin sodium has provided practicing veterinary surgeons with a new pharmacological tool with which to approach ketosis management. This too has probably stimulated a greater interest in the whole area of transition cow management and nutrition amongst practitioners. This clinical forum article reviews some of the key physiological aspects of transition cow management, followed by discussion by experienced dairy practitioners.
Hybridisation in a corporatist third sector regime: paradoxes of ‘responsibilised autonomy’
Authors: Hustinx Lesley , Waele Els De , Delcour Chloë
Published: July 2015

This study explores the generally prevailing diagnosis of ‘hybridisation’ in the third sector under a new mode of governing welfare, with a focus on processes of devolution of public responsibility and ‘responsibilised autonomy’ for third sector organisations (TSOs) and volunteers. To this end, we conducted semi-structured in-depth interviews with representatives from field-specific umbrella organisations and with officials working in independent governmental agencies. Our analysis generally deals with three themes: devolution of responsibility, accountability, and volunteers as responsibilised service providers. Our findings reveal four paradoxes or unintended consequences of ‘responsibilised autonomy’: decreased autonomy for TSOs, an administrative deadlock that crowds out grassroots associations and volunteers, an increasing demand for professional support for volunteering, and a bifurcation between strong and weak volunteers, whereby the latter are ‘re-excluded’ through volunteering.
Application of Photoreactive Barium Titanate (BaTiO3) Beam Fanning to the Photothermal Mirror Technique: An Experimental Analysis
Authors: Zanuto Vitor Santaella , Capeloto Otavio Augusto , Lukasievicz Gustavo Vinicius Bassi , Herculano Leandro Silva , Malacarne Luis Carlos , Astrath Nelson Guilherme Castelli , Bialkowski Stephen Edward
Published: July 2015

An adaptive spatial filter is used as an optical novelty filter to detect photothermal mirror (PM) signals in high absorbing materials using continuous wave laser excitation. The optical novelty filter uses an optical beam-fanning limiter based on single domain barium titanate (BaTiO3), cut and poled 45° relative to the c-axis. The optical novelty filter approach relaxes the requirement for high sample surface smoothness because the effect aperture adapts to the surface, reducing the stationary background from the optical signal and provides a means of developing the photothermal mirror signal. Time-dependent probe laser phase shifts due to photothermal surface deformation pass through the optical novelty filter and are detected as an intensity increase over the stationary or “mundane” signal. Experimental studies are performed using four well-characterized metals using both the conventional photothermal mirror and optical novelty filter apparatuses in order to understand the complicated signal behavior. Signal behavior is analyzed in different excitation intervals using pseudo-chopped sample excitation with different duty cycles. Optical novelty filter signals show fast response for changes in the spatial beam profile followed by long relaxation time. Reasons for the optical novelty filter response are described.
Handheld X-ray Fluorescence Spectrometers: Radiation Exposure Risks of Matrix-Specific Measurement Scenarios
Authors: Rouillon Marek , Kristensen Louise J. , Gore Damian B.
Published: July 2015

This study investigates X-ray intensity and dispersion around handheld X-ray fluorescence (XRF) instruments during the measurement of a range of sample matrices to establish radiation exposure risk during operation. Four handheld XRF instruments representing three manufacturers were used on four smooth, flat-lying materials of contrasting matrix composition. Dose rates were measured at 10, 20, 30, and 40 cm intervals every 30° around the instrument at 0 and 45° from the horizontal, as well as vertically from the instrument screen. The analysis of polyethylene recorded dose rates 156 times higher (on average) than steel measurements and 34 times higher than both quartz sand and quartz sandstone. A worst-case exposure scenario was assumed where a user analyses a polyethylene material at arms reach for 1 h each working day for one year. This scenario resulted in an effective body dose of 73.5 μSv, equivalent to three to four chest X-rays (20 μSv) a year, 20 times lower than the average annual background radiation exposure in Australia and well below the annual exposure limit of 1 mSv for non-radiation workers. This study finds the advantages of using handheld XRF spectrometers far outweighs the risk of low radiation exposure linked to X-ray scattering from samples.
Quantitative Macro-Raman Spectroscopy on Microparticle-Based Pharmaceutical Dosage Forms
Authors: Wang Hui , Williams Lisa , Hoe Susan , Lechuga-Ballesteros David , Vehring Reinhard
Published: July 2015

Quantitative macro-Raman spectroscopy was applied to the analysis of the bulk composition of pharmaceutical drug powders. Powders were extracted from seven commercial lactose-carrier-based dry-powder inhalers: Flixotide 50, 100, 250, and 500 μg/dose (four concentrations of fluticasone propionate) and Seretide 100, 250, and 500 μg/dose (three concentrations of fluticasone propionate, each with 50 μg/dose salmeterol xinafoate). Also, a carrier-free pressurized metered-dose inhaler of the same combination product, Seretide 50 (50 μg fluticasone propionate and 25 μg salmeterol xinafoate per dose) was tested. The applicability of a custom-designed dispersive macro-Raman instrument with a large sample volume of 0.16 μL was tested to determine the composition of the multicomponent powder samples. To quantify the error caused by sample heterogeneity, a Monte Carlo model was developed to predict the minimum sample volume required for representative sampling of potentially heterogeneous samples at the microscopic level, characterized by different particle-size distributions and compositions. Typical carrier-free respirable powder samples required a minimum sample volume on the order of 10−4 μL to achieve representative sampling with less than 3% relative error. In contrast, dosage forms containing non-respirable carriers (e.g., lactose) required a sample volume on the order of 0.1 μL for representative measurements. Error analysis of the experimental results showed good agreement with the error predicted by the simulation.
Fast Analysis of Complete Macroscopic Gunshot Residues on Substrates Using Raman Imaging
Authors: López-López Maria , de la Ossa María Ángeles Fernández , García-Ruiz Carmen
Published: July 2015

Raman spectroscopy has emerged as a viable technique for the organic analysis of gunshot residues (GSRs), offering additional information to the well-established analysis using scanning electron microscopy coupled with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDX). In this article, a Raman imaging system with an electron-multiplying coupled-charged device (EMCCD) camera was used to analyze complete GSR particles from both conventional and nontoxic ammunition fired at different cloth targets. The same cloths were then stained with blood to mimic real evidence and measured. The direct analysis using Raman imaging of the GSR particles collected with the stubs used for SEM-EDX analysis (the frequent method used for GSR collection) was evaluated. Multivariate curve-resolution and chemical-mapping methods were applied to the spectroscopic data to identify and highlight the signal corresponding to the GSR particles and differentiate them from the substrates. It was confirmed that both measurement approaches (on the targets and the stubs) could be used for the identification of GSR particles, even under unfavorable conditions such as the presence of blood. The results obtained demonstrate the huge potential of Raman imaging for the fast analysis of complete GSR particles and prove its complementary usefulness in the analysis of the stubs used by the well-established SEM-EDX technique.
Changing the way we think about character change in episodic television series
Authors: O’Meara Radha
Published: July 2015

Regular characters in episodic television series do not change, develop or transform. At least this is the way these characters are commonly understood. In television series, the plot focuses on episodic adventures, and the core cast of characters are seen as fairly rigid actants that facilitate those adventures. These apparently static characters of television series are generally understood in contrast to characters in television serials, who do transform over the course of episodes, seasons and years. This view can be found readily in popular discourse as well as writing manuals and scholarly treatises. But there is more to character change in television series. We can also see how characters in television series do change in different ways, displayed chiefly through character action and plot structure. Three kinds of character change on-screen are identified in this article: experiencing significant life events; expressing intense emotions, and displaying contrasting behaviours. Textual analysis of popular crime dramas and sitcoms demonstrates how characters in television series do change continually.
Trajetórias no Desenvolvimento Profissional Docente no Ensino Superior: Fatores Condicionantes
Authors: Almeida Marta Mateus de
Published: July 2015

Inserindo‑se numa investigação mais ampla, onde se procurou contribuir para a compreensão do processo de desenvolvimento profissional docente dos professores do ensino superior, centrando‑se naqueles que atuam na formação de professores no subsistema de ensino superior politécnico, o texto dá conta dos resultados obtidos na etapa qualitativa do estudo. Esta etapa visou a análise das representações dos sujeitos, através da realização de entrevistas semidiretivas em profundidade. Com base nos resultados da análise de conteúdo do discurso dos sujeitos, foi possível identificar fatores endógenos e fatores exógenos, que, em algum momento das suas trajetórias profissionais, influíram, favorável ou desfavoravelmente, nos processos de aprendizagem e desenvolvimento profissional. Se os fatores endógenos são preferencialmente referidos enquanto fatores potenciadores do desenvolvimento profissional, já os fatores exógenos destacam‑se enquanto fatores inibidores. É ainda de salientar o papel da formação pedagógica, reconhecida pelos entrevistados enquanto mecanismo impulsionador do desenvolvimento profissional docente.
Adaptação Pessoal e Emocional em Contexto Universitário: O Contributo da Personalidade, Suporte Social e Inteligência Emocional
Authors: Tomás Rita Antunes , Ferreira Joaquim Armando , Araújo Alexandra M. , Almeida Leandro S.
Published: July 2015

A adaptação ao ensino superior tem sido amplamente estudada, dadas as dificuldades vivenciadas por uma percentagem significativa de estudantes, e que resultam em insucesso escolar e abandono. O objetivo do presente trabalho é analisar em que medida a personalidade, o suporte social e a inteligência emocional se relacionam com a adaptação pessoal e emocional dos estudantes ao contexto universitário. Participaram neste estudo 217 estudantes do primeiro ano da Universidade de Coimbra. Os resultados mostram que existem diferenças significativas entre sexos no que respeita aos fatores de personalidade – amabilidade e neuroticismo ‑, bem como na dimensão atenção às emoções da variável inteligência emocional. As análises preditivas permitem concluir que a personalidade e o suporte social exercem poder preditivo sobre a adaptação pessoal e emocional dos estudantes à universidade.
Sistematización y generación de conocimientos en trabajo social. Aportes metodológicos a la formación profesional
Authors: Castañeda Meneses Patricia Lorena
Published: July 2015

La sistematización es considerada una estrategia de generación de conocimientos para el trabajo social latinoamericano, que aporta nuevas oportunidades de análisis y reflexión desde las dinámicas propias y particulares que caracterizan a la intervención social. Sin embargo, para avanzar en esta tarea se advierte la necesidad de fortalecer sus repertorios metodológicos y legitimar sus aportes en los contextos académicos y formativos. En este marco, el presente artículo expone algunas consideraciones respecto del insuficiente desarrollo de la sistematización en el mundo académico, sus características distintivas respecto de la investigación y una propuesta de pauta metodológica tipo para trabajo social, que permite orientar procesos de sistematización de la práctica social. La pauta metodológica propuesta ha sido validada en experiencias académicas desarrolladas durante los últimos veinte años por la Escuela de Trabajo Social de la Universidad de Valparaíso, Chile.
Analysis of the performance of different implementations of a heuristic method to optimize forest harvest scheduling
Authors: Bachmatiuk Joanna , Garcia-Gonzalo Jordi , Borges Jose
Published: July 2015

Finding an optimal solution of forest management scheduling problems with even flow constraints while addressing spatial concerns is not an easy task. Solving these combinatorial problems exactly with mixed-integer programming (MIP) methods may be infeasible or else involve excessive computational costs. This has prompted the use of heuristics. In this paper we analyze the performance of different implementations of the Simulated Annealing (SA) heuristic algorithm for solving three typical harvest scheduling problems. Typically SA consists of searching a better solution by changing one decision choice in each iteration. In forest planning this means that one treatment schedule in a single stand is changed in each iteration (i.e. one-opt move). We present a comparison of the performance of the typical implementation of SA with the new implementation where up to three decision choices are changed simultaneously in each iteration (i.e. treatment schedules are changed in more than one stand). This may allow avoiding local optimal. In addition, the impact of SA - parameters (i.e. cooling schedule and initial temperature) are tested. We compare our heuristic results with a MIP formulation. The study case is tested in a real forest with 1000 stands and a total of 213116 decision choices. The study shows that when the combinatorial problem is very large, changing simultaneously the treatment schedule in more than one stand does not improve the performance of SA. Contrarily, if we reduce the size of the problem (i.e. reduce considerably the number of alternatives per stand) the two-opt moves approach performs better.
Praxistaugliche Modellierung eines prädiktiven Reglers für Biogasanlagen
Authors: Ogurek Michael , Seick Ingolf , Fronk Karen
Published: July 2015

Im Rahmen der Modellierung verfahrenstechnischer Systeme beansprucht die Beschreibung von Automatisierung einen nicht zu vernachlässigenden Anteil der Arbeit. Die Nutzung und der Nutzen eines Industriestandards zur Beschreibung von Automatisierung in einer Simulationsumgebung wird am Beispiel eines prädiktiven Reglers für eine Biogasanlage vorgestellt.