bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Colloquium 4 Proclus on Evil
Authors: Nikulin Dmitri
Published: May 2016

This paper considers the problem of evil as it has been discussed and formulated by Plotinus and polemically taken over by Proclus. Contrary to Plotinus, Proclus does not consider matter as evil. Rather, evil in its elusive indefinite nature has to be characterized by the redefined concepts of privation, subcontrary and parypostasis. In its inescapable deficiency, evil, then, is the privation and subcontrary of the good that exists parypostatically, that is, as elusively present in its absence as the misplacement of being and the displacement of the good.
Colloquium 5 Commentary on Planinc
Authors: Mahoney Timothy A.
Published: May 2016

Zdravko Planinc’s Odyssean reading of the Sophist and Statesman presents a radical critique of claims that these dialogues present developments of Plato’s thought. His claim that Plato intends us to see the Stranger as no more than an outrageous sophist, however, is undermined by the quality of at least some of Stranger’s arguments and insights.
Checklist and typification of Heterostemma (Apocynaceae, Asclepiadoideae, Ceropegieae)
Authors: RODDA MICHELE
Published: May 2016

All names in Heterostemma and their known synonyms are listed. Lectotypes are designated for 33 names and a neotype is designated for Stapelia quadrangula. Dittoceras is synonymised with Heterostemma and three new combinations are validated.
Kuznetsovia, a new generic replacement name for Aenigma Kuznetsova, 1957 (Ostracoda) non Newman, 1836 (Coleoptera)
Authors: DOWELD ALEXANDER B.
Published: May 2016

The generic name Aenigma was proposed by Kuznetsova (1957: 68; type species A. jucunda Kuznetsova, by original designation) for a new fossil ostracod genus from the Lower Cretaceous (Barremian) of Tegchaj, North-Eastern Azerbaijan, former USSR (Transcaucasia). However, this name is already preoccupied by a marine gastropod molluscan generic name Aenigma Newman (1836: 499), which is in active current use in zoology (Coleoptera: Carabidae). Besides this earliest generic name, a few homonyms were also known: Aenigma Amsel (1956: 288) [Lepidoptera], Aenigma Koch (in Martin & Chemnitz 1846: 1, unpaginated) [Mollusca], Aenigma Karsch (1878: 825) [Arachnida], Aenigma Strecker (1876: 122) [Lepidoptera].
A note on the correct spelling of the name of the freshwater shrimp Macrobrachium olfersii (Wiegmann, 1836) (Decapoda, Palaemonidae)
Authors: ROSSI NATÁLIA , GRAVE SAMMY DE , MANTELATTO FERNANDO L.
Published: May 2016

Macrobrachium olfersii (Wiegmann, 1836), popularly known as Pitu, Bristled River Shrimp and Buchura River Prawn, is a freshwater shrimp species widespread along the eastern coasts of the Americas. The species can be found from the southeastern United States, where the prawns were introduced (Holthuis & Provenzano, 1970), southwards to Rio Grande do Sul (Brazil), including numerous records in Mexico, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana and Suriname (Holthuis, 1952; Williams, 1984; Melo, 2003; Valencia & Campos, 2007).
Public Trust in Business and Its Determinants
Authors: Pirson Michael , Martin Kirsten , Parmar Bidhan
Published: May 2016

Public trust in business, defined as the degree to which the public—meaning society at large—trusts business in general, is largely understudied. This article suggests four domains of existing trust research from which scholars of public trust in business can draw. The authors then propose four main hypotheses, which aim to predict the determinants of public trust, and test these hypotheses using a factorial vignette methodology. These results will provide scholars with more direction as this article is, to the authors’ knowledge, one of the first empirical studies of public trust. Furthermore, the study will enable those companies interested in increasing public trust to understand better respective determinants of public trust.
L’évaluation en ergothérapie pour contribuer à documenter l’aptitude : étude de cas
Authors: Blanchet Marie , Huynh Tammy , Giroux Dominique , Bottari Carolina
Published: May 2016

Description

Plusieurs ergothérapeutes contribuent à l’évaluation de l’aptitude à prendre soin de sa personne et à gérer ses biens, mais peu de balises encadrent cette pratique auprès d’adultes ayant subi un traumatisme craniocérébral (TCC).

But

Cette étude explorait la contribution du Profil des activités instrumentales (PAI) à la documentation de l’aptitude suite à un TCC.

Méthodologie

La réalisation des tâches du PAI par un homme de 46 ans (ML) ayant été déclaré inapte suite à un TCC sévère a été comparée à celle de huit participants témoins (âge moyen 49,3 ± 4,2 ans). Les scores au PAI, les comportements observables, et les verbalisations ont été comparés en utilisant des statistiques descriptives (moyennes et écarts-types) et des analyses qualitatives.

Résultats

Le niveau d’indépendance de ML est inférieur à celui des témoins pour sept des huit tâches du PAI ( p < 0,05), notamment pour préparer un repas chaud et faire un budget. ML se distingue par la généralisation de ses difficultés à plusieurs tâches et de la difficulté à critiquer les résultats obtenus.

Conséquences

Le PAI pourrait être utilisé lors d’une évaluation fonctionnelle visant à documenter l’aptitude.
Lifestyle knowledge and preferences in preschool children: Evaluation of the Get up and Grow healthy lifestyle education programme
Authors: Wiseman Nicola , Harris Neil , Lee Patricia
Published: May 2016

Objective:

Early childhood is considered a window of opportunity for lifestyle interventions, as this is a critical life-stage at which children accumulate knowledge and skills around behaviours such as eating and physical activity. This study examined how exposure to a settings-based healthy lifestyle programme influences knowledge and preference of food and physical play in preschool children.

Design:

Quasi-experimental, pre–post intervention design.

Methods:

Pre- and post-impact evaluation of a healthy lifestyle intervention using an innovative computerised photo-pair food and exercise questionnaire and an age-appropriate test of executive function. The study included 82 children aged 3–5 years and was structured with an intervention and a control group. Quantitative data were analysed using SPSS v22.

Results:

For the intervention group, there was a significant improvement in overall knowledge of healthy lifestyle behaviours post-intervention, particularly in the identification of healthy and unhealthy food choices. There was no associated change in behavioural preferences.

Conclusion:

The study highlighted that age-appropriate lifestyle interventions with preschool-aged children can lead to improved knowledge of healthy lifestyle choices. However, improvement in knowledge of healthy lifestyle behaviours does not necessarily lead to positive changes in food and activity preferences that inform choices.
A Survey of Meteoric Activity over Spain during the Eighth–Fifteenth Centuries
Authors: Martínez Usó María José , Marco Castillo Francisco J
Published: May 2016

The lack of astronomical observations from medieval and early modern Spanish sources is a constant in the records of solar eclipses, meteors, and other celestial phenomena. This may be partially explained by the absence of a documentary corpus similar to the Monumenta Germaniae Historica, for example, that scholars may use for conducting a systematic search of such records; the problems increase by the presence of four different vernacular languages in the peninsula: Castilian, Catalan, Basque, and Galician, together with some other minority languages, to which Latin and Arabic must be added for historical research purposes. Currently, scientific literature records few medieval Spanish astronomical accounts, and most of them are contained in wider Arab surveys or they come from the best-known annals and chronicles. Our article intends to fill this gap partially in the issue of meteoritic activity. We present a survey of meteors, bolides, and meteor storms observed in Spain in the eighth–fourteenth centuries. Most of them have not been previously published and come from local or minor sources, but for the sake of completeness, we have included some records already mentioned by other authors.
Making Telescopes and Partying with the Stars: Amateur Astronomy in Spain during Franco’s Dictatorship
Authors: Ruiz-Castell Pedro
Published: May 2016

Franco’s dictatorship was characterized by an official narrative that criminalized the liberal tradition of previous periods. Such a discourse defined an ideologically correct science that censured the subordination of Spanish science to foreign influence and sought to create a new scientific tradition. However, recent studies have revised these aims and suggest that there was a continuity of scientific and technological programmes and practices before and after the Spanish Civil War. This paper contributes to these investigations with further evidence, focusing on several practices that characterized the development of amateur astronomy during this period. Special attention is paid to the development of amateur telescope making, the popularization of astronomy, and attempts to define astronomy as a discipline for sociability that developed in alternative spaces for instruction and socialization – and so avoided direct control from the dictatorial regime.
Prediction of progressive damage and strength of IM7/977-3 composites using the Eigendeformation-based homogenization approach: Static loading
Authors: Bogdanor Michael J , Oskay Caglar
Published: May 2016

This paper presents the results from the authors’ participation in the Air Force Research Laboratory’s Damage Tolerance Design Principles Program. The Eigendeformation-based reduced order homogenization method was employed to predict the mechanical response of a suite of open hole and unnotched IM7/977-3 composite laminates under static tension and compression. Damage accumulation, effective stiffness, and ultimate strength blind predictions are included in addition to the results of the recalibration study. In blind predictions, the proposed multiscale model produced predictions with an average error of 13.1% compared to the experiments for static ultimate strength and 13.6% for stiffness. After recalibration, the average prediction error was improved to 8.7% for static ultimate strength and 4.4% for stiffness. Details of the blind predictions and the recalibration are discussed.
Social Inquiry and the Pursuit of Reality
Authors: Gunnell John G.
Published: May 2016

Although social scientists have been devoted to discovering specific realities of social life, many theorists devoted to critical judgment have turned to philosophy in search of universal grounds of truth and reality. They have, however, worried about the problem of relativism. Although Wittgenstein has often been characterized as a relativist, Cora Diamond, inspired by G. E. M Anscombe, argues that his work, despite internal tensions, provides rational grounds for external criticism of social practices. Her argument and her critique of the work of Peter Winch and Ilham Dilman are, however, neither adequately supported by Wittgenstein’s texts nor sufficiently developed on their own terms.
Benevolent Sexism, Attitudes Toward Motherhood, and Reproductive Rights
Authors: Huang Yanshu , Davies Paul G. , Sibley Chris G. , Osborne Danny
Published: May 2016

Although Benevolent Sexism (BS)—an ideology that highly reveres women who conform to traditional gender roles—is cloaked in a superficially positive tone, being placed upon a pedestal is inherently restrictive. Accordingly, because the paternalistic beliefs associated with BS are based on the idealization of traditional gender roles (which include motherhood), BS should predict people’s attitudes toward women’s reproductive rights. Using data from a nationwide longitudinal panel study ( N = 12,299), Study 1 showed that BS (but not Hostile Sexism) had cross-lagged effects on opposition to both elective and traumatic abortion. Study 2 ( N = 309) extended these findings by showing that the relationship between BS and support for abortion was fully mediated by attitudes toward motherhood. These results highlight the pernicious nature of BS by demonstrating that the idealization of women—and motherhood, in particular—comes at a substantial cost (namely, the restriction of women’s reproductive rights).
Fathers’ Perspectives on Their Relationship With Their Infant in the Context of Breastfeeding
Authors: de Montigny Francine , Larivière-Bastien Danaë , Gervais Christine , St-Arneault Kate , Dubeau Diane , Devault Annie
Published: May 2016

Research has demonstrated beneficial effects on children’s development of both breastfeeding and fathers’ involvement. Evidence has also shown that breastfeeding could influence paternal behaviors. Since there is little data available on paternal representations of breastfeeding and on its effects on paternal involvement, the aim of the present study is to bridge that gap by examining fathers’ perceptions of their relationship with their infant in the context of breastfeeding. Semistructured interviews were carried out with 43 fathers of an infant who had been exclusively breast-fed for a minimum of 6 months. These were transcribed and analyzed using thematic analysis. The fathers identified some impacts of breastfeeding on the father–infant relationship. Feeding their infant themselves appeared to be a determining moment in this relationship. These results highlight the relevance of supporting early father–infant bonding in the breastfeeding context.
Enhanced Physical Activity Improves Selected Outcomes in Children With ADHD
Authors: Song MinKyoung , Lauseng Deborah , Lee Soohee , Nordstrom Megan , Katch Victor
Published: May 2016

This review examines associations between physical activity (PA) and cognitive, behavioral, and physiological outcomes in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). We reviewed studies on participants ≤18 years old, published in English between January 1998 and December 2014, in PubMed, CINAHL, PsycINFO, and Cochrane Reviews. Twenty-six studies were grouped into two categories: those that did and did not account for effects of ADHD medications. The first category showed lower levels of PA and improved cognitive and behavioral outcomes in youth whose ADHD was treated with medications. The second category showed a positive association between PA levels and cognitive and behavioral outcomes in youth whose ADHD was not treated with medications. For both categories of studies, results were inconclusive regarding physiological outcomes. Randomized controlled trials are needed to better clarify the relationship between PA and outcomes in youth with ADHD, and particularly to understand the impact of ADHD medications on that relationship.
Adolescent romantic competence and parenting attitudes
Authors: Shulman Shmuel , Scharf Miri , Bohr Yvonne , Tuval-Mashiach Rivka , Hirsh Yuval , Faians Maya
Published: May 2016

The current study examined the distinctive gender-related expressions of adolescent romantic competence and patterns of maternal and paternal attitudes toward daughters’ and sons’ romantic involvements. Employing a qualitative approach, an in-depth interview assessing romantic competence was given to 69 Israeli adolescents (37 boys) ranging in age from 15 to 18 years, M = 16.74 ( SD = .81). In addition, parents were interviewed regarding their attitudes toward their adolescents’ romantic involvements. Findings indicated that girls exhibited greater romantic maturity and their accounts of romantic involvements were more coherent, compared to boys. Romantic agency did not differ across gender. Mothers and fathers reported similar levels of supportive attitude toward offspring’s romantic involvement. However, in depth reading of parents’ motives suggested that fathers had a supportive attitude toward their sons’ romantic and sexual experimentation, while mothers’ supportive attitude was aimed at enhancing romantic intimacy in both genders. In addition, mothers were found to have a more protective attitude toward their daughters than toward their sons. Examining associations between parental attitudes and adolescent romantic competence showed that maternal, not paternal, supportive attitude was associated with greater romantic competence in both genders. In addition, maternal protective attitude was associated with girls’ involvement in more stable relationships, while fathers’ protective attitude was adversely associated with daughters’ romantic agency. Findings suggest that the attitudes of both parents reflect, to some extent, the more traditional scripts of gender relationships.
Torsten Almén (1931–2016): the father of non-ionic iodine contrast media
Authors: Nyman Ulf , Ekberg Olle , Aspelin Peter
Published: May 2016

The Swedish radiologist Torsten Almén is the first clinical radiologist ever to have made a fundamental contribution to intravascular contrast medium design, the development of non-ionic contrast media. He became emotionally triggered by the patients' severe pain each time he injected the ionic “ high-osmolar” contrast media when performing peripheral arteriographies in the early 1960s. One day he got a flash of genius that combined the observation of pain, a pathophysiological theory and how to eliminate it with suitable contrast media chemistry. After self-studies in chemistry he developed the concept of iodine contrast media not dissociating into ions in solution to reduce their osmolality and even reach plasma isotonicity. He offered several pharmaceutical companies his concept of mono- and polymeric non-ionic agents but without response, since it was considered against the chemical laws of that time. Contrast media constructed as salts and dissociating into ions in solution was regarded an absolute necessity to achieve high enough water solubility and concentration for diagnostic purposes. Finally a small Norwegian company, Nyegaard & Co., took up his idea 1968 and together they developed the essentially painless “ low-osmolar” monomeric non-ionic metrizamide (Amipaque) released in 1974 and iohexol (Omipaque) in 1982 followed by the “ iso-osmolar” dimeric non-ionic iodixanol (Visipaque) released in 1993. This has implied a profound paradigm shift with regard to reduction of both hypertonic and chemotoxic side effects, which have been a prerequisite for the today’s widespread use of contrast medium-enhanced CT and advanced endovascular interventional techniques even in fragile patients.
Results of prosthetic rehabilitation on managing transtibial vascular amputation with silicone liner after wound closure
Authors: Chin Takaaki , Toda Mitsunori
Published: May 2016

Objective

To investigate the effect of a standardized silicone liner programme on the duration of prosthetic rehabilitation in patients who underwent transtibial amputation as a result of peripheral arterial disease.

Methods

This retrospective study enrolled patients who underwent transtibial amputation followed by one of two stump management programmes at the same rehabilitation centre over a period of 14 years. The study compared the duration of rehabilitation following a standardized silicone liner programme compared with that following a conventional soft dressing programme.

Results

This study included 16 patients who underwent the silicone liner programme and 11 patients who underwent the soft dressing programme. There were no significant differences between the two groups in age, sex, interval between amputation and admission to the rehabilitation centre and stump length. The duration required for the completion of the rehabilitation programme was significantly shorter for the silicone liner programme compared with the soft dressing programme (mean ± SD: 77.3 days ± 13.4 versus 125.4 days ± 66.4 days, respectively).

Conclusion

A standardized silicone liner programme reduced the duration of rehabilitation and could be a valuable replacement for soft dressing-based stump management.
Physical disabilities in Asia: A meta-synthesis of qualitative literature written in English
Authors: Jane Shamrock H , Gray Marion , Cameron Melainie , Oprescu Florin
Published: May 2016

Introduction

Research shows that occupational therapists and occupational therapy students are increasingly taking up positions in cross-cultural contexts where occupational form, social values and understanding of occupation are different to Western norms. It may be difficult for the occupational therapist to identify the implication of cultural differences.

Method

This meta-synthesis investigated lived experience of physical disability in East and Southeast Asia with the aim of identifying local understandings of disability, using the technique of meta-ethnography as described by Noblit and Hare.

Findings

Fourteen articles met the selection criteria and six overarching themes were identified concerning disability in Asia: theme (1), the influence of disability on relationships within primary groups; theme (2), journeys in resilience vary among individuals; theme (3), managing poor health makes disability difficult; theme (4), education is important and difficult for people with disabilities to achieve; theme (5), financial hardship is closely linked to disability; and theme (6), values and beliefs are enmeshed in the experiences of living with disabilities.

Conclusion

There is a wide range of experiences of disability. Occupational therapy services and research may be more effective for people with disabilities in cross-cultural settings, when these factors are investigated and incorporated into practice.
Ṭhakkura
Authors: Upadhyaya Rashmi
Published: May 2016

This article intends to provide an extensive study of ṭhakkura, whose emergence as feudatory chief in early medieval northern India is well attested from sources. Based on the evidence of Sanskrit literary texts and inscriptions, it focuses upon the obligations of this class of landholders towards the state and overlord. In return of the services rendered by him, a ṭhakkura was provided with the grants of land and villages either by the king or the respective overlord. His position as sub-vassal under important Rajput clans in northern India is also established from contemporary inscriptional records. The Brahman ṭhakkuras, who are mentioned in the inscriptions with their gotras and pravaras, received unconditional grants of land and villages for the acquisition of spiritual merit on special occasions and holy dates ( tithis). The functions of ṭhakkura chiefs as holders of villages or land are also being highlighted in the present paper. The local village assembly consisting of panchkula or mahājans maintained the account of the activities of ṭhakkuras and also imposed some restrictions on them. Besides serving as military chief, which was the foremost duty of a ṭhakkura, he was also appointed on various official and unofficial posts.

The conferment of the title ṭhakkura in some cases to the persons who already held the titles like rānaka, rājputra and rāuta naturally strengthened the position of ṭhakkura title holders in the feudal hierarchy. The evidence regarding their role as traders in Gujarat is however scarce. On account of the significant position held by a ṭhakkura, his sons and grandsons often inherited his rank and office. With the liquidation of feudal order, many of these ṭhakkuras lost their earlier holdings. They were confined as petty bhomiās in most parts of western Marwar in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries.
Criminal Thought Content and Criminal Thought Process as Mediators of Peer Influence
Authors: Walters Glenn D.
Published: May 2016

The purpose of this study was to determine whether measures of criminal thought content and criminal thought process are capable of mediating the peer influence effect. Participants were all 1,725 (918 boys and 807 girls) members of the National Youth Survey. The average age of the participants was 13.87 years at initial contact. In this study, attitudes toward deviance served as a measure of criminal thought content, proactive criminal thinking served as a measure of criminal thought process, and the lagged delinquent peers–offending relationship marked the peer influence effect. Path analysis was conducted with structured equation modeling and demonstrated that criminal thought content and criminal thought process, both individually and conjointly, mediated the peer influence effect. There was no evidence that these effects were moderated by gender. A principal implication of these results is that criminal thought content and criminal thought process are both instrumental in mediating the effect of peer deviance on participant delinquency. In addition, criminal thought content and criminal thought process appear to be learned through association with deviant peers while providing nonredundant and largely additive variance to predictions of subsequent offending via their ability to link prior delinquent peer associations to future offending behavior.
Public Regulation of Private Security: A Statutory Analysis of State Regulation of Security Guards
Authors: Klein Michael S. , Hemmens Craig
Published: May 2016

Security guards outnumber police by almost 3 to 1, and this discrepancy has been growing steadily since the latter part of the 20th century. Security guards perform many of the same functions as police officers and may even carry weapons, but to what extent do states regulate the private security industry? This article compares the change in state regulation of private security, in particular the requirements for hiring security guards. The provisions of the states as of 1982, 1998, and 2015 are compared and evaluated. We are interested in determining what threshold requirements the states have seen fit to establish for employment in the security industry, and whether these threshold requirements provide adequate protection for the public.
Disquieting Complicities
Authors: Zilberg Elana
Published: May 2016

In seeking to balance the demands of social science research with complex ethical and political commitments, ethnographers often find themselves caught in a series of double binds. This is particularly true when we are asked to testify in court on behalf of subjects criminalized by the state. I explore how these tensions play out in settings where right and wrong cannot be clearly distinguished in anthropological terms but are demanded in legal or political terms. I consider the narrative strategies that anthropologists employ in an effort to produce social-legal knowledge from our ethnographic research that would satisfy the demands of the court, while simultaneously deploying analytical strategies that can account for multiple realities and conflicting truths. I consider my own participation in these overlapping and often incommensurate projects through a particular ethnographic and legal case in which I was implicated as researcher and as a witness for the defense.
One for You, One for Me
Authors: Melis Alicia P. , Grocke Patricia , Kalbitz Josefine , Tomasello Michael
Published: May 2016

Long-term collaborative relationships require that any jointly produced resources be shared in mutually satisfactory ways. Prototypically, this sharing involves partners dividing up simultaneously available resources, but sometimes the collaboration makes a resource available to only one individual, and any sharing of resources must take place across repeated instances over time. Here, we show that beginning at 5 years of age, human children stabilize cooperation in such cases by taking turns across instances of obtaining a resource. In contrast, chimpanzees do not take turns in this way, and so their collaboration tends to disintegrate over time. Alternating turns in obtaining a collaboratively produced resource does not necessarily require a prosocial concern for the other, but rather requires only a strategic judgment that partners need incentives to continue collaborating. These results suggest that human beings are adapted for thinking strategically in ways that sustain long-term cooperative relationships and that are absent in their nearest primate relatives.
When Lightning Strikes Twice
Authors: Makel Matthew C. , Kell Harrison J. , Lubinski David , Putallaz Martha , Benbow Camilla P.
Published: May 2016

The educational, occupational, and creative accomplishments of the profoundly gifted participants (IQs ⩾ 160) in the Study of Mathematically Precocious Youth (SMPY) are astounding, but are they representative of equally able 12-year-olds? Duke University’s Talent Identification Program (TIP) identified 259 young adolescents who were equally gifted. By age 40, their life accomplishments also were extraordinary: Thirty-seven percent had earned doctorates, 7.5% had achieved academic tenure (4.3% at research-intensive universities), and 9% held patents; many were high-level leaders in major organizations. As was the case for the SMPY sample before them, differential ability strengths predicted their contrasting and eventual developmental trajectories—even though essentially all participants possessed both mathematical and verbal reasoning abilities far superior to those of typical Ph.D. recipients. Individuals, even profoundly gifted ones, primarily do what they are best at. Differences in ability patterns, like differences in interests, guide development along different paths, but ability level, coupled with commitment, determines whether and the extent to which noteworthy accomplishments are reached if opportunity presents itself.
Effects of diesel exhaust particles on macrophage polarization
Authors: Labranche N , Khattabi C El , Berkenboom G , Pochet S
Published: May 2016

Background:

Exposure to diesel exhaust particles (DEP) has long been associated with increased cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. The development of DEP toxicity seems to be linked to inflammation in which macrophages play a critical role. Macrophages can be polarized into proinflammatory M1 or anti-inflammatory M2 macrophages. The aim of this study was to identify the role of inflammation in DEP-induced toxicity by assessing the effects of DEP on macrophage polarization.

Methods:

Monocyte-derived macrophages (Mϕ) were stimulated with interferon γ and lipopolysaccharide or interleukin (IL)-4 to obtain M1 and M2 subtypes, respectively. To test the polarization capacity of DEP, Mϕ cells were exposed to DEP and compared to Mϕ, M1, and M2. We also studied the effects of DEP on already-polarized M1 or M2. The M1 markers assessed were tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α) and IL-1β, while the M2 markers were the mannose receptor C type 1 (MRC-1) and transglutaminase 2 (TGM2).

Results:

Western blots revealed a 31 kDa band corresponding to pro-IL-1β, but only in M1-polarized macrophages. In M1, we also observed an upregulation of TNF-α messenger RNA (mRNA) expression. MRC-1 and TGM2 mRNA expression were only significantly enhanced in M2. DEP had no effect on any of the M1/M2 markers assessed. Moreover, DEP were not able to modify the phenotype of already-polarized M1 or M2.

Conclusion:

Mϕ incubation with DEP did not have any effect on macrophage polarization, at least on the markers assessed in this study, namely, TNF-α/IL-1β for M1, and MRC-1/TGM2 for M2. Hence, these data argue against an important role of inflammation in DEP-induced vascular toxicity.
Hughes syndrome and epilepsy: when to test for antiphospholipid antibodies?
Authors: Noureldine M H A , Harifi G , Berjawi A , Haydar A A , Nader M , Elnawar R , Sweid A , Al Saleh J , Khamashta M A , Uthman I
Published: May 2016

Epilepsy and seizures are reported among the neurological manifestations of antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) at a prevalence rate of approximately 8%, which is nearly 10 times the prevalence of epilepsy in the general population. The association of seizures with antiphospholipid antibodies (aPL) is even more significant in the presence of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). In this review, we discuss the epidemiological, pathophysiological, laboratory, clinical, and radiological aspects of this association, and derive suggestions on when to consider testing for aPL in epileptic patients and how to manage seizures secondary to APS based on literature data. Epilepsy due to APS should be considered in young patients presenting with seizures of unknown origin. Temporal lobe epilepsy seems to be particularly prevalent in APS patients. The pathogenesis is complex and may not only involve micro-thrombosis, but also a possible immune-mediated neuronal damage. Patients with seizures and positive aPL tend to develop thrombocytopenia and livedo racemosa more frequently compared with those without aPL. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) remains the imaging modality of choice in these patients. The presence of SLE and the presence of neurological symptoms significantly correlate with the presence of white matter changes on MRI. In contrast, the correlation between aPL positivity and the presence of white matter changes is very weak. Furthermore, MRI can be normal in more than 30–40% of neuropsychiatric lupus patients with or without aPL. aPL testing is recommended in young patients presenting with atypical seizures and multiple hyper-intensity lesions on brain MRI in the absence of other possible conditions. New MRI techniques can better understand the pathology of brain damage in neuro-APS. The therapeutic management of epileptic APS patients relies on anti-epileptic treatment and anticoagulant agents when there is evidence of a thrombotic event. In the absence of consensual recommendations, the decision of lifelong anticoagulation is discussed on a case-by-case basis. The anti-thrombotic benefit of hydroxychloroquine and statins is supported by several studies.
Solution-Focused Brief Therapy With Substance-Using Individuals
Authors: Kim Johnny S. , Brook Jody , Akin Becci A.
Published: May 2016

Objective:

This study examined the effectiveness of solution-focused brief therapy (SFBT) intervention on substance abuse and trauma-related problems.

Methods:

A randomized controlled trial design was used to evaluate the effectiveness of SFBT in primary substance use treatment services for child welfare involved parents in outpatient treatment for substance use disorders. Mixed linear models were used to test within- and between-group changes using intent-to-treat analysis ( N = 64). Hedges’s g effect sizes were also calculated to examine magnitude of treatment effects.

Results:

Both groups decreased on the Addiction Severity Index-Self-Report and the Trauma Symptom Checklist-40. The between group effect sizes were not statistically significant on either measures, thus SFBT produced similar results as the research supported treatments the control group received.

Conclusion:

Results support the use of SFBT in treating substance use and trauma and provide an alternative approach that is more strengths based and less problem focused.
Predicting Student Success and Retention at an HBCU via Interest-Major Congruence and Academic Achievement
Authors: Nguyen Thuy-Linh Kathleen , Williams Alexandria , Ludwikowski Wyndolyn M. A.
Published: May 2016

Understanding the degree to which students’ interests and achievement fit with educational environmental rewards and requirements can help universities retain students, while assisting students in finding fulfilling academic majors and careers. We examined the effect of various interest-major congruence indices and American College Testing (ACT) achievement indicators on biology and chemistry students’ success and retention using archival university data from a Historically Black College/University. Results indicated that the specific congruence index utilized alters the statistical impact of achievement indicators on retention and success. Additionally, while the predictors of success and retention differed between biology and chemistry majors, math and English ACT scores impacted success and retention for both biology and chemistry majors, highlighting the utility of assessing skill areas beyond math for students majoring in both biology and chemistry. Career counselors and advisors should consider students’ majors and the utility of exploration tools when providing guidance to college students.
Nitrates for the Management of Acute Heart Failure Syndromes, A Systematic Review
Authors: Farag Mohamed , Shoaib Ahmad , Gorog Diana A.
Published: May 2016

Intravenous nitrates are widely used in the management of acute heart failure syndrome (AHFS) yet with lack of robust evidence to support their use. We therefore sought to analyze all randomized studies that evaluated the effects of nitrates on clinical outcomes in patients with AHFS. In total, 15 relevant trials comparing nitrates and alternative interventions in 1824 patients were identified. All but 3 were conducted before 1998. No trials demonstrated a beneficial effect on mortality, apart from 1 trial reporting a reduction in mortality, which was related to the time of treatment. Retrospective review suggests that there is a lack of data to draw any firm conclusions concerning the use of nitrates in patients with AHFS. More studies are needed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of these agents in the modern era of guideline-directed use of heart failure therapy.
Quantifying beliefs regarding telehealth: Development of the Whole Systems Demonstrator Service User Technology Acceptability Questionnaire
Authors: Hirani Shashivadan P , Rixon Lorna , Beynon Michelle , Cartwright Martin , Cleanthous Sophie , Selva Abi , Sanders Caroline , Newman Stanton P
Published: May 2016

Introduction

Telehealth (TH) is a potential solution to the increased incidence of chronic illness in an ageing population. The extent to which older people and users with chronic conditions accept and adhere to using assistive technologies is a potential barrier to mainstreaming the service. This study reports the development and validation of the Whole Systems Demonstrator (WSD) Service User Technology Acceptability Questionnaire (SUTAQ).

Methods

Questionnaires measuring the acceptability of TH, quality of life, well-being and psychological processes were completed by 478 users of TH. The 22 acceptability items were subject to principal components analysis (PCA) to determine sub-scales. Scale scores, relationships between scales and other patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs), and group differences on scales were utilised to check the reliability and validity of the measure.

Results

PCAs of SUTAQ items produced six TH acceptability scales: enhanced care, increased accessibility, privacy and discomfort, care personnel concerns, kit as substitution and satisfaction. Significant correlations within these beliefs and between these scales and additional PROMs were coherent, and the SUTAQ sub-scales were able to predict those more likely to refuse TH.

Discussion

The SUTAQ is an instrument that can be used to measure user beliefs about the acceptability of TH, and has the ability to discriminate between groups and predict individual differences in beliefs and behaviour. Measuring acceptability beliefs of TH users can provide valuable information to direct and target provision of services to increase uptake and maintain use of TH.
The effect of acoustic radiation force on osteoblasts in cell/hydrogel constructs for bone repair
Authors: Veronick James , Assanah Fayekah , Nair Lakshmi S , Vyas Varun , Huey Bryan , Khan Yusuf
Published: May 2016

Ultrasound, or the application of acoustic energy, is a minimally invasive technique that has been used in diagnostic, surgical, imaging, and therapeutic applications. Low-intensity pulsed ultrasound (LIPUS) has been used to accelerate bone fracture repair and to heal non-union defects. While shown to be effective the precise mechanism behind its utility is still poorly understood. In this study, we considered the possibility that LIPUS may be providing a physical stimulus to cells within bony defects. We have also evaluated ultrasound as a means of producing a transdermal physical force that could stimulate osteoblasts that had been encapsulated within collagen hydrogels and delivered to bony defects. Here we show that ultrasound does indeed produce a measurable physical force and when applied to hydrogels causes their deformation, more so as ultrasound intensity was increased or hydrogel stiffness decreased. MC3T3 mouse osteoblast cells were then encapsulated within hydrogels to measure the response to this force. Statistically significant elevated gene expression for alkaline phosphatase and osteocalcin, both well-established markers of osteoblast differentiation, was noted in encapsulated osteoblasts (p < 0.05), suggesting that the physical force provided by ultrasound may induce bone formation in part through physically stimulating cells. We have also shown that this osteoblastic response is dependent in part on the stiffness of the encapsulating hydrogel, as stiffer hydrogels resulted in reducing or reversing this response. Taken together this approach, encapsulating cells for implantation into a bony defect that can potentially be transdermally loaded using ultrasound presents a novel regenerative engineering approach to enhanced fracture repair.
Strategies for cell membrane functionalization
Authors: Armstrong James PK , Perriman Adam W
Published: May 2016

The ability to rationally manipulate and augment the cytoplasmic membrane can be used to overcome many of the challenges faced by conventional cellular therapies and provide innovative opportunities when combined with new biotechnologies. The focus of this review is on emerging strategies used in cell functionalization, highlighting both pioneering approaches and recent developments. These will be discussed within the context of future directions in this rapidly evolving field.
Upper-Limb Recovery After Stroke
Authors: Wilson Richard D. , Page Stephen J. , Delahanty Michael , Knutson Jayme S. , Gunzler Douglas D. , Sheffler Lynne R. , Chae John
Published: May 2016

Background and purpose. This study compared the effect of cyclic neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES), electromyographically (EMG)-triggered NMES, and sensory stimulation on motor impairment and activity limitations in patients with upper-limb hemiplegia. Methods. This was a multicenter, single-blind, multiarm parallel-group study of nonhospitalized hemiplegic stroke survivors within 6 months of stroke. A total of 122 individuals were randomized to receive either cyclic NMES, EMG-triggered NMES, or sensory stimulation twice every weekday in 40-minute sessions, over an 8 week-period. Patients were followed for 6 months after treatment concluded. Results. There were significant increases in the Fugl-Meyer Assessment [ F(1, 111) = 92.6, P < .001], FMA Wrist and Hand [ F(1, 111) = 66.7, P < .001], and modified Arm Motor Ability Test [mAMAT; time effect: F(1, 111) = 91.0, P < .001] for all 3 groups. There was no significant difference in the improvement among groups in the FMA [ F(2, 384) = 0.2, P = .83], FMA Wrist and Hand [ F(2, 384) = 0.4, P = .70], or the mAMAT [ F(2, 379) = 1.2, P = .31]. Conclusions. All groups exhibited significant improvement of impairment and functional limitation with electrical stimulation therapy applied within 6 months of stroke. Improvements were likely a result of spontaneous recovery. There was no difference based on the type of electrical stimulation that was administered.
Relative to Typical Antipsychotic Drugs, Aripiprazole Is a Safer Alternative for Alleviating Behavioral Disturbances After Experimental Brain Trauma
Authors: Phelps Thomas I. , Bondi Corina O. , Mattiola Vincent V. , Kline Anthony E.
Published: May 2016

Background. Antipsychotic drugs (APDs) are used to manage traumatic brain injury (TBI)–induced behavioral disturbances, such as agitation and aggression. However, APDs exhibiting D2 receptor antagonism impede cognitive recovery after experimental TBI. Hence, empirical evaluation of APDs with different mechanistic actions is warranted. Aripiprazole (ARIP) is a D2 and 5-hydroxytryptamine1A (5-HT1A) receptor agonist; pharmacotherapies with these properties enhance cognition after TBI. Objective. To test the hypothesis that ARIP would increase behavioral performance and decrease histopathology after TBI. Methods. Adult male rats were subjected to either a controlled cortical impact (CCI) or sham injury and then randomly assigned to ARIP (0.1 or 1.0 mg/kg) or VEH (1.0 mL/kg, saline vehicle) groups. Treatments began 24 hours after surgery and were administered once daily for 19 days. Motor (beam-balance/beam-walk) and cognitive (Morris water maze) performance was assessed on postoperative days 1 to 5 and 14 to 19, respectively, followed by quantification of hippocampal CA1,3 neuron survival and cortical lesion volume. Results. Beam-balance was significantly improved in the CCI + ARIP (1.0 mg/kg) group versus CCI + ARIP (0.1 mg/kg) and CCI + VEH ( P < .05). Spatial learning and memory retention were significantly improved in the CCI + ARIP (0.1 mg/kg) group versus the CCI + ARIP (1.0 mg/kg) and CCI + VEH groups ( P < .05). Both doses of ARIP reduced lesion size and CA3 cell loss versus VEH ( P < .05). Importantly, neither dose of ARIP impeded functional recovery as previously reported with other APDs. Conclusion. These findings support the hypothesis and endorse ARIP as a safer APD for alleviating behavioral disturbances after TBI.
Modeling and performance analysis of a closed-loop supply chain using first-order hybrid Petri nets
Authors: Outmal Imane , Kamrani Ali , Abouel Nasr Emad S , Alkahtani Mohammed
Published: May 2016

Green or closed-loop supply chain had been the focus of many manufacturers during the last decade. The application of closed-loop supply chain in today’s manufacturing is not only due to growing environmental concerns and the recognition of its benefits in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, energy consumption, and meeting a more strict environmental regulations but it also offers economic competitive advantages if appropriately managed. First-order hybrid Petri nets represent a powerful graphical and mathematical formalism to map and analyze the dynamics of complex systems such as closed-loop supply chain networks. This article aims at illustrating the use of first-order hybrid Petri nets to model a closed-loop supply chain network and evaluate its operational, financial, and environmental performance measures under different management policies. Actual data from auto manufacturer in the United States are used to validate network’s performance under both tactical and strategic decision-making, namely, (1) tactical decision—production policies: increase of recovered versus new components and (2) strategic decision—closed-loop supply chain network structure: manufacturer internal recovery process or recovery process done by a third-party collection and recovery center. The work presented in this article is an extension of the use of first-order hybrid Petri nets as a modeling and performance analysis tool from supply chain to closed-loop supply chain. The modularity property of first-order hybrid Petri nets has been used in the modeling process, and the simulation and analysis of the modeled network are done in MATLAB® environment. The results of the experiments depict that first-order hybrid Petri nets are a powerful modeling and analysis formalism for closed-loop supply chain networks and can be further used as an efficient decision-making tool at both tactical and strategic levels. Unlike other researches on modeling supply chain networks that focus on evaluating individually cost, operational, or environmental aspects, the research here shows how first-order hybrid Petri nets can be extended to assess simultaneously operational, financial, and environmental network’s performance measures at different managerial decision-making levels. The results particularly are compelling for researchers and industrial practitioners who can use the same methodology in evaluating their network’s performance and making educated management decisions based on the performance results and the impact of their selected supply chain and manufacturing strategies.