bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Shared Reality and Grounded Feelings During Courtship: Do They Matter for Marital Success?
Authors: Wilson April C. , Huston Ted L.
Published: June 2014

This study provides evidence that newlywed pairs who have a shared and well‐grounded understanding of their courtship are better able to establish unions that endure. Using a sample of 168 couples, the authors found that marriages were more likely to survive when courting partners (a) loved each other to a similar degree, (b) depicted the probability of marriage and changes in the likelihood of marriage in a corresponding fashion over the course of their courtship, and (c) portrayed the courtship as escalating from a low (25%) to a high (75%) probability of marriage as spanning a comparable period of time. The durability of marriages was reflected, as well, in how solidly courting partners' feelings for each other were interwoven with their courtship experiences. More specifically, courtship difficulties were not as associated with weakened feelings of love or with heightened feelings of ambivalence among couples who later divorced as compared to those who stayed married.
Sharing of Resources Within the Family and the Economics of Household Decision Making
Authors: Himmelweit Susan , Santos Cristina , Sevilla Almudena , Sofer Catherine
Published: June 2014

Over the last 3 decades, economic models have been developed that recognize that potentially conflicting interests may shape household decisions and the sharing of resources within families. This article provides an overview of how decision making within households has been modeled within economics, presents the main benefits and limitations of those models, and critically assesses their usefulness to researchers from other disciplines interested in the within‐ household distribution of resources. The main focus is on the theory, empirical application, and results of the currently dominant collective models, but the authors also look at developments that led up to them and some subsequent extensions and alternative approaches. Given the weight placed by policymakers and others on economic and quantitative evidence, it is incumbent on researchers of all disciplines to understand the achievements and limitations of the models used, explicitly or implicitly, to produce such evidence and the assumptions that lie behind them.
Reflections on a Cross‐National Qualitative Study of Within‐Household Finances
Authors: Nyman Charlott , Reinikainen Lasse , Stocks Janet
Published: June 2014

This report presents some reflections on and experiences from a cross‐national qualitative research project about within‐household finances conducted by sociologists from Germany, Spain, Sweden, and the United States. The authors focus first on the challenges of making qualitative cross‐national comparisons and argue for the importance of establishing a common understanding of methodological and theoretical aspects. They then go on to consider the relevance of political – cultural context for understanding within‐household distribution of resources. They suggest that meanings of money are influenced by understandings of gender, which in turn influence and are influenced by welfare regimes. They then present a few outcomes from a cross‐national analysis of results from Spain, Sweden, and the United States. They conclude the article by suggesting that comparisons on the level of results rather than on the level of primary data is a viable option for qualitative cross‐national analysis.
Paths to Intimate Relationship Quality From Parent–Adolescent Relations and Mental Health
Authors: Johnson Matthew D. , Galambos Nancy L.
Published: June 2014

Using a developmental systems perspective and public‐use longitudinal data from participants currently in a romantic relationship at Wave 4 of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (n = 2,970), the current study explored direct and indirect paths from parent–adolescent relationship quality to young adult intimate relationship quality. Structural equation modeling tested whether mental health (depressive symptoms and self‐esteem) in the transition to adulthood mediated the association between parent–adolescent relations and young adult intimate relations. The results indicated that higher quality parent–adolescent relations predicted higher self‐esteem and lower depressive symptoms during the transition to adulthood as well as higher young adult intimate relationship quality, controlling for adolescent mental health and parent–young adult relationship quality. Higher self‐esteem during the transition to adulthood was associated with greater intimate relationship quality, whereas greater depressive symptomatology predicted reduced intimate relationship quality. One significant indirect path emerged: parent–adolescent relationship quality → self‐esteem → intimate relationship quality.
Families, Resources, and Suicide: Combined Effects on Mortality
Authors: Denney Justin T.
Published: June 2014

Important resources from family support systems, employment, and educational attainment inhibit the risk of death. Independently, these factors are particularly salient for suicide, but how they combine to affect mortality is less clear. Analyses of National Health Interview Survey data from 1986 to 2004 (N =935,802), prospectively linked to mortality through 2006 (including 1,238 suicides), reveals a process of compensation in the way work status and family combine to affect adult suicide: Individuals who are not working experience more suicide defense from more protective family support systems than do working adults. But a process of reinforcement occurs in the combination of education and family: More education associates with more protection from the family than does less education. The findings demonstrate how families and resources combine to affect mortality in unique ways.
Age at Coresidence, Premarital Cohabitation, and Marriage Dissolution: 1985–2009
Authors: Kuperberg Arielle
Published: June 2014

Does the age at which premarital cohabitors moved in together explain why they have been found to have an increased risk of marital dissolution? Explanations for the increased risk of marriage dissolution among those who marry young center on marital role preparation; for premarital cohabitors, many, if not most, of these roles began at the onset of cohabitation, not marriage. Analyses of the 1995, 2002, and 2006–2010 waves of the National Survey of Family Growth (N = 7,037) revealed that age at coresidence explained a substantial portion of the higher marital dissolution risk of premarital cohabitors. In comparisons standardized by age at coresidence, the difference in risk of marital dissolution between premarital cohabitors and those who married without prior cohabitation (“direct marriers”) was much smaller than in comparisons standardized by age at marriage, and in some models this difference was not significant. Selection into direct marriage and premarital cohabitation was also examined.
The Long‐Term Effects of Building Strong Families: A Program for Unmarried Parents
Authors: Wood Robert G. , Moore Quinn , Clarkwest Andrew , Killewald Alexandra
Published: June 2014

The authors present findings from a large‐scale, random‐assignment evaluation of Building Strong Families (BSF), a program offering group sessions on relationship skills education to low‐income, unmarried parents who were expecting or had recently had a baby. Findings based on a 3‐year follow‐up survey of over 4,000 couples indicate that BSF did not succeed in its central objectives of improving the couple relationship, increasing the quality of coparenting, or enhancing father involvement. In fact, the program had modest negative effects on some of these outcomes. BSF also had little impact on child well‐being, with no effect on children's family stability or economic well‐being and only a modest positive effect on children's socioemotional development. Impacts varied across the 8 study sites. Although attendance at group sessions was relatively low, there is little evidence of program effects even among couples who attended sessions regularly.
Estimating the Effects of Parental Divorce and Death With Fixed Effects Models
Authors: Amato Paul R. , Anthony Christopher J.
Published: June 2014

The authors used child fixed effects models to estimate the effects of parental divorce and death on a variety of outcomes using 2 large national data sets: (a) the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Cohort (kindergarten through the 5th grade) and (b) the National Educational Longitudinal Study (8th grade to the senior year of high school). In both data sets, divorce and death were associated with multiple negative outcomes among children. Although evidence for a causal effect of divorce on children was reasonably strong, effect sizes were small in magnitude. A second analysis revealed a substantial degree of variability in children's outcomes following parental divorce, with some children declining, others improving, and most not changing at all. The estimated effects of divorce appeared to be strongest among children with the highest propensity to experience parental divorce.
Cohabitation, Relationship Quality, and Desistance From Crime
Authors: Forrest Walter
Published: June 2014

Although the empirical links between marriage and desistance are well established, very little is known about the degree to which cohabitation is associated with changes in criminal behavior. This is a significant oversight given that, among some segments of the population, cohabitation has become more common than marriage. In this article, the author investigated the links between cohabitation and desistance from crime. In doing so, particular attention was paid to the possibility that similarities between the apparent effects of marriage and cohabitation are obscured by variations in relationship quality and the increasing tendency for cohabitation to precede marriage. Analyses based on the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997 (N = 3,232) indicate that cohabitation is associated with reductions in the rate of property and drug offending, but not the termination of violent, property, or drug offending. By contrast, marriage is consistently associated with large reductions in the rate of offending across the 3 crime categories as well as the abandonment of those crimes. These results provide greater insight into the links between adult family relationships, such as cohabitation and marriage, and desistance from crime.
Marriage or Carriage? Trends in Union Context and Birth Type by Education
Authors: Gibson‐Davis Christina , Rackin Heather
Published: June 2014

Using data from 8,951 first‐time mothers in the National Survey of Family Growth, the authors analyzed trends in union contexts during the transition to motherhood by social class (proxied by maternal education). Conventional classifications of union contexts as married or cohabiting were extended by classifying births relative to union status at conception. The most conventional married birth type, in which the mother was married at conception and at birth, declined sharply, but only among low‐ and moderately educated women. Women with lower levels of education were instead more likely to have a birth in the context of a cohabiting union formed prior to conception. In 2005–2010, the adjusted probability of a low‐educated mother having a conventional married birth was 11.5%, versus 78.4% for highly educated mothers. The growing disparity in union type at first birth by social class may have implications for social and economic inequality.
Relationship Satisfaction Trajectories Across the Transition to Parenthood Among Low‐Risk Parents
Authors: Don Brian P. , Mickelson Kristin D.
Published: June 2014

Numerous studies have established that new parents, on average, experience declines in relationship satisfaction, yet many sources suggest not all parents experience the transition to parenthood in the same way. The authors argue that new parents experience changes in relationship satisfaction in heterogeneous patterns, with only subgroups demonstrating steep declines. Furthermore, on the basis of the Vulnerability‐Stress‐Adaptation model, they examined actor and partner prenatal risk factors for experiencing different patterns of change. Among a sample of 206 new parents, they found the majority of mothers (79.4%) and about half of fathers (51.0%) experienced only moderate amounts of change, whereas smaller subgroups demonstrated steep declines. Results from analyses of the predictors of subgroup membership supported interdependence theory, because it was almost exclusively partner risk factors that predicted subgroup membership. Specifically, paternal positive support and anxiety predicted maternal subgroup membership and paternal positive support, maternal self‐esteem, and maternal daily stress predicted paternal subgroup membership.
Grasping the Diversity of Cohabitation: Fertility Intentions Among Cohabiters Across Europe
Authors: Hiekel Nicole , Castro‐Martín Teresa
Published: June 2014

The authors examined the association between different meanings of cohabitation and fertility intentions. Using data from the Generations and Gender Surveys on 5,565 cohabiters from 9 European countries (Austria, Bulgaria, France, Germany, Hungary, Lithuania, Norway, Romania, and Russia), they proposed a cohabitation typology based on attitudes toward marriage, intentions to marry, and perceived economic deprivation. Despite substantial variation in the prevalence and types of cohabiting relationships across Europe, cohabitation has become a living arrangement within which childbearing intentions are commonly formed and at times carried out. The authors found that the meaning that cohabiters attached to their union influenced significantly their short‐term fertility intentions, net of other covariates. Cohabiters who viewed their unions as a prelude to marriage were the most likely to plan to have a child in the near future, both in Western and Eastern European societies. The association between fertility intentions and marriage intentions was particularly strong among cohabiters who do not as yet have children in common, but it was also present in a more muted form among cohabitating parents. The findings suggest that, although marriage and childbearing are becoming less closely linked life events, they are not disconnected decisions for a large majority of cohabiters across Europe.
Confirmatory factor analysis of the Oral Health Impact Profile
Authors: John M. T. , Feuerstahler L. , Waller N. , Baba K. , Larsson P. , Čelebić A. , Kende D. , Rener‐Sitar K. , Reissmann D. R.
Published: June 2014

Previous exploratory analyses suggest that the Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP) consists of four correlated dimensions and that individual differences in OHIP total scores reflect an underlying higher‐order factor. The aim of this report is to corroborate these findings in the Dimensions of Oral Health‐Related Quality of Life (DOQ) Project, an international study of general population subjects and prosthodontic patients. Using the project's Validation Sample (n = 5022), we conducted confirmatory factor analyses in a sample of 4993 subjects with sufficiently complete data. In particular, we compared the psychometric performance of three models: a unidimensional model, a four‐factor model and a bifactor model that included one general factor and four group factors. Using model‐fit criteria and factor interpretability as guides, the four‐factor model was deemed best in terms of strong item loadings, model fit (RMSEA = 0·05, CFI = 0·99) and interpretability. These results corroborate our previous findings that four highly correlated factors – which we have named Oral Function, Oro‐facial Pain, Oro‐facial Appearance and Psychosocial Impact – can be reliably extracted from the OHIP item pool. However, the good fit of the unidimensional model and the high interfactor correlations in the four‐factor solution suggest that OHRQoL can also be sufficiently described with one score.
Tube‐weaning infants and children: A survey of Australian and international practice
Authors: Gardiner Alison Y , Fuller David G , Vuillermin Peter J
Published: June 2014

Aim

The aim of this study was to describe paediatric feeding‐tube weaning practice in Australian children's hospitals and to compare this with practice in tube weaning programmes internationally.

Methods

A literature review regarding tube weaning practices was conducted to inform questionnaire design. Six Australian children's hospitals and six international paediatric service providers completed a written questionnaire.

Results

Four of six Australian children's hospitals surveyed reported that they have adopted informal paediatric tube weaning practices; four of six lacked clinical practice guidelines (CPGs), and five of six lacked a clearly defined case leadership. Practice varied substantially within and between these Australian feeding teams. By comparison, all six international feeding teams reported having developed formal CPGs. Five of six reported clearly defined case leadership with no more than three lead professionals overseeing cases and concordantly reported a high level of practice consistency within and between teams.

Conclusions

The majority of Australian children's hospitals lack a formal CPG and clearly defined case leadership to guide tube weaning practices, and accordingly, there is considerable practice variation. This is in contrast to the situation in a select group of international centres. There is a need for further research to define best practice models and for Australian CPGs.
Education, safe drinking practices and fetal alcohol spectrum disorder in the Kimberley region of Western Australia
Authors: Kavanagh Phillip S , Payne Jennifer S
Published: June 2014

Aim

There are alarming rates of fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) in the Kimberley region of Western Australia despite numerous international studies demonstrating the links between alcohol consumption during pregnancy and FASD. The aim of this research was to help determine factors that may be associated with correct knowledge about safe drinking practices during pregnancy, with these factors used to help inform future interventions.

Method

Ninety‐nine residents (40 males, 59 females, 39% of which self‐identified as Indigenous) from the Kimberley region (Broome and smaller remote communities) completed a survey examining knowledge of currently recommended safe drinking practices during pregnancy and knowledge of the outcomes for children with FASD over a period of approximately 2 months.

Results

The results revealed that education level (i.e. not completing high school through to completing university) is the biggest predictor (β = 0.44, P < 0.01) of knowledge of safe drinking practices during pregnancy, and having heard of FASD (β = 0.67, P < 0.001) was the biggest predictor of knowledge of outcomes for children with FASD. Other variables such as age, sex, Indigenous status and income level were not as important.

Conclusions

These findings suggest that early education regarding the consequences of alcohol consumption for women of childbearing age should be paramount in this or similar communities. Suggestions for targeted interventions are discussed in light of these findings.
Improving junior doctors' confidence in paediatric musculoskeletal assessment
Authors: Boulter Emily L , Rogers Jeremy R , Borland Meredith L
Published: June 2014

Aim

Musculoskeletal symptoms are a common cause for presentation of children and adolescents to health‐care settings. Junior doctors report lack of confidence in assessment of the paediatric musculoskeletal system. Our aim was to assess the confidence of junior medical officers (JMOs) working in the emergency department (ED) with paediatric musculoskeletal assessment and determine if a readily available teaching module would improve confidence.

Methods

JMOs rostered to the paediatric ED were surveyed regarding their confidence in paediatric musculoskeletal assessment at the start and end of their ED rotation. A subgroup of these JMOs received formal teaching on paediatric musculoskeletal assessment using the paediatric gait, arm, leg and spine examination as part of their protected teaching time during their rotation.

Results

Forty‐three JMOs were considered in the final analysis. Of those, 27 received teaching (intervention group), and 16 received no teaching (non‐intervention group). In the intervention subgroup, there was a trend towards an increase in confidence in paediatric musculoskeletal assessment with the commonest response prior to the teaching intervention being ‘some confidence’ (11/27 41%) and the commonest response after teaching being ‘fairly confident’ (14/27 52%) without achieving statistical significance (P = 0.068). Of the JMOs in the intervention group, 26/27 (96%) found the teaching session useful, and 25/27 (93%) considered it relevant to their future practice.

Conclusions

A clinical examination teaching intervention resulted in a trend towards an increase in confidence for JMOs in paediatric musculoskeletal assessment. Formal evaluation of a teaching module was feasible within the ED.
German Medical Students' Interest in and Knowledge about Human Sexuality in 1972 and 2012
Authors: Turner Daniel , Jopt Konstantin , Nieder Timo O. , Briken Peer
Published: June 2014

Introduction

During the 1970s, a growing number of medical schools began to recognize the importance of medical education concerning human sexuality. Currently, most medical schools provide at least some instruction in human sexuality.

Aim

In light of this development, the present study aimed to compare the interest in and knowledge about human sexuality of medical students from two different time periods.

Methods

The answers to a self-constructed questionnaire of 236 students in 1972 were compared with those of 259 students in 2012. Students were asked whether they were interested in education regarding human sexuality and which specific topics they felt should be included in the medical curriculum. The students' knowledge in the following domains was assessed: sexual development, sexual behavior, sexual physiology and psychology, and sexual medicine.

Main Outcome Measures

The two cohorts were compared with regard to those specific sexuality-related topics in which the students were most and least interested in. Furthermore, the number of correct responses to the knowledge questions was compared.

Results

While in 1972, 99.2% of the students were interested in medical education about human sexuality, in 2012, 80.3% showed an interest. The connection of disorders from different medical disciplines with sexuality was rated as most interesting by both the students from 1972 and 2012. Medical students from 2012 gave 50.3% correct answers to the knowledge questions, whereas students from 1972 correctly answered 46.3% of the questions.

Conclusions

Although interest in education concerning human sexuality has decreased, the majority of students view it as an important topic. Nevertheless, medical students still lack knowledge about important aspects of human sexuality (e.g., psychosexual development and relative safety of different contraceptives). Therefore, more time should be dedicated to education concerning human sexuality and its cultural, societal, and health aspects in particular.
Intrinsic and extrinsic factors affecting dietary specialization in Neotropical frugivorous bats
Authors: Saldaña‐Vázquez Romeo A.
Published: June 2014

Frugivory is a feeding habit that evolved on two independent occasions in the order Chiroptera. In the Neotropical phyllostomid bats Carollia, Sturnira and Artibeus, this feeding habit has evolved to become specialized in the core plant taxa Piper, Solanum, and Ficus and Cecropia, respectively.

I review the intrinsic factors that promote differences in diet among frugivorous bats of the genera Carollia, Sturnira and Artibeus and the interaction between these and extrinsic factors that affect bat community structure.

The intrinsic factors are internal variables associated with fruit selection, body mass and nutrient digestibility that constrain the animals to exploit fruits with different morphological and nutritional characteristics. Intrinsic factors that explain frugivorous bat diet can thus drive community structure in frugivorous bats. The extrinsic factors that affect frugivorous bat community structure are associated with chiropterochoric plant phenology and composition, as well as with human activities that impact food availability.

Nutritional diversity in chiropterochoric plants and the digestive capacity of frugivorous bats are key factors in understanding diet partitioning in Neotropical frugivorous bats. These factors are related to food availability and nutrition in bats and could be the major determinants of community structure of frugivorous bats in conserved and disturbed habitats.
Seed disinfection treatments do not sufficiently eliminate the infectivity ofCucumber green mottle mosaic virus(CGMMV) on cucurbit seeds
Authors: Reingold V. , Lachman O. , Blaosov E. , Dombrovsky A.
Published: June 2014

Tobamoviruses induce crop diseases that are responsible for significant economic losses around the world. Like other tobamoviruses,Cucumber green mottle mosaic virus(CGMMV) forms highly stable particles that can persist for long periods on plant debris, in soil and on seed surfaces. These particles serve as a primary source of infection, infecting seedlings from which the virus can then be mechanically transmitted to other neighbouring plants. Contaminated seeds also provide a route for the movement of the virus between countries and its introduction into new areas. Effective seed disinfection treatments and the use of uncontaminated seed may reduce the global prevalence of this virus. Several treatments based on the use of heat or chemicals have been reported to effectively eliminateCGMMVand other tobamoviruses from seeds. An evaluation of these treatments on highly contaminated seed lots revealed inconsistent results, which encouraged the construction of a more accurate detection method that combines morphological, serological, molecular and biological analyses in one protocol. The detection of viable (infectious) viral particles in seed treated with heat, trisodium phosphate or a combined treatment, indicates that these treatments are insufficient. The serological detection ofCGMMVin the inner parts of infected seeds provides a possible explanation for the inconsistent efficacy of these treatments.
Interaction of Decidual CD56+ NK with Trophoblast Cells during Normal Pregnancy and Recurrent Spontaneous Abortion at Early Term of Gestation
Authors: Sotnikova N. , Voronin D. , Antsiferova Y. , Bukina E.
Published: June 2014

The immunological paradox of pregnancy, when maternal immune system recognizes but does not reject the semiallogenic foetus, is not yet fully understood. The aim of this work was to detail the mechanisms of the interaction of decidual CD56+ NK, infiltrating the maternal part of placenta, and trophoblast cells of foetal origin. Samples of the endometrial tissue from 13 healthy non‐pregnant women, 37 placentas, obtained after medical abortion of viable pregnancy at 7–10 weeks of gestation, and 26 samples of placentas from first‐trimester recurrent spontaneous abortion (RSA) were used as the material for investigation. Phenotype of NK was assessed by flow cytometry. The influence of trophoblast cells upon IFNγ and GrB mRNAs expression by dNK was investigated by RT‐PCR. The influence of dNK upon trophoblast cells migration and invasion was studied using collagen and Matrigel systems. In RSA group comparing to the normal pregnancy, the decrease of dNK with inhibitory receptors (NKG2A) and elevation of activated dNK were seen. In normal pregnancy, but not in RSA, trophoblast cells increased the expression of IFNγ and GrB mRNAs by CD56+ dNK. Both in normal and RSA pregnancy, dNK inhibited the migration and invasion of trophoblast cells. Initially, low invasive and migration capacities of trophoblast cells were seen during RSA. Thus, unbalanced activation of dNK can lead to the impairment of dNK and trophoblast cells interaction during RSA.
Estimating the impact of unsafe water, sanitation and hygiene on the global burden of disease: evolving and alternative methods
Authors: Clasen Thomas , Pruss‐Ustun Annette , Mathers Colin D. , Cumming Oliver , Cairncross Sandy , Colford John M.
Published: June 2014

The 2010 global burden of disease (GBD) study represents the latest effort to estimate the global burden of disease and injuries and the associated risk factors. Like previous GBD studies, this latest iteration reflects a continuing evolution in methods, scope and evidence base. Since the first GBD Study in 1990, the burden of diarrhoeal disease and the burden attributable to inadequate water and sanitation have fallen dramatically. While this is consistent with trends in communicable disease and child mortality, the change in attributable risk is also due to new interpretations of the epidemiological evidence from studies of interventions to improve water quality. To provide context for a series of companion papers proposing alternative assumptions and methods concerning the disease burden and risks from inadequate water, sanitation and hygiene, we summarise evolving methods over previous GBD studies. We also describe an alternative approach using population intervention modelling. We conclude by emphasising the important role of GBD studies and the need to ensure that policy on interventions such as water and sanitation be grounded on methods that are transparent, peer‐reviewed and widely accepted.
PCR amplification and DNA sequence identification of an unusual morphological form of Demodex cati in a cat
Authors: Bernstein Joseph A. , Frank Linda A. , Kania Stephen A.
Published: June 2014

Background

Molecular characterization of Demodex mites is being used to identify mite species in dogs. This technique is now being applied to cat Demodex species, allowing for better characterization of the mites.

Hypothesis/Objectives

Molecular diagnostics will clarify the existence of diverse Demodex mites identified morphologically.

Animals

A cat with generalized demodicosis secondary to chronic steroid treatment for erythroid dysplasia.

Methods

Skin scrapings demonstrated large numbers of follicular mites consistent with Demodex cati as well as a morphologically different Demodex mite with a blunted abdomen. The 16S rRNA DNA was amplified by PCR, sequenced and compared with available Demodex sequences, including Demodex cati, Demodex gatoi and an unnamed Demodex sp.

Results

A single PCR product was obtained, the DNA sequence of which was an exact match with D. cati.

Conclusions and clinical importance

The shorter unnamed mite was not a different species in this case, but a different morphological form of D. cati. This report demonstrates the utility of molecular diagnostics to clarify the identity of mites that differ morphologically.
On the family of affine threefolds
Authors: Gupta Neena
Published: June 2014

Let $k$ be a field and $\mathbb{V}$ the affine threefold in $\mathbb{A}^4_k$ defined by $x^m y=F(x, z, t)$, $m \ge 2$. In this paper, we show that $\mathbb{V} \cong \mathbb{A}^3_k$ if and only if $f(z, t): = F(0, z, t)$ is a coordinate of $k[z, t]$. In particular, when $k$ is a field of positive characteristic and $f$ defines a non-trivial line in the affine plane $\mathbb{A}^2_k$ (we shall call such a $\mathbb{V}$ as an Asanuma threefold), then $\mathbb{V}\ncong \mathbb{A}^3_k$ although $\mathbb{V} \times \mathbb{A}^1_k \cong \mathbb{A}^4_k$, thereby providing a family of counter-examples to Zariski’s cancellation conjecture for the affine 3-space in positive characteristic. Our main result also proves a special case of the embedding conjecture of Abhyankar–Sathaye in arbitrary characteristic.
Questionnaires for Outcome Expectancy, Self-Regulation, and Behavioral Expectation for Resistance Training Among Young-Old Adults: Development and Preliminary Validity
Authors: Williams David M. , Savla Jyoti , Davy Brenda M. , Kelleher Sarah A. , Marinik Elaina L. , Winett Richard A.
Published: June 2014

The purpose of the present research was to develop questionnaires to assess outcome expectancy for resistance training (RT), behavioral expectation in the context of perceived barriers to RT, and self-regulation strategies for RT among young-old adults (50-69 years). Measurement development included (a) item generation through elicitation interviews (N = 14) and open-ended questionnaires (N = 56), (b) expert feedback on a preliminary draft of the questionnaires (N = 4), and (c) a quantitative longitudinal study for item-reduction and psychometric analyses (N = 94). Elicitation procedures, expert feedback, and item reduction yielded four questionnaires with a total of 33 items. Positive outcome expectancy (α = .809), negative outcome expectancy (α = .729), behavioral expectation (α = .925), and self-regulation (α = .761) had—with one exception—moderate bivariate associations with two different indicators of self-reported RT behavior at one-month follow-up (r = .298 to .506). The present research provides preliminary support for newly developed questionnaires to facilitate understanding of the psychosocial determinants of RT among young-old adults.
Do Older Adults’ Beliefs About Their Community Mobility Predict Walking Performance?
Authors: Sessford James D. , Jung Mary , Brawley Lawrence R. , Forbes Jennifer L.
Published: June 2014

Among older adults, preserving community mobility (CM) is important for maintaining independent living. We explored whether perceptions of the environment and self-efficacy for CM (SE-CM) would predict walking performance for tasks reflecting CM. We hypothesized that perceptions of the environment and SE-CM would be additive predictors of walking performance on tasks reflecting the complexity of CM. Independent living older adults (N = 60) aged 64-85 completed six complex walking tasks (CWTs), SE-CM, and the environmental analysis of mobility questionnaire (EAMQ). Multiple regression analyses indicated that for each CWT, the EAMQ scales predicted walking performance (range: model R2Adj. = .078 to .139, p < .04). However, when SE-CM was added to the models, it was the sole significant predictor (p < .05). Contrary to our hypotheses, SE-CM was the best predictor in the additive models. SE-CM may be more correspondent to walking tests and thus a more sensitive predictor of CM walking performance.
Spatial Measurement of Mobility Barriers: Improving the Environment of Community-Dwelling Older Adults in Taiwan
Authors: Chen Yen-Jong , Matsuoka Rodney H. , Tsai Kun-Cheng
Published: June 2014

Mobility barriers can impede physical activity, increase the fear of falling, and pose a threat to the ability of older adults to live independently. This study investigated outdoor mobility barriers within a nonretirement public housing community located in Tainan, Taiwan. Site observations and interviews with older adult residents determined that parked motor scooters, potted plants, the rubber tiles of play areas, and a set of steps were the most important barriers. In addition, the space syntax parameters of control value and mean depth were effectively able to quantitatively measure improvements in walkability resulting from the hypothesized removal of these four barriers. These measures of improved walkability can be included in a cost-benefit analysis of spatial improvement factors to help policymakers address the mobility and accessibility needs of older adults.
Worldsheet one-loop energy correction to IIA giant magnon
Authors: Bai Xiaojian , Lee Bum-Hoon , Park I. Y.
Published: June 2014

We compute one-loop corrections to the energy of a IIA giant magnon solution in the AdS4×ℂP3 background by using the standard quantum field theory (QFT) techniques. The string action is expanded around the solution to the quadratic order in the fluctuation fields. The resulting action has 2D coordinate dependent-coefficients, a feature that complicates the analysis. The solution contains a worldsheet velocity parameter v, and is expanded in terms of the parameter. A perturbative analysis is carried out by treating the v-dependent parts as vertices. The energy is computed by first putting the system in a box of length L and Fourier-transforming the fields into discrete momentum modes. We compare our result with the results obtained by the algebraic curve method.
The ABJM model is a higher gauge theory
Authors: Palmer Sam , Sämann Christian
Published: June 2014

M2-branes couple to a 3-form potential, which suggests that their description involves a non-abelian 2-gerbe or, equivalently, a principal 3-bundle. We show that current M2-brane models fit this expectation: they can be reformulated as higher gauge theories on such categorified bundles. We thus add to the still very sparse list of physically interesting higher gauge theories.
Fiber structures of special (4 + 3 + 1) warped-like manifolds with Spin(7) holonomy
Authors: Uğuz Selman , Ünal İbrahim
Published: June 2014

A generalization of 8-dimensional multiply-warped product manifolds is considered as a special warped product, by allowing the fiber metric to be non-block diagonal. Motivating from the previous paper [S. Uğuz and A. H. Bilge, (3 + 3 + 2) warped-like product manifolds with Spin(7) holonomy, J. Geom. Phys.61 (2011) 1093–1103], we present a special warped product as a (4 + 3 + 1) warped-like manifold of the form M = F × B, where the base B is a 1-dimensional Riemannian manifold, and the fiber F is of the form F = F1× F2where Fi's (i = 1, 2) are Riemannian 4- and 3-manifolds, respectively. It is showed that the connection on M is entirely determined provided that the Bonan 4-form is closed. Assuming that the Fi's are complete, connected and simply connected, it is proved that the 3-dimensional fiber is isometric to S3with constant curvature k > 0. Finally, the geometric properties of the 4-dimensional fiber of M are studied.
A remark on the 𝔐H(G)-conjecture and Akashi series
Authors: Lim Meng Fai
Published: June 2014

In this paper, we give a criterion for the dual Selmer group of an elliptic curve which has either good ordinary reduction or multiplicative reduction at every prime above p to satisfy the 𝔐H(G)-conjecture. As a by-product of our calculations, we are able to define the Akashi series of the dual Selmer groups assuming the conjectures of Mazur and Schneider. Previously, the Akashi series are defined under the stronger assumption that the dual Selmer group satisfies the 𝔐H(G)-conjecture. We then establish a criterion for the vanishing of the dual Selmer groups using the Akashi series. We will apply this criterion to prove some results on the characteristic elements of the dual Selmer groups. Our methods in this paper are inspired by the work of Coates–Schneider–Sujatha and can be extended to the Greenberg Selmer groups attached to other ordinary representations, for instance, those coming from a p-ordinary modular form.
nth-Order q-derivatives of multivariable q-hypergeometric series with respect to parameters
Authors: Sahai Vivek , Verma Ashish
Published: June 2014

We obtain nth-order q-derivatives of certain multivariable q-hypergeometric series with respect to parameters. We consider fourteen 3-variable q-Lauricella series, four k-variable q-Lauricella series and the generalized q-Kampé de Fériet series for this purpose. Some relations between q-derivatives of these series with respect to parameters and variables are also given.
Weighted boundedness for Toeplitz type operator associated to general integral operators
Authors: Liu Lanzhe
Published: June 2014

In this paper, we establish the weighted sharp maximal function estimates for the Toeplitz type operators associated to some integral operators and the weighted Lipschitz and BMO functions. As an application, we obtain the boundedness of the Toeplitz type operators on weighted Lebesgue and Morrey spaces. The operator includes Littlewood–Paley operator, Marcinkiewicz operator and Bochner–Riesz operator.
Performance of first-year health sciences students in a large, diverse, multidisciplinary, first-semester, physiology service module
Authors: Higgins-Opitz Susan B. , Tufts Mark
Published: June 2014

Health Science students at the University of KwaZulu-Natal perform better in their professional modules compared with their physiology modules. The pass rates of physiology service modules have steadily declined over the years. While a system is in place to identify “at-risk” students, it is only activated after the first semester. As a result, it is only from the second semester of their first year studies onward that at-risk students can be formally assisted. The challenge is thus to devise an appropriate strategy to identify struggling students earlier in the semester. Using questionnaires, students were asked about attendance, financing of their studies, and relevance of physiology. After the first class test, failing students were invited to complete a second questionnaire. In addition, demographic data were also collected and analyzed. Correlation analyses were undertaken of performance indicators based on the demographical data collected. The 2011 class comprised mainly sport science students (57%). The pass rate of sport science students was lower than the pass rates of other students (42% vs. 70%, P < 0.001). Most students were positive about physiology and recognized its relevance. Key issues identified were problems understanding concepts and terminology, poor study environment and skills, and lack of matriculation biology. The results of the first class test and final module marks correlated well. It is clear from this study that student performance in the first class test is a valuable tool to identify struggling students and that appropriate testing should be held as early as possible.
The method of loci as a mnemonic device to facilitate learning in endocrinology leads to improvement in student performance as measured by assessments
Authors: Qureshi Ayisha , Rizvi Farwa , Syed Anjum , Shahid Aqueel , Manzoor Hana
Published: June 2014

Cognitive psychology has demonstrated that the way knowledge is structured in memory determines the ability to retain, recall, and use it to solve problems. The method of loci (MOL) is a mnemonic device that relies on spatial relationships between “loci” (e.g., locations on a familiar route or rooms in a familiar building) to arrange and recollect memorial content. In the present study, we hypothesized that the use of MOL leads to better understanding of the topic among students, which can be observed through better student performance on assessments. Students were divided into two groups: group 1 was taught insulin and diabetes mellitus through didactic lectures and a self-directed learning session, whereas group 2 was taught insulin and diabetes mellitus through didactic lectures and MOL. Memory palaces for insulin and diabetes mellitus were generated by students under supervision of the teacher and taught by students as well. A questionnaire survey and open-ended questions were given to the participants. Group 2, which underwent didactic lectures followed by a MOL interactive session, showed significantly improved performance on the assessments compared with group 1, which had been taught through didactic lectures and a self-directed learning session. Descriptive analysis showed that all students found MOL to be a helpful technique.
Efficacy ofAnnona squamosaL in the Synthesis of Glycosaminoglycans and Collagen during Wound Repair in Streptozotocin Induced Diabetic Rats
Authors: Ponrasu Thangavel , Suguna Lonchin
Published: June 2014

The aim of this work was to find out the effects ofAnnona squamosaon the formation of glycosaminoglycans and collagen during wound healing in normal and diabetic rats. Diabetes induced rats were segregated into 4 groups, each containing six animals. Groups I and III served as the normal and diabetic control while groups II and IV served as normal and diabetic treated. The animals were treated with 200 μL ofAnnona squamosaextract topically. The granulation tissues formed were removed on the 8th day and the amount of glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) and collagen formed was evaluated by sequential extraction and SDSPAGE, respectively. Histological evaluation was also carried out using Masson's trichrome stain.In vitrowound healing efficacy ofA. squamosain human dermal fibroblast culture (HDF) was also carried out. The fibroblasts treated with varying concentrations ofA. squamosawere examined for proliferation and closure of the wound area and photographed.A. squamosaincreased cellular proliferation in HDF culture. The granulation tissues of treated wounds showed increased levels of glycosaminoglycans(P<0.05)and collagen which were also confirmed by histopathology. The results strongly substantiate the beneficial effects ofA. squamosaon the formation of glycosaminoglycans and collagen during wound healing.
Efficient Model Order Reduction of Structural Dynamic Systems with Local Nonlinearities under Periodic Motion
Authors: Mohammadali M. , Ahmadian H.
Published: June 2014

In many nonlinear structural systems, compared with the local regions with induced nonlinear effects, the main portions of the structures are linear. An exact condensation technique based on the harmonic balance method (HBM) in conjunction with the modal expansion technique is employed to convert the motion equations of such a system to a set of nonlinear algebraic equations that are considerably small and adequately accurate to determine periodic responses. To demonstrate the capability of the suggested method, few case studies consisting of discrete systems with weak and essential nonlinearities are studied, and the results are compared to other methodologies results.
Essential Oils and Their Constituents as Anticancer Agents: A Mechanistic View
Authors: Gautam Nandini , Mantha Anil K. , Mittal Sunil
Published: June 2014

Exploring natural plant products as an option to find new chemical entities as anticancer agents is one of the fastest growing areas of research. Recently, in the last decade, essential oils (EOs) have been under study for their use in cancer therapy and the present review is an attempt to collect and document the available studies indicating EOs and their constituents as anticancer agents. This review enlists nearly 130 studies of EOs from various plant species and their constituents that have been studied so far for their anticancer potential and these studies have been classified asin vitroandin vivostudies for EOs and their constituents. This review also highlights in-depth various mechanisms of action of different EOs and their constituents reported in the treatment strategies for different types of cancer. The current review indicates that EOs and their constituents act by multiple pathways and mechanisms involving apoptosis, cell cycle arrest, antimetastatic and antiangiogenic, increased levels of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (ROS/RNS), DNA repair modulation, and others to demonstrate their antiproliferative activity in the cancer cell. The effect of EOs and their constituents on tumour suppressor proteins (p53 and Akt), transcription factors (NF-κB and AP-1), MAPK-pathway, and detoxification enzymes like SOD, catalase, glutathione peroxidase, and glutathione reductase has also been discussed.