bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Outcome and Safety of Radical Resection in Non–Small Cell Lung Cancer Patients via Glasses-Free 3-Dimensional Video-Assisted Thoracoscope Versus 2-Dimensional Video-Assisted Thoracoscope
Authors: Huang Weizhe , Liu Jun , Liang Wenhua , Shao Wenlong , Lan Zhibin , Jiang Long , Mo Lili , Gonzalez-Rivas Diego , He Jianxing
Published: January 2018

Objectives. The investigation was aimed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of glasses-free 3-dimensional (3D) video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) versus 2D VATS for radical resection of non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Methods. We reviewed the clinical data of patients with pathologically proven NSCLC who underwent glasses-free 3D (the 3D group) and 2D VATS radical lobectomy (the 2D group) with systematic lymph node dissection. The outcomes of this study included operative characteristics and safety of 2D and 3D VATS, and duration of lymphadenectomy of right stations 2 and 4. Results. A total of 190 patients were eligible for the study. The 2D group consisted of 108 patients while the 3D group included 82 patients. The 2 groups were comparable in demographic and baseline variables ( P > .05). The median number of resected lymph nodes was 19 in both groups ( P = .583). The median length of hospital stay was comparable between the 2 groups (2D, 7 days vs 3D, 8 days; P = .167). No operative mortality was reported in either group. Complications developed in 21 (19.4%) patients in the 2D group and 14 (17.1%) in the 3D group ( P = .710). A subgroup analysis of patients who underwent right station 2 and 4 lymphadenectomy showed that the mean time for right station 2 and 4 lymph node dissection was significantly shorter in the 3D group than in the 2D group (3D, 430.9 ± 237.2 vs 2D, 648.6 ± 364.1 seconds; P < .001). Conclusions. Glasses-free 3D VATS and 2D VATS are comparable in operative characteristics and safety profile for radical resection of NSCLC. Glasses-free 3D visualization facilitates more rapid right-sided mediastinal lymphadenectomy.
Comparison of Exposure in the Kaplan Versus the Kocher Approach in the Treatment of Radial Head Fractures
Authors: Barnes Leslie Fink , Lombardi Joseph , Gardner Thomas R. , Strauch Robert J. , Rosenwasser Melvin P.
Published: January 2018

Background: The aim of this study was to compare the complete visible surface area of the radial head, neck, and coronoid in the Kaplan and Kocher approaches to the lateral elbow. The hypothesis was that the Kaplan approach would afford greater visibility due to the differential anatomy of the intermuscular planes. Methods: Ten cadavers were dissected with the Kaplan and Kocher approaches, and the visible surface area was measured in situ using a 3-dimensional digitizer. Six measurements were taken for each approach by 2 surgeons, and the mean of these measurements were analyzed. Results: The mean surface area visible with the lateral collateral ligament (LCL) preserved in the Kaplan approach was 616.6 mm2 in comparison with the surface area of 136.2 mm2 visible in the Kocher approach when the LCL was preserved. Using a 2-way analysis of variance, the difference between these 2 approaches was statistically significant. When the LCL complex was incised in the Kocher approach, the average visible surface area of the Kocher approach was 456.1 mm2 and was statistically less than the Kaplan approach. The average surface area of the coronoid visible using a proximally extended Kaplan approach was 197.8 mm2. Conclusions: The Kaplan approach affords significantly greater visible surface area of the proximal radius than the Kocher approach.
The Vascularity and Osteogenesis of a Vascularized Flap for the Treatment of Scaphoid Nonunion: The Pedicle Volar Distal Radial Periosteal Flap
Authors: Tanner Cary , Johnson Toby , Majors Alex , Hentz Vincent R. , Husak Lisa , Walker Gallego Edward , Christ Brad , Hoekzema Nathan
Published: January 2018

Background: Vascularized periosteal flaps from the distal radius have been previously proposed. The purpose of this study was to investigate the vascularity and osteogenic potential of a vascularized volar distal radial periosteal flap for the treatment of scaphoid nonunion. Methods: In 5 fresh frozen cadavers, a rectangular periosteal flap was elevated from the distal radius with the pedicle just proximal to the watershed line. Latex dye was injected into the radial artery proximally and the vascularity of the flap characterized by microscopic evaluation. Patients with scaphoid nonunion were then treated with open reduction, internal fixation, and distal radius cancellous bone graft. Two groups of patients with midwaist nonunion scaphoid were then evaluated. The first group received the vascularized periosteal flap and the second group received a nonvascularized periosteal flap. A third group of proximal pole nonunions also received the vascularized flap. Results: Cadaveric dissections revealed that all of the injected flaps demonstrated vascularity to the distal edge of the flap. Vascularized flaps formed visible bone on imaging in 55% of cases. None of the nonvascularized flaps formed visible bone. In group 1, 12/12 midwaist nonunions united. In group 2, union was achieved in 6/6 of patients who completed the follow-up. In group 3, 6/7 proximal pole fractures united. Conclusions: Previously proposed vascularized periosteal flaps from the distal radius appear to possess notable osteogenic potential that may be of interest to surgeons treating scaphoid nonunion.
An artificial neural network developed for predicting of performance and emissions of a spark ignition engine fueled with butanol–gasoline blends
Authors: Liu Zhiqiang , Zuo Qingsong , Wu Gang , Li Yuelin
Published: January 2018

The engine experiments require multiple tests that are hard, time-consuming, and high cost. Therefore, an artificial neural network model was developed in this study to successfully predict the engine performance and exhaust emissions when a port fuel injection spark ignition engine fueled with n-butanol–gasoline blends (0–60 vol.% n-butanol blended with gasoline referred as G100-B60) under various equivalence ratio. In the artificial neural network model, compression ratio, equivalence ratio, blend percentage, and engine load were used as the input parameters, while engine performance and emissions like brake thermal efficiency, brake-specific fuel consumption, carbon monoxide, unburned hydrocarbons, and nitrogen oxides were used as the output parameters. In comparison between experimental data and predicted results, a correlation coefficient ranging from 0.9929 to 0.9996 and a mean relative error ranging from 0.1943% to 9.9528% were obtained. It is indicated that the developed artificial neural network model was capable of predicting the combustion of n-butanol–gasoline blends due to a commendable accuracy.
A mathematical model and simulated annealing algorithm for solving the cyclic scheduling problem of a flexible robotic cell
Authors: Ghadiri Nejad Mazyar , Güden Hüseyin , Vizvári Béla , Vatankhah Barenji Reza
Published: January 2018

Flexible robotic cells are used to produce standardized items at a high production speed. In this study, the scheduling problem of a flexible robotic cell is considered. Machines are identical and parallel. In the cell, there is an input and an output buffer, wherein the unprocessed and the finished items are kept, respectively. There is a robot performing the loading/unloading operations of the machines and transporting the items. The system repeats a cycle in its long run. It is assumed that each machine processes one part in each cycle. The cycle time depends on the order of the actions. Therefore, determining the order of the actions to minimize the cycle time is an optimization problem. A new mathematical model is presented to solve the problem, and as an alternative, a simulated annealing algorithm is developed for large-size problems. In the simulated annealing algorithm, the objective function value of a given solution is computed by solving a linear programming model which is the first case in the literature to the best of our knowledge. Several numerical examples are solved using the proposed methods, and their performances are evaluated.
Scheduling unmanned aerial vehicle and automated guided vehicle operations in an indoor manufacturing environment using differential evolution-fused particle swarm optimization
Authors: Khosiawan Yohanes , Khalfay Amy , Nielsen Izabela
Published: January 2018

Intelligent manufacturing technologies have been pursued by the industries to establish an autonomous indoor manufacturing environment. It means that tasks, which are comprised in the desired manufacturing activities, shall be performed with exceptional human interventions. This entails the employment of automated resources (i.e. machines) and agents (i.e. robots) on the shop floor. Such an implementation requires a planning system which controls the actions of the agents and their interactions with the resources to accomplish a given set of tasks. A scheduling system which plans the task executions by scheduling the available unmanned aerial vehicles and automated guided vehicles is investigated in this study. The primary objective of the study is to optimize the schedule in a cost-efficient manner. This includes the minimization of makespan and total battery consumption; the priority is given to the schedule with the better makespan. A metaheuristic-based methodology called differential evolution-fused particle swarm optimization is proposed, whose performance is benchmarked with several data sets. Each data set possesses different weights upon characteristics such as geographical scale, number of predecessors, and number of tasks. Differential evolution-fused particle swarm optimization is compared against differential evolution and particle swarm optimization throughout the conducted numerical simulations. It is shown that differential evolution-fused particle swarm optimization is effective to tackle the addressed problem, in terms of objective values and computation time.
Activation of ventral tegmental area dopaminergic neurons reverses pathological allodynia resulting from nerve injury or bone cancer
Authors: Watanabe Moe , Narita Michiko , Hamada Yusuke , Yamashita Akira , Tamura Hideki , Ikegami Daigo , Kondo Takashige , Shinzato Tatsuto , Shimizu Takatsune , Fukuchi Yumi , Muto Akihiro , Okano Hideyuki , Yamanaka Akihiro , Tawfik Vivianne L , Kuzumaki Naoko , Navratilova Edita , Porreca Frank , Narita Minoru
Published: January 2018

Chronic pain induced by nerve damage due to trauma or invasion of cancer to the bone elicits severe ongoing pain as well as hyperalgesia and allodynia likely reflecting adaptive changes within central circuits that amplify nociceptive signals. The present study explored the possible contribution of the mesolimbic dopaminergic circuit in promoting allodynia related to neuropathic and cancer pain. Mice with ligation of the sciatic nerve or treated with intrafemoral osteosarcoma cells showed allodynia to a thermal stimulus applied to the paw on the injured side. Patch clamp electrophysiology revealed that the intrinsic neuronal excitability of ventral tegmental area (VTA) dopamine neurons projecting to the nucleus accumbens (N.Acc.) was significantly reduced in those mice. We used tyrosine hydroxylase (TH)-cre mice that were microinjected with adeno-associated virus (AAV) to express channelrhodopsin-2 (ChR2) to allow optogenetic stimulation of VTA dopaminergic neurons in the VTA or in their N.Acc. terminals. Optogenetic activation of these cells produced a significant but transient anti-allodynic effect in nerve injured or tumor-bearing mice without increasing response thresholds to thermal stimulation in sham-operated animals. Suppressed activity of mesolimbic dopaminergic neurons is likely to contribute to decreased inhibition of N.Acc. output neurons and to neuropathic or cancer pain-induced allodynia suggesting strategies for modulation of pathological pain states.
The Paper Parish: The parish register and the reformation of parish memory in early modern London
Authors: Gordon Andrew
Published: January 2018

This essay explores the development of parish record-keeping in early modern London, examining the implications of changing practices for communal memory. Building on the study of more than 50 parish registers, it investigates who wrote the parish records, how they were kept and how they were used. Many of the extant records are the product of a ‘memorial moment’ at the turn of the seventeenth century, involving a concerted attempt to re-order and re-present parish papers as memorial objects: the material representations of parish memory. These registers highlight the emergence of an ongoing communal investment in and oversight of record-keeping practices, while the evidence of annotations and corrections in parish registers demonstrates the persistence of oral forms of communal memory, contesting the textual record. The development of the parish register in the period thus emerges as a key site for renegotiating the forms and habits of parish memory.
Building bridges? Remembering the 1641 rebellion in Northern Ireland
Authors: McAreavey Naomi
Published: January 2018

This essay explores the changing place of the 1641 rebellion in the memory cultures of Ulster loyalist communities before and after the Good Friday Agreement of 1998. Focusing on the loyalist centres of Portadown and West Belfast, I show that commemorative activities particularly flourished during periods of crisis in these communities as they moved (or were moved) towards compromise. The 1641 Depositions Project has argued that the ‘memory’ of 1641 must be replaced by ‘history’. The potential for the transformation or dissolution of loyalist memories depends on the willingness of these communities to forget a long-established element of the expression of a ‘besieged’ Ulster Protestant identity, which in turn depends on their investment in the peace process. Nascent attempts to accommodate the history and memory of 1641 in post-conflict Northern Ireland suggest that perhaps the fledgling peace is not yet secure enough for such divisive memories to disappear.
No place like home: A case study of a patient discharged from an Intensive Care Unit for end of life care at home
Authors: Smith David , Hall Donna , Parke Geraldine , Lane Rebecca , Gray Alison
Published: January 2018

Introduction

Both in the UK and internationally, discharge from an intensive care unit to home for end of life care is a rare and challenging occurrence. These challenges include clinicians’ ability to identify appropriate patients in whom it is possible to communicate with about their wishes and preferences, the critical nature of their condition and the interface between hospital and community services.

Method

We present a case report of a patient who had been admitted to hospital with a myocardial infarction and subsequently suffered a cardiac arrest, from which he was successfully resuscitated. Subsequently, he suffered multi-organ failure, but despite treatments, the ceiling of care was reached. With a poor prognosis, medical and nursing staff engaged in advance care planning to determine his wishes and preferences at the end of life and to facilitate his discharge from the intensive care unit to his home.

Conclusion

This case study has highlighted that through good communication amongst patients, families and professionals and collaborative working across boundaries and organisations, appropriate patients in the critical care setting can have a real choice regarding where they wish to be cared for and die at the end of their life.
Assessment of health provider readiness for telemedicine services in Uganda
Authors: Kiberu Vincent Micheal , Scott Richard E , Mars Maurice
Published: January 2018

Background:

There are few telemedicine projects in Africa that have reached scale. One of the reasons proposed for this has been failure to assess health provider readiness for telemedicine prior to implementation.

Objective:

To assess health provider readiness for implementation and integration of telemedicine services at three levels of Uganda’s health facilities, namely, a national referral hospital (NRH), regional referral hospitals (RRHs) and level 4 health centres (HC-IVs) and to investigate factors associated with readiness for telemedicine.

Method:

A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted at public healthcare facilities in Uganda. One RRH and HC-IV was identified from each of the Western, Eastern and Northern regions using a multistage random sampling technique. Mulago Hospital, which doubles as an RRH and HC-IV in the central region, was purposively identified for the study. After validation, a questionnaire was distributed for self-administration to senior administrators and doctors selected at the NRH, RRHs and HC-IVs. Data were analysed using bivariate associations between the outcome and the potential independent variables.

Results:

In total, 114 healthcare workers completed the questionnaire. Of the respondents, 24 (21%) were from HC-IVs, 44 (39%) were from RRHs, and 46 (40%) from NRH. Doctors made up 45.8% (11) of respondents at HC-IVs, 59% (26) at RRHs, and 30.4% (14) at NRH. Administrators across all health facility levels were more likely to integrate telemedicine into the healthcare system than doctors (odd ratio = 1.39 [95% confidence interval = 0.38–4.95]). A significant association existed between the state of readiness and type of health facility, p < 0.001. The NRH and RRHs are more likely to integrate telemedicine into their systems than the HC-IVs. Among the factors investigated (job title, health facility, technology type, reason for referral and frequency of electronic communication), the level of health facility and title or role of healthcare worker were found to have a significant statistical association with being ready to integrate telemedicine into the healthcare system.

Conclusion:

Health provider readiness to integrate telemedicine services varies at the different levels of the health facility and job title or role. However, referral hospitals and administrators were more likely to integrate telemedicine than HC-IVs and doctors, respectively. While this study shows physicians and administrators are ready, other sectors (nurses, allied healthcare workers, public) will also need to be assessed.
Nursing Practice in Primary Care and Patients’ Experience of Care
Authors: Borgès Da Silva Roxane , Brault Isabelle , Pineault Raynald , Chouinard Maud-Christine , Prud’homme Alexandre , D’Amour Danielle
Published: January 2018

Purpose: Nurses are identified as a key provider in the management of patients in primary care. The objective of this study was to evaluate patients’ experience of care in primary care as it pertained to the nursing role. The aim was to test the hypothesis that, in primary health care organizations (PHCOs) where patients are systematically followed by a nurse, and where nursing competencies are therefore optimally used, patients’ experience of care is better. Method: Based on a cross-sectional analysis combining organizational and experience of care surveys, we built 2 groups of PHCOs. The first group of PHCOs reported having a nurse who systematically followed patients. The second group had a nurse who performed a variety of activities but did not systematically follow patients. Five indicators of care were constructed based on patient questionnaires. Bivariate and multivariate linear mixed models with random intercepts and with patients nested within were used to analyze the experience of care indicators in both groups. Results: Bivariate analyses revealed a better patient experience of care in PHCOs where a nurse systematically followed patients than in those where a nurse performed other activities. In multivariate analyses that included adjustment variables related to PHCOs and patients, the accessibility indicator was found to be higher. Conclusion: Results indicated that systematic follow-up of patients by nurses improved patients’ experience of care in terms of accessibility. Using nurses’ scope of practice to its full potential is a promising avenue for enhancing both patients’ experience of care and health services efficiency.
Geriatric Cyclists: Assessing Risks, Safety, and Benefits
Authors: Ikpeze Tochukwu C. , Glaun Gabriel , McCalla Daren , Elfar John C.
Published: January 2018

Nearly 1 in every 3 Americans ride bicycles each year, but only 20% of the reported 100 million cyclists ride on a weekly basis. Bicycling is a common form of transportation and recreation and has gained popularity among the elderly patients. In recent years, the number of elderly cyclists has increased steadily and studies have cited ease of use, need for exercise, and enjoyment as important contributing factors. The benefits of physical activity on health is well-documented, and elderly individuals are encouraged to remain active to reduce the progression of age-related weakness and loss of muscle mass. Safety concerns, however, have been a prevalent public health issue. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, elderly and teenage cyclists account for the highest number of head injuries and fatalities among all cyclists. Safety measures that include wearing protective gear such as helmets and choosing the appropriate bicycle have been recommended to minimize the risk of sustaining injuries while riding. Despite these concerns, bicycling has remained a popular and exciting activity for the elderly patients.
Protection of Children’s Human Rights and Health: A Legacy of Julian Kramsztyk, Janusz Korczak, and Ludwik Rajchman
Authors: Woltanowski Piotr , Wincewicz Andrzej , Sulkowski Stanisław
Published: January 2018

Tutor of generations of Warsaw medical doctors, Julian Kramsztyk (1851-1926) was son of Rabbi Izaak Kramsztyk, Polish patriot and fighter for independent Poland. Julian Kramsztyk graduated in medicine from Warsaw University in 1873 to soon work as a supervisor of the Internal Diseases Department of Bersohns and Baumans Children’s Hospital from 1878 to 1910, and despite of refusing professorship from Imperial Warsaw University, he worked as a lecturer of pediatric disorders from 1880 with strong association of his medical practice with scientific and editorial tasks as well as engaging in charity. This article focuses on selective retrieval of biographical data of social and scientific achievements of followers of Julian Kramsztyk: his student, pioneer of children human rights, and pioneer of healthy patterns of nutrition of children, pediatrician Janusz Korczak (Henryk Goldszmit; 1878 or 1879-1942); and a skilled bacteriologist and a brilliant epidemiologist who was a prominent activist of the League of Nations (later United Nations Organization), cofounder of the UNICEF (United Nations Children’s Emergency Fund), and the first chairman of the Organization from 1946 to 1950, which was primarily dedicated to “provide emergency food and health care to children in postwar time,” Ludwik Rajchman (1881-1965). Janusz Korczak works laid foundation for international recognition of children rights to health, respect, education, privacy, and all the other human rights to be included in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). In 1989, nutrition and vaccination issues were the main medical interests of these medical doctors and still remain major fields of UNICEF actions.
Spermine modulates fungal morphogenesis and activates plasma membrane H+-ATPase during yeast to hyphae transition
Authors: Dorighetto Cogo Antônio Jesus , Dutra Ferreira Keilla dos Reis , Okorokov Lev A. , Ramos Alessandro C. , Façanha Arnoldo R. , Okorokova-Façanha Anna L.
Published: January 2018

Polyamines play a regulatory role in eukaryotic cell growth and morphogenesis. Despite many molecular advances, the underlying mechanism of action remains unclear. Here, we investigate a mechanism by which spermine affects the morphogenesis of a dimorphic fungal model of emerging relevance in plant interactions, Yarrowia lipolytica, through the recruitment of a phytohormone-like pathway involving an activation of the plasma membrane P-type H+-ATPase. Morphological transition was followed microscopically and the H+-ATPase activity was analyzed in isolated membrane vesicles. Proton flux and acidification were directly probed at living cells surface by a non-invasive selective ion electrode technique. Spermine and indol-3-acetic acid (IAA) induced the yeast-hypha transition, influencing the colony architecture. Spermine induced H+-ATPase activity and H+ efflux in living cells correlating with yeast-hypha dynamics. Pharmacological inhibition of spermine and IAA pathways prevented the physio-morphological responses, and indicated that spermine could act upstream of the IAA pathway. This study provides the first compelling evidence on the fungal morphogenesis and colony development as modulated by a spermine-induced acid growth mechanism analogous to that previously postulated for the multicellular growth regulation of plants.
Comparative genomic analysis of crustacean hyperglycemic hormone (CHH) neuropeptide genes across diverse crustacean species
Authors: Chang Wai Hoong , Lai Alvina G.
Published: January 2018

Background: Recent studies on bioactive peptides have shed light on the importance of these compounds in regulating a multitude of physiological, behavioral and biological processes in animals. Specifically, the neuropeptides of the crustacean hyperglycemic hormone (CHH) superfamily is known to control a number of important functions ranging from energy metabolism, molting, osmoregulation to reproduction.

Methods: Given the importance of this peptide family, we employed a conservative approach utilizing extant transcriptome datasets from 112 crustacean species, which not only include important food crop species from the order Decapoda, but also from other lower order crustaceans (Branchiopoda and Copepoda), to identify putative CHH-like sequences.

Results and conclusions: Here we describe 413 genes that represent a collection of CHH-like peptides in Crustacea, providing an important staging point that will now facilitate the next stages of neuroendocrine research across the wider community.
UTAUT for HSS: initial framework to study health IT adoption in the developing countries
Authors: Fuad Anis , Hsu Chien-Yeh
Published: January 2018

Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) is an integrative concept that has been used widely to measure IT adoption. However, a recent study in a developing country concluded that UTAUT is not adequate in predicting IT adoption within the context of health system strengthening (HSS). It has been suggested that context-specific dimensions to modify UTAUT should be considered. The objective of this paper is to propose an extension of the theory, called UTAUT for HSS, as a reference for contextualizing health system variables for health IT adoption studies in the developing countries. We combined the multi-level framework of UTAUT with WHO health system building blocks. Modification of the original multi-level framework was performed on the 3 levels. i.e:  the higher-level contextual factors, middle-level, and individual-level contextual factors. Based on this, we propose a modified multi-level framework of technology acceptance and use for health system strengthening setting (UTAUT for HSS).  Given the complexities of health systems, more thoughts regarding the methodologies will be useful to enrich this initial framework.  Commentaries and discussions are invited for improvement, before implementation to obtain more complete story of health IT adoption in the low resources setting.
The Budget of Russia 2018–2020 and the Problems of the Economy
Authors: Смирнов Е. , Smirnov E.
Published: January 2018

The budget of Russia for the triennium 2018–2020 is aimed at financial support of a significant acceleration of economic growth and the restoration of real incomes of the population, which declined in 2015–2016 as a result of crisis phenomena.
Intrafirm Procedures the Acceptance of the Client at the Preparatory Stage of the Audit
Authors: Юдинцева Л. , Yudintseva L.
Published: January 2018

This article proposes the author’s technique of the preparatory stage of the audit on the basis of the determination of the critical points of the economic entity’s activity, revealed at the initial acquaintance with the potential client. The presented set of working documents of the auditor can be used as an appendix to the corresponding internal standard.
Intimacy and Ageing
Authors: Bildtgård Torbjörn , Öberg Peter
Published: January 2018

To repartner in later life is increasingly common in large parts of the Western world. This book addresses the gap in knowledge about late life repartnering and provides a comprehensive map of the changing landscape of late life intimacy. The book examines the changing structural conditions of intimacy and ageing in late modernity. How do longer lives, changing norms and new technologies affect older people’s relationship careers, their attitudes to repartnering and the formation of new relationships? Which forms do these new unions take? What does a new intimate relationship offer older men and women and what are the consequences for social integration? What is the role and meaning of sex? By introducing a gains-perspective the book challenges stereotypes of old age as a period of loss and decline. It also challenges the image of older people as conservative, and instead present them as an avant-garde that often experiment with new ways of being together.
Minority Women and Austerity
Authors: Bassel Leah , Emejulu Akwugo
Published: January 2018

This book examines minority women’s experiences of and activism within the austerity regimes of France and Britain. Through in depth case studies of the particular dynamics of austerity and activism in Scotland, England and France, we explore how activists operate in this moment of political and economic uncertainty and practice a ‘politics of survival’ (Hill Collins 2000).
It explores how race, class, gender and legal status interact and shape both minority women’s grassroots anti-austerity activism in each country and what kinds of claims and political actors are recognised and legitimated by both policymakers and civil society allies. It is interested in who is audible and legitimate and how these hierarchies of knowledge and political credibility are reproduced or overthrown. Centering minority women’s articulations of both crisis and resistance is a way to subvert the dominant narrative of both ‘crisis’ and ‘activism’.
In defence of the public city
Authors: Coward Martin
Published: January 2018

This chapter examines the predominant locus of human settlement and organisation — the city. In the 2006 UN Habitat, the United Nations' urban programme announced that the majority of the world's population now live in cities. In doing so they underlined the common perception that global life in the 21st century is predominantly urban. While scholars have questioned its city centric premise, what might be described as the ‘urban age thesis’ expresses a widespread perception that global urbanisation represents an epochal shift in the nature of human settlement. Global urbanisation could thus be described as a process of structural transformation on a planetary scale, the emergence of a distinctive global condition characterised by agglomerations of urban fabric.
Putting ‘the social’ back into social policy
Authors: Corbett Steve , Walker Alan
Published: January 2018

This chapter illustrates how the dominant neoliberal approach to economic and social policy in the UK is becoming increasingly fragmented with a generation of people set to experience worse living standards than their parents. This includes a decline in social mobility within and across generations, a vast chasm emerging between the haves and have nots, a long term squeeze on wages and living standards, health crises relating to underfunding, and the move towards a mechanical learning based secondary education system geared towards a low wage, low skill economy. As a result, it is important to reassess the meaning and purpose of social policy and where it fits within the overall direction of contemporary British society.
The uses of catastrophism
Authors: Winlow Simon
Published: January 2018

This chapter argues that, if the goal is to rejuvenate the social, then there must be a corresponding rejuvenation of the political. There are one or two signs of life at the margins, but millions across the country now recognise that the political system is banal, stage managed, and profoundly alienating. On the surface, the political system seems dedicated to openness, fairness, and inclusivity, but huge swathes of the population feel entirely cut adrift from those who purport to represent them and those who claim to govern in the best interests of all. The chapter shows how alternatives to the present orthodoxy, especially with regard to political economy, are noticeable only by their absence. The effects of this long-standing political inertia are legion.
Obama's Welfare Legacy
Authors: Daguerre Anne
Published: January 2018

How will the social policies of Barack Obama go down in the history books?
Obama's record stands out principally because of the strong political and philosophical commitment to affordable health care. However, the U.S. still performs badly in terms of antipoverty policies compared to other rich nations.
Using new research, Anne Daguerre examines Obama’s legacy on welfare and antipoverty policies, focusing on Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, (SNAP), and Medicaid. The book provides an up-to-date account of the contemporary politics of poverty and public entitlements in the U.S., comparing this with the Western European experience to assess what lessons can be learnt.
Anne Daguerre explains how the Obama administration's attempts to expand the frontiers of the American welfare state have been confronted by institutional, ideological and constitutional constraints. The presidential capacity to shape legislative outcomes has been severely limited in an era of divided government and hyper-partisan politics.
Barack Obama was faced by a right wing backlash of colossal proportions in the form of the Tea Party movement. Donald Trump represents the continuation of this revolt. However, Trump’s cabinet of insurgents has been unable to run complex government programs. The divided Republican-dominated Congress has failed to offer credible alternatives to Obama’s social policies. The ideological and partisan nature of the anti-Obama backlash could paradoxically help Obama’s signature achievement, the Affordable Care Act, survive the Trump presidency.
Exploratory Study on the Capitalization of Accounting Information by Financial Constructions Determined on the Basis of the Balance Sheet
Authors: Ciuhureanu Alina-Teodora
Published: January 2018

The capitalization of the information provided through the balance sheet should be one of the priorities of the organization’s manager. This is because the processed accounting information is the one that contributes to the setting of objectives and strategy and at the same time provides the necessary information capital for proper management of the activity. For these reasons, the article presents a series of financial constructions based on the accounting information provided through the financial accounting system and centralized in the balance sheet. The aim of the paper is to capture the benefits of using it by management and not to detail indicators / rates / tools in terms of calculation methods.
Emerging Evidence Regarding the Roles of Emotional, Behavioural, and Cognitive Aspects of Student Engagement in the Online Classroom
Authors: Pentaraki Alexandra , Burkholder Gary J.
Published: January 2018

There is emerging evidence that suggests emotions as a discrete factor in academic online contexts that significantly contribute to student engagement and higher order learning (Cleveland-Innes & Campbell, 2012; You, 2012, You & Kang, 2014; Zembylas, 2008; Liaw, 2008). Pekrun (2000) and Pekrun, Goetz, Frenzel, Barchfeld, and Perry (2011) developed the control-value theory of achievement emotion that not only showed that emotions represent a discrete category in student engagement, but that there are certain factors such as perceived academic control and self-regulation that function as antecedents of students’ emotional reactions that affect online learning. The aim of the present paper is to review the emerging research evidence of the impact of emotions on students’ engagement in order to understand the distinct role that emotions may play in online learning. The review also proposes strategies and activities that teachers can use in order to enhance students’ positive engagement in online learning. The findings suggest that emotions are significant factors in students’ engagement in online learning while cognitive and behavioural factors function as antecedents of emotions in online contexts. The inclusion of emotional, cognitive and behavioural strategies in online teaching can enhance students’ engagement and learning experience in the online classroom.
Examining Learners’ Interaction in an Open Online Course Through the Community of Inquiry Framework
Authors: Saadatmand Mohsen , Uhlin Lars , Hedberg Maria , Åbjörnsson Lotta , Kvarnström Maria
Published: January 2018

Open online courses are becoming more prevalent at local level and for and professional development objectives. Proper instructional design combined with use of online tools can promote learner interaction in online environments. Using the Community of Inquiry (CoI) framework, this study aimed at examining learners’ interaction and their perceptions of teaching presence, social presence, and cognitive presence in an open online course offered for professional development in three Swedish universities. The course was free and open to all, attracting participants from all over the world. In order to understand the online interactions of the course, three presences of CoI were matched to three types of interaction (Moore, 1989). Data were collected through a slightly revised version of the CoI instrument and open-ended questions were added. Survey results showed that participants had high perceptions of the three presences in the course. Results also yielded significant relationships between teaching presence and cognitive presence, as well as social presence and cognitive presence. The findings suggest that deploying a set of online tools combined with appropriate pedagogical approaches in designing open online courses could foster learner interaction especially learner-content interaction and cognitive presence.
Transactional Distance Dialogic Interactions and Student Satisfaction in a Multi-Institutional Blended Learning Environment
Authors: Best Brett , Conceição Simone C.O.
Published: January 2018

This study explored the impact of transactional distance dialogic interactions on student satisfaction in an international blended learning master’s degree program. The program examined was collaboratively delivered by three European universities to a cohort of students residing on several different continents. Students reported experiencing transactional distance for learnerlearner and learner-teacher dialogic interaction elements and dissatisfaction in the online components of the program but reported a sense of community and satisfaction for the inperson elements of the program. Transactional distance for the dimension of learner-content dialogic interaction was highest for elements of the program that were impacted by its multiinstitutional nature, but students reported general satisfaction for the program overall. This study has practical implications for distance educators, administrators, instructional designers, and policy makers concerned with student satisfaction in blended courses and programs, and it contributes to the literature on student satisfaction and multi-institutional programs.
Launaea taraxacifolia (Willd.) Amin ex C. Jeffrey inhibits oxidative damage and econucleotidase followed by increased cellular ATP in testicular cells of rats exposed to metropolitan polluted river water
Authors: Akintunde Jacob K. , Aina Michael O. , Boligon Aline A.
Published: January 2018

Background:

Humans are directly/indirectly exposed to hazardous chemicals from the aquatic environment. We investigated the protection of the Launea taraxacifolia methanolic extract (LTME) on the hydroxyl steroid dehydrogenases [(∆5-3β-hydroxyl steroid dehydrogenase (∆5-3β-HSD) and the ∆5-17β-hydroxyl steroid dehydrogenase (∆5-17β-HSD), testicular 5′-nucleotidase and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH)] activities as well as the key indicators of oxidative stress in germinal epithelial cells of rats induced with surulere polluted river water (SPRW).

Methods:

The animals were divided into six groups (n=8). Group I was given 1 mL of distilled water only, Group II received 1 mL of SPRW only, Group III received 200 mg/kg LTME before+1 mL of SPRW after, Group IV received 200 mg/kg LTME+1 mL of SPRW, Group V received 1 mL of SPRW before+200 mg/kg LTME after and Group VI received 200 mg/kg LTME only. The treatment was done via oral administration for 28 days.

Results:

The HPLC results showed the abundance of quercetin and quercitrin. The SPRW increased 5′-nucleotidase with the concomitant decrease of ∆5-3β-HSD, ∆5-17β-HSD and LDH activities in rats exposed in relation to the control. Similarly, the administration of the SPRW caused a systemic oxidative damage along with adverse histopathological changes in germinal epithelial cells.

Conclusions:

Interestingly, these alterations were differentially reversed by LTME via the elevation of steroidogenic enzymes and cellular ATP.
Modelling and control of solid oxide fuel cell generation system in microgrid
Authors: Zhou Niancheng , Li Chunyan , Sun Fangqing , Wang Qianggang
Published: January 2018

Compared with other kinds of fuel cells, solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) has been widely used in microgrids because of its higher efficiency and longer operation life. The weakness of SOFC lies in its slow response speed when grid disturbance occurs. This paper presents a control strategy that can promote the response speed and limit the fault current impulse for SOFC systems integrated into microgrids. First, the hysteretic control of the bidirectional DC-DC converter, which joins the SOFC and DC bus together, is explored. In addition, an improved droop control with limited current protection is applied in the DC-AC inverter, and the active synchronization control is applied to ensure a smooth transition of the microgrid between the grid-connected mode and the islanded mode. To validate the effectiveness of this control strategy, the control model was built and simulated in PSCAD/EMTDC.
Addressing Cultural Identity through Negotiation: Analysis of Student-teacher-authored Narratives
Authors: Rashidi Naser , Meihami Hussein
Published: January 2018

Teachersí cultural identity is among the forepart issues within the realm of teacher education studies. The research about teachersí identity has been done using teacherauthored narratives. That said, the purpose of this study was to investigate the role of negotiation in the student-teachersí cultural identity formation. To that end, three studentteachers (two males and one female student-teachers), majoring in English language teaching participated in this study. During four months, the student-teachers participated in a negotiation program on cultural identity. They were sent some academic papers to study, then, they participated in discussions about cultural variations and the ways to address them in classrooms. The student-teachers where asked to write their narratives. Then the narratives where analyzed based on the semantic expressions. The qualitative analysis of the student-teachersí narratives showed that their cultural identity changed during the negotiation period. By analyzing the student teacher-authored narratives, it appeared that they addressed cultural variations in different ways includingusing cultural varieties in teaching, identifying the gaps between cultural contexts, reconceptualization of cultural concepts, cultural transformation, new modes of using culture, internalization of cultural issues, and cultural awareness, each of which is discussed in the current study. It can be concluded from the obtained information that cultural identity is a dynamic one and open to change. The research bears some implications for teacher education policy makers to introduce sustainable teacher education program in general, and sustainable second language teacher education program in particular.
School-based Teacher Training in Jordan: Towards On-school Sustainable Professional Development
Authors: Alkhawaldeh Ahmad
Published: January 2018

Despite the challenges to develop school-based sustainable teacher training and development and the diverse demands to execute this type of teacher professionalism to achieve sustainable teacher development, this new trend seems indispensable both for Jordanian teacher education and many other similar world educational systems. The present qualitative study robustly relied on a set of self-reports developed by 12 doctoral students who took a teacher education course at the University of Jordan in the second semester, 2017. They self-reported on their perspectives on school-based teacher training in terms of its significance, requirements, challenges and possible solutions to develop this route to teacher training in a country which like several other educational systems worldwide was dominated by an academic theory-based route to teacher preparation and qualification. Their self-reports were analysed and their patterns concerning the reasons behind adherence to school-based teacher training and the facilities to promote it and the challenges for school based teacher training were collected and meticulously probed. The findings of the study noticeably advocate school-based teacher training as a major route to teacher training. The participants of the study obviously considered this training route a method to transfer training experience to the teachersí classroom instruction. Some recommendations were proposed calling for adopting this new training approach and conducting further research in this emerging paradigm.