bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Improved Efficacy of Neoadjuvant Compared to Adjuvant Immunotherapy to Eradicate Metastatic Disease
Authors: Liu Jing , Blake Stephen J. , Yong Michelle C.R. , Harjunpää Heidi , Ngiow Shin Foong , Takeda Kazuyoshi , Young Arabella , O'Donnell Jake S. , Allen Stacey , Smyth Mark J. , Teng Michele W.L.
Published: September 2016

Immunotherapy has recently entered a renaissance phase with the approval of multiple agents for the treatment of cancer. Immunotherapy stands ready to join traditional modalities, including surgery, chemotherapy, radiation, and hormone therapy, as a pillar of cancer treatment. Although immunotherapy has begun to have success in advanced cancer treatment, its scheduling and efficacy with surgery to treat earlier stages of cancer and prevent distant metastases have not been systematically examined. Here, we have used two models of spontaneously metastatic breast cancers in mice to illustrate the significantly greater therapeutic power of neoadjuvant, compared with adjuvant, immunotherapies in the context of primary tumor resection. Elevated and sustained peripheral tumor-specific immune responses underpinned the outcome, and blood sampling of tumor-specific CD8+ T cells immediately prior to and post surgery may provide a predictor of outcome. These data now provide a strong rationale to extensively test and compare neoadjuvant immunotherapy in humans.

Significance: We demonstrate the significantly greater therapeutic efficacy of neoadjuvant, compared with adjuvant, immunotherapies to eradicate distant metastases following primary tumor resection. Elevated and sustained peripheral tumor-specific immune responses underpinned the outcome, and blood sampling of tumor-specific CD8+ T cells immediately prior to and post surgery may provide a predictor of outcome. Cancer Discov; 6(12); 1382–99. ©2016 AACR.

See related commentary by Melero et al., p. 1312.

This article is highlighted in the In This Issue feature, p. 1293
Pharmacological Targeting of Plasminogen Activator Inhibitor-1 Decreases Vascular Smooth Muscle Cell Migration and Neointima Formation
Authors: Ji Yan , Weng Zhen , Fish Philip , Goyal Neha , Luo Mao , Myears Samantha P. , Strawn Tammy L. , Chandrasekar Bysani , Wu Jianbo , Fay William P.
Published: September 2016

Objective—

Plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1), a serine protease inhibitor that promotes and inhibits cell migration, plays a complex and important role in adverse vascular remodeling. Little is known about the effects of pharmacological PAI-1 inhibitors, an emerging drug class, on migration of vascular smooth muscle cells (SMCs) and endothelial cells (ECs), crucial mediators of vascular remodeling. We investigated the effects of PAI-039 (tiplaxtinin), a specific PAI-1 inhibitor, on SMC and EC migration in vitro and vascular remodeling in vivo.

Approach and Results—

PAI-039 inhibited SMC migration through collagen gels, including those supplemented with vitronectin and other extracellular matrix proteins, but did not inhibit migration of PAI-1-deficient SMCs, suggesting that its antimigratory effects were PAI-1-specific and physiologically relevant. However, PAI-039 did not inhibit EC migration. PAI-039 inhibited phosphorylation and nuclear translocation of signal transducers and activators of transcription-1 in SMCs, but had no discernable effect on signal transducer and activator of transcription-1 signaling in ECs. Expression of low-density lipoprotein receptor–related protein 1, a motogenic PAI-1 receptor that activates Janus kinase/signal transducers and activators of transcription-1 signaling, was markedly lower in ECs than in SMCs. Notably, PAI-039 significantly inhibited intimal hyperplasia and inflammation in murine models of adverse vascular remodeling, but did not adversely affect re-endothelialization after endothelium-denuding mechanical vascular injury.

Conclusions—

PAI-039 inhibits SMC migration and intimal hyperplasia, while having no inhibitory effect on ECs, which seems to be because of differences in PAI-1-dependent low-density lipoprotein receptor–related protein 1/Janus kinase/signal transducer and activator of transcription-1 signaling between SMCs and ECs. These findings suggest that PAI-1 may be an important therapeutic target in obstructive vascular diseases characterized by neointimal hyperplasia.
The Alleged Case of Golden Shares in Montenegro: A Candidate Country’s Experience as an Incentive for Including Acta Jure Gestionis within the Range of Restrictions on Free Movement of Capital
Authors: Savkovic Vladimir
Published: September 2016

The aim of this article is to demonstrate the potential of certain acta jure gestionis to restrict the free movement of capital by way of establishing so-called “golden shares” (i.e., special rights). To that end, a Montenegrin case study is used, since it displays that a privatization contract and the subsequent shareholder’s agreement – typically jure gestionis acts – may be utilized to perpetuate a state’s influence over a privatized company in a manner equally efficient as that of certain jure imperii acts, which were found by the cjeu to represent impermissible restrictions on the free movement of capital. Finally, in view of the Montenegrin case study and the examined case law, arguments are offered and the conclusion is made that the cjeu should essentially adopt the same approach with regard to each of the two types of legal instruments utilized by states to secure their influence over privatized companies.
New synonyms of Philonotis polymorpha (Bartramiaceae, Bryophyta) from Southern South America
Authors: JIMENEZ SOLEDAD , SUÁREZ GUILLERMO M.
Published: September 2016

Philonotis polymorpha (Müller 1883: 79) Kindberg (1889: 79) is a circumsubantarctic species recorded for almost all subantarctic islands, central and southern Chile and Argentina (Ochyra et al., 2008; Müller, 2009; Bednarek-Ochyra, 2014). It was first described as Bartramia polymorpha Müll. Hal. based on specimens collected on Îles Kerguelen by Naumann in 1874, and subsequently transferred to Philonotis (Bridel 1827: 15) by Kindberg (1889). It is a medium sized plant, yellowish-green to reddish-brown below, commonly found growing sterile on wet rocks or soil in forests, near rivers and waterfalls. Diagnostic characters of this species are the dimorphic leaves, ovate to oblong-lanceolate, the abruptly short-acuminate apex, margins plane, serrate at the apex, entire at the base, the excurrent, robust and well defined costae, ending in a mucro, and the papillae projecting at proximal angles of laminal cells. The variability in the leaf morphology led to the description for many taxa along the history (Ochyra et al., 2008). Recently, Bednarek-Ochyra (2014) proposed Philonotis tenella Kaalaas (1912: 109) from Îles Crozet, as a new synonym of P. polymorpha, completing with these results the range of this species in the subantarctic islands.
Governance as an emergent compromise: Modernization and flexibility in the Pakistani electrical power sector
Authors: Naqvi Ijlal
Published: September 2016

Developing countries are often characterized by a mix of bad governance and development initiatives seeking to accelerate modernization. When inevitable cracks in the modernization process appear, they create opportunities for informalities to seep in where the influence of power relations and culture can lead to new forms of predation or allow governance compromises to emerge. The article explores this at the national and local levels of the Pakistani electrical power sector, with each level conceptualized as a field of strategic action. The aim is to recognize the importance of emergent compromises for producing workable accommodations of competing interests, improving access to services, and addressing questions of social justice. Flexibility in responding to these cracks in the modernization process is not always a failing, but can be desirable and possibly necessary.
The Janus face of urban governance: State, informality and ambiguity in Berlin
Authors: Haid Christian G
Published: September 2016

Informality is both produced by and an inherent characteristic of state practices. It thus requires close scrutiny of the structures, nature and uneven distribution of power between state and society. Using a focus on three different parks in Berlin, this article demonstrates how informality is appropriated and institutionalized in the planning regimes of pioneer urbanism at Tempelhofer Freiheit; how in everyday law enforcement, legality is stretched by policing illegitimate activities in zones of exceptions at Görlitzer Park; and why, in Preußenpark (aka Thai Park), the state embodies a theatricality of polyvalent performances, turning a blind eye to certain activities which are not tolerated in other settings. This analysis reveals the Janus-faced governance of social practices even as it exposes the inherent ambiguities in everyday statehood, in which the state is regulating activities that are beyond its rules and, at the same time, violating its own internal rules.
Phytophilia and Service Atmospherics: The Effect of Indoor Plants on Consumers
Authors: Tifferet Sigal , Vilnai-Yavetz Iris
Published: September 2016

The atmospherics of a store can affect the emotions and perceptions of consumers, and even their shopping behaviors. Despite a large body of literature on store atmospherics, only a few studies have specifically examined natural elements in this context. Following evolutionary logic, we hypothesized that introducing a potted plant to a service delivery environment would boost consumer perceptions and advance marketing objectives. Participants rated photographs of service delivery settings through an experiment on Amazon Mechanical Turk. The results showed that the stimulus (no stimulus, a plant, or a vase) affected participant ratings of the service setting. The plant was superior to both no stimulus and the vase in increasing perceived service quality and customer satisfaction. The phytophilic effect on perceptions was mediated by pleasure and moderated by exposure to greenery in daily life. The study implements evolutionary theory in store atmospherics, contributing to the theoretical foundation of the field.
Grade Skipping From the Perspective of Teachers in Germany
Authors: Westphal Andrea , Vock Miriam , Stubbe Tobias
Published: September 2016

The present study explored teachers’ perspectives on one specific type of acceleration, namely, grade skipping. In addition, we investigated the extent to which teachers’ beliefs about students’ academic, motivational, and social development after grade skipping may explain teachers’ acceptance of this accelerative strategy. Moreover, we examined whether teachers’ acceptance is linked to their decisions about using this intervention. Using data from the PARS project, which included 316 teachers from 18 secondary schools in the German federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia, we assessed teachers’ acceptance, beliefs, and perceived knowledge about grade skipping using 4-point rating scales. Teachers also reported whether they had advised a student to skip a grade. Multilevel regression analyses indicated that teachers’ beliefs about students’ social, motivational, and academic development largely explained their acceptance. Teachers who showed a higher level of acceptance and perceived knowledge were more likely to have recommended grade skipping before. Educational implications are discussed.
In situ monitoring of isophorone diisocyanate-based flexible polyurethane foams formation
Authors: Eceiza I , Irusta L , Barrio A , Fernández-Berridi MJ
Published: September 2016

Novel isophorone diisocyanate-based flexible polyurethane foams were prepared by the one-step method in a computerized foam qualification system (FOAMAT). The experimental conditions to obtain this type of foams, in relation to the nature and concentration of catalysts as well as the reaction temperature, were established as no data were available in scientific literature. The chemical reactions occurring during the foam generation process were monitored in situ by attenuated total reflectance-FTIR spectroscopy. The kinetics of the foam generation was fitted to an nth order model and the data showed that the foaming process adjusted to a first-order kinetics. The physical changes as pressure, foam height, and dielectric polarization were monitored by the FOAM software (FOAMAT). According to these parameters, the foaming process was divided into four steps: bubble growth, bubble packing, cell opening, and final curing.
Study on buffering characteristics of expanded polyvinyl alcohol influenced by temperature and humidity
Authors: Zhu Hong , Wang Dongmei
Published: September 2016

Expanded polyvinyl alcohol is regarded as excellent buffering and leak-proof packaging material of liquid products due to its characteristics such as good liquid absorption and liquid retention properties, good mechanical properties under dry condition, and good rebound resilience under wet condition. Through static compression experiment, this study analyzed the mechanical properties and energy absorption properties of expanded polyvinyl alcohol with different densities under different temperatures and relative humidity. The experimental results showed that the effect of ambient temperature and humidity on expanded polyvinyl alcohol performance was mainly to change its internal moisture. The initial elastic modulus, plateau stress, and energy absorption value per unit volume of expanded polyvinyl alcohol increased as the density increased, the relative humidity decreased, or temperature increased. The above research can provide reference for applications of expanded polyvinyl alcohol on buffering packaging in actual logistic environment.
Aerogel preparation from short cellulose nanofiber of the Eucalyptus species
Authors: Zanini Márcia , Lavoratti Alessandra , Zimmermann Matheus VG , Galiotto Deise , Matana Fernando , Baldasso Camila , Zattera Ademir J
Published: September 2016

Wood is the main industrial source for obtaining cellulose. It is a natural composite, constituted by cellulose, polyoses, lignin, small amounts of extracts and mineral salts, wherein cellulose is the most abundant component. Many studies are being developed for obtaining materials based on natural fibers, which combine interesting properties such as renewability, biodegradability, low density and low cost. Aerogels are solid, lightweight materials with high porosity and high internal surface area. These features combined in one single material make the aerogels a differentiated product with potential for use as an adsorbent. In this context, aerogels made of cellulose nanofibers obtained from short-fiber cellulose of Eucalyptus sp. were made. The cellulose suspension was first disintegrated by a mechanical grinder, and the aerogels were undergone to freeze-drying. The characterization of the samples was performed by apparent density, porosity, scanning electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and thermogravimetric analyses. According to the micrographs obtained by scanning electron microscopy and field emission gun scanning electron microscopy, it was observed the formation of pores formed by the interconnection of cellulose fibers. The apparent density of the starting cellulose fibers (pressed plates) was 0.6998 g.cm−3 and the aerogel density decreased to 0.0240 g.cm−3. The values for aerogel porosity were about 97%, which benefits the passage of liquids and gases from the external environment to the internal structure of the material. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and thermogravimetric analyses showed no change in the chemical composition or in the thermal stability of the obtained aerogels in comparison to their starting materials.
Presentation of the Sources of Meaning Card Method: The SoMeCaM
Authors: la Cour Peter , Schnell Tatjana
Published: September 2016

Existential themes and meaning in life are often embedded in all types of psychotherapy, but can be difficult to handle in a systematic way. This article presents a method of assessing and exploring sources of personal meaning with a client during a 1-hour session. The method is rooted in existential theory as well in contemporary empirical psychology on sources of meaning. The Sources of Meaning Card Method comprises three stages. (a) From a total of 26 cards with printed statements concerning possible sources of meaning, the clients are asked to select 3 to 5 cards of most important personal content. (b) With each of these cards, a semistructured conversation is initiated with regard to the statement’s meaning, personal significance, actual importance, threats, and possibilities for personal change. (c) The therapist summarizes the client’s priorities, decisions, and essential parts of the conversation at the end of the session. The method is presented in four language versions.
Language Proficiency in an Era of Accountability
Authors: Bale Jeff
Published: September 2016

This article presents a qualitative study of integrating target language (TL) materials and activities within a world language (WL) teacher preparation program at a large, Midwestern public university. Based on document and interview data, I analyze how teacher candidates engaged with curricular materials written in the respective TL, how they interacted with their peers in the TL about those materials, and how they described the effect of both on their learning. As the analysis demonstrates, candidates reported that these experiences integrating language and language-teacher learning helped them extend their TL proficiency into pedagogical and professional domains. Moreover, they reported that this work helped them more fully understand the complexities of teaching.
Rejecting the conflict narrative: American Jewish and Muslim views on science and religion
Authors: Vaidyanathan Brandon , Johnson David R , Prickett Pamela J , Howard Ecklund Elaine
Published: September 2016

Sociological research on the US population’s views of science and religion has recently burgeoned, but focuses primarily on Christian fundamentalists and evangelicals. Our study advances understandings of how Americans of non-Christian faiths – namely Judaism and Islam – perceive the relationship between science and religion. We draw on in-depth interviews (N=92) conducted in Orthodox Jewish, Reform Jewish, and Sunni Muslim congregations in two major cities to elucidate how respondents’ respective traditions help them frame the relationship between science and religion. Findings demonstrate that members of these religious communities distance themselves from the pervasive conflict narrative. They rely on religious texts and historical traditions to instead articulate relationships of compatibility and independence between science and religion, while developing strategies to negotiate conflict around delimited issues. Findings push the social scientific study of religion and science beyond a specifically Christian and conflict-oriented focus.
A series of electrospun fatty acid ester/polyacrylonitrile phase change composite nanofibers as novel form-stable phase change materials for storage and retrieval of thermal energy
Authors: Ke Huizhen , Li Yonggui
Published: September 2016

In this paper, a series of fatty acid esters, including ethyl laurate (EL), butyl stearate (BS), ethyl palmitate (EP), ethyl stearate (ES) and methyl palmitate (MP), were selected as the solid–liquid phase change materials (PCMs), and then embedded inside the porous network structure of polyacrylonitrile (PAN) nanofibers supporting the skeleton by electrospinning technology, respectively. Morphological structures, chemical structures and thermal energy storage properties of electrospun fatty acid ester/PAN composite nanofibers were characterized by field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), respectively. Observations by FE-SEM images showed that the PAN nanofibers acting as the supporting polymer matrices can perfectly maintain the fiber shape and effectively prevent the leakage of the molten fatty acid esters. Maximum loaded weight percentages of the EL, BS, EP, ES and MP in the composite solutions could reach up to about 70, 45, 55, 65 and 60 wt.%, respectively. DSC results indicated that the prepared EL/PAN, BS/PAN, EP/PAN, ES/PAN and MP/PAN composite nanofibers had appropriate melting peak temperatures (about 1.26℃, 21.20℃, 29.37℃, 29.66℃ and 31.93℃, respectively) based upon climatic requirement, and the corresponding melting enthalpies were about 84.11, 55.10, 95.37, 93.35 and 110.4 kJ/kg, respectively. It can be considered that electrospun EL/PAN, BS/PAN, EP/PAN, ES/PAN and MP/PAN composite nanofibers would be promising form-stable PCMs for the applications related to the storage and retrieval of thermal energy, such as solar energy storage, building energy conservation, indoor temperature controlling and smart textiles and fibers.
Beur–French romances in French comedies: Postcolonial mimicry or a challenge to essentialist identities?
Authors: Hays Colleen
Published: September 2016

During the last 50 years, descendants of Maghrebians who immigrated to France ( beurs) have received French citizenship. Their societal position is paradoxical: French citizens by birth and soil, they live in French society; however, for many French de souche, they are still considered immigrants. Although the French government has a policy of assimilation, many beurs do not participate in the French way of life. They live in the projects, their children go to sub-standard schools, and beur youth unemployment rate is at least double that for the French population as a whole. Their practice of Islam alienates them further. However, while the anti-immigrant/anti-Muslim party is gaining in numbers, beur culture is increasingly a part of French culture: Arabic words have made their way into French, beur music is popular, and there is a strong beur presence in film. In this article, I will explore the portrayal of mixed-ethnicity couples in two films, Il reste du jambon (Anne Depetrini, 2010) and Mohamed Dubois (Ernesto Ona, 2012). These films reflect a growing preoccupation with mixed couples and their conflicts, and are paradigmatic of the process of assimilation of Arabs into French culture. In the first, a beur doctor,  Djalil (Ramzy Bedia) integrates and wins a blond, middle-class French reporter; in the second, Arnaud, the son of a rich French banker renounces his French identity, and adopts an Arab heritage to win a beur policewoman. Although both are French productions, the principal beur roles may be seen as breaking through the French stereotypes of Muslims/Arabs and therefore as counter-narratives of the nation, which, according to Homi Bhabha, ‘continually evoke and erase its totalizing boundaries – both actual and conceptual – [and] disturb those ideological manoeuvres through which ‘imagined communities’ are given essentialist identities’. I suggest, however, that while the beur ‘essentialist identity’ is challenged in the films, there are strains of neo-colonialism, with its accompanying ambivalence toward the beur characters, who are subject to mimicry, which consistently maintains the position of the dominant French film-consuming culture.
Beyond and behind the Iron Curtain: Sándor Márai crossing the borders between 1946 and 1948
Authors: Papp Judit
Published: September 2016

The time Sándor Márai (1900–89) spent in Switzerland, France and Italy in the winter of 1946–7 gave him the opportunity to observe and note the differences existing in ‘frozen, destitute Europe’ between East and West, Easterners and Westerners. The diary that Márai had already started to keep in 1943, Föld, föld!…, first published in Hungarian in 1972 in Toronto, and Európa elrablása (1947) represent interesting sources to reconstruct his experiences and thought about a Europe bisected by the Iron Curtain from the perspective of a ‘traveller venturing forth from the ruins of Eastern Europe’. In these works, he shares with us his impressions and depicts Western Europe, as represented by neutral Switzerland, France and a ‘defeated Italy’ in opposition to and in comparison with the East, represented by a ‘dismembered Hungary’. In analysing Márai’s account, the article focuses on the differences he perceived, on the way he reports them and also on how the West and Westerners viewed the East and the Easterners.
Of Defunct Satellites and Other Space Debris
Authors: Damjanov Katarina
Published: September 2016

Defunct satellites and other technological waste are increasingly occupying Earth’s orbital space, a region designated as one of the global commons. These dilapidated technologies that were commissioned to sustain the production and exchange of data, information, and images are an extraterrestrial equivalent of the media devices which are discarded on Earth. While indicating the extension of technological momentum in the shared commons of space, orbital debris conveys the dark side of media materialities beyond the globe. Its presence and movements interfere with a gamut of governmental, commercial, and scientific operations, contesting the strategies of its management and control and introducing orbital uncertainty and disorder in the global affairs of law, politics, economics, and techno-science. I suggest that this debris formation itself functions as media apparatus —it not only embodies but also exerts its own effects upon the material and social relations that structure our ways of life, perplexing dichotomies between the common and owned, governed and ungovernable, wealth and waste. I explore these effects of debris, framing its situation in the orbital commons as a vital matter of concern for studies of the human relationship with media technologies and their waste.
Political agency of news outlets in a polarized media system: Framing the corruption probe in Turkey
Authors: Panayırcı Uğur Cevdet , İşeri Emre , Şekercioğlu Eser
Published: September 2016

This article aims to determine the stances of media outlets during crises in a polarized media system such as Turkey. Adopting a content analysis methodology, this article analyses the framing strategies of three national newspapers affiliated with certain sociopolitical camps (namely, the pro-government Sabah, the anti-government Kemalist Sözcü and the pro-Gülen Zaman) to observe possible similarities/differences during the critical 17 December corruption probe. The findings not only confirm earlier studies on ‘press-party’ parallelism but also reveal ‘press-sociopolitical camp parallelism’ in Turkey’s polarized media system.
Effects of land use and cover change on the near-surface wind speed over China in the last 30 years
Authors: Zha Jinlin , Wu Jian , Zhao Deming
Published: September 2016

The changes of near-surface wind speed (SWS) were induced by the combination effects from anthropogenic activities and natural climate changes, thus the research of the long-term changes and cause of SWS is very important to recognize the effects from natural changes and anthropogenic activities to SWS. Some studies have shown that land use and cover change (LUCC) over China was very distinct in the last 30 years. However, the possible effects of LUCC to the slowdown in SWS are still uncertain. The European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts Reanalysis from January 1989 onward (to be extended back to January 1979) (ERA-Interim hereafter) dataset includes little information about LUCC, so the effects of LUCC on SWS in China during 1979–2010 have been estimated by using the difference between SWS per the ERA-Interim dataset and that from 492 meteorological stations. The results show the following. (1) The effects of LUCC on the SWS are distinct, and could have caused a decrease in the SWS of 0.12 m s–1 per decade, which could account for decreases of 0.57 and 0.30 m s–1 wind speed for large and small cities, respectively. In addition, a decrease of 0.1 m s–1 in the SWS could be induced by a 10% rise in the urbanization rate. (2) The impacts of LUCC on the SWS in the Beijing-Tianjin-Tangshan region, the Yangtze River Delta region and the Pearl River Delta region are more significant than those for the entire region. (3) The bias in the ERA-Interim dataset could cause a 51% error in the estimation for the entire region during the study period, but had a non-significant effect on the decreasing trend in the SWS. The decrease rate of SWS induced by LUCC based on the traditional observation minus reanalysis method had an error of 0.01 m s–1 decade–1. (4) The results of different methods to quantify the impacts of LUCC on the SWS are also compared in this study.
Comparison Between Quality of Care Provided by Trained Feeding Assistants and Certified Nursing Assistants During Between-Meal Supplementation in Long-Term Care Settings
Authors: Hollingsworth Emily K. , Long Emily A. , Simmons Sandra F.
Published: September 2016

The purpose of this study was to compare the quality of feeding assistance provided by trained non-nursing staff with care provided by certified nursing assistants (CNAs). Research staff provided an 8-hr training course that met federal and state requirements to non-nursing staff in five community long-term care facilities. Trained staff were assigned to between-meal supplement and/or snack delivery for 24 weeks. Using standardized observations, research staff measured feeding assistance care processes between meals across all study weeks. Trained staff, nurse aides, and upper level staff were interviewed at 24 weeks to assess staff perceptions of program impact. Trained staff performed significantly better than CNAs for 12 of 13 care process measures. Residents also consumed significantly more calories per snack offer from trained staff ( M = 130 ± 126 [ SD] kcal) compared with CNAs ( M = 77 ± 94 [ SD] kcal). The majority of staff reported a positive impact of the training program.
Novel method of vulnerability assessment of simple landfills area using the multimedia, multipathway and multireceptor risk assessment (3MRA) model, China
Authors: Yuan Ying , He Xiao-Song , Xi Bei-Dou , Wei Zi-Min , Tan Wen-Bing , Gao Ru-Tai
Published: September 2016

Vulnerability assessment of simple landfills was conducted using the multimedia, multipathway and multireceptor risk assessment (3MRA) model for the first time in China. The minimum safe threshold of six contaminants (benzene, arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), hexavalent chromium [Cr(VI)], divalent mercury [Hg(II)] and divalent nickel [Ni(II)]) in landfill and waste pile models were calculated by the 3MRA model. Furthermore, the vulnerability indexes of the six contaminants were predicted based on the model calculation. The results showed that the order of health risk vulnerability index was As > Hg(II) > Cr(VI) > benzene > Cd > Ni(II) in the landfill model, whereas the ecology risk vulnerability index was in the order of As > Hg(II) > Cr(VI) > Cd > benzene > Ni(II). In the waste pile model, the order of health risk vulnerability index was benzene > Hg(II) > Cr(VI) > As > Cd and Ni(II), whereas the ecology risk vulnerability index was in the order of Hg(II) > Cd > Cr(VI) > As > benzene > Ni(II). These results indicated that As, Hg(II) and Cr(VI) were the high risk contaminants for the case of a simple landfill in China; the concentration of these in soil and groundwater around the simple landfill should be strictly monitored, and proper mediation is also recommended for simple landfills with a high concentration of contaminants.
Private sector participation in domestic waste management in informal settlements in Lagos, Nigeria
Authors: Opoko Akunnaya P , Oluwatayo Adedapo A
Published: September 2016

Lagos is one of the fastest growing cities in Africa, which is grappling with the challenges of poorly managed urbanisation. With an estimated population of about 17.5 million, solid waste management is one of the most pressing environmental challenges currently faced in the city. It is estimated that more than 9071847.4kg of urban waste is generated every day in the city. The city lacks the capacity to deal with such magnitude of waste. Consequently, the city has involved the private sector (private sector participation) in its waste management drive. This article examines the effectiveness of this public–private sector collaboration model in waste management in informal settlements in Lagos using empirical data. Major findings of the article include the irregularity of waste collection owing to a poor road network, an inadequate transport infrastructure and the desire to maximise profit, as well as poor waste handling and disposal methods by the private sector participation operators who are not chosen based on competence and capacity to perform. Another major finding is the lack of cooperation from residents evidenced in non-payment of bills and poor packaging of wastes, resulting in wastes being littered. The article concludes on the need to restructure the scheme through proper sensitisation of residents, selection of operators with demonstrable delivery capacity and provision of a well-maintained road network to facilitate access of operators to settlements.
Analysis of Children’s Errors in Comprehension and Expression
Authors: Hatcher Ryan C. , Breaux Kristina C. , Liu Xiaochen , Bray Melissa A. , Ottone-Cross Karen L. , Courville Troy , Luria Sarah R. , Langley Susan Dulong
Published: September 2016

Children’s oral language skills typically begin to develop sooner than their written language skills; however, the four language systems (listening, speaking, reading, and writing) then develop concurrently as integrated strands that influence one another. This research explored relationships between students’ errors in language comprehension of passages across oral and written modalities (listening and reading) and in language expression across oral and written modalities (speaking and writing). The data for this study were acquired during the standardization of the Kaufman Test of Educational Achievement–Third Edition (KTEA-3). Correlational analyses from the total sample ( n = 2,443-3,552) and within grade bands revealed low to moderate correlations (.26-.50). No evidence of convergent or divergent validity was found when comparing correlations of “same-name” error types (e.g., inferential errors across modalities) with correlations of “different-name” error types. These results support previous research findings and hypotheses that language by ear, eye, hand, and mouth are separable but interacting systems that differ in more ways than modality of input/output.
Changes in Female Drosophila Sleep following Mating Are Mediated by SPSN-SAG Neurons
Authors: Garbe David S , Vigderman Abigail S , Moscato Emilia , Dove Abigail E. , Vecsey Christopher G. , Kayser Matthew S , Sehgal Amita
Published: September 2016

Female Drosophila melanogaster, like many other organisms, exhibit different behavioral repertoires after mating with a male. These postmating responses (PMRs) include increased egg production and laying, increased rejection behavior (avoiding further male advances), decreased longevity, altered gustation and decreased sleep. Sex Peptide (SP), a protein transferred from the male during copulation, is largely responsible for many of these behavioral responses, and acts through a specific circuit to induce rejection behavior and alter dietary preference. However, less is known about the mechanisms and neurons that influence sleep in mated females. In this study, we investigated postmating changes in female sleep across strains and ages and on different media, and report that these changes are robust and relatively consistent under a variety of conditions. We find that female sleep is reduced by male-derived SP acting through the canonical sex peptide receptor (SPR) within the same neurons responsible for altering other PMRs. This circuit includes the SPSN-SAG neurons, whose silencing by DREADD induces postmating behaviors including sleep. Our data are consistent with the idea that mating status is communicated to the central brain through a common circuit that diverges in higher brain centers to modify a collection of postmating sensorimotor processes.
A Step Toward a Better Understanding of the Relationship Between Victimization and Emotional Distress: Indirect Effect of Adult Attachment and Interaction With Household Dysfunction
Authors: dos Santos Mesquita Cristina , da Costa Maia Ângela
Published: September 2016

A history of victimization has been linked to the latter development of emotional distress. However, not all victims develop emotional distress in response to victimization, emphasizing the need to identify mediators that can guide intervention, as well as moderators to more targeted preventive actions. Within a developmental psychology framework, we aimed to test two models: (a) the role of adult attachment as a mediator in the relationship between victimization and emotional distress, and (b) the role of household dysfunctions as moderators in the relationship between victimization and emotional distress, in psychiatric patients. Participants were 120 adult psychiatric patients, between ages 20 and 79 years ( M = −47.22, SD = 13.102) that responded to questions assessing household dysfunction in the family of origin, victimization, and adult attachment. Results revealed that adult attachment was a significant mediator in the association between victimization and emotional distress. Parental mental disorder and total household adversity were significant moderators for that same association. These results provide important clues for intervention. The focus on promoting secure adult relationships may contribute not only to the psychosocial adjustment of psychiatric patients but also to a healthier family functioning. Reducing the household dysfunction may provide a protective environment for the development of children, promoting a positive psychosocial adjustment, also preventing the intergenerational transmission of violence, insecure attachment, and emotional distress.
Degradation feature extraction of hydraulic pump based on LCD-DCS fusion algorithm
Authors: Sun Jian , Li Hongru , Tian Zaike
Published: September 2016

Hydraulic pump degradation feature extraction is a key step of condition-based maintenance. In this article, a novel method based on local characteristic-scale decomposition (LCD) and discrete cosine transform–composite spectrum (DCS) fusion algorithm is proposed. In order to reduce noises and other disturbances, vibration signals are first processed by LCD with the high frequency harmonic. Detail components with sensitive information are achieved by the selection of intrinsic scale components. Furthermore, on the basis of the earlier composite spectrum (CS), the DCS fusion algorithm is proposed to make fusion of the obtained detail components for improving the feature performance. The DCS entropy is extracted as the fault degradation feature. Analysis of the hydraulic pump degradation experiment demonstrates that the proposed algorithm is feasible and effective to indicate the performance degradation of the hydraulic pump.
Evaluation of the main operating parameters of a homogeneous charge compression ignition engine for performance optimization
Authors: Mohebbi Mostafa , Abdul Aziz Azhar , Hosseini Vahid , Ramzannezhad Mostafa , Shafaghat Rouzbeh
Published: September 2016

Homogeneous charge compression ignition engines require a smart control system to regulate the input quantities of the engine in various operational conditions. Achieving an optimum combustion needs an appropriate system response for different engine loads and speeds according to the power acquired from the engine, as well as the amounts of emissions present in the exhaust. Therefore, performing a set of experimental tests together with numerical simulations in a wide range of conditions facilitates calibration of the input parameters of the engine. In this study, the effects of the thermodynamic parameters and the thermokinetic parameters on the engine output in the preliminary design stage were obtained at different speeds to determine the optimum exhaust emissions, the optimum combustion timing and the ranges of misfiring and knock, using multiple-zone thermodynamic modelling. On the assumption that the simulation cycle is closed, the probability density function was used to determine the initial conditions for the temperature and the residual gas from the previous cycle mass distribution in each area inside the cylinder. The results obtained proved that the kinetic properties of the mixture due to the effects of the the air-to-fuel ratio, the percentage of exhaust gas recirculation and the percentage of reformer gas have dominant effects on the output in comparison with the thermodynamic parameters such as the intake pressure and the intake temperature. At low speeds, exhaust gas recirculation retards combustion and delays engine knock. At higher engine speeds, the reformer gas advances combustion and improves misfiring.
The role of community radios in information dissemination to rural women in South Africa
Authors: Fombad Madeleine C. , Jiyane Glenrose Veli
Published: September 2016

Rural women in South Africa are important role players in community development; to withhold information from them is to hold back the potential for rural development. However, obstacles such as poverty, illiteracy, fear, poor access to public agencies, and lack of knowledge about the right to information and how or where to ask for it has deprived women of access to information. Since post-apartheid South Africa, government has made progress toward empowering women. Community radio is the only accessible and readily affordable medium within the rural community and can play a significant role in rural development of women. This article adopts the case study research approach through the use of document analysis and interviews to investigate the role of two community radio stations in selected areas of the KwaZulu-Natal Province of South Africa with regard to rural development and the dissemination of information to women listeners. It also suggests ways by which these radios may be used to enhance access to information by rural women in South Africa. The findings reveal that although community radio stations are recognised as support systems for information dissemination in rural communities, their role in information dissemination and the community development of women has not been fully explored. This article suggests ways in which the services of community radios may be enhanced by the provision of information to women for rural development.
Affective Governmentality
Authors: Ashworth Michael
Published: September 2016

This article questions the extent to which calculable numbers are indispensable to the government of conduct. By focusing on the role played by disgust in the government of sexual minorities in Uganda, it provides an account of government by emotion, or affective governmentality. This article draws on the literature on disgust, appropriating elements from the various disciplines and perspectives and bringing them under a Foucauldian umbrella. It explores two techniques through which attempts were made to arouse disgust: the sermon and the tabloid exposé. Although such techniques were performed by agents who operated beyond the state, this article contends that the emergence of the Anti-Homosexuality Act 2014 cannot be accounted for without considering the role played by disgust.
Facilitators and inhibitors in developing professional values in nursing students
Authors: Shafakhah Mahnaz , Molazem Zahra , Khademi Mojgan , Sharif Farkhondeh
Published: September 2016

Background:

Values are the basis of nursing practice, especially in making decisions about complicated ethical issues. Despite their key role in nursing, little information exists on the factors affecting their development and manifestation in nursing students.

Objective:

This study identifies and describes the facilitators and inhibitors of the development and manifestation of professional values based on the experiences of nursing students and instructors and nurses.

Research design:

Data were collected through 29 semi-structured interviews and two focus group interviews in 2013–2015 and were analyzed using the conventional content analysis method of Elo and Kyngäs.

Participants and research context:

In total, 18 nursing undergraduates, five nursing instructors, and five nurses from Shiraz University of Medical Sciences and one of the teaching hospitals in Shiraz were selected through purposive sampling.

Ethical considerations:

The research was approved by the Ethics Committee of Shiraz University of Medical Sciences and the teaching hospital examined.

Findings:

The findings consisted of two categories: personal and environmental factors. Personal factors consisted of the two subcategories of personal stimuli (work experience and past relationships, inner beliefs and acting on values, belief in God and a divine worldview) and personal inhibitors (the lack of professional motivation and enthusiasm, negative emotions). Environmental factors consisted of the two subcategories of environmental stimuli (cooperation, order and discipline) and environmental inhibitors (unfavorable work environment, society’s negative attitude toward nursing, the violation of rights).

Discussion and conclusion:

Given the impact of personal and environmental factors on the development and manifestation of professional values in nursing students, it is upon the education authorities to take account of them in their planning, and nursing managers are also recommended to further address these factors in their development of a proper work environment, provision of standard facilities and removal of barriers.
Ethics support in community care makes a difference for practice
Authors: Magelssen Morten , Gjerberg Elisabeth , Lillemoen Lillian , Førde Reidun , Pedersen Reidar
Published: September 2016

Background:

Through the Norwegian ethics project, ethics activities have been implemented in the health and care sector in more than 200 municipalities.

Objectives:

To study outcomes of the ethics activities and examine which factors promote and inhibit significance and sustainability of the activities.

Research design:

Two online questionnaires about the municipal ethics activities.

Participants and research context:

A total of 137 municipal contact persons for the ethics project answered the first survey (55% response rate), whereas 217 ethics facilitators responded to the second survey (33% response rate).

Ethical considerations:

Based on informed consent, the study was approved by the Data Protection Official of the Norwegian Social Science Data Services.

Findings:

Around half of the respondents found the ethics project to have been highly significant for daily professional practice. Outcomes include better handling of ethical challenges, better employee cooperation, better service quality, and better relations to patients and next of kin. Factors associated with sustainability and/or significance of the activities were sufficient support from stakeholders, sufficient available time, and ethics facilitators having sufficient knowledge and skills in ethics and access to supervision.

Discussion:

This study shows that ethics initiatives can be both sustainable and significant for practice. There is a need to create regional or national structures for follow-up and develop more comprehensive ethics training for ethics facilitators.

Conclusion:

It is both possible and potentially important to implement clinical ethics support activities in community health and care services systematically on a large scale. Future ethics initiatives in the community sector should be designed in light of documented promoting and inhibiting factors.