bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Mapping TRMM TMPA into Average Recurrence Interval for Monitoring Extreme Precipitation Events
Authors: Zhou Yaping , Lau William K. M. , Huffman George J.
Published: March 2015

A prototype online extreme precipitation monitoring system is developed from the TRMM TMPA near-real-time precipitation product. The system utilizes estimated equivalent average recurrence interval (ARI) for up-to-date precipitation accumulations from the past 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, and 10 days to locate locally severe events. The mapping of precipitation accumulations into ARI is based on local statistics fitted into generalized extreme value (GEV) distribution functions. Initial evaluation shows that the system captures historic extreme precipitation events quite well. The system provides additional rarity information for ongoing precipitation events based on local climatology that could be used by the general public and decision makers for various hazard management applications. Limitations of the TRMM ARI due to short record length and data accuracy are assessed through comparison with long-term high-resolution gauge-based rainfall datasets from the NOAA Climate Prediction Center and the Asian Precipitation–Highly-Resolved Observational Data Integration Toward Evaluation of Water Resources (APHRODITE) project. TMPA-based extreme climatology captures extreme distribution patterns from gauge data, but a strong tendency to overestimate from TMPA over regimes of complex orography exists.
Retrograde Wiring of Collateral Channels of the Heart in Chronic Total Occlusions
Authors: Khand Aleem , Patel Bilal , Palmer Nicholas , Jones Julia , Andron Mohammed , Perry Raph , Mehrotra Sanjay , Mitsudo Kazuaki
Published: March 2015

Aim:

To conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis on retrograde wiring in chronic total occlusions (CTOs) with focus on its safety and feasibility.

Methods and Results:

We searched publications from 1990 to December 2013 in PubMed, Ovid, EMBASE, and the Cochrane database inserting a number of terms relating to the collateral circulation of the heart in CTOs. A total of 18 case series (n range17-462) with a total of 2280 CTO revascularization attempts fulfilled criteria for a study of retrograde wiring of collateral channels in CTOs. There were no randomized studies comparing a primary antegrade with a primary retrograde approach. Procedural CTO revascularization rates ranged from 67% to 90.6% with a large proportion having previously failed an “antegrade” approach. The septal perforator collaterals and epicardial channels were used in 73.2% (n = 1670) and 21.7% (n = 495) of cases. Although collateral/coronary perforation was not infrequent (n = 90, 5%), serious acute complications were uncommon; in the combined population 18 cases of cardiac tamponade (0.8%) and 3 deaths (0.1%). Septal perforating wiring (79.3%) was significantly more likely to be successful compared to epicardial coronary artery wiring (72.5%) when chosen by the operator as a route of retrograde access to the CTO body (relative risk 1.11 [95% confidence interval: 1.02-1.20; P = .013]).

Conclusion:

Successful retrograde wiring of collateral channels in selected patients undertaken by “CTO dedicated” operators can significantly enhance the chances of revascularization of complex CTOs with a low risk of acute serious complications. Septal perforator channels are significantly more likely to be successfully retrogradely wired compared to epicardial vessels when either is selected, by reference to their anatomical suitability by the operator, as a route of access.
Potential Advantages of a Single-Port, Operator-Controlled Flexible Endoscope System for Transoral Surgery of the Larynx
Authors: Friedrich Daniel T. , Scheithauer Marc O. , Greve Jens , Duvvuri Uma , Sommer Fabian , Hoffmann Thomas K. , Schuler Patrick J.
Published: March 2015

Introduction:

Transoral surgery of the larynx is commonly performed with a rigid laryngoscope, a microscope, and a laser. We investigated the potential utility of a flexible, single-port, robot-assisted and physician-controlled endoscopic system to enable easy, transoral surgical access to the larynx.

Methods:

Transoral laryngeal surgery was performed in human cadavers (n = 4) using the Flex System and compatible flexible instruments. Anatomical landmarks were identified, and mock surgical procedures were performed.

Results:

Standard laryngeal surgical procedures were completed successfully in a human cadaver model. The built-in HD digital camera enabled high-quality visualization of the larynx. Epiglottectomy, as well as posterior cordectomy, were performed by laser and radio-frequency resection. The flexible design of the compatible tools enabled a nontraumatic approach.

Conclusion:

The Flex System has the potential to improve surgical access to the larynx, especially in patients with challenging anatomy. The associated flexible instruments enabled completion of surgical procedures in the larynx in a human cadaveric model. Further clinical studies, as well as the development of supplemental technology and tools, are recommended for future clinical applications.
Growth and Tolerance of Term Infants Fed Formula With Probiotic Lactobacillus reuteri
Authors: Cekola Pamela L. , Czerkies Laura A. , Storm Heidi M. , Wang Mei H. , Roberts James , Saavedra José M.
Published: March 2015

Background. Lactobacillus reuteri has been studied for its safety and beneficial effects in infants. This study assessed growth of infants fed a partially hydrolyzed whey formula with L reuteri. Methods. Healthy term infants were randomized to 1 of 2 formulas (partially hydrolyzed whey formula with (PRO) or without (CON) L reuteri from 14 to 112 days of age. Anthropometric measures were assessed at 14, 28, 56, 84, and 112 days of age. Tolerance records were completed 2 days prior to each visit. Results. A total of 122 subjects completed study per protocol (60 PRO, 62 CON). No differences were seen in daily weight gain, length, or head circumference. Overall, between groups, there were no significant differences in formula intake, stool frequency, color, consistency, flatulence, frequency of spit-up/vomiting, mood, sleep, or incidence of adverse events. Conclusion. Infants fed probiotic formula had similar growth to infants fed control formula. Both formulas were well tolerated.
Parental Active Transportation Routines (PATRns) as a Moderator of the Association Between Neighborhood Characteristics and Parental Influences and Active School Transportation
Authors: Van Kann D. H. H. , Kremers S. P. J. , de Vries S. I. , de Vries N. K. , Jansen M. W. J.
Published: March 2015

Successful implementation of interventions to stimulate active school transportation (AST) requires better understanding of this behavior. This study explored the associations between Parental Active Transportation Routines (PATRns) and children’s AST use, as well as the role of PATRns as a moderator of the association between the neighborhood characteristics and parental influences and AST. The study sample consisted of 722 8- to 12-year-old children and their parents living in the Netherlands. Multivariate linear regression analyses were performed, with the frequency of AST use as the dependent variable. Moderation by PATRns was tested by including interaction terms between PATRns and independent variables in the regression equation, and stratified analyses were conducted as a result of significant interactions. PATRns were a positive correlate of AST and were found to moderate the association between both parental facilitation of child physical activity and stranger danger and the use of active transportation, emphasizing the relevance of PATRns in increasing AST use.
Feelings for the Suffering of Others and the Environment
Authors: Pfattheicher Stefan , Sassenrath Claudia , Schindler Simon
Published: March 2015

Recent research has shown that compassionate feelings for the suffering environment promote conservation of nature. We extend this notion and relate compassion for suffering humans to proenvironmental tendencies. The proposed relation should hold true as compassion elicits moral actions and judgments across different moral domains which should also be applicable to the environment. Therefore, we expect compassion for other humans to relate positively to proenvironmental tendencies. Two studies were conducted to test this assumption. Study 1 included three independent samples (final N = 2,096) and several measures of proenvironmental tendencies. Results revealed that compassion was indeed positively related to proenvironmental values, proenvironmental intentions, and reported donations to nature or environmental organizations. In Study 2, we experimentally tested and found a causal path between compassion for humans and proenvironmental intentions. Implications for climate change and protection of nature are discussed.
The growing role of evaluation in parliaments: holding governments accountable?
Authors: Speer Sandra , Pattyn Valérie , De Peuter Bart
Published: March 2015

To date, the role of evaluation in parliaments has hardly been analyzed. This is a surprise as members of parliament are stakeholders par excellence, who could have an interest in evaluation. But do they? Through a systematic analysis of written questions and interrogations in Germany and Flanders we investigate MPs’ attention to evaluations. The following aspects are analyzed, from a comparative perspective: the content of questions on evaluation, the political profile of the MPs posing the questions, the share of questions on evaluation, and the distribution of questions over political parties, policy areas and over time.

Points for practitioners

The role and use of evaluation in the democratic process might be enhanced. On the one side members of parliament might wish to be better informed on evaluation methods as well as on possibilities for using evaluation results for accountability and learning purposes. On the other side evaluators might strive for strengthening the demand for evaluation in the policy-making process and not only public administration.
Beyond Hope and Fear
Authors: Badham Richard J. , Carter W. Richard , Matula Linda J. , Parker Sharon K. , Nesbit Paul L.
Published: March 2015

Organizational theatre interventions have become established as a pervasive and influential arts-based method of dialogic organizational development, yet their effects are controversial and contested. While they have been praised for their potential as a tool of empowerment, they have also been criticized for their possible use as a more or less insidious form of control. This article explores and evaluates such claims and counterclaims, supported by an in-depth longitudinal quasi-experimental field study of customer service staff in a regional Australian bank. The results of the field study not only indicate that organizational theatre interventions may increase both empowerment and control but also suggest that the outcomes may be more lightweight than supporters have hoped and critics have feared. The article outlines the implications of these findings for future research and practice.
Assessing the Responses of The Economic Community of West African States to the Recurring and Emerging Security Threats in West Africa
Authors: Maiangwa Benjamin
Published: March 2015

Since its formation in 1975, The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has attained a mixed-bag of accomplishments in the area of peace and security. Despite its modest gains in this area, the capacity of the organization has been constantly challenged by emerging and recurring security threats in the West African region. These include jihadist terrorism, drug trafficking and the unconstitutional changes of government. Informed by a brief analysis on the theory of security regionalization, this paper assesses the progress of ECOWAS in resolving the aforementioned security challenges, and then determines how the organization could become more meaningful to regional and global security. The data acquired for the paper was gleaned through scholarly deductions and a vigorous review of ECOWAS’ security mechanisms.
Consenting to Labour Appropriation? The Mineworker on South African Gold and Coalmines, 1951 to 2011
Authors: Nite Dhiraj Kumar , Stewart Paul
Published: March 2015

The argument of the moral economy of mines claims to illuminate the consent and associational power of mineworkers, and thereby the real foundation of social exchanges between management and black mineworkers. Our collection of life histories shows how the moral economy was fragile and its codes not widely accepted. As a tool of analysis it does not include certain facets of the workers’ experience, feeling and human essence. The moral–economic relationship was conducive to surplus extraction by eliminating the non-conformist but industrious or sick workers in the labour system. It contributed to morbid sexual and emotional ways of life. The life histories further reveal how the rank-and-file generally endorsed and participated in what Moodie depicts as a positive class compromise struck between management and the workers’ union from the 1980s to the 1990s. It brought to them conditions for a regular family life and ‘advancing humanity’. This notwithstanding, our narrators found that the norm of apartheid gave way to that of discrimination and differentiation between black workers. Management replaced white ‘boss-ism’ by economism and a corporatist model of labour–management relationship. It engendered the spirit of new ways to secure opportunity.
Oral Lactobacilli and Dental Caries
Authors: Caufield P.W. , Schön C.N. , Saraithong P. , Li Y. , Argimón S.
Published: March 2015

Lactobacilli have been associated with dental caries for over a century. Here, we review the pertinent literature along with findings from our own study to formulate a working hypothesis about the natural history and role of lactobacilli. Unlike most indigenous microbes that stably colonize a host, lactobacilli appear to be planktonic, opportunistic settlers that can gather and multiply only in certain restrictive niches of the host, at least within the oral cavity. We postulate that the following essential requirements are necessary for sustained colonization of lactobacilli in humans: 1) a stagnant, retentive niche that is mostly anaerobic; 2) a low pH milieu; and 3) ready access to carbohydrates. Three sites on the human body meet these specifications: caries lesions, the stomach, and the vagina. Only a handful of Lactobacillus species is found in caries lesions, but they are largely absent in caries-free children. Lactobacilli present in caries lesions represent both a major contributor to caries progression and a major reservoir to the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. We extend the assertion from other investigators that lactobacilli found in the GI tract originate in the oral cavity by proposing that lactobacilli in the oral cavity arise from caries lesions. This, in turn, leads us to reflect on the health implications of the lactobacilli in the mouth and downstream GI and to ponder whether these or any of the Lactobacillus species are truly indigenous to the human GI tract or the oral cavity.
Legislating the right to strike in China: Historical development and prospects
Authors: Chang Kai , Cooke Fang Lee
Published: March 2015

The strike as a confrontational form of expression of labour disputes has become an unavoidable phenomenon in China. However, knowledge about the politico-historical context of the right to strike in China remains patchy, despite growing interest in labour activism in the Chinese context. We aim to fill this gap by examining the Chinese jurisprudence of labour rights in general and the right to strike specifically. We do so by examining the policy and political stance adopted by the Chinese Communist Party on strikes; analysing the historical development of the legislation of the right to strike in Socialist China; highlighting the key features of labour disputes; and contemplating the legal foundation of, and implications for legislating for, the right to strike in China. This knowledge is essential to understanding the changing dynamics of industrial actions and workers’ activism, with wider implications for foreign direct investment and the management of labour relations.
Operational numerical simulation of a four-spiral in-pipe robot
Authors: Liang Liang , Hu Guanyu , Tang Yong , Chen Bai , Chen Sun
Published: March 2015

Based on an in-pipe robot with four spiral bodies in its tail, the dynamics equations of the fluid in the pipe are established when the robot runs. By using the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) method, the robot’s force, circumferential torque and pressure on the pipe are numerically analyzed when the spiral directions of four spiral bodies are alternately left-handed and right-handed or are all left-handed, and different spiral directions correspond to different rotational directions. When the robot is needed to change direction, the rotational directional combinations of the four spiral bodies are calculated and designed. The results show that when the spiral directions of four spiral bodies alternate and the rotational directions of spiral bodies with different spiral directions are different, the formed axial thrust forces are the same, and the formed radial forces are counterbalanced, so that the robot moves axially in a balanced state. When the spiral and rotational directions of four spiral bodies are the same, the uniform axial thrust forces and a certain circumferential torque are formed, so that the robot moves axially in a rotating state. Under the two conditions, the robots can achieve turning arbitrarily. The turning directions of the four-spiral robots only relate to the rotational directions of the robotic spiral bodies. By contrasting the numerical values and the experimental values of the thrust forces between the cylinder and the spiral ribbed plate in the reference, the correctness of the numerical calculation method used in this paper is verified. The above research shows that such multi-spiral in-pipe robots are suitable to achieve inspection, dredging and other functions.
School Segregation and Its Discontents
Authors: Rushing Wanda
Published: March 2015

Few policies have affected American society as deeply as those related to the landmark 1954 U.S. Supreme Court decision, Brown v. Board of Education. Now, 60 years later, segregation persists along race and class divisions. This case study analysis of a merger that took place between 2010 and 2013 in Memphis and Shelby County, Tennessee, one of the most politically contentious ones undertaken in the post–civil rights era, reveals a great deal about processes that sustain patterns of inequality. A new generation of Memphis leaders gives its perspective on education, social equality, and the future.
Examining the Social Justice Identity of Assistant Principals in Persistently Low-Achieving Schools
Authors: Carpenter Bradley W. , Bukoski Beth E. , Berry Matthew , Mitchell Amanda M.
Published: March 2015

In the context of high-stakes accountability, education-related policy efforts have aimed to address the improvement of persistently low-achieving (PLA) schools via turnaround reform strategies. Such strategies provide opportunities for educational leaders to influence the process; however, limited research examining the role of the assistant principal (AP) exists. This study explored the role of social justice identities of 12 APs in schools labeled as PLA in an urban, Midwestern city. Despite the policy pressures associated with turnaround reform strategies, APs leveraged their social justice identities to create innovative changes in culture and practice within schools. Although all APs perceived themselves as an ally, the extent of the orientation, and whether it leads toward emancipatory education, remains a question.
Between Two Pasts
Authors: García Jerez Francisco Adolfo , Müller Juliane
Published: March 2015

The presence of Evo Morales in the government of Bolivia raised expectations of change with regard to the politics of memory, justice, and the social and economic compensation for victims of the country’s dictatorships between 1964 and 1982. However, according to human rights organizations, these expectations have been only partly fulfilled. This can be explained by three fundamental factors: the government’s pursuit of an alliance with the military in order to accomplish its project, the collapse of the parties and traditional organizations of the left, and the articulation of a new narrative to consolidate the government’s project in terms of indigenous and anti-neoliberal nationalism. The latter two factors have resulted in the systematic political use of long memory (anticolonial resistance) and short memory (the popular protests of the 1990s and 2000s) and the partial displacement of an intermediate memory (the 1952 Revolution) and the memory of the dictatorships.

La presencia de Evo Morales en el gobierno de Bolivia generó expectativas de cambio con respecto a la política sobre la memoria, la justicia y la compensación social y económica para las víctimas de las dictaduras del país entre 1964 y 1982. Sin embargo, de acuerdo con las organizaciones de derechos humanos, estas expectativas sólo se han cumplido de forma parcial. Esto puede explicarse a través de tres factores fundamentales: la búsqueda de una alianza con los militares por parte del gobierno para poder llevar a cabo su proyecto, el colapso de los partidos y organizaciones tradicionales de izquierda, y la articulación de una nueva narrativa para consolidar el proyecto del gobierno en términos de un nacionalismo indígena y la oposición al neoliberalismo. Los últimos dos factores han resultado en un uso sistemático de la memoria larga (la resistencia anticolonial) y la corta (las protestas populares de los años noventa y el 2000), así como la dislocación parcial de una memoria intermedia (la Revolución de 1952) y la memoria de las dictaduras.
Lexical-phonological interactions in bilingual children
Authors: Kehoe Margaret M.
Published: March 2015

This study examined lexical-phonological interactions in the first 50 words of a group of monolingual German- and Spanish-speaking children and bilingual German–Spanish children. The phonological characteristics of the earliest target word forms and output patterns of these children were analyzed to determine whether bilingual children select different target word forms and produce different output forms and templates than monolingual children. Results indicated that the target word forms selected by Spanish-speaking children differed from German-speaking children but not the target word forms of monolingual versus bilingual children. Output forms differed between monolingual German and Spanish children but did not differ greatly between the two languages of the bilingual children. The output patterns of bilingual children also differed from those of monolingual children. Bilingual children’s earliest words contained more /l/s and variegated place and their templates were characterized by more mature phonological forms. These patterns were interpreted as being due to cross-linguistic interaction or to a more general effect of bilingualism, which leads to increased phonetic-phonological sophistication.
Parental report evidence for toddlers’ grammar and vocabulary in Bulgarian
Authors: Andonova Elena
Published: March 2015

This is the first study of a large sample of Bulgarian-speaking toddlers and their communicative development. A Bulgarian adaptation of the MacArthur–Bates Communicative Development Inventory Words and Sentences was used to obtain parent report data on 153 children between the ages of 20 and 30 months. Lexical and grammatical development were examined as a function of age, gender, and maternal education. While evidence was found for both lexical and grammatical developmental changes with age even in this age-restricted sample, gender had little effect on developmental levels, especially on the grammar components of the instrument. Maternal education was a significant predictor of children’s developmental achievements and there was considerable individual variability. The development of lexical and grammatical knowledge was found to be correlated significantly.
Process Evaluation of Practice-based Diabetes Prevention Programs
Authors: Carroll Jennifer , Winters Paul , Fiscella Kevin , Williams Geoffrey , Bauch Jean , Clark Linda , Sutton James , Bennett Nancy
Published: March 2015

Purpose

The purpose of this report is to describe lessons learned about the feasibility of recruitment and implementation of low-income adults with prediabetes in primary care clinics into diabetes prevention programs.

Methods

Mixed methods process evaluation of a pragmatic 2-group pilot comparative effectiveness study of a community-developed Healthy Living Program (HLP) and a Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP) with 58 adults.

Results

Of the total (n = 1215) assessed for eligibility, 7% (n = 92) were randomized, 58 completed the baseline assessment, and 31 completed the intervention. The process evaluation identified difficulty in systematically screening potentially eligible patients. There were several logistic and staffing challenges with program planning and initial start-up.

Conclusions

Addressing challenges to feasibility is required for successful translation of evidence-based programs to clinical settings.
Having Friends and Feeling Lonely
Authors: Arpin Sarah N. , Mohr Cynthia D. , Brannan Debi
Published: March 2015

Loneliness is a well-known indicator of relationship deficits, with potentially severe consequences on health and well-being (Perlman & Peplau, 1981). Research has used cross-sectional methods to examine behavioral consequences of loneliness (e.g., Cacioppo et al., 2002). However, within-person associations between daily fluctuations in loneliness and subsequent behavioral outcomes have yet to be explored. Using a sample of community-dwelling adults, the authors examined associations between daily loneliness on daily time with others, and subsequent context-specific alcohol consumption (i.e., social and solitary consumption), and individual differences in these patterns of behavior. Daytime loneliness significantly and uniquely predicted patterns of social behavior and context-specific consumption; time with others mediated loneliness–social consumption associations, but not loneliness–solitary consumption relationships. These findings contribute to existing literature by demonstrating the unique properties of solitary versus social consumption as behavioral responses to loneliness, thus addressing inconsistent findings regarding the effects of loneliness on alcohol consumption.
Brutality Under Cover of Ambiguity
Authors: Fincher Katrina M. , Tetlock Philip E.
Published: March 2015

Five studies tested four hypotheses on the drivers of punitive judgments. Study 1 showed that people imposed covertly retributivist physical punishments on extreme norm violators when they could plausibly deny that is what they were doing (attributional ambiguity). Studies 2 and 3 showed that covert retributivism could be suppressed by subtle accountability manipulations that cue people to the possibility that they might be under scrutiny. Studies 4 and 5 showed how covert retributivism can become self-sustaining by biasing the lessons people learn from experience. Covert retributivists did not scale back punitiveness in response to feedback that the justice system makes false-conviction errors but they did ramp up punitiveness in response to feedback that the system makes false-acquittal errors. Taken together, the results underscore the paradoxical nature of covert retributivism: It is easily activated by plausible deniability and persistent in the face of false-conviction feedback but also easily deactivated by minimalist forms of accountability.
Counterfactuals, Control, and Causation
Authors: Gilbert Elizabeth A. , Tenney Elizabeth R. , Holland Christopher R. , Spellman Barbara A.
Published: March 2015

Legal and prescriptive theories of blame generally propose that judgments about an actor’s mental state (e.g., her knowledge or intent) should remain separate from judgments about whether the actor caused an outcome. Three experiments, however, show that, even in the absence of intent or immorality, actors who have knowledge relevant to a potential outcome will be rated more causal of that outcome than their ignorant counterparts, even when their actions were identical. Additional analysis revealed that this effect was mediated by counterfactual thinking—that is, by imagining ways the outcome could have been prevented. Specifically, when actors had knowledge, participants generated more counterfactuals about ways the outcome could have been different that the actor could control, which in turn increased causal assignment to the actor. These results are consistent with the Crediting Causality Model, but conflict with some legal and moral theories of blame.
The lens of the eye: exposures in the UK medical sector and mechanistic studies of radiation effects
Authors: Bouffler S.D. , Peters S. , Gilvin P. , Slack K. , Markiewicz E. , Quinlan R.A. , Gillan J. , Coster M. , Barnard S. , Rothkamm K. , Ainsbury E.
Published: March 2015

The recommendation from the International Commission on Radiological Protection that the occupational equivalent dose limit for the lens of the eye should be reduced to 20 mSv year−1, averaged over 5 years with no year exceeding 50 mSv, has stimulated a discussion on the practicalities of implementation of this revised dose limit, and the most appropriate risk and protection framework to adopt. This brief paper provides an overview of some of the drivers behind the move to a lower recommended dose limit. The issue of implementation in the medical sector in the UK has been addressed through a small-scale survey of doses to the lens of the eye amongst interventional cardiologists and radiologists. In addition, a mechanistic study of early and late post-irradiation changes in the lens of the eye in in-vivo-exposed mice is outlined. Surveys and studies such as those described can contribute to a deeper understanding of fundamental and practical issues, and therefore contribute to a robust evidence base for ensuring adequate protection of the eye while avoiding undesirable restrictions to working practices.
The Rocha Nicaragua Project
Authors: Haubert Jeannie , Williams Ginger
Published: March 2015

When class, language, and cultural differences abound between community residents and universities, it is particularly important for service-learning coordinators to take a step back from “helping” and work toward “understanding” through community-based research. Through an in-depth discussion of the evolution of this project and our successes and failures doing service learning for the past six years in rural Nicaragua, we argue that research is an essential component of any international service–learning partnership not only for much needed assessment purposes but also for its relationship building potential both inside and outside of the host community.
The Baby and the Bathwater
Authors: Kane Emily W.
Published: March 2015

Sociologists eager to engage in social change work may see both promise and risk in two interrelated movements: initiatives to renew the role of civic and community engagement in higher education and initiatives within the discipline of sociology to advance publicly engaged work. I focus on one specific intersection of those movements by exploring how community-based research (CBR) relates to student attitudes toward the social change potential of sociology. Analysis of student responses in an undergraduate seminar on publicly engaged sociology and CBR suggests that carefully structured, reciprocally partnered CBR not only encourages student interest in community engagement, it can also encourage critical thinking about the discipline in ways that promote its potential for addressing social issues. I consider the implications of these results for structuring courses and curricula that advance civic engagement and the public good as a broad movement across higher education and sustain student interest in the progressive role sociology can play as a discipline in contributing to that movement.
Step Your Game Up
Authors: Sawyer Don C.
Published: March 2015

Sociology has many theoretical concepts educators attempt to get undergraduate students to grasp. As technology, popular culture, and our students evolve, educators must create new and innovative approaches to reach our students and keep them interested in the subject matter. This article describes an innovative exercise used to get students to actively participate in sociological explication, critique, and debate. In a Sociology of Hip-Hop course, the author uses the format of the Hip-Hop Rap Battle to engage students in sociological competition.
“Maybe This Is Because of Society?”
Authors: Veloria Carmen N.
Published: March 2015

The popularity of service-learning courses has dramatically increased in colleges and universities across the country. As these projects often require engagement with diverse communities of color, scholars of color in particular are faced with tension that requires a pedagogical balancing act of focusing on academic content while simultaneously attending to sensemaking of experiences. As sensemaking can be in part dialogic, this scholarship focuses on the critical readings of student journal entries and sensemaking of class dialogue at the end of the semester. I interrogate students’ discursive practices and textual representations by drawing on socio cultural theory and critical race theory in an attempt to learn how to critically structure future service-learning courses. Interpretations highlight that students’ discursive practices often omit views of how economic, political, and social structures impact individuals and communities. Unexamined discourses, varying ways of knowing, and positionality stances warrant disruption and engagement for the sake of civic participation in a democratic, justice-oriented, and culturally responsive manner.
The structural effects of sharing function on Twitter networks: Focusing on the retweet function
Authors: Ahn Hyerim , Park Ji-Hong
Published: March 2015

Social network services (SNSs) provide the functions for both the management of social networks and information diffusion. We considered SNS networks as the networks that embrace both the strong links formed through the making-relationship function and the weak links formed through the sharing function. For identifying the structural role of each link, we constructed the SNS networks using Twitter data and analysed them focusing not on nodes but on links of the networks at a component level and at an ego-network level. More than 200,000 tweets were randomly sampled through the streaming API of Twitter. As a result, we found that weak links formed through the sharing function play a more important role in maintaining the range of information diffusion and provide more structural advantage in acquiring and controlling information than the strong links formed through the making-relationship function.
Discovering duplicate and related resources using an interlinking approach: The case of educational datasets
Authors: Rajabi Enayat , Sicilia Miguel-Angel , Sanchez-Alonso Salvador
Published: March 2015

Linking a learning dataset to useful information on the Web of Data enriches its learning resources, as it enhances learners’ knowledge. This enrichment is usually achieved by creating links between datasets using the interlinking tools, which facilitate connecting any kind of data in a semi-automatic manner. This paper evaluates the interlinking results between an e-learning repository and several educational datasets on the Web of Data, which leads to enrichment of the contents. Many related resources were discovered during this experimentation already matched to the GLOBE learning objects. Furthermore, this research presents a data model to find similarity between two datasets and a workflow to identify the duplicate resources by performing a semi-automatic evaluation process. A case study was also assessed by human experts.
Reverse U aortotomy (Kırali incision) for aortic valve replacement
Authors: Kırali Kaan
Published: March 2015

The presence of patent vein grafts on the proximal aorta may cause technical difficulties during reoperations for aortic valve replacement after previous coronary artery bypass surgery. A 65-year-old man underwent reoperation for aortic valve replacement two years after his first open heart surgery (valve-sparing aortic root replacement and aorta-right coronary artery saphenous vein graft). The aortotomy incision was started approximately 2 cm above the proximal anastomosis and continued down at both sides until the prosthetic graft. The reverse U aortotomy prevents unnecessary and risky manipulations of proximal anastomoses, provides perfect exposure, and can be used securely during reoperative aortic valve surgery.
Those were the days1–or were they?
Authors: Prins Herschel
Published: March 2015

Now in his 86th year, the author offers brief comments on some of the differences in the setting and practice of probation compared with those described by Jake Phillips in a recent issue of Probation Journal (Phillips, 2014).
The journey of developing and applying a one-to-one structured supervision programme aimed at addressing offending behaviour
Authors: Hylton Jamal
Published: March 2015

With the new era of probation and community rehabilitation it is important that existing practitioner skills, methods and initiatives are maintained and developed. This article is based on the findings of a pilot and the subsequent introduction of a one-to-one structured supervision offending behaviour programme I created and developed. This was a practitioner-led initiative aimed at enhancing the effective use of the supervision session in addressing offending behaviour, and highlights the importance of these approaches.
Capturing communication supporting classrooms: The development of a tool and feasibility study
Authors: Dockrell Julie E , Bakopoulou Ioanna , Law James , Spencer Sarah , Lindsay Geoff
Published: March 2015

There is an increasing emphasis on supporting the oral language needs of children in the classroom. A variety of different measures have been developed to assist this process but few have been derived systematically from the available research evidence. A Communication Supporting Classrooms Observation Tool (CsC Observation Tool) for children aged 4–7 years (that is, in Reception and Key Stage 1 classrooms) was devised following a review of the research literature. The evidence derived from 62 research papers was rated based on the studies’ research design following specific rating criteria. Based on the review of the literature and rating of the evidence, three main areas were identified and included as dimensions in the CsC Observation Tool: Language Learning Environment, Language Learning Opportunities and Language Learning Interactions. A feasibility study was carried out in 101 classrooms in 39 schools across 10 local authorities in England. The results suggested that the CsC Observation Tool discriminated well between different age groups within the sample and between different schools. In addition, significant differences were found across the three dimensions of the CsC Observation Tool. For all year groups, scores for the Language Learning Environment dimension were significantly higher than scores for Language Learning Interactions, and scores for the Language Learning Interactions dimension were significantly higher than those for the dimension of Language Learning Opportunities. The study provided evidence for using the CsC Observation Tool in schools to support training and development. The tool has the potential to be used as a key feature in universal intervention studies to promote oral language in the classroom.
The male sexual deficit: A social fact of the 21st century
Authors: Hakim Catherine
Published: March 2015

Nationally representative interview surveys of sexual behaviour and attitudes proliferated around the globe from 1990 onwards as a result of the AIDS scare, yet are overlooked by sociologists. This article reviews findings from some 30 sex surveys around the world showing that large and substantively important differences between men and women in the centrality of sexuality, sexual desire, sexual behaviour and attitudes persist in the 21st century, long after the contraceptive and sexual revolutions of the 1960s. Women’s lesser sexual motivation and interest means that many heterosexual men experience a shortfall in desired sexual activity. A reversal of the sex ratio to a male surplus among prime-age adults and other trends suggest that the sexual deficit among men may increase. The male sexual deficit (or surplus male sexuality) helps to explain sexual harassment, sexual violence, rape, rising demand for commercial sexual services and other behaviours that are almost exclusively male.
Stroke rehabilitation at home before and after discharge reduced disability and improved quality of life: a randomised controlled trial
Authors: Rasmussen Rune Skovgaard , Østergaard Ann , Kjær Pia , Skerris Anja , Skou Christina , Christoffersen Jane , Seest Line Skou , Poulsen Mai Bang , Rønholt Finn , Overgaard Karsten
Published: March 2015

Objective:

To evaluate if home-based rehabilitation of inpatients improved outcome compared to standard care.

Design:

Interventional, randomised, safety/efficacy open-label trial.

Setting:

University hospital stroke unit in collaboration with three municipalities.

Subjects:

Seventy-one eligible stroke patients (41 women) with focal neurological deficits hospitalised in a stroke unit for more than three days and in need of rehabilitation.

Interventions:

Thirty-eight patients were randomised to home-based rehabilitation during hospitalization and for up to four weeks after discharge to replace part of usual treatment and rehabilitation services. Thirty-three control patients received treatment and rehabilitation following usual guidelines for the treatment of stroke patients.

Main measures:

Ninety days post-stroke the modified Rankin Scale score was the primary endpoint. Other outcome measures were the modified Barthel-100 Index, Motor Assessment Scale, CT-50 Cognitive Test, EuroQol-5D™, Body Mass Index and treatment-associated economy.

Results:

Thirty-one intervention and 30 control patients completed the study. Patients in the intervention group achieved better modified Rankin Scale score (Intervention median = 2, IQR = 2-3; Control median = 3, IQR = 2–4; P=0.04). EuroQol-5D™ quality of life median scores were improved in intervention patients (Intervention median = 0.77, IQR = 0.66–0.79; Control median = 0.66, IQR = 0.56 – 0.72; P=0.03). The total amount of home-based training in minutes highly correlated with mRS, Barthel, Motor Assessment Scale and EuroQol-5D™ scores ( P-values ranging from P<0.00001 to P=0.01). Economical estimations of intervention costs were lower than total costs of standard treatment.

Conclusion:

Early home-based rehabilitation reduced disability and increased quality of life. Compared to standard care, home-based stroke rehabilitation was more cost-effective.
Early effects of duloxetine on emotion recognition in healthy volunteers
Authors: Bamford Susan , Penton-Voak Ian , Pinkney Verity , Baldwin David S , Munafò Marcus R , Garner Matthew
Published: March 2015

The serotonin-noradrenaline reuptake inhibitor (SNRI) duloxetine is an effective treatment for major depression and generalised anxiety disorder. Neuropsychological models of antidepressant drug action suggest therapeutic effects might be mediated by the early correction of maladaptive biases in emotion processing, including the recognition of emotional expressions. Sub-chronic administration of duloxetine (for two weeks) produces adaptive changes in neural circuitry implicated in emotion processing; however, its effects on emotional expression recognition are unknown. Forty healthy participants were randomised to receive either 14 days of duloxetine (60 mg/day, titrated from 30 mg after three days) or matched placebo (with sham titration) in a double-blind, between-groups, repeated-measures design. On day 0 and day 14 participants completed a computerised emotional expression recognition task that measured sensitivity to the six primary emotions. Thirty-eight participants (19 per group) completed their course of tablets and were included in the analysis. Results provide evidence that duloxetine, compared to placebo, may reduce the accurate recognition of sadness. Drug effects were driven by changes in participants’ ability to correctly detect subtle expressions of sadness, with greater change observed in the placebo relative to the duloxetine group. These effects occurred in the absence of changes in mood. Our preliminary findings require replication, but complement recent evidence that sadness recognition is a therapeutic target in major depression, and a mechanism through which SNRIs could resolve negative biases in emotion processing to achieve therapeutic effects.
Impact of subanesthetic doses of ketamine on AMPA-mediated responses in rats: An in vivo electrophysiological study on monoaminergic and glutamatergic neurons
Authors: El Iskandrani Kareem S , Oosterhof Chris A , El Mansari Mostafa , Blier Pierre
Published: March 2015

The rapid antidepressant action of a subanesthetic dose of ketamine in treatment-resistant patients represents the most striking recent breakthrough in the understanding of the antidepressant response. Evidence demonstrates tight interactions between the glutamatergic and monoaminergic systems. It is thus hypothesized that monoamine systems may play a role in the immediate/rapid effects of ketamine. In vivo electrophysiological recordings were carried in male rats following ketamine administration (10 and 25 mg/kg, i.p.) to first assess its effects on monoaminergic neuron firing. In a second series of experiments, the effects of ketamine administration on α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid (AMPA)- and N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDA)-evoked responses in hippocampus CA3 pyramidal neurons were also investigated using micro-iontophoretic applications. Although acute (~2 hours) ketamine administration did not affect the mean firing activity of dorsal raphe serotonin and ventral tegmental area dopamine neurons, it did increase that of locus coeruleus norepinephrine neurons. In the latter brain region, while ketamine also enhanced bursting activity, it did increase population activity of dopamine neurons in the ventral tegmental area. These effects of ketamine were prevented by the prior administration of the AMPA receptor antagonist 2,3-dioxo-6-nitro-1,2,3,4-tetrahydrobenzo[ f]quinoxaline-7-sulfonamide. An increase in AMPA-evoked response of CA3 pyramidal neurons was also observed 30 minutes following acute ketamine administration. The present findings suggest that acute ketamine administration produces a rapid enhancement of catecholaminergic neurons firing activity through an amplification of AMPA transmission. These effects may play a crucial role in the antidepressant effects of ketamine observed shortly following its infusion in depressed patients.
When Nationalism Goes to the Market
Authors: Gao Zhihong
Published: March 2015

To understand the role of the market in the promotion of nationalism, this article focuses on Chinese popular music and examines how nationalism is promoted in China through patriotic songs. It applies Althusser's theory of “Ideological State Apparatus” and argues that China has a long history of nationalist mobilization through patriotic songs, which claims both Chinese artists and consumers as subjects of nationalism. As the Chinese popular music industry is now marketized, the market becomes the primary platform where the state, the artist, and the consumer interact, collaborate, and negotiate in the production and consumption of patriotic songs. In implementing their marketing strategies, artists help enhance the reach and effectiveness of Chinese patriotic education by tailoring their songs to well-defined, diverse market segments.