bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Rhythmic Inhibition Allows Neural Networks to Search for Maximally Consistent States
Authors: Mostafa Hesham , Müller Lorenz K. , Indiveri Giacomo
Published: November 2015

Gamma-band rhythmic inhibition is a ubiquitous phenomenon in neural circuits, yet its computational role remains elusive. We show that a model of gamma-band rhythmic inhibition allows networks of coupled cortical circuit motifs to search for network configurations that best reconcile external inputs with an internal consistency model encoded in the network connectivity. We show that Hebbian plasticity allows the networks to learn the consistency model by example. The search dynamics driven by rhythmic inhibition enable the described networks to solve difficult constraint satisfaction problems without making assumptions about the form of stochastic fluctuations in the network. We show that the search dynamics are well approximated by a stochastic sampling process. We use the described networks to reproduce perceptual multistability phenomena with switching times that are a good match to experimental data and show that they provide a general neural framework that can be used to model other perceptual inference phenomena.
Positive Neural Networks in Discrete Time Implement Monotone-Regular Behaviors
Authors: Ameloot Tom J. , Van den Bussche Jan
Published: November 2015

We study the expressive power of positive neural networks. The model uses positive connection weights and multiple input neurons. Different behaviors can be expressed by varying the connection weights. We show that in discrete time and in the absence of noise, the class of positive neural networks captures the so-called monotone-regular behaviors, which are based on regular languages. A finer picture emerges if one takes into account the delay by which a monotone-regular behavior is implemented. Each monotone-regular behavior can be implemented by a positive neural network with a delay of one time unit. Some monotone-regular behaviors can be implemented with zero delay. And, interestingly, some simple monotone-regular behaviors cannot be implemented with zero delay.
Autonomy, Local Voices and Conflict Resolution: Lessons from East Timor
Authors: Nordquist Kjell-Åke
Published: November 2015

The civil society in East Timor – today The Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste – developed knowledge and views about different constitutional structures during some critical years before the country’s independence in 2002. “Autonomy” proved to be an effective generic concept for this purpose in dialogues and seminars, organised inside and outside East Timor, on the issue of the territory’s future international status. While a certain political autonomy structure, alongside with independence, were the two options in the 1999 UN-led referendum on East Timor’s final status, the concept of “autonomy” was used as a point of reference for the analysis of principally different structural options for small territories – from typical independence, via forms of limited independence and associated state arrangements, to autonomy and levels of integration. Naturally, existing autonomy arrangments are studied when relevant in peace processes, but the concept of “autonomy”, with its need for local adaptation and recognition of difference, brings also compromise and therefore creativity into a process of political wrangling. In addition, an autonomy perspective in peace processes raises the issue of human rights protection on national level – can it protect on the level of an autonomy? The autonomy concept provides, finally, a framework for its own legitimacy, in relation to human rights and other measures in defense of human dignity. To identify a potential autonomy, thus, means assessing the characteristics of difference in such a framework, a process that local voices in East Timor needed to pursue.
Indicators as Political Spaces
Authors: Urueña Rene
Published: November 2015

How can we start thinking about the link between indicators, international institutions and the law? This introductory note sets the scene for some of the crosscutting issues that emerge throughout the specific contributions, and proposes future venues of research. It focuses on four issues in particular, where the use of indicators challenges traditional narratives of international institutions and their use of the law: (a) Indicators as normative statements; (b) compliance with international norms; (c) the creation of new political spaces; and, (d) accountability.
Human Rights Indicators across Institutional Regimes
Authors: Infantino Marta
Published: November 2015

This paper aims to investigate what human rights indicators are, and what role they play within international organizations. In particular, this paper argues that human rights indicators, far from having similar structures and posing similar problems, are created and live within frameworks, through processes, and for purposes that might significantly diverge from indicator to indicator. The central claim is that the pluralism underlying the world of human rights indicators reflects, among other things, the variable structures, objectives and modes of operation of the international organizations inhabiting that world. This paper thus explores how the massive production and extensive use of human rights indicators in recent years has not only been influenced by, but has also shaped, the missions, internal structures and operational practices of the international organizations that produce and use them.
The Privileges and Immunities of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons
Authors: Dojas Alberto E.
Published: November 2015

This practice note describes the privileges and immunities legal framework of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons. This legal regime shows a certain complexity derived for the peculiar character of a disarmament and verification institution, whose intrusiveness poses many challenges to States Parties, particularly on the privileges and immunities of inspection teams and the protection of confidential information. The opcw managed to protect its privileges and immunities adequately, without almost no legal conflicts both at the domestic and international level. The disputes settlement mechanisms play an important role in providing ways to avoid legal controversies.
A new species of Rochefortia (Ehretiaceae, Boraginales) from the Lesser Antilles
Authors: IRIMIA RAMONA-ELENA , Gottschling Marc
Published: November 2015

Taxonomic diversity of Neotropical Rochefortia is not completely assessed at present. We report the existence of a new species: Rochefortia barloventensis sp. nov., distributed across multiple islands of the Lesser Antilles. We provide a morphological description, a molecular diagnosis and a botanical illustration. Specimens belonging to the new species were previously assigned to Caribbean R. cuneata or to South American R. spinosa because of morphological similarity. Molecular sequence data shows a clear delimitation of the new species from all other species of Rochefortia justifying the recognition of a novel taxon.
On the nomenclature of fossil Stuckenia (Potamogetonaceae)
Authors: Doweld Alexander Borisovitch
Published: November 2015

15 fossil species of Potamogeton subgen. Coleogeton, described from the Oligocene to Pleistocene sediments of Eurasia, based on fruit endocarp and leaf imprints findings, were recombined into a newly reinstated distinct genus Stuckenia Börner: S. aldanensis (Dorof.) Doweld, comb. nov., S. arctovaginata (Dorof.) Doweld, comb. nov., S. carbonata (Dorof.) Doweld, comb. nov., S. clavata (Dorof.) Doweld, comb. nov., S. gibbosa (Dorof. & Wieliczk.) Doweld, comb. nov., S. matyrensis (Dorof.) Doweld, comb. nov., S. omoloica (Dorof.) Doweld, comb. nov., S. palaeofiliformis (Dorof.) Doweld, comb. nov., S. praepectinata (Negru) Doweld, comb. nov., S. praevaginata (Dorof.) Doweld, comb. nov., S. pseudorostrata (Dorof.) Doweld, comb. nov., S. sakmarensis (Dorof.) Doweld, comb. nov., S. tenuicarpa (C. Reid & E. Reid) Doweld, comb. nov., S. vaginatoides (Dorof.) Doweld, comb. nov., S. mirabilis (Kutuzk.) Doweld, comb. nov. Nomenclature and typification of species names are given along with their palaeogeographic and stratigraphic data. In addition, a neotype has been designated for S. tenuicarpa (C. Reid & E. Reid) Doweld, comb. nov.
Garra mondica, a new species from the Mond River drainage with remarks on the genus Garra from the Persian Gulf basin in Iran (Teleostei: Cyprinidae)
Authors: SAYYADZADEH GOLNAZ , ESMAEILI HAMID REZA , FREYHOF JÖRG
Published: November 2015

Garra mondica, new species, from the Mond River drainage in Iran is distinguished from its congeners by having 7½ branched dorsal-fin rays; the breast, belly and back in front of the dorsal-fin origin naked and 9+8 branched caudal-fin rays. Garra mondica is also distinguished from all other congeners in the Persian Gulf basin, except an unidentified species from the Kol River, by having two fixed, diagnostic nucleotide substitutions in the mtDNA COI barcode region. The identity of G. gymnothorax, a nominal species from the Karun River drainage, and G. crenulata, a nominal species from Central Iran, are discussed. Garra populations examined from the Karun have a unique mtDNA COI barcode sequence, but their diagnostic characters are not consistent with the description and syntypes of G. gymnothorax. G. crenulata is considered as a synonym of G. rufa. Two populations of Garra from the Kol River have a sequence of the COI barcode region very similar to G. mondica, but cannot be identified as G. mondica and their identity cannot be resolved here.
Redescription of Aposycorax chilensis (Tonnoir) (Diptera, Psychodidae, Sycoracinae) with the first identification of a blood meal host for the species
Authors: CURLER GREGORY R. , MOULTON JOHN K. , MADRIZ R. ISAI
Published: November 2015

Adults of Aposycorax chilensis were collected from several sites during fieldwork in Chilean Patagonia, December 2013. Specimens were swept or aspirated from roadside seeps and found in greatest numbers during the morning hours. DNA was extracted from a recently blood-fed female and was subjected to the polymerase chain reaction using vertebrate-specific 16S primers. An amplicon was obtained and the resulting sequence was found to have over 99% identity with two frogs in the genus Batrachyla, thus establishing this species’ preference for amphibian hosts. The diagnosis and description of adult A. chilensis are revised, including the first description of the complete male genital tract. Habitat characteristics for this species and rotation of the male genitalia are discussed.
A new species of the endemic genus Hemicyrthus Reiche (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Dynastinae) from New Caledonia, with a revised key
Authors: KRELL FRANK-THORSTEN , THEUERKAUF JÖRN
Published: November 2015

Hemicyrthus blaffarti new species (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Dynastinae) from the Parc Provincial de la Rivière Bleue in southern New Caledonia is described. It differs from the most similar species, H. elongatus, by the completely and sharply margined pronotal base, the presence of elytral micropunctures, shorter apical setae of the mesotibiae and meta-tibiae, and a different shape of the parameres. For the first time, a sexually dimorphic character is described in this genus: the median emargination of the last sternite has a developed margin in males, but not in females. A revised key for all Hemicyrthus species is given. Hemicyrthus as a genus of short-range endemics, and its biogeographical relationships are briefly discussed.
Controlling Research and Development in Education A Few Comments from a Report
Authors: Keppel Francis
Published: November 2015

Dr. Keppel, Dean of Harvard's Graduate School of Education, writes of furthering educational research and relating it to the public schools, and warns of over-selling new methods and “findings,” in this excerpt from his 1959–1960 annual report.
Churches as Molders of American Politics
Authors: Elazar Daniel J.
Published: November 2015

Few who argue the relations of church and state know much about the basic interrelations of the two. This article, by an Assistant Professor at the Institute of Government and Public Affairs, the University of Illinois, is not the ABS's first in religious sociology. It has exceptional merits, however, in highlighting the background meanings of religion in American life at a time when the nation is blundering through an unenlightened debate on aid to “parochial” education.
Class Structure and Communist Theory
Authors: van der Kroef Justus M.
Published: November 2015

An analysis of the writings of Communist theorists, particularly Asian Communists, demonstrates the flexibility of Communist theory for dealing operationally with the underdeveloped areas and their people. Class theory has been continuously modified and elaborated to justify the proletariat's alliance with the petty bourgeoisie, and even with national capitalists, in the early stages of the multistage revolution. Mr. van der Kroef, Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of Bridgeport, intends this analysis as a reply to the abstracts and commentary on “New Soviet Doctrines on Underdeveloped Areas” by Andrew Janos in the February issue of the ABS.
Propaganda for America: The Rockefeller Panel Reports
Authors: Dovring Karen
Published: November 2015

Little-used techniques of content analysis lend force and validity to this review of six widely publicized leader-scholar reports, by the author of Road of Propaganda. Mrs. Dovring, a Swede displaced to Urbana, Illinois, analyzes the reports in the general categories of symbols of identification, problems, and demands. She contends that the reports tend to be banal by seeking to speak to a large audience, and ineffective by speaking from the shelter of expertism.
Accounting for the Child in the Transmission of Party Identification
Authors: Ojeda Christopher , Hatemi Peter K.
Published: November 2015

The transmission of party identification from parent to child is one of the most important components of political socialization in the United States. Research shows that children learn their party identification from their parents, and parents drive the learning process. The vast majority of studies thus treats children as passive recipients of information and assumes that parent-child concordance equals transmission. Rather than relying on a single pathway by which parents teach children, we propose an alternative view by focusing on children as active agents in their socialization. In so doing, we introduce a two-step model of transmission: perception then adoption. Utilizing two unique family-based studies that contain self-reported measures of party identification for both parents and children, children’s perceptions of their parents’ party affiliations, and measures of the parent-child relationship, we find children differentially learn and then choose to affiliate, or not, with their parents. These findings challenge several core assumptions upon which the extant literature is built, namely that the majority of children both know and adopt their parents’ party identification. We conclude that there is much to be learned by focusing on children as active agents in their political socialization.
Cuba’s Defence of Angola against Pretoria and Washington: Big Successes and Great Costs
Authors: Good Kenneth
Published: November 2015

Cuba’s long military commitment to Angola resulted in two great victories that saved the country from catastrophic defeat and in the end initiated profound regional change. But long warfare also helped to entrench a heavy, elitist authoritarianism which served as a platform for deep presidentialist corruption. An ‘oiligarchy’ enjoys great wealth while simultaneously ignoring the basic needs of the people.
Jim and José Crow: Conversations on the Black/Brown Dialogue
Authors: Alvarez Robert R
Published: November 2015

This paper explores the parallel experiences of Black and Brown Americans which are often regarded as mutually exclusive. In discussing the divergent but similar histories of Chicanos and Afro-Americans, I utilize the notion of ‘improvisation’, a re-examination of the 1930 desegregation court case, Roberto Alvarez v. Lemon Grove focusing on how Jim Crow laws also affected the Mexican American Southwest as José Crow custom. Utilizing George Bond’s critical narrative, I argue that the Black/Brown struggle is co-joined in history and the social justice movement. In the Bond tradition, my aim here is to refresh our historical understanding and also to reinvigorate the Black/Brown dialogue.
Social Media in Music Education
Authors: Albert Daniel J.
Published: November 2015

Students in the United States use technology and social media platforms for both educational and noneducational purposes. Integration of social media in music education classes can help facilitate learning experiences that would be less likely to happen in a brick-and-mortar setting. However, issues such as privacy and cyberbullying continue to make educators wary of using social media in formal educational settings. This article discusses why/how to use social media in music education using select social media platforms, policy/ethical challenges with using social media in education, and how to avoid some of the potential problems of social media use in educational contexts.
More than Solfège and Hand Signs
Authors: Bowyer James
Published: November 2015

Four components of the Kodály concept are delineated here: philosophy, objectives, essential tools, and lesson planning process. After outlining the tenets of the Kodály philosophy and objectives, the article presents the Kodály concept’s essential tools, including singing, movable do solfège, rhythm syllables, hand signs, singing on letter names, and movement. The article concludes by summarizing the traditional Prepare-Present-Practice-Assess lesson planning process.
The multicultural First World War: Memories of the West Indian contribution in contemporary Britain
Authors: Smith Richard
Published: November 2015

The experiences of West Indian soldiers in the First World War have received renewed attention during the centenary commemorations. By exploring how the West Indian contribution is imagined in the media and creative arts, this paper problematizes the historical memory linking military service to citizenship in multicultural Britain. During the conflict, West Indian participation was used to suggest that the British Empire stood united in the face of German aggression. Through the 1920s and 1930s, the contribution of West Indian volunteers was recalled to support many political campaigns, including West Indian self-government and pan-African campaigns opposed to the Italian invasion of Ethiopia. Although West Indian soldiers were often excluded from combat roles, these movements relied on the rhetoric of masculine military sacrifice. Post-independence, West Indian nation states recalled imperial military service to affirm national identity. For the descendants of West Indian migrants in Britain, First World War military service may serve to underpin claims to equal citizenship. Government agencies and funding organizations have also turned to the West Indian war memory to increase community cohesion. The paper concludes that memories of belonging predicated on past military service are problematic. Non-combatant service may be overlooked and troubling histories avoided.
Coaching, Touching, and False Allegations of Sexual Abuse in Canada
Authors: Pépin-Gagné Joannie , Parent Sylvie
Published: November 2015

Whether in sports training or in physical education contexts, touching is an integral component of the coaches’ tasks. However, recent evidence suggests that touching has become a significant concern for coaches in Canada and elsewhere, maybe due to the increased sensitivity toward child protection discourses. In fact, it appears that some coaches are concerned that touching children while coaching can potentially lead to false allegations of abuse by young people in their care or by the young person’s parents. These apprehensions are pushing some coaches to protect themselves by adopting various strategies or by avoiding certain situations, like touching. Recent evidence suggests that fears of false allegations can represent an obstacle for the prevention of sexual abuse. Moreover, these fears can have a significant impact on the victims of these crimes. Throughout this article, we explore the question of touching in coaching and the fears of false allegations of sexual abuse sometimes associated. The authors focus on understanding the foundations of these fears and offer some answers to the difficult questions that arise from this situation from a Canadian perspective.
Parental beliefs and experiences regarding involvement in intervention for their child with speech sound disorder
Authors: Watts Pappas Nicole , McAllister Lindy , McLeod Sharynne
Published: November 2015

Parental beliefs and experiences regarding involvement in speech intervention for their child with mild to moderate speech sound disorder (SSD) were explored using multiple, sequential interviews conducted during a course of treatment. Twenty-one interviews were conducted with seven parents of six children with SSD: (1) after their child’s initial assessment, (2) during intervention and (3) at the conclusion of an intervention block. Qualitative analysis of the interviews revealed several factors that influenced the parents’ beliefs and experiences. These included: (1) their motivation to do the right thing by their child; (2) their expectations of parent/professional roles; (3) their interactions with their child in the experience; (4) their interactions with the speech language therapist (SLT); and (5) the nature of the child’s difficulties. The parents in the study wanted to be involved in their child’s intervention but were reluctant to participate in intervention sessions. This preference appeared to be influenced by prior expectations of parent/professional roles and a belief that they would ‘interfere’ in the session. Additionally, whilst they appreciated being asked for their opinion regarding intervention goals and activities, the parents had a preference for the therapist to take the lead. Parental belief in the SLT as the expert influenced this preference, but the SLTs’ beliefs and practice may also have played a role. The less pervasive nature of the child’s difficulties influenced the form of service preferred by the parents. Most particularly, the parents were more eager to work with their child at home and had a more marked preference for intervention sessions with the SLT to focus on their child rather than their family than did parents of children with pervasive disabilities investigated in other studies. The findings of the study have implications for how therapists may best work with families of children with less pervasive difficulties in intervention.
Legacy of the Bengal Renaissance in public library development in India
Authors: Das Anup Kumar
Published: November 2015

The 19th- and 20th-century Bengal Province in India was a nerve-centre with hosts of socio-cultural and religious reform movements due to its early association with secular liberal western education. Modern institutions of higher learning, established by colonial rulers, European missionaries and contemporary social reformers, led to the awakening of Bengali educated communities. This Bengal Renaissance had contributed towards strengthening production of Bengali literature and the development of the Bengali language. Socially active reformers established community libraries as community learning space in their respective localities. Many century-old libraries are still in existence. These community libraries extended their access to the youth, students, industrial workers and lifelong learners. With this background, this paper aims at in-depth analysis of the legacy of the Bengal Renaissance in the development of public libraries in India during colonial British rule. This paper also looks into the role of the individual reformist genres in the design and delivery of effective public library services and library outreach services in the province.
Return to Sport Among French Alpine Skiers After an Anterior Cruciate Ligament Rupture
Authors: Haida Amal , Coulmy Nicolas , Dor Frédéric , Antero-Jacquemin Juliana , Marc Andy , Ledanois Thibaut , Tourny Claire , Rousseaux-Blanchi Marie Philippe , Chambat Pierre , Sedeaud Adrien , Toussaint Jean-François
Published: November 2015

Background:

There is little known about return to sport and performance after anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tear in high-level alpine skiers.

Purpose:

To analyze the parameters that influence the return to sport and performance after an ACL tear in French alpine skiers from 1980 to 2013.

Study Design:

Descriptive epidemiology study.

Methods:

The study population included 239 male and 238 female skiers who competed on the national French alpine ski team for at least 1 season between 1980 and 2013 in the speed (downhill and super-G) and technical disciplines (giant slalom and slalom). Two groups were formed: group 1 (G1) included athletes who had sustained an ACL rupture, and group 2 (G2) included athletes who had never sustained an ACL rupture. Three performance indicators were selected: International Ski Federation (FIS) points calculation, FIS ranking, and podium finishes in the World Cup, World Championships, and Olympic Games.

Results:

The first-decile FIS points and international FIS ranking showed that G1 skiers obtained better performance than did G2 skiers. The mean ± SD career length of G1 skiers (men, 7.9 ± 4.7 years; women, 7.1 ± 4.1 years) was longer than that of G2 skiers (men, 4.5 ± 3.3 years; women, 4.2 ± 3.5 years). In addition, 12.8% (61 of 477) of the skiers achieved at least a podium finish during their careers: 23.0% (34 of 148) in G1 and 8.3% (27 of 329) in G2. The mean age at ACL rupture was 22.6 ± 4.1 years for men and 19.9 ± 3.5 years for women. In G1, 55 podiums were achieved before ACL rupture and 176 after in all competitions. Skiers who improved their performances after ACL rupture were significantly younger (men, 22.2 ± 3.0 years; women, 18.7 ± 2.2 years; P < .0001) at the time of injury than those showing a performance deterioration after ACL rupture (men, 25.3 ± 4.2 years; women, 22.4 ± 4.0 years). All skiers who had ACL tears continued their competitive careers after the injury.

Conclusion:

The overall results showed that it is possible to return to preinjury or even higher levels of performance after an ACL rupture and that age is the main element that guides postsurgical recovery.
Strain and Opportunity: A Theory of Repeat Victimization
Authors: Iratzoqui Amaia
Published: November 2015

General strain theory is often applied to explain the origin of deviant behavior, while the risky lifestyles and opportunities perspective is often used to examine the ongoing risk for victimization. However, given evidence that the delinquent coping mechanisms operationalized by the general strain tests and the risky behaviors measured in the risky lifestyles models are often the same behaviors, the current study argues that these two models can be constructed as a uniform framework to explain the onset and continuity of victimization, including involvement in delinquency, from childhood through adolescence. Experiences of child maltreatment are posited to trigger feelings of negative emotions more likely managed with forms of coping that can foster opportunities for suffering further victimization. Using data from the first three waves of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health), the results show that youth who adopt maladaptive forms of coping with childhood abuse and neglect, including engaging in substance abuse, running away from home, and drug selling, are at further risk for subsequent experiences of victimization in adolescence. However, the model provides only one pathway linking child maltreatment to adolescent victimization, and the strength of support varies based on the measures of negative emotions and coping strategies.
Mechanical and thermal properties of poly(lactic acid)/sugarcane bagasse fiber green composites
Authors: Khoo RZ , Chow WS
Published: November 2015

Poly(lactic acid)/sugarcane bagasse fiber (PLA/SCBF) composites were prepared using melt compounding followed by compression molding. Epoxidized soybean oil (ESO) was selected as plasticizer for the PLA/SCBF composites. SCBF was alkali-treated and ground into powder form with the size of approximately 100 μm (hereafter designated as SCBFP). The properties of the PLA composites were assessed using impact tests, field-emission scanning electron microscopy, and dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA). DMA results showed that the addition of SCBF increased the storage modulus of PLA and the effect is more pronounced for the one containing SCBFP. The impact strength of PLA/SCBF composites was improved significantly by the addition of ESO.
Numerical analysis of gas turbine inlet fogging nozzle manifold resistance
Authors: Zhang Hai , Luo Mingcong , Pan Xiaojun , Zheng Qun
Published: November 2015

Air pressure drop over the nozzle manifolds of inlet fogging system and the flow resistance downstream of the nozzle arrays (manifold) have always been an area of concern and are the object of this paper. Fogging nozzles arrays (involving several hundred nozzles) are mounted on channels and beams, downstream of the inlet filters and affect the pressure drop. The water injection angle, nozzle injection velocities, and the progressive evaporation of the water droplets evaporation all influence the inlet pressure seen at the gas turbine inlet. This paper focuses on a numerical simulation investigation of flow resistance (pressure drop) of inlet fogging systems. In this research effort, the inlet duct is meshed in order to compute the pressure drop over the nozzles frames in fogging and nonfogging conditions. First, the resistance coefficients of an air intake filter are obtained by numerical and experimental methods, and then the coefficients are used for the simulation of the inlet duct by considering the filter as a porous media. Effects of nozzle spread pattern and water injection pattern are then modeled. The results indicate that injection velocity and arrangement of nozzles could have significant effects on the pressure drop and intake distortion, which will affect compressor performance. This paper provides a comprehensive analysis of the pressure drop and evaporation of inlet fogging and will be of value to gas turbine inlet fogging system designers and users.
Collective forms of coping and the social construction of work stress among industrial workers and police officers in France
Authors: Loriol Marc
Published: November 2015

While dominant approaches to stress and coping focus on individual responses, field studies show that strategies of adaptation to difficult and harmful work conditions are partly collective. The notion of collective coping takes interactions and group behavior into greater account than the concepts of social support. The collective forms of coping are parts of the mediation between potential stressors due to work organization and health trouble. This analysis approaches stress as a social construction and contributes to a better understanding of the meaning of stress in different occupational groups. Examples from industrial workers and police officers (based on c.120 interviews) illustrate the different configurations of collective resistance and show how its weakening may explain, among different causes, the rise of stress complaints within these groups.
Heating up the measurement debate: What psychologists can learn from the history of physics
Authors: Bringmann Laura F. , Eronen Markus I.
Published: November 2015

Discussions of psychological measurement are largely disconnected from issues of measurement in the natural sciences. We show that there are interesting parallels and connections between the two, by focusing on a real and detailed example (temperature) from the history of science. More specifically, our novel approach is to study the issue of validity based on the history of measurement in physics, which will lead to three concrete points that are relevant for the validity debate in psychology. First of all, studying the causal mechanisms underlying the measurements can be crucial for evaluating whether the measurements are valid. Secondly, psychologists would benefit from focusing more on the robustness of measurements. Finally, we argue that it is possible to make good science based on (relatively) bad measurements, and that the explanatory success of science can contribute to justifying the validity of measurements.
A generalized semiparametric mixed model for analysis of multivariate health care utilization data
Authors: Li Zhuokai , Liu Hai , Tu Wanzhu
Published: November 2015

Health care utilization is an outcome of interest in health services research. Two frequently studied forms of utilization are counts of emergency department (ED) visits and hospital admissions. These counts collectively convey a sense of disease exacerbation and cost escalation. Different types of event counts from the same patient form a vector of correlated outcomes. Traditional analysis typically model such outcomes one at a time, ignoring the natural correlations between different events, and thus failing to provide a full picture of patient care utilization. In this research, we propose a multivariate semiparametric modeling framework for the analysis of multiple health care events following the exponential family of distributions in a longitudinal setting. Bivariate nonparametric functions are incorporated to assess the concurrent nonlinear influences of independent variables as well as their interaction effects on the outcomes. The smooth functions are estimated using the thin plate regression splines. A maximum penalized likelihood method is used for parameter estimation. The performance of the proposed method was evaluated through simulation studies. To illustrate the method, we analyzed data from a clinical trial in which ED visits and hospital admissions were considered as bivariate outcomes.
Influence diagnostics for count data under AB–BA crossover trials
Authors: Hao Chengcheng , von Rosen Dietrich , von Rosen Tatjana
Published: November 2015

This paper aims to develop diagnostic measures to assess the influence of data perturbations on estimates in AB-BA crossover studies with a Poisson distributed response. Generalised mixed linear models with normally distributed random effects are utilised. We show that in this special case, the model can be decomposed into two independent sub-models which allow to derive closed-form expressions to evaluate the changes in the maximum likelihood estimates under several perturbation schemes. The performance of the new influence measures is illustrated by simulation studies and the analysis of a real dataset.
L’échantillonnage dans l’improvisation : Rencontre de deux instigateurs du free jazz avec un jeune artiste de la scène noise à New York
Authors: Pras Amandine , Lavergne Grégoire
Published: November 2015

In this paper we report on an experimental study that brought two free jazz instigators, the drummer Todd Capp and multi-instrumentalist Daniel Carter, to musically meet Mikey Holmes, a young noise artist in New York in May 2014. Throughout an analysis of the improvisation process of these three musicians, our study addresses both the social and artistic continuity between different improvisation genres and generations. The two improvisation meetings have been filmed and recorded to allow musicians’ self-evaluation. We include two videos in the article to share the musical result of these meetings with the readers. We use musicians’ quotes to shed light on issues ranging from performance and recording time, the use of contextual sounds, transmusicality, free improvisation and the links between music and politics in New York between the late fifties’ jazz giants and today’s improvised music. Thanks to the issues tackled, we show how the subversiveness of a particular music and its resistance to time are related, and we suggest there is a link between the sustainability of musical recordings and their conditions of studio production. Our interdisciplinary approach allows us to confront the art of sampling with improvised performance and to question the social and political aspects included in an improvisation.
Evaluating the Risk of a Fifth Metatarsal Stress Fracture by Measuring the Serum 25-Hydroxyvitamin D Levels
Authors: Shimasaki Yu , Nagao Masashi , Miyamori Takayuki , Aoba Yukihiro , Fukushi Norifumi , Saita Yoshitomo , Ikeda Hiroshi , Kim Sung-Gon , Nozawa Masahiko , Kaneko Kazuo , Yoshimura Masafumi
Published: November 2015

Background:

The fifth metatarsal bone is a common site of stress fractures in soccer athletes. Although several endocrine risk factors for stress fractures have been proposed, the endocrine risks for fifth metatarsal (5-MT) stress fractures have not been evaluated.

Methods:

To evaluate the endocrine risks of fifth metatarsal stress fractures, we conducted a cumulative case-control study. The present study included 37 athletes, of which 18 had a history of a zone 2 or zone 3 fifth metatarsal stress fracture and 19 controls. We analyzed serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25-OHD), serum parathyroid hormone (PTH), as well as biochemical markers of bone turnover by univariate or multivariate analyses.

Results:

Logistic regression analyses adjusted for multiple confounders revealed that insufficient serum 25-OHD levels less than 30 ng/mL (odds ratio [OR], 23.3), higher serum PTH levels (OR, 1.01), or higher serum bone-specific isoform of alkaline phosphatase levels (OR, 1.10) rather than serum tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase 5b were associated with statistically significantly increased odds of 5-MT stress fractures. A postestimation calculation demonstrated that 25-OHD levels of 10 and 20 ng/mL were associated with 5.1 and 2.9 times greater odds for 5-MT stress fractures, respectively.

Conclusion:

25-OHD insufficiency was associated with an increased incidence of 5-MT stress fractures. This insight may be useful for intervening to prevent 5-MT stress fractures.

Level of Evidence:

Level III, case-control study.
Normal Brain Sparing With Increasing Number of Beams and Isocenters in Volumetric-Modulated Arc Beam Radiosurgery of Multiple Brain Metastases
Authors: Hossain Sabbir , Keeling Vance , Hildebrand Kimberly , Ahmad Salahuddin , Larson David A. , Sahgal Arjun , Ma Lijun
Published: November 2015

Recent studies have reported about the application of volumetric-modulated arc radiotherapy in the treatment of multiple brain metastases. One of the key concerns for these radiosurgical treatments lies in the integral dose within the normal brain tissue, as it has been shown to increase with increasing number of brain tumors treated. In this study, we investigate the potential to improve normal brain tissue sparing specific to volumetric-modulated arc radiotherapy by increasing the number of isocenters and arc beams. Adopting a multi-institutional benchmark study protocol of planning multiple brain metastases via a radiosurgical apparatus, a flattening filter-free TrueBeam RapidArc delivery system (Varian Oncology, Palo Alto, California) was used for a volumetric-modulated arc radiotherapy treatment planning study, where treatment plans for target combinations of N = 1, 3, 6, 9, and 12 targets were developed with increasing numbers of isocenters and arc beams. The treatment plans for each target combination were compared dosimetrically among each other and against the reference Gamma Knife treatment plan from the original benchmark study. We observed that as the number of isocenters or arc beams increased, the normal brain isodose volumes such as 12- to 4-Gy on average decreased by up to 15% for all the studied cases. However, when the best volumetric-modulated arc radiotherapy normal brain isodose volumes were compared against the corresponding reference Gamma Knife values, volumetric-modulated arc radiotherapy remained 100% to 200% higher than those of Gamma Knife for all target combinations. The study results, particularly for the solitary (N = 1) metastases case, directly challenged the general notion of dose equivalence among current radiosurgical modalities. In conclusion, multiple isocenter and multiple arc beam delivery solutions are capable of decreasing normal brain irradiation exposure for volumetric-modulated arc radiotherapy. However, there is further technological development in need for volumetric-modulated arc radiotherapy before similar dosimetric treatment plans could be achievable when compared to Gamma Knife radiosurgery.
Internal model control of inductive magnetic suspension spherical active joints based on fuzzy neural network inverse system
Authors: Zeng Li , Zhang Xiaohong
Published: November 2015

This article puts forward inductive magnetic suspension spherical active joints and has researched on its mechanism. The expression of motor’s electromagnetic torque is derived from the point of power balance of three-dimensional electromagnetic model, and on the basis of the air gap magnetic flux density distribution, we establish the joint’s mathematical model of electromagnetic levitation force. The relationship between the two of displacement, angle, and current and the transfer function expression of motor system are derived by the state equation and the inverse system theory We established the inverse system of joint’s original system using fuzzy neural network theory and simplified coupling relationship of the motor’s complex multivariable to establish ANFIS model of joint’s inverse system. An internal model controller with high robustness and stability was designed, and an internal model control joint pseudo linear system was built. According to the simulation analysis and experimental verification of the joint control system, the conclusion indicates that the rotor has quick dynamic response and high robustness.
Federalism and corporatism: On the approaches of policy-making and governance in the dual apprenticeship system in Germany and their functioning today
Authors: Kuhlee Dina
Published: November 2015

Compared with England, where new implementations and programmes in the education system are often introduced at a striking pace, the German education system seems to be rather stable in its features and less dynamic in terms of reform and change. Hence, a phenomenon called ‘reform bottleneck’ ( Reformstau) has often been observed. This also applies to the field of Vocational Education and Training (VET), where the dual apprenticeship system with its traditional structural characteristics is still the central institution to prepare young people for work and employment. Although fundamental changes in the system as a result of sudden reform processes have not happened in recent decades, subtle developments have influenced the German VET system and its functioning. The specific legal and institutional construction of the dual apprenticeship system with its two main and interrelated features, federalism and corporatism, is the backbone of the specific approaches of policy-making and governance in German VET. This paper provides an overview of the institutional and legal characteristics of the dual apprenticeship system and discusses the associated approaches of policy-making and governance. Considering the different responsibilities of the public and the private sphere, contextual features of the labour market and of the school system, the paper analyses political reform initiatives, changing stakeholder interests and configurations (in particular of the so-called social partners), and their relevance for the functioning and development of the German dual apprenticeship system.
Midcarpal instability
Authors: Hargreaves D. G.
Published: November 2015

Midcarpal instability is a collective term for a number of conditions where the instability of the wrist is predominantly between the proximal and distal carpal rows. It has been regarded as relatively rare and infrequently requires surgical treatment. Palmar midcarpal instability is the most commonly found type of midcarpal instability and can be responsible for causing a clunking and painful wrist. The diagnosis is made on clinical grounds using the midcarpal instability provocative tests. Standard imaging and arthroscopic inspection do not usually confirm a definite diagnosis, but are important in excluding other pathologies. The classification and staging has been described using the extent of palmar translocation of the distal carpal row, which is elicited on passive stress tests. As this is a functional instability, it may be that a functional staging description might be better, and a proposed scheme is described. Treatment options including partial wrist fusions, tenodesis stabilizations and arthroscopic capsular shrinkage have been described in small case series with limited follow-up. There are no comparative series or randomized studies because of the relative rarity of this condition.
Exploring potential mechanisms of action of natalizumab in secondary progressive multiple sclerosis
Authors: Sellebjerg Finn , Cadavid Diego , Steiner Deborah , Villar Luisa Maria , Reynolds Richard , Mikol Daniel
Published: November 2015

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a common and chronic central nervous system (CNS) demyelinating disease and a leading cause of permanent disability. Patients most often present with a relapsing–remitting disease course, typically progressing over time to a phase of relentless advancement in secondary progressive MS (SPMS), for which approved disease-modifying therapies are limited. In this review, we summarize the pathophysiological mechanisms involved in the development of SPMS and the rationale and clinical potential for natalizumab, which is currently approved for the treatment of relapsing forms of MS, to exert beneficial effects in reducing disease progression unrelated to relapses in SPMS. In both forms of MS, active brain-tissue injury is associated with inflammation; but in SPMS, the inflammatory response occurs at least partly behind the blood–brain barrier and is followed by a cascade of events, including persistent microglial activation that may lead to chronic demyelination and neurodegeneration associated with irreversible disability. In patients with relapsing forms of MS, natalizumab therapy is known to significantly reduce intrathecal inflammatory responses which results in reductions in brain lesions and brain atrophy as well as beneficial effects on clinical measures, such as reduced frequency and severity of relapse and reduced accumulation of disability. Natalizumab treatment also reduces levels of cerebrospinal fluid chemokines and other biomarkers of intrathecal inflammation, axonal damage and demyelination, and has demonstrated the ability to reduce innate immune activation and intrathecal immunoglobulin synthesis in patients with MS. The efficacy of natalizumab therapy in SPMS is currently being investigated in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.
Translating the Tetragrammaton in Seediq
Authors: Yan Yu Suee
Published: November 2015

Translating the tetragrammaton and the appellations associated with it poses a challenge for most of the minority-language Bible translation projects in China and Taiwan. All the translation teams adopt a Chinese Bible version as the model text. The various Chinese versions handled the divine name in different ways, each with its own complications. The Seediq translation team in Taiwan could not find a suitable solution from the various Bible versions they consulted. They looked into their own cultures and found a creative solution.