bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Foveocrotaphus gen. n. and F. burmanicus sp. n.: a new genus and species of Physocrotaphini from Myanmar (Coleoptera: Carabidae: Anthiinae)
Authors: ANICHTCHENKO ALEXANDER
Published: April 2014

Foveocrotaphus gen. nov. and new species F. burmanicus from Myanmar is described. The new genus is similar to Physocrotaphus Parry, with respect to shape and structure of ligula and paraglossae. The two genera can be diagnosed easily by median tooth of mentum, bifid in Physocrotaphus, i.e. Foveocrotaphus gen. n. has simple, narrow and pointed. Is distinguishable from all other known Physocrotaphini genera by narrower pronotum, very stout ligula combined with long and simple median tooth of mentum and by male sternites 2 and 3 with one big shared median depression.
The genus Emitrombidium Lombardini, 1949 (Actinotrichida: Trombidiidae) resurrected
Authors: MĄKOL JOANNA , SEVSAY SEVGI
Published: April 2014

Emitrombidium giocondi sp. nov., a second species of Emitrombidium is described based on postlarval forms originating from Turkey. The history of the genus is retraced. The previous conjectures about the uncertain family affiliation of Emitrombidium are clarified and the genus is reinstated as a member of Trombidiidae. Hitherto records suggest the Mediterranean and Pontic distribution of the genus.
A taxonomic note on Homorosoma horridulum Voss, 1958 (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), with new records from Taiwan
Authors: Korotyaev Boris A. , YOSHITAKE HIRAKU , HUANG JUNHAO
Published: April 2014

Homorosoma horridulum Voss 1958 (Curculionidae: Ceutorhynchinae) was described from Kuatun, China, based on two specimens in the J. Klapperich collection. Since that time it has been uninvestigated for more than half a century, except by Colonnelli (2004), who listed it in his world catalogue of the subfamily. The recent examination of the holotype of H. horridulum revealed that it should be placed in the genus Scleropteroides Colonnelli 1979. In addition, Scleropteroides specimens from Taiwan agree well with the holotype of H. horridulum not only in general appearance but also in male genital structures. Here we transfer Homorosoma horridulum Voss 1958 to the genus Scleropteroides Colonnelli 1979 as Scleropteroides horridulus (Voss 1958) and record the species from Taiwan for the first time. Depositories of specimens examined are abbreviated as follows: CMNC: Canadian Museum of Nature, Ottawa; CWOB: C.W. O’Brien collection, Green Valley, Arizona, USA; EUMJ: Laboratory of Environmental Entomology, Faculty of Agriculture, Ehime University, Matsuyama, Japan; NIAES: National Institute for Agro-Environmental Sciences, Tsukuba, Japan; SMNH: Swedish Museum of Natural History, Stockholm, Sweden; and ZIN: Zoological Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, St. Petersburg, Russia. Before going further, we wish to express our cordial thanks to R. S. Anderson, François Génier (CMNC), H. Kojima (Tokyo University of Agriculture), M. Sakai (Ehime University), C.W. O’Brien, and B. Viklund (SMNH) for the loan or donation of specimens examined. The first author thanks the late P. Lindskog (SMNH) for the help during his first visit to Stockholm. The study by the first author was supported by Grant No 13-04-01002 from the Russian Foundation for Basic Research.
Frictional Convergence in a Decaying Weak Vortex
Authors: Fuchs Željka , Herman Michael J. , Raymond David J.
Published: April 2014

Cross-isobaric flow and Ekman pumping are investigated in the frictional spindown of an initially barotropic vortex in a stratified atmosphere. Consistent with early work by Holton and others, it is found that the stratification limits the vertical penetration of the secondary circulation driven by friction, resulting in more rapid spindown than in the unstratified case. As a result, the cross-isobaric flow and Ekman pumping are weaker and shallower than classical calculations ignoring the stratification would lead one to believe. The effect of stability becomes stronger as the vortex becomes smaller for fixed boundary layer depth. For weak geostrophic vortices with horizontal scales of several hundred kilometers or less, such as tropical easterly waves, the reduction is particularly pronounced, which raises questions about the efficacy of Ekman pumping in forcing convection in such vortices. These results suggest a revised conceptual model for the role of Ekman pumping in the atmosphere. The theory as it stands is limited to weak, linear vortices in which geostrophic balance holds approximately, corresponding to small Rossby number, though extensions of the analytical theory to stronger vortices may be possible.
The Precipitation Response over the Continental United States to Cold Tropical Pacific Sea Surface Temperatures
Authors: Wang Hailan , Schubert Siegfried
Published: April 2014

The dominant pattern of SST variability in the Pacific during its cold phase produces pronounced precipitation deficits over the continental United States throughout the annual cycle. This study investigates the observed physical and dynamical processes through which the cold Pacific pattern affects U.S. precipitation, particularly the causes for the peak dry impacts in fall, as well as the nature of the differences between the summer and fall responses.

Results show that the peak precipitation deficit over the United States during fall is primarily due to reduced atmospheric moisture transport from the Gulf of Mexico into the central and eastern United States and secondarily a reduction in local evaporation from land–atmosphere feedback. The former is associated with a strong and systematic low-level northeasterly flow anomaly over the southeastern United States that counteracts the northwest branch of the climatological North Atlantic subtropical high. The above northeasterly anomaly is maintained by both diabatic heating anomalies in the nearby intra-American seas and diabatic cooling anomalies in the tropical Pacific. In contrast, the modest summertime precipitation deficit over the central United States is mainly an intensification of the local dry anomaly in the preceding spring from local land–atmosphere feedback; the rather weak and disorganized atmospheric circulation anomalies over and to the south of the United States make little contribution. An evaluation of the NASA Seasonal-to-Interannual Prediction Project (NSIPP-1) AGCM simulations shows it to be deficient in simulating the warm season tropical convection responses over the intra-American seas to the cold Pacific pattern and thereby the precipitation responses over the United States, a problem that appears to be common to many AGCMs.
Multidimensional Classification of Examinees Using the Mixture Random Weights Linear Logistic Test Model
Authors: Choi In-Hee , Wilson Mark
Published: April 2014

An essential feature of the linear logistic test model (LLTM) is that item difficulties are explained using item design properties. By taking advantage of this explanatory aspect of the LLTM, in a mixture extension of the LLTM, the meaning of latent classes is specified by how item properties affect item difficulties within each class. To improve the interpretations of latent classes, this article presents a mixture generalization of the random weights linear logistic test model (RWLLTM). In detail, the present study considers individual differences in their multidimensional aspects, a general propensity (random intercept) and random coefficients of the item properties, as well as the differences among the fixed coefficients of the item properties. As an empirical illustration, data on verbal aggression were analyzed by comparing applications of the one- and two-class LLTM and RWLLTM. Results suggested that the two-class RWLLTM yielded better agreement with the empirical data than the other models. Moreover, relations between two random effects explained differences between the two classes detected by the mixture RWLLTM. Evidence from a simulation study indicated that the Bayesian estimation used in the present study appeared to recover the parameters in the mixture RWLLTM fairly well.
The role of nanoclay formations and wood fiber levels on central composite designed polyethylene composites
Authors: Gu Ruijun , Sain Mohini , Kokta Bohuslav V , Law Kwei-Nam
Published: April 2014

Central composite designed experiments are conducted to study the independent effects of maleated polyethylene, dicumyl peroxide and nanoclay in the forms of natural (Cloisite® Na+) and masterbatch (Nanoblend™ concentrates MB2001) on the mechanical properties of fiber reinforced PE composites with different fiber levels. The optimum values are predicted on the results of designed experiments and there are linear regressions between fiber content and their mechanical properties. The deposition and formation of nanoclay particles in PE composites are ascertained by scanning electron microscope and transmission electron microscope observations. Both natural nanoclay and MB2001 can be delaminated and even exfoliated in polarized PE matrix. As wood fiber is introduced, natural nanoclay particles (nanoclay-natural) are deposited on fiber surface even loaded in fiber lumens, but the nanoclay particles of MB2001 (nanoclay-concentrate) are mostly dispersed in the matrix. In addition, the different reinforcements between nanoclay-natural and nanoclay-concentrates are also investigated to find out the influence of particle formation on the quality of composite materials.
Oral and Written Expression in Children With Reading Comprehension Difficulties
Authors: Carretti Barbara , Motta Eleonora , Re Anna Maria
Published: April 2014

Several studies have highlighted that children with reading comprehension difficulties also have problems in tasks that involve telling a story, in writing or verbally. The main differences identified regard poor comprehenders’ lower level of coherence in their productions by comparison with good comprehenders. Only one study has compared poor and good comprehenders’ performance in both modalities (oral and written), however, to see whether these modalities differently influence poor comprehenders’ performance. We qualitatively and quantitatively compared the performance of good and poor comprehenders in oral and written narrative tasks with the aim of shedding light on this issue. Regression analyses were also used to explore the role of working memory and vocabulary in explaining individual differences. Our results showed that the two groups produced narratives of comparable length, with similar percentages of spelling mistakes, whereas they differed in terms of the quality of their narratives, regardless of the modality. These differences were qualified by analyzing the children’s use of connective devices, and poor comprehenders were found to use a higher proportion of additive devices than good comprehenders. Regression analyses showed that working memory (particularly the intrusion errors measure) explained a modest part of the qualitative differences in narrative production. Implications for our theoretical understanding of poor comprehenders’ profiles and education are discussed.
The impact of income inequality on economic residential segregation: The case of Malmö, 1991–2010
Authors: Scarpa Simone
Published: April 2014

As in other Western countries, in Sweden there is a widespread conviction that residential segregation influences the opportunities for residents’ social mobility and therefore is a cause of income inequality. But the opposite direction of causality, from income inequality to residential segregation, is often ignored. The paper fills this gap and analyses income inequality and economic residential segregation developments in Malmö in the years 1991–2010. During this period, changes in population composition owing to increased immigration had a negligible impact on income inequality, while the latter was primarily influenced by changes in the distribution of labour market earnings and capital incomes. At the same time, neighbourhood income inequality was predominantly driven by overall household income inequality and only to a much lower extent by the increase in residential sorting by income. Policy influencing income distribution rather than area-based strategies should thus be at the centre of current debates on residential segregation in Sweden.
Heating plant input–output efficiency in two cold-climate institutional buildings with condensing hot water boilers
Authors: Gestwick Michael J , Kandil Alaaeldin , Love James A
Published: April 2014

Seasonal input–output efficiencies of two heating plants with condensing boilers in cold climate institutional buildings (3300 m2 school and 12,000 m2 university building) were evaluated. Plant efficiency remained about the same or declined with load, contrary to typical lab boiler ratings, which show efficiency increasing at lower loads. These results occurred when the boilers were operated with return water temperatures largely in the condensing range. Heating plant load was often 25% or less of the rated load of a single boiler, resulting in heating plant input–output efficiencies well below rated boiler efficiencies.

Practical application: In-situ boiler plant input–output efficiencies can differ widely from manufacturer's boiler efficiency curves. For applications such as simulation for energy-efficient design, effective decision-making depends on accurately estimating real-world performance.
Historical forms of user production
Authors: Hamilton James F.
Published: April 2014

Common conceptions of user production overstate its novelty while understating its variety. To respond to these lacks, this article develops an analytic map that enables a more nuanced historical and critical understanding and investigation of user production. Historical approaches are well suited for capturing the multifarious forms of user production while also avoiding the problem of a-historicism. The article develops a contextual typology of user production by theorizing it as a cultural form. Primary forms discussed include those of buyer; source, subject, interviewee; contestant; supplier; financier; inventor; activist; and member, all of which are related to their generative formations and conditions. The article concludes by suggesting the kinds of questions and studies that such a framework makes possible.
From Motivations to Accounts
Authors: Funk Laura M. , Kobayashi Karen M.
Published: April 2014

Living Apart Together (LAT) relationships involve two people in a long-term, committed intimate relationship who choose to live in separate households. We present findings from one of the first Canadian studies of this phenomenon, also distinct in its use of an interpretive approach to the phenomenon. Fifty-six mid- to late-life participants (28 couples) were interviewed in-person; data were analyzed through the lens of interpretive inquiry. LAT relationships were constructed by participants as protecting personal independence while mitigating relationship risks associated with cohabitation. Participants further justified their arrangements by drawing on ideas about age and/or gender. Though LAT arrangements may help enact the empowering potential of Giddens’ “pure relationship,” they can represent individual-level solutions to broader gendered inequities in cohabiting relationships.
Pentraxin 3, long expression in mononuclear cells of patients with acute coronary syndrome: Correlation with C-reactive protein and matrix metalloproteinase-9 levels
Authors: Ma Ruilian , Zhang Wei , Wang Tiansong , He Ximin , Huang Zichong , Zhu Jinguo , Yao Zhen
Published: April 2014

Objectives

To investigate expression of pentraxin 3, long ( PTX3) in patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) and its correlation with matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) and C-reactive protein (CRP) levels.

Methods

Patients with ACS were randomly assigned to the ACS group (subdivided into unstable angina pectoris [UAP] and acute myocardial infarction [AMI]). Healthy participants and patients with stable angina pectoris (SAP) were enrolled as controls. Mononuclear cell PTX3 expression, and serum MMP-9 and CRP levels, were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.

Results

The ACS group comprised 200 patients (80 in the UAP subgroup; 120 in the AMI subgroup). The control group comprised 130 participants (80 healthy volunteers and 50 patients with SAP). PTX3 expression was significantly higher in the ACS group compared with controls (3.64 ± 0.49 versus 1.85 ± 0.65 ng/ml), and significantly higher in the AMI compared with the UAP subgroup (5.44 ± 0.47 versus 3.39 ± 0.59 ng/ml). Serum MMP-9 and CRP levels were significantly higher in the ACS group compared with controls (48.55 ± 14.22 versus 23.14 ± 0.62 ng/ml; 4.88 ± 1.76 versus 1.26 ± 0.19 ng/ml, respectively), and significantly higher in the AMI compared with the UAP subgroup (58.13 ± 7.24 versus 31.77 ± 3.61 ng/ml; 5.80 ± 1.46 versus 3.27 ± 0.83 ng/ml, respectively). PTX3 expression, and MMP-9 and CRP levels in the SAP subgroup, were not significantly different from the healthy participants. PTX3 expression positively correlated with MMP-9 and CRP levels.

Conclusions

In patients with ACS, peripheral blood mononuclear cell PTX3 expression, and serum MMP-9 and CRP levels, were significantly enhanced compared with controls; in addition, PTX3 expression positively correlated with MMP-9 and CRP levels. PTX3 may be involved in ACS pathogenesis.
Comparing Parent–Child and Teacher–Child Relationships in Early Adolescence
Authors: De Laet Steven , Colpin Hilde , Goossens Luc , Van Leeuwen Karla , Verschueren Karine
Published: April 2014

Through an examination of measurement invariance, this study investigated whether attachment-related dimensions (i.e., secure base, safe haven, and negative interactions as measured with the Network of Relationships Inventory—Behavioral Systems Version) have the same psychological meaning for early adolescents in their relationships with parents and teachers. Data were gathered for a sample of 297 families with an adolescent in Grade 7 ( Mage = 11.40; 62% boys). The results indicated that perceived attachment-related dimensions have a similar meaning in parent–child and teacher–child relationships (weak metric invariance), but that no direct comparison of observed means should be made (lack of strong metric invariance). In addition, it seemed that teachers fulfill the function of secure base rather than safe haven in early adolescence.
Gastric Feeding and “Gut Rousing” in Acute Pancreatitis
Authors: Petrov Maxim S.
Published: April 2014

The “pancreatic rest” concept is entrenched in the management of acute pancreatitis. As a result, “nonstimulatory” feeding has been widely advocated in patients with this disease, being parenteral nutrition 2–3 decades ago and jejunal tube feeding in the past decade. However, accumulating clinical evidence from the fields of acute pancreatitis and critical care medicine suggests that gastric feeding is as safe and effective as jejunal feeding in most patients. This has paved the way for a new conceptual framework called “gut rousing.” Acute pancreatitis management now requires consideration of gut function. Enteral nutrition is a gut‐directed therapy, and avoiding stimulation of the pancreas in patients with acute pancreatitis need not overshadow the main goal of maintaining or restoring gut function.
The Case for Increasing Workplace Decision-Making
Authors: Tyler Teresa A. , Brunner C. Cryss
Published: April 2014

The chronically high rate of special educator attrition across U.S. schools creates a dilemma for educational leaders because special educators provide direct services to students with special needs. Attrition exacerbates already high special educator shortages reported in most districts, and nearly one million schoolchildren with disabilities receive fewer or no services as a result. Given this dilemma, the purpose of this article is to advance a research-based model to provide guidance for school administrators and researchers. Adapted from previous conceptual models and perspectives, the proposed model combines five thematic, contributing factors and a sixth, relatively understudied factor, workplace decision-making, to illustrate factor effects on special educators’ perceptions of job satisfaction and, ultimately, career decisions.
Crime as social excess
Authors: Tonkonoff Sergio
Published: April 2014

Gabriel Tarde, along with Durkheim and others, set the foundations for what is today a common-sense statement in social science: crime is a social phenomenon. However, the questions about what social is and what kind of social phenomenon crime is remain alive. Tarde’s writings have answers for both of these capital and interdependent problems and serve to renew our view of them. The aim of this article is to reconstruct Tarde’s definition of crime in terms of genus and specific difference, exploring his criminology as a case of his general sociology. This procedure shows that Tarde succeeded in creating a comprehensive theory of crime and criminals founded not only on his most well-known concept, imitation, but also on his equally important concepts of invention, opposition, social logic and social teleology. For Tarde, crime is a complex phenomenon related to criminal inventions, criminal propagations, the production of penal laws, the execution of controls and punishments, and the collective reactions to all these.
Determinants of Job Search Intensity in Ghana
Authors: Nyarko Christopher Opoku , Baah-Boateng William , Nketiah-Amponsah Edward
Published: April 2014

The success of individuals in securing employment requires a significant search effort. This article presents an empirical analysis of the determinants of job search intensity among a cross-section of workers in Accra, Ghana. Based on a sample of 404 workers drawn from 100 formal sector firms in Accra, we adopt the Poisson regression estimation technique to indicate that age, years of schooling, labour market experience, sex of household head, firm size and ethnic group significantly influence job search intensity. Measures to expose young job seekers to the world of work via internship and apprenticeship could accelerate their transition to employment.

JEL Classification: J6; J21; J23
Do Privatisation Model, Contractual and Institutional Factors Play Any Role in Infrastructure Post-privatisation Efficiency? Exploring Port Concessions in Nigeria
Authors: Adi Bongo , Ndukwe Ernest , Iheanachor Nkemdilim , Dim Chukwuma
Published: April 2014

Privatisation is often seen as the key to achieving efficiency in infrastructure service delivery. In most cases, however, the model of privatisation and the right institutional environment under which they perform best are ignored in addressing the privatisation-to-efficiency debate. Recognising this, we seek to underscore the contractual and institutional factors influencing infrastructure post-privatisation efficiency in Landlord port models as applied in Nigeria’s port reform. In so doing, the study explores the Landlord port privatisation model in Nigeria. The paired t-test and Wilcoxon signed rank sum test are employed to determine if there are significant improvements in port output (general cargo throughput, liquid bulk throughput, number of vessels, gross registered tonnage and container traffic) and efficiency (average waiting time, turnaround time, berth occupancy rate) proxies between the pre-concession, transition and post-concession periods in Nigeria. The result of these tests indicates that although there are significant improvements in the port output proxies, efficiency in the port did not improve significantly. The study identified lack of appropriate legal framework, weak regulatory capacity, absence of efficiency targets in concession contract and non-adherence to investment targets as the major constraints to efficiency gain in the Landlord port model.
Soft or Hard
Authors: Ghosal Somnath
Published: April 2014

In the Global South, inadequate infrastructure at the village level is considered as the major constraint for the economic empowerment of socio-economically deprived communities, living marginal life at the remotest part of the state. Whenever we talk about infrastructure development, normally road transport systems, health care services, education facilities and business opportunities come in our mind. In this article, these are considered as the hard infrastructure that someone can perceive. The article, however, also examines about soft infrastructure or the knowledge development, institutional structures including socio-political configurations and other societal issues related to livelihood generations that can play an imperative role for the financial enhancement of a society, particularly which is belonging at the bottom level. Defining infrastructure in a new direction, the article presents how both soft infrastructure in terms of knowledge development and hard infrastructure in terms of post-harvest advanced storage system for minor forest products can boost-up livelihood generation for economically deprived communities, living at the forest fringe areas in the Global South with an example from the south-western part of West Bengal, India.
(Re-)discovering comparative theology: An Australian perspective
Authors: Ray Anita C.
Published: April 2014

A revitalized discipline of comparative theology emerged within the Anglo-American academy towards the close of the 20th century and within German universities at the beginning of the present century. It has recently begun to show promising signs of life in Australia. This article seeks to evaluate the endeavour, identifying the essential traits of the comparativist, the distinctive features of the enterprise and the major scholarly critiques surrounding the venture. I argue that the rejuvenated discipline embodies a compelling intellectual and spiritual exercise and a constructive way forward for theological enquiry in a world where multiple religious groups stand in close proximity to one another. Finally, I interrogate the feasibility of doing comparative theology with Indigenous Australian and Torres Strait Islander peoples, who preserve their spiritual wisdom in oral traditions rather than written texts.
Modern ecological concerns, the persistence of apocalyptic and the signs of the end
Authors: Gardner Anne
Published: April 2014

This article considers the legitimacy of the popular connection of ecological concerns to apocalyptic ‘signs of the end’ in the light of biblical apocalyptic literature. It surveys the current scholarly discussion of apocalyptic literature and offers a detailed reading of the visionary material in the book of Daniel. By investigating how subsequent Jewish and early Christian literature (especially 4 Ezra and Revelation) draw on the Danielic material, it is possible to show that the motif of natural disaster takes its place within a wider set of imagery and theological convictions. This suggests that the use of apocalyptic imagery in relation to contemporary ecological concerns may be misguided.
Mission as the integrating principle of biblical and theological studies
Authors: Kavunkal Jacob
Published: April 2014

This article argues that God’s mission to the world is the integrating principle of all biblical and theological studies. The Bible is the narration of God’s reaching out to the world, and theological education must synchronize the Christian to God’s agenda for the world, which requires a ‘postal-code’ interpretation of the Bible. Theological disciplines are not academic shareholders contributing to the academic industry. Rather, they must empower one to mediate the vision of Jesus for our history.
Beyond an Easy Sense
Authors: Mazzei Lisa A.
Published: April 2014

In this article, I use Karen Barad’s concept of diffraction as a methodological practice of reading “insights through one another” in response to the editors’ call for examples of analysis after coding in qualitative inquiry. A diffractive reading of data through multiple theoretical insights moves qualitative analysis away from habitual normative readings toward a diffractive reading that spreads thought in unpredictable patterns producing different knowledge. In response to the editors’ pedagogical approach for the issue, the article focuses on an example from previously collected interview data and how a diffractive analysis produces questions and knowledge that are only possible in analysis after coding in qualitative inquiry.
Promiscuous Analysis in Qualitative Research
Authors: Childers Sara M.
Published: April 2014

This article troubles the seductive nature of coding based on its potential to fulfill the desires for systematicity, procedure, and clarity. I attempt to explicitly narrate what it is I think I do when I “analyze” data in my empirical work. Building on the notion of promiscuous feminist research, I delineate more explicitly how promiscuity became the hallmark of my inquiry while conducting research at a high-achieving, high-poverty urban school. I also discuss how materiality is entwined with theoretical thinking and explore how a promiscuous deployment of Foucaultian discourse analysis and Critical Race Theory (CRT) helped me to see how race works in schools in a more complicated way than if I had used one or the other framework loyally or prescriptively.
The medicalisation of “ups and downs”: The marketing of the new bipolar disorder
Authors: Moncrieff Joanna
Published: April 2014

The concept of bipolar disorder has undergone a transformation over the last two decades. Once considered a rare and serious mental disorder, bipolar disorder is being diagnosed with increasing frequency in Europe and North America, and is suggested to replace many other diagnoses. The current article shows how the modern concept of bipolar disorder has been created in the course of efforts to market new antipsychotics and other drugs for bipolar disorder, to enable these drugs to migrate out of the arena of serious mental disorder and into the more profitable realm of everyday emotional problems. A new and flexible notion of the condition has been created that bears little resemblance to the classical condition, and that can easily be applied to ordinary variations in temperament. The assertion that bipolar disorder is a brain disease arising from a biochemical imbalance helps justify this expansion by portraying drug treatment as targeted and specific, and by diverting attention from the adverse effects and mind-altering properties of the drugs themselves. Childhood behavioural problems have also been metamorphosed into “paediatric bipolar disorder,” under the leadership of academic psychiatry, with the assistance of drug company financing. The expansion of bipolar disorder, like depression before it, medicalises personal and social difficulties, and profoundly affects the way people in Western nations conceive of what it means to be human.
Hearing new voices: Re-viewing Youth Justice Policy through Practitioners’ Relationships with Young People
Authors: Drake Deborah H. , Fergusson Ross , Briggs Damon B.
Published: April 2014

The relationship between young people and practitioners is the centrepiece of youth justice provision, yet little research-based knowledge has accumulated on its minutiae. After reviewing reforms affecting professional discretion, the article draws on the concepts of dyadic relationships and praxis to reinvigorate a research agenda aimed at delineating a more nuanced understanding of practice relationships. Drawing on practice wisdom from across related social work fields, we argue that centralizing the practitioner-young person relationship remains the key to successful practice and thus needs greater, more detailed research attention. These claims are supported with a number of pilot interviews with youth justice workers about successful interventions that complement and extend related studies. The article concludes with suggestions for research to enable joint activity between young people and practitioners to ‘rethink’ youth justice.
Television Sport in the Age of Screens and Content
Authors: Boyle Raymond
Published: April 2014

The death of television has been long predicated in the digital age, yet it remains a powerful mediator of live sports. This article focuses on football and examines the implications for the sport of the move to an age of screens and content. These may be large screens in public places or in our homes or those at work or smaller screens carried in the palm of our hands, but what we use them for, how content gets onto those screens, and the implications for sports and sports fans remain compelling questions in the digital age. The article argues that through reflecting on major media sport events such as the FIFA World Cup, we see patterns of continuity in the role played by television as well as evidence of change.
Cognitive, behavioural and psychological barriers to the prevention of severe hypoglycaemia: A qualitative study of adults with type 1 diabetes
Authors: Speight Jane , Barendse Shalleen M , Singh Harsimran , Little Stuart A , Rutter Martin K , Heller Simon R , Shaw James AM
Published: April 2014

Objectives:

Severe hypoglycaemia affects approximately one in three people with type 1 diabetes and is the most serious side effect of insulin therapy. Our aim was to explore individualistic drivers of severe hypoglycaemia events.

Methods:

In-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with a purposive sample of 17 adults with type 1 diabetes and a history of recurrent severe hypoglycaemia, to elicit experiences of hypoglycaemia (symptoms/awareness, progression from mild to severe and strategies for prevention/treatment). Interviews were analysed using an adapted grounded theory approach.

Results:

Three main themes emerged: hypoglycaemia-induced cognitive impairment, behavioural factors and psychological factors. Despite experiencing early hypoglycaemic symptoms, individuals often delayed intervention due to impaired/distracted attention, inaccurate risk assessment, embarrassment, worry about rebound hyperglycaemia or unavailability of preferred glucose source. Delay coupled with use of a slow-acting glucose source compromised prevention of severe hypoglycaemia.

Conclusion:

Our qualitative data highlight the multifaceted, idiosyncratic nature of severe hypoglycaemia and confirm that individuals with a history of recurrent severe hypoglycaemia may have specific thought and behaviour risk profiles. Individualised prevention plans are required, emphasising both the need to attend actively to mild hypoglycaemic symptoms and to intervene promptly with an appropriate, patient-preferred glucose source to prevent progression to severe hypoglycaemia.
Activity of therapeutic JAK 1/2 blockade in graft-versus-host disease
Authors: Spoerl Silvia , Mathew Nimitha R. , Bscheider Michael , Schmitt-Graeff Annette , Chen Sophia , Mueller Tony , Verbeek Mareike , Fischer Julius , Otten Vera , Schmickl Martina , Maas-Bauer Kristina , Finke Jürgen , Peschel Christian , Duyster Justus , Poeck Hendrik , Zeiser Robert , von Bubnoff Nikolas
Published: April 2014

Key Points

We report that ruxolitinib reduces murine GVHD via increased Treg numbers. We demonstrate the potent activity of ruxolitinib treatment in patients with corticosteroid-refractory GVHD.
C1013G/CXCR4 acts as a driver mutation of tumor progression and modulator of drug resistance in lymphoplasmacytic lymphoma
Authors: Roccaro Aldo M. , Sacco Antonio , Jimenez Cristina , Maiso Patricia , Moschetta Michele , Mishima Yuji , Aljawai Yosra , Sahin Ilyas , Kuhne Michelle , Cardarelli Pina , Cohen Lewis , San Miguel Jesus F. , Garcia-Sanz Ramon , Ghobrial Irene M.
Published: April 2014

Key Points

C1013G/CXCR4 acts as an activating mutation in WM leading to enhanced tumor growth, and as an inducer of drug resistance. BMS936564/MDX1338, a novel anti-CXCR4 moAb, successfully targets WM cells, either C1013G/CXCR4 mutated or wild-type.
Discussion of coupled and tripled coincidence point theorems for φ-contractive mappings without the mixed g-monotone property
Authors: Karapınar Erdal , Roldán Antonio , Shahzad Naseer , Sintunavarat Wutiphol
Published: April 2014

After the appearance of Ran and Reuring’s theorem and Nieto and Rodríguez-López’s theorem, the field of fixed point theory applied to partially ordered metric spaces has attracted much attention. Coupled, tripled, quadrupled and multidimensional fixed point results has been presented in recent times. One of the most important hypotheses of these theorems was the mixed monotone property. The notion of invariant set was introduced in order to avoid the condition of mixed monotone property, and many statements have been proved using these hypotheses. In this paper we show that the invariant condition, together with transitivity, lets us to prove in many occasions similar theorems to which were introduced using the mixed monotone property.

MSC:46T99, 47H10, 47H09, 54H25.
High dose insulin therapy, an evidence based approach to beta blocker/calcium channel blocker toxicity
Authors: Woodward Christina , Pourmand Ali , Mazer-Amirshahi Maryann
Published: April 2014

Poison-induced cardiogenic shock (PICS) as a result of beta-blocker (β-blocker) or calcium channel blocker (CCB) overdose is a common and potentially life-threatening condition. Conventional therapies, including fluid resuscitation, atropine, cardiac pacing, calcium, glucagon, and vasopressors often fail to improve hemodynamic status. High-dose insulin (HDI) is an emerging therapeutic modality for PICS. In this article, we discuss the existing literature and highlight the therapeutic success and potential of HDI. Based on the current literature, which is limited primarily to case series and animal models, the authors conclude that HDI can be effective in restoring hemodynamic stability, and recommend considering its use in patients with PICS that is not responsive to traditional therapies. Future studies should be undertaken to determine the optimal dose and duration of therapy for HDI in PICS.
State vocational rehabilitation programs and federal disability insurance: an analysis of Virginia’s vocational rehabilitation program
Authors: Dean David , Pepper John V , Schmidt Robert M , Stern Steven
Published: April 2014

We examine the association between the receipt of vocational rehabilitation (VR) services and Federal Disability Insurance using a unique panel data source on persons who applied for assistance from Virginia’s VR program in 2000. Three central findings emerge: first, VR services are associated with lower rates of participation in disability insurance programs-a nearly 2 point drop in SSDI receipt and 1 point drop in SSI receipt. Second, VR service receipt is associated with lower take-up rates of SSDI/SSI. Finally, among VR applicants on SSDI/SSI, those who receive substantive VR services are more likely to be employed.

JEL codes

H51, I13, J24
Do heart and respiratory rate variability improve prediction of extubation outcomes in critically ill patients?
Authors: Seely Andrew JE , Bravi Andrea , Herry Christophe , Green Geoffrey , Longtin André , Ramsay Tim , Fergusson Dean , McIntyre Lauralyn , Kubelik Dalibor , Maziak Donna E , Ferguson Niall , Brown Samuel M , Mehta Sangeeta , Martin Claudio , Rubenfeld Gordon , Jacono Frank J , Clifford Gari , Fazekas Anna , Marshall John
Published: April 2014

Introduction

Prolonged ventilation and failed extubation are associated with increased harm and cost. The added value of heart and respiratory rate variability (HRV and RRV) during spontaneous breathing trials (SBTs) to predict extubation failure remains unknown.

Methods

We enrolled 721 patients in a multicenter (12 sites), prospective, observational study, evaluating clinical estimates of risk of extubation failure, physiologic measures recorded during SBTs, HRV and RRV recorded before and during the last SBT prior to extubation, and extubation outcomes. We excluded 287 patients because of protocol or technical violations, or poor data quality. Measures of variability (97 HRV, 82 RRV) were calculated from electrocardiogram and capnography waveforms followed by automated cleaning and variability analysis using Continuous Individualized Multiorgan Variability Analysis (CIMVA™) software. Repeated randomized subsampling with training, validation, and testing were used to derive and compare predictive models.

Results

Of 434 patients with high-quality data, 51 (12%) failed extubation. Two HRV and eight RRV measures showed statistically significant association with extubation failure (P <0.0041, 5% false discovery rate). An ensemble average of five univariate logistic regression models using RRV during SBT, yielding a probability of extubation failure (called WAVE score), demonstrated optimal predictive capacity. With repeated random subsampling and testing, the model showed mean receiver operating characteristic area under the curve (ROC AUC) of 0.69, higher than heart rate (0.51), rapid shallow breathing index (RBSI; 0.61) and respiratory rate (0.63). After deriving a WAVE model based on all data, training-set performance demonstrated that the model increased its predictive power when applied to patients conventionally considered high risk: a WAVE score >0.5 in patients with RSBI >105 and perceived high risk of failure yielded a fold increase in risk of extubation failure of 3.0 (95% confidence interval (CI) 1.2 to 5.2) and 3.5 (95% CI 1.9 to 5.4), respectively.

Conclusions

Altered HRV and RRV (during the SBT prior to extubation) are significantly associated with extubation failure. A predictive model using RRV during the last SBT provided optimal accuracy of prediction in all patients, with improved accuracy when combined with clinical impression or RSBI. This model requires a validation cohort to evaluate accuracy and generalizability.

Trial registration

ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01237886. Registered 13 October 2010.
Combined Molecular and Clinical Prognostic Index for Relapse and Survival in Cytogenetically Normal Acute Myeloid Leukemia
Authors: Pastore Friederike , Dufour Annika , Benthaus Tobias , Metzeler Klaus H. , Maharry Kati S. , Schneider Stephanie , Ksienzyk Bianka , Mellert Gudrun , Zellmeier Evelyn , Kakadia Purvi M. , Unterhalt Michael , Feuring-Buske Michaela , Buske Christian , Braess Jan , Sauerland Maria Cristina , Heinecke Achim , Krug Utz , Berdel Wolfgang E. , Buechner Thomas , Woermann Bernhard , Hiddemann Wolfgang , Bohlander Stefan K. , Marcucci Guido , Spiekermann Karsten , Bloomfield Clara D. , Hoster Eva
Published: April 2014

Purpose

Cytogenetically normal (CN) acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is the largest and most heterogeneous cytogenetic AML subgroup. For the practicing clinician, it is difficult to summarize the prognostic information of the growing number of clinical and molecular markers. Our purpose was to develop a widely applicable prognostic model by combining well-established pretreatment patient and disease characteristics.

Patients and Methods

Two prognostic indices for CN-AML (PINA), one regarding overall survival (OS; PINAOS) and the other regarding relapse-free survival (RFS; PINARFS), were derived from data of 572 patients with CN-AML treated within the AML Cooperative Group 99 study ( www.aml-score.org ).

Results

On the basis of age (median, 60 years; range, 17 to 85 years), performance status, WBC count, and mutation status of NPM1, CEBPA, and FLT3-internal tandem duplication, patients were classified into the following three risk groups according to PINAOS and PINARFS: 29% of all patients and 32% of 381 responding patients had low-risk disease (5-year OS, 74%; 5-year RFS, 55%); 56% of all patients and 39% of responding patients had intermediate-risk disease (5-year OS, 28%; 5-year RFS, 27%), and 15% of all patients and 29% of responding patients had high-risk disease (5-year OS, 3%; 5-year RFS, 5%), respectively. PINAOS and PINARFS stratified outcome within European LeukemiaNet genetic groups. Both indices were confirmed on independent data from Cancer and Leukemia Group B/Alliance trials.

Conclusion

We have developed and validated, to our knowledge, the first prognostic indices specifically designed for adult patients of all ages with CN-AML that combine well-established molecular and clinical variables and that are easily applicable in routine clinical care. The integration of both clinical and molecular markers could provide a basis for individualized patient care through risk-adapted therapy of CN-AML.
Prevention of Obesity-Induced Renal Injury in Male Mice by DPP4 Inhibition
Authors: Nistala Ravi , Habibi Javad , Lastra Guido , Manrique Camila , Aroor Annayya R. , Hayden Melvin R. , Garro Mona , Meuth Alex , Johnson Megan , Whaley-Connell Adam , Sowers James R.
Published: April 2014

Therapies to prevent renal injury in obese hypertensive individuals are being actively sought due to the obesity epidemic arising from the Western diet (WD), which is high in fructose and fat. Recently, activation of the immune system and hyperuricemia, observed with high fructose intake, have been linked to the pathophysiology of hypertension and renal injury. Because dipeptidyl peptidase 4 (DPP4) is a driver of maladaptive T-cell/macrophage responses, renal-protective benefits of DPP4 inhibition in the WD-fed mice were examined. Mice fed a WD for 16 weeks were given the DPP4 inhibitor MK0626 in their diet beginning at 4 weeks of age. WD-fed mice were obese, hypertensive, and insulin-resistant and manifested proteinuria and increased plasma DPP4 activity and uric acid levels. WD-fed mice also had elevated kidney DPP4 activity and monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 and IL-12 levels and suppressed IL-10 levels in the kidney, suggesting macrophage-driven inflammation, glomerular and tubulointerstitial injury. WD-induced increases in DPP4 activation in the plasma and kidney and proteinuria in WD mice were abrogated by MK0626, although blood pressure and systemic insulin sensitivity were not improved. Contemporaneously, MK0626 reduced serum uric acid levels, renal oxidative stress, and IL-12 levels and increased IL-10 levels, suggesting that suppression of DPP4 activity leads to suppression of renal immune/inflammatory injury responses to a WD. Taken together, these results demonstrate that DPP4 inhibition prevents high-fructose/high-fat diet-induced glomerular and tubular injury independent of blood pressure/insulin sensitivity and offers a potentially novel therapy for diabetic and obesity-related kidney disease.
Sweet Taste Receptors Regulate Basal Insulin Secretion and Contribute to Compensatory Insulin Hypersecretion During the Development of Diabetes in Male Mice
Authors: Kyriazis George A. , Smith Kathleen R. , Tyrberg Björn , Hussain Tania , Pratley Richard E.
Published: April 2014

β-Cells rapidly secrete insulin in response to acute increases in plasma glucose but, upon further continuous exposure to glucose, insulin secretion progressively decreases. Although the mechanisms are unclear, this mode of regulation suggests the presence of a time-dependent glucosensory system that temporarily attenuates insulin secretion. Interestingly, early-stage β-cell dysfunction is often characterized by basal (ie, fasting) insulin hypersecretion, suggesting a disruption of these related mechanisms. Because sweet taste receptors (STRs) on β-cells are implicated in the regulation of insulin secretion and glucose is a bona fide STR ligand, we tested whether STRs mediate this sensory mechanism and participate in the regulation of basal insulin secretion. We used mice lacking STR signaling (T1R2−/− knockout) and pharmacologic inhibition of STRs in human islets. Mouse and human islets deprived of STR signaling hypersecrete insulin at short-term fasting glucose concentrations. Accordingly, 5-hour fasted T1R2−/− mice have increased plasma insulin and lower glucose. Exposure of isolated wild-type islets to elevated glucose levels reduced STR expression, whereas islets from diabetic (db/db) or diet-induced obese mouse models show similar down-regulation. This transcriptional reprogramming in response to hyperglycemia correlates with reduced STR function in these mouse models, leading to insulin hypersecretion. These findings reveal a novel mechanism by which insulin secretion is physiologically regulated by STRs and also suggest that, during the development of diabetes, STR function is compromised by hyperglycemia leading to hyperinsulinemia. These observations further suggest that STRs might be a promising therapeutic target to prevent and treat type 2 diabetes.