bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Plasma Pro‐Endothelin‐1 Peptide Concentrations Rise in Chronic Kidney Disease and Following Selective Endothelin A Receptor Antagonism
Authors: Dhaun Neeraj , Yuzugulen Jale , Kimmitt Robert A. , Wood Elizabeth G. , Chariyavilaskul Pajaree , MacIntyre Iain M. , Goddard Jane , Webb David J. , Corder Roger
Published: March 2015

Background

Endothelin 1 (ET‐1) contributes to chronic kidney disease (CKD) development and progression, and endothelin receptor antagonists are being investigated as a novel therapy for CKD. The proET‐1 peptides, endothelin‐like domain peptide (ELDP) and C‐terminal pro‐ET‐1 (CT‐proET‐1), are both potential biomarkers of CKD and response to therapy with endothelin antagonists.

Methods and Results

We assessed plasma and urine ELDP and plasma CT‐proET‐1 in CKD patients with minimal comorbidity. Next, in a randomized double‐blind crossover study of 27 subjects with proteinuric CKD, we examined the effects of 6 weeks of treatment with placebo, sitaxentan (endothelin A antagonist), and nifedipine on these peptides alongside the primary end points of proteinuria, blood pressure, and arterial stiffness. Plasma ELDP and CT‐proET‐1 increased with CKD stage (both
P
<0.0001), correlating inversely with estimated glomerular filtration rate (both
P
<0.0001). Following intervention, placebo and nifedipine did not affect plasma and urine ELDP or plasma CT‐proET‐1. Sitaxentan increased both plasma ELDP and CT‐proET‐1 (baseline versus week 6±SEM: ELDP, 11.8±0.5 versus 13.4±0.6 fmol/mL; CT‐proET‐1, 20.5±1.2 versus 23.3±1.5 fmol/mL; both
P
<0.0001). Plasma ET‐1 was unaffected by any treatment. Following sitaxentan, plasma ELDP and CT‐proET‐1 correlated negatively with 24‐hour urinary sodium excretion.

Conclusions

ELDP and CT‐proET‐1 increase in CKD and thus are potentially useful biomarkers of renal injury. Increases in response to endothelin A antagonism may reflect
EDN1
upregulation, which may partly explain fluid retention with these agents.

Clinical Trial Registration

URL:
www.clinicalTrials.gov
Unique identifier: NCT00810732
Techniques for Generative Melodies Inspired by Music Cognition
Authors: Brown Andrew R. , Gifford Toby , Davidson Robert
Published: March 2015

This article presents a series of algorithmic techniques for melody generation, inspired by models of music cognition. The techniques are designed for interactive composition, and so privilege brevity, simplicity, and flexibility over fidelity to the underlying models. The cognitive models canvassed span gestalt, preference rule, and statistical learning perspectives; this is a diverse collection with a common thread—the centrality of “expectations” to music cognition. We operationalize some recurrent themes across this collection as probabilistic descriptions of melodic tendency, codifying them as stochastic melody-generation techniques. The techniques are combined into a concise melody generator, with salient parameters exposed for ready manipulation in real time. These techniques may be especially relevant to algorithmic composers, the live-coding community, and to music psychologists and theorists interested in how computational interpretations of cognitive models “sound” in practice.
Sound Synthesis Procedures as Texts: An Ontological Politics in Electroacoustic and Computer Music
Authors: Haworth Christopher
Published: March 2015

This article describes a set of “textual” technological practices that have been emerging over the past decade in the work of underground electroacoustic and computer music composers, focusing particularly on Florian Hecker and Russell Haswell. Guided by methodological insights from the field of software studies, the article zooms in on two computer programs, PulsarGenerator and GENDYN, presenting a genealogical analysis of them as cultural objects and outlining how these lines of descent are aestheticized in their works. In the hands of these artists, sound synthesis procedures carry an author function, and this transgresses both their legal status as technological “inventions” rather than texts, as well as their ontological status in the electroacoustic music genre. Combined with a compositional focus on “sounding” the materiality of these technologies—the particular affordances, limitations, and quirks of their operative functioning—this textual practice contributes to a new aesthetic, one that challenges the prevailing logic of secrecy, alchemy, and semblance in this music. Using the notion of “ontological politics” inherited from science and technology studies, I show how these practices highlight zones of contestation over electroacoustic music’s ontology.
Differentiating the Functional Contributions of Resting Connectivity Networks to Memory Decision-making: fMRI Support for Multistage Control Processes
Authors: Mill Ravi D. , Cavin Ian , O'Connor Akira R.
Published: March 2015

Neural substrates of memory control are engaged when participants encounter unexpected mnemonic stimuli (e.g., a new word when told to expect an old word). The present fMRI study (n = 18) employed the likelihood cueing recognition task to elucidate the role of functional connectivity (fcMRI) networks in supporting memory control processes engaged by these unexpected events. Conventional task-evoked BOLD analyses recovered a memory control network similar to that previously reported, comprising medial prefrontal, lateral prefrontal, and inferior parietal regions. These were split by their differential affiliation to distinct fcMRI networks (“conflict detection” and “confirmatory retrieval” networks). Subsequent ROI analyses clarified the functional significance of this connectivity differentiation, with “conflict” network-affiliated regions specifically sensitive to cue strength, but not to response confidence, and “retrieval” network-affiliated regions showing the opposite pattern. BOLD time course analyses corroborated the segregation of memory control regions into “early” conflict detection and “late” retrieval analysis, with both processes underlying the allocation of memory control. Response specificity and time course findings were generalized beyond task-recruited ROIs to clusters within the large-scale fcMRI networks, suggesting that this connectivity architecture could underlie efficient processing of distinct processes within cognitive tasks. The findings raise important parallels between prevailing theories of memory and cognitive control.
Cognitive Network Neuroscience
Authors: Medaglia John D. , Lynall Mary-Ellen , Bassett Danielle S.
Published: March 2015

Network science provides theoretical, computational, and empirical tools that can be used to understand the structure and function of the human brain in novel ways using simple concepts and mathematical representations. Network neuroscience is a rapidly growing field that is providing considerable insight into human structural connectivity, functional connectivity while at rest, changes in functional networks over time (dynamics), and how these properties differ in clinical populations. In addition, a number of studies have begun to quantify network characteristics in a variety of cognitive processes and provide a context for understanding cognition from a network perspective. In this review, we outline the contributions of network science to cognitive neuroscience. We describe the methodology of network science as applied to the particular case of neuroimaging data and review its uses in investigating a range of cognitive functions including sensory processing, language, emotion, attention, cognitive control, learning, and memory. In conclusion, we discuss current frontiers and the specific challenges that must be overcome to integrate these complementary disciplines of network science and cognitive neuroscience. Increased communication between cognitive neuroscientists and network scientists could lead to significant discoveries under an emerging scientific intersection known as cognitive network neuroscience.
DataRemix: Designing the Datamade
Authors: West Ruth , Malina Roger , Lewis John , Gresham-Lancaster Scot , Borsani Alejandro , Merlo Brian , Wang Lifan
Published: March 2015

ArtScience is emerging as one approach for creating novel ways of seeing and new ways of knowing. The authors propose a role for ArtScience research and creative work in contributing to the necessary shifts to go beyond the current crisis of representation. DataRemix, a recombination and reappropriation practice intended to trigger novel subjective experiences and associations, is described.
Thermal Image
Authors: Moon Barry , Harp Hilary
Published: March 2015

Thermal Image is a networked electromechanical sculpture which seeks to draw attention to the idea of the Gross National Happiness (GNH) index, an alternative to the Gross National Product, by presenting a physicalization of data scanned from Twitter feeds from 20 cities around the globe.
Purification and characterization of the polyphenoloxidase (PPO) isolated from Solenocera crassicornis (H. Milne Edwards, 1837)
Authors: Xiang X. W. , Zhou Y. F. , Hao Y. B. , Yang H. C. , Ma H. W. , Zheng B.
Published: March 2015

Polyphenoloxidase (PPO) from Solenocera crassicornis (H. Milne Edwards, 1837) was partially purified through ion-exchange and gel-filtration chromatography, and its enzymatic properties were also characterized using l-dihydroxyphenylalanine (L-DOPA) as the specific substrate. The molecular mass of PPO in SDS-PAGE is about 66.5 kDa, and the PPO molecule isolated by HPLC, is 133 kDa, implying it is a homodimeric protein. The optimal pH and temperature of PPO activity was 6.5 and 40°C, and the value was 3.80 and 8.12 on L-DOPA and on catechol, respectively. It was found that the purified PPO could only catalyse o-diphenol substrates, inferring that it belongs to the catechol-oxidase family. The PPO was very sensitive to phenylthiourea, ascorbic acid, citric acid and cysteine. The PPO activity was strongly inhibited by ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA), Cu2+ and Zn2+, indicating that Solenocera crassicornis PPO is most probably a copper-containing metalloenzyme.
Defending Shame
Authors: FitzGerald Chloë
Published: March 2015

I provide an overview of the excellent account of shame presented in Deonna’s, Rodogno’s and Teroni’s recent book, In Defense of Shame, raise a concern with their insistence that shame always involves autonomous values, and mention two contemporary issues for which their account is relevant.
Estimating the Fraction of Winter Orographic Precipitation Produced under Conditions Meeting the Seeding Criteria for the Wyoming Weather Modification Pilot Project
Authors: Ritzman Jaclyn M. , Deshler Terry , Ikeda Kyoko , Rasmussen Roy
Published: March 2015

Annual precipitation increases of 10% or more are often quoted for the impact of winter orographic cloud seeding; however, establishing the basis for such values is problematic for two reasons. First, the impact of glaciogenic seeding of candidate orographic storms has not been firmly established. Second, not all winter precipitation is produced by candidate “seedable” storms. Addressing the first question motivated the Wyoming state legislature to fund a multiyear, crossover, randomized cloud-seeding experiment in southeastern Wyoming to quantify the impact of glaciogenic seeding of wintertime orographic clouds. The crossover design requires two barriers, one randomly selected for seeding, for comparisons of seeded and nonseeded precipitation under relatively homogeneous atmospheric conditions. Addressing the second question motivated the work here. The seeding criteria—700-hPa temperatures ≤−8°C, 700-hPa winds between 210° and 315°, and the presence of supercooled liquid water—were applied to eight winters to determine the percent of winter precipitation that may fall under the seeding criteria. Since no observational datasets provide precipitation and all of the atmospheric variables required for this study, a regional climate model dynamical downscaling of historical data over 8 years was used. The accuracy of the model was tested against several measurements, and the small model biases were removed. On average, ~26% of the time between 15 November and 15 April atmospheric conditions were seedable over the barriers in southeastern Wyoming. These seedable conditions were accompanied by precipitation ~12%–14% of the time, indicating that ~27%–30% of the winter precipitation resulted from seedable clouds.
North Atlantic Storm-Track Sensitivity to Warming Increases with Model Resolution
Authors: Willison Jeff , Robinson Walter A. , Lackmann Gary M.
Published: March 2015

Mesoscale condensational heating can increase the sensitivity of modeled extratropical cyclogenesis to horizontal resolution. Here a pseudo global warming experiment is presented to investigate how this heating-enhanced sensitivity to resolution changes in a warmer and thus moister atmosphere. The Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) Model with 120- and 20-km grid spacing is used to simulate current and future climates. It is found that the North Atlantic storm-track response to global warming is amplified at the higher model resolution. The most dramatic changes occur over the northeastern Atlantic, where resolution typical of current general circulation models (GCMs) results in a smaller global warming response in comparison with that in the 20-km simulations. These results suggest that caution is warranted when interpreting projections from coarse-resolution GCMs of future cyclone activity over the northeastern Atlantic.
Novel Mutations in GRXCR1 at DFNB25 Lead to Progressive Hearing Loss and Dizziness
Authors: Mori Kentaro , Miyanohara Ikuyo , Moteki Hideaki , Nishio Shin-ya , Kurono Yuichi , Usami Shin-ichi
Published: March 2015

Objective:

We identified 2 patients in 1 family who had novel mutations in GRXCR1, which caused progressive hearing loss.

Methods:

One thousand one hundred twenty Japanese hearing loss patients with sensorineural hearing loss from unrelated families were enrolled in this study. Targeted genomic enrichment with massively parallel sequencing of all known nonsyndromic hearing loss genes was used to identify the genetic causes of hearing loss.

Results:

In this study, 2 affected individuals with compound heterozygous mutations—c.439C>T (p.R147C) and c.784C>T (p.R262X)—in GRXCR1 were identified. The proband had moderate to severe hearing loss and suffered from dizziness with bilateral canal paralysis.

Conclusion:

Our cases are the first identified in the Japanese population and are consistent with previously reported cases. The frequency of mutations in GRXCR1 seems to be extremely rare. This study underscores the importance of using comprehensive genetic testing for hearing loss. Furthermore, longitudinal audiologic assessment and precise vestibular testing are necessary for a better understanding of the mechanisms of hearing loss and vestibular dysfunction caused by GRXCR1 mutations.
Origin of Vocal Fold Stellate Cells in the Human Macula Flava
Authors: Kurita Takashi , Sato Kiminori , Chitose Shun-Ichi , Fukahori Mioko , Sueyoshi Shintaro , Umeno Hirohito
Published: March 2015

Objectives:

There is growing evidence that vocal fold stellate cells (VFSCs) in the human maculae flavae are tissue stem cells of the human vocal fold and that the maculae flavae are a stem cell niche. The origin of the cells in the human maculae flavae (CHMF) and the relationship with bone marrow–derived cells were investigated.

Methods:

Five human adult vocal fold mucosae were investigated. The CHMF were subcultured and morphological features were assessed. Immunoreactivity to antibodies directed to cytokeratin, desmin, GFAP, vimentin, CD34, CD45, and collagen type I was investigated.

Results:

Cultured CHMF formed a colony-forming unit, indicating they are mesenchymal stem cells or stromal stem cells in the bone marrow. The CHMF expressed hematopoietic markers (CD34, CD45) and collagen type I, which are the major makers for bone marrow–derived circulating fibrocytes. The cultured CHMF expressed epithelium-associated, muscle-associated, neural-associated, and mesenchymal cell–associated proteins, indicating the CHMF are undifferentiated and express proteins of all 3 germ layers.

Conclusions:

The CHMF are undifferentiated cells derived from the differentiation of bone marrow cells. The results of this study are consistent with the hypothesis that the VFSCs are tissue stem cells or progenitor cells of the human vocal fold mucosa.
Average of delta: a new quality control tool for clinical laboratories
Authors: Jones Graham RD
Published: March 2015

Background

Average of normals is a tool used to control assay performance using the average of a series of results from patients’ samples. Delta checking is a process of identifying errors in individual patient results by reviewing the difference from previous results of the same patient. This paper introduces a novel alternate approach, average of delta, which combines these concepts to use the average of a number of sequential delta values to identify changes in assay performance.

Methods

Models for average of delta and average of normals were developed in a spreadsheet application. The model assessed the expected scatter of average of delta and average of normals functions and the effect of assay bias for different values of analytical imprecision and within- and between-subject biological variation and the number of samples included in the calculations. The final assessment was the number of patients’ samples required to identify an added bias with 90% certainty.

Results

The model demonstrated that with larger numbers of delta values, the average of delta function was tighter (lower coefficient of variation). The optimal number of samples for bias detection with average of delta was likely to be between 5 and 20 for most settings and that average of delta outperformed average of normals when the within-subject biological variation was small relative to the between-subject variation.

Conclusions

Average of delta provides a possible additional assay quality control tool which theoretical modelling predicts may be more valuable than average of normals for analytes where the group biological variation is wide compared with within-subject variation and where there is a high rate of repeat testing in the laboratory patient population.
Collective Beliefs on Responsible Investment
Authors: Dumas Christel , Louche Céline
Published: March 2015

The financial community does not seem to have shifted to greater sustainability, despite increasing awareness and concerns around social and environmental issues. This article provides insights to help understand why. Building on responsible investment (RI) data from the U.K. financial press between 1982 and 2010, the authors examine the collective beliefs which financial actors rely on to take decisions under uncertainty, as a way of understanding the status of and implications for RI mainstreaming. The analysis of collective beliefs through five periods of RI leads us to define two theoretical dimensions—justifying RI and practicing RI—that characterize how mainstream actors collectively make sense of RI. The authors’ analysis reveals that the RI collective beliefs currently (a) do not provide a favorable environment for RI mainstreaming and (b) need to be taken into account when discussing the value of sustainability.
Trash or Recycle? How Product Distortion Leads to Categorization Error During Disposal
Authors: Trudel Remi , Argo Jennifer J. , Meng Matthew D.
Published: March 2015

Much of what ends up in our landfills is recyclable material, exposing the urgent need to understand the psychological processes behind recycling behavior. Results from four studies suggest that consumers often trash well-known recyclable products due to the product being erroneously categorized as trash after it has been distorted (e.g., paper after it has been cut, torn, or crumpled). However, this categorization error can be somewhat mitigated by the presence of signage depicting the different distorted forms the recyclable product can take. Through prompting, consumers are able to correctly categorize a recyclable product when disposing of it, regardless of the level of distortion. These results provide an explanation for, and potential solution to, the issue of recyclable materials making their way into our landfills every day.
Trauma and social support: The association between informal social support, formal social support, and psychological well-being among terror attack survivors
Authors: Weinberg Michael
Published: March 2015

This study aimed to examine the role that informal and formal social support play with psychological well-being as reflected in positive and negative emotions of injured terror survivors in Israel. A total of 150 survivors who were eligible for social support and assistance by government agencies completed questionnaires that examined positive and negative emotions, informal social support, and formal social support from public government agencies provided by professional trained social workers. A hierarchal regression demonstrated that informal social support is associated with improved psychological state. However, formal social support, although provided by professional agencies, failed to demonstrate such an association. Theoretical, clinical, and policy implications of the findings are discussed.
International private law to regulate commercial global surrogacy practices: Just what are social work’s practical policy recommendations?
Authors: Rotabi Karen Smith , Bromfield Nicole Footen , Fronek Patricia
Published: March 2015

International private law is currently being considered to regulate commercial global surrogacy. This brief note discusses the state of social work literature in addition to the International Federation of Social Workers’ position statement, identifying a lack of empirical grounding in social work research. Global surrogacy is framed against previous social work research and policy development related to intercountry adoption and international private law. A triad approach to regulation is discussed as a three-legged stool for social protection development. Conclusions include recommendations for a research agenda that includes the voices of surrogates and the children.
A Framework for Developing Women Leaders
Authors: O’Neil Deborah A. , Hopkins Margaret M. , Bilimoria Diana
Published: March 2015

Informed by extant literature, we develop a framework of women’s leadership development that integrates the key factors affecting women’s leadership development (challenging organizational contexts, work–life integration and career/life-stage concerns) and the characteristics of women’s leadership presence. We define leadership presence as a combination of a woman’s unique voice, style of engagement, and positive contributions—composed of her self-confidence, self-efficacy, influence, and authenticity. We apply the framework to three composite executive coaching scenarios developed from our collective executive coaching experiences. The applications illustrate how a coach’s guiding questions, focused on appropriate combinations of key factors and leadership presence developmental needs, can effectively facilitate women’s leadership development. Practical implications for executive coaching practice as well as directions for future research are discussed.
Defining Urban Sprawl in the Sri Lankan Context: With Special Reference to the Colombo Metropolitan Region
Authors: Amarawickrama Susantha , Singhapathirana P , Rajapaksha N
Published: March 2015

Many scholars agree that there is no clear consensus regarding what “urban sprawl” is or what causes it. The term “sprawl” can be used or defined a number of ways for many situations. When its definition is ambiguous, it is impossible to determine its causes or consequences, including the effects of any policies designed to contain it. In this paper, first, we provide a conceptual definition of urban sprawl based on different dimensions such as density, concentration, proximity to services, automobile dependency, and extent of vegetation cover being paddy, eco-sensitive, or with decreased plantation areas. Such a definition provides a basis for understanding urban sprawl, its nature and its characteristics being location and context specific. Second, an “extended urban area” is demarcated as the geographical base for the study of the urban sprawl. Each dimension is defined and tested in 25 urbanized and suburbanized areas in the Colombo Metropolitan.
The fatwa and the philosophe: Rushdie, Voltaire, and Islam
Authors: Perchard Adam
Published: March 2015

A huge volume of literature has been written about Rushdie’s novel The Satanic Verses and the fatwa issued in response to it by the Ayatollah Khomeini. Whilst much literary criticism has recommended that we should avoid reading the text and the furore of “the Rushdie affair” along the harmful binary lines of Eastern tyranny and Western freedom, this article addresses this rhetoric of cultural difference directly. Arguing that an unhistorical idea of the Enlightenment is becoming increasingly central to the way that Rushdie and others explain what they perceive as the gulf between “Islam” and “the West”, and analysing Rushdie’s recent tendency to construct himself as “the new Voltaire”, this study crosses centuries and disciplines to shed new light on the ways in which the discursive figure of the Islamic despot is central to the cultural critiques of both authors.
In situ synthesis of poly(N-vinylimidazole)/montmorillonite nanocomposites using intercalated monomer and thermal properties
Authors: Yalçınkaya Esra Evrim
Published: March 2015

A series of poly(N-vinylimidazole)/montmorillonite nanocomposites were prepared by in situ polymerization. This method is the first example of in situ polymerization of VI monomers within the montmorillonite layers for the preparation of nanocomposites at different clay loading degrees. N-vinyl imidazole was first intercalated into the interlayer regions of clay minerals by ion exchange reaction. Then, this organomodified clay was dispersed in the fluid VI monomers at different loading degrees to conduct the in situ polymerization. Polymerization through the interlayer of the clay led to the exfoliated poly(N-vinylimidazole)/montmorillonite nanocomposite formation. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analyses indicated that the resultant nanocomposites exhibited exfoliated morphologies with homogeneous clay platelet distribution. The PVI/5MMT nanocomposite was selected for the calculation of the decomposition activation energy via the Kissinger method, due to its highest thermal stability. The results showed that activation energy values at both stages for the poly(N-vinylimidazole)/montmorillonite nanocomposite are higher than those of neat poly(N-vinylimidazole), indicating that addition of the clay mineral improves the thermal stability of poly(N-vinylimidazole).
The Armed Neutrality Paradox: Sweden and Switzerland in US Cold War Armaments Policy
Authors: Nilsson Mikael , Wyss Marco
Published: March 2015

This article presents the first comparative study of US policy towards two European neutrals, Sweden and Switzerland, in the late 1940s and early 1950s. During this period, Sweden and Switzerland were integrated into the Western security regime through a series of diplomatic, economic and technological steps until certain parts of the Swedish and Swiss armed forces were hard to separate from their NATO counterparts. This pioneering multi-archival study shows not only that US policy towards the neutrals was coordinated in order to make them conform to US security demands (a fact previously unnoticed by historians), but it also points towards another surprising and previously unknown conclusion – which the article calls ‘the armed neutrality paradox’. The article argues that the transfers of military technology to Sweden and Switzerland, which were needed to make their neutrality credible, effectively undermined the very credibility that they were supposed to ensure. This technology became a conduit of foreign influence reaching straight into the nerve centre of the armed neutrals, and the more ubiquitous and advanced the technology got, the less control over its use the governments seemed to have. US policy, together with the efforts of the neutral governments to increase security, spawned this paradox.
Materials Engineering by Ameloblasts
Authors: Habelitz S.
Published: March 2015

Enamel is unique. It is the only epithelial-derived mineralized tissue in mammals and has a distinct micro- and nanostructure with nanofibrous apatite crystals as building blocks. It is synthesized by a highly specialized cell, the ameloblast, which secretes matrix proteins with little homology to any other known amino acid sequence, but which is composed of a primary structure that makes it competent to self-assemble and control apatite crystal growth at the nanometer scale. The end-product of ameloblast activity is a marvel of structural engineering: a material optimized to provide the tooth with maximum biting force, withstanding millions of cycles of loads without catastrophic failure, while also protecting the dental pulp from bacterial attack. This review attempts to bring into context the mechanical behavior of enamel with the developmental process of amelogenesis and structural development, since they are linked to tissue function, and the importance of controlling calcium phosphate mineralization at the nanometer scale. The origins of apatite nanofibers, the development of a stiffness gradient, and the biological processes responsible for the synthesis of a hard and fracture-resistant dental tissue are discussed with reference to the evolution of enamel from a fibrous composite to a complex, tough, and damage-tolerant coating on dentin.
Predictors of Psychiatric Hospitalization in Ex-Prisoners With Substance Use Problems
Authors: Olsson Martin O. , Öjehagen Agneta , Brådvik Louise , Håkansson Anders
Published: March 2015

This study analyzed predictors of psychiatric hospitalization in ex-prisoners with substance use problems ( N = 4,081) assessed with the Addiction Severity Index and followed post-release for hospitalizations with psychiatric diagnoses (including suicide attempts). Thirty-four percent were hospitalized, and in Cox regression, several substance-related variables predicted hospitalization, including use of heroin, sedatives, and polysubstance. A secondary analysis, with a psychiatric non-substance focus, excluded hospitalizations involving only substance-related disorders or only a personality disorder in addition to a substance-related disorder. With this definition, 10% were hospitalized, and significant baseline predictors were previous psychiatric hospitalization (hazard ratio [HR] = 1.83), previous suicide attempt (HR = 1.91), depression (HR = 1.33), anxiety (HR = 1.37), sedative use (HR = 1.46), and, negatively, amphetamine use (HR = 0.71). Substance-related variables may predict all-cause psychiatric hospitalizations in prisoners with substance use problems, whereas non-substance-related psychiatric hospitalization may be predicted by baseline psychiatric problems, which calls for attention to psychiatric problems in this setting.
“When You Add Alcohol, It Gets That Much Better”
Authors: Hebden Ross , Lyons Antonia C. , Goodwin Ian , McCreanor Tim
Published: March 2015

University students frequently engage in normalized practices of heavy drinking, and social networking sites are becoming increasingly important in this context. The present study explored the role of Facebook within student drinking cultures by conducting three friendship groups in which students discussed their social networking and alcohol consumption alongside an Internet-enabled laptop. Transcripts were discursively analyzed; this demonstrated that “pleasurable consumption,” “routine socialization,” and “managed risk” discourses were used to construct Facebook as an essential but mundane tool, and Facebook was used regularly to create positive constructions of risky drinking. Particular types of risky drinking are discussed as being encouraged through both the interactions present on Facebook and the structure of the site that helps shape these interactions. Findings are beneficial for public health strategies seeking to understand and minimize harmful university drinking practices.
Effects of a Preparatory Singing Pattern on Melodic Dictation Success
Authors: Buonviri Nathan O.
Published: March 2015

The purpose of this study was to investigate effects of a preparatory contextual singing pattern on melodic dictation test scores. Forty-nine undergraduate music education majors took melodic dictations under three conditions. After hearing an orienting chord sequence, they (1) sang a preparatory solfége pattern in the key, meter, and tempo of the target dictations in the first condition; (2) prepared themselves silently during an equivalent time interval in the second condition; and (3) took the dictations immediately in the third condition. A repeated measures ANOVA and post hoc analysis revealed that participants scored significantly higher when they heard the dictation immediately following the chord sequence than when they sang the preparatory pattern first. Participants may have been distracted by the additional task of singing, interfering with their focus on the ensuing dictation. They reported a variety of preparatory strategies during the silent interval condition, suggesting that dictation students may benefit from learning multiple strategies and choosing what works best for them. Future research might investigate the relationship between strategies used during dictation and strategies used just prior to dictation. Implications for music educators include the need for careful decisions regarding when and how to combine musical tasks for student learning.
A new approach to sex estimation using the mandibular canine index
Authors: Silva Ana Margarida , Pereira Maria Lurdes , Gouveia Sónia , Tavares João Nuno , Azevedo Álvaro , Caldas Inês Morais
Published: March 2015

Rao et al.'s mandibular canine index (MCI) is a simple odontometric method which uses the mandibular canine as the key to sex estimation. This index is defined as the ratio between the right canine mesiodistal dimension and the mandibular canine arch width. The aim of this study was to contribute to sex estimation using dental techniques by analysing the MCI efficiency, and to propose a new approach for its use. Measurements were taken from 120 plaster casts (70 females) in the 16–30 year age group. Although statistically significant sexual dimorphism was observed in both the mesiodistal dimension and the mandibular canine arch width, the MCI showed a low accuracy in sex classification (54.2% correct identifications). This accuracy was improved to 64.2% using receiver operating characteristics curve analysis. Yet, despite the better accuracy, these results reinforce the idea that the MCI may not be particularly useful in sex prediction, since it may not reflect the same degree of sexual dimorphism as its absolute measures.
Prison Inmates and Their Visitors
Authors: Connor David Patrick , Tewksbury Richard
Published: March 2015

The present study seeks to identify factors associated with inmates and their incarceration that differentially affect their frequency of receiving visits from specific types of visitors. Findings reveal both demographic and prison experience characteristics as significant predictors of the number of visits received from specific types of visitors. More highly educated, female, White, and currently or formerly married inmates received a greater number of visits from specific types of visitors, as did inmates with fewer prior incarcerations and who were not serving time for a drug, violent, and sex offense conviction. Limitations, directions for future research, and implications are discussed.
Keeping Them Off the Corner
Authors: Miller Joel , Copeland Kim , Sullivan Mercer
Published: March 2015

We present a typology of tactics used by probation officers to steer probationers away from day-to-day crime opportunities based on 40 qualitative officer interviews. Concerns about probationers’ unstructured activities, time at crime-prone locations, and “at-risk” social interactions led officers to reduce probationers’ unstructured time, set limits to locations and persons with whom they associated, and coach them to side-step such opportunities. In support of these tactics, they collaborated with community handlers, worked to enhance probationers’ motivation and deter them from risky activities, leveraged probation conditions, and encouraged alternative activities.
Finally Fit for Purpose
Authors: Grant Elizabeth , Jewkes Yvonne
Published: March 2015

This article argues that Australian prisons have uncritically emulated American penitentiaries in their architecture and structure. We suggest that simply transporting physical design models from one geographic and politico-cultural setting to another, with little commitment to understanding the context-bound philosophies and conditions that underpin such models, has been highly problematic. The result has been an Australian penal estate that for decades was incompatible with its aims and purpose. Finally, we discuss the eventual introduction of unique, innovative styles of penal architecture in Australia, which are not only appropriate to their culture and context, but represent world-class developments in penal design.
Computer simulation of batik printing patterns with cracks
Authors: Liu Shiguang , Chen Di
Published: March 2015

Generating batik printing patterns is an ancient and unique dye-resistant printing technique. Due to the dip dyeing of the cloth with wax in the dyes, the wax as a reserve dyeing agent cracks naturally, and the dyes permeate into the cloth along the cracks. It forms a natural texture and generates a unique and beautiful artwork that is difficult to produce manually. According to the characteristics of the batik printing patterns with cracks, we developed a specific method for simulation of the batik printing patterns with cracks that are relevant or not relevant to the batik patterns (BPPCNR or BPPCR). For the simulation of the process of the extension of the crack, we adapted the method of solving two-dimensional crack fracture based on the extended finite element method (EFEM) in the field of fracture mechanics. We achieved the results of cracks with different shades of colors for batik printing patterns with cracks that are not relevant to the batik patterns (BPPCNR). For the batik printing patterns with cracks that are relevant to the batik patterns (BPPCR), we proposed the method combining the distance transformation algorithm and EFEM, which can quickly define the initial cracks by the distance transformation image of the input printing patterns, and simulated the process of the extension of the crack by the EFEM. Moreover, we proposed the definition of a local axis parallel extension area that can greatly reduce the computation overhead. Experiments show that our method is effective in that it can realize various satisfying vivid batik printing patterns with cracks.
Study on effects of structural parameters on untwisting performance in pneumatic yarn splicing
Authors: Wu Zhenyu , Shi Pengfei , Chen Shenyang , Jin Yuzhen , Hu Xudong
Published: March 2015

The internal airflow of an untwisting chamber clearly affects the untwisting performance as determined by the appearance of the untwisted yarn end. This study established a geometric model of an untwisting chamber comprising an intake tube and untwisting tube, and adopted the renormalization-group k-ɛ turbulence model to simulate the airflow patterns inside chamber structures having three varying parameters. These were the chamfer angle of the intake nozzle, rotation angle of the intake nozzle, and eccentric distance between the intake nozzle and untwisting tube. The chamber angle of the intake nozzle mainly induces a radial flow from the axial flow in the intake nozzle. The strength of the circumferential airflow in the untwisting tube, which is converted from the radial flow, is affected by the combined effects of the rotation angle of the intake nozzle and the eccentric distance between the intake nozzle and untwisting tube. An experimental bench that employed a high-speed camera to capture yarn movement was designed to verify the numerical results. Comparisons between simulation and experimental data show that the structural parameters of the untwisting chamber affect the airflow patterns and consequently the performance of untwisting the yarn end.
Textile sensing glove with piezoelectric PVDF fibers and printed electrodes of PEDOT:PSS
Authors: Åkerfeldt Maria , Lund Anja , Walkenström Pernilla
Published: March 2015

The development of an entirely polymer-based motion sensing glove with possible applications, for example, in physical rehabilitation is described. The importance of comfort for the wearer and the possibility to clean the glove in normal laundering processes were important aspects in the development. The glove is all textile and manufactured using materials and methods suitable for standard textile industry processes. For the first time, melt-spun piezoelectric poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) fibers with conductive cores were machine embroidered onto a textile glove to function as a sensor element. Electrodes and electrical interconnections were constituted by a screen printed conductive poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrene sulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) formulation. The screen printing of the interconnections was shown to be a reliable method for reproducible material deposition, resulting in an average surface resistivity value of 57 Ω/square. A repeated strain of 10% only influenced the resistance of the interconnections initially and to a very limited extent. The influence of washing on the electrical resistance of the printed interconnections was also studied; after 15 wash cycles the average surface resistivity was still below 500 Ω/square, which was deemed sufficient for the polymeric sensor system to remain functional during long-term use. Sensor data from the glove was also successfully used as input to a microcontroller running a robot gripper, in order to demonstrate its potential applications.
Are airports engines of economic development? A dynamic panel data approach
Authors: Bilotkach Volodymyr
Published: March 2015

This paper applies the dynamic panel data generalized method of moments estimator to the data on commercial passenger air traffic at all primary airports in the United States to evaluate the impact of traffic volume and number of destinations served with non-stop flights on the key indicators of regional economic development. We find that number of destinations served with non-stop flights has a much clearer and more robust impact on level of employment, number of business establishments, and average wage in the region. Passenger traffic volume affects employment and average wage, but not number of establishments. At the sample median, connecting a metropolitan statistical area with an extra destination, keeping everything else constant, creates 98 jobs and facilitates the opening of four new business establishments that employ people. The corresponding numbers for the sample mean are 223 jobs and 15 businesses. The impact of air travel on regional economic development is influenced by competition on the respective airline markets.
Determinants of urban sprawl in European cities
Authors: Oueslati Walid , Alvanides Seraphim , Garrod Guy
Published: March 2015

This paper provides empirical evidence that helps to answer several key questions relating to the extent of urban sprawl in Europe. Building on the monocentric city model, this study uses existing data sources to derive a set of panel data for 282 European cities at three time points (1990, 2000 and 2006). Two indices of urban sprawl are calculated that, respectively, reflect changes in artificial area and the levels of urban fragmentation for each city. These are supplemented by a set of data on various economic and geographical variables that might explain the variation of the two indices. Using a Hausman-Taylor estimator and random regressors to control for the possible correlation between explanatory variables and unobservable city-level effects, we find that the fundamental conclusions of the standard monocentric model are valid in the European context for both indices. Although the variables generated by the monocentric model explain a large part of the variation of artificial area, their explanatory power for modelling the fragmentation index is relatively low.
The Effect of Peer Review on Student Learning Outcomes in a Research Methods Course
Authors: Crowe Jessica A. , Silva Tony , Ceresola Ryan
Published: March 2015

In this study, we test the effect of in-class student peer review on student learning outcomes using a quasiexperimental design. We provide an assessment of peer review in a quantitative research methods course, which is a traditionally difficult and technical course. Data were collected from 170 students enrolled in four sections of a quantitative research methods course, two in-class peer review sections, and two sections that did not incorporate in-class peer review over two semesters. For the two sections with peer review, content scheduled for the days during which peer review was used in class was delivered through the online course management system. We find that in-class peer review did not improve final grades or final performance on student learning outcomes, nor did it affect performance differences between drafts and final assignments that measured student learning objectives. Further, it took time away from in-class delivery of course content in course sections that used in-class peer review. If peer review is utilized, we recommend it be assigned as an out-of-class assignment so it does not interfere with in-class teaching.
Daily Cyber Incivility and Distress: The Moderating Roles of Resources at Work and Home
Authors: Park YoungAh , Fritz Charlotte , Jex Steve M.
Published: March 2015

Given that many employees use e-mail for work communication on a daily basis, this study examined within-person relationships between day-level incivility via work e-mail (cyber incivility) and employee outcomes. Using resource-based theories, we examined two resources (i.e., job control, psychological detachment from work) that may alleviate the effects of cyber incivility on distress. Daily survey data collected over 4 consecutive workdays from 96 employees were analyzed using hierarchical linear modeling. Results showed that on days when employees experienced cyber incivility, they reported higher affective and physical distress at the end of the workday that, in turn, was associated with higher distress the next morning. Job control attenuated the concurrent relationships between cyber incivility and both types of distress at work, while psychological detachment from work in the evening weakened the lagged relationships between end-of-workday distress and distress the following morning. These findings shed light on cyber incivility as a daily stressor and on the importance of resources in both the work and home domains that can help reduce the incivility-related stress process. Theoretical and practical implications, limitations, and future research directions are discussed.