bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Analysis of Spino‐pelvic Sagittal Alignment in Young Chinese Patients with Lumbar Disc Herniation
Authors: Fei Han , Li Wei‐shi , Sun Zhuo‐ran , Ma Qing‐wei , Chen Zhong‐qiang
Published: September 2017

Objective

Few studies have concentrated on the sagittal alignment of lumbar disc herniation (LDH), especially the parameters of the pelvis, and controversy exists about whether pelvic morphology is involved in the pathogenesis of LDH. The present study analyzed the characteristics of the sagittal alignment in young Chinese LDH patients and explored the impact of pelvic morphology on the pathogenesis of LDH.

Methods

A retrospective analysis was conducted on 100 young patients with LDH (69 men and 31 women, aged 18–35 years), and the clinical and imaging findings met the criteria for the diagnosis of LDH. The control group included 100 asymptomatic volunteers with matching age and gender. Coronal and sagittal parameters were measured on the anteroposterior and lateral radiographs of the whole spine, including lumbar lordosis (LL), pelvic incidence (PI), sacral slope (SS), pelvic tilt (PT), thoracic kyphosis (TK), and sagittal balance (SVA). The cases were classified into four types by the apex position of lumbar lordosis (type I, L5 or the L4–5 intervertebral space; type II, bottom or middle of L4; type III, upper part of L4 or the intervertebral space between L3 and L4; type IV, L3 or more high level), and divided into three groups by PI; namely, a low PI group (PI < 40°), a medium PI group (40° ≤ PI < 50°), and a high PI group (PI ≥ 50°). The sagittal parameters, especially PI, were compared between the LDH group and the control group. Correlations between the parameters in the LDH group were analyzed.

Results

The PI value of the LDH group was not different from that of the control group (46.1° ± 10.0° vs 47.2° ± 8.8°, P > 0.05). The LDH group showed lower average LL, SS, and TK (P < 0.01), as well as higher PT and SVA compared with the control group (P < 0.01). The LL (34.4° ± 15.3° vs 50.8° ± 10.2°) and SVA (21.6 ± 53.6 mm vs − 18.4 ± 32.8 mm) showed a significant difference (P < 0.01); LL was correlated with PI, SS, PT, TK and SVA (P < 0.01); and SVA was also correlated with the parameters above (P < 0.01) except PI (P > 0.05), and the lordosis apex tended to be higher. The distributions of PI groups between the LDH group and the control group were not different. Pairwise correlations were found among LL, PI, SS, and PT. In addition, TK and SVA were correlated with LL, SS, and PT.

Conclusions

There is no difference in PI between young Chinese patients with lumbar disc herniation and the normal population. Young LDH patients may present flat lumbar and thoracic curves, as well as lower sacral slope. The anteversion sagittal imbalance is regulated by both the spine and the pelvis.
Optimal Pelvic Incidence Minus Lumbar Lordosis Mismatch after Long Posterior Instrumentation and Fusion for Adult Degenerative Scoliosis
Authors: Zhang Hao‐cong , Zhang Zi‐fang , Wang Zhao‐han , Cheng Jun‐yao , Wu Yun‐chang , Fan Yi‐ming , Wang Tian‐hao , Wang Zheng
Published: September 2017

Objective

To evaluate the influence of Scoliosis Research Society (SRS)‐Schwab sagittal modifiers of pelvic incidence minus lumbar lordosis mismatch (PI‐LL) on clinical outcomes for adult degenerative scoliosis (ADS) after long posterior instrumentation and fusion.

Methods

This was a single‐institute, retrospective study. From 2012 to 2014, 44 patients with ADS who underwent posterior instrumentation and fusion treatment were reviewed. Radiological evaluations were investigated by standing whole spine (posteroanterior and lateral views) X‐ray and all radiological measurements, including Cobb’s angle, LL, PI, and the grading of vertebral rotation, were performed by two experienced surgeons who were blind to the operations. The patients were divided into three groups based on postoperative PI‐LL and the classification of the SRS‐Schwab: 0 grade PI‐LL (<10°, n = 13); + grade PI‐LL (10°–20°, n = 19); and ++ grade PI‐LL (>20°, n = 12). The clinical outcomes were assessed according to Japanese Orthopaedic Association (JOA) score, Oswestry Disability Index (ODI), Visual Analog Scale (VAS), Lumbar Stiffness Disability Index (LSDI), and complications. Other characteristic data of patients were also collected, including intraoperative blood loss, operative time, length of hospital stay, complications, number of fusion levels, and number of decompressions.

Results

The mean operative time, blood loss, and hospital stay were 284.5 ± 30.2 min, 1040.5 ± 1207.6 mL, and 14.5 ± 1.9 day. At the last follow‐up (2.6 ± 0.6 years), the radiological and functional parameters, except the grading of vertebral rotation, were all significantly improved in comparison with preoperative results (P < 0.05), but it was obvious that an ideal PI‐LL (≤10°) was not achieved in some patients. Significant differences were only observed among the three groups in the ODI and LSDI. Patients with + grade PI‐LL seemed to have the best surgical outcome compared to those with 0 and ++ grade PI‐LL, with the lowest ODI score (+ grade vs 0 grade, 17.3 ± 4.9 vs 26.0 ± 5.4; + grade vs ++ grade, 17.3 ± 4.9 vs 32.4 ± 7.3; P < 0.05) and lower LSDI (+ grade vs 0 grade, 1.6 ± 1.0 vs 3.5 ± 0.5, P < 0.05; + grade vs ++ grade, 1.6 ± 1.0 vs 0.6 ± 0.5, P > 0.05). A Pearson correlation analysis further demonstrated that LSDI was negatively associated with PI‐LL. Furthermore, the incidence rate of postoperative complications was lower in patients with + grade PI‐LL (1/19, 5.26%) than that in patients with 0 (2/13, 15.4%) and ++ grade PI‐LL (3/12, 25%).

Conclusion

Our present study suggest that the ideal PI‐LL may be between 10° and 20° in ADS patients after long posterior instrumentation and fusion.
Prediction of the backwater level due to bridge constriction in waterways
Authors: Atabay Serter , Haji Amou Assar Kimia , Hashemi Mahsa , Dib Miri
Published: September 2017

This article proposes a mathematical method to calculate the backwater level at bridge constrictions for compound channels. Such a model is necessary, as many of the previously developed simple formulas yield inaccurate results. Parametric studies on a single‐opening semicircular arch, single‐opening semielliptical arch and single‐opening straight deck bridge were also conducted using the commercial software HEC‐RAS to investigate the influences of different factors on backwater level. The results indicated that the Froude number, opening ratio, discharge and roughness coefficient impact the backwater level considerably. Hence, a simple mathematical method was developed based on these parameters and validated using experimental data in a symmetrical two‐stage channel with different roughness coefficients for different types of bridge models. The results obtained using the proposed formula corresponded well with the experimental data and the results obtained using the energy method, which is accurate and the most commonly used method to calculate backwater level.
Reducing antimicrobial use in food animals
Authors: Van Boeckel Thomas P. , Glennon Emma E. , Chen Dora , Gilbert Marius , Robinson Timothy P. , Grenfell Bryan T , Levin Simon A. , Bonhoeffer Sebastian , Laxminarayan Ramanan
Published: September 2017

Consider user fees and regulatory caps on veterinary use
Epigenetics make transient states of cancer therapy resistance permanent
Authors: Sarosiek Kristopher
Published: September 2017

Resistance to targeted cancer therapies is mediated by stabilization of transient insensitive states.
Simultaneous combined complete tear of radial and ulnar collateral ligaments of thumb in an adolescent
Authors: Bhat Anil K , Mane Prajwal Prabhudev , Acharya Ashwath , Madi Sandesh
Published: September 2017

Isolated tear of collateral ligaments of thumb are common but combined injuries of both radial and ulnar collateral ligaments are rare. These cases are reported in athletes involved in high-impact sports. Here, we report a case of a 15-year-old boy with pain at base of the thumb and instability following low-impact sporting activity. On subsequent clinicoradiological assessment, simultaneous combined complete tear of both radial and ulnar collateral ligaments of the thumb was noted. Delayed primary repair of both collateral ligaments was done. This case highlights the rarity of this type of injury in an adolescent and also the use of appropriate clinical tests and imaging modalities for early diagnosis of such injuries. Restoration of joint stability as early as possible either by repair or reconstruction of ligaments needs to be considered to prevent secondary osteoarthritis of metacarpophalangeal joint.
Using species distribution models to describe essential fish habitat in Alaska
Authors: Laman Edward A. , Rooper Christopher N. , Turner Kali , Rooney Sean , Cooper Dan W. , Zimmermann Mark
Published: September 2017

Describing essential habitat is an important step toward understanding and conserving harvested species in ecosystem-based fishery management. Using data from fishery-independent ichthyoplankton, groundfish surveys, and commercial fisheries observer data, we utilized species distribution modeling techniques to predict habitat-based spatial distributions of federally managed species in Alaska. The distribution and abundance maps were used to refine existing essential fish habitat descriptions for the region. In particular, we used maximum entropy and generalized additive modeling to delineate distribution and abundance of early (egg, larval, and pelagic juvenile) and later (settled juvenile and adult) life history stages of groundfishes and crabs across multiple seasons in three large marine ecosystems (Gulf of Alaska, eastern Bering Sea, and Aleutian Islands) and the northern Bering Sea. We present a case study, featuring Kamchatka flounder (Atheresthes evermanni), from the eastern and northern Bering Sea to represent the >400 habitat-based distribution maps generated for more than 80 unique species–region–season–life-stage combinations. The results of these studies will be used to redescribe essential habitat of federally managed fishes and crabs in Alaska.
An ultra-narrowband TE-polarization absorber with a dielectric grating and metal substrate
Authors: Liao Yan-Lin , Zhao Yan , Zhang Xingfang , Zhang Wen , Chen Zhenggen
Published: September 2017

We report an ultra-narrowband absorber with a dielectric grating and metal substrate. The simulation results show that we can achieve ultra-narrowband absorption with the absorption bandwidth less than 0.6 nm and the absorption rate more than 0.99 for TE-polarization (electric field is parallel to grating grooves). The simulation results also show the guide-mode resonance in the grating region and low power loss at the absorption peak. In addition, the ultra-narrowband absorption peak can be tuned by shrinking or enlarging the structure parameters. The figure of merit (FOM) is larger than 760 if this absorber is applied as a refractive index sensor.
Voltage Differencing Gain Amplifier-Based nth-Order Low-Pass Voltage-Mode Filter
Authors: Cam Taskiran Zehra Gulru , Sedef Herman , Anday Fuat
Published: September 2017

In this paper, a new active-C filter realizing the general [Formula: see text]th-order low-pass voltage transfer functions using [Formula: see text] voltage differencing gain amplifiers (VDGAs) is presented. In this realization minimum number of equal-valued grounded capacitors and [Formula: see text] active elements are used. Due to the adjustability of the transconductance of the VDGA with current, different gains can be realized using the same building block and a simple filter structure can be created. The filter which is composed of VDGA building blocks is suitable for integration and advantageous in terms of eliminating parasitic effects because all capacitors are grounded and the filter structure has no resistors. All simulations are performed on SPICE and the accuracy of this method is validated experimentally with commercially available products upon on-board circuit.
Quantum calculation on night-time degradation of 2-chloroethyl ethyl ether (CH3CH2OCH2CH2Cl) initiated by NO3 radical
Authors: Gour Nand Kishor , Sarma Plaban Jyoti , Mishra Bhupesh Kumar , Deka Ramesh Chandra
Published: September 2017

A dual-level quantum chemical calculations have been carried out on the initiation of night-time degradation of 2-chloroethyl ethyl ether (CH3CH2OCH2CH2Cl) via H-abstraction by NO3 radical. Within the scope of density functional theory, the electronic structure of all the species involved in the titled reaction has been optimized at M06-2X functional along with 6-31[Formula: see text]G(d,p) basis set. A higher level of couple cluster CCSD(T) method in conjunction with 6-311[Formula: see text]G(d,p) basis set has been used for the refined energy of the species. All minima and saddle states involved in the reaction channel have been characterized on the potential energy surface (PES). From PES, it is confirmed that H-abstraction from methylene (–CH2–) of ethyl (CH3CH2–) part of CH3CH2OCH2CH2Cl follows the minimum energy path. The rate constants (individual and overall) of the titled reaction are obtained using Canonical Transition State Theory (CTST) over the temperature range of 250–350[Formula: see text]K. The atmospheric lifetime and radiative efficiency of the titled molecule have also been estimated, amounting to 0.23 years and 0.024 years, respectively. The Global Warming Potentials of the 2-chloroethyl ethyl ether in 20 years, 100 years and 500 years time horizon were found to be 0.13, 0.04 and 0.01, respectively.
Redundancy Does Not Imply Fault Tolerance
Authors: Ganesan Aishwarya , Alagappan Ramnatthan , Arpaci-Dusseau Andrea C. , Arpaci-Dusseau Remzi H.
Published: September 2017

We analyze how modern distributed storage systems behave in the presence of file-system faults such as data corruption and read and write errors. We characterize eight popular distributed storage systems and uncover numerous problems related to file-system fault tolerance. We find that modern distributed systems do not consistently use redundancy to recover from file-system faults: a single file-system fault can cause catastrophic outcomes such as data loss, corruption, and unavailability. We also find that the above outcomes arise due to fundamental problems in file-system fault handling that are common across many systems. Our results have implications for the design of next-generation fault-tolerant distributed and cloud storage systems.
Varieties of Mass Incarceration: What We Learn From State Histories
Authors: Campbell Michael C.
Published: September 2017

This manuscript provides an overview of state-level research on penal change in the United States in the latter half of the twentieth century. It outlines how research focused on developments in the states provides unique insights into the forces that helped drive mass incarceration and has generated rich historical accounts of how mass incarceration emerged within specific contexts. It charts some of the new theorizing that has emerged from state case studies, including those emphasizing how penal change is characterized by conflict and others that conceptualize state developments as they interact with federal processes. These insights are then considered against broader national theories of punishment. The manuscript outlines how some of the key forces operating at the state level, including penal cultures, institutional structures, and interest-group activism, conditioned state penal trajectories. Lastly, the piece identifies potential avenues for future state-level research on the forces shaping penal law and policy.
Policing in the Era of Big Data
Authors: Ridgeway Greg
Published: September 2017

Fifty years ago, the 1967 President's Commission on Law Enforcement and Administration of Justice urged the rapid adoption of information technology to improve the effectiveness, efficiency, and fairness of the criminal justice system, including policing. They predicted that we could make great progress on the challenge of crime if only we could deliver the right information to the right police officer at the right time. In this twenty-first century era of Big Data, all the technologies described in the 1967 Commission report are widely available and accessible to police departments. This review characterizes what Big Data means for policing, discusses the technologies making Big Data possible, describes how police departments are putting Big Data to use, and assesses how close we are coming to realizing the vision offered in 1967. Although police may be rich in data, we still need to improve the extraction of information and knowledge from that data and put them to use to decrease crime and improve clearance rates.
Manifestation, Drivers, and Emergence of Open Ocean Deoxygenation
Authors: Levin Lisa A.
Published: September 2017

Oxygen loss in the ocean, termed deoxygenation, is a major consequence of climate change and is exacerbated by other aspects of global change. An average global loss of 2% or more has been recorded in the open ocean over the past 50–100 years, but with greater oxygen declines in intermediate waters (100–600 m) of the North Pacific, the East Pacific, tropical waters, and the Southern Ocean. Although ocean warming contributions to oxygen declines through a reduction in oxygen solubility and stratification effects on ventilation are reasonably well understood, it has been a major challenge to identify drivers and modifying factors that explain different regional patterns, especially in the tropical oceans. Changes in respiration, circulation (including upwelling), nutrient inputs, and possibly methane release contribute to oxygen loss, often indirectly through stimulation of biological production and biological consumption. Microbes mediate many feedbacks in oxygen minimum zones that can either exacerbate or ameliorate deoxygenation via interacting nitrogen, sulfur, and carbon cycles. The paleo-record reflects drivers of and feedbacks to deoxygenation that have played out through the Phanerozoic on centennial, millennial, and hundred-million-year timescales. Natural oxygen variability has made it difficult to detect the emergence of a climate-forced signal of oxygen loss, but new modeling efforts now project emergence to occur in many areas in 15–25 years. Continued global deoxygenation is projected for the next 100 or more years under most emissions scenarios, but with regional heterogeneity. Notably, even small changes in oxygenation can have significant biological effects. New efforts to systematically observe oxygen changes throughout the open ocean are needed to help address gaps in understanding of ocean deoxygenation patterns and drivers.
Persuasion, Influence, and Value: Perspectives from Communication and Social Neuroscience
Authors: Falk Emily , Scholz Christin
Published: September 2017

Opportunities to persuade and be persuaded are ubiquitous. What determines whether influence spreads and takes hold? This review provides an overview of evidence for the central role of subjective valuation in persuasion and social influence for both propagators and receivers of influence. We first review evidence that decisions to communicate information are determined by the subjective value a communicator expects to gain from sharing. We next review evidence that the effects of social influence and persuasion on receivers, in turn, arise from changes in the receiver's subjective valuation of objects, ideas, and behaviors. We then review evidence that self-related and social considerations are two key inputs to the value calculation in both communicators and receivers. Finally, we highlight biological coupling between communicators and receivers as a mechanism through which perceptions of value can be transmitted.
The Bridges and Blockades to Evolutionary Convergence on the Road to Predicting Chikungunya Virus Evolution
Authors: Vignuzzi Marco , Higgs Stephen
Published: September 2017

Chikungunya virus, first isolated in the 1950s, has since reemerged to cause several epidemics and millions of infections throughout the world. What was once blurred and confused with dengue virus in both diagnosis and name has since become one of the best-characterized arboviral diseases. In this review, we cover the history of this virus, its evolution into distinct genotypes and lineages, and, most notably, the convergent evolution observed in recent years. We highlight research that reveals to what extent convergent evolution, and its inherent predictability, may occur and what genetic or environmental factors may hinder it.
Astrolabes for the King: The Astrolabe of Petrus Raimundi of Barcelona
Authors: Hernández Azucena
Published: September 2017

The astrolabe of Petrus Raimundi, made in Barcelona in 1375, occupies a significant position in the set of medieval Spanish astrolabes with Latin inscriptions, as it is the only one signed and dated that has survived to the present day. A full description and study of the astrolabe is presented in the context of the support given to the manufacturing of scientific instruments by King Peter iv of Aragon. Although the astronomical and time reckoning features of the astrolabe are fully detailed, special attention is given to its artistic and decorative features. The relationships between Petrus Raimundi’s astrolabe and those manufactured in al-Andalus, the region under Islamic rule within the Iberian Peninsula in the Middle Ages, are highlighted, as well as the links with astrolabe production in other European Christian kingdoms. The role played by astrolabes in medicine is considered and first steps are taken towards discovering the identity of Petrus Raimundi.
Solidarity and Responsibility: Advancing Humanitarian Responses to eu Migratory Pressures
Authors: Morano-Foadi Sonia
Published: September 2017

The principle of solidarity is embedded in the foundations of the European Union (eu) legal system and is integral to the very ethos that has made the Union possible. However, as Member States struggle with contemporary challenges such as high migration flows, terrorism and economic turmoil they have predominantly adopted individualist and protectionist strategies which undermine the character of the Union. Those strategies include, for instance, building walls and securitising internal borders.

This contribution argues that solidarity is inextricably linked with responsibility. Solidarity gives rise to responsibility and is a desired consequence of responsibility. Thus, this work suggests that strengthening the binomial of solidarity/responsibility is the solution that will create effective practices in meeting the humanitarian needs of refugees and sharing burdens between Member States.

The contribution analyses the eu’s commitment to solidarity/responsibility and calls for Member States to demonstrate their commitment. Three types of Member State solidarity/responsibility are identified: 1) towards refugees and migrants, 2) towards fellow countries and 3) towards the eu itself. The latter finds its legal foundation in the principle of ‘sincere cooperation’ as enshrined in Article 4 (3) teu and constitutes a means of protecting collective interest and precluding unilateral Member State actions that might jeopardize the entire eu project.
Bound or Unbridled? A Legal Perspective on the Diplomatic Functions of European Union Delegations
Authors: Duquet Sanderijn
Published: September 2017

When serving abroad, diplomats must abide by both the diplomatic functions detailed in the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations and the Convention’s general obligations. This applies, too, to the European Union’s missions (Union delegations), which execute diplomatic functions for the eu in third countries. These diplomatic activities are more severely constrained than for individual member states by the limits set by eu law in terms of the horizontal and vertical division of competences. This article demonstrates how Union delegations fulfil nearly all traditional diplomatic tasks outlined in the Vienna Convention, while going beyond the traditional conception of diplomatic functions in terms of human rights protection, the execution of administrative programmes, and the management of coordination/cooperation modes with eu member state missions on the ground. Ultimately, the article argues that Union delegations are able to meet the demands of modern diplomatic interchange and may have inadvertently altered diplomatic functions altogether.
Derivation of Three-Dimensional Radiation Stress Based on Lagrangian Solutions of Progressive Waves
Authors: Ji Chao , Zhang Qinghe , Wu Yongsheng
Published: September 2017

A new approach has been proposed to derive the expressions for three-dimensional radiation stress using solutions of the pressure and velocity distributions and the coordinate transformation function that are derived from a Lagrangian description wherein the pressure is zero (relative to the atmospheric pressure) at the sea surface. Using this approach, analytical expressions of horizontal and vertical depth-dependent radiation stress are derived at a uniform depth and for a sloping bottom, respectively. The results of the depth integration of the expressions agree well with the theory of Longuet-Higgins and Stewart. In the case involving a sloping bottom, the radiation stress expressions from this study provide a better balance of the net momentum compared to those from previous studies.
Atmospheric Ice Particle Shape Estimates from Polarimetric Radar Measurements and In Situ Observations
Authors: Matrosov Sergey Y. , Schmitt Carl G. , Maahn Maximilian , de Boer Gijs
Published: September 2017

A remote sensing approach to retrieve the degree of nonsphericity of ice hydrometeors using scanning polarimetric Ka-band radar measurements from a U.S. Department of Energy Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Program cloud radar operated in an alternate transmission–simultaneous reception mode is introduced. Nonsphericity is characterized by aspect ratios representing the ratios of particle minor-to-major dimensions. The approach is based on the use of a circular depolarization ratio (CDR) proxy reconstructed from differential reflectivity ZDR and copolar correlation coefficient ρhυ linear polarization measurements. Essentially combining information contained in ZDR and ρhυ, CDR-based retrievals of aspect ratios are fairly insensitive to hydrometeor orientation if measurements are performed at elevation angles of around 40°–50°. The suggested approach is applied to data collected using the third ARM Mobile Facility (AMF3), deployed to Oliktok Point, Alaska. Aspect ratio retrievals were also performed using ZDR measurements that are more strongly (compared to CDR) influenced by hydrometeor orientation. The results of radar-based retrievals are compared with in situ measurements from the tethered balloon system (TBS)-based video ice particle sampler and the ground-based multiangle snowflake camera. The observed ice hydrometeors were predominantly irregular-shaped ice crystals and aggregates, with aspect ratios varying between approximately 0.3 and 0.8. The retrievals assume that particle bulk density influencing (besides the particle shape) observed polarimetric variables can be deduced from the estimates of particle characteristic size. Uncertainties of CDR-based aspect ratio retrievals are estimated at about 0.1–0.15. Given these uncertainties, radar-based retrievals generally agreed with in situ measurements. The advantages of using the CDR proxy compared to the linear depolarization ratio are discussed.
Post-school Education and Work: The Depression Years in Western Australia
Authors: White M. A.
Published: September 2017

From an examination of developments in post-school education in Western Australia during the Great Depression, explanations are sought for disillusionments at the time with the State's education system and also for subsequent policies to impose accountability and economy upon educational institutions and foster a utilitarian emphasis in the curriculum. Royal Commissions by Justice A. Wolff — on Youth Employment and the Apprenticeship System and on the Administration of the University of Western Australia — are vital to an understanding of community attitudes and later developments in post-school education policy. Community attitudes in the thirties bear a remarkable resemblance to attitudes during the recession of the seventies.
Non-streaming and Classroom Sociometric Structure
Authors: Rabbitt Michael J. , Kafer Norman F. , Miles Jim
Published: September 2017

This study examined the sociometric relationships in two schools which differed in structural organization. Subjects were 879 children from 29 classes in two primary schools, one streamed and the other non-streamed. A particular transformation of sociometric scores was used to obtain class scores designed to reflect the relative location of each class on a diffuseness/centrality dimension. The results showed that, while the streamed school was characterized by diffuseness to a similar extent over all grades, the non-streamed school was partitioned into a lower school marked by relatively high diffuseness and an upper school marked by relatively low diffuseness.
Outcome-based Instructional Management: A Sociological Perspective
Authors: Spady William G.
Published: September 2017

During the past decade, a series of related instructional concepts and approaches has been refined and implemented which requires major adjustments in traditional patterns of instructional management and delivery. These approaches are known by names such as ‘mastery learning’, ‘individually programmed instruction’, ‘competency based education’, and ‘learner-responsive instruction’, and they often produce impressive improvements in the learning achievement of whole groups of ‘average’ and ‘poor’ students. While understood and implemented in a variety of ways, they share a set of common underlying principles and operational features identified here as ‘outcome-based’.

In describing these outcome-based philosophical principles and program characteristics, this paper focuses on changes in the management of time, students, instructional resources, and testing required of both teachers and administrators by such programs. In brief, the paper develops the thesis and framework that outcome-based approaches require an instructional management system that is assessment driven rather than assignment driven. Among other things, assessment driven systems rely on the existence of time-flexible instructional delivery, student grouping, and testing/assessment conditions in order to assure that virtually all students reach publicly acknowledged and operationalized learning goals. This mode of management represents a major departure from the clock, schedule, calendar, and age-grade based assignment structure within which conventional instructional systems operate.
Aspirations for Higher Education
Authors: Carpenter P. G. , Western J. S.
Published: September 2017

This paper reports data from the first phase of a longitudinal study of the processes by which selected structural, social-psychological, and group variables influence the capacities and achievements in both educational and occupational spheres of a cohort of young people. A causal recursive path analytic model which hypothesizes both direct and indirect effects of social origins, schooling, the perceived influence of significant others, and self-assessment on aspirations for tertiary education is developed. The model is found to have more explanatory power for men than for women. For both groups the perceived influence of parents, teachers, and peers bears the major impact on aspiration formation. Social origins are more important in aspiration formation for women than for men although for both groups mediating and direct effects are observed. Schooling also has mediating effects for both groups and direct effects among men. It is concluded that, while the analysis provided strong support for crucial elements of the social-psychological theory of aspiration formation, there are linkages for status transmission not identified in the model.
A Discourse for All Seasons? An Ideological Analysis of the Schools Commission Reports, 1973 to 1981
Authors: Johnston Ken
Published: September 2017

Over the last eight years, the Schools Commission has produced a body of official discourse about education that is without precedent in both complexity and volume. The aim of this paper is to analyse the ideology within this public discourse. The key terms in the ideology derive from the Karmel settlement established in the early 1970s, and an attempt is made to contextualize the ideology within the social, economic, and political conditions of that period. The ideology is characterized as a form of social democratic discourse, and the ambiguities within the discourse are illustrated through an analysis of the major themes of equality and community participation.
Eligibility and Self Selection: Discontinuities in Transition to Tertiary Education in Victoria
Authors: Elsworth Gerald R. , Day Neil A.
Published: September 2017

Most studies of transition to tertiary education focus on a single outcome variable: expectations of further study, a dichotomous indicator of participation in college and university, or simply years of further education achieved. In this paper, the authors contend that a more complete analysis of the social and personal factors which determine tertiary participation can be gained by regarding transition as a series of discontinuities in the individual's educational history. If an analysis was to commence with a cohort of Year 12 students, indicators of these discontinuities could include completion of Year 12, application to a college or university, receipt of an offer, self-selection at enrolment, and delayed entry.

In a recent published study of college and university applicants in Victoria, the authors used administrative and survey data to develop causal models of the decision of successful applicants to enrol either full- or part-time rather than defer or decline. In this paper the administrative data are used to specify a model which includes two transition variables. The variables identify those who received an offer, from a defined cohort of applicants, and those who subsequently took up the offer. This model enables a distinction to be made between factors which affect the students’ eligibili!y to enrol and factors that affect subsequent self-selection into tertiary education. Group and individual inequalities can therefore be assessed in terms of their total effecton transition and their separate effects on eligibility and self-selection.
Education and the External Affairs Power: Implications for the Governance of Australian Schools
Authors: Birch I. K. F.
Published: September 2017

The High Court of Australia continued to develop its broad interpretation of the external affairs power of the Commonwealth Constitution (section 51(xxix)) in the Koowarta case in 1982. The arguments of the justices and the implications of the decision for the governance of schooling in the Australian federal system — given the several international conventions which have education as a central concern or allude to it and to which Australia is a signatory — are explored in this paper. The broad interpretation oy the Court both gives the Commonwealth powers over education not hitherto held and negates the commonly held view that education is a States’ right. The Court's decision, in which education is incidentally mentioned as being affected by the broad interpretation, necessarily involves the Commonwealth in the governance of Australian schooling, given its obligation to implement treaties to which it is a signatory.
Portrayals of Teacher Development
Authors: Ingvarson Lawrence , Greenway Philip
Published: September 2017

The paper presents an ideographic research approach that is being developed to describe the career biographies of individual teachers. These ‘portrayals’ were seen as a means for exploring the notion of professional development and the personal and contextual conditions that bear upon it. Interviews, together with a variation on the repertory grid technique, were used with two experienced teachers as the means for constructing their phenomenological life-worlds. Implications for in-service education policies and strategies are drawn from the case studies, and a case is presented for the importance of developing models of teacher development complementary to models of curriculum innovation.
Reasoning Ability of Preservice Primary Teachers: Implications for Science Teaching
Authors: Tobin Kenneth , Garnett Patrick J.
Published: September 2017

The study investigated formal reasoning ability of preservice primary teachers in a Western Australian teacher training institution. The paper explores the implications of a wide range in reasoning ability of teachers for teaching science in primary grade levels. Relationships between reasoning ability and prior studies in science, science elective choice in a preservice teacher education program, and integrated process skill achievement in a science education course were also investigated. A sample of 299 students enrolled in the second year of a preservice primary teacher education course participated in the study.

The results of the study suggest that students with high formal reasoning ability are best equipped to teach primary science. As well as having the intellectual capacity to utilize formal modes of thinking during science lessons, students in this group are more likely to have studied physical science subjects at Year 12 level and to have engaged in science elective studies in the preservice teacher education program. In contrast, students with lower reasoning ability are likely to encounter significant difficulties in implementing an effective science program. In addition to problems associated with reasoning limitations, teachers from this group tend to have a background in biological sciences at Year 12 level and have usually avoided additional elective studies in science during their preservice teacher education program.
Jobs for the Girls: Family Ideology and the Employment of Women in Education
Authors: Trotman Janina
Published: September 2017

While it is apparent that teaching is, and has been since the development of mass schooling, a feminized occupation, it has never been a profession in which women have had equal representation or dominance at administrative level. The argument developed in this paper is that women's positions in the teaching profession are intimately related to their familial roles as articulated by the ideology of the family. This has a series of implications, but the paramount which is focused on here is that of control. First, the maintenance of capitalist social relations through the socialization, control, and categorization of the young in schools is a legitimate extension of the ideological perceptions for women's familial role. Second, teaching is a marginal occupation, in that it is located in the middle sectors of capitalist formations (White, 1983a p. 45). The presence of large numbers of women and the accompanying ideology of the family segment the occupation and reduce its potential for collective mobilization. The growth of teaching as an occupation may therefore be seen as an example of the intersection of capitalism and patriarchy.
‘Curriculum Becomes our Way of Contradicting Biology and Culture’ –An Outline of Some Dilemmas for Non-Sexist Education
Authors: Yates Lyn
Published: September 2017

This article is a reflection on some general propositions concerning the process of schooling and on the nature and scope of the movement in Australia for non-sexist education. The first section of the article considers the arguments about schooling as reproducer of the social and cultural form. Here it is argued that, since schooling does not simply reproduce but is a conscious interruption in the transmission of cultural identity, there is some potential for reformist intervention. It is shown also that school does not automatically reflect or respect the biological attributes of pupils and that the treatment of girls has involved values which go beyond an acknowledgment of their attributes. Finally it is suggested that the non-monolithic nature of the institution of public education provides both possibilities for action and means of undercutting these, and a variety of illustrations is given. In the second section of the article, three broad lines of approach within the area of non-sexist education are outlined. Here the article attempts to analyse the relation to the existing and future culture assumed by these initiatives and to show some of the different ways they approach the institutional operations of schooling.
Career and Marriage: Orientations of Adolescent Girls
Authors: Poole Millicent E. , Low Brian C.
Published: September 2017

This study examines the orientations of adolescent girls towards career and marriage. One hundred and ninety-four girls from 32 schools were tested at age 14 and again at age 17, using a battery of standard tests and inventories. The relative influence of three clusters of independent variables (initial status, age 14; background status, age 17; and home and school value orientations) were investigated by means of commonality analysis. The results of the study suggested that certain aspiration and expectation factors were more important determinants of marriage vs career orientation than were self-ability or self-concept measures.
Spatial Distribution of Myosin Heavy-chain Isoforms in Mouse Masseter
Authors: Widmer C.G. , Morris-Wiman J.A. , Nekula C.
Published: September 2017

There is a paucity of information regarding the anatomy and muscle fiber phenotype of the masseter. The objective of this study was to characterize the distribution of each myosin heavychain (MyHC) isoform within different anatomical regions of male and female mouse masseters. Masseters from male and female CD-1 mice (2-4 months old) were examined for description of the anatomical partitioning of muscle fibers and endplate distribution. The spatial distribution of MyHC isoforms—embryonic, neonatal, slow, α cardiac, IIa, and IIb—was determined within the defined masseter partitions by means of Western blot analysis and immunofluorescent localization. Types IIa, IIx, and lIb were the predominant MyHC isoforms observed. Distinct differences in the spatial distribution of these MyHC isoforms were found between muscle regions and varied between sexes. The regionalization of muscle fiber types in the mouse masseter is consistent with the functional compartmentalization of the masseter observed in other species.
Populism and the Erosion of Horizontal Accountability in Latin America
Authors: Ruth Saskia Pauline
Published: September 2017

This article explores which factors enable or hinder populist presidents in Latin America to pursue a radical strategy of institutional change and induce the erosion of horizontal checks and balances. Applying an actor-centred approach, the article focuses on specific constellations in the political arena that shape populist presidents’ incentives and their ability to engage in institutional change. Three conditions are considered to be most decisive: the absence of unified government between the executive and the legislature, the existence of a ‘power vacuum’ in the political arena and the distribution of public support. Using configurational analyses, different causal paths explaining the presence or absence of the erosion of horizontal accountability are identified.
Women in the Informal Economy: Psychological Well-being and the Empowerment Trap
Authors: Gurtoo Anjula
Published: September 2017

The increased participation of women in the post-globalisation expansion of the informal economy has brought forth the debate on the women being empowered or impoverished in the bargain. Economists view the informal economy as an income opportunity. In contrast, feminists and political economists see the economy as a poverty trap, leading to impoverishment. This article empirically explores the ongoing debate using a survey of 1,276 female domestic workers, from Karnataka, surveyed during 2014–2015. Predictor models are built based on two categories of experiences, namely, workplace conditions and employer–employee relationship, and two categories of processes, namely, social empowerment and economic empowerment. The findings reveal employee–employer relationship factors superseding the workplace factors. Further, in the socially unequal relationship between the domestic worker and the employer, the empowerment processes are liberating as well as incapacitating. While they strengthen the economic and occupational support dynamics, the effects on psychological well-being are negative. Deconstructing the result from the Asian developing country perspective, feudal orientations are seen. The results are discussed taking help from the social support theory.
Absolute and Relative Bioavailability of a Slow Release Theophylline Preparation in Asthmatic Children
Authors: Boner A. L , De Stefano G. , Vallone G. , Plebani M. , Ventura P.
Published: September 2017

This study was carried out on 14 asthmatic childen aged 7–13 years. They all received three preparations (aminophylline by intravenous infusion, lysine theophyllinate orally in solution and slow release theophylline orally as capsules) in a single dose of 100 mg active ingredient in a crossover design. Plasma theophylline concentrations, determined by a fluorescent polarization immunoassay, were evaluated both by compartmental and non-compartmental analysis. After administration of slow release theophylline, its maximum plasma concentration and the time needed to reach this were (± SD) 3.19 ± 0.63 μg/ml and 8.71 ± 2.30 h, respectively, compared to 4.51 ± 0.94 μg/ml and 1.96 ± 0.85 h, respectively, for the oral normal release solution. Mean absolute and relative percentage bioavailabilities for slow release theophylline in asthmatic children were (± SD) 92.7 ± 23.2% and 83.14 ± 14.69%, respectively. These are similar to the values found with other slow release formulations in paediatric patients.
Effectiveness and Tolerance of the Hypericum Extract LI 160 in Comparison with Imipramine: Randomized Double-Blind Study with 135 Outpatients
Authors: Vorbach E.-U. , Hübner W.-D. , Arnoldt K.-H.
Published: September 2017

In a double-blind comparative study, 135 depressed patients were treated in 20 centers. Inclusion diagnoses were typical depressions with single episode (296.2), several episodes (296.3), depressive neurosis (300.4), and adjustment disorder with depressed mood (309.0) in accordance with DSM-III-R. The dosage was 3 x 300 mg hypericum extract LI 160 or 3 x 25 mg imipramine daily. The treatment lasted for 6 weeks. Main assessment criteria were the Hamilton Depression Scale (HAMD), the Depression Scale according to von Zerssen (D-S) and the Clinical Global Impressions (CGI). In both treatment groups, a parallel reduction of the Hamilton score from 20.2 to 8.8 (LI 160, n = 67) or from 19.4 to 10.7 (imipramine, n = 68), and the transformed D-S point values from 39.6 to 27.2 (LI 160) and 39.0 to 29.2 (imipramine) were found. The analysis of CGI revealed comparable results in both treatment groups. Clinically relevant changes of the safety parameters were not found. In the LI 160 group fewer and milder side effects were found as compared to imipramine.