bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Potential Therapeutic Role of Z-Isochaihulactone in Lung Cancer through Induction of Apoptosis via Notch Signaling
Authors: Ou Jie-Ping , Lin Hsueh-Yi , Su Kang-Yi , Yu Sung-Liang , Tseng I.-Hsuan , Chen Cheng-Jueng , Hsu Hui-Chen , Chan De-Chuan , Sophia Chen Yi-Lin
Published: September 2012

Lung cancer is one of the leading causes of cancer death in worldwide and required for novel therapeutic strategy. Our previous research demonstrated that the crude acetone extract ofBupleurum scorzonerifolium(BS-AE) and its component isochaihulactone induce antiproliferative and apoptotic effects on the lung adenocarcinoma cell line. Structural analysis has identified isochaihulactone as a lignan, with a chiral center and two racemic forms (Z-isochaihulactone and E-isochaihulactone). In this study, Z-isochaihulactone displayed significantly higher tumor cytotoxicity than E-isochaihulactone in A549 cells. The notch signaling pathway plays a pivotal role in determination of cell fate during development, while in lung cancer, it might have oncogenic or tumor-suppressive controversial functions. We showed that Z-isochaihulactone induced morphological changes in the A549 cells, inhibited cell growth, and arrested the cell cycle at the G2/M phase. It also induced upregulation of the active form of Notch1 (notch intracellular domain, NICD), which further induced p21 and c-Myc expression in time- and dose-dependent manners. Administrations of Z-isochaihulactone in nude mice can significantly inhibit tumor growth due to enhancement of NICD expression confirmed by immunohistochemical analysis. Taken together, our results supported that Z-isochaihulactone can efficiently inhibit tumorigenicity and be a potential compound for therapy.
Self-Healing Key-Distribution Scheme with Collusion Attack Resistance Based on One-Way Key Chains and Secret Sharing in Wireless Sensor Networks
Authors: Jiao Dong , Li Mingchu , Yu Yan , Ou Jinping
Published: September 2012

In wireless sensor networks, self-healing key-distribution schemes are used to ensure that, even if the message packets that are broadcast in some sessions get lost, the group nodes can still recover the lost session keys simply by using their personal secret keys and broadcast messages that have been received without requesting additional transmissions from the group manager. These schemes reduce network traffic, decrease the group manager's workload, and lower the risk of node exposure through traffic analysis. However, most existing schemes have many deficiencies, such as high overhead for storage and communication and collusion attacks. In this paper, we have proposed a modified, self-healing, key-distribution scheme based on one-way key chains and secret sharing. Our scheme has the properties of constant storage, lower communication overhead, long lifespan, forward secrecy, backward secrecy, and resistance to collusion attacks.
Fuzzy One-Class Classification Model Using Contamination Neighborhoods
Authors: Utkin Lev V.
Published: September 2012

A fuzzy classification model is studied in the paper. It is based on the contaminated (robust) model which produces fuzzy expected risk measures characterizing classification errors. Optimal classification parameters of the models are derived by minimizing the fuzzy expected risk. It is shown that an algorithm for computing the classification parameters is reduced to a set of standard support vector machine tasks with weighted data points. Experimental results with synthetic data illustrate the proposed fuzzy model.
Thermodynamic Study of Hydrolysis Reactions in Aqueous Solution from Ab Initio Potential and Molecular Dynamics Simulations
Authors: Tolosa S. , Hidalgo A. , Sansón J. A.
Published: September 2012

A procedure for the theoretical study of chemical reactions in solution by means of molecular dynamics simulations of aqueous solution at infinite dilution is described using ab initio solute‐solvent potentials and TIP3P water model to describe the interactions. The procedure is applied to the study of neutral hydrolysis of various molecules (HCONH2, HNCO, HCNHNH2, and HCOOCH3) via concerted and water‐assisted mechanisms. We used the solvent as a reaction coordinate and the free energy curves for the calculation of the properties related with the reaction mechanism, namely, reaction and activation energies.
Quantifying the Likelihood of Regional Climate Change: A Hybridized Approach
Authors: Schlosser C. Adam , Gao Xiang , Strzepek Kenneth , Sokolov Andrei , Forest Chris E. , Awadalla Sirein , Farmer William
Published: September 2012

The growing need for risk-based assessments of impacts and adaptation to climate change calls for increased capability in climate projections: specifically, the quantification of the likelihood of regional outcomes and the representation of their uncertainty. Herein, the authors present a technique that extends the latitudinal projections of the 2D atmospheric model of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Integrated Global System Model (IGSM) by applying longitudinally resolved patterns from observations, and from climate model projections archived from exercises carried out for the Fourth Assessment Report (AR4) of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The method maps the IGSM zonal means across longitude using a set of transformation coefficients, and this approach is demonstrated in application to near-surface air temperature and precipitation, for which high-quality observational datasets and model simulations of climate change are available. The current climatology of the transformation coefficients is observationally based. To estimate how these coefficients may alter with climate, the authors characterize the climate models’ spatial responses, relative to their zonal mean, from transient increases in trace-gas concentrations and then normalize these responses against their corresponding transient global temperature responses. This procedure allows for the construction of metaensembles of regional climate outcomes, combining the ensembles of the MIT IGSM—which produce global and latitudinal climate projections, with uncertainty, under different global climate policy scenarios—with regionally resolved patterns from the archived IPCC climate model projections. This hybridization of the climate model longitudinal projections with the global and latitudinal patterns projected by the IGSM can, in principle, be applied to any given state or flux variable that has the sufficient observational and model-based information.
Relationships between Recent Pan-Arctic Snow Cover and Hydroclimate Trends
Authors: Shi Xiaogang , Déry Stephen J. , Groisman Pavel Ya. , Lettenmaier Dennis P.
Published: September 2012

Using the Variable Infiltration Capacity (VIC) land surface model forced with gridded climatic observations, the authors reproduce spatial and temporal variations of snow cover extent (SCE) reported by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Northern Hemisphere weekly satellite SCE data. Both observed and modeled North American and Eurasian snow cover in the pan-Arctic have statistically significant negative trends from April through June over the period 1972–2006. To diagnose the causes of the pan-Arctic SCE recession, the authors identify the role of surface energy fluxes generated in VIC and assess the relationships between 15 hydroclimatic indicators and NOAA SCE observations over each snow-covered sensitivity zone (SCSZ) for both North America and Eurasia. The authors find that surface net radiation (SNR) provides the primary energy source and sensible heat (SH) plays a secondary role in observed changes of SCE. As compared with SNR and SH, latent heat has only a minor influence on snow cover changes. In addition, these changes in surface energy fluxes resulting in the pan-Arctic snow cover recession are mainly driven by statistically significant decreases in snow surface albedo and increased air temperatures (surface air temperature, daily maximum temperature, and daily minimum temperature), as well as statistically significant increased atmospheric water vapor pressure. Contributions of other hydroclimate variables that the authors analyzed (downward shortwave radiation, precipitation, diurnal temperature range, wind speed, and cloud cover) are not significant for observed SCE changes in either the North American or Eurasian SCSZs.
The Latitudinal Dependence of Shear and Mixing in the Pacific Transiting the Critical Latitude for PSI
Authors: MacKinnon J. A. , Alford M. H. , Pinkel Rob , Klymak Jody , Zhao Zhongxiang
Published: September 2012

Turbulent mixing rates are inferred from measurements spanning 25°–37°N in the Pacific Ocean. The observations were made as part of the Internal Waves Across the Pacific experiment, designed to investigate the long-range fate of the low-mode internal tide propagating north from Hawaii. Previous and companion results argue that, near a critical latitude of 29°N, the internal tide loses energy to high-mode near-inertial motions through parametric subharmonic instability. Here, the authors estimate mixing from several variations of the finescale shear–strain parameterization, as well as Thorpe-scale analysis of overturns. Though all estimated diffusivities are modest in magnitude, average diffusivity in the top kilometer shows a factor of 2–4 elevation near and equatorward of 29°N. However, given intrinsic uncertainty and the strong temporal variability of diffusivity observed in long mooring records, the meridional mixing pattern is found to be near the edge of statistical significance.
Parametric Subharmonic Instability of the Internal Tide at 29°N
Authors: MacKinnon J. A. , Alford M. H. , Sun Oliver , Pinkel Rob , Zhao Zhongxiang , Klymak Jody
Published: September 2012

Observational evidence is presented for transfer of energy from the internal tide to near-inertial motions near 29°N in the Pacific Ocean. The transfer is accomplished via parametric subharmonic instability (PSI), which involves interaction between a primary wave (the internal tide in this case) and two smaller-scale waves of nearly half the frequency. The internal tide at this location is a complex superposition of a low-mode waves propagating north from Hawaii and higher-mode waves generated at local seamounts, making application of PSI theory challenging. Nevertheless, a statistically significant phase locking is documented between the internal tide and upward- and downward-propagating near-inertial waves. The phase between those three waves is consistent with that expected from PSI theory. Calculated energy transfer rates from the tide to near-inertial motions are modest, consistent with local dissipation rate estimates. The conclusion is that while PSI does befall the tide near a critical latitude of 29°N, it does not do so catastrophically.
Evaluation of Surface Flux Parameterizations with Long-Term ARM Observations
Authors: Liu Gang , Liu Yangang , Endo Satoshi
Published: September 2012

Surface momentum, sensible heat, and latent heat fluxes are critical for atmospheric processes such as clouds and precipitation, and are parameterized in a variety of models ranging from cloud-resolving models to large-scale weather and climate models. However, direct evaluation of the parameterization schemes for these surface fluxes is rare due to limited observations. This study takes advantage of the long-term observations of surface fluxes collected at the Southern Great Plains site by the Department of Energy Atmospheric Radiation Measurement program to evaluate the six surface flux parameterization schemes commonly used in the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model and three U.S. general circulation models (GCMs). The unprecedented 7-yr-long measurements by the eddy correlation (EC) and energy balance Bowen ratio (EBBR) methods permit statistical evaluation of all six parameterizations under a variety of stability conditions, diurnal cycles, and seasonal variations. The statistical analyses show that the momentum flux parameterization agrees best with the EC observations, followed by latent heat flux, sensible heat flux, and evaporation ratio/Bowen ratio. The overall performance of the parameterizations depends on atmospheric stability, being best under neutral stratification and deteriorating toward both more stable and more unstable conditions. Further diagnostic analysis reveals that in addition to the parameterization schemes themselves, the discrepancies between observed and parameterized sensible and latent heat fluxes may stem from inadequate use of input variables such as surface temperature, moisture availability, and roughness length. The results demonstrate the need for improving the land surface models and measurements of surface properties, which would permit the evaluation of full land surface models.
The dream of a perfect body come true: Multimodality in cosmetic surgery advertising
Authors: Lirola María Martínez , Chovanec Jan
Published: September 2012

This article documents the operation of multimodal and rhetorical strategies in cosmetic surgery leaflets, with a focus on the interplay between the verbal and visual channels. It describes how advertising discourse exploits the image of an idealized female body in order to achieve its economic goals. Recipients are targeted through the application of the prevalent ideology of femininity, which in the Western context is increasingly dependent on patterns of consumption of body-oriented products and services against the background of (male) expectations of the female body ideal. It is argued that in this situation, which merges the private with the public and in which women willingly participate in the self-perpetuating ideology of male-defined femininity, women may, for various reasons, identify with the super-ideal sexualized images of women offered to them, while indulging in a mixture of fantasy and reality and sharing in the guilty knowledge that their own imperfect bodies need to be fixed. This article points out that such ideologies are very effectively studied through their multimodal realizations, where the visual mode, in particular, can non-verbally draw on and reproduce stereotyped representations.
On living social discourse, embodiment and culture: The potential of a broadened conception of discursive psychology
Authors: Demuth Carolin
Published: September 2012

In reply to Cresswell’s article, I will comment on his suggestion to broaden discursive psychology studies on refugees, race and ethnicity by (a) an ethnomethodological perspective including broader social discourses and (b) a phenomenological perspective including immediate experience. I will argue how such a dialogical approach is crucial for the understanding of human psychological functioning and can also be fruitfully applied to other areas of psychology such as early child development.
Broader outside social discourses, embodiment, and technism in James Cresswell’s critique of discourse analysis methodology
Authors: Matusov Eugene , von Duyke Katherine
Published: September 2012

In our judgment, Cresswell’s theoretical discussion of the two main concerns with CDA methodology and the conceptual ways to deal with them is most interesting and promising. However, we found his empirical illustration of how to deal with these two concerns unconvincing, problematic, and apparently contradicting of his overall theoretical framework, but also instructional and thought-provoking. We see the main shortcoming of Cresswell’s application of his theoretical ideas to empirical research in his technism, a belief that there are methodological techniques detached from investigators’ research goals and subjectivity – a belief likely rooted in positivism. In our commentary, we want to justify our judgment and offer our own illustrations of his fruitful theoretical and methodological ideas.
How to study experience
Authors: Potter Jonathan
Published: September 2012

Social analysts find it hard to throw off the dualism of traditional psychology. Discursive psychology offers a non-dualistic approach to psychological matters that works with the displays and orientations of participants, and recognizes that psychological matters are managed immediately and subtly through the normative resources of interaction. James Cresswell attempts to provide an alternative account of ‘experience’; drawing on the writing of Bakhtin, he offers a kind of socialized dualism. His account is illustrated by analysing talk from an open-ended interview. The current article (a) offers an alternative analysis of that talk highlighting the operation of highly conventional repair sequences; (b) questions Cresswell’s inferences from the interviewee’s talk to their underlying ‘experiences’; (c) illustrates how matters that might classically be considered as ‘experiential’ can be handled from a non-dualistic interactional perspective, using an example from a research programme on crying and upset; and (d) offers some general principles for the study of ‘experience’.
Ethics and Risk Communication
Authors: Thompson Paul B.
Published: September 2012

One source of ethical failure in risk communication lies in the inadequate theoretical understanding of ethically significant assumptions embedded in risk discourses. A second source of failure resides in the way that risk communication serves ethical purposes that come into conflict in particular cases. The ethical motivation for risk communication may be to improve effectiveness of decision making, to empower recipients of a message, or to ensure that exposure to risk is consistent with ethical criteria of informed consent. Philosophical theories of ethics provide a useful way to frame these important differences in emphasis.
Lethal and Non-Lethal Violence Against Women in Australia
Authors: McPhedran Samara , Baker Jeanine
Published: September 2012

Understanding pathways from non-lethal violence to lethal violence between intimate partners is a notable challenge for both policy and practice in partner violence prevention. Of particular interest is whether lethal violence represents an “escalation” of violence from “low” to “high” risk over time, or is best predicted by specific behavioral “typologies” of perpetrators. Testing the “escalation” and “typology” theories is hampered in Australia by limitations in knowledge about non-lethal and lethal violence against women. This article discusses data limitations, measurement problems, and conceptual shortcomings, and suggests approaches to improving evidence quality in the field of violence prevention and risk assessment.
Psychological Distress and Substance Use Among Community-Recruited Women Currently Victimized by Intimate Partners
Authors: Golder Seana , Connell Christian M. , Sullivan Tami P.
Published: September 2012

Latent class analysis was used to examine patterns of victimization among a community sample of 212 women experiencing intimate partner violence (IPV). Results identified three classes of women characterized by victimization history (recent IPV, childhood victimization); classes were further differentiated by IPV-related posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms, other indicators of psychological distress, and substance use. Differentiating levels of victimization and their associated patterns of psychosocial functioning can be used to develop intervention strategies targeting the needs of different subgroups of women so that mental health and substance use problems can be reduced or prevented altogether. Implications for treatment and future research are presented here.
Gay hospitality as desiring labor: Contextualizing transnational sexual labor
Authors: Collins Dana
Published: September 2012

This critical ethnographic research explores gay hospitality as a ‘testimony of desire’ by working-class and ‘gay’-identified Filipino sexual laborers who ‘work’ as companions for foreign tourists in a gentrifying tourism district, Malate, the Philippines. I analyze gay hospitality as informal sexual labor by applying the concept of identity work, which involves hosts’ construction and maintenance of their ‘gay’ identity and connection to urban place. I argue that their testimonies of desire are subaltern development discourses, which speak to significant lived experiences of work and place and, which offer alternative configurations of identity, relationships, and economic exchange.
Body issues: The political economy of male sex work
Authors: Smith Nicola J
Published: September 2012

The analysis of global sexual economies has emerged as an important part of a wider feminist project to re-imagine the boundaries of what constitutes the ‘inside’ and ‘outside’ of globalisation and capitalism. Emphasising the importance of such an agenda, the article argues that continued understandings of commercial sex as ‘women’s work’ place male and transgender bodies on the outside rather than the inside of the analysis of global sexual economies. Highlighting the need to address this gap in contemporary theorising and empirical analysis, the article then offers an illustration of research into male sex work through discussion of how male escorts in San Francisco negotiate the complex meanings and practices surrounding gender, sexuality and political economy.
Walking the beat and doing business: Exploring spaces of male sex work and public sex
Authors: Atkins Michael , Laing Mary
Published: September 2012

This article draws on two research projects to explore how spaces of public male sex work come into being through commercial and public sexual practices. Utilizing a blended methodology of ethnography, participant observation, interview materials, map making and photography, the article explores an area known for commercial and non-commercial sexual encounters between men in a city in the UK. It makes conceptual arguments about the material and discursive significance of walking in the making, and continued existence of ‘red light district’ spaces. Specifically, we will look at how men engaged in sex work (those described to be ‘doing business’) and other men seeking non-commercial sexual liaisons recognize the potential for sexual encounters in the space through environmental and embodied signifiers. We also discuss how patterns of walking and waiting mediated by this reading of the environment contribute to the emergence and persistence of a ‘beat’ space.
‘I don’t want us to stand out more than we already do’: Lesbian couples negotiating family connections in donor conception
Authors: Nordqvist Petra
Published: September 2012

This article adds to debates about intimate life in non-heterosexual relationships and the concept of ‘families of choice’ by exploring lesbian couples’ understandings of becoming and being a family through donor conception. Drawing on a study comprising 25 lesbian couples in England and Wales who pursued parenthood together using donor sperm, it explores the constructions of family connections as they emerge in couples’ accounts about donor selection and ethnicity/‘race’, siblinghood, surnames and civil partnerships. Asking how far the concept of ‘families of choice’ accounts for contemporary same-sex intimate practices, the article highlights the complex interplay between privilege and under-privilege in the couples’ narratives of conception. It argues that traditional intimate values are emerging as significant in shaping how this community of same-sex couples understand, imagine and construct their intimate lives.
Evidence-based psychological interventions for adult survivors of torture and trauma: A 30-year review
Authors: McFarlane Colleen A. , Kaplan Ida
Published: September 2012

In this paper we review research evidence on psychosocial interventions for adult survivors of torture and trauma. We identified 40 studies from 1980 to 2010 that investigated interventions for adult survivors of torture and trauma. Population subtypes include resettled refugees, asylum seekers, displaced persons, and persons resident in their country of origin. Settings include specialized services for torture and trauma, specialized tertiary referral clinics, community settings, university settings, as well as psychiatric and multidisciplinary mental health services. Interventions were delivered as individual or group treatments and lasted from a single session to 19 years duration. The studies employed randomized controlled trials, nonrandomized comparison studies and single cohort follow-up studies. In all, 36 of the 40 studies (90%) demonstrated significant improvements on at least one outcome indicator after an intervention. Most studies (60%) included participants who had high levels of posttraumatic stress symptomatology. Improvements in symptoms of posttraumatic stress, depression, anxiety, and somatic symptoms were found following a range of interventions. Little evidence was available with regard to the effect on treatment outcomes of the amount, type, or length of treatment, the influence of patient characteristics, maintenance of treatment effects, and treatment outcomes other than psychiatric symptomatology. The review highlights the need for more carefully designed research that addresses the shortcomings of current studies and that integrates the experience of expert practitioners.
Understanding the benefits and challenges of community engagement in the development of community mental health services for common mental disorders: Lessons from a case study in a rural South African subdistrict site
Authors: Petersen Inge , Baillie Kim , Bhana Arvin ,   Mental Health and Poverty Research Programme Consortium
Published: September 2012

Against the backdrop of a large treatment gap for mental disorders in low- to middle-income countries (LMICs), the 2007 Lancet series on global mental health calls for a scaling up of mental health services. Community participation is largely harnessed as one strategy to facilitate this call. Using a participatory implementation framework for the development of mental health services for common mental disorders (CMDs) in a rural subdistrict in South Africa as a case study, this study sought to understand the benefits and challenges of community participation beyond that of scaling up. Qualitative process evaluation involving interviews with service providers and users was employed. The results suggest that in addition to promoting mobilization of resources and actions for scaling up mental health services, community participation can potentially contribute to more culturally competent services and personal empowerment of recipients of care. In addition, community participation holds promise for engendering community-led public health actions to ameliorate some of the social determinants of mental ill health. Challenges include that community members involved in these activities are mainly marginalized women, who have limited power to achieve structural change, including cultural practices that may be harmful to the mental health of women and children. We conclude that in addition to contributing to scaling up mental health services, community participation can potentially promote the development of culturally competent mental health services and greater community control of mental health.
The role of communities in advancing the goals of the Movement for Global Mental Health
Authors: Campbell Catherine , Burgess Rochelle
Published: September 2012

This special section of Transcultural Psychiatry explores the local-global spaces of engagement being opened up by the Movement for Global Mental Health, with particular emphasis on the need for expanded engagement with local communities. Currently the Movement places its main emphasis on scaling up mental health services and advocating for the rights of the mentally ill, framed within universalised western understandings of health, healing and personhood. The papers in this section emphasise the need for greater attention to the impacts of context, culture and local survival strategies on peoples’ responses to adversity and illness, greater acknowledgement of the agency and resilience of vulnerable communities and increased attention to the way in which power inequalities and social injustices frame peoples’ opportunities for mental health. In this Introduction, we highlight ways in which greater community involvement opens up possibilities for tackling each of these challenges. Drawing on community health psychology, we outline our conceptualisation of “community mental health competence” defined as the ability of community members to work collectively to facilitate more effective prevention, care, treatment and advocacy. We highlight the roles of multi-level dialogue, critical thinking and partnerships in facilitating both the “voice” of vulnerable communities as well as “receptive social environments” where powerful groups are willing to recognise communities’ needs and assist them in working for improved well-being. Respectful local-global alliances have a key role to play in this process. The integration of local community struggles for mental health into an energetic global activist Movement opens up exciting possibilities for translating the Movement’s calls for improved global mental health from rhetoric to reality.
Older users, multimodal reminders and assisted living technology
Authors: Warnock David , McGee-Lennon Marilyn , Brewster Stephen
Published: September 2012

The primary users of assisted living technology are older people who are likely to have one or more sensory impairments. Multimodal technology allows users to interact via non-impaired senses and provides alternative ways to interact if primary interaction methods fail. An empirical user study was carried out with older participants which evaluated the performance, disruptiveness and subjective workload of visual, audio, tactile and olfactory notifications then compared the results with earlier findings in younger participants. It was found that disruption and subjective workload were not affected by modality, although some modalities were more effective at delivering information accurately. It is concluded that although further studies need to be carried out in a real-world settings, the findings support the argument for multiple modalities in assisted living technology.
Privacy and data security in E-health: Requirements from the user’s perspective
Authors: Wilkowska Wiktoria , Ziefle Martina
Published: September 2012

In this study two currently relevant aspects of using medical assistive technologies were addressed—security and privacy. In a two-step empirical approach that used focus groups (n = 19) and a survey (n = 104), users’ requirements for the use of medical technologies were collected and evaluated. Specifically, we focused on the perceived importance of data security and privacy issues. Outcomes showed that both security and privacy aspects play an important role in the successful adoption of medical assistive technologies in the home environment. In particular, analysis of data with respect to gender, health-status and age (young, middle-aged and old users) revealed that females and healthy adults require, and insist on, the highest security and privacy standards compared with males and the ailing elderly.
Developing visualisation software for rehabilitation: Investigating the requirements of patients, therapists and the rehabilitation process
Authors: Loudon David , Macdonald Alastair S , Carse Bruce , Thikey Heather , Jones Lucy , Rowe Philip J , Uzor Stephen , Ayoade Mobolaji , Baillie Lynne
Published: September 2012

This article describes the ongoing process of engaging with users in the development and evaluation of prototype visualisation software, which aims to assist in the understanding and improvement of appropriate movements during rehabilitation. The value of the process is illustrated in the article with a discussion of the key findings of pre-pilot focus groups with stroke survivors and therapists. The article describes how the design of the visualisation software is being adapted to meet the emerging understanding of the needs of patients and professionals, and of the rehabilitation process.
Looking for similarities in movement between and within homes using cluster analysis
Authors: Loane John , O’Mullane Brian , Bortz Brennon , Knapp R Benjamin
Published: September 2012

In this article we examine data from eight purpose-built aware homes over a six-month period, looking at presence in rooms to try to determine patterns among the older residents. We look for homes that have similar movement patterns using cluster analysis. We also examine how movement over days clusters within individual homes. Our analysis shows that different homes have distinct movement patterns but within individual homes residents have strong movement routines.
Extremity Trauma, Dressings, and Wound Infection
Authors: Eardley William G. P. , Watts Sarah A. , Clasper Jon C.
Published: September 2012

The manner in which high-energy transfer limb injuries are dressed can alter the wound environment through manipulation of the bacterial burden, thus minimizing tissue degradation and influencing healing potential. Infection is the principal complication of such wounds, and antiseptic soaked gauze is accepted in early coverage of extremity wounds despite a lack of evidence to support this practice. There has been resurgence in the use of silver in acute wounds, through dressings manipulated to deliver sustained elemental silver to the wound interface. In vitro and in vivo experimentation of silver dressings are characterized however by methodological compromise, primarily through lack of similarity of models to the physiology of the healing wound. Results from in vitro studies caution against the use of silver because of evidence of cytotoxicity, but this is not reproduced in in vivo or clinical experimentation, leading to ambiguity. Review of silver dressing application in burns and chronic wound studies fails to support its use over other dressing systems. Similarly, evidence for the use of silver in acute limb wounds is lacking. This article provides a comprehensive overview of the use of silver dressings in acute wound care and highlights in particular the paucity of evidence regarding its routine use in extremity injury.
The Experimental Study of Hemodynamic Changes and Pathological Morphology After Artery Anastomosis
Authors: Hang Junbiao , Sui Liang , Zhou Jian , Lu Shuliang , Song Fei , Zhang Yi , Zhu Ying , Zhang Jianfeng , Wang Xiqiao
Published: September 2012

The purpose of this article is to dynamically observe hemodynamic and medium-term pathomorphological changes and to investigate the pathophysiological variation at the vascular anastomotic stoma. Eighteen New Zealand white rabbits underwent right common carotid artery in situ anastomosis, and the hemodynamic changes of anastomotic stoma were recorded by color Doppler ultrasonography before surgery and 5 minutes, 1 week, 2 weeks, 3 weeks, 4 weeks, 8 weeks, 12 weeks, and 16 weeks after surgery. Pathological sections of stoma were made and the pathomorphological changes viewed. Artery anastomoses were preformed successfully in 15 rabbits; 4 rabbits suffered postoperative death. It took 1.22 ± 0.77 hours to complete every operation. All the data involved, mean velocity, peak systolic velocity, and resistant index, had no significant differences between preoperative and postoperative follow-up. The obvious differences were found in the diameters of stoma 5 minutes, 1 week, 2 weeks, and 3 weeks after operation ( P values were .002, .001, .003, and .008, respectively). The variance of stoma diameters 2 weeks later was also different from those after 1 week, but no other differences were observed during other weeks. The decrease in stoma diameters after anastomosis was clear, with the maximum decrease occurring 2 weeks after the operation, after which the diameters of stoma became stable 16 weeks after the operation. Some collagens around anastomoses could be found by the pathological sections of stoma, which indicated that the deposition of collagen might be related to the decrease in stoma diameter.
The Investigation of Demographic Characteristics and the Health-Related Quality of Life in Patients With Diabetic Foot Ulcers at First Presentation
Authors: Yao Huang , Ting Xie , Minjie Wu , Yemin Cao , Xiqiao Wang , Yuzhi Jiang , Ming Tian , Weida Wu , Peifen Qian , Shuliang Lu
Published: September 2012

To investigate the characteristics of diabetic patients with foot ulcers, their health-related quality of life (HRQoL), and the link between them. The study population included 131 consecutive patients presenting in a diabetic foot clinic with a new foot ulcer between December 1, 2011, and May 1, 2012. The authors collected sociodemographic data, foot and ulcer characteristics using the Wagner Grade, and HRQoL (using the SF-36 Scale) information; 54.2% of the patients were in Wagner 2 or Wagner 3 categories. In all the 8 SF-36 subscales and in the SF-36 summary scales, the patients with diabetic foot ulcer had significantly poorer HRQoL than the general population in China ( P < .01). Their Wagner Grade had negative correlation with all the SF-36 subscales and the summary scales ( P < .05). In conclusion, new diabetic foot ulcers were already in poor condition when patients first visited the diabetic foot clinic. Concomitantly, patients had worse HRQoL compared with the general population. More effective interventions are needed to improve their self-care level and HRQoL.
Research Note
Authors: Borduin Charles M. , Ronis Scott T.
Published: September 2012

This study examined the individual functioning, interpersonal relations, and academic performance of 142 female adolescents who were divided into three demographically similar groups: violent juvenile offenders ( n = 51), nonviolent juvenile offenders ( n = 56), and nondelinquent youths (ND; n = 35). Both the violent and the nonviolent offenders had histories of serious crimes (i.e., felonies). Parents and youths completed self-report instruments, behavior-rating inventories, and a videorecorded interaction task, and teachers completed a rating measure. Results showed that violent juvenile offenders and nonviolent juvenile offenders had more behavior problems, more difficulties in family and peer relations, and poorer academic performance than did ND. However, violent juvenile offenders did not differ from nonviolent juvenile offenders on any of the measures of individual functioning, family relations, peer relations, or academic performance. Taken together, the findings suggest that girls who commit serious crimes, regardless of whether violence is involved, share a number of risk factors across key domains of individual and interpersonal functioning. The implications of these findings for research, theory, and treatment are discussed.
Stereotypical representations of Muslims and Islam following the 7/7 London terror attacks
Authors: Shaw Ibrahim Seaga
Published: September 2012

Samuel Huntington (1996) argued that the source of the great divisions and conflicts between peoples of global society would be cultural, and not necessarily ideological or economic as in the last century. Although, the validity of Huntington’s claim was not clear at the time, it certainly began to gain credence in western circles following recent terrorist attacks ranging from 9/11 in the US, 7/7 in London to the bombings in Madrid, the Philippines and Mumbai, all in the space of seven years. These events have undoubtedly reinforced hostile perceptions and attitudes towards ‘other’ cultures and the peoples that live in some distant countries. Drawing on a 2007 study of Germany’s Muslim community which revealed a consistently close link between radicalization and ‘vicarious’ experiences of marginalization and discrimination, this article critically analyses eight British newspapers’ coverage of the 7/7 London terror attacks to determine the extent of the stereotypical representations employed and their implications for intercultural communication and terrorism prevention.
‘Indian drum in the house’
Authors: Anderson Willow J
Published: September 2012

This article investigates the production and consumption of Canadian Prime Minister Harper’s 2008 apology to the victims of residential schools. The apology used contextual elements and linguistic devices to construct a particular reality of both the government’s role in residential schools and the nature of Canadian diversity. By comparing themes from Harper’s speech to responses on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation’s website, the article seeks to understand whether Canadians reaffirm or contest the prime minister’s message. The analysis reveals that although the majority felt the apology was appropriate and important, many contested the discourse that suggested that the attitudes that led to the schools have ‘no place’ in modern-day Canada. Instead the intercultural audience offered competing discourses of genocide and colonialism suggesting that Canada’s identity as it relates to its Aboriginal peoples is still a site of struggle.
Rating Systems for Evaluation of Functional Ankle Instability
Authors: Cronkey Joseph , LaPorta Guido
Published: September 2012

Evaluation of patient outcomes should include the use of validated scoring systems to determine disease-specific outcomes. Many scoring systems are being used for disorders of the ankle joint. However, not all instruments are capable of detecting changes associated with functional ankle instability (FAI), since their focus is toward pathological entities with greater impact on individual’s physical and mental well-being. Methods. In this prospective study, 6 instruments were used to evaluate outcomes associated with an intervention aimed at improving FAI. Twenty ankles that had been unsuccessfully treated for FAI were treated with a single session of noninvasive monopolar capacitive-coupled radiofrequency (mcRF) and followed prospectively. Results. Five out of 6 instruments failed to show changes that could be correlated with patients’ outcomes. Only one instrument, the Cumberland Ankle Instability Tool (CAIT) demonstrated enough sensitivity and correlated well with meaningful clinical differences. Based on study’s success criteria (proper function, no pain, no adverse events, and patient satisfaction), 78% of the ankles treated had successful outcomes whereas 87.5% evidenced significant improvement based on CAIT (P < .001). No adverse events were present during the study. Conclusions. The study of FAI is hampered by the lack of disease-specific questionnaires, which oftentimes introduce ceiling or flooring effects. The CAIT was capable of detecting changes in patients’ condition and response to the noninvasive mcRF procedure without evidencing ceiling or flooring effects. In this study, the CAIT was found to be reliable, valid, sensitive to changes of clinical importance, in addition to being short and practical to use.

Levels of Evidence: Diagnostic, Level I
Entangled allegiances: Ottoman Greeks in Marseille and the shifting ethos of Greekness (c. 1790–c. 1820)
Authors: Grenet Mathieu
Published: September 2012

An attempt is made here to consider ‘the Greek experience of Ottoman rule’ beyond the frontiers of the Empire itself, by focusing on the resilience of the Ottoman aspect of collective identity among the Greeks in late eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century Marseille. Beyond the classic questioning of political, social and cultural categories and labels, this article makes a plea for taking this resilience seriously, as part and parcel of a broader process of identity formation in a diaspora context. Making the case for a richer and more complex analysis of the phenomenon of ‘entangled identities’ among the Greeks in Marseille, some suggestions are made for what this claim might bring to the analysis of identity formation in the context of diaspora communities.
Linguistic creativity and institutional design: the case of Greek parliamentary discourse
Authors: Tsakona Villy
Published: September 2012

Creative language in Greek parliamentary discourse is investigated here in order to show that Greek parliamentarians strategically resort to such language as a means of criticism and collective party identity construction. The proposed microanalysis is combined with a macroanalysis considering linguistic creativity to correlate with the particularities of the Greek political system and the topic discussed in such debates. Taking into account the institutional parameters influencing the properties of parliamentary discourse suggested by political science, it is argued that the conditions and goals of deliberation in the Greek parliament favour the presence of creative language.
Efficiency of genomic selection using Bayesian multi-marker models for traits selected to reflect a wide range of heritabilities and frequencies of detected quantitative traits loci in mice
Authors: Kapell Dagmar NRG , Sorensen Daniel , Su Guosheng , Janss Luc LG , Ashworth Cheryl J , Roehe Rainer
Published: September 2012

Background

Genomic selection uses dense single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) markers to predict breeding values, as compared to conventional evaluations which estimate polygenic effects based on phenotypic records and pedigree information. The objective of this study was to compare polygenic, genomic and combined polygenic-genomic models, including mixture models (labelled according to the percentage of genotyped SNP markers considered to have a substantial effect, ranging from 2.5% to 100%). The data consisted of phenotypes and SNP genotypes (10,946 SNPs) of 2,188 mice. Various growth, behavioural and physiological traits were selected for the analysis to reflect a wide range of heritabilities (0.10 to 0.74) and numbers of detected quantitative traits loci (QTL) (1 to 20) affecting those traits. The analysis included estimation of variance components and cross-validation within and between families.

Results

Genomic selection showed a high predictive ability (PA) in comparison to traditional polygenic selection, especially for traits of moderate heritability and when cross-validation was between families. This occurred although the proportion of genomic variance of traits using genomic models was 22 to 33% smaller than using polygenic models. Using a 2.5% mixture genomic model, the proportion of genomic variance was 79% smaller relative to the polygenic model. Although the proportion of variance explained by the markers was reduced further when a smaller number of SNPs was assumed to have a substantial effect on the trait, PA of genomic selection for most traits was little affected. These low mixture percentages resulted in improved estimates of single SNP effects. Genomic models implemented for traits with fewer QTLs showed even lower PA than the polygenic models.

Conclusions

Genomic selection generally performed better than traditional polygenic selection, especially in the context of between family cross-validation. Reducing the number of markers considered to affect the trait did not significantly change PA for most traits, particularly in the case of within family cross-validation, but increased the number of markers found to be associated with QTLs. The underlying number of QTLs affecting the trait has an effect on PA, with a smaller number of QTLs resulting in lower PA using the genomic model compared to the polygenic model.