bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Isolated Right-Sided Posttraumatic Diaphragmatic Hernia
Authors: Amadou Magagi Ibrahim , Habou Oumarou , Adamou Harissou , Adakal Ousseini , Ali Ada Mahamoud Omid , Moustapha Hellé , Abarchi Habibou
Published: February 2018

Diaphragm is a compliant musculoaponeurotic barrier located between thoracic and abdominal cavities. Traumatic diaphragmatic rupture is a rare clinicopathological entity. We report a case of right-sided posttraumatic hernia in a child following blunt trauma to highlight diagnostic difficulties and therapeutic specific aspects. A 10-year-old boy was admitted to the emergency surgical department with thoracic trauma following pedestrian accident. At admission a haemothorax was suspected and treated by pleural drainage. The diagnosis of a right-sided diaphragmatic rupture was made after computed tomographic scan forty-eight hours later. At surgery, a reduction of herniated abdominal content and a suture of diaphragmatic defect were performed. The postoperative recoveries were uneventful and the patient was followed up for 12 months without symptoms. The possibility of a diaphragmatic rupture should be kept in mind and sought after any trauma of the thoracoabdominal junction as the diagnosis can be challenging in emergency department.
CrosstalkNet: A Visualization Tool for Differential Co-expression Networks and Communities
Authors: Manem Venkata , Adam George Alexandru , Gruosso Tina , Gigoux Mathieu , Bertos Nicholas , Park Morag , Haibe-Kains Benjamin
Published: February 2018

Variations in physiological conditions can rewire molecular interactions between biological compartments, which can yield novel insights into gain or loss of interactions specific to perturbations of interest. Networks are a promising tool to elucidate intercellular interactions, yet exploration of these large-scale networks remains a challenge due to their high dimensionality. To retrieve and mine interactions, we developed CrosstalkNet, a user friendly, web-based network visualization tool that provides a statistical framework to infer condition-specific interactions coupled with a community detection algorithm for bipartite graphs to identify significantly dense subnetworks. As a case study, we used CrosstalkNet to mine a set of 54 and 22 gene-expression profiles from breast tumor and normal samples, respectively, with epithelial and stromal compartments extracted via laser microdissection. We show how CrosstalkNet can be used to explore large-scale co-expression networks and to obtain insights into the biological processes that govern cross-talk between different tumor compartments.

Significance: This web application enables researchers to mine complex networks and to decipher novel biological processes in tumor epithelial-stroma cross-talk as well as in other studies of intercompartmental interactions. Cancer Res; 78(8); 2140–3. ©2018 AACR.
Tamoxifen Metabolism and Efficacy in Breast Cancer: A Prospective Multicenter Trial
Authors: Neven Patrick , Jongen Lynn , Lintermans Anneleen , Van Asten Kathleen , Blomme Chantal , Lambrechts Diether , Poppe An , Wildiers Hans , Dieudonné Anne-Sophie , Brouckaert Olivier , Decloedt Jan , Berteloot Patrick , Verhoeven Didier , Joerger Markus , Vuylsteke Peter , Wynendaele Wim , Casteels Minne , Van Huffel Sabine , Lybaert Willem , Van Ginderachter Johan , Paridaens Robert , Vergote Ignace , Dezentjé Vincent Olaf , Van Calster Ben , Guchelaar Henk-Jan
Published: February 2018

Purpose: Levels of endoxifen, the most active metabolite of tamoxifen, vary by the highly polymorphic cytochrome P450 (CYP) 2D6 enzyme. We prospectively investigated tamoxifen efficacy by serum endoxifen levels and the tamoxifen activity score (TAS).

Experimental Design: A prospective observational multicenter study included postmenopausal women with an estrogen receptor–positive breast cancer receiving first-line tamoxifen, 20 mg daily in the neoadjuvant or metastatic setting, recruited between February 2009 and May 2014. The primary endpoint was the objective response rate (ORR) using RECIST criteria 1.0. Secondary endpoints were clinical benefit (CB), progression-free survival (PFS), and tolerability of tamoxifen. The main analysis used logistic regression to relate ORR to serum endoxifen levels after 3 months. Endpoints were also related to other tamoxifen metabolites and to TAS.

Results: Endoxifen levels were available for 247 of all 297 patients (83%), of which 209 with target lesions (85%). Median follow-up time for PFS was 32.5 months, and 62% progressed. ORR and CB were 45% and 84%, respectively. ORR was not related to endoxifen, and the OR of ORR was 1.008 per μg/L increase in endoxifen (95% confidence interval, 0.971–1.046; P = 0.56). In general, none of the endpoints was associated with endoxifen levels, tamoxifen metabolites, or TAS.

Conclusions: Under the prespecified assumptions, the results from this prospective clinical trial do not suggest therapeutic drug monitoring of endoxifen to be of clinical value in postmenopausal women treated with tamoxifen for breast cancer in the neoadjuvant or metastatic setting. Clin Cancer Res; 24(10); 2312–8. ©2018 AACR.
The Relationship between Hypomagnesemia and Pulmonary Function Tests in Patients with Chronic Asthma
Authors: Kılıc Hatice , Kanbay Asiye , Karalezlı Ayşegul , Babaoglu Elif , Hasanoglu H. Canan , Erel Ozcan , Ates Can
Published: February 2018

Objective: To investigate the relationship between serum values of magnesium and the parameters of the pulmonary function tests (PFT) in patients with chronic asthma. Subjects and Methods: This study recruited 50 patients with chronic stable asthma and 40 healthy individuals as a control group. Data on age, sex, severity of asthma, PFT, and details of drug therapy were obtained from each group. Serum magnesium, potassium, phosphorus, calcium, and sodium levels were also measured. To evaluate differences between groups, the Student t test or Mann-Whitney U test was performed for continuous variables, and the χ2 test for categorical variables. Results: In the asthma group, 10% (n = 9) of the patients had hypomagnesemia and 5.5% (n = 5) had hypophosphatemia. Patients with asthma were divided into two groups: the hypomagnesemic group (n = 9) and the normomagnesemic group (n = 41). Forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1), FEV1%, peak expiratory flow (PEF), and PEF% were lower in the hypomagnesemic group than in the normomagnesemic group (p = 0.02). Multiple logistic regression analysis revealed a statistically significant association between hypomagnesemia and PFT in the hypomagnesemic asthmatic group. The correlations of age with FEV1, FEV1%, PEF, and PEF% were as follows: p = 0.00, r = 0.29; p = 0.00, r = 0.43; p = 0.03, r = 0.22; p = 0.00, r = 0.38; and p = 0.03, r = 0.22, respectively. The correlation of serum magnesium levels with PFT (FEV1, FEV1%, PEF, PEF%) were as follows: p = 0.001, r = 0.29; p = 0.001, r = 0.43; p = 0.03, r = 0.22; and p = 0.001, r = 0.38, respectively. The other electrolytes were within the normal range in both groups. Conclusion: In this study, hypomagnesemia and hypophosphatemia were found to be the most common electrolyte abnormalities in patients with chronic stable asthma. FEV1, FEV1%, PEF, and PEF% were significantly lower in asthmatic patients with hypomagnesemia compared to asthmatic patients with normomagnesemia.
Metabolic Predictors of Incident Coronary Heart Disease in Women
Authors: Paynter Nina P. , Balasubramanian Raji , Giulianini Franco , Wang Dong D. , Tinker Lesley F. , Gopal Shuba , Deik Amy A. , Bullock Kevin , Pierce Kerry A. , Scott Justin , Martínez-González Miguel A. , Estruch Ramon , Manson JoAnn E. , Cook Nancy R. , Albert Christine M. , Clish Clary B. , Rexrode Kathryn M.
Published: February 2018

Background:

Although metabolomic profiling offers promise for the prediction of coronary heart disease (CHD), and metabolic risk factors are more strongly associated with CHD in women than men, limited data are available for women.

Methods:

We applied a liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry metabolomics platform to measure 371 metabolites in a discovery set of postmenopausal women (472 incident CHD cases, 472 controls) with validation in an independent set of postmenopausal women (312 incident CHD cases, 315 controls).

Results:

Eight metabolites, primarily oxidized lipids, were significantly dysregulated in cases after the adjustment for matching and CHD risk factors in both the discovery and validation data sets. One oxidized phospholipid, C34:2 hydroxy-phosphatidylcholine, remained associated with CHD after further adjustment for other validated metabolites. Subjects with C34:2 hydroxy-phosphatidylcholine levels in the highest quartile had a 4.7-fold increase in CHD odds in comparison with the lowest quartile; C34:2 hydroxy-phosphatidylcholine also significantly improved the area under the curve (
P
<0.01) for CHD. The C34:2 hydroxy-phosphatidylcholine findings were replicated in a third replication data set of 980 men and women (230 cardiovascular events) with a stronger association observed in women.

Conclusions:

These data replicate known metabolite predictors, identify novel markers, and support the relationship between lipid oxidation and subsequent CHD.
Los Angeles Motor Scale to Identify Large Vessel Occlusion
Authors: Noorian Ali Reza , Sanossian Nerses , Shkirkova Kristina , Liebeskind David S. , Eckstein Marc , Stratton Samuel J. , Pratt Franklin D. , Conwit Robin , Chatfield Fiona , Sharma Latisha K. , Restrepo Lucas , Valdes-Sueiras Miguel , Kim-Tenser May , Starkman Sidney , Saver Jeffrey L.
Published: February 2018

Background and Purpose—

Prehospital scales have been developed to identify patients with acute cerebral ischemia (ACI) because of large vessel occlusion (LVO) for direct routing to Comprehensive Stroke Centers (CSCs), but few have been validated in the prehospital setting, and their impact on routing of patients with intracranial hemorrhage has not been delineated. The purpose of this study was to validate the Los Angeles Motor Scale (LAMS) for LVO and CSC-appropriate (LVO ACI and intracranial hemorrhage patients) recognition and compare the LAMS to other scales.

Methods—

The performance of the LAMS, administered prehospital by paramedics to consecutive ambulance trial patients, was assessed in identifying (1) LVOs among all patients with ACI and (2) CSC-appropriate patients among all suspected strokes. Additionally, the LAMS administered postarrival was compared concurrently with 6 other scales proposed for paramedic use and the full National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale.

Results—

Among 94 patients, age was 70 (±13) and 49% female. Final diagnoses were ACI in 76% (because of LVO in 48% and non-LVO in 28%), intracranial hemorrhage in 19%, and neurovascular mimic in 5%. The LAMS administered by paramedics in the field performed moderately well in identifying LVO among patients with ACI (C statistic, 0.79; accuracy, 0.72) and CSC-appropriate among all suspected stroke transports (C statistic, 0.80; accuracy, 0.72). When concurrently performed in the emergency department postarrival, the LAMS showed comparable or better accuracy versus the 7 comparator scales, for LVO among ACI (accuracies LAMS, 0.70; other scales, 0.62–0.68) and CSC-appropriate (accuracies LAMS, 0.73; other scales, 0.56–0.73).

Conclusions—

The LAMS performed in the field by paramedics identifies LVO and CSC-appropriate patients with good accuracy. The LAMS performs comparably or better than more extended prehospital scales and the full National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale.
External Validation of Risk Scores for Major Bleeding in a Population-Based Cohort of Transient Ischemic Attack and Ischemic Stroke Patients
Authors: Hilkens Nina A. , Li Linxin , Rothwell Peter M. , Algra Ale , Greving Jacoba P.
Published: February 2018

Background and Purpose—

The S
2
TOP-BLEED score may help to identify patients at high risk of bleeding on antiplatelet drugs after a transient ischemic attack or ischemic stroke. The score was derived on trial populations, and its performance in a real-world setting is unknown. We aimed to externally validate the S
2
TOP-BLEED score for major bleeding in a population-based cohort and to compare its performance with other risk scores for bleeding.

Methods—

We studied risk of bleeding in 2072 patients with a transient ischemic attack or ischemic stroke on antiplatelet agents in the population-based OXVASC (Oxford Vascular Study) according to 3 scores: S
2
TOP-BLEED, REACH, and Intracranial-B
2
LEED
3
S. Performance was assessed with C statistics and calibration plots.

Results—

During 8302 patient-years of follow-up, 117 patients had a major bleed. The S
2
TOP-BLEED score showed a C statistic of 0.69 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.64–0.73) and accurate calibration for 3-year risk of major bleeding. The S
2
TOP-BLEED score was much more predictive of fatal bleeding than nonmajor bleeding (C statistics 0.77; 95% CI, 0.69–0.85 and 0.50; 95% CI, 0.44–0.58). The REACH score had a C statistic of 0.63 (95% CI, 0.58–0.69) for major bleeding and the Intracranial-B
2
LEED
3
S score a C statistic of 0.60 (95% CI, 0.51–0.70) for intracranial bleeding. The ratio of ischemic events versus bleeds decreased across risk groups of bleeding from 6.6:1 in the low-risk group to 1.8:1 in the high-risk group.

Conclusions—

The S
2
TOP-BLEED score shows modest performance in a population-based cohort of patients with a transient ischemic attack or ischemic stroke. Although bleeding risks were associated with risks of ischemic events, risk stratification may still be useful to identify a subgroup of patients at particularly high risk of bleeding, in whom preventive measures are indicated.
Text Genetics in Literary Modernism and Other Essays
Authors: Gabler Hans Walter
Published: February 2018

This collection of essays from world-renowned scholar Hans Walter Gabler contains writings from a decade and a half of retirement spent in exploration of textual criticism, genetic criticism, and literary criticism. In these sixteen stimulating contributions, he develops theories of textual criticism and editing that are inflected by our advance into the digital era; structurally analyses arts of composition in literature as well as music; and traces the cultural implications discernible in book design, and in the societal processes of the canonisation of works of literature and their authors.

Distinctive and ambitious, these essays move beyond the development of concerns voiced in the community of critics and scholars. Gabler responds innovatively to the issues involved and often endeavours to re-think their urgencies through allowing orthodox tenets of national schools of textual criticism to converge and merge. He moves between a variety of topics, ranging from fresh genetic approaches to the work of James Joyce and Virginia Woolf, to significant contributions to the theorisation of scholarly editing in the digital age.

Written in Gabler’s fluent style, these rich and elegant compositions are essential reading for literary and textual critics, scholarly editors, readers of James Joyce, New Modernism specialists, and all those interested in textual scholarship and digital editing within the encompassing framework of Digital Humanities.
The Effect of Thinning and Superobservations in a Simple One-Dimensional Data Analysis with Mischaracterized Error
Authors: Hoffman Ross N.
Published: February 2018

A one-dimensional (1D) analysis problem is defined and analyzed to explore the interaction of observation thinning or superobservation with observation errors that are correlated or systematic. The general formulation might be applied to a 1D analysis of radiance or radio occultation observations in order to develop a strategy for the use of such data in a full data assimilation system, but is applied here to a simple analysis problem with parameterized error covariances. Findings for the simple problem include the following. For a variational analysis method that includes an estimate of the full observation error covariances, the analysis is more sensitive to variations in the estimated background and observation error standard deviations than to variations in the corresponding correlation length scales. Furthermore, if everything else is fixed, the analysis error increases with decreasing true background error correlation length scale and with increasing true observation error correlation length scale. For a weighted least squares analysis method that assumes the observation errors are uncorrelated, best results are obtained for some degree of thinning and/or tuning of the weights. Without tuning, the best strategy is superobservation with a spacing approximately equal to the observation error correlation length scale.
Coverage of a Crisis: The Effects of International News Portrayals of Refugees and Misuse of the Term “Immigrant”
Authors: Hoewe Jennifer
Published: February 2018

Given the intense debate surrounding the United States’ policies regarding admission of refugees and immigrants into the country, this study set out to determine how the news media cover refugees and how that coverage influences news consumers. This research examines how news stories informed the public about the individuals affected by the wars in Syria, Afghanistan, and Iraq. In particular, it explores usage of the word “refugee” as opposed to “immigrant” to determine how individuals fleeing their home countries were described by the press. A content analysis revealed that U.S. newspapers were more likely than international newspapers to conflate the term “immigrant” with “refugee.” Also, when refugees were incorrectly described as “immigrants,” references to terrorism were more likely. The experimental portion of this research tested how news consumers respond to this framing of “refugee” versus “immigrant” in the same war-torn situation. Democrats, Independents, and Republicans who read about individuals labeled as “refugees” did not distinguish them from “immigrants” in the same situation, indicating they may have adopted the U.S. news media’s conflation of these terms. Republicans, however, had more negative perceptions of both refugees and immigrants than did Democrats or Independents, reporting greater perceptions of threat and favoring more stringent policy. These results suggest that American news consumers do not distinguish between refugees and immigrants in terms of policy, which at least partially implicates U.S. news media for not providing a solid benchmark for understanding these groups of people.
Changes in Community Integration From Pre- to Post-incarceration: The Influence of Psychological and Criminal Justice Factors
Authors: Moore Kelly E. , Gregorian Mariam J. , Tangney June P. , Folk Johanna B. , Stuewig Jeffrey B. , Salatino Andrew C.
Published: February 2018

Research on changes in community integration from pre- to post-incarceration has primarily focused on employment and is mixed, showing both deterioration and improvement. Research is needed to examine change in other areas, as well as predictive individual-level factors. We assessed changes in jail inmates’ ( n = 334) employment, source of income, residential stability, marital status, and volunteerism from pre- to post-incarceration, and analyzed individual-level predictors of change. On average, more inmates improved than deteriorated in community integration, with education and low criminal thinking predicting the greatest improvement. Across multiple areas, inmates’ community integration does not appear to deteriorate from pre- to post-incarceration. Apparent improvements may reflect that people become incarcerated during times of crisis, regressing to baseline by 1 year postrelease.
Youth Participatory Action Research and Possibilities for Students of Color in Educational Leadership
Authors: Bertrand Melanie
Published: February 2018

Background and Purpose: Students of Color hold intimate knowledge about institutional racism and White supremacy in schools—expertise that could be leveraged in school leadership. One approach that could mediate efforts to include Students of Color in leadership is youth participatory action research (YPAR), in which students and adult partners research school and community issues and take action. Guided by cultural historical activity theory, this article explores how YPAR may be a path to realizing the vision of including Students of Color in school decision making by sharing findings from a study of an after-school YPAR program for seventh and eighth graders. Research Methods/Approach: A range of data was collected, including videos of YPAR meetings and presentations and interviews with YPAR youth and school adults. Ethnographic and inductive approaches were used to analyze the data. Findings: Analysis of the data indicated that students within the YPAR program (re)positioned themselves as leaders through their production and presentation of intersectional, social justice research. School adults, however, positioned the students in contradictory ways. They verbalized support for student input without also positioning students as leaders while, in some cases, dismissing the students’ research and viewpoints. Implications: This article adds to the educational leadership field by indicating that YPAR and similar programs can act as mediators to increase the potential for Students of Color to expand their leadership at schools by shining light on existing leadership and opening up possibilities for students to further reposition themselves as leaders.
Is Hip-Hop Violent? Analyzing the Relationship Between Live Music Performances and Violence
Authors: Fearing Autumn , Konkle Taylor Rae , Laitsch Jacqueline , Pierce Hannah , Rater Claire , Reece Karen , Stoecker Randy , Varelis Theodora
Published: February 2018

This project tested the dominant cultural belief that Hip-Hop music is a more violent form of music. Our research compared music genres and indicators of violence. Using data from the Madison Police Department, we coded and analyzed 4,624 police calls made from bars, clubs, and venues licensed to host live musical performances in Madison from 2008 to 2016. We then determined whether there was a live music performance during the time of a police call by using archives from local publications, venue websites, and direct correspondence with venues. When compared with all other genres, our analysis does not confirm the popular belief that live Hip-Hop performances have higher instances of violence in Madison, Wisconsin.
The Association Between Religiosity and Substance Use Patterns Among Women Involved in the Criminal Justice System
Authors: Jones Abenaa A. , Webb Fern J. , Lasopa Sonam O. , Striley Catherine W. , Cottler Linda B.
Published: February 2018

A growing body of research is exploring the association between religiosity and drug use. Thus, this analysis examines the association between religiosity and substance use patterns among females in the criminal justice system. Data derived from 318 women recruited from a Municipal Drug Court System in St. Louis, Missouri, were used to determine the association between religiosity and substance use patterns. Results indicate that religiosity decreased the odds of cocaine use, observed for both crack/cocaine (CC) use alone (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 0.41) and crack/cocaine + marijuana (CC + MJ) (AOR = 0.32). Interestingly, this association was not found for MJ use alone. Other variables that were significantly associated with CC + MJ use included being non-Black (CC + MJ: AOR = 0.46; MJ: AOR = 0.28), 4+ arrests (CC + MJ: AOR = 4.66; CC: AOR = 2.64), and <30 years of age (CC + MJ: AOR = 0.37; CC: AOR = 0.16; MJ: AOR = 2.84). Future drug prevention and interventions should consider the potential protective effects of religiosity on substance use.
When I am afraid: Fear in the book of Psalms
Authors: Jones Christine Brown
Published: February 2018

This article explores the concept of fear in the Psalter. We will begin with a brief look at three common words for fear in the Old Testament. Understanding the range of these words and the differences between them will help us better approach the concept of fear. We will then look closely at two psalms, Psalms 34 and 56, which contain repeated usage of one or more of the fear words. The article will end with a discussion of two important concepts: the fear of God and the presence of enemies. The phrases “fear God,” “fear the LORD,” or “fear him,” though not unique to the Psalter, require careful attention here because of the semantic range of the word “fear.” Enemies require attention in part because our culture so eagerly names them and promotes fear because of them. The Psalms invite us to use our imagination. In a world prone to fear, the Psalms call us to imagine a different response, a counter-cultural response of trusting God, who is the only appropriate focus of fear.
“A fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God”: A study of fear in the Epistle to the Hebrews
Authors: Peeler Amy
Published: February 2018

Does the author of Hebrews seek to quell fear or create it? The answer to both seems to be yes. To better understand the argument as a coherent whole, however, readers must seek to understand how he makes these dual moves with fear and why. First, God acts to eliminate fear. Through the death and resurrection of the Son become High Priest, God destroyed the enslaving fear of death. The fear of death has been eliminated, but another more terrifying fear remains: the fear of departing from God. The author of Hebrews views this departure as a possibility, and so, he warns his community about it in the starkest terms possible. Without muting that warning, I want to affirm with equal intensity the answers the author provides to that fear. First, he asks something of them, namely to pay attention, persevere, and run with endurance. Second, he reminds them of the community around them that will aid their endurance. Finally, he focuses on the priesthood of Christ. His one-time sacrifice as well as his living intercession give aid. The balance between assurance and warning resides in this: the author does not want them to presume upon the grace of God, but it is God, the just, holy, as well as faithful and merciful to whom he entrusts them.
Overcoming fear with Mary of Nazareth: Women’s experience alongside Luke 1:26–56
Authors: Webb Natalie
Published: February 2018

Luke 2:26–56 narrates the journey of Mary of Nazareth from the Annunciation by the angel and Mary’s consent to God’s calling to the Visitation with Elizabeth and Mary’s prophetic song, the Magnificat. The portrait that emerges is far from the static and meek picture of Mary that dominates popular imagination. Instead, we find in Mary a woman who, like many women today, experiences fear related to her calling, finds strength and empowerment in her relationship with other women, and is emboldened to prophetically proclaim a message that inspires fear in the patriarchal powers of the world.
Overcome by faith
Authors: Butler Amy
Published: February 2018

This sermon, on Matt 17:1–9, reflects on the aftermath of the 2016 United States election, asking the question of whether or not we, as Christians, will be overcome by fear or by faith. Using the example of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, this sermon argues that we should become what Bonhoeffer in his life’s work tried to create: a radical community of Christ that does not allow itself to be overcome either by the fear of the Other, which demagogues among us will always seek to exploit on their path to power, or by the very real fears associated with authentic gospel living, but which instead allow faith to power its every decision.
Between Ethnography and Mission in India: The Anthropology of Stephen Fuchs
Authors: Pflug Bernd
Published: February 2018

This essay is an inquiry in the anthropology of Stephen Fuchs who worked as a missionary in India for more than half a century. As any ethnographer, Fuchs faced the epistemological problems of observation, participation, judgement and explanation. These problems are shaped by the set of values an anthropologist displays in either hidden or more open ways. That is why knowledge of the ‘personal anthropology’ (David Pocock) of a scholar is important for the assessment of his or her anthropological research. The personal anthropology of Stephen Fuchs in his descriptive ethnographies of small-scale communities in central India around the middle of the last century is a good case in point. Its retrieval reveals the epistemological dilemma between scholarly and missionary work.
Selling the Liberal Arts Degree in England: Unique Students, Generic Skills and Mass Higher Education
Authors: Telling Kathryn
Published: February 2018

This article examines a series of well-documented changes in post-war English higher education: the massification of, and increased differentiation within, the system, as well as changing relationships between credentials, skills and incomes. It offers an account of the new liberal arts degrees rapidly emerging at both elite and non-elite universities in England, explaining these as a response to, and negotiation of, an ever-changing higher-education landscape. Through an analysis of the promotional websites of the 17 English liberal arts degrees offered in the 2016–2017 academic year, the article links their emergence to broader trends, while insisting that there are crucial differences in the ways in which elite and non-elite universities use new degrees to negotiate the higher education landscape.
Choosing Rest in Paradise Lost
Authors: Ritchie Daniel , Hedges Jared
Published: February 2018

As they depart the Garden of Eden at the end of Paradise Lost, Adam and Eve must “choose their place of rest” in the world. Most scholarly treatments of this “rest” place it in the eschatological context of Hebrews 4. Our paper highlights the neglected worldly significance of rest in Paradise Lost. Adam and Eve come to understand rest in relation to work, speech, understanding, eating, and sexual expression, both before the fall and after. Our article enables readers to identify with “our first parents” in seeking a “place of rest” in this world.
“Look into the Darkness”: Mark Jarman’s Unholy Sonnets
Authors: Steinberg Gillian
Published: February 2018

Mark Jarman’s Unholy Sonnets work in dichotomies, drawing on both Renaissance and Modern poetics; biblical texts with complex approaches to faith, especially the books of Job and Ecclesiastes; strict form and formal experimentation. A close examination of the contradictory impulses in Jarman’s work illustrates his unique connection to John Donne, whose Holy Sonnets engage with a silent God. Jarman extends this tradition into modernity, identifying, through subtle wordplay, allusion, and religious tradition, the deficiencies of human language and the difficult but worthwhile endeavor of searching for, and occasionally finding, communion with God.
(Un)seeing dead refugee bodies: mourning memes, spectropolitics, and the haunting of Europe
Authors: Papailias Penelope
Published: February 2018

This essay addresses the user remediation and performative rematerialization of the 2015 photographs of 3-year-old Kurdish-Syrian refugee Alan Kurdi, as well as acts of concealing and deferring access to those images following intense public debate. This article shifts the frame of discussion from moral spectatorship to mediated witnessing and networked mourning in the context of contemporary affective publics. To speak of the memeification of Kurdi’s corpse-image is to underline the way repetition operates as a gesture of both inhabitation and differentiation by users who connect in this way to others and to the issue at hand. The Kurdi images, thus, were not so much observed by a global audience as produced by, and productive of, a massive, dispersed corporeal network. The conceptual figure of spectrality links the mediality and materiality of the dead body-image to contemporary necropolitics that dispossesses subjects, producing the ‘living death’ of the global precariat. If the public sphere is defined by prohibitions on grieving, conflicts regarding who views, mourns, and speaks for which dead bodies, although often ascribed to debased social media mores, tell us more about the political border of human and nonhuman that produces the revenant figure of the refugee haunting inhospitable and neoliberal, but nominally post-racial, Europe.
Foregrounding contingency in caste-based dominance
Authors: Berg Dag-Erik
Published: February 2018

This paper focuses on how revolts against caste-based oppression in India have been made invisible due to conceptual legacies in European social and political theory. Weber’s and Arendt’s conceptualization of Pariah agency is a case in point. Arendt’s main understanding of Pariah agency is individualized and inadequate to study freedom struggles among untouchable castes. This article argues that one not only needs to move away from analyzing individual to collective action, but it is also crucial to foreground how collective mobilization among excluded groups has focused on contingencies that embed a system of domination. Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar’s critique of caste-based domination in India is noteworthy in this regard; he foregrounds how the distinction between “Touchables” and “Untouchables” in the caste system is both embedded and contingent. Focusing on untouchability in India, Ambedkar offers insights into hegemonic analyses of social exclusion, human rights articulations before the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and add value to current debates in post-foundational thought and transnational analysis.
Pedagogies of optimism: Teaching to ‘look forward’ in activating welfare programmes in the Netherlands
Authors: Arts Josien , Van Den Berg Marguerite
Published: February 2018

In the context of the Dutch welfare state, precarisation entails particular pedagogies: citizens are taught how to feel about being insecure through the techniques of (1) accepting; (2) controlling; and (3) imagining. Welfare activation thus focuses on teaching citizens to accept their precarious position, to embrace it and to prepare for its continuation while remaining optimistic about its discontinuation. Perhaps cruelly, then, the state teaches citizens to develop optimism towards certain imagined futures while at the same time acknowledging the unattainability of these futures. Importantly, case managers in Dutch welfare offices are often precarious themselves too, making the affective labour they perform both difficult and essential for themselves. Contemporary activation and workfare programmes are therefore best understood as characterised by insecurity and precarisation on both the receiving and the providing end of state–citizen encounters.
Prophylactic intra-aortic balloon counterpulsation before surgical myocardial revascularization in patients with acute myocardial infarction
Authors: Grieshaber Philippe , Schneider Tobias , Oster Lukas , Orhan Coskun , Roth Peter , Niemann Bernd , Böning Andreas
Published: February 2018

Introduction:

Prophylactic intra-aortic balloon counterpulsation (pIABC) is recommended for high-risk patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) surgery. Criteria for high-risk patients benefiting from pIABC are unclear. This study aimed to specifically describe the effect of pIABC on outcomes of patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) undergoing CABG.

Methods:

In 178 of 484 AMI patients (non-ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction [NSTEMI] or ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction [STEMI] ≤5 days before surgery) without cardiogenic shock who underwent CABG between 2008 and 2013, pIABC was initiated preoperatively. After propensity score matching, the outcomes of 400 patients were analyzed (pIABC: 150; Control: 250).

Results:

After propensity score matching, baseline and operative characteristics were balanced between the groups except for a higher rate of patients with a left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF)≤30% in the pIABC group (26% vs. Control: 13%; p=0.032). Seven point two percent (7.2%) of the control patients received an IABP intraoperatively or postoperatively. Postoperative extracorporeal life support (ECLS) was only needed in the control group (1.2% vs. 0%; p=0.01). Postoperative plasma curves of troponin I, creatine kinase (CK) and creatine kinase isoform MB (CK-MB) levels were reduced in the pIABC group compared with the control group. In-hospital mortality was reduced in the pIABC group (3.3% vs. control: 6.4%; p=0.18). After multivariate adjustment for other preoperative risk factors, pIABC was significantly protective concerning in-hospital mortality (HR 0.56; 95%-CI 0.023-0.74; p=0.021). Mortality (pIABC vs. control) was more affected in patients with preoperative LVEF≤30% (2/36 (5.6%) vs. 6/31 (19%); heart rate (HR) 0.25; 95%-CI 0.046-1.3; p=0.13) compared with LVEF>30% (3/114 (2.6%) vs. 10/219 (4.6%); HR 0.56; 95%-CI 0.15-2.1; p=0.55). Long-term survival did not differ between the groups.

Conclusions:

pIABC in CABG for AMI is associated with reduced perioperative cardiac injury and in-hospital mortality. Long-term survival is not affected.
The interrelationships among pain interference, depressive symptoms, loneliness, and employment status: a moderated mediation study
Authors: Mugoya George CT , Hooper Lisa M , Tomek Sara , George Dalmida Safiya , Bolland Anneliese , Ufomadu Joy , Bolland John
Published: February 2018

Objective:

To explore the mediating effect of loneliness on the relationship between pain interference and depressive symptoms and to determine whether this mechanism is contingent on employment status.

Design:

Cross-sectional study.

Subjects:

A total of 876 adult caregivers of adolescents living in extremely impoverished conditions.

Analysis:

Mediation and moderated mediation analyses using standard path-analytic approaches.

Results:

The mean age of the sample was 39.0 (SD = 12.8) years and 80.7% ( n = 707) identified as female. Almost half (48.9%, n = 425) of the participants did not report any pain, while 32.5% ( n = 285) reported non-disabling pain, and 19.0% ( n = 166) reported disabling pain. The mean depressive symptoms score was 16.20 (SD = 10.6), and the mean loneliness score was 40.09 (SD = 10.5). Loneliness mediated the effect of both non-disabling and disabling pain on depressive symptoms. However, the indirect effect of pain interference on depressive symptoms through loneliness was more pronounced among participants reporting disabling pain (coefficient, 2.11; Boot 95% confidence interval (CI) (1.25–3.01)) than non-disabling pain (coefficient, 0.99; Boot 95% CI (0.25–1.76)). Moderated mediation results showed that the indirect effect of pain interference on depressive symptoms, via loneliness varied in magnitude as a function of employment status among participants reporting disabling pain but not those reporting non-disabling pain.

Conclusion:

Loneliness provides an important link in the relationship between depressive symptoms and pain interference. Furthermore, employment status is an important factor to consider, especially among individuals reporting disabling pain with comorbid depressive symptoms.
A framework for complexity in palliative care: A qualitative study with patients, family carers and professionals
Authors: Pask Sophie , Pinto Cathryn , Bristowe Katherine , van Vliet Liesbeth , Nicholson Caroline , Evans Catherine J , George Rob , Bailey Katharine , Davies Joanna M , Guo Ping , Daveson Barbara A , Higginson Irene J , Murtagh Fliss EM
Published: February 2018

Background:

Palliative care patients are often described as complex but evidence on complexity is limited. We need to understand complexity, including at individual patient-level, to define specialist palliative care, characterise palliative care populations and meaningfully compare interventions/outcomes.

Aim:

To explore palliative care stakeholders’ views on what makes a patient more or less complex and insights on capturing complexity at patient-level.

Design:

In-depth qualitative interviews, analysed using Framework analysis.

Participants/setting:

Semi-structured interviews across six UK centres with patients, family, professionals, managers and senior leads, purposively sampled by experience, background, location and setting (hospital, hospice and community).

Results:

65 participants provided an understanding of complexity, which extended far beyond the commonly used physical, psychological, social and spiritual domains. Complexity included how patients interact with family/professionals, how services’ respond to needs and societal perspectives on care. ‘Pre-existing’, ‘cumulative’ and ‘invisible’ complexity are further important dimensions to delivering effective palliative and end-of-life care. The dynamic nature of illness and needs over time was also profoundly influential. Adapting Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems Theory, we categorised findings into the microsystem (person, needs and characteristics), chronosystem (dynamic influences of time), mesosystem (interactions with family/health professionals), exosystem (palliative care services/systems) and macrosystem (societal influences). Stakeholders found it acceptable to capture complexity at the patient-level, with perceived benefits for improving palliative care resource allocation.

Conclusion:

Our conceptual framework encompasses additional elements beyond physical, psychological, social and spiritual domains and advances systematic understanding of complexity within the context of palliative care. This framework helps capture patient-level complexity and target resource provision in specialist palliative care.
Generalized Expectancies for Negative Mood Regulation Among Youth in Grades 4 to 8
Authors: Laurent Jeff , Roome Aaron , Catanzaro Salvatore J. , Mearns Jack , Harbke Colin
Published: February 2018

Negative mood regulation expectancies (NMRE) represent people’s beliefs that they can use behaviors and cognitions to alleviate unpleasant emotional states. The relationship between NMRE and measures of affect, coping, depression, and anxiety with youth in Grades 4 through 8 ( N = 539) was examined. In hierarchical regressions, scores on an NMRE scale predicted depression, but not anxiety, independent of positive affect, negative affect, adaptive coping, and avoidant coping. Results were consistent with those found with college students and adults, suggesting the NMRE construct can add to our understanding of how youth deal with negative moods. Assessing NMRE in youth may help identify those at risk for developing affective symptoms, and provide a useful index of progress in therapeutic interventions.
The effects of training in rhythm and pitch on phonological awareness in four- to six-year-old children
Authors: Patscheke Hanne , Degé Franziska , Schwarzer Gudrun
Published: February 2018

Music training is frequently used for enhancing phonological awareness. The disentanglement of the influences of basic music essentials on phonological awareness could contribute to the measurement of their effectiveness. Therefore, this study investigated the separate effects of training in rhythm and pitch on phonological awareness. Preschoolers aged between four and six years ( M = 5.5 years; SD = 0.7 years; 25 boys, 15 girls) were randomly assigned to a music training condition and a non-music training condition. Children in the music condition either participated in a rhythm program or in a pitch program, whereas children in the non-music control condition attended a sports program. All groups were trained three times a week for 20 minutes per session over a period of 16 weeks. Phonological awareness was tested before and after the training phase. At the pretest, no significant differences were found between the three groups. After the training phase, only the pitch program showed a positive effect on phonological awareness concerning rhyming, blending, and segmenting. Thus, these findings can be used to rearrange music training programs to contain more pitch elements in order to increase their effectiveness in enhancing phonological awareness.
Investigation on the deformation and microstructure evolution of P91 steel in short-term small punch creep test
Authors: Guan Kaishu , Szpunar Jerzy A , Wen Cheng , Wang Xu
Published: February 2018

Small punch creep test is a semi-destructive method which can be used for creep determination and assessment of the probability of failure. The deformation during this small punch creep test is very complicated because the accumulation of both plastic and creep deformation will lead to the failure. In order to understand the mechanism of small punch creep test from grain orientation changes during creep and fracture process, small punch creep test was carried out using P91 steel under a 500 N load at 600 °C in this study. Finite element method was used to simulate the mechanical deformation process. Electron back-scattered diffraction technique and texture analysis were used to analyze the microstructure of the small punch creep deformation and rupture. The results showed that the grain orientation evolves from the rather random orientation in the first stage to the<110>//ND texture in the tertiary stage which caused mainly by shear strain.
Calibration of a phase mixture model for hardening and softening regimes in tempered martensitic steel over wide stress and temperature ranges
Authors: Eisenträger Johanna , Naumenko Konstantin , Altenbach Holm
Published: February 2018

Tempered martensitic steels are used for turbine components in power plants under high temperatures [Formula: see text]. In addition, the components are subjected to temperature changes during start-up and shutdown procedures. In order to model the mechanical behavior of tempered martensitic steels in the high-temperature range, this article presents a phase mixture model accounting for hardening and softening effects. The alloy is described as an iso-strain mixture of a hard phase and a soft phase. Thereby, the hard phase is related to the subgrain boundaries, that is, regions with high dislocation density, while the soft phase is related to the subgrain interior, that is, regions with low dislocation density. The volume fraction of the hard phase is assumed to decrease toward a saturation value, such that softening effects due to the coarsening of subgrains are taken into account. The introduction of two internal variables, a backstress and a softening variable, allows for the calibration based on macroscopic material tests, that is, creep and high-temperature tensile tests. Special emphasis is placed on the detailed description of this non-trivial calibration procedure. The calibration is based on the distinction of stresses and strain rates in initial and steady states. Starting from three differential equations with respect to the inelastic overall strain rate, the backstress, and the softening variable, all required functions and parameters are determined. The calibrated model is verified by the simulation of additional material tests at high temperature, highlighting the wide application range with respect to stresses [Formula: see text] and temperature [Formula: see text].
Reflections on the Contradictions of the Commons
Authors: Papadimitropoulos Vangelis
Published: February 2018

The Commons are an emerging economic anti-paradigm that favor decentralization over central control, self-management over hierarchy, transparency over privacy, and sustainability over growth at all costs. But the Commons are still in their infancy, and they face several contradictions, as they develop in mutual dependence with capitalism. This article is an attempt to tackle these contradictions by building on a number of proposals already presented by Michel Bauwens, Vasilis Kostakis, Stefan Meretz, and Jacob Rigi.