bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
High-Definition Sounding System (HDSS) for Atmospheric Profiling
Authors: Black Peter , Harrison Lee , Beaubien Mark , Bluth Robert , Woods Roy , Penny Andrew , Smith Robert W. , Doyle James D.
Published: February 2016

The High-Definition Sounding System (HDSS) is an automated system deploying the expendable digital dropsonde (XDD) designed to measure wind and pressure–temperature–humidity (PTH) profiles, and skin sea surface temperature (SST) within and around tropical cyclones (TCs) and other high-impact weather events needing high sampling density. Three experiments were conducted to validate the XDD.

On two successive days off the California coast, 10 XDDs and 14 Vaisala RD-94s were deployed from the navy’s Center for Interdisciplinary Remotely-Piloted Aircraft Studies (CIRPAS) Twin Otter aircraft over offshore buoys. The Twin Otter made spiral descents from 4 km to 60 m at the same descent rate as the sondes. Differences between successive XDD and RD-94 profiles due to true meteorological variability were on the same order as the profile differences between the spirals, XDDs, and RD-94s. XDD SST measured via infrared microradiometer, referred to as infrared skin SST (SSTir), and surface wind measurements were within 0.5°C and 1.5 m s−1, respectively, of buoy and Twin Otter values.

A NASA DC-8 flight launched six XDDs from 12 km between ex-TC Cosme and the Baja California coast. Repeatability was shown with good agreement between features in successive profiles. XDD SSTir measurements from 18° to 28°C and surface winds agreed well with drifting buoy- and satellite-derived estimates.

Excellent agreement was found between PTH and wind profiles measured by XDDs deployed from a NASA WB-57 at 18-km altitude offshore from the Texas coast and NWS radiosonde profiles from Brownsville and Corpus Christi, Texas. Successful XDD profiles were obtained in the clear and within precipitation over an offshore squall line.
Probabilistic Forecasts of Mesoscale Convective System Initiation Using the Random Forest Data Mining Technique
Authors: Ahijevych David , Pinto James O. , Williams John K. , Steiner Matthias
Published: February 2016

A data mining and statistical learning method known as a random forest (RF) is employed to generate 2-h forecasts of the likelihood for initiation of mesoscale convective systems (MCS-I). The RF technique uses an ensemble of decision trees to relate a set of predictors [in this case radar reflectivity, satellite imagery, and numerical weather prediction (NWP) model diagnostics] to a predictand (in this case MCS-I). The RF showed a remarkable ability to detect MCS-I events. Over 99% of the 550 observed MCS-I events were detected to within 50 km. However, this high detection rate came with a tendency to issue false alarms either because of premature warning of an MCS-I event or in the continued elevation of RF forecast likelihoods well after an MCS-I event occurred. The skill of the RF forecasts was found to increase with the number of trees and the fraction of positive events used in the training set. The skill of the RF was also highly dependent on the types of predictor fields included in the training set and was notably better when a more recent training period was used. The RF offers advantages over high-resolution NWP because it can be run in a fraction of the time and can account for nonlinearly varying biases in the model data. In addition, as part of the training process, the RF ranks the importance of each predictor, which can be used to assess the utility of new datasets in the prediction of MCS-I.
Copeptin Levels Do Not Correlate With Cross-Clamping Time in Patients Undergoing Carotid Endarterectomy Under General Anesthesia
Authors: Unic-Stojanovic Dragana , Isenovic Esma R. , Jovic Miomir , Maravic-Stojkovic Vera , Miljkovic Milica , Gojkovic Tamara , Milicic Biljana , Bogdanovic Nikola , Radak Djordje
Published: February 2016

Copeptin is a sensitive and more stable surrogate marker for arginine vasopressin. In this study, we evaluated copeptin levels in carotid endarterectomy (CEA) patients, perioperatively, to determine whether copeptin levels can be related to carotid artery cross clamping (CC) time and to postoperative neurological outcomes. Copeptin, interleukin 6, C-reactive protein, cortisol, and brain natriuretic peptide were measured preoperatively (T1) and 3 hours postoperatively (T3) as well as intraoperatively (T2). We recruited 77 patients. Values of copeptin rose gradually over the observed times: T1 = 7.9 (6.4-9.6), T2 = 12.6 (9.3-16.8), and T3 = 72.3 (49.1-111.2) pmol/L. There was a significant difference for repeated measurement ( P = .000, P = .000, and P = .000). Duration of carotid artery CC during CEA does not affect postoperative copeptin level (CC ≤ 13 minutes: 106.8 ± 93.6 pmol/L, CC > 13 minutes: 96.7 ± 89.1 pmol/L; P = .634). Preoperative copeptin level was significantly higher in patients with ulcerated plaque morphology. Activation of the stress axis in patients undergoing CEA results in copeptin elevation. Duration of CC during CEA does not affect postoperative copeptin levels.
The Institutionalization of Corporate Social Responsibility Reporting
Authors: Shabana Kareem M. , Buchholtz Ann K. , Carroll Archie B.
Published: February 2016

This article presents a three-stage model of how isomorphic mechanisms have shaped corporate social responsibility (CSR) reporting practices over time. In the first stage, defensive reporting, companies fail to meet stakeholder expectations due to a deficiency in firm performance. In this stage, the decision to report is driven by coercive isomorphism as firms sense pressure to close the expectational gap. In the second stage, proactive reporting, knowledge of CSR reporting spreads and the practice of CSR reporting becomes normatively sanctioned. In this stage, normative isomorphism leads other organizations to look to CSR reporting as a potential new opportunity for achieving the firm’s goals. In the third stage, imitative diffusion, the defensive reporters together with the proactive reporters create a critical mass of CSR reporters that reaches a threshold at which the benefits of CSR reporting begin to outweigh any costs due to mimetic isomorphism. The study finds support for the model in an examination of Fortune 500 firms from 1997 to 2006.
Caring Leadership in Schools
Authors: Louis Karen Seashore , Murphy Joseph , Smylie Mark
Published: February 2016

Purpose: This article (1) analyzes and synthesizes literatures from philosophy and education to propose a conceptual framework for caring in schools and caring school leadership and (2) reports the results of an exploratory analysis of the relationship of caring principal leadership to school-level supports for student academic learning. Conceptual Framework: This conceptual framework defines caring as a quality of social relationships with several core elements: attentiveness and authentic knowledge of others, motivational displacement, situationality, mutuality, and authenticity. Characteristics of relationships and organizational conditions that enable caring and caring leadership are proposed. Research Design: The empirical analysis employs a survey of teachers in 134 schools. Measures of principal caring and student academic support were developed and related to the conceptual framework and student achievement using regression and path analyses. Findings: We found significant positive relationships among caring principal leadership, student academic support, and teachers’ sense of collective responsibility. In addition, small but significant relationships of caring principal leadership with student academic support and teachers’ collective responsibility to student achievement were apparent. Caring leadership has an indirect relationship to student achievement through student academic support. Conclusions: This article makes a case for the importance of caring and caring school leadership for the success and well-being of both teachers and students in schools. While the work is exploratory, it points in promising directions for further theory building, research, and development of leadership practice.
Mega External Preferential Trade Agreements and Their Impacts on Indian Economy
Authors: Ganesh-Kumar A. , Chatterjee Tirtha
Published: February 2016

This study examines the impacts on India of three mega external preferential trading agreements (PTAs) from which the country is excluded using the Global Trade Analysis Project (GTAP) model combined with POVCAL poverty analysis tool. The simulation results show that each of these PTAs cause considerable trade diversion. However, the impacts on India’s trade flows, domestic output, returns to factors, aggregate welfare, inequality and poverty levels are rather small. In contrast, multilateral trade liberalization has significantly large and favourable impacts on all these variables. In particular, welfare improves by 1.7 per cent of GDP, inequality falls by over half percentage point and poverty head count lowers by 12.3 per cent over base levels under a multilateral free trade scenario. These results suggest that the country should continue with its efforts for achieving a multilateral trade agreement. At the same time, the country should hedge against the possibility that a global trade agreement does not materialize. One way to protect the country’s interest is to aggressively pursue preferential trading arrangements in parallel with key members of these three mega PTAs. This is likely to ensure that the country does not lose market share due to preference erosion.
Do women advance equity? The effect of gender leadership composition on LGBT-friendly policies in American firms
Authors: Cook Alison , Glass Christy
Published: February 2016

We advance the literature on the demographic factors that shape organizational outcomes by analyzing the impact of the gender composition of firm leadership on the likelihood that a firm will adopt lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT)-friendly policies. Drawing on social role and token theory, we test the relative impact of CEO gender and the gender composition of the board of directors separately and together in order to identify the effects of gender diversity at the top of the organization. We rely on a unique data set that includes corporate policies (gender identity and sexual orientation non-discrimination policies, domestic-partner benefits, and overall corporate equality index scores) as well as the gender of the CEO and board of directors among Fortune 500 firms over a 10-year period. Our findings suggest that firms with gender-diverse boards are more likely than other firms to offer LGBT-friendly policies, whereas findings for firms with women CEOs offer mixed results.
Popularizing Astronomy in the German Free Religious Movement, 1851–1852
Authors: Ramberg Peter J.
Published: February 2016

In 1851 and 1852, the Halle schoolteacher H. Weißgerber published a series of eight articles in the journal Neue Reform, zur Förderung der Religion der Menschlichkeit, a prominent journal of the German Free Religious movement. In these essays, Weißgerber took his readers on a tour of the structure and origin of the solar system and the Milky Way, but also took every opportunity to show how the results of modern astronomy made traditional religion obsolete. This essay summarizes the content of Weißgerber’s articles and its relationship to the Free Religious movement, and briefly places them in the context of other works in popular astronomy in Germany and Great Britain.
William Herschel’s Russian Telescopes
Authors: Maurer Andreas , Belokurov Vasily , Hoskin Michael
Published: February 2016

William Herschel made reflecting telescopes for sale throughout Europe. The second-largest was a 20-ft with a 12-in mirror commissioned by Catherine the Great of Russia for the astronomers of the St Petersburg Academy. The Academy unfortunately opted to have the mounting made locally (in which case the price was halved), but this proved beyond them. They therefore asked Herschel to supply the complete instrument. This he did but only after many delays, and as a result of turmoil both within the Academy and in the nation as a whole, the reflector was never put to use.
Poly(lactic acid)/halloysite nanotube nanocomposites with high impact strength and water barrier properties
Authors: Tham Wei Ling , Chow Wen Shyang , Poh Beng Teik , Mohd Ishak Zainal Arifin
Published: February 2016

Poly(lactic acid)/halloysite nanotube nanocomposites containing epoxidized natural rubber were prepared using melt compounding, followed by compression molding. The mechanical properties of the nanocomposites were determined by tensile, flexural, and Charpy impact test. The addition of 15 wt.% epoxidized natural rubber into poly(lactic acid)/halloysite nanocomposites increased the impact strength to about 340%. However, the tensile modulus, flexural modulus, tensile strength, flexural strength, and elongation at break of poly(lactic acid)/halloysite nanotube were decreased in the presence of epoxidized natural rubber. Water absorption tests were performed at three immersion temperatures (i.e. 30, 40, 50℃). The equilibrium water absorption ( Mm), diffusion coefficient ( D), and activation energy ( Ea) of water diffusion of the poly(lactic acid)/halloysite nanotube/epoxidized natural rubber nanocomposites were determined. The activation energy of poly(lactic acid)/halloysite nanotube was increased from 14.7 to 31.8 kJ/mol by the addition of epoxidized natural rubber. The percentage retention of impact strength of poly(lactic acid)/halloysite nanotube/epoxidized natural rubber nanocomposites after exposure to water absorption is higher than 80% for the one containing 5 and 10 wt.% epoxidized natural rubber loading.
Drumming out oppression, or drumming it in? Identity, culture and contention in dalit politics
Authors: Gorringe Hugo
Published: February 2016

In the past decade, there have been an increasing number of academic articles on the dalit drum or parai. For the most part, they note the processes by which this once humiliating caste service has been re-symbolised as an art form and has become central to dalit struggles for liberation. In such articles, there is an easy assumption that the parai is an art that dalits can take pride in. In this article, I problematise such claims by pointing to dissenting voices and campaigns by people who claim that the celebration of the drum merely perpetuates degradation. This raises questions such as who speaks for a community, whether a symbol of oppression can truly become an icon of resistance and how marginalised communities can construct positive identities when their cultural memories and practices are inescapably associated with their subordination.
Many lives of the dead in Banaras
Authors: Singh Ravi Nandan
Published: February 2016

The article seeks to redraw some key discussions on death in Banaras by focusing on the subject matter of the ‘dead’ rather than that of death. Pitched in the shadow of select earlier works on anthropology of death pertaining to Banaras, the general probing centres on the query whether the three realms of dying, death and dead can be delinked and thus seen in a certain relative autonomy from each other. Further, how do the anthropological accounts of death get refracted when seen from the vantage point of the dead? Based on ethnographic fieldwork at intertwined field sites of the home and the hospital, manual and electric cremation ghat and the shaivite aghorashram (hermitage) in relation to the river Ganga, the descriptions involve discussion over declaration of death versus discovery of the dead, distinction between touching and handling of the dead and latent implications of the varied names of the dead. The core concern of the article is to explore the nature of the social vis-à-vis the dead. I show how, unlike the anthropology of death that very often reiterates communitarian restoration (pravah), an anthropology of the dead may haltingly resist such reading and seek a continual searching of the indefinite social (parvah).
The long crisis of the nation-state and the rise of religions to the public stage
Authors: Graziano Manlio
Published: February 2016

The aim of this article is to identify the main factors of the current crisis of the nation-state and to demonstrate how many of the voids left by this crisis are filled by religions. The main characteristic of the nation-state is the principle of sovereignty. The apogee of the nation-state is the political form (as well as a political need) of industrialization. National identity is possible only when the state proves to its citizens that the fact of being a member of it carries benefits and privileges and will always bring more. Today, the majority of nation-states, in particular the oldest great powers, no longer have this capability. The weakening of the nation-state began at the end of the 19th century. The first wave of globalization multiplied the cases of reciprocal interferences and trespassed on the theoretical impermeability of the sovereign states. The outcome of the First World War, with the creation of the first supranational body (the League of Nations), and much more the outcome of the Second World War, were two important steps of this crisis. The birth of the United Nations, and of other supranational bodies (the International Monetary Fund [IMF], the World Bank [WB], the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade [GATT] …), as well as the creation of the first court called to judge an entire political class, were an assault on the principle of sovereignty. The second wave of globalization, characterized by the free circulation of goods, money, people and cultures, did the rest. Moreover, the countries that ‘invented’ the principle of sovereignty are today in relative decline as new powers are emerging. The nation-state is no longer able to keep its promises. The less effective states become at offering their citizens both meaning and social services, the more do religions tend to reoccupy the public stage. The less national and political legitimacy they have, the more powers use the religious tool against one another.
Short- and long-term outcomes of pneumonectomy in a tertiary center
Authors: Qadri Syed SA , Chaudhry Mubarak A , Cale Alex , Cowen Michael E , Loubani Mahmoud
Published: February 2016

Background

Surgery is the most important therapeutic modality for lung cancer. Surgical outcomes are normally reported as 30-day or 90-day mortality or 5-year survival; 10-year survival is rarely mentioned in national data or international studies.

Methods

Three hundred and six patients (79% male) underwent pneumonectomy, mainly for lung cancer, from January 1998 to February 2013. Their short- and long-term outcomes up to September 2014 were analyzed retrospectively. The mean age was 64 years (range 22–82 years) and 24% were aged ≥70 years. Thoracoscore was used to calculate the risk of hospital mortality.

Results

Operative mortality was 4.5% whereas predicted mortality was 8%. The operative mortality for cancer patients was 3.3%; the national mortality for lung cancer is 6.5%. Only 2 patients died in hospital after a pneumonectomy in the last 5 years. Half of the patients who died in hospital were ≥70 years old; 29% (4 patients) died after urgent operations for nonmalignant disease. Overall 5- and 10-year survival was 32% and 20%. Median and mean survival was 26 and 57 months, respectively. Long-term survival was better in females aged <70 years, in left pneumonectomy patients, and in those with squamous cell lung cancer.

Conclusion

Our mortality for pneumonectomy was 50% less than the national mortality rate and significantly lower than that predicted by the Thoracoscore for lung cancer. This confirms that pneumonectomy is still an effective modality for the treatment of lung cancer, with low operative mortality and good long-term survival, especially in younger patients.
Think tanks and the pressures for planning reform in England
Authors: Haughton Graham , Allmendinger Phil
Published: February 2016

This article examines how advocacy think tanks have sought to influence the remaking of the English planning system. Pressure for planning reform has come particularly though not exclusively from the political right, which has sought to portray planning as a form of bureaucratic regulation, out of touch with the needs of modern, global economies and the needs of society. This research involved 27 interviewees, the majority of whom have worked in think tanks, whilst others worked in government or in advocacy and professional groups. We explore how despite years of critique and many reforms to the planning system, it is still portrayed as failing. Drawing on ideas around the experimental state, we seek to develop a better understanding of the dynamics behind the process of continuous calls for planning reform before turning to some of the implications for both planning and our understanding of how think tanks seek to influence policy.
The cross-colonization of finance and security through lists: Banking policing in the UK and India
Authors: Amicelle Anthony , Jacobsen Elida KU
Published: February 2016

Targeted financial sanctions regimes and regulations on ‘dirty money’ put banks on the front line in securing financial circulation. This is the context in which banking actors face the challenge of juggling with hundred of sanction, watch and regulatory lists. In light of that list mania for banking policing, list appears to have become the security device of choice in the everyday life of the financial industry across the world. Instead of reducing the complexity of security-finance dynamics to a zero-sum game (securitization of finance vs financialization of security), the article rather aims to question the critical role of lists in the cross-colonization of finance and security. Drawing on empirical research in the United Kingdom and India, the article adopts an ‘analytics of devices’ to think of and analyse banking policing practices through the instrumentation that makes these practices possible and stable over time. It argues that banking appropriation of security lists both (re)configures lists ‘social identity’ and banking actors’ power-relations in the fields of finance and security. Ultimately, the analytical focus on lists appropriation sheds new light on what securing circulation means in finance.
Introduction: The politics of the list
Authors: de Goede Marieke , Leander Anna , Sullivan Gavin
Published: February 2016

This articles introduces the special issue on ‘The Politics of the List.’ We observe that lists proliferate as a technique of governance across multiple domains, including health, security, and commerce. We argue that it is important to take seriously the form and technique of the list itself and engage the knowledge practices, governance effects and ways of ordering the world that the list format enables. In other words, the special issue seeks to ‘remain in the register of the list,’ to unpack its technological arrangements and juridical power. This introduction sets out the key themes of this special issue, through discussing, in turn, the list as a technology of knowledge, the list as a technique of law and governance, the list's complex relation to space and the relation between the list and the digital. We draw on these four elements to characterise what we call the politics of the list in an era of complexity.
Better than treated as usual: Transcranial magnetic stimulation augmentation in selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor-refractory obsessive–compulsive disorder, mini-review and pilot open-label trial
Authors: Pallanti Stefano , Marras Anna , Salerno Luana , Makris Nikos , Hollander Eric
Published: February 2016

Objective:

1 Hz repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) over the supplementary motor area has been shown to be effective in a subset of obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD) subjects, yet these results are still to be confirmed. This preliminary study compares the efficacy of augmentation with 1 Hz rTMS over the supplementary motor area and the usual augmentation treatment (TAU; treated as usual) with antipsychotics in a sample of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI)-refractory OCD patients.

Method:

Fifty SSRI-refractory OCD patients consecutively admitted were studied: 25 were treated with a three-week trial of 1Hz, bilateral rTMS over the supplementary motor area and 25 with antipsychotic drugs. Yale–Brown Obsessive–Compulsive Scale (Y-BOCS; primary outcome measure), Hamilton Depression and Hamilton Anxiety scales were administered at first, second and third week of treatment.

Results:

Y-BOCS showed a statistically significant time effect from the baseline to the third week, with a 68% of responders (Y-BOCS score reduction of ⩾ 25%), in comparison with 24.0% in the TAU group. In the rTMS group, 17.6% of patients achieved remission.

Conclusions:

1 Hz rTMS over the supplementary motor area appeared to be effective in approximately 2/3 of SSRI-refractory OCD subjects, whereas in the TAU group only 1/4 of subjects were responders. The supplementary motor area might be a new target area to be further explored with neuromodulation for OCD treatment.
An incremental sampling-based algorithm for stochastic optimal control
Authors: Huynh Vu Anh , Karaman Sertac , Frazzoli Emilio
Published: February 2016

In this paper, we consider a class of continuous-time, continuous-space stochastic optimal control problems. Using the Markov chain approximation method and recent advances in sampling-based algorithms for deterministic path planning, we propose a novel algorithm called the incremental Markov Decision Process to incrementally compute control policies that approximate arbitrarily well an optimal policy in terms of the expected cost. The main idea behind the algorithm is to generate a sequence of finite discretizations of the original problem through random sampling of the state space. At each iteration, the discretized problem is a Markov Decision Process that serves as an incrementally refined model of the original problem. We show that with probability one, (i) the sequence of the optimal value functions for each of the discretized problems converges uniformly to the optimal value function of the original stochastic optimal control problem, and (ii) the original optimal value function can be computed efficiently in an incremental manner using asynchronous value iterations. Thus, the proposed algorithm provides an anytime approach to the computation of optimal control policies of the continuous problem. The effectiveness of the proposed approach is demonstrated on motion planning and control problems in cluttered environments in the presence of process noise.
Steroid-responsive painful ophthalmoplegia: Tolosa–Hunt syndrome, Eales disease, or both?
Authors: Mendonça Marcelo D , Guedes Marta , Matias Gonçalo , Costa João , Viana-Baptista Miguel
Published: February 2016

Introduction

Tolosa–Hunt syndrome (THS) is one of the most common ‘benign’ causes of painful ophthalmoplegia. Diagnosis is based on clinical and imaging findings and the exclusion of other causes because there is no specific biomarker for the syndrome. Eales disease, an idiopathic inflammatory venous disease that primarily affects the eye, can also affect the central (as stroke or myelitis) and peripheral nervous system.

Case report

We report the case of a 32-year-old woman with a subacute left ophthalmoplegia and evidence of a gadolinium-enhanced lesion suggesting an inflammatory granuloma that resolved within 48 hours after treatment with steroids. A diagnosis of THS was considered at this time. On a follow-up ophthalmological examination, a diagnosis of Eales disease with involvement of the left eye was made. The patient was treated successfully.

Conclusion

Eales disease could be a cause of painful ophthalmoplegia and may mimic THS. Long-term follow-up of patients diagnosed with THS may be necessary to exclude other diagnoses.
Comparison of Anatomic Posterolateral Knee Reconstruction Using 2 Different Popliteofibular Ligament Techniques
Authors: Yoon Kyoung Ho , Lee Sang Hak , Park Soo Yeon , Park Sang Eon , Tak Dae Hyun
Published: February 2016

Background:

Anatomic posterolateral knee reconstruction is a surgical procedure that reconstructs the lateral collateral ligament (LCL), the popliteus tendon, and the popliteofibular ligament (PFL). Until recently, diverse techniques have been reported for this reconstruction; however, the gold standard is still a matter of debate.

Hypothesis:

Clinical outcomes and stability with tibiofibular-based PFL reconstruction would be better than those with femorofibular-based PFL reconstruction.

Study Design:

Cohort study; Level of evidence, 3.

Methods:

The records of 10 patients who underwent anatomic posterolateral knee reconstruction between January 2011 and December 2012 (LCL, popliteus tendon, tibiofibular-based PFL reconstruction [group A]) with a minimum follow-up of 24 months were retrospectively reviewed. Ten patients who underwent anatomic posterolateral knee reconstruction (LCL, popliteus tendon, femorofibular-based PFL reconstruction [group B]) using a split Achilles tendon allograft were recruited into a matched control group. All patients in both groups had an associate posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) injury, and 8 in each group underwent concomitant PCL reconstruction. Clinical outcomes were evaluated with International Knee Documentation Committee (IKDC) subjective, Lysholm, and Tegner activity scale scores. Knee stability was assessed with the dial test for the evaluation of external rotation as well as varus and posterior instability by stress radiography.

Results:

The mean (±SD) follow-up period was 29.5 ± 3.8 months in group A and 60.4 ± 33.8 months in group B. There were no clinically significant between-group differences in IKDC subjective scores (group A: 83.8 ± 5.4, group B: 82.7 ± 6.5; P = .853), Lysholm scores (group A: 83.4 ± 5.1, group B: 84.1 ± 7.3; P = .853), or Tegner activity scale scores (group A: 4.8 ± 1.4, group B: 4.2 ± 0.9; P = .436) at the final follow-up. In addition, there was no difference in side-to-side measurements on varus stress radiography (group A: 0.9 ± 0.7 mm, group B: 1.3 ± 1.2 mm; P = .481) or posterior stress radiography (group A: 5.3 ± 1.9 mm, group B: 5.4 ± 2.2 mm; P = .971) at the final follow-up. Although the external rotation grade of the tibia was not significantly different between groups preoperatively ( P = .709), it was smaller in group A at the final follow-up ( P = .044).

Conclusion:

There were no significant differences in clinical outcomes or varus stability between the 2 techniques of PFL reconstruction in patients with posterolateral corner injuries who underwent anatomic posterolateral knee reconstruction. However, the external rotation grade of the tibia was smaller in the group that underwent tibiofibular-based PFL reconstruction.
One-Year Outcomes of Total Meniscus Reconstruction Using a Novel Fiber-Reinforced Scaffold in an Ovine Model
Authors: Patel Jay M. , Merriam Aaron R. , Culp Brian M. , Gatt Charles J. , Dunn Michael G.
Published: February 2016

Background:

Meniscus injuries and resulting meniscectomies lead to joint deterioration, causing pain, discomfort, and instability. Tissue-engineered devices to replace the meniscus have not shown consistent success with regard to function, mechanical integrity, or protection of cartilage.

Purpose:

To evaluate a novel resorbable polymer fiber–reinforced meniscus reconstruction scaffold in an ovine model for 52 weeks and assess its integrity, tensile and compressive mechanics, cell phenotypes, matrix organization and content, and protection of the articular cartilage surfaces.

Study Design:

Controlled laboratory study.

Methods:

Eight skeletally mature ewes were implanted with the fiber-reinforced scaffold after total meniscectomy, and 2 additional animals had untreated total meniscectomies. Animals were sacrificed at 52 weeks, and the explants and articular surfaces were analyzed macroscopically. Explants were characterized by ultimate tensile testing, confined compression creep testing, and biochemical, histological, and immunohistochemical analyses. Cartilage damage was characterized using the Mankin score on histologic slides from both the femur and tibia.

Results:

One sheep was removed from the study because of a torn extensor tendon; the remaining 7 explants remained fully intact and incorporated into the bone tunnels. All explants exhibited functional tensile loads, tensile stiffnesses, and compressive moduli. Fibrocartilagenous repair with both types 1 and 2 collagen were observed, with areas of matrix organization and biochemical content similar to native tissue. Narrowing in the body region was observed in 5 of 7 explants. Mankin scores showed less cartilage damage in the explant group (femoral condyle: 3.43 ± 0.79, tibial plateau: 3.50 ± 1.63) than in the meniscectomy group (femoral condyle: 8.50 ± 3.54, tibial plateau: 6.75 ± 2.47) and were comparable with Mankin scores at the previously reported 16- and 32-week time points.

Conclusion:

A resorbable fiber-reinforced meniscus scaffold supports formation of functional neomeniscus tissue, with the potential to prevent joint degeneration that typically occurs after total meniscectomy. Further studies with improvements to the initial mechanics of the scaffold and testing for longer time periods are warranted.

Clinical Relevance:

Meniscectomy is an extremely common orthopaedic procedure, and few options currently exist for the treatment of significant loss of meniscus tissue. Successful development of a tissue-engineered meniscus scaffold could substantially reduce the incidence of postmeniscectomy joint degeneration and the subsequent procedures used for its treatment.
Confinement models of GFRP-confined concrete: Statistical analysis and unified stress–strain models
Authors: Huang Liang , Gao Chang , Yan Libo , Kasal Bohumil , Ma Gao , Tan Haozhi
Published: February 2016

This paper presented a comprehensive assessment of 22 existing stress models and 13 strain models, which were developed for glass fiber reinforced polymer (GFRP)-confined concrete in uniaxial compression. In addition, a reliability evaluation of these stress and strain models was performed. A database including 212 GFRP-confined cylindrical concrete specimens was collected and analyzed to evaluate the performance of these stress and strain models. The accuracy and applicability assessment of these models were carried out by [Formula: see text] test and the Pearson correlation coefficient r, and the Monte Carlo–JC method was used by for the reliability assessment. Based on the evaluation, it was found that the unconfined concrete strength [Formula: see text] is the most important parameter which determines the accuracy of these stress and strain models for GFRP-confined concrete. Most stress and strain models used in this study can predict the ultimate axial strength and strain of the GFRP-confined concrete appropriately, although some scattered points exist for some models. In addition, it was found that all these models satisfy the command of reliability even some models are too conservative. Based on the database, unified stress and strain models were proposed showing better applicability.
No smoke without fire: Public health, morality, and the civilized self
Authors: Fernández Eluska
Published: February 2016

The implementation of the smoking ban in Ireland has been championed as one of the major achievements of public health policy. Studies on the smoking ban have predominantly been undertaken from a public health perspective and have pointed out the associated health benefits of the ban, especially in terms of the reduction of second-hand smoking. While the rationale for the smoking ban was founded on health and medical reasons, this paper contends that going beyond health concerns, a collective process which drew upon notions of progress, purity and order was central to the introduction and successful implementation of the smoking ban. The relevance of discourses around the “civilized self” in tobacco control is also discussed in the context of recent debates over the use and regulation of electronic cigarettes in public spaces.
The Role of Interpersonal Conflict as a Determinant of Firearm-Related Homicide–Suicides at Different Ages
Authors: Kalesan Bindu , Mobily Matthew E. , Vasan Sowmya , Siegel Michael , Galea Sandro
Published: February 2016

Although firearm-related homicide–suicides and firearm-related suicides are tragic and catastrophic events, there is increasing evidence that the two events have different precipitants and that understanding these precipitants may help prevention efforts. We aimed to assess the role of interpersonal conflict (IPC) and recent crises in firearm-related homicide–suicides as compared with firearm-related suicides alone. We also assessed whether these differences were consistent across young and old perpetrators. Using an unmatched case-control study, we compared firearm-related homicide–suicides andsuicides alone from 2003 to 2011 in the National Violent Death Registry data to assess the risk associated with IPC and crisis. Survival analysis was performed to compare time-to-incident of homicide–suicide versus suicide only. We derived odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (95%CI) due to IPC and recent crisis from mixed logistic regression models. Stratified analysis by age on the effect of IPC and recent crisis, and type of incident was also performed. After adjusting for relevant covariates, homicide–suicides were more likely than suicide alone following IPC (OR = 20.6, 95%CI = [16.6, 25.7]) and recent crisis (OR = 14.5, 95%CI = [12.4, 16.9]). The risk of firearm homicide–suicide compared with suicide associated with IPC was twice greater among those >30 years compared with those ≤30 years ( p-interaction = .033), and no differential by age associated with recent crisis ( p-interaction = .64). IPC and recent crisis are risk factors for committing homicide–suicides compared with suicides alone, with the risk doubly greater among older than younger perpetrators.
Free vibration analysis of a cantilever beam with a slant edge crack
Authors: Liu J , Shao YM , Zhu WD
Published: February 2016

As one of major failure modes of mechanical structures subjected to periodic loads, edge cracks due to fatigue can cause catastrophic failures in such structures. Understanding vibration characteristics of a structure with an edge crack is useful for early crack detection and diagnosis. In this work, a new cracked cantilever beam model is presented to study the vibration of a cantilever beam with a slant edge crack, which cannot be modeled by previous methods considering a uniform edge crack along the width of the beam in the literature. An equivalent stiffness model is proposed by dividing the beam into numerous uniform independent thin pieces along its width. The beam is assumed to be an Euler–Bernoulli beam. The crack is assumed to be distributed along the width of the beam as a straight line and a parabola. The methodology proposed in this work can also be extended to model a crack with an arbitrary curve. Effects of crack depths on the nondimensional equivalent stiffness at the crack section of the cracked cantilever beam are studied. The first three nature frequencies and mode shapes of the cracked cantilever beam are obtained using compatibility conditions at crack tips and the transfer matrix method. Effects of depths and the location of the crack on the first three natural frequencies and mode shapes of the cracked cantilever beam are studied using the proposed cracked cantilever beam model. Numerical results from the proposed model are compared with those from the finite element method and an experimental investigation in the literature, which can validate the proposed model.
A ride quality evaluation of a semi-active railway vehicle suspension system with MR damper: Railway field tests
Authors: Kim Hwan-Choong , Shin Yu-Jeong , You Wonhee , Jung Kyu Chul , Oh Jong-Seok , Choi Seung-Bok
Published: February 2016

This work presents experimental assessment of the improvements to the horizontal ride quality of a railway vehicle equipped with a semi-active magneto-rheological (MR) suspension system. The assessment includes the development of a mathematical model and magnetic circuit analysis of the MR damper, the design and manufacture of MR damper, and field test on the railway. After evaluating the field-dependent damping force characteristics, the conventional passive dampers of the operational railway vehicle are replaced with the MR dampers to evaluate horizontal dynamic characteristics that directly indicates the ride quality of the railway vehicle. Various sensors are installed in the vehicle and a skyhook controller with semi-active condition is implemented to produce an appropriate input current for the generation of the desired damping force. Three periods of testing are undertaken on the railway bridge at 120 km/h and the measured data of acceleration level are recoded and presented. It is demonstrated from the measured results that the vibration can be effectively controlled by the proposed semi-active MR suspension system associated with the skyhook controller. Finally, from the vibration control responses the horizontal ride quality of railway vehicle is evaluated and presented in frequency domain.
To Live Among Like-Minded Others
Authors: Bleidorn Wiebke , Schönbrodt Felix , Gebauer Jochen E. , Rentfrow Peter J. , Potter Jeff , Gosling Samuel D.
Published: February 2016

Does it matter if your personality fits in with the personalities of the people where you live? The present study explored the links between person-city personality fit and self-esteem. Using data from 543,934 residents of 860 U.S. cities, we examined the extent to which the fit between individuals’ Big Five personality traits and the Big Five traits of the city where they live (i.e., the prevalent traits of the city’s inhabitants) predicts individuals’ self-esteem. To provide a benchmark for these effects, we also estimated the degree to which the fit between person and city religiosity predicts individuals’ self-esteem. The results provided a nuanced picture of the effects of person-city personality fit on self-esteem: We found significant but small effects of fit on self-esteem only for openness, agreeableness, and conscientiousness, rather than effects for all Big Five traits. Similar results and effect sizes were observed for religiosity. We conclude with a discussion of the relevance and limitations of this study.
The effect of economic change and elite framing on support for welfare state retrenchment: A survey experiment
Authors: Marx Paul , Schumacher Gijs
Published: February 2016

How do economic downturns affect citizens’ support for welfare state retrenchment? Existing observational studies fail to isolate the effect of economic conditions and the effect of elite framing of these conditions. We therefore designed a survey experiment to evaluate how economic change in conjunction with different elite frames impact citizens’ support for welfare state retrenchment. We hypothesise and demonstrate that the effects of these frames differ by income group and partisanship. Our survey experiment – carried out in the United Kingdom – demonstrates that poor economic prospects generally motivate support for unemployment benefits vis-à-vis deficit reduction. Emphasis on inequality does not change this picture. Emphasis on government debt and deficits increases support for retrenchment compared with objective information. We find support for the hypothesis that partisans are less responsive to the economy than independents. However, income differences are a surprisingly weak moderator of our treatments. We derive two main conclusions: first, elite frames significantly influence the effect of economic change on welfare state preferences. Second, party identification is crucial to understand individual differences in welfare state preferences and should receive more attention in future research.
Power and performance: Fiji rugby’s transition from amateurism to professionalism
Authors: Rika Nacanieli , Finau Glen , Samuwai Jale , Kuma Clayton
Published: February 2016

This article shows how accounting and rugby have been used as tools of control. It compares the role of accounting in amateur and professional sport, initially analysing the Fiji Rugby Union’s (FRU) internal documents from the period when Fiji was a British colony and rugby was an amateur sport. During this period, the FRU practised rudimentary accounting since it relied primarily on internally-generated funds and therefore had virtually no public accountability. The FRU board emphasized rugby’s core values and downplayed the importance of money. However, in the professional period, donors require more sophisticated financial reporting and auditing to monitor usage of their grants and evaluate the impact of their investments. The FRU has encountered conflict with its donors due to repeated financial losses and alleged mismanagement. This article reveals that those losses originated in the amateur period through diseconomies of scale, inequitable arrangements for international matches and unsustainable funding models. Rather than helping the FRU to address these underlying problems, powerful stakeholders continue using financial resources and governance structures to control and exploit Fiji rugby.
Fidelity After SECOND LIFE Facilitator Training in a Sexual Risk Behavior Intervention
Authors: Tschannen Dana , Yaksich Joseph D. , Aebersold Michelle , Villarruel Antonia
Published: February 2016

Background. Intensive facilitator training is a critical component to enable the use of Evidence-Based Interventions (EBIs) by communities. Such training ensures that program’s essential elements are implemented with fidelity. Many EBI training programs require resource- and time-intensive face-to-face training, eliminating participation from some community-based organizations due to significant costs and time away from work. The ¡CUÍDATE! (TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF!) program aimed at improving the sexual health of Latino youth is one such EBI limited in widespread dissemination by its current face to face format. The purpose of this study was to examine the efficacy of training by assessing whether facilitators who attended the virtual ¡CUÍDATE! facilitator training in SECOND LIFE™ implemented the ¡CUÍDATE! curriculum with fidelity (e.g. adherence to the curriculum and competent delivery) to adolescent youth.

Methods. Using a descriptive design, community-based facilitators (n=19) attended virtual SECOND LIFE™ ¡CUÍDATE! training. Post-training facilitators implemented two identical ¡CUÍDATE! sessions with two groups of adolescents and were instructed to audio record the sessions. The research team reviewed a random, stratified subset of the audio files (n=57) using the standardized curriculum as the standard to determine implementation fidelity adherence and fidelity competency.

Results.Fidelity adherence for the ¡CUÍDATE! training for both sessions was high (91.2%) (e.g. the activities were presented as intended). Fidelity competency of facilitators was also high, with the overall quality of the program sessions being 3.95 (SD 1.18, scale 1 to 5). Both fidelity measures (i.e., adherence and competency) improved from implementation of the first to the second session with 100% adherence to the curriculum reported for all facilitators in the second session. Overall quality of the program sessions also improved from the first (x=3.67, SD 1.37) to the second (x=4.43, SD 0.53) session.

Discussion. The efficacy of facilitator training using a virtual platform was shown to result in high levels of implementation fidelity, and thus may be a viable platform for widespread national training. Virtual training provides an avenue for reaching community-based agencies that work with adolescent youth and have limited resources for training expenses. Future studies will explore the use of virtual reality for other types of inter-professional education.