bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Do Networked Workers Have More Control? The Implications of Teamwork, Telework, ICTs, and Social Capital for Job Decision Latitude
Authors: Chen Wenhong , McDonald Steve
Published: December 2014

The shift toward “networked work” in the United States—spurred on by globalization, technological changes, and the reorganization of work activities—has important consequences for job quality that require further investigation. Using nationally representative data from the 2008 Networked Worker Survey, we examine how teamwork, telework, and information and communication technology use are associated with, and positively and significantly predict, job decision latitude (autonomy and skill development). The results imply that networked work helps enhance job decision latitude partly through greater network connectivity (social capital). Furthermore, the contribution of information and communication technology use to job decision latitude is contingent on its perceived benefits and on the organization of work into teams. These findings therefore help deepen our understanding of how the changing character of work affects worker control in contemporary workplaces.
Artistry in Lockdown
Authors: Marcum Travis
Published: December 2014

In 2009, there were approximately 137,000 court-involved minor children in residential detention and rehabilitation facilities in the United States as a result of committing a crime. Most of these children have no opportunity to participate in music education while serving long-term sentences in residential lockdown. A program in Austin, Texas, brings classical guitar to students in a residential juvenile justice facility. This article describes a model program for music education in this setting and explores the positive changes in attitude and behavior that occur for these students as a result of music participation. Included are recommendations for starting music programs in residential juvenile detention facilities.
Neuroeducation and Music
Authors: Curtis Laurie , Fallin Jana
Published: December 2014

An expanding body of evidence based on cognitive neuroscience provides music teachers with information about the interaction of music instruction and brain development. This information is foundational for those interested in the biology of teaching in addition to the curriculum taught. Pedagogy can be grounded in research-based insights on how the brain learns and responds to experiences in the music classroom. This article offers a brief literature review about some elements of cognitive neuroscience that can inform pedagogical decisions; these include brain plasticity, multisensory instruction, executive functions, and memory. Also included are practical implications of the research and a discussion of partnerships within schools to best meet the needs of diverse learners.
Applying Score Analysis to a Rehearsal Pedagogy of Expressive Performance
Authors: Byo James L.
Published: December 2014

The discoveries of score analysis (e.g., minor seventh chord, ostinato, phrase elision, melodic fragment, half cadence) are more than just compositional techniques or music vocabulary. They are sounds—fascinating, storytelling, dynamic modes of expression—that when approached as such enrich the rehearsal experience. This article presents a three-step process designed to connect style analysis to rehearsal pedagogy: (1) Style analysis yields music vocabulary that (2) the ensemble conductor conceptualizes aurally—as sound with expressive potential—thus laying the groundwork for (3) rehearsing in ways that bring the expressive potential of sounds to the forefront of students’ minds. In step 3, teachers develop student response targets that reference listener, audience, or effect of sound.
Using the Proactive Coping Inventory to measure Southern African university students’ coping styles
Authors: Renard Michelle , Snelgar Robin J
Published: December 2014

The objective of this study was to examine the various coping styles used by university students in Southern Africa, with a specific focus on proactive coping. It investigated whether demographic variables influence students’ uses of differing coping styles, as well as whether students studying in South Africa make use of the same coping styles compared to those studying in Botswana and Namibia. The Proactive Coping Inventory was completed electronically by 622 students in three universities, one each in Botswana, Namibia, and South Africa. A small practically significant gender difference occurred for emotional support seeking, and older students were found to employ proactive coping more than younger students. A small practically significant difference was discovered between international and local students’ uses of instrumental support seeking, and university differences were found for reflective coping and two forms of support seeking. Recommendations include developing universities into positive socialising systems so that students are equipped with coping resources.
LMI-based sufficient conditions for robust stability and stabilization of LTI-fractional-order systems subjected to interval and polytopic uncertainties
Authors: Adelipour S. , Abooee A. , Haeri M.
Published: December 2014

In this paper, by introducing a new general state-space form for uncertain linear time-invariant fractional-order systems subjected to interval and polytopic uncertainties, two problems including robust stability analysis and robust stabilization of the presented systems are investigated. Subsequently, two sufficient conditions in terms of several linear matrix inequalities for the problems mentioned are concluded as two separate theorems. It is assumed that the fractional order [Formula: see text] is a known constant belonging to [Formula: see text]. Simulation results of two different numerical examples demonstrate that the provided sufficient conditions are applicable and effective for tackling robust stability and stabilization problems.
Effect of number and similarity on children’s plural comprehension
Authors: Lanter Jennifer A. , Basche Richard A.
Published: December 2014

During the first years of language development, toddlers coordinate multiple cues in order to acquire the plural form. The aim of this study was to manipulate object similarity as well as set size in order to determine whether these variables impact children’s comprehension of plurality. One-hundred-and-fifty children ranging in age from 22 to 36 months were provided puzzles with pieces containing arrays of similar or identical objects. Each puzzle was composed of pieces displaying sets of two, four, six, or eight items familiar to two-year-olds (e.g., chairs, dogs, shoes) alongside puzzle pieces depicting the singular form of the objects. It was predicted that large set sizes of identical objects would increase children’s comprehension of plurality. The results establish that smaller set sizes, not similarity, boost children’s comprehension of the plural form.
Productive vocabulary among three groups of bilingual American children: Comparison and prediction
Authors: Cote Linda R. , Bornstein Marc H.
Published: December 2014

The importance of input factors for bilingual children’s vocabulary development was investigated. Forty-seven Argentine, 42 South Korean, 51 European American, 29 Latino immigrant, 26 Japanese immigrant, and 35 Korean immigrant mothers completed checklists of their 20-month-old children’s productive vocabularies. Bilingual children’s vocabulary sizes in each language separately were consistently smaller than their monolingual peers but only Latino bilingual children had smaller total vocabularies than monolingual children. Bilingual children’s vocabulary sizes were similar to each other. Maternal acculturation predicted the amount of input in each language, which then predicted children’s vocabulary size in each language. Maternal acculturation also predicted children’s English-language vocabulary size directly.
When context matters more than language: Verb or noun in French and Turkish caregiver speech
Authors: Altınkamış N. Feyza , Kern Sophie , Sofu Hatice
Published: December 2014

The main goal of this article is to study the respective role of language typology and context on the noun to verb asymmetry in caregiver speech. The speech of 20 French- and 20 Turkish-speaking mothers addressed to their children in two different situations (book-reading and toy-play) were analysed in terms of noun to verb ratio as well as in terms of object-oriented to action-oriented utterances ratio. Only a tendency to noun orientation was shown in French mothers. Both groups of mothers behave in the same ways in both contexts with more nouns and object-oriented utterances in the book-reading context vs more verbs and action-oriented utterances in toy-play. These results confirm a more important role of context on mothers’ linguistic behaviours than language typology.
Regulatory Focus Affects Predictions of the Future
Authors: Guo Tieyuan , Spina Roy
Published: December 2014

This research investigated how regulatory focus might influence trend-reversal predictions. We hypothesized that compared with promotion focus, prevention focus hinders sense of control, which in turn predicts more trend-reversal developments. Studies 1 and 3 revealed that participants expected trend-reversal developments to be more likely to occur when they focused on prevention than when they focused on promotion. Study 2 extended the findings by including a control condition, and revealed that participants expected trend-reversal developments to be more likely to occur in the prevention condition than in the promotion and control conditions. Studies 4 and 5 revealed that participants’ chronic prevention focus predicted a low sense of control (Study 4), and that promotion focus predicted a high sense of control (Studies 4 and 5). Furthermore, participants with a high sense of control expected trend-reversal developments to be less likely to occur. Thus, the results provided converging evidence for the hypothesis.
Diode Laser for the Treatment of Telangiectasias following Hemangioma Involution
Authors: Cerrati Eric W. , O Teresa M. , Chung Hoyun , Waner Milton
Published: December 2014

Objective

Infantile hemangiomas are well known for their rapid growth during the first 6 to 9 months of life, followed by a spontaneous but slow involution. The standard of care is to treat these lesions at an early age with propranolol to expedite the involution process; however, surgery still remains an active component in the management. Medical treatment with propranolol or natural involution will often result in residual telangiectasias. We evaluated the efficacy of using a diode laser as a treatment for telangiectasias following cervicofacial infantile hemangioma involution.

Study Design

Case series with chart review.

Setting

Tertiary care hospital and practice specializing in the care of vascular anomalies.

Subjects and Methods

Twenty patients, aged 4 months to 11 years (average 2.69 years), underwent treatment with a 532‐nm diode laser to treat the residual telangiectasias following hemangioma involution. All procedures were performed in the operating room. To assess the efficacy, we independently evaluated pre‐ and posttreatment digital photographs and ranked them on a 0‐ to 4‐point scale (0 = no change and 4 = complete response). Adverse reactions were also recorded.

Results

The telangiectasias showed considerable improvement following treatment. In more than half of the patients treated, the affected area demonstrated a complete response. No adverse reactions were noted.

Conclusion

A 532‐nm diode laser effectively treats the remaining telangiectasias following hemangioma involution. Whether used independently or in conjunction with other treatment modalities, the diode laser should be part of the surgical armamentarium when treating infantile hemangiomas.
A Population‐Based Study on the Association between Statin Use and Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss
Authors: Chung Shiu‐Dong , Chen Chao‐Hung , Hung Shih‐Han , Lin Herng‐Ching , Wang Li‐Hsuan
Published: December 2014

Objectives

No study has reported the relationship between statin use and sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSNHL). In this study, we examined the association between statin use and SSNHL using a population‐based dataset.

Study Design

A case‐control study.

Setting

Taiwan.

Subjects and Methods

The study sample was selected from the Taiwan Longitudinal Health Insurance Database. We identified 1263 subjects aged ≥40 years with SSNHL and 6315 sex‐, age‐, hypertension‐, and coronary heart disease–matched controls. We used conditional logistic regression to compute the odds ratio (OR) for having been a previous statin user between cases and controls. Furthermore, we performed conditional logistic regression to explore the relationship of regular and irregular statin users with SSNHL.

Results

There was a significant difference in the prevalence of statin use between cases and controls (27.2% vs 21.3%, respectively; P <. 001). The OR of statin use before the index date for cases was 1.36 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.18‐1.57) compared to controls after taking gender, age group, hypertension, coronary heart disease, diabetes, renal disease, and hyperlipidemia into consideration. Furthermore, compared to controls, the adjusted ORs of regular and irregular statin use for cases were 1.30 (95% CI, 1.11‐1.52) and 1.49 (95% CI, 1.11‐1.93), respectively, compared to controls.

Conclusion

This study found that SSNHL was significantly associated with previous statin use.
Simulating the Nasal Cycle with Computational Fluid Dynamics
Authors: Patel Ruchin G. , Garcia Guilherme J. M. , Frank‐Ito Dennis O. , Kimbell Julia S. , Rhee John S.
Published: December 2014

Objectives

(1) To develop a method to account for the confounding effect of the nasal cycle when comparing preoperative and postoperative objective measures of nasal patency. (2) To illustrate this method by reporting objective measures derived from computational fluid dynamics (CFD) models spanning the full range of mucosal engorgement associated with the nasal cycle in 2 subjects.

Study Design

Retrospective.

Setting

Academic tertiary medical center.

Subjects and Methods

A cohort of 24 patients with nasal airway obstruction was reviewed to select the 2 patients with the greatest reciprocal change in mucosal engorgement between preoperative and postoperative computed tomography (CT) scans. Three‐dimensional anatomic models were created based on the preoperative and postoperative CT scans. Nasal cycling models were also created by gradually changing the thickness of the inferior turbinate, middle turbinate, and septal swell body. Moreover, CFD was used to simulate airflow and to calculate nasal resistance and the average heat flux.

Results

Before accounting for the nasal cycle, patient A appeared to have a paradoxical worsening nasal obstruction in the right cavity postoperatively. After accounting for the nasal cycle, patient A had small improvements in objective measures postoperatively. The magnitude of the surgical effect also differed in patient B after accounting for the nasal cycle.

Conclusion

By simulating the nasal cycle and comparing models in similar congestive states, surgical changes in nasal patency can be distinguished from physiological changes associated with the nasal cycle. This ability can lead to more precise comparisons of preoperative and postoperative objective measures and potentially more accurate virtual surgery planning.
Geriatric and physically oriented rehabilitation improves the ability of independent living and physical rehabilitation reduces mortality: a randomised comparison of 538 patients
Authors: Lahtinen Antti , Leppilahti Juhana , Harmainen Samppa , Sipilä Jaakko , Antikainen Riitta , Seppänen Maija-Liisa , Willig Reeta , Vähänikkilä Hannu , Ristiniemi Jukka , Rissanen Pekka , Jalovaara Pekka
Published: December 2014

Objective:

To examine effects of physical and geriatric rehabilitation on institutionalisation and mortality after hip fracture.

Design:

Prospective randomised study.

Setting:

Physically oriented (187 patients), geriatrically oriented (171 patients), and health centre hospital rehabilitation (180 patients, control group).

Subjects:

A total of 538 consecutively, independently living patients with non-pathological hip fracture.

Main measures:

Patients were evaluated on admission, at 4 and 12 months for social status, residential status, walking ability, use of walking aids, pain in the hip, activities of daily living (ADL) and mortality.

Results:

Mortality was significantly lower at 4 and 12 months in physical rehabilitation (3.2%, 8.6%) than in geriatric rehabilitation group (9.6%, 18.7%, P=0.026, P=0.005, respectively) or control group (10.6%, 19.4%, P=0.006, P=0.004, respectively). At 4 months more patients in physical (84.4%) and geriatric rehabilitation group (78.0%) were able to live at home or sheltered housing than in control group (71.9%, P=0.0012 and P<0.001, respectively). No significant difference was found between physical rehabilitation and geriatric rehabilitation ( P=0.278). Analysis of femoral neck and trochanteric fractures showed that significant difference was true only for femoral neck fractures (physical rehabilitation vs geriatric rehabilitation P=0.308, physical rehabilitation vs control group P<0,001 and geriatric rehabilitation vs control group P<0.001). Effects of intensified rehabilitations disappeared at 12 months. No impact on walking ability or ADL functions was observed.

Conclusions:

Physical rehabilitation reduced mortality. Physical and geriatric rehabilitation significantly improved the ability of independent living after 4 months especially among the femoral neck fracture patients but this effect could not be seen after 12 months.
New Humanitarianism and Changing Logics of the Political in International Relations
Authors: Yamashita Hikaru
Published: December 2014

This article seeks to place new/neo humanitarianism in a wider context of post-Cold War international relations and argues that its emergence corresponds to an important shift in the meaning of the political in contemporary international relations. It describes the shift in terms of the contrast between two logics of politics: the conventional logic of distinction, whereby political processes take place between territorially separated sovereign entities, and the emerging logic of translucency. The latter logic, in which new values (and risks) are generated by the actor’s ability and will to extend beyond its material and ideational boundaries, has been adopted by many global actors, including humanitarian ones. The article argues that new humanitarianism, which seeks linkage to activities that were once off limits to traditional humanitarianism, represents another example of the practical and ideational adaptation on the part of a traditional movement to a new political landscape.
‘China in Africa’: From Under-researched to Under-theorised?
Authors: A’Zami Darius
Published: December 2014

The literature on China–Africa relations is a rapidly developing field. However, whilst it is a much richer body of work now than it was a few years ago, it has been somewhat resistant to compelling theorisation. This claim is demonstrated via discussion of three recent contributions to this literature. The discussion develops a claim that a helpful problématique might be found by framing China–Africa relations as relations between ‘unequal equals’, a particular benefit of which is that it emphasises that China–Africa relations are, inter alia specifically international relations. Whilst rigorous theoretical work has already been done, the emphasis has been societal. In this sense, the unequal equals formulation amounts to a call for greater dialogue between social and internationally oriented disciplines to resolve the under-theorisation that afflicts the study of China–Africa relations.
Anterior Cruciate Ligament and Knee Injury Prevention Programs for Soccer Players
Authors: Grimm Nathan L. , Jacobs John C. , Kim Jaewhan , Denney Brandon S. , Shea Kevin G.
Published: December 2014

Background:

Soccer has one of the highest incidences of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries for both males and females. Several injury prevention programs have been developed to address this concern. However, an analysis of the pooled effect has yet to be elicited.

Purpose:

To conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis of ACL and knee injury prevention programs for soccer players, assess the heterogeneity among the studies, and evaluate the reported effectiveness of the prevention programs.

Study Design:

Systematic review and meta-analysis.

Methods:

A systematic search of the literature was conducted on PubMed (Medline), Embase, CINAHL, and Central-Cochrane Database. Studies were limited to randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of injury prevention programs specific to the knee and/or ACL in soccer players. The Cochrane Q test and I2 index were independently used to assess heterogeneity among the studies. The pooled risk difference, assessing knee and/or ACL injury rates between intervention and control groups, was calculated by random-effects models with use of the DerSimonian-Laird method. Publication bias was assessed with a funnel plot and Egger weighted regression technique.

Results:

Nine studies met the inclusion criteria as RCTs. A total of 11,562 athletes were included, of whom 7889 were analyzed for ACL-specific injuries. Moderate heterogeneity was found among studies of knee injury prevention ( P = .041); however, there was insignificant variation found among studies of ACL injury prevention programs ( P = .222). For studies of knee injury prevention programs, the risk ratio was 0.74 (95% CI, 0.55-0.89), and a significant reduction in risk of knee injury was found in the prevention group ( P = .039). For studies of ACL injury prevention programs, the risk ratio was 0.66 (95% CI, 0.33-1.32), and a nonsignificant reduction in risk of ACL injury was found in the prevention group ( P = .238). No evidence of publication bias was found among studies of either knee or ACL injury prevention programs.

Conclusion:

This systematic review and meta-analysis of ACL and knee injury prevention program studies found a statistically significant reduction in injury risk for knee injuries but did not find a statistically significant reduction of ACL injuries.
Cost-effectiveness Analysis of the Diagnosis of Meniscus Tears
Authors: Mather Richard C. , Garrett William E. , Cole Brian J. , Hussey Kristen , Bolognesi Michael P. , Lassiter Tally , Orlando Lori A.
Published: December 2014

Background:

Diagnostic imaging represents the fastest growing segment of costs in the US health system. This study investigated the cost-effectiveness of alternative diagnostic approaches to meniscus tears of the knee, a highly prevalent disease that traditionally relies on MRI as part of the diagnostic strategy.

Purpose:

To identify the most efficient strategy for the diagnosis of meniscus tears.

Study Design:

Economic and decision analysis; Level of evidence, 1.

Methods:

A simple-decision model run as a cost-utility analysis was constructed to assess the value added by MRI in various combinations with patient history and physical examination (H&P). The model examined traumatic and degenerative tears in 2 distinct settings: primary care and orthopaedic sports medicine clinic. Strategies were compared using the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER).

Results:

In both practice settings, H&P alone was widely preferred for degenerative meniscus tears. Performing MRI to confirm a positive H&P was preferred for traumatic tears in both practice settings, with a willingness to pay of less than US$50,000 per quality-adjusted life-year. Performing an MRI for all patients was not preferred in any reasonable clinical scenario. The prevalence of a meniscus tear in a clinician’s patient population was influential. For traumatic tears, MRI to confirm a positive H&P was preferred when prevalence was less than 46.7%, with H&P preferred above that. For degenerative tears, H&P was preferred until the prevalence reaches 74.2%, and then MRI to confirm a negative was the preferred strategy. In both settings, MRI to confirm positive physical examination led to more than a 10-fold lower rate of unnecessary surgeries than did any other strategy, while MRI to confirm negative physical examination led to a 2.08 and 2.26 higher rate than H&P alone in primary care and orthopaedic clinics, respectively.

Conclusion:

For all practitioners, H&P is the preferred strategy for the suspected degenerative meniscus tear. An MRI to confirm a positive H&P is preferred for traumatic tears for all practitioners. Consideration should be given to implementing alternative diagnostic strategies as well as enhancing provider education in physical examination skills to improve the reliability of H&P as a diagnostic test.

Clinical Relevance:

Alternative diagnostic strategies that do not include the use of MRI may result in decreased health care costs without harm to the patient and could possibly reduce unnecessary procedures.
Meniscal Root Tears
Authors: LaPrade Christopher M. , James Evan W. , Cram Tyler R. , Feagin John A. , Engebretsen Lars , LaPrade Robert F.
Published: December 2014

Background:

Meniscal root tears present in many forms and can have profound consequences on the health of knee articular cartilage. While the biomechanics, natural history, and treatment of root tears have been increasingly investigated, the spectrum of meniscal root tear patterns observed during arthroscopic examination has yet to be defined and categorized.

Purpose:

To establish a classification system for meniscal root tears by reporting the morphology of meniscal root tears from a consecutive series of arthroscopic surgeries. It was hypothesized that meniscal root tears could be grouped into types by distinct tear patterns and that recognition of tear pattern would affect treatment choice.

Study Design:

Case series; Level of evidence, 4.

Methods:

All patients who underwent arthroscopic surgery from April 2010 to May 2014 by a single orthopaedic surgeon were included. After arthroscopic examination, data regarding the integrity of the meniscal roots were prospectively recorded in a data registry. Tear morphology and treatment received were subsequently extracted by 2 independent reviewers from operative notes and arthroscopic surgical photos.

Results:

A total of 71 meniscal root tears in 67 patients were grouped into tear types with similar tear morphologies. Meniscal root tear patterns were categorized into partial stable root tears (type 1; n = 5); complete radial tears within 9 mm of the bony root attachment (type 2; n = 48), further subclassified into types 2A, 2B, and 2C, located 0 to <3 mm, 3 to <6 mm, and 6 to 9 mm from the root attachment, respectively; bucket-handle tears with a complete root detachment (type 3; n = 4); complex oblique tears with complete root detachments extending into the root attachment (type 4; n = 7); and bony avulsion fractures of the root attachments (type 5; n = 7).

Conclusion:

This study demonstrated that it was possible to establish a concise classification system to group patients with meniscal root tears by tear morphology. Treatments received varied across tear types.
“Don’t Be Trying to Box Folks In”
Authors: Bradway Katherine E. , Beard Renée L.
Published: December 2014

Youth-centeredness presents a “deficit model” of aging and stigmatizes elders. Social constructions reduce the aging process to illness and asexuality. Western conflations of beauty and youth render older adult sexuality disgusting and/or abnormal. Grounded theory methods utilized to interview older women ( N = 20) about love, intimacy, and sexuality reveal more complex and heterogeneous narratives than we are socialized to believe. While important commonalities were reported across age cohorts, relationship statuses, and sexual orientations, sociohistorical as well as psychosocial factors, such as the feminist movement, attitudes about aging, experiences of ageism, and views on sexuality, demonstrate both within- and between-group differences.
Amlodipine Passage into Breast Milk in Lactating Women with Pregnancy-Induced Hypertension and Its Estimation of Infant Risk for Breastfeeding
Authors: Naito Takafumi , Kubono Naoko , Deguchi Shuhei , Sugihara Masahisa , Itoh Hiroaki , Kanayama Naohiro , Kawakami Junichi
Published: December 2014

Background:

Few clinical reports have been published on amlodipine passage into breast milk in lactating women.

Objectives:

The aims of this study were to evaluate the plasma concentration of amlodipine and its passage into breast milk in lactating women with pregnancy-induced hypertension and to estimate the risk for breastfeeding infants.

Methods:

Thirty-one lactating women receiving oral amlodipine once daily for pregnancy-induced hypertension were enrolled. Pre-dose plasma and milk concentrations of amlodipine were determined at day 6 or later after starting the medication. Relative infant dose (RID) as an infant risk for breastfeeding was calculated by dividing the infant dose via milk by the maternal dose.

Results:

The mean maternal dose of amlodipine was 6.0 mg. The medians of the plasma and milk concentrations of amlodipine were 15.5 and 11.5 ng/mL, respectively. Interindividual variation was observed in the amlodipine dose and body weight–adjusted milk concentrations (interquartile range [IQR], 96.7-205 ng/mL per mg/kg). The median and IQR of the amlodipine concentration ratio of milk to plasma were 0.85 and 0.74 to 1.08, respectively. The medians of infant birth weight and daily amlodipine dose via milk were 2170 g and 4.2 μg/kg, respectively. The median of the RID of amlodipine was 4.2% (IQR, 3.1%-7.3%).

Conclusion:

Lactating women with pregnancy-induced hypertension had higher plasma concentrations of amlodipine during the early postpartum period. Oral amlodipine transferred into breast milk at the same level as that of plasma. However, the RID of amlodipine in most patients was less than 10%.
Lake Belau and its catchment (northern Germany): A key archive of environmental history in northern central Europe since the onset of agriculture
Authors: Dreibrodt Stefan , Wiethold Julian
Published: December 2014

The environmental history since the onset of agriculture was reconstructed from sediments and soils in the catchment area of Lake Belau (Schleswig-Holstein, northern Germany). The established chronologies are based on varve counts, radiocarbon data, embedded Icelandic tephra (lake sediments), radiocarbon dates, and embedded artifacts (slope deposits). Neolithic land use triggered small-scale erosion. Lake trophic indicators and pollen data clearly reflect the onset of agriculture and the middle Neolithic expansion of agricultural activity. Despite numerous archaeological findings, less intensive field use and no soil erosion occurred during the older and younger Bronze Age. Perhaps, animal husbandry was more important than cereal cultivation. Between 2000 and 500 cal. bc, Aeolian input from a distant source can be observed. During the late Bronze Age and Pre-Roman Iron Age, intensified field use enabled severe soil erosion (gullies c. 200 cal. bc). The degradation of soils started in this period, influenced by excessive land use, climatic variability, and/or the reduction in Aeolian deposition. The Roman Iron Age and Migration Period were phases of reduced human impact and soil formation. During medieval times, the intensity of field use increased again and another phase of soil erosion (gully in the 14th century, probably reflecting the ‘Magdalenenflut’ 1342) and soil degradation started. After the late medieval crisis caused by the ‘black death’ and several armed conflicts, another increase in soil erosion may reflect the rearrangement of estates (18th−19th century) and introduction of industrial agriculture (20th century). A recurrence of high-intensity erosion events is indicated at c. 1540, 1710, and probably 1939 ad. Whereas the lake trophic status is influenced by human impact on the lake catchment, wetter and warmer climatic phases are reflected in increased carbonate precipitation modulated by solar activity, human impact, and the long-term evolution of vegetation and soils in the lake catchment.
Access to Safe Legal Abortion in Malaysia
Authors: Low Wah-Yun , Tong Wen-Ting , Wong Yut-Lin , Jegasothy Ravindran , Choong Sim-Poey
Published: December 2014

Malaysia has an abortion law, which permits termination of pregnancy to save a woman’s life and to preserve her physical and mental health (Penal Code Section 312, amended in 1989). However, lack of clear interpretation and understanding of the law results in women facing difficulties in accessing abortion information and services. Some health care providers were unaware of the legalities of abortion in Malaysia and influenced by their personal beliefs with regard to provision of abortion services. Accessibility to safer abortion techniques is also an issue. The development of the 2012 Guidelines on Termination of Pregnancy and Guidelines for Management of Sexual and Reproductive Health among Adolescents in Health Clinics by the Ministry of Health, Malaysia, is a step forward toward increasing women’s accessibility to safe abortion services in Malaysia. This article provides an account of women’s accessibility to abortion in Malaysia and the health sector response in addressing the barriers.
Language of Children With Disabilities to Peers at Play
Authors: Mills Paulette E. , Beecher Constance C. , Dale Philip S. , Cole Kevin N. , Jenkins Joseph R.
Published: December 2014

Play is a significant aspect of preschool curricula. We report two studies that examine the effects of play-related variables: length of free play, type of language instructional approach, degree of structure of free play, and amount of teacher involvement in communication with peers. For each study, we target three dependent variables: rate of utterances, vocabulary diversity, and mean length of utterance. In the first study, neither vocabulary diversity nor language complexity differed between the first and second halves of free playtime, regardless of instructional approach. There was a small but significant decrease in the rate of utterances to peers in the second half of the play period with children in the direct language classroom. In the second study, children increased talking with peers and vocabulary diversity when the teacher structured the play situation but did not participate. Taken together, these two studies suggest that some teacher-provided structure may maximize the peer language interaction of young children with disabilities.
Oscillators and Oscillations in the Basal Ganglia
Authors: Wilson Charles J.
Published: December 2014

What is the meaning of an action potential? There must be different answers for neurons that fire spontaneously, even in the absence of synaptic input, and those driven to fire from a resting membrane potential. In spontaneously firing neurons, the occurrence of the next action potential is guaranteed; only variations in its timing can carry the message. In the basal ganglia, the globus pallidus, the substantia nigra, and the subthalamic nucleus consist of neurons firing spontaneously. They each receive thousands of synaptic inputs, but these are not required to maintain their background firing. Instead, synaptic interactions among basal ganglia nuclei comprise a system of coupled oscillators that produces a complex resting pattern of activity. Normally, this pattern is highly irregular and uncorrelated, so that the firing of each cell is statistically independent of the others. This maximizes the potential information that may be transmitted by the basal ganglia to its target structures. In Parkinson’s disease, the resting pattern of activity is dominated by a slow oscillation shared by nearly all of the neurons. Treatment with deep brain stimulation may gain its therapeutic value by disrupting this shared pathological oscillation, and restoring independent action by each neuron in the network.
Cultural Diplomacy, Cosmopolitanism and Global Hierarchy at the Shanghai Expo
Authors: Winter Tim
Published: December 2014

In 2010, the city of Shanghai hosted the largest and most spectacular World’s Fair ever. Shanghai Expo attracted a staggering 73 million visitors, around 98% of whom were domestic Chinese, and involved the participation of 190 countries. As a forum of “virtual tourism,” the event is significant given the rapid and long-term growth in outbound Chinese tourism. This article pursues a closer reading of how “the world” was performed and exhibited to these visitors. Oriented by two theoretical considerations—the spatial configuration of the expo site and its cosmopolitan imagination—the article considers how the format of the Expo revealed and declared certain elements of the global, while simultaneously effacing and squeezing out others. The Expo is thus interpreted as an important mechanism in the creation of a new national citizenry in China and as part of the ceremonialization of a global polity of a “family of nations.”
‘There’s not just trainers or non-trainers, there’s like degrees of trainers’: Commoditisation, singularisation and identity
Authors: Hockey Jenny , Dilley Rachel , Robinson Victoria , Sherlock Alexandra
Published: December 2014

‘Trainers’ represent a form of footwear that has attracted academic attention, particularly in relation to the historical development of footwear since the 19th century, addressing various aspects, from the industrial application of rubber to the technologies of shoe manufacture. This article contributes to a literature on the intersection between trainers and the individuals who have ‘made’ them. However, it asks a parallel question: how do trainers ‘make’ the individual, that is to say: it addresses the embodied processes of everyday life and the contribution of technology to the body and its techniques. We argue that the diversification of the trainer parallels the unfolding of particular lives, offering a valuable, if under-utilised resource for making sense of everyday and life course processes of embodied identification.
Investigations of closely coupled pilot and main injections as a means to reduce combustion noise in a small-bore direct injection Diesel engine
Authors: Busch Stephen , Zha Kan , Miles Paul C
Published: December 2014

Various pilot–main injection strategies are investigated in a single-cylinder optical Diesel engine. It is observed that as the dwell between a single pilot and the main injection is decreased toward zero, combustion noise passes through a minimum, and a reduction of 3 dB is possible. The injection schedules employed in the engine are analyzed with a hydraulic injection analyzer to provide rate shapes for each of the dwells tested. Two distinct injection events are observed even at the shortest dwell tested, and various rate shaping effects are observed with the main injection event as the dwell is adjusted. High-speed elastic scattering imaging of liquid fuel is performed in the engine to examine initial spray penetration rates. These compare favorably to the measured rates of injection, thus providing evidence that rate shaping of the initial phase of the main injection occurs in the engine and that this rate shaping is consistent with the injection rate data. However, experimental evidence suggests that these changes are not responsible for the observed trend in combustion noise as dwell changes. The combination of thermodynamic data and rate of injection data supports the theory that the main injection interacts with the pilot mixture field and influences its heat release process, thus playing a role in decreasing combustion noise. The relative phasing of the pilot and main heat release may play a significant role in reducing combustion noise; further studies will focus on combustion phasing effects.
School-Based Educational Intervention to Improve Children’s Oral Health–Related Knowledge
Authors: Blake Holly , Dawett Bhupinder , Leighton Paul , Rose-Brady Laura , Deery Chris
Published: December 2014

Objective. To evaluate a brief oral health promotion intervention delivered in schools by a primary care dental practice, aimed at changing oral health care knowledge and oral health–related behaviors in children. Design. Cohort study with pretest–posttest design. Setting. Three primary schools. Participants. One hundred and fifty children (aged 9-12 years). Intervention. Children received a 60-minute theory-driven classroom-based interactive educational session delivered by a dental care professional and received take-home literature on oral health. Main Outcome Measures. All children completed a questionnaire on oral health–related knowledge and self-reported oral health–related behaviors before, immediately after, and 6 weeks following the intervention. Results. Children’s dental knowledge significantly improved following the intervention, with improvement evident at immediate follow-up and maintained 6 weeks later. Significantly more children reported using dental floss 6 weeks after the intervention compared with baseline. No significant differences were detected in toothbrushing or dietary behaviors. Conclusions. School-based preventative oral health education delivered by primary care dental practices can generate short-term improvements in children’s knowledge of oral health and some aspects of oral hygiene behavior. Future research should engage parents/carers and include objective clinical and behavioral outcomes in controlled study designs.
Comparing Two Observational Measures to Evaluate Compliance With Tobacco-Free Campus Policy
Authors: Ickes Melinda , Gokun Yevgeniya , Rayens Mary Kay , Hahn Ellen J.
Published: December 2014

Despite potential benefits of tobacco-free campus policies, compliance remains a challenge. Observational measures hold the most promise in determining compliance with these policies. There is need for further study to determine validity of observational measures of compliance with tobacco-free campus policies. The purpose of this study was to determine the validity of two observational measures of compliance with a tobacco-free campus policy: direct observation of violators and cigarette butts. Data collection took place over a 1-year time period. Direct observation was operationally defined as the number of observed violators in hot spots. A cigarette butt protocol previously found to be reliable was used to count the number of butts in campus hot spots. Results indicated a positive relationship between number of violators observed per visit and number of cigarette butts collected. Although most of the hot spots exhibited two or fewer violators per visit and 100 butts or fewer per collection, the data points outside this range supported a positive association between observed violators per visit and cigarette butts. The findings support that direct observation of violators is a valid measure of compliance compared to cigarette butts. Given available resources, using one or the other as evaluation measures is warranted.
Defining and Measuring Transnational Social Structures
Authors: Molina José Luis , Petermann Sören , Herz Andreas
Published: December 2014

Transnational social fields and transnational social spaces are often used interchangeably to describe and analyze emergent structures of cross-border formations. In this article, we suggest measuring two key aspects of these social structures: embeddedness and span of migrants’ personal networks. While clustered graphs allow assessing transnational embeddedness, the standardized diversity index can be used to show variation in the number of countries reported in personal networks. The measures will be exemplified with the data collected in Barcelona from three groups (Chinese, Sikh, and Filipino, N = 25 in each group, 30 alters by ego).
The Elephant in the Courtroom: Judicial Reaction to Cultural Conflict Criminal Cases
Authors: Tomer-Fishman Tamar
Published: December 2014

Criminal courts in culturally heterogeneous societies around the world face the challenges of a multicultural reality. This study explores how judges silenced the cultural difference issue in cultural conflict cases. Over fifty years of Israeli criminal judicial discourse in cultural conflict criminal cases was analyzed. The qualitative analysis reveals the different ways in which the legal discourse silenced the cultural issue, including different ways to refrain from talking about cultural background, and diverse ways to mask the cultural issue.
Effects of a combination of umeclidinium/vilanterol on exercise endurance in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: two randomized, double-blind clinical trials
Authors: Maltais François , Singh Sally , Donald Alison C. , Crater Glenn , Church Alison , Goh Aik H. , Riley John H.
Published: December 2014

Objective:

Exercise intolerance is a hallmark of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

Methods:

Patients with COPD were randomized in two multicentre, double-blind, incomplete block crossover studies. Patients received two of six treatments in sequence (12 weeks each): placebo, umeclidinium (UMEC)/vilanterol (VI) (125/25 mcg or 62.5/25 mcg), VI (25 mcg) or UMEC (62.5 mcg or 125 mcg). Exercise endurance time (EET) and trough forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1) (Week 12) were co-primary endpoints. Safety was monitored throughout.

Results:

Both studies showed similar 3-hour post-dose EET improvements from baseline for UMEC/VI (Week 12). Significant EET improvements were observed with both UMEC/VI doses versus placebo at Week 12 in Study 418 (UMEC/VI 125/25 mcg: 65.8 s; p = 0.005; UMEC/VI 62.5/25 mcg: 69.4 s; p = 0.003), but not in Study 417, where a placebo effect was evident. Post hoc integrated data analysis showed significant but smaller EET improvements for both UMEC/VI doses versus placebo at Week 12 (UMEC/VI 125/25 mcg: 47.5 s; p = 0.002; UMEC/VI 62.5/25 mcg: 43.7 s; p = 0.001). Both studies showed trough FEV1 improvements at Week 12 for both UMEC/VI doses. The incidence of adverse events was similar between treatment groups within each study.

Conclusions:

UMEC/VI improved lung function and EET.
Empathy: A Review of the Concept
Authors: Cuff Benjamin M.P. , Brown Sarah J. , Taylor Laura , Howat Douglas J.
Published: December 2014

The inconsistent definition of empathy has had a negative impact on both research and practice. The aim of this article is to review and critically appraise a range of definitions of empathy and, through considered analysis, to develop a new conceptualisation. From the examination of 43 discrete definitions, 8 themes relating to the nature of empathy emerged: “distinguishing empathy from other concepts”; “cognitive or affective?”; “congruent or incongruent?”; “subject to other stimuli?”; “self/other distinction or merging?”; “trait or state influences?”; “has a behavioural outcome?”; and “automatic or controlled?” The relevance and validity of each theme is assessed and a new conceptualisation of empathy is offered. The benefits of employing a more consistent and complete definition of empathy are discussed.