bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
How patients choose hospitals: Using the stereotypic content model to model trustworthiness, warmth and competence
Authors: Drevs Florian
Published: December 2013

In many countries, policy initiatives force the implementation of demand-driven healthcare systems to encourage competition among providers. When actively choosing hospitals, consumers can compare data on the quality of hospital performance among providers. However, patients do not necessarily take full advantage of comparative quality information but instead use a number of readily available proxies to evaluate provider trustworthiness. According to the stereotypic content model, organizational trustworthiness is built on stereotypical perceptions of hospitals' competence and warmth, reflected by visible hospital characteristics such as ownership and teaching status, and size. We introduce a theoretical framework on stereotypic quality perceptions that brings together fragmented findings in health services research on patient quality expectations of hospital characteristics. The model provides a basis for further research and recommendations for improved hospital communication strategies. The study suggests that researchers as well as hospital management should pay more attention to stereotypical patient quality perceptions and their impact on hospital choice to understand patients' quality evaluations better.
The ideological dilemma of subordination of self versus self-care: Identity construction of the ‘ethical social worker’
Authors: Weinberg Merlinda
Published: December 2013

Discourse analysis, while under-utilized in social work, is useful for understanding the social construction of identity as negotiated in talk with others. The article has twin aims. First, the author argues that identity is a fragmented co-construction, changing moment-to-moment in context with others. This argument is supported by analyzing an extract from a research study on ethics in social work practice, in which a practitioner struggled with an ideological dilemma. How ‘ideological dilemmas’ differ from the more commonly used notion of ‘ethical dilemmas’ in social work is addressed. The second goal is to heighten awareness of the utility of both discourse analysis and ‘ideological dilemmas’ for use as theoretical tools for social work. The particular ideological dilemma the worker had to negotiate to be seen as an ‘ethical practitioner’ was that of the subordination of the self versus self-care.
Mejorando Matrimonios
Authors: Gutierrez Daniel , Barden Sejal M. , Tobey Marisol H.
Published: December 2013

Researchers have indicated that Hispanic couples and families experience high rates of mental health issues; however, they tend to underutilize mental health services due to cultural and structural barriers. One potential vehicle to overcoming barriers to mental health treatment for Hispanic couples is through engaging in marriage and relationship education (MRE). MRE, an empirically supported educational intervention, has been found to be effective for Hispanic couples. However, proper application of MRE warrants cultural sensitivity. To this extent, the purpose of this article is to provide an overview of barriers to mental health treatment and suggest several cultural considerations when facilitating MRE for Hispanic couples.
Monitoring Cognitive Functioning
Authors: Lachman Margie E. , Agrigoroaei Stefan , Tun Patricia A. , Weaver Suzanne L.
Published: December 2013

Assessment of cognitive functioning is an important component of telephone surveys of health. Previous cognitive telephone batteries have been limited in scope with a primary focus on dementia screening. The Brief Test of Adult Cognition by Telephone (BTACT) assesses multiple dimensions central for effective functioning across adulthood: episodic memory, working memory, reasoning, verbal fluency, and executive function. The BTACT is the first instrument that includes measures of processing speed, reaction time, and task-switching/inhibitory control for use over the telephone. We administered the battery to a national sample ( N = 4,268), age 32 to 84 years, from the study of Midlife in the United States (MIDUS) and examined age, education, and sex differences; reliability; and factor structure. We found good evidence for construct validity with a subsample tested in person. Implications of the findings are considered for efficient neuropsychological assessment and monitoring changes in cognitive aging, for clinical and research applications by telephone or in person.
Flexural vibrations of clamped-free rhombic plates with corner stress singularities. Part I: review of research
Authors: McGee Oliver G
Published: December 2013

In this paper (part I) an ample review of the published literature of skew plate vibrations summarizes well over 100 references as background, bringing forth a need for accurate solutions incorporating stress singularity-based methodologies for analyzing this applied mechanics problem. Such an accurate method is presented in a part II companion paper for analysis of flexural vibrations of rhombic plates with all combinations of clamped and free edge conditions. The prime focus therein is that the analysis explicitly considers the bending stress singularities that occur in the two opposite, clamped-free corners with obtuse angles of the rhombic plates. The strength of these singularities increases significantly as the obtuse angles at the corners increase. Frequency relations summarized herein from this review of Mindlin and Reddy skew plate vibrations research enable investigators to obtain accurate 3–4 significant digit upper bounds on exact solutions of shear deformable skew plates, including the effects of stress singularities, given analogous Kirchhoff skew (rhombic) plate frequency solutions, and thereby eliminating the need to solve the complicated equations of shear deformation theories including stress singularity effects published elsewhere.
Delayed feedback controller for microelectromechanical systems resonators undergoing large motion
Authors: Masri Karim M , Shao Shuai , Younis Mohammad I
Published: December 2013

In this paper, we study the effect of a delayed feedback controller on stabilizing microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) resonators when undergoing large amplitude motion. A delayed feedback velocity controller is implemented through modifying the parallel plate electrostatic force used to excite the resonator into motion. A nonlinear single-degree-of-freedom model is used to simulate the resonator response. Long-time integration is used. Then, a finite difference technique to capture periodic motion combined with the Floquet theory is utilized to capture the stable and unstable periodic responses. We show that applying a suitable positive gain can stabilize the MEMS resonator near or inside the dynamic pull in instability bands. We also study the stability of the resonator by tracking its basins of attraction while sweeping the controller gain and the frequency of excitations. We notice significant enhancement in the safe area of the basins of attraction in the cases of positive delayed gains.
Effect of micron and submicron size cenosphere particulate on mechanical and tribological characteristics of vinylester composites
Authors: Thakur Sunil , Chauhan Santram
Published: December 2013

In the present work, the effects of micron and submicron particle size on the tribological behavior of vinylester composites have been investigated. Three different sizes of cenosphere particles (2 µm, 900 nm, and 400 nm) were used as fillers in the composites. Friction and wear tests were carried out at normal room temperature for sliding speed of 1.9 m/s, 3.2 m/s, 4.4 m/s, and 5.7 m/s and applied normal loads of 10 N, 30 N, 50 N, and 70 N, respectively. The friction and wear behavior of these composites sliding against hardened ground steel EN-32 on a pin-on-disc apparatus has been studied. The tensile, flexural, and compressive strengths of the vinylester composites also have been determined on a universal materials testing machine. It was found that the submicron size particulates as fillers contributed significantly to improve the mechanical properties and wear resistance of the vinylester composites. The results show that the particle size 400 nm was most effective in increasing wear resistance and reducing the coefficient of friction. The morphologies of the worn surface were analyzed by means of scanning electron microscopy.
Tribological property study of novel water-soluble triazine derivative
Authors: He Zhongyi , Wu Yuqin , Lei Juanhong , Xiong Liping , Qiu Jianwei , Fu Xishang
Published: December 2013

2,4-Di-(diethanolamine)-6-(diethanolaminedithiocarbamate)-1,3,5-triazine, a novel water-soluble triazine derivative, was synthesized. As additive in pure water and water-glycol, its tribological behaviors were evaluated by a four-ball tester. The results showed that this new triazine derivative exhibited excellent extreme pressure, antiwear, and friction-reducing properties. The compound can be used as a new multifunctional lubricant additive in pure water and water-glycol. The wear scar diameter and friction coefficient increased along with the rotation speed under the condition of using water-glycol as base liquid. The morphology of worn surface and the element composition of the surface were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The analysis results showed that the additive generated a boundary lubricating and a protecting film, which contained FeOx, FeSO4, FeS2, and organic N-containing compounds. This consequence may contribute to the improvement of tribological properties of water-base lubricant.
Surface roughness effects in elastohydrodynamic lubrication: A review with contributions
Authors: Morales-Espejel Guillermo E
Published: December 2013

Modern machine elements are required to work under increasingly severe conditions (thinner lubricating films, higher temperatures, less lubricant, etc.). Therefore, in heavily loaded lubricated contacts the effect of surface topography is now more relevant than say, 40 years ago. Yet, in the year 1977 the 4th Leeds-Lyon Symposium on Tribology was held with the theme ‘Surface Roughness Effects in Lubrication’! How much have we learnt since then? The objective of this paper is to discuss in detail the progress in micro-elastohydrodynamic lubrication (micro-EHL) and to give an overview of mainly modelling progress and understanding in the last 40 years. The paper starts with a quick review of the main methods, models and challenges in micro-elastohydrodynamic lubrication, from the days of the 4th Leeds-Lyon Symposium to current times. Then the focus shifts towards discussing in more detail the existing semi-analytical methodologies developed in recent times to model the micro-elastohydrodynamic lubrication problem. The global and local effects of roughness, the effects of sliding and the transition to dry contact will be included. Finally, examples of industrial applications will be presented where roughness plays a major role in function; at the end, new challenges in the modelling of surface roughness effects in elastohydrodynamic lubrication will be outlined, e.g. interactions with the subsurface material.
Performance of alumina coatings prepared by hard anodizing, micro arc oxidation and detonation spray processes on Al–Mg–Si alloy under fretting wear loading
Authors: Kumar S Anand , Pradhan Sritam , Raman S Ganesh Sundara , Gnanamoorthy R
Published: December 2013

Hard anodizing, micro arc oxidation and detonation spraying of alumina were done on AA 6063 substrate. Fretting wear tests were done at different normal loads and a constant displacement of 55 µm for 50,000 cycles at 5 Hz. The micro arc oxidation and detonation spray coated samples exhibited lower coefficient of friction compared to hard anodizing coated and uncoated samples. Both micro arc oxidation and detonation sprayed samples showed superior fretting wear resistance compared to hard anodizing and uncoated samples. However, hard anodizing coated samples exhibited inferior fretting wear resistance compared to uncoated samples due to cracking and fragmentation of brittle and hard anodized layer.
Electoral reform, values and party self-interest
Authors: Bol Damien
Published: December 2013

It is often taken for granted that parties support electoral reform because they anticipate seat payoffs from the psychological and mechanical effects of the new electoral system. Although some studies point out that elements related to values and the willingness to achieve social goals are also relevant to explaining party preference in those situations, a general model of how these considerations influence support for electoral reform is still missing. To fill this gap, I develop in this article a policy-seeking model accounting for values-related factors and operationalize it using one of the most firmly established effects of electoral systems in the literature: The degree of inclusiveness and its consequences for the representation of social groups in parliament. The empirical relevance of this model is then tested using an original dataset reporting the actual position of 115 parties facing 22 electoral reform proposals in OECD countries since 1961. The results show that willingness to favour the electoral system most in line with a party’s electoral platform has a unique explanatory power over party support for a more proportional electoral system. In turn, values appear to be as crucial as party self-interest in explaining the overall electoral reform story.
Reading the BDSM romance: Reader responses to Fifty Shades
Authors: Deller Ruth A , Smith Clarissa
Published: December 2013

This article presents the results of survey data from readers of the Fifty Shades novel series. It is almost 30 years since Janice Radway’s (1984) Reading the Romance was published and audience studies have burgeoned. However, public discourse about E L James’s trilogy was couched in assumptions about ‘formulaic’ genre fiction, alongside debates about its ‘mainstreaming’ of BDSM, and little of this discussion drew upon the voices of readers. Our research reveals readers’ complex, often contradictory, responses to the novels. For these readers, the acts of reading and discussing the novels offer a range of (dis)pleasures, from erotic enjoyment to the amusements of critique; from self-gratification to participation in cultural dialogue.
Flogging sexual transgression: Interrogating the costs of the ‘Fifty Shades effect’
Authors: Dymock Alex
Published: December 2013

This article offers a critical reading of the Fifty Shades phenomenon by situating the novels as works of transgressive erotic fiction that stimulate circuits of female consumption and the production of sexual identity as commodity. It submits a novel contribution to current scholarship on the mechanisms of sexual transgression by acknowledging its neutral or even reactive qualities, and by laying bare its relationship with disciplinary regimes of social power. It demonstrates that, rather than a politically progressive utopian strategy that might delimit the parameters of sexual desire, transgression now primarily functions as a mechanism through which capitalism is reinforced and the institutions of heteronormativity maintained.
Fifty Shades of sex shop: Sexual fantasy for sale
Authors: Martin Amber
Published: December 2013

This article proposes that the extensive sales and widespread popularity of the Fifty Shades trilogy has placed BDSM in the sexual spotlight and explores how this is being capitalized upon by some sex shops and sex toy retailers by encouraging consumers to bring the erotic fiction of Fifty Shades into their own sexual reality through the purchase of particular commodities and the acquisition of BDSM related sexual knowledge. This article argues that this is based upon a particular ‘ Fifty Shades’ brand of BDSM that is constructed as fun, fashionable and exciting as opposed to extreme, marginalized and dangerous.
Consensual non-consent: Comparing EL James’s Fifty Shades of Grey and Pauline Réage’s Story of O
Authors: Tsaros Angelika
Published: December 2013

This article explores questions of sexual agency and consent in mainstream representations of BDSM using Pauline Réage’s Story of O and EL James’s Fifty Shades trilogy as examples. It addresses normalizing tendencies and explores to what extent BDSM can be represented before being rejected by mainstream readers. Based on critiques of both novels, I outline the degree to which the concept of consensual non-consent, that is, the illusion of suspended consent in order to facilitate erotic power play, works in both novels. A close reading reveals a return to more traditional notions of femininity and female sexual agency in Fifty Shades, as well as a growing tendency to normatively limit the depictions of sadomasochistic desires.
When religious ‘mommy bloggers’ met ‘mommy porn’: Evangelical Christian and Mormon women’s responses to Fifty Shades
Authors: Whitehead Deborah
Published: December 2013

While some conservative religious women have rejected Fifty Shades of Grey as contrary to their values and beliefs, others have embraced it. This article analyzes commentaries and reflections on the book series in US evangelical Christian and Mormon women’s blog communities, and shows how many of these women find value in the books because of their personal, cultural, and religious significance. I argue that attention to the reading strategies employed by evangelical and Mormon women in relation to Fifty Shades demonstrates a complex set of responses to ‘secular’ culture as well as ongoing negotiations of gender, sexuality, and authority within these conservative religious traditions.
Talk like a Marine: USMC linguistic acculturation and civil–military argument
Authors: Marcellino William M
Published: December 2013

This study examines the relationship between US Marine discourse and civil–military public argument. A computer-aided semantic analysis of public record speech from senior Marine officers shows a style of cohesion, marked by future-oriented, inclusive, highly certain language. An appraisal theory discourse analysis of interviews with US Marines conducted during an ethnography of communication shows their talk argues discursively for cohesion. This way of speaking may constrain Marines in public argument, as they repeat ways of talking appropriate within the community, even when situationally inappropriate for civilian audiences.
The Unbound Book: Academic Publishing in the Age of the Infinite Archive
Authors: Hall Gary
Published: December 2013

Thanks to open access and the likes of Blurb, Issuu, Scribd, Kindle Direct Publishing, iBooks Author and AAAAARG.org , publishing a book is something nearly everyone can do today in a matter of minutes. Yet what is most interesting about electronic publishing is not so much that bringing out a book is becoming more like blogging or vanity publication, with authority and certification provided as much by an author’s reputation or readership, or the number of times a text is visited, downloaded, cited, referenced, linked to, blogged about, tagged, bookmarked, ranked, rated or ‘liked’, as it is by conventional peer-review or the prestige of the press. All of those criteria still rest upon and retain fairly conventional notions of the book, the author, publication and so on. Far more interesting is the way certain developments in electronic publishing contain at least the potential for us to perceive the book as something that is not completely fixed, stable and unified, with definite limits and clear material edges, but as liquid and living, open to being continually and collaboratively written, edited, annotated, critiqued, updated, shared, supplemented, revised, re-ordered, reiterated and reimagined. So much so that, as some have indeed suggested, perhaps soon we will no longer call such things books at all, e- or otherwise. On the other hand, perhaps ‘book’ is as good a name as any since – as examples as apparently different as the Bible and Shakespeare’s First Folio show – books, historically, have always been liquid and living: electronic publishing has simply helped make us more aware of the fact.
Theses on the Philosophy of History: The Work of Research in the Age of Digital Searchability and Distributability
Authors: Smith Marquard
Published: December 2013

What is it to conduct research in the second decade of the 21st century? What is the nature (or what are the modalities) of the work that we as researchers do? What is research as a praxis? And how have recent shifts in paradigms of knowledge generation and distribution – especially around the archive and the Internet, and the Internet as archival – transformed profoundly what we as researchers do, how we do it, and in fact even our very capacity to do it?

In this article, I begin from the idea of research as a praxis, and from the figure of the researcher as a locus for the discovery of knowledges by way of acts of searching and gathering. In 15 theses I engage critically with challenges raised recently for the idea of ‘history’ as a form of knowledge by our own épistémè of re-search; one whose conditions and conditions of possibility are delineated by the emergence of our late capitalist global algorithmic knowledge economy, and the Internet with its distinct operations of searchability and distributability. Because this is our present moment’s épistémè of re-search, I argue that our being in thrall of the archive has dangerous future consequences: in fact it is perilous for the very idea of the future itself as a category of historical time. Concerned by this situation and thus responding forcefully to it, in offering a few grains of dissent I will ‘look with care’ at how we might navigate our way fractiously and thus productively through such a predicament.
The Fourth Coase Theorem: State planning rules and spontaneity in action
Authors: Lai Lawrence WC , Lorne Frank T
Published: December 2013

This article elucidates a novel and powerful Fourth Coase Theorem using Coase’s own reasoning and extending the First Coase Theorem. It holds that state rules, which include, but are not limited to, property rights, can enlarge a market. This theorem lends support to state planning insofar as it establishes rules that enable and promote market transactions and illuminates the operation of the market’s spontaneity, subject to constraints. Seven conditions that demarcate the state’s role under this theorem from interventionist planning by edict are specified and illustrated by three well-researched real-life examples, one revealed by Coase and two others involving rights conferred by the state by licensing and zoning for maritime resources and by franchising for ordering land-use transport.
Usefulness of fitness testing to establish metabolic syndrome in perimenopausal Moroccan women
Authors: Aparicio Virginia A , Carbonell-Baeza Ana , Senhaji Meftaha , Martín Sandra , Camiletti-Moirón Daniel , Aranda Pilar
Published: December 2013

Background:

The use of fitness testing for the identification of women at high-risk of metabolic syndrome (MS), and therefore of cardiovascular disease, is clinically relevant.

Objective:

The purpose of this study was to determine the ability of a set of physical fitness tests to establish the risk of MS in perimenopausal Moroccan women.

Methods:

The study comprised 151 women (45–65 years) from the North of Morocco. We used standardized field-based fitness tests to assess cardiorespiratory fitness, muscular strength, flexibility and balance. Fatness was assessed by impedanciometry and anthropometry. We also measured resting heart rate, blood pressure and plasma fasting glucose, total cholesterol, low density lipoprotein (LDL)-cholesterol, high density lipoprotein (HDL)-cholesterol and triglycerides.

Results:

Women with MS performed worse in most of the fitness tests studied. Among the fitness test studied, the six-minute walk test was the most associated to MS. Receiver operating characteristics curve analyses revealed that the six-minute walk test threshold that best discriminated between the presence and absence of MS was 480.5 m (area under curve (AUC): 0.719, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.62–0.82; p<0.001). Logistic regression after adjustment for age and weight showed that a distance ≤480 m is associated with 2.9 times higher risk (95% CI: 1.56–7.65; p<0.05) for having MS.

Conclusions:

Including cardiorespiratory fitness as a MS risk factor may improve early identification of at-risk Moroccan women. Fitness testing provides useful information and is cheap, easy to perform, and not time-consuming, which makes its use in this specific clinical settings feasible.
Status and reputation: Synonyms or separate concepts?
Authors: Sorenson Olav
Published: December 2013

Status and reputation have often been treated as synonyms. These concepts, however, arise from disconnected literatures in which they had quite distinct connotations. This article explores the similarities and differences between these theoretical constructs, discusses the extent to which research in the management literature has captured one versus the other, and proposes a path for moving forward our understanding of these concepts.
The Importance of Wound Biopsy in the Accurate Diagnosis of Acral Malignant Melanoma Presenting as a Foot Ulcer
Authors: Yin Natalie C. , Miteva Mariya , Covington Donald S. , Romanelli Paolo , Stojadinovic Olivera
Published: December 2013

Neoplastic changes arising at the sites of chronic, nonhealing wounds are not uncommon; however, they often go undiagnosed. We report a case of rapidly progressing plantar melanoma presenting as a chronic, nonhealing ulcer. A 46-year-old patient presented at a specialized Wound Healing Center with an enlarging painful ulcer on the right heel of 3 months duration. The wound was biopsied and specimens were sent for examination at the Wound Pathology service at the Department of Dermatology and Cutaneous Surgery, University of Miami. Histology demonstrated features consistent with acral malignant melanoma. Immunohistochemistry using melanocytic markers MART-1, S-100, HMB-45 revealed positive staining indicating the presence of malignant cells, and D2-40 staining showed lymphatic invasion of the tumor in the wound biopsy specimen. The case presented here underscores the importance of wound biopsying in the diagnosis of malignancies associated with nonhealing wounds.
A comparison of 3-D computed tomography versus 2-D radiography measurements of ulnar variance and ulnolunate distance during forearm rotation
Authors: Kawanishi Y. , Moritomo H. , Omori S. , Kataoka T. , Murase T. , Sugamoto K.
Published: December 2013

Positive ulnar variance is associated with ulnar impaction syndrome and ulnar variance is reported to increase with pronation. However, radiographic measurement can be affected markedly by the incident angle of the X-ray beam. We performed three-dimensional (3-D) computed tomography measurements of ulnar variance and ulnolunate distance during forearm rotation and compared these with plain radiographic measurements in 15 healthy wrists. From supination to pronation, ulnar variance increased in all cases on the radiographs; mean ulnar variance increased significantly and mean ulnolunate distance decreased significantly. However on 3-D imaging, ulna variance decreased in 12 cases on moving into pronation and increased in three cases; neither the mean ulnar variance nor mean ulnolunate distance changed significantly. Our results suggest that the forearm position in which ulnar variance increased varies among individuals. This may explain why some patients with ulnar impaction syndrome complain of wrist pain exacerbated by forearm supination. It also suggests that standard radiographic assessments of ulnar variance are unreliable.
Sevelamer revisited: pleiotropic effects on endothelial and cardiovascular risk factors in chronic kidney disease and end-stage renal disease
Authors: Rastogi Anjay
Published: December 2013

Endothelial dysfunction underlies multiple cardiovascular consequences of chronic kidney disease (CKD) and antecedent diabetes or hypertension. Endothelial insults in CKD or end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients include uremic toxins, serum uric acid, hyperphosphatemia, reactive oxygen species, and advanced glycation endproducts (AGEs). Sevelamer carbonate, a calcium-free intestinally nonabsorbed polymer, is approved for hyperphosphatemic dialysis patients in the US and hyperphosphatemic stage 3–5 CKD patients in many other countries. Sevelamer has been observed investigationally to reduce absorption of AGEs, bacterial toxins, and bile acids, suggesting that it may reduce inflammatory, oxidative, and atherogenic stimuli in addition to its on-label action of lowering serum phosphate. Some studies also suggest that noncalcium binders may contribute less to vascular calcification than calcium-based binders. Exploratory sevelamer carbonate use in patients with stages 2–4 diabetic CKD significantly reduced HbA1c, AGEs, fibroblast growth factor (FGF)-23, and total and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol versus calcium carbonate; inflammatory markers decreased and defenses against AGEs increased. Sevelamer has also been observed to reduce circulating FGF-23, potentially reducing risk of left ventricular hypertrophy. Sevelamer but not calcium-based binders in exploratory studies increases flow-mediated vasodilation, a marker of improved endothelial function, in patients with CKD. In contrast, lanthanum carbonate and calcium carbonate effects on FMV did not differ in hemodialysis recipients. The recent INDEPENDENT-CKD randomized trial compared sevelamer versus calcium carbonate in predialysis CKD patients (investigational in the US, on-label in European participants); sevelamer reduced 36-month mortality and the composite endpoint of mortality or dialysis inception. Similarly, INDEPENDENT-HD in incident dialysis patients showed improved survival with 24 months of sevelamer versus calcium-based binders. This review discusses recent exploratory evidence for pleiotropic effects of sevelamer on endothelial function in CKD or ESRD. Endothelial effects of sevelamer may contribute mechanistically to the improved survival observed in some studies of CKD and ESRD patients.
Geography and the future of big data, big data and the future of geography
Authors: Graham Mark , Shelton Taylor
Published: December 2013

As digital social data have become increasingly ubiquitous, many have turned their attention to harnessing these massive data sets in order to produce purportedly more accurate and complete understandings of social processes. This intervention addresses the relationships between geography and big data and their intertwined futures. We focus on the impacts of an age of big data on the discipline of geography and geographic thought and methodology, as well as how geography might provide a useful lens through which to understand big data as a social phenomenon in its own right. Ultimately, we see significant potential in big data, but remain skeptical of the prevalent discourses around it, as they tend to obscure, more than reveal, the complexity of social and spatial processes.
The quality of big (geo)data
Authors: Goodchild Michael F
Published: December 2013

Big data is distinguished by volume, velocity, and variety. A large proportion of all big data is likely to be geographically referenced, and much may be real time. While examples can be found of high-quality big data, problems arise in meeting the normal scientific standards of replicability and rigorous sampling. These standards can be relaxed in certain stages of science, during hypothesis generation and exploration. Three methods of quality improvement and assurance are proposed. Only the third is sufficiently robust and rapid, especially in time-critical situations.
Anatomy and Histology of the Knee Anterolateral Ligament
Authors: Helito Camilo Partezani , Demange Marco Kawamura , Bonadio Marcelo Batista , Tírico Luis Eduardo Passarelli , Gobbi Riccardo Gomes , Pécora José Ricardo , Camanho Gilberto Luis
Published: December 2013

Background:

Reconstruction of the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is one of the most common procedures in orthopaedic surgery. However, even with advances in surgical techniques and implants, some patients still have residual anterolateral rotatory laxity after reconstruction. A thorough study of the anatomy of the anterolateral region of the knee is needed.

Purpose:

To study the anterolateral region and determine the measurements and points of attachments of the anterolateral ligament (ALL).

Study Design:

Descriptive laboratory study.

Methods:

Dissections of the anterolateral structures of the knee were performed in 20 human cadavers. After isolating the ALL, its length, thickness, width, and points of attachments were determined. The femoral attachment of the ALL was based on the anterior-posterior and proximal-distal distances from the attachment of the lateral collateral ligament (LCL). The tibial attachment point was based on the distance from the Gerdy tubercle to the fibular head and the distance from the lateral tibial plateau. The ligaments from the first 10 dissections were sent for histological analysis.

Results:

The ALL was found in all 20 knees. The femoral attachment of the ALL at the lateral epicondyle averaged 3.5 mm distal and 2.2 mm anterior to the attachment of the LCL. Two distal attachments were observed: one inserts into the lateral meniscus, the other between the Gerdy tubercle and the fibular head, approximately 4.4 mm distal to the tibial articular cartilage. The mean measurements for the ligament were 37.3 mm (length), 7.4 mm (width), and 2.7 mm (thickness). The histological analysis of the ligaments revealed dense connective tissue.

Conclusion:

The ALL is consistently present in the anterolateral region of the knee. Its attachment to the femur is anterior and distal to the attachment of the LCL. Moving distally, it bifurcates at close to half of its length. The ALL features 2 distal attachments, one at the lateral meniscus and the other between the Gerdy tubercle and the fibular head.

Clinical Relevance:

The ALL may be important in maintaining normal rotatory limits of knee motion; ALL rupture could be responsible for rotatory laxity after isolated intra-articular reconstruction of the ACL.
Time-resolved characterization of cAMP/PKA-dependent signaling reveals that platelet inhibition is a concerted process involving multiple signaling pathways
Authors: Beck Florian , Geiger Jörg , Gambaryan Stepan , Veit Johannes , Vaudel Marc , Nollau Peter , Kohlbacher Oliver , Martens Lennart , Walter Ulrich , Sickmann Albert , Zahedi René P.
Published: December 2013

Key Points

First comprehensive and time-resolved characterization of platelet cAMP/PKA signaling upon iloprost treatment. More than 2700 phosphorylation sites quantified between 4 time points and from 3 individual healthy donors.
DNA transposon-based gene vehicles - scenes from an evolutionary drive
Authors: Skipper Kristian Alsbjerg , Andersen Peter Refsing , Sharma Nynne , Mikkelsen Jacob Giehm
Published: December 2013

DNA transposons are primitive genetic elements which have colonized living organisms from plants to bacteria and mammals. Through evolution such parasitic elements have shaped their host genomes by replicating and relocating between chromosomal loci in processes catalyzed by the transposase proteins encoded by the elements themselves. DNA transposable elements are constantly adapting to life in the genome, and self-suppressive regulation as well as defensive host mechanisms may assist in buffering ‘cut-and-paste’ DNA mobilization until accumulating mutations will eventually restrict events of transposition. With the reconstructed Sleeping Beauty DNA transposon as a powerful engine, a growing list of transposable elements with activity in human cells have moved into biomedical experimentation and preclinical therapy as versatile vehicles for delivery and genomic insertion of transgenes. In this review, we aim to link the mechanisms that drive transposon evolution with the realities and potential challenges we are facing when adapting DNA transposons for gene transfer. We argue that DNA transposon-derived vectors may carry inherent, and potentially limiting, traits of their mother elements. By understanding in detail the evolutionary journey of transposons, from host colonization to element multiplication and inactivation, we may better exploit the potential of distinct transposable elements. Hence, parallel efforts to investigate and develop distinct, but potent, transposon-based vector systems will benefit the broad applications of gene transfer. Insight and clever optimization have shaped new DNA transposon vectors, which recently debuted in the first DNA transposon-based clinical trial. Learning from an evolutionary drive may help us create gene vehicles that are safer, more efficient, and less prone for suppression and inactivation.
The relevance of socio-demographic and occupational variables for the assessment of work-related stress risk
Authors: Marinaccio Alessandro , Ferrante Pierpaolo , Corfiati Marisa , Di Tecco Cristina , Rondinone Bruna M , Bonafede Michela , Ronchetti Matteo , Persechino Benedetta , Iavicoli Sergio
Published: December 2013

Background

Work-related stress is widely recognized as one of the major challenges to occupational health and safety. The correlation between work-related stress risk factors and physical health outcomes is widely acknowledged. This study investigated socio-demographic and occupational variables involved in perceived risk of work-related stress.

Methods

The Italian version of the Health and Safety Executive Management Standards Indicator Tool was used in a large survey to examine the relationship between work-related stress risks and workers’ demographic and occupational characteristics. Out of 8,527 questionnaires distributed among workers (from 75 organizations) 6,378 were returned compiled (74.8%); a set of mixed effects models were adopted to test single and combined effects of the variables on work-related stress risk.

Results

Female workers reported lower scores on control and peer support and more negative perceptions of relationships and change at work than male workers, most of them with full-time contracts. Age, job seniority, and educational level appeared positively correlated with control at work, but negatively with job demands. Fixed-term workers had positive perceptions regarding job demands and relationships, but more difficulties about their role at work than permanent workers. A commuting time longer than one hour and shift work appeared to be associated with higher levels of risk factors for work-related stress (except for role), the latter having more negative effects, increasing with age.

Conclusions

The findings suggest that the assessment and management of work-related stress risk should consider specific socio-demographic and occupational risk factors such as gender, age, educational level, job status, shift work, commuting time, job contracts.
Did past economic prosperity affect the health related quality of life predictors? A longitudinal study on a representative sample of Slovenian family medicine patients
Authors: Cerne Anja , Svab Igor , Kersnik Janko , Selic Polona
Published: December 2013

Background

Health related quality of life (HRQOL) as an important measure of medical outcomes has been shown to be associated with demographic factors and the most common mental and chronic somatic diseases. This study’s aim was to identify factors predicting changes in HRQOL over a follow-up period in a representative sample of Slovenian family medicine patients.

Methods

In a longitudinal multi-centred study between 2003 and 2005, data were collected from 1118 consecutive attendees from 60 family medicine practices in Slovenia on quality of life, socio-demographic factors and the presence of mental disorders, with follow-up after 6 and 24 months. Retrospective information on chronic diseases was obtained from patients` health records. In three time-sequential multiple linear regression models, data on 601 patients (53.8%) was analysed to determine factors associated with each component score of quality of life.

Results

At baseline the patients were 48.58 (SE = 0.58) years of age, over half were women (386 (64.2%)) and most were Slovenian (548 (91.2%)). Quality of life was seen to improve over the two-year period. Factors significantly and consistently associated with a better mental component score of quality of life were social support, satisfactory circumstances in patients` household and absence of anxiety. Major life events in the past year and depression were shown to be risk factors for mental and physical components, while level of education, absence of long-term disability and chronic pain were identified as predictors of the physical component.

Conclusions

Detection and successful treatment of depression and anxiety has a potential to lead to improved quality of life in family medicine attendees; family physicians should be alert for the early onset of these conditions, knowing that symptoms of chronic pain, depression and anxiety often overlap in patients. Poorly educated patients and those lacking social support and/or satisfactory household circumstances should be recognised and empowered, and appropriate coping mechanisms should be introduced.
Multimorbidity prevalence in the general population: the role of obesity in chronic disease clustering
Authors: Agborsangaya Calypse B , Ngwakongnwi Emmanuel , Lahtinen Markus , Cooke Tim , Johnson Jeffrey A
Published: December 2013

Background

The role of obesity in the prevalence and clustering of multimorbidity, the occurrence of two or more chronic conditions, is understudied. We estimated the prevalence of multimorbidity by obesity status, and the interaction of obesity with other predictors of multimorbidity.

Methods

Data from adult respondents (18 years and over) to the Health Quality Council of Alberta 2012 Patient Experience Survey were analyzed. Multivariable regression models were fitted to test for associations.

Results

The survey sample included 4803 respondents; 55.8% were female and the mean age was 47.8 years (SD, 17.1). The majority (62.0%) of respondents reported having at least one chronic condition. The prevalence of multimorbidity, including obesity, was 36.0% (95% CI, 34.8 – 37.3). The prevalence of obesity alone was 28.1% (95% CI 26.6 – 29.5). Having obesity was associated with more than double the odds of multimorbidity (odds ratio = 2.2, 95% CI 1.9 – 2.7) compared to non-obese.

Conclusions

The prevalence of multimorbidity in the general population is high, but even higher in obese than non-obese persons. These findings may be relevant for surveillance, prevention and management strategies for multimorbidity.
Leukocytes and systemic inflammatory response syndrome as prognostic factors in pulmonary embolism patients
Authors: Jo Jun Yeon , Lee Mi Young , Lee Jin Wook , Rho Byung Hak , Choi Won-Il
Published: December 2013

Background

Hemodynamic status and cardiac function are important factors for predicting pulmonary embolism (PE) prognosis. Although inflammation is considered a risk factor for deep vein thrombosis, the prognostic significance of both systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) and leukocytosis has not been elucidated. This study evaluates PE prognostic factors, including SIRS and leukocytes.

Methods

This retrospective cohort study included 667 PE patients. Risk evaluation included SIRS and leukocytosis. A prediction model was developed based on independent predictors of 30-day mortality.

Results

Fifty-seven patients (8.5%) died within 30 days of PE. Multivariate analysis showed that SIRS satisfying the WBC criteria (odds ratio [OR], 2.8; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.5–5.4), altered mental status (OR, 4.0; 95% CI, 1.8–8.7), shock (OR, 2.6; 95% CI, 1.0-7.1), and right-to-left ventricle diameter ratio (OR, 1.7; 95% CI, 1.0-2.8) were associated with 30-day mortality. SIRS criteria, including body temperature (OR, 4.6; 95% CI, 1.4–14.8), heart rate (OR, 2.0; 95% CI, 1.1–3.6), respiratory rate (OR, 2.5; 95% CI, 1.4–4.6), and white blood cells (WBC) count (OR, 1.9; 95% CI, 1.2–3.5) predicted short-term mortality following PE. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve for the prognostic model performance was 0.76 (95% CI, 0.66–0.85); pulmonary embolism severity index (PESI) and PESI + WBC count were 0.72 (95% CI, 0.68–0.75) and 0.76 (95% CI, 0.72–0.79, P < 0.001 versus PESI), respectively.

Conclusions

Leukocytosis and SIRS are important factors in determining short-term outcomes in PE patients.
Reduced tumorigenicity and pathogenicity of cervical carcinoma SiHa cells selected for resistance to cidofovir
Authors: De Schutter Tim , Andrei Graciela , Topalis Dimitri , Duraffour Sophie , Mitera Tania , van den Oord Joost , Matthys Patrick , Snoeck Robert
Published: December 2013

Background

Insights into the mechanisms associated with chemotherapy-resistance are important for implementation of therapeutic strategies and for unraveling the mode of action of chemotherapeutics. Although cidofovir (CDV) has proven efficacious in the treatment of human papillomavirus (HPV)-induced proliferation, no studies concerning the development of resistance to CDV in HPV-positive tumor cells have been performed yet.

Methods

From the cervical carcinoma SiHa cells (SiHaparental), which are HPV-16 positive, cidofovir-resistant cells (SiHaCDV) were selected, and differential gene expression profiles were analyzed by means of microarrays. We examinedin vitrophenotyping of resistant cells compared to parental cells as well as tumorigenicity and pathogenicity in a mouse-xenograft model.

Results

SiHaCDVhad a resistant phenotype and a reduced growth bothin vitroandin vivo. A markedly diminished inflammatory response (as measured by production of host- and tumor-derived cytokines and number of neutrophils and macrophages in spleen) was induced by SiHaCDVthan by SiHaparentalin the xenograft model. Gene expression profiling identified several genes with differential expression upon acquisition of CDV-resistance and pointed to a diminished induction of inflammatory response in SiHaCDVcompared to SiHaparental.

Conclusions

Our results indicate that acquisition of resistance to cidofovir in SiHa cells is linked to reduced pathogenicity. The present study contributes to our understanding on the antiproliferative effects of CDV and on the mechanisms involved, the inflammatory response playing a central role.
Renal cell carcinoma metastasis to thyroid tumor: a case report and review of the literature
Authors: Medas Fabio , Calò Pietro Giorgio , Lai Maria Letizia , Tuveri Massimiliano , Pisano Giuseppe , Nicolosi Angelo
Published: December 2013

Introduction

Metastatic neoplasms to the thyroid gland are rare in clinical practice. Clear cell renal carcinoma is the most frequent site of origin of thyroid metastases and represents 12 to 34% of all secondary thyroid tumors. Tumor-to-tumor metastases, in which a thyroid neoplasm is the recipient of a metastasis, are exceedingly rare. We report a case of clear cell renal carcinoma metastatic to a follicular adenoma. This is the tenth case of renal cell carcinoma metastasis to thyroid tumor reported in the literature.

Case presentation

A 62-year-old Caucasian woman with a history of clear cell renal carcinoma was admitted to our institution for multinodular goiter. A histological examination after total thyroidectomy revealed clear cell renal carcinoma metastasis to a thyroid follicular adenoma.

Conclusions

Preoperative diagnosis of secondary thyroid neoplasm is difficult to achieve. The diagnosis of metastatic disease should be taken into account if patients have a history of clear cell renal carcinoma or if there is a multifocal growth pattern and clear cell appearance of the cytoplasm.