bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Burden of lung cancer attributable to occupational diesel engine exhaust exposure in Canada
Authors: Kim Joanne , Peters Cheryl E , Arrandale Victoria H , Labrèche France , Ge Calvin B , McLeod Christopher B , Song Chaojie , Lavoué Jérôme , Davies Hugh W , Nicol Anne-Marie , Pahwa Manisha , Demers Paul A
Published: April 2018

Objective

To estimate the population attributable fraction (PAF) and number of incident and fatal lung cancers in Canada from occupational exposure to diesel engine exhaust (DEE).

Methods

DEE exposure prevalence and level estimates were used with Canadian Census and Labour Force Survey data to model the exposed population across the risk exposure period (REP, 1961–2001). Relative risks of lung cancer were calculated based on a meta-regression selected from the literature. PAFs were calculated using Levin’s equation and applied to the 2011 lung cancer statistics obtained from the Canadian Cancer Registry.

Results

We estimated that 2.4% (95% CI 1.6% to 6.6%) of lung cancers in Canada are attributable to occupational DEE exposure, corresponding to approximately 560 (95% CI 380 to 1570) incident and 460 (95% CI 310 to 1270) fatal lung cancers in 2011. Overall, 1.6 million individuals alive in 2011 were occupationally exposed to DEE during the REP, 97% of whom were male. Occupations with the highest burden were underground miners, truck drivers and mechanics. Half of the attributable lung cancers occurred among workers with low exposure.

Conclusions

This is the first study to quantify the burden of lung cancer attributable to occupational DEE exposure in Canada. Our results underscore a large potential for prevention, and a large public health impact from occupational exposure to low levels of DEE.
Availability, price and promotions for cigarettes and non-cigarette tobacco products: an observational comparison of US Air Force bases with nearby tobacco retailers, 2016
Authors: Kong Amanda Y , Golden Shelley D , Myers Allison E , Little Melissa A , Klesges Robert , Talcott Wayne , Vandegrift Sara M , Cassidy Daniel G , Ribisl Kurt M
Published: April 2018

Introduction

Active duty military personnel have higher cigarette and smokeless tobacco use rates than civilian populations. Although US Airmen (called Airmen regardless of gender or rank) are required to be tobacco-free during initial training, many resume use once this period ends, perhaps as a result of easy access to cheap tobacco products.

Methods

Between July and September 2016, we collected tobacco product, price and promotion information by visiting on-base (n=28) and off-base (n=80) tobacco retailers near the eight technical training bases where approximately 99% of Airmen attend training. We conducted mixed linear effects models to examine on-base versus off-base differences.

Results

Cigarette packs were 11%–12% cheaper at on-base retailers compared with off-base retailers. Newport Menthol and Marlboro Red cigarette packs were $0.87 and $0.80 lower on-base (p<0.001) while the cheapest pack available was $0.54 lower on-base (p<0.01). Copenhagen smokeless tobacco was also significantly cheaper on-base (B=−0.65, p<0.01). Interior price promotions were more common on-base.

Conclusions

Retail stores located on Air Force bases sell cigarettes and smokeless tobacco products at prices well below those in nearby off-base retailers: the vast majority of these retailers feature interior price promotions for these products. Federal policies regulating prices of on-base tobacco sales, if implemented more effectively, have the potential to protect the health of Airmen by helping them remain tobacco-free after technical training.
The assessment of iodine status – populations, individuals and limitations
Authors: Wainwright Patrick , Cook Paul
Published: April 2018

Iodine deficiency is a significant global health concern, and the single greatest cause of preventable cognitive impairment. It is also a growing public health concern in the UK particularly among pregnant women. Biomarkers such as urinary iodine concentration have clear utility in epidemiological studies to investigate population-level iodine status, but determination of iodine status in individuals is much more problematic with current assays. This article reviews the available biomarkers of iodine status and their relative utility at the level of both populations and individuals for the investigation of iodine deficiency and iodine excess.
Project-based learning and information and communication technology’s integration: Impacts on motivation
Authors: Belagra Mammar , Draoui Belkacem
Published: April 2018

The purpose of this research was to study the impact of project-based learning and information and communication technologies on students’ motivation. Two second-year classes in electrical engineering at the University Tahri Mohamed in Béchar, Algeria, were involved in the study. The experiment compared the level to which one class of students mastered goals without the use of information and communication technologies, to the mastery achieved by a second class which participated in a tutorial that has a technological tool built into the project-based approach. The subject of power electronics was chosen for this study because of its different knowledge, which is strongly represented in difficult learning contents for students.

A questionnaire about motivation was used to collect data within an experimental research plan. After three months of conducting the study, the results demonstrated that the integration of the tutorial with the project-based approach is likely to increase students’ motivation to learn and to master the subject of power electronics.
Problematizing national/cultural affiliations in postcolonial literature: Inclusions and exclusions in the reception of Doris Lessing and V. S. Naipaul
Authors: Jackson Elizabeth
Published: April 2018

This article compares the reception and categorization of the work of Doris Lessing and V. S. Naipaul, two well-known writers who grew up in the colonies and arrived in Britain in 1949 and 1950, respectively. After her childhood and young adulthood in Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), Doris Lessing settled in London at the age of 30, where she was immediately included as a British writer, despite her own self-identification as African. Naipaul, who arrived from his native Trinidad on a scholarship to Oxford at the age of 18, also settled permanently in Britain (despite frequent travels), and yet his Britishness has always been much more qualified and contested. This essay interrogates the assumptions about national and cultural affiliations underlying the critical reception of Naipaul and Lessing. It argues that despite the obviously cosmopolitan nature of both writers and their works, the readier inclusion of Lessing as a “British” writer and the concomitant “othering” of Naipaul is explained less by the content of their writing than by two other key factors. The first is the racialized contrast between their backgrounds as settler and colonial subject, respectively. The second is the role of both writers in constructing their own authorial persona, and, from this perspective, the article interrogates Naipaul’s motives for insistently claiming an “outsider” status for himself.
Textile preforms for tungsten fibre-reinforced composites
Authors: Gietl H , Müller A v , Coenen JW , Decius M , Ewert D , Höschen T , Huber Ph , Milwich M , Riesch J , Neu R
Published: April 2018

Demanding high heat flux applications, as for example plasma-facing components of future nuclear fusion devices, ask for the development of advanced materials. For such components, copper alloys are currently regarded as heat sink materials while monolithic tungsten is foreseen as directly plasma-facing material. However, the combination of these materials in one component is problematic since they exhibit different thermomechanical characteristics and their optimum operating temperatures do not overlap. In this context, an improvement can be achieved by applying composite materials that make use of drawn tungsten fibres as reinforcement. For the manufacturing processes of these composites, suitable tungsten fibre preform production methods are needed. In the following, we will show that tungsten fibres can be processed to suitable preforms by means of well-established textile techniques as studies regarding the production of planar weavings (wire distances of 90–271 µm), circular braidings (multilayered braidings with braiding angle of 60° and 12°) as well as multifilamentary yarns (15 tungsten filaments with 16 µm diameter) are presented. With such different textile preforms tungsten fibre-reinforced tungsten (W f/W) with a density of over 99% and pore-free tungsten fibre-reinforced copper W f/Cu composites were produced which proves their applicability with respect to a composite material production processes.
Options and Insurance for Planning
Authors: Krieger Martin H.
Published: April 2018

In evaluating projects using cost-benefit analysis, the option value of such projects and the insurance they provide is likely to alter both the costs and the benefits substantially.
Modeling of burr thickness in micro-end milling of Ti6Al4V
Authors: Kizhakken Vipindas , Mathew Jose
Published: April 2018

Mechanical micro-machining of Ti6Al4V is finding great demand because of its wide range of application in various fields such as communication, optics and biomedical devices. Increasing demands on functioning and performance requires components to be free from burrs after the machining process. Presence of burrs on micro-mechanical parts or features significantly affects quality and proper assembly of the parts. Also in micro-machining, the size of burr is comparable to that of micro-features. Since the formation of burr is inevitable in any machining process, generally the deburring operation is performed to remove burrs. Burr thickness is one of the important parameters which describe the time and method necessary for the deburring operation. Burrs on micro-parts are generally characterized using scanning electron microscope, which is a time-consuming, costly and non-value-added activity. However, a proper mathematical model will help predict burr thickness easily. In this article, a mathematical model to predict burr thickness during micro-end milling of Ti6Al4V is presented. The proposed model was developed based on the principle of continuity of work at the transition from chip formation to burr formation. Ti6Al4V titanium alloy is one of the materials which generates segmented (saw-tooth) chips at low cutting speeds. Hence, initially an appropriate material constitutive model was selected based on better prediction of burr thickness. Then, to reduce the prediction error, machining temperature was evaluated for all experimental conditions and included in the model. From the initial study, it was found that Hyperbolic TANgent material model gives a better prediction compared to Johnson–Cook material model. Later, after including machining temperature into the model it was observed that the prediction error was reduced. The proposed model was validated with the experimental results.
Energy modeling and a method for reducing energy loss due to cutting load during machining operations
Authors: Lv Jingxiang , Peng Tao , Tang Renzhong
Published: April 2018

In a typical part manufacturing system, machining operations represent a major proportion of the total energy consumption. The energy consumption (in the form of electricity power) of a machining operation can be divided into four types, that is, standby power, operational power, cutting power and power loss due to cutting load. Power loss due to cutting load includes the power loss caused by the friction of mechanical transmission and the power lost in the motor when the cutting load is applied to the spindle system. While the first three types of power consumption have been studied intensively by previous researchers, the power loss due to cutting load, which accounts for up to 20% of the cutting power consumption during machining operations, has received relatively less attention. This article proposes a novel model to characterize power loss due to cutting load, in which the power lost in the mechanical transmission and in the spindle motor are analyzed and modeled separately. Cutting tests have been carried out to validate the proposed model using two numerical control lathe machines. And a method has been developed for reducing energy loss caused by cutting load, which includes cutting force prediction, power loss due to cutting load prediction and decision making. The method was evaluated through its application in the process design for a shaft part, and the results show a significant saving of up to 70.8% of energy loss caused by cutting load.
Feature-based automatic NC programming for aero-engine casings
Authors: Zhou Nan , Liu Xu
Published: April 2018

Traditional numerical control (NC) programming methods based on commercial computer-aided manufacturing systems usually require a large number of manual interactions with high-skilled experience, which not only results in low efficiency but also unstable machining quality. Especially since the structural complexity and machining requirements keep increasing, the NC programming is becoming a bottleneck problem in machining complex parts like aero-engine casings. This article proposes a feature-based automatic NC programming approach for aero-engine casings. A machining feature classification towards the geometric and machining characteristics of aero-engine casings is given. Then, a feature-based method to extract machining regions by considering the alternatives in selecting turning or milling operations is discussed. After the construction of machining operations, an undercut region detection method is also presented to evaluate the interim machining effects reasoned by each individual machining operation for excessive cutting avoidance. By implementing the proposed approach, a feature-based NC programming system is developed on a commercial computer-aided manufacturing platform and a real aero-engine casing is chosen to demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed approach.
Tracking control using hierarchical fuzzy-regulated optimal approach for robotic manipulators
Authors: Zhang Haiyun , Li Wei
Published: April 2018

Robotic manipulators have captured the attention of many specialists owing to its importance in academic research and industrial automation. This paper proposes a novel hierarchical self-organizing fuzzy optimal controller for the trajectory tracking control of robotic manipulator systems. The hierarchical self-organizing fuzzy optimal controller employs a self-organizing fuzzy logic system as a superior control strategy regulator for a subordinate optimal tracking controller. Using the self-organizing learning and fuzzy inference operation, the weighting matrix in the optimal controller is configured adaptively according to the robotic dynamical behavior. The optimal tracking control law under this hierarchical architecture is derived using the maximum principle. Stability and robustness of the hierarchical self-organizing fuzzy optimal controller are then analyzed and proved through the Lyapunov stability approach and Barbalat's Lemma. A simulation study demonstrates the effectiveness and feasibility of this hierarchical system, and compares it with a self-organizing fuzzy controller.
Fretting fatigue optimization of piston skirt top surface of marine diesel engine
Authors: Wang Yi , Wu Limin , Liu Shuo , Li Mei , Cui Yi
Published: April 2018

Composite pistons are often used in highly rated marine diesel engines. Fretting usually occurs on the mating surfaces of piston crown and skirt due to alternating loads. A finite element contact model is introduced to calculate the temperature and stress distribution in the composite piston of a marine diesel engine. The Archard model and Smith–Watson–Topper parameter (a prediction parameter of fretting fatigue, also called SWT parameter for short), which is used as fretting wear and fatigue criteria, are calculated according to the stress and strain variation and relative slip on the contact surface. The model has been validated by previous cylindrical–flat contact experiments. The effects of shape of contact face and pretension of bolts on fretting performance have been analyzed. To reduce the possibility of fretting failure of the composite piston, the expression of the generating line of the piston skirt contact surface has been designed by Theory of elasticity. The parameters of the generating line have been optimized with nonlinear sequential quadratic programming and finite element mesh updating method. The optimization results show that the fretting fatigue parameter SWT on the optimized contact surface can be reduced by more than 35.6%, which means the longer fatigue life of the pistons. Some suggestions for designing contact surfaces have also been proposed. In the end, the design was proved by durability tests of the engine.
Elastic wave propagation in non-uniform rational B-spline rods under mechanical impact loading using an isogeometrical approach
Authors: Yavari Ahmad , Abolbashari Mohammad Hossein
Published: April 2018

One-dimensional elastic wave propagation under quadratic impact loading in a rod with a variable cross section and material distribution is the subject of this study. The material distribution of the problem under investigation as well as the variations of the geometry was elucidated with non-uniform rational B-spline (NURBS). The problem was analyzed employing the isogeometric approach in order to ensure precise modeling of the geometry. The effects of impact loading, cross sectional area, material distribution, and radial inertia on elastic waves were examined in this study. In addition, propagation, reflections, and propagation speed along the axis were investigated. It was observed that the speed was not constant along the axial direction. Also, the cross sectional area had more effect on the amplitude of the elastic wave than the radial inertia. Furthermore, it was concluded that the material distribution and radial inertia may influence the wave propagation speed.
Special Education Teachers’ Perceptions and Intentions Toward Data Collection
Authors: Ruble Lisa A. , McGrew John H. , Wong Wing Hang , Missall Kristen N.
Published: April 2018

Although data-based decision making is an evidence-based practice, many special educators have difficulty applying the practice within daily routines. We applied the theory of planned behavior (TPB) to understand the influences that promote or hinder early childhood special educators’ intentions to collect data. We assessed three influences on behavioral intention to collect data derived from the TPB: (a) attitude toward collecting data, (b) social norms for collecting data, and (c) perceived behavioral control for collecting data. All three influences correlated positively with teachers’ reported intention to collect data; however, only perceived behavioral control of barriers correlated positively with actual data collection. Additional measures of teacher self-efficacy and administrative support correlated positively with intention to collect data, but not with actual data collection behaviors. Perceived behavior control accounted for the most variance in actual data collection behavior. Implications of the findings for data collection practices in educational settings are discussed.
Social-Emotional Screening to Predict Truancy Severity: Recommendations for Educators
Authors: Wroblewski Althea P. , Dowdy Erin , Sharkey Jill D. , Kyung Kim Eui
Published: April 2018

The present study examined whether high school students’ ( N = 1,658) self-reported social-emotional strengths collected at the beginning of the school year via schoolwide screening could predict student membership in one of three truancy categories (low, moderate, and high to chronic truancy) using discriminant analysis. Results indicated that student self-reported scores for the social-emotional domains belief-in-self and belief-in-others contributed significantly to the discriminant analysis function for predicting students’ truancy severity classification. In addition, multivariate ANOVA was also conducted to identify whether social-emotional strengths differed by gender and ethnicity (Caucasian and Latino/a students) across the three truancy groups. Caucasian students in the low to moderate truancy groups reported higher overall social-emotional strengths than Latino/a students. Gender differences were also found in the low to moderate truancy groups in that females were less likely to report having strengths in the social-emotional domains belief-in-self and engaged living, while males were less likely to report having a strength in emotional competence. Findings demonstrate the utility of schoolwide screening measures to aid in early identification of truancy and an increased need to create truancy prevention and intervention policies that are gender-specific and culturally sensitive.
Tangential motion mechanism and reverse hydrodynamic effects of acoustic platform with nonparallel squeeze film
Authors: Bin Wei , Shaham Ran , Bucher Izhak , Luo Jianbin
Published: April 2018

In order to explain the reverse hydrodynamic effects on acoustic platform with nonparallel squeeze film, a theoretical model was proposed to evaluate the levitation and movement capacity in this paper. The mechanism of movement and levitation was revealed by the viscous fluid mechanics and dynamic lubrication theory. The transient pressure gradient and steady average velocity were calculated in different deflection angles of nonparallel squeeze film by means of numerical calculation of Reynolds equation. The theoretical results indicated that the platform of nonparallel squeeze film was provided with a bearing and pushing capacity in both normal and tangential directions and it was amazing that the reverse hydrodynamic effects made the levitated plate move into the opposite direction of gravitational tangential component. This proposed theoretical model for acoustic platform with nonparallel squeeze film was different with the original parallel one. Its driving mechanism was the reverse hydrodynamic effect instead of travelling waves. This reverse hydrodynamic effect was proved in the experiments, which could be used in levitation and transport field for precise component in future.
A systematic review of reviews to identify key research opportunities within the field of eHealth implementation
Authors: Ahmed Bakhtiyar , Dannhauser Thomas , Philip Nada
Published: April 2018

Introduction

This paper is a systematic review of the relevant literature surrounding the implementation and utilisation of eHealth to identify key challenges and opportunities to future eHealth applications.

Methods

NHS Evidence, PubMed, IEEE Explorer, Cochrane Library and JMIR Publications were all searched for reviews published between 1 January 2010 and 30 June 2017.

Results

A total of 47 papers met the final inclusion criterion. The published literature focused on a wide array of challenges categorised into five areas, facing the implementation and utilisation of eHealth; from this, four areas of opportunity to advance eHealth were identified.

Discussion

The five challenge areas are (C1) stakeholders and system users, (C2) technology and interoperability, (C3) cost-effectiveness and start-up costs, (C4) legal clarity and legal framework and (C5) local context and regional differences. The four opportunity areas are (O1) participation and contribution, (O2) foundation and sustainability, (O3) improvement and productivity and (O4) identification and application.

Conclusion

The literature analysed in this systematic review identifies design and implementation priorities that can guide the development and utilisation of future eHealth initiatives.
The athletic labour of femininity: The branding and consumption of global celebrity sportswomen on Instagram
Authors: Toffoletti Kim , Thorpe Holly
Published: April 2018

This article explores the relationship between consumer culture, female athletic representation and online fan engagement on the photograph-based social media platform Instagram. It argues that social media interaction between female athletes and fans is governed by gender norms and arrangements that expect and reward female athletic articulations of empowerment, entrepreneurialism and individualisation in the context of postfeminism and consumer self-fashioning. Examining the Instagram feeds of five global sport stars, this study demonstrates that the feedback of fans and followers plays a critical role in influencing the gendered work undertaken by female athletes to present an appealing consumer ‘brand’, according to the desires of the market. We propose a new conceptual framework – the athletic labour of femininity – to understand the ways in which elite sportswomen cultivate an authentic brand in the sports marketplace. More than a type of ‘bodywork’, the athletic labour of femininity responds to consumer expectations that women demonstrate a successful feminine subjectivity characterised by notions of personal choice, individual responsibility and self-management. It takes the form of emphasising empowered femininity, celebrating hetero-sexiness and revealing personal intimacies as part of crafting a feminine sporting persona which draws online comment and likes from followers and fans. By focusing on the role online fan interaction plays in shaping the athletic labour of femininity, this research advances existing studies of how representations of sportswomen are produced and consumed by paying particular attention to the social conditions influencing how sportswomen represent the self online and the gender power relations that serve to govern expressions of desirable athletic femininity.
Sport and prosumption
Authors: Andrews David L. , Ritzer George
Published: April 2018

This article engages and extends understanding of the interrelated concepts of prosumption, the prosumer, prosumer capitalism, and McDonaldization in relation to the highly commodified and spectacularized world of professional sport. Developing an understanding of modern sport forms as having always exhibited prosumptive dimensions, the discussion focuses on the contemporary sporting context. The analysis highlights the increasingly intertextual and interactive nature of sport prosumption, as realized through Web 2.0 technologies, such as Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, blogs, and website comment pages, all of which provide a means of contributing toward (and thereby co-producing) the prosumer sport spectacle. Within this explication of sporting prosumption, we focus on empirical forms occupying the center of the prosumption continuum: those expressions wherein the productive and consumptive aspects of prosumption are “more or less evenly balanced.” In doing so, we examine sport spectatorship as a form of material prosumption – the digital-based prosumption implicit within “socialmediasport” and the enmeshed digital and material prosumption constitutive of eSport. Our aim is to critically explicate the prosumptive dimensions of contemporary sport culture and, in conclusion, to contribute to the wider dialogue regarding the nature and implications of prosumer capitalism.
Glocalization, consumption, and cricket: The Indian Premier League
Authors: Khondker Habibul Haque , Robertson Roland
Published: April 2018

With India’s robust, neo-liberal economic growth and the growing buying power of the Indian consumers, cricket, a popular sport in India, too, has been transformed. Indian Premier League is a short-format, high-value cricket league that features major international cricket stars who come to India to join one of the eight franchised teams that take part in this competitive tournament. Using the sociological framework of glocalization, this article argues that the intersection of the global economic forces and the local culture that celebrates cricket has created a glocal space for its performance, and with the mediation of communication technology, it has widened the viewership globally. Infused with Indian money, motifs, and meanings, a new spectacle of consumption is on offer. The emergent consumer culture has transformed the game itself, adding a showbiz quality to it. Through the analysis of Indian Premier League cricket, this article sheds light on the consequences of cultural globalization, at once homogenizing and heterogenizing, an essential characteristic of glocalization.
Consuming Olympism: Consumer culture, sport star sponsorship and the commercialisation of the Olympics
Authors: Smart Barry
Published: April 2018

The roots of Olympism lie in the late 19th century and Baron Pierre de Coubertin’s revival of the Olympic Games. The values of Olympism have been increasingly compromised by subsequent developments which have significantly transformed modern sport. Professionalism, commercialism, proliferating forms of spectacular media representation and a globalising consumer culture have transformed the Olympic Games and reduced the values of Olympism to marketing rhetoric. The summer Olympic Games in particular have become unrivalled marketing opportunities for host cities, consumer brands, and participating athletes, for whom the prospect of sporting success now promises to deliver wealth, stardom, and iconic global status beyond track and field. The complex forms of articulation of the Olympics with consumer culture are at the heart of the article which gives critical consideration to (1) the increasing commercialisation of the Olympic Games, (2) the growth of Olympic merchandising and (3) a comparison of the athletic performances, profiles, and consumer sponsorship statuses of three generations of iconic Olympic sprinters, Jesse Owens, Carl Lewis, and Usain Bolt, confirming in conclusion that the Olympic Games is immersed within and infused by a pervasive consumer culture.
What Does It Mean to Be a Political Scientist in a Transitional Society? Reflections from Kazakhstan
Authors: Kassen Maxat
Published: April 2018

As a young discipline, political science in Kazakhstan could be regarded a poster child of collective intellectual offspring that reflects well all political and socioeconomic transformations that an emerging community of political scientists has had to go through for the last three decades to thrive and promote the field. In this regard, the key purpose of the article is to share an interesting insightful story of developments in the discipline in this transitional nation. The research is mostly based on a retrospective analysis of key periods in introducing new agendas in university curricula and review of the latest trends, practices, and challenges in research and classroom from the perspective of professional communities in the field. This inherently ethnographic narrative, which is based on the analysis of rich empirical data, could be interesting for researchers who seek to understand the development of political science as a liberating phenomenon in a typical transitional context.
High-Frequency Ultrasound Imaging–Guided Wedge Resection: An Effective Treatment for Paraurethral Duct Dilatation Following Gonococcal Paraurethral Duct Infection in Men
Authors: Fan Wenge , Zhang Qingsong , Fan Zhijiang , Ye Xun , Jiang Tingwang
Published: April 2018

This study was performed to evaluate the therapeutic effects of wedge resection on male paraurethral duct dilatation following gonococcal paraurethral duct infection. Twenty-six men with paraurethral duct dilatation following gonococcal paraurethral duct infection were enrolled. Their lesions underwent wedge resection after examination using an ACUSON X300 ultrasound system. The anesthetic method, surgical duration, intraoperative blood loss, wound healing time, complications, sequelae, and curative effect were assessed. All 26 men received local infiltration anesthesia. The mean surgical duration was 18.65 ± 2.50 min (range, 14–23 min), the mean intraoperative blood loss was 10.50 ± 1.68 ml (range, 8–14 ml), and the mean wound healing time was 14.73 ± 1.31 days (range, 13–17 days). The lesions were cured in all patients (100%). The postoperative wounds healed in all patients. No complications or glans defects were observed in any patients. The study identifies that high-frequency ultrasound imaging–guided wedge resection is an effective and safe therapy for paraurethral duct dilatation following gonococcal paraurethral duct infection in men.
Two retrievals from a single cue: A bottleneck persists across episodic and semantic memory
Authors: Orscheschek Franziska , Strobach Tilo , Schubert Torsten , Rickard Timothy
Published: April 2018

There is evidence in the literature that two retrievals from long-term memory cannot occur in parallel. To date, however, that work has explored only the case of two retrievals from newly acquired episodic memory. These studies demonstrated a retrieval bottleneck even after dual-retrieval practice. That retrieval bottleneck may be a global property of long-term memory retrieval, or it may apply only to the case of two retrievals from episodic memory. In the current experiments, we explored whether that apparent dual-retrieval bottleneck applies to the case of one retrieval from episodic memory and one retrieval from highly overlearned semantic memory. Across three experiments, subjects learned to retrieve a left or right keypress response form a set of 14 unique word cues (e.g., black—right keypress). In addition, they learned a verbal response which involved retrieving the antonym of the presented cue (e.g., black—“white”). In the dual-retrieval condition, subjects had to retrieve both the keypress response and the antonym word. The results suggest that the retrieval bottleneck is superordinate to specific long-term memory systems and holds across different memory components. In addition, the results support the assumption of a cue-level response chunking account of learned retrieval parallelism.
Levothyroxine pseudo-malabsorption: testing and treatment in the outpatient setting
Authors: Rdzak Grzegorz M. , Whitman Laura M. , Inzucchi Silvio E.
Published: April 2018

Persistent elevation of thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) is a common clinical problem in outpatient clinics treating patients with primary hypothyroidism. One challenge to practitioners involves predicaments where patients have an inadequate response to a seemingly appropriate dose of levothyroxine (L-T4). A patient’s self-assessed compliance to hormone replacement therapy or verification refill history at the patient’s pharmacy might not be a reliable form of confirmation of non-adherence to the drug by the patient, which has been referred to as “L-T4 pseudo-malabsorption.” A fast and inexpensive tool to rule out true LT4 malabsorption and thereby properly diagnosing and ultimately successfully treat LT4 pseudo-malabsorption is available in the outpatient setting. This allows clinicians to identify which patients for individual support in adhering to their prescribed therapy and may also reduce unnecessary referrals for sub-specialty care by endocrinologists.
Managers’ Motivation Profiles: Measurement and Application
Authors: Andersen Jon Aarum
Published: April 2018

To promote leadership research on managers’ motivation, a measurement (Andersen Motivation Profile Indicator [AMPI]) has been developed and tested that (a) measures achievement, affiliation, and power motivation; (b) measures the relative strengths of these factors; (c) rests explicitly on the definitions of McClelland; and (d) measures managers’ work motivation. The questionnaire has been tested for reliability and validity with responses from 580 managers. The application of the instrument in four studies with responses from 565 managers in other organizations supported McClelland’s theoretical claims: (a) managers have motivation profiles, (b) there are differences in motivation profiles between managers across organizational types, (c) there are no significant differences in motivation profiles between female and male managers, and (d) managers who are predominantly power motivated enhance organizational effectiveness. Arguably, the application of the instrument may be an indicator of its quality. The instrument facilitates leadership research on the relationship between managers’ motivation profiles and organizational specifics, gender, sociocultural factors, and organizational outcomes.
Current and future challenges facing medico-legal experts – An expert’s view
Authors: Price Pat
Published: April 2018

Recent notable changes in the legal landscape have resulted in a significant evolution of the expert witness role and created unique challenges. The number of clinical negligence cases continues to rise, with a greater public awareness of the litigation process, and additional clinical risk associated with an increased complexity of diagnoses/treatment and changes in clinical pathways. Many cases are high value and/or complex and following the Jackson reforms, urgent deadlines are more commonplace. Experts are now asked to provide a broader level of opinion and support to increasingly overworked and time pressured solicitors. To maintain high-quality opinion, experts are having to further professionalise their practices and work more closely and proactively with instructing parties while at the same time protecting their independence. Increased pressure to cut costs, the post-Jackson need for speed of response, changes in data protection laws and IT processes and loss of immunity have all led to a more resource intensive role. The challenge for experts is to develop sufficient medico-legal experience with adequate administrative support, alongside clinical work, to provide higher quality services and ultimately improved outcome for patients, doctors and Trusts. Through the opinion of an oncology expert, current and future challenges for the medico-legal expert are highlighted along with potential implications for patients, relatives, doctors and health care providers.
Nanodiamond reinforcement in polyamide and polyimide matrices: Fundamentals and applications
Authors: Kausar Ayesha
Published: April 2018

Nanodiamond is an emerging nanocarbon material having several advantageous properties (high surface area, mechanical properties, optical features, wear resistance, low friction coefficient, etc.) as a nano-sized filler for polymer matrices. Polyamides and polyimides are two important thermoplastic polymers which are among important matrices for nanodiamond composites. Polyamides have high thermal stability, mechanical strength, wear resistance, superior tribological properties, and fine processability. Many aliphatic polyamides, such as polyamide 6, polyamide 6,6, polyamide11, polyamide 12, and several aromatic polyamides have been reinforced with nanodiamond to further enhance their engineering properties. Similarly, outstanding mechanical, thermal, optical, and electrical properties of aromatic polyimides have been enhanced by using nanodiamond particles. Surface nanodiamond modification with various functional groups has been achieved to enhance interfacial adhesion with the matrix, which in turn, improved the physical properties. Polyamide/nanodiamond nanocomposites and polyimide/nanodiamond nanocomposites have been prepared using in situ reactive polymerization, melt extrusion, solution processing, and other techniques. The improved electrical, mechanical, thermal, and biomedical properties render them potentially important materials for various technical applications including energy storage, membrane technology, coatings, and biomedical.
Streaming orthogonal prediction filter in the t-x domain for random noise attenuation
Authors: Liu Yang , Li Bingxiu
Published: April 2018

In seismic exploration, there are many sources of random noise, for example, scattering from a complex surface. Prediction filters (PFs) have been widely used for random noise attenuation, but these typically assume that the seismic signal is stationary. Seismic signals are fundamentally nonstationary. Stationary PFs fail in the presence of nonstationary events, even if the data are cut into overlapping windows (“patching”). We have developed an adaptive PF method based on streaming and orthogonalization for random noise attenuation in the [Formula: see text]-[Formula: see text] domain. Instead of using patching or regularization, the streaming orthogonal PF (SOPF) takes full advantage of the streaming method, which generates the signal value as each new noisy data value arrives. The streaming signal-and-noise orthogonalization further improves the signal recovery ability of the SOPF. The streaming characteristic makes the proposed method faster than iterative approaches. In comparison with [Formula: see text]-[Formula: see text] deconvolution and [Formula: see text]-[Formula: see text] regularized nonstationary autoregression, we tested the feasibility of the proposed method in attenuating random noise on two synthetic data sets. Field-data examples confirm that the [Formula: see text]-[Formula: see text] SOPF has a reasonable denoising ability in practice.
Why smiles and laughter can light up the early years
Authors: Cornwall Francesca
Published: April 2018

What is the best medicine for your soul? Laughing would certainly be up there as a candidate, especially when it occurs regularly, but how can we ensure settings are the place for a jolly time?
What we can learn from early education abroad
Authors: Skinner Don
Published: April 2018

Examining other countries' approaches is an excellent route to improving our own early education, provided we grasp key principles, avoid common pitfalls, and keep an open mind to what we might find.
The true value of observing young children's learning
Authors: Louis Stella
Published: April 2018

In this article, Stella Louis explores the reason why the Characteristics of Effective Learning are so important and why they should be incorporated in all early years practitioner's observations.
In the natural world is where children belong
Authors: Solly Kathryn
Published: April 2018

A child is a naturally curious being with a keen sense of adventure, they thrive on sensory experiences and the risks and freedom associated with being able to explore their environment at their own pace.
Understanding emotional resilience in early childhood
Authors: Conkbayir Mine
Published: April 2018

To measure or not to measure? That is the question, at least it is when it comes to a young child's mental health and wellbeing? The pressures children are under will have a detrimental impact long-term.
What we can learn from the happiest countries
Authors: Smith Kimberly
Published: April 2018

We often look to curricula from outside the UK to help us reflect on the positives and negatives of our own provision, but what can we find in Scandinavian and Canadian practices that can improve our pedagogy?
The Early Years Connect Project
Authors: Henderson Nikki
Published: April 2018

Early Years Connect is a multi-stakeholder project that is driven by the shared vision of enhancing collaboration within the early years sector, with the ultimate aim of improving outcomes for all children and families.
One thing underpins all teaching
Authors: Bennett Elaine
Published: April 2018

Observation as a vital teaching skill is nothing new; take some time to reflect on the work of Montessori, Froebel and Isaacs. Yet we are being sold baseline as a way to free teachers from this!
The sun has got its hat on
Authors: Chapman Ailsa
Published: April 2018

We resume our series of articles that look at the possibilities for play and learning inherent in certain popular and common early years resources and materials – this month, summer.
Wake up, pups on patrol
Authors: Leeper Marion
Published: April 2018

In this short series of articles we will be looking at popular culture and how we engage with it in early years settings. For example, do we turn our nose up at Paw Patrol books, or do we embrace them?
Worth their weight in gold
Authors: Clarke Jenni
Published: April 2018

Jenni Clarke explores ways to keep things simple in the early years. Our article looks at the everyday resources and materials you can use to stimulate complex play – this month, we explore stones.
Get moving to the music
Authors: Harries Judith
Published: April 2018

The fourth in our series exploring practical activities for introducing concepts that will help children in the Understanding the world area of learning – this month, we look at motor skills and music drills.
Integrating nurse-facilitated advance care planning for patients newly diagnosed with advanced lung cancer
Authors: Ólafsdóttir Kristin Lara , Jónsdóttir Helga , Fridriksdóttir Nanna , Sigurdardóttir Valgerdur , Haraldsdóttir Erna
Published: April 2018

Background:

Advance care planning (ACP) is well recognised as an important component of palliative care. However, there is still a need to explore ways in which it can become a part of routine practice, ensuring a timely and person-centred discussion.

Objectives:

To explore patients newly diagnosed with advanced lung cancer and their family members' experiences of engaging in a person-centred and structured ACP discussion facilitated by palliative care nurses in an outpatient oncology clinic at the University Hospital of Iceland.

Methods:

An exploratory qualitative design employing semi-structured interviews and thematic analysis. The intervention included a structured ACP discussion, aided by a booklet.

Results:

Key themes emerged describing families' and patients' experiences and highlighted that the timing and approach of the ACP discussion was appropriate and helpful, even though the discussion was sensitive and difficult. Using a routine approach with a flexible structure normalised the discussion and made it easier for the patients to take the lead in the discussion.

Conclusions:

ACP discussion can be part of an integrated palliative care and oncology service if implemented in a systematic way.
Undergraduate nursing students' transformational learning during clinical training
Authors: Melin-Johansson Christina , Österlind Jane , Hagelin Carina Lundh , Henoch Ingela , Ek Kristina , Bergh Ingrid , Browall Maria
Published: April 2018

Background:

Undergraduate nursing students encounter patients at the end of life during their clinical training. They need to confront dying and death under supportive circumstances in order to be prepared for similar situations in their future career.

Aim:

To explore undergraduate nursing students' descriptions of caring situations with patients at the end of life during supervised clinical training.

Methods:

A qualitative study using the critical incident technique was chosen. A total of 85 students wrote a short text about their experiences of caring for patients at the end of life during their clinical training. These critical incident reports were then analysed using deductive and inductive content analysis.

Findings:

The theme ‘students’ transformational learning towards becoming a professional nurse during clinical training’ summarises how students relate to patients and relatives, interpret the transition from life to death, feel when caring for a dead body and learn end-of-life caring actions from their supervisors.

Implications:

As a preparation for their future profession, students undergoing clinical training need to confront death and dying while supported by trained supervisors and must learn how to communicate about end-of-life issues and cope with emotional stress and grief.
Get lucky
Authors: Rawstrone Annette
Published: April 2018

How one nursery chain is helping children from deprived households close the gap with their ‘lucky’ peers. By Annette Rawstrone
Cream of the crop
Authors: Beattie Ruth
Published: April 2018

More and more farms are helping to educate young children, as Ruth Beattie found out when she talked to some prize-winners
We've explored…: Humpty Dumpty
Authors: Rawstrone Annette
Published: April 2018

How a ‘crime scene’ based on the rhyme sparked lots of investigation. By Annette Rawstrone
Changing times
Authors: Weinstein Nicole
Published: April 2018

Nappy changing is helped by routine, familiarity and a soothing environment. Nicole Weinstein offers some advice and resources
A tangled web
Authors: Bolton John
Published: April 2018

To prepare young children for life spent increasingly online, parents and early years practitioners need to monitor their web use and lead by example, writes John Bolton