bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Door-to-Needle Delays in Minor Stroke
Authors: Rostanski Sara K. , Shahn Zachary , Elkind Mitchell S.V. , Liberman Ava L. , Marshall Randolph S. , Stillman Joshua I. , Williams Olajide , Willey Joshua Z.
Published: May 2017

Background and Purpose—

Thrombolysis rates among minor stroke (MS) patients are increasing because of increased recognition of disability in this group and guideline changes regarding treatment indications. We examined the association of delays in door-to-needle (DTN) time with stroke severity.

Methods—

We performed a retrospective analysis of all stroke patients who received intravenous tissue-type plasminogen activator in our emergency department between July 1, 2011, and February 29, 2016. Baseline characteristics and DTN were compared between MS (National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale score ≤5) and nonminor strokes (National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale score >5). We applied causal inference methodology to estimate the magnitude and mechanisms of the causal effect of stroke severity on DTN.

Results—

Of 315 patients, 133 patients (42.2%) had National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale score ≤5. Median DTN was longer in MS than nonminor strokes (58 versus 53 minutes;
P
=0.01); fewer MS patients had DTN ≤45 minutes (19.5% versus 32.4%;
P
=0.01). MS patients were less likely to use emergency medical services (EMS; 62.6% versus 89.6%,
P
<0.01) and to receive EMS prenotification (43.9% versus 72.4%;
P
<0.01). Causal analyses estimated MS increased average DTN by 6 minutes, partly through mode of arrival. EMS prenotification decreased average DTN by 10 minutes in MS patients.

Conclusions—

MS had longer DTN times, an effect partly explained by patterns of EMS prenotification. Interventions to improve EMS recognition of MS may accelerate care.
“In My Modest Cell I am Not a Rebel”
Authors: Berlis Angela
Published: May 2017

The contribution explores the question of how people react to situations and experiences of transition and radical change which have a major impact on their own lives. What kind of mindset do they develop in the process, who are their role models and how do they overcome spiritual hardship and marginalisation? The life and work of Charlotte Lady Blennerhassett, née Countess Leyden (1843–1917), serves as a case-study showing how learned liberal Catholics – in this case a lay noblewoman – dealt with their spiritual homelessness in the post-1870 ultramontanised Roman Catholic Church. Blennerhassett’s historical biographies reveal an interest in people in situations of threshold and transition. Through her writings on historical and cultural issues, Blennerhassett addressed topics as freedom, reconciliation of peoples and nations and ethical action. For her, the role of religion in this context was evident. The writings of Charlotte Blennerhassett, “the last European” (as she was described in obituaries), contributed to saving the non-ultramontane heritage from oblivion.
Can Human Friendship Yield Knowledge of God?
Authors: van Asselt Willem J. , Sarot Marcel
Published: May 2017

While friendship is a perennial phenomenon, it adopts characteristic forms in contemporary culture. These are reflected in the contemporary revival of thought on friendship. The authors build on this revival by inquiring whether friendship could be developed into a key concept for religious epistemology. Does friendship contain an implicit knowledge that might be called religious, and that lends itself to explication by religious epistemology? The authors argue that it does, and that an embodied epistemology is capable of teasing out the spiritual dimensions of friendship. Thus, examining friendships between human beings may yield knowledge of God. Finally, the authors argue that since epistemology and spirituality are closely related, the move from a foundationalist epistemology to an epistemology embodied in friendship also involves a move to a different type of spirituality that is neither rationalistic nor fideist in nature.
“I think” in political speech
Authors: O’Grady Gerard
Published: May 2017

Simon-Vandenbergen (2000: 61) concluded her study of I think in political discourse by noting the importance of further study of its prosodic realisation. Consequently, I investigate the prosodic realisations of I think in political debates. At the same time, I examine the lexico-grammatical form of the construction, and its surrounding co-text. My exploration confirmed that I think is frequent in political speech, and revealed that it projected four types of meanings. Three of the meanings occurred irrespective of the intonational choices, though prosody influenced the likelihood of the occurrence of a particular meaning. There was a greater likelihood of the speaker expressing a tentative statement if think was prominent/tonic. Intonational prominence on I explicitly warranted the source of the evaluation. When the construction did not contain an intonational prominence it tended to signal commitment to a proposition, or if followed by a filled pause or rhythmic disjunction a hesitation marker.
Some uses of ‘no’ in Spanish talk-in-interactions
Authors: Vázquez Carranza Ariel
Published: May 2017

Using the methodology of Conversation Analysis, the present investigation studies the particle ‘no’ in Mexican Spanish naturally occurring interactions. ‘No’ is analysed in two sequential contexts: assessment sequences (i.e., two assessments, each produced by different speakers, one after the other) and activity transition (i.e., when speakers go from one activity/topic to another). In the first sequential context ‘no’ appears prefacing an upgraded version of the assessment produced adjacently before (i.e., in second position of the sequence). In this context, ‘no’ works to show primacy of epistemic rights, it marks the previous assessment as an understatement, ‘no’ agrees with the previous assessment’s valence but not with its strength. A multiple saying of ‘no’ prefaces an assessment and makes it more emphatic. In the second sequential context, ‘no’ appears to work as a marker of transition between conversational activities, i.e, speakers use ‘no’ to transit from one activity/topic to another.
Enneophyllus ecarina, a new species of scaphopod shell dwelling hermit crab (Crustacea: Decapoda: Anomura: Paguridae) from deep-sea off the Ryukyu Islands, southern Japan
Authors: KOMAI TOMOYUKI
Published: May 2017

A second species of the pagurid genus Enneophyllus McLaughlin, 1997, E. ecarina n. sp., is described and illustrated on the basis of two specimens collected from the upper bathyal depths off Amami-ohshima Island, Ryukyu Islands, southern Japan. The new species is immediately distinguished from the sole known congener, E. spinirostris McLaughlin, 1997, from the Banda Sea, Indonesia, by the non-operculiform right chela and fewer ventral spiniform setae of the ambulatory dactyli. The type species of Enneophillus, E. spinirostris, was represented only by the male holotype, and examination of the female paratype of this new species enables documentation of female characteristics in the generic diagnosis. Like E. spinirostris, the new species inhabits scaphopod shells.
Images are not and should not ever be type specimens: a rebuttal to Garraffoni & Freitas
Authors: ROGERS D. CHRISTOPHER , AHYONG SHANE T. , BOYKO CHRISTOPHER B. , D'ACOZ CÉDRIC D'UDEKEM
Published: May 2017

Note. This original form of this rebuttal was submitted to Science on 3 March 2017 (limited to 300 words as per Science editorial policy) but rejected on 13 March 2017. Herein, we elaborate on our original Science submission in order to more fully address the issue without the length limitations. This rebuttal is followed by the list of the signatories who supported our original submission.
A new species of Limnonectes (Amphibia: Anura: Dicroglossidae) from Vietnam
Authors: PHAM CUONG THE , LE MINH DUC , NGUYEN TAO THIEN , ZIEGLER THOMAS , WU ZHENG JUN , NGUYEN TRUONG QUANG
Published: May 2017

A new species of Limnonectes is described from northeastern Vietnam based on morphological and molecular differences. Morphologically, the new species is distinguishable from its congeners on the basis of a combination of the following diagnostic characters: Large size (SVL 50.1–68.9 in males, 45.5–63.0 mm in females); males with moderately enlarged head (HL/SVL 0.48), head longer than wide; vomerine teeth present; external vocal sacs absent; rostral length short (RL/SVL 0.16 in males, 0.15 in females); tympanum distinct (TD/ED 0.63 in males, 0.60 in females); dorsal surface of head, body and flanks with flattened tubercles; dorsal surface of tibia possessing small tubercles; supratympanic fold present; dorsolateral fold absent; webbing formula I0–0II0–1/3III0–1/3IV1/2–0V; in life, dorsum yellowish brown with a dark brown marking; throat and chest white with dark brown marking; ventral surface of fore and hind limbs as well as belly white. In phylogenetic analyses, the new species is placed as the sister taxon to Limnonectes fujianensis with strong statistical support in all analyses.
Comparison of Raindrop Size Distributions in a Midlatitude Continental Squall Line during Different Stages as Measured by Parsivel over East China
Authors: Zhang Hongsheng , Zhang Yun , He Hongrang , Xie Yanqiong , Zeng Qingwei
Published: May 2017

The characteristics of raindrop size distributions (DSDs) during a midlatitude continental squall line on 30 July 2014 in east China are studied, and the different life stages are observed by OTT second-generation Particle Size Velocity (Parsivel2) disdrometers at Chuzhou during the mature stage and Nanjing during the declining stage. The observed rainfall is classified into convective line, transition, and stratiform regions based on the structure of the radar reflectivity Z and rainfall intensity R. The results show that the DSD characteristics of the different precipitation types and different squall-line stages are very different. The convective center has the largest number concentration and quantity of large drops corresponding to the highest rain rate; the rain rates in the trailing edge and stratiform regions are similar, although a lower concentration of small drops is present in the latter. Between the two stages, the drop size and number concentration for the convective center decrease, although the leading edge during the declining stage has more numerous larger drops; the number concentration is similar in the stratiform rainfall, but the drops become much smaller. For the normalized distribution, the scaled spectra for the convective center are closer to an exponential distribution, and the μ value during the declining stage is larger than that during the mature stage for the stratiform region and similar during both stages for the convective center. The declining stage has a larger exponent b and smaller coefficient A in the Z–R relationship based on fits for the entire dataset. Moreover, the R(ZH, ZDR) estimator is more accurate than that when using the Z–R relation algorithm.
Benchmarking of a Physically Based Hydrologic Model
Authors: Newman Andrew J. , Mizukami Naoki , Clark Martyn P. , Wood Andrew W. , Nijssen Bart , Nearing Grey
Published: May 2017

The concepts of model benchmarking, model agility, and large-sample hydrology are becoming more prevalent in hydrologic and land surface modeling. As modeling systems become more sophisticated, these concepts have the ability to help improve modeling capabilities and understanding. In this paper, their utility is demonstrated with an application of the physically based Variable Infiltration Capacity model (VIC). The authors implement VIC for a sample of 531 basins across the contiguous United States, incrementally increase model agility, and perform comparisons to a benchmark. The use of a large-sample set allows for statistically robust comparisons and subcategorization across hydroclimate conditions. Our benchmark is a calibrated, time-stepping, conceptual hydrologic model. This model is constrained by physical relationships such as the water balance, and it complements purely statistical benchmarks due to the increased physical realism and permits physically motivated benchmarking using metrics that relate one variable to another (e.g., runoff ratio). The authors find that increasing model agility along the parameter dimension, as measured by the number of model parameters available for calibration, does increase model performance for calibration and validation periods relative to less agile implementations. However, as agility increases, transferability decreases, even for a complex model such as VIC. The benchmark outperforms VIC in even the most agile case when evaluated across the entire basin set. However, VIC meets or exceeds benchmark performance in basins with high runoff ratios (greater than ~0.8), highlighting the ability of large-sample comparative hydrology to identify hydroclimatic performance variations.
Urban Area Response to Flash Flood–Triggering Rainfall, Featuring Human Behavioral Factors: The Case of 22 October 2015 in Attica, Greece
Authors: Papagiannaki Katerina , Kotroni Vassiliki , Lagouvardos Kostas , Ruin Isabelle , Bezes Antonis
Published: May 2017

Over the past several decades, flash floods that occurred in Attica, Greece, caused serious property and infrastructure damages, disruptions in economic and social activities, and human fatalities. This paper investigated the link between rainfall and flash flood impact during the catastrophic event that affected Attica on 22 October 2015, while also addressing human risk perception and behavior as a response to flash floods. The methodology included the analysis of the space–time correlation of rainfall with the citizens’ calls to the emergency fire services for help, and the statistical analysis of people’s responses to an online behavioral survey. The results designated critical rainfall thresholds associated with flash flood impact in the four most affected subareas of the Attica region. The impact magnitude was found to be associated with the localized accumulated rainfall. Vulnerability factors, namely, population density, geographical, and environmental features, may have contributed to the differences in the impact magnitudes between the examined subareas. The analysis of the survey’s behavioral responses provided insights into peoples’ risk perception and coping responses relative to the space–time distribution of rainfall. The findings of this study were in agreement with the hypothesis that the more severe the rainfall, the higher peoples’ severity assessment and the intensity of emotional response. Deeper feelings of fear and worry were found to be related to more adjustments to the scheduled activities and travels. Additionally, being alert to the upcoming rainfall risk was found to be related to decreased worry and fear and to fewer changes in scheduled activities.
Sum Frequency Generation Vibrational Spectroscopy for Characterization of Buried Polymer Interfaces
Authors: Zhang Chi
Published: May 2017

Sum frequency generation vibrational spectroscopy (SFG-VS) has become one of the most appealing technologies to characterize molecular structures at interfaces. In this focal point review, we focus on SFG-VS studies at buried polymer interfaces and review many of the recent publications in the field. We also cover the essential theoretical background of SFG-VS and discuss the experimental implementation of SFG-VS.
Optical Properties of β-RDX Thin Films Deposited on Gold and Stainless Steel Substrates Calculated from Reflection–Absorption Infrared Spectra
Authors: Ruiz-Caballero José L. , Aparicio-Bolaño Joaquín A. , Figueroa-Navedo Amanda M. , Pacheco-Londoño Leonardo C. , Hernandez-Rivera Samuel P.
Published: May 2017

The optical properties for crystalline films of the highly energetic material (HEM) hexahydro-1,3,5-trinitro-s-triazine, which is also known as RDX, deposited on gold (Au) and stainless steel (SS) substrates are presented. RDX has two important stable conformational polymorphs at room temperature: α-RDX and β-RDX. The optical properties obtained in the present work correspond to thin film samples of predominantly β-RDX polymorph. The infrared spectroscopic intensities measured showed significant differences in the β-RDX crystalline films deposited on the two substrates with respect to the calculated real part of refractive index. The β-RDX/Au crystalline films have a high dynamic response, which is characterized by the asymmetric stretching mode of the axial nitro groups, whereas for the β-RDX/SS crystalline films, the dynamic response was mediated by the –N-NO2 symmetric stretch mode. This result provides an idea of how the electric field vector propagates through the β-RDX crystalline films deposited on the two substrates.
Correlation Analysis Combined with a Floating Reference Measurement to Improve the Prediction Accuracy of Glucose in Scattering Media
Authors: Min Xiaolin , Liu Rong , Fu Bo , Xu Kexin
Published: May 2017

Noninvasive sensing of blood glucose based on near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy is a research hotspot in the biomedical field. However, its accuracy is severely limited by the weak specific signal of glucose and the strong background variations caused by other constituents in the blood, the measuring instrument, and the environment. In this paper, special source–detector distances, defined as the floating reference position, are used to conduct relative measurements and correct for background variations. These floating reference positions are chosen so that the diffuse reflectance is not sensitive to the change in glucose concentration due to the combined effects of absorption and scattering. Nine 10% intralipid samples with glucose concentrations in the range of 1000–5000 mg dL–1 at an interval of 500 mg dL–1 were prepared. Using a custom-built, continuously moving, spatially resolving, double-fiber measurement system with a superluminescent diode (SLD) as the light source, the diffuse reflectance of intralipid samples containing glucose under different source–detector distances (0.2–5 mm, with intervals of 0.2 mm) were collected. Then, a correlation analysis between the spectra and the glucose concentration was carried out to determine the floating reference position and the optimal measuring position. The signal in the floating reference position was used to correct the background variation because it contains the same systematic drift and interference as the signal in the optimal measuring position. The results showed that the correlation between the diffuse reflectance and the glucose concentration was increased significantly compared with traditional correction by subtracting the nearest spectrum of pure 10% intralipid solution. The correlation between the diffuse reflectance and the concentration of glucose is significantly increased, which indicated that the combination of the correlation analysis and a floating reference is able to eliminate the influence of background variations.
Fecal Near-Infrared Reflectance Spectroscopy Prediction of the Feed Value of Temperate Forages for Ruminants and Some Parameters of the Chemical Composition of Feces: Efficiency of Four Calibration Strategies
Authors: Andueza Donato , Picard Fabienne , Dozias Dominique , Aufrère Jocelyne
Published: May 2017

The forage feed value determined by organic matter digestibility (OMD) and voluntary intake (VI) is hard and expensive. Thus, several indirect methods such as near infrared reflectance (NIR) spectroscopy have been developed for predicting the feed value of forages. In this study, NIR spectra of 1040 samples of feces from sheep fed fresh temperate forages were used to develop calibration models for the prediction of fecal crude ash (CA), fecal crude protein (CP), fresh forage OMD, and VI. Another 136 samples of feces were used to assess these models. Four calibration strategies were compared: (1) species-specific calibration; (2) family-specific calibration; (3) a global procedure; and (4) a LOCAL approach. The first three strategies were based on classical regression models developed on different sample populations, whereas the LOCAL approach is based on the development models from selected samples spectrally similar to the sample to be predicted. The first two strategies use feces-samples grouping based on the species or the family of the forage ingested. Forage calibration data sets gave value ranges of 79–327 g/kg dry matter (DM) for CA, 65–243 g/kg DM for CP, 0.52–0.85 g/g for OMD, and 34.7–100.5 g DM/kg metabolic body weight (BW0.75) for VI. The prediction of CA and CP content in feces by species-specific fecal NIR (FNIR) spectroscopy models showed lower standard error of prediction (SEP) (CA 15.03 and CP 7.48 g/kg DM) than family-specific (CA 21.93 and CP 7.69 g/kg DM), global (CA 19.83 and CP 7.98 g/kg DM), or LOCAL (CA 30.85 and CP 8.10 g/kg DM) models. For OMD, the LOCAL procedure led to a lower SEP (0.018 g/g) than the other approaches (0.023, 0.024, and 0.023 g/g for species-specific, family-specific, and global models, respectively). For VI, the LOCAL approach again led to a lower SEP (6.15 g/kg BW0.75) than the other approaches (7.35, 8.00, and 8.13 g/kg BW0.75 for the species-specific, family-specific, and global models, respectively). LOCAL approach performed on FNIR spectroscopy samples gives more precise models for predicting OMD and VI than species-specific, family-specific, or global approaches.
Boosting the Performance of Genetic Algorithms for Variable Selection in Partial Least Squares Spectral Calibrations
Authors: Lavine Barry K. , White Collin G.
Published: May 2017

A genetic algorithm (GA) for variable selection in partial least squares (PLS) regression that incorporates adaptive boosting to identify informative wavelengths in near-infrared (NIR) spectra has been developed. Three studies demonstrating the advantages of incorporating an adaptive boosting routine into a GA that employs the root mean square error of calibration as its fitness function are highlighted: (1) prediction of hydroxyl number of terpolymers from NIR diffuse reflectance spectra; (2) calibration of acetone from NIR transmission spectra of mixtures of water, acetone, t-butyl alcohol and isopropyl alcohol; and (3) determination of the active pharmaceutical ingredients in drug tablets from NIR diffuse reflectance spectra. The performance of the GA with adaptive boosting to select wavelengths was compared with one without adaptive boosting. For all three NIR data sets, variable selected PLS models developed by a GA with adaptive boosting performed better. Analysis of the wavelengths selected by the GA with adaptive boosting also demonstrate that chemical information indicative of the analyte was captured by the selected wavelengths.
Development and evaluation of a leaflet for concerned family members and friends: ‘It’s safe to talk about suicide’
Authors: Owens Christabel , Charles Nigel
Published: May 2017

Objectives:

Significant others can play a key role in suicide prevention, but little attention has been given to the resources they may need in order to do so effectively. Based on previous qualitative research and working in partnership with suicide prevention charities, we developed a simple educational leaflet to help family members and friends recognise and respond to a possible suicidal crisis. We disseminated 15,000 copies through a wide range of community agencies within one English local authority. This paper describes the development, distribution and evaluation of the leaflet. The aim of the evaluation was to assess how the distribution strategy was working, whether the leaflet was regarded as useful and acceptable, how it was being used and whether there were any concerns about its content.

Design:

Interview study.

Methods:

We conducted two rounds of semi-structured telephone interviews with every agency on the distribution list and in-depth qualitative interviews with a purposefully selected sub-sample.

Results:

The leaflet was seen as filling an important gap. It was eagerly embraced by staff in frontline agencies, who passed it on to clients, used it for their own personal/professional development and to support clients or colleagues, or used it as a teaching aid. No concerns were raised about its content.

Conclusion:

Findings reveal a deep-seated fear of talking about suicide among frontline staff. They were using the leaflet in ways we had not anticipated, demonstrating lateral thinking and a real commitment to suicide prevention in agencies that are not typically associated with it.
Stigma experienced by caregivers of patients with severe mental disorders: A nationwide multicentric study
Authors: Grover Sandeep , Avasthi Ajit , Singh Aakanksha , Dan Amitava , Neogi Rajarishi , Kaur Darpan , Lakdawala Bhavesh , Rozatkar Abhijit R , Nebhinani Naresh , Patra Suravi , Sivashankar Priya , Subramanyam Alka A , Tripathi Adarsh , Gania Ab Majid , Singh Gurvinder Pal , Behere Prakash
Published: May 2017

Background:

Stigma is very common among caregivers of patients with severe mental disorder; however, there is lack of national level data from India.

Aim:

To assess affiliate stigma and its correlates among caregivers of patients with severe mental disorders.

Method:

For this, caregivers of patients with schizophrenia ( N = 707), bipolar disorder ( N = 344) and recurrent depressive disorder ( N = 352) were assessed on Stigma scale for Caregivers of People with Mental Illness and General Health Questionnaire.

Results:

Caregivers of patients with schizophrenia reported significantly higher stigma than patients with bipolar disorder and recurrent depressive disorder. Caregiver of patients with bipolar disorder reported significantly greater stigma than the caregivers of patients with recurrent depressive disorder. Higher caregiver stigma in all the diagnostic groups was associated with higher psychological morbidity in caregivers. Higher stigma in caregivers of schizophrenia was seen when the patient had younger age of onset and longer duration of treatment. In the bipolar disorder group, higher stigma in caregivers was seen when patient had higher residual manic symptoms.

Conclusion:

This study suggests that caregivers of patients with schizophrenia experience higher stigma than the caregivers of patients with bipolar disorder and recurrent depressive disorder. Higher stigma is associated with higher psychological morbidity in the caregivers. Therefore, the clinicians managing patients with severe mental disorders must focus on stigma and psychological distress among the caregivers and plan intervention strategies to reduce stigma.
Family group interventions in an early psychosis program: A re-evaluation of practice after 10 years of service delivery
Authors: Day Kate , Starbuck Rachael , Petrakis Melissa
Published: May 2017

Introduction:

The role of family in supporting service users in coping with illness and engaging in relapse prevention in early psychosis is important. Taking on this caring though is stressful and challenging, and it has been found that support and information for carers assists in their coping and reduces isolation.

Aims:

To evaluate the current utility of a psychoeducation group program in a public adult mental health service, for the families of people experiencing early psychosis.

Methods:

A purpose-designed pre- and post-intervention questionnaire was administered to quantitatively measure group participants’ changes in perceptions of their understanding of mental illness and its treatment through attending the group. Additional qualitative items were used to determine other knowledge, benefits and any critical feedback.

Results:

The group program continues to result in highly significant improvements in family members’ understanding of psychosis, recovery, medications, relapse prevention and substance co-morbidities. Additional feedback reaffirmed previous findings that family members find group peer support valuable and that this reduces isolation and the experience of stigma.

Conclusion:

The current evaluation, conducted following 10 years of early psychosis group work, found there to be efficacy in family peer support groups and that it is important to provide family interventions in public early psychosis mental health services.
Encountering the ‘greatest ethical philosopher’: Emmanuel Levinas and social work
Authors: Garrett Paul Michael
Published: May 2017

Stressing his importance, a number of writers have endeavoured to explain Emmanuel Levinas’s complex philosophy to a social work readership. In contrast, this article takes a much more critical stance and remains wary about Levinas’s gradual incorporation into the profession’s literature. It begins by briefly sketching his biography and outlining the case made for Levinasian social work. After illuminating some of his main themes and concerns, four interrelated conceptual problems are identified. First, the encounter with the ‘Other’ seems to take place in a vacuum drained of social, economic and political content. Second, Levinas’s antipathy to Marxism and the conflating of Marxism with Stalinism is redolent of the politics of the Cold War. Third, his usefulness as a resource for ‘critical social work’ is eroded because he fails to adequately account for the operation of the state. Finally, Levinas often appears to valorise ‘charity’, rather the ‘welfare state’, with the recipient ‘Other’ frequently evoked as merely an abject and passive figure.
Parental engagement in child protection assessment: A qualitative analysis of worker and parent perspectives
Authors: Arbeiter Ere , Toros Karmen
Published: May 2017

Drawing on in-depth, semi-structured interviews with a sample of 11 child protection workers and 11 parents in southern Estonia, this article reports the findings of participants’ experiences of and perspectives on parental engagement in the context of child protection assessment. The four themes that emerge from the content analysis suggest that participants’ perspectives differ in understanding and experiencing the engagement. Workers perceive the engagement more in terms of ‘doing for’ the client, while parents consider it ‘doing together with’ the worker. Furthermore, workers’ approaches are excessively related to the deficit-based approach.
Effects of machined circular holes on the mechanical properties of unidirectional carbon fiber-reinforced plastics
Authors: Okayasu Mitsuhiro , Naito Ryo , Fukuyama Daisuke , Ogi Keiji
Published: May 2017

The effects of machined circular holes on the mechanical properties and failure characteristics of a unidirectional CFRP were investigated. Our approach was to change the location and the number of holes: (i) a two-set hole was machined with different modes: (A) parallel, (B) 45°and (C) a direction perpendicular to the loading direction; and (ii) multiple holes from n = 0 to 5 were made in the sample parallel to the loading direction. The higher tensile and higher fatigue strengths were obtained for the CFRP sample produced by mode A, compared to modes B and C. This was attributed to the different extend of the maximum stress and stress distribution, caused by the geometrical effects on the sample. The ultimate tensile strength ( σUTS) of the sample was well predicted by the geometrical criterion. If the number of holes was increased from n = 0 to n = 2, the tensile strength decreased dramatically. However, the tensile strength did not strongly decrease further for samples with multiple holes from n = 2 to 5. The tensile strength is correlated with the maximum stress adjacent to the hole(s). Those stress values were verified by a 2D digital image correlation and a finite element analysis. Material failure of the CFRP during tensile loading was revealed by nondestructive testing using a piezoelectric ceramic, and debonding of the fibers occurred even at a low applied stress of approximately 35% σUTS.
A progressive multi-scale fatigue model for life prediction of laminated composites
Authors: Hosseini Kordkheili Seyed Ali , Toozandehjani H , Soltani Z
Published: May 2017

This article presents a multi-scale progressive micro-mechanical fatigue model. The model employs fundamental equation of the kinetic theory of fracture to calculate damage parameters of both fiber and matrix during cyclic loading. In order to adapt the equation, required material coefficients of the constituents can be achieved from fatigue test results of longitudinal and transverse unidirectional composites, only. Sharing stress capacities of fiber and matrix are determined using a modified progressive micro-mechanical bridging model in the presence of damage. The damage parameters in the constituents are calculated employing two different equivalent scalars. However, during sinusoidal load application, these damage parameters are also updated using a first kind Bessel function of amplitude stresses in the constituents as well as their material coefficients. The enhanced formulation is then implemented into the commercial finite element software of ABAQUS via a developed user material (UMAT) subroutine utilizing a suitable failure criteria and an own solution algorithm. Advantages of the proposed model are assessed and comparisons with available solutions are presented.
Preparation, characterization, and properties of castor oil-based flexible polyurethane/Cloisite 30B nanocomposites foam
Authors: Panda Siva Sankar , Samal Sushanta K , Mohanty Smita , Nayak Sanjay K
Published: May 2017

The present study represents the synthesis of flexible polyurethane nanocomposite foam using Cloisite 30B nanoclays varying at 1, 2, and 3 wt%. The polyurethane nanocomposite foam formulated with 50:50 weight ratio of synthetic polyether polyol and renewable resource-based castor oil. The progress of isocyanate reaction and formation of bidentate urea through H-bonding in the polymeric matrix phase were confirmed from Fourier transform infrared analysis. The surface morphology of the nanocomposite foams was examined by scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction analysis. Polyurethane nanocomposite foam displayed exfoliated structures at 3 wt% Cloisite 30B. The thermal and mechanical properties were also studied to report the impact of Cloisite 30B in biobased flexible polyurethane foam. Enhanced thermogravimetric outcome signified higher thermal stability of polyurethane nanocomposite foam as compared to polyurethane foam. Further, improvement of the soft segment glass transition temperature (Tg) confirmed the role of Cloisite 30B in the phase separation behavior between the hard segment and soft segment in nanocomposite foams. A significant enhancement in the mechanical strength with incorporation of a small amount of Cloisite 30B nanoclay to the flexible polyurethane foam allows it for various low cost applications.
Social Media Mourning
Authors: Moore Jensen , Magee Sara , Gamreklidze Ellada , Kowalewski Jennifer
Published: May 2017

This article uses grounded theory methodology to analyze in-depth interviews conducted with mourners who used social networking sites during bereavement. The social media mourning (SMM) model outlines how social networking sites are used to grieve using one or more of the following: (a) one-way communication, (b) two-way communication, and (c) immortality communication. The model indicates causal conditions of SMM: (a) sharing information with family or friends and (sometimes) beginning a dialog, (b) discussing death with others mourning, (c) discussing death with a broader mourning community, and (d) commemorating and continuing connection to the deceased. The article includes actions and consequences associated with SMM and suggests several ways in which SMM changes or influences the bereavement process.
Retrospectively Assessed Early Motor and Current Pragmatic Language Skills in Autistic and Neurotypical Children
Authors: Stevenson Jennifer L. , Lindley Caitlin E. , Murlo Nicole
Published: May 2017

Autistic individuals often struggle developmentally, even in areas that are not explicit diagnostic criteria, such as motor skills. This study explored the relation between early motor skills, assessed retrospectively, and current pragmatic language skills. Caregivers of neurotypical and autistic children, matched on gender and age, completed assessments of their child’s early motor development and current language abilities. Early motor skills were correlated with later pragmatic language skills, and autistic children exhibited fewer motor skills than neurotypical children. In fact, motor skills were a better predictor of an autism spectrum diagnosis than were scores on a measure of current pragmatic language. These results highlight the important role of motor skills in autism spectrum disorders.
Forms of Capital and Modes of Closure in Upper Class Reproduction
Authors: Flemmen Magne Paalgard , Toft Maren , Andersen Patrick Lie , Hansen Marianne Nordli , Ljunggren Jørn
Published: May 2017

We investigate the recruitment into the upper class, analysing the impact of different forms of capital and modes of closure. Unlike many Bourdieu-influenced approaches to class, we systematically investigate divisions by composition of capital: the relative weight of economic to cultural capital. We find capital-specific barriers to mobility: access to the upper class fractions is not only differentiated by one’s parents’ volume of capital or the general class hierarchy, but also by the relative weight of cultural to economic capital. Drawing on theories of social closure, we further investigate the role of two distinct modes of closure – credentialism and private property. The degree of closure differs significantly between subfractions of the upper class, based on the degree to which they refer to positions involving specific credential requirements. Our findings underline the importance of capital composition, but also that closure operates by neither credentials nor property alone.
Is the clinicopathological pattern of colorectal carcinoma similar in the state and private healthcare systems of South Africa? Analysis of a Durban colorectal cancer database
Authors: Ntombela Xolani H , Zulu Babongile MW , Masenya Molikane , Sartorius Ben , Madiba Thandinkosi E
Published: May 2017

Previous state hospital-based local studies suggest varying population-based clinicopathological patterns of colorectal cancer (CRC). Patients diagnosed with CRC in the state and private sector hospitals in Durban, South Africa over a 12-month period (January–December 2009) form the basis of our study.

Of 491 patients (172 state and 319 private sector patients), 258 were men. State patients were younger than private patients. Anatomical site distribution was similar in both groups with minor variations. Stage IV disease was more common in state patients. State patients were younger, presented with advanced disease and had a lower resection rate. Black patients were the youngest, presented with advanced disease and had the lowest resection rate.
Correlates of the Attitude Toward Life-Sustaining Treatment
Authors: Jang Yuri , Kim Soo Young , Chang Sujie
Published: May 2017

The goal of the present study was to examine factors associated with the attitude toward life-sustaining treatment among older adults in South Korea. Focus was given to sociodemographic characteristics (age, gender, education, financial status, and religious affiliation), family-related variables (presence of a spouse, children, and a living parent [or in-law]), and health-related variables (chronic conditions, functional disability, and self-rated health). Using data from 6,895 participants (aged 65−97) in the 2014 Korean National Elderly Survey, logistic regression model was tested. The proportion of the sample that endorsed a strong disagreement with the provision of life-sustaining treatment was 53.2%. The increased odds of having a strong disagreement was found in those with younger age (<75), higher education, a living parent (or in-law), and more favorable ratings of health. Findings shed light on programs and services on end-of-life care planning for older adults in South Korea.
The modification of bitumen with styrene–butadiene–styrene, ethylene vinyl acetate and varying the amount of reactive ethylene terpolymer
Authors: Keyf Seyfullah
Published: May 2017

In this article, 50/70 penetration grade TUPRAS bitumen was modified. Reactive elastomeric terpolymer (Elvaloy RET; DuPont Company), ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) and styrene–butadiene–styrene (SBS) polymers were used in bitumen modification. Set hours of the tests were applied to samples taken from the obtained modified bitumen mixture. Varying amount of reactive ethylene terpolymer with weight ratios of 0.5%, 1.0%, 1.5%, 2.0% and 2.5% were introduced to the mixture of raw bitumen with 1.0% SBS and 1.0% EVA. Penetration, penetration index, softening point, ductility and elastic recovery tests were performed with these modified bitumen and raw bitumen. The samples of raw bitumen and modified bitumens of 2.0% Elvaloy RET, 1.0% SBS and 1.0% EVA were investigated by means of IR spectroscopy. The raw bitumen was modified with SBS, EVA and RET, and it was determined that penetration and ductility values were decreased while penetration index, softening point and elastic recovery were increased. The purpose of this study is to research the improving properties of 50/70 penetration grade–modified bitumen used in highways of Turkey. The most important characteristics (such as softening point, penetration and % elastic recovery) of new polymer-modified bitumen (NPMB) containing 2.5% EVA, 1% RET and 1% SBS were compared with eight different types of polymer-modified bitumens in Turkey (TPMB). NPMB provided all required parameters (softening point, penetration and % elastic recovery) for five different types of TPMBs (TPMB 70-16, TPMB 70-22, TPMB 76-16, TPMB 76-22 and TPMB 82-16).
The Democracy Problem
Authors: Heidelberg Roy L.
Published: May 2017

Through a critical reading of Wilson’s 1887 essay, I present an argument that public administration is best understood as a political project to resolve the problem of popular sovereignty. The implication of this argument is that public administration is not simply an endeavor to discover better principles of governing but also a project to create conditions for public administration by addressing perceived problems of democracy. I introduce the concept of mono-archy to conceptualize the rulership behind public administration. The implication of my reading is that public administration cannot be democratic as the political objective is to make democracy “public administrationist.”
On Taiwanese pupils’ ability to differentiate between English /l/ and /r/: A study of L1/L2 cross-language effects
Authors: Eika Evelyn , Hsieh Yining
Published: May 2017

Students in South East Asia often struggle with English /l/ and /r/. This study therefore set out to examine how Taiwanese pupils’ perception of these sounds is influenced by cross-language effects. Most Taiwanese students have Mandarin as L1 and Taiwanese as L2 or vice versa, and English as L3. A same–different discrimination experiment was conducted to measure pupils’ ability to discriminate between phonetically close English /r/ and /l/ and Mandarin /ʐ / and /l/. The results show that L1-Mandarin pupils discriminate both the English consonant contrast and the Mandarin consonant contrast better than L1-Taiwanese pupils. Discrimination difficulty may be higher if two members of a contrast are perceived as belonging to a single L1 category.
“I Don’t Want to See Myself as a Disabled Person”
Authors: Zarhin Dana
Published: May 2017

This article explains how the most recommended treatment for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), the continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) device, acts and interacts with users’ bodies, sleep partners’ bodies, and cultural discourses to produce emotions and practices that generate the subjectivity of a disabled or abled person. Drawing upon in-depth interviews with OSA patients, this article illustrates how introducing CPAP devices into patients’ lives may disturb their sleep and breathing, diminish their independence, disfigure their appearance, and problematize intimacy with bed partners, thereby disrupting both the fleshy body and the culturally preferred image of a healthy, independent, and attractive individual. In response, many patients reject this treatment. (Dis)ability as a subjective state is shown to emerge from associations in a network composed of heterogeneous entities that have agency. That is, disabled subjectivity emerges when the device prevents individuals from accomplishing what they consider to be the essential and socially significant aspects of sleep and primarily its disembodied and interembodied aspects.
Costly Punishment Increases Prosocial Punishment by Designated Punishers: Power and Legitimacy in Public Goods Games
Authors: Kuwabara Ko , Yu Siyu
Published: May 2017

A classic problem in the literature on authority is that those with the power to enforce cooperation and proper norms of conduct can also abuse or misuse their power. The present research tested the argument that concerns about legitimacy can help regulate the use of power to punish by invoking a sense of what is morally right or socially proper for power-holders. We tested this idea in a laboratory experiment using public goods games in which one person in each group was selected to be a “designated punisher” who could give out material punishment that was either costly or costless to the punisher. Results show that costly punishment is perceived as more legitimate (proper) than costless punishment and that designated punishers engaged in more proper (“prosocial”) punishment and less abusive (“antisocial”) punishment when punishment was costly. These results highlight the importance of legitimacy in both motivating and regulating the enforcement of cooperation.
From the moral to the political
Authors: Rasmussen David M.
Published: May 2017

This article focuses on the problem of political legitimacy: first, by finding it to be the driving force in the Rawlsian paradigm moving from a focus on the moral to one on the political; second, with the help of a consideration of multiple-modernities theory, by arguing for a version of political liberalism freed of its western framework; and third, by applying that framework to current debates over the meaning of democracy in a Confucian context.
Egypt after the 2013 military coup
Authors: Hamzawy Amr
Published: May 2017

The military coup was staged in the summer of 2013. In the intervening period, Egypt’s ruling generals have succeeded in handcuffing the public space and bringing back fear as an everyday feature of life in a country that is still in dire straits. By various repressive measures, civilians have learned to fear the consequences of free expression and peaceful opposition. To this end as well, Egypt’s ruling generals have also adapted legal and legislative tools to persecute political enemies and eradicate the existence of autonomous civil society organizations. However, far less attention has been paid to the details surrounding the legal and legislative tools utilized by Egypt’s generals, and even less to the concerning implications these tools carry regarding notions of justice and the populace’s faith in the neutrality of public institutions. A thorough explanation and analysis are necessary to understand fully the functioning of the new authoritarianism. It is also of paramount importance to highlight the fact it is impossible to search for ways to restore a democratic transition in Egypt without a structured thinking about how to dismantle the legal and legislative framework of the new authoritarianism.
On strongmen’s (and strongwomen’s) trail
Authors: Bauman Zygmunt
Published: May 2017

Zygmunt Bauman addresses the question to what extent today's resurgence of populism and nationalism is an appropriate answer to the very concrete loss of economic, social but also cultural security. He argues that the populist, nationalist and religious promises are no longer in a position to counter effectively and truly the multifarious problems people face today. Postmodern individualization and globalization undermine any possibility for an identitarian and nationalist solution to the loss of security. Only a political approach that takes into account and addresses the global dimension of the current insecurity of citizens can have success in re-establishing a sense of security.