bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Effect of Weight Loss with or without Exercise on Inflammatory Markers and Adipokines in Postmenopausal Women: The SHAPE-2 Trial, A Randomized Controlled Trial
Authors: van Gemert Willemijn A. , May Anne M. , Schuit Albertine J. , Oosterhof Blanche Y.M. , Peeters Petra H. , Monninkhof Evelyn M.
Published: February 2016

Background: We investigated the effect of equivalent weight loss, by a hypocaloric diet or mainly exercise, on inflammatory markers and adipokines in overweight postmenopausal women.

Methods: Women were randomized to a diet (n = 97), mainly exercise (n = 98), or control group (n = 48). Goal of both interventions was to lose 5 to 6 kg bodyweight by a hypocaloric diet or an exercise program (4 hours/week) combined with a small caloric intake restriction. Outcomes after 16 weeks included serum high-sensitive C–reactive protein (hsCRP), IL6, adiponectin, and leptin.

Results: Both intervention groups achieved the target weight loss. Controls remained weight stable. Compared with control, hsCRP decreased with mainly exercise [treatment effect ratio (TER) = 0.64] and borderline statistically significant with diet (TER = 0.77). There was a suggestively larger effect of exercise, directly compared with diet (TER = 0.83). Leptin decreased with both interventions: mainly exercise (TER = 0.55) and diet (TER = 0.59), versus control. Effects attenuated and lost significance after adjusting for change in body fat percentage, and to a lesser extent when adjusting for fitness. No effects were seen on IL6 and adiponectin.

Conclusions: A 16-week randomized intervention inducing comparable weight loss by a hypocaloric diet or mainly exercise, resulted in favorable effects on serum hsCRP and leptin. We found a possible more beneficial effect on hsCRP with mainly exercise versus diet. These effects of exercise were established by changes in body fat percentage and physical fitness.

Impact: A modest amount of weight loss in postmenopausal women reduces hsCRP and leptin levels which might be associated with a lower breast cancer risk. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev; 25(5); 799–806. ©2016 AACR.
MR Studies of Glioblastoma Models Treated with Dual PI3K/mTOR Inhibitor and Temozolomide:Metabolic Changes Are Associated with Enhanced Survival
Authors: Radoul Marina , Chaumeil Myriam M. , Eriksson Pia , Wang Alan S. , Phillips Joanna J. , Ronen Sabrina M.
Published: February 2016

The current standard of care for glioblastoma (GBM) is surgical resection, radiotherapy, and treatment with temozolomide (TMZ). However, resistance to current therapies and recurrence are common. To improve survival, agents that target the PI3K signaling pathway, which is activated in approximately 88% of GBM, are currently in clinical trials. A challenge with such therapies is that tumor shrinkage is not always observed. New imaging methods are therefore needed to monitor response to therapy and predict survival. The goal of this study was to determine whether hyperpolarized 13C magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging (MRSI) and 1H magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) can be used to monitor response to the second-generation dual PI3K/mTOR inhibitor voxtalisib (XL765, SAR245409), alone or in combination with TMZ. We investigated GS-2 and U87-MG GBM orthotopic tumors in mice, and used MRI, hyperpolarized 13C MRSI, and 1H MRS to monitor the effects of treatment. In our study, 1H MRS could not predict tumor response to therapy. However, in both our models, we observed a significantly lower hyperpolarized lactate-to-pyruvate ratio in animals treated with voxtalisib, TMZ, or combination therapy, when compared with controls. This metabolic alteration was observed prior to MRI-detectable changes in tumor size, was consistent with drug action, and was associated with enhanced animal survival. Our findings confirm the potential translational value of the hyperpolarized lactate-to-pyruvate ratio as a biomarker for noninvasively assessing the effects of emerging therapies for patients with GBM. Mol Cancer Ther; 15(5); 1113–22. ©2016 AACR.
Pharmacological or Genetic Activation of Hsp70 Protects against Loss of Parkin Function
Authors: Zhang Cheng-Wu , Adeline Henry Basil , Chai Bing-Han , Hong Eugenia T.E. , Ng Chee-Hoe , Lim Kah-Leong
Published: February 2016

Mutations of parkin are a prevalent genetic contributor to familial Parkinson's disease (PD). As a key regulator of protein and mitochondrial homeostasis, parkin plays a pivotal role in maintaining dopaminergic neuronal survival. However, whereas Drosophila parkin null mutants exhibit prominent parkinsonian features, parkin-deficient mice generally lack an overt phenotype. Here, we found that the expression of Hsp70 along with several other members of the chaperone family is elevated in parkin null mice, suggesting a possible compensatory mechanism for the loss of parkin function in these mice that could have masked their phenotype. Supporting this, we demonstrate that the enhancement of chaperone function induced either pharmacologically via 17-AAG treatment or genetically via Hsp70 overexpression can protect cells against proteolytic and mitochondrial stress in a manner that is similar to that brought about by parkin overexpression. Importantly, we further showed that enhanced chaperone activity can ameliorate the pathological phenotypes in Drosophila parkin null mutants, which suggests the ability of chaperones to phenocopy parkin function. Taken together, our results suggest that Hsp members may act as compensatory factors for parkin loss of function and that the exploitation of these factors may be of potential therapeutic value.
Cognitive Impairment in Transient Ischemic Attack Patients: A Systematic Review
Authors: van Rooij Frank G. , Kessels Roy P.C. , Richard Edo , De Leeuw Frank-Erik , van Dijk Ewoud J.
Published: February 2016

Background: Although by definition a transient ischemic attack (TIA) lasts less than 24 h, many patients experience cognitive complaints beyond focal symptom resolution. However, their prevalence, causes and profile are unclear. We therefore performed a systematic review on cognitive impairment after TIA. Summary: Medline and Embase were searched for relevant studies. Risk of bias was assessed, and data synthesis was performed according to the severity of cognitive impairment. Thirteen studies were included, with considerable heterogeneity concerning methods and timing of cognitive testing. Confounding, detection bias and attrition were the main causes of a high risk of bias in several studies. The prevalence of post-TIA mild cognitive impairment ranged from 29 to 68%. Severe cognitive impairment was found in 8-22% of patients. Studies using a cognitive screening instrument and those performed shortly after TIA or several years later, reported the highest frequencies of impairment. Patients evaluated with a screening tool were substantially older than those who underwent a full neuropsychological assessment (weighted mean age difference 10.9 years). Based on limited data, the post-TIA cognitive profile showed prominent executive function deficits. Insufficient data refrained us from drawing conclusions on causality. The few studies that reported neuroimaging results found a minor correlation with cognitive impairment. Key Messages: Mild cognitive impairment is present in more than a third of the TIA patients and has a profile comparable with vascular cognitive impairment. Reported rates of post-TIA cognitive impairment are highly variable and higher frequencies are found with cognitive screening tools. Considerable heterogeneity and insufficient data limit further conclusions about potential causative factors.
Endothelial Mineralocorticoid Receptor Mediates Diet-Induced Aortic Stiffness in Females
Authors: Jia Guanghong , Habibi Javad , Aroor Annayya R. , Martinez-Lemus Luis A. , DeMarco Vincent G. , Ramirez-Perez Francisco I. , Sun Zhe , Hayden Melvin R. , Meininger Gerald A. , Mueller Katelee Barrett , Jaffe Iris Z. , Sowers James R.
Published: February 2016

Rationale:

Enhanced activation of the mineralocorticoid receptors (MRs) in cardiovascular tissues increases oxidative stress, maladaptive immune responses, and inflammation with associated functional vascular abnormalities. We previously demonstrated that consumption of a Western diet (WD) for 16 weeks results in aortic stiffening, and that these abnormalities were prevented by systemic MR blockade in female mice. However, the cell-specific role of endothelial cell MR (ECMR) in these maladaptive vascular effects has not been explored.

Objective:

We hypothesized that specific deletion of the ECMR would prevent WD-induced increases in endothelial sodium channel activation, reductions in bioavailable nitric oxide, increased vascular remodeling, and associated increases in vascular stiffness in females.

Methods and Results:

Four-week-old female ECMR knockout and wild-type mice were fed either mouse chow or WD for 16 weeks. WD feeding resulted in aortic stiffness and endothelial dysfunction as determined in vivo by pulse wave velocity and ex vivo by atomic force microscopy, and wire and pressure myography. The WD-induced aortic stiffness was associated with enhanced endothelial sodium channel activation, attenuated endothelial nitric oxide synthase activation, increased oxidative stress, a proinflammatory immune response and fibrosis. Conversely, cell-specific ECMR deficiency prevented WD-induced aortic fibrosis and stiffness in conjunction with reductions in endothelial sodium channel activation, oxidative stress and macrophage proinflammatory polarization, restoration of endothelial nitric oxide synthase activation.

Conclusions:

Increased ECMR signaling associated with consumption of a WD plays a key role in endothelial sodium channel activation, reduced nitric oxide production, oxidative stress, and inflammation that lead to aortic remodeling and stiffness in female mice.
Neighborhood and Acute Myocardial Infarction Mortality as Related to the Driving Time to Percutaneous Coronary Intervention–Capable Hospital
Authors: Balamurugan Appathurai , Delongchamp Robert , Im Lucille , Bates Joseph , Mehta Jawahar L.
Published: February 2016

Background

Driving time to a percutaneous coronary intervention (
PCI
)–capable hospital is important in timely treatment of acute myocardial infarction (
AMI
). Our objective was to determine whether driving time from one's residence to a
PCI
‐capable hospital contributes to
AMI
deaths. We conducted a cross‐sectional study of age‐ and sex‐adjusted mortality in census block groups to evaluate this question.

Methods and Results

We studied all (14 027)
AMI
deaths that occurred during 2008–2012 in Arkansas to assess the relationship between driving time from the population center of a block group (neighborhood) to the nearest
PCI
‐capable hospital. We estimated standardized mortality ratios in block groups that were adjusted for education (population over 25 years of age who did not graduate from high school), poverty (population living below federal poverty level), population density (population per square mile), mobility (population residing at the same address as 1 year ago), black (population that is black), rurality (rural households), geodesic distance, and driving time. The median geodesic distance and driving time were 12.8 miles (interquartile range 3.6–30.1) and 28.3 minutes (interquartile range 9.6–58.7), respectively. Risks in neighborhoods with long driving times (90th percentile) were 26% greater than risks in neighborhoods with short driving times (10th percentile), even after adjusting for education, poverty, population density, rurality, and black race (
P
<0.0001).

Conclusions

AMI
mortality increases with increasing driving time to the nearest
PCI
‐capable hospital. Improving the healthcare system by reducing time to arrive at a
PCI
‐capable hospital could reduce
AMI
deaths.
The Ethos of Masada in Halakhic Literature
Authors: Mashiach Amir
Published: February 2016

Josephus Flavius is the only source on the rebellion of Masada and the heroic mass suicide at its end. This tragic event was not mentioned in the Halakhic literature. Chazal, rabbinic sages, who lived at that time, didn’t mention it and one should wonder why. The common explanation is that Chazal were against committing suicide and did not want to raise the issue in a heroic context. However, thorough review of the rabbinic literature shows that Chazal did not have a problem with suicide. It all depended on the reason: suicide for religious principle was considered a positive and heroic act. But suicide due to a national principle was considered a negative act that shouldn’t be mentioned. That is why the events of Masada and Gamla are not mentioned in Chazal’s literature. This conception of ignoring the event of Masada in the Halakhic literature even in discussions about committing suicide has changed in the twentieth century.
Contemporary Halakhic Decisors, Commercial Practices, and Civil Law
Authors: Kleinman Ron S.
Published: February 2016

This article explores the question of the familiarity of Jewish religious legal decisors with the commercial practices they are asked to address as well as the extent to which they base their rulings with regard to commercial practices on the relevant civil laws. These issues are discussed with respect to diamond merchants’ practice of consummating a diamond transaction with the words “mazel and broche.” Our analysis finds that decisors did not always differentiate between an obligation and an acquisition in general, and in a sales transaction in particular. It finds also that the decisors who addressed the issue of “mazel and broche” did not base their rulings on civil law, neither by virtue of “custom” and the law of situmta nor by virtue of the doctrine of dina de-malkhuta dina (“the law of the State is law”). We do find, by contrast, that some decisors validate payment by credit card and e-commerce based on civil law. This article offers several possible explanations for all these phenomena.
Faith and Radicalism: Edith Stein vis-à-vis Yeshayahu Leibowitz
Authors: Miron Ronny
Published: February 2016

This paper confronts Edith Stein’s Christian idea of faith with the Jewish one of Yeshayahu Leibowitz. The discussion begins by uncovering the common starting point of the two thinkers, which anchors religious faith in one’s volitional decision. Yet this commonality appears to be violated by essential differences between their understandings of the religious experience. Delving into the differences between Stein’s and Leibowitz’s idea of faith demonstrates two faces of radicalism in the human religious experience.
Studies on the achene morphology of Turkish species of Scorzonera L. (Asteraceae) using light and scanning electron microscopy
Authors: Coşkunçelebi Kamil , Makbul Serdar , Okur Seda
Published: February 2016

Macro- and micromorphological features of achenes belonging to 59 taxa from Turkey were observed via light and scanning electron microscopy. The findings agree with the traditional subdivision of Scorzonera into S. subg. Scorzonera, S. subg. Podospermum and S. subg. Pseudopodospermum. Members of S. subg. Podospermum were distinguished by achenes with a distinct carpopodium and horizontally striped epidermal cell surface; members of S. subg. Pseudopodospermum were distinguished by achenes with a conspicuous carpopodium and often ruminate and sometimes rugose-granulate or smooth epidermal surface, and members of Scorzonera s.str were distinguished by achenes without a carpopodium and with various combinations of surface patterns. The results also showed that the length, pubescence and surface pattern of achenes, as well as the carpopodium and anticlinal and periclinal walls of the epidermal cells are valuable for delimiting the examined species within the genus.
Encyonema aquasedis sp. nov. and Kurtkrammeria salesopolensis sp. nov.: two new freshwater diatom species (Cymbellales, Bacillariophyceae) from an oligotrophic reservoir in southeastern Brazil
Authors: Marquardt Gisele Carolina , Da Rocha Angélica Cristina Righetii , Wetzel Carlos Eduardo , Ector Luc , Bicudo Carlos Eduardo de Mattos
Published: February 2016

Recent research of the plankton and the surface sediments from Ribeirão do Campo reservoir (São Paulo, southeast Brazil) led to identification of two new cymbelloid diatom species: Encyonema acquasedis sp. nov. and Kurtkrammeria salesopolensis sp. nov. Their morphology was studied under both light and scanning electron microscopes aiming at describing the two species in detail. The morphology of each species is compared and discussed with morphologically similar taxa. The new species are different from all others in the Cymbellales due to a combination of characteristics including valve outline, striae, areolae structure, and raphe system. Both species were collected from an oligotrophic environment with both low pH and conductivity.
A new species of flea-toad (Anura: Brachycephalidae) from southern Atlantic Forest, Brazil
Authors: CONDEZ THAIS HELENA , MONTEIRO JULIANE PETRY DE CARLI , COMITTI ESTEVÃO JASPER , GARCIA PAULO CHRISTIANO DE ANCHIETTA , AMARAL IVAN BOREL , HADDAD CÉLIO FERNANDO BAPTISTA
Published: February 2016

We describe a new species of Brachycephalus that is morphologically similar to the flea-toads B. didactylus, B. hermogenesi, and B. pulex. The new species occurs from the sea level up to 1000 m and it is widely distributed throughout southern Atlantic Forest. Brachycephalus sulfuratus sp. nov. is distinguished from all of its congeners by the combination of the following characters: (1) small body size (SVL of adults: 7.4–8.5 mm for males and 9.0–10.8 mm for females); (2) “leptodactyliform” body; (3) pectoral girdle arciferal and less robust compared to the Brachycephalus species with “bufoniform” body; (4) procoracoid and epicoracoid fused with coracoid but separated from the clavicle by a large fenestrae; (5) toe I externally absent; toes II, III, IV, and V distinct; phalanges of toes II and V reduced; (6) skin smooth with no dermal ossifications; (7) in life, general background color brown with small dark-brown spots; skin of throat, chest, arms, and forearms with irregular yellow blotches; in ventral view, cloacal region of alive and preserved specimens surrounded by a dark-brown inverted v-shaped mark outlined with white; (8) advertisement call long, composed of a set of 4–7 high-frequency notes (6.2–7.2 kHz) repeated regularly.
Species diversity of fiddler crabs, genus Uca Leach, 1814 (Crustacea: Ocypodidae), from Taiwan and adjacent islands, with notes on the Japanese species
Authors: Shih Hsi-Te , Lee Jung-Hsiang , Ho Ping-Ho , Liu Hung-Chang , Wang Chia-Hsiang , Suzuki Hiroshi , Teng Shao-Jyun
Published: February 2016

The fiddler crabs, genus Uca Leach, 1814 (Decapoda, Ocypodidae) of Taiwan, including the offshore islands of Penghu (Pescadores), Kinmen (Quemoy), Matsu (Matzu), and Dongsha (Pratas), are revised, with the recognition of five subgenera and 15 species, viz. Uca (Austruca) Bott, 1973: U. lactea (De Haan, 1835), U. perplexa (H. Milne Edwards, 1837), U. triangularis (A. Milne-Edwards, 1873); U. (Gelasimus) Latreille, 1817: U. borealis Crane, 1975, U. jocelynae Shih, Naruse & Ng, 2010, U. tetragonon (Herbst, 1790), U. vocans (Linnaeus, 1758); U. (Paraleptuca) Bott, 1973: U. crassipes (White, 1847), U. splendida (Stimpson, 1858); U. (Tubuca) Bott, 1973: U. acuta (Stimpson 1858), U. arcuata (De Haan, 1835), U. coarctata (H. Milne Edwards, 1852), U. dussumieri (H. Milne Edwards, 1852), U. paradussumieri (Bott, 1973); and U. (Xeruca) Shih, 2015: U. formosensis Rathbun, 1921. Among them, U. acuta, U. paradussumieri, and U. vocans are confirmed to be distributed in Taiwan. Uca formosensis is endemic to Taiwan. The Uca species of the main islands of Japan are also listed. Four species (U. arcuata, U. lactea, U. crassipes and U. borealis) are known, but the recent additional records of U. perplexa and U. vocans need further confirmation. Except U. acuta, U. borealis, U. formosensis, U. lactea, and U. paradussumieri, other 10 Taiwanese species can be found from the Ryukyus too. Only one endemic species, U. boninensis, is reported from the Ogasawara (Bonin) Islands. A key to the 18 species of Uca found in East Asia is also provided in this study.
Relationships between Hourly Rainfall Intensity and Atmospheric Variables over the Contiguous United States
Authors: Lepore Chiara , Allen John T. , Tippett Michael K.
Published: February 2016

Rainfall intensity displays relationships with atmospheric conditions such as surface temperature, and these relationships have implications for how the intensity of rainfall varies with climate. Here, hourly gauge measurements of rainfall over the contiguous United States (CONUS) are related to atmospheric variables taken from the North American Regional Reanalysis for the period 1979–2012. This analysis extends previous work relating the rainfall process to the environment by including a wider range of variables in univariate and bivariate quantile regressions. Known covariate relationships are used to quantify the regional contributions of different weather regimes to rainfall occurrence and to identify preferential atmospheric states for rainfall occurrence. The efficiency of different sets of regressors is evaluated, and the results show that both moisture availability and vertical instability should be taken into account, with CAPE in combination with specific humidity or dewpoint temperature being the most powerful regressors. Different regions and seasons behave differently, pointing to the challenges of constructing global or CONUS-wide models for representing the rainfall process. In particular, the relationships between environment and rainfall in the west of the United States are different from other regions, reflecting nonlocal rainfall processes. Most of the coastal and eastern United States display relatively low regional variability in the relationships between rainfall and environment.
Improving Measurement via Item Response Theory
Authors: Harvey Robert J.
Published: February 2016

In my reaction to the major contribution by Mallinckrodt, Miles, and Recabarren, I endorse their recommendation that the use of item response theory (IRT) be increased. Advantages of IRT are numerous, with most resulting from the fact that IRT models typically take a more realistic view of how item responses are related to underlying traits than classical test theory. However, I raise concerns regarding their advocacy of the Rasch IRT model, which arguably takes an overly simplistic view of how items and traits are related. Many alternative IRT models exist, including ones based on the ideal-point measurement philosophy (most IRT models use the dominance model). I recommend that researchers seek to determine which IRT model best fits their items—including the larger question of whether a dominance versus ideal-point approach is preferable—and avoid assuming that one model will always perform the best.
On the Fallibility of Principal Components in Research
Authors: Raykov Tenko , Marcoulides George A. , Li Tenglong
Published: February 2016

The measurement error in principal components extracted from a set of fallible measures is discussed and evaluated. It is shown that as long as one or more measures in a given set of observed variables contains error of measurement, so also does any principal component obtained from the set. The error variance in any principal component is shown to be (a) bounded from below by the smallest error variance in a variable from the analyzed set and (b) bounded from above by the largest error variance in a variable from that set. In the case of a unidimensional set of analyzed measures, it is pointed out that the reliability and criterion validity of any principal component are bounded from above by these respective coefficients of the optimal linear combination with maximal reliability and criterion validity (for a criterion unrelated to the error terms in the individual measures). The discussed psychometric features of principal components are illustrated on a numerical data set.
The Struggle over the Evacuation to the United Kingdom and Repatriation of Basque Refugee Children in the Spanish Civil War: Symbols and Souls
Authors: Anderson Peter
Published: February 2016

In May 1937, British charities and political activists combined forces to evacuate nearly 4000 Basque children from Spain to the United Kingdom. The evacuation marks one of the great chapters in twentieth century refugee history. Once General Franco's supporters conquered the whole of the Basque Country in early July 1937, a battle developed over the repatriation of the children. The historiography of these watershed events has focused on the bombing of Guernica as the cause of the evacuation, the impact upon domestic British politics and the role of centre and left activists in the struggle over the repatriation of the children to Franco’s Spain. This article provides a fresh context by exploring the role of the children as symbols of Francoist violence behind the lines in the controversy over the evacuation. It also places the repatriation battle in the new framework of the Francoist removal of children from political opponents. It further examines the right-wing British activists who advocated repatriation and explores their entangled relationship with Spanish Francoists.
Geometrical models for weft-knitted spacer fabrics
Authors: Kurbak Arif
Published: February 2016

Spacer fabrics are very attractive nowadays for use as technical fabrics. Our interest in this study is to give geometrical models for weft-knitted spacer fabrics which can be used in related engineering software. Models of two commonly used weft-knitted spacer fabrics are created here based on Kurbak’s 1998 plain knit model and are drawn to scale using the 3DS-MAX computer graphical program. It is observed that similar shapes to the real fabrics are obtained by the models.
Bio-nanofibrous mats as potential delivering systems of natural substances
Authors: Peršin Zdenka , Ravber Matej , Stana Kleinschek Karin , Knez Željko , Škerget Mojca , Kurečič Manja
Published: February 2016

Considering the increasing resistance of numerous bacteria to antibiotics, a novel wound dressing material was developed with naturally acquired olive leaf extract, which shows not only good antimicrobial activity, but also very good antioxidant activity. Besides that, the leaves are treated as waste in agriculture, giving an impact on waste management. An environmentally friendly procedure, electrospinning, was used for the first time to prepare polysaccharide nanofibrous mats with incorporated olive leaf extract, with the unique property of releasing the active phenolic components in a prolonged manner over 24 hours. The developed electrospun mats were characterized using scanning electron microscopy, high-performance liquid chromatography and ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy for determination of free radical scavenging activity by 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl, antimicrobial testing and release kinetics. Antimicrobial tests have shown that electrospun mats with olive leaf extract achieve reduction towards the tested microorganisms: Staphylococcus aureus (G+), Escherichia coli (G-), Enterococcus faecalis (G+) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (G-), while the high antioxidant activity of olive leaf extract was preserved during the electrospinning procedure. Release of olive leaf extract from electrospun mats was mathematically modeled, and the release kinetics evaluation indicates the appropriateness of the Korsmeyer–Peppas model for fitting the obtained results of release ability due to erosion of polysaccharide nanofiber mats.
Entrepreneurship and Intervention Strategies of Land-Lost Farmers in Urbanization Process of Zhejiang Province
Authors: Bao Haijun , Cen Yingying , Peng Yi , Yuan Dinghuan
Published: February 2016

Urbanization aims to promote citizenization, in which people’s social and spiritual needs must be satisfied. However, vulnerable land-lost farmers face many difficulties during the urbanization process. This is partly caused by the GDP-oriented policies that specifically target land-lost farmers. The government must change its governance from GDP (land) oriented to people oriented to improve its management performance. Central government is encouraging urbanization. However, only a few studies have investigated the entrepreneurial activities of land-lost farmers at the micro-level in China, which engenders ineffective policies for promoting such activities during urbanization. Based on grounded theory, this study develops a consciousness-situation-behavior model to explain the entrepreneurship mechanism of land-lost farmers. The authors discovered that entrepreneurial awareness motivates entrepreneurial behavior through the perceptions of desirability and feasibility. Land acquisition plays a mediating role in the relationship between entrepreneurial consciousness and behavior. For various situation factors, land location and entrepreneurship policy significantly mediate the relationship between entrepreneurial consciousness and behavior, whereas the settlement of land-lost farmers produces an insignificant effect on such relationship. A higher compensation can also lower the possibility of entrepreneurship. Based on these findings, practical policies are proposed.
Span and Scale of the Government
Authors: Shen Hua , Zhong Shaoying , Chen Rui
Published: February 2016

The reform of the public personnel is always accompanied with the public administration reform. How to get the equilibrium between the span of control and the scale of the government remains an unexplained question. This article focuses on the factors including incentive mechanism and public service motivation to measure the relationship between the span and scale of governmental control. The data used for this research have been obtained from the Ministry of Environmental Protection of China and the State Commission Office of Public Sectors Reform. The data obtained ranged from 2005 to 2013 and were analyzed to explore the tendency of public personnel reform in environmental regulation sector in China.
Sahat al-Borj: A Feminine City Square as a Container of Events
Authors: Daou Dolly
Published: February 2016

Beirut’s city center, Sahat al-Borj, has been the receptacle to many historical events, which shaped its current identity, such as repeated wars and other violent events such as tsunamis and earthquakes. These events affected the Square’s identity and the national identity and culture of Lebanon, and led to the creation and evolution of Sahat al-Borj from a cosmopolitan city center in the 1950s and 1960s, to a demarcation line between East (Christians) and West (Muslims) during the Lebanese civil war (1975-1990) to an abandoned city center since 1990. Like Derrida’s khōra, the sites of Beirut and Sahat al-Borj both have interior qualities and are receptacles of repeated wars and violent events. In Lebanese, both the city and the city Square are referred to with a feminine pronoun: hiyeh or “she” in Lebanese and elle in French. In Arabic and Lebanese, the nouns Sahat (a square, is an open space; open to a diversity of activities) and Mdineh (city) are feminine, giving both feminine connotations. This gendered pronoun accruing to cultural practices humanizes the Square and personalizes its identity and its occupation by referring to the city and its center as “she” or “her.” In Anglophone societies, city squares are usually referred to as “it” in English and do not have feminine or masculine genders or “character” attributed to them, unlike French, Arabic, or Lebanese. Through a series of historical cartographic maps and images collected from different library archives in France and Lebanon, this article will explore the human occupation of the Square throughout history and will examine the urban site of Beirut as a container of events and a transitional “non-place” with feminine and interior qualities with a specific reference to Derrida’s khōra. Although there are many interpretations of Khōra, like Derrida’s Khōra, in this article, the interior is explored as a receptacle associated with the feminine, the container, which receives human’s occupation.1
Feasibility study of hybrid energy system for off-grid rural electrification in southern Pakistan
Authors: Rehman Saif Ur , Rehman S , Qazi Muzaffar Uddin , Shoaib Muhammad , Lashin Aref
Published: February 2016

The use of renewable energy is increasing all over the world. These resources provide clean energy without giving rise to pollution. Current study discussed the feasibility of providing electricity by using hybrid power system (photovoltaic/wind/diesel) to a distant hypothetical village, population of 100 households with an average of five family members per household. The study area, Nooriabad, lies in Sind, Pakistan (latitude = 25.17°N, longitude = 67.8°E and site elevation = 180 m above the mean sea level). Current study showed that the proposed hybrid system could be a viable solution for off-grid supply of electric power to remote areas in Pakistan. In the present case, a daily energy consumption of 205 kWh and a peak power demand of 47 kW were considered. The implementation of this project will result in the reduction of 69% in greenhouse gases addition in the local atmosphere of the chosen site. The photovoltaic/wind/diesel/battery hybrid system is found to be an attractive option with levelized cost of energy of 0.45 $/kWh and with renewable energy penetration of 84%. The sensitivity analysis showed that photovoltaic/wind/diesel/battery hybrid configuration is the only feasible system under given variations of different parameters.
Fracture permeability evaluation of a coal reservoir using geophysical logging: A case study in the Zhengzhuang area, southern Qinshui Basin
Authors: Li Chenchen , Liu Dameng , Cai Yidong , Yao Yanbin
Published: February 2016

To evaluate the heterogeneity of the No. 3 coal reservoir fracture permeability of Zhengzhuang area in the southern Qinshui Basin, several fracture models were reviewed and their applicability to coal reservoirs was discussed. Fourteen coalbed methane exploration wells with well test data were used to perform an optimization of the fracture parameter models. The results showed that fracture porosity presents a strong correlation with the well test permeability. Fracture porosity was calculated by the dual laterolog iterative method, in which the fracture distortion coefficient Kr was introduced. Based on this correlation, the F-S fracture permeability calculation model was adopted to acquire the fracture permeability of coalbed methane wells in the Zhengzhuang area. The predicted fracture permeability is generally low in the Zhengzhuang area, ranging from 0.01 to 0.37 mD, with an average of 0.07 mD. The planar permeability is strongly heterogeneous. The permeability of the No. 3 coal reservoir is relatively low close to the Shitou and Houchengyao normal faults in the southern Zhengzhuang area, but high in the midwestern Zhengzhuang area, with an average of 0.21 mD. The fracture permeability of the coal reservoir in the vertical direction is in the range of 0.005 to 0.680 mD, decreasing significantly with increasing burial depth. The regional distribution of permeability is mainly controlled by burial depth and in situ stresses. The permeability is high in the shallow area and in the minor concomitant fault zone, but low in the folding area and near major faults. The heterogeneity of the coal reservoir has an important effect on the permeability in the vertical direction. The best prospective target area for coalbed methane production is predicted by the minimum requirements of gas content and thus permeability in this area. The prediction result has a good corresponding relation with the current production capacity of coalbed methane wells.
Maximum Likelihood Score Estimation Method With Fences for Short-Length Tests and Computerized Adaptive Tests
Authors: Han Kyung T.
Published: February 2016

A critical shortcoming of the maximum likelihood estimation (MLE) method for test score estimation is that it does not work with certain response patterns, including ones consisting only of all 0s or all 1s. This can be problematic in the early stages of computerized adaptive testing (CAT) administration and for tests short in length. To overcome this challenge, test practitioners often set lower and upper bounds of theta estimation and truncate the score estimation to be one of those bounds when the log likelihood function fails to yield a peak due to responses consisting only of 0s or 1s. Even so, this MLE with truncation (MLET) method still cannot handle response patterns in which all harder items are correct and all easy items are incorrect. Bayesian-based estimation methods such as the modal a posteriori (MAP) method or the expected a posteriori (EAP) method can be viable alternatives to MLE. The MAP or EAP methods, however, are known to result in estimates biased toward the center of a prior distribution, resulting in a shrunken score scale. This study introduces an alternative approach to MLE, called MLE with fences (MLEF). In MLEF, several imaginary “fence” items with fixed responses are introduced to form a workable log likelihood function even with abnormal response patterns. The findings of this study suggest that, unlike MLET, the MLEF can handle any response patterns and, unlike both MAP and EAP, results in score estimates that do not cause shrinkage of the theta scale.
Racist habits
Authors: Ngo Helen
Published: February 2016

This article examines how the phenomenological concept of habit can be productively deployed in the analysis of racism, in order to propose a reframing of the problem. Racism does not unfold primarily in the register of conscious thought or action, I argue, but more intimately and insidiously in the register of bodily habit. This claim, however, relies on a reading of habit as bodily orientation – or habituation – as developed by Merleau-Ponty in the Phenomenology of Perception. Drawing on his account, I turn to two salient dimensions of racist praxis which I argue are better understood through the frame of habit: bodily gesture or response, and racialized perception. Building on the analyses of contemporary critical race thinkers, I argue that racism is habitual insofar as it is embedded in bodily modes of responding to the presentation of racialized ‘others’ and in ‘sedimented’ modes of racialized seeing. However, this is not to suggest that the acquisition of racist habits is passive, or that such habits foreclose the possibility of change. In the final section, I revisit the concept of habit and its usual characterization as ‘sedimentation’ or ‘calcification’. I argue that while such a reading gives voice to the anchoring weight of the temporal past in habit, a more prospective rendering of the concept is available to us through a rereading of sedimentation as active passivity; habits are not only acquired, they are also held. This in turn will allow us to recast the question of responsibility in relation to one’s racist habits.
A Translational Model for Diet-related Atherosclerosis
Authors: Amuzie Chidozie , Swart John R. , Rogers Christopher S. , Vihtelic Thomas , Denham Steven , Mais Dale E.
Published: February 2016

Models of atherosclerosis are used in preclinical studies but often fail to translate to humans. A model that better reflects human atherosclerosis is necessary. We recently engineered the ExeGen™ low-density lipoprotein receptor (LDLR) miniswine, in which the LDL receptor gene is modified to drive hypercholesterolemia and atherosclerosis, and showed diet-related exacerbation of these phenotypes. Five groups of animals, either wild type (+/+) or heterozygous (+/−), were fed either a normal or high-fat diet for 6 months. One group of heterozygous pigs fed a high-fat diet was also administered atorvastatin at 3 mg/kg/day. Clinical chemistry and anatomic pathology parameters were measured biweekly and at termination. The high-fat diet resulted in increased adiposity and interspersion of adipocytes within the salivary glands. The heterozygous pigs on the high-fat diet gained more weight and had significant increases in total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein, and LDL compared to wild-type animals or heterozygous animals fed a normal diet. Atorvastatin attenuated these parameters, indicating the statin had a beneficial effect, even in a high-fat diet scenario. Atorvastatin treatment also reduced the intensity of Oil Red O staining in pigs on high-fat diet. Atorvastatin-related amelioration of several indices of cardiovascular pathophysiology in this model underscores its utility for drug discovery.
Pneumocephalus and pneumococcal meningitis after thoracic surgery
Authors: Asner Sandra , Chapuis-Taillard Caroline , Ris Hans-Beat , Gonzalez Michel
Published: February 2016

A 62-year-old man with adenocarcinoma underwent complete resection with a right upper lobectomy and en-bloc resection of the chest wall, with metallic clips applied to the vertebral nerve roots. A sudden deterioration in neurological status occurred due to pneumocephalus and ascending bacterial meningitis resulting from a subarachnoid-pleural fistula. The neurological status normalized after thoracoplasty and ceftriaxone treatment.
Neo-liberal racism: Excision, ethnicity and the Children and Families Act 2014
Authors: Kirton Derek
Published: February 2016

This article focuses on the removal in the Children and Families Act 2014 of the so-called ‘ethnicity clause’ relating to adoption. Reviewing the background to the contentious issue of adoption for Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic children and the coalition’s drive to increase its scale, the article analyses the discursive resources deployed – especially during the Bill’s passage through Parliament – to justify, oppose or modify the legal change. It is argued that the emergent government policy can be seen as incoherent, even contradictory in relation to ethnicity and its significance and that this can be understood through the competing aims of striking a populist blow against ‘political correctness’ while staving off accusations of being ‘naïve’ (or worse) about race and ethnicity. These developments and debates are also analysed in the context of the growing power of racial neo-liberalism in shaping debates on child welfare.
Linguistic Sexism in the News Coverage of Women Ministers From Four Italian Governments
Authors: Sensales Gilda , Areni Alessandra , Dal Secco Alessandra
Published: February 2016

The study, a descriptive type, is focused on the role of language in confirming or changing stereotypical feminine representations through a linguistic analysis of Italian newspaper communication concerning women politicians. It explored sexism/nonsexism in political communication on 20 female ministers from four different Italian governments (2006, 2008, 2011, and 2013). It was conducted by textual analysis of 1,244 press headlines with the Spad- t statistical package. Results showed an overutilization of sexist language and variations in the degree of linguistic sexism with respect to different periods (less sexism in the headlines of the last two governments). In this way, findings underlined the conservative role of newspapers that eclipses women’s active contribution, maintains their secondary role, and preserves politics as essentially alien to the female universe. This trend appears sensitive to the cultural and political context showing an increase of linguistic nonsexism in the time paralleled to an increase in the number of women parliamentarians.
Fixation of distal radial epiphyseal fracture: Comparison of K-wire and prebent intramedullary nail
Authors: Cai Haoqi , Wang Zhigang , Cai Haiqing
Published: February 2016

Objective

To compare the use of crossed K-wire and prebent intramedullary nail techniques for the fixation of distal radius metaphyseal fracture in children.

Methods

Intraoperative and follow-up data for children with distal radius metaphyseal fracture, treated using crossed K-wire or prebent intramedullary nail fixation, were retrospectively analysed. Patient groups were matched for age, sex and clinical parameters (fracture location, affected side, fracture type).

Results

Patients treated using prebent intramedullary nail fixation ( n = 52) had significantly shorter surgery duration, fewer intraoperative X-radiographs, and lower prevalence of postoperative redisplacement and malalignment deformity than those treated using crossed K-wire fixation ( n = 52). Both techniques resulted in similar postoperative complications and recovery of forearm rotation.

Conclusions

Prebent intramedullary nail fixation has a better functional outcome than crossed K-wire fixation in the treatment of distal radial epiphyseal fracture in children.
The Use of Crime Scene and Demographic Information in the Identification of Non-Serial Sexual Homicide
Authors: Carter Adam J. , Hollin Clive R. , Stefanska Ewa B. , Higgs Tamsin , Bloomfield Sinead
Published: February 2016

As with other sexual offenders, sexual homicide perpetrators can be reluctant to talk about their criminal behavior. Therefore, in homicide cases, forensic practitioners frequently rely on crime scene information to identify any sexual behavior associated with the offense. This study aims to identify objective and readily available crime scene information, alongside information about victims and perpetrators, based on 65 cases from England and Wales in the United Kingdom of men convicted of homicide who had committed a non-serial sexual homicide and 64 cases of men convicted of homicide where the available evidence indicated that it was a non-serial non-sexual homicide. Chi-square tests and logistic regression were used to analyze the data. There were few differences in terms of demographic information and criminal histories between the two perpetrator groups. There were crime scene indicators supporting the use of Ressler et al.’s definition of sexual homicide. The victims of sexual homicide were generally found in their home with the lower half of the body exposed and with evidence of vaginal sex. Furthermore, extreme injuries and strangulation were more frequent in sexual homicides. Use of weapon was associated with a non-sexual homicide. Victims of sexual homicide were as likely to know the perpetrator as not. Potential benefits of the characteristics reported to investigators and forensic practitioners tasked with identifying sexual homicides are discussed and areas for further research suggested.
The lived experience of people with mental health and substance misuse problems: Dimensions of belonging
Authors: Blank Alison , Finlay Linda , Prior Sarah
Published: February 2016

Introduction

People with co-occurring mental health and substance misuse problems are among the most excluded in society. A need to feel connected to others has been articulated in the occupational science literature although the concept of belonging itself has not been extensively explored within this paradigm. This paper reports findings from research that explored the meaning and experience of belonging for four people living with dual diagnosis in the United Kingdom.

Method

Researchers employed an interpretative phenomenological approach to the study. Four semistructured interviews were carried out. The interviews were guided by questions around the meaning of belonging, barriers to belonging and how belonging and not belonging impacted on participants’ lives. Data analysis facilitated the identification of themes across individual accounts and enabled comparisons.

Findings

Data analysis identified four themes – belonging in family, belonging in place, embodied understandings of belonging and barriers to belonging.

Conclusion

The findings add further insights into the mutable nature of belonging. A link between sense of belonging and attachment theory has been proposed, along with a way to understand the changeable and dependent nature of belonging through ‘dimensions of belonging’.