bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Adapting a Cancer Literacy Measure for Use Among Navajo Women
Authors: Yost Kathleen J. , Bauer Mark C. , Buki Lydia P. , Austin-Garrison Martha , Garcia Linda V. , Hughes Christine A. , Patten Christi A.
Published: February 2016

Purpose: The authors designed a community-based participatory research study to develop and test a family-based behavioral intervention to improve cancer literacy and promote mammography among Navajo women. Method: Using data from focus groups and discussions with a community advisory committee, they adapted an existing questionnaire to assess cancer knowledge, barriers to mammography, and cancer beliefs for use among Navajo women. Questions measuring health literacy, numeracy, self-efficacy, cancer communication, and family support were also adapted. Results: The resulting questionnaire was found to have good content validity, and to be culturally and linguistically appropriate for use among Navajo women. Conclusions: It is important to consider culture and not just language when adapting existing measures for use with AI/AN (American Indian/Alaskan Native) populations. English-language versions of existing literacy measures may not be culturally appropriate for AI/AN populations, which could lead to a lack of semantic, technical, idiomatic, and conceptual equivalence, resulting in misinterpretation of study outcomes.
Parallel performance results for the OpenMOC neutron transport code on multicore platforms
Authors: Boyd William , Siegel Andrew , He Shuo , Forget Benoit , Smith Kord
Published: February 2016

The shift toward multicore architectures has ushered in a new era of shared memory parallelism for scientific applications. This transition has introduced challenges for the nuclear engineering community, as it seeks to design high-fidelity full-core reactor physics simulation tools. This article describes the parallel transport sweep algorithm in the OpenMOC method of characteristics (MOC) neutron transport code for multicore platforms using OpenMP. Strong and weak scaling studies are performed for both Intel Xeon and IBM Blue Gene/Q (BG/Q) multicore processors. The results demonstrate 100% parallel efficiency for 12 threads on 12 cores on Intel Xeon platforms and over 90% parallel efficiency with 64 threads on 16 cores on the IBM BG/Q. These results illustrate the potential for hardware acceleration for MOC neutron transport on modern multicore and future many-core architectures. In addition, this work highlights the pitfalls of programming for multicore architectures, with a focal point on false sharing.
Do weight management interventions delivered by online social networks effectively improve body weight, body composition, and chronic disease risk factors? A systematic review
Authors: Willis Erik A , Szabo-Reed Amanda N , Ptomey Lauren T , Steger Felicia L , Honas Jeffery J , Washburn Richard A , Donnelly Joseph E
Published: February 2016

Introduction

Currently, no systematic review/meta-analysis has examined studies that used online social networks (OSN) as a primary intervention platform. Therefore, the purpose of this review was to evaluate the effectiveness of weight management interventions delivered through OSN.

Methods

PubMed, EMBASE, PsycINFO, Web of Science, and Scopus were searched (January 1990–November 2015) for studies with data on the effect of OSNs on weight loss. Only primary source articles that utilized OSN as the main platform for delivery of weight management/healthy lifestyle interventions, were published in English language peer-reviewed journals, and reported outcome data on weight were eligible for inclusion in this systematic review. Five articles were included in this review.

Results

One-hundred percent of the studies ( n = 5) reported a reduction in baseline weight. Three of the five studies (60%) reported significant decreases in body weight when OSN was paired with health educator support. Only one study reported a clinical significant weight loss of ≥5%.

Conclusion

Using OSN for weight management is in its early stages of development and, while these few studies show promise, more research is needed to acquire information about optimizing these interventions to increase their efficacy.
“Today they kill with the chair instead of the tree”: Forgetting and remembering slavery at a plantation prison
Authors: Kennedy Liam
Published: February 2016

Extending the burgeoning body of work on the penal tourism industry, this project investigates how slavery is forgotten and remembered at a US plantation prison. Through a case study of Angola, I explore if and how the prison’s plantation history is acknowledged at the prison rodeo and arts and crafts festival, commemorated in museum exhibits, and discussed in prisoner writings. My analysis reveals the contested nature of Angola’s history and the place of slavery (and racial inequality more generally) in it. In an act of racial violence, the administration tells a story of progress that disregards slavery along with its parallels to the present. On the other hand, some prisoners resist this narrative and evoke memories of slavery in protest of their current circumstances. I conclude with a discussion of what this struggle over Angola’s, and the nation’s, history might mean for the prospect of penal reform.
Chinese individualization, revisited
Authors: Barbalet Jack
Published: February 2016

The article critically examines the application of the individualization thesis to China. Factors presented in support of the case for Chinese individualization are shown to be either ambiguous or, on examination, counter-indicators. Family transformations from the Mao period to the present maintain family obligation. Labour migration, rather than leading to individualization expresses family commitment. Rights awareness similarly provides no clear evidence of individualization while rural and labour struggles around collective rights do not support the thesis.
Family bond and family obligation: Continuity and transformation
Authors: Qi Xiaoying
Published: February 2016

In examining family relations in contemporary China the article reports the findings of an empirical investigation, which are discussed in terms of recent accounts in the specialist literature. While the individualization thesis suggests that the bonds between family members are diminishing and that family obligations are similarly less significant than they used to be, it is shown here that family bonds and obligations remain strong, even though the grounds on which they are performed and the attitudes and emotions associated with them have undergone change since China’s marketization from the 1980s. The individualization thesis neglects the process of reinterpretation and re-negotiation of filial obligation, and fails to appreciate that modification of filial behaviour is initiated not only by the younger generation but also by the older. The article shows that contemporary filial relations are less concerned with authority, and more directed to financial and emotional support for parents, and from parents to children both adult and dependent.
The introduction and reception of Max Weber’s sociology in Taiwan and China
Authors: Tsai Po-Fang
Published: February 2016

To find the productive implications beyond ‘Weber fever’, a contested theme of ‘the Confucian ethic and economic development’, this article attempts to first examine the dual context in which Weber’s works were introduced before 1949, then to scrutinize the interpretations and evaluations of Weber’s work in the 1980s. Besides, an overview of the Chinese translations of Weber’s work and influential introductory materials is also necessary to understand the reception of Weber. While the reception among early Chinese sociologists before 1949 was separated by the division of disciplines, the reinvention of Weber during the 1980s appeared in at least three different forms in Taiwan and mainland China. Both Taiwanese and Chinese sociologists played crucial roles in establishing Weber as a social theorist of modernity, respectively resisted the Americanized Weber and developed a particular image of Weber in Chinese-speaking academic world.
Using US Tuning to effect: The American Historical Association’s Tuning Project and the first year research paper
Authors: Belanger Elizabeth
Published: February 2016

While research has long been recognized as a high impact practice in undergraduate education, much of the scholarship on undergraduate research has focused on students in the final years of their degree. This article describes a study of the ability of first year students to undertake historical research in an introductory level course at a small liberal arts college. It discusses the challenges that first year student’s face in interpreting primary sources, working with multiple sources and crafting arguments based narratives about their findings. It also documents how a research paper assignment advances students’ historical thinking skills and contribute to the development of what the American Historical Association has termed the “core competencies” in the discipline.
Accepting the robotic other: Why real dolls and spambots suggest a near-future shift in architecture’s architecture
Authors: Webb Alexander
Published: February 2016

With weak Artificial Intelligence in the pockets of the majority of American adults, a societal introduction of a strong Artificial Intelligence or sentience seems close. Although the “intelligence” of our phones’ intelligence can be laughably brittle, the learning capacity demonstrated by the Internet of Things suggests more robust intelligence is on the way, and some would say it has already arrived. Several private technology firms have asserted that a robust Artificial Intelligence already exists and thought leaders within computation are lining up to ensure that it is not evil. Regardless of the morality of Artificial Intelligence, if our charge as architects is to design occupiable space, then we need to consider post-anthropocentric ecologies as well as how to adapt our design strategies to reflect inclusion of other species. This article describes two linked lines of thought, a meditation on the pending societal inclusion of the robotic other and why that robotic sentience may arrive from an unexpected origin and can reshape how we conceive of architecture itself.
Clinical review
Authors: Jarad Nabil
Published: February 2016

Breathlessness and impaired quality of life are prominent features in patients with severe emphysema even when conventional methods of treatment are optimal. Lung volume reduction using endobronchial management for emphysema has emerged as a new method to relieve symptoms and improve lung function tests in this group. The endobronchial valves (EBVs) are the most widely used treatment. This article outlines current criteria of patients’ selection with literature review and evidence of efficacy. Complications of EBV insertion as well as current shortfalls of this method of treatment are also discussed.
No Girls Allowed
Authors: Nettleton Pamela Hill
Published: February 2016

This article analyzes the male-only spaces present in four television series, FX’s The Shield, Nip/Tuck , Rescue Me, and ABC’s Boston Legal, which each include a gendered territory as a recurring feature. I argue that these homosocially segregated environments enforce boundaries against women and shelter intense bromance relationships that foreclose romantic relationships of any kind, acting as physical incarnations of troubling retrograde sexual politics and ideologies. I also assert that the “boys’ clubs” in which these narratives take place, enabled and empowered by the aesthetic dimensions of architecture and design, help establish workplace patriarchy as commonplace, reasonable, and benign. This article reveals that in these television boys’ clubs, problematic gender ideologies are protected and celebrated, misogyny is naturalized, and patriarchal beliefs and behaviors legitimized.
Linking Service-Learning With Sense of Belonging: A Culturally Relevant Pedagogy for Heritage Students of Spanish
Authors: Pak Chin-Sook
Published: February 2016

A growing number of colleges and universities in the United States offer Spanish classes intended to meet specific needs of heritage speakers. In predominantly White institutions, beyond the language focus, these classes can also provide Latino students with a unique place on campus to strengthen their sense of belonging in ways that might not be possible in other classroom settings. This article examines the role of service-learning as a culturally relevant pedagogy for supporting heritage students.
Optimization design for turbodrill blades based on response surface method
Authors: Zhang Xiaodong , Yu Shimin , Gong Yan , Li Yilan
Published: February 2016

Based on Bezier curve, experimental design theory, and response surface method, the optimization design method for turbine blades is established. The turbine of turbodrill tested on the bench is taken for an example, and the numerical simulation model is established using third-order Bezier curve fitting blade surfaces. The model is then verified by test experiment data of the turbine bench and proven to be reliable. The blade structure parameters are defined as independent variables, and the maximum efficiency is defined as the objective function. Based on the simulation results by the computational fluid dynamics, first the significant impacts on the blade profile parameters are filtered out by seven times in single-factor sensitive analysis, and then the relationship between the objective function and independent variables is obtained by using the Box–Behnken design and response surface methodology. Moreover, the regression equation of turbine efficiency and blade structure parameters is built, and the interaction effects between the parameters are analyzed. Numerical simulations on three selected groups of optimum combination show that computational fluid dynamics simulations are in good accordance with the calculations based on response surface method; furthermore, compared with the reference model, the performance of the optimized model is significantly improved, of which efficiency can be increased by more than 10%. This study can provide a new perspective and basis for the design and optimization of the turbodrill blades.
Cost-utility analysis of stenting versus endarterectomy in the International Carotid Stenting Study
Authors: Morris Stephen , Patel Nishma V , Dobson Joanna , Featherstone Roland L , Richards Toby , Luengo-Fernandez Ramon , Rothwell Peter M , Brown Martin M ,   on behalf of the International Carotid Stenting Study investigators
Published: February 2016

Background

The International Carotid Stenting Study was a multicenter randomized trial in which patients with symptomatic carotid artery stenosis were randomly allocated to treatment by carotid stenting or endarterectomy. Economic evidence comparing these treatments is limited and inconsistent.

Aims

We compared the cost-effectiveness of stenting versus endarterectomy using International Carotid Stenting Study data.

Methods

We performed a cost-utility analysis estimating mean costs and quality-adjusted life years per patient for both treatments over a five-year time horizon based on resource use data and utility values collected in the trial. Costs of managing stroke events were estimated using individual patient data from a UK population-based study (Oxford Vascular Study).

Results

Mean costs per patient (95% CI) were US$10,477 ($9669 to $11,285) in the stenting group (N = 853) and $9669 ($8835 to $10,504) in the endarterectomy group (N = 857). There were no differences in mean quality-adjusted life years per patient (3.247 (3.160 to 3.333) and 3.228 (3.150 to 3.306), respectively). There were no differences in adjusted costs between groups (mean incremental costs for stenting versus endarterectomy $736 (95% CI –$353 to $1826)) or adjusted outcomes (mean quality-adjusted life years gained −0.010 (95% CI −0.117 to 0.097)). The incremental net monetary benefit for stenting versus endarterectomy was not significantly different from zero at the maximum willingness to pay for a quality-adjusted life year commonly used in the UK. Sensitivity analyses showed little uncertainty in these findings.

Conclusions

Economic considerations should not affect whether patients with symptomatic carotid stenosis undergo stenting or endarterectomy.
Performance of e-ASPECTS software in comparison to that of stroke physicians on assessing CT scans of acute ischemic stroke patients
Authors: Herweh Christian , Ringleb Peter A , Rauch Geraldine , Gerry Steven , Behrens Lars , Möhlenbruch Markus , Gottorf Rebecca , Richter Daniel , Schieber Simon , Nagel Simon
Published: February 2016

Background

The Alberta Stroke Program Early CT score (ASPECTS) is an established 10-point quantitative topographic computed tomography scan score to assess early ischemic changes. We compared the performance of the e-ASPECTS software with those of stroke physicians at different professional levels.

Methods

The baseline computed tomography scans of acute stroke patients, in whom computed tomography and diffusion-weighted imaging scans were obtained less than two hours apart, were retrospectively scored by e-ASPECTS as well as by three stroke experts and three neurology trainees blinded to any clinical information. The ground truth was defined as the ASPECTS on diffusion-weighted imaging scored by another two non-blinded independent experts on consensus basis. Sensitivity and specificity in an ASPECTS region-based and an ASPECTS score-based analysis as well as receiver-operating characteristic curves, Bland–Altman plots with mean score error, and Matthews correlation coefficients were calculated. Comparisons were made between the human scorers and e-ASPECTS with diffusion-weighted imaging being the ground truth. Two methods for clustered data were used to estimate sensitivity and specificity in the region-based analysis.

Results

In total, 34 patients were included and 680 (34 × 20) ASPECTS regions were scored. Mean time from onset to computed tomography was 172 ± 135 min and mean time difference between computed tomographyand magnetic resonance imaging was 41 ± 31 min. The region-based sensitivity (46.46% [CI: 30.8;62.1]) of e-ASPECTS was better than three trainees and one expert ( p ≤ 0.01) and not statistically different from another two experts. Specificity (94.15% [CI: 91.7;96.6]) was lower than one expert and one trainee ( p < 0.01) and not statistically different to the other four physicians. e-ASPECTS had the best Matthews correlation coefficient of 0.44 (experts: 0.38 ± 0.08 and trainees: 0.19 ± 0.05) and the lowest mean score error of 0.56 (experts: 1.44 ± 1.79 and trainees: 1.97 ± 2.12).

Conclusion

e-ASPECTS showed a similar performance to that of stroke experts in the assessment of brain computed tomographys of acute ischemic stroke patients with the Alberta Stroke Program Early CT score method.
Measuring journalistic peace/war performance: An exploratory study of crisis reporters’ attitudes and perceptions
Authors: Neumann Rico , Fahmy Shahira
Published: February 2016

Based on Galtung’s concept of peace/war journalism, this exploratory work attempts to advance an empirical method to develop a survey instrument for a reliable and valid assessment of journalists’ attitudes toward peace/war performance. The authors propose a measurement index of conflict reporting which combines several practices linked to peace/war journalism. The usefulness of the approach is then demonstrated by quantitative and qualitative evidence from a pilot study based on a survey of worldwide members of The Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting. Benefits of the approach and implications for future peace/war survey research are discussed.
The association of severity of retinal vascular changes and cardiac remodelling in systemic hypertension
Authors: Varghese Mary , Adhyapak Srilakshmi M. , Thomas Tinku , Sunder Meera , Varghese Kiron
Published: February 2016

Objectives:

The aim of the study was to explore the association between hypertensive retinopathy, grades of retinopathy and cardiac remodelling.

Methods:

This was a cross-sectional observational study. A total of 500 consecutive hypertensive adults from the in-patient population were studied for the presence of hypertensive retinopathy by dilated fundoscopy. The presence of cardiac remodelling due to hypertension was studied both by electrocardiography (ECG) and echocardiography. Hypertensive target organ damage in other organs was also screened. In addition, the association of grades of hypertensive retinopathy with target organ damage was also analyzed.

Results:

Systolic blood pressure (BP) at presentation and duration of hypertension showed no relationship with markers of hypertensive heart disease. However, diastolic BP was significantly higher in patients with retinopathy. Hypertensive retinopathy was diagnosed in 324 subjects of whom 90 had grades 3 and 4 retinopathy. Patients with grades 3 and 4 retinopathy had significant associations with ECG evidence of left ventricular (LV) strain pattern and left atrial enlargement, and a weaker association with left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) using QRS voltage criteria (Sokolov–Lyon). On echocardiography, grades 3 and 4 retinopathy were significantly associated with LVH, left atrial enlargement and reduced left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), as well as with higher creatinine values. A large number of these patients presented with heart failure. Cardiac remodelling was not seen in patients without retinopathy and was uncommon in patients with grades 1 and 2 retinopathy.

Conclusion:

Grades 3 and 4 retinopathy demonstrated a significant association with LV strain pattern and left atrial enlargement on ECG, LVH and reduced LVEF on echocardiography as well as with heart failure. There was no relationship with systolic BP and duration of hypertension, while diastolic BP showed a significant positive correlation. Signs of hypertensive heart disease were practically absent in patients without hypertensive retinopathy and uncommon in those with grade 1–2 alterations.
Hybrid Closed-Loop Insulin Delivery in Type 1 Diabetes During Supervised Outpatient Conditions
Authors: Grosman Benyamin , Ilany Jacob , Roy Anirban , Kurtz Natalie , Wu Di , Parikh Neha , Voskanyan Gayane , Konvalina Noa , Mylonas Chrystaleni , Gottlieb Rebecca , Kaufman Francine , Cohen Ohad
Published: February 2016

Background:

Efficacy and safety of the Medtronic Hybrid Closed-Loop (HCL) system were tested in subjects with type 1 diabetes in a supervised outpatient setting.

Methods:

The HCL system is a prototype research platform that includes a sensor-augmented insulin pump in communication with a control algorithm housed on an Android-based cellular device. Nine subjects with type 1 diabetes (5 female, mean age 53.3 years, mean A1C 7.2%) underwent 9 studies totaling 571 hours of closed-loop control using either default or personalized parameters. The system required meal announcements with estimates of carbohydrate (CHO) intake that were based on metabolic kitchen quantification (MK), dietician estimates (D), or subject estimates (Control). Postprandial glycemia was compared for MK, D, and Control meals.

Results:

The overall sensor glucose mean was 145 ± 43, the overall percentage time in the range 70-180 mg/dL was 80%, the overall percentage time <70 mg/dL was 0.79%. Compared to intervals of default parameter use (225 hours), intervals of personalized parameter use (346 hours), sensor glucose mean was 158 ± 49 and 137 ± 37 mg/dL ( P < .001), respectively, and included more time in range (87% vs 68%) and less time below range (0.54% vs 1.18%). Most subjects underestimated the CHO content of meals, but postprandial glycemia was not significantly different between MK and matched Control meals ( P = .16) or between D and matched Control meals ( P = .76). There were no episodes of severe hypoglycemia.

Conclusions:

The HCL system was efficacious and safe during this study. Personally adapted HCL parameters were associated with more time in range and less time below range than default parameters. Accurate estimates of meal CHO did not contribute to improved postprandial glycemia.
The Potential Cost Implications of Averting Severe Hypoglycemic Events Requiring Hospitalization in High-Risk Adults With Type 1 Diabetes Using Real-Time Continuous Glucose Monitoring
Authors: Bronstone Amy , Graham Claudia
Published: February 2016

Background:

Severe hypoglycemia remains a major barrier to optimal diabetes management and places a high burden on the US health care system due to the high costs of hypoglycemia-related emergency visits and hospitalizations. Patients with type 1 diabetes (T1DM) who have hypoglycemia unawareness are at a particularly high risk for severe hypoglycemia, the incidence of which may be reduced by the use of real-time continuous glucose monitoring (RT-CGM).

Methods:

We performed a cost calculation using values of key parameters derived from various published sources to examine the potential cost implications of standalone RT-CGM as a tool for reducing rates of severe hypoglycemia requiring hospitalization in adult patients with T1DM who have hypoglycemia unawareness.

Results:

In a hypothetical commercial health plan with 10 million members aged 18-64 years, 9.3% (930 000) are expected to have diagnosed diabetes, with approximately 5% (46 500) having T1DM, of whom approximately 20% (9300) have hypoglycemia unawareness. RT-CGM was estimated to reduce the cost of annual hypoglycemia-related hospitalizations in this select population by $54 369 000, yielding an estimated net cost savings of $8 799 000 to $12 519 000 and a savings of $946 to $1346 per patient.

Conclusion:

This article presents a cost calculation based on available data from multiple sources showing that RT-CGM has the potential to reduce short-term health care costs by averting severe hypoglycemic events requiring hospitalization in a select high-risk population. Prospective, randomized studies that are adequately powered and specifically enroll patients at high risk for severe hypoglycemia are needed to confirm that RT-CGM significantly reduces the incidence of these costly events.
Ocular blood flow and cerebrospinal fluid pressure in glaucoma
Authors: Promelle Véronique , Daouk Joël , Bouzerar Roger , Jany Benjamin , Milazzo Solange , Balédent Olivier
Published: February 2016

Disease mechanism underlying glaucoma remains unclear. Extensive research on this pathology has highlighted changes in vascular parameters and in circulation of the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). Here, we review the most recent research on alterations in ocular blood flow and/or CSF flow in glaucoma. Ultrasound Doppler imaging studies have shown an increased resistive index in ophthalmic artery’s in glaucoma. Furthermore, changes in optic nerve CSF circulation, which can be assessed with magnetic resonance imaging, may lead to a greater translaminar pressure difference, mechanical stress, and poor clearance of toxic substances. This constitutes a new approach for understanding blood–CSF interactions involved in glaucoma.
Seeing, Doing, Writing
Authors: Rumney Peter , Buttress Joy , Kuksa Iryna
Published: February 2016

As political agendas change, the teaching of writing continues to evolve, encompassing different writing practices in an attempt to address the perceived needs for literacy in our society. This article presents the Write Here project, which aims to boost children’s social development and literacy attainment through engagement with visual art, play, and multimodal learning, delivered in both art gallery and classroom settings. The valuable knowledge gained at the end of this study was evaluated and developed further through a series of extended collaborations between professional, postgraduate and undergraduate writers, and schoolchildren and their teachers. Our findings suggest that engaging young learners with creative, playful, multimodal activities will foster their confidence and motivation to engage with the subject and, more importantly, will lead to a significant improvement in literacy attainment.
Making and Changing Wills
Authors: Tilse Cheryl , Wilson Jill , White Ben , Rosenman Linda , Feeney Rachel , Strub Tanya
Published: February 2016

Wills are important social, economic, and legal documents. Yet little is known about current will making practices and intentions. A comprehensive national database on the prevalence of will making in Australia was developed to identify who is or is not most likely to draw up a will and triggers for making and changing wills. A national survey of 2,405 adults aged above 18 years was administered by telephone in August and September 2012. Fifty-nine percent of the Australian adult population has a valid will, and the likelihood of will making increases with age and estate value. Efforts to get organized, especially in combination with life stage and asset changes trigger will making; procrastination, rather than a strong resistance, appears to explain not making a will. Understanding will making is timely in the context of predicted significant intergenerational transfers of wealth, changing demographics, and a renewed emphasis on retirement planning.
Where Is Educational Neuroscience?
Authors: Bruer John T.
Published: February 2016

Educational neuroscience is a relatively new field. Where is it in relation to other research domains, such as education research, the psychology of learning, and the neuroscience of learning? Document co-citation analysis reveals that these research fields are tenuously connected. Currently, educational neuroscience sits between subfields of neuroscientific and psychological research but remains distant from issues and topics that are prominent in the education research literature. Part of the problem is that the educational neuroscience literature is a meta-scientific literature, more about the promise and pitfalls of applying neuroscience to education than it is about applications of neuroscience to education. The psychology literature retains a fundamental role in linking educational neuroscience, education research, and neuroscience into an integrated learning research enterprise.
Jarvis Manufacturing
Authors: Hannah David R. , Robertson Kirsten M.
Published: February 2016

The authors created the experiential and team-based Jarvis Manufacturing exercise to help students learn about the knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) that are fundamental to effective teamwork. In the exercise, students are asked to assume the role of the CEO of Jarvis Manufacturing, a fictional manufacturer and retailer of skis and snowboards. They are tasked with choosing the members of a team that will decide the new strategy for the company’s snowboarding business. Students choose their team from a core management group of 12 employees, for whom descriptions are provided in the case. They first make their choices as individuals, then in teams. We provide a description of the exercise and suggestions for how to debrief it. The exercise provides an opportunity for students to reflect on the KSAs that they should consider in choosing and managing a team and to develop these KSAs in themselves.
Using PebblePad+ to Promote Teaching, Learning, and Assessment in a Business School
Authors: Stoten David William
Published: February 2016

The focus for this article is on the use of information and communications technology to facilitate the teaching of business and management through an e-portfolio diary/journal system. PebblePad+ is a transferable e-portfolio system that enables students to track their own professional competences and development over the length of their academic and professional career, as well as supporting their wider learning. This article will be of particular interest to those educationalists that recognize the importance of reflection in building powerful cognitive structures, as well as the potential benefits of using information and communication technology to create an e-portfolio of a student’s academic and professional achievements.
MiRNA-146b-5p upregulates migration and invasion of different Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma cells
Authors: Lima Cilene Rebouças , Geraldo Murilo Vieira , Fuziwara Cesar Seigi , Kimura Edna Teruko , Santos Marinilce Fagundes
Published: February 2016

Background

Tumor invasiveness is directly related to the ability of tumor cells to migrate and invade surrounding tissues, usually degrading extracellular matrix. Despite significant progress in the knowledge about migration and invasion, there is much more to elucidate about their regulatory mechanisms, especially in cancer cells. MicroRNAs (miRs) were recently described as important regulators of migration. Differential expression of miRs in cancer is frequently associated with progression, invasion and metastasis. In papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC), miR-146b-5p is highly expressed and positively correlated to the degree of malignancy.

Methods

This study aimed to investigate the role of miR-146b-5p on the migratory and invasive behaviors of thyroid cells, using a non tumor rat thyroid follicular cell line (PCCl3) transfected with the miR-146b-5p genomic region, and two PTC cell lines (TPC-1 and BCPAP, bearing distinct oncogenic backgrounds), which express high levels of miR-146b-5p, after miR-146b inhibition by antagomiR and miR-146b overexpression by mimics-miR. Migration and invasion were studied by time-lapse and transwell assays (with and without Matrigel®). Gelatin degradation assays were also employed, as well as F-actin staining.

Results

Migration and invasion of PCCl3 were increased 2-3x after miR-146b-5p overexpression (10X) and large lamellipodia were evident in those cells. After miR-146b-5p inhibition, TPC-1 and BCPAP migration and invasion were significantly reduced, with cells showing several simultaneous processes and low polarity. Gelatin degradation was inhibited in TPC-1 cells after inhibition of miR-146b-5p, but was unaffected in BCPAP cells, which did not degrade gelatin. The inhibition of miR-146b-5p in PCCl3 also inhibited migration and invasion, and additional (exogenous) overexpression of this miR in TPC-1 and BCPAP cells increased migration and invasion, without effects on cell morphology or gelatin degradation. The overexpression of SMAD4 in BCPAP cells, a validated target of miR-146b-5p and key protein in the TGF-β signaling pathway, inhibited migration similarly to the effects observed with the antagomiR 146b-5p.

Conclusions

miR-146b-5p positively regulates migration and invasion of thyroid normal and tumor follicular cells (independently from their original mutation, either BRAF or RET/PTC), through a mechanism that involves the actin cytoskeleton but not an increased capacity of matrix degradation.
High heterogeneity and low reliability in the diagnosis of major depression will impair the development of new drugs
Authors: Lieblich Samuel M. , Castle David J. , Pantelis Christos , Hopwood Malcolm , Young Allan Hunter , Everall Ian P.
Published: February 2016

Major depressive disorder is a common diagnosis associated with a high burden of disease that has proven to be highly heterogeneous and unreliable. Treatments currently available demonstrate limited efficacy and effectiveness. New drug development is urgently required but is likely to be hindered by diagnostic limitations.
Online screening and feedback to increase help-seeking for
mental health problems: population-based randomised controlled
trial
Authors: Batterham Philip J. , Calear Alison L. , Sunderland Matthew , Carragher Natacha , Brewer Jacqueline L.
Published: February 2016

Background

Community-based screening for mental health problems may increase service
use through feedback to individuals about their severity of symptoms and
provision of contacts for appropriate services.

Aims

The effect of symptom feedback on service use was assessed. Secondary
outcomes included symptom change and study attrition.

Method

Using online recruitment, 2773 participants completed a comprehensive
survey including screening for depression (n=1366) or
social anxiety (n=1407). Across these two versions,
approximately half (n=1342) of the participants were
then randomly allocated to receive tailored feedback. Participants were
reassessed after 3 months (Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials
Registry ANZCTR12614000324617).

Results

A negative effect of providing social anxiety feedback to individuals was
observed, with significant reductions in professional service use.
Greater attrition and lower intentions to seek help were also observed
after feedback.

Conclusions

Online mental health screening with feedback is not effective for
promoting professional service use. Alternative models of online
screening require further investigation.
Auditory verbal hallucinations in first-episode psychosis: a phenomenological investigation
Authors: Upthegrove Rachel , Ives Jonathan , Broome Matthew R. , Caldwell Kimberly , Wood Stephen J. , Oyebode Femi
Published: February 2016

Background

In dimensional understanding of psychosis, auditory verbal hallucinations (AVH) are unitary phenomena present on a continuum from non-clinical voice hearing to severe mental illness. There is mixed evidence for this approach and a relative absence of research into subjective experience of AVH in early psychosis.

Aims

To conduct primary research into the nature of subjective experience of AVH in first-episode psychosis.

Method

A phenomenological study using diary and photo-elicitation qualitative techniques investigating the subjective experience of AVH in 25 young people with first-episode psychosis.

Results

AVH are characterised by: (a) entity, as though from a living being with complex social interchange; and (b) control, exerting authority with ability to influence. AVH are also received with passivity, often accompanied by sensation in other modalities.

Conclusions

A modern detailed phenomenological investigation, without presupposition, gives results that echo known descriptive psychopathology. However, novel findings also emerge that may be features of AVH in psychosis not currently captured with standardised measures.
Long-term antipsychotic treatment in schizophrenia: systematic review and network meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials
Authors: Zhao Ying Jiao , Lin Liang , Teng Monica , Khoo Ai Leng , Soh Lay Beng , Furukawa Toshiaki A. , Baldessarini Ross J. , Lim Boon Peng , Sim Kang
Published: February 2016

Background

For treatment of patients diagnosed with schizophrenia, comparative long-term effectiveness of antipsychotic drugs to reduce relapses when minimising adverse effects is of clinical interest, hence prompting this review.

Aims

To evaluate the comparative long-term effectiveness of antipsychotic drugs.

Method

We systematically searched electronic databases for reports of randomised controlled trials (RCTs) of antipsychotic monotherapy aimed at reducing relapse risks in schizophrenia. We conducted network meta-analysis of 18 antipsychotics and placebo.

Results

Studies of 10 177 patients in 56 reports were included; treatment duration averaged 48 weeks (range 4–156). Olanzapine was significantly more effective than chlorpromazine (odds ratio (OR) 0.35, 95% CI 0.14–0.88) or haloperidol (OR=0.50, 95% CI 0.30–0.82); and fluphenazine decanoate was more effective than chlorpromazine (OR=0.31, 95% CI 0.11–0.88) in relapse reduction. Fluphenazine decanoate, haloperidol, haloperidol decanoate and trifluoperazine produced more extrapyramidal adverse effects than olanzapine or quetiapine; and olanzapine was associated with more weight gain than other agents.

Conclusions

Except for apparent superiority of olanzapine and fluphenazine decanoate over chlorpromazine, most agents showed intermediate efficacy for relapse prevention and differences among them were minor. Typical antipsychotics yielded adverse neurological effects, and olanzapine was associated with weight gain. The findings may contribute to evidence-based treatment selection for patients with chronic psychotic disorders.
Art, as Device
Authors: Shklovsky Viktor
Published: February 2016

We get used to horrible things and stop fearing them. We get used to beautiful things and stop enjoying them. We get used to people and stop experiencing them as personalities. Art is a means to make things real again. These ideas, expressed by a very young and polemically minded Viktor Shklovsky almost a hundred years ago, are as relevant today as ever: current studies in cognition confirm his insights about the process of automatization and its opposite. While the Romantics only sought to actualize the beauty of the world, Shklovsky sees art also as a way to make its horrors felt.
A’Lelia Walker: The Joy Goddess of Harlem
Authors: Bundles A’Lelia
Published: February 2016

This essay examines the role A’Lelia Walker played as a fashion and social trendsetter in Harlem during the 1920s. The only daughter of early-twentieth-century hair-care-industry pioneer Madam C. J. Walker, she carved her own niche as a patron of the arts and philanthropist.

An heiress with exquisitely decorated homes and chauffeured cars and hostess of music-filled soirees, she personified the spirit and flamboyance of the era. Always stylish, her blend of regal, statuesque African beauty and haute couture served as an inspiration to poets, painters, and novelists. Among those for whom she posed were photographers Berenice Abbott and Addison Scurlock and sculptors Richmond Barthé and Augusta Savage.

Her parties were legendary. Whether at Villa Lewaro (her mother’s Irvington, New York, mansion), at The Dark Tower (a converted floor of her 136th Street townhouse), or at her 80 Edgecombe Avenue pied-a-terre, she welcomed uptown and downtown artists, musicians, actors, writers, political activists, and socialites.

Langston Hughes called her “the joy goddess of Harlem’s 1920s” because her memorable gatherings lent such a glamorous, glitzy aura to the social scene above 110th Street.
The “Afro Look” and Global Black Consciousness
Authors: Ford Tanisha
Published: February 2016

This essay examines the rise in popularity of “Afro look” fashions in the 1970s. The name Afro look was given by fashion industry insiders on both sides of the Atlantic to describe clothing that featured African and African-inspired prints, textiles, and embroidery techniques. Usually these prints were applied to popular silhouettes such as the miniskirt, bellbottoms, hot pants, and maxidresses. The growing popularity of Afro-look designs stirred a flurry of debate within the fashion world about the origins of these popular designs. I argue that origins mattered. Laying claim to a fashion innovation allowed a nation or region of the world to position itself as the model of modernity and cultural sophistication. Many newly independent African nations were eager to reposition themselves on the world stage, and fashion became one way to do so. In apartheid-era South Africa, such politics were particularly important as black South Africans fought for basic human rights. Drum magazine—South Africa’s leading fashion black lifestyle magazine—chronicled the burgeoning Black Consciousness movement along side its coverage of black fashion models and fashion designers. Fashion was political. One’s attire was an important extension of one’s personal and collective politics. Using Drum as a primary source, I demonstrate that many within the continent’s fashion industry were invested in telling an African-centered fashion history. They used fashion to make claims of modernity, attempting to depict the realities of African life and culture, which looked far different from the images of bare-breasted women and men in loincloths that filled the pages of National Geographic. Afro-look fashions, and the models and other socialites who sported them, became a symbol for African opulence, style, and glamour in a time of immense social and political upheaval.
Inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (IP3)-dependent Ca2+ signaling mediates delayed myogenesis in Duchenne muscular dystrophy fetal muscle
Authors: Farini Andrea , Sitzia Clementina , Cassinelli Letizia , Colleoni Federica , Parolini Daniele , Giovanella Umberto , Maciotta Simona , Colombo Augusto , Meregalli Mirella , Torrente Yvan
Published: February 2016

Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is a progressive neuromuscular disorder characterized by muscle wasting and premature death. The defective gene is dystrophin, a structural protein, absence of which causes membrane fragility and myofiber necrosis. Several lines of evidence showed that in adult DMD patients dystrophin is involved in signaling pathways that regulate calcium homeostasis and differentiation programs. However, secondary aspects of the disease, such as inflammation and fibrosis development, might represent a bias in the analysis. Because fetal muscle is not influenced by gravity and does not suffer from mechanical load and/or inflammation, we investigated 12-week-old fetal DMD skeletal muscles, highlighting for the first time early alterations in signaling pathways mediated by the absence of dystrophin itself. We found that PLC/IP3/IP3R/Ryr1/Ca2+ signaling is widely active in fetal DMD skeletal muscles and, through the calcium-dependent PKCα protein, exerts a fundamental regulatory role in delaying myogenesis and in myofiber commitment. These data provide new insights into the origin of DMD pathology during muscle development.
Molecular model for force production and transmission during vertebrate gastrulation
Authors: Pfister Katherine , Shook David R. , Chang Chenbei , Keller Ray , Skoglund Paul
Published: February 2016

Vertebrate embryos undergo dramatic shape changes at gastrulation that require locally produced and anisotropically applied forces, yet how these forces are produced and transmitted across tissues remains unclear. We show that depletion of myosin regulatory light chain (RLC) levels in the embryo blocks force generation at gastrulation through two distinct mechanisms: destabilizing the myosin II (MII) hexameric complex and inhibiting MII contractility. Molecular dissection of these two mechanisms demonstrates that normal convergence force generation requires MII contractility and we identify a set of molecular phenotypes correlated with both this failure of convergence force generation in explants and of blastopore closure in whole embryos. These include reduced rates of actin movement, alterations in C-cadherin dynamics and a reduction in the number of polarized lamellipodia on intercalating cells. By examining the spatial relationship between C-cadherin and actomyosin we also find evidence for formation of transcellular linear arrays incorporating these proteins that could transmit mediolaterally oriented tensional forces. These data combine to suggest a multistep model to explain how cell intercalation can occur against a force gradient to generate axial extension forces. First, polarized lamellipodia extend mediolaterally and make new C-cadherin-based contacts with neighboring mesodermal cell bodies. Second, lamellipodial flow of actin coalesces into a tension-bearing, MII-contractility-dependent node-and-cable actin network in the cell body cortex. And third, this actomyosin network contracts to generate mediolateral convergence forces in the context of these transcellular arrays.