bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Clinical and Magnetic Resonance Imaging Outcomes After Surgical Repair of Complete Proximal Hamstring Ruptures
Authors: Chahal Jaskarndip , Bush-Joseph Charles A. , Chow Alex , Zelazny Anthony , Mather Richard C. , Lin Emery C. , Gupta Deepti , Verma Nikhil N.
Published: August 2012

Background:

The use of validated outcome questionnaires and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) when assessing outcomes after surgical treatment of proximal hamstring avulsions has been limited.

Purpose:

To comprehensively evaluate clinical, functional, and radiological outcomes in patients treated with surgical repair for complete proximal hamstring avulsions.

Study Design:

Case series; Level of evidence, 4.

Methods:

A retrospective review of 15 consecutive patients was performed. Outcome measures included the Single Assessment Numeric Evaluation (SANE), visual analog scale (VAS) for pain, Proximal Hamstring Injury Questionnaire, Lower Extremity Functional Scale (LEFS), Harris Hip Score (HHS), and Tegner Activity Scale (TAS). Physical examination was performed by an independent sports medicine fellow. Magnetic resonance imaging of the lower extremity was used to assess tendon healing and muscle quality after repair.

Results:

Thirteen of 15 (87%) eligible patients were available for follow-up at a mean 36.9 months (range, 27-63 months), including 8 men and 6 left-sided injuries. The average age was 44.6 years (range, 26-58 years). Twelve of 13 patients underwent surgical repair within 60 days of injury. Mean (± standard deviation) postoperative functional outcome scores were as follows: LEFS, 74.9 ± 7.8 (range, 59-80); HHS, 90.7 ± 13.9 (range, 67-100); SANE, 93.6 ± 7.5 (range, 75-100); VAS for pain, 1.3 ± 1.9 (range, 0-5); and TAS, 4.6 ± 2.3 (range, 1-7). All 11 patients who participated in sports before surgery were able to return to sport, but 45% reported a decrease in their current level of activity. Isokinetic muscle testing demonstrated that injured hamstring strength recovered up to 78% ± 6.1% (range, 74%-88%) of the contralateral side. The MRI examinations revealed that 100% of patients had a healed proximal hamstring repair, with signs of tendinopathy and mild atrophy in 3 of 12 patients.

Conclusion:

The current findings indicate that surgical repair of complete hamstring ruptures provides reliable pain relief, good functional outcomes, high satisfaction rates, and excellent healing rates (MRI) but does not fully restore hamstring function and sports activity to preinjury levels.
Arthroscopic Capsular Plication for Microtraumatic Anterior Shoulder Instability in Overhead Athletes
Authors: Jones Kristofer J. , Kahlenberg Cynthia A. , Dodson Christopher C. , Nam Denis , Williams Riley J. , Altchek David W.
Published: August 2012

Background:

Extreme loading conditions at the glenohumeral joint during overhead athletic activities can result in both soft tissue and osseous adaptative changes at the shoulder. Subtle alterations in the stabilizing structures may lead to anterior instability and debilitating shoulder pain with subsequent inability to participate in athletics. There is currently a paucity of data documenting clinical outcomes after arthroscopic capsular plication in overhead athletes who demonstrate objective findings of pain and anterior instability on physical examination.

Purpose:

To evaluate outcomes after arthroscopic capsular plication for anterior instability in overhead athletes with an emphasis on postoperative range of motion, postoperative shoulder function, and return to sport.

Study Design:

Case series; Level of evidence, 4.

Methods:

The authors identified 20 overhead athletes with debilitating shoulder pain and a failed trial of nonoperative management who underwent arthroscopic capsular plication (12 suture plication, 8 suture anchor plication) for anterior instability related to isolated capsular redundancy. Patients were evaluated with the Single Assessment Numerical Evaluation (SANE) and Kerlan-Jobe Orthopaedic Clinic (KJOC) Shoulder and Elbow Score, and they were interviewed to determine the rate of return to athletic activity. Failures of treatment included patients who demonstrated debilitating pain that precluded return to sport.

Results:

At a mean follow-up of 3.6 years (range, 2.0-5.5 years), 18 (90%) patients returned to overhead sports, with 17 (85%) at their preinjury level. The mean (SD) SANE score was 86 (17.5%; range, 30%-100%), and the mean (SD) KJOC score was 82 (18.2; range, 28-100). When compared with the contralateral extremity, there were no significant differences in glenohumeral range of motion. Two patients with associated rotator cuff injury experienced persistent pain with overhead activity and were unable to return to sport, representing a 10% failure rate.

Conclusion:

Arthroscopic capsular plication for anterior instability related to isolated capsular redundancy is an effective procedure that yields a high rate of patient satisfaction and return to overhead athletic activity with an acceptably low failure rate. Patients with associated rotator cuff injury may be at higher risk for treatment failure.
Acromioclavicular Joint Injuries in National Collegiate Athletic Association Football
Authors: Dragoo Jason L. , Braun Hillary J. , Bartlinski Stephen E. , Harris Alex H.S.
Published: August 2012

Background:

Injuries to the shoulder are common in collegiate football, and injuries to the acromioclavicular (AC) joint have previously accounted for up to 41% of all shoulder injuries.

Purpose:

To determine the incidence and epidemiology of injury to the AC joint in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) football athletes.

Study Design:

Descriptive epidemiology study.

Methods:

The NCAA Injury Surveillance System (ISS) men’s football database was reviewed from the 2004-2009 playing seasons. The exposure data set from the same years was reviewed for the purposes of computing rates of injury per athlete exposure (AE). The injury rate (number of injuries divided by number of AEs) was computed per 10,000 AEs for competition and practice exposures. Ninety-five percent confidence intervals (95% CIs) for the incidence rates were calculated using assumptions of a Poisson distribution.

Results:

According to the estimates made by the NCAA ISS, a total of 748 injuries to the AC joint occurred in NCAA football players during 2,222,155 AEs, accounting for 4.49% of all injuries sustained during this 5-year surveillance period. The overall rate of injury was 3.34 per 10,000 AEs (95% CI, 3.10-3.59). Players were 11.68 (95% CI, 10.11-13.49) times more likely to sustain an injury in games than practices. Partial sprains (types I or II) accounted for 96.4% of injuries, while complete sprains (≥type III) accounted for the remaining 3.6%. The average amount of time lost per injury was 11.61 days. Complete sprains resulted in a mean time loss of 31.9 days (95% CI, 24.4-39.6) while partial injuries resulted in 11.0 days lost (95% CI, 9.6-12.3). Overall, 2.41% of injuries underwent surgical intervention, with 22.2% of complete sprains and 1.7% of partial injuries resulting in surgery. Complete sprains of the AC joint were 13.5 (95% CI, 4.63-35.26) times more likely to result in surgical intervention than partial sprains. The majority of injuries (71.93%) resulted from contact with another player and 47.09% occurred while tackling or being tackled. Of all injuries, 47.63% occurred during offensive plays, while defense accounted for 20.77%.

Conclusion:

AC joint injuries in NCAA football players are predominantly low-grade sprains, leading to approximately 12 days of lost competition. The few severe sprains that occurred often resulted in surgery or required approximately 5 weeks of rehabilitation.
Comparison of Early Versus Delayed Weightbearing Outcomes After Microfracture for Small to Midsized Osteochondral Lesions of the Talus
Authors: Lee Dong-Hyun , Lee Keun-Bae , Jung Sung-Taek , Seon Jong-Keun , Kim Myung-Sun , Sung Il-Hoon
Published: August 2012

Background:

The initiation of weightbearing is the focus of postoperative treatment after microfracture for osteochondral lesions of the talus. However, no comparative clinical study has been performed on early and delayed weightbearing after microfracture for osteochondral lesions of the talus.

Purpose:

The aim of this prospective study was to compare the clinical results of early and delayed weightbearing after microfracture of small to midsized osteochondral lesions of the talus.

Study Design:

Randomized controlled trial; Level of evidence, 2.

Methods:

Eighty-one ankles in 81 patients with a single osteochondral lesion of the talus that had been treated by arthroscopic microfracture constituted the study cohort. Ankles were allocated to either a delayed weightbearing (DWB) group (41 ankles) or an early weightbearing (EWB) group (40 ankles). These 2 groups were comparable with regard to preoperative data. Postoperatively, patients in the DWB group maintained nonweightbearing for 6 weeks, but the EWB group was allowed early weightbearing (as tolerated) at 2 weeks. American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society (AOFAS) ankle-hindfoot scale score, visual analog scale (VAS) score for pain, and ankle activity score (AAS) were used to evaluate clinical outcomes, and the overall mean follow-up duration was 37 months (range, 24-76 months).

Results:

Mean AOFAS ankle-hindfoot scores were 64.9 points in the DWB group and 66.5 points in the EWB group preoperatively, and these improved to 89.5 and 89.3 at the final follow-up visits, respectively. Mean VAS scores were 7.3 points in the DWB group and 7.4 points in the EWB group preoperatively and 1.9 and 1.8 at final follow-up, respectively. Mean AAS in the DWB and EWB groups improved from 3.0 and 3.0 preoperatively to 6.0 and 6.0 at final follow-up, respectively. No significant differences were found between the 2 groups in terms of the AOFAS score, VAS score, and AAS.

Conclusion:

Two postoperative treatments differing by weightbearing status after arthroscopic microfracture for small to midsized osteochondral lesions of the talus showed good clinical results and similar outcomes in terms of the AOFAS score, VAS score, and AAS. The study shows that early weightbearing postoperative regimens can be recommended for patients treated by microfracture for small to midsized osteochondral lesions of the talus.
Anatomic Lateral Ligament Reconstruction in the Ankle
Authors: Kennedy John G. , Smyth Niall A. , Fansa Ashraf M. , Murawski Christopher D.
Published: August 2012

Background:

Anatomic and checkrein tenodesis reconstruction techniques have been described as a means of treatment for chronic lateral ligament instability in the ankle. The current article describes a hybrid procedure using the most advantageous concepts of both techniques for use when insufficient normal ligament remains to fashion a direct repair of the anterior talofibular ligament (ATFL).

Purpose:

The authors report the results at a minimum 1-year follow-up of 57 patients who underwent a hybrid anatomic lateral ligament reconstruction technique in the ankle.

Study Design:

Case series; Level of evidence, 4.

Methods:

Fifty-seven patients underwent a hybrid anatomic lateral ligament reconstruction procedure under the care of the senior author. All patients were assessed preoperatively and postoperatively using the Foot and Ankle Outcome Score (FAOS) and Short Form–12 (SF-12) outcome score. The mean patient age at the time of surgery was 28 years (range, 17-65 years), including 39 male and 18 female patients. The mean follow-up time was 32 months (range, 12-47 months).

Results:

The FAOS improved from 58 points preoperatively to 89 points postoperatively ( P < .01). The SF-12 score improved from 48 points before surgery to 80 points at final follow-up ( P < .01). All patients achieved mechanical stability at final clinical follow-up; 7 patients (12%) demonstrated functional instability. Functional instability was found to significantly influence not returning to sport at the previous level.

Conclusion:

This hybrid anatomic lateral ligament reconstruction technique using a peroneus longus autograft to substitute the native ATFL provides an alternative to anatomic reconstruction when direct repair is not possible.
Phytochemicals and Cancer Risk
Authors: Miller Paige E. , Snyder Denise C.
Published: August 2012

A number of epidemiological studies have investigated associations between various phytochemicals and cancer risk. Phytoestrogens and carotenoids are the two most commonly studied classes of phytochemicals; phytosterols, isothiocyanates, and chlorophyll also have been investigated, although to a much lesser extent. Because there have been no systematic reviews of the literature on all phytochemicals and cancer risk to date, this article systematically reviews 96 published epidemiological studies that examined associations between phytochemicals and cancer risk. Most studies found null associations between individual phytochemicals and cancer risk at various sites. In addition, results from past studies have been largely inconsistent, and observed associations have been of relatively modest magnitude. The most consistent protective effects were observed for higher levels—dietary intake, serum, plasma, or urinary metabolites—of β‐carotene and renal cell cancer, β‐cryptoxanthin and lung cancer, isothiocyanates and lung cancer, isothiocyanates and gastrointestinal cancer, lignans and postmenopausal breast cancer, and flavonoids and lung cancer. Although elevated risk of certain cancers with higher levels of certain phytochemicals was observed, an insufficient pool of studies examining the same associations or inconsistent findings across studies limit the ability to conclude that any one phytochemical increases cancer risk. Additional research is needed to support previously identified associations in cases where only one study has examined a particular relationship. Importantly, continued research efforts are needed to evaluate the cumulative and interactive effects of numerous phytochemicals and phytochemical‐rich foods on cancer risk.
Post-colonial Poland—On an Unavoidable Misuse
Authors: Snochowska-Gonzalez Claudia
Published: August 2012

The post-colonial face of Poland is rather problematic. Nationalistic right-wingers started using interpretations applying the post-colonial theory, and the theory itself seems to put little resistance to this type of appropriation. Rather than acknowledging such state of affairs as the fate of every idea falling into the hands of the natives, in this paper I would like to treat the problems of Polish post-coloniality as a very interesting test, both for the theory itself and for the analyses of the Polish reality. I shall compare the cases of nationalistic misuse with a more “mainstream” approach to the issue of applicability of the post-colonial theory to the situation in Eastern Europe, and particularly to the situation in Poland. As I shall try to demonstrate, this comparison will reveal many disturbingly common threads—which in my opinion are unjustified assertions and conclusions—resulting not only from errors in reasoning but the shortcomings of the theory itself.
Thermomechanical analysis of thermoplastic composite prepregs using bias-extension test
Authors: Wang Peng , Hamila Nahiène , Pineau Pierre , Boisse Philippe
Published: August 2012

The results of in-plane shear tests performed on 5-hardness satin woven carbon/polyphenylene sulphide and polyetheretherketone thermoplastic prepregs are described in this article. The experimental analyses are based on bias-extension tests performed in an environmental chamber. The results are given for different temperatures on both sides of the melting point. This range of temperature is that of the part during a thermoforming process. The effect of displacement rate is also investigated. The results are given both as load versus displacement curves and as shear-moment versus shear-angle curves. The latter data can be directly used in a thermoforming simulation code. It is shown on a forming simulation example that the temperature and the related change of the shear behaviour have strong consequences on the final composite part. In particular, wrinkles can develop when the process temperature is too low.
Evaluation of Pharmacist Continuing Professional Development Portfolios
Authors: Tofade Toyin S. , Hedrick John N. , Dedrick Stephen C. , Caiola Stephen M.
Published: August 2012

Objective: The purpose of this study was to conduct a random continuing professional development (CPD) portfolio audit to assess the portfolios of pharmacists who completed CPD training in the state of North Carolina and reported adopting it in place of the annual 15-hour continuing education (CE) requirement when applying for re-licensure. Methods: The NC Board of Pharmacy (NCBOP) staff randomly selected 30 pharmacists to provide CPD portfolio documentation to the Board electronically or in paper format. This documentation included their completed learning plan, a learning activity worksheet for each completed activity, and the Accreditation Council on Pharmacy Education (ACPE) universal activity number for the CPD training program attended. The Task Force used a multicomponent audit tool to assess each portfolio. Results: Eighty percent of portfolios had at least 15 hours of learning reported. Portfolio assessments indicated an average of 5 learning objectives per individual. Based on the scale of 1 to 5, the Measurable and Specific sections of the objectives scored the lowest with an average score of 3 on both sections. An overall assessment of “adequate” or “comprehensive” was noted for 60% of the portfolios. Conclusion: Pharmacists completing CPD training are capable of following the CPD process with some potential challenges in documentation. Information submitted to the board of pharmacy is considered sufficient for license renewal purposes.
Elders’ Preferences for Life-Prolonging Treatment and Their Proxies’ Substituted Judgment
Authors: Winter Laraine , Parks Susan M.
Published: August 2012

Objectives: People in poor health tend to view life-prolonging treatments (e.g., tube feeding) as more acceptable than do healthier people. Do proxies’ substituted judgments reveal a similar tendency, showing greater acceptance when the elder is in worse health? Method: In a cross-sectional telephone-based survey of 202 elderly individuals and their proxies, preferences for 4 life-prolonging treatments in 7 health prospects were examined in relation to the elder’s current health status, operationalized as number of deficits in activities of daily living. Results: Stronger preferences for life-prolonging treatments in worse-health prospects were expressed by both elders and proxies when the elders’ current health was relatively poor. The interaction effect was at least as pronounced for proxies’ substituted judgment as for elders’ own preferences. Discussion: Findings provide important insight into proxy decision making and have particular implications for proxy decision making on behalf of elders with dementia or other causes of decisional incapacity.
Impact of Social Capital on 8-Year Mortality Among Older People in 34 Danish Municipalities
Authors: Poulsen Tine , Siersma Volkert Dirk , Lund Rikke , Christensen Ulla , Vass Mikkel , Avlund Kirsten
Published: August 2012

Objectives: To analyze the impact of social capital measures (bonding, bridging, and linking) on all-cause mortality at 8-year follow-up among older people aged 75 and 80 at baseline. Method: Prospective cohort study on preventive home visits including 2,863 seventy-five-year-olds and 1,171 eighty-year-olds in 34 Danish municipalities. The associations of the three aspects of social capital measures with mortality were tested in Cox regression models on time to death. Results: In the 80-year-old cohort significant associations were seen between mortality and both bridging (hazards ratio (HR) = 1.24, 95% CI [1.07, 1.45]) and linking (HR = 1.21, 95% CI [1.03, 1.43]), but the associations attenuated when controlling for relevant confounders. None of the social capital measures were associated with mortality among the 75-year-olds. Conclusion: The measures of social capital used in the present study include key aspects of social capital that are associated to mortality in older populations via physical activity and mobility disability.
Working in large food retailers in France and the USA: the key role of institutions
Authors: Askenazy Philippe , Berry Jean-Baptiste , Carré Françoise , Prunier-Poulmaire Sophie , Tilly Chris
Published: August 2012

Despite numerous similarities between the food retail sectors of France and the USA, there are significant contrasts in the jobs, and in particular the modal job, cashier. Notably, there are differences in pay, productivity and physical working position. Using the concept of ‘national-sectoral models’ of employment practices, this research draws on in-depth, interview-based case studies of food retailers in France and the USA, as well as standard data sources, to probe the reasons for these differences. Cross-national differences in wage-setting institutions, along with other institutional differences linked to family roles and disparate shopping cultures in the two countries, are key causes. These differences play out in interaction with distinct labour supply patterns, themselves based in part on differing institutions regarding reproduction of the labour force.
A study on the prediction of kerf angle in abrasive waterjet machining of rocks
Authors: Karakurt Izzet , Aydin Gokhan , Aydiner Kerim
Published: August 2012

In this study, the effects of the abrasive waterjet operating variables on the kerf angle were studied and the material properties were correlated with the kerf angle. The Taguchi method was followed to conduct the experimentation and the regression modeling was used in order to build models for prediction of dependent (kerf angle) from independent (operating and material properties) variables. Additionally, the adequacy of the model was tested using several statistical tests. The results indicated that not only operating variables themselves, but also the textural and mineralogical properties had discernible effects on the kerf angles. It was found from the correlation analysis that the water absorption, max grain size of rock-forming minerals and mean grain size of the rock had significant influences on the kerf angles of the rocks tested. Furthermore, it was determined that the kerf angles can be predicted by the developed models related to the rock types.
A practical approach for analysis of leakage flow characteristics in hydraulic pumps
Authors: Inaguma Yoshiharu
Published: August 2012

This article presents a practical approach to leakage flow analysing for various types of hydraulic pumps. In this study, the influence of pump-operating conditions such as operating pressures, pump speeds and oil temperature on the leakage flow characteristics is investigated and a mathematical model to calculate the leakage flow is proposed. Currently, an external gear, an internal gear or a vane pump is commonly used for an automatic transmission. These pumps have their own leakage flow characteristics, which depend not only on pump-operating conditions but also on structures and dimensions of the pumps. For various pumps having different constructions, the delivery pressure and the oil temperature differently affect the leakage flow characteristics and especially the delivery pressure also changes the clearances causing the leakage flow. A mathematical model for the leakage flow, which takes into account a change in the thickness of clearance according to the delivery pressure, represents accurately the actual leakage flow characteristics in various pumps. Also, it clarifies the influence of the pump-operating conditions on their leakage flow characteristics. In the external and internal gear pumps, the leakage flow would not approach zero due to an existence of the orifice flow leakage almost independent of the viscosity of oil, even at an extremely low oil temperature. This leakage flow influences significantly the volumetric efficiency at a low oil temperature in the gear pumps.
Beneficiary or Benefactor
Authors: Grant Adam , Dutton Jane
Published: August 2012

Research shows that reflecting on benefits received can make people happier, but it is unclear whether or not such reflection makes them more helpful. Receiving benefits can promote prosocial behavior through reciprocity and positive affect, but these effects are often relationship-specific, short-lived, and complicated by ambivalent reactions. We propose that prosocial behavior is more likely when people reflect on being a benefactor to others, rather than a beneficiary. The experience of giving benefits may encourage prosocial behavior by increasing the salience and strength of one’s identity as a capable, caring contributor. In field and laboratory experiments, we found that participants who reflected about giving benefits voluntarily contributed more time to their university, and were more likely to donate money to natural-disaster victims, than were participants who reflected about receiving benefits. When it comes to reflection, giving may be more powerful than receiving as a driver of prosocial behavior.
Reading Between the Minds
Authors: Lewis Karyn L. , Hodges Sara D. , Laurent Sean M. , Srivastava Sanjay , Biancarosa Gina
Published: August 2012

An ideal empathizer may attend to another person’s behavior in order to understand that person, but it is also possible that accurately understanding other people involves top-down strategies. We hypothesized that perceivers draw on stereotypes to infer other people’s thoughts and that stereotype use increases perceivers’ accuracy. In this study, perceivers ( N = 161) inferred the thoughts of multiple targets. Inferences consistent with stereotypes for the targets’ group (new mothers) more accurately captured targets’ thoughts, particularly when actual thought content was also stereotypic. We also decomposed variance in empathic accuracy into thought, target, and perceiver variance. Although past research has frequently focused on variance between perceivers or targets (which assumes individual differences in the ability to understand other people or be understood, respectively), the current study showed that the most substantial variance was found within targets because of differences among thoughts.
A Bayesian Optimal Foraging Model of Human Visual Search
Authors: Cain Matthew S. , Vul Edward , Clark Kait , Mitroff Stephen R.
Published: August 2012

Real-world visual searches often contain a variable and unknown number of targets. Such searches present difficult metacognitive challenges, as searchers must decide when to stop looking for additional targets, which results in high miss rates in multiple-target searches. In the study reported here, we quantified human strategies in multiple-target search via an ecological optimal foraging model and investigated whether searchers adapt their strategies to complex target-distribution statistics. Separate groups of individuals searched displays with the number of targets per trial sampled from different geometric distributions but with the same overall target prevalence. As predicted by optimal foraging theory, results showed that individuals searched longer when they expected more targets to be present and adjusted their expectations on-line during each search by taking into account the higher-order, across-trial target distributions. However, compared with modeled ideal observers, participants systematically responded as if the target distribution were more uniform than it was, which suggests that training could improve multiple-target search performance.
Comparative analysis of the performance of hydrocarbon refrigerants with R22 in a sub-cooling heat exchanger refrigeration system
Authors: Bolaji Bukola O , Huan Zhongjie
Published: August 2012

In this study, the performance of some hydrocarbon refrigerants (R290, R600a and R1270) as alternatives to R22 in vapour compression refrigeration system was investigated theoretically employing a sub-cooling heat exchanger. The effects of sub-cooling on the performance of the investigated refrigerants were quantified in terms of relative capacity index. The results obtained showed that the saturated vapour pressure and specific volume of R290 and R1270 are very close to those of R22; therefore, they could be used as substitutes for R22. The condenser duty using R290, R600a and R1270 are better than that of R22 with the highest value obtained using R1270, which shows that they could perform very well as refrigerants in heat pump systems. The coefficient of performances of all the investigated refrigerants were found to be in the range 3.10–3.51. The degree of sub-cooling greatly increased the coefficient of performance and it had positive effects on the refrigerating capacity. The average relative capacity indices obtained for R290, R600a and R1270 were 35.4%, 29.5% and 27.3% higher than that of R22, respectively. Generally, the thermophysical properties of R290 and R1270 matched those of R22 and the two refrigerants exhibited better performance than R22 in sub-cooling heat exchanger refrigeration system. R600a has slightly better performance in terms of lower power per ton of refrigeration and higher coefficient of performance, but its saturation pressure and specific volume deviate significantly from that of R22, which will require major system redesign before it can be employed as R22 substitute.
End-of-Life and Palliative Care Education in US Pharmacy Schools
Authors: Dickinson George E.
Published: August 2012

The objective of this endeavor was to ascertain the current status of end-of-life and palliative care within the curriculum of US pharmacy schools and compare to a similar 1986 study. Additionally, responses to recent professional guidelines for pharmacy schools regarding end-of-life issues can be addressed. A fixed-choice survey was mailed to the 125 US pharmacy schools with a 49% response rate. Results revealed that the lecture format of teaching on end-of-life issues continues to be used today with an increase in offerings and greater participation by students than in 1986. Recently established guidelines and standards regarding end-of-life issues for pharmacy schools are being addressed, thus today’s pharmacists should be better prepared to relate to patients with terminal illnesses and their families than in 1986.
Time Perspective and Physical Activity Among Central Appalachian Adolescents
Authors: Gulley Tauna
Published: August 2012

Time perspective is a cultural behavioral concept that reflects individuals’ orientations or attitudes toward the past, present, or future. Individuals’ time perspectives influence their choices regarding daily activities. Time perspective is an important consideration when teaching adolescents about the importance of being physically active. However, little is known about the relationship between time perspective and physical activity among adolescents. The purpose of this study was to determine the time perspective of central Appalachian adolescents and explore the relationship between time perspective and physical activity. This study was guided by The theory of planned behavior (TPB). One hundred and ninety-three students completed surveys to examine time perspective and physical activity behaviors. Data were collected in one school. Results of this study can inform school nurses and high school guidance counselors about the importance of promoting a future-oriented time perspective to improve physical activity and educational outcomes.
A modularized contact-rule reasoning approach to the assembly sequence generation for product design
Authors: Lin Ming-Chyuan , Lin Chen-Cheng , Tai Yuan-Yeuan , Chen Ming-Shi , Tseng Ching-Chi
Published: August 2012

Concurrent engineering design is widely used to shorten the time needed to introduce a new product and to enhance the quality of the design of the product. However, designers seldom consider the difficulty of assembling a product’s components and modules in the concurrent development process. In fact, the concept of design for assembly is not new. Planning the execution of assembly operations and selecting the assembly sequence during product development will provide designers with interrelated information of design and manufacture that help reduce manufacturing problems. The designer should realize that a reasonable assembly sequence for a product has a significant effect on the efficiency of the entire assembly process. This research focuses on the enhancement of the contact relation matrix approach to the generation of assembly sequences in a product design procedure. A systematic and efficient assembly sequence assistance procedure is proposed to generate feasible assembly sequences and to find an optimal sequence to assemble the product. Compared to the complexity of other methods, this research proposes a modularized contact-rule reasoning approach to generating assembly sequences. The general approach of this research is to (a) develop a modular method for assembly sequence planning, (b) use matrix operations to facilitate the generation of assembly sequences, and (c) generate the assembly sequence of the designed product by searching for subassembly extraction rules. The assembly sequences are then created in the form of a hierarchical structure. The results will assist designers to consider and reduce some manufacture problems in advance that might occur in the process of generation of the recommended design alternative.
Work Volition as a Critical Moderator in the Prediction of Job Satisfaction
Authors: Duffy Ryan D. , Bott Elizabeth M. , Torrey Carrie L. , Webster Gregory W.
Published: August 2012

Building on the Psychology of Working Framework, the current study explored the extent to which work volition functioned as a moderator in the relation between positive affect, core self-evaluations, perceived organizational support (POS), and work self-efficacy to job satisfaction. In a diverse sample of 206 employed adults, work volition was found to be a significant moderator in the relations of self-efficacy and POS to job satisfaction. Specifically, as work volition increased, the relation of self-efficacy to job satisfaction increased, whereas the relation of POS to job satisfaction decreased. Results of this study lend initial support to the proposition that the strength and direction of established predictors of job satisfaction depend, in part, on an individual’s level of work volition. Implications for research and practice are discussed.
Workplace Social Self-Efficacy
Authors: Fan Jinyan , Litchfield Robert C. , Islam Sayeed , Weiner Brianne , Alexander Monique , Liu Cong , Kulviwat Songpol
Published: August 2012

The authors proposed the construct of workplace social self-efficacy (WSSE) and developed an inventory to measure it. Two empirical studies were conducted to examine the psychometric properties of this new measure. In Study 1, we described the development of the WSSE inventory and explored its factor structure in a sample of 304 full-time employees. Participants in Study 2 were 137 full-time employees (who provided self-report data) and 371 coworkers of these employees (who submitted peer ratings). Results showed that the WSSE inventory had a four-factor structure (social gathering, performance in public contexts, conflict management, and seeking and offering help), high internal consistency, excellent convergent and discriminant validity, and meaningful correlation patterns with related constructs in the nomological network. Furthermore, political skill was found to mediate the relationship between WSSE and several outcome variables. In addition, the WSSE inventory was found to have some advantages over the Perceived Social Self-Efficacy scale (Smith & Betz, 2000), a general social self-efficacy measure. Theoretical and practical implications were discussed.
The Anonymity Factor in Making Multicultural Teams Work
Authors: Berg Roberta Wiig
Published: August 2012

A major purpose of courses in intercultural communication is often to improve students’ ability to perform well in situations with the potential to be both highly enlightening and highly difficult—in multicultural teams. This article reports the results of exercises in which members of a dysfunctional multicultural class were assigned to teams and given a task to perform in an anonymous, virtual-team setting, as well as in a real-team setting. Team members contributed in a much more balanced manner in the anonymous virtual-team exercise. However, team members nevertheless believed their input had been heard and appreciated in the real-team setting.
A Pilot Study of the Efficacy of a Computerized Executive Functioning Remediation Training With Game Elements for Children With ADHD in an Outpatient Setting
Authors: van der Oord S. , Ponsioen A. J.G. B. , Geurts H. M. , Brink E. L. Ten , Prins P. J. M.
Published: August 2012

Objective: This pilot study tested the short- and long-term efficacy (9 weeks follow-up) of an executive functioning (EF) remediation training with game elements for children with ADHD in an outpatient clinical setting, using a randomized controlled wait-list design. Furthermore, in a subsample, that is, those treated with methylphenidate, additive effects of the EF training were assessed. Method: A total of 40 children (aged 8-12 years) were randomized to the EF training or wait-list. The training consisted of a 25-session training of inhibition, cognitive flexibility, and working memory. Treatment outcome was assessed by parent- and teacher-rated EF, ADHD, oppositional deviant disorder, and conduct disorder symptoms. Results: Children in the EF training showed significantly more improvement than those in the wait-list condition on parent-rated EF and ADHD behavior in the total sample and in the subsample treated with methylphenidate. Effects were maintained at follow-up. Conclusion: This pilot study shows promising evidence for the efficacy of an EF training with game elements.
An Integrated Contextual Model of Confidence in Local Police
Authors: Taylor Ralph B. , Lawton Brian A.
Published: August 2012

Current work tests an integrated contextual model of confidence in local police. The model addresses four questions. (a) Do incivilities, procedural justice, and local social climate each affect confidence? (b) Do incivilities more powerfully corrode confidence at some points along the urban versus rural continuum? (c) Where on the continuum is confidence weakest? (d) Does confidence in local police bolster confidence in the broader justice system? Surveys from households across the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania were supplemented with municipality-level census and reported crime data, and county-level urban versus rural continuum codes. Findings showed significant net effects of both procedural justice and incivilities on the outcome; strongest corrosive impacts of incivilities in rural counties; lowest confidence in rural counties; and connections between confidence in local police and confidence in the broader criminal justice system. Results underscore the broad importance of police simultaneously maintaining order and treating citizens fairly.
Local Limits to Migration Control
Authors: Leerkes Arjen , Varsanyi Monica , Engbersen Godfried
Published: August 2012

Governments are increasingly developing policies to apprehend and deport unauthorized migrants. Compared to the United States, the legal and administrative framework in Western European countries generally allows for a stricter interior policing of unauthorized migrants. This article describes and explains the limits to in-country migration policing in the Netherlands. On the basis of extensive urban field research in the country’s two largest cities, as well as national police apprehension data, it is shown that even in a restrictive policy context immigration rules are not categorically enforced; assumed “deviant” unauthorized migrants run much higher apprehension risks than “nondeviant” unauthorized migrants. However, unauthorized migrants run much higher interior apprehension risks than in the United States. It is argued that the selective interior enforcement of immigration rules can be understood by taking into consideration the interests and values of three local agents that structure in-country migration policing: regular police, neighborhood residents, and city governments.
Participant learning in and through research as reflexive dialogue: Being ‘struck’ and the effects of recall
Authors: Corlett Sandra
Published: August 2012

Although learning as a dialogic process involving critical self-reflexivity is well recognized, enacting management learning in and through research dialogue with participants has been given limited attention. This article fuses, from related research, relational social constructionist understandings of knowing, learning and research to produce a framework of research as a dialogic process of learning. The framework emphasizes the importance of being ‘struck’ for participant-centred self-reflexivity and management learning. The framework is illustrated by drawing on empirical material from a research project involving five managers’ participation in a set of three research interviews. The research highlights the temporal and historical features of being ‘struck’ and the effect of recall in stimulating self-reflexivity and learning. The article also considers how participants and researchers may seize striking moments by illustrating direct and indirect ways of talking and acting which signal being ‘struck’.
Queer cuttings on YouTube: Re-editing soap operas as a form of fan-produced queer resistance
Authors: Dhaenens Frederik
Published: August 2012

Despite the increasing efforts of representing gay main characters, popular soap operas still hinge on the discourse of heteronormativity. Queer theorists have uttered the necessity for exposing the oppressiveness of heteronormative practices and offering viable alternatives to the heteronormative way of living. This article argues that fan-produced re-edited videos of soap operas may embed the potential to expose and challenge the way that heteronormativity functions. By a textual analysis of Christian & Oliver, a fan-produced YouTube series based on the German soap Verbotene Liebe ( Forbidden Love), the article enquires how subversive practices of rearticulating narrative conventions of soap operas may function as strategies of resistance. Since texts only become resistant through reading practices, this article discusses the fragility of resistance by elaborating on the negotiated position of resistance within popular culture, discussing the role of fans as producers of new texts and differentiating the role of audiences as readers of resistance.
Contested identities: Identity constructions in a youth recreational drug culture
Authors: Ravn Signe
Published: August 2012

This article examines young recreational drug users’ identity constructions. Combining a poststructuralist theoretical framework with focus group method, the article investigates how the participants in a focus group interview position themselves and others, thereby negotiating an identity as responsible drug users. The article studies this recreational drug culture and its internal distinctions, conceptions and norms as they are expressed discursively. The analysis identifies six dimensions of the identity as a responsible, recreational drug user: drug practice, general drug knowledge, context-specific drug knowledge, practices for checking drugs, acknowledging one’s position in the surrounding drug scene and age. The analysis shows how being able to perform a coherent identity in line with these dimensions is necessary for being acknowledged as a responsible, recreational drug user.
Studying up (and down) the cultural heritage preservation agenda: Observations from Romania
Authors: Klimaszewski Cheryl , Bader Gail E , Nyce James M
Published: August 2012

This article argues that researchers involved in cultural heritage preservation need to adopt an inclusive ethnographic research methodology that pays attention to how power, class and status shape communities. Based on field research in Ghimeş-Fǎget, Romania, it discusses the factors that influenced residents’ choice of ethnic identity and focuses on why the Hungarian identity was chosen as the most visible public representation of the town, when residents could have chosen from a variety of other identities. Local efforts to preserve culture, history and self ‘in one direction’ were shaped by the current socio-economic reality in Ghimeş. The article suggests that identity is informed by shifting power relations between ethnic groups and not simply by the more powerful ethnic group in the community. Finally, the article discusses why one recently proposed ‘culturally responsive research methodology’ could not support any kind of legitimate preservation agenda in Ghimeş-Fǎget or any other community.
Tensile strength of notched woven fabric hybrid glass, carbon/epoxy composite laminates
Authors: Haery Haleh Allameh , Zahari Rizal , Kuntjoro Wahyu , Taib Yakub Md
Published: August 2012

This study investigates the effect of hybridization on tensile strength of woven fabric glass/epoxy composite laminates with two different notch sizes of 5 mm and 10 mm. Tensile tests are performed on notched [0°/90°]3s specimens of woven fabric C-glass/epoxy composite laminates and their hybrid reinforced with woven fabric 3K-carbon layers in order to measure tensile strength and characterize damage mechanisms. The results suggest that hybridization has a considerable effect on the improvement of the tensile strength of C-glass/epoxy composite laminates but also has reduced the rupture strain of the composites. Microscopic observation of specimens after tensile loading reveals the existence of transverse and longitudinal cracks, delamination and transverse fiber damage in hybrid composite laminates.
Relational Demography Between Managers and Stakeholders and Business Unit Performance
Authors: Gonzalez Jorge A.
Published: August 2012

This study explores the influence of demographic similarity between business unit managers and their internal and external stakeholders—line employees and residents of the community being served—on financial performance. A sample of 52 business units of a service industry organization totaling 254 managers and 2,935 employees was used. The study relies on the social categorization and information/decision-making perspectives on diversity, which suggest that managerial demographic similarity to firm stakeholders is related to greater expertise to access diverse markets and networks and management in a diverse environment. Implications for research and for organizational leadership diversity are addressed.
Investigation on carbon nanotube growth using one-pulse discharge with shield
Authors: Su Jia-Shiang
Published: August 2012

In contrast to earlier micro-electro discharge and typical carbon nanotube preparation methods, the one-pulse discharge method can be used to prepare carbon nanotubes on graphite by using a peak current ( Ip = 2.5 A) and a pulse duration (τ=1400µs) under an atmospheric environment without requiring high peak current. In this study, the one-pulse discharge system and electrode shield were used to prepare carbon nanotubes. The effect of the processing parameters, including the applied peak current and pulse duration, were investigated. The results show that for Ip = 2.5 A, τ = 1400 µs and with an electrode shield, the mass and high density carbon nanotubes grew on the discharge point. Furthermore, a reduced peak current and discharge point size are more efficient than a high peak current without an electrode shield.