bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Association of Longitudinal Changes in Left Ventricular Structure and Function With Myocardial Fibrosis
Authors: Ambale Venkatesh Bharath , Volpe Gustavo J. , Donekal Sirisha , Mewton Nathan , Liu Chia-Ying , Shea Steven , Liu Kiang , Burke Gregory , Wu Colin , Bluemke David A. , Lima João A.C.
Published: June 2014

The association of longitudinal changes in left ventricular (LV) structure and function with myocardial fibrosis is unclear. We relate temporal changes in body size–indexed LV mass (LVMi) and end-diastolic volume indexed to body surface area, LV mass-to-volume ratio, and LV ejection fraction (LVEF) from cine cardiac magnetic resonance for 10 years, with replacement scar assessed from late gadolinium enhancement, and lower postcontrast T1 times reflecting greater diffuse myocardial fibrosis measured at the end of the follow-up period. All participants (n=1813) who underwent cardiac magnetic resonance twice as part of the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis 10 years apart were included. Multivariable logistic and linear regression models adjusted for cardiovascular risk factors measured the association of 10-year changes in LV structure and function, with fibrosis measured at follow-up. The presence of LV scar at year 10 was cross-sectionally associated with higher LVMi (≈10 g/m
2
), higher mass-to-volume ratio (0.1–0.2 g/mL), but lower LVEF (≈4%) and longitudinally with 3% decrease in LVEF and 0.7% greater end-diastolic volume indexed to body surface area in men for 10 years. Lower postcontrast T1 times at year 10 were associated cross-sectionally with lower LVMi (
r
=0.33), end-diastolic volume indexed to body surface area (
r
=0.25), and LVEF (in men only:
r
=0.14) and longitudinally with a decrease in LVMi (
r
=0.20) and reduction in LVEF (in men only:
r
=0.15). Sustained hypertension for 10 years was associated with increased LVMi and higher diffuse and replacement fibrosis at follow-up. During a 10-year period, increased concentric hypertrophy in women and LV dilatation in men were associated with replacement fibrosis, whereas decreasing LVMi was associated with diffuse fibrosis. Hypertension-induced remodeling was related to enhanced replacement and diffuse fibrosis, as well as hypertrophy.
Evidence for neither the compensation hypothesis nor the expensive-tissue hypothesis in Carassius auratus
Authors: Liu Jiao , Zhou Cai Quan , Liao Wen Bo
Published: June 2014

In many taxa, the left and right testes often differ in size. The compensation hypothesis states that an increase in size of one testis can compensate for a reduced function in the other testis. Moreover, the expensive-tissue hypothesis predicts that an increase in investment of a metabolically costly tissue is offset by decreasing investment in the other metabolically costly tissues. Here we tested these two hypotheses inCarassius auratus, by analysing difference between left and right testes mass, and between brain mass and both gut length and gonad mass (testes mass in males and clutch mass in females). We found no difference between left and right testis mass and no correlations between relative testis size and body measurements. These findings suggest that the left testis cannot serve a compensatory role. Nonetheless, contrary to the predictions of the expensive-tissue hypothesis, brain mass was positively correlated with both gut length and gonad mass within each sex. This positive correlation between brain mass and other organs (gut, gonad and clutch tissues) suggests that organisms may compensate for substantial variation in investment in tissues without sacrificing other expensive tissues.
Effect of nutritional restriction on growth, adaptation physiology and estrous responses in Malpura ewes
Authors: Sejian Veerasamy , Bahadur Saumya , Naqvi Syed M.K.
Published: June 2014

The study was conducted to ascertain the effects of nutritional restrictions on growth, physiological adaptability and reproduction in sheep. The experiment was conducted for a period of 35 days covering two estrus cycles in 40 adult Malpura ewes. The animals were randomly divided into four groups of 10 animals each (100%; 80%; 70%; 60% of ad libitum). The ewes were fed a ration consisting of 70% roughage and 30% concentrate. At weekly intervals, physiological responses were recorded and blood samples were also collected. Nutritional restriction of different magnitude (80%; 70%; 60% of ad libitum) altered the growth, physiological adaptability and estrus responses to different extents in Malpura ewes. But the impact was most severe in 60% of ad libitum group. Nutritional restriction to the level of 60% of ad libitum feeding significantly decreased body weight, body condition score, plasma insulin-like growth factor, pulse rate in the morning, respiration rate and pulse rate in the afternoon, plasma glucose, total protein, albumin, total cholesterol, plasma tri-iodo-thyronine and thyroxine, plasma cortisol, plasma estradiol, estrus % and estrus duration, while it significantly increased plasma concentration of growth hormone, hemoglobin, plasma concentration of progesterone and estrus cycle length. The study clearly establishes the effect of different levels of nutrition and its impact on the biological functions necessary to adapt to semi-arid environment. Although, 80%, 70% and 60% groups showed signs of nutritional stress, the effects were more pronounced in 60% ewes. Furthermore, this study clearly establishes the role of various hormones required to adapt to different levels of nutritional stress in Malpura ewes.
In memoriam: Dr. J. (Hans) van den Assem
Authors: Beukeboom Leo , Werren John (Jack)
Published: June 2014

On 11 April 2014 behavioral biologist Hans van den Assem passed away. As member of the Ethology group at the University of Leiden he has contributed significantly to the blossoming of the field of behavioral biology. Hans was a pioneer in the study of mating behavior of parasitoid wasps, contributed to the development ofNasoniaas a hymenopteran model organism, and was among the first to show that parasitoids can adaptively adjust their progeny sex ratios. He has been an inspiring mentor and is best remembered as a “scholar and gentleman”.
Transformative Peace in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Authors: Maiden Emily K.
Published: June 2014

This article critiques the potential success of the Peace, Security, and Cooperation Framework for the drc and the Region—signed on February 24, 2013—against the backdrop of the 1999 Lusaka Ceasefire Agreement, which failed to end the Second Congo War. The 1999 Agreement failed because its overall design, coupled with the socio-political climate in the region at the time, resulted in a ‘no war, no peace’ scenario. These failures were furthered by the overall inability of the international peacebuilding community to design and implement a peace strategy in the drc that aligned with the needs of the Congolese people. If the 2013 Framework is to succeed, what is required is a transformation of the peace process, which will incorporate the Congolese civil society, avoid restrictive timelines, and focus on securing realistic commitments. By critically analyzing both the 1999 Agreement and the broader conflict-resolution and peacebuilding processes, international peace practitioners can learn from the situation in the drc and use the revised peace model this article outlines to promote true and lasting peace in regional conflicts across the developing world.
Subfamily Limoniinae Speiser, 1909 (Diptera, Limoniidae) from Baltic amber (Eocene): the genus Helius Lepeletier & Serville, 1828
Authors: KANIA IWONA
Published: June 2014

A revision of the genus Helius Lepeletier & Serville, 1828 (Diptera: Limoniidae) from Baltic amber (Eocene) is presented. Redescriptions of 5 species, Helius formosus Krzemiński, 1993, Helius linus Podenas, 2002, Helius minutus (Loew, 1850), Helius mutus Podenas, 2002, Helius pulcher (Loew, 1850) of this genus from Baltic amber are given and documented by photographs and drawings. Four new species of the genus Helius from Baltic amber are described: Helius gedanicus sp. nov., Helius hoffeinsorum sp. nov., Helius similis sp. nov., Helius fossilis sp. nov. A key to species of Helius from Baltic amber is provided. Patterns morphological evolution and the aspects evolutionary history of Helius are discussed.
A new species of Leydigia Kurz, 1875 (Cladocera: Chydoridae) from Colombia
Authors: KOTOV ALEXEY A. , FUENTES-REINÉS JUAN MANUEL
Published: June 2014

A new species of Leydigia Kurz, 1875 (Cladocera: Chydoridae) is described based on the material from Ciénaga Grande de Santa Marta, Magdalena Department, Colombia. L. lourdesae sp. nov. is a member of the subgenus Leydigia (Neoleydigia) Kotov, 2009, having all diagnostic characters of the latter. It could be the closest relative to L. iberica Kotov & Alonso, 2010, having five setae on exopodite III, a unique for the genus character. But new taxon differs from the latter in a series of characters of the head pores, armature of valve ventral margin, postabdomen, antenna I and II, and limbs I–III. We believe that the basal taxa of L. (Neoleydigia) (including L. lourdesae sp. nov.) are remains of an antique pan-continental group, probably of Mesozoic age, partly survived after the mass extinction and represented now by a series of locally distributed taxa in very distant localities of the planet.
A remarkable new species of Paraphamartania Engel from Portugal (Diptera, Asilidae)
Authors: MORTELMANS JONAS , TOMASOVIC GUY , NAGY ZOLTÁN TAMÁS
Published: June 2014

Paraphamartania marvaoensis sp. nov. is described based on three male and one female specimens from Marvão, Portugal. The discovery of this new species of Paraphamartania is of great significance since it shows the occurrence of a second species of Paraphamartania in the western Mediterranean. High resolution pictures of type material of all three species of Paraphamartania are provided together with a key to these three species. DNA barcodes of this new species are provided, so future workers are able to study relationships of Paraphamartania.
Robust Seasonality of Arctic Warming Processes in Two Different Versions of the MIROC GCM
Authors: Yoshimori Masakazu , Abe-Ouchi Ayako , Watanabe Masahiro , Oka Akira , Ogura Tomoo
Published: June 2014

It is one of the most robust projected responses of climate models to the increase of atmospheric CO2 concentration that the Arctic experiences a rapid warming with a magnitude larger than the rest of the world. While many processes are proposed as important, the relative contribution of individual processes to the Arctic warming is not often investigated systematically. Feedbacks are quantified in two different versions of an atmosphere–ocean GCM under idealized transient experiments based on an energy balance analysis that extends from the surface to the top of the atmosphere. The emphasis is placed on the largest warming from late autumn to early winter (October–December) and the difference from other seasons. It is confirmed that dominating processes vary with season. In autumn, the largest contribution to the Arctic surface warming is made by a reduction of ocean heat storage and cloud radiative feedback. In the annual mean, on the other hand, it is the albedo feedback that contributes the most, with increasing ocean heat uptake to the deeper layers working as a negative feedback. While the qualitative results are robust between the two models, they differ quantitatively, indicating the need for further constraint on each process. Ocean heat uptake, lower tropospheric stability, and low-level cloud response probably require special attention.
On the Representation of High-Latitude Boundary Layer Mixed-Phase Cloud in the ECMWF Global Model
Authors: Forbes Richard M. , Ahlgrimm Maike
Published: June 2014

Supercooled liquid water (SLW) layers in boundary layer clouds are abundantly observed in the atmosphere at high latitudes, but remain a challenge to represent in numerical weather prediction (NWP) and climate models. Unresolved processes such as small-scale turbulence and mixed-phase microphysics act to maintain the liquid layer at cloud top, directly affecting cloud radiative properties and prolonging cloud lifetimes. This paper describes the representation of supercooled liquid water in boundary layer clouds in the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) global NWP model and in particular the change from a diagnostic temperature-dependent mixed phase to a prognostic representation with separate cloud liquid and ice variables. Data from the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement site in Alaska and from the CloudSat/Cloud–Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observations (CALIPSO) satellite missions are used to evaluate the model parameterizations. The prognostic scheme shows a more realistic cloud structure, with an SLW layer at cloud top and ice falling out below. However, because of the limited vertical and horizontal resolution and uncertainties in the parameterization of physical processes near cloud top, the change leads to an overall reduction in SLW water with a detrimental impact on shortwave and longwave radiative fluxes, and increased 2-m temperature errors over land. A reduction in the ice deposition rate at cloud top significantly improves the SLW occurrence and radiative impacts, and highlights the need for improved understanding and parameterization of physical processes for mixed-phase cloud in large-scale models.
Family Complexity among Children in the United States
Authors: Manning Wendy D. , Brown Susan L. , Stykes J. Bart
Published: June 2014

Researchers largely have relied on a measure of family structure to describe children’s living arrangements, but this approach captures only the child’s relationship to the parent(s), ignoring the presence and composition of siblings. We develop a measure of family complexity that merges family structure and sibling composition to distinguish between simple two-biological-parent families, families with complex-sibling (half or stepsiblings) arrangements, and complex-parent (stepparent, single-parent) families. Using the Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP), we provide a descriptive profile of changes in children’s living arrangements over a 13-year span (1996–2009). SIPP sample sizes are sufficiently large to permit an evaluation of changes in the distribution of children in various (married, cohabiting, and single-parent) simple and complex families according to race/ethnicity and parental education. The article concludes by showing that we have reached a plateau in family complexity and that complexity is concentrated among the most disadvantaged families.
Mass Incarceration, Family Complexity, and the Reproduction of Childhood Disadvantage
Authors: Sykes Bryan L. , Pettit Becky
Published: June 2014

In this article we examine the link between family complexity—measured by noncustodial parenthood and multiple-partner fertility—and incarceration. In 2012, close to 2.6 million children, or roughly one in twenty-five minors, had a parent in jail or prison. The risk of having a parent currently or ever incarcerated is disproportionately concentrated among black children and children of high school dropouts, many of whom are noncustodial parents. Variation in question wording, differences in length of exposure to parental incarceration, and the measurement of residential parenthood in household-based sample surveys converge to produce different estimates of race and class inequality in having a parent currently or ever incarcerated, when compared to similar estimates of parental incarceration from inmate surveys. Drawing on data from multiple sources and the development of a new method for the estimation of multiple-partner fertility among inmates, we consider how race and class inequality in parental incarceration may contribute to family complexity and the reproduction of childhood disadvantage.
Grandparent Coresidence and Family Well-Being
Authors: Dunifon Rachel E. , Ziol-Guest Kathleen M. , Kopko Kimberly
Published: June 2014

U.S. children today have increasingly diverse living arrangements. In 2012, 10 percent of children lived with at least one grandparent; 8 percent lived in three-generational households, consisting of a parent and a grandparent; while 2 percent lived with a grandparent and no parent in the household. This article reviews the literature on grandparent coresidence and presents new research on children coresiding with grandparents in modern families. Findings suggest that grandparent coresidence is quite common and that its prevalence increased during the Great Recession. Additionally, these living arrangements are diverse themselves, varying by the marital status of the parent, the home in which the family lives, and the economic well-being of the family. Suggestions for future research are also proposed.
Young Adults’ Roles as Partners and Parents in the Context of Family Complexity
Authors: Berger Lawrence M. , Bzostek Sharon H.
Published: June 2014

Using data from the 1979 and 1997 cohorts of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, we estimate the proportions of young men and women who will take on a variety of partner and parent roles by age 30, and describe how these estimates have changed between cohorts. We then draw on identity theory and related theoretical work to consider how the multiple family roles that young adults are likely to occupy—both over their life course and at a single point in time—may influence interfamily and intrafamily relationships. Our discussion highlights key implications of identity theory as it relates to family complexity and proposes several hypotheses for future empirical research, such as the greater likelihood of role conflict in families with greater complexity and limited resources. Our analysis suggests that families may be less likely to function—economically and socially—as cohesive units than has been the case in the past and than most existing policies assume.
Time Investments in Children across Family Structures
Authors: Kalil Ariel , Ryan Rebecca , Chor Elise
Published: June 2014

This article compares time invested in children across family structures as a means to understand differences in children’s development. Using data from the 1997 Panel Study of Income Dynamics’ Child Development Supplement, we measure time investments from multiple caregivers and distinguish time children spend with a caregiver alone versus shared with another caregiver. We examine six family structures—married biological parents, cohabiting biological parents, mother and stepfather, mother and cohabiting boyfriend, single mother only, and multigenerational households. The total care-giving time that children receive in married biological parent families and cohabiting biological parent families is comparable to that for children living in stepfather families and multigenerational families. This is because children in stepfather families and multigenerational households receive substantial time investments from nonresident biological fathers and grandparents, respectively. In contrast, children receive little time investment from resident nonbiological father figures; and children in single mother, cohabiting boyfriend, and multigenerational households receive little time investment from their nonresident biological fathers. Finally, children who live with married biological parents receive the greatest share of caregiving time in the form of shared caregiving compared with children in all other family structures. Our findings suggest that having two resident biological caregivers predicts greater time investments in children and that shared parenting may be an important dimension of family structure.
Examining College Readiness
Authors: Tierney William G. , Sablan Jenna R.
Published: June 2014

College readiness has become a growing concern for educational policy makers, practitioners, and researchers. This chapter briefly reviews some of the issues surrounding college readiness and previews the issue that follows.
Union Strength, Neoliberalism, and Inequality
Authors: Jacobs David , Myers Lindsey
Published: June 2014

Do historically contingent political accounts help explain the growth in family income inequality in the United States? We use time-series regressions based on 60 years to detect such relationships by assessing interactive associations between the neoliberal departure coincident with Ronald Reagan’s election and the acceleration in inequality that began soon after Reagan took office. We find evidence for this and for a second contingent relationship: stronger unions could successfully resist policies that enhanced economic inequality only before Reagan’s presidency and before the neoliberal anti-union administrations from both parties that followed Reagan. Politically inspired reductions in union membership, and labor’s diminished political opportunities during and after Reagan’s presidency, meant unions no longer could slow the growth in U.S. inequality. Coefficients on these two historically contingent interactions remain significant after many additional determinants are held constant. These findings indicate that political determinants should not be neglected when researchers investigate the determinants of U.S. inequality.
Populism and criminal justice policy: An Australian case study of non-punitive responses to alcohol-related violence
Authors: Quilter Julia
Published: June 2014

Populism is widely regarded in the literature as a negative and inherently punitive influence on criminal justice policy. This article challenges this view and highlights the ways in which populism can produce forms of citizen engagement in the criminal justice context that are new and progressive. These possibilities are illustrated through a close analysis of the responses to a single instance of ‘random’ fatal violence: the killing of Thomas Kelly in King’s Cross, Sydney, in 2012. This case study shows how a populist campaign powerfully realigned political allegiances to call for, and achieve, real and enduring action from the New South Wales Government in addressing alcohol-related violence.
Consultative Authoritarianism and Its Limits
Authors: Truex Rory
Published: June 2014

Consultative authoritarianism challenges existing conceptions of nondemocratic governance. Citizen participation channels are designed to improve policymaking and increase feelings of regime responsiveness, but how successful are these limited reforms in stemming pressure for broader change? The article develops a new theoretical lens to explain how common citizens perceive the introduction of partially liberalizing reforms and tests the implications using an original survey experiment of Chinese netizens. Respondents randomly exposed to the National People’s Congress’ (NPC) new online participation portals show greater satisfaction with the regime and feelings of government responsiveness, but these effects are limited to less educated, politically excluded citizens.
The effects of tobacco-related health-warning images on intention to quit smoking among urban Chinese smokers
Authors: Wu Dan , Yang Tingzhong , Cottrell Randall R , Zhou Huan , Yang Xiaozhao Y , Zhang Yanqin
Published: June 2014

Objective:

The purpose of this study was to explore the effects of different tobacco health-warning images on intention to quit smoking among urban Chinese smokers. The different tobacco health-warning images utilised in this study addressed the five variables of age, gender, cultural-appropriateness, abstractness and explicitness.

Design:

Participants were administered a questionnaire that contained 10 graphic anti-smoking images. Of the 10 images, two each represented the independent variables of age, gender, cultural-appropriateness, abstractness and explicitness. The dependent variable in this study was intention to quit smoking.

Setting:

A cross-sectional survey was conducted using face-to-face interviews with 699 residents of Hangzhou, China. The study focused on 202 of those residents who self-reported as smokers.

Method:

Data were collected using a multi-stage sampling design. A Likert-type scale was used to measure quitting intentions after viewing graphic health-warning images. Data analysis was conducted using SAS version 9.3, and paired Chi-square tests were performed to analyse the effect of different graphic tobacco health-warning images on intention to quit smoking among current smokers.

Results:

More than 50% of smokers studied reported they were interested in quitting smoking after viewing the graphic images. Images featuring children and women, real pictures of damaged lungs and pictures that were more explicit produced higher intentions to quit smoking than abstract, male-dominated or less explicit images.

Conclusion:

When designing tobacco-related health-warning images for mass media campaigns, utilising more explicit photos and photographs involving women and children is potentially most effective. These findings provide evidence that the Chinese government should consider when initiating future anti-smoking campaigns utilising such images. Furthermore, these images should appear on all cigarette packages replacing the current text-only warnings.
Gross and Fine Motor Differences Between Cameroonian and German Children Aged 3 to 40 Months
Authors: Lohaus Arnold , Lamm Bettina , Keller Heidi , Teubert Manuel , Fassbender Ina , Glüer Michael , Borchert Sonja , Vöhringer Isabel , Teiser Johanna , Freitag Claudia , Suhrke Janina , Knopf Monika , Schwarzer Gudrun
Published: June 2014

Based on longitudinal data, this study compared the gross and fine motor development of Cameroonian Nso children and German middle-class children with assessments at 3, 6, 9, and 40 months. A total of 345 infants from Cameroon ( n = 73) and Germany ( n = 272) were recruited for this study. Complete longitudinal gross and fine motor assessments based on the Bayley Scales of Infant Development III were available for subsamples of the originally recruited children. As the results show, the predictability of the 40-months assessments from the previous assessments at 3, 6, and 9 months was low. The early gross motor differences between the Cameroonian and the German children decreased across age. Although the differences had disappeared at 40 months at the Bayley scale level, differences at the item level were still substantial. In contrast to gross motor development, the cultural differences regarding fine motor development increased from 3 to 40 months. This increase was not only shown at the scale level but also reflected at the item level. The developmental pattern is discussed with regard to possible consequences for using developmental tests in different cultural contexts.
A simulation model with verification and validation for time-phased education planning in Afghanistan
Authors: Marlin Benjamin , Sohn Han-Suk
Published: June 2014

Decision-makers have rightly come to expect thorough, relevant analysis prior to allocating resources. The field of education planning is no different in its requirement for such analysis. In this research, we present a discrete event simulation model in which individual students and teachers flow through the Afghanistan education system across a variable time horizon. We explain the simulation and its premises through some verification and validation processes that allow the user to glean insight into the implications of security, policy, and infrastructure in this complex and capricious environment.
Performance-driven facades: Analysis of natural cross-ventilation in an indoor environment with Fast Fluid Dynamics and apertures optimization based on a genetic algorithm
Authors: Karagkouni Chrysanthi (Sandy) , Fatah gen Schieck Ava , Tsigkari Martha , Chronis Angelos
Published: June 2014

One of the primary aims of performance-oriented design is to develop spaces that achieve acceptable levels of human comfort. Wind-induced airflow plays a significant role in improving occupants’ comfort in a building. This paper explores the extent to which simulation and evaluation of natural airflow can potentially be a contributing parameter in the conception of performance-aware designs. The authors employed Fast Fluid Dynamics simulation to study the natural ventilation performance of a pavilion and a genetic algorithm to optimize the shape of the pavilion’s facades’ openings. A performance analysis was conducted whereby an array of automated feedback loops carried out by a genetic algorithm produce a number of acceptable solutions. Hence the facade openings of these solutions are considered to be adequate to provide natural ventilation in the indoor environment. The study demonstrates the ability of the optimization model to yield design instances that fulfill a number of environmental criteria related to airflow and human comfort. In this light, the authors suggest that the aforementioned method can be used as an experimentation platform to influence and guide the designer during the initial stages of the design process towards a more performance-driven solution.
Copper deposition on textiles via an automated dispensing process for flexible microstrip antennas
Authors: Li Bing , Li Dapeng , Wang Jiping
Published: June 2014

A three-axis automatic robot was coupled with a precision liquid dispenser to deposit copper on fabrics to be used as the conductive layer for assembly of textile-based flexible microstrip patch antennas. Two reactive solutions, copper sulfate and sodium borohydride, were sequentially dispensed on fabrics and a conductive copper was produced in situ and in real time, through a simple redox mechanism. Driving pressure, the number of dispensing cycles, concentration and composition (i.e. the addition of a complexing agent sodium citrate to the copper sulfate solution) of the reactive solutions were studied to optimize the dispensing process in favor of rapid copper deposition. The electrical performance of the resulting copper deposit and its adhesion to the textile substrates were characterized. A copper coating of about 0.2 ohm/□ sheet resistance could be prepared in less than 1 hour under a 45 kPa driving pressure, at a 200 mm·s−1 moving speed, and within 60 dispensing cycles.
Preparation and properties of silicon carbide/glass fibres/bismaleimide composites
Authors: Han Ying , Xie Chao , Wu Zizhao , Wang Zhe
Published: June 2014

Hybrid fillers of silicon carbide/glass fibres (SiC/GFs) are used to prepare SiC/GFs/bismaleimide (SiC/GFs/BMI) composites. Results show that the thermal conductivities of the SiC/GFs/BMI composites improved with the increasing content of SiC fillers, and the thermal conductivity coefficient is 1.64 W mK−1 with 60 wt% modified SiC fillers. The heat resistance properties and dielectric constant values of the SiC/GFs/BMI composites also improved with the increasing content of SiC fillers. Furthermore, surface modification of SiC fillers is beneficial for further improving the thermal conductivities of the composites.
Perceptual Underpinnings of Antigay Prejudice
Authors: Lick David J. , Johnson Kerri L.
Published: June 2014

Psychologists have amassed robust evidence of antigay prejudice by assessing participants’ global attitudes toward sexual minorities and their reactions to behavioral descriptions of hypothetical targets. In daily interactions, however, perceivers make decisions about others’ sexual orientations based upon visible cues alone. Does antigay prejudice arise on the basis of such visual exposure, and if so, why? Three studies revealed that perceivers evaluated women they categorized as lesbians more negatively than women they categorized as straight. Moreover, prejudice against lesbian women was strongly tethered to gendered aspects of their facial appearance: Women categorized as lesbians tended to appear gender-atypical, and women who appeared gender-atypical were perceived to be unattractive, leading to prejudice. Similar findings did not emerge for men categorized as gay. As such, we argue that gendered appearance cues lay the perceptual foundation for prejudice against women, but not men, who are categorized as sexual minorities.
Auditor-Provided Tax Services and Earnings Management in Tax Expense
Authors: Lisic Ling Lei
Published: June 2014

Regulators do not prohibit auditors from providing tax services to their audit clients, provided that these services are preapproved by audit committees. I examine whether the association between auditor-provided tax services and earnings management in tax expense varies with audit committee effectiveness. I develop a composite proxy for audit committee effectiveness by combining six audit committee characteristics. I find that auditor-provided tax services are less positively associated with earnings management in tax expense as audit committee effectiveness increases. My findings suggest that the knowledge spillover effect of auditor-provided tax services is more likely to dominate the independence impairment effect when auditor-provided tax services are preapproved by more effective audit committees.
Passing to India: a critique of American football’s expansion
Authors: Polson Erika , Whiteside Erin
Published: June 2014

Although India has long held a passion for cricket, an organization called the Elite Football League of India (EFLI) is looking to disrupt that sporting nerve center, and introduce the foreign sport of American football to the country’s growing middle class. While it is too soon to assess how Indian audiences will respond to, negotiate and perhaps create new cultural practices around American football, we focus this article on an analysis of efforts made by promoters of the new league to create a cultural context in which this very foreign game might make sense. Drawing from press releases, promotional videos and news coverage, we demonstrate how language of social, economic and individual (male) development is deployed to create American football as a platform for delivering global brands to a vast Indian market. In deconstructing these efforts, we critically explicate how creative practices are implemented to produce an atmosphere within which globalization may occur.
The Influence of Marital Status and Spousal Employment on Retirement Behavior in Germany and Spain
Authors: Radl Jonas , Himmelreicher Ralf K.
Published: June 2014

This article analyzes the impact of marital status and spousal employment on the timing of retirement in Germany and Spain. Retirement behavior is examined by means of event–history models, with a competing risks framework being used to distinguish between voluntary and involuntary work-exit transitions. To take account of the role of social policies, we adopt a comparative approach. Data are drawn from a 2006 special retirement module implemented analogously in national labor force surveys. The results show that spousal labor market participation plays a large role in work-exit transitions, even when retirement is involuntary. This finding questions the widespread belief that coretirement is exclusively due to preference for joint retirement shared among spouses. Moreover, widows and widowers tend to retire prematurely in Germany, whereas no such effect could be found in Spain. This finding is explained by reference to specific economic incentives arising from national pension legislation.
A neurogenetics approach to defining differential susceptibility to institutional care
Authors: Brett Zoe H. , Sheridan Margaret , Humphreys Kate , Smyke Anna , Gleason Mary Margaret , Fox Nathan , Zeanah Charles , Nelson Charles , Drury Stacy
Published: June 2014

An individual’s neurodevelopmental and cognitive sequelae to negative early experiences may, in part, be explained by genetic susceptibility. We examined whether extreme differences in the early caregiving environment, defined as exposure to severe psychosocial deprivation associated with institutional care compared to normative rearing, interacted with a biologically informed genoset comprising BDNF (rs6265), COMT (rs4680), and SIRT1 (rs3758391) to predict distinct outcomes of neurodevelopment at age 8 ( N = 193, 97 males and 96 females). Ethnicity was categorized as Romanian (71%), Roma (21%), unknown (7%), or other (1%). We identified a significant interaction between early caregiving environment (i.e., institutionalized versus never institutionalized children) and the a priori defined genoset for full-scale IQ, two spatial working memory tasks, and prefrontal cortex gray matter volume. Model validation was performed using a bootstrap resampling procedure. Although we hypothesized that the effect of this genoset would operate in a manner consistent with differential susceptibility, our results demonstrate a complex interaction where vantage susceptibility, diathesis stress, and differential susceptibility are implicated.
Heterogeneity in Contemporary Chinese Marriage
Authors: Ji Yingchun , Yeung Wei-Jun Jean
Published: June 2014

Is universal and early marriage still true in China after decades of dramatic socioeconomic changes? Based on the 2005 Population Survey data, we find that by age 35 to 39 years, almost all women are married, and less than 5% of men remain single with the singulate mean age at marriage (SMAM) in the country at 25.7 and 23.5 for men and women, respectively. There are notable regional variations in marriage prevalence and timing across China, likely due to economic development, migration, and cultural norms particularly for ethnic minorities. Those who live in the East and in urban areas tend to enter marriage later. Universal and early marriage is particularly true for women with no education and least so for men with no education. College education delays marriage for both men and women, but most of them eventually marry. We discuss the implications of findings for highly educated women and poorly educated men.
“A Giant Leap for Mankind” But What About Women? The Role of System-Justifying Ideologies in Predicting Attitudes Toward Sexist Language
Authors: Douglas Karen M. , Sutton Robbie M.
Published: June 2014

Sexist language excludes, trivializes, or diminishes either gender. Despite efforts by many professional bodies to encourage the use of nonsexist alternatives, sexist language use persists across many languages. Furthermore, research has shown that men are less supportive of nonsexist language alternatives than women, and that this effect is mediated by attitudes toward women. We propose that broader ideologies related to the perceived legitimacy of dominance hierarchies and existing social systems also explain this gender gap. British undergraduate participants completed measures of attitudes toward women, gender-specific system justification, and social dominance orientation. They also completed an inventory of attitudes toward sexist language. There was a strong gender difference in attitudes toward sexist language that was significantly mediated by gender-specific system justification and social dominance orientation. The relationship between gender and attitudes toward sexist language therefore appears to be driven by broader ideologies that serve to keep women “in their place”.
The globality of the local? A decolonial perspective on local economic development in South Africa
Authors: Ndlovu Morgan , Makoni Eric Nyembezi
Published: June 2014

This article employs the decolonial thinking paradigm to dispel the long-held myth that Local Economic Development strategies are universal panacea that can result in the development of all local economies globally. It is opined in this article that the growing literature celebrating the salience of Local Economic Development strategies often downplay how these strategies at times result in the reproduction of economic inequalities. This is primarily so in cities of the Global South which remain weighed down by the burden of colonial and apartheid history. For these repressive systems of governance relegated the colonised to the zones of non-being where opportunities for economic development and self-realisation were deliberately foreclosed. As will be made apparent below, the burden of colonial and apartheid history did not miraculously disappear with the advent of political independence. Instead, the spectre of coloniality – defined as the continuation of economic, socio-spatial and epistemological domination of the hitherto colonised, still looms large. The primary argument advanced here, therefore, is that Local Economic Development strategies implemented in highly socio-spatially fragmented and economically uneven societies can further exacerbate these inequalities. The case of post-apartheid South Africa is used to highlight how Local Economic Development strategies implemented in highly divided societies often reproduce economic and socio-spatial inequalities.
The doctor’s role in helping dying patients with cancer achieve peace: A qualitative study
Authors: Best Megan , Butow Phyllis , Olver Ian
Published: June 2014

Background:

Being at peace is important for the quality of life of dying cancer patients, but its features, and the role of the doctor in facilitating peace, are unclear.

Aim:

We sought to understand the features of a peaceful patient, and patients’ preferences regarding the role of the doctor in facilitating a sense of peace.

Design:

A grounded theory approach was used with semi-structured interviews. Patients were asked about the things that gave their life meaning and a sense of peace and how the doctor could support their spiritual well-being. Patients were also questioned about their concerns for their future.

Setting/participants:

In total, 15 cancer patients with advanced disease were interviewed in a variety of care settings.

Results:

Patients were observed to be along a spectrum between having peace and not having peace. Features of the two extreme positions are described. Doctors could facilitate peace by developing a good relationship with cancer patients and supplying clear and honest information about what patients could expect as they approached their death.

Conclusion:

Spiritual well-being in cancer patients can be promoted by communication from doctors regarding prognosis, which allows them time to prepare for death, and recognition of their fears. However, acceptance of death does not always lead to the patient experiencing peace.
Selling Sales
Authors: Allen Concha , Kumar Poonam , Tarasi Crina , Wilson Holt
Published: June 2014

With a better understanding of the typical sales student, sales educators can design and deliver curriculum with a more customer-oriented approach. In order to better understand the decision to pursue sales education, more than 500 undergraduate business students at a large Midwestern university participated in a survey that examined the factors influencing their decision to pursue sales education within a business major. The findings indicate that the choice of sales education is driven by students’ appreciation for creativity and people skills and their own interests and abilities, but the students’ school advisors (either college or high school) have significant influence as well. In today’s data-driven world, sales jobs depend on the use of analytical and intensively quantitative skills, yet our results indicate that sales students lack appreciation and enjoyment of the quantitative aspects of their major and potential career path.
Primary Intestinal and Vertebral Chordomas in Laboratory Zebrafish (Danio rerio)
Authors: Cooper T. K. , Murray K. N. , Spagnoli S. , Spitsbergen J. M.
Published: June 2014

Chordomas are uncommon neoplasms arising from notochord remnants, most commonly occurring in the axial skeleton. Extraskeletal soft tissue chordomas are rare primary tumors, and primary alimentary tract chordomas have not been reported. Herein we report 24 cases of spontaneous primary intestinal chordomas in zebrafish, as well as 9 spontaneous vertebral chordomas. Both intestinal and vertebral tumors showed invasive behavior, although more commonly in the latter. In all cases of primary intestinal chordomas, there was no axial or peripheral skeletal or other nonvisceral involvement. Although uncommon, intestinal chordomas represent a unique background lesion in aged zebrafish.
The Common Marmoset as a Model for the Study of Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease and Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis
Authors: Kramer J. A. , Grindley J. , Crowell A. M. , Makaron L. , Kohli R. , Kirby M. , Mansfield K. G. , Wachtman L. M.
Published: June 2014

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is considered the hepatic manifestation of metabolic syndrome. The more clinically concerning form of the disease, nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), is characterized by steatosis, lobular inflammation, and ballooning degeneration. Here we describe a naturally occurring syndrome in the common marmoset that recapitulates the pathologic findings associated with NAFLD/NASH in humans. Hepatomegaly determined to result from NAFLD was observed in 33 of 183 marmosets. A comprehensive histopathologic assessment performed in 31 marmosets demonstrated that NAFLD was characterized by variably sized, Oil Red O staining cytoplasmic vacuoles and observed primarily in animals with evidence of obesity and insulin resistance. A subset of marmosets (16 of 31) also demonstrated evidence of NASH characterized by multifocal inflammation combined with ballooning hepatocellular degeneration. Marmosets with NASH demonstrated an increase in immunostaining with an antibody targeted against the human leukocyte antigens (HLA)–DP, HLA-DQ, and HLA-DR compared with marmosets without NASH (38.89 cells/10× field vs 12.05 cells/10× field, P = .05). In addition, marmosets with NASH demonstrated increased Ki-67 immunopositive cellular proliferation compared with those without (5.95 cells/10× field vs 1.53 cells/10× field, P = .0002). Finally, animals with NASH demonstrated significantly increased mean circulating serum iron levels (160.47 μg/dl, P = .008) and an increase in numbers of Prussian blue–positive Kupffer cells (9.28 cells/40× field, P = .005) relative to marmosets without NASH (97.75 μg/dl and 1.87 cells/40×, respectively). This study further characterizes the histopathology of NAFLD/NASH and suggests that the marmoset may be a valuable animal model with which to investigate the host and environmental factors contributing to the progression of NAFLD/ NASH.
The Effectiveness of the Tupiq Program for Inuit Sex Offenders
Authors: Stewart Lynn A. , Hamilton Ellen , Wilton Geoff , Cousineau Colette , Varrette Steven K.
Published: June 2014

This study examines the effectiveness of the Tupiq program, a culturally specific program for Inuit sex offenders that incorporates cognitive behavioural methods with traditional Inuit knowledge and culture led by Inuit healers and facilitators. Outcomes of 61 offenders who participated in the Tupiq program and were released were compared with outcomes of a cohort of 114 released Inuit sex offenders incarcerated during the same time period who had taken alternative sex offender treatment programs, or had not attended any sex offender program. On release, Tupiq participants had significantly lower rates of general reoffending and violent reoffending than those in the combined comparison group. The hazard of reoffending for the comparison group was almost twice that of the Tupiq group. Although the sexual reoffending rate for the Tupiq participants was less than half of that of the comparison group, the difference between the two groups was not significant because of reduced statistical power. Survival analysis controlling for covariates confirmed significantly lower rates of general reoffending for the Tupiq group. Further analyses comparing the outcomes of the subgroup of offenders in the comparison group who participated in alternative sex offender treatment programs with those who participated in Tupiq indicated that Tupiq participants had significantly lower rates of both general and sexual reoffending. These positive results for this culturally specific program suggest that similarly designed interventions have a probability of contributing to the reduction of sexual offending within Inuit communities and, potentially, other jurisdictions that work with cultural minority sex offender groups from relatively isolated communities.