bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Improve the Simulations of Near-Inertial Internal Waves in the Ocean General Circulation Models
Authors: Jing Zhao , Wu Lixin , Ma Xiaohui
Published: August 2015

The near-inertial wind work and near-inertial internal waves (NIWs) in the ocean have been extensively studied using ocean general circulation models (OGCMs) forced by 6-hourly winds or wind stress obtained from atmospheric reanalysis data. However, the OGCMs interpolate the reanalysis winds or wind stress linearly onto each time step, which partially filters out the wind stress variance in the near-inertial band. In this study, the influence of the linear interpolation on the near-inertial wind work and NIWs is quantified using an eddy-resolving (°) primitive equation ocean model. In addition, a new interpolation method is proposed—the sinc-function interpolation—that overcomes the shortages of the linear interpolation.

It is found that the linear interpolation of 6-hourly winds significantly underestimates the near-inertial wind work and NIWs at the midlatitudes. The underestimation of the near-inertial wind work and near-inertial kinetic energy is proportional to the loss of near-inertial wind stress variance due to the linear interpolation. This further weakens the diapycnal mixing in the ocean due to the reduced near-inertial shear variance. Compared to the linear interpolation, the sinc-function interpolation retains all the wind stress variance in the near-inertial band and yields correct magnitudes for the near-inertial wind work and NIWs at the midlatitudes.
Assessing a New Coupled Data Assimilation System Based on the Met Office Coupled Atmosphere–Land–Ocean–Sea Ice Model
Authors: Lea D. J. , Mirouze I. , Martin M. J. , King R. R. , Hines A. , Walters D. , Thurlow M.
Published: August 2015

A new coupled data assimilation (DA) system developed with the aim of improving the initialization of coupled forecasts for various time ranges from short range out to seasonal is introduced. The implementation here is based on a “weakly” coupled data assimilation approach whereby the coupled model is used to provide background information for separate ocean–sea ice and atmosphere–land analyses. The increments generated from these separate analyses are then added back into the coupled model. This is different from the existing Met Office system for initializing coupled forecasts, which uses ocean and atmosphere analyses that have been generated independently using the FOAM ocean data assimilation system and NWP atmosphere assimilation systems, respectively. A set of trials has been run to investigate the impact of the weakly coupled data assimilation on the analysis, and on the coupled forecast skill out to 5–10 days. The analyses and forecasts have been assessed by comparing them to observations and by examining differences in the model fields. Encouragingly for this new system, both ocean and atmospheric assessments show the analyses and coupled forecasts produced using coupled DA to be very similar to those produced using separate ocean–atmosphere data assimilation. This work has the benefit of highlighting some aspects on which to focus to improve the coupled DA results. In particular, improving the modeling and data assimilation of the diurnal SST variation and the river runoff should be examined.
‘Bring Your Own Device’: Considering potential risks to student health
Authors: Merga Margaret K
Published: August 2015

Background and context:

Schools in Australia and internationally are increasingly adopting a Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) approach to teaching and learning.

The review:

While discussion of a BYOD approach has taken place, there is a dearth of consideration of the potential impact of BYOD policy on student health. Implementation of a BYOD policy may have implications for increased sedentary behaviour, as well as spinal and postural health. Increased use of devices at home to complete homework may also have implications for sleep duration, which in turn may impact upon a range of physical and cognitive issues. BYOD implementation may also increase student vulnerability to cyberbullying. These and other health issues are discussed.

Recommendations:

Schools may find it helpful to adopt a risk analysis approach informed by social cognitive theory, with an emphasis on the provision of knowledge and the fostering of self-efficacy in order to safeguard against potential health risks. As this issue has significance for researchers in both health promotion and education, an interdisciplinary approach should be taken.
An eventful politics of difference and its afterlife: Chittagong frontier, Bengal, c. 1657–1757
Authors: Choudhury Rishad
Published: August 2015

This essay seeks to illuminate the ‘biography’ of an early modern frontier in Chittagong, Bengal. It unravels the political rise and cultural reification of the frontier by revisiting, through multiple perspectives and successive stages, the final years in the life of a Mughal prince, Muhammad Sultan Shah Shuja‘ (1616–60?). I suggest that the language of a state frontier emerged from an ‘eventful’ conjuncture: a war of succession that caused Prince Shuja‘ to take flight through Chittagong to the Mrauk-U Kingdom in Arakan, northern Burma. Born of these events, it is argued that the genealogy of the Chittagong frontier shored up a deep history of difference between Bengal and Arakan. Beginning with some reflections from the colonial epoch, the essay then moves back for a consideration of seventeenth-century Chittagong. From 1660, as the state discourse of the frontier first took form, I follow the category to 1666, when the Mughal military annexed the city. The next section moves forward again to illustrate how the twin memory of the prince and the frontier were recalled in later, chiefly eighteenth-century traditions in Bengal. Ultimately, the essay contributes to a growing discussion on the political ideology of frontiers in early modern India. Likewise, it reorients the question of the impact of Indo-Persian on vernacular traditions by observing that such entanglements inspired both ‘cosmopolitanism’ and ‘othering’ in South and Southeast Asia.
Domesticating electric power: Growth of industry, utilities and research in colonial Calcutta
Authors: Sarkar Suvobrata
Published: August 2015

Public electricity supplies became available in Calcutta as early as the 1890s and by the 1940s had developed to become the major source of power and lighting both for industries and private use. Could the electrification of Calcutta act as an agent of industrial development? What impact did it have on the socio-economic condition of the city? The twentieth century was to be the age of electricity. Apart from industrial use of this new technology, to realise its full practical capacities a new discipline emerged—electrical engineering. The Bengali electrical engineering community, alumni of Sibpur and Jadavpur Engineering Colleges, gradually oriented themselves towards ideas of industrial development based on Indian realities. Few trained electrical engineers entered in the business sector and became very successful. High level of technological innovation such as that of hydroelectricity was also exploited by the Bengali entrepreneurs. The credentials of the Bengali erudite and ordinary people in the field of electricity, which this article tries to explore, offer an interesting example of Indian response to the new knowledge.
Book Review: Chandra Mallampalli, Race, Religion and Law in Colonial India: Trials of an Interracial Family
Authors: Kolsky Elizabeth
Published: August 2015

Chandra Mallampalli, Race, Religion and Law in Colonial India: Trials of an Interracial Family, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2011, pp. 286.
Book Review: Janaki Nair, Mysore Modern: Rethinking the Region under Princely Rule and Aya Ikegame, Princely India Re-imagined: A Historical Anthropology of Mysore from 1799 to the Present
Authors: Zutshi Chitralekha
Published: August 2015

Janaki Nair, Mysore Modern: Rethinking the Region under Princely Rule, New Delhi: Orient BlackSwan, 2012, pp. 372.

Aya Ikegame, Princely India Re-imagined: A Historical Anthropology of Mysore from 1799 to the Present, India: Routledge, 2013, pp. 232.
Book Review: Nikhil Govind, Between Love and Freedom: The Revolutionary in the Hindi Novel
Authors: Sawhney Simona
Published: August 2015

Nikhil Govind, Between Love and Freedom: The Revolutionary in the Hindi Novel, London, New York and New Delhi: Routledge, 2014, pp. 180.
Preparation of silver nanoparticle-coated calcium alginate fibers by hyperbranched poly(amidoamine)-mediated assembly and their antibacterial activity
Authors: Xu Sijun , Zhang Feng , Song Jiangchao , Kishimoto Yuki , Morikawa Hideaki
Published: August 2015

A facile approach has been developed for preparing silver nanoparticle (AgNP)-coated calcium alginate fibers by hyperbranched poly(amidoamine) (HBPAA)-mediated assembly of AgNPs onto the surface of calcium alginate fibers in aqueous solution. Amino-functionalized AgNPs were synthesized in aqueous media using HBPAA as the reducing and capping agent. The assembly of AgNPs on calcium alginate fibers was realized through electrostatic and hydrogen bonding interactions between calcium alginate fibers and HBPAA molecules capped on the surface of AgNPs. Scanning electron microscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy characterizations demonstrated that high density of metallic AgNPs were uniformly distributed on the fiber surface. The results of antibacterial tests indicated that the coated calcium alginate fibers exhibited high antibacterial activity against gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria.
Clarivein mechanochemical ablation of the great and small saphenous vein: Early treatment outcomes of two hospitals
Authors: Deijen Charlotte L , Schreve Michiel A , Bosma Jan , de Nie A Jorianne , Leijdekkers Vanessa J , van den Akker Peter J , Vahl Anco
Published: August 2015

Objectives

Mechanochemical endovenous ablation is a novel technique for the treatment of great saphenous vein and small saphenous vein incompetence which combines mechanical injury of the endothelium with simultaneous infusion of liquid sclerosant. The main objective of this study was to evaluate early occlusion.

Methods

All consecutive patients who were eligible for the treatment with mechanochemical endovenous ablation were included. Inclusion period was from the introduction of the device in the hospitals (September 2011 and December 2011) until December 2012.

Results

A total of 449 patients were included representing 570 incompetent veins. In 506 treated veins, duplex ultrasonography was performed at follow-up: 457 veins (90%) were occluded at a follow-up of 6 to 12 weeks. In univariate and multivariate analysis, failure of treated great saphenous vein was associated with saphenofemoral junction incompetence (OR 4; 95% CI 1.0–17.1, P = 0.049).

Conclusions

The Clarivein device proves to be safe and had a high short-term technical effectiveness.
The mutual shaping of life insurance and medicine in Finland
Authors: Jauho Mikko
Published: August 2015

This article examines the mutual shaping of medicine and private life insurance in Finland before the Second World War. Based on historical texts and archival material, it shows the important effects that the involvement of medicine in client selection for life insurance companies had on medical knowledge and practice. The analysis focuses on the tensions between the main actors in life insurance underwriting – candidates, insurance agents, examining physicians and the central office – as well as the medical examination as the key site of these tensions. The article shows how the introduction of a set of procedural and technical innovations reshaped the medical examination and helped to stabilize the fraught network of life insurance underwriting. These innovations re-scripted medical work. They stressed objective measurable knowledge over the personal skill and clinical acumen of the examining physician, propagated the physical examination and the use of diagnostic technologies and vital standards, multiplied medicine’s administrative tasks, and contributed to the introduction of a risk factor approach to medicine. Moreover, the social organization of life insurance promoted the spread of these objects, practices and tasks to other fields of medicine. The case displays how medical innovations are developed through the situated interplay of multiple actors that cuts across the science–society boundary.
Anabolic Steroids Reduce Muscle Degeneration Associated With Rotator Cuff Tendon Release in Sheep
Authors: Gerber Christian , Meyer Dominik C. , Flück Martin , Benn Mario C. , von Rechenberg Brigitte , Wieser Karl
Published: August 2015

Background:

Chronic rotator cuff tendon tearing is associated with irreversible atrophy, fatty infiltration, and interstitial fibrosis of the corresponding muscle.

Hypotheses:

Anabolic steroids can prevent musculotendinous degeneration during retraction and/or can reverse these changes after operative repair of the retracted musculotendinous unit in sheep.

Study Design:

Controlled laboratory study.

Methods:

The infraspinatus tendon was released in 18 alpine sheep. All sheep underwent repair of the retracted musculotendinous unit after 16 weeks and were sacrificed after 22 weeks; 6 sheep served as controls, 6 sheep were treated with weekly intramuscular injection of 150 mg of nandrolone decanoate after infraspinatus (ISP) repair (group N6W), and 6 sheep were treated with 150 mg of nandrolone decanoate immediately after tendon release (group N22W). Muscle biopsy specimens were taken before tendon release and after 16 and 22 weeks. Muscle volume and fatty infiltration (on MRI), myotendinous retraction, and muscle density (on computed tomography) were measured immediately after ISP release, after 6 weeks, and before ISP repair and sacrifice.

Results:

Muscle volume on MRI decreased to a mean (±SD) of 80% ± 8% of the original volume after 6 weeks, remained stable at 78% ± 11% after 16 weeks, and decreased further to 69% ± 9% after 22 weeks in the control group. These findings were no different from those in group N22W (72% ± 9% at 6 weeks, 73% ± 6% at 16 weeks, and 67% ± 5% at 22 weeks). Conversely, the N6W group did not show a decrease in ISP volume after repair; this finding differed significantly from the response in the control and N22W groups. Fatty infiltration (on MRI) continuously increased in the control group (12% ± 4% at tendon release, 17% ± 4% after 6 weeks, 50% ± 9% after 16 weeks, and 60% ± 8% after 22 weeks) and the N6W group. However, application of anabolic steroids at the time of tendon release (N22W group) significantly reduced fatty infiltration after 16 (16% ± 5%; P < .001) and 22 weeks (22% ± 7%; P < .001).

Conclusion:

In a sheep model of rotator cuff tendon tear, further muscle atrophy can be prevented with the application of anabolic steroids starting immediately after tendon repair. In addition, fatty muscle infiltration can largely be prevented if the steroids are applied immediately after tendon release.

Clinical Relevance:

Study findings may lead to the development of treatment strategies to prevent or reduce muscle degeneration caused by rotator cuff tendon tearing.
Effects of a Strategic Intervention With iPad Practice on the Multiplication Fact Performance of Fifth-Grade Students With Learning Disabilities
Authors: Ok Min Wook , Bryant Diane Pedrotty
Published: August 2015

This study investigated the effects of explicit, strategic intervention with iPad application practice on the multiplication fact performance and strategy use of elementary students with learning disabilities (LD) using a single-case, multiple probe design across participants. Four fifth-grade students with LD received 15 1:1 intervention sessions in multiplication facts. Results indicated that all students made significant growth in multiplication fact performance across the study and maintained the intervention gains 2 weeks following the intervention. Overall, students increased their use of a doubling strategy taught during intervention and were able to retrieve facts automatically after intervention sessions. Social validity interview results indicated that participants had positive perspectives about the intervention. Implications for practice and suggestions for future research are discussed.
Exploring the Effects of Peer Review and Teachers' Corrective Feedback on EFL Students' Online Writing Performance
Authors: Tai Hung-Cheng , Lin Wen-Chuan , Yang Shu Ching
Published: August 2015

The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of the combination of teacher-led feedback and peer review (TF + PR) and a single TF method on the writing performance of English as a foreign language (EFL) university students within a collaborative online learning system. The students' perceptions of the writing course were also examined. An experimental PR + TF group and a comparison TF group, with a total of 107 undergraduate students majoring in nursing, participated in this study during the fall semester of 2011. The results revealed that the students in the TF + PR group demonstrated greater improvements than those who received only TF in terms of holistic writing skills and the subscales of content, organization, grammar, mechanics, and style. The PR perceptions of the TF + PR group learners and the manner in which they adopted strategies for coping with peer feedback are discussed.
How Debriefing Strategies Can Improve Student Motivation and Self-Efficacy in Game-Based Learning
Authors: Bilgin Cigdem Uz , Baek Youngkyun , Park Hyungsung
Published: August 2015

Debriefing is an important step in game-based learning environments. Fanning and Gaba defined debriefing as “facilitated or guided reflection in the cycle of experiential learning.” In the present study, the effect of different debriefing strategies in terms of two factors, grouping (self vs. team) and timing (in-game vs. postgame), was investigated on the motivation and self-efficacy levels of students. In a 2 × 2 analysis of variance design, 62 sixth-grade students were randomly assigned into two debriefing groups: self-debriefing and team debriefing. About half of members in each group performed either one of the two debriefing: in-game debriefing or postgame debriefing. Students in the self-debriefing as well as in the team-briefing group played the game 3 days a week over 9 weeks. As students finished the task, motivation and self-efficacy scales were administered and semistructured interviews were conducted. Findings indicate that students showed higher motivation and self-efficacy scores in the team debriefing than in the self-debriefing. Moreover, the in-game debriefing group outperformed the postgame debriefing group in terms of self-efficacy and motivation levels. Semistructured interviews supported the quantitative results that students benefited more from collaborative debriefing sessions.
Acquired enophthalmos with systemic lupus erythematosus
Authors: Park K R , Seo M R , Ryu H J , Chi M J , Baek H J , Choi H J
Published: August 2015

Ocular involvement sometimes occurs with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) but enophthalmos with SLE is rare. We report a case of enophthalmos with SLE. A 25-year-old male was admitted for two weeks of fever, sore throat, arthralgia, chest pain and right arm weakness with pain. We diagnosed him with SLE with malar rash, arthritis, pleural effusion, proteinuria, leukopenia, positive antinuclear antibody, anti-dsDNA, and lupus anticoagulant. The patient was prescribed high-dose prednisolone and hydroxychloroquine 400 mg. One week after discharge, he complained about a sensation of a sunken right eye. CT showed right enophthalmos, a post-inflammatory change and chronic inflammation. Proteinuria increased to 3.8 g/day after the patient stopped taking prednisolone. Cyclophosphamide therapy was administered for three months without improvement. We decided to restart prednisolone and change cyclophosphamide to mycophenolate mofetil. Proteinuria decreased but enophthalmos remains as of this reporting.
Self-Rated Health and Associated Factors in Older Turkish Adults With Type 2 Diabetes
Authors: Kara Belgüzar
Published: August 2015

Purpose:To evaluate self-rated health (SRH) and determine its associations with participant characteristics, glycemic control, family support, and health-related quality of life in older Turkish adults with type 2 diabetes. Method: This cross-sectional study included 113 adults aged 60 years or older with type 2 diabetes. Data were collected by using an information form, the Perceived Social Support From Family Scale, and the Nottingham Health Profile. SRH was assessed by a single-item question. Glycemic control was measured by glycosylated hemoglobin levels. Results: Ninety-seven patients (85.8%) evaluated their health as fair or poor. The glycemic target level (glycosylated hemoglobin <7.5%) was achieved in 47.8% of the patients. Female gender, a low or moderate family income, and lower levels of family support were associated with poorer SRH. Conclusions/Implications: The majority of the participants considered their health to be fair or poor. Better understanding of risk factors associated with SRH may provide more effective interventions to improve health outcomes.
Magnetorheological behaviour and electrospinning of poly(ethylene oxide) suspensions with magnetic nanoparticles
Authors: Peer Petra , Stenicka Martin , Sedlacik Michal , Filip Petr , Pavlinek Vladimir
Published: August 2015

The properties of poly(ethylene oxide) aqueous suspensions with magnetic nanoparticles synthesized under microwave-assisted radiation are studied. The magnetic nanoparticles are formed by iron (III) chloride hexahydrate (FeCl3·6H2O) dissolved in ethylene glycol (C2H4(OH)2) and subsequently in aqueous ammonia solution (approx. 25 wt% aq.). The polymer suspension exhibits substantial advantages over a suspension when ‘classical’ carrier fluids (water and silicone oil) are used. First, the presence of poly(ethylene oxide) significantly contributes to a fabrication of nanofibrous webs, the morphology of which is documented by scanning electron microscopy technique. Second, better sedimentation stability of the processed suspension during electrospinning reflects in a uniform distribution of magnetic nanoparticles along the nanofibres, thus ensuring even magnetic performance of the resulting membranes.
Analytics
Authors: Chiaburu Dan S.
Published: August 2015

Although scientific research can be done in many ways, some often-used academic templates emphasize elaborate (yet difficult to validate) theories and a-priori empirical tests. But research is not confined only to academic ivory towers. Consultants and practitioners engage in research as well and may do so in a less conventional manner. In this article, I discuss how analytics (the scientific process of transforming data into insight to make better decisions) sidesteps some theory- and methods-related issues. I also speculate on how analytics may catalyze what some see as a stagnant, constricted, way of “doing science.”
Bullied Status and Physical Activity in Texas Adolescents
Authors: Case Kathleen R. , Pérez Adriana , Saxton Debra L. , Hoelscher Deanna M. , Springer Andrew E.
Published: August 2015

This study examined the association between having been bullied at school during the past 6 months (“bullied status”) and not meeting physical activity (PA) recommendations of 60 minutes of daily PA during the past week among 8th- and 11th-grade Texas adolescents. Multiple logistic regression analysis was conducted to examine this association, adjusted for weight status, grade, race/ethnicity, and stratified by gender; furthermore, a significant interaction was found between bullied status and weight status. Results are presented by interaction status. Results indicated that overweight girls who reported never being bullied, as well as those who reported being bullied more than twice, had higher odds of not meeting PA recommendations than normal weight girls who were never bullied (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 2.12, 95% confidence interval [CI: 1.12, 3.99]; AOR = 9.18, 95% CI [2.26, 37.27], respectively). Obese girls who were bullied once or twice had higher odds of not meeting PA recommendations than normal weight girls who were never bullied (AOR = 2.89, 95% CI [1.06, 7.89]). Overweight boys who reported never being bullied had lower odds of not meeting PA recommendations than normal weight boys who were never bullied (AOR = 0.62, 95% CI [0.39, 0.97]). Conversely, obese boys who were bullied once or twice reported higher odds of not meeting PA recommendations than normal weight boys who were never bullied (AOR = 3.61, 95% CI [1.22, 10.67]). Findings from this study indicate that the association between bullied status and meeting PA recommendations is complex and may differ by gender and the interaction between bullied status and weight status.
Mental Accounting and Tax Compliance
Authors: Muehlbacher Stephan , Hartl Barbara , Kirchler Erich
Published: August 2015

Taxes are a burdensome and tedious issue for self-employed who have just started their business. The present research suggests mental accounting as a measure for self-employed to keep track of their financial activities. Based on prospect theory, we argue that the mental segregation of taxes due from net income affects a taxpayer’s reference point in the compliance decision and results in higher tax compliance. Findings from a laboratory experiment confirm this prediction. Further, we show that relevance of mental tax accounting is higher when the tax due is not specified externally as it is the case in pay slips provided to employees. The individual tendency toward mental segregation of tax due and net income is positively related to the sex and age of respondents, their attitudes toward taxpaying, and their experiences gathered in the course of the experiment.
Easing the transition to secondary education for children with autism spectrum disorder: An evaluation of the Systemic Transition in Education Programme for Autism Spectrum Disorder (STEP-ASD)
Authors: Mandy William , Murin Marianna , Baykaner Ozlem , Staunton Sara , Cobb Robert , Hellriegel Josselyn , Anderson Seonaid , Skuse David
Published: August 2015

In mainstream education, the transition from primary to secondary school (‘school transition’) is difficult for children with autism spectrum disorder, being marked by high levels of emotional and behavioural difficulties. The Systemic Transition in Education Programme for Autism Spectrum Disorder (STEP-ASD) is a new, manualised school transition intervention. We investigated its feasibility and efficacy for children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (N = 37; mean age = 11.47 years; mean IQ = 85.24) using an unblinded, non-randomised, controlled design. Teachers found the intervention feasible and acceptable. Children receiving STEP-ASD (n = 17) showed a large (Cohen’s d = 0.88) reduction in school-reported emotional and behavioural difficulties, whereas controls (n = 20) showed a slight increase (d = −0.1) (p = 0.010). These encouraging findings suggest the value of STEP-ASD as a low-intensity intervention for reducing problem behaviours and distress in children with autism spectrum disorder as they transition to mainstream secondary school.
Stuart Hall and the tension between academic and intellectual work
Authors: Ang Ien
Published: August 2015

Throughout his long career Stuart Hall has personified a shifting range of political-intellectual positionalities, responding to the changing historical conjuncture in the West since the late 1950s. From his engagement with the New Left to the generation of new spaces for critical intellectual intervention in the 1970s (as embodied by the Birmingham Centre for Contemporary Cultural Studies) to the tightening up of such spaces as a consequence of the neoliberal ascendancy (which Hall himself theorized through his analysis of Thatcherism) from the 1980s onwards, the role of the intellectual/academic has changed significantly throughout this period, as universities have become increasingly corporatized. This article tracks this evolution by tracing the paradoxical fate of cultural studies as an intellectual project and academic formation, and Hall’s ultimate distancing from it at the end of his life.
Youth, self, other: A study of Ibdaa’s digital media practices in the West Bank, Palestine
Authors: Asthana Sanjay
Published: August 2015

While research on youth media offers persuasive arguments about what young people are doing with information and communication technologies (ICTs), a significant absence from the literature pertains to the general neglect of Palestinian youth engagements with inexpensive ICTs and digital media forms. Despite a few perceptive analyses, several studies ignore the role of popular culture in Palestinian refugee life-worlds. This article explores how Palestinian youth living in a refugee camp in the West Bank appropriate old and new media to create personal and social narratives. Drawing insights from Paul Ricoeur’s work, non-representational theory, feminist, media, and cultural studies, the article probes the issues through a set of interrelated questions: What are the salient features of the Palestinian youth media initiative? What kinds of media narratives are produced and how do these relate to young people’s notions of identity and selfhood? How do young people refashion the notion of the political?
Tell me what you remember and I will know who you are: The link between collective memory and social categorization
Authors: Tavani Jean Louis , Collange Julie , Rateau Patrick , Rouquette Michel-Louis , Sanitioso Bo Rasyid
Published: August 2015

The present article aims to show that collective memories could serve as a criterion in social categorization. We predicted that a target person who shares common collective memories will be perceived as similar (to the self), relatively more favorably and categorized as an ingroup member. We conducted four studies using memories of historical events or childhood objects. These studies consistently showed that a target who shares common memories is more likely to be perceived as an ingroup member than someone who does not. This effect is mediated by perceived similarity to the self. Finally, individuals who share common memories are perceived more favorably than when they do not. However, according to the type of collective memories (historical events vs. childhood memories) sharing memories impacts either perceived competence or perceived warmth. The current sets of studies support the idea that collective memory influences social categorization processes, exemplifying its group identity-defining function.
Usability and acceptability of balance exergames in older adults: A scoping review
Authors: Nawaz Ather , Skjæret Nina , Helbostad Jorunn Lægdheim , Vereijken Beatrix , Boulton Elisabeth , Svanaes Dag
Published: August 2015

Serious games (exergames) have the potential to be effective for postural balance and increasing muscle strength. Several games have been developed to increase physical fitness and balance among older adults. However, it is unclear to which degree usability and acceptability of exergames for older adults have been evaluated. The aim of this study was to summarize usability evaluation and acceptability of studies in older adults. We conducted a scoping review on studies focusing on usability of exergames for older adults. The result shows that older adults consider usability and acceptability of exercise video games good. The review shows that longitudinal studies mainly use off-the-shelf exergame and evaluated game effectiveness and acceptability, whereas cross-sectional studies focus on interactional experience. Studies varied in their approaches to measure usability and acceptability of exergames for older adults. There is a need for a systematic developmental approach to involve older adults in development of exergames for longitudinal studies.
The Conceptual Relationship Between Love, Romantic Love, and Sex
Authors: Manoharan Christopher , de Munck Victor
Published: August 2015

Certain methodological techniques blend quantitative and qualitative elements, defying explicit characterization as either. Placing focus on the distinction between methods for data collection and methods for analysis ameliorates this confusion and identifies the occasionally ambiguous quantitative/qualitative designation of highly convergent methods as largely subject to researchers’ goals. We use free listing and prototype analysis, two methods which are variously characterized as either quantitative or qualitative, to investigate the conceptual relationship between love, romantic love, and sex. A methodological framework is presented in which open-ended questionnaires and structured interviews are analyzed comparatively to clarify the relationship between the three concepts. Results suggest that romantic love is conceptualized as a synthesis of prototypical “caring” love and noncrude attributes of sex.
Effect of the air channels in thermal insulating material on its thermal resistance
Authors: Orlik-Kożdoń Bożena , Steidl Tomasz
Published: August 2015

The article examines air channels formed as simple geometrical figures along the slab length to determine their influence on thermal insulation value of the slab. The channel designer in the slab is intended to help lessen the weight of the slab, with simultaneous preservation of the actual thermal parameters. The solution is aimed at the rigid as insulation materials, and its objective is to design a prefabricate for renovation of the external walls.
The school as crime scene: Discourses on degrading treatment in Swedish schools
Authors: Hammarén Nils , Lunneblad Johannes , Johansson Thomas , Odenbring Ylva
Published: August 2015

There is a strong case for stating that during the past decades there has been a shift in perspective when addressing questions of how to handle and preserve social order in Swedish schools. As an institution that has focused on social order and education since the 1990s, the Swedish school system has also become an institution that focuses on social order in terms of law and legal issues. The overall purpose of the article is to explore in which contexts and in what ways degrading treatment is articulated in policy documents that relate to social order in Swedish schools. Methodologically, the authors use a discourse analytical approach. They study how contexts and articulations identified in policy documents relate to discourses of degrading treatment, and thus contribute to an understanding of how degrading treatment as a concept is constituted. Articulated in different contexts and in different ways, the results show that degrading treatment is constituted as a somewhat ambiguous concept – for example, social psychological perspectives are sometimes articulated within a legal discourse. Articulations of degrading treatment in policy documents cannot be comprehended as totally mutually dependent events, but rather as multiple and partly mutually independent events. Accordingly, the authors believe that the significance of degrading treatment is best understood as a conjunction of different articulations, contexts and interests. Additionally, the tendency of schools to treat degrading treatment increasingly as a crime has resulted in changing subject positions. The previous position of ‘the bullied pupil’ is now instead increasingly interpellated and moulded as ‘a victim of crime’.
The influence of ecological and geographical context in the radiation of Neotropical sigmodontine rodents
Authors: Parada Andrés , D’Elía Guillermo , Palma R. Eduardo
Published: August 2015

Background

Much debate has focused on how transitions in life history have influenced the proliferation of some clades. Rodents of the subfamily Sigmodontinae (family Cricetidae) comprise one of the most diverse clades of Neotropical mammals (~400 living species in 86 genera). These rodents occupy a wide range of habitats and lifestyles so that ecological context seems relevant to understand the evolution of this group. Several changes in the landscape of South America through the Neogene might have provided vast resources and opportunity to diversify. The aim of this study was to examine whether transitions between i) lowland and montane habitats, ii) open vegetation and forest, and iii) distinct molar architectures are correlated with shifts in diversification rates and to characterize the general pattern of diversification.

Results

Based on a dense taxon sampling of 269 species, we recovered a new phylogeny of Sigmodontinae that is topologically consistent with those of previous studies. It indicates that the subfamily and its major lineages appeared during the Late Miocene. Analyses suggest that vegetation type and elevational range are correlated with diversification rates, but not molar architecture. Tropical lowlands accumulated more lineage diversity than other areas and also supported high speciation rates. Across the radiation the subfamily Sigmodontinae appear to have experienced a decline in diversification rate through time. We detected mixed evidence for lineage-specific diversification rate shifts (e.g., leading to the clades ofAkodon, Bibimys, CalomysandThomasomys).

Conclusion

We report that the evolution of habitat preference (considering vegetation type and elevational range) was associated with diversification rates among sigmodontine rodents. We propose that the observed diversification slowdown might be the result of ecological or geographical constraints. Our results also highlight the influence of the tropical lowlands -which might have acted as both “a cradle and a museum of species.” The tropical lowlands accumulated greater diversity than the remainder of the group's range.
High quality draft genomic sequence of Arenimonas donghaensis DSM 18148T
Authors: Chen Fang , Wang Hui , Cao Yajing , Li Xiangyang , Wang Gejiao
Published: August 2015

Arenimonas donghaensis is the type species of genus Arenimonas which belongs to family Xanthomonadaceae within Gammaproteobacteria. In this study, a total of five type strains of Arenimonas were sequenced. The draft genomic information of A. donghaensis DSM 18148T is described and compared with other four genomes of Arenimonas. The genome size of A. donghaensis DSM 18148T is 2,977,056 bp distributed in 51 contigs, containing 2685 protein-coding genes and 49 RNA genes.
Childhood Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia: Progress Through Collaboration
Authors: Pui Ching-Hon , Yang Jun J. , Hunger Stephen P. , Pieters Rob , Schrappe Martin , Biondi Andrea , Vora Ajay , Baruchel André , Silverman Lewis B. , Schmiegelow Kjeld , Escherich Gabriele , Horibe Keizo , Benoit Yves C.M. , Izraeli Shai , Yeoh Allen Eng Juh , Liang Der-Cherng , Downing James R. , Evans William E. , Relling Mary V. , Mullighan Charles G.
Published: August 2015

Purpose

To review the impact of collaborative studies on advances in the biology and treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) in children and adolescents.

Methods

A review of English literature on childhood ALL focusing on collaborative studies was performed. The resulting article was reviewed and revised by the committee chairs of the major ALL study groups.

Results

With long-term survival rates for ALL approaching 90% and the advent of high-resolution genome-wide analyses, several international study groups or consortia were established to conduct collaborative research to further improve outcome. As a result, treatment strategies have been improved for several subtypes of ALL, such as infant, MLL-rearranged, Philadelphia chromosome–positive, and Philadelphia chromosome–like ALL. Many recurrent genetic abnormalities that respond to tyrosine kinase inhibitors and multiple genetic determinants of drug resistance and toxicities have been identified to help develop targeted therapy. Several genetic polymorphisms have been recognized that show susceptibility to developing ALL and that help explain the racial/ethnic differences in the incidence of ALL.

Conclusion

The information gained from collaborative studies has helped decipher the heterogeneity of ALL to help improve personalized treatment, which will further advance the current high cure rate and the quality of life for children and adolescents with ALL.
Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma in Children and Adolescents: Progress Through Effective Collaboration, Current Knowledge, and Challenges Ahead
Authors: Minard-Colin Véronique , Brugières Laurence , Reiter Alfred , Cairo Mitchell S. , Gross Thomas G. , Woessmann Wilhelm , Burkhardt Birgit , Sandlund John T. , Williams Denise , Pillon Marta , Horibe Keizo , Auperin Anne , Le Deley Marie-Cécile , Zimmerman Martin , Perkins Sherrie L. , Raphael Martine , Lamant Laurence , Klapper Wolfram , Mussolin Lara , Poirel Hélène A. , Macintyre Elizabeth , Damm-Welk Christine , Rosolen Angelo , Patte Catherine
Published: August 2015

Non-Hodgkin lymphoma is the fourth most common malignancy in children, has an even higher incidence in adolescents, and is primarily represented by only a few histologic subtypes. Dramatic progress has been achieved, with survival rates exceeding 80%, in large part because of a better understanding of the biology of the different subtypes and national and international collaborations. Most patients with Burkitt lymphoma and diffuse large B-cell lymphoma are cured with short intensive pulse chemotherapy containing cyclophosphamide, cytarabine, and high-dose methotrexate. The benefit of the addition of rituximab has not been established except in the case of primary mediastinal B-cell lymphoma. Lymphoblastic lymphoma is treated with intensive, semi-continuous, longer leukemia-derived protocols. Relapses in B-cell and lymphoblastic lymphomas are rare and infrequently curable, even with intensive approaches. Event-free survival rates of approximately 75% have been achieved in anaplastic large-cell lymphomas with various regimens that generally include a short intensive B-like regimen. Immunity seems to play an important role in prognosis and needs further exploration to determine its therapeutic application. ALK inhibitor therapeutic approaches are currently under investigation. For all pediatric lymphomas, the intensity of induction/consolidation therapy correlates with acute toxicities, but because of low cumulative doses of anthracyclines and alkylating agents, minimal or no long-term toxicity is expected. Challenges that remain include defining the value of prognostic factors, such as early response on positron emission tomography/computed tomography and minimal disseminated and residual disease, using new biologic technologies to improve risk stratification, and developing innovative therapies, both in the first-line setting and for relapse.
Pediatric and Adolescent Extracranial Germ Cell Tumors: The Road to Collaboration
Authors: Olson Thomas A. , Murray Matthew J. , Rodriguez-Galindo Carlos , Nicholson James C. , Billmire Deborah F. , Krailo Mark D. , Dang Ha M. , Amatruda James F. , Thornton Claire M. , Arul G. Suren , Stoneham Sara J. , Pashankar Farzana , Stark Daniel , Shaikh Furqan , Gershenson David M. , Covens Allan , Hurteau Jean , Stenning Sally P. , Feldman Darren R. , Grimison Peter S. , Huddart Robert A. , Sweeney Christopher , Powles Thomas , Lopes Luiz Fernando , dos Santos Agular Simone , Chinnaswamy Girish , Khaleel Sahar , Abouelnaga Sherif , Hale Juliet P. , Frazier A. Lindsay
Published: August 2015

During the past 35 years, survival rates for children with extracranial malignant germ cell tumors (GCTs) have increased significantly. Success has been achieved primarily through the application of platinum-based chemotherapy regimens; however, clinical challenges in GCTs remain. Excellent outcomes are not distributed uniformly across the heterogeneous distribution of age, histologic features, and primary tumor site. Despite good outcomes overall, the likelihood of a cure for certain sites and histologic conditions is less than 50%. In addition, there are considerable long-term treatment-related effects for survivors. Even modest cisplatin dosing can cause significant long-term morbidities. A particular challenge in designing new therapies for GCT is that a variety of specialists use different risk stratifications, staging systems, and treatment approaches for three distinct age groups (childhood, adolescence, and young adulthood). Traditionally, pediatric cancer patients younger than 15 years have been treated by pediatric oncologists in collaboration with their surgical specialty colleagues. Adolescents and young adults with GCTs often are treated by medical oncologists, urologists, or gynecologic oncologists. The therapeutic dilemma for all is how to best define disease risk so that therapy and toxicity can be appropriately reduced for some patients and intensified for others. Further clinical and biologic insights can only be achieved through collaborations that do not set limitations by age, sex, and primary tumor site. Therefore, international collaborations, spanning different cooperative groups and disciplines, have been developed to address these challenges.
Trebananib (AMG 386) in Combination With Sunitinib in Patients With Metastatic Renal Cell Cancer: An Open-Label, Multicenter, Phase II Study
Authors: Atkins Michael B. , Gravis Gwenaelle , Drosik Kazimierz , Demkow Tomasz , Tomczak Piotr , Wong Shirley S. , Michaelson M. Dror , Choueiri Toni K. , Wu Benjamin , Navale Lynn , Warner Douglas , Ravaud Alain
Published: August 2015

Purpose

Trebananib, an investigational recombinant peptide-Fc fusion protein, neutralizes the receptor-ligand interaction between Tie2 and angiopoietin-1/2. This phase II study was conducted to evaluate trebananib plus sunitinib, a vascular endothelial growth factor receptor inhibitor, in patients with metastatic clear cell renal cell carcinoma.

Patients and Methods

Adults with metastatic renal cell carcinoma were enrolled sequentially onto two cohorts that received sunitinib 50 mg once per day for 4 weeks on and 2 weeks off and intravenous trebananib once per week at a dose of 10 mg/kg in cohort A or 15 mg/kg in cohort B. The primary end points were incidences of adverse events (AEs) and dose interruptions of sunitinib during the first 12 weeks of treatment. Secondary end points included objective response rate and progression-free survival.

Results

Eighty-five patients were enrolled: 43 in cohort A, and 42 in cohort B. During the first 12 weeks of treatment, 58% and 57% of patients in cohorts A and B, respectively, had sunitinib dose interruptions (dose decrease, withholding, or withdrawal). The most frequent AEs were diarrhea (cohort A, 74%; cohort B, 67%), mucosal inflammation (cohort A, 49%; cohort B, 60%), and hypertension (cohort A, 52%; cohort B, 45%). AEs of grade 3 or greater occurred in 58% of patients in cohort A and in 69% of patients in cohort B. The objective response rate was 58% and 63% in cohorts A and B, respectively. The median progression-free survival time was 13.9 months (95% CI, 10.4 to 19.2) and 16.3 months (95% CI, 13.1 to 21.4) in cohorts A and B, respectively. The median overall survival time was 36 months (95% CI, 25.2 to not estimable) in cohort A and was not estimable (median follow-up, 25 months) in cohort B.

Conclusion

Trebananib plus sunitinib seemed to increase toxicity at the tested doses. Efficacy results suggest a potential benefit for the addition of trebananib to sunitinib.