bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Dynamics of a piezoelectric energy harvester in a simulated rain environment
Authors: Wong Voon-Kean , Ho Jee-Hou , Yap Eng Hwa , Chai Ai Bao
Published: July 2017

Rain impact energy harvesting has proven to be a feasible and potent source of alternative energy. This paper presents the development of a dynamical model for rain impact energy harvester using a piezoelectric beam in simulated rain environment. Most of the conducted works in literature were based on single droplet impact with fixed height and drop position. The main contribution of this paper is to extend the single droplet impact dynamical model by incorporating random drop sizes and drop positions. In this work, a rain simulator is used to generate artificial rain of different rain rates. Following our previous works, the water accumulation on the piezoelectric beam is modeled using added mass coefficient, and impact coefficient is integrated into the dynamical model to describe the post-impact dynamics of the droplet impact. The stochastic nature of the artificial rain is described using rain rate and drop size distribution. Two random number generators are integrated into the model, which are lognormally and uniformly distributed, to generate random numbers for droplet diameter and drop position respectively. The accuracy of the theoretical model is validated experimentally by considering four different rain rates.
Probabilistic analysis method of turbine blisk with multi-failure modes by two-way fluid-thermal-solid coupling
Authors: Lu Cheng , Feng Yun-Wen , Fei Cheng-Wei , Xue Xiao-Feng
Published: July 2017

This study develops multi-extremum response surface method (MERSM) for the probabilistic analysis of aeroengine turbine blisk with the coexistence of many failure modes by considering two-way fluid-thermal-solid coupling under complex working condition. The mathematical model of MERSM was established with respect to the random input variables of inlet temperature, inlet velocity, density of material, and rotor speed, and the output responses of the maximum values of deformation, stress, and strain. The comprehensive probabilistic analysis of turbine blisk was completed based on MERSM. The results demonstrate that the comprehensive reliability degree of turbine blisk is 0.9944 when the allowable deformation, stress, and strain are 2.6 × 10−3 m, 1.26 × 109 Pa, and 6.75 × 10−3 m/m, respectively. The main factors influencing the comprehensive reliability degree of turbine blisk are rotor speed and gas temperature. The secondary factors are inlet velocity and density of material. As revealed from the comparison of methods, MERSM improves the computational speed and efficiency with the guarantee of accuracy. The efforts of this paper provide a promising approach for the nonlinear transient reliability analysis of complex structures with multi-failure modes and two-way fluid-thermal-solid coupling.
A blended control strategy for intercepting high-speed target in high altitude
Authors: Zhang Youan , Wu Huali , Liu Jingmao , Sun Yumei
Published: July 2017

To intercept target with high speed in high altitude, a blended control strategy is presented. The control strategy consists of two controls, one is the aerodynamic rudder control which is always switched on, another is the lateral jets control which is switched on only when the state variables’ prediction at impact point suggests that the only aerodynamic rudder control is not enough to achieve interception. The objective of this strategy is to save consumption of lateral jets, which is necessary in the case of limited number of jets. The algorithm of state variables’ prediction at impact point is summarized through recursive calculation using the analytic solutions of state variables of the kinematics with consideration of the dynamics of the interceptor (missile) by piecewise linearization and smart approximation. Considering the uncertain dynamics of the interceptor with blended control, a head pursuit robust guidance law is designed based on time-scale separation and robust control, where, the nonlinear deviation dynamics of the relation that the lead angle of the interceptor changes in proportion with that of the target, and the uncertain acceleration dynamics, are treated as the slow subsystem, while the uncertain pitch angular rate dynamics is treated as the fast subsystem. Numerical simulations are performed to verify the performance of the proposed guidance law.
Mother-to-child HIV-transmission prevention programs in a sub-Saharan African setting: The Gabonese experience
Authors: Mintsa-Ndong Armel , Ndong-Ella Corneille , Boussougou Roselyne K , Busugu Léatitia M , Mba Alexandre , Agwambouet Franck A , Barro Nicolas , Djoba Siawaya Joel F
Published: July 2017

In many developing countries, mothers’ awareness remains a challenge despite the scaling up of antenatal care and programs preventing mother-to-child (MTC) HIV transmission. The present study was done in Libreville, Gabon where all antenatal care (delivery included) is free of charge. Here we assessed the timing of antenatal antiretroviral (ARV) prophylaxis initiation, HIV-exposed infants’ age at their first postnatal HIV check visit and investigated the association between mothers’ awareness or knowledge on their ARV therapy and infants’ HIV infection. We interviewed HIV-positive mothers on their first and subsequent laboratory visits to investigate infants’ HIV status and tested infants for HIV RNA and antibody between 2012 and 2014. We established that (1) of 718 HIV-positive mothers, only 6% were fully aware and knew what ARV treatment they were on during pregnancy; (2) half of the women (54%) start their antenatal ARV prophylaxis initiation during the second trimester of pregnancy; (3) 64% of HIV-exposed infants had their first HIV infection screening between birth and three months of age; (4) the overall prevalence of HIV infection in infants born from infected mothers was 8.9%; and (5) infants born from mothers uncertain about taking prophylactic ARV therapy were 13.3 times more likely to be infected by HIV than infants born from mothers certain about taking prophylactic ARV therapy. In conclusion, the study showed that despite free antenatal care, early access and adherence to components of MTC, HIV transmission preventive care remains unsatisfactory.
The Effect of a Supreme Court Decision Regarding Gay Marriage on Social Norms and Personal Attitudes
Authors: Tankard Margaret E. , Paluck Elizabeth Levy
Published: July 2017

We propose that institutions such as the U.S. Supreme Court can lead individuals to update their perceptions of social norms, in contrast to the mixed evidence on whether institutions shape individuals’ personal opinions. We studied reactions to the June 2015 U.S. Supreme Court ruling in favor of same-sex marriage. In a controlled experimental setting, we found that a favorable ruling, when presented as likely, shifted perceived norms and personal attitudes toward increased support for gay marriage and gay people. Next, a five-wave longitudinal time-series study using a sample of 1,063 people found an increase in perceived social norms supporting gay marriage after the ruling but no change in personal attitudes. This pattern was replicated in a separate between-subjects data set. These findings provide the first experimental evidence that an institutional decision can change perceptions of social norms, which have been shown to guide behavior, even when individual opinions are unchanged.
“You Can Only Give Warmth to Your Baby When It’s Too Late”: Parents’ Bonding With Their Extremely Preterm and Dying Child
Authors: Abraham Andrea , Hendriks Manya J.
Published: July 2017

This study on end-of-life decisions in extremely preterm babies shows that the parents under study experience a multitude of stressors due to the immediate separation after birth, the alienating setting of the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), the physical distance to the child, medical uncertainties, and upcoming decisions. Even though they are considered to be parents (assigned parenthood), they cannot act as primary caregivers. Instead, they depend on professional instructions for access and care. Embodied parenthood can be experienced only at the end-of-life, that is, during the dying trajectory and after the child’s death. Professionally supporting parents during this compressed process (from assigned and distant to embodied parenthood) contributes fundamentally to their perception of being a family and supports their mourning. This calls for the further establishment of palliative and bereavement care concepts in neonatology.
On the statistical properties of operant settings and their contribution to the evaluation of sensitivity to reinforcement
Authors: Caron Pier-Olivier
Published: July 2017

When using the matching law in applied settings, a recurring problem is to assess when subjects adjust their responses as a function of their associated reinforcers. Specifically, the main concern is to determine whether subjects’ behavior are sensitive to reinforcement or not. Many researchers have followed (explicitly or implicitly) the criterion that 50% of explained variance is deemed acceptable to consider the subject sensitive. However, it is neither theoretically nor empirically grounded. This article presents a null hypothesis statistical test to assess whether an organism’s behavior is sensitive to reinforcement as quantitatively expressed by the matching law. We first introduce the motivation as to why such a test is warranted, formally described the basis of the model used to compute the null hypothesis and then show some of its advantages. We conclude the article with a hypothetical example.
Biomechanical Study of Screw Fixation and Plate Fixation of a Posterior Malleolar Fracture in a Simulation of the Normal Gait Cycle
Authors: Wang Xu , Yin Jianwen , Zhang Chao , Wang Chen , Geng Xiang , Ma Xin , Huang Jiazhang , Wang Chengwei , Wang Xue
Published: July 2017

Background:

Fixation of posterior malleolar fractures with plates or screws is under debate. A fatigue loading system and a spatial motion capture system were used in this study to evaluate a posterior malleolar fracture model.

Methods:

Thirty-six below-knee specimens with a single posterolateral fragment (Haraguchi I) type posterior malleolar fracture models were randomly divided into 2 groups. Two parallel-placed 3.5-mm partially threaded titanium alloy screws were used in Group A to fix the fractures, while anatomical plates were used in Group B. According to the ratio (S) of the area between the fracture and the total articular surface, each group was subdivided into 3 subgroups. In group A1 and B1, S=1/4; in A2 and B2, S=1/3; and in A3 and B3, S=1/2. To simulate the gait cycle, each specimen was subjected to mechanical loading in 4 different ankle positions. A fatigue loading system was used for repeated loading. A spatial motion capture system was used to measure the displacement in the final loading stage.

Results:

Despite the limited sample size and relatively low power, no significant difference was observed between A1 and B1, A2 and B2, and A3 and B3 in all 4 ankle positions after repeated loading.

Conclusion:

For a Haraguchi type I posterior malleolar fracture with an average height of 19 mm, fixation with a posterior malleolar anatomical plate failed to demonstrate a stronger strength than 2 parallel-placed 3.5-mm partially threaded screws, which indicates that plates may not be absolutely necessary for standard rehabilitation after posterior malleolar internal fixation.

Clinical Relevance:

These findings may help guide surgeons with regard to fixation requirements for posterior malleolar fractures.
Pathoanatomy and Associated Injuries of Posterior Malleolus Fracture of the Ankle
Authors: Mason Lyndon W. , Marlow William J. , Widnall James , Molloy Andrew P.
Published: July 2017

Background:

We present a classification system that progresses in severity, indicates the pathomechanics that cause the fracture and therefore guides the surgeon to what fixation will be necessary by which approach.

Methods:

The primary posterior malleolar fracture fragments were characterized into 3 groups. A type 1 fracture was described as a small extra-articular posterior malleolar primary fragment. Type 2 fractures consisted of a primary fragment of the posterolateral triangle of the tibia (Volkmann area). A type 3 primary fragment was characterized by a coronal plane fracture line involving the whole posterior plafond.

Results:

In type 1 fractures, the syndesmosis was disrupted in 100% of cases, although a proportion only involved the posterior syndesmosis. In type 2 posterior malleolar fractures, there was a variable medial injury with mixed avulsion/impaction etiology. In type 3 posterior malleolar fractures, most fibular fractures were either a high fracture or a long oblique fracture in the same fracture alignment as the posterior shear tibia fragment. Most medial injuries were Y-type or posterior oblique fractures. This fracture pattern had a low incidence of syndesmotic injury.

Conclusion:

The value of this approach was that by following the pathomechanism through the ankle, it demonstrated which other structures were likely to be damaged by the path of the kinetic energy. With an understanding of the pattern of associated injuries for each category, a surgeon may be able to avoid some pitfalls in treatment of these injuries.

Level of Evidence:

Level III, retrospective comparative series.
Evaluating Longitudinal Invariance in Dimensions of Mental Health Across Adolescence: An Analysis of the Social Behavior Questionnaire
Authors: Murray Aja Louise , Obsuth Ingrid , Eisner Manuel , Ribeaud Denis
Published: July 2017

Measurement invariance over time (longitudinal invariance) is a core but seldom-tested assumption of many longitudinal studies on adolescent psychosocial development. In this study, we evaluated the longitudinal invariance of a brief measure of adolescent mental health: the Social Behavior Questionnaire (SBQ). The SBQ was administered to participants of the Zurich Project on the Social Development of Children and Youths in up to four waves spanning ages 11 to 17. Using a confirmatory factor analysis approach, metric invariance held for all constructs, but there were some violations of scalar and strict invariance. Overall, intercepts tended to increase over time while residual variances decreased. This suggests that participants may become more willing or able to identify and report on certain behaviors over time. The noninvariance was not practically significant in magnitude, except for the Anxiety dimension where artifactual increases over development would be liable to occur if invariance is not appropriately modeled. Overall, results support the utility of the SBQ as an omnibus measure of psychosocial health across adolescence.
Sleep Habits, Sleep Problems, Sleep Hygiene, and Their Associations With Mental Health Problems Among Adolescents
Authors: Zhang Jinwen , Xu Zhiwei , Zhao Kena , Chen Ting , Ye Xiuxia , Shen Zhifei , Wu Zengjiang , Zhang Jun , Shen Xiaoming , Li Shenghui
Published: July 2017

BACKGROUND: Studies in adults suggested that sleep could be a significant contributor to mental health. However, little is known about their relationship in adolescents. OBJECTIVE: The present study aimed to examine the overall associations of full-spectrum sleep behaviors, including sleep habits, sleep problems, and sleep hygiene, with mental health problems among adolescents in Shanghai, China. DESIGN: A stratified, cluster random sample of 4,823 adolescents aged 11 to 20 years participated in a cross-sectional survey. The Adolescent Sleep Disturbance Questionnaire and the modified Adolescent Sleep Hygiene Scale were used to examine sleep behaviors. The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire was used to evaluate mental health problems. RESULTS: Five sleep variables were found to be associated with adolescents’ mental health. The five factors covered three sleep domains: sleep habits (later bedtime during weekdays), sleep problems (maintaining sleep difficulties, disorders of arousal), and sleep hygiene (poor emotion at bedtime, unstable sleep schedule). CONCLUSIONS: The clinical significance of the findings lies in the emphasis of comprehensive screening of sleep in the predicting, diagnosis, nursing, and intervention of adolescents’ mental health problems.
Investigation of electric field effect on size-dependent bending analysis of functionally graded porous shear and normal deformable sandwich nanoplate on silica Aerogel foundation
Authors: Ghorbanpour Arani A , Zamani MH
Published: July 2017

In the present research electro-mechanical bending behavior of sandwich nanoplate with functionally graded porous core and piezoelectric face sheets is carried out. Vlasov’s model foundation is utilized to model the silica Aerogel foundation. Two functions are considered for nonuniform variation of material properties of the core layer along the thickness direction such as Young’s modulus, shear modulus, and density. The governing equations are deduced from Hamilton’s principle based on sinusoidal shear and normal deformation theory. In order to solve seven governing equations, an iterative technique is accomplished. After all, deflection and stresses are verified with corresponding literatures. Eventually, the numerical results reveal that applied voltage, plate aspect ratio, thickness ratio, nonlocal parameter, porosity index, Young’s modulus, and height of silica Aerogel foundation have substantial effects on the electro-mechanical bending response of functionally graded porous sandwich nanoplate.
Bad science: International organizations and the indirect power of global benchmarking
Authors: Broome André , Homolar Alexandra , Kranke Matthias
Published: July 2017

The production of transnational knowledge that is widely recognized as legitimate is a major source of influence for international organizations. To reinforce their expert status, international organizations increasingly produce global benchmarks that measure national performance across a range of issue areas. This article illustrates how international organization benchmarking is a significant source of indirect power in world politics by examining two prominent cases in which international organizations seek to shape the world through comparative metrics: (1) the World Bank–International Finance Corporation Ease of Doing Business ranking; and (2) the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development FDI Regulatory Restrictiveness Index. We argue that the legitimacy attached to these benchmarks because of the expertise of the international organizations that produce them is highly problematic for two reasons. First, both benchmarks oversimplify the evaluation of relative national performance, misrepresenting contested political values drawn from a specific transnational paradigm as empirical facts. Second, they entrench an arbitrary division in the international arena between ‘ideal’ and ‘pathological’ types of national performance, which (re)produces social hierarchies among states. We argue that the ways in which international organizations use benchmarking to orient how political actors understand best practices, advocate policy changes and attribute political responsibility thus constitutes ‘bad science’. Extending research on processes of paradigm maintenance and the influence of international organizations as teachers of norms or judges of norm compliance, we show how the indirect power that international organizations exercise as evaluators of relative national performance through benchmarking can be highly consequential for the definition of states’ policy priorities.
Beyond ‘geo-economics’: Advanced unevenness and the anatomy of German austerity
Authors: Germann Julian
Published: July 2017

This article aims to shed new light on Germany’s domineering role in the eurocrisis. I argue that the realist-inspired depiction of Germany as a ‘geo-economic power’, locked into zero-sum competition with its European partners, is built around an empty core: unable to theorise how anarchy shapes the calculus of states where security competition has receded, it cannot explain why German state managers have insisted on an austerity response to the crisis despite its significant risks and costs even for Germany itself. To unlock this puzzle, this article outlines a version of uneven and combined development that is better able to capture the international pressures and opportunities faced by policy elites in advanced capitalist states that no longer encounter one another as direct security rivals. Applied to Germany, this lens reveals a twofold unevenness in the historical structures and growth cycles of capitalist economies that shape its contradictory choice for austerity. In the long run, the reorientation of the export-dependent German economy from Europe towards Asian and Latin American late industrialisers renders the structural adjustment of the eurozone an opportunity — from the cost-saving view of German manufacturers producing in the European home market for export abroad, as well as for German state officials keen to sustain a crumbling class compromise centred on Germany’s world market success. In the short term, however, its exposed position between the divergent post-crisis trajectories of the US and Europe accelerates pressures for austerity beyond what German state and corporate elites would otherwise consider feasible.
Plastic Naturecultures
Authors: De Wolff Kim
Published: July 2017

A jellyfish surrounds a plastic fragment, merging the synthetic material with its body; a water agency poster warns of dangerous plastic bottle ‘fish’ in the Mediterranean; marine organisms take shelter on and under synthetic materials. These are the denizens of a growing realm marine ecologists call the ‘plastisphere’, where sea life and plastics meet. Building upon multispecies ethnography, science and technology studies interrogations of nature/culture divides and the practical work of classification, this article explores the indeterminacy – the very plasticity – of the category of ‘species’ as it is engaged in seriousness and irony, with living and nonliving bodies. First, I draw on participant observation at a nonprofit marine institute laboratory in California to trace the travels of plastic-creatures through attempts to disentangle them in the pursuit of scientific knowledge. Here volunteers sort tiny plastic bits from animal ones under the microscope, enacting material boundaries as they decide what gets counted as life (not plastic) and what does not (plastic). Second, I follow movements of plastic-creatures through public education campaigns, paying particular attention to assumptions about belonging and agency enacted with assumptions about whether and when plastic-species should or should not meet. I argue that the ‘danger’ of plastic relationships lurks not in associations but in the very categories used to know and live with forms of plastic and forms of life, in the kinds of belonging that emerge with kinds of materials, and in the failure to recognize the impossibility of their separation.
Microbial Suicide
Authors: Schrader Astrid
Published: July 2017

While unicellular microbes such as phytoplankton (marine algae) have long been considered immortal unless eaten by predators, recent research suggests that under specific conditions entire populations of phytoplankton actively kill themselves; their assumed atemporality is being revised as marine ecologists recognize phytoplankton’s important role in the global carbon cycle. Drawing on empirical research into programmed cell death in marine microbes, this article explores how, in their study of microbial death, scientists change not only our understanding of microbial temporality, but also reconstruct the relationship between life and death, biological individuality and assumptions about a natural teleology associated with bounded biological systems and genetic programmes. Reading this research together with a Derridean deconstruction of the limit between human and other animals with respect to death, this article explores how the deconstruction of individuality from within biology may suggest alternatives to our anthropocentric notion of time and embodiment.
Indeterminate Subjects, Irreducible Worlds
Authors: Yusoff Kathryn
Published: July 2017

Lodged in an impasse between questions of environmental justice and modes of capitalisation in the green economy, indeterminacy is a vulnerable and porous relation. Pollution activates a potentiality in the organism to be otherwise, to generate certain kinds of tumours, mini-deaths or mutations. Toxicity has an intermediary status that launches a mobility of effects that is often fragmented through sense organs, affirming forms of non-identity in biopolitical relations. Organisms are receptive to such bodily reconfigurations precisely because they are open to the material communication of the world. In contrast to the “hidden labour” of indeterminacy in capitalist modes of capture, this article crafts an analytics of indeterminacy as an interjection in the politics of environments. Through dispersants in the Gulf of Mexico and military bees, two economies of indeterminacy are discussed. Drawing on Georges Bataille’s notion of political economy, I argue that what is required is an economy of radical inequivalence; an excessive engagement with the possibilities of indetermining forces to make fleeting marks.
Special issue on the PACE Trial
Authors: Marks David F
Published: July 2017

We are proud that this issue marks a special contribution by the Journal of Health Psychology to the literature concerning interventions to manage adaptation to chronic health problems. The PACE Trial debate reveals deeply embedded differences between critics and investigators. It reveals an unwillingness of the co-principal investigators of the PACE trial to engage in authentic discussion and debate. It leads one to question the wisdom of such a large investment from the public purse (£5million) on what is a textbook example of a poorly done trial.
Axial load behavior and strength of tube-confined steel-reinforced short columns with ultra-high-strength concrete
Authors: JZ Wang , L Cheng , ML Sun , JQ Jia
Published: July 2017

This article elaborates on experimental and analytical studies on the behavior of tube-confined steel-reinforced ultra-high-strength concrete short columns subjected to axial compressive load. A total of 22 specimens were fabricated and tested to investigate the failure mode and axial load behavior of tube-confined steel-reinforced concrete columns. The parameters for the tests include the following: (1) tube shape, (2) the shape of inner steel, (3) the thickness of the steel tube, and (4) tube tensile strength. The test results indicate that the confinement effect of the circular tube is greatly superior to that of the square tube, because the circular tube can prevent the ultra-high-strength concrete from brittle failure more efficaciously. The O-shape of the steel exhibited better mechanical performance than other shapes of the steel. The larger the area of the concrete that could be constrained by the steel shape, the better the performance it could provide. Elastic–plastic analysis of the tube was utilized to investigate the mechanism of tube-confined steel-reinforced concrete columns under axial compression. A bearing capacity formula for tube-confined steel-reinforced concrete columns was proposed based on the test results, which can be used as a reference for further study and guideline for engineering application.
Cost-effectiveness of a day-camp weight-loss intervention programme for children: Results based on a randomised controlled trial with one-year follow-up
Authors: Larsen Kristian Traberg , Huang Tao , Møller Niels Christian , Andersen Lars Bo , Sørensen Jan
Published: July 2017

Aims: The aim was to analyse the cost-effectiveness of an intensive weight-loss intervention for children compared with a low-intensity intervention. Methods: One hundred and fifteen overweight children (mean age 12.0 ± 0.4) were randomised to either the camp group (CG) ( N=59) or the standard group (SG) ( N=56). Participants in the CG were offered a six-week day-camp weight-loss programme followed by a family-based supportive programme containing four meetings during the succeeding 46 weeks. Participants in the SG were offered a weekly two-hour exercise session for six weeks. Changes in body mass index (BMI) and BMI z-score 12 months after inclusion were used to compare the effects of the two interventions. Incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICER) were estimated from the perspective of a Danish municipality. To achieve the required number of participants, an additional intervention was initiated one year later. Results: In comparison with the SG, the CG changed their mean BMI by −1.2 (95% CI −1.8 to −0.5). Compared with the SG children, the CG children changed their BMI z-score by −0.20 (95% CI −0.35 to −0.05). The ICER per decreased BMI point in the CG compared with the SG was DDK 24,928. Conclusions: Compared with the SG, the CG showed favourable effects after 12 months. However, the CG was more costly. The results observed in the present study may be helpful in guiding decision makers to take more informed decisions when choosing different types of intervention.
The travails of criticality: Understanding Peter McLaren’s revolutionary vocation. An article review of Peter McLaren, Pedagogy of Insurrection (New York: Peter Lang, 2015)
Authors: Baldacchino John
Published: July 2017

This is an article review of Peter McLaren’s Pedagogy of Insurrection (New York: Peter Lang, 2015). While it seeks to position McLaren’s work within the context of critical pedagogy, this paper also assesses McLaren from the wider discussion of Marxist–Hegelian discourse as it evolved within the Left. Engaging with McLaren critically, this article insists that the nuances that make his work are not simply essential to its study but more importantly they give it a unique radical edge. No serious reader or student of McLaren’s could simply take any radical stance as read—and more so when this emerges from decades of activism, teaching and writing. One cannot read McLaren alla prima. Moreover, the paper shows how at the core of McLaren’s work one finds complex questions that attest to the profound dedication by which he approaches the labors of criticality. Furthermore, this article seeks to draw a distinction between McLaren and critical pedagogy, arguing that his work occupies a very special place that has grown in its specificity and character. This needs to be strongly identified, uniquely appreciated, and further articulated in order to be understood. Here it is argued that while sustaining a huge share of what is now identified with critical pedagogy, McLaren’s work must be seen from beyond those confines as his work moves even beyond education itself. In this context, this article analyses Pedagogy of Insurrection against the work of, among other, Ernesto Laclau, Hannah Arendt, Ivan Illich, Antonio Negri, Karl Marx’s Critique of the Gotha Programme and his 4th Thesis on Feuerbach.
miR-34a and miR-9 are overexpressed and SIRT genes are downregulated in peripheral blood mononuclear cells of aging humans
Authors: Owczarz Magdalena , Budzinska Monika , Domaszewska-Szostek Anna , Borkowska Joanna , Polosak Jacek , Gewartowska Magdalena , Slusarczyk Przemyslaw , Puzianowska-Kuznicka Monika
Published: July 2017

Increased expression of sirtuins lowers the risk of age-related diseases, while their role in the regulation of longevity is not firmly established. Since aging is associated with immunosenescence, we tested whether sirtuin expression was modified in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) in an age-related manner and whether this might result from altered expression of the selected miRNAs. The expression of seven SIRT genes and of SIRT1 mRNA-interacting miR-9, miR-34a, miR-132, and miR-199a-5p was evaluated by real-time PCR in PBMC originating from young (Y, n = 57, mean age 27 ± 4.3 years), elderly (E, n = 52, 65 ± 3.4 years), and long-lived (L, n = 56, 94 ± 3.5 years) individuals. Older age was associated with a decreased expression of the majority of the SIRT genes. Most severely affected were median expressions of SIRT1 ( P = 0.000001 for the whole studied group, Y vs. E: P < 0.000001, Y vs. L: P < 0.000001), and of SIRT3 ( P = 0.000001, Y vs. E: P = 0.000004, Y vs. L: P = 0.000028). Older age was also associated with the increased median expression of miR-34a ( P = 0.000001, Y vs. E: P = 0.001, Y vs. L: P = 0.000004) and of miR-9 ( P = 0.05, Y vs. L: P = 0.054). In functional studies, miR-9 interacted with the 3′UTR of SIRT1 mRNA. The SIRT1 mRNA level negatively correlated with the expression of miR-34a ( r = −0.234, P = 0.003). In conclusion, age-related decrease of SIRT1 expression in PBMC might in part result from overexpression of miR-34a and miR-9. In addition, the sustained expression of the SIRT genes in PBMC is not a prerequisite to longevity in humans but might be one of the reasons for the immune system dysfunction in the elderly.

Impact statement

High expression of sirtuins, particularly SIRT1, lowers the risk of age-related diseases and probably slows down the rate of aging; therefore, their sustained expression should be one of the features of longevity. However, in this work we show that in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) of long-lived individuals, expression of majority of the SIRT genes is significantly lower than in cells of young study subjects. In long-lived individuals, downregulation of SIRT1 coexists with upregulation of SIRT1 mRNA-interacting miR-34a and miR-9, indicating the role of epigenetic drift in age-dependent deregulation of SIRT1 expression. Such constellation of SIRT1, miR-34a, and miR-9 expression in PBMC of successfully aging long-lived individuals indicates that, at least in these individuals, it is not a risk factor for morbidity and mortality. It might however affect the function of the immune system and, therefore, aging individuals can profit from interventions increasing the level of SIRT1.
States’ Description of Common Core State Standards to Support Students with Severe Disabilities
Authors: Dukes Charles , Darling Sharon M. , Bielskus-Barone Kristina
Published: July 2017

A review of State Department of Education and school district websites was conducted to determine how policy related to the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) was communicated to teachers of students with severe disabilities. Four states were selected: California, New York, Illinois, and Pennsylvania. State Department of Education websites and three local school districts within each state were chosen for review using locale codes to ensure representation of city, suburban, and rural districts. A total of 16 websites were analyzed using an original instrument designed to capture information about CCSS implementation efforts. Results indicate that there is little information about students with severe disabilities or instructional/pedagogical guidance for teachers in regard to the CCSS on these sites. Thus, it may be difficult for teachers, based on this sample of websites, to translate standards into educational programming for students.
Effectiveness of Human Research Protection Program Performance Measurements
Authors: Tsan Min-Fu , Nguyen Yen
Published: July 2017

We analyzed human research protection program performance metric data of all Department of Veterans Affairs research facilities obtained from 2010 to 2016. Among a total of 25 performance metrics, 21 (84%) showed improvement, four (16%) remained unchanged, and none deteriorated during the study period. The overall improvement from these 21 performance metrics was 81.1% ± 18.7% (mean ± SD), with a range of 30% to 100%. The four performance metrics that did not show improvement all had initial noncompliance/incidence rates of <1.0%, ranging from 0% to 0.98%. The initial noncompliance/incidence rates of the 21 performance metrics that showed improvement ranged from 0.05% to 60%. However, of the 21 performance metrics that showed improvement, 10 had initial noncompliance/incidence rates of <1.0%, suggesting that improvement could be achieved even with a very low initial noncompliance/incidence rate. We conclude that performance measurement is an effective tool in improving the performance of human research protection programs.
Making memory makers: Interpellation, norm circles and Holocaust Memorial Day Trust workshops
Authors: Richardson John E
Published: July 2017

This article examines the rationale for ordinary people’s involvement with commemoration. Adopting a critical ethnographic approach, and taking myself and my own interpellation as a symptomatic example, I ask what it is about Holocaust Memorial Day that calls to people, motivating them to become involved in localised commemorative activities. Since 2005, the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust has been responsible for organising and promoting Holocaust Memorial Day commemoration and, as part of this, they organise free workshops across the United Kingdom for people interested in organising an activity to mark Holocaust Memorial Day. The data I analyse in this article are drawn from two sites: participant observation of three workshops organised by the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust (October–November 2015) and interviews with both the organisers and participants of these three same workshops. My analysis demonstrates that the workshop is orientated to answering two modal questions, which participants (implicitly) ask of themselves: should I commemorate Holocaust Memorial Day, entailing a deontic modality, and can I commemorate Holocaust Memorial Day, entailing an epistemic modality. I argue that Holocaust Memorial Day should be regarded as a norm circle which, through its members, possesses a causal power to produce a tendency in others to also commit to endorsing commemoration as a social norm.
Conservative Management for Stable High Ankle Injuries in Professional Football Players
Authors: Knapik Derrick M. , Trem Anthony , Sheehan Joseph , Salata Michael J. , Voos James E.
Published: July 2017

Context:

High ankle “syndesmosis” injuries are common in American football players relative to the general population. At the professional level, syndesmotic sprains represent a challenging and unique injury lacking a standardized rehabilitation protocol during conservative management.

Evidence Acquisition:

PubMed, Biosis Preview, SPORTDiscus, PEDro, and EMBASE databases were searched using the terms syndesmotic injuries, American football, conservative management, and rehabilitation.

Study Design:

Clinical review.

Level of Evidence:

Level 3.

Results:

When compared with lateral ankle sprains, syndesmosis injuries result in significantly prolonged recovery times and games lost. For stable syndesmotic injuries, conservative management features a brief period of immobilization and protected weightbearing followed by progressive strengthening exercises and running, and athletes can expect to return to competition in 2 to 6 weeks. Further research investigating the efficacy of dry needling and blood flow restriction therapy is necessary to evaluate the benefit of these techniques in the rehabilitation process.

Conclusion:

Successful conservative management of stable syndesmotic injuries in professional American football athletes requires a thorough understanding of the anatomy, injury mechanisms, diagnosis, and rehabilitation strategies utilized in elite athletes.
Put the Phone Down
Authors: Kushlev Kostadin , Heintzelman Samantha J.
Published: July 2017

If there ever was a key to happiness, this key would open a door that leads straight to a rich social life. And in the era of smartphones, this key to social connection is in our pockets anytime and anywhere. Or is it? Using the experience sampling method (ESM), we explore the use of computer-mediated communication (CMC) in the context of face-to-face (FtF) social interactions, testing two competing hypotheses: (1) a complementarity hypothesis stating that more channels of communication should be associated with higher well-being and (2) an interference hypothesis stating that FtF interactions could be impoverished by adding computer-mediated channels of communication. We surveyed 174 millennials ( Mage = 19.28; range: 17–22) 5 times a day over a period of a week (4,508 episodes). When participants reported a mix of CMC and FtF socializing in the same episode, they felt worse and less connected than when solely interacting FtF.
The impact of drop-out in cardiac rehabilitation on outcome among coronary artery disease patients
Authors: Pardaens Sofie , Willems Anne-Marie , Clays Els , Baert Anneleen , Vanderheyden Marc , Verstreken Sofie , Du Bois Inge , Vervloet Delphine , De Sutter Johan
Published: July 2017

Background

The effect of adherence to cardiac rehabilitation (CR) on outcome is not clear. Therefore, we aimed to assess the impact of drop-out for non-medical reasons of CR on event-free survival in coronary artery disease (CAD).

Methods

A total of 876 patients who attended CR after acute coronary syndrome (ACS), percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) or coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) were included. Drop-out was defined as attending ≤50% of the training sessions. A combined endpoint of all-cause mortality and rehospitalization for a cardiovascular event was used to specify event-free survival. Differences in clinical characteristics were assessed and parameters with p < 0.10 were entered in a multiple Cox regression analysis.

Results

A total of 15% died or had a cardiovascular event during a median follow-up period of 33 months (interquartile range 24, 51). Overall, 17% dropped out before finishing half of the program. Patients who withdrew prematurely had a risk twice as high for a cardiovascular event or death (hazard ratio 1.92, 95% confidence interval 1.28–2.90) than those who attended more than half of the sessions. Both ACS (2.36, 1.47–3.58) and PCI (2.20, 1.22–3.96), as primary indicators for CR, were associated with an adverse outcome and also a prior history of chronic heart failure (CHF) remained negatively associated with event-free survival (3.67, 1.24–10.91). Finally, the presence of hyperlipidemia was independently related to a worse outcome (1.48, 1.02–2.16).

Conclusions

Drop-out for non-medical reasons was independently associated with a negative outcome in CAD. Therefore, underlying factors for drop-out should gain more attention in future research and should be taken into account when organizing CR.
The characterisation of unexplained pain after knee replacement
Authors: Phillips Jonathan RA , Hopwood Beverley , Stroud Rowenna , Dieppe Paul A , Toms Andrew D
Published: July 2017

Background:

The aims of this study were to characterise the pain experienced by patients with chronic pain after knee replacement (KR), in whom no apparent ‘orthopaedic’ problem could be identified, and to establish how many have pain sensitisation problems (including neuropathic pain).

Methods:

A total of 44 patients were prospectively evaluated at a multidisciplinary tertiary referral clinic by an orthopaedic surgeon, pain specialist, rheumatologist and physiotherapist. These patients had been pre-screened by an orthopaedic surgeon to remove cases where there was an obvious cause of pain that could be treated with revision surgery. They were then followed up to find out whether any subsequent interventions had occurred.

Results:

The mean time since surgery was 29 months (range: 3–108 months), and 18% were revision KR. Patients were evaluated for symptoms of nociceptive pain, allodynia, pains elsewhere and psychosocial factors. The patients were categorised into nociceptive pain 43% (n = 19), pain sensitisation 25% (n = 11) and mixed pain 32% (n = 14). Mean Visual Analogue Score (VAS) pain scores were 6.7/10 with high scores for both constant (66%) and intermittent (70%) pain elements, and pain caused high levels of interference with life. Fifty percent suffered depression and 25% suffered widespread pains (more than three pains elsewhere in the body). Patients with widespread pains suffered more pain (p = 0.01) and higher rates of both pain sensitisation (p = 0.07) and thermal allodynia (p < 0.04).

Conclusion:

Patients after KR can experience severe pain that interferes with their lives, depression and many have pain sensitisation problems rather than any local, nociceptive cause. We advocate screening patients with unexplained pain after KR for pain sensitisation problems, pains at other sites and depression. Appropriate further treatment and multidisciplinary interventions can then be arranged.
Respiratory Protection Program Compliance in Iranian Hospitals: Application of Fuzzy Analytical Hierarchy Process
Authors: Honarbakhsh Marzieh , Jahangiri Mehdi , Ghaem Haleh , Farhadi Payam
Published: July 2017

In hospitals, health care workers (HCWs) are exposed to a wide range of respiratory hazards, which requires using respiratory protective equipment and implementing Respiratory Protection Programs (RPPs). The aim of this cross-sectional study was to investigate RPP implementation in 36 teaching hospitals located in the Fars province of Iran. A researcher-developed checklist, including nine components of the RPP standard, was completed by industrial hygienists in the study hospitals. The Fuzzy Analytical Hierarchy Process (FAHP) was used to determine the weight coefficient of RPP components. Finally, a Respiratory Protection Program Index (RPPI) was developed to calculate hospital compliance with RPP. The results showed that RPP were not fully implemented in the studied hospitals, and the highest and lowest RPPI scores were related to training and fit testing, respectively. To promote the implementation of RPP, significant efforts are required for all components, especially fit testing and worker evaluation.
Biceps Tenodesis in Pitchers
Authors: Smith Chase D. , Dugas Jeffrey R. , Emblom Benton A. , Cain E. Lyle
Published: July 2017

Objectives:

SLAP tears are a common occurrence in baseball pitchers. There is not a clear consensus on the treatment of these injures in the overhead athlete, especially in the setting of a failed SLAP repair. SLAP repair in overhead athletes has had relatively poor results with return to play outcomes in several reports. Biceps tenodesis has become an option for failed SLAP repair or chronic biceps tendinitis in older patients with excellent results, but little has been reported concerning biceps tenodesis in overhead athletes. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the outcomes and function of elite level baseball pitchers after undergoing biceps tenodesis.

Methods:

Retrospective review was performed of 13 baseball pitchers with primary or repeat SLAP tears or biceps tendinitis who were treated with biceps tenodesis.

Results:

Twelve of thirteen (92%) players were contacted who underwent biceps tenodesis at mean follow-up of 3.4 years (range 1-12.3 years). Outcome measures included the ASMI labral repair outcomes questionnaire, ASES scoring system, overhead athlete shoulder and elbow score, KJOC, and the veterans rand 12 item health survey (VR-12). Eleven of 12 (92 %) contacted were able to return to playing with the most common complaint being subjective weakness and a decrease in velocity. Patients had an average score on the VR12 physical of 63, VR12 mental of 42, KJOC 79, and ASES 97.

Conclusion:

Biceps tenodesis in an overhead throwing athlete is an acceptable option for a failed slap repair or biceps tendonitis that fails to respond to conservative treatment. Throwing athletes should expect to get back to baseball with good outcomes, however some pain or discomfort with maximum velocity is common.