bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Development of Automatic Mixing Process for Fertigation System in Rock Melon Cultivation
Authors: Rahman Muhammad Khairie Idham Abd , Buyamin Salinda , Abidin M. S. Zainal , Mokji Musa Mohd
Published: July 2018

This work proposed an automatic mixing system of nutrient solution for rock melon fertigation according to the required electrical conductivity (EC) level. Compared to the manual practice, this automatic system will ensure continuous supply of mixed nutrient solution without the need to daily check and mix new nutrient. Thus, this easy to use and low cost automatic system will reduce the burden of the farmers. This system uses an EC sensor to automatically check the concentration level of the mixed nutrient solution. Other than that, the system only consists of electronic pumps for mixing process and an Arduino board as the controller. The controller will monitor the EC level and run the mixing process when the EC level is below the required level. By calibrating the EC sensors, the test shows that the automatic mixing system is able to accurately keep the mixed nutrient solution concentration in a 400 L mixing reservoir at several required levels.
Herb Leaves Recognition using Gray Level Co-occurrence Matrix and Five Distance-based Similarity Measures
Authors: Isnanto R. Rizal , Riyadi Munawar Agus , Awaj Muhammad Fahmi
Published: July 2018

Herb medicinal products derived from plants have long been considered as an alternative option for treating various diseases.  In this paper, the feature extraction method used is Gray Level Co-occurrence Matrix (GLCM), while for its recognition using the metric calculations of Chebyshev, Cityblock, Minkowski, Canberra, and Euclidean distances. The method of determining the GLCM Analysis based on the texture analysis resulting from the extraction of this feature is Angular Second Moment, Contrast, Inverse Different Moment, Entropy as well as its Correlation.  The recognition system used 10 leaf test images with GLCM method and Canberra distance resulted in the highest accuracy of 92.00%. While the use of 20 and 30 test data resulted in a recognition rate of 50.67% and 60.00%.
Intraguild predation of green lacewing larvae (Neuroptera: Chrysopidae) on spider eggs and spiderlings
Authors: Srikumar K. K. , Smitha S. , Kumar B. Suresh , Radhakrishnan B.
Published: July 2018

The Green Lacewing Mallada desjardinsi (Navas) (Neuroptera: Chrysopidae) is the common chrysopid in tea plantations of the Anamallais (southern India).  Guava trees dispersed in tea plantations accommodate a large population of this predator.  Seasonality and intraguild predation of this chrysopid was investigated between December 2014 and November 2015.  Spider eggs and spiderlings were important prey for this predator.  Mallada desjardinsi preferred 22% eggs of Chrysso nigra, 20% of Neoscona mukerjei, 11% of Chrysso argyrodiformis and Cyrtarachne sp. and below 10% of the other spider species recorded.  This is the first intraguild predation studies of M. desjardinsi on tea.
Status survey and conservation of the House Sparrow Passer domesticus (Aves: Passeriformes: Passeridae) through public participation in Kannur, Kerala, India
Authors: Roshnath R. , Arjun C. P. , Ashli J. , Sethu D. , Gokul P.
Published: July 2018

House Sparrows Passer domesticus are one of the most widespread passerines in the world.  A survey was conducted to find out their status in Kannur District, Kerala.  The survey recorded 553 sparrows in 35 sites in the district.  The perspectives of the public were recorded through a questionnaire survey and conservational inputs from the public were noted.  Most of the respondents (47%) suggested the provision of nest boxes for the enhanced breeding of sparrows.  Thus, our NGO along with the support of students, the public and the Kerala Forest Department, placed 100 nest boxes in various identified sparrow dwelling places in the district and it was found effective in the conservation of sparrows.
Root holoparasite Balanophora polyandra Griff. (Balanophoraceae) in eastern Himalaya (Sikkim, India): distribution, range, status and threats
Authors: Chhetri Prem K. , O’Neill Alexander R. , Chhetri Bijoy
Published: July 2018

Balanophora J.R. Forster & G. Forster (Balanophoraceae) is a poorly studied genus of root holoparasite native to temperate and tropical regions of Asia and the Pacific.  The occurrences of Balanophora polyandra Griff. were first reported within two protected areas in eastern Himalaya (Sikkim, India), namely, Khangchendzonga National Park and Pangolakha Wildlife Sanctuary.  The study assessed the distribution range of B. polyandra in Sikkim using data collected from both field surveys and herbarium records, and discussed the threats faced by Balanophora populations in the region.
The A/Ā Distinction as an Epiphenomenon
Authors: Safir Ken
Published: July 2018

This article demonstrates that the A/Ā distinction is an epiphenomenon that emerges from independently necessary properties of Merge and the interpretive components. A true explanation of the A/Ā distinction requires that the distinction between the two classes of structures must emerge from a conspiracy of independently motivated principles and that the distinction should explain why the contrasts between A- and Ā-constructions are precisely the ones they are. I argue that certain moved constituents must be structurally altered on the way to their landing sites; otherwise, they will interfere with Case and agreement relations. I propose that an optional instance of Merge, late attachment of a prepositional head to the moved DP, “insulates” that DP from Case and agreement, but has consequences for what an insulated DP can antecede and/or license. Insulation is optional, but limited by independently motivated interface requirements that determine its distribution. The distribution of insulation explains why A- and Ā-structures differ in just the ways they do and not in other ways.
In Defense of What(ever) Free Relative Clauses They Dismiss: A Reply to Donati and Cecchetto (2011)
Authors: Caponigro Ivano
Published: July 2018

I argue that the version of phrase structure theory proposed by Donati and Cecchetto (2011) falls short of accounting for the attested patterns of free relative clauses not only in English but crosslinguistically in general. In particular, I show that free relative clauses can be introduced not only by wh-words like what or where, which is what Donati and Cecchetto predict, but also by wh-phrases like what books or whatever books and their equivalents in other languages, which Donati and Cecchetto explicitly predict not to be possible.
Constitutionalisation of International Human Rights Law in the Jurisprudence of the Egyptian Supreme Constitutional Court
Authors: Chiha Islam Ibrahim
Published: July 2018

This article examines the status of international human rights law in the Egyptian legal system and investigates how Egypt’s Supreme Constitutional Court (SCC) uses international and foreign law in its constitutional interpretation of fundamental rights and freedoms. I argue that integrating international human rights law into the jurisprudence of the SCC is imperative both for protecting the rights and freedoms of Egyptian people and for resolving potential conflicts between national law and international law. I rely on cases covering rights to marriage, development, education and equality (especially for persons with disabilities).
Analytical Study of United Arab Emirates Copyright Federal Law No. 7, 2002
Authors: Al Nusair Fayez , Massadeh Firas
Published: July 2018

This article presents a comprehensive examination and analysis of copyright protection under the provisions of the United Arab Emirates’ Federal Law No. 7, 2002 concerning copyrights and neighbouring rights in preparation for the accession of relevant international conventions. The law revoked Federal Law No. 40, 1992 regarding intellectual property copyright. The nature of copyright and its economic justification, the scope of its protection in the United Arab Emirates’ legal framework, the concepts of originality and creativity, and the author’s moral and economic rights are scrutinized in comparison with the provisions of related international intellectual property treaties and conventions (i.e. the TRIPS Agreement and the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works 1886, last revised in Paris, 24 July 1971).
Review of Odontochrydium Brauns (Hymenoptera, Chrysididae) with description of two species from the Palaearctic and Oriental regions
Authors: ROSA PAOLO
Published: July 2018

The genus Odontochrydium Brauns, 1928, previously known only from the Afrotropical Region, is recorded from the Palaearctic Region (Saudi Arabia) and the Oriental Region (Southern India) for the first time. Odontochrydium bicristatum sp. nov. from Kenya and Saudi Arabia and O. xui sp. nov. from India are described. Pictures and a key to the species of this genus are given.
A new species of the stenopodidean shrimp genus Odontozona Holthuis, 1946 (Crustacea: Decapoda: Stenopodidea: Stenopodidae) from the Ryukyu Islands, Indo-West Pacific
Authors: SAITO TOMOMI , FUJITA YOSHIHISA
Published: July 2018

A new species of the stenopodidean shrimp genus Odontozona Holthuis, 1946 is described and illustrated on the basis of 3 specimens recently collected from submarine caves of Okinawa-jima and Ie-jima Islands, the Ryukyu Islands, southwestern Japan, Indo-West Pacific. Odontozona okunoi sp. nov. closely resembles O. anaphorae Manning & Chace, 1990 described from Ascension Island, South Atlantic Ocean, but differs from it by a combination of morphological characters, including the large cardiac spine on the carapace, the spines on the pleural surface, the posterior tooth of the telson, the irregular row of small spines on the dorsomesial surface of the third pereopod chela, as well as the length ratio of the third pereopod chela against carpus and merus. This study increases the total number of species described in the genus Odontozona to 21, nine of which occur the Indo-West Pacific.
Empirical Return Periods of the Most Intense Vapor Transports during Historical Atmospheric River Landfalls on the U.S. West Coast
Authors: Dettinger Michael D. , Ralph F. Martin , Rutz Jonathan J.
Published: July 2018

Atmospheric rivers (ARs) come in all intensities, and clear communication of risks posed by individual storms in observations and forecasts can be a challenge. Modest ARs can be characterized by the percentile rank of their integrated water vapor transport (IVT) rates compared to past ARs. Stronger ARs can be categorized more clearly in terms of return periods or, equivalently, historical probabilities that at least one AR will exceed a given IVT threshold in any given year. Based on a 1980–2016 chronology of AR landfalls on the U.S. West Coast from NASA’s Modern-Era Retrospective Analysis for Research and Applications, version 2 (MERRA-2), datasets, the largest instantaneous IVTs—greater than 1700 kg m−1 s−1—have occurred in ARs making landfall between 41° and 46°N with return periods longer than 20 years. IVT values with similar return periods are smaller to the north and, especially, to the south (declining to ~750 kg m−1 s−1). The largest storm-sequence IVT totals have been centered near 42.5°N, with scatter among the top few events, and these large storm-sequence totals depend more on sequence duration than on the instantaneous IVT that went into them. Maximum instantaneous IVTs are largest in the Pacific Northwest in autumn, with largest IVT values arriving farther south as winter and spring unfold, until maximum IVTs reach Northern California in spring.
Precipitation and Mesoscale Convective Systems: Radiative Impact of Dust over Northern Africa
Authors: Martínez Irene Reinares , Chaboureau Jean-Pierre
Published: July 2018

The radiative effect of dust on precipitation and mesoscale convective systems (MCSs) is examined during a case of dust emission and transport from 9 to 14 June 2006 over northern Africa. The same method to identify and track different cloud types is applied to satellite observations and two convection-permitting simulations (with grid mesh of 2.5 km), with and without the radiative effect of dust, performed with the MesoNH model. The MCSs produce most of the observed total precipitation (66%), and the long-lived systems (lasting 6 h or more) are responsible for 55% of the total. Both simulations reproduce the observed distribution of precipitation between the cloud categories but differ due to the radiative effects of dust. The overall impacts of dust are a warming of the midtroposphere; a cooling of the near surface, primarily in the western parts of northern Africa; and a decrease in precipitation due to a too-low number of long-lived MCSs. The drop in their number is due to the stabilization of the lower atmosphere, which inhibits the triggering of convection. The long-lived MCSs are a little longer lived, faster, and more efficient in rainfall production when accounting for the dust–radiation interaction. This higher degree of organization is due to the larger convective available potential energy and an intensified African easterly jet. The latter is, in turn, a response to the variation in the meridional gradient of the temperature induced by the dust.
Two Cases of Bilateral Vocal Fold Mobility Impairment After LMA Use In 7 Months
Authors: Gorbea Enrique , Mori Matthew
Published: July 2018

Objectives:

To increase awareness of vocal fold mobility impairment secondary to laryngeal mask airway (LMA) use in the operating room.

Methods:

We report 2 cases of bilateral vocal fold mobility impairment after LMA use within 7 months of each other. One patient is a 52-year-old female who developed this complication after orthopedic elbow surgery. The second case is a 75-year-old male who presented after undergoing inguinal hernia repair.

Results:

The patient from the first case required a 7-day hospital stay in the SICU due to airway compromise with spontaneous resolution of right-sided vocal fold immobility and improvement of symptoms. The 75-year-old male required direct laryngoscopy and bilateral true vocal fold injection medialization to correct his bilateral vocal fold paresis causing dysphonia and aspiration of liquids.

Conclusions:

Bilateral vocal fold immobility secondary to LMA use is likely an underreported phenomenon of which otolaryngologists and anesthesiologists should be aware. Presentation may be severe, requiring hospitalization or operative intervention.
C&AG of India: An Instrument to Enhance Accountability, Probity and Good Governance
Authors: Sharma Ram Naresh , Kumar Shashi Bhushan
Published: July 2018

The Institution of Comptroller and Auditor General (C&AG) of India is a constitutional regulatory authority to assist central and state legislatures by submitting timely performance and compliance audit of the expenditure made by the concerned governments, examining whether the funds earmarked and approved for the purposes by the legislature have been utilised properly. It is an essential instrument to enforce accountability of executive to legislature by presenting fair and proper audit so that any fraud and embezzlement can be detected, and thereby probity and good governance can be ensured. This is possible only when the appointment of the C&AG will be made by constitutionally and legally fixed proper criteria to ensure its impartiality and independence from the executive and legislature, with certain degree of accountability to the latter.
Independent Environmental Regulation in India: Less an Authority and more a Process from Below
Authors: Chatterjee Tishyarakshit
Published: July 2018

With India’s well-intentioned environmental laws and legal interpretations in place, there is still a perceptible weakness in the enforcement of her environmental regulations. This is ascribed to the centralised departmental structure and process of implementation, which prioritise clearances of developmental projects over monitoring and cleaning up of already polluted environments. Although in a democratic set-up, a lack of transparency and participation of knowledgeable stakeholders in decision-making are other process weaknesses noticed. Establishing an Independent Environmental Regulatory Authority has been tried repeatedly but given up mainly because its effectiveness depends on the same resources support as at present, on reliable primary field-level environmental data, not gathered regularly now and on sustained political support. Technically analysing the issues involved, this article suggests a process shift towards a locally relevant, transparent, decentralised, participative and area-science–value-based approach that can strengthen environmental regulation from below.
Challenges and prospects for interoperability in UN peace operations: A look at Haiti
Authors: Rivard Piché Gaëlle
Published: July 2018

Interoperability is central to UN peace operations. These operations are civilian-led enterprises that pursue complex objectives, which often can only be achieved through the close collaboration of civilian, police, and military actors. As a result, coordination and interoperability between civilian and uniformed personnel in peace operations is not only desirable but often necessary to the success of these missions. Yet, interoperability is not a given. Peace operations face important challenges that can undermine the ability of their different components to work effectively together towards common objectives. Based on observations made during field research in Haiti and time spent at the UN headquarters in New York City, this essay discusses the challenges faced by peace operations in regard to interoperability, factors that facilitate interoperability, and implications for Canada’s announced return to peacekeeping.
A Self-Governing Student Body
Authors: Courmyer E. A.
Published: July 2018

Individual responsibility has evidently been impressed to an unusual degree upon the pupils of this High School. They run their own study rooms and take care of certain matters of discipline. Adoption of a formal code of laws has been an afterthought.
Problems of Personality
Authors: Myers Garry Cleveland
Published: July 2018

“She shouts at him to ‘speak up’ or ‘talk louder.’ He tries to do so, but has been so frightened by the curt demand that after uttering a few words he reverts to speaking still more indistinctly and inaudibly.”
Miss Mary “Motivates”
Authors: Reid J. T.
Published: July 2018

To balance the preceding article, we present this account of one teacher who refused to be held back even by an iron fence.
The Wrong Year to Graduate
Authors: Emery James Newell
Published: July 2018

Who is to shoulder responsibility for Herbert—a typical young graduate of a high school in these rough 'thirties?
Ten Marks of a Progressive College
Authors: Anderson Winslow S.
Published: July 2018

Fresh visions of service have constrained certain colleges to adopt new policies and new programs.
What of the High School Loafer?
Authors: Malony William N.
Published: July 2018

Shall he be neglected, or brought to grips with subjects that will interest him?
Shooting the Composition Bugbear
Authors: Hult Effie A.
Published: July 2018

This article should be read by every teacher of Composition Writing in the Junior High School
A Follow-up of Non-Promotions
Authors: Francis Ercel B.
Published: July 2018

Repeating a grade may not be so tragic as is frequently supposed. One school examines its records.
He Had to Write on Americanism
Authors: Singer Frank James
Published: July 2018

How he went about his task and how simple it all was … well here's the story.
The Attack on Teacher Education
Authors: Venable Tom C.
Published: July 2018

How are America's teachers of teachers to take the barrage of criticisms appearing in popular periodicals? Here, Mr. Venable suggests that these can be viewed not as a series of uncalled for insults but as a challenge and a stimulus for improvement from within the profession.
Inspiration Beats Exhortation
Authors: Spitzer Richard C.
Published: July 2018

Are we preaching when we should be using better methods of teaching? The old word “inspiration” can have new meanings, new and broader applications. Ranging from rats to raising standards, Mr. Spitzer offers suggestions for getting better results from pupils without getting ulcers as well.
The Artist Views Creativity: Conformity and Creativity
Authors: Hoffa Harlan
Published: July 2018

“The amount of eccentricity in a society has generally been proportioned to the amount of genius, mental vigor, and moral courage it contained. That so few men dare to be eccentric marks the chief danger of our time.”

John Stuart Mill, 1859

“… our national apotheosis of the group means that we systematically lop off the eccentrics, the originals, the proud, imaginative, lonely people from whom new ideas come.

Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr., 1958
The Modular Game: The Only Game in Town
Authors: Milroy John D. , Polos Nicholas C.
Published: July 2018

Efficient and effective use of school time has long been the goal of educators. In the present article, the authors describe a program instituted at Nordhoff High School, Ojai, California whose aim was to optionally utilize all available resources at the school's disposal.

Viewing time in school as a resource for expanding learning opportunity, the authors, in establishing their program, hoped to find and recover more time and to develop ways in which that newly recovered time could be used to best effect learning. While rescheduling school time is an important part of increased learning, it is not the cure for all the ills encountered in school. It is a starting point to help teachers, administrators and students in encouraging self-activation and increasing efficiencies.
Students Rights and Responsibilities: A Point of View
Authors: Hoyt William L.
Published: July 2018

Authority as it existed in public schools is discussed and redefined in light of cultural changes, judicial decisions, and state law. Particular attention is given to the “Tinker formula” which led to the greatest recognition of First Amendment rights without concern for age or maturity. Accordingly, the implication of Fourteenth Amendment rights for disciplinary practices in schools are included. An approach to strengthening student government and developing policy guidelines for rights and responsibilities in school communities is proposed. Emphasis is on involvement of school and community, the role of the school as an agent of change and educational leadership.

“Permit me to observe,” said Nikolay Petrovich, “that if you deny everything, or to put it more precisely, if. you destroy everything, then you must also construct, you know.”

— Turgenev, Fathers and Sons
Creativity and Innovation in Child Language
Authors: Chomsky Carol
Published: July 2018

This paper, which was an address to the NCTE Elementary Language Arts Conference in Boston in 1975, discusses two kinds of linguistic innovation in children. Language acquisition is an innovative process, in which children create their own sentences and their own rules for making sentences. Evidence of the creative nature of language learning is presented for both preschoolers and children of elementary school age. The role of reading (and listening to books read aloud) in language development is cited, and it is sugested that exposure to the relatively complex language of written materials provides an effective stimulus to language learning. Invented spelling systems, created by children who write before they know how to read, are another form of linguistic innovation. Four and five year olds who do not yet read can use letters of the alphabet to write words exactly the way they sound. This interesting ability is discussed, with a consideration of its relation to learning how to read later on.
Feminism and the Education of Women
Authors: Howe Florence
Published: July 2018

This essay grew out of an attempt to discover, through a search in the archives of nine colleges and universities, whether curriculum could be found that was not male-centered and male-biased. While the search for curriculum that included women's history and achievements proved fruitless, the research illuminated controlling feminist assumptions behind three phases of women's education: the seminary movement that established secondary education for women; the movement that established elite women's colleges; and the current women's studies movement. The author also reviews some aspects of coeducation — at Oberlin and at Kansas State University — that reflect the first phase.

In its first phase, feminists interested in the education of women claimed only that women needed higher education in order to teach young children, either as paid teachers (until they married) or as mothers. The curriculum offered to women was, therefore, different from (and less demanding than) that being offered to men in colleges at the time. Indeed, seminaries could not claim to be colleges for women. In its second phase, feminists interested in the education of women insisted that women could and should study what men did: the curriculum was the “men's curriculum.” Today, we have both tendencies present, along with a third, the seven-year old women's studies movement that for the first time in the history of higher education for women has challenged male hegemony over the curriculum and over knowledge itself. The movement aims to transform the curriculum through the study of women's history, achievements, status, and potential.
The Community Bases of Minority Educational Attainment
Authors: Schumaker Paul D. , Getter Russell W.
Published: July 2018

The reduction of the disparity in educational attainment between minority groups and whites in the U.S. is a key factor in greater economic and occupational equality. Research on factors which promote or retard the increase of this disparity have been inadequate for two reasons. As a result, educational policy decisions which might reduce this problem have been either misinformed or unaided by previous research. The point is raised that the effects of what is called “community contexts” is a large, untapped area of research which will help inform policy decisions and thus encourage greater minority educational attainment. Several measures of education attainment of the Chicano population of 34 counties in the state of Kansas are analyzed for the role of “community contexts.” Generalizations from this population are made to other minority groups.
Critique of the Citizen Participation Movement in Education
Authors: Gittell Marilyn
Published: July 2018

The demand for community participation in education has resulted in many school systems adopting some form of decentralization. In many cases, this “participation” has been illusory. The decentralization which occurred did not result in increased decision making power being allocated to the community, but rather in merely physically decentralizing the existing school bureaucracy. The current situation in New York City provides a number of insights into what can be expected as school budgets are cut as a result of fewer resources and decreases in school enrollments. The community school boards, which had no input into the collective bargaining process, are now pitted against the professional educational establishment — the Board of Education and the United Federation of Teachers. Both in New York City and elsewhere, those who control the school bureaucracy have excluded the community from playing a significant role in the policy-making process. The governance structure of American education must be changed so that the community will have greater control over its educational institutions. Properly instituted, community control is an instrument of social change. If adequate provision is made for the technical resources to carry out this new role, citizen participation has the potential for providing new insights into our concepts of professionalism and our general theories of educational expertise.
Recent Research on Teaching: A Dream, a Belief, and a Model
Authors: Bennett Neville
Published: July 2018

An attempt is made to provide an interpretive framework for the findings of recent research on teaching at the primary-school level. A model of teaching/learning processes is outlined prior to an investigation of the empirical linkages between the elements of the model. Following this, the implications of the model for teaching skills are explored.
Academic Engaged Time, Content Covered, and Direct Instruction
Authors: Rosenshine Barak Victor
Published: July 2018

This review of recent research highlights some new findings on the relationship between classroom instruction and student achievement gain. These include the importance of content covered and the number of minutes students spend directly engaged in academically relevant activities. In specific instructional variables, the important variables include maintaining a strong academic focus, giving encouragement and concern to the academic progress of each student, teacher selection of activities rather than student selection, grouping of students into small and large groups for instruction, using factual questions and controlled practice in the teacher-led groups. Non-academic activities such as a teacher reading stories to a group, arts and crafts, or questions to students about their personal experience always yielded negative correlations with achievement gains. This overall pattern might be labeled “direct instruction.”
Educational and Employment Patterns in Serious Adolescent Offenders With Mental Health Disorders: The Importance of Educational Attainment
Authors: Schubert Carol A. , Mulvey Edward P. , Hawes Samuel W. , Davis Maryann
Published: July 2018

This study examines employment and educational outcomes for justice-involved adolescents with and without mental health disorders in the Pathways to Desistance study. We examine the patterns of education and employment and the effects of several factors, including the presence of a mental health disorder, on these positive outcomes. Three findings emerge: (a) youth with mental health problems have a relatively high number of other criminogenic risk factors, (b) education and employment patterns do not differ by disorder status, and (c) the presence of a mental health disorder is not independently linked to poorer employment outcomes, but educational achievement is. These analyses provide information needed to target services for these adolescents in the juvenile justice system, who are at high risk for poor educational and employment outcomes. Results indicate a need for increased emphasis on higher levels of academic attainment as a way to promote positive employment outcomes in these youth.
Parents Reporting Adverse Childhood Experiences Among Young Children With Disabilities: Informing Systems Transformation
Authors: Zeng Songtian , Hu Xiaoyi
Published: July 2018

This study provides new insights regarding the associations and risk factors of nine specific adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and young children (0–5 years of age) with disabilities. Utilizing the 2016 National Survey of Children’s Health (NSCH) dataset ( N = 14,494), we conducted descriptive analysis and regressions with complex survey weighting procedure. The results suggested that one in three children (35.0%) with disabilities would have at least one ACE. The prevalence rates of experiencing the nine specific ACEs were much higher for children with disabilities. Importantly, the five most prevalent ACEs for children with disabilities were hard to cover basic food and housing (40.9%), parental divorce (24.3%), alcohol/drug problems (11.1%), parent or guardian incarceration (10.6%), and adult abuse (6.8%), which were all related to family challenges. We identified several key child/family risk factors (e.g., child age, marital status, adult health) that helped inform cross-system screening, referral, and collaboration opportunities. A discussion about policy implication and further research directions is provided.
Determinants of research collaboration towards a knowledge-based economy in Ghana
Authors: Mensah Mavis S. B. , Enu-Kwesi Francis
Published: July 2018

The purpose of this study was to analyse the determinants of the intention of academic researchers to collaborate on research projects with the carriers of innovation. An explanatory sequential mixed-methods approach was employed to analyse survey data from 266 stratified sampled researchers and 11 key informants from different disciplines in two of Ghana’s public universities. Analysis of variance results showed a quite high intention to collaborate, with no statistically significant differences across disciplines. Regression results indicate that attitude was the leading predictor of intention to collaborate, and it was explained by the conviction and relevance attached to the capacity of research collaboration to speed up career advancement, to be a source of income and to be a means of advancing research work. Perceived behavioural control, explained by research capability and boundary-spanning skills, and environmental possibility, made up of funding, reward and administrative support, also influenced the intention of respondents to engage in research collaboration. The authors therefore propose that the universities should acknowledge and count research collaboration as a criterion in the promotion of academics and, together with national actors, should spearhead the establishment of a national research and innovation fund, research and innovation award schemes, and the requisite administrative support.
Translation, cultural adaptation and validation of the Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Activity Questionnaire (SLAQ) in a cohort of Italian systemic lupus erythematosus patients
Authors: Tani C , Vagelli R , Stagnaro C , Carli L , Lorenzoni V , Drago F , Doherty W , McSorley M R , Marconcini L , Della Rossa A , Turchetti G , Mosca M
Published: July 2018

Introduction

The Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Activity Questionnaire (SLAQ) is a patient-reported instrument for the assessment of disease activity in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). The aims of the present study are translation, cultural adaptation and validation of an Italian version: the SLAQit.

Methods

The process of translation and cultural adaptation followed published guidelines. SLAQit was pretested in a group of 35 SLE patients to evaluate acceptability, comprehension and feasibility. Internal consistency, test–retest validity and external validity were tested on consecutive SLE patients attending the clinic.

Results

In total, 135 SLE patients were enrolled in this study. The pilot test provided a 99.9% response rate and demonstrated feasibility and comprehensibility of the questionnaire. A good internal consistency was found among the three components of the score (SLAQ score, numerical rating scale (NRS), patient global assessment question (PGA); α = 0.79). SLAQit showed very high reliability (test–retest α > 0.8). NRS and PGA showed a strong positive correlation with both Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Disease Activity Index (SLEDAI) ( p = 0.002 and p < 0.001, respectively) and European Consensus Lupus Measurement (ECLAM) scores ( p = 0.01 and p < 0.001, respectively), while the SLAQ score did not. A significant agreement was observed between the physician's intention to treat and both the NRS and PGA scores, while no significant association was reported with the SLAQ score.

Conclusions

SLAQit was demonstrated to be a reliable and valid instrument for self-assessment of disease activity in SLE patients.
Neurochemical Aspects of Alzheimer’s Disease and Movement Disturbances: A Theory of β-Amyloid and τ-Protein
Authors: Fares Auda , Borrmann Dieter
Published: July 2018

The pathologic and molecular substrate of people diagnosed with cognitive deficits and movement disturbance may not occur exclusively in the context of a brain region, but it may be expressed in another part of body such as muscle. A large body of research has demonstrated that slow motor performance is associated with cognitive impairment in elderly people. The interdependence between motor dysfunction and cognition decline is still not fully understood. Although several factors have been suggested to give a plausible explanation, β-amyloid (Aβ) and τ-protein aggregation is a common feature of a number of neurodegenerative disorders which are characterized by both motor and cognitive impairment, and it is assumed that the aggregation process plays a central role in the pathogenesis of cognitive impairment and motor dysfunction in Alzheimer’s disease. The purpose of the present review is to provide an overview of the available evidence that can help to better elucidate the pathophysiological mechanisms underlying the relationship between cognitive and movement disturbances by focusing on Aβ and τ-protein.
Acute EEG Patterns Associated With Transient Ischemic Attack
Authors: Rogers Jeffrey M. , Bechara Jacob , Middleton Sandy , Johnstone Stuart J.
Published: July 2018

Background. Transient ischemic attack (TIA) is characterized by stroke-like neurologic signs and symptoms in the absence of demonstrable structural neuropathology. There is no test for TIA, with classification often reliant on subjective, retrospective report. Functional brain measures such as the electroencephalogram (EEG) may be helpful in objectively detecting and describing the pathophysiology of TIA, but this has not been adequately examined. Methods. EEG was obtained from a single electrode over the left frontal lobe during 3-minute resting-state and auditory oddball conditions administered to consecutive patients within 72 hours of admission to the acute stroke ward of a tertiary hospital. Separately, patients were classified by their treating team as having suffered either an ischemic stroke (n = 10) or a TIA (n = 10). Relative power of delta, theta, alpha, and beta EEG frequency bands were extracted for comparison between the 2 clinical groups and an existing normative sample of 10 healthy, age-, gender-, and education-matched older adults. Results. Analysis of variance with post hoc testing identified pronounced delta activity in stroke patients, while alpha and beta power were elevated in TIA patients. Both patient groups exhibited attenuated theta activity compared with healthy controls. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis identified thresholds for each EEG frequency capable of distinguishing the 3 participant groups. Conclusions. TIA, ischemic stroke, and healthy aging are each associated with distinct electrophysiological profiles. These preliminary findings suggest that acute EEG may be helpful in elucidating the pathophysiology and reversibility of TIA symptoms, and further exploration of the value of this unique functional brain data is encouraged.
Cambodia’s hegemonic-party system: How and why the CPP became dominant
Authors: Peou Sorpong
Published: July 2018

This article seeks to shed light on how and why the Cambodian People’s Party (the CPP) emerged and became dominant in the multi-party system formally introduced to Cambodia when the United Nations intervened in the early 1990s. Historical factors, relative power, leadership, and tactics matter a great deal. Hun Sen has been in power for more than 30 years and his effectiveness can be attributed to three tactics: coercion, co-option, and control. The post-Cold War environment also made it possible for the CPP government to use these tactics successfully, as major powers preferred to work with Hun Sen or did little to undermine him.
A case study of spinal nerve compression caused by a small amount of epidural pneumatosis
Authors: Zhang Ke , Yu Mingshuai
Published: July 2018

This case describes a patient with painless childbirth in anaesthesia recovery, who suffered from spinal nerve dysfunction because of the presence of a small amount of epidural gas. Although the patient eventually recovered, this reminds us that timely observation and treatment is important in clinical epidural anaesthesia.
Alan Lomax’s Cantometrics Project
Authors: Savage Patrick E.
Published: July 2018

Alan Lomax’s Cantometrics Project was arguably both the most ambitious and the most controversial undertaking in music and science that the world has known. Its flagship component, Lomax’s “cantometric” analysis of approximately 1,800 songs from 148 worldwide populations using 36 classificatory features, sparked extensive debate. While Lomax responded to some criticisms, neither his final conclusions nor the evidence on which they were based were ever fully made clear. For decades, neither cantometrics nor Lomax’s related projects involving dance, speech, popular music, digital humanities, pedagogy, and activism were widely adopted by other researchers, but there has been a resurgence of interest since Lomax’s death in 2002. Here, I provide a comprehensive critical review of the Cantometrics Project, focusing on issues regarding the song sample, classification scheme, statistical analyses, interpretation, and ethnocentrism/reductionism. I identify misunderstandings, improvements that were made, and criticisms that remain to be addressed, and distil Lomax’s sometimes-conflicting claims into diagrams summarizing his three primary results: (1) ten regional song-style types, (2) nine musical factors representing intra-musical correlations, and (3) correlations between these musical factors and five factors of social structure. Although Lomax’s interpretations regarding correlations between song style and social structure appear weakly supported, his historical interpretations regarding connections ranging from colonial diaspora to ancient migrations provide a more promising starting point for both research and teaching about the global arts. While Lomax’s attempts to correlate features of social structure such as gender, religion, politics, and economics with stylistic features of musical performance largely failed to gain acceptance, the Cantometrics Project can still provide both inspiration and cautionary lessons for future exploration of relationships between music and culture.
The Costs and Benefits of Parenthood for Mental and Physical Health in the United States: The Importance of Parenting Stage
Authors: Simon Robin W. , Caputo Jennifer
Published: July 2018

Although research finds that parents report greater depression than nonparents, we do not know whether the costs and benefits of parenthood for mental and physical health vary across parenting stages. Using the first wave of data from National Survey of Midlife Development in the United States (MIDUS; N = 2,730), we examine disparities in eight measures of mental and physical health between nonparents and parents whose youngest child is: (1) under 13, (2) 13 to 17, (3) 18 to 29, and (4) 30 years and older. Drawing on insights about stress, the life course, and the changing nature of the parental role, we hypothesize that the associations between parenthood and well-being are contingent on the parenting stage. Our analyses reveal some advantages associated with parenthood; we also find that parents whose children are 30 years and older report better mental and physical health than parents at all other stages. These results suggest that the costs and benefits of parenthood in the U.S. depend on the parenting stage.
A Traditional Chinese Medicine Herb Mixture Qingjie Fuzheng Granules Inhibits Hepatocellular Carcinoma Cells Growth by Inducing Apoptosis
Authors: Zhong Pingping , Yang Hong , Lin Shan , Peng Jun , Lin Jiumao
Published: July 2018

In this study, hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) mouse xenograft model, MTT assay, colony formation, nuclear staining, and Annexin-V/PI staining assays were used to evaluate the effect of Qingjie Fuzheng granules (QFG) on cell proliferation and apoptosis of HCC cell in vivo and in vitro. Furthermore, Western blotting was performed to detect the expression of Fas, FasL, Bcl-2, Bax, and the activation of caspase-3/-8/-9. The results showed that QFG reduced tumor weight ( P < .05) but had no effect on body weight gain in HCC mice in vivo. QFG significantly reduced HCC cell viability and attenuated cell proliferation in a dose-dependent manner ( P < .05). QFG increased the expression of Fas, FasL, and Bax ( P < .05). QFG downregulated the expression of Bcl-2 and promoted the activation of caspase-8, -9, and -3 ( P < .05). These results suggested that QFG possessed anticancer effects, and the mechanisms of action may involve the death receptor pathway and mitochondrion-dependent pathway-mediated apoptosis.
Biomarkers and the diagnosis of preclinical dementia
Authors: Lilford Philippa , Hughes Julian C.
Published: July 2018

Alzheimer's disease pathology accumulates years before the onset of clinical symptoms and has been termed ‘preclinical dementia’. Biomarkers have been developed to detect this pathology – namely, brain amyloid deposition and markers of neurodegeneration. In this article we describe these biomarkers and review the evidence for their clinical use in predicting risk both in the cognitively ‘normal’ and in those who already have established cognitive decline. We also discuss the limitations and ethical considerations of these tests and consider whether we should start incorporating Alzheimer's disease biomarkers into clinical practice. We find that, because many cognitively healthy people will have Alzheimer's pathology, and it is not clear whether this does help predict future risk of Alzheimer's disease, diagnosing preclinical dementia carries numerous ethical implications and is currently not being advocated outside research settings.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

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Understand the concepts of preclinical and prodromal Alzheimer's disease and the use of biomarkers in this context

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Analyse the supporting evidence for the use of biomarkers in prodromal and preclinical dementia

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Apply this information to everyday clinical practice

DECLARATION OF INTEREST

J. C. H. works in the Research Institute for the Care of Older People (RICE), which undertakes clinical drug trials for drug companies. He is a sub-investigator on a number of trials (some of which involve neuroimaging and biomarkers) and principal investigator and chief investigator on two trials (neither of which involves biomarkers). All of these trials concern Alzheimer's disease or dementia. He does not receive any direct personal payment from the trials: the payment goes to RICE, which does, however, fund almost half of his post. RICE is an independent charity and separate from the University of Bristol.