bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Search for an Early Intervention Outcome Measurement Tool in Autism
Authors: Fletcher-Watson S. , McConachie H.
Published: April 2015

Evidence is accumulating that early intervention can be effective in improving the skills of young children with autism spectrum disorder. However, the science is hampered by the lack of agreed “gold standard” tools for the measurement of progress and outcome. What is required is a reliable, valid, and sensitive measure of change in the core domains of autism, which can be undertaken blind to group and time. This article explores the use of a promising measure of change, for which reliability, validity, and sensitivity to change over a lengthy period have been previously demonstrated. Pilot data indicate that, despite some sensitivity to change over a short period of time, it does not capture treatment effects more effectively than an existing diagnostic tool. Future directions for the ongoing search are suggested, including consideration of how to achieve sensitivity to differential change as well as to change over time.
The Effects of Self-Monitoring and Performance Feedback on the Treatment Integrity of Behavior Intervention Plan Implementation and Generalization
Authors: Mouzakitis Angela , Codding Robin S. , Tryon Georgiana
Published: April 2015

Accurate implementation of individualized behavior intervention plans (BIPs) is a critical aspect of evidence-based practice. Research demonstrates that neither training nor consultation is sufficient to improve and maintain high rates of treatment integrity (TI). Therefore, evaluation of ongoing support strategies is needed. The purpose of this study was to examine the use of self-monitoring (SM) alone and with performance feedback (PFB) as a means for improving and generalizing TI of individualized BIPs using a multiple-baseline design across teacher–student dyads. Findings illustrated idiosyncratic responding in that one teacher established and maintained high levels of TI with SM alone, two required the addition of PFB but subsequently maintained TI with SM alone, and one teacher required the combined treatment package to be successful. Generalized TI was observed across all teachers on similar plans and for students whose interfering behavior served the same function. Student behavior corresponded moderately with increases in TI.
Renal Protective Effects of a Diet and Exercise Intervention in Type 2 Diabetic Rats
Authors: Liang Hua
Published: April 2015

Purpose:

Diabetic nephropathy (DN) is one of the most common diabetic microvascular complications. Inflammatory factors participate in each stage of DN, and nuclear factor (NF)-κB and monocyte chemoattractant protein-1(MCP-1) play important mediation roles. The purpose of this study was to investigate the renal protective effects of a diet and exercise intervention in a rat model of Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM).

Method:

Control rats (Group A, n = 10) were fed a normal diet, while 30 rats were fed a high-glucose, high-fat diet and given an intraperitoneal injection of streptozocin to establish the T2DM model. Model rats ( n = 8 per group) were randomized into Groups B, C, and D. Groups C and D were treated with glibenclamide, and Group D received an 8-week diet and exercise intervention. Blood, 12-hr urine, and kidney tissue samples were collected postintervention for detecting blood glucose and lipid levels, expression of MCP-1 and NF-κB, and renal function indices.

Results:

Postintervention, blood glucose, and lipid levels in Groups C and D were lower than those in Group B, with decreases in Group D significantly greater than in Group C. Every index of renal protection showed greater improvement in Group D than in Group C ( p < .05). The expression of NF-κB and MCP-1 was lower in Group D than in Group C ( p < .05).

Conclusions:

The diet and exercise intervention reduced the inflammatory reaction and delayed T2DM and DN progression by inhibiting the activation of NF-κB and downregulating the expression of MCP-1.
Self-rated health, objective health, and racial discrimination among African-Americans: Explaining inconsistent findings and testing health pessimism
Authors: Landrine Hope , Corral Irma , Hall Marla B , Bess Jukelia J , Efird Jimmy
Published: April 2015

African-Americans sometimes rate their health as Poor/Fair in the absence of chronic diseases. Theoretically, this lack of correspondence between self-rated health and objective health is due to racial discrimination that results in rating one’s health negatively and in terms of social rather than health variables. We tested this Health Pessimism model with 2118 African-Americans. Results revealed that Poor/Fair self-rated health was predicted mostly by objective health for the Low Discrimination group but mostly by demographic variables for the High Discrimination group, in a manner consistent with Health Pessimism. Inconsistencies among prior studies might reflect differences in the prevalence of high discrimination among their samples.
Argillite, faux-argillite and black plastic: The political economy of simulating a quintessential Haida substance
Authors: Roth Solen
Published: April 2015

Hlgas7agaa or argillite is a type of carbonaceous shale that is found on Slatechuck Mountain, in Haida Gwaii. Since the 19th century, the Haida have been producing argillite carvings for sale, including small-scale totem poles. Argillite carvings are now a much revered art form, and the Haida remain the only ones to have direct access to this stone. However, various companies produce imitations of argillite carving in composite materials, with more or less success in producing the ‘look’ and ‘feel’ of argillite. All these imitations, including those that are nowhere near achieving convincing simulation, acquire an added commercial appeal that distinguishes them from ‘plastic totem poles’ by evoking a symbolically, socially, economically, and culturally valued material. Arguably, this makes producers of argillite-like items indebted to those who have made argillite so valuable by carefully guarding it from outside circulation in raw form, namely the Haida.
A state of limbo – in transition between two contexts: Health assessments upon arrival in Sweden as perceived by former Eritrean asylum seekers
Authors: Jonzon Robert , Lindkvist Pille , Johansson Eva
Published: April 2015

Background: National statistics have shown that only about 40% of asylum seekers actually attend the optional health assessment offered upon their arrival in Sweden, but the reasons for this have not been fully explored. Health assessments for newly arrived asylum seekers have become a regular practice in most EU countries, but what is performed, how it is organized and whether it is mandatory or not varies between countries. Aim: The aim of the study was to explore and improve our understanding of how former asylum seekers from Eritrea perceived and experienced the health assessment during their asylum-seeking process. Methods: We used a qualitative research approach guided by grounded theory. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 11 former asylum seekers from Eritrea. Data were analysed based on constant comparative analysis. Findings: The asylum seekers expressed feelings of ambiguity and mistrust and felt that they were seen only as objects by the Swedish healthcare system during their asylum-seeking process. Poor communication and inability to overcome language and cultural barriers seemed to be the most important findings in the narratives. The core category was defined as ‘A state of limbo – in transition between two contexts’. Conclusions: There are reasons to believe that these issues with communication negatively affected both the quality of the health assessment and the number of asylum seekers attending the health assessment. Improved communication by the authorities towards the asylum seekers is, therefore, of vital importance.
Getting attention online in election coverage: Audience selectivity in the 2012 US presidential election
Authors: Jang S Mo , Oh Yu Won
Published: April 2015

This study investigates how citizens select election news online. Voluntary national samples ( n = 372) browsed a news website featuring four types of election news (horserace, candidates’ issue positions, campaign trails, and voters). Their online activities, including article selection and the length of exposure, were unobtrusively measured by behavior tracking software. The results revealed that participants tended to choose issue-based election coverage but avoided news stories about campaign trails. The horserace was not more popular than the other types of election news. The findings also supported negative bias by showing that participants preferred election news headlines that contained negative words.
Mobilising abroad across ethnic lines: Home-country politics and immigrant political engagement in comparative perspective
Authors: Lacomba Cristina
Published: April 2015

Scholarship on immigrant political participation has recently examined how immigrants engage in collective action in the receiving society, whereas scholarship focussing on immigrant home-country politics has focused on debating immigrant political engagement vis-à-vis the origin society. What the literature has neglected is how immigrants engage simultaneously in immigrant and home–country politics. This article fills this lacuna through multi-sited fieldwork observations and interviews, showing how the Ecuadorian participants in this study engage in home-country politics in Madrid and New York City through grassroots organisations and why the leaders and members of these organisations reach out to non-ethnically based associations to make demands on the receiving society governments. The engagement of Ecuadorian political parties in the host societies heightens distrust among the participants in this study, inhibiting their organisation at the ethno-national level. As a result, participants find venues for engagement outside of their nationality group.
Scalable and privacy-respectful interactive discovery of place semantics from human mobility traces
Authors: Andrienko Natalia , Andrienko Gennady , Fuchs Georg , Jankowski Piotr
Published: April 2015

Mobility diaries of a large number of people are needed for assessing transportation infrastructure and spatial development planning. Acquisition of personal mobility diaries through population surveys is a costly and error-prone endeavour. We examine an alternative approach to obtaining similar information from episodic digital traces of people’s presence in various locations, which appear when people use their mobile devices for making phone calls, accessing the Internet or posting georeferenced contents (texts, photos or videos) in social media. Having episodic traces of a person over a long time period, it is possible to detect significant (repeatedly visited) personal places and identify them as home, work or place of social activities based on temporal patterns of a person’s presence in these places. Such analysis, however, can lead to compromising personal privacy. We have investigated the feasibility of deriving place meanings and reconstructing personal mobility diaries while preserving the privacy of individuals whose data are analysed. We have devised a visual analytics approach and a set of supporting tools making such privacy-preserving analysis possible. The approach was tested in two case studies with publicly available data: simulated tracks from the VAST Challenge 2014 and real traces built from georeferenced Twitter posts.
Research Note: Uncertainty in subjective evaluation of discomfort glare
Authors: Fotios S
Published: April 2015

The magnitude of discomfort glare has often been evaluated using the de Boer rating scale. This note raises doubts about measuring discomfort glare this way. There is a possibility that the presence of discomfort may be a false alarm because this rating scale forces an opinion and/or because the response scale does not include a `no glare' option. Further, there is a possibility that response variance is increased through uncertainty over the meaning of the magnitude descriptors. Actions that will reduce the likelihood of such distortions occurring are suggested.
Migration, language diversity and education policy: A contextualized analysis of inequality, risk and state effects
Authors: Collins James
Published: April 2015

No Child Left Behind is federal education legislation consisting of implementation programs intended to reconcile the goals of insuring equality while promoting competition in public education in the United States. Immigrant students whose primary languages are not English are included in the mandate of NCLB, categorized as English Language Learners (ELLs), a category of at-risk students. Drawing on case studies of immigrant students in upstate New York, as well as surveys of school district compliance with ESL/Bilingual education requirements, this analysis is an exploration of how NCLB and its implementation simultaneously obscure economic differences and polarize ethnolinguistic identities at school, state, and federal levels. Drawing from ethnographic as well as sociolinguistic data, the concept of state effects is used to examine the articulation and re-articulation of ethnoracial and linguistic diversity along axes of poverty and relative privilege. It is argued that NCLB as enacted across diverse scales constructs social subjects in relation to differences that are obscured or emphasized and produces isolated individual subjects as well as new collective identities.
Whole body vibration training in patients with COPD
Authors: Gloeckl Rainer , Heinzelmann Inga , Kenn Klaus
Published: April 2015

In recent years, several studies have shown that whole body vibration training (WBVT) may be a beneficial training mode in a variety of chronic diseases and conditions such as osteoporosis, fibromyalgia, multiple sclerosis, or chronic low back pain. However, a systematic review on the effects of WBVT in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) has not been performed yet. An extensive literature search was performed using various electronic databases (PubMed, Embase, LILACS, and PEDro). They were searched from inception until September 20, 2014, using key words like “COPD” and “whole body vibration training.” A total of 91 studies could be identified and were screened for relevance by two independent reviewers. Six studies were included in a qualitative analysis. Trials studied either the effects of WBVT versus an inactive control group, versus sham WBVT, during an acute COPD exacerbation or as a modality on top of conventional endurance and strength training. All randomized trials reported a significantly superior benefit on exercise capacity (6-minute walking distance) in favor of the WBVT group. Although there are only few studies available, there is some preliminary evidence that WBVT may be an effective exercise modality to improve functional exercise capacity in patients with COPD.
Factors That Influence African American Male Retention and Graduation
Authors: Farmer Errick D. , Hope Warren C.
Published: April 2015

African American males face major challenges in retention and graduation from institutions of higher education. The 6-year graduation rate for African American males at 4-year public institutions and private nonprofit colleges is less than 40%. This figure suggests that persistence toward degree attainment is a problem. The purpose of this study was to ascertain whether selected precollege- and college-level variables have a relationship to retention and graduation for African American males. Gateway University, a historically black college and university, was the site of the investigation. Three research questions were posed: (a) What precollege variables best predict retention and graduation for African American males? (b) What college-level variables best predict retention and graduation for African American males? and (c) What combination of precollege- and college-level variables best predict retention and graduation for African American males? Five-hundred and sixty-two African American males, entering freshmen for the 2005–2006 academic year, comprised the sample. Inferential analyses, including bivariate relationships, cross-tabulations, chi-square and logistic regression, were performed to determine relationships between the independent (predictor) and dependent (criterion) variables. The results reveal that (a) students with higher high-school grade point averages (GPAs) were more likely to be retained and graduate than those with lower GPAs, (b) students with higher first semester GPAs were more likely to be retained and to graduate than those with lower first semester GPAs, (c) residents of the state were most likely to be retained than nonresidents, and (d) residents of the state and students with higher first semester GPAs were more likely to be retained and graduate than those with lower first semester GPAs.
Troubled Transitions Into College and the Effects of a Small Intervention Course
Authors: Mellor David T. , Brooks Wesley R. , Gray Steven A. , Jordan Rebecca C.
Published: April 2015

Student attrition from colleges in the United States is a widespread phenomenon, posing real stresses to students, their families, and to universities. We examined the causes of poor academic performance in students' first semester through interviews and questionnaires and administered a small intervention course to freshmen on academic probation the following semester. This intervention had a modest positive effect on retention and academic self-efficacy but not on locus of control or grade point average. Finally, the 10% lower attrition rate among the students in our Portals to Academic Student Success courses suggests that small-scale interventions can mitigate attrition among students who later prove an ability to continue matriculating.
Public Opinion and Democratic Party Ownership of Prosperity
Authors: Ponder Daniel E. , Simon Christopher A. , Wendell Dane G. , Tatalovich Raymond
Published: April 2015

Recently, there has been renewed interest in the question of party ownership of economic prosperity, which Petrocik argued was a performance issue subject to the flow of events over which administrations have no control. Using Gallup Polls administered between 1955 and 2013, we investigate public opinion on whether Republicans or Democrats would do a better job of keeping the country prosperous. Using error correction analysis, we test political and economic variables to assess the political legacy of the Great Depression and New Deal. Our analysis shows that Democrats owned prosperity before the 1980s, but have since lost momentum in public opinion on the issue. New generations have no personal memories of the Great Depression or the ensuing partisan realignment. The Baby Boomer and so-called X generations, instead, experienced the stagflation of the 1970s during their young adulthood, frequently associated with the Carter Administration. A persistent legacy of the Great Depression, however, is an asymmetry of public preferences insofar as adverse economic conditions are concerned. We find that rising unemployment yields more public support for Democrats than Republicans as the preferred party steward of economic prosperity.
A Crisis in Context
Authors: Newman Benjamin J.
Published: April 2015

The effect of economic distress on public opinion is well studied in political science. This research, however, tends to focus on one’s personal economic situation or national economic conditions, with considerably less scholarly attention directed toward understanding how intermediate levels, such as citizens’ local economic environment, shapes mass economic policy preferences. In response, this article develops a theory of the effect of local economic context on policy preferences which posits national economic events as a moderating factor and views toward the fairness of the economic system as an intervening factor. Drawing upon over a decade of survey data, and focusing on the 2008 Financial Crisis and public views toward business corporations, this article demonstrates that the Crisis polarized citizens across affluent and poor areas with respect to perceptions of corporate-led maldistribution, which in turn, had an indirect polarizing effect on economic policy mood.
Understanding the Length of State Supreme Court Opinions
Authors: Leonard Meghan E. , Ross Joseph V.
Published: April 2015

The writing of a majority opinion is the most important task for judges and justices on collegial courts because they must be able to explain and justify the court’s decision in a way that will be understood by other legal and political actors. For state supreme court justices, we argue that the opinion-writing process is driven by the information the opinion author has as well as internal institutional constraints. In this article, we examine the length of opinions produced by state supreme courts to determine whether there are differences in the opinion-writing process between elected and appointed courts. Using an original dataset comprising all education cases decided by state supreme courts from 1995 to 2005, we find, consistent with our expectations, that elected justices appear to be more concerned with audiences external to the court in writing opinions, whereas appointed justices are more likely to respond to internal constraints and conditions.
Mild Cognitive Impairment is Associated With White Matter Integrity Changes in Late-Myelinating Regions Within the Corpus Callosum
Authors: Stricker Nikki H. , Salat David H. , Kuhn Taylor P. , Foley Jessica M. , Price Jenessa S. , Westlye Lars T. , Esterman Michael S. , McGlinchey Regina E. , Milberg William P. , Leritz Elizabeth C.
Published: April 2015

Degenerative brain changes in Alzheimer’s disease may occur in reverse order of normal brain development based on the retrogenesis model. This study tested whether evidence of reverse myelination was observed in mild cognitive impairment (MCI) using a data-driven analytic approach based on life span developmental data. Whole-brain high-resolution diffusion tensor imaging scans were obtained for 31 patients with MCI and 79 demographically matched healthy older adults. Comparisons across corpus callosum (CC) regions of interest (ROIs) showed decreased fractional anisotropy (FA) in the body but not in the genu or splenium; early-, middle-, and late-myelinating ROIs restricted to the CC revealed decreased FA in late- but not early- or middle-myelinating ROIs. Voxelwise group differences revealed areas of lower FA in MCI, but whole-brain differences were equally distributed across early-, middle-, and late-myelinating regions. Overall, results within the CC support the retrogenesis model, although caution is needed when generalizing these results beyond the CC.
Maintaining Trunk and Head Upright Optimizes Visual Vertical Measurement After Stroke
Authors: Piscicelli Celine , Barra Julien , Sibille Brice , Bourdillon Charlotte , Guerraz Michel , Pérennou Dominic Alain
Published: April 2015

Background. Visual vertical (VV) measurement provides information about spatial cognition and is now part of postural disorders assessment. Guidelines for clinical VV measurement after stroke remain to be established, especially regarding the orientation settings for patients who do not sit upright. Objectives. We analyzed the need to control body orientation while patients estimate the VV. Methods. VV orientation and variability were assessed in 20 controls and 36 subacute patients undergoing rehabilitation after a first hemisphere stroke, in 3 settings: body not maintained (trunk and head free), partially maintained (trunk maintained, head free), or maintained (trunk and head). VV was analyzed as a function of trunk and head tilt, also quantified. Results. Trunk and head orientations were independent. The ability to sit independently was affected by a tilted trunk. The setting had a strong effect on VV orientation and variability in patients with contralesional trunk tilt (n = 11; trunk orientation −18.4 ± 11.7°). The contralesional VV bias was severe and consistent under partially maintained (−8.4 ± 5.2°) and maintained (−7.8 ± 3.5°) settings, whereas various individual behaviors reduced the mean bias under the nonmaintained setting (−3.6 ± 9.3°, P < .05). VV variability was lower under the maintained (1.5 ± 0.2°) than nonmaintained (3.7 ± 0.4°, P < .001) and partially maintained (3.6 ± 0.2°, P < .001) settings. In contrast, setting had no effect in patients with satisfactory postural control in sitting. Conclusion. Subject setting improves VV measurement in stroke patients with postural disorders. Maintaining the trunk upright enhances the validity of VV orientation, and maintaining the head upright enhances the validity of within-subject variability. Measuring VV without any body maintaining is valid in patients with satisfactory balance abilities.
Players’ Value Structure in Digital Games
Authors: Lin Yu-Ling , Lin Hong-Wen , Yang Ya-Ting
Published: April 2015

The rapid advancement of digital games has not only brought entertainment to consumers but also triggered gamers’ motivation to play. This study attempts to examine the structure of “attribute–consequence–value” chains of digital games based on the theoretical framework of means-end chains (MECs) and soft laddering interview technique. Results of the study reveal that players pay attention to game attributes including connection system, popular, graphic design, and diverse game genres. From these attributes, players expect consequences such as improve interactivity, cultivate logic and reflex, gain authentic experience, enhance pleasure of senses, and utilize imagination in pursuit of terminal values such as fun and enjoyment of life, sense of accomplishment, warm relationship with others and excitement. The study also covers the differences in the chains for different platforms of digital games and players of different gender. The results showed that different groups have different needs.
(De)constructing modalities of thinking about comparative education through video-use
Authors: Klerides Eleftherios
Published: April 2015

This paper examines the utilization of video in comparative education teaching and is shaped by two interconnected arguments. Underpinning the paper is the argument that students have certain assumptions about comparative education which are not in accordance with the complex, historical and contemporary scholarship of the field, and which thus need to be deconstructed. It is argued that video is an effective teaching tool to use to trace and unsettle such assumptions, and thus, open up the possibility for more complex comparative educational thinking to emerge in university classrooms. These uses and functions of video are explored in the paper with the help of a TV programme comparing education in Greece and Finland.
Research goes to the cinema: The veracity of videography with, for and by youth
Authors: Tilleczek Kate , Loebach Janet
Published: April 2015

This paper addresses the use of participatory videography as a way of knowing and bearing witness to the complexity of young lives in educational research. We outline the principles for engaging young people in participatory videography. Working in the framework of humanities-infused praxis with, for, and by young people, we explore the place of visibility and invisibility. We identify what is gained, lost and unsettled in the use of video as a cultural process and production. We offer our theoretical and aesthetic considerations in relation to two projects. The first is a project about the youth mental health system in rural Canada, wherein we explore the fractured system visually through documentary filmmaking in the cinéma vérité cinema genre. The second is a project in which we are working with young Aboriginal Canadians who are framing the intersections of mental health and technology through filmmaking. We interrogate videography as a form of cultural production with the potential for engaging young people in educative experience, symbolic activity and cultural production. Youth videography offers opportunities for comparative education research in which social and cultural analyses are made visible. We explicate videography as a potentially meaningful experience for youth and for a deeper cultural analysis in educational research while addressing the tensions surrounding its claim to veracity.
The strategic enactment of a media identity by professional team sports players
Authors: File Kieran Andrew
Published: April 2015

This article explores the discursive behaviour of professional male team sports players in post-match interviews from a social identity construction perspective. Drawing on a data set of 160 televised post-match interviews from two different team sports and two different regions of the world, this article identifies stances players orient to when presenting themselves in these media interviews. A supplementary data set of ethnographic semi-structured interviews with professional team sports players is also used to develop insider perspectives on the discursive behaviour of professional team sports players when speaking to the media. What is argued is that the acts and stances employed by team sports players can be interpreted as indexing a media self, or media identity, one that professional team sports players construct in order to strategically negotiate a public version of self that presents them positively to their audience and maintains their relationships with other members of their team.
Infective endocarditis and mannose-binding lectin deficiency – A case report
Authors: Watson Ximena , Parris Mike
Published: April 2015

We present the case of a 40-year-old woman diagnosed with Austrian syndrome, an association of endocarditis, meningitis and pneumonia caused by Streptococcus pneumonia. She had none of the risk factors previously described in the literature but on immunological assay was found to have low serum levels of mannose-binding lectin, a protein required for complement activation. The clinical manifestation and treatment of this condition are discussed, and we emphasize the importance of early recognition of cardiac involvement and prompt surgical management.
Drug-induced hyperthermia in critical care
Authors: Walter Edward , Carraretto Mike
Published: April 2015

Fever is common in critically ill patients and the cause is frequently not infection. Drug fevers occur in the intensive care and there are many pharmacological agents, by a variety of mechanisms, which increase body temperature beyond normal range. This article is a review of the common classes of drugs that can induce hyperthermia, highlighting the deleterious effects of a sustained high temperature and outlining available treatments.
When a respiratory pathogen turns to the skin: cutaneous tuberculosis in a lung transplant patient
Authors: Voigtländer Torsten , Cornberg Markus , Gottlieb Jens , Welte Tobias , Suerbaum Sebastian , Bange Franz-Christoph
Published: April 2015

A 62-year-old male, who received immune suppressive therapy due to a lung transplantation several years ago, developed multiple painful abscesses in the right forearm. First misdiagnosed as staphylococcal abscesses, Mycobacterium tuberculosis was eventually cultured from the abscesses. In addition, the patient also suffered from pulmonary tuberculosis and respiratory specimens were also culture-positive for Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Cutaneous tuberculosis must be kept as a differential diagnosis in the case of abscess-like lesions on the skin, especially in immunocompromised patients. Mycobacteria specific tests (polymerase chain reaction in respiratory samples and wound smears) and antituberculotic combination therapy are necessary to treat Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection/reactivation adequately.
EUReKA! A Conceptual Model of Emotion Understanding
Authors: Castro Vanessa L. , Cheng Yanhua , Halberstadt Amy G. , Grühn Daniel
Published: April 2015

The field of emotion understanding is replete with measures, yet lacks an integrated conceptual organizing structure. To identify and organize skills associated with the recognition and knowledge of emotions, and to highlight the focus of emotion understanding as localized in the self, in specific others, and in generalized others, we introduce the conceptual framework of Emotion Understanding in Recognition and Knowledge Abilities (EUReKA). We then categorize 56 existing methods of emotion understanding within this framework to highlight current gaps and future opportunities in assessing emotion understanding across the lifespan. We hope the EUReKA model provides a systematic and integrated framework for conceptualizing and measuring emotion understanding for future research.
Bone-targeted agents in the treatment of lung cancer
Authors: Silva Shobha C. , Wilson Caroline , Woll Penella J.
Published: April 2015

Over a third of patients with lung cancer will develop bone metastases during the course of their disease, resulting in symptoms of pain and immobility, and skeletal-related events (SREs) such as fracture, hypercalcaemia, surgery or radiotherapy to bones, and malignant spinal cord compression. These reduce quality of life and increase mortality. Preclinical research has identified the interactions between tumour cells and bone that are key to tumour cell survival and associated osteolysis. These data have led to the development of drugs to prevent osteoclast-mediated bone breakdown, such as zoledronic acid and denosumab, which are now licensed for use in patients with bone metastases from solid tumours. Both zoledronic acid and denosumab reduce the risk of SREs and increase time to first SRE, with minimal side effects. In addition, denosumab improved survival in patients with lung cancer compared with zoledronic acid. Ongoing trials are testing whether these drugs can prevent the development of bone metastases from lung cancer. New bone-targeted agents showing promise in breast and prostate cancer include radium-223, cabozantinib and Src inhibitors. These agents require further evaluation in patients with lung cancer.
Odanacatib: a review of its potential in the management of osteoporosis in postmenopausal women
Authors: Chapurlat Roland D.
Published: April 2015

Odanacatib is a cathepsin K inhibitor developed for the treatment of postmenopausal osteoporosis. It is a bone resorption inhibitor, but which preserves bone formation to some extent. It can be administered once a week, in tablets also containing vitamin D. In a large clinical development program, it has been shown that odanacatib reduces bone resorption, with a reduction of about 60–70% in biochemical markers of resorption, while bone formation decreases to a lesser magnitude. Odanacatib continuously increases bone mineral density (BMD) at the hip and lumbar spine over 5 years. Once it is stopped, a complete resolution of effect is observed, with declining BMD and increased bone turnover. Bone microarchitecture and bone strength have also been improved in clinical trials using quantitative computed tomography (QCT) at the lumbar spine and hip, and high resolution peripheral QCT at the distal radius and tibia. In a phase III trial involving 16,713 postmenopausal women ⩾65 years of age with low BMD, the risk of fragility fracture was significantly reduced at the spine, hip and other nonvertebral sites compared with the placebo group. Odanacatib has been generally well tolerated, with no observation of osteonecrosis of the jaw so far, but with exceptional observations of subtrochanteric atypical fracture and morphea-like lesions. Odanacatib appears a useful new option in the treatment of postmenopausal osteoporosis.
Oral bisphosphonates and colon cancer: an update
Authors: Eiken Pia , Vestergaard Peter
Published: April 2015

Bisphosphonates (BPs) are widely used as the main treatment for osteoporosis. In vitro and animal studies suggest that use of BPs may have a potential for colorectal cancer (CRC) prevention. Safety and efficacy in terms of osteoporosis prevention have only been evaluated in randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of relatively short duration (3–5 years), with smaller extension studies. The evidence for a benefit beyond 5 years is limited and intake of BPs has not shown any relationship with CRC in intervention studies. Observational studies and meta-analysis have shown unchanged or decreased risk of CRC. BPs used for treatment and prevention of osteoporosis should not be applied for prevention of CRC in clinical practice.
GoCARB in the Context of an Artificial Pancreas
Authors: Agianniotis Aristotelis , Anthimopoulos Marios , Daskalaki Elena , Drapela Aurélie , Stettler Christoph , Diem Peter , Mougiakakou Stavroula
Published: April 2015

Background: In an artificial pancreas (AP), the meals are either manually announced or detected and their size estimated from the blood glucose level. Both methods have limitations, which result in suboptimal postprandial glucose control. The GoCARB system is designed to provide the carbohydrate content of meals and is presented within the AP framework. Method: The combined use of GoCARB with a control algorithm is assessed in a series of 12 computer simulations. The simulations are defined according to the type of the control (open or closed loop), the use or not-use of GoCARB and the diabetics’ skills in carbohydrate estimation. Results: For bad estimators without GoCARB, the percentage of the time spent in target range (70-180 mg/dl) during the postprandial period is 22.5% and 66.2% for open and closed loop, respectively. When the GoCARB is used, the corresponding percentages are 99.7% and 99.8%. In case of open loop, the time spent in severe hypoglycemic events (<50 mg/dl) is 33.6% without the GoCARB and is reduced to 0.0% when the GoCARB is used. In case of closed loop, the corresponding percentage is 1.4% without the GoCARB and is reduced to 0.0% with the GoCARB. Conclusion: The use of GoCARB improves the control of postprandial response and glucose profiles especially in the case of open loop. However, the most efficient regulation is achieved by the combined use of the control algorithm and the GoCARB.
Envisioning Food Security in 2030
Authors: Wenner Mark D.
Published: April 2015

Food security will be a critical factor in avoiding human deprivation in 2030 in the Caribbean region. A rising world population will generate increased food demand by approximately 50 percent. At the same time, supply constraints are emerging that threaten to dampen productivity and increase real food prices. Climate change is likely to increase agricultural yield variability, while changing dietary preferences due to rising income will shift demand patterns for certain commodities that are particularly energy and water intensive. Rising food safety concerns creates the need for better grading, certification, and inspection services, all of which add to costs and increase the complexity of the supply chain. The Caribbean states with few exceptions are mostly net food importers and face a host of challenges to maintain or improve food security over the coming years. This article highlights how new transformative technologies will likely impact agriculture and argues the need for Caribbean states to adapt so as to improve food security in the next fifteen years.
Water Issues and Solutions
Authors: O’Flynn David
Published: April 2015

Water is fundamental to human life and survival—our most fundamental instinct. Because of the forecasted challenges around sourcing adequate quantities of quality water, some feel future wars will be fought over water and not oil. Other challenges are related to the increasing population concentrations and climate-related weather events. This article considers water-related challenges arising out of urbanization and looks at how policies and technology can help make transition to more sustainable use of water work.
Prologue
Authors: Nelson Claire
Published: April 2015

This article argues for the need for changing the analytic paradigm in development policy and project planning to include the use of strategic foresight to improve development intervention outcomes and improve probability of achieving the sustainable development goals. The article names thirty global issues that require a global commitment to achieve sustainability in the year 2030 and argues that successfully addressing these would require a shared vision. That would be one of the outcomes of applying a development futures paradigm.
Epilogue
Authors: Nelson Claire A.
Published: April 2015

This article explores the need for a paradigm shift in the policy and project decision analysis process of the development assistance industry in order to meet the challenges of global governance. The essay argues that such shifts will require the intentional use of narrative foresight to inform the leadership and engage followers in a shared vision of the desired future, and lays out a call to action for decision makers in the global commons that envisages seven key elements.
Decision-Making Support
Authors: Comai Alessandro
Published: April 2015

Nowadays, managers and policymakers are overwhelmed by the volume of information coming from databases and the Internet. The ability to zero in on significant data and form reliable information sources is even more difficult. Choosing, collecting, analyzing, and managing data about global problems such as carbon emissions, earthquake warnings, climate change, or pandemics, for example, is no easy task. In addition, the wasted amount of data available from different kinds of sources make the job of interpreting events and anticipating changes more complicated still. Business managers, analysts, and policymakers need to deal with this issue by looking to new tools or models that were not available until now. This article explores how modern data and network visualization methods can help policymakers understand an ongoing situation in a relatively short time, as well as help predict future events by interacting with it. Examples of interactive visualization and network analysis are discussed.
From Sources to Sinks
Authors: O’Hara Sabine
Published: April 2015

A steadily growing world population, combined with shrinking supplies of natural resources, could be a global catastrophe in the making. Since the eighteenth century, economists have warned of this disastrous prospect where population growth outpaces the growth in food and other resources. Yet time and again, innovation has changed the equation. The true limit on society’s growth, however, may be Earth’s finite ability to absorb the waste by-products of human resource use and production. This article proposes changing the rules of economic production, using new measures of value like the Genuine Progress Indicator (GPI) or the Five Pillars of Economic Development (5P) to assure that future development planning includes maintaining nature’s capacity to absorb pollution and society’s capacity to absorb stressors, as well as providing continued access to raw materials, labor, and capital.
Meeting the Challenge of Ending Extreme Poverty
Authors: Pagett Richard
Published: April 2015

The human population is undergoing unprecedented growth and demographic change. By the end of this century, there will be an estimated 9.5 billion people living on the planet, 75 percent of whom will be located in urban settlements and developing consumerist tendencies. More mouths to feed and changes in tastes for food types will require doubling world agricultural production in four decades, water consumption will need to increase 30 percent by 2030, and three billion extra people will seek shelter in urban settings by 2050. This article contends that the world’s survival solutions are not so much dependent on science or technology, but rather on the choices that we (or rather our political leaders) make about critical national and global issues. As population rises, millions are living in increasingly marginal places (prone to flooding, desertification, and degraded soil) so we should not be surprised when we have, for instance, food scarcity or famine. Increasing population is forcing millions to live in locations increasingly at risk from natural disasters (e.g., flooding, landslides, and so on). Where poor people are obliged to live must be planned for, far more appropriately, taking into account available resources, their limitations, and the overall implications of global climate change. We betray the future if we do not tackle the problems facing us while we have the opportunity, and that opportunity is rapidly receding.
Meadows on the Way to Mars
Authors: Caldwell Barrett S.
Published: April 2015

This article addresses factors that will influence future human spaceflight missions. A fictional Mars expedition vignette highlights how a future Mars expedition may be tied to societal challenges and research priorities on Earth. Historical aspects of the Apollo era are used to emphasize sociotechnical factors that can influence goals, priorities, and larger societal effects of spaceflight. Current cultural and technology factors will strongly affect spaceflight in the year 2035. However, sociotechnical disruptions influence the robustness of mission planning efforts. The goal is to recognize and prepare for a range of possible futures affecting spaceflight mission scenarios.
Achieving a Sustainable Global Civilization
Authors: Jin Zhouying
Published: April 2015

Human beings are now facing three major challenges: the crisis of the natural environment in which humans live, the crisis of the human social environment, and the crisis of human civilization arising from the negative impacts of the explosive development of technologies and the omnipotence of science that affects the direction of human evolution. Indeed, according to the above challenges, we need to pursue future forecasting individually, analyze the harms and risks, and put forward solutions, or even develop business opportunities. But these efforts are far from enough to eradicate the above crises. At present, all the challenges and crises mentioned are related to the relationship between man and nature, man and man, and man and society, as well as the direction of the human development mode. To share our planet and ensure our planet’s survival as well as that of our human society, and avoid humanity’s catastrophic collapse due to man’s behaviors, a batch of futurists are needed to shift the focus of research to a comprehensive, long-term future study, including to reveal the truth of human crises; to explore an ultimate goal, vision, and path to achieve human sustainable development; to understand what technology is, which is called the driving force of human social development; to figure out who we are and toward which evolutionary direction human beings should evolve; and so on. Only when a consensus has been reached on these fundamental issues—and the main direction has been determined—can we put an end to short-term actions and come up with systemic solutions. Only then are we able to shorten the period of transformation from our industrial civilization to finally realize humanity’s long-cherished ideal of a great global civilization.