bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The DYMECS Project: A Statistical Approach for the Evaluation of Convective Storms in High-Resolution NWP Models
Authors: Stein Thorwald H. M. , Hogan Robin J. , Clark Peter A. , Halliwell Carol E. , Hanley Kirsty E. , Lean Humphrey W. , Nicol John C. , Plant Robert S.
Published: February 2015

A new frontier in weather forecasting is emerging by operational forecast models now being run at convection-permitting resolutions at many national weather services. However, this is not a panacea; significant systematic errors remain in the character of convective storms and rainfall distributions. The Dynamical and Microphysical Evolution of Convective Storms (DYMECS) project is taking a fundamentally new approach to evaluate and improve such models: rather than relying on a limited number of cases, which may not be representative, the authors have gathered a large database of 3D storm structures on 40 convective days using the Chilbolton radar in southern England. They have related these structures to storm life cycles derived by tracking features in the rainfall from the U.K. radar network and compared them statistically to storm structures in the Met Office model, which they ran at horizontal grid length between 1.5 km and 100 m, including simulations with different subgrid mixing length. The authors also evaluated the scale and intensity of convective updrafts using a new radar technique. They find that the horizontal size of simulated convective storms and the updrafts within them is much too large at 1.5-km resolution, such that the convective mass flux of individual updrafts can be too large by an order of magnitude. The scale of precipitation cores and updrafts decreases steadily with decreasing grid lengths, as does the typical storm lifetime. The 200-m grid-length simulation with standard mixing length performs best over all diagnostics, although a greater mixing length improves the representation of deep convective storms.
Resolution Dependence of Future Tropical Cyclone Projections of CAM5.1 in the U.S. CLIVAR Hurricane Working Group Idealized Configurations
Authors: Wehner Michael , Prabhat  , Reed Kevin A. , Stone Dáithí , Collins William D. , Bacmeister Julio
Published: February 2015

The four idealized configurations of the U.S. CLIVAR Hurricane Working Group are integrated using the global Community Atmospheric Model version 5.1 at two different horizontal resolutions, approximately 100 and 25 km. The publicly released 0.9° × 1.3° configuration is a poor predictor of the sign of the 0.23° × 0.31° model configuration’s change in the total number of tropical storms in a warmer climate. However, it does predict the sign of the higher-resolution configuration’s change in the number of intense tropical cyclones in a warmer climate. In the 0.23° × 0.31° model configuration, both increased CO2 concentrations and elevated sea surface temperature (SST) independently lower the number of weak tropical storms and shorten their average duration. Conversely, increased SST causes more intense tropical cyclones and lengthens their average duration, resulting in a greater number of intense tropical cyclone days globally. Increased SST also increased maximum tropical storm instantaneous precipitation rates across all storm intensities. It was found that while a measure of maximum potential intensity based on climatological mean quantities adequately predicts the 0.23° × 0.31° model’s forced response in its most intense simulated tropical cyclones, a related measure of cyclogenesis potential fails to predict the model’s actual cyclogenesis response to warmer SSTs. These analyses lead to two broader conclusions: 1) Projections of future tropical storm activity obtained by a direct tracking of tropical storms simulated by coarse-resolution climate models must be interpreted with caution. 2) Projections of future tropical cyclogenesis obtained from metrics of model behavior that are based solely on changes in long-term climatological fields and tuned to historical records must also be interpreted with caution.
Statistical Downscaling in the Tropics Can Be Sensitive to Reanalysis Choice: A Case Study for Precipitation in the Philippines
Authors: Manzanas R. , Brands S. , San-Martín D. , Lucero A. , Limbo C. , Gutiérrez J. M.
Published: February 2015

This work shows that local-scale climate projections obtained by means of statistical downscaling are sensitive to the choice of reanalysis used for calibration. To this aim, a generalized linear model (GLM) approach is applied to downscale daily precipitation in the Philippines. First, the GLMs are trained and tested separately with two distinct reanalyses (ERA-Interim and JRA-25) using a cross-validation scheme over the period 1981–2000. When the observed and downscaled time series are compared, the attained performance is found to be sensitive to the reanalysis considered if climate change signal–bearing variables (temperature and/or specific humidity) are included in the predictor field. Moreover, performance differences are shown to be in correspondence with the disagreement found between the raw predictors from the two reanalyses. Second, the regression coefficients calibrated either with ERA-Interim or JRA-25 are subsequently applied to the output of a global climate model (MPI-ECHAM5) in order to assess the sensitivity of local-scale climate change projections (up to 2100) to reanalysis choice. In this case, the differences detected in present climate conditions are considerably amplified, leading to “delta-change” estimates differing by up to 35% (on average for the entire country) depending on the reanalysis used for calibration. Therefore, reanalysis choice is an important contributor to the uncertainty of local-scale climate change projections and, consequently, should be treated with as much care as other better-known sources of uncertainty (e.g., the choice of the GCM and/or downscaling method). Implications of the results for the entire tropics, as well as for the model output statistics downscaling approach are also briefly discussed.
Value of Laryngeal Electromyography in Spasmodic Dysphonia Diagnosis and Therapy
Authors: Yang Qingwen , Xu Wen , Li Yun , Cheng Liyu
Published: February 2015

Objective:

To investigate the role of laryngeal electromyography (LEMG) in the diagnosis and treatment of spasmodic dysphonia (SD).

Methods:

The clinical manifestations, characteristics of motor unit potentials (MUPs), recruitment potentials, and laryngeal nerve evoked potentials (EPs) in LEMG, as well as the changes after botulinum toxin (BTX) treatment, were analyzed in 39 patients with adductor SD.

Results:

The main clinical manifestations were a strained voice and phonation interruptions; in addition, the patients displayed hyper-adducted vocal folds during phonation. LEMG revealed significantly increased amplitudes of the thyroarytenoid muscle MUPs. The recruitment potentials were in a dense bunch, discharging full interference patterns with significantly increased amplitudes; the mean and maximum amplitude of recruitment potentials were 3090 μV and 5000 μV, respectively. The amplitude of EPs of thyroarytenoid muscle increased significantly; the mean and maximum amplitudes were 10.3 mV and 26.3 mV, respectively. After BTX was injected, the LEMG revealed denervation changes, and the EPs weakened or disappeared in the injected muscle.

Conclusions:

SD could be diagnosed, and the therapeutic efficacy of SD treatments could be evaluated based on clinical characteristics combined with LEMG characteristics. The increased amplitudes of the recruitment potentials and EPs of the thyroarytenoid muscle were the characteristic indexes. After BTX was injected, denervated potential characteristics appeared in the muscles.
Sustainable Development and Financial Markets
Authors: Busch Timo , Bauer Rob , Orlitzky Marc
Published: February 2015

This article explores the role of financial markets for sustainable development. More specifically, the authors ask to what extent financial markets foster and facilitate more sustainable business practices. The authors highlight that their current role is rather modest and conclude that, on the old paths, a paradoxical situation exists. On one hand, financial market participants increasingly integrate environmental, social, and governance (ESG) criteria into their investment decisions, whereas on the other hand, in terms of organizational reality, there seems to be no real shift toward more sustainable business practices. The authors identify two main challenges within the field of sustainable investments that are relevant for entering new avenues that may help overcome this situation. First, a reorientation toward a long-term paradigm for sustainable investments is important. Second, ESG data must become more trustworthy. From a theoretical point of view, the authors finally highlight the potential market consequences when ESG investment criteria are used.
Promoting Ancestry as Ecodomy in Romanian Eastern Orthodox Christianity. The Role of Ancestors in Contemporary Romanian Orthodox Rhetoric
Authors: Simuț Corneliu C. , Buitendag Johan
Published: February 2015

For the most part, contemporary Romanian Orthodox spirituality is still heavily based on a rhetoric which builds on the notion of ancestry with the intention not only to provide Romanians with a safe comfort zone, but also to secure its privileges and influence over most of today’s Romanian society. In attempting to go back in history to demonstrate that the ancestry of Romanians is sufficient proof for their full and unconditional adherence to Eastern Orthodox Christianity in its local Romanian version as the Romanian Orthodox Church, most of today’s representatives of Romanian Orthodox spirituality—notably Dumitru Stăniloae, Ioan Rămureanu, and Teoctist, the former Patriarch of the Romanian Orthodox Church—focused on a rhetoric that, on the one hand, takes Romanians back to their Thracian, Dacian, and Roman ancestors, while on the other hand, seeks to inculcate the idea that an unflinching adherence to this specific ancestry, which is described as Christian by nature and birth, must be kept at all costs. Thus, this specific kind of rhetoric attempts to build a protective fence around Romanians, who are taught that they need to preserve their Eastern Orthodox Christianity and their allegiance to the Romanian Orthodox Church mostly because, since their ancestors were Christians, they are in fact born Christian. The process of building this protective wall around Romanians is described by means of the term ‘ecodomy’ and, unlike its general use in contemporary debates as focusing on positive aspects, the particular focus of the Romanian Orthodox Church on ecodomy based on the idea of ancestry is going to be revealed mostly through a chain of negative connotations. Thus, the contemporary rhetoric of the Romanian Orthodox Church based on the notion of ancestry as ecodomy—one may even call it negative ecodomy—is going to be explained in connection with three fundamental aspects, namely church, nation, and culture, all intended to preserve not only the influence of the Romanian Orthodox Church in nowadays Romanian society, but also a set of privileges in its relationship with the state.
National and regional proportion of immigrants and perceived threat of immigration: A three-level analysis in Western Europe
Authors: Weber Hannes
Published: February 2015

Immigration is of growing significance to the demographic makeup of Western Europe. A long-standing and highly disputed question is whether a larger number of immigrants are associated with more negative attitudes toward immigration or whether the reverse is true. Previous studies yielded contradictory results on various levels of analysis (national, regional, local). These inconsistencies may partly be linked to what is known as the ‘modifiable areal unit problem’ in spatial analysis. This article seeks to address this issue by analyzing the relationship between the percentage foreign-born and perceived group threat in 15 Western European countries on the national as well as on three differing regional levels ( N = 70, 207, and 624 regions, respectively), together with survey data from the European Values Study’s fourth wave. I expect threat effects to operate through national communication systems while contact and habituation to immigrants to work on the regional level. Consistent with theoretical expectations, the results show a positive correlation between the national proportion of immigrants and perceived threat, while the coefficients are negative on the regional level. More immigration might thus lead to a more negative evaluation of the presence of immigrants in European countries, but apparently not within the regions where most of the newcomers reside. Two recent examples illustrate this seemingly paradoxical relationship. As a methodological result, effect size and statistical significance vary with the delimitation of the regional units of analysis ( Nomenclature des Unités Territoriales Statistiques (NUTS)-1, -2, or -3). This suggests that research in this field should pay more attention to how and why spatial units are defined.
Tourism Demand Spillovers between Australia and New Zealand
Authors: Balli Faruk , Tsui Wai Hong Kan
Published: February 2015

International tourism is susceptible to fluctuations and shocks. The spillovers of international inbound tourism between Australia and New Zealand have been one of the key issues for both governments and tourism authorities to address. This paper used a bivariate GARCH model to investigate the spillovers of international tourist arrivals between Australia and New Zealand from seven countries (Canada, China, Germany, Japan, Korea, United Kingdom, and United States). The monthly international tourist arrivals between 2000 and 2012 were used for the empirical analysis. The findings suggested a significant spillover of Chinese and Japanese tourists from New Zealand to Australia, whereas New Zealand’s tourism demand from China and Japan was not significantly affected by that of Australia. However, New Zealand’s inbound tourism from Canada, Germany, and United States was significantly affected by tourism demand from those countries to Australia. Furthermore, symmetric spillovers between Australia and New Zealand (in both directions) existed for UK tourists.
Diabetes Management in Commercial Driver License Holders
Authors: Kerr Jessica L. , Frichtl Kelsey D. , Behnen Erin M.
Published: February 2015

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to evaluate diabetes management in Commercial Driver License (CDL) holders, how prescribing habits change when treating this patient population, and health care providers’ knowledge of regulations concerning insulin use in CDL holders.

Methods

A survey was posted on the American Association of Diabetes Educators (AADE) Communities of Interest websites and was open for 2 weeks. The anonymous survey collected demographic data and evaluated the perspectives of health care providers on diabetes management in CDL holders. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the survey results.

Results

A total of 139 AADE members responded to the survey, and 22.2% were prescribing providers. Findings from the survey indicated an overall lack of knowledge by health care professionals regarding the current laws affecting diabetes management in CDL holders. Most participants emphasized the need for making decisions on CDL suspension on a case-by-case basis, and some expressed concern that current laws may not be appropriate.

Conclusion

Additional diabetes education for health care providers who treat CDL holders is warranted as many health care providers were not familiar with current regulations and management strategies.
Regulatory Anatomy
Authors: Hoeyer Klaus
Published: February 2015

This article proposes the term “safety logics” to understand attempts within the European Union (EU) to harmonize member state legislation to ensure a safe and stable supply of human biological material for transplants and transfusions. With safety logics, I refer to assemblages of discourses, legal documents, technological devices, organizational structures, and work practices aimed at minimizing risk. I use this term to reorient the analytical attention with respect to safety regulation. Instead of evaluating whether safety is achieved, the point is to explore the types of “safety” produced through these logics as well as to consider the sometimes unintended consequences of such safety work. In fact, the EU rules have been giving rise to complaints from practitioners finding the directives problematic and inadequate. In this article, I explore the problems practitioners face and why they arise. In short, I expose the regulatory anatomy of the policy landscape.
Progressive failure analysis of the fiber metal laminates based on chopped carbon fiber strands
Authors: Xue Jia , Wang Wen-Xue , Zhang Jia-Zheng , Wu Su-Jun
Published: February 2015

In this study, we propose a new fiber metal laminate based on unidirectionally arrayed chopped strand (UACS) reinforced aluminum sheets, referred to as UACS/Al laminate. UACS is made by introducing slits into unidirectional carbon fiber-reinforced plastic (CFRP) prepreg. Due to the presence of discontinuous fibers, the microstructure of the UACS/Al laminate is much more complicated than the conventional fiber metal laminate, which also results in a failure progression that is more complicated. Tensile failure of the UACS/Al laminate might occur as combination of intra-laminar damage at the slits, inter-laminar damage at the interfaces, in-ply damage of the CFRP, and plastic deformation of the aluminum plies. Fabrication and tensile tests of UACS/Al laminate specimens were performed. A two-dimensional finite element model was developed with intra-laminar cohesive elements inserted into the slits of the UACS plies and with inter-laminar cohesive elements inserted into the interfaces between all laminas in the modelled UACS/Al laminates. A numerical study is conducted to investigate the influence of the shape of the cohesive laws on the FEA predictions. The combined experimental and numerical studies provide a detailed understanding of the failure progression of UACS/Al laminates under tensile load.
The Gendering of Emotional Flexibility
Authors: Tufail Zaibu , Polletta Francesca
Published: February 2015

Research on emotional labor has consistently shown that women’s jobs require the suppression of anger. But in the debt settlement firms we studied, the women who negotiated with creditors were expected to express anger. We show that what made their anger acceptable was that its expression was preceded and followed by positive emotions. Women were praised for their ability to rapidly shift from anger to warmth and back to anger again. But this ability to shift emotional registers was also seen by employers and coworkers as a function of women’s natural emotional plasticity, and was contrasted unfavorably with men’s emotional consistency. What was gendered was not an emotion but an emotional pattern, with the consequence that women’s emotional labor was simultaneously valued and devalued.
Spontaneous coronary artery thrombosis in the setting of active lupus mesenteric vasculitis
Authors: Reddy Yogesh N V , Sundaram V , Tam M , Parikh S A
Published: February 2015

A 33-year-old male with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) presented with acute abdominal pain and was found to have lupus mesenteric vasculitis on imaging and during exploratory laparotomy. Post laparotomy he continued to have persistent nausea and dyspepsia and an electrocardiogram showed evidence of an inferior ST elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). Emergency cardiac catheterization showed evidence of thrombotic right coronary artery occlusion. His coronaries were otherwise normal with no evidence of underlying coronary artery disease. Extensive workup with trans-esophageal echo, serologies for antiphospholipid antibody syndrome (APS) and bubble study was negative. This effectively ruled out Libman–Sacks endocarditis, APS-induced arterial thrombus and paradoxical emboli as potential causes of his STEMI. By exclusion of other causes, the etiology of his STEMI was felt to be secondary to in-situ coronary artery thrombosis in the setting of active SLE. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of a patient with SLE presenting with both lupus mesenteric vasculitis and in-situ coronary arterial thrombosis in the absence of APS.
Health Status and Burden of Health Care Costs Among Urban Elderly in China
Authors: Teng Haiying , Cao Zhizhong , Liu Junlan , Liu Pei , Hua Wei , Yang Yue , Xiong Linping
Published: February 2015

This study evaluates health status among elderly residents in urban China and medical insurance schemes for them. A total of 931 urban elderly individuals aged 60 years or above in 3 cities were interviewed. The survey gathered data on individual sociodemographic characteristics, self-reported health status, chronic disease diagnoses, use of and expenditure related to health care services, satisfaction with medical insurance, and so on. The prevalence of chronic disease was 79.1% among the respondents, and medical expenditure on chronic disease per patient was 4656 Yuan in half a year. Over the 2 earlier weeks, 27.4% of respondents had felt sick, and 63.5% of them had had outpatient visits; 29.5% of respondents had been hospitalized in the past year. Among different groups, the inpatient reimbursement rate ranged from 45.5% to 81.2%, and the outpatient reimbursement rate was between 4.1% and 100%. The health care demand had not been met for many elderly individuals because of the lack of general outpatient coverage in the basic medical insurance scheme.
Perceptions of Democracy and Trust in the Criminal Justice System
Authors: Hsieh Ming-Li , Boateng Francis D.
Published: February 2015

For more than 50 years, research has been accumulating on how regime differences impact Mainland China and Taiwan in terms of socioeconomic transformation, the development of politics and constitutions, and diverse issues of foreign policy. Much less is known, however, about differences in public confidence in the criminal justice system. To address the obvious gap, this study utilized second-wave data collected by the Asian Barometer cross-national survey. Findings demonstrated that Chinese citizens reflect higher levels of trust in criminal justice institutions than their Taiwanese counterparts and public perceptions of the degree of democracy had a positive effect on public attitudes. Citizens who acknowledge more satisfaction with institutional performance also tend to have more trust in the criminal justice system.
Recurrent Ameloblastoma of the Mandible With Unusual Granular Cell Component
Authors: Argyris Prokopios P. , McBeain Mackensie J. T. , Rake Angela , Pambuccian Stefan E. , Gopalakrishnan Rajaram , Koutlas Ioannis G.
Published: February 2015

Ameloblastomas can present in various clinical and histomorphologic patterns. The granular cell variant accounts for only 3.5% to 5% of ameloblastomas. The aim of this case report is to present an example of ameloblastoma with unusual granular cell component, affecting a 63-year-old woman, in which both the inner and peripheral layers of follicles composed exclusively by eosinophilic granular cells. Assessment of the immunohistochemical and histochemical profile of the lesion was performed and the challenges of such a diagnosis were also addressed.
Theoretical study of the natural frequencies of a cantilever beam under dry friction
Authors: Zhao Feng , Cao Shu-Qian , Yu Yue-Bin , Li Xiang-Wei
Published: February 2015

An analytical method to obtain the natural frequencies of a cantilever beam under dry friction is described in this paper. The equations of motion of a cantilever beam under dry friction and an equivalent model are established using Lagrange equations of the first and second kinds, respectively. Then the equations expressing the relationship between exciting force and natural frequency are acquired according to the established equations. Lastly, based on the equivalent method of input energy between the two models, we deduce an analytical expression that is concerned with the natural frequencies of the cantilever beam under dry friction. The proposed method verified by numerical results reveals that the results between the analytical and numerical methods are in better consistency with each other. Besides, on account of the natural frequency strongly influenced by friction force, the model can be used as a feasible shock absorber for some structures over a wide frequency range. This is important because the analytical expression obtained by the proposed method can directly indicate the influence of the dry friction on the natural frequencies of a cantilever beam.
A Replication of “Meta-Analysis of the Effect of Fiscal Policies on Long-run Growth” (European Journal of Political Economy 2004)
Authors: Reed W. Robert , Sidek Nurul Nadzirah
Published: February 2015

This study replicates the article by Nijkamp and Poot (2004), henceforth N&P, and performs a variety of robustness checks. Using a sample of fiscal policy studies published between 1983 and 1998, N&P concluded that certain types of studies on fiscal policies were more likely to confirm prior beliefs about their impact on economic growth than others. N&P also identified study attributes that impacted the likelihood of confirmation. We are able to exactly replicate their findings. We then attempt an alternative replication, returning to the original studies and independently categorizing them using N&P’s general classification scheme. We also investigate the implications of a number of methodological improvements on their analysis. Our analysis produces results that are qualitatively similar to N&P, though few of our results are statistically significant. The full-length version of this study suggests directions for future meta-analysis studies on the subject of fiscal policy and economic growth.
Physical activity, sleep, and C-reactive protein as markers of positive health in resilient older men
Authors: Fields Alison J , Hoyt Robert E , Linnville Steven E , Moore Jeffery L
Published: February 2015

This study explored whether physical activity and sleep, combined with the biomarker C-reactive protein, indexed positive health in older men. Many were former prisoners of war, with most remaining psychologically resilient and free of any psychiatric diagnoses. Activity and sleep were recorded through actigraphy in 120 veterans (86 resilient and 34 nonresilient) for 7 days. Resilient men had higher physical activity, significantly lower C-reactive protein levels, and 53 percent had lower cardiac-disease risk compared to nonresilient men. Sleep was adequate and not associated with C-reactive protein. Results suggest continued study is needed in actigraphy and C-reactive protein as means to index positive health.
A systematic review of the effects of mindfulness interventions on cortisol
Authors: O’Leary Karen , O’Neill Siobhan , Dockray Samantha
Published: February 2015

Cortisol is increasingly included in examinations of mindfulness intervention effects as an indicator of efficacy; however, the association of cortisol and mindfulness has yet to be rigorously evaluated. A systematic review of six studies examining mindfulness intervention effects on cortisol was conducted. Inconsistent results were found for mindfulness effects on cortisol. Significant changes in cortisol levels were observed in within-participants studies but not observed in randomised controlled trial designs. Mindfulness may influence cortisol, but findings are inconclusive. Mindfulness pathways and methodological differences influence variations in mindfulness effects. Robust protocols are needed to adequately examine mindfulness effects on cortisol.
Amateur versus professional
Authors: Lingwood Jamie , Smith Lisa L , Bond John W
Published: February 2015

Volume crime offences such as domestic burglary are commonly assessed for forensic opportunities by the first attending officer present at the scene. Conversely, less serious volume crime offences such as thefts from motor vehicles are very frequent and are routinely assessed for forensic opportunities by the victim talking to the police over the telephone. It is not clear whether this difference in attendance policy leads to differences in the types and quantity of forensic material recovered. The current study explored whether there was a benefit to evidence recovery for attended as opposed to non-attended assessments. Five hundred thefts from motor vehicles offences recorded by Northamptonshire Police (UK) between 14 January 2010 and 28 February 2011 were analysed; 250 were attended forensic assessments and 250 were non-attended assessments. Significant differences were found between the two scenarios, with attended assessments more likely to yield DNA, property and trace substance material. Conversely, fingerprints were more likely to be recovered at non-attended assessments. Despite the fruitful findings of the current study, future research would benefit from establishing the methods used by the first attending officer and forensic investigator when assessing and gathering evidence. Similarly, it is unclear whether these differences in forensic material are reflected in the identification of an offender and subsequently in the solving of the crime.
Understanding the behavioral aspects of cyber sexual grooming
Authors: Hui Donica Tang Li , Xin Chew Wei , Khader Majeed
Published: February 2015

Law enforcement agencies worldwide are concerned about cyber sexual grooming (CSG), particularly because of its potential to increasingly become transnational and global. The Internet medium facilitates CSG, where predators can draw children into a façade relationship through systematic grooming, inappropriate sexual advances and manipulation, for the purpose of sexual victimization. This article discusses four main issues. First, it discusses the definition of CSG and its inadequacies. Second, it reviews the behavioral characteristics of CSG perpetrators and victims, exposing the prevailing myths that offenders are violent paedophiles and strangers to their victims. Third, it illustrates how the CSG process unfolds through five different psychological and behavioral stages. Finally, recommendations are provided for caregivers, schools, law enforcement authorities, and adolescents to remain proactive in the prevention of and intervention in CSG.
Study on ultrafine-grained aluminum matrix nanocomposite joint fabricated by friction stir welding
Authors: Saeidi Mehdi , Abdi Behnagh Reza , Manafi Babak , Farahmand Nikoo Mohsen , Besharati Givi Mohammad Kazem
Published: February 2015

The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of adding Al2O3 nanoparticles on the properties of joints fabricated by friction stir welding. The joints were characterized by optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, dry sliding wear test, and potentiodynamic polarization test. The results show that the average grain size was reduced in the nugget zone after the addition of nanoparticles. The produced welds were also found to have adequate wear and corrosion resistance. This work demonstrates that adding Al2O3 nanoparticle is an effective strategy for improving the properties of the joints produced by friction stir welding.
Turkish early childhood educators on parental involvement
Authors: Hakyemez Sevcan
Published: February 2015

Research conducted over recent decades show that parental involvement plays a significant role in children’s academic achievement as well as their cognitive, social and emotional development. For effective parental involvement, understanding the conceptualization of early childhood educators should be significant. This research investigated the views of Turkish early childhood educators on parental involvement and attitudes towards its types. Furthermore, it aims to find the reasons behind inefficient usage. A total of 113 educators provided a representative sample from Ankara. The results showed that Turkish early childhood educators have positive attitudes towards parental involvement and its types. In addition, the most popular type of parental involvement is home support. According to the results, the main reason for inefficient parental involvement is the unwillingness of parents to participate.
Reconstruction of Heel With Propeller Flap in Postfasciotomy and Popliteal Artery Revascularization State
Authors: Kang Jin Seok , Choi Hwan Jun , Tak Min Sung
Published: February 2015

Free flaps are still the gold standard for large defects of the lower limb, but propeller perforator flaps have become a simpler and faster alternative to free flaps because of some advantages such as reliable vascular pedicle, wide mobilization and rotation, great freedom in design, low donor site morbidity, and easy harvest with no requirement for anastomosis. But when the vessels show insufficient findings in preoperative evaluation using a Doppler probe or the vessel is injured, the surgeon should avoid performing free flap surgery to prevent flap failure and should select a propeller perforator flap as an alternative method on the condition that more than one perforator is intact. In this study, we report reconstruction of soft tissue defects of the heel with a pedicled propeller flap in postfasciotomy and popliteal artery revascularization state by making an incision on the central portion above the Achilles tendon, which can be covered by the posterior tibial artery perforator or the peroneal artery perforator based flaps. In conclusion, we showed that although the popliteal artery was injured, the soft tissue defect can be reconstructed using a perforator propeller flap if intact distal flow in the anastomosis site was confirmed.
The Reverse Fasciocutaneous ALT Flap Harvested From Deeply Wounded and Scarred Area for Reconstruction of the Knee
Authors: Sahin Ismail , Guzey Serbulent , Aykan Andac , Nisanci Mustafa
Published: February 2015

Because of limited flap alternatives, soft tissue reconstruction over the knee is a challenging problem for reconstructive surgeons. When accompanied with surrounding tissue damage in major injuries, local flap alternatives are not available and reconstruction is more difficult. In this report, we present the first case in the literature of a patient who had reconstruction by the reverse fasciocutaneous anterolateral thigh (ALT) flap harvested from a deeply wounded and scarred area for soft tissue defect of knee region. It was shown that the ALT flap can be harvested from deeply wounded and scarred thigh and without any major complication and debulking procedure and that ideal cosmetic and functional results could be achieved.
Manufacturing dissent: The discursive formation of nuclear proliferation (2006–2012)
Authors: MacDonald Malcolm N , Homolar Alexandra , Rethel Lena , Schnurr Stephanie , Vessey Rachelle
Published: February 2015

This article draws on the conceptualisation of ‘discursive formation’ to examine the particular configuration of the ‘objects, subjects, concepts and strategies’ which constituted ‘nuclear proliferation’ between 2006 and 2012. While previous studies have mostly explored the discourse of nuclear proliferation through the analysis of newspaper texts, few have considered corpora from different sites or considered the changes, transformations and contradictions that take place when meanings are delocated from one site and relocated in another. Elements of poststructuralist discourse theory, critical linguistics and corpus linguistics are brought together to consider how events were constructed within two corpora: UN Security Council (UNSC) resolutions and newspaper articles published in prominent UK and US broadsheets. WordSmith Tools (Version 5) was used to analyse word frequencies, statistical patterns of keywords, word collocation profiles and concordance patterns. Results indicate that the most salient lexical items refer to actors, strategic actions and technologies. As these constituents of nuclear proliferation are delocated from the political sphere and relocated in the public sphere, three discursive strategies unfold: personalisation, normalisation or exceptionalisation, and reification.
Incidence and distribution of coeliac disease in Campania (Italy): 2011–2013
Authors: Zingone Fabiana , West Joe , Auricchio Renata , Maria Bevilacqua Rosa , Bile Guido , Borgheresi Patrizia , Erminia Bottiglieri Maria , Caldore Mariano , Capece Giuseppe , Cristina Caria Maria , Crudele Antonio , Cuomo Rosario , Lucia Garofano Maria , Giardullo Nicola , Gerarda Gravina Antonietta , Greco Luigi , Iannotta Patrizia , Kosova Paolo , Lamanda Roberto , Malamisura Basilio , Marmo Riccardo , Napoli Gianfranco , Nardone Gerardo , Pacelli Maria , Pascarella Filomena , Riccio Elisabetta , Riegler Gabriele , Rispo Antonio , Rocco Alba , Romano Marco , Saffiotti Ottavio , Saviano Paola , Sorrentini Italo , Speranza Pietro , Tolone Carlo , Tortora Raffaella , Troncone Riccardo , Ciacci Carolina
Published: February 2015

Background

There exists a wide variation in the reported incidence of coeliac disease in recent decades. We aimed to evaluate the incidence rate of coeliac diagnoses performed in an Italian region, Campania, between 2011 and 2013 and its variation therein.

Methods

All coeliac diagnoses made from 2011 to 2013 and registered within the Campania coeliac disease register (CeliacDB) were identified. Incidence rates were analysed by sex, age and province of residence, with a Poisson model fitted to determine incidence rate ratios.

Results

We found 2049 coeliac disease diagnoses registered in the CeliacDB between 2011 and 2013; 1441 of these patients were female (70.4%) and 1059 were aged less than 19 years (51.7%). The overall incidence of coeliac disease in Campania was 11.8 per 100,000 person‐years (95% CI 11.3–12.3) during the study period, with marked variation by age [27.4 per 100,000 person‐years (95% CI 25.8–29.1) in children under 19 years of age and 7.3 per 100,000 (95% CI 6.8–7.8) in adults] and sex [16.1 per 100,000 person‐years in females (95% CI 15.3–16.9) and 7.2 per 100,000 person‐years in males (95% CI 6.6–7.8)]. Coeliac disease incidence was roughly similar in Naples, Salerno, Caserta and Avellino, but about half in Benevento. More than 80% of our study population was diagnosed by the combination of positive antitransglutaminase IgA and Marsh 3. More than half of the patients were symptomatic at the time of coeliac disease diagnosis (39.7% had a classical presentation and 21.1% a non‐classical one according to the Oslo definition).

Conclusions

Coeliac disease incidence was roughly similar among Campania provinces, except in Benevento where it was about half, probably due to less awareness of coeliac disease in this area. The incidence of coeliac disease in Campania appears to be lower than that reported by most of the previous literature, suggesting the necessity of new coeliac awareness programmes.
Emerging indications of endoscopic radiofrequency ablation
Authors: Becq Aymeric , Camus Marine , Rahmi Gabriel , de Parades Vincent , Marteau Philippe , Dray Xavier
Published: February 2015

Introduction

Radiofrequency ablation (RFA) is a well‐validated treatment of dysplastic Barrett's esophagus. Other indications of endoscopic RFA are under evaluation.

Results

Four prospective studies (total 69 patients) have shown that RFA achieved complete remission of early esophageal squamous intra‐epithelial neoplasia at a rate of 80%, but with a substantial risk of stricture. In the setting of gastric antral vascular ectasia, two prospective monocenter studies, and a retrospective multicenter study, (total 51 patients), suggest that RFA is efficacious in terms of reducing transfusion dependency. In the setting of chronic hemorrhagic radiation proctopathy, a prospective monocenter study and a retrospective multicenter study (total 56 patients) suggest that RFA is an efficient treatment. A retrospective comparative study (64 patients) suggests that RFA improves stents patency in malignant biliary strictures.

Conclusions

Endoscopic RFA is an upcoming treatment modality in early esophageal squamous intra‐epithelial neoplasia, as well as in gastric, rectal, and biliary diseases.
Posttraumatic growth in post-surgical coronary artery bypass graft patients
Authors: Waight Catherine A , Strodl Esben , Sheridan Judith , Tesar Peter
Published: February 2015

Recent research in posttraumatic growth has been applied to people with life-threatening illnesses to optimise recovery. There is a lack of research exploring posttraumatic growth in coronary artery bypass graft patients. This article describes the recovery experience of 14 coronary artery bypass graft patients (13 males and 1 female) at their first outpatient review post-surgery. Grounded theory analysis was used to develop a model of distinct and shared pathways to growth depending on whether patients were symptomatic or asymptomatic pre-coronary artery bypass graft. Outcomes of posttraumatic growth in this sample included action-based healthy lifestyle growth and two forms of cognitive growth: appreciation of life and new possibilities. The model of posttraumatic growth developed in this study may be helpful in guiding future research into promoting posttraumatic growth and behaviour change in coronary artery bypass graft patients.
Does Institutional Isolation Matter for Soil Conservation Decisions? Evidence From Kenya
Authors: Kabubo-Mariara Jane
Published: February 2015

This article investigates the role of institutional isolation on the adoption of soil conservation technologies in Kenya. The study is based on the theory of induced technical and institutional innovations and on the literature on land tenure security and investment incentives. A multinomial logit model for adoption of various soil conservation investments (SCI) is estimated. To test whether institutional isolation affects soil conservation decisions, we evaluate the impacts of tenure security and market access, the impact of their interaction terms, and the significance of the joint impact of the two groups of variables and their interaction terms. The results show that the impact of development domains on soil conservation depends on the type of conservation investment. The results suggest that opening up of remote areas and educating farmers on appropriate land conservation technologies and farming systems suitable for different development domains are necessary for adoption of sustainable soil management practices.
Love in Connectedness
Authors: Rykkje Linda , Eriksson Katie , Råholm Maj-Britt
Published: February 2015

Spirituality is important when caring for the whole human being. Earlier research found Love in connectedness to be a core category in spirituality. The study aim is to deepen our understanding of Love in connectedness, and contribute to the theoretical knowledge development of the concept of spirituality from a caring science perspective. The method was a review of 20 research articles concerning connectedness and love, which were interpreted through a Gadamerian-based hermeneutical approach. Emerging themes were three forms of connectedness, compassion, and the risk of losing love in caring for the patient. In addition, we reflected on love and ethics, based on the writings of Tillich. According to Tillich, love is a drive toward unity of the separated. This drive can be seen in both connectedness with others, in connectedness with something larger than oneself, and may indirectly apply to connectedness with oneself. We find that both connectedness and love are key concepts in caring for the patient.
Building a “Better Life”
Authors: O’Brien Cherry Colleen , Chumbler Neale , Bute Jennifer , Huff Amber
Published: February 2015

Adolescent pregnancy is often described as a major concern in public health and is associated with negative outcomes for educational and career attainment. Our objective was to compare the future aspirations of pregnant and parenting adolescents and identify social or structural barriers that they experience in their daily lives using journal entries from pregnant and parenting adolescents. The journals, which served as primary data sources, were completed by 52 multi-ethnic pregnant and parenting adolescents aged 15 to 19 in Indiana. Both pregnant and parenting adolescents aspired to provide a “better life” for their children that included finishing school and obtaining a career. An emergent theme is that the experience of pregnancy and parenting is transformative and may invoke a positive refocusing of life aspirations for educational and career attainment. However, social stigma and barriers exist that make achieving educational and employment opportunities difficult. The study findings indicate that pregnant and parenting adolescents need strong social support networks and practical tools to help harness their motivation and transcend social and material barriers to achieve their goals and aspirations.
Machiavellianism and Parental Attachment in Adolescence
Authors: Láng András , Birkás Béla
Published: February 2015

Machiavellianism is a well-studied topic in several branches of psychology. Still, it has received little attention from a developmental perspective. Previous retrospective studies linked Machiavellianism to poor parental care, but actual reports of adolescents who live in their family of origin have been ignored so far. Therefore, we investigated the relationship between Machiavellianism and parental attachment in adolescence and possible sex differences based on life history theory. An adolescent sample ( N = 376; 17.27 ± .77 years of age) completed the Mach-IV and the maternal and paternal versions of revised Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment (IPPA-R). According to our results, significant sex differences emerged in the relationship between Machiavellianism and attachment to parents. For girls, maternal alienation proved to be the only significant predictor of Machiavellianism, whereas for boys, low intensity and quality of verbal communication with father predicted higher levels of Machiavellianism. Results are discussed from an evolutionary perspective of socialization and from the perspective of emotion regulation.
Characterization of starch/poly(vinyl alcohol)/clay nanocomposite films prepared in twin-screw extruder for food packaging application
Authors: Navarchian Amir H , Jalalian Mehdi , Pirooz Majid
Published: February 2015

Starch/poly(vinyl alcohol)/montmorillonite (MMT) nanocomposites were prepared in a twin-screw extruder for food packaging film application. In order to obtain a better compatibility between starch and silicate layers, MMT modification was performed using citric acid. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis was used to characterize the expanded microstructure of citric acid-modified MMT (CMMT). The effects of some compositional and operational factors including poly(vinyl alcohol) content, CMMT content, screw speed, and temperature profile in the extruder, on the tensile strength parameter of resulted films were investigated by using Taguchi experimental design. It was found that PVA content, CMMT percentage and screw speed were the most important factors, respectively, affecting the tensile strength property; while the temperature profile was insignificant factor, in the range of examined levels. The best levels of examined factors that could lead to the maximum tensile strength were obtained. The optimum sample was further characterized by XRD, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), water uptake, biodegradability, oxygen permeability, and overall migration test.