bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Comparing Collaborative and Cooperative Gameplay for Academic and Gaming Achievements
Authors: Baek Youngkyun , Touati Achraf
Published: January 2019

This article reports an empirical study that explores gender differences in both cooperative and collaborative social gaming in relation to achievements and attitudes. Another aim was to compare students’ game attitudes, feelings toward group work, and achievements in cooperative versus collaborative digital game-based learning environments. One hundred sixty-four, sixth-grade students from five different classrooms at an elementary school in South Korea participated voluntarily in this study. A total of 2 boys and 2 girls were randomly assigned to each group, resulting in 20 groups for each of the grouping conditions. Based on interaction effects, results suggest that male students show more positive game attitudes in collaborative conditions, whereas female students show more positive game attitudes in cooperative conditions. Data also suggest that males show more positive feelings toward group work than females, irrespective of grouping conditions. Regarding academic and gaming achievements, female students showed higher academic achievement in collaborative conditions, while male students scored higher on academic achievement under cooperative conditions. Findings from this study indicate that gender-balanced groups show significantly higher gaming achievement in collaboration compared with cooperation. Results are interpreted with reference to future research and classroom practices.
Characterization of green, roasted beans, and ground coffee using near infrared spectroscopy: A comparison of two devices
Authors: Tugnolo Alessio , Beghi Roberto , Giovenzana Valentina , Guidetti Riccardo
Published: January 2019

The aim of this work was to compare two near infrared spectrometers (960–1650 nm) to assess coffee matrices for real-time characterization during processing. A benchtop spectrophotometer built for process measurement, equipped with a rotating acquisition system suitable for in-line analyses (device 1), and a portable spectrophotometer for at-line analyses (device 2) were tested. The experimentation was conducted on green, roasted bean, and ground coffee, relating to three coffee blends, employing samples collected at different steps from the process. A total of 399 (247 green, 76 roasted, and 76 ground coffee samples) and 229 (142 green, 43 roasted and 44 ground coffee samples) samples were analyzed using device 1 and device 2, respectively. Principal component analysis was applied to the spectra of the coffee samples to evaluate the feasibility of real-time characterization for each matrix type, during the different steps of the process. Partial least square regression analysis was applied to develop calibrations to predict moisture content, tap density, and powder granulometry on ground coffee and to estimate moisture on roasted bean with a view of real-time measurements. The Passing and Bablok regression method and Bland–Altman analysis were performed to compare results obtained from the tested devices. Considering the models built on different datasets were based on different blends, quality parameters, and matrices, the results obtained from partial least square models, in cross-validation, gave R2 values between 0.21 and 0.98 and between 0.18 and 0.84 for devices 1 and 2, respectively. However, considering the comparison of model results derived from the two devices, no significant differences are noticeable for the most part of the dataset analyzed. Hence, based on the strategy to be undertaken by coffee industry operators, a future real-scale application could be envisaged directly in-line using device 1 or at-line using device 2.
Ukrainian Teacher Candidates Develop Dispositions of Socially Meaningful Activity
Authors: Koshmanova Tetyana , Ravchyna Tetyana
Published: January 2019

This study addresses how the method of peer mediation can be utilized by teacher educators in developing students’ attitudes to care for those who are in need, how to actively participate in socially meaningful activity without any expectation of reward, and how to contribute to the democratic development of a post-conflict country via active individual participation of teacher candidates. While developing teacher candidates’ dispositions of socially meaningful activity, researchers realized the premises of cultural–historical theory of activity by developing a supportive learning environment and changing the social role of the instructor who becomes a facilitator of teacher candidates learning.
Research on Children's Concepts of God and Spirituality and Its Implications on Educational Inequality in Early Childhood Educational Reform in Hong Kong
Authors: Lau Grace
Published: January 2019

In his 2006–2007 policy address, the chief executive of Hong Kong committed HK$2 billion to enhancing holistic early childhood education through the instigation of a school voucher scheme. The new paradigm of a child-centered curriculum is considered necessary to keep pace with international quality educational developments. The paradigm of spirituality education for young children, which enshrines interconnectedness (Taggart, 2001), is in essence the holistic education that is advocated in child-centered ideology. Religious education, in contrast, is underpinned by teacher-centered ideology and has the aim of transmitting traditional religious values to the younger generation. The article reports on six case studies on three faith schools that suggest that elements of spirituality are embedded in the newly advocated curriculum. The preliminary data collected, however, also suggest that there is a misunderstanding on the part of stakeholders in their view of the conceptualization of spirituality education as being nearly synonymous with religious education. Given these findings, I hope to arouse the public at large to the potential educational inequalities existed alongside the educational reform policy: first, to the parents when exercising their rights under the school voucher scheme; second, to faith schools being distracted from their school mission by a misconception that spirituality education and religious education are nearly synonymous.
Image of Ideal Teachers among Turkish Young Teacher Candidates
Authors: Budak Yusuf
Published: January 2019

The aim of the current study is to determine the perception of teacher candidates concerning ideal teachers and to determine the perception of qualitative teachers that teacher candidates have and put a light on the selection of teacher candidates and the development of teacher-training programs. In the study, quantitative and qualitative techniques were used depending on a descriptive model. The data were examined through text and concept analysis. A sample comprising 593 teacher candidates was determined. The categories were formed under three categories: basic roles, perceptive subroles, and perceptive qualifications. The perception of the sample concerning basic roles was identified in eight categories. The sample expressed the perceptive subroles regarding 25 subroles with 318 perceptive qualities.
Analyzing and Critiquing the Concepts of Professional Autonomy and Accountability through the Prisms of Decentralization and Constructivist Theory
Authors: Shapiro Arthur , Koren Andrej
Published: January 2019

This analysis and synthesis explores constructs of professional autonomy and accountability using constructivist theory and practice to examine the organizational dynamics of centralization/decentralization, particularly as applied to educational organizations. Major schools of constructivist thought are explored to shed light on centralization/decentralization dynamics, which then are used to explore constructs of professional autonomy and accountability. Oldroyd's comparison of the United States and United Kingdom's heavy focus on “education for results,” or accountability, is compared with Scandinavia's preference for “education for learning.” The former results in centralization and accountability; the latter emphasizes the local locus of control, thus supporting autonomy.

The overwhelming consensus as the twentieth century closed has been that knowledge is constructed.

—D. C. Phillips, Constructivism in Education (2000, p. viii)
Mentoring Prospective Principals: Determinants of Productive Mentor–Mentee Relationship
Authors: Schechter Chen
Published: January 2019

Mentoring contributes to prospective principals’ growth, easing their transition from the role of teacher to that of administrator. This article reports findings from a study aimed at examining the determinant factors affecting the mentor–mentee relationship in a uniquely designed principal preparation program in New York City. The study population comprised 18 prospective principals and 6 acting principals serving as mentors. Data were collected via semistructured individual interviews and written reports. Data analysis reveals three main categories as determinants of a productive mentor–mentee relationship: personal characteristics, professional discourse, and time and frequency of communication. Findings are analyzed and coupled with recommendations for creating successful and productive mentor–mentee relationships.
Autism, social connectedness, and minimal social acts
Authors: León Felipe
Published: January 2019

Autism spectrum condition (henceforth ASC) is a complex psychopathological condition characterized by repetitive and restricted patterns of behaviors, as well as by impairments in social interaction and communication. This article focuses on the idea that ASC involves impairments in the capacity to connect with the feelings and actions of others. The metaphor of social connectedness might be considered somewhat uninformative, hardly specific of ASC, and ultimately compatible with a variety of competing approaches to social impairments in ASC. Nevertheless, here I develop an account of social connectedness which plays a distinctive and informative role in further understanding ASC. My strategy is to explore the role of social reciprocity in relation to the difficulties that persons with ASC have with social connectedness. Drawing on the work of Peter Hobson, I propose that such difficulties primarily involve experiences and actions that require the uptake or response from another subject for their fulfillment. I clarify and develop this idea by introducing the concept of minimal social act, inspired by the work of the phenomenologists Adolf Reinach and Dietrich von Hildebrand, and by discussing some 4E (i.e., embodied, enactive, embedded, and extended) approaches to ASC. On the current proposal, minimal social acts are pervasive and developmentally critical experiences that have built into their conditions of success a receptiveness or responsiveness from the subject to whom they are directed.
Attitude maneuver control of liquid-filled spacecraft with unknown inertia and disturbances
Authors: Song Xiao Juan , Lu Shu Feng
Published: January 2019

The attitude maneuver dynamics and control strategy for a fuel-filled spacecraft with uncertain inertia and external disturbances are studied. The mathematical model of a three-axis stabilized spacecraft is established based on the law of conservation of momentum, and the liquid fuel inside the partially-filled fuel tank is represented by an equivalent two-mode spring-mass model. The adaptive sliding mode control law is designed for this kind of underactuated system, and the Lyapunov stability analysis guarantees that all system trajectories reach and remain on the sliding surface. Then, the multiple mode input shapers are used to suppress the sloshing of the fluid fuel. The numerical results show good performance and effectiveness of the control strategy.
Concrete cover separation of reinforced concrete beams strengthened with near-surface mounted method: Mechanics based design approach
Authors: Shukri Ahmad Azim , Ibrahim Zainah , Hashim Huzaifa
Published: January 2019

The primary mode of premature failure for near-surface mounted strengthened beams is the concrete cover separation. Due to its complexity, most of the prediction methods for concrete cover separation tend to be empirical based, which can limit their usage to specific near-surface mounted strengthening configurations. In response to that, this article presents a mechanics-based design which uses the moment-rotation approach and the global energy balance approach which is less reliant on empirical formulations, as the mechanics of reinforced concrete beam such as tension stiffening and propagation of concrete cover separation debonding crack are directly simulated rather than empirically derived. The proposed design procedure was validated against published experimental results of reinforced concrete beams strengthened with near-surface mounted carbon fibre–reinforced polymer bars, near-surface mounted carbon fibre–reinforced polymer strips or side-near-surface mounted carbon fibre–reinforced polymer bars and show good accuracy. As it is less reliant on empirical formulations, the proposed design procedure should be applicable to various near-surface mounted reinforcement configurations and materials.
State-aligned trolling in Iran and the double-edged affordances of Instagram
Authors: Kargar Simin , Rauchfleisch Adrian
Published: January 2019

Online harassment is increasingly applied as a form of information control to curb free speech and exert power in online public spheres. In recent years, states have appeared to be particularly invested in weaponizing information against dissidents in an attempt at dominating social and political discourses. Reports by prominent human rights institutions, as well as anecdotal evidence, indicate that Iran remains among the states with a track record of such actions. The scope of targeted cyber abuse varies by case. This study investigates the size and perpetrators of online violence, harassment, and abuse against critical members of the Iranian diaspora, including journalists, civil society activists, and artists, among many others. This study substantiates findings of qualitative interviews with a quantitative study of Instagram accounts of related individuals and explores the patterns and communities involved in disseminating hate speech in an attempt at manipulating public opinion and suppressing voices of dissidents.
Scripts people live in the marketplace: An application of script analysis to confessions of a shopaholic
Authors: Molesworth Mike , Grigore Georgiana
Published: January 2019

This article shows how Script Analysis can produce new marketing theory by applying it to contemporary shopping behaviour via British novelist Madeleine Wickham’s novel, Confessions of a Shopaholic. We show how Becky Bloomwood, the central character, is a Scripted Shopaholic for whom shopping is the activity around which everything else in her life falls in and out of place. In presenting a Scripted Shopaholic Racket System, we theorize: how shopping is used to structure time and relationships with others; the role of injunctions and attributions and related discounting in fulfilling shopping scripts and the possibility of freedom from excessive shopping scripts. We therefore bring together psychoanalysis, literary texts and shopping theories to generate new insights about why people shop (and often shop too much) and how such behaviours might be transformed.
Estimating Dynamic Common-Correlated Effects in Stata
Authors: Ditzen Jan
Published: January 2019

In this article, I introduce a new command, xtdcce2, that fits a dynamic common-correlated effects model with heterogeneous coefficients in a panel with a large number of observations over cross-sectional units and time periods. The estimation procedure mainly follows Chudik and Pesaran (2015b, Journal of Econometrics 188: 393–420) but additionally supports the common correlated effects estimator (Pesaran, 2006, Econometrica 74: 967–1012), the mean group estimator (Pesaran and Smith, 1995, Journal of Econometrics 68: 79–113), and the pooled mean group estimator (Pesaran, Shin, and Smith, 1999, Journal of the American Statistical Association, 94: 621–634). xtdcce2 allows heterogeneous or homogeneous coefficients and supports instrumental-variable regressions and unbalanced panels. The cross-sectional dependence test is automatically calculated and presented in the estimation output. Small-sample time-series bias can be corrected by “half-panel” jackknife correction or recursive mean adjustment. I carry out a simulation to prove the estimator's consistency.
National Trends of Bladder Cancer and Trihalomethanes in Drinking Water: A Review and Multicountry Ecological Study
Authors: Cotruvo Joseph A. , Amato Heather
Published: January 2019

We examined trends in incidence of bladder cancer in 8 countries in the 45+ years since trihalomethanes (THMs) were detected in chlorinated drinking water. Total trihalomethanes (TTHMs) are the principal regulated disinfection by-products (DBPs) along with halogenated acetic acids (HAAs). Numerous epidemiological studies have examined exposure to TTHMs and associations with bladder cancer. Concentrations of TTHM have declined in most of the 8 countries that were studied as has smoking prevalence. Incidences of bladder cancer have usually stayed relatively flat, especially for females, with some variations. Since THMs are not carcinogens in whole animal tests, they may not be appropriate surrogates for studying potential cancer risks in drinking water. Etiology of bladder cancer is complex; incidence correlates with age. Previously identified risk factors include smoking, type 2 diabetes, sex, ethnicity, arsenic, aromatic amines, and occupations. As a predominant risk factor, smoking trends may dominate incidence rates, but additional time might be required to determine whether a DBP risk exists due to long latency periods. Causal drinking water-related bladder cancer risks remain questionable and likely small compared to other factors, although surrogate-based DBP management is an appropriate strategy for maintaining drinking water quality as long as it does not compromise microbial disinfection.
A new methodology to optimize a race car for inertial sports
Authors: Allonca Daniel , Mantaras Daniel A , Luque Pablo , Alonso Marta
Published: January 2019

In sports competitions with wheeled vehicles, the resistances to movement that most affect vehicle performance are aerodynamic drag, rolling resistance, inertial forces and gravitational forces. When a powerful engine is available, the rolling resistance is negligible but, in competitions where the vehicle has a low-power engine or lack of it, the rolling resistance has a significant influence on the vehicle performance. The resistance to advance in curve due to the steer angle (curve resistance) is not taken into account during the design process. However, as noted in other research for this type of vehicle, the curve resistance cannot be neglected. Therefore, this article develops a methodology to optimize the vehicle cornering behavior of non-motored vehicles intended for inertial sports, which can be applied to any type of wheeled vehicle. The target of the vehicle optimization is to maximize its cornering speed, while its resistance to movement is reduced. As will be shown, both factors are related and opposed to each other.
Head and Bottle Angles Achieved by Patients During High-Volume Sinonasal Irrigations
Authors: Griggs Zachary H. , Williams Amy M. , Craig John R.
Published: January 2019

Background

Certain head positions can optimize topical irrigation distribution to specific sinuses. No studies have assessed whether patients attain these positions when irrigating.

Objective

The purpose of this study was to assess head and bottle angles achieved when patients irrigate based on instructions from an irrigation device or from a Rhinologist.

Methods

Study approval was obtained from Henry Ford Health System’s Institutional Review Board (10604). Forty-two patients with various rhinologic conditions were equally divided into groups based on irrigation instruction type: pictoral instructions from an irrigation device or written/verbal instructions from a Rhinologist. Both groups’ instructions directed nose-to-floor head positioning. Simulating home irrigations, patients irrigated 120 mL of saline into each naris using 240 mL squeeze bottles. Frontal and lateral views were captured using video cameras. On frontal view, angles were measured between (1) nasal dorsum (ND) and bottle tip (BT; n = 84) and (2) ND and vertical (V; n = 84). On lateral view, angles were measured between (1) line from nasion-to-pogonion (NTP) and horizontal (H) (n = 73) and (2) NTP and BT (n = 73).

Results

On lateral view, average angle between NTP and H was 20.0° (standard deviation [SD] = 13.1, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 17.0–23.0) and between NTP and BT was 59.4° (SD = 15.8, 95% CI = 55.8–63.1). On frontal view, average angle between ND and V was 9.5° (SD = 19.5, 95% CI = 5.3–13.6) and between ND and BT was 24.5° (SD = 12.0, 95% CI = 21.9–27.0). There were no significant angle differences between sides or instruction types.

Conclusion

When instructed to irrigate in the nose-to-floor head position, patients achieved a head position uprotated 20° on lateral view and vertex rotated 10° away from the side of irrigation on frontal view.
Single Questions for the Screening of Anxiety and Depression in Hemodialysis
Authors: Collister David , Rodrigues Jennifer C. , Mazzetti Andrea , Salisbury Kelsi , Morosin Laura , Rabbat Christian , Brimble K. Scott , Walsh Michael
Published: January 2019

Background:

Depression and anxiety are common and underrecognized in end-stage renal disease (ESRD), are associated with poor outcomes and reduced health-related quality of life, and are potentially treatable. Simple, accurate screening tools are needed.

Objective:

We examined the operating characteristics of single questions for anxiety and depression from the Edmonton Symptom Assessment System (ESAS) in hemodialysis.

Design:

Cross-sectional study.

Setting:

Two outpatient hemodialysis units (1 tertiary, 1 community) in Hamilton, Canada.

Patients:

Adult prevalent hemodialysis patients.

Measurements:

ESAS and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS).

Methods:

Participants were asked the degree to which they experienced anxiety and depression using the ESAS. ESAS single questions for anxiety and depression were compared with the reference standard of the HADS using dialysis population specific cutoffs (HADS anxiety subscale ≥6 and HADS depression subscale ≥7). Logistic regression was used to create receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curves.

Results:

We recruited 50 participants with a mean age of 64 (SD = 12.4) years, of whom 52% were male and 96% were on ≥3× weekly hemodialysis. Using the reference standards, 28 (56%) had a diagnosis of anxiety and 27 (54%) had a diagnosis of depression. Areas under the ROC curves were 0.83 for anxiety and 0.81 for depression using ESAS scores of ≥2.

Limitations:

Sample size and the lack of a reference gold standard.

Conclusions:

The ESAS single questions for anxiety and depression have reasonable discrimination in a hemodialysis population. The use of more complex and time-consuming screening instruments could be reduced by adopting the ESAS questions for anxiety and depression in hemodialysis.
Crisis and poverty: With reference to Latin America
Authors: Koo Hyevin , Oh Jinhwan
Published: January 2019

This study analyzes the relationship between four types of economic crises and four poverty indices in an effort to determine which type of crisis most affects the poor, and find possible solutions. This study is particularly concerned with Latin American countries in which International Monetary Fund bailout programs have failed due to repeated crises, longer lasting inflation, and most of all poverty. The results indicate an apparent worsening trend in poverty measures due to the crises. Among several types of crises, debt crisis and currency crisis play larger roles than others, particularly with the headcount poverty ratio US$3.10.
Nonoperative Treatment for Partial Ruptures of the Lateral Collateral Ligament Occurring in Combination With Complete Ruptures of the Anterolateral Ligament: A Common Injury Pattern in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Athletes With Acute Knee Injury
Authors: Temponi Eduardo Frois , Saithna Adnan , de Carvalho Lúcio Honório , Teixeira Bruno Presses , Sonnery-Cottet Bertrand
Published: January 2019

Background:

Combined partial lateral collateral and complete anterolateral ligament (PLCCALL) injuries are a specific injury pattern seen in Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) because of the knee varus-flexion mechanism that frequently occurs during grappling.

Purpose/Hypothesis:

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the incidence of this injury pattern in a series of BJJ athletes with an acute knee injury and to evaluate clinical and functional outcomes after nonoperative management at a minimum follow-up of 1 year. Our hypotheses were that PLCCALL injuries are common in BJJ and that nonoperative treatment is associated with excellent clinical outcomes and return to the preinjury level of sport.

Study Design:

Case series; Level of evidence, 4.

Methods:

All BJJ athletes who presented with an acute knee injury between July 2013 and June 2017 and who underwent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the knee were included. A specific emphasis was placed on identifying those whose imaging demonstrated PLCCALL injury. Clinical evaluation included physical examination as well as Lysholm and International Knee Documentation Committee (IKDC) scores.

Results:

Of the 27 patients analyzed, 7 (25.9%) had MRI-proven PLCCALL injuries. The mean follow-up after nonoperative management was 41.3 months. The mean IKDC and Lysholm scores were 94 and 92 before the injury, 26 and 36 at the initial assessment after the injury, and 83 and 78 at 12-month follow-up, respectively ( P < .00001). All 7 patients had returned to their preinjury level of sports by the 12-month follow-up. The mean time between injury and return to competition level was 4.7 months (range, 4-6 months).

Conclusion:

PLCCALL injury is a specific but infrequent injury pattern in BJJ. The prognosis of this injury after nonoperative treatment appears to be excellent. Improved functional scores (IKDC and Lysholm) and changes on MRI demonstrated that the anterolateral ligament has intrinsic healing potential, as the images showed complete healing of the previously documented rupture of the anterolateral ligament from its proximal attachment.
Comparison of prostate delineation on multimodality imaging for MR-guided radiotherapy
Authors: Pathmanathan Angela U , McNair Helen A , Schmidt Maria A , Brand Douglas H , Delacroix Louise , Eccles Cynthia L , Gordon Alexandra , Herbert Trina , van As Nicholas J , Huddart Robert A , Tree Alison C
Published: January 2019

Objective:

With increasing incorporation of MRI in radiotherapy, we investigate two MRI sequences for prostate delineation in radiographer-led image guidance.

Methods:

Five therapeutic radiographers contoured the prostate individually on CT, T  2 weighted (T  2W) and T  2* weighted (T  2*W) imaging for 10 patients. Contours were analysed with Monaco ADMIRE (research v. 2.0) to assess interobserver variability and accuracy by comparison with a gold standard clinician contour. Observers recorded time taken for contouring and scored image quality and confidence in contouring.

Results:

There is good agreement when comparing radiographer contours to the gold-standard for all three imaging types with Dice similarity co-efficient 0.91–0.94, Cohen’s κ 0.85–0.91, Hausdorff distance 4.6–7.6 mm and mean distance between contours 0.9–1.2 mm. In addition, there is good concordance between radiographers across all imaging modalities. Both T  2W and T  2*W MRI show reduced interobserver variability and improved accuracy compared to CT, this was statistically significant for T  2*W imaging compared to CT across all four comparison metrics. Comparing MRI sequences reveals significantly reduced interobserver variability and significantly improved accuracy on T  2*W compared to T  2W MRI for DSC and Cohen’s κ. Both MRI sequences scored significantly higher compared to CT for image quality and confidence in contouring, particularly T  2*W. This was also reflected in the shorter time for contouring, measuring 15.4, 9.6 and 9.8 min for CT, T  2W and T  2*W MRI respectively.

Conclusion:

Therapeutic radiographer prostate contours are more accurate, show less interobserver variability and are more confidently and quickly outlined on MRI compared to CT, particularly using T  2*W MRI.

Advances in knowledge:

Our work is relevant for MRI sequence choice and development of the roles of the interprofessional team in the advancement of MRI-guided radiotherapy.
Natural Wolbachia infections in malaria vectors in Kayin state, Myanmar
Authors: Sawasdichai Sunisa , Chaumeau Victor , Dah Tee , Kulabkeeree Thithiworada , Kajeechiwa Ladda , Phanaphadungtham Monthicha , Trakoolchengkaew Muesuwa , Kittiphanakun Praphan , Akararungrot Yanada , Oo Kyi , Delmas Gilles , White Nicholas J. , Nosten François H.
Published: January 2019

Background: Natural Wolbachia infections in malaria mosquitoes were recently reported in Africa, and negatively correlated with the development of Plasmodium falciparum in the vectors. The occurrence and effects of Wolbachia infections outside Africa have not been described and may have been underestimated.

Methods: Mosquitoes were collected by human-landing catch during May and June 2017 in ten villages in Kayin state, Myanmar. Closely related species of malaria vectors were identified with molecular assays. Wolbachia infection rates were assessed by quantitative real-time PCR.

Results: Malaria vectors were identified in the Funestus, Maculatus and Leucosphyrus Groups. Wolbachia were detected in 6/6 Anopheles species and in 5/10 villages. Mean prevalence of Wolbachia infection was 2.7% (95%CI= [1.3; 4.9]). The median Wolbachia load was seven orders of magnitude less in naturally infected malaria vectors than in artificially infected laboratory-reared Aedes aegypti. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA sequences revealed a high diversity of Wolbachia strains and identified lineages different from those described in Africa.

Conclusion: Natural Wolbachia infections are common and widespread in malaria vectors in Kayin state, Myanmar. Their effects on Anopheles mosquitoes and malaria transmission is yet to be determined.
A CANADIAN PERSPECTIVE OF THE ECONOMIC ISSUES ASSOCIATED WITH DEPLOYING THORIUM-BASED FUEL CYCLES AND BREEDING IN HEAVY-WATER REACTORS
Authors: Mendoza España Alberto D. , Bromley Blair P.
Published: January 2019

To meet future global needs for energy and green technology, it is prudent to identify energy sources and technology that may potentially be economically beneficial. Thorium-based fuels with nuclear technology, such as the Canadian heavy-water reactor, have been proposed as a way to meet those global needs, though economic challenges persist in deploying thorium-based fuels. Therefore, economic strategies to overcome the economic challenges in deploying thorium-based fuels are needed. To identify potential strategies for advancing the deployment of thorium-based fuels, this paper conducts a historical examination of the economics of thorium fuel cycles to identify economic factors that can influence a country’s development of thorium-based fuel cycles. In particular, this paper reviews the economic issues associated with Canada’s experience in deploying thorium-based fuel cycles. The study finds that the existence of natural resources and the associated price, a nuclear fuel cycle’s costs, a country’s international trade balance position and economic growth policies, the profitability of the electrical power and nuclear industry, and the technical and economical characteristics of the nuclear reactor developed in a country may all influence the adoption of a thorium-based fuel cycle. Furthermore, recent advancements in developing thorium-based fuel cycles are suggested as a possible way of bridging the technical and economic gap between near-term and long-term implementation of thorium-based fuel cycles that may overcome current economic challenges.
Beneficial Effects of Fennel (Foeniculum Vulgare) in Treating Obesity in Rats
Authors: A. Elghazaly Nawal A. , H. Radwan Eman , Zaatout Hala H. , Elghazaly Mohamed M. , Allam Nour El din
Published: January 2019

Obesity is associated with a number of serious medical complications, which are often referred to as the “insulin resistance syndrome”. The aim of the present study was performed to investigate the possible interaction between a conventional drug used for management of cholesterol and traditional herbal remedies on the obesity. This was carried through out: through estimation of blood test; Estimation of serum tests; Determination of oxidative stress biomarkers and the antioxidant enzymes activities in the liver were assayed; Histopathological examination of the liver and kidney of adult male albino rats were done. In the present study, the serum levels of the total protein and albumin in the obesity group (7.1± 0.2) and (4.78 ± 0.19); respectively were significantly (p ≤ 0.05) more than those of the control group (6.5±0.1) and (3.95± 0.1).The administration of (fennel group) revealed significant (P<0.05) decrease in the serum levels of the albumin and total protein (4.38± 0.1) and (6.65± 0.2); respectively as compared to the obesity group (4.78 ± 0.19) and (7.1± 0.2(. The total cholesterol of the group(5) (fennel and ator) after two weeks from a high fat diet than treatment with fennel and Ator through six weeks equal 142.86±5.9, 100.4±8.68, 93.29±5.99, 87.1±11.28, 80.4±21.55, 78.1±6.7 and 77.1±6.87; respectively. The present study showed a significant (P<0.05) increase in the activities of ALT, AST and ALP in the obesity group which recorded as (60.5±11.45), (57.25±6.3) and (845.0±49.47); respectively as compared to the control group (28.25±1.7), (38.5±3.87) and (537.0±41.5); respectively. The fennel group caused significant decrease in the activities of these enzymes (41.0± 2.9), (42.25+3.2) and (717.75+48.6); respectively compared to the obesity group. Ator group showed a significant decrease in the activities of these enzymes (40.0±2.16), (42.5±3.1) and (679.25±41.16); respectively compared as obesity group. The activity of AlT, AST and ALP in the fennel and ator group (32.75±2.5), (40.5±2.38) and (601.25±17.5); respectively were near to the control group.
Propaganda, Censorship, and Book Drives: The Newark Public Library in World War I
Authors: Robb George
Published: January 2019

This article examines the activities of the Newark Public Library during World War I as a means of highlighting the significant role American libraries played in promoting the nation’s war effort. During the war public libraries were usually the most important information centers in their communities. They distributed books, pamphlets, and posters in support of a wide range of government initiatives, they organized war-related exhibits and classes, and they collected vast amounts of reading material for libraries at military camps. Newark’s chief librarians, John Cotton Dana and Beatrice Winser, oversaw many such patriotic initiatives, but they also became involved in more controversial campaigns to employ women librarians at military camps and to resist wartime calls for censorship of unpatriotic literature.
Joanna Król, Uchronić przed zapomnieniem - średnie szkoły ogólnokształcące w województwie szczecińskim w łatach 1945-1948, Wydawnictwo Naukowe Uniwersytetu Szczecińskiego, Szczecin 2005, ss. 187
Authors: Głowacka-Sobiech Edyta
Published: January 2019

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Bogna Wernichowska, Tak kochali Galicjanie, Wydawnictwo Arcana, Kraków 2005, ss. 214
Authors: Głowacka-Sobiech Edyta
Published: January 2019

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„Zaprawdę powiadam ci, poetą się jest…”. Wojaczek Lecha Majewskiego z 1999 roku
Authors: Grodź Iwona
Published: January 2019

The theme of the text is the connection between the inspiration of the artists, for example poets, and their emotional states. The purpose of the text is to indicate the role of emotions in creative work. The subject of the analysis is the film Wojaczek made by Lech Majewski from 1999, about the young Polish poet – Rafał Wojaczek (1945-1971).
Tożsamość Todda. Mózg między filozoficzną neurosferą a literacką (meta)fikcją
Authors: Nowak Ewa
Published: January 2019

The paper explores hybrid identities of main characters in chosen contemporary authors as Kafka, Dürrenmatt, Bulgakov, Dukaj, and in particular Brown. They all contribute to the posthumanist literary genre and to better comprehension of condition posthumana as a leading utopia in the age of advanced technologies. The author argues for affinities between the human and the non-human brain, far beyond the anthropocentrism and anthropodenialism controversy.
Mit – umysł – rzeczywistość. Kognitywne uwarunkowania archaicznych form narracyjnych na przykładzie mitu
Authors: Czeremski Maciej
Published: January 2019

The article discusses the cognitive conditions of mythical narratives, especially their relationship with the architecture of the human mind and the processes of its evolutionary formation. The analyzed features are: a) a permanent arrangement of events (monomyth); b) a semiosis based on bricolage, and c) a counter-intuitive supernaturalism. The stability of the system of mythical events is related to the subjective significance of the elements of the chain of basic biological activities. The proposed explanation for bricolage is the embodied nature of the human mind. In combination with the archaic character of the myth, it translates tendency to code abstraction in specific objects. The presence of counter-intuitiveness in the myth is explained by the interaction between innate knowledge about ontological categories and cognitive fluidity, which allows to deformed them and the  influence of what is counter-intuitiveness on the effectiveness of the cultural transmission of narrative containing it.
In vitro and in vivo evaluation of colon cancer targeted epichlorohydrin crosslinked Portulaca-alginate beads
Authors: Asnani Geet P. , Kokare Chandrakant R.
Published: January 2019

The aim of this study was to formulate a novel dual crosslinked hydrogel bead using Portulaca mucilage for colon-targeted delivery of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) and evaluate its safety, specificity and efficacy. The ionotropic gelation technique was employed to prepare the hydrogel beads of Portulaca mucilage. For this, the mucilage was initially crosslinked with alginate and calcium ions. Epichlorohydrin was employed as a crosslinker in the second crosslinking step. The formulation was subjected to in vitro and in vivo studies to evaluate morphology, size, cytotoxicity, and organ distribution. Human HT-29 colon cancer cell-line was used for in vitro assays and in vivo studies were performed in Wistar rats to assess the usefulness and effectiveness of the formulation for colon cancer therapy. Microsphere sizes ranged from 930 to 977μm and possessed a high level of drug encapsulation efficiency (ca. 78% w/w). Compared with 5-FU solution (Tmax = 1.2 h, mean resident time: MRT = 3.3h) the dual crosslinked Portulaca microspheres exhibited sustained drug release after oral administration to rats (Tmax = 16h, MRT = 14h). The relative bioavailability of 5-FU solution and the microspheres were 100 and 93.6% respectively. Tissue distribution studies indicated high concentration of 5-FU in colon. In-vitro anticancer assay demonstrated IC50 value of 11.50 μg/ml against HT-29 colon cancer cell line. The epichlorohydrin cross-linked Portulaca microspheres prepared in this study provided sustained release of 5-FU up to 16h in the colonic region and enhanced the antitumor activity of the neoplastic drug. The formulation is hence an ideal carrier system for colon-targeted drug delivery.
Prescribed opioid analgesic use developments in three Nordic countries, 2006–2017
Authors: Muller Ashley Elizabeth , Clausen Thomas , Sjøgren Per , Odsbu Ingvild , Skurtveit Svetlana
Published: January 2019

Background and aims

While the Nordic countries have considerably stricter controls on opioid prescribing for chronic non-cancer pain than other countries, previous research has warned that prescription of strong opioids is increasing. This study examines consumption of and developments in dispensed prescribed opioids to individuals receiving ambulatory care from 2006 to 2017, using publicly available data from each of three Nordic countries’ national prescription registries.

Methods

Repeated, cross-sectional design. One-year prevalence of all dispensed prescribed opioids in ATC N02A group were reported for Norway, Denmark, and Sweden in the period 2006–2017 by gender. One-year prevalence of the weak opioids tramadol and codeine and the strong opioid oxycodone were then reported separately over this period for each country. The mean defined daily dose (DDD) per user per year, an estimate of the amount of opioids prescribed, was reported for each of the three opioids in 2016.

Results

Patterns of dispensed prescribed opioids differ greatly between 2006 and 2017 and between countries, with tramadol increasing in Norway, codeine declining across the board, and oxycodone increasing in all three countries. Norway exceeded Sweden and Denmark in prevalence of all dispensed prescribed opioids, with 12.1% of the female Norwegian population and 9.2% of the male Norwegian population dispensed at least one prescribed opioid as an outpatient in 2016. Norway’s high overall prevalence rates are tempered by dispensing the lowest mean doses of both weak opioids compared to Sweden. Similarly, Sweden dispenses the lowest mean doses of oxycodone but to the largest proportion of its population (3.0%).

Conclusions

Significant shifts have occurred in the dispensing of prescribed opioids in Norway, Sweden, and Denmark over the past 12 years. The increasing prevalence of oxycodone in all three countries should continue to be monitored. Prescription registries provide a wealth of publicly available data that can be used to monitor and to guide prescribing policies in a more knowledge-based direction.
Paths to Survivorship and Suggestions for Policy
Authors: Miller Susan L.
Published: January 2019

Chapter 6 addresses the broader impact and significance of the research, exploring the meaning of long-term recovery, growth, and resilience by recognizing the multiple pathways to survivorship. Policy implications and recommendations are also offered.
Eunuch and Emperor in the Great Age of Qing Rule
Authors: Kutcher Norman A.
Published: January 2019

Chinese eunuchs have long been an object of fascination, but shockingly little is known about them. Castrated so as to maintain the integrity of the imperial line by ensuring that any child born in the palace is the emperor’s, most of these servants lived out their lives in obscurity, performing the menial tasks that kept the palace functioning. Some rose to prominence, becoming imperial advisors and confidants. A few became infamous, flattering their way into the emperor’s good graces and slowly arrogating power. Usurping eunuchs were a perennial threat to imperial rule, and were blamed for the downfall of dynasties. In this book, Norman Kutcher uses a wealth of sources to study eunuchs and their distinctive place in Chinese rulership during the first 150 years of the Qing dynasty. This period encompassed the reigns of three of China’s most important emperors: Kangxi, Yongzheng, and Qianlong. In different ways, each was deeply affected by the legacy of prior dynasties’ eunuch power. How they sought to prevent a return to eunuch excesses, and how eunuchs flourished in the face of restrictions imposed upon them, is the subject of this groundbreaking book.
Epilogue
Authors: Greenhalgh Charlotte
Published: January 2019

What it means to be old is among the most pressing questions of our time. International organizations describe population aging as one of the most significant social transformations of this century with potentially dire effects. Yet there has been debate over measurements of population aging since it first became a topic of concern in the 1930s. Since then, the British state has established collective markers of old age such as retirement and residential care, but individuals experienced aging before, after, and independently of these apparent parameters of late life. Older people raised their voices in diverse fields of twentieth-century life and they spoke with particular authority at midcentury. In so doing, older Britons asked to be understood through the course of their own lives.
Maternal Roles and Adolescent Depression: Conditions and Processes of Influence
Authors: De Coster Stacy , Zito Rena Cornell
Published: January 2019

This article explores the implications of maternal roles for adolescent depression by developing a theoretical model linking the gendered ideologies and work and family roles of mothers to the depression of their adolescent children. The model posits that incongruity between mothers' roles and their ideologies concerning maternal roles results in maternal distress, which influences their parenting in ways that ultimately affect adolescent depression. We test this model using data from the National Survey of Children and covariance structure analysis. The results support the theoretical arguments, demonstrating that incongruity between mothers' roles and ideologies influences family processes in ways relevant for understanding the depression of adolescents.