bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Central Nervous System Drug Consumption Depending on the Time between Symptom Onset and the Diagnosis of Alzheimer’s Disease: An Analysis by the Registry of Dementias of Girona
Authors: Calvó-Perxas Laia , López-Pousa Secundino , Vilalta-Franch Joan , Turró-Garriga Oriol , Blankenburg Michael , Febrer Laia , Flaqué Margarida , Vallmajó Natàlia , Aguirregomozcorta Maria , Genís David , Casas Isabel , Perkal Héctor , Coromina Joan , Garre-Olmo Josep ,   on behalf of the Registry of Dementias of Girona Study Group
Published: April 2012

Aims: To describe central nervous system (CNS) drug consumption patterns depending on the time to diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease (AD), and to check whether the cases diagnosed later are associated with greater severity and consuming more CNS drugs. Methods: Cross-sectional study using 952 cases of the Registry of Dementias of Girona. A binary logistic regression was used to detect variables associated with the use of CNS drugs depending on the time to diagnosis. Results: CNS drugs were consumed by 95.8% of the AD patients. Only antipsychotics presented a statistically significant increase in the frequency of prescription to patients with longer time elapsed from symptom onset to AD diagnosis. Conclusion: Longer time elapsed from the onset of symptoms to the diagnosis resulted in increased probability of antipsychotic consumption.
Does Alzheimer’s Disease with Early Onset Progress Faster than with Late Onset? A Case-Control Study of Clinical Progression and Cerebrospinal Fluid Biomarkers
Authors: Grønning H. , Rahmani A. , Gyllenborg J. , Dessau R.B. , Høgh P.
Published: April 2012

Background: Early-onset Alzheimer’s disease (EOAD) is generally thought to have a more rapid course compared to late-onset Alzheimer’s disease (LOAD). The faster progression of EOAD observed in some studies has also been thought to correlate with cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biomarkers. Our clinical experience has not been suggestive of any difference in disease progression; therefore, we decided to investigate whether differences in clinical progression and CSF biomarkers between EOAD and LOAD could be demonstrated. Methods: Case-control study with 42 patients, 21 EOAD and 21 matched LOAD patients. Rates of progression were calculated and these, as well as CSF biomarker levels, were statistically compared. Results: There were no statistically significant differences in clinical progression between the EOAD group and the LOAD group. There was no significant difference in the absolute values of CSF biomarkers, but a tendency towards lower levels of β-amyloid in patients with EOAD was observed. Conclusions: Our findings did not converge with results from the majority of previous studies, which have been suggestive of a faster clinical progression in EOAD. Possibly, the very strict algorithm by which our patients were matched explains our findings. However, the findings should be repeated in a larger study population.
The MEF2C-Related and 5q14.3q15 Microdeletion Syndrome
Authors: Zweier M. , Rauch A.
Published: April 2012

Disorders related to the autosomal transcription factor MEF2C located in 5q14.3 were first described in 2009 and have since evolved to one of the more common microdeletion syndromes. Mutational screening in a larger cohort revealed heterozygous de novo mutations of MEF2C in about 1% of patients with moderate to severe intellectual disability, and the phenotype is similar in patients with intragenic deletions and multigenic microdeletions. Clinically, MEF2C-related disorders are characterized by severe intellectual disability with absent speech and limited walking abilities, hypotonia, seizures, and a variety of minor brain anomalies. The majority of patients show a similar facial gestalt with broad forehead, flat nasal bridge, hypotonic mouth, and small chin, as well as strabismus, but this phenotype is clinically not well recognized. The course of the disease is generally quite uniform, but patients with point mutations and smaller deletions seem to have a higher chance of walking skills and a lower risk of refractory seizures. Patients in whom the microdeletion also includes the RASA1 gene show features of the respective capillary and arterio-venous malformations and fistula syndrome. The phenotypic overlap with Rett syndrome is explained by a shared pathway and, accordingly, diminished MECP2 and CDKL5 expression is measureable in patients with MEF2C defects. Further research of this pathway may therefore eventually lead to a common therapeutic target.
Pro-Inflammatory Cytokines Produced by Growth Plate Chondrocytes May Act Locally to Modulate Longitudinal Bone Growth
Authors: Fernandez-Vojvodich Paola , Palmblad Karin , Karimian Elham , Andersson Ulf , Sävendahl Lars
Published: April 2012

Introduction: Interleukin-1β (IL-1β) and tumour necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), both cytokines upregulated during chronic inflammation, are known to suppress bone growth. So far no role of these cytokines in modulation of normal bone growth has been established. Methodology: Applying RT-PCR and immunohistochemistry, expression of IL-1β and TNF-α was studied in cultured fetal (E20) rat metatarsal bones. Anakinra (500 µg/ml; IL-1 receptor antagonist) and/or etanercept (500 µg/ml; soluble TNF-α receptor) were used to block cytokine actions. Results: The local expression of IL-1β and TNF-α was confirmed in the rat metatarsal growth plate. When cultured for 12 days and compared to control, the length of bones exposed to anakinra, etanercept, or anakinra plus etanercept increased by 7.7 ± 2.0 (p < 0.05), 11.7 ± 2.8 (p < 0.01) and 20.3 ± 1.9% (p < 0.001), respectively, while the height of the hypertrophic growth plate zone (collagen X staining) increased by 11.0 ± 6.7, 17.4 ± 7.1 and 43.1 ± 5.0% (p < 0.01), respectively. Moreover, etanercept increased chondrocyte proliferation (BrdU incorporation). Conclusion: Our findings that IL-1β and TNF-α are produced by growth plate chondrocytes and that their antagonists improve growth of cultured metatarsal bones suggest that these cytokines play a physiological role in the normal regulation of longitudinal bone growth.
Rett Syndrome
Authors: Smeets E.E.J. , Pelc K. , Dan B.
Published: April 2012

Rett syndrome is one of the most common causes of complex disability in girls. It is characterized by early neurological regression that severely affects motor, cognitive and communication skills, by autonomic dysfunction and often a seizure disorder. It is a monogenic X-linked dominant neurodevelopmental disorder related to mutation in MECP2, which encodes the methyl-CpG-binding protein MeCP2. There are several mouse models either based on conditional knocking out of the Mecp2 gene or on a truncating mutation. We discuss the clinical aspects with special emphasis on the behavioral phenotype and we review current perspectives in clinical management alongside with perspectives in altering gene expression.
High Levels of Tumor Necrosis Factor-α Downregulate Antimicrobial Iron Transport Protein, Nramp1, in Chronic Hemodialysis Patients: A Key Factor for Infection Risk
Authors: Moriguchi Rintarou , Otaki Yoshinaga , Hazeki Satoshi , Shimada Teruhiko , Matsumoto Ayako , Kakita Naoto , Kaibe Shoji , Kuragano Takahiro , Nonoguchi Hiroshi , Masayoshi Nanami , Hasuike Yukiko , Nakanishi Takeshi
Published: April 2012

Background/Aims: The susceptibility of patients on maintenance hemodialysis (MHD) to infections is a major cause of mortality and morbidity. Natural resistance-associated macrophage protein 1 (Nramp1) regulates intracellular pathogen proliferation, and its mRNA expression is highest in polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMNLs). The purpose of this study was to determine the level of Nramp1 in PMNLs from MHD patients and the factors affecting its expression. Methods: Twenty MHD patients and 24 healthy volunteers (controls) were recruited. Relative quantitative PCR was used to measure Nramp1 mRNA, and protein levels were semiquantified by means of real-time PCR and Western blot analysis or immunohistochemistry. The effect of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) or interleukin-6 (IL-6) on Nramp1 expression in PMNLs from controls was also examined. Results: Nramp1 mRNA and protein levels were substantially lower in PMNLs from MHD than control subjects. Serum TNF-α levels were significantly higher in the MHD group and were inversely correlated with Nramp1 mRNA levels. The addition of TNF-α to PMNLs from control subjects decreased mRNA and protein levels of Nramp1. IL-6 did not alter Nramp1 mRNA or protein expression. Conclusion: We found that Nramp1 was downregulated in the PMNLs of MHD patients, which constitute the first defense barrier against bacterial challenges. High levels of TNF-α may be associated with the downregulation of Nramp1. Our findings indicate that the susceptibility to infection observed in MHD patients could be partly due to the impairment of the intracellular handling of iron and the donation of more iron to the bacteria.
Laryngeal Chondrosarcoma with Unusual Dissemination to the Humerus
Authors: Böscke Robert , Hunold Peter , Noack Frank , Wollenberg Barbara , Schröder Ursula
Published: April 2012

We report the case of an 81-year-old woman admitted to our clinic with a 16-month history of hoarseness due to unilateral vocal cord immobilization, slowly progressive dysphagia and an episode of painless swelling of the right arm. Radiological and histological workup revealed a medium-grade conventional chondrosarcoma of the cricoid cartilage with paratracheal spread and dissemination to the lung and the humeral bone. To our knowledge, this is the first humeral bone metastasis of laryngeal chondrosarcoma reported in the literature. The course of the presented case underlines the need for an early and detailed clinical and radiological workup of vocal cord immobilization.
Neonatal Screening: Identification of Children with 11β-Hydroxylase Deficiency by Second-Tier Testing
Authors: Janzen Nils , Riepe Felix G. , Peter Michael , Sander Stefanie , Steuerwald Ulrike , Korsch Eckhard , Krull Friedrich , Müller Hermann L. , Heger Sabine , Brack Christoph , Sander Johannes
Published: April 2012

Background: 21-Hydroxylase deficiency (21-OHD) is the target disease of newborn screening for congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH). We describe the additional detection of patients suffering from 11β-hydroxylase deficiency (11-OHD) by second-tier testing. Method: Over a period of 5 years, screening for CAH was done in a total of 986,098 newborns by time-resolved immunoassay (DELFIA®) for 17α-hydroxyprogesterone (17-OHP). Positive samples were subsequently analyzed in an LC-MS/MS second-tier test including 17-OHP, cortisol, 11-deoxycortisol, 4-androstenedione and 21-deoxycortisol. Results: In addition to 78 cases of 21-OHD, 5 patients with 11-OHD were identified. Diagnostic parameters were a markedly elevated concentration of 11-deoxycortisol in the presence of a low level of cortisol. Androstenedione was also increased. In contrast to 21-OHD, concentrations of 21-deoxycortisol were normal. Conclusion: Steroid profiling in newborn blood samples showing positive results in immunoassays for 17-OHP allows for differentiating 21-OHD from 11-OHD. This procedure may not detect all cases of 11-OHD in the newborn population because there may be samples of affected newborns with negative results for 17-OHP in the immunoassay.
Intrahepatic Role of Exchangeable Apolipoproteins in Lipoprotein Assembly and Secretion
Authors: Sundaram Meenakshi , Yao Zemin
Published: April 2012

Exchangeable apolipoproteins, composed mainly of amphipathic α-helices, are associated with various plasma lipoproteins and play an important role in the metabolism of those lipoproteins to which they bind. Accumulating experimental evidence suggests that exchangeable apolipoproteins, such as apoE, apoA-IV, and apoC-III, also play a role intracellularly in facilitating lipid recruitment at different stages of very low-density lipoprotein assembly and trafficking through the endoplasmic reticulum-Golgi secretory compartments. Experimental evidence also suggests that apoA-I may become lipidated intracellularly through mechanisms dependent on or independent of ATP-binding cassette transporter A1. Thus, expression of these secretory proteins may exert an impact on hepatic triglyceride and cholesterol homeostasis during their transit from the endoplasmic reticulum through the Golgi apparatus. This review summarizes findings related to the modulation of intracellular assembly of very low-density lipoprotein and high-density lipoprotein by exchangeable apolipoproteins.
Lumenal Lipid Metabolism
Authors: Lehner Richard , Lian Jihong , Quiroga Ariel D.
Published: April 2012

Overproduction of apolipoprotein B (apoB)–containing lipoproteins by the liver and the intestine is 1 of the hallmarks of insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes and a well-established risk factor of cardiovascular disease. The assembly of apoB lipoproteins is regulated by the availability of lipids that form the neutral lipid core (triacylglycerol and cholesteryl ester) and the limiting lipoprotein monolayer (phospholipids and cholesterol). Although tremendous advances have been made over the past decade toward understanding neutral lipid and phospholipid biosynthesis and neutral lipid storage in cytosolic lipid droplets (LDs), little is known about the mechanisms that govern the transfer of lipids to the lumen of the endoplasmic reticulum for apoB lipidation. ApoB-synthesizing organs can deposit synthesized neutral lipids into at least 3 different types of LDs, each decorated with a subset of specific proteins: perilipin-decorated cytosolic LDs, and 2 types of LDs formed in the lumen of the endoplasmic reticulum, the secretion-destined LDs containing apoB, and resident lumenal LDs coated with microsomal triglyceride transfer protein and exchangeable apolipoproteins. This brief review will address the current knowledge of lumenal lipid metabolism in the context of apoB assembly and lipid storage.
Beneficiaries With Cardiovascular Disease and the Part D Coverage Gap
Authors: Polinski Jennifer M. , Shrank William H. , Glynn Robert J. , Huskamp Haiden A. , Roebuck M. Christopher , Schneeweiss Sebastian
Published: April 2012

Background—

Medicare Part D improved access to cardiovascular medications. Increased cardiovascular drug use and resulting health improvements could be derailed when beneficiaries enter the coverage gap and must pay 100% of drug costs. The coverage gap remains the subject of Congressional debate; evidence regarding its impact on cardiovascular drug use and health outcomes is needed.

Methods and Results—

We followed 122 255 Medicare beneficiaries with cardiovascular conditions with linked prescription and medical claims who reached the coverage gap spending threshold in 2006 or 2007. Beneficiaries entered the study on reaching the threshold and were followed until an event, the catastrophic coverage spending threshold, or year's end. We matched 3980 beneficiaries who reached the threshold and received no financial assistance (exposed) to 3980 with financial assistance during the gap period (unexposed), using propensity score and high-dimensional propensity score approaches. We compared rates of cardiovascular drug discontinuation, drug switching, and death or hospitalization for acute coronary syndrome (ACS) plus revascularization, congestive heart failure, or atrial fibrillation. In propensity score-matched analyses, exposed beneficiaries were more likely to discontinue (hazard ratio, 1.57; 95% confidence interval, 1.39 to 1.79; risk difference,13.76; 95% confidence interval, 10.99 to 16.54 drugs/100 person-years) but no more or less likely to switch cardiovascular drugs. There were no significant differences in rates of death (propensity score-matched hazard ratio,1.23; 95% confidence interval, 0.89 to 1.71) or other outcomes.

Conclusions—

Part D beneficiaries with cardiovascular conditions with no financial assistance during the coverage gap were at increased risk for cardiovascular drug discontinuation; however, the impact of this difference on health outcomes is not clear.
Association of Fetuin-A With Incident Diabetes Mellitus in Community-Living Older Adults
Authors: Ix Joachim H. , Biggs Mary L. , Mukamal Kenneth J. , Kizer Jorge R. , Zieman Susan J. , Siscovick David S. , Mozaffarian Dariush , Jensen Majken K. , Nelson Lauren , Ruderman Neil , Djousse Luc
Published: April 2012

Background—

The liver-secreted protein fetuin-A induces peripheral insulin resistance in vitro. In a pilot study, we observed that higher fetuin-A levels were associated with diabetes mellitus in older persons. However, this finding has not been confirmed in large cohorts. We sought to confirm the association of fetuin-A with incident diabetes mellitus in older persons and to determine whether the association differs by age, sex, and race and among persons with cardiovascular disease (CVD).

Methods and Results—

Among 3710 community-living individuals ≥65 years of age without diabetes mellitus at baseline, fetuin-A was measured in serum collected in 1992 to 1993. Participants were followed up for 10.6 years (median) for incident diabetes mellitus. Cox regression models evaluated the association of fetuin-A with incident diabetes mellitus. Interaction terms evaluated heterogeneity by age, sex, race, and CVD. Mean age was 75 years; 60 were female; 15 were black; and 16 had CVD. Mean fetuin-A concentrations were 0.47±0.10 g/L. During follow-up, 305 incident diabetes cases occurred. Each 0.10-g/L (SD)-greater fetuin-A was associated with 19 higher risk of diabetes mellitus (hazard ratio, 1.19; 95 confidence interval, 1.06–1.33) after adjustment for demographics, lifestyle factors, albumin, kidney function, and CVD. Further adjustment for potential mediators (body mass index, waist circumference, hypertension, lipids, and C-reactive protein) moderately attenuated the association (hazard ratio, 1.13; 95 confidence interval, 1.00–1.28). Results were similar by sex, race, and CVD status but were stronger in persons <75 years old (
P
for interaction=0.01).

Conclusions—

Higher fetuin-A is associated with incident diabetes mellitus in older persons regardless of sex, race, or prevalent CVD status. The association may be attenuated in those ≥75 years of age.
Mean and Variability of the Tropical Atlantic Ocean in the CCSM4*
Authors: Muñoz Ernesto , Weijer Wilbert , Grodsky Semyon A. , Bates Susan C. , Wainer Ilana
Published: April 2012

This study analyzes important aspects of the tropical Atlantic Ocean from simulations of the fourth version of the Community Climate System Model (CCSM4): the mean sea surface temperature (SST) and wind stress, the Atlantic warm pools, the principal modes of SST variability, and the heat budget in the Benguela region. The main goal was to assess the similarities and differences between the CCSM4 simulations and observations. The results indicate that the tropical Atlantic overall is realistic in CCSM4. However, there are still significant biases in the CCSM4 Atlantic SSTs, with a colder tropical North Atlantic and a hotter tropical South Atlantic, that are related to biases in the wind stress. These are also reflected in the Atlantic warm pools in April and September, with its volume greater than in observations in April and smaller than in observations in September. The variability of SSTs in the tropical Atlantic is well represented in CCSM4. However, in the equatorial and tropical South Atlantic regions, CCSM4 has two distinct modes of variability, in contrast to observed behavior. A model heat budget analysis of the Benguela region indicates that the variability of the upper-ocean temperature is dominated by vertical advection, followed by meridional advection.
Testing of the Tropically Excited Arctic Warming Mechanism (TEAM) with Traditional El Niño and La Niña
Authors: Lee Sukyoung
Published: April 2012

By analyzing El Niño and La Niña composites with 40-yr European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) Re-Analysis (ERA-40) data, evidence is presented here that the surface air temperature of the Arctic winter (December–February) is anomalously warm during La Niña and cold during El Niño. Surface and top-of-the-atmosphere energy fluxes were used to calculate the composite zonal-mean poleward moist static energy transport. The result shows that the La Niña warming in the Arctic is associated with an increased poleward energy transport in the extratropics. The opposite characteristics are found for El Niño. Because the total tropical convective heating is more localized during La Niña than El Niño, these findings suggest that the Arctic surface air temperature anomalies associated with ENSO may be attributed to the tropically excited Arctic warming mechanism (TEAM). In the tropics, consistent with previous studies, the anomalous poleward energy transport is positive during El Niño and negative during La Niña. Given the debate over whether a warmer world would take on more El Niño–like or La Niña–like characteristics, the findings of this study underscore the need for further investigation of tropical influence on polar climate.
Cognitive and Academic Distinctions Between Gifted Students With Autism and Asperger Syndrome
Authors: Foley-Nicpon Megan , Assouline Susan G. , Stinson Rebecca D.
Published: April 2012

The cognitive and academic profiles of high ability students with autism spectrum disorder were examined. Inclusion criteria were a diagnosis of autism (high functioning) or Asperger syndrome and at least one ability and/or achievement index standard score of 120 or above. Results indicated that despite the restricted range of cognitive abilities, students diagnosed with Asperger syndrome had significantly higher Verbal Comprehension Index scores than did students diagnosed with autism. However, students with autism had significantly higher scores on tests of math fluency and written expression than did students with Asperger syndrome. Implications for assessment, diagnosis, and intervention are discussed.
How Are Schools in England Addressing the Needs of Mathematically Gifted Children in Primary Classrooms? A Review of Practice
Authors: Dimitriadis Christos
Published: April 2012

There is a paucity of research investigating aspects of provision for gifted children within primary schools, particularly in mathematics. This study aimed to address this topic by illuminating issues arising from classroom practice and the experience of both teachers and children. Based on in-depth case studies in four primary schools in which different methods of provision were being implemented, this study found that although there is an interest in addressing the needs of mathematically gifted children and schools have taken measures in pragmatic terms to cater to them, the needs of these children are not always addressed in classrooms. Evidence from classroom practice showed that the effectiveness of any method depends on teachers’ expertise and self-confidence, the level of focused attention given to gifted children, the size of the class, and the nature of the work set. Additionally, this study identified issues relating to organizational strategies of classroom provision which need consideration and further research.
Village Elections and Their Impact
Authors: Yao Yusheng
Published: April 2012

This article examines a series of four direct elections and their impact in a poorly governed Chinese village near Beijing. Based on the problems exposed in the elections and governance, it identifies the main contradiction in the village to be that of economic justice between villagers on one side, and the old and elected officials, and village toughs and predatory entrepreneurs, on the other. It illustrates the dynamics of politics in the village, in particular factionalism, since the beginning of direct elections and the rise of village toughs and predatory entrepreneurs in recent years and the damaging effect of the latter on the village’s socioeconomic order and democratization. This article also points out limitations of the procedural and institutional studies that dominate the field and the need for careful case studies for a more complete and nuanced picture.
The Co-production of Science, Ethics, and Emotion
Authors: Pickersgill Martyn
Published: April 2012

The concept of “ethical research” holds considerable sway over the ways in which contemporary biomedical, natural, and social science investigations are funded, regulated, and practiced within a variety of countries. Some commentators have viewed this “new” means of governance positively; others, however, have been resoundingly critical, regarding it as restrictive and ethics bodies and regulations unfit for the task they have been set (or have set themselves). Regardless, it is clear that science today is an “ethical” business. The ways in which formal and informal ethical discourses and practices—what might be called “regimes of normativity”—structure scientific work and the meanings it is ascribed with have, however, been underexplored. This article attends to how science and ethics articulate; how they are, in many ways, co-produced. Exploring these processes of co-production casts into sharp relief the essential emotionality of science; the relationships investigators have with their colleagues, work, and research participants pulse with emotion, potentially shaping in important ways the very kinds of knowledge that laboratories produce.
Electron-withdrawing/donating effects of substituents on the preparation of phosphinated 4,4′-diaminodiphenylmethane for soluble, anti-oxidative, and high-Tg polyimides
Authors: Lin Ching Hsuan , Chang Sheng Lung , Fang Yu Ting , Chou Ming Hsien
Published: April 2012

In this work, we reveal a strategy to prepare a phosphinated 4,4′-diaminodiphenylmethane, 1,1-bis(4-aminophenyl)-1-(6-oxido-6H-dibenz <c, e<,2> oxaphosphorin-6-yl)methane (3). During the preparation, it was found that the effect of the electron withdrawing/donating characteristic of substituents is crucial to the synthesis. A reaction mechanism including nucleophilic addition, reduction, and electrophilic substitution is proposed. Based on diamine (3), a series of polyimides (4a–4d) were prepared. Polyimides 4 are readily soluble in some organic solvents, and can be solution cast into flexible and foldable films. They show high Tg (310–390°C), high moduli (3.34–4.63 GPa), moderate coefficient of thermal expansion (46–58 ppm °C−1), good anti-oxidative stability ( Td 5%: 480–537°C (N2); 456–504°C (air)), and good flame retardancy (VTM V-0 rating).
A study of the contact stress analysis of cylindrical gears using the hybrid finite element method
Authors: Zhang Zheng-Xiang , Fong Zhang-Hua , Li Yu-Huo , Fang Hong-Sheng
Published: April 2012

In this study, the hybrid finite element method combined with the tooth contact analysis was applied to solve the static contact stress problem of meshing a cylindrical gear set. The hybrid finite element method has two special features. First, the dimension of the stiffness matrix was reduced to a small condensed compliance matrix with degrees of freedom in the possible contact region. The contact force was iteratively solved based on the condensed compliance matrix by the normal gap distance at the contact point. Second, the contact force at the meshing positions was solved using the same condensed compliance matrix with a different normal gap distance calculated by the tooth contact analysis. Using the examples in this study, the contact stress of the meshing gears was calculated and compared to the data obtained by ANSYS in order to validate the proposed hybrid finite element method. The hybrid finite element method with tooth contact analysis proposed in this study can be used to determine the amount of tooth surface modification.
Solving the forward kinematics problem of six-DOF Stewart platform using multi-task Gaussian process
Authors: He Jianjun , Gu Hong , Wang Zhelong
Published: April 2012

The forward kinematics problem of general six-degree-of-freedom Stewart platform is addressed in this article. Unlike the convention taking positional variables as independent ones and solving them individually, this article presents an alternative approach which takes the positional variables as multiple-related tasks and exploits the commonality between them using a multi-task Gaussian process learning method, as a result, a simple adaptive algorithm, which may satisfy the requirements for high accuracy and real-time processing, is established. Moreover, the proposed algorithm can achieve the desired accuracy using 1000 training samples at most, which is far less than those of other algorithms. Simulation results on a Stewart platform used in aircraft flight simulation system show that the proposed algorithm can achieve superior performance.
Information literacy in employability training: The experience of Inverclyde Libraries
Authors: Crawford John , Irving Christine
Published: April 2012

The study is an evaluation of an employability training programme provided by Inverclyde Libraries in West Central Scotland and the role of information literacy within the training programme. Inverclyde is an area with high unemployment and pockets of multiple deprivation. Modern, applicable skills are also lacking. The findings are based on interviews with five learners and also one with an adult literacies tutor. The interviews were conducted in August 2009 and a Learning Life Histories methodology was used. Interviewees had mainly previously worked in the service industries and none had post-school qualifications, despite which all the interviewees were highly motivated. Information literacy was found to between 30% and 60% of course content depending on learner needs. Family influence was found to be the main motivation to enrol on the course and the learners sought personal social development as well as employability skills. There was found to be a lack of appropriate, relevant training materials and a lack of collaboration between the LIS sector and Community Learning and Development in developing them. The article concludes with a number of recommendations including the need to improve recruitment and course scheduling and planning.
Unreliable Information in Infantry Situation Awareness
Authors: Chancey Eric T. , Bliss James P.
Published: April 2012

Previous research indicates that information reliability may influence warfighters’ situation awareness (SA). The purpose of the current study was to assess the impact of unreliable information on SA and performance in a computer-simulated, infantry-based search scenario. Thirty-six students navigated a simulated combat zone. The experiment followed a one-way repeated measures design, where participants were provided with information that was associated with a certain reliability level (100%, 75%, or 50%). This information could be used to complete a simulated mission and answer SA assessment questions. The content of the information was perfect in regard to accuracy, and the only aspect of the information that changed across conditions was the stated reliability. The results revealed that stated information reliability had no significant impact on any level of SA. However, more reliable information resulted in locating a hidden objective faster, increased success rate for finding the hidden objective within the time limit, and increased ability to avoid dangerous areas. These findings further highlight the importance of information reliability on the battlefield and the need for accuracy when selecting an associated reliability level.
The Double Occupancy of Hispanics
Authors: Pimentel Charise , Balzhiser Deborah
Published: April 2012

This article presents a critical, new historical analysis of the 2010 U.S. Census form. The authors demonstrate that the Hispanic origin and race questions, as currently formulated, imply a “double occupancy of Hispanics” that serves a dual function: to simultaneously monitor the Hispanic population growth and inflate the white count by incorporating Hispanics into the white racial category. This double occupancy of Hispanics results in skewed data analyses that support specific political agendas and ultimately produce racial inequities.
A Couple’s Planned Renegotiation Matrix
Authors: Russo Nicole , Straub Jennifer , Eckstein Daniel
Published: April 2012

The authors introduce a couple’s planned renegotiation matrix as an example of a relationship problem-solving activity. It is based on a planned renegotiation model originally proposed by Sherwood and Glidewell. The couple is then invited to complete their own matrices based on the model. Following a couple case study example, 15 additional relationship problem-solving activities conclude the article.
A Reflective Look at Reflecting Teams
Authors: Pender Rebecca L. , Stinchfield Tracy
Published: April 2012

This article reviewed existing literature and research on the reflecting team process. There is a dearth of empirical research that explores the reflecting team process and the outcome of counseling that uses reflecting teams. Implications of using reflecting teams for counselors, counselor educators, and clients will be discussed. A call for further empirical research will also be explored.
Justice in the Family: The Moderating Role of Social Self-Efficacy in the Relationship Between Nonsuicidal Self-Injury and Interactional Justice From Parents
Authors: Buser Trevor J. , Buser Juleen K. , Kearney Anne
Published: April 2012

For this study, the researchers recruited a sample of college men and women ( N = 874) and examined the relationships among nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) in the past year, social self-efficacy, and two dimensions of interactional justice (IJ) from parents (specifically, interpersonal justice and informational justice). Results indicated that both dimensions of IJ were inversely associated with NSSI and, second, that social self-efficacy moderated both of these relationships. Clinical implications of these findings for family counselors are discussed.
Visualizing Service Operations
Authors: Sampson Scott E.
Published: April 2012

Service operations management (SOM) has a rich history of important but not widely recognized contributions to research and practice. There also seems to be some uncertainty about how SOM fits in the broader fields of operations management and service management. This article addresses those concerns by introducing a visual framework called Process-Chain-Network (PCN) Analysis. The framework is built upon PCN Diagrams that depict processes and interactions involving networks of entities. PCN Analysis includes identifying the value proposition of a given process network, assessing performance characteristics and value propositions of a process configuration, and identifying opportunities for process improvement and innovation. The PCN framework clarifies fundamental concepts of SOM, demonstrates how SOM fits in broader contexts of business management, illuminates managerial insights of SOM and related disciplines, and provides a basis for future SOM research.
Key Drivers of Frontline Employee Generation of Ideas for Customer Service Improvement
Authors: Lages Cristiana R. , Piercy Nigel F.
Published: April 2012

Anchored in the service-dominant logic and service innovation literature, this study investigates the drivers of employee generation of ideas for service improvement (GISI). Employee GISI focuses on customer needs and providing the exact service wanted by customers. GISI should enhance competitive advantage and organizational success (cf. Berry et al. 2006; Wang and Netemeyer 2004). Despite its importance, there is little research on the idea generation stage of the service development process (Chai, Zhang, and Tan 2005). This study contributes to the service field by providing the first empirical evaluation of the drivers of GISI. It also investigates a new explanatory determinant of reading of customer needs, namely, perceived organizational support (POS), and an outcome of POS, in the form of emotional exhaustion. Results show that the major driver of GISI is reading of customer needs by employees followed by affective organizational commitment and job satisfaction. This research provides several new and important insights for service management practice by suggesting that special care should be put into selecting and recruiting employees who have the ability to read customer needs. Additionally, organizations should invest in creating work environments that encourage and reward the flow of ideas for service improvement.
Bilingualism in Sardinia and Scotland: Exploring the cognitive benefits of speaking a ‘minority’ language
Authors: Lauchlan Fraser , Parisi Marinella , Fadda Roberta
Published: April 2012

The research reports on a study investigating the cognitive benefits of bilingualism in children who speak the minority languages of Sardinian and Scottish Gaelic, in addition to their respective ‘national’ languages of Italian and English. One hundred and twenty-one children, both bilingual and monolingual, were administered a series of standardised cognitive ability tests targeted at the four areas that have been previously shown to be advantageous to bilingual children in the literature, namely, cognitive control, problem-solving ability, metalinguistic awareness and working memory. The bilingual children significantly outperformed the monolingual children in two of the four sub-tests, and the Scottish children significantly outperformed the Sardinian children in one of the sub-tests. The differences found were largely due to the superior performance of the Scottish bilingual children who receive a formal bilingual education, in contrast to the Sardinian bilingual children who mostly only speak the minority language at home. The implications of the results are discussed.
Multilingualism in written discourse: An approach to the analysis of multilingual texts
Authors: Sebba Mark
Published: April 2012

The study of spoken discourse in a mixture of languages, commonly called ‘conversational code-switching’, has a history of several decades, and a number of well-developed theories compete to account for it. A number of researchers have studied multilingual written discourse from different perspectives, but most of these studies have focussed on interactive genres that resemble conversation. Only a few studies have offered analyses of multilingual texts with prominent visual aspects, such as advertisements, posters and web pages. This article briefly reviews research on written code-switching and then goes on to introduce examples of multilingual and multimodal texts that, although they involve combinations of languages within a text, do not correspond to what is normally regarded as code-switching. It argues that an insightful account of these phenomena requires an understanding of the kinds of multilingual literacy practices with which they are associated. Furthermore, for an insightful account of them to be given, they need to be analysed as multimodal texts, where visual and spatial aspects of the whole are crucial to interpretation. The article presents a framework for analysing multimodal, multilingual texts in terms of their visual and spatial as well as linguistic characteristics, and examples of how this can be applied to actual data.
Proactive interference between languages: Do task demands matter?
Authors: Gutierrez Anna , Pilotti Maura , Romero Eric , Mahamane Salif , Broderick Tyler
Published: April 2012

A recent discovery of research on bilingualism is that a bilingual’s two languages are both active during online speech production and comprehension. Speakers may manage the interference that arises from possessing two simultaneously active languages by inhibiting the language that is task inappropriate or enhancing the activation of the language they intend to use. These accounts were assessed by examining the consequences of earlier use of a language on the current use of another language and by determining whether such consequences are modulated by task demands. Unbalanced bilinguals for whom two languages coexist served as participants. Evidence indicated that the consequences of earlier use depend on task demands that modulate the interplay between inhibition and facilitation.
A matter of judgement: The effect of information and deliberation on public attitudes to punishment
Authors: Indermaur David , Roberts Lynne , Spiranovic Caroline , Mackenzie Geraldine , Gelb Karen
Published: April 2012

The idea of reducing public punitiveness through providing information and encouraging deliberation has attracted considerable interest. However, there remains no solid evidence of durable changes in attitude. The study presented here provides a test of the hypothesis that information combined with deliberation can affect general measures of punitiveness, confidence in the courts and acceptance of alternatives to imprisonment (the three dependent variables). The study involved a pre-test, post-test experimental design. Participants were randomly allocated to either an intervention group or a control condition. Statistically significant changes in the dependent variables were observed immediately following the intervention but these changes were not sustained when measured at follow-up nine months later. Further, at the time of the follow-up the differences between the control group scores and the intervention group scores were not significantly different. The observed changes immediately following the intervention are seen to be a function of the changed relationship of the respondent to the task. The implications of the results for integrating public perspectives into policy are discussed. It is argued that rather than a focus on public education, a more productive direction is to focus on the way the public is engaged on matters concerning punishment.
Less interest, less treatment: Mexican‐American youth and the Los Angeles Juvenile Court in the Great Depression era
Authors: Schlossman Michael B.
Published: April 2012

This study uses case records from the Los Angeles Juvenile Court to examine how racial discrimination played out in juvenile justice before the decline of public confidence in rehabilitation in the 1960s and 1970s. Using qualitative and quantitative methodologies, I compare how Mexican‐American and white boys (ages 10–17) were treated by the juvenile court during the Great Depression era. I find that although Mexican‐American boys were more likely to be arrested and petitioned to court, they were less likely to receive out‐of‐family placements because court officials viewed these placements as beneficial and were less interested in rehabilitating minority than white youth. I compare these results with the current overrepresentation of minorities in institutional confinement and with contemporary studies that find that black youth are punished more severely than comparable whites. My research suggests that there have been major philosophical changes in how officials in the juvenile justice system view out‐of‐family placements, and that patterns of discrimination in juvenile justice depend upon how officials in courts and correctional institutions view the rehabilitative potential of their interventions.
Kinship Foster Children: Actors in their encounter with the Child Protection System
Authors: Thørnblad Renee , Holtan Amy
Published: April 2012

This article explores foster children’s agency in their encounters with Child Protection Services (CPS). The article draws on semi-structured interviews with former and present foster children aged 18–22, who have grown up in kinship foster homes in state custody. During their childhood, there has been increased emphasis on client participation within CPS. Based on a sociological framework we understand the relationship between CPS and its clients as an asymmetric power relation. The analyses demonstrate that foster children in kinship care are actors with different motivations and competencies for participation and co-determination within CPS. We point out four types of agency, which range from the agent as an equal, active participant in a cooperative relationship with CPS – to the agent as a powerless client in a relationship marked by distrust.
Singaporean adolescents’ perceptions of violence: Implications for practice
Authors: Nair Sudha , Osman Mohammad Maliki
Published: April 2012

Culture, religion and ethnicity appear to impact how adolescents view their experiences of interpersonal violence. Despite the fact that these adolescents were third and fourth generation Singaporeans of Chinese, Indian and Malay descent, this qualitative study showed that while they did not condone the violence; their acceptance of it was largely governed by their interpretation of the scriptures, their ability to externalize control and responsibility to an external source like ‘God’ or ‘fate’, and the intergenerational transmission of culture in which they were socialized.

A convenience sampling method was chosen to interview 52 adolescents who had grown up exposed to interpersonal violence. The study’s objective was to determine whether culture, religion and ethnicity influenced their understanding of the perpetration of interpersonal violence. It answered the research question: What meanings do adolescents give to their life experiences in relation to growing up exposed to interpersonal violence?

With increasing globalization and the cultural diversity in our societies, social workers must be ethnically and culturally sensitive to the worldviews of adolescents from differing backgrounds, if they are to engage them successfully. From a policy perspective, gender education which includes issues of equality and respect needs to be consciously developed in the school’s curricula. Early outreach programmes are critical to identify these young victims of abuse before shame and loyalty issues in adolescence set in.
Exposure and Response Prevention in the Treatment of Distressing and Repugnant Thoughts and Images
Authors: Ferris Tamara S. , Mills Janette P. , Hanstock Tanya L.
Published: April 2012

Repugnant thoughts are often described as intrusive and distressing thoughts that are not acceptable to one’s own, and society’s, morals and values. They can occur in a small number of sufferers with obsessive-compulsive disorder. The following case study describes a young woman who experienced a number of distressing and repugnant thoughts and images. Her presenting most distressing obsessive thought was about committing suicide when she had no desire or intent to do so; however, her most repugnant thoughts centered around thoughts of harming her children. Psychological treatment sessions initially focused on psychoeducation and relaxation to prepare the client for more intense therapy. Exposure and response prevention methods were then used in a graded exposure method to help the client confront her feared obsessions and to help the client to overcome her subsequent strong emotional responses. Following 11 psychological treatment sessions, the client demonstrated significant improvements, including decreased distress from her obsessions, as well as a general decline in stress and anxiety.