bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Representing Objects, Relations, and Sequences
Authors: Gallant Stephen I. , Okaywe T. Wendy
Published: April 2013

Vector symbolic architectures (VSAs) are high-dimensional vector representations of objects (e.g., words, image parts), relations (e.g., sentence structures), and sequences for use with machine learning algorithms. They consist of a vector addition operator for representing a collection of unordered objects, a binding operator for associating groups of objects, and a methodology for encoding complex structures. We first develop constraints that machine learning imposes on VSAs; for example, similar structures must be represented by similar vectors. The constraints suggest that current VSAs should represent phrases (“The smart Brazilian girl”) by binding sums of terms, in addition to simply binding the terms directly. We show that matrix multiplication can be used as the binding operator for a VSA, and that matrix elements can be chosen at random. A consequence for living systems is that binding is mathematically possible without the need to specify, in advance, precise neuron-to-neuron connection properties for large numbers of synapses. A VSA that incorporates these ideas, Matrix Binding of Additive Terms (MBAT), is described that satisfies all constraints.

With respect to machine learning, for some types of problems appropriate VSA representations permit us to prove learnability rather than relying on simulations. We also propose dividing machine (and neural) learning and representation into three stages, with differing roles for learning in each stage. For neural modeling, we give representational reasons for nervous systems to have many recurrent connections, as well as for the importance of phrases in language processing. Sizing simulations and analyses suggest that VSAs in general, and MBAT in particular, are ready for real-world applications.
Morphology and Postdepositional Dynamics of Eggs of the Predator Podisus distinctus (Stål) (Heteroptera: Pentatomidae: Asopinae)
Authors: DE SÁ VERÍSSIMO GIBRAN MENDES , ZANUNCIO JOSÉ COLA , SOARES MARCUS ALVARENGA , ROSA CASSIANO SOUSA , SERRÃO JOSÉ EDUARDO
Published: April 2013

The predator Podisus distinctus (Stål) (Heteroptera: Pentatomidae: Asopinae) has been reared to control lepidopteran de-foliators. In this study, we describe this predator's morphology, postdepositional dynamics and eggs in different develop-mental stages under scanning electron microscope. Its eggs are subglobular and ovoid, narrower at the base than at the top, with a convex, circular operculum. They measure 1.09±0.03 mm in height and 0.90±0.04 mm in diameter. The aero-mi-cropylar processes number 16.00±2.00 and are arranged radially at the egg anterior pole. Immediately after laying, the egg color is pearl-like, and soon after turns gray. Orientation of the spine-like projections and aero-micropylar processes also change after deposition. Though the eggs of P. distinctus are similar to those of other species of the genus Podisus, certain aspects, including the egg size and shape, chorion micro-sculptures, and number of aero-micropylar processes, are specif-ic, allowing for differentiation from other related species.
Pharmacokinetics, Safety Profile, and Efficacy of Aliskiren in Pediatric Patients With Hypertension
Authors: Sullivan Janice E. , Keefe Deborah , Zhou Yinong , Satlin Lisa , Fang Hui , Yan Jing-He
Published: April 2013

Objective. To assess the pharmacokinetics (PK) and safety profile of aliskiren in pediatric patients (6-17 years old) with hypertension. Methods. Patients were randomized to a single weight-based dose of either 2 mg/kg (n = 19) or 6 mg/kg (n = 20) of aliskiren daily for 8 days. The PK, pharmacodynamics, safety profile, and efficacy of aliskiren were assessed. Results. Of the 39 randomized patients, 37 (94.9%) completed the study. Aliskiren plasma concentration (maximum plasma concentration and area under the plasma concentration–time curve) increased dose dependently, achieving peak concentrations in 1 to 2 hours, and tmax was comparable across the dose and age groups. Treatment-emergent adverse events (AEs) were reported in 18 (46.2%) patients, with headache, abdominal pain, and nausea being the most frequent. Conclusions. Aliskiren 2 mg/kg and 6 mg/kg daily showed dose-dependent increases in the plasma concentration. The drug was well tolerated in hypertensive children aged 6 to 17 years. AEs were generally mild and not related to either the drug or the dose.
Variation in Muscle Activity Among Office Workers When Using Different Information Technologies at Work and Away From Work
Authors: Ciccarelli Marina , Straker Leon , Mathiassen Svend Erik , Pollock Clare
Published: April 2013

Objective:

To determine differences in muscle activity amplitudes and variation of amplitudes when using different information and communication technologies (ICT).

Background:

Office workers use different ICT to perform tasks. Upper body musculoskeletal complaints are frequently reported by this occupational group. Increased muscle activity and insufficient variation are potential risk factors for musculoskeletal complaints.

Method:

Muscle activity of right and left upper trapezius and right wrist extensor muscle bundle (extensor carpi radialis longus and brevis) of 24 office workers (performing their usual tasks requiring different ICT at work and away from work) were measured continuously over 10 to 12 hours. Muscle activity variation was quantified using two indices, amplitude probability distribution function and exposure variation analysis.

Results:

There was a trend for electronics-based New ICT tasks to involve less electromyography (EMG) variation than paper-based Old ICT tasks. Performing Combined ICT tasks (i.e., using paper- and electronics-based ICT simultaneously) resulted in the highest muscle activity levels and least variation; however, these Combined ICT tasks were rarely performed. Tasks involving no ICT ( Non-ICT) had the greatest muscle activity variation.

Conclusion:

Office workers in this study used various ICT during tasks at work and away from work. The high EMG amplitudes and low variation observed when using Combined ICT may present the greatest risk for musculoskeletal complaints, and use of Combined ICT by workers should be kept low in office work. Breaking up combined, New, and Old ICT tasks, for example, by interspersing highly variable Non-ICT tasks into office workers’ daily tasks, could increase overall muscle activity variation and reduce risk for musculoskeletal complaints.
Lane Keeping Under Cognitive Load
Authors: He Jibo , McCarley Jason S. , Kramer Arthur F.
Published: April 2013

Objective:

A pair of simulated driving experiments studied the effects of cognitive load on drivers’ lane-keeping performance.

Background:

Cognitive load while driving often reduces the variability of lane position. However, there is no agreement as to whether this effect should be interpreted as a performance loss, consistent with other effects of distraction on driving, or as an anomalous performance gain.

Method:

Participants in a high-fidelity driving simulator performed a lane-keeping task in lateral wind, with instructions to keep a steady lane position. Under high load conditions, participants performed a concurrent working memory task with auditory stimuli. Cross-spectral analysis measured the relationship between wind force and steering inputs.

Results:

Cognitive load reduced the variability of lane position and increased the coupling between steering wheel position and crosswind strength.

Conclusion:

Although cognitive load disrupts driver performance in a variety of ways, it produces a performance gain in lane keeping. This effect appears to reflect drivers’ efforts to protect lateral control against the risk of distraction, at the apparent neglect of other elements of driving performance.

Application:

Results may inform educational efforts to help drivers understand the risks of distraction and the inadequacies of compensatory driving strategies.
Does training practice nurses to carry out physical health checks for people with severe mental illness increase the level of screening for cardiovascular risk?
Authors: Hardy Sheila , Hinks Philippa , Gray Richard
Published: April 2013

Background:

Compared to the general population, people with severe mental illness (SMI) have a higher risk of developing cardiovascular disease (CVD). Authors of clinical guidelines advise annual screening for CVD risk factors with appropriate lifestyle counselling. There are seven recommended elements of this health check: blood pressure, body mass index (or waist circumference), blood glucose, serum cholesterol, diet advice, exercise recommendations and smoking cessation guidance.

Aim:

To establish whether training practice nurses increases the proportion of patients with SMI who are screened for CVD risk factors and given lifestyle advice in primary care.

Method:

A before-and-after audit of 400 patients on the SMI registers in five primary care centres in Northampton, England.

Results:

Following the training, the proportion of patients with SMI who received all elements of the health check significantly increased (pre-training: n = 33, 8%, 95% CI = 6–11; post-training: n = 60, 15%, 95% CI = 12–19; RR = 1.82, 95% CI = 1.22–2.72, p = .01).

Conclusion:

Training practice nurses about CVD prevention in people with SMI may be effective in increasing the proportion of patients in this group who receive a comprehensive health check.
Curcumin Inhibits TGFβ1-induced CCN2 via Src, JNK, and Smad3 in Gingiva
Authors: Yang W.-H. , Kuo M.Y.-P. , Liu C.-M. , Deng Y.-T. , Chang H.-H. , Chang J.Z.-C.
Published: April 2013

Transforming growth factor β (TGFβ) is a key regulator associated with the pathogenesis of gingival overgrowth (GO). Connective tissue growth factor (CTGF/CCN2) is overexpressed in GO tissues. CCN2 promotes and sustains fibrosis initiated by TGFβ. Previous studies have shown that JNK and Smad3 activation is required for TGFβ-induced CCN2 expressions in human gingival fibroblasts (HGFs). In this study, we have found that Src is a major signaling mediator for TGFβ-induced CCN2 expressions in HGFs. Pre-treatment with 2 Src kinase inhibitors (PP2, Src inhibitor-1) significantly reduced TGFβ1-induced CCN2 synthesis and JNK and Smad3 activation in HGFs. These results suggest that Src is an upstream signaling transducer of JNK and Smad3 with respect to TGFβ1-stimulated CCN2 expression in HGFs. We further found that curcumin significantly abrogated the TGFβ1-induced CCN2 in HGFs by inhibiting the phosphorylations of Src, JNK, and Smad3. Furthermore, curcumin inhibited TGFβ1-induced HGF migration and α-SMA expression. Curcumin potentially qualifies as a useful agent for the control of GO.
Perceived Gender and Racial/Ethnic Barriers to STEM Success
Authors: Grossman Jennifer M. , Porche Michelle V.
Published: April 2013

This mixed-methods study examined urban adolescents’ perceptions of gender and racial/ethnic barriers to STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) success, and their meaning-making and coping regarding these experiences. The sample includes surveys from 1024 high school-aged students and interviews from 53 students. Logistic analysis showed that higher science aspirations significantly predicted perceived support for girls and women in science. Analysis of interviews showed themes of microaggressions, responses to microaggressions, and gender- and race-based support. Findings suggest participants vary in perceptions of barriers, yet are generally optimistic about overcoming such obstacles.
Outcome Trajectories of Developmental Students in Community Colleges
Authors: Bremer Christine D. , Center Bruce A. , Opsal Christen L. , Medhanie Amanuel , Jang Yoo Jeong , Geise Aaron C.
Published: April 2013

This analysis explores student outcomes related to taking developmental English (i.e., reading and/or writing) and math classes in three community colleges in three different states, using institutional data from 7,898 students who began college in the fall of 2009 (Cohort 1) or fall 2010 (Cohort 2). We examine the outcome trajectories of students at each college, considering their enrollment in developmental courses in their first term at college as well as other variables. Several factors helped students persist into the second term of college, and a subset of these was also significantly related to continued persistence, graduation, and higher overall grade point average (GPA). Older students, White/non-Hispanic students, and occupational students were more likely to graduate. These groups, and women, also had higher cumulative GPAs. Math ability at the time of college entrance was a powerful predictor of student success. The utility of reading placement as a predictor, and the utility of developmental English, reading, and writing (DERW) classes as an intervention, were both limited to retention into the second term and/or second year. Financial aid and tutoring were much more clearly related to student success than was developmental coursework.
Feasibility of an Internet-Based Intervention for Improving Diabetes Outcomes Among Low-Income Patients With a High Risk for Poor Diabetes Outcomes Followed in a Community Clinic
Authors: Ryan John G. , Schwartz Robert , Jennings Terri , Fedders Mark , Vittoria Isabel
Published: April 2013

Purpose

The purpose of this study was to determine the feasibility of an Internet-based intervention, targeting very low-income minority patients with a high risk for not engaging in diabetes self-management, to increase diabetes self-management and improve diabetes outcomes.

Methods

Patients with diabetes followed in a community clinic were enrolled in the 13-month trial. Participants were requested to test blood sugar and upload glucometer data every day and login to the program at least once every second day. Feasibility data included process measures; diabetes outcomes consisted of changes from baseline to follow-up for levels of glycosylated hemoglobin (A1C), LDL, HDL, triglyceride and total cholesterol, and health-related quality of life using the SF-36.

Results

Only 22% of participants had health insurance. Participants had an average of 4.39 comorbidities and 7.06 prescriptions. Participants uploaded glucometer data at least twice each week and logged into the application at least once each week. Participants demonstrated reductions statistically or clinically important changes in A1C, LDL cholesterol, total cholesterol, and triglyceride levels. Participants engaging in more frequent chat messages and interactive activities demonstrated greater reductions in LDL cholesterol levels; however, engaging in more frequent chat messages also was associated with increased triglyceride levels. Participants rated fewer role limitations from physical health problems at follow-up.

Conclusions

The intervention produced good outcomes; however, an alternative platform may be a less expensive approach.
Open innovation and its relevance to industrial research and development: The case of high-technology small firms
Authors: Oakey Raymond P.
Published: April 2013

Recently, there has been increasing interest in the principle of open innovation and its relevance to our understanding of innovation in modern industry. This article relates these ideas to the specific, yet important, case of innovation in high-technology small firms (HTSFs). HTSFs are of interest since they have produced a significant number of the most important innovations in the high-technology sectors over the past 30 years. Certainly as far as HTSFs are concerned, it is argued that the ideas behind greater openness during innovation are not well suited to the way in which this type of firm innovates. Moreover, it is argued more generally that the work of Chesbrough can be criticised for overstating the potential for greater openness in terms of industrial research and development, since a degree of openness has always existed, while simultaneously understating the merits of closed innovation systems.
American Hegemony Comes Home
Authors: Barder Alexander D.
Published: April 2013

International theorists have long argued over the longevity of American hegemony and whether or not the American-centered international order is currently in crisis. What remains largely missing in many of the analyses of the history and present of American hegemony is an examination of how maintaining global hegemony affects or has affected domestic American political and economic institutions. Looking back at the early 1970s, I examine the nexus between the crisis of American global hegemony in the aftermath of the Vietnam War, the project of neoliberalization in Chile and how the Chilean socioeconomic “laboratory” set an important precedent for the subsequent adoption of neoliberal reforms in the United States under the Reagan Administration. The reassertion of American hegemony was coextensive with a neoliberal project that was initially experimented with in Chile under the authoritarian rule of Augusto Pinochet.
Pancreatic Surgery
Authors: Berry Amy J.
Published: April 2013

Pancreatic surgery is a complicated procedure leaving postoperative patients with an altered gastrointestinal (GI) anatomy and a potential for further surgical complications such as leaks and fistulas. Beyond surgical complications, these patients are prone to delayed gastric emptying, fat malabsorption, and hyperglycemia, with early satiety and poor appetite further compromising nutrition status. Many of these patients are malnourished prior to this major surgical procedure, and significant weight loss is common postoperatively. Does this affect their outcome? There seems to be a lack of consensus in this patient population regarding how to optimize nutrition and limit potential deleterious effects of this surgery. It is important to first understand the underlying disease condition and the effects to the gland, different forms of surgery with subsequent GI alterations, and common surgical and digestive complications. Once this is reviewed, existing nutrition support literature will be explored in attempts to determine the best nutrition management in this patient population.
Effects of ultraviolet irradiation on bonding strength between Co–Cr alloy and citric acid-crosslinked gelatin matrix
Authors: Inoue Motoki , Sasaki Makoto , Katada Yasuyuki , Taguchi Tetsushi
Published: April 2013

Novel techniques for creating a strong bond between polymeric matrices and biometals are required. We immobilized polymeric matrices on the surface of biometal for drug-eluting stents through covalent bond. We performed to improve the bonding strength between a cobalt–chromium alloy and a citric acid-crosslinked gelatin matrix by ultraviolet irradiation on the surface of cobalt–chromium alloy. The ultraviolet irradiation effectively generated hydroxyl groups on the surface of the alloy. The bonding strength between the gelatin matrix and the alloy before ultraviolet irradiation was 0.38 ± 0.02 MPa, whereas it increased to 0.48 ± 0.02 MPa after ultraviolet irradiation. Surface analysis showed that the citric acid derivatives occurred on the surface of the cobalt–chromium alloy through ester bond. Therefore, ester bond formation between the citric acid derivatives active esters and the hydroxyl groups on the cobalt–chromium alloy contributed to the enhanced bonding strength. Ultraviolet irradiation and subsequent immobilization of a gelatin matrix using citric acid derivatives is thus an effective way to functionalize biometal surfaces.
Inscribed in Our Blood
Authors: Sewpaul Vishanthie
Published: April 2013

Drawing on my experiences and the work of emancipatory theorists, I argue that androcentric and patriarchal thinking is so entrenched in major social institutions that gender and racial discrimination seem to be inscribed in our blood. Confronting the influence of external systems on our thinking and engaging in an ideological critique are the first steps to understanding and undoing oppression and privilege and in working toward radical change. This article deals with the complex relationship between agency and structure. Although an alternative consciousness and praxis are central to dealing with gender and racial discrimination and inequality, so is dealing with their structural determinants.
“Tortured Women and Hungry Widows”: Patriarchal Neoliberalism and the Logic of Compensational Justice in Chile
Authors: Macias Teresa
Published: April 2013

This article explores how parliamentary debates in postauthoritarian Chile discursively produced and deployed feminized images of victims and survivors of the authoritarian regime to sustain the constitution and establishment of a logic of compensational justice. In describing and delineating the gender politics of representation in these social policy debates, the article also looks at how compensatory justice is constituted along the lines of a neoliberal market mentality. In this way, the article traces how patriarchal power relations and neoliberal governmental rationality are mutually constitutive regimes that require the real and imagined bodies of women as a surface of inscription.
Everyday Resistance in the Czech Landscape
Authors: Jehlička Petr , Kurtz Matthew
Published: April 2013

Considerable scholarly attention has been given to Charter ’77 as a site of dissent in the former Czechoslovakia. Yet there was a socially embedded site of resistance that was active long before the dissidents. We call this site the Czech woodcraft culture. With its mass popularity and its potent references to Native American anti-colonialism, the woodcraft culture has still barely registered among researchers. In this paper, we offer the first scholarly account of the origins of Czech woodcraft culture, starting in the early twentieth century. We argue that subsequent transformations of the woodcraft culture in the Czech landscape should be understood as popular, complex, and often ambiguous practices of resistance, from the internationalist inversions of a national bourgeois order in the inter-war period, to nostalgic and paradoxically nationalist subterfuges of the Soviet-imposed regime after 1968. We trace how, as a response to the state socialist regime’s cultural and political pressures, the activities of Czech woodcraft culture were “layered with memories and experiences rooted in the pre-communist period” (Bren, 2002: 124). The Czech woodcraft culture as a whole provided its adherents with an autonomous space that enabled new forms of sociality, immersions in the natural world, and a host of long-standing voluntary associative activities that preceded the emergence of localized environmental movements and other sites of dissent around the Czech lands.
Faith-Based Organizations as Service Providers and Their Relationship to Government
Authors: Bielefeld Wolfgang , Cleveland William Suhs
Published: April 2013

The welfare reforms initiated in the 1990s prompted increased discussion of the use of faith-based organizations for the provision of social services. This is the second of two articles examining the progress of this debate. The first article provides the scope of inquiry, defines specific characteristics of faith-based organizations, and outlines methods used to study them. This article discusses specific services provided by faith-based organizations and how these organizations are related to the government. Faith-based organizations compared favorably to secular organizations in the services they provided while providing a somewhat narrower range of services. The implementation of Charitable Choice and other faith-based initiatives as policy required consideration of constitutional and practical issues with the implementation of collaborations and partnerships between government and faith-based organizations along with increased government funding and contracting for these organizations.
Children’s rights and children’s voices in contested custody and visitation cases in Sweden and the US
Authors: Pranzo Diane
Published: April 2013

These research notes look at the differing ways in which the basis for including a criterion regarding children’s opinions in disputed custody and visitation processes, in the US as compared with Sweden, impacts on the role and place that children’s opinions and wishes will have on the process. Sweden’s rationale for including children’s contributions to decisions made regarding them has as its underlying basis the idea of a right which arises from a moral obligation toward children as represented in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. In the US, the inclusion of the criterion which allows for the weighting of children’s opinions regarding decisions made about them arises from a legal basis which sorts action into what is acceptable and unacceptable adult behavior toward children. The notes were generated from a larger study comparing Swedish and US custody and visitation disputes between two parents.
Effect of diindolylmethane on Ca2+ homeostasis and viability in MDCK renal tubular cells
Authors: Fang Y-C , Chou C-T , Chi C-C , Lin K-L , Li Y-D , Cheng H-H , Lu Y-C , Cheng J-S , Kuo C-C , Jan C-R
Published: April 2013

The effect of the natural product diindolylmethane (DIM) on cytosolic Ca2+ concentrations ([Ca2+]i) and viability in MDCK renal tubular cells was explored. The Ca2+-sensitive fluorescent dye fura-2 was applied to measure [Ca2+]i. DIM at concentrations 1–50 μM induced a [Ca2+]i rise in a concentration-dependent manner. The response was reduced partly by removing Ca2+. DIM induced Mn2+ influx leading to quenching of fura-2 fluorescence. DIM-evoked Ca2+ entry was suppressed by nifedipine, econazole, SK&F96365 and protein kinase C modulators. In the absence of extracellular Ca2+, incubation with the endoplasmic reticulum Ca2+ pump inhibitor thapsigargin (TG) or 2,5-di-tert-butylhydroquinone (BHQ) greatly inhibited DIM-induced [Ca2+]i rise. Incubation with DIM abolished TG or BHQ-induced [Ca2+]i rise. Inhibition of phospholipase C with U73122 reduced DIM-induced [Ca2+]i rise by 50%. At 1, 10, 40 and 50 μM, DIM slightly enhanced cell proliferation. The effect of 50 μM DIM was reversed by chelating cytosolic Ca2+ with 1,2-bis(2-aminophenoxy)ethane- N, N, N', N'-tetraacetic acid. In sum, in MDCK cells, DIM induced a [Ca2+]i rise by evoking phospholipase C-dependent Ca2+ release from the endoplasmic reticulum and Ca2+ entry via protein kinase C-sensitive store-operated Ca2+ channels. DIM did not induce cell death.
Regional policy, social networks and informal structures
Authors: Forsberg Gunnel , Lindgren Gerd
Published: April 2013

This paper presents a study on regional development and innovation systems. The theoretical points of departure are gender theory and two perspectives from human geography and sociology: the theory of network governance for regional development and the theory of homosocial networks. The regional policy of the EU today is characterized by a strongly emphasized governance model: i.e., an orientation towards networks and cluster initiatives. The 2004–2007 regional development programme in Värmland, a Swedish county, is a template for this policy. Its basic principles included partnership engagements, networking, EU-specific linguistic usage and superstar rhetoric. However, this seemingly innovative regional policy has roots in traditional industrial society (ironworks and paper mills). The network-planning model allows informal social structures to re-enter the arena of regional planning. Gender equality in regional government policy was challenged by the presence of a homosocial shadow (seamy-side) structure, such as secret networks and clubs on the outside of the official organizations. Networks were also important in the reproduction of traditional power structures, male dominance and hegemony. One conclusion we reach is that networking can be used mutually as a progressive force and as a conservative tool among actors in the innovation of policy.
How Community Trust Was Gained by an NGO in Malawi, Central Africa, to Mitigate the Impact of HIV/AIDS
Authors: MacIntyre Linda M. , Waters Catherine M. , Rankin Sally H. , Schell Ellen , Laviwa Jones , Luhanga Melton Richard
Published: April 2013

Trust is valuable social capital that is essential for effective partnerships to improve a community’s health. Yet, how to establish trust in culturally diverse communities is elusive for many researchers, practitioners, and agencies. The purpose of this qualitative study was to obtain perspectives of individuals working for a nongovernmental organization (NGO) about gaining community trust in Malawi in order to mitigate the impact of HIV/AIDS. Twenty-six interviews were conducted over 12 months. Content analysis revealed the relationship between NGO staff and the community is crucial to gaining community trust. Gender, social context, and religious factors influence the establishment of trust within the relationship, but NGO assumptions about the community can erode community trust. Nurses and other health professionals working with the NGOs can help create conditions to build trust in an ethically and culturally sensitive manner whereby communities can develop processes to address their own health concerns.
DSM-5 Pathological Personality Traits and the Personality Assessment Inventory
Authors: Hopwood Christopher J. , Wright Aidan G. C. , Krueger Robert F. , Schade Nick , Markon Kristian E. , Morey Leslie C.
Published: April 2013

Section 3 of the DSM-5 will include a pathological personality trait system rooted in the quantitative epistemology of personality and clinical psychology. This system has the potential to enhance the clinical utility of the diagnostic nosology by providing a means for the dimensional assessment of individuals with psychopathology. However, there is limited research on the associations of DSM-5 traits with common mental disorders and related clinical phenomena as measured by currently popular assessment instruments. The purpose of this article was to evaluate the convergence of the DSM-5 trait system with a well-validated broadband clinical instrument, the Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI). Bivariate correlations were examined and factor analytic methods were used to examine the degree to which the DSM-5 traits and PAI capture common variance in personality and mental health. In a student sample ( N = 1,001), we found broad convergence between the DSM-5 traits and PAI, which could be organized effectively using five factors. The implications of these findings for using traits to address issues related to diagnostic co-occurrence and heterogeneity in routine clinical assessment are discussed.
Economic Abuse in Lebanon
Authors: Usta Jinan , Makarem Nisrine N. , Habib Rima R.
Published: April 2013

This article explores the experiences and perceptions of Lebanese women and men with economic abuse. Data were drawn from focus group discussions and face-to-face interviews with men, women and social workers. The findings reveal that Lebanese women experience many forms of economic abuse, including the withholding of earnings, restricted involvement in the labor force, and limited purchasing decisions. Inheritance laws and practices still favor men over women. Women tolerate economic abuse to avoid more serious forms of abuse and ensure family stability. Practical implications of the findings are presented.
Testing the Steve Jobs Hypothesis in a B2B Context
Authors: Kuruzovich Jason , Han Shu , Koukova Nevena T. , Ravichandran T.
Published: April 2013

This research examines how the type of information technology (IT) provided among hardware, software, and services—and the degree to which the IT provided is bundled into a solution—influences the levels of satisfaction and loyalty of IT buyers. We refer to the hardware, software, and services offerings jointly as the IT products-services stack, as technology stacks are useful visualizations of how layers of technology products are hierarchically related. We utilize over 36,000 ratings of 68 IT vendors provided by the vendors’ customers to test our research model. The findings indicate that vendors offering products in the lower levels of the IT products-services stack experience higher satisfaction and loyalty ratings (hardware > software > services). Moreover, satisfaction and loyalty ratings are highest when hardware, software, and services are provided together—that is, as an IT solution. An important implication of these findings is that IT solutions benefit both vendors and buyers.
Erosive wear behavior of sprayed metal matrix composites: An overview
Authors: Pasha Mudasar , Kaleemulla Mohammed
Published: April 2013

Metal matrix composites are being increasingly used in aerospace and automobile industries attributed to their improved properties such as elastic modulus, hardness, tensile strength at room and elevated temperatures, wear resistance combined with significant weight savings over unreinforced alloys. Because of these capabilities it can be applied for aviation industries, where the most critical areas of an aircraft to be affected by corrosion are engine inlets, control surfaces landing gear doors, radome, and aerodynamic fairings. They are subjected to wear and corrosion processes, which can occur simultaneously. This article critically reviews the present and past state of understanding of the erosive wear behavior of metals and alloy. First of all, the different types of reinforcing with different coated metal matrix composites are reviewed. The accuring failure mechanisms are discussed. This is followed by discussion of the essential features of erosive wear. Various predictions and models developed by different investigators describing the erosion rate are presented. Finally, the relevant areas for future studies are indicated.
Multicriteria design of a rotary table with a hybrid constant flow and constant pressure supply system
Authors: Feng Huihui , Jiang Shuyun
Published: April 2013

The rotary table of the heavy machine tools demands higher stiffness to provide substantial load capacity as well as a lower cost. The hydrostatic rotary table supplied with constant flow rate pump is not often used due to its high cost; meanwhile, the system with constant pressure pump suffers from a relatively lower stiffness problem. In this study, an alternative type of rotary table supplied by a constant flow pump and a constant pressure one is proposed to satisfy the requirements. The mathematical model is presented on the basis of hydrostatic theory to predict the axial static performance of the table. A comparison of the performances between constant pressure supply table, constant flow supply table and constant flow and constant pressure supply table has been conducted; the results show that constant flow and constant pressure supply table is the best in static behavior. A multicriteria optimization technique based on the weighted ideal point method is better than the single criteria optimization in achieving the comprehensive property of the table. A variation rate method is used to calculate the weighted factors. The optimization problem is formulated with the maximum stiffness, the minimum power dissipation and the minimum supply pressure.
A play and joint attention intervention for teachers of young children with autism: A randomized controlled pilot study
Authors: Wong Connie S
Published: April 2013

The aim of this study was to pilot test a classroom-based intervention focused on facilitating play and joint attention for young children with autism in self-contained special education classrooms. Thirty-three children with autism between the ages of 3 and 6 years participated in the study with their classroom teachers (n = 14). The 14 preschool special education teachers were randomly assigned to one of three groups: (1) symbolic play then joint attention intervention, (2) joint attention then symbolic intervention, and (3) wait-list control period then further randomized to either group 1 or group 2. In the intervention, teachers participated in eight weekly individualized 1-h sessions with a researcher that emphasized embedding strategies targeting symbolic play and joint attention into their everyday classroom routines and activities. The main child outcome variables of interest were collected through direct classroom observations. Findings indicate that teachers can implement an intervention to significantly improve joint engagement of young children with autism in their classrooms. Furthermore, multilevel analyses showed significant increases in joint attention and symbolic play skills. Thus, these pilot data emphasize the need for further research and implementation of classroom-based interventions targeting play and joint attention skills for young children with autism.
Producing composite codeswitching: The role of the modularity of language production
Authors: Amuzu Evershed K.
Published: April 2013

The basic characteristic of composite codeswitching is that the languages involved share responsibility for framing bilingual constituents. This paper points to evidence of this characteristic in the nature of morpheme distribution in mixed possessive constructions in Ewe–English codeswitching, spoken in Ghana. An Ewe semantic distinction between two types of possessive constructions is consistently neutralized when English possessum nominals are used instead of their Ewe counterparts, and the paper demonstrates that the neutralization of this distinction results from direct mapping of English-origin grammatical information about English nominals onto Ewe grammar. It explains that this mapping of information from one grammar onto another one is characteristic of composite codeswitching and that it is facilitated by the fact that language production is modular in the sense of Levelt ((1989). Speaking: From intention to articulation. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press) and Myers-Scotton ((1993). Duelling languages: Grammatical structure in codeswitching. Oxford, UK: Clarendon Press; (2002). Contact linguistics: Bilingual encounters and grammatical outcomes. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press).
Love, society and agape
Authors: Iorio Gennaro , Campello Filipe
Published: April 2013

This interview discusses whether the concept of love can be used not only when dealing with primary relations of recognition, as in the relations of family or friendship, but also regarding social relations in civil society. The issues refer to the categorical differences between the concept of love – as developed by Honneth in his theory of recognition – and that proposed by the concept of ‘agapic action’ as a specific comprehension of love that is not reducible to affective bonds, but that could be helpful in interpreting actions beyond such intimate relations. Thus, the interview discusses in which sense the concept of ‘agapic action’ can contribute to a social theory, on the one hand, distinguishing between a strict sense of love as primary affective bonds and, on the other, the concept of solidarity as social bonds.
Fungal contamination of carpet industry in Gwalior Madhya Pradesh (India)
Authors: Wani K.A. , Mamta K. , Khan T.A. , Lone Rafiq
Published: April 2013

The working environment in carpet industry was assessed for fungal contamination in Gwalior (India). The sampling was carried out in five carpet units that were selected randomly. The Petri plates containing potato dextrose agar (PDA) medium was exposed for a period of 15 min near the workplace (exposed) and outside environment (control). They were covered again with aluminium foil before transporting them to the laboratory for further analysis. It was found that various types of fungal species viz., Aspergillus niger, A. parasitics, Fusarium sp., Alternaria sp., Penicillium sp., Trichoderma sp., Curvularia sp., Cladosporium sp., and yeast were present at the work place, which may cause various types of diseases among the weavers. Therefore, we recommended good housekeeping and workplace design, which is necessary for control of fungal contamination at the work place, that may not only reduce the disease among workers but may also increase productivity and efficiency of the workers.
Photocatalytic technology in architectural context: From science to societal debates
Authors: Megahed Naglaa Ali
Published: April 2013

Nanotechnology is a multidisciplinary field that continues to evolve and expand in many areas of life, in science and architecture especially, based on photocatalytic reactions of nano-materials. This paper identifies some examples of how photocatalytic technology may be used or considered for use in many applications based on TiO2 nano-particles targeted to provide cleaner, more efficient energy supplies and uses to make architecture more sustainable. However, concern about its unintended impacts on human and environmental health has been a driver for research not only on risk assessment but also for their safe manufacturing, use and disposal. Thus, it is important to take a proactive approach to risk assessment and mitigate the potential impact of nano-particles to human health and environment. This review aims (a) to introduce photocatalytic applications in architectural context; (b) to introduce TiO2 nano-architecture that were either constructed for use in construction industry or that can be used for future research in the field of smart behaviour and third-generation photovoltaic; (c) to present environmental release and exposure scenarios during the lifecycle of nano-materials and (d) finally, to identify potential risks that contribute to the future societal debates for their use.
Unpacking secularization: Structural changes, individual choices and ethnic paths
Authors: Ben-Porat Guy , Feniger Yariv
Published: April 2013

Studies of secularization suggest it is a complex and multidimensional process and that secularization unfolds in different sets of identities, practices and values. But, in spite of its non-linear and non-coherent character, secularization it is not necessarily arbitrary and individualistic. Rather, as this work demonstrates, ethnic groups may be influenced by similar secularizing forces, but the impact of these forces will be different and different paths of secularization will take place. In this work, based on a survey conducted in March 2009 of a representative sample of the adult Jewish population in Israel, we study three major ethnic groups in Israel to demonstrate how ethnicity influences the process of secularization measured in beliefs, practices and attitudes. Our findings demonstrate that ethnicity creates distinct paths of secularization with different changes of practices, beliefs and values. While for some ethnic groups secularization happens alongside a significant change in beliefs, practices and behaviors, for others religion remains significant and secularization is more partial, especially when measured in liberal values.
Spaces of contestation: Challenges, actors and expertise in the management of urban security in Greece
Authors: Xenakis Sappho , Cheliotis Leonidas K.
Published: April 2013

Urban security has emerged as one of the key priorities in political and public life in Greece over recent years, and especially since the country fell into financial crisis in 2009. This article offers an unprecedented overview of the challenges, actors and expertise in the management of urban security in Greece, drawing attention to the political tensions that envelop them. The first section focuses on the phenomena considered to constitute core challenges for urban security in the country: from common crime, immigration and urban poverty and degradation, to social unrest, policing, far-right militias and vigilantism. The various state and non-state actors engaged in the management of urban security are then outlined, and the relationship between expertise and official policy-making is critically assessed. Objective and subjective forms of insecurity are shown to be highly contentious, responses to such insecurities are found to produce insecurities in their own right, and constraints upon non-technical expertise are identified as limiting the scope of pertinent state policy.
Managing urban safety and security in Germany: Institutional responsibility and individual competence
Authors: Frevel Bernhard
Published: April 2013

After a short description of the broad field of urban security problems in Germany and a concentration on aspects of crime and disorder, the main institutions responsible for taking action on these problems – the police, local authorities and social services – are discussed. The institutional responsibilities are differentiated in terms of their statutory duties, and the individual competences for undertaking managerial responsibilities in this field are analysed against the background of the higher education system for training in public services in Germany. The need for collaboration in Crime Prevention Councils and Public Order Partnerships will be sketched out. The skills that already exist and those that are additionally needed for managing urban security are discussed along with the appropriate role of higher education in equipping managers with these skills.
Urban security in Europe: Translating a concept in public criminology
Authors: Edwards Adam , Hughes Gordon , Lord Nicholas
Published: April 2013

A key challenge for public criminology is the translation between concepts employed in policy discourse and those used by social scientists. Given that concepts constitute social problems and they can have multiple meanings for policy-makers and social scientists, then deliberation about what they signify matters in understanding how these actors can talk to, rather than past, one another in framing policy discourse about crime and revealing alternative policy agendas. This challenge is accentuated in the comparative context of European criminology, which is characterized by competing tendencies to generalize about problems of ‘Freedom, Security and Justice’ and to recognize the variegated problems and cultures of control across Europe. In this context, the presumption of universality can mistranslate concepts of crime and control by obscuring contextual insight, while the presumption of particularity can inhibit cross-cultural dialogue and deliberation. The paper explores this challenge in relation to the concept of ‘urban security’, which is prevalent in the policy discourse on social crime prevention, particularly in Central and Southern Europe. To establish the provenance, prevalence and significance of this concept, the paper discusses findings from a policy Delphi that structured deliberation about the meaning of urban security among criminologists sampled from the European Society of Criminology and policy-makers sampled from the European Crime Prevention Network. It concludes with reflections on the value of deliberative methods, such as the policy Delphi, for the cross-cultural validation of criminological constructs in comparative research.
Apolipoprotein E Levels in the Cerebrospinal Fluid of North Indian Patients With Alzheimer’s Disease
Authors: Kandimalla Ramesh J. L. , Wani Willayat Yousuf , Anand R. , Kaushal Alka , Prabhakar Sudesh , Grover Vinod K. , Bharadwaj Neerja , Jain Kajal , Gill Kiran Dip
Published: April 2013

The etiology of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is multifactorial involving both genetic and environmental factors. Apolipoprotein E ( ApoE) gene plays a pivotal role in risk and age of onset of AD. Although it is broadly accepted that ApoE genotype is linked to the pathogenesis of AD, there are still controversial results regarding the association of ApoE levels in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) with the occurrence of AD. Some studies have shown a positive correlation between CSF ApoE levels and AD, whereas others showed no link. In this study, we measured ApoE levels to assess the usefulness of CSF ApoE as a diagnostic marker of AD by comparing the levels in 3 patient groups and in control participants. No significant difference was observed in CSF ApoE concentrations between the patients with AD and the controls. So, it appears that CSF ApoE measurement does not offer any diagnostic advantage for AD.