bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Male reproductive decision is constrained by sex pheromones produced by females
Authors: Baruffaldi Luciana , Costa Fernando G.
Published: October 2013

Male choice has been associated with situations in which there is variation in the quality and reproductive status of females within a population. However, few studies have looked at the ability of males to discriminate between females of different reproductive status when the intensity of the sex pheromone produced by these females is known. Here we investigated the ability of male wolf spiders, Schizocosa malitiosa, to discriminate between silk-born sex pheromones produced by females of different age and mating status using a T-maze system. In particular, we analysed male sexual response between young virgin (YV) and old recently mated (ORM) females, two different reproductive groups that produce similar intensities of sex pheromone. We found that males chose and displayed more courtship behaviour in the silk thread from old virgin females (OV). However, males did not show any preference between silk thread of YV versus ORM females, and there were no differences in courtship behaviours. According to our results, male decision will be constrained by the sex pheromones produced by YV and ORM females. YV females are receptive to mates and do not have any sperm stored, while ORM females are partially reluctant to re-mate and male would share paternity. In other species, females change the composition, or stop the production of the sex pheromone providing information on their reproductive status. However, in this species it seems that females are not emitting clear information about their mating status, which will in turn affect the reproductive decisions of the male.
Old Garment from a New Tailor: The Reception and Reshaping of Epic Material in Early Medieval Iran
Authors: Gazerani Saghi
Published: October 2013

Abstract

The corpus of epic material produced in the New Persian language, best known by Ferdowsi’sShāhnāma, is preoccupied with narrating Iran’s past. In this article, the production milieu of the epic material during post-Conquest Iran is explored. This is undertaken by tracing the sources of the Sistani Cycle of Epics, a body of literature, which recounts the stories of Rostam, his ancestors and his progeny. The discussion of the sources of this body of epics reveals what seems to be an abundant interest in narrating multiple, diverse and contradictory events of Iran’s pre-Islamic past. The existence of a plethora of varying narrations raises several questions such as the impetus for transmission of these varying narratives, and the nature of Iranian historiography.
Historiography and the Shoʿubiya Movement
Authors: Dabiri Ghazzal
Published: October 2013

Abstract

This article examines the ways in which Iranian mytho-history was woven into the narratives of Islamic history. It argues that the inclusion of narratives such as the ones that equate several of the earliest Iranian mytho-historical kings to the earliest Koranic prophets or claim that Persian was the language of the prophets from Ādam to Esmāʿil, reflects the concerns of theShoʿubiyamovement. The paper also analyzes the ways in which these Iranian kings are represented in theAvestaas paradigmatic rulers and how their essential function as good rulers is retained in the latermythosand, hence, texts so that they are equatable to the prophets. The paper argues that these narratives reflect not only a concern for equality among Iranians as Muslims, but also the ways in which intellectuals negotiated the interstitial spaces between culture and politics.
Banners, Spears, Black Raiders and Byzantines: Some Textual Notes on Late Sasanian and post-Sasanian Zoroastrian Apocalyptic Texts
Authors: Shapira Dan D.Y.
Published: October 2013

Abstract

This article is a philological study of literary motifs in the Middle Persian apocalyptic work of uncertain date,Zand ī Wahman Yašt. The author claims that the motifs under his consideration in the text of ZWY (=Zand ī Wahman ī Yašt) go back to Middle Persian version of several AvestanYašts, especially, to the Middle Persian translation of the second part ofYašt1 (known asWahman Yašt),Yašt11, andYašt8.
“Building a New Vision of the Past in the Sasanian Empire: The Sanctuaries of Kayānsīh and the Great Fires of Iran”
Authors: Canepa Matthew P.
Published: October 2013

Abstract

This article analyzes how Zoroastrian holy sites as celebrated in the Avesta or elaborated in later, related traditions, emerged as important architectural and ritual centers in late antiquity. Instead of ancient foundations whose details were lost in the depths of time, this paper argues that some of the holiest sanctuaries of the Zoroastrian religion, including Ādur Gušnasp, Ādur Farnbāg, Ādur Burzēn-Mihr, Ādur Karkōy and Lake Kayānsīh, emerged no earlier than the Arsacid era, and were actively manipulated and augmented by the Sasanian dynasty. These ‘Avestan’ sites of memory emerged at locales with no previous Achaemenid monumental construction, but did benefit from beautiful and dramatic natural features. In late antiquity these natural features, usually mountains or lakes, took on the names and significance of the sacred geography of as found in the Avesta. The Sasanian dynasty in particular built grand monumental complexes as its sovereigns sought to take control of these ancient Iranian traditions.
Some Passages on Turkic Peoples in Zoroastrian Pahlavi Literature
Authors: Cereti Carlo G.
Published: October 2013

Abstract

Following on similar contributions focusing on geographical chapters and subjects in Pahlavi literature, in this article the author briefly presents the main evidence on the presence of Turkic people and on place names relative to the vast area of Turkestân, as found in Middle Persian Zoroastrian texts.
Addressing State Responsibility for the Crime of Military Sexual Slavery during the Second World War: Further Attempts for Justice for the “Comfort Women”
Authors: McDougall Gay J.
Published: October 2013

Abstract

Between 1932 and the end of the Second World War, the Japanese Government and the Japanese Imperial Army forced over 200,000 women into sexual slavery in rape centres throughout Asia. The majority of the victims were from Korea, but many were also taken from China, Indonesia, the Philippines and other Asian countries under Japanese control.

There has been no real redress for these injustices: no prosecutions of guilty perpetrators, no acceptance of full legal responsibility by the Government of Japan, and no compensation paid to the surviving victims. The present paper focuses primarily on the issue of state responsibility and the situation of the Korean survivors. The study concludes that Japan has a continuing legal liability for grave violations of human rights and humanitarian law, violations that amount in their totality to crimes against humanity. The study establishes, contrary to Japanese Government arguments, that (a) the crime of slavery accurately describes the system established by the rape centres and that the prohibition against slavery clearly existed as a customary norm under international law at the time of the Second World War; (b) that acts of rape in armed conflict were clearly prohibited by the Regulations annexed to the Hague Convention No. IV of 1907 and by customary norms of international law in force at the time of the Second World War; (c) that the laws of war applied to conduct committed by the Japanese military against nationals of an occupied state, Korea; and (d) that because these are crimes against humanity, no statute of limitations would limit current-day civil or criminal cases concerning the Second World War rape centres.

The paper also refutes the argument that any individual claims that these women may have had for compensation were fully satisfied by peace treaties and international agreements between Japan and other Asian States following the end of the Second World War.
International Law as Memorial Sites: The “Comfort Women” Lawsuits Revisited
Authors: Abe Kohki
Published: October 2013

Abstract

This article revisits the legal and philosophical frontiers passionately explored in the “comfort women” lawsuits in Japan. The epoch-making judicial battle challenging the legality and legitimacy of Japanese military sexual slavery has created an innovative space for combining justice and history. Of enormous practical import are a series of lower court judgments that determined the wrongfulness of Japan’s shameful involvement in the heinous abusive practices during the wartime period. Invoking the nebulous concept of the “Framework” of the San Francisco Peace Treaty of 1951, the Supreme Court rendered a decision in 2007 to procedurally shut the door to the war reparation claims. The decision, however, may not be sustained from the perspective of contemporary international law that is increasingly infused with the quality of trans-temporal justice. The author argues that the Government of Japan should discharge its responsibility by faithfully adopting measures required under international law, an act powerfully called for in the “Age of Apology” and within a new global paradigm against violence against women.
The Regional Difference on Human Rights and Criminal Justice: Judicial Self-Determination Lost through the Suppression from Western States? Universal Jurisdiction and Prohibition of the Death Penalty
Authors: Inazumi Mitsue
Published: October 2013

Abstract

States in different regions have different visions and interpretations of international law on how to achieve the goal of protecting human rights, and these differences are causing some conflicts between European states and non-European states. This article examines such conflicts in the field of criminal justice – in the exercise of extradition, universal jurisdiction, and the death penalty. In the field of international criminal law, there are new norms emerging, for example, a rule (referred in this article as ‘the Rule’) that in a situation of concurrent jurisdictions, the court that conducts a fair trial by providing sufficient human rights protection should proceed with the prosecution. In accordance with the Rule, European states decide to exercise their own jurisdiction over cases committed abroad by foreigners, and refuse to extradite a suspect when he or she is likely to face a death penalty or impartial trial. However, the practices of European states in applying new norms in accordance with their understandings of a fair trial and prohibition of the death penalty invited opposition from those states whose national jurisdiction is denied or defeated. They are criticised as an infringement of state sovereignty, or as an unreasonable compulsion of Western values. Such opposition can be observed in the aggressive response from African states asserting that the universal jurisdiction exercised by European states over African officials for crimes committed in Africa contradicts the sovereign equality and independence of African states, thus evoking memories of colonialism. Also, although the influence of the prohibition of death penalty by European states is reflected on the Japan-EU Agreement on the Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters, Japan continues to retain the death penalty.
The genus Mycterothrips (Thysanoptera: Thripidae) in Iran, with three new species
Authors: ALAVI JALIL , AWAL MEHDI MODARRES , FEKRAT LIDA , MINAEI KAMBIZ
Published: October 2013

Three new species of Mycterothripsare described from Khorasan-e Shomali province in Northeast of Iran, M. mahvelatensis sp.n., M. nastarani sp.n. and M. sanubari sp.n.. An identification key is provided for both sexes of the nine species of Mycterothrips known from Iran. Host associations among these Iranian species, as well as the variation in number of pronotal posteromarginal setae, are discussed briefly.
Samadinia longispina, a new genus and species of deep-sea spider crab from the western Pacific, and a new species of Rochinia A. Milne-Edwards, 1875, from Papua New Guinea (Crustacea: Brachyura: Majoidea: Epialtidae)
Authors: NG PETER K.L. , DE FORGES BERTRAND RICHER
Published: October 2013

A new genus, Samadinia n. gen., and new species, Samadinia longispina n. sp., of deep-water epialtid spider crab is described from French Polynesia and New Caledonia. The new genus is superficially similar to Rochinia A. Milne-Edwards, 1875, but can be distinguished by having the dorsal surface of the carapace covered with small, rounded granules (versus with long spines or strong tubercles), well developed hepatic and lateral branchial spines (versus relatively shorter and weaker), a prominently constricted male thoracic sternite 4 (versus relatively broader with less prominent or without median constriction) and a proportionally broader male abdomen. A new species of Rochinia, R. granulosa n. sp., is also described from Papua New Guinea. It is easily distinguished from congeners its small adult size, the presence of numerous relatively large granules on the carapace and a relatively short hepatic spine.
Advertisement call of Zachaenus carvalhoi Izecksohn, 1982
(Anura: Cycloramphidae) from southeastern Brazil
Authors: GUIMARÃES CARLA SILVA , LACERDA JOÃO VICTOR ANDRADE , FEIO RENATO NEVES
Published: October 2013

Anuran advertisement calls are species-specific and widely used as a taxonomic tool (e.g., Heyer et al. 1996; Pombal et al. 2011; Taucce et al. 2012). Nevertheless, in many taxa the vocalizations have not yet been formally described, as in Zachaenus Cope, 1866 (Anura; Cycloramphidae). This genus is endemic to the Brazilian Atlantic Rainforest (Verdade et al. 2009) and currently comprises two species: Zachaenus parvulus (Girard 1853) and Z. carvalhoi Izecksohn, 1982. Herein we describe the advertisement call of the data deficient (Peixoto & Silvano 2004) Z. carvalhoi, providing for the first time information on the vocalization of the genus.
Delayed diagnosis of phenylketonuria – a case report of two siblings
Authors: Narayanan Deepa , Barski Robert , Henderson Mick J , Luvai Ahai , Chandrajay Deepak , Stainforth Collette , Bradley Jacqueline , Rogozinski Hazel , Sharma Reena
Published: October 2013

Phenylketonuria (PKU), is an autosomal recessive condition affecting the amino acid metabolism. The UK National newborn screening programme was commenced in 1969 and PKU is one among the five conditions included in the screening programme. We present the case history of two siblings of a family with a delayed diagnosis of PKU. This case history highlights such an occurrence. PKU should be considered as an important differential in the diagnosis of adult patients with learning difficulties, seizures and behavioural problems. It would be prudent to instigate plasma and urine amino/organic acid analyses in adult patients with unexplained neuropsychological manifestations.
An IRT Examination of the Psychometric Functioning of Negatively Worded Personality Items
Authors: Sliter Katherine A. , Zickar Michael J.
Published: October 2013

This study compared the functioning of positively and negatively worded personality items using item response theory. In Study 1, word pairs from the Goldberg Adjective Checklist were analyzed using the Graded Response Model. Across subscales, negatively worded items produced comparatively higher difficulty and lower discrimination parameters than positively worded items and yielded almost no information. Model fit was examined for two forms of each scale: parameters freely estimated versus parameters estimated with item pairs constrained to be equal. Greater misfit was found in the latter. In Study 2, positively and negatively worded items from a more commonly formatted personality assessment were compared. Parameters again differed, albeit to a lesser extent, and model fit was improved in four out of five scales by the removal of negatively worded items. These results indicated that positively and negatively worded items were not psychometrically interchangeable and that negatively worded items have limited utility. Implications and future directions are discussed.
Cross-examination: An interrogation of Peter Rollins’s hermeneutic of the crucifixion
Authors: Reyburn Duncan
Published: October 2013

This article, which is argumentative in nature, interrogates and critiques Peter Rollins’s hermeneutic of the crucifixion. This is done by calling into question Rollins’s reliance upon the writings of Slovenian dialectical materialist Slavoj Žižek, especially with regard to the focus on the cry of dereliction. It is argued, ultimately, that Rollins’s hermeneutic of the crucifixion contravenes the very co-ordinates that he has set up for his own theological-political project and argues for critically rethinking the way that otherness is conceived of in the hermeneutics of the emergent church milieu that Rollins is proposing.
The Liturgy of the Last Gospel
Authors: Bunce James W.
Published: October 2013

It is suggested in this article that St John’s Gospel is a ‘confessional recital’ of salient acts and teachings of Jesus and was intended for liturgical performance in a Christian synagogue. The principal strands of the argument are, first, the well-known affinity between the Gospel and Greek Drama and the obvious but generally unremarked inference from this that the Gospel was intended for performance. Second, the fact that large tracts of the Gospel are written as Semitic poetry strengthens the case for it being a performance piece. Finally, whatever format first century Jewish synagogue liturgy took, there is little doubt that extracts from the OT were its principal ingredients and that the OT themes running through the Gospel were clearly meant to connect with this then familiar liturgy. This surely confirms the purpose and setting of the putative performance in a worshipping Christian community.
Beliefs, stigma and discrimination associated with mental health problems in Uganda: Implications for theory and practice
Authors: Quinn Neil , Knifton Lee
Published: October 2013

Background:

There are major gaps in knowledge about beliefs, stigma and discrimination in Uganda, including the relationship between different cultural beliefs and stigmatising responses, how stigma and beliefs result in discrimination and the impact of social factors such as gender, poverty and ethnic conflict.

Aim:

This exploratory study aims to understand beliefs, stigma and discrimination associated with mental health in Uganda in more depth from the perspectives of different stakeholders.

Methods:

Focus groups and interviews were undertaken with mental health activists, policymakers, practitioners, non-governmental and human rights organisations, journalists and academics.

Results:

Stigma was reported by individuals, families, communities and institutions, including health services. The study also found stigmatising beliefs linked to traditional, religious and medical explanatory frameworks, high levels of ‘associated stigma’, common mental health problems rarely medicalised and discrimination linked to poverty, gender and conflict.

Conclusions:

The findings suggest the need to address stigma in their cultural and social context, alongside other human rights initiatives.
Neutrophil Homeostasis and Periodontal Health in Children and Adults
Authors: Hajishengallis E. , Hajishengallis G.
Published: October 2013

This review summarizes the current state of knowledge on neutrophil basic biology and discusses how the breakdown of neutrophil homeostasis affects periodontal health. The homeostasis of neutrophils is tightly regulated through coordinated bone marrow production, release into the circulation, transmigration to and activation in peripheral tissues, and clearance of senescent neutrophils. Dysregulation of any of these homeostatic mechanisms at any age can cause severe periodontitis in humans and animal models. Accordingly, both impaired and excessive neutrophil activity (in terms of numbers or immune function) can precipitate periodontitis. Neutrophil defects of congenital origin ( e.g., congenital neutropenia, leukocyte adhesion deficiency, and Chediak-Higashi syndrome) are associated with cutaneous and systemic infections and early-onset forms of periodontitis affecting both the primary and permanent dentitions of children. However, the strong association between congenital neutrophil disorders and early-onset periodontitis is not currently adequately explained mechanistically. This suggests the operation of as-yet-unknown molecular mechanisms, although the available body of evidence leaves no doubt that neutrophils are integral to periodontal tissue homeostasis and health.
Benefits of Substance Use Disorder Screening on Employment Outcomes in State–Federal Vocational Rehabilitation Programs
Authors: Heinemann Allen W. , Moore Dennis , Lazowski Linda E. , Huber Mary , Semik Patrick
Published: October 2013

We evaluated benefits of substance use disorder (SUD) screening on employment outcomes of state vocational rehabilitation (VR) consumers in Illinois, Ohio, West Virginia, Kentucky, and Utah. Across states, 9,681 screeners matched RSA-911 records with closure status. Positive SUD screening rates ranged from 21.2% in Illinois to 50.4% in Utah. While findings varied by state, screening can improve successful employment rates. Systemwide SUD screening may be most beneficial in states that are effective in addressing SUD. Effective states serve a higher percentage of consumers with SUD diagnoses, and have employment rates that meet or exceed states with fewer consumers with SUD, indicating that SUD success rates approximate those of consumers with other disabilities. Even in states with low SUD diagnoses rates, above 20% of screened consumers had suspected SUD. We replicated findings suggesting that persons with SUD can transition successfully to employment, and at lower cost and shorter time than consumers with other conditions. We found discrepancies in all states between SUD screening results and official diagnoses. Persons with a diagnosis of SUD were somewhat more likely to achieve an employment outcome than persons who screened SUD positive without a diagnosis. We provide suggestions for VR policy and future research directions.
The “Malling” of Main Street
Authors: Litvin Stephen W. , DiForio Jenna
Published: October 2013

This article looks at King Street, Charleston, South Carolina, the main street of a successful historic tourism city that in recent years has seen a steady transition in tenant mix from one dominated by local merchants, to one today that features such national chain merchants as Victoria’s Secret, Banana Republic, Gucci, and many others. The issue considered herein, based upon survey data collected from both local residents and tourists, is the effect of the city’s changing merchant mix. The findings offer insight that should be helpful to tourism and government officials in any city experiencing, or concerned about, a similar metamorphosis in their community. Helping to explain the community attitude toward change, a new model, the Cycle of Acceptance, is presented.
Pulmonary cryptococcosis presenting as wandering multiple bilateral shadows and hilar and mediastinal lymph node enlargement in the lungs
Authors: Pan Jiong-Wei , Zhang Ning , Jin Yuan-Hong , Ye Zai-Ting , Ma Miao-Qun , Cai Xiao-Ping , Cao Zhuo
Published: October 2013

We present a case of pulmonary cryptococcosis presenting as wandering multiple bilateral shadows and hilar and mediastinal lymph node enlargement in which the fluconazole treatment suppressed the symptoms. This case illustrates the complex nature of immunological responses in the lungs and highlights the need to consider the existence of cryptococcal allergies.
Initial combination of injectable and oral anti-tuberculosis agents for the treatment of severe disseminated tuberculosis
Authors: Boff Diego F , Goldani Luciano Z
Published: October 2013

There is a need for intravenous therapy for severe forms of tuberculosis in those who are HIV-positive, diabetic, have cystic fibrosis, extensive gastrointestinal involvement, haemodynamic instability with difficulty to take and absorb oral medications, which results in a lack of appropriate therapeutic effect during treatment, such as not creating the optimal blood concentration of the substance. We report an HIV-infected patient presenting with severe disseminated tuberculosis with extensive intestinal involvement which was successfully treated with an initial combination regimen of injectable and oral anti-tuberculosis agents. We discuss and emphasize the importance of an initial regimen with injectable and oral agents for treating severe forms of tuberculosis.
‘Market relevance’, ‘social relevance’, and psychology in South Africa
Authors: Long Wahbie
Published: October 2013

In light of the Psychological Society of South Africa’s commitment to ‘social relevance’, this article investigates the ongoing appeal for ‘relevance’ in the discipline. Pursuant to the social constructionist tenet regarding the constitutiveness of language, it examines addresses delivered at national Psychological Society of South Africa congresses since 1994. With Fairclough’s three-dimensional model for critical discourse analysis serving as its analytic frame, the article presents rhetorical, discursive, and socio-historical analyses of nine presidential, opening, and keynote addresses. Specifically, two competing discourses are identified: the first – a market discourse – advocates the development of a psychology that is financially rewarding, globally competitive, and internationally recognised. Accordingly, ‘market relevance’ is sought in which teaching, research, and community service outputs are graded according to international standards and priorities. The second discourse of civic responsibility casts South Africa’s traumatic past as unresolved and requiring, therefore, the intervention of psychologists. In this case, ‘social relevance’ is desired in order to bring about the emancipation of marginalised communities. On balance, however, it is the market discourse that saturates the discursive order. It is argued that South Africa’s re-entry into the international community has given rise to far-reaching changes to the country’s political, economic, and higher education landscapes, which have adjusted themselves to the demands of a globalised neo-liberal hegemony.
The omnipresence of grace: revisiting the relationship between Ad Gentes and Nostra Aetate 50 years later
Authors: Colberg Kristin M.
Published: October 2013

This article considers the relationship between Vatican II’s Decree on the Church’s Missionary Activity ( Ad Gentes) and its Declaration on Non-Christian Religions ( Nostra Aetate) as a way of better understanding both documents and examining the theology of Vatican II. Following the council’s conclusion there was a sense among many that these texts were fundamentally incompatible. However, examining the perceived tension between them illumines the reality that their teachings are not competitive, but are rooted in the same dynamic notion of God’s grace. As the 50th anniversary of the council nears it is important to reexamine the relationship between these documents as a way of advancing critical questions about the council’s interpretation and the nature of the church’s missionary call.
Already-mission: Expanding congregational mission
Authors: Morrison Bradley T.
Published: October 2013

The concept of already-mission is developed as a corrective to current missional literature on congregational development. Remnants of the extractional approach to congregational development are critiqued. These problematic assumptions include viewing congregational leaders as mission brokers and parishioners as missional blank slates. The already-mission approach is presented as an alternative to colonial habits in congregational mission strategy. Already-mission is described using categories of values, vision, mission, and covenant. Interview questions, tested with parishioners and seminary students, are developed. Partnership practices and examples are explored, and congregational readiness factors in relation to the already-mission model are discussed.
The future of the discipline of Missiology: Framing current realities and future possibilities
Authors: Van Gelder Craig
Published: October 2013

This article was delivered as the Presidential Address at the annual 2013 American Society of Missiology (ASM) meeting. It utilizes the framework of adaptive change in contrast to technical change to name and frame the critical challenges facing the discipline of missiology at the beginning of the 21st century. Three adaptive challenges are discussed: (1) ASM’s constituency and their basic ministry assumptions appear to be increasingly out of fit with global church shifts and the rise of the majority church in the South; (2) much of the North American (NA) mission enterprise is being marginalized globally from its historical hegemony and lacks sufficient critical distance to address this shift either abroad or at home; and (3) ASM’s failure to attend to the development of a missiological ecclesiology for congregations in context, especially in NA, continues to limit the contribution of missiology to theological education. Suggestions are offered for how these adaptive challenges might be taken up as part of the ongoing work of ASM.
A future for missiology as the queen of theology?
Authors: Nussbaum Stan
Published: October 2013

This article calls for a new dialogue between the disciplines of Western systematic theology and missiology, attempting to overcome the specialist tendency that dominates all of academia. Following Wilbert Shenk in particular, it proposes a missional model for systematic theology as an alternative to modern and postmodern models. An earlier version of this article was presented in a workshop in June 2013 at the annual meeting of the American Society of Missiology as part of its three-year discussion of the future of missiology.
The Relationship Between Coping Styles in Response to Unfair Treatment and Understanding of Diabetes Self-Care
Authors: Dyke Michelle L. , Cuffee Yendelela L. , Halanych Jewell H. , McManus Richard H. , Curtin Carol , Allison Jeroan J.
Published: October 2013

Purpose

This study examined the relationship between coping style and understanding of diabetes self-care among African American and white elders in a southern Medicare-managed care plan.

Methods

Participants were identified through a diabetes-related pharmacy claim or ICD-9 code and completed a computer-assisted telephone survey in 2006-2007. Understanding of diabetes self-care was assessed using the Diabetes Care Profile Understanding (DCP-U) scale. Coping styles were classified as active (talk about it/take action) or passive (keep it to yourself). Linear regression was used to estimate the associations between coping style with the DCP-U, adjusting for age, sex, education, and comorbidities. Based on the conceptual model, 4 separate categories were established for African American and white participants who displayed active and passive coping styles.

Results

Of 1420 participants, the mean age was 73 years, 46% were African American, and 63% were female. Most respondents (77%) exhibited active coping in response to unfair treatment. For African American participants in the study, active coping was associated with higher adjusted mean DCP-U scores when compared to participants with a passive coping style. No difference in DCP-U score was noted among white participants on the basis of coping style.

Conclusions

Active coping was more strongly associated with understanding of diabetes self-care among older African Americans than whites. Future research on coping styles may give new insights into reducing diabetes disparities among racial/ethnic minorities.
Bodily Aesthetic Ideals Among Latinas With Type 2 Diabetes
Authors: Weitzman Patricia Flynn , Caballero A. Enrique , Millan-Ferro Andreina , Becker Anne E. , Levkoff Sue E.
Published: October 2013

Purpose

The purpose of this study was to examine how attitudes and practices related to bodily aesthetic ideals and self-care might inform the engagement of Latinas with type 2 diabetes (T2DM).

Methods

Focus groups were used to collect qualitative data concerning bodily aesthetic ideals and diabetes management, including help-seeking experiences, from Latina women with T2DM (n = 29) receiving care through Latino Diabetes Initiative at the Joslin Diabetes Center. Focus groups were conducted in Spanish, audiotaped, transcribed, and content analyzed.

Results

Four main themes emerged: (1) a preference among participants for a larger than average body size, although perceptions of attractiveness were more closely linked to grooming than body size; bodily dissatisfaction centered on diabetes-induced skin changes, virilization, and fatigue rather than weight; (2) diabetic complications, especially foot pain, as a major obstacle to exercise; (3) fatalistic attitudes regarding the inevitability of diabetes and reversal of its complications; and (4) social burdens, isolation, and financial stressors as contributing to disease exacerbation.

Conclusions

Interventions that emphasize reduced body size may be less effective with Latinas who have T2DM than those that emphasize the benefits of exercise and weight loss for skin health, energy levels, and reduced virilization.
Early Enteral Nutrition in Patients With Hemodynamic Failure Following Cardiac Surgery
Authors: Flordelís Lasierra José Luis , Pérez‐Vela José Luis , Umezawa Makikado Luis Daniel , Torres Sánchez Enrique , Colino Gómez Lara , Maroto Rodríguez Borja , Arribas López Primitivo , Gómez de la Cámara Agustín , Montejo González Juan Carlos
Published: October 2013

Background: Enteral nutrition (EN) is controversial in patients with circulatory compromise. This study assesses the feasibility and safety of EN given early after cardiac surgery in patients with hemodynamic failure. Methods: Prospective observational study conducted in a surgical intensive care unit (ICU) of a tertiary hospital over 17 months. Inclusion Criteria: Cardiac surgery patients with hemodynamic failure (dependence on 2 or more vasoactive drugs and/or mechanical circulatory support) requiring more than 24 hours of mechanical ventilation. Variables Examined: Descriptive data, daily hemodynamic data, and variables related to the efficacy and safety of EN. EN was performed according to our EN protocol. Results: Of 642 patients admitted to the ICU, 37 (5.8%) met the inclusion criteria. Of these, 11 (29.7%) required mechanical circulatory support, and 25 (68.0%) met the criteria for early multiorgan dysfunction. Mortality was 13.5%. Mean EN duration was 12.3 days (95% confidence interval [CI], 9.6–15.0). The mean EN diet volume delivered/patient/d was 1199 mL (95% CI, 1118.7–1278.8), and mean EN energy delivered/patient/d was 1228.4 kcal (95% CI, 1145.8–1311). The set energy target was achieved in 15 patients (40.4%). The most common EN‐related complication was constipation. No case of mesenteric ischemia was detected. Conclusions: Our findings indicate that early EN is feasible in this type of patients and not associated with serious complications. However, it is difficult to attain an appropriate energy target by EN alone. These observations point to a need for monitoring of daily energy delivery and balance, as well as careful monitoring of warning signs of intestinal ischemia.
Blurring Boundaries
Authors: Tantchou Josiane Carine
Published: October 2013

This study looks at the interactions between health workers, physical space, surgical tools, and the “patient-body” in an operating theater. My aim is to explore the approaches of Katz, Rawlings, and Collins and to show that when rituals, restrictive entrance procedures, and clothing requirements are not in place, when rules are not observed for reasons that this article addresses, the boundary between the operating theater and its surroundings blurs. It becomes a trivialized space. Data were collected in the regional hospital of one major town of the Extrême Nord of Cameroon. I describe a context of crisis and a lack of equipment and personnel that narrow the boundaries of the operating room (the limits of which are supposed to be kept sterile and isolated) but do not erase them. Restrictive entrance procedures, clothing requirements, rituals, and rules that are supposed to separate the operating theater from its surroundings, as Katz has shown, are not observed. Instead, the theater is connected to its surroundings through an “intriguing combination of practices” consistent with the analyses of Rawling and Collins. Thus, the operating theater is not a closed and limited area inside the hospital that can be completely isolated from its surroundings. There is continuity between the interior and the exterior.
Practical Guide to Understanding Comparative Effectiveness Research (CER)
Authors: Neely J. Gail , Sharon Jeffrey D. , Graboyes Evan M. , Paniello Randal C. , Nussenbaum Brian , Grindler David J. , Dassopoulos Themistocles
Published: October 2013

“Comparative effectiveness research” (CER) is not a new concept; however, recently it has been popularized as a method to develop scientifically sound actionable data by which patients, physicians, payers, and policymakers may make informed health care decisions. Fundamental to CER is that the comparative data are derived from large diverse populations of patients assembled from point‐of‐care general primary care practices and that measured outcomes include patient value judgments. The challenge is to obtain scientifically valid data to be acted upon by decision‐making stakeholders with potentially quite diversely different agenda. The process requires very thoughtful research designs modulated by complex statistical and analytic methods. This article is composed of a guiding narrative with an extensive set of tables outlining many of the details required in performing and understanding CER. It ends with short discussions of three example papers, limitations of the method, and how a practicing physician may view such reports.
Analysis of Radiation‐Induced Cell Death in Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma and Rat Liver Maintained in Microfluidic Devices
Authors: Carr Simon D. , Green Victoria L. , Stafford Nicholas D. , Greenman John
Published: October 2013

Objective

The aim of this study was to investigate how head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) tissue biopsies maintained in a pseudo in vivo environment within a bespoke microfluidic device respond to radiation treatment.

Study Design

Feasibility study.

Setting

Tertiary referral center.

Subjects and Methods

Thirty‐five patients with HNSCC were recruited, and liver tissue from 5 Wistar rats was obtained. A microfluidic device was used to maintain the tissue biopsy samples in a viable state. Rat liver was used to optimize the methodology. HNSCC was obtained from patients with T1‐T3 laryngeal or oropharyngeal SCC; N1‐N2 metastatic cervical lymph nodes were also obtained. Irradiation consisted of single doses of between 2 Gy and 40 Gy and a fractionated course of 5×2 Gy. Cell death was assessed in the tissue effluent using the soluble markers lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and cytochrome c and in the tissue by immunohistochemical detection of cleaved cytokeratin18 (M30 antibody).

Results

A significant surge in LDH release was demonstrated in the rat liver after a single dose of 20 Gy; in HNSCC, it was seen after 40 Gy compared with the control. There was no significant difference in cytochrome c release after 5 Gy or 10 Gy. M30 demonstrated a dose‐dependent increase in apoptotic index for a given increase in single‐dose radiotherapy. There was a significant increase in apoptotic index between 1×2 Gy and 5×2 Gy.

Conclusion

M30 is a superior method compared with soluble markers in detecting low‐dose radiation‐induced cell death. This microfluidic technique can be used to assess radiation‐induced cell death in HNSCC and therefore has the potential to be used to predict radiation response.
An MRI-powered and controlled actuator technology for tetherless robotic interventions
Authors: Vartholomeos Panagiotis , Bergeles Christos , Qin Lei , Dupont Pierre E.
Published: October 2013

This paper presents a novel actuation technology for robotically assisted MRI-guided interventional procedures. In the proposed approach, the MRI scanner is used to deliver power, estimate actuator state and perform closed-loop control. The actuators themselves are compact, inexpensive and wireless. Using needle driving as an example application, actuation principles and force production capabilities are examined. Actuator stability and performance are analyzed for the two cases of state estimation at the input versus the output of the actuator transmission. Closed-loop needle position control is achieved by interleaving imaging pulse sequences to estimate needle position (transmission output estimation) and propulsion pulse sequences to drive the actuator. A prototype needle driving robot is used to validate the proposed approach in a clinical MRI scanner.
Persistent monitoring in discrete environments: Minimizing the maximum weighted latency between observations
Authors: Alamdari Soroush , Fata Elaheh , Smith Stephen L
Published: October 2013

In this paper, we consider the problem of planning a path for a robot to monitor a known set of features of interest in an environment. We represent the environment as a graph with vertex weights and edge lengths. The vertices represent regions of interest, edge lengths give travel times between regions and the vertex weights give the importance of each region. As the robot repeatedly performs a closed walk on the graph, we define the weighted latency of a vertex to be the maximum time between visits to that vertex, weighted by the importance (vertex weight) of that vertex. Our goal is to find a closed walk that minimizes the maximum weighted latency of any vertex. We show that there does not exist a polynomial time algorithm for the problem. We then provide two approximation algorithms; an O(log n)-approximation algorithm and an O(log ρG)-approximation algorithm, where ρG is the ratio between the maximum and minimum vertex weights. We provide simulation results which demonstrate that our algorithms can be applied to problems consisting of thousands of vertices and a case study for patrolling a city for crime.
What about the music? Music therapists’ perspectives on the role of music in the therapeutic songwriting process
Authors: Baker Felicity A.
Published: October 2013

Outcomes-oriented studies and lyric analyses have been extensively used to understand the effects of therapeutic songwriting. There is a notable absence of investigations that focus on the role of the music and the music creation process within the therapeutic songwriting process. This study contributes to this gap by investigating 45 music therapists’ perceptions of the role of music in the therapeutic songwriting process. Modified grounded theory methods led to the construction of three themes with 18 subthemes: 1) music conveys messages and emotions, 2) music has clinical purpose, and 3) music enhances self-expression. A key outcome of the findings is that analysing music alongside the lyrics ensures that the song’s meaning and the inner world of the songwriter are accurately interpreted.
Clinical spectrum in three families with familial hemiplegic migraine type 2 including a novel mutation in the ATP1A2 gene
Authors: Roth Christian , Freilinger Tobias , Kirovski Georgi , Dunkel Juliane , Shah Yogesh , Wilken Bernd , Rautenstrauß Bernd , Ferbert Andreas
Published: October 2013

Introduction

Familial hemiplegic migraine (FHM) is a rare subtype of migraine with transient hemiplegic aura.

Patients and methods

We describe three unrelated families with familial hemiplegic migraine type II (FHM2). Retrospectively, information on 47 family members could be obtained, 15 by personal examination and 32 by indirect anamnesis from relatives. Genetic analyses were performed in 13 patients.

Results

One family had a novel missense mutation in the ATP1A2 gene (c.659C>T, p.Ser220Leu) that segregated with the phenotype in three generations. Two further unrelated families with different ethnic backgrounds (one from Germany and one from Russia) had a missense mutation that has not been described as yet in FHM, but occurred in only a single patient with sporadic hemiplegic migraine (c.2723G>A, p.Arg908Gln). Clinically the patients had severe attacks lasting up to several weeks as well as epileptic seizures. Three patients with a proven mutation in the ATP1A2 gene clinically presented without hemiparesis. Furthermore, there was a possible relation of FHM2 to mental retardation in another two patients.

Conclusion

Clinical symptoms may last for several weeks in some patients. Patients with FHM2 may also present without hemiplegia. Therefore, the full family history has to be taken into account to establish the diagnosis of FHM.
Two-dimensional simulations of resin flow in dual-scale fibrous porous medium under constant pressure
Authors: Chen Xiaojiang , Zhang Yuhua , Yan Shilin
Published: October 2013

In liquid composite molding (LCM), the resin is filled into the stationary fiber to impregnate all the empty space. Because the use of fiber features the double-scale porous property, partially saturated region phenomenon will occur during the process of resin flow. Therefore, a non-zero sink-function appears on the right side of the equation of mass conservation in fluid dynamics. In this paper, the control volume/finite element method is applied to simulate the flowing characteristics of resin in two-dimensional mold under constant pressure. A corresponding algorithm is designed, and a two-dimensional program for finite element algorithm based on both dual-scale and single-scale is compiled. Compared with the flowing characteristics of resin in single-scale fibrous porous medium under the same conditions, it can be concluded that there is an unsaturated flow front in the resin flowing of the dual-scale fibrous porous medium according to the unsaturated region. The pressure distribution and filling time make huge difference when they reach the same flow front. Changing the initial pressure of resin in dual-scale fibrous porous medium will greatly affect the distribution of pressure and fill time.
Numerical study of annular flaws/defects affecting the integrity of grouted composite sleeve repairs on pipelines
Authors: Sum WS , Leong KH
Published: October 2013

Grouted sleeves are one of the accepted techniques used for the repair of corroded pipelines. The sleeves are attached over the region of pipe that requires repair, creating an annulus that is then filled with grout material. In this study, the repair system consists of a composite sleeve with polymeric grout. A finite element (FE) study is carried out to predict the effects of selected properties of the composite sleeve and grout on the pipe integrity, subjected to internal fluid pressure. The primary purpose is to identify the main effects and interactions between different material properties, which are useful to aid design decisions for such repairs. While structural reinforcement is provided by the sleeve, the grout plays an important role in transferring hoop pressure in the pipe to the sleeve. Since experimental observations indicate the development of cracks in the grout solely under curing conditions, it is imperative to investigate the effects of such defects. Several different repair conditions that have potential to critically influence the integrity of a repaired pipe are investigated.