bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Cellular Cytotoxicity of Next-Generation CD20 Monoclonal Antibodies
Authors: VanDerMeid Karl R. , Elliott Michael R. , Baran Andrea M. , Barr Paul M. , Chu Charles C. , Zent Clive S.
Published: August 2018

CD20 monoclonal antibodies (CD20 mAb) induce cellular cytotoxicity, which is traditionally measured by antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC) assays. However, data suggest that antibody-dependent cellular phagocytosis (ADCP) is the primary cytotoxic mechanism. We directly compared in vitro ADCP versus ADCC using primary human cells. After establishing the primacy of ADCP, we examined next-generation CD20 mAbs, including clinically relevant drug combinations for their effects on ADCP. ADCP and ADCC induction by rituximab, ofatumumab, obinutuzumab, or ocaratuzumab was measured using treatment-naïve chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) target cells and either human monocyte-derived macrophages (for ADCP) or natural killer (NK) cells (for ADCC). Specific effects on ADCP were evaluated for clinically relevant drug combinations using BTK inhibitors (ibrutinib and acalabrutinib), PI3Kδ inhibitors (idelalisib, ACP-319, and umbralisib), and the BCL2 inhibitor venetoclax. ADCP (∼0.5–3 targets/macrophage) was >10-fold more cytotoxic than ADCC (∼0.04–0.1 targets/NK cell). ADCC did not correlate with ADCP. Next-generation mAbs ocaratuzumab and ofatumumab induced ADCP at 10-fold lower concentrations than rituximab. Ofatumumab, selected for enhanced complement activation, significantly increased ADCP in the presence of complement. CD20 mAb-induced ADCP was not inhibited by venetoclax and was less inhibited by acalabrutinib versus ibrutinib and umbralisib versus idelalisib. Overall, ADCP was a better measure of clinically relevant mAb-induced cellular cytotoxicity, and next-generation mAbs could activate ADCP at significantly lower concentrations, suggesting the need to test a wide range of dose sizes and intervals to establish optimal therapeutic regimens. Complement activation by mAbs can contribute to ADCP, and venetoclax, acalabrutinib, and umbralisib are preferred candidates for multidrug therapeutic regimens. Cancer Immunol Res; 6(10); 1150–60. ©2018 AACR.
In Current Clinical Practice, after Percutaneous Coronary Intervention for Acute Myocardial Infarction, Are β-Blockers Prescribed for Heart Failure or as Secondary Prevention? A Pilot Study
Authors: Ruddox Vidar , Otterstad Jan Erik , Atar Dan , Bendz Bjørn , Edvardsen Thor
Published: August 2018

Objectives: Patients surviving an acute myocardial infarction (AMI) are different today than when oral β-blockers first were shown to have an incremental effect on mortality. They are now, as opposed to then, offered revascularization procedures and effective secondary prevention. In this pilot-study, we aimed to explore the prescription of β-blockers to these patients stratified by their left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF). Methods: Consecutive stable patients treated with a percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) procedure following an AMI were included for measurement of LVEF after 1–5 days. β-Blocker treatment was recorded at inclusion and after 3 months. Results: We included 159 patients, 89% with LVEF ≥40% (56% had a LVEF ≥50% [preserved], 33% LVEF 40–49% [mid-range] and 11% LVEF <40% [reduced]). At discharge the prescription rates of β-blockers according to LVEF stratification were 79% for preserved, 79% for mid-range and 94% for reduced LVEF. After 3 months 72% of all patients continued such treatment. Conclusions: In this prospective study, a large proportion of contemporary managed patients with AMI but without clinical heart failure does not have reduced LVEF shortly after PCI, but the majority is still treated with a β-blocker.
The Effects of Electrical Acupuncture and Essential Amino Acid Supplementation on Sarcopenic Obesity in Male Older Adults: A Randomized Control Study
Authors: Zhou Xin , Xing Bingfeng , He Guanheng , Lyu Xiaozhou , Zeng Yi
Published: August 2018

Objective: Aging which is accompanied by loss of skeletal muscle and increase of body fat in some adults older than 60 years does not only result in remarkable influences on daily life function but also increases the risk of cardiovascular events. This study used electrical acupuncture together with essential amino acid supplementation to treat sarcopenic obesity (SO) in male older adults. Methods: A total of 48 male participants with SO (>60 years old) were randomized to electrical acupuncture with oral essential amino acids (EA + AA) or oral essential amino acids alone (AA). Acupuncture points on the limbs were punctured and stimulated electrically once every 3 days for 12 weeks. All participants received essential amino acids orally, twice per day for 28 weeks. Body fat percentage (BFP) and appendicular skeletal muscle index (ASM/H2) was determined by bioelectrical impedance analysis. Results: Both groups exhibited significant changes in BFP after 12, 20, and 28 weeks compared with baseline values; for ASM/H2, there were significant differences to baseline values after 12, 20, and 28 weeks in the EA + AA group, but only after 28 weeks in the AA group. Between the two groups, there were significant differences in BFP after 12, 20, and 28 weeks, and in ASM/H2 after 20 and 28 weeks. Conclusion: Both methods decrease BFP and increase ASM/H2. In male older adults, electrical acupuncture with oral essential amino acids is more effective and can increase muscle mass in a shorter time than oral essential amino acids alone.
Short-Term Microbiota Manipulation and Forearm Substrate Metabolism in Obese Men: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial
Authors: Reijnders Dorien , Goossens Gijs H. , Hermes Gerben D.A. , Smidt Hauke , Zoetendal Erwin G. , Blaak Ellen E.
Published: August 2018

Objective: To investigate the impact of gut microbiota manipulation on fasting and postprandial skeletal muscle metabolism in humans. Methods: 40 obese, insulin-resistant males were randomized to amoxicillin (broad-spectrum antibiotic), vancomycin (narrow-spectrum antibiotic), or placebo (7 days, 1,500 mg/day). Before and after treatment, forearm blood flow and metabolite fluxes across forearm muscle were measured under fasting and postprandial (high-fat mixed-meal) conditions. Results: Vancomycin decreased bacterial diversity, reduced the abundance of Gram-positive Firmicutes, and increased the abundance of Gram-negative Proteobacteria, whereas amoxicillin did not affect microbial composition. Neither vancomycin nor amoxicillin treatment affected fasting and postprandial plasma glucose, free fatty acid (FFA), triacylglycerol (TAG), glycerol, lactate, and insulin concentrations or forearm blood flow. Fasting and postprandial net forearm muscle glucose uptake and the release of lactate were not significantly altered by antibiotic treatment as compared to placebo. Finally, antibiotic treatment did not change fasting and postprandial glycerol, FFA, and TAG fluxes across forearm muscle. Conclusion: The present study demonstrates that short-term antibiotic treatment has no effects on fasting and postprandial forearm substrate metabolism and blood flow in obese men with impaired glucose metabolism. These data suggest that short-term strategies targeting the gut microbiota to improve metabolic health may not be effective in obese humans.
Józef Brudziński (1874–1917)
Authors: Pietrzak Krzysztof
Published: August 2018

Józef Brudziński’s (1874–1917) contribution to the field of neurology is noteworthy and undeniable. His organizational efforts and research activity have earned him the name of the “father of the Polish paediatrics”. He described the Brudzinski reflex and Brudzinski neck sign. He proved that the symptoms of these conditions were caused by nerve root irritation and elevated CSF pressure. He also described cheek phenomenon and symphyseal sign.
The Primacy of the Patient’s Wishes in the Medical Decision-making Procedure Established by French Law
Authors: Bouvet Renaud
Published: August 2018

In its promotion of an autonomy model of decision-making in medical matters, French law, after making patients’ consent to medical procedures compulsory by case law then by legislation, established the primacy of the expression of patients’ wishes. Lawmakers followed the principle of shared medical decision-making and, for situations in which subjects are not fit to express their wishes, created mechanisms to represent their wishes as expressed previously. Examination of comparable legal provisions in other countries raises questions about the pertinence of the French model, which has not fully incorporated the concept of decision-making capacity but limited itself to a binary appreciation of fitness to express one’s wishes.
In Defense of a Category-Based System for Unification Admissions
Authors: Lindauer Matthew
Published: August 2018

Liberal societies typically prefer relatives and spouses of their members over other prospective immigrants seeking admission. Giving this preferential treatment to only certain categories of relationships requires justification. In this paper, I provide a defense of a category-based system for “unification admissions,” non-members seeking admission for the purpose of living in the same society with members on a stable basis, that is compatible with liberalism and, in particular, does not violate the requirement of liberal neutrality. This defense does not commit liberal theorists to the traditional state sovereignty view on immigration, according to which societies have wide latitude to exclude immigrants as they see fit, and shows that, contra Ferracioli, societies are not required to treat relatives, spouses, friends, and creative partners of their members on a par in matters of immigration policy.
Reading John Stuart Mill in Turkey in 2017
Authors: Kadıoğlu Ayşe
Published: August 2018

Academic freedom has eroded and continues to erode in an unprecedented magnitude in Turkey especially since the failed coup attempt of July 15, 2016. During this time, thousands of academics were purged from their positions including Academics for Peace who signed a petition calling for an end to the atrocities against Kurdish citizens and a peaceful resolution of the conflict in the southeastern provinces of Turkey. Such authoritarian backsliding was accompanied by a discourse that blurred the distinction between opinion and truth. Academics were increasingly ostracized and viewed as non-members of what came to be referred as New Turkey. A discourse of rejection replaced criticism and an unprecedented dissonance emerged between the current academic debate on free speech as well as academic freedom and the tragic reality faced by academics in Turkey making it impossible for them to continue their vocational existence.
Site of Resistance or Apparatus of Acquiescence? Tactics at the Bakery
Authors: Martínez José Ciro
Published: August 2018

This article explores the importance and impact of a set of actions through which bakers manipulate laws and regulations that seek to organize and regulate how they do business. It builds on eighteen months of fieldwork conducted in Jordan, twelve of which were spent working in three different bakeries in the capital, Amman. Moving away from the idea that public policies are simply imposed, the article looks in detail at the social relations through which they are enacted. By honing in on the bakery, and examining arrangements between bakery owners, workers, consumers and ministerial employees, it illuminates modes of political agency that escape conventional binaries of domination/resistance, state/society and legality/illegality. I argue against seeing these practices as easily categorized forms of resistance or frivolous acts of corruption. Nor are they simply reinforcements of hegemonic control. Instead, ‘tactics’ at the bakery subvert the order of things to serve other ends. Foregrounding them in this analysis seeks not only to challenge views of power relations as strictly binary but to elucidate some of the ways in which citizens inhabit and engage with the neoliberal and authoritarian logics that pervade everyday life in Jordan.
A Transformational Approach to Winter Orographic Weather Modification Research: The SNOWIE Project
Authors: Tessendorf Sarah A. , French Jeffrey R. , Friedrich Katja , Geerts Bart , Rauber Robert M. , Rasmussen Roy M. , Xue Lulin , Ikeda Kyoko , Blestrud Derek R. , Kunkel Melvin L. , Parkinson Shaun , Snider Jefferson R. , Aikins Joshua , Faber Spencer , Majewski Adam , Grasmick Coltin , Bergmaier Philip T. , Janiszeski Andrew , Springer Adam , Weeks Courtney , Serke David J. , Bruintjes Roelof
Published: August 2018

The Seeded and Natural Orographic Wintertime Clouds: The Idaho Experiment (SNOWIE) project aims to study the impacts of cloud seeding on winter orographic clouds. The field campaign took place in Idaho between 7 January and 17 March 2017 and employed a comprehensive suite of instrumentation, including ground-based radars and airborne sensors, to collect in situ and remotely sensed data in and around clouds containing supercooled liquid water before and after seeding with silver iodide aerosol particles. The seeding material was released primarily by an aircraft. It was hypothesized that the dispersal of the seeding material from aircraft would produce zigzag lines of silver iodide as it dispersed downwind. In several cases, unambiguous zigzag lines of reflectivity were detected by radar, and in situ measurements within these lines have been examined to determine the microphysical response of the cloud to seeding. The measurements from SNOWIE aim to address long-standing questions about the efficacy of cloud seeding, starting with documenting the physical chain of events following seeding. The data will also be used to evaluate and improve computer modeling parameterizations, including a new cloud-seeding parameterization designed to further evaluate and quantify the impacts of cloud seeding.
Medical Expenditures on and by Immigrant Populations in the United States: A Systematic Review
Authors: Flavin Lila , Zallman Leah , McCormick Danny , Wesley Boyd J.
Published: August 2018

In health care policy debates, discussion centers around the often-misperceived costs of providing medical care to immigrants. This review seeks to compare health care expenditures of U.S. immigrants to those of U.S.-born individuals and evaluate the role which immigrants play in the rising cost of health care. We systematically examined all post-2000, peer-reviewed studies in PubMed related to health care expenditures by immigrants written in English in the United States. The reviewers extracted data independently using a standardized approach. Immigrants’ overall expenditures were one-half to two-thirds those of U.S.-born individuals, across all assessed age groups, regardless of immigration status. Per capita expenditures from private and public insurance sources were lower for immigrants, particularly expenditures for undocumented immigrants. Immigrant individuals made larger out-of-pocket health care payments compared to U.S.-born individuals. Overall, immigrants almost certainly paid more toward medical expenses than they withdrew, providing a low-risk pool that subsidized the public and private health insurance markets. We conclude that insurance and medical care should be made more available to immigrants rather than less so.
The covert recording of medico-legal consultations
Authors: Gross Michael J , Doyal Len , Swash Michael
Published: August 2018

We describe our misgivings concerning the use of transcripts of covert recordings of medico-legal assessments made by claimants as evidence in actions for compensation for personal injury. These recordings raise issues of lack of trust between the claimant and the medical expert, leading to bias in the consultation that is hidden from the medical expert. In addition, there is a risk of widespread dissemination of the recording through social media to the detriment of the reputation of the medical expert, and likely interference with the probity of the court hearing. We argue that the claimant and the medical expert have equal rights to privacy within a medical or medico-legal consultation, and recordings should not be made without mutual agreement. Furthermore, the courts should rely only on the report of the medical expert since a recording of the consultation represents only part of the process of medical assessment. We argue that the current advice given by the General Medical Council on covert recording of medical or medico-legal consultations should be reconsidered by a panel of experienced medical and legal experts.
Stab and puncture resistance of silica-coated Kevlar–wool and Kevlar–wool–nylon fabrics in quasistatic conditions
Authors: Kanesalingam Sinnappoo , Nayak Rajkishore , Wang Lijing , Padhye Rajiv , Arnold Lyndon
Published: August 2018

Stab and puncture resistant body armor is widely used by the law enforcement personnel, security and military in many countries. The primary requirement for the armor is to provide protection against various weapons used in an attack. Comfort properties are given increased importance in many countries and considered the second most important requirement. In this research Kevlar was blended with wool and wool–nylon. The resultant fabrics were coated with silica and their stab and puncture resistance in quasistatic conditions was examined using the universal tensile tester. It was hypothesized that the application of coating will generate higher friction to restrict the lateral movement of yarns, and thus present a higher number of yarns for direct resistance to impact during the attack and dissipating the impact energy, whereas the use of wool and nylon will provide the required ergonomics of wearability and stretch. It was observed that the application of the silica coating helped in improving the resistance to the stab and punctures using weapons such as knife (P1, as specified in NIJ 0115.00), ball and pointed impactors. In the quasistatic tests, the highest value of the maximum resistant force was recorded when the ball was used and the lowest was observed for the knife. Furthermore, the application of coating helped in absorbing impact energy. However, the fabric stiffness increased due to the coating, which will negatively impact the ergonomics and wearability.
The effects of the spatial frequency and size of stripes on the hue appearance of striped woven fabrics
Authors: Chae Youngjoo
Published: August 2018

In this research, the effects of the spatial properties, that is, spatial frequency and size, of stripes on their color appearance in striped woven fabrics were investigated. The lightness, colorfulness, and hue of stripes in three types of 180 striped fabrics, in which stripes were arranged in different spatial frequencies and sizes with different adjacent colors, were visually estimated by observers. Through the statistical analysis of the visual estimates, it was found that the spatial properties of stripes affect their hue appearance, while their lightness and colorfulness appearances are not significantly affected. In general, when the stripes become thinner and increase in spatial frequency, their hues appear more different from their actual hues. These effects of spatial properties on hue appearance were found to become stronger with lighter and more chromatic adjacent colors. Finally, a prediction model of the combined effects of the spatial properties of stripes and the colorimetric properties of adjacent colors was derived, and its great predictive accuracy was proven through numerical and statistical evaluations. It is envisaged that not only will the findings of this research provide advantageous conditions to design striped woven fabrics with desired color appearances, but they will also be the foundation for modeling various color appearance effects that occur in bicolor or multicolor patterned fabrics.
Teaching ethics that honor the patient’s and the provider’s voice: The role of clinical integrity
Authors: Grace Aaron J , Kirkpatrick Heather A
Published: August 2018

Medical ethics training is as variable as it is widespread. Previous research has indicated that medical learners find systematic approaches to ethical dilemmas to be helpful. This article describes a bioethics educational module. It includes an overview of common bioethical principles and presents a tool for organizing health-care providers’ thinking and discussions about challenging ethical dilemmas. We discuss an area of bioethics that is often neglected, clinical integrity, and the role that a health-care provider’s clinical integrity plays in ethical decision-making. We provide several hypothetical ethical vignettes for practice and discussion using the clinical integrity tool. The article also describes how this module has been implemented in one medical education setting and provides suggestions for educators.
LMI-based design of an I-PD+PD type LPV state feedback controller for a gantry crane
Authors: Aktas Ayhan , Yazici Hakan , Sever Mert
Published: August 2018

In this paper, an alternative gain-scheduled PID tuning procedure is proposed for gantry crane control systems. In order to avoid excessive overshoot and aggressive control action due to the proportional kick and/or derivative kick effects, an I-PD+PD type control law is considered. The scheduling parameter is considered the cable length due to the payload lifting and lowering movements. A linear parameter-varying (LPV) gantry crane model is constructed to enable gain-scheduled controller design with a linear matrix inequalities (LMIs) framework. Based on the LPV model, a convex optimization problem is formulized to minimize L2 gain under regional pole location constraints. Then, a fixed gain L2 gain state feedback I-PD+PD type controller and a conventional pole placement state feedback I-PD+PD controller are designed to investigate the efficiency of the proposed controller. A pole placement controller is tuned to minimize the very common ITAE (integral of time multiplied by absolute error) performance index. Simulation results show that the proposed controller has superior tracking performance under time-varying cable length, when compared with nominal fixed gain controllers.
Chinese teachers’ perceptions of early childhood school readiness
Authors: An Xiaozhu , Curby Timothy W. , Xie Qingyuan
Published: August 2018

Children’s school readiness, especially in the early school years, is a significant indicator for school success as it establishes a positive school trajectory. However, less is known about the generalizability of these findings to contexts outside the United States. The present study examined kindergarten teachers’ perceptions of school readiness in China. We surveyed 101 third-year preschool teachers and 160 first-grade teachers in China, asking about their perceptions of school readiness. Results suggested that third-year preschool and first grade teachers in China viewed many of their students as not ready for school and also thought that the students had difficulties with academic and social–emotional skills. In addition, Chinese teachers placed a higher value on social–emotional skills versus academic skills. Our interpretation of the current findings also includes preliminary comparisons between our data set and one from 531 American kindergarten teachers using the same survey.
Differentiation of intrapancreatic accessory spleen from small hypervascular neuroendocrine tumor of the pancreas: textural analysis on contrast-enhanced computed tomography
Authors: Lin Xubo , Xu Lei , Wu Aiqin , Guo Chuangen , Chen Xiao , Wang Zhongqiu
Published: August 2018

Background

Intrapancreatic accessory spleens (IPASs) are usually misdiagnosed as pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (PNETs). Texture analysis is valuable in tumor detection, diagnosis, and staging.

Purpose

To identify the potential of texture features in differentiating IPASs from small hypervascular PNETs.

Material and Methods

Twenty-one patients with PNETs and 13 individuals with IPASs who underwent pretreatment dynamic contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CT) were retrospectively analyzed. The routine imaging features—such as location, size, margin, cystic or solid appearance, enhancement degree and pattern, and lymph node enlargement—were recorded. Texture features, such as entropy, skewness, kurtosis, and uniformity, on contrast-enhanced images were analyzed. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis was performed to differentiate IPASs from PNETs.

Results

No significant differences were observed in margin, enhancement degree (arterial and portal phase), lymph node enlargement, or size between PNETs and IPASs (all P > 0.05). However, IPASs usually showed heterogeneous enhancement at the arterial phase and the same degree of enhancement as the spleen at the portal phase, both of which were greater than those of PNETs (69% vs. 35%, P = 0.06; 100% vs. 29%, P = 0.04). Entropy and uniformity were significantly different between IPASs and PNETs at moderate (1.5) and high sigma values (2.5) (both P < 0.01). ROC analysis showed that uniformity at moderate and high sigma had the highest area under the curve (0.82 and 0.89) with better sensitivity (85.0–95.0%) and acceptable specificity (75.0–83.3%) for differentiating IPASs from PNETs.

Conclusions

Texture parameters have potential in differentiating IPASs from PNETs.
Epidemiology of schizophrenia and risk factors of schizophrenia-associated aggression from 2011 to 2015
Authors: Wu Yeqing , Kang Ruiying , Yan Yuxiang , Gao Keming , Li Zhiwu , Jiang Jun , Chi Xueyang , Xia Lili
Published: August 2018

Objective

To investigate the risk factors associated with aggression in patients with schizophrenia.

Methods

Patient clinical, behavioural, and demographic information was collected and reported online to the Beijing Mental Health Information Management System by psychiatrists. We used chi-square tests to analyse information between 2011 and 2015 to determine the prevalence and incidence of schizophrenia and the rate of aggression. We used univariate and binary logistic regression to analyse risk factors of aggressive behaviours.

Results

The prevalence and incidence of schizophrenia, and the proportion of cases displaying aggressive behaviour, increased considerably from 2011 to 2015. Risk of aggression was associated with non-adherence to medication (odds ratio [OR]: 2.92; 95% confidence intervals [CI]: 2.08–4.11), being unmarried (OR: 1.62; 95% CI: 1.03–2.55), having physical disease (OR: 3.26; 95% CI: 2.28–4.66), and higher positive symptom scores (OR: 2.01; 95% CI: 1.06–3.81). Physical disease was a risk factor associated with committing more than one type of aggression.

Conclusion

We confirmed that demographic factors, treatment-related factors, and clinical symptoms were associated with aggression in patients with schizophrenia in Beijing. A focus on improving controllable factors, including medication adherence and physical health status, might help to prevent aggressive behaviour.
Current understanding of thalamic structure and function in migraine
Authors: Younis Samaira , Hougaard Anders , Noseda Rodrigo , Ashina Messoud
Published: August 2018

Objective

To review and discuss the literature on the role of thalamic structure and function in migraine.

Discussion

The thalamus holds an important position in our understanding of allodynia, central sensitization and photophobia in migraine. Structural and functional findings suggest abnormal functional connectivity between the thalamus and various cortical regions pointing towards an altered pain processing in migraine. Pharmacological nociceptive modulation suggests that the thalamus is a potential drug target.

Conclusion

A critical role for the thalamus in migraine-related allodynia and photophobia is well established. Additionally, the thalamus is most likely involved in the dysfunctional pain modulation and processing in migraine, but further research is needed to clarify the exact clinical implications of these findings.
Reliable home error identification of a 2-DOF parallel robot based on regularization methods
Authors: Mei Jiangping , Zang Jiawei , Ding Yabin
Published: August 2018

This paper deals with the home error (the initial position error of active link) identification of a 2-DOF parallel robot. The identification model containing the home errors of the robot and the assembly errors of a new measuring instrument is developed using distance measurement. After that, an adaptive ridge regression method and a regularized Kalman filter method are proposed to improve the identification reliability and accuracy. Particularly, a modified L-curve method is proposed to provide suitable regularization parameters for the regularized Kalman filter. Based on the selected optimal measurement positions, experiments are carried out, in which the two regularized identification methods are compared with the ordinary ridge regression and the Kalman filter methods. Results show that the reliability and accuracy of the two methods are much better than the ordinary ridge regression method, and the divergence problem of the Kalman filter can be well resolved by the regularized Kalman filter.
The development of Complex Emergent Modularity: A reply to Favela, Amon, & van Rooij (2018)
Authors: Wastell Colin A. , Purcell Zoe , Howarth Stephanie , Paterson Wendy , Slocombe Bianca
Published: August 2018

In our reply to Favela, Amon, & van Rooij (2018) we note points of agreement such as the necessity for the interaction between components in a system for it to be complex emergent and that the Dual Processes approach to human thinking has limitations. We also discuss several critical points of disagreement with the paper. We assert that Complex Emergent Modularity (CEM) does not proliferate the interaction problem but instead proposes a solution to the problem based on the contribution of the global workspace and the process of global broadcast. The nature of the entities which interact is described and emphasized as central to CEM theory.
Neutrollization: Industrialized trolling as a pro-Kremlin strategy of desecuritization
Authors: Kurowska Xymena , Reshetnikov Anatoly
Published: August 2018

This article considers the significance of trolling for security processes through a contextual analysis of industrialized pro-Kremlin trolling in the Russian blogosphere. The publicity surrounding Russia’s hacking activities in international politics conceals the significance of the domestic trolling culture in Russia and its role in the ‘trolling turn’ in Russia’s foreign policy. We contextually identify the practice of ‘neutrollization’ – a type of localized desecuritization where the regime adopts trolling to prevent being cast as a societal security threat by civil society. Neutrollization relies on counterfeit internet activism, ostensibly originating from the citizenry, that produces political disengagement by breeding radical doubt in a manner that is non-securitizing. Rather than advocating a distinct political agenda, and in contrast to conventional understandings of the operations of propaganda, neutrollization precludes the very possibility of meaning, obviating the need to block the internet in an openly authoritarian manner. It operates by preventing perlocution – that is, the social consequences of the security speech act. This prevention is achieved through the breaking or disrupting of the context in which acts of securitization could possibly materialize, and is made possible by a condition of ‘politics without telos’ that is different from the varieties of depoliticization more familiar in Western societies.
Utility of near infrared spectrophotometry in mesenteric ischemia: An experimental study
Authors: Ersunan Gokhan , Bilir Ozlem , Kalkan Asim , Kalkan Yildiray , Ozel Deniz , Kayayurt Kamil , Yavasi Ozcan
Published: August 2018

This study investigated the effectiveness of near infrared (NIR) spectrophotometry for measuring abdominal saturation in a rat model of induced mesenteric ischemia. This was a randomized, controlled, non-blinded interventional animal study. Twenty-eight male Sprague Dawley rats were randomly allocated into four groups. Following induction of anesthesia, the abdominal region was shaved and intra-abdominal access was achieved through a 4-cm midline incision and basal measurements were performed using an INVOS-5100c device. The rats were grouped on the basis of rSO2 measurement times. Mesenteric artery ligation was not performed on the control group rats. From the rest of the mesenteric artery ligated rats, measurements were taken at 30 min, at 2 h and at 6 h. Measurements were repeated using NIR spectrophotometry probes after the abdomen was surgically closed. Following the measurements, the abdomen was re-opened and small intestine tissue specimens were taken for histopathological examination. Initial and final NIR spectrophotometry measurements were compared. No statistically significant difference was found in the group 1 between basal rSO2 values and post-incision values ( p = 0.748). There was a significant variation between the initial and final measurements in groups 2, 3, and 4 ( p = 0.018). Although various radiological or biochemical markers are available for detecting mesenteric ischemia, the use of NIR spectrophotometry can be considered a good non-invasive alternative method for early diagnosis of acute mesenteric ischemia.
Slack, Innovation, and Export Intensity: Implications for Small– and Medium–Sized Enterprises
Authors: Kiss Andreea N. , Fernhaber Stephanie , McDougall–Covin Patricia P.
Published: August 2018

Despite the acknowledged importance of resources to small– and medium–sized enterprise (SME) internationalization, scholars have largely focused on the absolute level of resources rather than excess resources. Drawing on behavioral theory and literature on SME internationalization, we argue that SMEs intensify exports when pressured to find a way to survive at low levels of resource slack or when adequately prepared at high levels of slack. In contrast, moderate levels of slack result in a domestic focus by SMEs. We also suggest that for highly innovative SMEs, this pattern of effects changes. Analyses performed on a cross–country sample of 3,280 SMEs confirm our hypotheses.
The More the Merrier? Immigrant Share and Entrepreneurial Activities
Authors: Li Chengguang , Isidor Rodrigo , Dau Luis Alfonso , Kabst Rudy
Published: August 2018

We examine the relationship between immigrant share and entrepreneurial activities in a country. Building on knowledge spillover theory of entrepreneurship (KSTE), we hypothesize that immigrant share positively relates to the creation, growth, and export activities of new firms through knowledge spillover between immigrant and native communities. We further suggest that favorable attitudes of natives toward immigrants positively moderate this relationship. Using data for 32 countries from the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor, we find support for the hypothesized direct relationships and for the moderating influence of a nation's attitude toward immigrants. Our study has implications for KSTE and research on entrepreneurship and immigration.
Does Desperation Breed Deceiver? A Behavioral Model of New Venture Opportunism
Authors: Jiang Han , Cannella Albert A. , Jiao Jie
Published: August 2018

We develop a behavioral–decision model to highlight entrepreneurs’ decision making behind venture opportunism. We find that opportunism can present to entrepreneurs and their new ventures a risky yet beneficial choice to secure short–term gains at potential social costs. We posit that, motivated by loss aversion, entrepreneurs may accept the risk and engage in opportunism when their ventures confront economic losses. For instance, a high risk of venture failure may motivate entrepreneurs to act opportunistically in the hope that the failure can be averted. We further posit that such loss–averse decisions will be moderated by the entrepreneurs’ personal bonds to their new ventures. That is, the scale of entrepreneurs’ personal investment in their ventures will intensify their economic loss aversion posed by venture failure risk. In contrast, when entrepreneurs use their personal social capital to support their ventures, they will personally bear more of the down–side risks of opportunistic behavior and thus be less likely to act opportunistically to countervail a potential economic loss. Results based on the data collected from 244 NEEQ–listed new ventures in Beijing and Tianjin in China support our predictions.
More than Words: Do Gendered Linguistic Structures Widen the Gender Gap in Entrepreneurial Activity?
Authors: Hechavarría Diana M. , Terjesen Siri A. , Stenholm Pekka , Brännback Malin , Lång Stefan
Published: August 2018

Leveraging linguistic relativity theory which suggests that language systems structure thought and action, we investigate the relationship between gendered linguistic structures and the persistent gender gap in early–stage entrepreneurial activity. We use country–level data from 105 countries in 2001–2015 with 55 different languages, and incorporate 32 controls covering a broad range of factors previously associated with entrepreneurial activity. We find that in countries where the dominant language's structure incorporates sex–based systems and gender–differentiated pronouns, there is a greater gender gap in entrepreneurial activity. Our results suggest that gendered linguistic structures reinforce gender stereotypes and discourage women's entry into entrepreneurship.
Contextual Behavior Analysis in the Assessment Process
Authors: Mattaini Mark A.
Published: August 2018

The ecosystems perspective offers a framework for assessment that takes into account the contextual web within which the client is inextricably enmeshed. To be immediately useful, however, the perspective must be operationalized. Contextual behavior analysis offers an approach to assessment that is systemic, operationalized, prescriptive, and amenable to rigorous evaluation. The broad contours of the ecosystems perspective and contemporary contextual behavior analysis are sketched. Using a case vignette, the steps involved in the analysis and the advantages of using graphic aids in the process are outlined. Finally, the advantages of the approach for clinical practice settings are discussed.
Strength or Pathology: Ethical and Rhetorical Contrasts in Approaches to Practice
Authors: Goldstein Howard
Published: August 2018

Organizing concepts of “strength” and “pathology” are explored from the perspective of the limitations of language in defining and treating human problems. The derivation of these terms is described as is their entry into the lexicon and procedures of the social work profession. Each concept is examined in terms of its relevance for practice. The strength orientation is shown to be more responsive to the humanistic, ethical, and political conditions that characterize the helping process.
Security, Privacy, and Confidentiality in Agency Microcomputer Use
Authors: Finn Jerry
Published: August 2018

The author discusses the issues surrounding the maintenance of client records on agency computers, reporting the results of a survey of 48 microcomputer-using private nonprofit agencies with regard to their policies and procedures for maintaining the security, privacy, and confidentiality of client records. Results indicated that three-fourths of agencies were maintaining client information on computers, and the vast majority stored this information with client-identifying data. Most agencies had procedures for checking the accuracy of their records, securing their records against unwarranted inspection, and maintaining backup records. Although all agencies had information-release forms, types of forms varied. With few exceptions, agencies are not yet utilizing computer telecommunications and multiagency information networks to share records. Implications for agency record keeping are discussed.
Husband Supportiveness and the Well-Being of Employed Mothers of Infants
Authors: Gray Ellen B. , Lovejoy Megan C. , Piotrkowski Chaya S. , Bond James T.
Published: August 2018

Using data from a longitudinal study of employed women before and after pregnancy, the authors look at 490 married mothers of infants working full time to determine the relationship of husband supportiveness to their well-being. A substantial relationship was found between perceptions of husband supportiveness and women's reports of their well-being. However, although most respondents reported that their husbands were supportive, they did not report high levels of concrete help from them.
Case Management: Myths and Realities
Authors: Austin Carol D.
Published: August 2018

Case-management services are provided in diverse practice fields and program settings. The author explores reasons for the popularity of case management and examines myths and realities that have developed around its use. Although case management is relevant and useful in the delivery of human services, it is important to understand its limitations.
Names, Naming, and Name Calling in Practice with Families
Authors: Jacobs Judith Bula
Published: August 2018

A practitioner's use of names, naming, and name calling can significantly affect the direction of interventions in work with families. The author discusses ethnic, gender, and developmental awareness as they relate to practice issues such as cross-cultural name calling, name changes, cross-gender names, the double standard with name titles, labeling, and name forms as expressions of developmental stages.
Incest Scenarios and Object-Relations Strivings: A Conceptual Framework
Authors: Taylor John W.
Published: August 2018

Incestuous behavior, when viewed from a behavioral systems perspective, is most often perceived as a self-reinforcing, addicting, and escalating behavior. Underlying incestuous behavior are patterns that are dictated by the perpetrator's object-relations fixation or regression. These regressed or fixed object-relations strivings comprise major themes or scenarios that precipitate, escalate, and sustain the incestuous behavior. The author describes seven major themes or scenarios that stimulate the perpetrator's sexual expression of dysfunctional object-relations stirrings.
Practitioner Disability: What Are the Real Handicaps?
Authors: Gakis Thomai
Published: August 2018

The personal characteristics of a worker and a client can have an immense impact on the clinical process. Transference and countertransference literature was reviewed and applied to the personal accounts of five social workers who are physically disabled. Underlying conflictual issues that may be stirred in clients and workers by the physical disability of a worker in a clinical setting are discussed.
The Normative Crises of Families Confronting Dementia
Authors: Kuhn Daniel R.
Published: August 2018

As the number of persons with irreversible dementia continues to rise, human service professionals in community-based agencies and institutions need to be knowledgeable about the disease and its impact on families. Practitioners can assist family caregivers by anticipating their needs and helping them work through the series of crises that can be expected to develop over the course of the disease A model for understanding the major stressors experienced by caregivers is presented. Each normative crisis is described and helpful interventions are discussed.
The Social Network Map: Assessing Social Support in Clinical Practice
Authors: Tracy Elizabeth M. , Whittaker James K.
Published: August 2018

The authors describe the development and pilot use of a procedure for assessing social support. The social network map takes into account both the structure and function of the client's personal social network. The authors discuss the clinical utility of the map as well as guidelines for using social support assessment information in case planning.
Women and Work: Toward a New Developmental Model
Authors: Brennan Eileen M. , Rosenzweig Julie M.
Published: August 2018

Women's adult development has been explained by means of research and theory that are either individualistic (based on work and achievements) or relational (based on relationships and caring). The author proposes a model that conceptualizes women's growth in self-understanding as being attained through both work and relationships in key life domains. The model is examined as a guide for developmentally based practice with adult women.
Parental Adjustment to a Disabled Child: A Family-Systems Perspective
Authors: Bernier James C.
Published: August 2018

A substantial amount of literature discusses parental adjustment to the birth of a handicapped child. However, little has been written about this process from the perspective of family-systems theory. The author examines the usefulness of the family-systems perspective in understanding parents' adaptation to a disabled child, particularly family theorists' emphasis on degrees of connectedness and inter generational issues. Case examples are provided.
The Dynamics of Day Care
Authors: Frankel Arthur J.
Published: August 2018

The author describes the current types and availability of child care, its funding patterns, politics, and the major organizations associated with day care in the United States. Social workers and other professionals who wish to become more effectively involved with child care need to be knowledgeable about these issues. The child-care problem in the United States is pervasive and complex; the profession needs to keep up with day care's fast-changing dynamics if it is going to make a significant impact on child care in the 1990s.
Unwed Teenage Pregnancy: Family Relationships with the Father of the Baby
Authors: Cervera Neil
Published: August 2018

The author presents prospective data from a small-scale study of 15 families experiencing an unmarried teenage pregnancy. During and after the pregnancy, the adolescents and their parents were interviewed separately and responded to standardized instruments. Family members' closeness to, communication with, and opinions about the baby's father were significantly different as a function of family role and stage of the pregnancy. The clinical implications of these findings are discussed.
Patient “Dumping” of Poor Families
Authors: Taira Frances , Taira Deborah
Published: August 2018

Poor, uninsured adults and children in hospital emergency rooms are dependent upon competent medical staff. Transfer from a private emergency room to a crowded public hospital emergency room delays treatment and causes added pain, suffering, and stress. The problem of patient “dumping” is becoming worse as the government attempts to contain costs and hospitals lose money due to uncompensated emergency care. The authors review the extent of patient “dumping.” Implications for legislators and practitioners are presented.
Parent—Professional Collaboration on Behalf of Children with Learning Disabilities
Authors: Malekoff Andrew , Johnson Helen , Klappersack Bernard
Published: August 2018

The authors report an attempt to enhance parent—professional collaboration on behalf of children with learning disabilities through an action-research project. The theoretical assumptions and program components of action research as well as a detailed description of the Learning Disabilities Project are presented.
Facilitating Clinical Decision Making and Evaluation
Authors: Rosen Aaron
Published: August 2018

Although systematic evaluation is now generally accepted as a necessary accompaniment to responsible and accountable practice and is a standard feature of most social work curricula, research indicates that social workers make minimal use of evaluation as part of their ongoing practice. The author relates this state of affairs to a failure to conceive of practice in a manner that accounts for the actual complexities of the treatment process, explicating decisionmaking processes and allowing for systematic evaluation. The author outlines a conceptual framework and decision-support tools that are applicable with any theoretical orientation to practice and that have been shown to aid practitioners in clinical decision making and evaluation.
Stigma Management: A New Clinical Service
Authors: Levy Alan J.
Published: August 2018

Stigma management, a new clinical service designed to help clients effectively negotiate social situations in which they are likely to be disqualified and/or excluded, is presented. Its relation to the larger body of social work is addressed.