bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Factors Influencing Contraceptive Use in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Systematic Review
Authors: Blackstone Sarah R. , Nwaozuru Ucheoma , Iwelunmor Juliet
Published: January 2017

The purpose of this study was to systematically review the literature regarding factors influencing contraceptive use in sub-Saharan Africa between 2005 and 2015. A total of 58 studies from twelve Sub-Saharan African countries were reviewed. Keywords were grouped using the PEN-3 cultural model. Negative factors prohibiting or reducing contraceptive use were women’s misconceptions of contraceptive side–effects, male partner disapproval, and social/cultural norms surrounding fertility. Positive factors included education, employment, and communication with male partner. Increasing modern contraceptive use in Sub-Saharan Africa is a multi-faceted problem that will require community and systems wide interventions that aim to counteract negative perceptions and misinformation.
An Overview of R in Health Decision Sciences
Authors: Jalal Hawre , Pechlivanoglou Petros , Krijkamp Eline , Alarid-Escudero Fernando , Enns Eva , Hunink M. G. Myriam
Published: January 2017

As the complexity of health decision science applications increases, high-level programming languages are increasingly adopted for statistical analyses and numerical computations. These programming languages facilitate sophisticated modeling, model documentation, and analysis reproducibility. Among the high-level programming languages, the statistical programming framework R is gaining increased recognition. R is freely available, cross-platform compatible, and open source. A large community of users who have generated an extensive collection of well-documented packages and functions supports it. These functions facilitate applications of health decision science methodology as well as the visualization and communication of results. Although R’s popularity is increasing among health decision scientists, methodological extensions of R in the field of decision analysis remain isolated. The purpose of this article is to provide an overview of existing R functionality that is applicable to the various stages of decision analysis, including model design, input parameter estimation, and analysis of model outputs.
The Differential Role of Smell and Taste For Eating Behavior
Authors: Boesveldt Sanne , de Graaf Kees
Published: January 2017

Food choice and food intake are guided by both sensory and metabolic processes. The senses of taste and smell play a key role in the sensory effects on choice and intake. This article provides a comprehensive overview of, and will argue for, the differential role of smell and taste for eating behavior by focusing on appetite, choice, intake, and satiation.

The sense of smell mainly plays a priming role in eating behavior. It has been demonstrated that (orthonasal) odor exposure induces appetite specifically for the cued food. However, the influence of odors on food choice and intake is less clear, and may also depend on awareness or intensity of the odors, or personality traits of the participants. Taste on the other hand, has a clear role as a (macro)nutrient sensing system, during consumption. Together with texture, taste is responsible for eating rate, and thus in determining the oral exposure duration of food in the mouth, thereby contributing to satiation.

Results from these experimental studies should be taken to real-life situations, to assess longer-term effects on energy intake. With this knowledge, it will be possible to steer people’s eating behavior, as well as food product development, toward a less obesogenic society.
Taste Quality Confusions: Influences of Age, Smoking, PTC Taster Status, and other Subject Characteristics
Authors: Doty Richard L. , Chen Jonathan H. , Overend Jane
Published: January 2017

Many persons misidentify the quality of taste stimuli, a phenomenon termed “taste confusion.” In this study of 1000 persons, we examined the influences of age, sex, causes of chemosensory disturbances, and genetically determined phenylthiocarbamide (PTC) taster status on taste quality confusions for four tastants (sucrose, citric acid, sodium chloride, caffeine). Overall, sour-bitter confusions were most common (19.3%), followed by bitter-sour (11.4%), salty-bitter (7.3%), salty-sour (7.0%), bitter-salty (3.5%), bitter-sweet (3.4), and sour-salty (2.4%) confusions. Confusions for sweet were <1%. Asymmetries were common (e.g., bitter-sour confusions were less frequent than sour-bitter confusions). Women had fewer salty-bitter confusions than did men (5.7% vs. 11.4%). Overall, PTC tasters had fewer confusions than non-tasters except for salty-bitter confusions. Confusions typically increased monotonically with age. Current smokers exhibited more sour-bitter confusions than never smokers (48.9% vs. 32.2%), whereas past smokers had more bitter-sour confusions than never smokers (23.8% vs. 14.2%). Previous head trauma was associated with higher bitter-salty and salty-bitter confusions relative to those of some other etiologies. This study demonstrates, for the first time, that multiple subject factors influence taste confusions and, along with literature accounts, supports the view that there are both biological and psychological determinants of taste quality confusions.
The Role of Musical Experience in Hemispheric Lateralization of Global and Local Auditory Processing
Authors: Black Emily , Stevenson Jennifer L. , Bish Joel P.
Published: January 2017

The global precedence effect is a phenomenon in which global aspects of visual and auditory stimuli are processed before local aspects. Individuals with musical experience perform better on all aspects of auditory tasks compared with individuals with less musical experience. The hemispheric lateralization of this auditory processing is less well-defined. The present study aimed to replicate the global precedence effect with auditory stimuli and to explore the lateralization of global and local auditory processing in individuals with differing levels of musical experience. A total of 38 college students completed an auditory-directed attention task while electroencephalography was recorded. Individuals with low musical experience responded significantly faster and more accurately in global trials than in local trials regardless of condition, and significantly faster and more accurately when pitches traveled in the same direction (compatible condition) than when pitches traveled in two different directions (incompatible condition) consistent with a global precedence effect. In contrast, individuals with high musical experience showed less of a global precedence effect with regards to accuracy, but not in terms of reaction time, suggesting an increased ability to overcome global bias. Further, a difference in P300 latency between hemispheres was observed. These findings provide a preliminary neurological framework for auditory processing of individuals with differing degrees of musical experience.
Age and Pubertal Status-Related Changes in Reports of Perception of Personal Odors
Authors: Martinec Nováková Lenka , Plotěná Dagmar , Havlíček Jan
Published: January 2017

As previously suggested, preferences for kin body odor might undergo an adaptive change over the course of puberty in order to avoid potential inbreeding, resulting in aversion to body odor of the opposite-gender kin as individuals mature sexually. However, studies based on mutual body odor aversion are rather inconclusive. We therefore investigated whether children’s reports of individuals smelling good or bad differed as a function of age and pubertal status. We asked 219 children (94 male) aged 10 to 15 years to assess their pubertal development using a standardized measure and to name individuals they thought smelled good or bad. Results of the present study show that the older the girls were, the more likely they were to name males than females among nice-smelling people. Further, in both girls and boys alike, children with higher puberty scores were more likely to name children than adults. Neither in girls nor in boys did we observe any concurrent effect of age or pubertal status on children’s reports of persons thought to smell bad. Irrespective of whether these changes are driven by age itself or age-related phenomena, these results suggest a shift toward a more general positive attitude to peers rather than active kin avoidance.
Olfactory Functions in Adults With Autism Spectrum Disorders
Authors: Addo Rebecka N. , Wiens Stefan , Nord Marie , Larsson Maria
Published: January 2017

Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are often characterized by atypical sensory behavior (hyper- or hyporeactivity) although evidence is scarce regarding olfactory abilities in ASD; 16 adults with high-functioning ASD (mean age: 38.2, SD: 9.7) and 14 healthy control subjects (mean age: 42.0 years, SD: 12.5) were assessed in odor threshold, free and cued odor identification, and perceived pleasantness, intensity, and edibility of everyday odors. Although results showed no differences between groups, the Bayes Factors (close to 1) suggested that the evidence for no group differences on the threshold and identification tests was inconclusive. In contrast, there was some evidence for no group differences on perceived edibility (BF01 = 2.69) and perceived intensity (BF01 = 2.80). These results do not provide conclusive evidence for or against differences between ASD and healthy controls on olfactory abilities. However, they suggest that there are no apparent group differences in subjective ratings of odors.
Mathematical model of a vehicle crash: A case study
Authors: Varanis Marcus , Mereles Arthur
Published: January 2017

Case studies are very useful when it comes to students’ education. They show to them the issues that are faced by the mechanical engineers and what the students should do to resolve those issues during their professional career. In that sense, this paper presents a case study that can be presented in undergraduate and graduate courses where a vehicle crash collision is modeled by a spring-mass-damper system. The spring of the system will be considered to have a nonlinear force–deflection characteristic. The model proposed in this paper allows one to obtain the parameters of the system, and then compare them with the ones obtained experimentally to test the suitability of the model with the vehicle crash. The responses of the system will be obtained by numerical approximation by using the Runge–Kutta algorithm.
Contestation over an island imaginary landscape: The management and maintenance of touristic nature
Authors: Kothari Uma , Arnall Alex
Published: January 2017

This article demonstrates how maintaining high-end tourism in luxury resorts requires recreating a tourist imaginary of pristine, isolated and unpeopled island landscapes, thus necessitating the ceaseless manipulation and management of space. This runs contrary to the belief that tourism industries are exerting an increasingly benign influence on local environments following the emergence of ‘sustainable tourism’ in recent decades. Rather than preventing further destruction of the ‘natural’ world, or fostering the reproduction of ‘natural’ processes, this article argues that the tourist sector actively seeks to alter and manage local environments so as to ensure their continuing attractiveness to the high-paying tourists that seek out idyllic destinations. Additionally, by drawing on an example of tourism development, environmental change and local conflict in the Maldives, it shows how interventions by tourism managers can result in conflict with local people who, possessing different imaginaries, interests and priorities, may have their own, often long-established, uses of the environment undermined in the process. The article concludes that the growing diversity and increasing environmental awareness of tourists is currently producing a range of complexities and ambiguities that preclude any easy and straightforward environmental response by the sector, and ultimately might destabilise the Western-based tourist imaginary itself.
The neoliberalisation of climate? Progressing climate policy under austerity urbanism
Authors: North Peter , Nurse Alex , Barker Tom
Published: January 2017

While the urban is identified as a productive site for addressing climate change, the ‘post-political’ critique dismisses climate policy as a vacuous discourse that obscures power relations and exclusion, defends the established neoliberal order, and silences challenges. This paper argues that rather than consensus, there is a conflict between urban climate policy and the need to reignite economic growth in the context of austerity urbanism, but also that we should not assume that challenges to neoliberal understandings of the ‘sensible’ will always be disregarded. Rather, urban climate policy can be progressed through partnership processes utilising ‘co-production’ techniques which entail significant agonistic, if not antagonistic, contestation. The argument is illustrated with a case study of climate policy making in the context of austerity urbanism in Liverpool, UK. While ‘low carbon’ is conceptualised by elite actors in Liverpool in neoliberal terms as a source of new low carbon jobs and businesses, with an emphasis on energy security and fuel poverty, this view is not unchallenged. The paper recounts how an ad hoc group of actors in the city came together to form a partnership advocating for more strategic decarbonisation, which should be progressed through a bid for the city to be European Green Capital. The disputes that emerged around this agenda suggest that in the context of austerity urbanism the need for cities to act to mitigate against dangerous climate change is not as uncontested as conceptions of the post-political suggest.
Adultery, Shame, and Sexual Pollution in Ancient Israel and in Hosea: A Response to Joshua Moon
Authors: Hadjiev Tchavdar S.
Published: January 2017

The idea that a wife's marital unfaithfulness brought disgrace upon her husband is not clearly attested in the Hebrew Bible. Indeed, as this article shows, the passages dealing with adultery are more interested in the pollution that results from it, rather than in the honour of the cheated husband. Such pollution is the consequence of actions that undermine the order of the world and bring disaster upon the community. It is therefore unwise to read the ‘Mediterranean notion’ of shame and honour into biblical texts. This also applies to J. Moon's recent proposal (in issue 39 of this journal [2015]) about ‘Hosea's marriages’. It is argued in this article that Moon's idea that Israel's adultery in Hosea 1–3 undermines the honour of Yahweh who is thereby portrayed as willingly embracing humiliation cannot stand under closer scrutiny.
The Canonical Status of Song of Songs in m. Yadayim 3.5
Authors: Giszczak Mark
Published: January 2017

This article analyzes the rabbinic discussion of whether Song of Songs renders the hands unclean in m. Yad. 3.5. This text has often been used to suggest that the canonicity of the Song of Songs was contested in early Judaism, thus ‘functionally decanonizing’ this biblical book. Yet this view has recently come under serious challenge because of other evidence in the rabbinic tradition. This study evaluates various interpretations of the discussion, which alternately emphasize canonicity, ritual purity, or divine inspiration. It explains the weaknesses of several proposals and suggests that a solution to the problem might lie in demonstrating the non-equivalence of canonicity and ability to defile the hands through reference to m. Yad. 4.5.
Geographies of race and ethnicity III
Authors: Pulido Laura
Published: January 2017

In this third progress report I consider the politics of settler colonialism in relation to nonnative people of color. Settler colonialism has become an increasingly important concept over the past decade, and while geographers typically think about it from a white/native perspective, I explore how ethnic studies, specifically, Chicana/o studies, has responded to it. For different reasons both disciplines have hesitated to fully interrogate the significance of the concept. In the case of geography, the whiteness of the discipline has caused it to overlook vibrant debates within ethnic studies. Chicana/o studies has not directly engaged with settler colonialism because, I argue, it has the potential to disrupt core elements of Chicana/o political subjectivity. Specifically, it unsettles Chicanas/os’ conception of themselves as colonized people by highlighting their role as colonizers. Acknowledging such a role is difficult not only because it challenges key dimensions of Chicana/o identity, as seen in Aztlán, Chicanas/os’ mythical homeland, but also because of the precarious nature of Chicana/o indigeneity. Examining Chicana/o studies’ muted response to settler colonialism illustrates the impoverished nature of geography’s study of race.
Climate change and water in the UK: Recent scientific evidence for past and future change
Authors: Garner Grace , Hannah David M , Watts Glenn
Published: January 2017

A changing climate is anticipated to alter hydroclimatological and hydroecological processes across the UK and around the world. This paper builds on a series of reports commissioned in 2012 (Water Climate Change Impacts Report Card [WCCRC], 2012) and published in a special issue of Progress in Physical Geography in 2015 that interpreted and synthesised the relevant, peer-reviewed scientific literature of climate change impacts on the UK’s water environment. It aims to provide reliable, clear information about the potential impacts of climate change on hydrology and the water environment. We review new evidence since 2012 for historical and potential future changes in precipitation and evapotranspiration, river flows and groundwater levels, river and groundwater temperature/quality and, finally, aquatic ecosystems. Some new evidence exists for change in most of these hydrological components, typically in support of the spatial and temporal trends reported in WCCRC 2012. However, it remains the case that more research has been conducted on rainfall and river flows than evapotranspiration, groundwater levels, river and groundwater temperature, water quality or freshwater ecosystems. Consequently, there remains a clear disparity of robust evidence for historical and potential future change between the top and bottom of the hydroclimatological–hydroecological process chain. As was the case in WCCRC 2012, this remains a significant barrier to informed climate change adaptation in these components of the water environment.
David Harvey’s theory of uneven geographical development: A Marxist critique
Authors: Das Raju J
Published: January 2017

The Marxist geographer, David Harvey, has written extensively and influentially about the production of space under capitalism and, in particular, uneven geographical development. This article is a Marxist critique of Harvey’s theory of uneven geographical development. It presents his theory around six interconnected theses: spatial concentration thesis, spatial dispersal thesis, surplus absorption or spatial fix thesis, uneven geographical development-as-ideology thesis, the uneven geographical development and the state connection thesis, and uneven geographical development–associated political thesis. His theory has shed light on certain aspects of the internal relation between capitalist accumulation and uneven geographical development, giving due emphasis to uneven geographical development’s contradictory character. It is, however, problematic on multiple grounds. It under-stresses the class relation, including the value-relation, between capital and labour, and correlatively fetishizes the power of spatial relations. While Harvey connects uneven geographical development to capitalist crisis, his theory of crisis is deeply inadequate. His theory also fails to systematically integrate the insights of state theory into it, and to the extent that the state is present, its essential class character remains under-emphasized. Finally, Harvey draws some conclusions about anti-capitalist political practice from his theory of uneven geographical development which are problematic from a Marxist vantage point. In particular, his view of the concept of the proletariat in Marxism and his scepticism towards the role of the proletariat in the fight against capital are contestable.
Hemicrania continua in carotid artery dissection – symptomatic cases or linked pathophysiology?
Authors: Brilla Roland , Pawlowski Matthias , Evers Stefan
Published: January 2017

Background

Hemicrania continua (HC) -like headaches have been rarely reported as symptomatic headaches, including cases secondary to cervical artery dissection.

Case series

We present five cases of HC-like headaches following cervical artery dissection, in three cases with specific indomethacin response. In two cases, comorbidity of fibromuscular dysplasia (FMD) was noted.

Conclusion

Carotid artery dissection may result in an HC-like headache syndrome. A specific response to indomethacin does not rule out dissection as underlying pathology. Screening for extracranial manifestations of FMD should be considered, especially in middle-aged females.
Descriptive Characteristics of Concussions in National Football League Games, 2010-2011 to 2013-2014
Authors: Clark Michael D. , Asken Breton M. , Marshall Stephen W. , Guskiewicz Kevin M.
Published: January 2017

Background:

Despite a high reported incidence rate of concussion, little is known about the on-field characteristics of injurious head impacts in National Football League (NFL) games.

Purpose:

To characterize on-field features (location, player position, and time during game) and biomechanical features (anticipation status, closing distance, impact location and type) associated with concussions in NFL games over a 4-season period (2010-2011 to 2013-2014).

Study Design:

Descriptive epidemiology study.

Methods:

We analyzed video of a subset of reported, in-game concussions for the 2010-2011 to 2013-2014 seasons. These videos represented a sample of injuries that were diagnosed and reported on the same day and that could be clearly associated with an in-game collision as captured on video. We determined anticipation status, closing distance, impact location on the injured player’s helmet, and impact type (helmet-to-helmet, helmet-to-body, or helmet-to-ground). Associations between these variables were analyzed by use of descriptive statistics and tests of association.

Results:

A total of 871 diagnosed concussions were reported as occurring during NFL preseason, regular season, and postseason games for the 2010-2011, 2011-2012, 2012-2013, and 2013-2014 seasons. A total of 1324 games were played during this period, giving a concussion incidence rate of 0.658 per game (95% CI, 0.61-0.70). From the video-reviewed subset (n = 429; 49.3%), the majority of injurious impacts occurred with good anticipation (57.3%) and <10 yards of closing distance (59.0%). An association was found between anticipation status and play type ([Formula: see text] = 27.398, P < .001), largely because injuries occurring on pass plays were more likely to be poorly anticipated than injuries during run plays (43.0% vs 21.4%; [Formula: see text] = 14.78, P < .001). Kick returns had the greatest proportion of well-anticipated impacts (78%) and the greatest proportion of impacts with ≥10 yards of closing distance (80%). The type of impact was approximately equally divided between helmet-to-helmet, helmet-to-body, and helmet-to-ground types. The impact location was broadly distributed over the helmet of the injured player.

Conclusion:

In-game concussions in the NFL occurred through a diverse variety of mechanisms, surprisingly tended to be well-anticipated, and, also surprisingly, occurred with <10 yards of closing distance. The impacts causing concussion were broadly distributed over the helmet. More concussions occurred during the second half of game play, but we do not have evidence to explain this finding.
Cell-Seeded Autologous Chondrocyte Implantation: A Simplified Implantation Technique That Maintains High Clinical Outcomes
Authors: Gomoll Andreas H. , Ambra Luiz Felipe , Phan Amy , Mastrocola Marissa , Shah Nehal
Published: January 2017

Background:

The use of autologous chondrocyte implantation (ACI) remains limited, even though multiple studies have demonstrated success rates exceeding 75%. The procedure is perceived as invasive and technically challenging, presenting barriers to more widespread adoption.

Purpose/Hypothesis:

The objective of this study was to investigate whether outcomes and the failure rate of a simplified ACI technique (cs-ACI) were comparable with those of the more complicated traditional technique of a chondrocyte suspension injected under a collagen membrane (cACI). We hypothesized that the change in technique would not negatively affect outcomes.

Study Design:

Cohort study; Level of evidence, 3.

Methods:

Thirty-nine patients treated with the cs-ACI technique fulfilled the inclusion requirements. A group of 45 patients treated previously with standard cACI was used as a comparison. The functional outcomes were prospectively collected both preoperatively and postoperatively at the last follow-up. Failure was defined as any graft removal of more than 25% of the original defect size. Magnetic resonance imaging was performed postoperatively, and scans were assessed using a modified MOCART (magnetic resonance observation of cartilage repair tissue) scoring system.

Results:

Group demographics were not significantly different, except for the defect size and mean follow-up: 4.09 years in the cACI group and 2.46 years in the cs-ACI group. Significant improvements were seen in all outcome measures except the Tegner score from the preoperative baseline to the latest follow-up for both the cACI group (International Knee Documentation Committee [IKDC] score, from 42.0 to 63.4; Knee injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score [KOOS]–Pain subscore, from 58.7 to 77.1; Lysholm score, from 57.2 to 69.7; and Tegner score, from 3.5 to 4.2) and the cs-ACI group (IKDC score, from 45.6 to 68.0; KOOS-Pain subscore, from 66.6 to 84.7; Lysholm score, from 53.7 to 75.4; and Tegner score, from 3.2 to 3.8). No significant difference was found between the groups at the latest follow-up. The failure rate at 2 years was not significantly different, while the total failure rate over the entire study period was significantly lower in the cs-ACI group than the cACI group (5% vs 24%, respectively). The overall MOCART score was not significantly different between the groups.

Conclusion:

The treatment of full-thickness articular cartilage defects with a simplified cell-seeded ACI technique demonstrated no significant differences in the failure rate and patient-reported outcomes when compared with a standard technique utilizing interrupted sutures and the injection of a cell suspension under a collagen membrane.
Effects of Platelet-Rich Plasma With Concomitant Use of a Corticosteroid on Tenocytes From Degenerative Rotator Cuff Tears in Interleukin 1β–Induced Tendinopathic Conditions
Authors: Jo Chris Hyunchul , Lee Seung Yeon , Yoon Kang Sup , Shin Sue
Published: January 2017

Background:

A corticosteroid injection is commonly used to treat tendinopathy, but it has been associated with negative effects on tendon homeostasis. Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) is known to have proliferative and anabolic effects as well as cytoprotective effects against corticosteroids on tenocytes. However, the combined effects of a corticosteroid and PRP on the anti-inflammatory, matrix synthesis, and cytoprotective potential of tenocytes in conditions simulating tendinopathy have not been investigated.

Purpose:

To assess the effects of PRP on tenocytes from degenerative rotator cuff tears with the concomitant use of a corticosteroid in interleukin 1β (IL-1β)–induced tendinopathic conditions.

Study Design:

Controlled laboratory study.

Methods:

Tenocytes were enzymatically isolated and cultured from patients with degenerative rotator cuff tears. PRP was prepared using a plateletpheresis system, and growth factor concentrations were measured. To evaluate the gene expression of proinflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokines, enzymes and their inhibitors, and matrix molecules, cells were cultured with 1 ng/mL IL-1β, 1 μM dexamethasone, and 10% (vol/vol) platelet-poor plasma (PPP) and PRP of 200, 1000, and 4000 × 103/μL; quantitative real-time reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction was also performed. Western blotting was performed to investigate the protein synthesis of degradative enzymes and their inhibitors. Cell viability, apoptosis, and senescence assays were also conducted.

Results:

PRP did not interfere with the anti-inflammatory effects of dexamethasone on tenocytes pretreated with IL-1β, but it increased the synthesis of tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase (TIMP)–1 and -3. Meanwhile, PRP did not induce anti-inflammatory cytokines that had been suppressed with a corticosteroid. It did increase the type I/III collagen ratio mainly through the suppression of type III collagen expression. PRP reversed the decreased viability, increased apoptosis, and induced senescence with IL-1β and a corticosteroid.

Conclusion:

This study shows that the addition of PRP does not interfere with the anti-inflammatory effects of a corticosteroid on IL-1β–treated tenocytes from degenerative rotator cuff tears but that it does avoid the deleterious side effects of a corticosteroid.

Clinical Relevance:

PRP can be clinically useful with a corticosteroid as a treatment for tendinopathy.
Effects of Group Psychotherapy on Young Adults’ Romantic and Career Functioning
Authors: Shulman Shmuel , Rozen-Zvi Ruth , Almog Zhava , Fennig Shmuel , Shavit-Pesach Tamar
Published: January 2017

A growing number of young adults have difficulties meeting developmental challenges and experience psychological distress as a consequence of which they seek help to address these difficulties. A time-limited group psychotherapy focusing on addressing age-related tasks was developed to meet the needs of young people. Thirty-one young people seeking psychological help participated in 16 to 18 sessions of group psychotherapy. Psychological distress and goal pursuit capabilities were assessed at the beginning and the end of therapy. Compared with young people on a waiting list, participants undergoing group psychotherapy showed a significant decrease in psychological distress and increase in adaptive goal pursuit and independent functioning. Our findings indicate the importance of integrating a developmental perspective in group intervention to enhance young adults’ competence in handling age-related tasks, as well as to improve their well-being.
A study on determination of application limits of bimodulus calculation using spherical stress tensor method
Authors: Du Ling , Li Fanchun , Liu Qingfeng
Published: January 2017

For materials with different moduli in tension and compression, according to the features of spherical stress tensor, the new method (spherical stress tensor method (SSTM)) by judging the sign of the mean stress to determine elasticity modulus in tension or compression was put forward. Based on ANSYS, the analysis and calculation module of bimodulus materials were developed. In order to determine the application limits of spherical stress tensor method for plane stress state, referring to constitutive relation of Ambartsumyan, it could be improved by SSTM and the new constitutive model was obtained. It was set up that the relative error of principal strain between the new and Ambartsumyan model was less than 10%. Finally, the application limits of SSTM in plane stress problems are obtained by taking the relative error limits of principal strain as a judgment rule. The application limits for this method have certain limitations, but their advantage is that the flexibility matrix is not forced to be symmetric.
Effects of an Informational Text Reading Comprehension Intervention for Fifth-Grade Students
Authors: Ritchey Kristen D. , Palombo Kimberly , Silverman Rebecca D. , Speece Deborah L.
Published: January 2017

Upper elementary school students who have reading problems may have difficulty in one or more areas of reading, each requiring specific types of interventions. This study evaluated a short-term reading intervention for 46 fifth-grade students with poor reading comprehension. Students were randomly assigned to an intervention or no treatment control condition. The 40 session (20 hr) intervention targeted reading comprehension strategy instruction in the context of informational science texts. Analyses showed statistically significant effects favoring the intervention on two proximal measures (i.e., measures closely related to the intervention content). The effects for the outcomes were moderate ( gs = 0.61 and 0.72). There were no statistically significant differences on distal measures (i.e., measures less closely aligned with the intervention). The findings provide support for the efficacy of a reading comprehension intervention that may inform short-term interventions within a Response to Intervention framework.
Public Versus Private Employees: Debunking Stereotypes
Authors: Baldwin J. Norman
Published: January 2017

This article explores whether common negative stereotypes of public employees are consistent with the descriptive and empirical literature comparing public and private employees. It reviews this literature to explore specifically whether public employees are more lazy, security-seeking, insensitive, inefficient, and incompetent than private employees. Given the ethics crises in government in the 1980s, it also explores whether public employees are less ethical than private employees. The primary focus of the article is on the findings and methodology of the empirical comparisons of public and private employees. Suggestions for future public-private comparative studies of employees are proposed.
The Response to AIDS in the Workplace Among Public, Private, and Non-Profit Employers
Authors: Mitchell Jerry
Published: January 2017

The AIDS epidemic presents an enormous challenge for many groups and organizations in society. This study focuses on the response of employers to AIDS in the workplace. The critical decisions confronting employers include whether they should educate workers about the virus, test job applicants and current personnel for AIDS, and accommodate employees that contract the disease. In surveying 208 personnel administrators in New York City, this study finds that public employers are the most likely to provide AIDS information, private and nonprofit employers are more apt to accommodate workers, and few employers are willing to test their workers for AIDS.
Incentive Pay in the Public Sector: A Discriminant Analysis of Professional Employee Responses
Authors: Swiercz Paul M. , Icenogle Marjorie
Published: January 2017

This study examines an incentive pay system designed for professional employees in the public sector. During a two-year trial period, 73.6 percent of the subjects reached production goals and earned the maximum pay (10 percent above base). Despite the employees’ ability to attain maximum earnings, only a slight majority expressed a desire for continuation of the incentive pay program. Examination of survey responses indicates that those earning the maximum were the least likely to favor continuation of the program. This study uses multiple discriminant analysis to identify respondent characteristics exerting the greatest influence on their acceptance of this incentive pay system. Implications for designing pay for performance plans for professionals are discussed.
Merit Protection in the Australian Public Service: A Comparative Perspective
Authors: Lee Robert D.
Published: January 2017

Both Australia and the United States have reconfigured their public personnel systems to include a central personnel agency and a merit protection agency, but major differences exist in the operations of the latter bodies. The Australian Merit Protection and Review Agency (MPRA) uses a variety of committees to deal with appeals on personnel actions, with promotions being the primary subject of the appeals. Differences between the two countries in the types of appeals and in the appeal processes, themselves, are discussed. In the future, enforcing merit will become more complex as the position-based system yields to a more fluid personnel system.
The Situational Interview: Does it Have Predictive Validity
Authors: Rock Steven M.
Published: January 2017

The comments below and in the note that follows it discuss concerns about the situational interview as a job selection tool. Both comments address the article “Improving Selection Outcomes with the Use of Situational Interviews,” written by Mary K. Stohr-Gillmore, Michael Stohr-Gillmore and Nannette Kistler which was published in the Spring 1990 issue of ROPPA.
Experiments investigating fuel spread behaviors for continuous spill fires on fireproof glass
Authors: Zhao Jinlong , Liu Quanyi , Huang Hong , Yang Rui , Zhang Hui
Published: January 2017

A series of large-scale spill fire experiments with continuous discharge on a rectangular fireproof glass sheet were conducted, to better understand spill fire spread behaviors on land. JP-5 and heptane were selected as the fuels, with discharge rates varying from 0.93 to 6.82 L/min. Results show that the spread process can be divided into five phases: spread burning, shrink burning, quasi-steady burning, boiling burning, and extinguished. Not all of the burning phases appear during the process, which is related to the burning scale and the type of fuel. The burning rate of the quasi-steady burning phase is smaller than that of pool fires under the same burning scale. The ratio of the spill fire burning rate to the pool fire burning rate is close to 0.54 for JP-5 and 0.78 for heptane. In addition, we observed that the burning areas expand quickly at the beginning of a boiling burning phase and that the disturbance or entrainment of the flames becomes violent at the beginning of this phase. In the spread process, the empirical correlation between the maximum burning areas [Formula: see text] and the discharge rate [Formula: see text] is [Formula: see text] ( W is the width of glass) for JP-5, and [Formula: see text] for Heptane. The ratio of maximum area to quasi-steady area is approximately 1.46 in the experiments.
Decent Work and Social Protection in Belo Horizonte, Brazil
Authors: Haddad Mônica A. , Hellyer Joshua
Published: January 2017

This article examines how beneficiaries of Brazil’s Bolsa Família (BFP) conditional cash transfer program find employment in a Brazilian municipality and assesses their participation in decent work. Using Belo Horizonte as a case study, researchers conducted a survey of BFP recipients. The article compares responses of informally and formally employed workers to assess how their employment meets the criteria of the decent work agenda. Results indicate no significant difference between perceptions of formal and informal employees concerning discrimination and poor working conditions. Findings lead to recommendations about formalization of employment, coordination with existing job training programs, child care, and transportation.
Public-policy events offer new revenue source
Authors: DeJarnette Ben , Madison Ed
Published: January 2017

Amid the newspaper industry’s financial struggles, legacy and start-up news organizations have found a considerable source of revenue in hosting public-policy events. This essay examines the growth of these journalism events and their implications for revenue growth and then presents a case study of Oregon news nonprofit InvestigateWest’s public policy events in May 2015.
University partnerships with area entrepreneurial efforts produce shared benefits
Authors: Graybeal Geoffrey , Sindik Amy
Published: January 2017

This study examines one emerging media entrepreneurship ecosystem, North Carolina’s Triangle region, to see how professional entrepreneurs and university partners are using inter-organizational relationships to increase entrepreneurial success. The benefits of these relationships include increased legitimacy, increased networking and a greater regional identity as an entrepreneurial hub.
Presence of online reader comments lowers news site credibility
Authors: Conlin Lindsey , Roberts Chris
Published: January 2017

The authors raise questions about the effects of reader comments on online news credibility, and among their findings is that the same feature—readers’ comments—that makes online news more appealing also decreases the credibility of the news outlet. The commenting system and the way comments are moderated do not appear to affect a news outlet’s credibility.
Introduce entrepreneurship concepts early in journalism curriculum
Authors: Chimbel Aaron
Published: January 2017

The author suggests journalism educators introduce entrepreneurial ideas and courses into their curriculum early in students’ education and offers suggestions for teaching entrepreneurship in introductory as well as upper-level classes.
Autologous Pedal Extensor Tendon for Frontalis Suspension in the Correction of Blepharoptosis with Poor Levator Function
Authors: Tao Jeremiah , Dickson James B.
Published: January 2017

Introduction:

Blepharoptosis with poor levator function is commonly repaired with a frontalis suspension procedure. A variety of suspension materials have been used, including autologous fascia lata, banked fascia lata, Supramid, Gortex, silicone, and Mersilene. Autologous materials offer the advantage of less rejection and granuloma formation, and lower rates of ptosis recurrence. Autologous fascia lata, although commonly used, has been associated with hemorrhage, scar problems, pain, and muscle herniation over the harvest site. Additionally, sufficiently long autogenous fascia is sometimes not readily available. We describe the use of autologous pedal extensor (extensor digitorum longus) tendon for frontalis suspension.

Materials and Methods:

In a retrospective study, the authors evaluate 19 frontalis sling suspension surgeries using pedal extensor tendon in 17 consecutive patients with ptosis with poor levator function. The method of harvesting the pedal extensor tendon is described in detail.

Results:

Of 19 ptotic eyelids, 18 were successfully corrected with good final lid position. One eyelid was undercorrected. No recurrence of ptosis was encountered. No wound infection, eyelid contour abnormality, or ptosis overcorrection occurred. One eye developed exposure keratopathy that resolved with conservative treatment. There were no major complications associated with the pedal extensor tendon donor site.

Discussion:

Frontalis suspension with an autogenous pedal extensor tendon appears to be cosmetically sound and an effective treatment for ptosis with poor levator function. Its use as an alternative material to fascia lata for frontalis sling surgery can be considered.
Investigation of a Novel Cross-Linked Hyaluronan Hydrogel for Use as a Soft-Tissue Filler
Authors: Chan James , Darr Aniq B. , Alam Daniel , Calabro Anthony
Published: January 2017

Objective:

To investigate an innovative tyramine-based hyaluronan (TB-HA) biomaterial for soft-tissue augmentation. Specifically, to test: (1) the ability of the TB-HA biomaterial to be injected subcutaneously; and (2) to test the in vivo response of the TB-HA biomaterial in an immunocompetent animal model.

Introduction:

Hyaluronan (HA) is a normal component of most tissues and, as such, is nonimmunogenic, nontoxic, and noninflammatory. Cross-linked hydrogels are formed from HA by substitution (approximately 5%) with tyramine followed by enzymatic cross-linking with peroxidase in the presence of very dilute hydrogen peroxide. From a single formulation of tyramine-substituted HA (TS-HA), a full spectrum of biomaterial properties can be produced by varying the HA concentration before cross-linking. The properties of these biomaterials ranged from a soft, optically clear hydrogel (6.25 mg/mL), suitable for soft-tissue augmentation as an injectable material, to a paste-like material (12.5–25.0 mg/mL).

Materials and Methods:

The hydrogel was evaluated in vivo as an injectable material (6.25 mg/mL). The material was injected into the subcutaneous tissue of an adult Sprague-Dawley rat, harvested at 8 weeks, and evaluated grossly and histologically. The specimens were paraffin embedded, sectioned on a microtome, and stained with hematoxylin and eosin.

Results:

In vivo analysis of the TB-HA hydrogels at 8 weeks revealed that they were resistant to degradation. Histological analysis revealed no evidence of rejection or tissue inflammatory response.

Conclusions:

Novel enzymatic cross-linking of HA enables the development of a versatile new biomaterial that can be used for soft-tissue augmentation. Preliminary in vivo analysis in an immunocompetent rat model revealed that the hydrogel material resisted degradation and did not elicit a host inflammatory response.
A Prospective Study of Tubed ePTFE Lip Implants: An Objective Evaluation of Efficacy, Hardness, and Length
Authors: Stupak Howard D. , Loos Benjamin , Maas Corey S.
Published: January 2017

Introduction:

Previous studies of expanded polytetrafluoroethylene (ePTFE) soft tissue implants using subjective measurements have indicated problems with implant hardening, contraction, and loss of efficacy over time. However, clinical studies using objective measures have not yet been published in the evaluation of these implants. This study aims to evaluate lip ePTFE implants prospectively with objective evaluation of changes in implant hardness and length, lip projection, and vermilion show over time.

Methods:

Patients with atrophic lips were enrolled in this study. Thin-walled tubes of ePTFE were implanted into upper or lower lips. Lip projection and vermilion show were measured using lateral digital images and digital software. Lip hardness was measured using a durometer, a hand-held device designed to register the hardness of various substances using a spring-loaded indentor. All measurements were completed preoperatively and postoperatively at days 15, 30, 90, and 180. Preoperative measurements served as control data. All measurements from preoperative and additional time-point values were compared using at test.

Results:

A total of 19 implants were placed in 10 patients. One implant was removed due to patient dissatisfaction with overprojection, another was removed for acute infection. One implant/patient was lost to follow-up. Durometer scores of the lip increased nearly fourfold, which indicates an increase in hardness over time (P < .001). Gains in lip projection peaked at 2 mm by 3 months postoperatively and returned to within 1 mm of baseline by 6 months. No implant shortening occurred.

Discussion:

Tubular ePTFE implants were safe and resulted in modest gains in lip projection over 6 months. However, these implants lost initial gains in projection and hardened over time, with loss of vermilion show in some cases. These changes over time may be due to a process similar to the capsular contracture commonly seen with breast implants.