bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Statin use is not associated with an increased risk of acute pancreatitis—A meta‐analysis of observational studies
Authors: Poropat Goran , Archibugi Livia , Korpela Taija , Cárdenas-Jaén Karina , de Madaria Enrique , Capurso Gabriele
Published: May 2018

Background

Statins are perceived as potential etiological factors for acute pancreatitis (AP), but recent evidence suggests the opposite. Our aim was to evaluate the association between statin use and risk of AP in observational studies.

Methods

Medline, Scopus, and Web of Science were searched for cohort (C) and case‐control (CC) studies evaluating statins as intervention and AP as outcome. Pooled adjusted odds ratios (ORs) with corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated.

Results

Thirteen studies (seven CC, six C) with 34,899 AP patients and 5,377,894 controls were included. Prevalence of statin use was 9.8% among AP patients and 25% among controls. Pooled adjusted OR was 1.00 (95% CI = 0.63 to 1.59) with considerable heterogeneity (I2 = 98%). CC studies were associated with increased AP risk (OR = 1.33; 95% CI = 1.20 to 1.47), unlike C studies (OR = 0.69; 95% CI = 0.37 to 1.31). No association with increased risk was found for studies from Western countries (OR = 0.90; 95% CI = 0.52 to 1.56), unlike for studies conducted in Asia (OR = 1.39; 95% CI = 1.10 to 1.75).

Conclusion

Statin use is not associated with increased risk of AP. Increased risk was limited to CC studies, which are more prone to bias, while C studies showed no global effect. Further research is needed to clarify whether statin type, dosage, treatment duration or AP etiology might account for this difference.
Serum amyloid A as a marker of inflammation in xenotransplantation
Authors: Li Tao , Hara Hidetaka , Ezzelarab Mohamed B , Long Cassandra , Long Yongqi , Wang Yi , Cooper David KC , Iwase Hayato
Published: May 2018

Increasing evidence indicates that inflammation plays a role in pig-to-baboon organ xenotransplantation. We have evaluated serum amyloid A (SAA) as a marker of inflammation in baboons with various pig xenografts. We measured SAA levels in recipient baboons with pig artery patch (n = 5), life-supporting kidney (n = 5), heterotopic heart (n = 2), or hepatocyte (n = 1) grafts and using an OmniChek-SAA for Inflammation & Infection kit. C-reactive protein (CRP), another marker of inflammation (e.g. D-dimer), was also measured.SAA indicated increased inflammation when baboons developed consumptive coagulopathy (CC; e.g. thrombocytopenia) or infection. SAA also indicated that treatment of the recipient with tocilizumab reduced inflammation. There was significant positive correlation between SAA with changes in CRP (r = 0.6, P < 0.05) and with D-dimer (r = 0.8, P < 0.01), but SAA appeared at times to more accurately reflect the clinical state of the baboon. In sum, measurement of SAA proved simple and quick, and indicated (1) significant inflammation when CC or infection was present, and (2) reduced inflammation when treatment with tocilizumab was administered.
In vivo RNAi screening identifies Pafah1b3 as a target for combination therapy with TKIs in BCR-ABL1+ BCP-ALL
Authors: Fiedler Eleanor R. C. , Bhutkar Arjun , Lawler Emily , Besada Rana , Hemann Michael T.
Published: May 2018

Key Points

Functional in vivo screening reveals distinct genetic dependencies in a mouse model of BCR-ABL1+ BCP-ALL after dasatinib treatment. Disruption of the PAF/PAFR/PAFAH1B axis sensitizes leukemia cells to TKIs; this pathway may be a novel target for combination therapy.
The right place? Users and professionals’ constructions of the place’s influence on personal recovery in community mental health services
Authors: Femdal Ingrid
Published: May 2018

Background

Current mental health policy emphasizes the importance of community-based service delivery for people with mental health problems to encompass personal recovery. The aim of this study is to explore how users and professionals construct the place’s influence on personal recovery in community mental health services.

Methods

This is a qualitative, interpretive study based on ten individual, semi-structured interviews with users and professionals, respectively. A discourse analysis inspired by the work of Foucault was used to analyze the interviews.

Results

The findings show how place can be constructed as a potential for and as a barrier against recovery. Constructions of the aim of the services matter when choosing a place for the services. Further, constructions of user–professional relationships and flexibility are important in the constructions of an appropriate place for the services.

Conclusions

The aim of the service, the user–professional relationship, and flexibility in choosing place were essential in the participants’ constructions. To find “the right place” for mental health services was constructed as context-sensitive and complex processes of assessment and co-determination.

Trial registration The study is approved by the Regional Committee for Medical Research Ethics, Norway (REK-Midt 2011/2057)
A protocol for a randomised controlled trial of prefabricated versus customised foot orthoses for people with rheumatoid arthritis: the FOCOS RA trial [Foot Orthoses – Customised v Off‐the‐Shelf in Rheumatoid Arthritis]
Authors: Gallagher Kellie S. , Godwin Jon , Hendry Gordon J. , Steultjens Martijn , Woodburn Jim
Published: May 2018

Background

Foot pain is common in rheumatoid arthritis and appears to persist despite modern day medical management. Several clinical practice guidelines currently recommend the use of foot orthoses for the treatment of foot pain in people with rheumatoid arthritis. However, an evidence gap currently exists concerning the comparative clinical‐ and cost‐effectiveness of prefabricated and customised foot orthoses in people with early rheumatoid arthritis. Early intervention with orthotics may offer the best opportunity for positive therapeutic outcomes. The primary aim of this study is to evaluate the comparative clinical‐ and cost‐effectiveness of prefabricated versus customised orthoses for reducing foot pain over 12 months.

Methods/design

This is a multi‐centre two‐arm parallel randomised controlled trial comparing prefabricated versus customised orthoses in participants with early rheumatoid arthritis (< 2 years disease duration). A total of 160 (a minimum of 80 randomised to each arm) eligible participants will be recruited from United Kingdom National Health Service Rheumatology Outpatient Clinics. The primary outcome will be foot pain measured via the Foot Function Index pain subscale at 12 months. Secondary outcomes will include foot related impairments and disability via the Foot Impact Scale for rheumatoid arthritis, global functional status via the Stanford Health Assessment Questionnaire, foot disease activity via the Rheumatoid Arthritis Foot Disease Activity Index, and health‐related quality of life at baseline, 6 and 12 months. Process outcomes will include recruitment/retention rates, data completion rates, intervention adherence rates, and participant intervention and trial participation satisfaction. Cost‐utility and cost‐effectiveness analyses will be undertaken.

Discussion

Outcome measures collected at baseline, 6 and 12 months will be used to evaluate the comparative clinical‐ and cost‐ effectiveness of customised versus prefabricated orthoses for this treatment of early rheumatoid arthritis foot conditions. This trial will help to guide orthotic prescription recommendations for the management of foot pain for people with early rheumatoid arthritis in future.

Trial registration

ISRCTN13654421. Registered 09 February 2016.
An enhanced sum rate in the cluster based cognitive radio relay network using the sequential approach for the future Internet of Things
Authors: Miah Md Sipon , Schukat Michael , Barrett Enda
Published: May 2018

The cognitive radio relay plays a vital role in cognitive radio networking (CRN), as it can improve the cognitive sum rate, extend the coverage, and improve the spectral efficiency. However, cognitive relay aided CRNs cannot obtain a maximal sum rate, when the existing sensing approach is applied to a CRN. In this paper, we present an enhanced sum rate in the cluster based cognitive radio relay network utilizing a reporting framework in the sequential approach. In this approach a secondary user (SU) extends its sensing time until right before the beginning of its reporting time slot by utilizing the reporting framework. Secondly all the individual measurement results from each relay aided SU are passed on to the corresponding cluster head (CH) through a noisy reporting channel, while the CH with a soft-fusion report is forwarded to the fusion center that provides the final decision using the n-out-of-k-rule. With such extended sensing intervals and amplified reporting, a better sensing performance can be obtained than with a conventional non-sequential approach, therefore making it applicable for the future Internet of Things. In addition, the sum rate of the primary network and CCRRN are also investigated for the utilization reporting framework in the sequential approach with a relay using the n-out-of-k rule. By simulation, we show that the proposed sequential approach with a relay (Lemma 2) provides a significant sum rate gain compared to the conventional non-sequential approach with no relay (Lemma 1) under any condition.
The missing link: toward an assessment of innovation capacity in health care organizations
Authors: Kievit Pieter J. , Oomes Jeanette , Schoorl Marianne , Bartels Piet
Published: May 2018

The health care sector shows a disjunction between the well-understood necessity for change and the capacity to realize it. Conventional management strategies and traditional means of influencing professionals often fail to deliver projected outcomes. We address this issue from a different angle. An organization’s capacity for change is determined by the combination of power distribution, value system and change readiness, which should be analyzed not as formal qualities but as aspects of the organization as a social system, disclosing a reality beneath the surface of mission statements, quality policy and management models. We describe a method to analyse the identity of an organization as a social system with respect to its innovation potential. This identity shows in the rules of discourse determining what is valid communication and which are the sources of impact of arguments in a communicative interaction leading to decisions. We present two case studies in which groups of physicians argue in favor of respectively against the availability of physician-assisted death (PAD) for terminal patients.
Coupling geomechanical modeling with seismic pressure prediction
Authors: Heidari Mahdi , Nikolinakou Maria A. , Flemings Peter B.
Published: May 2018

We couple geomechanical modeling with seismic velocity to enhance the prediction of pressure and stresses in complex geologic settings. In these settings, pressure is controlled by mean and shear stresses rather than by only the vertical (overburden) stress. We estimate total mean and shear stresses from a geomechanical model. Effective mean and shear stresses are calculated from velocity using a relationship that we develop between velocity and these stresses. The pressure prediction process is iterated to attain convergence between the predicted pressure field and the one input in the geomechanical model. We also explicitly predict the full stress tensor. We apply our method along with the standard, vertical-effective-stress method to a salt basin beneath the Sigsbee Escarpment in the Mad Dog field, Gulf of Mexico. The methods are constrained to the same pressure data along a calibration well and are then used to predict pressure and stresses across the basin. We find that salt and basin bathymetry substantially perturb the stress field. The pressures predicted by the two methods differ the least at the calibration well and the most in areas where the total mean and shear stresses are the most different from those at the same burial depth at the calibration well. Our method is shown to predict pressures measured along a subsalt well better than the standard, vertical method. We calculate minimum stress and the drilling window along a vertical profile near salt and find that they significantly differ from the ones predicted by the standard, vertical method.
Investigation of Global Equivalent Damping and Statistical Relationship of Displacement between Nonlinear Static and Dynamic Analysis of Reinforced Concrete Frame Structures
Authors: Yan Lulu , Gong Jinxin , Zhang Qin
Published: May 2018

The assessment of the seismic performance of reinforced concrete (RC) frame structures using the equivalent linearization approach requires comprehensive insight into the nonlinear response of the system, and most previous researches focused on the analysis of a single-degree-of-freedom (SDOF) system. To describe the hysteretic behavior of a multi-degree-of-freedom (MDOF) system accurately, monotonic and cyclic pushover analyses for 88 RC frames structures with various configurations and design parameters are carried out and a unified hysteresis loop expression modeling the cyclic pushover results of RC frame system is developed. Then, a global equivalent damping based on Jacobsen's approach is derived, and comparisons between the displacements obtained by nonlinear static analysis (NSA) utilizing the derived global equivalent damping and those obtained by nonlinear time history analysis (NTHA) are made. Finally, a modified global equivalent damping is presented by calibrating the derived Jacobsen's equivalent damping through NTHA results. Based on the modified equivalent damping, the statistical analysis of the ratios of the results obtained by NTHA to those obtained by NSA is implemented to predicate the probabilistic seismic displacement demands of RC frame structures.
Fragility Curves for Wide-Flange Steel Columns and Implications for Building-Specific Earthquake-Induced Loss Assessment
Authors: Elkady Ahmed , Ghimire Subash , Lignos Dimitrios G.
Published: May 2018

Building-specific loss assessment methodologies use component fragility curves to compute expected losses in the aftermath of earthquakes. Such curves are not available for steel columns assuming they remain elastic because of capacity design considerations. Nonetheless, first-story steel columns in moment-resisting frames (MRFs) are expected to experience damage through flexural yielding and formation of geometric instabilities. This paper uses an experimental database that was recently assembled to develop two sets of univariate drift-based column fragility curves that consider the influence of loading history. Ordinal logistic regression is also employed to develop multivariate fragility curves that capture geometric and loading parameters that affect column performance. The implications of the proposed fragility curves for building-specific loss assessment are demonstrated using an eight-story office building with steel MRFs. It is shown that structural repair costs in this case may increase by 10%, regardless of seismic intensity, when column damage is considered. Similarly, the contribution of structural component repairs to expected annual losses may double over the building's life span.
Ibrutinib as Treatment for Patients With Relapsed/Refractory Follicular Lymphoma: Results From the Open-Label, Multicenter, Phase II DAWN Study
Authors: Gopal Ajay K. , Schuster Stephen J. , Fowler Nathan H. , Trotman Judith , Hess Georg , Hou Jing-Zhou , Yacoub Abdulraheem , Lill Michael , Martin Peter , Vitolo Umberto , Spencer Andrew , Radford John , Jurczak Wojciech , Morton James , Caballero Dolores , Deshpande Sanjay , Gartenberg Gary J. , Wang Shean-Sheng , Damle Rajendra N. , Schaffer Michael , Balasubramanian Sriram , Vermeulen Jessica , Cheson Bruce D. , Salles Gilles
Published: May 2018

Purpose

The Bruton's tyrosine kinase inhibitor ibrutinib has demonstrated clinical activity in B-cell malignancies. The DAWN study assessed the efficacy and safety of single-agent ibrutinib in chemoimmunotherapy relapsed/refractory follicular lymphoma (FL) patients.

Methods

DAWN was an open-label, single-arm, phase II study of ibrutinib in patients with FL with two or more prior lines of therapy. Patients received ibrutinib 560 mg daily until progressive disease/unacceptable toxicity. The primary objective was independent review committee–assessed overall response rate (ORR; complete response plus partial response). Exploratory analyses of T-cell subsets in peripheral blood (baseline/cycle 3) and cytokines/chemokines (baseline/cycle 2) were performed for available samples.

Results

Between March 2013 and May 2016, 110 patients with a median of three prior lines of therapy were enrolled. At median follow-up of 27.7 months, ORR was 20.9% (95% CI, 13.7% to 29.7%, which did not meet the 18% lower-bound threshold for the primary end point). Twelve patients achieved a complete response (11%; 95% CI, 5.8% to 18.3%). Median duration of response was 19.4 months (range, 1 to ≥ 33 months), with a median progression-free survival of 4.6 months and a 30-month overall survival of 61% (95% CI, 0.51% to 0.70%). Lymphoma symptoms resolved in 67%. Seven of 32 patients who experienced initial radiologic progression responded upon continuing therapy (pseudoprogression). The most common adverse events were diarrhea, fatigue, cough, and muscle spasms; 48.2% of patients reported serious adverse events. In patients who experienced a response, regulatory T cells were downregulated at C3D1 ( P = .02), and Th1-promoting (antitumor) cytokines interferon-γ and interleukin-12 increased ( P ≤ .035).

Conclusion

With an ORR of 20.9%, ibrutinib failed to meet its primary efficacy end point in chemoimmunotherapy in patients with relapsed/refractory FL, although responses were durable and associated with a reduction in regulatory T cells and increases in proinflammatory cytokines.
A Primer for Teaching Environmental History
Authors: Wakild Emily , Berry Michelle K.
Published: May 2018

A Primer for Teaching Environmental History is a guide for college and high school teachers who are teaching environmental history for the first time, for experienced teachers who want to reinvigorate their courses, for those who are training future teachers to prepare their own syllabi, and for teachers who want to incorporate environmental history into their world history courses. Emily Wakild and Michelle K. Berry offer design principles for creating syllabi that will help students navigate a wide range of topics, from food, environmental justice, and natural resources to animal-human relations, senses of place, and climate change. In their discussions of learning objectives, assessment, project-based learning, using technology, and syllabus design, Wakild and Berry draw readers into the process of strategically designing courses on environmental history that will challenge students to think critically about one of the most urgent topics of study in the twenty-first century.
STRETCHING IN STUDENT LIFE
Authors: Васенков Николай , Vasenkov Nikolay , Васенков Владимир , Vasenkov Vladimir , Мишланова Варвара , Mishlanova Varvara
Published: May 2018

The article provides an overview of the concepts of stretching. Described at the beginning of the occupation. contraindications Classes have stretching only positive side. The greatest advantage lies in proximity to natural movements. This article describes three types of stretching are applied. In conclusion, the authors conclude: different ways to stretch reflex cause reactions on the part of the "nervous system, improve processes in the skin, muscles and tendons-ligaments
Biological and social effects of adaptation to hypobaric hypoxia
Authors: Малах Ольга , Malah Ol'ga , Крестьянинова Татьяна , Krest'yaninova Tat'yana
Published: May 2018

The monograph reflects the possibility of using technologies of adaptation to hypobaric hypoxia for the prevention and treatment of toxic hepatitis and bronchial asthma. In addition, the social effects of adaptation to hypobaric hypoxia in combination with educational programs are shown. The positive effect of adaptation to hypobaric hypoxia on the overall metabolism of the body is explained. The publication can be useful for students of biological and medical specialties of institutions providing higher education, specialists in the field of rehabilitation, Allergology and immunology, pathology of the hepatobiliary system, as well as for a wide range of readers.
Whole-body cryotherapy – promising add-on treatment of depressive disorders
Authors: Rymaszewska Joanna , Urbanska Katarzyna , Szcześniak Dorota , Pawłowski Tomasz , Pieniawska-Śmiech Karolina , Kokot Izabela , Pawlik-Sobecka Lilla , Płaczkowska Sylwia , Zabłocka Agnieszka , Stańczykiewicz Bartłomiej
Published: May 2018

Cel pracy

Nadal istnieje zapotrzebowanie na nowe, efektywne biologiczne interwencje terapeutyczne w epizodach depresyjnych i zaburzeniu depresyjnym nawracającym. Krioterapia ogólnoustrojowa (WBC), będąca formą stymulacji ogólnoustrojowej temperaturami kriogenicznymi, jest coraz częściej stosowaną metodą leczniczą w schorzeniach neurologicznych oraz w reumatologii. Badanie miało na celu określenie skuteczności krioterapii ogólnoustrojowej jako augmentacji leczenia epizodu depresyjnego.

Metoda

Do badania obserwacyjnego zrekrutowano 30 dorosłych pacjentów leczonych ambulatoryjnie z powodu epizodu depresyjnego. 21 osób (17 kobiet, 81%) ze średnią wieku 46,1 (±16,7) lat ukończyło badanie. Do określenia nasilenia objawów depresyjnych u badanych użyto Skali Depresji Hamiltona oraz Inwentarza Depresji Becka. Jakość życia oceniano WHOQoL-Bref a poziom anhedonii skalą SHAPS. W okresie 2 tygodni przeprowadzono 10 dwuminutowych sesji ekspozycji na skrajnie niskie temperatury (od -110 do -135 stopni Celsjusza).

Wyniki

Po cyklu kriostymulacji ogólnoustrojowej stwierdzono znaczącą poprawę w postaci redukcji ogólnej punktacji w skalach oceniających objawy depresyjne HDRS między T1 (16,94±4,3) i T4 (4,50±4,2) (p<0.00001) oraz BDI (T1: 13,48±4,6; T4: 6,14±6.7, p<0,03), nasilenie anhedonii w skali SHAPS (p=0,011), oraz wyższe wyniki w skali jakości życia w domenach: poczucie zdrowia fizycznego (p=0,024), poczucie zdrowia psychicznego (p=0,016) oraz w domenie środowiskowej (p=0,003). Zauważono istotny wzrost samodzielnie ocenianego samopoczucia przy użyciu skali VAS przed i po przebytych zabiegach (p<0,00001). Nie stwierdzono wpływu krioterapii ogólnoustrojowej na zmianę poziomu cytokin, NO, hsCRP, OB oraz TAS we krwi uczestników przed i po zakończeniu cyklu krioterapii (p>0,05).

Wnioski

Krioterapia ogólnoustrojowa okazała się efektywną, bezpieczną oraz dobrze tolerowaną dodatkową interwencją terapeutyczną wśród pacjentów z epizodem depresyjnym. Dalsze randomizowane badania z grupą kontrolną powinny zostać przeprowadzone.
Teaching Physical Examination to Medical Students on Inpatient Medicine Teams: A Prospective, Mixed‐Methods Descriptive Study
Authors: Bergl Paul A. , Taylor Allison C. , Klumb Jennifer , Quirk Kerrie , Muntz Martin D. , Fletcher Kathlyn E.
Published: May 2018

Physical examination (PE) is a core clinical competency, and the internal medicine clerkship is a premiere venue for students to develop PE skills. However, clinical rotations often lack opportunities for real‐time instruction. We sought to measure the frequency, content, and factors affecting PE instruction during the internal medicine clerkship. We conducted a prospective mixed‐methods study at a single academic center. Data were gathered by a student researcher who directly observed inpatient teams over 3 months. We quantified the frequency of PE teaching activities and analyzed daily written observations using qualitative content analysis. PE was most frequently discussed during bedside rounds and least often during workroom rounds. Direct observation of students' examinations rarely occurred. Multiple factors in the learning environment were posited to affect PE instruction. In brief, we found that residents and attending physicians who are part of internal medicine teaching services do not routinely emphasize PE instruction.
Optimal Course Scheduling for United States Air Force Academy Cadets
Authors: Gonzalez Gerardo , Richards Christopher , Newman Alexandra
Published: May 2018

Scheduling students and academic courses at the United States Air Force Academy (USAFA), a military commissioning source, has required unique software and considerable manual effort. The recent discontinuation of the Oracle-based student information system mandates that the USAFA superintendent invest in new software, the customization of which will incur millions in additional costs if USAFA continues to rely upon a fixed alternating-day schedule format. We present an integer program that generates a course schedule using the repeated-week format common to most commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) systems. The integer program uses cadet registration information to determine the number of sections to be offered and how cadets should be assigned to them to ensure on-time graduation, while accomplishing mandatory military training. Hard constraints enforce institutional restrictions that require all athletes to attend practice, limit the number of cadets who delay required courses, keep classroom usage and number of sections to campus and faculty availability, and ensure cadets are assigned only to scheduled sections without overlapping time requirements. Flexible constraints reflect faculty and cadet preferences; their violation is minimized to honor teaching requests from each department, maintain minimum and maximum section sizes, restrict the number of evening sections, and meet cadet registrations. In contrast to the previous USAFA process, we generate schedules that reduce the number of unmet student registrations by more than 75 percent, use 21 percent fewer sections, and respect nearly 90 percent of faculty teaching preferences. Results from our methodology are easily reproducible and measurable in terms of time to adjudicate, desirability, and demand on faculty resources. By accommodating a standard repeated-week format, rather than adhering to the current alternating-day approach, our model integrates easily as a front end to a COTS system and avoids $120 million in customization costs. Our program reduces the reliance on manual manipulation and makes it possible to find feasible schedules that permit section length and patterns to vary according to pedagogy—a break from over 50 years of rigid time-blocking techniques that sacrifice desirability for feasibility and timeliness.
Power and democracy in Iceland: An Introduction
Authors: Frímannsson Guðmundur Heiðar
Published: May 2018

From the article: This research project which results are presented in this special issue of Icelandic Review of Politics and Administrations has been going on since 2014. It has resulted in various theoretical articles published earlier. This special issue is not a final report of an investigation into power and democracy in Iceland as has been published in other Nordic countries. The funds received for this project were more limited than political scientists received in other Nordic countries to conduct similar investigations of their own governing structures. The results are varied and do not form a coherent whole but they are interesting in their own right. This special issue marks the ultimate point in the research. All the articles engage with various features of Icelandic democracy, be it the machinery of state, Icelandic power structure, political parties or the changing social background of the citizens and their relations to the Icelandic state.
Political cleavages, party voter linkages and the impact of voters’ socio-economic status on vote-choice in Iceland, 1983-2016/17
Authors: Önnudóttir Eva H. , Harðarson Ólafur Þ.
Published: May 2018

In the research presented in this paper, we analyse whether the structure of the political cleavage system in Iceland has changed since 1983, as well as whether the impacts of party-voter linkages and the social structure of the vote have changed between 1983 and 2016/2017. Based on official data and the Icelandic National Election Study (ICENES), we find that the rural-urban cleavage and left-right cleavage, which are reflected in party polarisation on the left-right spectrum, are as important today as previously. Our main results regarding the impacts of party-voter linkages and the social-structure of the vote is that the core bonds of party identification, left-right distances and the social structure of the vote have weakened over time, whereas the impact of party sympathy has become stronger. This, we argue, reflects that while there has been a gradual change in the impact of party-voter linkages and the social structure of the vote, opening up a space for new parties to succeed, the political cleavage system has remained intact. The major change has thus occurred in the bond between voters and parties and not in the structure of party competition in Iceland.
Marshall McLuhan’s New Science as a case of reflection concerning common ground for art, science and technology
Authors: Knosala Bartłomiej , Kuzior Aleksandra
Published: May 2018

The main aim of this article is to present Marshall McLuhan’s Laws of Media in the context of the philosophies of Francis Bacon and Giambattista Vico. Understanding the interconnection between language, senses and cognition is crucial in philosophically joining the three new sciences: Bacon’s Novum Organum, Vico’s Scienzia Nuova and McLuhan’s New Science. At the same time, we point to the fact that such a theoretical basis allows us to understand art, science and technology not as distinct forms of human activity but as integrally linked ones. In this sense, McLuhan’s thought can inspire further studies, the object of which is to overcome the so-called problem of two cultures.
Extending McLuhan (L)
Authors: Yi Liang , Albrecht Robert
Published: May 2018

In this article, the authors illustrate some of the multiple applications of the seminal idea planted by McLuhan that technologies are extensions of human faculties or abilities. The intention of the article is not to break new ground but rather to demonstrate that this McLuhanist idea remains relevant and vital in the contemporary era.
Why am I here? A self-study of an international art education student lost in transition
Authors: Yi Seonjeong
Published: May 2018

This article is an arts-based inquiry into the often overlooked stories of international graduate students (IGSs) in art education. In this case, I draw on my experiences as a Korean graduate student in Canada, rendered through visuals and text. As part of my ongoing reflective process, I approached this project through life writing and drawing as a means to articulate my understandings of the moments within my first year in the programme. The questions that guided my research include the following: What kind of academic adaptation issues do IGSs experience? Does a personal story provide useful insight into the phenomena of the academic adaptation process? And how do visual narratives as arts-based educational research (ABER) provide a rendering of the experience of an IGS? With this intent, this article examines diverse ways that help to broaden and deepen the discourses of international students in educational studies.
In the context of public pedagogy: Transit
Authors: Güneş Nurhayat
Published: May 2018

I came to Vancouver, Canada as a visiting Ph.D. student to study a/r/tography at the University of British Columbia (UBC). The multinational and multicultural nature of the city of Vancouver became an unexpected learning resource during my stay. I soon became consumed by my own everyday learning and in time, I began to understand the power of public pedagogy, or in other words, those informal learning opportunities outside institutional forms of learning. In this visual essay, I examine the concept of transit as one dimension of public pedagogy. This concept emerged from photographs and anecdotes taken during my everyday use of public transit. I used a/r/tography as a practice-based art education research methodology to guide my work. Transit became a bodied and embodied form of living inquiry as I investigated the very nature of public transit as public pedagogy.
Fabricating consent for an ‘adjustment programme’: Crisis narratives of economic journalists in Portugal
Authors: de Almeida João Ramos , Castro Caldas José , Costa Ana
Published: May 2018

Following Greece and Ireland, and preceding Spain and Cyprus, Portugal has been subject to a troika ‘adjustment programme’ that lasted from mid-2011 to mid-2014. The implementation of the programme was disturbed by unexpected events stemming from internal political tensions, ‘exogenous’ shocks, resistance from the judicial system (the Constitutional Court) and opposition from large sections of the public. As in Greece, the programme was experienced by most as a dramatic and traumatic event. Major actors in this drama have been the troika institutions, the Portuguese government and its supporting parties, the Portuguese opposition parties, trade unions and other social movements. Other actors, namely journalists, arguably also played an important role. This article examines the role played by economic journalists during the so-called adjustment process. It analyses the content of the publications (op-eds) of main Portuguese economic journalists prior to and during the period of implementation of the troika’s programme. It is based on a survey of all the publications (op-eds) of six authors between 1 January 2010 and 30 July 2014. The analysis of the journalists’ texts led to the following conclusions: (1) the texts are rooted in a particular set of core (neo-liberal) beliefs about the economy and its functioning, what we call the ‘consensus view’; (2) the crisis is perceived as an opportunity not to be missed to implement long due reforms aimed at a neo-liberal reshaping of the economy and society and (3) the texts were mainly concerned with deflecting opposition to, or fabricating consent in favour of, the troika’s ‘adjustment’.
‘Spain is not Greece’: Reflections of the Hellenic crisis in Spanish political discourse
Authors: Seoane Pérez Francisco
Published: May 2018

This article investigates the narratives constructed around the Greek crisis by Spanish elite press, in the period between May 2010, the date of the first international bailout package of Greece, and June 2016, the date of the latest parliamentary elections in Spain, which registered a disappointing result for Podemos’, SYRIZA’s sister party. The victory of SYRIZA in the January 2015 elections in Greece marks a pivotal point in European politics generally and the Spanish political discourse specifically about the Hellenic crisis, as it signalled the voicing of public discontent to austerity not only through parliamentary representation but ultimately through the formation of government. From 2010 to 2015, majority party leaders in Spain insisted that ‘Spain is not Greece’, aiming to dissociate the country from the Greek counterpart on the basis of its politics, claimed to be corrupt, the level of individual responsibility of its citizens, ‘living beyond their means’ and the standing of Spain as an economic power in Europe. From 2015 until the floundering of Podemos in the 2016 elections, the elite discourse circulated the idea that Spain could become like Greece, if ruled by a populist formation similar to SYRIZA. The article critically analyses Spain’s benchmark newspapers coverage, El País and El Mundo of the crisis, and contextualizes the similarities and differences of treatment between the Greek and the Spanish cases. It does so taking into account the emergence of Podemos and the election victory of SYRIZA, both deriving from public disagreement with and dissent to national and Troika policies, which proved to have altered the political landscape and to have fundamentally destabilized the long-standing bipartisan political domination in their respective countries.
Narrating precarity: Migrant cleaners’ subjectivities and the Greek crisis
Authors: Stournara Nefeli
Published: May 2018

This article investigates precarity through narratives of migrant women who work as cleaners in public hospitals in Athens. It explores the ways in which the Greek recession had an impact on different women’s working experiences. The article takes a qualitative approach, embracing feminist philosophical underpinnings; semi-structured interviews were conducted along with observations in the spaces of the public hospitals. The article illustrates migrant women cleaners’ labour experiences that narrate precarity through communicative spaces of collaboration. Women’s varying manifestations of working experiences indicate that they are not products of the politics of recession. Instead, they are active, resisting, empathetic, caring and empowered agents that structure socialites that take the form of communicative spaces.
Visualization of literary knowledge and the iComic turn: Towards a graphic history of Modern Greek literature
Authors: Diamantopoulou Lilia
Published: May 2018

This article focuses on the visual representations of literary knowledge and the combination of visualized information with a didactical scope. It begins with a theoretical overview of current terms, such as visual, new (and multimodal) literacies, graphic and educational comics and visual adaptations of literary classics. Furthermore, the essay proposes the term iComic turn as a new term for the recent blooming of editions of graphic literary adaptations. The article subsequently focuses on examples of how comics could be integrated in the classroom presenting some draft sketches of A Graphic History of Modern Greek Literature.
Ingmar’s Hitchcockian cameos: Early Bergman as auteur inside the Swedish studio system
Authors: Lunde Arne
Published: May 2018

This short subject identifies twelve Bergman films in which the Swedish director wryly and playfully includes Hitchcockian cameo appearances of himself. Nine of these cameos appear in films Bergman made between 1946 and 1955, before the director’s international breakthrough and during a period when the writer-director was making genre pictures inside the Swedish studio system for several different studios. The present study argues that Bergman self-consciously exploits these early cameos, à la Hitchcock, as a clever, subversive means of including his authorial presence and visual signature within his film texts. He thus operates as a hidden auteur within an industrial Hollywood-like studio factory system before emerging as ‘Bergman’ the brand name in international art house cinema after the late 1950s.
Let’s talk about Sweden – with Sweden: On the Focus on Sweden section at the 2016 Kraków Film Festival
Authors: Pławuszewski Piotr
Published: May 2018

For the last several years, there has been a tradition at the Kraków Film Festival, which focuses primarily on documentaries, that one section is dedicated to films from a given country. In 2016, the country chosen was Sweden. This short subject discusses the main aspects of that event. The Focus on Sweden section consisted of sixteen films, mostly documentaries, the oldest from 2014. The festival’s catalogue emphasized the vibrancy and diversity of Swedish film production, which raises the question of whether one can trace any patterns among these diverse films. Discussion of documentaries like The Swedish Theory of Love (Gandini, 2016), Filip & Fredrik presenterar trevligt folk (Nice People) (Helgeson and af Klintberg, 2015) and Flickan som räddade mitt liv (The Girl Who Saved My Life) (Hirori, 2016) demonstrates the ways in which they challenge viewers’ opinions of Scandinavia and the world.
Los usos atenuantes del aproximativo casi: relación entre contenido proposicional y unidades del discurso
Authors: Pardo Llibrer Adrià
Published: May 2018

El aproximativo casi entraña la inversión polar de su proposición, sin embargo, los usos considerados expletivos presentan valores atenuantes. Este trabajo complementa con un estudio de corpus la descripción teórica del uso expletivo-atenuante en relación con la unidad discursiva de casi en el habla coloquial. La unidad que ocupa en el discurso determina su uso atenuante y supone una prueba efectiva de su naturaleza semántica, al tiempo que aclara ciertas cuestiones de la bibliografía deductiva.
Mecanismos de atenuación entre el decir y lo dicho: procesos de enunciación a través de la partícula discursiva digamos
Authors: Salameh Jiménez Shima
Published: May 2018

Este trabajo presenta los resultados obtenidos en el análisis de la partícula discursiva digamos en corpus coloquiales (Val.Es.Co. 2002 y 2.0.), aplicando el sistema de unidades, niveles y posiciones Val.Es.Co. (Briz y grupo Val.Es.Co. 2003, 2014) y la ficha Es. Por. Atenuación (Albelda et alii 2014). El resultado integra dos perspectivas de análisis para determinar si factores como la unidad ocupada o posición discursiva condicionan su polifuncionalidad.
Un lenguaje para vender: estrategias de atenuación en el discurso de venta de los vagoneros en Ciudad de México
Authors: Alonso Piñero Lara
Published: May 2018

Este artículo estudia las estrategias de atenuación lingüística utilizadas por los vagoneros o vendedores informales del metro de Ciudad de México en su discurso de venta. Se trata de un tipo específico de comunicación publicitaria que utiliza una serie de elementos estructurales y estratégicos. Entre ellos destaca el empleo de estrategias de atenuación con las que se pretende mitigar la finalidad eminentemente coercitiva de este tipo de discurso publicitario. En este trabajo analizaremos las citadas estrategias de atenuación, a partir de un corpus constituido por cuarenta discursos de venta recogidos en la Ciudad de México durante el año 2015.
“¿Es normal que sea un poco difícil de leer la consigna?” La atenuación en las peticiones de hablantes no nativos de español
Authors: Marsily Aurélie
Published: May 2018

Este artículo analiza la producción de peticiones en español por parte de estudiantes francófonos de Bélgica. Más específicamente, estudia los diferentes recursos que usan para atenuar sus peticiones, a saber, la atenuación de lo dicho y del decir. Los datos han sido recopilados mediante interacciones naturalizadas, siguiendo una metodología inicialmente desarrollada por Tran (2006). Los resultados del análisis de las peticiones se analizan mediante una taxonomía elaborada a partir del estado de la cuestión y de un análisis de corpus. Estos resultados se alejan en parte de lo que se suele encontrar en estudios anteriores: encontramos muchas peticiones indirectas o peticiones reorientadas hacia el emisor. En cuanto al análisis de la atenuación, se hace uso principalmente de la atenuación del decir. Además, se puede afirmar que las peticiones indirectas ya son una forma de atenuar la petición, en vez de optar por estrategias más directas. Otro recurso de atenuación es optar por no realizar la petición o hacer uso de gestos y de miradas para no formularla de manera verbal.
Creación de un modelo de análisis para la identificación de la presencia/ausencia de atenuación en un corpus de adquisición del español de estudiantes franceses
Authors: Secchi Daniel
Published: May 2018

Este artículo pretende destacar la importancia de la enseñanza de la atenuación como estrategia pragmática que constituye una herramienta esencial para todo hablante que quiera aprender a desenvolverse en contextos comunicativos reales al igual que los nativos. A tal fin, en este estudio analizamos un corpus real propio, a través de una ficha de análisis, con el objetivo de reconocer y clasificar cómo los estudiantes franceses usan estos mecanismos atenuantes y también la carencia, ausencia o uso inadecuado de las tácticas atenuantes, en los intercambios comunicativos analizados.
Rasgos fonopragmáticos del español mexicano y la atenuación en los procesos comunicativos del francés
Authors: Valdez Vega Orlando , Flores Treviño María Eugenia
Published: May 2018

En esta investigación se realiza un estudio de los rasgos fonopragmáticos (Hidalgo, 2009) de la lengua francesa, en hispanohablantes del noreste mexicano para revisar las variaciones atenuadoras en función del género y de la cultura del hablante que introducen un cambio de sentido en ese sistema de lengua. Intravaia (2000) afirma que los elementos rítmico-melódicos juegan en todas las lenguas un rol semántico y que cada lengua posee sus propios rasgos prosódicos que permiten expresar toda clase de estados psíquicos como satisfacción, desprecio, decepción, enojo, entre otros. Por último, subrayamos la importancia e implicaciones de su enseñanza durante el aprendizaje de la lengua francesa.
Entre selfies y whatsapps: Oportunidades y riesgos para la infancia y la adolescencia conectada
Authors: Rangel Celia
Published: May 2018

Reseña del libro Entre selfies y whatsapps: Oportunidades y riesgos para la infancia y la adolescencia conectada.
A Mulher Empreendedora e o delineamento do perfil Profissional da Personal Trainer
Authors: Gut Bruna Cibele Pacheco , Santos Marligia Souza , Oliveira Erika Maria Jamir de
Published: May 2018

Este estudo teve como objetivo identificar o perfil da empreendedora que atua como personal trainer e, descrever as características do comportamento empreendedor destas profissionais que atuam no Município de Petrolina-PE. A pesquisa possui caráter descritivo, e a técnica utilizada foi o levantamento, os dados foram coletados mediante entrevistas instrumentalizada por formulários com todas as profissionais identificadas nas academias em situações regulares no pleno exercício legal da atividade. Os resultados indicam que as profissionais possuem as CCE, pois, a maioria das características a mediana foi 4, porém, as características correr ricos moderados e estabelecimento de metas foram mais baixas. Estas características podem ser desenvolvidas e aperfeiçoadas com vistas a melhoria dos resultados.
A Organização Política dos Trabalhadoras/es do SUAS no Âmbito da Proteção Social Básica de Iguatu-CE
Authors: Lima Rita De Cássia Clares de , Gomes Filho Antoniel Dos Santos
Published: May 2018

A pesquisa reflete o acúmulo de observações quanto a organização política das/os trabalhadoras/es do Sistema Único de Assistência Social e suas principais lutas em defesa da Política Municipal de Assistência Social entre 2015 e 2017. Teve como objetivo analisar o processo de organização política das/os trabalhadoras/es no âmbito do SUAS em Iguatu-CE, com foco na Proteção Social Básica - PSB. A realização da pesquisa deu-se através da aplicação de questionário junto às equipes de nível médio e superior dos Centros de Referências de Assistência Social – CRAS, e uma entrevista semiestruturada com 01 representante do Fórum Municipal de Trabalhadoras/es do SUAS de Iguatu – FMTSUAS.
Receios na Gestação de Alto Risco: Uma Análise da Percepção das Gestantes no Pré-Natal
Authors: Cabral Symara Abrantes Albuquerque de Oliveira , Alencar Maria Carmem Batista de , Carmo Larissa Araújo do , Barbosa Sylvio Elvis Da Silva , Barros Anny Caroline Costa Vieira , Barros Jefferson Kleber Batista
Published: May 2018

A gestação constitui-se de um evento carregado de sentimentos e capaz de marcar a vida da mulher de forma positiva ou negativa, o que, por si só, traz intensos receios, especialmente se tal evento vem acompanhado de processos patológicos que podem desencadear o receio do desfecho. Neste sentido, o presente trabalho objetivou analisar a percepção das gestantes quanto receios associados aos riscos de uma gestação acompanhada em pré-natal de alto-risco. Foi desenvolvida uma pesquisa de campo, exploratória, prospectiva, com abordagem quantitativa e qualitativa dos dados, realizada em uma maternidade do sertão paraibano, com a população constituída por todas as gestantes admitidas no serviço obstétrico de alto risco de referência nos meses de maio e junho de 2017. A partir do estudo foi possível observar que a maioria das gestantes acolhidas no serviço não são consideradas de alto risco por não se enquadrarem nos parâmetros de admissão, e mesmo sendo bem orientadas carregam receios relativos ao nascimento do bebê, seja do momento do parto ou da vitalidade do concepto.