bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Les propositions infinitives indépendantes enfantines et la distribution des pronoms objets en français et en néerlandais
Authors: Haegeman Liliane
Published: February 2018

This article concerns the distribution of clitics in the child root infinitives in French and in Dutch. In the material studied, subject clitics are absent both from French and Dutch root infinitives; object clitics are present in French root infinitives while remaining absent from Dutch root infinitives. It is proposed that this cross-linguistic difference is related to the difference in the licensing site of the object clitics, which is taken to be AgrOin French and AgrSin Dutch. The hypothesis thus casts doubt on proposals according to which clitics are universally base-generated in specialised functional positions in the structure (Sportiche 1996; Schaeffer 1997).
Transparent Adjuncts
Authors: Borgonovo Claudia , Neeleman Ad
Published: February 2018

This article explores an unexpected extraction pattern out of adjuncts, as inWhat did John die whistling?andWhat did John hurt himself trying to fix?in English. This type of extraction is possible if the adjuncts are predicative and the matrix verbs are either ergative or (inherent) reflexive. The predicativity of the adjuncts is essential in getting these adjuncts interpreted as arguments; this requires coindexation with a thematic role of the verb, which is shown to obtain. Once transparent adjuncts are integrated into the thematic structure of the clause, the resulting representation exhibits the hallmarks of reflexivity. Reflexive predicates must receive appropriate marking. This explains the second requirement on transparent adjuncts: the matrix verbs are precisely of the type capable of licensing reflexivity.
The Selectional Restrictions of French Past Tenses
Authors: Labelle Marie
Published: February 2018

This article argues against the idea that the Imparfait and the Passé Simple in French are aspectually sensitive tense operators. Both morphemes combine with any type of eventuality. It is not the case that a clause in the Imparfait denotes a state, or that a clause in the Passé Simple denotes an event. It is proposed that the Passé Simple is a true past tense, which introduces a past eventuality in the discourse with the condition that it be the maximal eventuality of the appropriate type. The Imparfait is analyzed as a dyadic morpheme, which selects an eventuality as internal argument and a past temporal referent of discourse as external argument, where the eventuality provides a condition on the temporal referent.
Nominal Infinitives in Spanish: An Aspectual Constraint
Authors: Miguel Elena De
Published: February 2018

The aim of this article is to provide an analysis of two types of Spanish infinitival constructions headed by a determiner. In an attempt to define the categorial status of the infinitive morpheme, it is proposed that there are two homophonous infinitival morphemes which project two different structures: one of them is inflectional in nature and projects clausal configurations; the other one is derivational in nature and projects nominal structures. This latter suffix carries an activity aspect and attaches only to aspectually compatible verbal stems. This proposal explains the different properties and contexts for the two structures analysed, and, more interestingly, provides an account for a number of data that remained unexplained in previous analyses.
Inflected Infinitives Revisited: Genericity and Single Event
Authors: Ambar Manuela
Published: February 2018

This article argues for a minimalist approach to the variation between Romance languages with respect to the generic interpretation associated with infinitival complements of epistemic verbs. It is proposed that epistemic verbs have inherent temporal features and that they assign a tense feature to their complement. These features are checked under a Spec-head relation through two temporal projections, related either to the object position or the subject position. The variation observed between Portuguese and French, Italian and Spanish with respect to the event interpretation of infinitives is formulated in terms of the strong/weak status of the [+specific] feature of Tense. The difference in the temporal interpretation of the inflected infinitives with respect to the presence or absence of thehave+ past participle sequence is derived from the hypothesis that the tense of the participle raises to the TP projection that c-commands it when it is morphologically invisible, the indicative present being visible in Portuguese, but not in the other languages.
Minimalisme et variation syntaxique
Authors: Ndayiragije Juvénal
Published: February 2018

This article argues for a very restrictive theory of feature checking whereby only formal features of functional heads need to be checked for convergence. This theory, which enables us to dispense with most of the economy conditions assumed within the minimalist program (Chomsky 1995), is empirically supported by two syntactically and semantically related constructions in Kirundi: the Subject-Object Reversal and the Transitive Expletive Constructions. On parametric grounds, we argue that such constructions derive from the existence in Kirundi of a TP-internal focus projection whose [+focus] feature must be checked for convergence.
Syntactic Position and the Interpretation of Temporal Adjectives
Authors: Silva-Villar Luis , Gutiérrez-Rexach Javier
Published: February 2018

The analysis of the syntactic and interpretive properties of Spanish temporal adjectives poses an interesting problem for the theory of syntax since [+temporal] interpretation and Noun-Adjective linearizations are not univocal. The minimalist account of the position of temporal adjectives argued for here is based on the hypothesis that DPs contain a TP projection in which the feature [+temp] is checked: the TP within DP hypothesis. According to this hypothesis, all nouns are associated with an optional temporal feature when entering the computational component. When they enter into a syntactic relation with a term carrying a [+temp] value, the temporal feature they are associated with must be checked. Attraction of the adjective can take place overtly or covertly. In the first case, the adjective is in prenominal position checking the [+temp] feature at Spell-Out and, in the second case, it appears postnominally checking the [+temp] feature at the LF interface.
Events, Times, and Mohawk Verbal Inflection
Authors: Baker Mark , Travis Lisa Demena
Published: February 2018

The Mohawk tense-mood-aspect system has many “irregularities” that seem to require a powerful morphological component distinct from syntax. Nevertheless, it is shown that most of these “irregularities” can be explained in syntactic and semantic terms, once the right lexical entries are given. This result is achieved by making two assumptions of general interest: (1) mood is analyzed as the verbal equivalent of specifity in the NP system, and (2) habitual and stative verbs are shown to have time arguments, whereas ordinary eventive verbs have only event arguments. Given this, morpheme positions, cooccurrence restrictions, and the lack of recursion in the inflectional system can be derived from ordinary principles of composition, head movement, and a simple form of blocking. Only the selection of allomorphs is left to a post-syntactic morphology.
Fondements grammaticaux de l’acquisition des mots composés
Authors: Barbaud Philippe
Published: February 2018

On serait tenté de croire que la question de l’acquisition des mots composés dans les langues romanes et en français plus particulièrement ne semble pas se poser d’abord en termes de processus de maturation ni en termes de dispositif d’apprenance (“learnability”) du langage (DAP). Après tout, un enfant en bas âge n’articule pas des mots composés dès lors qu’il commence à balbutier. On a même l’impression que l’enfant n’a pas besoin d’être confronté à des données très particulières pour acquérir la capacité de comprendre et de réutiliser les mots composés de sa langue. On peut même entretenir l’illusion que les mots composés n’appartiennent ni à son voculaire fondamental ni même à son répertoire lexical de jeune locuteur. Quelques exceptions mises à part, commeloup-garouou “jouer à cache-cache, à colin-maillard, à chat-perché, à pigeon vole, à saute-mouton, etc.”, un enfant n’a que rarement l’occasion, nous semble-t-il, d’entendre les mots composés de sa langue et surtout de les enregistrer dans son vocabulaire actif. En tout état de cause, les mots composés ne poseraient aucun vrai problème d’acquisition ni seraient d’une grande pertinence en regard du DAP.
AGR in Languages Without Person and Number Agreement: The Case of the Clausal Determiner in Haitian and Fon
Authors: Lefebvre Claire
Published: February 2018

In recent literature on the decomposition of INFL (Pollock 1989), it has been proposed that the features of agreement morphology (henceforth the Ф features), and the features of Tense, each head a separate projection, AGR and T, respectively. There are languages which do not exhibit agreement in Ф features. This raises the question as to whether these languages have a functional category AGR. Kornfilt (1989), for example, shows that in contrast to Modern Turkish, Old Turkish does not exhibit agreement phenomena in person and number. She proposes that the difference between the two grammars be expressed in terms of the presence of AGR in the former and the absence of this projection in the latter. Similarly, on the basis of the fact that Haitian Creole lacks agreement in person and number, Ritter (1991b) suggests that Haitian Creole lacks the functional category AGR. In this paper, I demonstrate that there is ample motivation for positing AGR as a syntactic category in Haitian and in Fon.
On the Case System of Berber
Authors: Guerssel Mohand
Published: February 2018

The morphological shape of a noun in Berber is determined by the syntactic context in which it appears. The alternation is between what has come to be known as the Construct State and the Free State. Since the alternation is syntactically determined, it has been suggested that the State phenomenon may be a form of case (cf. Prasse 1974; Chaker 1983; Bader and Kenstowicz 1984; Ouhalla 1988). But the link between Case and State has not been established in a conclusive manner. One reason why the nature of the Construct State has remained a puzzling aspect of Berber is that the contexts in which the Construct State forms appear and those where the Free State forms appear do not seem to constitute natural classes. For instance, most prepositions take a Construct State complement, but some take Free State forms. The subject of a verb in the VSO order is in the Construct but a left dislocated subject is not. The object of a verb is in the Free State, but when it is clitic doubled it is in the Construct State.
LeforLesin the Spoken Educated Spanish of Eleven Cities
Authors: DeMello George
Published: February 2018

A phenomenon that is encountered fairly frequently in Spanish but has received relatively little attention on the part of linguists is the use of the singular indirect object pronounlewhen the pluralleswould be expected, as illustrated in the following examples:

Hay que darle un justo precio a las personas. (BOG-8:107)

Mi papá le tenía terror a las balas perdidas. (CAR-34:615)

Nosotros le calentamos a los niños la comida. (HAV-2:30)

Se le ponía bola negra a las que se lo merecían. (MAD-16:266)

Es poco el tiempo que puedo dedicarle a mis hijos. (MEX-13:168)

To my knowledge, only Kany (1951:107–109) has attempted to deal with this topic in a comprehensive, global manner, and his presentation is limited to one brief paragraph of commentary illustrated by examples taken primarily from works written in the 1920s and 1930s. The present paper will present a general study of this construction focusing primarily on a description of its contemporary usage as reflected in the spoken Spanish of educated speakers from eleven cities, Bogota, Buenos Aires, Caracas, Havana, La Paz, Lima, Madrid, Mexico City, San Juan (Puerto Rico), Santiago (Chile) and Seville.
On Null Subjects and Null Arguments
Authors: Law Paul
Published: February 2018

In the literature on Null Subject Languages (NSLs) since Rizzi (1982), the three properties that are commonly thought to be connected are (i) the richness of inflectional morphology, (ii) free subject inversion, and (iii) the COMP-trace effect. The connection between them is that if a language (e.g., Italian) has the option of having a null subject (NS) pronominalproin subject position (i.e., SpecIP) as a result of having rich inflectional (i.e., verbal agreement) morphology, as represented in (1a), then the same element may appear in the same position in cases of subjects occurring postverbally as in (1b) and in cases of long-distance subject extraction where the postverbal trace is properly governed by the verb, as in (1c):
Auxiliaires et séries verbales dans les langues Gbe
Authors: Tossa Comlan Zéphirin
Published: February 2018

On définit généralement les séries verbales (ou constructions verbales sérielles) comme des constructions dans lesquelles apparaît une séquence de deux ou plusieurs lexèmes verbaux pour former le prédicat de la proposition.

La problématique des séries verbales a reçu de la part des auteurs plusieurs interprétations parfois divergentes. Dans cet article nous allons proposer une analyse des constructions dites à verbes sériels en les reliant d’une part à la possibilité qu’ont les verbes pleins de fonctionner parfois comme auxiliaires et d’autre part à la possibilité pour un V′, c’est-à-dire une projection de niveau 1 d’un verbe en termes de X-barre, de recevoir en position adjointe des constituants syntaxiques de type CP, IP, VP, V′ et V.

Nous soutiendrons l’hypothèse que certaines constructions verbales sérielles qu’on observe dans les langues Gbe2 sont à relier à la possibilité pour ces langues de présenter des sujets nuls dans le cas d’adjonction d’un CP ou d’un IP à un V′.
L’élision extraordinaire des gutturales pharyngales et laryngales dans les emprunts et le principe de la non-disponibilité
Authors: Paradis Carole , LaCharité Darlene , Brault Frédérick
Published: February 2018

Of 3,570 segmental malformations found in three corpora of English loanwords in French, h is the only segment that is never substituted. While interdentals are systematically adapted, h is systematically deleted. We attribute this to the fact that French — like Italian and Portuguese, where h is also deleted — does not phonologically employ the Pharyngeal node, the primitive essential in the adaptation of gutturals. The primitive cannot be dealt with (substituted or deleted), thus blocking phonetic interpretation of h. We encode this formally in the Non-availability Principle. Spanish, Greek and Russian, which employ the Pharyngeal node, replace h with the velar fricative x, a native sound, just as Fula replaces Arabic pharyngeals that it lacks with native laryngeals. The Non-availability Principle predicts that gutturals, whose sole articulatory specification is Pharyngeal (as is the case of Arabic pharyngeals and laryngeals) will be deleted in a language like French. This is confirmed. The Pharyngeal node, like tones and lexical accent, constitutes an unavailable primitive in French.
Language Acquisition Studies and a Feasible Theory of Grammar
Authors: Carroll Susanne
Published: February 2018

There are various ways to construe the relationship between linguistic research and studies in language development. They can range in principle from strict dependence (one domain being parasitic on the other) to complete independence. Thus, it is now commonplace to find some developmental psycholinguists turning to generative linguistics for models through which to interpret child language (Chomsky 1969; Roeper 1973, 1982; Goodluck and Solan 1978,inter alia). This is not simply a matter of descriptive convenience. Research in grammatical theory and developmental psycholinguistics has grown increasingly interconnected since Chomsky first argued (1965:27) that hypothesized grammatical models within linguistics should be justified on the basis of their relation to a theory of language which specifies the innate abilities that make language acquisition possible. Hence the claim that linguistic theory is responsible for the “logical problem of language acquisition” (Baker 1979; Hornstein and Lightfoot 1981), i.e., gross properties of learning (relative rapidity, relative ease, overall lack of variability, general success, all on the basis of restricted input).
Parameters for unexpected (and expected) meanings: Auxiliarydoin affirmative contexts
Authors: Ranger Graham
Published: February 2018

The DO in “Subject DO Predicate” sentences is often associated with unexpected meaning, including contradictory uses in dialogue where DO functions as a sort of reassertive marker and in monologal contexts where a speaker short-circuits potential objections. Many instances of affirmative DO do not fit into this category, however. These involve quasi-exclamative use, non-polemical use in dialogue or gnomic confirmation. Often considered prototypical, contradictory DO represents only one possible configuration: other uses can be accounted for as paramétered variations of a single fundamental operation. Affirmative DO marks speaker endorsement. Values of affirmative DO — polemical, concessive, exclamative, etc. —are shown to result from the relation between various preconstructed subjective positions and the speaker’s own position.
Vous êtes dévot et vous vous emportez!L’effet d’attente déçue dans les constructions à valeur oppositive
Authors: Corminboeuf Gilles
Published: February 2018

L’étude porte sur des constructions à interprétation adversative du français, articulées paret, commeJohn a un doctorat en linguistique et il ne sait ni lire ni écrire. Dans un premier temps, on caractérise le concept d’attente trompée et on illustre l’effet de surprise qui en découle. Dans un second temps, on étudie les raisons qui président à l’ordonnancement contraint des énonciations. On verra qu’il s’agit d’une manœuvre rhétorique ordonnée, procédant en deux temps: d’abord l’ouverture d’une attente forte, puis le déni de cette attente. Cela montre que ce ne sont pas des constructions totalement symétriques. On verra également qu’il y a très peu d’asyndètes (John a un doctorat en linguistique, il ne sait ni lire ni écrire) — avec la même interprétation adversative: ce sont des constructions massivement connectées paret.
Introduction The (not so) universal D
Authors: Armoskaite Solveiga , Gillon Carrie
Published: February 2018

This volume grew out of our research agenda, seeking to understand the structure and interpretation of bare nouns in three typologically and genetically unrelated articleless languages: Lithuanian, Inuktitut, and Innu-aimun. None of these languages has articles, and yet they are very different from one another with respect to the syntactic and semantic behaviour of their bare nouns (for Lithuanian, see Gillon and Armoskaite 2013, 2015; for Lithuanian and Innu-aimun, Gillon and Armoskaite 2012; for Inuktitut, Lithuanian and Innu-aimun, Gillon 2013, 2015). This variation forced us to question the universality of D, as well as the universality of the semantics of D.
Adverb extraction, specificity, and structural parallelism
Authors: Talić Aida
Published: February 2018

This paper investigates adverb extraction out of traditional adjective phrases (TAPs) like “extremely expensive”, in a number of Slavic, Romance, and Germanic languages, and establishes two novel generalizations regarding such extraction out of predicative and attributive TAPs, also showing what the (un)availability of such extraction reveals about the structure of TAPs cross-linguistically and in different constructions in a single language. I argue that attributive TAPs are never bare APs in languages that use only one adjectival form attributively. Languages that use two adjectival forms in the attributive position allow adverb extraction out of predicative and attributive TAPs, which indicates that adverb extraction is possible only if a bare AP is used in this position. More generally, I argue that extended projections of different lexical categories tend to be uniform within a language with respect to how much structure they project.
Targeting habits in anorexia nervosa: a proof-of-concept randomized trial
Authors: Steinglass Joanna E. , Glasofer Deborah R. , Walsh Emily , Guzman Gabby , Peterson Carol B. , Walsh B. Timothy , Attia Evelyn , Wonderlich Stephen A.
Published: February 2018

Background

Habits are behavioral routines that are automatic and frequent, relatively independent of any desired outcome, and have potent antecedent cues. Among individuals with anorexia nervosa (AN), behaviors that promote the starved state appear habitual, and this is the foundation of a recent neurobiological model of AN. In this proof-of-concept study, we tested the habit model of AN by examining the impact of an intervention focused on antecedent cues for eating disorder routines.

Methods

The primary intervention target was habit strength; we also measured clinical impact via eating disorder psychopathology and actual eating. Twenty-two hospitalized patients with AN were randomly assigned to 12 sessions of either Supportive Psychotherapy or a behavioral intervention aimed at cues for maladaptive behavioral routines, Regulating Emotions and Changing Habits (REaCH).

Results

Covarying for baseline, REaCH was associated with a significantly lower Self-Report Habit Index (SRHI) score and significantly lower Eating Disorder Examination-Questionnaire (EDE-Q) global score at the end-of-treatment. The end-of-treatment effect size for SRHI was d = 1.28, for EDE-Q was d = 0.81, and for caloric intake was d = 1.16.

Conclusions

REaCH changed habit strength of maladaptive routines more than an active control therapy, and targeting habit strength yielded improvement in clinically meaningful measures. These findings support a habit-based model of AN, and suggest habit strength as a mechanism-based target for intervention.
The empirical support for mindfulness-based interventions for common psychiatric disorders: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Authors: Hedman-Lagerlöf Maria , Hedman-Lagerlöf Erik , Öst Lars-Göran
Published: February 2018

Mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) have become widely used for common mental disorders (CMDs) but the state of the evidence has not been sufficiently investigated. The aims for this study were: (1) to quantify the effect size of MBIs for CMDs in the acute phase; (2) to explore moderator variables; and (3) to evaluate the evidence status of MBIs for the CMDs it has been tried for. A comprehensive systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were conducted. RCTs that evaluated MBI and included patients with a primary manifest CMD was included. Methodological quality, the risk of bias, publication bias and evidence status were assessed. Literature searches gave 2448 hits and 19 studies were included. MBIs were more effective than no treatment (g = 1.07) and treatment-as-usual (g = 0.40) but not in comparison to placebo (g = 0.17) or other active treatments (g = −0.01). Methodological quality was negatively correlated with outcome. For all psychiatric disorders it has been tested, MBIs were judged to have weak or no empirical support. The conclusion of the study is that the evidence-base for MBIs for CMDs in the acute phase is weak.
The US Racial Wealth Gap and the Implications for Financial Inclusion and Wealth Management Policies
Authors: BURTON DAWN
Published: February 2018

This paper contributes to debates on economic inequality and ethnic and racial dimensions of social policy by focusing on the US racial wealth gap and assessing in what ways the private wealth management industry has contributed to this gap and reinforced white supremacy. The combined effects of the private wealth management industry reproducing whiteness and the industry being embedded in whiteness act as a barrier to developing a wider understanding of the savings and investment behaviour of people of colour. The paper addresses the role of public policy in closing the gap for investment advice, whether it should become a direct provider, or a facilitator to encourage the wider engagement of existing market participants.
OPTIMIZING USABILITY OF AN ECONOMIC DECISION SUPPORT TOOL: PROTOTYPE OF THE EQUIPT TOOL
Authors: Cheung Kei Long , Hiligsmann Mickaël , Präger Maximilian , Jones Teresa , Józwiak-Hagymásy Judit , Muñoz Celia , Lester-George Adam , Pokhrel Subhash , López-Nicolás Ángel , Trapero-Bertran Marta , Evers Silvia M.A.A. , de Vries Hein
Published: February 2018

Objectives:Economic decision-support tools can provide valuable information for tobacco control stakeholders, but their usability may impact the adoption of such tools. This study aims to illustrate a mixed-method usability evaluation of an economic decision-support tool for tobacco control, using the EQUIPT ROI tool prototype as a case study.

Methods:A cross-sectional mixed methods design was used, including a heuristic evaluation, a thinking aloud approach, and a questionnaire testing and exploring the usability of the Return of Investment tool.

Results:A total of sixty-six users evaluated the tool (thinking aloud) and completed the questionnaire. For the heuristic evaluation, four experts evaluated the interface. In total twenty-one percent of the respondents perceived good usability. A total of 118 usability problems were identified, from which twenty-six problems were categorized as most severe, indicating high priority to fix them before implementation.

Conclusions:Combining user-based and expert-based evaluation methods is recommended as these were shown to identify unique usability problems. The evaluation provides input to optimize usability of a decision-support tool, and may serve as a vantage point for other developers to conduct usability evaluations to refine similar tools before wide-scale implementation. Such studies could reduce implementation gaps by optimizing usability, enhancing in turn the research impact of such interventions.
COST-UTILITY ANALYSIS OF PRIVATE CONTRACTING TO REDUCE PUBLIC WAITING TIMES FOR JOINT REPLACEMENT SURGERY
Authors: Karnon Jonathan , Haghighi Bahareh Mesgarian , Sajjad Babu , Yem Sokunthea , Gamage Anuji , Thorpe Aaron
Published: February 2018

Objectives:Earlier treatment of publicly funded patients may achieve health gains that justify the additional costs of reducing waiting times. This study reports on the cost-effectiveness of implementing a private contracting model to meet alternative maximum waiting time targets for publicly funded patients undergoing total knee replacement surgery in Australia.

Methods:A linked decision tree and cohort Markov model was developed and populated and validated using secondary data sources to represent the pathways, costs, and quality adjusted life-years (QALYs) gained of non-urgent patients with alternative waiting times for total knee replacement surgery to a maximum age of 100 years.

Results:Assuming public waiting times are reduced through the purchase of private services, additional QALYs are gained at an incremental cost of less than $40,000. Value could be increased if lower private prices could be negotiated. Results are also sensitive to the rate of deterioration in function while waiting for surgery and the impact of functional status at the time of surgery on postsurgery outcomes.

Conclusions:More evidence on the value of expanded capacity or new models of care may inform new funding models to support such investments and reduced prices for new technologies, leading to more efficient and sustainable publicly funded healthcare systems.
Powder X-ray diffraction structural characterization of the coordination complex cis-[Co(κ2N,N′-1,10-phenanthroline-5,6-dione)2Cl2]
Authors: Fernandes José A. , Abosede Olufunso , Galli Simona
Published: February 2018

The reduction of cis-[CoIII(κ2N,N′-1,10-phenanthroline-5,6-dione)2Cl2]Cl into the neutral compound cis-[CoII(κ2N,N′-1,10-phenanthroline-5,6-dione)2Cl2] was observed during developmental studies of new antimalarial drugs. The crystal structure of cis-[CoII(κ2N,N′-1,10-phenanthroline-5,6-dione)2Cl2] was unveiled by powder X-ray diffraction studies (PXRD). PXRD details, unit cell parameters, and space group for cis-[CoII(κ2N,N′-1,10-phenanthroline-5,6-dione)2Cl2], C24H12Cl2CoN4O4, are reported [a = 41.4951 (13) Å, b = 8.2768 (2) Å, c = 12.4994 (3) Å, unit cell volume V = 4292.9 (2) Å3, Z = 8, and space group Fdd2]. Infrared spectroscopy features are also discussed.
What do They Know? Guidelines and Knowledge Translation for Foreign Health Sector Workers Following Natural Disasters
Authors: Dunin-Bell Ola
Published: February 2018

Introduction

The incidence of natural disasters is increasing worldwide, with countries the least well-equipped to mitigate or manage them suffering the greatest losses. Following natural disasters, ill-prepared foreign responders may become a burden to the affected population, or cause harm to those needing help.

Problem

The study was performed to determine if international guidelines for foreign workers in the health sector exist, and evidence of their implementation.

Methods

A structured literature search was used to identify guidelines for foreign health workers (FHWs) responding to natural disasters. Analysis of semi-structured interviews of health sector responders to the 2015 Nepal earthquake was then performed, looking at preparation and field activities.

Results

No guidelines were identified to address the appropriate qualifications of, and preparations for, international individuals participating in disaster response in the health sector. Interviews indicated individuals choosing to work with experienced organizations received training prior to disaster deployment and described activities in the field consistent with general humanitarian principles. Participants in an ad hoc team (AHT) did not.

Conclusions

In spite of need, there is a lack of published guidelines for potential international health sector responders to natural disasters. Learning about disaster response may occur only after joining a team.

Dunin-BellO. What do they know? Guidelines and knowledge translation for foreign health sector workers following natural disasters. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2018;33(2):139–146.
A Study of Hospital Disaster Preparedness in South Yemen
Authors: Naser Waheeb Nasr , Ingrassia Pier Luigi , Aladhrae Salem , Abdulraheem Wegdan Ali
Published: February 2018

Introduction

Despite emphasis by disaster experts on the importance of disaster preparedness, disaster management in Yemen has attracted only a little attention. Most of the efforts have focused on post-disaster relief activities rather than the pre-disaster preparedness and risk reduction. Hospitals have a crucial role in emergency response and should be prepared. Thus, the aim of this study was intended to assess the hospital preparedness of Aden Capital, South Yemen against disasters.

Method

A cross-sectional study was conducted in June 2016. The sample was all Aden City facilities with a total number of 10 hospitals: five public and five private hospitals. A survey was done by using the World Health Organization (WHO; Geneva, Switzerland) standards checklist 2011.

Results

The overall preparedness of Aden City hospitals to disasters fell at the unacceptable level of readiness, with an average mean of 46.6 (SD = 38.31; range 24-82). Of 10 hospitals, two ranked insufficient while eight hospitals were at unacceptable levels of preparedness.

Conclusion

All hospitals were noted grossly unprepared for potential disasters. Therefore, it is recommended that greater efforts be invested in creating a comprehensive strategy and national or local guidelines to establish an emergency management system based on the anticipated hazard and the needed resources.

NaserWN, IngrassiaPL, AladhraeS, AbdulraheemWA. A study of hospital disaster preparedness in South Yemen. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2018;33(2):133–138.
Early-life nutritional status and metabolic syndrome: gender-specific associations from a cross-sectional analysis of the Brazilian Longitudinal Study of Adult Health (ELSA-Brasil)
Authors: Briskiewicz Bruna Lucas , Barreto Sandhi Maria , do Amaral Joana Ferreira , Diniz Maria de Fátima Haueisen Sander , Molina Maria del Carmen Bisi , Matos Sheila Maria Alvim , Cardoso Letícia de Oliveira , Velasquez-Melendez Gustavo , Schmidt Maria Inês , Giatti Luana
Published: February 2018

Objective

In the present study we investigated gender-specific associations of low birth weight (LBW) and shorter relative leg length with metabolic syndrome (MetS) after adjusting for sociodemographic characteristics and health-related behaviours. We also investigated whether these associations are independent of age at menarche and BMI at 20 years old.

Design

Cross-sectional analysis.

Subjects

Baseline data from 12 602 participants (35–74 years) of the Brazilian Longitudinal Study of Adult Health (ELSA-Brasil), 2008–2010.

Setting

MetS was defined according to the revised National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel III guidelines. LBW (<2·5 kg) and age- and sex-standardized relative leg length (high, medium and low) were the explanatory variables studied. The strength of the associations between the explanatory variables and MetS was estimated by Poisson regression with robust variance.

Results

MetS prevalence was 34·2 %; it was more prevalent in men (36·8 %) than in women (32·2 %). In multivariate analysis, LBW was associated (prevalence ratio; 95 % CI) with MetS only in women (1·28; 1·24, 1·45). Shorter leg length was associated with MetS in both men (1·21; 1·09, 1·35 and 1·46; 1·29, 1·65 for low and medium lengths, respectively) and women (1·12; 1·00, 1·25 and 1·40; 1·22, 1·59 for low and medium lengths, respectively). Additional adjustments for age at menarche and BMI at 20 years old did not change the associations.

Conclusions

Poor nutritional status as estimated by LBW and lower leg length in childhood was associated with a higher prevalence of MetS, although LBW was a significant factor only among women.
The development of a single health-endorsement logo for South Africa
Authors: Koen Nelene , Wentzel-Viljoen Edelweiss , Blaauw Reneé
Published: February 2018

Objective

To develop health-endorsement logos (HEL) for food products indicating healthy choices based on the South African nutrient profile model and to pilot test these logos with consumers.

Design

Multistage mixed-methods design.

Setting

Cape Town, South Africa.

Subjects

Nine focus group discussions (FGD) were conducted with adult consumers to explore what types of HEL are preferred and why. Based on the findings, ten HEL were designed by a graphic design team. A modified Delphi technique, conducted with experts in the fields of nutrition and food science, was employed to eliminate lowest-scoring HEL and to improve the design of the remaining logos. Participants from the initial FGD participated in pilot testing the improved logos.

Results

Participants from FGD (n67) were positive about a single HEL, stating it would make food labelling less confusing as they did not understand the various HEL used. Participants indicated the logo should include wording related to ‘healthy choice’ or ‘better choice’ and pictures/symbols related to health and/or food. During two rounds of scoring and comments by experts (n19), five logos were eliminated and the design of the remaining five improved. Three of five remaining logos received overall rankings of 3·08/5, 3·28/5 and 3·39/5, respectively, during FGD (n36) in the pilot-testing phase.

Conclusion

HEL were designed and consumer tested. Three designs were submitted to the national Department of Health to consider for implementation, after further testing, as a tool to assist in addressing the high incidence of non-communicable diseases in South Africa.
Food and beverage intakes according to physical activity levels in European children: the IDEFICS (Identification and prevention of Dietary and lifestyle induced health EFfects In Children and infantS) study
Authors: Santaliestra-Pasías Alba M , Dios Jaime E Llamas , Sprengeler Ole , Hebestreit Antje , De Henauw Stefaan , Eiben Gabriele , Felsö Regina , Lauria Fabio , Tornaritis Michael , Veidebaum Toomas , Pala Valeria , Moreno Luis A
Published: February 2018

Objective

Physical activity (PA) levels and dietary habits are considered some of the most important factors associated with obesity. The present study aimed to examine the association between PA level and food and beverage consumption in European children (2–10 years old).

Design/Setting/Subjects

A sample of 7229 children (49·0 % girls) from eight European countries participating in the IDEFICS (Identification and prevention of Dietary and lifestyle induced health EFfects In Children and infantS) study was included. Moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA) was assessed objectively with accelerometers. FFQ was used to register dietary habits. ANCOVA and binary logistic regression were applied.

Results

Boys who spent less time in MVPA reported lower consumption of vegetables, fruits, cereals, yoghurt, milk, bread, pasta, candies and sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB) than boys who spent more time in MVPA (P<0·05). Moreover, boys who spent less time in MVPA were more likely to consume fast foods and water than those in the highest MVPA tertile (P<0·05). Girls who spent less time in MVPA reported lower consumption frequencies of vegetables, pasta, bread, yoghurt, candies, jam/honey and SSB than girls in the highest MVPA tertile (P<0·05). Also, girls in the lowest MVPA tertile were more likely to consume fast foods and water than those with high levels of MVPA (P<0·05).

Conclusions

Food intake among European children varied with different levels of daily MVPA. Low time spent in MVPA was associated with lowest consumption of both high- and low-energy-dense foods and high fast-food consumption.
Estimating the pathways through which maternal education affects stunting: evidence from an urban cohort in South Africa
Authors: Casale Daniela , Espi Gabriel , Norris Shane A
Published: February 2018

Objective

To estimate the determinants of stunting using rich data from a birth cohort study from urban South Africa and to examine the various mechanisms, both proximate and distal, through which maternal education affects stunting.

Design

Multivariate regression analysis using birth cohort data, where the outcome variable was stunting at age 2 years, and multiple mediator analysis to identify pathways from maternal education to stunting.

Setting

South Africa’s largest metropolitan area, Soweto-Johannesburg.

Subjects

Participants of Birth to Twenty Plus, a longitudinal cohort study of children born in 1990 (n 691).

Results

In multivariate analysis, the birth weight Z-score (−0·084; P<0·001; 95 % CI −0·11, −0·06), the mother’s openness towards modern health care, captured by a vaccination score (−0·05; P=0·04; 95 % CI −0·10, −0·00), and a better-quality care environment (−0·015; P=0·04; 95 % CI −0·03, −0·00) were found to be negatively associated with stunting. Having experienced symptoms of illness related to ears and eyes increased the risk of stunting (0·038; P=0·01; 95 % CI 0·01, 0·07). Results of the mediation analysis showed that maternal education had an indirect effect on stunting largely through socio-economic status and the antenatal environment (measured by the birth weight Z-score).

Conclusions

Overall, many of the factors that were protective against stunting in the final analysis, whether they operated through maternal education or not, were related to the mother’s contribution to the child’s life. This reinforces the idea that to minimise stunting, enhanced antenatal and postnatal services to better support and empower mothers may be important.
Role of parental education in reduction of prevalence of childhood undernutrition in Bangladesh
Authors: Hossain Md. Belal , Khan Md Hasinur Rahaman
Published: February 2018

Objective

Despite progress, levels of malnutrition among children in Bangladesh are among the highest in the world and this is one of the major causes of death in children. The pace of reduction in the prevalence of undernutrition among children is still relatively low. The present study aimed to examine the association between parental education and childhood undernutrition among Bangladeshi children under 5 years of age when adjusting for potential risk factors.

Design

The data set was extracted from a nationally representative survey based on a cross-sectional study, the Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey (BDHS) 2014.

Setting

The base survey was conducted using a two-stage stratified sample of households. In the first stage, 600 enumeration areas (EA) were selected with probability proportional to EA size (207 EA from urban areas, 393 EA from rural areas).

Subjects

A total of 7173 children under 5 years from 17 863 households were considered for the analysis. A modified Poisson regression model was implemented to the data for assessing the relationship between parental education and childhood undernutrition when demographic and socio-economic covariates for the child, parents, households and clustering were adjusted.

Results

Higher parental education level was associated with lower levels of stunting and underweight, but not with wasting. Maternal and paternal education were both significantly associated with the reduction in prevalence of childhood undernutrition in Bangladesh.

Conclusions

Paternal education appears equally as important as maternal education in reducing undernutrition prevalence among children under 5 years in Bangladesh.
An automated apparatus for the simulation of prebiotic wet‒dry cycles under strictly anaerobic conditions
Authors: Fox Stefan , Pleyer Hannes Lukas , Strasdeit Henry
Published: February 2018

Prebiotic chemical evolution on the early Earth may have been driven in part by fluctuating environments, for example wet‒dry and temperature cycling in volcanic rock pools. Here, we describe the setup, operating principle and test applications of a newly developed ‘wet‒dry apparatus’ (WDA) designed to simulate such fluctuating environments. The WDA allows adjusting the duration of the cycles, the temperature during the wet and dry phases and the organic and mineral components, which are all key parameters in wet–dry simulations. The WDA's most important features, however, are (i) that it is automated, which means that long-time experiments are possible without the need for an operator and (ii) that the virtual absence of free oxygen in the early Earth's atmosphere at ground level can be simulated. Rigorously oxygen-free conditions were achieved by passing 99.999% nitrogen gas through two alkaline pyrogallol solutions in series, prior to entering the WDA. We used three chemical systems to test the WDA: (i) the amino acid glycine in the presence and absence of clay minerals, (ii) linoleic acid (an oxygen-sensitive amphiphile) with and without the mineral olivine, and (iii) alkaline pyrogallol solution. We observed that clay minerals greatly accelerated the decomposition of glycine under wet‒dry conditions. Glycine peptides were formed as minor products. In the course of the glycine experiments, we developed a reliable gas chromatographic method to quantify the cyclic dipeptide 2,5-diketopiperazine. The decomposition of linoleic acid in wet‒dry cycles was promoted by both air and olivine. And finally, the extremely oxygen-sensitive pyrogallol solution was used as a colour indicator for residual oxygen in the WDA. The simulation facility in our laboratory currently consists of eight identical WDAs and a surrounding infrastructure. It can be made available to others who wish to perform cyclic wet–dry experiments.
Probing the chemical and mineralogical characteristics of the Martian meteorite NWA 7397 through μRaman and μXRF non-destructively
Authors: Nascimento-Dias Bruno Leonardo do , Galante Douglas , Oliveira Davi , Anjos Marcelino
Published: February 2018

Martian meteorites have valuable information about past geological processes on Mars. In this particular case, the sample used was the Martian meteorite Northwest Africa (NWA) 7397. The main objective was to conduct preliminary analyses of the sample that was able to provide mineralogical characteristics in a non-destructive way. These meteorite NWA 7397 analyses were performed using two analytical techniques, μRaman and μXRF. Through the techniques used it was possible to suggest the presence of chromite, ilmenite, magnetite and forsterite minerals. These minerals seem to have a correspondence to one another in relation to the process that formed them. Thus, the information generated by these analytical techniques can contribute significantly by providing information on the history of Mars in order to have relevance to the areas of Astrobiology and Planetary Sciences.
Martian methane plume models for defining Mars rover methane source search strategies
Authors: Nicol Christopher , Ellery Alex , Lynch Brian , Cloutis Ed , de Croon Guido
Published: February 2018

The detection of atmospheric methane on Mars implies an active methane source. This introduces the possibility of a biotic source with the implied need to determine whether the methane is indeed biotic in nature or geologically generated. There is a clear need for robotic algorithms which are capable of manoeuvring a rover through a methane plume on Mars to locate its source. We explore aspects of Mars methane plume modelling to reveal complex dynamics characterized by advection and diffusion. A statistical analysis of the plume model has been performed and compared to analyses of terrestrial plume models. Finally, we consider a robotic search strategy to find a methane plume source. We find that gradient-based techniques are ineffective, but that more sophisticated model-based search strategies are unlikely to be available in near-term rover missions.
Bankruptcies, bailouts, and some political economy of corporate reorganization
Authors: DELLISANTI DYLAN , WAGNER RICHARD E.
Published: February 2018

Bankruptcy has long been the standard approach to reorganizing failing corporate entities. In recent years, bailout, whereby a governmental entity takes charge of the reorganization, has appeared as an alternative. At the enterprise level, there is a Coase-like invariance proposition at work in which a failing concern is replaced by a going concern under either process. Significant differences arise once we move beyond the point of reorganization. The choice between bankruptcy and bailout is fundamentally a choice between alternative arrangements for corporate governance, and not about transforming failing concerns into going concerns because this will happen under either arrangement. We argue that political entanglement in corporate restructuring will tend to preclude the entrepreneurial discovery process. We recount the recent American auto and financial industry bailouts, highlighting how each episode was guided by political considerations, which served to distract the restructuring process from discovering those opportunities that market-based restructuring would have discovered.
Dynamic risk measures for stochastic asset processes from ruin theory
Authors: Shimizu Yasutaka , Tanaka Shuji
Published: February 2018

This article considers a dynamic version of risk measures for stochastic asset processes and gives a mathematical benchmark for required capital in a solvency regulation framework. Some dynamic risk measures, based on the expected discounted penalty function launched by Gerber and Shiu, are proposed to measure solvency risk from the company’sgoing-concernpoint of view. This study proposes a novel mathematical justification of a risk measure for stochastic processes as a map on a functional path space of future loss processes.