bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A RELEVÂNCIA DA CRIAÇÃO DE UMA UNIDADE DE CONSERVAÇÃO NO MORRO GAÚCHO, MUNICÍPIOS DE ARROIO DO MEIO E CAPITÃO/RS
Authors: Thomas Bruna Letícia , Thomas Pedro Augusto , Foleto Eliane Maria
Published: June 2015

Unidades de Conservação (UCs) são áreas definidas geograficamente vinculadas a processos de gestão de seu território, tendo como objetivo principal a proteção ao longo prazo dos atributos ambientais in situ. Assim, visa-se destacar a importância da criação de uma UC no Morro Gaúcho, patrimônio natural dos municípios de Arroio do Meio e Capitão, Rio Grande do Sul, a partir da identificação dos impactos ambientais que ameaçam a sua biodiversidade e paisagem. Desta forma, o trabalho ocorreu a partir de saídas de campo, leitura de pesquisas já realizadas na área e jornais locais e a participação em reuniões de uma organização não-governamental local. Os impactos ambientais reconhecidos foram a ocorrência de espécies exóticas invasoras, o turismo irregular e a presença de uma unidade de transbordo de resíduos sólidos, entre outros, tendo como consequências as agressões à biodiversidade local. A importância da criação de uma UC no local também é destacada pela presença da Reserva da Biosfera e os percentuais de remanescentes de Mata Atlântica nas áreas dos municípios. Portanto, a instituição de uma área protegida no Morro Gaúcho visa garantir a conservação a partir de uma ação concreta de proteção à natureza e seus processos de manejo e gestão vinculados.
INTERPRETAÇÃO DO RISCO DE DESASTRES POR ALUNOS DE ENSINO FUNDAMENTAL E MÉDIO
Authors: Londe Luciana De Resende , Soriano Erico , Coutinho Marcos Pellegrini , Marchezini Víctor
Published: June 2015

Este trabalho traz como motivação a compreensão do imaginário infantil e adolescente entre um público que, em sua maioria, não vivenciou um desastre, apesar de morar em áreas de risco. A investigação revela o perfil de um grupo importante, caracterizando-se como um significativo ponto de partida para trabalhos de educação e prevenção de desastres, uma vez que oferece como base a análise de crenças e expectativas relacionadas aos desastres. Para caracterizar este perfil, foram aplicados questionários semi-estruturados a alunos de ensino fundamental e médio de escolas públicas localizadas próximas a áreas de risco em Campos do Jordão (SP). Apesar da presença de várias áreas de risco no município, a maioria dos entrevistados não reconhece este risco como parte de sua realidade. É importante que o órgão de Defesa Civil (DC), juntamente com as comunidades envolvidas, elabore um planejamento especial de ações de evacuação para este grupo vulnerável na iminência de um desastre e também medidas diferenciadas de atendimento pós-impacto. Os entrevistados mostraram-se receptivos a possíveis ações da DC e a discussões gerais sobre o tema desastres. Recomendamos uma parceria entre as escolas e a DC local para atividades de educação e planejamento.
CARACTERÍSTICAS DO CLIMA URBANO EM PRESIDENTE PRUDENTE/SP A PARTIR DE DADOS DE TEMPERATURA E UMIDADE RELATIVA DO AR E TÉCNICAS DE SENSORIAMENTO REMOTO
Authors: Cardoso Renata Dos Santos , Amorim M. C. C. T.
Published: June 2015

O processo de urbanização modifica o clima local, pois as formas materiais presentes na cidade, bem como as atividades que nela se desenvolvem, provocam alterações nos elementos do clima como a temperatura, umidade relativa do ar, direção e velocidade do vento. Destes, a temperatura tem se destacado nos estudos sobre o clima urbano, pois as características da área urbana promovem seu aumento tanto no ar quanto nos alvos da superfície. Nesse sentido, este estudo teve como objetivo identificar as alterações térmicas intraurbanas e suas magnitudes, relacionando-as com os tipos de uso e ocupação da superfície do solo no município de Presidente Prudente-SP. Para tanto, realizaram-se análises das diferenças térmicas e higrométricas entre o urbano e o rural, em um mês representativo do verão (fevereiro), e a verificação da temperatura da superfície através do sensoriamento remoto no infravermelho termal. Os resultados apresentaram que os tipos de tempo, assim como as características da superfície foram responsáveis pelas maiores ou menores diferenças entre a área urbana e a rural, o que demonstra a importância de se adequar o planejamento urbano às características do ambiente local.           
  
ANÁLISE DA FRAGILIDADE AMBIENTAL POTENCIAL DOS SOLOS DO PARANÁ
Authors: Melo Lara Clímaco de , Sanquetta Carlos Roberto , Hentz Ângela Maria Klein , Dalla Corte Ana Paula
Published: June 2015

O objetivo deste trabalho consistiu em classificar os solos do estado do Paraná quanto à sua fragilidade, considerando os tipos de solo, além de analisar possíveis relações de conflito entre os resultados encontrados e as informações de aptidão para o uso do solo, com vistas ao subsídio de planejamentos com enfoque ambiental. Foi realizado o cruzamento entre informações temáticas sobre a classificação e aptidão dos solos referente ao estado do Paraná. Classificaram-se os solos conforme metodologia de análise empírica da fragilidade ambiental em muito fraca, fraca, moderada, forte e muito forte fragilidade, e analisados possíveis conflitos existentes quanto a essas aptidões de uso do solo em função das categorias de fragilidade definidas. A maior parte do estado (42,8%) foi classificado de fraca a muito fraca fragilidade, em função da predominância dos Latossolos e Argissolos. Os mapas de fragilidade potencial e aptidão do solo conflitaram-se em 28,9% da área observada, com predominância dos conflitos baixos, mas com aproximadamente 12 mil km2 de conflitos altos, o que indica a necessidade de ampliação das análises e estudos sobre a temática proposta objetivando contribuir com o planejamento territorial num enfoque ambiental, reduzindo-se incertezas e erros quanto ao uso dos solos.
PERCEPÇÃO AMBIENTAL E CLIMÁTICA: ESTUDO DE CASO EM COLÉGIOS PÚBLICOS DO MUNICÍPIO DE TOLEDO–PR
Authors: Fogaça Thiago Kich , Limberger Leila
Published: June 2015

A abordagem da percepção ambiental constitui-se em importante ferramenta para a compreensão da espacialidade e das formas de relacionamento entre os indivíduos ou sociedades com o meio onde habitam, sendo importante para o ensino de Geografia podendo contribuir para o desenvolvimento de consciência ambiental. Pesquisas acerca da percepção climática das crianças e/ou adolescentes tornam-se meio para analisar como elas se relacionam com o ambiente onde vivem e para ser possível entender a significância que é dada aos constituintes naturais (atmosfera, no caso) à sua qualidade de vida. A presente pesquisa visa entender de que forma as informações atmosféricas manifestadas no cotidiano são interpretadas por crianças do 6º ano de três colégios públicos de Toledo – PR. Foi desenvolvida por meio da aplicação de entrevistas estruturadas, seguindo metodologia divulgada por Maria da Graça Barros Sartori, em sua tese de doutorado na FFLCH/USP intitulada “Clima e Percepção”. A análise das entrevistas foi feita por interpretação de três termos-chave, sendo “manifestações atmosféricas”, “topofilia” e “topofobia”. Os resultados demonstram que a maioria dos alunos entrevistados não se sente pertencente ao meio, não demonstra conhecimento sobre a dinâmica atmosférica e o sentimento predominante é o de medo em relação às manifestações atmosféricas.
RISCOS E EFEITOS TERRITORIAIS NA IMPLANTAÇÃO DE EMPREENDIMENTOS AGROINDUSTRIAIS CANAVIEIROS
Authors: Carvalho Eduardo Rozetti de , Silva Vicente De Paulo da
Published: June 2015

O espaço rural passa por modificações motivadas pelo desenvolvimento, que ultrapassam os limites territoriais, sociais e ambientais, gerando diferentes riscos as suas estruturas de representação por meio de conflitualidades: de um lado o capital e do outro os afetados. Pensando nesses fatores, apresenta-se como objetivo principal desse artigo a busca de compreender como ocorre a formação do agronegócio canavieiro, destacando os riscos que se seguem a partir dessa opção. Dá-se especial atenção à perspectiva dos efeitos gerados no processo do setor na contemporaneidade. Metodologicamente esse artigo está sustentado em debates e revisões acerca da temática, bem como direcionamentos reflexivos das territorialidades (re)criadas atendendo e/ou resistindo a esse agronegócio. Como resultados parciais tem-se o entendimento que o capital é responsável por gerar efeitos que ultrapassam aspectos apenas ligados ao trabalho, mas transformam fatores tais como: os modos de vida, a segurança/soberania alimentar e ambiental. Ligado a isso, destaca-se a categoria território como válida para compreender esses processos, pois a ele são englobadas as relações de poder e de territorialidades distintas. Por fim, apresentam-se também reflexões sobre a relação do capital canavieiro, modelando o território, e os riscos social, ambiental e econômico, que se tornam presentes quando da implantação desses grandes empreendimentos.
Kali dodecanesicum (Chenopodiaceae, Salsoloideae) a new species from Greece
Authors: BRULLO CRISTIAN , BRULLO SALVATORE , ILARDI VINCENZO , GALDO GIANPIETRO GIUSSO DEL
Published: June 2015

Kali dodecanesicum, a new species from some islands (i.e. Rhodes, Kos and Nisyros) of the Dodecanese in the south-eastern Aegean (Greece), is described and illustrated. According to recent literature, Kali is treated as a distinct genus from the polyphyletic Salsola s.l., which includes several annual species. The new species is morphologically well separated from the other Kali taxa mainly for the shape of the fruiting perianth, showing closer relationships with Kali ponticum. Its ecological requirements, distribution, and conservation status are also examined, together with an analytic key of the Kali species occurring in the Mediterranean area.
Two new species of Dracoderes (Kinorhyncha: Dracoderidae) from the Ryukyu Islands, Japan, with a molecular phylogeny of the genus
Authors: YAMASAKI HIROSHI
Published: June 2015

Two new species, Dracoderes snufkini sp. nov. and Dracoderes toyoshioae sp. nov., are described from Okinawa, southern Japan. Diagnostic characters of D. snufkini include: lateroventral tubules on segments 2 and 5; a thick, plump middorsal spine on segments 2 and 9; thick plump paradorsal spines on segments 3–8, alternately laterally displaced; and a ventral primary pectinate fringe on segment 1, with long, wide conspicuous tips. Diagnostic characters of Dracoderes toyoshioae include: a middorsal subcuticular structure on segment 1; paradorsal subcuticular structures on segments 2–9, alternately laterally displaced; paradorsal acicular spines arising from subcuticular structures, at least on segment 5; ventrolateral acicular spines on segment 1; lateral accessory tubules on segment 2; lateral accessory subcuticular structures on segments 2–7; lateroventral tubules on segment 5; and lateroventral subcuticular structures on segments 2–10. Molecular phylogenetic analyses based on 18S rRNA, 28S rRNA and mitochondrial COI sequences indicate that D. abei and D. nidhug are more closely related to one another than either is to D. snufkini or D. toyoshioae.
Description of a new species of Odonaspis Leonardi (Hemiptera: Coccomorpha: Diaspididae) from Australia
Authors: BEN-DOV YAIR
Published: June 2015

The adult female of Odonaspis bouldersensis Ben-Dov, new species, collected in the Boulders National Park, Queensland, Australia, off a species of Poaceae, is described.
Mobile Radiosonde Deployments during the Mesoscale Predictability Experiment (MPEX): Rapid and Adaptive Sampling of Upscale Convective Feedbacks
Authors: Trapp Robert J. , Stensrud David J. , Coniglio Michael C. , Schumacher Russ S. , Baldwin Michael E. , Waugh Sean , Conlee Don T.
Published: June 2015

The Mesoscale Predictability Experiment (MPEX) was a field campaign conducted 15 May through 15 June 2013 within the Great Plains region of the United States. One of the research foci of MPEX regarded the upscaling effects of deep convective storms on their environment, and how these feed back to the convective-scale dynamics and predictability. Balloon-borne GPS radiosondes, or “upsondes,” were used to sample such environmental feedbacks. Two of the upsonde teams employed dual-frequency sounding systems that allowed for upsonde observations at intervals as fast as 15 min. Because these dual-frequency systems also had the capacity for full mobility during sonde reception, highly adaptive and rapid storm-relative sampling of the convectively modified environment was possible. This article documents the mobile sounding capabilities and unique sampling strategies employed during MPEX.
A low-cost ball and plate system for advanced control education
Authors: Parga Carlos , Yu Wen , Li Xiaoou
Published: June 2015

This paper describes a ball and plate system for graduate education. We explain how to use this system for nonlinear system modeling, and how to use advanced control techniques for this interesting and impressive equipment. The main contribution of the paper is this ball and plate system which is of low cost compared with the other commercial education equipments. Several open problems in areas of electrical engineering and control are discussed. The paper also presents some initial ideas to create a low-cost laboratory platform.
The politics of fiscal consolidation in the Netherlands: mainly compromising but hesitant attempts at targeted priority-setting
Authors: Kickert Walter J.M.
Published: June 2015

This article analyses fiscal consolidation in the Netherlands, especially the politics of consolidation and cutbacks. We discuss the contents of the consolidation measures, and the political decision-making processes leading up to the measures. The analysis of the political decision-making focuses on the characteristics and stages of the decision-making. The three stages of fiscal consolidation analysed in this article – the October 2010 coalition agreement, the April 2012 spring agreement, and the October 2012 coalition agreement – show a gradually mounting recognition of the necessity for serious cutbacks. Decision-making was mainly characterized by consensual compromising, that is, incremental, across-the-board, cheese-slicing measures. However, in later stages of the fiscal crisis, hesitant attempts were made at targeted political priority-setting.

Points for practitioners

This article’s main focus is on the political decision-making leading up to cutback measures, whether the decisions were mainly incremental, across-the-board, cheese-slicing, or whether targeted, selective cutbacks based on political priority-setting also occurred. It turns out that hesitant attempts of the latter type were indeed made. After a while some fundamental reconsiderations did seep through in Dutch consensus politics. Another key point is that budget discipline played a dominant role in the government’s fiscal consolidation. The economic experts of the Ministry of Finance, Central Planning Bureau, etc. had a major influence on the financial frames of the cutbacks.
M1-like Macrophage Polarization Promotes Orthodontic Tooth Movement
Authors: He D. , Kou X. , Yang R. , Liu D. , Wang X. , Luo Q. , Song Y. , Liu F. , Yan Y. , Gan Y. , Zhou Y.
Published: June 2015

Macrophages play a crucial role in inflammatory-mediated bone loss. Orthodontic tooth movement (OTM) is associated with inflammatory bone remodeling. However, whether and how macrophages contribute to mechanical force–induced OTM remains unknown. In this study, we hypothesized that polarization of M1-like macrophages may contribute to the OTM. Orthodontic nickel-titanium springs were applied to the upper first molars of rats or mice to induce OTM. The distance of OTM gradually increased after mechanical force was applied to the rats for 5 and 10 d. M1-like macrophage polarization and expression of M1 cytokine tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α also increased after force application. More importantly, monocyte/macrophage depletion in mice by injection of clodronate liposomes decreased the distance of OTM and the number of tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase (TRAP)–positive osteoclasts and CD68+ macrophages, accompanied by reduced expressions of M1 markers TNF-α and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), whereas systemic transfusion of M1 macrophages in mice increased them. Further experiments showed that injection of recombinant TNF-α increased the distance of OTM and the number of TRAP-positive osteoclasts and CD68+ macrophages, as well as upregulated the expression of TNF-α and iNOS. Blockage of TNF-α by etanercept injection reduced the distance of OTM and the number of TRAP-positive osteoclasts and CD68+ macrophages, as well as decreased the levels of TNF-α and iNOS. These data suggest that M1-like macrophage polarization promotes alveolar bone resorption and consequent OTM after mechanical force application.
The Influence of Smoking on the Peri-Implant Microbiome
Authors: Tsigarida A.A. , Dabdoub S.M. , Nagaraja H.N. , Kumar P.S.
Published: June 2015

Smokers are at high risk for 2 bacterially driven oral diseases: peri-implant mucositis and peri-implantitis. Therefore, the purpose of this investigation was to use a deep-sequencing approach to identify the effect of smoking on the peri-implant microbiome in states of health and disease. Peri-implant biofilm samples were collected from 80 partially edentulous subjects with peri-implant health, peri-implant mucositis, and peri-implantitis. Bacterial DNA was isolated and 16S ribsomal RNA gene libraries sequenced using 454-pyrosequencing targeting the V1 to V3 and V7 to V9 regions. In total, 790,692 classifiable sequences were compared against the HOMD database for bacterial identification. Community-level comparisons were carried out using UniFrac and nonparametric tests. Microbial signatures of health in smokers exhibited lower diversity compared to nonsmokers, with significant enrichment for disease-associated species. Shifts from health to mucositis were accompanied by loss of several health-associated species, leading to a further decrease in diversity. Peri-implantitis did not differ significantly from mucositis in species richness or evenness. In nonsmokers, by contrast, the shift from health to mucositis resembled primary ecological succession, with acquisition of several species without replacement of pioneer organisms, thereby creating a significant increase in diversity. Again, few differences were detected between peri-implantitis and mucositis. Thus, our data suggest that smoking shapes the peri-implant microbiomes even in states of clinical health, by supporting a pathogen-rich community. In both smokers and nonsmokers, peri-implant mucositis appears to be a pivotal event in disease progression, creating high-at-risk-for-harm communities. However, ecological succession follows distinctly divergent pathways in smokers and nonsmokers, indicating a need for personalized therapeutics for control and prevention of disease in these 2 cohorts.
Effect of Alendronate on Bone Formation during Tooth Extraction Wound Healing
Authors: Tanoue R. , Koi K. , Yamashita J.
Published: June 2015

Alendronate (ALN) is an antiresorptive agent widely used for the treatment of osteoporosis. Its suppressive effect on osteoclasts has been extensively studied. However, the effect of ALN on bone formation is not as clear as its effect on resorption. The objective was to determine the effect of short-term ALN on bone formation and tooth extraction wound healing. Molar tooth extractions were performed in mice. ALN, parathyroid hormone (PTH), or saline (vehicle control) was administered. PTH was used as the bone anabolic control. Mice were euthanized at 3, 5, 7, 10, and 21 d after extractions. Hard tissue healing was determined histomorphometrically. Neutrophils and lymphatic and blood vessels were quantified to evaluate soft tissue healing. Gene expression in the wounds was assessed at the RNA level. Furthermore, the vossicle bone transplant system was used to verify findings from extraction wound analysis. Alkaline phosphatase (ALP) was visualized in the vossicles to assess osteoblast activity. ALN exhibited no negative effect on bone formation. In intact tibiae, ALN increased bone mass significantly more than PTH did. Consistently, significantly elevated osteoblast numbers were noted. In the extraction sockets, bone fill in the ALN-treated mice was equivalent to the control. Genes associated with bone morphogenetic protein signaling, such as bmp2, nog, and dlx5, were activated in the extraction wounds of the ALN-treated animals. Bone formation in vossicles was significantly enhanced in the ALN versus PTH group. In agreement with this, ALN upregulated ALP activity considerably in vossicles. Neutrophil aggregation and suppressed lymphangiogenesis were evident in the soft tissue at 21 d after extraction, although gross healing of extraction wounds was uneventful. Bone formation was not impeded by short-term ALN treatment. Rather, short-term ALN treatment enhanced bone formation. ALN did not alter bone fill in extraction sockets.
Non-Linear Discourse and Control of Technology: The Pharmaceutical Society and Poisons Legislation in 19th-Century Britain
Authors: Coles Anne-Marie
Published: June 2015

The Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain was established in 1841 to represent the interests of its members, many of whom were small chemist and druggist retailers. Throughout the century this institution attempted to influence new policies designed to control the sale of poisonous substances routinely held by these shopkeepers. Using its in-house publication, the Pharmaceutical Journal, the Society argued for recognition of chemists and druggists as experts in the storage and distribution of poisons. This article examines the discursive strategy adopted by the Pharmaceutical Society in its attempts to retain control over the sale of chemicals. Its activities are analysed both in respect to the complex and socially embedded nature of chemical products, and to the technocratic nature of its claims.
Are They Leaving Because of the Crisis? The Sociological Significance of Anomie as a Motivation for Migration
Authors: Bygnes Susanne
Published: June 2015

This article offers a sociological analysis of the migration motivations of highly skilled people who left Spain after 2008. Based on in-depth qualitative interviews, I map the role that the crisis played in highly skilled individuals’ migration narratives. Using the recently emerging migration flow between Spain and Norway as a point of departure, I analyse migration from one of the most crisis-stricken regions of Europe to one of the least affected regions. This analysis establishes that the migrants’ educational and occupational resources help to protect them from the threat of unemployment. Their reluctance to use the crisis as a reason to leave is further analysed as part of their symbolic and social boundary work. The article concludes that what Durkheim conceptualized as anomie provides an apt label for the particular set of societal problems cited by people who migrated from Spain after 2008.
Influence of reactive dyes on ultraviolet protection of cotton knitted fabrics with different fabric constructions
Authors: Wong Wai-yin , Lam Jimmy Kwok-cheong , Kan Chi-wai , Postle Ron
Published: June 2015

The influence of coloration on ultraviolet (UV) protection of cotton knitted fabrics with different knit structures incorporated with the three major stitch types, namely knit, tuck and miss stitches, are studied in four approaches. The effects of color depth and knit structures on the ultraviolet protection factor (UPF) of fabrics are investigated. The influences of hue and color depth on the UPF of fabrics are also compared. Since UV protection offered by dyes mainly depends on their chemical structures, the UPF and color strength of fabrics colored by reactive dyes that varied in reactive groups, such as mono-functional and bi-functional reactive dyes, are examined. The correlations between UPF and the CIELAB color coordinates, color strength ( K/ Ssum), are analyzed. The results show that light-colored fabrics with compact structures achieve similar or even better UV protection than the dark-colored fabrics with loose structures. This implies that color property might not be a reliable indicator for UV protection of knitted fabrics and the effect of coloration on UV protection is affected by fabric construction. The results also denote that the chemical structure of reactive dyes affects the UV protection of fabrics in a qualitative approach that depends on the unique ultraviolet radiation blocking ability of the chemical constituents. Among the color coordinates investigated, only lightness ( L*) and K/ Ssum are found to be correlated with the UPF of the fabrics, but the strength of correlations is not very strong. This is because the fabric characteristics that have significant impacts of UV protection are mostly not involved in the measurement of color properties.
Medical Evidence and Expertise in Abortion Jurisprudence
Authors: Ahmed Aziza
Published: June 2015

For another thing, the division of medical opinion about the matter at most means uncertainty, a factor that signals the presence of risk, not its absence. That division here involves highly qualified knowledgeable experts on both sides of the issue.—Stenberg v. Carhart, 20001

While we find no reliable data to measure the phenomenon, it seems unexceptionable to conclude some women come to regret their choice to abort the infant life they once created and sustained.—Gonzales v. Carhart, 20072
Laryngeal Verrucous Carcinoma
Authors: Dubal Pariket M. , Svider Peter F. , Kam David , Dutta Rahul , Baredes Soly , Eloy Jean Anderson
Published: June 2015

Objective

Verrucous carcinoma of the larynx (VCL) is a rare entity with reportedly favorable prognosis. Current analyses are limited primarily to case reports and case series, thus making a population‐based analysis useful in characterizing frequency, incidence, and survival trends to guide clinical diagnosis and decision making.

Study Design

Analysis of the National Cancer Institute’s SEER (Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results) database.

Methods

Cases of VCL diagnosed between 1973 and 2011 were searched in the SEER database. Analysis was carried out with respect to patient demographics, tumor characteristics, incidence, treatment modality, and survival.

Results

In sum, 516 patients with VCL were identified. Males composed 88.4% of cases. Whites accounted for 88.4% of cases, with 8.1% of cases occurring in black patients. Most cases (79.7%) arose in the glottis, a statistically significant predilection when compared with other laryngeal malignancies (P <. 0001). Incidence of VCL decreased from 2000 to 2011, with an annual percent change of −5.4%. Overall 1‐, 5‐, and 10‐year disease‐specific survival for VCL was 97.5%, 88.0%, and 77.4%, while 1‐, 5‐, and 10‐year relative survival was 98.1%, 85.5%, and 74.2%, respectively. Surgery seemed to confer better prognosis when compared with other treatment modalities.

Conclusions

This large population‐based analysis of VCL demonstrates that this entity has a good prognosis, arises in the glottis, and is decreasing in incidence. Five‐year survival seems highest when surgery is utilized. However, this finding may be subject to selection bias in high‐stage lesions.
Coronary artery dimensions: Iranian population versus Indo-Asians and Caucasians
Authors: Ghaffari Samad , Mehdizadeh-Lame Mohammad-Bagher , Sepehrvand Nariman , Aslanabadi Naser , Sohrabi Bahram , Separham Ahmad , Jamshidi Peiman
Published: June 2015

Background

The dimensions of the coronary arteries have been shown to vary among ethnic groups. There are no data available regarding the normal size of coronary arteries in Iranians. This study aimed to investigate normal coronary artery dimensions in a Northwestern Iranian population and to compare it with pooled data of Indo-Asians and Caucasians in previous studies.

Methods

The study included 200 adults with suspected coronary disease who were referred for elective coronary angiography between June 2012 and March 2013 and were found to have normal epicardial flow in the coronary arteries. Quantitative coronary angiography was carried out on the longest atheroma-free part of the proximal segment of each coronary artery in all patients. Two Indo-Asian and Caucasian groups were selected and pooled for comparison with the available reports on individuals without coronary artery disease.

Results

The mean diameters of the left main coronary artery, proximal left anterior descending artery, proximal left circumflex, and proximal right coronary artery were 4.58 ± 0.80, 3.69 ± 0.64, 3.37 ± 0.73, and 3.47 ± 0.68 mm, respectively. The dimensions of the proximal part of the left main coronary artery and right coronary artery were significantly greater in the Northwestern Iranian population compared to the pooled Caucasian group. This difference was maintained even after correction for body surface area.

Conclusion

Our data indicate larger coronary diameters in the Iranian population compared to Caucasians or South-Asians. Hence the high prevalence of coronary artery disease in Iran cannot be explained by coronary dimensions.
Tuberculous constrictive pericarditis and atrial septal defect: Surgical challenge
Authors: Lakhotia Siddharth , Kumawat Mukesh , Mathur Sharad Kumar , Kinge Bhushan Kumar
Published: June 2015

Tuberculous constrictive pericarditis with atrial septal defect is very rare. A 23-year-old man required pericardiectomy and atrial septal defect closure under cardiopulmonary bypass by cannulating the aorta and right atrium because femoral cannulation was not possible and the venae cavae could not be visualized. He was discharged in a satisfactory condition on the 15th postoperative day, but returned one month later with swelling all over his body and dyspnea on exertion. Echocardiography showed atrial septal defect patch dehiscence and a bidirectional shunt with a collection or mass compressing the right ventricle. Subxiphoid exploration was carried out, and the swelling subsided.
Movement of mitral fibrous components in an isolated porcine working heart model
Authors: Tamenishi Akinori , Araki Yoshimori , Saito Shunei , Oshima Hideki , Ueda Yuichi , Usui Akihiko
Published: June 2015

Background

There is little research regarding the movement of mitral fibrous components. We analyzed changes in mitral fibrous components in normal and deteriorated isolated working swine hearts.

Methods

In 5 swine hearts, 6 sonomicrometry transducers were placed around the mitral annulus and 2 in the papillary muscle tip. During the working cycle, we evaluated the annular dimension and calculated the contraction range and contraction ratio during the cardiac cycle in normal and deteriorated modes.

Results

The transverse (24.5 ± 2.3 vs. 27.4 ± 2.4 mm) and posterior longitudinal diameter (18.3 ± 7.0 vs. 22.5 ± 5.5 mm) increased significantly in deteriorated mode. The contraction range in transverse (1.8 ± 0.6 vs. 0.8 ± 0.7 mm) and posterior longitudinal (1.6 ± 0.6 vs. 0.8 ± 0.3 mm) diameters decreased significantly in deteriorated mode. The contraction range of the strut chordae was less than 1.0 mm in both modes, with no significant differences. The contraction ratio of the anterior strut chordae was significantly reduced in deteriorated mode (3.2 ± 1.1% vs. 2.2 ± 1.1%). The contraction ratio of the annulus was significantly lower in deteriorated mode with respect to transverse (6.9 ± 2.1% vs. 2.9 ± 2.9%) and longitudinal (13.3 ± 4.5% vs. 8.6 ± 5.1%) diameters.

Conclusions

In the deteriorated hearts, the mitral annulus was dilated and contractility decreased. The length of the strut chordae differed 1 mm between the deteriorated and normal modes; however, the contraction ratio of the anterior chordae during the cardiac cycle was reduced, indicating increased stretching.
Efficacy of minimally invasive surgery in diagnosis of interstitial lung disease
Authors: Bagheri Reza , Haghi Seyed Ziaollah , Attaran Davood , Hashem Asnaashari Amir Mohammad , Basiri Reza , Rajabnejad Ata'ollah
Published: June 2015

Objective

This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of video-assisted thoracic surgery in reaching a specific diagnosis in patients with interstitial lung disease.

Methods

Thirty-eight patients with interstitial lung disease (19 males, 19 females; mean age 47.73 years) who had undergone video-assisted thoracic surgery at Ghaem Hospital, Mashhad, Iran, between 2010 and 2013 were evaluated retrospectively in this study. Preoperative evaluations including cardiac and pulmonary assessments were performed. Data were recorded in forms prepared for this study and included age, sex, symptoms, imaging findings, operation duration, chest drain withdrawal time, postoperative hospital stay, hospital mortality, and specific diagnosis of the disease.

Results

The most common symptom was dyspnea (38 patients, 100%). The most common computed tomography finding was a reticular pattern (30 patients, 78.94%). Surgery complications included persistent air leak in 3 (7.9%) cases and wound infection in 2 (5.26%). There was no hospital death and no need for reoperation. The average of operative time was 50 min. The mean time for chest drain withdrawal and postoperative hospitalization was 4 and 5 days, respectively. The most common diagnoses were usual interstitial pneumonia in 9 (23.68%) patients and sarcoidosis in 6 (15.78%). A specific diagnosis was not reached in 2/38 (5.26%) patients after video-assisted thoracic surgery.

Conclusion

Video-assisted thoracic surgery is a highly effective and safe method for establishing a specific diagnosis in patients with interstitial lung disease.
Waste, Environmental Politics and Dis/Engaged Publics
Authors: Hird Myra J
Published: June 2015

Waste is a major global environmental issue that assembles socio-cultural and bio-geological processes in complex indeterminate relationships. Drawing on three case studies, this article explores the shifting environmental politics concerned with waste’s material, economic, political, and cultural ‘management’. The Canadian case studies – determining a new waste management technology in a mid-sized city in central Ontario, an open dump in a remote Nunavut community, and an abandoned gold mine in the Northwest Territories – suggest waste occasions particular material and political mobilizations. Landfill leachate, colonialism, disinterested publics, freezing arsenic, global corporate investments, country food, land claims, neoliberal governance, permafrost, ravens, and a host of other socio-material forces both empower and thwart ‘management’ politics. Through these case studies, this article explores Isabelle Stengers’s assertion that participating citizenship is an ‘Empty Great Idea’, and a provocation to consider the contexts in which waste may generate acquiescent or objecting publics.
A conceptual framework for e-government development in resource-constrained countries
Authors: Bwalya Kelvin Joseph , Mutula Stephen
Published: June 2015

Many e-government interventions in resource-constrained countries fail because of the cost involved in setting up appropriate, robust and responsive e-government programmes and platforms. The failure of these projects results into paying a higher opportunity cost owing to missing out on socio-economic benefits that e-government has to offer. To avert the higher failure rate of e-government interventions, it is vital that effervescent e-government design be informed by context-aware conceptual frameworks and models. Using the Mixed Methods Research (MMR) approach, this paper explores the contextual factors that influence e-government design and development and proposes a conceptual framework with due reference to local contextual characteristics. The proposed framework may act as a blueprint for designing e-government interventions in contextually similar environments endowed with complex cultural setups. The paper brings out pointers to understanding critical factors that influence e-government development especially in a developing world context. The results indicate that effervescent e-government design needs to be informed by the unique contextual characteristics in the area in which it is implemented.
Cross-cultural verification of the EORTC QLQ-C15-PAL questionnaire in mainland China
Authors: Zhang Lei , Wang Ning , Zhang Jing , Liu Jiahao , Luo Zhiqin , Sun Weilin , Woo Stephanie Mu-Lian , Chen Chujun , Zhang Kai , Miller Adam R , Guo Hui , Zhang Xueying , Wang Changli
Published: June 2015

Background:

Simplified by European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) Quality-of-Life Questionnaire Core 30 (QLQ-C30), EORTC Quality-of-Life Questionnaire Core 15 Palliative Care (QLQ-C15-PAL) is specifically applied to evaluating palliative care patients’ quality of life.

Aim:

This study examined cross-cultural adaptability and validity of QLQ-C15-PAL for evaluating quality of life of palliative care patients with advanced cancer in mainland China.

Participants and design:

From May to October 2013, 243 palliative care patients in Tianjin Cancer Hospital completed the EORTC QLQ-C30. We extracted QLQ-C15-PAL data for analysis. Physicians completed the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group Performance Status score and mental state assessment for each patient.

Results:

A total of 243 patients completed the study. The compliance rate was high, with missing rate for each item ranging from 0% to 2.1%. In addition to emotional function, the remaining dimensions demonstrated a high reliability (Cronbach’s alpha > 0.7). Whether we divided patients into two groups according to their Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group Performance Status or divided patients into three groups according to mental status, both sets of results showed significant differences in QLQ-C15-PAL subscale scores ( p < 0.05), indicating that the QLQ-C15-PAL scale could be used to distinguish between the aforementioned subgroups. Overall quality of life was moderately correlated with fatigue ( r = −0.406) but weakly correlated with other subscales. The proportion of variance ( R2) ranged from 0.848 to 0.903, which showed that QLQ-C15-PAL subscale scores explained between 84.8% and 90.3% of the original QLQ-C30 score distribution.

Conclusion:

The Chinese version of the EORTC QLQ-C15-PAL questionnaire has high reliability and validity and is therefore suitable for clinical use in China to determine health-related quality of life in Chinese patients with advanced cancer.
Thy Will Be Done?
Authors: Grzymała-Busse Anna
Published: June 2015

Levels of both religiosity and of religious influence on public policy vary enormously across the countries of post-communist East Central Europe. This variation poses a challenge to existing explanations, which have focused on religious competition and alliances with political parties to explain religious participation and policy influence, respectively. The legacy of religious nationalism instead helps to explain both the vibrancy of religious participation and the influence of churches on democratic public policy. This variation also calls for greater scrutiny of “historical legacies”: while some patterns are durable and reach back centuries, others are recent innovations.
Pre-Communist and Communist Developmental Legacies
Authors: Pop-Eleches Grigore
Published: June 2015

This article discusses two distinctive approaches for thinking about historical legacies in the post-communist context. The first approach, which builds on the work of Ken Jowitt, emphasizes the distinctiveness of Leninist socioeconomic and political legacies, while the second approach, rooted in the writings of Andrew Janos, highlights the significant and resilient pre-communist, communist, and post-communist diversity of the countries of the former Soviet bloc. The empirical evidence reviewed in this paper suggests that both types of legacies continue to matter after a quarter-century of post-communist transitions. Thus, whereas we can still discern a distinctive and fairly uniform communist imprint in areas such as primary education and the importance of the state sector in the economy, in other areas of socioeconomic development, either communism was unable to reverse longer-term intraregional differences (e.g., with respect to GDP/capita or the size of the agrarian sector) or its initially distinctive developmental imprint has been fundamentally reshaped by post-communist economic reforms (as in the case of the massive increase in income inequality in a subset of ex-communist countries). In political terms, there is an interesting contrast between institutional trajectories (such as regime type), which largely follow pre-communist developmental differences, and individual political attitudes and behavior, where communist exceptionalism generally trumps post-communist diversity.
East European Studies
Authors: Hozić Aida A.
Published: June 2015

The question “Whither Eastern Europe?” prompts the author to reflect upon the interplay of area studies and political power in the United States. Concerns about the future of East European studies tend to originate outside of academe: in the real or imagined declining relevance of Europe in the U.S. foreign policy orbit. Sadly, perhaps, as the region’s complex history and contemporary politics seem to attest, it is highly unlikely that it will lose its strategic importance anytime soon. Therefore, the most important dimension of East European continued significance might be the normative one. Whither to/for whom? Who are the audiences that we are addressing and what is our responsibility to them?
Out of Eastern Europe
Authors: Subotić Jelena
Published: June 2015

What is the contribution of Eastern European scholarship to the study of human rights and transitional justice? This essay takes stock of the most significant empirical and theoretical contributions of the study of Eastern Europe, specifically the study of the difficult case of the former Yugoslavia, to the scholarship on transitional justice. I identify three main challenges the scholarship on the former Yugoslavia has presented to the larger field of transitional justice: the political challenge of multiple overlapping transitions, the inability of international institutions to effect domestic social change, and the dangers of politicization of past violence remembrance.
Diffusion and the Production of Eastern Europe
Authors: Petrova Tsveta
Published: June 2015

This article argues that Eastern Europe continues to be defined and redefined not just by the actual patterns of socio-economic and political reproduction of the distant and proximate regimes governing the region but also through the perceptions of such legacies as generating fundamental similarities. Such perceived similarities, whether or not closely mapped on the objective parallels among countries in Eastern Europe, facilitate intra-region diffusion that results in (further) spatio-temporal socio-economic and political similarities specific to the region. To illustrate this relationship between precommunist and communist legacies, intra-region diffusion, and the production of Eastern Europe, the article examines Slovakia’s diffusion entrepreneurship in the wave of electoral breakthroughs in Eastern Europe in the late 1990s and early 2000s. This article contributes to the literatures on Eastern Europe and comparative democratization in two main ways. First, it adds to the work on the impact of spatio-temporal dependence on transition outcomes, such as democratization, in Eastern Europe. Second, by doing so, the article also documents the impact of an understudied set of democracy promoters—the Eastern European countries.
External Actors and Regime Change
Authors: Vachudova Milada Anna
Published: June 2015

This article explores how the study of post-communism has transformed comparative politics by adding a substantial role for external actors to existing theories of democratization. The big, overarching finding is dramatic: external actors can, under certain conditions, tip the balance in favor of democracy by offering strong rewards to elites, conditional on complying with tough requirements. External actors can also influence the performance of the state—and how the state treats its citizens. The main causal player is the European Union. This simple finding is consequential for all three major strands of democratization theory. The article goes on to explore how the leverage of the European Union has shaped the trajectories of political change in the new and credible future EU members in East Central and South Eastern Europe. The great variation among existing and candidate members can be largely explained by different domestic conditions, even though there are many areas where the EU’s use of its leverage could have been improved.
Media in the New Democracies of Post-Communist Eastern Europe
Authors: Kostadinova Petia
Published: June 2015

Growing up in Bulgaria during the “transition” years, as a then fifteen-year old, I spent the summer of 1990 queuing up at the neighborhood newsstand waiting for the daily delivery of freshly printed newspapers. Shortages of goods, including food and gasoline, caused long lines in front of many stores, but the crowd waiting at the kiosk was eager to read about the latest political developments, and especially popular were the newspapers published by the newly established opposition parties. While there was no scarcity of political news via television and radio, there was always something special about the print media, much of which, including entertainment weeklies, were such a novelty. Twenty or so years later, I spent another summer among newspapers, in the archives of the National Library in Sofia, poring through the pages and—with no digitization of archives—collecting photographs of news articles published before each of the national legislative elections since 1990. Much has changed in the media environment since then, yet the study of media in post-communist societies and especially its relations to voters, parties, and politics in general is still in its infancy.
Cosmopolitanism, sociology and the otherness of the other
Authors: Argyrou Vassos
Published: June 2015

This article is concerned with the ‘cosmopolitan turn’ in sociology and examines the ways in which the discipline attempts to come to terms with the otherness of the other as a corrective to its own Eurocentrism. It examines in particular the pluralisation of the notion of modernity and argues that although this strategy allows sociology to maintain its disciplinary identity, it falls short of the aim of transforming the discipline into a cosmopolitan discourse. More broadly, the article argues that cosmopolitanism is not a possible object of experience. Like other idealisations, it is plagued by what Derrida calls ‘autoimmunity’ – the tendency to self-destruct.
Synthesis and characterization of optically active polyimides and their octa(aminophenyl)silsesquioxane nanocomposites
Authors: Sadhasivam Balaji , Muthusamy Sarojadevi
Published: June 2015

New optically active diamine (3,5-diaminophenyl)((R)-3,4-dihydro-1-phenylisoquinoline-2(1H)-yl)methanone was successfully prepared. Optically active polyimides (PIs) were synthesized by reacting the prepared diamine with the aromatic tetracarboxylic dianhydrides, namely, 3,3′,4,4′-benzophenone tetracarboxylic dianhydride/pyromelltic dianhydride by thermal imidization method and characterized using Fourier transform infrared and nuclear magnetic resonance spectral techniques. Additionally, PI nanocomposites were also prepared by incorporating amino-functionalized polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane named as octa(aminophenyl)silsesquioxane (OAPS). The cut-off wavelengths of PIs and their nanocomposites were found to be less than 350 nm, indicating that the PIs are transparent. The PIs and their nanocomposites were found to have glass transition temperature between 204°C and 269°C (differential scanning calorimetric analysis). The 10% weight loss temperature and char yield were found to be 319.5–420.3°C and 26.3–62.7%, respectively. The PIs were found to be amorphous as indicated by X-ray analysis. The scanning electron microscopic images of the nanocomposites also reveal uniform distribution of the nanoparticles in the nanocomposite. PIs and PI/OAPS nanocomposites were found to have low dielectric constant in the range of 2.59–3.36.