bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
RECOGNISING THE INFLUENCE OF INTER-PROFESSIONAL RELATIONS ON END OF LIFE CARE TRANSITIONS: VIEWS OF BEREAVED CARERS AND PROFESSIONALS
Authors: Valtorta N , Hanratty B , Lowson E , Grande G , Addington-Hall J , Seymour J , Payne S
Published: February 2013

Introduction

The end-of-life care needs of older adults with multiple conditions are complex and involve a range of professionals working in different settings. This study focuses on transitions, as vulnerable points in care pathways experienced by a high proportion of the older population at the end of life.

Aims and Methods

To understand how inter-professional relations influence transitions between settings for older adults at the end of life.

Methods

In-depth qualitative interviews with 118 caregivers of decedents aged 66–98 years, who had died with heart failure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, stroke, selected cancers; 43 providers and commissioners of services in primary care, hospital, hospice, social care and ambulance services in England.

Results

Carers regretted that communication and handovers between professionals did not always take place where they felt them to be necessary, and perceived frequent, repeated assessments and interventions to be the consequence. Families felt compelled to take responsibility themselves and fill gaps left by deficiencies in inter-professional communication and working. Professionals described stereotypical divisions between health and social care, with differences in culture, language and approaches to patients or clients. The dominance of the medical model in end of life care was perceived to be unhelpful in creating close working relationships between health and social care. The impact of inter-professional tensions on patients and families went unacknowledged by staff.

Conclusions

Inter-professional relationships are an important influence on patient and family experiences of end of life care. It may be an overlooked source of inequity.
AN EVALUATION OF THE MARIE CURIE HELPER SERVICE
Authors: Prentice T , Knox A , Bukowski G , Durkacz S , Duxbury K , Quigley A
Published: February 2013

Introduction

In 2011 MCCC commissioned Ipsos Mori to conduct an independent, qualitative evaluation of the Helper service; a volunteer delivered service providing social, emotional and practical support to maximise the wellbeing of terminally ill people and their carers.

Aims and Methods

The aim of the research was to explore perceptions of the service from multiple viewpoints, those of people receiving the Helper service, Helper volunteers, service managers and referrers, in the two pilot sites of Somerset and Nottingham. The fieldwork took place between November 2011 and February 2012 and consisted of depth interviews and focus group sessions. In total, nine interviews took place with terminally ill people and eight interviews with carers currently using the service. The interviews were recorded, transcribed verbatim and analysed thematically. Themes were identified across the audiences and content from the transcripts grouped together within each theme.

Results

Five key themes were identified under which findings were grouped. These were:

▸ Benefits and factors for success

▸ Understanding and expectations for the service

▸ Service delivery

▸ Challenges facing the service

▸ Future development

Conclusions

The findings suggested that emotional support, companionship, practical support, carer respite and information provision is making a real difference to terminally ill people by having a positive impact on their emotional wellbeing. Carers reported similar direct benefits on their emotional health but also benefited simply from knowing that the emotional needs of the person they were caring for were being met.
AN INTRODUCTION TO BRIGHTLIGHT ON END OF LIFE CARE FOR YOUNG ADULTS: WHAT DO YOUNG ADULTS WITH CANCER AND THEIR FAMILIES NEED AND HOW CAN IT BEST BE DELIVERED?
Authors: Whelan J , Pearce S , Jones L , Stirling C , Hough R , Riley V , Fern L , Morris S , Moran T , Tookman A , Flatley M , Wong G , Taylor R , Gibson F
Published: February 2013

Introduction

The end of life care needs of young adults, aged 16–40 years, are poorly described in current literature and no specific guidance exists for professionals that takes account of factors such as rarity, cancer type, heterogeneity and influence of life stage.

Aims and Methods

We will use using realistic evaluation to understand:

A. Core components in pathways of care in the last year of life for people with cancer aged 16–40 years.

B. How young adults and their families can be supported to achieve their preferences for care.

C. Challenges for health and social care professionals.

Work commences in 2013 and is linked to quantitative data from NIHR national programme, BRIGHTLIGHT (http://www.brightlightstudy.com). Research will be conducted in three or more sites across UK and includes patients, families and multiple professional disciplines as participants, shaping investigation and outputs.

There are five phases:

1. Drawing together literature and national cancer intelligence;

2. Interviews with young adults, families and professionals;

3. Scenario workshops with families and professionals;

4. Analysis and interpretation of data including refinement through discussion with a panel of experts;

5. Development of recommendations for practice.

Results

Findings from BRIGHTLIGHT will be synthesised with our emerging qualitative data to inform explanations on needs and preferences for care in young adults and their families as the project progresses.

Conclusions

This innovative, comprehensive study of the end of life needs of young adults aged 16–40 years uses in-depth, multi-layered data which will inform understanding of need and inform policy and service delivery.
HOW REPRESENTATIVE ARE PATIENTS WHO ACCESS THE MARIE CURIE NURSING SERVICE OF THE POPULATION OF PEOPLE WHO DIE EACH YEAR IN ENGLAND?
Authors: Georghiou T , Cooke M , Bardsley M
Published: February 2013

Introduction

The Marie Curie Nursing Service (MCNS) provides nursing care and support to around 28 000 people at the end of life in their own homes each year.

Aims and Methods

This study aimed to explore the extent to which MCNS patients are representative of all people at the end of life. Following approval from the National Information Governing Board and pseudonymisation of datasets, service data for 29 000 MCNS patients who received care between January 2009 and November 2011 were linked to NHS data on patient characteristics and hospital usage. A comparison group comprised 870 000 people who died during the same timeframe but did not receive MCNS care.

Results

Multivariate analyses explored the extent to which the groups differed on demographic measures including age, gender, ethnicity and deprivation. Further analyses explored the differences in clinical variables including diagnoses and number of long term conditions. MCNS patients were much more likely to have a cancer diagnosis, and are considerably less likely to have a dementia diagnosis.

Conclusions

The largest differences between MCNS patients and the population of people who die each year in England are in diagnostic variables, including cancer history. Multivariate analyses enable a meaningful comparison between the groups of variables of interest (eg, age), accounting for other factors known to be related to that variable (eg, cancer history).
PATIENTS AND CARERS EXPERIENCE OF LIVING WITH A COMPLEX AND RARE NEUROLOGICAL AND PALLIATIVE DIAGNOSIS
Authors: Day Emma R , Garrood Liz , Draper A M , Smith P
Published: February 2013

Introduction

A growing body of literature suggests that living with a complex, rare and/ or progressive neurological condition can have significant impact on a patient and families/ carer psychological and emotional wellbeing (McLeod and Clarke 2009). Many patients are invisible to the health care system (Day 2012). Leventhal's Self Regulation theory will underpin understanding of the coping strategies adopted. Leventhal and proponents of this theory suggest that we are active participants in our health care (Leventhal, 2003, Helder 2002). Therefore, if we are able to recognise patients' illness representations we can better coordinate care to suit those who receive it. Bowen's Family Systems Theory will be referenced when discussing the experience of the patients' nominated family member.

Aims and Methods

To investigate the patient and carers experience(s) of living with a complex neurological and palliative diagnosis. Secondary data was used from the analysis of the service evaluation study of the ‘My Needs Now’ project hosted by Hertfordshire Community Healthcare Trust.

Results

A number of themes emerged namely, Professional Knowledge and Understanding, Time and Progression, The Family, and Coping Strategies. It is apparent that health professionals need to develop their specific knowledge about complex, neurological and palliative diagnoses and engage with patients and carers as individual cases distributing knowledge appropriately. Whilst patients and carers must adopt a range of coping strategies allowing them to both reactively and proactively engage with support over the course of the disease.

Conclusions

Health professionals should facilitate the development of knowledge with any patient or carer who wishes to expand their understanding of the disease they are living with. Similarly, the duality of knowledge between patient and carer should be respected and the desire for information must never be assumed.
A MISMATCH OF EXPECTATIONS? POWER, HIERARCHY AND THE INTERACTION BETWEEN CLINICAL STAFF AND THE OLDER PERSON APPROACHING END-OF-LIFE AND THEIR OLDER LOVED ONES
Authors: Dobbs C , Carnes Chichlowska S
Published: February 2013

Introduction

This paper presents findings from part of a larger qualitative study involving (1) older people, (2) clinical staff, (3) multi-faith spiritual mentors and (4) policy-makers/-influencers in Wales (N=56).1

Aims and Methods

Taking a whole-systems approach, a major aim was to identify older peoples' expectations of first-class end-of-life care in the hospital setting. Phase 1 comprised in-depth interviews (participant groups 1–3). Phase 2 involved consultation workshops with older people. In Phase 3, policy-makers/influencers developed road-maps for change during summative consultation workshops.

Results

The hospital hierarchy plays an immense role for the older patient/loved one. A minority experienced excessive frustration when striving to obtain optimal care. Many remained voiceless due to fear of repercussions. Importantly, for the majority there appeared to be a conflict in wanting to comply to the system as best they could, but were unsure of what the modern NHS expects from them.

Conclusions

There is a bias in the health-care system, particularly whereactualpreferences are age- and/or culturally/faith defined. We question how the NHS putspatient-centred careandpatient choiceinto practice. Whilst hierarchy and (mis-)use of power between and within clinical staff groups is a deep-rooted cultural issue, we conclude that the older person approaching end-of-life and their loved ones have, in many cases, different expectations to clinical staff. The patient is tasked with meeting NHS needs, rather than the NHS meeting the patient's needs. 1. Dobbs C.et al.(Final Report under review)End-of-life-care for older people in Wales. NISCHR Grant No. HA09/006.
Consumption of sucrose and high-fructose corn syrup does not increase liver fat or ectopic fat deposition in muscles
Authors: Bravo Stephen , Lowndes Joshua , Sinnett Stephanie , Yu Zhiping , Rippe James
Published: February 2013

It has been postulated that fructose-induced triglyceride synthesis is augmented when accompanied by glucose. Chronic elevations could lead to excess fat accumulation in the liver and ectopic fat deposition in muscles, which in turn could contribute to the induction of abnormalities in glucose homeostasis, insulin resistance, and the subsequent development of type 2 diabetes. Our objective was to evaluate the effect of the addition of commonly consumed fructose- and (or) glucose-containing sugars in the usual diet on liver fat content and intramuscular adipose tissue. For 10 weeks, 64 individuals (mean age, 42.16 ± 11.66 years) consumed low-fat milk sweetened with either high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) or sucrose; the added sugar matched consumption levels of fructose in the 25th, 50th, and 90th percentiles of the population. The fat content of the liver was measured with unenhanced computed tomography imaging, and the fat content of muscle was assessed with magnetic resonance imaging. When the 6 HFCS and sucrose groups were averaged, there was no change over the course of 10 weeks in the fat content of the liver (13.32% ± 10.49% vs. 13.21% ± 10.75%; p > 0.05), vastus lateralis muscle (3.07 ± 0.74 g per 100 mL vs. 3.15 ± 0.84 g per 100 mL; p > 0.05), or gluteus maximus muscle (4.08 ± 1.50 g per 100 mL vs. 4.24 ± 1.42 g per 100 mL; p > 0.05). Group assignment did not affect the result (interaction > 0.05). These data suggest that when fructose is consumed as part of a typical diet in normally consumed sweeteners, such as sucrose or HFCS, ectopic fat storage in the liver or muscles is not promoted.
Investigation of passive failure and deformation mechanisms due to tunnelling in clay
Authors: Ng C.W.W. , Wong K.S.
Published: February 2013

It is essential to prevent failures at a tunnel face during tunnel construction to protect existing structures and underground utilities. Many studies have investigated active failure in clay, but passive failure is often overlooked. The objectives of this study are to investigate passive failure as well as surface heave and excess pore-water pressure induced by tunnel face displacement in a geotechnical centrifuge. Long-term settlement and dissipation of excess pore-water pressure after passive failure are also investigated. For a tunnel located at a cover to diameter ratio of 2.1, soil in front of the tunnel face is displaced mainly forwards and upwards to the ground surface by the advancing tunnel face. The measured passive failure pressure is closely bounded by the best upper and lower bounds and agrees reasonably well with the cavity expansion solution. For a tunnel located at a cover to diameter ratio of 4.2, a localized failure mechanism is observed. There is a large discrepancy between the measured passive failure pressure and the upper bound solution. Both longitudinal and transverse surface heaves for tunnels located at cover to diameter ratios of 2.1 and 4.2 may be described by two-dimensional Gaussian distributions. The spherical cavity expansion solution appears to overestimate excess pore-water pressure upon passive failure for a tunnel located at a cover to diameter ratio of 2.1. An average of 90% degree of consolidation is reached at time factors of 0.9 and 1.5 for tunnels located at cover to diameter ratios of 2.1 and 4.2, respectively.
Are clonal traits and their response to defoliation good predictors of grazing resistance?
Authors: Benot Marie-Lise , Mony Cendrine , Lepš Jan , Penet Laurent , Bonis Anne
Published: February 2013

Grazing resistance in plants, which can be defined as the ability to grow and reproduce under grazed conditions, is either associated to defoliation avoidance or tolerance. Clonal traits are often neglected when studying functional responses to grazing, despite frequent occurrence in grassland vegetation. We investigated whether clonal traits and response to defoliation were associated to increased grazing resistance. First, grazing resistance was estimated for eight clonal species using abundance patterns in a long-term field study. We then analysed its correlation with traits in undisturbed conditions and responses to defoliation in a garden experiment. A few traits were correlated to grazing resistance, though only one was a clonal trait (belowground clonal biomass). Grazing resistance was negatively correlated to shoot height and belowground clonal biomass and positively correlated to inflorescence biomass, suggesting that tall rhizomatous species investing little in sexual reproduction were at a disadvantage under grazed conditions. Both shoot height and belowground clonal biomass were negatively affected by defoliation but their decrease was significantly less for species that expressed the greatest grazing resistance in the field. Our findings show that incorporating clonal traits slightly improved predictions about field grazing resistance in the eight investigated species.
Pacific halibut on the move: a renewed understanding of adult migration from a coastwide tagging study
Authors: Webster Raymond A. , Clark William G. , Leaman Bruce M. , Forsberg Joan E.
Published: February 2013

Results of a coastwide tagging study show that ontogenetic migration of Pacific halibut (Hippoglossus stenolepis) continues for larger fish, whereas in recent years the assumption had been that only smaller, younger fish migrated. In 2003–2004, a total of 67 000 Pacific halibut tagged with passive integrated transponder tags were released by the International Pacific Halibut Commission (IPHC) from Oregon to the Bering Sea. Portside scanning recovered over 3000 of these tags. Models were fitted that allowed commercial fishing mortality to be a function of fish length, year, and IPHC regulatory area, while migration probability was a function of area and length. Estimates from the models support the view that exploitation rates were much higher in eastern than western areas prior to the reduction of quotas following new results from a coastwide stock assessment in 2007. We explore possible explanations for differences between tagging and IPHC stock assessment results and note that this research provides confirmation of historical inferences regarding patterns of halibut migration based on conventional tagging.
Spatiotemporal variations in resources affect activity and movement patterns of white-tailed deer (Odocoileusvirginianus) at high density
Authors: Massé Ariane , Côté Steeve D.
Published: February 2013

Although activity budget, movements, and habitat use of herbivores have been extensively studied, few studies have simultaneously examined these behaviors at several temporal scales. We investigated the influence of spatiotemporal variations in forage and climate on the activity and movement patterns of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus (Zimmermann, 1780)) at high density, in a predator-free ecosystem impacted by long-term browsing. We used GPS telemetry and activity sensors to monitor seasonal activity budgets, movements, and patterns of habitat use within the home ranges of 24 female deer at three temporal scales: (1) season, (2) within season, and (3) daily. At large temporal scale, deer were less active and moved less during winter than during summer. Within each season, deer reduced their activity and movements in areas where forage resources were abundant and when climatic conditions were more difficult. On a daily scale, summer and winter movements peaked at dusk, but habitat selection neither changed with period of the day nor activity (foraging vs. resting). These results provide empirical evidence on how environmental constraints can modulate the trade-offs between forage acquisition and exposure to limiting factors.
Remoulding of the Mercia Mudstone Group around CFA pile shafts
Authors: Seward L. J. , Stallebrass S. E. , Skipper J.
Published: February 2013

A field test has been undertaken to investigate changes to
in situ
Mercia Mudstone at the soil–pile interface after installation of four 5.5 m long 350 mm diameter continuous flight auger piles. The test investigated whether a remoulded zone exists, the extent of the zone, changes caused by remoulding and the effect of the installation method. The piles and surrounding soil were excavated after installation to a depth of just under 2 m. The sections of pile and surrounding soil were returned to the laboratory, where a variety of detailed observations at both micro- and macroscopic scales were undertaken, together with chemical and mineralogical analysis. It was found that a remoulded zone existed in all piles but that this varied in thickness both laterally and vertically around a pile. Across all piles the maximum thickness observed was 55 mm. The average thickness, fabric and texture were all affected by installation method. A distinctive vertically oriented fabric was observed in which up to four vertically oriented layers could be distinguished. There was evidence of changes in texture and fabric, structure, colour, mineralogy and chemistry.
Multi-disciplinary characterization and monitoring of sandstone (Kandla Grey) under different external conditions
Authors: Cnudde V. , De Boever W. , Dewanckele J. , De Kock T. , Boone M. , Boone M.N. , Silversmit G. , Vincze L. , Van Ranst E. , Derluyn H. , Peetermans S. , Hovind J. , Modregger P. , Stampanoni M. , De Buysser K. , De Schutter G.
Published: February 2013

Nowadays there is an increase of imported natural building stones, often used as replacement of local, more traditional building stones. The durability of these traditional stones is generally well known; however, when new imported materials are used, it is essential to study their behaviour under the current and local climatological conditions to predict their weathering resistance. In addition to water exposure, these building materials have to be resistant to significant mechanical stress created by the imbibition of de-icing salt solutions, frequently used during winter in Western Europe, with temperature periodically changing from freeze to thaw conditions. Porous network modifications related to the materials’ chemical composition are very complex when different forces are acting on the stone itself. Therefore it is crucial to determine the internal structure of the building stone under changing external conditions with and without the presence of de-icing salts, to understand the influence of these additional salts. In this paper, particular attention was paid to the multi-characterization of compact Kandla Grey laminated sandstone, a building stone frequently imported from India to Belgium recently. Traditional as well as highly advanced research techniques were used for the characterization and monitoring of changes under different external conditions. This study demonstrates that the structural characteristics of the laminations have an effect on the frost resistance of the stone and its response to salt weathering. From the experiments carried out, it can be concluded that Kandla Grey can be sensitive to frost and salt weathering under the current climatic conditions in Western Europe.
Groundwater head in high-temperature aquifers
Authors: Bekesi Gabor , Tyler Murray , Waterhouse John
Published: February 2013

In the Great Artesian Basin (GAB) of Australia the combination of high temperatures and deep wells makes the calculation of groundwater heads challenging. Regulatory requirements set small drawdown conditions that require improved accuracy in the determination of head. The objectives of this study are to calculate temperature-inclusive groundwater heads to a sub-metre precision and analyse the implications of including temperatures in head calculations on groundwater management in the GAB. If groundwater is discharged from an ordinary well containing cold and fresh water, both the wellhead pressure and head decline; once the well is shut-in both the wellhead pressure and head recover. Observations in several deep and hot wells in the GAB confirm that if a well is allowed to flow, the wellhead pressure measured at the surface increases. Wellhead pressure has also been observed to decrease in several wells in the GAB after shut-in with corresponding cooling of the wellhead. A method has been developed to calculate temperature-inclusive head. The head may be calculated from well depth, elevation, wellhead pressure and near-surface and bottom-hole temperatures. Hydraulic gradients and therefore groundwater inflow to South Australia, calculated using current practices of temperature-exclusive heads or assuming constant temperatures in wells, may be incorrect.
A newly developed soil abrasion testing method for tunnelling using shield machines
Authors: Barzegari Ghodrat , Uromeihy Ali , Zhao Jian
Published: February 2013

The importance of the effect of ground abrasivity on the performance of a tunnel boring machine (TBM) is important for many tunnelling projects. In recent years, many abrasivity devices have been developed to measure soil abrasivity for specific conditions. In this paper a new device is developed to estimate the abrasivity of the soil for a wide range of site conditions. The device is designed on the basis of simulating the site conditions regarding the ground water, ground stresses and confining pressure of the TBM chamber, and the performance of the rotating cutter-head and pressurized shield tunnelling during its operation. A number of abrasivity tests were carried out on 12 types of crushed rock samples including six sedimentary rocks and six crystalline igneous and metamorphic rocks. The results showed that the abrasivity of the samples increased as equivalent quartz percentages of the sample increased. It was also found that the texture of the samples has a great influence on their abrasivity. To evaluate the performance of the newly developed device, the same samples were tested by other current abrasivity methods including the Cerchar test, Laboratoire Central des Ponts et Chaussées (LCPC) test and soil abrasion test (SAT). Comparisons of the results indicated close correlations, especially with the results for the Cerchar and LCPC devices.
ByPass
Authors: Chanda Abhishek , Nelson Samuel C. , Bhanage Gautam , Raychaudhuri Dipankar
Published: February 2013

Due to the limitations in the performance of the transmission control protocol (TCP) over wireless networks, multiple variants and alternatives have been proposed and evaluated. In most cases, these protocols are designed for specific type of networks and they perform well in their best case, for example, HOP performs well in mesh networks but would incur unnecessary overhead in wired networks . For supporting these different protocols across the Internet, all hosts need to have implementation of multiple transport protocols running. The application layer can then ask for a specific transport protocol as required. Since the transport layer is typically built in the operating system of most static and mobile communication end points, most protocols cannot be supported on legacy networks. This paper proposes ByPass, a transport layer protocol which alleviates the need for implementing different transport protocols. We present ByPass as an unified transport layer protocol that can switch modes according to variation in the network type to provide steady performance guarantee. For a network with unstable wireless links, it will switch to a hop-by-hop reliable mode and when the links are steady, it will switch to an end-to-end reliable mode. Using the ByPass framework API, application layer can be completely agnostic of the transport approach thus allowing common application code to be written across different types of network.
Recognition of environmental sound recorded by mobile phone
Authors: Mogi Reona , Kasai Hiroyuki
Published: February 2013

Recognizing and understanding of environmental sounds shall give higher semantics of the surrounding context and situation. This paper presents a proposal of an innovative environmental sound recognition method as a combination of robust ICA basis in a frequency domain and robust MP feature in the time domain. Implementation details and its performance evaluations are presented. Its feasibility and future works are provided.
Distributed web app execution with chunks
Authors: Paluska Justin Mazzola , Pham Hubert , Ward Steve
Published: February 2013

We propose an execution model for web apps that eschews the current need for static partitioning of web apps into client-side JavaScript and server-side "data center" code, but rather enables dynamic partitioning by allowing the client and server to share code and migrate computation between each other. Our model abstracts and represents shared code and data as a graph of fixed-sized chunks; our runtime then manages and migrates the graph rather than managing the code and its dependencies directly. We demonstrate our model through PhotoBoss, a suite of web apps for editing high-resolution photos.
CloudMAC
Authors: Vestin Jonathan , Dely Peter , Kassler Andreas , Bayer Nico , Einsiedler Hans , Peylo Christoph
Published: February 2013

Traditional enterprise WLAN management systems are hard to extend and require powerful access points (APs). In this paper we introduce and evaluate CloudMAC, an architecture for enterprise WLANs in which MAC frames are generated and processed on virtual APs hosted in a datacenter. The APs only need to forward MAC frames. The APs and the servers are connected via an OpenFlow-enabled network, which allows to control where and how MAC frames are transmitted.
On-demand content-centric wireless networking
Authors: Wirtz Hanno , Martin David , Grap Benjamin , Wehrle Klaus
Published: February 2013

Typical scenarios in the city or on campus, show a high proliferation of wireless communication devices such as smartphones, laptops or netbooks. Wireless 802.11 networks between these devices allow for a spontaneous exchange of content or provision of services without the need for infrastructure-based services. However, the above mentioned proliferation of devices and therefore large number of networks hinders users in identifying and selecting the network that serves a specific request. We propose an approach to client-driven content-centric wireless networking in which the user specifically signals his request for a user, content item or service via 802.11 management frames. Upon reception of these frames, wireless devices that serve this request establish a dedicated wireless network on-demand. Our approach seamlessly integrates into the 802.11 association process and therefore provides support for unmodified wireless devices. By leveraging the wireless broadcast medium, we achieve pervasive service and peer discovery without the overhead of iterating through existing networks or running a traditional service discovery protocol.
A framework to localize international business to business web sites
Authors: Singh Nitish , Park Ji Eun , Kalliny Morris
Published: February 2013

The main purpose of this study is to propose and apply an analytical framework to help B2B marketers assess and develop web sites that are localized not only for the B2B marketplace but also for international markets. This study deals with an area that has not received much attention in academic research as previous studies have mainly focused on B2C web sites. The study focuses on B2B web sites and provides a framework to assess web site localization. A content analysis of American and Korean web sites was conducted to analyze the proposed framework. The overall results show that U.S. companies have not accomplished a high degree of localization for B2B markets. The study results indicate that most U.S. companies focus primarily on the translation of web content from English to Korean to create web sites.While it is true that globalization has brought us closer than ever to Mcluhan's (1964) idea of a global village, major differences across countries and regions exist and play a significant role in how consumers react to web site designs and content. Therefore, this framework is vital to business seeking consumers globally. Using this framework should allow businesses to localize their B2B web sites and included key areas that appeal to local consumers.The study concludes by providing marketers insights into factors that can help them better localize their international B2B web sites.
Paneth Cells: Maestros of the Small Intestinal Crypts
Authors: Clevers Hans C. , Bevins Charles L.
Published: February 2013

Paneth cells are highly specialized epithelial cells of the small intestine, where they coordinate many physiological functions. First identified more than a century ago on the basis of their readily discernible secretory granules by routine histology, these cells are located at the base of the crypts of Lieberkühn, tiny invaginations that line the mucosal surface all along the small intestine. Investigations over the past several decades determined that these cells synthesize and secrete substantial quantities of antimicrobial peptides and proteins. More recent studies have determined that these antimicrobial molecules are key mediators of host-microbe interactions, including homeostatic balance with colonizing microbiota and innate immune protection from enteric pathogens. Perhaps more intriguing, Paneth cells secrete factors that help sustain and modulate the epithelial stem and progenitor cells that cohabitate in the crypts and rejuvenate the small intestinal epithelium. Dysfunction of Paneth cell biology contributes to the pathogenesis of chronic inflammatory bowel disease.
The Effect of Labour Turnover Costs on Average Labour Demand When Recessions Are More Persistent than Booms
Authors: Díaz-Vázquez Pilar , Arjona-Béjar Luis E.
Published: February 2013

This paper examines how labour turnover costs affect average labour demand when troughs are more persistent than booms. We show that the effect of firing costs on average labour demand is more expansionary (or less contractionary): the greater is the difference between the persistence of troughs and the persistence of booms, and the more prolonged are the macroeconomic shocks. This analysis may shed some light on the expected effect of a reduction of firing costs when an economy is suffering more prolonged recessions (relative to booms): average labour demand will be lower.
The Brain-Heart Connection: Frontal Cortex and Left Ventricle Angiotensinase Activities in Control and Captopril-Treated Hypertensive Rats—A Bilateral Study
Authors: Segarra Ana B. , Prieto Isabel , Banegas Inmaculada , Villarejo Ana B. , Wangensteen Rosemary , de Gasparo Marc , Vives Francisco , Ramírez-Sánchez Manuel
Published: February 2013

The model ofneurovisceral integrationsuggests that the frontal cortex (FC) and the cardiovascular function are reciprocally and asymmetrically connected. We analyzed several angiotensinase activities in the heart left ventricle (VT) of control and captopril-treated SHR, and we search for a relationship between these activities and those determined in the left and right FC. Captopril was administered in drinking water for 4 weeks. Samples from the left VT and from the left and right FC were obtained. Soluble and membrane-bound enzymatic activities were measured fluorometrically using arylamides as substrates. The weight of heart significantly decreased after treatment with captopril, mainly, due to the reduction of the left VT weight. In the VT, no differences for soluble activities were observed between control and treated SHR. In contrast, a generalized significant reduction was observed for membrane-bound activities. The most significant correlations between FC and VT were observed in the right FC of the captopril-treated group. The other correlations, right FC versus VT and left FC versus VT in controls and left FC versus VT in the captopril group, were few and low. These results confirm that the connection between FC and cardiovascular system is asymmetrically organized.
Countermeasures Assessment of Liquefaction-Induced Lateral Deformation in a Slope Ground System
Authors: Forcellini Davide , Tarantino Angelo Marcello
Published: February 2013

Liquefaction-induced lateral spreading may result in significant damage and disruption of functionality for structures and Slope Ground System. In this regard, finite-element simulations are increasingly providing a versatile environment in order to assess economical and effective countermeasures. Several systematic bidimensional FEM computations have been conducted to evaluate mitigation strategies under the action of an applied earthquake excitation. The presented study highlights the potential of computations in providing insights for analysis of liquefaction-induced lateral deformations. In the analysis, some specific assumptions are introduced and verified such as a nine-node quadrilateral elements, massive columns of soil with periodic boundary conditions, and a Lysmer-Kuhlemeyer dashpot used to model the finite rigidity of the underlying elastic medium. Moreover, the study aims to systematically explore the effectiveness of densification as a countermeasure and then evaluate the best extension comparing two scenarios.
Compact Multiband Printed IFA on Electromagnetic Band-Gap Structures Ground Plane for Wireless Applications
Authors: Elsheakh Dalia , Abdallah Esmat
Published: February 2013

The fourth mobile generation requires of multistandard operating handsets of small physical size as well as has an increasing demand for higher data rates. Compact multiband printed inverted-F antennas (IFAs) for available wireless communications are proposed in this paper. A new design of a printed IFA based on a uniplanar compact EBG concept is proposed. An L-loaded printed IFA shaped over an artificial ground plane is designed as the main antenna to cover the GSM, LTE, UMTS, bluetooth, and WLAN. The multi-band is created by means of an electromagnetic band-gap (EBG) structure that is used as a ground plane. Different shapes of uniplanar EBG as ring, split ring resonator, and a spiral rather than mushroom-like structure are investigated. The proposed antenna is built on the uniplanar EBG ground plane with a size of 35×45 mm2, which is suitable for most of the mobile devices.
Dynamic Analysis of Cable-Stayed Bridges Affected by Accidental Failure Mechanisms under Moving Loads
Authors: Greco Fabrizio , Lonetti Paolo , Pascuzzo Arturo
Published: February 2013

The dynamic behavior of cable-stayed bridges subjected to moving loads and affected by an accidental failure in the cable suspension system is investigated. The main aim of the paper is to quantify, numerically, the dynamic amplification factors of typical kinematic and stress design variables, by means of a parametric study developed in terms of the structural characteristics of the bridge components. The bridge formulation is developed by using a geometric nonlinear formulation, in which the effects of local vibrations of the stays and of large displacements in the girder and the pylons are taken into account. Explicit time dependent damage laws, reproducing the failure mechanism in the cable system, are considered to investigate the influence of the failure mode characteristics on the dynamic bridge behavior. The analysis focuses attention on the influence of the inertial characteristics of the moving loads, by accounting coupling effects arising from the interaction between girder and moving system. Sensitivity analyses of typical design bridge variables are proposed. In particular, the effects produced by the moving system characteristics, the tower typologies, and the failure mode characteristics involved in the cable system are investigated by means of comparisons between damaged and undamaged bridge configurations.
Plasma Levels of Acylation-Stimulating Protein Are Strongly Predicted by Waist/Hip Ratio and Correlate with Decreased LDL Size in Men
Authors: Saleh Jumana , Wahab Rabab A. , Farhan Hatem , Al-Amri Issa , Cianflone Katherine
Published: February 2013

The association of abdominal obesity with cardiovascular risk is often linked to altered secretion of adipose-derived factors and an abnormal lipid profile including formation of atherogenic small dense low density lipoprotein particles (sdLDL). Acylation-stimulating protein (ASP) is an adipose-derived hormone that exhibits potent lipogenic effects. Plasma ASP levels increase in obesity; however, the association of ASP levels with body fat distribution is not yet established, and no study to date has investigated the association of ASP with LDL size. In this study, we examined the association of ASP levels with abdominal obesity measures and the lipid profile including LDL size in 83 men with a wide range of abdominal girths. Regression analysis showed that waist/hip ratio was the main predictor of ASP levels (β= 0.52,P<0.0001), significantly followed by decreased LDL size. BMI and TG levels, although positively correlated with ASP levels, were excluded as significant predictors in regression analysis. No correlation was found with LDL-C or apoB levels. ASP levels were 62.5% higher in abdominally obese compared to nonobese men. Waist/hip ratio presenting as the main predictor of ASP levels, suggests increased ASP production by abdominal fat which, as proposed previously, may result from resistance to ASP function causing delayed TG clearance and subsequent formation of atherogenic sdLDL.
A Note on Common Fixed Point Results in Uniformly Convex Hyperbolic Spaces
Authors: Laowang W. , Panyanak B.
Published: February 2013

It is shown that the notion of mappings satisfying condition(K)introduced by Akkasriworn et al. (2012) is weaker than the notion of asymptotically quasi-nonexpansive mappings in the sense of Qihou (2001) and is weaker than the notion of pointwise asymptotically nonexpansive mappings in the sense of Kirk and Xu (2008). We also obtain a common fixed point for a commuting pair of a mapping satisfying condition(K)and a multivalued mapping satisfying condition(Cλ)for someλ∈(0,1). Our results properly contain the results of Abkar and Eslamian (2012), Akkasriworn et al. (2012), and many others.
Hyperammonemia: A Report of Maternal Biliary Cirrhosis and Neonatal Outcome
Authors: Hussamy Deana J. , Nelson David B. , Shivvers Stephan A.
Published: February 2013

Although uncommon during pregnancy, cirrhosis results in multiple medical complications impacting both mother and fetus. Previous reports suggest liver dysfunction in pregnancy causes accumulation of neurotoxins within the maternal compartment that increases neonatal morbidity through placental transfer. We present a case of a 36-year-old G2P1female with history of biliary cirrhosis presenting at 32-weeks' gestation with hepatic congestion progressing to hepatic encephalopathy prompting delivery. Umbilical cord sampling and postnatal infant testing demonstrated elevated ammonia levels which resolved by 12 hours of life without intervention. At discharge, the infant did not demonstrate evidence of neurologic deficit. We conclude that acute maternal hepatic encephalopathy and hyperammonemia due to chronic liver disease do not portend adverse neonatal outcomes, notably encephalopathy.
Business Process Management: A Comprehensive Survey
Authors: van der Aalst Wil M. P.
Published: February 2013

Business Process Management (BPM) research resulted in a plethora
of methods, techniques, and tools to support the design, enactment, management,
and analysis of operational business processes. This survey aims to structure these
results and provide an overview of the state-of-the-art in BPM. In BPM the concept
of a process model is fundamental. Process models may be used to configure
information systems, but may also be used to analyze, understand, and improve
the processes they describe. Hence, the introduction of BPM technology has both
managerial and technical ramifications and may enable significant productivity
improvements, cost savings, and flow-time reductions. The practical relevance of
BPM and rapid developments over the last decade justify a comprehensive survey.
Dinucleotide Circular Codes
Authors: Michel Christian J. , Pirillo Giuseppe
Published: February 2013

We begin here a combinatorial study of dinucleotide circular codes. A word written on a circle is called circular. A set of dinucleotides is a circular code if all circular words constructed with this set have a unique decomposition. Propositions based on a letter necklace allow to determine the 24 maximum dinucleotide circular codes (of 6 elements). A partition property is also identified with eight self-complementary maximum dinucleotide circular codes and two classes of eight maximum dinucleotide circular codes in bijective correspondence by the complementarity map.
Chlamydial Pneumonitis: A Creepy Neonatal Disease
Authors: Hon Kam Lun , Leung Alexander K. C.
Published: February 2013

We present a case of neonatal chlamydial pneumonitis to illustrate that a high index of suspicion is necessary to make the diagnosis so that treatment can be promptly instituted. The child was afebrile and the only symptom was a cough. The respiratory equations are calculated to understand the respiratory physiology. There was no overt abnormality with ventilation, oxygenation, compliance, resistance, or ventilation-perfusion mismatch despite radiographic abnormality. The literature is searched to review if treatment with a systemic macrolide antibiotic is needed in an otherwise asymptomatic neonate with chlamydial pneumonitis.
An Emerging Dimension in Psychosomatic Research: The Nocebo Phenomenon in the Management of Chronic Pain
Authors: Ciaramella A. , Paroli M. , Poli P.
Published: February 2013

Introduction. The nocebo effect consists in delivering verbal suggestions of negative outcomes so that the subject expects clinical worsening. Several studies indicate that negative verbal suggestions may result in the amplification of pain. Amplification style is one of the most important dimensions in psychosomatic research. Methods. One group of pain therapy unit patients was evaluated at baseline and again after 6 months from the beginning of the pain treatment. Results. Only 43% of 86 chronic pain patients respond positively to the expectation of sham pain. This group shows at baseline higher pain intensity (t value: 2.72, ) and lower cold pain threshold (t value: 2.18, ) than the group of subjects with any response to sham pain stimulus. Somatoform dimensions influence positively the strength of nocebo response in those predisposed to it.
Conclusion. Our study shows that the power of the nocebo phenomenon seems to be a dimension belonging to the investigation in psychosomatic. In contrast to what one might expect, the presence of the nocebo phenomenon affects positively pain relief and the outcome of pain treatment. In a clinical setting, and the meaning of nocebo response does not seem to be different from placebo response.
Does Restenosis Still Hamper the Benefit of Carotid Artery Revascularization?
Authors: de Witte C. J. , van Lammeren G. W. , Moll F. L. , de Borst G. J.
Published: February 2013

Both carotid endarterectomy (CEA) and carotid artery angioplasty with stenting (CAS) may offer acceptable short-term results in symptomatic or asymptomatic patients with carotid stenosis. Independent on the type of revascularization, the long-term benefit may be limited by recurrent stenosis, especially after endovascular treatment. Pathophysiological studies suggest that atherosclerotic plaque composition is an independent predictor of restenosis. Identification of certain plaque characteristics could help risk stratify patients in order to decide on the best therapy and minimize the risk of restenosis. Although currently no gold standard exists for the approach of recurrent carotid stenosis, both redo CEA and CAS seem safe therapeutic options. Limited data are available on treatment of recurrent carotid in-stent stenosis. More data are required in order to recommend the best therapy for in-stent restenosis.