bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
3D Convective Storm Identification, Tracking, and Forecasting—An Enhanced TITAN Algorithm
Authors: Han Lei , Fu Shengxue , Zhao Lifeng , Zheng Yongguang , Wang Hongqing , Lin Yinjing
Published: October 2008

Storm identification, tracking, and forecasting make up an essential part of weather radar and severe weather surveillance operations. Existing nowcasting algorithms using radar data can be generally classified into two categories: centroid and cross-correlation tracking. Thunderstorm Identification, Tracking, and Nowcasting (TITAN) is a widely used centroid-type nowcasting algorithm based on this paradigm. The TITAN algorithm can effectively identify, track, and forecast individual convective storm cells, but TITAN tends to provide incorrect identification, tracking, and forecasting in cases where there are dense cells whose shape changes rapidly or where clusters of storm cells occur frequently. Aiming to improve the performance of TITAN in such scenarios, an enhanced TITAN (ETITAN) algorithm is presented. The ETITAN algorithm provides enhancements to the original TITAN algorithm in three aspects. First, in order to handle the false merger problem when two storm cells are adjacent, and to isolate individual storm cells from a cluster of storms, ETITAN uses a multithreshold identification method based on mathematical morphology. Second, in the tracking phase, ETITAN proposes a dynamic constraint-based combinatorial optimization method to track storms. Finally, ETITAN uses the motion vector field calculated by the cross-correlation method to forecast the position of the individual isolated storm cells. Thus, ETITAN combines aspects of the two general classes of nowcasting algorithms, that is, cross-correlation and centroid-type methods, to improve nowcasting performance. Results of experiments presented in this paper show the performance improvements of the ETITAN algorithm.
Recurving Tropical Cyclones: Singular Vector Sensitivity and Downstream Impacts
Authors: Reynolds Carolyn A. , Peng Melinda S. , Chen Jan-Huey
Published: October 2008

Singular vectors (SVs) are used to study the sensitivity of 2-day forecasts of recurving tropical cyclones (TCs) in the western North Pacific to changes in the initial state. The SVs are calculated using the tangent and adjoint models of the Navy Operational Global Atmospheric Prediction System (NOGAPS) for 72 forecasts for 18 TCs in the western North Pacific during 2006. In addition to the linear SV calculation, nonlinear perturbation experiments are also performed in order to examine 1) the similarity between nonlinear and linear perturbation growth and 2) the downstream impacts over the North Pacific and North America that result from changes to the 2-day TC forecast. Both nonrecurving and recurving 2-day storm forecasts are sensitive to changes in the initial state in the near-storm environment (in an annulus approximately 500 km from the storm center). During recurvature, sensitivity develops to the northwest of the storm, usually associated with a trough moving in from the west. These upstream sensitivities can occur as far as 4000 km to the northwest of the storm, over the Asian mainland, which has implications for adaptive observations. Nonlinear perturbation experiments indicate that the linear calculations reflect case-to-case variability in actual nonlinear perturbation growth fairly well, especially when the growth is large. The nonlinear perturbations show that for recurving tropical cyclones, small initial perturbations optimized to change the 2-day TC forecast can grow and propagate downstream quickly, reaching North America in 5 days. The fastest 5-day perturbation growth is associated with recurving storm forecasts that occur when the baroclinic instability over the North Pacific is relatively large. These results suggest that nonlinear forecasts perturbed using TC SVs may have utility for predicting the downstream impact of TC forecast errors over the North Pacific and North America.
ABT‐335, the Choline Salt of Fenofibric Acid, Does Not Have a Clinically Significant Pharmacokinetic Interaction With Rosuvastatin in Humans
Authors: Zhu Tong , Awni Walid M. , Hosmane Balakrishna , Kelly Maureen T. , Sleep Darryl J. , Stolzenbach James C. , Wan Katty , Chira Titus O. , Pradhan Rajendra S.
Published: October 2008

ABT‐335 is the choline salt of fenofibric acid under clinical development as a combination therapy with rosuvastatin for the management of dyslipidemia. ABT‐335 and rosuvastatin have different mechanisms of actions and exert complementary pharmacodynamic effects on lipids. The current study assessed the pharmacokinetic interaction between the 2 drugs following a multiple‐dose, open‐label, 3‐period, randomized, crossover design. Eighteen healthy men and women received 40 mg rosuvastatin alone, 135 mg ABT‐335 alone, and the 2 drugs in combination once daily for 10 days. Blood samples were collected prior to dosing on multiple days and up to 120 hours after day 10 dosing for the measurements of fenofibric acid and rosuvastatin plasma concentrations. Coadministering 40 mg rosuvastatin had no significant effect on the steady‐state Cmax, Cmin, or AUC24 of fenofibric acid (P > .05). Coadministering ABT‐335 had no significant effect on the steady‐state Cmin or AUC24 of rosuvastatin (P > .05) but increased Cmax by 20% (90% confidence interval: 12%–28%). All 3 regimens were generally well tolerated with no clinically significant changes in clinical laboratory values, vital signs, or electrocardiograms during the study. Results from this study demonstrate no clinically significant pharmacokinetic interaction between ABT‐335 at the full clinical dose and rosuvastatin at the highest approved dose.
Trust in Administration
Authors: Choudhury Enamul
Published: October 2008

Although many consider trust as a desirable value in administration, they also find it elusive. The meaning of trust gets more elusive when one seeks to optimize it in administration. The article takes on this quest first by addressing trust as a relational fact, and then, identifying the dynamic conditions of its optimization. Organizational control and organizational learning are discussed as two such conditions—in their embedded as well as enacted forms. Using the contingencies of control and learning, the article delineates a model of optimal trust, where optimality is located in the dynamic interfaces of control and learning that simultaneously maximize the enabling conditions of trust and minimize its disabling conditions.
Conjuring the Holographic State
Authors: Witt Matthew T. , deHaven-Smith Lance
Published: October 2008

No current policy paradigm, however interdisciplinary, provides an adequate and coherent account of post-9/11 security doctrine for “a war with no clear end or scope.” Like the hologram, the image of the terrorist constructed by PATRIOT and kindred legislation appears vivid while defying a definitive grasp, just as the holographic image dematerializes on the hand reaching to touch it. This article sketches etiology for a new policy analytic paradigm that is coined here, the Holographic State, and explores its suitability for policy and administrative sense making under conditions where the epistemological and ontological foundations of policy inquiry have been made profoundly unstable.
Reflecting the scope and work of palliative care teams today: an action research project to modernise a national minimum data set
Authors: Jack BA , Littlewood C , Eve A , Murphy D , Khatri A , Ellershaw JE
Published: October 2008

The Minimum Data Set (MDS) for UK specialist palliative care services was developed in 1995 to provide annual data on palliative care services. Data collected is used for local and national purposes including service management, monitoring and audit, the commissioning of services and the development of national policy. The emergence of Payment by Results and HealthCare Resource Groups, which will have an impact on the funding processes, together with identified limitations of the current MDS resulted in a project to revise the MDS. An action research approach was used for the project and had distinctive phases including modifying the MDS, a pilot phase and an expert panel consultation. Modifications to all the sections of the MDS and changes to terminology were made. The action research approach enabled revisions made based upon a national consensus and met the changing provision of specialist palliative care services for the UK.
Fatigue dimensions in patients with advanced cancer in relation to time of survival and quality of life
Authors: Lundh Hagelin C , Wengström Y , Åhsberg E , Fürst CJ
Published: October 2008

To understand the relation between fatigue and patients emotional situation at the end of life, this cross-sectional study aimed to explore the association between multidimensional aspects of fatigue, emotional functioning and quality of life (QoL) in patients with advanced cancer at the end of life. Patients with advanced cancer answered fatigue related measurements (Borg Category Ratio-10 scale, Multidimensional Fatigue Inventory-20, Swedish Occupational Fatigue Inventory and the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire Core-30), when admitted for specialised palliative care. A total of 228 patients with a median length of survival of 63 days were included. In relation to time of survival, fatigue increased closer to death, in both global and multidimensional aspects, as well as the patient’s experience of being sleepy. Marital status was found to affect the experience of fatigue in both global and multidimensional ratings of fatigue. The association between the experience of fatigue and feelings of being tense, worried, irritable or depressed and rated QoL decreased and was not evident closer to death. Fatigue in all dimensions increased, as patients got closer to death. The association between fatigue and both QoL and negative emotions faded away during the last days and weeks of life.
Development of the Palliative Care Needs Assessment Tool (PC-NAT) for use by multi-disciplinary health professionals
Authors: Waller A , Girgis A , Currow D , Lecathelinais C
Published: October 2008

Needs assessment strategies can facilitate prioritisation of resources. To develop a needs assessment tool for use with advanced cancer patients and caregivers, to prompt early intervation. A convenience sample of 103 health professionals viewed three videotaped consultations involving a simulated patient, his/her caregiver and a health professional, completed the Palliative Care Needs Assessment Tool (PC-NAT) and provided feedback on clarity, content and acceptability of the PC-NAT. Face and content validity, acceptability and feasibility of the PC-NAT were confirmed. Kappa scores indicated adequate inter-rater reliability for the majority of domains; the patient spirituality domain and the caregiver physical and family and relationship domains had low reliability. The PC-NAT can be used by health professionals with a range of clinical expertise to identify individuals’ needs, thereby enabling early intervention. Further psychometric testing and an evaluation to assess the impact of the systematic use of the PC-NAT on quality of life, unmet needs and service utilisation of patients and caregivers are underway.
Family and friends provide most social support for the bereaved
Authors: Benkel I , Wijk H , Molander U
Published: October 2008

Social support is important in the bereavement period. In this study, the respondents were family members and friends to a patient who had died at a palliative care unit. The aim was to explore wishes and needs for, access to and effects of social support in the bereaved. We found that the grieving person’s wishes for social support from their network and the network also provided most social support. The network consisted of the close family, the origin family, relatives and friend. Support from the professional staff was required when the network was dysfunctional or when the grieving person did not want to burden members of his/her own network. The need for social support from professional staff was most needed close to the death and some time after.
Advanced cancer patients’ prognostic information preferences: a review
Authors: Innes S , Payne S
Published: October 2008

Open communication in cancer care has gained increasing importance in recent years and diagnostic disclosure is now common place. However, there is a significant variability in the sharing of prognostic information. Information needs may vary significantly over the disease trajectory, and there has been relatively little work done focussing on late illness. Using systematic review procedures, 13 studies were identified that addressed this issue. The evidence shows that all patients wanted honesty from their professional team and the vast majority wanted some broad indication of their prognosis, but that preferences for quantitative information were more varied. Benefits associated with realistic awareness included enhanced control and end-of-life planning, which was seen to engender hope. However, for a proportion of patients, hope and realism were irreconcilable when presented with detailed or unequivocal information. Professionals have a responsibility to provide information to patients, but also to respect the need to maintain some ambiguity about the future, if that is a patient’s wish. Therefore, prognostic discussions necessitate careful, individualised assessment, a process which can facilitate enhanced palliative care for patients with advanced cancer.
Pain in patients living in Norwegian nursing homes
Authors: Torvik K , Kaasa S , Kirkevold Ø , Rustøen T
Published: October 2008

The aims of this study were to describe the pain and use of pain medication in nursing home patients and examine which variables that were associated with pain. Inpatients ( n = 307) older than 64 years from nursing homes were included. Pain was measured with a 4-point verbal rating scale in the self-reported group (SRG) and Doloplus-2 in the proxy-rated group (PRG). The mean age was 86 years (SD, 7), and more than two-thirds were female. A total of 128 (60%) patients were able to self-report their pain. Approximately 50% of the SRG reported ‘pain now’, and of these, nearly 50% reported moderate or severe pain intensity. Better cognitive function was associated with higher pain and receiving more potent pain medication in the SRG. The pain prevalence in the PRG was higher than in the SRG (67.5% vs 51%), but no variable was associated with proxy-rated pain. Nearly 30% in the SRG and 40% in the PRG did not receive pain medication in spite of pain. Pain is still a huge problem in the nursing homes, and more research is needed on pain management in nursing home residents.
Evaluation of hospital palliative care teams: strengths and weaknesses of the before-after study design and strategies to improve it
Authors: Simon S , Higginson IJ
Published: October 2008

Hospital palliative care teams (HPCTs) are well established as multi-professional services to provide palliative care in an acute hospital setting and are increasing in number. However, there is still limited evaluation of them, in terms of efficacy and effectiveness. The gold standard method of evaluation is a randomised control trial, but because of methodological (e.g., randomisation), ethical and practical difficulties such trials are often not possible. HPCT is a complex intervention, and the specific situation in palliative care makes it challenging to evaluate (e.g., distress and cognitive impairment of patients). The quasi-experimental before-after study design has the advantage of enabling an experimental character without randomisation. But this has other weaknesses and is prone to bias, for example, temporal trends and selection bias. As for every study design, avoidance and minimisation of bias is important to improve validity. Therefore, strategies of selecting an appropriate control group or time series and applying valid outcomes and measurement tools help reducing bias and strengthen the methods. Special attention is needed to plan and define the design and applied method.
Venous thromboembolism in patients with advanced cancer under palliative care: additional risk factors, primary/secondary prophylaxis and complications observed under normal clinical practice
Authors: Soto-Cárdenas MJ , Pelayo-García G , Rodríguez-Camacho A , Segura-Fernández E , Mogollo-Galván A , Giron-Gonzalez JA
Published: October 2008

We analyzed the principal risk factors of venous thromboembolism (VTE) (immobilization, recent surgery and previous VTE), prophylaxis with low-molecular weight heparin (LMWH) and complications (i.e. severe bleeding, recurrence and death). Patients with advanced cancer under palliative care (PC) and with VTE, were reviewed during the three years before the study. 71 Patients were diagnosed with VTE. 88.7% were outpatients. The risk factors present were: immobilizations in 28 patients (39.4%), recent surgery in 5 (7%) and previous VTE in 23 (32.5%). Prophylaxis was used in 4 (14.3%) patients with immobilization, no patient with recent surgery, and 10 (43.4%) patients with previous VTE. After diagnosis, all patients received treatment with LMWH in therapeutic dosage. The complications observed were: 6 recurrences (8.5%), 11 VTE-related deaths (15.5%), and bleeding events occured in 8 cases (11.3%), 4 (5.6%) of whom suffered severe bleeding; of these patients, 3 (4.2%) died as a result of the bleeding events. In PC patients with advanced cancer, VTE is a serious complication that conditions control of symptoms. The presence of other risk factors, immobilization and previous VTE, is common and LMWH prophylaxis is limited in clinical practice. The risks vs benefits of anticoagulation need to be counterbalanced.
Influence of Scaffold Stiffness on Subchondral Bone and Subsequent Cartilage Regeneration in an Ovine Model of Osteochondral Defect Healing
Authors: Schlichting Karin , Schell Hanna , Kleemann Ralf U. , Schill Alexander , Weiler Andreas , Duda Georg N. , Epari Devakara R.
Published: October 2008

Background

In osteochondral defects, subchondral bone, as a load-bearing structure, is believed to be important for bone and cartilage regeneration.

Hypothesis

A stiff scaffold creates better conditions for bone formation and cartilage regeneration than does a softer one.

Study Design

Controlled laboratory study.

Methods

Critical osteochondral defects were created in the femoral condyles of 24 sheep. Subchondral bone was reconstructed with a stiff scaffold or a modified softer one, with untreated defects serving as controls. The repair response was evaluated with mechanical, histological, and histomorphometrical techniques at 3 and 6 months postoperatively.

Results

The elastic modulus of regenerated fibrocartilage over the stiff scaffold tended to be higher than in the soft scaffold group (61 % vs 46% of healthy cartilage) at 3 months. No difference was determined at 6 months; all were well below healthy cartilage. Treated defects showed substantial degradation of the soft scaffold with surrounding sclerotic bone at 3 and 6 months. In contrast, degradation of the stiff scaffold was slower and occurred together with continuous osseous replacement.

Conclusion

Stiff scaffolds were found to improve bone regeneration. In contrast, soft scaffolds provided less support, and consequently subchondral bone became sclerotic. Although regenerated cartilage formed over the stiff scaffolds at 3 months, and these exhibited better mechanical properties than did the soft scaffold group, the mechanical properties in both treated groups were the same at 6 months, not dissimilar to that of tissue formed in the untreated specimens and inferior to native articular cartilage.

Clinical Relevance

The results imply that subchondral defect filling in clinical settings advances bone regeneration and should have a comparable stiffness to that of healthy subchondral bone rather than being too flexible. Degradation of resorbable materials and consequently the loss of stiffness may compromise the healing of critical defects.
Risk of Iatrogenic Injury to the Peroneal Nerve during Posterolateral Femoral Tunnel Placement in Double-Bundle Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction
Authors: Hall Michael P. , Ryzewicz Mark , Walsh Pamela J. , Sherman Orrin H.
Published: October 2008

Background

There has been concern for iatrogenic injury to the peroneal nerve with posterolateral femoral tunnel placement in double-bundle anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction.

Hypothesis

The common peroneal nerve and biceps tendon are at increased risk for injury by the guide wire as the knee is brought into increased extension.

Study Design

Controlled laboratory study.

Methods

An anatomical descriptive study was performed on 10 cadaveric knees (ages 49-67 years). After the native anterior cruciate ligament was removed arthroscopically, the posterolateral femoral tunnel starting point was identified using standardized measurements from the articular cartilage rim. With the use of a low-medial accessory portal and one cortical entry point, guide pins were inserted at 120°, 90°, and 70° of knee flexion. The guide pins were kept in situ, and the lateral structures of the knee were dissected. The distance between guide pins and the common peroneal nerve, as well as the relationship to the biceps tendon, were analyzed.

Results

The common peroneal nerve was not directly injured during any guide pin insertion. The mean distance from the guide pin at 120° of flexion was 44.3 mm (range, 36-53 mm), compared with 28.6 mm (range, 25-32 mm) at 90° of flexion and 22.8 mm (range, 20-28 mm) at 70° of flexion. The differences between all 3 groups were statistically significant (P < .0001). Guide pins inserted at 70° of flexion were also noted to pierce the biceps femoris tendon in all cases.

Conclusion and Clinical Relevance

During posterolateral femoral tunnel placement, the risk of injury to the common peroneal nerve is minimal but is increased as the knee is placed in less flexion. Guide pin placement at knee flexion of 120° is recommended to ensure safety of the peroneal nerve and the biceps tendon.
Wisdom, Compassion, and Courage in The Wizard of Oz
Authors: Baumann Steven L.
Published: October 2008

This article is the report of the humanbecoming hermeneutic method study on The Wizard of Oz (the book, the screenpla and the motion picture). The study unfolded in part as a dialogue between the delegates of the International Consortium Parse Scholars' November 2006 conference, Humanbecoming and Children's Literature, answering the question What wisdom, compassion, and courage as humanly lived? Emergent meanings were uncovered that enhanced knowledge an understanding of wisdom, compassion, and courage in general and expanded the humanbecoming school of thought.
Life Patterns of Women Transitioning Through Menopause
Authors: Musker Kathleen M.
Published: October 2008

The purpose of this study was recognition of a unitary pattern emergent within the lives of women transitioning through menopause. This research as praxis method study included 10 women transitioning through menopause. The findings showed that participants recognized unitary pattern within their unique life patterns. Unitary pattern also emerged through three themes which were coming to terms with losses and unexpected gains, increasing awareness of time passing, and concentrating on health and vitality. The findings were connected to the theory of health as expanding consciousness, thereby contributing to nursing knowledge, expanding the theory, and enhancing understanding of unitary pattern.
Having Faith
Authors: Doucet Thomas J.
Published: October 2008

In this article the author reports details of a Parse research study on the lived experience of having faith with 10 participants living in community. The central finding of this study is the structure: The lived experience of having faith is discerning conviction with perpetual alliances arising with fortitude amid adversity . The findings are discussed in relation to the human becoming school of thought and related literature.
Instruments Used in Roy Adaptation Model-Based Research
Authors: Barone Stacey H. , Roy Callista L. , Frederickson Keville C.
Published: October 2008

The purpose of this secondary analysis is to identify and critique the instruments most frequently used to measure concepts of the Roy adaptation model. Of the 123 instruments used in 231 studies over 30 years, 20 instruments met the criteria for secondary analysis. Based on established criteria, 14 were judged to have high usefulness, three have moderate usefulness, one has limited usefulness, and two are not recommended for use with the model. Recommendations include locating and developing instruments in key content areas including adaptation in groups, and particularly developing measurement strategies consistent with the philosophical assumptions of the model and multiple ways of knowing.
The Humanbecoming Leading-Following Model
Authors: Rizzo Parse Rosemarie
Published: October 2008

The purpose of this paper is to set forth a humanbecoming leading-following model that challenges the traditional notion of leadership. The model is a guide to living leading-following with a focus on human dignity and freedom where power is with the constituents of situations.
How Do You Keep The Music Playing?
Authors: Baumann Steven L.
Published: October 2008

The classical Chinese philosophy of Confucius is here reconsidered in light of the current challenge of sustaining loving relationships not only in words but in actions, and providing a life worth living for frail older adults. The Ox Mountain Parable of Meng Tzu ( Mencius) is described and linked to the nursing home reform movement known as “The Eden Alternative.” Implications for nursing are considered.
Research Diversity from the Perspective of the Science of Unitary Human Beings
Authors: Malinski Violet M.
Published: October 2008

This column presents an overview of Rogerian nursing science-based research. In Rogers' own words, she fostered the development of nursing science with a diversity of methods. She encouraged both qualitative and quantitative approaches and the development of new research methods and tools. Her only caveat was that theoretical conceptualization and research method must match.
Energy and Pattern in Teaching-Learning
Authors: Bunkers Sandra
Published: October 2008

The following column explores the use of literature and the visual arts in the teaching-learning process. The use of narrative and art can be an energizing, imaginative, and productive way of coming to know new truths.
Accountability in Nursing
Authors: Milton Constance L.
Published: October 2008

The concept of accountability is a concept closely aligned with public trust and confidence with a healthcare discipline. It is of vital importance to the discipline of nursing to define and examine the obligations and duties of professional nurse. The term is referred to and often defined through international and national professional codes of nursing and in standards of nursing practice documents. This column will begin exploration of the concept with offering a definition from a humanbecoming perspective.
Practitioner as Theorist
Authors: Reed Pamela G.
Published: October 2008

This column addresses the idea of practitioner as theorist as it may inspire new paths of theory development in practice for nursing. Historical and philosophical dimensions of theory development are discussed. Extant theory development strategies as well as new approaches for practice-based theory development are proposed.
Caring for Older Adults
Authors: Koh Eun-Kang , Koh Chin-Kang
Published: October 2008

Confucianism is one of the frequently mentioned social factors in the research of care for the older adults in East Asian countries such as China, Taiwan, Japan, and Korea. Although Confucian philosophy functions as a powerful source of reference for care, the context of care in Confucian texts is not yet largely studied in nursing. This column focuses on the meaning of care in two key Confucian texts, the Analects and Mencius. The context of care in Confucian texts should provide a sound foundation and substantial understanding for researchers studying care in East Asian society.
Clarifying the Enigma of Energy, Philosophically Speaking
Authors: Todaro-Franceschi Vidette
Published: October 2008

Diverging philosophic worldviews of energy are revisited. The idea of energy as one phenomenon that is responsible for all things is contrasted with that of the mechanistic view of energy as part of causal processes. The idea of energy implied by Rogers' conceptual model is revisited in an attempt to lend clarity to the concept of energy as it is used in nursing science, especially from the perspective of the simultaneity paradigm.
Science of Unitary Human Beings
Authors: Tae Sook Kim
Published: October 2008

The purpose of this column is to review the published studies conducted within Rogers' science of unitary human beings from 2004 to 2007. The findings from a critical review of 24 research studies (15 quantitative and 9 qualitative) are presented.
Connections and Lingering Presence as Cocreated Art
Authors: Dempsey Leona F.
Published: October 2008

Parse described nursing practice as a performing art where the nurse is like a dancer. Just as in any dance performance, unplanned events may occur. When a nurse is artistically living, unique and meaningful performances might emerge from unplanned events. In this practice column, the author describes how shifting experiences surfaced with unforeseen connections and lingering presence during her study of feeling confined. In her study she was in true presence with men living in prison, who were diagnosed with severe mental illness. The humanbecoming school of thought was the nursing perspective guiding the research study.
Literature and Art as a Prologue for Moral Energy
Authors: Hegge Margaret
Published: October 2008

This column describes the use of selected literature and art to foster dialogue in a doctoral course in nursing surrounding issues involving healthcare ethics. Literature provides concentrated slices of reality which pose questions requiring deep reflection about human frailty, suffering, and death. Works of art nurture students' creative thinking and critical judgment and provide a vehicle to describe extraordinary vulnerable situations where nurses are engaged with others.
Determining Change in Self-Perceived Knowledge and Skills About Disease/ Medication Therapy Management Programs in P3 Students
Authors: Pinto Sharrel L.
Published: October 2008

The study objectives were to determine a change in the self-perceived knowledge and skills of the third-professional year Doctor of Pharmacy students after taking a course on developing, implementing, and evaluating a disease/medication therapy management program. The study used a cross-sectional before-and-after design in which the data were collected once at the beginning of the course and then upon course completion. A self-administered questionnaire that had 4 sections and 36 questions, focusing on self-perceived knowledge and skills was administered. The data were analyzed using SPSS version 14.0. Descriptive statistics, paired sample t tests, and repeated measures analysis of variance were conducted. A total of 95 students completed the pretest, and 69 students completed the posttest. There was an overall increase in average self-perceived knowledge and skills about disease/medication therapy management programs after the students completed the course. Therefore, classes focusing on disease/medication therapy management can significantly increase the knowledge and skills about these programs for the Doctor of Pharmacy students who will soon enter professional careers and be expected to perform these services.
Successful Clozapine Rechallenge Following Surgical Repair of a Bowel Obstruction
Authors: Dahmen Megan M. , Stoner Steven C. , Khan Rintu
Published: October 2008

As a consequence of its significant anticholinergic properties, constipation is a commonly reported adverse event in patients treated with clozapine. This side effect is often self-limiting and can be managed with high-fiber diets, adequate hydration, and standard over-the-counter and prescription preparations. However, severe cases of constipation can become more serious and may lead to intestinal obstruction, intestinal perforation, fecal impaction, or paralytic ileus. In this particular case, we report on a 44-year-old woman who presented with a suspected clozapine-induced bowel obstruction. Following total abdominal colectomy with ileosigmoid anastomosis, the patient was rechallenged with clozapine and tolerated the titration to a therapeutic dose and maintenance therapy without further incident.
Energy Harvesting from Ambient Vibrations and Heat
Authors: Guyomar Daniel , Sebald Gaël , Pruvost Sébastien , Lallart Mickaël , Khodayari Akram , Richard Claude
Published: October 2008

Increasing demand in mobile, autonomous devices has made the issue of energy harvesting a particular point of interest. Systems that can be powered up by a few hundreds of microwatts can feature their own energy extraction module, making them truly self-powered. This energy can be harvested from the close environment of the device. Particularly, piezoelectric conversion is one of the most investigated fields for ambient energy harvesting. Moreover, the extraction process can be optimized by proper treatment of the piezomaterial output voltage. This article proposes a detailed explanation of the real energy flow that lies behind several energy conversion techniques for piezoelectric energy scavenging. As well, the principles of energy harvesting using piezoelectric effect is extended to the pyroelectric effect, therefore allowing harvesting energy from temperature variation, which is one of the most common energy sources.
Wave Motion Optimization in Periodically Distributed Shunted Piezocomposite Beam Structures
Authors: Collet M. , Cunefare K.A. , Ichchou M.N.
Published: October 2008

This article proposes a new, simple, and efficient strategy, allowing one to optimize the diffusion operator between a passive beam coupled to a like beam equipped with a periodically distributed network of shunted piezoelectric patch actuators. A multimodal wave dispersion model is used to compute the diffusion operator and analyze the stability properties of the combined system. Based on this mathematical tool, specific optimization procedures are introduced to allow maximization or minimization of the wave transmissibility between the passive and the active distributed beam. A specific example is used to demonstrate the capability of the shunted piezoelectric system to induce total reflection through the total absorption of incoming propagating flexural waves while guaranteeing the stability, robustness, and realizability of such a system.
Multiplexed Fiber Optic Twin-sensor Array based on a Combination of Mach-Zehnder and Michelson Interferometers
Authors: Libo Yuan  , Yongtao Dong
Published: October 2008

A multiplexed white light interferometric fiber optic twin-sensor array is designed and demonstrated. In this sensing system, based on a combination of Mach-Zehnder and Michelson interferometers, an optical path matching technique is used to demodulate each twin sensor. The twin-sensor array consists of 2 × N sensing elements linked by a 3 dB coupler. While one of the twin sensors is used to measure strain, the other one compensates the variation caused by the temperature. The multiplexing capacity of the sensing scheme is analyzed and an experimental result with a 2 × 3 twin-sensor array is demonstrated and tested.
Active Piezoelectric Energy Harvesting: General Principle and Experimental Demonstration
Authors: Yiming Liu  , Geng Tian  , Yong Wang  , Junhong Lin  , Qiming Zhang  , Hofmann Heath F.
Published: October 2008

In piezoelectric energy harvesting systems, the energy harvesting circuit is the interface between a piezoelectric device and an electrical load. A conventional view of this interface is based on impedance matching concepts. In fact, an energy harvesting circuit can also apply electrical boundary conditions, such as voltage and charge, to the piezoelectric device for each energy conversion cycle. An optimized electrical boundary condition can therefore increase the mechanical energy flow into the device and the energy conversion efficiency of the device. We present a study of active energy harvesting, a type of energy harvesting approach which uses switch-mode power electronics to control the voltage and/or charge on a piezoelectric device relative to the mechanical input for optimized energy conversion. Under quasi-static assumptions, a model based on the electromechanical boundary conditions is established. Some practical limiting factors of active energy harvesting, due to device limitations and the efficiency of the power electronic circuitry, are discussed. In the experimental part of the article, active energy harvesting is demonstrated with a multilayer PVDF polymer device. In these experiments, the active energy harvesting approach increased the harvested energy by a factor of five for the same mechanical displacement compared to an optimized diode rectifier-based circuit.
Factors Associated With Engagement in a Police-Advocacy Home-Visit Intervention to Prevent Domestic Violence
Authors: Stover Carla Smith , Rainey Anna M. , Berkman Miriam , Marans Steven
Published: October 2008

This study examines factors related to engagement in the services offered by police officer–advocate teams on the basis of police and clinical records for 301 female victims referred to the Domestic Violence Home Visit Intervention (DVHVI) program. The authors find that the severity of intimate partner violence charges and ethnicity of the victim, advocate, and police officer are all significantly related to engagement in the DVHVI, with Hispanic women served by Hispanic advocate–officer teams more engaged in services than African American or Caucasian women. The data suggest that this intervention model may be particularly beneficial for Hispanic victims of intimate partner violence when implemented by a Spanish-speaking officer–advocate team.
The Mediterranean Diet and Your Health
Authors: Brill Janet Bond
Published: October 2008

The Mediterranean diet has long been celebrated as the gold standard of healthy diets for its highly palatable nature and favorable impact on the prevention of chronic diseases, promotion of greater longevity, and quality of life. A large body of scientific evidence has accumulated over the past several decades showing that Mediterranean-type diets are highly protective against the development of cardiovascular disease, metabolic disorders, and certain cancers. A single definition of the Mediterranean diet is difficult because of the diversity of dietary habits of more than the 18 countries with coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea. There are, however, general food patterns that unify the variable diets of the Mediterranean people and reflect the more traditional eating pattern of the southern Mediterranean region during the early 1960s. Dr Ancel Keys wrote of this diet in his first book on the topic, titled How to Eat Well and Stay Well the Mediterranean Way, as a diet that provides clues for why the health profile of the Mediterranean countries was more favorable than the rest of the world during that period. The Mediterranean eating pattern warrants attention because this eating style has been repeatedly associated with protection against several chronic degenerative diseases and disorders. Although it is not clear yet which components of the diet provide the greatest health benefits, likely candidates have emerged in the literature that, when consumed collectively, provide a dietary pattern that is highly protective. Several potential explanations and biological mechanisms of action against the pathogenesis of chronic disease that these foods provide are reviewed.
Implications for Physical Activity in the Population With Low Back Pain
Authors: Hanney William J. , Kolber Morey J. , Beekhuizen Kristina S.
Published: October 2008

Low back pain is considered the most prevalent pain complaint affecting the general population, with a reported lifetime prevalence of up to 75%. It is a recognized societal problem from both a disablement and economic perspective, with costs exceeding that of coronary artery disease, respiratory infections, and diabetes. The traditional concept of low back pain having a favorable natural history paints an overly optimistic prognosis when considering recent epidemiological data. From a prognostic perspective, more than three quarters of individuals will have a recurrence of their symptoms within a year from the initial onset, and up to 40% report a permanent reduction in activity participation. Fear of movement and avoidance of physical activity participation have been associated with a less than desirable prognosis, often times leading to chronicity. Although numerous interventions with often contradictory findings have been described for the population with low back pain, a consensus of research has implicated the resumption and pursuit of appropriate physical activity as an efficacious intervention. This article reviews the current evidence pertaining to physical activity participation in the population with low back pain and provides recommendations for identifying individuals who may be at risk for chronicity resulting from fear and avoidance of activity.
DFT calculation of crystallographic properties of dioctahedral 2:1 phyllosilicates
Authors: Ortega-Castro J. , Hernández-Haro N. , Hernández-Laguna A. , Sainz-Díaz C. I.
Published: October 2008

The low-charge dioctahedral 2:1 phyllosilicates are an important group of clay minerals that have a low degree of cation substitution and very weak interlayer interatomic interactions which are difficult to reproduce with quantum mechanical calculations. In order to study the crystallographic properties of these compounds with density functional theory (DFT) quantum-mechanical methods, an optimization of norm-conserving pseudopotentials of Al, Si, O, H and Na atoms has been carried out, and an optimization of the cutoff radii of the basis sets has been accomplished. Crystallographic properties and vibrational stretching frequencies of the OH groups, ν(OH), have been calculated, being consistent with previous computational and experimental results. All frequencies can be related to the different molecular environment of the OH groups. The effect of octahedral Fe3+ substitution on the ν(OH) frequency is reproduced. Several configurations of cation substitutions and interlayer cation (IC) positions are studied in low-charge dioctahedral 2:1 phyllosilicates, such as Al4(Si7–xAlx)O20(OH)4Nax, with x = 0.25, 0.50 and 0.75, indicating that the IVAl3+ is highly dispersed and the IC tends to be in the substituted ditrigonal hole. For the Al4(Si7Al)O20(OH)4Na composition, the trans-vacant form is more stable than the cis-vacant one.
Gel polymer electrolyte based on the synthesized co-polymer of poly(methyl methacrylate-maleic anhydride)
Authors: Huang Y. , Ma X. Y. , Liang G. Z. , Wang S. H.
Published: October 2008

In this study, poly(methyl methacrylate-maleic anhydride) (P(MMA-MAh)) was synthesized in toluene from methyl methacrylate (MMA) and maleic anhydride (MAh) monomers via free radical polymerization, in the presence of 2,2′-Azo-bis-isobutyronitrile (AIBN), as initiator at 80ºC for 8 h. The molar ratio of monomers was found to be 1 MAh:8 MMA using hydrolysis and titration. The molecular weight of co-polymer was determined to be of the order of 104 (g/mol) by gel permeation chromatography. The co-polymer was characterized using Fourier transform infrared and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Thermogravimetric analysis indicated the initial decomposition temperature was ~270ºC. Differential scanning calorimetry indicated that the glass transition temperature was near 126ºC.

Rectorite modified with benzyldimethyldodecylammonium chloride (OREC) was used as an additive to modify gel polymer electrolytes (GPEs) which consisted of P(MMA-MAh) used as a polymer matrix, propylene carbonate (PC) as a plasticizer and LiClO4 as the lithium ion source. X-ray diffraction analysis indicates that OREC can exfoliate well in GPEs when the amount of clay is suitable. The temperature dependence of the ionic conductivity of the resulting GPEs agreed well with the VTF (Vogel-Tamman-Fulcher) relation. OREC doses of 5 phr resulted in the greatest ionic conductivity. This OREC addition considerably improved the plasticized retention levels. As a consequence of OREC occupying the free volume space in the polymer matrix of GPEs, the bulk resistance of the GPEs was reduced and the glass transition temperature (Tg) increased.
Characterization for industrial applications of clays from Lembo deposit, Mount Bana (Cameroon)
Authors: Pialy P. , Nkoumbou C. , Villiéras F. , Razafitianamaharavo A. , Barres O. , Pelletier M. , Ollivier G. , Bihannic I. , Njopwouo D. , Yvon J. , Bonnet J-. P.
Published: October 2008

The Lembo clay deposit occurs on orthogneiss, but it also comprises clays with litho-relicts of volcanic rocks. In this study, ten samples from two sites were investigated. The mineralogical compositions consisted of kaolinite + halloysite + illite + quartz + hematite + anatase ± rutile ± orthoclase ± sanidine ± magnetite ± maghemite ± goethite ± Ba-Al-Fe-phosphates ± carbonates ± sulphates. Kaolinite-halloysite and quartz are the prevailing minerals. Some volcanicderived clays contain Fe-rich kaolinite-halloysite (9.6–14.1 wt.% Fe2O3). The chemical compositions, colours and specific surface area (SSA) measurements reveal two groups of clays: one with a positive whiteness index (IB), small SSA and small Fe content, and the other showing a large SSA, negative IB and relatively large Fe contents. The compositions of the first group are close to those of clays from the Mayouom deposit (Cameroon), and from some European commercial kaolins used in ceramics. Relatively Fe-rich clay materials may conform to most formulations of earthen bricks. As a whole, the Lembo clay deposit comprises various compositions of kaolinitic clays, which may yield the opportunity for extensive application in ceramics.
Ageing of synthetic and natural schwertmannites at pH 2—8
Authors: Kumpulainen S. , Räisänen M.-L. , Von Der Kammer F. , Hofmann T.
Published: October 2008

The transformation of schwertmannite to goethite was studied by ageing one synthetic and five natural schwertmannites in water at room temperature. Additionally, one synthetic and two natural schwertmannites were kept at variable pH (2, 4, 6 and 8). After one year, only the synthetic sample and one natural schwertmannite had transformed to goethite. However, the oxalate solubility of Fe and trace elements in all the samples decreased, whereas the total Fe/S ratios and specific surface areas of all samples increased. Arsenic and organic matter appeared to suppress the schwertmannite-to-goethite phase transformation. At pH 2, synthetic schwertmannite fully-transformed to goethite, but at pH 4–6 only minor transformation occurred. Depending on pH, many trace elements were released into solution during ageing of the natural schwertmannites. In general, Co, Mn, Zn and Si were released to solution, whereas As was enriched in the remaining iron oxide fraction. Al was dissolved at pH <4.