bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Improved Clinical Outcome After Acute Myocardial Infarction in Hospitals Participating in a Swedish Quality Improvement Initiative
Authors: Carlhed Rickard , Bojestig Mats , Peterson Anette , Åberg Christina , Garmo Hans , Lindahl Bertil
Published: September 2009

Background—

The Swedish quality improvement initiative Quality Improvement in Coronary Care previously demonstrated significant improvements in caregiver adherence to national guidelines for acute myocardial infarction. The associated impact on 1-year clinical outcome is presented here.

Methods and Results—

During the baseline period July 2001 to June 2002, 6878 consecutive acute myocardial infarction patients <80 years were included at the 19 intervention and 19 control hospitals and followed for a mean of 12 months. During the postintervention period of May 2003 to April 2004, 6484 patients were included and followed in the same way. From baseline to postintervention, improvements in mortality and cardiovascular readmission rates (events per 100 patient-years) were significant in the intervention group (−2.82, 95% CI −5.26 to −0.39; −9.31, 95% CI −15.48 to −3.14, respectively). However, in the control hospitals, there were no significant improvements (0.04, 95% CI −2.40 to 2.47; −4.93, 95% CI −11.10 to 1.24, respectively). Bleedings in the control group increased in incidence (0.92, 95% CI 0.41 to 1.43), whereas the incidence remained unchanged in the intervention group (0.07, 95% CI −0.44 to 0.58). When the difference of changes between the study groups were evaluated, the results still were in favor of the intervention group, albeit significant only for bleeding complications (mortality: −2.70, 95% CI −6.37 to 0.97; cardiovascular readmissions: −6.85, 95% CI −16.62 to 2.93; bleeding complications: −0.82, 95% CI −1.66 to 0.01).

Conclusions—

With a systematic quality improvement initiative aiming to increase the adherence to acute myocardial infarction guidelines, it is possible to achieve long-term positive effects on clinical outcome.
The Tropical Response to Extratropical Thermal Forcing in an Idealized GCM: The Importance of Radiative Feedbacks and Convective Parameterization
Authors: Kang Sarah M. , Frierson Dargan M. W. , Held Isaac M.
Published: September 2009

The response of tropical precipitation to extratropical thermal forcing is reexamined using an idealized moist atmospheric GCM that has no water vapor or cloud feedbacks, simplifying the analysis while retaining the aquaplanet configuration coupled to a slab ocean from the authors’ previous study. As in earlier studies, tropical precipitation in response to high-latitude forcing is skewed toward the warmed hemisphere. Comparisons with a comprehensive GCM in an identical aquaplanet, mixed-layer framework reveal that the tropical responses tend to be much larger in the comprehensive GCM as a result of positive cloud and water vapor feedbacks that amplify the imposed extratropical thermal forcing.

The magnitude of the tropical precipitation response in the idealized model is sensitive to convection scheme parameters. This sensitivity as well as the tropical precipitation response can be understood from a simple theory with two ingredients: the changes in poleward energy fluxes are predicted using a one-dimensional energy balance model and a measure of the “total gross moist stability” [Δm, which is defined as the total (mean plus eddy) atmospheric energy transport per unit mass transport] of the model tropics converts the energy flux change into a mass flux and a moisture flux change. The idealized model produces a low level of compensation of about 25% between the imposed oceanic flux and the resulting response in the atmospheric energy transport in the tropics regardless of the convection scheme parameter. Because Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory Atmospheric Model 2 (AM2) with prescribed clouds and water vapor exhibits a similarly low level of compensation, it is argued that roughly 25% of the compensation is dynamically controlled through eddy energy fluxes. The sensitivity of the tropical response to the convection scheme in the idealized model results from different values of Δm: smaller Δm leads to larger tropical precipitation changes for the same response in the energy transport.
(Re)Forming Strategic Cross-Sector Partnerships
Authors: Le Ber Marlene J. , Branzei Oana
Published: September 2009

This study explores the relational processes that underpin social innovation within strategic cross-sector partnerships. Using four longitudinal narratives to document the duality of success and failure in strategic collaborations between nonprofit and for-profit organizations, the authors explain how partners navigate this duality: deliberate role (re)calibrations help the partners sustain the momentum for success and overcome temporary failure or crossover from failure to success. Our grounded framework models three relational factors that moderate the relationship between role recalibrations and the momentum for success or failure: relational attachment, a personalized reciprocal bond between partners, which provides a stabilizing buffer in the face of unexpected contingencies; partner complacency, an insufficient investment that signals temporary misalignments; and partner disillusionment, an erosion of confidence in the other partner’s commitment that diagnoses premature failure.
Predicting Trajectories of Offending over the Life Course: Findings from a Dutch Conviction Cohort
Authors: Bersani Bianca E. , Nieuwbeerta Paul , Laub John H.
Published: September 2009

Distinguishing trajectories of criminal offending over the life course, especially the prediction of high-rate offenders, has received considerable attention over the past two decades. Motivated by a recent study by Sampson and Laub (2003), this study uses longitudinal data on conviction histories from the Dutch Criminal Career and Life-Course Study (CCLS) to examine whether adolescent risk factors predict offending trajectories across the life span. The CCLS is particularly well suited to study developmental offending trajectories as it contains detailed information on individual criminal offending careers for a representative sample of all individuals convicted in the Netherlands in 1977 ( n = 4,615) beginning at 12 years of age and continuing into late adulthood. To assess predictive ability, the authors employ two different analytical approaches. First, the authors examine whether offending trajectories can be prospectively differentiated by risk factors identified in adolescence. Second, the authors use group-based trajectory analysis to retrospectively identify distinct developmental offending trajectories and employ a cross-validation technique to examine the ability to predict the probability of an individual’s membership in a particular trajectory group. Overall, the results support the notion that it is difficult to predict long-term patterns of criminal offending using risk factors identified early in the life course.
Characteristics of and Implications for Students Participating in Alternate Assessments Based on Alternate Academic Achievement Standards
Authors: Kearns Jacqueline Farmer , Towles-Reeves Elizabeth , Kleinert Harold L. , Kleinert Jane O'Regan , Thomas Megan Kleine-Kracht
Published: September 2009

Little research has precisely defined the population of students participating in alternate assessments based on alternate academic achievement standards (AA-AAAS). Therefore, the purpose of this article is twofold: (a) explicate the findings of a multistate study examining the characteristics of the population of students participating in AA-AAAS, and (b) discuss the implications of those findings for instruction and assessment that move us closer to understanding what these students know and can do. The article discusses the results of our study within and across these seven states, implications for practitioners, and future research directions that should be considered for both instruction and assessment.
Teacher Preparation Programs— and Teacher Labor Markets
Authors: Maier Adam , Youngs Peter
Published: September 2009

A number of recent studies have shown that teachers are unevenly distributed across schools: compared to other students, students who are low-income, minority, limited-English proficient, low-performing, and/or from urban contexts tend to be taught by substantially less qualified teachers. Consequently, many researchers have analyzed how teachers are allocated to teaching positions. Few of these studies, however, have explored how teachers' preparation programs affect teachers' initial decisions about where to teach. This article introduces a theoretical framework that suggests that teacher preparation programs can facilitate the creation of social networks among candidates and between candidates and schools. In doing so, this article argues for such a sociologically based framework for use in studying teacher labor markets - a framework largely overlooked in current teacher labor market research. To illustrate and delineate key aspects of this framework, this article applies a social network approach to data from a large university-based teacher preparation program. Specifically, this article examines the social networks embedded in the student teaching experiences of secondary teaching candidates. The results of this study suggest that schools that collaborate with the university's preparation program may have greater access to networks of teacher candidates than non-collaborating schools. The advantages and consequences of these networks for collaborating schools, non-collaborating schools and teacher candidates are discussed.
Conceptualizing the Work of Leading Mathematical Tasks in Professional Development
Authors: Elliott Rebekah , Kazemi Elham , Lesseig Kristin , Mumme Judith , Carroll Cathy , Kelley-Petersen Megan
Published: September 2009

Filling the knowledge gap in the limited research on professional development leaders is an urgent issue if teacher learning is to be improved. This research and development project is studying how leaders learn to cultivate mathematically rich professional development environments. The authors adapted two frameworks from classroom-based research—sociomathematical norms and practices for orchestrating productive discussion—to support leaders’ understanding of facilitation of mathematics professional development. In this article, the authors describe the use of these frameworks in their work and argue for a third framework—the mathematical knowledge for teaching. Based on the analysis of their work, they believe that mathematics professional development leaders need to cultivate particular sociomathematical norms for teacher explanation and employ practices for orchestrating discussions to achieve the purposeful development of teachers’ specialized knowledge of mathematics for teaching.
Considering Transgender People in Education
Authors: Rands Kathleen E.
Published: September 2009

Schools serve as a setting in which students come to understand gender, but transgender students (those who transgress societal gender norms) are largely left out of discussions of education. The high level of harassment that transgender students face poses sizable obstacles to school success. If the field of education is committed to equity and social justice, then teacher education programs must prepare educators to teach gender in more complex ways that take into consideration the existence and needs of transgender people. This article is intended to begin the discussion of transgender issues in teacher education by providing a rationale for why teacher educators need to care about transgender issues, presenting definitions of basic terms and concepts related to gender and transgender, offering a new framework for understanding gender privilege and oppression, and examining three previously proposed or existing types of gender education and proposing gender-complex education as an alternative, and exploring possibilities for gender-complex teacher education.
Size Effects in Multifilament Glass-Rovings: the Influence of Geometrical Factors on Their Performance in Textile-Reinforced Concrete
Authors: Weichold Oliver , Hojczyk Markus
Published: September 2009

A set of four commercially available multifilament glass-rovings with 320, 640, 1200, and 2400 tex embedded in concrete was investigated using pull-out tests and scanning electron microscopy. The increasing roving cross-section within this set arose from two geometrical factors, namely the number of filaments and the filament diameter. In general, pull-out loads and the pullout work increase with increasing roving cross-section, while the pull-out stress, the efficacy, and the roving penetration decrease. An attempt to separate the two geometrical factors revealed that an increase in the filament diameter reduced the mechanical performance of a roving to a much greater extent than an increase in the number of filaments. Consequently, effective textiles used for reinforced concrete should be made from a larger number of finer rovings such as the 640 tex rather than 2400 tex rovings.
Psychiatry and criminal justice in modern Germany, 1880—1933
Authors: Wetzell Richard F.
Published: September 2009

This article presents an overview and analysis of the relationship of psychiatry and criminal justice in three different areas: the role of medical expert testimony in criminal trials; the role of psychiatrists in criminological research; and the influence of psychiatry on the penal reform movement. The first section argues that the increased use of medical expert testimony in the criminal courts demonstrates the increasing social acceptance of the psychiatric claim that borderline mental abnormalities were widespread and frequently connected to criminal behaviour. The second section examines the reasons why psychiatrists became so interested in research into the causes of criminal behaviour, and relates this interest to psychiatrists’ efforts to expand their professional territory. The third section argues that psychiatry exerted an important influence on the penal reform agenda. Not only was psychiatry crucial to the treatment of mentally deficient offenders, but the penal reformers’ demand to make every offender’s punishment dependent on his ‘social prognosis’ promised to give psychiatric expertise a central role in criminal justice. The article’s conclusion examines to what extent it makes sense to speak of a medicalization of criminal justice in this period.
Art and illegality on the Weimar stage
Authors: Hughes Erika
Published: September 2009

This essay explores the representations of crime and madness in the work of three German dancers during the interwar years. Before World War I, public displays of nudity were illegal, but after 1918 a window of opportunity appeared. This article analyses the work and reception of Celly de Rheydt, Anita Berber and Valeska Gert – contemporaries whose works differed greatly from one another but who all displayed contempt for onstage sexual norms. All three used the female body as a site where notions of art, pornography, legality and illegality were contested, both on stage and in the courtroom. The Nackttanz (nude dance), as performed by Celly de Rheydt, who along with her producer– husband was convicted of lewdness, possessed a self-awareness of the potential for artistic catharsis which she then played upon sexually. She performed in a small space where the performers and audience were in close physical proximity, and in which drugs and alcohol were consumed, thereby setting the space apart from the traditional stage. Yet some women performers took offence at such dehumanization and abstraction. Valeska Gert danced in the guise of prostitutes, corpses, and ruined young girls as an alternative to the quasi-pornography of the Ballet Celly de Rheydt. She did not titillate, but rather forced her audience to examine ugly bodies and characters that had been debauched. Drugs also found their way into performances: Anita Berber’s Kokain paid homage to the drug that would later contribute to her early death. This paper looks at these dancers and the performances that tested the boundaries of representative mores in the interwar period. It shows how popular dancers, by presenting scenes of delinquency and insanity as the centre of their art, utilized it to refl ect on and criticize their society.
Youth protection and the prevention of juvenile delinquency
Authors: Hall Sara F.
Published: September 2009

The year 1926 marked the passage of Germany’s Law to Protect Youth from Worthless and Obscene Publications. In combination with the Reich Motion Picture Law of 1920, this legislation sought to shelter minors from the corrupting forces of cultural narrative and imagery. As the discourse surrounding these laws attests, the terms of Germany’s so-called ‘cinema debate’ were ambivalent, and discussions about films thematizing crime were especially complex. Whereas many detective and crime films were condemned for glorifying delinquency, brutalizing the senses and exposing youth to excessive details about criminal activity, educational films and films that sounded a warning were viewed by reformists as ideal means to teach moral responsibility and good citizenship. This paper explores the purported connection between visual imagery, sensual—psychological stimulation, crime and censorship during the early years of the Weimar period.
Robustness of Group-Based Models for Longitudinal Count Data
Authors: Weakliem David L. , Entner Wright Bradley R.
Published: September 2009

In recent years, there have been efforts to develop latent class models for trajectories. The semiparametric mixed Poisson regression (SMPR) model has been used in many empirical studies, but there have been few attempts to evaluate the robustness of the estimates from this model. The authors use simulated data to evaluate the performance of the SMPR model under a variety of assumptions. They find that estimates are sensitive to the conditional distribution of counts and misspecification of the shape of the trajectory. When there is only one underlying trajectory and overdispersion is present, the SMPR model frequently finds multiple groups, which often appear to differ in shape as well as level. The tendency can be substantially reduced by use of the zero-inflated Poisson distribution in conjunction with top-coding of large counts. The article concludes with a discussion of other extensions and alternatives to the standard SMPR model that might provide more robust estimates.
Population Pharmacokinetic Analysis of Panitumumab in Patients With Advanced Solid Tumors
Authors: Ma Peiming , Yang Bing‐Bing , Wang Yow‐Ming , Peterson Mark , Narayanan Adimoolam , Sutjandra Liviawati , Rodriguez Rachelle , Chow Andrew
Published: September 2009

Panitumumab is a fully human monoclonal antibody targeted to the extracellular domain of human epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR). A comprehensive population pharmacokinetic model of panitumumab was developed using nonlinear mixed‐effects modeling of 1200 patients with advanced solid tumors in 14 clinical studies. The disposition of panitumumab was best described with a 2‐compartment model with parallel linear and nonlinear (Michaelis‐Menten) elimination pathways. For a typical male patient with colorectal cancer (80 kg, 60 years old), the estimates for the linear clearance (CL), the maximum nonlinear clearance (Vmax/Km), the central volume of distribution (V1), the peripheral volume of distribution (V2), and the Michaelis‐Menten constantt (Km) are 0.273 L/d, 28.4 L/d, 3. 95 L, 2.59 L, and 0.426 mcg/mL, respectively. Baseline covariates such as body weight, cancer type, age, sex, and race were studied for their influence on panitumumab pharmacokinetics. Body weight was found to be the most influential covariate on panitumumab exposure, affecting CL, Vmax, and V1. The administration of concomitant chemotherapy (IFL, FOLFIRI, or paclitaxel/carboplatin) or intensity of baseline tumor EGFR expression did not alter the pharmacokinetics of panitumumab. The presence of antipanitumumab antibodies in patients (immunogenicity rate 3.4%) did not appear to affect panitumumab exposure substantially (AUC difference 8%). In support of a new drug application in Japan, the model was used to assess panitumumab pharmacokinetics in Japanese patients compared to other racial groups; there were no significant differences in model‐predicted steady‐state panitumumab AUC, Cmax, or Cmin after accounting for the effect of body weight.
Studies on the Effect of Novel Antistatic Agent on the Properties of Polyurethane Foam
Authors: Wang Jincheng , Yang Ke , Zheng Xiaoyu
Published: September 2009

Novel antistatic agents containing metal salt were used to prepare polyurethane foam (PUF) in this study. The effects of different conditions such as amount of antistatic agent, type and ratio of metal salt, temperature, relative humidity and time, on the surface resistivity were studied. Typically, the research of replacement of silver metal salt with tin metal salt has been conducted. Antistatic property of these composites illustrates that AgIO 3 metal salt replaced by two-thirds amount of SnCl4 also shows excellent conductivity. Structure and other properties of these conductive PUF were examined by FTIR, DSC, and TGA. Moreover, the antistatic mechanism of these agents was put up. It was proposed that the metal salt in the antistatic agent might develop a conducting road. This can increase conductivity of the polymeric materials and decrease the corresponding surface resistivity.
Characterization of Microwave-Devulcanized Composites of Ground SBR Scraps
Authors: Zanchet Aline , Carli Larissa N. , Giovanela Marcelo , Crespo Janaina S. , Scuracchio Carlos H. , Nunes Regina C.R.
Published: September 2009

The recycling of waste rubber has considerable significance in terms of environmental protection and energy conservation. Considering that most of the relevant literature is concerned with tire recycling, the objective of this study is to develop and characterize styrene-butadiene rubber composites containing only industrial rubber scraps devulcanized by microwave. The styrene-butadiene rubber extruded profile scraps were collected and ground under ambient conditions. The obtained powder styrene-butadiene rubber-r was physically, thermally, and chemically characterized. From the devulcanized styrene-butadiene rubber-r two composites were prepared, varying the exposure time of the powder in the microwave (3 and 4 min). These composites were compared to a control sample supplied by the industry from which the styrene-butadiene rubber extruded profile scraps were collected. Vulcanization parameters were determined by oscillatory disk rheometry. Vulcanized composites were characterized by crosslink density and physical-mechanical properties (Shore A hardness, tensile and tear strength, and compression set) before and after a postcure process. The mechanical properties of the compositions were ∼25% for tensile strength and 41% for tear strength compared to the control sample. The results for the crosslink density verified those for the mechanical properties of the composites.
On Economic Growth, Marketing Systems, and the Quality of Life
Authors: Layton Roger A.
Published: September 2009

In addition to favorable institutions and knowledge accumulation, there is a third significant set of factors that could and should be taken into the analysis of economic growth. Where there is specialization there must also be trade, and, overtime, where there is trade there will also emerge the specialized roles and market structures needed to handle trade efficiently. These specialized roles and market structures, identified as marketing systems, together with institutions and technology constitute the three essential sets of factors needed for growth to occur. While institutional change tends to be long term, and technological change is often discontinuous and medium term, marketing system changes leading to improvements in either or both of effectiveness and efficiency in trade have a much more immediate impact on the well-being of the community. If the marketing systems that play such a central role are poorly adapted to the environments in which they operate, or lack in health, resilience or responsiveness, for structural or functional reasons, then growth and ultimately the quality of life will be directly affected. An understanding of marketing systems, their emergence, and their role in influencing economic growth is a necessary first step toward the ‘‘constructive engagement’’ of marketing with society envisaged by Shultz.
Population geographies, gender, and the migration-development nexus
Authors: Bailey Adrian J.
Published: September 2009

This review considers how international migration is related to development, and focuses on how knowledge about the so-called ‘migration-development nexus’ has been expanded through analyses of gender. My specific objective is to understand the ways in which the migration-development nexus is understood to be ‘gendered’ through the intersecting activities of multiple agents as they negotiate and transform transnational and postcolonial contexts of mobility and development. The contemporary migration-development nexus appears distinctive, and is growing and commanding a portfolio of resources sufficient to hardwire relations between societies, economies, and generations for a long time.
From the Gold Standard to the Floating Dollar Standard: An Appraisal in the Light of Marx’s Theory of Money
Authors: Vasudevan Ramaa
Published: September 2009

The paper explores the insights offered by Marx’s analysis of the emergence of “world money” into the workings of the international gold standard period and the post-Bretton Woods floating dollar standard. In a curious inversion of the traditional formulations drawing on Lenin, imperial hegemony in today’s context would seem to be associated with net capital imports (rather than exports) by the dominant country. In particular, I argue that in a context where the role of “world money” rests on the monetary liabilities of a dominant state, in the form of credit money — “fictitious capital” — rather than bullion, there is an easing of the external constraint on the advanced countries in the core with the impact of the debt-deflationary spiral and financial fragility being borne disproportionately by the periphery. The theorization of world money needs to address the relation between the state and the financial system: the asymmetric manner in which countries outside the core were incorporated into the monetary system, and the role that financialization plays in preserving the hegemony of the dominant currency. JEL classification: F33, F34, F59
Financialization and Changes in the Social Relations along Commodity Chains: The Case of Coffee
Authors: Newman Susan A.
Published: September 2009

This article examines distributional implications of the restructuring of international coffee markets that has occurred since the collapse of the International Coffee Agreement in 1989 and market liberalization in coffee producing countries under structural adjustment programs. It is argued that increased financial investment on international commodity exchanges, together with market liberalization, have given rise to opportunities and challenges for actors in the coffee industry. Given the heterogeneity of market actors, these tend to exacerbate inequalities already present in the structure of production and marketing of coffee.

JEL classification: L11, O13, G19
Older Adults Are Less Likely to Identify Depression Without Sadness
Authors: Gum Amber M. , McDougal Sarah J. , McIlvane Jessica M. , Mingo Chivon A.
Published: September 2009

Many older adults do not identify depression or the need for professional treatment. Late-life depression frequently occurs without dysphoria (i.e., depressed mood or sadness); in such cases, older adults may have particular difficulty identifying depression, leading to poor health outcomes. The aims were to examine the hypotheses that older adults would be more likely to identify depression and need for professional help in a vignette of a depressed older adult with sadness versus without sadness. In a randomized experiment, 244 community-dwelling older adults (60+) read one of two vignettes and answered questions about their perceptions of the problem, solutions, and their own background. Less than half (40.98%) identified the person as depressed (sad vignette: 48.33%; vignette without sadness: 33.87%). Participants were more likely to identify depression if they had personal mental health experience, more positive expectations regarding aging, and read the sad vignette. They were more likely to recommend professional help if they identified depression. Older adults’ identification of depression and need for professional help remain low, particularly in the absence of dysphoria.
Sustainable construction: construction and demolition waste reconsidered
Authors: del Río Merino Mercedes , Izquierdo Gracia Pilar , Weis Azevedo Isabel Salto
Published: September 2009

Construction activity in Europe has increased substantially in the past decade. Likewise, there has also been a commensurate rise in the generation of construction and demolition waste (C&DW). This, together with the fact that in many European countries the rate of recycling and reuse of C&DW is still quite low has engendered a serious environmental problem and a motivation to develop strategies and management plans to solve it. Due to its composition, there is a significant potential to reuse and/or recycle C&DW, and thereby, contribute to improving the sustainability of construction and development, but practical procedures are not yet widely known or practiced in the construction industry. This article (a) summarizes the different applications that are presently practiced to optimize the recovery and/or application of C&DW for reuse, and (b) proposes various measures and strategies to improve the processing of this waste. The authors suggest that to enhance environmental effectiveness, a conscious and comprehensive C&DW management plan should be implemented in each jurisdiction. More precisely, this study presents a holistic approach towards C&DW management, through which environmental benefits can be achieved through the application of new construction methods that can contribute to sustainable growth.
Studying the influence of operation parameters on heavy and alkali metals partitioning in flue gases
Authors: Jun Han  , Xuanming He  , Guanghui Wang  , Furuuchi Masami , Hata Mitsuhiko
Published: September 2009

In order to study the distribution and partitioning of heavy and alkali metals in the flue gases of a sewage sludge incinerator, an experiment was carried out in a pilot scale combustor. The results indicated that it was feasible to separate part of metals from flue gases by collecting fly ash at different temperatures. On the basis of their separation temperature, heavy and alkali metals could be divided into three groups: group A included Zn, K and P, which converted from gaseous phase to liquid or solid when temperature was above 600°C. Pb and Cu were the metals of group B, with optimum transformation temperature of 400°C. Na and As belonged to group C, with conversion temperatures of 300°C. Moreover, the effect of temperature gradient on heavy and alkali metal gas-solid transformation was also experimentally investigated. It was observed that the temperature gradient could promote the gas-solid conversion of heavy and alkali metals. However, too high a temperature gradient would suppress the formation of fine particles. The peak of conversion rate for K, Pb and Na occurred at 434°C s—1, while that of P and Cu was 487°C s—1.
Fuel consumption estimation for kerbside municipal solid waste (MSW) collection activities
Authors: Nguyen Thuy T.T. , Wilson Bruce G.
Published: September 2009

Fuel consumption during seven different daily activities of a garbage co-collection truck and a normal packer truck was estimated from the trucks’ global positioning system (GPS) data and fuel consumption records. The co-collection and the normal garbage packer consumed approximately 1.8 L and 1.26 L of diesel per km, respectively, while travelling within the collection areas. Using these fuel rates and the GPS data, the results show that both types of trucks consumed more than 60% of daily total fuel while actually collecting waste on the route. The average daily fuel consumption was 2—4 times higher on rural routes compared to urban areas. Fuel consumption varied significantly depending on the housing density along the collection route. In addition, approximately 5—6 times as much fuel was required to collect a kilogram of waste on a rural route compared to an urban route. Potential methods of reducing fuel consumption were examined. Consistent use of optimal collection routes could potentially save an average of 7.5 L of fuel per truck per day. Reducing the loading time per stop was also studied, but the results suggest that this method does not have significant potential to reduce fuel consumption.
Energy production, nutrient recovery and greenhouse gas emission potentials from integrated pig manure management systems
Authors: Prapaspongsa T. , Poulsen T.G. , Hansen J.A. , Christensen P.
Published: September 2009

Improper management of pig manure has resulted in environmental problems such as surface water eutrophication, ground water pollution, and greenhouse gas emissions. This study develops and compares 14 alternative manure management scenarios aiming at energy and nutrient extraction. The scenarios based on combinations of thermal pretreatment, anaerobic digestion, anaerobic co-digestion, liquid/solid separation, drying, incineration, and thermal gasification were compared with respect to their energy, nutrient and greenhouse gas balances. Both sole pig manure and pig manure mixed with other types of waste materials were considered. Data for the analyses were obtained from existing waste treatment facilities, experimental plants, laboratory measurements and literature. The assessment reveals that incineration combined with liquid/solid separation and drying of the solids is a promising management option yielding a high potential energy utilization rate and greenhouse gas savings. If maximum electricity production is desired, anaerobic digestion is advantageous as the biogas can be converted to electricity at high efficiency in a gas engine while allowing production of heat for operation of the digestion process. In conclusion, this study shows that the choice of technology has a strong influence on energy, nutrient and greenhouse gas balances. Thus, to get the most reliable results, it is important to consider the most representative (and up-to-date) technology combined with data representing the area or region in question.
Toward a psychology of chronic time pressure
Authors: Szollos Alex
Published: September 2009

Complaints about time shortage permeate contemporary western societies. Many disciplines, from sociology to economics, have been involved in research and theorizing about time shortage, in contrast to the paucity of psychological research. This review of the extant heterogeneous terminology proposes that chronic time pressure (CTP) be used as temporary overarching term, subsuming the objective component of time shortage and the subjective-emotional component of being rushed. Feeling rushed may lead to the perception of time shortage. The review explores how most previous research on CTP used surveys and time-diaries that were developed to assess time allocations and have limited usefulness in examining subjective temporal experience. The recently developed Experience Sampling Method and Daily Reconstruction Method, combined with in-depth interviews, augment existing methods and may provide detailed analyses of the being rushed component of CTP. Conceptual ties to other disciplines and to well-being and stress research are also emphasized.
‘Agency time’
Authors: Ladner Sam
Published: September 2009

This article investigates the postindustrial temporal landscape, or ‘timescape’, through a case study of a specific industry: Internet advertising. The theoretical portion of this article finds that the expansion of digital information communication technologies (ICTs) has radically transformed time keeping into ‘calculation’ in many of today’s workplaces. Additionally, globalized production has also rendered many locally constructed symbols of time less relevant. The author contrasts these events to the domestic time, which is constructed through contextual events and symbols, thereby making the postindustrial timescape further estranged from the domestic than even the Fordist timescape. The empirical portion of this article summarizes qualitative findings of time reckoning among Internet advertising workers. Time is not constructed out of local, material experiences but through digital means. This estranges domestic time even further, which has unintended but differential gendered effects. The implications of these findings include the emergence of a new sense of precarity, one based on ‘productivity’ of time spent on work. Additionally, a potentially new ‘glass ceiling’ could be emerging, based on the increased levels of home-based paid work. Women’s domestic responsibilities may make it relatively more difficult for them to advance when home-based paid work is expected.
Discourse analysis of a childcare drama
Authors: Fahlgren Siv
Published: September 2009

This article presents a discourse analysis of a childcare drama. The purpose is to focus upon paradoxical discourses of social work that include different time orders. Social work seems to be carried out according to a linear time order implicitly assuming improvement over time. At the same time the social worker is supposed to assist the individual according to the individual’s current subjective needs within a time order referred to as the time of the mindful body. It is of great significance to critically reflect upon the power of these discourses that set the framework of social work thus creating ethical dilemmas.
Domestic orchestration
Authors: Nansen Bjorn , Arnold Michael , Gibbs Martin R. , Davis Hilary
Published: September 2009

The steady proliferation of media and connectivity reconstitutes domestic rhythms in ways that make them emergent, relational, negotiated, and multiple. In an attempt to capture some of the entangled dynamics characteristic of contemporary domestic chronometrics (time-measured), chronaesthetics (time-felt) and chronomanagement (time-ordered), we use the terms ‘reticular rhythms’ and ‘technologies of reticulation’. In our analysis of interviews with five families over three years we identify four interrelated forms of reticular rhythms that together constitute the rhythms of contemporary domestic life. These four are: a polyphonic drone, a polychronic dissonance, an asynchronous consonance, and an orchestrated performance. Each of these forms of rhythm are described and illustrated.
Moderate Intravenous Sedation With Fentanyl and Midazolam for Invasive Procedures in Children With Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia
Authors: Mantadakis Elpis , Katzilakis Nikolaos , Foundoulaki Eva , Kalmanti Maria
Published: September 2009

Data were collected prospectively on 100 consecutive invasive procedures, that is, lumbar and bone marrow punctures (alone or in combination), in 16 patients less than 21 years of age with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). Efficacy of sedation and the need for restraint were graded according to 2 multiple-point scales. All invasive procedures were successfully performed. Oxygen by face mask was needed in 5 cases, whereas no patient required sedation reversal; 92% of the time, the patient was calm, cooperative, and responding to verbal commands, whereas in 97 procedures, there was no or only minimal patient movement that did not interfere with the completion of the procedure. Inpatient administration of midazolam and fentanyl by trained pediatric providers is safe and effective for invasive procedures in children and adolescents with ALL.
The Role of 131I-MIBG in High-Risk Neuroblastoma Treatment
Authors: Lessig Megan Kinnear
Published: September 2009

Despite aggressive research and treatment, high-risk neuroblastoma continues to have a devastating mortality rate of more than 40%. Research conducted over the past 2 decades has shown that the radioisotope 131I-MIBG (metaiodobenzylguanidine) is effective in the treatment of this difficult patient population. The purpose of this article is to review the diagnosis, staging, and conventional treatment of neuroblastoma and to understand the mechanism of action of MIBG and 131I-MIBG. This article also reviews treatments for high-risk neuroblastoma patients and analyzes recent research studies that used 131I-MIBG to better define the role of this treatment in high-risk neuroblastoma patients. In addition, this article explores the role of the advanced practice nurse to serve at the forefront in the implementation of a multidisciplinary 131I-MIBG treatment program.
A Brief Report of Caregiver Needs and Resource Utilization During Pediatric Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation
Authors: Mayer Deborah K. , Tighiouart Hocine , Terrin Norma , Stewart Susan , Peterson Emily , Jeruss Stefanie , Parsons Susan K.
Published: September 2009

Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) is used to eradicate disease and restore normal hematopoietic, immunologic, and/or metabolic functioning. HSCT is a complex treatment that is physiologically and psychologically demanding on the recipient, caregiver, and family. The purpose of this study was to identify needs and resources of family caregivers of pediatric HSCT recipients during the first year after transplant. Parental caregivers (n = 161) completed an online survey. The most cited sources of information were the HSCT team (87.7%), books and other print materials (83.1%), and the Internet (81.5%). However, more than half of the respondents reported that finding resources and services was a problem. More than half identified managing the emotional and social impact of the transplant on their child, posttransplant and follow-up care, practical strategies for caregiving, maintaining the family, and taking care of themselves during this first year as important topics to address. Adequately and regularly assessing caregiver and family needs and providing resources to meet those needs, especially during transitions in care, are important components of transplant care.
Efficacy and Safety of Ezetimibe Plus Orlistat or Rimonabant in Statin-Intolerant Nondiabetic Overweight/Obese Patients With Dyslipidemia
Authors: Florentin Matilda , Kostapanos Michael S. , Nakou Eleni S. , Elisaf Moses , Liberopoulos Evangelos N.
Published: September 2009

Aims: To compare the effects of ezetimibe plus orlistat or rimonabant on anthropometric and lipid parameters in nondiabetic statin-intolerant overweight/obese patients with dyslipidemia.

Methods and results: Thirty participants received a hypocaloric diet and were randomized to open-label combination of ezetimibe (10 mg/day) with orlistat (120 mg, 3 times a day with meals; ezetimibe/orlistat [EO], n = 15) or rimonabant (20 mg/day; ezetimibe/ rimonabant [ER], n = 15). Anthropometric and metabolic variables were assessed at baseline and 3 months posttreatment. Similar reductions in body weight, body mass index, and waist circumference were recorded in both groups (—8.3%, —8.6%, and —5.2% in the EO group and —7.3%, —7.2%, and —7.0% in the ER group, P < .01 vs baseline for all). Low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) levels decreased in both treatment groups, but this reduction tended to be more pronounced in the EO group (28.4% vs 15.3%, respectively; P < .01 vs baseline for both). Triglycerides tended to decrease more in the ER compared with the EO group (—20.4% vs —14.1%, P < .01 vs baseline for both). High-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) levels tended to decrease in EO group, but remained unaltered with ER treatment. Apolipoprotein B levels were equally reduced in both treatment groups. Conclusion: For similar body weight reduction, the combination of ezetimibe with orlistat may be more efficient in LDL-C lowering, whereas the combination of ezetimibe with rimonabant may be more potent in terms of improving HDL-C and triglycerides.
Rosuvastatin Attenuates Ang II—Mediated Cardiomyocyte Hypertrophy via Inhibition of LOX-1
Authors: Kang Bum-Yong , Mehta Jawahar L.
Published: September 2009

3-Hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-CoA (HMG-CoA) reductase inhibitors, also known as statins, have been shown to reduce cardiac remodeling. Angiotensin II (Ang II) type 1 receptor (AT1R) and oxidized low-density lipoprotein (ox-LDL) via its lectin-like ox-LDL receptor (LOX-1) are major stimuli for cardiomyocyte growth. We postulated that rosuvastatin, a potent HMG-CoA reductase inhibitor, may reduce Ang II—mediated cardiomyocyte growth via AT1R and LOX-1 inhibition. HL-1 adult mouse cardiomyocytes were incubated overnight in serum-free medium, and then treated with rosuvastatin, the AT1R inhibitor losartan or anti-LOX-1 antibody for 3 hours. The cells were then stimulated with Ang II. We measured cardiomyocyte growth, and associated intracellular redox signals using reverse transcription— polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and real-time quantitative PCR. Losartan and anti-LOX-1 antibody markedly attenuated Ang II—mediated oxidant stress, and the expression of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH) oxidase (p40pho x and gp91 phox subunits) and nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB). Rosuvastatin attenuated the Ang II—mediated upregulation of both subunits of NAPDH oxidase as well as NF-κB. Rosuvastatin also reduced Ang II—mediated upregulation of AT1R and LOX-1. In other experiments, LOX-1 was upregulated in cardiomyocytes by transfection with pCI-neo/LOX-1, which also enhanced the expression AT1R messenger RNA (mRNA), and rosuvastatin pretreatment reduced the expression of both LOX-1 and AT1R in this system. Thus, rosuvastatin attenuates Ang II—mediated cardiomyocyte growth by inhibiting LOX-1 and AT1R expression and suppressing the heightened intracellular redox state.
Social Media: How Home Health Care Agencies Can Join the Chorus of Empowered Voices
Authors: Orsini Merrily
Published: September 2009

A new concept is revolutionizing the way companies and consumers communicate in the digital age. That concept is social media—online communication that is interactive, collaborative, and democratic. Things that you will learn from this article are the following: What is social media and what does it have to offer the health care community? More important, how can home health care agencies incorporate social media into their marketing plans to speak more directly to their clients?
Energy efficiency in lighting — considerations and possibilities
Authors: Loe DL
Published: September 2009

Energy efficiency is a prime consideration for all lighting professionals with reasons ranging from the threat of climate change through burning fossil fuels to the sustainability and availability of energy supplies as well as rapidly increasing costs. But it must be balanced against the need for well-lit environments to ensure the productivity, well-being, safety and health of the people it serves. A well-lit environment must provide both visual function and visual amenity for the particular application and for the architecture, together with an efficient use of energy. This means considering all the elements that contribute to the design and operation in an all-embracing manner. The challenge now is to address more critically the design, operation and specification of electric lighting in combination with available daylight. This will require new thinking and research to achieve satisfactory, efficient environments that will need investment for optimum results. But the outcome could be a long-term benefit to society with the benefit being greater than the sum of the parts.