bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
MEASURING CORPORATIVE SOCIAL PERFORMANCE IN FIRMS: A BAYESIAN FACTOR ANALYSIS APPROACH
Authors: Agudo José María , Gargallo Pilar , Salvador Manuel
Published: December 2014

This paper proposes a new empirical procedure for measuring Corporate Social Performance in firms, taking the Carroll model and the Stakeholder theory as theoretical supports. To that aim we use a second order factor model and we adopt a Bayesian approach that allows us to carry out a more effective statistical treatment of the missing data, using all the available information and without appealing to asymptotic results. Furthermore, we identify significant patterns of firm's behavior by means of novel statistical classification techniques and we analyze which aspects of Corporate Social Responsibility are less developed. The methodology is applied to a sample of Spanish firms. Our results show that there is a positive relationship between the firms Corporate Social Performance and their size, degree of Corporate Social Responsibility awareness and stakeholder pressure. However, Corporate Social Responsibility is not well-known in micro and small Spanish firms, which leads to a low level of implementation.
A GENERAL FREE CASH FLOW THEORY OF CAPITAL STRUCTURE
Authors: Buus Tomáš
Published: December 2014

This paper provides general framework for handling time-varying cost of capital, leverage, tax rates, and capital values in a dynamic free cash flow theory of capital structure. That enables efficient analysis of the recent competing theories of capital structure. After including the costs of financial distress and risk premium of debt in the cash flow model, this paper provides a new look at cost of tax shield from the point of view of risk-return relationship. Cost of tax shield is not constant, but depends on leverage and is mostly between cost of assets and cost of debt. Moreover the simulation of firm value and capital structure in presence of taxes, risk, and growth shows that unique optimal leverages exist for each combination of the above factors. The risk-enhanced cash flow theory can explain both the observations, which support pecking order theory, free cash flow theory and tradeoff theory of capital structure. Moreover it fits some evidence, which resists these theories: highly leveraged low growth companies and moderately leveraged large profitable companies.
GOVERNANCE WITH COMPLEX STRUCTURES: EVIDENCE FROM WESTERN EUROPEAN COUNTRIES
Authors: Santos Mário S. , Moreira António C. , Vieira Elisabete S.
Published: December 2014

This paper investigates if the existence of complex structures plays an important role in corporate governance. It uses GMM estimation on a panel of Western European firms. We find that the presence of a second and third large shareholder has a significant positive effect on firm value. This study underlines the importance of the number of blockholders as a determinant of firm value, when taken as a moderator of the contestability effect. It shows that the legal context and company-specific characteristics play a crucial moderating role for contestability. In contrast to previous research, we find that contestability plays a less relevant role in family firms. We also find that this last result does not vary significantly with the identity of the remaining elements of the coalition. Also, our study suggests that contestability is less important in companies led by majority shareholders.
INNOVATIVE CONCEPT OF SYNERGETIC AIR TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT UNDER POLYCONFLICTS
Authors: Kharchenko Volodymyr , Chepizhenko Valeriy , Pavlova Svetlana , Bo Wang
Published: December 2014

A new concept of the synthesis of a synergetic regulator for the control of difficult multidimensional aircraft in polyconflict conditions is offered in the article. The basic idea of control synthesis is the use of self-organization properties of real physical systems for the formation of algorithms for the synergetic regulator operation. This approach allows solving the problem of the high dimensionality of the regulator for aircraft in polyconflict conditions and provides aircraft control in real time. The synergetic approach offered by the authors allows minimising the expenditure of energy for conflict avoidance between aircraft and supports the guaranteed safety level of their motion.
SYSTEM ANALYSIS OF THE PROPERTIES OF DISCRETE AND ORIENTED STRUCTURE SURFACES
Authors: Marchuk Volodymyr , Kindrachuk Myroslav , Kryzhanovskyi Andrii
Published: December 2014

A complex study of the properties and characteristics of discrete structure surfaces with mechanically formed dimples has been carried out. It is shown that the combination of scientific research on friction and wear processes in different scientific and engineering areas, such as mathematical statistics, mechanics of contact, physics of surfaces and magnetism and hydrodynamics, provides a deeper explanation of the processes that take place on discrete surfaces of contact elements.
CALCULATION OF THE CHARACTERISTICS OF A UAV LAUNCH FROM A RAMP
Authors: Silkov Valeriy , Zirka Andrii
Published: December 2014

A launch from a ramp is applied in order to increase the effectiveness of unmanned aircraft. To attain this goal, the kinematic parameters of movement during a UAV launch from a ramp are analyzed, formulas to determine these parameters are formulated, and a method for calculating rational geometrical parameters of a ramp, which provides a safe lift-off of a UAV with the specified flight data, is used. This paper considers the advantages of a UAV launch from a ramp and the development of algorithms that help to calculate the characteristics of a UAV launch from a ramp.
INITIAL STRESS CORRECTION METHOD FOR THE MODELING OF FOLDED SPACE INFLATABLE STRUCTURES
Authors: Zhan Yanan , Yu Li , Yang Xue , Cheng Han
Published: December 2014

Initial errors and mesh distortions are inevitable in the modelling of folded space inflatable structures. Aimed at this key technical problem, an initial stress correction method based on finite element theory is proposed in this paper. First, initial stress is calculated through the difference of mapping and reference configurations, the former with initial errors and the later without. Then the initial stress is imposed on the mapping configuration to correct initial errors. Through the correction, the accuracy of the inflation deployment numerical calculation is greatly improved. In order to validate the reliability of this correction method, a typical space inflatable structure-inflatable tube is studied as an example. First of all, the finite element models of both Z-folded and rolled tubes are established with the initial stress correction method. Then the inflation deployment numerical calculations of the folded tubes are carried out applying the segmented inflatable control volume method. Through comparative analysis of the calculation results with and without a correction, the method proposed in this paper is proved to be feasible and accurate. The correction method is a complement to the modelling of folded space inflatable structures and it has a great significance for the improvement of the accuracy of the inflation deployment numerical calculations of space inflatable structures.
THE EFFECT OF MOISTURE ON THE MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF COMPACTED EXFOLIATED VERMICULITE
Authors: Belhouideg Soufiane , Lagache Manuel
Published: December 2014

Vermiculite refers to a small group of minerals resembling the lamella structure of the micas. Its can exfoliated chemically or thermally. Exfoliated vermiculite may be compressed and used in expanding gaskets; seals… The mechanical properties of compacted exfoliated vermiculite (CEV) strongly depend on the moisture. In this paper, the mechanical property of CEV is investigated by compression test, performed on samples under different levels of relative moisture. The compression tests are performed on samples respectively in longitudinal and transverse directions with respect to compaction axis. When comparing the mechanical property of CEV between longitudinal and transverse directions, an anisotropic behaviour is found in elastic modulus. As the relative moisture increases, the elastic modulus, failure stress and elastic recovery decrease.
Reducing Incivility in the Workplace: Results of a Three-Part Educational Intervention
Authors: Lasater Kathie , Mood Laura , Buchwach Deborah , Dieckmann Nathan F.
Published: December 2014

Background:

Incivility among nursing staff has a negative impact on the workplace environment. The purpose of this study was to determine whether a three-part educational intervention improved the work environment in two units of a major health sciences hospital.

Method:

Staff (
N
= 94) participated in assessments of the intervention at designated time points postintervention. Interviews of eight volunteer participants followed the intervention.

Results:

Perceived acts of incivility decreased significantly for both units. Self-efficacy increased for both units, whereas collective efficacy decreased for one unit and increased for the second unit. Qualitative data supported the positive impact but identified that participants were not confident their units could effectively combat incivility without refresher sessions.

Conclusion:

A three-part educational intervention was effective in decreasing incidences of perceived in-civility and increasing self-efficacy. Collective efficacy might be improved and sustained with unit refresher sessions or regular discussion.

J Contin Educ Nurs.
2015;46(1):15–24.
Two new species of Tectaria (Tectariaceae) from Costa Rica, Panama and Colombia
Authors: Rojas-Alvarado Alexander , Sanín David
Published: December 2014

Research in the genus Tectaria Cav. from the Neotropics have uncovered two new species in the T. incisa Cav. complex, here are described as T. lacinifolia A. Rojas & D. Sanín and T. pardalina A. Rojas. The first species differs from T. incisa because have apically ciliate rhizome scales, basiscopically laciniate basal pinnae, rhomboid terminal pinna and laciniate margin. The second species differs from T. incisa by less pinnae pairs, commonly broadly elliptic pinnae, sparsely hairy abaxially laminar tissue, sori in (2-) 3-5 irregular series between the lateral veins and distributed at higher elevations. The specimens were deposited in the CR, COL, FAUC, HUA, MO and USJ herbaria.
A Hybrid GABFO Scheduling for Optimal Makespan in Computational Grid
Authors: Prakash Shiv , Vidyarthi Deo Prakash
Published: December 2014

Scheduling in Computational Grid (CG) is an important but complex task. It is done to schedule the submitted jobs onto the nodes of the grid so that some characteristic parameter is optimized. Makespan of the job is an important parameter and most often scheduling is done to optimize makespan. Genetic Algorithm (GA) is a search procedure based on the evolutionary technique that is able to solve a class of complex optimization problem. However, GA takes longer to converge towards its near optimal solution. Bacteria Foraging Optimization (BFO), also derived from nature, is a technique to optimize a given function in a distributed manner. Due to limited availability of bacteria, BFO is not suitable to optimize the solution for the problem involving a large search space. Characteristics of both GA and BFO are combined so that their benefits can be reaped. The hybrid approach is referred to as Genetic Algorithms Bacteria Foraging Optimization (GABFO) algorithm. The proposed GABFO has been applied to optimize makespan of a given schedule in a computational grid. Results of the simulation, conducted to evaluate the performance of the proposed model, reveal the effectiveness of the proposed model.
Analysis of Material and Information Flows and Formulation of an ICT Waste Management Model
Authors: Emmanouil Maria-Chrysovalantou , Stiakakis Emmanouil , Vlachopoulou Maria , Manthou Vasiliki
Published: December 2014

The generation and accumulation of waste of electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) is growing fast, becoming one of the most complex waste streams the modern world faces. The effective and efficient management of this waste stream raises the interest of the global scientific and business community. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the flow in an e-waste management system, present the main processes included and detect the information procedures that affect the operation of the system. For its research, first a detailed literature review is presented and second the critical information flows are analyzed. The findings indicate five critical informational procedures of managerial concern: (a) defining the infrastructure, technological systems, and investments that are needed to optimize an e-waste management network, (b) minimizing the total cost of the e-waste management system, (c) estimating ICT waste quantities as precisely as possible, (d) selecting the appropriate strategy for ICT waste treatment, and (e) redesigning the IT and telecommunication products in order to improve their recycling characteristics. The study concludes with the formulation and presentation of a material and information flow diagram of ICT waste management system.
Multi-Level Resilience
Authors: Khoury Mehdi , Bullock Seth
Published: December 2014

From a multi-disciplinary point of view, research on resilience focuses on robustness, recovery, and adaptive capacity. Robustness quantifies how much damage a system can take before it breaks, whereas recovery refers to the ability of a system to recuperate within limits of time and resources, and adaptability requires a system to be able to structurally reorganize throughout time so as to improve its chances of survival when facing disturbances. In this paper, after discussing examples of models of robustness, recovery and adaptability from different scientific disciplines, is a discussion on the relationship between these three aspects of resilience, introducing a multi-level resilience hierarchy with which to relate them to each other which is termed the resilience pyramid. This paper then exemplifies this multi-level view of resilience through discussing the resilience of symbiotic networks to cascading failure in the context of modern infrastructures, and considers the introduction of infrastructure nodes with permutable roles as a possible solution.
Detecting Bias on Aesthetic Image Datasets
Authors: Carballal Adrian , Castro Luz , Perez Rebeca , Correia João
Published: December 2014

In recent years, there have been attempts to discover the principles that determine the value of aesthetics in the domain of computing. Many and diverse studies have tried in some way to capture these principles through technical characteristics. To this end, helped by the ease of Internet data acquisition, datasets of images have been published which were obtained online at random from websites and photography competitions. To guarantee the validity of a system of aesthetic image classification, one must first guarantee its capacity for generalization. This paper studies how the indiscriminate selection of images can affect the generalization capacity obtained by a binary classifier.
Optimization of Nigerian Restaurant Waste Cooking Biodiesel Reaction Parameters using Response Surface Methodology
Authors: Waheed M.A. , Samuel O.D. , Bolaji B.O. , Dairo O.U.
Published: December 2014

The present work deals with the production of biodiesel from Nigerian restaurant waste cooking oil (NRWCO) and the optimization of the parameters that influences the alkaline transesterification of NRWCO into biodiesel using response surface methodology. The optimization parameters like oil: oil/methanol molar ratio, catalyst amount and reaction time were done using Design Expert 6.06 software. It was found that the maximum yield of biodiesel was obtained in 79.8 min for 1: 5.9, oil: methanol ratio, 1.2 wt. % KOH amount. A total of 20 experiments using Central Composite Design were carried out. The R2, adjusted R2 and predicted R2 values were 0.982, 0.9657 and 0.9088 respectively show that the experimental values are in good agreement with the predicted values. The properties of biodiesel at the optimized parameters, thus, produced confirm to the ASTM, EN and BIS specifications, making it an ideal alternative fuel for diesel engine.
Transient Stability Constrained Optimal Power Flow Using Teaching Learning-Based Optimization
Authors: Mukherjee Aparajita , Paul Sourav , Roy Provas Kumar
Published: December 2014

Transient stability constrained optimal power flow (TSC-OPF) is a non-linear optimization problem which is not easy to deal directly because of its huge dimension. In order to solve the TSC-OPF problem efficiently, a relatively new optimization technique named teaching learning based optimization (TLBO) is proposed in this paper. TLBO algorithm simulates the teaching–learning phenomenon of a classroom to solve multi-dimensional, linear and nonlinear problems with appreciable efficiency. Like other nature-inspired algorithms, TLBO is also a population-based method and uses a population of solutions to proceed to the global solution. The authors have explained in detail, the basic philosophy of this method. In this paper, the authors deal with the comparison of other optimization problems with TLBO in solving TSC-OPF problem. Case studies on IEEE 30-bus system WSCC 3-generator, 9-bus system and New England 10-generator, 39-bus system indicate that the proposed TLBO approach is much more computationally efficient than the other popular methods and is promising to solve TSC-OPF problem.
Teachers Left Behind
Authors: Baytiyeh Hoda
Published: December 2014

Nowadays, the use of computers in education is increasing worldwide. Information technology is deemed essential for the digital generation's classrooms. However, the adoption of technology in teaching and learning largely depends on the culture and social context. The aim of this research study is to evaluate the acceptance and use of technology of 12th grade teachers in public high schools in Lebanon. The theoretical framework is drawn from the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) to investigate teachers' intentions regarding the use and acceptance of technology in their daily teaching tasks. The participants were 161 teachers in Lebanese public high schools who completed a questionnaire that reflects the UTAUT. Social influence, experience and voluntariness of use appeared to have the strongest effect on teachers' attitudes regarding the use of technology, while effort expectancy and facilitating conditions had the lowest effect. These findings suggest that public schools should implement training in technology for teachers to support their teaching tasks in the context of this current digital generation of students. The study offers a discussion of the results and recommendations for policy and practice.
Successful Internet Entrepreneurs Don't Have To Be College Dropouts
Authors: Zhang Sonya
Published: December 2014

Some of today's most successful Internet entrepreneurs didn't graduate from college. Many young people today followed the same path to pursue their dreams however ended up failing, not a surprise because 80% of the startups fail in first 5 years. As technology innovation and market competition on Internet continue to accelerate, college students need guidance and support more urgently now than ever before. Meanwhile most entrepreneurship programs offered in colleges and universities provide only general strategy-innovation-finance guidance for broad entrepreneurship while lack concentration on online startups or connection to Internet technology. We proposed a technology-business-environment model that could help guide universities in nurturing, building, and shaping their students' dreams and goals towards creating a successful Internet startup business. Finally, we demonstrated a course outline for an Internet entrepreneurship course designed for undergraduate students. Such course can be used as a core course in an entrepreneurship program or an elective course in Information Systems (IS), other sub-disciplines of computing programs, or business programs.
Examining the Theoretical Factors that Influence University Students to Adopt Web 2.0 Technologies
Authors: Al-Otaibi Yasser D. , Houghton Luke
Published: December 2014

The purpose of this study is (1) to examine Australian university students' awareness of the benefits of Web 2.0 technologies and (2) to investigate the factors that influence students to adopt Web 2.0 technologies to supplement in-class learning, using the theoretical foundations of both Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) and Decomposed Theory of Planned Behaviour (DTPB). Findings indicated that most students in this study's sample were aware of the benefits of Web 2.0 technologies to supplement in-class instructions. The findings also indicated that students' attitude, subjective norms, and perceived behavioural control were strong determinants of their intention to use Web 2.0 technologies.
Integration of Wireless Technologies in Smart University Campus Environment
Authors: Khamayseh Yaser , Mardini Wail , Aljawarneh Shadi , Yassein Muneer Bani
Published: December 2014

In this paper, the authors are particularly interested in enhancing the education process by integrating new tools to the teaching environments. This enhancement is part of an emerging concept, called smart campus. Smart University Campus will come up with a new ubiquitous computing and communication field and change people's lives radically by providing systems and devices supported with smart technologies that have the capabilities of rapid respond to changes and circumstances without human interference, and it will be able to learn from these circumstances. This paper presents framework architecture for integrating various types of wireless networks into a smart university campus to enhance communication among students, instructors, and administration. Moreover, the authors study two possible applications to utilize the proposed networking framework: smart identification and social collaboration applications. An essential part to achieve the main principles of smart university campus is the deployment and usage of smart card technologies for identification and payment. Nowadays, there are several types of smart identification cards that support wireless technologies such as RFIDs and NFC. In both types, a card reader can read the card information from a distance. Moreover, in NFC cards, the card is integrated with the user's cellular phone. Social networking services (such as Facebook) facilitate online communication and provide a suitable environment for collaboration among students. As a part of future work, the proposed framework is deployed in the authors' university campus to find out the end-end performance and system usability.
Exploring the Rationale for Emergency Management Information Systems for Local Communities
Authors: Hallberg Niklas , Hallberg Jonas , Granlund Helena , Woltjer Rogier
Published: December 2014

Emergency responders at the local community level are the prime actors concerning emergency management. It has been claimed that information systems have considerable potential to support emergency management. However, development of such systems is demanding, due to the complexity of emergency management. The ability to be able to reveal the stakeholders' needs for support are essential for successful system developments. The objective of this paper is to explore the rationale for emergency management information systems at the local community level. This was accomplished by an extensive needs assessment based on 49 governing documents and 12 interviews with representatives for local as well as regional emergency response organizations. The analysis uncovered eleven areas where emergency management information systems could enhance the capability of local communities' to manage emergencies. The identified needs categories are proposed to constitute a foundation for design patterns for the development of emergency management information systems for local communities.
Communication between Power Blackout and Mobile Network Overload
Authors: Reuter Christian
Published: December 2014

In cases of power outages the communication of organizations responsible for recovery work (emergency services, public administration, energy network operators) to the public poses several challenges, primarily the breakdowns of many communication infrastructures and therefore the limitations of the use of classical communication media. This paper surveys technical concepts to support crisis communication during blackouts. Therefore it first investigates the perception and information demands of citizens and communication infrastructures in different scenarios. Furthermore, it analyzes communication infrastructures and their availability in different scenarios. Finally it proposes ‘BlaCom', an ICT-based concept for blackout communication, which addresses the time span between the occurrence of the energy blackout and the possible overload of the mobile phone network. It combines general information with location-specific and setting-specific information, was implemented as a prototype smartphone application and evaluated with 12 potential end users.
An Ontological Approach for Representation of Educational Program
Authors: To Hoai-Viet , Le Bac , Ikeda Mitsuru
Published: December 2014

The research of ontology application in knowledge sharing in current information society has attracted much effort in recent years. This paper studies expressive power of description logic OWL-DL ontology to express complicated knowledge in practical situation and constructs an ontology to represent complicated knowledge of educational program to help students to understand the requirements and build their study plans that fulfill these requirements. This ontology demonstrates the applicability of expressive ontology in representation of complex knowledge for knowledge sharing. Therefore, this paper shows the promising possibility of extending ontology utilization to knowledge sharing research and application by employing rich semantic features of recent ontology specification.
Determinants of Knowledge Sharing Behaviour among Academics in United Arab Emirates
Authors: Skaik Huda Alami , Othman Roslina
Published: December 2014

The main objectives of this research are to (i) investigate the practice of knowledge sharing among academics, and (ii) examine the relationship between knowledge sharing behaviour and its predictors based on the Theory of Planned Behaviour. Data were collected through an online survey using a questionnaire from academics in public universities. Using SPSS and PLS-SEM, data analysis process involved (i) analysis of descriptive statistics to evaluate knowledge sharing practice, (ii) assessment of the measurement model to evaluate items reliability and validity, and (iii) assessment of the structural model to evaluate its validity, path coefficients, and test the hypotheses. The results showed a great extent of knowledge sharing practice. They proved that academics' knowledge sharing behaviour is significantly influenced by intention, which is influenced by attitude, subjective norms, and self-efficacy. Contrary to the theory, the results showed that controllability does not influence intention.
Impact of Bank Operational Efficiency Using a Three-Stage DEA Model
Authors: Wang Mu-Shun , Lin Chihuang
Published: December 2014

In this study the authors use a three-stage sequential technique to develop a Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) model for examining a bank's technical efficiency index. Internal risk and environmental risk are incorporated into this model to accommodate the well-known BASEL III Accord (required capital adequacy ratio in the financial industry) and to ensure the amount of derivatives turnover ratio is at the level defined by industry best-practices. Information is obtained from 34 Taiwanese commercial banks for the period from 2008 to 2011 following the global financial crisis. The Malmquist total factor productivity index (TFP) is also employed to measure the impact of changes in productivity on the panel data. Empirical results derived from the DEA approach show a gain in technical efficiency and scale efficiency in the industry after adjusting the slack variables when using the corrected ordinary least squares (COLS) regression model. The results indicate that commercial banks need to diversify to increase their market share when dealing with derivatives which are associated with higher risk. The Balk's Malmquisit TFP index shows a decrease in bank productivity and improvement in pure technical efficiency. In this study the authors found that after risk-adjustment there was a distinct inefficient unit decrease and but a marginal unit increase in efficiency.
Generation of Concurrency Control Program by Extending Functions in Genetic Programming
Authors: Hochin Teruhisa , Saigo Tatsuya , Tamura Shinji , Nomiya Hiroki
Published: December 2014

This paper tries to generate an appropriate concurrency control program by using genetic programming (GP). Although two variables have been introduced for generating concurrency control programs, these made program generation difficult because of the explosion of combination. By limiting the usage of variables to one of two variables, an appropriate program could be generated. This method, however, could not create all of concurrency control programs. This paper extends the variable to bring more information than before for creating any concurrency control programs. It is experimentally shown that an appropriate concurrency control program can successfully be generated by extending the variable.
Evaluation of Student Performance in Adaptive E-Learning Processes with Active Tutorship
Authors: Marengo Agostino , Pagano Alessandro , Barbone Alessio
Published: December 2014

This paper describes the implementation of adaptive technology in a specific, Open Source, Learning Management System (LMS). After a preliminary study about the adaptive features already built-in and the capabilities ready to perform a suitable student modeling, the research team extended those capabilities with a specific data model, student model, and tutoring engine to perform automatic monitoring and sequencing of Learning Objects for each particular learner. Testing activities has proven the efficiency method in content and course delivery and given the opportunity to further develop a predicting tool based on data mining student modeling. This provides an efficient tool in tutorship activities. This paper describes some best practices developed during a Tempus IV Project granted by EU.
Adoption of Social Media Using Technology Acceptance Model
Authors: Dutot Vincent
Published: December 2014

1.4 billion Euros. This is the amount spent on social media marketing in Europe. This figure is expected to reach 3.2 billion in 2017 (Forrester, 2013), an increase of nearly 150%. However, from the point of view of literature, the concept of social media is still new even though the importance of technology in communication has been studied before. This research focuses on adoption of social media by investigating the digital gap that could exist between generations. Based on a quantitative survey (414 answers), CFA and SEM analyses were used to highlight the main influencers of adoption of social media per generation. Results show that age influences optimism, innovativeness, and perceived usefulness of adoption of social media.
Trunk-Rotation Differences at Maximal Reach of the Star Excursion Balance Test in Participants With Chronic Ankle Instability
Authors: de la Motte Sarah , Arnold Brent L. , Ross Scott E.
Published: December 2014

Context

Functional reach on the Star Excursion Balance Test is decreased in participants with chronic ankle instability (CAI). However, comprehensive 3-dimensional kinematics associated with these deficits have not been reported.

Objective

To determine if lower extremity kinematics differed in CAI participants during anteromedial, medial, and posteromedial reach on the Star Excursion Balance Test.

Design

Case-control study.

Setting

Sports medicine research laboratory.

Patients or Other Participants

Twenty CAI participants (age = 24.15 ± 3.84 years, height = 168.95 ± 11.57 cm, mass = 68.95 ± 16.29 kg) and 20 uninjured participants (age = 25.65 ± 5.58 years, height = 170.14 ± 8.75 cm, mass = 69.89 ± 10.51 kg) with no history of ankle sprain. We operationally defined CAI as repeated episodes of ankle “giving way” or “rolling over” or both, regardless of neuromuscular deficits or pathologic laxity. All CAI participants scored ≤26 on the Cumberland Ankle Instability Tool.

Intervention(s)

Star Excursion Balance Test reaches in the anteromedial, medial, and posteromedial directions. The CAI participants used the unstable side as the stance leg. Control participants were sex, height, mass, and side matched to the CAI group. The 3-dimensional kinematics were assessed with a motion-capture system.

Main Outcome Measure(s)

Group differences on normalized reach distance, trunk, pelvis, and hip-, knee-, and ankle-joint angles at maximum Star Excursion Balance Test reach.

Results

No reach-distance differences were detected between CAI and uninjured participants in any of the 3 reach directions. With anteromedial reach, trunk rotation (t1,38 = 3.06, P = .004), pelvic rotation (t1,38 = 3.17, P = .003), and hip flexion (t1,38 = 2.40, P = .002) were greater in CAI participants. With medial reach, trunk flexion (t1,38 = 6.39, P = .05) was greater than for uninjured participants. No differences were seen with posteromedial reach.

Conclusions

We did not detect reach-distance differences in any direction. However, participants with CAI rotated the trunk and pelvis more toward the stance leg than did stable-ankle participants during anteromedial and medial reach, possibly to help maintain a proximal stable posture and compensate for distal instability. These joint-angle differences with Star Excursion Balance Test performance may represent unique compensatory patterns for those with CAI.
Push enteroscopy in management of suspected small bowel diseases: Is it still needed?
Authors: Tawfik Mohamed A. , El-Sawy Abd Allah
Published: December 2014

Background and Study Aims: Small intestinal lesions still represent a challenge in diagnosis and treatment. The detection of small bowel lesions has been difficult due to limited visualization of the small bowel by esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD) and colonoscopy. In this study, we aimed to assess the efficacy of push enteroscopy (PE) in diagnosis and therapy of small bowel lesions in different indications in a single gastrointestinal (GI) endoscopy center. Patients and Methods: In the period from January 2012 to December 2013, 14 patients presented with different indications referred to the Tanta Endoscopy Center, a division of the internal medicine department and one of the most important centers in Delta Nile in Egypt. Patients were referred due to different indications, and they underwent examination by PE. Results: The overall diagnostic yield for patients with suspected small bowel disease was 57% and for patients with both occult and overt obscure bleeding 63%. Ectopic jejunal varices was the most common diagnosis in patients with GI blood loss. Patients with active overt GI bleeding had a higher diagnostic yield. The procedure was tolerated well, and no complications occurred. Conclusions: Additional endoscopic evaluation of the proximal small bowel by PE should be considered in all patients with nonspecific findings on EGD and colonoscopy especially with occult or overt bleeding, balloon-assisted enteroscopy may be not readily available and capsule endoscopy is expensive.
Herpetic esophagitis: An uncommon cause of dysphagia
Authors: Bansal Rinkesh K. , Ranjan Piyush
Published: December 2014

Herpes simplex esophagitis usually occurs in immune-compromised patients. We report a case of 44 year-old lady without any immune deficient state, who presented with dysphagia and retrosternal pain. Upper GI endoscopy revealed multiple punched out ulcers in esophagus. Biopsy from these ulcers revealed intranuclear eosinophilic inclusion bodies and multinucleated epithelial giant cells suggestive of herpetic esophagitis. Serum HSV-1 IgM antibodies was positive. Dysphagia improved on treatment with acyclovir.
An 8-Week Knee Osteoarthritis Treatment Program of Hyaluronic Acid Injection, Deliberate Physical Rehabilitation, and Patient Education is Cost Effective at 2 Years Follow-up: The OsteoArthritis Centers of AmericaSM Experience
Authors: Miller Larry E. , Block Jon E.
Published: December 2014

Numerous nonsurgical interventions have been reported to improve symptoms of knee osteoarthritis (OA) over the short term. However, longer follow-up is required to accurately characterize outcomes such as cost effectiveness and delayed arthroplasty. A total of 553 patients with symptomatic knee OA who previously underwent a single 8-week multimodal treatment program were contacted at 1 year ( n = 336) or 2 years ( n = 217) follow-up. The percentage of patients who underwent knee arthroplasty was 10% at 1 year and 18% at 2 years following program completion. The treatment program was highly cost effective at $12,800 per quality-adjusted life year at 2 years. Cost effectiveness was maintained under a variety of plausible assumptions and regardless of gender, age, body mass index, disease severity, or knee pain severity. In summary, a single 8-week multimodal knee OA treatment program is cost effective and may lower knee arthroplasty utilization through 2 years follow-up.
Clinical Assessment of Tribulus terrestris Extract in the Treatment of Female Sexual Dysfunction
Authors: Gama Carlos R.B. , Lasmar Ricardo , Gama Gustavo F. , Abreu Camila S. , Nunes Carlos P. , Geller Mauro , Oliveira Lisa , Santos Alessandra
Published: December 2014

This is a qualitative—quantitative study based on hospital records of female patients of reproductive age, presenting sexual dysfunction, and treated with 250 mg Tribulus terrestris extract (1 tablet thrice daily for 90 days). Safety monitoring included vital signs, physical examination, laboratory tests, and occurrence of adverse events. Efficacy analysis included results of the Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI), dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) levels together with total and free testosterone, and the patient and physician assessments. There was a statistically significant improvement in total FSFI scores ( P < 0.0001) post-treatment, with improvement among 106 (88.33%) subjects. There was a statistically significant ( P < 0.0001) increase in the level of DHEA, while the levels of both serum testosterone ( P = 0.284) and free testosterone decreased ( P < 0.0001). Most adverse events recorded were related to the gastrointestinal tract. Physical examination showed no significant changes post-treatment. Based on the results, it is concluded that the T. terrestris extract is safe and effective in the treatment of female sexual dysfunction.
Computational Analysis Reveals a Successive Adaptation of Multiple Inositol Polyphosphate Phosphatase 1 in Higher Organisms through Evolution
Authors: Kilaparty Surya P. , Singh Awantika , Baltosser William H. , Ali Nawab
Published: December 2014

Multiple inositol polyphosphate phosphatase 1 (Minpp1) in higher organisms dephosphorylates InsP6, the most abundant inositol phosphate. It also dephosphorylates less phosphorylated InsP5 and InsP4 and more phosphorylated InsP7 or InsP8. Minpp1 is classified as a member of the histidine acid phosphatase super family of proteins with functional resemblance to phytases found in lower organisms. This study took a bioinformatics approach to explore the extent of evolutionary diversification in Minpp1 structure and function in order to understand its physiological relevance in higher organisms. The human Minpp1 amino acid (AA) sequence was BLAST searched against available national protein databases. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that Minpp1 was widely distributed from lower to higher organisms. Further, we have identified that there exist four isoforms of Minpp1. Multiple computational tools were used to identify key functional motifs and their conservation among various species. Analyses showed that certain motifs predominant in higher organisms were absent in lower organisms. Variation in AA sequences within motifs was also analyzed. We found that there is diversification of key motifs and thus their functions present in Minpp1 from lower organisms to higher organisms. Another interesting result of this analysis was the presence of a glucose-1-phosphate interaction site in Minpp1; the functional significance of which has yet to be determined experimentally. The overall findings of our study point to an evolutionary adaptability of Minpp1 functions from lower to higher life forms.
Abelian ideals of a Borel subalgebra and root systems
Authors: Panyushev Dmitri I.
Published: December 2014

Let

\mathfrak g

be a simple Lie algebra and

\mathfrak {Ab}^o

the poset of non-trivial abelian ideals of a fixed Borel subalgebra of

\mathfrak g

. In [8], we constructed a partition

\mathfrak {Ab}^o =\sqcup_\mu \mathfrak {Ab}_\mu

parameterised by the long positive roots of

\mathfrak g

and studied the subposets

\mathfrak {Ab}_\mu

. In this note, we show that this partition is compatible with intersections, relate it to the Kostant-Peterson parameterisation and to the centralisers of abelian ideals. We also prove that the poset of positive roots of

\mathfrak g

is a join-semilattice.
Análisis de productividad, impacto e índice h de la investigación en Comunicación a través de los perfiles personales en Google Académico
Authors: Túñez López José Miguel , Martínez Solana María Yolanda , Valarezo González Karina Paola
Published: December 2014

Se monitorea la visibilidad de la investigación en Comunicación a través de la búsqueda en Google Scholar Metrics (GSM) de los perfiles de los 683 miembros de la mayor agrupación de investigadores de España, la Asociación Española de Investigación en Comunicación (AE-IC), para identificar niveles de producción, indicadores de impacto h y h5 colectivos del área e individuales, y la evolución del uso de soportes de difusión, principalmente libros y revistas, en casi cuatro décadas. Metodología. Se rastrea en GSM la actividad de 683 investigadores, se registra la información derivada de los 142 perfiles abiertos encontrados, se crea una base de datos con las más de 7.000 publicaciones incorporadas en esos perfiles y se recogen datos de soporte, año de publicación, número de citas y título de las casi 2.300 que han conseguido citas. Resultados y conclusiones. Escasa visibilidad del área. El h medio es 4, el h de la globalidad de la difusión de investigadores de Comunicación es 56, con h5=34. Para artículos, h=44 y h5=34; para libros, h=34 y h5= 13. Cuatro de cada diez investigadores tiene ih=0 y dos de cada tres trabajos difundidos no consiguen ninguna cita. Individualmente, el h máximo es 26 y el h5 más alto es 18. En el tiempo, libros y revistas han invertido su peso como soportes de difusión con impacto. Antes de 1980, de cada diez citas seis eran a un libro y tres a un artículo; a partir de 2010, tres son a libros y siete a artículos. Por género, los índices de impacto de mujeres son más bajos.
Turbulence vertical structure of the boundary layer during the afternoon transition
Authors: Darbieu C. , Lohou F. , Lothon M. , Vilà-Guerau de Arellano J. , Couvreux F. , Durand P. , Pino D. , G. Patton E. , Nilsson E. , Blay-Carreras E. , Gioli B.
Published: December 2014

Abstract. We investigate the decay of planetary boundary layer (PBL) turbulence in the afternoon, from the time the surface buoyancy flux starts to decrease until sunset. Dense observations of mean and turbulent parameters were acquired during the Boundary Layer Late Afternoon and Sunset Turbulence (BLLAST) field experiment by several meteorological surface stations, sounding balloons, radars, lidars, and two aircraft flying extensively during the afternoon transition. We analyzed a case study based on some of those observations and Large-Eddy Simulation (LES) data focusing on the turbulent vertical structure throughout the afternoon transition. The decay of turbulence is quantified through the temporal and vertical evolution of (1) the turbulence kinetic energy (TKE), (2) the characteristic length scales of turbulence, (3) the shape of the turbulence spectra. A spectral analysis of LES data, airborne and surface measurements is performed in order to (1) characterize the variation of the turbulent decay with height and (2) study the distribution of turbulence over eddy size. This study points out the LES ability to reproduce the turbulence evolution throughout the afternoon. LES and observations agree that the afternoon transition can be divided in two phases: (1) a first phase during which the TKE decays with a low rate, with no significant change in turbulence characteristics, (2) a second phase characterized by a larger TKE decay rate and a change spectral shape, implying an evolution of eddy size distribution and energy cascade from low to high wavenumber. The changes observed either on TKE decay (during the first phase) or on the vertical wind spectra shape (during the second phase of the afternoon transition) occur first in the upper region of the PBL. The higher within the PBL, the stronger the spectra shape changes.
Origin of springtime ozone enhancements in the lower troposphere over Beijing: in situ measurements and model analysis
Authors: Huang J. , Liu H. , Crawford J. H. , Chan C. , Considine D. B. , Zhang Y. , Zheng X. , Zhao C. , Thouret V. , Oltmans S. J. , Liu S. C. , Jones D. B. A. , Steenrod S. D. , Damon M. R.
Published: December 2014

Abstract. Ozone (O3) concentrations in the lower troposphere (LT) over Beijing have significantly increased over the past two decades as a result of rapid industrialization in China, with important implications for regional air quality and photochemistry of the background troposphere. We characterize the vertical distribution of lower-tropospheric (0–6 km) O3 over Beijing using observations from 16 ozonesonde soundings made during a field campaign in April–May 2005 and MOZAIC (Measurement of Ozone and Water Vapor by Airbus In-Service Aircraft) aircraft measurements over 13 days in the same period. We focus on the origin of LT O3 enhancements observed over Beijing, particularly in May. We use a global 3-D chemistry and transport model (GEOS-Chem CTM) driven by assimilated meteorological fields to examine the transport pathways for O3 pollution, and quantify the sources contributing to O3 and its enhancements in the springtime LT over Beijing. Output from the Global Modeling Initiative (GMI) CTM is also used. High O3 concentrations (up to 94.7 ppbv) were frequently observed at the altitude of ~1.5–2 km. The CTMs captured the timing of the occurrences but significantly underestimated their magnitude. GEOS-Chem simulations and a case study showed that O3 produced in the Asian troposphere (especially from Asian anthropogenic pollution) made major contributions to the observed O3 enhancements. Contributions from anthropogenic pollution in the European and North American troposphere were reduced during these events, in contrast with days without O3 enhancements, when contributions from Europe and North America were substantial. The O3 enhancements typically occurred under southerly wind and warmer conditions. It is suggested that an earlier onset of the Asian summer monsoon would cause more O3 enhancement events in the lower troposphere over the North China Plain in late spring and early summer.