bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Impact of a Home-Based Diabetes Prevention and Management Program on High-Risk American Indian Youth
Authors: Kenney Anne , Chambers Rachel A. , Rosenstock Summer , Neault Nicole , Richards Jennifer , Reid Raymond , Nelson Leonela , Begay Marissa , Grass Ryan , Parker Sean , Barlow Allison
Published: July 2016

Purpose

The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of a home-based diabetes prevention and management program on high-risk American Indian youth.

Methods

Together on Diabetes (TOD) was designed via a participatory approach with 4 tribal communities in the southwestern United States. A multisite pre- and postevaluation design was used to evaluate the efficacy of the TOD intervention on improving youth’s psychosocial, knowledge, behavioral, and physiological outcomes at 4 time points from baseline to 12 months postenrollment.

Results

A total of 256 youth and 225 support persons were enrolled in the TOD program. At 12 months postenrollment, improvements were observed in youth’s quality of life ( P < .001), depressive symptoms ( P < .001), knowledge related to TOD content ( P < .001), standardized body mass index scores ( P = .004), and hypertension ( P = .026). Improvements in mean A1C were observed among diabetic youth with baseline A1C >6.5% ( P = .036).

Conclusions

The TOD program was feasible, acceptable, and effective in lowering diabetes risk among reservation-based American Indian youth. It is the first efficacious youth-focused diabetes prevention and management program developed and implemented in partnership with tribal communities.
Auditor-Provided Lobbying Service and Audit Quality
Authors: Burnett Brian , Chen Hui , Gunny Katherine
Published: July 2016

Regulators and the public have expressed concerns about accounting firms lobbying politicians and regulators on behalf of their own audit clients because it could pose an advocacy threat to auditor independence. In this study, we examine whether these lobbying activities by accounting firms are associated with their clients’ audit quality. As required disclosures of lobbying activities under the Lobbying Disclosure Act are very limited, we construct a proxy to capture auditor lobbying on behalf of audit clients. Using our proxy for lobbying, we find that perceived audit quality (measured using earnings response coefficients) is negatively related to lobbying. However, we fail to find that actual audit quality is lower for these clients (measured as the propensity to restate earnings, propensity to issue a going-concern opinion, and discretionary accruals). Our findings suggest that investors perceive auditors’ lobbying for clients’ political interests as harmful to audit quality but that these concerns do not appear to materialize in the financial statements. Similar to the literature on other nonaudit services, our evidence suggests that reputation concerns and litigation risk provide enough incentive for auditors to maintain their independence in the presence of an advocacy threat to auditor independence.
Motivation in Words: Promotion- and Prevention-Oriented Leader Communication in Times of Crisis
Authors: Stam Daan , van Knippenberg Daan , Wisse Barbara , Nederveen Pieterse Anne
Published: July 2016

Research demonstrates that situational uncertainty or crisis strongly influences the endorsement of the more charismatic or decisive leadership styles and that inspirational communication is at the heart of these styles. However, there is currently little understanding of what leaders should convey through their communication to be endorsed in crisis. Based on regulatory focus theory, we argue that times of crisis make leaders who use more promotion-oriented communication more likely to be endorsed and leaders who use more prevention-oriented communication less likely to be endorsed. Results of Study 1, an archival study of U.S. presidents, show that presidents who use more promotion-oriented communication are more endorsed but only if economic growth is low or if inflation is high, while no effects of the use of prevention orientation of communication surfaces. Results of Study 2, a laboratory experiment, show that leaders who communicate a promotion orientation, as compared to a prevention orientation, motivate higher performance in participants in a crisis condition, but that there is no difference in a no-crisis (i.e. control) condition. Finally, results of Study 3, a scenario experiment, demonstrate that organizational leaders that communicate more promotion-oriented (as opposed to more prevention-oriented) have a higher chance of being endorsed but only in times of crisis and that this effect is mediated by followers’ motivation to realize the plans of the leader.
The Double-Edged Effect of Contracts on Alliance Performance
Authors: Schilke Oliver , Lumineau Fabrice
Published: July 2016

Despite substantial scholarly interest in the role of contracts in alliances, few studies have analyzed the mechanisms and conditions relevant to their influence on alliance performance. In this paper, we build on the information-processing view of the firm to study contracts as framing devices. We suggest that the effects of contracts depend on the types of provisions included and differentiate between the consequences of control and coordination provisions. Specifically, control provisions will increase the level of conflict between alliance partners, whereas coordination provisions will decrease such conflict. Conflict, in turn, reduces alliance performance, suggesting a mediated relationship between alliance contracts and performance. We also contribute to a better understanding of contextual influences on the consequences of contracts and investigate the interactions of each contractual function with both internal and external uncertainties. Key informant survey data on 171 alliances largely support our conceptual model.
Building the Value of Next-Generation Platforms: The Paradox of Diminishing Returns
Authors: Cennamo Carmelo
Published: July 2016

Next-generation technology provides users with new, advanced functionality that often renders the past technology obsolete, opening a window of opportunity for challengers. Major benefits can accrue to technology leaders, but for platform technologies that require complementary innovation from external complementors to create value for users, those benefits are limited by the difficulty of securing complements. The focus of this article is on the value users derive from the variety and quality of platform complements and its impact on leaders’ performance over time relative to followers. The article shows that next-generation platform leaders that build in-house complements and encourage broader participation by external complementors can enhance platform value to users at early market stages. Yet, later on, when the market has taken off, continuing to leverage these strategies will negatively affect the variety and quality of their complements, constraining their growth capacity and performance relative to followers. Leaders may thus lock themselves into suboptimal performance patterns and eventually fall behind their followers. The analysis provided herein offers new insights about what drives platform competition by highlighting the challenges platform leaders face, particularly in the growth stage of a platform’s market evolution, and the critical role played by complement quality in shaping platform competition over time.
Stress and Subjective Age: Those With Greater Financial Stress Look Older
Authors: Agrigoroaei Stefan , Lee-Attardo Angela , Lachman Margie E.
Published: July 2016

Subjective indicators of age add to our understanding of the aging process beyond the role of chronological age. We examined whether financial stress contributes to subjective age as rated by others and the self. The participants ( N = 228), aged 26–75, were from a Boston area satellite of the Midlife in the United States (MIDUS) longitudinal study. Participants reported how old they felt and how old they thought they looked, and observers assessed the participants’ age based on photographs (other-look age), at two occasions, an average of 10 years apart. Financial stress was measured at Time 1. Controlling for income, general stress, health, and attractiveness, participants who reported higher levels of financial stress were perceived as older than their actual age to a greater extent and showed larger increases in other-look age over time. We consider the results on accelerated aging of appearance with regard to their implications for interpersonal interactions and in relation to health.
‘Being in a knowledge space’: Information behaviour of cult media fan communities
Authors: Price Ludi , Robinson Lyn
Published: July 2016

This article describes the first two parts of a three-stage study investigating the information behaviour of fans and fan communities, focusing on fans of cult media. A literature analysis shows that information practices are an inherent and major part of fan activities, and that fans are practitioners of new forms of information consumption and production, showing sophisticated activities of information organisation and dissemination. A subsequent Delphi study, taking the novel form of a ‘serious leisure’ Delphi, in which the participants are not experts in the usual sense, identifies three aspects of fan information behaviour of particular interest beyond the fan context: information gatekeeping; classifying and tagging; and entrepreneurship and economic activity.
Can There Be a Vaishnava Kabir?
Authors: Hawley John Stratton
Published: July 2016

When Kabir is invoked today, he is apt to come across as an individualistic and defiant social critic, someone who inveterately set himself apart from the religion he saw being practiced all around him. Yet when we look at the language of the earliest collections, where his poetry is archived, we find that Kabir often speaks in clearly Vaishnava terms—and not entirely because sixteenth- and seventeenth-century Vaishnavas reformulated his poetry to make him fit their mould. What kind of Vaishnavism, then, did Kabir imbibe and espouse? In this essay, I propose we think of it as “vulgate Vaishnavism”—something a good bit more all-embracing than the Vaishnavism propounded by some others in the world he inhabited. This does not make it less forceful, however, and there is little reason to believe he learnt it from Ramanand.
The New Fort William and the Dockyard: Constructing Company’s Calcutta in the Late Eighteenth Century
Authors: Sengupta Kaustubh Mani
Published: July 2016

In this article I will try to show how certain schemes of infrastructural development of a space often do not produce the desired effect, but instead set in motion a whole range of activities that brings forth a range of other issues. Through the study of the building of the New Fort William and the project of construction of a dockyard in Calcutta in the second half of the eighteenth century, I intend to focus on some of the key issues that shed light on the urban settlement in the post-Plassey period. The building of the New Fort William and the dockyard were important projects that shaped the space of the town. But the projects themselves did not have the intended effect on the settlement—the fort took a long time to complete and the dockyard could not be built in the first attempt. The halted and aborted efforts did leave a mark on the space of the town, brought in new forms of labour regulations and put forth questions of proprietary rights of individual and the Company. These projects also shed light on the relationship between the Company settlement and the rest of the province.
Simulation study of active control of vibro-acoustic response by sound pressure feedback using modal pole assignment strategy
Authors: Li Sheng , Yu Danzhu
Published: July 2016

The active control of vibro-acoustic response using sound pressure feedback is numerically studied. An output feedback approach based on sound pressure measurement for modal pole placement is proposed. The control performance is evaluated for the case of a baffled plate. The finite element method and the Rayleigh integral are used to model the structural vibration and sound radiation. Measures of observability of a mode in pressure outputs and the effect of time delay in the pressure feedback loop are discussed. Numerical results show that the chosen poles may be assigned to predetermined values by the active control with complex gains. It is also demonstrated that the pressure feedback control may make a very large reduction in acoustic radiation and structural vibration of the controlled modes in a wide frequency band when using constant gain at a lower frequency.
Household accessibility to heat refuges: Residential air conditioning, public cooled space, and walkability
Authors: Fraser Andrew M , Chester Mikhail V , Eisenman David , Hondula David M , Pincetl Stephanie S , English Paul , Bondank Emily
Published: July 2016

Access to air conditioned space is critical for protecting urban populations from the adverse effects of heat exposure. Yet there remains fairly limited knowledge of the penetration of private (home air conditioning) and distribution of public (cooling centers and commercial space) cooled space across cities. Furthermore, the deployment of government-sponsored cooling centers is likely to be inadequately informed with respect to the location of existing cooling resources (residential air conditioning and air conditioned public space), raising questions of the equitability of access to heat refuges. We explore the distribution of private and public cooling resources and access inequities at the household level in two major US urban areas: Los Angeles County, California and Maricopa County, Arizona (whose county seat is Phoenix). We evaluate the presence of in-home air conditioning and develop a walking-based accessibility measure to air conditioned public space using a combined cumulative opportunities-gravity approach. We find significant variations in the distribution of residential air conditioning across both regions which are largely attributable to building age and inter/intra-regional climate differences. There are also regional disparities in walkable access to public cooled space. At average walking speeds, we find that official cooling centers are only accessible to a small fraction of households (3% in Los Angeles, 2% in Maricopa) while a significantly higher number of households (80% in Los Angeles, 39% in Maricopa) have access to at least one other type of public cooling resource such as a library or commercial establishment. Aggregated to a neighborhood level, we find that there are areas within each region where access to cooled space (either public or private) is limited which may increase heat-related health risks.
A BMI >35 does not protect patients undergoing cardiac bypass surgery from red blood cell transfusion
Authors: Mongero Linda B. , Tesdahl Eric A. , Stammers Al H. , Dickinson Timothy A. , Kypson Alan P. , Brown John , Weinstein Sam
Published: July 2016

The effect of obesity on allogeneic intraoperative blood product transfusion in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass graft surgery (CABG) is poorly understood. We analyzed the influence of obesity on the risk of intraoperative red blood cell (RBC) transfusion among 45,200 consecutive non-reoperative CABG procedures from a multi-institutional perfusion database. A body mass index (BMI) in obese I category was associated with a 9.9% decrease in transfusion risk (p<0.05). Compared to patients with a normal BMI, obese I and obese III patients do not have any change in the relative risk of RBC transfusion. Overweight and mild obesity have a protective role in reducing intraoperative blood transfusion during cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) surgery. However, logistic regression analysis showed that much of the observed reduction in transfusion rates for obese patients can be accounted for by other known confounds. The lack of a linear effect of increasing BMI on blood transfusion risk is a novel finding and warrants further investigation.
Veno-venous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation using an innovative dual-lumen cannula following implantation of a total artificial heart
Authors: Youdle Jemma , Penn Sarah , Maunz Olaf , Simon Andre
Published: July 2016

We report our first clinical use of the new Protek DuoTM cannula for peripheral veno-venous extra-corporeal life support (ECLS). A 53-year-old male patient underwent implantation of a total artificial heart (TAH) for biventricular failure. However, due to the development of post-operative respiratory dysfunction, the patient required ECLS for six days.
Early improvement of symptoms using LCZ696 in a patient with systolic heart failure and a reduced ejection fraction: a case report
Authors: Kohlmeier Johannes , Bramlage Peter
Published: July 2016

Introduction:

Heart failure is a progressive disease with high mortality and morbidity. LCZ696 is a drug that has recently shown its improved efficacy and safety in patients with systolic heart failure and a reduced ejection fraction. Reports on its impact on the improvement of clinical symptoms are, however, scarce. These are important because they improve a patient’s compliance with treatment and their quality of life.

Case presentation:

We report on the case of a 71-year-old patient who had deteriorating symptoms and signs of heart failure (ejection fraction [EF] 34%) in whom we initiated LCZ696 treatment. After two months of LCZ696 treatment (including titration), the New York Heart Association (NYHA) classification had improved (III→II/I) with no residual signs of acrocyanosis and orthopnea. While creatinine values remained stable, potassium increased to 5.0 mmol/l and brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) dropped from 1260 ng/l to 680 ng/ml. The final EF was 47%. The patient reported substantial improvement of his quality of life.

Conclusion:

We show, based on a case report, that symptoms associated with heart failure deterioration are improved early after the initiation of LCZ696. This should foster specific research into symptoms and quality of life improvements with LCZ696.
A qualitative study using the Theoretical Domains Framework to investigate why patients were or were not assessed for rehabilitation after stroke
Authors: Lynch Elizabeth A , Luker Julie A , Cadilhac Dominique A , Fryer Caroline E , Hillier Susan L
Published: July 2016

Objective:

To explore the factors perceived to affect rehabilitation assessment and referral practices for patients with stroke.

Design:

Qualitative study using data from focus groups analysed thematically and then mapped to the Theoretical Domains Framework.

Setting:

Eight acute stroke units in two states of Australia.

Subjects:

Health professionals working in acute stroke units.

Interventions:

Health professionals at all sites had participated in interventions to improve rehabilitation assessment and referral practices, which included provision of copies of an evidence-based decision-making rehabilitation Assessment Tool and pathway.

Results:

Eight focus groups were conducted (32 total participants). Reported rehabilitation assessment and referral practices varied markedly between units. Continence and mood were not routinely assessed (4 units), and people with stroke symptoms were not consistently referred to rehabilitation (4 units). Key factors influencing practice were identified and included whether health professionals perceived that use of the Assessment Tool would improve rehabilitation assessment practices (theoretical domain ‘social and professional role’); beliefs about outcomes from changing practice such as increased equity for patients or conversely that changing rehabilitation referral patterns would not affect access to rehabilitation (‘belief about consequences’); the influence of the unit’s relationships with other groups including rehabilitation teams (‘social influences’ domain) and understanding within the acute stroke unit team of the purpose of changing assessment practices (‘knowledge’ domain).

Conclusion:

This study has identified that health professionals’ perceived roles, beliefs about consequences from changing practice and relationships with rehabilitation service providers were perceived to influence rehabilitation assessment and referral practices on Australian acute stroke units.
Considerations for Time Sampling Interval Durations in the Measurement of Young Children’s Classroom Engagement
Authors: Zakszeski Brittany N. , Hojnoski Robin L. , Wood Brenna K.
Published: July 2016

Classroom engagement is important to young children’s academic and social development. Accurate methods of capturing this behavior are needed to inform and evaluate intervention efforts. This study compared the accuracy of interval durations (i.e., 5 s, 10 s, 15 s, 20 s, 30 s, and 60 s) of momentary time sampling (MTS) in approximating the duration of classroom engagement as measured by continuous duration recording (CDR). Twenty-four sessions of children in large-group instruction were observed using the Behavioral Observation of Students in School for Early Education (BOSS-EE). In general, shorter intervals produced engagement estimates that more highly correlated with CDR data and had less measurement error relative to estimates from longer intervals. Findings suggest that selection of MTS interval duration may affect the accuracy of estimates for children with low levels of engagement to a greater extent relative to children with high levels of engagement. Implications and future directions are discussed.
The financialization of food and the 2008–2011 food price spikes
Authors: Field Sean
Published: July 2016

The treatment of recent global food price volatility in the neoclassical academic literature is problematic in its limited conceptual and empirical scope. This study presents new empirical data and analysis linking financial speculation by index swap dealers (‘index funds’) with US and global food price volatility. Marxian circuits of capital are used to illustrate the connection between index funds and food consumers. The findings show that financial speculation by index swap dealers and hedge funds significantly contributed to the price volatility of food commodities between June 2006 and December 2014. The key conceptual contribution is that it articulates geographical economic interpretation of food price volatility and financial speculation in a literature awash with neoclassical economic analyses.
Waste electrical and electronic equipment management and Basel Convention compliance in Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS) nations
Authors: Ghosh Sadhan Kumar , Debnath Biswajit , Baidya Rahul , De Debashree , Li Jinhui , Ghosh Sannidhya Kumar , Zheng Lixia , Awasthi Abhishek Kumar , Liubarskaia Maria A. , Ogola Jason S. , Tavares André Neiva
Published: July 2016

Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS) nations account for one-quarter of the world’s land area, having more than 40% of the world’s population, and only one-quarter of the world gross national income. Hence the study and review of waste electrical and electronic equipment management systems in BRICS nations is of relevance. It has been observed from the literature that there are studies available comparing two or three country’s waste electrical and electronic equipment status, while the study encompassing the BRICS nations considering in a single framework is scant. The purpose of this study is to analyse the existing waste electrical and electronic equipment management systems and status of compliance to Basel convention in the BRICS nations, noting possible lessons from matured systems, such as those in the European Union EU) and USA. The study introduced a novel framework for a waste electrical and electronic equipment management system that may be adopted in BRICS nations and revealed that BRICS countries have many similar types of challenges. The study also identified some significant gaps with respect to the management systems and trans-boundary movement of waste electrical and electronic equipment, which may attract researchers for further research.
Understanding the role of waste prevention in local waste management: A literature review
Authors: Zacho Kristina O , Mosgaard Mette A
Published: July 2016

Local waste management has so far been characterised by end-of-pipe solutions, landfilling, incineration, and recycling. End-of-pipe solutions build on a different mind-set than life cycle-based approaches, and for this reason, local waste managers are reluctant to consider strategies for waste prevention. To accelerate the transition of waste and resource management towards a more integrated management, waste prevention needs to play a larger role in the local waste management. In this review article, we collect knowledge from the scientific community on waste prevention of relevance to local waste management. We analyse the trends in the waste prevention literature by organising the literature into four categories. The results indicate an increasing interest in waste prevention, but not much literature specifically concerns the integration of prevention into the local waste management. However, evidence from the literature can inform local waste management on the prevention potential; the environmental and social effects of prevention; how individuals in households can be motivated to reduce waste; and how the effects of prevention measures can be monitored. Nevertheless, knowledge is still lacking on local waste prevention, especially regarding the methods for monitoring and how local waste management systems can be designed to encourage waste reduction in the households. We end the article with recommendations for future research. The literature review can be useful for both practitioners in the waste sector and for academics seeking an overview of previous research on waste prevention.
Separate collection of plastic waste, better than technical sorting from municipal solid waste?
Authors: Feil Alexander , Pretz Thomas , Jansen Michael , Thoden van Velzen Eggo U
Published: July 2016

The politically preferred solution to fulfil legal recycling demands is often implementing separate collection systems. However, experience shows their limitations, particularly in urban centres with a high population density. In response to the European Union landfill directive, mechanical biological waste treatment plants have been installed all over Europe. This technology makes it possible to retrieve plastic waste from municipal solid waste. Operators of mechanical biological waste treatment plants, both in Germany and the Netherlands, have started to change their mechanical separation processes to additionally produce plastic pre-concentrates. Results from mechanical biological waste treatment and separate collection of post-consumer packaging waste will be presented and compared. They prove that both the yield and the quality of plastic waste provided as feedstock for the production of secondary plastic raw material are largely comparable. An economic assessment shows which conditions for a technical sorting plant are economically attractive in comparison to separate collection systems. It is, however, unlikely that plastic recycling will ever reach cost neutrality.
The Test Authors Speak: Reporting on an Author Survey of the Leading Tests Used in Gifted Assessment
Authors: Valler Emilee C. , Burko Jordan A. , Pfeiffer Steven I. , Branagan Alexandra M.
Published: July 2016

The conceptualization of giftedness continues to be a widely debated topic within the field. Recently, there has been a shift from a psychometric view of giftedness to inclusion of conative and contextual factors. How one defines and conceptualizes “gifted” drives assessment and identification practices. Conceptualization also guides the development of measures used in gifted assessment; however, the perceptions of giftedness held by test authors have not yet been explored empirically. The aim of this study was to investigate the perspectives of giftedness held by authors of the leading tests in gifted assessment. Test authors provided their views on topics, including gifted identification, use of cutoff scores, and how their tests serve the needs of this unique population. Findings indicate that there are varying opinions and views of giftedness, although most test authors in the sample embrace a multi-dimensional approach to gifted assessment. This article includes a discussion of clinical implications and future directions.
Standardization of Feeding Advancement After Neonatal Gastrointestinal Surgery
Authors: Savoie Kate B. , Bachier‐Rodriguez Marielena , Jones Tamekia L. , Jeffreys Kristen , Papraniku Dita , Sevilla Wednesday Marie A. , Tillman Emma , Huang Eunice Y.
Published: July 2016

Background: Postabdominal intestinal surgery (PAIS) infants pose many complex management issues. Utilization of feeding guidelines has been shown to improve outcomes in preterm and low‐birth‐weight infants. We propose that standardization of feeding for PAIS infants is safe. Methods: We identified 163 PAIS infants: 93 prior to and 70 after implementation of a feeding guideline. The primary outcome was time to full enteral nutrition (EN). A propensity score–matched analysis was performed. Results: The preimplementation and postimplementation PAIS infants were similar at baseline. No significant differences were seen in matched groups for time to full EN, parenteral nutrition days, or time to discharge, but cholestasis was less severe in the postimplementation group and breast milk use increased. Good compliance (67%) to daily guideline use was achieved during the initial 2 years. Conclusions: Utilization of a feeding guideline is safe and standardizes care within an institution, improving compliance to evidence‐based practices and outcomes.
A Different Certification Effect of the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program
Authors: Galope Reynold V.
Published: July 2016

This study examines the role of public investments in inducing small firms to develop risky, early-stage technologies. It contributes to expanding our understanding of the consequences of high-technology policies by investigating in more depth the effect of the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program on the innovation effort and ability to attract external capital of small business start-ups using a new sample and estimation approach. The authors found empirical evidence that the public cofinancing of private research and development has a positive effect on the innovation propensity of small high-tech start-ups. However, contrary to theoretical expectations, they did not find any significant “certification effect” of receiving an SBIR award on attracting follow-on investment. What the authors discovered is a different certification effect: SBIR recipient firms are more likely to attract external patents. This finding confirms that enterprises need to orchestrate a portfolio of internal and external knowledge assets to produce innovations with unique competitive advantage.
Mechanism and affecting factors of Translohr tramway guide rail side wear
Authors: Ji Yuanjin , Ren Lihui , Wang Jian , Gong Dao
Published: July 2016

The wheel–rail contact can be found in two patterns. In the first pattern, the treads of both wheels are in contact with the two top surfaces of the ^-shaped guide rail; in the second pattern, the treads of both wheels are in contact with the two top surfaces of the ^-shaped guide rail, and the wheel edge is in contact with the guide rail web on one side. Based on these findings, an equivalent mechanical model with four unilateral springs is proposed to describe the wheel–rail contact. Additionally, a dynamic model of the Translohr tramway is established using Matlab/Simulink. The wheel–rail contact in a tramway moving along curves with different radii is calculated using simulation, and the results obtained are consistent with the observations and results of field measurements. The effects of various factors, including curve radius, tram speed, guide rail pre-pressure, and guide rod length, on the side wear of the guide rail were investigated. The results revealed that curve radius and tram speed are the critical factors affecting rail track side wear. These two factors can qualitatively determine rail track side wear, while other factors can only quantitatively affect the degree of rail track side wear.
Accuracy of the experimental assessment of running dynamics characteristics quantified through an uncertainty framework
Authors: Licciardello R , Funfschilling C , Malavasi G
Published: July 2016

The European FP7 project DynoTRAIN was set up in order to close important open points in the technical specifications for interoperability of the trans-European rail system and to contribute to European standards. This contribution targeted the reduction of cost of the process for the assessment of running dynamics characteristics that is required when seeking authorisation to place rolling stock in service according to the EU procedure. The project was divided into seven work packages. Work Package 7 was devoted to the issue of ‘regulatory acceptance’: the results had to be discussed with and presented to regulatory authorities in a way as to be acceptable for use by such authorities. An important part of this work addressed accuracy (and its quantitative counterpart, uncertainty) of the assessment process, which was widely recognised at the beginning of the project as a key issue that needed to be tackled to increase confidence in both experimental and virtual assessment processes. In this paper, the uncertainty framework that was developed in WP7 and its relationship with the work of other DynoTRAIN Work Packages is presented. An application of the concepts of the framework is given in the form of quantitative results regarding the accuracy of the current EN 14363 experimental assessment process for running dynamics characteristics.
Post-euthanasia micro-computed tomography–based strain analysis is able to represent quasi-static in vivo behavior of whole vertebrae
Authors: Choudhari Chetan , Herblum Ryan , Akens Margarete K , Moore Sara , Hardisty Michael , Whyne Cari M
Published: July 2016

Three-dimensional image-based strain measurement in whole bones allows representation of physiological, albeit quasi-static, loading conditions. However, such work to date has been limited to specimens postmortem. The main purpose of this study is to verify the efficacy of deformable image registration of post-euthanasia strain to characterize the in vivo mechanical behavior of rat vertebrae. A micro-computed tomography–compatible custom loading device was used to apply 75 N load to a three-level caudal motion segment of a healthy rat. Loaded and unloaded micro-computed tomography scans were acquired in vivo and post-sacrifice. A micro-computed tomography–based deformable image registration algorithm was used to calculate vertebral strains live and post-euthanasia. No significant difference was found in the in vivo strains (−0.011 ± 0.001) and ex vivo strains (−0.012 ± 0.001) obtained from the comparisons of loaded and unloaded images (p = 0.3). Comparisons between unloaded–unloaded and loaded–loaded scans yielded significantly lower axial strains, representing the error of the method. Qualitatively, high strains were observed adjacent to growth plate regions in evaluating the loaded–unloaded images. Strain patterns in the loaded–loaded and unloaded–unloaded scans were inconsistent as would be expected in representing noise. Overall, live and dead loaded to unloaded comparisons yielded similar strain patterns and magnitudes. Point-wise differences in axial strain fields also supported this observation. This study demonstrated a proof of concept, suggesting that post-euthanasia micro-computed tomography–based strain analysis is able to represent the in vivo quasi-static behavior of rat tail vertebrae.
Strengthening the knowledge–policy interface through co-production of a climate adaptation plan: leveraging opportunities in Bergrivier Municipality, South Africa
Authors: Ziervogel Gina , Archer van Garderen Emma , Price Penny
Published: July 2016

Despite the growth of adaptation plans and action by municipalities, there are limited examples of opportunities for effectively mainstreaming climate adaptation into policy and practice in local government. This paper uses the experiment of co-producing an adaptation plan for a small municipality in the Western Cape Province, South Africa, to illustrate how opportunities were leveraged. The findings suggest that a shift from strengthening the science–policy interface to the knowledge–policy interface might be more appropriate in the context of adaptation planning that requires an understanding of the local context as well as of global science. In order to align adaptation plans with developmental priorities and to secure support from actors at multiple levels, the integration of multiple knowledge forms, including climate science, should be prioritized. Such a task could be strengthened if co-production is prioritized. Building on these opportunities is critical to scaling up adaptation in local government and building on its transformative potential.
Treating Generational Stress
Authors: Callaghan Bridget L. , Cowan Caitlin S. M. , Richardson Rick
Published: July 2016

Early-life adversity is a potent risk factor for mental-health disorders in exposed individuals, and effects of adversity are exhibited across generations. Such adversities are also associated with poor gastrointestinal outcomes. In addition, emerging evidence suggests that microbiota-gut-brain interactions may mediate the effects of early-life stress on psychological dysfunction. In the present study, we administered an early-life stressor (i.e., maternal separation) to infant male rats, and we investigated the effects of this stressor on conditioned aversive reactions in the rats’ subsequent infant male offspring. We demonstrated, for the first time, longer-lasting aversive associations and greater relapse after extinction in the offspring (F1 generation) of rats exposed to maternal separation (F0 generation), compared with the offspring of rats not exposed to maternal separation. These generational effects were reversed by probiotic supplementation, which was effective as both an active treatment when administered to infant F1 rats and as a prophylactic when administered to F0 fathers before conception (i.e., in fathers’ infancy). These findings have high clinical relevance in the identification of early-emerging putative risk phenotypes across generations and of potential therapies to ameliorate such generational effects.
Cooperation, Fast and Slow
Authors: Rand David G.
Published: July 2016

Does cooperating require the inhibition of selfish urges? Or does “rational” self-interest constrain cooperative impulses? I investigated the role of intuition and deliberation in cooperation by meta-analyzing 67 studies in which cognitive-processing manipulations were applied to economic cooperation games (total N = 17,647; no indication of publication bias using Egger’s test, Begg’s test, or p-curve). My meta-analysis was guided by the social heuristics hypothesis, which proposes that intuition favors behavior that typically maximizes payoffs, whereas deliberation favors behavior that maximizes one’s payoff in the current situation. Therefore, this theory predicts that deliberation will undermine pure cooperation (i.e., cooperation in settings where there are few future consequences for one’s actions, such that cooperating is not in one’s self-interest) but not strategic cooperation (i.e., cooperation in settings where cooperating can maximize one’s payoff). As predicted, the meta-analysis revealed 17.3% more pure cooperation when intuition was promoted over deliberation, but no significant difference in strategic cooperation between more intuitive and more deliberative conditions.
The patient’s voice
Authors: von Tigerstrom Barbara
Published: July 2016

Authorities responsible for regulating medicines and other medical products continue to expand opportunities for direct participation of patients and their representatives in regulatory processes. For example, patient representatives can participate as members of scientific committees and provide input in various ways. This article examines the current framework and recent initiatives for such participation in the US Food and Drug Administration and European Medicines Agency. It draws from scholarship on public and patient participation in other contexts to describe and clarify the purposes and roles of patient involvement and to identify issues needing attention in the development of these initiatives, including systemic factors that may impede the ability of patient representatives to fulfill their roles effectively. It also considers convergent efforts to engage patients in research and development that could alleviate some of these difficulties and provide an opportunity to rethink the goals and methods of patient involvement in a larger context.
Attitude of Patients towards Public Healthcare Services in Kolkata Metropolitan Area
Authors: Saha Amal Krishna , Daw Goutam
Published: July 2016

In this study, an attempt was made to investigate the attitudes of patients towards the public healthcare system in the Kolkata Metropolitan area. The research findings suggest that poor and middle class families of the state generally avail the public healthcare facilities, due to high cost in private hospitals. The behaviour of doctors and nurses are generally cordial in the hospital and prescribed medicines are available from the hospital pharmacies. In public hospitals, nepotism and favouritism are very common. It is a very common practice in this metropolitan city, that, to get admission for treatment in the hospital, one needs a doctor’s recommendation, political link or third party’s help. The management authority is serious enough to bring about good administration and wants to keep the hospital neat and clean.
The Empirical Investigation of Causal Relationship between Intraday Return and Volume in Indian Stock Market
Authors: Sahota Gurleen , Singh Balwinder
Published: July 2016

This article examines the causal relationship between intraday return and volume by using 1-minute intraday data of 35 stocks of S&P CNX Nifty index during the period from April 2007 to March 2011. The empirical analysis provides evidence to the mixture of distribution hypothesis (MDH), as a majority of stocks of S&P CNX Nifty index show no causal relationship between the intraday return–volume relationships. However, this study finds evidence of significant causal and lead–lag relations between the intraday return–volume associations for some stocks. These findings reveal strong indication of uni- and bi-directional causality, thus supporting the sequential information arrival hypothesis (SIAH) which suggests that lagged values of volume provide the predictability component of current return (vice versa).
Book Review: Jean Lau Chin & Joseph E. Trimble, Diversity and Leadership
Authors: Krishnan Shalini
Published: July 2016

Jean Lau Chin & Joseph E. Trimble, Diversity and Leadership, London, UK: SAGE Publications Ltd., 2014, 344 pp. ₹3624. ISBN 978-1-4522-5789-1
Urban First Nations Men: Narratives of Positive Identity and Implications for Culturally Safe Care
Authors: Carter Celina , Lapum Jennifer , Lavallée Lynn , Schindel Martin Lori , Restoule Jean-Paul
Published: July 2016

Purpose: Dominant discourse contains negative stereotypical images of First Nations males that are steeped in colonialism. These racialized images can influence First Nations men’s sense of self as well as the care that nurses deliver. The objective was to (a) explore practices that support positive First Nations identity and (b) provide suggestions for practicing culturally safe care. Design: The theory of Two-Eyed Seeing guided this study. Data were collected via two semistructured interviews and Anishnaabe Symbol–Based Reflection from three First Nations men living in Toronto, Canada. Findings: Having mentors, knowing family histories, and connecting with healthy Aboriginal communities fostered positive First Nations identities for participants. Implications: There is potential to advance nursing practice by enacting creative means that may support client’s positive First Nations identity and well-being. Nursing education that focuses on strength-based and decolonizing frameworks, as well as reflexive practices that promote culturally safe care, is needed.
Evaluating Effectiveness of Cognitive–Behavior Therapy for Hong Kong Adolescents With Anxiety Problems
Authors: Wong Daniel F. K. , Kwok Sylvia Y. C. L. , Low Yiu Tsang , Man Ka Wai , Ip Priscilla S. Y.
Published: July 2016

Objectives:

The aims of this study were to examine the effects of group cognitive–behavior therapy (CBT) on improving anxiety symptoms and enhancing personal growth among adolescents at risk of developing anxiety disorders in school settings in Hong Kong.

Method:

A total of 26 participants received an eight-session CBT group and 20 received treatment as usual in the waitlist control condition. Instruments measuring anxiety symptoms, types of anxiety in children, dysfunctional thoughts, and personal growth were used to assess the changes in severity of anxiety symptoms, dysfunctional thoughts, and personal growth among the participants.

Results:

A 2 × 2 mixed model analyses of variance were employed, results demonstrated significantly greater improvements in overall anxiety symptoms, generalized anxiety symptoms, and personal growth—use of resources in the participants of the CBT group compared to the control group.

Conclusion:

Group CBT may potentially improve anxiety symptoms of adolescents in school settings in Hong Kong.
A Promising Partnership: Uncovering the Middle Ground Between Social Innovation and Social Work
Authors: Sensoy Bahar Ozge
Published: July 2016

This response article discusses opportunities to bridge social work and social innovation as a promising partnership to address the issues impacting vulnerable populations across the global context. It starts by revisiting the conceptualization of innovation in social work and continues by considering factors that contribute to the growing interest in social innovation and related concepts. This article concludes by discussing differences in social work and social innovation and how these differences can be turned into opportunities for a fruitful partnership that can push both fields forward.
Catalyzing Innovation in Social Work Practice
Authors: Traube Dorian E. , Begun Stephanie , Okpych Nathanael , Choy-Brown Mimi
Published: July 2016

Social innovation is defined by novelty and improvement. This definition requires social work practice to be more effective or efficient than preexisting alternatives. Practice innovation is accomplished by leveraging technical, social, and economic factors to generate novel interventions, diffusion or adoption of the interventions into broader use, and identification of the value created by the new approaches or processes. Innovation in social work practice is fundamentally hindered by the foundational trifecta on which the profession is built: (a) the structure of social work education, (b) diffusely focused professional organizations, and (c) siloed professional environments. This article explores the elements of social work education, professional organizations, and practice environments that impede innovation and offers recommendations for changes in each sector that can facilitate innovation.