bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Short- and Long-Term Outcomes of Coronary Stenting in Women Versus Men
Authors: Anderson Monique L. , Peterson Eric D. , Brennan J. Matthew , Rao Sunil V. , Dai David , Anstrom Kevin J. , Piana Robert , Popescu Andra , Sedrakyan Art , Messenger John C. , Douglas Pamela S.
Published: September 2012

Background—

Conflicting evidence exists on sex-based outcomes after coronary stenting.

Methods and Results—

Data on 426 996 patients ≥65 years old (42.3% women) from the National Cardiovascular Data Registry CathPCI Registry (2004–2008) were linked to Medicare inpatient claims to compare in-hospital outcomes by sex and long-term outcomes by sex and stent type. In-hospital complications were more frequent in women than in men: death (3869 [2.2%] versus 3737 [1.6%]; adjusted odds ratio, 1.41; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.33–1.49), myocardial infarction (2365 [1.3%] versus 2858 [1.2%]; odds ratio, 1.19; 95% CI, 1.11–1.27), bleeding (7860 [4.4%] versus 5627 [2.3%]; odds ratio, 1.86; 95% CI, 1.79–1.93), and vascular complications (2381 [1.3%] versus 1648 [0.7%]; odds ratio, 1.85; 95% CI, 1.73–1.99). At 20.4 months, women had a lower adjusted risk of death (hazard ratio [HR], 0.92; 95% CI, 0.90–0.94) but similar rates of myocardial infarction, revascularization, and bleeding. Relative to bare metal stent use, drug-eluting stent use was associated with similar improved long-term outcomes in both sexes: death (women: adjusted HR, 0.78; 95% CI, 0.76–0.81; men: HR, 0.77; 95% CI, 0.74–0.79), myocardial infarction (women: HR, 0.79; 95% CI, 0.74–0.84; men: HR, 0.81; 95% CI, 0.77–0.85), and revascularization (women: HR, 0.93; 95% CI, 0.90–0.97; men: HR, 0.91; 95% CI, 0.88–0.94). There was no interaction between sex and stent type for long-term outcomes.

Conclusions—

In contemporary coronary stenting, women have a slightly higher procedural risk than men but have better long-term survival. In both sexes, use of a drug-eluting stent is associated with lower long-term likelihood for death, myocardial infarction, and revascularization.
Dairy Consumption and Incidence of Hypertension
Authors: Soedamah-Muthu Sabita S. , Verberne Lisa D.M. , Ding Eric L. , Engberink Mariëlle F. , Geleijnse Johanna M.
Published: September 2012

Observational and clinical studies suggest that dairy intake, particularly low-fat dairy, could have a beneficial effect on blood pressure. We performed a dose-response meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies on dairy intake and risk of hypertension in the general population. A systematic literature search for eligible studies was conducted until July 2011, using literature databases and hand search. Study-specific dose-response associations were computed according to the generalized least squares for trend estimation method, and linear and piecewise regression models were created. Random-effects models were performed with summarized dose-response data. We included 9 studies with a sample size of 57 256, a total of 15 367 incident hypertension cases, and a follow-up time between 2 and 15 years. Total dairy (9 studies; range of intake, ≈100–700 g/d), low-fat dairy (6 studies; ≈100–500 g/d), and milk (7 studies; ≈100–500 g/d) were inversely and linearly associated with a lower risk of hypertension. The pooled relative risks per 200 g/d were 0.97 (95% CI, 0.95–0.99) for total dairy, 0.96 (95% CI, 0.93–0.99) for low-fat dairy, and 0.96 (95% CI, 0.94–0.98) for milk. High-fat dairy (6 studies), total fermented dairy (4 studies), yogurt (5 studies), and cheese (8 studies) were not significantly associated with hypertension incidence (pooled relative risks of ≈1). This meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies suggests that low-fat dairy and milk could contribute to the prevention of hypertension, which needs confirmation in randomized controlled trials.
Salt Sensitivity of Blood Pressure Is Associated With Polymorphisms in the Sodium-Bicarbonate Cotransporter
Authors: Carey Robert M. , Schoeffel Cynthia D. , Gildea John J. , Jones John E. , McGrath Helen E. , Gordon Lindsay N. , Park Min Jeong , Sobota Rafal S. , Underwood Patricia C. , Williams Jonathan , Sun Bei , Raby Benjamin , Lasky-Su Jessica , Hopkins Paul N. , Adler Gail K. , Williams Scott M. , Jose Pedro A. , Felder Robin A.
Published: September 2012

Previous studies have demonstrated that single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of the sodium-bicarbonate co-transporter gene (
SLC4A5
) are associated with hypertension. We tested the hypothesis that SNPs in
SLC4A5
are associated with salt sensitivity of blood pressure in 185 whites consuming an isocaloric constant diet with a randomized order of 7 days of low Na
+
(10 mmol/d) and 7 days of high Na
+
(300 mmol/d) intake. Salt sensitivity was defined as a ≥7-mm Hg increase in mean arterial pressure during a randomized transition between high and low Na
+
diet. A total of 35 polymorphisms in 17 candidate genes were assayed, 25 of which were tested for association. Association analyses with salt sensitivity revealed 3 variants that associated with salt sensitivity, 2 in
SLC4A5
(
P
<0.001) and 1 in
GRK4
(
P
=0.020). Of these, 2 SNPs in
SLC4A5
(rs7571842 and rs10177833) demonstrated highly significant results and large effects sizes, using logistic regression. These 2 SNPs had
P
values of 1.0×10
−4
and 3.1×10
−4
with odds ratios of 0.221 and 0.221 in unadjusted regression models, respectively, with the G allele at both sites conferring protection. These SNPs remained significant after adjusting for body mass index and age (
P
=8.9×10
−5
and 2.6×10
−4
and odds ratios 0.210 and 0.286, respectively). Furthermore, the association of these SNPs with salt sensitivity was replicated in a second hypertensive population. Meta-analysis demonstrated significant associations of both SNPs with salt sensitivity (rs7571842 [
P
=1.2×10
−5
]; rs1017783 [
P
=1.1×10
−4
]). In conclusion,
SLC4A5
variants are strongly associated with salt sensitivity of blood pressure in 2 separate white populations.
Global Warming, Irreversibility, and Uncertainty: A Political Analysis
Authors: Urpelainen Johannes
Published: September 2012

The consequences of global warming are uncertain and possibly irreversible. In this article, I investigate the value of early mitigation action given these uncertainties and irreversibilities. I complement standard economic techniques with a political analysis: in the model, an incumbent government may be replaced through elections or other means by another policymaker with very different preferences. I find that if a green policymaker (very concerned about global warming) is probably replaced by a brown policymaker (mildly concerned about global warming), the case for early mitigation action is even stronger than otherwise. Thus, if environmentally aware governments will gain power in major emitter countries, they have particularly strong incentives to negotiate a global climate treaty when they expect that their successor may be less interested in climate cooperation. Similarly, concerns about the preferences of future policymakers could motivate environmentally aware local policymakers to impose increasingly stringent climate policies.
Revisiting the Transatlantic Divergence over GMOs: Toward a Cultural-Political Analysis
Authors: Stephan Hannes R.
Published: September 2012

This article applies a constructivist perspective to the persistent transatlantic divergence over the regulation of genetically modified foods and crops. Political economy and institutionalism have so far dominated the literature. Notwithstanding their important insights, to achieve a better understanding of the nature and depth of transatlantic regulatory divergence, one must also study prevalent cultural values and identity-related public concerns regarding food and agriculture. These factors can be identified in public opinion trends and have fuelled resistance in Europe, while contributing to relative regulatory stability in the US. By conceptualizing cultural contexts as catalytic structures, the article also differs from more explicitly discursive accounts of political mobilization. Ultimately, however, an analysis of the cultural politics of agricultural biotechnology relies not only on the influence of pre-existing values and identities, but also takes account of the strategies (and material or other power resources) of political agents.
Seed Governance at the Intersection of Multiple Global and Nation-State Priorities: Modernizing Seeds in Turkey
Authors: Atalan-Helicke Nurcan , Mansfield Becky
Published: September 2012

Given their value for both agriculture and biodiversity, seeds are the target of controversial efforts to establish intellectual property rights and variety protections that regulate sale, exchange, and breeding of genetic resources. This article examines seed governance in Turkey, a country in which many farmers continue to rely on “traditional” wheat varieties. It analyzes the tensions and ambiguities in seed governance that arise at the intersection of Turkey's goals of development and diverse priorities imposed by international frameworks. Seed governance is the product of an open-ended process of strategic elaboration among constituencies involved in trade, agriculture, development, and conservation. Although contradictions among international regulations present an array of choices, many countries including Turkey adopt laws that favor commercialization and privatization. This convergence results not simply from imposition of regulation from above, but also from developing countries' adoption of dominant global perspectives on the “modern” seed and agricultural progress.
E3DVar: Coupling an Ensemble Kalman Filter with Three-Dimensional Variational Data Assimilation in a Limited-Area Weather Prediction Model and Comparison to E4DVar
Authors: Zhang Fuqing , Zhang Meng , Poterjoy Jonathan
Published: September 2012

This study examines the performance of a hybrid ensemble-variational data assimilation system (E3DVar) that couples an ensemble Kalman filter (EnKF) with the three-dimensional variational data assimilation (3DVar) system for the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) Model. The performance of E3DVar and the component EnKF and 3DVar systems are compared over the eastern United States for June 2003. Conventional sounding and surface observations as well as data from wind profilers, aircraft and ships, and cloud-tracked winds from satellites, are assimilated every 6 h during the experiments, and forecasts are verified using standard sounding observations. Forecasts with 12- to 72-h lead times are found to have noticeably smaller root-mean-square errors when initialized with the E3DVar system, as opposed to the EnKF, especially for the 12-h wind and moisture fields. The E3DVar system demonstrates similar performance as an EnKF, while using less than half the number of ensemble members, and is less sensitive to the use of a multiphysics ensemble to account for model errors. The E3DVar system is also compared with a similar hybrid method that replaces the 3DVar component with the WRF four-dimensional variational data assimilation (4DVar) method (denoted E4DVar). The E4DVar method demonstrated considerable improvements over E3DVar for nearly all model levels and variables at the shorter forecast lead times (12–48 h), but the forecast accuracies of all three ensemble-based methods (EnKF, E3DVar, and E4DVar) converge to similar results at longer lead times (60–72 h). Nevertheless, all methods that used ensemble information produced considerably better forecasts than the two methods that relied solely on static background error covariance (i.e., 3DVar and 4DVar).
Latent Class Analysis of Peer Conformity
Authors: Kosten Paul A. , Scheier Lawrence M. , Grenard Jerry L.
Published: September 2012

This study used latent class analysis to examine typologies of peer conformity in a community sample of middle school students. Students responded to 31 items assessing diverse facets of conformity dispositions. The most parsimonious model produced three qualitatively distinct classes that differed on the basis of conformity to recreational activities, deviant behaviors, style conformity, and social comparison. Gender comparisons suggested relatively stable class proportions for males and females but also significant parameter differences in tests of measurement invariance for latent class indicators. Multinomial logistic regression models predicting class membership from auxiliary covariates and psychosocial risk indicated that compared to mild conformists deviance conforming youth were more likely to be White, have low self-esteem, refrain from using adaptive coping skills, and be more socially anxious. Socially conforming youth were more likely to be male, White, and have low self-esteem. Findings are discussed with regard to classic definitions of conformity and its role as a developmental phenomenon.
Food Effect on Bioavailability of Modified‐Release Trimetazidine Tablets
Authors: Ozbay Latif , Unal Durisehvar Ozer , Erol Dilek
Published: September 2012

This study aimed to investigate a food effect on the bioavailability of modified‐release (MR) trimetazidine tablets in 36 healthy volunteers. Trimetazidine, an anti‐ischemic drug, protects the myocardial cell from the harmful effects of ischemia. The authors investigated the effect of being under a fasting or fed state at the time of drug intake on the bioavailability of trimetazidine 35‐mg MR tablets in a randomized, open‐label, crossover, 2‐arm, 4‐period, 2‐sequence bioequivalence study design with a 14‐day washout period. Plasma concentration of trimetazidine was assayed in timed samples with a validated high‐performance liquid chromatography/mass selective detector that had a lower limit of quantification of 2.5 ng/mL. Test and reference formulations gave a mean trimetazidine Cmax of 63.26 ng/mL and 69.18 ng/mL for the fasting state and 64.19 ng/mL and 63.11 ng/mL for the fed state, respectively. The AUC0‐tlast mean of trimetazidine was 726.31 ng·h/mL and 733.01 ng·h/mL for the fasting state and 706.40 ng·h/mL and 691.40 ng·h/mL for the fed state for test/reference formulations. There were no significant differences in pharmacokinetic parameters between the 2 formulations and the fasting/fed states. The authors showed that there is no food effect and no need for a 4‐period study to evaluate the bioequivalence of trimetazidine MR tablets.
Evidence-Based Behavioral Treatment of Dog Phobia With Young Children
Authors: May Anna C. , Rudy Brittany M. , Davis Thompson E. , Matson Johnny L.
Published: September 2012

Specific phobias are among the most common anxiety disorders, especially in children. Unfortunately, a paucity of literature exists regarding the treatment of specific phobia in young children, despite the knowledge that traditional techniques (i.e., cognitive-behavioral therapy [CBT]) may not be practical. Therefore, the purpose of this article is to present two case studies that provide empirical support for the evidence-based behavioral treatment of specific phobia with young children (ages 4 and 5 years). Results indicated that following 10 to 13 sessions of graduated exposure therapy using reinforced practice and participant modeling, the children no longer met criteria for clinically significant phobias of dogs. Treatment effects were maintained at 7-month follow-up despite reported lack of practice and/or regular exposure to dogs in the children’s daily lives.
Consumers
Authors: McGuigan Lee
Published: September 2012

This article tests Dallas Smythe’s thesis of the audience commodity against emergent marketing paradigms and commercial models organized around interactive television. Television technologies, including various internet-connected content delivery platforms, increasingly combine the technical and administrative infrastructure to support direct conversion of viewers into consumers of the products displayed in advertisements and programs. Through a broad reading of the audience commodity it is suggested herein that, contrary to most appraisals, Smythe recognized audiences as both economic products and social products—people living as producers and consumers in capitalism. Smythe’s thesis has particular currency in relation to an interactive television storefront because the essence of the audience commodity resides in the capacity of viewers to consume branded goods and services. This argument is ever more salient as ongoing developments in database marketing and electronic commerce illustrate that advertiser-supported television manufactures consumers as economic and social products within a nearly ubiquitous digitized marketplace.
Changes over a decade in end-of-life care and transfers during the last 3 months of life: A repeated survey among proxies of deceased older people
Authors: Kaspers Pam J , Pasman H Roeline W , Onwuteaka-Philipsen Bregje D , Deeg Dorly JH
Published: September 2012

Background:

In the ageing population, older people are living longer with chronic diseases. Especially in the last year of life, this can result in an increased need for (complex) end-of-life care.

Aim:

To study potential changes in received end-of-life care and transfers by older people during the last 3 months of life between 2000 and 2010.

Design:

A repeated survey in 2000 and 2010.

Participants:

Data were collected from a sample of proxies of deceased sample members of the Longitudinal Aging Study Amsterdam in 2000 ( n = 270; response = 79%) and 2010 ( n = 168; response = 59%).

Results:

Compared to 2000, in 2010, older people had a significantly lower functional ability 3 months before death. Over the 10-year period, people were significantly less likely to receive no care (12% vs 39%) and more likely to receive formal home care (45% vs 15%). Older people aged over 80 years, females, and those in the 2010 sample were more likely to receive formal home and institutional care (formal home care – age > 80 years, odds ratio: 3.7, male odds ratio: 0.74, 2010 – odds ratio: 6.9; institutional care – age > 80 years, odds ratio: 11.6, male odds ratio: 0.34, 2010 – odds ratio: 2.5) than informal or no care. Regardless of the study year, older people receiving informal home care were more likely to die in hospital (odds ratio: 2.3).

Conclusion:

Two scenarios of care in the last 3 months of life seem to arise: staying at home as long as possible with a higher chance of hospital death or living in a residential or nursing home, reducing the chance of hospital death.
Delirium prevalence, incidence, and implications for screening in specialist palliative care inpatient settings: A systematic review
Authors: Hosie Annmarie , Davidson Patricia M , Agar Meera , Sanderson Christine R , Phillips Jane
Published: September 2012

Background:

Delirium is a serious neuropsychiatric syndrome frequently experienced by palliative care inpatients. This syndrome is under-recognized by clinicians. While screening increases recognition, it is not a routine practice.

Aim and design:

This systematic review aims to examine methods, quality, and results of delirium prevalence and incidence studies in palliative care inpatient populations and discuss implications for delirium screening.

Data sources:

A systematic search of the literature identified prospective studies reporting on delirium prevalence and/or incidence in inpatient palliative care adult populations from 1980 to 2012. Papers not in English or those reporting the occurrence of symptoms not specifically identified as delirium were excluded.

Results:

Of the eight included studies, the majority (98.9%) involved participants (1079) with advanced cancer. Eight different screening and assessment tools were used. Delirium incidence ranged from 3% to 45%, while delirium prevalence varied, with a range of: 13.3%–42.3% at admission, 26%–62% during admission, and increasing to 58.8%–88% in the weeks or hours preceding death. Studies that used the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual–Fourth Edition reported higher prevalence (42%–88%) and incidence (40.2%–45%), while incidence rates were higher in studies that screened participants at least daily (32.8%–45%). Hypoactive delirium was the most prevalent delirium subtype (68%–86% of cases).

Conclusion:

The prevalence and incidence of delirium in palliative care inpatient settings supports the need for screening. However, there is limited consensus on assessment measures or knowledge of implications of delirium screening for inpatients and families. Further research is required to develop standardized methods of delirium screening, assessment, and management that are acceptable to inpatients and families.
Conceptualizing a Model
Authors: Roberts Mark , Russell Louise B. , Paltiel A. David , Chambers Michael , McEwan Phil , Krahn Murray
Published: September 2012

The appropriate development of a model begins with understanding the problem that is being represented. The aim of this article is to provide a series of consensus-based best practices regarding the process of model conceptualization. For the purpose of this series of papers, the authors consider the development of models whose purpose is to inform medical decisions and health-related resource allocation questions. They specifically divide the conceptualization process into two distinct components: the conceptualization of the problem, which converts knowledge of the health care process or decision into a representation of the problem, followed by the conceptualization of the model itself, which matches the attributes and characteristics of a particular modeling type to the needs of the problem being represented. Recommendations are made regarding the structure of the modeling team, agreement on the statement of the problem, the structure, perspective and target population of the model, and the interventions and outcomes represented. Best practices relating to the specific characteristics of model structure, and which characteristics of the problem might be most easily represented in a specific modeling method, are presented. Each section contains a number of recommendations that were iterated among the authors, as well as the wider modeling taskforce, jointly set up by the International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research and the Society for Medical Decision Making.
State-Transition Modeling
Authors: Siebert Uwe , Alagoz Oguzhan , Bayoumi Ahmed M. , Jahn Beate , Owens Douglas K. , Cohen David J. , Kuntz Karen M.
Published: September 2012

State-transition modeling (STM) is an intuitive, flexible, and transparent approach of computer-based decision-analytic modeling, including both Markov model cohort simulation as well as individual-based (first-order Monte Carlo) microsimulation. Conceptualizing a decision problem in terms of a set of (health) states and transitions among these states, STM is one of the most widespread modeling techniques in clinical decision analysis, health technology assessment, and health-economic evaluation. STMs have been used in many different populations and diseases, and their applications range from personalized health care strategies to public health programs. Most frequently, state-transition models are used in the evaluation of risk factor interventions, screening, diagnostic procedures, treatment strategies, and disease management programs.
Nowhere to run: Iraqi asylum seekers in the UK
Authors: Hintjens Helen
Published: September 2012

This article, covering the period 2003–2010, is concerned with those Iraqis whose asylum claims in the UK have been rejected in recent years and who have found ‘nowhere to run’. A deterrence-based UK immigration regime has undermined many of their basic rights since the start of the war. And despite wide public knowledge about the dangers of return to Iraq, failed Iraqi asylum seekers are being made destitute, detained and even forcibly deported back to Iraq. From 2007 onwards, deportations on commercial and military flights increased, with deportees facing torture, disappearance and threats of violence upon their return. ‘Deterrence’ claims casualties in the UK, too, with Iraqis dying from homelessness, suicide, medical neglect and despair. Iraqi refugee organisations, the UNHCR and the European Court all call for an end to deportations to Iraq, yet the UK government refuses to listen.
Radicalisation: the journey of a concept
Authors: Kundnani Arun
Published: September 2012

Since 2004, the term ‘radicalisation’ has become central to terrorism studies and counter-terrorism policy-making. As US and European governments have focused on stemming ‘home-grown’ Islamist political violence, the concept of radicalisation has become the master signifier of the late ‘war on terror’ and provided a new lens through which to view Muslim minorities. The introduction of policies designed to ‘counter-radicalise’ has been accompanied by the emergence of a government-funded industry of advisers, analysts, scholars, entrepreneurs and self-appointed community representatives who claim that their knowledge of a theological or psychological radicalisation process enables them to propose interventions in Muslim communities to prevent extremism. An examination of the concept of radicalisation used by the industry’s scholars shows its limitations and biases. The concept of radicalisation has led to the construction of Muslim populations as ‘suspect communities’, civil rights abuses and a damaging failure to understand the nature of the political conflicts governments are involved in.
An Exploratory Study of the Effectiveness of Memory Aids for Older People Living in Supported Accommodation
Authors: Collerton Daniel , Forster Emily , Packham Derek
Published: September 2012

There is increasing evidence that electronic and other aids can support older people’s memory. In an effectiveness study, we explored whether assistive technologies could benefit 200 potential beneficiaries in a naturalistic setting. We first interviewed 50 participants to assess needs and preferences for memory aids, then researched, developed and trialled specific aids, and finally administered a follow-up questionnaire assessing future use of aids. Matching aids to needs was not easy. Relatively few people were interested in trailing aids. Simpler aids were most successful. Participants were curious about electronic aids, but found them too complicated and not adapted enough to their needs. Assistance from other people was necessary to prompt use of all types of aids. Future effectiveness studies should focus on longer trials with greater training and support for participants, a wider range of technologies, and more promotion of possible benefits.
Experience of Solidarity
Authors: Jäger Urs P. , Höver Hendrik , Schröer Andreas , Strauch Markus
Published: September 2012

The more nonprofits become challenged by resource shortages, the higher the demand for highly skilled executive directors. Nevertheless, we do not yet fully understand what motivates executive directors to work in nonprofits challenged by market forces. This article explores the career context and individual biographies of executive directors. Introducing a career field and career capital approach to the study of careers in nonprofits, we analyze what influences the career of executive directors of German faith-based social service organizations. The results of 23 interviews and four focus groups with 60 participants are twofold. First, four types of career capital influenced the executive directors’ career: Experience of solidarity, orientation to social service, skills for executive function, and leadership by appointment. Second, all careers were highly influenced by the experience of solidarity. The article ends by explaining why experience of solidarity is important for training and selecting nonprofit executive directors.
Religious Congregations as Voluntary Associations
Authors: Cnaan Ram A. , Curtis Daniel W.
Published: September 2012

This article highlights religious congregations as a form of nonprofit organization and voluntary association. It contends that, when theology and faith are removed, congregations are a ubiquitous form of nonprofit organization. The article focuses on five key areas of understanding congregations: defining congregations in a manner that set them apart, the great variability that exists among congregations, why congregations are important, what congregations do that is unique, and who attends congregations. As there are many others aspects of congregational studies, the article also suggests other areas of study as well as key supporting citations.
Analyses of radial compressor stability improvement by casing treatment
Authors: Khalfallah Smail , Ghenaiet Adel
Published: September 2012

Centrifugal compressors used for turbochargers are required to achieve high performance within wide flow ranges. However, their operability is limited at low mass flow rates by the flow instabilities leading to rotating stall and surge, which could be delayed by a suitable casing treatment. This article presents a numerical investigation aimed at studying the effects of a type of casing treatment on the flow structure through a radial compressor and the subsequent improvement of aerodynamic stability. The considered casing treatment consists of an oblique slot recess inserted in the shroud near the impeller throat and a large annular cavity connecting this slot to the bell-mouth. The flow computations were carried out by means of the code ANSYS-CFX, considering the shear stress transport ( k–ω) turbulence model, in order to investigate the effects of the cavity dimensions on improving the stability limit of the compressor. The analysis of flow structure near the stall limit has revealed that the large vortex appearing near the blade tip is being controlled by such a type of casing treatment; hence the stall onset is delayed. As consequence, the operating range and the stall margin are improved by reducing the aerodynamic blockage.
Exploring families' experiences of an organ donation request after brain death
Authors: Manzari Zahra Sadat , Mohammadi Eesa , Heydari Abbas , Sharbaf Hamid Reza Aghamohammadian , Azizi Mohammad Jafar Modabber , Khaleghi Ebrahim
Published: September 2012

This qualitative research study with a content analysis approach aimed to explore families’ experiences of an organ donation request after brain death. Data were collected through 38 unstructured and in-depth interviews with 14 consenting families and 12 who declined to donate organs. A purposeful sampling process began in October 2009 and ended in October 2010. Data analysis reached 10 categories and two major themes were listed as: 1) serenity in eternal freedom; and 2) resentful grief. The central themes were peace and honor versus doubt and regret. The findings indicated that the families faced with an organ donation request of a brain-dead loved one experienced a lasting effect long after the patient's demise regardless of their decision to donate or refusal to donate. In conclusion, this study highlights the importance of family support and follow-up in an efficient healthcare system aimed at developing trust with the families and providing comfort during and after the final decision.
Federalist #10 in Management #101
Authors: Kohn Jennifer L.
Published: September 2012

Business students typically do not read James Madison’s Federalist #10, a seminal work in political theory on the causes of and remedies for factions. I make the case that they should and offer suggestions for teaching and assessment. Factions are a subset of stakeholders that have interests adverse to the organization. Madison cogently argues that the causes of factions are rooted in human nature; therefore, managers should embrace diversity and not try to eliminate factions by surrounding themselves with “yes men.” Rather, he urges managers to focus on organizational design to channel ambition in a positive way and constrain the more corrosive effects of factions. Madison emphasizes a critical lesson for negotiation by focusing on adverse interests rather than positions or characteristics. Beyond these management lessons, Federalist #10 exposes business students to the foundations of American politics and helps to inform the ongoing debate about the relationship between business and government. Finally, Federalist #10 takes business students out of their comfort zone, changing their reading workout and strengthening their ability to learn management lessons from the broader world around them.
Reduction in the Number of Animals and the Evaluation Period for the Positive Control Group in Tg.rasH2 Short-Term Carcinogenicity Studies
Authors: Shah Sudhir A. , Paranjpe Madhav. G. , Atkins Philip I. , Zahalka Eias A.
Published: September 2012

The lack of a clear guidance on the adequate number of animals used for positive controls in the short-term (26-weeks) transgenic mouse carcinogenicity studies has resulted in the use of high number of animals. In our earlier Tg.rasH2 studies, 25 mice/sex were used in the urethane-positive control dose groups that were sacrificed by 18 weeks. Based on a robust response, several of our protocols for Tg.rasH2 studies with 15 mice/sex and terminal sacrifice at 17 ± 1 weeks were submitted and accepted by the Carcinogenicity Assessment Committee of the US Food and Drug Administration since we demonstrated close to 100% response for the development of lung and splenic tumors (target organs) in 500 mice/sex. These 500 mice/sex included 17 groups of 25 mice/sex and 5 groups of 15 mice/sex.  The objective of this investigation was to determine whether the number of animals can be further reduced along with the shortened duration of exposure to urethane. Accordingly, 10 Tg.rasH2 mice/sex/group were administered a total of 3 intraperitoneal (IP) injections of urethane (1000 mg/kg per day) on study days 1, 3, and 5, and the presence of tumors in the lungs and spleen was evaluated after 8, 10, 12, 14, or 16 weeks. Our results demonstrate that 100% of the mice at 8 weeks had developed lung tumors, whereas close to 100% of the mice at 14 weeks had developed splenic tumors. Based on the development of lung tumors alone in 100% of the mice, we recommend that 10 mice/sex are sufficient and that these mice can also be sacrificed as early as 10 ± 1 weeks following the administration of urethane.
Relationship satisfaction, parenting stress, and depression in mothers of children with autism
Authors: Weitlauf Amy S , Vehorn Alison C , Taylor Julie L , Warren Zachary E
Published: September 2012

Mothers of children with autism report higher levels of depression than mothers of children with other developmental disabilities. We explored the relations between child characteristics of diagnostic severity and problem behaviors, parenting stress, relationship quality, and depressive symptoms in 70 mothers of young children with autism. We hypothesized that relationship quality and parenting stress would relate to maternal depression beyond contributions of child characteristics. Multiple regression analysis revealed a main effect of parenting stress above and beyond child problem behaviors and autism severity. A significant interaction emerged, with relationship quality buffering the effect of parenting stress on depression. Results suggest that the relation between child problem behaviors and maternal depression should be considered in conjunction with other measures of marriage and family stress. Relationship quality and parenting stress may also represent important factors to be explicitly considered within intervention paradigms for young children with autism spectrum disorders.
Brain structural correlates of individual differences at low-to high-levels of the language processing hierarchy: A review of new approaches to imaging research
Authors: Golestani Narly
Published: September 2012

In the domain of language and audition, studies have shown large individual differences, within the normal range (i.e. in healthy, non-expert individuals), in performance on tasks involving speech sound processing, vocabulary knowledge, and reading, these in both monolingual and bilingual participants and in native and non-native language contexts. These individual differences have often been related to individual differences in brain structure. Evidence for structural differences is especially striking since brain structure can be assumed to be more stable, or less malleable, than brain function. Brain function, on the other hand, can be expected to change, or be plastic, after only very short periods of training/learning. The present paper provides a review of studies that have investigated the brain structural correlates of normative individual differences in aspects of language-related performance, these spanning a hierarchy in terms of the underlying complexity of processing and brain networks involved. Specifically, the review is structured so as to describe work examining the following domains, which involve progressively increasing levels of complexity in terms of the posited perceptual/cognitive sub-functions involved: 1) lower-level acoustic processing; 2) phonetic processing, including non-native speech sound learning, learning to use pitch information linguistically, non-native speech sound articulation, and phonetic expertise; 3) working memory for verbal and for pitch information; 4) semantics, in the context of lexical knowledge and of semantic memory; 5) reading; 6) syntax, both natural and artificial; 7) bilingualism; and finally 8) executive control of language in the contexts of fluency and of speech-in-noise processing. Results are discussed and synthesized in the context of lower to higher-level brain regions thought to be functionally involved in these respective domains, which are very often, if not always, the very ones that structurally partly predict domain-specific performance.
Experiencing language
Authors: Ochs Elinor
Published: September 2012

This essay argues that psycho-cultural anthropologists addressing the relation of language to experience tend to focus on the symbolic property of language. This focus has led to a celebration of words as capturing public cultural meanings, but it has also generated disparagement of language as arbitrary, controlling and remote from a person’s ‘authentic’ thoughts and feelings. A part-modernist, part-Platonic transcendental sentiment lingers that the language-world divide is irretrievably expansive. This essay suggests that the incompleteness of language begs further consideration. Language’s inadequacy on the symbolic level is partly compensated by the additional capacity of language to be indexical, i.e. to bring into consciousness a realm of contextually relevant meanings, including the situated self. The essay promotes a phenomenological view of language in which ordinary enactments of language, i.e. utterances, are themselves modes of experiencing the world. In this perspective, the distinction between experience-near and experience-distant as conceptualized in anthropological scholarship misses the fundamental point that language, once in motion, and experience are conjoined.
Visual comparison of software architectures
Authors: Beck Fabian , Diehl Stephan
Published: September 2012

Reverse engineering methods produce different descriptions of software architectures. In this article we address the task of exploring and comparing these descriptions. We present a novel visualization technique to compare architectures consisting of a decomposition of the software system and the dependencies among the code entities. This technique uses a visual representation of an adjacency matrix to provide a scalable analysis tool. Advanced layout features such as an automatic level of detail algorithm and sorting strategies improve the readability of the visualization. Using a case study, we show how this technique can be applied in practice.
Linezolid-induced hypoglycaemia in a patient with type 1 diabetes
Authors: Walker Kerry , Toshner Richard , Sandeep Thekkepat C , Devers Marion , Bain Donald , Barwell Nicholas
Published: September 2012

Linezolid is a relatively novel oxazolidinone and its use is currently limited to secondary care in the UK. It is a reversible, non-selective monoamine oxidase inhibitor, but at the doses used for antibacterial therapy it does not exert an anti-depressive effect. It has a potentially serious side effect profile and is monitored intensively by the Commission on Human Medicines and Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency. Herein we report the rarely recognised complication of linezolid-induced hypoglycaemia in a patient with type 1 diabetes.
Delay in generic entry should remain a concern to competition authorities
Authors: Csiszár Paul
Published: September 2012

The importance of the pharmaceutical sector for Europe has been growing as it is essential for the health and well-being of its citizens to access innovative, safe and affordable medicines, particularly as its population ages. The 2009 sector inquiry of the European Commission into the pharmaceutical sector found that on average citizens waited more than 7 months after patent expiry for cheaper generic medicines, costing them and their health care systems 20% in extra spending. This article discusses to what extent the conduct of pharmaceutical companies and the agreements between originator and generic companies contribute to the delay of generic entry. The recent monitoring exercises by the Commission have revealed that although the total number of patent settlements has steadily increased in Europe in recent years, the potentially anticompetitive patent settlements (settlements leading to delay of generic entry with the presence of reverse payments and/or out-of-scope settlement terms) have generally decreased in Europe following the Commission's sector inquiry. Competition authorities should, however, remain vigilant and concerned about potentially anticompetitive practices leading to delay in generic entry. Moreover, further guidance will need to be developed by competition authorities and ultimately by the courts whether and under what circumstances patent settlement agreements that delay generic entry in return for a payment or other value transfer from the originator company constitute anticompetitive conducts.
A comparative study of regulatory trends of pharmaceuticals in Brazil, Russia, India and China (BRIC) countries
Authors: Vashisth Shivam , Singh Govind , Nanda Arun
Published: September 2012

BRIC basically include the emerging markets of Brazil, Russia, India and China. The growth of pharmaceutical market in these countries has been very eye-popping during the last two decades. The growth of pharmaceutical market depends upon the drug regulatory system and drug regulatory laws. The drug regulatory system in these countries is on the way of continuous improvement e.g. introduction of product patent in India, provisions for drug approval in China, bioequivalence testing requirement in Brazil, Russian new law on circulation of medicines 2010. In this article the drug regulatory system of BRIC countries has been analyzed. These drug regulatory trends include following: drug regulatory framework, drug regulatory laws, clinical trials, drug registration procedures, drug pricing mechanism, GMP practices, pharmacovigilance, patents system on pharmaceuticals, patent linkage and data protection, etc. Drug regulatory framework has been analyzed by studying the composition of various central and state drug regulatory authorities and drug testing institutions regulating the pharmaceutical industry. The basic drug regulatory laws regulating approval, manufacturing, packing, labeling, selling, advertising, use of drugs, cosmetics and medical devices has been reported. The drug pricing mechanism over the essential and nonessential drugs and drug price calculation formula has been reported. The drug manufacturing law, manufacturing approval and inspection system has also been analyzed. The pharmacovigilance system for the reporting of Adverse Drug Reactions in these countries has been studied. Finally an analysis of the intellectual property rights related to pharmaceuticals has been made in BRIC countries.
The Predictive Relationship of Pediatric Body Mass Indexes and Comorbid Diagnoses
Authors: Parrott Jessica , Rutledge Carolyn , Zimbro Kathie , Shepherd Laurel
Published: September 2012

Pediatric obesity is a leading threat to the long-term health of the population. The rise in pediatric obesity has resulted in increased comorbidities and decreased health status. A secondary data analysis was completed to evaluate the relationship between body mass index (BMI), health care environment, and health services use of pediatric patients. This research used a retrospective secondary data analysis of 942 charts of which 526 contained critical data elements. The information was gathered by means of an original data collection tool. Statistical analysis was achieved through χ2 and ANOVA techniques. The project was congruent with the then current Healthy People 2010 goals of improving health, fitness, and quality of life through daily physical activity for children and adolescents and also aimed to reduce the proportion of children and adolescents who are overweight or obese. There was a statistically significant difference between BMI levels and comorbid diagnoses ( χ2, P = .035) with an increase among obese levels, particularly with abscesses (ANOVA, P = .003). It was found that pediatric obesity results in increased comorbidities, most significantly abscesses.
The homeodomain region controls the phenotype of HOX-induced murine leukemia
Authors: Breitinger Constanze , Maethner Emanuel , Garcia-Cuellar Maria-Paz , Slany Robert K.
Published: September 2012

HOX proteins are widely involved in hematopoietic development. These transcription factors combine a conserved DNA-binding homeobox with a divergent N-terminus that mediates interaction with variable cofactors. The resulting combinatorial diversity is thought to be responsible for mammalian HOX specificity. Contrasting this proposed mechanism for normal HOX function, here we demonstrate that, in the context of hematopoietic immortalization and leukemogenesis, individual HOX properties are governed almost exclusively by the homeodomain. Swap experiments between HOXA1 and HOXA9, 2 members of nonrelated paralog groups, revealed that gene expression patterns of HOX transformed cells in vitro are determined by the nature of the homeodomain. Similar results were seen in vivo during HOX-mediated leukemogenesis. An exchange of the homeodomains was sufficient to convert the slow, low-penetrance phenotype of HOXA1-induced leukemia to the aggressive fast-acting disease elicited by HOXA9 and vice versa. Mutation and deletion studies identified several subregions within the DNA binding domain responsible for paralog specificity. Previously defined binding sites for PBX cofactors within the exchangeable, nonhomeobox segment were dispensable for in vitro oncogenic HOX activity but affected in vivo disease development. The transcriptional activator domain shared by HOXA1 and HOXA9 at the very N-terminus proved essential for all transformation.