bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Neurovascular and Cognitive Dysfunction in Hypertension
Authors: Iadecola Costantino , Gottesman Rebecca F.
Published: March 2019

Hypertension has emerged as a leading cause of age-related cognitive impairment. Long known to be associated with dementia caused by vascular factors, hypertension has more recently been linked also to Alzheimer disease—the major cause of dementia in older people. Thus, although midlife hypertension is a risk factor for late-life dementia, hypertension may also promote the neurodegenerative pathology underlying Alzheimer disease. The mechanistic bases of these harmful effects remain to be established. Hypertension is well known to alter in the structure and function of cerebral blood vessels, but how these cerebrovascular effects lead to cognitive impairment and promote Alzheimer disease pathology is not well understood. Furthermore, critical questions also concern whether treatment of hypertension prevents cognitive impairment, the blood pressure threshold for treatment, and the antihypertensive agents to be used. Recent advances in neurovascular biology, epidemiology, brain imaging, and biomarker development have started to provide new insights into these critical issues. In this review, we will examine the progress made to date, and, after a critical evaluation of the evidence, we will highlight questions still outstanding and seek to provide a path forward for future studies.
Small Amounts of Inorganic Nitrate or Beetroot Provide Substantial Protection From Salt-Induced Increases in Blood Pressure
Authors: Morris R. Curtis , Pravenec Michal , Šilhavý Jan , DiCarlo Stephen E. , Kurtz Theodore W.
Published: March 2019

To reduce the risk of salt-induced hypertension, medical authorities have emphasized dietary guidelines promoting high intakes of potassium and low intakes of salt that provide molar ratios of potassium to salt of ≥1:1. However, during the past several decades, relatively few people have changed their eating habits sufficiently to reach the recommended dietary goals for salt and potassium. Thus, new strategies that reduce the risk of salt-induced hypertension without requiring major changes in dietary habits would be of considerable medical interest. In the current studies in a widely used model of salt-induced hypertension, the Dahl salt-sensitive rat, we found that supplemental dietary sodium nitrate confers substantial protection from initiation of salt-induced hypertension when the molar ratio of added nitrate to added salt is only ≈1:170. Provision of a low molar ratio of added nitrate to added salt of ≈1:110 by supplementing the diet with beetroot also conferred substantial protection against salt-induced increases in blood pressure. The results suggest that on a molar basis and a weight basis, dietary nitrate may be ≈100× more potent than dietary potassium with respect to providing substantial resistance to the pressor effects of increased salt intake. Given that leafy green and root vegetables contain large amounts of inorganic nitrate, these findings raise the possibility that fortification of salty food products with small amounts of a nitrate-rich vegetable concentrate may provide a simple method for reducing risk for salt-induced hypertension.
Regulation of Intracellular pH is Altered in Cardiac Myocytes of Ovariectomized Rats
Authors: Ibañez Alejandro Martín , Espejo María Sofía , Zavala Maite Raquel , Villa‐Abrille María Celeste , Lofeudo Juan Manuel , Aiello Ernesto Alejandro , De Giusti Verónica Celeste
Published: March 2019

Background

It is well known that after menopause women are exposed to a greater cardiovascular risk, but the intracellular modifications are not properly described. The sodium/proton exchanger (NHE) and the sodium/bicarbonate cotransporter (NBC) regulate the intracellular pH and, indirectly, the intracellular sodium concentration ([Na
+
]). There are 2 isoforms of NBC in the heart: the electrogenic (1Na
+
/2

; NBCe1) and the electroneutral (1Na
+
/1

; NBCn1). Because NHE and NBCn1 hyperactivity as well as the NBCe1 decreased activity have been associated with several cardiovascular pathologies, the aim of this study was to investigate the potential alterations of the alkalinizing transporters during the postmenopausal period.

Methods and Results

Three‐month ovariectomized rats (OVX) were used. The NHE activity and protein expression are significantly increased in OVX. The NBCe1 activity is diminished, and the NBCn1 activity becomes predominant in OVX rats. p‐Akt levels showed a significant diminution in OVX. Finally, NHE activity in platelets from OVX rats is also higher in comparison to sham rats, resulting in a potential biomarker of cardiovascular diseases.

Conclusions

Our results demonstrated for the first time that in the cardiac ventricular myocytes of OVX rats NHE and NBC isoforms are altered, probably because of the decreased level of p‐Akt, compromising the ionic intracellular homeostasis.
Re-examination of the type specimens of Lecithoceridae (Lepidoptera), deposited in the Royal Museum for Central Africa (RMCA), Belgium, with descriptions of ten new species from DR Congo belonging to Thubdora Park and Torodora Meyrick
Authors: PARK KYU-TEK , DE PRINS WILLY
Published: March 2019

The type specimens of Lecithoceridae which are deposited in the Royal Museum for Central Africa (RMCA), Tervuren, Belgium (five species of Lecithocera Herrich-Schäffer and two of Homaloxestis Meyrick) were re-examined. The results are: 1) two species of Lecithocera are transferred to Thubdora Park and Torodora Meyrick respectively, with new combinations: Thubdora barbata (Meyrick, 1933), comb. nov. and Torodora semnodora (Meyrick, 1933), comb. nov.; 2) six species which were misidentified as L. barbata are described as new species in the genus Thubdora: T. ealeaensis sp. nov., T. ghesquierei sp. nov., T. gladiator sp. nov., T. kapangaensis sp. nov., T. neobarbata sp. nov. and T. seydeli sp. nov.; 3) four species which were misidentified as L. semnodora are described as new species in the genus Torodora: T. amplignathosa sp. nov. , T. lichanosa sp. nov., T. planusa sp. nov. and T. triloba sp. nov.; 4) L. schoutedeniella Ghesquière is transferred to Dichomeris Hübner of the family Gelechiidae; 5) Homaloxestis pancrocopa Meyrick does not belong to Homaloxestis nor to Lecithoceridae, and should be transferred to a different family of Gelechioidea; 6) a lectotype is designated for Lecithocera semnodora Meyrick, 1933; 7) the species names of Lecithocera eugenopa Meyrick and Homaloxestes chloromorpha Meyrick based on the type-labels under two specimens are revealed as unpublished manuscript names. Illustrations of the adults and their genitalia of all the types are provided.
Recent Warming and Freshening of the Norwegian Sea Observed by Argo Data
Authors: Mork Kjell Arne , Skagseth Øystein , Søiland Henrik
Published: March 2019

Climate variability in the Norwegian Sea, comprising the Norwegian and Lofoten Basins, was investigated based upon monthly estimates of ocean heat and freshwater contents using data from Argo floats during 2002–18. Both local air–sea exchange and advective processes were examined and quantified for monthly to interannual time scales. In the recent years, 2011–18, the Norwegian Sea experienced a decoupling of the temperature and salinity, with a simultaneous warming and freshening trend. This was mainly explained by two different processes; reduced ocean heat loss to the atmosphere and advection of fresher Atlantic water into the Norwegian Sea. The local air–sea heat fluxes are important in modifying the ocean heat content, although this relationship varied with time scale and basins. On time scales exceeding 4 months in the Lofoten Basin and 6 months in the Norwegian Basin, the air–sea heat flux explained half or even more of the local ocean heat content change. There were both a short-term and long-term response of the wind forcing on the ocean heat content. The monthly to seasonal response of increased southerly wind cooled and freshened the Norwegian Basin, due to eastward surface Ekman transport, and increased the influence of Arctic Water. However, after about a 1-yr delay the ocean warmed and became saltier due to an increased advection of Atlantic Water into the region. Increased westerly winds decreased the ocean heat content in both cases due to increased transport of Arctic Water into the Norwegian Sea.
The Effect of Partial Automation on Driver Attention: A Naturalistic Driving Study
Authors: Gaspar John , Carney Cher
Published: March 2019

Objective:

This naturalistic driving study investigated how drivers deploy visual attention in a partially automated vehicle.

Background:

Vehicle automation is rapidly increasing across vehicle fleets. This increase in automation will likely have both positive and negative consequences as drivers learn to use the new technology. Research is needed to understand how drivers interact with partially automated vehicle systems and what impact new technology has on driver attention.

Method:

Ten participants drove a Tesla Model S for 1 week during their daily commute on a stretch of busy interstate. Drivers were instructed to use Autopilot, a system that provides both lateral and longitudinal control, as much as they felt comfortable while driving on the interstate. Driver-facing video data were recorded and manually reduced to examine glance behavior.

Results:

Drivers primarily allocated their visual attention between the forward roadway (74% of glance time) and the instrument panel (13%). With partial automation engaged, drivers made longer single glances and had longer maximum total-eyes-off-road time (TEORT) associated with a glance cluster.

Conclusion:

These results provide a window into the nature of visual attention while driving with partial vehicle automation. The results suggest that drivers may be more willing to execute long, “outlier” glances and clusters of glances to off-road locations with partial automation. The findings highlight several important human factors considerations for partially automated vehicles.
Beyond agency and passivity: Situating a gendered articulation of urban violence in Brazil and El Salvador
Authors: Hume Mo , Wilding Polly
Published: March 2019

This paper argues for a situated politics of women’s agency in enduring intimate partner violence (IPV) in contexts of extreme urban violence. We contend that interrogating agency as dynamic and lived facilitates an acknowledgement of the multi-scalar entanglements of violence across urban spaces. Recognising the complexities in human agency holds the potential for a radical gendered urban politics to emerge whereby people are neither simplistically victims nor pawns of violent processes, but located within dynamic ‘webs of social relations’ (Cumbers A, Helms G and Swanson K (2010) Class, agency and resistance in the old industrial city. Antipode: A Radical Journal of Geography 42(1): 54). Drawing on feminist theory, our conceptualisation of agency serves as a lens through which we can examine the dynamic and gendered nature of urban violence as rooted in multiple social relations (McNay L (2010) Feminism and post-identity politics: The problem of agency. Constellations 17(4): 512–525). The paper draws on research in the urban peripheries of Rio de Janiero and San Salvador.
Mentoring, Scholarship, and the Professional Extended Family: The Legacy of Dr. Joseph White
Authors: Boyd-Franklin Nancy
Published: March 2019

The purpose of this article is to honor the legacy of Dr. Joseph White, one of the founding fathers of Black psychology. Three areas of his legacy are highlighted: his style of mentoring, the impact of his scholarship on the field of Black psychology, and its impact on the professional development and scholarship of this author. The intent is to inspire new generations of Black mentors and scholars to continue the legacy of Dr. Joseph White, grounded in Black psychology, community, African American values, and the professional extended family.
Special Education Teachers’ Experience, Confidence, Beliefs, and Knowledge About Integrating Technology
Authors: Anderson Susan E. , Putman Rebecca S.
Published: March 2019

This study investigated the perspectives of elementary special education teachers regarding integrating technology into lessons. Eight special education teachers at a private university laboratory school, who varied in their levels of teaching experience and confidence with using technology, participated in the study. We interviewed each teacher three times, with two of the interviews following our observations of technology-integrated lessons. Qualitative analysis of interview transcripts provided insight into the interrelationships among teachers’ technological pedagogical content knowledge, teaching experience, confidence with using technology, beliefs about the role of technology in education, and perceptions of the benefits and challenges associated with using it. Teachers’ perceptions of the value of technology in special education classrooms included providing differentiation, offering varied representations of content, enhancing motivation and engagement, facilitating formative assessment, and fostering life skills. Challenges of integrating technology included technology malfunctions and lack of teacher and student technological knowledge.
Institutional Aesthetics: Embodied Ways of Encountering, Evaluating, and Enacting Institutions
Authors: Creed W. E. Douglas , Taylor Steven S. , Hudson Bryant Ashley
Published: March 2019

The cognitive turn in institutional theory has led to the systematic neglect of people’s sensory capacities. In this paper we offer a cross-level theory of the role in institutional processes of sensory and evaluative forms of knowledge. Called here the aesthetic mode, this way of knowing combines humans’ innate sensory capacity to engage the world with their learned capacity to evaluate what they encounter. We argue that people evaluate the world’s natural, social, and spiritual phenomena through the lenses of a personal aesthetic, each person’s distinct internalization of the institutional aesthetic codes of the communities in which they are in embedded. A personal aesthetic informs and animates people’s internal conversations as they evaluate the social arrangements they encounter and deliberate over how they should participate in the institutional processes of maintaining, disrupting, or creating social arrangements. Attending to people’s aesthetic ways of knowing positions us to better understand when, why, and how people deliberate about institutional values and arrangements and choose to engage in purposive institutional work. It also offers a way of conceptualizing and examining the reflexivity said to be at the heart of embedded agency. We discuss the implications for understanding of institutional work, institutional biography, and of how people experience institutional disruption and re-creation.
When Does the Family Matter? Institutional pressures and corporate philanthropy in China
Authors: Ge Jianhua , Micelotta Evelyn
Published: March 2019

This paper investigates whether family firms display corporate giving practices significantly different from nonfamily firms. Our two-stage model theorizes, and finds empirical support from a survey of 3,075 Chinese private firms, that firms sensitive to institutional pressures (as a result of firm visibility and political linkages) are more likely to engage in philanthropy (stage 1) and to donate larger amounts (stage 2). In stage 1, family and nonfamily firms display similar conforming behaviors, aimed at maintaining sociopolitical legitimacy. In stage 2, family ownership intensifies the effect of institutional pressures on firms’ philanthropic giving, as reputational motives overlay legitimacy concerns. Our study integrates institutional analyses of socially responsible practices and family business theories to yield insights on the role of the family variable as a key moderator of institutional effects.
Intelligence and Slave Exports from Africa
Authors: Asongu Simplice A. , Kodila-Tedika Oasis
Published: March 2019

This article examines the role of cognitive ability or intelligence on slave exports from Africa. We test a hypothesis that countries which were endowed with higher levels of cognitive ability were more likely to experience lower levels of slave exports from Africa probably due to comparatively better capacities to organize, co-operate, oversee and confront slave traders. The investigated hypothesis is valid from alternative specifications involving varying conditioning information sets. The findings are also robust to the control of outliers.

JEL: I20, I29, N30
Combining CDP-choline and galantamine: Effects of a selective α7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor agonist strategy on P50 sensory gating of speech sounds in healthy volunteers
Authors: Choueiry Joelle , Blais Crystal M , Shah Dhrasti , Smith Dylan , Fisher Derek , Illivitsky Vadim , Knott Verner
Published: March 2019

Background:

Schizophrenia (SCZ) patients and relatives have deficits in early cortical sensory gating (SG) typically measured by suppression of electroencephalography-derived P50 event-related potentials (ERPs) in a conditioning-testing (S1–S2) paradigm. Associated with alpha 7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (α7 nAChR) dysfunction and shown to be improved with nicotine and α7 nAChR agonists, SG has recently been shown to be improved in low P50 suppressing SCZ patients following acute CDP-choline treatment.

Aims:

This pilot study in healthy humans assessed the SG effects of an α7 nAChR strategy combining CDP-choline with galantamine, a positive allosteric modulator (PAM) of nAChRs, aimed at increasing and prolonging nicotinic receptor activity.

Methods:

The combined effect of CDP-choline (500 mg) and galantamine (16 mg) on speech P50 gating indices rP50 (S2/S1) and dP50 (S1–S2) was examined in 30 healthy participants stratified into low and high baseline P50 suppressors in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled and counterbalanced design.

Results:

In low suppressors, CDP-choline/galantamine (vs. placebo) improved rP50 and dP50 gating, and reduced S2P50 amplitudes. No P50 gating effects were observed in high suppressors; however, CDP-choline/galantamine (vs. placebo) increased their S2P50 amplitudes.

Conclusion:

Findings from this pilot study with CDP-choline/galantamine in a healthy, SCZ-like surrogate deficient gating sample are consistent with the association of α7 nAChR mechanisms in SG impairment in SCZ and support further research trials with CDP-choline and galantamine targeting sensory processes.
Evaluation of Markov Models with Discontinuities
Authors: Pérez-Martín Jorge , Bermejo Iñigo , Díez Francisco J.
Published: March 2019

Background. Several methods, such as the half-cycle correction and the life-table method, were developed to attenuate the error introduced in Markov models by the discretization of time. Elbasha and Chhatwal have proposed alternative “corrections” based on numerical integration techniques. They present an example whose results suggest that the trapezoidal rule, which is equivalent to the half-cycle correction, is not as accurate as Simpson’s 1/3 and 3/8 rules. However, they did not take into consideration the impact of discontinuities. Objective. To propose a method for evaluating Markov models with discontinuities. Design. Applying the trapezoidal rule, we derive a method that consists of adjusting the model by setting the cost at each point of discontinuity to the mean of the left and right limits of the cost function. We then take from the literature a model with a cycle length of 1 year and a discontinuity on the cost function and compare our method with other “corrections” using as the gold standard an equivalent model with a cycle length of 1 day. Results. As expected, for this model, the life-table method is more accurate than assuming that transitions occur at the beginning or the end of cycles. The application of numerical integration techniques without taking into account the discontinuity causes large errors. The model with averaged cost values yields very small errors, especially for the trapezoidal and the 1/3 Simpson rules. Conclusion. In the case of discontinuities, we recommend applying the trapezoidal rule on an averaged model because this method has a mathematical justification, and in our empirical evaluation, it was more accurate than the sophisticated 3/8 Simpson rule.
Homicide by Multiple Fatal Methods: A Study From South Delhi, India
Authors: Behera Chittaranjan , Sikary Asit K.
Published: March 2019

Homicide studies traditionally analyze the prevalence and patterns of homicide by exploring the age and sex of victims, the relationship between victims and perpetrators, and the cause of death. Use of a combination of more than one homicidal method was also found in various studies. Some of them found females as more common victims of multiple methods, whereas the others found males. Combination of methods commonly involved were sharp trauma, blunt trauma, and strangulation. This study was undertaken to know the pattern of homicide by multiple fatal methods at South Delhi. We have analyzed retrospective data of homicidal deaths in which multiple different fatal methods were used. We have also analyzed the number of perpetrators involved in those scenarios. The cases were autopsied at All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi during the 20-year period from January 1996 and December 2015. There were 187 such reported cases where multiple methods were used for homicide, constituting 13.6% of all homicide deaths autopsied at the department. Multiple methods were used more commonly against female victims. Methods used in cases of male victims were the combination of head injury and stabbing in the chest/abdomen, followed by strangulation with smothering, whereas in cases of female victims, it was a combination of ligature strangulation and smothering which was most common, followed by the combination of smothering with throttling. Gunshot with stabbing was found to be a rare combination. A single perpetrator mostly used various asphyxial methods in combination or head injury with other methods such as stabbing and asphyxiation against male as well as female victims. Other combinations of methods, especially sharp weapon injury with blunt weapon injury or gunshot injury, suggest the involvement of more than one perpetrator.
Lansoprazole-Induced Thrombocytopenia in a Critically Ill Patient: A Case Report
Authors: Saad Mohamed , Mitwally Hassan
Published: March 2019

Introduction:

Proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) may rarely cause thrombocytopenia. To our knowledge, only one case of lansoprazole-induced thrombocytopenia has been reported previously.

Case:

We report a case of a 50-year-old South Asian male who was admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) after cardiac arrest during general anesthesia for ureteroscopy. During ICU stay, his platelet count dropped from 315×103/µL to 57×103/µL after 5 days of initiation of lansoprazole for stress-ulcer prophylaxis. After excluding other causes of thrombocytopenia; lansoprazole was stopped and his platelets recovered over the next few days. Later exposure to lansoprazole resulted in another drop in his platelet count with subsequent recovery after discontinuation of lansoprazole. A review of his home medications showed that he had been taking pantoprazole prior to hospitalization.

Discussion:

Thrombocytopenia has been previously reported with different PPIs. In the previously reported lansoprazole-induced thrombocytopenia, the level of certainty was not high due to lack of re-exposure. In the present case, another exposure to lansoprazole, without intention of rechallenge, reproduced the same adverse drug reaction (ADR). Although platelet-reactive antibodies testing was not available to confirm causation in this case, the Naranjo score was 8 which indicated probable causation by lansoprazole. Despite probable lansoprazole-induced thrombocytopenia, our patient had been tolerating pantoprazole. This finding highlights the different effects of individual PPIs on platelet counts in the same patient.

Conclusion:

Lansoprazole may cause thrombocytopenia. However, patients who develop lansoprazole-induced thrombocytopenia may tolerate other PPIs.
Short-term effects of X-ray on viscoelastic properties of epithelial cells
Authors: Heydarian Ashkan , Khorramymehr Siamak , Vasaghi-Gharamaleki Behnoosh
Published: March 2019

Examining the effects of ionizing radiation on the living cell is significant due to its usage in recent centuries. Investigations into the long- and short-term effects of ionizing radiation began simultaneously with its discovery. Previous studies were done on the effects of radiation on cell DNA or the biochemical cycle based on the electromagnetic radiation wavelength, intensity, and exposure time. Considering some dependent parameters like cell communication, the differentiation and the mechanical interactions of intercellular environment, and cell mechanical properties, the effects of ionizing radiation on the viscoelastic properties of cells seem to be important. The current research investigated the short-term biomechanical effects of ionizing radiation and examined the mechanical properties of cells using magnetic tweezer cytometry with nanomagnetic particles. To evaluate these effects, cells were incubated with nanomagnetic particles and then separated into controlled and irradiated groups. A 3 mGy cm2 X-ray was radiated to the irradiated group for 0.02 s. The dishes of both groups were inserted into magnetic tweezer cytometry for applying a magnetic force pulse, and the cell membrane displacement was detected by an image processing system. The creep response of the membrane was determined for viscoelastic model curve fitting. The frequency responses of the model for both groups were calculated. The results showed that radiation could decrease cell extensibility from 0.084 ± 0.001 to 0.019 ± 0.001 µm and change the storage and loss modulus as the indicator of the viscoelastic property of the material. This research explains that radiation could affect cellular mechanical properties.
Spatializing data in paleoparasitology: Application to the study of the Neolithic lakeside settlement of Zürich-Parkhaus-Opéra, Switzerland
Authors: Maicher Céline , Bleicher Niels , Le Bailly Matthieu
Published: March 2019

Paleoparasitological investigations were carried out on 124 sediment samples from the Swiss Neolithic lakeside settlement of Zürich-Parkhaus-Opéra (layer 13, 3176–3153 years BCE). Analyses revealed the presence of several taxa of human and/or animal gastrointestinal parasites, including whipworm (genus Trichuris), capillariids, tapeworms ( Taenia/Echinococcus and Diphyllobothrium genera) and flukes ( Fasciola and Paramphistomum genera). Owing to excavation conditions and the sampling strategy, an original spatial analysis of the results was applied. This approach contributes to defining concentrations of parasite remains and proposes hypotheses concerning waste management or the functions of some archaeological areas and structures at the site.
In Situ Cross-linking Hydrogel as a Vehicle for Retinal Progenitor Cell Transplantation
Authors: Park Jeayoung , Baranov Petr , Aydin Aybike , Abdelgawad Hany , Singh Deepti , Niu Wanting , Kurisawa Motoichi , Spector Myron , Young Michael J.
Published: March 2019

One of the current limitations of retinal transplantation of stem cells as well as other cell types is the dispersion of cells from the injection site (including loss of cells into the vitreous chamber) and low survival after transplantation. Gelatin-hydroxyphenyl propionic acid (Gtn-HPA) conjugate is a biodegradable polymer that can undergo covalent cross-linking in situ, allowing for injection of incorporated cells through a small caliber needle followed by gel formation in vivo. We tested the hypothesis that Gtn-HPA hydrogel supports survival and integration of retinal progenitor cells (RPCs) post-transplantation. In vitro compatibility and in vivo graft survival were assessed by mixing an equal volume of Gtn-HPA conjugate and RPC suspension and triggering enzyme-mediated gelation, using minute amounts of horseradish peroxidase and peroxide. Immunocytochemistry showed >80% survival of cells and minimal apoptosis for cells incorporated into Gtn-HPA, equivalent to controls grown on fibronectin-coated flasks. RPCs undergoing mitosis were seen within the three-dimensional Gtn-HPA hydrogel, but the percentage of Ki-67-positive cells was lower compared with the monolayer controls. For in vivo studies, gel–cell mixture or cell suspension in saline was trans-sclerally injected into the left eye of female Long Evans rats immunosuppressed with cyclosporine A. Grafts survived at the 1 week time point of the study, with Gtn-HPA-delivered grafts showing less inflammatory response demonstrated by anti-leukocyte staining. More eyes in the gel–cell mixture group showed surviving cells in the subretinal space compared with saline-delivered controls, while the number of cells surviving per graft was not significantly different between the two groups. This work demonstrates an injectable in situ cross-linking hydrogel as a potential vehicle for stem cell delivery in the retina.
Global Value Chain: An Analysis of Pakistan’s Textile Sector
Authors: Javed Ayesha , Atif Rao Muhammad
Published: March 2019

Global value chains (GVCs) dominate international production, world trade and investment flows today. This study examines the international fragmentation of production set by GVCs in the textile sector of Pakistan. The study quantifies the data at two- and four-digit level of harmonized code and compares it with top 15 textile exporters around the globe. The estimates through revealed comparative advantage indicate that Pakistan has a competitive edge in cotton and textile made-ups. This indicates that Pakistan needs to bring structural changes by diversifying its product range, reforming tariff procedures, improving working conditions, developing skills and developing cluster in order to promote its exports in GVCs.
Ownership Concentration and Dividend Payout in Emerging Markets: Evidence from India
Authors: Arora Ravinder Kumar , Srivastava Aman
Published: March 2019

Ownership concentration plays an important role in determining the dividend payout of firms. Ownership concentration of Indian companies is quite high due to their peculiar shareholding pattern. We examine the relationship between ownership concentration and dividend payout in India over the period 2010–2017 using panel-data methodology and found that ownership concentration is positively correlated with dividend payout. The evidence, which is at odds with that in many developed markets, corroborates similar findings in many other emerging markets. Corporate dividend policy in emerging markets seems to be different from that in developed markets. Further, the presence of a large shareholder, other than an individual, outside the promoter group has a negative influence on the dividend payout. This negative influence is higher for a financial company and is strongly dependent on the size of the shareholding of such large shareholder relative to that of the promoter group. This study provides additional insights into the relationship between ownership concentration and dividend payout in India and contributes to the growing literature on this relationship. Fund managers and investors can use the findings of the study to predict firms’ payout and to build their portfolios by selecting stocks that best suit them.
Appropriate Expected Return and the Relationship with Risk
Authors: Maneemaroj Panutat , Lonkani Ravi , Chingchayanurak Chanon
Published: March 2019

Theoretically, risk-averse investors who expose to higher level of risks should expect to be compensated with more returns. However, prior studies empirically found inconclusive and often counterintuitive results. Motivated by advanced econometric techniques and choices of risk and return recently introduced in literature, we justify and choose the appropriate models and proxies to study the risk and return trade-off pattern in The Stock Exchange of Thailand.

Instead of using historical returns mentioned in prior studies, this study chooses the earning ratio to proxy the expected return. For the risk and return trade-off testing model, we employ the ICAPM model with Glosten, Jagannathan and Runkle-GARCH (GJR-GARCH) and GJR with Continuous and Jump Variations (GJR-CJ) as volatility function.

Consistent with the theory, results show that the baseline models can explain the positive relationship between risks and returns. By adding the effect of a rare event which can be estimated from the jump process of the data, the forecast accuracy is more improved. In addition, the results find that it is possible that this proxy can be applied in another model which is based on the mean and variance models. Finally, the results from the forecasting model and other models indicate that using an Earning to Price (E/P) ratio as a proxy for expected returns is more appropriate than using the historical return.
Factors Influencing Chinese Students’ Choice of an International Branch Campus: A Case Study
Authors: Li Fangxuan (Sam)
Published: March 2019

With the internationalization of education, studying at international branch campuses (IBCs) is becoming a popular choice in China. Taking Dongbei University of Finance and Economics (DUFE)—Surrey International Institute as an example, this article explores the choice criteria used by Chinese students enrolled at an IBC. Based on auto-ethnography and 46 in-depth semi-structured interviews, this study found that students’ choice of this particular IBC was influenced by personal reasons, institution image, program evaluation, and city effect. The study further proposes a model of factors that may influence Chinese students’ choice of an IBC. As the IBCs are run as for-profit ventures in an increasingly competitive environment, the marketing strategies to attract Chinese students to study at IBCs based on the findings are also discussed in this article.
Acute electroconvulsive therapy in the elderly with schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder: a literature review
Authors: Kumagaya David , Halliday Graeme
Published: March 2019

Objectives:

This study reviewed the evidence regarding the efficacy of acute electroconvulsive therapy for primary psychotic conditions in the elderly.

Methods:

A literature search was performed using the Medline, Embase and Cochrane databases.

Results:

Acute electroconvulsive therapy resulted in an improvement of psychotic symptoms in almost all elderly patients, a large proportion of whom had treatment-resistant conditions. No electroconvulsive therapy related fatalities or severe medical complications were encountered.

Conclusions:

Acute electroconvulsive therapy may present a valuable treatment modality for elderly patients with primary psychotic conditions who do not respond adequately to antipsychotic medications.
Fibromyalgia, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, and Multiple Chemical Sensitivity: Illness Experiences
Authors: Alameda Cuesta Almudena , Pazos Garciandía Álvaro , Oter Quintana Cristina , Losa Iglesias Marta Elena
Published: March 2019

Fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis, and multiple chemical sensitivity can be considered contested illnesses. The questioning of the status of these conditions as real diseases reduces feelings of legitimacy in those affected. The purpose of this study was to analyze subjectivity construction processes in people with these diseases. A qualitative exploratory study was conducted from the perspective of hermeneutic phenomenology and ethnosociology. We used life stories for compiling data (13 informants were interviewed face-to-face), and sociological discourse analysis was developed. Three main categories were identified: (a) self and grieving; (b) images and practices relating to fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis, and multiple chemical sensitivity; and (c) relationships with health professionals. This study shows that daily experiences of people living with these diseases are marked by stigmatization processes. The ultimate purpose of nursing care for people with these conditions should be to reduce their vulnerability and exclusion.
Negotiating Violence and Protection in Prison and on the Outside: The Organizational Evolution of the Transnational Prison Gang Barrio Azteca
Authors: Gundur R. V.
Published: March 2019

Barrio Azteca is a criminal organization that has significantly evolved since its inception as a prison solidarity group—first into a true prison gang and then into an organized criminal enterprise operating in the free world. Today, Barrio Azteca has declined in power and effectiveness in carceral settings but continues to play an important role in the wholesale and retail drug trade in the Paso del Norte area. Its organizational life cycle appears to parallel that of a licit enterprise, except that it primarily competes in the criminal protection marketplace. Thus, to survive and compete in the market for criminal protection, Barrio Azteca adapted to shifts in control dynamics, demonstrating uncommon resilience, first specializing in protection in response to changes in carceral violence and, later, expanding into the drug-trafficking market in response to violence in the criminal underworld both inside and outside prison. This article traces that history of adaptation and persistence, situating it within a synthesis of currently accepted theoretical models of criminal organizational evolution, and in so doing, provides the first organizational history of a prison gang—Barrio Azteca—published in the academic literature.
“Judging a Book by Its Cover”: The Dominance of Delivery Over Content When Perceiving Charisma
Authors: Caspi Avner , Bogler Ronit , Tzuman Ofir
Published: March 2019

Perceived charisma is an outcome of message content and delivery, where the latter dominates the former. Framing perception of charisma within dual-process theories, we suggest a rapid processing of delivery and a slow processing of content. We aimed to track the differential processing speed of content and delivery that accounts for the delivery dominance. In two laboratory experiments, we manipulated content and delivery. Participants reported perceived charisma after viewing a presentation (Experiment 1) or moment-by-moment during the presentation (Experiment 2). The results confirmed the immediate influence of delivery on perceived charisma that was later either supported or revised by the content. Theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed.
Characteristics of Students who Express Stable or Undecided Occupational Expectations during Early Adolescence
Authors: Rojewski Jay W.
Published: March 2019

A predictive discriminant analysis (PDA) was used to classify students who expressed stable or undecided occupational expectation patterns during early adolescence. High school sophomores ( N = 6,935) who completed questionnaires in Grades 8 and 10, as part of the National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988 (NELS:88), comprised the data pool. Significant gender differences were found in the distribution of adolescents across four occupational expectation groups. Female adolescents were more likely to expect high-prestige and low-prestige occupations, whereas more male adolescents expressed moderate-prestige expectations. PDA results indicated that educational aspirations contributed the most to classification accuracy for both male and female adolescents with high-prestige expectations. Undecided female adolescents were characterized by a generalized and negative self-perception, whereas undecided male adolescents were characterized by a focused and negative perception of eventual occupational attainment.
Optimizing pegylated asparaginase use: An institutional guideline for dosing, monitoring, and management
Authors: Bade Najeebah A , Lu Crystal , Patzke Ciera L , Baer Maria R , Duong Vu H , Law Jennie Y , Lee Seung T , Sausville Edward A , Zimrin Ann B , Duffy Alison P , Lawson Justin , Emadi Ashkan
Published: March 2019

The incorporation of L-asparaginase and pegylated asparaginase into pediatric-inspired regimens has conferred a survival advantage in treatment of adults with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Use of asparaginase products requires careful prevention, monitoring, and management of adverse effects including hypersensitivity, hepatotoxicity, pancreatitis, coagulopathy, and thrombosis. Currently, there is limited published literature to offer guidance on management of these toxicities. At the University of Maryland Marlene and Stewart Greenebaum Comprehensive Cancer Center, a standard of practice guideline was created to prevent and manage asparaginase-related adverse events. By sharing our long-term experience with asparaginase products and clinical management of asparaginase-induced toxicities, this article aims to improve patient safety and optimize treatment outcomes.
Core failure in sandwich structures subjected to water slamming loads
Authors: Battley MA , Allen TD
Published: March 2019

Sandwich composite materials are widely used within the marine industry, particularly as hull panels. Water impact loads, known as slamming, can be very significant for these structures, particularly for high-speed craft. These loadings generate local regions of high transverse shear forces near panel boundaries, which can result in transverse shear failures of core materials. The transient nature of slamming loads can cause stress rates that are high enough to affect the strength of the core material, particularly for polymeric foams. Despite the significant body of work on the constitutive behaviour and failure mechanics of sandwich core materials, there is a lack of understanding of how core materials fail in transverse shear during slamming events. There is also only very limited knowledge of how the core shear strengths measured using standardised, often quasi-static material coupon testing relate to their behaviour in a panel-slamming situation. This paper contributes in two novel areas; controlled experimental characterisation of the failure mechanics of sandwich panels subjected to water slamming to understand and quantify the strength of different polymeric core materials, comparison of the failure modes and transverse shear strength of slam-loaded sandwich panels to predictions from material coupon properties. Core types include low, medium and high elongation polymeric foams. The results demonstrate that the more ductile foams perform better as panel structures under slamming relative to their quasi-static properties compared with the more brittle cores. Prediction of the strength of a panel is shown to be highly dependent on the load distribution and whether the static or dynamic core strength is considered. The results support empirical experience that ductile foams perform well under slamming loads, and that high-elongation materials can perform better in slamming situations than predicted by their quasi-static strengths.
Clinical use of electrical stimulation with the Veinplicity® device and its effect on the first attempt success rate of peripheral intravenous cannulation: A non-randomized clinical trial
Authors: van Loon Fredericus HJ , Willekens Freek JP , Buise Marc P , Korsten Hendrikus HM , Bouwman Arthur RA , Dierick-van Daele Angelique TM
Published: March 2019

Background:

Peripheral intravenous cannulation is one of the most frequently performed medical procedures. Venodilation, which can be achieved with different techniques, is an important factor for first attempt success. The objective of this study was to compare the first attempt success rates upon peripheral intravenous cannulation after applying a tourniquet, with venous dilation by electrical stimulation using the Veinplicity® device, or a combination of both techniques, in participants at moderate risk of a difficult peripheral intravenous access.

Methods:

This non-randomized clinical trial was carried out in adult patients divided into three parallel study groups, consisting of cannulation with a tourniquet (control group), cannulation after electrical stimulation without using a tourniquet (intervention group 1), and cannulation after applying electrical stimulation followed by the application of a tourniquet on the selected upper extremity (intervention group 2). The primary outcome was the first attempt success rate of peripheral intravenous catheter placement.

Results:

In all, 141 participants were included in this study, with an overall success rate of 86%. Success rates of 78%, 88%, and 92% were observed in the control group, intervention group 1, and intervention group 2, respectively ( p = 0.25, χ2 = 2.771, df = 2). A higher first attempt success rate was detected in participants in intervention group 2, when compared to the control group ( p = 0.04, χ2 = 4.63, df = 1).

Conclusion:

Increase in first attempt success was clinically relevant when electrical stimulation with the Veinplicity® device was combined with the application of a tourniquet in participants at moderate risk of a difficult peripheral intravenous access.
The diagnostic value of intracavitary electrocardiogram for verifying tip position of peripherally inserted central catheters in cancer patients: A retrospective multicenter study
Authors: Yu Ting , Wu Ligui , Yuan Ling , Dawson Robert , Li Rongmei , Qiu Zhenzhu , Wu Xiancui , Chen Ping , Qi Jing , Yang Yiqun , Feng Yuling , Xu Wei , Kong Weiwei , Chen Yang , Li Shanping , Wu Xiang , Yan Tingting
Published: March 2019

Purpose:

To evaluate the feasibility and accuracy of intracavitary electrocardiogram for verifying tip position of peripherally inserted central catheters in cancer patients during follow-up period.

Methods:

From March 2015 to October 2015, 126 patients involved in eight hospitals who underwent peripherally inserted central catheter placement received intracavitary electrocardiogram and chest X-ray to verify position of the catheter tip during follow-up period. Their intracavitary electrocardiogram was compared with surface electrocardiogram to judge catheter tip landing zone in one of three different anatomical zones. The amplitude of intracavitary electrocardiogram P wave and the ratio of intracavitary electrocardiogram P wave/surface electrocardiogram P wave were measured and showed correlation with catheter tip position confirmed by chest X-ray. Based on chest X-ray principle, all the cases were assigned into three intracavitary electrocardiogram groups to explore the optimal cut-off values for intracavitary electrocardiogram P wave and intracavitary electrocardiogram P wave/surface electrocardiogram P wave by analyzing the receiver operating characteristic.

Results:

No technique-related complications or adverse events occurred in this study. The matching rate between intracavitary electrocardiogram and chest X-ray method was 93.7%. The optimal cut-off values for intracavitary electrocardiogram P wave were set from 3.15 to 3.75 mV, and intracavitary electrocardiogram P wave/surface electrocardiogram P wave from 1.65 to 3.25.

Conclusions:

It is demonstrated in this retrospective multicenter study that the intracavitary electrocardiogram method for verifying tip position of peripherally inserted central catheter during follow-up period is feasible and accurate in all adult patients with cancer.