bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Costs of Periprocedural Complications in Patients Treated With Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement
Authors: Arnold Suzanne V. , Lei Yang , Reynolds Matthew R. , Magnuson Elizabeth A. , Suri Rakesh M. , Tuzcu E. Murat , Petersen John L. , Douglas Pamela S. , Svensson Lars G. , Gada Hemal , Thourani Vinod H. , Kodali Susheel K. , Mack Michael J. , Leon Martin B. , Cohen David J.
Published: October 2014

Background—

In patients with severe aortic stenosis, transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) improves survival when compared with nonsurgical therapy but with higher in-hospital and lifetime costs. Complications associated with TAVR may decrease with greater experience and improved devices, thereby reducing the overall cost of the procedure. Therefore, we sought to estimate the effect of periprocedural complications on in-hospital costs and length of stay of TAVR.

Methods and Results—

Using detailed cost data from 406 TAVR patients enrolled in the Placement of Aortic Transcatheter Valve (PARTNER) I trial, we developed multivariable models to estimate the incremental cost and length of stay associated with specific periprocedural complications. Attributable costs and length of stay for each complication were calculated by multiplying the independent cost of each event by its frequency in the treatment group. Mean cost for the initial hospitalization was $79 619±40 570 ($50 891 excluding the valve); 49% of patients had ≥1 complication. Seven complications were independently associated with increased hospital costs, with major bleeding, arrhythmia, and death accounting for the largest attributable cost per patient. Renal failure and the need for repeat TAVR, although less frequent, were also associated with substantial incremental and attributable costs. Overall, complications accounted for $12 475 per patient in initial hospital costs and 2.4 days of hospitalization.

Conclusions—

In the PARTNER trial, periprocedural complications were frequent, costly, and accounted for ≈25% of non-implant–related hospital costs. Avoidance of complications should improve the cost-effectiveness of TAVR for inoperable and high-risk patients, but reductions in the cost of uncomplicated TAVR will also be necessary for optimal efficiency.

Clinical Trial Registration—

URL:
http://www.clinicaltrials.gov
. Unique identifier: NCT00530894.
Depletion of B‐Cells With Rituximab Improves Endothelial Function and Reduces Inflammation Among Individuals With Rheumatoid Arthritis
Authors: Hsue Priscilla Y. , Scherzer Rebecca , Grunfeld Carl , Imboden John , Wu Yuaner , del Puerto Gus , Nitta Elaine , Shigenaga Judy , Schnell Heringer Amanda , Ganz Peter , Graf Jonathan
Published: October 2014

Background

Individuals with rheumatoid arthritis (
RA
) are at increased risk for cardiovascular disease, partly due to systemic inflammation and endothelial dysfunction. B‐cells play an important pathogenic role in the inflammatory process that drives
RA
disease activity. Rituximab, a chimeric murine/human monoclonal antibody that depletes B‐cells, is an effective therapy for
RA
. The purpose of this study was to determine whether B‐cell depletion with rituximab reduces systemic inflammation and improves macrovascular (brachial artery flow‐mediated dilation,
FMD
) and microvascular (reactive hyperemia) endothelial function in
RA
patients.

Methods and Results

RA
patients received a single course of rituximab (1000 mg
IV
infusion at baseline and on day 15).
FMD
, reactive hyperemia, inflammatory markers, and clinical assessments were performed at baseline, week 12, and week 24. Twenty patients (95% female, median age 54 years) completed the study. Following treatment,
FMD
improved from a baseline of 4.5±0.4% to 6.4±0.6% at 12 weeks (mean±
SE
;
P
<0.0001), followed by a decline at week 24; a similar pattern was observed for hyperemic velocity. Significant decreases in
RA
disease scores, high‐sensitivity C‐reactive protein, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, and circulating
CD
19+ B‐cells were sustained through week 24. Cholesterol and triglycerides became significantly although modestly elevated during the study.

Conclusions

Depletion of B‐cells with rituximab improved macrovascular and microvascular endothelial function and reduced systemic inflammation, despite modest elevation in lipids. Given these results, rituximab should be evaluated in the future for its possible role in reducing excess cardiovascular risk in
RA
.

Clinical Trial Registration

URL
http://ClinicalTrials.gov
. Unique identifier:
NCT
00844714.
Thienopyridine Use After Coronary Stenting in Low Income Patients Enrolled in Medicare Part D Receiving Maintenance Dialysis
Authors: Chang Tara I. , Montez‐Rath Maria E. , Shen Jenny I. , Solomon Matthew D. , Chertow Glenn M. , Winkelmayer Wolfgang C.
Published: October 2014

Background

Coronary stenting in patients on dialysis has increased by nearly 50% over the past decade, despite heightened risks of associated stent thrombosis and bleeding relative to the general population. We examined clopidogrel, prasugrel or ticlopidine use after percutaneous coronary intervention (
PCI
) with stenting in patients on dialysis. We conducted 3‐, 6‐, and 12‐month landmark analyses to test the hypothesis that thienopyridine discontinuation prior to those time points would be associated with higher risks of death, myocardial infarction, or repeat revascularization, and a lower risk of major bleeding episodes compared with continued thienopyridine use.

Methods and Results

Using the
US
Renal Data System, we identified 8458 patients on dialysis with Medicare Parts A+B+D undergoing
PCI
with stenting between July 2007 and December 2010. Ninety‐nine percent of all thienopyridine prescriptions were for clopidogrel. At 3 months, 82% of patients who received drug‐eluting stents (
DES
) had evidence of thienopyridine use. These proportions fell to 62% and 40% at 6 and 12 months, respectively. In patients who received a bare‐metal stent (
BMS
), 70%, 34%, and 26% of patients had evidence of thienopyridine use at 3, 6, and 12 months, respectively. In patients who received a
DES
, there was a suggestion of higher risks of death or myocardial infarction associated with thienopyridine discontinuation in the 3‐, 6‐, and 12‐months landmark analyses, but no higher risk of major bleeding episodes. In patients who received a
BMS
, there were no differences in death or cardiovascular events, and possibly lower risk of major bleeding with thienopyridine discontinuation in the 3‐ and 6‐month landmark analyses.

Conclusions

The majority of patients on dialysis who undergo
PCI
discontinue thienopyridines before 1 year regardless of stent type. While not definitive, these data suggest that longer‐term thienopyridine use may be of benefit to patients on dialysis who undergo
PCI
with
DES
.
Brief Training in Patient-Centered Counseling for Healthy Weight Management Increases Counseling Self-efficacy and Goal Setting Among Pediatric Primary Care Providers
Authors: Welsh Jean A. , Nelson Jennifer M. , Walsh Stephanie , Sealer Holly , Palmer Wendy , Vos Miriam B.
Published: October 2014

Background. We hypothesized that training in patient-centered counseling would improve self-efficacy and quality of weight management–related counseling provided by pediatric primary care physicians (PCPs). Methods. A total of 36 PCPs attended a brief (2-hour) training and consented to participate in an evaluation. Training impact was assessed using self-administered, pretraining and posttraining surveys and a review of patient charts from prior to and from 6 and 12 months after training for a random subsample of 19 PCPs (10 charts/timepoint per PCP). Results. Self-reported effectiveness at obesity prevention and treatment increased from 16.7% to 44.4% ( P = .01) and from 19.4% to 55.6% ( P < .001), respectively. Self-efficacy in counseling and motivating patients increased from 44.4% to 80.6% ( P < .001) and 27.8% to 63.9% ( P < .001), respectively. Goal documentation increased from 3.9% to 16.4% and 57.9% at 6 months and 12 months posttraining, respectively. Conclusions. Brief training in patient-centered counseling appears to increase self-efficacy and the frequency and quality of weight-related counseling provided by PCPs.
Teacher–student relationship quality as a function of children’s expectancies
Authors: Gurland Suzanne T. , Evangelista Jessie E.
Published: October 2014

Study 1, a longitudinal field study, tested children’s summertime expectancies of their upcoming teachers as a predictor of teacher–student relationship quality (TSRQ) across an academic year. Eighty-one fourth- to sixth-grade children and their 16 teachers reported on TSRQ 2, 20, and 36 weeks into the school year. Children’s summertime expectancies predicted TSRQ, with greater expected autonomy support predicting higher quality relationships, as reported by both children and teachers. In Study 2, we manipulated 71 third- through sixth-grade children’s expectancies of a guest teacher’s autonomy-supportiveness prior to a 6-week instructional unit and measured TSRQ repeatedly throughout. The causal effect of expectancies was limited to the oldest children, and its direction differed by sex and time of measurement. Implications are discussed.
Blood versus crystalloid cardioplegia for pediatric cardiac surgery: a meta-analysis
Authors: Fang Y , Long C , Lou S , Guan Y , Fu Z
Published: October 2014

Objective:

Blood and crystalloid cardioplegia are the main myocardial protective solutions used in pediatric cardiac surgery. However, the effectiveness of these two solutions on myocardial metabolism, reperfusion injury and clinical outcomes in pediatric patients is still under debate. The purpose of this meta-analysis was to compare the efficacy of these two cardioplegia solutions in pediatric cardiac surgery.

Methods:

Keyword searches were performed on PUBMED, EMBASE and The Cochrane Library for randomized, controlled, clinical studies which were primarily comparing blood and crystalloid cardioplegia in pediatric cardiac surgery and provided data of postoperative cardiac troponin I (cTnI), lactate, mechanical ventilation time, length of intensive care unit (ICU) stay and inotropic support. Databases were searched from 1966 to June 2013 and were restricted to peer-reviewed English language publications of human subjects. We summarized the combined results of the data as mean difference (MD, when outcome measurements were made on the same scale) or standard mean difference (SMD, when the studies assess the same outcome with different scales), with 95% confidence intervals.

Results:

Five studies were identified, with a total of 323 patients. Lactate level after cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) was significantly lower after blood cardioplegia compared with crystalloid cardioplegia (SMD 1.09, 95%CI 0.12 to 2.06, p=0.03); cTnI release postoperatively at 4-6 h (MD 0.92 ng/ml, 95%CI -0.13 to 1.97, p=0.09), 12 h (MD 0.2 ng/ml, 95% CI -0.43 to 0.84, p=0.53) and 24 h (MD 0.98 ng/ml, 95%CI -0.26 to 2.22, p=0.12) was not significantly different between the groups; ventilation duration (MD 5.15 hours, 95%CI -7.51 to 17.81, p=0.42) and length of ICU stay (SMD -0.3, 95%CI -0.80 to 0.21, p=0.25) were not significantly different between the groups either.

Conclusion:

Myocardial metabolism was better in the blood cardioplegia group compared with the crystalloid cardioplegia group. However, there was no evidence of improvement in myocardial damage or clinical outcome for either cardioplegia solution.
Some ethical conflicts in emergency care
Authors: Jiménez-Herrera Maria F , Axelsson Christer
Published: October 2014

Background:

Decision-making and assessment in emergency situations are complex and result many times in ethical conflicts between different healthcare professionals.

Aim:

To analyse and describe situations that can generate ethical conflict among nurses working in emergency situations.

Methods:

Qualitative analysis. A total of 16 emergency nurses took part in interviews and a focus group.

Ethical considerations:

Organisational approval by the University Hospital, and informed consent and confidentiality were ensured before conducting the research.

Result/conclusion:

Two categories emerged: one in ‘ethical issues’ and one in ‘emotions and feelings in caring’. The four ethical subcategories are presented: Autonomy, the first sub category: first, the nurse’s ability to practise care on an emergency ward and, second, to support the patient and/or relatives in terms of care and medical treatment. The conflicts arise when the nurse ends up in the middle between the patient and the physician responsible for the diagnosis and treatment from a nature scientific perspective. Reification of injured body: patient was often reified and fragmented, becoming just a leg or arm. Different factors contributed in this perspective. Pain: pain relief was often inadequate but more effectively treated in the emergency medical services than at the emergency department. The nurses highlighted the phenomenon of suffering because they felt that pain was only an object, forgetting the patients’ care need, like separating mind from body. Death: the nurses felt that the emergency services are only prepared to save lives and not to take care of the needs of patients with ‘end-of-life’ care. Another issue was the lack of ethical guidelines during a cardiac arrest. Resuscitation often continues without asking about the patient’s ‘previous wishes’ in terms of resuscitation or not. In these situations, the nurses describe an ethical conflict with the physician in performing their role as the patient’s advocate. The nurses express feelings of distress, suffering, anger and helplessness.
The role of government policy in service development in a New Zealand statutory mental health service: implications for policy planning and development
Authors: Stanley-Clarke Nicky , Sanders Jackie , Munford Robyn
Published: October 2014

Objective:

To explore the relationship between government policy and service development in a New Zealand statutory mental health provider, Living Well.

Method:

An organisational case study utilising multiple research techniques including qualitative interviews, analysis of business and strategic documents and observation of meetings.

Results:

Staff understood and acknowledged the importance of government policy, but there were challenges in its implementation.

Conclusion:

Within New Zealand’s statutory mental health services staff struggled to know how to implement government policy as part of service development; rather, operational concerns, patient need, local context and service demands drove the service development process.
Classroom Rule Violations in Elementary School Students With Callous-Unemotional Traits
Authors: Waschbusch Daniel A. , Graziano Paulo A. , Willoughby Michael T. , Pelham William E.
Published: October 2014

An emerging body of mental health research provides evidence that callous-unemotional (CU) traits explain significant and meaningful variance among children with disruptive behavior disorders. However, the classroom behavior of students with CU traits has not yet been adequately studied. This study examined this issue using teacher-recorded classroom rule violations (RVs). Participants were 648 children (346 boys; M age = 8.14) from 28 classrooms (kindergarten–sixth grade) distributed across three schools participating in a schoolwide behavioral intervention. Teachers completed rating scales approximately 4 to 6 weeks after the start of the school year, prior to initiating the schoolwide intervention. After completing ratings, teachers recorded daily frequency counts of RVs for each student in their classroom for the remainder of the school year. Growth curve modeling analyses indicated that (a) CU traits were associated with elevated rates of RVs at the start of the school year even after taking attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and oppositional defiant disorder/conduct disorder (ODD/CD) into account and (b) CU traits were associated with a significant decrease in rates of RVs across the school year. CU traits appear to explain significant and important variance in classroom RVs among elementary school age students.
Male Adolescents and Contemporary Pornography
Authors: Bloom Zachary D. , Hagedorn W. Bryce
Published: October 2014

Since the advent of the Internet, the pornography business has expanded to reach audiences that historically lacked access to sexually explicit media. Simultaneously, Internet-based pornographic media has grown in intensity and explicitness that surpasses any of the previous and more traditional forms of eroticism (e.g., books, magazines, and mainstream movies). While pornography is legally produced exclusively for adult consumption, it is widely used by adolescents, with males generally regarded as the primary consumers. Coupled with the reported negative consequences of male adolescents’ use of pornography is the lack of understanding of the content of contemporary pornography among most family counselors. This article reviews implications of counseling families with adolescents impacted by pornography use.
Exact solutions in finite compressible elasticity via the complementary energy function
Authors: Rooney Francis , Eberhard Sean
Published: October 2014

The purpose of this paper is to establish a method of obtaining closed-form solutions in isotropic hyperelasticity using the complementary energy, the Legendre transform of the strain energy function. Using the complementary energy, the stress becomes the independent variable and the strain the dependent variable. Some of the implications of this formulation of the equations are explored and illustrative examples of solutions for spherical and cylindrical inflation for several forms of the complementary energy are presented.
Closing the theory–practice gap
Authors: O’Leary Nick , Wattison Nicole , Edwards Toni , Bryan Kate
Published: October 2014

Recognising that the theory–practice gap remains problematic in the preparation of physical education (PE) teachers, this study sought to explore three undergraduate students use of jigsaw learning teaching gymnastics during a secondary school placement. Specifically, the research attempted to identify those issues that arose using this learning strategy and consider how these issues might be effectively addressed prior to and during the placement. Utilising an action research design, qualitative data are reported from reflective journals, critical friend observations and pupil comment cards. Findings illustrated that the pupils’ limited practical ability, their minimal teaching capabilities and their problematic social relationships impacted on the students’ use of jigsaw learning. To help close the theory–practice gap it is recommended that university staff, students and supervising teachers consider pupils holistic development in the construction of ‘home’ groups; ensure students are able to teach social skills competently; confirm that students are able to prepare suitable learning resources and, if necessary, consider the use of other learning strategies during secondary school placements.
Understanding the role of circulating chemokine (C-C motif) ligand 2 in patients with chronic ischemia threatening the lower extremities
Authors: Rull Anna , Hernandez-Aguilera Anna , Fibla Montserrat , Sepulveda Julio , Rodríguez-Gallego Esther , Riera-Borrull Marta , Sirvent Juan J , Martín-Paredero Vicente , Menendez Javier A , Camps Jordi , Joven Jorge
Published: October 2014

The role of chemokine (C-C motif) ligand 2 (CCL2) in peripheral artery disease is unclear. We measured the difference between serum and plasma levels of CCL2 in patients with chronic ischemia threatening the lower extremities following the observation that atypical chemokine receptors in blood and tissue cells may prevent CCL2 from entering the circulation and consequently modulate its function of attracting monocytes to the site of lesion. To identify the influence of CCL2, we compared the patients’ values to those in bio-banked samples from a control population. Further, we explored the association with the Asp42Gly polymorphism (rs12075) in Duffy antigen chemokine receptor; one of these atypical chemokine receptors. When possible, we evaluated in surgically excised normal and affected arteries the calcium burden as well as the expression of CCL2 and related receptors reflecting the inflammatory status. Our findings indicate that circulating CCL2 was significantly associated with the severity and presence of the disease (OR 0.966, 95% CI 0.944 to 0.988, p = 0.003). Circulating CCL2 was dependent on the rs12075 genotype (AA>AG>GG), which, probably, indicates a higher expression of chemokine receptor in the arteries of AA subjects. The associations with genetic variants and the over-expression of atypical chemokine receptors in diseased arteries may have potential implications and our data indicate that CCL2 may represent a previously unrecognized factor that needs to be considered in the screening of patients with risk factors for peripheral artery disease.
Being a pedestrian with dementia: A qualitative study using photo documentation and focus group interviews
Authors: Brorsson Anna , Öhman Annika , Lundberg Stefan , Nygård Louise
Published: October 2014

The aim of the study was to identify problematic situations in using zebra crossings. They were identified from photo documentations comprising film sequences and the perspectives of people with dementia. The aim was also to identify how they would understand, interpret and act in these problematic situations based on their previous experiences and linked to the film sequences.

A qualitative grounded theory approach was used. Film sequences from five zebra crossings were analysed. The same film sequences were used as triggers in two focus group interviews with persons with dementia. Individual interviews with three informants were also performed.

The core category, the hazard of meeting unfolding problematic traffic situations when only one layer at a time can be kept in focus, showed how a problematic situation as a whole consisted of different layers of problematic situations. The first category, adding layers of problematic traffic situations to each other, was characterized by the informants’ creation of a problematic situation as a whole. The different layers were described in the subcategories of layout of streets and zebra crossings, weather conditions, vehicles and crowding of pedestrians. The second category, actions used to meet different layers of problematic traffic situations, was characterized by avoiding problematic situations, using traffic lights as reminders and security precautions, following the flow at the zebra crossing and being cautious pedestrians.

In conclusion, as community-dwelling people with dementia commonly are pedestrians, it is important that health care professionals and caregivers take their experiences and management of problematic traffic situations into account when providing support.
A study of preferred colour rendering of light sources: Home lighting
Authors: Szabó F , Kéri R , Schanda J , Csuti P , Mihálykó-Orbán E
Published: October 2014

This paper is part of a project to establish the optimal spectral power distributions of LED light sources for use in offices, commerce and homes. The present paper introduces the most important aspects of home lighting and provides recommendations for optimum spectra in the home environment. Visual experiments were carried out in a real scale kitchen/dining room and in a living room environment with the participation of nearly 100 observers. Results have been evaluated with the help of the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) and a modified Thurstone method. As a result of the investigation, optimal spectral power distributions for the home environment are described.
A thermal-based defect classification method in textile fabrics with K-nearest neighbor algorithm
Authors: Yıldız Kazım , Buldu Ali , Demetgul Mustafa
Published: October 2014

In this study, fabric defects have been detected and classified from a video recording captured during the quality control process. Fabric quality control system prototype has been manufactured and a thermal camera was located on the quality control machine. The defective areas on the fabric surface were detected using the heat difference occurring between the defective and defect-free zones. Gray level co-occurrence matrix is used for feature extraction for defective images. The defective images are classified by k-nearest neighbor algorithm. The image processing stage consists of wavelet, threshold, and morphological operations. The defects have been classified with an average accuracy rate of 96%. In addition, the location of the defect has been identified and the defect type and location are recorded during the process via specially designed image processing interface. According to the experimental results, the proposed method works effectively.
Study on properties of cotton fabric incorporated with diammonium phosphate flame retardant through cyclodextrin and 1,2,3,4-butane tetracarboxylic acid binding system
Authors: Veerappagounder Sivakkumar , Nalankilli G , Shanmugasundaram OL
Published: October 2014

The chemical and physical structure of cyclodextrin makes it attractive for use in flame retardant finishing for improving the functional properties and durability of the finished fabric. The suitability of cyclodextrins for grafting using viable techniques that could be reproduced was studied. The flame retardant diammonium phosphate was applied on cyclodextrin-grafted cotton fabric and grafted cum bonded with 1,2,3,4-butane tetracarboxylic acid fabric. The modified monochlorotriazinyl-β-cyclodextrin gives more percentage of grafting (2.7%) under normal processing conditions used for cotton fabric. The effect of treatments like cyclodextrin grafting and 1,2,3,4-butane tetracarboxylic acid treatment on grafted fabric were analysed for diammonium phosphate flame retardant finishing. The whiteness and loss of strength caused by the cyclodextrin grafting was within acceptable limits and the hand value alteration was very less. The flammability behaviour and durability after 1, 5, 10, 20 and 40 washing cycles were determined. The results reveal that the flame retardant property of cyclodextrin treatment enhances the durability of the fabric from non-durable to semi-durable, whereas the diammonium phosphate treatment on 1,2,3,4-butane tetracarboxylic acid/cyclodextrin-grafted fabric changes the flame retardant from non-durable to durable. The evolution of gases during the burning of untreated and treated samples was analysed and the results show that the cyclodextrin-grafted fabric masks the evolving gases to some extent during burning and also that there was less release of formaldehyde in grafted samples compared with ungrafted diammonium phosphate finished sample.
Lack of durable disease control with chemotherapy for mycosis fungoides and Sézary syndrome: a comparative study of systemic therapy
Authors: Hughes Charlotte F. M. , Khot Amit , McCormack Christopher , Lade Stephen , Westerman David A. , Twigger Robert , Buelens Odette , Newland Kate , Tam Constantine , Dickinson Michael , Ryan Gail , Ritchie David , Wood Colin , Prince H. Miles
Published: October 2014

Key Points

Chemotherapy results in a short median time to next treatment in patients with mycosis fungoides/Sézary syndrome. α-interferon achieves a superior time to next treatment compared with chemotherapy, regardless of stage.
Ferromagnetism in ultrathin MoS2 nanosheets: from amorphous to crystalline
Authors: Zhang Rongfang , Li You , Qi Jing , Gao Daqiang
Published: October 2014

Two-dimensional materials have various applications in the next generation nanodevices because of their easy fabrication and particular properties. In this work, we studied the effects of crystalline order on the magnetic properties of ultrathin MoS2 nanosheets. Results indicate that all the fabricated samples show clear room temperature ferromagnetism. The amorphous sample has the larger saturation magnetization than that of the crystallized samples, where the disordered grain boundary or defects in the nanosheets are considered to be responsible for the long-range magnetic order. These MoS2 nanosheets with versatile functions may have potential applications in spintronics, nanodevices, and photodevices.
Some coincidence theorems for generalized nonlinear contractions in ordered metric spaces with applications
Authors: Alam Aftab , Khan Abdur Rauf , Imdad Mohammad
Published: October 2014

In this article, we prove some existence and uniqueness results on coincidence points for g-increasing mappings satisfying generalized φ-contractivity conditions in ordered metric spaces. As an application of one of our newly proved results, we indicate the formulation of a coupled coincidence theorem. Our results generalize, extend, modify, improve, sharpen, enrich, and complement several well-known results of the existing literature. Also, we point out that a recent coincidence point result proved in Dalal et al. (J. Adv. Math. 7(1):1084-1094, 2014) contains errors and omissions.

MSC:47H10, 54H25.
The costs of early school leaving in Europe
Authors: Brunello Giorgio , Paola Maria De
Published: October 2014

The reduction of early school leaving to less than 10 percent of the relevant population by 2020 is a headline target in the Europe 2020 strategy and one of the five benchmarks of the strategic framework for European cooperation in education and training. Designing adequate policies to combat early school leaving is a difficult task that requires both the identification of causal links and the measurement of costs and benefits. In this paper, we review the issues surrounding the measurement of the costs of early school leaving to individuals and societies and examine several implemented policies that are expected to affect early school leavers. These include broad policies – such as changes in minimum school leaving age, tracking and school resources – as well as more targeted policies. While our focus is mainly on Europe, we also consider important evidence from across the Atlantic.

JEL Classification

J24.
A trust-based framework for vehicular travel with non-binary reports and its validation via an extensive simulation testbed
Authors: Cohen Robin , Zhang Jie , Finnson John , Tran Thomas , Minhas Umar F
Published: October 2014

In this paper, we offer an algorithm for intelligent decision making about travel path planning in mobile vehicular ad-hoc networks (VANETs), for scenarios where agents representing vehicles exchange reports about traffic. One challenge that arises is how best to model the trustworthiness of those traffic reports. To this end, we outline an algorithm for effectively soliciting, receiving and analyzing the trustworthiness of these reports, to drive a vehicle’s decision about the path to follow. Distinct from earlier work, we clarify the need for specifying the conditions under which reports are exchanged and for processing non-binary reports, culminating in a proposed algorithm to achieve that processing, as part of the trust modeling and path planning. To validate our approach we then offer a detailed evaluation framework that achieves large scale simulation of traffic, travel and reporting of information, confirming the value of our proposed approach by demonstrating the average speed of vehicles which follow our algorithm (compared to ones that do not). This experimental framework is promoted as a significant contribution towards the goal of evaluating trust algorithms for intelligent decision making in traffic scenarios.
Partial Blockade of Kv2.1 Channel Potentiates GLP-1's Insulinotropic Effects in Islets and Reduces Its Dose Required for Improving Glucose Tolerance in Type 2 Diabetic Male Mice
Authors: Sukma Rita Rauza , Dezaki Katsuya , Kurashina Tomoyuki , Kakei Masafumi , Yada Toshihiko
Published: October 2014

Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1)-based medicines have recently been widely used to treat type 2 diabetic patients, whereas adverse effects of nausea and vomiting have been documented. Inhibition of voltage-gated K+ channel subtype Kv2.1 in pancreatic β-cells has been suggested to contribute to mild depolarization and promotion of insulin release. This study aimed to determine whether the blockade of Kv2.1 channels potentiates the insulinotropic effect of GLP-1 agonists. Kv2.1 channel blocker guangxitoxin-1E (GxTx) and GLP-1 agonist exendin-4 at subthreshold concentrations, when combined, markedly increased the insulin release and cytosolic Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]i) in a glucose-dependent manner in mouse islets and β-cells. Exendin-4 at subthreshold concentration alone increased islet insulin release and β-cell [Ca2+]i in Kv2.1+/− mice. The [Ca2+]i response to subthreshold exendin-4 and GxTx in combination was attenuated by pretreatment with protein kinase A inhibitor H-89, indicating the protein kinase A dependency of the cooperative effect. Furthermore, subthreshold doses of GxTx and GLP-1 agonist liraglutide in combination markedly increased plasma insulin and improved glucose tolerance in diabetic db/db mice and NSY mice. These results demonstrate that a modest suppression of Kv2.1 channels dramatically raises insulinotropic potency of GLP-1-based drugs, which opens a new avenue to reduce their doses and associated adverse effects while achieving the same glycemic control in type 2 diabetes.
The Predicaments of Left-Schmittianism
Authors: Bargu Banu
Published: October 2014

This essay argues that Jodi Dean’s The Communist Horizon can be read as a radical left-Schmittian intervention. The essay shows the basic points of correspondence between Dean’s arguments and those of Carl Schmitt. Bargu examines how Dean adopts and mobilizes Schmitt’s most characteristic claims in the service of a communist politics while also modifying and complicating them in light of her analysis of the changes wrought by neoliberal, communicative capitalism, a poststructuralist questioning of the identity of the ruler and the ruled, and the insights of psychoanalysis for subject formation. Building on the reconstruction of Dean’s work according to the main tenets of left-Schmittianism, Bargu discusses both the important insights and the theoretical problems involved in the leftist appropriation of Schmitt’s thought.
Within the Horizon of an Actuality: The State and the Commons in the Eternal Return of Communism
Authors: Draper Susana
Published: October 2014

This essay connects Jodi Dean’s and Bruno Bosteels’s works on the “horizon” and the “actuality” of communism with some of the problems that constituted the political landscape during the past decade in Bolivia and in the past years (2011-13) of Occupy Wall Street. It proposes that the old issues that composed the problematic of dual power in the Latin America of the seventies are transposed into the present in the guise of the question regarding the commons and the state. To stage this, the article traces a brief history of the transformation of the question, from René Zavaleta Mercado’s accounts of various situations of dual power in the Bolivia of the 1960s and early 1970s to Raquel Gutiérrez’s transformation/translation of some of Zavaleta Mercado’s positions in Los ritmos del Pachakuti.
When Lulism Gets Out of Control
Authors: Cava Bruno
Published: October 2014

This article discusses the unfolding of protests in Brazil in 2013—between fear of the government and the joy of the multitude—starting from the question of how they reached such a large scale. Using the autonomist concept of class composition, the essay analyzes the transition of the struggle from a social composition to a political composition. The argument hypothesizes that the recomposition occurred during the political and social phenomenon of Lulism (as theorized by André Singer, Jessé Souza, Guiseppe Cocco, and others) and has intensified the internal paradox of Lulist-Dilmist governance and its material bases. In this sense, recomposition occurred through the activation of political capacities and antagonisms that—having neither escaped nor been captured by the representative Left and any other electoral fronts—ultimately conferred a class character on the protests. The article concludes by discussing the centrality of direct action for sustaining and multiplying the protests, which spread like a plague in the city, revealing the truth of power (war) and triggering new processes of the production of subjectivity.
The role of the plexin-A2 receptor in semaphorin-3A and semaphorin-3B signal transduction
Authors: Sabag Adi D. , Smolkin Tatyana , Mumblat Yelena , Ueffing Marius , Kessler Ofra , Gloeckner Christian Johannes , Neufeld Gera
Published: October 2014

Class-3 semaphorins are anti-angiogenic and anti-tumorigenic guidance factors that bind to neuropilins which in turn associate with class-A plexins to transduce semaphorin signals. To study the role of the plexin-A2 receptor in semaphorin signaling, we silenced its expression in endothelial cells and in glioblastoma cells. The silencing did not affect sema3A signaling which depended on neuropilin-1, plexin-A1 and plexin-A4, but abolished completely sema3B signaling which required in addition plexin-A4 and one of the two neuropilins. Interestingly, over-expression of plexin-A2 in plexin-A1 or plexin-A4 silenced cells restored responses to both semaphorins although it nullified their ability to differentiate between them, suggesting that when over-expressed plexin-A2 is functionally interchangeable with other class-A plexins. In-contrast, although plexin-A4 over-expression restored sema3A signaling in plexin-A1 silenced cells, it failed to restore sema3B signaling in plexin-A2 silenced cells. It follows that the identity of plexins in functional semaphorin receptors can be flexible depending on their expression level. Our results suggest that changes in the expression of plexins induced by microenvironmental cues can trigger differential responses of different populations of migrating cells to encountered gradients of semaphorins.
PTEN dampens PIP3 upregulation in spines during NMDA receptor-dependent long-term depression
Authors: Arendt Kristin L. , Benoist Marion , Lario Argentina , Draffin Jonathan E. , Muñoz María , Esteban José A.
Published: October 2014

PI3K and PTEN have been shown to participate in synaptic plasticity, during long-term potentiation (LTP) and long-term depression (LTD), respectively. Nevertheless, the dynamics of phosphatidylinositol-(3,4,5)-trisphosphate (PIP3) and the regulation of its synthesis and degradation at synaptic compartments is far from clear. Here, we have used FRET imaging to monitor changes in PIP3 levels in dendritic spines from CA1 hippocampal neurons under basal conditions and upon induction of NMDA receptor-dependent LTD and LTP. We found that PIP3 is under constant turnover in dendritic spines. Contrary to the expectation, both LTD and LTP induction trigger an increase in PIP3 synthesis, which requires NMDA receptors and PI3K activity. Using biochemical methods, the upregulation of PIP3 levels during LTP was estimated to be two-fold. However, in the case of LTD, PTEN activity counteracts the increase in PIP3 synthesis, resulting in no net change in PIP3 levels. Therefore, both LTP and LTD signaling converge towards PIP3 upregulation, but PTEN acts as an LTD-selective switch that determines the outcome of PIP3 accumulation.
THE INFLUENCE OF SLAG ON DEGRADATION OF TUNDISH WORKING LINING
Authors: Buľko Branislav , Demeter Peter , Havran Juraj
Published: October 2014

This paper is focused on the influence of the slag formed by covering and refining powders on lifetime, respectively on the wearing of the working lining of tundish. The experimental part deals with the influences of used covering and refining powders on the working. Besides the influence of covering and refining powders is also considered the influence of the ladle well filler and slag from the ladle. The wear of the lining is evaluated using the change in dimensions of working lining in the range of slag mark on particular tundishes. Based on chemical composition of the slag and thermodynamics are modeled chemical reactions causing corrosion of the refractory material. The experimental part contains also comparison of measured chemical composition of the slag during the sequence with material balance.
PHYSICAL AND NUMERICAL DETERMINATION OF WORKABILITY IN ALUMINIUM ALLOYS
Authors: Kováčová Andrea , Kvačkaj Tibor , Kočiško Róbert , Tiža Juraj
Published: October 2014

To prevent any failure or fracture in materials during a forming process, the study of material workability is a crucial task. In this paper, the workability of two different aluminium alloys was described through Cockcroft - Latham ductile fracture criteria and forming limit diagrams. Moreover, the experiments have been carried out using compression tests and finite element methods and there was able to compare and verify the physical and numerical approaches. According to the results, there was found out that physical and numerical models are advantageous tools to describe the material workability during forming processes and the optimal data are obtained when both approaches are working together.
VARIOUS POSSIBILITIES OF THE HOT EXTRUSION IN ALUMINUM CHIPS PROCESSING
Authors: Kočiško Róbert , Bidulský Róbert , Dragošek Lukáš , Škrobian Milan
Published: October 2014

This article deals with the analysis and comparison of the conditions for solid state welding during extrusions by means of numerical simulation. Numerical simulations made on four different matrices, such as square die without integrated extrusion and equal channel angular pressing (iECAP), porthole die whit one and four square profile. Maximum volume and distribution of effective strain, strain rate and shear stress was analyzing. The results show that during cold molding of chips there is mutual deformations of chips, which are rearranged and mechanically crimped. In the first phase of pressing occurs complete elimination of porosity. The square die with iECAP was extrusion force is 30% higher than porthole die. Maximumeffective strain was calculated for the porthole die whit four square profile.
The bear necessities
Authors: White Hilary
Published: October 2014

With the help of Jez Alborough's characters, Hilary White offers ways to encourage children to think about the meaning of friendship and to celebrate special friendship moments.
Growth in a ‘New World’: Case Studies of Peer Leader Experiences in the STEPS Program for People With Acquired Brain Injury
Authors: Kennedy Areti , Turner Benjamin , Kendall Melissa
Published: October 2014

Background: The Skills To Enable People and CommunitieS (STEPS) Program is a new information, support and skills program that aims to develop sustainable networks of support for individuals with acquired brain injury (ABI) and their families in communities throughout Queensland, Australia. The program adopts a self-management approach and is delivered by trained peer and professional leaders. Aim: To explore the experiences of both peer and lay leaders in the delivery of the STEPS Skills Program and coordination of STEPS Network Groups. Method: A multiple qualitative case study design was utilised to explore the unique experiences of three trained STEPS Program Leaders. Data collection entailed in-depth semistructured interviews with participants and further incorporated routine STEPS Program Leader descriptive data. The data analysis involved a four-stage approach that included assembling the raw case data, constructing case records, producing case narratives and cross-case pattern analysis. Results: Case study narratives were produced to describe participant experiences with the STEPS Program. The cross-case pattern analysis revealed two dimensions of comparison. The first dimension describes the process by which participants became STEPS Program Leaders, while the second dimension reflects the growth outcomes experienced by participants through their involvement with the STEPS Program. Specific growth outcomes are described in relation to the following domains: ‘expansion of social roles and skills’, ‘appreciation of life’, ‘interpersonal relationships and communication’, ‘confidence, personal strength and accomplishment’ and ‘growth in self as a person’. The results are also described with respect to a model that depicts the process of growth through STEPS Program delivery. Conclusion: Posttraumatic growth of peer leaders after brain injury can be facilitated within a therapeutic intervention such as the STEPS Program.
Begriffliches versus nicht-begriffliches Selbstbewusstsein
Authors: Esken Frank
Published: October 2014

In this paper I defend a sophisticated language-bound notion of self-consciousness against so called non-conceptual forms of self-consciousness. I distinguish self-specific (first-order) consciousness from (second-order) self-consciousness and I argue that the proponents of non-conceptual forms of self-consciousness confound both notions.
Der unheimliche Spiegel. Eine Neubewertung der Spiegel-Selbsterfahrungsexperimente als Test für das Vorliegen von begrifflichem Selbstbewusstsein
Authors: Rochat Philippe , Zahavi Dan
Published: October 2014

Mirror self-experience is re-cast away from the cognitivist interpretation that has dominated discussions on the issue since the establishment of the mirror mark test. Ideas formulated by Merleau-Ponty on mirror self-experience point to the profoundly unsettling encounter with one’s specular double. These ideas, together with developmental evidence are re-visited to provide a new, psychologically and phenomenologically more valid account of mirror self-experience: an experience associated with deep wariness.
Physiologische Psychologie des Selbstbewusstseins zwischen Wolff und Kant
Authors: Thiel Udo
Published: October 2014

Having outlined the development of early modern conceptions of selfconsciousness, this paper then examines and critically evaluates the late eighteenth- century empirical psychology of Karl Franz von Irwing, a German enlightenment thinker. Irwing’s four volume work Erfahrungen und Untersuchungen über den Menschen is devoted to an empirical ‘science of man’. In terms of the notions of consciousness and self-consciousness, he nevertheless follows Wolff in that he adopts the latter’s idea that the capacity to distinguish among perceptions must be assumed for self-consciousness to be possible. As it turns out, however, Irwing’s main interest is in line with his general project and concerns the empirical development of self-consciousness. He argues that non-conceptual, immediate selfawareness or Selbstgefühl has its origin in the sense of touch, but that a conceptually mediated form of self-consciousness requires in addition the development of certain mental activities which are in turn dependent on language. Further he accounts for what he calls ‘continued self-consciousness’ in which consists our personality. Irwing does not explain diachronic personal identity, however, as he is instead concerned only with how the idea of identity develops. This points to the limitations of a project such as Irwing’s, as it avoids the fundamental philosophical issues concerning self-consciousness and personal identity.
The History of Interconnected Evolution of Orobanche cumana Wallr. and Sunflower in the Russian Federation and Kazakhstan
Authors: Antonova Tatiana S.
Published: October 2014

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A mascon adjustment of the Earth’s gravity field using GOCE gradiometer data
Authors: Mysen Eirik
Published: October 2014

We have subtracted known contributions from the GOCE gradiometer data that forms the basis of the fourth generation time-wise gravity field solution (TIM4), and mapped the residuals onto a local mascon model covering the south of Norway. Quasigeoids derived from combinations of the mascon adjusted TIM4 solution and EGM08 were then compared to height anomalies of a precise and dense GPS/levelling network. It was found that a mascon adjustment of TIM4 based on the first satellite cycle could improve the consistency between the corresponding quasigeoid and the network by about 0.5 cm. If the data foundation of the mascon solution was expanded to include also the next two-three satellite cycles then an improved consistency between the corresponding quasigeoid and the network height anomalies appeared on all spatial scales.