bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Role of Governments in the Business and Society Debate
Authors: Dentchev Nikolay A. , Haezendonck Elvira , van Balen Mitchell
Published: May 2015

The role of governments in business and society (B&S) research remains underexplored. The generally accepted principle of voluntarism, which frames responsible business conduct as an unregulated subject under managerial discretion, accounts for this gap. Paradoxically, there are sufficient acknowledgments in academia and practice on different roles of governments. The present article identifies three broad topics for research, addressing (a) the paradox between the principle of voluntarism and the role of governments in B&S, (b) the boundaries of governments and business in their contribution to B&S issues, and (c) the mechanisms of government intervention that affect corporate social performance. The authors approach the first topic with a literature review of 703 articles marked with the term “government” from five journals in the field ( Business & Society, Business Ethics: A European Review, Business Ethics Quarterly, Business Strategy and the Environment, and Journal of Business Ethics) between 1982 and 2011. This study indicates that the principle of voluntarism remains, despite the broad variety of research related to the role of government in B&S. In addition, the identified content provides deeper insight into the mechanisms of government intervention and on the boundaries of governments in the B&S discourse. This article then provides a summary of the other three research articles included in this special research forum, with a contribution oriented toward the latter two research avenues posited.
Graduate Trainees’ Social Justice Supports, Beliefs, Interest, and Commitment
Authors: Inman Arpana G. , Luu Linh P. , Pendse Asmita C. , Caskie Grace I. L.
Published: May 2015

The present study examined the direct and indirect relationships between belief in a just world, belief in an unjust world, perceived social supports, and training supports, and social justice self-efficacy beliefs, interest, and commitment among 274 graduate counselor trainees. Structural equation modeling revealed that social justice self-efficacy had direct and indirect effects on social justice commitment by bolstering social justice interest. Furthermore, the more participants believed that the world was a just place, the less interest and commitment they expressed for social justice advocacy. Moreover, the more social support, training supports, social justice self-efficacy, and interest participants reported, the higher their commitment to doing social justice work. Finally, training supports only had a direct link to social justice commitment. Implications for theory, training programs, and research are addressed.
Career scripts in clusters: A social position approach
Authors: Valette Annick , Culié Jean-Denis
Published: May 2015

This article examines the career scripts held by individuals working in clusters by studying the careers seen as desirable and possible by 42 micro-nanotechnology and computer science researchers in the ‘Minalogic’ cluster, the French equivalent of Silicon Valley. We consider the links between the researchers’ career scripts and their social positions and identify six discrete career scripts that we label organizational nomad, entrepreneurial, organizational extension, cloister, escape and conversion. Central social positions in the cluster are linked with boundaryless career scripts ( organizational nomad and entrepreneurial scripts), but individuals also use the resources associated with their central social positions to envisage both extending their careers and the range of tasks they undertake ( organizational extension script) within their employing organizations. Others − those holding peripheral social positions − may be unable to match the cluster’s expectations, and so feel trapped in involuntary immobility ( cloister script), constrained to leave the cluster ( escape script) or to change their occupations or broaden their skill sets to advance their careers within it ( conversion script). Our article goes beyond simply using scripts as descriptions to propose a more comprehensive approach by highlighting the social dimension of career scripts. Our results qualify the supposed predominance of the boundaryless career notion by confronting it with the wider generic notion of the career script, so proposing a more complete description of how a cluster shapes individuals’ career definitions and aspirations, as well as a more complex theorization of how those careers are influenced by the cluster context.
Synergetic effect of polyolefin elastomer and CaCO3 particle on ternary nano-composite (polypropylene/polyolefin elastomers/calcium carbonate) behavior
Authors: Elloumi A , Pimbert S , Bradai Ch
Published: May 2015

The mechanical and toughening properties of ternary nano-composites (polypropylene/polyolefin elastomer/calcium carbonate) are investigated. Blends of polypropylene (PP)/ethylene-alpha olefin copolymer (polyolefin elastomer)/nano calcium carbonate were prepared through a two-step process. Stearic acid-treated CaCO3 (denoted CC322) and non-treated CaCO3 (denoted CC31) were used at content of 1%, 3%, and 5%. Two polyolefin elastomers (POE), ethylene-butene and ethylene-octene copolymers at 5 wt% were also used to adjust the phase structure of the ternary nano-composites. Tension surface measurements were correlated to morphological observations. Two phase structures were found: (1) treated calcium carbonate contributes to form the core-shell structure (2) non-treated calcium carbonate builds filler-network structure for the two POE. The mechanical properties of nano-composites were investigated using Izod impact and tensile tests. The influence of the morphologies on the impact strength and toughness of the nano-composites was studied. The formation of a filler-network structure was found to be a key for the toughness enhancement. A positive and synergic effect was found using ethylene-octene copolymer and non-treated calcium carbonate.
Structure and properties of buckypapers based on poly(methyl methacrylate-co-methacrylic acid)/ polyamide 6,6 and carbon nanotube intercalated montmorillonite
Authors: Kausar Ayesha , Siddiq Muhammad
Published: May 2015

Considering the challenge of the tendency of carbon nanotube to aggregate, the originality of fabricating nanocomposites with preformed network through microfiltration of nanotube suspension has been focused. The nanotube may fasten together upon dispersion in a liquid suspension and filtered through a fine mesh forming a thin film known as buckypaper. In this study, initially poly(methyl methacrylate- co-methacrylic acid) (PMMAMA) and polyamide 6,6 (PA-6,6) blend was formed. Later, the matrix was reinforced with carbon nanotube and montmorillonite–modified carbon nanotube (CNT–MMT). In this way, two series of buckypapers, PMMAMA/PA-6,6/CNT 0.5-5 and PMMAMA/PA-6,6/CNT–MMT 0.5-5, were prepared with varying CNT and CNT–MMT content. PA-6,6 was in situ polymerized and the effect of filler inclusion on number and weight average molecular weight was studied. Studies were performed using gel-permeation chromatography, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, field emission scanning electron microscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, and cone calorimetry to explore the structure, morphology, thermal, and flammability properties of high-performance composites. PMMAMA/PA-6,6/CNT–MMT revealed CNT–MMT network morphology with triangular porous structure. Thermal stability of PMMAMA/PA-6,6/CNT–MMT 0.5-5 system was found higher than PMMAMA/PA-6,6/CNT 0.5-5. The PHHR of PMMAMA/PA-6,6/CNT–MMT was decreased from 342 to 211 kW/m2 with 0.5 to 5 wt% loading.
Catheterization of the urethra in female pigs
Authors: Musk GC , Zwierzchoniewska M , He B
Published: May 2015

Female pigs are commonly utilized as an animal model for biomedical research and require urethral catheterization. Sixteen pigs were anaesthetized for research purposes and required the placement of a urethral catheter. Post-mortem examination of the vaginas revealed the urethral opening to be consistently halfway from the mucocutaneous junction of the vulva to the cervix. A shallow diverticulum was also observed on the ventral floor of the urethral opening. To optimize conditions for success the pig should be carefully positioned supine, a vaginal speculum and light source should be used, the pig should be adequately anaesthetized, and the anatomy of the vagina should be reviewed.
Environmental Violence, Water Rights, and (Un) Due Process in Northwestern Mexico
Authors: Radonic Lucero
Published: May 2015

Water-related struggles worldwide may not involve armed conflict or direct bodily harm, but they are still violent in nature. Over the past century the Yaqui Tribe has continually contested water development plans and challenged distribution schemes, seeking to regain control over its livelihoods and the production of space in its ancestral homeland. In the Mexican state of Sonora we are currently witnessing a new chapter of the violent saga around water access in the Yaqui River valley. In fighting the proposed construction of the Independencia Aqueduct, intended to transfer water from the Yaqui River to the capital city of Hermosillo, the tribe’s struggles for recognition as a rightful resource holder have intensified. Paradoxically, dispossession is justified through an international human rights discourse and the relentless interrogation of indigenous authenticity aimed at delegitimizing Yaqui traditional resource claims.

Las luchas relacionadas con el agua en todo el mundo no necesariamente conllevan conflicto armado o daño físico directo, pero todavía son violentas por naturaleza. Durante el ultimo siglo la tribu yaqui han impugnado continuamente los planes de desarrollo del agua y cuestionado los programas de distribución, con el propósito de recobrar el control sobre sus medios de subsistencia y la producción del espacio en su tierra ancestral. En el estado mexicano de Sonora estamos siendo testigos de un nuevo capítulo en la saga violenta en torno al acceso al agua en el Valle del Río Yaqui. Con la batalla contra el proyecto de construcción del Acueducto Independencia— diseñado para transportar agua del Río Yaqui a la ciudad capital de Hermosillo—las luchas de la tribu por el reconocimiento como dueños legítimos del recurso se han intensificado. Paradójicamente, el despojo se justifica por medio de un discurso de derechos humanos internacionales y el cuestionamiento implacable de la autenticidad indígena con el propósito de deslegitimar los reclamos yaquis sobre los recursos.
An experimental study on indoor thermal comfort of the coupled radiation panels with household replacement fresh air system
Authors: Qu Minglu , Chen Jianbo , Guo Lina , Pan Jimiao
Published: May 2015

Yangtze Region of China has high temperature in summer and low temperature in winter, with high humidity most of the year. The conventional household air conditioner cannot control temperature and humidity separately. Recently, the research on temperature and humidity independent control mainly focused on large-scale buildings; however, study on small-scale buildings throughout the year was limited. This paper introduces a novel household air-conditioning system suits for small-scale buildings in hot-humid climate region, named coupled radiation panels with household replacement fresh air (RP&HRFA) system, which could independently control the temperature and relative humidity of the indoor air. The RP&HRFA system can be operated in five different modes so as to be adaptive to different weather conditions all year round. In this paper, an experimental study under three operating modes, namely, summer, transitive season A, and winter B, were carried out. The overall and local thermal comfort indexes of the system were investigated under stable experiment operation conditions. The experimental results indicated that these indexes basically met the requirements of ISO7730 and ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 55-2010.

Practical application: This paper introduced a novel household air-conditioning system suits for small-scale buildings in hot-humid climate region, which could independently control the temperature and relative humidity of the indoor air. The experimental results under three operating modes indicated that the system could provide an acceptable indoor thermal comfort for occupants. Such a system could be applied to small-scale buildings in hot humid region for its good thermal comfort.
Characteristics of a Cohort of Home Parenteral Nutrition Patients at the Time of Enrollment in the Sustain Registry
Authors: Winkler Marion F. , DiMaria‐Ghalili Rose Ann , Guenter Peggi , Resnick Helaine E. , Robinson Lawrence , Lyman Beth , Ireton‐Jones Carol , Banchik Lillian Harvey , Steiger Ezra
Published: May 2015

Background: Home parenteral nutrition (HPN) is a vital lifesaving therapy for patients who are unable to maintain weight, fluid balance, nutrition, and functional status via oral or enteral nutrition alone. There are few current data sources describing HPN prevalence, patient demographics, or long‐term outcomes in the United States. Objective: To describe demographics and baseline characteristics of patients receiving HPN therapy. Methods: This is a descriptive analysis of data from the first cohort of HPN patients at time of enrollment in the SustainTM Registry between August 2011 and February 2014. Results: There were 1251 patients enrolled from 29 sites. Eighty‐five percent of patients were adults, with a mean age of 51.3 ± 15.3 years. Fifteen percent were pediatric, with a mean age of 4.9 ± 4.9 years. For both age groups, short‐bowel syndrome was the most frequently reported HPN indication (24%). Adults most commonly had a peripherally inserted central catheter (47%) or a tunneled catheter (43%) for HPN administration. In contrast, most pediatric patients (72%) had a tunneled catheter. Most patients received parenteral nutrition daily and consumed some oral nutrition. Twenty‐eight percent of all patients were expected to require HPN indefinitely. Conclusions: This is the first report of descriptive data from the Sustain Registry. The data reveal important characteristics of patients receiving HPN in 29 U.S. sites.
Iron Deficiency in Long‐Term Parenteral Nutrition Therapy
Authors: Hwa Yi L. , Rashtak Shahrooz , Kelly Darlene G. , Murray Joseph A.
Published: May 2015

Background: Iron is not routinely added to parenteral nutrition (PN) formulations in the United States because of the risk of anaphylaxis and concerns about incompatibilities. Studies have shown that iron dextran in non‐lipid‐containing PN solutions is safe. Data are limited on iron status, prevalence of iron deficiency anemia (IDA), and efficacy of intravenous iron infusion in long‐term home PN (HPN). We aimed to determine the incidence of IDA and to examine the effectiveness of parenteral iron replacement in patients receiving HPN. Methods: Medical records of patients receiving HPN at the Mayo Clinic from 1977 to 2010 were reviewed. Diagnoses, time to IDA development, and hemoglobin, ferritin, and mean corpuscular volume (MCV) values were extracted. Response of iron indices to intravenous iron replacement was investigated. Results: Of 185 patients (122 women), 60 (32.4%) were iron deficient. Five patients were iron deficient, and 18 had unknown iron status before HPN. Of 93 patients who had sufficient iron storage, 37 had IDA development after a mean of 27.2 months (range, 2–149 months) of therapy. Iron was replaced by adding maintenance iron dextran to PN or by therapeutic iron infusion. Patients with both replacement methods had significant improvement in iron status. With intravenous iron replacement, mean ferritin increased from 10.9 to 107.6 mcg/L (P < .0001); mean hemoglobin increased from 11.0 to 12.5 g/dL (P = .0001); and mean MCV increased from 84.5 to 89.0 fL (P = .007). Conclusions: Patients receiving HPN are susceptible to IDA. Iron supplementation should be addressed for patients who rely on PN.
Understanding Motivation and Social Influence in Stakeholder Prioritization
Authors: Weitzner David , Deutsch Yuval
Published: May 2015

Insight into organizational responses to stakeholder claims and influence attempts is critical to understand the challenges currently facing managers and organizations. Drawing on Kelman’s (1958) model of social influence, we advance the field’s understanding of the factors driving firm-level prioritization of competing stakeholder claims by developing a theoretical framework that accounts for both the stakeholder attributes that are important to relevant decision makers, and the decision makers’ motivations for accepting or rejecting the influence attempts of varying stakeholders. Our framework distinguishes itself from existing research by focusing on stakeholder prioritization, not salience, recognizing that stakeholder-related decisions result from group interaction and that important decision makers are not limited to those found within the classic boundaries of the firm. Consequently, we argue that decision makers are simultaneously stakeholders with attributes that might be relevant to other decision makers involved in prioritization. In addition, we identify a more extensive set of stakeholder attributes that includes powerlessness and illegitimacy.
Futile Treatment in Hospital
Authors: Gallois Cindy , Wilmott Lindy , White Ben , Winch Sarah , Parker Malcolm , Graves Nicholas , Shepherd Nicole , Close Eliana
Published: May 2015

Treatment that will not provide significant net benefit at the end of a person’s life (called futile treatment) is considered by many people to represent a major problem in the health sector, as it can waste resources and raise significant ethical issues. Medical treatment at the end of life involves a complex negotiation that implicates intergroup communication between health professionals, patients, and families, as well as between groups of health professionals. This study, framed by intergroup language theory, analyzed data from a larger project on futile treatment, in order to examine the intergroup language associated with futile treatment. Hospital doctors ( N = 96) were interviewed about their understanding of treatment given to adult patients at the end of life that they considered futile. We conducted a discourse analysis on doctors’ descriptions of futile treatment provided by themselves and their in-group and out-group colleagues. Results pointed to an intergroup context, with patients, families, and colleagues as out-groups. In their descriptions, doctors justified their own decisions using the language of logic, ethics, and respect. Patients and families, however, were characterized in terms of wishing and wanting, as were out-group colleagues. In addition, out-group doctors were described in strongly negative intergroup language.
Everyday Antiracism in Action
Authors: Whitehead Kevin A.
Published: May 2015

This article examines features of preference organization in disaffiliative responses to possibly racist actions, drawing on a corpus of more than 120 hours of recorded interactions from South African radio call-in shows. My analysis demonstrates how features of dispreferred turn shapes provide producers of possibly racist actions with opportunities to withdraw or back down from them. In cases where these opportunities are not taken up, subsequent responses may progressively include more features of preferred turn shapes. Responses may also include features of preferred turn shapes from the outset, thereby treating the prior actions as unequivocally racist. Responses that treat prior actions as such, however, also recurrently exhibit features of dispreference, thereby displaying speakers’ orientations to “cross-cutting preferences” in responding to racism, with disaffiliative responses being “dispreferred” actions in some senses, but “preferred” actions in others. I conclude by discussing the implications of these findings for everyday antiracism in interactional settings.
Extreme Case (Re)formulation as a Practice for Making Hearably Racist Talk Repairable
Authors: Robles Jessica S.
Published: May 2015

This article investigates the interactional organization of racism through participant production and uptake of explicit racial membership categories across a corpus of 50+ hours of audio-/video-recorded interaction in three U.S. states. The discourse analysis examines one participant method for addressing “hearably racist” talk: echoing extreme versions of the problematic utterance to provide opportunities for repair work on inferable associations between membership categories and category-bound activities. Orienting to implicit inferential material as the source of trouble licenses participant account-seeking; treating the racism as a repairable downgrades its status as an overt instance of racism.
Impact of Identity on Support for New Roles in Health Care
Authors: Setchell Jenny , Leach Lori E. , Watson Bernadette M. , Hewett David G.
Published: May 2015

Identity threat can be understood from a social identity perspective where people interrelate based on group memberships. Language use may indicate the presence of identity threat. We explored reactions of doctors to planned expanded roles for nurses to perform gastrointestinal endoscopy in Australia. Specialist doctors have traditionally performed endoscopic procedures, yet the level of doctor support for nurse endoscopy is relatively unknown. We present results of our valence and discourse analyses of text box responses in a national survey that explored doctors’ attitudes toward this role expansion. We found low levels of support for the role, and frequent expression of identity threat in three main areas: (1) framing nurses as incompetent, (2) use of contracted statements to evoke authority, and (3) emotive expression. Findings indicated that stakeholders should consider intergroup attitudes when facilitating changes in health professional scope of practice.
Are There Scenarios When the Use of Non–Placebo-Control Groups in Experimental Trial Designs Increase Expected Value to Society?
Authors: Uyei Jennifer , Braithwaite R. Scott
Published: May 2015

Background. Despite the benefits of the placebo-controlled trial design, it is limited by its inability to quantify total benefits and harms. Such trials, for example, are not designed to detect an intervention’s placebo or nocebo effects, which if detected could alter the benefit-to-harm balance and change a decision to adopt or reject an intervention. Objective. In this article, we explore scenarios in which alternative experimental trial designs, which differ in the type of control used, influence expected value across a range of pretest assumptions and study sample sizes. Method. We developed a decision model to compare 3 trial designs and their implications for decision making: 2-arm placebo-controlled trial (“placebo-control”), 2-arm intervention v. do nothing trial (“null-control”), and an innovative 3-arm trial design: intervention v. do nothing v. placebo trial (“novel design”). Four scenarios were explored regarding particular attributes of a hypothetical intervention: 1) all benefits and no harm, 2) no biological effect, 3) only biological effects, and 4) surreptitious harm (no biological benefit or nocebo effect). Results. Scenario 1: When sample sizes were very small, the null-control was preferred, but as sample sizes increased, expected value of all 3 designs converged. Scenario 2: The null-control was preferred regardless of sample size when the ratio of placebo to nocebo effect was >1; otherwise, the placebo-control was preferred. Scenario 3: When sample size was very small, the placebo-control was preferred when benefits outweighed harms, but the novel design was preferred when harms outweighed benefits. Scenario 4: The placebo-control was preferred when harms outweighed placebo benefits; otherwise, preference went to the null-control. Limitations. Scenarios are hypothetical, study designs have not been tested in a real-world setting, blinding is not possible in all designs, and some may argue the novel design poses ethical concerns. Conclusions. We identified scenarios in which alternative experimental study designs would confer greater expected value than the placebo-controlled trial design. The likelihood and prevalence of such situations warrant further study.
128-slice dual-source CT coronary angiography with prospectively electrocardiography-triggered high-pitch spiral mode: radiation dose, image quality, and diagnostic acceptability
Authors: Matsubara Kosuke , Sakuda Keita , Nunome Haruka , Takata Tadanori , Koshida Kichiro , Gabata Toshifumi
Published: May 2015

Background

Dual-source computed tomography (CT) enables CT coronary angiography (CTCA) with a prospectively electrocardiography (ECG)-triggered high-pitch spiral (HPS) mode.

Purpose

To evaluate the radiation dose, image quality, and diagnostic acceptability of the HPS mode in CTCA and to compare HPS with the step-and-shoot (SAS) and low-pitch spiral (LPS) modes.

Material and Methods

One hundred and thirty-eight patients who underwent CTCA with a 128-slice dual-source CT scanner were retrospectively included in this study. Seventeen patients (average heart rate of ≤65 beats per minute [bpm] prior to acquisition) were evaluated in the HPS mode, 88 (average heart rate of >65 and ≤80 bpm prior to acquisition) in the SAS mode, and 33 (average heart rate of >80 bpm prior to acquisition or patients with an unstable heart rhythm) in the LPS mode. Radiation dose and image noise were recorded for each patient. Diagnostic acceptability was graded using a four-point scale (1, unacceptable; 2, suboptimal; 3, acceptable; 4, fully acceptable).

Results

The effective dose in the HPS mode was 1.5 ± 0.2 mSv, which was lower than that in SAS (8.9 ± 2.7 mSv) and LPS (21.5 ± 4.3 mSv) modes. There were no significant differences in the image noise levels in the descending aorta and left atrium. The average per-patient diagnostic acceptability was 3.2, 3.6, and 3.7 in HPS, SAS, and LPS modes, respectively.

Conclusion

The radiation dose is lower with HPS than with other modes, and the HPS mode-acquired images of patients with heart rates of ≤65 bpm are nearly acceptable for diagnostic image interpretation.
Comparative study of CT appearances in renal oncocytoma and chromophobe renal cell carcinoma
Authors: Wu Jingtao , Zhu Qingqiang , Zhu Wenrong , Chen Wenxin , Wang Shouan
Published: May 2015

Background

Renal oncocytoma (RO) and chromophobe renal cell carcinoma (ChRCC) share histologic and some imaging features.

Purpose

To investigate the multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) characteristics of these two tumor types.

Material and Methods

Fifty-six patients with RO and 54 patients with ChRCC were studied retrospectively. MDCT was undertaken to investigate differences in tumor characteristics.

Results

Calcifications were visible in 24 (42.8%) patients with RO and in 11 (20.4%) patients with ChRCC ( P = 0.011). 26 patients with RO had stellate scars as did 14 patients with ChRCC ( P = 0.025). Spoken-wheel-like enhancement was visible in 41 patients with RO and in 11 with ChRCC ( P < 0.001). Thirty-nine (69.6%) patients with RO and nine (16.7%) patients with ChRCC showed segmental inversion ( P < 0.001). Two patients with RO had retroperitoneal lymph node enlargement as did 13 patients with ChRCC ( P = 0.002). Combined evaluation of stellate scar, spoken-wheel-like enhancement, and segmental enhancement inversion features were found to have a sensitivity of 99.1% (106 of 107), a speciﬁcity of 100% (3 of 3), a positive predictive value of 100% (106 of 106), and a negative predictive value of 75% (3 of 4). The attenuation of RO tumors was greater than that of ChRCC tumors, normal renal parenchyma on unenhanced CT ( P = 0.031). Enhancement was higher with RO than with ChRCC tumors in all phases ( P = 0.021, < 0.001, and 0.007, respectively).

Conclusion

CT imaging features such as stellate scar, spoken-wheel-like enhancement, and segmental enhancement inversion were more common in RO and they may help in differentiating RO from ChRCC.
Mobilities II
Authors: Merriman Peter
Published: May 2015

In this second report I discuss research published in 2014 and early 2015. I examine recent debates about elemental geographies, including research on the mobilities associated with air and water, and on how aluminium, steel and carbon facilitate movement. The report then highlights the vibrant materialities and mobilities underpinning events, examining different approaches to processual and molecular mobilities, including work which is critical of the suggestion that everything is moving. In the final section I examine the centrality of mobility to academic practices and biographies, and here I discuss the life and work of the influential cultural studies scholar Stuart Hall.
Evaluation of genotoxicity in workers exposed to low levels of formaldehyde in a furniture manufacturing facility
Authors: Peteffi Giovana Piva , da Silva Luciano Basso , Antunes Marina Venzon , Wilhelm Camila , Valandro Eduarda Trevizani , Glaeser Jéssica , Kaefer Djeine , Linden Rafael
Published: May 2015

Formaldehyde (FA) is a chemical widely used in the furniture industry and has been classified as a potential human carcinogen. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the occupational exposure of workers to FA at a furniture manufacturing facility and the relationship between environmental concentrations of FA, formic acid concentration in urine, and DNA damage. The sample consisted of 46 workers exposed to FA and a control group of 45 individuals with no history of occupational exposure. Environmental concentrations of FA were determined by high-performance liquid chromatography. Urinary formic acid concentrations were determined by gas chromatography with flame ionization detector. DNA damage was evaluated by the micronucleus (MN) test performed in exfoliated buccal cells and comet assay with venous blood. The 8-h time-weighted average of FA environmental concentration ranged from 0.03 ppm to 0.09 ppm at the plant, and the control group was exposed to a mean concentration of 0.012 ppm. Workers exposed to higher environmental FA concentrations had urinary formic acid concentrations significantly different from those of controls (31.85 mg L−1 vs. 19.35 mg L−, p ≤ 0.01 Mann–Whitney test). Significant differences were found between control and exposed groups for the following parameters: damage frequency and damage index in the comet assay, frequency of binucleated cells in the MN test, and formic acid concentration in urine. The frequency of micronuclei, nuclear buds, and karyorrhexis did not differ between groups. There was a positive correlation between environmental concentrations of FA and damage frequency (Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient [ rs] = 0.24), damage index ( rs = 0.21), binucleated cells ( rs = 0.34), and urinary formic acid concentration ( rs = 0.63). The results indicate that, although workers in the furniture manufacturing facility were exposed to low environmental levels of FA, this agent contributes to the observed increase in cytogenetic damage. In addition, urinary formic acid concentrations correlated strongly with occupational exposure to FA.
Nutrition Considerations in Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy
Authors: Davis Jillian , Samuels Emily , Mullins Lucille
Published: May 2015

Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is a serious degenerative muscular disease affecting males. Diagnosis usually occurs in childhood and is confirmed through genetic testing and/or muscle biopsy. Accompanying the disease are several nutrition‐related concerns: growth, body composition, energy and protein requirements, constipation, swallowing difficulties, bone health, and complementary medicine. This review article addresses the nutrition aspects of DMD.
Support Schemas Influence Reactivity for Adult Survivors of Childhood Maltreatment
Authors: Wells Anthony O. , Scarpa Angela , Waldron Jonathan C.
Published: May 2015

Adult survivors of childhood maltreatment can be resilient when they have adequate psychosocial resources to cope with maltreatment-related sequelae; however, interpersonal problems may influence the effectiveness of such resources. This study used a schema activation experimental paradigm to test the benefit of social support cognitions on emotional reactivity in adult survivors, while also testing for the moderating role of interpersonal problems and the mediating role of stress appraisal. Young women ( N = 126, ages = 18-23) with histories of childhood maltreatment were administered an anger provocation stressor task while their cardiac activity, state anger, and stress appraisals were assessed. Prior to the stressor, women were randomly assigned to either a support schema condition or an acquaintance schema (control) condition, in which they were asked to think and write about either a supportive person or casual acquaintance. The support schema condition demonstrated the least emotional reactivity as evidenced by subjective anger and heart-rate variability, and this outcome was strongest for those with high interpersonal problems. Also, stress appraisals, particularly feeling intimidated, partially mediated the support schema and emotional reactivity relationship. These findings suggest that maltreated women can regulate anger by activating their social support schema. Moreover, support schema may be an important focus of intervention for adult survivors with high interpersonal problems.
The Association of Low Social Support with Breast Milk Expression in Low-Income Mother–Preterm Infant Dyads
Authors: Fabiyi Camille , Rankin Kristin , Norr Kathleen , Yoder Joseph C. , Vasa Rohitkumar , White-Traut Rosemary
Published: May 2015

Background:

Premature infants benefit from receiving expressed breast milk (BM), but expressing breast milk is difficult for new mothers. Little is known about mothers’ social support and BM expression during the premature infant’s hospital stay.

Objective:

We examined whether low maternal social support was associated with breast milk expression initiation and low breast milk expression among low-income mothers of premature infants.

Methods:

Maternal intake interview data and daily infant data on proportion of nutrition from BM during hospitalization were analyzed from a larger randomized trial testing a developmental intervention on 181 mother–premature infant dyads with at least 2 of 10 social-environmental risks. Multivariable modified Poisson regression was used to examine the relationship between social support (Personal Resources Questionnaire 2000; dichotomized as low for lowest quartile), initiation (any breast milk expressed vs none), and low breast milk expression (if BM was < 30% of infant total milk/formula intake during hospitalization).

Results:

Breast milk expression was initiated by 70.2% of mothers, and 32.3% of those mothers had low breast milk expression. In adjusted multivariable analyses, social support did not relate to the initiation of breast milk expression but was significantly associated with low breast milk expression among mothers who initiated (adjusted relative risk = 1.57; 95% confidence interval, 1.00-2.47).

Conclusion:

Low social support was not associated with initiation but was associated with low breast milk expression during hospitalization. Interventions to enhance social support for mothers of premature infants, especially those reporting low social support from family and friends, may increase in-hospital expression and long-term breastfeeding.
How Do Business Owners Perceive the State Business Climate? Using Hierarchical Models to Examine the Business Climate Perceptions, State Rankings, and Tax Rates
Authors: Motoyama Yasuyuki , Hui Iris
Published: May 2015

State business climate rankings are popular and can be influential in policy making. Past academic studies have criticized rankings that are based on elusive criteria of state-level data. Breaking from such practice, the authors argue that state business climate is better conceived and measured at the individual firm level. The authors show how perceptions of business climate varies across business owners, depending on their firms’ sectors and stages of development. Using a survey of more than 3,600 small business owners, mainly in the personal and business service sectors, the authors find that many of the popular state rankings either do not associate with individual perceptions of business climate or predict in the wrong direction. The findings warn against the use of state rankings in making policies that affect small business owners. The authors also suggest a need for further study measuring the perceptions of business owners covering different sectors.
Follow-ups in the US anti-terrorist discourse: Proposal for a macro-discursive approach to monologic follow-up sequences
Authors: Cap Piotr
Published: May 2015

Follow-ups have been routinely considered a dialogic/conversational phenomenon. In this article, I demonstrate that the concept of follow-up could be extended to cover monologic discourses as well, especially those in which the speaker realizes a macro-goal over a number of texts produced in different contextual conditions. These dynamically evolving conditions make the speaker – as happens in dialogue – continually update and redefine his or her rhetorical choices to maintain realization of the macro-goal intact. Such an approach subsumes a ‘dialogic’ relation between the speaker and the shifting discourse context – rather than between the speaker and his or her specific interlocutor – and views follow-up as an instance of rhetoric that has been forcibly modified from the previous/initial instance, to keep enacting the speaker’s macro-goal against requirements of the new context. As an illustration, I show how monologic follow-ups work in George W. Bush’s War-on-Terror discourse. In particular, I discuss how the macro-goal of Bush’s 2003–2004 rhetoric of the Iraq War (legitimization of the pre-emptive military strike and the later US involvement) has been maintained in the ‘follow-up speeches’ responding to loss of the initial legitimization premise, that is, the alleged possession of weapons of mass destruction by the Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein.
The effects of pentoxifylline and caffeic acid phenethyl ester in the treatment of d-galactosamine-induced acute hepatitis in rats
Authors: Taslidere E , Vardi N , Esrefoglu M , Ates B , Taskapan C , Yologlu S
Published: May 2015

The aim of this study was to investigate histological changes in hepatic tissue and effects of pentoxifylline (PTX) and caffeic acid phenethyl ester (CAPE) on these changes using histochemical and biochemical methods in rats, in which hepatitis was established by d-galactosamine (d-GAL). Rats were divided into five groups as follows: control group, d-GAL (24 h) group, d-GAL group, d-GAL + PTX group, and d-GAL + CAPE group. In histological evaluations, the control group showed normal appearance of the liver cells. However in the d-GAL groups, focal areas consisting of inflammatory, necrotic, and apoptotic cells were detected in parenchyma. Glycogen loss was observed in the hepatocytes localized at the periphery of lobule. It was found that number of mast cells of portal areas were significantly higher in d-GAL groups compared with other groups ( p = 0.0001). In addition, the number of cells with positive staining by Ki-67 and caspase-3 were significantly increased in GAL groups compared with the control group ( p = 0.0001). In biochemical analysis, there was an increase in malondialdehyde and myeloperoxidase levels, while a decrease was observed in glutathione level and glutathione peroxidase activity in groups treated with d-GAL compared with the control group. On the other hand, it was seen that, in the groups treated with d-GAL, histological and biochemical injuries in the liver were reduced by administration of PTX and CAPE. In this study, we demonstrated the ameliorative effects of PTX and CAPE on d-GAL-induced liver injury.
Specific systemic lupus erythematosus disease manifestations in the six months prior to conception are associated with similar disease manifestations during pregnancy
Authors: Tedeschi S K , Massarotti E , Guan H , Fine A , Bermas B L , Costenbader K H
Published: May 2015

Past studies have focused on aggregate lupus disease activity during pregnancy and have produced conflicting results. Our study evaluated lupus activity based on involvement of five specific organ systems during the six months prior to conception and during pregnancy. We assessed 147 pregnancies among 113 women followed at Brigham and Women’s Lupus Center, 1990–2013. Organ-specific activity included hematologic disorder, nephritis, skin disease, arthritis, and serositis. We hypothesized that the presence of organ-specific activity six months prior to conception would increase the risk for that same type of activity during pregnancy. Our study population was 68% white; 100% had a positive ANA and 30% had a history of nephritis. Among women with organ-specific lupus activity during the six months before conception, the crude odds for the same type of activity during pregnancy was 7.7- to 32.5-fold higher compared to women without that type of activity immediately before conception. An adjusted logistic regression model also indicated significantly higher odds of organ-specific activity during pregnancy if that type of activity were present six months before conception. Approaching lupus based on specific organ systems may be a useful way for women and their physicians to consider the potential risk for disease activity during pregnancy.
Testing the trajectory difference in a semi-parametric longitudinal model
Authors: Niu Feiyang , Zhou Jianhui , Le Thu H , Ma Jennie Z
Published: May 2015

Motivated by a genetic investigation on the progressive decline in renal function in a clinical trial study of kidney disease, we develop a practical test for evaluating the group difference in trajectories under a semi-parametric modeling framework. For the temporal patterns or trajectories of longitudinal data, B-splines are used to approximate the function non-parametrically. Such approximation asymptotically converts the problem of testing trajectory difference into the significance test of regression coefficients that can be simply estimated by generalized estimating equations. To select the optimal number of inner knots for B-splines, a cross-validation procedure is performed using the criterion of the generalized residual sum of squares. The new proposed test successfully detects a significant difference of underlying genetic impact on the progression of renal disease, which is not captured by the parametric approach.
Exploring the trend of increased cervical intraepithelial neoplasia detection rates in the Netherlands
Authors: Rozemeijer Kirsten , van Kemenade Folkert J , Penning Corine , Matthijsse Suzette M , Naber Steffie K , van Rosmalen Joost , van Ballegooijen Marjolein , de Kok Inge MCM
Published: May 2015

Objective

Over the last decade, cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) detection has increased in the Netherlands. We investigated the underlying mechanism by quantifying the increase, and analyzing patterns of CIN and cervical cancer detection over time.

Methods

We observed annual CIN and cervical cancer detection rates (DRs) per 10,000 primary smears within the Dutch screening programme for 2000–2011. Joinpoint analyses were performed to determine changes in time trends, logistic regression analyses to assess the relative risk of calendar time on histological outcomes, adjusted for demographic factors and type of primary cytology test used.

Results

Trends of increased detection occurred for all CIN grades (ie. DRs increased from 17.8 to 36.1, from 21.0 to 35.5, and from 43.4 to 64.6 for CIN I, II, and III from 2003 to 2009). After adjusting for demographic factors, DRs were still 2.11 (95% confidence interval (CI): 1.95, 2.29), 1.79 (95% CI: 1.66, 1.92) and 1.59 (95% CI: 1.50, 1.67) times larger in 2009. When also adjusting for the type of cytology test, DRs were 1.90 (95% CI: 1.62, 2.22), 1.48 (95% CI: 1.22, 1.79) and 1.55 (95% CI: 1.39, 1.73) times larger. No trends in cervical cancer DRs were found.

Conclusions

The implementation of liquid-based cytology contributed to the CIN increase. If some of these extra detected CIN are regressive this leads to overdiagnosis. Other factors, such as an increased cervical cancer risk, and implementation of imaging-assisted reading, could also have contributed.
Factors affecting faecal immunochemical test positive rates: demographic, pathological, behavioural and environmental variables
Authors: Symonds Erin L , Osborne Joanne M , Cole Stephen R , Bampton Peter A , Fraser Robert JL , Young Graeme P
Published: May 2015

Objectives

Positive rates in faecal immunochemical test (FIT)-based colorectal cancer screening programmes vary, suggesting that differences between programmes may affect test results. We examined whether demographic, pathological, behavioural, and environmental factors affected haemoglobin concentration and positive rates where samples are mailed.

Methods

A retrospective cohort study; 34,298 collection devices were sent, over five years, to screening invitees (median age 60.6). Participant demographics, temperature on sample postage day, and previous screening were recorded. Outcomes from colonoscopy performed within a year following FIT were collected. Multivariate logistic regression identified significant predictors of test positivity.

Results

Higher positive rate was independently associated with male gender, older age, lower socioeconomic status, and distally located neoplasia, and negatively associated with previous screening (p < 0.05). Older males had higher faecal haemoglobin concentrations and were less likely to have a false positive result at colonoscopy (p < 0.05). High temperature on the sample postage day was associated with reduced haemoglobin concentration and positivity rate (26–35℃: Odds ratio 0.78, 95% confidence interval 0.66–0.93), but was not associated with missed significant neoplasia at colonoscopy (p > 0.05).

Conclusions

Haemoglobin concentrations, and therefore FIT positivity, were affected by factors that vary between screening programmes. Participant demographics and high temperature at postage had significant effects. The impact of temperature could be reduced by seasonal scheduling of invitations. The importance of screening, and following up positive test results, particularly in older males, should be promoted.