bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
How Difficult Doctor‒Patient Relationships Impair Physicians’ Work Engagement: The Roles of Prosocial Motivation and Problem-Solving Pondering
Authors: Zhang Linlin , Qiu Yang , Zhang Nan , Li Shuang
Published: February 2019

Difficult doctor‒patient relationships are a common reality in many health-care organizations. Its harmful impacts have been mainly discussed from the perspectives of patients. However, understanding of its negative effects on physicians is limited. Drawing on the job demands-resources model and the conservation of resources theory, we hypothesize that difficult relationships with patients negatively predict physicians’ work engagement, mediated by physicians’ personal resources (e.g. prosocial motivation and problem-solving pondering). A sample of 588 physicians from 24 Chinese hospitals completed questionnaires in a two-wave survey. Structural equation modeling and bootstrap estimation results provide support for the hypothesized relationships. Difficult doctor‒patient relationships have a direct and negative effect on physicians’ work engagement. Specifically, there is a sequence in which the difficult doctor‒patient relationship first impedes physicians’ prosocial motivation, leading to decreased problem-solving pondering, which subsequently impairs physicians’ work engagement. Theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.
Credit Advisers, Consumer Credit and Equitable Fiduciary Obligations
Authors: Degeling Simone , Hudson Jessica
Published: February 2019

Consumers use financial intermediaries such as brokers and other credit advisers to navigate complex financial markets and to provide guidance on credit products. In 2017 ASIC reported that ‘[b]rokers … are responsible for arranging … half of all home loans in Australia’ (Australian Securities & Investments Commission, Report 516: Review of Mortgage Broker Remuneration (2017) 8 [18]). The National Consumer Credit Protection Act 2009 (Cth) (‘Credit Regime’) regulates the conduct of such advisers including requiring disclosure of fees and some commissions. The Credit Regime also permits conflicts between the interest of the adviser and the client, provided that the adviser has in place ‘adequate arrangements to ensure … [that the client is] … not disadvantaged by any conflict of interest’ and that the conflict does not breach the adviser’s obligation to act ‘efficiently, honestly and fairly’. This article demonstrates that equitable fiduciary obligations also operate to regulate the conduct of the adviser in his or her dealings with the client. Such conflict and other conduct may breach any equitable fiduciary obligation thus exposing the adviser to equitable remedies. Equitable fiduciary obligations may thus be an as yet under-exploited avenue of protection for consumers and a concomitant zone of compliance risk for those subject to the Credit Regime.
What the Australian Public Knows About the High Court
Authors: Nielsen Ingrid , Smyth Russell
Published: February 2019

Existing studies for the United States examine the extent to which the public is knowledgeable about US courts, arguing that knowledge of the courts is linked to public support for their role. We know little, though, about the Australian public’s awareness of the High Court of Australia. We report the results of a survey of a representative sample of the Australian adult population, administered in November 2017. We find that few Australians know the names of the Justices, the number of Justices on the Court, how the Justices are appointed or for how long they serve. Awareness of recent cases decided by the Court is mixed. We find that age and education are better predictors of awareness levels than is gender. Our findings are important because in the absence of awareness of the High Court, the potential exists for the public to see the Court as having a more overt political role than it has, which may lower esteem for the Court. The potential for this to occur is exacerbated if, and when, politicians attempt to drag the High Court into the political fray, by attributing political motives to it that it does not have.
A Step Too Far? Rethinking the Stepping Stone Approach to Officers’ Liability
Authors: Zhou Alice
Published: February 2019

In recent years, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission has placed considerable emphasis on the stepping stone approach as a device to establish officers’ liability in respect of corporate contraventions of the law. The approach represents a novel interpretation of the general duties of officers under the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) (‘CA’). Despite the seriousness of the consequences for an officer that may follow from a finding of liability, the content and boundaries of the approach remain undefined. Critically, the courts’ heightened receptiveness to the approach and the judicial expansion of its scope departs from earlier judicial statements of caution sounded against using the general statutory duties as a mechanism to secure corporate compliance with the law. At a more fundamental level, it is doubtful whether the approach represents a legitimate interpretation of the general statutory duties, to the extent that it subverts several existing routes to officers’ liability and remedies under the CA. It is incumbent on the legislature to correct these inconsistencies by recalibrating the role envisaged for officers under the CA in line with contemporary expectations.
Metamorphoses of 1968: Latin America and the Israel-Palestine Question in Tomás Abraham’s La dificultad (2015)
Authors: Pridgeon Stephanie M.
Published: February 2019

Throughout Tomás Abraham’s novel of ideas La dificultad, Judaism is revealed to be central to the protagonist’s understandings of revolutionary politics, philosophy, and his own identity. As is apparent in his affinity with Palestinian causes as a form of anti-imperialist solidarity, life experiences and politics are inseparable. That Abraham should have chosen to focus this autobiographical novel on the Hungarian-Argentine Jewish narrator’s experiences with the Paris student movements of 1968 suggests that revolutionary movements and the challenges to the global Jewish community continue to affect his identity as a Jew, an Argentine, and a philosopher.

A lo largo de la novela de ideas de Tomás Abraham La dificultad, se revela el rol central del judaísmo en como el protagonista entiende la política revolucionaria, la filosofía y su propia identidad. Como es evidente en su afinidad con las causas palestinas como una forma de solidaridad antiimperialista, las experiencias de vida y la política son inseparables. El hecho de que Abraham eligió enfocar esta novela autobiográfica en las experiencias del narrador judío húngaro-argentino con los movimientos estudiantiles de París de 1968 sugiere que los movimientos revolucionarios y los desafíos a la comunidad judía global continúan afectando su identidad como judío, argentino y filósofo.
Computed Tomography Description of the Uncinate Process Angulation in Patients With Cystic Fibrosis and Comparison With Primary Ciliary Dyskinesia, Nasal Polyposis, and Controls
Authors: Hervochon Rémi , Teissier Natacha , Blondeau Jean-Robert , Remus Natacha , Bassinet Laurence , Canoui-Poitrine Florence , Van Den Abbeele Thierry , Prulière-Escabasse Virginie
Published: February 2019

Background:

There is a medial bulging of the lateral nasal wall in patients with cystic fibrosis (CF).

Aims:

Uncinate process (UP) angulation measurements in patients and controls to objectify this bulging.

Materials and Methods:

Thirty CF, 17 primary ciliary dyskinesia (PCD), 13 chronic rhinosinusitis with polyps (CRSwp), and 30 controls were included. Angles were measured bilaterally on computed tomography (CT) scans: A, B, C on coronal sections, D and E on axial sections. Angle A was between the UP and the orbit inner wall, whereas the others were between UP and midline.

Results:

There was no significant difference between controls, PCD, and CRSwp. However, CF had 3 statistically different angles with controls, 5 with CRSwp, and 4 with PCD. Angle A average value was 126° (±16°) in patients with CF, 138° (±19°) in controls ( P = .007), 145° (±15°) in PCD ( P = .001), and 138° (±14°) in CRSwp ( P = .001). Angle E average value was 35° (±10°) in patients with CF, 20° (±6°) in controls ( P < .001), 21° (±4°) in PCD ( P < .001), and 22° (±6°) in CRSwp ( P < .001).

Conclusion:

Uncinate process’s anatomy is only modified in CF: Angle between UP and inner wall of orbit is closed, and angles between UP and midline are opened.

Significance:

These measures quantify the medial bulging of lateral nasal wall and support nasofibroscopic observations.
Linking Human Capital Resourcing Practices and Performance of Financial Cooperatives in Kenya: Does Presence of Formal Human Resource Department Matter?
Authors: Mutua Mbithi
Published: February 2019

Financial cooperatives are collectively one of the key drivers of Kenyan economy. Thus, this research sought to investigate the relationship between human capital (HC) resourcing practices and performance of these organizations. Performance as the dependent variable was conceptualized to have two dimensions, financial and non-financial. Data was collected from 340 financial cooperatives within Nairobi County. Simple random sampling technique was used in selecting organizations from where data was collected. Both interview and questionnaire methods were used to collect qualitative and quantitative data, respectively. The findings indicated that presence of formal HR department within an organization leads to better HC resourcing practices as compared to a situation where there is no formal HRM department. The study found a significant relationship between HC resourcing practices and performance of financial cooperatives. Further, the study recommends those organizations without formal HRM departments to create them. Additionally, so as to enjoy higher levels of performance and reduce labour turnover, financial cooperatives need to improve their HC resourcing practices.
Analysis of Transportation Disruptions from Recent Flooding and Volcanic Disasters in Hawai’i
Authors: Kim Karl , Pant Pradip , Yamashita Eric , Ghimire Jiwnath
Published: February 2019

The purpose of this paper is to describe, analyze, and compare disruptions to the transportation system from two recent disasters in Hawai’i. While they occurred on different islands (Kaua`i and Hawai’i) and resulted from different hazards (flooding and volcanic eruption), there are important commonalities due to the disruption of surface transportation and the consequences for evacuation and emergency services as well as response and recovery. On Kaua`i, the physical impacts were fewer, with a 2 mile stretch of highway damaged by flooding and landslides as compared with 31.1 miles of roads covered by lava on Hawai`i island. Both disasters had similar population impacts, with 5,566 people impacted for Kaua`i and 5,563 for Hawai`i. Another difference is a shorter duration of disruption and a quicker restoration of transportation services for Kaua`i compared with the slower, continuous, and permanent loss of transportation services in Hawai`i. The two cases provide learning opportunities for emergency managers, transportation planners, and engineers. Both demonstrate the need for redundancy in transportation infrastructure for rescue and recovery operations. While the evacuation from a flooding event is different than from a slower-moving volcanic crisis, the importance of staging areas, route planning, alternative travel modes, and training cannot be overemphasized. These disasters focus attention on the critical role of transportation systems in response and recovery. In addition to short-term operational actions, longer-term mitigation, adaptation, and risk reduction strategies are needed to support transportation resilience.
A review on mechanical behavior of natural fiber reinforced polymer composites and its applications
Authors: Jariwala Hitesh , Jain Piyush
Published: February 2019

In the last decade, natural plant fibers (jute, sisal, coir, banana, hemp, kenaf, flax, etc.) are getting attention from many researchers and academicians to utilize it as an alternate reinforcement of synthetic fiber reinforced polymer composites. These fibers are becoming a great replacement of conventional fibers (such as glass, carbon, and aramid) due to their light weight, low cost, carbon neutrality, fairly good mechanical properties, high specific strength, and biodegradability characteristics. Some chemical treatments are required to enhance the fiber matrix interfacial strength and to minimize the moisture absorption by these fibers which would ultimately improve physico-mechanical properties of these fiber reinforced composites. This paper is a review on mechanical properties of the natural plant fiber reinforced polymer composites and various factors affecting the mechanical performance of it. The tribological behavior of natural fiber reinforced polymer composites and scanning electron microscope analysis are also discussed. Some mathematical models are mentioned which are useful to predict mechanical behavior of the composites. It is found that Halpin–Tsai equation is the most effective equation amongst others in predicting Young’s modulus for short-fiber reinforced composites with minimum error. The applications of natural plant fiber reinforced polymer composites in various engineering fields are discussed.
First-Generation College Students’ Perceived Barriers and Career Outcome Expectations: Exploring Contextual and Cognitive Factors
Authors: Ma Pei-Wen Winnie , Shea Munyi
Published: February 2019

The current study explores contextual factors that contribute to the linkage between perceived barriers and career outcome expectations of first-generation college students (FGCS). The authors tested how FGCS’ sense of coherence, social support from family, peers, and a special person, as well as their sense of campus connectedness mediate or moderate the effect of perceived educational and career barriers on their vocational outcome expectations. Participants were 153 ethnically diverse FGCS attending public universities. Moderation analysis indicated that campus connectedness was a significant moderator—for FGCS who experience low or average level of campus connectedness, higher levels of barriers are associated with more negative career outcome expectations. Mediation analysis supported that the relationship between perceived barriers and career outcome expectations was mediated by sense of coherence. None of the other social support variables were statistically significant as a moderator. Implications for future research and program development are discussed.
Morton E Hall: Conservator of the Canadian War Museum in London, England during the Great War and Alberta’s Second Pathologist
Authors: Wright James R , Letts Harry W.V.
Published: February 2019

Morton Eldred Hall (1887–1975), a little known pioneer pathologist in Western Canada who had trained at Belleview Hospital in New York City, arrived at the newly forming medical school at the University of Alberta in Edmonton in 1914. Shortly after this, First World War broke out and Hall enlisted. He was eventually posted at the Royal College of Surgeons in London where he assisted Sir Arthur Keith, the conservator of the Hunterian Museum and the Army Medical Collection, pathological specimens derived from fallen Dominion soldiers which were to be preserved as teaching specimens to help train military surgeons. Keith and Morton published important papers documenting the types of wounds generated by modern warfare. These papers are all that remain of the British War Collection as the museum was bombed by the Germans during Second World War. Specimens derived from Canadian casualties had been repatriated to Canada. Hall briefly served as the conservator for the Canadian Medical War Museum, the name given to Canadian specimens. After safely getting these precious war relics home in 1919, Hall returned to Edmonton where he was head of pathology at the Royal Alexandra Hospital, associate professor of pathology, and developed unique insights into university politics.
Avian pulmonary proteinosis: six cases and a review of the literature
Authors: Goldsmith Dayna A. , Mete Aslı , Pesavento Joseph B. , Adaska John M.
Published: February 2019

Pulmonary alveolar proteinosis (PAP) is a disease of surfactant clearance in which functional abnormalities in alveolar macrophages lead to accumulation of surfactant within alveoli in mammals. Histologic examination of 6 avian autopsies, including 4 chickens, a turkey, and a cockatiel, revealed accumulation of hypereosinophilic densely arrayed lamellar material in the lungs that was magenta by periodic acid–Schiff stain and diastase resistant. Transmission electron microscopy of the proteinaceous material in 2 cases demonstrated alternating electron-dense and electron-lucent lamellae that formed whorls and had a regular periodicity of 6–14 nm, consistent with pulmonary surfactant. Given the anatomic differences between avian and mammalian lungs, we designated the presented condition “pulmonary proteinosis,” which can be observed as both an incidental finding or, when severe, may be a contributing factor to death through respiratory failure.
Cost of Compliance, Autocratic Time Horizon, and Investment Treaty Formation
Authors: Chen Jia , Ye Fangjin
Published: February 2019

This paper investigates the domestic political factors that shape the participation of autocratic regimes in bilateral investment treaties (BITs). We argue that autocratic time horizon positively affects governments’ motive to sign BITs by influencing the costs of complying with investor protection standards included in the treaties. These treaty provisions severely constrain discretionary policy maneuvers that are critical to autocratic survival. Autocratic regimes expecting to rule for a considerable time period are willing to relinquish some discretionary policy space in the interest of enhancing the credibility of their investor protection commitment—and hence promoting investment inflows. However, autocratic governments with short time horizons rely heavily on discretionary policy maneuvers to stabilize their grip on power and are likely to infringe on investors’ interests to extract resources to ensure their political survival, making the costs of compliance with BITs too high to bear. Using a country-dyad data set of BIT signatures from 1971 to 2009, we find strong support for our argument.
Actor Engagement in Networks: Defining the Conceptual Domain
Authors: Brodie Roderick J. , Fehrer Julia A. , Jaakkola Elina , Conduit Jodie
Published: February 2019

Considerable managerial and academic interest has made engagement a key priority in marketing and service research, spurring a rapidly increasing body of literature on this topic. Academic research initially explored customer engagement (CE) and customer engagement behavior within the firm-customer dyad. Recent developments suggest a need to broaden the conceptual domain of CE not only from the focal subject of customers/consumers to a general actor-to-actor perspective but also from the firm-customer dyad to relationships among multiple actors in service ecosystems. Hence, the purpose of this article is to bring a broadened definition to the conceptual domain of actor engagement (AE) in networks. Our theorizing process adopted a propositional conceptual approach that built on CE research and was guided by the general theoretical perspective of service-dominant logic. The critical contribution of the article lies in its systematic development of the conceptual domain of AE and the potential this development has for guiding knowledge development and cross-fertilization in various research fields, including customer, work, citizen, and business engagement. We provide a definition of AE and five fundamental propositions that embody a broader network perspective of engagement and conclude by discussing an agenda for future research that illustrates its managerial relevance.
Nonlinear model predictive control of a discrete-cycle gasoline-controlled auto ignition engine model: Simulative analysis
Authors: Nuss Eugen , Wick Maximilian , Andert Jakob , De Schutter Jochem , Diehl Moritz , Abel Dirk , Albin Thivaharan
Published: February 2019

Gasoline-controlled auto ignition is a promising technology capable of reducing both fuel consumption and emissions at the same time. There are, however, challenges to overcome in order to make practical use of it. One area of research addresses methods that guarantee stable combustion as gasoline-controlled auto ignition is very sensitive to disturbances. This article investigates the capability of nonlinear model predictive control to ensure stable combustion while maintaining efficient operation. For this purpose, a suitable gasoline-controlled auto ignition model is selected and identified using measurement data of a single-cylinder test bed. Building upon this model, a controller based on nonlinear model predictive control is derived and analyzed by means of simulation. The investigation shows that the control manages to follow prescribed set points, also for late combustion, and indicates promising results with respect to real-time computation constraints.
Short-Term Pain for Long-Term Gain: The Logic of Legislative Party Switching in the Contemporary American South
Authors: Yoshinaka Antoine , McKee Seth C.
Published: February 2019

One of the most important career decisions for a legislator is the decision to switch parties, and it raises a theoretical puzzle: it carries significant risk, yet sometimes legislators do change partisan affiliation. We elucidate this puzzle with the first-ever systematic comparison of the entire careers of state legislative switchers and non-switchers in the American South, where the high prevalence of party switching coincided with rapid realignment toward the Republican Party. Our analysis is the first to evaluate all post-switch career decisions (retiring, running for reelection, running for higher office) simultaneously, and it is the broadest in its scope with two full decades of career data. We demonstrate that converts to the Grand Old Party (GOP) pay a reelection cost. However, they are less likely to retire than Democratic non-switchers and more likely to seek higher office. This latter finding is especially strong during the earlier part of our study—when the Republican bench in the South was not as deep and competition for the party label was not as intense. Our findings suggest that political ambition motivates legislators to trade short-term electoral costs for a more promising long-term electoral career with the ascendant party.
Chinese Herbal Medicine Effectively Prolongs the Overall Survival of Pancreatic Cancer Patients: A Case Series
Authors: Wong Wendy , Chen Bing Zhong , Lee Allyson Kin Yan , Chan Adrian Ho Cheung , Wu Justin Che Yuen , Lin Zhixiu
Published: February 2019

Background and Aims: Pancreatic cancer has the lowest survival rate of all cancers (4%), and it accounts for 1.9% of new cancer cases in Hong Kong. Combined treatment with Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) and Western medicine has yielded promising results, leading to improved prognosis and overall survival. This retrospective case series aimed to illustrate the improved survival and quality of life outcomes of pancreatic cancer patients administered CHM based on traditional Chinese medicine theory. Methods: To investigate the effectiveness of CHM in prolonging overall survival, 182 patients diagnosed with pancreatic cancer who received CHM treatment were observed from 2005 to 2015. Results: One hundred eighty-two pancreatic cancer patients were treated with CHM; 21 patients died. The mean and median survival of these patients were 29.6 and 15.2 months, respectively; the 1-year survival rate was 76% (range = 4 months to 9 years). These results are better than those reported in patients treated with Western medicine, suggesting the need for further study of CHM. Conclusion: A superior clinical outcome may be obtained with CHM treatment. The case series illustrates the potential benefits and safety issues of CHM in pancreatic cancer patients that could be relevant for developing strategies to increase individualization of pancreatic cancer treatment and improve survival. This study may facilitate interprofessional communication and improved clinical management of pancreatic cancer patients.
The Use of Prosthetic Mesh in the Emergency Management of Acute Incarcerated Inguinal Hernias
Authors: Liu Jing , Zhai Zhiwei , Chen Jie
Published: February 2019

Introduction. Tension-free hernia repair has been regarded as a gold standard treatment for selected inguinal hernias, but the use of prosthetic mesh in acute incarcerated inguinal hernias is controversial. Our study focused on evaluating the safety and efficacy of the prosthetic mesh repair for emergency cases. Methods. Patients with acute incarcerated inguinal hernias who underwent emergency prosthetic mesh repair during 2009 to 2014 at our department were included. Patient characteristics, operative approaches and results, and complications were retrospectively analyzed. Results. A total of 167 patients were included in our study. One hundred and twenty-two patients underwent open surgery while the remaining 45 patients underwent transabdominal preperitoneal laparoscopic approach. The hernia was indirect inguinal in 133 patients (79.6%), direct inguinal in 15 patients (9.0%), and femoral in 19 patients (11.4%). The overall wound infection rate of these patients was 3%. Nonviable intestinal resection was performed in 25 patients (8.4%), only 2 of whom underwent wound infection. Another 3 patients who developed wound infection had viable hernia content. There was no mesh-related infection. There was no statistically significant difference in wound infection rates between patients with viable hernia contents and those with nonviable contents ( P < .05). Conclusion. The use of the prosthetic mesh in the treatment of acute incarcerated inguinal hernia is safe and effective. Nonviable intestinal resection cannot be regarded as a contradiction of the mesh repair.
Children in Social Research: Do Higher Payments Encourage Participation in Riskier Studies?
Authors: Taplin Stephanie , Chalmers Jenny , Hoban Bianca , McArthur Morag , Moore Tim , Graham Anne
Published: February 2019

The MESSI (Managing Ethical Studies on Sensitive Issues) study used hypothetical scenarios, presented via a brief online survey, to explore whether payment amounts influenced Australian children and young people to participate in social research of different sensitivity. They were more likely to participate in the lower sensitivity study than in the higher at all payment levels (A$200 prize draw, no payment, $30, or $100). Offering payments to children and young people increased the likelihood that they would agree to participate in the studies and, in general, the higher the payments, the higher the likelihood of their participating. No evidence of undue influence was detected: payments can be used to increase the participation of children and young people in research without concerns of undue influence on their behavior in the face of relatively risky research. When considering the level of payment, however, the overriding consideration should be the level of risk to the children and young people.
Low-dose etomidate for the management of severe hypercortisolaemia in different clinical scenarios: a case series and review of the literature
Authors: Łebek-Szatańska Agnieszka , Nowak Karolina M. , Zgliczyński Wojciech , Baum Elżbieta , Żyłka Agnieszka , Papierska Lucyna
Published: February 2019

Background:

Severe Cushing’s syndrome (SCS) is associated with acute cardiovascular, metabolic and infectious complications. It is considered an emergency, requiring an immediate diagnosis, together with a broad spectrum of supportive and hypocortisolaemic treatments. Surgical intervention, aimed at removing the source of cortisol or adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH), is the optimal treatment in most cases of Cushing’s syndrome. However, in hypercortisolaemic states, surgical intervention has high rates of perioperative mortality and morbidity. Oral adrenal steroidogenesis inhibitors, even if more effective in combination, are not always efficient enough or well tolerated. Despite their common use, a more potent, parental, immediate, and thus life-saving, therapy is necessary.

Methods:

The authors present three different clinical scenarios of etomidate treatment in patients hospitalized in the third reference endocrinological centre in Poland between 2016 and 2017.

Results:

Patients with Cushing’s disease, ectopic Cushing’s syndrome and adrenocortical carcinoma presented with severe hypercortisolaemia and exacerbated cortisol-dependent comorbidities. In these three cases, etomidate acted as an accurate, well tolerated and effective cortisol-lowering drug for several days or even months. Patients were monitored in a general ward setting, and no side effects of the therapy were observed.

Conclusions:

In doses far lower than those used for anaesthesia, etomidate works as a useful cortisol-lowering therapy in patients intolerant to or unable to take oral medications. Additionally, if urgent, the most potent and effective medical intervention is necessary, and clinicians should be aware of such a therapeutic option.
Default effects in app selection: German adolescents’ tendency to adhere to privacy or social relatedness features in smartphone apps
Authors: Joeckel Sven , Dogruel Leyla
Published: February 2019

Cognitive biases such as default effects impact on user preferences for a broad range of different choices. This paper investigates these default effects among adolescents configuring apps that either satisfy relatedness or enhance autonomy by protecting privacy. Relatedness and privacy are two innate needs that adolescents can satisfy with the use of smartphone apps. This study argues that adolescents’ choice of features supporting either privacy protection or social relatedness is a consequence of default effects, so that adolescents adhere to preselected defaults. We test this assumption in an experimental survey design including four app configuration tasks with N = 280 German adolescents aged 11 to 20 years. The study finds support for default effects for privacy as well as social relatedness. Effects for further variables, particularly age are discussed.
Technology Gap and the Role of National Innovation System in a Balance of Payments Constrained Growth Model: Empirical Evidence From Nigeria
Authors: Panshak Yohanna , Civcir Irfan , Ozdeser Hüseyin
Published: February 2019

This study empirically seeks to connect more strongly the post-Keynesian macroeconomic idea anchored on the balance of payment (BOP) constraint with the evolutionary microeconomic idea related to the dynamics of technological gap in shaping export quality and long-run growth. It employs autoregressive distributed lag model to examine the validity of Thirlwall’s “Law” on the Nigerian economy from 1981 to 2017. The study found that new version of the model improves significantly in explaining long-run growth of the economy. Therefore, it recommends, among others, a cautious reduction of various components of imports especially final consumption, increasing the export share of commodities with high demand in the international market as well as increasing government spending on R&D to enhance export quality for a sustainable growth of the economy.
A Model for Holistic Review in Graduate Admissions That Decouples the GRE from Race, Ethnicity, and Gender
Authors: Wilson Marenda A. , Odem Max A. , Walters Taylor , DePass Anthony L. , Bean Andrew J.
Published: February 2019

Graduate schools around the United States are working to improve access to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) in a manner that reflects local and national demographics. The admissions process has been the focus of examination, as it is a potential bottleneck for entry into STEM. Standardized tests are widely used as part of the decision-making process; thus, we examined the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) in two models of applicant review: metrics-based applicant review and holistic applicant review to understand whether it affected applicant demographics at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center UTHealth Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences. We measured the relationship between GRE scores of doctoral applicants and admissions committee scores. Metrics-based review of applicants excluded twice the number of applicants who identified as a historically underrepresented minority compared with their peers. Efforts to implement holistic applicant review resulted in an unexpected result: the GRE could be used as a tool in a manner that did not reflect its reported bias. Applicant assessments in our holistic review process were independent of gender, racial, and citizenship status. Importantly, our recommendations provide a blueprint for institutions that want to implement a data-driven approach to assess applicants in a manner that uses the GRE as part of the review process.
3D gravity inversion with optimized mesh based on edge and center anomaly detection
Authors: Yang Min , Wang Wanyin , Kim Welford J. , Farquharson Colin G.
Published: February 2019

Gravity inversion is inherently nonunique. Minimum-structure inversion has proved effective at dealing with this nonuniqueness. However, such an inversion approach, which involves a large number of unknown parameters, is computationally expensive. To improve efficiency while retaining the advantages of a minimum-structure-style inversion, we have developed a new method, based on edge detection and center detection of geologic bodies, to help to focus the spatial extent of meshing for gravity inversion. The chosen method of edge detection, normalized vertical derivative of the total horizontal derivative, helps to outline areas to be meshed by approximating the edges of key geophysical bodies. Next, the method of center detection, normalized vertical derivative of the analytic signal amplitude, helps to confirm the center of the areas to be meshed, then a binary mesh flag is generated. In this paper, the binary mesh flag, restricting the spatial extent of meshing, is first undertaken using the two methods, and it is shown to dramatically reduce the number of grid cells from 574,992 for the whole research volume to 170,544 for the localized mesh by the same size of cell, which is decreased by almost 70%. Second, gravity inversion is performed using the spatially restricted mesh. The recovered model constructed using the binary mesh flag is similar to the model obtained using the mesh spanning the whole volume and saves approximately 80% of the CPU time. Finally, a real gravity data example from Olympic Dam in Australia is successfully used to test the validity and practicability of this proposed method. The geologic source bodies are resolved between 250 and 750 m depth. Overall, the combination of edge detection and center detection, and our binary mesh flag, succeed in reducing the number of cells and saving the CPU time and computer storage required for gravity inversion.
Least-squares path-summation diffraction imaging using sparsity constraints
Authors: Merzlikin Dmitrii , Fomel Sergey , Sen Mrinal K.
Published: February 2019

Diffraction imaging aims to emphasize small-scale subsurface heterogeneities, such as faults, pinch-outs, fracture swarms, channels, etc. and can help seismic reservoir characterization. The key step in diffraction imaging workflows is based on the separation procedure suppressing higher energy reflections and emphasizing diffractions, after which diffractions can be imaged independently. Separation results often contain crosstalk between reflections and diffractions and are prone to noise. We have developed an inversion scheme to reduce the crosstalk and denoise diffractions. The scheme decomposes an input full wavefield into three components: reflections, diffractions, and noise. We construct the inverted forward modeling operator as the chain of three operators: Kirchhoff modeling, plane-wave destruction, and path-summation integral filter. Reflections and diffractions have the same modeling operator. Separation of the components is done by shaping regularization. We impose sparsity constraints to extract diffractions, enforce smoothing along dominant local event slopes to restore reflections, and suppress the crosstalk between the components by local signal-and-noise orthogonalization. Synthetic- and field-data examples confirm the effectiveness of the proposed method.
Multiattribute framework analysis for the identification of carbonate mounds in the Brazilian presalt zone
Authors: Jesus Carlos , Olho Azul Maria , Moreira Lupinacci Wagner , Machado Leandro
Published: February 2019

Carbonate mounds, as described herein, often present seismic characteristics such as low amplitude and a high density of faults and fractures, which can easily be oversampled and blur other rock features in simple geobody extraction processes. We have developed a workflow for combining geometric attributes and hybrid spectral decomposition (HSD) to efficiently identify good-quality reservoirs in carbonate mounds within the complex environment of the Brazilian presalt zone. To better identify these reservoirs within the seismic volume of carbonate mounds, we divide our methodology into four stages: seismic data acquisition and processing overview, preconditioning of seismic data using structural-oriented filtering and imaging enhancement, calculation of seismic attributes, and classification of seismic facies. Although coherence and curvature attributes are often used to identify high-density fault and fracture zones, representing one of the most important features of carbonate mounds, HSD is necessary to discriminate low-amplitude carbonate mounds (good reservoir quality) from low-amplitude clay zones (nonreservoir). Finally, we use a multiattribute facies classification to generate a geologically significant outcome and to guide a final geobody extraction that is calibrated by well data and that can be used as a spatial indicator of the distribution of good reservoir quality for static modeling.
Reirradiation for Recurrent Nasopharyngeal Carcinomas: Experience From an Academic Tertiary Center in a Low- to Middle-Income Country
Authors: Agas Ryan Anthony F. , Yu Kelvin Ken L. , Sogono Paolo G. , Co Lester Bryan A. , Jacinto J.C. Kennetth M. , Bacorro Warren R. , Mejia Michael Benedict A.
Published: February 2019

PURPOSE

The objectives of this study were to report the oncologic outcomes and the treatment-related toxicities after reirradiation (re-RT) for recurrent nasopharyngeal carcinoma (rNPC) at our institution and to apply a recently published prognostic model for survival in rNPC in our cohort.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Thirty-two patients with rNPC treated at the authors' institution with re-RT were retrospectively reviewed. Treatment modalities for re-RT were intensity-modulated radiotherapy (n = 14), three-dimensional conformal radiotherapy (n = 9), single-fraction stereotactic radiosurgery (n = 6), fractionated stereotactic radiotherapy (n = 2), and high dose rate intracavitary brachytherapy (n = 1). Twenty-seven patients received re-RT with curative intent, whereas five patients were treated palliatively.

RESULTS

Median follow-up time was 15.5 months (range, 1 to 123 months) for the entire cohort and 20 months (range, 3 to 123 months) for patients treated with curative intent. For the entire cohort, median locoregional recurrence-free survival (LRRFS) was 14 months, with actuarial 1- and 2-year LRRFS estimates of 67.5% and 44.0%, respectively. Median overall survival (OS) time was 38 months, with actuarial 1- and 2-year estimates of 74.2% and 57.2%, respectively. For patients treated with curative intent, median LRRFS was not reached. Actuarial 1- and 2-year LRRFS estimates were 68.2% and 54.5%, respectively. Median OS time after curative intent re-RT was 42 months, with actuarial 1- and 2-year estimates of 75.4% and 63.8%, respectively. One- and 2-year OS estimates based on risk stratification were 68.6% for high risk compared with 80.8% for low risk and 34.3% for high risk compared with 70.7% for low risk, respectively ( P = .223). Three patients (9.4%) developed symptomatic temporal lobe necrosis. There was no reported grade 5 treatment-related toxicity.

CONCLUSION

Results of the study suggest that re-RT is an effective and safe salvage treatment strategy for rNPC. Re-RT to a maximum equivalent dose in 2-Gy fractions of 60 Gy may yield good LRRFS and translate to prolonged OS.
Early assessment of antiretroviral efficacy is critical to prevent the emergence of resistance mutations in HIV-tuberculosis coinfected patients: a substudy of the CARINEMO-ANRS12146 trial
Authors: Baudin Elisabeth , Bhatt Nilesh , Rouzioux Christine , Serafini Micaela , Molfino Lucas , Jani Ilesh , Taburet Anne-Marie , Bonnet Maryline , Calmy Alexandra ,   CARINEMO Study Group
Published: February 2019

Background: In the CARINEMO ANRS 12146 clinical trial, HIV-tuberculosis co-infected patients in Mozambique were randomized to nevirapine (NVP) or to efavirenz (EFV)-based antiretroviral therapy to compare these two non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NNRTIs) in treatment naïve patients.

Methods: In this sub study, we explored the relationship of NNRTI concentrations with virological escape and the possible emergence of resistance mutations at week 48. The virological escape was defined as an HIV-RNA above 400 copies/m at week 48.

Results: Among the 570 randomized patients, 470 (82%) had an HIV-RNA result at week 48; 54 (12.1%) patients had a viral escape and 35 patients had at least one major resistance mutation detected. Low drug concentration at weeks 12 and 24 (below the 10th percentile) were independently associated with virologic escape at week 48 (adjusted odds ratio [aOR]=2.9; 95% CI: 1.1 -7.2; p=0.0312 and aOR=4.2; 95% CI: 1.8-9.8; p=0.0019, respectively), and independently associated with an increased risk of emergence of resistance mutation (aOR=4.5; 95% CI: 1.8-14.6; p=0.009 at week 12; aOR=5.1; 95% CI: 1.8-14.6 at week 24). Receiver operating characteristic curves analyses indicated a better predictability of the mid-dose concentration and of the HIV-1 RNA values on resistance mutations in contrast to virological escape.

Conclusions: Very low drug plasma concentrations early after treatment initiation (week 12) were predictive factors of virological escape and the emergence of resistance mutations at week 48, and early monitoring of drug intake may prevent the occurrence of late virological escape and the selection of vial resistance mutations.
Wspomnienia z życia rodziny Stankiewiczów na Łotwie Sowieckiej
Authors: Radzynia Jadwiga , Karas Marcin
Published: February 2019

Jadwiga Radzynia, Memories about the Stankiewicz Family Life in Soviet LatviaThe article provides an account of the history of a family of noble background (bearing the Mogiła coat-of-arms), who had lived in Soviet Latvia for a number of generations. The family was put to test on numerous occasions by various governments. In the Soviet times its members, despite the risk of being considered “enemies of the nation”, kept their personal documents, family photograph albums, letters from Siberia and documents concerning their personal assets. It is the Soviet period that the most painful memories are connected with. The grandparents were considered “kulaks”. The family su´ered from imprisonment, exile to Siberia and continuous persecution, enforced collectivization and abolition of private economy. Like other national minorities and Latvians themselves, Poles living in Latvia experienced the process of russification and sovietization. Âe parents made every e´ort to adapt to the realities of contemporary life. Because they adhered to their Catholic faith, their Polish culture, their native language and parental love they retained their national identity and the sense of connection with their homeland, in which they lived. In 1991, after Latvian independence was proclaimed, the Stankiewicz family – as Poles living in Latvia for generations – did not find it difficult to adapt to the new situation and receive citizenship.
Robust Analysis in Stochastic Simulation: Computation and Performance Guarantees
Authors: Ghosh Soumyadip , Lam Henry
Published: February 2019

Decision making using simulation analysis faces the risk of being adversely affected by insufficiently calibrated input models. This risk is especially significant when only limited historical observations of the real-world process are available, or when unexpected risk factors are suspected and require elicitation of expert opinion. In “Robust Analysis in Stochastic Simulation: Computation and Performance Guarantees”, Ghosh and Lam propose a new methodology that solves robust optimization formulations over generic simulation models to compute bounds on the worst possible performance values. Precise performance guarantees are derived for the proposed methods, and these are further illustrated with key examples from stochastic service and queueing systems.
Sustainable food security in low-income and developing countries
Authors: Bouchakour Radhia , Belghait Bachir , Bersali Mohamed Nabil
Published: February 2019

The developing world has witnessed a significant growth in population and consumption demand. This growth, which is expected to continue for decades, would entail increasing pressure to overexploit natural resources and the inevitable limitation of people’s ability to produce food. Other threats abound. Climate change, political instability and poverty are but a few. Yet, despite being endowed with more natural resources, the developing countries have not yet ensured sustainable food security. This article explores the impact of various inhibiting and promoting factors on food security in general and whether these factors have a differential impact in low-income and developing countries. It also discusses the main policy implications of our empirical results.
Effective management of an internationalization strategy: A case study on Egyptian–British universities’ partnerships
Authors: Adel Heba Mohamed , Zeinhom Ghada Aly , Mahrous Abeer A.
Published: February 2019

Despite the abundance of researches that have explored the importance of internationalization in higher education, there is a paucity of research that has analysed the effective management of the internationalization process – in terms of strategy formulation, implementation and evaluation – in an emerging Egyptian–British universities’ partnership. This article adds to the contemporary management research by integrating the literature of the internationalization of higher education, education management and strategic management in an interdisciplinary practice-based manner. Specifically, this study analyses the main elements of the internationalization strategy in addition to the different phases of the effective management of its process in a higher educational institution and its international partners. The current article uses a strategic management perspective to analyse the internationalization processes carried out by an emerging university in Egypt and its international partners in the United Kingdom. A qualitative practice-based case study approach was chosen through conducting in-depth interviews and focus groups with the subject matter experts (i.e., academics and leaders) working in the internationalization processes of this Egyptian–British universities’ partnership in Egypt and United Kingdom. The findings of the current study have various implications in the area of higher education management for the academics/managers/leaders who are coordinating activities related to the management of the internationalization processes at their universities. Furthermore, the study recommends different developmental practices to be adopted for the purpose of quality enhancement at the academic and managerial levels, thus sustaining a process of continuous improvement.