bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Implementation of Question-based Review in support of Quality by Design streamlining the US FDA’s review process
Authors: Desai Alisha , Kumar Maji Jayanta , Walavalkar Kanhoba , Mehta Priti J
Published: June 2018

Question-based Review (QbR) is a format proposed by United States Food and Drug Administration (US FDA) enhancing the International Council for Harmonisation of Technical Requirements for Pharmaceuticals for Human Use's Common Technical Document (ICH CTD) format to streamline the submission process. It is a question–answer format applied to Quality Overall Summary section of the submission. The format includes putting up questions under every section, so the applicant can submit precise and accurate data for approval of the respective application. The QbR format can be applied to NDA, ANDA, and Type II DMF applications. The companion document available with Manual of Policy and Procedures 5015.10 (MaPP 5015.10) allows the reviewer to inspect the critical information in the data provided. It encourages applicants to encompass Quality by Design (QbD) in their development process. QbR gives a structure through which the data collected by applying QbD can be presented. For effective application of QbR format, the submission should be backed with thorough scientific knowledge, risk assessment data, and data integrity. The questions asked compel the applicant to provide justification for the various decisions made in the development phase. Also, questions regarding quality target product profile, critical quality attributes, critical material attributes, critical process parameters and design of experiment are covered under the QbR format. MaPP 5015.10 finalized by US FDA in 2014 clarifies the concept of QbR. There is MicroQbR available which includes questions confirming the sterility of the product. QbR is a step towards speeding up the review process with an intention to motivate the applicants to implement QbD to the project.
NYC Selective Specialized Public High Schools and Honors College STEM Degrees: A Previously Unexplored Relationship
Authors: Sloan Pessy J.
Published: June 2018

This study examined the relationship between attending one of the nine New York City (NYC) selective specialized public high schools and graduating from an honors college with a science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) degree, compared with honors college graduates who attended any other high school. A causal-comparative study design was applied. The participants consisted of 1,647 graduates from seven honors colleges, from 2011 to 2015, in the northeastern United States. Of the 1,647 graduates, 482 students graduated from NYC selective specialized public high schools and 1,165 students graduated from other high schools. The study found a significant difference ( p < .05) between the two groups. A larger percentage of NYC selective specialized public high schools graduated with a STEM degree from an honors college than students from other high schools. These results support the positive relationship between attending a NYC selective specialized public high school and graduating with a STEM degree from an honors college. Results and implications are discussed.
Is There Evidence of Racial Disparity in Police Use of Deadly Force? Analyses of Officer-Involved Fatal Shootings in 2015–2016
Authors: Cesario Joseph , Johnson David J. , Terrill William
Published: June 2018

Is there evidence of a Black–White disparity in death by police gunfire in the United States? This is commonly answered by comparing the odds of being fatally shot for Blacks and Whites, with odds benchmarked against each group’s population proportion. However, adjusting for population values has questionable assumptions given the context of deadly force decisions. We benchmark 2 years of fatal shooting data on 16 crime rate estimates. When adjusting for crime, we find no systematic evidence of anti-Black disparities in fatal shootings, fatal shootings of unarmed citizens, or fatal shootings involving misidentification of harmless objects. Multiverse analyses showed only one significant anti-Black disparity of 144 possible tests. Exposure to police given crime rate differences likely accounts for the higher per capita rate of fatal police shootings for Blacks, at least when analyzing all shootings. For unarmed shootings or misidentification shootings, data are too uncertain to be conclusive.
Validating a Standardized Approach to the Taylor Aggression Paradigm
Authors: Chester David S. , Lasko Emily N.
Published: June 2018

The Taylor Aggression Paradigm (TAP) is a frequently used laboratory measure of aggression. However, the flexibility inherent in its implementation and analysis can undermine its validity. To test whether the TAP is a valid aggression measure irrespective of this flexibility, we conducted two preregistered studies (Study 1 n = 177, Study 2 n = 167) of a standardized version of the TAP. Across both studies, TAP scores showed agreement with other laboratory aggression measures, were magnified by an experimental provocation manipulation, and were associated with traits typically linked to aggressive behavior. Mixed evidence was found for the external and discriminant validity of the task. Individual responses largely loaded onto a single component, suggesting that the aggregate scoring approach accurately represents the underlying data structure. These results provide preliminary support for the internal validity of this TAP approach and highlight the utility of preregistration in psychometric research.
Safety and tolerability of intrathecal liposomal amphotericin B (AmBisome) for cryptococcal meningitis: a retrospective study in HIV-infected patients
Authors: Alvarez-Uria Gerardo , Midde Manoranjan , Battula Jayaram , Pujari Himachandra N.B.
Published: June 2018

Background:

While mortality of HIV-related cryptococcal meningitis (CM) in developed countries is relatively low, in developing countries over half of patients die within 10 weeks. Current recommended therapies are often not suitable for resource-poor settings, and new shorter regimens are urgently needed. Intrathecal administration of liposomal amphotericin B (lAmB) has shown promising results in animal models. However, the safety and tolerability of intrathecal lAmB in humans are not well known.

Methods:

In this retrospective observational study, we report the tolerability and safety of intrathecal lAmB in patients with CM from an HIV cohort study in India.

Results:

In all, 18 patients were included in the analysis. Six were female and the median age was 40 years [interquartile range (IQR): 35–45]. The median CD4 count was 42 cells/µl (IQR: 19–127). Compared with a historical control group, the hazard ratio for mortality was 0.59 (95% confidence interval: 0.26–1.29). Two patients complained of transient lumbar pain in single occasion. One patient had a skin reaction to chlorhexidine, which was used as skin disinfectant. After initial improvement, one patient requested to stop lumbar punctures for the last 2 days of treatment.

Conclusion:

Intrathecal lAmB was safe and well tolerated in HIV-infected patients with CM.
Levels of Health Theory With the Example of a Case of Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis
Authors: Chabanov Dmitri , Tsintzas Dionysis , Vithoulkas George
Published: June 2018

Objective.

Contemporary medicine is in great need of a new patient health group classification that could be the basis for in-depth pathology assessments, disease development and prognosis, and the possibility of healing, as well as for possible complications of organism reactions to treatment processes. This classification is possible if founded on holistic approaches at the level of health assessment from the point of view of organism reactivity and resistance. Such a classification, assigning 12 levels and 4 health groups, exists in classical homeopathy.

Methods.

A new method for determining the group and level of health is shown in a case of juvenile rheumatoid arthritis of a generalized form in an 11-year-old girl, treated with classical homeopathy. The follow-up of the case is 18 years.

Conclusion.

The method allows the physician to assess the organism dynamics as a whole during the pathology development.
Possible reactivation of chromosomally integrated human herpesvirus 6 after treatment with histone deacetylase inhibitor
Authors: Politikos Ioannis , McMasters Malgorzata , Bryke Christine , Avigan David , Boussiotis Vassiliki A.
Published: June 2018

Key Points

HDAC inhibitors might induce ciHHV-6 reactivation. In ciHHV-6 HSCT recipients posttransplant viral load can estimate persistent host chimerism when the donor is ciHHV-6 negative.
Tuberculosis elimination: where are we now?
Authors: Matteelli Alberto , Rendon Adrian , Tiberi Simon , Al-Abri Seif , Voniatis Constantia , Carvalho Anna Cristina C. , Centis Rosella , D'Ambrosio Lia , Visca Dina , Spanevello Antonio , Battista Migliori Giovanni
Published: June 2018

Tuberculosis (TB) still represents a major public health issue in spite of the significant impact of the efforts made by the World Health Organization (WHO) and partners to improve its control. In 2014 WHO launched a new global strategy (End TB) with a vision of a world free of TB, and a 2035 goal of TB elimination (defined as less than one incident case per million). The aim of this article is to summarise the theoretical bases of the End TB Strategy and to analyse progresses and persistent obstacles on the way to TB elimination.

The evolution of the WHO recommended strategies of TB control (Directly Observed Therapy, Short Course (DOTS), Stop TB and End TB) are described and the concept of TB elimination is discussed. Furthermore, the eight core activities recently proposed by WHO as the milestones to achieve TB elimination are discussed in detail. Finally, the recently published experiences of Cyprus and Oman on their way towards TB elimination are described, together with the regional experience of Latin America.

New prevention, diagnostic and treatment tools are also necessary to increase the speed of the present TB incidence decline.
Modulation of long-term potentiation-like cortical plasticity in the healthy brain with low frequency-pulsed electromagnetic fields
Authors: Premi Enrico , Benussi Alberto , La Gatta Antonio , Visconti Stefano , Costa Angelo , Gilberti Nicola , Cantoni Valentina , Padovani Alessandro , Borroni Barbara , Magoni Mauro
Published: June 2018

Background

Non-depolarizing magnetic fields, like low frequency-pulsed electromagnetic fields (LF-PEMFs) have shown the ability to modulate living structures, principally by influencing synaptic activity and ion channels on cellular membranes. Recently, the CTU Mega 20 device was presented as a molecular accelerator, using energy up to 200 J and providing high-power (2 Tesla) pulsating fields with a water-repulsive (diamagnetic) action and tissue biostimulation. We tested the hypothesis that LF-PEMFs could modulate long-term corticospinal excitability in healthy brains by applying CTU Mega 20®. Ten healthy subjects without known neurological and/or psychiatric diseases entered the study. A randomized double-blind sham-controlled crossover design was employed, recording TMS parameters (amplitude variation of the motor evoked potential as index of cortical excitability perturbations of the motor system) before (pre) and after (post + 0, + 15, + 30 min) a single CTU Mega 20 session on the corresponding primary right-hand motor area, using a real (magnetic field = 2 Tesla; intensity = 90 J; impulse frequency = 7 Hz; duration = 15 min) or sham device. A two-way repeated measures ANOVA with TIME (pre, post + 0, + 15, + 30 min) and TREATMENT (real vs. sham stimulation) as within-subjects factor was applied.

Results

A significant TIME × TREATMENT interaction was found (p < 0.001). Post hoc comparisons showed a significant effect of TIME, with significant differences at + 0, + 15 and + 30 min compared to baseline after real stimulation (all p < 0.05) but not after sham stimulation (all p < 0.05) and significant effects of TREATMENT, with significant differences at + 0, + 15 and + 30 min for real stimulation compared to sham stimulation (all p < 0.005). No significant depolarizing effects were detected throughout the (real) stimulation.

Conclusions

Our proof-of-concept study in healthy subjects supports the idea that non-ionizing LF-PEMFs induced by the CTU Mega 20 diamagnetic acceleration system could represent a new approach for brain neuromodulation. Further studies to optimize protocol parameters for different neurological and psychiatric conditions are warranted.

Trial Registration The present work has been retrospectively registered as clinical trial on ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03537469 and publicly released on May 24, 2018
Comparing appropriateness of antibiotics for nursing home residents by setting of prescription initiation: a cross-sectional analysis
Authors: Pulia Michael , Kern Michael , Schwei Rebecca J. , Shah Manish N. , Sampene Emmanuel , Crnich Christopher J.
Published: June 2018

Background

The pervasive, often inappropriate, use of antibiotics in healthcare settings has been identified as a major public health threat due to the resultant widespread emergence of antibiotic resistant bacteria. In nursing homes (NH), as many as two-thirds of residents receive antibiotics each year and up to 75% of these are estimated to be inappropriate. The objective of this study was to characterize antibiotic therapy for NH residents and compare appropriateness based on setting of prescription initiation.

Methods

This was a retrospective, cross-sectional multi-center study that occurred in five NHs in southern Wisconsin between January 2013 and September 2014. All NH residents with an antibiotic prescribing events for suspected lower respiratory tract infections (LRTI), skin and soft tissue infections (SSTI), and urinary tract infections (UTI), initiated in-facility, from an emergency department (ED), or an outpatient clinic were included in this sample. We assessed appropriateness of antibiotic prescribing using the Loeb criteria based on documentation available in the NH medical record or transfer documents. We compared appropriateness by setting and infection type using the Chi-square test and estimated associations of demographic and clinical variables with inappropriate antibiotic prescribing using logistic regression.

Results

Among 735 antibiotic starts, 640 (87.1%) were initiated in the NH as opposed to 61 (8.3%) in the outpatient clinic and 34 (4.6%) in the ED. Inappropriate antibiotic prescribing for urinary tract infections differed significantly by setting: NHs (55.9%), ED (73.3%), and outpatient clinic (80.8%), P = .023. Regardless of infection type, patients who had an antibiotic initiated in an outpatient clinic had 2.98 (95% CI: 1.64–5.44, P < .001) times increased odds of inappropriate use.

Conclusions

Antibiotics initiated out-of-facility for NH residents constitute a small but not trivial percent of all prescriptions and inappropriate use was high in these settings. Further research is needed to characterize antibiotic prescribing patterns for patients managed in these settings as this likely represents an important, yet under recognized, area of consideration in attempts to improve antibiotic stewardship in NHs.
The prevalence, antibiotic resistance and mecA characterization of coagulase negative staphylococci recovered from non-healthcare settings in London, UK
Authors: Xu Zhen , Shah Haroun N. , Misra Raju , Chen Jiazhen , Zhang Wenhong , Liu Yuting , Cutler Ronald R. , Mkrtchyan Hermine V.
Published: June 2018

Background

Coagulase negative staphylococci (CoNS) are important reservoirs of antibiotic resistance genes and associated mobile genetic elements and are believed to contribute to the emergence of successful methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) clones. Although, these bacteria have been linked to various ecological niches, little is known about the dissemination and genetic diversity of antibiotic resistant CoNS in general public settings.

Methods

Four hundred seventy-nine samples were collected from different non-healthcare/general public settings in various locations (n = 355) and from the hands of volunteers (n = 124) in London UK between April 2013 and Nov 2014.

Results

Six hundred forty-three staphylococcal isolates belonging to 19 staphylococcal species were identified. Five hundred seventy-two (94%) isolates were resistant to at least one antibiotic, and only 34 isolates were fully susceptible. Sixty-eight (11%) mecA positive staphylococcal isolates were determined in this study. SCCmec types were fully determined for forty-six isolates. Thirteen staphylococci (19%) carried SCCmec V, followed by 8 isolates carrying SCCmec type I (2%), 5 SCCmec type IV (7%), 4 SCCmec type II (6%), 1 SCCmec type III (2%), 1 SCCmec type VI (2%), and 1 SCCmec type VIII (2%). In addition, three isolates harboured a new SCCmec type 1A, which carried combination of class A mec complex and ccr type 1.

MLST typing revealed that all S. epidermidis strains possess new MLST types and were assigned the following new sequence types: ST599, ST600, ST600, ST600, ST601, ST602, ST602, ST603, ST604, ST605, ST606, ST607 and ST608.

Conclusions

The prevalence of antibiotic resistant staphylococci in general public settings demonstrates that antibiotics in the natural environments contribute to the selection of antibiotic resistant microorganisms. The finding of various SCCmec types in non-healthcare associated environments indicates the complexity of SCCmec. We also report on new MLST types that were assigned for all S. epidermidis isolates, which demonstrates the genetic variability of these isolates.
Targeting the Incretin/Glucagon System With Triagonists to Treat Diabetes
Authors: Capozzi Megan E , DiMarchi Richard D , Tschöp Matthias H , Finan Brian , Campbell Jonathan E
Published: June 2018

Glucagonlike peptide 1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists have been efficacious for the treatment of type 2 diabetes due to their ability to reduce weight and attenuate hyperglycemia. However, the activity of glucagonlike peptide 1 receptor–directed strategies is submaximal, and the only potent, sustainable treatment of metabolic dysfunction is bariatric surgery, necessitating the development of unique therapeutics. GLP-1 is structurally related to glucagon and glucose-dependent insulinotropic peptide (GIP), allowing for the development of intermixed, unimolecular peptides with activity at each of their respective receptors. In this review, we discuss the range of tissue targets and added benefits afforded by the inclusion of each of GIP and glucagon. We discuss considerations for the development of sequence-intermixed dual agonists and triagonists, highlighting the importance of evaluating balanced signaling at the targeted receptors. Several multireceptor agonist peptides have been developed and evaluated, and the key preclinical and clinical findings are reviewed in detail. The biological activity of these multireceptor agonists are founded in the success of GLP-1-directed strategies; by including GIP and glucagon components, these multireceptor agonists are thought to enhance GLP-1’s activities by broadening the tissue targets and synergizing at tissues that express multiple receptors, such at the brain and pancreatic isletβ cells. The development and utility of balanced, unimolecular multireceptor agonists provide both a useful tool for querying the actions of incretins and glucagon during metabolic disease and a unique drug class to treat type 2 diabetes with unprecedented efficacy.
Retinoic acid receptor signaling is necessary in steroidogenic cells for normal spermatogenesis and epididymal function
Authors: Jauregui Estela J. , Mitchell Debra , Topping Traci , Hogarth Cathryn A. , Griswold Michael D.
Published: June 2018

Spermatogenesis in mammals is a very complex, highly organized process, regulated in part by testosterone and retinoic acid (RA). There is a significant amount known about how RA and testosterone signaling pathways independently regulate this process, but there is almost no information regarding whether these two signaling pathways directly interact and whether RA is critical for steroidogenic cell function. This study utilized a transgenic mouse line that expresses a dominant negative form of RA receptor α (RAR−DN) and the steroidogenic cell−specific Cre mouse line, Cyp17iCre, to generate male mice with steroidogenic cells unable to perform RA signaling. Testes of mutant mice displayed increased apoptosis of pachytene spermatocytes, increased number of macrophages in the interstitium, and missing advanced germ cells. Additionally, blocking RA signaling in Leydig cells resulted in increased permeability of the blood-testis barrier, decreased levels of the steroidogenic enzyme cytochrome P450 17a1, and decreased testosterone levels. Surprisingly, the epididymides of the mutant mice also displayed an abnormal phenotype. This study demonstrates that RA signaling is required in steroidogenic cells for their normal function and, thus, for male fertility.
Impaired β-cell glucokinase as an underlying mechanism in diet-induced diabetes
Authors: Lu Brian , Kurmi Kiran , Munoz-Gomez Miguel , Jacobus Ambuludi Egon J. , Tonne Jason M. , Rakshit Kuntol , Hitosugi Taro , Kudva Yogish C. , Matveyenko Aleksey V. , Ikeda Yasuhiro
Published: June 2018

High-fat diet (HFD)-fed mouse models have been widely used to study early type 2 diabetes. Decreased β-cell glucokinase (GCK) expression has been observed in HFD-induced diabetes. However, owing to its crucial roles in glucose metabolism in the liver and in islet β-cells, the contribution of decreased GCK expression to the development of HFD-induced diabetes is unclear. Here, we employed a β-cell-targeted gene transfer vector and determined the impact of β-cell-specific increase in GCK expression on β-cell function and glucose handling in vitro and in vivo. Overexpression of GCK enhanced glycolytic flux, ATP-sensitive potassium channel activation and membrane depolarization, and increased proliferation in Min6 cells. β-cell-targeted GCK transduction did not change glucose handling in chow-fed C57BL/6 mice. Although adult mice fed a HFD showed reduced islet GCK expression, impaired glucose tolerance and decreased glucose-stimulated insulin secretion (GSIS), β-cell-targeted GCK transduction improved glucose tolerance and restored GSIS. Islet perifusion experiments verified restored GSIS in isolated HFD islets by GCK transduction. Thus, our data identify impaired β-cell GCK expression as an underlying mechanism for dysregulated β-cell function and glycemic control in HFD-induced diabetes. Our data also imply an etiological role of GCK in diet-induced diabetes.

This article has an associated First Person interview with the first author of the paper.
The method of using Ericksonian hypnosis in cosmetology procedures
Authors: Мальцева Татьяна , Maltseva Tatyana , Казакова Полина , Kazakova Polina , Казаков Антон , Kazakov Anton
Published: June 2018

The aim of our research is the study of efficiency of Erickson hypnotherapy methods in cosmetology using the procedure of sculpture face massage based on the Tibetan technique as an example. Subjective feedback of the participants suggests the necessity of further study of the possibilities of use of Erickson hypnotherapy in modern cosmetology and dermatovenereology, or the elaboration of specialized toolkit to assess the results of hypnotic induction.
The negative consequences of the cyber socialization of minors
Authors: Волгин Евгений , Volgin Evgeniy , Андреасян Рита , Andreasyan Rita , Исхаков Эдуард , Iskhakov Eduard
Published: June 2018

The article is devoted to the consideration of problems arising in the use of virtual space, the study of which is aimed at ensuring that society can actively counter threats from the negative aspects of these problems, effectively and timely protect the younger generation from the "dark" sides of the Internet. The task of the society to do everything to really help every juvenile with cyber addiction, to save him from erroneous actions and actions, to get him out of the "risk group". The authors write about the need to monitor the time of the child's stay in the virtual network, study the content of interest to him, the Internet community and, watching the changes in the behavior of the child, be able to promptly seek help from a psychologist.
Questions of Regulation of Transfer Pricing in to the System of Tax Control of Russia
Authors: Султанова Муслима , Sultanova Muslima
Published: June 2018

In article the questions of tax control of the prices of transactions between vertically integrated structures of multinational corporations, holdings and other business combinations are considered. An assessment of modern model of tax administration, from the point of view of the preferences and privileges provided to corporations is given. Features of assessment of criteria of controllability of transactions and instruments of control of transfer pricing are revealed. Constructive proposals on realization of the stimulating capacity of tax system taking into account the interests of development of small and medium business are given.
Concept of Growth of Capital Investments of Agricultural Enterprises in Russia
Authors: Мишина М. , Mishina M.
Published: June 2018

The Russian agricultural enterprises feel the need for updating and building-up of amounts of fixed assets. The research purpose is a development of the concept of stimulation of capital investments for agrarian firms of Russia. The article contains data on real investments and sources of their financing in domestic agricultural organizations. Scientific work reflects problems of mobilization of own financial resources and conceptual provisions in the field of growth of capital investments of agrarian firms. The central place in the author’s concept is taken by a package of measures for additional inflow of sources of capital financing. The main direction is an implementation of tax optimization in accounting practice of agricultural organizations. The concept includes control of target use of sources of financing of capital investments and express-analysis of efficiency of capital costs by each project.
Public-Private Partnership As a Mechanism of Mutually Beneficial Cooperation: European and Russian Experience
Authors: Чапаргина А. , Chapargina A. , Гасникова А. , Gasnikova A.
Published: June 2018

Today both in foreign countries and in Russia, public-private partnership (PPP) is seen as an important mechanism for solving public significant economic and social problems. The main purpose of PPP is to achieve synergies by the sharing of resources and knowledge, risk allocation, and integrating efforts to meet the needs of all participants of a PPP project. The article considers the history of the PPP and its different determinations. The authors present an organizational model of PPP, reflecting the main issues of organization and possible effects from using this mechanism. The analysis of foreign experience of using PPPs is conducted by the example of two economically developed European countries — Great Britain and Germany; some aspects of the foreign experience can be used in Russia. The choice of these countries for comparative analysis with Russian practice of using PPP is clearly substantiated in the article. Trends, features and directions of development of this type of legal relations between the state and business in terms of Russian reality are revealed. The main problems related to using this mechanism in the Russian Federation and its subjects are generalized. The measures allowing expanding using public-private partnership for effectively solving public significant problems are presented.
Eliciting Public Risk Preferences in Emergency Situations
Authors: Taheri Ehsan , Wang Chen
Published: June 2018

We investigate decisions in the face of emergency situations where potential consequences include loss of life, for example, the choice of methods to rescue a group of people who are trapped in a fire. In particular, we conduct two sets of experiments to depict public risk preferences for potential fatalities in a rescue mission. The first set of experiments asks binary questions on a collection of hypothetical emergency scenarios such as fires, air crashes, and marine accidents. Our results show that people are inclined to choose risky options in emergency situations, indicating risk-seeking behavior. However, we observe no significant decline in the subjects’ willingness to save one more life as the base number of people in danger increases, which contradicts the risk-seeking utility function implied by expected utility theory. We then conduct the second set of experiments to elicit possible distortions of probabilities in addition to the value function of fatalities under prospect theory. The value functions of most subjects are concave with increasing marginal effect of losing one more life, and most subjects deflate the probability of an adverse event no matter whether the probability is small or large. We compare our results with prospect theory studies involving money and time in the loss domain, and provide possible explanations for the observed discrepancies.
Moment Risks: Investment for Self and for a Firm
Authors: Desmoulins-Lebeault François , Meunier Luc
Published: June 2018

Extreme risk taking by agents has been the subject of intense scrutiny since the 2007 financial crisis. Many have alleged that investing for a firm led to preferences for more risk taking. To test this claim, we submitted a questionnaire to a sample of 715 business school students, testing for investment preferences when investing for self and for a firm over the first four moments of the distribution of returns. We find evidence of standard deviation aversion, skewness seeking, and kurtosis seeking when investing for self. The overall kurtosis seeking of our sample as a whole is mainly driven by standard deviation lovers, skewness seekers, and males. When investing for a firm, we do not see more risk taking but rather a shift toward neutrality of preferences for standard deviation and kurtosis, which is congruent with the risk-as-feelings hypothesis. Our study also underlines the impact of financial expertise in the reduction of risk taking, both when investing for self and for the firm.
Optimality Conditions for Problems over Symmetric Cones and a Simple Augmented Lagrangian Method
Authors: Lourenço Bruno F. , Fukuda Ellen H. , Fukushima Masao
Published: June 2018

In this work, we are interested in nonlinear symmetric cone problems (NSCPs), which contain as special cases nonlinear semidefinite programming, nonlinear second-order cone programming, and the classical nonlinear programming problems. We explore the possibility of reformulating NSCPs as common nonlinear programs (NLPs), with the aid of squared slack variables. Through this connection, we show how to obtain second-order optimality conditions for NSCPs in an easy manner, thus bypassing a number of difficulties associated to the usual variational analytical approach. We then discuss several aspects of this connection. In particular, we show a “sharp” criterion for membership in a symmetric cone that also encodes rank information. Also, we discuss the possibility of importing convergence results from nonlinear programming to NSCPs, which we illustrate by discussing a simple augmented Lagrangian method for nonlinear symmetric cones. We show that, employing the slack variable approach, we can use the results for NLPs to prove convergence results, thus extending a special case (i.e., the case with strict complementarity) of an earlier result by Sun et al. [Sun D, Sun J, Zhang L (2008) The rate of convergence of the augmented Lagrangian method for nonlinear semidefinite programming. Math. Programming 114(2):349–391] for nonlinear semidefinite programs.
Optimal Consumption and Portfolio Selection with Early Retirement Option
Authors: Yang Zhou , Koo Hyeng Keun
Published: June 2018

In this paper we propose an approach to investigate a model of consumption and investment with a mandatory retirement date and early retirement option; we analyze properties of the optimal strategy and thereby contribute to understanding the interaction between retirement, consumption, and portfolio decisions in the presence of both the important features of retirement. In particular, we provide a characterization of the threshold of wealth as a function of time, and we show that it is strictly decreasing near the mandatory retirement date. The threshold is similar to the early exercise boundary of an American option in the sense that if the agent’s wealth is above or equal to the threshold level, then the agent immediately retires. We also provide comparative static analysis.
Gestational diabetes mellitus: onset, causes and management
Authors: Morris David
Published: June 2018

Primary care nurses can play a huge role in the management of gestational diabetes, writes David Morris
Lower urinary tract symptoms: Overactive bladder syndrome
Authors: Nazarko Linda
Published: June 2018

Linda Nazarko explains why nurses are best placed to help women who suffer from an overactive bladder
Community is the best medicine
Authors: Gilburt Helen
Published: June 2018

Helen Gilburt explains how volunteers in general practice can help to improve outcomes for patients and have a positive effect on staff morale
Wind-rushing to Southport
Authors: Ainsworth Steve
Published: June 2018

How can members of the Windrush generation prove their presence in the UK and establish their entitlement to remain? An old building in the British seaside resort of Southport may hold the answer, says Steve Ainsworth
How powerful is the owner of a company?
Authors: Cumberlege Justin
Published: June 2018

Justin Cumberlege of law firm Cripps concludes his series on having an incorporated practice by looking at the members' powers
Survey to describe variability in early onset scoliosis cast practices
Authors: Grzywna A. , McClung A. , Sanders J. , Sturm P. , Karlin L. , Glotzbecker M. , Children's Spine Study Group  , Growing Spine Study Group
Published: June 2018

Purpose

To investigate paediatric orthopaedists’ cast practices for early onset scoliosis regarding patient selection, cast application, radiographic evaluation, treatment cessation and adjunctive bracing.

Methods

A casting survey was distributed to all paediatric orthopaedists in Children's Spine and Growing Spine Study Groups (n = 92). Questions included physician and patient characteristics, technique, treatment, outcomes, radiographic measurements and comparison to other treatments. A total of 55 orthopaedists (60%) responded, and descriptive statistics were calculated on the subset who cast (n = 45).

Results

A majority of respondents use cast treatment for idiopathic and syndromic scoliosis patients, but not for neuromuscular or congenital scoliosis patients. Major curve angle ranked most important in orthopaedists’ decision to commence cast treatment, in comparison with rib-vertebra angle difference or clinical observations. The major curve angle threshold to initiate casting was a median of 30° (20° to 70°), and the minimum patient age was median ten months (3 to 24). First in-cast and out-of-cast radiographs are taken standing, supine, awake, under anesthesia and/or in traction. In all, 58% consistently cast over or under the arm, while 44% vary position by patient. Respondents were divided about the use of a brace after cast treatment: 22% do not prescribe a brace, 31% always do and 36% do in some patients.

Conclusions

Future multicentre research studies must standardize radiographic practices and consider age and major curve angle at cast initiation and termination, scoliosis aetiology, shoulder position and treatment duration. Practices need to be aligned or compared in these areas in order to distinguish what makes for the best cast treatment possible. Level of Evidence V, Expert opinion
Incidencia de Xylella fastidiosa en las Islas Baleares y distribución potencial en la península ibérica
Authors: Gutiérrez-Hernández Oliver , García Luis V.
Published: June 2018

Las invasiones biológicas constituyen una de las principales amenazas a la economía y a la biodiversidad relacionadas con el cambio global. Recientemente, ha irrumpido en las Islas Baleares un organismo fitopatógeno muy dañino: Xylella fastidiosa. Es una bacteria confinada en el xilema de las plantas que causa mortalidad sin curación en un gran número de cultivos leñosos de gran importancia, entre los cuales se encuentran el olivo, la vid, el almendro y los cítricos. En este trabajo abordamos una aproximación al estudio de la distribución del patógeno en las Islas Baleares y desarrollamos un modelo de distribución potencial de Xylella fastidiosa en la península ibérica calibrado con registros de presencia colectados en el archipiélago. Los resultados preliminares apuntan a una alta incidencia del Xylella fastidiosa en las Islas Baleares y proyectan una amplia distribución potencial del patógeno en la península ibérica, especialmente allí donde las temperaturas mínimas del mes más frío son más son más suaves.
How the replica of the Italy’s Northeast Industrial District model failed in Timisoara (Romania)
Authors: Bertoncin Marina , Pase Andrea , Quatrida Daria , Scroccaro Alessandra
Published: June 2018

Italy’s industrial districts of the Northeast are often cited as beings models of success due to their economic organisation, thus they have almost become an archetypal myth. One of the reasons for the Northeastern firms’ success is proximity (both geographical and relational), particularly with regard to the creation and development of the districts and their innovative and competitive capacity on a global scale. Our research compares the structures of proximity in Montebelluna, an industrial district in Northeast Italy, with Timisoara (in Romania), which has been one of the more favoured areas of delocalisation for Veneto firms. This comparison made it possible to focus on the non-economic categories (such as trust, face-to-face relations, cooperative attitudes, local context…) that have contributed to a large part of their success, although, in reality, they are often overvalued. Above all, the analysis reveals how these Italian industrial districts have concealed an unequal distribution of power, not only inside the firms and between the firms, but also between the firms and their delocalised territories. Today the “Northeast” model is questioned and debated; however a rethinking of regional dynamics is only possible if these hidden dimensions of district development are taken into consideration.
Reseña de Contribución del Análisis Espacial a la Ciencia y a la Geografía. Referencia Histórico-Bibliográfica
Authors: García Ferrero Alejandro
Published: June 2018

El libro del profesor Darío César Sánchez que se presenta en esta reseña aporta un “riguroso análisis de la evolución a través del tiempo del concepto y método del análisis espacial en la ciencia y en la Geografía”, con el objetivo de contribuir al debate científico, a la reflexión teórica y a la formación y al desarrollo de un sentido crítico entre los “jóvenes científicos sociales argentinos y latinoamericanos”.
Reseña de El turismo como catalizador de la pobreza. Trabajo turístico y precariedad en Cozumel, México
Authors: Roig-Munar Francesc Xavier
Published: June 2018

Históricamente las relaciones entre turismo y pobreza han tenido fuertes conexiones, aunque estas conexiones han operado en múltiples direcciones, y en algunos casos en sentido contrario, pudiendo identificar cuatro formas en las que se ha producido este acercamiento, siendo: a) el turismo como oportunidad de desarrollo y reducción de la pobreza, b) como beneficiado y generador de mayor pobreza, c) como posibilidad de empoderamiento colectivo a través de formas de gestión comunitaria, y d) la pobreza como atractivo turístico.
Jueves 8 de marzo de 2018, 7 a.m.
Authors: Gerbaudo Analía
Published: June 2018

Presentación del Nº 7 de El taco en la brea
Borges as Hero
Authors: Antelo Raúl
Published: June 2018

El artículo analiza un conjunto de textos de Jorge Luis Borges. El trabajo describe conceptos que permiten una nueva interpretación de temas clásicos alrededor del autor.
Ensayos X. Poética–científica de Ezequiel Martínez Estrada
Authors: Luzuriaga Pablo
Published: June 2018

El ensayo a partir del cual E. Martínez Estrada se transforma en uno de los más importantes prosistas argentinos propone estudiar la historia y la cultura de su país a partir de una perspectiva metodológica que se define con la metáfora de una radiografía. Los rayos X prometen ver más allá de lo que se presenta frente a la retina. Nos encontramos ante una poética científica que desconfía de la observación y opta por el camino de la filología: leer al país como si fuese un texto escrito o un discurso que se oye. Pero la desconfianza que E. Martínez Estrada tiene sobre el sentido de la vista precede a Radiografía de la Pampa (1933). La semilla de esa sospecha germina en su obra poética temprana, en particular, en el camino que va del poemario Argentina (1927) a los dos volúmenes publicados en 1929: Títeres de pies ligeros y Humoresca. Entre ellos tiene lugar un punto de inflexión vanguardista que habilita, más tarde, la mirada de rayos X. Una perspectiva, la del radiólogo, que el autor argentino comparte con otras poéticas de la vanguardia que en los años veinte y treinta impugnaron al realismo ilustrado del siglo XIX.
Intelectuales, ciencia y espiritualismos en los años de entresiglos. Intervenciones de Carlos Octavio Bunge, Emilio Becher y Leopoldo Lugones
Authors: Quereilhac Soledad
Published: June 2018

En los años de entresiglos en el Río de la Plata, intelectuales y escritores de orientaciones ideológicas diversas reflexionaron sobre la función, la imagen y las posibilidades de las ciencias en el marco de una nación en proceso de modernización. La cavilación sobre el lugar de las ciencias excedió, por cierto, los marcos de discusión del positivismo y se extendió hacia otras zonas de la cultura, como las corrientes espiritualistas modernas —el espiritismo y la teosofía— que llegaron al país hacia el último tercio del siglo XIX, y como la literatura fantástica de corte cientificista. Buscando desarmar las anacrónicas polarizaciones entre espiritualismo y cientificismo, y atenta a la gran gama de grises que ofrece la cultura de entresiglos, en el presente trabajo propongo una revisión de una serie de textos ensayísticos y ficcionales de Leopoldo Lugones, Emilio Becher y Carlos O. Bunge que complejizaron el mosaico de gravitación del discurso de las ciencias. El elemento común a estas tres intervenciones fue la necesidad de preguntarse, de maneras diferentes, tanto sobre «el más allá» de los preceptos positivistas, como sobre la posibilidad de reunir en un marco disciplinar global lo que la ciencia moderna tendía a separar paulatinamente en áreas diferenciadas.
Sobre: La lectura: una vida..., de Daniel Link
Authors: Cherri Leonel
Published: June 2018

Sobre: La lectura: una vida..., de Daniel Link. Buenos Aires: Ampersand, 2017.
Sobre: Años de aprendizaje. Subjetividad adolescente, literatura y formación en la Argentina de los años sesenta, de Paola Piacenza
Authors: Peralta Sergio
Published: June 2018

Sobre: Años de aprendizaje. Subjetividad adolescente, literatura y formación en la Argentina de los años sesenta, de Paola Piacenza. Buenos Aires: Miño y Dávila, 2017
Rezarta Mataj, The Compensation of Non-contractual Damages Caused by Administrative Bodies in Albania (Odszkodowanie za szkody pozaumowne wyrządzone przez organy administracyjne w Albanii), „Acta Universitatis Danubius. Juridica” 2016, vol. 12, no. 2, s. 106–117, ISSN 1844–8062.
Authors: Staniszewska Lucyna
Published: June 2018

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Habilitacje w Polsce Ludowej. Część 1. Warunki i przebieg habilitacji w prawie szkół wyższych
Authors: Wojtczak Krystyna
Published: June 2018

Until 1965 the requirements and conditions of habilitation proceedings in Poland were governed by the law on schools of higher education. The solutions adopted under that law showed a relatively high degree of stability. In the fi rst years after WWII the habilitation qualifi cation was based on the solutions governing in Poland in the 1930s, with only slight changes introduced in the fi rst month after the end of the war. The fi rst reform of higher education of 1947 left the right to confer habilitation degrees with schools of higher education then in existence and retained the existing order of the habilitation proceedings. However, it implemented a number of rather signifi cant amendments in the area of the requirements needed to be fulfi lled at each stage of these proceedings. The right to lecture remained inherent to the habilitation qualifi cation and degree. What changed was the scope of infl uence of the minister of education supervising schools of higher education regarding habilitation proceedings and the appointment of the Main Council of Higher Education with the right of fi nal say and consent to the opening of the habilitation qualifi cation and to run the habilitation proceedings. Habilitation was abandoned by the reform of 1951 and replaced, following the Soviet model, with a higher degree of a doctor of science. Further changes followed in 1958 when it was restored by relevant provisions of the Act on higher education. It was then that more than forty years after Poland regained independence, the habilitation degree was for the fi rst time tied to a successful completion of the habilitation proceedings and earning the degree of a ‘docent’. The Main Council of Higher Education continued to function but its role in habilitation proceedings was reduced to issuing opinions before the minister of higher education decided on habilitation matters. Apart from schools of higher education, the right to confer habilitation degrees was granted to the Polish Academy of Sciences and academic institutions operating outside schools of higher education.
Hanna M. Frąckowiak, Proceedings before the Regional Commission for Evaluation of Medical Events, series: Monografie Prawnicze, Wydawnictwo C.H. Beck, Warszawa 2016, ss. 460, ISBN 978-83-255-8375-0. (by Paulina Jankowska)
Authors: Jankowska Paulina
Published: June 2018

Hanna M. Frąckowiak, Proceedings before the Regional Commission for Evaluation of Medical Events, series: Monografie Prawnicze, Wydawnictwo C.H. Beck, Warszawa 2016 ss. 460, ISBN 978-83-255-8375-0. (by Paulina Jankowska)
Joseph Damamme, How Can Obesity Fit Within the Legal Concept of ‘Disability’? A Comparative Analysis of Judicial Interpretations Under EU and US Non-Discrimination Law After „Kaltoft” (W jaki sposób otyłość może zmieścić się w prawnej koncepcji niepełnosprawności? Analiza porównawcza interpretacji sądowych w świetle unijnego i amerykańskiego prawa antydyskryminacyjnego po sprawie Kaltoft), „European Journal of Legal Studies” 2015, vol. 8, no. 1, s. 147–179, ISSN 1973-2937.
Authors: Narożniak Agnieszka
Published: June 2018

Joseph Damamme, How Can Obesity Fit Within the Legal Concept of ‘Disability’? A Comparative Analysis of Judicial Interpretations Under EU and US Non-Discrimination Law After „Kaltoft” (W jaki sposób otyłość może zmieścić się w prawnej koncepcji niepełnosprawności? Analiza porównawcza interpretacji sądowych w świetle unijnego i amerykańskiego prawa antydyskryminacyjnego po sprawie Kaltoft), „European Journal of Legal Studies” 2015, vol. 8, no. 1, s. 147–179, ISSN 1973-2937.
Gaëtan Cliquennois, Elisabeth Lambert Abdelgawad, The Development of the European System of Human and Fundamental Rights in the Current Economic and Political Context (Rozwój europejskiego systemu praw człowieka i praw podstawowych w kontekście gospodarczym i politycznym), „European Law Journal” 2016, vol. 22, no. 1, s. 2–8, DOI: 10.1111/eulj.12170.
Authors: Staniszewska Lucyna
Published: June 2018

Gaëtan Cliquennois, Elisabeth Lambert Abdelgawad, The Development of the European System of Human and Fundamental Rights in the Current Economic and Political Context (Rozwój europejskiego systemu praw człowieka i praw podstawowych w kontekście gospodarczym i politycznym), „European Law Journal” 2016, vol. 22, no. 1, s. 2–8, DOI: 10.1111/eulj.12170.