bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Strategic requirements engineering for complex sustainable systems
Authors: Svetinovic Davor
Published: October 2012

The development of complex sustainable systems presents a number of challenges in requirements engineering (RE). It is difficult to elicit, analyze, and specify interdisciplinary system requirements that have to be fulfilled in order to develop a complex sustainable system. This paper argues for a need for a significant shift in the underlying RE ideas and premises in order to effectively cope with RE challenges of complex sustainable systems development. We present the main requirements for the development of strategic RE methods based on a number of systems, methodological, and epistemological perspective shifts. Strategic RE paradigm shift facilitates adaptation of primarily technological system‐specific RE knowledge in order to handle large scale interdisciplinary sustainability‐related RE challenges. ©2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Syst Eng 16
Frequent item set mining
Authors: Borgelt Christian
Published: October 2012

Frequent item set mining is one of the best known and most popular data mining methods. Originally developed for market basket analysis, it is used nowadays for almost any task that requires discovering regularities between (nominal) variables. This paper provides an overview of the foundations of frequent item set mining, starting from a definition of the basic notions and the core task. It continues by discussing how the search space is structured to avoid redundant search, how it is pruned with the a priori property, and how the output is reduced by confining it to closed or maximal item sets or generators. In addition, it reviews some of the most important algorithmic techniques and data structures that were developed to make the search for frequent item sets as efficient as possible. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

This article is categorized under:

Algorithmic Development > Association Rules

Application Areas > Data Mining Software Tools

Technologies > Association Rules
Different Types of Coordinated Urea Molecules in its Complexes with Rare‐Earth Iodides and Perchlorates
Authors: Savinkina Elena V. , Golubev Denis V. , Podgornov Kirill V. , Albov Dmitry V. , Grigoriev Mikhail S. , Davydova Margarita N.
Published: October 2012

An earlier reported series of the [Ln(Ur)4(H2O)4]I3 (Ln = Y, La, Nd, Eu, Gd, Dy, Ho, Er; Ur = urea) complexes was completed with seven new compounds (Ln = Ce, Pr, Sm, Tb, Tm, Yb, Lu); one of them, [Ce(Ur)4(H2O)4]I3, was studied by X‐ray diffraction. The most striking feature of the [Ln(Ur)4(H2O)4]I3 structures is the presence of two types of coordinated urea molecules. There are two planar symmetric and two non‐planar asymmetric urea molecules. The Ln–O–C bond angles vary in the ranges 163.06–165.71° and 148.42–152.42° for symmetric and asymmetric urea ligands, respectively, correlating with the ionic mode of urea coordination. To elucidate the role of aqua ligands for the urea coordination mode, two water‐free perchlorate complexes, [La(Ur)8](ClO4)3·2Ur and [La(Ur)7(OClO3)](ClO4)2 were synthesized and structurally characterized. In these complexes, all urea molecules are planar symmetric; however, both covalent and ionic types of urea coordination with the La–O–C bond angles varying in the 132.4–142.3° and 145.5–159.1° ranges, respectively can be observed.
Three‐Dimensional CT Volumetry Predicts Outcome of Laparoscopic Splenectomy for Splenomegaly: Retrospective Clinical Study
Authors: Filicori Filippo , Stock Cameron , Schweitzer Andrew D. , Keutgen Xavier M. , LaGratta Maria D. , Zarnegar Rasa , Fahey Thomas J.
Published: October 2012

Background

The aim of this study was to determine the predictive value of the preoperative three‐dimensional reconstructed volume (3D volumetry) for outcomes of laparoscopic splenectomy. The impact of splenomegaly on the feasibility of laparoscopic splenectomy is still debated. We hypothesized that splenic volumetry may accurately estimate splenic volume preoperatively and be used by surgeons to select patients for laparoscopic splenectomy.

Methods

We performed a retrospective review of 88 patients seen at a tertiary referral center undergoing laparoscopic or open splenectomy between 2001 and 2010. Patients included in the study underwent elective splenectomy without associated procedures and had preoperative imaging available at our institution. We evaluated clinical, demographic characteristics and perioperative imaging as predictors of outcome. Study endpoints included conversion to open splenectomy, operating time, estimated blood loss (EBL), length of stay (LOS), postoperative complications, and mortality.

Results

In all, 53 procedures were started laparoscopically. Among them, 7 (13.2 %) were converted to open splenectomy and 7 (13.2 %) to hand‐assisted laparoscopic splenectomy. The conversion group was matched with 35 patients who underwent open splenectomy to determine differences in outcomes between these groups. There were no conversions in spleens measuring <1100 cc, whereas spleens of 1100 to 2700 cc had a conversion rate of 41 %. Spleen volume >2700 cc was associated with an 87.5 % conversion rate. Spleen 3D volumetry >2700 cc was the only independent predictor of surgical conversion on multivariate analysis (odds ratio 38.0, confidence interval 4.02–358.75, p = 0.001). Patients who underwent open splenectomy had shorter operating times (160.3 vs. 253.0 min, p = 0.001) than those converted from laparoscopic to open splenectomy.

Conclusions

A 3D reconstructed splenic volume of >2700 cc is a predictor of conversion from laparoscopic to open splenectomy. For spleens measuring <2700 cc, laparoscopic splenectomy may be performed by experienced surgeons with low to moderate rates of conversion. For spleens with a 3D reconstructed volume >2700 cc, laparoscopic splenectomy is associated with high rates of conversion to open surgery.
Synthesis, Surface and Thermodynamic Properties of Substituted Polytriethanolamine Nonionic Surfactants
Authors: Negm Nabel A. , El‐Farargy Ahmed F. , Tawfik Salah M. , Abdelnour Ahmad M. , Hefni Hassan H. , Khowdiary Manal M.
Published: October 2012

Three series of nonionic surfactants derived from polytriethanolamine containing 8, 10, and 12 units of triethanolamine were synthesized. Structural assignment of the different compounds was made on the basis of FTIR and 1H‐NMR spectroscopic data. The surface parameters of these surfactants included critical micelle concentration (CMC), surface tension at the CMC (γCMC), surfactant concentration required to reduce the surface tension of the solvent by 20 mN m−1 (pC20), maximum surface excess (Γmax), and the interfacial area occupied by the surfactant molecules (Amin) using surface tension measurements. The micellization and adsorption free energies were calculated at 25 °C.
The Secularization of Sunday: Real or Perceived Competition for Churches
Authors: McMullin Steve
Published: October 2012

In a survey of pastors and members of 16 declining congregations in the US and Canada, respondents most commonly identified competing Sunday activities as the primary reason for the decline in Sunday worship attendance. The repeal of “blue laws” that kept stores closed on Sundays has resulted in many more people working or shopping on Sundays, and children's athletic activities are often scheduled on Sunday mornings at the very time when many churches traditionally have provided religious education. Based on a study of 16 mainline and conservative Protestant congregations in decline, this article considers the effect—both real and perceived—of the secularization of Sunday on congregations with declining worship attendance.
Vitamin B12status, cognitive decline and dementia: a systematic review of prospective cohort studies
Authors: O'Leary Fiona , Allman-Farinelli Margaret , Samman Samir
Published: October 2012

Poor vitamin B12status may lead to the development of cognitive decline and dementia but there is a large variation in the quality, design of and results reported from these investigations. We have undertaken a systematic review of the evidence for the association between vitamin B12status and cognitive decline in older adults. A database search of the literature to 2011 was undertaken, using keywords related to vitamin B12and cognition. All prospective cohort studies assessing the association of serum vitamin B12or biomarkers were included. Quality assessment and extraction of the data were undertaken by two researchers. The quality assessment tool assigns a positive, neutral or negative rating. Of 3772 published articles, thirty-five cohort studies (n14 325 subjects) were identified and evaluated. No association between serum vitamin B12concentrations and cognitive decline or dementia was found. However, four studies that used newer biomarkers of vitamin B12status (methylmalonic acid and holotranscobalamin (holoTC)) showed associations between poor vitamin B12status and the increased risk of cognitive decline or dementia diagnosis. In general, the studies were of reasonable quality (twenty-one positive, ten neutral and four negative quality) but of short duration and inadequate subject numbers to determine whether an effect exists. Future studies should be of adequate duration (at least 6 years), recruit subjects from the seventh decade, choose markers of vitamin B12status with adequate specificity such as holoTC and/or methylmalonic acid and employ standardised neurocognitive assessment tools and not screening tests in order to ascertain any relationship between vitamin B12status and cognitive decline.
Railway fuel and its impact on the forests in colonial India: The case of the Punjab, 1860–1884
Authors: DAS PALLAVI V.
Published: October 2012

Recent studies have stressed the need for micro-histories of the environment so that important differences and similarities at local, regional and national level might be revealed. This paper analyses the process and patterns of environmental degradation at regional level by taking the case of deforestation in colonial Punjab by studying its implication at the level of empire. More specifically, it examines three aspects of how the operation and expansion of railways from 1869 to 1884, a peak period of railway expansion, affected the forests of the Punjab's plains. First, the paper analyses the reasons for large-scale railway expansion in the Punjab by discussing spatial and temporal expansion. Secondly, the impact of the railway firewood demand on the Punjab's forests between 1860 and 1884 is examined, specifically, the conditions that facilitated the increased dependence of the railways on firewood. Next follows an examination of the temporally varying nature of deforestation, given that railway firewood demand was determined by railway line openings. This section also includes a discussion on the nature of the colonial state response to the deforestation crisis and its role in maintaining the fuel supply to the railways. Finally, in the context of deforestation in the Punjab, the paper discusses how and why railway fuel changed from firewood to coal.
Statistical models for spatially explicit biological data
Authors: ROGERS DAVID J. , SEDDA LUIGI
Published: October 2012

Existing algorithms for predicting species' distributions sit on a continuum between purely statistical and purely biological approaches. Most of the existing algorithms are aspatial because they do not consider the spatial context, the occurrence of the species or conditions conducive to the species' existence, in neighbouring areas. The geostatistical techniques of kriging and cokriging are presented in an attempt to encourage biologists more frequently to consider them. Unlike deterministic spatial techniques they provide estimates of prediction errors. The assumptions and applications of common geostatistical techniques are presented with worked examples drawn from a dataset of the bluetongue outbreak in northwest Europe in 2006. Emphasis is placed on the importance and interpretation of weights in geostatistical calculations. Covarying environmental data may be used to improve predictions of species’ distributions, but only if their sampling frequency is greater than that of the species’ or disease data. Cokriging techniques are unable to determine the biological significance or importance of such environmental data, because they are not designed to do so.
Disturbances of basic self and prodromal symptoms among non-psychotic help-seeking adolescents
Authors: Koren D. , Reznik N. , Adres M. , Scheyer R. , Apter A. , Steinberg T. , Parnas J.
Published: October 2012

Background

The goal of this study was to explore the notion that anomalies of self-experience (ASE) are a core, ‘not-yet-psychotic’ clinical phenotype of emerging schizophrenia and its spectrum.

Method

To accomplish this goal, we examined the relationship between ASE and commonly accepted risk markers in a sample of 87 help-seeking, non-psychotic adolescents (aged 14–18 years). ASE were assessed with the Examination of Anomalous Self-Experience (EASE), subclinical psychotic symptoms were assessed with the Prodromal Questionnaire and the Structured Interview for Prodromal Syndromes, deterioration in psychosocial functioning was assessed with the Social and Role Functioning Scales, and level of distress with the Mood and Anxiety Symptoms Questionnaire.

Results

About 82 participants completed the entire EASE interview. The number of participants who reported ASE at a clinically meaningful level (n = 18, 22%) was smaller than that who met diagnostic criteria for a prodromal syndrome (n = 28, 34%). The degree of overlap between the two conditions was moderate but statistically significant (χ2(1) = 7.01, p = 0.008). An exploratory factor analysis revealed that ASE load on a different factor than prodromal symptoms and deterioration in functioning, but that there is a moderate correlation between the three factors.

Conclusions

These results suggest that ASE are prevalent among non-psychotic help-seeking adolescents, yet at a considerably lower rate than prodromal symptoms. In addition, they suggest that ASE and prodromal symptoms constitute distinct but moderately related dimensions of potential risk. Taken together, they provide preliminary support for the clinical usefulness of supplementing and refining the methods of early detection of risk with assessment of ASE.
Some ruminations about inculpable non-belief
Authors: AIJAZ IMRAN
Published: October 2012

This article presents a discussion of the concept of ‘non-belief’, focusing on a variety of difficulties it raises for the theist. After considering how the notion of ‘non-belief’ may be construed, I catalogue five major problems facing the theist who insists on maintaining the traditional notion of ‘non-belief’. Those theists who insist on maintaining this traditional notion sometimes appeal to the ‘sin defence’ in an attempt to defend their position. I critique this defence and conclude with a mention of how rejecting the traditional notion of ‘non-belief’ will lead us towards revisionary theologies.
An eye-tracking study of learned attention in second language acquisition
Authors: ELLIS NICK C. , HAFEEZ KAUSAR , MARTIN KATHERINE I. , CHEN LILLIAN , BOLAND JULIE , SAGARRA NURIA
Published: October 2012

This paper investigates the limited attainment of adult compared to child language acquisition in terms of learned attention to morphological cues. It replicates Ellis and Sagarra in demonstrating short-term learned attention in the acquisition of temporal reference in Latin, and it extends the investigation using eye-tracking indicators to determine the extent to which these biases are overt or covert. English native speakers learned adverbial and morphological cues to temporal reference in a small set of Latin phrases under experimental conditions. Comprehension and production data demonstrated that early experience with adverbial cues enhanced subsequent use of this cue dimension and blocked the acquisition of verbal tense morphology. Effects of early experience of verbal morphology were less pronounced. Eye-tracking measures showed that early experience of particular cue dimensions affected what participants overtly focused upon during subsequent language processing and how this overt study resulted in turn in covert attentional biases in comprehension and in productive knowledge.
Care dependence in old age: preferences, practices and implications in two Indonesian communities
Authors: SCHRÖDER-BUTTERFILL ELISABETH , FITHRY TENGKU SYAWILA
Published: October 2012

The provision of physical care is a sensitive matter in all cultures and is circumscribed by moral injunctions and personal preferences. Research on Western cultures has shown care networks to be narrow subsets of people's wider networks and revealed dependence to be deeply undermining of full personhood. In non-Western societies these issues have received little attention, although it is sometimes assumed that care provision and dependence are much less problematic. This paper uses longitudinal ethnographic data from two ethnic groups in rural Indonesia to compare care preferences and practices in old age and to examine the implications of care dependence. The groups manifest varying degrees of daughter preference in care and differ in the extent to which notions of shame and avoidance prohibit cross-gender intimate care and care by ‘non-blood’ relatives. Demographic and social constraints often necessitate compromises in actual care arrangements (e.g.dependence on in-laws, neighbours or paid carers), not all of which are compatible with quality care and a valued identity. We argue that by probing the norms and practices surrounding care provision in different socio-cultural settings, it becomes possible to arrive at a deeper understanding of kinship, personhood and sociality. These insights are not only of sociological interest but have implications for people's vulnerability to poor quality care in old age.
Between Spectacle and Science: Margaret Murray and the Tomb of the Two Brothers
Authors: Sheppard Kathleen L.
Published: October 2012

Argument

This article explores the history of mummy unwrappings in the West, culminating in Margaret Murray's public unrolling of two mummies in Manchester in 1908. Mummy unwrappings as a practice have shifted often between public spectacles which displayed and objectified exotic artifacts, and scientific investigations which sought to reveal medical and historical information about ancient life. Although others have looked at Murray's work in the context of the history of mummy studies, I argue that her work should be viewed culturally as poised between spectacle and science, drawing morbid public interest while also producing ground-breaking scientific work that continues to this day. Murray's main goal was to excite the interest of the public while at the same time educating them in the true history of ancient Egypt, while ascertaining new scientific information and contributing to the scholarly interpretations of ancient Egypt.
Career Preferences of Nursing Students
Authors: Gould Odette N. , MacLennan Anna , Dupuis-Blanchard Suzanne
Published: October 2012

This study investigates novice and experienced student nurses’ attitudes about caring for patients across the lifespan. Students were also asked why they would enjoy or not enjoy caring for children and older adults. Both novice (n = 114) and advanced (n = 56) nursing students were relatively positive about caring for patients across the lifespan. However, novices were significantly more negative about working with older patients, particularly after experiencing a first clinical placement. In contrast, a significant quadratic effect was found for advanced students, indicating more negativity about working with both children and older adults. When giving reasons for why they would enjoy caring for older patients, novices were more likely than were advanced students to focus on stereotypical characteristics and on negative health outcomes of older adults as a group. Overall, results suggest that the attitudes driving career interests in nursing students change as training advances.
Microbial responses to carbon and nitrogen supplementation in an Antarctic dry valley soil
Authors: Dennis P.G. , Sparrow A.D. , Gregorich E.G. , Novis P.M. , Elberling B. , Greenfield L.G. , Hopkins D.W.
Published: October 2012

The soils of the McMurdo Dry Valleys are exposed to extremely dry and cold conditions. Nevertheless, they contain active biological communities that contribute to the biogeochemical processes. We have used ester-linked fatty acid (ELFA) analysis to investigate the effects of additions of carbon and nitrogen in glucose and ammonium chloride, respectively, on the soil microbial community in a field experiment lasting three years in the Garwood Valley. In the control treatment, the total ELFA concentration was small by comparison with temperate soils, but very large when expressed relative to the soil organic carbon concentration, indicating efficient conversion of soil organic carbon into microbial biomass and rapid turnover of soil organic carbon. The ELFA concentrations increased significantly in response to carbon additions, indicating that carbon supply was the main constraint to microbial activity. The large ELFA concentrations relative to soil organic carbon and the increases in ELFA response to organic carbon addition are both interpreted as evidence for the soil microbial community containing organisms with efficient scavenging mechanisms for carbon. The diversity of the ELFA profiles declined in response to organic carbon addition, suggesting the responses were driven by a portion of the community increasing in dominance whilst others declined.
Metamorphism in jigsaw
Authors: NAKANO KEISUKE
Published: October 2012

A metamorphism is an unfold after a fold, consuming an input by the fold then generating an output by the unfold. It is typically useful for converting data representations, e.g., radix conversion of numbers. (Bird and Gibbons, Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol. 2638, 2003, pp. 1–26) have shown that metamorphisms can be incrementally processed in streaming style when a certain condition holds because part of the output can be determined before the whole input is given. However, whereas radix conversion of fractions is amenable to streaming, radix conversion of natural numbers cannot satisfy the condition because it is impossible to determine part of the output before the whole input is completed. In this paper, we present a jigsaw model in which metamorphisms can be partially processed for outputs even when the streaming condition does not hold. We start with how to describe the 3-to-2 radix conversion of natural numbers using our model. The jigsaw model allows us to process metamorphisms in a flexible way that includes parallel computation. We also apply our model to other examples of metamorphisms.
The Largest Minimum Codegree of a 3-Graph Without a Generalized 4-Cycle
Authors: MARCHANT EDWARD
Published: October 2012

A 3-graph is said to contain a generalized 4-cycle if it contains 4 edges A, B, C, D such that A ∩ B=C ∩ D =∅ and A ∪ B=C ∪ D. We show that a 3-graph in which every pair of vertices is contained in at least 4 edges must contain a generalized 4-cycle. When the number of vertices, n, is equivalent to 1 or 5 modulo 20, this result is optimum, in the sense that for such n there are 3-graphs where every pair of vertices is contained in 3 edges but which do not contain a generalized 4-cycle.
Self-reported depressive syndromes in mild cognitive impairment and mild Alzheimer's disease
Authors: Carvalho Janessa O. , Tan Jing Ee , Springate Beth A. , Davis Jennifer D.
Published: October 2012

Background: There is suggestion that self-reported depressive syndromes can independently manifest in the general population as cognitive/affective or somatic/vegetative. The Beck Depression Inventory, 2nd edition (BDI-II), a self-report measure of depressive symptoms, has been shown to support this two-factor structure. However, this finding has not been examined in an older adult sample with cognitive impairment. In order to determine whether older adults with cognitive impairments exhibit similarly independent cognitive/affective and somatic/vegetative depressive syndromes, we explored the factor structure of the BDI-II in this population.

Methods: Participants were 228 older adults (mean age = 74, SD = 7.9) diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment (MCI; n = 137) or early Alzheimer's disease (n = 85), who completed the BDI-II as part of an outpatient neuropsychological evaluation. Exploratory principal component factor analysis with direct Oblimin rotation was conducted, and a two-factor solution was specified based on our theoretical conceptualization of the cognitive/affective and somatic/vegetative items from the scale.

Results: The first factor represented cognitive/affective symptoms of depression (e.g. self-dislike, pessimism, worthlessness), and accounted for 36% of the variance. Adding the second factor, reflecting somatic/vegetative items (e.g. sleep and appetite changes, loss of energy), accounted for an additional 6.8% of the variance.

Conclusion: Results supported the presence of two distinct depressive syndromes, cognitive/affective and somatic/vegetative symptoms. Thus, cognitively impaired older adults report mood symptoms relatively similarly to younger and midlife adults. This supports the validity of self-reported mood in this group, and the results may have implications for psychiatric treatment in this population.
Multidetector computed tomography imaging of coronary artery anomalies
Authors: Türkvatan Aysel , Güray Yeşim , Altınsoy Dilek
Published: October 2012

Purpose

The purpose of the study was to determine the prevalence of coronary artery anomalies and to demonstrate in which cases multidetector computed tomography has an additional clinical value compared with the conventional angiography.

Material and methods

A total of 2375 multidetector computed tomography studies were retrospectively reviewed to determine the dominance of the coronary artery anomalies. The classification of coronary artery anomalies was made according to anatomical criteria – origin, course, intrinsic anatomy, and termination – and clinical relevance – benign versus malignant.

Results

The coronary artery system was right dominant in 83.99%, left dominant in 8.0%, and co-dominant in 9.01% of the cases. The incidence of the origin and/or course anomalies was 1.76%, that of fistulas was 0.42%, and that of myocardial bridges was 10.82%. Multidetector computed tomography was performed after conventional angiography in 23 cases and it provided additional information regarding its origin and proximal course, as well as its relationship with the aortic root and main pulmonary trunk in 100% of the cases; eight malignant cases were found. In addition, in all of (100%) the six cases with coronary artery fistulas, conventional angiography failed to detect their terminations, which were clearly depicted by multidetector computed tomography.

Conclusion

Multidetector computed tomographic angiography is superior to conventional angiography in delineating the ostial origin and proximal course of anomalous coronary arteries. Furthermore, it reveals the exact relationship of anomalous coronary arteries with the aorta and the pulmonary artery. Anomalies of the intrinsic anatomy and the termination of coronary arteries are also better visualised with multidetector computed tomography.
Taming the states: the American Law Institute and the ‘Statement of essential human rights’
Authors: Vik Hanne Hagtvedt
Published: October 2012

As the Second World War unfolded and became global, intellectuals of various backgrounds turned their minds to the problems of peace. Internal persecution bred external aggression, some believed. States had to be tamed. Such reasoning led the American Law Institute (ALI) to try to draft a globally acceptable bill of rights. Although originating in the USA, the project was essentially a transnational one. The ‘Statement of essential human rights’ became the most elaborate code created up to that point, in both scope and detail. Completed in the early winter of 1944, it was promoted by the Panamanian delegation to the 1945 San Francisco Conference, and used extensively by the UN Commission on Human Rights. Refuting suggestions that human rights originated in the 1970s, the ALI project reveals the great depth of the transnational conversation on human rights during the early 1940s, and even before.
Evidence and values: paying for end-of-life drugs in the British NHS
Authors: Chalkidou Kalipso
Published: October 2012

In January 2009, Britain's National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE), following a very public debate triggered by its decision, six months earlier, provisionally to rule against the adoption by the National Health Service (NHS) of an expensive drug for advanced renal cancer, introduced a new policy for evaluating pharmaceuticals for patients nearing the end of their lives. NICE's so-called end-of-life (EOL) guidance for its Committees effectively advises them to deviate from the Institute's threshold range and to value the lives of (mostly) dying cancer patients more than the lives of those suffering from other, potentially curable, chronic or acute conditions. This article tells the story of the EOL guidance. Through looking at specific EOL decisions between 2009 and 2011 and the reactions by stakeholders to these decisions and the policy itself, it discusses the triggers for NICE's EOL guidance, the challenges NICE faces in implementing it and the policy's putative implications for the future role of NICE in the NHS, especially in the context of value-based reforms in the pricing and evaluation of pharmaceuticals, currently under consideration.
US health care: the unwinnable war against death
Authors: Callahan Daniel
Published: October 2012

For well over 40 years, the United States has struggled to improve end-of-life care. This effort, heavily focused on living wills, hospice and improved doctor–patient communications and palliative care, has been a modest success only. Both doctors and patients are often unwilling to accept the fact that death is on the way – only 25% of Americans have an advance directive. Advances in medical technology have provided more ways of keeping dying patients alive, making the line between living and dying harder to discern. The way physicians are paid promotes the use of technology not for talking with patients. Underlying these practical problems is a culture of American medicine with deep historical roots: that medical progress should be unending and is a moral imperative, that death is the greatest enemy and that cure, not care, is the primary goal. A better balance between care and cure is needed.
Stealing on insensibly: end of life politics in the United States
Authors: Brown Lawrence D.
Published: October 2012

Because the United States often seems (and seems eager to present itself as) the home of the technological imperative and of determination to brand all challenges to it in end-of-life care as a descent into death panels, the prospects look unpromising for progress in US public policies that would expand the range of choices of medical treatments available to individuals preparing for death. Beneath this obdurate and intermittently hysterical surface, however, the diffusion across US states and communities of living wills, advanced directives, palliative care, hospice services and debates about assisted suicide is gradually strengthening not so much ‘personal autonomy’ as the authority, cultural and formal, of individuals and their loved ones not merely to shape but to lead the inevitably ‘social’ conversations on which decisions about care at the end of life depend. In short, the nation appears to be (in terms taken from John Donne's mediations on death) ‘stealing on insensibly’ – making incremental progress toward the replacement of clinical and other types of dogma with end-of-life options that honor the preferences of the dying.
Ten steps to cognitive behavioural supervision
Authors: Gordon P. Kenneth
Published: October 2012

Clinical supervision is recognized as essential for CBT therapists, both during training and in subsequent practice, and there has been a rapidly growing demand for accredited therapists to become supervisors. However, this can be a daunting prospect. Supervision is a highly complex activity with several overlapping purposes, in which the supervisor must enact multiple roles and use varied modes of activity. Research on the process has been limited, but a consensus on good practice and evidence-based procedures is beginning to emerge. Against this backdrop, a sequence of steps to be taken within any CBT supervision session is presented here. The structure is applicable across all levels of expertise. The purpose is to give clear and accessible guidance to supervisors to ensure they adhere to best practice and manage sessions in an efficient, helpful and well-focused style.
Perinatal characteristics and breast cancer risk in daughters: a Scandinavian population-based study
Authors: Troisi R. , Grotmol T. , Jacobsen J. , Tretli S. , Sørensen H.T. , Gissler M. , Kaaja R. , Potischman N. , Ekbom A. , Hoover R. N. , Stephansson O.
Published: October 2012

Thein uteroorigins of breast cancer are an increasing focus of research. However, the long time period between exposure and disease diagnosis, and the lack of standardized perinatal data collection makes this research challenging. We assessed perinatal factors, as proxies forin uteroexposures, and breast cancer risk using pooled, population-based birth and cancer registry data. Birth registries provided information on perinatal exposures. Cases were females born in Norway, Sweden or Denmark who were subsequently diagnosed with primary, invasive breast cancer (n= 1419). Ten controls for each case were selected from the birth registries matched on country and birth year (n= 14,190). Relative risks (RRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were estimated using unconditional regression models. Breast cancer risk rose 7% (95% CI 2–13%) with every 500 g (roughly 1s.d.) increase in birth weight and 7% for every 1s.d. increase in birth length (95% CI 1–14%). The association with birth length was attenuated after adjustment for birth weight, while the increase in risk with birth weight remained with adjustment for birth length. Ponderal index and small- and large-for-gestational-age status were not better predictors of risk than either weight or length alone. Risk was not associated with maternal education or age, gestational duration, delivery type or birth order, or with several pregnancy complications, including preeclampsia. These data confirm the positive association between birth weight and breast cancer risk. Other pregnancy characteristics, including complications such as preeclampsia, do not appear to be involved in later breast carcinogenesis in young women.
Influence of the EU Chemicals Regulation on the US Policy Reform Debate: Is a ‘California Effect’ within REACH?
Authors: Heyen Dirk A.
Published: October 2012

In 2006, the EU adopted the REACH Regulation – the world’s most demanding chemicals regime so far. Even before it entered into force, the European Commission declared its ambition to make REACH a global standard, and several authors see a potential for far-reaching influence via the ‘California effect’, as conceptualized by David Vogel. Economic preconditions are indeed fulfilled with the chemicals industry being highly globalized, the EU as an attractive export market and REACH applying to imports. Following Vogel, firms exporting to the EU might have an incentive to lobby for similar requirements in their country. This article examines whether American chemical producers do, indeed, push for EU-like provisions in the debate on US policy reform. While there is some influence on the US, it is shown that REACH does not (yet) trigger a ‘California effect’. The business case does not seem to be strong enough.
Geschlechts- und Altersunterschiede in der Emotionserkennung von Kindern und Jugendlichen
Authors: Juen Florian , Huber Eva Bänninger , Peham Doris
Published: October 2012

In dieser Arbeit werden zwei Studien präsentiert, welche Alters- und Geschlechtsunterschiede beim Erkennen von Emotionen im Gesichtsausdruck von Kindern und Jugendlichen untersuchten. Dabei kam eine neu entwickelte Bilderserie zum Einsatz. Die Bilder zeichnen sich dadurch aus, dass die mimischen Affektausdrücke in authentischen, interaktiven Situationen gefilmt wurden und die Auswahl der Einzelbilder auf der Basis objektiver Kodierungen mit den Facial Action Coding System (FACS) getroffen wurde. In der ersten Studie schätzten 275 Kinder und Jugendliche im Alter von 8 bis 14 Jahren (M = 10.46, SD = 1.45) 24 Bilder ein, auf welchen die Basisemotionen Freude, Ärger, Trauer, Überraschung, Angst und Ekel in jeweils vier Varianten abgebildet waren. 55.4 % der Bilder wurden dabei richtig erkannt, wobei Mädchen signifikant bessere Leistungen zeigten als Jungen. Am besten erkannt wurde Freude vor Ekel, gefolgt von Überraschung, Trauer, Ärger und Angst. Altersunterschiede waren nicht feststellbar. Die zweite Studie untersuchte die Emotionserkennungsfähigkeit bei Kindergartenkindern. Dazu wurden 62 Kindern zwischen 3 und 6 Jahren (M = 4.84, SD = 0.93) jeweils zwei Bilder pro Basisemotion vorgelegt. Die Erkennungsleistung lag hier bei 41.4 %, wobei Freude, wie auch bereits in der ersten Studie, am besten erkannt wurde, gefolgt von Trauer, Überraschung und Ärger sowie von Ekel und Angst. In Studie 2 zeigten sich Altersunterschiede dahingehend, dass ältere Kinder (5 – 6 Jahre) Emotionen insgesamt besser erkannten als die jüngeren Kinder (3 – 4 Jahre), insbesondere Überraschung und Trauer. Geschlechtsunterschiede wurden keine gefunden.
Förderung transaktiven Interaktionsverhaltens
Authors: Jurkowski Susanne , Hänze Martin
Published: October 2012

Transaktives Interaktionsverhalten bedeutet, dass der Lernende den Beitrag des Lernpartners aufgreift, weiterentwickelt und dadurch die Lerninhalte elaboriert. Ziel der Studie war es, ein Training zur Förderung transaktiven Interaktionsverhaltens zu entwickeln und somit den Lernerfolg in einer kooperativen Lernsituation zu stärken. Untersuchungsteilnehmer waren 110 Studierende. In einem Kontrollgruppendesign mit Messwiederholung wurden vor dem Training das Vorwissen und das selbstberichtete transaktive Interaktionsverhalten in einer kooperativen Lernsituation, nach dem Training der Lernerfolg und das selbstberichtete transaktive Interaktionsverhalten in einer weiteren kooperativen Lernsituation erhoben. Differenziert wurde zwischen verdeutlichendem und weiterführendem transaktivem Interaktionsverhalten. Unter Berücksichtigung der Prätest-Messung ergab sich im Posttest in der Experimentalgruppe ein stärker ausgeprägtes verdeutlichendes transaktives Interaktionsverhalten sowie ein größerer Lernerfolg als in der Kontrollgruppe. Für das weiterführende transaktive Interaktionsverhalten zeigte sich dagegen kein Unterschied zwischen der Experimentalgruppe und der Kontrollgruppe. Eine Mediatoranalyse ergab, dass der Effekt des Trainings auf den Lernerfolg teilweise über das verdeutlichende transaktive Interaktionsverhalten vermittelt wurde.
Multi‐decadal decline of mercury in the North Atlantic atmosphere explained by changing subsurface seawater concentrations
Authors: Soerensen Anne L. , Jacob Daniel J. , Streets David G. , Witt Melanie L. I. , Ebinghaus Ralf , Mason Robert P. , Andersson Maria , Sunderland Elsie M.
Published: October 2012

We analyze 1977–2010 trends in atmospheric mercury (Hg) from 21 ship cruises over the North Atlantic (NA) and 15 over the South Atlantic (SA). We find a steep 1990–2009 decline of −0.046 ± 0.010 ng m−3 a−1 (−2.5% a−1) over the NA (steeper than at Northern Hemispheric land sites) but no significant decline over the SA. Surface water Hg0 measurements in the NA show a decline of −5.7% a−1since 1999, and limited subsurface ocean data show an ∼80% decline from 1980 to present. We use a coupled global atmosphere‐ocean model to show that the decline in NA atmospheric concentrations can be explained by decreasing oceanic evasion from the NA driven by declining subsurface water Hg concentrations. We speculate that this large historical decline of Hg in the NA Ocean could have been caused by decreasing Hg inputs from rivers and wastewater and by changes in the oxidant chemistry of the atmospheric marine boundary layer.
Emerging local warming signals in observational data
Authors: Mahlstein Irina , Hegerl Gabriele , Solomon Susan
Published: October 2012

The global average temperature of the Earth has increased, but year‐to‐year variability in local climates impedes the identification of clear changes in observations and human experience. For a signal to become obvious in data records or in a human lifetime it needs to be greater than the noise of variability and thereby lead to a significant shift in the distribution of temperature. We show that locations with the largest amount of warming may not display a clear shift in temperature distributions if the local variability is also large. Based on observational data only we demonstrate that large parts of the Earth have experienced a significant local shift towards warmer temperatures in the summer season, particularly at lower latitudes. We also show that these regions are similar to those that are found to be significant in standard detection methods, thus providing an approach to link locally significant changes more closely to impacts.
THEMIS observation of chorus elements without a gap at half the gyrofrequency
Authors: Kurita S. , Katoh Y. , Omura Y. , Angelopoulos V. , Cully C. M. , Le Contel O. , Misawa H.
Published: October 2012

Using waveform data obtained by one of the THEMIS satellites, we report properties of rising tone chorus elements without a gap at half the gyrofrequency in a region close to the magnetic equator. The wave normal angle of the chorus elements is typically field‐aligned in the entire frequency range of both upper‐band and lower‐band chorus emissions. We find that the observed frequency sweep rates are consistent with the estimation based on the nonlinear wave growth theory of Omura et al. (2008). In addition, we compare the frequency profiles of the chorus wave amplitudes with those of the optimum and threshold wave amplitudes derived from the nonlinear wave growth theory for triggering rising tone chorus emissions. The results of the comparison show a reasonable agreement, indicating that rising tone chorus elements are continually generated through a triggering process which generates elements with the optimum amplitudes for nonlinear growth.
Stratigraphic evidence of a Middle Pleistocene climate‐driven flexural uplift in the Alps
Authors: Scardia Giancarlo , De Franco Roberto , Muttoni Giovanni , Rogledi Sergio , Caielli Grazia , Carcano Cipriano , Sciunnach Dario , Piccin Andrea
Published: October 2012

This interdisciplinary study on the subsurface stratigraphy of the Po Plain (northern Italy) brings new evidence in support of a climate‐driven erosional unloading of the Alps since the Middle Pleistocene. A newly acquired, high‐resolution seismic profile and a critical review of industrial seismic lines were integrated with sedimentologic observations on four magnetostratigraphically dated continental cores to reconstruct a three‐sequence evolution of the Pleistocene clastic infill in the northern Po basin. During the first sequence (PS1; ∼1.4–0.87 Ma), characterized by sedimentation rates of ∼34 cm/kyr outpacing regional subsidence, meandering river systems prograded over the basin passing downstream to a cyclothemic shelfal succession. The second sequence (PS2; ∼0.87–0.45 Ma), heralded by a regional unconformity (R surface) correlated to the onset of the major Pleistocene glaciations, was characterized by widespread continental sedimentation of generally distal braidplain. The third sequence (PS3; ∼0.45 Ma to present), marked at the base by another regional unconformity (Y surface), is characterized by proximal braided fluvial deposition under combined conditions of confinement, erosion, and bypass. We interpret the PS3 sequence as deposited under the effects of a flexural uplift of the northern Po Plain during the Middle Pleistocene starting at ∼0.45 Ma, in response to the long‐term erosional unloading of the Alps triggered by the waxing and waning of Alpine glaciers since the late Early Pleistocene global cooling (∼0.9 Ma). According to our modeling, erosion on a relatively limited area of the Alpine mountain chain, ranging from 1.3 to 1.7 mm/yr in the axial sector to 0.1–0.3 mm/yr at the margins, has been able to trigger rock uplift over a wider area including the proximal peripheral basins.
ASHA Certified Speech-Language Pathologists Pursuing Doctoral Degrees in Related Areas: An Untapped Doctoral Shortage Resource?
Authors: Solomon-Rice Patti , Yu Betty
Published: October 2012

The shortage of PhD-level students and faculty has been a longstanding and serious challenge in the Communicative Disorders and Sciences (CDS) field. Although ASHA and university programs around the country have implemented different strategies to recruit individuals into CDS doctoral programs, the shortage persists. In this paper, we make an argument for expanding the recruitment effort to a group of scholars who have the potential to make important contributions to the CDS field, but who are currently overlooked: ASHA-certified speech-language pathologists (SLPs) pursuing PhDs in related disciplines whose research contributes to the growth the CDS field. CDS is historically an interdisciplinary field, and many distinguished members of ASHA have come from an interdisciplinary background. An analysis of the online biographies of faculty members in the CDS programs among California universities shows a sizeable percentage of faculty members who have received their doctoral training in related fields. These trends suggest that these scholars already make a notable impact on the profession. It is currently unknown, however, whether there might be more doctoral students in related fields who would respond to recruitment efforts to re-enter the CDS field upon graduation. We have little information about this group of scholars and a lack of means to reach out to them. In this paper, we suggest ways to identify, support, and recruit these promising candidates.
The Doctoral Degree in Special Education: Contributions to Speech-Language Pathology
Authors: Robinson Nancy
Published: October 2012

There are many pathways to the doctoral degree. In this article, I will address one perspective from my own experience seeking a PhD as a speech-language pathologist in the field of special education. My own rationale for seeking this route to the PhD centered around finding a “best fit” for my research and career interests, nearly 30 years ago. Through the filter of history and changes in the field of speech-language pathology, I will examine contributions to the programs that I have served in. The added benefits from the field of special education include a broader view of services to people with disabilities that enabled much collaboration to develop throughout my own career. Although the personal experience I have had may not fully reflect the relationship of special education to speech-language pathology, the interdisciplinary context in current policy and research initiatives mirrors many of my own experiences.
Thriving in Academia: Understanding and Managing the Complexities of Faculty Work
Authors: Mamiseishvili Ketevan
Published: October 2012

In this paper, I will illustrate the changing nature and complexity of faculty employment in college and university settings. I will use existing higher education research to describe changes in faculty demographics, the escalating demands placed on faculty in the work setting, and challenges that confront professors seeking tenure or administrative advancement. Boyer’s (1990) framework for bringing traditionally marginalized and neglected functions of teaching, service, and community engagement into scholarship is examined as a model for balancing not only teaching, research, and service, but also work with everyday life.