bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Reporting Trends and Outcomes in ST-Segment–Elevation Myocardial Infarction National Hospital Quality Assessment Programs
Authors: McCabe James M. , Kennedy Kevin F. , Eisenhauer Andrew C. , Waldman Howard M. , Mort Elizabeth A. , Pomerantsev Eugene , Resnic Frederic S. , Yeh Robert W.
Published: November 2013

Background—

For patients who undergo primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) for ST-segment–elevation myocardial infarction, the door-to-balloon time is an important performance measure reported to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and tied to hospital quality assessment and reimbursement. We sought to assess the use and impact of exclusion criteria associated with the CMS measure of door-to-balloon time in primary PCI.

Methods and Results—

All primary PCI-eligible patients at 3 Massachusetts hospitals (Brigham and Women’s, Massachusetts General, and North Shore Medical Center) were evaluated for CMS reporting status. Rates of CMS reporting exclusion were the primary end points of interest. Key secondary end points were between-group differences in patient characteristics, door-to-balloon times, and 1-year mortality rates. From 2005 to 2011, 26% (408) of the 1548 primary PCI cases were excluded from CMS reporting. This percentage increased over the study period from 13.9% in 2005 to 36.7% in the first 3 quarters of 2011 (
P
<0.001). The most frequent cause of exclusion was for a diagnostic dilemma such as a nondiagnostic initial ECG, accounting for 31.2% of excluded patients. Although 95% of CMS-reported cases met door-to-balloon time goals in 2011, this was true of only 61% of CMS-excluded cases and consequently 82.6% of all primary PCI cases performed that year. The 1-year mortality for CMS-excluded patients was double that of CMS-included patients (13.5% versus 6.6%;
P
<0.001).

Conclusions—

More than a quarter of patients who underwent primary PCI were excluded from hospital quality reports collected by CMS, and this percentage has grown substantially over time. These findings may have significant implications for our understanding of process improvement in primary PCI and mechanisms for reimbursement through Medicare.
Cellular and Molecular Mechanisms of Atrial Arrhythmogenesis in Patients With Paroxysmal Atrial Fibrillation
Authors: Voigt Niels , Heijman Jordi , Wang Qiongling , Chiang David Y. , Li Na , Karck Matthias , Wehrens Xander H.T. , Nattel Stanley , Dobrev Dobromir
Published: November 2013

Background—

Electrical, structural, and Ca
2+
-handling remodeling contribute to the perpetuation/progression of atrial fibrillation (AF). Recent evidence has suggested a role for spontaneous sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca
2+
-release events in long-standing persistent AF, but the occurrence and mechanisms of sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca
2+
-release events in paroxysmal AF (pAF) are unknown.

Method and Results—

Right-atrial appendages from control sinus rhythm patients or patients with pAF (last episode a median of 10–20 days preoperatively) were analyzed with simultaneous measurements of [Ca
2+
]
i
(fluo-3-acetoxymethyl ester) and membrane currents/action potentials (patch-clamp) in isolated atrial cardiomyocytes, and Western blot. Action potential duration, L-type Ca
2+
current, and Na
+
/Ca
2+
-exchange current were unaltered in pAF, indicating the absence of AF-induced electrical remodeling. In contrast, there were increases in SR Ca
2+
leak and incidence of delayed after-depolarizations in pAF. Ca
2+
-transient amplitude and sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca
2+
load (caffeine-induced Ca
2+
-transient amplitude, integrated Na
+
/Ca
2+
-exchange current) were larger in pAF. Ca
2+
-transient decay was faster in pAF, but the decay of caffeine-induced Ca
2+
transients was unaltered, suggesting increased SERCA2a function. In agreement, phosphorylation (inactivation) of the SERCA2a-inhibitor protein phospholamban was increased in pAF. Ryanodine receptor fractional phosphorylation was unaltered in pAF, whereas ryanodine receptor expression and single-channel open probability were increased. A novel computational model of the human atrial cardiomyocyte indicated that both ryanodine receptor dysregulation and enhanced SERCA2a activity promote increased sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca
2+
leak and sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca
2+
-release events, causing delayed after-depolarizations/triggered activity in pAF.

Conclusions—

Increased diastolic sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca
2+
leak and related delayed after-depolarizations/triggered activity promote cellular arrhythmogenesis in pAF patients. Biochemical, functional, and modeling studies point to a combination of increased sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca
2+
load related to phospholamban hyperphosphorylation and ryanodine receptor dysregulation as underlying mechanisms.
The Ethics of Retaliatory Violence in Athenian Tragedy
Authors: Allan William
Published: November 2013

Abstract

This article focuses on the presentation of retaliatory violence in Athenian tragedy. It suggests that such tit-for-tat violence is characterized as problematic from the earliest Greek literature onwards, but also stresses the continuing importance of anger, honour, and revenge in classical Athenian attitudes to punishment and justice. With these continuities in mind, it analyses the new process by which punishment and justice were achieved in Athens, and argues that the Athenians’ emphasis on the authority of their laws is central to understanding tragedy’s portrayal of personalized vengeance and the chaos that ensues from it. Though (for reasons of space) it focuses on only a selection of plays in detail (A.Eu., S.El., E.El.,Or.), the article adduces further examples to show that the same socio-historical developments are central to the portrayal of retaliatory violence throughout the genre, and ends by considering how tragedy, in depicting revenge as problematic, offers a more positive alternative to such violence which does justice to the emotional and social needs of its audience.
Did Varro Think that Slaves were Talking Tools?
Authors: Lewis Juan P.
Published: November 2013

Abstract

This article challenges the widespread notion that Varro’sRes Rustica1.17 defined slaves as ‘talking tools’. Instead, it argues that thegenus vocale instrumenticomprised both slave and free workers within an economic unit. In this context,instrumentumdoes not mean ‘tool’, but what is needed to run a farmstead, including the human work-force, in accordance with the views that were prevalent among the Romans. Varro drew upon the agricultural literature of his time to build his three-fold division of theinstrumentum. His definition was unoriginal and void of any moral implications. As such, it has to be seen as a mere rhetorical device. What Varro attempted to do in this passage was to cast the pedestrian claim that human labour is needed to run a farmstead into a language that resembled an academic and philosophical discourse.
Diet composition changes correlated with body size in the Smooth snake, Coronella austriaca, inhabiting lowland heath in southern England
Authors: Reading Christopher , Jofré Gabriela
Published: November 2013

The diet of Smooth snakes (Coronella austriaca) inhabiting lowland heath in southern England was studied over a nine-year period (2004-2012) by analysing 226 faecal samples obtained from 19 females and 41 males of varying age/size from juveniles to sexually mature adults. The main prey species belonged to the families Lacertidae (48%), Soricidae (32%) and Muridae (13%) with the remaining 7% comprising Anguidae (6%), Colubridae (0.5%) and Bufonidae (0.5%). Small mammals were absent from the diet of the smallest snakes but were a major component in the diet of large snakes. Lacertids were a major component of the diet of juvenile snakes whilst they formed a progressively smaller part of the diet of adult snakes. The data demonstrates a shift in diet, with increasing snake size, from Lacertids to small mammals. The highest number of small mammals was found in the diet during the early part of the activity period (April-June) with females apparently preying mainly upon Lacertids in late summer (August-October). A detailed understanding of the diet of C. austriaca, and how it changes with increasing snake body size, may have implications for the conservation of the species in the UK. Management of heathland that damages the preferred habitat of small Lacertids, the main prey of the smallest juvenile snakes, is likely to have a negative impact on recruitment and, as a consequence, a negative impact on the survival of C. austriaca populations.
Skin swabbing of amphibian larvae yields sufficient DNA for efficient sequencing and reliable microsatellite genotyping
Authors: Pichlmüller Florian , Straub Christina , Helfer Véronique
Published: November 2013

Skin swabbing, a minimally invasive DNA sampling method recently developed on adult amphibians, was tested on larvae of fire salamanders (Salamandra salamandra). The quality and quantity of the sampled DNA was evaluated by (i) measuring DNA concentration in DNA extracts, (ii) sequencing part of the mtDNA cytochrome b gene (692 bp) and (iii) genotyping eight polymorphic nuclear microsatellite loci. The multiple-tubes approach was used for calculating allelic dropout (ADO) and false allele (FA) rates to evaluate the reliability of the genotypes. DNA extracts from tissue samples of road-killed individuals were included in the study as positive controls. Our results showed that skin swabs of fire salamander larvae can provide DNA in sufficient quantity and quality, as sequencing was successful and no allelic dropouts or false alleles were detected. This method, tested for the first time on amphibian larvae, has proven to be an efficient and reliable alternative to the controversial tail fin clipping procedure.
Renewing hope: the rediscovery of Atelopus varius in Costa Rica
Authors: González-Maya José F. , Belant Jerrold L. , Wyatt Sarah A. , Schipper Jan , Cardenal Josué , Corrales Daniel , Cruz-Lizano Iván , Hoepker Annelie , Escobedo-Galván Armando H. , Castañeda Fernando , Fischer Addison
Published: November 2013

More than 90% of harlequin frog species (Atelopus spp.), endemic to the Americas, are currently threatened with extinction. We report the discovery of the only currently known breeding population of the Critically Endangered A. varius in Costa Rica. This population was located in 2008 on a private property in Las Tablas Protected Zone near San Vito, Coto Brus at 1300 m elevation. Previously, the only known remaining/remnant population of this species and genus was a single location near Manuel Antonio, Puntarenas, Costa Rica, where two individuals were documented in 2004. Subsequent searches at this location have yielded no additional sightings. Delineating the spatial limits of this population, quantifying demographics and resource use, and implementing conservation actions are necessary to ensure persistence of this population. Conducting additional surveys in this region to ascertain occurrence of additional populations is warranted.
Incongruence between taxonomy and genetics: three divergent lineages within two subspecies of the rare Transcaucasian rat snake (Zamenis hohenackeri)
Authors: Jandzik David , Avcı Aziz , Gvoždík Václav
Published: November 2013

Two morphologically differentiated subspecies with presumably allopatric distribution have traditionally been recognized in the rare Transcaucasian rat snake, Zamenis hohenackeri: Z. h. hohenackeri (Caucasus region and E Turkey, NW Iran and N Iraq) and Z. h. tauricus (S Anatolia and Levant). Both subspecies are sometimes considered just colour forms of a monotypic species. We used sequences of the mitochondrial gene cytochrome b to find out whether both subspecies are also genetically differentiated, or whether their haplotypes form a cluster without clear subdivision. We found that the species forms three divergent lineages: one corresponds to the nominotypic subspecies, another comprises an individual from the region of the type locality of Z. h. tauricus in southern Anatolia and the third, with no available name and separated from the previous by the Amanos (Nur) Mountains, is distributed in the Levant. The pattern of divergence and distribution of the lineages correspond to other species of amphibians and reptiles, demonstrating that similar geo-climatic events presumably formed genetic variation and triggered speciation processes in this region.
Exploring the function of red colouration in female spiny-footed lizards (Acanthodactylus erythrurus): patterns of seasonal colour change
Authors: Cuervo José J. , Belliure Josabel
Published: November 2013

In spiny-footed lizards (Acanthodactylus erythrurus), adult females (but not males) show conspicuous red colouration in the tail and hind legs. To investigate the function of this red colouring and proximal causes of seasonal colour change, we captured adult females before the reproductive season and kept them in captivity in one of the three following situations: with a male and fertilization possible, with a male and fertilization impossible, or with another female (fertilization also impossible). Colour was quantified using spectrophotometry. Red colouration increased shortly before the onset of reproduction, but faded during the breeding season and became whitish (light buff-gray) in all cases. Both fertilized and unfertilized females laid eggs or were gravid after two months of the experiment, but while fertilized females laid mostly fertile eggs, unfertilized females only laid infertile eggs. Both egg formation and colour change might be triggered by abiotic factors, although female characteristics also play a role, since heavier females changed colour and laid eggs earlier. Females interacting freely with a male were darker at the end of the breeding season than females separated from the male, indicating that fertilization or physical contact might also have an effect on colouration. Colour change patterns found in this study suggest that female red colouration might have a mating-related function, but do not support a courtship rejection function for the red colour. However, whitish colouration resulting from red fading might signal gravidity in this species. Future experimental manipulation of female colouration will be needed to test these hypotheses.
Commercial Arbitration under Investment Treaties and Contracts: Its Importance and Danger in the Arab World
Authors: Daradkeh Lafi
Published: November 2013

Abstract

Given the importance of investments, a number of international and regional conventions have been set up in order to protect the parties to investment contracts by adopting arbitration as a method to resolve any dispute that might arise from such contracts. Despite the importance of commercial arbitration for foreign investment treaties and contracts, the process of its application has revealed many of the risks investment poses to the host, particularly Arab, country. This is because commercial arbitration has often been used as a legal means to protect foreigners from the harmful consequences that their investments have had on the environment. The most negative aspects of international commercial arbitration for foreign investment contracts are the modern trends that have been adopted in the field of arbitration, where host countries must comply even when their local laws and public policies are being violated.
Influence of Circadian Typology and Time of Day on Temporal Preparation
Authors: Correa Ángel , Lara Tania , Madrid Juan Antonio
Published: November 2013

The present study addressed the interactions between processes of circadian and millisecond timing by testing whether the ability for temporal preparation is influenced both by individual differences in circadian rhythmicity and by the time of day at which a task is performed. A temporal preparation task that measures temporal orienting and sequential effects was administered to morning-type and evening-type groups of participants, both in morning and evening sessions. The results confirmed a synchrony effect on overall reaction time (RT), indicating that participants were most vigilant at their optimal time of day according to their specific chronotype. This synchrony effect, however, did not influence temporal orienting or sequential effects. These findings suggest that only processes mediating overall RT (vigilance) but not processes related to temporal preparation are susceptible to circadian influence. The current research thus supports the dissociation between circadian timing and temporal preparation.
Multimodal Integration of Interval Duration: Temporal Ventriloquism or Changes in Pacemaker Rate?
Authors: de la Rosa Maria Dolores , Bausenhart Karin M.
Published: November 2013

Previous studies demonstrated that perceived duration of visual intervals is strongly influenced by conflicting auditory intervals. However, it remains unclear which mechanisms underlie this multimodal integration of interval duration. To investigate this issue, we employed a reproduction task with empty (Experiment 1) or filled (Experiment 2) intervals, and a paired-comparison task (Experiment 3) to assess perceived duration of visually marked intervals, which could be accompanied by auditory marked intervals with congruent (same) or conflicting (longer and shorter) durations. First, we predicted that conflicting auditory intervals would bias the perceived duration of visual intervals towards the duration of the auditory ones. Second, according to pacemaker-accumulator models, two different mechanisms might contribute to multimodal interval integration: changes in pacemaker rate or changes of the switch component based on temporal ventriloquism effects. In the former case, the multimodal bias effect should increase with increasing interval duration. In the latter case, the effect should remain constant across interval durations. All experiments showed a strong influence of auditory interval duration on perceived visual duration. In Experiments 1 and 2, this bias effect unexpectedly decreased with increasing interval duration, which might be due to limitations of the employed duration reproduction method. In Experiment 3, however, the observed multimodal bias effect remained clearly constant across all interval durations. This finding supports the idea that multimodal integration of conflicting time intervals is mainly determined by a temporal ventriloquism effect, which affects the switch component of a pacemaker-accumulator mechanism. In addition, we demonstrated that bimodal congruent intervals are perceived as longer than unimodal visual ones. For filled (Experiment 2), but not for empty (Experiment 1) intervals, this effect seems to be caused by an increase in pacemaker rate.
Loranthophila, a new genus of Australian Lyctinae (Coleoptera: Bostrichidae) associated with Mistletoe
Authors: LAWRENCE JOHN F. , SLIPINSKI ADAM
Published: November 2013

Loranthophila gen. n. is described, based on Minthea acanthacollis (Carter & Zeck), and comparisons are made between this genus and other members of the bostrichid subfamily Lyctinae.
How the Criminal Justice System Educates Citizens
Authors: Justice Benjamin , Meares Tracey L.
Published: November 2013

There are at least two central pathways through which the modern democratic state interacts with citizens: public school systems and criminal justice systems. Rarely are criminal justice systems thought to serve the educational function that public school systems are specifically designed to provide. Yet for an increasing number of Americans, the criminal justice system plays a powerful and pervasive role in providing a civic education, in anticitizenry, that is the reverse of the education that public schools are supposed to offer. We deploy curriculum theory to analyze three primary processes of the criminal justice system—jury service, incarceration, and policing—and demonstrate the operation of two parallel curricula within them: a symbolic, overt curriculum rooted in positive civic conceptions of fairness and democracy; and a hidden curriculum, rooted in empty or negative conceptions of certain citizens and their relationship to the state.
Ex-Felons’ Organization-Based Political Work for Carceral Reforms
Authors: Owens Michael Leo
Published: November 2013

This commentary argues that community organizing among citizens with felony convictions may, combined with other factors, reduce the civic degradation of custodial populations in the future. It summarizes a critical case of the restoration of voting rights for probationers and parolees in Rhode Island via a state referendum to identify implications for engaging and sustaining felons in political activity.
The Degree of Disadvantage
Authors: Ewert Stephanie , Sykes Bryan L. , Pettit Becky
Published: November 2013

This article examines how the rise in incarceration and its disproportionate concentration among low-skill, young African American men influences estimates of educational attainment in the United States. We focus on high school graduation rates and the persistent gap in attainment that exists between young black and white Americans. Although official statistics show a declining racial gap in high school dropout in recent years, conventional data sources exclude the incarcerated population from sample data. We show how those exclusions underestimate the extent of racial inequality in high school graduation and underestimate the dropout rate among young black men by as much as 40 percent. America’s prisons and jails have become repositories for high school dropouts, thereby obscuring the degree of disadvantage faced by black men in the contemporary United States and the relative competitiveness of the U.S. workforce.
Three Logics of Instructional Leadership
Authors: Rigby Jessica G.
Published: November 2013

Purpose: This study examines conceptions of instructional leadership in the institutional environment. We know that principals’ practices affect student learning and that principals are influenced by ideas in the broader environment. This article examines and defines the multiple conceptions of what it means for principals to be instructional leaders. Research Methods/Approach: This empirical article relies on the methodology of content analysis. Refinements of the conceptions of instructional leadership were done through iterative data collection and analyses cycles. Findings: I define three conceptions of instructional leadership in the institutional environment that I term prevailing, entrepreneurial, and social justice logics. The ubiquitous prevailing logic was broad and flexible without explicit goals or directions for principals as instructional leaders. From this ambiguous conception, the two alternatives highlighted particular practices and backgrounded others. The entrepreneurial conception relied on innovations and mechanisms borrowed from the private sector, including a reliance on data and specific leadership actions. The social justice logic focused on the experiences and inequitable outcomes of marginalized groups, challenging the current “neutral” systems that engender the reproduction of inequity in our schools. Implications for Research and Practice: This study contributes to the field by providing a language that can help specify what “instructional leadership” looks like in practice and conceptions, thus explicating the tacit and ambiguous term. This is important for researchers to understand and explore the impact of the principalship on student achievement, and for principal preparation programs and school districts to assume a common language in expectations, professional development, and evaluation.
Adolescents’ Views on the Power of Violence in a Rural School in South Africa
Authors: Mampane Ruth , Ebersöhn Liesel , Cherrington Avivit , Moen Melanie
Published: November 2013

This study aims to explain how adolescents in a rural high school conceptualise school violence. Qualitative data were collected over two two-day periods (24 hours) through child-centred tasks like drawing and the completion of open-ended sentences, informal conversations regarding the given activities, observations documented as visual data (photographs), a research journal, and focus group discussions. In total, four boys and five girls participated in the study. Results of the study indicate that the adolescents (aged 15–17 years) view school violence both as negative, in that it causes harm, and positive, in that it serves as a strategy to ensure order and protection. The adolescents conceptualise violence as interweaving constructs of power, discipline and aggression. Future adolescent-focused interventions regarding violence must include conversations about these nuanced understandings.
Scrub typhus and malaria co-infection causing severe sepsis
Authors: Mahajan Sanjay K , Kaushik Madan , Raina Rajiv , Thakur Preyander
Published: November 2013

We report a case of dual infection of scrub typhus and malaria in a 48-year-old woman.
Bullying and victimization: Predictive role of individual, parental, and academic factors
Authors: Atik Gökhan , Güneri Oya Yerin
Published: November 2013

This study explored the roles of individual factors (age, gender, locus of control, self-esteem, and loneliness), parenting style, and academic achievement in discriminating students involved in bullying (as bullies, victims, and bully/victims) from those not involved. Participants comprised 742 middle school students (393 females, 349 males). The results of multinomial logistic regression analysis indicated that a higher locus of control, lower strictness/supervision scores, increased age, and being male increased the likelihood of being a bully; a higher locus of control, higher loneliness score, and a lower acceptance/involvement score increased the likelihood of being a victim; and higher loneliness and psychological autonomy scores and lower acceptance/involvement, strictness/supervision, and academic achievement scores increased the likelihood of being a bully/victim. Although parental style variables play an important role in involvement in bullying, the individual factor loneliness is a more powerful predictor than other predictors in discriminating victims and bully/victims from uninvolved students. Age and gender are stronger predictors than other predictors in discriminating bullies from uninvolved students.
Malnutrition Diagnoses in Hospitalized Patients
Authors: Corkins Mark R. , Guenter Peggi , DiMaria‐Ghalili Rose Ann , Jensen Gordon L. , Malone Ainsley , Miller Sarah , Patel Vihas , Plogsted Steve , Resnick Helaine E. ,   the American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition
Published: November 2013

Malnutrition is common among hospitalized patients in the United States, and its coded prevalence is increasing. Malnutrition is known to be associated with increased morbidity, mortality and healthcare costs. Although national data indicate that the number of malnutrition diagnoses among hospital discharges has been steadily rising, an in‐depth examination of the demographic and clinical characteristics of these patients has not been conducted. We examined data from the 2010 Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP), the most recent nationally‐representative data describing U.S. hospital discharges. Using ICD‐9 codes, we constructed a composite variable indicating a diagnosis of malnutrition. Based on our definition, 3.2% of all U.S. hospital discharges in 2010 had this diagnosis. Relative to patients without a malnutrition diagnosis, those with the diagnosis were older, had longer lengths of stay and incurred higher costs. These patients were more likely to have 27 of 29 comorbidities assessed in HCUP. Finally, discharge to home care was twice as common among malnourished patients, and a discharge of death was more than 5 times as common among patients with a malnutrition diagnosis. Taken together, these nationally representative, cross‐sectional data indicate that hospitalized patients discharged with a diagnosis of malnutrition are older and sicker and their inpatient care is more expensive than their counterparts without this diagnosis.
The Effects of Part-Time Workers on Establishment Financial Performance
Authors: Chadwick Clint , Flinchbaugh Carol
Published: November 2013

Using a sample of 1,468 private sector establishments, this article addresses the relationship among part-time workers, commitment-based human resource (HR) systems, and establishment financial performance. Building on theoretic perspectives about equity perceptions and reciprocal exchanges, we find that the proportion of part-time workers in an establishment workforce is nonlinearly related to establishment financial performance in an inverted U-shaped relationship. In addition, the interaction between part-time workers and commitment-based HR systems is negatively related to establishment performance. The analysis suggests that those deciding about how to structure establishments’ workforces should consider how interactions between different types of workers within workforces can influence establishment performance.
Patient-controlled analgesia after coronary bypass: Remifentanil or sufentanil?
Authors: Alavi Seyed Mostafa , Ghoreishi Seyed Mohammadmehran , Chitsazan Mitra , Ghandi Iman , Fard Alireza Jahangiri , Hosseini Seyed Saeed , Mahjoobifard Maziar , Fani Kamal
Published: November 2013

Background

adequate pain control after cardiac surgery is mandatory to reduce its remarkable morbidity. In this study, we aimed to compare the efficacy of patient-controlled analgesia with remifentanil or sufentanil for pain management after coronary artery bypass grafting.

Methods

249 patients who underwent coronary artery bypass were randomly assigned to receive patient-controlled analgesia with remifentanil or sufentanil during the first 24 h postoperatively. Pain intensity during patient-controlled analgesia was assessed using 4 different pain rating scales.

Results

patients given remifentanil had lower Visual Analog Scale scores at 24 h compared to those given sufentanil ( p = 0.002). The Numeric Rating Scale at 24 h was also significantly lower in patients using remifentanil ( p = 0.004). The Faces Pain Scale scores at 4, 18, and 24 h were significantly lower in patients using remifentanil compared to those using sufentanil ( p = 0.045, 0.036, and 0.011, respectively). No significant differences between groups were seen in the pain intensity assessed by the Behavior Rating Scale at any time point during the first 24 h postoperatively.

Conclusion

our study showed that both remifentanil and sufentanil patient-controlled analgesia can provide acceptable analgesia after coronary artery bypass. The difference between their efficacies was inconspicuous until 24 h postoperatively. Remifentanil seems to result in better pain relief at 24 h postoperatively.
Estimating Multiparameter Partial Expected Value of Perfect Information from a Probabilistic Sensitivity Analysis Sample
Authors: Strong Mark , Oakley Jeremy E. , Brennan Alan
Published: November 2013

The partial expected value of perfect information (EVPI) quantifies the expected benefit of learning the values of uncertain parameters in a decision model. Partial EVPI is commonly estimated via a 2-level Monte Carlo procedure in which parameters of interest are sampled in an outer loop, and then conditional on these, the remaining parameters are sampled in an inner loop. This is computationally demanding and may be difficult if correlation between input parameters results in conditional distributions that are hard to sample from. We describe a novel nonparametric regression-based method for estimating partial EVPI that requires only the probabilistic sensitivity analysis sample (i.e., the set of samples drawn from the joint distribution of the parameters and the corresponding net benefits). The method is applicable in a model of any complexity and with any specification of input parameter distribution. We describe the implementation of the method via 2 nonparametric regression modeling approaches, the Generalized Additive Model and the Gaussian process. We demonstrate in 2 case studies the superior efficiency of the regression method over the 2-level Monte Carlo method. R code is made available to implement the method.
Numbers Matter to Informed Patient Choices
Authors: Peters Ellen , Hart P. Sol , Tusler Martin , Fraenkel Liana
Published: November 2013

Background. How drug adverse events (AEs) are communicated in the United States may mislead consumers and result in low adherence. Requiring written information to include numeric AE-likelihood information might lessen these effects, but providing numbers may disadvantage less skilled populations. The objective was to determine risk comprehension and willingness to use a medication when presented with numeric or nonnumeric AE-likelihood information across age, numeracy, and cholesterol-lowering drug-use groups. Methods. In a cross-sectional Internet survey ( N = 905; American Life Panel, 15 May 2008 to 18 June 2008), respondents were presented with a hypothetical prescription medication for high cholesterol. AE likelihoods were described using 1 of 6 formats (nonnumeric: consumer medication information (CMI)–like list, risk labels; numeric: percentage, frequency, risk labels + percentage, risk labels + frequency). Main outcome measures were risk comprehension (recoded to indicate presence/absence of risk overestimation and underestimation), willingness to use the medication (7-point scale; not likely = 0, very likely = 6), and main reason for willingness (chosen from 8 predefined reasons). Results. Individuals given nonnumeric information were more likely to overestimate risk, were less willing to take the medication, and gave different reasons than those provided numeric information across numeracy and age groups (e.g., among the less numerate, 69% and 18% overestimated risks in nonnumeric and numeric formats, respectively; among the more numerate, these same proportions were 66% and 6%). Less numerate middle-aged and older adults, however, showed less influence of numeric format on willingness to take the medication. It is unclear whether differences are clinically meaningful, although some differences are large. Conclusions. Providing numeric AE-likelihood information (compared with nonnumeric) is likely to increase risk comprehension across numeracy and age levels. Its effects on uptake and adherence of prescribed drugs should be similar across the population, except perhaps in older, less numerate individuals.
On zero stiffness
Authors: Schenk Mark , Guest Simon D
Published: November 2013

Zero-stiffness structures have the remarkable ability to undergo large elastic deformations without requiring external work. Several equivalent descriptions exist, such as (i) continuous equilibrium, (ii) constant potential energy, (iii) neutral stability and (iv) zero stiffness. Each perspective on zero stiffness provides different methods of analysis and design. This paper reviews the concept of zero stiffness and categorises examples from the literature by the interpretation that best describes their working principle. Lastly, a basic spring-to-spring balancer is analysed to demonstrate the equivalence of the four different interpretations, and illustrate the different insights that each approach brings.
The Liberal Illusion of Uniqueness
Authors: Stern Chadly , West Tessa V. , Schmitt Peter G.
Published: November 2013

In two studies, we demonstrated that liberals underestimate their similarity to other liberals (i.e., display truly false uniqueness), whereas moderates and conservatives overestimate their similarity to other moderates and conservatives (i.e., display truly false consensus; Studies 1 and 2). We further demonstrated that a fundamental difference between liberals and conservatives in the motivation to feel unique explains this ideological distinction in the accuracy of estimating similarity (Study 2). Implications of the accuracy of consensus estimates for mobilizing liberal and conservative political movements are discussed.
Coping with HIV/AIDS: A multimodal discourse analysis of selected HIV/AIDS posters in south-western Nigeria
Authors: Oyebode Oluwabunmi , Unuabonah Foluke O
Published: November 2013

This article explores the communicative acts employed in the creation of HIV/AIDS posters which focus on people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) and their relatives/friends and investigates the generic structure of these posters. Van Leeuwen’s multimodal communicative acts and Yuen’s Generic Structure Potential of printed advertisements serve as the theoretical framework for the study. The data include six purposively selected HIV/AIDS posters which focus on educating and counselling PLWHA, obtained from two state hospitals in south-western Nigeria. The multimodal communicative acts include those of instructing, advising, beckoning, encouraging, warning and informing. Lead, Emblem, Announcement and Enhancer are obligatory elements while Display, Tag and Call-and-Visit Information are optional elements. The study shows that there is heavy reliance on semiotic resources which signal the intended meaning of the producers of the posters.
Environmental Disclosure in China: An Examination of the Green Securities Policy
Authors: Wang Hua , Bernell David
Published: November 2013

In 2008, China launched the Green Securities Policy to increase sustainability practices among companies listed on Chinese stock markets. An integral component of the policy is the environmental disclosure regulation, which directs publicly traded Chinese companies in 14 highly polluting industries to report required environmental information. This research explores the Green Securities Policy in two ways. First, it determines the compliance level with environmental disclosure requirements from 2008 to 2010 by companies covered under the Green Securities Policy. The findings indicate that about 60% of listed companies report the required environmental information at some level. Second, the research examines the dynamics underlying environmental disclosure by Chinese listed companies through the lens of ecological modernization theory. While China’s ecological modernization has created an increasingly favorable environment for environmental disclosure regulation, the research highlights problems that have impeded the progress of environmental disclosure by listed companies.
Flexible spinning and precessing rotor–stability analysis based on different analytical and finite element models
Authors: Bose Subhadip , Nandi Arghya , Neogy Sumanta
Published: November 2013

This study analyzes the elastic vibration of a simultaneously spinning and precessing cantilevered rotor for its stability margin and whirl frequency. The governing equations suggest that the stability is largely governed by two counteracting effects – the centrifugal stiffening and the precession softening. The concentrated mass and inertia of the disc as well as the distributed mass of the shaft contribute to both of these effects. A finite element formulation shows that along with the standard matrices for conventional rotor dynamic analysis, two completely new ones are obtained to account for the effect of precession. Two- and four-degrees-of-freedom models indicate that the rotor is always stable irrespective of its precession speed. But, interestingly, results from the converged finite element model show that the rotor will be unstable beyond a moderately high value of precession speed. The reason for this can be attributed to the shape of deformation of the rotor during its motion. This shape is only approximate in two- and four-degrees-of-freedom models. The Campbell diagrams computed using the four-degrees-of-freedom model and the finite element model are compared and presented.
Dynamic crushing behavior and energy absorption of honeycombs with density gradient
Authors: Zhang Xin-chun , An Li-qiang , Ding Hai-min
Published: November 2013

This paper presents an analytical study of the in-plane dynamic crushing and energy absorption of hexagonal honeycombs with density gradients under different impact loading. Explicit dynamic finite element method simulations are carried out by using ANSYS/LS-DYNA. Firstly, under the assumption that the cell wall length is the same, a density-graded honeycomb mode is established by the variation of the cell wall thicknesses along the crushing direction. The effects of density gradient and impact velocity on the crushing deformation modes, plateau stresses and energy absorption characteristics of the specimens are explored in detail. Numerical results show that except for the impact velocity, the dynamic crushing performance and energy absorption abilities of honeycombs also rely on the density/strength gradients. The weakest layer is suggested to be placed at the impact end or the output end, and the strongest layer at the intermediate stage to achieve higher energy absorbing efficiency. According to the one-dimensional shock wave theory, the simple empirical formulae for graded honeycombs to predict the plateau stress are given under high-impact velocities. These results will provide some useful guides in the multi-objective optimization dynamic design and shock energy absorbing control of sandwich structures.
Bending analysis of functionally graded skew sandwich plates with through-the thickness displacement variations
Authors: Taj MNA Gulshan , Chakrabarti Anupam , Talha Mohammad
Published: November 2013

This paper analyzes the bending response of functionally graded skew sandwich plates with graded layer as face sheet/core using higher order shear deformation theory in the frame work of finite element method considering through-the-thickness variation of displacements. The assumed kinematics field incorporates the quadratic variation of thickness co-ordinate in defining the transverse displacement. The C0 finite element formulation has been done efficiently to overcome the problem of C1 continuity associated with the higher order shear deformation theory. For this, a rectangular isoparametic Lagrangian element with nine nodes and 13 nodal unknowns at each node is developed. Two types of plates are modeled: functionally graded skew plates with graded face sheets and graded layer as core part. By considering the symmetry of the plate, different combinations of bottom-core-top thickness has been considered for the numerical study. Wide variety of numerical problems are presented for functionally graded sandwich plates with various skew angles, thickness schemes, aspect ratio, thickness ratio and boundary conditions. It is noticed that isotropic plates exhibit diverge response in comparison with graded plates. Also, power law exponent and skew angle are vital parameters that dictate the response of the plate under bending.
The cyberlocker gold rush: Tracking the rise of file-hosting sites as media distribution platforms
Authors: Lobato Ramon , Tang Leah
Published: November 2013

This article examines the content distribution practices and regulatory anxieties generated by a particular cloud computing technology: the cyberlocker, or one-click file-hosting site. Cyberlockers, which offer an easy and free way to share media files, are widely used for content piracy. Over the last decade, usage of cyberlockers has increased rapidly; however, an intellectual property crackdown in 2012 has had far-reaching consequences for the industry. In this article we provide a short history of this ephemeral digital technology before considering some questions it presents for current media studies debates about sharing and reciprocity. We argue that the cyberlocker, as a non-reciprocal sharing technology, represents a limit case for liberal theories of informational freedom.
Reassembling the ambiguity of the sacred: A neglected inconsistency in readings of Durkheim
Authors: Kurakin Dmitry
Published: November 2013

The ambiguity of the sacred combines two opposite modes, the pure and the impure, as its fundamental feature. Present in the work of Durkheim and most scholars of the sacred, as well as in actual social practice, the impure sacred is not the profane, the sphere that opposes the sacred. However, in most interpretations of Durkheim, and even in aspects of his own argument, the ambiguity of the sacred is neglected and, in several important cases, treated as if it were profane: this has negative consequences for cultural sociology and the study of culture in contemporary society. In certain cases, the impure sacred and the profane can be hard to tell apart. Yet, if the boundaries between the sacred (pure and impure) and the profane are not clearly distinguished, the overall approach to culture in terms of distinctions and boundaries loses its logical and theoretical coherence. This article elucidates the ambiguity of the sacred and reintegrates that ambiguity into cultural sociology. The model proposed here treats the impure as a transient result of violation of the sacred/profane border with no independent status of its own.
Working to travel and long-term career dilemmas: Experiences of Western lifestyle migrants in Malaysia
Authors: Butler Gareth , Richardson Scott
Published: November 2013

In the context of business or human resource studies, research focusing on migrants has frequently documented the acculturation techniques of the ‘transnational elite’ in new geographical settings or their career progression expectations. Human geography and migration studies, on the contrary, have acknowledged the non-career-orientated motives of affluent ‘lifestyle migrants’ who relocate to new settings in order to obtain a better quality of life. Although migrants have previously received attention in tourism research, particular groups, such as working backpackers or Mediterranean-bound retirees, have arguably garnered greater attention than those that undertake foreign assignments to fulfil travel demands and to attain new experiences. Using lifestyle migrants residing in Malaysia as our focus group, this qualitative study analyses the experiences and travel mobilities of 22 Western migrants from 7 different countries. Our findings reveal that in contrast to business and human resource studies, and similar to human geography and migration studies, many migrants cited travel and leisure opportunities in Malaysia, and the surrounding region, as a dominant motivation for their relocation. However, although numerous positive experiences and highly fluid travel mobilities were recorded, simultaneous dilemmas also emerged that challenged lifestyle migrants’ career progression demands in the long-term.
Mapping instructional leadership in Thailand
Authors: Hallinger Phillip , Lee Moosung
Published: November 2013

Over the past two decades a growing body of international research suggests that instructional leadership from the principal is essential for the improvement of teaching and learning in schools. However, in many parts of the world, the practice of instructional leadership remains both poorly understood and outside the main job description of the principal. Thus, in many nations, the expectation for principals to act as instructional leaders represents a major change from traditional practice. The current study explores the principal's changing role as an instructional leader in Thailand, where education reforms adopted in 1999 sought to change modal approaches to teaching and learning as well as school management. The study employed surveys of principal instructional leadership conducted prior to and following adoption of Thailand's National Education Act 1999 to assess change in principal practice. The results suggest that despite new system expectations for principal to act as instructional leaders, the predominant orientation of Thai principals remains largely unchanged. The authors recommend that more systematic and substantial steps are needed to train and support principals in making this change in their role.