bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Determining the scoring validity of a co-constructed CEFR-based rating scale
Authors: Deygers Bart , Van Gorp Koen
Published: April 2015

Considering scoring validity as encompassing both reliable rating scale use and valid descriptor interpretation, this study reports on the validation of a CEFR-based scale that was co-constructed and used by novice raters. The research questions this paper wishes to answer are (a) whether it is possible to construct a CEFR-based rating scale with novice raters that yields reliable ratings and (b) allows for a uniform interpretation of the descriptors. Additionally, this study focuses on the question whether co-constructing a rating scale with novice raters helps to stimulate a shared interpretation of the descriptors over time. For this study, six novice raters employed a CEFR-based scale that had been co-constructed by themselves and 14 peers to rate 200 spoken and written performances in a missing data design. The quantitative data were analysed using item response theory, classical test theory and principal component analysis. The focus group data, collected after the rating process, were transcribed and coded using both a priori and inductive coding. The results indicate that novice raters can reliably use the CEFR-based rating scale, but that the interpretations of the descriptors, in spite of training and co-construction, are not as homogeneous as the inter-rater reliability would suggest.
Sustainability, human rights, and sexuality: Making the right connections
Authors: Takhar Shaminder
Published: April 2015

This article looks at the local–global nexus of sexuality and human rights, but moves on to examine social sustainability and sustainable development and the link to human rights through concepts such as equality, justice, dignity and diversity. Although liberal attitudes towards sex and sexuality run parallel to conservative, homophobic and religious views, the importance of equality legislation in European countries has been increasingly evidenced through transnational influence on lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender concerns in other countries. The article examines developments and setbacks to equality legislation and then goes on to make the case for human rights (via the emphasis on sexual equality) as an essential pillar of sustainability.
Psychometric properties of the Musculoskeletal Function Assessment and the Short Musculoskeletal Function Assessment: a systematic review
Authors: Bouffard Jason , Bertrand-Charette Michaël , Roy Jean-Sébastien
Published: April 2015

Objectives:

To investigate the psychometric properties of the Musculoskeletal Function Assessment (MFA) and Short Musculoskeletal Function Assessment (SMFA).

Data sources:

A systematic search of the following databases was undertaken concerning psychometric evidence of the MFA and SMFA: PubMed, Embase, Scopus and Cinahl. References of retrieved articles were inspected for additional data.

Review method:

Articles evaluating the validity, reliability or responsiveness of the MFA or SMFA in patients with musculoskeletal disorders were included in this systematic review. The methodological quality of included articles was critically appraised and the psychometric data were extracted using standardized forms. An established set of criteria were used to synthetize the evidence in order to highlight the strengths and weaknesses of included questionnaires and the gaps in the literature.

Results:

Nine articles on MFA and 24 articles on SMFA met the inclusion criteria. The SMFA fulfilled 75% of the psychometric criteria analyzed, while the MFA fulfilled only 50%. MFA and SMFA have excellent content validity and relative reliability (weighted average intraclass correlation coefficient ⩾ 0.87), and are moderately to highly responsive (standardized response mean between 0.65 and 1.13). Absolute reliability and clinically important difference of both questionnaires need to be defined, while the construct validity of MFA still needs to be established.

Conclusion:

MFA and SMFA are reliable and responsive tools for monitoring the function of patients with various musculoskeletal disorders. Still, research is needed to justify their usage in a clinical setting.
Can Medical Diagnosis Benefit from “Unconscious Thought”?
Authors: Woolley Amanda , Kostopoulou Olga , Delaney Brendan C.
Published: April 2015

The unconscious thought theory argues that making complex decisions after a period of distraction can lead to better decision quality than deciding either immediately or after conscious deliberation. Two studies have tested this unconscious thought effect (UTE) in clinical diagnosis with conflicting results. The studies used different methodologies and had methodological weaknesses. We attempted to replicate the UTE in medical diagnosis by providing favorable conditions for the effect while maintaining ecological validity. Family physicians ( N = 116) diagnosed 3 complex cases in 1 of 3 thinking modes: immediate, unconscious (UT), and conscious (CT). Cases were divided into short sentences, which were presented briefly and sequentially on computer. After each case presentation, the immediate response group gave a diagnosis, the UT group performed a 2-back distraction task for 3 min before giving a diagnosis, and the CT group could take as long as necessary before giving a diagnosis. We found no differences in diagnostic accuracy between groups ( P = 0.95). The CT group took a median of 7 s to diagnose, which suggests that physicians were able to diagnose “online,” as information was being presented. The lack of a difference between the immediate and UT groups suggests that the distraction had no additional effect on performance. To assess the decisiveness of the evidence of this null result, we computed a Bayes factor (BF01) for the 2 comparisons of interest. We found a BF01 of 5.76 for the UT versus immediate comparison and of 3.61 for the UT versus CT comparison. Both BFs provide substantial evidence in favor of the null hypothesis: physicians’ diagnoses made after distraction are no better than diagnoses made either immediately or after self-paced deliberation.
Computed tomography in trauma patients using iterative reconstruction: reducing radiation exposure without loss of image quality
Authors: Kahn Johannes , Grupp Ulrich , Kaul David , Böning Georg , Lindner Tobias , Streitparth Florian
Published: April 2015

Background

Rising numbers of computed tomography (CT) examinations worldwide have led to a focus on dose reduction in the latest developments in CT technology. Iterative reconstruction (IR) models bear the potential to effectively reduce dose while maintaining adequate image quality.

Purpose

To assess the impact of adaptive statistical iterative reconstruction (ASIR) technique on dose reduction and image quality in a dedicated whole body CT (WBCT) protocol for trauma patients.

Material and Methods

A total of 122 subjects with multiple trauma was prospectively included in our study. Subjects who had to undergo a WBCT following a severe trauma were randomly assigned to two different groups: Group A was examined with an ASIR protocol for the body series ( n = 64), group B ( n = 58) was examined using a standard filtered back projection (FBP) protocol. Image quality was assessed both quantitatively by calculating signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and contrast-to-noise ratios (CNRs) and qualitatively by two observers who evaluated image quality using a 5-point scale system. Applied dose was analyzed as CTDIvol (mGy), total DLP (mGyxcm), and effective dose (mSv).

Results

Applied dose for the body series in group A was about 23% lower than in group B ( P < 0.05). SNR and CNRs for different tissues were not significantly different. Subjective image quality ratings were excellent and showed no significant difference, with a high inter-reader agreement.

Conclusion

ASIR contributes to a relevant dose reduction without any loss of image quality in a dedicated WBCT protocol for patients with multiple trauma.
Departures
Authors: Kaltenbacher Wolfgang
Published: April 2015

It was in February 1935 that Lévi-Strauss went to Brazil to teach sociology at the newly founded University of São Paolo. In the stimulating atmosphere of the city soon he struck up a friendship with the founders of Brazilian modernism, in particular with Mário de Andrade, the central figure of the avant-garde movement, who helped the young researcher to finance his expeditions into the Mato Grosso and the Amazon Rainforest. Twenty years later Lévi-Strauss wrote about this period in Brazil, after having encountered other cultures and having made other experiences. The highly reflexive narrative of Tristes Tropiques contains most of the topics which return in his later works and about which the authors of this volume have pondered from different perspectives. This introductory text reconstructs the principal stages of Lévi-Strauss’ enterprises in Brazil and illustrates how his departure for the New World became the start of a great career.
Lévi-Strauss: Modern, Ultramodern, Antimodern
Authors: Fabietti Ugo EM
Published: April 2015

This article develops the idea that Lévi-Strauss’ thought was shaped all at once in the encounter with structural linguistics. Nevertheless, Lévi-Strauss's readers know that his writings show blunt passages from a level of discourse that refers to the project of scientific modernity (accretion of knowledge and pursuit of generality) to one announcing the dissolution of culture into physicochemical phenomena (here defined as ultramodern level), and from these two to a language usually defined as “literary”. The latter corresponds to a language which articulates the themes of loss, memory, yearning for the primitive, the concerns about the demographic and environmental transformations of the planet, and an “exaggerated” contact of cultures: themes which all persist in Lévi-Strauss’ thought since its shaping as a “structuralist” one, which have been highly controversial and that could be defined as “antimodern”. Accordingly, this article tries to produce a reading of Lévi-Strauss’ work as articulated on three levels, which persist in Lévi-Strauss's thought since its early structuralist formation: three “musical staffs” on which his modernity, ultra-modernity and anti-modernity seem all to flow at the same time.
The Nearby Frontier: Structural Analyses of Myths of Orientalism
Authors: Gingrich Andre
Published: April 2015

This paper examines, by means of some concepts and methodological tools offered in the great œuvre of Lévi-Strauss, the mytho-logical ideologemes of certain forms of orientalism, using the example of Austria. A so-called “frontier orientalism” is contrasted against classic colonial orientalism, in order to identify its particularities. The figure of the “nearby stranger” jeopardizes the boundaries of the own, ever uncertain national identity and serves right-wing populists and neo-nationalists as an indispensable ingredient of their own aspirations.
Lévi-Strauss and Marxism
Authors: Karsenti Bruno
Published: April 2015

This paper focuses on the political meaning of structuralism from the point of the view of the unusual link between Marxism and Buddhism established by Claude Lévi-Strauss in the final pages of Sad Tropics. Marxism appears here as a Western attempt to start a process of social transformation that is traditionally embedded in the core of Eastern cultures. Comparing these different worlds allows Lévi-Strauss to identify an internal yet unrecognized differentiation of Western culture, and provides a remarkable example of how the structural method applies to deep cultural analysis.
The ‘Unconceivable Humankind’ to Come: A Portrait of Lévi-Strauss as a Demographer
Authors: Stoczkowski Wiktor
Published: April 2015

For a half a century, Claude Lévi-Strauss multiplied statements about the demographic situation of humanity and its anthropological consequences. Those statements, often seen as shocking, were interpreted as a kind of aberration which defied rational understanding. Current opinion held was that the analysis of such idiosyncratic ideas overstepped the competence of anthropologists and historians. In fact, as shown in my text based on newly discovered archival materials, quite the opposite is true. Firstly, Lévi-Strauss became interested in demography very early in his career. Secondly, his conception of demographic trends and their effects was based on scholarly knowledge. Thirdly, far from being an idiosyncratic extravagance, his demography corresponded to widely shared concerns, central to the cultural policies of UNESCO, in which Lévi-Strauss was involved as Secretary general of the International Social Science Council (from 1952 to 1961). These facts are necessary if one is to grasp the cosmological outlook underlying the works of Claude Lévi-Strauss. The principles of Lévi-Straussian cosmology, in which demography plays an important role, are not reducible to the axioms of his structural theory. Without taking this cosmological infrastructure into account we are unable to correctly understand the moral message that Lévi-Strauss endeavoured to deliver, which concerned the extreme dangers humanity could face in the near future.
Access to General Education Curriculum
Authors: Coulter Gail A. , Lambert Michael C.
Published: April 2015

The effects of preteaching key words on accuracy and fluency in connected text were examined with three fifth-grade participants identified with learning disability and reading two grade levels below their same age peers. Researchers incorporated a multiple baseline design (i.e., Baseline and Wordlist Intervention) and found that preteaching increased accuracy in connected text overall and increased fluency to some extent. The technique required minimal instructional support while providing participants with access to general education curriculum. Words that were pretaught generalized to unfamiliar passages that contained the key words 14 days after the intervention concluded.
On the Precipice of Intersectionality
Authors: Steinmetz Kevin F. , Henderson Howard
Published: April 2015

This analysis examines the impact of established predictors on probation failure utilizing a large randomly selected sample of adult probationers. Initial findings suggest that race, gender, location, offense severity as well as risk assessment scores significantly predict probation failure. This study then examines interaction effects between race and gender as well as race and offense severity. Results indicate such interactions may matter in studying probation failure, despite reason to be cautious about their interpretation. Importantly, the results of the interaction model suggest that the interaction between being an African American and male is a significant predictor of probation failure. Additionally, being a Hispanic felon was also statistically significant. Theoretical, practical, and research implications are discussed alongside study limitations.
Favoriser le don d’organes grâce à « l’intensité de la discussion » avec les proches : rôle de la superstition, du tabou de la mort et de variables de personnalité
Authors: Zouaghi Sondes , Chouk Inès , Rieunier Sophie
Published: April 2015

En France, plus de 16 000 patients espèrent chaque année recevoir un don d’organes, un tiers seulement sont réellement greffés et 500 personnes décèdent avant d’être appelées pour une greffe. Or, on pourrait considérablement améliorer le nombre de dons en incitant les détenteurs de cartes de donneurs à en discuter avec leurs proches. L’objectif de cette recherche est de développer une meilleure compréhension des comportements de discussion avec les proches concernant sa décision de donner ses organes post-mortem. A cet effet, une étude quantitative auprès d’un large échantillon de 11 235 détenteurs d’une carte de « donneurs d’organes » a été réalisée. Par rapport aux travaux antérieurs, ce travail présente deux contributions principales. D’une part, il montre que l’intensité de la discussion avec les proches a un impact sur la confiance du donneur dans le respect de ses volontés. D’autre part, il montre la nécessité de prendre en compte des déterminants individuels tels que le tabou de la mort, la superstition et l’extraversion pour mieux comprendre l’intensité de la discussion entre proches. Notre recherche confirme par ailleurs l’impact de l’altruisme sur le comportement de discussion du don d’organes. A la lumière des résultats, des implications managériales sont proposées.
Risk Behavior and Personal Resiliency in Adolescents
Authors: Prince-Embury Sandra
Published: April 2015

This study explores the relationship between self-reported risk behaviors and personal resiliency in adolescents; specifically whether youth with higher personal resiliency report less frequent risk behaviors than those with lower personal resiliency. Self-reported risk behavior is surveyed by the Adolescent Risk Behavior Inventory(ARBI). Self-reported personal resiliency is reflected in responses to the Resiliency Scales for Children and Adolescents(RSCA). Findings suggest that youth reporting higher personal resiliency report less frequent risk behaviors. The findings suggest the possibility of screening in normative samples of youth in a relatively non-intrusive manner.
Suggested methods to improve physician-hospital relationships in Canada
Authors: Samadi-niya Atefeh
Published: April 2015

This article focuses on the suggested methods to improve the quality of Physician-Hospital Relations (PHRs) in the Canadian healthcare system based on the opinions and perspectives of healthcare leaders across all provinces and territories who participated in the Canadian National Study of Interprofessional Relationships between Physicians and Hospital Administrators (CANSIRPH). Improving PHRs equals higher patient care quality, error reduction, well-managed budgets, and professional satisfaction of clinical and non-clinical leaders.
The owners have a right to be heard
Authors: MacLeod Hugh
Published: April 2015

The Canadian taxpayer is an owner of the healthcare system and the owners have a right to be heard. This article encourages leaders both formal and informal to create cultures that promote ASKing questions to test assumptions held, LISTENing to hear the patient voice, and TALKing with patients and families to create new conversations and narratives. Looking at the label, “healthcare system” what’s your contribution to creating health, how will you dedicate yourself to caring about the healthcare consumer and care provider, and what will be your role in creating a new and improved system? An implied question at the foundation of the article is this: Is the difference between managing and leading a difference of empathy?
Health leaders and ethical dimensions of managing “value adds”
Authors: Boudreau-Exner Suzanne
Published: April 2015

Value adds refers to an “extra” feature or features of an item of interest (product, service, and person) that go beyond the standard expectations and provide something more, even if the cost is higher to the client or purchaser. This article looks at the ethical dimensions health leaders face in managing value adds and provides recommendations for ensuring that ethical practice is being followed consistently. A summary of several healthcare-related codes of ethics are provided to support the recommendations.
Toward development of a new online tool wear compensation strategy in micro-electro-discharge machining drilling
Authors: Nirala C K , Saha P
Published: April 2015

In micro-electro-discharge machining drilling, the problem of tool wear is a well-known fact. In order to minimize the effect of tool wear on the accuracy of fabricated product, an online tool wear monitoring and compensation system needs to be integrated with the micro-electro-discharge machining machine. The existing monitoring and compensation system very much relies on the pulse discrimination. The available systems assume that pulses are isoenergetic and are applicable to a single parametric setting only. In order to make the system more robust, a new pulse discrimination and tool wear compensation strategy which is suitable for a wide range of parametric settings is proposed. In this context, an empirical relationship between “average energy” (AE) and “volume removal per discharge” (VRD) is established and verified with experimental results.
Effect of filler wire properties on porosity formation in laser welding of AC-170PX aluminium alloy for lightweight automotive component manufacture
Authors: AlShaer Ahmad Wael , Li Lin , Mistry Anil
Published: April 2015

AC-170PX (AA6014) alloys are typically used in lightweight automobile vehicles. Laser welding can be a viable tool for the assembly of components. However, porosity is often generated during aluminium welding. In this article, an investigation is reported on the characteristics of porosity formation in high-power disc laser welding of AC-170PX aluminium alloy sheets in two weld joint configurations: fillet edge and flange couch with three different filler wires of 4xxx, 3xxx and 5xxx aluminium series for each joint. Porosity, microstructures, tensile strengths and joint geometry were investigated. It has been found that the use of filler wires with higher Mg and Mn content such as AA5083 and AA3004 leads to a significant reduction in porosity to less than 1.5% in both types of joints compared with up to 80% porosity with the silicon-rich AA4043 wire. The mechanism that led to this improvement is discussed.
Simulation of predictive maintenance strategies for cost-effectiveness analysis
Authors: Gilabert Eduardo , Fernandez Santiago , Arnaiz Aitor , Konde Egoitz
Published: April 2015

This article presents a methodology that provides a continuous assessment of predictive maintenance (PdM) technologies with respect to specific business scenarios. The methodology integrates existing reliability and maintenance business analysis techniques and standards. The positive impacts that may have implementing these technologies have always been in mind. A critical simulation step is also added where different predictive maintenance strategies are simulated in order to obtain the optimal maintenance strategy. This Monte Carlo simulation relies on the reliability information based on the probability density distribution of failure for the system or component, providing as a result the optimal strategy among the proposed options. The article finally explains how this methodology has a positive impact not only on the cost-effectiveness of maintenance processes, but also on the maintenance information available.
Experimental investigation of laser hot-wire cladding
Authors: Liu Shuang , Liu Wei , Kovacevic Radovan
Published: April 2015

Laser cladding by cold-wire feeding is known as an efficient cladding method due to its advantages, such as near 100% material utilization, high deposition rate, and flexible adaptation to the cladding position. However, it has very stringent requirements on the operative conditions, such as a small range of wire feeding rate and precise wire feeding position. The aim of this work was to investigate the laser hot-wire cladding technique, which improved the productivity and stability of the process significantly with respect to laser cold-wire cladding. The external preheating of the filler wire resulted in reduction in required laser power, a low dilution, and a higher deposition rate. A comparison was made between laser cold-wire cladding and laser hot-wire cladding of Inconel 625 on mild steel, with respect to the clad characteristics, microstructure, and hardness. An optimization of the main processing parameters in laser hot-wire cladding, such as the laser power, laser spot size, laser scanning speed, wire feeding orientation and position, wire preheating voltage, and wire feeding rate, was performed. The optimal parameters were used to create a multi-track deposit.
Simultaneous optimization of operational and financial decisions to closed-loop supply chain network under uncertainty
Authors: Ramezani Majid , Kimiagari Ali Mohammad
Published: April 2015

This article integrates the company operations decisions (i.e. location, production, inventory, distribution, and transportation) and finance decisions (i.e. cash, accounts payable and receivable, debt, securities, payment delays, and discounts) in which the demands and return rate are uncertain, defined by a set of scenarios. The cash flow and budgeting model will be coupled with supply chain network design using a mixed integer linear programming formulation. The article evaluates two financial criteria, that is, the change in equity and the profit as objective functions. The results indicate that objective functions are partially interdependent, that is, they conflict in certain parts. This fact illustrates the inadequacy of treating process operations and finances in isolated environments and pursuing objective myopic performance indicators such as profit or cost. Due to the importance of the supply chain network design problem, a multi-objective robust optimization with the max–min version is extended to cope with the uncertainty. A solution approach integrating Benders’ decomposition method with the scenario relaxation algorithm is also proposed in this research. The improved algorithm has been applied to solve a number of numerical experiments. All results illustrate significant improvement in computation time of the improved algorithm over existing approaches. For a problem, the proposed algorithm shows a significant reduction in computational time compared with the Benders’ decomposition and scenario relaxation that shows the efficiency of the proposed solution method.
A study on the viability of minimum quantity lubrication with water in grinding of ceramics using a hybrid-bonded diamond wheel
Authors: do Nascimento Wesley R , Yamamoto Adriano A , de Mello Hamilton J , Canarim Rubens C , de Aguiar Paulo R , Bianchi Eduardo C
Published: April 2015

With the currently strict environmental law in present days, researchers and industries are seeking to reduce the amount of cutting fluid used in machining. Minimum quantity lubrication is a potential alternative to reduce environmental impacts and overall process costs. This technique can substantially reduce cutting fluids in grinding, as well as provide better performance in relation to conventional cutting fluid application (abundant fluid flow). The present work aims to test the viability of minimum quantity lubrication (with and without water) in grinding of advanced ceramics, when compared to conventional method (abundant fluid flow). Measured output variables were grinding power, surface roughness, roundness errors and wheel wear, as well as scanning electron micrographs. The results show that minimum quantity lubrication with water (1:1) was superior to conventional lubrication-cooling in terms of surface quality, also reducing wheel wear, when compared to the other methods tested.
An affordance-integrated approach for design knowledge reuse
Authors: Huang Jian , Chen Yong , Zhang Zhinan , Xie Youbai
Published: April 2015

Design knowledge reuse is regarded as an effective strategy for design organizations to develop products with shorter time and less effort. However, existing design reuse approaches primarily focus on reusing the geometrical information of similar parts, with a wealth of contextual knowledge behind detailed design results lost. This paper presents an affordance-integrated approach for the reuse of detailed design knowledge, which can be employed to help designers determine the values of geometrical design parameters. First, this paper introduces an affordance-integrated model, called the structure-behavior-affordance, to represent the detailed design information. Then an affordance-based approach is proposed to help designers reuse the detailed design knowledge, which is also integrated with commercial CAD tools. Finally, the proposed approach is implemented as a detailed design knowledge reuse system and a turbocharger shell fixture is adopted as an example to illustrate the proposed design knowledge reuse approach.
Robust µ control and repetitive control for precision motion control of a pneumatic actuating table
Authors: Lin Chi-Ying , Hsu Sheng-Chih
Published: April 2015

Because of uncertain and time-varying parameters influenced by air pressure and thermal parameters, applying H∞ robust control techniques to a pneumatic servo design has proven to be an efficient control strategy over the past few decades. However, because this method is a worst-case design that must yield robustness under given uncertainties, the inevitable trade-off may be too conservative and thus deteriorates its motion control performance. This study presents a robust µ control and repetitive control method for attaining precise dynamic tracking control of a pneumatic actuating table. The applied hybrid control structure consists of two feedback controllers. The first is a repetitive controller used to improve periodic tracking performance, and the second is a µ controller used to manage the dominant nonlinearities and uncertainties in pneumatic servo systems. This study presents an independent design of two controllers and takes advantage of the synergetic effect that results in an enhanced robust repetitive control design. In this study, a weighted average method is applied to determine optimal performance weights between these two control actions without violating robust stability. The experimental results on tracking dynamic motion profiles at perturbed operating regions for a heavy-duty pneumatic actuating table demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed control method.
Metabolic changes in the urine of andrographolide sodium bisulfite-treated rats
Authors: Xu JD , Xing WM , Yuan TJ , Chen J , Lu H
Published: April 2015

In recent years, andrographolide sodium bisulfite (ASB) has been reported to cause acute renal failure frequently in clinical practice. We hypothesized that changes in metabolic profile could have occurred after administration of ASB. To investigate the metabolic changes caused by ASB-induced nephrotoxicity, metabonomics method was utilized to depict the urine metabolic characteristics and find the specific urine biomarkers associated with ASB-induced nephrotoxicity. Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly assigned into three experimental groups. They received a single daily injection of vehicle (0.9% sodium chloride solution) or ASB at a dose of 100 or 600 mg kg−1 day−1 for 7 days. Twelve-hour urine was collected after the last administration. The routine urinalysis was measured by a urine automatic analyzer while urinary metabolites were evaluated using gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. The acquired data were processed by multivariate principal component analysis (PCA), partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA), and orthogonal PLS-DA. After 7-day administration of ASB, the positive urine samples in protein, occult blood, and ketones were increased, presenting dose dependence. The PCA and PLS-DA models were capable of distinguishing the difference between ASB-treated group and control. Biomarkers such as 1,5-anhydroglucitol, d-erythro-sphingosine, and 2-ketoadipate were identified as the most influential factors in ASB-induced nephrotoxicity.
Cumulative dose of hydroxychloroquine is associated with a decrease of resting heart rate in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus: a pilot study
Authors: Cairoli E , Danese N , Teliz M , Bruzzone M J , Ferreira J , Rebella M , Cayota A
Published: April 2015

Introduction

The use of hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) offers a wide range of benefits. However, there are evidence in favour of cardiotoxicity, including heart conduction disturbances and congestive heart failure.

Objective

To determine the effects of HCQ in the resting heart rate (RHR) of SLE patients.

Patients and methods

Included were patients with non active SLE, with a sedentary lifestyle and treated with HCQ. Excluded were patients on beta blocker treatment, trained patients, pacemaker´s users and patients with clinical or analytical evidence of anemia, renal disease, obstructive pulmonary disease, obesity, uncontrolled thyroid disease, fever or current infection. Standard 12-lead electrocardiogram was performed in the resting condition (supine decubitus and orthostatic position). Comparison between groups was performed using Mann–Whitney U test. A multiple linear regression was performed. A p value <0.05 was considered statistically significant.

Results

42 patients were included. Patients were divided in two groups based on the cumulative dose of HCQ (CD-HCQ), considering 365 g as cut-off. There were 24 patients with low-HCQ (<365 g) and 18 patients with high-HCQ (>365 g). Non significant differences were found in age, sex, prednisone dose or SLEDAI. The mean RHR was 73 ± 6 beats/min in the low-HCQ and 65 ± 7 beats/min in the high-HCQ, with a significant decrease of 11% ( p = 0.003). In multiple linear regressions, there were non significant association between the decrease of RHR and prednisone dose, age, SLEDAI or TSH, but there was significant association between RHR and CD-HCQ ( p = 0.024) and RHR and time of exposure to HCQ ( p = 0.029).

Conclusion

CD-HCQ higher than 365 g was associated with a significant decrease (11%) in RHR in non-active SLE patients, although a larger prospective study is required to allow more definitive conclusions.
Modeling citizens’ urban time-use using adaptive hypermedia surveys to obtain an urban planning, citizen-centric, methodological reinvention
Authors: Marsal-Llacuna Maria-Lluïsa , Fabregat-Gesa Ramon
Published: April 2015

Traditional urban planning methodologies cannot solve today’s planning challenges that cities pose. Citizens’ needs have substantially changed the last decade while urban planning methods have remained the same since the 70s. A more citizen-centric urban planning is presented in this paper. To that end, and to effectively deal with citizens’ larger data needed for the urban planning methodological reinvention, interdisciplinary work is supported with information and communication technologies. We conducted a survey of citizens on urban time-use (Marsal MLl and López MB (2014) Smart urban planning: Designing urban-land-use from urban time-use. Journal of Urban Technology 21(1): 39–54). The results on urban-time-use distribution were converted into urban-land-uses as pioneering methodology for the reinvention of urban planning methodologies. In order to get the highest voluntary participation from citizens to ensure a good representation of all ages and social groups, the survey has to be designed with adaptive hypermedia techniques. The adaptive hypermedia techniques we propose in this paper combine stereotype and feature-based models which we explore for the purpose to include them in the survey. The combination of stereotype and feature-based models has different advantages, among others: stereotype techniques avoid to initiate survey profiles from scratch and feature-based techniques allow a personalized questionnaire to be employed. Moreover, personalization, in combination with user profiles, allows prediction which is of great interest for this research due to its planning purposes.
Gendering agency in transitional justice
Authors: Björkdahl Annika , Selimovic Johanna Mannergren
Published: April 2015

Mainstream transitional justice and peacebuilding practices tend to re-entrench gendered hierarchies by ignoring women or circumscribing their presence to passive victims in need of protection. As a consequence we have limited knowledge about the multifaceted ways women do justice and build peace. To address this lacuna we conceptualize and unpack the meaning of gendered agency, by identifying its critical elements and by locating it in space and in time. The conceptual work that we undertake is underpinned by empirical mapping of the transitional justice spaces in post-conflict Bosnia-Herzegovina, where we point out instances of critical, creative, and transformative agency performed by women that challenge or negotiate patterns of gendered relations of domination. We collect women’s oral narratives and explore new sets of questions to capture women’s unique experiences in doing justice. Such research enables us to engage with the subjects of post-conflict peacebuilding and transitional justice processes directly and in their own spaces. This article thus renders women’s agency visible and attempts to grasp its contributions and consequences for transformations from war to peace.
Governing Growth
Authors: Sabet Daniel M. , Tazreen Afsana
Published: April 2015

On 24 April 2013, Rana Plaza, a nine-storey building that housed five garment factories, a commercial bank and several retail shops, collapsed, killing more than 1,100 people. Had Bangladesh’s well-regarded building code been enforced, the tragedy would never have occurred. Through an exploration of the process by which real estate development projects are approved and building construction overseen, this article attempts to provide an explanation for why there is such a wide gap between formal policy and actual implementation. Following such tragic events, elected officials come under considerable pressure from civil society groups and citizens to pass stronger legislation, and Bangladesh’s political system, which concentrates power in the majority party and that party’s leadership, allows for the relatively easy passage of legislation. Nonetheless, dramatic population growth and limited availability of land create powerful incentives for developers to evade these regulations. Collusion between developers, the regulator and high-level government officials responsible for overseeing the regulator has ensured that both the laws and court orders are unenforced.
Contesting the Boundaries of Religion in Social Mobilization
Authors: Devine Joe , Brown Graham K. , Deneulin Séverine
Published: April 2015

This article seeks to contribute to an understanding of the dynamics of religion in social mobilization. It argues that existing approaches to the study of the role of religion in social mobilization have been insufficiently nuanced and have failed to probe the multiple and often contradictory influences that religion can have on mobilization channels. On the basis of three qualitative case studies from Malaysia, Bangladesh and the United Kingdom, we identify three key factors of religion that can catalyze social mobilization: theological resources; religious spaces; and the interaction of both with the wider context. This leads us to conclude that the boundaries of the ‘religious’ dimension of social mobilization are fluid, and that the religious element of social mobilization can never be disentangled from its social and political context.
Indexing CNX NIFTY 50 Momentum Effects
Authors: Misra Arun Kumar , Mohapatra Sabyasachi
Published: April 2015

The empirical literature indicates that momentum-style investing is a more effective approach than value-based or growth-based strategies. To confirm this, this article makes an attempt to construct a Momentum Index for the Indian equity market. The CNX NIFTY 50 Momentum Index is designed by calculating the volatility and volume-adjusted Momentum Index for each security in the CNX NIFTY 50 Parent Index. The estimated Momentum Index returns are compared with the CNX NIFTY 50 Index in terms of volatility, Sharpe Ratio and Treynor Ratio. Using VAR methodology, and macroeconomic, firm-specific factors which influence the momentum, index returns are analysed. This study also examined the Fama–French unconditional CAPM by including the Momentum Index return as the fourth factor alongside price–earnings, price–book ratio and dividend yield in estimating excess market returns.

JEL: G11, G12, G14
Impact of the Effective Exchange Rate on the Trade Balance of Sri Lanka: Evidence from 2000 to 2013
Authors: Senadheera Yashodha Warunie
Published: April 2015

This study investigates the possibility of improving the trade balance of Sri Lanka through currency depreciation. An error correction model (ECM) was used to examine the short-term and long-term effects of nominal and real effective exchange rate depreciation on the trade balance. While there is no long-run relationship between the real effective exchange rate and the trade balance, depreciation of the nominal effective exchange rate will lead to a deterioration of the trade balance in the long term. Further, the results indicate that there is a positive causality relationship from the real GDP to the trade balance. Conversely, growth in money supply will worsen the country’s trade balance in the long run. The empirical findings show that currency devaluation is not an effective policy tool to improve the country’s trade balance.

JEL Classification: F 140
Analysis of Factors Influencing Mobile First Strategy in India
Authors: Sridhar V.
Published: April 2015

In emerging countries such as India, mobile is becoming the primary and possibly the only device for accessing Internet and other information services. In this article, we identify three variables, namely, (a) wireless broadband connectivity (b) affordable smartphones and (c) localised content and applications that drive the value proposition of Mobile First strategy in India. We identify the problems and challenges in all these three dimensions and propose policy prescriptions to overcome the same.
Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and Disability
Authors: Khetarpal Abha
Published: April 2015

Disability is not inability. A disability is only actually a disability only when it prevents someone from doing what they want or need to do. Technologies and communication devices help reduce physical barriers. Information and communication technologies (ICTs) provide a model to allow people with disabilities to better integrate socially and economically into their communities by supporting personal access to information and knowledge, learning and teaching situations, personal communication and interaction and access to educational administrative procedures. When we talk about accessibility issues, removing barriers to accessing ICTs by persons with disabilities is of paramount importance. Government agencies, NGOs and private sector should all come out to remove barriers to access ICTs and work together with the stakeholders so that people with disabilities are able to live independent life.
Women’s Voices
Authors: Murada Pooja O. , Grover Arti Manchanda
Published: April 2015

Media plays an important role in defining gender roles within the society. From traditional media forms to new communication technologies, media has been exercising its influence in creating societal expectations of gender.

Radio is one of the oldest and affordable information and communications technology (ICT) tools. It holds potential to bring positive change for women. The importance of radio, or community radio (CR) to be more specific, enhances in the regions marked by restricted mobility, less access to resources, education and low decision-making ability. This article focuses on how CR is facilitating women’s voices in such areas. The role of CR will be illustrated with the example of Alfaz-e-Mewat FM 107.8, a CR station at work in the district of Mewat, Haryana. The case study looks at the role of CR as a communication medium in bringing social change by creating spaces for women to express themselves.
Risk Factors for Severe Hand-Foot-Mouth Disease in Children in Hainan, China, 2011-2012
Authors: Chen Shao-Ming , Du Jian-Wei , Jin Yu-Ming , Qiu Li , Du Zhong-Hua , Li Dan-Dan , Chen Hai-Yun , Watanabe Chiho , Umezaki Masahiro
Published: April 2015

The incidence of severe/fatal cases of hand-foot-mouth disease (HFMD) has increased in South Asia. In China, Hainan Province had the highest incidence of mortality associated with HFMD in 2011. This study investigated the risk factors for severe HFMD in Hainan. The HFMD survey database for Hainan Province for 2011 and 2012 was analyzed, and the biological and behavioral characteristics of severe (n = 980) and nonsevere (n = 1679) HFMD were compared. The association between each explanatory variable and the severity of HFMD was investigated using a logistic regression model after adjusting for confounders. Human enterovirus 71 infection, a peak body temperature >39°C, living outside urban areas, visiting a village clinic, low birth weight, never breastfed, cared for by grandparents, and caregiver with <6 years of education were associated with severe HFMD. Individual characteristics that are generally shared by children in households of low socioeconomic status tended to increase the risk of severe HFMD.
How behavioural economics does and can shape public policy
Authors: Leigh Andrew
Published: April 2015

Behavioural economics research has pointed to the importance of market inefficiencies, framing, heuristics and hyperbolic discounting. Empirically, behavioural economics has been shown to predict patterns of consumer behaviour, exercise patterns and substance addiction. In this article, I discuss the ways in which our growing understanding of behavioural economics has shaped the development of public policies. I conclude with six pieces of advice for behavioural policymakers.
Using Sensory, Functional, and Activity Limitation Data to Estimate Employment Outcomes for Working-Age Persons With Disabilities in the United States
Authors: Brucker Debra L. , Houtenville Andrew J. , Lauer Eric A.
Published: April 2015

Using data from the 2010–2012 American Community Survey (ACS), we estimate employment outcomes among persons with different combinations of sensory, functional, and activity limitations while controlling for individual characteristics. We consider activity limitations as indicators of barriers to independent living and of a need for support services. We find that the presence of an activity limitation is strongly associated with decreased odds of employment for persons with sensory or functional limitations. Results provide support for the targeted allocation of resources to increase independent living among persons with disabilities as a means to improve employment outcomes among persons with disabilities.
Perceptions of Empowerment Within and Across Partnerships in Community-Based Participatory Research
Authors: Paradiso de Sayu Rebecca , Chanmugam Amy
Published: April 2015

Although the concept of empowerment is a key principle of community-based participatory research (CBPR), little is known about how academic and community partners perceive empowerment during a CBPR process. CBPR partners’ perceptions of the process were explored using semi-structured interviews with both partners in 10 CBPR partnerships that had completed projects addressing social determinants of health. Dyadic interview analysis was employed to understand dynamics within and across partnerships. Five partnerships showed no differences in perceptions of empowerment. Four had minor discrepancies. Only one partnership varied considerably between partners, where the community partner perceived less empowerment regarding determining the study topic and overall control, influence, and respect throughout the process. This article discusses implications of findings for CBPR. Evaluating partners’ perceived empowerment throughout a CBPR project might reveal areas to adjust, as not all projects with quantifiably successful outcomes involve processes that are successful in terms of empowerment.