bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
ISTITUZIONI E FONTI
Authors: FOLKERTS MENSO , SEGRE MICHAEL , KÜHNE ANDREAS
Published: April 2012

 RIASSUNTO
L'articolo illustra l'International Computer Catalog of Medieval Scientific Manuscripts. Tale catalogo è stato preparato presso l'Istituto di storia della scienza dell'Università di Monaco di Baviera. Si tratta di un database che raccoglie informazioni sui manoscritti medievali del periodo 500-1500 dedicati a argomenti matematici.
People's security — today's challenges of a new approach to policing: Working experience of the Community Security Initiative (CSI) project in Kyrgyzstan 2011
Authors: Mueller Markus , Ostlund Axel
Published: April 2012

For several years the OSCE has attempted to lobby and forge the political will to develop police reform in Kyrgyzstan. In June 2010 its police did not have the capacity to anticipate and prevent destabilisation and to maintain a neutral position in the management of the interethnic conflict. The fact that ethnic minorities are significantly underrepresented in the police contributed to this. As a result, the population's trust further deteriorated from an already existing critically low level. The then incumbent Transitional Government understood the need to support the police in restoring trust and confidence and hence requested the OSCE's assistance. A special project called the Community Security Initiative was created and a team of 28 international police advisors, supported by 21 local staff, deployed in January 2011 in twelve sensitive police stations including Osh. Using a new approach to communication/interaction these advisors try to change the perception of both the police and the population when addressing and resolving daily security problems in the communities. This requires a new and inventive approach putting peoples' security in the forefront. The main objective of CSI is to support the Kyrgyz Government in three main areas: improving relations between the police and the public, supporting and advising the MOI in respecting police ethics standards including human rights, and providing support and advice in the area of multiethnic policing.
The Dutch fight alone: The principle of self-determination
Authors: Lamberti Sara
Published: April 2012

The article sheds light on the powerful political legacy of Foreign Minister Max van der Stoel. One of his most remarkable achievements was the wording of the principle of self-determination of people at the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe. Principle VIII of the Declarations of Principles of the Helsinki Final Act acknowledged for all peoples in Europe the right to choose their internal regime or policies. The innovative wording successfully pursued by the Dutch delegation under Van der Stoel's guidance undermined the very basis of the Soviet empire and emboldened dissidents in Eastern Europe to fight for democracy and change.
OSCE electoral assistance and the role of election commissions
Authors: Bader Max
Published: April 2012

Election commissions that serve the partisan interests of the authorities are key to the manipulation of election processes in OSCE participating states and beyond. Despite the importance of impartial election administration, OSCE/ODIHR, in its reviews of election laws or in its reports of election observation missions, has so far declined to put forward a comprehensive view on what constitutes best practices regarding the composition and functioning of election commissions. Drawing from a comparative study of the manipulation of rules for the composition and functioning of election commissions, this article develops insights, and formulates recommendations, that could inform a more assertive ODIHR approach to the issue of partisan election commissions..
An introduction to treaties for international social workers
Authors: Pollack Daniel , Rosman Elisa
Published: April 2012

International disputes may emanate from any number of issues, including concerns involving territory, finance, trade, ethnicity, natural resources, or religion. International treaties serve as a mechanism to address these concerns. Throughout history, treaties and conventions have played an important role in international relations. Of course, the full contours of the numerous international treaties in force cannot be documented. In this brief article, and with the caveat that we can only speak in generalities, we 1) offer some fundamental principles of treaties, 2) identify some major treaties and conventions of interest to the international social work community, and 3) make some comments regarding how those treaties affect international social work professionals. Space constraints naturally preclude us from commenting more in depth.
Reconciling the Multiple Objectives of Prison Diversion Programs for Drug Offenders: Evidence From Kansas’ Senate Bill 123
Authors: Stemen Don , Rengifo Andres F.
Published: April 2012

Background: In recent years, several states have created mandatory prison-diversion programs for felony drug possessors. These programs have both individual-level goals of reducing recidivism rates and system-level goals of reducing prison populations. Objective: This study examines the individual level and system level impact of Kansas’ Senate Bill 123 (SB 123), which created mandatory probation/treatment sentences for felony drug possessors. Research Design: A nonrandomized quasi-experimental design was used to evaluate the recidivism rates of drug possessors sentenced to SB 123 relative to drug possessors sentenced to standard probation, intensive probation, or prison. Propensity score matching techniques were used to identify comparison groups. Changes in probabilities of prison sentences preimplementation and postimplementation were used to assess changes in prison admissions and prison populations. Subjects: The treatment group included all eligible drug possessors sentenced to SB 123 between November 1, 2003, and October 31, 2006. The comparison groups included all eligible drug possessors sentenced to standard probation, intensive probation, or prison during the same time period. Measures: Arrests, violations, revocation resulting in a prison sentence, and reconviction resulting in a prison sentence within 24 months of risk in the community served as the key individual-level outcome measures. Prison admissions and bed days served as the key system-level outcome measures. Results: At the individual level, SB 123 increased likelihood of recidivism compared to standard probation and had no significant effect compared to intensive probation or prison. At the system level, SB 123 diverted offenders from prison at sentencing but only marginally reduced prison admissions or saved bed days. Conclusions: Conflicting impacts are a consequence of program design—eligibility requirements diverting probation-bound offenders, mandatory sentencing requiring the same diversion sentence for all offenders, and diversion sentences longer than those imposed preimplementation. Results cast doubt on the effectiveness of mandatory diversion programs to achieve both individual-level and system-level impacts.
Gene structure and expression of serotonin receptor HTR2Cin hypothalamic samples from infanticidal and control sows
Authors: Quilter Claire R , Bagga Meenashki , Moinie Ahmad , Junaid Fatima , Sargent Carole A
Published: April 2012

Background

The serotonin pathways have been implicated in behavioural phenotypes in a number of species, including human, rat, mouse, dog and chicken. Components of the pathways, including the receptors, are major targets for drugs used to treat a variety of physiological and psychiatric conditions in humans. In our previous studies we have identified genetic loci potentially contributing to maternal infanticide in pigs, which includes a locus on the porcine X chromosome long arm. The serotonin receptor HTR2C maps to this region, and is therefore an attractive candidate for further study based on its function and its position in the genome.

Results

In this paper we describe the structure of the major transcripts produced from the porcine HTR2C locus using cDNA prepared from porcine hypothalamic and pooled total brain samples. We have confirmed conservation of sites altered by RNA editing in other mammalian species, and identified polymorphisms in the gene sequence. Finally, we have analysed expression and editing of HTR2C in hypothalamus samples from infanticidal and control animals.

Conclusions

The results confirm that although the expression of the long transcriptional variant of HTR2C is raised in infanticidal animals, the overall patterns of editing in the hypothalamus are similar between the two states.

Sequences associated with the cDNA and genomic structures of HTR2C reported in this paper are deposited in GenBank under accession numbers FR720593, FR720594 and FR744452.
The impact of pesticide suicide on the geographic distribution of suicide in Taiwan: a spatial analysis
Authors: Chang Shu-Sen , Lu Tsung-Hsueh , Sterne Jonathan AC , Eddleston Michael , Lin Jin-Jia , Gunnell David
Published: April 2012

Background

Pesticide self-poisoning is the most commonly used suicide method worldwide, but few studies have investigated the national epidemiology of pesticide suicide in countries where it is a major public health problem. This study aims to investigate geographic variations in pesticide suicide and their impact on the spatial distribution of suicide in Taiwan.

Methods

Smoothed standardized mortality ratios for pesticide suicide (2002-2009) were mapped across Taiwan's 358 districts (median population aged 15 or above = 27 000), and their associations with the size of agricultural workforce were investigated using Bayesian hierarchical models.

Results

In 2002-2009 pesticide poisoning was the third most common suicide method in Taiwan, accounting for 13.6% (4913/36 110) of all suicides. Rates were higher in agricultural East and Central Taiwan and lower in major cities. Almost half (47%) of all pesticide suicides occurred in areas where only 13% of Taiwan's population lived. The geographic distribution of overall suicides was more similar to that of pesticide suicides than non-pesticide suicides. Rural-urban differences in suicide were mostly due to pesticide suicide. Areas where a higher proportion of people worked in agriculture showed higher pesticide suicide rates (adjusted rate ratio [ARR] per standard deviation increase in the proportion of agricultural workers = 1.58, 95% Credible Interval [CrI] 1.44-1.74) and overall suicide rates (ARR = 1.06, 95% CrI 1.03-1.10) but lower non-pesticide suicide rates (ARR = 0.91, 95% CrI 0.87-0.95).

Conclusion

Easy access to pesticides appears to influence the geographic distribution of suicide in Taiwan, highlighting the potential benefits of targeted prevention strategies such as restricting access to highly toxic pesticides.
Predictors of binge drinking in adolescents: ultimate and distal factors - a representative study
Authors: Donath Carolin , Gräßel Elmar , Baier Dirk , Pfeiffer Christian , Bleich Stefan , Hillemacher Thomas
Published: April 2012

Background

As epidemiological surveys have shown, binge drinking is a constant and wide-spread problem behavior in adolescents. It is not rare to find that more than half of all adolescents engage in this behavior when assessing only the last 4 weeks of time independent of the urbanity of the region they live in. There have been several reviews on predictors of substance consumption in adolescents in general, but there has been less high quality research on predictors of binge drinking, and most studies have not been theoretically based. The current study aimed to analyze the ultimate and distal factors predicting substance consumption according to Petraitis' theory of triadic influence. We assessed the predictive value of these factors with respect to binge drinking in German adolescents, including the identification of influence direction.

Methods

In the years 2007/2008, a representative written survey of N = 44,610 students in the 9th grade of different school types in Germany was carried out (net sample). The return rate of questionnaires was 88% regarding all students whose teachers or school directors had agreed to participate in the study. In this survey, prevalence of binge drinking was investigated as well as potential predictors from the social/interpersonal, the attitudinal/environmental, and the intrapersonal fields (3 factors of Petraitis). In a multivariate logistic regression analysis, these variables were included after testing for multicollinearity in order to assess their ability to predict binge drinking.

Results

Prevalence of binge drinking in the last 30 days was 52.3% for the surveyed adolescents with a higher prevalence for boys (56.9%) than for girls (47.5%). The two most influential factors found to protect against binge drinking with p < .001 were low economic status and importance of religion. The four most relevant risk factors for binge drinking (p < .001) were life-time prevalence of school absenteeism/truancy, academic failure, suicidal thoughts, and violence at school in the form of aggressive behavior of teachers. The model of Petraitis was partly confirmed for Binge Drinking in German adolescents and the direction of influence factors was clarified.

Conclusions

Whereas some of the risk and protective factors for binge drinking are not surprising since they are known for substance abuse in general, there are two points that could be targeted in interventions that do not focus on adolescents alone: (a) training teachers in positive, reassuring behavior and constructive criticism and (b) a focus on high risk adolescents either because they have a lack of coping strategies when in a negative mood or because of their low academic achievement in combination with absenteeism from school.
Development and evaluation of social cognitive measures related to adolescent dietary behaviors
Authors: Dewar Deborah L , Lubans David R , Plotnikoff Ronald C , Morgan Philip J
Published: April 2012

Background

This study aimed to develop and evaluate the reliability and factorial validity, of social-cognitive measures related to adolescent healthy eating behaviors.

Methods

A questionnaire was developed based on constructs from Bandura’s Social Cognitive Theory and included the following scales:self-efficacy,intentions(proximal goals),situation(perceived environment),social support,behavioral strategies,outcome expectationsandexpectancies. The questionnaire was administered with a two week test-retest among secondary school students (n = 173, age = 13.72 ± 1.24). Confirmatory factor analysis was employed to examine model-fit for each scale using multiple indices including: chi-square index, comparative-fit index (CFI), goodness-of-fit index (GFI), and the root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA). Reliability properties were also examined (ICC and Cronbach’s alpha).

Results

The reliability and factorial validity of each scale is supported: fit indices suggest each model to be an adequate-to-exact fit to the data; internal consistency was acceptable-to-good (α=0.65−0.79); rank order repeatability was strong (ICC = 0.81−0.89).

Conclusions and implications

Results support the reliability and factorial validity of social cognitive scales relating to healthy eating behaviors among adolescents. As such, the developed scales have utility for identifying potential social cognitive correlates of adolescent dietary behavior, mediators of dietary behavior change and validity testing of theoretical models based on Social Cognitive Theory.
Ca2+-regulatory proteins in cardiomyocytes from the right ventricle in children with congenital heart disease
Authors: Wu Yihe , Feng Wei , Zhang Hao , Li Shoujun , Wang De , Pan Xiangbin , Hu Shengshou
Published: April 2012

Background

Hypoxia and hypertrophy are the most frequent pathophysiological consequence of congenital heart disease (CHD) which can induce the alteration of Ca2+-regulatory proteins and inhibit cardiac contractility. Few studies have been performed to examine Ca2+-regulatory proteins in human cardiomyocytes from the hypertrophic right ventricle with or without hypoxia.

Methods

Right ventricle tissues were collected from children with tetralogy of Fallot [n = 25, hypoxia and hypertrophy group (HH group)], pulmonary stenosis [n = 25, hypertrophy group (H group)], or small isolated ventricular septal defect [n = 25, control group (C group)] during open-heart surgery. Paraffin sections of tissues were stained with 3,3′-dioctadecyloxacarbocyanine perchlorate to measure cardiomyocyte size. Expression levels of Ca2+-regulatory proteins [sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca2+-ATPase (SERCA2a), ryanodine receptor (RyR2), sodiumcalcium exchanger (NCX), sarcolipin (SLN) and phospholamban (PLN)] were analysed by means of real-time PCR, western blot, or immunofluorescence. Additionally, phosphorylation level of RyR and PLN and activity of protein phosphatase (PP1) were evaluated using western blot.

Results

Mild cardiomyocyte hypertrophy of the right ventricle in H and HH groups was confirmed by comparing cardiomyocyte size. A significant reduction of SERCA2a in mRNA (P<0.01) was observed in the HH group compared with the C group. The level of Ser16-phosphorylated PLN was down-regulated (P<0.01) and PP1 was increased (P<0.01) in the HH group compared to that in the C group.

Conclusions

The decreased SERCA2a mRNA may be a biomarker of the pathological process in the early stage of cyanotic CHD with the hypertrophic right ventricle. A combination of hypoxia and hypertrophy can induce the adverse effect of PLN-Ser16 dephosphorylation. Increased PP1 could result in the decreased PLN-Ser16 and inhibition of PP1 is a potential therapeutic target for heart dysfunction in pediatrics.
Endolymphatic sac tumor: case report and review of the literature
Authors: Sun Yan-Hua , Wen Wen , Wu Jun-Hui , Song Jian-Ming , Guan Hong , Wang Kai-Xin , Xu Mei-Quan
Published: April 2012

Endolymphatic sac tumor (ELST) is a rare neoplasm which can be encountered sporadically or in Von Hippel-Lindau (VHL) disease. Here we report a sporadic case of ELST in 31-year-old man. Neither the symptoms nor a family history of VHL disease were found in the patient. CT imaging demonstrated an expansile lytic lesion of the mastoid process of the left petrous bone. MR scanning revealed a 5.2 cm × 4.7 cm × 4.2 cm mass which showed hyperintensity on T1- and T2-weighted images. Histologic sections showed a papillary, cystic or glandular architecture. The papillary and glandular structures were lined by a single layer of flattened cuboidal-to-columnar cells. The stroma of the papillary fronds was richly vascularized and chronically inflamed. The tumor showed diffusely positive reactivity with cytokeratin (Pan), cytokeratin 19, cytokeratin 5/6, cytokeratin 7, EMA, vimentin, CD56, and NSE and also showed variable reactivity with glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) and VEGF. The Ki-67 immunostain showed a proliferation index of < 1%. Because the mass was large, it was difficult to extirpate surgically. After surgery, the patient underwent gamma-knife radiosurgery for residual tumor. The findings indicate that ELST is a rare neoplasm with benign histopathological appearance and clinically destructive behavior. Because of the rarity of this tumor, it can easily be confused with other tumors such as paraganglioma, middle ear adenoma, adenocarcinoma, papillary carcinoma of thyroid or choroid plexus papilloma. Owing to its locally aggressive nature, it is difficult to extirpate surgically when it is large.

Virtual Slides

The virtual slide(s) for this article can be found here: http://www.diagnosticpathology.diagnomx.eu/vs/7973320646763012
Analysis of inter-fraction setup errors and organ motion by daily kilovoltage cone beam computed tomography in intensity modulated radiotherapy of prostate cancer
Authors: Palombarini Marcella , Mengoli Stefano , Fantazzini Paola , Cadioli Cecilia , Degli Esposti Claudio , Frezza Giovanni Piero
Published: April 2012

Background

Intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) enables a better conformality to the target while sparing the surrounding normal tissues and potentially allows to increase the dose to the target, if this is precisely and accurately determined. The goal of this work is to determine inter-fraction setup errors and prostate motion in IMRT for localized prostate cancer, guided by daily kilovoltage cone beam computed tomography (kVCBCT).

Methods

Systematic and random components of the shifts were retrospectively evaluated by comparing two matching modalities (automatic bone and manual soft-tissue) between each of the 641 daily kVCBCTs (18 patients) and the planning kVCT. A simulated Adaptive Radiation Therapy (ART) protocol using the average of the first 5 kVCBCTs was tested by non-parametric bootstrapping procedure.

Results

Shifts were < 1 mm in left-right (LR) and in supero-inferior (SI) direction. In antero-posterior (AP) direction systematic prostate motion (2.7 ± 0.7 mm) gave the major contribution to the variability of results; the averages of the absolute total shifts were significantly larger in anterior (6.3 ± 0.2 mm) than in posterior (3.9 mm ± 0.2 mm) direction. The ART protocol would reduce margins in LR, SI and anterior but not in posterior direction.

Conclusions

The online soft-tissue correction based on daily kVCBCT during IMRT of prostate cancer is fast and efficient. The large random movements of prostate respect to bony anatomy, especially in the AP direction, where anisotropic margins are needed, suggest that daily kVCBCT is at the present time preferable for high dose and high gradients IMRT prostate treatments.
M4 muscarinic receptor knockout mice display abnormal social behavior and decreased prepulse inhibition
Authors: Koshimizu Hisatsugu , Leiter Lorene M , Miyakawa Tsuyoshi
Published: April 2012

Background

In the central nervous system (CNS), the muscarinic system plays key roles in learning and memory, as well as in the regulation of many sensory, motor, and autonomic processes, and is thought to be involved in the pathophysiology of several major diseases of the CNS, such as Alzheimer's disease, depression, and schizophrenia. Previous studies reveal that M4 muscarinic receptor knockout (M4R KO) mice displayed an increase in basal locomotor activity, an increase in sensitivity to the prepulse inhibition (PPI)-disrupting effect of psychotomimetics, and normal basal PPI. However, other behaviorally significant roles of M4R remain unclear.

Results

In this study, to further investigate precise functional roles of M4R in the CNS, M4R KO mice were subjected to a battery of behavioral tests. M4R KO mice showed no significant impairments in nociception, neuromuscular strength, or motor coordination/learning. In open field, light/dark transition, and social interaction tests, consistent with previous studies, M4R KO mice displayed enhanced locomotor activity compared to their wild-type littermates. In the open field test, M4R KO mice exhibited novelty-induced locomotor hyperactivity. In the social interaction test, contacts between pairs of M4R KO mice lasted shorter than those of wild-type mice. In the sensorimotor gating test, M4R KO mice showed a decrease in PPI, whereas in the startle response test, in contrast to a previous study, M4R KO mice demonstrated normal startle response. M4R KO mice also displayed normal performance in the Morris water maze test.

Conclusions

These findings indicate that M4R is involved in regulation of locomotor activity, social behavior, and sensorimotor gating in mice. Together with decreased PPI, abnormal social behavior, which was newly identified in the present study, may represent a behavioral abnormality related to psychiatric disorders including schizophrenia.
Hemoglobin levels and transfusions in neurocritically ill patients: a systematic review of comparative studies
Authors: Desjardins Philippe , Turgeon Alexis F , Tremblay Marie-Hélène , Lauzier François , Zarychanski Ryan , Boutin Amélie , Moore Lynne , McIntyre Lauralyn A , English Shane W , Rigamonti Andrea , Lacroix Jacques , Fergusson Dean A
Published: April 2012

Introduction

Accumulating evidence suggests that, in critically ill patients, a lower hemoglobin transfusion threshold is safe. However, the optimal hemoglobin level and associated transfusion threshold remain unknown in neurocritically ill patients.

Methods

We conducted a systematic review of comparative studies (randomized and nonrandomized) to evaluate the effect of hemoglobin levels on mortality, neurologic function, intensive care unit (ICU) and hospital length of stay, duration of mechanical ventilation, and multiple organ failure in adult and pediatric neurocritically ill patients. We searched MEDLINE, The Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Embase, Web of Knowledge, and Google Scholar. Studies focusing on any neurocritical care conditions were included. Data are presented by using odds ratios for dichotomous outcomes and mean differences for continuous outcomes.

Results

Among 4,310 retrieved records, six studies met inclusion criteria (n = 537). Four studies were conducted in traumatic brain injury (TBI), one in subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH), and one in a mixed population of neurocritically ill patients. The minimal hemoglobin levels or transfusion thresholds ranged from 7 to 10 g/dl in the lower-Hb groups and from 9.3 to 11.5 g/dl in the higher-Hb groups. Three studies had a low risk of bias, and three had a high risk of bias. No effect was observed on mortality, duration of mechanical ventilation, or multiple organ failure. In studies reporting on length of stay (n = 4), one reported a significant shorter ICU stay (mean, -11.4 days (95% confidence interval, -16.1 to -6.7)), and one, a shorter hospital stay (mean, -5.7 days (-10.3 to -1.1)) in the lower-Hb groups, whereas the other two found no significant association.

Conclusions

We found insufficient evidence to confirm or refute a difference in effect between lower- and higher-Hb groups in neurocritically ill patients. Considering the lack of evidence regarding long-term neurologic functional outcomes and the high risk of bias of half the studies, no recommendation can be made regarding which hemoglobin level to target and which associated transfusion strategy (restrictive or liberal) to favor in neurocritically ill patients.
The need for measurable standards in mental health interpreting: a neglected area
Authors: Cambridge Jan , Singh Swaran P. , Johnson Mark
Published: April 2012

This editorial offers an overview of mental health service provision across different languages and cultures in the UK. It is increasingly recognised that mental health service users with limited English proficiency are rendered doubly vulnerable by the combination of their illness and their language difficulties. Only recently has the importance of safe, coherent, nationally available interpreting, translation and language support (ITALS) been recognised by healthcare providers. We review the challenges within the interpreted interaction, some reasons for the scarcity of qualified and accredited ITALS suppliers, and some solutions to the ITALS problem.
Involving service users in the recruitment of mental health staff: the Service User Informed Tool for Staff Selection (SUITSS)
Authors: Sánchez-Bahíllo Angel , Davis Claire , Onyon Richard , Birtle Jan
Published: April 2012

Aims and method

Service user involvement in the development of services is a fundamental aim of the National Health Service (NHS). However, a structured and quantifiable approach to their involvement in the recruitment of NHS staff is still lacking. In this study, we used service-user focus groups within a therapeutic community for people with personality disorder in order to develop the Service User Informed Tool for Staff Selection (SUITSS).

Results

We enabled service users to develop SUITSS as a Likert scale with which to define relevant staff characteristics and rate applicants according to them, informing the staff-selection process. The tool has a semi-quantitative format that allows to test whether applicants with higher ratings are actually appointed by selection panels or not.

Clinical implications

This new tool provides an approach to enhancing service user contributions to staff recruitment. It may be adapted and refined for use in a range of services, with local input from service users, following the approach described here.
Valproate semisodium-induced encephalopathy: diet and polypharmacy interactions
Authors: Silva Nuno Rodrigues , Venâncio Ângela
Published: April 2012

Despite extensive use of valproate in neurology and psychiatry, valproate-induced encephalopathy is a rarely reported complication. Although initially reported in the paediatric population, case reports are growing in the adult population.

Clinicians need to be aware of this potentially life-threatening complication. We report a case in a 37-year-old woman with bipolar I disorder with previously uncomplicated valproate use, who developed encephalopathy when valproate was restarted a few years later. The patient has provided consent for publication.
Rollin's reflections: Henry Rollin at 100
Authors: Hilton Claire
Published: April 2012

Henry Rollin had an outstanding career in psychiatry and is currently editor of the obituaries in The Psychiatrist. What is particularly noteworthy is that he has recently celebrated his centenary. To commemorate this event I interviewed him, in particular about his opinions on a number of topics which seem relevant to psychiatric practice today.
Imperfect Competition in the Interbank Market for Liquidity as a Rationale for Central Banking
Authors: Acharya Viral V , Gromb Denis , Yorulmazer Tanju
Published: April 2012

We study interbank lending and asset sales markets in which banks with surplus liquidity have market power vis-à-vis banks needing liquidity, frictions arise in lending due to moral hazard, and assets are bank-specific. Surplus banks ration lending and instead purchase assets from needy banks, an inefficiency more acute during financial crises. A central bank acting as a lender-of-last-resort can ameliorate this inefficiency provided it is prepared to extend potentially loss-making loans or is better informed than outside markets, as might be the case if it also performs a supervisory role. This rationale for central banking finds support in historical episodes. (JEL E58, G01, G21, G28, L13, N21)
Political Pressures on Monetary Policy During the US Great Inflation
Authors: Weise Charles L
Published: April 2012

Drawing on an analysis of Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) documents, this paper argues that political pressures on the Federal Reserve were an important contributor to the rise in inflation in the United States in the 1970s. Members of the FOMC understood that a serious attempt to tackle inflation would generate opposition from Congress and the executive branch. Political considerations contributed to delays in monetary tightening, insufficiently aggressive anti-inflation policies, and the premature abandonment of attempts at disinflation. Empirical analysis verifies that references to the political environment at FOMC meetings are correlated with the stance of monetary policy during this period. (JEL D72, E32, E52, E58, N12)
The Strategic Impact of References in Business Markets
Authors: Godes David
Published: April 2012

We investigate a business-to-business context and ask when and why a firm should announce a “reference program” that commits the firm to facilitating the flow of information about the efficacy of its products from early adopters to potential late adopters. We model a monopolist manufacturer with a new innovation that can be sold to two potential customers. We demonstrate here two benefits of a reference program that relate not to an increase in later adopters' willingness to pay but to an increase in the willingness to pay of the early adopters themselves. The impact on the early adopters' willingness to pay arises in two ways as a result of their observation of the firm's commitment to information transmission. First, in a model of symmetric uncertainty, we show that the announcement of a reference program facilitates dynamic pricing by the manufacturer in the sense that it allows the firm to provide temporary exclusive use of the technology to one of the customers. This creates more value, which the manufacturer can extract via a higher price. In this way, a reference program can serve as a partial substitute for an exclusive-use contract. In a model with asymmetric information, we demonstrate that under certain conditions, the firm is able to use the reference program as a signal—again, to the early adopting customer—that its technology is of high quality. However, such a signal requires significant discounts to early adopters to ensure separation. As a result, a pooling equilibrium dominates in which the manufacturer fosters references regardless of its quality. Finally, by allowing the firms' private information to be stochastic, we show that separation may be a dominant outcome.
A Conjoint Model of Quantity Discounts
Authors: Iyengar Raghuram , Jedidi Kamel
Published: April 2012

Quantity discount pricing is a common practice used by business-to-business and business-to-consumer companies. A key characteristic of quantity discount pricing is that the marginal price declines with higher purchase quantities. In this paper, we propose a choice-based conjoint model for estimating consumer-level willingness to pay (WTP) for varying quantities of a product and for designing optimal quantity discount pricing schemes. Our model can handle large quantity values and produces WTP estimates that are positive and increasing in quantity at a diminishing rate. In particular, we propose a tractable WTP function that depends on both product attributes and product quantity and that captures diminishing marginal WTP. We show how such a function embeds standard WTP functions in the quantity discount literature as special cases. We also demonstrate how to use the model to estimate the consumer value potential, which is the product of the premium a consumer is willing to pay and her volume potential. Finally, we propose a parsimonious experimental design approach for implementation.

We illustrate the model using data from a conjoint study of online movie rental services. The empirical results show that the proposed model has good fit and predictive validity. In addition, we find that marginal WTP in this category decays rapidly with quantity. We also find that the standard choice-based conjoint model results in anomalous WTP distributions with negative WTP values and nondiminishing marginal willingness-to-pay curves. Finally, we identify four segments of consumers that differ in terms of magnitude of WTP and volume potential, and we derive optimal quantity discount schemes for a monopolist and a new entrant in a competitive market.
Synthesis of saxitoxins
Authors: Iwamoto Osamu , Akimoto Takafumi , Nagasawa Kazuo
Published: April 2012

Saxitoxin (STX), a neurotoxin isolated from Alaskan butter clam, Saxidomus giganteus, inhibits voltage-gated sodium channels by binding to the pore-forming p-loop region. Here we describe stereospecific syntheses of STX and its natural derivatives, (+)-decarbamoylsaxitoxin (dcSTX) and (+)-gonyautoxin3 (GTX3).
Visual reflections: Lollywood billboards, just a commercial medium or an ideological allegorical literacy?
Authors: Ali Hena
Published: April 2012

This article explores the use of allegory within the practice of designing Pakistani cinema’s ‘Lollywood billboards’. It is highlighted that as a visual medium these billboards articulate a visual narrative that has rhetorical qualities, decoded by the Pakistani viewer
as clearly as spoken words. It is suggested that even though the purpose of the production of these billboards is purely commercial, their power of communication as visual narratives reflecting an indigenous social and cultural ideology cannot be denied. Within a strict definition these cinema
billboards are not allegorical, when one story is used to parallel another to illuminate it, whereas the billboards illustrate the story of the film. However, the complex shared visual language and the visual rhetoric of the billboards, by suggesting the narrative of the film and inviting
interpretation, in effect form something that is more than illustration and approaches allegory. This study is based on semiotic and multimodal literacy theory, where semiotics is the study of signs (Saussure) and multimodality in texts is ‘ensembles of modes brought together to realize
particular meanings’. This study investigates production, distribution and consumption of Lollywood billboards and positions them as an allegorical literacy practice – one that involves reading and writing, albeit with a visual medium other than traditional print. Rooted in New
Literacy Studies, a branch of scholarship that explores reading and writing primarily as social practices and cultural forms, this study understands literacy in relation to the larger social and cultural contexts in which the reading of media texts exists in the Pakistani visual culture. My
research finds that the meanings and purposes that guide these cinema billboards as media text both contest and reflect facets of a social and cultural ideology that can help privilege the public as viewer by engaging with an established yet developing visual grammar – a visual rhetoric.
Development of Torrefaction Kinetics for British Columbia Softwoods
Authors: Peng Jianghong , Bi Xiaotao T. , Lim Jim , Sokhansanj Shabab
Published: April 2012

Torrefaction is a thermal treatment without air or oxygen in the temperature range of 473-573 K. The pyrolysis kinetics of three chemical components (cellulose, hemicelluloses, and lignin) and wood at low temperatures of relevance to torrefaction conditions have been reviewed. A series of thermogravimetric (TG) experiments have been carried out to study the intrinsic torrefaction kinetics of major chemical components and British Columbia (BC) softwoods. The weight loss during BC softwood torrefaction was found to be mainly associated with the decomposition of hemicelluloses, although there was also certain degree of decomposition of cellulose and lignin. The weight loss of the BC softwoods during torrefaction could be approximately estimated from the chemical composition of wood species and the weight loss data for torrefaction of pure cellulose, hemicelluloses, and lignin, respectively. Based on the fitting of the TG curves of BC softwoods and three chemical components, two different torrefaciton models were proposed. The simple one-step (single-stage) kinetic model with the first order reaction can predict the reaction data reasonably well over the long residence time, with the final sample weight being strongly related to the torrefaction temperature. A two-component and one-step first order reaction kinetic model, on the other hand, gave improved agreement with data over short residence time, and can be used to guide the design and optimization of torrefaction reactors over the weight loss range of 0 to 40% at the temperature range of 533-573 K, which covers the typical range of industrially relevant operations.
The Individualized Learning Plan: Supporting the Self-Directed Learning Process
Authors: Chapman Rachel L.
Published: April 2012

The ability of physicians to identify strengths and weaknesses, formulate learning goals, and track progress is relevant throughout training and practice. The importance of these skills has been recently explicitly incorporated into requirements for resident and subspecialty training and for maintenance of board certification. The individualized learning plan is a tool that can be utilized both in training and in practice to support and document the lifelong learning process.
Using Proactive Root Cause Analysis to Manage Process Safety Risks
Authors: Perkinson Larry
Published: April 2012

Root cause problem solving methodologies have been around for many years. Very few organizations have recognized the potential of using such methodologies the proactive analysis of processes and work systems and the analysis of the human performance part of potential equipment failures. This presentation will describe:

The basic elements of root cause methodology, including its various tools and components. How the methodology can be used to proactively anticipate human performance errors in interactions with complex processes such as we find in PSM. A simple case study.

In a case study, since a permit to work is a component of Process Safety Management, proactive root cause analysis was performed by mapping the permit to work process, identifying what key components should be reviewed, and auditing those key components.

Most audits go from issue to recommendation. This produces corrective actions but does not produce preventive actions. Once the audit revealed the significant issues, a forum was held with permit issuers and receivers to determine the "good reasons why" the significant issues existed within the work system. Using this information, a comprehensive root cause analysis was performed.

The analysis resulted in a wide ranging list of recommendations that touched almost every part of the permit to work system. The recommendations were reviewed by operating, training and safety personnel and found to be substantive and directly addressed common failures in the permit to work system.

Proactive root cause analysis is a powerful tool and can be used to analyze human performance errors both before and after an incident has occurred. Use of root cause analysis in a proactive manner can significantly reduce major incidents that result from the human error element of process failures.
Applicability of Dynamic Risk Assessment in the Oil and Gas Industry
Authors: Fei Leong Weng
Published: April 2012

It is well understood that proactive accident prevention relies heavily upon effective risk management programs within an organization and at each of the organization's work locations. And, it is rare that organizations and workplaces today do not have some form of risk management in place. Yet, there remain a high percentage of root cause findings of accidents in the oil and gas industry that cite deficiencies in risk assessment or risk management as one of the primary or underlying causes of incidents. The key to an effective risk management program relies heavily upon a robust and effective risk assessment process. The tendency to reduce these processes to mere generation of paperwork or "tick-the-box" exercises is too often the problem in many organizations. The use of Dynamic Risk Assessment can help to avoid the common pitfalls associated with organizations believing they have effective risk management in place, when in fact they do not. A review of what Dynamic Risk Assessment is and the strategies to use to apply it within both the offshore and onshore work environments of the oil and gas industry is undertaken.
Performance Standards Enhance Asset Integrity Assurance
Authors: Cooke Steven J.
Published: April 2012

Plans are ultimately only as good as their execution. Without proper and timely execution, even the best safety measures and procedures will be ineffective. To improve the effective execution of critical safety processes and equipment a concise definition of expectations must be linked to the task and equipment performance measurements. This is accomplished through the development of Asset Integrity Performance Standards, which will be described in this paper.

ADGAS has developed a set of Performance Standards for Health, Safety and Environment Critical Equipment and Systems (HSE-CES) in compliance with a larger mandate in the ADNOC group of companies to assure the safety and integrity of its assets. These standards are grouped according to the common designations of barriers used in the "Bow-tie" diagrams for process safety. This assures the managers that all aspects of preventive and mitigation barriers are in place. The Performance Standards themselves are a compilation of references forming a continuous link from the design standards employed to achieve the stated objectives of the barrier to the final audit functions and document locations used to assure their proper implementation.

The use of these Performance Standards greatly improves the understanding of the processes and the asset criticality throughout the organization and provides a high level of transparency to the activities performed to assure continuing reliability and integrity of the assets. The integration of the entire lifecycle and purpose of critical assets into a single document (for each barrier type) is a best practice development from the previous independent collections of design, maintenance, inspection and audit specifications and records.
Public Protection and Gas Monitoring; Its Impact on the Community, Environment and the Bottom Line
Authors: Daher Elie
Published: April 2012

During typical well operations, production activities or processing plants, especially in sour environments, a barrier between the site and populated areas such as towns and villages is often overlooked. Operators and contractors are focusing on protecting site personnel while relying on simple general public guidelines to alert the neighboring communities. While the industry is seeing great progress towards a digital oilfield concept where monitoring of production and optimization of flow rates and fluids are remotely actuated to reduce the burden of manning the various oilfields and maximizing production of the reservoir, these concepts did not filter to the safety management of sites and to the public protection procedures that would apply on these sites.

A recent technology failure on March 6th 2011 at the Karachaganak Field resulted in a fatal outcome1. This incident occurred in March 2011, where one employee died and a second employee was found in a nearby hanger in a critical condition. Both employees were conducting cleaning works at the time of the incident. Individual protection gear, a gas indicator and special safety instructions all failed to save the life of the contractor's employee from Karachaganak's fatal atmosphere during the technology failure.

Village resident and leader of the village campaign for relocation, stated: "In accordance with official documents, in the event of an emergency at a well site, a plume of hydrogen sulfide could reach the village within 10–30 minutes, depending on the direction of the wind. The contractor is only obliged to notify village residents via a signal from a special tower located in the village and it is local authorities who must ensure the evacuation of residents. How this is to be conducted in such a short period of time remains unclear. Moreover, Berezovka residents themselves do not know what to do in such a situation; and what if an emission occurs at night? It is disturbing to think of the consequences that may occur in the event of an H2S situation".

Another technical failure in Canada in 2009 caused the release of 30,000 cubic meters of gas containing 6200ppm of H2S. The nearby community was not alerted until six hours after the release causing massive concern over procedures for public protection2.

This paper discusses lessons learned from the digital oilfield concepts and its applicability to remote safety monitoring and safety processes. In addition, suggestions for improvements and coordination with local villages and their authorities are also discussed.