bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Prospects, Benefits and Challenges of Sui Generis Protection of Geographical Indications of South Africa
Authors: Sibanda Omphemetse S.
Published: June 2016

This article appraises the prospects, benefits and challenges of sui generis protection of geographical indications (GIs) in South Africa (SA). In SA, there is no specific legislation protecting GIs, and the country relies, amongst others, on the common law system and various legislations, such as the Agricultural Products Standards Act of 1990; Counterfeit Goods of 1997; the Liquor Products; the Trademark Act; the Intellectual Property Laws Amendment Act of 2013; and the Consumer Protection Act of 1998. It is therefore argued that SA needs a specific law that considers GIs as a specific, separate intellectual property right (IPR).
Multidimensional Profiling of Task Stress States for Human Factors
Authors: Matthews Gerald
Published: June 2016

Objective:

This article advocates multidimensional assessment of task stress in human factors and reviews the use of the Dundee Stress State Questionnaire (DSSQ) for evaluation of systems and operators.

Background:

Contemporary stress research has progressed from an exclusive focus on environmental stressors to transactional perspectives on the stress process. Performance impacts of stress reflect the operator’s dynamic attempts to understand and cope with task demands. Multidimensional stress assessments are necessary to gauge the different forms of system-operator interaction.

Method:

This review discusses the theoretical and practical use of the DSSQ in evaluating multidimensional patterns of stress response. It presents psychometric evidence for the multidimensional perspective and illustrative profiles of subjective state response to task stressors and environments. Evidence is also presented on stress state correlations with related variables, including personality, stress process measures, psychophysiological response, and objective task performance.

Results:

Evidence supports the validity of the DSSQ as a task stress measure. Studies of various simulated environments show that different tasks elicit different profiles of stress state response. Operator characteristics such as resilience predict individual differences in state response to stressors. Structural equation modeling may be used to understand performance impacts of stress states.

Conclusion:

Multidimensional assessment affords insight into the stress process in a variety of human factors contexts. Integrating subjective and psychophysiological assessment is a priority for future research.

Application:

Stress state measurement contributes to evaluating system design, countermeasures to stress and fatigue, and performance vulnerabilities. It may also support personnel selection and diagnostic monitoring of operators.
Body Composition Outcomes of a Qigong Intervention Among Community-Dwelling Aging Adults
Authors: Chang Mei-Ying , Chen Hsiao-Yu
Published: June 2016

Aging causes various changes in body composition, which are critical implications for health and physical functioning in aging adults. The aim of this study was to explore the body composition outcomes of a qigong intervention among community-dwelling aging adults. This was a quasi-experimental study in which 90 participants were recruited. Forty-eight participants (experimental group) attended a 30-min qigong program 3 times per week for 12 weeks, whereas 42 participants (control group) continued performing their usual daily activities. The experimental group achieved a greater reduction in the fat mass percentage at the posttest, and exhibited increased fat-free mass, lean body mass percentage, and lean body mass to fat mass ratio compared with the controls. No difference between the two groups in body mass index, fat mass, and lean body mass was observed. These results indicated that the qigong intervention showed beneficial outcomes of body composition among community-dwelling aging adults.
Frailty assessment to predict short term outcomes after cardiac surgery
Authors: Marshall Lachlan , Griffin Rayleene , Mundy Julie
Published: June 2016

Background

Frailty has been used to predict outcome in gerontology but has only recently been applied to measures of perioperative risk stratification. It provides information on physiological reserve not addressed by current scoring systems which are heavily reliant on age.

Methods

We enrolled 123 patients over 70-years old (mean age 77.1 years, 69% male) undergoing open cardiac surgery, and assessed in 11 different frailty measures. These were combined into a cumulative score that was stratified into robust (49%), borderline (37%), and frail (14%) groups. The groups were compared for a short-term composite measure comprising mortality, deep sternal wound infection, inter-facility discharge or prolonged length of stay, as well as 3-month mortality and quality of life and 6-month mortality.

Results

Frail patients had a considerably higher incidence of an unfavorable composite outcome (52.9%) compared to their borderline (28.3%) and robust (13.3%) counterparts ( p = 0.003). Hospital mortality was 4/123 (3.3%) with a further 3 within 30 days, and 2 late deaths occurred within 6 months postoperatively. This was statistically significant with greater mortality at 6 months in the frail cohort. Quality of life at 3 months showed a trend towards greater improvement in the borderline patients compared to either the robust or frail groups.

Discussion

Frailty status impacts on both short- and intermediate-term outcomes, including postoperative quality of life. In an ageing population where nonmaleficence and resource allocation are increasingly important, individual assessment in marginal surgical candidates may provide additional information to both the patient and clinician.
The optimal starting point for survival time in pulmonary metastasectomy
Authors: Kamiyoshihara Mitsuhiro , Igai Hitoshi , Ibe Takashi , Kawatani Natsuko , Yoshikawa Ryohei
Published: June 2016

Aim

Studies of metastatic lung cancer have used various starting points for calculating the survival period, including the time of primary tumor resection and the first and final pulmonary metastasectomy. This study examined differences in prognostic factors according to the starting point used to calculate survival time.

Methods

We performed surgical resection of pulmonary metastases in 202 consecutive patients between 1999 and 2013. Of these, 146 (excluding overlapping cases) underwent pulmonary metastasectomy. We examined the survival period after resection in patients with pulmonary metastases (group M) and primary tumors (group P). The prognostic influence of variables on survival was analyzed.

Results

The 5-year survival rate was 76.7% in group P and 62.0% in group M. The significant prognostic factors were the disease-free interval (>1 and >2 years) in group P, and maximum tumor diameter in group M. Interestingly, multivariate analysis showed that the significant prognostic factors (age and nodule diameter) were identical in both groups.

Conclusions

We believe that the potential confounding factors were counterbalanced by the effect of prognostic factors on multivariate analysis in patients undergoing pulmonary metastasectomy. If the survival period is defined as starting from the time of the primary tumor resection, this may resolve the variance in survival, because pulmonary metastasectomy is only one option among several available treatments.
Magnetic resonance imaging of degenerative changes of the posterior cruciate ligament
Authors: Draghi Ferdinando , Bortolotto Chandra , Coscia Davide Renato , Canepari Mario , Gitto Salvatore
Published: June 2016

Background

Mucoid degeneration and ganglia reflect a continuum of degenerative changes within the posterior cruciate ligament (PCL).

Purpose

To assess the prevalence of and radiologists’ familiarity with PCL mucoid degeneration and ganglia.

Material and Methods

Knee magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) from July 2013 to June 2015, excluding patients who had a preceding trauma or MRI findings indicative of a prior injury, were retrospectively reviewed, with the specific request to assess degenerative changes of the PCL, by the same musculoskeletal radiologists who previously reported these examinations, and one fellow.

Results

A total of 692 patients entered this study. The radiologists and the fellow together identified mucoid degeneration in 34 patients (4.9%), ganglia in 14 patients (2.0%), and both in four patients (0.6%). Several patterns of PCL mucoid degeneration were identified: diffuse thickening in seven patients, partial thickening in 16 (four associated with a ganglion), longitudinal intraligamentous PCL signal-intensity abnormalities resembling a “tram track” in 15. In all cases there was increased signal intensity on fluid-sensitive sequences. In the previous reports, only three cases of PCL mucoid degeneration out of 38 (7.9%) were described, with intraligamentous PCL signal-intensity abnormalities. In the reports of the patients with degeneration and ganglia, only ganglia were described. In the previous reports, ganglia were correctly diagnosed.

Conclusion

Mucoid degeneration of the PCL is much more common than previously assumed and is underestimated by radiologists.
Tim-3 suppression combined with TLR3 activation enhances antiviral immune response in patients with chronic HCV infection
Authors: Nan Yue-min , Su Shan-shan , Niu Xue-min , Zhao Su-xian , Zhang Yu-guo , Wang Rong-qi , Kong Ling-bo , He Huan , Zheng Huan-wei , Sun Dian-xing
Published: June 2016

Objective

To investigate the regulation mechanism of T cell immunoglobulin and mucin domain-3 (Tim-3) combined with toll-like receptor 3 (TLR3) or TLR4 on antiviral immune and inflammatory response in patients with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection.

Methods

Patients with chronic HCV infection and healthy control subjects were recruited. Patients received interferon (IFN)-α based therapy. Plasma galectin-9 (Gal-9) was quantitated. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were cultured with TLR3 or TLR4 agonists, alone or in combination with Tim-3 antagonist. Levels of IFN-α, TNF-α, and 2′-5′ oligoadenylate synthetase (2′-5′OAS), myxovirus resistance protein A (MxA) and suppressor of cytokine 1 (SOCS1) RNA in PBMC cultures were evaluated.

Results

Plasma Gal-9 levels were increased in patients ( n = 52) compared with controls ( n = 20) and significantly declined at treatment week 12 and 24 weeks post-treatment. IFN-α, 2′-5′OAS, MxA, TNF-α and SOCS1 were upregulated by TLR3 and TLR4 agonists. TNF-α and SOCS1 levels were suppressed by the addition of Tim-3 antagonist.

Conclusions

Tim-3 blockade in combination with TLR activation induces the expression of antiviral molecules without a significant increase in TNF-α or SOCS1.
Predicting Firm Success From the Facial Appearance of Chief Executive Officers of Non-Profit Organizations
Authors: Re Daniel E. , Rule Nicholas O.
Published: June 2016

Recent research has demonstrated that judgments of Chief Executive Officers’ (CEOs’) faces predict their firms’ financial performance, finding that characteristics associated with higher power (e.g., dominance) predict greater profits. Most of these studies have focused on CEOs of profit-based businesses, where the main criterion for success is financial gain. Here, we examined whether facial appearance might predict measures of success in a sample of CEOs of non-profit organizations (NPOs). Indeed, contrary to findings for the CEOs of profit-based businesses, judgments of leadership and power from the faces of CEOs of NPOs negatively correlated with multiple measures of charitable success (Study 1). Moreover, CEOs of NPOs looked less powerful than the CEOs of profit-based businesses (Study 2) and leadership ratings positively associated with warmth-based traits and NPO success when participants knew the faces belonged to CEOs of NPOs (Study 3). CEOs who look less dominant may therefore achieve greater success in leading NPOs, opposite the relationship found for the CEOs of profit-based companies. Thus, the relationship between facial appearance and leadership success varies by organizational context.
Mobility of the elderly in Peru: Life course, labour and the rise of a pensioner economy in a Peruvian peasant community
Authors: Vincent Susan
Published: June 2016

This case study combines economic and life course history to highlight new forms of inequality. While a previous generation of industrial workers had jobs with benefits, their children have become a precariat. Peru is no exception, despite its booming resource economy. In a context of continuing strong inter-generational ties, pensioners from the community of Allpachico support their precariat children and receive personalized elder care in return. State-funded community development through participatory budgeting, an attempt to stave off the ‘resource curse’, has provided residential services that can ease pensioners’ senior years. This permits them to choose whether to live in their community of origin or elsewhere. In contrast, elderly women and men without pensions may have to leave their peasant community homes to be cared for by their urban precariat children. Local economies that are oriented to pensioners’ needs, however, are necessarily unstable since pensions cannot be inherited and the neoliberal economy generates few new jobs.
On roughness-induced adhesion enhancement
Authors: Ciavarella M
Published: June 2016

While adhesion reduction due to roughness is not surprising, roughness induced adhesion remained a puzzle until recently. Guduru and coworkers have shown a very convincing mechanism to explain both the increase of strength and of toughness in a sphere with a concentric single scale of waviness. Kesari and coworkers later showed some very elegant convenient asymptotic expansions of Guduru’s solution. This enhancement is very high and indeed, using Kesari’s solution, it is here shown to depend uniquely on a Johnson parameter for adhesion of a sinusoidal contact. However, counterintuitively, it leads to unbounded enhancement for conditions of large roughness for which the Johnson parameter is very low. Guduru postulated that this enhancement should occur after sufficiently large pressure has been applied to any spherical contact. Also, although the enhancement is limited to the Johnson, Kendall and Roberts (JKR) regime of large soft materials with high adhesion, the DMT limit for the smooth sphere is found otherwise. However, for hard materials, even the Derjaguin, Muller and Toporov (DMT) limit for the smooth solids is very hard to observe, which suggests that adhesion reduction is also not yet well understood.

The limitations of the assumption of simply connected area are here further discussed, and a well-known model for hard particles in contact with rough planes due to Rumpf is used to show that, in the range where an unbounded increase is predicted, orders of magnitude reduction is instead expected for rigid solids. We suggest that Guduru’s model may be close to an upper bound for adhesion of rough bodies, while the Rumpf–Rabinovich model may be close to a lower bound.
Be Careful What You Wish For
Authors: Valdés Gonzalo , Barley Stephen R.
Published: June 2016

Learning at work is usually seen as beneficial for the professional and personal lives of workers. In this article, we propose that learning’s relationship to worker well-being may be more complicated. We posit that learning can become a burden (instead of always being a benefit) in occupations that are learning intensive and tightly associated with the postindustrial economy. Results of analyses using data from the General Social Survey suggest that learning lessens work–family conflict by increasing job satisfaction, but at the same time, learning makes work–family conflict worse by leading people to work longer hours and exacerbating work-related stress.
Contact shear stresses in dowel-type joints with expansive kits of timber structures
Authors: Fueyo Jose G , Domínguez Manuel , Cabezas Jose A
Published: June 2016

This paper studies the shear stresses appearing in the contact zones of dowel-type joints of timber structures using expansive kits. To achieve this goal, a finite element model capable of determining the effect of using these kits on the global response of the joint has been prepared. For its development, different tools have been used to model the expansion process, the contact between the different parts of the joint, the compression pressures triggered by this contact, the resulting shear stresses caused by friction and, finally, the effect of all these circumstances on the overall performance of the joint, especially on the relationship between the applied load and the related displacement. The design of the model has been checked for correctness using experimental tests. The results obtained show that the use of expansive kits slightly improves the load-carrying capacity of the dowel through the rope effect.
Considering national varieties in the temporary staffing industry and institutional change: Evidence from the UK and Germany
Authors: Ferreira Jennifer
Published: June 2016

The temporary staffing industry has experienced significant growth in recent decades across many countries and sectors. The particular characteristics of the temporary staffing industry are influenced by the national institutional context in which they are embedded. This article presents empirical findings to investigate the concept of a national temporary staffing industry using two case studies, the UK and Germany. Through analysis of two national markets for temporary staffing, the article discusses the importance of investigating the wider institutional environment in which an industry is embedded, the interactions and interdependencies between the actors involved, and the relationships and activities through which an industry is co-created and constituted. Theoretically, this article seeks to stress the importance of considering how institutional systems change, rather than focusing on characteristics used to categorise socio-economic systems. Empirically, this article reveals the features and developments of two national temporary staffing industries within Europe. This advances our understanding of changes in the temporary staffing industry in two European settings, and also highlights the importance of considering geographically specific national varieties of economic systems as dynamic institutional ecologies.
Successful evaluation of cognitive function and the nature of cognitive deficits among people with schizophrenia in clinical rehabilitation settings
Authors: John Alexander Panickacheril , Yeak Kim , Ayres Helen , Sevastos Marie , Moore Elizabeth
Published: June 2016

Objectives:

Despite possessing considerable relevance for planning and delivery of effective rehabilitation interventions, systematic evaluation of cognitive function is often ignored in clinical practice. This paper describes a successful method for measuring cognitive function and the nature of cognitive deficits (CD) in people with schizophrenia admitted to psychiatric rehabilitation services.

Methods:

Data on the cognitive functioning of consecutive patients with schizophrenia / schizoaffective disorder admitted during a 5-year period to a public in-patient rehabilitation facility was collated retrospectively and analysed. The Brief Assessment of Cognition in Schizophrenia (BACS) was used to evaluate cognitive function.

Results:

It was possible to administer the BACS to 122 of 135 consecutive admissions. The mean composite score on the BACS was 1.8 standard deviations below the norm, and 43% had moderate or severe CD. The BACS sub-tests of list learning and symbol coding revealed more severe deficits.

Conclusions:

The study indicates that evaluation of cognitive function using brief instruments is feasible in psychiatric rehabilitation settings. Global and domain-specific CD were prevalent among people with schizophrenia. In view of the strong association of cognitive functioning with community functioning and rehabilitation outcomes, further studies exploring the feasibility and utility of routinely evaluating cognitive function are warranted.
Abnormal Distribution and Function of Monocyte Subsets in Patients With Primary Immune Thrombocytopenia
Authors: Yang Yanhui , Zhang Xian , Zhang Donglei , Li Huiyuan , Ma Li , Xuan Min , Wang Hongmei , Yang Renchi
Published: June 2016

Human monocytes are heterogeneous and play an important role in autoimmune diseases. However, the distribution and function of monocyte subsets remain unclear in primary immune thrombocytopenia (ITP). In this study, we determined the frequencies of monocyte subsets in 71 untreated patients with active ITP and 49 healthy controls by flow cytometry. Compared with controls, the frequency of nonclassical monocytes was significantly increased in patients with active ITP but decreased after complete remission. The intermediate subset was also increased in patients with active ITP and produced the highest levels of tumor necrosis factor α and interleukin 1β. Both the nonclassical and intermediate subsets were negatively correlated with the platelet counts. We further determined the correlation between monocyte subsets and the proliferation of platelet-autoreactive T cells. The purified monocyte subsets were cocultured with CD4+T cells and autologous platelets. The nonclassical subset showed the highest capability of promoting platelet reactive T-cell proliferation and significantly promoted the secretion of interferon γ among the 3 subsets. In conclusion, the nonclassical and intermediate monocyte subsets are both expanded and play different roles in the pathogenesis of ITP.
Achieving sex equality in executive appointments
Authors: Allen Peter
Published: June 2016

In a political context, the ‘glass ceiling’ is shorthand for the barriers faced by women politicians, resulting in them being less likely to reach executive roles at the same rate as their male colleagues. This article outlines a case where there was sex equality in executive appointments; a cohort study of British Labour Party MPs elected at the 1997 parliamentary election. Examining executive appointments at the cabinet and sub-cabinet level, descriptive analysis shows no statistically significant differences in the proportion of men and women reaching executive positions, or the prestige and gender type of these positions. Regression modelling confirms this, and sex is not found to be a significant driver of these patterns. Three factors are identified that combined to achieve this – critical actors, favourable context and a left-wing party in government. The article concludes with a call for further comparative research using the cohort study method.
Forming limit diagrams of fine-grained Al 5083 produced by equal channel angular rolling process
Authors: Rahimi HR , Sedighi M , Hashemi R
Published: June 2016

The objective of this research is to study the strain forming limits of Al–Mg alloy (5083) sheet, fabricated by equal channel angular rolling process at room temperature. For this purpose, the equal channel angular rolling process was executed at room temperature in three passes. Mechanical properties, microhardness, and microstructure were investigated after the equal channel angular rolling process. Uniaxial tensile tests of the equal channel angular rolling process produced samples and showed that yield and ultimate stresses increase, while the uniform elongation to fracture decreases in comparison with the annealed state. There was a continuous hardness enhancement by increasing the number of the equal channel angular rolling passes. After the third pass, the amount of hardness raised by 73% in comparison with the annealed sample. In the fourth pass, the hardness reduced slightly, that was attributed to the strain saturation in room temperature and was followed by high surface cracks. In the annealed condition, the average grain size was 45 µm, and after the third equal channel angular rolling pass, this amount was reduced to 10 µm. Furthermore, the forming limit diagrams were determined experimentally, using the Nakazima test. The obtained results show that after the third pass, the forming limit diagrams’ level move downward, meaning that a reduction occurred in the forming limits of equal channel angular rolled samples.
An optimized model for lifetime prediction of LED-based light  bars using luminance degradation method
Authors: Zhang JP , Bai YF , Zhang X , Chen WL , Li WB , Cheng GL , Chen X
Published: June 2016

An optimized model is established to improve the accuracy and efficiency of lifetime estimation for LED-based light bars. A Weibull function is used to fit test data of remaining luminance under two groups of accelerated stresses, and a method for determining the optimal test time is put forward. The results show that the optimized model for lifetime prediction best reflects the characteristic of luminance degradation. Furthermore, the error of the accelerated lifetime first decreases and then increases, finally decreasing again, which confirms that the method for determining the optimal test time is feasible given the level of accuracy required.
The prediction of perceived colour differences by colour fidelity metrics
Authors: Xu W , Wei M , Smet KAG , Lin Y
Published: June 2016

A psychophysical experiment was conducted to evaluate the performance of various colour spaces, colour difference formulae, colour matching functions and colour fidelity measures in predicting perceived colour differences. Ten observers evaluated the colour differences of 20 colour samples under 11 pairs of light sources. The results suggest that the colour differences calculated using the CIE 1964 colour matching functions in the CAM02-UCS colour space can predict the perceived colour differences. IES- Rf which used the 20 colour samples and the reference illuminants used in the experiment was highly correlated to the perceived colour difference. The importance of a uniform spectral sensitivity for colour fidelity measures is also identified.
Organ Procurement in Forensic Deaths
Authors: Delannoy Yann , Jousset Nathalie , Averland Benoit , Hedouin Valéry , Rougé-Maillart Clotilde , Gosset Didier
Published: June 2016

The need for organs has increased in the recent years, and this shortage will only worsen. In addition to the organs procured from brain-dead donors, a procedure for non-heart-beating donors was therefore developed. When deaths involve legal proceedings, the medical examiner makes the decision of whether or not to remove organs. To assist medical examiner in their decision-making, a number of forensic scientific societies aimed to develop recommendations, and legal adjustments were adopted. Nevertheless, these do present certain limits in special cases of procurement: Maastricht class I and II non-heart-beating donors. The peculiarity of this procedure stems from the urgency of the process. Compliance with temporal criteria would require that the deceased subject be removed from the crime scene even before the arrival of the authorities. This is extremely problematic legally and technically because forensic teams must collect evidence at crime scenes. Developments will have to be made to further minimize the restrictions on donations in forensic deaths.
Original Research: Combined model of bladder detrusor smooth muscle and interstitial cells
Authors: Rosenberg Josef , Byrtus Miroslav , Stengl Milan
Published: June 2016

Although patients with lower urinary tract symptoms constitute a large and still growing population, understanding of bladder detrusor muscle physiology remains limited. Understanding the interactions between the detrusor smooth muscle cells and other bladder cell types (e.g. interstitial cells, IC) that may significantly contribute to coordinating and modulating detrusor contractions represents a considerable challenge. Computer modeling could help to elucidate some properties that are difficult to address experimentally; therefore, we developed in silico models of detrusor smooth muscle cell and interstitial cells, coupled through gap junctions. The models include all of the major ion conductances and transporters described in smooth muscle cell and interstitial cells in the literature. The model of normal detrusor muscle (smooth muscle cell and interstitial cells coupled through gap junctions) completely reproduced the experimental results obtained with detrusor strips in the presence of several pharmacological interventions (ryanodine, caffeine, nimodipine), whereas the model of smooth muscle cell alone (without interstitial cells) failed to reproduce the experimental results. Next, a model of overactive bladder, a highly prevalent clinical condition in both men and women with increasing incidence at older ages, was produced by modifying several processes as reported previously: a reduction of Ca2+-release through ryanodine receptors and a reduction of Ca2+-dependent K+-conductance with augmented gap junctional coupling. This model was also able to reproduce the pharmacological modulation of overactive bladder. In conclusion, a model of bladder detrusor muscle was developed that reproduced experimental results obtained in both normal and overactive bladder preparations. The results indicate that the non-smooth muscle cells of the detrusor (interstitial cells) contribute significantly to the contractile behavior of bladder detrusor muscle and should not be neglected. The model suggests that reduced Ca2+-release through ryanodine receptors and Ca2+-dependent K+-conductance together with augmented gap junctional coupling might play a major role in overactive bladder pathogenesis.
Informed Consent—Uninformed Participants
Authors: Perrault Evan K. , Nazione Samantha A.
Published: June 2016

As informed consent forms continue to lengthen, are these lengthening forms helping to create better informed participants? The aim of this research was to determine whether the length of consent forms affected reading frequency and comprehension, and to provide recommendations on how to improve consent forms in the social sciences so they are more likely to be read. A quasi-experiment was conducted using actual consent forms at two liberal arts schools, one requiring a long form (463 words, n = 73) and one requiring a shorter form (236 words, n = 57). Participants exposed to the shorter form reported fully reading, or at least skimming the form more frequently than those exposed to the longer form. Those exposed to the shorter form also comprehended more of the form’s information. The majority of participants indicated consent forms need to be shortened if researchers want future participants to be more likely to read these forms’ contents. Additional recommendations are discussed.
Gender Differences on the Road to Redemption
Authors: Curcio Gina , Pattavina April , Fisher William
Published: June 2016

Redemption research examines how much time must pass after a criminal offense before an offender is considered “redeemed.” This study adds to redemption research by using a nationally representative sample from the United States to determine whether years to redemption found in prior research replicate and will be the first to determine whether there are gender differences. We also explore factors that influence who makes it to the redemption point. Findings reveal that while men reach the redemption point after 10 years, women reach the redemption point after 4 years. Policy implications of these findings are discussed.
From Minnesota to Cairo: Student perceptions of community-based learning
Authors: Ibrahim Mona M , Rosenheim Marnie R , Amer Mona M , Larson Haley A
Published: June 2016

This study explored perceptions of community-based learning in a sample of 176 students at a liberal arts college in Cairo, Egypt, and a sample of 176 students at a liberal arts college in the Midwestern United States. Students responded to a 38-item rating scale that assessed gains in several domains as a result of engaging in community-based learning and provided ratings of their level of interest in and satisfaction with the community-based learning experience. The rating scale revealed differences in the extent of gains in several domains reported by each sample, as indicated by the results of independent samples t tests. Open-ended questions were used to solicit student opinions about their community-based learning experiences. These questions revealed differences in the benefits, challenges, and types of recommendations that were reported by the students in both samples. Suggestions are offered for culturally relevant administration of community-based learning pedagogy as well as for future research.
Restoring identity: The use of religion as a mechanism to transition between an identity of sexual offending to a non-offending identity
Authors: Kewley Stephanie , Larkin Michael , Harkins Leigh , Beech Anthony R
Published: June 2016

This study examines the unique experience of participants who during their reintegration back into the community, following a conviction for sexual offending, re-engaged with religious and spiritual communities. To explore meaning Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) was adopted. Four in-depth interviews of men convicted for sexual crimes were undertaken and analysed. Findings indicate that through religious affiliation participants were: exposed to new prosocial networks; provided opportunities to seek forgiveness; felt a sense of belonging and affiliation; and were psychologically comforted. However, the study also found that the process of identity transition from ‘offender’ to ‘non-offender’ was not seamless or straightforward for those with an innate sexual deviancy towards children, caution is therefore advised.
Assessment of physical premises of selected pharmacies of Nepal
Authors: Poudel Bhupendra Kumar , Ishii Itsuko
Published: June 2016

Background:

This work attempts to investigate the standards of physical premises of pharmacies in terms of cleanliness, ventilation, protection from physical environment, spaciousness and storage facilities of two selected districts of Nepal: Kathmandu and Kaski.

Methods:

A cross-sectional, observational study of 100 randomly selected retail and wholesale pharmacies (55 from Kathmandu and 45 from Kaski) was conducted for their compliance to provisions of physical premises: cleanliness, ventilation, protection from physical environment, spaciousness and storage facilities. Preliminarily, scoring was done by converting 5-point Likert scale to a 100-point scale as follows: 1 = 0–20, 2 = 21–40, 3 = 41–60, 4 = 61–80 and 5 = 81–100. These scores were then reported as poor (score ⩽ 40), below average (score of 41–49), average (score of 50), above average (score of 51–60) and good (score ⩾ 61). Cronbach’s alpha for retails and wholesales obtained was .720 and .757, respectively.

Results:

In wholesales, protection from physical environment was least scored among other components, with the mean score 34.7 ± 8.3 for Kathmandu and 37.3 ± 13.3 for Kaski. Ventilation was scored 35.3 ± 6.3 for Kathmandu and 39.3 ± 11.6 for Kaski. All other components were obtained below average. However, in retails, the storage facilities were rated ‘poor’ with mean score 36.3 ± 13.9 for Kathmandu and 36.0 ± 11.9 for Kaski. Most other components were scored above average except for ventilation which was scored ‘good’. It was found that there was no significant difference between physical premises of the pharmacies of Kathmandu and Kaski in terms of all the indicators. The findings suggest that physical premise of many pharmacies was not found appropriate as provisioned in the good pharmacy practice requirements of Codes on Sales and Distribution of Drugs.

Conclusion:

Most pharmacies were found non-compliant to the aforementioned pharmacy premise components. Therefore, key partners should come up with commitment for increasing compliance to the legislative provisions of physical premises for ensuring quality and safety of medicines.
Do Total Knee Arthroplasty Patients Have a Higher Activity Level Compared to Patients With Osteoarthritis?
Authors: Kahn Timothy L. , Schwarzkopf Ran
Published: June 2016

Background:

Despite the alleviation of osteoarthritis (OA) symptoms that total knee arthroplasty (TKA) provides for patients with end-stage knee OA, recent studies have suggested that TKA may not increase physical activity levels. In this study, we compare the physical activity levels of patients with OA treated nonoperatively (non-TKA) with both patients who had received TKA (post-TKA) and patients who received TKA within 3 years of data collection (pre-TKA).

Methods:

Utilizing the Osteoarthritis Initiative database, accelerometry data were collected from non-TKA, pre-TKA, and post-TKA patients. Accelerometry data were subdivided by physical activity intensity levels, yielding daily minutes of each level of activity. Physical activity levels were then compared between non-TKA and pre-TKA/post-TKA patients. Physical activity levels for each patient were also compared to the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) guidelines for physical activity.

Results:

There was no difference in physical activity between non-TKA and pre-TKA patients, with the exception of non-TKA patients achieving more daily minutes of vigorous activity ( P < .001). There was no difference in physical activity between non-TKA and post-TKA patients. Although 11.6% of non-TKA patients met DHHS guidelines, only 4.8% of pre-TKA and 5.3% of post-TKA patients met guidelines.

Conclusion:

Despite the improvements in patient-reported outcome measures following TKA, we found that TKA alone does not improve physical activity levels beyond those seen in the average patient with OA. In our study, the vast majority of patients with OA, treated nonoperatively or operatively, did not meet current DHHS guidelines for physical activity.
(Mis)Perceptions of Ethnic Group Size and Consequences for Community Expectations and Cooperation With Law Enforcement
Authors: Miles-Johnson Toby , Fay-Ramirez Suzanna , Wiedlitzka Susann
Published: June 2016

The changing composition of race and ethnic group size has been noted for Western nations over the last 15 years. Analysis of this change has linked fear of crime and attitudes toward immigrants and prejudice. Changes in ethnic composition are associated with movement of White residents out of traditionally White communities, rising ethnic tension as the ethnic mix shifts, and a heightened sense of injustice regarding the justice system. (Mis)perceptions of ethnic groups size shape attitudes toward minority groups, as well as policy, practice, and individual behavior in the context of the community. This study seeks to understand the extent of such misperceptions in the Australian context and whether misperceptions of race and ethnic composition are associated with beliefs and attitudes toward formal and informal social control. Utilizing Blalock’s racial threat hypothesis, this study analyzes whether perceived relative ethnic group size is associated with self-reported willingness to cooperate with police as a way to minimize perceived threat. Findings suggest that respondents overestimate the size of minority populations while underestimating the majority White composition and that these misperceived distortions in ethnic group size have consequences for informal and formal social control.
An integrative imputation method based on multi-omics datasets
Authors: Lin Dongdong , Zhang Jigang , Li Jingyao , Xu Chao , Deng Hong-Wen , Wang Yu-Ping
Published: June 2016

Background

Integrative analysis of multi-omics data is becoming increasingly important to unravel functional mechanisms of complex diseases. However, the currently available multi-omics datasets inevitably suffer from missing values due to technical limitations and various constrains in experiments. These missing values severely hinder integrative analysis of multi-omics data. Current imputation methods mainly focus on using single omics data while ignoring biological interconnections and information imbedded in multi-omics data sets.

Results

In this study, a novel multi-omics imputation method was proposed to integrate multiple correlated omics datasets for improving the imputation accuracy. Our method was designed to: 1) combine the estimates of missing value from individual omics data itself as well as from other omics, and 2) simultaneously impute multiple missing omics datasets by an iterative algorithm. We compared our method with five imputation methods using single omics data at different noise levels, sample sizes and data missing rates. The results demonstrated the advantage and efficiency of our method, consistently in terms of the imputation error and the recovery of mRNA-miRNA network structure.

Conclusions

We concluded that our proposed imputation method can utilize more biological information to minimize the imputation error and thus can improve the performance of downstream analysis such as genetic regulatory network construction.
Subnational Debt Renegotiation and Elections: Experimentation and Reputation in the Brazilian Fiscal Federalism
Authors: Bugarin Maurício Soares
Published: June 2016

The present paper analyzes the effect of elections on subnational fiscal policy after debt renegotiations between local (state) governments and the Federal government. First, a stylized model determines under which conditions a state will accept the debt renego- tiation requirements and highlights an incentive for the state to reduce tax effort after renegotiation. Next, a dynamic model shows that elections bring about new incentives for nonpayment of debt interests to the Federal government. The model’s solution yields two perfect Bayesian equilibria. In the first “experimentation equilibrium” new state governors decide to stop payment of debt interests in order to test the Federal govern- ment’s willingness to get involved in a politically costly confrontation. In the second “reputation equilibrium” the Federal government decides to withhold federal transfers to any defaulting state, in spite of the high political cost of that decision, in order to avoid defaulting by other states in the future.
Pension Reform in Brazil: Transitional Issues in a Model with Endogenous Labor Supply
Authors: Ferreira Sergio Guimarães
Published: June 2016

Brazilian PAYG system has been under financial stress and needs to be reformed. A com- putational general equilibrium model with 55 overlapping generations is used to simulate macroeconomic and welfare impacts of alternative social security reforms. Transition turns out to have quite different redistributional effects for the generations involved de- pending on which tax is used to finance it. There is no unanimity about which transitional tax path maximizes individual welfare. I study potential voting results if generations choose between the PAYG and a set of transitional schemes.
Intergenerational Mobility of Wages in Brazil
Authors: Ferreira Sergio Guimarães , Veloso Fernando A.
Published: June 2016

We present evidence on intergenerational mobility of wages in Brazil using a large household survey. We estimate the wage elasticity coeﬃcient through a two-sample instrumental variable procedure (Angrist and Krueger (1992) and Arellano and Meghir (1992)). We ﬁnd that the degree of intergenerational mobility of wages in Brazil is lower than the one observed in developed countries. The degree of mobility varies across regions and racial groups. Our results also show that wage mobility has been increasing for younger cohorts. We also ﬁnd evidence of signiﬁcant nonlinearities in the mobility pattern in Brazil and that the intergenerational transmission of education is related to wage mobility in several ways.
Two-Sided Altruism in an OLG Model with Incomplete Markets and Default
Authors: Maldonado Wilfredo L. , Orrillo Jaime
Published: June 2016

This paper shows the existence of equilibrium and its non-triviality (i.e. there exist, in all periods, both trade and default in the security markets) in an overlapping generation model with incomplete markets. This result is obtained by assuming that agents in the economy exhibit two-sided altruism in the following way: each agent may leave a ﬁnancial inheritance to his only oﬀspring (forward altruism) in the last period of his life, and in the same period, the descendant may accumulate debts in the name of the agent i.e., the father (backward altruism). Thus, if the descendant does not honor the commitment acquired in the name of his antecessor, he will suﬀer penalties in his utility function. To avoid the excessive issuance of debt, we shall suppose that the agent (the father) suﬀers a disutility in proportion to the net value of the debt left to his descendant (the son).
Goodness-of-ﬁt Tests Focus on Value-at-Risk Estimation
Authors: Barbachan José Santiago Fajardo , Ornelas José Renato Haas , De Farias Aquiles Rocha
Published: June 2016

A common statistical problem in ﬁnance is measuring the goodness-of-ﬁt of a given distribution to real world data. This can be done using distances to measure how close an empirical distribution is from a theoretical distribution. The tails of the distribution should receive special importance if the focus is on Value-at-Risk (VaR) calculations. This paper analyzes the use of distances to test the goodness-of-ﬁt of estimated distributions for VaR calculation purposes. The Crnkovic and Drachman (1996) distance and a new distance are used to perform goodness-of-ﬁt tests. The critical values of the tests are obtained using Monte Carlo simulation, and goodness-of-ﬁt tests are performed based on the distances. The power of the tests is assessed through Monte Carlo experiments, showing good results for sample sizes greater than 250. The US Dollar/Brazilian Real exchange rate and the Ibovespa index are used as examples of practical applications of how to test the hypothesis that an empirical distribution is equal to an estimated one. The estimated distributions considered are the Generalized Hyperbolic (GH), the NIG (Normal Inverse Gaussian) and Normal. The test results rejected the null hypothesis for the Normal distribution, but did not reject it for the Generalized Hyperbolic and NIG, both at a 1% signiﬁcance level.
Assessing Debt Sustainability in Brazil
Authors: De Carvalho Alexandre , Salomão Pedro A. S.
Published: June 2016

We study Ramsey model for an open economy applied to the case of Brazil. We ﬁnd optimal tra jectories of consumption, investment, capital stock and net foreign liabilities and, with this, analyze debt sustainability in Brazil. A new approach to capturing optimal tra jectories is presented. The main tools are the Stable Manifold Theorem and the Lambda Lemma, normally used in the ﬁeld of dynamical systems.
The Fiscal Theory of the Price Level and the Interaction of Monetary and Fiscal Policies: The Brazilian Case
Authors: Moreira Tito Belchior S. , E Souza Geraldo da Silva , Almeida Charles Lima de
Published: June 2016

This paper aims to derive an optimal monetary policy rule in a context of ﬁscal disequilibrium and to empirically test whether Brazil presents active or passive ﬁscal and monetary policies. We analyze the transmission channels of the ﬁscal and monetary policies through estimation of a Philips curve and the ﬁscal IS curve. The results indicate that the ﬁscal deﬁcit is statistically signiﬁcant and aﬀects the inﬂation rate indirectly via output gap. The empirical ﬁndings using the Leeper model indicate that the monetary policy is passive whereas the ﬁscal policy is active. In this context, we found empirical evidence that the Brazilian economy shows a ﬁscal dominance regime for the period 1995: I to 2006: II.