bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Financial Innovations and Money Velocity in Uganda
Authors: Nampewo Dorothy , Opolot Jacob
Published: December 2016

This paper investigates the impact of financial innovations on the stability of money velocity. The paper contributes to the existing literature in three ways; first, we develop a simple analytical framework for money velocity taking into account the effect of financial innovations. Second, we test the model on Ugandan time series data using the ARDL bounds testing approach. Third, we check for the stability of the long‐run money velocity function. Results show significant negative and positive effects of financial innovations on the money velocity in the short and long run, respectively. In addition, the long‐run money velocity equation is stable despite the financial innovations that have evolved over time. Furthermore, other macroeconomic determinants of money velocity, including real income, the 91‐day treasury bill rates, inflation expectations and the exchange rate exhibited a significant and positive long‐run relationship with money velocity except for real income. These results suggest that financial innovations have not altered the long‐run stability of money velocity in Uganda. Thus, given the importance of financial innovations in enhancing the access to financial services, we recommend that more technological advances and diversification of financial products should be enhanced so as to improve financial sector development and overall economic growth.
Revisiting the Determinants of Unemployment in Nigeria: Do Resource Dependence and Financial Development Matter?
Authors: Ogbeide Frank Iyekoretin , Kanwanye Hilary , Kadiri Sunday
Published: December 2016

The paper examines the determinants of unemployment in Nigeria from 1981 to 2013, using the error correction model (ECM), and with ordinary least squares (OLS) method for robustness check. Results from the short‐run and long‐run regressions show that resource dependence and growth in private credit/GDP by banks significantly worsen labour unemployment, suggesting likely effects of resource‐curse, high cost of financial intermediation cum limited credit to the real economy. Real GDP per capita, FDI, trade openness and exchange rate depreciation significantly reduce labour unemployment in Nigeria, whereas increasing industrial capacity usage intensifies it. Government capital expenditure aggravates unemployment in both estimated models, though not significantly, showing rent‐seeking and prolonged deficit‐financing. Inflation had a mixed outcome and was not significant in both short‐run and long‐run estimation. Key policy implications of the study include the need to efficiently manage our natural resources; deepen the domestic financial sector; enhance fiscal discipline; promote a favourable macroeconomic environment to attract the right kind of real‐sector investment; and raising the economy's competitiveness in labour‐intensive processes.
The Institutional Quality Impact on Remittances in the ECOWAS Sub‐Region
Authors: Ajide K. Bello , Raheem Ibrahim Dolapo
Published: December 2016

The paper seeks to examine the impactful role of institutions in attracting remittances inflow to ECOWAS region for the period 1996–2013. In a bid to achieve this key objective, a system generalized method of moment (GMM) is adopted on a panel dataset in which insightful outcomes emanate. The results reveal an appreciable impact of institutional infrastructures on the migrants’ remittances in the region. More specifically, institutional measures of governance appear to act as a spur on remittances, but other institutional decompositions like economic and political governance structures constitute avoidable drags, judging by theoretical priors and statistical levels of significance. These results remain valid to the exclusion of the francophone countries from the original dataset. On the policy front, the overall target is for government to formulate policies that seek to address the symptomatic causes of low inflow of remittances into the region, with special focus on the institutional dimension of the governance framework. Among the auxiliary policy targets include those that would address the problems of dysfunctional institutions, as well as those that would deepen financial systems and engender improved growth of GDP per capita. The study also makes some suggestions for future enquiries.
Toward a Differentiated Understanding of the Value‐Creation Chain
Authors: Kuehnl Christina , Fürst Andreas , Homburg Christian , Staritz Matthias
Published: December 2016

The conventional view of the value‐creation chain suggests offering high‐value propositions at the product level (in terms of benefits provided by elements of the product) to attain high‐value perceptions at the customer level, which should ultimately result in high‐value appropriation at the firm level (i.e. relationship, volume, pricing and financial success). This study challenges this view and provides a differentiated understanding of the value‐creation chain. With a multi‐industry sample of 339 companies and a sample of 626 customers to validate managerial assessments, the authors apply a configurational approach to identify whether and to what extent offering high‐value propositions at the product level is necessary or sufficient for achieving superior value perceptions at the customer level and high‐value appropriation at the firm level. Taking into account the company‐internal and company‐external environment of the value‐creation chain, the study identifies seven value‐creation chain constellations.
Shifting the Goalposts? Analysing Changes to Performance Peer Groups Used to Determine the Remuneration of FTSE 100 CEOs
Authors: Skovoroda Rodion , Bruce Alistair
Published: December 2016

This paper examines year‐on‐year changes to the composition of performance peer groups used for relative performance evaluation in setting CEO pay in FTSE 100 companies and finds evidence of peer selection bias. The authors find that firms keep their peer groups weak by excluding relatively stronger performing peers. They also show that peer selection bias is less pronounced in firms with higher institutional investor ownership, which suggests that institutional investors might be aware of the risks of peer selection bias. The results suggest that peer group modifications can be viewed, at least in part, as an expression of managerial rent‐seeking.
Veterans' Location in Health Professional Shortage Areas: Implications for Access to Care and Workforce Supply
Authors: Doyle Jamie Mihoko , Streeter Robin A.
Published: December 2016

Objective

To describe the distribution of Veterans in areas of the United States where there are potentially inadequate supplies of health professionals, and to explore opportunities suggested by this distribution for fostering health workforce flexibility.

Data Sources

County‐level data from the 2015–2016 Health Resources and Services Administration's (HRSA's) Area Health Resources Files (AHRF) were used to estimate Veteran populations in HRSA‐designated health professional shortage areas (HPSAs). This information was then linked to 2015 VA health facility information from the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Study Design

Potential Veteran populations living in Shortage Area Counties with no VHA facilities were estimated, and the composition of these populations was explored by Census division and state.

Principal Findings

Nationwide, approximately 24 percent of all Veterans and 23 percent of Veterans enrolled in VHA health care live in Shortage Area Counties. These estimates mask considerable variation across states.

Conclusions

An examination of Veterans residing in Shortage Area Counties suggests extensive maldistribution of health services across the United States and the continued need to find ways to improve health care access for all Veterans. Effective avenues for doing so may include increasing health workforce flexibility through expansion of nurse practitioner scopes of practice.
Monocarboxylate Transporter‐1 Mediates the Protective Effects of Neutral‐pH Bicarbonate/Lactate‐Buffered Peritoneal Dialysis Fluid on Cell Viability and Apoptosis
Authors: Kuma Akihiro , Tamura Masahito , Ishimatsu Nana , Harada Yoshikazu , Izumi Hiroto , Miyamoto Tetsu , Furuno Yumi , Nakano Yoko , Serino Ryota , Otsuji Yutaka
Published: December 2016

We investigated the effects of bicarbonate/lactate‐buffered peritoneal dialysis fluid (B/L‐PDF) and lactate‐buffered PDF (L‐PDF) on cell viability and apoptosis, focusing on monocarboxylate transporters (MCTs). MCT‐1 transports lactate into cells. Cell viability and apoptosis of human peritoneal mesothelial cells (HPMCs) were examined by water‐soluble tetrazolium salt‐1 and TUNEL assays, respectively. The relative number of viable HPMCs was significantly decreased by L‐PDF at 48 h (8.8 ± 0.4%) compared with cells cultured in M199, but not by B/L‐PDF (66.7 ± 1.1%). Apoptosis was markedly induced by L‐PDF at 48 h (69.3 ± 16.2%), but not by B/L‐PDF (2.6 ± 0.3%). Knockdown of MCT‐1 by small interfering RNA (siRNA) attenuated the L‐PDF‐induced reduction of viable cells and increased apoptosis compared with control siRNA, but MCT‐4 knockdown had no effect. B/L‐PDF had lesser effects on cell viability and apoptosis of HPMCs compared with L‐PDF. These results suggest that B/L‐PDF biocompatibility occurs by avoiding the induction of apoptosis in HPMCs.
Quality of life following trauma before and after implementation of a physician‐staffed helicopter
Authors: Funder K. S. , Rasmussen L. S. , Hesselfeldt R. , Siersma V. , Lohse N. , Sonne A. , Wulffeld S. , Steinmetz J.
Published: December 2016

Background

Implementation of a physician‐staffed helicopter emergency medical service (PS‐HEMS) in Denmark was associated with lower 30‐day mortality in severely injured trauma patients and less time on social subsidy. However, the reduced 30‐day mortality in severely injured patients might be at the expense of a worse functional outcome and quality of life (QoL) in those who survive. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of a physician‐staffed helicopter on long‐term QoL in trauma patients.

Methods

Prospective, observational study including trauma patients who survived at least 3 years after injury. A 5‐month period prior to PS‐HEMS implementation was compared with the first 12 months after PS‐HEMS implementation. QoL was assessed 4.5 years after trauma by the SF‐36 questionnaire. Primary endpoint was the Physical Component Summary score.

Results

Of the 1994 patients assessed by a trauma team, 1521 were eligible for inclusion in the study. Of these, 566 (37%) gave consent to participate and received a questionnaire by mail, and 402 (71%) of them returned the questionnaire (n = 114 before PS‐HEMS; n = 288 after PS‐HEMS implementation). Older patients, women and patients with trauma in the after PS‐HEMS period were more likely to return the questionnaire. No significant association between QoL and period (before vs. after PS‐HEMS) was found; the Physical Component Summary scores were 50.0 and 50.9 in the before and after PS‐HEMS periods, respectively (P = 0.47). We also found no difference on multivariable analysis with adjustment for sex, age and injury severity score.

Conclusion

No significant difference in QoL among trauma patients was found after implementation of a PS‐HEMS.
Letter: years of life that could be saved by preventing HCC
Authors: Ponzetto A. , Holton J. , Vaira D.
Published: December 2016

Linked Content

This article is linked to Cucchetti et al paper. To view this article visit https://doi.org/10.1111/apt.13554.
Laparoscopic‐assisted abdominoperineal resection combined with en‐bloc prostatectomy using the trans‐sacral approach for locally invasive rectal cancer: A case report
Authors: Tashiro Jo , Yamaguchi Shigeki , Ishii Toshimasa , Kondo Hiroka , Hara Kiyoka
Published: December 2016

Laparoscopic‐assisted abdominoperineal resection and en‐bloc prostatectomy using the trans‐sacral approach for locally invasive rectal cancer that invades only the prostate is useful in order to avoid total pelvic exenteration. The patient was a 63‐year‐old man with cT4b (prostate) N1M0, stage IIIC rectal cancer. Curative resection was performed. Histopathological findings did not indicate definitive invasion into the prostate gland. The patient was discharged from the hospital on postoperative day 32 with an anastomotic leak and a ureteral catheter. The patient is able to urinate and has had no cancer recurrence. Laparoscopic bladder‐preserving surgery for locally invasive rectal cancer can preserve postoperative quality of life and provides oncological curability.
GitHub use in public administration in Canada: Early experience with a new collaboration tool
Authors: Longo Justin , Kelley Tanya M.
Published: December 2016

GitHub is a web‐based digital project hosting service that facilitates collaboration. We introduce how GitHub works and assess how it has been used in the public sector in Canada based on interviews with federal government leaders and a survey of Canadian public service GitHub users. With little research to date on public sector use of GitHub, and none on its use in Canadian governments, we explore the early experience with this collaboration tool and consider the possible implications for collaboration in government.
Genetic variants at 9p21.3 are associated with risk of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma in a Chinese population
Authors: Lin Xiaoming , Yan Caiwang , Gao Yong , Du Jiangbo , Zhu Xun , Yu Fei , Huang Tongtong , Dai Juncheng , Ma Hongxia , Jiang Yue , Yin Rong , Hu Zhibin , Jin Guangfu , Xu Lin , Shen Hongbing
Published: December 2016

Genome‐wide association studies have linked genetic variants at 9p21.3 to the risk of multiple cancers. However, the roles of genetic variants at 9p21.3 in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) development are largely unknown. We evaluated the genetic variants at 9p21.3 reported in cancer genome‐wide association studies with a case–control study including 2139 ESCC cases and 2273 controls in a Chinese population, and measured the mRNA expression levels of MTAP, CDKN2A, CDKN2B, and CDKN2B‐AS1 in paired ESCC tumor and adjacent normal tissues. We found that the G allele of rs7023329 was significantly associated with a decreased risk of ESCC with a per‐allele odds ratio of 0.84 (95% confidence interval, 0.77–0.91; P = 2.95 × 10−5). The rs7023329‐G allele was related to a high expression of MTAP (P = 0.020). The rs1679013‐C allele was independently associated with an increased risk of ESCC with a per‐allele odds ratio of 1.12 (95% confidence interval, 1.01–1.24; P = 0.039). We also found that the carriers of the risk allele rs1679013‐C had lower expression of CDKN2B than non‐carriers (P = 0.035). CDKN2B was also significantly downregulated in ESCC tumor tissues compared with adjacent normal tissues (P = 3.50×10−5). Therefore, our findings indicate that genetic variants at 9p21.3 may modulate the expression of MTAP and CDKN2B and contribute to ESCC susceptibility. This may further advance our understanding of the 9p21.3 locus in cancer development.
Tomorrow's Leaders and Today's Agents of Change? Children, Sustainability Education and Environmental Governance
Authors: Walker Catherine
Published: December 2016

Children are central to the rhetoric supporting global climate agreements, yet they are also envisaged to play a strategic role in materialising such agreements. Along with other household actors, children are implicated in localised efforts to manage global resource sustainability. As learners in educational systems that are being redesigned to encompass messages of sustainability, children are moreover positioned as ‘agents of change’ through sustainability education. Drawing on theoretical work on children's agency and interdependence, this review calls for greater attention to the structural and relational dimensions of environmental knowledge transmission to inform sustainability education. This is presented as one move towards constructing what Middlemiss (2014) terms a more ‘socially sensitive’ model of sustainable development.
Taxi Drivers, Infrastructures, and Urban Change in Globalizing Mumbai
Authors: BEDI TARINI
Published: December 2016

This paper focusses on taxis and the taxi industry in relationship to crisis and change in contemporary Mumbai. Through an ethnographic exploration of Mumbai's taxi modernization project, changes in the material aspects of the taxi and taxi system, and a community of hereditary taxi drivers known as chillia, I examine ways that infrastructure is understood, practiced, and contested. Focusing on how chillia drivers negotiate livelihoods in the context of contemporary moves to modernize, deregulate, and privatize the taxi trade, I argue that while rationalizing imperatives of infrastructural modernization are vital to jumpstarting urban change, they contend with multiple and shifting meanings that infrastructure building takes on among various actors in the city. Mumbai's taxi modernization project illuminates how negotiations around these meanings have the capacity to shape and redirect urban change both from “above” and “below.” [Urban Infrastructure; Globalization; Labor; Transportation; South Asia; Taxis; India]
How Religion, Race, and the Weedy Agency of Plants Shape Amazonian Home Gardens
Authors: Kawa Nicholas C.
Published: December 2016

Across Brazilian Amazonia, it is common to find rural households that keep plants with magico‐medicinal properties in their home gardens. Despite widespread occurrence of such plants, some Amazonians—especially in Evangelical communities—openly criticize their use as incongruent with Christian belief and practice. In this article, I offer ethnographic observations that indicate divergent attitudes toward magico‐medicinal plants between Evangelical Christians and Amazonian folk Catholics, the latter of whom borrow heavily from Afro‐Brazilian and indigenous religions. I contend that Evangelicals’ attempts to establish distance from such plants is due in part to histories of ethnic and racial marginalization that are indexed in their use. Still, many magico‐medicinal plants are weedy species that actively colonize areas occupied by humans, thus openly defying Evangelical attempts to evade them. In this manner, magico‐medicinal plants are not just subject to human agencies, but are arguably agents in their own right.
Shrimp Aquaculture, Social Capital, and Food Security in Rural Vietnam
Authors: Fly Jessie K.
Published: December 2016

This paper argues that coastal development in Vietnam and market‐based economic reform, more broadly, have produced household vulnerability in the form of food security for elderly residents left behind by rural–urban migration. Elderly only households are growing in proportion in rural Vietnam as the number of elderly individuals and rates of out‐migration increase. In Đông Hải, a small, shrimp‐farming village in the Mekong Delta, the livelihood transition to intensive shrimp aquaculture and resultant rising debt has pushed young adults out of the community in search of wage labor to support their families, leaving their aging parents behind. With that important loss of social capital, the subsistence strategies of elderly only households are constrained and food insecurity results, as evidenced in this study by dietary diversity and reliance on diet‐related coping strategies.
Theology of the Heart and Cognitio Dei Experimentalis (Experiential Knowledge of God)
Authors: Zaprometova Olga
Published: December 2016

The first meeting of the official Lutheran‐Pentecostal Dialogue took place in September 2016 and focused on introductions and our identity in Christ. This article sets out a narrative of a Russian Pentecostal with Lutheran roots, a specialization in Jewish studies, and an interest in cognitive studies. A basic challenge for the dialogue partners lies in understanding the crucial role of experience to our knowledge of the divine and the formulation of theology.
The Gross Motor Function Classification System Family Report Questionnaire: reliability between special‐education teachers and caregivers
Authors: Ramrit Sirinun , Yonglitthipagon Ponlapat , Janyacharoen Taweesak , Emasithi Alongkot , Siritaratiwat Wantana
Published: December 2016

Aim

The aim of this study was to investigate the reliability of the Thai Gross Motor Function Classification System Family Report Questionnaire (GMFCS‐FR) and the possibility of special‐education teachers and caregivers in the community using this system in children with cerebral palsy (CP).

Method

The reliability was examined by two teachers and two caregivers who classified 21 children with CP aged 2 to 12 years. A GMFCS‐FR workshop was organized for raters. The teachers and caregivers classified the mobility of 362 children. The rater reliability was analysed using the weighted kappa coefficient. The possibility of using the GMFCS‐FR is reported. The reliability of using the GMFCS‐FR in the community was analysed by the intraclass correlation coefficient.

Results

The intrarater reliability ranged from 0.91 to 1.00. The interrater reliability between teachers was 0.85 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.69–0.97) and between caregivers was 0.84 (95% CI 0.70–0.97). Ninety‐seven percent of raters used the Thai GMFCS‐FR correctly. The overall intraclass correlation coefficient between raters was 0.90 (95% CI 0.88–0.92).

Interpretation

The Thai GMFCS‐FR is a reliable system for classifying the motor function of young children with CP by teachers and caregivers in the community.
Applying a Family Resilience Framework in Training, Practice, and Research: Mastering the Art of the Possible
Authors: Walsh Froma
Published: December 2016

With growing interest in systemic views of human resilience, this article updates and clarifies our understanding of the concept of resilience as involving multilevel dynamic processes over time. Family resilience refers to the functioning of the family system in dealing with adversity: Assessment and intervention focus on the family impact of stressful life challenges and the family processes that foster positive adaptation for the family unit and all members. The application of a family resilience framework is discussed and illustrated in clinical and community‐based training and practice. Use of the author's research‐informed map of core processes in family resilience is briefly noted, highlighting the recursive and synergistic influences of transactional processes within families and with their social environment. Given the inherently contextual nature of the construct of resilience, varied process elements may be more or less useful, depending on different adverse situations over time, with a major crisis; disruptive transitions; or chronic multistress conditions. This perspective is attuned to the diversity of family cultures and structures, their resources and constraints, socio‐cultural and developmental influences, and the viability of varied pathways in resilience.
Explicit Definitions and Implicit Assumptions about Post‐Socialist Cities in Academic Writings
Authors: Ferenčuhová Slavomíra
Published: December 2016

In the past five years, several critical commentaries have been published about the state of the art in research and theory on post‐socialist cities. Besides overviewing and generalizing the findings of previous studies, authors have identified several weak points in this field. This paper attempts to echo this body of work through reflecting on one simple, yet crucial question that has emerged in some of the contributions. This question is what the post‐socialist city actually stands for in urban research. The paper discusses the variety of meanings that this concept has acquired in academic literature and in scholars' attempts to explain the characteristic development of cities in former socialist countries since the 1990s. It argues that besides explicit definitions, different implicit imageries of the post‐socialist city have appeared in urban research. It has been presented as a passive structure moulded by the events in the political and economic sphere, as a specific place creatively responding to local and translocal processes, and as a place of innovation. The last post‐socialist‐city‐imagery partly responds to impulses coming recently from international urban theory, especially from the calls for a critical rethinking of the hierarchies reproduced in and through theoretical concepts (Robinson 2006; McFarlane 2010). I argue that we are currently witnessing a shift in the way the concept is being used. This brings new stimuli, topics, and also challenges to this field of research.
Enhanced Oxygen Isotope Determination in Uranium Oxides Using BrF5 Fluorination
Authors: Dierick Malorie , Pili Éric , Assayag Nelly , Agrinier Pierre
Published: December 2016

A new method for accurate determination of oxygen isotopes in uranium oxides encountered in the nuclear fuel cycle was developed using the conventional BrF5 fluorination technique. Laser‐assisted fluorination was tested for comparison. We focused on fine powders of triuranium octoxide (U3O8), uranium dioxide (UO2±x with 0 ≤ x ≤ 0.25), uranium trioxide (UO3.nH2O, with 0.8 ≤ n ≤ 2) and diuranates (M2U2O7.nH2O, with M = NH4, Na or Mg0.5 and 0 ≤ n ≤ 6). Fluorination at room temperature and heating under vacuum at 150 °C are shown to eliminate both adsorbed and structural water from the powder samples. Precision fit for purpose of δ18O values (± 0.3‰, 1s) and oxygen yields (close to 100%) were obtained for U3O8 and UO2 where oxygen is only bound to uranium. A lower precision was observed for UO3.nH2O and M2U2O7.nH2O where oxygen is both present in the structural H2O and bonded to uranium and where the extracted O2(g) can be contaminated by NF3 and NOx compounds. Laser‐assisted fluorination gave shifted δ18O values between +0.8 and +1.4‰ for U3O8, around −0.8‰ for UO3.nH2O and between −3.9 and −4.5‰ for M2U2O7.nH2O (± 0.3‰, 1s) compared with the conventional method.
Effectiveness and safety of tolvaptan in liver cirrhosis patients with edema: Interim results of post‐marketing surveillance of tolvaptan in liver cirrhosis (START study)
Authors: Sakaida Isao , Terai Shuji , Kurosaki Masayuki , Yasuda Moriyoshi , Okada Mitsuru , Bando Kosuke , Fukuta Yasuhiko
Published: December 2016

Aim

Loop diuretics and spironolactone are used in patients with hepatic edema, but they are sometimes associated with insufficient responses as well as adverse events. Tolvaptan, a vasopressin type 2 receptor antagonist, was approved for hepatic edema in 2013. A large‐scale post‐marketing surveillance study has been carried out to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of tolvaptan in real‐world clinical settings.

Methods

Patients with hepatic cirrhosis with insufficient response to conventional diuretics were enrolled. The observational period was up to 6 months. Changes in body weight and clinical symptoms were measured to evaluate effectiveness. The incidence of adverse drug reactions was summarized as a safety measure.

Results

Of 970 patients enrolled, 463 were included in the safety analysis. Of this group, 340 were included in the effectiveness analysis. Decreases in body weight from baseline were −2.38 kg on day 7 and −3.52 kg on day 14. Ascites and bloated feeling was significantly improved within 14 days. The mean change in body weight depended on estimated glomerular filtration rate levels. The most frequently reported adverse drug reaction was thirst (6.9% of patients). Serum sodium level of ≥146 mEq/L was observed in 12 patients (2.7%).

Conclusions

In the real‐world clinical setting, tolvaptan showed aquaretic effectiveness in patients with cirrhosis. The mean change in body weight depended on renal function. We recommend tolvaptan use for hepatic cirrhosis at a stage in which the renal function is maintained.
Digital pathology in clinical use: where are we now and what is holding us back?
Authors: Griffin Jon , Treanor Darren
Published: December 2016

Whole slide imaging is being used increasingly in research applications and in frozen section, consultation and external quality assurance practice. Digital pathology, when integrated with other digital tools such as barcoding, specimen tracking and digital dictation, can be integrated into the histopathology workflow, from specimen accession to report sign‐out. These elements can bring about improvements in the safety, quality and efficiency of a histopathology department. The present paper reviews the evidence for these benefits. We then discuss the challenges of implementing a fully digital pathology workflow, including the regulatory environment, validation of whole slide imaging and the evidence for the design of a digital pathology workstation.
ADHD: The Statistics of A “National Disaster”
Authors: Schwarz Alan
Published: December 2016

In an extract from his new book, investigative reporter Alan Schwarz tells how surveys and analyses by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention revealed the true extent of ADHD diagnoses in the USA
Math Panic
Authors: Tarran Brian
Published: December 2016

From financial crises to Facebook “filter bubbles”, data scientist Cathy O'Neil sets out to expose the dangers posed by algorithms in her new book, Weapons of Math Destruction. Interview by Brian Tarran
From Regulation to Enforcement in the EU Policy Cycle: A New Type of Functional Spillover?
Authors: Scholten Miroslava , Scholten Daniel
Published: December 2016

The European Union has acquired enforcement competences in areas where it previously only had regulatory authority. This expansion of competences from one step in the policy cycle to another is a blind spot in the works on functional spillover. While the increasing enforcement powers of the EU are mentioned, it is in the context of more competences, not what type. This paper investigates the nature of this ‘policy cycle type of functional spillover’, argues that this is a new type of functional spillover and discusses the significance of this finding. The paper offers original data concerning the expansion of EU's competences in direct enforcement.
Optimization of ultrasound assisted extraction of of goji berry (Lycium barbarum) fruits and evaluation of extracts' bioactivity
Authors: Skenderidis Prodromos , Petrotos Kostantinos , Giavasis Ioannis , Hadjichristodoulou Christos , Tsakalof Andreas
Published: December 2016

Popularity of goji berry fruit extracts as functional ingredients is growing rapidly. “Green” aqueous extraction technologies are preferable to organic solvent‐based processes as they improve the bioactivity and added value of these extracts. This work aimed at optimizing the ultrasound assisted aqueous extraction (UAE) of Lycium barbarum for both locally produced and imported fruits and comparing the bioactivity in relation to extraction conditions and origin of fruits, using a response surface model. The optimal solvent/extracted material ratio, extraction temperature, ultrasonic power, and extraction time were determined to achieve the following optimal quality/bioactivity indices: total solids, carbohydrates, phenolics, and antioxidant capacity based on IC‐50 values of the DPPH method. Fruits of different origin had mostly similar optimal extraction conditions and antioxidant capacity but differed significantly in carbohydrate content, which was higher for locally produced fruits (1.1
g/L extract) compared to imported ones (0.89
g/L extract).

Practical applications

In this study, the UAE process for goji berry extracts was successfully optimized using response surface methodology, and the most preferable conditions for optimal extraction performance and optimal bioactivity were determined. With regard to extraction yield, the optimal water/raw material ratio (33.9%), extraction temperature (32.02°C), ultrasonic power (30.95 w/cm2), and extraction time (32.03 min) were determined. Under optimal extraction conditions, locally produced fruits had no significant difference in extraction yield, and antioxidant capacity (IC50 values) compared to imported ones. However, locally produced fruits had significantly higher carbohydrate content and somewhat lower polyphenol content under optimal UAE conditions, showing that fruit origin may affect the composition of fruit extracts. These findings are a useful tool for producers of goji berry extracts to achieve an effective and economically viable extraction process as well as optimal composition and bioactivity in terms of antioxidant capacity, which are indeed important traits of these fruit extracts.
Assessing impacts of pulsed electric fields on quality attributes and furfural and hydroxymethylfurfural formations in apple juice
Authors: Akdemir Evrendilek Gulsun , Celik Perihan , Agcam Erdal , Akyildiz Asiye
Published: December 2016

Effects of pulsed electric fields (PEF) processing on physical properties, bioactive compounds, and formations of furfural and hydroxylmethylfurfural (HMF) were determined for apple juice. A central composite design to determine the optimal number and order of experimental runs and the best‐fit multiple nonlinear regression (BF‐MNLR) models to quantify and predict rates of change in the response variables as a function of the PEF processing were used. No significant difference was detected between the control and PEF‐treated apple juice in terms of physical properties, organic acids, and polyphenols of (−)‐epicatechin, caffeic acid, p‐coumaric acid, ferrulic acid, quercetin, and gallic acid. The highest predictive power (
) belonged to a* (88%), (+)‐catechin (90.7%), and HMF (93.8%). Except for chlorogenic acid, no significant decrease was detected in the initial concentrations of the bioactive compounds. PEF processing provided retention of quality attributes and bioactive compounds without significant formation of furfural and HMF.

Practical applications

Heat processing causes degradation of bioactive compounds, changes in physical properties, and formation of undesirable compounds in apple juice; however, PEF processing provided the preservation of most bioactive compounds without significant changes in physical properties. Thus, findings in this study revealed that PEF processing is a viable option for fruit juice industry, especially, for apple juice pasteurization.
Reverse Mortgage Loans: A Quantitative Analysis
Authors: NAKAJIMA MAKOTO , TELYUKOVA IRINA A.
Published: December 2016

Reverse mortgage loans (RMLs) allow older homeowners to borrow against housing wealth without moving. Despite rapid growth in this market, only 1.9% of eligible homeowners had RMLs in 2013. In this paper, we analyze reverse mortgages in a calibrated life‐cycle model of retirement. The average welfare gain from RMLs is $252 per homeowner, and $1,770 per RML borrower. Bequest motives, uncertainty about health and expenses, and loan costs account for low demand. According to the model, the Great Recession's impact differs across age, income, and wealth distributions, with a threefold increase in RML demand for lowest income and oldest households.
RE‐AIM Analysis of a School‐Based Nutrition Education Intervention in Kindergarteners
Authors: Larsen Andrew L. , Liao Yue , Alberts Janel , Huh Jimi , Robertson Trina , Dunton Genevieve F.
Published: December 2016

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND

Few nutrition interventions in kindergarten classes have been evaluated, and none has been tested for program effectiveness, implementation, and dissemination. Building a Healthy Me (BHM) is a nutrition intervention for kindergarteners that is classroom‐based and includes a family component. This study evaluated the public health impact of BHM in California kindergarten classrooms using the RE‐AIM (reach, efficacy, adoption, implementation, and maintenance) framework.

METHODS

A quasi‐experimental design assessed pre‐to‐post changes in nutrition knowledge, dietary consumption, and parent behaviors of 25 intervention classrooms (414 students, 264 parents); and postintervention differences in nutrition knowledge between the intervention classrooms and 4 control classrooms measured at postintervention only (103 students).

RESULTS

Intervention students improved in knowledge of food groups and healthy breakfast/snack options, and scored higher than control students in food group knowledge at postintervention (ps < .05). Parents of intervention group children increased their use of food labels, and intervention group children increased intake of several healthy foods and decreased intake of candy and fried potatoes (ps < .05). The BHM program reached 41% of kindergarteners attending public schools in California, and teachers implemented most lesson material.

CONCLUSIONS

The BHM program was effective, implemented with fidelity, and broadly disseminated, highlighting its potential public health impact for kindergarteners.
A Comment on Dehez and Tellone, “Data games: sharing public goods with exclusion”
Authors: Khmelnitskaya Anna , Driessen Theo
Published: December 2016

This comment shows that the data cost game introduced in Dehez and Tellone (Journal of Public Economic Theory, 2013) coincides with the nonadditive component of the library cost game studied in Driessen, Khmelnitskaya, and Sales (TOP, 2012) where the core, nucleolus, and Shapley value were also investigated.
Cost‐effectiveness of elbasvir/grazoprevir use in treatment‐naive and treatment‐experienced patients with hepatitis C virus genotype 1 infection and chronic kidney disease in the United States
Authors: Elbasha E. , Greaves W. , Roth D. , Nwankwo C.
Published: December 2016

Among patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) in the United States, HCV infection causes significant morbidity and mortality and results in substantial healthcare costs. A once‐daily oral regimen of elbasvir/grazoprevir (EBR/GZR) for 12 weeks was found to be a safe and efficacious treatment for HCV in patients with CKD. We evaluated the cost‐effectiveness of EBR/GZR in treatment‐naïve and treatment‐experienced CKD patients compared with no treatment (NoTx) and pegylated interferon plus ribavirin (peg‐IFN/RBV) using a computer‐based model of the natural history of chronic HCV genotype 1 infection, CKD and liver disease. Data on baseline characteristics of the simulated patients were obtained from NHANES, 2000–2010. Model inputs were estimated from published studies. Cost of treatment with EBR/GZR and peg‐INF/RBV were based on wholesale acquisition cost. All costs were from a third‐party payer perspective and were expressed in 2015 U.S. dollars. We estimated lifetime incidence of liver‐related complications, liver transplantation, kidney transplantation, end‐stage live disease mortality and end‐stage renal disease mortality; lifetime quality‐adjusted life years (QALY); and incremental cost‐utility ratios (ICUR). The model predicted that EBR/GZR will significantly reduce the incidence of liver‐related complications and prolong life in patients with chronic HCV genotype 1 infection and CKD compared with NoTx or use of peg‐IFN/RBV. EBR/GZR‐based regimens resulted in higher average remaining QALYs and higher costs (11.5716, $191 242) compared with NoTx (8.9199, $156 236) or peg‐INF/RBV (10.2857, $186 701). Peg‐IFN/RBV is not cost‐effective, and the ICUR of EBR/GZR compared with NoTx was $13 200/QALY. Treatment of a patient on haemodialysis with EBR/GZR resulted in a higher ICUR ($217 000/QALY). Assuming a threshold of $100 000 per QALY gained for cost‐effectiveness, use of elbasvir/grazoprevir to treat an average patient with CKD can be considered cost‐effective in the United States.
Behavioural responses of Ixodes ricinus nymphs to carbon dioxide and rodent odour
Authors: VAN DUIJVENDIJK G. , GORT G. , SPRONG H. , TAKKEN W.
Published: December 2016

Many haematophagous ectoparasites use carbon dioxide (CO2) and host odour to detect and locate their hosts. The tick Ixodes ricinus (Linnaeus) (Ixodida: Ixodidae) walks only small distances and quests in vegetation until it encounters a host. The differential effects of CO2 and host odour on the host‐finding behaviour of I. ricinus have, however, never been clarified and hence represent the subject of this study. The effects of CO2 and odour from bank voles on the activation and attraction of I. ricinus nymphs were analysed in a Y‐tube olfactometer. Carbon dioxide evoked a response in the absence and presence of host odour, but did not attract nymphs. Host odour, however, did not evoke a response but did attract nymphs in the absence and presence of CO2. The current results show that CO2 is an activator, but not an attractant, and that host odour is an attractant, but not an activator, of I. ricinus nymphs, and provide ecological insights into the host‐finding behaviour of I. ricinus.
Changes in gait patterns induced by rhythmic auditory stimulation for adolescents with acquired brain injury
Authors: Kim Soo Ji , Shin Yoon‐Kyum , Yoo Ga Eul , Chong Hyun Ju , Cho Sung‐Rae
Published: December 2016

The effects of rhythmic auditory stimulation (RAS) on gait in adolescents with acquired brain injury (ABI) were investigated. A total of 14 adolescents with ABI were initially recruited, and 12 were included in the final analysis (n = 6 each). They were randomly assigned to the experimental (RAS) or the control (conventional gait training) groups. The experimental group received gait training with RAS three times a week for 4 weeks. For both groups, spatiotemporal parameters and kinematic data, such as dynamic motions of joints on three‐dimensional planes during a gait cycle and the range of motion in each joint, were collected. Significant group differences in pre–post changes were observed in cadence, walking velocity, and step time, indicating that there were greater improvements in those parameters in the RAS group compared with the control group. Significant increases in hip and knee motions in the sagittal plane were also observed in the RAS group. The changes in kinematic data significantly differed between groups, particularly from terminal stance to mid‐swing phase. An increase of both spatiotemporal parameters and corresponding kinematic changes of hip and knee joints after RAS protocol indicates that the use of rhythmic cueing may change gait patterns in adolescents with ABI.
Substantivism about truth
Authors: Sher Gila
Published: December 2016

Substantivism is a general philosophical methodology advocating a substantive approach to philosophical theorizing. In this article, I present an overview of this methodology with a special emphasis on the field of truth. I begin with a framework for understanding what is at stake in the substantivist–deflationist debate and describe the substantivist critique of deflationism. I then proceed to discuss contemporary substantivism as a positive methodology, present examples of recent substantivist theories of truth, delineate several principles of philosophical substantivism, and connect it to contemporary thought about the nature and methods of philosophy. Due to limitations of space, I am unable to discuss all the forms contemporary substantivism has taken. But I try to give a clear sense of the central principles, challenges, and promise of this methodology.
Race, poverty, and markets: urban inequality after the neoliberal turn
Authors: Robinson John N.
Published: December 2016

Classic scholarship on the problem of urban inequality tends to highlight the absence of “the market” and the correspondingly problematic and inadequate role of the state in poor communities. This article explores how the relationship between markets and urban poverty has shifted in recent decades. Scholars have become increasingly attentive to the growing influence of market logics and privatization—core features of “neoliberal” change—in areas such as housing, education, federal policy, local politics, employment, and social services. I discuss how this recent work adds to our understanding of how markets shape urban disadvantage. I also argue that—given the rising influence of market logics in city governance—urban scholarship stands to benefit from a deeper engagement with insights from the field of economic sociology. Building bridges between the two subfields, I argue, will help to specify what markets mean in the lives of the urban poor, and also can bring issues of race and poverty to the attention of economic sociologists.
Evaluation of clinical coding data to determine causes of critical bleeding in patients receiving massive transfusion: a bi‐national, multicentre, cross‐sectional study
Authors: McQuilten Z. K. , Zatta A. J. , Andrianopoulos N. , Aoki N. , Stevenson L. , Badami K. G. , Bird R. , Cole‐Sinclair M. F. , Hurn C. , Cameron P. A. , Isbister J. P. , Phillips L. E. , Wood E. M. ,   On the behalf of the Australian New Zealand Massive Transfusion Registry Steering Committee
Published: December 2016

Objectives

To evaluate the use of routinely collected data to determine the cause(s) of critical bleeding in patients who receive massive transfusion (MT).

Background

Routinely collected data are increasingly being used to describe and evaluate transfusion practice.

Materials/methods

Chart reviews were undertaken on 10 randomly selected MT patients at 48 hospitals across Australia and New Zealand to determine the cause(s) of critical bleeding. Diagnosis‐related group (DRG) and International Classification of Diseases (ICD) codes were extracted separately and used to assign each patient a cause of critical bleeding. These were compared against chart review using percentage agreement and kappa statistics.

Results

A total of 427 MT patients were included with complete ICD and DRG data for 427 (100%) and 396 (93%), respectively. Good overall agreement was found between chart review and ICD codes (78·3%; κ = 0·74, 95% CI 0·70–0·79) and only fair overall agreement with DRG (51%; κ = 0·45, 95% CI 0·40–0·50). Both ICD and DRG were sensitive and accurate for classifying obstetric haemorrhage patients (98% sensitivity and κ > 0·94). However, compared with the ICD algorithm, DRGs were less sensitive and accurate in classifying bleeding as a result of gastrointestinal haemorrhage (74% vs 8%; κ = 0·75 vs 0·1), trauma (92% vs 62%; κ = 0·78 vs 0·67), cardiac (80% vs 57%; κ = 0·79 vs 0·60) and vascular surgery (64% vs 56%; κ = 0·69 vs 0·65).

Conclusion

Algorithms using ICD codes can determine the cause of critical bleeding in patients requiring MT with good to excellent agreement with clinical history. DRG are less suitable to determine critical bleeding causes.
Comparison of Sprint Reaction and Visual Reaction Times of Athletes in Different Branches
Authors: Akyüz Murat , Uzaldi Başar Basri , Akyüz Öznur , Doğru Yeliz
Published: December 2016

The aims of this study are to analyse sprint reaction and visual reaction times of female athletes of different branches competing in Professional leagues and to show the differences between them. 42 voluntary female athletes from various branches of Professional leagues of İstanbul (volleyball, basketball, handball) were included in the experiment group of this study. Lafeyetta Moart Reaction meter for visual reaction measurements and Fusionsport Pro Photocell meter for sprint reaction test measurements were used for participating athletes. Mean measurements were obtained for all tests. SPSS 22 statistical package program was used for analysing data for Windows. Kruskall Wallis, Anova and Post Hoc test was used while comparing the data between the groups. Statistical significance level was taken as p<0.05. Study results show that no statistically significant difference was observed among the mean visual reaction values of basketball, volleyball and handball players (p>0.05). A statistically significant difference was observed among the averages of sprint reaction total values of players (p<0.05). According to visual reaction measurements, handball players were better compared with the other branches (p<0.05). No relationship was observed between visual reaction and sprint reactions of players among the branches.