bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Inter-Relationship Between Electrocardiographic Left Ventricular Hypertrophy and QT Prolongation as Predictors of Increased Risk of Mortality in the General Population
Authors: Soliman Elsayed Z. , Shah Amit J. , Boerkircher Andrew , Li Yabing , Rautaharju Pentti M.
Published: April 2014

Background—

Prolonged-QT commonly coexists in the ECG with left ventricular hypertrophy (ECG-LVH). However, it is unclear whether to what extent QT prolongation coexisting with ECG-LVH can explain the prognostic significance of ECG-LVH, and whether prolonged-QT coexisting with ECG-LVH should be considered as an innocent consequence of ECG-LVH.

Methods and Results—

The study population consisted of 7506 participants (mean age, 59.4±13.3 years; 49% whites; and 47% men) from the US Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. ECG-LVH was defined by Cornell voltage criteria. Prolonged heart-rate–adjusted QT (prolonged-QTa) was defined as QTa≥460 ms in women or 450 ms in men. Cox proportional hazards analysis was used to calculate the hazard ratios with 95% confidence intervals for the risk of all-cause mortality for various combinations of ECG-LVH and prolonged-QTa. ECG-LVH was present in 4.2% (N=312) of the participants, of whom 16.4% had prolonged-QTa. In a multivariable-adjusted model and compared with the group without ECG-LVH or prolonged-QTa, mortality risk was highest in the group with concomitant ECG-LVH and prolonged-QTa (hazard ratio, 1.63; 95% confidence interval, 1.12–2.36), followed by isolated ECG-LVH (1.48; 1.24–1.77), and then isolated prolonged-QTa (1.27; 1.12–1.46). In models with similar adjustment where ECG-LVH and prolonged-QTa were entered as 2 separate variables and subsequently additionally adjusted for each other, the mortality risk was essentially unchanged for both variables.

Conclusions—

Although prolonged-QT commonly coexists with LVH, both are independent markers of poor prognosis. Concomitant presence of prolonged-QT and ECG-LVH carries a higher risk than either predictor alone.
Number Needed to Entrain
Authors: Maruyama Mitsunori , Yamamoto Teppei , Abe Junko , Yodogawa Kenji , Seino Yoshihiko , Atarashi Hirotsugu , Shimizu Wataru
Published: April 2014

Background—

Measuring postpacing intervals (PPIs) is the standard maneuver for localizing reentrant tachycardia circuits. However, changes or termination of the tachycardia during entrainment pacing, or difficulties in defining the correct local activity, limit the use of PPIs.

Methods and Results—

We hypothesized that the number of pacing stimuli needed to entrain (NNE) was useful for mapping intra-atrial reentrant tachycardias. First, 10 patients with typical atrial flutter were studied to characterize the NNE. Next, 317 entrainment attempts in 30 patients with 76 intra-atrial reentrant tachycardias were analyzed to determine the efficacy of the NNE. The NNE was small at sites within the reentrant circuit (median 2) and large at remote sites during typical atrial flutter. The NNE depended on the pacing cycle length and coupling interval of the initial paced beat, where the NNE became smaller at shorter pacing cycle lengths and coupling intervals. The NNE highly correlated with the difference between the PPI and tachycardia cycle length (
r
= 0.906;
P
<0.001). When the pacing cycle length and coupling interval were 16 to 30 ms below the tachycardia cycle length, a NNE ≤2 and >3 predicted a PPI−tachycardia cycle length ≤20 and >20 ms, respectively, with 100% accuracy. Thirty-six (11%) entrainment attempts changed or terminated intra-atrial reentrant tachycardia. Importantly, the NNE remained valid in those cases. Furthermore, the NNE provided additional information in cases with some difficulties with PPI measurements.

Conclusions—

The NNE is a simple and reliable criterion, which facilitates mapping intra-atrial reentrant tachycardia.

Clinical Trial Registration—

URL:
http://www.clinicaltrials.gov
. Unique identifier: NCT001747.
Epidermal Growth Factor and Erythropoietin Infusion Accelerate Functional Recovery in Combination With Rehabilitation
Authors: Jeffers Matthew S. , Hoyles Amy , Morshead Cindi , Corbett Dale
Published: April 2014

Background and Purpose—

Rehabilitation is the only treatment option for chronic stroke deficits, but unfortunately, it often provides incomplete recovery. In this study, a novel combination of growth factor administration and rehabilitation therapy was used to facilitate functional recovery in a rat model of cortical stroke.

Methods—

Ischemia was induced via injection of endothelin-1 into the sensorimotor cortex. This was followed by either a 2-week infusion of epidermal growth factor and erythropoietin or artificial cerebrospinal fluid into the ipsilateral lateral ventricle. Two weeks after ischemia, animals began an 8-week enriched rehabilitation program. Functional recovery was assessed after ischemia using the Montoya staircase-reaching task, beam-traversing, and cylinder test of forelimb asymmetry.

Results—

The combination of growth factor infusion and rehabilitation led to a significant acceleration in recovery in the staircase task. When compared with controls, animals receiving the combination treatment attained significant recovery of function at 4 weeks after stroke, whereas those receiving rehabilitation alone did not recover until 10 weeks. Significant recovery was also observed on the beam-traversing and cylinder tasks.

Conclusions—

Combining behavioral rehabilitation with growth factor infusion accelerates motor recovery. These data suggest a promising new avenue of combination therapies that may have the potential to reduce the rehabilitation time necessary to recover from sensorimotor deficits arising from stroke.
Migration and Indigenous Communities in the Southern States of Oaxaca and Chiapas, Mexico
Authors: Wohlgemuth Neusa Hidalgo-Monroy
Published: April 2014

Abstract

Globalization has increased the mobility of labor, product of lower fertility rates and working age populations in developed nations that creates a demand for migrant workers to sustain national economic growth. According to the United Nations Population Fund in 2010, three percent of the world’s population lived outside their country of origin. Migration is an important force in development and it also has become an important factor in social change processes. Perceived as a force that can contribute to development, migration has become a focus of state-level policy-making planning policies creating a growing interest in the political and economic consequences of migration for both receiving and sending communities.

This paper offers an overview of the different factors that are leading to migration out of Oaxaca and Chiapas, and the consequences to local indigenous societies. The paper also presents viable existing alternatives to rural development that have been developed by local small-scale farmers that can help reduce the massive exodus of people and consequently destruction of communities.
Ibn Barraǧān and Ibn ʿArabī on the Prediction of the Capture of Jerusalem in 583/1187 by Saladin
Authors: Bellver Jose
Published: April 2014

Abstract

During the celebration of the capture of Aleppo by Saladin on ṣafar 18th, 579/June 11th, 1183, the qāḍī Muḥyī l-Dīn b. Zakī l-Dīn al-Dimašqī recited a poem in which he ventured the possibility of conquering Jerusalem in the month of raǧab, as this was the case four years later in 583/1187. Muḥyī l-Dīn b. al-Zakī was asked about the source of his prediction and he answered that he found it in Ibn Barraǧān’s Commentary of the Koran in the beginning of sura al-Rūm (Kor 30, 1-4), where the predicted year of the capture was also right. Even though the prediction became well-known, there is no account of the particular way it was obtained, except for the text in Ibn Barraǧān’s Koranic commentary. Instead, we only have later authors stating that Ibn Barraǧān based his analysis upon astrology. Some time later, in his al-Futūḥāt al-makkiyya, Ibn ʿArabī considered twice Ibn Barraǧān’s prediction and drew the same result by applying the science of letters to the same Koranic verses. However, Ibn ʿArabī pointed out that Ibn Barraǧān had committed an error and that his prediction was right by chance. This paper is devoted to the study of Ibn Barraǧān and Ibn ʿArabī’s methods applied to draw the prediction of the Muslim capture of Jerusalem in 583/1187. It supplies the translations of Ibn Barraǧān’s text in his Commentary of the Koran and those of Ibn ʿArabī in al-Futūḥāt al-Makkiyya.
The Sudanese Elements in the Sīrat Sayf b. Ḏī Yazan
Authors: Crudu Andrea
Published: April 2014

Abstract

Sayf b. Ḏī Yazan is the central character of three main traditions: the original one, its partially historical Yemeni saga; the claim of the Sayfuwa rulers of Kanem-Bornu to be his descendants, and the related corpus of traditions; the Sīrat Sayf b. Ḏī Yazan, a popular epic originally composed in Egypt before the 16th century. The paper tries to demonstrate that the Sīra, in its later, much altered version, has been heavily influenced by sudanese stories, legends and traditions originally coming from the African region long dominated by the Sayfuwa dynasty. The aim is primarily to show this influence and to describe how it interacted with the Sīra. As for the questions regarding when, where and why this took place, only extremely hypothetical conjectures can be advanced at the present state of knowledge.
Gods and/or Ancestors: Practicing Lineage in Contemporary Singapore
Authors: Koh Khee Heong , Ong Chang Woei
Published: April 2014

Abstract

This paper attempts to examine the roles and functions that lineages play in the social and cultural experiences of certain segments of Singapore’s Chinese community. Since Maurice Freedman argued over half a century ago that beyond the nuclear families and their immediate kin, the Chinese in Singapore normally did not organize themselves according to the ideal of lineage, researches on Chinese voluntary associations in Singapore have by and large overlooked the fact that the practice of organizing kinsmen around the ideas of lineage has persisted up to the present day. The paper looks at two cases — the Wengshan Hongs and the Bangtou Bais — of lineage practices in contemporary Singapore. The former highlights an intangible display of kinship consciousness in a religious space. Gods, rather than ancestors, are symbols that help to bind its kinsmen together. By comparison, the Bangtou Bai lineage is very explicit in the display of their common ancestry identity. The common surname association, the religious space, and the lineage space have been converged. It is the contention of the authors of this paper that the two cases can represent two major strategies of combining religious affiliations and memories of ancestors in a fast-developing urban environment.
Making the “Invisible” a “Visible Problem” — The Representation of Chinese Illegal Immigrants in U.S. Newspapers
Authors: Zhu Zheng
Published: April 2014

Abstract

In this essay, I critically examined how the Chinese illegal immigrants were represented by theu.s.newspapers between the years 2000 and 2010. Four themes were unearthed. These four themes are 1) New Discourse of Racial Binary in Illegal Immigration, 2) Illegalizing “the Other”, 3) Victims of Chinese Culture, Politics and “Compatriots”, 4) Representation of Authentic Chinese Culture. The critical elaboration of these four themes demonstrated how the news discourse constructed Chinese illegal immigrants as the “outsiders within”. Ultimately, this project served two purposes. One was to “fill” the missing gap left unattended by the prior studies on Chinese immigrants. The other was to re-conceptualize the media representation of the “other” as a “contested and multilayered” process of excluding “the displaced outsiders”, who are struggling along the lines of social and national margins. It is through the critical exploration of the multiple theoretical perspectives and the ideological assumptions supported by the news texts that enables the disclosure of the dominant cultural discourse and politics of the host society.
(Re) imaginings of Hong Kong: Voices from the Hong Kong Diaspora and Their Children
Authors: Tang Winnie
Published: April 2014

Abstract

This paper explores the (re)imaginings of the past by Chinese Americans and their families who came as part of the Hong Kong Chinese diaspora before 1997. Hong Kong is a locale often described as being conflicted with “the politics of disappearance”, but the Hong Kong Chinese diaspora provides a rich perspective into complex and nuanced tensions between central and peripheral linguistic and cultural imperialistic fields across time. Drawing upon the sociological work of transnational migration and belonging in Hong Kong, this research explores the discourses of Hong Kong émigrés and their young adult and adult children as they discuss their immigration stories, imaginings, and reimaginings of a colonial and post-colonial Hong Kong. The paper focuses on intergenerational conveyance of imagined identities across contexts and languages.
New and revised descriptions of the immature stages of some butterflies in Sri Lanka and their larval food plants (Lepidoptera: Pieridae). Part 2: Subfamily Pierinae (in part)
Authors: van der Poorten George , van der Poorten Nancy
Published: April 2014

The immature stages of 14 species in the subfamily Pierinae out of the 28 species of Pieridae in Sri Lanka and their larval food plants are presented. Ten species including three endemic subspecies are documented for the first time. The remaining four species including one endemic subspecies are compared to prior descriptions and additional observations are presented. Previously reported larval food plants are confirmed and new ones identified. This study provides some base information needed for conservation management programs for butterflies in Sri Lanka and for further studies on the biology of these species. Identification notes are given forCapparis zeylanicaandCapparis brevispina, two important larval food plants, which have frequently been misidentified in the literature.
The Safety of Navigation in the Arctic Ocean and the Role of Coast Guards: The International Legal and Institutional Context
Authors: McDorman Ted L.
Published: April 2014

Abstract

This article provides an overview the international legal and institutional context respecting the safety of navigation in the Arctic Ocean and the tasks that will be faced by coast guards in light of increasing vessel traffic.
Policing Public Protest in Central Asia
Authors: Marat Erica
Published: April 2014

While Central Asia’s Soviet-era physical infrastructure crumbles, and the quality and availability of public healthcare and education decline, the police remain the one institution that controls the state’s most remote territories. This article argues that, over the past two decades, the functions of Central Asian police forces have become increasingly punitive. Their negative influence was particularly visible in the aftermath of public protests in the 2000–2010s that resulted in fatal clashes between police units and civilian population. These watershed events were followed by government decisions to overhaul their police forces to preempt a recurrence of public protest. Depending on how willing the incumbent regimes are to control political dissent and how capable the state is in performing these control functions, changes in the Interior Ministries follow. When political will is matched by the economic and administrative resource of the state, policing functions are distributed among additional state institutions. But when the regime lacks the resources to upgrade policing techniques to the desired level, it almost always requests international support to facilitate police reform.
Post-Soviet Transformations of Health Systems in the South Caucasus
Authors: Hohmann Sophie , Lefèvre Cécile
Published: April 2014

This article analyzes post-Soviet changes to the health systems in the three South Caucasus countries of Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia. After a severe economic and social crisis and deindustrialization in the 1990s, divergent trends emerged in the 2000s. Azerbaijan saw a spectacular recovery in growth, fuelled by an oil boom, while the impact of the 2009 global crisis restrained Georgia and Armenia’s capacity to allocate budgets to health care. Many similarities can be identified between the three countries, particularly in the 1990s, attributed to a common Soviet past and to the same trends in international aid. Differences and country-specific features increasingly manifested themselves in the 2000s, and resulting from diverging policy choices.
Afghanistan’s decentralised regional foreign policy
Authors: Giustozzi Antonio
Published: April 2014

Afghanistan's lack of a state monopoly of violence reflects on its foreign policy in a number of ways. First, various non-state organizations developing their own relations with foreign countries. Second, enforcing coherent policy making within the institutions of the Afghan state itself has been sometimes problematic as officials could rely on the patronage of organizations external to the state to delay the implementation of official policies. This article discusses the cases of Afghan foreign policy towards Pakistan, India, China and Iran.
Assessing Uzbekistan’s and Tajikistan’s Afghan Policy
Authors: Laruelle Marlene
Published: April 2014

The interaction between Central Asia and Afghanistan is conventionally discussed either from the perspective of spillovers or from the other side of the coin, namely economic cooperation around the slogan of reviving the Silk Road. Yet, for a better grasp of Central Asia’s position on the Afghan question, it is necessary to shift the perspective of analysis from international relations to domestic policies. This article aims to decipher the many internal drivers that shape Uzbek and Tajik policies toward and perceptions of Afghanistan. Understanding decision-making mechanisms and the legitimacy of the authorities, identifying elite groups and their connection to their Afghan counterparts, and grasping the process of knowledge production, all help to better understand how Afghanistan’s neighbors shape their policy.
The Application of Nonlinear Local Lyapunov Vectors to Ensemble Predictions in Lorenz Systems
Authors: Feng Jie , Ding Ruiqiang , Liu Deqiang , Li Jianping
Published: April 2014

Nonlinear local Lyapunov vectors (NLLVs) are developed to indicate orthogonal directions in phase space with different perturbation growth rates. In particular, the first few NLLVs are considered to be an appropriate orthogonal basis for the fast-growing subspace. In this paper, the NLLV method is used to generate initial perturbations and implement ensemble forecasts in simple nonlinear models (the Lorenz63 and Lorenz96 models) to explore the validity of the NLLV method.

The performance of the NLLV method is compared comprehensively and systematically with other methods such as the bred vector (BV) and the random perturbation (Monte Carlo) methods. In experiments using the Lorenz63 model, the leading NLLV (LNLLV) captured a more precise direction, and with a faster growth rate, than any individual bred vector. It may be the larger projection on fastest-growing analysis errors that causes the improved performance of the new method. Regarding the Lorenz96 model, two practical measures—namely the spread–skill relationship and the Brier score—were used to assess the reliability and resolution of these ensemble schemes. Overall, the ensemble spread of NLLVs is more consistent with the errors of the ensemble mean, which indicates the better performance of NLLVs in simulating the evolution of analysis errors. In addition, the NLLVs perform significantly better than the BVs in terms of reliability and the random perturbations in resolution.
Analytical Study of an Isotropic Viscoplastic Sea Ice Model in Idealized Configurations
Authors: Sirven Jérôme , Tremblay Bruno
Published: April 2014

Analytic solutions of a mechanical sea ice model are computed in idealized configurations. They are then used to study the properties of this model. It classically assumes that the ice behaves at large scale as an isotropic viscoplastic medium. The plastic regime is characterized by a Mohr–Coulomb yield curve. The flow rule corresponds to the one used in granular mediums and depends on a parameter δ that characterizes the expansion properties of the medium. Using simple model configurations, this study first shows that a sliding of the ice along the coast must be permitted; otherwise, the model generally has no solution when the plastic regime is active. This study then shows that the viscous regime is reached only if the stress remains nearly uniform over a large area. For a stress having no particular properties, the plastic regime acts everywhere. In this case, the compressive stress may reach the maximum value allowed by the model close to the coastline. The extension of the domain where the compressive stress is at its maximum depends on δ and the direction of the forcing field. Over this domain, the ice behaves as a fluid material with a small negative viscosity. Last, the authors found that neither the existence of the solution nor its unicity are guaranteed in this stationary model. This result does not imply that the unicity is lost in the transient problem; it suggests that the evolution of sea ice depends not only on the forcing, but also on the initial conditions or history of the system.
Vortical and Internal Wave Shear and Strain
Authors: Pinkel Robert
Published: April 2014

Depth–time records of isopycnal vertical strain have been collected from intensive CTD profiling programs on the research platform (R/P) Floating Instrument Platform (FLIP). The associated vertical wavenumber frequency spectrum of strain, when viewed in an isopycnal-following frame, displays a clear spectral gap at low vertical wavenumber, separating the quasigeostrophic (vortical) strain field and the superinertial internal wave continuum. This gap enables both model and linear-filter-based methods for separating the submesoscale and internal wave strain fields. These fields are examined independently in six field programs spanning the period 1983–2002. Vortical and internal wave strain variances are often comparable in the upper thermocline, of order 0.2. However, vortical strain tends to decrease with increasing depth (decreasing buoyancy frequency as ~(N2)1/2, while internal wave strain variance increases as ~(N2)−1/2, exceeding vortical variance by a factor of 5–10 at depths below 500 m.

In contrast to strain, the low-frequency spectral gap in the shear spectrum is largely obscured by Doppler-smeared near-inertial motions. The vertical wavenumber spectrum of anticyclonic shear exceeds the cyclonic shear and strain spectra at all scales greater than 10 m. The frequency spectrum of anticyclonic shear exceeds that of both cyclonic shear and strain to frequencies of 0.5 cph, emphasizing the importance of lateral Doppler shifting of near-inertial shear.

The limited Doppler shifting of the vortical strain field implies surprisingly small submesoscale aspect ratios: kH/kz ~ 0.001, Burger numbers Br = kH N/kzf ~ 0.1. Submesoscale potential vorticity is dominated by vertical straining rather than the vertical component of relative vorticity. The inferred rms fluctuation of fluid vorticity is far less for the vortical field than for the internal wavefield.
Shipborne Polarimetric Weather Radar: Impact of Ship Movement on Polarimetric Variables at C Band
Authors: Thurai M. , May P. T. , Protat A.
Published: April 2014

The effect of ship motion on shipborne polarimetric radar measurements is considered at C band. Calculations are carried out by (i) varying the “effective” mean canting angle and (ii) separately examining the elevation dependence. Scattering from a single oblate hydrometeor is considered at first. Equations are derived (i) to convert the measured differential reflectivity for nonzero mean canting angles to those for zero mean canting angle and (ii) to do the corresponding corrections for nonzero elevation angles. Scattering calculations are also performed using the T-matrix method with measured drop size distributions as input. Dependence on mean volume diameter is examined as well as variations of the four main polarimetric parameters. The results show that as long as the ship movement is limited to a roll of less than about 10°–15°, the effects are tolerable. Furthermore, the results from the scattering simulations have been used to provide equations for correction factors that can be applied to compensate for the “apparent” nonzero canting angles and nonzero elevation angles, so that drop size distribution parameters and rainfall rates can be estimated without any bias.
Case Study of a Split Front and Associated Precipitation during the Mei-Yu Season
Authors: Geng Biao
Published: April 2014

This study investigated the relationship between a split front and precipitation over western Japan on 10–11 July 2007 based on data from routine observations and a global objective analysis. The split front formed at the leading edge of a dry intrusion overrunning a mei-yu front in a deep layer from the north. Strong upward motion was present ahead of the frontogenesis associated with the split front. In contrast, upward motion over the mei-yu front was suppressed by downward motion behind the split front. An intense rainband developed along the split front south of the mei-yu front. In contrast, precipitation over the mei-yu front gradually disappeared with the southward advance of the split front. Rainfall as heavy as 99 mm h−1 was observed under the rainband associated with the split front. The strong upward motion that induced heavy rains was attributed to the rising branch of the frontal circulation of the split front and the intense low-level convergence facilitated by the dry intrusion behind the split front. These findings indicate that split fronts have a substantial impact on the development and distribution of precipitation during the mei-yu season.
A simple electronic alert for acute kidney injury
Authors: Flynn N , Dawnay A
Published: April 2014

Background:

Acute kidney injury (AKI) is frequently under-recognized and contributes to poor outcomes. Electronic alerts (e-alerts) to highlight AKI based on changes in serum creatinine may facilitate earlier recognition and treatment, and sophisticated algorithms for AKI detection have been proposed or implemented elsewhere. However, many laboratories currently lack the resources or capability to replicate these systems.

Methods:

A real-time automated delta check e-alert flags a 50% increase in creatinine to a concentration of >50  µmol/L from the most recent result within a 90-day period and automatically adds the comment ‘?AKI – creatinine increase >50% from previous’ with a link to local AKI guidelines. In addition, creatinine results >300  µmol/L are retrospectively reviewed and phoned if AKI is suspected. For each alert over a 12-day period we manually reviewed previous and subsequent creatinine results to determine baseline creatinine and stage AKI according to Acute Kidney Injury Network (AKIN) criteria.

Results:

From 11,930 creatinine requests, 63 of 90 (70%) delta check e-alerts were due to AKI, identifying 61 episodes of AKI. Thirty four of 54 (63%) creatinine results >300  µmol/L were due to AKI, identifying a further 10 episodes of AKI. The positive predictive value (PPV) for AKI of a delta check e-alert was greater when the trigger creatinine was >100  µmol/L (PPV 89%) or when the absolute change in creatinine was >50  µmol/L (PPV 93%).

Conclusion:

This study demonstrates that a simple automated delta check can detect and flag AKI in real time, continuously, at little extra cost and without manual input.
Heading Toward a More Social Future? Scenarios for Social Enterprises in Germany
Authors: Engelke Henning , Mauksch Stefanie , Darkow Inga-Lena , von der Gracht Heiko
Published: April 2014

In recent years, the public sector in many countries has had difficulty keeping abreast of social problems due to restricted financial resources and limited organizational capacities. As a consequence, entrepreneurs have started to address social welfare issues that the public sector has been unable to tackle with an innovative approach called social enterprise. The authors present research on the future prospects of social enterprise as a sustainable business model for industrialized countries. As there is a lack of historical and current data, the authors aim to contribute to and structure the debate about the potential of the concept. Therefore, the authors provide initial data from a Delphi survey on the future development of social enterprise in a multistakeholder environment. Experts from academia, business, nongovernmental and governmental organizations, social enterprise investors, and social entrepreneurs evaluated 16 projections for the year 2030. Based on these results, the authors present comprehensive scenarios of four different possible developments of the future of social enterprise in Germany.
Small Business Social Responsibility
Authors: Spence Laura J.
Published: April 2014

This article seeks to expand business and society research in a number of ways. Its primary purpose is to redraw two core corporate social responsibility (CSR) theories (stakeholder theory and Carroll’s CSR pyramid), enhancing their relevance for small business. This redrawing is done by the application of the ethic of care, informed by the value of feminist perspectives and the extant empirical research on small business social responsibility. It is proposed that the expanded versions of core theory have wider relevance, value, and implications beyond the small firm context. The theorization of small business social responsibility enables engagement with the mainstream of CSR research as well as making a contribution to small business studies in scholarly, policy, and practice terms.
Empirical Evidence That High Levels of Entrepreneurial Attitudes Dampen the Level of Civil Disorder
Authors: Stinchfield Bryan T. , Silverberg Ross T.
Published: April 2014

The global financial crisis that started in 2008 was followed by recessions, austerity measures, protests, and demonstrations. Relative deprivation theory (RDT) offers an explanation as to why people engage in protests and violence, and the literature contains evidence that economic and environmental variables are often to blame. However, previous RDT scholars have not investigated how a country’s entrepreneurial attitudes can affect increases in civil disorder, which is the primary purpose of this study. The authors’ results provide not only conflicting evidence regarding RDT explanations but also strong evidence that high levels of entrepreneurial attitudes can significantly dampen increases in society’s level of civil disorder. Levels of environmental degradation were found to have no impact on changes in civil disorder.
Measuring the Meaning of Black Media Stereotypes and Their Relationship to the Racial Identity, Black History Knowledge, and Racial Socialization of African American Youth
Authors: Adams-Bass Valerie N. , Stevenson Howard C. , Kotzin Diana Slaughter
Published: April 2014

While consensus has grown about the prevalence of negative Black media images, measuring the influence of these images and youth rejection or endorsement of these images on Black youth well-being and identity is a new and understudied phenomenon. This study was designed to create a measure of Black media stereotypes for use with adolescents. Focus groups with Black youth ages 14 to 21 were conducted and the data were used to design the Black Media Messages Questionnaire (BMMQ). One hundred thirteen Black youth completed the BMMQ along with measures of racial socialization, racial identity, Black history knowledge, body image, and self-esteem. Confirmatory factor analysis of the BMMQ resulted in three scales with six factors. The factors were entered into correlation and ANOVA analyses. Age, gender, and TV viewing consistently correlated with BMMQ factors. ANOVA results demonstrated that few variables were significant for the positive stereotype BMMQ factors, but endorsement of negative Black stereotype media messages resulted in significant age and gender differences. Analyses also revealed expected relationships among BMMQ, racial socialization, racial identity, and Black history knowledge variables.
Is peace a missing value or a zero? On selection models in political science
Authors: Vance Colin , Ritter Nolan
Published: April 2014

Sample selection models, variants of which are the Heckman and Heckit models, are increasingly used by political scientists to accommodate data in which censoring of the dependent variable raises concerns of sample selectivity bias. Beyond demonstrating several pitfalls in the calculation of marginal effects and associated levels of statistical significance derived from these models, we argue that many of the empirical questions addressed by political scientists would – for both substantive and statistical reasons – be more appropriately addressed using an alternative but closely related procedure referred to as the two-part model (2 PM). Aside from being simple to estimate, one key advantage of the 2 PM is its less onerous identification requirements. Specifically, the model does not require the specification of so-called exclusion restrictions, variables that are included in the selection equation of the Heckit model but omitted from the outcome equation. Moreover, we argue that the interpretation of the marginal effects from the 2 PM, which are in terms of actual outcomes, are more appropriate for the questions typically addressed by political scientists than the potential outcomes ascribed to the Heckit results. Drawing on data from the Correlates of War database, we present an empirical analysis of conflict intensity illustrating that the choice between the sample selection model and 2 PM can bear fundamentally on the conclusions drawn.
Seeing the Potential of Realism in Economics
Authors: Morgan Jamie
Published: April 2014

In this article, I clarify some of the key concepts and commitments of realist social ontology in economics. To do so, I make use of a recent critique of Lawson’s Reorienting Economics by Mohun and Veneziani. Their article provides a useful foil because responding to their critique allows us to emphasize that realism’s claims are more conditional and less controversial than one might otherwise anticipate. The basic claim is that ontology matters and that explicit recognition and consideration of ontological issues can be beneficial. However, developing a focus on ontology can create problems of interpretation among economists regarding what is being claimed and offered. I discuss some of these with reference to an adaption of Maki’s concept of economics imperialism and also with reference to Mary Morgan’s recent typology of experiments.
Fault tolerant control strategies for a high-rise building hot water heating system
Authors: Lianzhong Li , Zaheeruddin M
Published: April 2014

Improving energy efficiency and temperature control in hot water heating (HWH) systems are important considerations. The more challenging problem is to maintain good set point control under failure conditions. In this paper, model-based fault detection and diagnosis (FDD) and fault tolerant control (FTC) strategies were designed and simulated for a high-rise building HWH system. An overall system dynamic model with multiple control loops was developed. In the FDD methodology, fuzzy inference systems were employed to isolate the faults and evaluate the fault level. In the FTC strategies, error correcting function was defined consisting of set points, measurement and FDD information. A supply water temperature sensor fault and a multi-fault scenario consisting of heater efficiency fault combined with a partially blocked control valve fault were studied. Simulation runs showed that the developed FDD strategies isolated the faults and the designed FTC strategies were able to improve the system performance.

Practical application: The performance of control systems is frequently degraded by the faulty sensors and actuators in hot water heating systems. By implementing the designed fault tolerant control strategies the hot water heating system can be operated to achieve higher energy savings both under fault free and faulty conditions.
Prioritization of Potential Mates’ History of Sexual Fidelity During a Conjoint Ranking Task
Authors: Mogilski Justin K. , Wade T. Joel , Welling Lisa L. M.
Published: April 2014

This series of studies is the first to use conjoint analysis to examine how individuals make trade-offs during mate selection when provided information about a partner’s history of sexual infidelity. Across three studies, participants ranked profiles of potential mates, with each profile varying across five attributes: financial stability, physical attractiveness, sexual fidelity, emotional investment, and similarity. They also rated each attribute separately for importance in an ideal mate. Overall, we found that for a long-term mate, participants prioritized a potential partner’s history of sexual fidelity over other attributes when profiles were ranked conjointly. For a short-term mate, sexual fidelity, physical attractiveness, and financial stability were equally important, and each was more important than emotional investment and similarity. These patterns contrast with participants’ self-reported importance ratings of each individual attribute. Our results are interpreted within the context of previous literature examining how making trade-offs affect mate selection.
Social Interactions and Well-Being
Authors: Sandstrom Gillian M. , Dunn Elizabeth W.
Published: April 2014

Although we interact with a wide network of people on a daily basis, the social psychology literature has primarily focused on interactions with close friends and family. The present research tested whether subjective well-being is related not only to interactions with these strong ties but also to interactions with weak social ties (i.e., acquaintances). In Study 1, students experienced greater happiness and greater feelings of belonging on days when they interacted with more classmates than usual. Broadening the scope in Studies 2A and 2B to include all daily interactions (with both strong and weak ties), we again found that weak ties are related to social and emotional well-being. The current results highlight the power of weak ties, suggesting that even social interactions with the more peripheral members of our social networks contribute to our well-being.
Global Audit Firm Networks and Their Reputation Risk
Authors: Saito Yoshie , Takeda Fumiko
Published: April 2014

The globalization of audit markets not only provides an opportunity for the U.S. Big 4 auditors to establish international expertise through global networks, but it also exposes them to reputation risk arising from the acts of their local partners. We analyze the audit failure of ChuoAoyama, one of the Japanese Big 4 audit firms, and find that its credibility impairment reduced security prices of not only the clients of PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), their U.S. affiliate, but also the American clients of all other Big 4 auditors affiliated with the Japanese Big 4. Because the quality of the U.S. audit firms is perceived as superior to that of auditors in other countries, we also analyze the premiums arising from the affiliation with the U.S.-led global audit firm networks. We compare the effect of Andersen’s audit failure with ChuoAoyama’s in Japanese capital markets and find that the magnitude of negative market reactions is larger for Andersen’s failure than for ChuoAoyama’s. Together, these results suggest that global audit firm networks have created a network-wide reputation for their services that is susceptible not only to audit failures of the U.S. Big 4 but also to those of non-U.S. affiliates and that there is a quality premium for the U.S. Big 4 in Japanese markets. Our results provide a rational explanation for PwC’s aggressive efforts to temper the negative impact of ChuoAoyama’s failure on their reputation.
Licensing Intellectual Property With Self-Reported Outcomes
Authors: Autrey Romana L. , Sansing Richard
Published: April 2014

The licensing of intellectual property (IP) is growing dramatically. A distinguishing feature of licensing versus standard sales is that license contracts often involve self-reporting; the licensor relies on the licensee to report the royalties owed. This study examines self-reporting licensing contracts using a game-theoretic approach to royalty compliance. A licensee’s accounting system generates a potentially inaccurate royalty report provided to the licensor. This self-reporting gives rise to demand for auditing by the licensor. We characterize the optimal royalty contract, accounting system choice by the licensee, and audit strategy choice by the licensor. We find that self-reporting either (a) limits the licensee’s rents, but lowers social welfare, or (b) enhances social welfare by facilitating use of the IP by the low-cost licensee instead of the high-cost licensor. As accounting system costs decrease or the gains from outsourcing increase, variable royalties based on self-reporting become even more desirable.
Translation Strategy for the Qualification of Drug-induced Vascular Injury Biomarkers
Authors: Bendjama Kaïdre , Guionaud Silvia , Aras Gulfidan , Arber Nadir , Badimon Lina , Bamberger Uwe , Bratfalean Dorina , Brott David , David Maayan , Doessegger Lucette , Firat Hüseyin , Gallas Jean-François , Gautier Jean-Charles , Hoffmann Peter , Kraus Sarah , Padro Teresa , Saadoun David , Szczesny Piotr , Thomann Peter , Vilahur Gemma , Lawton Michael , Cacoub Patrice
Published: April 2014

Drug-induced vascular injury (DIVI) is a common preclinical toxicity usually characterized by hemorrhage, vascular endothelial and smooth muscle damage, and inflammation. DIVI findings can cause delays or termination of drug candidates due to low safety margins. The situation is complicated by the absence of sensitive, noninvasive biomarkers for monitoring vascular injury and the uncertain relevance to humans. The Safer And Faster Evidence-based Translation (SAFE-T) consortium is a public–private partnership funded within the European Commission’s Innovative Medicines Initiative (IMI) aiming to accelerate drug development by qualifying biomarkers for drug-induced organ injuries, including DIVI. The group is using patients with vascular diseases that have key histomorphologic features (endothelial damage, smooth muscle damage, and inflammation) in common with those observed in DIVI, and has selected candidate biomarkers associated with these features. Studied populations include healthy volunteers, patients with spontaneous vasculitides and other vascular disorders. Initial results from studies with healthy volunteers and patients with vasculitides show that a panel of biomarkers can successfully discriminate the population groups. The SAFE-T group plans to seek endorsement from health authorities (European Medicines Agency and Food and Drug Administration) to qualify the biomarkers for use in regulatory decision-making processes.
Spontaneous Nonneoplastic Lesions in Control Syrian Hamsters in Three 24-month Long-term Carcinogenicity Studies
Authors: McInnes Elizabeth F. , Ernst Heinrich , Germann Paul-Georg
Published: April 2014

Information about the incidence of spontaneously occurring, nonneoplastic background findings in Syrian hamsters is essential if Syrian hamsters are to be used for toxicity studies. Male and female Syrian hamsters of the strain Han:AURA from the Fraunhofer Institute for Toxicology and Experimental Medicine (ITEM) breeding colony were maintained as control animals for carcinogenicity studies and were examined for the presence of nonneoplastic background findings either when they died or when the study was terminated. The nonneoplastic background lesions observed at an incidence of >50% (high), >25% (moderate), and >10% (low) in either male or female animals or in both sexes in one or more long-term studies are detailed. The results are compared to previous published reports of nonneoplastic, spontaneous background lesions in Syrian hamsters. Background information about the incidence of background lesions in Syrian hamsters on short- and long-term studies is useful to both toxicologists and toxicological pathologists.
An Intervention to Improve Nursing Teamwork Using Virtual Simulation
Authors: Kalisch Beatrice J. , Aebersold Michelle , McLaughlin Margaret , Tschannen Dana , Lane Sarah
Published: April 2014

The purpose of this study was to test the use of virtual simulation to improve teamwork among nursing staff. Using a quasi-experimental design, nursing staff ( n = 43) from one patient care unit participated in a 1-hr session, which focused on common nursing teamwork problems. The overall mean teamwork scores improved from pre- ( M = 3.25, SD = 0.58) to post-intervention ( M = 3.49, SD = 0.67, p < .012). The intervention also had large (0.60 ≤ d ≤ 0.97) and significant effects on the measures of three teamwork subscales (i.e., trust, team orientation, and backup).
Utricular Dysfunction in Refractory Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo
Authors: Angeli Simon I. , Abouyared Marianne , Snapp Hillary , Jethanamest Daniel
Published: April 2014

Objective

To determine the prevalence of otolith dysfunction in patients with refractory benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV).

Study Design

Unmatched case control.

Setting

Tertiary care institution.

Subjects and Methods

Patients included were diagnosed with BPPV, failed initial in‐office canalith repositioning maneuvers (CRMs), and completed vestibular testing and vestibular rehabilitation (n = 40). Refractory BPPV (n = 19) was defined in patients whose symptoms did not resolve despite vestibular rehabilitation. These patients were compared with a control group of those with nonrefractory BPPV (n = 21) for results of a caloric test, cervical vestibular evoked myogenic potential (cVEMP), and subjective visual vertical (SVV).

Results

Forty‐six of 251 patients failed initial treatment with in‐office CRM. Forty patients met inclusion criteria. There was no significant difference between the cases (refractory BPPV) (n = 19) and controls (nonrefractory BPPV) (n = 21) in terms of age, duration of symptoms, laterality of BPPV, and BPPV symptoms. There was no difference in the prevalence of caloric weakness and cVEMP abnormalities (P >. 05), with odds ratios (ORs [95% confidence interval (CI)]) of having abnormal results among cases vs controls of 1.1818 (0.3329‐4.1954) and 4.3846 (0.7627‐25.2048), for caloric and cVEMP, respectively. Abnormal eccentric SVV was more prevalent in refractory BPPV cases (58%) than in controls (14%) (P <. 0072). The OR (95% CI) of having abnormal SVV was 8.25 (1.7967‐37.8822) higher among patients with refractory BPPV than those with nonrefractory BPPV.

Conclusion

Patients with refractory BPPV are more likely to have abnormal eccentric SVV and thus underlying utricular dysfunction. This finding is important to take into account when designing rehabilitation strategies for patients with BPPV who fail CRM.
Pop-politics in times of crisis: The Italian tabloid press during Mario Monti’s government
Authors: Ciaglia Antonio , Mazzoni Marco
Published: April 2014

Modern politicians need to diversify their communication strategies to reach a wide range of citizens/electors. Communication of political programmes must be associated with the effective communication of the private sphere. However, does this rule apply to a scenario in which the political stage is not ruled by politicians? By presenting the results of a content analysis of four Italian tabloids and by relying on an interview with the communication officer of Italian former premier, this study shows how political popularization develops in the era of the technocrat. The authors claim that the search for ‘mediated intimacy’ with the citizens/electors does not exclusively represent a concern for professional politicians. The need to personify political action is not only dependent on the necessity to maximize the electoral turnout, but it also depends on the acknowledgement of the fact that any public officer cannot avoid opening the doors of his or her own private sphere.