bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Short Sitting Height and Low Relative Sitting Height Are Associated with Severe Cognitive Impairment among Older Women in an Urban Community in China
Authors: Liang Xiaoniu , Li Xiantao , Ding Ding , Zhao Qianhua , Luo Jianfeng , Guo Qihao , Hong Zhen
Published: October 2015

Background: Anthropometric indexes are powerful indicators of the environment and the plasticity of the human body. This study aimed at exploring the anthropometric indexes that are associated with late-life cognition impairment among the elderly Chinese in the Shanghai Aging Study. Methods: The height, weight, and sitting height of 3,741 participants were measured. Participants were diagnosed with ‘dementia', ‘mild cognitive impairment', or ‘cognitive normal' by neurologists using DSM-IV and Petersen criteria. Logistic regression was used to evaluate the association between height, sitting height, leg length or relative sitting height and cognitive function. Results: Participants with dementia had the shortest body height (mean 157.2 cm, SD 9.1), the shortest sitting height (mean 81.8 cm, SD 5.6), and the lowest relative sitting height (mean 52.0 cm, SD 1.9). After adjustment for age, gender, education, lifestyles, medical history, apolipoprotein genotype and weight, shorter sitting height (OR 1.08, 95% CI 1.01-1.16 per cm), longer leg length (OR 0.93, 95% CI 0.88-0.99 per cm), and lower relative sitting height (OR 1.17, 95% CI 1.04-1.31 per 1%) were found to be significantly associated with dementia in older women. Conclusions: The potential risks for late-life severe cognitive impairment may be related to health problems in childhood and slow growth during puberty in women.
Complement Stimulates Retinal Pigment Epithelial Cells to Undergo Pro-Inflammatory Changes
Authors: Lueck Katharina , Busch Martin , Moss Stephen E. , Greenwood John , Kasper Maren , Lommatzsch Albrecht , Pauleikhoff Daniel , Wasmuth Susanne
Published: October 2015

Background/Aims: We examined the effect of human complement sera (HCS) on retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells with respect to pro-inflammatory mediators relevant in early age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Methods: RPE cells were treated with complement-containing HCS or with heat-inactivated (HI) HCS or C7-deficient HCS as controls. Cells were analysed for C5b-9 using immunocytochemistry and flow cytometry. Interleukin (IL)-6, IL-8, and monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) were quantified by ELISA and RT-PCR. Tumour necrosis factor-a (TNF-a), intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) and vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1), were analysed by Western blotting. The intracellular distribution of nuclear factor (NF)-κB was investigated by immunofluorescence. Results: A concentration-dependent increased staining for C5b-9 but no influence on cell viability was observed after HCS treatment. ELISA and RT-PCR analysis revealed elevated secretion and expression of IL-6, IL-8, and MCP-1. Western blot analysis showed a concentration-dependent increase in ICAM-1, VCAM-1, and TNF-a in response to HCS, and immunofluorescence staining revealed nuclear translocation of NF-κB. Conclusion: This study suggests that complement stimulates NF-κB activation in RPE cells that might further create a pro-inflammatory environment. All these factors together may support early AMD development.
Lymphoproliferative Disorders after Lung Transplantation: Clinicopathological Characterization of 16 Cases with Identification of Very-Late-Onset Forms
Authors: Thomas de Montpréville Vincent , Le Pavec Jérôme , Le Roy Ladurie François , Crutu Adrian , Mussot Sacha , Fabre Dominique , Mercier Olaf , Dorfmuller Peter , Ghigna Maria-Rosa , Fadel Élie
Published: October 2015

Background: The incidence of posttransplant lymphoproliferative disorders (PTLD) has recently declined, but late cases are increasingly reported in lung transplant recipients. Objectives: We present our experience with PTLD after lung transplantation, attempting to examine the distinguishing characteristics of early versus late cases. Methods: We have reviewed clinical and pathological data of all cases occurring in our institution between 2001 and 2014. Results: Patients, aged 15-63 years, were mostly (12/16) Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) seropositive at the time of transplantation. Eleven early cases, occurring 9.4 ± 5.2 months after transplantation and mostly (9/11) prior to 2010, had EBV+ diffuse large B-cell lymphomas. Lungs and/or thoracic lymph nodes were often involved (n = 8). Treatments included reduction of immune suppression (n = 11), rituximab (n = 8) and chemotherapy (n = 7). Two patients are in complete remission at 26 and 216 months. Nine patients died 8.0 ± 6.5 months after PTLD diagnosis. Of the 5 cases with late PTLD occurring 4-23 years (mean ± SD: 10.4 ± 7.7) after transplantation (and 3/5 after 2009), 1 had pulmonary lymphomatoid granulomatosis (only endothoracic case), 1 cutaneous large T-cell lymphoma, 2 had anaplastic large cell lymphomas, and 1 Hodgkin's disease. Two of the 5 cases were EBV-, including one followed by a second EBV+ PTLD after 8 years of complete remission. Two patients were alive and well (follow-up: 44 and 151 months), one having suffered from EBV-related cholestatic hepatitis 6 years after the PTLD. Conclusion: Our small experience shows a trend toward (very) late occurrence, associated with more unusual clinicopathologic features, but not with a worse prognosis.
Stroke Prevention Worldwide - What Could Make It Work
Authors: Norrving Bo , Davis Stephen M. , Feigin Valery L. , Mensah George A. , Sacco Ralph L. , Varghese Cherian
Published: October 2015

The global burden of stroke is of continual major importance for global health. The present report addresses some of the core principles that could make stroke prevention work. The prevention of stroke shares many common features with other non-communicable diseases (NCDs); stroke prevention should therefore be part of the joint actions on NCD led by the WHO and member states. Stroke prevention is an integral part of both the 2011 UN declaration on actions on NCDs and the UN Post-2015 Sustainable Developmental Goals. Stroke prevention requires an intersectoral approach, with important responsibilities on the part of governmental bodies, non-government organizations and the health sector as well as communities, industries and individuals. Although official development assistance will need to be provided for the lowest income countries, financing will need to be raised for most countries by reallocation of resources within the country. Stroke is a prototype NCD in that there is overwhelming scientific evidence that with actions taken to reduce risk factors, the risk of stroke can be substantially reduced. Prevention of stroke will also have beneficial effects on cognitive decline and dementia. As most strokes do not lead to death, stroke statistics should not only focus on mortality, but also on disability and quality of life. All preventive actions should start early in life and continue during the life cycle. Prevention of stroke is a complex medical and a political issue with many challenges. Upscaling of efforts to prevent stroke are urgently needed in all regions, and the opportunity to act is now.
Atlas of the Global Burden of Stroke (1990-2013): The GBD 2013 Study
Authors: Feigin Valery L. , Mensah George A. , Norrving Bo , Murray Christopher J.L. , Roth Gregory A. ,   GBD 2013 Stroke Panel Experts Group
Published: October 2015

Background: World mapping is an important tool to visualize stroke burden and its trends in various regions and countries. Objectives: To show geographic patterns of incidence, prevalence, mortality, disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) and years lived with disability (YLDs) and their trends for ischemic stroke and hemorrhagic stroke in the world for 1990-2013. Methodology: Stroke incidence, prevalence, mortality, DALYs and YLDs were estimated following the general approach of the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) 2010 with several important improvements in methods. Data were updated for mortality (through April 2014) and stroke incidence, prevalence, case fatality and severity through 2013. Death was estimated using an ensemble modeling approach. A new software package, DisMod-MR 2.0, was used as part of a custom modeling process to estimate YLDs. All rates were age-standardized to new GBD estimates of global population. All estimates have been computed with 95% uncertainty intervals. Results: Age-standardized incidence, mortality, prevalence and DALYs/YLDs declined over the period from 1990 to 2013. However, the absolute number of people affected by stroke has substantially increased across all countries in the world over the same time period, suggesting that the global stroke burden continues to increase. There were significant geographical (country and regional) differences in stroke burden in the world, with the majority of the burden borne by low- and middle-income countries. Conclusions: Global burden of stroke has continued to increase in spite of dramatic declines in age-standardized incidence, prevalence, mortality rates and disability. Population growth and aging have played an important role in the observed increase in stroke burden.
Rehabilitation for a Patient with Hemiplegia, Ataxia, and Cognitive Dysfunction Caused by Pontine Hemorrhage
Authors: Tsunoda Tetsuya , Maeshima Shinichiro , Watanabe Makoto , Nagai Ayako , Ueno Yoshiya , Ozeki Yasunori , Okamoto Sayaka , Mizuno Shiho , Sonoda Shigeru , Maeshima Shinichiro
Published: October 2015

Patients with pontine hemorrhage usually experience severe disturbances of consciousness, pupillary abnormalities, quadriparesis, and respiratory failure. However, little is known regarding cognitive dysfunction in patients with pontine hemorrhage. We report the case of a rehabilitation patient presenting with hemiplegia, ataxia, and cognitive dysfunction caused by a pontine hemorrhage. A 55-year-old, right-handed male suffered sudden onset of vertigo, dysarthria, and hemiplegia on the right side. He was diagnosed with brain stem hemorrhage, and conservative treatment was administered. The vertigo improved, but dysarthria, ataxia, hemiplegia, and gait disorder persisted. He was disoriented with respect to time and place and showed a poor attention span, impaired executive function, and reduced volition. A computed tomography revealed hematomas across the pons on both sides, but no lesions were obvious in the cerebellum and cerebrum. Single-photon emission tomography showed decreased perfusion in the brain stem, bilateral basal ganglia, and frontal and parietal lobes in the left hemisphere. The patient received exercise therapy and cognitive rehabilitation, and home modifications were performed to allow him to continue living at home under the supervision of his family. His symptoms improved, along with enhanced regional cerebral blood flow to the frontal and temporal lobes. These findings suggest that the pontine hemorrhage caused diaschisis resulting in secondary reduction of activity in the cerebral hemisphere and the occurrence of cortical symptoms. Therefore, rehabilitation is necessary, along with active instructions for the family members of patients with severe neurological deficits.
O Aprendizado sobre a Hanseníase e Tuberculose a partir de um Projeto de Cultura e Extensão: Relato de Experiência
Authors: Gonçalves Marcela , Santos Karen Da Silva , Santana Fabiana Ribeiro , Fortuna Cinira Magali
Published: October 2015

O presente trabalho tem por objetivo relatar a experiência de bolsistas no desenvolvimento de atividades relacionadas ao projeto de cultura e extensão Hanseníase e Tuberculose na Atenção Primária: organização de dados e busca ativa em uma unidade básica de saúde no período de 2010 a 2014. Estudo qualitativo, descritivo que tem por material empírico a reflexão dos bolsistas. Como potencialidades aponta-se a sensibilização da equipe da Unidade Básica de Saúde (UBS), em especial, dos agentes comunitários de saúde com relação ao tema da hanseníase e tuberculose; aumento da busca ativa de casos; realização de atividades em sala de espera; articulação do nível distrital e a equipe da UBS com relação à responsabilização pelos casos; vivência dos estudantes da graduação em visitas domiciliares, atendimento individual e atividades educativas às famílias com hanseníase e tuberculose. A partir da vivência houve a fundação da Liga de Hanseníase e articulação ao Movimento de Reintegração das Pessoas Atingidas pela Hanseníase. Como limites da experiência considera-se a não realização das atividades desenvolvidas pelos bolsistas pela equipe da UBS e a participação de estudantes de outros cursos da área de saúde. O projeto promoveu aprendizados na organização de atividades coletivas, liderança e a produção de pesquisas.
Bioengineering Human Myocardium on Native Extracellular Matrix
Authors: Guyette Jacques P. , Charest Jonathan M. , Mills Robert W. , Jank Bernhard J. , Moser Philipp T. , Gilpin Sarah E. , Gershlak Joshua R. , Okamoto Tatsuya , Gonzalez Gabriel , Milan David J. , Gaudette Glenn R. , Ott Harald C.
Published: October 2015

Rationale:

More than 25 million individuals have heart failure worldwide, with ≈4000 patients currently awaiting heart transplantation in the United States. Donor organ shortage and allograft rejection remain major limitations with only ≈2500 hearts transplanted each year. As a theoretical alternative to allotransplantation, patient-derived bioartificial myocardium could provide functional support and ultimately impact the treatment of heart failure.

Objective:

The objective of this study is to translate previous work to human scale and clinically relevant cells for the bioengineering of functional myocardial tissue based on the combination of human cardiac matrix and human induced pluripotent stem cell–derived cardiomyocytes.

Methods and Results:

To provide a clinically relevant tissue scaffold, we translated perfusion-decellularization to human scale and obtained biocompatible human acellular cardiac scaffolds with preserved extracellular matrix composition, architecture, and perfusable coronary vasculature. We then repopulated this native human cardiac matrix with cardiomyocytes derived from nontransgenic human induced pluripotent stem cells and generated tissues of increasing 3-dimensional complexity. We maintained such cardiac tissue constructs in culture for 120 days to demonstrate definitive sarcomeric structure, cell and matrix deformation, contractile force, and electrical conduction. To show that functional myocardial tissue of human scale can be built on this platform, we then partially recellularized human whole-heart scaffolds with human induced pluripotent stem cell–derived cardiomyocytes. Under biomimetic culture, the seeded constructs developed force-generating human myocardial tissue and showed electrical conductivity, left ventricular pressure development, and metabolic function.

Conclusions:

Native cardiac extracellular matrix scaffolds maintain matrix components and structure to support the seeding and engraftment of human induced pluripotent stem cell–derived cardiomyocytes and enable the bioengineering of functional human myocardial-like tissue of multiple complexities.
Long‐Term Prognostic Risk in Lower Extremity Peripheral Arterial Disease as a Function of the Number of Peripheral Arterial Lesions
Authors: Smolderen Kim G. , van Zitteren Moniek , Jones Philip G. , Spertus John A. , Heyligers Jan M. , Nooren Maria J. , Vriens Patrick W. , Denollet Johan
Published: October 2015

Background

Although patients with peripheral artery disease (
PAD)
are known to have an increased risk of adverse prognosis, simple techniques to further risk‐stratify
PAD
patients would be clinically useful. A plausible but unexplored factor to predict such risk would be greater disease burden, manifested as multiple lower extremity lesions. The aim of this study was to examine the association between having multiple versus isolated lower extremity PAD lesions and long‐term prognosis.

Methods and Results

A prospective cohort of 756 newly diagnosed
PAD
patients underwent duplex ultrasound testing to determine the number of lower extremity lesions. Cox regression models examined the independent association of lesion number (≥3 and 2 versus 1) and adverse prognosis (defined as a composite end point comprising first occurrence of either lower extremity amputation, admission for heart failure, nonfatal stroke, myocardial infarction, or unstable angina or mortality), adjusting for demographic and clinical risk factors. Analyses were replicated using an advanced Cox‐based model for multiple events. A total of 173 patients (23%) had ≥3 lesions, 197 (26%) had 2 lesions, and 386 (51%) had 1 lesion. After a median follow‐up of 3.2 years, patients with ≥3 lesions had an increased risk of experiencing a first adverse event (adjusted hazard ratio 1.60, 95%
CI
1.08–2.38,
P
=0.020) and an increased risk of having multiple events (adjusted hazard ratio 1.53, 95%
CI
1.08–2.18,
P
=0.018). Patients with 2 lesions had a prognosis similar to those with 1 lesion.

Conclusions

Among
PAD
patients, a greater number of lesions is associated with an increased risk of an adverse prognosis over 3 years of follow‐up. Assessing the number of lower extremity lesions might serve as a simple risk‐stratification tool at initial
PAD
diagnosis.
Areas of endemism in the Southwestern Atlantic Ocean based on the distribution of benthic hydroids (Cnidaria: Hydrozoa)
Authors: MIRANDA THAÍS PIRES , GENZANO GABRIEL NESTOR , MARQUES ANTONIO CARLOS
Published: October 2015

Geographic distributions of 130 species of benthic hydroids were used to infer areas of endemism in the Southwestern Atlantic Ocean (SWAO, between 22°S and 55°S). Endemicity Analysis (EA) was carried out with the software NDM VNDM, using a 2° x 2° grid with different values of F (F = 0.5 and F = 1.0) for inferred presence. Hypothesized areas of endemism (16 with F = 0.5 and 13 with F = 1.0) formed three generalized patterns: (1) Tropical, (2) Subtropical, and (3) disjunctions along Tropical and Subtropical areas. Areas of endemism estimated here were compared with provinces, ecoregions and areas of endemism previously defined (but not based on algorithmic analysis) in the literature. Ecological and historical aspects that are potentially relevant for the SWAO realm were contrasted, related and discussed to areas of endemism. This is the first study to apply NDM VNDM to the marine realm and one of the few that focuses on the SWAO.
Contributions to the study of the Ethiopian Lepidoptera. I. The genus Melittia Hübner, 1819 [“1816”] (Lepidoptera: Sesiidae) with description of a new species
Authors: GORBUNOV OLEG G.
Published: October 2015

The genus Melittia Hübner, 1819 [“1816”] (Sesiidae) is reviewed for the country of Ethiopia. Melittia ambo sp. nov. is described from vicinities of Ambo, West Shewa zone, Oromia. Adults, including male and female genitalia, and the larval host plant, Citrullus colocynthis (L.) Schrad. (Cucurbitaceae), are illustrated. Additional, Melittia pyropis Hampson, 1919 is recorded for Ethiopia for the first time, and the holotype of M. abyssiniensis Hampson, 1919 is illustrated.
The Impact of Regional Arctic Sea Ice Loss on Atmospheric Circulation and the NAO
Authors: Pedersen Rasmus A. , Cvijanovic Ivana , Langen Peter L. , Vinther Bo M.
Published: October 2015

Reduction of the Arctic sea ice cover can affect the atmospheric circulation and thus impact the climate beyond the Arctic. The atmospheric response may, however, vary with the geographical location of sea ice loss. The atmospheric sensitivity to the location of sea ice loss is studied using a general circulation model in a configuration that allows combination of a prescribed sea ice cover and an active mixed layer ocean. This hybrid setup makes it possible to simulate the isolated impact of sea ice loss and provides a more complete response compared to experiments with fixed sea surface temperatures. Three investigated sea ice scenarios with ice loss in different regions all exhibit substantial near-surface warming, which peaks over the area of ice loss. The maximum warming is found during winter, delayed compared to the maximum sea ice reduction. The wintertime response of the midlatitude atmospheric circulation shows a nonuniform sensitivity to the location of sea ice reduction. While all three scenarios exhibit decreased zonal winds related to high-latitude geopotential height increases, the magnitudes and locations of the anomalies vary between the simulations. Investigation of the North Atlantic Oscillation reveals a high sensitivity to the location of the ice loss. The northern center of action exhibits clear shifts in response to the different sea ice reductions. Sea ice loss in the Atlantic and Pacific sectors of the Arctic cause westward and eastward shifts, respectively.
Correlative Analysis of Genetic Alterations and Everolimus Benefit in Hormone Receptor–Positive, Human Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor 2–Negative Advanced Breast Cancer: Results From BOLERO-2
Authors: Hortobagyi Gabriel N. , Chen David , Piccart Martine , Rugo Hope S. , Burris Howard A. , Pritchard Kathleen I. , Campone Mario , Noguchi Shinzaburo , Perez Alejandra T. , Deleu Ines , Shtivelband Mikhail , Masuda Norikazu , Dakhil Shaker , Anderson Ian , Robinson Douglas M. , He Wei , Garg Abhishek , McDonald E. Robert , Bitter Hans , Huang Alan , Taran Tetiana , Bachelot Thomas , Lebrun Fabienne , Lebwohl David , Baselga José
Published: October 2015

Purpose

To explore the genetic landscape of tumors from patients enrolled on the BOLERO-2 trial to identify potential correlations between genetic alterations and efficacy of everolimus treatment. The BOLERO-2 trial has previously demonstrated that the addition of everolimus to exemestane prolonged progression-free survival by more than twofold in patients with hormone receptor–positive, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2–negative, advanced breast cancer previously treated with nonsteroidal aromatase inhibitors.

Patients and Methods

Next-generation sequencing was used to analyze genetic status of cancer-related genes in 302 archival tumor specimens from patients representative of the BOLERO-2 study population. Correlations between the most common somatic alterations and degree of chromosomal instability, and treatment effect of everolimus were investigated.

Results

Progression-free survival benefit with everolimus was maintained regardless of alteration status of PIK3CA, FGFR1, and CCND1 or the pathways of which they are components. However, quantitative differences in everolimus benefit were observed between patient subgroups defined by the exon-specific mutations in PIK3CA (exon 20 v 9) or by different degrees of chromosomal instability in the tumor tissues.

Conclusion

The data from this exploratory analysis suggest that the efficacy of everolimus was largely independent of the most commonly altered genes or pathways in hormone receptor–positive, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2–negative breast cancer. The potential impact of chromosomal instabilities and low-frequency genetic alterations on everolimus efficacy warrants further investigation.
Body Mass Index Is Prognostic in Metastatic Colorectal Cancer: Pooled Analysis of Patients From First-Line Clinical Trials in the ARCAD Database
Authors: Renfro Lindsay A. , Loupakis Fotios , Adams Richard A. , Seymour Matthew T. , Heinemann Volker , Schmoll Hans-Joachim , Douillard Jean-Yves , Hurwitz Herbert , Fuchs Charles S. , Diaz-Rubio Eduardo , Porschen Rainer , Tournigand Christophe , Chibaudel Benoist , Falcone Alfredo , Tebbutt Niall C. , Punt Cornelis J.A. , Hecht J. Randolph , Bokemeyer Carsten , Van Cutsem Eric , Goldberg Richard M. , Saltz Leonard B. , de Gramont Aimery , Sargent Daniel J. , Lenz Heinz-Josef
Published: October 2015

Purpose

In recent retrospective analyses of early-stage colorectal cancer (CRC), low and high body mass index (BMI) scores were associated with worsened outcomes. Whether BMI is a prognostic or predictive factor in metastatic CRC (mCRC) is unclear.

Patients and Methods

Individual data from 21,149 patients enrolled onto 25 first-line mCRC trials during 1997 to 2012 were pooled. We assessed both prognostic and predictive effects of BMI on overall survival and progression-free survival, and we accounted for patient and tumor characteristics and therapy type (targeted v nontargeted).

Results

BMI was prognostic for overall survival (P < .001) and progression-free survival (P < .001), with an L-shaped pattern. That is, risk of progression and/or death was greatest for low BMI; risk decreased as BMI increased to approximately 28 kg/m2, and then it plateaued. Relative to obese patients, patients with a BMI of 18.5 kg/m2 had a 27% increased risk of having a PFS event (95% CI, 20% to 34%) and a 50% increased risk of death (95% CI, 43% to 56%). Low BMI was associated with poorer survival for men than women (interaction P < .001). BMI was not predictive of treatment effect.

Conclusion

Low BMI is associated with an increased risk of progression and death among the patients enrolled on the mCRC trials, with no increased risk for elevated BMI, in contrast to the adjuvant setting. Possible explanations include negative effects related to cancer cachexia in patients with low BMI, increased drug delivery or selection bias in patients with high BMI, and potential for an interaction between BMI and molecular signaling pathways.
Human Capital Risk, Contract Enforcement, and the Macroeconomy
Authors: Krebs Tom , Kuhn Moritz , Wright Mark L. J.
Published: October 2015

We use microdata to show that young households with children are underinsured against the risk that an adult member of the household dies. This empirical finding can be explained by a macroeconomic model with human capital risk, age-dependent returns to human capital investment, and endogenous borrowing constraints due to limited contract enforcement. When calibrated, the model quantitatively accounts for the observed life-cycle variation in life insurance holdings, financial wealth, earnings, and consumption inequality. The model also predicts that reforms making consumer bankruptcy more costly will substantially increase the volume of both credit and insurance. (JEL D14, D91, G22, J13, J24)
Estimating Neighborhood Choice Models: Lessons from a Housing Assistance Experiment
Authors: Galiani Sebastian , Murphy Alvin , Pantano Juan
Published: October 2015

We use data from a housing-assistance experiment to estimate a model of neighborhood choice. The experimental variation effectively randomizes the rents which households face and helps identify a key structural parameter. Access to two randomly selected treatment groups and a control group allows for out-of-sample validation of the model. We simulate the effects of changing the subsidy-use constraints implemented in the actual experiment. We find that restricting subsidies to even lower poverty neighborhoods would substantially reduce take-up and actually increase average exposure to poverty. Furthermore, adding restrictions based on neighborhood racial composition would not change average exposure to either race or poverty. (JEL I32, I38, R23, R38)
Psychological Frictions and the Incomplete Take-Up of Social Benefits: Evidence from an IRS Field Experiment
Authors: Bhargava Saurabh , Manoli Dayanand
Published: October 2015

We address the role of “psychological frictions” in the incomplete take-up of EITC benefits with an IRS field experiment. We specifically assess the influence of program confusion, informational complexity, and stigma by evaluating response to experimental mailings distributed to 35,050 tax filers who failed to claim $26 million despite an initial notice. While the mere receipt of the mailing, simplification, and the heightened salience of benefits led to substantial additional claiming, attempts to reduce perceived costs of stigma, application, and audits did not. The study, and accompanying surveys, suggests that low program awareness/understanding and informational complexity contribute to the puzzle of low take-up. (JEL C93, D03, H24, M38)
Reputation and School Competition
Authors: MacLeod W. Bentley , Urquiola Miguel
Published: October 2015

Stratification is a distinctive feature of competitive education markets that can be explained by a preference for good peers. Learning externalities can lead students to care about the ability of their peers, resulting in across-school sorting by ability. This paper shows that a preference for good peers, and therefore stratification, can also emerge endogenously from reputational concerns that arise when graduates use their college of origin to signal their ability. Reputational concerns can also explain puzzling observed trends including the increase in student investment into admissions exam preparation, and the decline in study time at college. (JEL I21, I23, I26, J24)
Exclusive Contracts and Market Dominance
Authors: Calzolari Giacomo , Denicolò Vincenzo
Published: October 2015

We propose a new theory of exclusive dealing. The theory is based on the assumption that a dominant firm has a competitive advantage over its rivals, and that the buyers' willingness to pay for the product is private information. In this setting, the dominant firm can impose contractual restrictions on buyers without necessarily compensating them, implying that exclusive dealing contracts can be both profitable and anticompetitive. We discuss the general implications of the theory for competition policy and illustrate by examples its applicability to antitrust cases. (JEL D21, D43, D82, D86, K21, L13, L40)
Conveniently Upset: Avoiding Altruism by Distorting Beliefs about Others' Altruism
Authors: Di Tella Rafael , Perez-Truglia Ricardo , Babino Andres , Sigman Mariano
Published: October 2015

We present results from a “corruption game” (a dictator game modified so that recipients can take a side payment in exchange for accepting a reduction in the overall size of the pie). Dictators (silently) treated to be able to take more of the recipient's tokens, took more of them. They were also more likely to believe that recipients had accepted side payments, even if there was a prize for accuracy. The results favor the hypothesis that people avoid altruistic actions by distorting beliefs about others' altruism. (JEL C72, D63, D64, D83)
A 3/2-Approximation Algorithm for the Multiple TSP with a Fixed Number of Depots
Authors: Xu Zhou , Rodrigues Brian
Published: October 2015

We study a natural extension of the classical traveling salesman problem (TSP) in the situation where multiple salesmen are dispatched from a number of different depots. As with the TSP, this problem is motivated by a large range of applications in vehicle routing. Although it is known to have a 2-approximation algorithm, whether the problem has a 3/2-approximation algorithm, as is the case with the well-known Christofides heuristic for the TSP, remains an open question. We answer this question positively by providing a 3/2-approximation algorithm for the problem with a fixed number of depots. The algorithm uses an edge exchange strategy, and its analysis hinges on a newly discovered exchange property of matroids. In addition, the algorithm is applied to multidepot extensions of other TSP variants, and we show for the first time, to our knowledge, that for these multidepot extensions the same best constant approximation ratios can be achieved as for their respective single-depot cases.
Adaptation to Information Technology: A Holistic Nomological Network from Implementation to Job Outcomes
Authors: Bala Hillol , Venkatesh Viswanath
Published: October 2015

Information technology (IT) implementation is a major organizational change event that substantially disrupts an employee’s work environment. We develop a model of technology adaptation behaviors that employees perform to cope with a new IT that causes such disruptions. Our model posits technology adaptation behaviors as a key linking mechanism between IT implementation and employee job outcomes, thus offering a holistic nomological network of technology adaptation behaviors. Two field studies conducted over a period of six months, with four waves of data collection each, in two organizations (N = 211 and N = 181) implementing two different ITs, supported the model. We found that employees performed four different technology adaptation behaviors—exploration-to-innovate, exploitation, exploration-to-revert, and avoidance—based on whether they appraised an IT as an opportunity or a threat and whether they had perceptions of control over an IT. Employees’ experiential engagements (i.e., user participation and training effectiveness) and psychological engagements (i.e., user involvement and management support) during the implementation jointly determined their appraisal of an IT. Finally, we found that technology adaptation behaviors influenced changes in two key job outcomes, job performance and job satisfaction.

This paper was accepted by Sandra Slaughter, information systems.
Nurses' knowledge and attitudes towards pain assessment for people with dementia in a nursing home setting
Authors: Burns Michelle , McIlfatrick Sonja
Published: October 2015

Aim:

The aim of this study was to determine nurses' knowledge and attitudes towards pain assessment for people with dementia in a nursing home setting.

Background:

Pain is highly prevalent among older people, yet is often under-recognised and undertreated in people with dementia. People with dementia can lose the ability to report pain and it is the role of the nurse to identify and appropriately assess pain, to provide effective treatment. This requires nurses to have sufficient knowledge and training in the assessment and management of pain in residents with dementia; however, research suggests deficits in this area.

Methods:

A cross-sectional survey design was used to determine nurses' knowledge and attitudes to pain assessment in dementia. A questionnaire comprising three sections was distributed to 96 registered nurses across 17 nursing homes in a health-care trust in a UK region.

Results:

A total of 32 responses were obtained (response rate 33%). The majority of nurses had a good knowledge in relation to the assessment and management of pain in residents with dementia. There was, however, some uncertainty among nurses over analgesic choice, the safety of opioid use in dementia, and the use of dementia-specific pain assessment tools for residents with no cognitive impairment. The main barriers to effective pain assessment for older people with dementia were workload pressures, poor staffing and lack of medical support.

Conclusion:

This study highlights the need to develop pain education programmes and clear guidance specifically designed for nurses caring for older people with dementia. It also emphasises the need for better communication and co-ordination of pain treatment for nursing home residents with dementia.
Research roundup
Authors: Costello John
Published: October 2015

Synopses of a selection of recently published research articles of relevance to palliative care.
Effect on superhydrophobic surfaces on electrical porcelain insulator, improved technique at polluted areas for longer life and reliability
Authors: Ramalla Isaac , Gupta Rajeev K , Bansal Kamal
Published: October 2015

This paper proposes a novel technique to enhance the stability of high-voltage insulators, which are affected due to the presence of dust, contamination, electrical stresses in a high moisture content environment. These result in puncture of insulators and heavy loss due to power outages in the transmission lines. To extend its stability, powdered coating is done on the insulators which have insulation property and super hydrophobicity. In this paper, the authors were inspired by the ‘lotus effect', and a nano size powder was developed by sol – gel method and coating is done on the porcelain insulator surface, which passes-out all the electrical testing standards and maintains its insulation property with super hydrophobic nature. The water droplet contact angle of 158.80 and a sliding angle of 80 indicate the super hydrophobic nature on the surface of insulator. The insulator was kept in a highly polluted environment for six months at different locations where no dust was collected on the insulator when compared with an uncoated insulator.
Clarifying the relationship between translingual practice and L2 writing: addressing learner identities
Authors: Canagarajah Suresh
Published: October 2015

This article re-examines the distinction between native and nonnative students that writing programs adopt in structuring their courses. It critiques the monolingual orientation based on ideologies of language ownership, homogeneity, and territoriality that this distinction is based on and develops a more expansive translingual orientation relevant to diversity in globalization and multilingualism. After articulating the changes involved in facilitating literacy acquisition, it examines the uptake of writing scholars to address their concerns. The article ends by illustrating how policy level changes can be made to accommodate the emerging orientations of translingualism by discussing how New York State secondary school teachers have implemented the Common Core State Standards.
Translanguaging and visuality: Translingual practices in literary art
Authors: Lee Tong-King
Published: October 2015

Translanguaging is a resource for linguistic creativity in communication and for critical engagement with one’s sociolinguistic or sociocultural reality. This article examines how translanguaging operates in two visual art installations by the contemporary Chinese artist Xu Bing. Square Word Calligraphy takes a visual turn on translanguaging by inventing a hybrid calligraphy that incorporates English words into the orthographic frame of Chinese. By physically tracing the alphabet through the character, viewers gain an embodied translingual experience, which encompasses an intercultural imaginary negotiating and transcending the English-Chinese divide. By contrast, Post Testament demonstrates an intralingual mode of translanguaging, whereby a biblical text is inflected with heterogeneous registers and rendered ineffectual as coherent discourse. Here the encounter and intertwining of text registers create a transformative space replete with ambiguity and mayhem. In these radical works of language art, translanguaging delineates borders while simultaneously interrogating them, creating liminal zones and articulating a politics of (mis)recognition, (un)readability, and (in)communicability.
Boycott or Buycott?: Internal Politics and Consumer Choices
Authors: Cuadras-Morató Xavier , Raya Josep Maria
Published: October 2015

Does politics affect economic relations? In particular, do political tensions significantly affect consumer choices? The main objective of the paper is to study the consequences of political conflicts between Spain and Catalonia (a region of Spain) and the subsequent boycott calls on sales of Catalan sparkling wine (cava) in the Spanish market. We use data from sales of sparkling wine in supermarkets and similar outlets. To determine with precision the boycott period we use data on the number of news on the issue that appeared in the main national Spanish daily newspapers. The results of our econometric analysis indicate that the boycott calls triggered different consumers’ reactions in different territories. While consumers in some Spanish regions followed them and reduced their purchases of Catalan cava, there was also an anti-boycott reaction of Catalan consumers which led them to increase their consumption of the product. As a consequence of this, the boycott calls had an insignificant impact at the Spanish aggregate level. These results can be rationalized by the predictions of theoretical models of boycotts that include both the free riding and animosity motives.
Controversial ultrasound findings in mid trimester pregnancy. Evidence based approach
Authors: Ebrashy Alaa , Kurjak Asim , Adra Abdallah , Aliyu Labaran Dayyabu , Wataganara Tuangsit , de Sá Renato Augusto Moreira , Pooh Ritsuko , Sen Cihat , Stanojevic Milan
Published: October 2015

Mid trimester fetal anatomy scan is a fundamental part of routine antenatal care. Some U/S soft markers or controversial U/S signs are seen during the scan and create some confusion regarding their relation to fetal chromosomal abnormalities. Example of these signs: echogenic focus in the heart, echogenic bowel, renal pyelectasis, ventriculomegaly, polydactely, club foot, choroid plexus cyst, single umbilical artery. We are presenting an evidence based approach from the literature for management of these controversial U/S signs.
Moving on and off the timeline in narratives of personal experience written in three languages: A form-function developmental study
Authors: Kupersmitt Judy R.
Published: October 2015

This paper explores the construal of temporality in personal narratives written in English, Spanish, and Hebrew, three languages that differ in their morphological marking of tense-aspect. Participants were native speakers of each language in four different age groups from middle childhood across adolescence into adulthood, so taking into account developmental facets of narrative temporality in each language. Focus is on distribution of situations on and off the timeline of the story from the point of view of the linguistic configurations employed by narrators to express the temporal domains of tense and aspect in the three languages at both the intra-clausal and inter-clausal levels. Hebrew was found to differ from Spanish and English, both of which have more enriched system of grammaticized aspect, in the distribution of situations on and off the timeline both developmentally across age groups and in the linguistic means conflated in expression of temporality. The more impoverished system of grammatical aspect in Hebrew led narrators writing in Hebrew to prefer a more linear temporal organization than their counterparts in Spanish and English. The study distinguishes between shared versus language-particular patterns of narrative-embedded temporality from the point of view of linguistic forms and their temporal functions in the context of extended discourse. Results of the study shed light on the interrelations between local linguistic means and the discourse-embedded expression of temporality in narrative development.
Form and function of the modal adverbs: Recent linguistic change and constancy in British English
Authors: Suzuki Daisuke
Published: October 2015

This study examines the modal adverbs in English including
Cultural Influences on the Brain Science and Theology on Human Specificity
Authors: Colagè Ivan , Oviedo Lluis
Published: October 2015

This paper addresses the timely issue of human specificity in a multidisciplinary perspective. It starts with a brief description of the relationships between science and theology during the last few decades, and notes how the situation has been changing since the beginning of the 21st century. We then suggest how recent scientific developments open up fresh and concrete approaches to human specificity in science and theology, especially when the real import of human cultural complexion is taken into account. In a following section, two fundamental topics are addressed - neural learning and gene-culture co-evolution. We will then discuss the importance of these topics for human uniqueness and culture (as well as their potential limits in supporting the specificity of the human being). Furthermore, we will propose a novel approach, based on the notion of cultural neural reuse (i.e., cultural processes affecting brain anatomy). This approach acknowledges an irreducible role of cultural dynamics in human overall constitution. Cultural neural reuse suggests that one way in which humans are unique is that they are able to shape and transcend themselves. Finally, the implications of this approach will be drawn for theological topics such as the imago Dei doctrine, the notion of self-transcendence, and the integral view of the human being emerging from Biblical and early Christian anthropology.
Self-Evident Experience: A Challenge to the Empirical Study of Religion
Authors: Renner Walter
Published: October 2015

Empirical psychology’s philosophy of science traditionally orients by Popper’s Critical Rationalism. This paradigm has been successful with observable behavior and some aspects of emotion and cognition. Still, phenomena like spirituality, empathy, or love have been neglected because they can neither be easily communicated nor instantly replicated. I propose to enlarge the scope of empiricism by accepting Self-Evident Experience (SEE) as a source of “soft” empirical data, as long as they (a) can be interpreted within a rationalist framework and (b) are supported by cumulative experiences by others in the course of time. Applying this approach to SEE of a spiritual or religious nature, the theological system of the individual’s denominational affiliation serves as the rational framework (a), and experiences similar to others serve as the accumulated “database” (b), both supporting the validity of the experience. In the sense of Critical Rationalism, apart from arguments (a) and (b), criteria for “falsifying” SEE are suggested: Experiences which are in line with an individual’s or society’s expectations and which lack an impact on the individual’s further course of life will be attributed less validity than experiences which put the individual at risk in today’s climate of skepticism and which substantially influence his or her life.
Characterization of the Bonding Fracture Properties of the Asphalt-Aggregate System Using a Thin-Film Interface Test
Authors: Yi Junyan , Shen Shihui , Wang Dongsheng , Huang Yudong , Feng Decheng
Published: October 2015

Adhesion between asphalt-aggregate and cohesion within asphalt mastic has a significant effect on the performance of asphalt mixtures. Conventional testing methods and studies normally only focus on one of the damage modes (adhesion or cohesion), although in real asphalt mixtures (asphalt-aggregate system), these two failure modes can happen together depending on the material and loading conditions. The objective of this paper was to characterize the interface bonding characteristics of the asphalt-aggregate system using the thin-film interface test and the fracture property parameter, critical state energy density (CSED), and identify the key factors that could affect the interface bonding characteristics. The thin-film interface test simulated a more realistic bonding condition and monitored the damage between thin-film asphalt and aggregate. Experimental results showed that the effects of temperature and loading rate on the interface bonding characteristics were significant. The time-temperature superposition principle is found to work in both the linear viscoelastic range (dynamic modulus test) and the damage domain (interface bonding fracture test). Binder type, degree of aging, and types of aggregates all played an important role in the bonding performance for an asphalt-aggregate system.
Evaluating the Control Variable of Economic Growth by Using Extenics Theoretical Analysis
Authors: Yeh Ming-Lang , Lin Lai-Chu
Published: October 2015

Since 2001, Taiwan's economy has continued to decline alongside increased unemployment; only government expenditure has exhibited a clear upward trend. This study investigated the factors impacting on economic growth and two-way or one-way causality of the interaction influence. In addition, this study examined the problems of decision dimensions in Taiwanese government spending and economic growth. The study applied extenics by using the variables of statistical tests to identify the most crucial or influential control variable. To obtain an objective assessment, we determined data from significant estimates to determine the most crucial control factor. We obtained a successful result in this study.