bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Strategies of Self-Proclaimed Pro-Life Groups in Argentina
Authors: Morán Faúndes José Manuel , Peñas Defago María Angélica
Published: February 2016

Over the past few decades political processes recognizing and broadening sexual and reproductive rights have produced a reaction from conservative sectors seeking to block those gains. Although the Catholic Church hierarchy and some Evangelical churches have led the opposition to these rights, various sectors of civil society have begun to foment resistance to pluralist sexual politics. In Argentina self-proclaimed pro-life nongovernmental organizations have become important in the local context, using channels legitimized by contemporary democracy. While they initially devoted themselves primarily to the issue of abortion through activities associated with assistencialism and cultural impact, their actions since the 1990s have diversified, entering into the politico-institutional field and aiming at other issues associated with the country’s sexual policy. The movement and religion overlap at many levels and are separate in others. The complexity of the relationship between them requires rethinking of the normative frameworks through which progress on sexual and reproductive rights in Latin America is usually theorized. The separation of religion and politics under the paradigm of laicism can be insufficient to guarantee sexual pluralism in our societies.

En las últimas décadas, los procesos políticos por el reconocimiento y ampliación de los derechos sexuales y reproductivos han generado la reacción de sectores conservadores que buscan obstaculizar dichas conquistas. Si bien la jerarquía católica y algunas iglesias evangélicas han protagonizado el rechazo a estos derechos, distintos sectores de la sociedad civil han comenzado también a activar una resistencia a las políticas sexuales pluralistas. En Argentina las organizaciones no-gubernamentales autodenominadas pro-vida han adquirido relevancia en el contexto local, utilizando los canales legitimados por la democracia contemporánea. Mientras las primeras se abocaron centralmente a la temática del aborto desde acciones asociadas al asistencialismo y al impacto cultural, a partir de los noventa sus acciones se han diversificado, entrando al campo político-institucional y orientándose a otros temas asociados a la política sexual del país. Este movimiento y la religión se superponen en muchos niveles y se separan en otros. La complejidad que reviste su relación implica repensar los marcos normativos mediante los cuales se ha solido teorizar el avance en los derechos sexuales y reproductivos en América Latina. La separación de la religión y la política bajo el paradigma de la laicidad puede resultar una estrategia insuficiente para garantizar el pluralismo sexual al interior de nuestras sociedades.
Application of blast furnace slag as a catalyst for catalytic cracking of used frying sunflower oil
Authors: Kar Yakup , Gürbüz Zafer
Published: February 2016

For catalyst performance assessment of blast furnace slag as a low-cost catalyst, the cracking runs of frying sunflower oil were carried out in the presence of two different catalysts (blast furnace slag and calcium oxide) and also as non-catalytic. At the end of the studies performed, the catalysts were comparatively evaluated via the products of yields and some physicochemical properties such as density, viscosity, higher heating value, etc. The product generated by using the blast furnace slag exhibited better results than the others. On the other hand, it was seen that the product with blast furnace slag possessed the important hydrocarbon compounds in the range of C8–C14 atoms.
Links between friends’ physical aggression and adolescents’ physical aggression
Authors: Vitaro Frank , Brendgen Mara , Girard Alain , Dionne Ginette , Tremblay Richard E. , Boivin Michel
Published: February 2016

Exposure to deviant friends has been found to be a powerful source of influence on children’s and adolescents’ aggressive behavior. However, the contribution of deviant friends may have been overestimated because of a possible non-accounted gene-environment correlation (rGE). In this study, we used a cross-lagged design to test whether friends’ physical aggression at age 10 predicts an increase in participants’ physical aggression from age 10 to age 13 years. Participants were 201 pairs of monozygotic twins who are part of the Quebec Longitudinal Twin Study. We performed two sets of analyses. In the first set of analyses, using twins as singletons, we found that teacher-rated friends’ physical aggression predicted an increase in each twin’s self-reported physical aggression from age 10 to age 13, above and beyond auto-regressive and concurrent links. Second, we used within-pair differences in regard to friends’ physical aggression to predict an increase in within-pair differences in physical aggression, thus accounting for family-wide influences, including a likely rGE at age 10. No significant association was found, however. These results suggest that part of the influence attributed to friends in past studies may have been due to common underlying genetic effects on both physical aggression and association with physically aggressive friends.
The African-Americanization of the Black Diaspora in Globalization or the Contemporary Capitalist World-system
Authors: Mocombe Paul C.
Published: February 2016

This article puts forth the argument that people of African descent in the contemporary capitalist world-system under American hegemony, that is, globalization, are ever so slowly becoming African-Americanized because of the ideological and material influence of the black underclass via hip-hop culture and work and the Protestant ethic and the spirit of capitalism promulgated throughout the diaspora by black American charismatic liberal bourgeois Protestant preachers like TD Jakes, Creflo Dollar, etc. The latter, representatives of the black bourgeoisie, given their material wealth, have become the bearers of ideological and linguistic domination in black America, and are seeking to do the same in the African diaspora.

I am, therefore, suggesting that contemporarily the evolution of black diasporic practical consciousness in the capitalist world-system under American hegemony has to be examined against the backdrop of this class dualism as well as the cultural and religious heritage of the black American people responsible for its inception in globalization or the contemporary capitalist world-system under American hegemony.
Researching Governance for Sustainable Development: Some Conceptual Clarifications
Authors: Frödin Olle
Published: February 2016

This article addresses two problems characterizing policy thinking on environmental change and sustainable development. First, the role of the social sciences in the wider processes of governance is sometimes misrepresented such that the likelihood of achieving consensual decision-making on environmental phenomena is overestimated. Second, the social science discourse on governance is plagued by conceptual confusion. This article seeks to address these problems by outlining an analytical framework for environmental governance research. In the view of this article, scientific knowledge claims are integral parts of governance processes. The article advocates a holistic understanding of governance that includes the production and diffusion of scientific knowledge, political interaction, and decision-making as well as the wider institutional context required for policy implementation and enforcement. The conclusion is that the entire governance process from the translation of scientific knowledge into policy proposals to the implementation will always be laden with politically charged opportunity costs.
Broken Windows: Why Culture Matters in Corruption Reform
Authors: Hira Anil
Published: February 2016

Corruption, or misuse of public office for private gain, is continually in the headlines. From hunger strikes in India to scandals around defence procurement in Canada, attention to corruption is growing. Corruption has been linked to weak economic growth and development outcomes (Kulshreshtha, 2008, p. 558). Though the problems of corruption have led aid agencies to recognize the fundamental importance of good governance, progress has been halting. In fact, there are almost no cases of a developing (‘post-colonial’) country moving from a highly corrupt situation to one in which corruption is minimized. Civil service reforms and elections of pro-reform candidates seem futile to bring long-lasting results in countries as diverse as India and Argentina. Failing states from Afghanistan to Iraq reveal corruption to be a central issue. While the role of culture, often defined as shared beliefs, attitudes, values, norms and practices is recognized in the academic literature as an element of potential importance, to date it has not been incorporated into the design of aid programmes to reform civil services. In this collection, we examine why attempts to reform the civil services of developing countries have largely failed in good part because they focus on the formal and ignore the need to reform culture as well. Our case studies including Singapore, Hong Kong, Chile, Afghanistan, Swaziland, India and Nigeria span a wide range of failures as well as a few success stories and are based on strong author knowledge of the local context as well as field research.
Understanding the Deep Roots of Success in Effective Civil Services
Authors: Hira Anil , Shiao Kai
Published: February 2016

As discussed in the preface to this edition, there are three cases in the developing world which stand out in regard to corruption: Singapore, Hong Kong, and Chile. While all have had differing rates of economic growth and their own particular struggles with governance, they are the only consistently high performers over long periods of time. To better understand the roots of their success, this article compares the three cases with two other cases with perennial issues of corruption, Nigeria and Paraguay.

Our analysis is organized around three basic categories. The first is to examine the personnel systems of each civil service and to see how reforms in recruitment and promotion—the main focus of aid agencies—have reduced corruption. The second is to examine sanctions for corruption in order to understand how they become real rather than just rhetorical. Civil service reform efforts so far have focused on the first two. Using the most similar/different comparative approach, we conducted field research in the three success cases and secondary research in all five. This in itself is revealing as comparing Chile to the East Asian cases has not been done before. We find similarities among the success and failures of the first two categories. Therefore, we must dismiss them as having limited effectiveness. Given such conditions are necessary but insufficient, we turn to a third category, namely the culture around civil services, finding there are clear contrasts in the culture of success and failure cases. Moreover, all three of the former countries were at one time rife with corruption, thus raising the key question of how they changed. If there are cultural inflection points that can be identified that line up with the transformation of dishonesty to honesty in our three success cases, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Chile, and cultural sticking points in the other cases, we can explain the failure of formal reform efforts. This suggests we need a new research agenda on cultural change as a part of future reform efforts.
Emotions in Institutional Work: A Discursive Perspective
Authors: Moisander Johanna K. , Hirsto Heidi , Fahy Kathryn M.
Published: February 2016

This article focuses on the dynamics and interplay of meaning, emotions, and power in institutional work. Based on an empirical study, we explore and elaborate on the rhetorical strategies of emotion work that institutional actors employ to mobilize emotions for discursive institutional work. In an empirical context where a powerful institutional actor is tasked with creating support and acceptance for a new political and economic institution, we identify three rhetorical strategies of emotion work: eclipsing, diverting and evoking emotions. These strategies are employed to arouse, regulate, and organize emotions that underpin legitimacy judgments and drive resistance among field constituents. We find that actors exercise influence and engage in overt forms of emotion work by evoking shame and pride to sanction and reward particular expedient ways of thinking and feeling about the new institutional arrangements. More importantly, however, the study shows that they also engage in strategies of discursive institutional work that seek to exert power—force and influence—in more subtle ways by eclipsing and diverting the collective fears, anxieties, and moral indignation that drive resistance and breed negative legitimacy evaluations. Overall, the study suggests that emotions play an important role in institutional work associated with creating institutions, not only via “pathos appeals” but also as tools of discursive, cultural-cognitive meaning work and in the exercise of power in the field.
Massive malignant pleural effusion due to lung adenocarcinoma in 13-year-old boy
Authors: Afghani Reza , Hajimohammadi Amir , Azarhoush Ramin , Kazemi-Nejad Vahideh , Yari Behrouz , Rezapour Esfahani Mona
Published: February 2016

A 13-year-old boy with no risk factors for lung cancer presented with a massive left-sided pleural effusion and a mediastinal shift on chest radiography and computed tomography. A chest tube drained bloody pleural fluid with an exudative pattern. A pleural biopsy and wedge biopsy of the left lower lobe revealed mucinous adenocarcinoma in the left lower lobe wedge biopsy and metastatic adenocarcinoma in the pleural biopsy. The patient is currently undergoing chemotherapy. Radiotherapy is planned after shrinkage of the tumor. Adenocarcinoma of the lung is very rarely seen in teenagers or children, especially in the absence of risk factors.
Determinants of Corporate Board Independence: Empirical Evidence from India
Authors: Sarpal Shivan
Published: February 2016

The spate of scandals and the financial crisis in the recent past has resuscitated the interest of academicians and regulators in the subject of corporate governance. Since corporates employ several governance (agency-conflict controlling) mechanisms at one point of time and board independence is one of them, the central accent in this research is upon the investigation of determinants of corporate board independence in Indian institutional context. By counting on several model specifications, modulations, proxies and operationalizations, regression estimates discloses that inside ownership, leverage, dividend payout policy, institutional ownership and firm growth have a significant bearing on the level of board independence. The denouements of firm size and board affiliation level have also been recognized while analyzing the determinants of board independence. Overall, the outcomes of the empirical analysis have invigorated the applicability of agency theory standpoints in Indian context. Moreover, these findings have profound implications for corporate governance research and have also been able to abate the diversity in empirical evidences of performance consequences of board independence.
A Study of Organizational Commitment in Nationalized and Private Banks
Authors: Gandhi Inderpreet , Hyde Anukool M.
Published: February 2016

In today’s competitive world, the biggest challenge which the organizations are facing is to retain talented employees. Organizations often try to foster commitment in their employees to achieve stability and reduce costly turnover. It is commonly believed that committed employees will also work harder and are more likely to ‘go the extra mile’ to achieve organizational objectives. Organizational commitment refers to the employee’s emotional attachment to, identification with and involvement in a particular organization. Participants were 309 employees randomly selected from various nationalized and private banks of Indore division. t-Test and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used for data analysis.
Evaluating Change Management in an Indian Commercial Vehicle Manufacturing Firm
Authors: Venkataraman A.
Published: February 2016

The article endeavours to understand the intellection, implementation and ramifications of change management on workers and managers through changes in the mode of work organisation and on organisational culture. It is a qualitative ethnographic study that tries to communicate the non-linear, partial nature of the change management process and the challenges that underpin its implementation in the Indian context. This paper makes a contribution to the larger intellectual conversation by going beyond the existing literature’s commentary on the impact of lean manufacturing on employees, from merely a cause and effect standpoint. It does this by drawing attention to an indeterminate subjective space that underpins interaction of employee aspiration, and work related viewpoints, corporate image, infrastructural constraints and the mode of work organisation that lean manufacturing seeks to modify. This indeterminate subjective space of organisational interaction between multiple stakeholders determines the outcome of change management. It also brings out the importance of context in impacting senior management’s decision making in its implementation of change management.

The main impediments underlying the implementation of change management in the case study firm and India, comprised of limitations of personnel, infrastructure, market compulsions, supply chains and varying management repertoires and individual aspirations.

The implementation of lean manufacturing in the case study firm was exacerbated by varying working arrangements prevalent within the same plant and degrees of automation and advancement in the same plant. Corporate and plant level management spoke of empowerment, participative management and long-term developmental objectives. In the same breath, there were more immediate economic and cost reduction imperatives for it to consider such as outsourcing and closing of its production shops. These counteracting measures in conjunction with the difficult Industrial Relations history of the plant made attempts to secure the wholehearted acquiescence of workers difficult. Poor communication and multiple anxieties of various stakeholders about their careers and relevance made the outcome the change management programme partial and unrealised. Finally, the paper has also highlighted the problems inherent in lean manufacturing and added voice to the sobering critique of lean manufacturing.
Impact of Performance Management System on Job Satisfaction of Faculty Members: A Study on Technical Education Institutes of Nagpur
Authors: Paposa Kamalpreet Kaur , Kumar Y. Mohit
Published: February 2016

Performance management is one of the most important human resource (HR) development (HRD) practices and is crucial for every organization. To improve the performance of the employees, it is very necessary to evaluate their performance at regular intervals to understand where they stand, what is being expected from them and what they are actually contributing. The current study deals with the impact of performance management system (PMS) on job satisfaction of faculty members in technical education institutes of Nagpur. The five-item research instrument for job satisfaction was designed referring to ‘Job Description Index (JDI)’ developed by Smith (1969). The 25-item research instrument for PMS was designed, referring to the research instrument developed by Anupriya Singh (2013). Therefore, a 30-item research instrument was generated for the purpose of the study. Based on this, a questionnaire was designed and administered to 175 faculty members using non-probability convenience sampling method. Principal component analysis with varimax rotation was used to determine construct validity and Cronbach’s coefficient alpha to determine the scale’s internal consistency. Regression analysis was used to determine the relationship and impact of PMS on job satisfaction. The results of the study reveal that there is a positive and significant impact of PMS on the job satisfaction of faculty members. Employees with high-quality performance appraisal experiences were more likely to be satisfied with their job. The study divulges that the factors, such as, performance planning, feedback and counselling and procedural justice, are the factors of PMS which have a positive and significant impact on job satisfaction of faculty members.
Impact of Capital Structure Decisions on Financial Performance during Pre- and Post-recession Period
Authors: Banerjee Arindam , De Anupam
Published: February 2016

The present research study undertaken by us will throw light on the fact whether capital structure decisions have any impact on the financial performance of companies belonging to Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) 500 during the recent pre- and post-global recession period. The pre-recession period has been taken from 2001–2002 to 2006–2007, while the post-recession period has been taken from 2007–2008 to 2012–2013. The dependent variable taken into consideration is the ‘return on assets’ and the 10 independent variables which might have some impact on the capital structure decisions taken into consideration are ‘business risk’, ‘size (log sales)’, ‘size (log assets)’, ‘growth rate(assets)’, ‘interest coverage ratio’, ‘degree of operating leverage’, ‘dividend payout’, ‘financial leverage’, ‘tangibility’ and ‘non-debt tax shield’. Logistic regression has been utilized in this study. This study also helps us to understand if there is any significant change in variables related to capital structure decisions influencing profitability of BSE 500 companies in the ‘post-recession period’ when compared to the ‘pre-recession period’.
Does Gender Diversity on Indian Boards Impede IPO Underpricing?
Authors: Kaur Amanpreet , Singh Balwinder
Published: February 2016

India has been endeavouring to achieve gender equality, but has failed to attain much success in the corporate sector. The male-dominated Indian corporate board clearly exhibits gender discrimination. The much-awaited move has finally come from the Indian legislators who took an audacious step towards gender egalitarianism by mandating women directors in Indian boardrooms with the advent of New Companies Act, 2013. The scenario of women involvement on Indian boards just prior to this enactment has been appraised through this study. A glimpse on the advantages accruing to the companies permitting women-led initial public offering (IPO) is explored. The impact of the presence of women directors on IPO underpricing is examined by analyzing 230 Indian companies that went public from 1 May 2007 to 31 March 2013. It was found that more than 50 per cent of the sample companies lack gender diversity and in fact employ no women directors in their boards. The results point towards the existence of women on Indian boards as mere token who fail to impede IPO underpricing. The implication for the managers of Indian companies is to pursue the global trend of female inclusion and appraise women on Indian boards from mere tokens to form a critical mass to procure the benefits of gender diversity.
Journalism between de-professionalisation and democratisation
Authors: Splichal Slavko , Dahlgren Peter
Published: February 2016

The article reflects on contemporary processes of de-professionalisation of journalism, its consequences for democratic processes and challenges to citizen journalism. It is argued that both the dilemmas of mainstream journalism and the emergence of citizen journalism are consequences of an array of evolving factors having to do with complex transformations in the media landscape and its industries, professional and ‘leisured’ content creation, employment and technologies, shifting patterns of media use among citizens, as well as broader permutations in social and cultural patterns. In the first section, we briefly address the long-term historical decline of professional journalism; in the second section, we look at some of the attributes of the current crisis; in the third section, we probe some of the key features of what has come to be called citizen journalism, a development that is contradictorily entwined with both the de-professionalisation and the democratisation of journalism. In the conclusion, we turn our eye to some paths for future research.
Digital divide and beyond: What do we know of Information and Communications Technology’s long-term social effects? Some uncomfortable questions
Authors: Nieminen Hannu
Published: February 2016

Our daily lives have become so immersed in digital Information and Communications Technology that we rarely stop to think about it. We know much about the benefits brought by its recent developments, including the Internet with its numerous applications. At the same time, there is increasing concern that the economic emphasis linked to these technologies will widen the digital divide, potentially sharpening social inequalities in a global scale. However, it has come ever more clear that it is not technology as such that is the cause of the social problems with digital communications technology but the ways how it has been applied, reflecting unequal power relations in our societies. There are a number of disturbing questions concerning the long-term effects of the social and cultural deployment of Information and Communications Technology. Some of the questions we address in this article here are the following: Can digital Information and Communications Technology still be regulated nationally? How do we measure the effects of Information and Communications Technology on academic work? How should we think critically about big data? Has digital Information and Communications Technology improved our lives?
Populism, extremism and media: Mapping an uncertain terrain
Authors: Alvares Claudia , Dahlgren Peter
Published: February 2016

Aiming to critically review key research on populism, extremism and media, this article examines some definition aspects of populism as a concept, its relation to ‘the people’ and points to future directions for research in mainstream – and social media – the terrain where so much of the political is played out. An individualisation of civic cultures has emerged in tandem with the growth of mediated populism through the use of new technologies, with a tendency towards personalisation in the public domain. While the new technological affordances exemplified by Web 2.0 may have contributed to intensified forms of popular engagement, they have been less successful in promoting democratic values, as shown by the results of the May 2014 European Parliamentary elections. Thus, the question as to the type of publics that are ‘possible and desirable in present circumstances’ (Nolan, 2008: 747) remains valid, for publics can espouse anti-democratic values while nevertheless remaining ‘publics’. The fact that the link between the new media and right-wing extremism has been comparatively explored at greater length than that of a religious bend indicates the need to invest in the latter, especially due to home-bred Islamic terrorism increasingly seen as threatening the multiculturalism of various European societies. Several avenues for research are presented to this effect, with a final reflection on the challenge posed by new media to the concept of media populism, both in terms of the Net’s market logics and the specificity of its architecture.
The meaning of self-reported death anxiety in advanced cancer
Authors: Tong Eryn , Deckert Amy , Gani Nina , Nissim Rinat , Rydall Anne , Hales Sarah , Rodin Gary , Lo Chris
Published: February 2016

Background:

Death anxiety is important but understudied in palliative care. New self-report measurements have been developed, but their interpretation and clinical utility may not be evident.

Aim:

To inform our understanding of death anxiety in patients with advanced cancer by exploring the relationship between this self-reported symptom and its clinical presentation.

Design:

Participants were part of a psychotherapy trial in advanced cancer. First therapy session transcripts were analyzed using interpretive description in patients reporting low, moderate, and high death anxiety on the Death and Dying Distress Scale (DADDS).

Setting/participants:

A total of 16 participants (10 women and 6 men) with advanced or metastatic cancer were sampled from the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, Toronto, Canada. Six participants reported low death anxiety scores (Death and Dying Distress Scale: 0–19), five moderate (Death and Dying Distress Scale: 20–50), and five high (Death and Dying Distress Scale: 51–75).

Results:

The low death anxiety group exhibited psychological readiness for death, or contrastingly, non-reflectiveness about death. The moderate group recognized the imminence of mortality, which impacted treatment decisions and future plans. Prior experience with death was discussed as raising the salience of mortality. The high group felt dominated by powerful emotions and could not make sense of their situation. Their distress was exacerbated by substantial relational concerns.

Conclusion:

Self-reported death anxiety is affected by the awareness and ability to reflect on mortality. Death and Dying Distress Scale scores may facilitate exploration of this symptom as part of a clinical assessment and may serve to guide treatment approaches. Greater attention to death anxiety is consistent with and recommended by contemporary approaches to palliative care.
Effectiveness of an Electronic Booster Session Delivered to Mandated Students
Authors: Linowski Sally A. , DiFulvio Gloria T. , Fedorchak Diane , Puleo Elaine
Published: February 2016

College student drinking continues to be a problem in the United States. Students who have violated campus alcohol policy are at particularly high risk for dangerous drinking. While Brief Alcohol Screening and Intervention for College Students (BASICS) has been found to be an effective strategy in reducing high-risk drinking and associated consequences, questions remain about ways to further reduce risk or sustain changes associated with a face-to face intervention. The purpose of this study was to assess the effectiveness of a computer-delivered personalized feedback (electronic booster) delivered to policy violators who completed a mandated BASICS program. At 3-month post-intervention, 346 participants (60.4% male and 39.6% female) were randomized to one of two conditions: assessment only ( n = 171) or electronic booster feedback ( n = 175). Follow-up assessments were given to all participants at 3, 6, and 12-month post-initial intervention. Both groups showed reductions in drinking after the in-person BASICS intervention, but no additional reductions were seen with the addition of an electronic booster session. Findings suggest that although brief motivational interventions delivered in person to mandated students have been shown to be effective with mandated students, there is no additional benefit from an electronic booster session delivered 3-month post-intervention for this population.
In Sickness but Not in Wealth
Authors: Galizzi Matteo M. , Miraldo Marisa , Stavropoulou Charitini
Published: February 2016

We present results from a hypothetical framed field experiment assessing whether risk preferences significantly differ across the health and financial domains when they are elicited through the same multiple price list paired-lottery method. We consider a sample of 300 patients attending outpatient clinics in a university hospital in Athens during the Greek financial crisis. Risk preferences in finance were elicited using paired-lottery questions with hypothetical payments. The questions were adapted to the health domain by framing the lotteries as risky treatments in hypothetical health care scenarios. Using maximum likelihood methods, we estimated the degree of risk aversion, allowing for the estimates to be dependent on domain and individual characteristics. The subjects in our sample, who were exposed to both health and financial distress, tended to be less risk averse in the financial domain than in the health domain.
Prevalence rate and influencing factors of preoperative anxiety and depression in gastric cancer patients in China: Preliminary study
Authors: Xu Le , Pan Qiong , Lin Renqin
Published: February 2016

Objectives

To investigate the prevalence rate and influencing factors of preoperative anxiety and depression in patients with gastric cancer, in China.

Methods

Patients with gastric cancer who were diagnosed by gastroscopy and would accept laparoscopic surgery were eligible for the study. Each participant completed self-administered questionnaires, including the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), Medical Coping Modes Questionnaire (MCMQ), Social Support Rating Scale, and Type D personality scale before surgery. Routine blood tests were undertaken within 7 days before surgery, to calculate the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR). Based on HADS, patients were divided into an anxiety/depression group and a nonanxiety/depression group.

Results

Fifty-three patients with gastric cancer were included in the study. The prevalence of preoperative anxiety and/or depression was 20.75% (11/53). Factors influencing preoperative anxiety and depression were a resigned dimension of coping style, type D personality and NLR. Logistic regression analysis showed that a higher score for the resigned dimension of coping style on the MCMQ and a higher NLR were significantly associated with preoperative anxiety and depression.

Conclusions

The prevalence of preoperative anxiety and depression in Chinese patients with gastric cancer may be influenced by both the coping mode and NLR.
The diffusion of the Transition Network in four European countries
Authors: Feola Giuseppe , Him Mina Rose
Published: February 2016

The Transition Network exemplifies the potential of social movements to create spaces of possibility for alternatives to emerge in the interstices of mainstream, neoliberal economies. Yet, little work has been carried out so far on the Transition Network or other grassroots innovations for sustainability in a way that reveals their actual patterns of diffusion. This graphic of the diffusion of the Transition Network visualises its spatial structure and compare diffusion patterns across Italy, France, Great Britain and Germany. The graphics show that the number of transition initiatives in the four countries has steadily increased over the past eight years, but the rate of increase has slowed down in all countries. The maps clearly show that in all four countries the diffusion of the Transition Network has not been spatially even. The graphic suggests that in each country transition initiatives are more likely to emerge in some geographical areas (hotspots) than in others (cold spots). While the existence of a spatial structure of the Transition Network may result from the combination of place-specific factors and diffusion mechanisms, these graphics illustrate the importance of better comprehending where grassroots innovations emerge.
The phenotype of migraine with unilateral cranial autonomic symptoms documents increased peripheral and central trigeminal sensitization. A case series of 757 patients
Authors: Barbanti P , Aurilia C , Dall’Armi V , Egeo G , Fofi L , Bonassi S
Published: February 2016

Background

Migraine with unilateral cranial autonomic symptoms (UAS) is a putative migraine endophenotype with convincing response to trigeminal-targeted treatments that still needs a thorough characterization.

Objective

The objective of this article is to carefully investigate the clinical phenotype of migraine with UAS in a large group of patients for more accurate migraine diagnoses, improved clinical management, and better outcome prediction.

Methods

We studied 757 consecutive episodic and chronic migraineurs in a tertiary headache clinic with face-to-face interviews, detailing in depth their lifestyle, sociodemographic and headache characteristics.

Results

Migraineurs with UAS (37.4%) differed from the general migraine population with respect to longer attack duration (OR = 2.47, p < 0.02, having >72-hour long attacks), more strictly unilateral (OR = 3.18, p < 0.001) and severe headache (OR = 1.72, p = 0.011), more frequent allodynia (OR = 3.03, p < 0.001) and photophobia (OR = 1.87, p = 0.019).

Conclusions

Migraine patients with UAS are characterized not only by symptoms due to intense peripheral trigeminal activation but also to central sensitization. Our study broadens the knowledge on the clinical and phenotypic characteristics of migraine with UAS, suggests pathophysiological implications, and supports the need for future prospective clinical studies.
Protein Quality and Growth in Malnourished Children
Authors: Manary Mark , Callaghan Meghan , Singh Lauren , Briend André
Published: February 2016

Background:

Protein quality refers to the amounts and ratios of essential amino acids in a food. Two methods most commonly used for determining protein quality are the protein digestibility-corrected amino acid score (PDCAAS) and the digestible indispensible amino acid score (DIAAS).

Objective:

To use existing literature to compare different amino acid profiles and PDCAAS and DIAAS scores in individuals with acute inflammation and to assess their relationship with weight gain in children with severe acute malnourished (SAM).

Methods:

A series stable isotope studies were previously conducted in children with SAM and acute infection, and these data were reviewed with respect to protein synthesis. Eleven published treatment trials for SAM with different therapeutic foods were analyzed to examine the relationship between protein quality scores with weight gain (g/kg/d). Protein scores were calculated with the PDCAAS and DIAAS amino acid reference patterns. A DIAAS score adjusted for the higher weight gain expected in malnourished children was also used. Bivariate correlation analysis was used to examine this relationship.

Results:

The protein kinetic data supported the hypothesis that a balance of amino acids that matches the composition of acute-phase proteins maximizes amino acid synthesis. Protein quality scores were highly correlated with the rate of weight gain in recovery from SAM, and the DIAAS scoring system adjusted for the higher expected weight gain had the strongest correlation with the observed weight gain.

Conclusion:

Protein quality scores must account for physiologic status so that they better match with needs and thus better promote health.
Landfill mining: Development of a cost simulation model
Authors: Wolfsberger Tanja , Pinkel Michael , Polansek Stephanie , Sarc Renato , Hermann Robert , Pomberger Roland
Published: February 2016

Landfill mining permits recovering secondary raw materials from landfills. Whether this purpose is economically feasible, however, is a matter of various aspects. One is the amount of recoverable secondary raw material (like metals) that can be exploited with a profit. Other influences are the costs for excavation, for processing the waste at the landfill site and for paying charges on the secondary disposal of waste. Depending on the objectives of a landfill mining project (like the recovery of a ferrous and/or a calorific fraction) these expenses and revenues are difficult to assess in advance. This situation complicates any previous assessment of the economic feasibility and is the reason why many landfills that might be suitable for landfill mining are continuingly operated as active landfills, generating aftercare costs and leaving potential hazards to later generations. This article presents a newly developed simulation model for landfill mining projects. It permits identifying the quantities and qualities of output flows that can be recovered by mining and by mobile on-site processing of the waste based on treatment equipment selected by the landfill operator. Thus, charges for disposal and expected revenues from secondary raw materials can be assessed. Furthermore, investment, personnel, operation, servicing and insurance costs are assessed and displayed, based on the selected mobile processing procedure and its throughput, among other things. For clarity, the simulation model is described in this article using the example of a real Austrian sanitary landfill.
Motherhood in Liminal Spaces
Authors: Rauktis Mary Elizabeth , Fusco Rachel A. , Goodkind Sara , Bradley-King Cynthia
Published: February 2016

Most of the extant social work research on biracial children and families has focused on the experiences of transracially adopted black or biracial children and their white parents or Afro-Caribbean/white children and their white mothers in the United Kingdom. This study adds to the body of knowledge by using focus group interviews analyzed through a feminist lens to understand the experiences of a diverse group of white women parenting their biological black/white biracial children. The findings suggest that having children locates them in a liminal space between whiteness and blackness. Many face racism from their families and communities, which they are unprepared for, given their upbringing as white Americans. Yet despite these experiences, many still practice color-blind perspective in socializing their children. Implications of these findings include the need for early intervention and support for white mothers raising biracial children as well as the need to challenge the assumption that mothers are solely responsible for the well-being and cultural and racial socialization of their children.
Does Who You Know Affect How You Act? The Impact of Relationships on Bystander Intervention in Interpersonal Violence Situations
Authors: Palmer Jane E. , Nicksa Sarah C. , McMahon Sarah
Published: February 2016

This study utilized an experimental design to determine how bystanders would intervene in campus sexual assault (SA) or intimate partner violence (IPV) situations. Specifically, it examines whether the type of intervention (direct, indirect, or delegation) is associated with relational distance, the nature of the crime, or the sex of the bystander. A random sample of college students completed a web-based survey at a private university in the Midwest. Survey participants were randomly assigned two vignettes—an SA scenario ( n = 371) and an IPV scenario ( n = 350)—with one of three conditions: knew the victim, knew the perpetrator, or knew neither. Chi-square tests, binary logistic regressions, and predicted probabilities were conducted to test three hypotheses. Results indicate that relational distance affects how a bystander will intervene. In the SA vignette, students who knew the victim or perpetrator chose direct intervention. In the IPV vignette, students who knew the victim or perpetrator chose direct or indirect interventions. Students who knew neither the victim nor the perpetrator tended to choose to delegate the intervention to someone else for both crime types. Although there were differences by sex, the larger differences were between whether they knew someone or not. Still, men had the highest probability of directly intervening in the SA scenario, whereas women had the highest probability of indirectly intervening in the IPV scenario. The results of this study suggest that campus violence prevention programs should consider context-specific issues in their trainings such as relational distance and type of crime.
Characteristics of Sexual Abuse Among Individuals With Serious Mental Illnesses
Authors: Kmett James A. , Eack Shaun M.
Published: February 2016

The deleterious effects of sexual abuse (SA) are well documented, as many studies have found that SA can increase the risk for psychiatric disorders. While SA has been examined in multiple samples, no studies have examined the characteristics of SA in individuals with severe mental illnesses (SMI). This study examined the prevalence rate and characterized the nature of SA among individuals with SMI who were under psychiatric care in three different inpatient facilities. Utilizing data from the MacArthur Violence Risk Assessment Study, 1,136 individuals with SMI were assessed for SA histories, psychiatric diagnoses, and other demographics. Nearly half of this sample ( n = 511) identified SA histories, with almost half indicating that the person was a stranger or someone outside of the family unit. One third reported SA occurred “too many times to count,” and approximately a third indicated the abuse consisted of intercourse, occurring at a mean age of 11.22 years. Results found that individuals with SA histories were often never married, Caucasian, female, had children, described themselves as psychologically unwell, and were commonly voluntary psychiatric admissions. Those with SA histories had significantly higher psychopathology and lower functioning, and were more likely to be diagnosed with depression but less likely to be substance dependent. Identifying SA characteristics in individuals with SMI is a critical component to successful treatment. Thorough screening and assessment of this common problem can help clinicians identify accompanying issues that may exacerbate SMI symptomology, and improve the prognosis for long-term outcomes.
Effects of aeroelasticity on coning motion of a spinning missile
Authors: Shi Zhongjiao , Zhao Liangyu
Published: February 2016

The coning motion is a basic angular behavior of spinning missiles. Research on the stability of coning motion is always active. In this paper, the integrated nonlinear governing equations of rigid-elastic angular motion for a spinning missile with high fineness ratio are derived firstly following the Lagrangian approach. Secondly, a set of linear equation is obtained under some assumptions considering the first order vibration mode in the form of complex summation for theoretical analysis. Finally, the sufficient and necessary conditions of coning motion dynamic stability for spinning missile with and without an acceleration autopilot are analytically derived and verified by numerical simulations based on the linear equation. It is concluded that the aeroelasticity can shrink the stable region of the design parameters, even lead to a divergent coning motion.
A research on the compressor blade tip pressure modeling and stall detection measure
Authors: Sun Fengyong , Zhang Haibo
Published: February 2016

A new compressor rotational stall detection algorithm is proposed in this paper, and a well monotonicity exists in the correlation coefficient calculated by the algorithm and compressor surge margin. In order to reconstruct the compressor blade pressure, a trustworthy digital compressor blade pressure model is built. Specially, the model consists of three sub-models, the blade duct pressure model, rotational stall pulsation pressure model, and corrected rotational stall damping model. Simulation results indicate the effectiveness of the stall detection algorithm and compressor stochastic pressure model, which means that the correlation coefficient calculated from the algorithm and stochastic pressure model has a high reliability to take the place of surge margin as the flag of compressor stability.