bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Causal Estimation Using Semiparametric Transformation Models under Prevalent Sampling
Authors: Cheng Yu-Jen , Wang Mei-Cheng 
Published: February 2015

SummaryThis article presents methods and inference for causal estimation in semiparametric transformation models for the prevalent survival data. Through the estimation of the transformation models and covariate distribution, we propose a few analytical procedures to estimate the causal survival function. As the data are observational, the unobserved potential outcome (survival time) may be associated with the treatment assignment, and therefore there may exist a systematic imbalance between the data observed from each treatment arm. Further, due to prevalent sampling, subjects are observed only if they have not experienced the failure event when data collection began, causing the prevalent sampling bias. We propose a unified approach, which simultaneously corrects the bias from the prevalent sampling and balances the systematic differences from the observational data. We illustrate in the simulation study that standard analysis without proper adjustment would result in biased causal inference. Large sample properties of the proposed estimation procedures are established by techniques of empirical processes and examined by simulation studies. The proposed methods are applied to the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) and Medicare-linked data for women diagnosed with breast cancer.
John Porter Lecture: Waves of Protest—Direct Action, Deliberation, and Diffusion
Authors: Wood Lesley 
Published: February 2015

The book Direct Action, Deliberation and Diffusion: Collective Action After the WTO Protests in Seattle argues that the process of diffusion is dependent on social processes in the receiving context. The most important in social movements is an egalitarian and reflexive deliberation among diverse actors. The book traces the direct action tactics associated with the Seattle protests against the World Trade Organization in 1999 and how these spread to activists in Toronto and New York City. It shows how the structure of the political field, racial and class inequalities, identity boundaries, and organizational and conversational dynamics limited deliberation among activists, and thus limited the diffusion of the Seattle tactics. By constraining the spread of the Seattle tactics, this slowed the global justice movement's wave of protest. In this paper, I explore the application of and implications of this model of protest tactic diffusion to the recent Idle No More mobilizations.Le livre Direct Action, Deliberation and Diffusion: Collective Action After the WTO Protests in Seattle fait valoir que le processus de diffusion dépend de processus sociaux dans le contexte de réception. Le plus important pour les movements sociaux est une délibération égalitaire et réflexive entre divers acteurs. Le livre retrace les tactiques d'action directe associés aux manifestations de Seattle contre l’Organisation Mondiale du Commerce en 1999 et comment ils se propagent à des militants de Toronto et de New York. Il montre comment la délibération de la structure des inégalités le domaine politique, raciales et de classe, les limites de l'identité et de la dynamique de l'organisation et de la conversation limitée parmi les militants, et donc limiter la diffusion de la tactique de Seattle. En limitant la propagation de la tactique de Seattle, ce ralentissement de la vague de protestation du mouvement altermondialiste. Dans cet article, j'explore l'application et implications de ce modèle de diffusion protestation de tactique pour les dernières Idle No More mobilisations.
La démocratisation de l'enseignement supérieur au Canada: la face cachée de la massification
Authors: Kamanzi Pierre Canisius , Doray Pierre 
Published: February 2015

The increase in available student placements at colleges and universities, the implementation of provincial and federal postsecondary education policies, and the rise of the educational aspirations of families and individuals have all led to the massification of Canadian higher education. Based on Merle's typology of the forms of democratization, this article attempts to revisit the theory of equality of opportunities by critically analyzing the link between massification of higher education and social equity. The results of an analysis of longitudinal data from the (YIT) Youth in Transition Survey show that at the age of 24 in 2008, approximately 77% of young Canadians have pursued studies in a college or university. If access to postsecondary education is now higher, to what extent has it improved social equity? The article shows, in light of the Merle's typology, that mass university education is achieved in part under the seal of a segregative democratization, while college education tends to be egalitarian.L'augmentation de la capacité d'accueil des collèges et des universités, la mise en œuvre de politiques provinciales et fédérales de développement de l'enseignement postsecondaire et la montée des aspirations scolaires des familles et des individus ont contribué à massifier l'enseignement supérieur canadien. En se basant sur la typologie des formes de démocratisation de Merle, le présent article tente de revisiter la théorie de l'égalité des chances en s'interrogeant sur le lien entre la massification de l'enseignement supérieur et l'équité sociale. Les résultats obtenus à partir de données longitudinales provenant de l'Enquête auprès de jeunes en transition (EJET) montrent qu’à l'âge de 24 ans en 2008, environ 77 % des jeunes Canadiens ont poursuivi des études dans un collège ou une université. Si l'accès aux études postsecondaires est aujourd'hui plus élevé, dans quelle mesure celui‐ci a‐t‐il amélioré l’équité sociale? L'article montre, à la lumière de la typologie de Merle, que la massification de l'enseignement universitaire se réalise en partie sous le sceau d'une démocratisation ségrégative, tandis que l'enseignement collégial a tendance à être égalisateur.
The Enduring Influence of Parent's Voluntary Involvement on Their Children's Volunteering in Later Life
Authors: Perks Thomas A. , Konecny Daniel 
Published: February 2015

This study investigates the effect of parent's voluntary involvement on their children's volunteering in later life, and examines the degree to which this effect persists across older age cohorts. To accomplish this, we make use of retrospective questions from the 2010 Canada Survey of Giving, Volunteering and Participating that ask respondents about their experiences in their school‐age years. The results show that parental voluntary involvement is positively related to adult voluntary participation, and that the effect of parental voluntary involvement on later volunteerism appears to persist well into adulthood. The implications of these findings for volunteering in Canada are discussed.Cette étude examine l'effet de la participation bénévole des parents sur le bénévolat de leurs enfants plus tard durante leur vie et la mesure dans laquelle cet effet persiste dans les cohortes plus âgées. À cette fin, nous faisons appel à des questions rétrospectives de l'Enquête canadienne sur le don, le bénévolat et la participation de 2010 qui pose aux répondants des questions sur leurs expériences durant leurs années d'âge scolaire. Les résultats montrent que la participation volontaire des parents est positivement liée à la participation volontaire des adultes et que l'effet de la participation bénévole des parents sur le bénévolat de leurs enfants plus tard dans leur vie semble persister durant leur âge adulte. Les implications de ces résultats pour le bénévolat au Canada sont discutées.
Pharmacokinetics, dynamics and toxicity of docetaxel: Why the Japanese dose differs from the Western dose
Authors: Kenmotsu Hirotsugu , Tanigawara Yusuke 
Published: February 2015

Docetaxel (Taxotere®) has been one of the most important chemotherapeutic drugs for cancer treatment since 1996. Although a large number of clinical studies have been conducted in various cancer fields, there is a discrepancy in the standard dose between Japan and Western countries. This article reviews the pharmacokinetic, pharmacodynamic and toxicological profiles of docetaxel, and explains why there exists an ethnic difference in dose, and further discusses which direction we should go forward to solve this problem. The original recommended dose was 100 mg/m2 every 3 weeks in US and European populations, while a Japanese phase I study suggested the recommended dose as 60 mg/m2 every 3 weeks. A prospective population pharmacokinetic analysis of docetaxel conducted in both the USA/Europe and Japan, indicated an absence of ethnic difference in the pharmacokinetics. Both analyses demonstrated that docetaxel clearance is related to α1‐acid glycoprotein level, hepatic function, age and body surface area. The relationship was observed between increasing docetaxel dose and increased tumor response rates across the dose range of 60 to 100 mg/m2. The area under the serum concentration time curve (AUC) of docetaxel at the first cycle was significantly related to time to progression. Hematological toxicities were well correlated with the AUC of docetaxel, and severe hematological toxicities were more frequently observed in Japanese patients treated with 60 mg/m2, compared to the US/European patients treated with 75–100 mg/m2 dose. The Japanese population seems more susceptible to the toxicity of docetaxel. A docetaxel dose of 75 mg/m2 is now standard not only in global trials but also in recent Japanese trials. Although the optimal dose of docetaxel is still unclear, we need to continue to seek the appropriate dose of docetaxel depending on patient status and the goals of chemotherapy.
The SickKids Genome Clinic: developing and evaluating a pediatric model for individualized genomic medicine
Authors: Bowdin S.C. , Hayeems R.Z. , Monfared N. , Cohn R.D. , Meyn M.S. 
Published: February 2015

Our increasing knowledge of how genomic variants affect human health and the falling costs of whole‐genome sequencing are driving the development of individualized genomic medicine. This new clinical paradigm uses knowledge of an individual's genomic variants to anticipate, diagnose and manage disease. While individualized genetic medicine offers the promise of transformative change in health care, it forces us to reconsider existing ethical, scientific and clinical paradigms. The potential benefits of pre‐symptomatic identification of at‐risk individuals, improved diagnostics, individualized therapy, accurate prognosis and avoidance of adverse drug reactions coexist with the potential risks of uninterpretable results, psychological harm, outmoded counseling models and increased health care costs. Here we review the challenges, opportunities and limits of integrating genomic analysis into pediatric clinical practice and describe a model for implementing individualized genomic medicine. Our multidisciplinary team of bioinformaticians, health economists, health services and policy researchers, ethicists, geneticists, genetic counselors and clinicians has designed a ‘Genome Clinic’ research project that addresses multiple challenges in pediatric genomic medicine – ranging from development of bioinformatics tools for the clinical assessment of genomic variants and the discovery of disease genes to health policy inquiries, assessment of clinical care models, patient preference and the ethics of consent.
Genetic factors in susceptibility to contact sensitivity
Authors: Friedmann Peter S. , Sanchez‐Elsner Tilman , Schnuch Axel 
Published: February 2015

SummaryThere are clear differences in individual susceptibility to the development of contact allergies; some individuals readily become allergic to many chemicals, and others remain clinically tolerant of everything that they come into contact with. A great number of molecules and pathways can contribute to the perturbation by xenobiotics and the subsequent possible immune response. It is necessary to consider susceptibility in two ways: as allergen‐specific and as non‐allergen‐specific. It is likely that different receptor pathways and processes will be involved in the different forms of susceptibility. As investigations of the genetic control of such susceptibility have failed to identify major genetic control, it is likely that small contributions will be made by many components. Whereas genome‐wide associations and transcriptome analyses may reveal genetic clues in the future, explanation of how/why the expression of multiple molecular components can be controlled in a coordinated fashion may follow from investigation of microRNAs. It is becoming clear that microRNAs can regulate the expression of multiple genes and even multiple components of biochemical pathways.
The effect of lower extremity nerve decompression on health‐related quality of life and perception of pain in patients with painful diabetic polyneuropathy: a prospective randomized trial
Authors: Macaré van Maurik J. F. M. , Oomen R. T. W. , van Hal M. , Kon M. , Peters E. J. G. 
Published: February 2015

AbstractAimsThe aim of this study was to assess whether surgical decompression of nerves in the lower extremity in people with painful diabetic polyneuropathy would have an effect on health‐related quality of life and to determine minimal clinically important differences in pain and quality of life scores.MethodsThe design was a randomized controlled trial in which 42 participants with painful diabetic painful neuroapthy underwent unilateral decompression of nerves in their left or right leg, using the other leg as a control, with 12 months follow‐up. Surgical decompression was performed at the tibial, superficial, deep and common peroneal nerves. Preoperatively, and at 6 and 12 months post operatively, a visual analogue scale for pain and the 36 item short‐form health survey and EuroQual 5 Dimensions questionnaires were completed.ResultsAt 12 months follow‐up, the visual analogue scale was significantly reduced, but decompression surgery did not significantly alter health‐related quality of life scores. The minimal clinically important difference for visual analogue scale reduction was determined at 2.9 points decrease, a threshold reached by 42.5% of the study population.ConclusionsAlthough decompression surgery does not influence health‐related quality of life, it achieves a clinically relevant reduction of pain in ~42.5% of people with diabetic peripheral neuropathy. It can therefore be considered for patients who do not adequately respond to pain medication.
Presence of hypertension modifies the impact of insulin resistance on incident cardiovascular disease in a Middle Eastern population: the Tehran Lipid and Glucose Study
Authors: Ghoreishian H. , Tohidi M. , Derakhshan A. , Hajsheikholeslami F. , Azizi F. , Kazempour‐Ardebili S. , Hadaegh F. 
Published: February 2015

AbstractAimsTo examine the independent impacts of the homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA‐IR) and the updated model (HOMA2‐IR) on incident cardiovascular /coronary heart disease in a Middle Eastern population with a high prevalence of cardiovascular disease risk factors.MethodsWe examined 3777 Iranian people, aged ≥ 30 years, without history of cardiovascular disease and without use of antidiabetic medication at baseline. Both HOMA‐IR and HOMA2‐IR were log‐transformed and categorized into quartiles. The multivariable Cox proportional hazard regression model, adjusted for traditional cardiovascular disease risk factors, was applied to examine the association between HOMA‐IR/HOMA2‐IR with incident cardiovascular/coronary heart disease, considering the lowest quartile as reference.ResultsDuring a median follow‐up of > 10 years, 197 cardiovascular disease and 181 coronary heart disease events occurred. Among the covariates, we found a significant interaction between hypertension and HOMA‐IR/HOMA2‐IR for incident coronary heart/cardiovascular disease (all P ≤ 0.01). Among the population without hypertension, the risk of cardiovascular disease significantly increased in the second [hazard ratio 1.96 (95% CI 1.04–3.68)], third [hazard ratio 1.93 (95% CI 1.00–3.75)] and fourth [hazard ratio 2.34 (95% CI 1.15–4.75)] quartiles of HOMA‐IR, and the risk of coronary heart disease increased significantly in the fourth quartile of HOMA‐IR [hazard ratio 2.30 (95% CI 1.12–4.73)], but no significant association was detected between HOMA‐IR and cardiovascular/coronary heart disease in the population with hypertension. Among the populations both with and without hypertension, no risk was found to be associated with HOMA2‐IR quartiles however, a 1‐unit increase in HOMA2‐IR was associated with a significant risk of cardiovascular disease among the non‐hypertensive group [hazard ratio 1.60 (95% CI 1.03–2.48); P = 0.03].ConclusionsThe presence of hypertension modified the impact of HOMA‐IR/HOMA2‐IR on incident cardiovascular/coronary heart disease. The presence of insulin resistance highlighted a significant and independent risk for cardiovascular disease/coronary heart disease only in the population without hypertension.
Focal adhesion kinase and Src expression in premalignant and malignant skin lesions
Authors: Choi Chong Won , Kim Yoon Hwan , Sohn Jin Hee , Lee Hyunjoo , Kim Won‐Serk 
Published: February 2015

AbstractFocal adhesion kinase (FAK) and Src are non‐receptor tyrosine kinases. FAK and Src play a critical role in inducing malignant transformation in tumor cells. We performed immunohistochemical staining for total and phosphorylated forms of FAK and Src, to evaluate the role of FAK and Src in the development of premalignant and malignant skin lesions. A total of 59 facial skin samples (30 actinic keratoses, 10 Bowen's diseases, 13 squamous cell carcinomas and six perilesional skins) were immunohistochemically stained for Ki‐67, total (t) and phosphorylated (p) form of FAK and Src. Cells positive for t‐Src, p‐Src‐y530, t‐FAK and pFAK‐s722 were detected in premalignant intra‐epithelial lesions (PELs) and squamous cell carcinomas (SCCs), but not in the perilesional skin. There was a tendency towards high correlation between Ki‐67 and t‐FAK or pFAK‐s722, suggestive of the active role of FAK in cell proliferation. However, our findings of higher t‐Src and p‐Src‐y530 positive cells in PELs, as compared to SCCs (with higher Ki‐67 level), are suggestive of the other role of Src in tumor formation and progression, which requires further investigation.
Knitting and the City
Authors: Price Laura 
Published: February 2015

AbstractIn this paper, I introduce knitting as a popular and underexplored creative practice. Geographers have begun to take interest in craft, skill, and ‘the power of making’ to transform social and material relations and offer new possibilities for urban life. In this paper, I sketch ways that geographers may begin to engage with collective and interventionist knitting in urban environments ‐ in terms of socialities, interventions, and materialities. From knitting circles, yarnbombing to community projects, knitters have begun to stitch new enthusiasms, temporalities, sensorial possibilities, and enchantments into the urban fabric. I conclude the paper ‐ with future directions for geographical engagement with a variety of craft practices that encourage reflection on the people, places, and economies, of ‘making things’ through the example of knitting.
Geographies of Human Rights: Mapping Responsibility
Authors: Laliberté Nicole 
Published: February 2015

AbstractGeography has much to contribute to the critical study of human rights. To date, geographic scholarship has tended to follow international trends in connecting the rights discourse to social and environmental justice agendas. Human rights, in these contexts, are assumed to be part of emancipatory politics. It is in challenging this assumption that I suggest critical geographic inquiry has more to offer. In this paper, I review critical geographic literature that explicitly focuses on the spatial processes of human rights around the world. Through this review, I identify a gap in the literature regarding the negotiations of responsibility that shape human rights discourses and practices. I draw on feminist and postcolonial theories of responsibility to highlight geography's potential for examining such negotiations to illuminate how responsibility is claimed, denied, ascribed, enacted, and avoided. Ultimately, I suggest mapping negotiations of responsibility as they cross scales, traverse space, and shape place will provide us with new and evocative lenses for critiquing the place of human rights within an emancipatory politics.
The Rhetoric and Reality of Partnerships for International Development
Authors: Schaaf Rebecca 
Published: February 2015

AbstractOver the past 60 years, the international development landscape has become far more complex. There is now a much wider range and number of organisations involved in some aspect of poverty alleviation, and an increasing emphasis on collaborative activities and forming partnerships to achieve development goals. This approach has been reinforced by the eighth Millennium Development Goal, which calls for a global partnership for development, the emerging Sustainable Development Goals, as well as recent multi‐stakeholder partnerships including the Global Partnership for Effective Development Cooperation, which evolved from the Busan Partnership agreement devised at the Fourth High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness. However, there are many challenges to partnerships, both in terms of defining their form and operation, but also achieving sustainable, mutually beneficial partnerships for development. The advocating of partnerships in development policy suggests significant normative advantages to a more collaborative approach; however, other literature are more cautious, highlighting a number of pitfalls including reductions in effectiveness, difficulties in implementation and conflicts of interest. This article reviews the contemporary nature of partnerships for international development and considers their role in achieving more effective development cooperation.
Permeability of the Mercia Mudstone: suitability as caprock to carbon capture and storage sites
Authors: Armitage P. J. , Worden R. H. , Faulkner D. R. , Butcher A. R. , Espie A. A. 
Published: February 2015

AbstractThe Upper Triassic Mercia Mudstone is the caprock to potential carbon capture and storage (CCS) sites in porous and permeable Lower Triassic Sherwood Sandstone reservoirs and aquifers in the UK (primarily offshore). This study presents direct measurements of vertical (kv) and horizontal (kh) permeability of core samples from the Mercia Mudstone across a range of effective stress conditions to test their caprock quality and to assess how they will respond to changing effective stress conditions that may occur during CO2 injection and storage. The Mercia samples analysed were either clay‐rich (muddy) siltstones or relatively clean siltstones cemented by carbonate and gypsum. Porosity is fairly uniform (between 7.4 and 10.7%). Porosity is low either due to abundant depositional illite or abundant diagenetic carbonate and gypsum cements. Permeability values are as low as 10−20 m2 (10nD), and therefore, the Mercia has high sealing capacity. These rocks have similar horizontal and vertical permeabilities with the highest kh/kv ratio of 2.03 but an upscaled kh/kv ratio is 39, using the arithmetic mean of kh and the harmonic mean of kv. Permeability is inversely related to the illite clay content; the most clay‐rich (illite‐rich) samples represent very good caprock quality; the cleaner Mercia Mudstone samples, with pore‐filling carbonate and gypsum cements, represent fair to good caprock quality. Pressure sensitivity of permeability increases with increasing clay mineral content. As pore pressure increases during CO2 injection, the permeability of the most clay‐rich rocks will increase more than carbonate‐ and gypsum‐rich rocks, thus decreasing permeability heterogeneity. The best quality Mercia Mudstone caprock is probably not geochemically sensitive to CO2 injection as illite, the cause of the lowest permeability, is relatively stable in the presence of CO2–water mixtures.