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Selected Abstracts


Process Optimization in Tableware Industries Using Taguchi's Design of Experiments

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF APPLIED CERAMIC TECHNOLOGY, Issue 2 2010
Birgit Palm
The essential influences of 15 parameters on defects (cracks and bubbles) during production of tableware have been studied with 16 experimental progressions using a L16(215) experimental design by G. Taguchi. Evaluation (analysis of means and analysis of variance) indicated that in this production liter weight, drying time, moisture before biscuit firing, and position in the biscuit-firing kiln have a significant influence on cracks. Concerning bubbles, parameters with an influence are liter weight, gate system, mold material, and moisture content before glost firing. Rejects of the article used in the experiments were reduced from 2.44% to 2.27% with respect to cracks and from 6.22% to 0% with respect to bubbles. [source]


The incidence of land tenure insecurity in Southern Africa: Policy implications for sustainable development

NATURAL RESOURCES FORUM, Issue 3 2007
Gladys Mutangadura
Abstract The study presented in this article used a combination of key informant interviews and a review and synthesis of existing country level literature to identify the major sources of land tenure insecurity in six Southern African countries: Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, South Africa, and Zambia. Findings reveal that the main causes of land tenure insecurity experienced in Southern Africa include lack of land rights of minority groups, unclear or overlapping land rights, overcrowding, land alienation into leasehold, insecurity of farm workers and farm labour tenants, inappropriate and exploitative administrative practices, land encroachment and illegal settlers and limited women's land rights. The article presents a summary of land tenure security related initiatives that the study countries have or are in the process of adopting. Analysis of these initiatives shows that tenure reforms have focused on changing the law and rules but little has been done to translate new laws into implementable programs; capacity building; prioritization of resources to support tenure reform; provision of complementary policies and incentives; addressing HIV/AIDS-land tenure related problems; and monitoring and evaluation. The paper contends that these policy issues should be addressed in order to ensure realization of land tenure security for all. [source]


Obesity Metaphors: How Beliefs about the Causes of Obesity Affect Support for Public Policy

THE MILBANK QUARTERLY, Issue 1 2009
COLLEEN L. BARRY
Context: Relatively little is known about the factors shaping public attitudes toward obesity as a policy concern. This study examines whether individuals' beliefs about the causes of obesity affect their support for policies aimed at stemming obesity rates. This article identifies a unique role of metaphor-based beliefs, as distinct from conventional political attitudes, in explaining support for obesity policies. Methods: This article used the Yale Rudd Center Public Opinion on Obesity Survey, a nationally representative web sample surveyed from the Knowledge Networks panel in 2006/07 (N = 1,009). The study examines how respondents' demographic and health characteristics, political attitudes, and agreement with seven obesity metaphors affect support for sixteen policies to reduce obesity rates. Findings: Including obesity metaphors in regression models helps explain public support for policies to curb obesity beyond levels attributable solely to demographic, health, and political characteristics. The metaphors that people use to understand rising obesity rates are strong predictors of support for public policy, and their influence varies across different types of policy interventions. Conclusions: Over the last five years, the United States has begun to grapple with the implications of dramatically escalating rates of obesity. Individuals use metaphors to better understand increasing rates of obesity, and obesity metaphors are independent and powerful predictors of support for public policies to curb obesity. Metaphorical reasoning also offers a potential framework for using strategic issue framing to shift support for obesity policies. [source]


Clinical geneticists in birth defects surveillance and epidemiology research programs: Past, present and future roles,

BIRTH DEFECTS RESEARCH, Issue 1 2009
Angela E. Lin
Abstract Clinical geneticists have contributed to the creation and operation of birth defects surveillance systems and epidemiology research programs. Over the years, many continue to assist the multidisciplinary staff at state-based and regional programs, national networks, and international databases. Currently, all centers participating in the National Birth Defects Prevention Study include a clinical geneticist, which has increased awareness of this role. It is generally assumed that the medical skills and expertise acquired from clinical practice of a clinical geneticist can assist in the tasks of record review, case classification, coding, staff education, peer networking, and research, but these activities have not been formally reviewed. To increase the general knowledge base, this article used the framework of an historical descriptive review focusing on a sample of birth defects surveillance systems presented as illustrative case studies. We examined the contribution of clinical geneticists to a sample of epidemiologic research studies from each program. Looking to the future, we discuss the education of other clinical geneticists, the need to evaluate performance, and the geneticist's participation with other public health colleagues in the shared goal of birth defects prevention. Birth Defects Research (Part A), 2009. © 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source]


Bed articles for nursing care , state of the art in two German hospitals

JOURNAL OF CLINICAL NURSING, Issue 3 2004
Thomas Boggatz MA
Background., Bed articles are basic instruments for positioning. Research about this topic has concentrated on evidence for better practice. However, little is known about what practitioners really do. Aims and objectives., This study intended to identify the most common bed articles used for positioning in two German hospitals, and to determine the decision-maker for their application and the purposes and criteria for their choice. Methods., Nursing experts from 100 wards were interviewed with the help of a structured questionnaire and based on these data a list of the 10 most frequent devices was compiled. Results., Supporting the body position was the most frequent intervention performed by German nurses, mainly with the help of hydraulic beds, pillows and blankets. Nurses were the main decision-makers for the use of these bed articles. Their choice was mainly based on work experience and patients' desires. Guidelines and literature played a minor role in this process. Relevance to clinical practice., If nurses, despite the medical doctors' role as the main decision-maker in German hospitals, exert significant influence on this aspect of care, they can support their position by evidence-based practice. [source]


Does ICD Indication Affect Quality of Life and Levels of Distress?

PACING AND CLINICAL ELECTROPHYSIOLOGY, Issue 2 2009
SUSANNE S. PEDERSEN Ph.D.
The implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) is the treatment of choice for life-threatening arrhythmias, with ICD indications having recently been extended to include primary prophylaxis. Despite the medical benefits of the ICD, there is an ongoing debate as to the impact of the ICD on patients' lives, particularly whether primary prophylaxis implantation may impact adversely on patient-centered outcomes such as quality of life (QoL) and distress. We examined the evidence for a role of ICD indication on these patient-centered outcomes. A literature search was conducted on PubMed and Web of Science from 2002 to present, focusing on indication for ICD therapy and patient-centered outcomes (i.e., anxiety, depression, disease-specific, or general QoL). We identified five studies (seven articles) concerning the impact of indication on patient-centered outcomes. Sample sizes varied from 91,426 patients across studies, five of seven articles used a prospective design, and follow-up ranged from 2,12 months. No study reported an effect for indication on patient-centered outcomes. There is no evidence to suggest that patients receiving an ICD for primary prophylaxis have subsequent poorer QoL and greater distress than patients receiving an ICD for secondary prophylaxis. This knowledge may help cardiologists in the clinical management of patients, in particular when discussing ICD implantation with patients. [source]


Biomarkers for detection of prenatal alcohol exposure: A critical review of fatty acid ethyl esters in meconium,,

BIRTH DEFECTS RESEARCH, Issue 7 2008
Larry Burd
Abstract BACKGROUND: The objective of this study was a review of published studies utilizing measurement of fatty acid ethyl esters (FAEE) in meconium as biomarkers for prenatal alcohol exposure. METHODS: We completed a literature search of PubMed using the terms meconium, fatty acid ethyl esters, biomarkers, and prenatal alcohol exposure. We included only peer reviewed studies utilizing analysis of meconium for the presence of FAEE in humans through the year 2007. RESULTS: We found 10 articles reporting on original research examining the relationship of FAEE from meconium and prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE). The 10 articles used six different PAE assessment strategies and four different analytical techniques for determining FAEE endpoints. The articles included 2,221 subjects (range 4 to 725) with 455 (20.5%) subjects identified as exposed using the methods stated in the articles. FAEE levels above the studies' respective cutoffs were reported for 502 (22.6%) subjects. CONCLUSIONS: The accurate identification of alcohol-exposed pregnancies represents a significant challenge in the development of FAEE detection cutoffs to maximize the sensitivity and specificity of the test. We present several options for the improvement of exposure assessment in future studies of FAEE as biomarkers for PAE. Birth Defects Research (Part A), 2008. © 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source]


Increased occurrence of asthma and allergy: critical appraisal of studies using allergic sensitization, bronchial hyper-responsiveness and lung function measurements

CLINICAL & EXPERIMENTAL ALLERGY, Issue 10 2001
M. H. Wieringa
Background Many studies have reported an increase in the occurrence of asthma and respiratory allergies in recent decades, but this increase is mostly based on studies using rather subjective measurements of asthma and allergies, such as questionnaires and doctor's diagnosis. None of the reviews specifically focused on studies using more ,objective' measurements, such as sensitization (specific IgE or skin prick testing (SPT)), bronchial hyper-responsiveness (BHR) or lung function (LF). Objective To review articles studying a time trend of occurrence of these ,more objective' measurements. Methods A MEDLINE-search (1966,February 2000) was performed. The following criteria were used: population-based, using IgE, SPT, BHR or LF measurements in the same age-group at least twice, with at least 2 years between and using similar methods. Results The MEDLINE-search resulted in only 16 articles, performed in 13 populations in seven different countries. Nine articles used the same objective measurements twice in the whole population. Three of these reported a non-significant increase or decrease. The other six articles found a significant increase in at least one objective measurement and of these only three reported a consistent significant increase. Conclusions The increase in the occurrence of reported asthma and allergy is supported by only a few articles confirming these results with ,more objective measurements'. [source]