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Clear Decline (clear + decline)
Selected AbstractsThe Liberal Moment Fifteen Years On,INTERNATIONAL STUDIES QUARTERLY, Issue 4 20082008., 49th Convention of the International Studies Association, March 2, Presidential address, San Francisco Fifteen years ago, Charles Kegley spoke of a neoidealist moment in international relations. This article examines how the number of armed conflicts has declined in the decade and a half since Kegley's presidential address and shows that the severity of war has been declining over a period of over six decades. The number of countries participating in war has increased, but this is in large measure due to coalition-building in several recent wars. Overall, there is a clear decline of war. It seems plausible to attribute this to an increase in the three factors identified by liberal peace theorists: democracy, trade, and international organization. Four alternative interpretations are examined: the temporary peace, the hegemonic peace, the unsustainable peace, and the capitalist peace. The article concludes that the latter, while running close to the liberal peace interpretation, also presents the greatest challenge to it. Indeed, we seem to be living in a commercial liberal period rather than a world of neoidealism. [source] Evaluating the Effectiveness of Distance Learning: A Comparison Using Meta-AnalysisJOURNAL OF COMMUNICATION, Issue 3 2004Mike Allen This article uses meta-analysis to summarize the quantitative literature comparing the performance of students in distance education versus traditional classes. The average effect (average r= .048, k= 39, N= 71,731) demonstrates that distance education course students slightly outperformed traditional students on exams and course grades. The average effect was heterogeneous, and the examination of several moderating features (presence or absence of simultaneous interaction, type of channel used in distance education, and course substance) failed to produce a homogeneous solution. The results demonstrate, however, no clear decline in educational effectiveness when using distance education technology. [source] Growth and long-term lung function in cystic fibrosis: A longitudinal study of patients diagnosed by neonatal screeningPEDIATRIC PULMONOLOGY, Issue 3 2009Baroukh Maurice Assael MD Abstract Objective So far there is no long-term analysis relating the achievement of growth milestones (such as prepubertal and pubertal take-off and peak velocity) to the course of respiratory function from childhood to adulthood in cystic fibrosis. This study was designed to evaluate linear growth and severity of lung disease, find a correlation between growth and disease severity throughout childhood. Patients One hundred sixty-three patients from one center were selected according to: diagnosis by neonatal screening, complete follow-up available (four height measurements/year) until the age of 20, respiratory tests available from the age of 5,6 years until adulthood, lung transplantation, or death. Disease was classified as mild or severe according to FEV1 (group 1 and group 2). A third group of patients (group 3) consisted of those who died or underwent lung transplantation before the age of 18. Methods Individual growth profiles were fitted with a seven-constant nonlinear growth function. A multivariate linear model was fitted, with gender and severity of disease as covariates, and age, height, and height velocity at growth milestones as dependent variables. Data were compared with those of the normal Italian population. Results Lung disease severity correlates with delayed prepubertal and pubertal growth milestones. Peak height velocities were significantly reduced in relation to the severity of the disease. Conclusions Patients with severe forms of cystic fibrosis exhibit reduced growth velocity values at an early age, before a clear decline in pulmonary function. Pediatr Pulmonol. 2009; 44:209,215. © 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Effects of indoor air purification by an air cleaning system (Koala technology) on semen parameters in male factor infertility: results of a pilot studyANDROLOGIA, Issue 3 2009R. Paradisi Summary A number of studies indicated a clear decline in semen quality in the past 30,50 years and there is accumulating evidence that this decline might result from exposure to high levels of air pollution. To examine the impact of environment on male reproductive ability, we undertook for the first time a pilot study on semen quality of infertile men exposed to purification of indoor air. Ten subjects with a history of unexplained male infertility and poor semen quality were exposed for at least 1 year to a cleaning indoor air system (Koala technology). The key feature of this air purifier is the unique innovative multiple filtering system. The treatment of total purification of indoor air showed neither improvements in semen parameters nor variation in reproductive hormones (P = N.S.), but induced an evident increase (P < 0.03 and more) in seminal leucocytic concentrations. Within the limits due to the small sample of subjects recruited, the sole purification of indoor air does not seem enough to improve semen quality, although the increase in leucocytic concentrations could indicate an activation of the role of immunosurveillance in a purified indoor air environment. [source] Decline in rheumatoid vasculitis prevalence among US veterans: A retrospective cross-sectional studyARTHRITIS & RHEUMATISM, Issue 9 2009Christie Bartels Objective To examine trends in the prevalence of rheumatoid vasculitis in a national US population comprising both hospitalized and ambulatory patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Methods In this serial cross-sectional study, we analyzed data on hospitalized and ambulatory patients spanning 22 years (1985,2006) and 10 years (1997,2006), respectively, to determine the prevalence of rheumatoid vasculitis, as defined by the International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision. Our search encompassed data collected on a predominantly male study population during 10 million hospitalizations and outpatient visits, and included annual data on >37,000 RA patients. To test for a decrease in rheumatoid vasculitis prevalence, breakpoint analysis was performed using stepwise Chow and Durbin-Watson tests. Results There was a clear decline in the prevalence of rheumatoid vasculitis, and this decline remained evident even after accounting for a decreased number of hospitalizations among RA patients. Peak prevalence occurred among hospitalized patients in the 1980s, and prevalence gradually declined throughout the 1990s. Furthermore, simultaneous breakpoints representing a significant drop in rheumatoid vasculitis prevalence between the years 2000 and 2001 were demonstrated for both inpatients (P < 0.000) and outpatients (P < 0.003). The prevalence of vasculitis dropped 53% among inpatients and 31% among outpatients between 2000 and 2001. Conclusion Our results demonstrate a significant decline in rheumatoid vasculitis prevalence after 2000 in this nationwide sample of hospitalized and ambulatory patients. The clear, consistent drop in prevalence provides an opportunity for the formulation of causal hypotheses, including consideration of the impact of biologic agents used to treat RA, on rheumatoid vasculitis. [source] | |||||||||||||