The influence of the Palestinian sociocultural values in shaping the vernacular architecture of Nablus city

Recently, environmental architecture and sustainable construction has been ranked on top of the worldâ s interests. Making use of natural resources helps in reducing energy consumption and costs associated with the operation of buildings. The current architectural approaches and designs in Palestine are far away from environmental concepts, copying and simulating abroad approaches, without taking into account the culture, climate, and inhabitant's needs. On the contrast, vernacular architecture has achieved environmental concepts and has given suitable approaches and samples - without any need to simulate or copy - which come from people and land. This paper discusses how the Palestinian socio-cultural context shaped the residential vernacular architecture in Palestine, taking the old city of Nablus as a case-study. The research concept depends on analysing and trying to understand the effect of the socio-cultural context on vernacular architecture and trying to reach some rules or understandings of how it works in order to reach a modern environmental dwelling that is suitable to this concept. The research method goes through analysing study cases from the traditional architecture models and the Nablus city is selected as a case study. This analytical and qualitative method can lead to deep understanding for how to benefit from vernacular architecture in Palestine in finding the future environmental residential construction. One of the main findings of this research is to set general and special rules for building sustainable buildings in Palestine from the socio-cultural point view, in order to be a reference for designers, stakeholders, ministry of planning, and municipalities.

Influence of the elevation of the left ventricular diastolic pressure on the values of the first temporal derivative of the ventricular pressure (dP/dt)

PURPOSE: To assess the effects of the elevation of the left ventricular end-diastolic pressure (LVEDP) on the value of the 1st temporal derivative of the ventricular pressure (dP/dt). METHODS: Nineteen anesthetized dogs were studied. The dogs were mechanically ventilated and underwent thoracotomy with parasympathetic nervous system block. The LVEDP was controlled with the use of a perfusion circuit connected to the left atrium and adjusted to the height of a reservoir. The elevation of the LVEDP was achieved by a sudden increase in the height of a reservoir filled with blood. Continuous recordings of the electrocardiogram, the aortic and ventricular pressures and the dP/dt were performed. RESULTS: Elevation of the LVEDP did not result in any variation of the heart rate (167±16.0bpm, before the procedure; 167±15.5bpm, after the procedure). All the other variables assessed, including systolic blood pressure (128±18.3mmHg and 150±21.5mmHg), diastolic blood pressure (98±16.9mmHg and 115±19.8mmHg), LVEDP (5.5±2.49 and 9.3±3.60mmHg), and dP/dt (4,855 ± 1,082 mmHg/s and 5,149±1,242mmHg/s) showed significant increases following the expansion of the ventricular cavity. Although the elevation of the dP/dt was statistically significant, 6 dogs curiously showed a decrease in the values of dP/dt. CONCLUSION: Sudden elevation of the LVEDP resulted in increased values of dP/dt; however, in some dogs, this response was not uniform.

Normal values of echocardiographic measurements. A population-based study

OBJECTIVE: To describe echocardiographic measurements and left ventricular mass in a population sample of healthy adults inhabitants of the urban region of Porto Alegre. METHODS: An analytical, observational, population-based, cross-sectional study was done. Through a multi-stage probability sample, 114 individuals were selected to be submitted to a M-mode and two-dimensional echocardiogram with color Doppler. The analyses were restricted to healthy participants. Echocardiographic measurements were described by mean, standard deviation, 95 percentile and 95% confidence limits. RESULTS: A total of 100 healthy participants, with several characteristics similar to those from the original population, had a complete and reliable echocardiographic examination. The measurements of aorta, left atrium, interventricular septum, left ventricle in systole and diastole, left posterior wall and left ventricular mass, adjusted or not for body surface area or height, were significantly higher in males. The right ventricle size was similar among the genders. Several echocardiographic measurements were within standard normal limits. Interventricular septum, left posterior wall and left ventricular mass, adjusted or not for anthropometric measurements, and aortic dimensions had lower mean and range than the reference limits. CONCLUSION: The means and estimates of distribution for the measurements of interventricular septum, left posterior wall and left ventricular mass found in this survey were lower than those indicated by the international literature and accepted as normal limits.

Epworth's sleepiness scale in outpatients with different values of arterial blood pressure

OBJECTIVE: To compare sleepiness scores of the Epworth scale in patients with different levels of arterial pressure when undergoing outpatient monitoring within the context of clinical evaluation. METHODS: A total of 157 patients selected for outpatient monitoring of arterial pressure during hypertension evaluation were divided into 3 groups: group 1 - normotensive; group 2 - hypertensive; group 3 - resistant hypertensive. For analysis, values > or = 11 were considered as associated with respiratory disturbances during sleep. RESULTS: Seventeen (10.8%) patients in group 1, 112 (71.3%) in group 2, and 28 (17.8%) in group 3, which was composed of aged, more severely hypertensive individuals, were analyzed. Groups were similar relative to sex and body mass index, but different in relation to systolic and diastolic pressure levels and age. Despite an absolute difference, no statistically significant difference occurred between Epworth scores and in the proportion of patients with values > or = 11 (5.9% vs. 18.8% vs. 212.4%; P=0.37). Despite the positive association between degree of sleepiness measured with the scale and the severity of the hypertension, no statistical significance occurred following control by age (p=0.18). CONCLUSION: A positive correlation exists between degree of sleepiness and hypertension severity. The absence of a statistical significance shown in the present study could be due to a beta type of error. Instruments that render this complaint into an objective finding could help in the pursuit of an investigation of respiratory disturbances during sleep in more severely hypertensive patients, and should therefore be studied better.

4-Second Exercise Test: Reference Values for Ages 18–81 Years

Background: Physiological reflexes modulated primarily by the vagus nerve allow the heart to decelerate and accelerate rapidly after a deep inspiration followed by rapid movement of the limbs. This is the physiological and pharmacologically validated basis for the 4-s exercise test (4sET) used to assess the vagal modulation of cardiac chronotropism. Objective: To present reference data for 4sET in healthy adults. Methods: After applying strict clinical inclusion/exclusion criteria, 1,605 healthy adults (61% men) aged between 18 and 81 years subjected to 4sET were evaluated between 1994 and 2014. Using 4sET, the cardiac vagal index (CVI) was obtained by calculating the ratio between the duration of two RR intervals in the electrocardiogram: 1) after a 4-s rapid and deep breath and immediately before pedaling and 2) at the end of a rapid and resistance-free 4-s pedaling exercise. Results: CVI varied inversely with age (r = -0.33, p < 0.01), and the intercepts and slopes of the linear regressions between CVI and age were similar for men and women (p > 0.05). Considering the heteroscedasticity and the asymmetry of the distribution of the CVI values according to age, we chose to express the reference values in percentiles for eight age groups (years): 18–30, 31–40, 41–45, 46–50, 51–55, 56–60, 61–65, and 66+, obtaining progressively lower median CVI values ranging from 1.63 to 1.24. Conclusion: The availability of CVI percentiles for different age groups should promote the clinical use of 4sET, which is a simple and safe procedure for the evaluation of vagal modulation of cardiac chronotropism.

Negotiating cultural values in bi-national relationships : a comparative research on children from German-Chinese families

Magdeburg, Univ., Fak. für Geistes-, Sozial- und Erziehungswiss., Diss., 2012

Clarke critical values of subanalytic Lipschitz continuous functions

We prove that any subanalytic locally Lipschitz function has the Sard property. Such functions are typically nonsmooth and their lack of regularity necessitates the choice of some generalized notion of gradient and of critical point. In our framework these notions are defined in terms of the Clarke and of the convex-stable subdifferentials. The main result of this note asserts that for any subanalytic locally Lipschitz function the set of its Clarke critical values is locally finite. The proof relies on Pawlucki's extension of the Puiseuxlemma. In the last section we give an example of a continuous subanalytic function which is not constant on a segment of "broadly critical" points, that is, points for which we can find arbitrarily short convex combinations of gradients at nearby points.

Heritability, determinants and reference values of renal length: a family-based population study.

OBJECTIVES: In this population-based study, reference values were generated for renal length, and the heritability and factors associated with kidney length were assessed. METHODS: Anthropometric parameters and renal ultrasound measurements were assessed in randomly selected nuclear families of European ancestry (Switzerland). The adjusted narrow sense heritability of kidney size parameters was estimated by maximum likelihood assuming multivariate normality after power transformation. Gender-specific reference centiles were generated for renal length according to body height in the subset of non-diabetic non-obese participants with normal renal function. RESULTS: We included 374 men and 419 women (mean ± SD, age 47 ± 18 and 48 ± 17 years, BMI 26.2 ± 4 and 24.5 ± 5 kg/m(2), respectively) from 205 families. Renal length was 11.4 ± 0.8 cm in men and 10.7 ± 0.8 cm in women; there was no difference between right and left renal length. Body height, weight and estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) were positively associated with renal length, kidney function negatively, age quadratically, whereas gender and hypertension were not. The adjusted heritability estimates of renal length and volume were 47.3 ± 8.5 % and 45.5 ± 8.8 %, respectively (P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: The significant heritability of renal length and volume highlights the familial aggregation of this trait, independently of age and body size. Population-based references for renal length provide a useful guide for clinicians. KEY POINTS: • Renal length and volume are heritable traits, independent of age and size. • Based on a European population, gender-specific reference values/percentiles are provided for renal length. • Renal length correlates positively with body length and weight. • There was no difference between right and left renal lengths in this study. • This negates general teaching that the left kidney is larger and longer.

Olympic education experiences: the sponsorship in the promotion of Olympic values

This text was presented at the 16th International Seminar on Olympic Studies for Postgraduate Students that was organised by the International Olympic Academy in Ancient Olympia, from 1st to 30th July 2008. First here are reported, fundamental concepts on Olympics such as the Olympic values and the educational mandate of Pierre de Coubertin, the Olympic brand and symbols, the sponsorship and the Olympic partner programme. Then there is a chapter regarding the Top sponsors educational initiatives on Olympic values, and specially, describing the Olympic sponsors involvement in education and Top sponsors educational activities. And finally, the author analyses the sponsorship role in the promotion of Olympic Values Education, providing conclusions, comments on future and perspectives and some recommendations.

The new role of the mass media in the construction of sport and Olympic values

This paper was presented in the International Symposium on Toward the Creation of New-Sport Cultures, undertaken in Osaka, Japan, in January 28, 1996. The main purpose is to make an interpretation of the cultural values of sport and Olympism in contemporary society, considering the enormous influence that the media have on them.

Earnings management and cultural values

Using theory and empirical data from social psychology to measure for cultural differences between countries, we study the effect of individualism as defined by Hofstede (1980) and egalitarianism as defined by Schwartz (1994, 1999, 2004) on earnings management. We find a significant influence of both cultural measures. In line with Licht et al. (2004), who argue that individualistic societies may be less susceptible to corruption, we find that countries scoring high on individualism tend to have lower levels of earnings management. In addition, we find that egalitarianism, defined as a society's cultural orientation with respect to intolerance for abuses of market and political power, is negatively related with earnings management. Our results are robust to different specifications and controls. The main message of this paper is that besides formal institutions, cultural differences are relevant to explain earnings management behaviour. We think that our work adds to the understanding of the importance of cultural values in managerial behaviour across countries contributing to the literature on earnings management and law and institutions.

Dividends and weighted values in games with externalities

We consider cooperative environments with externalities (games in partition function form) and provide a recursive definition of dividends for each coalition and any partition of the players it belongs to. We show that with this definition and equal sharing of these dividends the averaged sum of dividends for each player, over all the coalitions that contain the player, coincides with the corresponding average value of the player. We then construct weighted Shapley values by departing from equal division of dividends and finally, for each such value, provide a bidding mechanism implementing it.

Values, Multiculturalism and Representations

The theory of values is underdeveloped within economics with very few theoretical models explaining how values are created and propagated through a population. Those models that do exist are limited in how well they explain the role of values and how they behave. This paper argues that the theory of values needs to be fundamentally rethought, incorporating basic ideas from psychology, anthropology and philosophy that have largely been ignored in the literature. The resulting model is applied to answer some fundamental issues surrounding the notion of multiculturalism.

Blood pressure change and outcome in acute ischemic stroke: the impact of baseline values, previous hypertensive disease and previous antihypertensive treatment.

BACKGROUND: Management of blood pressure (BP) in acute ischemic stroke is controversial. The present study aims to explore the association between baseline BP levels and BP change and outcome in the overall stroke population and in specific subgroups with regard to the presence of arterial hypertensive disease and prior antihypertensive treatment. METHODS: All patients registered in the Acute STroke Registry and Analysis of Lausanne (ASTRAL) between 2003 and 2009 were analyzed. Unfavorable outcome was defined as modified Rankin score more than 2. A local polynomial surface algorithm was used to assess the effect of BP values on outcome in the overall population and in predefined subgroups. RESULTS: Up to a certain point, as initial BP was increasing, optimal outcome was seen with a progressively more substantial BP decrease over the next 24-48 h. Patients without hypertensive disease and an initially low BP seemed to benefit from an increase of BP. In patients with hypertensive disease, initial BP and its subsequent changes seemed to have less influence on clinical outcome. Patients who were previously treated with antihypertensives did not tolerate initially low BPs well. CONCLUSION: Optimal outcome in acute ischemic stroke may be determined not only by initial BP levels but also by the direction and magnitude of associated BP change over the first 24-48 h.

Work values, endogenous sentiments and redistribution

We examine the interactions between individual behavior, sentiments and the social contract in a model of rational voting over redistribution. Agents have moral "work values". Individuals' self-esteem and social consideration of others are endogenously determined comparing behaviors to moral standards. Attitudes toward redistribution depend on self-interest and social preferences. We characterize the politico-economic equilibria in which sentiments, labor supply and redistribution are determined simultaneously. The equilibria feature different degrees of "social cohesion" and redistribution depending on pre-tax income inequality. In clustered equilibria the poor are held partly responsible for their low income since they work less than the moral standard and hence redistribution is low. The paper proposes a novel explanation for the emergence of different sentiments and social contracts across countries. The predictions appear broadly in line with well-documented differences between the United States and Europe.