Compensatory Aspects Research Articles

Refining Methodological Reflection: Exploring the Interviewing Experience of Oocyte Donors

The article reflects on the collaborative experience between a practicing psychologist actively involved in the oocyte donation protocol (participating in guide development, conducting interviews, and drawing conclusions for the clinic) and a philologist who interprets the interview transcripts using narrative and communicative situation analyses. The article begins by describing the interviewing process, the structure of the oocyte-donor guide, and the profile of a “stable donor,” drawing from Russian-language materials. Through narrative analysis of 21 transcripts, the roles of the interviewer and informant at each stage of the interview process are identified, along with their contributions to the discussion and testing of the communicative situation. The paper investigates both the instances of cooperation and discrepancies observed among the participants as they strive to construct a credible and value-consistent autobiographical narrative that comprehensively encompasses their donation experience. The article analyzes both explicit and hidden narrative motives placed by informants in a conversation unfolding from the respondent’s past into a projected future. The authors aim to situate this experience within a broader personal value context, which includes compensatory aspects related to the pressing concerns of potential donors.

Новая методология медико-юридических аспектов компенсации морального вреда по спорам с пациентами

The authors consider the explanations of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation contained in the new Resolution on compensation for moral damage, including items affecting compensatory aspects in the provision of medical care and harm to the health of patients. Changes in the policy of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation on the problem under consideration are shown. An assessment of the possible consequences of the explanations of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation in relation to citizens (patients) and medical organizations, prospects of law enforcement practice based on the provisions of the new Resolution is given.

Hormonal stress responses of growth hormone and insulin-like growth factor-I in highly resistance trained women and men

The purpose of this study was to examine the responses of growth hormone (GH) and insulin-like growth factor-I (IGFI) to intense heavy resistance exercise in highly trained men and women to determine what sex-dependent responses may exist. Subjects were highly resistance trained men (N = 8, Mean ± SD; age, yrs., 21 ± 1, height, cm, 175.3 ± 6.7, body mass, kg, 87.0 ± 18.5, % body fat, 15.2 ± 5.4, squat X body mass, 2.1 ± 0.4; and women (N = 7; Mean ± SD, age, yrs. 24 ± 5, height, cm 164.6 ± 6.7, body mass, kg 76.4 ± 8.8, % body fat, 26.9 ± 5.3, squat X body mass, 1.7 ± 0.6). An acute resistance exercise test protocol (ARET) consisted of 6 sets of 10 repetitions at 80% of the 1 RM with 2 min rest between sets was used as the stressor. Blood samples were obtained pre-exercise, after 3 sets, and then immediately after exercise (IP), 5, 15, 30, and 70 min post-exercise for determination of blood lactate (HLa), and plasma glucose, insulin, cortisol, and GH. Determination of plasma concentrations of IGFI, IGF binding proteins 1, 2, and 3 along with molecular weight isoform factions were determined at pre, IP and 70 min. GH significantly (P ≤ 0.05) increased at all time points with resting concentrations significantly higher in women. Significant increases were observed for HLa, glucose, insulin, and cortisol with exercise and into recovery with no sex-dependent observations. Women showed IGF-I values that were higher than men at all times points with both seeing exercise increases. IGFBP-1 and 2 showed increase with exercise with no sex-dependent differences. IGFBP-3 concentrations were higher in women at all-time points with no exercise induced changes. Both women and men saw an exercise induced increase with significantly higher values in GH in only the mid-range (30-60 kD) isoform. Only women saw an exercise induced increase with significantly higher values for IGF fractions only in the mid-range (30–60 kD) isoform, which were significantly greater than the men at the IP and 70 min post-exercise time points. In conclusion, the salient findings of this investigation were that in highly resistance trained men and women, sexual dimorphisms exist but appear different from our prior work in untrained men and women and appear to support a sexual dimorphism related to compensatory aspects in women for anabolic mediating mechanisms in cellular interactions.

Enhancing sensory acuity and balance function using near-sensory biofeedback-based perturbation intervention for individuals with traumatic brain injury.

Interventions addressing balance dysfunction after traumatic brain injury (TBI) only target compensatory aspects and do not investigate perceptual mechanisms such as sensory acuity. To evaluate the efficacy of a novel intervention that integrates sensory acuity with a perturbation-based approach for improving the perception and functional balance after TBI. A two-group design was implemented to evaluate the effect of a novel, perturbation-based balance intervention. The intervention group (n = 5) performed the intervention with the sinusoidal (0.33, 0.5, and 1 Hz) perturbations to the base of support with amplitudes derived using our novel outcome of sensory acuity - perturbation perception threshold (PPT). The efficacy is evaluated using changes in PPT and functional outcomes (Berg Balance Scale (BBS), Timed-up and Go (TUG), 5-meter walk test (5MWT), and 10-meter walk test (10MWT)). There was a significant post-intervention change in PPT for 0.33 Hz (p = 0.021). Additionally, clinically and statistically significant improvements in TUG (p = 0.03), 5MWT (p = 0.05), and 10MWT (p = 0.04) were observed. This study provides preliminary efficacy of a novel, near-sensory balance intervention for individuals with TBI. The use of PPT is suggested for a comprehensive understanding and treatment of balance dysfunction. The promising results support the investigation in a larger cohort.

Sorting of suitable areas for disposal of construction and demolition waste using GIS and ELECTRE TRI

Inadequate construction and demolition waste disposal create severe environmental impacts in cities when it occurs in an uncontrolled manner. For waste with the possibility of recycling, the appropriate destination would be recycling plants or landfills. In the investigative process, no studies were found that considered the sorting procedure by compensatory and non-compensatory multi-criteria analysis integrated to the Geographic Information System to choose suitable landfills or recycling plants in cities. This study aims to fill this gap with a structured methodology for mapping suitable sites to receive inert waste from small and medium cities. For this, it was considered the identification of relevant criteria and weights definition by Analytic Hierarchy Process method and after performing a sorting procedure by ArcGIS 10.0 software (compensatory aspect) and ELECTRE TRI method (non-compensatory aspect). And then, an aggregate analysis in order to support the decision-making was also developed. An experimental study was carried out with the application of this methodology in a city of the south western of Parana, Brazil, allowing the analysis of criteria such as land use, soil type and slope, as well as distances to urban area, education and health institutions, roads and highways and hydrography network. We combined these data in a multi-criteria analysis to provide an aptitude mapping to identify suitable landfill areas with 5 km2, and sorted as low, medium and high aptitude classes by ArcGIS software and ELECTRE TRI method. With all that, it shows to be efficient, providing relevant practical and theoretical implications to this theme.

Systematic Comparison of Decision Accuracy of Complex Compensatory Decision Rules Combining Multiple Tests in a Higher Education Context

AbstractThis real‐data‐guided simulation study systematically evaluated the decision accuracy of complex decision rules combining multiple tests within different realistic curricula. Specifically, complex decision rules combining conjunctive aspects and compensatory aspects were evaluated. A conjunctive aspect requires a minimum level of performance, whereas a compensatory aspect requires an average level of performance. Simulations were performed to obtain students' true and observed score distributions and to manipulate several factors relevant to a higher education curriculum in practice. The results showed that the decision accuracy depends on the conjunctive (required minimum grade) and compensatory (required grade point average) aspects and their combination. Overall, within a complex compensatory decision rule the false negative rate is lower and the false positive rate higher compared to a conjunctive decision rule. For a conjunctive decision rule the reverse is true. Which rule is more accurate also depends on the average test reliability, average test correlation, and the number of reexaminations. This comparison highlights the importance of evaluating decision accuracy in high‐stake decisions, considering both the specific rule as well as the selected measures.

Perceived discrimination and sexual precursor behaviors in Mexican American preadolescent girls: The role of psychological distress, sexual attitudes, and marianismo beliefs.

This study explored the relation between perceived discrimination and sexual precursor behaviors among 205 Mexican American preadolescent middle school girls. In addition, this study examined whether psychological distress and sexual attitudes mediated and whether marianismo beliefs moderated this relation. A categorical confirmatory factor analysis (CCFA) of the Marianismo Beliefs Scale (MBS) was conducted to test the factor structure with a preadolescent Mexican American population (ages 11-14). A path analysis of analytic models was then performed to examine the hypothesized relations between perceived discrimination, psychological distress, sexual attitudes, marianismo beliefs, and sexual precursor behaviors. Results of the CCFA did not support the original 5-factor structure of the MBS for preadolescent Latina girls. However, a revised version of the MBS indicated an acceptable model fit, and findings from the path analysis indicated that perceived discrimination was both directly and indirectly linked to sexual precursor behaviors via psychological distress. Marianismo was not found to moderate the relation between perceived discrimination and sexual risk behaviors, however certain marianismo pillars were significantly negatively linked with sexual attitudes and precursor behaviors. This study underscores the importance of psychological distress in the perceived discrimination and sexual precursor link as well as the compensatory aspects of marianismo against sexual precursor behaviors in Mexican American preadolescent girls. (PsycINFO Database Record

Different facets of compulsive buying among Chinese students.

Background and aims: Compulsive buying is a severe phenomenon, especially among younger consumers. It is well documented in Western industrial societies like the USA and Germany, and nowadays an increasing interest in compulsive buying in non-Western countries is on the rise. Methods: In the current study, we measured the prevalence of compulsive buying tendencies among Chinese female and male students by using a Chinese translation of the German Compulsive Buying Scale (Raab, Neuner, Reisch & Scherhorn, 2005). We examined the influence of gender, location and age using ANCOVA, and binary logistic regression. Results: Factor analysis identified three factorial dimensions of compulsive buying tendencies which are impairment of impulse control and reactive or compensatory aspects, reduced rationality according to money spending, and post-purchase guilt. Our results indicated that about 6.7% of the sample shows a compulsive buying pattern, and that females are more affected. For location, a geographic difference between Chongqing and Fuzhou was found for the overall compulsive tendencies, but not for the percentages of compulsive buyers. Conclusions: In sum, the existing study provides evidence that Chinese consumers have a factorial structure which differs somewhat in compulsive buying from Western samples. Observations about gender and location were considered. These findings give a deeper understanding of China’s compulsive buying behavior.

Cortical thickness correlates of psychotic experiences: Examining the effect of season of birth using a genetically informative design

Season of birth has been shown to influence risk for several neuropsychiatric diseases. Furthermore, it has been suggested that season of birth modifies a number of brain morphological traits. Since cortical thickness alterations have been reported across some levels of the psychosis-spectrum, this study was aimed at i) assessing the scarcely explored relationship between cortical thickness and severity of subclinical psychotic experiences (PEs) in healthy subjects, and ii) evaluating the potential impact of season of birth in the preceding thickness–PEs relationship. As both PEs and brain cortical features are heritable, the current work used monozygotic twins to separately evaluate familial and unique environmental factors.High-resolution structural MRI scans of 48 twins (24 monozygotic pairs) were analyzed to estimate cortical thickness using FreeSurfer. They were then examined in relation to PEs, accounting for the effects of birth season; putative differential relationships between PEs and cortical thickness depending on season of birth were also tested.Current results support previous findings indicative of cortical thickening in healthy individuals with high psychometrically assessed psychosis scores, probably in line with theories of compensatory aspects of brain features in non-clinical populations. Additionally, they suggest distinct patterns of cortical thickness–PEs relationships depending on birth seasonality. Familial factors underlying the presence of PEs may drive these effects.

Defining features of unhealthy exercise associated with disordered eating and eating disorder diagnoses

ObjectivesThe current study sought to compare different features of unhealthy exercise on associations with disordered eating and their ability to identify individuals with eating disorders. A secondary aim of the study was to compare prevalence and overlap of different aspects of unhealthy exercise and potential differences in their gender distribution. DesignCross-sectional epidemiological study. MethodsA community-based sample of men (n = 592) and women (n = 1468) completed surveys of health and eating patterns, including questions regarding exercise habits and eating disorder symptoms. ResultsCompulsive and compensatory features of exercise were the best predictors of disordered eating and eating disorder diagnoses compared to exercise that was excessive in quantity. Further, compulsive and compensatory aspects of unhealthy exercise represented overlapping, yet distinct qualities in both men and women. ConclusionsIncluding the compulsive quality among the defining features of unhealthy exercise may improve identification of eating disorders, particularly in men. Results suggest that the compensatory aspect of unhealthy exercise is not adequately captured by the compulsive aspect of unhealthy exercise. Thus, interventions that target unhealthy exercise behaviors among high-risk individuals, such as athletes, may benefit from addressing both the compulsive and compensatory aspects of unhealthy exercise. Future prospective longitudinal studies will aid in determining the direction of the association between these features of unhealthy exercise and the onset of eating pathology.

Compensating Biodiversity Loss: The EU Commission's Approach to Compensation under Article 6 of the Habitats Directive

This Article assesses that part of the legal obligation to provide for compensatory habitat under Article 6(4) of the EU Habitats Directive which requires an opinion from the European Commission. This is located within a wider ‘impact neutrality’ context where such offsetting measures are increasingly being advanced. The literature on compensatory habitat, some of which relates to site-specific measures and some to habitat ‘banking’, is considered in order to map how compensatory measures may be prone to failure. This is done against the criteria of functionality, proponent bias, monitoring and enforceability, and economic influence. These are then used to evaluate the Commission’s opinions under the Directive. While the compensation obligation is to be applauded, the Commission’s opinions fare poorly against all these criteria, a common, and important, thread being a lack of transparency. This calls into question the wider compensatory aspects of the legislation.

Educational measurement issues and implications of high stakes decision making in final examinations in secondary education in the Netherlands

While measurement precision is relatively easy to establish for single tests and assessments, it is much more difficult to determine for decision making with multiple tests on different subjects. This latter is the situation in the system of final examinations for secondary education in the Netherlands and is used as an example in this paper. This examination system consists of several school-specific and central parts. A method is presented for quantifying measurement precision for multiple tests in terms of a classification table of true and observed classifications. With this method the percentage of students that is either correctly or incorrectly classified by the tests being administered can be estimated. The method is used to assess the effects of different pass/fail decision rules by application to data from high stakes examinations in pre-university education in 2008. The results are mixed, but generally indicate good properties of compensatory aspects of decision rules. Implications of the results are discussed.

Compensating Biodiversity Loss: From a Soft Glance to a Hard Look?

This Article assesses that part of the legal obligation to provide for compensatory habitat under Article 6(4) of the EU Habitats Directive which requires an opinion from the European Commission. This is located within a wider ‘impact neutrality’ context where such offsetting measures are increasingly being advanced. Although the bare duty is reasonably clear, there is much uncertainty, and some unease, about its scope and application. The literature on compensatory habitat, some of which relates to site-specific measures and some to habitat ‘banking’, is considered in order to map how compensatory measures may be prone to failure. This is done against the criteria of functionality, proponent bias, monitoring and enforceability, and economic influence. These are then used to evaluate the Commission’s opinions under the Directive. While the compensation obligation is to be applauded, the Commission’s opinions fare poorly against all these criteria, a common, and important, thread being a lack of transparency. This calls into question the wider compensatory aspects of the legislation.

Decreased Striatal RGS2 Expression Is Neuroprotective in Huntington's Disease (HD) and Exemplifies a Compensatory Aspect of HD-Induced Gene Regulation

BackgroundThe molecular phenotype of Huntington's disease (HD) is known to comprise highly reproducible changes in gene expression involving striatal signaling genes. Here we test whether individual changes in striatal gene expression are capable of mitigating HD-related neurotoxicity.Methodology/Principal FindingsWe used protein-encoding and shRNA-expressing lentiviral vectors to evaluate the effects of RGS2, RASD2, STEP and NNAT downregulation in HD. Of these four genes, only RGS2 and RASD2 modified mutant htt fragment toxicity in cultured rat primary striatal neurons. In both cases, disease modulation was in the opposite of the predicted direction: whereas decreased expression of RGS2 and RASD2 was associated with the HD condition, restoring expression enhanced degeneration of striatal cells. Conversely, silencing of RGS2 or RASD2 enhanced disease-related changes in gene expression and resulted in significant neuroprotection. These results indicate that RGS2 and RASD2 downregulation comprises a compensatory response that allows neurons to better tolerate huntingtin toxicity. Assessment of the possible mechanism of RGS2-mediated neuroprotection showed that RGS2 downregulation enhanced ERK activation. These results establish a novel link between the inhibition of RGS2 and neuroprotective modulation of ERK activity.ConclusionsOur findings both identify RGS2 downregulation as a novel compensatory response in HD neurons and suggest that RGS2 inhibition might be considered as an innovative target for neuroprotective drug development.

Leukoaraiosis and collaterals in acute ischemic stroke.

We examined the correlation of angiographic collaterals in acute stroke with the presence, extent, and distribution of white matter changes, so-called Leukoaraiosis, in an effort to determine if Leukoaraiosis indicates chronic cerebral hypoperfusion and/or is associated with the development of cerebral collateral circulation. Consecutive acute strokes due to large-vessel occlusion on angiography had preprocedure CT or MRI white matter changes graded utilizing the Fazekas scale incorporating deep and periventricular components. Angiographic collaterals evaluated with a 5-point scale were correlated with leukoaraiosis. Collaterals were evaluated in 102 cases (51 men, 51 women; mean age 66 (SD 18) years with acute occlusions of the proximal middle cerebral artery (MCA) (47%), distal internal carotid artery (ICA) (28%), distal MCA (9%), basilar (7%), proximal ICA (7%), vertebral (1%), posterior cerebral artery (PCA) (1%), and common carotid artery (CCA) (1%). Collateral grade was well distributed across the scale. Periventricular and deep white matter changes were evident in 34% and 51% of cases, respectively. Collateral grade exhibited no relationship with either the presence or extent of periventricular disease (P= .772, r= .029) or deep white matter changes (P= .559, r=-.059). Leukoaraisosis exhibits no overt relationship with the extent of collaterals measured at angiography in acute ischemic stroke. Chronic small-vessel disease may be a distinct pathophysiologic entity unrelated to arteriogenesis and compensatory aspects of collateral flow.

Role of predation and hunting on eastern cottontail mortality at Cape Cod National Seashore, Massachusetts

The degree that hunting may influence game populations depends on whether hunting mortality is additional to (additive) or replaces (compensatory) natural-caused mortalities. In response to limited information on the effects of exploitation on eastern cottontail ( Sylvilagus floridanus (J.A. Allen, 1890)) populations within Cape Cod National Seashore (CCNS), we initiated an investigation of cause-specific mortality using transmitter-equipped cottontails in hunted and nonhunted areas as a way to examine the additive versus compensatory aspect of hunting. Predation caused >70% of all deaths, whereas hunting caused 10% of deaths in the areas sampled. Survival rate was substantially lower among hunted sites (0.05) than at nonhunted sites (0.19) during the winter–spring of year 1, but there was no difference between hunted (0.33) and nonhunted (0.40) sites during year 2. Lower survival in year 1 was likely due to deep and persistent snow that increased vulnerability to predation and probably reduced the prospect for hunting mortalities to be compensated by reductions among other mortality factors. However, at least partial compensation apparently occurred during year 2 when winter weather was less severe. Cottontails at CCNS are near the northern edge of their geographic range and therefore may be ultimately limited by severe weather conditions. Compared with predation, we do not believe that the current levels and distributions of hunting influence cottontail populations at CCNS.

Lessig's implications for intellectual property law and beyond them

The undisputable merit of Lessig's works is his emphasis on the correlation between network technologies, intellectual property laws and the free flow of information, which is a key aspect of the sustainable information society. Technologies backed by intellectual property regimes are portrayed as an instrument allowing exercise of control over the information. These premises, which were clearly articulated by Lessig, form the core of the debate about the appropriateness of current intellectual property regimes. This article revises Lessig's ideas and proposals, but argues that Lessig's suggestions miss the economic aspect of intellectual property: ensuring fair compensation for creativity. The article therefore deals with the intellectual property aspects de-emphasized by Lessig, but having influence on the resolution dilemmas brought to the fore by Lessig and emphasized in recent European political agendas. The conclusions of the article suggest the important role of the compensatory aspects of intellectual property rights in ensuring the accessibility of information and sustainability of digital culture recognized by Lessig.

Competitive and Procedural Determinants of Delight and Disappointment in Consumer Complaint Outcomes

This article examines the impact of competition and complaint handling procedures on the creation of outstanding complaint resolutions. Using a survey of consumer selfreports of delightful and disappointing complaint experiences, competition is found to have a direct but nonlinear relationship with delight in consumer complaint resolutions. Moreover, the relative impact of consumer loyalty as well as various aspects of complaint handling procedures on the creation of delightful or disappointing resolutions to consumer complaints is examined. Consumer delight and disappointment with complaint outcomes are found to be primarily influenced by compensatory aspects of complaint resolutions.

O dano moral em casos de morte e de lesão corporal

O trabalho consiste no estudo do dano moral, como forma de lesão a direito subjetivo. O estudo inicia-se pela conceituação do instituto, diferenciando-o do chamado dano material. Em seguida, há uma análise histórica da "iniuria", delito previsto pelo Direito Romano e considerado pelos civilistas como figura jurídica ancestral dos danos morais. No tocante ao problema da reparabilidade ou-não deste tipo de lesão, faz-se uma breve análise das principais criticas atinentes a este instituto, verificando-se que, em face do Texto Constitucional brasileiro, de 1988, o problema que persiste na atualidade refere-se aos critérios de determinação do "quantum" a ser indenizado. Diante desta consideração e, em face da amplitude do tema, o trabalho passa para o estudo do dano moral no Direito brasileiro com base na lei e na jurisprudência, com enfoque em casos relacionados com morte ou lesão corporal. A análise do instituto termina pelo estudo de outras formas de reparação apresentadas pela doutrina com o intuito de resolver o problema da valoração do dano moral. Em face do presente estudo o autor conclui que, em virtude da falta de objetividade do legislador brasileiro no tocante aos critérios de reparação, o aplicador do Direito deve considerar, sobretudo, o seu aspecto compensatório, deixando o punitivo para um segundo plano.

Why Do Private Companies Demand Auditing? A Case for Organizational Loss of Control

The objective of this paper is to explain the motivation for owners of private companies to voluntarily demand audit (positive) assurance. It is hypothesized that the owner/manager seeks audits as compensatory control systems for the organizational loss of control inherent in hierarchical organizations. Thus, the expected value of wealth at risk due to loss of control sets a lower limit on the amount owners would be willing to pay for audits to compensate for that loss. The hypothesized relationship was tested using information for 103 private companies demanding audit (positive) assurance. The obtained relationships were basically unaltered by the introduction of lenders' requirement of audits (n = 40). Furthermore, the hypothesized compensatory aspect of audit assurance was absent for the demand for negative assurance (reviews) in a sample of 31 companies. This is consistent with the fact that negative assurance is not viewed as a way of providing confidence so as to compensate owners for loss of direct supervision and control.