Major electrocardiographic abnormalities according to the Minnesota coding system among Brazilian adults (from the ELSA-Brasil cohort study)

The electrocardiogram is a simple and useful clinical tool; nevertheless, few studies have evaluated the prevalence of electrocardiographic abnormalities in the Latin American population. This study aims to evaluate the major electrocardiographic abnormalities according to the Minnesota coding system in Brazilian adults, stratified by gender, age, race, and cardiovascular risk factors. Data from 14,424 adults (45.8% men, age 35 to 74 years) were obtained at baseline of the Brazilian Longitudinal Study of Adult Health (ELSA-Brasil), according to standardized protocol. The electrocardiogram were obtained with the Burdick Atria 6100 machine, stored on Pyramis System, automatically coded according to the Minnesota coding system by the Glasgow University software and then manually revised. Major abnormalities were more prevalent in men than women (11.3% and 7.9%, p <0.001). These differences were consistent through the different age groups, race, and number of cardiovascular risk factors. Electrocardiographic major abnormalities were more prevalent in black participants for both men (black: 15.1%, mixed: 10.4%, white: 11.1%, p = 0.001) and women (black: 10%, mixed: 7.6%, white: 7.2%, p = 0.004). In conclusion, in this large sample of Brazilian adults, the prevalence of major electrocardiographic abnormalities was higher among men, the elderly, black, and among people with more cardiovascular risk factors

A mathematical approach to the boolean minimization problem

Qualitative comparative analysis, Boolean minimization, Computer algorithms, Small-N research,

Die Chancen der Sozialen Marktwirtschaft und die Rolle der Ökonomen

It is first shown that the potential of the market mechanism to solve pressing problems of resource allocation is not being used to its full extent, and three examples from the field of social policy are given. Secondly, it is argued that the public often ignores the advice of economists because they do not have a convincing concept of the term „social” in the Social Market Economy. Existing proposals by economists are examined and found wanting. Finally, it is proposed to equate the term „social” with the goal of equality of opportunity, and again three examples are given in which this goal is insufficiently achieved in Germany. Copyright 2008 der Autor Journal compilation 2008, Verein für Socialpolitik und Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Reducing Complexity in Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA): Remote and Proximate Factors and the Consolidation of Democracy

Comparative methods based on set theoretic relationships such as 'fuzzy set Qualitative Comparative Analysis' (fs/QCA) represent a useful tool for dealing with complex causal hypotheses in terms of necessary and sufficient conditions under the constraint of a medium-sized number of cases. However, real-world research situations might make the application of fs/QCA difficult in two respects - namely, the complexity of the results and the phenomenon of limited diversity. We suggest a two-step approach as one possibility to mitigate these problems. After introducing the difference between remote and proximate factors, the application of a two-step fs/QCA approach is demonstrated analyzing the causes of the consolidation of democracy. We find that different paths lead to consolidation, but all are characterized by a fit of the institutional mix chosen to the societal context in terms of power dispersion. Hence, we demonstrate that the application of fs/QCA in a two-step manner helps to formulate and test equifinal and conjunctural hypotheses in medium-size N comparative analyses, and thus to contribute to an enhanced understanding of social phenomena