Effects on Smoking Cessation: Naltrexone Combined with a Cognitive Behavioral

A promising option in substance abuse treatment is the Community Reinforcement Approach (CRA). The opioid antagonist naltrexone (NTX) may work in combination with nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) to block the effects of smoking stimuli in abstinent smokers. Effects of lower doses than 50 mg/dd. have not been reported. A study was conducted in Amsterdam in 2000/2001 with the objective to explore the effects of the combination NTX (25/50-mg dd.), NRT, and CRA in terms of craving and abstinence. In a randomized open label, 2 × 2 between subjects design, 25 recovered spontaneous pneumothorax (SP) participants received 8 weeks of treatment. Due to side effects, only 3 participants were compliant in the 50-mg NTX condition. Craving significantly declined between each measurement and there was a significant interaction between decline in craving and craving measured at baseline. The abstinence rate in the CRA group was nearly double that in the non-psychosocial therapy group (46% vs. 25%; NS) at 3 months follow-up after treatment

The Role of Individual Variables, Organizational Variables and Moral Intensity Dimensions in Libyan Management Accountants’ Ethical Decision Making

This study investigates the association of a broad set of variables with the ethical decision making of management accountants in Libya. Adopting a cross-sectional methodology, a questionnaire including four different ethical scenarios was used to gather data from 229 participants. For each scenario, ethical decision making was examined in terms of the recognition, judgment and intention stages of Rest’s model. A significant relationship was found between ethical recognition and ethical judgment and also between ethical judgment and ethical intention, but ethical recognition did not significantly predict ethical intention—thus providing support for Rest’s model. Organizational variables, age and educational level yielded few significant results. The lack of significance for codes of ethics might reflect their relative lack of development in Libya, in which case Libyan companies should pay attention to their content and how they are supported, especially in the light of the under-development of the accounting profession in Libya. Few significant results were also found for gender, but where they were found, males showed more ethical characteristics than females. This unusual result reinforces the dangers of gender stereotyping in business. Personal moral philosophy and moral intensity dimensions were generally found to be significant predictors of the three stages of ethical decision making studied. One implication of this is to give more attention to ethics in accounting education, making the connections between accounting practice and (in Libya) Islam. Overall, this study not only adds to the available empirical evidence on factors affecting ethical decision making, notably examining three stages of Rest’s model, but also offers rare insights into the ethical views of practising management accountants and provides a benchmark for future studies of ethical decision making in Muslim majority countries and other parts of the developing world

Effects of Anacetrapib in Patients with Atherosclerotic Vascular Disease

BACKGROUND: Patients with atherosclerotic vascular disease remain at high risk for cardiovascular events despite effective statin-based treatment of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels. The inhibition of cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP) by anacetrapib reduces LDL cholesterol levels and increases high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol levels. However, trials of other CETP inhibitors have shown neutral or adverse effects on cardiovascular outcomes. METHODS: We conducted a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial involving 30,449 adults with atherosclerotic vascular disease who were receiving intensive atorvastatin therapy and who had a mean LDL cholesterol level of 61 mg per deciliter (1.58 mmol per liter), a mean non-HDL cholesterol level of 92 mg per deciliter (2.38 mmol per liter), and a mean HDL cholesterol level of 40 mg per deciliter (1.03 mmol per liter). The patients were assigned to receive either 100 mg of anacetrapib once daily (15,225 patients) or matching placebo (15,224 patients). The primary outcome was the first major coronary event, a composite of coronary death, myocardial infarction, or coronary revascularization. RESULTS: During the median follow-up period of 4.1 years, the primary outcome occurred in significantly fewer patients in the anacetrapib group than in the placebo group (1640 of 15,225 patients [10.8%] vs. 1803 of 15,224 patients [11.8%]; rate ratio, 0.91; 95% confidence interval, 0.85 to 0.97; P=0.004). The relative difference in risk was similar across multiple prespecified subgroups. At the trial midpoint, the mean level of HDL cholesterol was higher by 43 mg per deciliter (1.12 mmol per liter) in the anacetrapib group than in the placebo group (a relative difference of 104%), and the mean level of non-HDL cholesterol was lower by 17 mg per deciliter (0.44 mmol per liter), a relative difference of -18%. There were no significant between-group differences in the risk of death, cancer, or other serious adverse events. CONCLUSIONS: Among patients with atherosclerotic vascular disease who were receiving intensive statin therapy, the use of anacetrapib resulted in a lower incidence of major coronary events than the use of placebo. (Funded by Merck and others; Current Controlled Trials number, ISRCTN48678192 ; ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT01252953 ; and EudraCT number, 2010-023467-18 .)

Changing the way Seminaries Teach : Globalization and Theological Education

Hartfordiv, 206 p.; 21 c

La Génération née après guerre et la religion, instituée. Un aperçu de 50 ans de changement religieux aux États Unis / The Post War Génération and Establishment Religion: A Window to 50 Years of Religions Change in the United States

In their paper, the authors show the religious trajectory of the U.S., since the end of the Second World War, through the specific experience of the post-war cohort, commonly referred to as the "baby-boom generation" (namely those born between the years 1946 and 1965) a generation which has a disproportionate influence not only in the religious sphere but in all the sectors of society. They examine 1) the changes in individual religious belief and ex pression; 2) the changes in the institutions which constitute the United States' religious establishment, including the major oldline and evangelical Protestant denominations and Roman Catholicism; 3) the interrelationship between the two. Their analyses emphasize the growing diversity of the ways through which individuals express their religious commitment, which is the result of a widening stream of subjective expressionism in religious matters. They stress the fact that while the centralization trend of denominational institutions that characterized the early 60 years of the twentieth century was reversed, the increasing de-centralization of the centers of institutional religious vitality occurred. If one considers the polarization of the American religious sphere between a multiple, narrow-range vector world view, congruent with a rapidly changing modern society, and a single, integrated, wide-vector world view, shared by different fundamentalist or integrist religious groups, it appears that a vaguely privatized and weakly-integrated faith represents the dominant style of the post-war generation's religious construction and expression.Les auteurs de cet article ont choisi de lire la trajectoire religieuse des Etats-Unis depuis la fin de la Seconde Guerre mondiale à partir de l'expérience particulière d'une cohorte : celle de la "génération du baby-boom", qui rassemble tous ceux qui sont nés entre 1946 et 1965, et qui jouent aujourd'hui un rôle majeur, non seulement dans la sphère religieuse, mais dans tous les secteurs de la société. Ils s'attachent, de manière spécifique, à suivre 1) les changements qui affectent la croyance et l'expression religieuses individuelles ; 2) les changements des institutions qui constituent la "religion établie" des Etats-Unis, à savoir les principales dénominations protestantes traditionnelles et évangéliques, et le catholicisme romain ; 3) les relations entre ces deux ordres de changements. Leur analyse fait ressortir la diversité croissante des formes dans lesquelles les individus expriment, de façon de plus en plus subjectivisée, leur engagement religieux. Elle souligne le retournement corrélatif du processus de centralisation des institutions dénominationnelles caractéristiques des soixante premières années du XXe siècle, et la décentralisation croissante des centres de la vitalité religieuse. Si l'on admet que l'univers religieux américain oscille entre une vision du monde plurielle, à perspective courte, ajustée à une société de changement rapide, et une vision du monde intégrée, unifiée et englobante portée par un certain nombre de courants religieux fondamentalistes ou intégristes, une foi religieuse vaguement privatisée et faiblement intégrée semble bien représenter le style dominant de construction et d'expression religieuses de la génération d'après-guerre.Los autores e este artículo elegieron una lectura sobre la trayectoria religiosa de los Estados Unidos desde los fines de la segunda guerra mundial, y a partir de la experiencia particular de una cohorte demografica: la «generación del baby boom». Esta reune a todos los que nacieron entre 1946 y 1965, y que representan hoy un papel importante, no sólo en la esfera religiosa pero también en todos los sectores de la sociedad. Ellos se dedican especificamente a retrazar 1) las transformaciones que afectan a la creencia y a la expresion religiosa individuales; 2) las transformaciones de las instituciones constituyentes de la «religión establecida» de los Estados Unidos, es decir la principales denominaciones protestantes tradicionales y evangelicas, y el catolicismo romano; 3) las relaciones entre estos dos ordenes de transformationes. El analisis resalta la creciente diversidad de las formas de expresion del compromiso religiosos de los individuos, cada vez más subjetivizada. El resalta además la inversion correlativa al proceso de centralizaciôn de las instituciones domoninacionales caracteristicas de las seis primeras décadas del siglo XX, y la de centralización creciente de los centros de la vitalidad religiosa. El universo religioso americano oscila entre una vision del mundo pluralista, de corta perspectiva, ajustada a una sociedad de rápidas transformaciones, y una visión del mundo integrada, unificada y globalizadora, vehiculada por cor-rientes religiosas fundamentalistas o integristas. Una fé religiosa un tanto privatizada y escasamente integrada parecen más bien representar el estilo dominante de construción y de expresión religiosa de la generación posguerra.Roozen David A., Carroll Jackson W., Roof Wade C., Hervieu-Léger Danièle. La Génération née après guerre et la religion, instituée. Un aperçu de 50 ans de changement religieux aux États Unis / The Post War Génération and Establishment Religion: A Window to 50 Years of Religions Change in the United States. In: Archives de sciences sociales des religions, n°83, 1993. pp. 25-52

Sourcing overseas biomass for EU ambitions: assessing net sustainable export potential from various sourcing countries

Abstract Low‐cost sustainable biomass availability in the European Union may not be able to meet increasing demand; exploring the option of importing biomass is therefore imperative for the years to come. This article assesses sustainable biomass export potential from Brazil, Colombia, Indonesia, Kenya, Ukraine, and the United States by applying a number of sustainability criteria. Only biomass types with the highest potential are selected, to take advantage of economies of scale, e.g. pulpwood, wood waste, and residues in the United States, and agricultural residues in Ukraine. This study found that, except for the United States, pellet markets in the sourcing regions are largely undeveloped. The export potential depends strongly on pellet mill capacity and assumed growth rates in the pellet industry. Results show that the United States, Ukraine, Indonesia, and Brazil offer the highest biomass export potential. In the Business As Usual 2030 scenario, up to 204 PJ could potentially be mobilized; in the High Export scenario this could increase to 1423 PJ, with 89% of the potential being available for costs ranging from 6.4 to 15 €/GJ. These potentials meet the European Commission requirements for a 70% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions set in the Renewable Energy Directive. The total export potentials do not reflect the net possible import potentials to the European Union, as biomass could be imported to other countries where there is a demand for it, where less strict sustainability requirements are applied, and which are proximate to the sourcing regions, notably South Korea, Japan, and China. © 2018 The Authors. Biofuels, Bioproducts and Biorefining published by Society of Chemical Industry and John Wiley Sons, Ltd

Sourcing overseas biomass for EU ambitions: assessing net sustainable export potential from various sourcing countries

Abstract Low‐cost sustainable biomass availability in the European Union may not be able to meet increasing demand; exploring the option of importing biomass is therefore imperative for the years to come. This article assesses sustainable biomass export potential from Brazil, Colombia, Indonesia, Kenya, Ukraine, and the United States by applying a number of sustainability criteria. Only biomass types with the highest potential are selected, to take advantage of economies of scale, e.g. pulpwood, wood waste, and residues in the United States, and agricultural residues in Ukraine. This study found that, except for the United States, pellet markets in the sourcing regions are largely undeveloped. The export potential depends strongly on pellet mill capacity and assumed growth rates in the pellet industry. Results show that the United States, Ukraine, Indonesia, and Brazil offer the highest biomass export potential. In the Business As Usual 2030 scenario, up to 204 PJ could potentially be mobilized; in the High Export scenario this could increase to 1423 PJ, with 89% of the potential being available for costs ranging from 6.4 to 15 €/GJ. These potentials meet the European Commission requirements for a 70% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions set in the Renewable Energy Directive. The total export potentials do not reflect the net possible import potentials to the European Union, as biomass could be imported to other countries where there is a demand for it, where less strict sustainability requirements are applied, and which are proximate to the sourcing regions, notably South Korea, Japan, and China. © 2018 The Authors. Biofuels, Bioproducts and Biorefining published by Society of Chemical Industry and John Wiley Sons, Ltd

Erratum to: Sourcing overseas biomass for EU ambitions: assessing net sustainable export potential from various sourcing countries (Biofuels, Bioproducts and Biorefining, (2019), 13, 2, (293-324), 10.1002/bbb.1853)

In the article “Sourcing overseas biomass for EU ambitions: assessing net sustainable export potential from various sourcing countries” (DOI: 10.1002/bbb.1853), published in Wiley Online Library on 22 March 2018 and in Biofuels, Bioproducts & Biorefining, 13: 293–32, the affiliation for author Dominik Rutz was incorrect. The correct affiliation is WIP Renewable Energies, Munich, Germany

Erratum to : Sourcing overseas biomass for EU ambitions: assessing net sustainable export potential from various sourcing countries (Biofuels, Bioproducts and Biorefining, (2019), 13, 2, (293-324), 10.1002/bbb.1853)

In the article “Sourcing overseas biomass for EU ambitions: assessing net sustainable export potential from various sourcing countries” (DOI: 10.1002/bbb.1853), published in Wiley Online Library on 22 March 2018 and in Biofuels, Bioproducts & Biorefining, 13: 293–32, the affiliation for author Dominik Rutz was incorrect. The correct affiliation is WIP Renewable Energies, Munich, Germany