bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Cross-Cultural Communication Differences in Online Learning
Authors: Peart Tasha
Published: April 2019

This chapter discusses and evaluates research on cross-cultural communication differences in online learning at the university level. It starts out by discussing the growth of online education in recent years and the historical context of online education. The chapter then evaluates research on differences in cross-cultural online learning primarily between university students from the Western part of the world compared to students from the East. Barriers in cross-cultural online education cited in the literature include language, technology, and instructional design. Future research on Western-based online education should assess cross-cultural differences for students from other parts of the world including Africa, the Caribbean, and Latin America.
Globalization and Localization in Online Settings
Authors: Farmer Lesley S. J.
Published: April 2019

In designing online instruction, increasingly educators need to consider cultural aspects of the educational philosophy, concepts, language, resources, teaching strategies, ICT literacy, learning activities, and student interaction. These elements largely depend on the learning outcomes and the learners' situation. While some factors are universal, such as declarative knowledge and basic human needs, others are much more culturally defined, such as “soft” skills and prior educational experience. This chapter focuses on evaluating the need for globalizing or localizing resources and experiences based on needs assessment. It also gives strategies on ways to globalize or localize these resources and experiences.
Online Instructional Practices for Racially Diverse Student Populations in United States Higher Education Institutions
Authors: Mutahi Teresa , Gazda Stefanie
Published: April 2019

Both individual online courses and fully online programs in the United States have gained widespread acceptance. They are also more diverse than ever due to students' demographic changes. There are multiple challenges to student learning and to instructor teaching, and in this chapter, the authors present literature on online learning challenges and possible best practices for faculty training, instructional design, course content, intercultural miscommunication, accessibility for students with disabilities, and social isolation. Use of inclusive teaching methods are recommended. These are methods that promote effective cross-cultural pedagogies including methods that create learning tasks that foster reciprocal learning about cultures, expose learners to multiple perspectives, and facilitate development of skills in global thinking and intercultural competence. Use of universal instructional techniques to address multiple learning styles and integrating multicultural perspectives in course content have resulted in student success, satisfaction, as well as reduced stress and social isolation in online classes.
Instructional Design Considerations, Challenges, and Best Practices on Cross-Cultural Adult Web-Based Learning Experiences in Higher Education
Authors: Yongo Cyd W. Nzyoka
Published: April 2019

This chapter is about instructional design (ID), an area of instruction that is rooted on following a strategic development of customized teaching methodologies. It explores various facets of ID, with the aim of providing readers with an in-depth understanding of what ID entails. The topics discussed within this chapter include 1) exploring the considerations needed when engaging in ID, 2) challenges in ID, and 3) best practices (BP) in ID. All these are important in enabling interested parties to formulate teaching methods that befit their respective adult learners globally. To provide a holistic synopsis of the discussion, the author also compares and contrasts the past and present as it relates to the chapter's specific topic and the main theme of the book. The discourse concludes with highlighting research recommendations for ID and its implications into the future.
Super Soldiers (Part 1)
Authors: Lin Patrick , Mehlman Max , Abney Keith , Galliott Jai
Published: April 2019

After World War II, much debate unfolded about the ethical, legal, and social implications of military human enhancement, due in part to Adolf Hitler's war on the “genetically unfit” and the United States military's experimentation with psychedelic drugs such as LSD. Interest in that debate has waxed and waned since the 1940s. However, it would be foolish or perhaps even dangerous to believe that America and its modern allies have abandoned efforts to upgrade service members' bodies and minds to create the “super soldiers” necessary to match the increasing pace of modern warfare and dominate the strengthening militaries of China and North Korea. Slogans such as “be all that you can be and a whole lot more” still reign strong at the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and, according to some military futurists, the so-called “War on Terror” has only proven that military superpowers need a new type of soldier that is independent, network-integrated, and more lethal than ever before. Patterns of public risk perception, military expenditure, and new technological developments suggest that it is now time to re-open or reinvigorate the original debate. The authors' contribution comes in two parts. In this chapter, they provide a brief background to military human enhancement before defining it carefully and exploring the relevant controversies. In the second, they more explicitly examine the relevant legal, operational, and moral challenges posed by these efforts.
Human Capital Accumulation in Medical Simulated Learning Environments
Authors: Angjellari-Dajci Fiorentina , Sapienza Christine , Lawless William F. , Kavanagh Kathleen
Published: April 2019

Economic evaluations of the use of medical simulation in nursing curricula to enhance human capital and positively affect clinical and patient outcomes are rare. This chapter first provides a conceptual model of the use of simulated learning environments (SLEs) in nursing curricula and associated clinical and patient outcomes. Second, it reviews economic evaluation methods in medical simulation drawing from similar fields, such as aviation. Third, it provides a methodological framework for conducting full economic evaluations of SLE programs, which includes the identification, measurement, valuation and comparison of all relevant economic benefits with economic costs for any competing programs. The framework used in this chapter has applicability to any health care field, in which medical simulations are used as an alternative program, to serve as a guide, or be adopted with ease.
From Control to Commitment Work Systems
Authors: Innocenti Laura , Sammarra Alessia , Profili Silvia
Published: April 2019

The shift towards a flatter, more networked and flexible organization has required an alternative approach to employment issues - from a normative and prescriptive “Personnel Management” approach to a broader “Human Resource Management” (HRM) approach - so as to foster employees' commitment and empowerment. Through a range of HRM practices, so-called High Commitment Work Systems (HCWS), organizations seek to engender higher level of identification, empowerment and autonomy, which are crucial for the ‘post-bureaucratic employee' who is expected to use intuition, discretion and knowledge to deal with ongoing changes and service demands. Focusing on recruitment and selection, career management and flexible work arrangements, the chapter argues that contemporary HR practices offer a powerful mechanism that modern organizations may use to replace bureaucratic control. However, the analysis also highlights several contradictions and tensions that surface during the adoption of HCWS and may explain some of the unsatisfying outcomes of the post-bureaucratic approach.
Self-Managing Teams in Small and Medium Enterprises (SME)
Authors: Rubio-Andrés Mercedes , Gutiérrez-Broncano Santiago , Varona-Castillo Luis
Published: April 2019

Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) are looking for a sustainable and profitable business concept. They use a human resource model according to the situation and establish a democratic system with flexible work, focusing on responsibility and initiative and increasing the self-control of the team´s members. Self-managing teams have been used more and more in recent years in the business environment. They are relatively autonomous work groups whose members share responsibility and leadership to accomplish their independent tasks. Their objective is to develop a type of collective knowledge that requires the pooling of individual knowledge. Their characteristics include independent, autonomous decision making, shared responsibility, and shared leadership. Sometimes, self-managing teams are also responsible for personnel decisions within the team, such as working hours, the selection and contracting of members, dismissal, and even determining salaries. In sum, the authors propose self-managing teams (such as High Performance Practices) as a good human resource management in small and medium enterprises and show how they can help to create organizational effectiveness and competitive advantage in SMEs.
The Influence of Knowledge Management Process Supported With Organizational Strategies on Organizational Performance via Organizational Innovation and Technology
Authors: Akgül Yakup , Tunca Mustafa Zihni
Published: April 2019

In this chapter, the authors aim to investigate the impact of knowledge management and strategy configuration coherence on İstanbul stock market businesses' innovation and organizational performance through a quantitative analysis carried out on a sample of 203 İstanbul stock market businesses. This study also identified the relationship of organizational performance from the standpoint of the balanced scorecard, which includes the customer-related, internal business process and perceptual financial aspects of organizational performance in İstanbul stock market businesses context. A survey was administered and a sample of 203 middle managers was analyzed using partial least squares (PLS-Smart 2.0) for inferential analysis and SPSS version 22 for descriptive insights. The results of the study revealed that business strategies influence the knowledge management processes fully or partially. Knowledge management processes influence the innovation partially. Innovation influences the organizational performance fully. Knowledge management processes and technology influence the organizational performance partially. Knowledge management processes, technology, and business strategies influence the organizational performance partially.
Readiness for Agriculture Companies Effectiveness Begin With Employee Motivation
Authors: Oba Ibrahim , Mândricel Diana Andreea
Published: April 2019

The main aim of this article is to contribute to the understanding of the organizational change and the effect of the human factor within the management of change in nigerian agriculture companies. The method approached considers an investigative study to identify the main directions of the manifestation of organizational performance among private companies to identify and motivate employees' contribution to organizational performance. The results reveal that the best motivation strategies remain those that take into account employees' motivation and satisfaction levels and determine their degree of involvement. Finally, these findings are relevant for the transformation of human resources from a passive state to an active one in producing and implementing change.
The Motivational Profile of Employees in Simulated Enterprises
Authors: Mândricel Diana Andreea
Published: April 2019

Human motivation is the centre of interest for many specialists in management because it is the activity that produces the most profound economic consequences for organizations. As employees become more involved in IT processes, traditional methods of motivation are no longer efficient, and so within this paper drastic changes in practices related to human resources can be seen. This article intends to identify and analyse the motivational profile of employees in simulated enterprises as well as develop a plan to measure motivation adapted to the Romanian socio-economic reality. Thus, managers should avoid common approaches in the development of programs, models, and policies to help motivate employees. This will allow them to be able to create a work environment that will allow employees to motivate themselves because extrinsic motivation can decrease productivity.
Human Resource Planning as a Strategic Function
Authors: Jha Jatinder Kumar , Singh Manjari
Published: April 2019

This paper explores the strategic importance of human resource (HR) planning and the various techniques employed by organizations to attract talent and thus to gain a competitive edge. In this paper, the authors have tried to explore the various biases that come into play when supervisors forecast for human resources. Backed by research, the paper recommends the integration of line managers with HR managers and their participations in strategic planning to enable the HR managers to gain valuable insights for HR planning. The paper further suggests that though biases cannot be ruled out completely but they can be controlled by providing relevant training to the HR and line managers to forecast dynamics. Further, the judgement of the line managers could be complemented with other forecasting techniques to make the process more reliable.
Performance Appraisal Approaches and Methods for IT/IS Projects
Authors: Silva António , Varajão João , Pereira José Luís , Pinto Carlos Sousa
Published: April 2019

In increasingly demanding environments, organizations need to manage their human resources effectively, as these are fundamental to their success. Therefore, it is important to improve the performance of these resources by conducting systematic evaluations and by collecting information on their productivity, training needs, and individual and team performance. In the context of Information Technologies/Information Systems (IT/IS) projects, there is not much research work focused on human resources performance evaluation. This paper aims to fill this gap by reviewing approaches and methods for performance appraisal, which can be successfully applied in IT/IS projects. Are presented approaches and methods focused on: personality; behaviors; comparison; and outcomes/results.
Emotional Intelligence and Personality Traits as Predictors of Job Performance of IT Employees
Authors: Dhani Priyam , Sharma Tanu
Published: April 2019

The chief aim of this article is to examine the emotional intelligence (EI) and personality traits as the predictors of job performance of IT employees in India. To obtain this, the data was collected from 158 middle management employees working in Indian IT sector through random sampling method with the help of three scales such as DKEIT, JPI, and MPI. After data collection, the study carried out a different statistical analysis which includes frequency, correlation and regression analysis through SPSS 23.0 version. The study findings reported that both EI and Personality Traits impact the performance of job of IT employees, i.e. both Personality Traits and EI operate as a predictor of Job Performance of Indian IT employees. Based on which, the article gives few recommendations to future researchers.
The Biased Truth
Authors: Nicholson Andre
Published: April 2019

Consumers of news should expect to consume reports, which are an accurate and unbiased reflection of local, national, and world events. However, due to limitations that affect the packaging and presentation of many news stories today, consumers may not be experiencing a true reflection of those issues. This exploratory study examined three genres of news for objectivity and bias in the reporting of news stores: local news, national news, and satire news. The study found that although local news reporters attempt to report news stories with an objective narrative, it is often the news story's subject that impedes the process of objectivity. National and satire news programs also lose their objectivity based on the narrative presented by the hosts of the program.
Spreading the News
Authors: Baron Robert J.
Published: April 2019

This chapter is concerned with the process of “spreading the news” through social media. It suggests a method of rhetorical analysis that focuses less attention on the content of news productions and more attention on analyzing how audience members might make use of the news. This transition of focus from content to audience use should lead news producers to see the value of content that engages with audiences and enables audience members to engage in the sharing and spreading of news content. The purpose of this chapter is twofold: 1) to help journalists design content that engages their audiences in the process of spreading the news in ways that can go far beyond the reach of traditional news formats and 2) to provide journalism scholars with a means of understanding the ways in which audiences and the news media interact in social media-rich communication environments.
Toward a Typology of Crowdfunding Motivations
Authors: Vedantam Leela
Published: April 2019

Crowdfunding is a modern approach to provide real-time financial assistance to those entrepreneurs who are interested in starting seed ventures. This phenomenon is developing slowly and the financial regulators are considering options to put appropriate checks and balances to regulate these activities. Although the experience of crowdfunding may not be satisfying as it ought to be, but there a sense of willingness on the part of the civil society to participate in crowdfunding as it is associated with a good cause. It is important to note that crowdfunding as a system is being based amongst small and mid-sized income group members. The motivation to support the cause of entrepreneurs is growing as the fund lenders are novice and in the threshold stage of supporting such seed ventures. The motivations of fund lender differ depending on their personal and environmental factors, especially in connection to the emerging laws and mandatory disclosures under the financial regulatory regime. In this paper, the focus is on (i) identification of what motivates fund lenders to support entrepreneurs and the impact of the fund movement.
A Business Model Framework for Crowd-Driven IoT Ecosystems
Authors: Ziouvelou Xenia , McGroarty Frank
Published: April 2019

This article describes how the era of hyper-connectivity is characterized by distributed, crowd-centric ecosystems that utilise cutting edge technology so as to harness the collective power, co-creation ability and intelligence of the crowd utilising under open participatory value creation models. The Internet of Things (IoT) has fueled the emergence of such ecosystems that leverage not only the power of physical things connected to the Internet but also the wisdom of the crowd to observe, measure, and make sense of phenomena via user-owned mobile and wearable devices. Existing business modelling literature has to date, placed no research attention on business models for such emerging ecosystems. This article aims to fill this gap by examining the dynamics of crowd-driven IoT ecosystems and introducing a business model framework for such environments, encompassing all relevant value-creating actors, activities and processes, facilitating this way a holistic ecosystem business model analysis.
Collective Intelligence in Online Education
Authors: Farmer Lesley S. J.
Published: April 2019

Collective intelligence may be loosely defined as the capacity of a group to think, learn, and create collectively. Online education reflects an interactive mode relative to information, particularly because of social media, that can involve expertise and resources that generate collective intelligence to address issues. Several theories reflect a belief in the dynamic and situational meanings that collectives create. The impact of technology, particularly in terms of social networks, also informs collective intelligence-related educational theories. This chapter explains conditions for optimum use of collective intelligence, noting individual and group behaviors, cultural factors, and its application in online education.
Crowdsourcing in Local Public Administration
Authors: Sumra Kalsoom BeBe , Bing Wang
Published: April 2019

Social networks have become very popular online sources of participation in crowdsourcing. This article examines the antecedents of user participation in crowdsourcing and importance of online community involvement in local public administration. Based on data collected from local public administrators and local public through survey, the results produce evidence that importance of online platforms in crowdsourcing can have a consistent impact on services delivery system in local public administration and importance of online open sources have significantly higher level in crowdsourcing on the whole, while importance of social media have significantly lower level overall. The paper contributes with potential implications and recommendations for local public management to achieve effective services delivery in developing countries through crowdsourced work. The present study is the first study that not only shows the effect of online platforms in local public administration, but also analyses the antecedents of crowdsourcing for participation (knowledge sharing, consultation, innovative ideation and reporting).
An Analysis of Unmanned Aircraft Registration Effectiveness
Authors: Pentz Ronald , Tang He (Herman)
Published: April 2019

This article describes how small unmanned aircraft systems (sUAS) are growing at a rapid pace. They are inexpensive and widely available for both hobbyist and commercial use. However, with this rapid growth, regulations are having a difficult time keeping pace to safely incorporate them into the United States National Airspace. Recent regulations requiring the registration of all sUAS have been overturned by the United States Courts of Appeals. This research provides a statistical analysis of the effectiveness of the registration regulation in the reduction of unauthorized and careless sUAS operation prior to being overturned by the courts. Statistical analysis including descriptive statistics and chi square hypothesis tests were used to analyze more than 3,000 reported unauthorized and careless events. The findings show a significant difference in events pre-registration and post registration.
P-O Fit and Employee's Turnover Intentions
Authors: Sharma Naman
Published: April 2019

Extant studies have established the relationship between person-organization fit and turnover intentions of employees. However, this article aims further to establish the role of employee engagement as a mediator between these variables. The sample used in the study consists of employees from Indian IT sector and data is analyzed with the help of correlation and regression analysis to test both direct and mediating effects. Results obtained confirm the partial role of employee engagement in mediating the above variables in context of Indian IT sector. The study confirms that person-organization fit affects the decision of employees to stay/not to stay with their organization and also that employees with higher levels of employee engagement would be less likely to leave their employer.
Recent Developments of Martensitic Heat-Resistant Steels for Ultra-Supercritical Power Plants
Authors: Qiao Xun , Wang Lin Lin , Bai Xu Feng
Published: April 2019

This paper provides a comprehensive review of developments and progress made in martensitic heat-resistant steels, especially, with the emphasis on strengthening mechanisms used in elevated temperatures. We desired to elucidate the correlation between high creep resistance at elevated temperatures and thermal stability of nano-sized particles precipitated from martensite matrix. Finally, future prospective strengthening methods for martensitic heat-resistant steels were discussed.
In Situ Rapid Dechlorination by Microwave-Assisted Catalytic Reduction of Chlorobenzene and 1,4-Dichlorobenzene on Raney Ni-Al Alloy Catalyst
Authors: Lu Bao Ying , Hou Xu He
Published: April 2019

Microwave-assisted catalytic reductive dechlorination on Raney Ni-Al alloy catalyst is an efficient method for treatment of chlorobenzene (CB) and 1,4-dichlorobenzene (1,4-DCB). The result shows that the Raney Ni-Al alloy catalyst retains its high activity in this in-situ reductive dechlorination reaction. The reductive dechlorination reaction was in accordance of a psendo-second-order reaction kinetics under the microwave irradiation. The apparent reductive reaction rate constant of CB dechlorination was 0.0175 L/mol·min at 30°C and 0.114 L/ mol·min at 50°C, and the activation energy Ea was 76.24 kJ/mol. The reaction rate constant of 1,4-DCB dechlorination was 0.0376 L/ mol·min at 35 °C and 0.151 L/ mol·min at 50 °C, and the activation energy Ea was 76.66 kJ/mol. The dechlorination for CB and 1,4-DCB was rapid and complete under mild conditions. It shows that the microwave-assisted catalytic in-situ reductive dechlorination on Raney Ni-Al alloy catalyst is an effective method for dechlorination of polychlorinated organic compounds.
Screen-Printed NiO-YSZ Thin Film Electrode for Solid Oxide Electrochemical Cell and Subsequent Reduction to Ni-YSZ
Authors: Manalo Agnes L. , Cervera Rinlee Butch M.
Published: April 2019

Nickel and yttria-stabilized zirconia (Ni-YSZ) ceramic-metal composite electrodes are commonly used for solid oxide electrochemical cells because of their good ionic and electronic conductivity. In this study, a thin film of NiO-YSZ was prepared via screen-print method and subsequently reduced to Ni-YSZ. The precursor powder for screen-printing was prepared via glycine-nitrate combustion process. The effect of precursor particle size and of the use of PVP as binder on film uniformity and quality were investigated. For the NiO-YSZ film, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) micrographs and X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns confirmed that size reduction and the use of binder both improved the quality and uniformity of the deposit without changing the composition of the sintered film. SEM with energy-dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) showed elemental mapping of unreduced and reduced films, revealing micro grain size faceted particles of NiO and Ni, while smooth and much larger YSZ grains were also observed. XRD of reduced Ni-YSZ film revealed that the NiO peaks had been replaced by Ni.
Effect of Modified Natural Rubber on Morphology, Chemical Structure, and Crystallinity of Electrospun Polyvinylidene Difluoride Nanofibers
Authors: Bello Jean Raynell S. , Pajarito Bryan B. , Perez Jem Valerie D.
Published: April 2019

Natural rubber latex was chemically modified by enzymatic deproteinization, degradation, and epoxidation to produce deproteinized liquid epoxidized natural rubber (DP-LENR). Polyvinylidene difluoride (PVDF) was blended with DP-LENR and then electrospun to produce nanofibers. Scanning electron microscopy shows reduction in the fiber diameter and beading formation with increasing concentration of DP-LENR. Smooth surface of nanofibers suggests miscibility and chemical compatibility of PVDF with low concentration of DP-LENR. Infrared spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction analysis show the addition of DP-LENR has no effect on chemical structure and crystallinity of electrospun PVDF.
New Trends in Automotive Exhaust Gas Purification Materials: Improvement of the Support against Stability of the Active Components
Authors: Vedyagin Aleksey A. , Stoyanovskii Vladimir O. , Kenzhin Roman M. , Plyusnin Pavel E. , Shubin Yury V. , Volodin Alexander M.
Published: April 2019

Lanthanum and zirconium oxides are well known to be applied as an additive to improve the properties of the commercial alumina. Such modified aluminas are widely used in different catalytic fields including three-way catalysis. In the present research we have paid attention to the possible effects of the doping on the catalytic performance and stability of bimetallic Pd-Rh catalysts. The samples were prepared via an incipient wetness impregnation of the commercial supports, tested in CO oxidation under prompt thermal aging regime and characterized by physicochemical methods.
A Study on the Effect of the Temperature on Mechanical Properties of H90 Copper Strip
Authors: Fei Sun , Cheng Xu
Published: April 2019

In order to study the effect of temperature on the mechanical properties of H90 copper strip material, the H90 copper strip test pieces were heated to different temperatures (20~600 °C) for tensile test; the yield strength, tensile strength, elastic modulus and elongation of H90 copper strip at different temperatures were obtained. Based on the test results, the empirical models of yield strength, tensile strength, elastic modulus of H90 copper strip at high temperature were established; the test showed that, with the increase of temperature, the yield strength, tensile strength and elastic modulus of H90 copper strip decreased greatly, and the elongation after fracture first increased-decreased-increased at 20~600 °C. The study results in this paper provide basic material data for analyzing the effect of temperature on the continuous firing of firearms and other weapons.
Regulation of Phospholipase D by Arf6 during FcγR-Mediated Phagocytosis
Authors: Tanguy Emeline , Tran Nguyen An Phu , Kassas Nawal , Bader Marie-France , Grant Nancy J. , Vitale Nicolas
Published: April 2019

Phagocytosis is an essential element of the immune response, assuring the elimination of pathogens, cellular debris, and apoptotic and tumoral cells. Activation of phagocytosis by the FcγR stimulates phospholipase D (PLD) activity and triggers the production of phosphatidic acid (PA) at the plasma membrane of macrophages, but the regulatory mechanisms involved are still not clearly understood. In this study, we examined the role of the small GTPase Arf6 in the activation of the PLD isoforms during FcγR-mediated phagocytosis. In RAW 264.7 macrophage cells, expressed Arf6-GFP partially colocalized with PLD1-hemagglutinin on intracellular membrane-bound vesicles and with PLD2-hemagglutinin at the plasma membrane. Both PLD isoforms were found to interact with Arf6 during FcγR-mediated phagocytosis as seen by immunoprecipitation experiments. In macrophages stimulated for phagocytosis, Arf6 was observed to be associated with nascent phagosomes. RNA interference knockdown of Arf6 reduced the amount of active Arf6 associated with phagosomes, revealed by the MT2-GFP probe that specifically binds to Arf6-GTP. Arf6 silencing concomitantly decreased PLD activity as well as the levels of PA found on phagosomes and phagocytic sites as shown with the PA probe Spo20p-GFP. Altogether, our results indicate that Arf6 is involved in the regulation of PLD activity and PA synthesis required for efficient phagocytosis.
Imbalance of Ly-6Chi and Ly-6Clo Monocytes/Macrophages Worsens Hyperoxia-Induced Lung Injury and Is Rescued by IFN-γ
Authors: Eldredge Laurie C. , Creasy Rane S. , Tanaka Shigeru , Lai Jen-Feng , Ziegler Steven F.
Published: April 2019

Inflammation in response to oxygen exposure is a major contributing factor in neonatal lung injury leading to bronchopulmonary dysplasia. Although increased levels of proinflammatory cytokines are seen in airway samples and blood from bronchopulmonary dysplasia patients, the innate immune responses in this common neonatal lung condition have not been well characterized. We previously reported that depletion of murine CD11b-expressing mononuclear phagocytes at birth led to severe acute hyperoxia-induced lung injury (HILI) and significant mortality. In this study, we further define the mononuclear phagocyte populations that are present in the neonatal lung and characterize their responses to hyperoxia exposure. We used myeloid depleter mice (CD11b-DTR and CCR2-DTR) to contrast the effects of depleting different monocyte/macrophage subpopulations on the innate immune response to hyperoxia. Using RNA sequencing and subsequent data analysis, we identified an IFN-γ–mediated role for interstitial monocytes/macrophages in acute HILI, in which decreased IFN-γ expression led to increased disease severity and increased Mmp9 mRNA expression. Importantly, intranasal administration of rIFN-γ largely rescued CD11b-DTR+ mice from severe HILI and decreased Mmp9 mRNA expression in Ly-6Clo and Ly-6Chi interstitial monocyte/macrophages. We conclude that the proinflammatory effects of hyperoxia exposure are, at least in part, because of the modulation of effectors downstream of IFN-γ by pulmonary monocytes/macrophages.
The APpendicitis PEdiatric (APPE) score: a new diagnostic tool in suspected pediatric acute appendicitis
Authors: Lima Mario , Persichetti-Proietti Dora , Di Salvo Neil , Antonellini Claudio , Libri Michele , Randi Beatrice , Maffi Michela , Gargano Tommaso , Ruggeri Giovanni , Catania Vincenzo Davide
Published: April 2019

Our aim was to develop an APpendictis-PEdiatric score (APPE score) in quantifying risk of acute appendicitis based on combination of clinical and laboratory markers. 1025 patients were classified in: acute appendicitis (AA) and non-appendicitis. Demographic/clinical features, and laboratory were collected. They were compared for quantitative-variables and categorical-variables. Significant predictors (P=<0,05) were included in logistic regression model. Based on regression-coefficients, a diagnostic score was tested by calculating the area under the ROC curve. Two cut-offs were established to define classes of risk of AA. 9 variables were identified as potentially predictors for AA. Those underwent logistic regression and a score was assigned, for maximum 21-points. The score showed an area under the curve: 0.831 and a linear proportion with the state of appendicular inflammation (R20.85). Patients with a score ≤8 were at low risk of AA (sensitivity 94%); those with a score ≥15 were at high risk for AA (specificity 93%). Those between 8 and 15 were defined at intermediate risk class. APPE-score guides clinicians in classifying patients with suspected-AA according to clinical and laboratory findings in order to improve their management.
Les thérapies complémentaires dans le système de santé suisse Exemple à suivre ou cas unique
Authors: Lassonde Diane Louise
Published: April 2019

Les thérapies complémentaires sont pratiquées depuis longtemps en Suisse. En 2009, une Initiative populaire demande qu’elles soient remboursées par l’assurance maladie. La nouvelle loi renforce la formation et encourage les recherches cliniques. Des centres de médecine intégrative voient le jour dans divers cantons qui témoignent de l’évolution des pratiques. Cette évolution positive se heurte aujourd’hui aux conflits d’intérêt propres au secteur de la santé. La progression des maladies chroniques et l’évolution démographique obligent à revoir l’organisation et le financement du système de santé. Dans ce contexte, la médecine integrative doit démontrer qu’elle soigne mieux à moindre coût que le système actuel. Son avenir est dans les mains des acteurs engagés et de la démocratie directe suisse.
F-n-resolvable spaces and compactifications
Authors: Dahane Intissar , Dridi Lobna , Lazaar Sami
Published: April 2019

A topological space is said to be resolvable if it is a union of
two disjoint dense subsets. More generally it is called n-resolvable if it is a union of n pairwise disjoint dense subsets. In this paper, we characterize topological spaces such that their reflections (resp., compactifications) are n-resolvable (resp., exactly-n-resolvable, strongly-exactly-n-resolvable), for some particular cases of reflections and compactifications.
Remarks on fixed point assertions in digital topology
Authors: Boxer Laurence , Staecker P. Christopher
Published: April 2019

Several recent papers in digital topology have sought to obtain fixed point results by mimicking the use of tools from classical topology, such as complete metric spaces and homotopy invariant fixed point theory. We show that some of the published assertions based on these tools are incorrect or trivial; we offer improvements on others.
Permafrost nitrous oxide emissions observed on a landscape scale using the airborne eddy-covariance method
Authors: Wilkerson Jordan , Dobosy Ronald , Sayres David S. , Healy Claire , Dumas Edward , Baker Bruce , Anderson James G.
Published: April 2019

Abstract. The microbial by-product nitrous oxide (N2O), a potent greenhouse gas and ozone
depleting substance, has conventionally been assumed to have minimal
emissions in permafrost regions. This assumption has been questioned by
recent in situ studies which have demonstrated that some geologic features in
permafrost may, in fact, have elevated emissions comparable to those of
tropical soils. However, these recent studies, along with every known in situ
study focused on permafrost N2O fluxes, have used chambers to examine
small areas (<50 m2). In late August 2013, we used the airborne
eddy-covariance technique to make in situ N2O flux measurements over
the North Slope of Alaska from a low-flying aircraft spanning a much larger
area: around 310 km2. We observed large variability of N2O
fluxes with many areas exhibiting negligible emissions. Still, the daily mean
averaged over our flight campaign was 3.8
(2.2–4.7) mg N2O m−2 d−1 with the 90 % confidence
interval shown in parentheses. If these measurements are representative of
the whole month, then the permafrost areas we observed emitted a total of
around 0.04–0.09 g m−2 for August, which is comparable to what is
typically assumed to be the upper limit of yearly emissions for these
regions.
Assessing the Stability of Surface Lights for use in Retrievals of Nocturnal Atmospheric Parameters
Authors: Solbrig Jeremy E. , Miller Steven D. , Zhang Jianglong , Grasso Lewis , Kliewer Anton
Published: April 2019

Abstract. Detection and characterization of aerosols is inherently limited at night due to a lack of sensitivity—information typically provided by visible spectrum observations. The VIIRS Day/Night Band (DNB) onboard the Suomi-NPP satellite is a first-of-its-kind calibrated sensor capable of collecting visible/near-infrared observations during both day and night. Multiple studies have suggested that anthropogenic light emissions such as those from cities and gas flares may be useable as light sources for retrieval of atmospheric properties including cloud and aerosol optical depth. However, their use in this capacity requires proper characterization of their intrinsic variation, which represents a source of retrieval uncertainty. In this study we use 18 months of cloud-cleared VIIRS data collected over five selected geographic domains to assess the stability of anthropogenic light emissions and their response to varied satellite and lunar geometries. Timeseries are developed for each location in each domain for DNB radiance, four infrared channels, and satellite and lunar geometric variables, and spatially-resolved correlation coefficients are computed between DNB radiance and each of the other variables. This analysis finds that while many emissive light sources are too unstable to be used reliably for atmospheric retrievals, some sources exhibit a sufficient stability (relative standard deviation
Terrainbento 1.0: a Python package for multi-model analysis in long-term drainage basin evolution
Authors: Barnhart Katherine R. , Glade Rachel C. , Shobe Charles M. , Tucker Gregory E.
Published: April 2019

Abstract. Models of landscape evolution provide insight into the geomorphic history of specific field areas, create testable predictions of landform development, demonstrate the consequences of current geomorphic process theory, and spark imagination through hypothetical scenarios. While the last 4 decades have brought the proliferation of many alternative formulations for the redistribution of mass by Earth surface processes, relatively few studies have systematically compared and tested these alternative equations. We present a new Python package, terrainbento 1.0, that enables multi-model comparison, sensitivity analysis, and calibration of Earth surface process models. Terrainbento provides a set of 28 model programs that implement alternative transport laws related to four process elements: hillslope processes, surface-water hydrology, erosion by flowing water, and material properties. The 28 model programs are a systematic subset of the 2048 possible numerical models associated with 11 binary choices. Each binary choice is related to one of these four elements – for example, the use of linear or nonlinear hillslope diffusion. Terrainbento is an extensible framework: base classes that treat the elements common to all numerical models (such as input/output and boundary conditions) make it possible to create a new numerical model without reinventing these common methods. Terrainbento is built on top of the Landlab framework such that new Landlab components directly support the creation of new terrainbento model programs. Terrainbento is fully documented, has 100 % unit test coverage including numerical comparison with analytical solutions for process models, and continuous integration testing. We support future users and developers with introductory Jupyter notebooks and a template for creating new terrainbento model programs. In this paper, we describe the package structure, process theory, and software implementation of terrainbento. Finally, we illustrate the utility of terrainbento with a benchmark example highlighting the differences in steady-state topography between five different numerical models.
Evaluation of a Unique Approach to High-Resolution Climate Modelling using the Model for Prediction Across Scales (MPAS) version 5.1
Authors: Michaelis Allison C. , Lackmann Gary M. , Robinson Walter A.
Published: April 2019

Abstract. We present multi-seasonal simulations representative of present-day and future thermodynamic environments using the global Model for Prediction Across Scales-Atmosphere (MPAS) version 5.1 with high resolution (15 km) throughout the Northern Hemisphere. We select ten simulation years with varying phases of El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and integrate each for 14.5 months. We use analysed sea surface temperature (SST) patterns for present-day simulations. For the future climate simulations, we alter present-day SSTs by applying monthly-averaged temperature changes derived from a 20-member ensemble of Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 (CMIP5) general circulation models (GCMs) following the Representative Concentration Pathway (RCP) 8.5 emissions scenario. Daily sea ice fields, obtained from the monthly-averaged CMIP5 ensemble mean sea ice, are used for present-day and future simulations. The present-day simulations provide a reasonable reproduction of large-scale atmospheric features in the Northern Hemisphere such as the wintertime midlatitude storm tracks, upper-tropospheric jets, and maritime sea-level pressure features as well as annual precipitation patterns across the tropics. The simulations also adequately represent tropical cyclone (TC) characteristics such as strength, spatial distribution, and seasonal cycles for most of Northern Hemispheric basins. These results demonstrate the applicability of these model simulations for future studies examining climate change effects on various Northern Hemispheric phenomena, and, more generally, the utility of MPAS for studying climate change at spatial scales generally unachievable in GCMs.
Rain erosivity map for Germany derived from contiguous radar rain data
Authors: Auerswald Karl , Fischer Franziska K. , Winterrath Tanja , Brandhuber Robert
Published: April 2019

Abstract. Erosive rainfall varies pronouncedly in time and space.
Severe events are often restricted to a few square kilometers. Radar rain
data with high spatiotemporal resolution enable this pattern of erosivity
to be portrayed with high detail. We used radar data with a spatial
resolution of 1 km2 over 452 503 km2 to derive
a new erosivity map for Germany and to analyze the seasonal distribution of
erosivity. The expected long-term regional pattern was extracted from the
scattered pattern of events by several steps of smoothing. This included
averaging erosivity from 2001 to 2017 and smoothing in time and space. The
pattern of the resulting map was predominantly shaped by orography. It
generally agrees well with the erosivity map currently used in Germany
(Sauerborn map), which is based on regressions using rain gauge data
(mainly from the 1960s to 1980s). In some regions the patterns of both maps
deviate because the regressions of the Sauerborn map were weak. Most
importantly, the new map shows that erosivity is about 66 % larger than
in the Sauerborn map. This increase in erosivity was confirmed by long-term
data from rain gauge stations that were used for the Sauerborn map and which
are still in operation. The change was thus not caused by using a different
methodology but by climate change since the 1970s. Furthermore, the seasonal
distribution of erosivity shows a slight shift towards the winter period
when soil cover by plants is usually poor. This shift in addition to the
increase in erosivity may have caused an increase in erosion for many crops.
For example, predicted soil erosion for winter wheat is now about 4 times
larger than in the 1970s. These highly resolved topical erosivity data will
thus have definite consequences for agricultural advisory services,
landscape planning and even political decisions.
Low-level jets over the North Sea based on ERA5 and observations: together they do better
Authors: Kalverla Peter C. , Duncan Jr. James B. , Steeneveld Gert-Jan , Holtslag Albert A. M.
Published: April 2019

Abstract. Ten years of ERA5 reanalysis data are combined with met-mast and lidar
observations from 10 offshore platforms to investigate low-level jet
characteristics over the Dutch North Sea. The objective of this study is to
combine the best of two worlds: (1) ERA5 data with a large spatiotemporal
extent but inherent accuracy limitations due to a relatively coarse grid and
an incomplete representation of physical processes and (2) observations that
provide more reliable estimates of the measured quantity but are limited in
both space and time. We demonstrate the effect of time and range limitations
on the reconstructed wind climate, with special attention paid to the impact
on low-level jets. For both measurement and model data, the representation of wind speed is
biased. The limited temporal extent of observations leads to a wind speed
bias on the order of ±1 m s−1 as compared to the long-term mean. In
part due to data-assimilation strategies that cause abrupt discontinuities in
the diurnal cycle, ERA5 also exhibits a wind speed bias of approximately 0.5 m s−1. The representation of low-level jets in ERA5 is poor in terms of a
one-to-one correspondence, and the jets appear vertically displaced (“smeared
out”). However, climatological characteristics such as the shape of the
seasonal cycle and the affinity with certain circulation patterns are
represented quite well, albeit with different magnitudes. We therefore
experiment with various methods to adjust the modelled low-level jet rate to the
observations or, vice versa, to correct for the erratic nature of the short
observation periods using long-term ERA5 information. While quantitative
uncertainty is still quite large, the presented results provide valuable
insight into North Sea low-level jet characteristics. These jets occur
predominantly for circulation types with an easterly component, with a clear
peak in spring, and are concentrated along the coasts at heights between 50 and 200 m.
Further, it is demonstrated that these characteristics can be used as
predictors to infer the observed low-level jet rate from ERA5 data with
reasonable accuracy.