bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Performance-Based Design Method for Gradation and Plasticity of Granular Road Surface Materials
Authors: Li Cheng , Ashlock Jeramy C. , Cetin Bora , Jahren Charles T. , Goetz Vanessa
Published: July 2018

Granular-surfaced roads frequently experience severe surface damage and degradation, which adversely affects traffic safety and significantly increases maintenance costs. The importance of the gradation and plasticity of granular-surfaced road materials have long been recognized. However, very few studies have focused on quantifying the effects of gradation and plasticity on the resulting mechanical performance of granular roadways. In this study, laboratory tests and statistical analyses were conducted to quantify the effects of variations in gradation and plasticity on the mechanical performance of granular road surface materials. A performance-based design method was developed using Fuller’s model to replace the commonly used arbitrary gradation band specifications. To validate the performance of the proposed method, field test sections were constructed then tested through a seasonal freeze–thaw period. Compared with existing gradation band specifications, the laboratory and field test results demonstrated that the proposed method is more closely tied to performance and can be used to develop specifications with more precise targets. To help secondary roads agencies implement the method while also recycling existing surface materials, a gradation optimization program was developed to determine the mixing ratios of existing roadway aggregate and two to three new quarry materials to come closest to the theoretical gradation for optimum performance. A complete set of testing, design, and construction procedures is also recommended to provide more cost-effective solutions to building or reconstructing granular-surfaced roads.
Method for Measuring Vehicle Noise Source Heights and Subsource Spectra
Authors: Coulson Robert
Published: July 2018

The U.S. Department of Transportation in cooperation with FHWA and several state transportation agencies is collecting a highway noise database for the development of noise-level regression equations. These data and equations will provide the foundation for the new traffic noise software, TNS. In addition to collecting reference energy mean emission level data, this test plan also requires an extensive database of source heights and subsource spectra covering all vehicle classes and possible roadway parameters. A description is provided of a turnkey rapid data acquisition and analysis system that was developed to collect a large database of vehicle noise source heights and subsource spectra for subsequent incorporation into TNS. Included is a summary of the analysis algorithm used to calculate the source heights, a description of the data collection system, and a brief summary of the data collected to date.
Noise Reduction Retrofit on Historic Structures
Authors: DiGeronimo Suzanne , Goodfriend Lewis S.
Published: July 2018

Cost-effective noise reduction techniques for historic buildings can be accomplished affordably and without altering the structure's historic status. Techniques include adding sashes to existing historic windows, replacing windows with visually compatible acoustic units, and using jamb extensions to accommodate manufacturers' standard window units. Wood-truss roofs can be insulated from noise on the interior through the addition of a light-gauge metal framing support with alternating layers of gypsum board, plywood, and batt insulation. Ventilation solutions include a unique over-the-sill air intake system that functions as an acoustic baffle and visually spares a historic facade from random louver punch-throughs. Acoustically rated doors and vestibule construction address noise reduction at entry ways. At an example installation, sound levels were reduced by 12 dB, and speech interference levels were reduced by 18–23 dB. Continuous use is the best method for preservation of historic buildings. Noise reduction, sensibly applied, gives a historic structure occupational viability in the modern world.
Avoidance of Nonanadromous Fish Passage Impedance Caused by Highway Culverts
Authors: Fitch G. Michael
Published: July 2018

Highway culverts may hinder the normal migrations of various trout species in wild trout streams through increased flow velocity, shallow water depths, increased turbulence, and perching. This can impede migrational movements, affecting the genetic diversity and long-term survival of some species. Often, the proper installation of culverts can reduce the adverse effects on fish while maintaining hydraulic efficiency. This study characterized the problems with existing culverts to develop guidelines for the future use of culverts in areas with high gradient streams. Installation criteria will ideally limit the use of bridges where culverts are appropriate, and eliminate the use of culverts where they would create fish passage problems. This will reduce installation, maintenance, and retrofitting costs. The study concluded that culverts can be considered the primary option for crossing trout streams if the culvert can be placed on the same slope as that of the streambed, the slope of the stream is less than 3 percent, the flow velocity does not exceed 1.2 m/sec under normal flow conditions, and the barrel of the culvert can be properly countersunk at the outlet to prevent perching. Bridges should be used at these crossings if any of these criteria cannot be met. The study also concluded that baffles should not be used to control streamflow velocities in newly installed culverts, and concrete aprons should not be used at culvert outlets.
Impact of Low-Volume Road Network Improvements on Rural Community Development in Finland
Authors: Meriläinen Antti P.
Published: July 2018

Two models are introduced: a village vitality model for assessing the impacts of individual road improvements on the vitality of rural communities in Finland and a market potential model for assessing the impact of road improvements on retail sales in villages. Interviews and questionnaire surveys were conducted with the representatives and residents of six villages of different types in southern Finland to examine the existing problems and evaluate the impacts of improving the access roads to villages. The impacts of alternative road improvement measures, or their combinations, are assessed on the speed and travel time on the access road to villages. This has a direct impact on the accessibility of villages and thus reflects the change in village vitality induced by the alternative road improvement measures. According to the village vitality model, major improvements to the low-volume road network have no significant measurable impacts on rural community development. Furthermore, according to the village interviews and surveys, road condition and travel time on the access roads to villages are not the most important factors affecting village development, even though they will support it. Consequently, the overall accessibility of villages is significant, but it is not the major variable in explaining village vitality and rural community development. Low-volume road network improvements will indirectly promote rural community development, and improved accessibility will advance the development of some essential sectors of rural economy.
Measuring Teacher Practices That Support Student Motivation: Examining the Factor Structure of the Teacher as Social Context Questionnaire Using Multilevel Factor Analyses
Authors: Ahn Inok , Patrick Helen , Chiu Ming Ming , Levesque-Bristol Chantal
Published: July 2018

We used multilevel factor analyses to investigate the structure of the Teacher as Social Context Questionnaire (TASCQ)-short form—a prominent measure of teacher practices that promote student motivation to learn. Based on Self-Determination Theory (SDT), the TASCQ contains three scales: Autonomy Support, Structure, and Involvement. Few studies have tested the construct validities of these three scales together. Furthermore, the few studies using factor analyses with these constructs’ scales showed mixed results. Moreover, none of those studies properly modeled the clustered nature of data with a multilevel analysis. We examined the structure of TASCQ scores from 697 fifth and sixth graders in 35 classes by conducting multilevel exploratory and multilevel confirmatory factor analysis, each with half the sample. Results indicated that students did not distinguish among Autonomy Support, Structure, and Involvement items; the best fit was a single factor.
Do boards matter? Studying the relation between school boards and educational quality
Authors: Honingh Marlies , van Genugten Marieke , van Thiel Sandra , Blom Rutger
Published: July 2018

Boards are expected to contribute to an organization's performance. In the case of schools, this means that the board should contribute to educational quality. However, there is no scientific proof that this expectation is valid. The (growing) literature on boards suggests that the effects of school boards depend on variables, such as board behaviour and corporate governance. In this study, we present the results of a secondary analysis drawing on representative existing datasets on Dutch secondary schools. This is unique as previous research usually dealt with non-representative cases or samples. Our merged dataset includes measurements of board characteristics, board behaviour and pupils' achievements. Through Structural Equation Modelling, we show that there is ample evidence that board characteristics and board behaviour affect pupils' achievements. The only variable affecting pupil's achievements is counter vailing power perceived by the executives in the school board. The model also hints at more complex patterns of interacting variables at the board level. To get more insight into how these variables interact, a different research approach is necessary, such as case studies on board behaviour, and on the effects thereof within the school.
Modelling and prediction of tyre–snow interaction using finite element analysis–smoothed particle hydrodynamics techniques
Authors: El-Sayegh Zeinab , El-Gindy Moustafa
Published: July 2018

This paper focuses on the modelling and prediction of truck tyre–snow interaction to compute tyre motion resistance coefficient. The off-road truck tyre size 315/80R22.5 is modelled using finite element analysis and validated in static and dynamic response against published measured data. The snow is modelled using smoothed particle hydrodynamics technique and hydrodynamic-elastic-plastic material and then calibrated against physical measurements provided by published terramechanics data. The contact algorithm implemented is the node-symmetric node-to-segment contact with edge treatment. The rolling resistance coefficient is also known as the motion resistance coefficient of the truck tyre–snow interaction and is computed for several operating conditions including the vertical load, inflation pressure, tyre longitudinal speed, and snow depth. The influence of the above-mentioned operating conditions on the truck tyre motion resistance coefficient is examined and discussed.
Effects of modified micro-vortex generators on aerodynamic performance in a high-load compressor cascade
Authors: Ma Shan , Chu Wuli , Zhang Haoguang , Li Xiangjun , Kuang Haiyang
Published: July 2018

In the current study, the effects of micro-vortex generators on the flow characteristics of a high-load compressor cascade are investigated, and four types of micro-vortex generators including “rectangular,” “curved rectangular,” “trapezoidal,” and “curved trapezoidal” are considered and named VGR, VGCR, VGT, and VGCT separately. The calculated results show that a rising reverse flow region, which is considered a main reason for occurring stall at +8° incidence, collapses rapidly from the leading edge in the cascade. Therefore, the micro-vortex generators are all mounted on the end-wall in front of the passage to suppress the development of the secondary flow, and the stall occurrence is delayed from +8° to +11° incidence by applying VGCT. At the design condition, the VGT can make the total pressure loss decrease by 0.54%. The modified micro-vortex generators show an obvious superiority when the range of incidence is between +3° and +8°. At the stall condition, the VGCT can make the total pressure loss decrease by 9.36%. Moreover, the reduction of the secondary flow loss is considered a main goal of the adoption of micro-vortex generators which is an achievement for decreasing the total pressure loss, and the highest reduction of the secondary flow loss reaches 34.6% at the stall condition in the cascade with VGCT.
A federalist’s dilemma: Trade-offs between social legitimacy and budget responsibility in multi-tiered welfare states
Authors: Bonoli Giuliano , Natili Marcello , Trein Philipp
Published: July 2018

In multi-tiered states, subnational policymakers face a dilemma: on one hand, they must ensure the social legitimacy of their subnational unit by owning relevant policies including their potentially negative consequences; on the other, they have to manage their budget responsibly, which limits the scope of policy development. We study this dilemma in relation to social policies, by examining how the constituent units and municipalities in Germany, Italy, Spain and Switzerland deal with it, taking social assistance as an empirical example. Our analysis suggests that the combination of the federation’s history and a multinational political context affects the incentives and the choices made by the policymakers regarding ownership and disownership of policy competencies in the field of social assistance. By analysing mechanisms that are likely to play out in multi-tiered welfare states, our article contributes to both the social policy and the political science literatures.
Bi-objective cyclic scheduling for single hoist with processing-time-window constraints considering buffer-setting
Authors: Gao Zhongshun , Zhou Binghai
Published: July 2018

To solve the scheduling problem of a single hoist with processing-time-window constraints considering buffer-setting, we consider bi-objective scheduling which makes trade-offs between the cycle time and the hoist travel distance. First, a bi-objective mixed-integer programming model is constructed for the basic line without considering buffer-setting. In order to improve the throughput of the basic line, a transform method with buffer-setting is put forward. Based on the basic line model, a subsection searching ε-constraint method which combines the transform method is introduced to solve the bi-objective mixed-integer programming model. Experimental results both on benchmark instances and on randomly generated instances indicate that the proposed approach is efficient and buffers can improve the throughputs.
The Taricco saga and the consolidation of judicial dialogue in the European Union
Authors: Bonelli Matteo
Published: July 2018

In December 2017, the Court of Justice of the European Union delivered its awaited decision on the Taricco II case, responding to a preliminary reference from the Italian Corte Costituzionale. The latter, unhappy with the outcome of the earlier Taricco I decision, asked for a re-interpretation of Article 325 TFEU and threatened the Court of Justice with the possible activation of its controlimiti doctrine. The CJEU partially ‘corrected’ its previous ruling and prevented an open conflict between EU law and Italian constitutional law. This case note discusses the saga and its three episodes against the background of the growing constitutional conversation between top European courts. It argues that Taricco is a positive episode of judicial dialogue and may further contribute to its consolidation: on one hand, constitutional courts are increasingly willing to ‘play the game’ and refer to the CJEU under Article 267 TFEU; on the other, the Court of Justice seems more reactive than in the past to constitutional courts’ claims and now considers them with increasing attention and detail. Finally, the case note reflects on the partially diverging languages for constitutional dialogue: national courts use the language of constitutional identity, while the CJEU prefers to refer to the ‘common constitutional principles of the EU’.
Can criminals use propranolol to erase crime-related memories? A response to McGorrery (2017)
Authors: Elsey James , Kindt Merel
Published: July 2018

Technology for detecting incriminating knowledge in suspects, such as ‘brain fingerprinting’, raises several ethical and practical difficulties. In a recent article, McGorrery suggests that criminals may use propranolol to modify their memories for a crime and thereby trick ‘brain fingerprinting’ technology. While we agree that there are many limitations and concerns regarding the use of such technology in criminal proceedings, we explain why propranolol usage by offenders is unlikely to undermine knowledge detection technology.
Undoing a model system: A new federal Custody Notification Service
Authors: Schofield-Georgeson Eugene
Published: July 2018

The Custody Notification Service is a legislative scheme to prevent Aboriginal deaths in custody. This article discusses proposed changes to the federal Custody Notification Service, that were before the federal Parliament in late 2017. It argues that the changes are inadequate, when compared with Custody Notification Service models in other Australian jurisdictions, primarily because the laws deprive Aboriginal people of important fair trial and custody rights. This article concludes by listing a range of legislative solutions proposed by Aboriginal organisations and legal representatives.
Teaching an old dog new tricks: Using courthouse facility dogs in Australia
Authors: Wood Ellen , Harpur Paul , Pachana Nancy
Published: July 2018

Courthouse facility dogs are increasingly used to support child witnesses and complainants during testimony in courtrooms across the globe. Although already commonplace in the United States, this practice has been largely unexplored in the Australian context. This paper puts forward the case for courthouse facility dogs in Australia and offers some insight into striking the delicate balance between protecting defendants’ rights to a fair trial, and improving the efficiency and quality of the legal system for vulnerable witnesses and victims.
Introducing the Cosmic Person: An ecocentric legal subject
Authors: Norman Jana
Published: July 2018

Legal philosophers and environmental activists concerned with transforming the human–Earth relationship typically focus on expanding the community of legal subjects to include the non-human. The limited success of this strategy prompts consideration of an alternative: expanding the concept of the human legal subject to facilitate mutually beneficial human–Earth relations. The abstract character of the rational autonomous individual normalises the pursuit of the individual life project with devastating consequences for the earth. The Cosmic Person introduced here is a Universe-centred, Earth-embedded multi-dimensional self that normalises an interest in the project of life itself.
Classical Hodgkin Lymphoma With Aberrant CD8 Expression: A Clinicopathologic Study of Five Cases
Authors: Mirzamani Neda , Zhang Xinmin , Brody Judith , Spitzer Silvia G. , Sen Filiz , Hsu Peihong
Published: July 2018

Hodgkin/Reed-Sternberg (HRS) cells of classical Hodgkin lymphoma (CHL) are of B-cell origin. In a small number of CHL cases, the tumor cells can express T-cell antigens. CD8 expression in this setting is extremely rare. We identified 5 cases of CHL with aberrant CD8 expression from our database. The patients included 3 men and 2 women with a median age of 33 years (range = 20-59 years). All the patients initially presented with lymphadenopathy and variable number of RS cells. Two cases were classified as mixed cellularity type that showed prominent vascular proliferation mimicking peripheral T-cell lymphoma. Two cases represented nodular sclerosis type. The tumor cells in all cases were positive for CD8 and negative for CD2, CD3, CD4, and CD7 and carried germline T-cell receptor genes. Molecular studies revealed T-cell receptor genes to be in germline configuration in 4 cases with available information. Given the morphologic overlap with peripheral T-cell lymphoma and the rarity of this type of CHL, identifying more cases will help our better understanding of this entity.
“You Can Call Me Ishi”
Authors: Denzin Norman K.
Published: July 2018

The anthropologist Alfred Kroeber named me Ishi, the last man of the stone age. This performance text criticizes that formulation, locating it within the framework of colonial anthropology.
Development of a Novel Proteomic Risk-Classifier for Prognostication of Patients With Early-Stage Hormone Receptor–Positive Breast Cancer
Authors: Ramkumar Charusheila , Buturovic Ljubomir , Malpani Sukriti , Kumar Attuluri Arun , Basavaraj Chetana , Prakash Chandra , Madhav Lekshmi , Doval Dinesh Chandra , Mehta Anurag , Bakre Manjiri M
Published: July 2018

Use of proteomic strategies to identify a risk classifier that estimates probability of distant recurrence in early-stage hormone receptor (HR)-positive breast cancer is relevant to physiological cellular function and therefore to intrinsic tumor biology. We used a 298-sample retrospective training set to develop an immunohistochemistry-based novel risk classifier called CanAssist-Breast (CAB) which combines 5 prognostically relevant biomarkers and 3 clinico-pathological parameters to arrive at probability of distant recurrence within 5 years from diagnosis. Five selected biomarkers, namely, CD44, ABCC4, ABCC11, N-cadherin, and pan-cadherin, were chosen based on their role in tumor metastasis. The chosen biomarkers represent the hallmarks of cancer and are distinct from other proliferation and gene expression–based prognostic signatures. The 3 clinico-pathological parameters integrated into the machine learning–based CAB algorithm are tumor size, tumor grade, and node status. These features are used to calculate a “CAB risk score” that classifies patients into low- or high-risk groups and predicts probability of distant recurrence in 5 years. Independent clinical validation of CAB in a retrospective study comprising 196 patients indicated that distant metastasis-free survival (DMFS) was significantly different in the 2 risk groups. The difference in DMFS between the low- and high-risk categories was 19% in the validation cohort ( P = .0002). In multivariate analysis, CAB risk score was the most significant independent predictor of distant recurrence with a hazard ratio of 4.3 ( P = .0003). CanAssist-Breast is a precise and unique machine learning–based proteomic risk-classifier that can assist in risk stratification of patients with early-stage HR+ breast cancer.
Not Eating or Tasting Other Ways to Live: A Qualitative Analysis of ‘Living Through’ and Desiring to Maintain Anorexia
Authors: Lavis Anna
Published: July 2018

Whilst recent discussions of anorexia nervosa have recognised key aspects of the illness experience, such as control and emotion regulation, there remains a cross-disciplinary emphasis on body image concerns as central. In dialogue with clinical, psychological and social analyses, this paper draws on ethnography and qualitative interviews with individuals diagnosed with anorexia to offer an alternative perspective. Focusing on individuals’ engagements with food and (not) eating suggests that material moments of starving, calorie counting, and thinking about food provide a critical lens onto what anorexia does for, as well as to, individuals living with the illness. Participants’ narratives suggest that anorexia can make it possible to retreat into a numb and protective ‘bubble.’ The illness may thereby offer a way to be in the world that both responds to and ameliorates distress; some individuals describe the ambivalent ‘safety’ of living through their anorexia. As such, food practices are a modality of holding onto anorexia’s valued safety. By outlining this relationship between practices of (not) eating and a desire amongst some individuals to maintain the illness, this paper contributes to discussions of treatment resistance. Intersecting with wider reflections on trauma, recovery and harm minimisation in mental health, the discussion considers how this desire might be approached ethically in both research and therapeutic practice. Individuals’ narratives suggest the need to reposition attention away from anorexia itself to the distress and traumatic life events that may underlie both the illness and the desire to maintain it.
Streets, scum and people: Discourses of (in)civility in postwar Bihać, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Authors: Hromadžić Azra
Published: July 2018

Building on more than ten years of ethnographic research in post-war Bosnia-Herzegovina, this article documents discourses and practices of civility as mutuality with limits. This mode of civility operates to regulate the field of socio-political inclusion in Bosnia-Herzegovina; it stretches to include self-described “urbanites” while, at the same time, it excludes “rural others” and “rural others within.” In order to illustrate the workings of civility as mutuality with limits, the focus is on interconnections and messy relationships between different aspects of civility: moral, political/civil, and socio-cultural. Furthermore, by using ethnography in the manner of theory, three assumptions present in theories of civility are challenged. First, there is an overwhelming association of civility with bourgeois urban space where civility is located in the city. However, the focus here is on how civility works in the context of Balkan and Bosnian semi-periphery, suspended between urbanity and rurality. Second, much literature on civility implies that people enter public spaces in ways that are unmarked. As is shown here, however, people’s bodies always carry traces of histories of inequality. Third, scholarship on civility mainly takes the materiality of urban space for granted. By paying careful attention to what crumbling urban space looks and feels like, it is demonstrated how civility is often entangled with, experienced through and articulated via material things, such as ruins. These converging, historically shaped logics, geographies and materialities of (in)civility illustrate how civility works as an “incomplete horizon” of political entanglement, recognition and mutuality, thus producing layers of distinction and hierarchies of value, which place a limit on the prospects of democratic politics in Bosnia-Herzegovina and beyond.
Efficiency or compensation? The global economic crisis and the development of the European Union’s social policy
Authors: Lammers Imke , van Gerven-Haanpää Minna M-L , Treib Oliver
Published: July 2018

How has the global social policy agenda evolved since the global economic crisis? To shed light on this question, this article looks at the discourses in European Union (EU) social policy. It draws on two rival theoretical approaches from the literature on globalisation and the welfare state, the efficiency and compensation hypotheses, and links these approaches to two fundamental rationales underlying the discourse in EU social policy. Based on an analysis of key documents from two Open Methods of Coordination (OMCs), the article shows that the logic underlying the efficiency hypothesis can be extended to discourses in EU social policy. While policy debates in one OMC remained largely unchanged, the discourse significantly shifted towards the economic rationale during and after the crisis in the other OMC. This suggests that the crisis at least partly strengthened the view that social policy should be geared towards economic efficiency, growth, and the creation of jobs.
Militant ethnography and autonomous politics in Latin America
Authors: Valenzuela-Fuentes Katia
Published: July 2018

This article discusses the relevance of militant ethnography as a collaborative and politically engaged form of knowledge production for the study of Latin American social movements. Drawing on my militant ethnographic research with four autonomous groups from Chile and Mexico, the article presents a reflective account of my experience as a militant researcher throughout the different stages of the inquiry. More specifically, I describe the ethical and methodological procedures carried out in the field and their importance in fostering collaboration and horizontality. Furthermore, I discuss the challenges of conducting militant ethnography within Latin American autonomous movements whilst pursuing doctoral studies in a European university and an English-speaking country. Finally, by acknowledging the tensions resulting from my multiple and entangled roles, I suggest an alternative route to militant research that challenges the temporalities and spatialities of traditional research designs and proposes an ongoing process of collaboration and solidarity in the post-fieldwork stage.
Embracing problems, processes, and contact zones: Using youth participatory action research to challenge adultism
Authors: Bettencourt Genia M
Published: July 2018

In the United States, adultism creates dynamics in which youth are oppressed and their experiences dismissed. Youth participatory action research (YPAR), a research method and theoretical construct, provides one forum through which to challenge adultism by providing youth with voice and input. Such an approach contrasts with traditional banking models of education to focus on the assets youth possess. In this article, I argue that YPAR can serve as a tool for liberation when approached as a contact zone, problem-posing education, and a process rather than a product. I then advocate for key considerations of YPAR work to include the need to challenge research norms, encourage reflexivity, and promote youth-centered approaches. These considerations span individual, collective, and institutional measures to support equitable and just applications of YPAR work.
High Wall Stress May Predict the Formation of Stent-Graft–Induced New Entries After Thoracic Endovascular Aortic Repair
Authors: Menichini Claudia , Pirola Selene , Guo Baolei , Fu Weiguo , Dong Zhihui , Xu Xiao Yun
Published: July 2018

Purpose: To explore the potential role of morphological factors and wall stress in the formation of stent-graft–induced new entries (SINE) based on computed tomography (CT) images after thoracic endovascular aortic repair (TEVAR). Case Report: Two female patients aged 59 years (patient 1) and 44 years (patient 2) underwent TEVAR for type B dissection in the chronic (patient 1) or subacute (patient 2) phase. CT scans at 3-month follow-up showed varying degrees of false lumen thrombosis in both patients. At 14-month follow-up, a SINE was observed in patient 1 while the dissected aorta in the other patient remained stable. Morphological and finite element analyses were performed based on the first follow-up CT images. The computational results showed that the SINE patient had higher stent-graft tortuosity than the non-SINE patient and much higher wall stress in the region close to the distal SINE. Conclusion: This case study suggests that high stent-graft tortuosity can lead to high wall stress, which is potentially linked to the formation of SINE. Further large population-based studies are needed to confirm this preliminary finding.
Expression of mitofusin 2 in human sperm and its relationship to sperm motility and cryoprotective potentials
Authors: Fang Fang , Ni Ke , Shang Jin , Zhang Xiaoke , Xiong Chengliang , Meng Tianqing
Published: July 2018

Mitofusin 2 is a kind of mitochondria membrane protein that has been implicated in maintenance of mitochondrial morphology and function. However, the expression and function of mitofusin 2 in human sperm are not well described at present. The aim of this study was to explore the location of mitofusin 2 in human sperm and to discover its relationship to human sperm functions like motility and cryoprotective potentials. Our result showed that mitofusin 2 is specifically localized in the 5–7 μm midpiece between the neck and main part of human sperm tail. The expression level of mitofusin 2 in human sperm was significantly different between the normozoospermia and asthenozoospermia groups ( P < 0.05); meanwhile, the sperm of the asthenozoospermia group had a lower mitochondrial membrane potential ( P < 0.05), but the results of TUNEL assay did not show significant difference between the two groups. Furthermore, we found that the expression level of mitofusin 2 in the freeze-resistant group (cryo-survival rate >40%) was significantly higher than that of the freeze-intolerant group (cryo-survival rate ≤40%) ( P < 0.05). These results demonstrate that the expression level of mitofusin 2 is related to motility and cryoprotective potentials of human sperm. Mitofusin 2 may play a crucial role in the function of human sperm, which needs further research to discover the mechanism.

Impact statement

The exact function of mitochondria in human sperm before and during fertilization process remains controversial. MFN2 is a kind of mitochondria membrane protein and participates in the regulation of mitochondrial morphology and function. In this study, we discover the relationship of MFN2 expression to human sperm motility and cryoprotective potentials. Our results suggest that MFN2 could be a new target for the mechanism research of asthenozoospermia. MFN2 may also serve as a protein marker predicting the ability of human sperm to sustain cryopreservation.
Effects on Aortoiliac Fluid Dynamics After Endovascular Sealing of Abdominal Aneurysms
Authors: Casciaro Mariano E. , Dottori Javier , El-Batti Salma , Alsac Jean-Marc , Mousseaux Elie , Larrabide Ignacio , Craiem Damian
Published: July 2018

Objectives:

To evaluate the effects on aortoiliac fluid dynamics after the implantation of an endograft based on endovascular aneurysm sealing (EVAS) versus endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR) strategy.

Methods:

An adaptive geometrical deformable model was used for aortic lumen segmentation in 8 patients before and after the surgery. Abdominal aneurysms were treated with an endograft based on the EVAS system (Nellix, n = 4) and with a device based on an anatomical fixation technology (n = 4). Pressure, blood velocity, and wall shear stress (WSS) were estimated at different aortic regions using computational fluid dynamics methods. Physiologic inlet/outlet flow values at the abdominal aorta, the celiac trunk, and the mesenteric and the renal arteries were set. Pressure references were set at iliac arteries outlet.

Results:

Maximum aneurysm sizes were similar for both groups in the preoperative scans. The lumen area was lower after EVAR ( P < .05) and EVAS ( P < .01) compared to preoperative aortic lumen sizes. Pressure increase was higher in the proximal abdominal aorta after EVAS compared to EVAR (2.3 ± 0.3 mm Hg vs 0.9 ± 0.3 mm Hg, P < .001). Peak blood velocities inside the endografts were 3-fold higher for EVAS compared to EVAR (54 ± 5 cm/s vs 17 ± 4 cm/s, P < .01). Velocities at the iliac arteries also remained higher for EVAS (38 ± 4 cm/s vs 24 ± 4 cm/s, P < .05). Peak WSS at the iliac arteries remained higher for EVAS compared to EVAR group ( P < .05).

Conclusion:

The significant modification of the aortic bifurcation anatomy after EVAS alters aortoiliac fluid dynamics, showing a pressure impact at the renal arteries level and an acceleration of the blood velocity at the iliac region with a concomitant increase in peak WSS.
Developmental Trajectories of Leader Identity: Role of Learning Goal Orientation
Authors: Middleton Eric D. , Walker Dayna O. , Reichard Rebecca J.
Published: July 2018

This study examines within-person change in leader identity (LI) over the course of a formal leader development program and how that change relates to learning goal orientation (LGO). Results of multilevel modeling of 299 data points from 39 leaders over 5 months indicate a positive, linear increase in LI across 12-time points. LGO was predicted and found to have both trait-like and state-like components. Trait-like LGO was positively associated with the mean change in LI over time, whereas state-like LGO was associated with within-person variance in LI over time. State-like, but not trait-like LGO positively related to differences in LI growth rates. However, we found larger rates of LI growth for leaders reporting lower levels of state-like LGO. This study adds to the body of research on leader development by providing a prospective and longitudinal test of LI development. Future research may investigate the aspects of leader training that most facilitate growth and change in LI.
An investigation on kinematics and dynamics performance of a novel 3-PRC-compliant parallel micromanipulator
Authors: Li Xiang-Chun , Li Yangmin , Ding Bing-Xiao , Xu Hong-Ye
Published: July 2018

This article proposes a 3-PRC compliant parallel micromanipulator with 3 degrees of freedom. The piezoelectric actuator is adopted to drive the mechanism, and to compensate the stroke of the piezoelectric actuator, a new type of secondary lever amplification mechanism is designed. The kinematics model of the 3-PRC parallel micromanipulation platform is derived using vector method, and the forward and inverse kinematics solutions of a 3-PRC parallel micromanipulation stage are emphatically analyzed and then the Jacobian matrix of kinematics model and workspace are derived. Finally, the dynamic model is established by Lagrange equation, and the natural frequency of the mechanism is calculated. The modal analysis is carried out using finite element method. The results showed that the mechanism has a favorable performance on kinematics and dynamics, and this micromanipulator can achieve micro/nano level motion with high accuracy.
Anti-inflammatory treatments for stroke: from bench to bedside
Authors: Drieu Antoine , Levard Damien , Vivien Denis , Rubio Marina
Published: July 2018

So far, intravenous tissue-type plasminogen activator (tPA) and mechanical removal of arterial blood clot (thrombectomy) are the only available treatments for acute ischemic stroke. However, the short therapeutic window and the lack of specialized stroke unit care make the overall availability of both treatments limited. Additional agents to combine with tPA administration or thrombectomy to enhance efficacy and improve outcomes associated with stroke are needed. Stroke-induced inflammatory processes are a response to the tissue damage due to the absence of blood supply but have been proposed also as key contributors to all the stages of the ischemic stroke pathophysiology. Despite promising results in experimental studies, inflammation-modulating treatments have not yet been translated successfully into the clinical setting. This review will (a) describe the timing of the stroke immune pathophysiology; (b) detail the immune responses to stroke sift-through cell type; and (c) discuss the pitfalls on the translation from experimental studies to clinical trials testing the therapeutic pertinence of immune modulators.
From lipoprotein apheresis to proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 inhibitors: Impact on low-density lipoprotein cholesterol and C-reactive protein levels in cardiovascular disease patients
Authors: Zenti Maria G , Altomari Anna , Lupo Maria G , Botta Margherita , Bonora Enzo , Corsini Alberto , Ruscica Massimiliano , Ferri Nicola
Published: July 2018

In this observational study, we compared the effect of lipoprotein apheresis and evolocumab or alirocumab on levels of lipoprotein cholesterol, triglycerides and inflammatory markers (C reactive protein and interleukin 6) in cardiovascular patients ( n = 9). Patients were monitored during the last year of lipoprotein apheresis followed by six months of treatment with proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 inhibitors. The biochemical parameters were determined pre- and post- every apheresis procedure for 12 months and then after one, three and six months of treatment with evolocumab (140 mg every two weeks [Q2W]) or alirocumab (75 mg or 150 mg every two weeks [Q2W]). Lipoprotein apheresis significantly reduced low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels from 138 ± 32 mg/dl to 46 ± 16 mg/dl ( p < 0.001), with an inter-apheresis level of 114 ± 26 mg/dl. Lipoprotein(a) was also reduced from a median of 42 mg/dl to 17 mg/dl ( p < 0.01). Upon anti-proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 therapy, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels were similar to post-apheresis (59 ± 25, 41 ± 22 and 42 ± 21mg/dl at one, three and six months, respectively) as well as those of lipoprotein(a) (18 mg/dl). However, an opposite effect was observed on high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels: –16.0% from pre- to post-apheresis and +34.0% between pre-apheresis and proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 inhibitors. Apheresis significantly reduced high-sensitivity C-reactive protein levels (1.5 ± 1.2 mg/l pre-apheresis to 0.6 ± 0.6 mg/l post-apheresis), while no changes were found upon proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 mAbs administration. In conclusion, our study demonstrated that, by switching from lipoprotein apheresis to anti-proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 therapies, patients reached similar low-density lipoprotein cholesterol and lipoprotein(a) levels, increased those of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and showed no changes on high-sensitivity C-reactive protein.
Mimetic Production in YouTube Toy Unboxing Videos
Authors: Nicoll Benjamin , Nansen Bjorn
Published: July 2018

This article contributes to research on children’s participation on social media by analyzing “toy unboxing” videos. Toy unboxing videos are a popular genre on the video-sharing platform YouTube, in which children and adults record themselves unpacking and reviewing various commercial toys. Emerging research in this area has focused on case studies of how these videos are consumed within the home as a means of augmenting offline toys and play practices, or, more commonly, on case studies of how these videos fit within YouTube’s broader economies of play and performance. Drawing on data produced through a content analysis of 100 recent toy unboxing videos, this article analyzes the place of children in the YouTube genre’s “affinity space.” The toy unboxing videos are coded across five key categories—genre, product, narration, production, and branding—to analyze variations of expertise, professionalism, and promotion across the genre. The findings indicate that children’s modes of production as amateur content producers both shape and are shaped by the shared and standardized conventions of this video genre. That is, while well-known “professional” channels such as EvanTube often seek to produce a semblance of playful amateur authenticity, the ostensibly “amateur” child unboxers mimic the production and branding strategies of the “professional” channels. We argue that this reciprocal relationship between professional and amateur content production can be best understood through the concept of “mimesis,” which characterizes the qualities of play and commercialization within the toy unboxing genre.
Evaluation of antipyretic activity of hydroalcoholic extract of Corchorus depressus Linn. in Escherichia coli–induced pyretic rabbits
Authors: Ahmad Saeed , Akram Muhammad , Ali Shah Syed Muhammad , Sultana Sabira
Published: July 2018

This study was conducted to investigate the antipyretic effect of the hydroalcoholic extract of Corchorus depressus Linn. against Escherichia coli ( E. coli)-induced pyrexia in rabbits. Hydroalcohalic extracts of C. depressus were given orally at 25, 50, and 100 mg/kg for antipyretic affect in E. coli-induced fever in rabbits. The animals were divided into five groups of five each. Among these five groups, three received various doses of experimental treatments, whereas the fourth one served as positive control and received paracetamol. The fifth group of animals served as negative control and received no treatment. The body temperature of the rabbits was measured rectally over a period of 5 h. C. depressus exhibited better effects at dose rate of 25, 50, and 100 mg/kg. The hydroalcoholic extract of C. depressus has significant antipyretic effect. These results lend support to the popular use of C. depressus in traditional medicine as a remedy for pyrexia and suggest that the characterization of the principles for such activity deserves further investigation.
Satisfaction an Antecedent of Word-of-mouth among Electronic Banking Users: A Study on Salaried Employees
Authors: Choudhury Deepjyoti , Bhattacharjee Dibyojyoti
Published: July 2018

The study attempts to investigate whether the satisfaction pertaining to the use of electronic banking (e-banking) channels has any impact on word-of-mouth (WOM) among specific group of population, that is, the salaried employees. A sample of 400 respondents was collected from the districts of southern Assam, India, based on post-stratified random sampling. After achieving good fit of the measurement model by confirmatory factor analysis, hypothesis testing was done using structural modeling to find the causal relationship between the constructs of the model. The results revealed that there is a direct positive relationship between satisfaction and WOM in e-banking among salaried employees. Evidences show that the salaried employees are maximum users of e-banking. Finding out the relationship between satisfaction and WOM among target population shall enable the banks to develop a niche-based strategy and attain feedback for increasing satisfaction.
Evaluation of a Curricular Addition to Assist Medical Students in Specialty Selection
Authors: Stark Elena , Christensen John D , Schmalz Naomi A , Uijtdehaage Sebastian
Published: July 2018

Early hands-on experience with surgical procedures may help medical students make better-informed choices if considering a surgical specialty. Here, we evaluate a curricular addition in surgical anatomy, formally exposing second-year students to different surgical subspecialties. Students met with surgeons for 7 weeks (one afternoon per week) and practiced surgical procedures on human cadavers with supervision. About a quarter of the participants reported a change in their top choice of specialty upon completing the course, and about half of the students reported changes in their second and third choices. At the time of graduation, 85% of those surveyed reported participation in the course impacted their final choice of specialty. These results demonstrate such a course helped medical students select a specialty during early training.
Communicating Islam in Kashmir Intersection of Religion and Media
Authors: Mir Raoof
Published: July 2018

The aim of this article is to translate religious practices of Muslims in Kashmir in the backdrop of changing contexts of communication. This article attempts to look at the ways in which religion and media intersect in the spaces of political, social and cultural practices in the Muslim society of Kashmir. The article derives its basis from the close assessment of historical and ethnographic methods employed while studying the relationship between media and religion in Kashmir. To explore whether the transition from one mode of communication to another contributes in refiguring a distinctive religious practice, this article looks at media forms such as orality, manuscript tradition, printing technology, radio, television, cassettes and new media technologies in Kashmir. The article argues that it is not possible to fully understand either media or Islamic traditions in the region without making reference to each other. Islam and media in Kashmir have never been two separate realms and therefore Islam in Kashmir cannot be defined outside the forms and practices of mediation that define it.
Mechanisms of establishment and functional significance of DNA demethylation during erythroid differentiation
Authors: Bartholdy Boris , Lajugie Julien , Yan Zi , Zhang Shouping , Mukhopadhyay Rituparna , Greally John M. , Suzuki Masako , Bouhassira Eric E.
Published: July 2018

Key Points

We have generated allele-specific base resolution methylomes of primary basophilic erythroblasts. DNA demethylation during differentiation of HSPC into BasoE occurs mostly in inactive regions causing formation of PMD in 74% of methylome.