bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Bosentan‐based, treat‐to‐target therapy in patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension: results from the COMPASS‐3 study
Authors: Benza Raymond L. , Raina Amresh , Gupta Himanshu , Murali Srinivas , Burden Annie , Zastrow Michael S. , Park Myung H. , Simon Marc A.
Published: October 2017

The phase 4 COMPASS‐3 study evaluated whether a singular endpoint produces clinically meaningful outcomes in patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). The relationship between cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (cMRI)‐derived parameters and right heart catheterization (RHC) measurements was also examined. In COMPASS‐3 (ClinicalTrials.gov NCT00433329), 100 patients with PAH received bosentan monotherapy for 16 weeks. Patients continued monotherapy if their 6‐min walk distance (6MWD) was ≥380 m, or otherwise received add‐on sildenafil for an additional 12 weeks. 6MWD, RHC, and cMRI were performed at baseline, week 16, and week 28 (6MWD and cMRI). Baseline median 6MWD was 274 m and 82% of patients had WHO Functional Class III/IV. At week 16, 17% (n = 16) of remaining patients achieved the 6MWD threshold and 78 (83%) did not. In the intention‐to‐treat population, median 6MWD increased significantly relative to baseline (week 16 = 308 m; week 28 = 327 m; P < 0.001). At week 28, 9/16 (monotherapy) and 15/76 (20%; add‐on sildenafil) patients met the target threshold. Baseline cMRI‐derived and RHC‐derived parameters showed moderate‐to‐strong correlations (e.g. right to left ventricular end‐diastolic ratio [RVEDV:LVEDV] correlated strongly with pulmonary vascular resistance [r = +0.729, P < 0.0001]). cMRI‐derived parameters predicted clinical worsening/decline (e.g. week 16 RVEDV:LVDEV [P = 0.0172]). Time to clinical worsening/decline did not differ between patients based on 6MWD threshold achievement. No unexpected safety events were reported. A substantial proportion of patients failed to achieve the goal of 380 m, regardless of treatment. Several cMRI parameters predicted clinical worsening/decline and its non‐invasive nature further supports its use in future clinical trials.
Risk assessment for infected endocarditis in Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia patients: When is transesophageal echocardiography needed?
Authors: Longobardo Luca , Klemm Sarah , Cook Margaret , Ravenna Valerie , Brummitt Charles F , Mengesha Tadele , Khandheria Bijoy K
Published: October 2017

Aims:

Echocardiography is the main technique for the diagnosis of endocarditis in patients with Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia (SAB), but a consensus about performing transthoracic echocardiography or transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) as first-line tests is currently lacking. Recently, a new scoring system has been proposed by Palraj et al. to guide the use of TEE in this population. Our aim was to validate this scoring system or modify it, if necessary.

Methods and results:

Data from SAB patients admitted from 2012 to 2014 were collected. We tested the Palraj scores to stratify patients’ risk for endocarditis. Moreover, we analyzed our population to identify any other possible clinical predictors of endocarditis not included in the score. Endocarditis was diagnosed in 38 of 205 patients (18.5%). Palraj’s score was effective in the detection of patients at high risk of endocarditis. In addition, we identified the presence of cardiac devices, prolonged bacteremia and intravenous drug abuse (IVDA) as elements strongly correlated with endocarditis. Two scoring systems (Day-1 and Day-5) were derived including IVDA as a variable. Using a Day-1 cut-off value ≥5 and a Day-5 cut-off value ≥2, the ‘modified Palraj’s score’ showed sensitivities of 42.1% and 97.0% and specificities of 88.6% and 32.0% for Day-1 and Day-5 scores, respectively.

Conclusion:

We modify and expand upon an effective scoring system to identify SAB patients at high risk for endocarditis in order to guide use of TEE. The inclusion of IVDA in the criteria for the calculation of the scores improves its effectiveness.
How I treat warts, hypogammaglobulinemia, infections, and myelokathexis syndrome
Authors: Badolato Raffaele , Donadieu Jean ,   the WHIM Research Group
Published: October 2017

Warts, hypogammaglobulinemia, infections, and myelokathexis (WHIM) syndrome is a genetic disease characterized by neutropenia, lymphopenia, susceptibility to infections, and myelokathexis, which describes degenerative changes of mature neutrophils and hyperplasia of bone marrow myeloid cells. Some patients present with hypogammaglobulinemia and/or refractory warts of skin and genitalia. Congenital cardiac defects constitute uncommon manifestations of the disease. The disorder, which is inherited as an autosomal dominant trait, is caused by heterozygous mutations of the chemokine receptor CXCR4. These mutations lead to an increased sensitivity of neutrophils and lymphocytes to the unique ligand CXCL12 and to an increased accumulation of mature neutrophils in the bone marrow. Despite greatly improved knowledge of the disease, therapeutic choices are insufficient to prevent some of the disease outcomes, such as development of bronchiectasis, anogenital dysplasia, or invasive cancer. The available therapeutic measures aimed at preventing the risk for infection in WHIM patients are discussed. We critically evaluate the diagnostic criteria of WHIM syndrome, particularly when WHIM syndrome should be suspected in patients with congenital neutropenia and lymphopenia despite the absence of hypogammaglobulinemia and/or warts. Finally, we discuss recent results of trials evaluating plerixafor, a selective antagonist of CXCR4, as a mechanism-oriented strategy for treatment of WHIM patients.
The time-varying role of the family in student time use and achievement
Authors: Hull Marie C.
Published: October 2017

In this paper, I use a unique dataset linking administrative school data with birth records to quantify the importance of time-varying family factors for child achievement and time use. Specifically, I take a model of academic achievement commonly used in the test score literature, and I augment it to include a family-year effect. Identification comes from the large number of sibling pairs observed in the same year. While prior literature has focused on specific shocks, such as job loss, I capture the full set of innovations that are shared across siblings in a given year. The distributions of fixed effects reveal that annual family innovations, relative to what was expected based on the previous year, are more important than teacher assignment for student achievement and also play a substantial role in the time students spend on homework, free reading, and television.

JEL Classification

I21, J13, J24
Supporting the building design process with graph-based methods using centrally coordinated federated databases
Authors: Roith Johannes , Langenhan Christoph , Petzold Frank
Published: October 2017

Background

Technological developments and globalized working processes have transformed the building process. However, current digital semantic building models no longer adequately represent the increasing complexity of modern building projects. The potential of combining agent-based and graph-based methods, for example for energy calculations or spatial research strategies, is not fully exploited.

Methods

In our system, users search for building floorplans, for example as sources of inspiration, by creating conceptual hand-drawn sketches of building parts on multi-touch devices. The sketch is analyzed and used to query a federated database system comprising a building information model server, the graph database neo4j and the content management system mediaTUM. Users interact with client applications that show and continuously update a list of floorplans by sending queries to a central coordinator service. In the paper, we describe the coordinator that enables our databases to appear as a single smart information system to search for digital information about buildings and visualize their floorplans. The application case comprises search by drawing the initial design idea of a building to find similar floorplans e.g. as source of inspiration.

Results

Our federated database system is queried using semantic building floorplan fingerprints, which are formalized as graphs and encoded in a common schema, like our AGraphML, to represent spatial configurations and perform graph matching. As graph matching is computationally expensive, the coordinator needs to analyze the queries, separate different fingerprints and metadata and pass it to specialized agents, implemented as microservices, for processing. The returned result sets are combined and the results are visualized. The use of multiple agents facilitates the recombination of the data from the underlying disparate data sources and also serves to support different execution strategies which are chosen using properties of the query and a set of predefined rules.

Conclusions

To deal with complex and dynamic queries, as well as dynamic results that are updated while some agents are still executing, a caching framework was developed which takes the similarity measures of the graph-based building representation into account when determining query equality.
Perioperative Patient Blood Management to Improve Outcomes
Authors: Desai Neel , Schofield Nick , Richards Toby
Published: October 2017

Anemia is common in elective surgery and is an independent risk factor for morbidity and mortality. Historical management of anemia has focused on the use of allogeneic blood transfusion but this in itself is not without risk. It too has been independently associated with morbidity and mortality, let alone the costs and relative shortage of this resource. In recognition of this, patient blood management (PBM) shifts the focus from the product to the patient and views the patient’s own blood as a resource that should be conserved and managed appropriately as a standard of care. It consists of 3 pillars: the optimization of red blood cell mass; reduction of blood loss and bleeding; and optimization of the patient’s physiological tolerance toward anemia. Integration of these 3 pillars in the form of multimodal care bundles and strategies into perioperative pathways should improve care processes and patient outcome. Preoperative anemia is most commonly caused by functional iron deficiency and should be treated with oral iron, intravenous iron, and/or recombinant erythropoietin. An individualized assessment of the thrombotic risk of discontinuing anticoagulant and antiplatelet medication should be balanced against the risk of perioperative bleeding. Neuraxial anesthetic techniques should be considered and minimally invasive surgery undertaken where appropriate. Cell salvage should be used if significant blood loss is anticipated and pharmacological treatments such as tranexamic acid and fibrin sealants have been shown to reduce blood loss. Point of care tests can guide the perioperative management of dynamic coagulopathy. Blood testing sampling should be performed only when indicated and when taken, sample volume and waste should be minimized. Restrictive blood transfusion thresholds and reassessment after single unit transfusion should be incorporated into clinical practice where appropriate. For PBM to become standard practice in routine surgical care, national health care quality change initiatives must set the agenda for change but the patient-centered approach to PBM should be delivered in a way that is also hospital centered. Characterization of the current practice of PBM at each hospital is crucial to facilitate the benchmarking of performance. Barriers to effective implementation such as lack of knowledge should be identified and acted on. Continuous audit of practice with a focus on transfusion rates and patient outcomes can identify areas in need of improvement and provide iterative feedback to motivate and inspire the main stakeholders.
Neuronal LRP4 regulates synapse formation in the developing CNS
Authors: Karakatsani Andromachi , Marichal Nicolás , Urban Severino , Kalamakis Georgios , Ghanem Alexander , Schick Anna , Zhang Yina , Conzelmann Karl-Klaus , Rüegg Markus A. , Berninger Benedikt , Ruiz de Almodovar Carmen , Gascón Sergio , Kröger Stephan
Published: October 2017

The low-density lipoprotein receptor-related protein 4 (LRP4) is essential in muscle fibers for the establishment of the neuromuscular junction. Here, we show that LRP4 is also expressed by embryonic cortical and hippocampal neurons, and that downregulation of LRP4 in these neurons causes a reduction in density of synapses and number of primary dendrites. Accordingly, overexpression of LRP4 in cultured neurons had the opposite effect inducing more but shorter primary dendrites with an increased number of spines. Transsynaptic tracing mediated by rabies virus revealed a reduced number of neurons presynaptic to the cortical neurons in which LRP4 was knocked down. Moreover, neuron-specific knockdown of LRP4 by in utero electroporation of LRP4 miRNA in vivo also resulted in neurons with fewer primary dendrites and a lower density of spines in the developing cortex and hippocampus. Collectively, our results demonstrate an essential and novel role of neuronal LRP4 in dendritic development and synaptogenesis in the CNS.
Rescue of ATXN3 neuronal toxicity in C. elegans by chemical modification of ER stress
Authors: Fardghassemi Yasmin , Tauffenberger Arnaud , Gosselin Sarah , Parker J. Alex
Published: October 2017

Background: Polyglutamine expansion diseases are a group of hereditary neurodegenerative disorders that develop when a CAG repeat in the causative genes are unstably expanded above a certain threshold. The expansion of trinucleotide CAG repeats cause hereditary adult-onset neurodegenerative disorders such as Huntington's disease, dentatorubral-pallidoluysian atrophy, spinobulbar muscular atrophy and multiple forms of spinocerebellar ataxia (SCA). The most common dominantly inherited spinocerebellar ataxia is the type 3 (SCA3) also known as Machado-Joseph disease (MJD), is an autosomal dominant, progressive neurological disorder. The gene causatively associated with MJD is ATXN3. Recent studies have shown that this gene modulates endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress.

Results: We generated transgenic C. elegans strains expressing human ATXN3 genes in motor neurons, and animals expressing mutant ATXN3-CAG89 alleles showed decreased lifespan, impaired movement, and rates of neurodegeneration greater than wild type ATXN3-CAG10 controls. We tested three neuroprotective compounds (methylene blue, guanabenz and salubrinal) believed to modulate ER stress and observed that these molecules rescued ATXN3-CAG89 phenotypes. Furthermore, these compounds required specific branches of ER unfolded protein response (UPRER), reduced global ER and oxidative stress, as well as polyglutamine aggregation.

Conclusions: We introduce novel C. elegans models for MJD based on the expression of full-length ATXN3 in a limited number of neurons. Using these models, we discovered that chemical modulation of the UPRER reduced neurodegeneration and warrants investigation in mammalian models of MJD.
KIF13A mediates trafficking of influenza A virus ribonucleoproteins
Authors: Ramos-Nascimento Ana , Kellen Bárbara , Ferreira Filipe , Alenquer Marta , Vale-Costa Sílvia , Raposo Graça , Delevoye Cédric , Amorim Maria João
Published: October 2017

Influenza A is a rapidly evolving virus that is successful in provoking periodic epidemics and occasional pandemics in humans. Viral assembly is complex as the virus incorporates an eight-partite genome of RNA (in the form of viral ribonucleoproteins, vRNPs), and viral genome assembly − with its implications to public health − is not completely understood. It has previously been reported that vRNPs are transported to the cell surface on Rab11-containing vesicles by using microtubules but, so far, no molecular motor has been assigned to the process. Here, we have identified KIF13A, a member of the kinesin-3 family, as the first molecular motor to efficiently transport vRNP-Rab11 vesicles during infection with influenza A. Depletion of KIF13A resulted in reduced viral titers and less accumulation of vRNPs at the cell surface, without interfering with the levels of other viral proteins at sites of viral assembly. In addition, when overexpressed and following two separate approaches to displace vRNP-Rab11 vesicles, KIF13A increased levels of vRNP at the plasma membrane. Together, our results show that KIF13A plays an important role in the transport of influenza A vRNPs, a crucial step for viral assembly.

This article has an associated First Person interview with the first author of the paper.
Myogenic activity and serotonergic inhibition in the chromatophore network of the squids, Dosidicus gigas (Family Ommastrephidae) and Doryteuthis opalescens (Family Loliginidae)
Authors: Rosen Hannah E. , Gilly William F.
Published: October 2017

Seemingly chaotic waves of spontaneous chromatophore activity occur in the ommastrephid squid, Dosidicus gigas, in the living state and immediately after surgical disruption of all known inputs from the central nervous system. Similar activity is apparent in the loliginid, Doryteuthis opalescens, but only after chronic denervation of chromatophores for 5-7 days. Electrically-stimulated, neurally-driven activity in intact individuals of both species is blocked by tetrodotoxin (TTX), but TTX has no effect on spontaneous wave-activity in either Dosidicus or denervated D. opalescens. Spontaneous, TTX-resistant activity of this sort is therefore likely myogenic, and such activity is eliminated in both preparations by 5-HT, a known inhibitor of chromatophore activity. Immunohistochemical techniques reveal that individual axons containing L-glutamate (L-Glu) or 5-HT (and possibly both in a minority of processes) are associated with radial muscle fibers of chromatophores in intact individuals of both species, although the area of contact between both types of axons and muscle fibers is much smaller in Dosidicus. Glutamatergic and serotonergic axons degenerate completely following denervation in D. opalescens. Spontaneous waves of chromatophore activity in both species are thus associated with reduced (or no) serotonergic input in comparison to the situation in intact D. opalescens. Such differences in the level of serotonergic inhibition are consistent with natural chromogenic behaviours in these species. Our findings also suggest that such activity might propagate via the branching distal ends of radial muscle fibers.
Environmental effects on Drosophila brain development and learning
Authors: Wang Xia , Amei Amei , de Belle J. Steven , Roberts Stephen P.
Published: October 2017

Brain development and behavior are sensitive to a variety of environmental influences including social interactions and physicochemical stressors. Sensory input in situ is a mosaic of both enrichment and stress, yet little is known about how multiple environmental factors interact to affect brain anatomical structures, circuits, and cognitive function. In this study, we address these issues by testing the individual and combined effects of sub-adulthood thermal stress, larval density, and early-adulthood living spatial enrichment on brain anatomy and olfactory associative learning in adult Drosophila melanogaster. In response to heat stress, the mushroom bodies (MBs) were the most volumetrically impaired among all of the brain structures, an effect highly correlated with reduced odor learning performance. However, MBs were not sensitive to either larval culture densities or early-adulthood living conditions. Extreme larval crowding reduced the volume of antennal lobes, optic lobes, and central complex. Neither larval crowding nor early-adulthood spatial enrichment affected olfactory learning. These results illustrate that various brain structures react differently to environmental inputs, and that MB development and learning are highly sensitive to certain stressors (pre-adult hyperthermia) and resistant to others (larval crowding).
J. Butler, J. Habermas, C. Taylor, C. West, The Power of Religion in the Public Sphere, E. Mendieta - J. Vanantwerpen, (επιμ. και εισ.), 128 σελ.
Authors: Καλτσάς Σπύρος
Published: October 2017

Δεν διατίθεται περίληψη / no abstract available
Η επικοινωνιακή διάσταση της πολιτικής : η διαμόρφωση του κομματικού σκηνικού υπό την κυριαρχία των ΜΜΕ στον δημόσιο χώρο
Authors: Κουντούρη Φανή
Published: October 2017

Το άρθρο αυτό επικεντρώνεται σας επιπτώσεις της επικοινωνιακής δυναμικής στο κομματικό πεδίο υπό το φως δύο διαδικασιών που προσδιορίζουν τη σχέση MME και πολιτικών κομμάτων. Η πρώτη διαδικασία είναι εξωστρεφής: πρόκειται για την αξιοποίηση από τα ελληνικά κοινοβουλευτικά κόμματα των επικοινωνιακών δεξιοτήτων επαγγελμα- τιών που βρίσκονται εκτός κομματικών δομών. Η αποδυνάμωσα, μεταξύ άλλων, της κομματικής βάσης και η αυτονόμηση των διευθυντικών ομάδων στην Ελλάδα, οδήγησε στην ανάδειξη των πολιτικών εμπειρογνωμόνων οι οποίοι υποκαθιστώντας βασικές λειτουργίες των πολιτικών κομμάτων επέφεραν ανακατατάξεις στο εσωτερικό τους. Η δεύτερη διαδικασία είναι εσωστρεφής: πρόκειται για την αξιοποίηση από τα πολιτικά κόμματα επικοινωνιακών πόρων εντός κομματικών δομών. Πιο ειδικά, εστιάζουμε στην ανάδυση άτυπων ηγετικών επικοινωνιακών ομάδων με αυξημένες δραστηριότητες ως προς τη χάραξη της καθημερινής πολιτικής στρατηγικής, στη μερική ανανέωση του πολιτικού προσωπικού και την επιλογή σε ορισμένες καίριες πολιτικές θέσεις προσώπων που αντλούν το κεφάλαιό τους από την επικοινωνιακή τεχνογνωσία και, τέλος, στις μεταμορφώσεις της προγραμματικής πολιτικής.
Η πολιτική ισότητας των φύλων στη δίνη της οικονομικής κρίσης
Authors: Στρατηγάκη Μαρία
Published: October 2017

Στο άρθρο διερευνώνται οι τάσεις υποβάθμισης της πολιτικής ισότητας των φύλων που προδιαγράφονται με πρόσχημα την οικονομική κρίση στην Ελλάδα, με στόχο να αναδειχθούν οι λόγοι για τους οποίους η σχετική πολιτική είναι εύθραυστη πολιτικά, αλλά και δύσκολα εφαρμόσιμη από τη δημόσια διοίκηση. Η ανάλυση επικεντρώνεται σε τρία στοιχεία της διαδικασίας παραγωγής της πολιτικής ισότητας των φύλων (μετά το 1995) τα οποία έχουν ιδιαίτερη σημασία για το συγκεκριμένο πεδίο δημόσιας παρέμβασης: α) την αυτόνομη ύπαρξη της πολιτικής ισότητας των φύλων στην κυβερνητική ατζέντα' β) τον ρόλο των κύριων φορέων άσκησης πολιτικής στις αποφάσεις νομοθετικών και θεσμικών αλλαγών' και γ) τον ρόλο της δημόσιας διοίκησης στην εφαρμογή της πολιτικής. Αναδεικνύεται δε η συμβολή του γυναικείου κινήματος καθώς επίσης και ο σημαντικός ρόλος της Ε.Ε. μέσω της υποστήριξης των θετικών δράσεων υπέρ των γυναικών, ιδιαίτερα στην αγορά εργασίας, αλλά και μέσω των νέων εργαλείων που προώθησε για την ένταξη της οπτικής του φύλου σε όλες τις δημόσιες πολιτικές.
Andy Green, Εκπαίδευση & Συγκρότηση του Κράτους. Η ανάδυση των εκπαιδευτικών συστημάτων στην Αγγλία, στη Γαλλία και στις ΗΠΑ, επιστημ. επιμ.: Π.Γ. Κιμουρτζής, εισαγ.-μτφρ. Π.Γ. Κιμουρτζής & Γλ. Μανιώτη, εκδόσεις Gutenberg, Αθήνα 2010, 483 σελ.
Authors: Σταμέλος Γιώργος
Published: October 2017

Δεν διατίθεται περίληψη / no abstract available
«Κόμματα εξουσίας» και πολιτική στη σύγχρονη Ελλάδα
Authors: Καραγιάννης Γιάννης
Published: October 2017

Στο άρθρο αναλύονται τα αποτελέσματα των τελευταίων εκλογικών αναμετρήσεων για ία δυο «κόμματα εξουσίας» (Ν.Δ. και ΠΑΣΟΚ), με γνώμονα τις στρατηγικές ιδεολογικής και πολιτικής αντιπαράθεσης που ανέπτυξαν στον αγώνα για κατάχτηση και άσκηση της εξουσίας. Υποστηρίζεται ότι οι αναμετρήσεις αυτές σηματοδοτούν μια νέα φάση στο σχετικό πεδίο ανταγωνισμού, καθώς διαθέτουν γνωρίσματα που διαφοροποιούν τη δράση των δύο κομμάτων σε σχέση με το παρελθόν. Τα κόμματα εμφανίζουν χαρακτηριστικά που έχουν περιγράφει με τις θεωρίες περί «πολυσυλλεκτικού» και κόμματος «καρτέλ», τα οποία ερμηνεύουν ως έναν βαθμό την έκβαση των εκλογών και μαρτυρούν για τη γενικότερη φυσιογνωμία και δυναμική του εγχώριου κομματικού και πολιτικού συστήματος. Για το ΠΑΣΟΚ, η «πολυσυλλεκτική» λειτουργία εκφράστηκε μέσω του ιδεολογήματος-προτάγματος για «εκσυγχρονισμό», ενώ για τη Ν.Δ. μέσω εκείνου περί «μεσαίου χώρου». Τη δε «πολυσυλλεκτική» και «καρτέλ» φάση λειτουργίας των δύο κομμάτων χαρακτηρίζει πληθώρα νέων προσδιοριστικών στοιχείων που κυριαρχούν στον μεταξύ τους ανταγωνισμό.
Κράτος και κοινωνία πολιτών οτην Ελλάδα. Μια σχέση προς επανεξέταση;
Authors: Βούλγαρης Γιάννης
Published: October 2017

Το άρθρο υποστηρίζει ότι το στερεότυπο «υπερτροφικό και αναποτελεσματικό κράτος - ατροφική κοινωνία πολιτών» που έχει επικρατήσει στην πολιτική κοινωνιολογία ως ερμηνεία της «ελληνικής περίπτωσης» πρέπει να επανεξεταστεί γιατί ούτε η κοινωνία πολιτών ήταν ή είναι «ατροφική» υπό όλες τις όψεις της, ούτε το κράτος ήταν ή είναι τόσο αναποτελεσματικό όσο το στερεότυπο υποθέτει. Καταρχάς ανασκοπεί την προέλευση αυτού του στερεότυπου στη μεταπολιτευτική περίοδο και τα θεωρητικά-πολιτικά συμφρα- ζόμενα μέσα στα οποία διαμορφώθηκε. Κατόπιν σκιαγραφεί τους δρόμους μέσα από τους οποίους οι έννοιες του κράτους και της κοινωνίας των πολιτών αποτελούν σήμερα αντικείμενο ενδιαφέροντος και συζήτησης μεταξύ των κοινωνικών επιστημόνων. Ιδιαίτερη έμφαση δίνει στη συζήτηση για την κοινωνία πολιτών στην Ελλάδα, καθώς διαφοροποιείται από την τρέχουσα χρήση της έννοιας, επιχειρώντας μια διαφορετική προσέγγιση που βασίζεται στη γκραμσιανή οπτική. Επίσης, ανατρέχει στα πρόσφατα πορίσματα της ιστορικής πολιτικής κοινωνιολογίας για τον ρόλο του κράτους στην κοινωνική και οικονομική ανάπτυξη, αξιοποιώντας ιδιαίτερα τον προβληματισμό της λεγάμενης state-society perspective. Τα συμπεράσματα υποστηρίζουν τελικά το επιχείρημα ότι η στερεότυπη σχέση κράτους-κοινωνίας πολιτών στην Ελλάδα πρέπει να επανεξεταστεί.
Επίμετρο
Authors: Λέκκας Παντελής , Παναγιωτόπουλος Παναγής
Published: October 2017

[Δε διατίθεται περίληψη / no abstract available]
Κοινωνική ενσωμάτωση και οικονομική πολιτική στα χρόνια της δικτατορίας στην Ελλάδα, 1967- 1974: ο ειδικός ρόλος του αγροτικού τομέα
Authors: Πατρώνης Βασίλης , Λιαργκόβας Παναγιώτης
Published: October 2017

Το άρθρο αυτό εξετάζει την οικονομική πολιτική που ακολουθήθηκε κατά τη διάρκεια της επτάχρονης δικτατορίας στην Ελλάδα. Διαπιστώνεται ότι αυτή ουσιαστικά συνέχισε και ολοκλήρωσε τη διαδικασία της ταχείας εκβιομηχάνισης, που είχε αρχίσει νωρίτερα. Στόχος του καθεστώτος ήταν οι γρήγοροι ρυθμοί βιομηχανικής ανάπτυξης με κύριο μοχλό το ξένο κεφάλαιο και την ιδιωτική πρωτοβουλία και την υπαγωγή του αγροτικού τομέα στον ρόλο «συμπληρώματος» της αναπτυξιακής διαδικασίας.
Αυτοδιοικητικές εκλογές 2002: Αποκλίσεις, κόμματα και οι δύο «λογικές» των εκλογών
Authors: Μοσχονάς Γεράσιμος
Published: October 2017

[Δεν διατίθεται περίληψη / no abstract available]
Identification of predictive cytokine biomarkers of scleroderma via local causal neighborhood methods
Authors: Shojaee Bakhtiari Ali , S. Bogatkevich Galina , Alekseyenko Alexander V.
Published: October 2017

Background: Scleroderma is an autoimmune disease with established relationship between immune cytokines and prognosis. Therefore, it is necessary to identify and investigate the causal relationship between cytokines and scleroderma diagnosis and to use this information to identify predictive biomarkers of scleroderma status.

Methods: Forty scleroderma positive patients and twenty-four healthy controls have been included in this study. Twenty-nine cytokines implicated in scleroderma have been measured in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid of these patients, and eight have been found to be univariately associated with scleroderma status.

Results: Using local causal neighborhood learning methods, we have found two cytokines, Osteoprotegerin (OPG), also known as osteoclast genesis inhibitory factor, or tumor necrosis factor receptor superfamily member 11B and macrophage inflammatory protein-1 delta, to be causally related to the scleroderma status. Logistic regression predictor based on these cytokines achieves 73% AUC for the task of identifying the scleroderma status.

Conclusions: Our results demonstrate the feasibility of developing predictive local causal neighborhood biomarkers of scleroderma status based on bronchoalveolar lavage fluid.
Household air pollution, chronic respiratory disease and pneumonia in Malawian adults: A case-control study
Authors: Jary Hannah R. , Aston Stephen , Ho Antonia , Giorgi Emanuele , Kalata Newton , Nyirenda Mulinda , Mallewa Jane , Peterson Ingrid , Gordon Stephen B. , Mortimer Kevin
Published: October 2017

Background:Four million people die each year from diseases caused by exposure to household air pollution. There is an association between exposure to household air pollution and pneumonia in children (half a million attributable deaths a year); however, whether this is true in adults is unknown. We conducted a case-control study in urban Malawi to examine the association between exposure to household air pollution and pneumonia in adults.

Methods:Hospitalized patients with radiologically confirmed pneumonia (cases) and healthy community controls underwent 48 hours of ambulatory and household particulate matter (µg/m3) and carbon monoxide (ppm) exposure monitoring. Multivariate logistic regression, stratified by HIV status, explored associations between these and other potential risk factors with pneumonia.

Results:145 (117 HIV-positive; 28 HIV-negative) cases and 253 (169 HIV-positive; 84 HIV-negative) controls completed follow up. We found no evidence of association between household air pollution exposure and pneumonia in HIV-positive (e.g. ambulatory particulate matter adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 1.00 [95% CI 1.00–1.01, p=0.141]) or HIV-negative (e.g. ambulatory particulate matter aOR 1.00 [95% CI 0.99–1.01, p=0.872]) participants. Chronic respiratory disease was associated with pneumonia in both HIV-positive (aOR 28.07 [95% CI 9.29–84.83, p<0.001]) and HIV-negative (aOR 104.27 [95% CI 12.86–852.35, p<0.001]) participants.

Conclusions:We found no evidence that exposure to household air pollution is associated with pneumonia in Malawian adults. In contrast, chronic respiratory disease was strongly associated with pneumonia.
Phylogenetic relationships of Limonium (Plumbaginaceae) inferred from multiple chloroplast and nuclear loci
Authors: Malekmohammadi Maryam , Akhani Hossein , Borsch Thomas
Published: October 2017

Limonium (Plumbaginaceae) is a nearly cosmopolitan halophytic genus with ca. 350 species, a large number of which occurs in the Mediterranean region. We have generated a sequence dataset of several plastid (trnK intron including the matK gene, petD intron with the petB‐petD spacer, trnL intron with the trnL‐trnF spacer) and one nuclear region (nrITS), spanning the major lineages within the genus (102 accessions representing 76 species of Limonium) and related genera. Bayesian inference, maximum likelihood and maximum parsimony analyses converge on a Limonium clade that includes the genera Afrolimon, Eremolimon and Linczevskia. Plastid and nuclear trees congruently depict a number of major clades, most of them with a characteristic vegetative morphology and growing in specific habitats. Although the position of Afrolimon is incongruently resolved as the sister of a subclade comprising Limonium vulgareand relatives in the plastid trees versus being the sister to a Limonium sogdianum–L. bellidifolium–L. aureum clade in the nrITS tree, both genomic compartments show that Afrolimon is deeply nested in Limonium. Eremolimon is resolved as a close relative of L. sogdianum and L. ferganense based on plastid and nuclear genomic compartments. Our phylogenetic analysis resulted in an improved picture of internal relationships. Apart from the monophyletic subgenera Limonium subg. Limonium and L.subg.Pteroclados , nine well‐supported clades of L. subg. Limonium are evident, several of which are predominantly constituted by species of a certain geographic range. A subclade of Irano‐Turanian species (L. iranicum, L. suffruticosum and relatives) is shown to be unrelated to a L. axillare subclade, indicating an independent origin of the woody habit in these two lineages. Limonium sect. Iranolimonsect. nov. is described for the Irano‐Turanian woody lineage. The new combination L. sect. Circinaria comb. nov., is established for taxa sometimes included in Afrolimon.
A very special vampire episode: Vampires, archetypes and postmodern turns in late 1980s’ and 1990s’ cult TV shows
Authors: Fhlainn Sorcha Ní
Published: October 2017

This article evaluates the importance of the TV vampire on-screen in science fiction, gothic and horror-based cult TV series from the late 1980s to the late 1990s. The inclusion of the vampire as a peripheral character in series including Quantum Leap (1989–93), The X-Files (1993–2002, 2016–present), Tales from the Crypt (1989–96) and Friday the 13th: The Series (1987–90) indicates, in light of postmodern cultural turns, that there exists an imperative to re-evaluate, satirize and reflexively explore the vampire as a necessary and evolving stock gothic character within the narrative and generic frameworks of each show. In looking at these postmodern vampiric evaluations in their own right, where the vampire is featured as the ‘monster of the week’, this article argues that these understudied yet apposite representations of the television vampire, prior to and following on from the success of Coppola’s Bram Stoker’s Dracula (Coppola, 1992), documents a distinct cultural shift and maturation in representing vampires in non-vampire-based gothic television shows. Whether it is to reify, satirize and re-mould the vampire as a variant of ‘the Dracula template’ on the small screen or to move beyond mere stock conventions, these specific vampire episodes document the continuing fluidity of screen vampires through TV’s episodic ‘creature feature’ framework and offer differing and dynamic alternative representations of undeath beyond vampire-centric TV shows.
‘When there’s blood involved, a line been crossed’: Spike/Eric slash and the fascinations of the crossover text
Authors: Jones Bethan
Published: October 2017

Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997–2003) and True Blood (2008–14) are arguably two of the most popular vampire television series. Given the many similarities between them this is, perhaps, not surprising: both focus on a female character who falls in love with a vampire; both draw on the notion of the Byronic hero; and both feature a blonde bad boy who quickly became a fan favourite. Indeed, an August 2016 search on Fanfiction.net for stories featuring Spike yields 10,476 hits, while Eric appears in 2,923 works (Angel features in 6153 and Bill in 708). Henry Jenkins suggests that fanfiction is born from a combination of both fascination and frustration: if fans were not fascinated with a series they would not continue the storyworld, but if they were not frustrated with aspects of it they would find nothing to write about. In this article I argue that fascination with a text occurs across multiple storyworlds and that the crossover text is one way in which fans make this fascination transparent. I further argue that while much work on slash fiction exists, it has primarily focused on pairings from within the same narrative: Harry/Draco; Sherlock/John; Mulder/Krycek and analysing slash featuring characters from across storyworlds offers us a fruitful understanding of fans’ intertextual knowledge and the way in which this knowledge is applied in fanworks. Furthermore, I contend that the crossover slash story complicates current academic discourse around slash and ask how we might begin to theorize the slash crossover both in relation to existing slash fic and representations and rewritings of gender.
Balanced Active Learning Method for Image Classification
Authors: Papp Dávid , Szűcs Gábor
Published: October 2017

The manual labeling of natural images is and has always been painstaking and slow process, especially when large data sets are involved. Nowadays, many studies focus on solving this problem, and most of them use active learning, which offers a solution for reducing the number of images that need to be labeled. Active learning procedures usually select a subset of the whole data by iteratively querying the unlabeled instances based on their predicted informativeness. One way of estimating the information content of an image is by using uncertainty sampling as a query strategy. This basic technique can significantly reduce the number of label needed; e.g. to set up a good model for classification. Our goal was to improve this method by balancing the distribution of the already labeled images. This modification is based on a novel metric that we present in this paper. We conducted experiments on two popular data sets to demonstrate the efficiency of our proposed balanced active learning (BAL) approach, and the results showed that it outperforms the basic uncertainty sampling.
Unit Testing in C++ with Compiler Instrumentation and Friends
Authors: Márton Gábor , Porkoláb Zoltán
Published: October 2017

In C++, test code is often interwoven with the unit we want to test. During the test development process we often have to modify the public interface of a class to replace existing dependencies; e.g. a supplementary setter or constructor function is added for dependency injection. In many cases, extra template parameters are used for the same purpose. All existing solutions have serious detrimental effects on the code structure and sometimes on the run-time performance as well. In this paper, we overview existing dependency replacement techniques of C++ and we evaluate their advantages and disadvantages. We introduce our non-intrusive, compiler instrumentation based testing approach that does not have such disadvantages. All non-intrusive testing methods (including our new method) require access to an object’s internal state in order to setup a test. Thus, to complement our new solution, we also present different approaches to conveniently access private members in C++. To evaluate these techniques, we created a proof-of-concept implementation which is publicly available for further testing.
A Personalized Multi-Path and Multi-User Traffic Analysis and Visualization Tool
Authors: Babau Cristian , Marcu Marius , Tihu Mircea Gabriel , Telbis Daniel George , Creţu Vladimir Ioan
Published: October 2017

Traffic optimization is a subject that has become vital for the world we live in. People these days need to get from a starting point to a destination point as fast and as safe as possible. Traffic congestion plays a key role in the frustration of people and it results in lost time, reduced productivity and wasted resources. In our study we seek to address these issues by proposing a real-time road traffic planning system based on mobile context and crowd sourcing efforts. The first step toward this goal is real-time traffic characterization using data collected from mobile sensors of drivers, pedestrians, cyclists, passengers, etc.. We started developing a data collection and analysis system composed of a mobile application in order to collect user context data and a Web application to view and analyze the data. This new system will eventually give the users an automatically optimized route to the destination and predict the users’ traveling route based on live traffic conditions and historical data.
The Connection between Antipatterns and Maintainability in Firefox
Authors: Bán Dénes
Published: October 2017

The notion that antipatterns have a detrimental effect on source code maintainability is widely accepted, but there is relatively little objective evidence to support it. We seek to investigate this issue by analyzing the connection between antipatterns and maintainability in an empirical study of Firefox, an open source browser application developed in C++. After extracting antipattern instances and maintainability information from 45 revisions, we looked for correlations to uncover a connection between the two concepts. We found statistically significant negative values for both Pearson and Spearman correlations, most of which were under -0.65. These values suggest there are strong, inverse relationships, thereby supporting our initial assumption that the more antipatterns the source code contains, the harder it is to maintain. Lastly, we combined these data into a table applicable for machine learning experiments, which we conducted using Weka [10] and several of its classifier algorithms. All five regression types we tried had correlation coefficients over 0.77 and used mostly negative weights for the antipattern predictors in the models we constructed. In conclusion, we can say that this empirical study is another step towards objectively demonstrating that antipatterns have an adverse effect on software maintainability.
Challenge of mitigating bank frauds by judicious mix of technology: Experience of a developing country
Authors: Bhasin Madan Lal
Published: October 2017

Banks are the engines that drive the operations in the financial sector, money markets and growth of an economy. With the rapidly growing banking industry in India, frauds in banks are also increasing fast, and fraudsters have started using innovative methods. A questionnaire-based survey was conducted in 2013-14 among 345 bank employees to know their perception towards bank frauds, degree of their compliance level, and integration of technology to detect, control and prevent frauds. This study provides discussion of the attitudes, strategies, and the technology that bank specialists will need to combat frauds.

Banks that can leverage advances in technology and analytics to improve fraud prevention will reduce their fraud losses. In 2015, the RBI introduced new mechanisms for banks to check loan frauds by taking pro-active steps by setting up a Central Fraud Registry, introduced the concept of Red Flagged Account, and Indian investigative agencies will soon start sharing their databases with banks.
The role of "deprivation" in the conceptualization of social tension in the Ukrainian society
Authors: Siryi Yevhen
Published: October 2017

This article attempts to expand interpretational ability of the deprivational paradigm for social tensions (ST). This is due to the conceptual uncertainty, weak presentability and possible underestimation of gnoseological resource of the deprivation theory. This article attempts to construct a semantic core concept of ST using components of T. Gurr’s and J. Davis’ deprivation theory, theory of frustration by  J. Dollard, stress theory by R.K. Merton, and the related theories and concepts that complement and extend the gnoseological potential of deprivation theory. We have performed explicative analysis of deprivation regarding social context, justified and evaluated gnoseological potential of deprivation as a semantic core of conceptualization of social tension. We have analyzed social characteristics of typicality of today's Ukrainian society. We have accentuated the significance and potential of the deprivational paradigm regarding the explanation of social tension, in modern Ukrainian realities that have developed over the past decades.
Techno-economic analysis of the cogeneration process on board ships
Authors: Brozičević Marko , Martinović Dragan , Kralj Predrag
Published: October 2017

Combined heat and power (CHP) is a facility which uses one energy source to produce both electricity and thermal energy at the same time. CHP has an advantage when compared to conventional power plants which produce only electricity or thermal energy because it is much more efficient – it minimizes the usage of its primary energy source, grid losses and greenhouse gas emissions. CHP’s big advantage lies in its applicability: it is highly compatible with existing technologies already in use in different power systems across the industry, agriculture, business and residential sector. This paper describes the cogeneration in general, its application, classification and characteristics. It also describes various cogeneration plants on board, their principle and the advantages and disadvantages of individual processes. This paper contains analysis of cogeneration systems and their comparison, especially on board ships. The paper uses results of other authors to analyze on board systems and to suggest optimal solutions for various ship types. The papers aim to became one of the tools for project engineers and operation engineers.
Behavioral pattern of commercial public transport passengers in Lagos metropolis
Authors: Afolabi Oluwaseyi Joseph , Hassan Adegbayi M. , Age Luqman O.
Published: October 2017

This study examined the travel behavior of commercial public transport passengers in Lagos State, Nigeria. The descriptive research survey was used in order to assess the opinions of the respondents using the questionnaire. A total of 84 samples were used as representative population, while two null hypotheses were formulated and tested using the Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient at 0.05 level of significant. The results that were obtained indicated that a positive correlation exists between frequency of   travel and commuters income in Lagos Metropolis and also that a positive correlation exists between frequency of travel and distance covered by commuters in Lagos Metropolis. Secondary data was also sourced to serve as complement to the primary data, thus allowing for a robust research. Descriptive statistical tools such as percentages were also adopted to present the socio-economic characteristics in the area. Findings showed that about 57% of sampled population are male, 62 % are civil servants, 48% of respondents travel for business purposes. Also, that majority of the respondents (50%) said that the commercial public transport is highly prone to accident, while about 64% of the respondents commute on daily basis. It was established that lack of transport infrastructure coupled with poor road maintenance were seen as the leading causes of inaccessibility of the area.
Synthesis, structural characterization and comparison of experimental and theoretical results by DFT level of molecular structures of 1,2,3-triazoles derived from 5-chloroisatin
Authors: Tribak Zineb , Skalli Mohammed , Senhaji Omar , Kandri Rodi Youssef
Published: October 2017

This work deals about the synthesis, NMR characterization and the density functional method (B3LYP) with the 6-31G basis set of 1, 3-dipolar cycloaddition reactions between the two azides as dipoles and propargylchloroisatin as dipolarophile. Furthermore, DFT calculations were used to study the nucleophile–electrophile interactions of the azides and dipolarophile and also the stability between the regioisomers comparing their energy. Our calculations are in a good agreement with the experimental findings.
Impact of waste heat recovery systems on energy efficiency improvement of a heavy-duty diesel engine
Authors: Ma Zheshu , Chen Hua , Zhang Yong
Published: October 2017

The increase of ship’s energy utilization efficiency and the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions have been high lightened in recent years and have become an increasingly important subject for ship designers and owners. The International Maritime Organization (IMO) is seeking measures to reduce the CO2 emissions from ships, and their proposed energy efficiency design index (EEDI) and energy efficiency operational indicator (EEOI) aim at ensuring that future vessels will be more efficient. Waste heat recovery can be employed not only to improve energy utilization efficiency but also to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. In this paper, a typical conceptual large container ship employing a low speed marine diesel engine as the main propulsion machinery is introduced and three possible types of waste heat recovery systems are designed. To calculate the EEDI and EEOI of the given large container ship, two software packages are developed. From the viewpoint of operation and maintenance, lowering the ship speed and improving container load rate can greatly reduce EEOI and further reduce total fuel consumption. Although the large container ship itself can reach the IMO requirements of EEDI at the first stage with a reduction factor 10% under the reference line value, the proposed waste heat recovery systems can improve the ship EEDI reduction factor to 20% under the reference line value.