bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Performance evaluation with fuzzy VIKOR and AHP method based on customer satisfaction in Turkish banking sector
Authors: Dincer Hasan , Hacioglu Umit
Published: November 2013

Purpose

– Firms operating in the service sector must have a dynamic structure to be competitive in a volatile business environment. The dynamic structure brings skilled employees and talented managers together to create effective strategies for global competition. In traditional retail service companies, the majority of the staff interacts intensively with the clients and engaged in advanced facilities. The purpose of this research is to evaluate the performance results of the banks in Turkey based on the level of customer service and satisfaction within an interdisciplinary frame.

Design/methodology/approach

– The fuzzy VIKOR and AHP method has been applied to analyse the performance levels of Turkish banks registered in Borsa Istanbul. In order to obtain the dynamics of data, the customer satisfaction competencies have been identified as the reference points for experts.

Findings

– The empirical results confirm that the performance results of the banks vary based on customer satisfaction level and ownership types. The fundamental conclusion clarifies the facilities of the state-owned banks are suitable for meeting customer expectations, private bank's performance level is higher than foreign banks, foreign banks have the weakest performance results based on customer satisfaction level with a negative financial outcomes in local countries and finally, state-owned banks with their strong assets serve the customers in expected manner.

Originality/value

– Generating sales revenue based on effective customer services and quality improvement requires prompt response to changing competitive conditions and customer demands. Effective customer service in performance evaluation process has a strategic role in adopting competitive strategies. The originality of the study is to evaluate the performance results of the customer satisfaction using the hybrid approach under the fuzzy environment.
Do “complex needs” need “complex needs services”? (Part 2)
Authors: Johnson Robin
Published: November 2013

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to conclude a two-part review of past and current approaches to meeting the more “complex” needs of individuals in the UK context. It explores the dilemmas of commissioning, the development of personalisation approaches in funding or care planning mechanisms, the need to address power relations and lessons from the introduction of the role of a “lead professional” in the Care Programme Approach (CPA), concluding with the development of more systemic approaches at locality level.

Design/methodology/approach

– This, being the second of two papers, extends the historical narrative approach of Part 1 to the analysis of the term “complex needs” and its role in contemporary service delivery.

Findings

– The first responsibility of services has been to find ways to engage these more “at risk” individuals and their needs more effectively; and innovation and guidance on this is valuable. But the paper also needs to address the nature of the net itself, that lets so many through. Reliance on individuating mechanisms of service delivery to respond to individual complexity may be less effective in tackling complex needs, unless accompanied by more effective collective representation, and systemic change.

Originality/value

– This overview paper brings together themes that are more commonly treated in isolation; in addition, there is hitherto unpublished material on the CPA, and illustration with examples of contemporary developments.
Adding value: getting to the heart of the matter
Authors: Matthews Joseph
Published: November 2013

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to explore the concept of adding value and in particular to suggest ways in which libraries can add even more value than they do so now.

Design/methodology/approach

– With this primarily a literature review combined with some examples of ways in which some libraries are adding value in new and interesting ways. This paper seeks to extend the work of Robert Taylor who developed a Value-Added Model.

Findings

– Libraries must find new ways to add value to their collections and services as competitors continue to introduce convenient services that are drawing people away from libraries. The ways in which a library might add new value have been grouped into five broad categories: community, content, context, collaboration, or co-creation and connection. Each category is discussed in some detail and examples are provided to illustrate possibilities.

Originality/value

– Exploring ways in which libraries can add value in the life of their customers must become a topic of conversation for librarians everywhere. The mandate to change is ever present and libraries need to introduce new and innovative services that add real value.
What follows after the decision to offshore production?
Authors: Mugurusi Godfrey , de Boer Luitzen
Published: November 2013

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to consider research that has been conducted on the offshoring of manufacturing activities, and more specifically to synthesize results regarding the question of how firms integrate and govern geographically dispersed production activities.

Design/methodology/approach

– A set of 100 carefully selected articles on offshoring and offshore outsourcing of production published in international peer-reviewed journals during the past 15 years are systematically analyzed. The focus is on 34 articles that touch on issues of integration and governance of dispersed production facilities.

Findings

– Offshoring and offshore outsourcing of production is a cross-cutting subject of research. Most research is recent and largely conceptual. Furthermore, the findings suggest that the decision to offshore is often followed by the need to build more integrated operations.

Research limitations/implications

– One of the major constraining factors of this research, like many literature reviews, is a limited sampling period.

Practical implications

– The paper demonstrates the importance of both intra-firm relationships and governance in dispersed production operations. The authors suggest that new offshore plants need to learn and develop their own capabilities in new markets on one hand, while also developing governance structures to facilitate coherence within a production network on the other hand.

Originality/value

– This is a valuable paper for researchers in offshoring and global manufacturing areas. While literature reviews in other areas such as information systems offshoring and services offshoring do exist, one specific to production offshoring was lacking. This paper should be seen as a systematic and concerted effort for research and knowledge in this area.
SME internationalisation: offshoring, “backshoring”, or staying at home in New Zealand
Authors: Canham Stephen , T. Hamilton Robert
Published: November 2013

Purpose

– This paper aims to focus on production offshoring and “backshoring” in a representative sample of 151 New Zealand manufacturers. It identifies how and why firms offshore; why many increase their offshoring while others “backshore”; and why most firms continue to compete internationally without offshoring.

Design/methodology/approach

– Data collection used a two-wave postal questionnaire survey of 676 firms, with a usable response rate of 22.3 per cent and no indication of non-response bias.

Findings

– Most exporters manufactured only from their New Zealand base, but 44 per cent had outsourced some production offshore in the period 2001 to 2011. Among the 67 offshored firms, 11 had then “backshored” to New Zealand. The main reasons for offshoring were lower labour costs and capacity constraints in New Zealand. “Backshoring” occurs when lower labour costs become offset by impaired capabilities in flexibility/delivery; quality; and the value of the Made in New Zealand brand especially among consumer goods producers. Stay at home firms reported fears of lowered quality; country loyalty; and their Made in New Zealand country of origin brand.

Practical implications

– Offshoring begins tentatively but many firms then increase their offshoring to reap the benefit of lower labour costs. These reasons for “backshoring” mirror those given for keeping production in New Zealand and must be given careful consideration by firms considering offshoring.

Originality/value

– There are few studies of offshoring by smaller manufacturers and none that have elucidated this as a process, one that is still avoided by many and can end in costly “backshoring” for others.
Licensing and the rhetoric of fun: the cute and the cool
Authors: Brougère Gilles
Published: November 2013

Purpose

– This paper was presented at the CTC conference of Milan 2012. It aims to analyse how licensing is used in the different ways of addressing items to children. This way of addressing the child can be called rhetoric in that it is a way of persuading, seducing, capturing children with the product itself. For this, the object has to be fun, and using mass-culture and licensing is an easy means to develop this address. There are different kinds of rhetoric of fun. Using the analysis of Cross, this paper seeks to discriminate between the rhetoric of cute (using the example of Hello Kitty) and the rhetoric of cool (using the French-Swiss comic character Titeuf).

Design/methodology/approach

– The paper analyses the meanings of objects offered to children. The author uses a socio-anthropological approach first developed for the toy (Brougère) that consists of analysing the meanings of an object while taking into account the different dimensions that link it to network design, manufacturing, distribution and use. The paper highlights one of these dimensions, that of addressing the child, how the object integrates the fact that it is intended for, made for the child. This address can be called rhetoric in that it is a way of persuading, seducing, capturing children with the product itself.

Findings

– Through the distinction between cute and cool, the intention is to contribute to the analysis of the contemporary deployment of an entertainment culture which is incorporated into childhood objects, while being a way to capture the interest of children themselves.

Research limitations/implications

– The research is limited to the analysis of the object before it is used by the child. The author is conducting other research to analyse the other aspects. What is of interest here is the construction of this address, the dynamic of the rhetoric; in fact what the child does with it needs another study, one that is being conducted separately. The paper does not present the point of view of the child, which is not a way to reject it, but rather to state that it is a subject in itself. Before grasping the interpretations produced by children one must understand the dynamic of address that is proposed by the objects themselves in the anthropological perspective that has been taken on, namely the highlighting of cultural meanings.

Practical implications

– There are no direct practical implications, because it is a research paper.

Originality/value

– There is this kind of question (how one is to address the objects to children) and this kind of analysis (the rhetoric of fun) in the literature. This is an original analysis, using some important results from Cook and Cross.
Use of Postmortem Temperature Decay Response Surface Plots of Heat Transport in the Human Eye to Predict Time of Death
Authors: Smart Jimmy L.
Published: November 2013

A finite element heat transfer model of the human eye was previously constructed and applied to experimental postmortem temperature decay curves collected in eyeballs of ten human bodies. The model was applied in the early postmortem period of 0–24 h under conditions of natural convection–radiation. Based upon this previous model, response surfaces for postmortem temperature decay were constructed based upon variable ranges of the natural convective–radiation heat transfer coefficient from 7–13 W/m2 K, ambient temperatures of 10–33°C, and times of 0–24 h. Mathematical equations to describe these response surfaces have been developed. This response surface method is demonstrated for use by coroners/medical personnel to estimate time of death from recorded field temperature data collected over a 30‐min period. Sensitivity of the model to small changes in the key variable of ambient temperature is explored. The response surface model is applied to two cases of previously collected experimental eyeball temperature data. This response surface model method is only valid for constant surrounding temperatures, conditions of natural convection, no radiation effects, and postmortem times of 0–24 h.
UNPACKING THE BLACK BOX OF PEER SIMILARITY IN DEVIANCE: UNDERSTANDING THE MECHANISMS LINKING PERSONAL BEHAVIOR, PEER BEHAVIOR, AND PERCEPTIONS
Authors: YOUNG JACOB T. N. , REBELLON CESAR J. , BARNES J. C. , WEERMAN FRANK M.
Published: November 2013

The strong correlation between measures of personal and peer deviance occurs with near “law‐like” regularity. Yet, as with other manifestations of peer similarity (often referred to as homophily), the mechanisms generating this relationship are widely debated. Specific to the deviance literature, most studies have failed to examine, simultaneously, the degree to which similarity is the consequence of multiple causes. The current study addresses this gap by using longitudinal network data for 1,151 individuals from the Netherlands Institute for the Study of Crime and Law Enforcement (NSCR) School Project. Structural equation modeling is used to address these issues by adapting Jussim and Osgood's () model of deviant attitudes in dyadic pairs to the current data. Across two separate behavioral domains (substance use and property offending), the results provide strong support for the prediction that individuals project their own deviant tendencies inaccurately onto their peers. Conversely, the results provide little or no support for the predictions that respondents accurately perceive their peers’ deviance or that their perceptions of peer deviance influence their own behavior. Implications for understanding the role of peer behavior in the etiology of adolescent deviance are discussed.
Prevalence of Nitrite and Nitrate Contents and Its Effect on Edible Bird Nest's Color
Authors: Paydar Mohammadjavad , Wong Yi Li , Wong Won Fen , Hamdi Omer Abdalla Ahmed , Kadir Noraniza Abd. , Looi Chung Yeng
Published: November 2013

Edible bird nests (EBNs) are important ethnomedicinal commodity in the Chinese community. Recently, But and others showed that the white EBNs could turn red by vapors from sodium nitrite (NaNO2) in acidic condition or from bird soil, but this color‐changing agent remained elusive. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of nitrite and nitrate contents and its affects on EBN's color. EBNs were collected from swiftlet houses or caves in Southeast Asia. White EBNs were exposed to vapor from NaNO2 in 2% HCl, or bird soil. The levels of nitrite (NO2−) and nitrate (NO3−) in EBNs were determined through ion chromatography analysis. Vapors from NaNO2 in 2% HCl or bird soil stained white bird nests to brown/red colors, which correlated with increase nitrite and nitrate levels. Moreover, naturally formed cave‐EBNs (darker in color) also contained higher nitrite and nitrate levels compared to white house‐EBNs, suggesting a relationship between nitrite and nitrate with EBN's color. Of note, we detected no presence of hemoglobin in red “blood” nest. Using infrared spectra analysis, we demonstrated that red/brown cave‐EBNs contained higher intensities of C‐N and N‐O bonds compared to white house‐EBNs. Together, our study suggested that the color of EBNs was associated with the prevalence of the nitrite and nitrate contents.
Peripheral blood involvement in patients with follicular lymphoma: a rare disease manifestation associated with poor prognosis
Authors: Sarkozy Clémentine , Baseggio Lucile , Feugier Pierre , Callet‐Bauchu Evelyne , Karlin Lionel , Seymour John F. , Lebras Laure , Michallet Anne‐Sophie , Offner Fritz , Dumas Olivier , Traverse‐Glehen Alexandra , Ffrench Martine , Lopez‐Guillermo Armando , Berger Françoise , Coiffier Bertrand , Felman Pascale , Salles Gilles
Published: November 2013

Follicular Lymphoma (FL) is the second most common non‐Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) subtype and its course is heterogeneous. At diagnosis, some patients with FL manifest a detectable leukaemic phase (FL‐LP), but this feature has been seldom described and is poorly characterized. Among 499 patients diagnosed with FL in Lyon‐Sud hospital, 37 (7·4%) had characteristic FL‐LP (by cytological blood smears and flow cytometric analysis). In addition, 91/1135 FL patients from the PRIMA study presented FL‐LP at study entry. In order to evaluate the outcome of this Lyon‐Sud cohort, FL‐LP patients were matched with 111 newly diagnosed FL without LP according to the Follicular Lymphoma International Prognostic Index (FLIPI) score, age and treatment. Presence of FL‐LP was associated with shorter progression‐free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) (P = 0·004 and P = 0·031, respectively). Presence of FL‐LP and high FLIPI score remained independent prognostic factors in a Cox model for time to progression (TTP). A number of circulating lymphoma cells (CLC) >4 × 109/l was the most significant predictor for a shorter TTP in this Cox model. The prognostic impact of FL‐LP on TTP was validated in the PRIMA cohort (P = 0·0004). In conclusion, FL‐LP is a rare event associated with shorter PFS and patients with CLC >4 × 109/l have a poorer outcome. These patients should be monitored carefully to consider alternative therapeutic options.
Neoadjuvant chemotherapy for bladder cancer does not increase risk of perioperative morbidity
Authors: Johnson David C. , Nielsen Matthew E. , Matthews Jonathan , Woods Michael E. , Wallen Eric M. , Pruthi Raj S. , Milowsky Matthew I. , Smith Angela B.
Published: November 2013

Objective

To determine whether neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) is a predictor of postoperative complications, length of stay (LOS), or operating time after radical cystectomy (RC) for bladder cancer.

Patients and Methods

A retrospective review of the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (NSQIP) database was performed to identify patients receiving NAC before RC from 2005 to 2011. Bivariable and multivariable analyses were used to determine whether NAC was associated with 30‐day perioperative outcomes, e.g. complications, LOS, and operating time.

Results

Of the 878 patients who underwent RC for bladder cancer in our study, 78 (8.9%) received NAC. Excluding those patients who were ineligible for NAC due to renal insufficiency, 78/642 (12.1%) received NAC. In all, 457 of the 878 patients (52.1%) undergoing RC had at least one complication ≤30 days of RC, including 43 of 78 patients (55.1%) who received NAC and 414 of 800 patients (51.8%) who did not (P = 0.58). On multivariable logistic regression, NAC was not a predictor of complications (P = 0.87), re‐operation (P = 0.16), wound infection (P = 0.32), or wound dehiscence (P = 0.32). Using multiple linear regression, NAC was not a predictor of increased operating time (P = 0.24), and patients undergoing NAC had a decreased LOS (P = 0.02).

Conclusions

Our study is the first large multi‐institutional analysis specifically comparing complications after RC with and without NAC. Using a nationally validated, prospectively maintained database specifically designed to measure perioperative outcomes, we found no increase in perioperative complications or surgical morbidity with NAC. Considering these findings and the well‐established overall survival benefit over surgery alone, efforts are needed to improve the uptake of NAC.
Should pharmacologists care about alternative splicing? IUPHAR Review 4
Authors: Bonner T I
Published: November 2013

Alternative splicing of mRNAs occurs in the majority of human genes, and most differential splicing results in different protein isoforms with possibly different functional properties. However, there are many reported splicing variations that may be quite rare, and not all combinatorially possible variants of a given gene are expressed at significant levels. Genes of interest to pharmacologists are frequently expressed at such low levels that they are not adequately represented in genome‐wide studies of transcription. In single‐gene studies, data are commonly available on the relative abundance and functional significance of individual alternatively spliced exons, but there are rarely data that quantitate the relative abundance of full‐length transcripts and define which combinations of exons are significant. A number of criteria for judging the significance of splice variants and suggestions for their nomenclature are discussed.
The ryanodine receptor agonist 4‐chloro‐3‐ethylphenol blocks ORAI store‐operated channels
Authors: Zeng Bo , Chen Gui‐Lan , Daskoulidou Nikoleta , Xu Shang‐Zhong
Published: November 2013

Background

Depletion of the Ca2+ store by ryanodine receptor (RyR) agonists induces store‐operated Ca2+ entry (SOCE). 4‐Chloro‐3‐ethylphenol (4‐CEP) and 4‐chloro‐m‐cresol (4‐CmC) are RyR agonists commonly used as research tools and diagnostic reagents for malignant hyperthermia. Here, we investigated the effects of 4‐CEP and its analogues on SOCE.

Experimental Approach

SOCE and ORAI1‐3 currents were recorded by Ca2+ imaging and whole‐cell patch recordings in rat L6 myoblasts and in HEK293 cells overexpressing STIM1/ORAI1‐3.

Key Results

4‐CEP induced a significant release of Ca2+ in rat L6 myoblasts, but inhibited SOCE. The inhibitory effect was concentration‐dependent and more potent than its analogues 4‐CmC and 4‐chlorophenol (4‐ClP). In the HEK293 T‐REx cells overexpressing STIM1/ORAI1‐3, 4‐CEP inhibited the ORAI1, ORAI2 and ORAI3 currents evoked by thapsigargin. The 2‐APB‐induced ORAI3 current was also blocked by 4‐CEP. This inhibitory effect was reversible and independent of the Ca2+ release. The two analogues, 4‐CmC and 4‐ClP, also inhibited the ORAI1‐3 channels. Excised patch and intracellular application of 4‐CEP demonstrated that the action site was located extracellularly. Moreover, 4‐CEP evoked STIM1 translocation and subplasmalemmal clustering through its Ca2+ store‐depleting effect via the activation of RyR, but no effect on STIM1 redistribution was observed in cells co‐expressing STIM1/ORAI1‐3.

Conclusion and Implications

4‐CEP not only acts as a RyR agonist to deplete the Ca2+ store and trigger STIM1 subplasmalemmal translocation and clustering, but also directly inhibits ORAI1‐3 channels. These findings demonstrate a novel pharmacological property for the chlorophenol derivatives that act as RyR agonists.
TLR9 and MyD88 are crucial for the maturation and activation of dendritic cells by paromomycin–miltefosine combination therapy in visceral leishmaniasis
Authors: Das Sushmita , Rani Mukta , Rabidas Vidyanand , Pandey Krishna , Sahoo Ganesh Chandra , Das Pradeep
Published: November 2013

Background and Purpose

The combination of paromomycin–miltefosine is a successful anti‐leishmanial therapy in visceral leishmaniasis (VL). This encouraged us to study its effect on Toll‐like receptor (TLR)‐mediated immunomodulation of dendritic cells (DC), as DC maturation and activation is crucial for anti‐leishmanial activity.

Experimental Approach

In silico protein–ligand interaction and biophysical characterization of TLR9–drug interaction was performed. Interaction assays of HEK293 cells with different concentrations of miltefosine and/or paromomycin were performed, and NF‐κB promoter activity measured. The role of TLR9 and MyD88 in paromomycin/miltefosine‐induced maturation and activation of DCs was evaluated through RNA interference techniques. The effect of drugs on DCs was measured in terms of counter‐regulatory production of IL‐12 over IL‐10, and characterized by chromatin immunoprecipitation assay at the molecular level.

Key Results

Computational and biophysical studies revealed that paromomycin/miltefosine interact with TLR9. Both drugs, as a monotherapy/combination, induced TLR9‐dependent NF‐κB promoter activity through MyD88. Moreover, the drug combination induced TLR9/MyD88‐dependent functional maturation of DCs, evident as an up‐regulation of co‐stimulatory markers, enhanced antigen presentation by increasing MHC II expression, and increased stimulation of naive T‐cells to produce IFN‐γ. Both drugs, by modifying histone H3 at the promoter level, increased the release of IL‐12, but down‐regulated IL‐10 in a TLR9‐dependent manner.

Conclusions and Implications

These results provide the first evidence that the combination of paromomycin–miltefosine critically modifies the maturation, activation and development of host DCs through a mechanism dependent on TLR9 and MyD88. This has implications for evaluating the success of other combination anti‐leishmanial therapies that act by targeting host DCs.
Diagnosing unilateral primary aldosteronism – comparison of a clinical prediction score, computed tomography and adrenal venous sampling
Authors: Sze W. C. Candy , Soh Lip Min , Lau Jeshen H. , Reznek Rodney , Sahdev Anju , Matson Matthew , Riddoch Fiona , Carpenter Robert , Berney Dan , Grossman Ashley B. , Chew Shern L. , Akker Scott A. , Druce Maralyn R. , Waterhouse Mona , Monson John P. , Drake William M.
Published: November 2013

Context

In patients with primary aldosteronism (PA), adrenalectomy is potentially curative for those correctly identified as having unilateral excessive aldosterone production. It has been suggested that a recently developed and published clinical prediction score (CPS) may correctly identify some patients as having unilateral disease, without recourse to adrenal venous sampling.

Objective

We have applied the CPS to a large cohort of PA patients with defined and documented outcomes. We also incorporated a minor modification to the CPS and a radiological grading score (RGS) into our analysis to assess whether its performance could be augmented.

Results

A total of 75 patients with a robust diagnosis following bilateral adrenal venous cannulation and/or strictly defined surgical outcome were analysed. Applying the CPS to this group of patients produced a sensitivity of 38·8% and a specificity of 88·5% of correctly identifying unilateral aldosterone production. Using a suggested modification to the CPS, in which different levels of hypokalaemia were given different weightings, the sensitivity rose to 40·8%, with an identical specificity. Using the RGS alone improved sensitivity to 91·7%, but specificity was reduced to 62·5%.

Conclusion

Applying the recently developed CPS to this cohort of patients, it was not possible to reproduce the 100% specificity reported in the original publication. Using the modified score or incorporating the RGS did not improve its performance. In this cohort, we were unable to show superiority of the CPS over an imaging‐based strategy. CPS may have a role in guiding clinical decision‐making, especially in those whose adrenal venous sampling (AVS) has been unsuccessful.
Guided Real‐Time Scanning of Indoor Objects
Authors: Kim Young Min , Mitra Niloy J. , Huang Qixing , Guibas Leonidas
Published: November 2013

Advances in 3D acquisition devices provide unprecedented opportunities for quickly scanning indoor environments. Such raw scans, however, are often noisy, incomplete, and significantly corrupted, making semantic scene understanding difficult, if not impossible. Unfortunately, in most existing workflows, scan quality is assessed after the scanning stage is completed, making it cumbersome to correct for significant missing data by additional scanning. In this work, we present a guided real‐time scanning setup, wherein the incoming 3D data stream is continuously analyzed, and the data quality is automatically assessed. While the user is scanning an object, the proposed system discovers and highlights potential missing parts, thus guiding the operator (or an autonomous robot) as where to scan next. The proposed system assesses the quality and completeness of the 3D scan data by comparing to a large collection of commonly occurring indoor man‐made objects using an efficient, robust, and effective scan descriptor. We have tested the system on a large number of simulated and real setups, and found the guided interface to be effective even in cluttered and complex indoor environments.
A Semi‐Lagrangian Closest Point Method for Deforming Surfaces
Authors: Auer S. , Westermann R.
Published: November 2013

We present an Eulerian method for the real‐time simulation of intrinsic fluid dynamics effects on deforming surfaces. Our method is based on a novel semi‐Lagrangian closest point method for the solution of partial differential equations on animated triangle meshes. We describe this method and demonstrate its use to compute and visualize flow and wave propagation along such meshes at high resolution and speed. Underlying our technique is the efficient conversion of an animated triangle mesh into a time‐dependent implicit representation based on closest surface points. The proposed technique is unconditionally stable with respect to the surface deformation and, in contrast to comparable Lagrangian techniques, its precision does not depend on the level of detail of the surface triangulation.
Implicit Integration for Particle‐based Simulation of Elasto‐Plastic Solids
Authors: Zhou Yahan , Lun Zhaoliang , Kalogerakis Evangelos , Wang Rui
Published: November 2013

We present a novel particle‐based method for stable simulation of elasto‐plastic materials. The main contribution of our method is an implicit numerical integrator, using a physically‐based model, for computing particles that undergo both elastic and plastic deformations. The main advantage of our implicit integrator is that it allows the use of large time steps while still preserving stable and physically plausible simulation results. As a key component of our algorithm, at each time step we compute the particle positions and velocities based on a sparse linear system, which we solve efficiently on the graphics hardware. Compared to existing techniques, our method allows for a much wider range of stiffness and plasticity settings. In addition, our method can significantly reduce the computation cost for certain range of material types. We demonstrate fast and stable simulations for a variety of elasto‐plastic materials, ranging from highly stiffelastic materials to highly plastic ones.
Efficient Smoke Simulation on Curvilinear Grids
Authors: Azevedo Vinicius C. , Oliveira Manuel M.
Published: November 2013

We present an efficient approach for performing smoke simulation on curvilinear grids. Our technique is based on a fast unconditionally‐stable advection algorithm and on a new and efficient solution to enforce mass conservation. It uses a staggered‐grid variable arrangement, and has linear cost on the number of grid cells. Our method naturally integrates itself with overlapping‐grid techniques, lending to an efficient way of producing highly‐realistic animations of dynamic scenes. Compared to approaches based on regular grids traditionally used in computer graphics, our method allows for better representation of boundary conditions, with just a small increment in computational cost. Thus, it can be used to evaluate aerodynamic properties, possibly enabling unexplored applications in computer graphics, such as interactive computation of lifting forces on complex objects. We demonstrate the effectiveness of our approach, both in 2‐D and 3‐D, through a variety of high‐quality smoke animations.
Polar NURBS Surface with Curvature Continuity
Authors: Shi K.-L. , Yong J.-H. , Tang L. , Sun J.-G. , Paul J.-C.
Published: November 2013

Polar NURBS surface is a kind of periodic NURBS surface, one boundary of which shrinks to a degenerate polar point. The specific topology of its control‐point mesh offers the ability to represent a cap‐like surface, which is common in geometric modeling. However, there is a critical and challenging problem that hinders its application: curvature continuity at the extraordinary singular pole. We first propose a sufficient and necessary condition of curvature continuity at the pole. Then, we present constructive methods for the two key problems respectively: how to construct a polar NURBS surface with curvature continuity and how to reform an ordinary polar NURBS surface to curvature continuous. The algorithms only depend on the symbolic representation and operations of NURBS, and they introduce no restrictions on the degree or the knot vectors. Examples and comparisons demonstrate the applications of the curvature‐continuous polar NURBS surface in hole‐filling and free‐shape modeling.
Space requirement of a prefabricated bar on two interforaminal implants: a prospective clinical study
Authors: Albrecht Dominic , Ramierez Ami , Kremer Urs , Katsoulis Joannis , Mericske‐Stern Regina , Enkling Norbert
Published: November 2013

Objectives

This clinical study measured the dimensional changes of existing lower complete dentures due to the integration of a prefabricated implant bar. Additionally, the impact of this dimensional change on patient satisfaction and oral function was analyzed.

Methods

Twenty edentulous patients (10 men/10 women; aged 65.9 ± 11.8 years) received two interforaminal implants. Subsequent to surgery, a chair side adapted, prefabricated bar (SFI Bar®, C+M, Biel, Switzerland) was inserted, and the matrix was polymerized into the existing lower denture. The change of the denture's lingual dimension was recorded by means of a bicolored, silicone denture duplicate that was sectioned in the oro‐vestibular direction in the regions of the symphysis (S) and the implants (I‐left, I‐right). On the sections, the dimensional increase was measured using a light microscope. Six months after bar insertion, patients answered a standardized questionnaire.

Results

All dentures exhibited increased lingual volume, more extensively at S than at I (P = 0.001). At S, the median diagonal size of the denture was doubled (+4.33 mm), and at I, the median increase was 50% (I‐left/‐right = +2.66/+2.62 mm). The original denture size influenced the volume increase (P = 0.024): smaller dentures led to a larger increase. The amount of denture increase did not have negative impact on either self‐perceived oral function or patient satisfaction. Approximately, 95% of the patients were satisfied with the treatment results.

Conclusions

The lingual size of a lower denture was enlarged by the integration of a prefabricated bar without any negative side effects. Thus, this attachment system is suitable to convert an existing full denture into an implant‐supported overdenture.
Mechanism of 3D domain swapping in bovine seminal ribonuclease
Authors: Spadaccini Roberta , Ercole Carmine , Graziano Giuseppe , Wechselberger Rainer , Boelens Rolf , Picone Delia
Published: November 2013

3D domain swapping (3D‐DS) is a complex protein aggregation process for which no unique mechanism exists. We report an analysis of 3D‐DS in bovine seminal ribonuclease, a homodimeric protein whose subunits are linked by two disulfide bridges, based on NMR and biochemical studies. The presence of the covalent bonds between the subunits stabilizes the unswapped dimer, and allows distinct evaluation of the structural and dynamic effects of the swapping with respect to the dimerization process. In comparison with the monomeric subunit, which, in solution has a compact structure without any propensity for local unfolding, both swapped and unswapped dimers show increased flexibility. NMR analysis, together with urea denaturation and hydrogen–deuterium exchange data, indicates that the two dimers have increased conformational fluctuations. Furthermore, we found that the rate‐limiting step of both the swapping and unswapping pathways is the detachment of the N‐terminal helices from the monomers. These results suggest a new general mechanism in which a dimeric intermediate could facilitate 3D‐DS in globular proteins.

Structured digital abstract

BS-RNase and BS-RNase bind by nuclear magnetic resonance (View interaction)
Climate change implications of shifting forest management strategy in a boreal forest ecosystem of Norway
Authors: Bright Ryan M. , Antón‐Fernández Clara , Astrup Rasmus , Cherubini Francesco , Kvalevåg Maria , Strømman Anders H.
Published: November 2013

Empirical models alongside remotely sensed and station measured meteorological observations are employed to investigate both the local and global direct climate change impacts of alternative forest management strategies within a boreal ecosystem of eastern Norway. Stand‐level analysis is firstly executed to attribute differences in daily, seasonal, and annual mean surface temperatures to differences in surface intrinsic biophysical properties across conifer, deciduous, and clear‐cut sites. Relative to a conifer site, a slight local cooling of −0.13 °C at a deciduous site and −0.25 °C at a clear‐cut site were observed over a 6‐year period, which were mostly attributed to a higher albedo throughout the year. When monthly mean albedo trajectories over the entire managed forest landscape were taken into consideration, we found that strategies promoting natural regeneration of coniferous sites with native deciduous species led to substantial global direct climate cooling benefits relative to those maintaining current silviculture regimes – despite predicted long‐term regional warming feedbacks and a reduced albedo in spring and autumn months. The magnitude and duration of the cooling benefit depended largely on whether management strategies jointly promoted an enhanced material supply over business‐as‐usual levels. Expressed in terms of an equivalent CO2 emission pulse at the start of the simulation, the net climate response at the end of the 21st century spanned −8 to −159 Tg‐CO2‐eq., depending on whether near‐term harvest levels increased or followed current trends, respectively. This magnitude equates to approximately −20 to −300% of Norway's annual domestic (production) emission impact. Our analysis supports the assertion that a carbon‐only focus in the design and implementation of forest management policy in boreal and other climatically similar regions can be counterproductive – and at best – suboptimal if boreal forests are to be used as a tool to mitigate global warming.
Philanthropy and Progressive Era State Building through Agricultural Extension Work in the Jim Crow South
Authors: Malczewski Joan
Published: November 2013

In the process of promoting an agricultural appropriation bill in the 1914 legislative session, members of Congress engaged in a vigorous debate about the appropriateness of public-private collaboration in the federal government. They had discovered that the Department of Agriculture had been receiving funding directly from the General Education Board (GEB), a philanthropy established with funds from the Rockefeller family, for staff hired to engage in agricultural extension services. Representative William Kenyon of Iowa explained to his fellow Congressmen that employees “were on the pay roll of the Government; and, as I understand, the man who is at the head of the farm demonstration work received $1 per month from the Government and $625 per month from the Rockefeller Fund.” While Senator John Sharp Williams of Mississippi generally supported the use of private funding, he expressed the sentiments of many of his colleagues with his concern that it was “a very bad thing to get the employees of the Federal or of the State or of a city government in the habit of relying upon rich men and corporations for aid and assistance, because it brings around… a certain, perhaps dominating, influence upon the officials themselves that might be and probably would be finally detrimental to the public service or to self-respect and interest of the masses.”
Missing in Action: Violence, Power, and Discerning Agency
Authors: Bierria Alisa
Published: November 2013

How can black feminist and women of color feminist theoretical interventions help create frameworks for discerning agentic action in the context of power, oppression, and violence? In this paper, I explore the social dimension of agency and argue that intention is not just authored by the agent as a function of practical reasoning, but is also socially authored through others' discernment and translation of her action. Further, when facilitated by reasoning designed to reinforce and rationalize systems of domination, social authoring systematically distorts the intentions of some agents. Although some theorists have argued that those agents whose intentions are not recognized by others are forced to exercise a diminished agency, I contend that this account obscures agency that is practiced despite or through conditions of oppression. As an alternative, I propose that feminist of color theory that examines the structural and existential erasures of women of color maps a conceptual space to help us better discern agentic action that is practiced by those subjects whose acts are defined away from them.
Optimisation of the extraction conditions of natural colourant carthamin from safflower (Carthamus tinctoriusL.) by response surface methodology
Authors: Sun Yanwen , He Yu , Gu Mancang , Chen Jianzhen , Li Fanzhu
Published: November 2013

Alkali‐solution and acid‐isolation method (ASAI) and aqueous two‐phase system separation method (ATSS) have been reported to extract natural colourant carthamin fromCarthamus tinctorius. In this study, these two methods were compared based on the optimisation results of extraction conditions by response surface methodology. InASAI, the maximum extraction yield reached 0.779% at pHvalue of potassium carbonate solution of 11.16, ratio of potassium carbonate solution to raw material of fifteen and extraction time of 18 min, while 2.652% was achieved with concentration of acetone of 58%, ratio of acetone solution to raw material of twenty‐three and extraction time of 41 min inATSS. From the point of view of extraction yield,ATSShad more superiority thanASAI. However, more pure carthamin was provided inASAIaccording toHPLCassay. The obtained results in our experiments could be utilised for further researches of carthamin.
Bioactive compounds, in vitro antioxidant capacity and Maillard reaction products of raw, boiled and fried garlic (Allium sativum L.)
Authors: de Queiroz Yara S. , Antunes Patrícia B. , Vicente Silvio J. V. , Sampaio Geni R. , Shibao Julianna , Bastos Deborah H. M. , Torres Elizabeth A. F. da S.
Published: November 2013

Garlic is used in many dishes but some of its bioactive compounds are lost when exposed to heat. This study evaluated bioactive compounds, antioxidant activity and Maillard reaction products of raw (RG), boiled (BG) and fried garlic (FG). Total phenolic compounds, flavonoids, allicin and phytosterol were quantified as well as dietary fibres and mineral content. Antioxidant activities of RG, BG and FG were evaluated by oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC), oxidation of β‐carotene/linoleic acid and Rancimat methods. The main results were the following: thermal processing of RG decreased both bioactive compounds and antioxidant capacity, boiling was found to be less aggressive than frying, and strong correlations were obtained between total phenolic compounds and the antioxidant assays. However, phytosterol content was higher in FG than in RG and BG and higher temperatures increased the formation of Maillard reaction products. It was concluded that RG and BG should be preferred for human consumption as they present higher antioxidant capacity.
Electronic nose evaluation of volatile emission of Chinese teas: from leaves to infusions
Authors: Torri Luisa , Rinaldi Massimiliano , Chiavaro Emma
Published: November 2013

An electronic nose can be used to discriminate tealeaf quality, but to the best of the author's knowledge, studies that address the changes in electronic sensor signals between tea leaves and infusions are not available. In this framework, this preliminary work compared the volatile emissions of leaf samples belonging to the basic Chinese teas (white, yellow, green, oolong, black and pu erh) with those of their respective infusions using an electronic nose. Different signal responses were qualitatively and quantitatively obtained from the sensors both for the tea leaves and their respective infusions, showing that the leaf aroma is not transferred as it is into the beverage. The teas were grouped according to the different fermentation techniques based on the percentage variations in the sensor contributions to the complete description of the volatile profiles. The results indicated that the electronic nose is a suitable tool to monitor the volatile emission differences that occur between leaves and infusions in different tea types.
Body size and spatial scales in avian response to landscapes: a meta‐analysis
Authors: Thornton Daniel H. , Fletcher Robert J.
Published: November 2013

Response of species to their environment is dependent on the scales that individuals interact with landscapes. Several life‐history traits have been suggested to influence scales of response to landscapes, but little empirical work has addressed this issue, limiting our ability to predict the relevant scale(s) at which species respond to their environment. Body size is frequently hypothesized to be relevant for predicting the effects of landscape structure on species given correlations between body size and various measures of mobility or perceptual range, yet evidence of this relationship remains equivocal. We conducted a meta‐analysis of 22 studies to address the question of whether body size is related to the characteristic scale at which bird species respond to landscape structure. On the basis of correlation coefficients and linear mixed models, we show that body size is positively related to the characteristic scale of response to landscapes. The strength of this relationship is less than body size – dispersal allometries, suggesting that response to landscapes may be influenced, in part, by factors other than dispersal (e.g. territory size). However, the strength of the observed body size – scale relationship may have been affected by several factors, including limitations in the range of body sizes and landscape extents tested. Our findings suggest that life‐history traits mediate aspects of the scales at which species respond to the landscape and contribute to developing a more predictive framework for investigating scalar relationships in nature.
Electron Transport Through Photosystem II Is Not Limited By A Wide Range of Water Deficit Conditions In Field‐Grown Gossypium hirsutum
Authors: Snider J. L. , Collins G. D. , Whitaker J. , Perry C. D. , Chastain D. R.
Published: November 2013

Despite exhaustive literature describing drought stress effects on photosynthesis in Gossypium hirsutum, the sensitivity of photosynthetic electron flow to water deficit is heavily debated. To address this, G. hirsutum plants were grown at a field site near Camilla, GA under contrasting irrigation regimes, and pre‐dawn water potential (ΨPD), stomatal conductance (gs), net photosynthesis (PN), actual quantum yield of photosystem II (ΦPSII) and electron transport rate (ETR) were measured at multiple times during the 2012 growing season. ΨPD values ranged from −0.3 to −1.1 MPa. Stomatal conductance exhibited a strong (r2 = 0.697), sigmoidal response to ΨPD, where gs was ≤0.1 mol m−2 s−1 at ΨPD values ≤ −0.86 MPa. Neither ΦPSII (r2 = 0.015) nor ETR (r2 = 0.010) was affected by ΨPD, despite exceptionally low ΨPD values (−1.1 MPa) causing a 71.7 % decline in PN relative to values predicted for well‐watered G. hirsutum leaves at ΨPD = −0.3 MPa. Further, PN was strongly influenced by gs, whereas ETR and ΦPSII were not. We conclude that photosynthetic electron flow through photosystem II is insensitive to water deficit in field‐grown G. hirsutum.