bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Modeling Long-Term User Profile in Collaborative Filtering
Authors: Karahodža Bakir , Ðonko Dženana , Šupić Haris
Published: September 2017

Collaborative filtering methods are widely accepted and used for item recommendation in various applications and domains. Their simplicity and ability to provide recommendations without the need for specific domain knowledge makes them utilized in both academic and industrial community. However, continuous dynamics of the system makes them vulnerable on different kind of changes, such as the change in user’s preferences or the appearance of new users and items in the system. It is particularly emphasized in user-based collaborative filtering recommendations which are based on both users and its nearest neighbor’s long-term profiles. In this work an approach is presented in order to recognize some of the changes and provide an upgraded model that provides improved performance. Such changes include deviations in user’s mean ratings, changes in neighbors’ similarities, as well as deviations from neighbors’ mean rating. For each of the proposed improvements a set of matching parameters are identified that form a long-term user’s profile. The performance of the proposed models compared to standard user-based collaborative filtering methods is evaluated in terms of prediction accuracy. The experimental results performed on real data set show sound improvement utilizing adjustment of deviations from user’s mean ratings and the neighbor’s similarities, as well as promising improvement with adjustment of neighbor’s mean ratings.
On split regular Hom-Leibniz algebras
Authors: Cao Yan , Chen Liangyun , Sun Bing
Published: September 2017

We introduce the class of split regular Hom-Leibniz algebras as the natural generalization of split Leibniz algebras and split regular Hom-Lie algebras. By developing techniques of connections of roots for this kind of algebras, we show that such a split regular Hom-Leibniz algebra [Formula: see text] is of the form [Formula: see text] with [Formula: see text] a subspace of the abelian subalgebra [Formula: see text] and any [Formula: see text], a well described ideal of [Formula: see text], satisfying [Formula: see text] if [Formula: see text]. Under certain conditions, in the case of [Formula: see text] being of maximal length, the simplicity of the algebra is characterized.
On two conjectures on the subspace inclusion 6 graph of a vector space
Authors: Wong Dein , Wang Xinlei , Xia Chunguang
Published: September 2017

The subspace inclusion graph on a vector space [Formula: see text], denoted by [Formula: see text], is a graph whose vertex set consists of nontrivial proper subspaces of [Formula: see text] and two vertices are adjacent if one is properly contained in another. In a recent paper, Das posed the following four conjectures on the subspace inclusion graph [Formula: see text]: If [Formula: see text] is a [Formula: see text]-dimensional vector space over a finite field [Formula: see text] with [Formula: see text] elements, then: (1) The domination number of [Formula: see text] is [Formula: see text]. (2) [Formula: see text] is distance regular. (3) [Formula: see text] is Hamiltonian. (4) [Formula: see text] is a Cayley graph.

In the present paper, we prove the first two conjectures: If [Formula: see text] is a [Formula: see text]-dimensional vector space over a finite field [Formula: see text] with [Formula: see text] elements, then:

(1) The domination number of [Formula: see text] is [Formula: see text].

(2) [Formula: see text] is distance regular.
Left invariant Randers metrics of Berwald type on tangent Lie groups
Authors: Asgari Farhad , Salimi Moghaddam Hamid Reza
Published: September 2017

Let [Formula: see text] be a Lie group equipped with a left invariant Randers metric of Berward type [Formula: see text], with underlying left invariant Riemannian metric [Formula: see text]. Suppose that [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] are lifted Randers and Riemannian metrics arising from [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] on the tangent Lie group [Formula: see text] by vertical and complete lifts. In this paper, we study the relations between the flag curvature of the Randers manifold [Formula: see text] and the sectional curvature of the Riemannian manifold [Formula: see text] when [Formula: see text] is of Berwald type. Then we give all simply connected three-dimensional Lie groups such that their tangent bundles admit Randers metrics of Berwarld type and their geodesics vectors.
Asymptotics of determinants of block Toeplitz matrices
Authors: Basor Estelle
Published: September 2017

This paper is a survey of results that show how, in some cases, to compute the constant term which occurs in the Strong Szegö–Widom Limit Theorem for block Toeplitz matrices. While this constant in the scalar case has a long history, it is really only in a few instances that it can be calculated explicitly in the case of matrix-valued symbols.
Algorithm 979
Authors: Peise Elmar , Bientinesi Paolo
Published: September 2017

To exploit both memory locality and the full performance potential of highly tuned kernels, dense linear algebra libraries, such as linear algebra package (LAPACK), commonly implement operations as blocked algorithms. However, to achieve near-optimal performance with such algorithms, significant tuning is required. In contrast, recursive algorithms are virtually tuning free and attain similar performance. In this article, we first analyze and compare blocked and recursive algorithms in terms of performance and then introduce recursive LAPACK (R
e
LAPACK), an open-source library of recursive algorithms to seamlessly replace many of LAPACK’s blocked algorithms. In most scenarios, R
e
LAPACK outperforms reference LAPACK and in many situations improves upon the performance of optimized libraries.
Geometry Helps to Compare Persistence Diagrams
Authors: Kerber Michael , Morozov Dmitriy , Nigmetov Arnur
Published: September 2017

Exploiting geometric structure to improve the asymptotic complexity of discrete assignment problems is a well-studied subject. In contrast, the practical advantages of using geometry for such problems have not been explored. We implement geometric variants of the Hopcroft-Karp algorithm for bottleneck matching (based on previous work by Efrat el al.) and of the auction algorithm by Bertsekas for Wasserstein distance computation. Both implementations use k-d trees to replace a linear scan with a geometric proximity query. Our interest in this problem stems from the desire to compute distances between persistence diagrams, a problem that comes up frequently in topological data analysis. We show that our geometric matching algorithms lead to a substantial performance gain, both in running time and in memory consumption, over their purely combinatorial counterparts. Moreover, our implementation significantly outperforms the only other implementation available for comparing persistence diagrams.
Exploiting Contextual Information in Attacking Set-Generalized Transactions
Authors: Shao Jianhua , Ong Hoang
Published: September 2017

Transactions are records that contain a set of items about individuals. For example, items browsed by a customer when shopping online form a transaction. Today, many activities are carried out on the Internet, resulting in a large amount of transaction data being collected. Such data are often shared and analyzed to improve business and services, but they also contain private information about individuals that must be protected. Techniques have been proposed to sanitize transaction data before their release, and set-based generalization is one such method. In this article, we study how well set-based generalization can protect transactions. We propose methods to attack set-generalized transactions by exploiting contextual information that is available within the released data. Our results show that set-based generalization may not provide adequate protection for transactions, and up to 70% of the items added into the transactions during generalization to obfuscate original data can be detected by our methods with a precision over 80%.
Early Initiation of Antenatal Care and Factors Associated with Early Antenatal Care Initiation at Health Facilities in Southern Ethiopia
Authors: Geta Mengesha Boko , Yallew Walelegn Worku
Published: September 2017

Antenatal care (ANC) is care given to pregnant mothers to timely identify and mitigate pregnancy related problems that can harm mother or fetus. Most of Ethiopian mothers present late for ANC. The aim of this paper was to assess determinants of early antenatal care initiation among pregnant women. Mothers attending Shebedino District Health Centers for ANC between January 12 and February 18, 2015, were invited to the study. Multistage sampling technique and structured questionnaire were used to collect data by trained data collectors. Univariate and bivariate analysis were conducted to study the association between explanatory and outcome variable. Out of 608 women, 132 [21.71%] had their first ANC within the recommended time [before or at 3 months]. Media access [AOR = 2.11 95% CI 1.00, 3.22], knowledge about the correct time of ANC booking [AOR = 4.49 95% CI 2.47, 6.16], and having been advised to book within 12 weeks [AOR = 4.14 95% CI 3.80, 5.21] were determinants of first-trimester booking. Health professionals and care providers should provide full information, advice, and appropriate care about early ANC for every eligible mother.
Ovary-Sparing Radiation Planning Techniques Can Achieve Ovarian Dose Reduction for Soft Tissue Sarcoma of the Buttock and Thigh
Authors: Kovtun Konstantin A. , Yeo Wee-Pin , Phillips Catherine H. , Viswanathan Akila , Baldini Elizabeth H.
Published: September 2017

Background and Objectives. Attention to ovary dose is important for premenopausal women undergoing radiation therapy (RT) and must not be overlooked when treating extremity sarcoma. We assessed whether ovary-sparing RT plans could decrease ovary dose without compromising target coverage. Methods. Standard sarcoma target volumes and organs at risk (OAR) were contoured by a sarcoma dedicated radiation oncologist on CT planning scans for 23 women with thigh or buttock sarcoma. IMRT plans (50 Gy) with and without attempted ovary-sparing were created by an expert sarcoma dosimetrist. Results. All plans met target coverage goals. Compared to standard plans, ovary-sparing plans had lower mean bilateral ovary doses (MBOD) (652 versus 483 cGy, p=0.007) but higher bone doses (mean V50: 8.5% versus 6.9%, p=0.049) and lower conformity indexes (1.12 versus 1.19, p=0.009). Tumors < 8 cm from the pubic symphysis had significant MBOD reduction with ovary-sparing plans (376 cGy versus 619 cGy, p=0.0184). On multivariate analysis, distance to pubic symphysis and proximal medial thigh site were associated with MBOD reduction with ovary-sparing plan. Conclusions. For preoperative IMRT, ovary-sparing planning significantly reduces ovarian dose in women with sarcoma of the proximal thigh and near the pubic symphysis.
Spinal Nerves Schwannomas: Experience on 367 Cases—Historic Overview on How Clinical, Radiological, and Surgical Practices Have Changed over a Course of 60 Years
Authors: Lenzi Jacopo , Anichini Giulio , Landi Alessandro , Piciocchi Alfonso , Passacantilli Emiliano , Pedace Francesca , Delfini Roberto , Santoro Antonio
Published: September 2017

Background.Spinal schwannomas are common benign spinal tumors. Their treatment has significantly evolved over the years, and preserving neurological functions has become one of the main treatment goals together with tumor resection.Study Design and Aims.Retrospective review focused on clinical assessment, treatment techniques, and outcomes.Methods.A retrospective study on our surgical series was performed. Clinical and operative data were analyzed. In regard to neurophysiologic monitoring, patients were retrospectively divided into two groups comparing the outcomes before and after introduction of routine intraoperative neurophysiology tests.Results.From 1951 to 2010, 367 patients overall were treated. Diagnosis was obtained using angiography and/or myelography (pre-CT era), MRI, or CT scan. A posterior spinal approach was used for most patients; complex approaches were adopted for treatment of giant/dumbbell tumors. A trend of neurophysiology monitoring decreasing the rate of post-op neurological deficits was observed but was not statistically significant enough to draft evidence-based conclusions.Conclusions.Clinical and radiological assessment of spinal schwannomas has markedly changed over the course of 50 years. Diagnostic tools have improved, and detection of recurrence has become way more sensitive. Neurophysiologic monitoring has become a useful intraoperative tool to guide resection and prevent post-op neurological impairment.
A Geometric Derivation of the Irwin-Hall Distribution
Authors: Marengo James E. , Farnsworth David L. , Stefanic Lucas
Published: September 2017

The Irwin-Hall distribution is the distribution of the sum of a finite number of independent identically distributed uniform random variables on the unit interval. Many applications arise since round-off errors have a transformed Irwin-Hall distribution and the distribution supplies spline approximations to normal distributions. We review some of the distribution’s history. The present derivation is very transparent, since it is geometric and explicitly uses the inclusion-exclusion principle. In certain special cases, the derivation can be extended to linear combinations of independent uniform random variables on other intervals of finite length. The derivation adds to the literature about methodologies for finding distributions of sums of random variables, especially distributions that have domains with boundaries so that the inclusion-exclusion principle might be employed.
Bioactive 3D-Shaped Wound Dressings Synthesized from Bacterial Cellulose: Effect on Cell Adhesion of Polyvinyl Alcohol Integrated In Situ
Authors: Osorio Marlon , Velásquez-Cock Jorge , Restrepo Luz Marina , Zuluaga Robín , Gañán Piedad , Rojas Orlando J. , Ortiz-Trujillo Isabel , Castro Cristina
Published: September 2017

We investigated wound dressing composites comprising fibrils of bacterial cellulose (BC) grown by fermentation in the presence of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) followed by physical crosslinking. The reference biointerface, neat BC, favoured adhesion of fibroblasts owing to size exclusion effects. Furthermore, it resisted migration across the biomaterial. Such effects were minimized in the case of PVA/BC membranes. Therefore, the latter are suggested in cases where cell adhesion is to be avoided, for instance, in the design of interactive wound dressings with facile exudate control. The bioactivity and other properties of the membranes were related to their morphology and structure and considered those of collagen fibres. Bioactive materials were produced by simple 3D templating of BC during growth and proposed for burn and skin ulcer treatment.
Obtaining Natural Sit-to-Stand Motion with a Biomimetic Controller for Powered Knee Prostheses
Authors: Wu Molei , Haque Md Rejwanul , Shen Xiangrong
Published: September 2017

Standing up from a seated position is a common activity in people’s daily life. However, for transfemoral (i.e., above-knee) amputees fitted with traditional passive prostheses, the sit-to-stand (STS) transition is highly challenging, due to the inability of the prosthetic joints in generating torque and power output. In this paper, the authors present a new STS control approach for powered lower limb prostheses, which is able to regulate the power delivery of the prosthetic knee joint to obtain natural STS motion similar to that displayed by healthy subjects. Mimicking the dynamic behavior of the knee in the STS, a unified control structure provides the desired control actions by combining an impedance function with a time-based ramp-up function. The former provides the gradual energy release behavior desired in the rising phase, while the latter provides the gradual energy injection behavior desired in the loading phase. This simple and intuitive control structure automates the transition between the two phases, eliminating the need for explicit phase transition and facilitating the implementation in powered prostheses. Human testing results demonstrated that this new control approach is able to generate a natural standing-up motion, which is well coordinated with the user’s healthy-side motion in the STS process.
Variability in Glycemic Control with Temperature Transitions during Therapeutic Hypothermia
Authors: Haase Krystal K. , Grelle Jennifer L. , Khasawneh Faisal A. , Ike Chiamaka
Published: September 2017

Purpose. Patients treated with therapeutic hypothermia (TH) and continuous insulin may be at increased risk of hyperglycemia or hypoglycemia, particularly during temperature transitions. This study aimed to evaluate frequency of glucose excursions during each phase of TH and to characterize glycemic control patterns in relation to survival.Methods. Patients admitted to a tertiary care hospital for circulatory arrest and treated with both therapeutic hypothermia and protocol-based continuous insulin between January 2010 and June 2013 were included. Glucose measures, insulin, and temperatures were collected through 24 hours after rewarming.Results. 24 of 26 patients experienced glycemic excursions. Hyperglycemic excursions were more frequent during initiation versus remaining phases (36.3%, 4.3%, 2.5%, and 4.0%,p=0.002). Hypoglycemia occurred most often during rewarming (0%, 7.7%, 23.1%, and 3.8%,p=0.02). Patients who experienced hypoglycemia had higher insulin doses prior to rewarming (16.2 versus 2.1 units/hr,p=0.03). Glucose variation was highest during hypothermia and trended higher in nonsurvivors compared to survivors (13.38 versus 9.16,p=0.09). Frequency of excursions was also higher in nonsurvivors (32.3% versus 19.8%,p=0.045).Conclusions. Glycemic excursions are common and occur more often in nonsurvivors. Excursions differ by phase but risk of hypoglycemia is increased during rewarming.
Development of a LC-MS/MS Method for the Simultaneous Detection of Tricarboxylic Acid Cycle Intermediates in a Range of Biological Matrices
Authors: Al Kadhi Omar , Melchini Antonietta , Mithen Richard , Saha Shikha
Published: September 2017

It is now well-established that perturbations in the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle play an important role in the metabolic transformation occurring in cancer including that of the prostate. A method for simultaneous qualitative and quantitative analysis of TCA cycle intermediates in body fluids, tissues, and cultured cell lines of human origin was developed using a common C18 reversed-phase column by LC-MS/MS technique. This LC-MS/MS method for profiling TCA cycle intermediates offers significant advantages including simple and fast preparation of a wide range of human biological samples. The analytical method was validated according to the guideline of the Royal Society of Chemistry Analytical Methods Committee. The limits of detection were below 60 nM for most of the TCA intermediates with the exception of lactic and fumaric acids. The calibration curves of all TCA analytes showed linearity with correlation coefficientsr2>0.9998. Recoveries were >95% for all TCA analytes. This method was established taking into consideration problems and limitations of existing techniques. We envisage that its application to different biological matrices will facilitate deeper understanding of the metabolic changes in the TCA cycle from in vitro, ex vivo, and in vivo studies.
On the Degrees of Freedom of Mixed Matrix Regression
Authors: Shang Pan , Kong Lingchen
Published: September 2017

With the increasing prominence of big data in modern science, data of interest are more complex and stochastic. To deal with the complex matrix and vector data, this paper focuses on the mixed matrix regression model. We mainly establish the degrees of freedom of the underlying stochastic model, which is one of the important topics to construct adaptive selection criteria for efficiently selecting the optimal model fit. Under some mild conditions, we prove that the degrees of freedom of mixed matrix regression model are the sum of the degrees of freedom of Lasso and regularized matrix regression. Moreover, we establish the degrees of freedom of nuclear‐norm regularization multivariate regression. Furthermore, we prove that the estimates of the degrees of freedom of the underlying models process the consistent property.
Identifying Key Factors towards Highly Reflective Silver Coatings
Authors: Zheng Bo , Wong Lai Peng , Wu Linda Y. L. , Chen Zhong
Published: September 2017

This paper attempts to identify key factor(s) for highly reflective silver (Ag) coatings. Investigation was made over the crystal orientation and surface roughness, using several types of surfaces, including electroplated Ag polycrystal films, physical vapour deposited polycrystal Ag films, and single crystal Ag foils with different crystal orientations. In each type of the surfaces, surface roughness was varied so that, for different combinations of crystal orientation, roughness would elucidate the key factors towards highly reflective Ag coatings. It is found that surface roughness plays a critical role in determining the reflectance, while the crystal orientation has negligible effect. The mean reflectance and one-way ANOVA analysis indicate that the single crystal Ag foils with three orientations performed statistically the same in the same roughness group at significance levelα= 0.05. Moreover, correlation between the surface reflectance and surface roughness has been proposed for the benefit of coating design. Refection data obtained from the polycrystalline silver samples are used to verify the accuracy of the proposed correlations. It was observed that the development surface area ratio,Sdr, is a better roughness indicator in predicting the reflectance of polycrystalline silver films than the arithmetic average roughness,Ra.
Multiconstrained Network Intensive Vehicle Routing Adaptive Ant Colony Algorithm in the Context of Neural Network Analysis
Authors: Chen Shaopei , Yang Ji , Li Yong , Yang Jingfeng
Published: September 2017

Neural network models have recently made significant achievements in solving vehicle scheduling problems. Adaptive ant colony algorithm provides a new idea for neural networks to solve complex system problems of multiconstrained network intensive vehicle routing models. The pheromone in the path is changed by adjusting the volatile factors in the operation process adaptively. It effectively overcomes the tendency of the traditional ant colony algorithm to fall easily into the local optimal solution and slow convergence speed to search for the global optimal solution. The multiconstrained network intensive vehicle routing algorithm based on adaptive ant colony algorithm in this paper refers to the interaction between groups. Adaptive transfer and pheromone update strategies are introduced based on the traditional ant colony algorithm to optimize the selection, update, and coordination mechanisms of the algorithm further. Thus, the search task of the objective function for a feasible solution is completed by the search ants. Through the division and collaboration of different kinds of ants, pheromone adaptive strategy is combined with polymorphic ant colony algorithm. It can effectively overcome some disadvantages, such as premature stagnation, and has a theoretical significance to the study of large-scale multiconstrained vehicle routing problems in complex traffic network systems.
Treatment of Autoimmune Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein Astrocytopathy: Follow-Up in 7 Cases
Authors: Yang Xinguang , Liang Junyan , Huang Qingmei , Xu Huiming , Gao Cong , Long Youming , Xiao Xiaoyu
Published: September 2017

Objective: The aim of this work was to report an autoimmune glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) astrocytopathy with long-term follow-up in 7 patients. Methods: Antibodies were detected by indirect immunofluorescence assay and patient data were analyzed retrospectively. Results: Seven patients (4 female, 3 male) with ≥1 year follow-up were included. All patients had positive GFAP antibodies in their cerebral spinal fluid (CSF). Their median age at disease onset was 56 years (range 27-69) and the median disease duration was 1 year (range 1-4). In the initial attack, all patients received intravenous methylprednisolone (IVMP) followed by oral steroids, which were tapered. Six patients received intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIg). One patient had no response to IVIg and IVMP. Four patients received immunosuppressive agents. Five patients underwent the second lumbar puncture after treatment. CSF white blood cell counts, protein levels, and antibody titers were significantly decreased. CSF protein levels correlated positively with the Expanded Disability Status Scale score, which was elevated at each lumbar puncture. Four patients experienced relapse. To date, 6 patients had a bad prognosis, of which 2 died. Conclusions: Some patients with GFAP astrocytopathy experienced a poor response to treatment although they received steroids and immunosuppressive agents.
Sex‐Specific Association of Obstructive Sleep Apnea With Retinal Microvascular Signs: The Multi‐Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis
Authors: Lin Gen‐Min , Redline Susan , Klein Ronald , Colangelo Laura A. , Cotch Mary Frances , Wong Tien Y. , Klein Barbara E. K. , Patel Sanjay R. , Shea Steven J. , Liu Kiang
Published: September 2017

Background

Obstructive sleep apnea (
OSA
) is a common condition affecting more men than women. The relationship of
OSA
with microvascular disease is unclear, complicated by possible sex difference. Assessment of the relationship of
OSA
with retinal microvascular signs in men and women may provide insights into such a relationship.

Methods and Results

We examined the sex‐specific cross‐sectional association of
OSA
severity with retinal vascular calibers in 1808 participants, and with specific retinopathy signs in 1831 participants from a sample of 2060 participants aged 54 to 93 years who underwent successful polysomnography in the Multi‐Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis, 2010–2012.
OSA
severity was defined by the apnea–hypopnea index (events/h) as none (<5), mild (5–14.9), moderate (15–29.9), and severe (≥30). As compared to no
OSA
, moderate/severe
OSA
in men was associated with retinal arteriolar narrowing (odds ratio [
OR
] and 95% CI for the narrowest quartile: 1.65 [1.00–2.71]) and retinal venular widening (1.80 [1.07–3.04] for the widest quartile), but not in women (odds ratio: 1.10 [0.67–1.81] and 0.91 [0.58–1.43], respectively) after adjusting for age, race/ethnicity, body mass index, pack‐years of cigarette smoking, alcohol intake, hypertension duration, diabetes mellitus duration, HbA1c levels, lipid profile, micro‐/macroalbuminuria, estimated glomerular filtration rate, β‐blockers use, antihypertensive therapy, and lipid‐lowering therapy. In contrast, severe
OSA
was associated with retinal microaneurysms in women, but not in men (odds ratio: 3.22 [1.16–8.97] and 0.59 [0.27–1.30], respectively).

Conclusions

The associations of
OSA
severity with retinal microvascular signs may differ by sex. Whether these findings were related to sex differences in
OSA
exposure needs further investigation.
Characteristics of Wintertime Daily Precipitation over the Australian Snowy Mountains
Authors: Sarmadi Fahimeh , Huang Yi , Siems Steven T. , Manton Michael J.
Published: September 2017

The relationship between orographic precipitation, low-level thermodynamic stability, and the synoptic meteorology is explored for the Snowy Mountains of southeast Australia. A 21-yr dataset (May–October, 1995–2015) of upper-air soundings from an upwind site is used to define synoptic indicators and the low-level stability. A K-means clustering algorithm was employed to classify the daily meteorology into four synoptic classes. The initial classification, based only on six synoptic indicators, distinctly defines both the surface precipitation and the low-level stability by class. Consistent with theory, the wet classes are found to have weak low-level stability, and the dry classes have strong low-level stability. By including low-level stability as an additional input variable to the clustering method, statistically significant correlations were found between the precipitation and the low-level stability within each of the four classes. An examination of the joint PDF reveals a highly nonlinear relationship; heavy rain was associated with very weak low-level stability, and conversely, strong low-level stability was associated with very little precipitation. Building on these historical relationships, model output statistics (MOS) from a moderate resolution (12-km spatial resolution) operational forecast were used to develop stepwise regression models designed to improve the 24-h forecast of precipitation over the Snowy Mountains. A single regression model for all days was found to reduce the RMSE by 7% and the bias by 75%. A class-based regression model was found to reduce the overall RMSE by 30% and the bias by 85%.
Doing the Impossible: The Limits of Schooling, the Power of Poverty
Authors: Payne Charles M. , Ortiz Cristina M.
Published: September 2017

The idea that schools can have little influence on children coming from poor homes and neighborhoods is often attributed to the 1966 Coleman Report. At one time, this position was clearly favored by conservatives seeking to minimize public investments; more recently, it has been embraced by progressives arguing to increase public investments in poor children. In either form, arguments about the inability of schools to effectively speak to the needs of poor students are often poorly specified and are increasingly in tension with the best available evidence. No matter how well-intentioned they are, these arguments may inadvertently reinforce some very problematic ideas about the potential impact of schools on the academic performance of disadvantaged youngsters. We argue that while the power of poverty to stunt growth is undeniable, we have to be more willing to learn from contemporary evidence that suggests schooling can significantly mitigate the negative effects of poverty.
Through the Looking Glass: A Reflection on Growing Up in the Inner City
Authors: Cooper Mardia
Published: September 2017

In this essay, I reflect on the obstacles that I have faced as a student at a public high school in Chicago’s inner city and as an African American female student at a predominantly White college. I delve into my educational and personal experiences, discuss the supports that enabled me to aspire to and prepare for college, and recount the efforts of minority students to make our White peers more aware of what we confront every day. Tackling issues of institutional and overt racism, identity, and growth, this essay traces how I have navigated through both the inner city and the wider society on my path to adulthood.
“I’m Known”: Building Relationships and Helping Students Construct Counternarratives on the West Side of Chicago
Authors: Anderson Luke
Published: September 2017

In discussing the intersection of education and poverty, we often lose sight of what it is actually like to teach or study in an urban school. What drives our most disadvantaged students? How can teachers measure success when schools lack the resources necessary to make lasting change in the community? From the perspective of an English teacher at a public charter high school in Chicago, I explore what it means to be a student and an educator in one of the most racially segregated and violent urban communities in the country. I argue that students’ identities must be understood and affirmed before learning can occur. Educators who love students unconditionally and establish trust can help them to construct counternarratives about themselves and their communities to help them succeed in school. The neglect, violence, and social isolation experienced by children in many high poverty neighborhoods in Chicago pose a unique challenge for educators. Schools lack adequate resources to help the majority of their students succeed academically. Given the inequitable distribution of resources among schools in a state like Illinois, some teachers must find alternative paths to show students that they have value and can use their education to empower themselves.
La Visitation: Inequality and the Social Fabric of Marseille
Authors: Kornblum William
Published: September 2017

Unlike many other major metropolitan centers in France, Marseille has not suffered high rates of collective violence and rioting in its public housing estates ( cités). Yet it is also true that the cités of Marseille are as feared and stigmatized as any in France. This article explores research on the city’s housing estates and presents original ethnographic work that helps to explain Marseille’s exceptionalism. I find that local efforts at community education by active residents of La Visitation, a typical mid-sized Marseille cité, enhance social cohesion and neighborhood pride, despite persistent problems of underemployment among its young residents. I also describe a successful effort to use a produced video (an application of visual sociology) to draw attention to and support for residents’ local initiatives.
The Dimensions of Racialization and the Inner-City School
Authors: Hughey Matthew W. , Jackson Carol Ann
Published: September 2017

The articles in this issue together articulate the varied ways in which inequality and urban education intersect and interact. Woven throughout is a common denominator that binds these particular investigations—the concept of race. Heretofore, scholarly analyses of race and educational inequality have reached heterogeneous conclusions: from race as a reified identity correlated with educational disparities, to urban education as an institution that promotes virulent ideologies, to racialized patterns of interaction that reproduce educational stratification. We draw upon these articles to synthesize these perspectives and articulate the relationship between urban education and race as an ongoing feedback loop: race (re)produces the phenomena of urban education, while urban education (re)forms race. The intertwining of these two reproduces both the dominant meanings of race and the hierarchical location of racial groups in the social order across five key domains: ideologies, institutions, interests, identities, and interactions.
Mesdames et Messieurs Les Proviseurs: Principals Address Structural Inequalities in a Diverse High School
Authors: Bense Ferreira Alves Celia , Nguyen Duc Long Michel
Published: September 2017

This article examines how high school principals in France work to change the negative effects that the country’s academic tracking system brings to students from immigrant and working-class backgrounds. The tracking system tends to relegate these students to lower vocational tracks that do not prepare them well for the labor market and tend to reinforce their social marginalization. The authors—one a sociologist and the other a school principal—describe a comprehensive, diverse lycée in a suburb of Paris where administrators are addressing the multiple impacts of tracking on their students by enabling some to change tracks and providing others the support they need to succeed when facing challenges at school and in their neighborhoods. The description and analysis of daily life at school not only illuminates what is distinctive about the French system but also lays out strategies and practices that make the school environment more egalitarian.
Gangs, Schools, and Social Change: An Institutional Analysis
Authors: Hagedorn John M.
Published: September 2017

Understanding gangs and schools requires us to go beyond neighborhood-level analysis because spatial analyses tend to downplay or ignore social movements as key to fundamental change. This article supplements a traditional ecological approach with an institutional analysis of both schools and gangs. A history of Chicago gangs reveals that gangs are not one thing; at times they have played positive roles within schools and taken part in social movements. The author’s personal experiences with gangs and schools in Milwaukee and Chicago are presented as evidence documenting the mutability of gangs, the damaging consequences of some educational policies, and the importance of including gang members in social movements. The current Black Lives Matter movement presents opportunities for nonincremental, disruptive change and the potential inclusion of gangs and gang members in a broader strategy to create a better society.
Introduction: Urban Schools in France
Authors: Peretz Henri
Published: September 2017

This short essay introduces four articles on urban schools in France and provides a framework for a comparative analysis of urban schools in France and the United States.
Does Performance Matter? Evaluating Political Selection Along the Chinese Administrative Ladder
Authors: Landry Pierre F. , Lü Xiaobo , Duan Haiyan
Published: September 2017

Political selection is central to the survival of all regimes. This article evaluates the relative importance of performance and political connection for the advancement of local politicians under authoritarianism. We hypothesize that in a large-scale multilevel polity, economic performance plays a greater role in promotion at lower administrative levels of government than at higher ones, even after controlling for political connections. This dualist strategy allows the ruling elites to achieve economic performance while minimizing the advancement of potentially disloyal challengers. Thus, balancing between loyalty and competence among subordinates enhances regime survival. Our empirical evidence draws on a comprehensive panel dataset of provincial, prefectural, and county-level Communist party secretaries and government executives appointed between 1999 and 2007. We find consistent evidence for our argument under various model specifications. We also explore the heterogeneous effects of performance on promotion given the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) age ineligibility rule for cadre promotion and jurisdiction characteristics.
Competition for control over the labour process as a driver of relocation of activities to a shared services centre
Authors: Mezihorak Petr
Published: September 2017

New approaches to studying multinational corporations sensitive to issues of power and politics often neglect the way power and politics in corporations shape workplaces, specifically labour processes and modes of their control. The article presents a case study of a firm’s relocation of activities to a shared services centre. The relationships among the shared services centre, its client departments and the headquarters involve an ongoing combination of cooperation and competition, resulting in increased managerial control over labour processes and changes in corporate governance. The shared services centre established as a support unit aims to strengthen its position in the organizational structure by gaining control over labour processes and their modification. Competition with client departments for control over labour processes leads to the introduction of controlling mechanisms, norms and standards both in the centre and in client departments. These rules, on the one hand, limit uncertainty; on the other hand, they drive the fragmentation of labour processes, rendering them more codifiable and less complex. These effects make labour processes easier to control and, eventually, to relocate, which is advantageous for the headquarters. Changes in labour processes thus shape the relationships within the corporation and the space for power struggles and politics.
Implementing evidence-based smoking cessation treatment in psychosocial care units (CAPS) in Brazil
Authors: Castaldelli-Maia João Mauricio , da Silva Nilson R , Campos Marta RD , Moura Helena F , Zabert Gustavo , Champagne Beatriz M , Kemper Katherine E , Hays J Taylor
Published: September 2017

Background:

The prevalence of smoking among mental health and addiction (MHA) patients is 3 times higher than it is in the general population, yet this patient population has received little help to combat smoking. Considering this, psychosocial care centers (CAPS – Centros de Atenção Psicossocial) are strategic locations for integrating tobacco dependence treatment (TDT) into existing treatment activities.

Methods:

Our team provided an 8-hour training package to the staff of CAPS that have not been providing specialized TDT for smokers. Our curriculum included the following topics focused on the implementation of treatment for MHA smokers: management, epidemiology, medications, psychotherapy, and smoking/mental health assessment instruments.

Results:

Our team trained the staff of 17 CAPS units within 10 cities – which included more than 186 health professionals. There were many barriers encountered as we provided this training. A summary of problems we faced were as follows: resistance to incorporating TDT in addiction/mental health-care units, resistance to the implementation of cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) (psychodynamic therapy and harm reduction were preferred) and treatment for smoking is already implemented in primary care network; resistance to the use of medication in addiction treatment (a preference for psychotherapy and psychosocial approach).

Conclusion:

We learned a number of important lessons as we worked to improve the delivery of TDT to MHA patients in Brazil: provide clinicians an opportunity to explore how they feel/think about providing TDT to their clients at the very outset of the training, rather than focusing on a specific type of behavioral therapy for TDT (such as CBT), which some may find objectionable; use more generic descriptions of behavioral therapy such as ‘supportive counseling’; include training professionals who are open to other forms of behavioral therapy in addition to psychoanalysis and discuss the important impact that MHA units can have in improving the quality of life for their patients who smoke.
The Effect of a Pseudo Winning or Losing Streak on Mental Attitudes and the Evaluation of Results
Authors: Kamei Mio , Matsumoto Sayaka , Sakuma Haruo
Published: September 2017

Although human motivation has been well studied, studies manipulating human motivation are scarce. The present study aimed to induce the hot-hand phenomenon using a pseudo success situation. Under the framework of the two-factor theory of emotion, we investigated the effect of a deviant situation, such as continuously winning or losing, on mental attitudes and the evaluation of the results using the contingent-negative variation (CNV) and feedback-locked P3 (FB-P3). The CNV is a neural activity that reflects emotional expectations and motoric preparation. The FB-P3 is a neural activity that is induced by external feedback. Fifteen participants performed an S1-S2 reaction time task with an opponent in the following three competitive conditions: actual feedback (feedback is contingent on performance), winning streak (WS; tendency to win regardless of performance), and losing streak (LS; tendency to lose regardless of performance). Each condition was characterized by the winning rate (49.26%, 80%, and 20%). Moreover, a principal component analysis was performed on the CNV data to determine the distinct temporal neural activity. The principal component analysis identified three components (auditory P2, early CNV, and late CNV) in the original CNV. The auditory P2 and the occurrence of pleasant emotions were higher in the WS condition than in the LS condition. However, the early CNV, late CNV, and FB-P3 were higher in the LS condition than in the WS condition. These findings confirmed that the losing streak situation induced an unpleasant emotion. However, the losing streak situation appeared to improve the mental attitude to prepare for faster responses and enhance the interest in the results.
Political Thought, International Relations theory and International Political Theory: an interpretation
Authors: Brown Chris
Published: September 2017

The relationship between political theory, including the history of political thought, and International Relations theory, including the history of international thought, has been, and to some extent remains, complex and troubled. On both sides of the Atlantic, the mid-twentieth century founders of International Relations as an academic discipline drew extensively on the canon of political thought, but approached the subject in an uncritical way, while political philosophers largely disdained the international as a focus. This changed in the 1970s and 1980s, with the emergence of the ‘justice industry’ based on critiques of Rawls’ A Theory of Justice and a consequent recovering of the past history of cosmopolitan and communitarian thought. A new discourse emerged in this period – International Political Theory – bridging the gap between political thought and international relations and stimulating a far more creative and scholarly approach to the history of international thought. However, in a social science environment dominated by the methods of economics, that is, formal theory and quantification, the new discourse of International Political Theory occupies a niche rather than existing at the centre of the discipline.
Academic Identity: A Longitudinal Investigation of African American Adolescents’ Academic Persistence
Authors: Butler-Barnes Sheretta T. , Varner Fatima , Williams Amber , Sellers Robert
Published: September 2017

Adolescence is a vulnerable period for the development of academic identification and academic persistence, particularly among African American adolescents. The present study investigated how cultural assets (i.e., private regard and racial centrality) and academic assets (i.e., academic curiosity and academic self-esteem) influence African American adolescent boys’ ( n = 109) and girls’ ( n = 153) academic persistence over time. Additionally, we explored whether oppositional academic identity mediated the relationships between academic and cultural assets and academic persistence. Data were drawn from a cross-sectional longitudinal study. Results indicated significant direct effects of academic assets on academic persistence at Times 1 and 2 for boys and at Times 1, 2, and 3 for girls. Furthermore, oppositional academic identity mediated the relationship between boys’, but not girls’, cultural assets and academic persistence at Time 1. These findings have implications for understanding the role of assets in the lives of African American youth.
An unknown input observer-based decentralized fault detection and isolation for a class of large-scale interconnected nonlinear systems
Authors: Abbasi Amir , Poshtan Javad
Published: September 2017

In this paper, using a bank of decentralized nonlinear unknown input observers, a novel scheme for actuator fault detection and isolation of a class of large-scale interconnected nonlinear systems is presented. For each of the interconnected subsystems, a local nonlinear unknown input observer is designed without the need to communicate with other agents. Sufficient conditions for the observer existence are derived based on the Lyapunov stability theory. To facilitate the observer design, the achieved conditions are formulated in terms of a set of linear matrix inequalities and optimal gain matrices are obtained. By using both system output and its difference with the estimated output in observer equation, each local observer shows a high convergence rate. Simulation of an automated highway system is used to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed methodology.