bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Coping with Break-Ups: Rebound Relationships and Gender Socialization
Authors: Shimek Cassie , Bello Richard
Published: January 2014

When serious romantic relationships are terminated, partners are faced with convoluted and complex challenges of detachment from their previous partner, negative feelings about the overall situation, and the need to move forward in life. When faced with this relational upheaval, some individuals employ and find relief in superficial or noncommittal rebound relationships, which act as a means for coping with the loss of the previous relationship and the severed emotional attachment to an ex-partner, but which are under studied by empirical researchers. In a study of 201 participants, men were predicted and found to be more likely to enter rebound relationships in the aftermath of a relational termination based on lower levels of social support, more emotional attachment to an ex-partner, and displaying the ludus (or game playing) love style. In addition to the measures of these variables, gender socialization and parental investment theory provide further support for the study’s claims. In sum, rebound relationships were employed by men as a distraction from their feelings of emotional attachment for their ex-partner, but also as a source of support and due to inherent ludic characteristics.
How Assessment Methods Can Support Solid Waste Management in Developing Countries—A Critical Review
Authors: Zurbrügg Christian , Caniato Marco , Vaccari Mentore
Published: January 2014

Selecting actions for improvement of solid waste management in low and middle income countries and understanding how a specific decision choice will fit and impact on a local context is key to identifying sustainable solutions. Assessment of the choice (be it technical or managerial) and assessment of the local enabling or disabling conditions are both important steps in the decision making process. Various assessment tools and methods are currently available to support decision-making in solid waste management. Assessment can be used to identify weaknesses or strengths of existing systems in a structured way and hereby highlight factors of success and failure. Assessment methods can also evaluate and compare different possible choices as in project scenarios. This overview describes established and innovative assessment methods serving both these purposes. A range of assessment tools are often designed to assess a specific sustainability domain (technical, environmental and health, economic and financial, social and institutional, organizational aspects), others attempt to provide a more holistic picture by integrating different sustainability domains into the same tool. This paper reviews a number of methods describing and discussing each of them, and referring to their use in low and middle-income countries if published in scientific literature. The overview concludes that in low- and middle-income countries the use of comprehensive assessment methods is yet very limited. We hypothesize that most formal methods of assessment are still too complex and generally overburden the weak local capacities intended for their usage. The few applications identified, were conducted by academia for scientific purposes. Lack of resources to collect the vast data required for some assessment methods is a further restriction to their practical application. Future development is suggested to improve user friendliness of existing tools or to simplify certain approaches and develop more appropriate methods. A user-oriented focus in the development of assessment tools would enhance their application, provide sound data for informed decision making and foster a dialogue between technicians and policy makers in low- and middle-income countries.
Understanding the Role of Built Environment in Reducing Vehicle Miles Traveled Accounting for Spatial Heterogeneity
Authors: Ding Chuan , Wang Yaowu , Xie Binglei , Liu Chao
Published: January 2014

In recent years, increasing concerns over climate change and transportation energy consumption have sparked research into the influences of urban form and land use patterns on motorized travel, notably vehicle miles traveled (VMT). However, empirical studies provide mixed evidence of the influence of the built environment on travel. In particular, the role of density after controlling for the confounding factors (e.g., land use mix, average block size, and distance from CBD) still remains unclear. The object of this study is twofold. First, this research provides additional insights into the effects of built environment factors on the work-related VMT, considering urban form measurements at both the home location and workplace simultaneously. Second, a cross-classified multilevel model using Bayesian approach is applied to account for the spatial heterogeneity across spatial units. Using Washington DC as our study area, the home-based work tour in the AM peak hours is used as the analysis unit. Estimation results confirmed the important role that the built environment at both home and workplace plays in affecting work-related VMT. In particular, the results reveal that densities at the workplace have more important roles than that at home location. These findings confirm that urban planning and city design should be part of the solution in stabilizing global climate and energy consumption.
A Multi-Objective (Energy, Economic and Environmental Performance) Life Cycle Analysis for Better Building Design
Authors: Yao Jian
Published: January 2014

Design improvement is critical for achieving a low-cost and high energy-efficient building with low carbon emissions. Thus, designers need to consider many factors (such as energy, economic and environmental performance) in the early design stage. This paper presents a multi-objective analysis for better building design and compares the EDH-based design improvements (introduced by the author in a previous work, EDH means energy difference between households) with seven potential improvement measures commonly used in achieving a better overall performance for the energy, economy and environment. A typical residential building in China was modeled for a number of simulations, and the simulation results were used to carry out a life cycle-based performance analysis. Seven potential improvement options that are commonly used are compared, and the results show that it is difficult to identify an option that has a better performance in all these three aspects. On the other hand, EDH-based design improvement achieves relatively high energy, economic and environmental performance compared to the former seven options. Moreover, EDH-based design improvement can provide designers with flexible options to select from in order to address diverse demands for building aesthetics, function, and so on, or to avoid potential difficulties when some kinds of materials or measures that are planned to be used are unavailable locally.
Market Participation and Agro-Biodiversity Loss: The Case of Native Chili Varieties in the Amazon Rainforest of Peru
Authors: Garcia-Yi Jaqueline
Published: January 2014

Policies for promoting the in situ conservation of underutilized crop varieties include the provision of economic incentives to farmers for their market commercialization. Nevertheless, market participation could also have the counter-effect of favoring the cultivation of uniform commercial crop varieties and inducing the erosion of crop genetic diversity. The objective of this research was to identify the determinants of the in situ conservation of native chili varieties, including market participation. To this end, 128 farmers were surveyed in the Amazon rainforest region of Ucayali in Peru. The data were analyzed using probit, multinomial logit and truncated Poisson models with covariance matrix correction for cluster errors by rural community. Results suggest that participation in commercial agriculture statistically significantly increases the in situ conservation of native chili varieties; only when farmers sell their products to local retailers, but not when they supply wholesalers. In particular, this result implies that policies designed to encourage specific forms of market participation could have a positive effect on farmers’ economic well-being and simultaneously could help to achieve crop genetic diversity conservation goals.
Co-occurrence of the Cyanotoxins BMAA, DABA and Anatoxin-a in Nebraska Reservoirs, Fish, and Aquatic Plants
Authors: Al-Sammak Maitham , Hoagland Kyle , Cassada David , Snow Daniel
Published: January 2014

Several groups of microorganisms are capable of producing toxins in aquatic environments. Cyanobacteria are prevalent blue green algae in freshwater systems, and many species produce cyanotoxins which include a variety of chemical irritants, hepatotoxins and neurotoxins. Production and occurrence of potent neurotoxic cyanotoxins β-N-methylamino-l-alanine (BMAA), 2,4-diaminobutyric acid dihydrochloride (DABA), and anatoxin-a are especially critical with environmental implications to public and animal health. Biomagnification, though not well understood in aquatic systems, is potentially relevant to both human and animal health effects. Because little is known regarding their presence in fresh water, we investigated the occurrence and potential for bioaccumulation of cyanotoxins in several Nebraska reservoirs. Collection and analysis of 387 environmental and biological samples (water, fish, and aquatic plant) provided a snapshot of their occurrence. A sensitive detection method was developed using solid phase extraction (SPE) in combination with high pressure liquid chromatography-fluorescence detection (HPLC/FD) with confirmation by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS). HPLC/FD detection limits ranged from 5 to 7 µg/L and LC/MS/MS detection limits were <0.5 µg/L, while detection limits for biological samples were in the range of 0.8–3.2 ng/g depending on the matrix. Based on these methods, measurable levels of these neurotoxic compounds were detected in approximately 25% of the samples, with detections of BMAA in about 18.1%, DABA in 17.1%, and anatoxin-a in 11.9%.
Food Poisonings by Ingestion of Cyprinid Fish
Authors: Asakawa Manabu , Noguchi Tamao
Published: January 2014

Raw or dried gallbladders of cyprinid fish have long been ingested as a traditional medicine in the Asian countries, particularly in China, for ameliorating visual acuity, rheumatism, and general health; however, sporadic poisoning incidences have occurred after their ingestion. The poisoning causes complex symptoms in patients, including acute renal failure, liver dysfunction, paralysis, and convulsions of limbs. The causative substance for the poisoning was isolated, and its basic properties were examined. The purified toxin revealed a minimum lethal dose of 2.6 mg/20 g in mouse, when injected intraperitoneally. The main symptoms were paralysis and convulsions of the hind legs, along with other neurological signs. Liver biopsy of the euthanized mice clearly exhibited hepatocytes necrosis and infiltration of neutrophils and lymphocytes, suggesting the acute dysfunction of the liver. Blood tests disclosed the characteristics of acute renal failure and liver injury. Infrared (IR) spectrometry, fast atom bombardment (FAB) mass spectrometry, and 1H- and 13C-nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) analysis indicated, a molecular formula of C27H48O8S, containing a sulfate ester group for the toxin. Thus, we concluded that the structure of carp toxin to be 5α-cyprinol sulfate (5α-cholestane-3α, 7α, 12α, 26, 27-pentol 26-sulfate). This indicated that carp toxin is a nephro- and hepato- toxin, which could be the responsible toxin for carp bile poisoning in humans.
Pseudo-Mannosylated DC-SIGN Ligands as Potential Adjuvants for HIV Vaccines
Authors: Berzi Angela , Varga Norbert , Sattin Sara , Antonazzo Patrizio , Biasin Mara , Cetin Irene , Trabattoni Daria , Bernardi Anna , Clerici Mario
Published: January 2014

The development of new and effective adjuvants may play a fundamental role in improving HIV vaccine efficacy. New classes of vaccine adjuvants activate innate immunity receptors, notably toll like receptors (TLRs). Adjuvants targeting the C-Type lectin receptor DC-SIGN may be alternative or complementary to adjuvants based on TRL activation. Herein we evaluate the ability of the glycomimetic DC-SIGN ligand Polyman 19 (PM 19) to modulate innate immune responses. Results showed that PM 19 alone, or in combination with TLR agonists, induces the expression of cytokines, β chemokines and co-stimulatory molecules that may, in turn, modulate adaptive immunity and exert anti-viral effects. These results indicate that the suitability of this compound as a vaccine adjuvant should be further evaluated.
Noncoding Subgenomic Flavivirus RNA: Multiple Functions in West Nile Virus Pathogenesis and Modulation of Host Responses
Authors: Roby Justin , Pijlman Gorben , Wilusz Jeffrey , Khromykh Alexander
Published: January 2014

Flaviviruses are a large group of positive strand RNA viruses transmitted by arthropods that include many human pathogens such as West Nile virus (WNV), Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV), yellow fever virus, dengue virus, and tick-borne encephalitis virus. All members in this genus tested so far are shown to produce a unique subgenomic flavivirus RNA (sfRNA) derived from the 3' untranslated region (UTR). sfRNA is a product of incomplete degradation of genomic RNA by the cell 5'–3' exoribonuclease XRN1 which stalls at highly ordered secondary RNA structures at the beginning of the 3'UTR. Generation of sfRNA results in inhibition of XRN1 activity leading to an increase in stability of many cellular mRNAs. Mutant WNV deficient in sfRNA generation was highly attenuated displaying a marked decrease in cytopathicity in cells and pathogenicity in mice. sfRNA has also been shown to inhibit the antiviral activity of IFN-α/β by yet unknown mechanism and of the RNAi pathway by likely serving as a decoy substrate for Dicer. Thus, sfRNA is involved in modulating multiple cellular pathways to facilitate viral pathogenicity; however the overlying mechanism linking all these multiple functions of sfRNA remains to be elucidated.
Passive Immunization against HIV/AIDS by Antibody Gene Transfer
Authors: Yang Lili , Wang Pin
Published: January 2014

Despite tremendous efforts over the course of many years, the quest for an effective HIV vaccine by the classical method of active immunization remains largely elusive. However, two recent studies in mice and macaques have now demonstrated a new strategy designated as Vectored ImmunoProphylaxis (VIP), which involves passive immunization by viral vector-mediated delivery of genes encoding broadly neutralizing antibodies (bnAbs) for in vivo expression. Robust protection against virus infection was observed in preclinical settings when animals were given VIP to express monoclonal neutralizing antibodies. This unorthodox approach raises new promise for combating the ongoing global HIV pandemic. In this article, we survey the status of antibody gene transfer, review the revolutionary progress on isolation of extremely bnAbs, detail VIP experiments against HIV and its related virus conduced in humanized mice and macaque monkeys, and discuss the pros and cons of VIP and its opportunities and challenges towards clinical applications to control HIV/AIDS endemics.
Human Cytomegalovirus UL34 Early and Late Proteins Are Essential for Viral Replication
Authors: Rana Rico , Biegalke Bonita
Published: January 2014

UL34 is one of the ~50 genes of human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) required for replication in cell culture in human fibroblasts. UL34 encodes highly related early (UL34a) and late (UL34b) proteins that are virtually identical, with the early protein containing an additional 21 amino terminal amino acids. The UL34 proteins are sequence-specific DNA‑binding proteins that localize to the nucleus. The HCMV genome contains 14 to 15 UL34 binding sites; two of the UL34 binding sites contribute to transcriptional regulation of two other viral genes, US3 and US9. The roles of the remaining binding sites and the requirement for both UL34 proteins during viral infection remain unknown. We examined the contributions of the early and late UL34 proteins to viral replication by generating HCMV-containing bacterial artificial chromosomes with the initiation codon for the early or the late protein mutated. Neither virus was able to replicate, demonstrating that UL34 expression is required throughout the viral replication cycle. A marked decrease in viral gene expression for each of the mutants suggests that UL34 proteins may contribute generally to transcriptional regulation. Intracellular localization studies demonstrated that UL34 colocalizes with the major immediate early protein, IE2, and the viral DNA polymerase processivity factor, UL44, to viral DNA replication centers. In conclusion, sustained UL34 protein expression is required for viral replication. The sequence-specific DNA binding ability of UL34 proteins, their localization to viral DNA replication centers and their general effects on viral gene expressions suggests that UL34 proteins contribute to the establishment of a nuclear environment necessary for viral gene expression and DNA replication.
Temporal Variability of Monthly Daily Extreme Water Levels in the St. Lawrence River at the Sorel Station from 1912 to 2010
Authors: Assani Ali , Landry Raphaëlle , Labrèche Mikaël , Frenette Jean-Jacques , Gratton Denis
Published: January 2014

Although climate models predict that the impacts of climate change on the temporal variability of water levels in the St. Lawrence River will be seasonally-dependent, such a seasonal effect on the current variability of extreme water levels has never been analyzed. To address this, we analyzed the temporal variability of three hydrological variables (monthly daily maximums and minimums, as well as their ratio) of water levels in the St. Lawrence River measured at the Sorel station since 1912, as they relate to climate indices. As for stationarity, the shifts in the mean values of maximum and minimum water levels revealed by the Lombard method took place prior to 1970 for spring water levels, but after that year, for winter water levels. Changes in the winter stationarity are thought to mainly relate to the decreasing snowfall observed in the St. Lawrence River watershed after 1970. In contrast, for spring, these changes are likely primarily related to human activity (digging of the St. Lawrence Seaway and construction of dams). Two shifts in the mean values of fall minimum extreme water levels were highlighted. The first of these shifts, which occurred in the first half of the 1960s decade, can also be linked to human activity (digging of the St. Lawrence Seaway and construction of dams), whereas the second shift, observed after the 1970s for the months of November and December, can be linked to decreasing amounts of snow in winter. AMO (Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation) is the climate index that is most frequently correlated negatively with the hydrologic variables, mainly in winter and spring.
Nationwide Digital Terrain Models for Topographic Depression Modelling in Detection of Flood Detention Areas
Authors: Vesakoski Jenni-Mari , Alho Petteri , Hyyppä Juha , Holopainen Markus , Flener Claude , Hyyppä Hannu
Published: January 2014

Topographic depressions have an important role in hydrological processes as they affect the water balance and runoff response of a watershed. Nevertheless, research has focused in detail neither on the effects of acquisition and processing methods nor on the effects of resolution of nationwide grid digital terrain models (DTMs) on topographic depressions or the hydrological impacts of depressions. Here, we quantify the variation of hydrological depression variables between DTMs with different acquisition methods, processing methods and grid sizes based on nationwide 25 m × 25 m and 10 m × 10 m DTMs and 2 m × 2 m ALS-DTM in Finland. The variables considered are the mean depth of the depression, the number of its pixels, and its area and volume. Shallow and single-pixel depressions and the effect of mean filtering on ALS-DTM were also studied. Quantitative methods and error models were employed. In our study, the depression variables were dependent on the scale, area and acquisition method. When the depths of depression pixels were compared with the most accurate DTM, the maximum errors were found to create the largest differences between DTMs and hence dominated the amount and statistical distribution of the depth error. On the whole, the ability of a DTM to accurately represent depressions varied uniquely according to each depression, although DTMs also displayed certain typical characteristics. Thus, a DTM’s higher resolution is no guarantee of a more accurate representation of topographic depressions, even though acquisition and processing methods have an important bearing on the accuracy.
L'immigration étrangère dans le monde rural pendant l'entre-deux-guerres
Authors: Noiriel Gérard
Published: January 2014

Foreign Immigration in the Rural World between the Two Wars

For a few years historians have begun to highlight the essential role played by immigration in the economic development of France, particularly in industry, since the end of the nineteenth century. The purpose of this article is to show that immigration has also been an important factor in the transformation of French agriculture after the first World War. It examines the economic trends and the structural causes which explain why it has so often been necessary to resort to foreign labour and on such a large scale. The various elements it consists of as regards the nationalities represented as well as professional statutes and recruiting regions are studied in detail. A brief survey of the life conditions of this immigrant population is given before concluding on the specific role it has played in transforming French agriculture.
Les Anglais du coin
Authors: Buller Henry , Hoggart Keith
Published: January 2014

Les Anglais sont de plus en plus nombreux dans les campagnes françaises, comme le montre l'évolution des chiffres dans les recensements de 1982 et de 1990. S 'appuyant sur une enquête menée auprès de cette population immigrée, cet article examine ses motivations et s'interroge sur le choix de la France comme destination. Il analyse les rapports entre les arrivants et les communautés d'accueil, et montre la division radicale qui existe entre ceux qui cherchent à s'intégrer et ceux qui veulent recréer le mode de vie anglais en France.
Les salariés immigrés des serres légumières
Authors: Bourquelot Françoise
Published: January 2014

Depuis trente ans, l'agriculture mécanise les tâches productives et supprime des emplois. Pourquoi, dans ce contexte, le secteur des légumes sous serres-verre est-il un des seuls à recourir massivement à la main-d'œuvre salariée ? Affectés au travail d'entretien des plantes et au conditionnement, ces travailleurs, souvent immigrés, sont formés sur le tas dans des entreprises qui ont atteint un niveau technologique de pointe. Comment expliquer cette situation en décalage total avec le discours des responsables professionnels qui affirment avoir besoin d'ouvriers hautement qualifiés ? Ce texte résume les résultats d'une enquête réalisée dans un secteur hétérogène et peu étudié.
Le dieu de la terre et de l'eau et le messianisme en milieu pwo karen (Thaïlande)
Authors: Moizo Bernard
Published: January 2014

II s'agit d'exposer les rites consacrés au dieu de la terre et de l'eau parmi trois ensembles pwo karen de l'ouest et du nord de la Thaïlande. La relation entre les hommes et le territoire qu'ils occupent est fondamentale pour l'identité de cette communauté : elle implique réciprocité, complémentarité et harmonie. Les divinités du sol, avec lesquelles les Karen ont établi un pacte moral lors de leur installation dans le pays, sont les garantes de la bonne conduite des hommes. Les enjeux contemporains en milieu rural thaïlandais mettent en cause certaines clauses du pacte. Par le biais de cérémonies d'inspiration bouddhique et à caractère messianique, les Karen tentent de rétablir cette relation en réaffirmant un idéal de vie, qui leur permet d'être les intermédiaires entre les dieux et le territoire.
L'animal mis à mort.
Authors: Scheid John
Published: January 2014

Parmi les textes qui donnent une interprétation du sacrifice romain, deux passages d'Ovide extraits des Métamorphoses et des Fastes possèdent l'originalité de décrire la mise à mort de l'animal comme une soumission absolue de celui-ci à l'homme et aux dieux. Ce thème, que le poète du début de notre ère emprunte en partie à une vieille tradition pythagoricienne, est également représenté sur un certain nombre d'images romaines. Cette méditation sur le sens du sacrifice, qui s'appuie sur la signification de la mise à mort à Rome aussi bien que sur des faits rituels, complète d'autres lectures le définissant comme une représentation et une mise en place d'un ordre des choses, dans lequel mortels et immortels trouvent leur place respective.
Le cheval dans le Nouveau Monde.
Authors: Picon François-René
Published: January 2014

Après avoir brièvement présenté la diffusion du cheval en Amérique du Nord, on se propose d'explorer la « culture du cheval » dans quatre tribus indiennes : les Blackfoot des Grandes Plaines, les Navahos du sud-ouest, les Guajiros de la côte caraïbe et les Guaicurus du Gran Chaco. À la lumière de quelques mythes, on étudie la place du cheval dans chacune de ces sociétés et on s'interroge sur les causes des différences observées dans ces quatre cultures équestres.
Insult and Punishment in Rural Courts
Authors: Burbank Jane
Published: January 2014

Insulte et châtiment devant les tribunaux locaux : la construction de la civilité en Russie impériale tardive -

Le présent article examine les litiges pour insultes portés devant les tribunaux locaux en Russie impériale tardive. Les paysans, considérés comme extérieurs au domaine du droit, eurent de fait largement recours aux tribunaux locaux pour résoudre les controverses issues de comportements publics insultants. Les paysans firent appel au droit écrit (statute law, par opposition au droit cou- tumier) et à la procédure des tribunaux locaux pour se défendre contre les abus verbaux et physiques et pour élaborer des normes de civilité. La participation de paysans aux débats devant les tribunaux de volost' établit un lien entre la population rurale et les autorités nationales, constituant un forum utile à la défense de la dignité individuelle, à la confrontation publique d'opinions contradictoires et à l'évaluation officielle d'actes perturbateurs.
18F-FLT PET changes during radio - therapy combined with cetuximab in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma patients
Authors: Troost E.G.C. , Bussink J. , van Herpen C. M. L. , Oyen W.J.G. , Kaanders J. H. A. M. , Hoeben B.A.W.
Published: January 2014

Aim: Early treatment response of head and neck cancer to radiotherapy concomitant with cetuximab was monitored by repetitive PET imaging with the proliferation tracer 18F-FLT. Patients, methods: Five head and neck cancer patients, treated with radiotherapy and concomitant cetuximab following cetuximab induction, received four 18F-FLT PET-CT scans before and during treatment. Changes in SUVpeak, SUVmean and CT- and PET-segmented gross tumour volumes were evaluated, as were correlations with immu- nohistochemical staining for Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor (EGFR) and Ki-67 (proliferation marker) in pre-treatment tumour biopsies. Results: 18F-FLT PET measured tumor responses to the induction dose of ce- tuximab varied from 43% SUVpeak decrease to 47% increase. After start of radiotherapy 18F-FLT PET parameters decreased significantly in all patients. No associations were found between PET parameters and EGFR or Ki-67 expression levels. Conclusion: Proliferation of head and neck carcinomas shows a varying response to cetuximab induction, but consistently decreases after addition of radiotherapy.
Comparison of Incubation Solutions Prior to the Purification of Porcine Islet Cells
Authors: Kawai Takashi , Noguchi Hirofumi , Kuise Takashi , Nakatsuka Atsuko , Katayama Akihiro , Imagawa Noriko , Kataoka Hitomi Usui , Saitoh Issei , Noguchi Yasufumi , Watanabe Masami , Fujiwara Toshiyoshi
Published: January 2014

For pancreatic islet transplantation, one of the most important steps of islet isolation is islet purification. The most common method of islet purification is density gradient centrifugation because there are differences in density between islets and acinar tissue. However, the density of islets/acinar tissue depends on several conditions, such as the incubation time before purification and the osmolality of the preincubation solution. In this study, we evaluated the impact of using two different preincubation solutions before purification. We used the University of Wisconsin (UW) solution and a new preservation solution (HN-1), which we recently developed. There were no significant differences between the two solutions in terms of the islet yield, rate of viability, and purity or stimulation index after purification. There were also no differences in the attainability and suitability of posttransplantation normoglycemia. Our study shows that the HN-1 solution is equivalent to the UW solution for preincubation before islet purification.
Synthesis of 3,4-dihydro-1,8-naphthyridin-2(1H)-ones via microwave-activated inverse electron-demand Diels–Alder reactions
Authors: Fadel Salah , Hajbi Youssef , Khouili Mostafa , Lazar Said , Suzenet Franck , Guillaumet Gérald
Published: January 2014

Substituted 3,4-dihydro-1,8-naphthyridin-2(1H)-ones have been synthesized with the inverse electron-demand Diels–Alder reaction from 1,2,4-triazines bearing an acylamino group with a terminal alkyne side chain. Alkynes were first subjected to the Sonogashira cross-coupling reaction with aryl halides, the product of which then underwent an intramolecular inverse electron-demand Diels–Alder reaction to yield 5-aryl-3,4-dihydro-1,8-naphthyridin-2(1H)-ones by an efficient synthetic route.
PRICING POLICIES AS A MARKETING STRATEGY IN THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY: CASE STUDY OF TURKISH COMPANIES
Authors: Coskun Hilmi , Erdis Ercan , Demirci Mustafa
Published: January 2014

The firms in the construction industry have to determine pricing and promotion policies, then these policies must be carefully and systematically integrated with the marketing strategies. Not only the demand and cost are important in pricing decisions but competition is also a significant variable to be considered. To determine the difficulties and the affecting factors in applying pricing decisions within the marketing concepts in construction sector, a survey was carried out among the Turkish companies as a sample group. In total 49 companies, mostly medium-size firms have been surveyed. The responses of firms are considered based on their actively engaged subsectors, namely, residential, commercial/public buildings, and infrastructure construction. The answers of firms are also evaluated based on their stated organizational structure, namely, simple, hierarchical, project, and network. The views about the various aspects of pricing policy development in phases, for example before and during bid, differ in the construction companies depending on their actively involved fields and their organizational structures.
SUSTAINABLE GREEN CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT: SCHEDULE PERFORMANCE AND IMPROVEMENT
Authors: Hwang Bon-Gang , Leong Lay Peng , Huh Young-Ki
Published: January 2014

Over the last few years, the green building movement in Singapore has leaped bountifully. While environmental sustainability for greener construction has been emphasized, rare research has been conducted to analyze performance of green construction projects. As a result, this study aims to address schedule performance of green building construction projects and to provide some recommendations that may improve the targeted performance. To achieve this objective, a questionnaire was developed and the responses from 30 companies were analysed, and interviews with 6 project managers were conducted to further supplement and substantiate the survey results. The analysis reported that green building projects required an average of 8% more time than traditional building projects of similar size and characteristics. In addition, on average, these projects were delayed by 4.8% when compared with their as-planned schedules. Lastly, a list of recommendations was also introduced, aiming to ameliorate the schedule performance. This study will offer a benchmark for the industry to gauge the overall duration and performance of green building construction projects.
INSTITUTIONAL VS. SECTORAL DIMENSION OF INNOVATION STRATEGIES OF FIRMS
Authors: Stankevičė Inga , Jucevičius Giedrius
Published: January 2014

In light of the controversy of the dispute about the role of national institutions in shaping innovation strategies of firms, and in light of the lack of explicitness of the notion of innovation strategy within the dispute, this paper aims at ascertaining if national institutional subjection of a firm is fateful in shaping its innovation strategy. The sample companies represented two distinct sets of institutions – Lithuanian vs. Swiss, and two distinct sectors – laser producers vs. contact centres. Warm-house conditions were ensured to eliminate other potentially disruptive factors. Following methods were used to analyse the data: exploratory case study, correlation analysis, test of difference, cluster analysis, and cross-tabulation. The survey highlighted the most important, with regard to national and sectoral disparities, characteristics of innovation strategy.
CROSS-DISCIPLINARY KNOWLEDGE: DESPERATE CALL FROM BUSINESS ENTERPRISES IN COMING SMART WORKING ERA
Authors: Lee Jungwoo
Published: January 2014

Science and technology is critical for execution and operations of modern businesses. As business operations consists of purposeful execution of technologies with appropriate social cooperation and coordination, knowledge in use is actually cross-disciplinary irrespective of domain or discipline of business. As information technology infiltrates today's businesses, people would need to work smarter using technologies including information technologies. This study explores executives’ perceptions of cross-disciplinary knowledge in coming era of smart businesses. An instrument was developed, asking questions about relative weights of different cross-disciplinary knowledge, frequencies and necessity of cross-disciplinary training, decision criteria in recruiting new employees and in promoting existing employees, and preferences in cross-disciplinary curriculum and sequence of relevant training courses. Results indicate that executives maintain high opinions concerning the value of science and technology as a critical contributor to the successful cross-disciplinary operation of their businesses. They seem to understand clearly that science and technology may not benefit their businesses unless it is applied in a cross-disciplinary manner. Executives prioritize cross-disciplinary knowledge domains as follows in order of importance: (1) Science Technology Enterprise (STE); (2) Science Technology Society (STS); and (3) Science Technology Humanities (STH). Implications are discussed with further research issues.
EFFICIENCY AND PRODUCTIVITY CHANGE ACROSS THE ECONOMIC SECTORS IN LITHUANIA (2000–2010): THE DEA–MULTIMOORA APPROACH
Authors: Baležentis Tomas , Misiūnas Algimantas , Baležentis Alvydas
Published: January 2014

Reasonable strategic management requires the complex assessment of the regulated area. This study, thus, presents a multi-criteria framework for frontier assessment of efficiency and productivity across the Lithuanian economic sectors throughout 2000–2010. The data envelopment analysis was employed to estimate efficiency in terms of an output indicator (value added) and input indicators (intermediate consumption, capital consumption, and remunerations). Furthermore, the decomposition of the Malmquist productivity index enabled to describe the impact of frontier shifts and catch-up effect on the overall change in efficiency. The multi-criteria decision making method MULTIMOORA aggregated different indicators of efficiency and productivity and thus resulted in the ranking of the economic sectors. The analysis suggests that services sector was the most efficient one, whereas manufacturing was second best. Certain branches of manufacturing, namely pharmaceutical, wood, food, and furniture industry, were rather efficient.
DENSITY AGGREGATION OPERATORS BASED ON THE INTUITIONISTIC TRAPEZOIDAL FUZZY NUMBERS FOR MULTIPLE ATTRIBUTE DECISION MAKING
Authors: Liu Peide , Yu Xiaocun
Published: January 2014

With respect to the multiple attribute decision making problems in which the attribute values take the form of the intuitionistic trapezoidal fuzzy numbers, some methods based on density aggregation operators are proposed. Firstly, the definition, expected value and the ranking method of intuitionistic trapezoidal fuzzy numbers are introduced, and the method of calculating density weighted vector is proposed. Then some density aggregation operators based on interval numbers and intuitionistic trapezoidal fuzzy numbers are developed, and a multiple attribute decision making method is presented. Finally an illustrative example is given to verify the developed approach and to demonstrate its practicality and effectiveness.
ORGANIZATIONAL GOVERNANCE TO INTEGRATE SUSTAINABILITY PROJECTS: A CASE STUDY
Authors: Ghosh Saumyendu , Buckler Lauren , Skibniewski Mirosław J. , Negahban Sam , Kwak Young Hoon
Published: January 2014

Sustainable development represents a major challenge of the 21st century. Organizations use projects to implement strategic corporate objectives, exploring sustainable development from a project management perspective is imperative. While current project management techniques are well defined in terms of content and process to manage the budget-scope-time constraint, availability of organization resources and ability to adopt project governance strategies in a changing business environment, like incorporating sustainability in business process is ambiguous, literature has not explored how to cope with a normative situation like sustainability. We consider Small-to-Mid-Size-Construction-Organizations (SMSCOs), which makes up the largest portion of the project-based industry and are most impacted by new government regulations, as our population of interest. This paper addresses two primary objectives in relation to organizational resources available for SMSCOs: to identify an organization's shortcomings in undertaking a sustainable project, and to identify means for improving organizational readiness to cope with governance of sustainable projects. A case study with a SMSCO to understand activities, resource availability, and how to improve organization readiness to undertake projects related to sustainability is discussed. A conceptual framework is presented for the adoptive project governance process to ensure resource constrained organizations like SMSCO's can align better to govern such projects.
CAN INVESTMENT IN MICROFINANCE FUNDS IMPROVE RISK-RETURN CHARACTERISTICS OF A PORTFOLIO?
Authors: Janda Karel , Rausser Gordon , Svárovská Barbora
Published: January 2014

This article is concerned with contribution of microfinance investment funds to a sustainable financial portfolio. With regard to the dependence of microfinance funds’ returns on the performance of stock and fixed income markets in developed and emerging economies we find slightly negative correlation when measured by the portfolio beta measure. Our regression analysis confirms that returns on investment in microfinance investment funds exceed the returns on the market portfolio. This result together with reported near-to-zero beta estimates as a proxy for the systematic risk may be taken to be a clear financial advantage of an inclusion of microfinance assets in a portfolio compared to pure stock or bond portfolios. The results based on CAPM beta and Jensen's alpha are confirmed by mean-variance spanning test. We show that the socially responsible investors may invest into microfinance without sacrifice with respect to pure financial indicators.
CLIENT ACCEPTANCE METHOD FOR AUDIT FIRMS BASED ON INTERVAL-VALUED FUZZY NUMBERS
Authors: LAI Hung-Lin , CHEN Ting-Yu
Published: January 2014

To ensure that investors are getting financial statements that conform to Generally Accepted Accounting Principles, the security exchange committee requires publicly traded companies to hire external auditors. Because the information provided in company financial statements has significant economic and social consequences for various parties, external auditors are needed to minimize litigation. Therefore, it is important for audit firms’ risk management teams to evaluate which clients to accept. In this paper, we propose a client acceptance method (CAM) that uses a technique for order preference using similarity to the ideal solution (i.e. TOPSIS) approach to evaluate potential new clients using a decision-making method with interval-valued fuzzy numbers (IVFNs). Through a case study, this paper shows that this CAM results in a high Spearman rankorder correlation coefficient (0.9 to 1.0) with human judgment. This result indicates that CAM could help decision makers evaluate potential clients before acceptance, especially when there are several potential clients but limited resources to provide services. The CAM also could help audit firms more easily ensure that decision makers are complying with firm policies concerning client acceptance through the establishment of uncertainty factor weights.
ECONOMIC EFFICIENCY OF MERGERS IN THE CZECH REPUBLIC 2001–2010
Authors: Sedláček Jaroslav , Valouch Petr , Králová Maria
Published: January 2014

The paper presents partial results of research focusing on accounting, taxation and legal aspects of mergers in the Czech market. The input source is a database of mergers implemented in the Czech territory, which compiles data taken from the Trade Register for the decade of 2001–2010. The structure of the data allows for an evaluation of development trends of mergers in the Czech market, analysis of economic consequences of mergers and finding possible causes of their success or failure. From economic characteristics of merger success, we have chosen the item of net assets. Statistical testing of the hypothesis proved that mergers do not affect net assets during the period of three years after the merger implementation. A significant dependence of net assets development on mergers was proved after the basic set was stratified based on the size of companies. Mergers have a positive effect on the growth of value for owners in the group of small enterprises in the third year after the merger; the value in the group of medium enterprises also grows, but not significantly. Regarding large enterprises, the net assets even decreased in consequence of a merger.
ROBUSTNESS ANALYSIS IN A TODIM-BASED MULTICRITERIA EVALUATION MODEL OF RENTAL PROPERTIES
Authors: Pereira Javier , Gomes Luiz Flavio Autran Monteiro , Paredes Fernando
Published: January 2014

A new robustness analysis framework is proposed where robustness of a solution in a decision aiding process is measured as the distance from that solution to an expected outcome, chosen by the decision-aiding analyst. The framework is explained by the application of the TODIM method of multicriteria decision aiding to the problem of predicting rental ranges for properties in a Chilean city. Therefore, the robustness concern concentrates on changes in criteria weights as well as in trade-off rates, as they are defined in the method. Two main contributions are introduced: a local robustness measure, defined in terms of a distance among rankings; and a global robustness measure, as an adaptation of the minimax-regret rule to select a global robust solution, i.e. a ranking produced by TODIM.
Real‐time electrical monitoring of reagent delivery during a subsurface amendment experiment
Authors: Rucker Dale F. , Crook Nigel , Winterton Jeffrey , McNeill Michael , Baldyga Chris A. , Noonan Gillian , Fink James B.
Published: January 2014

An electrical resistivity monitoring survey was conducted on a mine heap to track reagent movement during high‐pressure injections. The injections were designed to increase the dissolution of metallic gold from low‐grade ore and enhance recovery after surface leaching had ceased. The main objective of the geoelectrical monitoring was to observe the effectiveness of the injection technique and provide feedback to optimize injection parameters in real time. Real‐time assessment was achieved by monitoring the raw output current and transfer resistance on a network of borehole electrodes installed around the injection well. It was demonstrated that the output current increased significantly on particular borehole electrodes after commencement of reagent injection, when the wetting front arrived at the electrodes. When injection ceased, the electrical current returned to the initial baseline current values. The timing and distribution of the electrodes demonstrating this behaviour varied with injection depth. The internal structure of the heap was likely a controlling factor in reagent movement. Resistance, converted to apparent resistivity, was also shown to change significantly in the region near the injection. Verification of the real‐time assessment was conducted with post‐injection time‐lapse 3D tomographic inversion. While inverse modelling provides a truer 3D representation of reagent injection, the cost was shown to be a time‐lag of 3.5 days to complete the modelling. The simplicity of monitoring the raw current output and voltage can make this a powerful tool for real‐time tracking of fluid movement in the subsurface.
The Application of Corpus Tools in the Teaching of Discipline-Specific Academic Vocabulary
Authors: Zhang Min
Published: January 2014

This article concerns a corpus-based lexical study that is aimed at teaching academic vocabulary to address the specific needs of Chinese undergraduates majoring in information engineering. A 1,024,882-word corpus of Information Engineering English Corpus (IEEC) was built on the basis of university-level textbook materials drawn from ten compulsory courses for information engineering students. A quantitative analysis was carried out to seek for an optimal frequency threshold for extracting frequently occurring academic vocabulary specific to the discipline of information engineering based on Coxhead’s Academic Word List (2000). An innovative 2-dimensional categorization of AWL for EAP students was adopted in the study. As a result, a 100-word highly frequent core AWL and a 147-word frequent AWL were compiled for IEEC under two parameters of lexical frequency and specificity to individual sub-corpora. The present study further explored the application of corpus tools to highlight and effectively teach the discipline-specific academic vocabulary and collocations to promote learners’ autonomy and enhance their lexical competence in the study of specialized courses.
Persuasive Design in Teaching and Learning
Authors: Behringer Reinhold , Øhrstrøm Peter
Published: January 2014

The EuroPLOT project (2010-2013) has developed Persuasive Learning and Technologies (PLOTs) and has evaluated them in four real-world case studies, which cover the widely different teaching scenarios of university education, adult learning in industry, informal learning at a museum, literature studies, and language learning. At the International Workshop of EuroPLOT Persuasive Technology for Learning, Education and Teaching (IWEPLET 2013), the results of the project were presented, and an overview of related research was given. One of the main conclusions of EuroPLOT has been that the specific learning context has to be considered when applying persuasive designs. At IWEPLET 2013, both the theoretical background as well as evaluations of persuasive technology demonstrations were presented. This paper provides an overview of these presentations.