bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
My Lord or Your Excellency
Authors: Ranjan Sudhanshu
Published: July 2019

The mode of addressing judges of the higher judiciary as ‘My Lord’ is a colonial hangover. However, judges are reluctant to adapt themselves to democratic mores and cast off the veneer of feudalism even for the sake of tokenism. The same applies to executive authorities like President, Vice-President and Governor. All this goes against the spirit of democracy which is based on the principle of equality.
Introduction
Authors: Jones Howard , Jones Martin H.
Published: July 2019

This chapter explains the organization of the book and defines the object of study. Different pathways are recommended depending on readers’ prior knowledge of Middle High German and their linguistic, literary, or historical interests. The Introduction makes a distinction between Middle High German writings in general and Classical Middle High German, i.e. the normalized language in which many great works of the period are edited (reflecting nineteenth-century practices) and read today. Middle High German is situated within the Germanic language family and contrasted with Middle Low German, and its main dialect areas are described. The Introduction explains why the period 1050–1350, which is traditionally used to define Middle High German, has been adopted in this volume, and gives an account of the chronological subdivisions of the period. The methodological approach of the remaining chapters of the book is set out and recommendations are made for further reading.
Grammar and Lexis
Authors: Jones Howard , Jones Martin H.
Published: July 2019

This chapter has four sections, ‘Sounds and spelling’ (i.e. phonology and orthography), ‘Inflectional morphology’, ‘Syntax’, and ‘Lexis’ (the last of these covers word formation, borrowing, and vocabulary with meanings peculiar to the period such as dienest, êre, minne, ritter, vrouwe). In each section there is a summary of the main points, followed by detailed advanced paragraphs. The summaries serve as a stand-alone introductory grammar designed to help readers gain a reading knowledge of MHG as quickly as possible, which they can try out on the two introductory texts in Chapter 5. The detailed paragraphs can be used for reference or to gain an overview of particular areas of the language, and include extensive cross references to and from the texts in Chapter 5. The chapter concludes with an overview of the MHG dictionaries that are available on the Internet, in print, and on CD-ROM.
Selection of Annotated Texts
Authors: Jones Howard , Jones Martin H.
Published: July 2019

The selection of texts comprises extracts not only from the courtly literature of the Middle High German Classical period such as Erec, the Nibelungenlied, Parzival, Tristan, and the lyrics of Walther von der Vogelweide, but also from religious literature, writings on natural history, chronicles, and legal texts. Verse and prose works from the whole span of the Middle High German period are included. In addition to texts in the normalized Middle High German in which the classical authors are normally read, texts have been chosen to represent all the major dialects of Middle High German. Each text has an introduction placing it in context; texts in a dialectical variety have also linguistic introductions. All texts are accompanied by notes on their grammar, vocabulary, and content, and by recommendations for further reading. Two introductory texts are designed to familiarize readers new to Middle High German with essential features of the language.
Prevalence, pattern and factors of intimate partner violence against Saudi women
Authors: Abolfotouh Mostafa A , Almuneef Maha
Published: July 2019

Background

This study aimed to assess the prevalence of intimate partner violence (IPV) and its correlates, amongst currently married Saudi women.

Methods

A total of 400 currently married females aged 19–65 years old who attended the outpatient clinics of PHC centres in Riyadh, from 1 November 2015 to 1 February 2016, were screened for the current and previous experiences with IPV, and its correlates, using the previously validated Arabic version of the WHO multi-country instrument on violence against women. Logistic regression analyses were applied to identify the correlates of IPV.

Results

The lifetime overall prevalence of IPV was 44.8%, in the form of; physical (18.5%), emotional (25.5%), sexual (19.2%) and economic (25.3%) violence. Wife’s experience of child abuse was significantly associated with physical [OR = 3.63, P < 0.001], emotional [OR = 2.2, P = 0.004], sexual [OR = 2.42, P = 0.006], economic [OR = 2.24, P = 0.006] and overall IPV [OR = 2.76, P < 0.001], whilst husband’s experience was significantly associated with only the emotional violence [OR = 2.4, P = 0.004]. Physical violence was significantly more prevalent when the woman lived with other wife in same house.

Conclusion

IPV with its all forms was prevalent amongst Saudi women. Child abuse experience and polygamy were significantly associated with IPV. Designing tailored IPV national prevention programmes is a necessity.
What Determines Social Capital? Evidence from Slavery’s Legacy in the United States and Brazil
Authors: Uttermark Matthew J
Published: July 2019

What determines social capital? Prior scholarship has examined what causes social capital to change contemporaneously but has yet to assess how history influenced social capital’s development. Building on previous research, which posits that former slaveholding regions exhibit lower levels of social capital, I test two competing explanations of how social capital developed. The inequality hypothesis argues that a reliance on plantation slavery created economic inequality, which in turn diminished modern social capital; the attitudinal hypothesis argues that the abolition of slavery influenced mass political attitudes, which have transmitted over generations and diminished modern social capital. To test which is correct, I examine slavery’s impact on social capital, measured as interpersonal trust, in two countries—the United States and Brazil. I find evidence that slavery is negatively associated with social capital; an individual’s support for interpersonal trust can decrease by as much as 18 percent in regions with high levels of former slavery. Moreover, it is the attitudinal hypothesis—not economic inequality—which associates with social capital’s decline.
Getting the Court in Your Business: Unmarried Parents, Institutional Intersectionality, and Establishing Parenting Time Orders in Family Court
Authors: Waller Maureen R
Published: July 2019

The child support program reaches half of poor children in the United States, and recent policy proposals would incorporate parenting time into all initial child support orders. Despite the importance and scope of these proposed changes for unmarried parents, research about how parents interpret the decision to set up parenting time orders in family court is limited. Qualitative evidence from individual and group interviews shows that unmarried mothers and fathers perceive family court through competing frames, leading to strategies of either avoidance or engagement with the court system in certain circumstances. Some parents in the study framed family courts as intrusive and opted to stay away from court to avoid unwanted scrutiny by the child welfare and criminal justice systems. In contrast, other parents framed family courts as protective of their families and sought legal help when their child's custody was ambiguous, their child's safety was threatened, or their status in public programs was at stake. These findings are consistent with research on institutional distrust and avoidance but also suggest heterogeneity in unmarried parents’ views of family court as a system that both surveils and safeguards poor families. Findings further demonstrate that unmarried parents view these decisions from a position of institutional intersectionality, or their position at the intersection of multiple state systems that interact with the courts.
Sharpening our focus on designing for dissemination: Lessons from the SPRINT program and potential next steps for the field
Authors: Chambers David A
Published: July 2019

Few patients who smoke receive evidence-based smoking cessation treatment in outpatient clinics. A novel electronic referral to SmokefreeTXT, the National Cancer Institute stop-smoking text program, referred 14.4% of outpatients who smoke.
Customer discovery as a tool for moving behavioral interventions into the marketplace: insights from the NCI SPRINT program
Authors: Oh April , Gaysynsky Anna , Knott Cheryl L , Nock Nora L , Erwin Deborah O , Vinson Cynthia A
Published: July 2019

The National Cancer Institute established a dissemination and implementation accelerator program called Speeding Research-tested INTerventions (SPRINT) in order to expedite the translation of behavioral research into practice. The goal of SPRINT is to introduce researchers to a new method for moving their research into practice in order to increase the real-world impact of their evidence-based interventions. The goal of this article is to present case studies on three teams that have completed the SPRINT program to date. Each case study provides a description of the intervention the team came into the program with, the team’s motivation for participating in the SPRINT program, the team’s experience in the program, lessons learned from “customer discovery” interviews conducted by the team during the course, and the team’s future plans for their intervention. The case studies suggest that by focusing on behavioral researchers, SPRINT addresses an unmet need in the commercialization training space; that the definition of “success” can vary across SPRINT projects; that identifying and engaging “payors” for behavioral interventions is an ongoing challenge; and that there are potential “misalignments” between the research process and market demands. Overall, these examples show that customer discovery is a potentially useful method for making interventions more responsive to the needs of stakeholders, and that researchers can benefit from learning the “language” of business and working with individuals who have business experience before trying to move their research from the lab to the real world.
Maintenance Therapy in Metastatic Solid Tumors
Authors: Rowinski Elise , Fournel Pierre , Bernichon Emilie , Bouleftour Wafa , Magné Nicolas , Mery Benoîte
Published: July 2019

Managing metastatic diseases involves defining the best strategy that is supposed to take into account both efficacy and quality of life. To this end, clinicians use stop and go or maintenance strategies. As a matter of fact, 2 maintenance strategies can be distinguished: continuation maintenance using a drug already present in induction treatment and switch maintenance with a newly introduced drug. Several drugs have been approved as maintenance therapy with several current indications in solid tumors. Questions remain concerning such strategies, notably duration, cost, tolerability, and shortcut between switch maintenance and early second line. If the concept of maintenance strategy remains trendy with numerous trials ongoing, several issues are still pending. The aims of this review were to accurately define and describe the various facets of maintenance therapy through its several indications in real life and then to discuss the future challenges of maintenance therapy in oncology.
MULTIMODAL IMAGING OF TWO UNCONVENTIONAL CASES OF BARTONELLA NEURORETINITIS
Authors: Michel Zachary , Redd Travis , Bhavsar Kavita V.
Published: July 2019

Purpose:

To report two cases of cat-scratch fever with atypical posterior segment manifestations.

Methods:

Two cases were retrospectively reviewed.

Results:

A 27-year-old woman presented with painless blurring of central vision in her left eye. Clinical examination revealed a small focal area of retinitis within the macula associated with a subtle macular star. Spectral-domain optical coherence tomography showed a hyper-reflective inner retinal lesion in addition to subretinal and intraretinal fluid as well as hyperreflective foci within the outer plexiform layer. Serology was positive for anti–B. henselae IgM (titer 1:32). A 34-year-old woman presented with painless loss of vision in both eyes associated with headaches and pain with extraocular movement. Spectral-domain optical coherence tomography depicted subretinal fluid, intraretinal fluid, and hyperreflective deposits within the outer plexiform layer. A focal collection of vitreous cell was observed overlying the optic nerve in the left eye. Bilateral disk leakage was identified on fluorescein angiography. Serology revealed high-titer anti–B. henselae antibodies (IgM titers 1:32, IgG titers 1:256).

Conclusion:

Our cases highlight the necessity of recognizing more unusual posterior segment presentations of ocular bartonellosis. Multimodal retinal imaging including spectral-domain optical coherence tomography may help better characterize lesions.
Local Health Department Interest in Implementation of a Jail-Based Human Papillomavirus Vaccination Program in Kansas, Iowa, Missouri, and Nebraska
Authors: Ramaswamy Megha , Allison Molly , Musser Brynne , Satterwhite Catherine , Armstrong Robert , Kelly Patricia J.
Published: July 2019

Context:

Local health departments (LHDs) play a vital role in community vaccination programs for human papillomavirus (HPV) infection, but little research has been done to assess LHD interest in cross-sectoral partnerships to vaccinate high-risk groups, specifically incarcerated persons.

Objective:

To describe factors associated with interest in a novel implementation strategy linking LHDs with jails in 4 Midwestern states to deliver HPV vaccine.

Design:

Survey based on the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR) model given to LHD administrators. A modified Poisson relative risk regression was used to assess the relationship between independent variables and LHD interest in implementation of a jail-based HPV vaccination program.

Setting:

LHDs in Kansas, Missouri, Iowa, and Nebraska.

Participants:

From September 2017 to April 2018, two-thirds (237/344) of invited LHD administrators from the 4 states responded to the survey.

Main Outcome Measure:

LHD interest in implementation of a jail-based HPV vaccination program.

Results:

Forty-five percent of LHDs were interested in learning more about implementing a jail-based HPV vaccination program, and 2% already offered or had plans to offer HPV vaccine in their jails. Barriers to implementation were cost (66%), inmates' short incarcerations (47%), and availability of medical staffing (43%). LHD characteristics associated with interest in implementation of a jail-based HPV vaccination program included “inner setting” CFIR variables, which capture the structural and cultural context for program implementation: 7 or more employees (odds ratio [OR] = 2.22; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.24-3.95), perception of importance to provide HPV vaccine in jails (OR = 3.70; 95% CI, 2.00-6.84), and already providing any vaccines in jails (OR = 2.62; 95% CI, 1.18-5.80).

Conclusions:

Nearly half of LHDs in the region expressed interest in partnering with local entities to meet HPV vaccination needs of high-risk groups. Research on cross-sectoral partnerships and what these collaborations look like in practice is needed for public health impact.
Endothelin A and B Receptors: Potential Targets for Microcirculatory-Mitochondrial Therapy in Experimental Sepsis
Authors: Rutai Attila , Fejes Roland , Juhász László , Tallósy Szabolcs Péter , Poles Marietta Zita , Földesi Imre , Mészáros András T. , Szabó Andrea , Boros Mihály , Kaszaki József
Published: July 2019

The hypoxia-sensitive endothelin (ET) system plays an important role in circulatory regulation through vasoconstrictor ETA and ETB2 and vasodilator ETB1 receptors. Sepsis progression is associated with microcirculatory and mitochondrial disturbances along with tissue hypoxia. Our aim was to investigate the consequences of treatments with the ETA receptor (ETA-R) antagonist, ETB1 receptor (ETB1-R) agonist, or their combination on oxygen dynamics, mesenteric microcirculation, and mitochondrial respiration in a rodent model of sepsis. Sprague Dawley rats were subjected to fecal peritonitis (0.6 g kg−1 i.p.) or a sham operation. Septic animals were treated with saline or the ETA-R antagonist ETR-p1/fl peptide (100 nmol kg−1 i.v.), the ETB1-R agonist IRL-1620 (0.55 nmol kg−1 i.v.), or a combination therapy 22 h after induction. Invasive hemodynamic monitoring and blood gas analysis were performed during a 90-min observation, plasma ET-1 levels were determined, and intestinal capillary perfusion (CPR) was detected by intravital videomicroscopy. Mitochondrial Complex I (CI)- and CII-linked oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) was evaluated by high-resolution respirometry in liver biopsies. Septic animals were hypotensive with elevated plasma ET-1. The ileal CPR, oxygen extraction (ExO2), and CI–CII-linked OXPHOS capacities decreased. ETR-p1/fl treatment increased ExO2 (by >45%), CPR, and CII-linked OXPHOS capacity. The administration of IRL-1620 countervailed the sepsis-induced hypotension (by >30%), normalized ExO2, and increased CPR. The combined ETA-R antagonist–ETB1-R agonist therapy reduced the plasma ET-1 level, significantly improved the intestinal microcirculation (by >41%), and reversed mitochondrial dysfunction. The additive effects of a combined ETA-R–ETB1-R-targeted therapy may offer a tool for a novel microcirculatory and mitochondrial resuscitation strategy in experimental sepsis.
Modelling social care provision in an agent-based framework with kinship networks
Authors: Gostoli Umberto , Silverman Eric
Published: July 2019

Current demographic trends in the UK include a fast-growing elderly population and dropping birth rates, and demand for social care among the aged is rising. The UK depends on informal social care—family members or friends providing care—for some 50% of care provision. However, lower birth rates and a greying population mean that care availability is becoming a significant problem, causing concern among policy-makers that substantial public investment in formal care will be required in decades to come. In this paper, we present an agent-based simulation of care provision in the UK, in which individual agents can decide to provide informal care, or pay for private care, for their loved ones. Agents base these decisions on factors including their own health, employment status, financial resources, relationship to the individual in need and geographical location. Results demonstrate that the model can produce similar patterns of care need and availability as are observed in the real world, despite the model containing minimal empirical data. We propose that our model better captures the complexities of social care provision than other methods, due to the socioeconomic details present and the use of kinship networks to distribute care among family members.
Testing for a facultative locomotor mode in the acquisition of archosaur bipedality
Authors: Grinham Luke R. , VanBuren Collin S. , Norman David B.
Published: July 2019

Bipedal locomotion is a defining characteristic of humans and birds and has a profound effect on how these groups interact with their environment. Results from extensive hominin research indicate that there exists an intermediate stage in hominin evolution—facultative bipedality—between obligate quadrupedality and obligate bipedality that uses both forms of locomotion. It is assumed that archosaur locomotor evolution followed this sequence of functional and hence character-state evolution. However, this assumption has never been tested in a broad phylogenetic context. We test whether facultative bipedality is a transitionary state of locomotor mode evolution in the most recent early archosaur phylogenies using maximum-likelihood ancestral state reconstructions for the first time. Across a total of seven independent transitions from quadrupedality to a state of obligate bipedality, we find that facultative bipedality exists as an intermediary mode only once, despite being acquired a total of 14 times. We also report more independent acquisitions of obligate bipedality in archosaurs than previously hypothesized, suggesting that locomotor mode is more evolutionarily fluid than expected and more readily experimented with in these reptiles.
Derivation of delay equation climate models using the Mori-Zwanzig formalism
Authors: Falkena Swinda K. J. , Quinn Courtney , Sieber Jan , Frank Jason , Dijkstra Henk A.
Published: July 2019

Models incorporating delay have been frequently used to understand climate variability phenomena, but often the delay is introduced through anad hocphysical reasoning, such as the propagation time of waves. In this paper, the Mori-Zwanzig formalism is introduced as a way to systematically derive delay models from systems of partial differential equations and hence provides a better justification for using these delay-type models. The Mori-Zwanzig technique gives a formal rewriting of the system using a projection onto a set of resolved variables, where the rewritten system contains a memory term. The computation of this memory term requires solving the orthogonal dynamics equation, which represents the unresolved dynamics. For nonlinear systems, it is often not possible to obtain an analytical solution to the orthogonal dynamics and an approximate solution needs to be found. Here, we demonstrate the Mori-Zwanzig technique for a two-strip model of the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and explore methods to solve the orthogonal dynamics. The resulting nonlinear delay model contains an additional term compared to previously proposedad hocconceptual models. This new term leads to a larger ENSO period, which is closer to that seen in observations.
Subtropical thermal variation supports persistence of corals but limits productivity of coral reefs
Authors: McIlroy Shelby E. , Thompson Philip D. , Yuan Felix Landry , Bonebrake Timothy C. , Baker David M.
Published: July 2019

Concomitant to the decline of tropical corals caused by increasing global sea temperatures is the potential removal of barriers to species range expansions into subtropical and temperate habitats. In these habitats, species must tolerate lower annual mean temperature, wider annual temperature ranges and lower minimum temperatures. To understand ecophysiological traits that will impact geographical range boundaries, we monitored populations of five coral species within a marginal habitat and used a year of
in situ
measures to model thermal performance of vital host, symbiont and holobiont physiology. Metabolic responses to temperature revealed two acclimatization strategies: peak productivity occurring at annual midpoint temperatures (4–6°C lower than tropical counterparts), or at annual maxima. Modelled relationships between temperature and P:R were compared to a year of daily subtropical sea temperatures and revealed that the relatively short time spent at any one temperature, limited optimal performance of all strategies to approximately half the days of the year. Thus, while subtropical corals can adjust their physiology to persist through seasonal lows, seasonal variation seems to be the key factor limiting coral productivity. This constraint on rapid reef accretion within subtropical environments provides insight into the global distribution of future coral reefs and their ecosystem services.
Mosquitoes cloak their legs to resist insecticides
Authors: Balabanidou Vasileia , Kefi Mary , Aivaliotis Michalis , Koidou Venetia , Girotti Juan R. , Mijailovsky Sergio J. , Juárez M. Patricia , Papadogiorgaki Eva , Chalepakis George , Kampouraki Anastasia , Nikolaou Christoforos , Ranson Hilary , Vontas John
Published: July 2019

Malaria incidence has halved since the year 2000, with 80% of the reduction attributable to the use of insecticides. However, insecticide resistance is now widespread, is rapidly increasing in spectrum and intensity across Africa, and may be contributing to the increase of malaria incidence in 2018. The role of detoxification enzymes and target site mutations has been documented in the major malaria vectorAnopheles gambiae; however, the emergence of striking resistant phenotypes suggests the occurrence of additional mechanisms. By comparing legs, the most relevant insect tissue for insecticide uptake, we show that resistant mosquitoes largely remodel their leg cuticles via enhanced deposition of cuticular proteins and chitin, corroborating a leg-thickening phenotype. Moreover, we show that resistant female mosquitoes seal their leg cuticles with higher total and different relative amounts of cuticular hydrocarbons, compared with susceptible ones. The structural and functional alterations inAnophelesfemale mosquito legs are associated with a reduced uptake of insecticides, substantially contributing to the resistance phenotype.
Using drones and sirens to elicit avoidance behaviour in white rhinoceros as an anti-poaching tactic
Authors: Penny Samuel G. , White Rachel L. , Scott Dawn M. , MacTavish Lynne , Pernetta Angelo P.
Published: July 2019

Poaching fuelled by international trade in horn caused the deaths of over 1000 African rhinoceros (
Ceratotherium simum
and
Diceros bicornis
) per year between 2013 and 2017. Deterrents, which act to establish avoidance behaviours in animals, have the potential to aid anti-poaching efforts by moving at-risk rhinos away from areas of danger (e.g. near perimeter fences). To evaluate the efficacy of deterrents, we exposed a population of southern white rhinos (
C. simum simum
) to acoustic- (honeybee, siren, turtle dove), olfactory- (chilli, sunflower), and drone-based stimuli on a game reserve in South Africa. We exposed rhinos to each stimulus up to four times. Stimuli were considered effective deterrents if they repeatedly elicited avoidance behaviour (locomotion away from the deterrent). Rhinos travelled significantly further in response to the siren than to the honeybee or turtle dove stimulus, and to low-altitude drone flights than to higher altitude flights. We found the drone to be superior at manipulating rhino movement than the siren owing to its longer transmission range and capability of pursuit. By contrast, the scent stimuli were ineffective at inciting avoidance behaviour. Our findings indicate that deterrents are a prospective low-cost and
in situ
method to manage rhino movement in game reserves.
Red carotenoids and associated gene expression explain colour variation in frillneck lizards
Authors: McLean Claire A. , Lutz Adrian , Rankin Katrina J. , Elliott Adam , Moussalli Adnan , Stuart-Fox Devi
Published: July 2019

A long-standing hypothesis in evolutionary ecology is that red–orange ornamental colours reliably signal individual quality owing to limited dietary availability of carotenoids and metabolic costs associated with their production, such as the bioconversion of dietary yellow carotenoids to red ketocarotenoids. However, in ectothermic vertebrates, these colours can also be produced by self-synthesized pteridine pigments. As a consequence, the relative ratio of pigment types and their biochemical and genetic basis have implications for the costs and information content of colour signals; yet they remain poorly known in most taxonomic groups. We tested whether red- and yellow-frilled populations of the frillneck lizard,Chlamydosaurus kingii,differ in the ratio of different biochemical classes of carotenoid and pteridine pigments, and examined associated differences in gene expression. We found that, unlike other squamate reptiles, red hues derive from a higher proportion of ketocarotenoids relative to both dietary yellow carotenoids and to pteridines. Whereas red frill skin showed higher expression of several genes associated with carotenoid metabolism, yellow frill skin showed higher expression of genes associated with steroid hormones. Based on the different mechanisms underlying red and yellow signals, we hypothesize that frill colour conveys different information in the two populations. More generally, the data expand our knowledge of the genetic and biochemical basis of colour signals in vertebrates.
Mobile steady-state evoked potential recording: dissociable neural effects of real-world navigation and visual stimulation
Authors: Dowsett James , Dieterich Marianne , Taylor Paul C.J.
Published: July 2019

Background

The ability to record brain activity in humans during movement, and in real world environments, is an important step towards understanding cognition. Electroencephalography (EEG) is well suited to mobile applications but suffers from the problem of artefacts introduced into the signal during movement. Steady state visually evoked potentials (SSVEPs) give an excellent signal-to-noise ratio and averaging a sufficient number of trials will eventually remove any noise not phase locked to the visual flicker.

New Method

Here we present a method for producing SSVEPs of real world environments using modified LCD shutter glasses, which are commonly used for 3D TV, by adapting the lens to flicker at neurophysiologically relevant frequencies, in this case the alpha band. Participants viewed a room whilst standing and walking. Either the left or right side of the room was illuminated, to test if it is possible to recover the resulting SSVEPs when walking, as well as to probe the effect of walking on neural activity. Additionally, by using a signal generator to produce “simulated SSVEPs” on the scalp we can demonstrate that this method is able to accurately recover evoked neural responses during walking.

Results

The amplitude of SSVEPs over right parietal cortex was reduced by walking. This finding is in line with converging evidence that visual-vestibular integration involves cortical lateralization with the right hemisphere being dominant in right handers. Furthermore, the waveform and phase of the SSVEPs is highly preserved between walking and standing, but was nevertheless sensitive to whether visual stimulation was presented to the left or right visual hemifield.

Conclusions

This method allows probing neural responses at a wide range of frequencies, during natural movements within real environments.
Natural Music Evokes Correlated EEG Responses Reflecting Temporal Structure and Beat
Authors: Kaneshiro Blair , Nguyen Duc T. , Norcia Anthony M. , Dmochowski Jacek. P. , Berger Jonathan
Published: July 2019

The brain activity of multiple subjects has been shown to synchronize during salient moments of natural stimuli, suggesting that correlation of neural responses indexes a brain state operationally termed ‘engagement’. While past electroencephalography (EEG) studies have considered both auditory and visual stimuli, the extent to which these results generalize to music—a temporally structured stimulus for which the brain has evolved specialized circuitry—is less understood. Here we investigated neural correlation during natural music listening by recording dense-array EEG responses from N = 48 adult listeners as they heard real-world musical works, some of which were temporally disrupted through shuffling of short-term segments (measures), reversal, or randomization of phase spectra. We measured neural correlation across responses (inter-subject correlation) and between responses and stimulus envelope fluctuations (stimulus-response correlation) in the time and frequency domains. Stimuli retaining basic musical features evoked significantly correlated neural responses in all analyses. However, while unedited songs were self-reported as most pleasant, time-domain correlations were highest during measure-shuffled versions. Frequency-domain measures of correlation (coherence) peaked at frequencies related to the musical beat, although the magnitudes of these spectral peaks did not explain the observed temporal correlations. Our findings show that natural music evokes significant inter-subject and stimulus-response correlations, and suggest that the neural correlates of musical engagement may be distinct from those of enjoyment.
Quantitative basis of meiotic chromosome synapsis analyzed by electron tomography
Authors: Spindler Marie-Christin , Filbeck Sebastian , Stigloher Christian , Benavente Ricardo
Published: July 2019

The synaptonemal complex is a multiprotein complex, which mediates the synapsis and recombination between homologous chromosomes during meiosis. The complex is comprised of two lateral elements and a central element connected by perpendicular transverse filaments (TFs). A 3D model based on actual morphological data of the SC is missing. Here, we applied electron tomography (ET) and manual feature extraction to generate a quantitative 3D model of the murine SC. We quantified the length (90 nm) and width (2 nm) of the TFs. Interestingly, the 80 TFs/μm are distributed asymmetrically in the central region of the SC challenging available models of SC organization. Furthermore, our detailed 3D topological analysis does not support a bilayered organization of the central region as proposed earlier. Overall, our quantitative analysis is relevant to understand the functions and dynamics of the SC and provides the basis for analyzing multiprotein complexes in their morphological context using ET.
Financial risk, uncertainty and expected returns: evidence from Chinese equity markets
Authors: Chiang Thomas C.
Published: July 2019

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the risk and economic policy uncertainty (EPU) shocks on China’s equity markets while controlling for changes in sentiments and liquidity.

Design/methodology/approach

The GED-TARCH(1,1)-M procedure is used in estimations to deal with the heteroscedasticity problem.

Findings

Evidence shows that stock returns are positively correlated with predictable volatility and lagged downside risk. This study indicates that the stock returns are negatively correlated with both local and global uncertainty innovations. The test results are robust across different measures of stock returns and model specifications. The global EPU innovations have more profound impact on stock returns than that of Chinese EPU.

Research limitations/implications

The findings are based on the data in the China’s stock market, other global markets may be considered in the future research.

Practical implications

Evidence indicates that a rise in EPU produces a negative effect on stock returns at the time news hits a market; however, investors will be rewarded by a premium as prices rebound in the subsequent period for compensating the investment decision made at a high uncertainty period.

Originality/value

The excess stock returns are negatively related to the EPU innovations, regardless of whether EPU originates from a domestic source or external sources.
Board diversity and quality of CSR disclosure: evidence from Pakistan
Authors: Khan Imran , Khan Ismail , Senturk Ismail
Published: July 2019

Purpose

This study aims to examine the relationship between board diversity and quality of corporate social responsibility (QCSR) disclosure.

Design/methodology/approach

The study estimates seven dimensions of board diversity including age, gender, nation, ethnicity, educational level, educational background and tenure by applying Blau’s index. The relationship between board diversity and QCSR disclosure from the perspective of the resource-based view theory is estimated by using panel random effects regression across 57 firms producing exclusive sustainability reports listed in the Pakistan Stock Exchange from 2010 to 2017. The robustness of the results has also been checked through alternative measurements of the variables under study.

Findings

The regression results reveal that gender and national diversities are the firms’ valuable resources, having the potential to promote QCSR disclosure. However, age diversity was found to be negatively associated to QCSR disclosure. Furthermore, educational level, educational background, ethnicity and tenure were insignificant on QCSR disclosure. The sensitivity analysis supports the findings of the baseline model.

Research limitations/implications

Pakistani firms need to improve the level of board diversity through encouragement of the inclusion of diverse forces of gender and nationality to enhance disclosure on CSR practices.

Originality/value

This is the first study on board diversity and QCSR in the case of Pakistan.
Natural convection from heated fin shapes in a nanofluid-filled porous cavity using incompressible smoothed particle hydrodynamics
Authors: Aly Abdelraheem M. , Raizah Zehba , Asai Mitsuteru
Published: July 2019

Purpose

This study aims to focus on the numerical simulation of natural convection from heated novel fin shapes in a cavity filled with nanofluid and saturated with a partial layer of porous medium using improved incompressible smoothed particle hydrodynamics (ISPH) method.

Design/methodology/approach

The dimensionless of Lagrangian description for the governing equations were numerically solved using improved ISPH method. The current ISPH method was improved in term of wall boundary treatment by using renormalization kernel function. The effects of different novel heated (Tree, T, H, V, and Z) fin shapes, Rayleigh number Ra(103 – 106 ), porous height Hp (0.2-0.6), Darcy parameter Da(10−5 − 10−1 ) and solid volume fraction ϕ(0.0-0.05) on the heat transfer of nanofluid have been investigated.

Findings

The results showed that the variation on the heated novel fin shapes gives a suitable choice for enhancement heat transfer inside multi-layer porous cavity. Among all fin shapes, the H-fin shape causes the maximum stream function and Z-fin shape causes the highest value of average Nusselt number. The concentrations of the fluid flows in the nanofluid region depend on the Rayleigh and Darcy parameters. In addition, the penetrations of the fluid flows through porous layers are affected by porous heights and Darcy parameter.

Originality/value

Natural convection from novel heated fins in a cavity filled with nanofluid and saturated with a partial layer of porous medium have been investigated numerically using improved ISPH method.
GPGPU implementation of a lattice Boltzmann methodology for particle transport and deposition in complex flow
Authors: Abdul-Kadhim Ali Ayyed , Lien Fue-Sang , Yee Eugene
Published: July 2019

Purpose

This study aims to modify the standard probabilistic lattice Boltzmann methodology (LBM) cellular automata (CA) algorithm to enable a more realistic and accurate computation of the ensemble rather than individual particle trajectories that need to be updated from one time step to the next (allowing, as such, a fraction of the collection of particles in any lattice grid cell to be updated in a time step, rather than the entire collection of particles as in the standard LBM-CA algorithm leading to a better representation of the dynamic interaction between the particles and the background flow). Exploitation of the inherent parallelism of the modified LBM-CA algorithm to provide a computationally efficient scheme for computation of particle-laden flows on readily available commodity general-purpose graphics processing units (GPGPUs).

Design/methodology/approach

This paper presents a framework for the implementation of a LBM for the simulation of particle transport and deposition in complex flows on a GPGPU. Towards this objective, the authors have shown how to map the data structure of the LBM with a multiple-relaxation-time (MRT) collision operator and the Smagorinsky subgrid-scale turbulence model (for turbulent fluid flow simulations) coupled with a CA probabilistic method (for particle transport and deposition simulations) to a GPGPU to give a high-performance computing tool for the calculation of particle-laden flows.

Findings

A fluid-particle simulation using our LBM-MRT-CA algorithm run on a single GPGPU was 160 times as computationally efficient as the same algorithm run on a single CPU.

Research limitations/implications

The method is limited by the available computational resources (e.g. GPU memory size).

Originality/value

A new 3D LBM-MRT-CA model was developed to simulate the particle transport and deposition in complex laminar and turbulent flows with different hydrodynamic characteristics (e.g. vortex shedding, impingement, free shear layer, turbulent boundary layer). The solid particle information is encapsulated locally at the lattice grid nodes, allowing for straightforward mapping of the datastructure onto a GPGPU enabling a massive parallel execution of the LBM-MRT-CA algorithm. The new particle transport algorithm was based on the local (bulk) particle density and velocity and provides more realistic results for the particle transport and deposition than the standard LBM-CA algorithm.
Technical assistance for innovation development from and to developing country
Authors: Hidayat Ahmad , Virgianita Asra
Published: July 2019

Purpose

Innovation is a fundamental element for developing countries’ development. For instance, the innovation process should be integral to a country’s development plan for it to achieve high standard socio-economic development. For this reason, the global development agenda in the contemporary era underline innovation as a crucial issue to be addressed within development assistance programs. The Global North as traditional donors predominantly contend that innovation should be supported by high private sector development (PSD), and therefore, emphasizes this agenda to be delivered through their foreign aid schemes. However, this character differs considerably as compared to new emerging donors with insufficient PSD capacity, such as Indonesia. This paper aims to examine Indonesia’s technical assistance (TAC) to Timor-Leste and scrutinizes whether or not it supports the innovation development of the receiving country.

Design/methodology/approach

This study used a qualitative method by conducting a literature review, document tracing and depth interview with Indonesia’s South–South Cooperation National Coordinating Team.

Findings

Based on this study, it can be proven that Indonesia’s TAC has the ability to support innovation development in Timor-Leste as a least developed country. This is because Indonesia’s TAC is directed toward knowledge sharing and technology transfer that are needed by Timor-Leste. Other supporting conditions, such as similarity in the process of development, shared principles and solidarity ties among developing countries, have also created a more decent environment for aid delivery. Thus, aid initiatives among developing countries must remain to be supported as key to attain mutual progress and collective self-reliance.

Originality/value

This study shows that Indonesia as an emerging economic has the capability to support innovation development of other developing countries. It was a new area of study but has a lot of potential to be explored such as effectiveness and interests.
A generic algorithmic protocol approaches to improve network life time and energy efficient using combined genetic algorithm with simulated annealing in MANET
Authors: A.Y. Prasad , Rayanki Balakrishna
Published: July 2019

Purpose

In the present networking scenarios, MANETs mainly focus on reducing the consumed power of battery-operated devices. The transmission of huge data in MANETs is responsible for greater energy usage, thereby affecting the parameter metrics network performance, throughput, packet overhead, energy consumption in addition to end-to-end delay. The effective parameter metric measures are implemented and made to enhance the network lifetime and energy efficiency. The transmission of data for at any node should be more efficient and also the battery of sensor node battery usage should be proficiently applied to increase the network lifetime. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Design/methodology/approach

In this research work for the MANETs, the improvement of energy-efficient algorithms in MANETs is necessary. The main aim of this research is to develop an efficient and accurate routing protocol for MANET that consumes less energy, with an increased network lifetime.

Findings

In this paper, the author has made an attempt to improve the genetic algorithm with simulated annealing (GASA) for MANET to minimize the energy consumption of 0.851 percent and to enhance the network lifetime of 61.35 percent.

Originality/value

In this paper, the author has made an attempt to improve the GASA for MANET to minimize the energy consumption of 0.851 percent and to enhance the network lifetime of 61.35 percent.
On the fatigue resistance of endodontic files subjected to electrochemical polishing and an autoclave’s sterilisation cycle
Authors: Santos Pedro , Martins Rui F. , Ginjeira António
Published: July 2019

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to improve the surface finish and, therefore, the fatigue resistance of some endodontic files by electrochemical polishing; the influence of applying an autoclave’s sterilising cycle to the endodontic files under study was also assessed during the research herein presented.

Design/methodology/approach

In total, 22 Ni-Ti endodontic instruments of two sizes, namely, ref. Hyflex 0.04/20 and 0.06/20 (taper: 0.04; 0.06 and tip diameter: 0.20 mm, respectively), were submitted to rotational bending tests at 500 rpm; the radius and the angle of curvature imposed to the endodontic instruments during the experimental tests were equal to 4.7 mm and 45°, respectively. In addition, 18 endodontic files (out of the 22) were subjected to electrochemical polishing before in vitro fatigue tests had been carried out. Several combinations of electrochemical parameters were considered during the preliminary experiments involving electrolyte, voltage, flow rate and duration. The endodontic files under study were weighted using a high-precision balance before and after polishing, and mass variation was determined. Also, a sterilising cycle was applied to six polished endodontic instruments, which were placed inside an autoclave at 134°C, for 30 min, and under a pressure of 2.16 bar.

Findings

The fatigue resistance of as-received endodontic files ref. 0.04/20 is much larger (+480 per cent) than the fatigue strength of endodontic files ref. 0.06/20. The weight variation due to electropolishing was comprehended between 0.53 mg and 1.01 mg, and the fatigue resistance of all polished endodontic instruments increased between 30 per cent (0.06/20) and 80 per cent (0.04/20) when compared with the fatigue resistance of the as-received files. The application of an autoclave’s sterilisation cycle had a negative impact on the fatigue resistance of instruments ref. 0.04/20 and a positive impact on the durability of instruments ref. 0.06/20.

Originality/value

The application of an electrochemical polishing process increased the fatigue resistance of the endodontic files under study significantly, and the values for the variables of the electrochemical process were never published elsewhere. The surface finish improvement was obtained by immersing the endodontic files in a Struers’ Electrolyte (ref. E2) for 3 s while applying 30 volts and a flow rate of 1.