bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Socioeconomic Factors Influencing Local Community Perceptions Towards Lion Conservation: A Case of the Selous Game Reserve, Tanzania
Authors: Gayo Leopody , Nahonyo Cuthbert Leonard , Masao Catherine Aloyce
Published: June 2020

We assessed the factors influencing local community perceptions towards lions in the Selous Game Reserve, Tanzania. Data were collected from 384 households through questionnaire surveys, interviews, and focus group discussions, and analyzed by content analysis and IBM SPSS version 20. About 86% ( n=331) of respondents had negative perceptions towards lions. Education ( p=0.0016, R=1.68), occupation ( p=0.0021, R=−2.07), livestock numbers ( p=0.0011, R=0.-0.43), livestock management ( p=0.0006, R=0.373), water sources ( p=0.0019, R=−0.21), and distance from the protected area ( p=0.0183, R=2.11) were significant factors for community perceptions towards lions. We recommend compensation for the victims of lion attacks to reduce negative attitudes towards the species.
How We Each Emerged From Isolation, Found Each Other and a Common Voice
Authors: Glass Leonard L. , Fisher Edwin B. , Lee Bandy X.
Published: June 2020

The three authors of this article met in a purpose-driven way: They were each experiencing alarm at Donald Trump grounded in their individual professional experience. They responded to the challenge of watching a man who, in their view, was clearly unfit to serve as president, but, as with the emperor with no clothes, remained unconfronted by those with the greatest capacity to delineate the risks he embodied. Their national professional associations had discouraged and, in the case of the American Psychiatric Association, even threatened reprisals for their extending their expertise to a public that seemed confused and misled by the maelstrom of distraction, false promises, and showmanship that was Donald Trump. The authors discovered one another through the process of finding their individual voices. None of them imagined that, in pooling their perspectives, they would forge a collaborative alliance that would support the writing and dissemination of over two dozen shared authorship endeavors in the popular and professional media over the crucial period of the first 3 years. Evolving trust and camaraderie have supported and also grown through shared determination and action that have been part of increasing the public’s awareness of the dangerousness of Donald Trump.
Effects of Visual and Aural Presentation Styles and Rhythm on Working Memory as Measured by Monosyllabic Sequential Digit Recall
Authors: Silverman Michael J. , Bourdaghs Sonia W. , Schwartzberg Edward T.
Published: June 2020

Although information is frequently paired with music to enhance recall, there is a lack of basic research investigating how aspects of recorded music, as well as how it is presented, facilitate working memory. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine the effects of visual and aural presentation styles, rhythm, and participant major on working memory as measured by sequential monosyllabic digit recall performance. We isolated visual and aural presentation styles and rhythm conditions during six different treatment stimuli presented on a computer screen in the study: (a) Visual Rhythm; (b) Visual No Rhythm; (c) Aural Rhythm; (d) Aural No Rhythm; (e) Visual + Aural Rhythm; (f) Visual + Aural No Rhythm. Participants’ ( N = 60; 30 nonmusic majors and 30 music majors) task was to immediately recall the information paired with music within each condition. Analyses of variance indicated a significant difference between the visual and visual + aural presentation style conditions with the visual + aural condition having more accurate recall. While descriptive data indicated that rhythm tended to facilitate recall, there was no significant difference between rhythm and no rhythm conditions. Nonmusic major participants tended to have slightly more accurate recall than music major participants, although this difference was not significant. Participants tended to have higher recall accuracy during primacy and recency serial positions. As participants had most accurate recall during the visual + aural presentation style conditions, it seems that the multi-sensory presentation modes can be effective for teaching information to be immediately recalled as long as they do not contain too much information and overload the limited storage capacity of working memory. Implications for clinical practice, limitations, and suggestions for future research are provided.
Pancytopenia: a rare cause for a common presentation
Authors: Mahto Subodh Kumar , Singh Akanksha , Aneja Ankita , Pasricha Nitasha , Kumar Brijesh
Published: June 2020

Filariasis is a major public health hazard in tropical and subtropical countries and is endemic among the Indian population. Asymptomatic microfilariaemia, elephantiasis, acute adenolymphangitis, hydrocoele and chronic lymphatic disease are its common manifestations. We hereby report a case of microfilaria found in the bone marrow presenting as pancytopenia. There was no classical feature of elephantiasis or lymphoedema present.
A novel pump-valve coordinated controlled hydraulic system for the lower extremity exoskeleton
Authors: Jiang Jinlin , Wang Yu , Cao Heng , Zhu Jun , Zhang Xinbin
Published: June 2020

In order to reduce the weight and improve the energy efficiency of the lower extremity exoskeleton, a novel pump-valve coordinated controlled (PVCC) hydraulic system is presented. This hydraulic system only uses one electro-hydrostatic unit (EHU) and two valves to drive two hydraulic cylinders at the hip and knee of the lower extremity exoskeleton. The PVCC hydraulic system has the advantage of high energy conversion efficiency of the electro-hydrostatic actuator (EHA), which consists of one EHU and one hydraulic cylinder. To meet the requirements of the moment and speed of each joint of the exoskeleton, the proportional valve and on-off valve are added to adjust the flow into two hydraulic cylinders. The performance of EHU is tested by some hydraulic experiments, and the performance of the PVCC hydraulic system is analyzed by AMESim. The results show that the novel hydraulic system can only use one EHU to drive two hydraulic cylinders simultaneously under the premise of meeting the functional requirements of the exoskeleton.
Film in Public Administration Classrooms: Developing Responsible Administrators in the Information Age
Authors: Bharath Del M.N.
Published: June 2020

Future public administrators are predominantly entering the field as practitioners, and therefore, classroom work should have relevance in the field. Public administration educators need to find engaging ways to connect theory to practice, as well as creating culturally competent, ethical decision-makers, capable of sifting through information to make decisions for the public good. Film – specifically television and movies – as a pedagogical tool, can accomplish these goals. While fiction and storytelling have been common tools in education (literature and fictional case studies), film is increasingly used by educators. There is a multitude of outcomes for using film in the public administrators classroom. This research provides a comprehensive analysis of film as a pedagogical tool, and links outcomes to the development of three types of public administrators: skilled, responsible, and responsible in the information age.
Tensions between populist and feminist politics: The case of the Spanish left populist party Podemos
Authors: Caravantes Paloma
Published: June 2020

This paper analyzes the interplay of left populist and feminist politics through a case study of Podemos (‘we can’), a Spanish left populist party that reproduces a dominant gendered logic of politics despite its feminist interpretation of democratic renewal. I argue that this is the result of fundamental contradictions between the feminist and populist projects of political transformation that coexist in the party. Even if left populism offers a more productive terrain for gender equality than right populism, central tenets of populism disrupt feminist commitments and goals. Chief among these are the oversimplification of the political field based on a limited diagnosis, the exclusionary appeals to the homeland and to a homogenizing collectivity of the people, the dominant masculine and personalistic logics of charismatic leaders, the prioritization of electoral success over other forms of political transformation, and the resulting gendered political culture that marginalizes empowerment, inclusion, and participatory democratic practices.
Pain in the aftermath of minimal invasive treatment for unilateral incompetence of the great saphenous vein
Authors: Bossart Simon , Amsler Felix , Romer-Schenk Gabriele , Duchini Sarah , Willenberg Torsten
Published: June 2020

Objectives

Assessment of postprocedural pain after minimal invasive treatment of unilateral incompetence of the great saphenous vein.

Methods

A total of 85 patients treated with endovenous laser ablation (1470 nm) in combination with foam sclerotherapy and evulsions reported postprocedural pain on a visual analogue scale (0–10) during 28 days after treatment.

Results

A mean pain reduction from 3.9 on the first postinterventional day to 0.3 was noted during the observation time. After 28 days, 7% of patients had a visual analogue scale >1. Higher body mass index was strongly associated with more pain during the whole follow-up period ( p < 0.01). Higher energy application per cm vein and greater great saphenous vein diameter showed more pain in the first week. Other factors like clinical stage CEAP classification, combination of laser with avulsions and/or sclerotherapy, season of treatment timepoint, and age or sex did not influence postinterventional pain course.

Conclusion

Higher body mass index and higher energy application per cm are associated with more postprocedural pain after endovenous laser ablation.
Training Teachers in Inclusive Classrooms to Collect Data on Individualized Child Goals
Authors: Shepley Collin , Grisham-Brown Jennifer , Lane Justin D. , Ault Melinda J.
Published: June 2020

Progress-monitoring data collection is an essential skill for teachers serving children for whom the general curriculum is insufficient. As the field of early childhood education moves toward tiered service provision models, the importance of routine data collection is heightened. Therefore, we evaluated the effects of a training package on preschool teachers’ implementation of progress-monitoring strategies to collect data on children in need of supports beyond those provided through the general curriculum. This study employed a single-case experimental design in which generalized teacher behavior was collected within the context of the design. In addition, masked reliability data collectors were used throughout the study and an analysis of bias was conducted by a researcher unaffiliated with the study. Social and ecological validity data were collected using a multi-method approach.
Canine counterinsurgency in Indian-occupied Kashmir
Authors: Bhan Mona , Bose Purnima
Published: June 2020

In this article, we analyze contemporary discourses of counterinsurgency in relation to dogs in Kashmir, the disputed northernmost Himalayan territory of Jammu and Kashmir, and the site of a prolonged military occupation. We are interested in the widespread presence of street dogs in Kashmir as both embodiments and instruments of military terror. We consider the competing narratives of how canines function variously in Kashmiri perceptions of counterinsurgency and in Indian nationalist discourses. Through ethnographic and cultural analyses, we track how street dogs appear in various cultural and public narratives as the Indian military’s “first line of defense,” and the ways in which their overwhelming presence produces deep anxieties about the nature and extent of the military occupation of Kashmir.
Macroscopic Fundamental Diagram Approach to Evaluating the Performance of Regional Traffic Controls
Authors: Lu Weike , Liu Jun , Mao Jiannan , Hu Guojing , Gao Chuqiao , Liu Lan
Published: June 2020

Evaluating a regional traffic control system requires understanding both the advantages and disadvantages of control schemes as well as the interrelated characteristics of the system. To assess the efficiency of regional signal control schemes in a road network, this study, which is based on the macroscopic fundamental diagram (MFD) concept, proposes four evaluative indicators: maximum throughput, critical accumulation, gridlock accumulation and the degree of homogeneity. The maximum throughput and gridlock accumulation can be used to reflect the road network capacity and load capacity, respectively. The degree of homogeneity quantifies the spatial variations of traffic flows in the network. Combined with the gridlock accumulation, the critical accumulation values the durability of a regional control system in managing congestion in the network. This study used the regional road network in Qingyang District of Chengdu, China, as a real-world example to demonstrate the proposed MFD-based approach. In the demonstration, the MFD-based evaluation method was compared to the traditional travel time-based method. The demonstration evaluated the control effect and characteristic values of the network under four control modes: fixed-time, actuated, adaptive and adaptive coordinated control.
On cryogenic milling of primary recycled ABS: Rheological, morphological, and surface properties
Authors: Kumar Vinay , Singh Rupinder , Ahuja IPS
Published: June 2020

The primary (1°) recycled acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) is one of the most acceptable thermoplastic for 3D printing applications. For ascertaining rheological and dimensional features of 3D printed functional prototypes, one must have control on feed stock filament volume and its melt flow index (MFI). Some studies have reported investigations on mechanical and thermal properties along with dimensional features and MFI of 1° recycled ABS. But hitherto little has been reported on effect of cryogenic milling (CM) on rheological, morphological, and surface properties of feed stock filament (for possible 3D printing). This article reports the effect of CM on 1° recycled ABS for 3D printing applications. The effects of CM input parameters such as vibration frequency (Hz), CM time (min), and weight of grinding media (g) have been investigated for rheological (MFI, sample volume), surface (Shore D hardness, porosity), and morphological (based upon photomicrographs) properties. Based upon analysis of variance for sample volume and MFI of the 1° recycled ABS, grinding frequency was observed as most significant factor (91.88% for sample volume and 76.59% for MFI) at 95% confidence level in the present case study. The results of study suggest that sample volume and MFI observations are in line with Shore D hardness and porosity.
Polyetherketone powder/epoxy blends with low viscosity and high mechanical properties
Authors: Li Hong , Su Hang , Wang Letian , Sun Lingyu , Yang Jiping
Published: June 2020

The difficult forming process and construction caused by high viscosity has been the main problem restricting the application of high-performance thermoplastic/epoxy blends. In this contribution, low viscous polyetherketone (PEK)/diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A epoxy resin (DGEBA) blends were prepared by mixing the ultrafine PEK powder and DGEBA monomer at ambient temperature. Rheological behaviour shows that complex viscosity of the undissolved blends containing 20 wt% PEK powder is two orders of magnitude lower than that of the dissolved one. Interestingly, diffusion and phase separation of PEK powder in the undissolved PEK/DGEBA/2-methylimidazole/dicyandiamide (M-DICY) blends are affected by the curing processes. Phase-inverted morphology was observed after curing at 120°C/1h + 160°C/0.5 h for the undissolved 20 wt% PEK/DGEBA/M-DICY blends which also exhibited outstanding tensile strength and lap shear strength both at 298 and 77 K. We believe this work should provide a new insight into the preparation of advanced thermoplastic/epoxy blends.
Analysis of characteristics of arc shape caused by intermittent cutting force and dynamic vibration in ultra-precision cutting processes
Authors: Wei Wei , Li Jiasheng , Chen Yi , Huang Xiaojin
Published: June 2020

This article analyzes the phenomenon of “arc shape” in surface characteristics caused by dynamic vibration in ultra-precision machining. First, a surface simulation model is proposed based on the effect of the tool shape on the cutting profile. The accurate mapping relationship between spindle speed, feed speed, relative vibration, and the motion track of the tool tip to the workpiece profile is also established. Thereafter, the input frequency spectrum signature of an intermittent cutting force is found to be determined by the spindle speed and workpiece characteristics, and this is verified by experimental results. A phased, self-regulated mode of forced vibration caused by intermittent cutting force is then proposed, and the forming of the arc shape feature is explained. In addition, it is revealed that output vibration can be kept at a low level by adjusting the spectrum curve of the input signal.
Stress variation of a gas turbine tie-bolt rotor with Hirth serrations considering assembling and thermal effects
Authors: Li Pu , Yuan Qi
Published: June 2020

Tie-bolt rotors are commonly applied in heavy-duty gas turbines due to a better stiffness-mass ratio behavior compared to traditional integral rotors. In order to achieve a steady transformation from mechanical energy to electricity, the clamping force of the bolt is critical to keep multiple disks as a whole unit. However, the tensile stress of the bolt is changing during rotor assembly as well as operational conditions that should be considered carefully for the rotor safety. Moreover, subjected to mechanical as well as thermal loads, the stress of the rotor disks is a complicated mixture by different applied forces. In this manuscript, the preload variation during the process of rotor assembling is studied analytically with the help of the stiffness analysis. Then, a steady thermal analysis is performed with appropriate boundary conditions. Making use of the thermal-mechanical approach, a steady-stress distribution under different load combinations is achieved. Furthermore, a thorough insight into the stress level as well as the contact pressure of Hirth serrations is presented.
Acupuncture inhibited airway inflammation and group 2 innate lymphoid cells in the lung in an ovalbumin-induced murine asthma model
Authors: Cui Jie , Dong Ming , Yi La , Wei Ying , Tang Weifeng , Zhu Xueyi , Dong Jingcheng , Wang Wenqian
Published: June 2020

Background

Group 2 innate lymphoid cells (ILC2s) are known to serve important functions in the pathogenesis of allergic airway inflammation. Studies have shown that acupuncture has an anti-inflammatory effect in the airways. However, how acupuncture treatment affects innate immunity, especially with regard to the function of ILC2s in ovalbumin (OVA)-induced allergic airway inflammation, is poorly understood.

Methods

BALB/c mice were injected and subsequently challenged with OVA ± treated with manual acupuncture. At the end of the experimental course, lung function was assessed by measurement of airway resistance (RL) and lung dynamic compliance (Cdyn). Cytokine levels were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). ILC2 proportions in the lung were analyzed by flow cytometry.

Results

The results showed that airway inflammation and mucus secretion were significantly suppressed by acupuncture treatment. RL decreased while Cdyn increased after acupuncture treatment. There was an apparent decrease in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) concentrations of interleukin (IL)-5, IL-13, IL-9, IL-25 and IL-33 and an increase in soluble IL-33 receptor (sST2) levels compared with untreated asthmatic mice. Acupuncture also reduced the lin–CD45+KLRG1+ST2+ cell proportion in the lung.

Conclusion

In conclusion, this study has demonstrated that acupuncture treatment alleviates allergic airway inflammation and inhibits pulmonary ILC2 influx and IL-5, IL-9 and IL-13 production. The inhibition of ILC2s by acupuncture may be associated with the IL-33/ST2-signaling pathway and IL-25 levels, thereby offering protection from the respiratory inflammation associated with asthma.
Technology and Queer Education: Subversions and Educational Resistances
Authors: Planella-Ribera Jordi , Pié-Balaguer Asun , Gil-Rodríguez Eva Patricia
Published: June 2020

In this article, we look at educational forms from the point of view of queer theory. We understand educational forms as techno-scientific practices in the sense defined by Donna Haraway (1997, Modest_Witness@Second_Millennium. FemaleMan_Meets_OncoMouse. Routledge). We contemplate the eminently subjugating nature of educational institutions in industrial and post-industrial societies. Our work is based on the introduction of queer theory into the social sciences and its influence on pedagogy, promoting the avoidance of normalising and exclusive subjectivities. We propose a use and understanding of queer that goes beyond the strictly sexual, in order to go as deeply as possible into a critique of bodily abnormality as a form of construction and remission. We also analyse the role that technology plays in building normality and/or making subversions possible, as well as its consequences for bodies and subjectivities in our modernised society.
The Untimely Death, Fall of the Male Figure and Disintegration of Family in Albee’s A Delicate Balance
Authors: Rakhees Arafat Abdali , Al-Hajaj Jinan F. B.
Published: June 2020

Based on a Freudian psychoanalytic theory, this paper investigates the failures of 1 family in relation to the sudden and untimely death of their only son, Teddy in Edward’s Albee’s A Delicate Balance. It explores Tobias’s personality in terms of Freudian psychoanalytic concepts: sexuality, melancholia, the tripartite psyche and defence mechanisms in order to reveal the unconscious motivations for his behaviour and actions. It also exposes the underlying psychological causes that precipitate the emergence of Tobias’s abnormal character, sexual deviation and the defence mechanisms he adopts so as to defend his ego against feelings of pain and anxiety. The paper attempts to show that the traumatic experiences a person undergoes through his/her life affect his behaviour and actions, and leave a deep scar on his/her own psyche. Besides, it argues that the fear of the unknown, or death, is the catalyst for change in A Delicate Balance and the matter that impacts Tobias and triggers his perverse, passive and indifferent personality.

In Albee’s A Delicate Balance, a dysfunctional family is troubled by the death of a family member that occurred more than 30 years ago. Teddy’s death has traumatised the entire household and dated its gradual downfall. Tobias, the father, seems to be the one most shaken by it and on whose account, each and every family member sustains heavy losses. The loss of Teddy makes Tobias hand his role as the head of the family over to his wife, Agnes, and causes his emotional and physical estrangement from her. Afraid to experience another heartbreak, Tobias almost cuts his emotional ties with his daughter, Julia who feels abandoned and unwanted after her brother’s death. Claire loses favour with her sister, Agnes, and sinks deeper in her mess. Suspecting her own sister of seducing Tobias right after Teddy’s death, Agnes incurs a triple loss of son, husband and sister. In all, the Tobias household is rocked to its foundation by Teddy’s death and its corollaries continue to embitter the family and disturb its balance.
Women’s Vulnerability to Climate Change: Gender-skewed Implications on Agro-based Livelihoods in Rural Zvishavane, Zimbabwe
Authors: Chidakwa Patience , Mabhena Clifford , Mucherera Blessing , Chikuni Joyline , Mudavanhu Chipo
Published: June 2020

Climate change presents a considerable threat to human security, with notable gender disproportions. Women’s vulnerability to climate change has implications on agro-based livelihoods, especially the rural populace. The primary purpose of this study was to assess women’s vulnerability to climate change and the gender-skewed implications on agro-based livelihoods in rural Zvishavane, Zimbabwe. A qualitative approach that used purposive sampling techniques was adopted. Data was collected through 20 in-depth interviews with 11 de jure and 9 de facto small-scale female-headed farmer households. Two focus group discussions with mixed de facto and de jure small-scale female-headed farmer households were also conducted. Five key informant interviews were held with departmental heads of the Ministry of Women’s Affairs, Gender and Community Development; the Agriculture Technical Extension Service Department; the Livestock Production Department; the Runde Rural District Council and the Meteorological Services Department. Gendered effects were noted in terms of increased roles and responsibilities for women. Observations showed that there was an increase in distances travelled by women to fetch water owing to a depleted water table. Climate-induced migration of men due to depleted livelihoods in rural areas has also increased roles and responsibilities for women. The traditional male responsibilities assumed by women included cattle herding and ox-driven ploughing. This study concluded that adaptation strategies towards vulnerability to climate change have to be gender-sensitive and area-specific. This study also recommended that response programmes and policies meant to curb existing gendered vulnerabilities should be informed by evidence because climate-change effects are unique for different geographical areas. Moreover, adaptation activities should be mainstreamed in community processes so as to reduce the burden on women and increase sustainability opportunities.
A Soundtrack for Reimagining Pakistan? Coke Studio, Memory and the Music Video
Authors: Williams Richard David , Mahmood Rafay
Published: June 2020

Since 2007, Coke Studio has rapidly become one of the most influential platforms in televisual, digital and musical media, and has assumed a significant role in generating new narratives about Pakistani modernity. The musical pieces in Coke Studio’s videos re-work a range of genres and performing arts, encompassing popular and familiar songs, as well as resuscitating classical poetry and the musical traditions of marginalised communities. This re-working of the creative arts of South Asia represents an innovative approach to sound, language, and form, but also poses larger questions about how cultural memory and national narratives can be reimagined through musical media, and then further reworked by media consumers and digital audiences.

This article considers how Coke Studio’s music videos have been both celebrated and criticised, and explores the online conversations that compared new covers to the originals, be they much loved or long forgotten. The ways in which the videos are viewed, shared, and dissected online sheds light on new modes of media consumption and self-reflection. Following specific examples, we examine the larger implications of the hybrid text–video–audio object in the digital age, and how the consumers of Coke Studio actively participate in developing new narratives about South Asian history and Pakistani modernity.
‘Maza Nahin Aya’: Negotiating Sensationalism in Pakistani Television News Practices
Authors: Mulla Ayesha
Published: June 2020

Over the course of the last 18 years, privatised television news channels have transformed the nature of the national news culture in Pakistan. In addition to sensational news packaging, leading current affairs talk-show hosts routinely capitalise on aggressive interrogative tactics to antagonise politicians on air, producing a dramatised performance that feeds a politics of publicity. Within this context, the emancipatory potential of television once celebrated through media deregulation in the early 2000s has since been replaced with a disdainful liberal discourse on the lack of critical-rational debate. Based on in-depth interviews with a range of television news professionals in Karachi, I explore how Pakistani news media professionals negotiate the tension between a principled commitment to protecting the ‘independence’ of mass media and a cynical disavowal of its existing forms. Sensationalist media programming is certainly not unique to Pakistani television, and an increasing interest in postcolonial news publics continues to provide much needed perspectives from non-Western models of journalism, yet I believe a scholarly focus on media sensationalism remains impoverished without an understanding of the contextual constraints within which television news producers mediate their livelihood. In this article, I argue that the prevailing discourse on the ethics of journalism in Pakistan becomes a productive site through which the differences between privileged and vulnerable media labour emerge as most apparent.
Connecting Caregiver Wages and Distress: Felt Precarity, Parenting, and Child Behavior
Authors: Campbell Margo , Houser Linda
Published: June 2020

In contemporary socioeconomic contexts, employed mothers may experience felt precarity, an emotional reaction to structurally generated vulnerability. This study links wages, a potential source of precarity, to well-being using a family stress model of economic hardship. Findings were generally consistent with those of previous family stress models but with several differences supporting the concept of felt precarity. Mothers’ wages—independent of hardship—exerted direct effects on distress. Wages had a nonlinear effect on distress; while wage increases lessened distress, there was a wage “tipping point” beyond which distress again increased. While social workers should attend to the interconnected processes of family stress and parenting, their focus should also be directed to factors, like low wages, that are structurally embedded.
Branding, Masculinities and Culture: Exploring the Branding of Alcohol Product Representations in Thailand
Authors: Siripai Jhitsayarat
Published: June 2020

This article re-evaluates the use of masculinities to understand brand building by exploring the branding of alcohol products in Thailand. By relying on the subjectivist epistemology, this study employs the constructivist approach, using a range of qualitative methods, including qualitative content analysis, in-depth interviews, and focus groups. The implications of the findings explain how Thai leading alcohol companies seek to instil particular ideal forms of masculinities for brand promotions in Thailand. This article concludes by suggesting the significance of the cultural power dynamics of the local and global domains that are crucially associated with the gendered construction of brand masculinities. It suggests that we need to employ more recent developments in critical masculinity theory to adequately capture the dynamics of men’s lives in the contemporary world.
Indirect and Neuropsychological Indicators of Pedophilia
Authors: Rosburg Timm , Pflueger Marlon O. , Mokros Andreas , Boillat Coralie , Deuring Gunnar , Spielmann Thorsten , Graf Marc
Published: June 2020

The present study aimed to differentiate pedophilic child sex offenders (CSOs) from nonoffending controls (CTLs), as well as contact from noncontact CSOs. For this purpose, we investigated 21 contact CSOs, 20 noncontact CSOs (child pornography offenders), as well as 21 CTLs on neuropsychological test measures and indirect test measures of sexual interest. Multiple logistic regression models showed that three parameters of indirect tests and two neuropsychological test parameters allowed the differentiation of CSOs from CTLs with a maximum accuracy of 87%. The profile of contact and noncontact CSOs was remarkably similar and the optimal model for this group differentiation had a maximum accuracy of 66%, with slightly increased levels of risk-taking behavior and greater susceptibility for perceptual interference in contact CSOs than in noncontact CSOs. The findings suggest that standardized, objective methods can support the assessment of sexual offenders against children in forensic psychiatry and legal psychology.
Global Diffusion of P3 Policy: Learning Perspectives for Social Infrastructure
Authors: Greve Carsten , Hodge Graeme A.
Published: June 2020

No matter how widely they may be defined, new social infrastructure projects can learn much from previous public–private partnership (P3) policies as well as from current global experience. What can be learned, though, and how? This article adopts a theoretical policy learning perspective and investigates what public works researchers and policymakers might get out of focusing on policy learning in more detail. Three perspectives are presented as follows: the technical approach, the professional/coalitional approach, and the experimental approach. International case illustrations are presented to illustrate P3 policy learning over space and time.
NeoCoV Is Closer to MERS-CoV than SARS-CoV
Authors: Hassan Mohamed M , Hussain Mohamed A , Kambal Sumaya , Elshikh Ahmed A , Gendeel Osama R , Ahmed Siddig A , Altayeb Rami A , Muhajir Abdelhafiz MA , Mohamed Sofia B
Published: June 2020

Recently, Coronavirus has been given considerable attention from the biomedical community based on the emergence and isolation of a deadly coronavirus infecting human. To understand the behavior of the newly emerging MERS-CoV requires knowledge at different levels (epidemiologic, antigenic, and pathogenic), and this knowledge can be generated from the most related viruses. In this study, we aimed to compare between 3 species of Coronavirus, namely Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS-CoV), Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS-CoV), and NeoCoV regarding whole genomes and 6 similar proteins (E, M, N, S, ORF1a, and ORF1ab) using different bioinformatics tools to provide a better understanding of the relationship between the 3 viruses at the nucleotide and amino acids levels. All sequences have been retrieved from National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI). Regards to target genomes’ phylogenetic analysis showed that MERS and SARS-CoVs were closer to each other compared with NeoCoV, and the last has the longest relative time. We found that all phylogenetic methods in addition to all parameters (physical and chemical properties of amino acids such as the number of amino acid, molecular weight, atomic composition, theoretical pI, and structural formula) indicated that NeoCoV proteins were the most related to MERS-CoV one. All phylogenetic trees (by both maximum-likelihood and neighbor-joining methods) indicated that NeoCoV proteins have less evolutionary changes except for ORF1a by just maximum-likelihood method. Our results indicated high similarity between viral structural proteins which are responsible for viral infectivity; therefore, we expect that NeoCoV sooner may appear in human-related infection.
Aberrant sexualities: Others under the gaze of transnational documentary
Authors: Mokhtar Shehram
Published: June 2020

This article examines the discourse of non-normative sexuality and gender variance in Pakistan produced through commissioned transnational documentaries. While the documentary apparatus is mobilized to make visible gender and sexual minorities in Pakistan, they deploy self-othering schema within which the other is defined in comparison to the Euro-American center and its politics of normative citizenship. Sexual practices and gender embodiments that do not match up to the normative ideals are deemed aberrant and rendered abject, while simultaneously Muslim cultures are metonymically linked with homophobia and oppression. I demonstrate through a close reading of three documentaries that the optics and modalities that they employ do not make intelligible the other and their relationalities but rather circumscribe them. I argue that the discourse is not constituted to empower but instead functions to subordinate, impoverish, and incapacitate the other.
Operation strategy of cross-season solar heat storage heating system in an alpine high-altitude area
Authors: Li Haoran , Long Enshen , Zhang Yin , Yang Hanyu
Published: June 2020

The full use of renewable energy sources such as solar energy to meet the various energy supply needs of buildings is now a research focus and an industry development trend, as energy consumption has been increasing and environmental pollution has become a serious problem. In the high-cold and high-altitude area in western China, due to the abundant solar energy and hydropower resources, the use of electric auxiliary cross-season solar heat storage heating system (CSHSHS) is an effective way to achieve clean heating. In this article, the authors applied a CSHSHS in a typical town in the Sichuan West Plateau and analysed and compared three operation strategies: heating storage priority control mode; electro-thermally assisted priority control mode and hybrid control mode. The results show that the heat storage priority control mode would require a large installed capacity of electrical auxiliary heat. The power consumption of the electro-thermally assisted priority control mode is high. The hybrid control mode can effectively reduce the installed capacity of the electrical auxiliary heat and the power consumption in the heating season. The solar fraction of the hybrid control mode was 38.29%, which has an obvious advantage. The results are of great engineering significance for optimizing the operation strategy of CSHSHS.
The use of everyday technologies to enhance well-being and enjoyment for people living with dementia: A systematic literature review and narrative synthesis
Authors: Sweeney Laura , Clarke Christopher , Wolverson Emma
Published: June 2020

Background

Everyday technologies, such as laptops and tablets, are often used for enjoyment, pleasure, leisure and social participation. Despite this, whilst considerable research has investigated exploring people’s experiences of using assistive technologies, it is not clear how everyday technologies are experienced by individuals living with dementia. The aims of this review were to explore the experiences and views of people living with dementia and carers about using everyday technology to enhance their well-being and enjoyment, social engagement, participation and leisure as well as understand their views about the usability of everyday technology in dementia.

Methods

A systematic search of the literature was conducted using the electronic databases: PsycINFO, PsycARTICLES, CINAHL Complete and EThOS. Five qualitative studies and five mixed-method studies were included and synthesised using a narrative approach. The methodological quality of the studies was assessed using the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence Qualitative Quality Appraisal, which uncovered key variation in the quality of the included, synthesised studies.

Findings

The review suggests that everyday technologies can help support well-being, particularly when technology is used in a group setting and when individuals received the right amount of support to help engage in the technology. Four major themes relating to experiences and views were derived from the findings of the 10 included studies: ‘Technology use maintaining a sense of identity’, ‘Assumptions held by the self and others’, ‘The importance of others’ and ‘The usability of technology influencing effective engagement’.

Conclusions

Overall, everyday technologies appear to have a positive impact on different aspects of the well-being of people living with dementia. Clinical implications of these findings include supporting opportunities for people living with dementia to use everyday technology for enjoyment and making these technologies more widely available and accessible.
tDCS Accelerates the Rehabilitation of MCAO-Induced Motor Function Deficits via Neurogenesis Modulated by the Notch1 Signaling Pathway
Authors: Zhang Keying , Guo Ling , Zhang Junping , Rui Gang , An Guangzhou , Zhou Yan , Lin Jiajin , Xing Junling , Zhao Tao , Ding Guirong
Published: June 2020

Background. Ischemic stroke carries a high mortality rate and is a leading cause of severe neurological disability. However, the efficacy of current therapeutic options remains limited. Objective. We aimed to investigate the treatment efficacy of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) in motor function rehabilitation after ischemic stroke and explore the underlying mechanisms. Methods. Male Sprague-Dawley rats with epicranial electrodes were used to establish pathogenetic model through temporary right middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO). Subsequently, animals were randomly divided into 4 groups: MCAO + tDCS/sham tDCS, Control + tDCS/sham tDCS. Animals in the groups with tDCS underwent 10 days of cathodal tDCS totally (500 µA, 15 minutes, once a day). During and after tDCS treatment, the motor functions of the animals, ischemic damage area, proliferation and differentiation of neural stem cells (NSCs), and distribution, and protein expression of Notch1 signaling molecules were detected. Results. The rehabilitation of MCAO-induced motor function deficits was dramatically accelerated by tDCS treatment. NSC proliferation in the subventricular zone (SVZ) was significantly increased after MCAO surgery, and tDCS treatment promoted this process. Additionally, NSCs probably migrated from the SVZ to the ischemic striatum and then differentiated into neurons and oligodendrocytes after MCAO surgery, both of which processes were accelerated by tDCS treatment. Finally, tDCS treatment inhibited the activation of Notch1 signaling in NSCs in the ischemic striatum, which may be involved in NSC differentiation in the MCAO model. Conclusion. Our results suggest that tDCS may exert therapeutic efficacy after ischemic stroke in a regenerative medical perspective.
Incremental 3-D pose graph optimization for SLAM algorithm without marginalization
Authors: Youyang Feng , Qing Wang , Gaochao Yang
Published: June 2020

Pose graph optimization algorithm is a classic nonconvex problem which is widely used in simultaneous localization and mapping algorithm. First, we investigate previous contributions and evaluate their performances using KITTI, Technische Universität München (TUM), and New College data sets. In practical scenario, pose graph optimization starts optimizing when loop closure happens. An estimated robot pose meets more than one loop closures; Schur complement is the common method to obtain sequential pose graph results. We put forward a new algorithm without managing complex Bayes factor graph and obtain more accurate pose graph result than state-of-art algorithms. In the proposed method, we transform the problem of estimating absolute poses to the problem of estimating relative poses. We name this incremental pose graph optimization algorithm as G-pose graph optimization algorithm. Another advantage of G-pose graph optimization algorithm is robust to outliers. We add loop closure metric to deal with outlier data. Previous experiments of pose graph optimization algorithm use simulated data, which do not conform to real world, to evaluate performances. We use KITTI, TUM, and New College data sets, which are obtained by real sensor in this study. Experimental results demonstrate that our proposed incremental pose graph algorithm model is stable and accurate in real-world scenario.
Impact of ecological security on urban sustainability in Western China—A case study of Xi’an
Authors: Wang Fei , Gu Ning
Published: June 2020

China has experienced rapid urbanization for over 40 years, posing a significant challenge to the ecological environment and urban sustainability, which is especially critical in cities in Western China. To critically measure the impact of ecological security on urban sustainability, we developed a quantitative approach to obtain evaluation results for decision-making. Taking Xi’an, one of the central cities in Western China, as an example, we used the methodology to conduct a quantitative analysis of the impact of regional ecological security on urban sustainability. The driving force–pressure–state–response framework has been used to construct a comprehensive assessment system and the distribution of ecological security index was analyzed using Geographic Information System (GIS) software. To understand the level of urban ecological security, the natural breaks classification method was adopted to divide the results into five categories: highly safe, satisfactorily safe, safe, low value safe, unsafe. The results have shown that the ecological security in Xi’an is basically stable, and the overall status is close to the safe status, but there is a significant difference within the research area. According to the assessment results, the impact of ecological security on sustainability of Xi’an is mainly concerning high-density population, high-density water consumption, high per capita energy consumption, low vegetation coverage, and low-density river corridors. In addition, through the quantitative analysis of the relationship between ecological security and terrain, it is observed that the ecological security level distribution of Xi’an decreases from mountains to tablelands to hills and plains. The paper shows that the comprehensive assessment system of urban ecological security established here is effective to identify natural and artificial ecological security factors that threaten urban sustainability.
Transcriptome of Sphaerospora molnari (Cnidaria, Myxosporea) blood stages provides proteolytic arsenal as potential therapeutic targets against sphaerosporosis in common carp
Authors: Hartigan Ashlie , Kosakyan Anush , Pecková Hana , Eszterbauer Edit , Holzer Astrid S.
Published: June 2020

Background

Parasites employ proteases to evade host immune systems, feed and replicate and are often the target of anti-parasite strategies to disrupt these interactions. Myxozoans are obligate cnidarian parasites, alternating between invertebrate and fish hosts. Their genes are highly divergent from other metazoans, and available genomic and transcriptomic datasets are limited. Some myxozoans are important aquaculture pathogens such asSphaerospora molnarireplicating in the blood of farmed carp before reaching the gills for sporogenesis and transmission. Proliferative stages cause a massive systemic lymphocyte response and the disruption of the gill epithelia by spore-forming stages leads to respiratory problems and mortalities. In the absence of aS. molnarigenome, we utilized a de novo approach to assemble the first transcriptome of proliferative myxozoan stages to identifyS. molnariproteases that are upregulated during the first stages of infection when the parasite multiplies massively, rather than in late spore-forming plasmodia. Furthermore, a subset of orthologs was used to characterize 3D structures and putative druggable targets.

Results

An assembled and host filtered transcriptome containing 9436 proteins, mapping to 29,560 contigs was mined for protease virulence factors and revealed that cysteine proteases were most common (38%), at a higher percentage than other myxozoans or cnidarians (25–30%). Two cathepsin Ls that were found upregulated in spore-forming stages with a presenilin like aspartic protease and a dipeptidyl peptidase. We also identified downregulated proteases in the spore-forming development when compared with proliferative stages including an astacin metallopeptidase and lipases (qPCR). In total, 235 transcripts were identified as putative proteases using a MEROPS database. In silico analysis of highly transcribed cathepsins revealed potential drug targets within this data set that should be prioritised for development.

Conclusions

In silico surveys for proteins are essential in drug discovery and understanding host-parasite interactions in non-model systems. The present study ofS. molnari’s protease arsenal reveals previously unknown proteases potentially used for host exploitation and immune evasion. The pioneering dataset serves as a model for myxozoan virulence research, which is of particular importance as myxozoan diseases have recently been shown to emerge and expand geographically, due to climate change.