bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Examining Water Security in the Challenging Environment in Togo, West Africa
Authors: Yomo Mawulolo , Mourad Khaldoon A. , Gnazou Masamaeya D. T.
Published: January 2019

Water shortages across the globe have increased due to climate change among other factors with negative impacts expected at the river basin level. Anticipating these impacts will help experts act in a timely manner to avoid a future water crisis. As part of addressing the future water shortage impacts on the Togolese community, this paper assessed water security in the context of the global environmental change in the Oti River Basin taking Oti Nord sub-basin (ONSB) as a case study. Key informants’ interviews were done with staff from governmental institutions, Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), community-based organizations, and private operators. The Improved Fuzzy Comprehensive Evaluation Model (IFCEM) was used for assessing water security (WS). A basin level WS evaluation system including five subcomponents (external environment security, water resources security, water-society security, water economic security, and water-environment security) and 23 indicators related to climate, socio-economy, water availability, and consumption were constructed. The results showed that the water level is very insecure in the sub-basin for the assessed years (2010, 2015, and 2025) with the year 2025 being the worst (expected a decrease of water security by 20% and 1% in 2025 compared to the years 2015 and 2010, respectively). This insecurity is found to be the result of many factors including technical, institutional, juridical, environmental, socio-cultural, hydrogeological, and demographical factors. However, managerial factors such as institutional instability, the inadequacies in water and related sector evolution, and the absence of de-centralized water management structures, the non-operationalization of management organs/financial instruments, and culture (i.e., taboos and bylaws) are found to be key to the study area. The paper concluded that the operationalization of management organs/financial instruments may enable the application of adopted water policies and regulations, which may lead to a sound and coordinated management of the available water resources since this will enable the government’s self-investment in clean water provision, data acquisition (potential water available and the estimation of economic driven potential water needs, which are key for any sound development), and a stimulated joined effort from the existing institutions. In addition, the establishment of a sound waste management system and awareness raising, and educative activities regarding water pollution will be of great benefit for this cause.
Love or Country: A difficult choice for women in Kuwait
Authors: Alsharekh Alanoud
Published: January 2019

This study examines the regulations that govern the marriage of women from the Arabian Gulf States and specifically the changes in their status should they marry a non‑citizen of the State. Taking the experience of Kuwaiti women as a case study, this article examines the considerable difference in the treatment of male and female citizens who marry non‑nationals, and aims to highlight aspects of the struggle of these women and their families through a close examination of their attempt to fight the social stigma and discriminatory practices that they have to confront. The case study of Kuwaiti women provides an insight into the workings of legislative and socio‑cultural structures in the GCC, exploring how such structures produce issues of identity formation, guardianship, state control, and the stranglehold of patriarchal kinship practices over individual rights in marriage and family.
Consanguineous Marriage and its Relationship with Sociocultural Variables in Urban and Bedouin Geographical Regions in Kuwait
Authors: Al‑Kandari Yagoub Y. , Al‑Kandari Yousif Y.
Published: January 2019

Consanguineous marriage is a common type of marriage in the Middle East. Arab countries have the highest consanguineous marriage rates in the world. The differences in the prevalence of consanguineous marriage is related to differences in each geographic area. The major aim of this study is to examine the relationship between the prevalence of consanguineous marriage and some sociocultural variables in urban (Ḥawallī governorate (muḥāfaẓa)) and Bedouin (Al‑Farwāniyya governorate (muḥāfaẓa)) geographical administrative regions in Kuwait. Differences between marriage patterns in the two governorates were tested. A sample of 3497 married women was selected (2152 in Al‑Farwāniyya and 1345 in Ḥawallī). SPSS was used for data entry and analysis. T‑test, chi‑square and multivariate regression were used. Data found that age at marriage was closely correlated with marriage patterns. Significant differences between marriage patterns and many sociocultural variables have been found, such as marriage duration, age at marriage, and number of children. It was also found that Al‑Farwāniyya has a higher rate of consanguineous marriage than Ḥawallī, especially in first and second cousin marriage patterns. It can be concluded that differences in social groups lead to differences in the marriage preference type in Kuwait depending on several sociocultural variables.
Encountering the State: Women and divorce in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Authors: Sawaf Zina
Published: January 2019

In the post-September 11 era, the state in Saudi Arabia is said to be feminizing itself by promoting inclusive reform vis-à-vis women. Since King ʿAbdallah’s reign, and through Prince Muḥammad bin Salmān’s recent and ambitious roadmap of socio-economic reforms, the monarchy has been championing women’s causes. This article seeks to move beyond a state-centric approach that focuses on the role of the Saudi state, actors and institutions. Rather, it takes an ethnographic view point to explore how the state’s feminization of itself unfolds in the everyday encounters and interactions between women divorcées and the processes, offices and officials of the state in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Simply by engaging the state and continually re-interpreting what it might offer them in terms of rights and resources, divorcées are able to draw new boundaries around their private lives. Consequently, it matters not so much that state actors and institutions espouse women’s positions in various realms, but rather that this so-called feminization enables women to act upon, interpret and imagine differently family and sexual life, and crucially, ways of being with and for others.
The Politics of Family Cohesion in the Gulf: Islamic authority, new media, and the logic of the modern rentier state
Authors: Caeiro Alexandre
Published: January 2019

This article explores the politics of family cohesion in a Muslim polity simultaneously committed to the application of Islamic law, the preservation of cultural identity, and socio‑economic modernization. The article focuses on the work of Qatar’s Ministry of Endowments and Islamic Affairs, a government body that seeks to make Wahhābī Islam relevant to a society in the midst of rapid social change. Drawing on an analysis of the Ministry’s fatwas on family life, the article shows how Qatar’s media muftis have incorporated modern assumptions into their discourse and adjusted to new power configurations. The dissonance between the discourses articulated within official religious institutions and those found in other state bodies reflects the growing polarization of Qatari society, the normative pluralism undergirding modernization in the Gulf, and the regulatory ambitions of proliferating state institutions in a rentier economy.
Djibouti et le Yémen : influences, interdépendances et échanges des pêcheurs d’une rive à l’autre
Authors: Lauret Alexandre
Published: January 2019

L’histoire contemporaine de la Corne de l’Afrique illustre un espace fracturé par les aléas et enjeux politiques et géopolitiques des différents pays. Récemment, la guerre au Yémen a entrainé une énième rupture sur l’espace maritime, entre rives africaine et arabe. Pourtant, faut‑il en conclure qu’il n’existe aucune relation entre les deux populations ? À travers trois époques, comprises entre la fin du xixe siècle et le début du xxie siècle, cet article vise à illustrer une relation commune entre pêcheurs djiboutiens et yéménites. L’évolution de cette relation s’est faite en parallèle de l’Histoire : le développement de la colonie de la Côte française des Somalis, l’indépendance de Djibouti et les dernières décennies du xxe siècle, enfin l’instabilité du Yémen et la guerre de la décennie 2010. Prenant tantôt pour cadre Djibouti et le développement de la pêche, tantôt le Yémen et ses marchés de poisson, l’histoire des relations entre pêcheurs n’est pas avare d’échanges et de conflits.
Multi-Stage Image Restoration in High Noise and Blur Settings
Authors: Voronin Sergey
Published: January 2019

We describe a simple approach useful for improving noisy, blurred images. Our approach is based on the use of a parallel block-based low rank factorization technique for projection based reduction of matrix dimensions and on a customized iteratively reweighted CG approach followed by the use of a Fourier Wiener filter. The regularization scheme with a transform basis offers variable residual penalty and increased per-iteration performance. The outlined approach is particularly aimed at high blur and noise settings.
How do Family Firms Grow? The Strategic Goals of Innovation and Internationalization
Authors: Della Piana Bice , Vecchi Alessandra , Marino Vittoria , D Arco Mario
Published: January 2019

The aim of the paper is to identify the main strategic goals that are deemed as strategic by the owner/managers for the future growth of a family firm, and to assess how innovation ad internationalisation are included in such goals. By relying on 15 in-depth interviews with family firms’ key informants (i.e. family firms’ owners, managers and professionals), the study makes an original contribution that is significant and relevant both from a theoretical and a methodological perspective. In relation to the former, it provides a comprehensive review of the main family business goal setting models in order to identify the relevant categories used to classify the goals. Additionally, differently from extant research the study outlines the pivotal importance of innovation and internationalization as strategic goals for family firms’ growth. In relation to the latter, by relying on a narrative approach, the study provides a finer-grained understanding of how internationalization and innovation are conceived with respect to traditional characteristics of the family firms.
Determinants of Capital Structure in Industrial Companies: Conservative Policy—Applied Study on Jordanian Industrial for the Period (2014-2016)
Authors: Al Abbadi Abeer
Published: January 2019

The study aimed to define the factors that determinate the capital structure for industrial companies in Jordan. By depending on theoretical references and literature review that related to capital structure, and to define the determinants that influenced the capital structure by depending on statistical analysis. The study used 15 companies of Amman stock exchange for the period 2014-2016.

The study concluded multiple results. The most importantly, there is significant impact of profitability, interest rates, and the amount of tangible assets. And there is impact of investment opportunities, the size of company and to the adoption of conservative policy according to the comprehensive concept of indebtedness in building capital structure. There was no possible impact for financial distress. The study proposed recommendations. The most important recommendations are studying the underlying causes of reduction long term debt ratio to the total assets of many public share holding companies. Urging financial managers to study the capital structure and the factors that determinate it, in order to manage the capital structure of the companies according to scientific methodology. Urging companies to use Islamic instruments for funding the tangible assets .As it is appropriate to the prevailing economic conditions in the market in terms of profit rates. It is necessary to confirm the existence of a credit rating classification from international credit agencies that helps in issuance of instruments and corporate bonds, or to obtain credit. Urging companies using rent ending in ownership or finance leasing; and urging companies of tangible assets to obtain funding from Islamic and commercial banks especially, when the cost of borrowing and Islamic funding is less than the cost of the issuance of shares. The study suggested studying the determinate factors that makes some companies following the conservative policy in building the capital structure, and in maintaining high cash balances. The study affected the impact of the existence of financial organizations as board of directors in public shareholding companies determine and study the factors of building the capital structure.
Facing the Post-Industrial Age, How to Choose the South Jiangsu Region?
Authors: Li Yingying
Published: January 2019

Based on the composite system collaboration model, this paper selects three representative elements that can reflect the innovation input and innovation benefit in south Jiangsu province, namely innovation resources, innovation environment and innovation benefit, and calculates the overall synergy degree of the regional innovation system with five cities in south Jiangsu province as the whole. It can be concluded from the analysis that the order degree of collaborative innovation in Suzhou is the highest, followed by that in Nanjing and Wuxi, Changzhou and Zhenjiang, the order degree of regional collaborative innovation is at the end of the five cities in southern Jiangsu. Due to the differences in the ability and level of collaborative innovation among different cities, as well as the problems in resource sharing and collaborative innovation among different cities, the overall level of the collaborative degree of regional innovation system in southern Jiangsu is not high. On the basis of this empirical analysis, this paper puts forward some scientific and targeted Suggestions for improving the overall coordination degree of regional innovation system in southern Jiangsu and building a higher level of southern Jiangsu modernization demonstration area.
The Micro-Costing Approach to Foster the Effectiveness of Decision-Making Processes in the Healthcare System–Some Empirical Evidence from the Piedmont Region
Authors: Tradori Vania , De Bernardi Paola , Brescia Valerio
Published: January 2019

The study aims to highlight the usefulness of micro accounting approach as tool of clinical governance starting from the data provided by the computerization of services and medical records. The case study takes into account data collected over two years between three departments of the same hospital for the management of patients with acute gastric ulcer with bleeding and variations and acute duodenal ulcer with bleeding and variations. All statistical analyses were performed using STATA V.14.2 (Stata Corp, College Station, Texas, USA, 2013) and p value <0.05 was considered significant for all analyses. The analysis of economic and comorbidity data provides useful insights to guide the choice of the treatment pathway between departments, and provides useful indications for the redefinition of guidelines towards a rationalization of healthcare expenditure.
Retired Yet Involved: How Even After the Succession Predecessors of Family Businesses Continue to Influence Their Firms
Authors: Caykoylu Sinan
Published: January 2019

Successions are usually portrayed as events where predecessors quickly and quietly fade away from the picture once the transfer of managerial authority is complete. However, for majority of the family firms this is not the case. Family firm predecessors can continue to be involved with the family business even after their retirement in myriad of ways through on-going and overlapping business and kinship relations. Based on interviews with predecessors and successors from nineteen family businesses in Turkey, this article presents that it is the successors’ expectation how their predecessors should act after the succession that determines whether post-succession predecessor involvement has a positive or negative influence on the family business.
Contributing to Sustainable Healthcare Systems with Case Theory
Authors: Gummesson Evert , Sarno Debora , Carrubbo Luca , Sirianni Carlo
Published: January 2019

Sustainability is a fundamental concern of our times and is particularly important in healthcare, since people are embedded in the healthcare systems on which their health and the viable usage of resources depend. Due to the complexity of healthcare systems, both in terms of governance and pathways from decisions to behaviours, there is no one-size-fits-all theory, but solutions have to be co-created with the actors operating within the systems. This paper proposes case theory as the methodological approach to analyse and interpret cases in order to identify theories suitable for sustainable healthcare systems. Case theory is a recent extension of case study research that includes network theory and systems theory. An example of a case from an Italian regional healthcare system dealing with stroke patients is presented to show how several methods can be mixed and how a substantive theory emerges.
Evaluation of the Impact of Using Electronic Marketing in Marketing Illegal Products by Applying to Marketing of Digital Drugs in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Authors: Elsayed Fayed Abeer
Published: January 2019

Just as electronic marketing has advantages, it also has its disadvantages. Through it, illegal products can be marketed, which are prosecuted by governments in traditional markets. These products have found a safe haven in the electronic marketing to market them. One of these products is drugs, which are a major threat to any government and fought against by it. Therefore, its marketers have circumvented this situation and turned them into digital addiction fighting the young people known for their keen interest in the Internet.

The study observed the misuse and illegal use of electronic marketing. Thus, the problem of the study was the spread of marketing illegal products through the Internet, such as digital drugs, exploiting the spread and popularity of electronic marketing, especially among adolescents and young people.

The study used the descriptive analytical approach. It was also based on the simple correlation coefficient and the stepwise regression coefficient to test hypotheses for one of the methods included in the SPSS.

The study concluded that there was a strong relationship between the use of electronic marketing components and the spread of digital drugs. Without electronic marketing, there would be no presence of this type of drugs. It also found the skill of their marketers in using the marketing mix components to market their deadly product. The study also found the possibility of using the means of curbing the spread of these drugs via electronic means over the Internet and in the same way of their marketers. Finally, the study concluded that this harmful marketing could affect the future of electronic marketing; rather, the electronic commerce as a whole.

The study recommended the use of the electronic counter-promotion strategy against these websites in line with raising awareness of young people, blocking websites promoting them, and prosecuting them if created again, penetrating the websites marketing the digital drugs and change their content. A comprehensive national plan that includes the Ministries of Health, Education, Interior and Justice is needed.
Big4 Versus Non-Big4 Opinion about the Going Concern Assessment: A Survey
Authors: Bava Fabrizio , Gromis di Trana Melchior
Published: January 2019

Going concern (GC) assessment is a central element in the audit process. During the Global Financial Crisis the increasing number of companies receiving a going concern opinion (GCO) has stimulated public interest on this topic. Our study fuels the debate about the financial indicators used in professional practice distinguishing between the big4 and non-big4 auditors’ perspectives. Similar studies have been conducted in the past that investigated which financial ratios are the most widely used in practice. However, in 2013 Carson et al stressed the fact that the audit environment is in constant evolution, therefore it is essential to update the evidence. Our results highlight which financial indicators in the auditors’ opinion are more effective to assess whether the entity is able to continue as a GC. Our research can be useful first of all for auditors in small and medium entities, but also for dierctors, due to the fact that there is a lack of studies regarding the indicators proposed by ISA 570, where the attitudes of the big4 and non-big4 are compared.
Factors Affecting Online Customer Satisfaction: The Sri Lankan Perspective
Authors: Deyalage Piruni A. , Kulathunga Dushyantha
Published: January 2019

Customer satisfaction has been identified as an important phenomenon in relation to online shopping.  The investigation of what cause customer satisfaction has become paramount for online businesses. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to identify the determinants of customer satisfaction in an online context. In this study, the authors proposed a conceptual model of customer satisfaction in the online context by identifying the key factors proposed by previous studies, and hypotheses were developed accordingly. The hypotheses were tested through multiple regression analysis, based on a sample of 150 online customers. The study found that customer service, website design and security perception were significantly associated with online customer satisfaction.
Grocery Experience Survey: A Canadian Perspective on Service, Product and Management Specifies
Authors: Charlebois Sylvain , Music Janet
Published: January 2019

The socio-economic significance of independent grocers has been, for the most part, underappreciated and overlooked for several decades in the Western world. Few studies have been looked at the field in recent years and even less so in Canada. Retail studies have highlighted the sector’s evolution, particularly the emergence of multiple channel designs. The primary focus of previous studies has been on food retailing, but not ownership and localized market adaptation. This study intended to identify the limitations of our knowledge related to independent grocers in Canada. By using our study’s outcome and identifying key drivers for market adaptation, this study aspires to highlight their somewhat subordinate relationship to government and the difficulties of modernising their business methods. Results show that Canadians regularly visit 2.3 grocery stores on average, 1.29 times a moth for an average duration of 32 minutes. Results also show that service specificity, and to a certain extent, product specificity can provide independent grocers with an advantage. While most consumers value receiving assistance when needed, younger consumers appreciate knowing who works at the grocery store they visit. Trust on ownership is also key in management specificity. This study provides a platform for future research on independently own grocers.  
Primary and Secondary Igapó Forests in the Peruvian Amazon: Floristics, Physical Structure and the Predictive Value of Soil Bulk Density
Authors: Myster Randall W.
Published: January 2019

Igapó forests are a key part of the Amazon.  And so, it is important to know their floristics and physical structure, and how they may be influenced by their soil.  The floristics and physical structure of 16 primary [1o] and secondary [2o] igapó forest plots in Loreto Province, Peru was described and linear regressions were computed to explore whether soil bulk density could predict structural parameters. In the 1o forest, Fabaceae, Malvaceae and Rubiaceae were the most common families and Calycophyllum spruceanum, Ceiba samauma, Inga spp., Cedrela odorata, Copaifera reticulata, Phytelephas macrocarpa, Guazuma rosea, and Piptadenia pteroclada were the most common species. And as flooding increased, bulk density, stem density, stem size, species richness, Fishers α, basal area and above-ground biomass all decreased. In the 2o forest, Urticaceae, Rubiaceae and Euphorbiaceae were the most common families and Cecropia membranacea, Sapium glandulosum, Pourouma guianensis and Byrsonima arthropoda were the most common species. The number of stems was greatest in the island 2o forest and lowest in the 1o forest under water for more than four months, and mean stem size, species richness, Fishers α, basal area and above-ground biomass was lowest in the sandy beach 2o forest and highest in the 1o forest under water one to two months. Soil bulk density predicted mean stem size, species richness and Fishers α well, where all three decreased as soils became more sandy. I conclude that as soil becomes less sandy with more clay content there is an increase in forest structural complexity, unpredictable flooding in 2o forests reduces structure more than the predictable flood pulse 1o forests receive, and soil bulk density may have a causal role for diversity in igapó forests.
Extracting Interesting Regions and Trips from Taxi Trajectory Data
Authors: Huneiti Ammar M. , Adwan Omar Y.
Published: January 2019

The increasing availability of cutting-edge location-acquisition technologies such as GPS devices, has led to the generation of huge datasets of spatial trajectories. These trajectories store important information regarding the movement of people, vehicles, robots, animals, users of social networks, etc. Many research initiatives have applied data mining techniques in order to extract useful knowledge from this data.  An important, and yet complicated, pre-processing step in mining patterns from trajectory data, is the identification of the Regions of Interest (RoI) that have been collectively navigated by a set of trajectories. The RoI’s are being manually and subjectively pre-defined by a group of experts as popular regions, regardless of the actual behaviour of the moving objects. This research emphasizes the usefulness of applying an unsupervised machine learning technique, namely Self Organizing Map (SOM), in order to identify the RoI’s associated with a trajectory dataset depending on the moving objects’ behaviour. The research experiments were conducted using 180 thousand of the trajectories generated by 442 taxis running in the city of Porto, in Portugal, and they demonstrate the ability of SOM in identifying the RoI’s and interesting taxi trips within the city.
Optimal Performance of Caps’ Pressing Process Using Taguchi-Grey Method
Authors: Al-Refaie Abbas , Fouad Rami H. , Bata Nour
Published: January 2019

This paper aims at improving the performance of caps’ pressing process using Taguchi-grey relational analysis. Five main quality characteristics were considered, involving cap’s height, inner diameter, outer diameter, angle, and plastic weight. The individual and moving range control charts were constructed for each quality characteristic. Then, process capability analysis was then carried out to assess process performance at initial process factor settings, at which the process was found incapable in producing conforming caps for some quality characteristics. Thus, the Taguchi’s designed experiments were employed to provide experimental layout followed by the grey relational analysis to determine the combination of optimal factor settings. Results showed significant in almost all the five quality responses and thereby resulted in huge production and quality cost savings. 
John Griffiths’ streven naar een theoretisch kader voor de rechtssociologie
Authors: Pieterman Roel
Published: January 2019

John Griffiths’ attempts at formulating a general theoretical framework for socio-legal studies; an appraisal

This contribution focuses on John Griffiths’ relentless attempt at developing a general theoretical perspective for socio-legal studies. Hence, attention to Griffiths’ important contributions to legal pluralism and the social working of law approach is paid only in passing. Similar to a much earlier assessment, the analysis of Griffiths’ proposal in this contribution is quite critical. Measured against five criteria this author deems important for any socio-legal theoretical framework, the verdict is that Griffiths’ proposal falls short of all of them. The analysis itself focuses primarily on Griffiths’ attempt to redefine the subject for socio-legal studies in terms of social control, the way he uses the concept ‘law’, and his primary focus on rules and rule following. One overall conclusion is that Griffiths remained a legal scholar to a much greater extent than he would have liked.
Heeft John Griffiths de rechtssociologie verder gebracht?
Authors: Klijn Albert , Croes Marnix
Published: January 2019

What did John Griffiths contribute to empirical socio-legal theory: A critical review

A central ambition that Griffiths expressed rather frequently was to realize progress in the sociology of law by formulating informative theoretical propositions and testing them empirically according to the maxim of the critical-rational metatheoretical program of Karl Popper. Our analysis of Griffiths’s contributions suggests, however, that he actually refrained from following Popper’s path: to put a Problem – formulate a Theory – testing that provisional answer by empirical Observation. Instead, Griffiths focussed mostly on the rigorously clear formulation of concepts accordingly to his strong philosophical inclination.
Occupational Burnout and Its Related Factors Among Medical Imaging Employees in Bandar Abbas Hospitals, Iran
Authors: Afzalipour Reza , Zare Darniani Safoora , Shirvalilou Sakine , Emamgholizadeh Minaei Soraya
Published: January 2019

Background: Occupational burnout is a type of prolonged response and has been regarded to be associated with chronic jobrelated stress and decreased job performance. Objectives: In this study, we aimed to determine the level of occupational burnout and its related factors among medical imaging workers across Bandar Abbas hospitals in Iran. Methods: A questionnaire-based study was conducted among employees of medical imaging departments across Bandar Abbas hospitals, and the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) was used to determine the level of burnout. A total of 150 complete responses were analyzed using independent samples t-test, one-way analysis of variance, and Pearson’s correlation in SPSS version 20. Results: Medical imaging employees had amoderatemean score for all the subscales of burnout, namely emotional exhaustion (EE) (20.7 ± 9.57), depersonalization (DP) (5.46 ± 5) and personal accomplishment (PA) (33.77 ± 7.97), compared to MBI norms. There were significant differences in each of the MBI subscales based on age, work experience, marital status and type of work environment. Also, the correlation between EE and DP scores and gender, DP and PA scores and academic degree and EE and PA scores and work load were significant (P < 0.05). However, there was no significant interrelationship between DP and workload, PA and gender EE and academic degree. Conclusions: Demographic and occupational variables can affect the level of burnout. Occupational burnout, on the other hand, may influence the quality of care. Therefore, modifying the work status and respecting the experience and expertise of radiographers can reduce occupational burnout among medical imaging employees.
Micromachismos y prensa digital
Authors: Peralta García Lidia , Ufarte Ruíz Maria José , López-Caniego Maria Dolores
Published: January 2019

El término micromachismos ha calado en nuestra vida cotidiana. Sirva como muestra que el diario.es, un caso de éxito en el ámbito español, lanzó en 2014 la sección Micromachismos para denunciarlo. Este artículo lleva a cabo un estudio de la evolución de los posts publicados en esta sección, desde 2014 a 2017, con un total de 125 publicaciones, con el objetivo de constatar qué tipo de temas albergan y cómo clasificarlos. A través del análisis de contenido abordamos la tipología de los micromachismos, el ámbito en el que se producen, las fuentes primarias que los generan y el número de comentarios que suscitan. Nuestra hipótesis de partida entiende que el concepto, y en este caso la sección periodística especializada, se utiliza como una especie de “cajón de sastre” en el que tiene cabida todo tipo de manifestaciones de orden machista y patriarcal, más allá del propio concepto de micromachismos. Se constata que el tema genera un interés creciente, ya que tanto el número de posts como de comentarios asociados ha aumentado progresivamente, desde tan solo 21 entradas en 2014 a 47 en 2017, y de 330 comentarios en 2014 a 764 en 2017. Los resultados muestran que la mayor parte de las entradas se originan a través de un testimonio personal, que relata eventos que se producen en el mundo laboral y que afectan principalmente a cuestiones relacionadas con roles de género
Tarkovsky y el tiempo jamás perdido
Authors: Eguren Hernández Carlos Javier
Published: January 2019

Reseña de la obra: 

Título del libro reseñado: Atrapad la vida: lecciones de cine para escultores del tiempo

Autor: Andréi Tarkovski.

Editorial: Errata Naturae.

Año de la edición: 2017.

Número de páginas: 181.

ISBN: 978-84-16544-29-5
Photo‐ECM: A Blue Light Photoswitchable Synthetic Extracellular Matrix Protein for Reversible Control over Cell–Matrix Adhesion
Authors: Ricken Julia , Medda Rebecca , Wegner Seraphine V.
Published: January 2019

The dynamic and spatiotemporal control of integrin‐mediated cell adhesion to RGD motifs in its extracellular matrix (ECM) is important for understating cell biology and biomedical applications because cell adhesion fundamentally regulates cellular behavior. Herein, the first photoswitchable synthetic ECM protein, Photo‐ECM, based on the blue light switchable protein LOV2 is engineered. The Photo‐ECM protein includes a RGD sequence, which is hidden in the folded LOV2 protein structure in the dark and is exposed under blue light so that integrins can bind and cells can adhere. The switchable presentation of the RGD motif allows to reversibly mediate and modulate integrin‐based cell adhesions using noninvasive blue light. With this protein cell adhesions in live cells could be reversed and the dynamics at the cellular level is observed. Hence, the Photo‐ECM opens a new possibility to investigate the spatiotemporal regulation of cell adhesions in cell biology and is the first step toward a genetically encoded and light‐responsive ECM.
Copper‐Catalyzed Sequential C(sp2)/C(sp3)−H Amination of 2‐Vinylanilines with N‐Fluorobenzenesulfonimide
Authors: Cao Wen‐Bin , Xu Xiao‐Ping , Ji Shun‐Jun
Published: January 2019

An oxidative C−H diamination of 2‐vinylanilines with N‐fluorobenzenesulfonimide (NFSI) was developed for the efficient synthesis of indole frameworks. The reaction proceeded via sequential intra‐/intermolecular diamination of C(sp2)−H and C(sp3)−H bond, incorporating one nitrogen from the substrate and the other nitrogen from the NFSI.

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A Self‐Assembled Fluorescent Nanoprobe for Imaging and Therapy of Cardiac Ischemia/Reperfusion Injury
Authors: Ziegler Melanie , Xu Xiaoqiu , Yap May Lin , Hu Houyuan , Zhang Jianxiang , Peter Karlheinz
Published: January 2019

There is a strong medical need for precision imaging of ischemic tissue and even more so for delivery of drugs specifically to the ischemic tissue at risk of functional damage. To date, no targeting epitopes or mechanisms have been established in ischemia/reperfusion injury that allow specific molecular targeting for either diagnosis or therapy, a deficiency that contributes to myocardial infarction being the leading cause of mortality and a major contributor to morbidity worldwide. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are locally increased at the site of ischemia/reperfusion injury. Utilizing these as a unique molecular targeting mechanism in developing ROS‐responsive nanoparticles, this study illustrates unique designed ROS‐responsive, self‐assembled fluorescent nanoparticles as tools for diagnostic and therapeutic targeting of tissue that is undergoing ischemia/reperfusion injury. This ROS‐responsive fluorescent nanoprobe has been evaluated in a mouse model of myocardial infarction, applying 1 h of ischemia via temporary ligation of the left anterior descending coronary artery and measuring fluorescence signals after reperfusion. This study shows highly specific targeting to the ischemic/reperfused myocardium throughout the first 24 h post reperfusion. Overall, this study identifies ROS‐responsive fluorescent nanoparticles as an ideal platform for the localized delivery of imaging agents and novel therapeutics to the infarcted myocardium.
A Viral Nanoparticle Cancer Vaccine Delays Tumor Progression and Prolongs Survival in a HER2+ Tumor Mouse Model
Authors: Shukla Sourabh , Jandzinski Michal , Wang Chao , Gong Xingjian , Bonk Kristen Weber , Keri Ruth A. , Steinmetz Nicole F.
Published: January 2019

Human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) overexpression is associated with aggressive tumors with increased incidence of metastasis and recurrence. Therapeutic antibodies such as Trastuzumab inhibit tumor growth through blockade of HER2 receptors. However, the short lifespan of such therapeutic antibodies necessitates repeat administrations with ensuing cardiac toxicity and development of resistance, while offering no protection against relapse. Cancer vaccines targeting HER2 can overcome these shortcomings of passive immunotherapy by instigating an endogenous and sustained immune response and memory against the cancer antigen. The efficacy of a viral nanoparticle (VNP)‐based cancer vaccine is demonstrated here in activating a potent anti‐HER2 immune response that delays progression of primary tumors as well as metastases and prolongs survival in mice. The results illustrate that the VNP‐based vaccine instigates HER2‐specific antibodies as well as effector and memory T cells, which contributes to the effectiveness of the vaccine. Given the highly aggressive course of HER2+ cancers, inhibition of disease progression by such cancer vaccines could provide a critical window for interventions with other adjuvant therapies. Moreover, the immune memory generated by this viral nanoparticle‐based cancer vaccine could mitigate relapse of the disease.
Bifacial Passivation of Organic Hole Transport Interlayer for NiOx‐Based p‐i‐n Perovskite Solar Cells
Authors: Li Zijia , Jo Bong Hyun , Hwang Su Jin , Kim Tae Hak , Somasundaram Sivaraman , Kamaraj Eswaran , Bang Jiwon , Ahn Tae Kyu , Park Sanghyuk , Park Hui Joon
Published: January 2019

Methoxy‐functionalized triphenylamine‐imidazole derivatives that can simultaneously work as hole transport materials (HTMs) and interface‐modifiers are designed for high‐performance and stable perovskite solar cells (PSCs). Satisfying the fundamental electrical and optical properties as HTMs of p‐i‐n planar PSCs, their energy levels can be further tuned by the number of methoxy units for better alignment with those of perovskite, leading to efficient hole extraction. Moreover, when they are introduced between perovskite photoabsorber and low‐temperature solution‐processed NiOx interlayer, widely featured as an inorganic HTM but known to be vulnerable to interfacial defect generation and poor contact formation with perovskite, nitrogen and oxygen atoms in those organic molecules are found to work as Lewis bases that can passivate undercoordinated ion‐induced defects in the perovskite and NiOx layers inducing carrier recombination, and the improved interfaces are also beneficial to enhance the crystallinity of perovskite. The formation of Lewis adducts is directly observed by IR, Raman, and X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and improved charge extraction and reduced recombination kinetics are confirmed by time‐resolved photoluminescence and transient photovoltage experiments. Moreover, UV‐blocking ability of the organic HTMs, the ameliorated interfacial property, and the improved crystallinity of perovskite significantly enhance the stability of PSCs under constant UV illumination in air without encapsulation.
Ultrathin 2D TiS2 Nanosheets for High Capacity and Long‐Life Sodium Ion Batteries
Authors: Hu Zhe , Tai Zhixin , Liu Qiannan , Wang Shi‐Wen , Jin Huile , Wang Shun , Lai Weihong , Chen Mingzhe , Li Lin , Chen Lingna , Tao Zhanliang , Chou Shu‐Lei
Published: January 2019

Sodium ion batteries are now attracting great attention, mainly because of the abundance of sodium resources and their cheap raw materials. 2D materials possess a unique structure for sodium storage. Among them, transition metal chalcogenides exhibit significant potential for rechargeable battery devices due to their tunable composition, remarkable structural stability, fast ion transport, and robust kinetics. Herein, ultrathin TiS2 nanosheets are synthesized by a shear‐mixing method and exhibit outstanding cycling performance (386 mAh g−1 after 200 cycles at 0.2 A g−1). To clarify the variations of galvanostatic curves and superior cycling performance, the mechanism and morphology changes are systematically investigated. This facile synthesis method is expected to shed light on the preparation of ultrathin 2D materials, whose unique morphologies could easily enable their application in rechargeable batteries.
Growth failure in focal dermal hypoplasia
Authors: Hsu Stephanie C. , Bartz Sarah , Pyle Laura , Fete Mary , Davis Shanlee , Ohman‐Hanson Rebecca , Fete Timothy J. , Motil Kathleen J.
Published: January 2019

Focal dermal hypoplasia (FDH) is a rare genetic disorder caused by mutations in the PORCN gene located on the X chromosome. Short stature was previously noted to be a common finding in FDH, however the etiology of this is unclear. The present study sought to elucidate specific causes for short stature by assessing growth charts, determining bone ages and auxologic measurements, examining laboratory data for the common causes of growth failure, assessing dietary intake, and performing a growth hormone stimulation test. Sixteen patients with FDH between the ages of 3 and 18 years of age consented to the study. While 11 out of 16 patients had short stature based on height less than 2 standard deviations below mid‐parental target height percentile and bone age not suggestive of likely catch‐up growth, only four had a BMI less than the 5th percentile for age. Laboratory studies did not support a gastrointestinal, allergy or autoimmune cause of growth failure. Three patients had results suggestive of possible growth hormone deficiency. Although short stature is a common feature in FDH, our data suggests that severe undernutrition is not common in this group and that there may be underlying treatable causes for this short stature in some patients.
Comparative observations on the premolar root and pulp canal configurations of Middle Pleistocene Homo in China
Authors: Pan Lei , Zanolli Clément
Published: January 2019

Objectives

The aim of this study is to explore the root and root canal morphology of Homo fossil occupying China during the Middle Pleistocene period. Human occupation and evolutionary dynamics in East Asia during the Middle Pleistocene period is one of the most intriguing issues in paleoanthropology, with the coexistence of multiple lineages and regional morphs suggesting a complex population interaction scenario. Although premolar root and canal morphology has certain phylogenetic, taxonomic, and functional implications, its morphological diversity, possible evolutionary trend and characteristics regarding Middle Pleistocene hominins inhabiting East Asia are still insufficiently understood; where these populations fits within the Homo lineage (with respect to root and pulp canal structure) needs to be explored.

Materials and methods

Using microtomography, we directly observed and assessed the nonmetric variability of root and canal forms in maxillary and mandibular premolars of Chinese Middle Pleistocene Homo (N = 19), and compared our observed variations with Eurasian Early Pleistocene specimens from the Asia continent (N = 1) and Java (N = 2), as well as with Neanderthals (N = 28) and recent modern humans (N = 67).

Results

A total number of nine types of root‐canal forms were recorded. As a whole, the Chinese Middle Pleistocene record shows an evolutionary trend toward a modern human‐like condition (a reduction of root/canal number and a simplification of root surface structure). We documented primitive signals like high percentage of Tomes' root in lower premolars. A considerable occurrence of incompletely separated root branches and bifid root and canal apices, representing evolutionary transformation from multi‐root to single‐root condition was also noticed. The results were compared with previous publications on Early and Middle Pleistocene Homo in East Africa, North Africa, and Eurasia.

Conclusion

This work provides new original data, incorporates the latest human fossil discoveries and suggests that analyzing the variation of premolar root structural organization, notably integrating together root/canal form and number, could possibly contribute to taxonomic and phylogenetic assessments. The mid‐Middle Pleistocene populations, or “classic” Homo erectus, in our study show closer affinity to Early and Middle Pleistocene hominins in Eurasia, than to East African early Homo, which supports the suggestion that at least some of the Early Pleistocene hominin groups in Eurasia contribute to the later population; on the other hand, it is still difficult to clearly trace the evolutionary fate of those late Middle Pleistocene populations (roughly assigned as archaic Homo sapiens through a craniodental perspective). More comparable materials from the Early to Middle Pleistocene period as well as precise chronological framework is needed to further explore the evolutionary trends of archaic hominins in the Asian continent before the arrival of modern humans.
Stable isotope variation in savanna chimpanzees (Pan troglodytesverus) indicate avoidance of energetic challenges through dietary compensation at the limits of the range
Authors: Wessling Erin G. , Oelze Vicky M. , Eshuis Henk , Pruetz Jill D. , Kühl Hjalmar S.
Published: January 2019

Objectives

Food scarcity is proposed to be a limitation to chimpanzees at the limits of their range; however, such a constraint has never been investigated in this context. We investigated patterns of δ13C and δ15N variation along a latitudinal gradient at the northwestern West African chimpanzee (Pan troglodytesverus) range limit with the expectation that isotope ratios of chimpanzees at the range limit will indicate different dietary strategies or higher physiological constraints than chimpanzees further from the edge.

Materials and methods

We measured δ13C and δ15N values in hair (n = 81) and plant food (n = 342) samples from five chimpanzee communities located along a latitudinal gradient in Southeastern Senegal.

Results

We found clear grouping patterns in hair δ13C and δ15N in the four southern sites compared to the northernmost site. Environmental baseline samples collected from these sites revealed overall higher plant δ15N values at the northernmost site, but similar δ13C values across sites. By accounting for environmental baseline, Δ13C and Δ15N values were clustered for all five sites relative to totalPanvariation, but indicated a13C‐enriched diet at the range limit.

Discussion

Clustering in Δ13C and Δ15N values supports that strategic shifting between preferred and fallback foods is a likely ubiquitous but necessary strategy employed by these chimpanzees to cope with their environment, potentially allowing chimpanzees at their limits to avoid periods of starvation. These results also underline the necessity of accounting for local isotopic baseline differences during inter‐site comparison.