bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Decreasing Trends in Cervical Cancer Incidence among Young Women (15–34 Years) in the United States during the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) Vaccine Era
Authors: Guo F , Cofie LE , Berenson AB
Published: March 2017

Human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine has been recommended for girls 11–12 years of age since 2006, with catch-up vaccination up to 26 years, to protect against most common types of HPV that cause cervical cancer. Cervical cancer incidence stabilized in women <50 years during 2008–2012. Comparing trends and incidence of cervical cancer before and during the vaccine era among vaccine-eligible young women (15–34 years) may provide valuable insight about potential vaccine impact. Methods: We examined trends in the incidence of invasive cervical cancer by race and histology among young women (15–24 years and 25–34 years) during the prevaccine era (2000–2006) and the vaccine era (2007–2013). Data were from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Program, including 18 SEER registry areas (Hurricane Katrina impacted Louisiana population excluded). Incidence rates (per 1,000,000) were age-adjusted to the 2010 US standard population by the direct method, using SEER*Stat software. Confidence intervals were calculated using the Tiwari method. Joinpoint regression modeling was used to compare the difference in the trends between the prevaccine era and the vaccine era. Results: Cervical cancer incidence among young women 15–24 years of age was stable during 2000–2006 from 9.5 in 2000 to 9.1 in 2006, but decreased from 6.9 in 2007 to 5.3 in 2013 (annual percentage decrease [APD] 5.7, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.1–10.2, significantly different from the APD during 2000–2006). Cervical cancer incidence among young females 25–34 years of age also decreased from 99.7 in 2000 to 78.2 in 2006 (APD 4.0, 95% CI 2.3–5.6), and from 78.6 in 2007 to 68.2 in 2013 (APD 2.5, 95% CI 0.5–4.5). A significance decrease in the incidence was only observed in Whites, but not in Blacks, Hispanics, or Asians/Pacific Islanders. A significance decrease was observed in the incidence of non-squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) rather than SCC among young females 15–24 years from 3 in 2007 to 1.5 in 2013 (APD 9.1, 95% CI 3.1–14.7). Conclusion: A significance decrease in the incidence of cervical cancer during the vaccine era among young females 15–24 years may indicate early effects of HPV vaccination. Further research is needed to confirm this trend.
Emerging Trends in Family History of Breast Cancer and Associated Risk
Authors: Shiyanbola OO , Arao RF , Miglioretti DL , Sprague BL , Hamption JM , Stout NK , Kerlikowske K , Braithwaite D , Buist DSM , Egam KM , Newcomb PA , Trentham-Dietz A
Published: March 2017

The impact of the rise in breast cancer incidence associated with mammography diffusion on the prevalence of breast cancer family history is unknown, and may attenuate risk associations between family history and breast cancer. Methods: The proportions of women 40–74 years reporting a first-degree family history of breast cancer were estimated in the Breast Cancer Surveillance Consortium (BCSC, N = 1,170,900) from 1996–2012 and Collaborative Breast Cancer Study (CBCS; cases N = 23,400; controls N = 25,460) from 1987–2007. Breast cancer (ductal carcinoma in situ and invasive) relative risk estimates associated with family history and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated using multivariable Cox proportional hazard (BCSC) and logistic regression (CBCS) models. Results: The proportion of women reporting a family history increased from 11% in the 1980s to 16% in 2010–13. Family history was associated with a 60% increased risk of breast cancer in the BCSC (hazard ratio = 1.61, 95% CI = 1.55–1.66) and CBCS (odds ratio = 1.66, 95% CI = 1.58–1.74), with relative risks decreasing with age. Trends in relative risks were not evident over time or stage of disease at diagnosis, except among older women (60–74) where estimates were attenuated in more recent years (P-trend = 0.08 for both cohorts). Conclusion: The proportion of women with a first-degree family history of breast cancer increased over time and by age, nonetheless breast cancer risk associations with family history were constant over time for women 40–59. First-degree family history of breast cancer remains an important breast cancer risk factor, especially for younger women, despite its increasing prevalence in the mammography screening era
Transient Monocytosis Subjugates Low Platelet Count in Adult Dengue Patients
Authors: Tsai Jih-Jin , Chang Jung-San , Chang Ko , Chen Po-Chih , Liu Li-Teh , Ho Tzu-Chuan , Tan Sia Seng , Chien Yu-Wen , Lo Yu-Chih , Perng Guey Chuen
Published: March 2017

Background: Dengue is one of the most important vector-borne human viral diseases globally. The kinetic changes of hematological parameters of dengue in adult Taiwanese patients have seldomly been systematically investigated and characterized. Methodology/Principal Findings: Serial laboratory data of 1,015 adult patients who were diagnosed with dengue virus serotype 2 (DENV2) and 3 (DENV3) infections in southern Taiwan were retrospectively examined. Prominent parameters were verified with specimens from a 2015 dengue outbreak. Higher absolute monocyte counts on day 5 in severe patients than mild fever subjects after the onset of fever was seen. The absolute number of monocytes was significantly greater in those with DENV2 than DENV3 infections in spite of subtle differences in laboratory tests. Platelet counts were lowest and activated partial thromboplastin time was highest on day 5 in patients with severe conditions. In addition, sudden downward platelet counts corresponding to a transient surge of monocytes on day 4 onward was observed. Fluorescence-activated cell sorting analysis of peripheral blood mononuclear cells obtained from acute dengue patients and experimental investigations revealed that phagocytic effects of innate immune cells contribute to thrombocytopenia in dengue patients. Conclusion: Innate phagocytic cells play an essential role in low platelet counts in adult patients with dengue virus infections.
Two new Allium (A. sect. Cupanioscordum, Amaryllidaceae) species from Greece
Authors: TRIGAS PANAYIOTIS , KALPOUTZAKIS ELEFTHERIOS , CONSTANTINIDIS THEOPHANIS
Published: February 2017

Allium iatrouinum from Evvia Island (W Aegean, Greece) and A. pycnotrichum from Mt. Parnon (SE Peloponnisos, Greece) are described and illustrated. They belong to A. sect. Cupanioscordum, which includes ca. 24 species so far, mainly distributed in the Mediterranean region. Both species are diploid/dysploid (2n = 2x = 14), related to each other and also related to other dysploid members of the A. cupanii group, especially A. hirtovaginatum (W Turkey) and A. maghrebinum (Tunisia, Algeria). The new species grow in rocky habitats and occur in restricted mountain areas, where they flower in summer, mostly from July to August.
Crepidotus lutescens sp. nov. (Inocybaceae, Agaricales), an ochraceous salmon colored species from northeast of China
Authors: GE YUPENG , YANG SISI , BAU TOLGOR
Published: February 2017

Crepidotus lutescens is described as new from Chang bai Mountain, Jilin Province, China. This species is distinctive due to its ochraceous salmon pileus, clamped hyphae, subglobose to broadly ellipsoid basidiospores with a granular to warty ornamentation, and lageniform cheilocystidia with capitate apices. Illustrations, photographs of basidiocarps, and microscopic features of this species are provided in this paper. Based on morphological study, this species is unique compared to existing Crepidotus species. Phylogenetic analyses based on ITS sequences with Maximum Likelihood (ML) and Bayesian Analysis (BA) also showed that C. lutescens was clearly independent from related species.
A new species of Epidryos (Rapateaceae) from Guyana
Authors: RODRIGUES RODRIGO SCHÜTZ , FLORES ANDRÉIA SILVA
Published: February 2017

Epidryos matheusii, a new species of Rapateaceae endemic to Guyana, is described and illustrated. The new species differs from its congeners in having the base of leaf blades gradually passing into a petiole 8–12 cm long and the smallest bracteoles and sepals. An updated key to all known species of Epidryos is provided.
How to Increase the Quality of a Suffering Experience: Lessons Derived From the Diary Narratives of a Dying Adolescent Girl
Authors: Kavas Mustafa Volkan
Published: March 2017

Personal narratives are assumed to be primary sources of the essential meaning of lived experiences of dying. In this study, I analyzed the personal diary of Miraç Fidan, a terminally ill adolescent with advanced cancer who kept a diary until her death at the age of 15. Miraç’s Diary, also published as a book, was subjected to hermeneutic phenomenological narrative analysis. Inferences were drawn regarding the following basic elements: (a) The dynamics in which Miraç lived and (2) her perceptions of herself, her immediate environment, and her experiences. Suffering seems to be the main experience dominating Miraç’s life, which I examined with regard to two dimensions: suffering caused by inevitable factors and suffering caused by preventable/changeable factors. The results suggest that if various causes among contextual factors are neutralized, then the quality of the existential experience determined by the inevitable factors would increase.
Forms of Dreaming
Authors: Hunt Harry T.
Published: March 2017

A classification-rating system for formal anomalies in dream experience focuses on the contribution a cognitive psychology of dream bizarreness might make to the question of whether dreaming is a form of thinking. In Part I, two traditional issues in the psychology of dreams—dreaming as “hallucination” and dreaming as symbolic thought—are connected via phenomenological method and cognitive theory. Pans II and III present the relatively infrequent categories of typical dream bizarreness and demonstrate that (a) in departing from realism dreaming tends toward a delirium—visual hallucinosis and cognitive clouding—and seems distinct from schizophrenic, psychedelic, or meditative states and (b) if dream anomalies show a symbolic transformation process, then the roots of that process are visual-spatial, not verbal-propositional.
Quantification of Posterior Capsule Tightness and Motion Loss in Patients with Shoulder Impingement
Authors: Tyler Timothy F. , Nicholas Stephen J. , Roy Timothy , Gleim Gilbert W.
Published: March 2017

The relationship between posterior capsule tightness and dysfunction has long been recognized clinically but has not been biometrically quantified. The purpose of this study was to quantify changes in range of motion and posterior capsule tightness in patients with dominant or nondominant shoulder impingement. Measurements of posterior capsule tightness and external and internal rotation range of motion were made in 31 patients with shoulder impingement and in 33 controls without shoulder abnormality. Patients with impingement in the nondominant arm had increased posterior capsule tightness and decreased internal and external rotation range of motion compared with controls. Patients with impingement in their dominant arm had increased posterior capsule tightness and reduced internal rotation range of motion but no significant loss of external rotation range of motion compared with controls. Posterior capsule tightness in impingement patients showed a significant correlation with loss of internal rotation range of motion. Patients with shoulder impingement in their nondominant arm had a more global loss of range of motion compared with patients having impingement in their dominant arm. We believe we have described a valid clinical measurement for identifying posterior capsule tightness in patients with shoulder impingement.
Effect of Fatigue Protocols on Lower Limb Neuromuscular Function and Implications for Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injury Prevention Training: A Systematic Review
Authors: Barber-Westin Sue D. , Noyes Frank R.
Published: March 2017

Background:

Approximately two-thirds of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tears are sustained during noncontact situations when an athlete is cutting, pivoting, decelerating, or landing from a jump. Some investigators have postulated that fatigue may result in deleterious alterations in lower limb biomechanics during these activities that could increase the risk of noncontact ACL injuries. However, prior studies have noted a wide variation in fatigue protocols, athletic tasks studied, and effects of fatigue on lower limb kinetics and kinematics.

Purpose:

First, to determine if fatigue uniformly alters lower limb biomechanics during athletic tasks that are associated with noncontact ACL injuries. Second, to determine if changes should be made in ACL injury prevention training programs to alter the deleterious effects of fatigue on lower limb kinetics and kinematics.

Study Design:

Systematic review; Level of evidence, 4.

Methods:

A systematic review of the literature using MEDLINE was performed. Key terms were fatigue, neuromuscular, exercise, hop test, and single-legged function tests. Inclusion criteria were original research studies involving healthy participants, use of a fatigue protocol, study of at least 1 lower limb task that involved landing from a hop or jump or cutting, and analysis of at least 1 biomechanical variable.

Results:

Thirty-seven studies involving 806 athletes (485 female, 321 male; mean age, 22.7 years) met the inclusion criteria. General fatigue protocols were used in 20 investigations, peripheral protocols were used in 17 studies, and 21 different athletic tasks were studied (13 single-legged, 8 double-legged). There was no consistency among investigations regarding the effects of fatigue on hip, knee, or ankle joint angles and moments or surface electromyography muscle activation patterns. The fatigue protocols typically did not produce statistically significant changes in ground-reaction forces.

Conclusion:

Published fatigue protocols did not uniformly produce alterations in lower limb neuromuscular factors that heighten the risk of noncontact ACL injuries. Therefore, justification does not currently exist for major changes in ACL injury prevention training programs to account for potential fatigue effects. However, the effect of fatigue related to ACL injuries is worthy of further investigation, including the refinement of protocols and methods of analysis.
Incidence of Second Anterior Cruciate Ligament Tears (1990-2000) and Associated Factors in a Specific Geographic Locale
Authors: Schilaty Nathan D. , Bates Nathaniel A. , Sanders Thomas L. , Krych Aaron J. , Stuart Michael J. , Hewett Timothy E.
Published: March 2017

Background:

Second anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tears after reconstruction occur at a reported rate of 20% to 30%. This high frequency indicates that there may be factors that predispose an athlete to graft failure and ACL tears of the contralateral knee.

Purpose:

To determine the incidence of second ACL injuries in a geographic population-based cohort over a 10-year observation period.

Study Design:

Descriptive epidemiological study.

Methods:

International Classification of Diseases, 9th Revision (ICD-9) codes relevant to the diagnosis of an ACL tear and the procedure code for ACL reconstruction were searched across the Rochester Epidemiology Project, a multidisciplinary county database, between the years of 1990 and 2000. This cohort of patients was tracked for subsequent ACL injuries through December 31, 2015. The authors identified 1041 patients with acute, isolated ACL tears. These patients were stratified by primary and secondary tears, sex, age, activity level, side of injury, sex by side of injury, and graft type.

Results:

Of the 1041 unique patients with a diagnosed ACL tear in Olmsted County, Minnesota, from 1990 to 2000, there were 66 (6.0%) second ACL tears; 66.7% of these tears occurred on the contralateral side. A second ACL injury was influenced by graft type ( P < .0001), election of ACL reconstruction ( P = .0060), and sex by side of injury ( P = .0072). Nonparametric analysis of graft disruption by graft type demonstrated a higher prevalence of second ACL tears with allografts compared with hamstring ( P = .0499) or patellar tendon autografts ( P = .0012).

Conclusion:

The incidence of second ACL tears in this population-based cohort was 6.0%, with 66.7% of these tears occurring on the contralateral side from the original injury. There was a high population incidence of second ACL injuries in female patients younger than age 20 years. The utilization of patellar tendon autografts significantly reduced the risk of second ACL injuries compared with allografts or hamstring autografts in this cohort.
Pharmacoeconomic evaluations in the treatment of actinic keratoses
Authors: Tolley Keith , Argenziano Giuseppe , Calzavara-Pinton Pier Giacomo , Larsson Thomas , Ryttig Lasse
Published: March 2017

Actinic keratoses (AKs) develop as a consequence of chronic ultraviolet (UV) exposure and exist on a continuum with squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). As one of the most common conditions treated by dermatologists, AK places a significant burden on patients and the healthcare system. A range of treatments are used, including topical treatments that target the visible and subclinical lesions. The goal of such therapies is to achieve complete clearance of AKs and eliminate the risk of progression to SCC. Robust meta-analyses of trial data can provide valuable information for the optimal management of AK and cost-effectiveness evaluations of topical treatments, such as ingenol mebutate gel and diclofenac. These outcomes can facilitate prescribing physicians’ decisions and shape therapeutic guidelines. Peer-reviewed meta-analysis publications and treatment guidelines favoured ingenol mebutate efficacy over diclofenac and the relative cost-effectiveness of ingenol mebutate. We discuss and critique recent evidence, from a cost-effectiveness analysis of 3% diclofenac sodium and ingenol mebutate in the treatment of AK in Italy, which has challenged this view.
Cognitive adaptations to criminal justice lead to “paranoid” norm obedience
Authors: Patrzyk Piotr M. , Takáč Martin
Published: March 2017

People often cooperate and obey norms in situations where it is clear they cannot be caught and punished. Such behavior does not serve their self-interest, as they are foregoing opportunities to exploit others without any negative consequences. Hence, it is not clear how this behavior could have evolved. Some previous explanations invoked the existence of other-regarding preferences, moral motivation, or intrinsic concern for social norms. In this study, we develop an agent-based model illustrating that none of these is necessary for the emergence of norm-abiding behavior. Our model suggests evolutionary pressure against norm violators may lead to the emergence of a bias, causing agents to be extremely sensitive to the probability of being caught. Because of this, they often incorrectly classify anonymous situations as non-anonymous ones and obey social norms due to the fear of being punished. In our simulations, we show that cooperation is promoted by (1) the number of interactions actually observed, (2) the strength of punishments against norm violators, and most importantly, (3) the uncertainty in agent classifications.
A mixed finite element and analytical method to predict load, mechanical power loss and improved efficiency in non-standard spur gear drives
Authors: Prabhu Sekar R , Geo V Edwin , Jesu Martin Leenus
Published: March 2017

A reasonably accurate estimation of gear power loss is desirable to maximize gear performance. The load share by teeth pair, contact stress, sliding speed, elastohydrodynamic film thickness and coefficient of friction are some of the most important contributing factors which determine frictional power losses in gears. This paper presents an improvement concept to minimize the load-related power losses (sliding and rolling power losses), which will lead to an enhancement in gear efficiency by selection of non-standard gears. The tooth thickness at the pitch circle of the pinion and gear is different in non-standard gears (kpπm > 0.5 πm and kgπm < 0.5 πm), whereas it is equal in standard gears (kpπm = kgπm = 0.5 πm). In this work, the load share-based frictional power loss and the respective mechanical efficiency have been determined for comparative performance of standard and non-standard gears. Finally, the influence of various gear and drive parameters such as gear ratio, pressure angle pinion teeth number and addendum height factor on gear efficiency has also been investigated and the results of the parametric study are discussed.
Cruise Tourism
Authors: Kester John G.C.
Published: March 2017

Cruise lines welcomed almost 10 million passengers in 2000. Even though its relative significance in the tourism sector is still rather modest, cruise tourism has been one of the fastest growing tourism sub-sectors over the past few decades. The number of berths on offer has increased from a mere 45,000 in 1980 to 212,000 in January 2002, with more than a doubling of capacity in both the 1980s and 1990s. Demand and supply are still relatively concentrated in North America, with the Caribbean as the most important destination. In recent years, however, Europe, and to a lesser extent Asia and the Pacific, have been rapidly gaining in importance. For destinations visited, in particular for many islands, cruises constitute a valuable additional source of tourism receipts through the port services supplied, paid for by the cruise operators and the on-land tourism consumption generated by passengers and crew.
The levels of physical activity and motor skills in young children with and without autism spectrum disorder, aged 2–5 years
Authors: Ketcheson Leah , Hauck Janet Lynn , Ulrich Dale
Published: March 2017

Autism spectrum disorder is the fastest growing developmental disability in the United States. As such, there is an unprecedented need for research examining factors contributing to the health disparities in this population. This research suggests a relationship between the levels of physical activity and health outcomes. In fact, excessive sedentary behavior during early childhood is associated with a number of negative health outcomes. A total of 53 children participated in this study, including typically developing children (mean age = 42.5 ± 10.78 months, n = 19) and children with autism spectrum disorder (mean age = 47.42 ± 12.81 months, n = 34). The t-test results reveal that children with autism spectrum disorder spent significantly less time per day in sedentary behavior when compared to the typically developing group ( t(52) = 4.57, p < 0.001). Furthermore, the results from the general linear model reveal that there is no relationship between motor skills and the levels of physical activity. The ongoing need for objective measurement of physical activity in young children with autism spectrum disorder is of critical importance as it may shed light on an often overlooked need for early community-based interventions to increase physical activity early on in development.
Can genius be taught? Debates in Portuguese music education (1868–1930)
Authors: Paz Ana Luísa Fernandes
Published: March 2017

This paper examines how the idea of musical genius, a mythical notion used as a device for musical practices, facilitates a split between the genius of an innate learner and that of an apprentice, thus creating an ambiguous discursive space. Genius was firstly a matter of nature, but also most discussed under the topic of nurture, that is, education. In order to understand how this nature and nurture ambiguousness developed in specific terms for the musical genius I focussed on analysing historical documents on the main resources for genius-building. In this article, these resources are considered the raw material for the embodying of the genius in every single person. What I discovered about the term ‘genius’ and its contradictory uses to support both elitist and democratic schooling made me realise that it is treated as an argument to advocate the merits of music and to take concrete steps in implementing educational excellence. The term ‘genius’ can serve any pedagogical purpose and encompass contradictory ideas, potentially serving unlimited purposes. Genius can be applied to the best of students, but equally to virtually anyone. In future studies the question will be whether this reading fits the scenario in other European countries.
In vitro digital subtraction angiographic evaluation of flow diverters in a patient-specific aneurysm
Authors: Jou Liang-Der
Published: March 2017

Background

The importance of both porosity and pore density of a flow diverter is well recognized in treatment of intracranial aneurysms; however, understanding of the effect of individual wire (wire number and size) is critical in improving device design and use.

Methods

A total of 10 multi-layered flow diverters with different wire numbers (32, 48, 56, and 72) and sizes (30, 35, and 40 µm) were implanted into identical patient-specific middle cerebral artery aneurysm models. Digital subtraction angiography was acquired at 30 f/s and X-ray signals at three selected regions of interest were compared to determine the amount of intra-aneurysmal flow.

Results

Flow reduction ranged from 19% for a high porosity (82%) and low pore density (5 pores/mm2) to nearly 80% for a low porosity (49%) and high pore density (36 pores/mm2). An increase in the wire number from 32 to 72 lowers intra-aneurysmal flow and redirects the flow jet; however, the effect of wire size is not observed.

Conclusions

In our in vitro angiographic study, flow jet is influenced by the wire number in a device qualitatively; quantitatively, intra-aneurysmal flow is affected by both the porosity and pore density. A 2.5 mm device performs better in flow diversion of a middle cerebral artery (MCA) aneurysm than a 3 mm device with the same wire size and wire number, but thicker wires do not lead to better flow diversion.
Effects of Tamsulosin and Tolterodine on double J stent–related symptoms: A double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial
Authors: Moradi Mahmoudreza , Abdi Hossein , Ebrahimi Sina , Rezaee Haress , Kaseb Kaveh
Published: March 2017

Background:

Ureteral double J stent are routinely applied for urologic patients although stent-related symptoms are common. Several attempts have been reported to minimize these symptoms.

Objective:

To compare Tolterodine, Tamsulosin, and placebo effects on double J stent–related symptoms.

Material and method:

In all, 125 patients (82 males and 43 females) with double J stent were randomly divided into three groups (group 1, n: 42, group2, n: 40 and group 3, n: 43). Each patient randomly received one pack of drug in different colors by a nurse unaware of the content to take Tamsulosin 0.4 mg before sleep (MODALUSINE), Tolterodine 2 mg twice a day or placebo once daily (capsules filled with starch): group 1 received placebo, group 2 Tamsulosin and group 3 Tolterodine for 1 month in a double-blind manner. Ureteral stent-related morbidity indices which analyzed include urinary symptom, pain, general health, quality of work and sex scores. All of indices measured by Ureteral Symptom Score Questionnaire for first and fourth weeks after drug consumption and the first week after double J stent removal (labeled as w1, w4, and w5, respectively).

Result:

The mean age was 44.8 years (range: 15–83 years). There was no statistically significant difference in background characteristics between groups ( p value > 0.05). The most important and statistically significant results were Tolterodine-reduced urinary symptom score ( p value = 0.001) and improved general health score (p value = 0.007) of the fourth week. The pain score in groups of Tamsulosin and Tolterodine significantly reduced between weeks 4 and 1 and 5 and 1 (both with the p value < 0.05), but in other indices, there was no significant difference between them.

Conclusion:

According to our results, we suggest Tolterodine to minimize stent-related urinary symptom and improve general health in patients with double J stent.
Frequency-dependent attenuation in water-saturated cracked glass based on creep tests
Authors: Mallet Céline , Quintal Beatriz , Caspari Eva , Holliger Klaus
Published: March 2017

We estimate attenuation at subseismic frequencies from an experimental creep test performed on a thermally cracked water-saturated glass sample. The time-dependent axial stress and strain rates are used to infer the attenuation and Young’s modulus as functions of frequency. Attenuation is characterized by a pronounced frequency dependence between [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text]. A corresponding frequency-dependent behavior of the Young’s modulus is observed with an increase from 60 to 70 GPa, which is consistent with the measured static and ultrasonic values. These observations are interpreted as being due to fluid flow between interconnected cracks in the mesoscopic scale range. To test this hypothesis, we compare the analytical characteristic frequency for the presumed mesoscopic squirt-type flow with its experimental counterpart. We also compare the experimentally observed attenuation characteristics with results of numerical simulations. For the latter, a thin section of the cracked glass sample has been digitized to provide essential information with regard to the geometry of the crack network. Together with the known physical properties of the intact glass matrix, this then allows for deriving a first-order 2D poroelastic model for the cracked sample based on Biot’s quasi-static equations.
Trans* Political Economy Deconstructed
Authors: Irving Dan , Lewis Vek , Bhanji Nael , Connell Raewyn , Driskill Qwo-Li , Namaste Viviane
Published: February 2017

This roundtable discussion took place January–July 2016 via e-mail after participants and special issue editors initially met in virtual mode online. The editors posed the initial questions, and participants e-mailed their responses. Two further rounds of questions and responses ensued, and participants also viewed the responses of their peers on the roundtable. The questions were intended to generate rigorous dialogue about the uses of and problems associated with political economy (PE) as a lens to analyze the experiences of trans men and women and sex- and gender-diverse peoples in different but connected geopolitical locations. The emphasis was on bringing into conversation what is underprioritized in much PE work and also transgender studies as a formation, and how, from their own academic and activist knowledge, methodological bases, and experiences, respondents might see the (re)configuration of trans* political economy toward liberatory, antiracist, decolonial, and economically transformative ends.
Capital T
Authors: David Emmanuel
Published: February 2017

This article examines the production of new regimes of transgender value and visibility. First, it explores the cultural commodification of transgender by exploring the rise of transgender-specific products and consumer markets. Second, it examines the counterpart of trans consumption—trans production—and investigates the emergence of trans-specific labor power and all-trans groups of workers. Third, it offers a critique of trans economic empowerment strategies that have drawn on freelance economies, independent contractors, trans class aspirations, and the global restructuring of work, in efforts to address issues of trans un/der/employment. The article argues that such strategies bolster precarious work conditions and economic insecurities and unwittingly contribute to economic imperialism. Taken together, this article examines links between transgender issues and flows of capital within neoliberal markets.
Categories and Queues
Authors: Camminga B
Published: February 2017

South Africa is the only country on the African continent that not only recognizes but also constitutionally protects and offers asylum to transgender-identified individuals. On entering the country, an individual has fourteen days to report to a Refugee Reception Office and apply for asylum. To access a center, asylum seekers are required to queue. Faced with two separate lines, one for men and one for women—much like the issues surrounding transgender access to public bathrooms—gender refugees approaching the South African state for asylum are immediately forced to make a choice. This queue also creates the conditions for surveillance, particularly as different regions are serviced on different days, which brings together the same asylum seekers from similar regions on the continent. This can make life for those who transition in South Africa doubly exposing, as they possibly move between queues witnessed by local communities. This article questions the necessity of an ever-ubiquitous system of sex/gender identification in the lives of asylum seekers, noting current developments internationally, regionally, and locally in relation to the development of third-gender categories, “X” category passports, the suppression of gender markers, and wider debates about the removal and necessity of sex/gender identifiers on documents and their impact.
Sex and Surveillance on the Highway
Authors: Balay Anne
Published: February 2017

Big rig work culture includes a growing population of transwomen, many of whom call themselves T-girls. Working within a dense network of company and legal rules, and reaching for the autonomy and isolation associated with the open road, these truckers find stigma, resistance, and self-respect. Many identify with the cowboy ideal of trucking and with the truck itself to both fit into, and rebel against, the changing workforce dynamics of surveillance and technology. Ethnographic data suggest that sex is one form that rebellion takes.
Staging the Trans Sex Worker
Authors: Rev Nihils , Geist Fiona Maeve
Published: February 2017

This article interrogates how the figure of the trans street-based sex worker is deployed to argue for positive intervention on behalf of trans individuals, in addition to how it is used at the expense of a variety of trans experiences of sex work. As a corollary, this article addresses how a nuanced account of trans sex work, responsive to these concerns, can provide the basis for a more robust conception of trans theory.
Drag Race to the Bottom?
Authors: Collins Cory G.
Published: February 2017

RuPaul's Drag Race (RPDR) is a reality television competition program for drag queens that has continued to expand its popularity, both in the LGBT population and in wider audiences. Drag queens and their highlighting of performativity have long been notable for scholars of gender, while RPDR itself has steadily gained scholarly attention. Much of the literature, while acknowledging the potential for subversiveness, takes issue with its reproduction of hegemonic stereotypes. I review season 7, as well as the show's relation to some of the political economic elements of the drag industry, and suggest that the “policing” of drag, identified by Sarah Tucker Jenkins, may be eroding. In essence, RPDR has shown a decisive trend toward more stylistic liberty. This includes the liberty to break previously established rules around gender norms in performance. The show's greater popularity and profitability may enable this liberty.
The Dallas Buyers Club
Authors: Ford Akkadia
Published: February 2017

The representation of transgender lives on film is of increasing thematic concern within both mainstream and independent cinema. The ways in which filmmakers represent and depict trans* people communicate to audiences certain views about transgender lives and concerns. Production and exhibition of a film provokes engagement with the subject, inviting reading, interpretation, and misinterpretation. Dallas Buyers Club (dir. Jean-Marc Vallee, 2013) sits uneasily with contemporary transliterate (Ford 2014, 2016) audiences. The trans* body is misrepresented through a narrative of negative affect and economic precarity and as a trope erased in cinematic time, through the central character Rayon (Jared Leto), a trans* woman, and the establishment of an HIV medication “buyers club” in the mid-1980s.
A Structural Model of the Retail Market for Illicit Drugs
Authors: Galenianos Manolis , Gavazza Alessandro
Published: March 2017

We estimate a model of illicit drugs markets using data on purchases of crack cocaine. Buyers are searching for high-quality drugs, but they determine drugs' quality (i.e., their purity) only after consuming them. Hence, sellers can rip off first-time buyers or can offer higher-quality drugs to induce buyers to purchase from them again. In equilibrium, a distribution of qualities persists. The estimated model implies that if drugs were legalized, in which case purity could be regulated and hence observable, the average purity of drugs would increase by approximately 20 percent and the dispersion would decrease by approximately 80 percent. Moreover, increasing penalties may raise the purity and affordability of the drugs traded by increasing sellers' relative profitability of targeting loyal buyers versus first-time buyers. (JEL D12, K42, L15, L65)
USE OF NEW TECHNOLOGIES IN SUMMER SAUSAGE PRODUCTION
Authors: Нагарокова  , Nagarokova Dariet , Нестеренко  , Nesterenko Anton
Published: March 2017

This paper presents the results of testing the technology of summer sausages intensification using electromagnetic treatment with low frequency of starter cultures and raw meat.
ANALYSIS AND ASSESSMENT OF THE CREDITWORTHINESS OF BORROWER
Authors: Масленников Анатолий , Maslennikov Anatoliy
Published: March 2017

In modern conditions commercial banks and enterprises inadequate use the credit opportunities for innovative projects investment to ensure the continuity and acceleration of the reproduction process and timeliness of settlements with suppliers and creditors. Banks need to significantly change the approach to the analysis and assessment of the creditworthiness of borrower and methods for their implementation.

This article clarifies the concept of "creditworthiness", defines list of tasks to be solved in the process of analysis and assessment of borrower’s status.

The information provided by a borrower to the bank, the information that is available directly at the bank, and external information is used as the source data for the analysis of the creditworthiness of borrower.

Source data is used to assess the creditworthiness of borrower from legal and economic points of view. From a legal point of view it is necessary to explore and assess the legal capability of a potential borrower (the organization) to make a credit transaction.

From an economic point of view, to assess the creditworthiness of borrower the factors and conditions should be identified, in which he will not be able in full and in due time to pay his credit debt.

The purpose of assessment of the creditworthiness of borrower from legal and financial points of view is in aspiration of a bank to reduce risks of non-return loan.

For this analysis, a bank needs for information describing the financial status of borrower, which makes it necessary to study the financial and accounting reports of the organization, information about cash movement on the borrower’s bank accounts, information about the borrower’s potential previous cooperation with other banks and insurance companies.

The article discusses the various options for methods of solving this problem by the banks, investigates modern trends of borrower’s creditworthiness assessment, and proposes method of calculating the borrower’s rating on the basis of the expert method and the method of paired comparisons.
STUDY OF MULTISTAGE VIBRATING MECHANISM WITH THE VIBRATION DIRECTION OF EACH STAGE
Authors: Герасимов  , Gerasimov Dmitriy , Воробьёв  , Vorobev Nikolay , Герасимов  , Gerasimov Mikhail , Степанищев  , Stepanishchev Viktor
Published: March 2017

In work results analytical studies of multistage a vibratory mechanism. Multistage vibrating mechanism consists of several, arranged in series above each other, vibration levels. Each stage has its own oscillation frequencies and directions action of the driving force. Driving force of each stage of work in one direction. When the addition of oscillations excited by the vibrating by several stages, there is an effect of asymmetric vibrations. When asymmetry oscillations in technical application it is possible control the intensity of and the quality of the work performed. Methodology for the calculation and management of dynamic asymmetry coefficient of the present work.
DIVIDED PARTICLES ABRASION ZONE SETTING DEVICE ARMOR PLATES ARE CLASSIFIED DISINTEGRATOR
Authors: Воронов  , Voronov Vitaliy , Семикопенко  , Semikopenko Igor , Юрченко  , Yurchenko Aleksandr
Published: March 2017

This article an analytical expression that allows to determine the magnitude of the initial particle size of the material sent for additional impact from the armor plating of the classifying device in the chamber of the cage grinding mill. The main parameters that influence the process of abrasion of the material particles in the action zone of armor plates.
Works Councils in Russia: Balance of Economic and Social Rights
Authors: Lyutov Nikita
Published: March 2017

The Labour Code of the Russian Federation was amended in 2013 in a way that a new body of workers’ representation — works councils — can be established. These amendments don’t add any new rights or obligations neither to employers nor to employees. They are made with purely political purposes and only imitate the creation of the analog of the well-known German system of works councils.
The author comes to conclusion that currently existing rights in informing and “taking into account” the workers’ representative body opinion, contained in the Russian Labour Code, are not sufficient for existence of the real industrial democracy. The article is aimed at answering the question, whether an implementation of functioning works councils may be beneficial to the adequate balancing of social rights of workers and economic rights of the employers. Although the full transposition of the German works councils system seems to be impossible, some of its positive features may be effectively adopted in the Russian law. For example, the employer’s obligation to consult workers shouldn’t be dependent on the existence of the workers’ representative bodies. Besides, a range of issues that are subject to the mandatory informing of workers by the employer must be significantly broadened. The procedure of consultations must include the real negotiations between the employer and employees on the basis of good faith principle.
Sports Team as a Small Group. Part 1
Authors: Аленуров  , Alenurov E.
Published: March 2017

The author discusses personnel management issues, drawing on the example of studying a sports team as a small group. Along with the background of the «small group» concept the author presents evidence that a sports team meets all major features of a small group, thus making it possible to enhance sports team functionality through considering and utilizing effects, inherent to a small group. The problem of formal and informal groups within sports teams is especially emphasized. It is pointed out that in studying personnel management problems it is helpful to consider experience, related to shaping and managing sports teams. This experience is invaluable due to the fact, that in sports any idea implemented in practice, is immediately translated into the sports team’s score, which makes it possible to impartially and promptly assess the validity of a coorespondent idea. This is especially true in regard to team sports, such as football. Since each sports team consists of several small groups, in order to maximize its functionality one should gain deep understanding of peculiarities related to formal and informal groups forming and dynamics. Both types of groups — formal and informal — can be found in any sports team. Both types are of importance to the team functionality and both affect the team functionality. The team achieves the highest effectiveness, when its size is relevant to its goals. The team should be composed of individuals with differing character traits and whose norms and values are conducive to achieving the organizational goals. Moreover, of great importance is the task of forging the team spirit and the atmosphere with the healthy level of proneness to conflicts and with the lack of dominance on part of team members, enjoying higher positions. Among challenges, hindering team building process, are such severe obstacles, as overall inefficiency of performance arrangements, poor morale and mental determination or inadequate level of professionalism. It takes much time and efforts on part of all those involved to shape and manage small groups and/or sports teams.
The problem of restraint of moral rights of authors in Belarussian and Russian legislation
Authors: Богустов Андрей , Bogustov Andrei
Published: March 2017

On the basis of Russian and Belorussian experience the article

studies controversial issues of legal ensuring to balance of interests

of authors and interests of heirs and legal successors on integrity

of work.
TAXATION OF PRIVATE FARMS IN THE MIDDLE VOLGA REGION
Authors: Жичкин  , Zhichkin Kirill , Гусейнов  , Guseynov Farid
Published: March 2017

Much of the food and funds for the building industry went through taxes. During the thirties, private farms were subject to a rather complicated system of taxes. They can be divided into several groups: natural (tax for meat supply, milk, potato and wool), money (insurance, self-taxation, cultural duty, agricultural tax), indirect (loans for the creation of machine and tractor stations (Traktorotsentr shares), the second five-year plan, etc.; taking tax for a place in the market (one-time charge). These taxes are very different in importance and therefore possible to avoid them. If the natural taxes were high priority and almost did not develop, the money (especially local) had a fairly extensive system of benefits. However, this situation was ambiguous. Everything depended on the leadership of the district and village councils, which are adjusted to the specific tax assignments smallholdings. In some places, the authorities took the initiative to establish new taxes. These include: the establishment of tax for housing constructions in rural areas, the for coachman keeping, fire buildings, for an extra staff in rural councils, the beautification of the club. In other cases - unjustifiably inflated rates of existing taxes. A particular story - the imposition of fines and penalties on arrears. In some cases, local authorities have resorted to unjustified repression (assorted home, described the property, etc.). Despite the difficult conditions, during this period smallholders played a positive role in providing rural people with food. So in 1936, compared to the drought at 1930, there were no hunger in the Middle Volga region.