bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Design of the thixotropic lubricant and its influence on compaction behavior of Cr-alloyed PM steel
Authors: Chen Yan , Zhang Lin , Sun Haishen , Chen Fangfang , Qu Xuanhui
Published: May 2019

A multifunctional lubricant containing thixotropic components was designed for Cr-alloyed PM steel. The thixotropic properties of the lubricant components, compaction behavior of the powder mixture and the lubrication effects of the lubricant were explored. The results demonstrate that the thixotropic components in the lubricant are polyethylene wax and polyamide wax. When the compaction pressure increases from 400 MPa to 800 MPa, the polyamide wax content corresponding to the maximum green density increases from 0% to 30%. The thixotropic properties of polyethylene wax and polyamide wax are reflected at low and high pressures, respectively. By the application of new lubricant in binder treatment technology, alloying additives are effectively filled into the pits of iron particles, the apparent density, flowability and compressibility of mixture are much higher than those of other lubrications. When the content of both polyamide wax and polyethylene wax was 20%, the apparent density and flowability reached 3.46 g/cm3 and 34.88 s/50 g, respectively. And the green density of compacts reached 7.18 g/cm3 at 600 MPa and 7.37 g/cm3 at 800 MPa.
The myth of the 1-day training: the effectiveness of psychosocial support capacity-building during the Ebola outbreak in West Africa
Authors: Horn Rebecca , O'May Fiona , Esliker Rebecca , Gwaikolo Wilfred , Woensdregt Lise , Ruttenberg Leontien , Ager Alastair
Published: May 2019

Background.

In emergencies and resource-poor settings, non-specialists are increasingly being trained to provide psychosocial support to people in distress, with Psychological First Aid (PFA) one of the most widely-used approaches. This paper considers the effectiveness of short training programmes to equip volunteers to provide psychosocial support in emergencies, focusing particularly on whether the PFA training provided during the Ebola outbreak enabled non-specialists to incorporate the key principles into their practice.

Methods.

Semi-structured interviews were conducted in Sierra Leone and Liberia with 24 PFA trainers; 36 individuals who participated in PFA training; and 12 key informants involved in planning and implementing the PFA roll-out.

Results.

Findings indicate that many PFA training-of-trainers were short and rarely included content designed to develop training skills. As a result, the PFA training delivered was of variable quality. PFA providers had a good understanding of active listening, but responses to a person in distress were less consistent with the guidance in the PFA training or with the principles of effective interventions outlined by Hobfoll et al.

Conclusions.

There are advantages to training non-specialists to provide psychosocial support during emergencies, and PFA has all the elements of an effective approach. However, the very short training programmes which have been used to train non-specialists in PFA might be appropriate for participants who already bring a set of relevant skills to the training, but for others it is insufficient. Government/NGO standardisation of PFA training and integration in national emergency response structures and systems could strengthen in-country capacity.
Solidification of binary aqueous solutions under periodic cooling. Part 1. Dynamics of mushy-layer growth
Authors: Ding Guang-Yu , Wells Andrew J. , Zhong Jin-Qiang
Published: May 2019

We present studies of the solidification of binary aqueous solutions that undergo time-periodic cooling from below. We develop an experiment for solidification of aqueous $\text{NH}_{4}\text{Cl}$ solutions, where the temperature of the cooling boundary is modulated as a simple periodic function of time with independent variations of the modulation amplitude and frequency. The thickness of the mushy layer exhibits oscillations about the background growth obtained for constant cooling. We consider the deviation given by the difference between states with modulated and fixed cooling, which increases when the modulation amplitude increases but decreases with increasing modulation frequency. At early times, the deviation amplitude is consistent with a scaling argument for growth with quasi-steady modulation. In situ measurements of the mush temperature reveal thermal waves propagating through the mushy layer, with amplitude decaying with height within the mushy layer, whilst the phase lag behind the cooling boundary increases with height. This also leads to phase lags in the variation of the mushy-layer thickness compared to the boundary cooling. There is an asymmetry of the deviation of mushy-layer thickness: during a positive modulation (where the boundary temperature increases at the start of a cycle) the peak thickness deviation has a greater magnitude than the troughs in a negative modulation mode (where the boundary temperature decreases at the start of the cycle). A numerical model is formulated to describe mushy-layer growth with constant bulk concentration and turbulent heat transport at the mush–liquid interface driven by compositional convection associated with a finite interfacial solid fraction. The model recovers key features of the experimental results at early times, including the propagation of thermal waves and oscillations in mushy-layer thickness, although tends to overpredict the mean thickness.
Solidification of binary aqueous solutions under periodic cooling. Part 2. Distribution of solid fraction
Authors: Ding Guang-Yu , Wells Andrew J. , Zhong Jin-Qiang
Published: May 2019

We report an experimental study of the distributions of temperature and solid fraction of growing $\text{NH}_{4}\text{Cl}$–$\text{H}_{2}\text{O}$ mushy layers that are subjected to periodical cooling from below, focusing on late-time dynamics where the mushy layer oscillates about an approximate steady state. Temporal evolution of the local temperature $T(z,t)$ at various heights in the mush demonstrates that the temperature oscillations of the bottom cooling boundary propagate through the mushy layer with phase delays and substantial decay in the amplitude. As the initial concentration $C_{0}$ increases, we show that the decay rate of the thermal oscillation with height also decreases, and the propagation speed of the oscillation phase increases. We interpret this as a result of the solid fraction increasing with $C_{0}$, which enhances the thermal conductivity but reduces the specific heat of the mushy layer. We present a new methodology to determine the distribution of solid fraction $\unicode[STIX]{x1D719}(z)$ in mushy layers for various $C_{0}$, using only measurements of the temperature $T(z,t)$. The method is based on the phase behaviour during thermal modulation, and opens up a new approach for inferring mushy-layer properties in geophysical and engineering settings, where direct measurements are challenging. In our experiments, profiles of the solid fraction $\unicode[STIX]{x1D719}(z)$ exhibit a cliff–ramp–cliff structure with large vertical gradients of $\unicode[STIX]{x1D719}$ near the mush–liquid interface and also near the bottom boundary, but much more gradual variation in the interior of the mushy layer. Such a profile structure is more pronounced for higher initial concentration $C_{0}$. For very low concentration, the solid fraction appears to be linearly dependent on the height within the mush. The volume-average of the solid fraction, and the local fluctuations in $\unicode[STIX]{x1D719}(z)$ both increase as $C_{0}$ increases. We suggest that the fast increase of $\unicode[STIX]{x1D719}(z)$ near the bottom boundary is possibly due to diffusive transport of solute away from the bottom boundary and the depletion of solute content near the basal region.
Ken Parry, Me and Islamic leadership
Authors: Faris Nezar
Published: May 2019

This piece is a highlight of the foresight, wisdom, humbleness, role-modelling and leadership of Ken Parry.
The Impact of Exchange Rates on French Wine Exports
Authors: Cardebat Jean-Marie , Figuet Jean-Marc
Published: May 2019

In this article, we analyze the impact of varying exchange rates on French wine exports using a dynamic Armington panel model for the time period from 2000 to 2011. Our results suggest that French wines have become less competitive during the 2000s. This is due to two factors: rising domestic wine prices relative to foreign competitors and the appreciation of the euro against the USD and the GBP. Chinese demand appears to be a key driver of French wine exports. In addition, we find some compositional effects in Bordeaux wine exports. In response to the appreciation of the euro, the share of high-priced wines has increased, suggesting some degree of quality sorting in response to exchange-rate changes. (JEL Classification: F14, F31, Q17)
The Stark Regime and American Democracy: A Political Interpretation of Robert Penn Warren's All the King's Men
Authors: Lane Joseph H.
Published: May 2019

Robert Penn Warren's All the King's Men is a political novel that deserves the serious study of political scientists interested in understanding the formative effects of American democracy. A careful reading of the novel that is informed by the classical approach to the analysis of regimes reveals the close connection between the politics of Willie Stark and the politics of modern American democracy. Furthermore, by viewing Stark's actions through the eyes of Jack Burden, a perceptive narrator who is moving toward self-knowledge, we can gain insight into both why modern democracies encourage the formation of a debilitating nihilism among their citizens and the prospects for countering these effects.
Inequality, Social Insurance, and Redistribution
Authors: Moene Karl Ove , Wallerstein Michael
Published: May 2019

Is the political support for welfare policy higher or lower in less egalitarian societies? We answer the question using a model of welfare policy as publicly financed insurance that pays benefits in a redistributive manner. When voters have both redistributive and insurance motives for supporting welfare spending, the effect of inequality depends on how benefits are targeted. Greater inequality increases support for welfare expenditures when benefits are targeted to the employed but decreases support when benefits are targeted to those without earnings. With endogenous targeting, support for benefits to those without earnings declines as inequality increases, whereas support for aggregate spending is a V-shaped function of inequality. Statistical analysis of welfare expenditures in advanced industrial societies provides support for key empirical implications of the model.
The Myth of the Vanishing Voter
Authors: McDonald Michael P. , Popkin Samuel L.
Published: May 2019

The apparent decline in voter participation in national elections since 1972 is an illusion created by using the Bureau of the Census estimate of the voting-age population as the denominator of the turnout rate. We construct a more accurate estimate of those eligible to vote, from 1948–2000, using government statistical series to adjust for ineligible but included groups, such as noncitizens and felons, and eligible but excluded groups, such as overseas citizens. We show that the ineligible population, not the nonvoting, has been increasing since 1972. During the 1960s the turnout rate trended downward both nationally and outside the South. Although the average turnout rates for presidential and congressional elections are lower since 1972 than during 1948–70, the only pattern since 1972 is an increased turnout rate in southern congressional elections. While the voting age was lowered to 18 in 1971, the lower turnout rate of young voters accounts for less than one-fourth of reduced voter participation.
Japan's Economic Dilemma: The Institutional Origins of Prosperity and Stagnation. By Bai Gao. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2001. 328p. $54.95 cloth, $19.95 paper.
Authors: Suzuki Takaaki
Published: May 2019

The once-formidable Japanese economy has fallen upon hard times. After posting a roughly double-digit rate of real annual growth from the mid-1950s to the early 1970s, and generally outperforming the economies of other advanced industrial democracies during the 1970s and 1980s, the Japanese economy suffered a prolonged period of stagnation throughout most of the 1990s. Given this dramatic reversal, Bai Gao sets about the ambitious task not only of explaining why the Japanese economy has soured, but of providing a broad institutional framework that underscores the common factors behind the high growth period, the bubble economy of the 1980s, and the collapse of the bubble in the 1990s. To achieve this task, Gao applies what he terms “the logic of reverse reasoning”; he takes the rise and collapse of the bubble economy as the “starting point fortheoretical reasoning,” examining the institutional mechanisms that purportedly produced it. He then works backward in time to reexamine how these institutional mechanisms operated during the high-growth era, and to identify the “environmental changes” that account for the reasons these institutional mechanisms produced such varied outcomes over time (pp. 6–7).
Local Partnerships and Social Exclusion in the European Union: New Forms of Local Social Governance? Edited by Mike Geddes and John Benington. London: Routledge, 2001. 254p. $90.00
Authors: Swank Duane
Published: May 2019

This book, the product of collaboration by an international team of European social scientists, focuses on the emergence and operation of local partnerships to combat social exclusion in European Union nations. This timely study is built on case analysis of samples of local partnerships in 10 EU nations; seven are given chapter-length treatment in the book. The central goals of the authors are to explain the cross-national diversity in frequency and form of local partnerships and their successes and failures in addressing poverty and social exclusion.
Presidents, Parliaments, and Policy. Edited by Stephan Haggard and Mathew D. McCubbins. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2001. 376p. $70.00 cloth, $25.00 paper.
Authors: Mainwaring Scott
Published: May 2019

The core message of this book comes through clearly in every chapter: Formal political institutions affect economic policymaking and—less directly—policy results. The book advances thinking about how institutions affect policymaking, especially about how political institutions affect the stability (or resoluteness) and adaptability (or decisiveness) of policy.
A new limulid genus from the Strelovec Formation (Middle Triassic, Anisian) of northern Slovenia
Authors: Bicknell Russell D. C. , Žalohar Jure , Miklavc Primož , Celarc Bogomir , Križnar Matija , Hitij Tomaž
Published: May 2019

Horseshoe crabs are an archetypal chelicerate group with a fossil record extending back to Early Ordovician time. Although extensively studied, the group generally has a low diversity across the Phanerozoic Eonothem. Here, we expand the known diversity of true horseshoe crabs (Xiphosurida) by the description of a new taxon from the Middle Triassic Strelovec Formation of the Slovenian Alps. The mostly complete fossil is preserved as an external mould and assigned to the family Limulidae Zittel, 1881 asSloveniolimulus rudkini, n. gen., n. sp. The use of landmark and semilandmark geometric morphometrics is explored to corroborate the systematic palaeontology and suggests that the new genus and species are valid. We also provide the first quantitative evidence for the extensive diversity of Triassic horseshoe crabs. We suggest that Triassic horseshoe crabs likely filled many ecological niches left vacant after the end-Permian extinction.
Plio-Pleistocene fault pattern of the Feldbiss fault system (southern border of the Roer Valley Graben, Belgium) based on high resolution reflection seismic data
Authors: Dusar M. , Rijpens J. , Sintubin M. , Wouters L.
Published: May 2019

A high-resolution reflection seismic survey was carried out in 1999 over the Feldbiss fault system, the southern border of the Roer Valley graben, in Belgium. Six profile-lines with total length of 13982 m provided information on the 40-600 m depth range, covering Lower Pleistocene to Miocene strata with special emphasis on the Plio-Pleistocene Kieseloolite formation. Data quality depends on near-surface conditions and on degree of deformation in some fault zones, with better results for seismic detonator sources compared to vibroseis sources. The new data confirm the segmented character of the fault system with occurrence of fault bends, relay ramps and branching of overlapping fault sequences, testifying of the strong tectonic activity during the lower Pleistocene. Antiform structures along the Bichterweerd scarp, relaying the Feldbiss to the Geleen fault in the Meuse valley, are presented as a model for the Tertiary evolution of the Bree Uplift.
Paleoseismological analysis of the Rurrand fault near Jülich, Roer Valley graben, Germany: Coseismic or aseismic faulting history?
Authors: Vanneste K. , Verbeeck K.
Published: May 2019

A first trench has been excavated for paleoseismological analysis in the German part of the Roer Valley graben, which has experienced several historical earthquakes with a maximum intensity up to VIII on the MSK-scale.The trench has exposed the Rurrand fault as a complex fault zone with at least five separate, SW-dipping, normal fault strands displacing an early Pleistocene terrace of the Rhine river by more than 7 m. The major part of the observed deformation was produced during or after deposition of an overlying unit of stratified loess of middle Weichselian to probably Saalian age. The faulting history is shown to be episodic, with different fault strands active at different times. Growth faulting that would be indicative of continuous, aseismic fault motion has not been observed. Our stratigraphic control is not sufficient to constrain the timing and to provide evidence of the coseismic nature for each observed fault displacement. However, two units of structureless, gravelly loess are interpreted as the result of extensive solifluction triggered by two large surface-rupturing events. This is suggested by the position of these units, which is controlled by the main faults, and by their remarkably young age (< 400 cal. BC), indicated by radiocarbon and OSL datings and by the presence of historic brick fragments. At least two faults show moderate activity that is even younger. Our interpretation is not in agreement with earlier hypotheses that ongoing vertical movements of circa 1 mm/a in the German part of the Lower Rhine graben are the result of aseismic fault creep, but is in line with the results of similar investigations on the southwestern border fault of the Roer Valley Graben in Belgium, which demonstrates the need for further paleoseismological research in this region. The Rurrand fault is presently experiencing aseismic slip on its superficial portion, induced by extensive groundwater lowering for mining purposes. This ongoing deformation seems to be expressed in the trench as diffuse bundles of anastomosing cracks extending up to, and in some cases even into the plough zone, rather than as sharp fault planes which are typical of older, tectonic fault movements.
Application of paleoseismological techniques to the study of Late Pleistocene-Holocene deep-seated gravitational movements at the Mortirolo Pass (central Alps, Italy)
Authors: Onida M. , Galadini F. , Forcella F.
Published: May 2019

Paleoseismological techniques have been used to investigate gravitational deformations at the Mortirolo Pass (Valtellina region, central Alps), in order to improve the knowledge on the activation mechanisms and the evolution of deep-seated gravitational slope movements. The deformation has been responsible for mass sliding towards the Valtellina depression through the activation of several-hundred-metre-long shear planes. Minor shear planes dipping towards the mountain played the role of antithetic structures. Four trenches were excavated across scarps representing the surficial expression of shear planes affecting the bedrock and Late Pleistocene-Holocene deposits. The excavations enabled to investigate the stratigraphy of Quaternary deposits and the geometry and kinematics of the shear planes affecting them. Radiocarbon analyses on organic material contained in sediments and paleosols enabled to define a succession of displacement events which occurred during the Late Pleistocene-Holocene. Collected data indicate the persistence of the activity until recent times (last movement related to 1810-1540 cal. BP). A sudden movement has been detected along one of the main shear surfaces (dipping towards the valley) with a vertical displacement of several metres. In contrast, numerous displacements (with lower vertical offset) have been detected along the antithetic shear planes. Different hypotheses have been proposed in the past to define the origin of huge gravitational movements (glacial retreat, uplift of the Alpine chain, fault activity). However, the Late Pleistocene cycles of glacial loading and unloading on the mountain slopes seem to be the most probable factors causing deep-seated gravitational movements in the investigated region. A recent dramatic landslide in an area adjacent to the investigated one (Mt. Zandila-Valpola) testifies to the paroxistic evolution of the large scale gravitational deformations. The densely inhabited Valtellina region is affected by a large number of gravitational structures similar to those of the Mortirolo area. In consideration of the possible effects of the paroxistic activation of these structures, detailed studies on the chronology and kinematics of the deformations through the application of paleoseismological techniques should therefore be encouraged.
Banqueros and Bolseros: Structural Change and Financial Market Liberalisation in Mexico
Authors: MINUSHKIN SUSAN
Published: May 2019

The article reexamines financial market opening in Mexico. This article will show how change in Mexico's financial sector created a powerful private sector ally for reform-oriented politicians and helped make financial opening possible. It will also show how financial opening reflected the support coalition that the government relied upon by rewarding the financial sector with protection from foreign direct investment in financial institutions while liberalising portfolio capital flows. Finally, this article will illustrate the importance including an analysis of local financial sector interests in explanations of financial opening.
Event coding as feature guessing: The lessons of the motor theory of speech perception
Authors: Galantucci Bruno , Fowler Carol A. , Turvey M. T.
Published: May 2019

The claim that perception and action are commonly coded because they are indistinguishable at the distal level is crucial for theories of cognition. However, the consequences of this claim run deep, and the Theory of Event Coding (TEC) is not up to the challenge it poses. We illustrate why through a brief review of the evidence that led to the motor theory of speech perception.
A common framework for language comprehension and language production?
Authors: Hartsuiker Robert J. , Pickering Martin J.
Published: May 2019

Natural language processing involves a tight coupling between action (the production of language) and perception (the comprehension of language). We argue that similar theoretical principles apply to language processing as to action/perception in general. Language production is not driven solely by the speaker's intentions; language comprehension is not only input-driven; production and perception use common representations. We will relate recent findings from our language production lab to the Theory of Event Coding (TEC)'s principle of feature binding.
Low-dimensional versus high-dimensional chaos in brain function – is it an and/or issue?
Authors: Molnár Márk
Published: May 2019

We discuss whether low-dimensional chaos and even nonlinear processes can be traced in the electrical activity of the brain. Experimental data show that the dimensional complexity of the EEG decreases during event-related potentials associated with cognitive effort. This probably represents increased nonlinear cooperation between different neural systems during sensory information processing.
GOING BUST: Some Reflections on Colonial Bankruptcies
Authors: Antunes Cátia , Miranda Susana Münch
Published: May 2019

While this special issue raises a significant number of questions, constraints have dictated that only some of these questions are actually answered. The pioneering work presented consequently remains a modest attempt to initiate a more general discussion about the causes and the social and economic consequences of business failure in the early modern period, particularly with regard to colonial enterprises.
Factors influencing interval to first postpartum ovulation in pasture-fed dairy cows during their first lactation
Authors: Rhodes FM , Clark BA , Morgan SR , Verkerk GA
Published: May 2019

Two year old cows were managed at pasture to calve in High (n = 10) or Low (n = 11) body condition score (BCS). Following calving all cows were managed as a single herd and offered a generous pasture allowance. Time of first ovulation was determined using weekly transrectal ultrasonography and measurement of milk progesterone concentrations thrice weekly. Liveweight (LW) change after calving, dry matter intake, milk yield and composition were determined at 20 and 40 days postpartum and energy balance calculated Pulsatile release of luteinising hormone (LH), concentrations of glucose, insulin, β-hydroxy butyrate (BHB) and non-esterified fatty acids were measured at 11, 25 and 46 days postpartum. Cows in the High group were in significantly greater positive energy balance, had lost more LW at 20 days postpartum than cows in the Low group, but did not differ in postpartum interval (PPI). There were significant correlations between PPI and BCS at calving and with concentrations of LH, glucose and BHB measured 11 days postpartum, but not with energy balance or change in LW after calving.
Reproductive function in average and high yielding dairy cows
Authors: Taylor Victoria J. , Hattan Andrew J. , Bleach Emma C.L. , Beever David E. , Wathes D. Claire
Published: May 2019

The resumption of reproductive activity in the early post partum period and the subsequent fertility of dairy cows are of considerable practical and economic importance to the producer. Regular milk progesterone analysis was used in this study to monitor the re-establishment of reproductive cyclicity in animals of average (AGM, n=20) and high genetic merit (HGM, n=28) kept under standard management conditions. The profiles obtained were then characterised into normal and four different types of abnormal activity. Resumption of cycles occurred significantly later in the higher yielding cows than in those of average genetic merit (23 ±2.3 days in HGM cows and 15 ± 1.6 days in AGM cows; P=0.0089). There was a significant increase in the amount of abnormal cycles encountered in the high genetic merit animals compared with average yielding animals (61% and 30% respectively; χ2 test, P=0.045); in particular, the delayed occurrence of ovulation post partum (11% vs 0%) and an increased incidence of persistent corpora lutea (32% vs 20%). For high genetic merit animals, the incidence of abnormal cycles was associated with increased peak milkyields (abnormal cycles: peak milk yield 54.7 ± 1.11 kg/day; normal cycles: peak milk yield 46.4 ± 1.35 kg/day, P=0.002). This relationship was not apparent in average genetic merit animals. First service conception rates were 50% (9/18) for AGM cows and 38% (10/26) for HGM cows (χ2 test, n.s.). The calving to conception interval was 98 ± 9.7 days for AGM animals (n=l7) and 105 ± 9.1 days for HGMs (n=24) (t-test, n.s.). In conclusion, this study confirms that high genetic merit dairy cows have compromised reproductive function in terms of a delayed resumption of cyclicity and an increased incidence of abnormal progesterone cycles, which was associated with higher peak milk yields. There was also a reduced first service conception rate in high yielders although the difference was not significant with this group size.
A META-ANALYSIS OF SENSITIVITY TO GRAMMATICAL INFORMATION DURING SELF-PACED READING: TOWARDS A FRAMEWORK OF REFERENCE FOR READING TIME EFFECT SIZES
Authors: Avery Nick , Marsden Emma
Published: May 2019

Despite extensive theoretical and empirical research, we do not have estimations of the magnitude of sensitivity to grammatical information during L2 online processing. This is largely due to reliance on null hypothesis significance testing (Plonsky, 2015). The current meta-analysis draws on data from one elicitation technique, self-paced reading, across 57 studies (N = 3,052), to estimate sensitivity to L2 morphosyntax and how far L1 background moderates this. Overall, we found a reliable sensitivity to L2 morphosyntax at advanced proficiencies (d = .20, 95% CIs .15, .25), with some evidence that this was reliably lower than for native speakers (NSs). These patterns were not generally moderated by linguistic feature or sentence region. However, effects for anomaly detection were larger among NSs than L2 learners and the effects among L2 learners appeared to show a trend toward L1 influence. Finding smaller effects than in other subdomains, we provide an initial framework of reference for L2 reading time effect sizes.
Two-point boundary value problems for linear evolution equations
Authors: FOKAS A. S. , PELLONI B.
Published: May 2019

We study boundary value problems for a linear evolution equation with spatial derivatives of arbitrary order, on the
domain 0 < x < L, 0 < t < T, with L and
T positive finite constants. We present a general method for identifying well-posed
problems, as well as for constructing an explicit representation of the solution of
such problems. This representation has explicit x and t dependence, and it consists
of an integral in the k-complex plane and of a discrete sum. As illustrative examples
we solve some two-point boundary value problems for the equations
iqt + qxx = 0 and
qt + qxxx = 0.
Current Educational Issues in the Clinical Neurosciences
Authors: Desbiens R. , Elleker M.G. , Goldsand G. , Hugenholtz H. , Puddester D. , Toyota B. , Findlay J. Max
Published: May 2019

Objective:

Canadian training in the clinical neurosciences, neurology and neurosurgery, faces significant challenges. New balances are being set by residents, their associations and the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada between clinical service, education and personal time. The nature of hospital-provided medical service has changed significantly over the past decade, impacting importantly on resident training. Finally, future manpower needs are of concern, especially in the field of neurosurgery, where it appears that soon more specialists will be trained than can be absorbed into the Canadian health care system.

Methods:

A special symposium on current challenges in clinical neuroscience training was held at the Canadian Congress of Neurological Sciences in June 2000. Representatives from the Canadian Association of Interns and Residents, the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada and English and French neurology and neurosurgery training programs made presentations, which are summarized in this report.

Results:

Residency training has become less service-oriented, and this trend will continue. In order to manage the increasingly sophisticated hospital services of neurology and neurosurgery, resident-alternatives in the form of physician “moonlighters” or more permanent hospital-based clinicians or “hospitalists” will be necessary in order to operate major neuroclinical units. Health authorities and hospitals will need to recognize and assume this responsibility. As clinical experience diminishes during residency training, inevitably so will the concept of the fully competent “generalist” at the end of specialty training. Additional subspecialty training is being increasingly sought by graduates, particularly in neurosurgery.

Conclusions:

Training in neurology and neurosurgery, as in all medical specialties, has changed significantly in recent years and continues to change. Programs and hospitals need to adapt to these changes in order to ensure the production of fully qualified specialists in neurology and neurosurgery and the provision of optimal care to patients in clinical teaching units.
Poly unsaturated fatty acids: the missing link between cardiac events and depression?
Authors: Schins A. , Honig A. , Maes M.
Published: May 2019

The relationship between myocardial infarction (MI), depression and cardiac death is not well understood. There is evidence that poly unsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) metabolism and composition in phospholipids and cholesterylesters are involved in the pathophysiology of affective disorders and cardiac dysregulation. In this paper the relationship of PUFAs with 1) cardiac events 2) depressive disorder and 3) the inflammatory response system (IRS) will be reviewed. The underlying pathophysiologic mechanisms relate to the effects of dietary fatty acids on the IRS, the HPA-axis, serotonin metabolism and platelet reactivity. These effects are the result of the important effects of PUFAs on the structure and function of localized membrane domains, their involvement in eicosanoid synthesis and their influence on intra-cellular signalling pathways and gene expression. Antidepressive treatment has been shown to have immunosuppressive effects in healthy volunteers. In patients with bipolar disorder or schizophrenia, PUFA supplementation resulted in significant symptom reduction. In the ongoing substudy of the MIND-IT, the effects of antidepressive treatment on immune status, PUFA composition in serum phospholipids and cholesterylesters and whole blood serotonin in depressive post-MI patients will be investigated. More knowledge on the relationships between PUFAs in diet, IRS parameters and serotonin metabolism may alter treatment strategies in the prevention of both cardiac death and the occurrence of depressive disorder in cardiac patients.
Nitric oxide donor stimulated increase of cyclic GMP in the
goldfish retina
Authors: BALDRIDGE WILLIAM H. , FISCHER ANDY J.
Published: May 2019

Nitric oxide (NO) activates soluble guanylyl cyclase (sGC)
and the resulting increase in cyclic guanosine monophosphate
(cGMP) is an important intracellular signalling pathway in the
vertebrate retina. Immunocytochemical detection of cGMP following
exposure to NO donors has proven an effective method of identifying
cells that express sGC. While such an approach has proven useful
for the study of several vertebrate retinas, it has not been
applied to the well-characterized teleost retina. Therefore,
in the present study, we have applied this approach to the retina
of the goldfish (Carassius auratus). In the presence of the
phosphodiesterase (PDE) inhibitor 3-isobutyl-1-methylxanthine (IBMX),
incubation of goldfish eyecups in Ringer's solution containing
(±)-S-nitroso-N-acetylpenicillamine (SNAP) increased
cGMP-like immunoreactivity (cG-ir) in bipolar, horizontal,
amacrine, and ganglion cells and in ganglion cell axons and
optic nerve. Weak labeling was observed in horizontal cells
but no change in cG-ir was noted within photoreceptors. The
NO donor-stimulated increases of cG-ir in horizontal, bipolar,
amacrine, and ganglion cells are consistent with known
physiological effects of NO on these neurons. The physiological
significance of NO action at the level of optic nerve is not
known. The lack of an effect of SNAP on cG-ir in photoreceptors
was unexpected, as there are known physiological actions of
NO, mediated by cGMP, on these neurons. Although this may be
due to insufficient sensitivity of immunolabeling, this result
may indicate a difference between isoforms of sGC or cGMP PDE
in these neurons, compared to neurons where exogenous NO increased
cG-ir.
Subcellular localization of neuronal nitric oxide synthase
in turtle retina: Electron immunocytochemistry
Authors: CAO LUXIANG , ELDRED WILLIAM D.
Published: May 2019

Recent studies imaging nitric oxide (NO) production in the
retina have indicated a much wider distribution of NO production
than would be suggested by previous light-microscopic localizations
of neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS). To help resolve this
discrepancy, the present study analyzed the ultrastructural
localization of nNOS-like immunoreactivity (-LI) in all layers
of the retina. In the ellipsoids of rod photoreceptors and the
accessory elements of double cones, nNOS-LI was associated with
some atypical mitochondria. In the outer plexiform layer, nNOS-LI
was in some postsynaptic horizontal and bipolar cell processes
at photoreceptor ribbon synapses. In some amacrine and ganglion
cell somata, nNOS-LI was diffusely localized in the cytoplasm
and associated with the endoplasmic reticulum. In the inner
plexiform layer, nNOS-LI diffusely filled some amacrine cell
processes, while in other amacrine cells nNOS-LI was selectively
localized at the presynaptic specializations of conventional
synapses. Neuronal NOS-LI was also found at membrane
specializations in bipolar cell terminals that were distinct
from their normal ribbon synapses. Finally, some nNOS-LI was
found in mitochondria in Müller cells. The diverse subcellular
localizations of nNOS-LI indicates that NO may play distinct
functional roles in many retinal cells, which correlates well
with the widespread NO production found in previous NO imaging
studies.
Derivative and indigenous in the history and historiography of child welfare in Australia: Part Two
Authors: Swain Shurlee
Published: May 2019

This article traces the history of child welfare in Australia, showing the ways in which policies and practices, deriving primarily from Britain, were adopted and adapted in a nation in which jurisdiction was split between colonies/states and further divided, within states, on the basis of race. It argues that child welfare has always been part of the nation-building project, central to national objectives when children could be constructed as future citizens, marginal, and more punitive, when they were more easily understood as threats to social stability. In this second part, it discusses post-war developments in services for non-indigenous children, and indigenous child welfare services. It concludes with a discussion of the historiography of child welfare in Australia arguing that because, to date, historical writing has concentrated on localised or specialist studies, child welfare professionals have limited access to an understanding of the history of the systems within which they work.
Setting a conservative policy agenda: The Victorian print media, young people in care and chroming
Authors: Mendes Philip
Published: May 2019

The tabloid print media has played a crucial role in recent Australian social policy debates, particularly those pertaining to drug use and child and adolescent welfare. Much of the media's contribution has been around promoting simplistic and often conservative solutions to complex social problems.

This article examines the recent media-inspired furore over so-called ‘safe-sniffing’ practices in a Victorian welfare agency. It is acknowledged that other forms of media such as talk back radio may have had influential roles, as might other factors also. Particular attention, however, is drawn here to the Herald Sun's role in this affair, and to similarities with its intervention in earlier policy debates. Some comparisons are also drawn with the coverage of the affair by the Age and the Australian.

It is argued that the Herald Sun's specific campaign on chroming reflects a broader conservative agenda to undermine progressive social policy interventions including harm minimisation. This agenda may have significant implications for the Victorian community welfare sector given the tendency of politicians – whether in government or opposition – to bow to the demands of the tabloid media.
Neglect: Opportunities for collaboration between health and welfare: The Strengthening Families Program at the Royal Children's Hospital
Authors: O'Neill Cas , Hall Julie , Miller Jane
Published: May 2019

Persistent neglect is thought to be just as harmful to a child as abuse. However, neglect is often difficult to assess for two reasons: firstly it often resembles poverty; and secondly, neglecting families tend to have disorganised patterns of accessing health care and social support. This article looks at the importance of joint health and welfare input in interventions with families at risk of neglecting their children. The Strengthening Families Program at Melbourne's Royal Children's Hospital provides a model for interdisciplinary and intersectoral (welfare and health) collaboration, which offers care management to individual families and is working towards systemic changes in the hospital's response to these families.
Neighborhood Parks and Residential Property Values in Greenville, South Carolina
Authors: Espey Molly , Owusu-Edusei Kwame
Published: May 2019

The effect on housing prices of proximity to different types of parks is estimated using a unique data set of single-family homes sold between 1990 and 1999 in Greenville, South Carolina. While the value of park proximity is found to vary with respect to park size and amenities, the estimates from this study are larger than previous studies. The greatest impact on housing values was found with proximity to small neighborhood parks, with the positive impact of proximity to both small and medium-size parks extending to homes as far as 1500 feet from the park.
ENSO and Soybean Prices: Correlation without Causality
Authors: Letson David , McCullough B.D.
Published: May 2019

In this paper we seek to characterize the robustness of the ENSO/soybean price relationship and to determine whether it has practical economic content. If such a meaningful relationship exists, the implications could be profound for commodity traders and for public sector investments in climate forecasting capabilities. Also, the validity of economic evaluations of climate impacts and climate forecasts based on ENSO-price independence would come into question. Our findings suggest a relationship between interannual climate and soybean prices, although we are not able to attribute the relationship to ENSO or to say that ENSO is economically important.
Risk Effects of Alternative Winter Cover Crop, Tillage, and Nitrogen Fertilization Systems in Cotton Production
Authors: Larson James A. , Jaenicke Edward C. , Roberts Roland K. , Tyler Donald D.
Published: May 2019

A Just-Pope model was developed to assess tillage, nitrogen, weather, and pest effects on risk for cotton grown after alternative winter cover crops. Yield risk for cotton after hairy vetch was less than for cotton with no winter cover when no nitrogen fertilizer was used to Supplement the vetch nitrogen. However, because cotton after vetch has a higher production cost, farmers growing conventionally tilled cotton may be slow to adopt because risk-return tradeoffs may be unacceptable under risk neutrality and risk aversion. For risk-averse farmers who have already adopted no tillage, cotton grown after hairy vetch is risk efficient.
A description of the growth of sheep and its genetic analysis
Authors: Lewis R.M. , Emmans G.C. , Dingwall W.S. , Simm G.
Published: May 2019

The Gompertz is one of a family of growth functions that, when the environment (e.g. food, housing) is non-limiting, provides a useful description of growth as a comparatively simple, single equation. It has three parameters of which the important ones are mature size, A, and the rate parameter, B. Estimates of A and B, however, are highly correlated and defining their separate values for individual animals is problematic. This problem was explored using five methods for estimating the parameters, or transformations of them, to describe the growth of two genotypes of Suffolk sheep kept under non-limiting conditions. One genotype was under selection for high lean growth rate and the other was its control. Live weights that were collected at least fortnightly from near birth to 150 days of age over a 9-year period on 1934 lambs were used. The Gompertz form adequately described the growth of the great majority of the lambs evaluated. When considering A and B as a lumped parameter, Z = A·B, and fitting Z, B and an initial condition (a transformed birth weight) as the parameters, the problems in estimation were substantially overcome as shown by a low correlation of Z with estimates of B both within and across animals. Usefully Z has a biological interpretation in that Z/e is the maximum daily growth rate. Since the Gompertz form adequately described growth in these sheep, the extent of genetic co-variation for the growth parameters values (A, B, Z) was estimated to determine if they were amenable to selection. A weighted univariate animal model was fitted. Mature size, A, and the rate parameter, B, were moderately heritable (0·37 (s.e. 0·04) and 0·38 (s.e. 0·05), respectively) as was live weight at 150 days of age (0·31 (s.e. 0·06)). However there was a substantial negative genetic relationship between A and B (–0·48). Z was highly heritable (0·72 (s.e.0·05)). After 9 years of selection, the genotype selected for high lean growth rate was heavier (P < 0·001) at 150 days of age (5·2 kg) and at maturity (6·6 kg), with a maximum growth rate (Z/e) that was 1·12 times that of the control. Our lumped parameter Z, in effect a rate parameter scaled for mature size, avoided problems in estimating A and B and, in so doing, offers a general and robust description of lamb growth amenable to selection.
Feeding strategy for young rabbits around weaning: a review of digestive capacity and nutritional needs
Authors: Gidenne T. , Fortun-Lamothe L.
Published: May 2019

The digestive maturation of the young rabbit is reviewed. It indicates that their nutritional needs and those of lactating females are antagonistic in many aspects. Energy requirements of lactating females are very high, whilst a low starch, high fibre diet around weaning improves the health of the young after weaning. To solve this problem, several feeding and management strategies are presented and discussed. If weaning occurs between 28 and 35 days of age, feeding the young with a specific diet, different from the female’s, seems an effective solution. Otherwise, it is necessary to find a compromise between the needs of the litter and of the doe. Early weaning (< 26 days) could be also a promising way to provide adequate feeding for the young as soon as they begin to eat solid food.
Some refinements of Shannon's inequalities
Authors: Matić M. , Pearce C. E. M. , Pečarić J.
Published: May 2019

We refine Shannon's inequality, in its discrete and integral forms, by presenting upper estimates of the difference between its two sides.
Existence theory for games of pricing and technology
Authors: Abalo Kokou Y. , Kostreva Michael M.
Published: May 2019

A differential game model of a technological service industry is reformulated as an equivalent game over a function space by direct substitution of the solutions of the state equations. For this game, Nash equilibria are shown to exist under certain mild assumptions. A generalization is considered in which each firm has a choice of three different objective functions, which may reflect distinct management options in a technological service industry. Nash equilibria for the generalized version exist under similar mild assumptions.