bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Passive Picoinjection Enables Controlled Crystallization in a Droplet Microfluidic Device
Authors: Li Shunbo , Zeng Muling , Gaule Thembaninkosi , McPherson Michael J. , Meldrum Fiona C.
Published: September 2017

Segmented flow microfluidic devices offer an attractive means of studying crystallization processes. However, while they are widely employed for protein crystallization, there are few examples of their use for sparingly soluble compounds due to problems with rapid device fouling and irreproducibility over longer run‐times. This article presents a microfluidic device which overcomes these issues, as this is constructed around a novel design of “picoinjector” that facilitates direct injection into flowing droplets. Exploiting a Venturi junction to reduce the pressure within the droplet, it is shown that passive injection of solution from a side‐capillary can be achieved in the absence of an applied electric field. The operation of this device is demonstrated for calcium carbonate, where highly reproducible results are obtained over long run‐times at high supersaturations. This compares with conventional devices that use a Y‐junction to achieve solution loading, where in‐channel precipitation of calcium carbonate occurs even at low supersaturations. This work not only opens the door to the use of microfluidics to study the crystallization of low solubility compounds, but the simple design of a passive picoinjector will find wide utility in areas including multistep reactions and investigation of reaction dynamics.
An improved AC electromagnetic contactor model based on EMTP
Authors: Saengsuwan Trin
Published: September 2017

This paper presents a new simulation approach of an AC electromagnetic contactor based on the Electromagnetic Transient Program (EMTP). To decouple the simulation from the magnetic circuit, the duality transformation technique is applied to transform the magnetic model into an electrical model. With this technique, the solutions of the proposed model are only on electric circuit, and model can interface directly with the surrounding components in EMTP. To enhance the model precision, both saturation and fringing flux effects are taken into account. Additionally, the estimation of general unknown parameters, namely shading ring resistance and load force, is proposed. The performance and accuracy of the proposed model are verified by comparing with finite element method (FEM) results and experiments. Finally, the model is applied for the case study of the sensitivity of a contactor during voltage sag. The results demonstrate good performance of the proposed model, and the approach can be further extended to other electromagnetic devices. © 2017 Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Reaction coordinates and transition states in enzymatic catalysis
Authors: Zinovjev Kirill , Tuñón Iñaki
Published: September 2017

Enzymatic reactions are complex chemical processes taking place in complex dynamic environments. Theoretical characterization of these reactions requires the determination of the reaction coordinate and the transition state ensemble. This is not an easy task because many degrees of freedom may be involved in principle. We present recent efforts to find good enzymatic reaction coordinates and the implications of these findings in the interpretation of enzymatic efficiency. In particular, we analyze different strategies based on the use of minimum free energy paths and direct localization of the dividing surface on multidimensional free energy surfaces. Another strategy is based on the generation of reactive trajectories, using the transition path sampling method, from which transition state configurations can be harvested. Most of the applications carried out until now coincide to stress the change in the nature of the reaction coordinate, in terms of the participation of the chemical and environmental degrees of freedom, as the reaction advances. The degrees of freedom of the chemical system are dominant at the transition state while environmental participation can be more important at early or late stages of the process. WIREs Comput Mol Sci 2018, 8:e1329. doi: 10.1002/wcms.1329

This article is categorized under:

Structure and Mechanism > Computational Biochemistry and Biophysics

Molecular and Statistical Mechanics > Free Energy Methods

Software > Simulation Methods
Range overlap between mid‐continent and Eastern sandhill cranes revealed by GPS‐tracking
Authors: Wolfson David , Fieberg John , Lawrence Jeffrey S. , Cooper Thomas R. , Andersen David E.
Published: September 2017

Sandhill cranes (Antigone canadensis) are long‐lived birds with relatively low recruitment rates, making accurate knowledge of abundance and distribution critical for well‐informed harvest management. Minnesota, USA, is one of few states containing portions of 2 distinct breeding populations of greater sandhill cranes (A. c. tabida)—the Mid‐continent Population (MCP) and Eastern Population (EP). Historically, the breeding range of MCP cranes in Minnesota was restricted to the extreme northwestern portion of the state, whereas the breeding range of EP cranes was limited to the east–central part of the state with a large area of separation between the 2 populations. Whereas MCP cranes have exhibited stable population estimates over time, EP cranes are currently experiencing a significant increase in population size and a concurrent expansion of breeding range. Our objectives were to evaluate the current range boundaries of the 2 populations in Minnesota and determine whether the populations overlap on their breeding areas and autumn staging grounds. We captured and attached Global Positioning System–Global System for Mobile Communications transmitters to 50 cranes in the zone between the historical breeding‐range boundaries of the 2 populations. Movements of cranes revealed that EP cranes have greatly expanded their breeding range in Minnesota while MCP cranes have experienced more moderate range expansion in the state. Results of this study provide the first documentation of overlap between the breeding ranges of EP and MCP sandhill cranes. Our results also suggest that staging areas in northwestern Minnesota, where recreational harvest targeted at MCP cranes was allowed beginning in 2010, are being used by both populations and there is overlap in migration corridors, as evidenced by 4 cranes that used both the Mississippi and Central Flyways. © 2017 The Wildlife Society.
Preoperative Needs‐Based Education to Reduce Anxiety, Increase Satisfaction, and Decrease Time Spent in Day Surgery: A Randomized Controlled Trial
Authors: Wongkietkachorn Apinut , Wongkietkachorn Nuttapone , Rhunsiri Peera
Published: September 2017

Background

Too much or too little information during patient education can increase patient anxiety. Needs‐based patient education helps to determine the appropriate amount of information required to provide education based on patient needs. This study aimed to compare needs‐based patient education with traditional patient education in reducing preoperative anxiety.

Methods

This was a prospective, multicenter, single‐blind, randomized controlled trial with a 1:1 allocation ratio. Patients undergoing day surgery were randomized into a study group (needs‐based education) or a control group (traditional education). The primary outcome was patient anxiety. Secondary outcomes were patient satisfaction and time spent in patient education. Patients completed questionnaires to evaluate their anxiety and satisfaction before patient education, after patient education, and after surgery.

Results

In total, 450 patients were randomized and analyzed (study group n = 225, control group n = 225). Comparisons before education, after education, and after surgery showed that there was a significant decrease in patient anxiety and an increase in satisfaction in both groups (p < 0.001). The comparison between needs‐based education and traditional education showed a greater decrease in anxiety (7.09 ± 7.02 vs. 5.33 ± 7.70, p = 0.001) and greater increase in satisfaction (21.1 ± 16.0 vs. 16.0 ± 21.6, p < 0.001) in the needs‐based group. The needs‐based group also had significantly less education time than the traditional group (171.8 ± 87.59 vs. 236.32 ± 101.27 s, p < 0.001).

Conclusion

Needs‐based patient education is more effective in decreasing anxiety, increasing patient satisfaction, and reducing time spent in education compared with traditional patient education.

Trial registration

ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT03003091
Colonial Captivity during the First World War
Authors: Murphy Mahon
Published: September 2017

With the outbreak of war in 1914, an estimated 30,000 German civilians in African and Asian colonies were violently uprooted and imprisoned. Britain's First World War internment of German settlers seriously challenged the structures that underpinned nineteenth-century imperialism. Through its analysis of this internment, this book highlights the impact that the First World War had on the notion of a common European 'civilising mission' and the image of empire in the early twentieth century. Mahon Murphy examines the effect of the war on a collective European colonial identity, perceptions of internment in the extra-European theatres of war, and empires in transition during war. Policymakers were forced to address difficult questions about the future rule of Germany's colonies and the nature of empire in general. Far from a conflict restricted to European powers, the First World War triggered a worldwide remaking of ideas, institutions and geopolitics.
Who Speaks for the Poor?
Authors: Jusko Karen Long
Published: September 2017

Who Speaks for the Poor? explains why parties represent some groups and not others. This book focuses attention on the electoral geography of income, and how it has changed over time, to account for cross-national differences in the political and partisan representation of low-income voters. Jusko develops a general theory of new party formation that shows how changes in the geographic distribution of groups across electoral districts create opportunities for new parties to enter elections, especially where changes favor groups previously excluded from local partisan networks. Empirical evidence is drawn first from a broadly comparative analysis of all new party entry and then from a series of historical case studies, each focusing on the strategic entry incentives of new low-income peoples' parties. Jusko offers a new explanation for the absence of a low-income people's party in the USA and a more general account of political inequality in contemporary democratic societies.
Performance analysis of an aero engine with inter-stage turbine burner
Authors: Yin F. , Rao A. Gangoli
Published: September 2017

The historical trends of reduction in fuel consumption and emissions from aero engines have been mainly due to the improvement in the thermal efficiency, propulsive efficiency and combustion technology. The engine Overall Pressure Ratio (OPR) and Turbine Inlet Temperature (TIT) are being increased in the pursuit of increasing the engine thermal efficiency. However, this has an adverse effect on engine NOx emission. The current paper investigates a possible solution to overcome this problem for future generation Very High Bypass Ratio (VHBR)/Ultra High Bypass Ratio (UHBR) aero-engines in the form of an Inter-stage Turbine Burner (ITB). The ITB concept is investigated on a next generation baseline VHBR aero engine to evaluate its effect on the engine performance and emission characteristics for different ITB energy fractions. It is found that the ITB can reduce the bleed air required for cooling the HPT substantially (around 80%) and also reduce the NOx emission significantly (>30%) without penalising the engine specific fuel consumption.
New Development Banks as Horizontal International Bypasses: Towards a Parallel Order?
Authors: Stuenkel Oliver
Published: September 2017

Over the past years, the Chinese government (along with other rising powers) has engaged in unprecedented international institution-building, leading to the establishment of, among others, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) and the BRICS-led New Development Bank (NDB). Providing services similar to existing institutions such as the World Bank, these new institutions profoundly alter the landscape of global governance. The existing literature has mostly debated whether such activism shows that China and others are embracing or confronting today's Western-led order. This discussion fails to capture a more complex reality, and the concept of international institutional bypasses (IIB) may help us gain a better understanding of China's complex institutional entrepreneurship. As will be explained, decisions by China and other countries to simultaneously support reform processes in existing institutions and also create new ones suggests that they seek alternative ways to overcome perceived dysfunctions in the dominant institutions by creating IIBs. Considering the initiatives in these terms allows for a more nuanced picture that transcends the simplistic dichotomy of integration versus rupture.
What happens to the vortex structures when the rising bubble transits from zigzag to spiral?
Authors: Zhang Jie , Ni Ming-Jiu
Published: September 2017

It has been demonstrated by many experiments carried out over the last 60 years that in certain liquids a single millimetre-sized bubble will rise within an unstable path, which is sometimes observed to transit from zigzag to spiral. After performing several groups of direct numerical simulations, the present work gives a theoretical explanation to reveal the physical mechanism causing the transition, and the results are presented in two parts. In the first part, in which a freely rising bubble is simulated, equal-strength vortex pairs are observed to shed twice during a period of the pure zigzag path, and this type of motion is triggered by the amounts of streamwise vorticities accumulated on the bubble interface, when a critical value is reached. However, when the balance between the counter-rotating vortices is broken, an angular velocity is induced between the asymmetric vortex pairs, driving the bubble to rise in an opposite spiral path. Therefore, although there is no preference of the spiral direction as observed in experiments, it is actually determined by the sign of the stronger vortex thread. In the second part, external vertical magnetic fields are imposed onto the spirally rising bubble in order to further confirm the relations between the vortex structures and the unstable path patterns. As shown in our previous studies (Zhang & Ni, Phys. Fluids, vol. 26 (10), 2014, 102102), the strength of the double-threaded vortex pairs, as well as the imbalance between them, will be weakened under magnetic fields. Therefore, as the vortex pairs become more symmetric, the rotating radius of the spirally rising bubble is observed to decrease. We try to answer the question, put forward by Shew et al. (2005, Preprint, ENS, Lyon), ‘what caused the bubble to transit from zigzag to spiral naturally?’
Droplet deformation by short laser-induced pressure pulses
Authors: Reijers Sten A. , Snoeijer Jacco H. , Gelderblom Hanneke
Published: September 2017

When a free-falling liquid droplet is hit by a laser it experiences a strong ablation-driven pressure pulse. Here we study the resulting droplet deformation in the regime where the ablation pressure duration is short, i.e. comparable to the time scale on which pressure waves travel through the droplet. To this end, an acoustic analytic model for the pressure, pressure impulse and velocity fields inside the droplet is developed in the limit of small density fluctuations. This model is used to examine how the droplet deformation depends on the pressure pulse duration while the total momentum to the droplet is kept constant. Within the limits of this analytic model, we demonstrate that when the total momentum transferred to the droplet is small the droplet shape evolution is indistinguishable from an incompressible droplet deformation. However, when the momentum transfer is increased the droplet response is strongly affected by the pulse duration. In this later regime, compressed flow regimes alter the droplet shape evolution considerably.
A Review of the Provision of Social and Emotional Learning in Australia, the United States, Poland, and Portugal
Authors: Bowles Terence , Jimerson Shane , Haddock Aaron , Nolan Julene , Jablonski Slawomir , Czub Magdalena , Coelho Vítor
Published: September 2017

The aim of this research is to gather preliminary information from a range of countries to develop an international perspective on Social and Emotional Learning (SEL). Currently, there is no cohesive international statement on the minimum requirements to provide SEL in schools. By bringing together a range of international perspectives it is intended that clarity will be provided from which new approaches and initiatives can be developed and researched. International researchers familiar with SEL programs in their country were asked to answer five questions about the context and processes used to teach SEL in specific countries to begin an understanding and synthesis of best practice. These questions relate to: (1) sociocultural contexts of school systems, (2) the range of SEL programs presented in each country and what is common about these programs, (3) the effectiveness of prominent SEL programs, (4) the facilitators and barriers that exist to effectively present SEL programs within the country, and (5) recommendations for the future of SEL programs. A synthesis is followed by a discussion of the future of SEL and how the SEL Interest Group may make a contribution to the current state of the literature, curriculum, pedagogy, and research that informs SEL in schools.
From immigrants to emigrants: Salesian education and the failed integration of Italians in Egypt, 1937-1960
Authors: Turiano Annalaura , Viscomi Joseph John
Published: September 2017

With Italy’s entry into the Second World War, Anglo-Egyptian authorities repatriated Italian diplomats from Egypt, arrested around 5,000 Italians, and sequestered both personal and business accounts. Italian institutions were indefinitely closed, including the Italian state schools. Hope for a future in Egypt among the roughly 60,000 Italian residents faded. The Salesian missionary schools, whose goal since the late nineteenth century had been to inculcate nationalist-religious sentiment in Italy’s emigrants, remained the only active Italian educational institution by claiming Vatican protection. As such, the missionary schools assumed a central role in the lives of many young Italians. After the war, these same young Italians began to depart Egypt en masse, in part driven by the possibilities opened up by their vocational training. Building on diplomatic, institutional and private archives, this article demonstrates how the Salesian missionary schools attempted and failed to integrate Italian immigrants into the Egyptian labour force through vocational training. This failure combined with socio-economic and geopolitical changes to propel Italian departures from Egypt, making emigrants out of immigrants.
DISCRETE LINEAR WEINGARTEN SURFACES
Authors: BURSTALL F. , HERTRICH-JEROMIN U. , ROSSMAN W.
Published: September 2017

Discrete linear Weingarten surfaces in space forms are characterized as special discrete $\unicode[STIX]{x1D6FA}$-nets, a discrete analogue of Demoulin’s $\unicode[STIX]{x1D6FA}$-surfaces. It is shown that the Lie-geometric deformation of $\unicode[STIX]{x1D6FA}$-nets descends to a Lawson transformation for discrete linear Weingarten surfaces, which coincides with the well-known Lawson correspondence in the constant mean curvature case.
Centennial to millennial hydroclimatic fluctuations in the humid northeast United States during the Holocene
Authors: Shuman Bryan N. , Burrell Sara A.
Published: September 2017

Paleoclimate records indicate that the hydroclimate of the northeast United States changed continuously during the Holocene, but the signals of multi-century variations have been difficult to distinguish from local effects and noise. Systematic replication of the signals can help diagnose the patterns of change. Here, we use ground-penetrating radar (GPR) and sediment core analyses to extend and compare the regional network of lake-level records. We reconstruct the histories of two lakes in northeast Pennsylvania, which show that multi-century hydrologic changes observed in coastal New England extended to the Susquehanna River watershed. Correlations with isotopic and marine temperature records (r>0.65) indicate that high temperatures coincided with low water at 4.9–3.8 and 2.8–2.0 ka. Widely recognized Holocene events at ca. 4.2 and 2.7 ka, therefore, may have shared similar ocean-atmosphere dynamics in this region. Low water levels in Pennsylvania from ca. 5.5–4.9 ka, however, demonstrate that other multi-century changes had different patterns. At ca. 5.5 ka, anti-phased inland and coastal hydrologic changes followed a sharp temperature decline and produced drought possibly as far inland as the Great Lakes. The long-term increase in water levels since then underscores that current pluvial conditions in the region probably lack a Holocene precedent.
Antidiscrimination Laws, Policy Knowledge and Political Support
Authors: Ziller Conrad , Helbling Marc
Published: September 2017

This study investigates how antidiscrimination policy and related policy knowledge influence citizens’ support for the democratic system and its institutions. The article argues that antidiscrimination measures and knowledge about rights to equal treatment foster perceptions of government responsiveness, which increase political support among target groups and citizens who advocate egalitarianism. Utilizing a longitudinal design and more valid measures to resolve causality issues, the results of the empirical models show that increases in policy knowledge over time systematically predict higher political support, especially among individuals who hold egalitarian values. Individuals who are discriminated against express particularly high political support in contexts where antidiscrimination laws are expanded. Overall, the results amplify the role of policy knowledge as a key factor in studying policy feedback effects.
ON THE ORDER STRUCTURE OF REPRESENTABLE FUNCTIONALS
Authors: TARCSAY ZSIGMOND , TITKOS TAMÁS
Published: September 2017

The main purpose of this paper is to investigate some natural problems regarding the order structure of representable functionals on *-algebras. We describe the extreme points of order intervals, and give a non-trivial sufficient condition to decide whether or not the infimum of two representable functionals exists. To this aim, we offer a suitable approach to the Lebesgue decomposition theory, which is in complete analogy with the one developed by Ando in the context of positive operators. This tight analogy allows to invoke Ando's results to characterize uniqueness of the decomposition, and solve the infimum problem over certain operator algebras.
Why Do Fund Managers Identify and Share Profitable Ideas?
Authors: Crawford Steven S. , Gray Wesley R. , Kern Andrew E.
Published: September 2017

We study data from an organization in which fund managers privately share and discuss detailed investment recommendations. Buy recommendations generate positive abnormal returns, and sell recommendations result in negative abnormal returns. In the context of these results, we explore an important economic question: Why do skilled investors share profitable ideas with others? Evidence suggests that the managers in our sample share to receive feedback on their ideas and to attract additional arbitrageur capital to the securities they recommend in order to correct mispricings.
How can research partnerships better support local development? Stakeholder perceptions on an approach to understanding research partnership outcomes in the Canadian Arctic
Authors: Brunet Nicolas D. , Hickey Gordon M. , Humphries Murray M.
Published: September 2017

Understanding the benefits and outcomes of Canada's public investment in Arctic science and associated community–researcher partnerships represents a significant challenge for government. This paper presents a capital assets-based approach to conceptualising northern research partnership development processes and assessing the potential outcomes. By more explicitly considering the pre- and post-partnership asset levels (that is, social, human, physical, financial and natural assets) for different collaborators, the potential benefits and challenges associated with community–researcher partnerships can be collaboratively assessed. In order to help refine this approach, we conducted a survey of those involved in developing and maintaining community–researcher partnerships across Arctic Canada. Results indicate that the proposed approach could be useful for research funding agencies seeking to better understand partnership outcomes and promote more effective community–researcher interactions. Challenges include adequately capturing the qualitative nature of different capital assets, pointing to future research and policy needs. Better understanding the role of research in northern development has the potential to improve northern research, policy and practice.
Effects of cognitive remediation on negative symptoms dimensions: exploring the role of working memory
Authors: Cella M. , Stahl D. , Morris S. , Keefe R. S. E. , Bell M. D. , Wykes T.
Published: September 2017

Background

Recent theories suggest that poor working memory (WM) may be the cognitive underpinning of negative symptoms in people with schizophrenia. In this study, we first explore the effect of cognitive remediation (CR) on two clusters of negative symptoms (i.e. expressive and social amotivation), and then assess the relevance of WM gains as a possible mediator of symptom improvement.

Method

Data were accessed for 309 people with schizophrenia from the NIMH Database of Cognitive Training and Remediation Studies and a separate study. Approximately half the participants received CR and the rest were allocated to a control condition. All participants were assessed before and after therapy and at follow-up. Expressive negative symptoms and social amotivation symptoms scores were calculated from the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale. WM was assessed with digit span and letter-number span tests.

Results

Participants who received CR had a significant improvement in WM scores (d = 0.27) compared with those in the control condition. Improvements in social amotivation levels approached statistical significance (d = −0.19), but change in expressive negative symptoms did not differ between groups. WM change did not mediate the effect of CR on social amotivation.

Conclusions

The results suggest that a course of CR may benefit behavioural negative symptoms. Despite hypotheses linking memory problems with negative symptoms, the current findings do not support the role of this cognitive domain as a significant mediator. The results indicate that WM improves independently from negative symptoms reduction.
STAKEHOLDER INVOLVEMENT THROUGHOUT HEALTH TECHNOLOGY ASSESSMENT: AN EXAMPLE FROM PALLIATIVE CARE
Authors: Brereton Louise , Wahlster Philip , Mozygemba Kati , Lysdahl Kristin Bakke , Burns Jake , Polus Stephanie , Tummers Marcia , Refolo Pietro , Sacchini Dario , Leppert Wojciech , Chilcott James , Ingleton Christine , Gardiner Clare , Goyder Elizabeth
Published: September 2017

Objectives: Internationally, funders require stakeholder involvement throughout health technology assessment (HTA). We report successes, challenges, and lessons learned from extensive stakeholder involvement throughout a palliative care case study that demonstrates new concepts and methods for HTA.

Methods: A 5-step “INTEGRATE-HTA Model” developed within the INTEGRATE-HTA project guided the case study. Using convenience or purposive sampling or directly / indirectly identifying and approaching individuals / groups, stakeholders participated in qualitative research or consultation meetings. During scoping, 132 stakeholders, aged ≥ 18 years in seven countries (England, Italy, Germany, The Netherlands, Norway, Lithuania, and Poland), highlighted key issues in palliative care that assisted identification of the intervention and comparator. Subsequently stakeholders in four countries participated in face–face, telephone and / or video Skype meetings to inform evidence collection and / or review assessment results. An applicability assessment to identify contextual and implementation barriers and enablers for the case study findings involved twelve professionals in the three countries. Finally, thirteen stakeholders participated in a mock decision-making meeting in England.

Results: Views about the best methods of stakeholder involvement vary internationally. Stakeholders make valuable contributions in all stages of HTA; assisting decision making about interventions, comparators, research questions; providing evidence and insights into findings, gap analyses and applicability assessments. Key challenges exist regarding inclusivity, time, and resource use.

Conclusion: Stakeholder involvement is feasible and worthwhile throughout HTA, sometimes providing unique insights. Various methods can be used to include stakeholders, although challenges exist. Recognition of stakeholder expertise and further guidance about stakeholder consultation methods is needed.
Intertwined Markov processes: the extended Chapman–Kolmogorov equation
Authors: Lee Wha-Suck , Sauer Niko
Published: September 2017

Uniformization transforms a pseudo-Poisson process with unequal intensities (leaving rates) into one with uniform intensity. Self-transitions is the price to pay. Two intensities arise when one considers an absorbing barrier of a Markov process as a body in its own right: a pair of Markov processes intertwined by an extended Chapman–Kolmogorov equation naturally arises. We show that Sauer's two-state space empathy theory handles such intertwined processes. The price of self-transitions is also avoided.
Analysis of powder diffraction data collected with synchrotron X-ray and multiple 2D X-ray detectors applying a beta-distribution peak profile model
Authors: Ida Takashi , Wachi Kento , Hattan Daiki , Ono Shoki , Tachiki Shoji , Nakanishi Yuki , Sakuma Yasuhiro , Wada Akio , Towata Shin-ichi
Published: September 2017

A powder diffraction measurement system constructed on a beam-line BL5S2 at Aichi Synchrotron Radiation Center in Seto, Japan, has been modified for extensive use of two-dimensional (2D) X-ray detectors. Four flat 2D detectors are currently mounted on the movable stages on supporting rods radially attached to the 2Θ-wheel of the goniometer with the interval of 25°. The 2D powder diffraction intensity data are reduced to conventional 1D format of powder diffraction data by the method based on averaging of the pixel intensities with geometrical corrections, which also enables evaluation of standard uncertainties about the reduced intensity data. The 1D powder diffraction data of a 0.1 mm-capillary LaB6 (NIST SRM660b) sample obtained at the camera length of 340 mm have shown almost symmetric peak profile with slight asymmetry simulated by a beta-distribution profile function.
How Often Must We Re-Invent the Wheel? Reflections on the Most Efficient Structure of Prosecution Offices in International Courts and Why It is Not Generally Used
Authors: BIRN RUTH BETTINA
Published: September 2017

Are historians or other country specialists needed in the investigation and prosecution of crimes under international law? Experiences at international tribunals, from the Nuremberg Trials to the present, offer different answers to this question. This article argues that country specialists are indispensable and demonstrates how, time and again, in international or national settings, practical necessities have led to structural models in which lawyers, investigators and country specialists work together. A ‘best practices’ model for interdisciplinary investigations adopted by a group of national and international prosecution units is presented in detail. When creating new international tribunals, the UN did not incorporate this model. What is needed for future tribunals is a structural framework of the Office of the Prosecutor, which includes country specialists.
The Job Market for Justice: Screening and Selecting Candidates for the International Court of Justice
Authors: CREAMER COSETTE , GODZIMIRSKA ZUZANNA
Published: September 2017

Over the past few decades, states have granted greater independence and authority to international courts, yet still retain their ability to control who sits on the bench. This article examines how governments use their power of judicial nomination and appointment in the context of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and assesses the relative influence of three factors on states’ vote choices for ICJ candidates: the candidates’ probability of (in)sensitivity to political considerations; their qualifications; and the role of interstate politics. Drawing on a new dataset of candidates nominated for election to the ICJ between 1949 and 2010, we demonstrate that electing states base their initial vote choices largely on the same set of factors within both bodies that elect ICJ judges: the United Nations General Assembly and Security Council. In particular, professional experiences signaling a probability of insensitivity to political considerations reduce a candidate's expected vote share. A candidate's qualifications, on the other hand, do not appear to make a considerable difference in winning more votes. Finally, the amount of support during the nomination stage is highly correlated with vote share, suggesting that considerable screening occurs prior to nomination and that the number of nominations received facilitates co-ordination of vote choice across states.
The multifaceted role of inhibitory interneurons in the dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus
Authors: COX CHARLES L. , BEATTY JOSEPH A.
Published: September 2017

Intrinsic interneurons within the dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus (dLGN) provide a feed-forward inhibitory pathway for afferent visual information originating from the retina. These interneurons are unique because in addition to traditional axodendritic output onto thalamocortical neurons, these interneurons have presynaptic dendrites that form dendrodendritic synapses onto thalamocortical neurons as well. These presynaptic dendrites, termed F2 terminals, are tightly coupled to the retinogeniculate afferents that synapse onto thalamocortical relay neurons. Retinogeniculate stimulation of F2 terminals can occur through the activation of ionotropic and/or metabotropic glutamate receptors. The stimulation of ionotropic glutamate receptors can occur with single stimuli and produces a short-lasting inhibition of the thalamocortical neuron. By contrast, activation of metabotropic glutamate receptors requires tetanic activation and results in longer-lasting inhibition in the thalamocortical neuron. The F2 terminals are predominantly localized to the distal dendrites of interneurons, and the excitation and output of F2 terminals can occur independent of somatic activity within the interneuron thereby allowing these F2 terminals to serve as independent processors, giving rise to focal inhibition. By contrast, strong transient depolarizations at the soma can initiate a backpropagating calcium-mediated potential that invades the dendritic arbor activating F2 terminals and leading to a global form of inhibition. These distinct types of output, focal versus global, could play an important role in the temporal and spatial roles of inhibition that in turn impacts thalamocortical information processing.
STRUCTURAL STABILITY OF THE GENERALIZED TAYLOR RULE
Authors: Barnett William A. , Duzhak Evgeniya A.
Published: September 2017

This paper analyzes the dynamical properties of monetary models with regime switching. We start with the analysis of the evolution of inflation when policy is guided by a simple monetary rule where coefficients switch with the policy regime. We rule out the possibility of a Hopf bifurcation and demonstrate the possibility of a period-doubling bifurcation. As a result, a small change in the parameters (e.g., a more active policy response) can lead to a drastic change in the path of inflation. We show that the New Keynesian model with a current-looking Taylor rule is not prone to bifurcations. A New Keynesian model with a hybrid rule, however, exhibits the same pattern of period-doubling bifurcations as the analysis with a simple monetary rule.
The role of general executive functions in receptive language switching and monitoring
Authors: JYLKKÄ JUSSI , LEHTONEN MINNA , KUUSAKOSKI ANNA , LINDHOLM FRED , HUT SUZANNE C. A. , LAINE MATTI
Published: September 2017

We assessed language switch and mixing costs in a language-general semantic categorization task and examined how these costs relate to general inhibition and set shifting capacities. The participants were 51 native Finnish subjects with English as L2. The results showed significant symmetric language switch costs and, unexpectedly, a mixing advantage in L2: reaction times were faster in the mixed language block than in the single language block. The interactions with the general executive functions showed no consistent overall pattern. We argue that the L2 mixing advantage stems from statistical facilitation in line with a horse race model, or from opportunistic planning as suggested by the Adaptive Control hypothesis. We argue that the results overall indicate that lexical access in language reception is non-selective.
Glucose and cholesterol stabilization in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus with depressive and anxiety symptoms by problem-solving therapy in primary care centers in Mexico City
Authors: Villamil-Salcedo Valerio , Vargas-Terrez Blanca E. , Caraveo-Anduaga Jorge , González-Olvera Jorge , Díaz-Anzaldúa Adriana , Cortés-Sotres José , Pérez-Ávila Magdalena
Published: September 2017

Aim

The aim of this study was to determine if the problem-solving therapy (PST) helps control metabolic variables in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) who show depressive and anxiety symptoms.

Background

T2DM is a chronic-degenerative multifactorial disease. It is considered one of the main public health problems in the world, and it represents an important social and economic burden. It is frequently associated with major depression and anxiety disorders, which are related with high glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) concentrations and poor metabolic control.

Method

We initially included 123 patients diagnosed with T2DM from five primary care centers (PCC) in Mexico City. HbA1c, central glucose, and lipid profile were measured in each patient. In addition, the Kessler psychological distress scale (K-10), the Beck Depression Inventory, and the Beck Anxiety Inventory were applied at the beginning and, to those who continued, at the end of the PST, as well as four months later.

Findings

In total, 36 patients completed the PST and the follow-up. There was a significant decrease in depressive and anxiety symptoms (P<0.001), as well as in total cholesterol (P=0.002), HbA1c(P=0.05), and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) (P=0.022). The PST helps reduce depressive and anxiety symptoms and may help stabilize glucose and cholesterol up to four months. Further studies on this area are recommended. If our findings are confirmed, the PST could help improve the quality of life of thousands of individuals with psychiatric-metabolic co-morbidity who only visit PCC.
INVOLUTIVE HEEGAARD FLOER HOMOLOGY AND PLUMBED THREE-MANIFOLDS
Authors: Dai Irving , Manolescu Ciprian
Published: September 2017

We compute the involutive Heegaard Floer homology of the family of three-manifolds obtained by plumbings along almost-rational graphs. (This includes all Seifert fibered homology spheres.) We also study the involutive Heegaard Floer homology of connected sums of such three-manifolds, and explicitly determine the involutive correction terms in the case that all of the summands have the same orientation. Using these calculations, we give a new proof of the existence of an infinite-rank subgroup in the three-dimensional homology cobordism group.
Spatial and temporal incidence of insect pests in farmers’ cabbage fields in Senegal
Authors: Labou Babacar , Brévault Thierry , Sylla Serigne , Diatte Mamadou , Bordat Dominique , Diarra Karamoko
Published: September 2017

In Senegal, damage caused by insect pests is a major obstacle to seasonal stability and an increase in cabbage production. Little is known about the spatial and temporal distribution of cabbage pests, which makes the design of management recommendations to small-scale farmers challenging. The objectives of this study were to: (i) evaluate the status of insect pests observed in cabbage farmers’ fields; (ii) give information on the spatial and temporal distribution of key pests and (iii) assess the effect of temperature, insecticide applications, and host crop abundance on their incidence. A total of 116 cabbage fields were monitored for insect pests and related damage over four crop cycles, from October 2012 to May 2014, in the main vegetable producing area of Senegal (Niayes). The diamondback moth Plutella xylostella (L.) was by far the most important pest present in all the fields and with high levels of incidence (37.1% infested plants), particularly in the latter part of the dry season in the South of Niayes (50% infested plants). The cabbage webworm Hellula undalis (F.) was mainly observed in the early dry season in the south of Niayes, with an incidence of up to 12.5% infested plants. More surprising was the detection of the tomato fruit worm Helicoverpa armigera (Hübner), with damage of up to 9.4% of cabbage heads. The incidence of sucking pests such as whiteflies Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius), or aphids (including Lipaphis pseudobrassicae (Davis, 1914), Myzus persicae (Sulzer) or Brevicoryne brassicae (L.)) was generally low. The incidence of P. xylostella increased significantly with the number of insecticide applications, indicating that control deployed by growers was ineffective. The incidence of H. undalis did not depend on the number of insecticide applications, but significantly increased with host crop abundance and decreased with temperature. This study is a first step towards developing alternative pest management strategies in the framework of sustainable vegetable production systems.
Copying informal institutions: the role of British colonial officers during the decolonization of British Africa
Authors: SEIDLER VALENTIN
Published: September 2017

Institutional reforms in developing countries often involve copying institutions from developed countries. Such institutional copying is likely to fail, if formal institutions alone are copied without the informal institutions on which they rest in the originating country. This paper investigates the role of human actors in copying informal institutions. At independence, all British African colonies imported the same institution intended to safeguard the political neutrality of their civil services. While the necessary formal provisions were copied into the constitutions of all African colonies, the extent to which they were put into practice varies. The paper investigates the connection between the variation in the legal practice and the presence of British colonial officers after independence. A natural experiment around compensation payments to British officers explains the variation in the number of officers who remained in service after independence. Interviews with retired officers suggest that the extended presence of British personnel promoted the acceptance of imported British institutions among local colleagues.
Correlation coefficient calculations for MIMO antenna systems: a comparative study
Authors: Sharawi Mohammad S. , Hassan Abdelmoniem T. , Khan Muhammad U.
Published: September 2017

The correlation coefficient (ρ) is an important metric for the evaluation of multiple-input–multiple-output (MIMO) antenna systems because it describes the relationship between the channels in a particular propagation environment. Highly correlated channels will degrade the MIMO system performance. Various methods to calculateρare analyzed in this work using three different types of antennas with different efficiencies and radiating properties. While the field-based method for findingρgives the most accurate results and should be used all the time. It is independent of antenna efficiency. The the S-parameter-based method might give reasonable results only when the antenna efficiency is very high and the patterns are separated in space, but in most cases, it underestimatesρvalues and thus is not a reliable method and should be avoided. Incorporating the antenna efficiency can improve theρestimates using the S-parameters method under some specific conditions. The equivalent circuit method provides reasonable results for symmetric antenna structures only, and is the most complex in formulation. As part of the evaluation, two existing methods incorporating the radiation efficiency of the antennas are generalized to N-ports for the first time. Although less accurate than the field-based method, these extensions allow the evaluation ofρfor N-port antennas using only the radiation efficiency and the S-parameters of the antenna. The effect of the beam tilts onρestimation is investigated for the first time.
Fehlbelastungen im Studium
Authors: Hiemisch Anette , Armbrust Alexandra , Gröger Julia
Published: September 2017

Zusammenfassung. In zwei Studien wurde die aus dem Arbeitskontext stammende Irritationsskala an den universitären Kontext angepasst. Die studentische Irritationsskala erfasst die subjektiv wahrgenommene kognitive und emotionale Belastung im Studium. Im Vergleich zum Original wurden in einer ersten Studie in zwei Befragungen (N = 348, N = 121) für die Subskala emotionale Irritation zwei Items entfernt und eines neu formuliert. In der zweiten Studie (N = 903) wurde die zweifaktorielle Struktur der Skala mittels konfirmatorischer Faktorenanalyse bestätigt. Die internen Konsistenzen sind sehr gut (kognitive Irritation: α = .85, emotionale Irritation: α = .91). Die Zusammenhänge mit anderen Konstrukten fielen weitgehend erwartungsgemäß aus. Studiumsspezifische Belastungsfaktoren wie die wahrgenommene Prüfungsbelastung korrelierten signifikant mit mindestens einer der beiden Subskalen. Es steht somit ein ökonomisches und valides Verfahren zur Erkennung belastungsbezogener Beanspruchungsfolgen im Studium zur Verfügung.
Guilty Pleasure No More
Authors: Nabi Robin L. , Pérez Torres Debora , Prestin Abby
Published: September 2017

Abstract. Despite the substantial attention paid to stress management in the extant coping literature, media use has been surprisingly overlooked as a strategy worthy of close examination. Although media scholars have suggested media use may be driven by a need to relax, related research has been sporadic and, until recently, disconnected from the larger conversation about stress management. The present research aimed to determine the relative value of media use within the broader range of coping strategies. Based on surveys of both students and breast cancer patients, media use emerged as one of the most frequently selected strategies for managing stress across a range of personality and individual difference variables. Further, heavier television consumers and those with higher perceived stress were also more likely to use media for coping purposes. Finally, those who choose media for stress management reported it to be an effective tool, although perhaps not as effective as other popular strategies. This research not only documents the centrality of media use in the corpus of stress management techniques, thus highlighting the value of academic inquiry into media-based coping, but it also offers evidence supporting the positive role media use can play in promoting psychological well-being.