bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Cudzołóstwo w praktyce prawa miejskiego Rzeczypospolitej na przykładzie „Księgi czarnej złoczyńców sądu kryminalnego w Wiśniczu” (koniec XVII–XVIII wieku)
Authors: Delimata-Proch Małgorzata
Published: October 2018

The aim of this article is to analyze the issue of adultery in the Polish town of Wisnicz. The basis of the study was “Acta Nigra Maleficorum Wisniciae” (1665–1785). This source provided data from 49 cases. Moreover, it constituted the basis for establishing the number of cases pertaining to adultery, determining the number and origin of the defendants, examining the circumstances of the offense as well as examining the court procedure,sentence and the imposed penalties. The paper attempts to answer all these questions and to present ruminations on the norms which regulate this issue as well as to delineate the attitude of the courts in other Polish towns towards adulterers. Among the aforementioned court cases in Wisnicz, four instances were related to the charge of adultery. The perpetrators of this crime have committed adulterium simplex (it is a category of adultery in which only one person is married). Furthermore, in the course of the discussed love affairs, there were two instances in which only the men were married (the women were single) and the women were married (and the men were single) in theremaining two examples. Only one person was convicted of adultery. The remaining defendants were also charged with murder, infanticide or incitement to commit these crimes. The love affairs mentioned above were brief in character. Also two of the people charged with adultery were servants of their respective lovers. Finally, the circumstances of these acts were passion and deserting the wife by her husband. Another aim of the article was to delineate the punishment system. Just one person was convicted of adultery only. It was treated as a felony then and punished by death inthe form of decapitation. In this instance, the sentence was subsequently commuted to a fine. Additionally, it should be added that both penalties were prescribed by the urban legal principles for this crime. All perpetrators who were found guilty of adultery were sentenced to death. However, the punishment was commuted in each case to flogging. This commutation correlates with a general view on the liberalization of the punishment system in the 18th century.
Od demokracji bezpośredniej do rządów zgromadzenia? Rousseau i problemy republikańskiego konstytucjonalizmu
Authors: Lis Rafał
Published: October 2018

The following article considers the problems connected with the relationship between the principles of the direct democracy and the gouvernement d’assemblée. The values contemporarily ascribed to these principles are often counted among different, sometimes even opposing, traditions of republican constitutionalism. However, the proposed analysis of Rousseau’s thought suggests that the general intellectual tendencies that are attributedto both systems might originally have had a lot in common. Furthermore, they embody the two different republican ways of implementing the very ideas of popular sovereignty and the accountability of the public authorities to the citizens. The undertaken juxtaposition of the contents of the Social Contract and of the Considerations on the Government of Poland may even point to an evolution of Rousseau’s stance. It can be discerned especiallyin the approval in the second work, which pertained to one of the largest European states of that time, as it conveys the need to shift the responsibility for law-making to the assembly of deputies (the Sejm). The proposition of transferring this responsibility to a quasi-representative body corresponds perfectly with the warnings against the abuses of an unchecked executive, which are equally stringent in the Social Contract. This actuallydenoted that Rousseau was ready to accept some sort of gouvernement d’assemblée in large states. In the end however, it did not mark a departure from the ideals of the direct government, especially after taking into consideration Rousseau’s extraordinary appreciation of the institutions of deputy directives and – treated already as an emergency measure – confederation.
Zmiany w stosunku służbowym funkcjonariuszy państwowej służby cywilnej w II Rzeczypospolitej
Authors: Krzymkowski Marek
Published: October 2018

Legal situation of the civil servants in the Second Polish Republic was regulated by the act of the 17th of February 1922 on the state civil service. Employment in the civil service was public in character. The changes in the employment of the state civil servants could take different forms. Among them were the following: transferring a civil servant to a different town and to a different position; transferring a civil servant to “a position which is subjected to different regulations” within the same department of the state administration; transferring to a different department of the state administration at the request of a civil servant; changing the employee’s status to inactive state; releasing civil servants to a legislative body and freeing them from professional duties for the duration of their mandate in the said body.
Zwalczanie kultu obrazów w dobie reformacji
Authors: Gołda-Sobczak Maria
Published: October 2018

The rejection and destruction of images, which was so characteristic of the iconoclastic movement of Eastern Christianity, was revived in the Reformation period. The theoretical foundation for this movement was provided by Erasmus of Rotterdam and it was later fully developed by Martin Luther, John Calvin and their successors. This movement had its origins in theology but also there were social and even national roots (in the Netherlands). The position developed during the Reformation period seems to have made an impression on the reception of works of art by the contemporaries not only in Protestant circles but in Catholic ones as well.
Karykatura jako narzędzie polityki państwa
Authors: Kakarenko Ksenia
Published: October 2018

Satire in all countries is protected as a manifestation of public mood and for this reason it is not subject to criminal liability. Caricature is a specific kind of satirical art. During an analysis of the history of the USSR and Poland, one can highlight the special role of caricature in the implementation of a state’s international policy. It served as an instrument of reaching the least educated social strata with state propaganda. It is also worth noting that caricature played a smaller or a larger part for the state at different periods of history.
Iuramentum na inaugurację władzy w mieście średniowiecznym. Przykład Krakowa
Authors: Wiencierz Patrycja
Published: October 2018

The article is devoted to the oaths related to the inauguration of the authorities in medieval Cracow. The paper is mainly based on Cracow’s two municipal codes: the Grabowski Codex (from the 14th and the 15th century) and the Balthasar Behem Codex (from the beginning of the 16th century).The oath played an enormous part in the legal and social relations in the Old Polish period. Cracow’s burghers took an oath of homage (Latin homagium) to every single Polish monarch. Moreover, the clerks, municipal workers and craftsmen yearly pledged their allegiance to the city and took a vow to diligently perform their professional duties. The Grabowski Codex contains oaths (Latin iuramenta) which were written down chaotically for about two centuries. Consequently, it allows one to follow even minor changes in the content of the vows which highlights the significance of the contents of theoath themselves. On the other hand, the Balthasar Behem Code, which was a dignified book and a municipal insignia (Latin insignium), gathered the contemporary oaths in an orderly fashion. As a consequence, it outlines the hierarchy of the municipal clerks and institutions. This further emphasizes the huge importance of a municipal scribe whose oath is inscribed right after the pledge of the town council which was the main municipal institution in town. This paper also undertakes the topic of the elections of new people to perform various functions, pinpoints the dates of these nominations and it outlines the issue of the ceremonies which accompany them. At the same time, it emphasizes the splendour connected with the election of new members of the city council.
Ordonanse królewskie we Francji
Authors: Klimaszewska Anna
Published: October 2018

The issue of royal ordinances in France is not a subject avoided by Polish authors, especially in legal history textbooks. However, the information included in these books is fragmentary in its character, and some pieces require verification. In this extensive legislative material one can distinguish specific ordinances (spéciales), which regulate single issues, as well as general ones (générales), which constitute acts pertaining to a wide spectrum of issues, or even detailed codes. The latter, i.e. the ordinances general in their character, can be further divided into two groups. The first of them encompasses the ordinances published between the 14th and the 17th century (I), while the second one includes the so-called Great Ordinances enacted during the reign of Louis XIV and Louis XV (II). The purpose of the following publication is not to perform a detailed characteristic of the ordinances but, first and foremost, to show that although certain significant institutions were regulated by the ordinances from group I in a way which left a permanent mark on the French legal system, the Great Ordinances by Louis XIV and Louis XV, which represent a completely different character from all the previous general ordinances, constituted codes in the strict sense of the word. As a result of that codification work, performed in stages during the reign of two sovereigns, the ancien régime France did not lack generaland unified legal acts, created with an understanding of the creative role of law in modifying the reality, regulating select fields of law in a comprehensive way and binding in the entire territory of the country. The code of civil procedure, the code of criminal procedure, as well as the commercial code and the maritime code, were enacted at the time. Some areas of civil law were also regulated. The only thing which was not elaborated, or evenapproached in those days, was the penal code. Napoleonic codes should be therefore considered as the subsequent chapter of codification activities in France, carried out for the first time by Louis XIV. The popularity of this issue in the Enlightenment literature and the fact that it was a common phenomenon in other European countries is not a sufficient argument to justify applying this term only to those French acts which were enacted in the 19th century and afterwards.
Geneza i znaczenie Kodeksu Prawa Prywatnego Kantonu Zurychu dla kodyfikacji prawa prywatnego w Szwajcarii na przykładzie prawa spadkowego
Authors: Lewandowicz Maria
Published: October 2018

The Code of Private Law in the Canton of Zurich (Privatrechtliches Gesetzbuch für den Kanton Zürich – PGB) is described as the perfect model for the Swiss Civil Code in the literature devoted to the subject matter of codification of private law in the Swiss Confederation. It was the first modern civil code in Switzerland which was imbued with German tradition and legal culture. At the same time, it represented a high level of scientific sophistication. The Code of Private Law in the Canton of Zurich proved the vitality of German law in Switzerland. Moreover, its stable foundations in the national spirit resultedin a high level of social acceptance for the legal solutions included within. However, the question remains to what extent one can determine the influence of the Code of Private Law in the Canton of Zurich on the project and on the final shape of the Swiss Civil Code (ZGB). Also the question is to what extent one should treat these codes as independent works, even though they were created on the basis of the same initial assumptions. Theinfluence of The Code of Private Law in the Canton of Zurich on the Swiss Civil Code most completely depicts the inheritance law. Firstly, it directly interferes with the personal sphere of a citizen’s life and, consequently, it has to be rooted in the national culture and tradition in order to be effective. Secondly, it is the part of law which was the most diversified regulatory area in Switzerland in the period prior to the unification. The description of the Code of Private Law in the Canton of Zurich as “the perfect model” for the Swiss Civil Code is accurate. However, it is the author’s opinion that thisstatement is an exaggeration. The basic connection between the Code of Private Law in the Canton of Zurich and the Swiss Civil Code is expressed in the method of conducting the preparatory work for the codification work. It is also expressed by the adopted method of selection of the source material which was to serve as demonstrative material in the unification work. However, there is no evidence which would attest that the Swiss Civil Code’s contents were based on the regulations found in the Code of Private Law in the Canton of Zurich. The close relationship of both laws is expressed not in the contents but rather in the ideological assumptions of the conducted codification works.
Utworzenie Kasy Oszczędności w Wolnym Mieście Krakowie i jej działalność w latach 1844-1857
Authors: Mataniak Mateusz
Published: October 2018

The article presents the activity of the Savings Bank in Cracow between 1844 and 1857. It recreates the course of works undertaken during its creation by the Representatives Assembly. The basic ideological assumptions on which it was based were shown. Moreover, the paper presents the participation in the creation process of the Brotherhood of Mercy and of the Mount of Piety (Latin Mons Pietatis). The legal basis of the Savings Bank’s functioning was analyzed in detail. The foundation had the shape of statutory law from the 3rd of July 1844, the organization of the Management of the Savings Bank, the rules of depositing and withdrawing the savings, keeping accountancy and its control by the authorities. Also detailed data was included pertaining to the size of the deposit and the size of the withdrawal made from the Savings Bank. The basis of the article consists of the archival materials from the National Archive in Cracow and of the announcements made by the Management of the Savings Bank, which were published in “The Governmental Gazette”.
Uczelnie badawcze: Geografia produkcji wiedzy w kontekście koncentracji zasobów i akumulacji prestiżu
Authors: Kwiek Marek
Published: October 2018

Uczelnie badawcze: Geografia produkcji wiedzy w kontekście koncentracji zasobów i akumulacji prestiżu
Konsultatywność w projektowaniu reformy szkolnictwa wyższego w Polsce na przykładzie Ustawy 2.0
Authors: Dziedziczak-Foltyn Agnieszka
Published: October 2018

Celem artykułu jest zarysowanie okoliczności powstawania Ustawy 2.0 w latach 2015–2017. Można go potraktować jako studium przypadku ukazujące interesujące procesy konsultowania przygotowywanego wówczas nowego prawa dotyczącego nauki i szkolnictwa wyższego. Proponowana w tekście analiza odnosi się do tzw. fazy prelegislacyjnej, tj. fazy konceptualnej związanej z zapoczątkowaniem zmian oraz fazy konsultacyjnej w trakcie opracowywania projektu ustawy. Tekst ma być próbą weryfikacji tezy o spełnieniu przez decydentów w przypadku prac nad Ustawą 2.0 wymogów konsultatywności rozumianej w kategoriach zdolności do przeprowadzania konsultacji społecznych zgodnych z zasadami rekomendowanymi w teorii i w praktyce.
Uciec, ale dokąd…
Authors: Antonowicz Dominik
Published: October 2018

Niniejszy artykuł stanowi jeden z głosów w dyskusji nad półperyferyjnym charakterem systemów rodukcji naukowej, dla której pretekstem była publikacja książki Gra peryferyjna Tomasza Warczoka i Tomasza Zaryckiego. Autor skupia się w nim na scenariuszach wyswobodzenia się przez polskie nauki społeczne z (pół)peryferii globalnej nauki, jednocześnie podejmując kwestię arunków możliwości zerwania z istniejącym stanem zależności polskiej nauki od systemów entralnych.
Concepts and Methods of Mathematical Modelling of Plant Growth and Development. Plant Germination – Part II
Authors: Kocira Sławomir
Published: October 2018

Interdisciplinary nature of scientific research with regard to agriculture caused a development of mathematical modelling with regard to plant growth and development. Application of mathematical sciences in agriculture suits well the area of agricultural engineering which covers the issues related to inter alia, application of mathematical sciences. This article presents mathematical models, in which the analysed system is described with mathematical formulas. The objective of the paper was to present the current state of knowledge on mathematical methods in description and prediction of plant germination. Possibilities of the use of mathematical models and new challenges occurring in the description of plant germination were presented.
Technology and Equipment for Obtaining Starch Syrup with Ground and Whole Cereal Grain
Authors: Savinykh Petr , Kazakov Vladimir , Czerniatiev Nikolaj , Gerasimova Svietlana , Romaniuk Wacław , Borek Kinga
Published: October 2018

Analysis of patent solutions and research of scientific-research literature in the field of grain processing with technical devices, e.g. kneaders in relation to the quality and digestibility in feed doses of the obtained syrup for the development of beef and dairy cattle was performed. Assumptions of the development trend of feed production, new technologies based on grain, which allow improvement of the quality of feed and reliability of technological lines of animal nutrition, reduce energy consumption, reduce losses were presented. In this regard, reduction of the cost of producing feed compared for example to the production of fodder beet or sugar beet from 1.5 to 2 times is possible.
Tableaux Vivants, Early Cinema, and Beauty-as-Attraction
Authors: Wiegand Daniel
Published: October 2018

This article offers a case study in intermediality and explores relationships between tableaux vivants performances and early cinema around 1900. It locates processes of intermedial exchange not only at the level of form but also at the level of modes of address and reception. More specifically, the study is concerned with how bourgeois notions of beauty were transferred to the film image and reconciled with the attraction value of cinema. As a discussion of early film theory reveals, the concept of “beauty in film” depended on a taming of filmic motion, something that had already been realized in performance practices of tableaux vivants. In the subsequent analysis of the cultural context of tableaux vivants in European variety theatres, I outline a specific mode of address, which I term “beauty-as-attraction:” an overlap of the older aesthetics of the beautiful and the more modern aesthetics of attraction. Through concluding film analysis, I show how tableaux vivants became a model and source of inspiration for early cinema, thus bringing to fruition the two-fold address of beauty-as-attraction in a new media context.
An Uncanny Cinema, a Cinema of the Uncanny. The Trope of the Doll in the Films of Manoel de Oliveira
Authors: Király Hajnal
Published: October 2018

I argue that the trope of the doll, recurrent throughout the films of Manoel de Oliveira, is a visual figure that beyond narrative becomes a discourse on modernity and modernism, stillness and movement, life and death. Accordingly, I propose an overview of occurences of dolls and of “dollness” throughout the work of Oliveira – fromAniki Bobó(1942) toThe Strange Case of Angelica(2010) – with the aim of tracking the line of transformations of an emblematic object into an aesthetic principle, a central figure involving psychoanalytical concepts such as the Freudian “uncanny,” the fetish or the transitional object.
”Let Man Remain Dead:” The Posthuman Ecology of Tale of Tales
Authors: Sticchi Francesco
Published: October 2018

In this essay I analyse Matteo Garrone’s Tale of Tales (2015) within the perspective of embodied cognition. I consider film experience as an affective-conceptual phenomenon based on the viewer’s embodiment of the visual structures. Baruch Spinoza stands at the foundation of my analytical approach since his thought was based on the absolute parallelism between the body and the mind. This paradigm redefines anthropocentrism and rejects dualism; however, the criticism of the rationalist ideal is also one of the main characteristics of the film Tale of Tales: by staging baroque and excessive characters, it allows the viewer to embody a notion of subjectivity that is performative and relational. Therefore, by combining the cognitive analysis of the film with my theoretical framework I will present a radical criticism of abstract rationality and present an ecological idea of the human.
Roy Andersson’s Tableau Aesthetic: A Cinematic Social Space Between Painting and Theatre
Authors: Chinita Fátima
Published: October 2018

The article examines three films by Roy Andersson, Songs from the Second Floor (Sånger från andra våningen, 2000), You, the Living (Du levande, 2007), and A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence (En duva satt på en gren och funderade på tillvaron, 2014). The Swedish director depicts the human condition afflicted by the loss of its humanity through a personal style that he calls “the complex image,” a tableau aesthetic that instigates social criticism, and is dependent upon long shots, immobility, unchanging shot scale, and layered compositions. The author establishes a connection between artistic and social space and scrutinizes the challenges that this “complexity” poses for the film viewer from an intermedial perspective in which cinema enters into a dialogue with two other art forms: painting and theatre. Four specific issues are discussed: (1) the intertwining of reality and artificiality as a “hyperreality;” (2) the visual compositions which are simultaneously self-contained and entirely open, highlighting a tension between volume and surface; (3) the opposition between stasis and movement, conveying a meaningful social contrast and the characters’ angst; (4) the pictoriality of the image.
Gestural Intermediality in Jean-Luc Godard’s First Name: Carmen (1983)
Authors: Giraud François
Published: October 2018

Although the intermediality of Jean-Luc Godard’s films of the 1980s has been extensively analysed, especially the tableaux vivants in Passion (1982), little has been said on the intermedial dimension of gesture in the director’s work of this period. The article investigates how the gestural flows in Godard’s First Name: Carmen (Prénom Carmen, 1983) interrelate heterogeneous forms, meanings, arts, and media. The interconnection between the gestures of the musicians who are rehearsing Beethoven’s late string quartets and the lovers’ gestures, inspired by Rodin’s sculptures, gives cohesion to the hybrid aesthetics of the film. Gesture is the element which incorporates, develops, and sets in motion the features of the other arts, not only by creating an in-between space that forges links between media, but especially by exhibiting the process of making itself. Indeed, the relationship between the performing, musical, and visual arts is made visible in the exhibition of the corporeal effort of making (whether it be making music, film, or love) that tends to open the boundaries separating the different arts. The aural and visual qualities of gestures communicate between themselves, generating rhythms and forms that circulate in the continuous flow of moving images. By fostering the analogy between the gesture of carving, of performing music, and of making film, Godard highlights what unites the arts in cinema, while feeding on their differences.
Modal–Cotton Fibre Blend Ratio and Ring Frame Parameter Optimisation Through the Taguchi Method
Authors: Maheswaran R , Srinivasan V
Published: October 2018

The influence of Modal–cotton (MC) fibre blend ratio and ring frame machine parameters such as front top roller loading and break draft on the blended yarn properties has been studied. Compact MC blended yarn samples of 14.75 tex with three different MC fibre blend ratio has been produced in a LR 6 ring spinning frame fitted with Suessen Compact drafting system. A robust design optimisation to minimise the variations of the output yarn properties such as blended yarn tenacity, yarn unevenness and hairiness caused because of the variations in the material as well as machine setting parameters is achieved through the Taguchi parametric design approach. It is found that the maximum compact MC blended yarn tenacity is 23.76 g/tex, which is influenced very much by MC fibre blend ratio but meagrely by top roller loading and break draft. Similarly, the minimum 9.54 U% and 3.59 hairiness index are achieved with 100:0 and 70:30 MC fibre blend ratio, respectively, at 23-kg top roller loading. Statistical ANOVA analysis is performed on the results and optimum values are obtained within the 95% confidential level through confirmation experiments.
The Precautionary Saving Effect of Government Consumption
Authors: Ercolani Valerio , Pavoni Nicola
Published: October 2018

We study a largely neglected channel through which government expenditures can boost private consumption. We set up a dynamic model in which households are subject to health shocks. We take the model to the data and estimate a negative impact of public health care on household consumption dispersion, wealth and saving. According to our model, this result is explained by a change in the level of precautionary saving, with public health care acting as a form of consumption insurance. We compute the implied consumption multipliers by simulating the typical government consumption shock within a calibrated general equilibrium version of our model, with flexible prices. The impact consumption multiplier generated by the decrease in the level of precautionary saving is positive and sizable. When we include the effect of taxation, the sign of the impact multiplier depends on a few features of the model, such as the persistence of the health shocks. The long-run cumulative multiplier is negative across all calibrations.
Models in Systems Medicine
Authors: Williamson Jon
Published: October 2018

Systems medicine is a promising new paradigm for discovering associations, causal relationships and mechanisms in medicine. But it faces some tough challenges that arise from the use of big data: in particular, the problem of how to integrate evidence and the problem of how to structure the development of models. I argue that objective Bayesian models offer one way of tackling the evidence integration problem. I also offer a general methodology for structuring the development of models, within which the objective Bayesian approach fits rather naturally.
What is the Problem with Model-based Explanation in Economics?
Authors: Marchionni Caterina
Published: October 2018

The question of whether the idealized models of theoretical economics are explanatory has been the subject of intense philosophical debate. It is sometimes presupposed that either a model provides the actual explanation or it does not provide an explanation at all. Yet, two sets of issues are relevant to the evaluation of model-based explanation: what conditions should a model satisfy in order to count as explanatory and does the model satisfy those conditions. My aim in this paper is to unpack this distinction and show that separating the first set of issues from the second is crucial to an accurate diagnosis of the distinctive challenges that economic models pose. Along the way I sketch a view of model-based explanation in economics that focuses on the role that non-empirical and empirical strategies play in increasing confidence in the adequacy of a given model-based explanation.
Generics in Mainland Scandinavian languages
Authors: Skrzypek Dominika , Kurek Anna
Published: October 2018

The paper examines nominal expressions of genericity as found in generic texts (ornithological atlases) in Mainland Scandinavian languages. The material is subdivided into first mentions and subsequent mentions and these are reported separately. Subsequent mentions can be said to be subject to conflicting principles – on the one hand they are generic, on the other anaphoric. The results show that all three languages prefer singular definite NPs to express first mention genericity, however, significant differences are found in subsequent mentions.
Infinite families of equivariantly formal toric orbifolds
Authors: Bahri Anthony , Sarkar Soumen , Song Jongbaek
Published: October 2018

The simplicial wedge construction on simplicial complexes and simple polytopes has been used by a variety of authors to study toric and related spaces, including non-singular toric varieties, toric manifolds, intersections of quadrics and more generally, polyhedral products.
In this paper we extend the analysis to include toric orbifolds.
Our main results yield infinite families of toric orbifolds, derived from a given one, whose integral cohomology is free of torsion and is concentrated in even degrees, a property which might be termed integrally equivariantly formal.
In all cases, it is possible to give a description of the cohomology ring and to relate it to the cohomology of the original orbifold.
Moisture-induced deformation in the neck of a classical guitar
Authors: Stanciu Mariana Domnica , Bucur Voichița , Munteanu Violeta Mihaela , Georgescu Sergiu Valeriu , Năstac Silviu Marian
Published: October 2018

Classical guitar necks were submitted to 40, 65 and 80% relative humidity (RH) during time periods ranging from 24 h to several months, and moisture-induced deformations were observed. Different types of classical guitar necks were investigated in terms of structure and reinforcement. The influences of the wood species and the neck reinforcements on the moisture content (MC)-induced deformation were in focus. First, before humidity exposure in the climatic chamber, the relative positions of three points marked on each sample were measured with a control ruler and noted. After exposure, the displacement of the reference points on the samples were verified periodically. The differences between the measurements in different stages and reference positions were calculated, resulting in relative displacement data of the measured points. During the experiments, the MC of the sample was monitored by weighing. The variation of RH leads to dimensional instability and moisture-induced stresses of the guitar necks, which affect the acoustic quality of a guitar. Steel enforcement of the guitar neck improves this situation.
Evidence for a protective role of the CX3CL1/CX3CR1 axis in a model of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
Authors: Liu Chang , Hong Kun , Chen Huifang , Niu Yanping , Duan Weisong , Liu Yakun , Ji Yingxiao , Deng Binbin , Li Yuanyuan , Li Zhongyao , Wen Di , Li Chunyan
Published: October 2018

Aberrant microglial activation and neuroinflammation is a pathological hallmark of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Fractalkine (CX3CL1) is mostly expressed on neuronal cells. The fractalkine receptor (CX3CR1) is predominantly expressed on microglia. Many progressive neuroinflammatory disorders show disruption of the CX3CL1/CX3CR1 communication system. But the exact role of the CX3CL1/CX3CR1 in ALS pathology remains unknown. F1 nontransgenic/CX3CR1+/− females were bred with SOD1G93A/CX3CR1+/− males to produce F2 SOD1G93A/CX3CR1−/−, SOD1G93A/CX3CR1+/+. We analyzed end-stage (ES) SOD1G93A/CX3CR1−/− mice and progression-matched SOD1G93A/CX3CR1+/+ mice. Our study showed that the male SOD1G93A/CX3CR1−/− mice died sooner than male SOD1G93A/CX3CR1+/+ mice. In SOD1G93A/CX3CR1−/− mice demonstrated more neuronal cell loss, more microglial activation and exacerbated SOD1 aggregation at the end-stage of ALS. The NF-κB pathway was activated; the autophagy-lysosome degradation pathway and the autophagosome maturation were impaired. Our results indicated that the absence of CX3CR1/CX3CL1 signaling in the central nervous system (CNS) may worsen neurodegeneration. The CX3CL1/CX3CR1 communication system has anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective effects and plays an important role in maintaining autophagy activity. This effort may lead to new therapeutic strategies for neuroprotection and provide a therapeutic target for ALS patients.
The demographic determinants of Africa’s changing global position
Authors: Bankóová Valéria
Published: October 2018

Demographic growth has in recent years been one of the determining characteristics of African development, and if projections are correct, the continent is set to become a population superpower. Its proportion of the world population, especially relative to the “old continent”, is increasing in a historically unprecedented manner, and its inhabitants are younger than ever. Although it is still difficult to assess whether this trend should be regarded as an opportunity or as a potential risk factor, it is already possible to discern the first definitive signs of how this evolving new distribution of demographic power is shifting Africa’s geopolitical and economic position in today’s polycentric world.
Afropolitanism as a critique of conventional narratives of African identity and emancipation
Authors: Kasanda Albert
Published: October 2018

Afropolitanism lies at the core of a debate concerning African identity, particularly on account of new configurations and flows generated by the globalization process. Proponents of this concept argue it has the capacity to better express the way Africa relates to and negotiates with the world than conventional African narratives of identity and emancipation. The paper aims at examining the relevance of this position, particularly through Mbembe’s approach to the concept and his criticism of conventional narratives of African identity and emancipation.
Ubuntu and the concept of cosmopolitanism
Authors: Graness Anke
Published: October 2018

Based on the ideas of two main representatives of the academic discourse on Ubuntu, Michael O. Eze and Mogobe B. Ramose, the paper shows how the concept of Ubuntu can contribute to transcending conventional concepts of cosmopolitanism. Referring to the concept of Ubuntu, Ramose and Eze criticize ‘Western’ concepts of cosmopolitanism because they always seem to start from binary oppositions (‘I’ and ‘other’), which must be reconciled. ‘Western’ cosmopolitanism continues to build on boundaries (nations, cultures, etc.) that constitute communities and exclude the ‘other’. Here the boundary remains a place of exclusion. Therefore, it is necessary to conceptualize categories such as ‘boundary’ and the ‘Other’ in a different way. Ubuntu as a concept where the human being is essentially a relational being (one who exists in and through relationships) seems to offer an alternative in the sense of a ‘critical’ (Mignolo, 2002a) or ‘emancipatory’ cosmopolitanism. (Pieterse, 2006; Ngcoya, 2015).
Afropolitan narratives and empathy: Migrant identities in Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Americanah and Sefi Atta’s A Bit of Difference
Authors: Pucherova Dobrota
Published: October 2018

The article analyzes two novels of migration by Nigerian women authors in the context of Afropolitanism: Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Americanah (2013) and Sefi Atta’s A Bit of Difference (2013). It is argued that Afropolitanism obscures the reasons why migration from Africa to the West has been increasing in the decades since independence, rather than decreasing. In comparing the two novels, the article focuses on empathy towards and solidarity between fellow Nigerians, which has been seen by Nigerian philosopher Chielozona Eze as crucial for building African civil society and functional state.
Spatio-temporal trends in the risk of adolescent pregnancy in Minas Gerais, Brazil, 2000–2015
Authors: da Roza Daiane Leite , de Oliveira Carla Maria Teixeira , de Pina Maria de Fátima Rodrigues Pereira , de Melo Vasques de Mendonça Denisa Maria , Martinez Edson Zangiacomi
Published: October 2018

Purpose

To investigate, through a spatio-temporal analysis, the association between the percentages of live births of adolescent mothers (LBAM) and the human development index (HDI), including the three components: income, education and longevity.

Methods

The percentage of LBAM was obtained from the Brazilian Live Births Information System for the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil in the period 2000–2015 and the HDI data and its components were obtained from United Nations Development Program’s (UNDP) Human Development Reports. A generalized additive model (GAM) was used to estimate the relative risk of LBAM in relation to the HDI and to identify spatial clusters of the geographical distribution of LBAM, the Moran global and local index was used.

Results

There is an association between the HDI and its components with LBAM. The high values of relative risk are spatially concentrated in the northern part of the state of Minas Gerais. The graphs indicated a nonlinear relationship between LBAM over the years.

Conclusions

There is a strong spatial dependence of LBAM in Minas Gerais, which suggests that a geographical location plays a fundamental role in understanding it. The regional disparity confirmed in this study is inherent in the process of human development, it is important for planning actions aimed at the development of these regions in order to minimize existing disparities.
Sexual behaviour and its correlates among adolescents in Brunei Darussalam
Authors: Pengpid Supa , Peltzer Karl
Published: October 2018

The aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence and correlates of having had sexual intercourse among adolescents in Brunei Darussalam. The sample included 2599 school-going adolescents that responded to the Global School-based Student Health Survey (GSHS) [mean age 14.7 years, standard deviation (SD) = 1.4]. Sexual behaviour with a range of other health behaviours and protective factors were assessed based on a self-report. The relationship between socio-demographic, substance use, psychosocial, protective factors and ever had sexual intercourse were assessed using logistic regression analyses. Results indicate that 11.3% ever had sexual intercourse and 2.1% had two or more sexual partners in their lifetime. Among the sexually active students, 50% had early sexual debut (<14 years), 38.3% had used a condom at last sex, and 31.8% had used other birth control at last sex. In adjusted analysis, older age [odds ratio (OR) = 1.58, confidence interval (CI) = 1.04, 2.42], current tobacco use (OR = 1.67, CI = 1.10, 2.52), current alcohol consumption (OR = 2.26, CI = 1.26, 4.93), history of attempted suicide (OR = 1.96, CI = 1.20, 3.19) and bullying victimisation (OR = 1.43, CI = 1.00, 2.05) were associated with ever having had sexual intercourse. Significant sexual risk behaviour was found and several risk factors identified for incorporation in comprehensive sex education.
Association between a vegetarian diet and emotional symptoms: a cross-sectional study among adolescents in four developing countries
Authors: Santivañez-Romani Alejandra , Carbajal-Vega Valeria , Pereyra-Elías Reneé
Published: October 2018

Background

Studies assessing the association between vegetarianism and mental health have found divergent results. Evidence from adolescents in developing countries is scarce.

Objective

To evaluate the association between a vegetarian diet and emotional symptoms in 15-year-old adolescents from Ethiopia, India, Peru and Vietnam.

Methods

A cross-sectional, secondary analysis of the Young Lives cohort study was used. The exposure variable was the self-report of being a vegetarian (yes or no). The outcome was the level of emotional symptoms, numerically evaluated using the score obtained in the subscale “Emotional Symptoms” of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). We calculated crude and adjusted coefficients (β) with 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs), using generalized linear models of the Gaussian family, considering each sentinel site as a cluster. The analysis was stratified by country. Additionally, we made a global analysis including the four countries.

Results

A total of 3484 adolescents were analyzed. The overall prevalence of vegetarianism was 4.4%, but it varied between countries (from 0.4% in Vietnam to 11.5% in India). The average emotional symptoms score was 3.5 [standard deviation (SD) 2.3] points. The scores were not statistically different between vegetarians and non-vegetarians (p > 0.05). In the adjusted analysis, in Vietnam, vegetarians had lower emotional symptoms scores on average than non-vegetarians [β: −1.79; 95% CI: −3.05 to −0.55]. No differences were found neither in the other countries nor in the overall sample.

Conclusion

There was no association between a vegetarian diet and emotional symptoms in the analyzed adolescents of four developing countries.
A prospective 1-year study on load reduction of school backpacks shows reversible changes of body posture in schoolchildren
Authors: Grannemann Julia J. , Holzhauer Sonja , Blumentritt Siegmar , Larsen Jörg , Braunschweig Lena , Hell Anna K.
Published: October 2018

Background

The impact of backpack carrying on body postural changes in schoolchildren has been discussed intensively. However, findings are inconsistent mainly due to the lack of long-term results.

Objective

The purpose of this investigation was to study the influence of backpack weight on body posture and prevalence of back pain.

Methods

In our prospective, comparative study, we investigated the influence of backpack weight on 77 schoolchildren (average age 10.8 ± 0.7 years) over a 1-year period. Participants were evaluated at the beginning of the study by clinical examination and formal static posture analysis. Forty-nine students comprised the control group while 28 students in the intervention cohort had the weight of their backpacks reduced by 2 kg. All students were reevaluated after 6 and 12 months by formal postural examination.

Results

Children with reduced backpack weights had a significantly improved bending posture when wearing their backpacks when compared to the participants of the control group, whereas the analysis of the children while they did not wear their backpacks revealed no difference between the groups. Within the follow-up period all postural changes were reversible once the backpack weight was removed.

Conclusions

Schoolchildren with heavy backpack loads show postural changes while carrying their backpack but this impact was reversible when backpacks were removed. Continuous reduction of backpack loads minimizes prevalence of back pain.
L-stable Explicit Nonlinear Method with Constant and Variable Step-size Formulation for Solving Initial Value Problems
Authors: Qureshi Sania , Ramos Higinio
Published: October 2018

In this work, we develop a nonlinear explicit method suitable for both autonomous and non-autonomous type of initial value problems in Ordinary Differential Equations (ODEs). The method is found to be third order accurate having L-stability. It is shown that if a variable step-size strategy is employed then the performance of the proposed method is further improved in comparison with other methods of same nature and order. The method is shown to be working well for initial value problems having singular solutions, singularly perturbed and stiff problems, and blow-up ODE problems, which is illustrated using a few numerical experiments.
Two-Dimensional Legendre Wavelets for Solving Variable-Order Fractional Nonlinear Advection-Diffusion Equation with Variable Coefficients
Authors: Hosseininia M. , Heydari M. H. , Avazzadeh Z. , Maalek Ghaini F. M.
Published: October 2018

This article studies a numerical scheme for solving two-dimensional variable-order time fractional nonlinear advection-diffusion equation with variable coefficients, where the variable-order fractional derivative is in the Caputo type. The main idea is expanding the solution in terms of the 2D Legendre wavelets (2D LWs) where the variable-order time fractional derivative is discretized. We describe the method using the matrix operators and then implement it for solving various types of fractional advection-diffusion equations. The experimental results show the computational efficiency of the new approach.
Immediate effect of mind sound resonance technique (MSRT – a yoga-based relaxation technique) on blood pressure, heart rate, and state anxiety in individuals with hypertension: a pilot study
Authors: Wang Yuni , Metri Kashinath G , Singh Amit , Raghuram Nagaratna
Published: October 2018

Background

Mind sound resonance technique (MSRT) is a yoga-based relaxation technique. Previous studies on MSRT demonstrated its potential health-benefiting effects in both clinical and nonclinical population. Present study intended to assess the acute effect of MSRT intervention on blood pressure, heart rate (HR), and state anxiety in patients with essential hypertension (HTN).

Methods

Thirty participants (13 females) with HTN, within the age range 30–60 years (with mean±SD: 57.23±11.3 years), who visited SVYASA University campus to attend 1-week residential yoga program for HTN treatment, were considered for this study based on inclusion and exclusion criteria. All participants received a 4-day MSRT orientation sessions prior to the study. Each participant underwent 30-min session of both MSRT and supine rest (SR) on 2 successive days. Systolic and diastolic blood pressures, pulse rate, and state anxiety were measured before and immediately after both MSRT and SR sessions. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 16. Repeated-measure analysis of variance was applied to assess within-subjects changes.

Results

After MSRT session, significant decrease in systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), HR, and state anxiety was observed compared to baseline. Similarly, after SR session, significant changes were found in HR and state anxiety. No significant change was seen in SBP and DBP following SR compared to SR session; MSRT session showed significantly better improvement in SBP, DBP, HR, and state anxiety.

Conclusion

Present study demonstrated the usefulness of single session of MSRT in reducing blood pressure, HR, and state anxiety among individuals with HTN as compared to SR. These findings encourage the further studies with larger sample size and long-term intervention with a robust research design.
Load and Link Aware Protection Switching Technique for WDM Networks
Authors: Ravi Prakash Rao T. , Malleswara Rao V.
Published: October 2018

Providing reliable connection-oriented services in wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) networks becomes challenging because of bad channel quality and overload. Most of the existing works have not considered node failures and congestion which are the essential characteristics for survivable routing. In this paper, a load and link aware protection switching technique for survivable routing in WDM networks is proposed. The technique estimates k-shortest paths for a connection request. Based on four different path possibilities, it provides the best path as connection path in terms of bandwidth. For establishing the primary path, the least virtual hop first routing algorithm is used. If the source node receives either failure or congestion warning message from the intermediate nodes, it triggers the load balanced rerouting algorithm for establishing the backup path. The proposed technique is simulated in NS-2, and the simulation results prove the efficiency of the scheme.