bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A performance assessment of model predictive direct power control and model predictive direct current control for switched reluctance motor drive systems
Authors: Li Yan , Wang Guofeng , Li Cunhe
Published: March 2018

In this paper, a performance assessment between model predictive direct power control and model predictive direct current control is proposed by using a simplified computational approach for switched reluctance motor drive systems. To reduce the calculation efforts, a reduced set of switching states is employed by combining the space vector modulation strategy with the dead‐beat predictive control technique. Specifically, an optimal state of the reduced set of switching states is directly selected and applied in neutral point clamped active front‐end rectifiers of switched reluctance motor drive systems. In comparison with the conventional method, the proposed scheme takes into account the 27 candidate switching states to 10. The number of admissible switching states is drastically reduced, which saves the execution time by up to 45% for model predictive direct power control and up to 56% for model predictive direct current control. The unwanted exploration for all available voltage vectors can be eliminated while the flying capacitor voltages are maintained balanced. Meanwhile, the use of the well‐known modulation methods can be avoided by the proposed strategy, thus enhancing the dynamic performance. Simulation results obtained with the neutral point clamped active front‐end rectifiers confirm the efficacy of two proposed methods. © 2018 Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
A study of sliding motion of a solid body on a surface with asymmetric friction*
Authors: Silantyeva Olga , Dmitriev Nikita
Published: March 2018

Recent studies show growing interest in materials with asymmetric friction forces. We investigate terminal motion of a solid body with a circular contact area. Assuming that friction forces are asymmetric orthotropic, we consider Hertz and Boussinesq laws for pressure distribution. Equations for friction force and moment are formulated and solved for both cases. Numerical examples demonstrate significant impact of the asymmetry of friction on the motion. Our results can be used for more accurate prediction of contact behavior for bodies made of new materials with asymmetric surface textures.
Numerical analysis of a contact problem in poro‐thermoelasticity with microtemperatures
Authors: Bazarra Noelia , Fernández José R.
Published: March 2018

A dynamic contact problem, between a thermoelastic rod with voids and microtemperatures and a deformable obstacle, is numerically investigated in this work. The contact is modelled with a modification of the classical normal compliance contact condition. The mechanical problem consists of a coupled system of two hyperbolic partial differential equations and two parabolic ones. An existence and uniqueness result, and an energy decay property, are stated. Then, fully discrete approximations are introduced to approximate this nonlinear problem by using the finite element method and the implicit Euler scheme. A discrete stability property and a priori error estimates are proved, from which the linear convergence of the algorithm is derived. Finally, some numerical simulations are performed to demonstrate the accuracy of the approximation and the behaviour of the solution.
Exploring extra dimensions through inflationary tensor modes
Authors: Im Sang Hui , Nilles Hans Peter , Trautner Andreas
Published: March 2018

Abstract

Predictions of inflationary schemes can be influenced by the presence of extra dimensions. This could be of particular relevance for the spectrum of gravitational waves in models where the extra dimensions provide a brane-world solution to the hierarchy problem. Apart from models of large as well as exponentially warped extra dimensions, we analyze the size of tensor modes in the Linear Dilaton scheme recently revived in the discussion of the “clockwork mechanism”. The results are model dependent, significantly enhanced tensor modes on one side and a suppression on the other. In some cases we are led to a scheme of “remote inflation”, where the expansion is driven by energies at a hidden brane. In all cases where tensor modes are enhanced, the requirement of perturbativity of gravity leads to a stringent upper limit on the allowed Hubble rate during inflation.
Chemoradiotherapy for Initially Unresectable Locally Advanced Cholangiocarcinoma
Authors: Sumiyoshi Tatsuaki , Shima Yasuo , Okabayashi Takehiro , Negoro Yuji , Shimada Yasuhiro , Iwata Jun , Matsumoto Manabu , Hata Yasuhiro , Noda Yoshihiro , Sui Kenta , Sueda Taijiro
Published: March 2018

Objective

Surgical resection is the only available treatment for achieving long‐term survival in cholangiocarcinoma. The purpose of this study is to elucidate the utility of chemoradiotherapy for initially unresectable locally advanced cholangiocarcinoma.

Methods

Unresectable locally advanced cholangiocarcinoma was defined as those in which radical surgery could not be achieved even with aggressive surgical procedure. Fifteen candidates (7 intrahepatic cholangiocarcinomas and 8 hilar cholangiocarcinomas) underwent chemoradiotherapy. Fourteen of the 15 patients received oral S‐1 chemotherapy. Radiotherapy was administered with 50 Gy for each patient. After chemoradiotherapy, the resectability of each cholangiocarcinoma was reexamined.

Results

Of the 15 patients with initially unresectable locally advanced cholangiocarcinoma, 11 (73.3%) were judged to have resectable cholangiocarcinoma after chemoradiotherapy, and received radical hepatectomy (R0 resection in 9 patients). Among the 11 patients who underwent surgical resection, 4 had recurrence‐free survival and the median survival time (MST) was 37 months. The overall 1‐, 2‐, and 5‐year survival rates were 80.8, 70.7 and 23.6%, respectively. Among the 4 patients who were unable to receive surgery, 3 died of the primary disease and the MST was 10 months. The overall 1‐ and 2‐year survival rates were 37.5 and 0%, respectively. Patients who received radical surgery had significantly longer survival time than those who were unable to receive surgery (p = 0.027).

Conclusions

Chemoradiotherapy allowed patients with initially unresectable locally advanced cholangiocarcinomas to be reclassified as surgical candidates in a substantial proportion. Chemoradiotherapy might be one of the treatment options for similarly advanced cholangiocarcinomas.
Cross‐sectional and longitudinal atrophy is preferentially associated with tau rather than amyloid β positron emission tomography pathology
Authors: Gordon Brian A. , McCullough Austin , Mishra Shruti , Blazey Tyler M. , Su Yi , Christensen John , Dincer Aylin , Jackson Kelley , Hornbeck Russ C. , Morris John C. , Ances Beau M. , Benzinger Tammie L.S.
Published: March 2018

Introduction

Structural magnetic resonance imaging is a marker of gray matter health and decline that is sensitive to impaired cognition and Alzheimer's disease pathology. Prior work has shown that both amyloid β (Aβ) and tau biomarkers are related to cortical thinning, but it is unclear what unique influences they have on the brain.

Methods

Aβ pathology was measured with [18F] AV‐45 (florbetapir) positron emission tomography (PET) and tau was assessed with [18F] AV‐1451 (flortaucipir) PET in a population of 178 older adults, of which 123 had longitudinal magnetic resonance imaging assessments (average of 5.7 years) that preceded the PET acquisitions.

Results

In cross‐sectional analyses, greater tau PET pathology was associated with thinner cortices. When examined independently in longitudinal models, both Aβ and tau were associated with greater antecedent loss of gray matter. However, when examined in a combined model, levels of tau, but not Aβ, were still highly related to change in cortical thickness.

Discussion

Measures of tau PET are strongly related to gray matter atrophy and likely mediate relationships between Aβ and gray matter.
Male Sexual Quality Of Life Is Maintained Satisfactorily Throughout Life In The Amazon Rainforest
Authors: Teixeira Thiago , Nazima Maira , Hallak Jorge
Published: March 2018

Introduction

The Amazon Rainforest is a cradle of biodiversity, where different ethnic groups have specific sexual habits.

Aims

To define the average sexual quality of life of Amazonian men 18 to 69 years old, evaluate the influence of aging on their sexual function, and calculate the prevalence of premature ejaculation, delayed ejaculation, and hypoactive sexual desire disorder.

Methods

A cross-sectional quantitative probability sample study was performed with a demographically representative population (N = 385), with data collected privately at participants’ houses, including men who had been sexually active for a minimum of 6 months. The Male Sexual Quotient (MSQ) was used to measure sexual satisfaction and function. Statistical analysis was performed with SPSS 21.0 using the Kruskal-Wallis test (P < .05), and a multiple linear regression analysis was performed to investigate which factors could predict participants’ quality of sexual life.

Main Outcome Measures

MSQ scores.

Results

The response rate was 81.69%. The mean age was 36.00 ± 12.95 years, and most men had mixed ethnicity (63.11%), were self-employed (42.07%), had a monthly earned income of US$0 to US$460 (46.75%), and were single (36.10%). The mean MSQ score was 80.39 ± 12.14 (highly satisfied). None of the demographic characteristics showed a statistically significant influence on sexual satisfaction. The difference in quality of sexual life was statistically significant compared with age (P < .01). The domains of desire (P < .01), partner satisfaction (P = .04), and erection quality (P < .01, P = .03, P = .02) were statistically significant. Prevalences of sexual dysfunctions were 36.54% for premature ejaculation, 6.5% for delayed ejaculation, and 11.69% for hypoactive sexual desire disorder.

Conclusions

Independent of age, these men have an excellent quality of sexual life. Sexual domains such as desire, partner satisfaction, and erection quality are related to the correlation between sexual quality of life and aging. However, the prevalence of premature ejaculation seems to be slightly higher than in other parts of the world.
The interplay of etiological knowledge and mental illness stigma on healthcare utilisation in the community: A structural equation model
Authors: Schnyder N. , Michel C. , Panczak R. , Ochsenbein S. , Schimmelmann B.G. , Schultze-Lutter F.
Published: March 2018

Background:

The stigma of mental illness, especially personal attitudes towards psychiatric patients and mental health help-seeking, is an important barrier in healthcare utilisation. These attitudes are not independent of each other and are also influenced by other factors, such as mental health literacy, especially the public’s causal explanations for mental problems. We aimed to disentangle the interrelations between the different aspects of stigma and causal explanations with respect to their association with healthcare utilisation.

Methods:

Stigma and causal explanations were assessed cross-sectional using established German questionnaires with two unlabelled vignettes (schizophrenia and depression) in a random-selection representative community sample (N = 1375, aged 16–40 years). They were interviewed through a prior telephone survey for current mental disorder (n = 192) and healthcare utilisation (n = 377). Structural equation modelling was conducted with healthcare utilisation as outcome and stigma and causal explanations as latent variables. The final model was additionally analysed based on the vignettes.

Results:

We identified two pathways. One positive associated with healthcare utilisation, with high psychosocial stress and low constitution/personality related causal explanations, via positive perception of help-seeking and more help-seeking intentions. One negative associated with healthcare utilisation, with high biogenetic and constitution/personality, and low psychosocial stress related explanations, via negative perception of psychiatric patients and a strong wish for social distance. Sensitivity analysis generally supported both pathways with some differences in the role of biogenetic causal explanation.

Conclusion:

Our results indicate that campaigns promoting early healthcare utilisation should focus on different strategies to promote facilitation and reduce barriers to mental healthcare.
Survey on the Contemporary Management of Intraoperative Urethral Injuries During Penile Prosthesis Implantation
Authors: Sexton Stephanie J. , Granieri Michael A. , Lentz Aaron C.
Published: March 2018

Background

Intraoperative urethral injury is an uncommon event during the placement of a penile prosthesis, and alternative management strategies have been proposed with continuation of implantation after urethral injury.

Aim

To evaluate surgeon practices in the management of intraoperative urethral injury.

Methods

An online survey was sent to the society listservs of the Genitourinary Reconstructive Surgeons (GURS) and the Sexual Medicine Society of North America (SMSNA). Physicians were queried on their fellowship training, experience with penile prosthesis implantation, and management of urethral injuries during prosthesis placement. The response data were analyzed using SAS 9.4 (SAS Institute, Cary, NC, USA). The χ2 test and Fisher exact test were used to determine associations between variables.

Outcomes

Survey responses.

Results

131 survey responses were analyzed. Of the responders, 41.2% were GURS fellowship trained, 19.1% were SMSNA trained, 30.5% were non-fellowship trained, and 9.2% were trained in other fellowships. 25.4% of participants performed more than 50 implantations per year, 37.7% performed 20 to 50 per year, and 36.9% performed fewer than 20 per year. Urethral injury during prosthesis implantation was uncommon, with 26.2% reporting 0 injury, 58.5% reporting 1 to 3 injuries, and 15.4% reporting more than 3 career injuries. Injuries were most commonly encountered during corporal dilation (71.1%) compared with corporal exposure (12.5%) or penile straightening maneuvers (7.0%). There was no statistically significant difference with aborting or continuing implantation among GURS-trained, SMSNA-trained, other fellowship-trained, and non–fellowship-trained surgeons. Of all responders, 55% would abort the procedure after distal urethral injury, whereas 45% would continue the procedure with unilateral or bilateral insertion of cylinders. Patient factors that increased likelihood of terminating the procedure in the case of urethral injury included immunosuppression, spinal cord injury, and clean intermittent catheterization dependence.

Clinical Implications

A urethral injury during penile prosthesis implantation might not mandate termination of the procedure despite classic teaching.

Strengths and Limitations

The strength of this study is that it provides difficult to obtain epidemiologic data on the frequency and management of this clinically significant injury. Limitations include the inherent biases from a survey-based study including response bias and recall bias. The survey response rate could not be obtained.

Conclusion

Urethral injury during penile prosthesis implantation is a rare but clinically significant risk of the procedure, with many variations in management of the injury. Termination and delayed implantation might not be necessary after injury, although long-term outcome data are difficult to obtain.
Predicting 1 Repetition Maximum Using Handheld Dynamometry
Authors: Tan Alicia En Ling , Grisbrook Tiffany L. , Minaee Novia , Williams Sîan A.
Published: March 2018

Background

Isometric assessment of muscular function using a handheld dynamometer (HHD) is frequently used in clinic environments. However, there is controversy in terms of the validity of isometric assessment to monitor changes in dynamic performance. One repetition maximum (1RM) is considered the gold standard for evaluating dynamic strength, though clinicians do not often use 1RM testing, preferring to be cautious with clients who have preexisting impairments. If strength testing using an HHD could be used to predict 1RM, this may have significant implications for the use of isometric testing to prescribe exercise in clinical environments.

Objective

To establish the relationship and agreement between 1RM and isometric strength scores measured using HHD for the biceps and quadriceps muscle groups and to determine if HHD measurements can be used to predict 1RM.

Design

Criterion standard comparison.

Setting

Tertiary institution gymnasium.

Participants

Convenience sample of 50 healthy adults (26 women) aged 19‐33 years (mean 23.38 ± 3.11 years).

Methods

Muscle strength of the biceps and quadriceps muscle groups measured by 1RM and isometric maximal voluntary contraction measured using an HHD.

Main Outcome Measures

Statistical analysis of the relation between the measures of strength was established using Pearson correlation and a Bland‐Altman plot. A linear regression analysis with included covariates (gender, age, resistance training history, and body mass index) was used to derive the prediction equations.

Results

A significant correlation was found between 1RM and HHD scores for the biceps (r = .83, P < .001) and quadriceps muscle groups (r = .82, P < .001). However, strength scores were not in agreement. Linear regression analysis found significance in predicting 1RM from all HHD scores (P < .001). Gender as a covariate significantly influenced the prediction of 1RM for the biceps (P = .005) and quadriceps (P = .003) muscle groups.

Conclusions

There is a significant relationship between 1RM and HHD measures of strength, and measures taken using an HHD can be used to predict 1RM in the biceps and quadriceps muscle groups. The use of an HHD may therefore provide a more accessible alternative to 1RM for muscle strength assessments. Further research is warranted to determine if results are applicable in clinical populations.

Level of Evidence

NA
Sonographic Changes After Ultrasound‐Guided Release of the Transverse Carpal Ligament: A Case Report
Authors: Latzka Erek W. , Henning P. Troy , Pourcho Adam M.
Published: March 2018

Carpal tunnel syndrome is the most common entrapment neuropathy, resulting in 500,000 carpal tunnel release (CTR) surgeries and a total cost of more than 2 billion dollars annually in the United States. Although initially performed via a large (3‐5 cm) palmar incision, CTR techniques have continually evolved to reduce incision size, recovery times, postoperative pain, and improve cosmesis and clinical outcomes. More recently, multiple authors have reported excellent results after ultrasound‐guided carpal tunnel release (USCTR) using a variety of techniques, and one prospective randomized trial reported faster recovery after USCTR compared with traditional mini‐open CTR. However, there is a paucity of data with respect to changes in the median nerve after USCTR. This case report presents the functional outcomes and pre‐ and postprocedure ultrasound images of a patient after USCTR with 3‐month follow‐up.

Level of Evidence

V
Coated UF membranes improve virus removal from treated municipal wastewater
Authors: Atkinson Simon
Published: March 2018

Researchers from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have developed novel ultrafiltration (UF) membranes which, they say, are capable of significantly improving the process for removing viruses from treated municipal wastewater used for drinking in water-scarce cities.
Cerebrovascular Neurosurgery in Canada: An Historical Review
Authors: Ramnath Suresh
Published: March 2018

Canadian contributions to cerebrovascular neurosurgery have been disproportionately large and, with some exceptions, relatively unrecognized. In this review, some of the efforts in the advancement of cerebrovascular neurosurgery by Canadian neurologists and neurosurgeons are described.
From the Editor
Authors: Scott John C. , Poteet Mark L.
Published: March 2018

The goal of focal articles in Industrial and Organizational Psychology: Perspectives on Science and Practice is to present new ideas or different takes on existing ideas and stimulate a conversation in the form of comment articles that extend the arguments in the focal article or that present new ideas stimulated by those articles. The two focal articles in this issue stimulated a wide range of reactions and a good deal of constructive input.
Mistreatment in Organizations: Toward a Perpetrator-Focused Research Agenda
Authors: Dalal Reeshad S. , Sheng Zitong
Published: March 2018

Cortina, Rabelo, and Holland (2018) have cogently suggested that workplace mistreatment should be viewed through a “lens” that squarely implicates the perpetrator (i.e., the perpetrator predation framework) rather than through a lens that at least partially absolves the perpetrator while blaming the victim for inviting, or not actively resisting, the mistreatment (i.e., the victim precipitation framework). We agree that the perpetrator predation framework provides a better basis for policy, practice, and law. Furthermore, however, the perpetrator predation framework provides a better basis for science. Whereas Cortina et al. allude briefly to the scientific benefits of a perpetrator-focused framework, the current commentary fleshes out these benefits and outlines an agenda for future perpetrator-focused research on workplace mistreatment.
Beyond Victims and Perpetrators
Authors: Thornton-Lugo Meghan A. , Munjal Deeksha
Published: March 2018

We acknowledge and agree with Cortina, Rabelo, and Holland (2018) that the tendency to focus on victims as precipitators of their own negative workplace experiences (e.g. abusive supervision) presents a problematic theoretical paradigm. Using organizational justice as an illustration, we note that even in fields with an orientation toward victims, similar trends with regard to victim precipitation have still emerged. However, we also argue that although the perpetrator predation approach may help to avoid this tendency and encourage a better understanding of the responsibility for and origins of certain organizational experiences, it may fall short when examining complex phenomena that involve more than the dyad of perpetrator and victim. We suggest that industrial and organizational (I-O) psychology scholars might be better served by abandoning the language of victim and perpetrator altogether. Though we invoke these two terms when discussing organizational justice, we ultimately come to argue that researchers should utilize different language that better captures the experience and role of employees in these phenomena.
A Comprehensive Approach to Empowering Victims and Understanding Perpetrators
Authors: Oliveira Justina , Pascucci Tyler M. , Fortin Michelle
Published: March 2018

We unequivocally agree with the root of Cortina, Rabelo, and Holland's (2018) argument about the danger in focusing mostly on the victim in situations of workplace aggression. Workplace aggression is indeed initiated by the perpetrator (or perpetrators if there are two equally responsible parties in enacting the aggression). Where we believe Cortina et al.’s arguments are lacking is the hard-drawn line that the perpetrator should be the only subject of study. No, the victim should not hold any blame nor insinuations of blame. However, we hold the premise that both sides (i.e., perpetrator and victim) must be considered, and thus both are inherently subjects of interest in order to thoroughly capture the essence of these scenarios. Therefore, our position is that a focus on the victim is not only important, but it is actually an essential component when contemplating workplace aggression. Furthering research in this area will only be successful if we have candid conversations around the inappropriate nature of a solely victim-focused approach to workplace aggression and discuss the explicit differences (or nuanced ones) that may exist across varying perspectives on workplace aggression in order to more fully understand it. Therefore Cortina et al. have rightly initiated an important conversation within industrial and organizational (I-O) psychology.
Victim Precipitation: Let's Not Silence That Voice
Authors: North Mark A. , Smith Spencer
Published: March 2018

Cortina, Robello, and Holland (2018) advance a case for the danger of using the victim precipitation model in industrial-organizational (I-O) psychology—a model that is interpreted as suggesting that characteristics and behaviors of victims may influence criminals to select them as targets, in effect blaming victims for crimes committed against them. This “victim blaming” found its way into criminology, criminal justice, sociology, and other disciplines, resulting in revictimization and in the exoneration of violent criminals, among other undesirable outcomes. We agree with Cortina and colleagues that these outcomes, then and now, are unacceptable: Victims cannot and should not be blamed for their aggressors’ actions, and aggressors should unequivocally be held accountable for their crimes. This extends to workplace mistreatment. Using the operationalizations of generalized workplace harassment, workplace incivility, sexual harassment, and abusive supervision as guides (Rospenda & Richman, 2004, as cited by Cortina et al., 2018; Magley, Williams, & Langhout, 2001; Tepper, 2000; Walsh & Magley, 2014), we define workplace mistreatment as any interpersonal interaction in the workplace that creates an oppressively intimidating, hostile, or offensive working environment that extends beyond acceptable evaluative and professional actions given situational demands (e.g., poor performance reviews, layoffs during downsizing/mergers/acquisitions, discipline, etc.). Although an unpopular point of view, we maintain that whether or not victims influence the contexts that facilitate victimization in the workplace is an empirical question. This research continues to be scientifically valuable, relevant, and practical, and it is necessary to more fully understand workplace mistreatment (Barling, 1996; Cortina, Magley, Williams, & Langhout, 2001). Two principal reasons drive this position: (a) the lack of scientific, data-driven evidence to support the exclusion of the victim precipitation model and (b) the potential harmful premise of its replacement, the perpetrator predation model. Elucidating our thoughts on these reasons will occupy our commentary.
Moving beyond Moody
Authors: Flack Karen A.
Published: March 2018

Thakkar et al. (J. Fluid Mech., vol. 837, 2018, R1) represents a significant advancement in the ability to computationally model rough wall flows. Direct numerical solution (DNS) of turbulent boundary layer flow over an industrial grit blasted surface at relevant roughness Reynolds numbers, from hydraulically smooth to fully rough regimes, is a path forward to parametrically study a wide range of surface roughness. The methodology described in this paper, coupled with validation experiments, ultimately should lead to improved frictional drag predictions.
When Can Multiple Imputation Improve Regression Estimates?
Authors: Arel-Bundock Vincent , Pelc Krzysztof J.
Published: March 2018

Multiple imputation (MI) is often presented as an improvement over listwise deletion (LWD) for regression estimation in the presence of missing data. Against a common view, we demonstrate anew that the complete case estimator can be unbiased, even if data are not missing completely at random. As long as the analyst can control for the determinants of missingness, MI offers no benefit over LWD for bias reduction in regression analysis. We highlight the conditions under which MI is most likely to improve the accuracy and precision of regression results, and develop concrete guidelines that researchers can adopt to increase transparency and promote confidence in their results. While MI remains a useful approach in certain contexts, it is no panacea, and access to imputation software does not absolve researchers of their responsibility to know the data.
Holocene Human Occupation of the Central Alaska Peninsula
Authors: Barton Loukas , Shirar Scott , Jordan James W
Published: March 2018

The Alaska Peninsula is a landscape defined by volcanic, tectonic, and glacial processes, and life throughout is conditioned on the interactions among them. During the middle Holocene (ca. 4100–3600 yr ago), intense caldera-forming eruptions of the Aniakchak and Veniaminof volcanoes changed the shape of the central portion of the Peninsula dramatically, and had significant and perhaps devastating impacts on both terrestrial and marine biota. Here we evaluate the severity of these impacts by tracking human settlement patterns using 75 unique radiocarbon (14C) age determinations on buried cultural features from the central Alaska Peninsula. Coastal regions were re-colonized within a few hundred years while river systems most proximate to the volcanoes were uninhabited for up to 1500 years following the most severe eruptions. Patterns of human settlement may also document previously unrecorded landscape change throughout the region, and further contribute to our understanding of post-volcanic ecological succession.
Pits and Pit-dwellings in Southeast Europe
Authors: Buttler Werner
Published: March 2018

In connexion with the publication of the report on the neolithic settlement at Koln-Lindenthal I undertook, in the autumn of 1933, with the support of the Notgemeinschaft der deutschen Wissenschaft, two months’ exploration in Hungary, Rumania and Jugoslavia. Apart from museum researches in prehistory the chief object of this journey was to study the building methods of the primitive peasant cultures in these countries. In compiling the report on the ‘band keramik’ settlement at Koln-Lindenthal it was found necessary, in order to elucidate many of the finds, to compare them with ethnographic material from settlements peopled by primitive peasants in modern Europe. This method proved no less helpful than when employed earlier by Oelmann, Menghinl and others in dealing with other prehistoric studies. Prehistoric cultures invariably comprise objects the use of which can only be ascertained by comparison with cognate ethnographic or cultural material. For, owing to the conservative character of the peasant, modern primitive peasant cultures have retained certain structures and institutions which are derived, without a doubt, from archaic, even neolithic prototypes. Comparison of modern material with our prehistoric finds by no means postulates a direct historic connexion between the two, especially when the objects compared are widely separated in place, culture, nationality and race. Rather is ethnography called in to furnish a sound basis for assumptions about our finds by relating them to similar phenomena of modern times.
Roman Barrows
Authors: Dunning G. C. , Jessup R. F.
Published: March 2018

Roman barrows have long been known on the Continent and in R this country, but until recent years they have hardly received the attention they deserve. In the forties and fifties of last century a number of Roman barrows suffered from the jaunty zeal of tophatted antiquaries and their attendant ladies who, as at the opening of the Holborough barrow in 1844, contrived to pass the time ‘at intervals between digging and pic-nicing, in games of various descriptions … and in other amusements’, but who were sometimes glad of the shelter ‘afforded by the hole we had ourselves dug … in which we managed so to interlace parasols and umbrellas … as to form a tolerably impenetrable roof over our heads’.
Anglo-Saxon Vine-scroll Ornament
Authors: Kitzinger Ernst
Published: March 2018

The principal questions concerning the origin and chronology of Anglo-Saxon sculpture are still awaiting their final settlement. As there is so little external evidence for dating the monuments, it seems probable that only such a method as that so successfully adopted by Mlle. Henry in her book on Irish sculpture can offer a useful approach to the problems they raise. This method implies a separate analysis of each decorative element, research as to its origin, and a comparison wherever possible of its various evolutionary stages with better dated examples in other arts or other countries. The arrangement of the different motives in series can be collated by the evidence offered when they occur on the same monument, and by this means at least approximate dates for single monuments can be obtained.
The Cyclopean Walls at Tarragona
Authors: Santa-Olalla Julio Martinez
Published: March 2018

If the description of the 6th century Massalian Periplus, preserved in the Ora Maritima of Rufus Festus Avienus,l does not refer to Tarragona, as almost all scholars agree with Professor Bosch Gimpera2 in believing, then one can only say that to no other city of the Spanish coast can that account of its walls be applied with greater appropriateness.

Seldom does it happen, as at Tarragona, that the ancient walls retain intact throughout the ages the embodiment of history amid the modern life of the city, and nowhere else with such charm and grandeur as that of Cesse with its true Iberian atmosphere. Usually the huge blocks of the primitive cyclopean wall are overlaid with reconstructions and refacings of the Roman, Visigothic and Medieval periods and of the modern Spanish fortifications.
Some Recent Excavations in Egypt
Authors: Glanville S. R. K.
Published: March 2018

Aconcession to excavate the site of Tell el Amarna was given to the Egypt Exploration Society in 1920, and with the exception of two seasons the Society has sent an expedition there every year since that date. Beginning with the central town site, at the point where the Deutsche Orient-Gesellschaft had left it before the war, the work of the first two seasons was confined to the southern half of the city, although it included several important outlying buildings of a nondomestic character and the ‘Eastern Village’ of workmen’s houses. The discovery of the North Palace in 1923 turned the attention of the excavators to the distant end of the site, leading them to the building of a new house from which to work and to the discovery of other official buildings at the extreme north of the bay, and a group of houses connected with them. These last have not yet been completely excavated.
Art History as a Key to Racial Migration. A New Field for Research
Authors: Rice D. Talbot
Published: March 2018

This statement, made by Curajod some years ago during the introduction to a course of lectures at the Louvre, is definitely provocative, for, however true it may be and however much we can learn from a study of ornamental forms and systems of decoration with regard to trade and intercourse, it has in general proved extremely difficult to correlate the movements of designs with those of definite groups of people, still more with those of definite races. We can, for instance, assert quite definitely that the neolithic pottery of China is closely related to that of the black-earth region of south Russia, but we find it by no means easy to associate the invention or transportation of this pottery with any particular group of peoples, and we cannot even say for certain that the fact that we find it in two so far separated regions can be regarded as proof of any very considerable racial migration. Such a migration does, indeed, seem the most satisfactory way in which to explain the relationship, but it can also quite satisfactorily be accounted for by the conquest of one region by a small minority from the other, or of both by a small minority from some common centre, who imposed the imported style on the new possession.
The Work of Giants
Authors: Crawford O. G. S.
Published: March 2018

Of their kind there are few things more beautiful than the field-walls in a stony country. They are constructed, as a rule, without mortar, and for that reason are called ‘dry stone walls’; the term is useful, as a distinction, and will serve, but many of them are reinforced by an admixture of earth, or of a kind of daub that sets fairly hard. The walls of the moister West Country are the most beautiful of all, for innumerable plants take root in the earthy crevices and enrich the lovely grey stonework with a natural ornament that is entirely pleasing. Vivid green splashes of pennywort, yellow stars of celandine, clusters of violet, and the twisted white cords of ivy are Nature's version of carved vine-scrolls and interlaced designs, with the added beauty of colour. Far be it from me to institute odious comparisons between the works of Man and of Nature; both are good to look upon, and I yield to none in admiration of the masterpieces of Anglian sculpture. But these, alas, are few and far between; they are not always accessible or easily seen; whereas there are, by way of compensation, hundreds of miles of most enchanting field-walls in Cornwall alone. I began my study of them without fully realizing their aesthetic qualities; when my eyes were opened I found it difficult to look at anything else.
Leptin and adiponectin supplementation modifies mesenteric lymph node lymphocyte composition and functionality in suckling rats
Authors: Grases-Pintó Blanca , Abril-Gil Mar , Rodríguez-Lagunas Maria J. , Castell Margarida , Pérez-Cano Francisco J. , Franch Àngels
Published: March 2018

At birth, when immune responses are insufficient, there begins the development of the defence capability against pathogens. Leptin and adiponectin, adipokines that are present in breast milk, have been shown to play a role in the regulation of immune responses. We report here, for the first time, the influence of in vivo adipokine supplementation on the intestinal immune system in early life. Suckling Wistar rats were daily supplemented with leptin (0·7 μg/kg per d, n 36) or adiponectin (35 μg/kg per d, n 36) during the suckling period. The lymphocyte composition, proliferation and cytokine secretion from mesenteric lymph node lymphocytes (on days 14 and 21), as well as intestinal IgA and IgM concentration (day 21), were evaluated. At day 14, leptin supplementation significantly increased the TCRαβ+ cell proportion in mesenteric lymph nodes, in particular owing to an increase in the TCRαβ+ CD8+ cell population. Moreover, the leptin or adiponectin supplementation promoted the early development CD8+ cells, with adiponectin being the only adipokine capable of enhancing the lymphoproliferative ability at the end of the suckling period. Although leptin decreased intestinal IgA concentration, it had a trophic effect on the intestine in early life. Supplementation of both adipokines modulated the cytokine profile during (day 14) and at the end (day 21) of the suckling period. These results suggest that leptin and adiponectin during suckling play a role in the development of mucosal immunity in early life.
The main determinants of iodine in cows’ milk in Switzerland are farm type, season and teat dipping
Authors: van der Reijden Olivia L. , Galetti Valeria , Hulmann Marie , Krzystek Adam , Haldimann Max , Schlegel Patrick , Manzocchi Elisa , Berard Joel , Kreuzer Michael , Zimmermann Michael B , Herter-Aeberli Isabelle
Published: March 2018

Milk and dairy products are important iodine sources and contribute about 30–40 % of total iodine in the Swiss diet. Information about variation in milk iodine concentration (MIC) in Switzerland is limited. We examined MIC and its potential determinants in milk from organic and conventional farms. We collected bulk milk samples at 3-month intervals over 1 year from thirty-two farms throughout Switzerland and Aosta valley, North-West Italy. We sampled all feed components including tap water, collected information on farm characteristics, feeding and teat disinfection practices by questionnaire and estimated the cows’ winter and summer iodine intake. Iodine in milk and feed components was measured using inductively coupled plasma MS. The overall median MIC was 87 (range 5–371) µg/l. In multivariate analysis, predictors of MIC were as follows: (1) farm type: median MIC from organic and conventional farms was 55 and 93 µg/l (P=0·022); (2) season: 53, 97 and 101 µg/l in September, December and March (P<0·002); and (3) teat dipping: 97 µg/l withv. 56 µg/l without (P=0·028). In conclusion, MIC varied widely between farms because of diverse farming practices that result in large differences in dairy cow exposure to iodine via ingestion or skin application. Standardisation of MIC is potentially achievable by controlling these iodine exposures. In order for milk to be a stable iodine source all year round, dietary iodine could be added at a set level to one feed component whose intake is regular and controllable, such as the mineral supplement, and by limiting the use of iodine-containing teat disinfectants.
Higher dietary and serum carotenoid levels are associated with lower carotid intima–media thickness in middle-aged and elderly people
Authors: Wang Cheng , Qiu Rui , Cao Yi , Ouyang Wei-fu , Li Hua-bin , Ling Wen-hua , Chen Yu-Ming
Published: March 2018

Several studies have suggested that higher carotenoid levels may be beneficial for atherosclerosis patients, but few studies have examined this relationship in the Chinese population. This cross-sectional study examined the association between the levels of carotenoids in diet and serum and carotid intima–media thickness (IMT) in Chinese adults aged 50–75 years in Guangzhou, China. Dietary intake was assessed using a FFQ. HPLC was used to assay the serum concentrations of α-carotene, β-carotene, lutein+zeaxanthin, β-cryptoxanthin and lycopene. The IMT at the common carotid artery (CCA) and bifurcation of the carotid artery was measured by B-mode ultrasound. A total of 3707 and 2947 participants were included in the analyses of dietary and serum carotenoids. After adjustment for demographic, socio-economic and lifestyle factors, all the serum carotenoids levels except lycopene were found to be inversely associated with the IMT at the CCA and bifurcation (Ptrend<0·001 to 0·013) in both men and women. The absolute mean differences in the IMT between the subjects in the extreme quartiles of serum carotenoid levels were 0·034 mm (α-carotene), 0·037 mm (β-carotene), 0·032 mm (lutein+zeaxanthin), 0·030 mm (β-cryptoxanthin), 0·015 mm (lycopene) and 0·035 mm (total carotenoids) at the CCA; the corresponding values were 0·025, 0·053 0·043, 0·050, 0·011 and 0·042 mm at the bifurcation. The favourable associations were also observed between dietary carotenoids (except lycopene) and the CCA IMT. In conclusion, elevated carotenoid levels in diet and serum are associated with lower carotid IMT values (particular at the CCA) in Chinese adults.
“Big” Treaties, Small Effects
Authors: Gowa Joanne , Hicks Raymond
Published: March 2018

It seems obvious that agreements to cut tariffs will raise trade between their signatories. But recent studies show that some agreements widely considered to be landmarks in economic history had either a remarkably small impact on trade or none at all. Among those agreements are the Cobden-Chevalier Treaties and the long series of tariff accords concluded under the auspices of the GATT/WTO. Both sets of agreements cut import duties on many goods that applied to all trading partners entitled to most-favored-nation treatment, but neither increased aggregate trade between their members. This article examines the agreements concluded by the United States under the 1934 Reciprocal Trade Agreements Act (RTAA). The authors use an original data set that records changes in tariffs and US imports at the product-line level for each of the twenty-seven bilateral agreements. No comparable data exist either for the nineteenth-century trade network or for the postwar trade regime. The results show that the RTAA treaties failed to raise aggregate US imports from its treaty partners. They also show that these agreements did lead to a large and significant rise in US imports of specific products from specific countries. Because the same bargaining protocol that produced the RTAA agreements also governed the European treaty network and the GATT/WTO, the argument advanced in this article can also help to explain why neither treaty exerted a significant impact on aggregate trade between their signatories.
Decay or Resilience?
Authors: Koos Carlo
Published: March 2018

This article examines the long-term impact of conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV) on prosocial behavior in Sierra Leone. Two theoretical arguments are developed and tested. The first draws on the feminist literature and suggests the presence of a decay mechanism: victims and their families are stigmatized by their community and excluded from social networks. The second integrates new insights from social psychology, psychological trauma research, and anthropology, and argues for a resilience mechanism. It argues that CRSV-affected households have a strong incentive to remain part of their community and will invest more effort and resources into the community to avert social exclusion than unaffected households. Using data on 5,475 Sierra Leonean households, the author finds that exposure to CRSV increases prosocial behavior—cooperation, helping, and altruism—which supports the resilience hypothesis. The results are robust to an instrumental variable estimation. The ramifications of this finding go beyond the case of Sierra Leone and generate a more general question: What makes communities resilient to shocks and trauma?
Party Strength and Economic Growth
Authors: Bizzarro Fernando , Gerring John , Knutsen Carl Henrik , Hicken Allen , Bernhard Michael , Skaaning Svend-Erik , Coppedge Michael , Lindberg Staffan I.
Published: March 2018

While a large literature suggests an important role for political parties in development, this article is the first attempt to layout and test a comprehensive theory connecting parties to economic growth. The authors argue that strong parties broaden the constituencies to which policymakers respond and help politicians solve coordination problems. These features help to ensure better economic management, public services, and political stability. And this, in turn, enhances economic growth. Drawing on a novel measure of party strength from the Varieties of Democracy data set, the authors test this theory on data drawn from more than 150 countries observed annually from 1901–2010. They identify a sizeable effect that is robust to various specifications, estimators, and samples. The effect operates in both democracies and autocracies, and is fairly stable across regions and time periods.
Discrete modular serpentine robotic tail: design, analysis and experimentation
Authors: Saab Wael , Rone William S. , Ben-Tzvi Pinhas
Published: March 2018

This paper presents the design, analysis and experimentation of a Discrete Modular Serpentine Tail (DMST). The mechanism is envisioned for use as a robotic tail integrated onto mobile legged robots to provide a means, separate from the legs, to aid stabilization and maneuvering for both static and dynamic applications. The DMST is a modular two-degree-of-freedom (DOF) articulated, under-actuated mechanism, inspired by continuum and serpentine robotic structures. It is constructed from rigid links with cylindrical contoured grooves that act as pulleys to route and maintain equal displacements in antagonistic cable pairs that are connected to a multi-diameter pulley. Spatial tail curvatures are produced by adding a roll-DOF to rotate the bending plane of the planar tail curvatures. Kinematic and dynamic models of the cable-driven mechanism are developed to analyze the impact of trajectory and design parameters on the loading profiles transferred through the tail base. Experiments using a prototype are performed to validate the forward kinematic and dynamic models, determine the mechanism's accuracy and repeatability, and measure the mechanism's ability to generate inertial loading.