bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The time-travelling antiquarian: Illustrated tourist guides to North Wales from Pennant to Piper
Authors: McCannon Desdemona
Published: June 2018

This article seeks to examine the visual tropes of a specific genre of illustrated guidebook, originating in Thomas Pennant’s ‘extra-illustrated’ copy of his work A Tour in Wales published in stages between 1771–1776, and its legacy within twentieth-century depictions of the region. I would like to argue that illustration has contributed to a set of scopic practices and a social imaginary of the Welsh landscape, which are established with Pennant’s work and which endure into the twentieth century with the work of John Piper and the Shell Guides. There is an entanglement of time and space, of real and imaginary landscapes within these images, and I argue they represent a form of imaginative time travel. In addition to positioning the traveller in a particular place, the images also refer to particular spots of historical time. The practice of ‘extra illustration’ (sometimes called ‘Grangerisation’) through which the reader customizes their copy of a book also braids multiple temporalities into the reader/viewer experience of landscape. This is mediated by the nature of these extra illustrations, which are from disparate sources and historical contexts, appearing contiguously within the text. The depiction of the traveller in these images constructs and encourages the performance of a particular kind of touristic persona. The tourist is cast in the role of an eighteenth-century antiquarian – the amateur scholar seeking out archaeological remains, ruined buildings or ‘picturesque’ views, equally interested in collecting folklore as they are in historical fact, and engagingly non-specialist in their interest in a diverse range of subjects and approaches.
Drawing and the remembered city
Authors: Howeson Anne
Published: June 2018

This article discusses place, memory and drawing. It suggests that ‘place’ can be a key theme for illustrators and artists – a container and metaphor for social, political and historical ideas. Using personal case studies, memory is considered as a storeroom of ideas with a close connection to the imagination. Atmosphere, mood and the role of colour, light and shadow are presented as primary ways of communicating complex ideas through intuition and emotion, in addition to the language of intellect, reason and the conceptual.
Illustrating Corsica: The modernist landscape of John Minton’s Time Was Away
Authors: Neal Ian
Published: June 2018

The article considers John Minton’s (1917–57) illustrations of landscape for the book Time Was Away: A Notebook in Corsica (1948) with an aim to recover their significance in the history of illustration. Certain illustrations are positioned as notable for their ambiguous relationship to the text. I elaborate thinking around text–image relations alongside questions concerning the cross-fertilization of fine art and illustration. In their adoption of modernist principles, Minton’s illustrations are significant in recasting the role of illustration in the artistic context of post-war Britain. In melding formalist effects with realist concerns, the illustrations raise broader matters around realism, fine art and the democratic potential of illustration. I show that in seizing on cinematic techniques, Minton offers an effectively modern response to the traditional paradigm of depth associated with landscape and thereby proffers an alternative to the Modernist paradox that a teleological development of painting is at odds with landscape.
The role of orality in radio news frame-building processes: Testing a model of analysis applied to Spanish news radio
Authors: Montagut Calvo Marta
Published: June 2018

Frame analysis of radio news requires a specific methodology that goes beyond mere textual analysis. The formal features of the medium – especially its orality – substantially modify the construction of frames on air. We propose a methodological model for frame analysis for radio that analyses oral discourse and text. Emphatic resources used in intonation building in a text – such as stress or pauses – make the communicative act more effective by acting as a framing device, by reinforcing an existing frame through attitude, emotion and paralinguistic information or by contradicting textual content and suggesting a subtext, resulting in a dual frame. These functions in framing correlate, generally, with the pragmatic functions of intonation. The proposed analytical model endeavours to locate stress and strategic pauses as two key elements in the construction of media frames through oral discourse. These elements add nuances to the text, provide strategic information on the frame (or communicative context) and provide key information on the role of radio journalists in building frames.
Lean back: Songza, ubiquitous listening and Internet music radio for the masses
Authors: Baade Christina
Published: June 2018

Launched in late 2010, Songza was a small player in the Internet radio universe, available only in the United States and Canada. However, the trade press celebrated Songza for its novel solution to bringing Internet radio to mainstream and profits back to the music industry: ‘lean back’ listening. In June 2014, Google acquired Songza, incorporating its staff, ethos of expert curation, context-sensitive playlists and staunch ‘anti-snobbery’ into Google Play Music, now available in 62 countries and a major competitor in online music. In this article, I investigate how ‘lean back’ listening helped Songza court a wider audience for Internet radio. To do so, I examine how these efforts were framed in the trade press, arguing that Songza’s mass appeal must be understood in relation to histories of domestic ambient music listening, including how it has been devalued and feminized. I also consider the Canadian context, countering how the US context has been generalized in the far from borderless world of streaming music. Ultimately, I argue, Songza’s ‘solutions’ obscured problems involving what happens when music becomes a service; the relation between domesticity, the public and the media; and the place of gender, labour, pleasure and democratic practices in the discussion.
Yersinia infections and Graves’ disease
Authors: Khamnueva Larissa Yu. , Goma Tatyana V. , Klimov Valery T.
Published: June 2018

Background. The most common thyroid disease, accompanied by thyrotoxicosis syndrome, is Graves' disease (GD). Information about the role of Yersinia in the development of this disease is contradictory.
Aims. To study the significance of Yersinia (Y.) enterocolitica and Y. pseudotuberculosis in the development of Graves' disease.
Materials and methods. 78 patients with GD. Identification of antibodies to Y. was carried out by the following methods: 1. agglutination test (AT) with suspensions of live virulent cultures Y. pseudotuberculosis, Y. enterocolitica O:3 and O:9; 2. indirect hemagglutination test (IHET) with the use of erythrocyte diagnosticum; 3. determination of IgA and IgG antibodies against pathogenicity factors of Y. enterocolitica strains by immunoblotting (30 patients with GD).
Results. Diagnostically significant titers of antibodies to Y. pseudotuberculosis and Y. enterocolitica were obtained in all patients with GD by AT. The greatest total thyroid volume determined by ultrasound investigation (p = 0.010) and the maximum duration of the disease (p = 0.040) were determined in the group of patients with the maximum antibody titer. No significant relation was found between the titer of antibodies to Yersinia and the levels of thyroid hormones stimulating the thyroid antibodies.The test for detection of IgA antibodies by immunoblotting was negative in 30 patients with GD (9 patients with a titer of antibodies by AT 1:800 – 1:1600, 17 – 1:400, 4 – 1:200). In all cases with the maximum antibody titer in AT, the positive IgG antibodies to the antigens YopM (Yop2a), YopH (Yop2b), V-antigen, YopD were found. The GD duration in patients with negative titers of antibodies by the immunoblotting test was less than with the positive one (p = 0.010). The privative clinical and anamnestic data and negative results by IHET confirmed the absence of active and/or transferred Yersinia infections in all the examined patients with GD.
Conclusions. The cross-reacting antibodies to the antigens of Y. enterocolitica are determined in the serum of GD patients by AT and immunoblotting. The diagnostic titer of these antibodies is more often detected in patients with greater GD duration and larger volume of the thyroid gland. The absence of a link between the titer of these antibodies and the levels of thyroid hormones, the antibodies to the thyrotropin receptors of pituitary, as well as negative results by IHET with a diagnosticum that does not contain outer membrane proteins of pathogenic Yersinia, deny the trigger role of Yersinia infections as an initiating factor in the development of GD.
Las ciencias humanas como prácticas discursivas
Authors: Britos María del Pilar
Published: June 2018

En este trabajo proponemos reconsiderar algunas problemáticas que se hacen presentes en la reflexión, en tomo a las ciencias humanas a partir de la categoría foucaultiana de "practicas discursivas".La arqueología del saber analiza el archivo de las formaciones discursivas que están presentes en la genealogía del sujeto moderno, señalando sus mecanismos de apropiación y exclusión, recorriendo el diagrama de relaciones discursivas y no-discursivas que regula el régimen de verdad de una sociedad. Mas acá de la discusión acerca de la validez de las teorías científicas, los "discursos serios" se descubren como acontecimientos que producen "efectos de verdad" a nivel de la interacción social y de la vida de los individuos.Se plantea así desde una nueva perspectiva el problema del saber-poder en la sociedad moderna y se resignifican los términos de la relación teoríapráctica en el ámbito de las ciencias humanas.
Significado lingüístico. Verdad y validez normativa
Authors: Apel Karl Otto
Published: June 2018

I. Introducción: el horizonte verificacionista de la explicación del significado de las oraciones constatativas en la filosofía analítica del lenguaje.II. La aporética de la explicación verificacionista del significado en la filosofía analítica del lenguaje.II. 1. Explicación del significado ilocucionario de las oraciones o actos de habla no constatativos en los términos de "condiciones de realización". -Sobre la aporética del paradigma verificacionista en P. Strawson.II. 2. Explicación del significado ilocucionario de las oraciones o de los actos de habla no constatativos en términos de las "condiciones de satisfacción" referidas a intenciones. -Sobre la aporética del paradigma verificacionista en J. R. Searle.III. La explicación pragmática universal o trascendental del significado ilocucionario de las oraciones o actos de habla en términos de las condiciones de validez.III. 1. El planteo de la pragmática universal sobre la explicación del significado ilocucionario en términos de aceptabilidad de las pretensiones de validez (consensualmente rescatables) y el problema residual de la aceptación fáctica de las pretensiones ilocucionarias de poder.III. 2. La solución habermasiana del mencionado problema residual mediante la comprobación de la "dependencia parasitaria" del uso encubiertamente estratégico del lenguaje con respecto al uso del lenguaje orientado al entendimiento y el nuevo problema residual del uso abiertamente estratégico del lenguaje.III. 3. La resolución del problema residual del uso abiertamente estratégico del lenguaje por medio del recurso a la reflexión pragmático trascendental sobre las presuposiciones del discurso argumentativo.
PEER RELATION SEBAGAI PREDIKTOR UTAMA SCHOOL WELL-BEING SISWA SEKOLAH DASAR
Authors: Wijayanti Puspita Adhi Kusuma , Sulistiobudi Rezki Ashriyana
Published: June 2018

Measuring school well-being in elementary school student is important. The experience of students at school will affect their perception, motivation and hope for their academic life in the future. We used Tripartite School Well-Being Model, based on the interaction among three aspects, namely school satisfaction, positive affect and negative affect. The aim of the study is to identify factors predicting the emergence of student’s positive affect and negative affect in elementary school. A total of 118 elementary school students of Class 6 in Bandung took a part in this study as respondent. The variables in this study were measured using three questionnaires: School Satisfaction, Positive Affect Student at School, and Negative Affect Student at School. Descriptive and inferential statistics through regression analysis was conducted to test the hypothesis. The results show that peer relationship, teacher-student relationship, and academic learning significantly contribute to build the positive affect of the student. Whereas, only the peer relationship predicted the negative affect of the student. This finding brings some practical implication for the educational process. The integrated multidimensional program which involves teacher, parents, peers, and student is crucial to promote student well-being at school.
Aristotle’s πόλις: The Political Community as a Common Project
Authors: Skowroński Leszek
Published: June 2018

At the beginning of Book I of the Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle says that “the good is the same for an individual as for a city”. The good in question is εὐδαιμονία – the highest good achievable for human beings. In Book X, we learn that contemplative activity (θεωρητική) meets best the requirements set for eudaimonia. Even if we agree that contemplative activity is the good for an individual, how should we understand the claim that contemplation is also the good for a city? I start by reminding readers that for Aristotle the Nicomachean Ethics is essentially a political enquiry and should be read together with his Politics. I focus on the teleological character of his political philosophy and the interlinking of the concepts of the good (τἀγαθόν), nature (φύσις), form (τὸ εἶδος, τὸ τί ἐστι, ἡ μορφή), end (τέλος, τὸ οὗ ἕνεκα) and function (ἔργον). Then, I look at Aristotle’s two closely-connected statements that polis exists by nature and that men are political animals. Having taken into account Aristotle’s opinion regarding the imperfection of this world, which is exemplified by the vulnerability of human lives to fortune, luck and accidents, I conclude that Alasdair MacIntyre’s concept of the political community as a common project explains well how contemplation could be the end of polis. Only very few individuals can achieve the highest good and they can do it only if they have the support of the political community. But all the inhabitants of a polis structured towards achieving the highest good benefit from living in a well-ordered community whose constitution reflects the objective hierarchy of goods.
Is the Virtue of Integrity Redundant in Aristotelian Virtue Ethics?
Authors: Kristjánsson Kristján
Published: June 2018

Integrity – the darling of many contemporary virtue ethicists – does not seem to feature in Aristotle’s system. This article explores whether integrity is redundant in Aristotelian virtue ethics, even of the reconstructed neo-Aristotelian kind, in the sense that any role it could reasonably be expected to play is already adequately covered by other virtues. I explain why that may be the case. Nevertheless, I propose to answer this question eventually in the negative by carving out a role for integrity within Aristotelian virtue ethics, which arguably no other construct covers, in integrating the moral but non-virtuous commitments of the continent. Prior to that, however, some ground-clearing is needed, calling for a number of discrete arguments. We need to know, for instance, how to understand ‘integrity’, and whether vice is potentially amenable to integration in the same way as virtue allegedly is. We also need to inquire whether integrity is better understood as a moral or an intellectual virtue. While I am mostly interested in the role of integrity as a higher-order (‘meta’ and/or ‘master’) virtue, I pay some attention also to accounts that consider it simply as one standard virtue among many.
Mimetic Desire and the Complication of the Conventional Neo-Slave Narrative Form in Edward P. Jones’s The Known World
Authors: Chukwumah Ignatius
Published: June 2018

When critics declare that Edward P. Jones’s The Known World represents moral turpitude, capitalist proclivities, slavery, and whittling of white supremacy, their assertions are in order. But they often miss accounting for how The Known World, which bears some indices of the neo-slave narrative owing to its appropriation of the incidents of slavery in a novelistic platform, complicates its sub-tradition. This work investigates the text’s two-fold complication. First, Jones complicates the neo-slave narrative form by depicting slavery from a little known perspective of intra-racial slavery amongst black people. Then, he casts a white character, and not a black one, in the mold of a classical tragic hero. Mimetic desire, René Girard’s concept for an individual’s imitation of a prior model’s behavior, is drawn on to bare characters’ actions that accentuate both strands of complication. As the basis of all human action that includes rivalry, violence, and scapegoating, mimetic desire unravels the ‘mystery’ surrounding the sort of slavery overwhelmingly acknowledged by critics as untraditional in The Known World and the tragedy, also unique to the neo-slave narrative form, it gives rise to.
Intermediales Ensemble der „Narrenburg“: Stifters Solitär in vergleichender Methode
Authors: Gerigk Anja
Published: June 2018

As a methodical exercise, Stifter’sNarrenburgfrom theStudienis subjected to new comparative approaches. Initial complications between testament (“Fideicommiß”) and the eponymous castle are revealed as a memorial dispositive of two distinct, but intertwined media: writing and the spatial complex of built “Rothenstein”. Another form of difference emerges from intermedial enquiry. First, the focus on temporal ir/reversibility reconsiders what has been regarded as the historicist background of the narrative, thus providing a more dynamic reading of dealing with the past. Secondly, singular and compound architectures need to be distinguished in order to evaluate the ambivalent aesthetics of the “Narrenburg”. Finally, the angle of solitary vs. ensemble is transferred onto the opening scenes of Kafka’s novelDas Schloß. This intertextual comparison does not rely on similar motifs or symbolic meaning; rather, designing space depends on building specific relations, even in literary texts. Along with the theoretical upgrade of productive intermediality the interdisciplinary value of architectural concepts beyond mere topographical perspectives becomes apparent.
Traps and incentives
Authors: Manes Eran , Shapira Daniel , Tobol Yossi
Published: June 2018

Many theories of development traps rely on coordination failures. In this paper we develop a theory of incentive traps in organizations, which demonstrates how the provision of incentives may itself become reinforcing for the emergence of traps. Our theory marks the dynamic interplay between incentives and performance in teams where peer-effects are present, the returns to which accrue far beyond the career horizon of current cohort of agents, while taking into account both intergenerational learning dynamics and the existence of markets for talent. The theory may help explain why high-quality research is rewarded less in those institutions where it is mostly scarce, why relative wages of professors in some developing countries are significantly lower than in developed economies, or why governments expenditure on education as percent of GDP is substantially lower in LDCs as compared to developed economies.
Stress evaluation in displacement-based 2D nonlocal finite element method
Authors: Pisano Aurora Angela , Fuschi Paolo
Published: June 2018

The evaluation of the stress field within a nonlocal version of the displacement-based finite element method is addressed. With the aid of two numerical examples it is shown as some spurious oscillations of the computed nonlocal stresses arise at sections (or zones) of macroscopic inhomogeneity of the examined structures. It is also shown how the above drawback, which renders the stress numerical solution unreliable, can be viewed as the so-called locking in FEM, a subject debated in the early seventies. It is proved that a well known remedy for locking, i.e. the reduced integration technique, can be successfully applied also in the nonlocal elasticity context.
A Case Study on Conversion in the Context of Prison in Hong Kong: Experiences, Narratives, and Transformations
Authors: Brandner Tobias
Published: June 2018

The paper explores issues related to prisoners’ Christian conversion experiences in the Chinese context of Hong Kong: How common are conversions? What motivates them? How are they experienced? What impacts do they have? How sustainable are they and how are they to be understood? The paper works through quantitative and qualitative steps: Quantitatively, it surveys the frequency, motives, and subjective experiences of prisoners’ conversions. Through extended interviews with a small number of inmates and former inmates, the paper investigates subjective experiences of transformation and establishes factors that help to sustain conversions. Finally, the paper considers the consequences for pastoral ministry with people in prison and with ex-inmates.
A Theory of Religious Praxis in India
Authors: Lazar A Roy
Published: June 2018

The first part of this International Report (IJPT 21.1) dealt with the theory of praxis in general, describing different approaches in pastoral care and various methods in theological reflection. It concluded with the question whether a ‘theological method’ exists that could be called specifically ‘Indian.’ Part II proceeds from this clue to explore the growth, Sitz im Leben, content and unique characteristics of Practical Theology in India.
Deep Learning Based Part-of-Speech Tagging for Malayalam Twitter Data (Special Issue: Deep Learning Techniques for Natural Language Processing)
Authors: Kumar S. , Kumar M. Anand , Soman K.P.
Published: June 2018

The paper addresses the problem of part-of-speech (POS) tagging for Malayalam tweets. The conversational style of posts/tweets/text in social media data poses a challenge in using general POS tagset for tagging the text. For the current work, a tagset was designed that contains 17 coarse tags and 9915 tweets were tagged manually for experiment and evaluation. The tagged data were evaluated using sequential deep learning methods like recurrent neural network (RNN), gated recurrent units (GRU), long short-term memory (LSTM), and bidirectional LSTM (BLSTM). The training of the model was performed on the tagged tweets, at word level and character level. The experiments were evaluated using measures like precision, recall, f1-measure, and accuracy. During the experiment, it was found that the GRU-based deep learning sequential model at word level gave the highest f1-measure of 0.9254; at character-level, the BLSTM-based deep learning sequential model gave the highest f1-measure of 0.8739. To choose the suitable number of hidden states, we varied it as 4, 16, 32, and 64, and performed training for each. It was observed that the increase in hidden states improved the tagger model. This is an initial work to perform Malayalam Twitter data POS tagging using deep learning sequential models.
Parametric studies of dissimilar welding of AISI 409 ferritic stainless steel to AISI 316L austenitic stainless steel using Taguchi desirability analyses
Authors: Ghosh Nabendu , Pal Pradip Kumar , Nandi Goutam
Published: June 2018

In the present work, dissimilar joints between AISI 409 ferritic stainless steel and AISI 316L austenitic stainless steel were made by gas metal arc welding (GMAW) using ESAB AUTO Rod 316L as a filler wire. Welding was conducted as per the L9 orthogonal array using the Taguchi method. Three levels of the input parameters: welding current, gas flow rate and nozzle to plate distance were selected. After welding, visual inspection and an X-ray radiographic test were conducted on the weld specimens to detect surface and sub-surface defects of weld specimens made from dissimilar stainless steels. The quality of the weld was evaluated in terms of yield strength, ultimate tensile strength and percentage of elongation of the welded specimens. The observed data are interpreted, discussed and analyzed using Taguchi desirability analyses.
Growth, spectral, density functional theory (DFT) and Hirshfeld surface analysis on 4-aminopyridinium adipate monohydrate nonlinear optical single crystal
Authors: Vasanthakumar R. , Nirmala W. , Santhakumari R. , Meenakshi R. , Sinthiya A.
Published: June 2018

4-aminopyridinium adipate monohydrate (4APA) was grown by slow evaporation solution growth technique. The functional groups in the grown crystal were identified from FT-IR spectral evaluation. The optical properties together with transmittance of the grown crystal were obtained from UV-Vis spectroscopic study. The mechanical and thermal properties of the grown crystal were studied using Vickers microhardness and TGA/DTA analyses, respectively. Microhardness test revealed that 4-aminopyridinium adipate monohydrate crystal is a soft category material. The density functional method (DFT) was performed using B3LYP with the 6-311G (d,p) basis set. The electronic charge distribution, reactivity of the molecules and the molecular electrostatic potential (MEP) of the grown crystal were analyzed using the B3LYP method. The intermolecular interactions that exist in the crystal structure of the 4APA have also been investigated by Hirshfeld surface analysis. The nonlinear optical properties of the 4APA crystal were confirmed by Kurtz-Perry technique.
Covalent grafting of graphene oxide on functionalized macroporous silicon
Authors: Moretta Rosalba , Terracciano Monica , Dardano Principia , Casalino Maurizio , Rea Ilaria , De Stefano Luca
Published: June 2018

Graphene oxide (GO) is a single-atom-thick and two-dimensional carbon material that has attracted great attention because of its remarkable electronic, mechanical, chemical and thermal properties. GO could be an ideal substrate for the development of label-free optical biosensors, however, its weak photoluminescence (PL) strongly limits the use for this purpose. In this study, we developed a covalent chemical strategy in order to obtain a hybrid GO-macroporous silicon (PSi) structure for biomedical applications. The realized structure was characterized by atomic force microscopy (AFM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM)water contact angle (WCA) measurements, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and label- free optical methods based on spectroscopic reflectometry and PL analysis. Investigations showed that the hybrid structure is suitable as a transducer material for biosensing applications due to its peculiar optical properties resulting from the combination of GO and PSi.
Brexit: Critical Juncture in the UK’s International Development Agenda?
Authors: Nwankwo Cletus Famous
Published: June 2018

This paper raises some questions about Brexit in light of international development cooperation and policy studies. Brexit could be a disrupting critical juncture for UK policy and international development institutions after an extended period as a member of the European Union (EU). Consequently, it calls for investigating ongoing or potential policy reform in the UK’s international development programmes, the identification of policies that will not correspond to the requirements of the UK’s international development agenda in relation to Brexit, and the new policies that will replace them. Furthermore, it argues for the importance of the analysis of the nature and process of such policy reforms, and the attitudes of principal actors towards them. Examining these issues can reveal how a state could untangle and reconfigure itself amidst a complex institutional network of regional states’ association in the 21st Century.
Radioactivity of the lower sector of Danube River and the Black Sea coastal zone in relation to some hydrological characteristics
Authors: Borcia Constantin , Rădulescu Carmen , Ciucă Radu , Blendea Viorel
Published: June 2018

On ecosystems, the radioactive material can have several consequences: the mechanisms of self-regulation of biocoenosis are affected; the interactions and composition of flora and fauna in biocoenosis are modified etc., and on humans, radioactive material presents a major risk through external exposure and internal exposure to radiation. On the other hand, floods and droughts, among others, can have the effect that they can act as a support for radionuclides. The existence of risks of radioactive and chemical pollution on the lower course of the Danube, in the Black Sea Danube spill area as well as in the Black Sea coastal area, where a number of complex processes occur, determined the study of the radiochemical processes taking place in these areas. The paper addresses the following issues: radiation risk and nuclear risk, general hydrological characteristics, radioactivity of the Lower Danube water and coastal zone of the Black Sea, radioactivity of the Lower Danube sediments and coastal zone of the Black Sea, modeling of radiochemical processes.
The impact of maritime spatial planning on the development of the Black Sea
Authors: Stan Mari-Isabella , Filip Cosmin , Vintilă Dragoş-Florian , Ţenea Diana-Doina
Published: June 2018

Abstract In order to implement Directive 2014/89/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing a framework for Maritime Spatial Planning, Romania and Bulgaria are carrying out the “Maritime Spatial Planning for the Black Sea - the Romanian - Bulgarian cross-border area” project (MARSPLAN-BS). The impact of the implementation of the Maritime Spatial Planning (MSP) project on the Black Sea coast on the development of the coastal area requires an analysis that is carried out by the authors in this paper.
Efficiency of the construction market and need for government regulation
Authors: Marichova Aneta
Published: June 2018

For a long time in economic theory and practice, regulation is only linked to the need for state intervention in monopolistic markets, by developing uniform, simple regulatory rules to limit and control the monopoly power, the monopoly price, mergers and acquisitions between companies in the same industry and others. In recent years the prevailing opinion that government regulation is particularly necessary in oligopolistic markets where there are several leading, dominant companies that can influence the price, quantity and quality of the product offered. However, this regulatory policy should not apply to common rules and taking into account the specifics of the market/industry, market structure (concentration level) of the various market segments and the relevant economic activity. The aim of the study: 1) Evaluation of the efficiency of the construction market, 2) Demonstrate the need for government intervention, 3) Guidelines for the implementation of the regulatory function of the government.
Roof structures. Comparisons between traditional roof structures and industrialized ones
Authors: Gabriela Draghici , Maican Ana-Maria , Rotaru Valentin – Daniel
Published: June 2018

Roofs with one or more slopes, represent an important part of a construction, having a double role: a role of resistance together with the entire constructive system and a protective role both for the other components of the constructive system and for the optimal unfolding of the various functions. The durability and the fulfillment of the mechanical requirements depend equally on the material used, design quality and execution quality. Industrialized roof structures can be a solution, under the current conditions, to meet these requirements. This article compares the traditional roof structures and the industrialized one.
Application of thermal discomfort indices for the coastal zone of Black Sea, in Dobrogea Region
Authors: Maftei Carmen , Buta Constantin
Published: June 2018

The main goal of this paper is to establish the thermal comfort or thermal discomfort conditions for the coastal zone of Black Sea, in Dobrogea region (Romania). In the last century there have been many efforts to assess the degree of thermal discomfort and heat stress for different types of climates and taking into account as many climate variables. The thermal discomfort is difficult to be quantified because it is necessary to consider a range of environmental and human factors to decide what makes a person to feel thermal comfortable. This article is divided into three sections. First section presents the indices used in determining thermal discomfort, in the second section are presented: the main climatic characteristics of the Dobrogea region and the data and methods used in determining thermal discomfort indices. Section three is dedicated to results and discussion.
Theoretical DMT Interpretation in Sensitive Clays
Authors: Silvestri Vincenzo
Published: June 2018

Closed-form solutions are deduced in the present article for the stresses and displacements generated during installation of the flat dilatometer blade in undrained clay, by assuming that the soil behaves ideally elastic first and elastic-plastic second. In the first case, the installation of the dilatometer is modeled as the expansion of a long elliptical cavity, commencing from a vertical line crack under uniform internal pressure. Computations indicate that the horizontal tangential stress may reach very high negative or tensile values in areas located along the edges of the elliptical cavity. In these areas, the maximum shear stresses also attain very high levels. As a consequence, either fractures or plastic deformations would be expected to develop in such areas.

In the second case, the installation of the dilatometer is modeled as the expansion of a long cylindrical cavity, in which the applied pressure is transmitted through an internal hydrostatic core. Outside the core, the clay behaves as a linearly elastic perfectly plastic (Tresca) material. The computed ultimate radial pressures compare well with published data obtained by means of finite element analyses. Finally, the theoretical solutions are applied to field tests carried out in a sensitive clay deposit of eastern Canada. The results show that the clay suffers severe remolding following the insertion of the dilatometer.
Properties of Cement Mortar with Different Blending Amount of Rich Husk Ash (RHA)
Authors: Xing Shanshan , Dong E. , Liu Jiesheng , Yu Yuanyuan
Published: June 2018

The morphology of rice husk ash (RHA) samples obtained at 400°C in a vertical high temperature furnace was characterized by scanning electron microscopy, and the effect of RHA on the mechanical behavior of cement mortar was studied. The RHA sample is slightly grey in color and there are some black particles. RHA samples have many sheets that are vertically and horizontally interlaced. The effect of RHA on the compressive and flexural strengths test for cement mortar has been investigated. The water absorption, mortar consistency, dry bulk density, and water permeability were tested. The compressive and flexural strengths decreased with the replacement of RHA. The mortar consistency improved, and water absorption increased. The dry bulk density of cement mortar decreased, and the water permeability increased. Because RHA is a resource containing properties that have the potential for categorizing it as waste, the comprehensive utilization of RHA is significant for improving environmental protection and gaining economic benefits.
O OLHAR ENGAJADO E O CUIDADO COM O SER: desenvolvendo a prática fotográfica e os sentidos por meio da Jornada de Extensão e Cultura Universitária
Authors: Freire Vitorino Fontenele , Miguel Marcelo Calderari
Published: June 2018

A estética fotográfica enquadra-se na possibilidade de desenvolvimento de linguagem para os que dela se utilizem. Logo esse resgate memorial é fruto do aprendizado da oficina de fotografia "Olhar Fotográfico" da Jornada Integrada de Extensão e Cultura da Pró-Reitoria de Extensão - Área Temática Cultura e Área Afim de Comunicação Social, sendo a Linha de Extensão a questão da Produção Cultural e Artística na Área de Fotografia, Cinema e Vídeo. Com a aprendizagem dessa oficina realizamos o presente ensaio fotoetnográfico trazendo em pauta o tema da liberdade de consciência e o cuidado e visibilidade do ser. Ao desenvolver o chamado ‘olhar fotográfico’ expande-se as possibilidades criativas para reconhecer e explorar as melhores alternativas de composição que cada ambiente pode proporcionar. O produto dessa atividade extensionista vai além do tema retratado e da pessoa acolhida nessas fotografias; muitas outras esferas sociais e pessoais a oficina desperta - tal como empatia e respeito como qualidades inerentemente humanas. Observou-se que as ilustrações deste ensaio reproduzem mais que o superficial incrustado; muitas outras associações e complexidades a fotografia desperta, e gera novas possibilidades de formação e debate sobre o campo da arte, seu ensino e seus modos de presença na sociedade.
Colhendo e plantando vida nas cidades: extensão ao contrário e ecologia de saberes no Aglomerado da Serra, Belo Horizonte - MG
Authors: Paula Bruno Martins Dala , Oliveira Luana Do Carmo Araujo de , Almada Emmanuel Duarte , Chaves Filipe Freitas , Coutinho Maura Neves
Published: June 2018

O presente ensaio busca uma reflexão da relação entre as práticas de agricultura urbana e o cuidado com a vida a partir de um projeto de extensão universitária mobilizado entre grupos de moradores das comunidades do Aglomerado da Serra em Belo Horizonte-MG e membros do Grupo Aroeira, ao longo de seis anos (2008-2013). O ensaio aponta a agroecologia como teoria-práxis chave nesse processo e relata as opções metodológicas segundo preceitos do educador Paulo Freire e do sociólogo Boaventura Souza e Santos para uma ação dialética entre comunidade e universidade. Sendo o conceito de Pesquisa-Ação, chave no processo de pesquisa e extensão, este projeto estruturou-se através de atividades principais, foram elas: levantamento das iniciativas de agricultura urbana na comunidade; realização do Ciclo de Encontros Cultivando Saúde; formação da Grupo de Plantas Medicinais Santana; criação da turma de alfabetização “Café Crioulo”; e realização de feiras livres com produtos da agrobiodiversidade urbana da Região Metropolitana de Belo Horizonte. Grupo Semear, Instituto Paulo Freire através do Projeto MOVA-Brasil, Fundo Nacional de Solidariedade - FNS Cáritas Brasileira (2013) são alguns dos parceiros citados que auxiliaram e permitiram articular as temáticas de agroecologia, soberania e segurança alimentar e nutricional, educação popular e economia popular solidária em um projeto que buscou cultivar e promover o cuidado com a vida dos moradores do aglomerado da Serra valorizando seus saberes populares, ao mesmo tempo em que levou tais experiências para dentro da universidade a partir da prática da extensão ao contrário.
Apresentação
Authors: De Azevedo Fernando Costa
Published: June 2018

Apresentação do Dossiê temático Consumo e Vulnerabilidade: a proteção jurídica dos consumidores no século XXI
Surviving ectopic Cushing’s syndrome: quality of life, cardiovascular and metabolic outcomes in comparison to Cushing’s disease during long-term follow-up
Authors: Osswald Andrea , Deutschbein Timo , Berr Christina M , Plomer Eva , Mickisch Anne , Ritzel Katrin , Schopohl Jochen , Beuschlein Felix , Fassnacht Martin , Hahner Stefanie , Reincke Martin
Published: June 2018

Objective

Aim of our study was to analyze long-term outcome of patients with the ectopic Cushing’s syndrome (ECS) compared to patients with Cushing’s disease (CD) regarding cardiovascular, metabolic, musculoskeletal and psychiatric comorbidities.

Design

Cross-sectional study in patients with ECS and CD in two German academic tertiary care centers.

Methods

Standardized clinical follow-up examination was performed including health-related quality of life (QoL) in 21 ECS patients in long-term remission (≥18 months since successful surgery). Fifty-nine patients with CD in remission served as controls.

Results

Time from first symptoms to diagnosis of Cushing’s syndrome (CS) was shorter in ECS than in CD (8.5 (IQR: 30.3) vs 25 (IQR: 39.0) months, P = 0.050). ECS patients had lower self-reported psychiatric morbidity compared to CD (19% vs 43%, P = 0.050) at follow-up. Moreover, female ECS patients reported favorable scores for QoL in the SF-36 questionnaire (mental health: 92 (IQR: 30) vs 64 (IQR: 32) in CD, P = 0.010) and a Cushing-specific QoL questionnaire (73 (IQR: 18) vs 59 (IQR: 36) in CD, P = 0.030). In a pooled analysis of ECS and CD patients, QoL correlated with time from first symptoms until diagnosis of CS, but not with urinary free cortisol levels or serum cortisol after dexamethasone at the time of diagnosis. Long-term outcomes regarding hypertension, metabolic parameters, bone mineral density and grip strength were comparable in ECS and CD.

Conclusions

Our data support the concept that time of exposure to glucocorticoid excess appears to be a better predictor than peak serum cortisol levels at the time of diagnosis regarding long-term psychiatric morbidity and QoL.
Biochemical and clinical aspects of glycogen storage diseases
Authors: Ellingwood Sara S , Cheng Alan
Published: June 2018

The synthesis of glycogen represents a key pathway for the disposal of excess glucose while its degradation is crucial for providing energy during exercise and times of need. The importance of glycogen metabolism is also highlighted by human genetic disorders that are caused by mutations in the enzymes involved. In this review, we provide a basic summary on glycogen metabolism and some of the clinical aspects of the classical glycogen storage diseases. Disruptions in glycogen metabolism usually result in some level of dysfunction in the liver, muscle, heart, kidney and/or brain. Furthermore, the spectrum of symptoms observed is very broad, depending on the affected enzyme. Finally, we briefly discuss an aspect of glycogen metabolism related to the maintenance of its structure that seems to be gaining more recent attention. For example, in Lafora progressive myoclonus epilepsy, patients exhibit an accumulation of inclusion bodies in several tissues, containing glycogen with increased phosphorylation, longer chain lengths and irregular branch points. This abnormal structure is thought to make glycogen insoluble and resistant to degradation. Consequently, its accumulation becomes toxic to neurons, leading to cell death. Although the genes responsible have been identified, studies in the past two decades are only beginning to shed light into their molecular functions.
Mitochondrial oxidative stress in obesity: role of the mineralocorticoid receptor
Authors: Lefranc Clara , Friederich-Persson Malou , Palacios-Ramirez Roberto , Nguyen Dinh Cat Aurelie
Published: June 2018

Obesity is a multifaceted, chronic, low-grade inflammation disease characterized by excess accumulation of dysfunctional adipose tissue. It is often associated with the development of cardiovascular (CV) disorders, insulin resistance and diabetes. Under pathological conditions like in obesity, adipose tissue secretes bioactive molecules called ‘adipokines’, including cytokines, hormones and reactive oxygen species (ROS). There is evidence suggesting that oxidative stress, in particular, the ROS imbalance in adipose tissue, may be the mechanistic link between obesity and its associated CV and metabolic complications. Mitochondria in adipose tissue are an important source of ROS and their dysfunction contributes to the pathogenesis of obesity-related type 2 diabetes. Mitochondrial function is regulated by several factors in order to preserve mitochondria integrity and dynamics. Moreover, the renin–angiotensin–aldosterone system is over-activated in obesity. In this review, we focus on the pathophysiological role of the mineralocorticoid receptor in the adipose tissue and its contribution to obesity-associated metabolic and CV complications. More specifically, we discuss whether dysregulation of the mineralocorticoid system within the adipose tissue may be the upstream mechanism and one of the early events in the development of obesity, via induction of oxidative stress and mitochondrial dysfunction, thus impacting on systemic metabolism and the CV system.
The Genomic Architecture of a Rapid Island Radiation: Recombination Rate Variation, Chromosome Structure, and Genome Assembly of the Hawaiian CricketLaupala
Authors: Blankers Thomas , Oh Kevin P , Bombarely Aureliano , Shaw Kerry L
Published: June 2018

Phenotypic evolution and speciation depend on recombination in many ways. Within populations, recombination can promote adaptation by bringing together favorable mutations and decoupling beneficial and deleterious alleles. As populations diverge, crossing over can give rise to maladapted recombinants and impede or reverse diversification. Suppressed recombination due to genomic rearrangements, modifier alleles, and intrinsic chromosomal properties may offer a shield against maladaptive gene flow eroding coadapted gene complexes. Both theoretical and empirical results support this relationship. However, little is known about this relationship in the context of behavioral isolation, where coevolving signals and preferences are the major hybridization barrier. Here we examine the genomic architecture of recently diverged, sexually isolated Hawaiian swordtail crickets (Laupala). We assemble a de novo genome and generate three dense linkage maps from interspecies crosses. In line with expectations based on the species’ recent divergence and successful interbreeding in the laboratory, the linkage maps are highly collinear and show no evidence for large-scale chromosomal rearrangements. Next, the maps were used to anchor the assembly to pseudomolecules and estimate recombination rates across the genome to test the hypothesis that loci involved in behavioral isolation (song and preference divergence) are in regions of low interspecific recombination. Contrary to our expectations, the genomic region where a male song and female preference QTL colocalize is not associated with particularly low recombination rates. This study provides important novel genomic resources for an emerging evolutionary genetics model system and suggests that trait–preference coevolution is not necessarily facilitated by locally suppressed recombination.
EFFECT OF CULTIVATION CONDITIONS ON ACTIVITY OF α-AMYLASE FROM A TROPICAL STRAIN ASPERGILLUS FLAVUS LINK
Authors: Odunayo Adejuwon Adekunle , Anatolyivna Tsygankova Victoria , Alonge Oluwafisayo
Published: June 2018

An important integral part of the physiology of the fungal cell is the nature of the cascade of extracellular enzymes produced by fungi. A tropical strain Aspergillus flavus Link obtained from deteriorated tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) fruits grew in a growth nutrient medium composed of MgSO4.7H20, K2HPO4, KH2PO4, FeSO4.7H2O, potassium nitrate and starch at 30oC. Extracellular proteins produced by the isolate in the medium expressed α-amylase activity. The enzyme was partially purified by ammonium sulphate precipitation followed by dialysis. The enzyme exhibited optimum activity at 35oC and at pH 6.0. It possessed an apparent Km of 7.1 mg/ml for the hydrolysis of starch. The enzyme was stimulated by Na+ and Ca2+ but inhibited by ethylenediamine tetraacetic acid and 2,4-dinitrophenol. It lost 64.1% of its activity within 20 min of heating at 80oC. Of the nitrogenous compounds potassium nitrate, ammonium sulphate and casein, casein as nitrogen source in the defined growth medium with starch as carbon source supported most activity of α-amylase by the fungal isolate. Observations during the partial purification and characterization of the enzyme are herein reported.