bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Diabetes-Induced Cardiomyocyte Passive Stiffening Is Caused by Impaired Insulin-Dependent Titin Modification and Can Be Modulated by Neuregulin-1
Authors: Hopf Anna-Eliane , Andresen Christian , Kötter Sebastian , Isić Małgorzata , Ulrich Kamila , Sahin Senem , Bongardt Sabine , Röll Wilhelm , Drove Felicitas , Scheerer Nina , Vandekerckhove Leni , De Keulenaer Gilles W. , Hamdani Nazha , Linke Wolfgang A. , Krüger Martina
Published: May 2018

Rationale:

Increased titin-dependent cardiomyocyte tension is a hallmark of heart failure with preserved ejection fraction associated with type-2 diabetes mellitus. However, the insulin-related signaling pathways that modify titin-based cardiomyocyte tension, thereby contributing to modulation of diastolic function, are largely unknown.

Objective:

We aimed to determine how impaired insulin signaling affects titin expression and phosphorylation and thus increases passive cardiomyocyte tension, and whether metformin or neuregulin-1 (NRG-1) can correct disturbed titin modifications and increased titin-based stiffness.

Methods and Results:

We used cardiac biopsies from human diabetic (n=23) and nondiabetic patients (n=19), cultured rat cardiomyocytes, left ventricular tissue from apolipoprotein E–deficient mice with streptozotocin-induced diabetes mellitus (n=12–22), and ZSF1 (obese diabetic Zucker fatty/spontaneously hypertensive heart failure F1 hybrid) rats (n=5–6) and analyzed insulin-dependent signaling pathways that modulate titin phosphorylation. Titin-based passive tension was measured using permeabilized cardiomyocytes. In human diabetic hearts, we detected titin hypophosphorylation at S4099 and hyperphosphorylation at S11878, suggesting altered activity of protein kinases; cardiomyocyte passive tension was significantly increased. When applied to cultured cardiomyocytes, insulin and metformin increased titin phosphorylation at S4010, S4099, and S11878 via enhanced ERK1/2 (extracellular signal regulated kinase 1/2) and PKCα (protein kinase Cα) activity; NRG-1 application enhanced ERK1/2 activity but reduced PKCα activity. In apolipoprotein E–deficient mice, chronic treatment of streptozotocin-induced diabetes mellitus with NRG-1 corrected titin phosphorylation via increased PKG (protein kinase G) and ERK1/2 activity and reduced PKCα activity, which reversed the diabetes mellitus–associated changes in titin-based passive tension. Acute application of NRG-1 to obese ZSF1 rats with type-2 diabetes mellitus reduced end-diastolic pressure.

Conclusions:

Mechanistically, we found that impaired cGMP–PKG signaling and elevated PKCα activity are key modulators of titin-based cardiomyocyte stiffening in diabetic hearts. We conclude that by restoring normal kinase activities of PKG, ERK1/2, and PKCα, and by reducing cardiomyocyte passive tension, chronic NRG-1 application is a promising approach to modulate titin properties in heart failure with preserved ejection fraction associated with type-2 diabetes mellitus.
“The Language of the Eyes”: Speech Acts and the Gaze in a Monologue by Badīʿah Maṣābnī
Authors: Hammond Marlé
Published: May 2018

The script of a short film from 1932 by the cabaret star Badīʿah Maṣābnī features the voice of a woman holding forth on the subject of women’s eyes and the effects they have on male onlookers. The characteristics of the text, a monologue entitled “Lughat al-ʿuyūn,” or “The Language of the Eyes,” are analysed in the light of speech act theory, with a view toward understanding the dynamics of gender and subjective agency that permeate it. Special attention is paid to the gaze, both the gaze emanating from the depicted women’s eyes and the gaze of the presumably male spectator. Structures of gender and agency as they apply to eyes in the film script are then compared to formulations of the beloved’s eyes in the classical Arabic poetic tradition, as well as to depictions of eyes in a contemporary colloquial poem by Bayram al-Tūnisī. The comparisons reveal the relatively subversive nature of the film. The piece concludes with reflections on the film’s feminist impulse.
Orientalism and World Literature: A Re-reading of Cosmopolitanism in Ṭāhā Ḥusayn’s Literary World
Authors: Ouyang Wen-chin
Published: May 2018

Pierre Cachia’s masterful literary biography of Ṭāhā Ḥusayn (1956) identified cultural exchange and particularly translation as the catalyst for the Egyptian cultural and literary renaissance epitomized in the person of Ṭāhā Ḥusayn (1889-1973). This paper takes Cachia as a point of departure and pursues an understanding of Ṭāhā Ḥusayn within the framework of world literature and locates his vision of Egyptian modernity and national identity in the circulation of ideas, concepts, bodies of knowledge and worldviews in the Mediterranean world. It focuses on the role of Orientalism and European Classicism in the cosmopolitanism underpinning his program of cultural and educational reform, and interrogates the conceptual category of “nation,” narratives of Nahḍah, and theories of world literature.
Abū Zayd al-Hilālī: Trickster, Womanizer, Warrior, Shaykh
Authors: Reynolds Dwight F.
Published: May 2018

Sīrat Banī Hilāl (the Epic of the Banī Hilāl) is rooted in the 10th-century invasion of North Africa by the Banī Hilāl Bedouin tribe after they left their homeland of the Najd in the Arabian Peninsula. Told in a combination of poetry and prose similar to the style of other epic tales such as that of ‘Antar, Sayf ibn Dhī Yazin, and Dhāt al-Himmah, Sīrat Banī Hilāl is nevertheless unique in that it is the only one of the folk epics traditionally to be performed in sung verse to the accompaniment of musical instruments (rather than spoken or read aloud). It is also distinctive for being a tale that recounts the elaborate interactions among a constellation of main figures rather than being primarily about the exploits of a single hero. Among these central characters, however, one in particular deserves notice for his psychological complexity—Abū Zayd al-Hilālī, the black hero of the Banī Hilāl tribe. Abū Zayd, it is argued here, combines many of the features of the ‘classic hero’ as delineated by Otto Rank, Lord Raglan, and Joseph Campbell, as well as characteristics of the Trickster figures studied by Carl Jung, Paul Radin, M.C. Lyons, and others. He is at times the chivalrous hero, a model of manly virtues, but also capable of cunning and deceptive behavior that borders on the dishonorable, and in a few infamous scenes he kills innocent people and tells outright lies to cover his tracks, leaving modern audiences baffled and conflicted. At the same time, however, for reasons spelled out in this essay, Abū Zayd is the character with whom modern Egyptian audiences most clearly identify: a black hero denigrated for his skin color, capable of great deeds of heroism, chivalry, and religious devotion, as well as acts of an intensely transgressive nature.
Interpretation of Article VIII, Section 29 of the Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the UN
Authors: Okada Yohei
Published: May 2018

In 2013, a suit was lodged before the US District Court in NY, invoking UN responsibility for the outbreak of cholera in Haiti. The outbreak is a tragedy not only because of its catastrophic consequences but because it was caused by the UN peacekeeping operation. To date, however, the merits of the claims have never been examined due to UN immunity. While the
UN Charter provides for this immunity in an equivocal manner, the specification by the
CPIUN
allows for a straightforward determination of its content and scope. In contrast, section 29 of the
CPIUN
, which stipulates the UN’s obligation to provide alternative means for dispute settlement as a counterpart of its immunity, is an interpretative puzzle. Due to discrepancies over the interpretation of the provision, the Haiti cholera case has resulted in a stalemate. Against this backdrop, the present study aims to clarify the content and scope of the obligation.
International Organizations and the Performativity of Measuring States
Authors: Van Den Meerssche Dimitri
Published: May 2018

This article explores how the World Bank’s engagement with governance reform has sparked a practice of measuring, ranking and diagnosing countries based on an epistemically constructed ideal-type of the modern state. With Foucault, I define this praxis of normalisation as a ‘transnational discipline of diagnosis’. The contribution of the article is both empirical and doctrinal. On an empirical level, it weaves together an innovative assemblage of three different technologies in the Bank’s epistemic governance praxis: the axiomatic dimension (World Development Reports); the statistical dimension (Worldwide Governance Indicators) and the diagnostic dimension (Systematic Country Diagnostics). On a doctrinal level, drawing on critical sociology and performativity theory, the article categorises this epistemic praxis as a world-making socio-political enterprise. It thereby rejects both the categorisation of epistemic power as a mode of public authority (to be integrated in a public law framework), as well as the respresentationalist idioms that inform ideology critique.
Foundations in the Netherlands: Toward a Diversified Social Model?
Authors: Schuyt Theo N. M. , Gouwenberg Barbara M. , Hoolwerf Barry L. K.
Published: May 2018

This article describes the history, development, and current position of Dutch foundations. In the past, the philanthropy sector and foundations initiated many nonprofit services in the Netherlands. Along with the growth of the welfare state, philanthropy was sidelined. Due to public funding, the pillarized Dutch nonprofit sector extended strongly. However, despite its large scale it shows a special feature. Most nonprofits are still privately governed institutions although publicly funded. In the 1980s, governmental budget cuts forced the nonprofits to embrace the market as income source. A dualistic model got dominancy or state or market. At the end of the 20th century, however, philanthropy revived and a new philanthropy sector emerged. The article addresses the issue of the role of philanthropy in changing (European) welfare states. Are we experiencing further marketization and privatization—toward a so-called Anglo-Saxon shareholder model—or are we seeing a continuation of the so-called Rhineland, multistakeholder model of government, market, and philanthropy?
Disloyalty and Logics of Fratricide in Civil War: Executions of Officers in Republican Spain, 1936-1939
Authors: McLauchlin Theodore , Parra-Pérez Álvaro La
Published: May 2018

Violence within armed groups in civil wars is important and understudied. Linking literatures on civil war violence and military politics, this article asks when this fratricidal violence targets soldiers who try to defect, and when it does not. It uses a unique data set of executions of officers on the Republican side of the Spanish Civil War. The article finds that while much of the violence appeared to target those who actually tried to defect, many nondefectors were likely shot too, due most likely to a pervasive stereotype that officers in general were disloyal to the Republic. This stereotype was used as an information shortcut and was promoted by political actors. Accordingly, unlikely defectors were likelier to be shot in locations in which less information was available about loyalties and in which political forces that were suspicious of officers as a group were locally stronger.
Workplace flexibility as a paradoxical phenomenon: Exploring employee experiences
Authors: Cañibano Almudena
Published: May 2018

How do employees of dynamic consulting firms deal with their demanding professional environment, where they must be accessible, responsive and flexible seemingly around the clock? This case study of a large consulting firm explores employee experiences of flexible working through the lens of paradox. It finds that flexible working far exceeds the set of approved flexible work arrangements and practices enshrined in formal HR policies. Rather, individuals develop varied perceptions, expectations and ways of organizing flexible working, which emerge and evolve as they accumulate experience in a context where client-focused responsiveness is key. The article argues that flexible working is part of the deeper psychological contract between professional employees and the firm. This allows us to better understand how the paradoxical tensions that characterize workplace flexibility are experienced as evolving combinations of contributions and inducements. Employees manage these tensions in different ways, including vacillating between polar opposites and integrating contradictory elements, creating an overall mental picture of their flexible working experience.
Sexual exploitation of adolescent students in Tanzania: Implication for social services
Authors: Mlyakado Budeba Petro , Li Jessica Chi-Mei
Published: May 2018

A considerable empirical research has been conducted on sexual exploitation of children and adolescents; however, limited information is available in developing countries. This study describes and discusses the prevalence, nature and characteristics of sexual exploitation of adolescents using data collected from 1116 secondary school students in Tanzania. Results indicate that 21 percent of the surveyed adolescent students had had at least one experience of sexual exploitation. Being a female, living in rural areas and being aged above 15 years were associated with high risk of sexual exploitation. This study underscores gender- and locality-specific social work interventional requirements, with emphasis on interdisciplinary collaborative efforts.
Correlates of Recreation- Versus Academic-Motivated Misuse of Prescription Stimulants
Authors: Yomogida Kyle , Mendez Jocelyne , Figueroa Wilma , Bavarian Niloofar
Published: May 2018

Our goal was to compare and contrast the correlates of academic- and recreation-motivated misuse of prescription stimulants (MPS). Questionnaires were distributed to a probability sample of students attending two universities. We used a series of logistic regression analyses to examine intrapersonal, interpersonal, and environmental correlates of use among academic-motivated users (versus nonacademic-motivated users) and recreation-motivated users (versus nonrecreation-motivated users; N = 257 students with MPS experience). Sensations seeking, older age, academic concern, family perception of MPS, family and faculty endorsement of MPS, perceived prevalence of MPS among friends, and financial stress were unique correlates of recreation-motivated MPS. Inattention, friends’ perception of MPS, friend endorsement of MPS, perception of willingness of health care providers to write prescriptions and negative expectancies were unique correlates of academic-motivated MPS. Variables that were correlates of both motives were race/ethnicity, year in school, avoidance self-efficacy, diversion, positive MPS expectancies, MPS intention, and other substance use. These findings have important prevention and intervention implications.
Social Relationships and Suicidal Ideation Among the Elderly Who Live Alone in Republic of Korea: A Logistic Model
Authors: Kwon Hyun-Jung , Jeong Ji-Ung , Choi Mihyang
Published: May 2018

With population aging and change in family structure, the number of the elderly who live alone is rapidly increasing in Korea. The aim of this study was to explore the association between social relationships—especially newly formed formal social relationships (FSRs)—and suicidal ideation among Korean elderly who live alone. The elderly who live alone (N = 2509) from the 2014 Survey of Living Conditions and Welfare Needs of Older Koreans were analyzed using logistic regression. This study found that informal social relationships (ISRs) (eg, children, friends and neighbors) of the elderly who live alone had statistically significant association with suicidal ideation, whereas FSRs (eg, formal helper and social participation) did not have significant association with suicidal ideation. The findings of this study suggest that the Korean Government needs to strengthen public system for alleviating social isolation of the elderly living alone. Therefore, this study proposed 2 strategic approaches to maintain and strengthen ISRs and to develop different types of FSRs (eg, the measures to combine FSRs with ISRs, gatekeepers, etc).
Reframing Paul’s Anthropology in the Light of the Dichotomies of Pauline Research
Authors: Rabens Volker
Published: May 2018

The history of Pauline research has uncovered, as well as created, several dualisms, false dichotomies and cul-de-sacs that have played and still play a role in various interpretations of Paul. Susan Eastman’s Paul and the Person (2017) sets out to reframe Paul’s anthropology by opening a discursive window between Pauline scholarship and recent work in developmental psychology and neuroscience. In this article I discuss how Eastman manages to achieve this goal – by looking at her monograph from the perspective of five interpretative dichotomies: individual vs communal, Stoic vs Platonic and material vs immaterial, cognition vs emotion, relational vs ontological transformation, and human vs divine agency.
Evaluation of the effects of adding vibrotactile feedback to myoelectric prosthesis users on performance and visual attention in a dual-task paradigm
Authors: Raveh Eitan , Friedman Jason , Portnoy Sigal
Published: May 2018

Objective:

To evaluate the effects of adding vibrotactile feedback to myoelectric prosthesis users on the performance time and visual attention in a dual-task paradigm.

Design:

A repeated-measures design with a counterbalanced order of two conditions.

Setting:

Laboratory setting.

Subjects:

Transradial amputees using a myoelectric prosthesis with normal or corrected eyesight ( N = 12, median age = 65 ± 13 years). Exclusion criteria were orthopedic or neurologic problems.

Interventions:

Subjects performed grasping tasks with their prosthesis, while controlling a virtual car on a road with their intact hand. The dual task was performed twice: with and without vibrotactile feedback.

Main measures:

Performance time of each of the grasping tasks and gaze behavior, measured by the number of times the subjects shifted their gaze toward their hand, the relative time they applied their attention to the screen, and percentage of error in the secondary task.

Results:

The mean performance time was significantly shorter ( P = 0.024) when using vibrotactile feedback (93.2 ± 9.6 seconds) compared with the performance time measured when vibrotactile feedback was not available (107.8 ± 20.3 seconds). No significant differences were found between the two conditions in the number of times the gaze shifted from the screen to the hand, in the time the subjects applied their attention to the screen, and in the time the virtual car was off-road, as a percentage of the total game time (51.4 ± 15.7 and 50.2 ± 19.5, respectively).

Conclusion:

Adding vibrotactile feedback improved performance time during grasping in a dual-task paradigm. Prosthesis users may use vibrotactile feedback to perform better during daily tasks, when multiple cognitive demands are present.
Hand-Use-at-Home Questionnaire: validity and reliability in children with neonatal brachial plexus palsy or unilateral cerebral palsy
Authors: van der Holst Menno , Geerdink Yvonne , Aarts Pauline , Steenbeek Duco , Pondaag Willem , Nelissen Rob GHH , Geurts Alexander CH , Vliet Vlieland Thea PM
Published: May 2018

Objective:

To investigate construct validity and test–retest reliability of the parent-rated Hand-Use-at-Home questionnaire (HUH) in children with neonatal brachial plexus palsy or unilateral cerebral palsy.

Design and subjects:

For this cross-sectional study, children with neonatal brachial plexus palsy or unilateral cerebral palsy, aged 3–10 years, were eligible.

Main measures:

The HUH, Pediatric Outcome Data Collection Instrument Upper Extremity Scale (neonatal brachial plexus palsy only), and Children’s Hand-Use Experience Questionnaire (unilateral cerebral palsy only) were completed. The HUH was completed twice in subgroups of both diagnoses. Lesion-extent (indication of involved nerve rootlets in neonatal brachial plexus palsy as confirmed during clinical observation and/or nerve surgery) and Manual Ability Classification System levels (unilateral cerebral palsy) were obtained from the medical records. Spearman correlation coefficients between the HUH and all clinical variables, agreement, standard error of measurement, smallest detectable change and intra-class correlation were calculated.

Results:

A total of 260 patients participated (neonatal brachial plexus palsy: 181), of which 56 completed the second HUH (neonatal brachial plexus palsy: 16). Median age was 6.9 years for children with neonatal brachial plexus palsy, 116 had C5-C6 lesions. Median age for children with unilateral cerebral palsy was 6.4 years, 33 had Manual Ability Classification System Level II. The HUH correlated moderately with lesion-extent ( rs =−0.5), Pediatric Outcome Data Collection Instrument Upper Extremity Scale ( rs = 0.6) and Children’s Hand-Use Experience Questionnaire ( rs = 0.5) but weakly with Manual Ability Classification System levels ( rs = −0.4). Test–retest reliability was excellent (intra-class correlation2,1 = 0.89, standard error of measurement = 0.599 and smallest detectable change = 1.66 logits) and agreement was good (mean difference HUH1 − HUH2 = 0.06 logits).

Conclusion:

The HUH showed good construct validity and test–retest reliability in children with neonatal brachial plexus palsy or unilateral cerebral palsy.
Osteonectin as a screening marker for pancreatic cancer: A prospective study
Authors: Papapanagiotou Angeliki , Sgourakis George , Karkoulias Kyriakos , Raptis Dimitris , Parkin Edward , Brotzakis Pantelis , Panchal Sanjay , Papavassiliou Athanasios G.
Published: May 2018

Objective

Osteonectin plays a central role in various processes during the development of pancreatic adenocarcinoma. This prospective pilot study was performed to determine the feasibility of serum osteonectin as a screening tool for pancreatic cancer.

Methods

Blood samples were collected from 15 consecutive patients with newly diagnosed pancreatic cancer and 30 matched healthy controls. Serum osteonectin was measured using an osteonectin enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay kit. The primary outcomes were the diagnostic performance of serum osteonectin and the threshold value for differentiation of patients from controls.

Results

The median/quartile range of serum osteonectin in patients and controls were 306.8/288.5 ng/mL and 67.5/39.8 ng/mL, respectively. Osteonectin concentrations significantly differed among the study groups. A plasma osteonectin concentration of >100.18 ng/mL as selected by the receiver operating characteristic curves demonstrated an estimated area under the curve of 86% for prediction of pancreatic cancer. Tumour size was a significant predictor of serum osteonectin. A statistically significant difference in serum osteonectin between T1/T2 and T3/T4 tumours was found. Post-hoc comparisons revealed statistically significant differences in the serum osteonectin among the control, T1/T2, and T3/T4 groups.

Conclusion

Osteonectin may be used as a screening tool for pancreatic cancer, although this must be validated in prospective studies.
Can a rhythmic intervention support reading development in poor readers?
Authors: Hallam Susan
Published: May 2018

There is increasing interest in the wider benefits of music in relation to reading, although relatively little evidence relating to the role that music might play in developing literacy skills in those experiencing difficulties. The research reported here explores the impact of a rhythmic intervention involving clapping, stamping, and chanting to music while following notation on a chart. The intervention took place for 10 minutes each week over a 10-week period with groups of 10 children, who had lower than average reading scores. The children were in the first year of secondary school (11–12 years old). The NARA II test was selected to assess reading accuracy, comprehension, and reading rate before and after the intervention with alternative forms of the test being used. Pupils ( N = 354) attending six secondary schools in the UK participated and were randomly allocated to control (174) and intervention groups (180). Multivariate analysis of variance of change scores across the period of the intervention revealed statistically significant differences between control and intervention groups in reading accuracy ( p = .014) and comprehension ( p = .001) but not in reading rate. The differences in reading accuracy were equivalent to 1.38 standardized scores and reading comprehension, 2.33 standardized scores.
A Practical Approach for the Estimation of Strength and Resilient Properties of Cementitious Materials
Authors: Rashidi Mohammad , Ashtiani Reza S. , Si Jimmy , Izzo Richard P. , McDaniel Mark
Published: May 2018

Cementitious stabilization of granular soils has been proven to be a cost-saving option for the use of materials with marginal quality in the construction and rehabilitation of pavement structures. The orthogonal load distribution capacity of the Cement-Stabilized Materials (CSM) is typically characterized by Unconfined Compressive Strength (UCS), Indirect Tensile Strength (IDT), and Resilient Modulus (Mr) tests in the laboratory. The aforementioned parameters and properties are integral components of the analysis and design of pavements with stabilized layers. Time and budget constraints make it impractical for many state agencies to complete the full laboratory characterization protocols to determine all the design input parameters. Therefore, in many cases, the design engineers opt out of laboratory testing and primarily rely on past experience and engineering judgments to assign design input parameters. Such an approach compromises the reliability of the pavement life predictions, and can potentially incur unforeseen costs to the traveling public. This study was designed to bridge this gap by developing a series of statistically robust relationships between the laboratory achived data to provide an estimate of the design input parameters. To accomplish this objective, 570 stabilized cylindrical specimens were prepared and subjected to UCS, IDT, and submaximal modulus tests at three strength ratio levels. Subsequently, the relationships between the IDT, UCS, and resilient modulus at small-strain and intermediate strain levels were developed in this study. Such relationships can serve as a valuable means for the estimation of the tensile and compressive strength of the CSM for pavement design.
Using Data from a State Travel Demand Model to Develop a Multi-Criteria Framework for Transload Facility Location Planning
Authors: Asborno Magdalena I. , Hernandez Sarah
Published: May 2018

The majority of freight is transported within the U.S. by road. However, the use of alternative modes, such as rail and barge, is associated with lower transportation and infrastructure maintenance costs, release of highway capacity, increased safety, and lower emissions. Thus, there is a latent opportunity for shippers and consumers to benefit from modal shift. In this context, strategically located freight-transfer facilities to improve rail and barge access is key. Moreover, for states with lower commodity tonnages and access to short-line rail and navigable waterways, transload facilities have significant potential to shift freight to underutilized modes. This paper develops a multi-criteria assessment framework to identify strategic locations for transload facilities at the state level. Using a statewide travel demand model (STDM) as the main data source, this framework provides a sketch-planning tool to support decision-making for state Departments of Transportation and economic development agencies. The multi-criteria quantify four measures of facility potential: (a) interaction with the transportation network, (b) amount of freight transported between major freight routes, (c) spatial aggregation, and (d) directionality aggregation. Each criterion is estimated and combined at the county level to produce a multi-criteria score, which defines a county’s potential to support transload movements. Using this score, counties are ranked, and facilities prioritized. The framework is applied to Arkansas and validated using the STDM for base (2010) and forecast (2040) years.
Transit Vehicle Performance Analysis for Service Continuity/Termination: A Data Envelopment Analysis Approach
Authors: Fayyaz S. S. Kiavash , Cathy Liu Xiaoyue , Wei Ran
Published: May 2018

Public transit agencies aim to improve services while reducing operating costs. Transit performance analysis, as the main approach used to assess operating cost and revenue, has received much attention in recent decades. Most of such studies focus on macro-level performance analysis by comparing across transit agencies or within a transit agency across different parts of its operation. This macro-level analysis assumes that bus drivers and vehicles have identical performance in terms of production and resource consumption, yet they can vary significantly and the variations directly influence service reliability and operational efficiency. As a result, micro-level vehicle performance analysis is needed for operation optimization. This paper introduces an innovative and effective use of the data envelopment analysis (DEA) approach to estimate, project, and compare the operational efficiency of each transit vehicle. Using the paratransit fleet of Utah Transit Authority (UTA) as a case study, the study demonstrates the varying cost structures and operational efficiencies over time associated with different vehicle types. It shows that such variations and time series analysis can be used to guide prioritization of vehicle procurement and service continuity/termination, which further leads to significant cost savings and improvement in reliability of service. The proposed approach is replicable for any transit fleet with available maintenance and operation data. The proposed method provides transit agencies with data-driven analytics to facilitate the decision-making process.
Modal Share Change following Implementation of Travel Demand Management Strategies
Authors: Piras Francesco , Sottile Eleonora , Meloni Italo
Published: May 2018

The demand for urban mobility has seen a marked increase over the last few decades. The expansion of road networks, the increase in distance traveled and in the number of trips made has created car-dependent cities. One solution for achieving the switch from private car to public transport is the introduction of a new public transport line that improves the accessibility and frequency of service. However, an important behavioral process underpins travel choices and often a change in choice context is not sufficient to evoke behavior change. Voluntary travel behavior change (VTBC) programs were developed for heightening individuals’ awareness of the consequences of their travel choices and of the benefits to be reaped from using sustainable alternatives, through information provision and communication strategies. The objective of the present paper is to analyze the effect on travel mode choice of introducing a new light railway line into the choice set (hard measure) when implementing a VTBC program on a large scale, but with a high degree of personalization (soft measure). Although numerous studies have demonstrated the need to implement a (hard) measure that acts on the choice context, in combination with a (soft) measure that acts in a personalized way on demand, as far as the authors are aware, few have put this into practice. The first results have shown that a combination of hard and soft measures is more effective in evoking travel behavior change and personalized travel plans produce better results than generalized soft measures.
Model for Planning and Sizing Curbside Parking Lanes in Urban Networks
Authors: Gkini Chrysanthi , Iliopoulou Christina , Kepaptsoglou Konstantinos , Vlahogianni Eleni I.
Published: May 2018

Curbside parking is associated with various adverse impacts on urban traffic networks and is rarely recommended. However, there are cases where parking demand dictates the establishment of on-street parking lanes. Proper planning of the number and type of curbside parking lanes to be located is essential for maximizing roadway capacity and minimizing the resulting impacts of parking operations on the network’s performance. This paper develops a bi-level mathematical programming model for planning and sizing curbside parking lanes in an urban network. The model is solved using a genetic algorithm and demonstrated for a medium-sized urban network.
Machine Learning Travel Mode Choices: Comparing the Performance of an Extreme Gradient Boosting Model with a Multinomial Logit Model
Authors: Wang Fangru , Ross Catherine L.
Published: May 2018

The multinomial logit (MNL) model and its variations have been dominating the travel mode choice modeling field for decades. Advantages of the MNL model include its elegant closed-form mathematical structure and its interpretable model estimation results based on random utility theory, while its main limitation is the strict statistical assumptions. Recent computational advancement has allowed easier application of machine learning models to travel behavior analysis, though research in this field is not thorough or conclusive. In this paper, we explore the application of the extreme gradient boosting (XGB) model to travel mode choice modeling and compare the result with an MNL model, using the Delaware Valley 2012 regional household travel survey data. The XGB model is an ensemble method based on the decision-tree algorithm and it has recently received a great deal of attention and use because of its high machine learning performance. The modeling and predicting results of the XGB model and the MNL model are compared by examining their multi-class predictive errors. We found that the XGB model has overall higher prediction accuracy than the MNL model especially when the dataset is not extremely unbalanced. The MNL model has great explanatory power and it also displays strong consistency between training and testing errors. Multiple trip characteristics, socio-demographic traits, and built-environment variables are found to be significantly associated with people’s mode choices in the region, but mode-specific travel time is found to be the most determinant factor for mode choice.
Are Activity Patterns Stable or Variable? Analysis of Three-Year Panel Data
Authors: Hilgert Tim , von Behren Sascha , Eisenmann Christine , Vortisch Peter
Published: May 2018

Routines and mandatory activities, such as work and school, shape the activity patterns of individuals and strongly influence travel demand. Knowledge about stability and variability of these routines could strengthen travel demand modelling and forecasting. A longitudinal perspective is required to investigate these aspects. In this study, the activity patterns of a sample of people is compared for one week in two successive years. It is analyzed whether the activity patterns of a given person vary from year to year, to what degree, and how this variability and stability can be measured. It is considered whether socio-demographic factors and life events determine stability in weekly activity patterns. The study is based on the representative panel survey, German Mobility Panel. The weekly activity patterns of the same respondents in different years is assessed, using two methods to measure stability and variability. The survey respondents are clustered into three groups according to the degree of variability in their activity patterns. A logistic regression model is also used to identify socio-economic and demographic covariates for similarity in weekly activity patterns. Results show that about one-third of the sample had the same or very similar weekly activity patterns in the two years examined. A person’s occupation status is a good predictor for the variability of activity patterns. Moreover, persons undergoing a change in occupation status are quite likely to show a greater variability in their activity patterns.
Validation of an Agent-based Microscopic Pedestrian Simulation Model at the Pedestrian Walkway of Brooklyn Bridge
Authors: Hussein Mohamed , Sayed Tarek
Published: May 2018

The objective of this study is to validate a recently developed agent-based pedestrian simulation model, using data collected at the pedestrian walkway of Brooklyn Bridge. Video data were collected at the walkway and the trajectories of 294 pedestrians were extracted using computer vision. A genetic algorithm was applied to identify the optimum model parameters that minimize the error between the simulated and the actual trajectories of the calibration dataset. The simulation model was then applied to reproduce the trajectories of 214 pedestrians, considered for validation. The validation results showed that the model was capable of producing pedestrian trajectories with high accuracy, as the average location error between actual and simulated trajectories was for 0.32 m, while the average speed error was 0.06 m/s. Macroscopic results of the model were assessed by comparing the density–speed relationship in both actual data and the simulation. Finally, the accuracy of the model in reproducing the actual behavior of pedestrians during different interactions was evaluated. Results showed that the model was capable of handling these interactions with high accuracy, ranged between 79% and 100%.
Edge City Denied? The Rise and Fall of Tokyo’s Outer Suburban “Business Core Cities”
Authors: Phelps Nicholas A. , Ohashi Hiroaki
Published: May 2018

The tradition of planning for polycentricity in Tokyo saw outer suburbs designated as Business Core Cities (BCCs). However, as the national economy and population growth have stagnated and Tokyo’s needs as a world city have come to the fore, the outer suburbs have been left exposed. Despite attempts to reinforce outer suburban growth with the BCC policy, Tokyo’s is a story of edge city denied. At a time when attention has turned to planning for the increased urbanity of suburbs or arresting inner suburban decline, Tokyo speaks to a phenomenon of outer suburban decline barely conceivable in mature economies.
Machine Learning for Outcome Prediction in Electroencephalograph (EEG)-Monitored Children in the Intensive Care Unit
Authors: Sánchez Fernández Iván , Sansevere Arnold J. , Gaínza-Lein Marina , Kapur Kush , Loddenkemper Tobias
Published: May 2018

The aim of this study was to evaluate the performance of models predicting in-hospital mortality in critically ill children undergoing continuous electroencephalography (cEEG) in the intensive care unit (ICU). We evaluated the performance of machine learning algorithms for predicting mortality in a database of 414 critically ill children undergoing cEEG in the ICU. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) in the test subset was highest for stepwise selection/elimination models (AUC = 0.82) followed by least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) and support vector machine with linear kernel (AUC = 0.79), and random forest (AUC = 0.71). The explanatory models had the poorest discriminative performance (AUC = 0.63 for the model without considering etiology and AUC = 0.45 for the model considering etiology). Using few variables and a relatively small number of patients, machine learning techniques added information to explanatory models for prediction of in-hospital mortality.
Perspectives of ultra-Orthodox children in Israel on risk and protection: The intersection of culture, religion, spirituality, and socio-political context
Authors: Nadan Yochay , Ganz Zev
Published: May 2018

This article explores subjective perceptions and constructions of “risk” and “protection” among ultra-Orthodox Jewish children aged 10–16 in Israel. Eight focus groups were conducted, with a total of 30 ultra-Orthodox children (boys and girls). Our analysis indicates that the children’s subjective perceptions of “risk” and “protection” coincided with four fundamental domains: the physical, the emotional, the political, and the spiritual. The findings highlight that—from the perspective of children—culture, religion, spirituality, and other macro socio-political contexts, in addition to gender and age, are factors that function simultaneously to shape the way in which “risk” and “protection” are constructed.
Parametric study for asymmetric flexure hinge design for tissue cutting
Authors: Jones Justin A , Lee Yuan-Shin , Moore Jason Z
Published: May 2018

This article presents empirical stiffness equations for a novel compliant needle mechanism that will aid in ultrasonic tissue cutting. Needles are an often used medical tool that cut tissue with minimal damage. Ultrasonic vibrational cutting has been shown to reduce insertion forces necessary to cut, thus minimizing deflections of the tissue and needle. A previous study has demonstrated that coupling this ultrasonic vibration with a compliant hinge generates a transverse cutting motion. This work explores the compliant hinge design and presents empirical stiffness equations that can be used to model the needles compliant motion. The empirical model prediction, when compared to experimental findings, is shown to have an average error less than 8% when the distance between the hinges is kept within 1.68 times the thickness of the hinges. With these equations it will be possible to optimize the compliant needle design for tissue cutting.
Optimal deposition orientation in fused deposition modeling for maximizing the strength of three-dimensional printed truss-like structures
Authors: Lovo João Fiore Parreira , Fortulan Carlos Alberto , da Silva Maíra Martins
Published: May 2018

Whether for producing prototypes or functional parts by additive manufacturing, the fused deposition modeling is the most commonly used technique. Nevertheless, not only the hobbyist but also the industrial three-dimensional printers produce parts that suffer from anisotropy in their mechanical properties imposing important limitations on the strength of the manufactured piece. The aim of this work is to propose a strategy for determining the optimal build surface orientation of three-dimensional truss-like structures manufactured using fused deposition modeling. This can be achieved by minimizing the norm of the dot products of the normal direction of the deposition plane (build surface plane) and the directions of the tensile forces. Since three-dimensional trusses are subjected to tensile forces in different directions, a multi-objective cost function was proposed. Moreover, these structures might present rotational symmetry, which should be considered as design constraints. In this work, two three-dimensional truss-like structures were investigated. The nature of the optimization is case dependent and solvers were selected accordingly. Experimental campaigns were carried out for evaluating the specimens manufactured using fused deposition modeling. It could be concluded that higher yield tensile strength could be achieved by adopting the optimal deposition plane. This result demonstrates the applicability of optimization techniques for improving additive manufacturing results.
Experience with the design of ultralight airplane with unconventional powerplant
Authors: Theiner R , Brabec J
Published: May 2018

Ducted fan-powered ultralight (UL) aircraft UL-39 Albi has been developed at the Department of Aerospace Engineering at Faculty of Mechanical Engineering of the Czech Technical University in Prague. The aircraft was manufactured by the companies LA Composite, s.r.o. and JIHLAVAN Airplanes, s.r.o. The development was funded by the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Czech Republic. The airframe is fully made of composite materials, mainly carbon fibre/epoxy resin prepregs, and was cured in autoclave. The design contains many unconventional features. These were necessary to meet legal requirements (i.e. maximum take-off weight and maximum landing speed) and to achieve high flight performance. This puts extreme demands to both maximisation of propulsion efficiency and minimisation of airframe and powerplant weight. This paper presents more than fifteen years’ experience with design of ducted fan powered ultralight aircraft. Some solutions of design trade-offs are presented, namely integration of engine into the fuselage, carbon composite blade design and lightweight airframe design.
Experiential cartography and the significance of “untranslatable” words
Authors: Lomas Tim
Published: May 2018

Mainstream psychology can be regarded as largely Western-centric, with its concepts and priorities biased towards Western ways of thinking and understanding. Consequently, the field would benefit from greater cross-cultural awareness and engagement. To that end, this article offers one means of engagement, the study of “untranslatable” words (i.e., terms without an exact equivalent in another language, in our case English). A key function of language is that it offers a “map” that allows us to understand and navigate the world. In that respect, such words point to cultural variation in the maps we use, and even to variation in the actual territory mapped. The paper concludes with suggestions for why and how psychology could benefit from engaging with such words.
Modeling and fault diagnosis of flat inland navigation canals
Authors: Segovia Pau , Blesa Joaquim , Horváth Klaudia , Rajaoarisoa Lala , Nejjari Fatiha , Puig Vicenç , Duviella Eric
Published: May 2018

This article regards the development of an analytical redundancy-based approach for detecting and isolating both sensor and actuator faults in flat inland navigation canals. Inland navigation networks are principally used for transport and are composed of many canalized natural rivers and artificial canals characterized by no slope. These canals are strongly affected by resonance phenomena, which can create waves such that the navigation condition might not be guaranteed. It is, therefore, required to ensure dealing with fault-free measured data and actuators. The proposed approach is based on the integrator delay zero model of the flat inland navigation canal. The proposed method is tested by considering the Cuinchy–Fontinettes navigation reach (in the north of France) to detect and isolate the occurrence of faults in the Cuinchy and Fontinettes level sensors and in the Cuinchy gate.
Exploring the roles of the unconscious in information search behaviors
Authors: Liu Jingjing , Albright Kendra
Published: May 2018

Increasing evidence from psychodynamic research suggests the unconscious influences our daily decisions. For information science, it is important to understand how the unconscious plays roles in information seeking. The current study uses subliminal psychodynamic activation to investigate how information searching may be influenced by textual messages that appear below the threshold of conscious awareness. Twenty-four college students participated in a controlled laboratory experiment, each searching freely on the Internet for needed information and saving useful sources for three search tasks. Each participant was systematically assigned to one of four subliminal psychodynamic activation conditions, with no or one of three different subliminal messages, “People walking”, “Mommy and I are one” and “I am enlightened”, each of which was displayed for 0.02 second every four seconds. Results show that users exposed to “People walking” had a higher effectiveness and higher efficiency in saving useful webpages than those exposed to “Mommy and I are one”. Results also show that search tasks influenced search behaviors regardless of subliminal psychodynamic activation conditions, which can be explained by task types. Our findings shed light on the underexplored area of the unconscious in information search and calls for future research along this line of research.