bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Engineered Porous Carbon for High Volumetric Methane Storage
Authors: Romanos J. , Sweany S. , Rash T. , Firlej L. , Kuchta B. , Idrobo J.C. , Pfeifer P.
Published: October 2014

This paper covers the optimization of methane volumetric storage capacity by controlling the sub-nanometre (<1 nm) and supra-nanometre (1–5 nm) pore volumes. Nanospace engineering of KOH activated carbon generates an ideal structure for methane storage in which gas molecules are adsorbed as a high-density fluid by strong van der Waals forces into pores that are a few molecules in diameter. High specific surface areas, porosities, sub-nanometre (<1 nm) and supra-nanometre (1–5 nm) pore volumes are quantitatively selected by controlling the degree of carbon consumption and metallic potassium intercalation into the carbon lattice during the activation process. The formation of tuneable sub-nanometre and supra-nanometre pores is validated by sub-critical nitrogen adsorption. Aberration-corrected scanning transmission electron microscopy data show the atomic structure of high-surface-area activated carbon (2600 m2/g). While high surface area and high porosity are optimal for gravimetric methane storage, the results indicate that an exclusive sub-nanometre region, a low porosity and an acceptable surface area (approximately 2000 m2/g) are ideal for methane volumetric storage, storing 120 g CH4/l (184 vol/vol) at 35 bar and room temperature (22 °C). High-pressure methane isotherms up to 150 bar at 30, −25 and −50 °C on optimal activated carbons are presented. Methane volumetric storage capacity at 35 bar reaches 176 g/l (269 vol/vol) and 202 g/l (309 vol/vol) at −25 and −50 °C, respectively.
Adsorbents for Mercury Vapour Recovery in Demercuration Technology
Authors: Levchenko L. M. , Galitsky A. A. , Kosenko V. V. , Mitkin V. N. , Sagidullin A. K. , Shavinsky B. M.
Published: October 2014

Various adsorbents, including iodides and sulphides of some metals and modified carbon materials, were synthesized and their ability to recover mercury was studied. Our results showed that copper sulphide [dynamic capacity (DC) of 36 mg/g for mercury vapour], the active form of manganese dioxide (DC of 28 mg/g) and modified carbon adsorbents were promising demercuration agents. The DC of the best demercuration agents (MNCS–O–Cl–I) can be as much as 125 mg/g.
Structural, Deployable Folds — Design and Simulation of Biological Inspired Folded Structures
Authors: Baerlecken Daniel , Gentry Russell , Swarts Matthew , Wonoto Nixon
Published: October 2014

This paper presents a concept of folding as a form-generator for a structural system that allows the ability to deploy large spanning structures. The presented approach studies the embedded kinetic possibilities of folded structures and focuses on a parametric modeling process that allows structural performance evaluation of different types of the same origami family in order to optimize the geometry for a given scenario. The workflow between scripting based form generation – within Rhinoceros and Excel – and LS-DYNA is presented in detail. Additionally, within the context of an architectural project we discuss the question of scalability from a thin microstructure to a thickened roof structure.
Geoweb 2.0 for Participatory Urban Design: Affordances and Critical Success Factors
Authors: Pak Burak , Verbeke Johan
Published: October 2014

In this paper, we discuss the affordances of open-source Geoweb 2.0 platforms to support the participatory design of urban projects in real-world practices. We first introduce the two open-source platforms used in our study for testing purposes. Then, based on evidence from five different field studies we identify five affordances of these platforms: Conversations on alternative urban projects, citizen consultation, design empowerment, design studio learning and design research. We elaborate on these in detail and identify a key set of success factors for the facilitation of better practices in the future.
Quantitatively Analysing Parametric Models
Authors: Davis Daniel
Published: October 2014

Architectural practices regularly work with parametric models, yet almost nothing is known about the general properties of these models. We do not know how large a typical model is, or how complicated, or even what the typical parametric model does. These knowledge gaps are the focus of this article, which documents the first large-scale quantitative parametric model survey. In this paper three key quantitative metrics – dimensionality, size, and cyclomatic complexity – are applied to a collection of 2002 parametric models created by 575 designers. The results show that parametric models generally exhibit a number of strong correlations, which reveal a practice of parametric modelling that has as much to do with the management of data as it does with the modelling of geometry. These findings demonstrate the utility of software engineering metrics in the description and analysis of parametric models.
Memory Confidentiality and Integrity Protection Method Based on Variable Length Counter
Authors: Haifeng Ma , Nianmin Yao , Shaobin Cai , Qilong Han
Published: October 2014

Focusing on the problem of high overhead and frequent overflow of the counter mode encryption, this paper proposed an efficient scheme to protect data confidentiality and integrity. Based on the local characteristic of data accessing, the scheme set different counter length for memory area according to different accessing frequencies and the counter length can be dynamically adjusted. The analysis and the simulation results indicated that compared with the counter mode encryption, the scheme can decrease memory space overhead and the number of overflow. The proposed scheme can be applied to other schemes of protecting confidentiality and integrity based on counters and can satisfy performance requirements for most applications.
A-Stable High Order Hybrid Linear Multistep Methods for Stiff Problems
Authors: Okuonghae R. I.
Published: October 2014

This paper considers a new class of high order hybrid linear multistep methods for the numerical solution of stiff initial value problems (IVPs) in ordinary differential equations (ODEs). The numerical experiments shows the application of the methods on stiff problems.
Distinctive Features of Methods to Improve the Level of Proficiency of Primary School Pupils
Authors: Моткова  , Motkova Yuliya
Published: October 2014

Methods for improving the proficiency level of primary school pupils are described, efficiency of their application is examined. Also analyzed are

difficulties, with which a newcomer teacher may encounter when choosing between several teaching methods. Aspects and conditions, determining

the choice of teaching methods are highlighted. The paper allows a teacher to gain insight in the vast variety of teaching methods and techniques

and to determine which ones would be the most appropriate in terms of the educational program at hand.
How to Promote Inter-Ethnic Accord at Schools with Mixed Ethnic Composition of Students
Authors: Белянкова  , Belyankova N.
Published: October 2014

The paper proposes methodological approaches for instilling the culture of interethnic relations in preschool- and primary school-age children,

for establishing interethnic harmony and consent in a group of the same-age pupils of different nationalities. Also discussed are issues on how

to maintain effective interaction between kindergarten and the primary school on the one hand, and the parents community on the other hand.

Examples of practical activities of various educational institutions are provided.
How to Train Future Teachers in Project Competences with the Help of the Electronic Model of Primary General Education Content
Authors: Фортыгина  , Fortygina Svetlana
Published: October 2014

The paper examines specific aspects of how higher education students intending to be primary school teachers, master project competences.

Special attention is given to the “Electronic model of primary general education content”, the software product, which meets the requirements

imposed by the Federal State Educational Standard of Primary General Education in terms of effective forecasting the outcomes of pedagogical

activities.
Multifaceted Approach to Spiritual and Moral Education of Children in the Context of Supplementary Education
Authors: Касимова  , Kasimova T.
Published: October 2014

The paper considers the multifaceted approach to spiritual and moral education of adolescents and children, which helps to understand and

taking in and accepting the national values. Ways to cope with this task are suggested, including such, as imparting school students to various

branches of art, help them to develop communicative skills; boost their drive to personal fulfillment; shaping socially desirable personal qualities;

instill insights about family values, traditions etc. Special attention is given to the role of supplementary educational institutions at a small

Russian town.
Feeling Blue? Go Online: An Empirical Study of Social Support Among Patients
Authors: Yan Lu , Tan Yong
Published: October 2014

In this paper, we investigate whether social support exchanged in an online healthcare community benefits patients’ mental health. We propose a nonhomogeneous Partially Observed Markov Decision Process (POMDP) model to examine the latent health outcomes for online health community members. The transition between different health states is modeled as a probability function that incorporates different forms of social support that patients exchange via discussion board posts. We find that patients benefit from learning from others and that their participation in the online community helps them to improve their health and to better engage in their disease self-management process. Our results also reveal differences in the influence of various forms of social support exchanged on the evolution of patients’ health conditions. We find evidence that informational support is the most prevalent type in the online healthcare community. Nevertheless, emotional support plays the most significant role in helping patients move to a healthier state. Overall, the influence of social support is found to vary depending on patients’ health conditions. Finally, we demonstrate that our proposed POMDP model can provide accurate predictions for patients’ health states and can be used to recover missing or unavailable information on patients’ health conditions.
Organizational Structure and Gray Markets
Authors: Autrey Romana L. , Bova Francesco , Soberman David A.
Published: October 2014

Conventional wisdom suggests that when firms face a negative externality like gray marketing (i.e., the selling of branded goods outside of the manufacturer’s authorized channels), an effective strategy to reduce the negative impact is to centralize decision making. Nevertheless, in industries with significant gray marketing, we observe many firms with decentralized decision making. Our study assesses whether decentralized decision making can be optimal when a manufacturer faces gray market distribution. We consider a market where a focal firm competes with an existing competitor that produces a differentiated product and a gray marketer that sources an identical product from a lower-priced foreign market. We find that decentralization is optimal under quantity-based competition, provided the gray market is relatively uncompetitive and the level of competitive intensity between the focal firm and the competitor is high. Decentralization leads a firm to make aggressive production decisions, which leads to lower prices, yet it also leads to higher market share for the firm compared to centralization. When the level of competitive intensity between a firm and its competitor is high, the gain in market share more than offsets the loss due to lower prices. As a result, the focal firm is better off decentralizing its operations independent of (a) whether the competitor operates in the foreign market, and (b) the competitor’s organizational structure. This finding contradicts the belief that centralized decision making is always optimal when authorized manufacturers attempt to limit the negative impact of gray markets. The findings also provide insight to understand why firms might employ decentralized decision making in industries where gray markets are active.
Gender Differences in the Willingness to Compete Emerge Early in Life and Persist
Authors: Sutter Matthias , Glätzle-Rützler Daniela
Published: October 2014

Gender differences in the willingness to compete have been identified as one important factor in explaining gender differences in labor markets and within organizations. We present three experiments with a total of 1,570 subjects, ages three to 18 years, to investigate the origins of this gender gap. In a between-subjects design we find that boys are more likely to compete than girls as early as kindergarten and that this gap prevails throughout adolescence. Re-examining the behavior of 316 subjects in a within-subjects design two years later, we show that these gender differences also largely persist over a longer time period and can thus be considered stable. Controlling for subjects' abilities in the different tasks, their risk attitudes, and expected performance, the gender gap in the willingness to compete is estimated in the range of 10–20 percentage points. We discuss the implications of our findings for policy interventions and organizational management.

Data, as supplemental material, are available at http://dx.doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2014.1981 .

This paper was accepted by Uri Gneezy, behavioral economics.
Uncommon Value: The Characteristics and Investment Performance of Contrarian Funds
Authors: Wei Kelsey D. , Wermers Russ , Yao Tong
Published: October 2014

Motivated by extant theories of herding behavior, this paper empirically identifies contrarian mutual funds as those trading most frequently against the crowd. We find that contrarian funds generate superior performance both when they trade against and with the herd, indicating that they possess superior private information. Furthermore, contrarians do not trade in a particularly correlated fashion with each other, consistent with these funds having disparate information. Our fund-level contrarian measure is largely unrelated to existing measures of fund strategy uniqueness, as both contrarian and herding funds score highly on such measures. Building on our finding of superior alphas for contrarian funds, we construct a stock-level contrarian score that reflects the aggregate stock selection information possessed by contrarian managers. This stock-level contrarian score significantly predicts stock returns after controlling for measures of stock-level herding, as well as a battery of return-predictive investment signals documented in prior studies.

This paper was accepted by Wei Jiang, finance.
Why and When Consumers Prefer Products of User-Driven Firms: A Social Identification Account
Authors: Dahl Darren W. , Fuchs Christoph , Schreier Martin
Published: October 2014

Companies are increasingly drawing on their user communities to generate promising ideas for new products, which are then marketed as “user-designed” products to the broader consumer market. We demonstrate that nonparticipating, observing consumers prefer to buy from user- rather than designer-driven firms because of an enhanced identification with the firm that has adopted this user-driven philosophy. Three experimental studies validate a newly proposed social identification account underlying this effect. Because consumers are also users, their social identities connect to the user-designers, and they feel empowerment by vicariously being involved in the design process. This formed connection leads to preference for the firm’s products. Importantly, this social identification account also effectively predicts when the effect does not materialize. First, we find that if consumers feel dissimilar to participating users, the effects are attenuated. We demonstrate that this happens when the community differs from consumers along important demographics (i.e., gender) or when consumers are nonexperts in the focal domain (i.e., they feel that they do not belong to the social group of participating users). Second, the effects are attenuated if the user-driven firm is only selectively rather than fully open to participation from all users (observing consumers do not feel socially included). These findings advance the emerging theory on user involvement and offer practical implications for firms interested in pursuing a user-driven philosophy.

Data, as supplemental material, are available at http://dx.doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2014.1999 .

This paper was accepted by Pradeep Chintagunta, marketing.
Increasing Quality Sequence: When Is It an Optimal Product Introduction Strategy?
Authors: Pedram Mahmood , Balachander Subramanian
Published: October 2014

In this paper, we analyze the optimal introduction timing of a seller’s products targeted at segments that differ in their willingness to pay for quality. Past studies suggest that an introduction sequence of a high-quality product followed by a lower-quality version of the product may mitigate the cannibalization effects of the low-quality product on profits from the high-quality product. We show that if customers who value quality more possess an outside option such as a substitute product, as may be the case with replacement buyers, a seller may find it optimal to follow a low-quality product with a higher-quality one, the latter being targeted at replacement buyers. Furthermore, the ability of the seller to commit to future qualities accentuates the sequential increase in quality in the presence of such buyers. Thus, we show that conditions other than uncertainty or technological improvements occurring over time may justify a seller adopting a strategy of sequentially increasing quality.

This paper was accepted by J. Miguel Villas-Boas, marketing.
Dynamic Commercialization Strategies for Disruptive Technologies: Evidence from the Speech Recognition Industry
Authors: Marx Matt , Gans Joshua S. , Hsu David H.
Published: October 2014

When start-up innovation involves a potentially disruptive technology—initially lagging in the predominant performance metric, but with a potentially favorable trajectory of improvement—incumbents may be wary of engaging in cooperative commercialization with the start-up. While the prevailing theory of disruptive innovation suggests that this will lead to (exclusively) competitive commercialization and the eventual replacement of incumbents, we consider a dynamic strategy involving product market entry before switching to a cooperative commercialization strategy. Empirical evidence from the automated speech recognition industry from 1952 to 2010 confirms our main hypothesis.

This paper was accepted by Bruno Cassiman, business strategy.
The Value of Stochastic Modeling in Two-Stage Stochastic Programs with Cost Uncertainty
Authors: Delage Erick , Arroyo Sharon , Ye Yinyu
Published: October 2014

Although stochastic programming is probably the most effective framework for handling decision problems that involve uncertain variables, it is always a costly task to formulate the stochastic model that accurately embodies our knowledge of these variables. In practice, this might require one to collect a large amount of observations, to consult with experts of the specialized field of practice, or to make simplifying assumptions about the underlying system. When none of these options seem feasible, a common heuristic has been to simply seek the solution of a version of the problem where each uncertain variable takes on its expected value (otherwise known as the solution of the mean value problem). In this paper, we show that when (1) the stochastic program takes the form of a two-stage mixed-integer stochastic linear programs, and (2) the uncertainty is limited to the objective function, the solution of the mean value problem is in fact robust with respect to the selection of a stochastic model. We also propose tractable methods that will bound the actual value of stochastic modeling: i.e., how much improvement can be achieved by investing more efforts in the resolution of the stochastic model. Our framework is applied to an airline fleet composition problem. In the three cases that are considered, our results indicate that resolving the stochastic model can not lead to more than a 7% improvement of expected profits, thus providing arguments against the need to develop these more sophisticated models.
Information Relaxations, Duality, and Convex Stochastic Dynamic Programs
Authors: Brown David B. , Smith James E.
Published: October 2014

We consider the information relaxation approach for calculating performance bounds for stochastic dynamic programs (DPs). This approach generates performance bounds by solving problems with relaxed nonanticipativity constraints and a penalty that punishes violations of these nonanticipativity constraints. In this paper, we study DPs that have a convex structure and consider gradient penalties that are based on first-order linear approximations of approximate value functions. When used with perfect information relaxations, these penalties lead to subproblems that are deterministic convex optimization problems. We show that these gradient penalties can, in theory, provide tight bounds for convex DPs and can be used to improve on bounds provided by other relaxations, such as Lagrangian relaxation bounds. Finally, we apply these results in two example applications: first, a network revenue management problem that describes an airline trying to manage seat capacity on its flights; and second, an inventory management problem with lead times and lost sales. These are challenging problems of significant practical interest. In both examples, we compute performance bounds using information relaxations with gradient penalties and find that some relatively easy-to-compute heuristic policies are nearly optimal.
Technical Note—Joint Inventory and Pricing Control with General Additive Demand
Authors: Chen Hong , Zhang Zhan
Published: October 2014

This paper analyzes a periodic-review, joint inventory and pricing control problem for a firm that faces stochastic, price-sensitive demand under a nonstationary environment with fixed ordering costs. Any unsatisfied demand is backlogged. The objective is to maximize expected profit over a finite selling horizon by coordinating the inventory and pricing decisions in each period. We show that for an additive demand model, an (s, S, p) policy is optimal when the expected revenue is quasi-concave in price, the inventory cost (of holding and/or backlogging) is quasi-convex, and the nonnegative random demand has a Pólya or uniform density function. For the special case with no fixed ordering cost, the optimality of a base stock list price policy is demonstrated for more general demand distributions and convex inventory cost. These sets of sufficient conditions generalize the existing conditions in the literature that require, for example, the demand and/or revenue functions to be concave or the model parameters to be stationary in time. Our generalization makes the structural results applicable to models broadly supported by economic theory and empirical data. In addition, our proof uses a distinct sequential optimization technique for iteratively establishing the quasi-K-concavity of dynamic optimal value functions.
A Quasi-Robust Optimization Approach for Crew Rescheduling
Authors: Veelenturf Lucas P. , Potthoff Daniel , Huisman Dennis , Kroon Leo G. , Maróti Gábor , Wagelmans Albert P. M.
Published: October 2014

This paper studies the real-time crew rescheduling problem in case of large-scale disruptions. One of the greatest challenges of real-time disruption management is the unknown duration of the disruption. In this paper we present a novel approach for crew rescheduling where we deal with this uncertainty by considering several scenarios for the duration of the disruption.

The rescheduling problem is similar to a two-stage optimization problem. In the first stage, at the start of the disruption, we reschedule the plan based on the optimistic scenario (i.e., assuming the shortest possible duration of the disruption), while taking into account the possibility that another scenario will be realized. We require a prescribed number of the rescheduled crew duties (a sequential list of tasks which have to be performed by a single crew member) to be recoverable. The true duration of the disruption is revealed in the second stage. By the recoverability of the duties, we expect that the first stage solution can easily be turned into a schedule that is feasible for the realized scenario.

We demonstrate the effectiveness of our approach by an application in real-time railway crew rescheduling. The ideas of this paper generalize to certain vehicle rescheduling and manufacturing problems where timetabled tasks which have a fixed start and end location are to be carried out by a given number of servers.

We test our approach on a number of instances of Netherlands Railways (NS), the main operator of passenger trains in the Netherlands. The numerical experiments show that the approach indeed finds schedules which are easier to adjust if it turns out that another scenario than the optimistic one is realized for the duration of the disruption.
Working at full stretch
Authors: Ashworth Sally
Published: October 2014

Want to boost your children's concentration? Get them to take short, active breaks to avoid the negative effects of sitting for too long, and boost their ability to focus.
An ‘attachment aware’ approach benefits all
Authors: Rose Janet
Published: October 2014

Bath Spa University has teamed up with its local authority to create an innovative programme to support schools in understanding the importance of attachment.
Breaking down barriers which siblings may face
Authors: McCaffrey Monica
Published: October 2014

Monica MCaffrey explores the key issues facing siblings of children with SEND and outlines practical recommendations to address barriers.
Don't forget that first impressions count…
Authors: Cartwright Eva
Published: October 2014

In the first of her new series looking at how to secure a job as a teaching assistant and progress from there, Eva Cartwright examines the application process.
Learning French is fun with an interactive quiz
Authors: Mckeown Sal
Published: October 2014

Children now need to make ‘substantial’ progress in MFL at key stage 2 and Education City has a range of resources to help schools stay ahead of the game.
Early enteral nutrition in puppies with parvovirus enteritis
Authors: van Schoor Mirinda , Schoeman Johan P
Published: October 2014

Canine parvovirus (CPV) enteritis is an important cause of severe, often fatal enteritis in dogs. Survival rates can be as high as 90% when puppies receive intensive treatment at tertiary veterinary facilities. No disease-specific therapies exist and treatment consists of supportive therapies. These therapies include intensive fluid therapy, antibiotic therapy, antiemetic therapy and analgesic therapy. Anthelminthic therapy is added to eliminate possible concurrent verminosis. One supportive measure which was found to be associated with more rapid clinical improvement in canine parvovirus enteritis is the early implementation of enteral nutrition. This article reviews the research findings in various aspects of early enteral nutrition in both human and animal critical care. Different naso-enteric feeding devices are compared and various feeding methods for the various clinical scenarios encountered with canine parvovirus enteritis are briefly discussed. The concept of gastric residual volume and its potential role in early enteral nutrition is evaluated. The authors' view on how these research findings can be practically applied to treat puppies with canine parvovirus enteritis is presented. A detailed description is given on the decision-making process in early enteral nutrition in a tertiary facility treating puppies with canine parvovirus enteritis.
Hygiene — a primary tool in infection control
Authors: Young Alison
Published: October 2014

Infection control is a very current issue for both medicine and veterinary medicine. There is a lot of air time and press coverage on the topic available and it is some-thing that all nurses should be up-to-date with to ensure compliance and best possible care for their patients. Infection control within the veterinary practice often falls under the remit of the veterinary nurse. Simple methods of ensuring that adequate infection control procedures are established and carried out are discussed so that correct and relevant advice can be given to owners when necessary.
The civilizing process and sartorial studies
Authors: Wild Benjamin
Published: October 2014

Analyses of sartorial vogues from the past and present have become increasingly cognizant of sociological paradigms, with the notable exception of Norbert Elias’ seminal theory of the civilizing process. This article argues for a greater awareness of the civilizing process in sartorial studies, particularly its discussion of the we–I balance, which elucidates changing patterns of self-perception within a continually evolving society. Felicitously, the diachronic approach adopted by civilizing process facilitates the incorporation of other, synchronic sociological models into sartorial analysis. Reference is made to the theories of Theodor Adorno, Michel de Certeau, Erving Goffman and Thorstein Veblen.
Blue or pink? That is the question: Homophobia and its influence on the gendering of colour symbolism
Authors: Kang Eun Jung
Published: October 2014

Gender demarcation by the colours blue and pink in children’s clothing became too conspicuous to ignore during the decades before and after the turn of the twentieth century in America. This article elucidates the correlation between the history of colour fixation for babies of each gender and the formation of gender identity during this period. The investigation into the colour assignment to babies of each gender from the late Victorian era to the post-war era will demonstrate the vying relations of both sexes that were represented by blue and pink and the evolving interrelationship between colour and social structure when the fear of homosexuality was particularly widespread in the Euro-American world.
It’s your fault you’re fat: Judgements of responsibility and social conduct in the fashion industry
Authors: Christel Deborah A.
Published: October 2014

Examining the beliefs in the fashion industry surrounding the obese is critical to understanding discrimination issues and the resultant fit and sizing issues for plus-size consumers. The fashion industry offers certain styles in limited sizing, which in turn structures our society in such a way that only certain sizes can participate in choosing and wearing fashionable clothing. Therefore, the need to examine the people’s beliefs who will work in this industry is critical to restructuring the sizing, fit and discriminatory issues experienced by fat consumers. Understanding these beliefs among student designers, or the ‘gatekeepers’ of the fashion industry, may explain why plus-size women repeatedly report feeling discriminated against by the fashion industry and have difficulty finding clothing in styles, colours and fits they desire. The results of the study indicate that fashion design and merchandising students have strong negative beliefs about obese people. This article investigates the reasoning for such disdain towards obese bodies in the fashion industry and hopes to rectify the situation by offering suggestions to normalize fat bodies and incorporate information about plus-size consumers into fashion design and apparel merchandising courses.
Targeting the parents through the children in the golden age of Italian television advertising: The case of Carosello
Authors: Annunziato Sarah , Fiumara Francesco
Published: October 2014

Carosello debuted on Italian airwaves on 3 February 1957, where it would remain for the next twenty years. The programme was an early format of televised advertising, which presented commercials that consisted of two parts: light entertainment clips followed by brief sales pitches. Carosello quickly became a household favourite, due in no small part to its appeal for children. In fact, the programme was so popular with youngsters that advertisers targeted kids in order to persuade their parents to purchase certain products. Copywriters did this by crafting advertisements that appealed to the cognitive capabilities of children and adhered to the same structures as traditional folk and fairy tales. This effectively transformed each episode of Carosello into a memorable collection of bedtime stories for the consumer age. This article will explore how copywriters targeted children, the success of this approach in marketing merchandise to adults, and the role of Carosello during Italy’s economic boom.
Book Reviews
Authors: West Rebecca , O’Donnell Hugh , Renga Dana , O’Leary Alan , O’Rawe Catherine , Maio Barbara , Hipkins Danielle , Orton Marie , Bayman Louis , Di Lullo Mauro
Published: October 2014

The Italian Cinema Book, Peter Bondanella (ed.) (2014) London: British Film Institute (Palgrave Macmillan), 380 pp., ISBN: 9781844574049, p/bk, £25.99

Il prisma dei generi. Immagini DI donne in tv, Milly Buonanno (ed.) (2014) Milan: FrancoAngeli, 220 pp., ISBN: 9788891706041, p/bk, €29.00

Reframing Italy: New Trends in Italian Women’s Filmmaking, Bernadette Luciano and Susanna Scarparo (2013) West Lafayette, Indiana: Purdue University Press, 245 pp., ISBN: 978I557536556, p/bk, $45.00

Da Ercole a Fantozzi: Cinema Popolare e Società Italiana dal Boom Economico alla Neotelevisione (1958–1976), Giacomo Manzoli (2012) Rome: Carocci, 254 pp., ISBN: 9788843048632, p/bk, €25

Migrant Memories: Cultural History, Cinema and the Italian Post-War Diaspora in Britain, Margherita Sprio (2013) Oxford: Peter Lang, 290 pp., ISBN: 3034309473, p/bk, £45.

Tempo di Fiction. Il racconto televisivo in divenire, Milly Buonanno (ed.) (2013) Napoli: Liguori Editore, 168 pp., ISBN: 9788820761295, p/bk, €16.99

Italian Women Filmmakers and the Gendered Screen, Maristella Cantini (ed.) (2013) New York: Palgrave, 284 pp., ISBN: 9781137336507, h/bk (also available as an ebook), $95

The Cinemas of Italian Migration: European and Transatlantic Narratives, Sabine Schrader and Daniel Winkler (eds) (2013) Cambridge: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 326 pp., ISBN: 9781443846240, h/bk, $85.00

Il cinema specchio della realtà. Modelli culturali a confronto, Francesca Borrione (2013) Rome: Aracne, 108 pp., ISBN: 9788854855663, p/bk, €11

La Glocalizzazione digitale dell’audiovisivo. Nuovi Paradigmi nel Panorama Mondiale, Paolo Sigismondi (2014) Milan: Franco Angeli, 203 pp., ISBN: 9788820458324, p/bk, €22.50
RAI narrates Italy: Current affairs, television information and changing times
Authors: Gavrila Mihaela , Morcellini Mario
Published: October 2014

Television news broadcasts and in-depth information programmes have been among the most valued and typical characteristics of Italian Public Radio-Television (RAI), the Italian Public Broadcasting Service, since its early years. This article focuses on the television identity of programme hosts, the evolution of media language, and analyses the strengths and weaknesses of RAI’s strategy in dealing with in-depth information programmes. This article also offers an informed assessment of the future of the Italian Public Broadcasting Service by discussing both the past and in-depth information programmes. Only an RAI that focuses on cultural and technological upgrading will be able to celebrate its 60th anniversary and to continue as ‘mother’ of the Italians and of all those who appreciate reliable and professional television reporting of current affairs.
Estudo de validação da versão portuguesa do Questionário de Expressividade Familiar – QEF
Authors: Dinis Alexandra , Gouveia José Pinto , Xavier Ana
Published: October 2014

O Questionário de Expressividade Familiar (Family Expressiveness Questionnaire – FEQ; Halberstadt, 1986) destina-se a avaliar o ambiente expressivo geral da família e inclui itens que estão relacionados com a expressividade não-verbal e o conteúdo da expressão emocional. O presente estudo examina as propriedades psicométricas da versão portuguesa numa ampla amostra da população geral. A validade de constructo foi examinada com recurso a procedimentos da Análise em Componentes Principais, cujos resultados suportaram uma estrutura de dois factores. Os resultados mostram que a escala possui uma boa consistência interna e estabilidade temporal. A validade de constructo foi estudada através da análise das correlações com medidas de psicopatologia (particularmente ansiedade, depressão e stress, e o afecto negativo e o afecto positivo), bem como medidas de contexto familiar (especificamente, ligação parental e experiências de cuidado e negligência parental). O QEF é um instrumento fiável e válido para medir a expressividade familiar na população portuguesa.
Comparative genomics reveals tissue-specific regulation of prolactin receptor gene expression
Authors: Schennink Anke , Trott Josephine F , Manjarin Rodrigo , Lemay Danielle G , Freking Bradley A , Hovey Russell C
Published: October 2014

Prolactin (PRL), acting via the PRL receptor (PRLR), controls hundreds of biological processes across a range of species. Endocrine PRL elicits well-documented effects on target tissues such as the mammary glands and reproductive organs in addition to coordinating whole-body homeostasis during states such as lactation or adaptive responses to the environment. While changes inPRLRexpression likely facilitates these tissue-specific responses to circulating PRL, the mechanisms regulating this regulation in non-rodent species has received limited attention. We performed a wide-scale analysis of PRLR 5′ transcriptional regulation in pig tissues. Apart from the abundantly expressed and widely conserved exon 1, we identified alternative splicing of transcripts from an additional nine first exons of the porcine PRLR (pPRLR) gene. Notably, exon 1.5 transcripts were expressed most abundantly in the heart, while expression of exon 1.3-containing transcripts was greatest in the kidneys and small intestine. Expression of exon 1.3 mRNAs within the kidneys was most abundant in the renal cortex, and increased during gestation. A comparative analysis revealed a human homologue to exon 1.3, hE1N2, which was also principally transcribed in the kidneys and small intestines, and an exon hE1N3was only expressed in the kidneys of humans. Promoter alignment revealed conserved motifs within the proximal promoter upstream of exon 1.3, including putative binding sites for hepatocyte nuclear factor-1 and Sp1. Together, these results highlight the diverse, conserved and tissue-specific regulation ofPRLRexpression in the targets for PRL, which may function to coordinate complex physiological states such as lactation and osmoregulation.
Possible role of lymphocytes in glucocorticoid-induced increase in trabecular bone mineral density
Authors: Grahnemo Louise , Jochems Caroline , Andersson Annica , Engdahl Cecilia , Ohlsson Claes , Islander Ulrika , Carlsten Hans
Published: October 2014

Treatment with anti-inflammatory glucocorticoids is associated with osteoporosis. Many of the treated patients are postmenopausal women, who even without treatment have an increased risk of osteoporosis. Lymphocytes have been shown to play a role in postmenopausal and arthritis-induced osteoporosis, and they are targeted by glucocorticoids. The aim of this study was to investigate the mechanisms behind effects of glucocorticoids on bone during health and menopause, focusing on lymphocytes. Female C57BL/6 or SCID mice were therefore sham-operated or ovariectomized and 2 weeks later treatment with dexamethasone (dex), the nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug carprofen, or vehicle was started and continued for 2.5 weeks. At the termination of experiments, femurs were phenotyped using peripheral quantitative computed tomography and high-resolution micro-computed tomography, and markers of bone turnover were analyzed in serum. T and B lymphocyte populations in bone marrow and spleen were analyzed by flow cytometry. Dex-treated C57BL/6 mice had increased trabecular bone mineral density, but lower cortical content and thickness compared with vehicle-treated mice. The dex-treated mice also had lower levels of bone turnover markers and markedly decreased numbers of spleen T and B lymphocytes. In contrast, these effects could not be repeated when mice were treated with the nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug carprofen. In addition, dex did not increase trabecular bone in ovariectomized SCID mice lacking functional T and B lymphocytes. In contrast to most literature, the results from this study indicate that treatment with dex increased trabecular bone density, which may indicate that this effect is associated with corticosteroid-induced alterations of the lymphocyte populations.
A Novel Cryptochrome-Dependent Oscillator inNeurospora crassa
Authors: Nsa Imade Y , Karunarathna Nirmala , Liu Xiaoguang , Huang Howard , Boetteger Brittni , Bell-Pedersen Deborah
Published: November 2014

Several lines of evidence suggest that the circadian clock is constructed of multiple molecular feedback oscillators that function to generate robust rhythms in organisms. However, while core oscillator mechanisms driving specific behaviors are well described in several model systems, the nature of other potential circadian oscillators is not understood. Using genetic approaches in the fungus Neurospora crassa, we uncovered an oscillator mechanism that drives rhythmic spore development in the absence of the well-characterized FRQ/WCC oscillator (FWO) and in constant light, conditions under which the FWO is not functional. While this novel oscillator does not require the FWO for activity, it does require the blue-light photoreceptor CRYPTOCHROME (CRY); thus, we call it the CRY-dependent oscillator (CDO). The CDO was uncovered in a strain carrying a mutation in cog-1 (cry-dependent oscillator gate-1), has a period of ∼1 day in constant light, and is temperature-compensated. In addition, cog-1 cells lacking the circadian blue-light photoreceptor WC-1 respond to blue light, suggesting that alternate light inputs function in cog-1 mutant cells. We show that the blue-light photoreceptors VIVID and CRY compensate for each other and for WC-1 in CRY-dependent oscillator light responses, but that WC-1 is necessary for circadian light entrainment.
Psychological Knowledge And Skills in Clinical Practice Among Selected Medical Professions
Authors: Adamus Mirosława , Jaworski Mariusz
Published: October 2014

The biopsychosocial and neoethical aspects of activity in health and sickness, and changing nature of illnesses’ treatments might pose problems in the correct preparation of medical staff into clinical practice. Clinicians recognize the need to expand their professional knowledge and practice of the new achievements of the social sciences. The purpose of the study was: 1) to analyze the level of psychological knowledge among selected medical professions, such as doctors, nurses and midwives, 2) define the role this knowledge is playing in clinical practice and 3) analyze differences between psychological knowledge used in clinical practice and teaching content during studies. The study was conducted among three groups of medical professionals: doctors (N = 419), nurses (N = 434) and midwives (N = 51). The author's questionnaire was used. The level of psychological knowledge is related to its utility in practice. Study has shown that respondents have problems with medical personnel–patient relationship. The issues concerning relations with patient’s family were nearly ignored. Respondents indicate the need for training in terms of work’s functioning: coping with stress, improving interpersonal skills and assertiveness as well as dealing with burnout. A strong need to participate in post-graduate trainings has been shown in all analyzed medical groups. The curricula of medical schools have to include in a wider range psychological topics related to fulfilling professional duties, such as developing interpersonal and communication skills, shaping correct relationship between patients and doctors, dealing with stress at work and burnout.
Point Prevalence Study of Pediatric Inpatients Who Are Unable to Communicate Effectively About Pain
Authors: Hill Douglas L. , Carroll Karen W. , Dougherty Susan , Vega Cassandra , Feudtner Chris
Published: October 2014

Objective:

Pediatric inpatients may be at risk for inadequate pain management if they are unable to communicate effectively because of age, physical or cognitive impairment, or medical procedures. We conducted a point prevalence study to estimate the proportion of inpatients at a children’s hospital who have difficulty communicating to hospital staff.

Methods:

We obtained nurse reports of ability to communicate for all inpatients aged ≥12 months in a pediatric hospital. Demographic information was obtained from the medical record.

Results:

Questionnaires were completed for 254 inpatients. Forty percent of inpatients had some difficulty communicating, and 69% had experienced pain during the hospitalization. Patient ability to communicate was not related to experiencing pain (χ2 test, P = .30) or effectiveness of pain management (χ2 test, P = .80) but was associated with difficulty communicating about pain and nurses needing help from the caretaker to communicate with the patient (χ2 tests, Ps < .001).

Conclusions:

A substantial proportion of inpatients aged ≥12 months at a large children’s hospital had difficulties communicating effectively and experienced pain during hospitalization. These communication difficulties were not associated with nurse reports of the effectiveness of pain management. However, patients who had difficulties communicating in general were also more likely to have difficulty communicating about pain specifically, and nurses were more likely to need help from the caregiver to understand these patients. Future directions include identifying which conditions, procedures, and medications are associated with inability to communicate.
Utilization of Viral Molecular Diagnostics Among Children Hospitalized With Community Acquired Pneumonia
Authors: Schulert Grant S. , Hain Paul D. , Williams Derek J.
Published: October 2014

Objective:

To examine whether results of a polymerase chain reaction–based respiratory viral panel (RVP) are associated with changes in antibiotic use or differential clinical outcomes among children hospitalized with pneumonia.

Methods:

We retrospectively identified otherwise healthy children hospitalized over a 3-year period at a single institution with community-acquired pneumonia who had an RVP performed within 24 hours of admission. We examined associations between RVP results and clinical outcomes as well as management decisions including initiation and duration of intravenous antibiotics.

Results:

Among 202 children, a positive RVP (n = 127, 63%) was associated with a more complicated clinical course, although this was due largely to more severe disease seen in younger children and those with respiratory syncytial virus (n = 38, 30% of positive detections). Detection of a virus did not influence antibiotic therapy. Included children were younger and had more severe illness than children hospitalized with pneumonia at the same institution without an RVP obtained.

Conclusions:

In our study, only respiratory syncytial virus was associated with a more severe clinical course compared with RVP-negative children. Regardless of the virus detected, RVP positivity did not influence antibiotic usage. However, RVP use focused primarily on children with severe pneumonia. Whether similar testing influences management decisions among children with less severe illness deserves further study.