bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Effect of Glycation on Epidermal Lipid Content, Its Metabolism and Change in Barrier Function
Authors: Yokota Mami , Tokudome Yoshihiro
Published: August 2016

Background/Aims: Advanced glycation end products, which are linked to both aging and hyperglycemia, cause marked functional and structural alterations in human skin. Though it is well known that the metabolism of glucose is closely associated with that of fatty acid (FA), sharing the same energy-yielding reaction pathways as glucose, its effect on the epidermis has been unclear so far. Methods: Content of ceramides, cholesterol and FA in a reconstructed epidermal model glycated by glyoxal was analyzed by high-performance thin-layer chromatography. FA species extracted from HaCaT keratinocytes was determined by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. Regulation of FA synthesis was analyzed by real-time PCR. For physiological analysis, excised mouse skin was glycated using a vertical diffusion cell and used for the evaluation of barrier function by transepidermal water loss measurement and observation of penetration of sodium fluorescein. Results: Saturated FA content was significantly increased in glycated epidermis, and glycation upregulated mRNA expression of FA elongases 2 and 3 and FA synthase in HaCaT cells. Further, both inside-out and outside-in barriers were disrupted in glycated excised skin. Conclusion: Biological and physical change in the epidermis, especially upregulation of FA synthesis by glycation, contributed to barrier disruption, and inhibiting glycation may offer an effective treatment option for aged or glycated skin.
Cinema, intermidialidade e métodos historiográficos: o Árido Movie em Pernambuco
Authors: Paiva Samuel
Published: August 2016

O artigo diz respeito à historiografia do cinema, procurando investigar a possibilidade de compreensão da intermidialidade como método historiográfico. Parte das proposições de Lúcia Nagib sobre “políticas da impureza”, por sua vez pautadas pela noção de “cinema impuro”, de André Bazin, cotejando-as com os “fenômenos intermidiáticos” apresentados por Irina Rajewsky e também com a “historiografia de metodologias” da intermidialidade nos filmes, tal como proposta por Ágnes Pethö. Como estudo de caso, considera a produção do cinema de Pernambuco, com maior interesse no longa metragem Baile perfumado (1996), embora referindo outras obras dos anos 1990 aos dias atuais.
Cenas comunicativas como palco de tensões: dos impasses que permeiam a constituição recíproca de interlocutores em Papo de Polícia
Authors: Lelo Thales Vilela
Published: August 2016

Esse artigo tem como questão central as tensões que envolvem a construção recíproca de sujeitos como interlocutores em uma cena comunicativa. O objeto empírico de referência é a primeira temporada da série Papo de Polícia, composta de sete episódios que foram veiculados no Multishow em 2011. O protagonista é o policial civil Roberto Chaves, que foi convidado para o “desafio” de se hospedar sete dias no Complexo do Alemão (RJ) no intuito de relatar, por meio de um diário em vídeo, as vivências no local e a interação com os moradores. Será realizada uma leitura do dispositivo que sustenta a trama, suas estratégias de convocação do espectador, e suas formas de conduzir as interações entre o protagonista e seus entrevistados. Intenciona-se, por fim, questionar as incongruências advindas dessa estrutura de organização da série através de cenas que parcialmente escapam ao roteiro da temporada.
Low-Dimensional Reduced-Order Models for Statistical Response and Uncertainty Quantification: Two-Layer Baroclinic Turbulence
Authors: Qi Di , Majda Andrew J.
Published: August 2016

Accurate uncertainty quantification for the mean and variance about forced responses to general external perturbations in the climate system is an important subject in understanding Earth’s atmosphere and ocean in climate change science. A low-dimensional reduced-order method is developed for uncertainty quantification and capturing the statistical sensitivity in the principal model directions with largest variability and in various regimes in two-layer quasigeostrophic turbulence. Typical dynamical regimes tested here include the homogeneous flow in the high latitudes and the anisotropic meandering jets in the low latitudes and/or midlatitudes. The idea in the reduced-order method is from a self-consistent mathematical framework for general systems with quadratic nonlinearity, where crucial high-order statistics are approximated by a systematic model calibration procedure. Model efficiency is improved through additional damping and noise corrections to replace the expensive energy-conserving nonlinear interactions. Model errors due to the imperfect nonlinear approximation are corrected by tuning the model parameters using linear response theory with an information metric in a training phase before prediction. Here a statistical energy principle is adopted to introduce a global scaling factor in characterizing the higher-order moments in a consistent way to improve model sensitivity. The reduced-order model displays uniformly high prediction skill for the mean and variance response to general forcing for both homogeneous flow and anisotropic zonal jets in the first 102 dominant low-wavenumber modes, where only about 0.15% of the total spectral modes are resolved, compared with the full model resolution of 2562 horizontal modes.
The Relationship between Boundary Layer Stability and Cloud Cover in the Post-Cold-Frontal Region
Authors: Naud Catherine M. , Booth James F. , Del Genio Anthony D.
Published: August 2016

Using NASA Aqua MODIS and AIRS data, the relationship between low-level cloud cover (cloud top below the 700-hPa level) and boundary layer stability is explored in post-cold-frontal conditions. A linear relationship is found between seasonal cloud cover and two separate measures of inversion strength, the lower-tropospheric stability (LTS) and the estimated inversion strength (EIS), for two specific regions in the North Atlantic and Pacific in quiescent and weakly subsiding conditions. The relationship barely changes when considering dynamically active and subsiding post-cold-frontal conditions for the same regions. To explore the generality of this result and increase sample size, cold-front-centered composites of cloud cover and stability are constructed. The Northern and Southern Hemisphere seasonal cloud cover and stability distributions in the post-cold-frontal regions are then compared. A fairly good correlation between cloud cover and EIS is found in both hemispheres across all seasons, suggesting that a linear relationship between cloud cover and inversion strength proposed for quiescent conditions exists also in more dynamically active subsiding post-cold-frontal conditions. However, for a given season and hemisphere, the correlation between cloud cover and EIS degrades in post-cold-frontal regions, especially in the Northern Hemisphere. At these scales, other large-scale factors tend to correlate better with cloud cover.
Slow Preconditioning for the Abrupt Convective Jump over the Northwest Pacific during Summer
Authors: Zhou Wenyu , Xie Shang-Ping , Zhou Zhen-Qiang
Published: August 2016

The rapid intensification of convective activity in mid-July over the northwest Pacific marks the final stage of the Asian summer monsoon, accompanied by major shifts in regional rainfall and circulation patterns. An entraining plume model is used to investigate the physical processes underlying the abrupt convective jump. Despite little change in sea surface temperature (SST), gradual lower-troposphere mixing leads to a threshold transition in the model as follows. Before mid-July, although SST is already high (29°C), the convective plume is inhibited by the capping inversion above the trade cumulus boundary layer. As the lower troposphere is gradually mixed, the boundary layer top rises with reduced atmospheric stability and increased humidity in the lower troposphere. These factors weaken the inhibition effect of the inversion on the entraining plume. As soon as the plume is able to overcome the inversion barrier, it can rise all the way to the upper troposphere. This marks an abrupt threshold transition to a deep convection regime with heavy rainfall. The convective available potential energy (CAPE) of the entraining plume is found to be a better indicator of the rainfall intensity compared to the conventional undiluted CAPE. The latter fails to capture the onset by neglecting interactions between convective clouds and the environment. Current general circulation models (GCMs) fail to capture the abrupt convective jump and instead simulate a rather smooth seasonal evolution of rainfall. Compared to observations, GCMs simulate a higher trade cumulus top with excessive mixing in the lower troposphere. Convection is no longer inhibited by the inversion barrier, and rainfall simply follows the smooth variation of SST.
‘Like the Scum of the World, the Refuse of All’: A Study of the Background and Usage of περίψημα and περικάθαρμα in 1 Corinthians 4.13b
Authors: Asano Atsuhiro
Published: August 2016

It has been widely assumed that Paul uses περίψημα and περικάθαρμα in 1 Cor. 4.13b in order to help the reader associate Christ-like apostolic suffering with the dehumanizing experience of the victims of expulsion rituals, since both words were allegedly used as technical terms for expulsion victims in the ancient Mediterranean world. A survey of the pertinent literature and inscriptions shows, however, that the terms were hardly ever connected with expulsion rituals until the ninth century, when Photius or the Byzantine churches of his time finally made the association in order to promote self-giving service among the believers. In view of this, the article also briefly explores possible alternative backgrounds to Paul’s use of the terms.
The influence of insoles with a peroneal pressure point on the electromyographic activity of tibialis anterior and peroneus longus during gait
Authors: Ludwig Oliver , Kelm Jens , Fröhlich Michael
Published: August 2016

Background

Peroneus longus acts as a foot evertor and pronator, thus ensuring stability of the talocrural joint by curbing inversion movement of the rearfoot. Increased activation of the peroneus longus muscle in the stance phase could have a stabilising effect on the ankle joint. This study aimed to determine whether the activity of the peroneus longus muscle could be increased by the targeted use of a specially formed lateral pressure element in a customised orthopaedic insole.

Methods

This was a laboratory‐based study that utilised a randomised crossover design. Thirty‐four healthy participants walked along a walkway in neutral footwear wearing a control insole or a sensorimotor insole with a lateral pressure point adjacent to the tendon of the peroneus longus muscle. The electromyographic muscle activity of the peroneus longus and tibialis anterior muscles was measured using surface electromyography. Contact with the ground was recorded via two pressure sensors under the sole of the shoe. Muscle activity during the stance phase was analysed in the time and amplitude domains and compared statistically with paired t‐tests for both insole types.

Results

In 27 out of the 34 participants, an additional activity peak of the peroneus longus muscle was observed in the loading response phase with the sensorimotor insole, which reached its maximum at 29.7 % (±4.5 %) of the stance phase. When averaged over all 34 participants, the integrated electromyographic output for the peroneus longus in the mid‐stance phase revealed a significant higher activity (p < 0.001, post hoc power = 0.98, effect size: Cohen's d = 0.71) with the sensorimotor insole (18.1 ± 11.3 % MVCs) than with the control insole (11.2 ± 7.7 % MVCs). No significant effects were established for the other gait phases or for the tibialis anterior.

Conclusions

An increase of muscle activity of the peroneus longus muscle was observed during the loading response and mid‐stance phase, when orthopedic insoles with a lateral pressure point were worn. We conclude that the pressure point changes afferent information and leads to an increased peroneus longus activation in the time interval in which the pressure point exerted pressure on the peroneal tendon.
Pulsatile Cortisol Feedback on ACTH Secretion Is Mediated by the Glucocorticoid Receptor and Modulated by Gender
Authors: Roelfsema Ferdinand , Aoun Paul , Veldhuis Johannes D.
Published: August 2016

Context:

Factors that regulate physiological feedback by pulses of glucocorticoids on the hypothalamic-pituitary unit are sparsely defined in humans in relation to gluco- or mineralocorticoid receptor pathways, gender, age, and the sex steroid milieu.

Objective:

The objective of the study was to test (the clinical hypothesis) that glucocorticoid (GR) and mineralocorticoid (MR) receptor-selective mechanisms differentially govern pulsatile cortisol-dependent negative feedback on ACTH output (by the hypothalamo-pituitary unit) in men and women studied under experimentally defined T and estradiol depletion and repletion, respectively.

Setting:

The study was conducted at the Mayo Center for Translational Science Activities.

Subjects:

Healthy middle-aged men (n = 16) and women (n = 25) participated in the study.

Interventions:

This was a randomized, prospective, double-blind, placebo- and saline-controlled study of pulsatile cortisol infusions in low cortisol-clamped volunteers with and without eplerenone (MR blocker) and mifepristone (GR blocker) administration under a low and normal T and estradiol clamp. During frequent sampling, a bolus of CRH-arginine vasopressin was infused to assess corticotrope responsiveness.

Analytical Methods and Outcomes:

Deconvolution and approximate entropy of ACTH profiles were measured.

Results:

Infusion of cortisol (but not saline) pulses diminished ACTH secretion. The GR antagonist, mifepristone, interfered with negative feedback on both ACTH burst mass and secretion regularity. Eplerenone, an MR antagonist, exerted no detectable effect on the same parameters. Despite feedback imposition, CRH-arginine vasopressin-stimulated ACTH secretion was also increased by mifepristone and not by eplerenone. Withdrawal vs addback of sex steroids had no effect on ACTH secretion parameters. Nonetheless, ACTH secretion was greater (P = .006) and more regular (P = .004) in men than women.

Conclusion:

Pulsatile cortisol feedback on ACTH secretion in this paradigm is mediated by the glucocorticoid receptor, in part acting at the level of the pituitary, and influenced by sex.
Advances in understanding itching and scratching: a new era of targeted treatments
Authors: Sanders Kristen M. , Nattkemper Leigh A. , Yosipovitch Gil
Published: August 2016

Chronic itch is a significant health burden with few effective treatments. As such, itch researchers seek to understand the mechanisms behind itch and to find potential targets for treatment. The field of itch research is dynamic, and many advances have been made so far this decade. In particular, major steps forward include the identification of new peripheral and central itch mediators and modulators, the discovery of greater roles for immune cells and glia in itch transmission, and a focus on the brain processing of itching and scratching. Finally, several new therapeutic interventions for itch have shown success in clinical trials.
Confidence Calibration in a Multiyear Geopolitical Forecasting Competition
Authors: Moore Don A. , Swift Samuel A. , Minster Angela , Mellers Barbara , Ungar Lyle , Tetlock Philip , Yang Heather H. J. , Tenney Elizabeth R.
Published: August 2016

This research examines the development of confidence and accuracy over time in the context of forecasting. Although overconfidence has been studied in many contexts, little research examines its progression over long periods of time or in consequential policy domains. This study employs a unique data set from a geopolitical forecasting tournament spanning three years in which thousands of forecasters predicted the outcomes of hundreds of events. We sought to apply insights from research to structure the questions, interactions, and elicitations to improve forecasts. Indeed, forecasters’ confidence roughly matched their accuracy. As information came in, accuracy increased. Confidence increased at approximately the same rate as accuracy, and good calibration persisted. Nevertheless, there was evidence of a small amount of overconfidence (3%), especially on the most confident forecasts. Training helped reduce overconfidence, and team collaboration improved forecast accuracy. Together, teams and training reduced overconfidence to 1%. Our results provide reason for tempered optimism regarding confidence calibration and its development over time in consequential field contexts.

This paper was accepted by Yuval Rottenstreich, judgment and decision making.
Significado histórico y actualidad de las políticas de reducción del tiempo de trabajo
Authors: De la Fuente Lavín Mikel , Bernat Zubiri Rey Jon
Published: August 2016

En este artículo señalaremos algunos elementos de diagnostico sobre el significado histórico y la actualidad de las políticas Reducción del Tiempo de Trabajo (RTT), en un contexto de crecimiento económico cada vez menos generador de empleos y su consecuente paro estructural. Se abordará, también, la cuestión del empleo a tiempo parcial forzado, generador de una dualidad contraria a la RTT generalizada. Por último analizaremos algunas cuestiones, dificultades y ventajas de la puesta en práctica de políticas de RTT. De lo expuesto se extrae que una implantación de una RTT generalizada sin reducción de salarios debe permitir la recuperación de la pérdida de la parte salarial que en los últimos decenios ha ido a los beneficios empresariales. La RTT sustancial, equitativa y redistributiva constituye una alternativa al reparto del trabajo a través del desarrollo del tiempo parcial, que en los casos vasco y español es mayoritariamente involuntario y mantiene una división sexual del trabajo en perjuicio de las mujeres.
What factors influence the choice of first healthcare provider for childhood fever or cough in Ghana?
Authors: Immurana Mustapha , U. Arabi
Published: August 2016

Malaria and Pneumonia are major killers of children underfive. However, fever and cough are major signs of Malaria and Pneumonia respectively and hence making proper management of fever and cough indispensable in the fight against underfive mortality. This study therefore investigated the factors that influence the choice of first healthcare provider for children with fever or cough in Ghana. The study used the 2014 Ghana Demographic and Health Survey (GDHS) as the main source of data. By employing the multinomial probit model, the study found that urban children, children with higher birth rank, older children, children from the Ga/Dangme, Akan, Mole-Dagbani, Ewe, Mande and Gurma ethnicity and children of mothers with big problems with regards to permission and distance to seek self-medical care were more likely to be given self-medication or to be sent to a traditional practitioner initially for fever or cough. Contrary, mothers with health insurance, aging mothers and wealthy households were less likely to first resort to self-medication or a traditional practitioner in order to seek care for children with fever or cough. The study therefore concludes that ethnicity, residence, permission and distance to seek medical care by mother, motherâ€™s health insurance, household wealth, childâ€™s age, motherâ€™s age and birth order are the factors that influence the choice of first healthcare provider for children with fever or cough in Ghana.
Facylitacja zmian w obszarze psychicznym i duchowym (weryfikacja empiryczna za pomocą warsztatów żywego uczenia)
Authors: Szopiński Józef , Drobot Paweł
Published: August 2016

Falicytacja jest przydatnym modelem pedagogicznym, który umożliwia wprowadzenie realnych zmian w procesie nauczania grupowego. Nauczanie koncentruje się na potrzebach i interakcji uczestników w rzeczywistym kontekście sytuacyjnym . Aby krótko scharakteryzować specyfikę tej metody pracy , musimy szanować i brać pod uwagę siłę , doświadczenie, zdolności i możliwości wszystkich uczestników. Celem warsztatów jest pomoc w przezwyciężaniu kryzysów indywidualnych i barier , które stoją na drodze do harmonijnego funkcjonowania w rodzinie i środowisku zawodowym.
Argumentacja antropologiczna w bioetyce
Authors: Kieniewicz Piotr
Published: August 2016

Bioetyka jest młodą, dynamicznie rozwijającą się nauką. Jej głównym celem jest - zdaniem niektórych - ustalenia granic etycznych dla interwencji medycznych; inni uważają, że powinnna ona prowadzić do rozwoju samej medycyny. Niezależnie, praktyczny charakter prezentowanych wyników zależy głównie od antropologicznych założeń. W opracowaniu przedstawiono niektóre główne trendy w antropologicznej dyskusji w bioetyce oraz ich konsekwencje dla medycyny.
Prezbiter - świadek i sługa komunii. Aktualność przesłania Listu do moich kapłanów
Authors: Olczyk Maciej
Published: August 2016

Autor artykułu był inspirowany przez refleksją prymasa Stefana Wyszyńskiego dotyczącą tożsamości i misji kapłana, które zawarł w „Listach do moich kapłanów”. Książka podejmuje szereg tematów zintegrowanych przez troskę o jedność kapłanów w służbie kościelnej komunii. Dar nadprzyrodzonej mocy występującej w komunii z Bogiem w Kościele pozwala tym, którzy wierzą w Chrystusa na ukształtowanie nowych relacje braterskich, co czyni ich prawdziwą Bożą rodziną. Osobista więź z Bogiem, relacji z biskupem zwyczajnym, innych kapłanów i świeckich są podstawą wymiary, w której księża mają pojawić się jako świadkowie i słudzy komunii.
Kiedy terapia pomaga dobrze się rozstać. Rzecz o rodzinnych narracjach
Authors: Peć Bogdan
Published: August 2016

Autor przedstawia jedną z interwencji terapeutycznych stosowanych w terapii małżeństw. Opiera się ona na konstruktywizmie społecznym, w którym język tworzy rzeczywistość, a nie reprezentuje go. W tym kontekście zmienia się rola terapeuty - nie jest on ekspertem ze znajomością dysfunkcjonalnych struktur rodzinnych, ale staje się ekspertem od prowadzenia "dobrej rozmowy".
Odpusty i kary doczesne w świetle dokumentów Soboru Trydenckiego
Authors: Teinert Zbigniew
Published: August 2016

Artykuł stanowi wprowadzenie do powstania i rozwoju teologii odpustów w Kościele na tle okresu spadku praktyki publicznej pokuty w starożytności i początkach nowego systemu pokutnego w średniowieczu. Autor omawia teologiczne dylematy, które pojawiają się w wyniku przeniesienia obowiązku wykonania postawionych pokuty z okresu przed udzieleniem pojednania (pojednanie z Kościołem), jaką była starożytna praktyka. W dzisiejszych czasach coraz częściej nazywanego rozgrzeszeniem.
Rodzina podstawową instytucją i wspólnotą życia społecznego
Authors: Pryba Andrzej
Published: August 2016

Rodzina to wspólnota osób i instytucja społeczna. Jej podstawą jest związek małżeński mężczyzny i kobiety oparty na ich wzajemnej miłości i wolnym wyborze. To instytucja prawa naturalnego, którego twórcą jest sam Bóg. Małżeństwo i rodzina to głęboka wspólnota życia i miłości oraz komunia osób. Ta specyficzna wspólnota odpowiada wzajemnie za siebie, rodzi i wychowuje następne pokolenie, humanizując społeczeństwo. Rodzina jest dobrem społecznym, którego potrzebuje społeczeństwo.
Masturbacja w świetle katolickiego spojrzenia na ludzką płciowość
Authors: Bohdanowicz Andrzej
Published: August 2016

Masturbacja jako zagadnienie naukowe nadal budzi kontrowersje. Autor niniejszego artykułu prezentuje ten temat w szerokim kontekście współczesnej psychologii, pedagogiki i innych dyscyplin wiedzy zajmujących się ludzką egzystencją. Moralny wymiar masturbacji musi być rozpatrywany świetle problematyki ludzkiego bycia, ponieważ tylko w takiej perspektywie można stworzyć uzasadnioną opinię o tej delikatnej kwestii.
ks. Stanisław Biały, Bioetyczne aspekty przeszczepiania organów pojedynczych i ich pamięci. Przejście od pokonania bariery immunologicznej organizmu do pokonania bariery nie- ufności społecznej, Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Kardynała Stefana Wyszyńskiego, Warszawa 2011, ss. 473.
Authors: Zabielski Józef
Published: August 2016

RECENZJA: Bioetyczne aspekty przeszczepiania organów pojedynczych i ich pamięci. Przejście od pokonania bariery immunologicznej organizmu do pokonania bariery nie- ufności społecznej
Ideologia gender realnym zagrożeniem dla małżeństwa i rodziny
Authors: Pawłowicz Jacek Jan
Published: August 2016

Gender jest jedną z tych niebezpiecznych i szeroko dziś lansowanych ideologii, która walczy z tradycyjną rodziną i macierzyństwem. Macierzyństwo i wychowywanie dzieci są według niej formą ucisku kobiety. Dlatego antykoncepcja, aborcja na żądanie, rozpasanie seksualne są warunkami niezbędnymi do „wyzwolenia” kobiet. Ideologia ta zakłada, że człowiek nie rodzi się ani kobietą, ani mężczyzną w sensie kulturowym. To dana kultura konstruuje określenia „kobieta” i „mężczyzna” i w ten sposób determinuje człowieka. Wiele cech „kobiecych” i „męskich” pochodzących z różnic biologicznych teoria gender uważa za mity społeczne. Polaryzacja społeczności na kobiety i mężczyzn prowadzi według niej do szowinizmu i mizoginii. Gender, która przejęła idee i założenia ruchu feministycznego, oddzieliła seksualność od prokreacji, a to w konsekwencji doprowadziło do oddzielenia prokreacji od małżeństwa. Jeżeli zostają odseparowane te dwie sfery, to staje otworem prosta droga do uznania „praw” osób homoseksualnych do małżeństwa i posiadania dzieci (np. przez adopcję lub sztuczne zapłodnienie) oraz do tworzenia tzw. „wolnych związków” bez żadnych zobowiązań i odpowiedzialności. To wszystko stanowi realne zagrożenie dla tradycyjnie pojmowanego małżeństwa i rodziny.
Customer Responses to Switching Costs: A Meta-Analytic Investigation of the Moderating Influence of Culture
Authors: Pick Doreén , Eisend Martin
Published: August 2016

Relationship marketing effectiveness varies across different markets, but prior research has provided limited evidence on how cultural variations relate to the effects of relationship variables such as switching costs. The authors develop and test a theoretical framework that explains how culture moderates the relationship between perceived switching costs and key consequences. The findings of a meta-analysis, based on 451 effect sizes collected in 25 countries, show that similar components that refer to a match between the value essence of Hofstede's cultural dimensions and the motivators that steer particular consequences explain how individualism, power distance, uncertainty avoidance, and masculinity moderate the impact of switching costs on word of mouth of customers and loyalty types. Furthermore, the economic development of a country explains when switching costs either reduce or increase switching of customers. The findings of this study support international companies in making decisions about the generation of switching costs in particular markets and the formation of international relationship marketing and referral programs.
Cross–National Collaboration of Marketing Personnel within a Multinational: Leveraging Customer Participation for New Product Advantage
Authors: Griffith David A. , Lee Hannah S.
Published: August 2016

Multinational success in building new product advantage through customer participation is contingent on a multinational's ability to understand the moderating influence of cross-national collaboration of its marketing personnel. The findings from a survey of global marketing managers indicate that customer participation as an information source positively influences new product advantage, but this effect is dampened when cross-national collaboration within a multinational is high. However, customer participation as a codeveloper positively influences new product advantage only when the level of cross-national collaboration is high. The contrasting moderating effects of cross-national collaboration have important implications for international marketing theory and practice.
Going to market! An exploration of markets in social care
Authors: Mulkeen Majella
Published: August 2016

One of the most striking reconfigurations of Irish social care has been the entry of private for-profit companies into a sector previously regarded as outside the market. This article examines the policy context that has given rise to these developments and the impact of marketisation on both the quality of care provision and the employment conditions of the workforce. Whether for-profit provision of care is a positive development is the subject of intense debate, and the arguments for and against are outlined alongside a range of empirical evidence. International research evidence is not convincing about the capacity of markets to deliver on quality or efficiencies. The article concludes with recommendations for further research to enable analysis and debate in the Irish context.
Towards a more person-centred home care service: A study of the preferences of older adults and home care workers
Authors: Dempsey Catherine , Normand Charles , Timonen Virpi
Published: August 2016

The purpose of this study was to investigate the views of older home care recipients on the care that they receive and the preferences of the home help staff to work more flexible times, in order to provide a more person-centred service for the older person. A mixed-methods design was used, incorporating both qualitative and quantitative research methods. The qualitative phase involved five focus groups (total participants: n=23), to gain information on the recipients’ views on the home help received and how the service may become more person-centred. The quantitative phase involved sending postal questionnaires to Health Service Executive (HSE) home help employees (n=202) and to home help employees from a voluntary home help agency in Dublin South West (n=147). The findings from the qualitative phase of the research highlighted that the recipients were mainly satisfied with the service received but would like more communication with home help managers, and to be consulted regarding their care to allow for a more person-centred service. Companionship was also identified as a need for the older person. Data from the quantitative analysis indicated that home help employees, particularly in the HSE, are willing to work outside current contracted hours; for example, 8 p.m. to midnight midweek, or on Sunday evenings. Therefore, the future possibility of recruiting HSE home help staff to work more flexible hours needs to be considered to allow for a more person-centred home help service.
Interfacing informal and formal help systems: Historical pathways to the Meitheal model
Authors: Cassidy Anne , Devaney Carmel , McGregor Caroline , Landy Fergal
Published: August 2016

Meitheal is a national practice model which aims to ensure that the needs and strengths of children and their families are effectively identified, understood and responded to in a timely manner. The aim of this article is to consider some of the notable learning from the historical background and context in the development of children and family services. The discussion draws together four interrelated themes: the interaction between the voluntary and statutory systems, the interface of family and child oriented services, balancing formal and informal responses to child welfare, and early intervention and prevention services. The complexity of this endeavour is emphasised through identifying the core considerations required at the levels of Bronfenbrenner’s ecological model. The article concludes with a commentary on how the future of child welfare in Ireland may be influenced through this attempt at a reorientation of children and family services towards early intervention, prevention, partnership and participation.
Computed tomography in diagnosis and staging of the retroperitoneal tumors
Authors: Osman R. , Sarbu V. , Osman S.
Published: August 2016

The main role of retroperitoneal tumor diagnosis is the imaging examination. Diagnostic imaging is essential for describing and predicting lesion integrity limits adjacent organs.

Methods. The results are based on a sample of 53 patients admitted in the Urology Clinic and investigated during the period 1 January 2005 - 31 December 2014. Results. CT scan for retroperitoneal tumor: vascular tumors are diagnosed in 100% of cases, while endocrine tumors and lymphomas values are between 50-66.67% in terms of a positive diagnosis. In 54.71% of cases studied was identified retroperitoneal tumor invasion into adjacent structures (29 patients), and for 12 cases (22.64%) CT scan was not conclusive enough. CT scan investigation to identify metastasis has statistical significance (p <0.01) according to the different types of retroperitoneal tumors, there were on average 35% for highlighting values of peritumoral lymph nodes and 13% for metastases. The relationship between retroperitoneal tumor size detected by CT (coefficient R =0.736) than those found intraoperative CT examination reveals that tends to underestimate the retroperitoneal tumor size.

Conclusions. Imaging diagnosis is mainframe of positive diagnosis for retroperitoneal tumors. CT scanning bring data not only on tumor location, but also about the nature of injuries (cystic or solid), presence or absence of necrosis, invasion of adjacent structures and abdominal metastases.
Promotion of Family Reading in the Context of Children’s Early Reading Literacy Development
Authors: Tamášová Viola , Šulganová Zuzana
Published: August 2016

The proposed study deals with early reading literacy development of pre-school age children. A special attention is paid to the promotion of reading in family environment. Children’s relationship to reading starts developing before entering school, therefore, we consider families, alongside with intentional reading development in kindergartens, to be the basic indicators of the development of children’s relationship to reading and to books in general. The results of our quantitative research reflect the current situation in reading literacy development of pre-school age children in Slovakia, in particular families, and from the point of view of both the participating parents and their children.
The unusual yin-yang fashion of RIZ1/RIZ2 contributes to the progression of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma
Authors: Cui Yuantao , Ding Min , Dong Shangwen , Wang Yuanguo , Zhang Peng
Published: August 2016

Retinoblastoma protein-interacting zinc finger gene RIZ encodes two different protein products, RIZ1 and RIZ2. Observations suggest that RIZ1 is a tumor suppressor, while RIZ2 acts as a negative regulator of RIZ1 and may play a positive role in oncogenesis. The imbalance amount of RIZ1 and RIZ2 may be involved in cancer development. In this study we detected the expression levels of RIZ1 and RIZ2 mRNA in human esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) tissue specimens, reexpressed RIZ1 in the human ESCC cell line EC109 in which RIZ1 mRNA level was not detected, examined the changes of RIZ1 and RIZ2 mRNA expression, investigated the changes of proliferation, and apoptosis of the cells. We found that RIZ1 mRNA expression is commonly decreased or at undetectable level in human esophageal squamous cancer tissue specimens compared to the normal tissue specimens, while RIZ2 is usually expressed. With the forced expression of RIZ1, RIZ2 mRNA expression did not change, The ESCC cell proliferation was inhibited and apoptosis was induced. This unusual yinyang fashion of RIZ1/RIZ2 may contribute to the progression of ESCC.
Discrete Path Selection and Entropy Based Sensor Node Failure Detection in Wireless Sensor Networks
Authors: Spoorthi K. , Snehanshu Saha , Archana Mathur
Published: August 2016

Exertion of wireless sensor networks has been increasing in recent years, and it imprints in almost all the technologies such as machine industry, medical, military and civil applications. Due to rapid growth in electronic fabrication technology, low cost, efficient, multifunctional and accurate sensors can be produced and thus engineers tend to incorporate many sensors in the area of deployment. As the number of sensors in the field increases, the probability of failure committed by these sensors also increases. Hence, efficient algorithms to detect and recover the failure of sensors are paramount. The current work concentrates mainly on mechanisms to detect sensor node failures on the basis of the delay incurred in propagation and also the energy associated with sensors in the field of deployment. The simulation shows that the algorithm plays in the best possible way to detect the failure in sensors. Finally, the Boolean sensing model is considered to calculate the network coverage of the wireless sensor network for various numbers of nodes in the network.
Linear-Quadratic-Gaussian Optimization of Urban Transportation Network with Application to Sofia Traffic Optimization
Authors: Balabanov Aleksey , Stoilov Todor , Boneva Yordanka
Published: August 2016

The paper defines and solves a Linear-Quadratic-Gaussian (LQG) optimization problem addressing real time control policy of Urban Transportation Network (UTN). The paper presents UTN model definition, analysis and LQG optimization problem definition, resulting in special problem structure. A real application for UTN situated in Sofia, Bulgaria along Yosif Gurko street was provided for testing this control policy.
Lexeme-based collexeme analysis with DepCluster
Authors: Tang Xuri
Published: August 2016

This paper introduces a tool for lexeme-based collexeme analysis. The tool uses cluster analysis to generate the typical constructions of a given lexeme and computes the collostruction strength of the constructions. These two functions enable the tool to facilitate efficient studies of lexeme–construction interactions in large-scale data. As a case study, the paper examines the lexeme “cause”. It shows that the tool provides strong statistical evidence that confirms earlier findings about the negative semantic prosody of the lexeme. In addition, the collexeme analyses with the tool show that the lexeme is typically used in attitudinal constructions. The case study demonstrates that the tool can enhance the efficiency, comprehensiveness and granularity in lexeme-based collexeme analysis.
Integrals of logarithmic and hypergeometric functions
Authors: Sofo Anthony
Published: August 2016

Integrals of logarithmic and hypergeometric functions are intrinsically connected with Euler sums. In this paper we explore many relations and explicitly derive closed form representations of integrals of logarithmic, hypergeometric functions and the Lerch phi transcendent in terms of zeta functions and sums of alternating harmonic numbers.
Upgrading Probability via Fractions of Events
Authors: Frič Roman , Papčo Martin
Published: August 2016

The influence of “Grundbegriffe” by A. N. Kolmogorov (published in 1933) on education in the area of probability and its impact on research in stochastics cannot be overestimated. We would like to point out three aspects of the classical probability theory “calling for” an upgrade: (i) classical random events are black-and-white (Boolean); (ii) classical random variables do not model quantum phenomena; (iii) basic maps (probability measures and observables { dual maps to random variables) have very different “mathematical nature”. Accordingly, we propose an upgraded probability theory based on Łukasiewicz operations (multivalued logic) on events, elementary category theory, and covering the classical probability theory as a special case. The upgrade can be compared to replacing calculations with integers by calculations with rational (and real) numbers. Namely, to avoid the three objections, we embed the classical (Boolean) random events (represented by the f0; 1g-valued indicator functions of sets) into upgraded random events (represented by measurable {0; 1}-valued functions), the minimal domain of probability containing “fractions” of classical random events, and we upgrade the notions of probability measure and random variable.
John N. Deely: A Thomistic Voice for Semiotics
Authors: Lanigan Richard L.
Published: August 2016

The article presents John Deely’s philosophical critique of Martin Heidegger’s Being and Time from the perspective of Catholic theology defined by the work of Thomas Aquinas, John Poinsot, and Jacques Maritain. Deely’s analysis centers on the philosophical definition of esse intentionale. A biographical context for the critique stems from the life-long friendship of John Deely and the author. The moral force of Deely’s critique is now confirmed by the recent publication of Heidegger’s personal diaries, the Black Notebooks.
Opus Magnum
Authors: Kull Kalevi
Published: August 2016

This essay speaks briefly about the main argument of John Deely’s bookFour Ages of Understanding(2001), pointing to the importance of dialogue between the physical sciences and the semiotic sciences and the centrality of this discussion in the postmodern era as defined by Deely. A bibliography of the reviews of the book is also provided.
Awakening to “Reality”
Authors: Favareau Don
Published: August 2016

The volume under review brings together three of John Deely’s most profound and original works: (1) a one hundred and thirteen page self-described “abstract” of Deely’s masterful Four Ages project that serves as an excellent overview of, and introduction to, that work; (2) his brilliant encomium on the genius of Thomas Sebeok and the necessity of a truly post-modern semiotic realism; and (3) his tour de force version of a Socratic dialogue between a semiotician and a “would-be realist” concerning how the “sign” relation is properly, and improperly, understood. A must-have volume for any serious student of semiotics, intellectual history, or philosophy, The Impact on Philosophy of Semiotics is one of John Deely’s richest, and yet often touchingly accessible, works.
A Prelude to Wholophilia
Authors: Seif Farouk Y.
Published: August 2016

This is a review of John Deely’s Defining the Semiotic Animal published in 2004. Deely uses the way of signs, which is called semiotics, not only to establish the contact and dependencies between human thought and action and the surrounding physical universe, but also to account for a social construction of reality as part of human experience. When Deely states that all animals signify, but only human animals are capable of developing semiotics, he opens a whole way of understanding for us to move beyond the definition of human being as a rational animal into a “semiotic animal” that is also capable of love.
The Holy Grail of Semiotics
Authors: Morrissey Christopher S.
Published: August 2016

This article reviews the first volume of Deely’s Poinsot trilogy. It argues that what comes across with unique force in Augustine and Poinsot is Deely’s use of the technical notion of signum formale to explain how “only through the absence of formal signs (species expressae)” is it possible for there to be any “grounding in the real”: i.e., that holy grail sought for by the proponents of “realism” in philosophy. Only thanks to species impressae, rather, which ground the existence of mind-independent reality, can critically controlled objectivity be possible for human knowledge and communication.
On the Path of the Sign
Authors: Baker Baranna
Published: August 2016

With Medieval Philosophy Redefined as the Latin Age, John Deely has written a truly revolutionary book. Both medieval historians and semioticians alike will gain a new perspective on their subject matter upon reading Medieval Philosophy Redefined. In it, Deely traces the history of the sign by going to its roots in the writings of Augustine, and following it through to the time of John Poinsot. John Poinsot, a previously marginalized philosopher from the late medieval period, factors greatly in Deely’s book. Poinsot makes it possible to get through the “thicket” of nominalism and see beyond Renaissance Humanism. Perhaps even more remarkable is the fact that, by using the sign as the point of departure, Deely has found a constant thread that runs through the Medieval Ages, making it, the sign, a key to understanding medieval philosophy from its start to its finish.
Synchronicity and Responsibility in Semiotics
Authors: Petrilli Susan
Published: August 2016

The synchronic vision is the expression of conscious awareness of the present situation, a totalizing vision capable of gazing at all of life responsibly, at all semiosis over the planet. John Deely’s vision of synchrony’s inevitable seepage into diachrony is connected with the fact that we are members of the societies of human animals who first engendered a “community of inquirers focused on the action of signs”. Deely reconstructs the pathway that from Saussurean semiology leads through Charles Peirce, Charles Morris, and Thomas Sebeok to the new “science of signs” conceived, recovering Locke, as the “doctrine of signs”. Insofar as the human animal is a “semiotic animal” he or she is capable of metasemiosis and therefore of knowledge and control. Consequently, the human animal, a semiotic animal, is also susceptible of responsibility: responsibility that concerns not only the human world and the possibility of the future of anthroposemiosis, but rather all of semiosis, all of terrestrial life, “Gaia”. Insisting on the interdependency, in semiotics, between synchronicity and responsibility, Deely evidences the specific task of semiotics, which is a task that is reserved to the semiotician as such.
Pragmaticism, science and theology
Authors: Brier Søren
Published: August 2016

This review assesses Ashley and Deely’s claims regarding the relation of science and religion, taking Einstein’s famous statement that “science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind” as its starting point. It argues that Ashley and Deely’s bookHow Science Enriches Theologydemonstrates that the actual problem in the contemporary dialogue between the two seem to be whether the link between science and religion shall be based on an impersonal process spirituality arising from a void or on a personalism with a personal god at the source.
Development of State-Owned Enterprises of Transport Industry in Latvia
Authors: Plūmiņš Māris , Ščeulovs Deniss
Published: August 2016

The transport infrastructure and state-owned enterprises (SOEs) have a significant effect on competitiveness of transport industry, and indirectly determine the business environment in related sectors. In Latvia, all transport related state strategies and policies are developed, controlled and overviewed by the Ministry of Transport. Eleven companies are engaged in commercial/non-commercial activities, and evaluated whether the liberalization of certain activities would provide efficiency among SOEs in the transport industry of Latvia, given the sectoral weight and share of State involvement and control of the industry.

There is limited and contradictory debate to what extent the Latvian state should involve in business activities of transport industry, and how to balance the multiple interests and targets of business, society and politics.

The present research is based on the scientific papers, official documents of the World Bank and OECD (Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development), company websites and annual reports.