bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
If I Were King! Morals and Physics in Emilie Du Châtelet’s Subtle Thoughts on Liberty
Authors: Hagengruber Ruth
Published: December 2017

This chapter argues that Emilie Du Châtelet’s practical moral philosophy and her theoretical physics are intimately connected into a systematic whole. Both the moral philosophy and the physics exhibit the same method, which relies, for example, on the principle of contradiction. Du Châtelet uses this method to argue against the injustice of women’s reduced educational opportunity and thus reduced freedom, as well as identifying the source of women’s social ostracism. Moreover, this chapter also shows a strong connection between content in morals and physics, and does so by focusing on the nature of freedom, and which conceptions of freedom are compatible with the laws of physics and the nature of force. Du Châtelet’s conceptual relations with a number of intellectuals, including Mandeville, Locke, and Voltaire, substantiate these points.
The Harms of Trade III
Authors: Christensen James
Published: December 2017

This chapter concludes our enquiry into the harms of trade. It addresses the ethical implications of the fact that trade can harm individuals by destroying jobs and undermining cultural distinctiveness. It argues that, under certain conditions, concerns about socio-economic losses and cultural degradation can justify trade restrictions. However, it also argues that developed countries may restrict trade only on the condition that the restrictions they impose do not reduce the development prospects of poor countries. Towards the end of the chapter, the right of developing countries to restrict trade with developed countries is defended.
The Gains from Trade
Authors: Christensen James
Published: December 2017

This chapter continues our discussion of the benefits of trade. It focuses on the income gains made possible by trade and asks how these should be distributed. It argues that these gains should be distributed in a globally egalitarian fashion, and contends that this conclusion is supported by a wide range of diverse views. The majority of the chapter criticizes the ‘statist’ claim that principles of distributive equality apply only within states and not among them. It argues that statists cannot draw a sharp normative distinction between states and the trade regime because the normatively relevant relationships they identify within the former also exist among members of the latter.
Conclusion
Authors: Christensen James
Published: December 2017

This chapter draws the book to a conclusion. It explains how the question of what trade justice requires cannot be reduced to the common question of whether trade should be ‘free’.
Refiguring Pain Symptoms
Authors: King Daniel
Published: December 2017

This chapter investigates the ways in which writers expanded upon the medical approach to the body. It shows how a number of writers used different literary traditions and cultural practices to expand the medical approach to physiological anatomically informed pain symptoms into a broader sense of hardship and grim experience. By using epic and tragedy, writers were able to emphasize, explore, and even criticize the idea of the heroic pain perceiver and the notion of the pained body’s endurance of hardships. Another important aspect of this process was the importance given to religious aspects of experience: tied up with the reconfiguring of physiological pain was the sense of the pained individual as an initiate of mystical religious life.
Viewing and Emotional Conflict in Akhilleus Tatios
Authors: King Daniel
Published: December 2017

Akhilleus Tatios’ novel, Leukippe and Kleitophon, is famously obsessed with the formulations of viewing and the gaze. This has traditionally been seen as reinforcing some of the gender hierarchies of the narrative as a whole. Building on the work of Morales (and others), this chapter argues that Akhilleus Tatios constructs a conflicted gaze in which the emotional impact of viewing trauma is caught between the viewer’s pleasure at the image and the emotional distress that it might also induce. Akhilleus Tatios’ narrative constantly questions and problematizes how viewers position themselves in relation to trauma and, in so doing, helps to problematize a range of different reactions to others’ pain.
On a Concept of Freedom
Authors: Pattanaik Prasanta K. , Xu Yongsheng
Published: December 2017

A considerable segment of the recent analytical literature on freedom visualizes an individual’s freedom as his/her ability to choose any one of several alternative (mutually exclusive) outcomes available to him/her. A major application of this formulation of freedom is to be found in the functioning and capability approach where an individual’s capability or opportunity set is taken to be a set of functioning bundles any one of which the individual is able to choose at will. Following the lead provided by an early contribution from K. Basu, this chapter explores the limitations of this conception of freedom, both in the framework of perfectly competitive markets and in cases where an individual’s life is determined through strategic interaction among several individuals.
The Many Faces of Corruption
Authors: Mishra Ajit
Published: December 2017

As is well known, corruption has several faces, ranging from petty corruption, where ordinary citizens have to pay bribes to get goods and services, to high level political corruption. Anti-corruption policies have to take cognizance of the possible trade-offs existing between different forms of corruption such as collusion, extortion, embezzlement, and bribery. Efforts to control one form may encourage another. In such a context, the chapter argues that, despite its lower value and gift-like manifestation, extortive petty corruption is not to be ignored as it creates a ‘culture’ of corruption which contributes to its persistence. This form of corruption spreads easily as victims of bribery are more likely to seek bribes when they are given the chance to do so.
Key-postures, trajectories and sonic shapes
Authors: Godøy Rolf Inge
Published: December 2017

The focus of this chapter is on how our notions of shape in music emerge from experiences of sound-producing body motion such as hitting, stroking, bowing, shaking or blowing. Sound-producing body motion is seen as organized around postures at salient moments in the music, around so-called key-postures, and as making continuous trajectories between these key-postures. It is suggested that our experiences of both making and seeing such key-postures and continuous trajectories in sound-producing body motion link the sonic and visual elements in music, meaning that body motion strongly contributes to our notions of shape in music.
Reflection
Authors: D’Errico Lucia
Published: December 2017

There is no optical space in my experience of music. If I leave aside a spontaneous association of pitches with fields of colour (so flat and vibrant, though, that they acquire almost a haptic quality), the role of sight is relegated to the preliminary and purely intellectual moment of musical notation. The shape that delineates itself when listening to or making music is rather the blind density of my own body. It is a body subjected to forces of different magnitude that act from both inside and outside itself....
Affective shapes and shapings of affect in Bach’s Sonata for Unaccompanied Violin No. 1 in G minor (BWV 1001)
Authors: Spitzer Michael
Published: December 2017

This chapter analyses Bach’s Sonata for Unaccompanied Violin No. 1 in G minor in terms of recent theories of music and emotion. It considers how musical ‘shape’ relates to the structure of affect, conceived in the nuanced terms afforded by recent work in the psychology of discrete emotional categories. Part I is dedicated to a close reading of Bach’s opening Adagio. Analysing three levels of shape (acoustic cues, midlevel phrasing and large-scale form), the chapter compares Bach’s music both to the shape of particular emotional behaviours and to the expressive shapings of a formal model. This notion of shaping is then extended to performance styles of ‘expressiveness’ (mainstream, HIP and deviant) in three interpretations of the Adagio captured in tempo and dynamic maps. Part II analyses the whole sonata cycle in terms of ‘transformational vectors’.
Reflection
Authors: Eldridge Alice
Published: December 2017

I see music as a very human means of creating, exploring and communicating abstract ideas and emotions. I believe this is made possible through the capacity of organized sound to recruit and coordinate dynamic patterns of interaction across a network of diverse objects and processes distributed across the brains, bodies and worldly objects of musicians and listeners. Reflecting my personal practice as an improvising cellist and my academic interest in digital music, I offer a particular account of some of the roles shape plays in framing and supporting these processes in both acoustic and digital music-making. My own experiences are accompanied by those of other improvisers...
Reflection
Authors: Savage Steven
Published: December 2017

When I was asked to write about music and shape for this volume I immediately thought of the reverb programmes that I use to add ambience to individual tracks when I am mixing. Reverb presets often come in the form of representations of physical space. General categories might include stadiums, concert halls, churches, theatres, auditoriums, nightclubs, small rooms, etc. Today’s sampling reverbs, which can translate specific acoustical spaces into ambiences that can be used on any sound, include such presets as the Sydney Opera House, St Paul’s Cathedral or the Ryman Auditorium at The Grand Ole Opry, as well as less renowned, smaller spaces such as a closet, a tiled bathroom or the interior of a Ford Econoline van. Some programs simulate very specific types of spaces such as a ...
Reflection
Authors: Layden Timothy B.
Published: December 2017

For me every sound has its own shape or form. This sense of shape is like objects in my periphery. They move around me and change in size and structure depending on how the sounds change. The experience is more intense with more complex sounds and when the source of the sound is not visible. I wonder if it is my brain creating the visual for the sound. The shapes seem to reflect the sound: liquid sounds often create fluid bubbly shapes; sharp clanging sounds have more angular shapes like growing crystals; bass sounds are large and expanding. When there is a loud, seemingly singular sound, this can create a sense of space around me as if I were inside the shape itself. When many sounds occur at once, the shapes often combine, creating a complex structure or a texture. These shapes sometimes blend together, rather as sounds do in the environment, creating a moving landscape. These experiences are part of how I sense the world and rarely stand out as distractions. Sometimes, however, a sudden, unexpected sound will evoke a synaesthetic experience that is distracting, drawing my attention away from whatever I might be doing....
Reflection
Authors: Mitchell Richard G.
Published: December 2017

As a practitioner of film music composition, I make music that is shaped by its relationship with a moving picture. Music’s role in most commercial films, whether documentary or drama, is to help direct the audience’s emotional response in synchronization with the action. In this sense music shapes the audience’s feelings every bit as much as the action....
Reflection
Authors: Pitts Antony
Published: December 2017

Today I’m struggling with a piece that should have taken an afternoon to write down. It appeared in the mist when summoned, almost on cue and apparently fully formed, but it has taken another few months to grasp once more the geometry of its form, the ratios and rationality of its quixotic light and shade. The piece is a gift-cum-commission for Edward Higginbottom, at the end of his long tenure at New College, Oxford. It’s a short setting of George Herbert’s ‘Love bade me welcome’ for unaccompanied choir, and from the moment I started working on it, it was clear in my mind that this piece existed—complete, perfect and (to me at least) unutterably beautiful and heart-rending....
Intervention
Authors: West Jeremy
Published: December 2017

In this Intervention, Jeremy West, the founding cornett player of the early music group His Majesty’s Sagbutts and Cornetts, reflects on the excitement and challenge of commissioning a new work from a living composer for the first time in the ensemble’s thirty-year history. The short account shows how working with the composer in the room provides not only technical support, but aesthetic insight and the confidence to strike out in new directions.
Intervention
Authors: Maw David , Escaich Thierry
Published: December 2017

In an interview with David Maw, the organist, composer and improviser Thierry Escaich discusses the relationship between improvisation and composition in his own creative practice, and his approach to teaching improvisation. The Intervention ends with Escaich’s thoughts on the future of improvisation.
Learning to improvise, improvising to learn
Authors: MacGlone Una M. , MacDonald Raymond A. R.
Published: December 2017

With the growth of free improvisation as a field of study within academic institutions there is a need to investigate the fundamental musical and psychological processes that lie behind this creative form of social activity. This chapter presents interviews with eight expert free-improvising musicians. The interviews focused on how the participants developed their creative skills, and offer insights into their learning processes. Thematic analysis of the transcribed interviews highlights three main learning modes: autodidactism, mentoring and learning in a social context. These areas of learning influenced conceptual and practical approaches to performance, and participants emphasised the importance of mentoring and group learning as critical elements in their becoming improvising musicians. The experiences of the interviewees reveal the socially constructed nature of musical development and creativity, and the nature of the social environments in which learning can take place.
Entangled Narratives
Authors: Hyden Lars-Christer
Published: December 2017

As more people live longer, the number of persons with the diagnosis of dementia will increase; many will live a long time in their homes, and spend time at a care unit only during the final stage of the disease. It is essential to know more about how persons with dementia adapt to and learn to live with the disease in their everyday life so that they can sustain both relations and identities. One of the most important everyday venues for sharing experiences and negotiating identity is storytelling. When one family member or spouse gradually loses the ability to tell stories and cherish their common history due to Alzheimer’s disease, this may threaten both the experiences of belonging together and the participants’ individual identities. Learning about how persons with dementia can participate in storytelling is important in helping persons with dementia sustain their personhood. This book reviews previous research and introduces basic theoretical concepts as well as empirical findings that help in understanding how people with dementia can tell stories together with others. The book stresses the possibilities that are inherent in collaborative storytelling for sustaining both relations and identities. It also discusses how professionals and healthy relatives can learn to listen and make meaning in stories that otherwise might appear to be meaningless. Listening to and telling stories together with people living with a dementia diagnosis will help to re-imagine dementia—moving away from a notion of persons with dementia being “empty vessels” toward seeing them as collaborative meaning-makers.
How the marine chronometer was made
Authors: Betts Jonathan
Published: December 2017

This chapter describes the fascinating and highly skilled process of manufacture of a 19th century English marine chronometer. It covers the complete practice, from the sourcing of the raw materials right through to the completion of the precision instrument in its box and suspension and its testing and delivery to the final customer. The unusual, two-stage process, where a ‘rough movement’ is bought from a supplier in Lancashire and completed by the ‘finisher’, is explained, and the extraordinary journey taken by the ‘embryo’ chronometer, around the many specialist craftsmen living in the back streets of Clerkenwell, is described. The journey is also illustrated with a map of Clerkenwell with the route marked out, and a specific chronometer by Victor Kullberg in the museum’s collection has its journey to completion described and illustrated.
Antidepressants During Pregnancy and Autism in Offspring: Population Based Cohort Study
Authors: Rai Dheeraj , Lee Brian K. , Dalman Christina , Newschaffer Craig , Lewis Glyn , Magnusson Cecilia
Published: December 2017

(Abstracted from BMJ 2017;358:j2811)

Although several recent epidemiological studies have assessed the relation between antidepressant use during pregnancy and autism in offspring, robust conclusions have been elusive because of concerns about “confounding by indication.” That is, because depression or other psychiatric indications for antidepressant use could be associated with autism through genetic or nongenetic pathways, it was not possible to rule out the possibility of the observed associations representing the risk of autism from the underlying indication for prescription. The authors undertook the present study in order to improve the understanding of the association between antidepressant use during pregnancy and autism in offspring, by applying a range of causal analytical methods on data from a large total population cohort in Stockholm County, Sweden.
Mortality Risks Associated With Emergency Admissions During Weekends and Public Holidays: An Analysis of Electronic Health Records
Authors: Walker A. Sarah , Mason Amy , Quan T. Phuong , Fawcett Nicola J. , Watkinson Peter , Llewelyn Martin , Stoesser Nicole , Finney John , Davies Jim , Wyllie David H. , Crook Derrick W. , Peto Tim E. A.
Published: December 2017

(Abstracted from Lancet 2017;390:62–72)

The “weekend effect” refers to the phenomenon by which patients admitted to a hospital during the weekend have greater mortality than those admitted on weekdays. It is unknown what causes the weekend effect, nor is it clear how the excess risk is distributed across the 48 hours of weekend admissions.
Factors Influencing Acceptability and Perceived Impacts of a Mandatory ePortfolio Implemented by an Occupational Therapy Regulatory Organization
Authors: Vachon Brigitte , Foucault Marie-Lyse , Giguère Charles-Édouard , Rochette Annie , Thomas Aliki , Morel Martine
Published: December 2017

Introduction:

The use of ePortfolios has been implemented in several regulatory organizations to encourage clinicians' engagement in continuing professional development (CPD). However, their use has achieved mixed success, and multiple personal and contextual factors can influence their impacts on practice change. The aim of this study was to identify which factors influence the acceptability and perceived impacts of an ePortfolio implemented by an occupational therapy regulatory organization in one Canadian province.

Method:

A cross-sectional online survey design was used. The survey was sent to registered occupational therapists in Quebec. Multiple regression analyses were conducted to identify factors influencing acceptability and outcomes: ease of use, satisfaction, impact on implementation of the CPD plan, and competence improvement.

Results:

The survey was fully completed by 546 participants. Factors significantly influencing the ePortfolio acceptability and perceived impacts were attitude toward and familiarity with the portfolio, confidence in reflective skills, engagement in the CPD plan, and desire for feedback. Time spent completing the ePortfolio and the fact of completing it in teams were negatively associated with the outcomes.

Discussion:

Shaping more favorable user attitudes, helping users recognize and experience the tool's benefits for their practice, and fostering confidence in their reflective skills are important factors that can be addressed to improve ePortfolio acceptability and outcomes. Contextual factors, such as time spent completing the ePortfolio and completing it in teams, seem to reflect greater difficulty with using the tool. Study findings can contribute to improving ePortfolio implementation in the CPD context.
Gastrointestinal Bleeding in Patients with HeartWare Ventricular Assist Device: Does the Activation of the Lavare Cycle Make a Difference?
Authors: Saeed Diyar , Maxhera Bujar , Sadat Najla , Petrov Georgi , Albert Alexander , Lichtenberg Artur
Published: December 2017

We aimed to investigate the prevalence of gastrointestinal bleeding (GIB) events in patients supported with HeartWare ventricular assist device (VAD) and activated lavare cycle. Thirty-two GIB events were documented in 22 patients (21%) after median support duration of 22 days (IQR: 11–157 days). There were 13 patients with early episodes of GIB. Meanwhile, 17 GIB events were documented in 9 patients after a median support duration of 174 days (IQR 25–736 days) (late bleeders), accounting for 0.18 events per patient’s years. The GIB events appear to be a frequent complication in patients with HeartWare VAD regardless of the lavare cycle.
Microglial Activation on 11C-CB184 PET in a Patient With Cerebellar Ataxia Associated With HIV Infection
Authors: Ishibashi Kenji , Miura Yoshiharu , Imamura Akifumi , Toyohara Jun , Ishii Kenji
Published: December 2017

A 63-year-old man complaining of prolonged imbalance underwent 11C-CB184 PET to assess microglial activation 3 years after being diagnosed with cerebellar ataxia associated with HIV infection. 11C-CB184 images revealed significant cerebellar uptake where MRI signal abnormalities were observed at disease onset, although these abnormalities had mostly disappeared at the time of 11C-CB184 PET. Microglia are believed to be a long-term reservoir for HIV infection, causing persistent immune activation (ie, chronic inflammation). Hence, in this case, increased 11C-CB184 binding may reflect persistent microglial activation along with HIV persistence in the cerebellum. However, further pathological investigations are desired to validate 11C-CB184 PET.
Amino Acid PET Imaging of the Early Metabolic Response During Tumor-Treating Fields (TTFields) Therapy in Recurrent Glioblastoma
Authors: Bosnyák Edit , Barger Geoffrey R. , Michelhaugh Sharon K. , Robinette Natasha L. , Amit-Yousif Alit , Mittal Sandeep , Juhász Csaba
Published: December 2017

Tumor-treating fields (TTFields) therapy is a relatively new treatment approach for malignant gliomas. We evaluated if amino acid PET can detect an objective metabolic response to TTFields therapy in recurrent glioblastomas. PET scanning with alpha[C-11]-methyl-l-tryptophan (AMT) before and 2 to 3 months after the start of TTFields treatment showed an interval decrease of tryptophan uptake in the whole tumor (2 patients) or in a portion of the tumor (1 patient). These data demonstrate that TTFields therapy can induce an early metabolic response in recurrent glioblastoma, and this treatment response can be detected by amino acid PET.
Active Leprosy Neuritis Detected on FDG PET/CT
Authors: Roy Shambo Guha , Parida Girish Kumar , Tripathy Sarthak , Das Chandan J. , Kumar Rakesh
Published: December 2017

Uses of FDG PET/CT have been previously documented in multiple series in peripheral nerve pathologies, including neurolymphomatosis, peripheral nerve sheath tumor, and plexopathies. We present the case of a 24-year-old man with leprosy neuritis who underwent FDG PET/CT. We suggest that FDG PET/CT can be used as an adjunct tool to monitor neuritis in leprosy patients.
Emergence of an Australian-like pstS-null vancomycin resistant Enterococcus faecium clone in Scotland
Authors: Lemonidis Kimon , Salih Talal S. , Dancer Stephanie J. , Hunter Iain S. , Tucker Nicholas P.
Published: December 2017

Multi-locus sequencing typing (MLST) is widely used to monitor the phylogeny of microbial outbreaks. However, several strains of vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium (VREfm) with a missing MLST locus (pstS) have recently emerged in Australia, with a few cases also reported in England. Here, we identified similarly distinct strains circulating in two closely located hospitals in Scotland. Whole genome sequencing of five VREfm strains isolated from these hospitals identified four pstS-null strains across both hospitals, while the fifth was of a multi-locus sequence type (ST) 262, which is the first documented in the UK. All five Scottish isolates had an insertion in the tetM gene, which is associated with increased susceptibility to tetracyclines, providing no other tetracycline-resistant gene is present. Such an insertion, which encompasses a dfrG gene and two currently uncharacterised genes, was additionally identified in all tested VanA-type pstS-null VREfm strains (5 English and 18 Australian). Phylogenetic comparison with other VREfm genomes indicates that the four pstS-null Scottish isolates sequenced in this study are more closely related to pstS-null strains from Australia rather than the English pstS-null isolates. Given how rapidly such pstS-null strains have expanded in Australia, the emergence of this clone in Scotland raises concerns for a potential outbreak.
Adaptive plasticity generates microclines in threespine stickleback male nuptial color
Authors: Brock Chad D. , Cummings Molly E. , Bolnick Daniel I.
Published: December 2017

Adaptive phenotypic divergence is typically studied across relatively broad spatial scales (continents, archipelagos, river basins) because at these scales we expect environmental differences to be strong, and the homogenizing effect of gene flow to be weak. However, phenotypic plasticity and phenotype-dependent habitat choice are additional mechanisms that could also drive adaptation across spatially variable environments. We present evidence for apparently adaptive phenotypic variation across surprisingly small spatial scales (<2 vertical meters) in the threespine stickleback. We find that male breeding coloration varies as a function of the lakes’ optical-depth gradient, and these small-scale clines (‘microclines’) appear to be an adaptive response to ambient light gradients, as male color changes predictably in the opposite direction (‘countergradient’) to ambient light spectral shifts. Using visual models and field enclosure experiments, we show that these microclines result from phenotypic plasticity that maintains male conspicuousness. Our results show that adaptive phenotypic clines can exist across small spatial scales, because phenotypic plasticity rapidly generates repeatable trait-environment correlations despite the overwhelming opportunity for gene flow. Furthermore, these results provide strong evidence that phenotypic plasticity in nuptial coloration is an important mechanism for adjusting the conspicuousness of a visual signal to conspecifics.
Sequential Super-Resolution Imaging using DNA Strand Displacement
Authors: Lidke Diane S. , Martin Cheyenne , Farzam Farzin , Edwards Jeremy S. , Pallikkuth Sandeep , Lakin Mathew R. , Lidke Keith A.
Published: December 2017

Sequential labeling and imaging in fluorescence microscopy allows the imaging of multiple structures in the same cell using a single fluorophore species. In super-resolution applications, the optimal dye suited to the method can be chosen, the optical setup can be simpler and there are no chromatic aberrations between images of different structures. We describe a method based on DNA strand displacement that can be used to quickly and easily perform the labeling and removal of the fluorophores during each sequence. Site-specific tags are conjugated with unique and orthogonal single stranded DNA. Labeling for a particular structure is achieved by hybridization of antibody-bound DNA with a complimentary dye-labeled strand. After imaging, the dye is removed using toehold-mediated strand displacement, in which an invader strand competes off the dye-labeled strand than can be subsequently washed away. Labeling and removal of each DNA-species requires only a few minutes. We demonstrate the concept using sequential dSTORM super-resolution for multiplex imaging of subcellular structures.
Enhancing student engagement through simulation in programming sessions
Authors: Isiaq Sakirulai Olufemi , Jamil Md Golam
Published: December 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore the use of a simulator for teaching programming to foster student engagement and meaningful learning.

Design/methodology/approach

An exploratory mixed-method research approach was adopted in a classroom-based environment at a UK university. A rich account of student engagement dimensions (behavioural, affective/emotional, and cognitive) was captured through descriptive and inferential statistical analysis. This was triangulated through reflective and in-depth validation of open-ended questions.

Findings

Results show higher behavioural and emotional engagement in simulator-based sessions, but relatively low cognitive engagement when compared with traditional programming sessions. A strong interweaving relationship between these three dimensions is evident in both the traditional and simulator approaches. Therefore, a balanced distribution of the dimensions is recommended for effective planning and delivery of programming sessions.

Research limitations/implications

Student engagement is multidimensional as it includes various internal and external/ecological factors. This study did not consider external factors, such as family and societal influence; it focused on the classroom-based environment.

Originality/value

This study critically examined the use of simulation as a means to foster student engagement in programming sessions. Findings suggest that a balanced activities within the three engagement dimensions can facilitate meaningful learning.
Quality management systems in European social service organizations
Authors: Melão Nuno Filipe , Amorim Marlene , Marimon Frederic , Alegre Inés
Published: December 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to analyze from an adopters’ perspective the European Quality in Social Services (EQUASS) Assurance standard, a certification program to implement a quality management (QM) system specifically tailored to European social service organizations (SSO). Specifically, it analyzes the motives, internalization, impacts, satisfaction, and renew intentions of this standard.

Design/methodology/approach

The research uses a cross-sectional, questionnaire-based survey methodology with both closed and open-ended questions. Of the 381 organizations contacted, 196 responses from eight different European countries were considered valid (51.4 percent). Descriptive statistical techniques and content analysis were employed to analyze closed- and open-ended questions, respectively.

Findings

The results show that SSO typically implement the certification for internal reasons, internalize EQUASS Assurance principles and practices in daily usage, obtain mainly operational and customer benefits, and consider main pitfalls such as increased workload and bureaucracy. Around 85 percent of the respondents are very satisfied or satisfied with the standard, which suggests that it meets their needs. The intention to renew the certification is also encouraging, but the final decision may be contingent on several aspects. Overall, the results reveal a rather optimistic picture, though there are some reasons for concern.

Originality/value

Recent years have seen many social services implementing QM systems, but there have been few studies investigating this phenomenon. Social service managers, consultants, auditors, and the EQUASS certification body can find in this work valuable information to make their practice more effective. This is the first study to report the results of an EQUASS survey in a scholarly journal.
A case study of a simultaneous integration in an SME
Authors: Llonch Marc , Bernardo Merce , Presas Pilar
Published: December 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the simultaneous implementation of an integrated management system (IMS) in a small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) and its impact on costs.

Design/methodology/approach

Based on a case study, the paper presents and analyzes the implementation of the ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 management system (MS) standards. The organization analyzed is an SME of the heating and air conditioning sector that had no MSs implemented (common in the sector) and decided to implement an IMS based on both function-specific MS standards (MSSs) and also achieving the separated certification. The analysis of expected and real costs is also presented.

Findings

The results show that a simultaneous integration is possible and the cost analysis evidences the improvement of the organization’s efficiency. The certificates for both MSSs were also achieved. These findings help in confirming theoretical statement posed in the literature of the integration of MSs: integration strategy, methodology and level. The organization values this integrated implementation as very positive internally and externally, as this is one of the first organizations of the sector implementing and integrating the ISO 9001 and ISO 14001.

Originality/value

Although studies analyzing empirically the integration of MSs have been widely published in recent years, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is one of the first papers analyzing the implementation of an IMS directly and analyzing its costs. In addition, this paper provides evidence that those organizations implementing integration later than others, can learn from the beginners’ experience.
Reduction of life cycle costs for a contemporary helicopter through improvement of reliability and maintainability parameters
Authors: Ghosh Chanchal , Maiti J. , Shafiee Mahmood , Kumaraswamy K.G.
Published: December 2017

Purpose

The modern helicopters are designed with maximum serviceability and long life expectancy to ensure minimum life cycle cost. The purpose of this paper is to present a framework to incorporate the customer requirements on reliability and maintainability (R&M) parameters into the design and development phase of a contemporary helicopter, and to discuss the way to capture operational data to establish and improve the R&M parameters to reduce life cycle cost.

Design/methodology/approach

From the analysis, it is established that the reliability and maintainability cost is the major contributor to the life cost. The significant reliability and maintainability parameters which influence R&M cost are identified from analysis. The operational and design data of a contemporary helicopter are collected, compiled and analyzed to establish and improve the reliability and maintainability parameters.

Findings

The process depicted in the paper is followed for a contemporary helicopter and substantial amount of life cycle cost reduction is observed with improvement of R&M parameters.

Practical implications

The benefits of this methodology not only reduce life cycle cost but also improve the availability/serviceability through less failure and less time for scheduled maintenance. The methodologies also provide the reliability trends indicating potential area for design improvement.

Originality/value

The proposed approach assists asset managers to reduce the life cycle costs through improvement of R&M parameters.
Seismic resistance prediction of corroded S400 (BSt420) reinforcing bars
Authors: Apostolopoulos Charis , Konstantopoulos George , Koulouris Konstantinos
Published: December 2017

Purpose

Structures in seismic areas, during their service lifetime, are subjected to numerous seismic loads that certainly affect their structural integrity. The degradation of these structures, to a great extent, depends on the scale of seismic events, the steel mechanical performance on reversal loads and its resistance to corrosion phenomena. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Design/methodology/approach

Based on the experimental results of seismic steel behavior S400 (BSt III), which was widely used in the past years, a prediction study of seismic steel behavior was conducted in the current study. This prediction on behavior of both reference and corroded steel was succeeded through a simulation of experimental low cycle fatigue conditions (LCF – strain controlled).

Findings

At the same time, the present study analyses fatigue factors (ef, a, fSR, ed, ep, R, b) that define their inelastic relation between tension – strain and a prediction model on behavior of both reference and corroded steel rebar, in seismic loads conditions (LCF), is proposed.

Originality/value

Moreover, this study dealt with the synergy of corrosion factor and the existence of superficial ribs (ribbed and smoothed) in seismic behavior of steel bar S400 (BSt420). The S-N curves that are exported can be resulted in a first attempt of prediction of anti-seismic behavior on reinforced concrete structures with this the same steel class.
Effect of air chamber and oil properties on damping characteristics of single-tube pneumatic shock absorber
Authors: Liu Hongtuo , Xie Fangwei , Zhang Kai , Zhang Xinxing , Zhang Jin , Wang Cuntang , Li Hao
Published: December 2017

Purpose

The shock absorber is an important component of vehicle suspension that attenuates the vehicle vibration. Its running state directly affects the performance of the vehicle suspension. The purpose of this paper is to quantitatively study the relationship between damping characteristics and air chamber and oil properties in single-tube pneumatic shock absorber.

Design/methodology/approach

Combined with the principle of fluid dynamics and hydraulic transmission technology, the rebound stroke and compression stroke mathematical models, and damping characteristics simulation model are established to investigate the effect of the air chamber and oil property on damping characteristics.

Findings

Research results show that the initial pressure of the air chamber is the key parameter which influences the damping characteristics of the shock absorber. The change of the initial pressure has more impact on damping force, and less impact on the speed characteristic; the initial volume of the air chamber almost has no effect on the damping characteristics. The density and viscosity of the oil have certain influence on the damping characteristics. Therefore, selecting suitable damping oil is very important.

Originality/value

Using Matlab/Simulink software to build simulation models, its results are very accurate. The conclusions can provide a theoretical reference for the structure design of a single-tube pneumatic shock absorber.
On macroscopic intricate states
Authors: Dubois François
Published: December 2017

Purpose

The present contribution is in the field of quantum modelling of macroscopic phenomena. The focus is on one enigmatic aspect of quantum physics, namely, the Einstein–Podolsky–Rosen paradox and entanglement. After a review of the state-of-the-art concerning macroscopic quantum effects and quantum interaction, this paper aims to propose a link between embryology and acupuncture in the framework of macroscopic intricate states induced by quantum mechanics.

Design/methodology/approach

The author uses the fractaquantum hypothesis which supposes that the quantum framework is applicable to all insecable elements in nature, whatever their size.

Findings

This contribution considers an open question related to a possible link between acupuncture and embryology: can a weak form of intrication be maintained during stem cell division to interpret the acupuncture meridians as an explicit manifestation of a macroscopic intricate system? The macroscopic structure suggested by quantum mechanics could be a beginning of explanation of acupuncture through the embryologic development.

Research limitations/implications

A fundamental hypothesis is the fact that during cell division, cells keep some weak intrication.

Practical implications

This contribution suggests a structure of the acupuncture meridians. The links between the acupuncture points have to be searched in the embryologic development of the individual through a weak remaing intrication of some of his cells and not in present explicit relations.

Social implications

A new link between occidental and oriental cultures is explored.

Originality/value

This contribution suggests conceptual links between acupuncture, embryology and macroscopic intricate states.
Continuous wide spectrum odor sensing for electronic nose system
Authors: Zhang Wenli , Tian Fengchun , Song An , Zhao Zhenzhen , Hu Youwen , Jiang Anyan
Published: December 2017

Purpose

This paper aims to propose an odor sensing system based on wide spectrum for e-nose, based on comprehensive analysis on the merits and drawbacks of current e-nose.

Design/methodology/approach

The wide spectral light is used as the sensing medium in the e-nose system based on continuous wide spectrum (CWS) odor sensing, and the sensing response of each sensing element is the change of light intensity distribution.

Findings

Experimental results not only verify the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed system but also show the effectiveness of least square support vector machine (LSSVM) in eliminating system errors.

Practical implications

Theoretical model of the system was constructed, and experimental tests were carried out by using NO2 and SO2. System errors in the test data were eliminated using the LSSVM, and the preprocessed data were classified by euclidean distance to centroids (EDC), k-nearest neighbor (KNN), support vector machine (SVM), LSSVM, respectively.

Originality/value

The system not only has the advantages of current e-nose but also realizes expansion of sensing array by means of light source and the spectrometer with their wide spectrum, high resolution characteristics which improve the detection accuracy and realize real-time detection.
Analytical expressions for the borehole seismic signatures excited by an explosive source buried in an elastic half‐space
Authors: Ionov Andrei M.
Published: December 2017

Borehole guided waves that are excited by explosive sources outside of the borehole are important for interpreting borehole seismic surveys and for rock property inversion workflows. Borehole seismograms are typically modelled using numerical methods of wave propagation. In order to benchmark such numerical algorithms and partially to interpret the results of modelling, an analytical methodology is presented here to compute synthetic seismograms. The specific setup is a wavefield emanating from a monopole point source embedded within a homogeneous elastic medium that interacts with a fluid‐filled borehole and a free surface. The methodology assumes that the wavelength of the seismic signal is much larger than the borehole radius. In this paper, it is supposed that there is no poroelastic coupling between the formation and the borehole.

The total wavefield solution consists of P, PP, and PS body waves; the surface Rayleigh wave; and the low‐frequency guided Stoneley wave (often referred as the tube wave) within the borehole. In its turn, the tube wave consists of the partial responses generated by the incident P‐wave and the reflected PP and PS body waves at the borehole mouth and by the Rayleigh wave, as well as the Stoneley wave eigenmode. The Mach tube wave, which is a conic tube wave, additionally appears in the Mach cone in a slow formation with the tube‐wave velocity greater than the shear one. The conditions of appearance of the Mach wave in a slow formation are formulated. It is shown that the amplitude of the Mach tube wave strongly depends on Poisson's ratio of the slow surrounding formation. The amplitude of the Mach tube wave exponentially decreases when the source depth grows for weakly compressible elastic media with Poisson's ratio close to 0.5 (i.e., saturated clays and saturated clay soils). Asymptotic expressions are also provided to compute the wavefield amplitudes for different combinations of source depth and source‐well offset. These expressions allow an approximate solution of the wavefield to be computed much faster (within several seconds) than directly computing the implicit integrals arising from the analytical formulation.
Within‐host evolution versus immigration as a determinant of Escherichia coli diversity in the human gastrointestinal tract
Authors: Dixit Ojas V. A. , O'Brien Claire L. , Pavli Paul , Gordon David M.
Published: December 2017

When a human host harbors two or more strains of Escherichia coli, the second strain is more likely to be a member of the same phylogroup rather than a different phylogroup. This outcome may be the consequence of a within host evolution event or an independent immigration/establishment event. To determine the relative importance of these two events in determining E. coli diversity in a host, a collection of multiple E. coli isolates recovered from each of 67 patients undergoing colonoscopies was used. Whole genome sequence data were available for one example of every REP‐fingerprint type identified in a patient. Sequence type (ST) and single‐nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) analyses revealed that 83% of strains observed in the host population were a consequence of immigration/establishment events. Restricting the analysis to hosts harboring two or more strains belonging to the same phylogroup revealed that in about half of these cases, the presence of a second strain belonging to the same phylogroup was the consequence of an independent immigration/establishment event. Thus, the results of this study show that despite hosts being exposed to a diversity of E. coli via their food, factors related to the host also determine what E. coli strains succeed in establishing.
Development of Tissue‐Engineered Ligaments: Elastin Promotes Regeneration of the Rabbit Medial Collateral Ligament
Authors: Hirukawa Masaki , Katayama Shingo , Sato Tatsuya , Yamada Masayoshi , Kageyama Satoshi , Unno Hironori , Suzuki Yoshiaki , Miura Yoshihiro , Shiratsuchi Eri , Hasegawa Masahiro , Miyamoto Keiichi , Horiuchi Takashi
Published: December 2017

When ligaments are injured, reconstructive surgery is sometimes required to restore function. Methods of reconstructive surgery include transplantation of an artificial ligament and autotransplantation of a tendon. However, these methods have limitations related to the strength of the bone–ligament insertion and biocompatibility of the transplanted tissue after surgery. Therefore, it is necessary to develop new reconstruction methods and pursue the development of artificial ligaments. Elastin is a major component of elastic fibers and ligaments. However, the role of elastin in ligament regeneration has not been described. Here, we developed a rabbit model of a medial collateral ligament (MCL) rupture and treated animal knees with exogenous elastin [100 µg/(0.5 mL·week)] for 6 or 12 weeks. Elastin treatment increased gene expression and protein content of collagen and elastin (gene expression, 6‐fold and 42‐fold, respectively; protein content, 1.6‐fold and 1.9‐fold, respectively), and also increased the elastic modulus of MCL increased with elastin treatment (2‐fold) compared with the controls. Our data suggest that elastin is involved in the regeneration of damaged ligaments.