bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Impact of Radii Ratios on a Two-Dimensional Cloaking Structure and Corresponding Analysis for Practical Design at Optical Wavelengths
Authors: Anam Nadia , Zahir Ebad
Published: February 2017

This work is an extension to the evaluation and analysis of a two-dimensional cylindrical cloak in the Terahertz or visible range spectrum using Finite Difference Time-Domain (FDTD) method. It was concluded that it is possible to expand the frequency range of a cylindrical cloaking model by careful scaling of the inner and outer radius of the simulation geometry with respect to cell size and/or number of time steps in the simulation grid while maintaining appropriate stability conditions. Analysis in this study is based on a change in the radii ratio, that is, outer radius to inner radius, of the cloaking structure for an array of wavelengths in the visible spectrum. Corresponding outputs show inconsistency in the cloaking pattern with respect to frequency. The inconsistency is further increased as the radii ratio is decreased. The results also help to establish a linear relationship between the transmission coefficient and the real component of refractive index with respect to different radii ratios which may simplify the selection of the material for practical design purposes. Additional performance analysis is carried out such that the dimensions of the cloak are held constant at an average value and the frequency varied to determine how a cloaked object may be perceived by the human eye which considers different wavelengths to be superimposed on each other simultaneously.
Identification of Stem Leydig Cells Derived from Pig Testicular Interstitium
Authors: Yu Shuai , Zhang Pengfei , Dong Wuzi , Zeng Wenxian , Pan Chuanying
Published: February 2017

Stem Leydig cells (SLCs), located in the testicular interstitial compartment in the mammalian testes, are capable of differentiating to testosterone-synthesizing Leydig cells (LCs), thus providing a new strategy for treating testosterone deficiency. However, no previous reports have identified and cultured SLCs derived from the pig. The aim of the current study was to isolate, identify, and culture SLCs from pigs. Haematoxylin and eosin staining and immunochemical analysis showed that SLCs were present and that PDGFRαwas mainly expressed in the pig testicular interstitium, indicating that PDGFRαwas a marker for SLCs in the neonatal pig. In addition, reverse transcription-PCR results showed that SLC markers were expressed in primary isolated LCs, indicating that they were putative SLCs. The putative SLCs were subsequently cultured with a testicular fluid of piglets (pTF) medium. Clones formed after 7 days and the cells expressed PDGFRα. However, no clones grew in the absence of pTF, but the cells expressed CYP17A1, indicating that pTF could sustain the features of porcine SLCs. To summarize, we isolated porcine SLCs and identified their basic characteristics. Taken together, these results may help lay the foundation for research in the clinical application of porcine SLCs.
Life Expectancy in Pleural and Peritoneal Mesothelioma
Authors: Shavelle Robert , Vavra-Musser Kate , Lee Jessica , Brooks Jordan
Published: February 2017

Background. Mesothelioma is a rare cancer with a historically dire prognosis. We sought to calculate life expectancies for patients with pleural or peritoneal mesothelioma, both at time of diagnosis and several years later, and to examine whether survival has improved in recent years. Methods. Data on 10,258 pleural and 1,229 peritoneal patients from the SEER US national cancer database, 1973–2011, were analyzed using the Cox proportional hazards regression model. Results. The major factors related to survival were age, sex, stage, grade, histology, and treatment. Survival improved only modestly over the study period: 0.5% per year for pleural and 2% for peritoneal. Conclusions. Life expectancies were markedly reduced from normal, even amongst 5-year survivors with the most favorable characteristics and treatment options.
Chaotic Motion in Forced Duffing System Subject to Linear and Nonlinear Damping
Authors: Chang Tai-Ping
Published: February 2017

This paper investigates the chaotic motion in forced Duffing oscillator due to linear and nonlinear damping by using Melnikov technique. In particular, the critical value of the forcing amplitude of the nonlinear system is calculated by Melnikov technique. Further, the top Lyapunov exponent of the nonlinear system is evaluated by Wolf’s algorithm to determine whether the chaotic phenomenon of the nonlinear system actually occurs. It is concluded that the chaotic motion of the nonlinear system occurs when the forcing amplitude exceeds the critical value, and the linear and nonlinear damping can generate pronounced effects on the chaotic behavior of the forced Duffing oscillator.
Asymptotic Stability and Asymptotic Synchronization of Memristive Regulatory-Type Networks
Authors: Zhang Jin-E
Published: February 2017

Memristive regulatory-type networks are recently emerging as a potential successor to traditional complementary resistive switch models. Qualitative analysis is useful in designing and synthesizing memristive regulatory-type networks. In this paper, we propose several succinct criteria to ensure global asymptotic stability and global asymptotic synchronization for a general class of memristive regulatory-type networks. The experimental simulations also show the performance of theoretical results.
A Novel Idea for Optimizing Condition‐Based Maintenance Using Genetic Algorithms and Continuous Event Simulation Techniques
Authors: Siddiqui Mansoor Ahmed , Butt Shahid Ikramullah , Baqai Aamer Ahmed , Lu Jiping , Zhang Faping
Published: February 2017

Effective maintenance strategies are of utmost significance for system engineering due to their direct linkage with financial aspects and safety of the plants’ operation. At a point where the state of a system, for instance, level of its deterioration, can be constantly observed, a strategy based on condition‐based maintenance (CBM) may be affected; wherein upkeep of the system is done progressively on the premise of monitored state of the system. In this article, a multicomponent framework is considered that is continuously kept under observation. In order to decide an optimal deterioration stage for the said system, Genetic Algorithm (GA) technique has been utilized that figures out when its preventive maintenance should be carried out. The system is configured into a multiobjective problem that is aimed at optimizing the two desired objectives, namely, profitability and accessibility. For the sake of reality, a prognostic model portraying the advancements of deteriorating system has been employed that will be based on utilization of continuous event simulation techniques. In this regard, Monte Carlo (MC) simulation has been shortlisted as it can take into account a wide range of probable options that can help in reducing uncertainty. The inherent benefits proffered by the said simulation technique are fully utilized to display various elements of a deteriorating system working under stressed environment. The proposed synergic model (GA and MC) is considered to be more effective due to the employment of “drop‐by‐drop approach” that permits successful drive of the related search process with regard to the best optimal solutions.
Identifying and Analyzing Novel Epilepsy-Related Genes Using Random Walk with Restart Algorithm
Authors: Guo Wei , Shang Dong-Mei , Cao Jing-Hui , Feng Kaiyan , He Yi-Chun , Jiang Yang , Wang ShaoPeng , Gao Yu-Fei
Published: February 2017

As a pathological condition, epilepsy is caused by abnormal neuronal discharge in brain which will temporarily disrupt the cerebral functions. Epilepsy is a chronic disease which occurs in all ages and would seriously affect patients’ personal lives. Thus, it is highly required to develop effective medicines or instruments to treat the disease. Identifying epilepsy-related genes is essential in order to understand and treat the disease because the corresponding proteins encoded by the epilepsy-related genes are candidates of the potential drug targets. In this study, a pioneering computational workflow was proposed to predict novel epilepsy-related genes using the random walk with restart (RWR) algorithm. As reported in the literature RWR algorithm often produces a number of false positive genes, and in this study a permutation test and functional association tests were implemented to filter the genes identified by RWR algorithm, which greatly reduce the number of suspected genes and result in only thirty-three novel epilepsy genes. Finally, these novel genes were analyzed based upon some recently published literatures. Our findings implicate that all novel genes were closely related to epilepsy. It is believed that the proposed workflow can also be applied to identify genes related to other diseases and deepen our understanding of the mechanisms of these diseases.
Image Retrieval Method for Multiscale Objects from Optical Colonoscopy Images
Authors: Nosato Hirokazu , Sakanashi Hidenori , Takahashi Eiichi , Murakawa Masahiro , Aoki Hiroshi , Takeuchi Ken , Suzuki Yasuo
Published: February 2017

Optical colonoscopy is the most common approach to diagnosing bowel diseases through direct colon and rectum inspections. Periodic optical colonoscopy examinations are particularly important for detecting cancers at early stages while still treatable. However, diagnostic accuracy is highly dependent on both the experience and knowledge of the medical doctor. Moreover, it is extremely difficult, even for specialist doctors, to detect the early stages of cancer when obscured by inflammations of the colonic mucosa due to intractable inflammatory bowel diseases, such as ulcerative colitis. Thus, to assist the UC diagnosis, it is necessary to develop a new technology that can retrieve similar cases of diagnostic target image from cases in the past that stored the diagnosed images with various symptoms of colonic mucosa. In order to assist diagnoses with optical colonoscopy, this paper proposes a retrieval method for colonoscopy images that can cope with multiscale objects. The proposed method can retrieve similar colonoscopy images despite varying visible sizes of the target objects. Through three experiments conducted with real clinical colonoscopy images, we demonstrate that the method is able to retrieve objects of any visible size and any location at a high level of accuracy.
Xeroderma Pigmentosum with Severe Neurological Manifestations/De Sanctis–Cacchione Syndrome and a Novel XPC Mutation
Authors: Uribe-Bojanini Esteban , Hernandez-Quiceno Sara , Cock-Rada Alicia María
Published: February 2017

Several genetic disorders caused by defective nucleotide excision repair that affect the skin and the nervous system have been described, including Xeroderma Pigmentosum (XP), De Sanctis–Cacchione syndrome (DSC), Cockayne syndrome, and Trichothiodystrophy. Cutaneous photosensitivity with an increased risk of skin malignancy is a common feature of these disorders, but clinical manifestations commonly overlap these syndromes. Several genes have been found to be altered in these pathologies, but we lack more genotype-phenotype correlations in order to make an accurate diagnosis. Very few cases of DSC syndrome have been reported in the literature. We present a case of a 12-year-old Colombian male, with multiple skin lesions in sun-exposed areas from the age of 3 months and a history of 15 skin cancers. He also displayed severe neurologic abnormalities (intellectual disability, ataxia, altered speech, and hyperreflexia), short stature, and microcephaly, which are features associated with DSC. Genetic testing revealed a novel germline mutation in the XP-C gene (c.547A>T). This is the first case of an XP-C mutation causing De Sanctis–Cacchione syndrome. Multigene panel testing is becoming more widely available and accessible in the clinical setting and will help rapidly unveil the molecular etiology of these rare genetic disorders.
Engagement in Games: Developing an Instrument to Measure Consumer Videogame Engagement and Its Validation
Authors: Abbasi Amir Zaib , Ting Ding Hooi , Hlavacs Helmut
Published: February 2017

The aim of the study is to develop a new instrument to measure engagement in videogame play termed as consumer videogame engagement. The study followed the scale development procedure to develop an instrument to measure the construct of consumer videogame engagement. In this study, we collected the data in two different phases comprising study 1 (n=136) and study 2 (n=270). We employed SPSS 22.0 for exploratory factor analysis using study 1 respondents to explore the factors for consumer videogame engagement and reliability analysis. Results of EFA resulted with six-factor solution. We further used SmartPLS 3.0 software on study 2 respondents to further confirm the six-factor solution as reflective measurement model on the first-order level, and three second-order formative constructs on the second-order or higher-order level as formative measurement model. Results of the reflective measurement model and formative measurement model evidenced that consumer videogame engagement has strong psychometric properties and is a valid instrument to measure engagement in videogame play. Results also confirmed that consumer videogame engagement is a multidimensional construct as well as a reflective-formative construct. The study is unique in its investigation as it develops an instrument to measure engagement in videogame play which comprises the cognitive, affective, and behavioral dimensions.
Avoiding the Learning Curve for Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement
Authors: Gurevich Sergey , John Ranjit , Kelly Rosemary F. , Raveendran Ganesh , Helmer Gregory , Yannopoulos Demetris , Biring Timinder , Oestreich Brett , Garcia Santiago
Published: February 2017

Objectives. To evaluate whether collaboration between existing and new transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) programs could help reduce the number of cases needed to achieve optimal efficiency. Background. There is a well-documented learning curve for achieving procedural efficiency and safety in TAVR procedures. Methods. A multidisciplinary collaboration was established between the Minneapolis VA Medical Center (new program) and the University of Minnesota (established program since 2012, n=219) 1 year prior to launching the new program. Results. 269 patients treated with TAVR (50 treated in the first year at the new program). Mean age was 76 (±18) years and STS score was 6.8 (±6). Access included transfemoral (n=35, 70%), transapical (n=8, 16%), transaortic (n=2, 4%), and subclavian (n=5, 10%) types. Procedural efficiency (procedural time 158±59 versus 148±62, p=0.27), device success (96% versus 87%, p=0.08), length of stay (5±3 versus 6±7 days, p=0.10), and safety (in hospital mortality 4% versus 6%, p=0.75) were similar between programs. We found no difference in outcome measures between the first and last 25 patients treated during the first year of the new program. Conclusions. Establishing a partnership with an established program can help mitigate the learning curve associated with these complex procedures.
A Decision-Making Model for Deterring Food Vendors from Selling Harmless Low-Quality Foods as High-Quality Foods to Consumers
Authors: Chen Po-Yu
Published: February 2017

For certain types of foods, food vendors often label low-quality foods that are harmless to human health as foods of excellent quality and sell these falsely labeled products to consumers. Because this type of food poses no harm to human health, when public health units discover their act of false labeling or food adulteration, vendors are only penalized with a fine rather than having them assume criminal liability. Upon discovering vendors act of falsely labeling food, public health units typically punish the involved parties according to the extent of false labeling. Such static protective measure is ineffective. Instead, the extent of punishment should be based not only on the extent of false labeling, but also on the frequency of food sampling as well as the number of samples obtained for food inspections. Only through this dynamic approach can food adulteration or false labeling be effectively prevented. Adopting the standpoint of the public sector in food safety management, this study developed a mathematical model that facilitates discussion on the aforementioned problems. Furthermore, we discussed how the supply-demand environmental factors of the food market are influenced by the administrative means that the public health units have used to prevent food false labeling.
Efficient Data Transmission Based on a Scalar Chaotic Drive‐Response System
Authors: Li Ang , Wang Cong
Published: February 2017

Based on a scalar chaotic drive‐response system, an efficient big data transmission scheme has been presented in this paper. In our method, the sender can modulate a great quantity of messages in the drive system using Walsh function, and the receiver can recover the original data using our proposed efficient reconstruction algorithm. To explore the feasibility and effectiveness, a series of simulations are performed and the results show that our proposed scheme outperforms some traditional approaches. This scheme has some potential applications in chaotic laser communication.
The Challenges of Electronic Health Records and Diabetes Electronic Prescribing: Implications for Safety Net Care for Diverse Populations
Authors: Ratanawongsa Neda , Chan Lenny L. S. , Fouts Michelle M. , Murphy Elizabeth J.
Published: February 2017

Widespread electronic health record (EHR) implementation creates new challenges in the diabetes care of complex and diverse populations, including safe medication prescribing for patients with limited health literacy and limited English proficiency. This review highlights how the EHR electronic prescribing transformation has affected diabetes care for vulnerable patients and offers recommendations for improving patient safety through EHR electronic prescribing design, implementation, policy, and research. Specifically, we present evidence for (1) the adoption of RxNorm; (2) standardized naming and picklist options for high alert medications such as insulin; (3) the widespread implementation of universal medication schedule and language-concordant labels, with the expansion of electronic prescription 140-character limit; (4) enhanced bidirectional communication with pharmacy partners; and (5) informatics and implementation research in safety net healthcare systems to examine how EHR tools and practices affect diverse vulnerable populations.
Implications of Antiphospholipid and Antineutrophilic Cytoplasmic Antibodies in the Context of Postinfectious Glomerulonephritis
Authors: Leifer Daniel , Butani Lavjay
Published: February 2017

While antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA) positivity has been documented in some patients with postinfectious glomerulonephritis (PIGN) and is associated with more severe disease, antiphospholipid antibodies (APA) are not known to be a common occurrence. We describe a child with severe acute kidney injury who was noted to have prolonged positivity of both ANCA and APA; a renal biopsy showed noncrescentic immune complex mediated glomerulonephritis with subepithelial deposits compatible with PIGN. He recovered without maintenance immunosuppressive therapy and at last follow-up had normal renal function. We discuss the cooccurrence and implications of ANCA and APA in children with PIGN.
Prebiopsy mp-MRI Can Help to Improve the Predictive Performance in Prostate Cancer: A Prospective Study in 1,478 Consecutive Patients
Authors: Wang Rui , Wang Jing , Gao Ge , Hu Juan , Jiang Yuanyuan , Zhao Zhenlong , Zhang Xiaodong , Zhang Yu-Dong , Wang Xiaoying
Published: February 2017

Purpose: To investigate whether prebiopsy multi-parametric (mp) MRI can help to improve predictive performance in prostate cancer.

Experimental Design: Based on a support vector machine (SVM) analysis, we prospectively modeled clinical data (age, PSA, digital rectal examination, transrectal ultrasound, PSA density, and prostate volume) and mp-MRI findings [Prostate Imaging and Reporting and Data System (PI-RADS) score and tumor–node–metastasis stage] in 985 men to predict the risk of prostate cancer. The new nomogram was validated in 493 patients treated at the same institution. Multivariable Cox regression analyses assessed the association between input variables and risk of prostate cancer, and area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (Az) analyzed the predictive ability.

Results: At 5-year follow-up period, 34.3% of patients had systemic progression of prostate cancer. Nomogram (SVM-MRI) predicting 5-year prostate cancer rate trained with clinical and mp-MRI data was accurate and discriminating with an externally validated Az of 0.938, positive predictive value (PPV) of 77.4%, and negative predictive value of 91.5%. The improvement was significant (P < 0.001) compared with the nomogram trained with clinical data. When stratified by PSA, SVM-MRI nomogram had high PPV (93.6%) in patients with PSA > 20 ng/mL, with intermediate to low PPV in PSA 10 to 20 ng/mL (64%), PSA 4 to 10 ng/mL (55.8%), and PSA 0 to 4 ng/mL (29%). PI-RADS score (Cox HR, 2.112; P < 0.001), PSA level (HR, 1.435; P < 0.001), and age (HR, 1.012; P = 0.043) were independent predictors of prostate cancer.

Conclusions: Featured with low false positive rate, mp-MRI could be the first investigation of a man with a raised PSA before prostate biopsy. Clin Cancer Res; 23(14); 3692–9. ©2017 AACR.
Adaptive-Fuzzy back stepping control of cable robot vessels
Authors: Barzegaran Mohammadreza , Tajvidi Sana , Alimohammadi Majid
Published: February 2017

Importance of sea in development, promotion and safety of the related countries make access to data and recognizing the environment become very important. Surface vessels help access to sea easier regarding technological advancement. Controlling surface vessels is considered as an active field of research regarding offshore, military and research uses. The main problem of controlling surface vessels is that these vehicles are often underactuated. Underatuation means that the system has lower number of independent actuators than degrees of freedom. In this study, designing an output feedback controller in the presence of parametric and non-parametric uncertainties independent of speed signal measurement and regarding actuators dynamic for path tracking of underactuated surface vessels, was studied. In designing controller, dynamic surface control method is used in order to reduce complexity of back stepping control.
Isolation call ontogeny in bat pups (Glossophaga soricina)
Authors: Engler Sina , Rose Andreas , Knörnschild Mirjam
Published: February 2017

Bat pups produce isolation calls to solicit maternal care. During maturation, pup isolation calls may gradually develop into echolocation calls or exist in parallel to them, depending on the species involved. We studied the ontogeny of isolation calls in nectivorous bats, Glossophaga soricina. Isolation calls of G. soricina pups were frequency modulated calls uttered in bouts of varying length. Newborn pups already produced both isolation calls and echolocation call precursors (which developed into ‘normal’ echolocation calls), indicating that isolation calls of G. soricina pups occur independently and exist in parallel to echolocation calls during ontogeny. We found strong statistical evidence for an individual signature encoded in isolation calls. Moreover, we provide evidence for considerable changes in isolation call parameters over a short ontogenetic time span. Throughout ontogeny, the call interval decreased significantly whereas most frequency parameters increased significantly and call entropy rose (i.e., isolation calls became less tonal but noisier).
Distributive Justice and Distributed Obligations
Authors: Edmundson William A.
Published: February 2017

Collectivities can have obligations beyond the aggregate of pre-existing obligations of their members. Certain such collective obligations distribute, i.e., become members’ obligations to do their fair share. In incremental good cases, i.e., those in which a member’s fair share would go part way toward fulfilling the collectivity’s obligation, each member has an unconditional obligation to contribute.

States are involuntary collectivities that bear moral obligations. Certain states, democratic legal states, are collectivities whose obligations can distribute. Many existing states are democratic legal states, but none satisfies more rigorous requirements of distributive justice. There, citizens who hold assets, in excess of what is just, bear a distributed duty to dedicate that excess toward correcting the injustice. It is an incremental good case not conditioned on the conformity of others who are also wealthier than justice allows, nor on the diligence of the state in meeting its obligations.
Environmental Policies: A Shield or a Sword in Investment Arbitration?
Authors: Sullivan Jeff , Kirsey Valeriya
Published: February 2017

Environmental issues are of growing importance for investors across industries and have played a central role in recent high-stake investment disputes. The classic context in which environmental policy-related arguments have previously been developed is as host State defences (shield) against claims of treaty violations. More recently, environmental policies and regulations have been invoked by renewable energy investors as a sword, with foreign investors relying on the host State’s environmental measures in an effort to enforce their rights against States. Moreover, host States have also started exploring new arguments and sought to use environment as a sword by bringing environmental counterclaims against foreign investors and could potentially turn to illegality arguments if foreign investors violate environmental laws and regulations in making or implementing their investments. Host States will, however, need to meet the jurisdictional requirements and high thresholds established by arbitral tribunals in order to succeed on counterclaims and illegality claims.
A Novel Optical Diagnostic for In Situ Measurements of Lithium Polysulfides in Battery Electrolytes
Authors: Saqib Najmus , Silva Cody J. , Maupin C. Mark , Porter Jason M.
Published: February 2017

An optical diagnostic technique to determine the order and concentration of lithium polysulfides in lithium–sulfur (Li–S) battery electrolytes has been developed. One of the major challenges of lithium–sulfur batteries is the problem of polysulfide shuttling between the electrodes, which leads to self-discharge and loss of active material. Here we present an optical diagnostic for quantitative in situ measurements of lithium polysulfides using attenuated total reflection Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy. Simulated infrared spectra of lithium polysulfide molecules were generated using computational quantum chemistry routines implemented in Gaussian 09. The theoretical spectra served as a starting point for experimental characterization of lithium polysulfide solutions synthesized by the direct reaction of lithium sulfide and sulfur. Attenuated total reflection FT-IR spectroscopy was used to measure absorption spectra. The lower limit of detection with this technique is 0.05 M. Measured spectra revealed trends with respect to polysulfide order and concentration, consistent with theoretical predictions, which were used to develop a set of equations relating the order and concentration of lithium polysulfides in a sample to the position and area of a characteristic infrared absorption band. The diagnostic routine can measure the order and concentration to within 5% and 0.1 M, respectively.
Terahertz Imaging of the Distribution of Crystallinity and Crystalline Orientation in a Poly(ɛ-caprolactone) Film
Authors: Funaki Chihiro , Toyouchi Takuya , Hoshina Hiromichi , Ozaki Yukihiro , Sato Harumi
Published: February 2017

The distribution of crystallinity and the crystalline orientation of a poly(ɛ-caprolactone) (PCL) film have been studied using terahertz (THz) imaging. Terahertz images were developed by using the intensity ratio of the two spectral peaks at 1.42 and 2.03 THz that are assigned to the crystalline modes parallel and perpendicular to the c-axis (I⊥/I||) of the PCL film. The obtained THz images show that the distribution of crystallinity and crystalline orientation vary considerably between the different regions in the PCL film, even though this inhomogeneity is not visible in the corresponding optical image. Our results clearly illustrate that THz imaging is a promising technique to characterize the physical properties of semi-crystalline polymers.
The Built Environment and Social Capital: A Systematic Review
Authors: Mazumdar Soumya , Learnihan Vincent , Cochrane Thomas , Davey Rachel
Published: February 2017

A growing literature has indicated a relationship between social capital and certain aspects of the built environment with contributions from various disciplines, including environmental psychology, urban design, and health geography. In this systematic review and research synthesis, we summarize the literature in this domain using existing sociological and design frameworks to ascertain the effect of specific built environment domains on social capital. Our review shows that there is a significant relationship between social capital and the built environment, specifically between social cohesion and access to destinations/walkability. Positive relationships exist between social capital, design, and diversity, whereas the effect of population density on social capital is negative and unclear. We find significant methodological limitations and gaps in the published literature, including the absence of longitudinal studies and the use of a plethora of social capital and built environment measures.
On the Nature of Vigilance
Authors: Hancock Peter A.
Published: February 2017

Objective:

I explore the origins, theoretical underpinnings, applications, and importance of vigilance in a world ever more dominated by semiautomated, automated, and autonomous machines.

Background:

The empirical genesis of vigilance is taken as a case study in the etiology of the application of the behavioral sciences to the human culture of technology. The subsequent taxonomic ordering and theoretical clarification of its causal antecedents are set in the overall context of contemporary human–machine systems research.

Method:

The methods exercised in this work are historical analysis and informational synthesis in combination with projected theoretical implications and impact.

Results:

The profile of evolution of the concept of vigilance is clarified and cast in the light of critical events, such as the promulgation of the vigilance taxonomy, its linkage to attentional resource theory, and the recognition that the attendant performance decrement is as indicative of iatrogenic sources as it is a shortfall or limitation of the observer’s processing capacity.

Conclusion:

Vigilance is alive and growing in importance. Understanding sustained attention will become ever more critical in the humanization of automation-dominated systems.

Application:

The application of vigilance is widespread and potentially ubiquitous for semiautomated, automated, and autonomous system interaction.
Rest Is Still Best
Authors: Helton William S. , Russell Paul N.
Published: February 2017

Objective:

We examined the impact task interruptions of differing qualitative and quantitative load have on visuospatial vigilance sensitivity.

Background:

The vigilance decrement and attempts to develop countermeasures to the decrement is one of the most important human factors issues. There is an ongoing debate between those who interpret the increase in the rate of failures to detect signals over time as being due to objective task monotony or task underload and those who interpret this increased failure proneness as being predominately due to cognitive-resource depletion and task overload.

Method:

Participants were assigned at random to one of six interruptions: Participants were given a complete rest (rest); participants completed a 1-back verbal working-memory (WM) task, a 3-back verbal WM task, a 1-back spatial WM task, or a 3-back spatial WM task; or participants performed the primary vigilance task (continuous).

Results:

Postinterruption performance was best for rest and worst for continuous. A resource theory perspective led us to make two possible predictions of relative interruption effect orders of the six conditions out of 720 possible orderings. We found one of the two orders.

Conclusion:

Overall, the vigilance sensitivity decrement appears to be due to the recurring use of particular cognitive resources, and resource theorists should explore this more extensively in the future.

Application:

Countermeasures for the vigilance decrement should be based on clear cognitive-resource considerations. Rest is the best countermeasure. Intervening tasks should be chosen that minimize resource-demand overlap with the vigilance task.
Between Two Worlds
Authors: Hancock Peter A. , Baldwin Carryl L. , Warm Joel S. , Szalma James L.
Published: February 2017

Objective:

To provide an evaluative overview of the life and contributions of Raja Parasuraman.

Background:

From his earliest contributions in clarifying and explaining the problematic area of vigilance to his most recent interdisciplinary advances in understanding how genotype relates to behavior in complex technical environments, Raja Parasuraman was a giant of human factors and ergonomics. Our present exposition articulates and recounts his many contributions to our science and to science in general beyond the confines of our own discipline.

Method:

We use the history of scientific contributions, biographical analysis, and reported personal experience to accomplish our overall assessment of the man and his work.

Results:

We conclude that Parasuraman’s contributions were unique, substantive, and seminal, and will continue to influence our science for many years to come.

Application:

This work will serve as a record for those to come who look to make significant contributions to the goals, aims, and aspirations that we set ourselves in human factors and ergonomics in seeking to improve the human condition.
Civil-military Pathologies and Defeat in War
Authors: Narang Vipin , Talmadge Caitlin
Published: February 2017

This article uses an original data set, the Wartime Civil-military Relations Data Set, to test arguments about the causes of victory and defeat in war. Our analysis provides strong initial support for the notion that civil-military relations powerfully shape state prospects for victory and defeat. Specifically, states whose militaries have a significant internal role or whose regimes engage in coup-proofing appear to have a substantially lower probability of winning interstate wars, even when we account for the role of other important variables, including regime type and material capabilities. Crucially, our measures of civil-military relations include coup incidence but also move beyond it to detect more subtle indicators of civil-military relations. The resulting analysis should give us confidence in acknowledging the importance of nonmaterial variables in explaining war outcomes, while also paving the way for further research that can utilize and extend the data set.
Police Officers as Victims
Authors: Isfen Osman , Rauxloh Regina E
Published: February 2017

While there is plenty of research into crime committed by police officers, surprisingly little debate can be found regarding the situation where a police officer becomes a victim. This is remarkable as the police not only embody criminal law enforcement but also epitomise state power. Based on a comparative study, this article examines how criminal law in England and Germany deals with attacks against police officers through separate criminal offences as well as increased sentences. The authors examine how the use of criminal law reflects on the state’s perception and valuation of the role of the police officer. It will be shown that while in England there is the clear understanding that the status of the victim as police officer has an aggravating effect, Germany strongly opposes the idea that the office-holder deserves more protection than ordinary citizens. On the contrary, the law takes in consideration that the offender finds him- or herself in a vulnerable situation when faced with the power of the state.
Should We Reform the Offences Against the Person Act 1861?
Authors: Eugenicos Alexandra-Maria
Published: February 2017

In this article, I consider the non-fatal offences central to our criminal justice system and why the proposed reform would increase much needed efficiency and clarity. The legislation governing these offences is over 150 years old and Modern society has evolved since the Victorian era. Many offences have been time restricted, with only judicial interpretation available to tackle this outdated legislation. Another issue is the flawed hierarchy of offences, with an increasing number of litigants-in-person compounded with economic inefficiencies within the system, urgent reform is necessary. Practitioners and academics from various strata have clamoured for reform, one complaint being that the archaic language has created unnecessary procedural complexity. There are also economic arguments for reform, making elements of an offence more clear and succinct could bring many cases in the Crown Court down to the cheaper Magistrates’ Court. Reform would increase cost and time efficiency.

The Law Commission and the Home Office have attempted to discuss OAPA reform for over a decade. However, there has been relative silence on this issue from the Ministry of Justice. There is political difficulty which inevitably surrounds any reform of the Criminal Law and others less enthused by reform are discussed. However, it is in the public interest that the piece of legislation affecting the lives of many is efficient and does not alienate anyone to whom it is applicable. The transmission of disease in the context of non-fatal offences is another topic that is discussed within the article.
Paracrine Maturation and Migration of SH-SY5Y Cells by Dental Pulp Stem Cells
Authors: Gervois P. , Wolfs E. , Dillen Y. , Hilkens P. , Ratajczak J. , Driesen R.B. , Vangansewinkel T. , Bronckaers A. , Brône B. , Struys T. , Lambrichts I.
Published: February 2017

Neurological disorders are characterized by neurodegeneration and/or loss of neuronal function, which cannot be adequately repaired by the host. Therefore, there is need for novel treatment options such as cell-based therapies that aim to salvage or reconstitute the lost tissue or that stimulate host repair. The present study aimed to evaluate the paracrine effects of human dental pulp stem cells (hDPSCs) on the migration and neural maturation of human SH-SY5Y neuroblastoma cells. The hDPSC secretome had a significant chemoattractive effect on SH-SY5Y cells as shown by a transwell assay. To evaluate neural maturation, SH-SY5Y cells were first induced toward neuronal cells, after which they were exposed to the hDPSC secretome. In addition, SH-SY5Y cells subjected to the hDPSC secretome showed increased neuritogenesis compared with nonexposed cells. Maturated cells were shown to increase immune reactivity for neuronal markers compared with controls. Ultrastructurally, retinoic acid (RA) signaling and subsequent exposure to the hDPSC secretome induced a gradual rise in metabolic activity and neuronal features such as multivesicular bodies and cytoskeletal elements associated with cellular communication. In addition, electrophysiological recordings of differentiating cells demonstrated a transition toward a neuronal electrophysiological profile based on the maximum tetrodotoxin (TTX)–sensitive, Na+ current. Moreover, conditioned medium (CM)–hDPSC–maturated SH-SY5Y cells developed distinct features including, Cd2+-sensitive currents, which suggests that CM-hDPSC–maturated SH-SY5Y acquired voltage-gated Ca2+ channels. The results reported in this study demonstrate the potential of hDPSCs to support differentiation and recruitment of cells with neuronal precursor characteristics in a paracrine manner. Moreover, this in vitro experimental design showed that the widely used SH-SY5Y cell line can improve and simplify the preclinical in vitro research on the molecular mechanisms of stem cell–mediated neuronal regeneration.
Resisting Piratic Method by Doing Research Otherwise
Authors: Tilley Lisa
Published: February 2017

The reconstruction of sociology into connected sociologies works towards a truly global and plural discipline. But if undoing the overrepresentation of European epistemology in sociology requires a deeper engagement with epistemologies of the South or worlds and knowledges otherwise, how can we ensure that such engagements do not simply reproduce colonial forms of appropriation and domination? Here I consider means of resisting extractive, or ‘piratic’ method in sociology research by drawing lessons from recent debates around geopiracy and biopiracy in geography and the life sciences. The core claim of this article is that any decolonial knowledge production must involve a consideration of the political economy of knowledge – its forms of extraction, points of commodification, how it is refined as intellectual property, and how it comes to alienate participating knowers. Against this I suggest a relearning of method in an anti-piratic way as a means of returning our work to the intellectual commons.
Social Movements in China: Augmenting Mainstream Theory with Guanxi
Authors: Qi Xiaoying
Published: February 2017

An extensive literature on social movements points to the role of social networks in movement recruitment and development. It is anomalous, therefore, that treatments of Chinese social movements seldom acknowledge the importance of guanxi networks. Theories of social movements are typically constructed on the basis of US and European cases and draw upon the intellectual formations of these regions. Through an examination of social movements in contemporary China it is shown that guanxi is not only relevant to the operation of social movements but to our understanding of how social movements are formed and also how they are suppressed and undermined by the state. It will be shown that by theorising social movements in China in terms of guanxi there is scope to augment social network approaches to social movements.
Introduction: Global Challenges for Sociology
Authors: Bhambra Gurminder K , Santos Boaventura de Sousa
Published: February 2017

With the 50th anniversary of the journal, this special issue takes stock of the progress that has been made within sociology to become a more globally oriented discipline and discusses the new challenges for the future that emerge as a consequence. From its inception, classical sociology was primarily concerned with the European origins of processes of modernity that were to become global. There was little discussion of how the global might be understood in terms of structures, processes and social movements not directly identified as European but nonetheless contributing to modernity. The challenge for sociology has been to take into account these other phenomena and to rethink its core categories and concepts in light of newly understood alternative formations of the global and the social movements that bring them about.
Chinese returnees’ motivation, post-return status and impact of return: A systematic review
Authors: Hao Xue , Yan Kun , Guo Shibao , Wang Meiling
Published: February 2017

The study analyzed 143 empirical studies on Chinese returnees published during 2005−2015. Three major categories of research topics emerged from the analysis: motivations for return, post-return status and the impact of returnees in China. The review detected two major debates in the literature concerning the impact of remittances and the contributions of returnees. Though variables such as gender, age, marital status and duration of the stay abroad might be correlated with return decisions as well as post-return adjustment, empirical studies based on large-scale data were scarce. The gaps identified by the review can be explored by future studies.
Stability analysis of switched systems with extended average dwell time
Authors: Yu Qiang , Yin Yunfei , Zhao Xudong
Published: February 2017

The problem of stability for switched systems with extended average dwell time (ADT) is investigated in both the continuous-time and discrete-time cases. By proposing three novel concepts of closed-chain, r-open-chain, and quasi-cyclic switching signals, stability and stabilization conditions of switched systems with ADT or mode-dependent ADT (MDADT) switching are obtained. This paper develops and enriches the existing results on stability under constrained switching, since the existing results based on both ADT and MDADT can be seen as the special cases of ours. On the other hand, the paper provides a solution to the open problem of how to obtain a tighter bound on ADT or MDADT. Finally, some comparisons between the existing results and ours show the superiority of the theoretical findings of this paper.
Online Field Experiments
Authors: Parigi Paolo , Santana Jessica J. , Cook Karen S.
Published: February 2017

Thanks to the Internet and the related availability of “Big Data,” social interactions and their environmental context can now be studied experimentally. In this article, we discuss a methodology that we term the online field experiment to differentiate it from more traditional lab-based experimental designs. We explain how this experimental method can be used to capture theoretically relevant environmental conditions while also maximizing the researcher’s control over the treatment(s) of interest. We argue that this methodology is particularly well suited for social psychology because of its focus on social interactions and the factors that influence the nature and structure of these interactions. We provide one detailed example of an online field experiment used to investigate the impact of the sharing economy on trust behavior. We argue that we are fundamentally living in a new social world in which the Internet mediates a growing number of our social interactions. These highly prevalent forms of social interaction create opportunities for the development of new research designs that allow us to advance our theories of social interaction and social structure with new data sources.
Resonance of the Arab Spring: Solidarities and youth opinion in the Global South
Authors: Webb Adam K
Published: February 2017

The Arab Spring exemplifies to many a kind of globalisation from below. It cuts across borders and challenges liberal and technocratic élites. But how far does its global resonance really go? Are publics still largely corralled within national political spaces? Are waves of revolt confined by civilisational breakwaters? Or is the cosmopolitan space that many leftists envision taking shape? Based on a three-country survey of university students, this article probes these assumptions. It finds far-reaching solidarity with the aspirations of the Arab Spring, driven by the rise of a cross-border global society. But on probing the bases of such solidarity, it also finds that the cosmopolitan cohort emerging in the Global South does not fit a simple liberal or leftist mould. The Arab Spring resonates on multiple frequencies at the same time. This complex cosmopolitanism has implications for layers of common ground as global political opportunity structures emerge.