bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
I Come From A Place: Reflections on Katie Cannon’s Womanist Classroom
Authors: Lee Charlene Jin
Published: December 2019

This essay honors the teaching legacy of Katie Geneva Cannon. The renowned social ethicist, theologian, and womanist scholar was foremost a beloved teacher. Her former student reflects on Cannon’s embodied teaching praxis that contends for the historical survival of the particular self. Weaving personal narrative and curriculum theory, the essay supplies intimate glimpses into the expansive and liberative learning space Cannon nurtured in her classrooms.
Improving mechanical and thermal properties of graphite–aluminium composite using Si, SiC and eggshell particles
Authors: Durowoju MO , Asafa TB , Sadiku ER , Diouf S , Shongwe MB , Olubambi PA , Oladosu KO , Ogbemudia A , Babalola MM , Ajala MT
Published: December 2019

Graphite–aluminium (Gr–Al) composites are being used for diverse engineering applications because of their light weight, good electrical conductivity and thermal properties. However, their applications are limited by high coefficient of thermal expansion and low microhardness values which can be enhanced by adding cheap and efficient fillers. This paper reports the effect of addition of eggshell (ES) particles on the properties of sintered Gr–Al-based composites. Five different composites (Gr–Al, Gr–Al  +  20 wt.%Si, Gr–Al + 20 wt.%SiC, Gr–Al + 20Si wt.% + 20 wt.%ES and Gr–Al + 20SiC wt.% + 20 wt.%ES) were sintered at a temperature of 540 ℃, holding time of 10 min, heating rate of 52 ℃/min and pressure of 50 MPa using spark plasma sintering system. The sintered samples were characterized based on morphology, microhardness, relative density, coefficient of thermal expansion and electrical conductivity. Based on SEM images, graphite particles of flake-like structure were largely undeformed while Al particles were smaller, round and irregular in shape and fairly uniformly distributed in the composites. The microhardness value of sintered Gr–Al + 20 wt.%SiC + 20 wt.%ES composite was 39.55 HV compared to 30.46 HV for Gr–Al, the least of the samples. The Gr–Al + 20 wt.%SiC + 20 wt.%ES composite also has a very low thermal expansion coefficient (0.98 × 10−5/K) but lowest electrical conductivity at temperature beyond 150 ℃. Highest densification and minimum relative density (94%) were obtained in Gr–Al + 20 wt.%Si + 20 wt.%ES composite. These enhanced performances are largely due to the incorporation of ES particles. This study therefore demonstrated that ESs particles enhanced microhardness and lowered thermal expansion of Gr–Al-based composites which have promising applications in industries especially for thermal management.
A Systematic Review of the Dual Process Model of Coping With Bereavement (1999–2016)
Authors: Fiore Jennifer
Published: December 2019

This systematic review addressed the question whether the Dual Process Model of Coping with Bereavement (DPM) accurately represents the bereavement experience, and whether DPM-based interventions are more effective than traditional grief therapy. Twenty databases were searched to identify publications related to the DPM between 1999 and June 30, 2016. Coded material included source, title, research design, research question(s), data source, measures, method, and outcomes. Of the 474 articles initially identified, 86 underwent full-text review, with 22 quantitative or mixed-methods studies included. The DPM accurately represents the bereavement experience and can be used to understand how bereaved individuals cope. Interventions based upon the DPM may be more effective than traditional grief therapy. Further research is needed to test both the model and intervention design, especially in regard to oscillation, with use of consistent measures between studies.
Introducing diversity to Balint Groups: Leadership challenges
Authors: Sternlieb Jeffrey L
Published: December 2019

In an effort to more fully integrate Michael Balint’s vision of Patient Centered Medicine with the explosive emergence in the United States of issues of diversity and social determinants of health, the American Balint Society has placed a high priority to develop an explicit initiative designed to emphasize the importance of diversity issues in patient care. This initiative began with the discernment of a policy statement and has continued with interactive exercises at National meetings, first designed to create an understanding of the impact of marginalization and next to explore the responsibility and options for Balint Group leaders to guide their groups in considering the impact of diversity in the challenging doctor–patient relationships frequently presented to their groups. This article is a description of such an effort, including results and discussion of continued development of Balint Group leadership.
Listening to the patient: A perspective from narrative medicine
Authors: von Unwerth Matthew
Published: December 2019

In this article, an attempt is made to synthesize some insights drawn from the fields of narrative medicine and psychoanalysis regarding the caregiver–patient relationship. All experiences of care are viewed as having their root in the original parent–infant relationships, which take places in a complex matrix of empathic attunement and minutely engaged attention to the body and communications of the other. It is suggested that the Buddhist practice of upaya is a useful analogy for the kind of open attunement that is to be aspired to in relations of care, and how such an analogous framework may be helpful to clinicians in attending, thinking and feeling toward their patients.
May Grace Abound: Making God’s Grace Cognitively Salient May Increase Reparative Action
Authors: Bassett Rodney L. , Scott Sarah , Blodgett Renee , Barnhart Mika , Batterson Noelle , Hall Ashley , Pursel McKennzie , Emerson Melissa
Published: December 2019

A study was done with Christian college students to determine the relationship between grace salience, remorse, and reparative action in the context of a past transgression. Grace salience involves the process of making God’s grace cognitively prominent. In the context of dual-process modeling, grace salience involves making the construct of God’s grace cognitively explicit and the focus of attention for an individual. Participants recalled a past experience where they harmed someone. Before the grace salience or control intervention, there were no differences in desire for reparative action and guilt or shame self-statements. However, after the intervention, compared to the control, the grace salience intervention produced a greater desire for reparative action and greater tendency to agree with guilt self-statements. When feelings of remorse were assessed after the experimental manipulations, higher levels of sorrow and brokenness predicted greater desire for reparative action, higher levels of shame and brokenness predicted higher agreement with shame self-statements, and higher levels of guilt and brokenness predicted greater agreement with guilt self-statements.
Psychometric Properties of the Clinical Assessment of Prosocial Emotions: Version 1.1 (CAPE 1.1) in Young Males Who Were Incarcerated
Authors: Molinuevo Beatriz , Martínez-Membrives Esther , Pera-Guardiola Vanessa , Requena Albert , Torrent Noemí , Bonillo Albert , Batalla Iolanda , Torrubia Rafael , Frick Paul J.
Published: December 2019

The Clinical Assessment of Prosocial Emotions: Version 1.1 (CAPE 1.1) uses structured clinical judgments to diagnose the “with limited prosocial emotions” specifier for Conduct Disorder. This study examined (a) the internal consistency and interrater agreement, and (b) the convergent and divergent validity of the CAPE 1.1 in 72 young males who were incarcerated in two Spanish juvenile detention centers (age range = 14–22 years). The CAPE 1.1 showed good interrater agreement for making the diagnosis of the specifier and adequate internal consistency. The CAPE 1.1 was associated with other measures of callous–unemotional traits, but less consistently associated with other dimensions of psychopathy. Youth who met diagnostic criteria for the specifier scored higher on externalizing problems, but did not differ from other youth who were incarcerated on internalizing problems. These results provide preliminary support for the psychometric properties of the CAPE 1.1 for the clinical assessment of the specifier.
Short-time work: A bridge to employment security or a springboard to unemployment?
Authors: Pavlopoulos Dimitris , Chkalova Katja
Published: December 2019

This article investigates the employment effect of short-time work in the Netherlands during the Great Recession (2009–2011). Short-time work was introduced during the period as a special arrangement with the aim of reducing unemployment hikes by offering firms the possibility of adjusting the working time of specialised workers rather than adjust the size of their workforce. The authors focus on the effect of short-time work at the individual level of the worker and study whether short-time programme participants in surviving firms had a lower job turnover rate and transition rate to unemployment compared to workers who did not participate in the programme. Furthermore, the authors study whether the flexibility policies of the firm had a substantial influence on the effectiveness of short-time work in protecting workers from unemployment. Specifically, they investigate whether the effect of short-time work is related to the intensiveness of its use by the firm and the extensiveness of the use of external flexibility arrangements – i.e. temporary contracts and temporary agency workers – by the firm. For this purpose, the authors apply a discrete-time survival model using a unique dataset with monthly register data from Statistics Netherlands. Participants in the short-time work programme are compared with non-participant workers from firms that used short-time work and workers from firms that did not make use of the programme. The findings indicate that, in surviving firms, short-time work had a positive effect: the risk of unemployment and job separation is, in most cases, lower for short-time work participants than non-participants. Short-time work is most effective in protecting workers from unemployment in firms that extended the use of the programme to many workers and for a relatively small number of hours, and that made either moderate use of temporary agency workers or extensive use of fixed-term contracts.
Encounter Decision Aids Can Prompt Breast Cancer Surgery Cost Discussions: Analysis of Recorded Consultations
Authors: Politi Mary C. , Yen Renata W. , Elwyn Glyn , Kurien Natasha , Czerwinski Sophie G. , Schubbe Danielle , Saunders Catherine H. , Durand Marie-Anne
Published: December 2019

Background. Patients frequently worry about care costs, but clinicians seldom address the topic. Cost information is not typically included in patient decision aids (DAs). We examined whether including cost information in an encounter DA, with clinician training, influenced cost conversations. Method. As part of a larger trial, 14 surgeons from 4 cancer centers were randomized to 1 of 3 interventions: (1) Picture Option Grid DA that included a prompt to discuss relative treatment costs, hereafter called “cost prompt group”; (2) a text-only Option Grid DA that did not include cost information; (3) usual care. Groups 2 and 3 hereafter are referred to as “non-cost prompt groups.” Adult (18+) female patients, with stages I-IIIA breast cancer, eligible for both breast-conserving surgery and mastectomy were included. We gave surgeons feedback about adherence to the study protocol at 3, 6, and 12-months. We adapted a checklist to code the content of the audio-recorded clinical encounters. Results. 424/622 (68%) patients consented; 311 (73%) were eligible and successfully recorded (143 in the cost prompt group, 168 in the non-cost prompt groups). Costs were discussed in 132/311 (42.4%) encounters, and occurred more often in the cost prompt versus non-cost prompt groups (66.7% versus 33.3%; p<.001). Surgeons initiated the cost discussion in 86.4% of encounters in the cost prompt group vs. 34.1% in the non-cost prompt groups (p<0.001). In the non-cost prompt groups, insurance or employment questions led patients to ask about costs. Cost discussions lasted about 34 seconds when present and had sparse comparative details. Conclusions. Encounter DAs containing cost information trigger cost discussions. Additional support should help clinicians improve the quality of cost discussions and address financial distress.
Suggested amendment of TI-RADS classification of thyroid nodules by shear wave elastography
Authors: Yang Jin-Ru , Song Yan , Xue Shan-Shan , Ruan Li-Tao
Published: December 2019

Background

The application of the ultrasound elastography and Thyroid Imaging Reporting and Data System (TI-RADS) classification further expands the scope of ultrasound differential diagnosis between benign and malignant thyroid nodules.

Purpose

To investigate the value of the quantitative parameter of ultrasonic shear waves in optimizing the TI-RADS classification of thyroid nodules.

Material and Methods

A total of 168 thyroid nodules, initially classified using TI-RADS and scanned by shear wave elastography (SWE), were retrospectively analyzed. All cases were diagnosed by fine needle aspiration and histology following surgery.

Results

The benign rate of TI-RADS 3 nodules was 76.5%, while the benign rate of TI-RADS 4a nodules was 71.7%. Furthermore, the malignant rate of TI-RADS 4b nodules was 69.7%, while the malignant rate of TI-RADS 4c nodules was 85.7%. In differentiating benign from malignant nodules, the combination of TI-RADS classification and Emean had the largest area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC). Using an Emean value of 42.25 kpa as the cut-off point, the malignant rate of TI-RADS 4a nodules decreased from 28.3% to 23.5%, while the malignant rate of TI-RADS 4b nodules increased from 69.7% to 79.4%. Compared to conventional ultrasound alone, the sensitivity, negative predictive value, and AUC of conventional ultrasound combined with SWE in the diagnosis of benign and malignant thyroid nodules significantly improved ( P=0.012, 0.029, 0.001).

Conclusion

The SWE technique can be used to further determine the benign and malignant nature of TI-RADS 4 lesions, providing further reference for the choice of clinical treatment. The TI-RADS classification system corrected by SWE is more significant in the diagnosis of benign and malignant thyroid nodules.
Perfusion parameters of intravoxel incoherent motion based on tumor edge region of interest in cervical cancer: evaluation of differentiation and correlation with dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI
Authors: Wang Hongyan , Zhu Lixia , Li Guohua , Zuo Menzhe , Ma Xi , Wang Jianliang
Published: December 2019

Background

Intravoxel incoherent motion (IVIM) diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) is a functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) sequence.

Purpose

To evaluate the value of perfusion parameters derived from IVIM-DWI based on tumor edge region of interest (ROI) in differentiation in cervical cancer and investigate the relationship between IVIM and dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI (DCE-MRI).

Material and Methods

Thirty-three patients with pathologically diagnosed squamous cell carcinoma who underwent IVIM-DWI (nine b-values: 1–1000 s/mm2) and DCE-MRI were retrospectively assessed in this study. Parameters of IVIM (D, f, D*, fD*) and quantitative parameters of DCE-MRI (Ktrans, Kep, Ve) were derived using tumor edge ROI. Mann–Whitney U test was used to compare parameters between pathological grades and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were used. Pearson’s correlation coefficient (r) evaluated the correlation between perfusion parameters derived from IVIM and DCE-MRI.

Results

The poorly differentiated group showed the significantly lower D value and the higher f, Ktrans and Kep values than the well-to-moderately differentiated group ( P < 0.05). ROC curves indicated that f < 26%, Ktrans <0.38/min, and Kep <1.62/min could differentiate the poorly differentiated group from the well-to-moderately differentiated group (AUC 0.753–0.808). Significantly positive correlations were found between f and Ktrans (r = 0.422, P = 0.014) and between fD* and Ktrans (r = 0.448, P = 0.009).

Conclusion

Perfusion parameters derived from IVIM based on tumor edge ROI may offer additional value in differentiation in cervical cancer, and the IVIM perfusion parameters showed moderate positive correlations with quantitative perfusion parameters from DCE-MRI, while f and fD* showed promising significance.
Mini-plate versus Kirschner wire internal fixation for treatment of metacarpal and phalangeal fractures
Authors: Wang Dong , Sun Kai , Jiang Wenxue
Published: December 2019

Objective

To conduct a meta-analysis to show the associations of perioperative and postoperative outcomes of mini-plate internal fixation (MPIF) versus Kirschner wire internal fixation (KWIF) for treating metacarpal and phalangeal fractures.

Methods

A literature search was performed in PubMed, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, and Embase from the earliest date of data collection to April 2018. Studies that compared perioperative and postoperative outcomes of MPIF with those of KWIF in patients with metacarpal and phalangeal fractures were included.

Results

Twenty-six articles met the inclusion and exclusion criteria (n = 2029 patients; 1042 with MPIF and 987 with KWIF). MPIF was related to a greater increase in length of surgery, hospital days, excellent and good rate of outcome, short-form health survey-36 score, and flexion and extension range compared with KWIF. MPIF was related to a greater decrease in intraoperative blood loss, finger visual analog scale score, functional exercise time, fracture healing time, incidence of complications, and postoperative infection rate compared with KWIF.

Conclusions

Patients with MPIF have sufficient pressure and strength, and MPIF promotes successful joint fusion and reduces complications of the operation. MPIF is ideal for reduction and stability of patients with metacarpal and phalangeal fractures.
The Effect of Psychological Impairment on Outcomes in Patients With Prearthritic Hip Disorders: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis
Authors: Cheng Abby L. , Schwabe Maria , Doering Michelle M. , Colditz Graham A. , Prather Heidi
Published: December 2019

Background:

Recent studies have suggested that mental health disorders negatively affect postoperative outcomes in patients with femoroacetabular impingement (FAI). However, the outcome measures reported and the effect sizes have varied. Furthermore, it is unknown whether similar effects are present in young adults with other hip disorders such as acetabular dysplasia.

Purpose:

To synthesize current evidence regarding the effect of baseline psychological impairment on postintervention outcomes in patients with prearthritic hip disorders.

Study Design:

Systematic review and meta-analysis.

Methods:

In February 2019, the Ovid Medline, Embase, Scopus, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, and ClinicalTrials.gov databases were searched for longitudinal studies that evaluated the effect of baseline psychological impairment (such as depression or anxiety) on a postintervention clinical outcome in patients with prearthritic hip disorders including FAI, acetabular dysplasia, and/or acetabular labral tears. Descriptive measures of study quality and bias were recorded, and studies that reported statistically comparable outcomes were analyzed in meta-analyses through use of random effects models.

Results:

We identified 12 eligible studies, all of which specifically evaluated patients with FAI after hip arthroscopy. No eligible studies described patients with acetabular dysplasia. Of the included studies, 8 studies reported odds ratios (ORs). The other 4 studies reported mean postoperative scores on patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs), all of which were scored from 0 to 100, with higher numbers being favorable. Patients with psychological impairment were less likely to achieve a favorable outcome after arthroscopy (OR, 0.74; 95% CI, 0.62 to 0.88; P < .001), and they reported worse postoperative PROM scores compared with nonimpaired patients (weighted mean difference, −20.2 points; 95% CI, −32.9 to −7.5; P < .001).

Conclusion:

Baseline psychological impairment is associated with clinically significantly worse outcomes in patients with femoroacetabular impingement who undergo hip arthroscopy. More standardized reporting would facilitate improved understanding of this important, potentially modifiable risk factor.

Registration:

CRD42019124836 (PROSPERO).
Financial markets as commensurating machines
Authors: Kuchler Barbara
Published: December 2019

Ever since the crisis of 2008, the dynamism and self-referentiality of financial markets have puzzled observers. This article argues that this dynamism is the product of a long process of commensuration, by which ever more heterogeneous financial assets and financial instruments have come to be compared with, substituted for, and valuated relatively to one another, and have thereby been condensed into a highly interconnected financial system. This trajectory can be found both in the long-term historical emergence of financial markets from ancient origins and in the more recent transformations of the financial system since the 1970s, including (i) the rise of derivatives markets, and (ii) the rise of capital markets as against bank-intermediated capital flows. The rise of derivatives markets was triggered by the commensuration of basic securities (such as stock, bond) and derivatives (such as options, futures), established by the Black-Scholes-Merton theory of option pricing. The rise of capital markets was rooted in the commensuration – and hence, competition and substitution – of bank products (such as loans, deposits) and non-bank products (capital market securities).
Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation in Pregnant and Postpartum Women: A Systematic Review and Meta-Regression Analysis
Authors: Zhang John J. Y. , Ong Jamie Ann-Hui , Syn Nicholas L. , Lorusso Roberto , Tan Chuen Seng , MacLaren Graeme , Ramanathan Kollengode
Published: December 2019

Background:

Although extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) is frequently utilized as a salvage therapy for patients with cardiopulmonary failure, outcomes of its use in peripartum patients have not been clearly established. We aimed to review peer-reviewed publications on the use of ECMO in pregnant and postpartum patients, with analyses of maternal and fetal outcomes.

Methods:

Data were retrieved from MEDLINE, EMBASE, and Scopus databases from 1972 up to November 2017 for publications on ECMO in peripartum patients. Search terms included “ECMO,” “ECLS,”, “pregnancy,” “postpartum,” and “peripartum.” Publications with 3 or more patients were reviewed for quality using the Joanna Briggs Institute checklist for prevalence studies and case series.

Results:

After reviewing 143 publications, 9 observational studies met our inclusion criteria. Pooled prevalence of maternal survival was 77.2% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 64.1%-88.4%). Pooled prevalence of fetal survival was 69.1% (95% CI: 44.7%-89.8%). The level of heterogeneity across studies was low for both outcomes. Meta-regression did not reveal any correlation between pregnant women with pulmonary or cardiac indications and maternal survival. Individual patient data meta-regression demonstrated higher odds of survival for patients on venovenous ECMO compared to those on venoarterial ECMO that was close to statistical significance (odds ratio = 3.016, 95% CI: 0.901-11.144; P = .081) after adjusting for pregnancy status.

Conclusions:

Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation can be considered as an acceptable salvage therapy for pregnant and postpartum patients with critical cardiac or pulmonary illness.
On the Bride’s side? Victims of domestic violence and their residence rights under EU and Council of Europe Law
Authors: Stoyanova Vladislava
Published: December 2019

Migrant women victims of domestic violence might face a stark choice between leaving an abusive relationship and tolerating the abuses so that they can preserve their residence rights in the host country. EU law suffers from some major limitations in addressing this situation. In view of the EU ratification of the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women (‘the Istanbul Convention’), will the EU be required to take new measures in light of the demands imposed by Article 59 of the Istanbul Convention that addresses the residence rights of migrant women victims of violence? By clarifying these demands and juxtaposing them with the relevant EU law standards, this article shows the divergences and convergences between the two regional European legal orders. It also forwards concrete suggestions as to which EU rules might need to be modified.
Crossing borders between International Refugee Law and International Human Rights Law in the European context: Can human rights enhance protection against persecution based on sexual orientation (and beyond)?
Authors: Danisi Carmelo
Published: December 2019

In the last decades, international refugee law (‘IRL’) and international human rights law (‘IHRL’) have increasingly taken into account sexual minorities’ needs. Despite not being one of the grounds of persecution under the 1951 Geneva Convention on the Status of Refugees, sexual orientation has been identified as a relevant factor for the recognition of refugee status for more than twenty years. In parallel, IHRL has evolved to a point where sexual minorities are more fully included within the scope of rights and freedoms set forth in universal and regional human rights treaties, especially via the prohibition of discrimination. Yet, strange as it may seem, this simultaneous evolution has not always led to a fruitful intersection between IRL and IHRL, even in terms of interpretation despite what the Law of Treaties requires. Drawing from documentary and qualitative data and by taking people fleeing homophobia as example, this article looks at the role that IHRL may play in complementing and in intersection with IRL. It argues that IHRL may, firstly, raise obligations to facilitate the access of these claimants to asylum determination procedures and, secondly, inform the notion of persecution used in IRL more comprehensively than it currently does in practice.
Gender and the boundaries of international refugee law: Beyond the category of ‘gender-related asylum claims’
Authors: Querton Christel
Published: December 2019

The adoption of gender guidelines aiming to ensure consistency in gender-sensitive interpretation of the UN Refugee Convention definition demonstrates a general acceptance that gender is relevant to the question of who is a refugee. However, there is evidence that States have failed to adequately undertake the process of gender-sensitive interpretation and implement these guidelines comprehensively. Accordingly, this article argues that the general rule of treaty interpretation in international law enables the identification of a legal obligation of State Parties to the Refugee Convention to take gender into account when interpreting the refugee definition. The precise scope and nature of the duty of States to take gender into account is identified through a dynamic approach to interpretation by reference to international human rights norms. Overall, this article claims that the conceptualisation of a legal obligation in international law to interpret the refugee definition in a way that takes gender into account is inhibited by the development of a distinct category of ‘gender-related asylum claims’ within gender and refugee law scholarship. Consequently, this article presents a challenge to the borders implicit in the category of ‘gender-related asylum claims’ by revisiting the boundaries of international refugee law.
Extraction of the instantaneous speed fluctuation based on normal time–frequency transform for hydraulic system
Authors: Gu Lichen , Tian Qingqing , Ma Ziwen
Published: December 2019

The instantaneous speed fluctuation is the most direct manifestation of system dynamics behavior, which reflects the running status of the hydraulic system. It is crucial to mine the information contained in instantaneous speed fluctuation and extract them accurately. This paper first introduces the instantaneous speed measurement of the hydraulic system, and it is found that the instantaneous speed signal with an equal angle sampling is a harmonic signal. Next, causes of instantaneous speed fluctuation for hydraulic system are derived by kinetics analysis, where the working mechanism of the axial piston motor and the inevitable misalignment of the shafts are concerned. Then the normal time–frequency transform and the inaction method are introduced, and its high accuracy for harmonic signal extraction in additive noise is verified by comparing with the wavelet packet method with simulation analysis. Finally, the validity of the cause analysis and the extraction method are verified by experiments under different working conditions. The experimental results show that the frequencies of the instantaneous speed fluctuation components can be displayed automatically by normal time–frequency transform spectrum and their waveforms can be extracted accurately by the inaction method. It is also found that the change of the rotating speed and torque can be presented by the variety of the magnitude of the instantaneous speed fluctuation components at the 7th order and the 14th order, respectively. Cause analysis and accurate extraction of the instantaneous speed fluctuation will provide theoretical support and data support for the performance evaluation, state monitoring, and fault diagnosis of the hydraulic system.
The effect of anastomotic angle and diameter ratio on flow field in the distal end-to-side anastomosis
Authors: Liu Zhaomiao , Yang Gang , Nan Siqi , Qi Yipeng , Pang Yan , Shi Yi
Published: December 2019

Flow fields in the distal end-to-side anastomosis of coronary artery bypass graft are associated with intimal hyperplasia and bypass failure. This work aims to demonstrate the effect of anastomotic angle and diameter ratio on flow field of coronary artery bypass graft. The flow fields inside polydimethylsiloxane models of coronary artery bypass graft with various anastomotic angles ( α = 30°, 45°, 60° and 75°) and different diameter ratios ( Φ = 0.78 and 1.11) are investigated using particle image velocimetry and computational fluid dynamics method under pulsatile flow condition. The results show that the anastomotic angle is positively correlated with the number and area of the recirculation zone, and the flow field disturbance at the anastomosis will develop in the same direction. Compared with that of Φ = 0.78, when Φ = 1.11, the flow fields at the anastomosis are relatively smoother with less turbulence.
Information transfer in a scholarly exhibition: The Corvina Library and the Buda Workshop, Budapest, National Széchényi Library, 6 November 2018–10 February 2019
Authors: Zsupán Edina , Gazdag Mária
Published: December 2019

From 6 November 2018 until 10 February 2019, the National Széchényi Library organized an exhibition of surviving items from the Bibliotheca Corviniana under the title The Corvina Library and the Buda Workshop. The exhibition, as its title suggests, focused on a single scholarly issue, the book production workshop established at the royal court. It showed how the purposeful process of library building (including the commissioning of books from Italy) was directed from Buda and which methods were used for the systematic development of the library. The exhibition had a monographic character and can be regarded the first survey of the subject. Therefore, the intention was to present not only the results of the research involved but also the process of reasoning and reaching the conclusions presented in the narrative. As a result, at the time of the exhibition and during its preparation, information transfer was happening at both cognitive and emotional levels. The nature of this information transfer was determined by the role certain pieces of information played in the story, depending on whether these were of primary or secondary character, explicitly communicated and centrally positioned, or used as a ‘supporting act’, making peripheral statements, acting as an emotionally charged but figurative account. Information was communicated explicitly through the detailed texts (object labels and summaries) and audiovisual displays accessible on screens, which demonstrated the process of research that went into the exhibition. The accompanying publications transmitted the main message on three levels. The exhibition, displaying 62 renaissance luxury codices, showed the power of homogeneity in a special way. The cultural and artistic aspect of the exhibition was exceptionally intensive, which enriched the visitors’ reception of it, creating a sense of completeness.
Osteoporosis in a murine model of postmenopausal lupus
Authors: Nordqvist J , Lagerquist M K , Grahnemo L , Koskela A , Islander U , Carlsten H
Published: December 2019

Background/objective

Postmenopausal women with systemic lupus erythematosus have an increased risk of osteoporosis and associated fractures. Their increased osteoporosis risk is probably caused by a high level of inflammation, use of glucocorticoids, impaired kidney function, and early menopause as these are known risk factors for osteoporosis. Due to these risk factors and the lack of safe and effective treatments, new therapies for the treatment of osteoporosis in this group of patients are needed. Ovariectomized MRL/ lpr mice constitute a well-established model for studies of postmenopausal systemic lupus erythematosus; however, it is not clear to what extent this experimental model is associated with the development of osteoporosis. Thus, the aim of this study was to characterize the skeleton of ovariectomized MRL/ lpr mice to determine the suitability of this model in studies of prospective new therapies for osteoporosis in postmenopausal systemic lupus erythematosus patients.

Methods

Skeletal parameters were measured in MRL/ lpr mice and MRL/++ control mice, using peripheral quantitative computed tomography, high-resolution micro-computed tomography and biomechanical analyses. mRNA expression of bone-remodeling markers was measured by quantitative polymerase chain reaction and serological markers of lupus disease were evaluated using ELISA.

Results

Total bone mineral density was reduced in MRL/ lpr mice compared with MRL/++ mice and MRL/ lpr mice had reduced cortical and trabecular bone thickness compared with MRL/++ mice. In line with the low bone mass of MRL/ lpr mice, gene expression analysis of cortical bone from these mice indicated an increased osteoclast activity as well as a decreased osteoblastogenesis and osteoblast activity, compared with MRL/++ mice.

Conclusion

Ovariectomized MRL/ lpr mice constitute a valuable experimental model for studies of osteoporosis development in postmenopausal systemic lupus erythematosus and this model is thus suitable for future studies of osteoporosis treatment in systemic lupus erythematosus.
The Paradoxical Consequences of Choice: Often Good for the Individual, Perhaps Less So for Society?
Authors: Madan Shilpa , Nanakdewa Kevin , Savani Krishna , Markus Hazel Rose
Published: December 2019

The proliferation of products and services, together with the rise of social media, affords people the opportunity to make more choices than ever before. However, the requirement to think in terms of choice, or to use a choice mind-set, may have powerful but unexamined consequences for judgment and decision making, both for the chooser and for others. A choice mind-set leads people to engage in cognitive processes of discrimination and separation, to emphasize personal freedom and independent agency, and to focus on themselves rather than others. Reviewing research from social psychology, legal studies, health and nutrition, and consumer behavior, we found evidence that although a choice mind-set may have positive consequences for the individual, the accumulated outcome of thinking in terms of individual choice may have detrimental outcomes for society. Given the prevalence of choice in all domains of life, more research examining the full range of the consequences of choice is urgently needed.
Comparative study of carbon-based nanofillers for improving the properties of HDPE for potential applications in food tray packaging
Authors: Gill Yasir Qayyum , Jin Jie , Song Mo
Published: December 2019

High-density polyethylene (HDPE)/carbon filler composites for potential applications in food tray packaging were prepared by melt compounding HDPE with one-dimensional (1D)-multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT), two-dimensional (2D)-graphene oxide (GO) and three-dimensional (3D)-carbon black (CB) on a twin-screw extruder. The morphology of fillers inside the HDPE matrix was characterized and correlated to the mechanical, thermal and barrier properties of the nanocomposites. The results showed the distinct effect of CB on the mechanical, thermal and barrier properties of HDPE from MWCNT and GO. The morphological analysis revealed uniform dispersion for all the fillers, but the agglomerate formation was a lot more evident in MWCNT-based nanocomposites. Ball milling solved the large agglomerate formation for MWCNT and produced nanocomposites with improved mechanical properties. In comparison to 1D and 2D nanofillers, the 3D-CB filler showed remarkable contribution to tensile toughness but caused a reduction in barrier properties of HDPE, the increase in tensile toughness was attributed to uniform dispersion of the filler, enhanced mechanical interlocking between filler and polymer, appearance of high degree of crazing on tested samples and increase in nanocomposite internal temperature during tensile testing.
Istanbul and Crete in the Mid-1600s: Evliya Çelebi’s Discourse on Orthodox Christians
Authors: Faroqhi Suraiya
Published: December 2019

The subject of our discussion is the travelogue of Evliya Çelebi, born in 1611 to a goldsmith of the sultans’ palace known as Derviş Mehemmed Zılli and who probably died in Cairo around 1685. It is intriguing for a multitude of reasons, one of them especially relevant for the present purpose: While Evliya’s work covers the entire Ottoman Empire and adjacent territories in ten substantial volumes, we do not know the patrons and/or other addressees that the author may have envisaged. While the author often mentioned two grand viziers and other figures of the highest levels of the Ottoman elite, who employed him and with whom he had good relations, by the mid-1680s they had mostly predeceased him, sometimes by several decades.
The Relationship Between Working Capital Management and Profitability: Evidence from South African Retail and Construction Firms
Authors: Louw E. , Hall John H. , Pradhan Rudra P.
Published: December 2019

This article examines and contrasts the long-run relationship between the working capital management and profitability of South African firms in the retail and construction industries over the period 2004–2015. Techniques used in the study included the cointegration technique as well as a Granger causality test. The study found evidence of a long-run relationship between working capital management and the profitability of a firm in most of the cases. Further to this, the presence of both unidirectional and bidirectional causality between working capital management and profitability was found. In addition, results presented in this study indicate that working capital management has a greater impact on the profitability of retail firms than construction firms. The value of the study lies in the fact that management in different industries should realize that working capital management will have an impact on different profitability measures, for example, inventory management in the construction industry will have the biggest impact on return on assets, whilst in the retail industry the impact of inventory management will be most significantly on the gross profit margin compared to other profitability ratios.
Managerial Leadership Style and Employee Commitment: Evidence from the Financial Sector
Authors: Tuffour Joseph Kwadwo , Gali Abubakari Mohammed , Tuffour Mercy Kyerewaa
Published: December 2019

Employees’ poor performance within the banking sector has become evident in recent times, and studies on how leadership styles affect employee commitment in the Ghanaian banking sector is scanty. The purpose of this article is to examine the effect of leadership styles on employee commitment after controlling for demographic and institutional factors. The study also examines whether there is a difference in the leadership style due to the gender of leaders and determines the dominant leadership style among bank managers. A sample of 160 leaders and subordinates were selected from 10 commercial banks. The study employed hierarchical regression as well as independent sample t-test techniques. Financial organizations were chosen because much of the existing studies on leadership styles have focussed on non-financial sectors. The findings of the study indicate that transactional leadership is the most dominant leadership style practised within the banking sector. After controlling for demographic and institutional variables, laissez-faire and transformational leadership behaviours have significant positive effects on employee commitment. Although transactional leadership style is dominant, it contributes only 4.8 per cent to employee commitment as compared to 51 per cent by transformational leadership style in eliciting employee commitment. There is an evidence that, married employees are more likely to be committed employees than the unmarried, but as the employee’s number of children increases, commitment level falls. Although all the three leadership styles have positive effects on employee commitment, transactional and laissez-faire leadership styles are most significant. This is the first study in Ghana to show that there is no significant difference between the sexes when it comes to exhibiting leadership styles in the banking sector. The findings of this study provide useful information for policy-makers to improve employees’ commitment levels and their performance by means of stimulating the right leadership styles in the managers.
Entrepreneurial Orientation and Environmental Hostility: A Threat Rigidity Perspective
Authors: Kreiser Patrick M. , Anderson Brian S. , Kuratko Donald F. , Marino Louis D.
Published: December 2019

We posit that environmental hostility exhibits an inverse U-shaped relationship with a firm’s entrepreneurial orientation. We suggest a nuanced perspective on the threat rigidity argument that firms generally retrench from entrepreneurial capital allocation behaviors as hostility increases. We argue that firms are likely to act opportunistically and increase EO, but only to the point where the marginal costs of such activity outweigh the marginal benefits, at which point EO drops precipitously. Analyzing 60,440 observations from 6,481 firms across 373 industries from 1998 through 2017, our results indicate that EO exhibits a generally negative relationship with environmental hostility. Further, we examine a potential moderating influence of recoverable slack on the hostility–EO relationship, arguing that recoverable slack represents a meaningful buffer on behavioral change stemming from changing environmental hostility.
A roadmap for a leanness company to emerge as a true lean organization
Authors: Silvério Leandro , Trabasso Luís Gonzaga , Pereira Pessôa Marcus Vinicius
Published: December 2019

The problem this work aims to solve is the improvement of the leanness level of a company jeopardized by the lack of lean engagement. The objectives of the research are to present a method based on a lean self-assessment approach, consisted of a qualitative self-assessment method based on lean elements that drives an index definition associated with a roadmap. The method consists in providing a roadmap for the assessed enterprise composed by the company’s lean index, recommendations and countermeasures deriving from Delphi and Kendall Coefficient of Concordance ( W) application among lean experts, leading the assessed enterprise to achieve results in terms of lean engagement, autonomy, and decision support criteria for future resource allocation. The results demonstrated that method can highlight gaps where additional improvements and investments would be necessary in the assessed enterprise. Finally, the study concludes that the lean performance identification associated to a lean roadmap in a company can be a highly effective tool to improve lean adoption in a leanness organization.
Biblical Origins and the Problem of the Fall
Authors: Anderson Gary A.
Published: December 2019

Rabbi Abbahu said: Just as I led Adam into the garden of Eden and commanded him and he transgressed my commandment, whereupon I punished him by dismissal and exile … so also did I bring his descendants into the land of Israel and command them, and they transgressed my commands and I punished them by dismissal and exile ( Genesis Rabbah).
Thomas Aquinas on Abstinence and Fasting: Participating in Christ’s Cruciform Wisdom
Authors: O’Reilly Kevin E.
Published: December 2019

This article argues that St. Thomas Aquinas’s treatise on temperance in the Summa Theologiae offers what in effect constitutes a series of embodied spiritual exercises whose goal is to facilitate the reader in his progress towards the contemplation of Divine realities. Attention to Thomas’s treatment of Christ’s Passion reveals moreover that the embodied wisdom practices of abstinence and fasting lead to a greater participation in the Cross of Christ and prepare the one who undertakes them for the reception of a cruciform wisdom. Finally, it is argued, these embodied wisdom practices also exert an influence on the pursuit of speculative theological wisdom.
Grant Kaplan’s René Girard, Unlikely Apologist: Mimetic Theory and Fundamental Theology
Authors: Dadosky John D.
Published: December 2019

This article review’s Grant Kaplan’s, René Girard, Unlikely Apologist: Mimetic Theory and Fundamental Theology. The content of the book offers the occasion to comment on some themes in Girard’s thought in relation to theology. In particular it expands upon it with reference to some of the insights from Bernard Lonergan.

Girard’s legacy can contribute to a reaffirmation of the uniqueness of Christian identity in a pluralistic age, and a contribution to Catholic social teaching --i.e. a preferential option for the scapegoated and marginalized. Although he reclaimed his Christian roots, Girard was neither a philosopher nor a theologian. Therefore, some of his provocative insights, while valuable, stand in need of a critical appropriation. Kaplan’s important study provides an oppurtunity to raise some of those questions.
Attractive proposals: An Appreciative Appraisal of Douglas Farrow’s Theological Negotiations
Authors: Bradley Michael
Published: December 2019

Douglas Farrow’s Theological Negotiations is a muscular, reciprocally enriching set of explorations of neuralgic loci of perennial theological concern. Articulating his proposals with characteristic verve and navigating alertly through the tradition and its resources, Farrow has produced an impressive and wide-ranging work of systematic theology that is also an exemplar of Catholic ecumenical engagement. In chapters that take up the nature–grace dialectic in its epistemological, anthropological, doxological, sacramental, and soteriological keys, Farrow develops attractive proposals centered in the incarnation and ascension of the Word made flesh who is seated evermore at the Father’s right hand in glory. In this sense, Theological Negotiations presses forward and delivers upon the insights and promissory tenor of his earlier Ascension Theology.