bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The role of nuclear factor of activated T cells during phorbol myristate acetate-induced cardiac differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells
Authors: Seo Hyang-Hee , Lee Chang Youn , Lee Jiyun , Lim Soyeon , Choi Eunhyun , Park Jong-Chul , Lee Seahyoung , Hwang Ki-Chul
Published: July 2016

Background

We previously reported that phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA) treatment can induce the cardiac differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). In the present study, we investigated how PMA induces cardiac differentiation of MSCs, focusing on its effect on the transcription factors responsible for increased cardiac marker gene expression.

Methods

Human MSCs (hMSCs) were treated with 1 μM PMA for 9 days. The expression of MSC markers and cardiac markers in the PMA-treated hMSC, as well as the nuclear translocation of transcription factors, nuclear factor of activated T cells (NFAT), and myogenic differentiation 1 (MyoD), was examined. Transcriptional activity of NFAT was examined by utilizing a green fluorescent protein (GFP) vector containing NFAT motif of human interleukin-2 promoter. The effect of PMA on the expression of key cell cycle regulators was examined.

Results

PMA induces the transcriptional activity of NFAT and MyoD, which have been associated with increased expression of cardiac troponin T (cTnT) and myosin heavy chain (MHC), respectively. Our data suggested that protein kinase C (PKC) mediates the effect of PMA on NFAT activation. Furthermore, PMA treatment increased cell-cycle regulator p27kip1 expression, suggesting that PMA triggers the cardiac differentiation program in MSCs by regulating key transcription factors and cell cycle regulators.

Conclusions

The results of this study demonstrate the importance of NFAT activation during PMA-induced MSC differentiation and help us to better understand the underlying mechanisms of small molecule-mediated MSC differentiation so that we can develop a strategy for synthesizing novel and improved differentiation-inducing small molecules.
Characteristics of Patients Who Survived < 3 Months or > 2 Years After Surgery for Spinal Metastases: Can We Avoid Inappropriate Patient Selection?
Authors: Verlaan Jorrit-Jan , Choi David , Versteeg Anne , Albert Todd , Arts Mark , Balabaud Laurent , Bunger Cody , Buchowski Jacob Maciej , Chung Chung Kee , Coppes Maarten Hubert , Crockard Hugh Alan , Depreitere Bart , Fehlings Michael George , Harrop James , Kawahara Norio , Kim Eun Sang , Lee Chong-Suh , Leung Yee , Liu Zhongjun , Martin-Benlloch Antonio , Massicotte Eric Maurice , Mazel Christian , Meyer Bernhard , Peul Wilco , Quraishi Nasir A. , Tokuhashi Yasuaki , Tomita Katsuro , Ulbricht Christian , Wang Michael , Oner F. Cumhur
Published: July 2016

Purpose

Survival after metastatic cancer has improved at the cost of increased presentation with metastatic spinal disease. For patients with pathologic spinal fractures and/or spinal cord compression, surgical intervention may relieve pain and improve quality of life. Surgery is generally considered to be inappropriate if anticipated survival is < 3 months. The aim of this international multicenter study was to analyze data from patients who died within 3 months or 2 years after surgery, to identify preoperative factors associated with poor or good survival, and to avoid inappropriate selection of patients for surgery in the future.

Patients and Methods

A total of 1,266 patients underwent surgery for impending pathologic fractures and/or neurologic deficits and were prospectively observed. Data collected included tumor characteristics, preoperative fitness (American Society of Anesthesiologists advisory [ASA]), neurologic status (Frankel scale), performance (Karnofsky performance score [KPS]), and quality of life (EuroQol five-dimensions questionnaire [EQ-5D]). Outcomes were survival at 3 months and 2 years postsurgery. Univariable and multivariable logistic regression analyses were used to find preoperative factors associated with short-term and long-term survival.

Results

In univariable analysis, age, emergency surgery, KPS, EQ-5D, ASA, Frankel, and Tokuhashi/Tomita scores were significantly associated with short survival. In multivariable analysis, KPS and age were significantly associated with short survival (odds ratio [OR], 1.36; 95% CI, 1.15 to 1.62; and OR, 1.14; 95% CI, 1.02 to 1.27, respectively). Associated with longer survival in univariable analysis were age, number of levels included in surgery, KPS, EQ-5D, Frankel, and Tokuhashi/Tomita scores. In multivariable analysis, the number of levels included in surgery (OR, 1.21; 95% CI, 1.06 to 1.38) and primary tumor type were significantly associated with longer survival.

Conclusion

Poor performance status at presentation is the strongest indicator of poor short-term survival, whereas low disease load and favorable tumor histology are associated with longer-term survival.
Innovative Strategies for Decreasing Blood Collection Wait Times for Patients in Early-Phase Cancer Clinical Trials
Authors: Mengistu Bayabel , Ray Dina , Lockett Passion , Dorsey Vivian , Phipps Ron A. , Subramanian Harihara , Atkins Johnique T. , El Osta Badi , Falchook Gerald S. , Karp Daniel D.
Published: July 2016

Purpose:

Long wait times are a primary source of dissatisfaction among patients enrolled in early-phase clinical trials. We hypothesized that an automated patient check-in system with readily available display for increasing awareness of waiting intervals would improve patient flow and use of our rooms, with decreased turnover time and increased throughput.

Methods:

We recorded in-room wait times for patients seen in our clinic and observed the logistics involved in the blood collection process to delineate causes for delays. We then implemented a three-step strategy to alleviate the causes of these delays: (1) changing the collection of materials and the review of faxed orders, (2) improving our LabTracker automated database system that included wait time calculators and real-time information regarding patient status, and (3) streamlining lower complexity appointments.

Results:

After our intervention, we observed a 19% decrease in mean wait times and a 30% decrease in wait times among patients waiting the longest (95th percentile). We also observed an increase in staff productivity during this process. Modifications in LabTracker provided the biggest reduction in mean wait times (17%).

Conclusion:

We observed a significant decrease in mean wait times after implementing our intervention. This decrease led to increased staff productivity and cost savings. Once wait times became a measurable metric, we were able to identify causes for delays and improve our operations, which can be performed in any patient care facility.
Forging a Caribbean Literary Style: “Vulgar Eloquence” And the Language of Césaire's Cahier D'un Retour Au Pays Natal
Authors: Davis Gregson
Published: July 2016

This essay revisits the vexed question of Aimé Césaire's poetics in relation to the choice of the language and style of his signature prose-poem, Cahier d'un retour au pays natal. It seeks to reframe the issue in terms of the ancient Greco-Roman concept of “levels of style” and complicates the conventional notion of a rigid disjunction between local vernacular and standard metropolitan languages as they are deployed in major Caribbean literary texts. The focus of the analysis is on Césaire's ambitious program of language renewal seen through the lens of a twofold comparison with (a) Dante's project of forging a “vulgar eloquence” grounded in a sophisticated elevation of the Italian vernacular and (b) Derek Walcott's parallel achievement of creating an Anglophone Caribbean “pseudo-epic” in language that is indebted to the tonalities and rhythms of his native St. Lucian Creole(s). This brief exploration of basic aspects of Césaire's poetics opens the way to a more nuanced understanding of the scope of his “antiassimilationist” stance as manifested in his political engagements.
Red Jihad: Translating Communism in the Muslim Caucasus
Authors: Feldman Leah
Published: July 2016

Two types of translation dominated the social sphere of the Bolshevik revolution and civil war at the beginning of the twentieth century: the translation of diverse languages in the multilingual empire and a Marxist-Leninist linguistic turn that emphasized the role of dialectical materialist philosophy in transforming systems of knowledge to create new forms of collective Soviet identity. By examining political speeches and propaganda on the Soviet periphery, this essay argues that the translation of communism across the Muslim national platform exposes the power of this Marxist-Leninist linguistic turn during the early twentieth century in generating fluid linkages among language, art, and Soviet political and cultural life. Analyzing the forms and practice of the translation of Muslim communism, this essay illustrates the ways that translation both reflected and refracted the language and art of Russian orientalism as it generated a vision of Soviet modernity in the former imperial territories.
Revistas y trayectorias culturales en el Caribe
Authors: Wood Yolanda
Published: July 2016

Para el Caribe, lugar histórico de tantos desencuentros, las revistas han sido una importante alternativa para conectar y comunicar, para superar las distancias y acercar las inquietudes, para construir trayectos culturales y movilizar una dinámica de relaciones que en muchas ocasiones fue de vínculos intelectuales, los que fueron favorecidos y estimulados por las plataformas revisteras en diversos momentos de la cultura en la región.
Where Do Journals Come From? The Case of Sargasso
Authors: Fiet Lowell
Published: July 2016

Work on Sargasso as an independent journal of Caribbean literature, language, and culture began at the University of Puerto Rico (UPR) in 1983. After a successful, but not uncomplicated, launching of its first issue in 1984, the journal received support and contributions from important anglophone Caribbean figures such as Kamau Brathwaite, George Lamming, Gordon K. Lewis, and Lorna Goodison. Major Puerto Rican writers such as Luis Rafael Sánchez, Pedro Juan Soto, and Ana Lydia Vega were featured in early issues as well. After publishing nine issues in a bound letter-page format, Sargasso 10 displayed the six-by-nine-inch, glossy-cover format it has since maintained. It became the official journal of the university's new PhD program in Caribbean literature and linguistics in 2000. Sargasso maintains its intercultural, interdisciplinary, and multilingual focus on Caribbean creativity and culture, and it stands as one of the premier journals at the University of Puerto Rico.
HELLO! magazine and Hollywood smiles
Authors: Wake Charlotte
Published: July 2016

What challenges do our patients bring in a world of celebrity? Charlotte Wake investigates
Singularly important
Authors: Jagger Rob
Published: July 2016

Rob Jagger makes the case for single-use hand instruments in general dental practice
A child's best interests
Authors: Renton Claire
Published: July 2016

If in doubt, get confirmation of parental responsibility, says Claire Renton
Not just a fussy eater
Authors: Lilly Gemma
Published: July 2016

Gemma Lilly, equine dental technician, at the Donkey Sanctuary describes the painful and debilitating disease, equine odontoclastic tooth resorption and hypercementosis
Better together: the benefits of collaboration
Authors: Westen Hannah
Published: July 2016

Hannah Westen campaigns officer for research and education at World Horse Welfare, concludes her discussion on the charity's ethos and key achievements as a result of partnership working
Pengembangan Layanan Sistem Informasi dengan Enterprise Architecture Planning (Studi Kasus : Rumah Sakit Umum Daerah Kota Bandung)
Authors: Adnyana I Ketut Widhi , Putra Yeffry Handoko , Rosiyadi Didi
Published: July 2016

Perkembangan teknologi telah mengubah manusia dalam menyelesaikan semua pekerjaan dan segala aspek kehidupan manusia. Teknologi informasi dan komunikasi yang berkembang semakin pesat selain berdampak pada kegiatan manusia. Selain itu juga berdampak pada perilaku dan peta persaingan bagaimana cara mengelola perusahaanyang akhirnya berpengaruh pada perkembangan bisnis dunia. RSUD Kota Bandung belum menggunakan sistem informasi dengan teknologi terkini yang dapat menunjang kemudahan akses.. Dilihat dari pemanfaatan sistem informasi yang belum optimal dalam mendukung bisnis rumah sakit, ini merupakan suatu kekurangan dari efisiensi organisasi.Dengan demikian diperlukan sebuah solusi untuk memperbaiki pelayanan system informasi saat ini dengan cara mengajukan beberapa usulan aplikasi Metode yang digunakan untuk menggambarkan kondisi organisasi RSUD Bandung saat ini adalah Enterprise Architecture Planning. Metode ini digunakan untuk menggambarkan dan mengembangkan enterprise architecture untuk mencapai strategi bisnis perusahaan. Penelitian ini menghasilkan beberapa usulan aplikasi yang dapat memperbaiki pelayanan sistem informasi saat ini.
A NEW SPECIES OF BEGONIA (BEGONIACEAE) FROM MANUSELA NATIONAL PARK, SERAM
Authors: ARDHAKA I MADE , ARDI WISNU HANDOYO , UNDAHARTA NI KADEK EROSI , TIRTA I. G.
Published: July 2016

ARDHAKA, I. M., ARDI, W. H., UNDAHARTA, N. K. E. & TIRTA, I. G. 2016. A new species Begonia from Manusela National Park, Seram. Reinwardtia 15(1): 61 – 64. — A new species of Begonia, B. manuselaensis Ardhaka & Ardi, is described from Seram, Maluku province, Indonesia. The species is endemic to Seram and belongs to Begonia section Petermannia.
Suppression of the Generator Imposition Vibration
Authors: Thöndel Evžen , Vondřich Jiří
Published: July 2016

Generator vibrations occur as a result of unbalanced revolving masses, loading forces and torques, starting and coasting of driving motors and other effects. Suitable mounting of the generator is possible using damping components such as steel springs, pneumatic springs, rubber pads or other damping components. The article describes a numerical calculation of individual deviations of the generator in dependence on time for the given machine parameters and the selected damping components of its mounting using the Matlab program.
Um estudo multimodal de peças publicitárias de escolas de idiomas
Authors: De Carvalho Costa Leite Patrícia Mara
Published: July 2016

O objetivo do presente artigo é observar como os modos semióticos são utilizados na construção de textos publicitários de escolas de idiomas, com foco na língua inglesa. Pretende-se, tomando os elementos semióticos de construção de textos publicitários como ponto de partida, perceber quais são as práticas discursivas que vem à tona, bem como, os mecanismos de persuasão e a representação do aluno no jogo discursivo. Para tanto, busca-se o embasamento teórico na teoria da gramática do design visual (KRESS; VAN LEEUWEN, 1996; JEWITT; OYAMA, 2001), combinados a alguns pressupostos teóricos da Análise crítica do discurso (FAIRCLOUGH, 2001), para análise da modalidade visual e verbal, respectivamente. A fim de se realizar uma leitura crítica, serão utilizados textos de Carmagnani (2001, 2008) e Coracini (2007). O corpus é constituído por dez anúncios publicitários retiradas do site Google datadas de 2010.
Dual Language Development Disorders: A Handbook on Bilingualism & Second Language Learning
Authors: Limberger Bernardo Kolling
Published: July 2016

O livro Dual language development and disorders: A Handbook on Bilingualism & Second Language Learning discorre sobre questões teóricas e práticas a respeito do ensino e da aprendizagem de uma segunda língua por crianças com ou sem algum transtorno de linguagem. O objetivo central dos autores é apresentar uma visão crítica de pesquisas sobre crianças bilíngues e aprendizes de segunda língua. Os autores contemplam o bilinguismo de crianças pertencentes a grupos minoritários, majoritários e de crianças adotadas internacionalmente. Por meio de um texto claro e objetivo, os autores mostram uma visão favorável ao bilinguismo. A leitura é rica e esclarecedora para pais e para profissionais que atuam diretamente com as crianças bilíngues.
Os afixos da beleza e da feiura – uma leitura de Umberto Eco
Authors: Siqueira Jéssica Camara
Published: July 2016

A formação de palavras na língua portuguesa concentra-se principalmente no processo de derivação. Considerando a importância dos afixos para a criação de novas palavras na língua, analisaram-se os prefixos e sufixos formantes de vocábulos de duas noções “beleza” e a “feiura”. As noções foram consideradas com base na leitura das obras A história da beleza e A história da feiura de Umberto Eco. Nessas obras, o autor procurou resgatar, a partir da seleção de excertos literários e obras de artes plásticas, como essas noções foram entendidas no decorrer do tempo. Utilizou-se como base para seleção do corpus de análise os textos selecionados por Eco nas duas obras, extraindo-se apenas os adjetivos derivacionais. Após a seleção e coleta dos vocábulos, foi feita a análise dos afixos de ambas as noções, observando suas similitudes e distinções. As principais similitudes encontradas foram: afixos que intensificam o sentido das bases; prefixos que denotam negação; e sufixos utilizados para formação nominal. Como aspectos distintivos observaram-se prefixos com conotação de reinteração e extensão para a noção de beleza, e valores negativos ou ausência de um traço semântico relativo à base, associados à feiura. Quanto aos sufixos, destacaram-se os sufixos com valor de grandeza, similitude, semelhança e superioridade para a beleza; e sufixos com conotação pejorativa, diminutiva e associada à natureza animal, para a noção de feiura.  A análise dos afixos da beleza e da feiura permitiu verificar que o processo derivacional não só é responsável pela produtividade como pela criatividade na formação de palavras.
A especificidade da linguagem na documentação farmacêutica: um caminho para a tarefa no ensino-aprendizagem de língua estrangeira.
Authors: Mazza Luciene Novais
Published: July 2016

Este artigo apresenta uma abordagem de ensino baseada em tarefa no desenvolvimento de atividades para o ensino-aprendizagem de língua estrangeira, destacando os processos de aquisição de segunda língua por meio de teorias sobre o uso da linguagem com foco no significado. O nosso objetivo principal é mostrar um desenho de tarefa tendo como base teórico-metodológica os estudos baseados em corpus aplicados ao ensino de língua inglesa. Logo, o nosso objetivo específico é propor, à luz das propostas didático-pedagógicas, a elaboração de materiais nas seguintes direções: (i) foco no significado; (ii) foco na linguagem; e (iii) foco na forma. O corpus coletado para esta análise é parte de uma documentação específica de domínio do segmento farmacêutico.
Reservoir characterization and by-passed pay analysis of philus field in Niger delta, Nigeria
Authors: Ayobami Sunmonu , Adedapo Adabanija , Aanuoluwa Adagunodo , Ayokunnu Adeniji
Published: July 2016

Hydrocarbon resources have become the most essential commodity contributing to any nationâ€™s growth and development in the recent years. For the past decades now, the quest for hydrocarbon resources has been increasing in an arithmetic rate that its supply can no longer meets the demand for its consumption today. In petroleum industry, seismic and well log analyses play a vital role in oil and gas exploration and formation evaluation. This study is aimed to effectively characterize the reservoirs and analyze the by-passed pay in Philus Field, Niger-Delta, Nigeria in order to look into the economic viability and profitability of the volume of oil in the identified reservoir(s). The faults in the study area trend in NW-SE direction and dip towards the south. Seven reservoirs were mapped on Philus field. A discovery trap and a by-passed (new prospect) trap were mapped out on the field. The petrophysical analysis showed that porosity of Philus field was 0.24. The volumetric analysis showed that the Stock Tank Original Oil in Place of discovery trap (Philus field) ranged from 1.6 to 43.1 Mbbl while that of new prospect trap ranged from 18.1 to 211.3 Mbbl. It is recommended that the oil reserve of Philus field needs to be recalculated.
Coupled points for total weakly contraction mappings via Ï-distance
Authors: Abed Salwa , Jabbar Hiba Adel
Published: July 2016

In this paper, the total weakly contraction mappings and T-total weakly contraction mappings are defined with respect to Ï-distance. The concepts of mixed monotone and general mixed monotone are used to prove some theorems about coupled fixed points, common fixed point and coincidence points for these mappings in partially general b-metric spaces which equipped with Ï-distance.
Modelling relationships between students’ academic achievement and community of inquiry in an online learning environment for a blended course
Authors: Choy Jeanette Lyn Fung , Quek Choon Lang
Published: July 2016

With the advancement in technology, learners are spending a substantial amount of time on online learning. Guided by the community of inquiry (CoI) framework (Garrison, Anderson, & Archer, 1999), this study examined the relationships among students’ perceived teaching element, social element, cognitive element, satisfaction, continuous academic-related online performance, and academic achievement. A revised form of the CoI survey instrument was administered to 167 polytechnic students (aged between 17 and 24) enrolled in a nutrition course in a polytechnic in Singapore. Results from path analysis confirmed the hypothesised relationships among the three elements of the CoI framework (i.e., social, teaching, and cognitive) and students’ learning-related outcomes (i.e., satisfaction, continuous academic-related online performance, and academic achievement). However, only the cognitive element had a direct relationship with continuous academic-related online performance and satisfaction. In addition, the continuous academic-related online performance mediated the relationships between the cognitive element and academic achievement. Generally, the hypothesized model was able to explain 46% of the variance in students’ online course satisfaction and 62% of the variance in students’ academic achievements.
Voting in Central Banks: Theory versus Stylized Facts
Authors: Horváth Roman , Šmídková Kateřina , Zápal Jan
Published: July 2016

The paper examines the ability of several alternative group decision-making models to generate proposing, voting and decision patterns matching those observed in the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee and the US Federal Reserve’s Federal Open Market Committee. A decision-making procedure, common to all the models, is to vote between adoption of the chairman’s proposal and retention of the status-quo policy, with heterogeneous votes generated by private information of the models’ monetary policy committee members. The members can additionally express reservations regarding the final committee decision. The three alternative models differ in the degree of informational influence between the chairman and the remaining members. We find that a “supermajoritarian” model, in which the chairman proposes a policy she knows would be accepted by a supermajority of the committee members, combined with allowance for reservations, closely replicates real-world decision-making patterns. The model predicts no rejections of chairman’s proposals, low but non-trivial dissent, even during meetings where the chairman proposes no change in policy, and predictive power of the voting record of the whole committee regarding future monetary policy changes.
Managerial Reputation, Risk-Taking, and Imperfect Capital Markets
Authors: Asano Koji
Published: July 2016

This paper presents a model of portfolio management with reputation concerns in imperfect capital markets. Managers with financial constraints raise funds from investors and select a project that is characterized by the degree of risk. Managers differ in their ability to determine the probability of success. Based on past performance, all agents revise beliefs about managers’ ability, and the beliefs affect the availability of funds in the future. This provides motivation for managers to build reputation by manipulating their performance through project selection. We show that the quality of investor protection changes fund flows, thereby influencing managers’ project selection. Our model predicts that strong investor protection causes risk-taking behavior, whereas weak investor protection leads to risk-averse behavior.
Simple Unawareness in Dynamic Psychological Games
Authors: Nielsen Carsten S. , Sebald Alexander
Published: July 2016

Building on Battigalli and Dufwenberg (2009)’s framework of dynamic psychological games and the progress in the modeling of dynamic unawareness by Heifetz, Meier, and Schipper (2013a) we model and analyze the impact of asymmetric awareness in the strategic interaction of players motivated by reciprocity and guilt. Specifically we characterize extensive-form games with psychological payoffs and simple unawareness, define extensive-form rationalizability and, using this, show that unawareness has a pervasive impact on the strategic interaction of psychologically motivated players. Intuitively, unawareness influences players’ beliefs concerning, for example, the intentions and expectations of others which in turn impacts their behavior.
Heat transfer at nanometric scales described by extended irreversible thermodynamics
Authors: Machrafi Hatim
Published: July 2016

The purpose of this work is to present a study on heat conduction in systems that are composed out of spherical and cylindrical micro- and nanoparticles dispersed in a bulk matrix. Special emphasis is put on the dependence of the effective heat conductivity on various selected parameters as particle size and also its shape, surface specularity and density, including particle-matrix interaction. The heat transfer at nanometric scales is modelled using extended irreversible thermodynamics, whose main feature is to elevate the heat flux vector to the status of independent variable. The model is illustrated by a Copper-Silicium (Cu-Si) system. It is shown that all the investigated parameters have a considerable influence, the particle size being especially useful to either increase or decrease the effective thermal conductivity.
Red Parents, Blue Parents: The Politics of Modern Parenthood
Authors: Elder Laurel , Greene Steven
Published: July 2016

Over the past several decades the major parties in the US have not only politicized parenthood, but have come to offer increasingly polarized views of the ideal American family. This study builds on recent scholarship exploring the political impact of parenthood (e.g. Elder, Laurel, and Steven Greene. 2012a.
Nuclear Fallout: The Senate’s Cloture Threshold and Nomination Votes
Authors: Fine Jeffrey A. , Williams Margaret S.
Published: July 2016

In November of 2013, Majority Leader Harry Reid and his Democratic colleagues employed a series of parliamentary steps to change the precedent for cloture with respect to presidential nominations. This so called “nuclear option” reduced the threshold for cloture on presidential nominations (except for those to the US Supreme Court) to a simple majority, rather than the 60 votes necessary in the past. The paper examines how this change affected senators’ voting behavior on both cloture and confirmation of presidential nominations, using the 113th Senate as a natural experimental setting. We find that Republican senators are significantly more likely to vote against cloture in the wake of this change, presumably as symbolic votes of protest against the Democrats’ reversal of longstanding precedent. On the whole, the Republican conference votes against cloture, even when they vote overwhelmingly in favor of the nominee on the final confirmation vote. This suggests that cloture may not represent a sincere objection to the nominee in the post-nuclear Senate.
Liberals, Labor, and the Democratic Party’s Volatile Relationship with Free Trade
Authors: Kucik Jeffrey , Moraguez Ashley
Published: July 2016

Democratic House members exhibit wide variation in their support for free trade, while Republicans are relatively stable in their support. What explains these trends? There are two important factors that explain trade votes in the House of Representatives. First, we argue that ideology is an important influence on members’ preferences over a wide range of issues, including free trade. Second, free trade directly affects labor through its effects on income, employment, and workers’ rights. We argue that liberals are uniquely susceptible to labor concerns, and that their votes are determined in large part by these considerations for both electoral and ideological reasons. We analyze the 11 most recent trade agreement ratification votes in the House. The results show that ideological differences explain the gap in support between the parties. Moreover, liberal members are much more sensitive to concerns for labor, measured as district unemployment, campaign contributions from labor organizations, and trade partners’ records of worker rights protections, which explains the variation in Democratic support across agreements. Taken together, the findings have implications for the upcoming vote on the Trans-Pacific Partnership, which has already generated debates regarding its effects on workers.
The Changing Contours of the Immigrant Rights Protest Movement in the United States: Who Demonstrates Now?
Authors: McCann James A. , Nishikawa Chávez Katsuo A. , Plasencia Marisa , Otawka Harper
Published: July 2016

Drawing from several original longitudinal surveys of the Mexican immigrant population in Texas and Indiana, we examine the course of the immigrant rights movement in the wake of the historic mobilization in the spring of 2006. We find that from 2007 to 2015, the number of participants in demonstrations, rallies, and marches to support immigrant rights dropped substantially, though protesting remains a fairly prevalent activity. The Mexicans taking part in protest events today, however, have higher levels of education and are older compared to 8 years ago, and they are not primarily driven by personal grievances. This change in the activist base suggests that the immigrant rights movement is following a trajectory that is common among protest movements across many democratic systems. What began as an expression of profound discontent has become a somewhat more conventional mode of involvement.
Martin Shapiro: An Appreciation
Authors: Melnick R. Shep
Published: July 2016

Over the past half century no judicial politics scholar has been more respected or influential than Martin Shapiro. Yet it is hard to identify a school of thought one could call “Shapiroism.” Rather than offer convenient methodologies or grand theories, Shapiro provides rich empirical studies that show us how to think about the relationship between law and courts on the one hand and politics and governing on the other. Three key themes run through Shapiro’s impressive oevre. First, rather than study courts in isolation, political scientists should view them as “one government agency among many,” and seek to “integrate the judicial system in the matrix of government and politics in which it actually operates.” Law professors may understand legal doctrines better than political scientists, but we know (or should know) the rest of the political system better than they do. Second, although judges inevitably make political decisions, their institutional environment leads them to act differently from other public officials. Most importantly, their legitimacy rests on their perceived impartiality within the plaintiff-defendant-judge triad. The conflict between judges’ role as impartial arbiter and enforcer of the laws of the regime can never be completely resolved and places powerful constraints on their actions. Third, the best way to understand the complex relationship between courts and other elements of the regime is comparative analysis. Shapiro played a major role in resuscitating comparative law, especially in his work comparing the US and the EU. All this he did with a rare combination of thick description and crisp, jargon-free analysis, certainly a rarity the political science of our time.
The Selberg trace formula as a Dirichlet series
Authors: Booker Andrew R. , Lee Min
Published: July 2016

We explore an idea of Conrey and Li of expressing the Selberg trace
formula as a Dirichlet series. We describe two applications, including
an interpretation of the Selberg eigenvalue conjecture in terms of
quadratic twists of certain Dirichlet series, and a formula for an
arithmetically weighted sum of the complete symmetric square L-functions
associated to cuspidal Maass newforms of squarefree level

N
>
1

${N>1}$

.
Multistage Pressure-Retarded Osmosis
Authors: Bharadwaj Devesh , Fyles Thomas M. , Struchtrup Henning
Published: July 2016

One promising sustainable energy source is the chemical potential difference between salt and freshwater. The membrane process of pressure-retarded osmosis (PRO) has been the most widely investigated means to harvest salinity gradient energy. In this report, we analyse the thermodynamic efficiency of multistage PRO systems to optimize energy recovery from a salinity gradient. We establish a unified description of the efficiencies of the component pumps (
The Soret Effect in Liquid Mixtures – A Review
Authors: Köhler Werner , Morozov Konstantin I.
Published: July 2016

The Soret effect describes diffusive motion that originates from a temperature gradient. It is observed in mixtures of gases, liquids and even solids. Although there is a formal phenomenological description based on linear nonequilibrium thermodynamics, the Soret effect is a multicause phenomenon and there is no univocal microscopic picture. After a brief historical overview and an outline of the fundamental thermodynamic concepts, this review focuses on thermodiffusion in binary and ternary liquid mixtures. The most important experimental techniques used nowadays are introduced. Then, a modern development in studying thermal diffusion, the discovery of both integral and specific additivity laws, is discussed. The former relate to the general behavior of the substances in a temperature field according to their thermophobicities, which prove to be pure component properties. The thermophobicities allow for a convenient classification of the phenomenon, a simple interpretation and a proper estimation and prediction of the thermodiffusion parameters. The specific laws relate to the additivity of the particular contributions. Among the latter, we discuss the isotopic Soret effect and the so-called chemical contribution. From the theoretical side, there are kinetic and thermodynamic theories, and the nature of the driving forces of thermodiffusion can be either of volume or surface type. Besides analytical models, computer simulations become increasingly important. Polymer solutions are special as they represent highly asymmetric molecular systems with a molar mass-independent thermophoretic mobility. Its origin is still under debate, and draining and non-draining models are presently discussed. Finally, some discussion is devoted to ternary mixtures, which only recently have been investigated in more detail.
The Key Factors of Selecting Electronics Manufacturing Service Suppliers – an Example of Company U in Taiwan
Authors: Chiu Hui-Feng , Lee Tzong-Ru (Jiun-Shen) , Kao Ching-Kuei
Published: July 2016

In a highly competitive environment with a developed network, the customers of electronics manufacturing service (EMS) manufacturers always seek a wide range of choices. EMS manufacturers can attract loyal customers and establish long-term partnerships if they understand and satisfy their customers’ needs to execute a response plan successfully with limited resources. If these conditions are met, EMS manufacturers can create high customer equity. This study investigates how the demand of downstream enterprises can be satisfied on the basis of the opinion of upstream suppliers in the electronics manufacturing industry. Domestic and foreign literature related to the dimensions and elements of supplier evaluation criteria were investigated to extract 22 elements of supplier selection by corporate customers. Five supplier evaluation dimensions were then established through interviews with the internal experts of the case company. An analytic hierarchy process-based (AHP-based) approach is used to design the questionnaire for the external corporate customers of the case company. The questionnaire is then used to investigate the supplier evaluation criteria of the customers of EMS manufacturers. Conclusions and suggestions are provided on the basis of the results to provide the case company with references that can be used to develop and maintain customer relationship and create high customer equity.
The Relatively Uniform Completion, Epimorphisms and Units, in Divisible Archimedean L-Groups
Authors: Hager Anthony W.
Published: July 2016

In the category Arch of archimedean l-groups, the r.u. completion of the divisible hull, rdA, is the maximum essential reflection and the maximum majorizing reflection (Ball-Hager, 1999). In the weak-unital subcategory W, the reflections c3A and mA (Aron-Hager, 1981) are respectively maximum essential, and maximum majorizing (Ball-Hager, 1993), and rdA ≤ mA always. These situations are reviewed here, and further, it is shown that: W-epic A ≤ B is Arch-epic if the unit of B is a near unit; rdA = mA if and only if A ≤ mA is Arch-epic, and this obtains when the unit of A is a near unit. (If A ∈ W has a compatible f-ring multiplication, then the unit (the identity) is a near unit.) A point here is that mA has a concrete and understandable description as realvalued functions on the Yosida space of A, perforce, when rdA = mA so does rdA.
Testing Statistical Hypotheses in Singular Weakly Nonlinear Regression Models
Authors: Kubáček Lubomír
Published: July 2016

Weakly nonlinear hypothesis on parameters in nonlinear regression models can be tested by methods of linear statistical models in some cases. Certain conditions must be satisfied. The aim of the paper is to find them for models without/with constraints on parameters.
Tame Automorphisms with Multidegrees in the Form of Arithmetic Progressions
Authors: Li Jiantao , Du Xiankun
Published: July 2016

Let (a, a + d, a + 2d) be an arithmetic progression of positive integers. The following statements are proved:

(1) If a | 2d, then (a, a + d, a + 2d) ∈ mdeg(Tame(ℂ3)).

(2) If a ∤ 2d and (a, a + d, a + 2d) ∉ {(4i, 5i, 6i), (4i, 7i, 10i) : i ∈ ℕ+}, then (a, a + d, a + 2d) ∉ mdeg(Tame(ℂ3)).
Evangelizing White Americans: Sacrifice,
Race, and a Korean Mission Movement in
America
Authors: Kim Rebecca
Published: July 2016

This paper examines the phenomena of non-western missionaries evangelizing in the West through
a case study of a Korean mission movement in the United States. It discusses how Korean missionaries
of color were able to evangelize white Americans in the late 1970s and have had some success in crossracial
evangelism. It argues that Korean missionaries practiced a theology of sacrifice to evangelize white
Americans. They practically embraced suffering, self-denial, and service and specialized in sacrifice to
evangelize Americans. An important part of this theology, however, included uplifting and privileging white
converts. Given their long history with white-American missionaries and American imperialism, Korean
evangelicals were privy to a white-dominant racial hierarchy in American society. This affected those whom
the missionaries in my study viewed to be the “real Americans” and the “ideal native” converts in America.
It also shaped how they sought to evangelize and draw the white population into their congregations.
Analysis of Disposal of Public Property without Tender Procedure on the Example of the Municipality of Krakow
Authors: Trembecka Anna
Published: July 2016

The aim of this study is to analyze the procedure for the disposal of public property without tender on the example of the Municipality of Krakow, with respect to the scope, purpose, conditions of disposal and generated income, in the period of 2012–2014.

The vast majority of plots of land (over 220) were disposed of in order to improve the land use conditions of an adjacent plot, subject to ownership rights or to perpetual usufruct of a person who intended to purchase this property.

The mode of disposal without tender procedures is also widely used for those who are entitled to the priority right in the acquisition of public property. This category includes, for example, residential tenants who, during the analyzed period, purchased about 2.8 thousand dwellings, in most cases with a 90-percent discount.

The article points out the problems which occur over the course of preparing documentation necessary for the transaction, in particular those concerning incorrect geodetic and legal status of the real property. The author discussed selected case law on this subject and proposed methods of solving these problems.
The Impact of Wind Farms on the Prices of Nearby Houses in Poland: A Review and Synthesis
Authors: Torzewski Marcin
Published: July 2016

Since 2009/10 Poland has experienced a dynamic growth of wind energy production. Currently, wind energy is the most popular resource of renewable energy in Poland. Despite the importance of wind energy for the Polish economy, there is no reliable and comprehensive research on the causal effects of wind farm facilities on property prices.

The aim of this article is to critically review existing research related to the impact of wind farms on prices of nearby residential properties. The article concentrates on Polish as well as international scientific literature. Besides presenting the main findings obtained from the review of literature, the article clusters these findings based on information that is crucial to the analysis: methodology, data, and subject of study. The literature review is followed by a description of the characteristics of wind energy in Poland, which includes differences in the location of wind farms between Poland and other countries. The article concludes that despite the fact that some international research points to a significant causal effect of wind farms on property prices, these results cannot be easily transposed to Polish circumstances. Based on the reviewed literature, the article moreover shows directions for improving future analyses in Poland, particularly with respect to the methodology.
The Diversification of Communes’ Revenue from Real Estate across Provinces
Authors: Trojanek Maria , Kisiała Wojciech
Published: July 2016

The aim of this paper is to identify the spatial differentiation of revenue from real estate in communes’ budgets across Polish provinces. We discuss property fees and taxes which feed into the communes’ budgets. We also present the assumptions of the research procedure which enabled us to distinguish classes of provinces according to revenues from real estate. In a further section of the paper, we analyze per capita revenues from real estate and the share of these revenues in the own income of communes among the distinguished classes of distance from the province capital. The results of our study show that, in the years under discussion, there are clear differences between spatial regularities in both scopes of analysis (the level of per capita income from real estate and the share of revenue from properties in the communes’ own income).
Investment Strategies of Housing Developers in Light of Demographic Changes in Polish Society (Selected Problems)
Authors: Siemińska Ewa
Published: July 2016

The main topic assumed in the deliberations of the present article is the phenomenon of dynamic changes in the demographic structure of the Polish society and their influence on the direction of changes in the development of selected aspects of the residential real estate market and its financing.

As it turns out, the increasingly evident aging of the Polish society, on the one hand, and high emigration of working-age youth, who set up families abroad, on the other, have their multidirectional determinants and implications also in the context of the residential real estate market. This interesting and relatively new - as far as the Polish economy is concerned - phenomenon requires a more in-depth diagnosis and analysis by various experts

Based on the newest available GUS, NBP, ZBP, BIK and KNF reports and statistics, as well as documents of developers, the development strategies of real estate development companies and the functioning of the banking sector engaged in financing the residential real estate market were analyzed in terms of their suitability to the occurring and forecasted demographic changes in society.

The aim of the study is to indicate the need to reduce the risk of developers' projects and entities engaged in servicing the real estate market by continuously adapting their offers to changing socioeconomic conditions.
Food design: Symbols of our daily nutrition
Authors: Stummerer Sonja , Hablesreiter Martin
Published: July 2016

Food is brought to our tables in an endless array of shapes, colors, and recipes – it is designed. We transform food for greater pleasure, and for practical purposes such as longer storage life, but also to convey values and tell myths. Food design helps to pass on cultural information collected by former generations and provides structures how to lay out life. Symbolically charged bread is one of the oldest examples of food design. Some of the ancient motifs have survived until today, for example the plaited pastry or the croissant. In ancient Greece, curved pastry symbolized the crescent moon and was used as an offering to the moon goddess. Plaited bread presumably replaced an earlier practice of sacrificing one’s own hair. Traditional food is not a question of good taste, nor of age or originality, but how it conforms to our cultural standards and confirms our views of existence. The conveyance of symbolic contents and higher cultural values is a fundamental issue when it comes to successful food. The Surprise Egg is a modern example of how age-old myths like metamorphosis, birth, and new life can be used to connect a food to a higher symbolic universe and charge it with “extra” sense far beyond simple classifications like “tasty” or “nourishing.” In this paper we present research about the origin of the shapes and forms our food comes in, the factors playing a role in its design and who it is that actually decides what the things we eat every day are like.
Analysis of Indoor Environment in Classroom Based on Hygienic Requirements
Authors: Javorček Miroslav , Sternová Zuzana
Published: July 2016

The article contains the analysis of experimental ventilation measurement in selected classrooms of the Elementary School Štrba. Mathematical model of selected classroom was prepared according to in-situ measurements and air exchange was calculated. Interior air temperature and quality influences the students ´ comfort. Evaluated data were compared to requirements of standard (STN EN 15251,2008) applicable to classroom indoor environment during lectures, highlighting the difference between required ambiance quality and actually measured values. CO2 concentration refers to one of the parameters indicating indoor environment quality.
Die Auswirkungen der Digitalisierung auf das Geschäftsmodell der Genossenschaftsbanken
Authors: Jovanović Tanja , Voigt Kai-Ingo
Published: July 2016

Die Digitalisierung führt aktuell zu erheblichen Veränderungen in der Finanzierungsbranche. Insbesondere Genossenschaftsbanken scheinen mit ihrem traditionellen, regional-orientierten Geschäftsmodell dem Digitalisierungstrend entgegenzustehen. Die vorliegende Arbeit analysiert das Geschäftsmodell von Genossenschaftsbanken auf Basis von Experteninterviews, um die Auswirkungen der Digitalisierung genauer zu untersuchen. Es wird deutlich, dass das Geschäftsmodell der Genossenschaftsbanken in all seinen Facetten betroffen ist und im Zuge der Digitalisierung angepasst werden muss.