bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
What is Holding Back UK Productivity? Lessons from Decades of Measurement
Authors: Mason Geoff , O'Mahony Mary , Riley Rebecca
Published: October 2018

UK labour productivity is significantly lower than that of many other similarly advanced economies and has been so for decades, with negative implications for UK living standards. To make matters worse, during the last ten years labour productivity growth has stalled in most industrialised countries, and particularly in the UK. This has led to a renewed policy focus on productivity growth, as evidenced by successive government productivity plans and efforts to re-invigorate industrial strategy. This paper reviews the evidence on UK productivity performance, identifying what we know about the causes of its weakness, what we do not know and what this means for policy. We review the evidence through the lens of developments in economic measurement, drawing in particular on the work of National Institute colleagues past and present, and with a view to the key measurement challenges ahead that, unlocked, will help us understand better what is holding back UK productivity.
Novel temperature sensors based on strain-relieved braiding constructions
Authors: Wendler Johannes , Nocke Andreas , Aibibu Dilbar , Cherif Chokri
Published: October 2018

Novel textile temperature sensors based on strain-relieved braiding constructions offer attractive monitoring possibilities for numerous application fields involving e-textiles in general, and medical textiles in particular. Thus, the research work presented in this paper focused on theoretical foundations, manufacturing, and procedural, mechanical as well as thermal testing of these newly developed, textile-based sensors for temperature measurements. The median basic resistance of the scalable sensor yarns using a helical stainless steel wire is about 0.81 Ω/mm. Within the temperature range of 22 to 40℃, the developed sensor yarn has a mean linearity deviation of 0.028 K. The measured temperature coefficient is 0.68 × 10−3 K−1, which correlates with the properties of the stainless steel wire.
Simulation of jet velocity in the melt-blowing process using the coupled air–polymer model
Authors: Hao Xibo , Huang Hui , Zeng Yongchun
Published: October 2018

The polymer jet velocity is one of the most basic and critical factors in the melt-blowing process and has always been difficult to measure online. Much effort has been made on the numerical prediction of the jet velocity. However, little work has involved the complex interaction between the air flow and the polymer. Here, the Level-Set method is used to develop the coupled air–polymer two-phase flow model, and to simulate the polymer jet motion in the melt-blowing process considering the coupled effect of the air and polymer. Meanwhile, high-speed photography is adopted in the experiments to verify the simulation results. The x- and y-components of the jet velocities and the whipping amplitude of the jet motion are discussed. The rapid increase of jet velocity and the decrease of jet diameter show that most attenuation of the polymer jet occurred within a distance close to the die (10 mm). Based on the model, the effects of the processing parameters on the jet velocity are examined numerically.
Localized impact stress concentrations in soft armors due to microscale projectile edge geometries
Authors: Guo Zherui , Chen Weinong , Zheng James
Published: October 2018

Although extensive focus has been placed on the ballistic performance of projectiles with certain macroscale geometries and dimensions, the microscale geometries are not as rigorously standardized. The localized stress concentrations arising from microscale geometries introduce multiaxial and locally concentrated stress states within the constituent material of the soft-armor target, which can result in premature failure that is not predicted with existing models. In this study, the microscale edge/corner geometries of right circular cylinder (RCC) projectiles are varied, and their respective ballistic performance was determined via experiments to examine the effects of the localized stress concentrations. Target panels were examined post-mortem and the effects of these localized stress concentrations on the failure modes were quantified. Experiments results indicate that stress concentrations drastically reduce the ballistic performance of the soft armor targets, and the fabric targets appear to fail without significant strain energy absorption.
Functional responsibilities of municipal government: Metropolitan disparities and instruments of intergovernmental management
Authors: León-Moreta Agustín
Published: October 2018

This paper examines the functional responsibilities of municipal government, in the context of intergovernmental interactions in metropolitan areas of the USA. It presents an operationalisation of the functional responsibilities of municipal government: measures of size and breadth of those responsibilities assess the reliability of the findings across those related measurements. Alternative explanations are tested for differences in the functional responsibilities of municipal government in metropolitan (metro) areas. The central finding is that the functional responsibilities of municipal government vary widely; additional findings are that regional and intergovernmental contexts shape those responsibilities, based on a pooled time-series analysis of municipal governments. The paper reports census-normalised data that can be utilised for research extensions. Although its primary contribution is to research on functional responsibilities of municipal government, the paper also proposes a local public economies approach to identify factors influencing the breadth of those responsibilities in metropolitan areas.
When temporary agency work is not so temporary
Authors: Chambel Maria José , Sobral Filipa
Published: October 2018

Theory and empirical research have provided mixed arguments and evidence for the effects of temporary agency work on workers’ well-being. One unresolved issue is how length of service in agency work affects workers’ well-being and behaviour. This study, based on Self-Determination Theory, explored this question by comparing the motives for temporary agency employment and the well-being of workers who have had this employment status for different periods of time. From a sample of 3300 Portuguese temporary agency workers, the study compared three groups who had been engaged in temporary agency work for (1) up to 6 months, (2) between 7 and 12 months and (3) between 13 and 24 months. Regression analyses, controlling for background variables and job insecurity perception, showed that longer periods of temporary agency working were associated with lower autonomous and voluntary motives for temporary employment, workplace well-being and well-being outside work. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.
Effects of PECS on the Emergence of Vocal Mands and the Reduction of Aggressive Behavior Across Settings for a Child With Autism
Authors: Hu Xiaoyi , Lee Gabrielle
Published: October 2018

Effective strategies to address communication and behavior challenges are critical in early intervention programs. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of the Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS) on vocal mands and aggressive behavior displayed by a child with autism in China. One 4-year-old boy with autism participated in this study. The experimental design was a multiple baseline across three settings. The PECS intervention involved the first three phases described in the PECS manual. The results indicated that PECS effectively increased vocal mands and decreased aggressive behavior maintained by access to preferred items in all three settings. The results also suggested that vocal mands were potentially controlled by pictures in the PECS book. One week following the completion of the intervention, the child maintained the PECS exchanges at a high level with increased vocal mands. His aggressive behavior remained at almost zero occurrences. Results of this study have important implications to early intervention educators working with children with autism.
Progress and Priorities in Research to Improve Outcomes for Students With or at Risk for Emotional and Behavioral Disorders
Authors: Lloyd Blair P. , Bruhn Allison L. , Sutherland Kevin S. , Bradshaw Catherine P.
Published: October 2018

The Peacock Hill Working Group (PHWG) published a seminal position article nearly 30 years ago on the state of the field of special education for children with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD). They concluded their discussion with a set of recommendations for practice, policy, and research. The purpose of the present article is to revisit the PHWG’s calls to the field with an emphasis on setting a research agenda related to children and youth with EBD. As a follow-up to the problems and promises identified by the PHWG, we identify progress and priorities for each of their six calls for research to improve outcomes for students with EBD. We address the broader context underlying each recommendation and how it has changed over time, describe research progress to date, and identify priorities to move the field forward. The overarching goal of this article is to inform and help shape the next phase of research on EBD, which in turn will advance the implementation and scale-up of effective programs and practices to better meet the needs of students with EBD in schools.
Effects of the Innovation Climate on Turnover Intention in the Australian Public Service
Authors: Demircioglu Mehmet Akif , Berman Evan
Published: October 2018

Employee turnover is an important concern for many public organizations, and research is increasingly seeking to understand the factors associated with this phenomenon. This article analyzes the effect of innovation climate on turnover intention (TI); it theorizes that an innovation climate encourages employee participation and creativity, thereby making jobs more interesting and reducing TI. Using data from the Australian Public Service (APS), an organization concerned with innovation and reducing TI, this study finds that innovation climate reduces three types of TIs to another agency, to the private sector, and to retire. This result is robust across a broad range of occupations and types of employees (frontline, senior, and management), and we have controlled for measures that are frequently studied, such as job satisfaction and salary satisfaction. This article suggests that policy makers should remove barriers to innovation and encourage activities and supervisory practices that make jobs more interesting—and, thus, the innovation climate stronger—as these actions may reduce employee turnover.
Collaborative design tools in engineering education: Insight to choose the appropriate PLM software
Authors: Maranzana Nicolas , Segonds Frédéric , Buisine Stéphanie
Published: October 2018

The shift from sequential to concurrent engineering has led to changes in the way design projects are managed. In order to assist designers, many effective tools have been developed to support collaborative engineering. Nowadays, industrial scenarios encourage companies to adopt product lifecycle management solutions, even if they may not be able to understand their benefits. Indeed, product lifecycle management roadmap is quite difficult to implement and return on invest can take time. Moreover, many free solutions with comparable functionalities are developed, which have been increasingly successful. In this article, we test different configurations of software to make a comparison between free software and market solutions. In this experiment, 72 students in a Master’s degree course aimed to design mechanical products by using dedicated software to assist collaborative distributed design, using two different configurations: free and commercial solutions. The research question to be solved is: as engineering educators, what is the most efficient way to train our students to collaborative distributed design? This experiment allowed us to compare design functionalities between the two configurations, in order to determine ways to improve efficiency in a collaborative distributed design situation. Finally, the feedback generated in this experiment allowed us to adapt training practices in engineering education.
Feminist political ecology and legal geography: A case study of the Tonle Sap protected wetlands of Cambodia
Authors: Gillespie Josephine , Perry Nicola
Published: October 2018

Legal geography (LG) unravels the co-constitutive relationship between law, space and society. Much LG scholarship has focused on urban issues situated in the Global North, but there is an emerging scholarship that explicitly extends this effort to the Global South and to rural locations. For example, Gillespie’s LG research in Southeast Asia exposes problems in governance institutions and decision-making processes that can unintentionally exacerbate existing socioeconomic disadvantage. The feminist political ecology (FPE) approach, as conceptualized by Rocheleau et al. and more recently expanded upon by Elmhirst provides a useful additional framework for considering the intersectionality of social and environmental factors which constitute identity, and the mutual dependency between identity and ecological processes. In this paper we argue that marrying an LG perspective with FPE results in a more nuanced understanding of complex legal–human–environment dynamics. Our focus on lore/law plus gendered identity as a lens for analysis blends an emergent LG literature with insights from FPE. This paper draws on research from a pilot project on the formal and informal regulatory mechanisms that enable and/or disable sustainable conservation in the protected wetlands of the Tonle Sap (lake) in central Cambodia.
Chondrocytes cultured in silk-based biomaterials maintain function and cell morphology
Authors: Ni Yusu , Jiang Yi , Wang Kaishi , Shao Zhengzhong , Chen Xin , Sun Shan , Yu Huiqian , Li Wen
Published: October 2018

Objective:

To characterize the morphology of chondrocytes and the expression and secretion of active collagen II by these cells cultured within a regenerated silk fibroin film. Silk fibroin film cytocompatibility and the effect of silk fibroin on chondrocytes in vitro were also evaluated.

Methods:

Chondrocytes were transfected with a lentivirus containing a green fluorescent protein marker and cultured within a regenerated silk fibroin film. Effects on chondrocyte adhesion, growth, and expression of functional collagen II were assessed in vitro by analysis with immunofluorescent histochemistry and laser scanning confocal microscopy.

Results:

The results of this study showed that the regenerated silk fibroin film had no cytotoxic effect on chondrocytes. The regenerated silk fibroin film facilitated the adhesion of chondrocytes with typical morphology. Chondrocytes cultured within silk fibroin films exhibited the expression of collagen II in vitro.

Conclusion:

Regenerated silk fibroin film was found to be an excellent biomaterial with good cytocompatibility for chondrocytes, because these cells remained functional and maintained normal cell morphology when cultured in silk-based biomaterials. These results suggest that silk-based chondrocyte biomaterial complexes may provide a feasible and functional biomaterial for repairing clinical cartilage defects.
Income and Racial Disparity and the Role of the Built Environment in Pedestrian Injuries
Authors: Yu Chia-Yuan , Zhu Xuemei , Lee Chanam
Published: October 2018

This study examined the impacts of built environments on pedestrian-vehicle crashes with different levels of severity and the income and racial disparities related to different crash injuries in Austin, Texas. Arterial roads and commercial areas were associated with more injurious crashes. The presence of schools had a positive association with both injurious and no-injury crashes but only in areas with high percentages of nonwhites and poverty. This implies the importance of planning that separates pedestrians from vehicles in mixed-traffic commercial environments. Schools in areas with high percentages of minorities and poverty should be given priority for improvements of pedestrian safety.
Yield of Emergent Neuroimaging in Patients With Sturge-Weber Syndrome Presenting With Acute Neurologic Symptoms
Authors: Jülich Kristina , Neuberger Ilana , Sahin Mustafa , Takeoka Masanori , Pinto Anna , Prabhu Sanjay P.
Published: October 2018

Background/Aims:

Seizures, strokelike episodes, and headaches are common complications in patients with Sturge-Weber syndrome. Based on our experience, we hypothesized that patients with Sturge-Weber syndrome have frequent urgent neuroimaging studies when presenting acutely to the emergency department. In this study, we aimed to determine the incidence of acute imaging studies in this patient population and to evaluate the prevalence of findings such as acute intracranial hemorrhagic or ischemic strokes.

Methods:

To determine the frequency and yield of brain imaging, we conducted a retrospective chart analysis in patients with Sturge-Weber syndrome who presented to Boston Children’s Hospital with acute neurologic symptoms between 1996 and 2016.

Results:

We reviewed 136 encounters of patients with Sturge-Weber syndrome. In 73 of 136 encounters (53.7%), patients underwent a total of 89 imaging studies, consisting of 47 head computed tomographies (CTs) and 42 brain magnetic resonance images (MRIs). Twenty-two percent of patients imaged underwent both CT and MRI scanning of the brain. Patients with strokelike episodes or headaches were more likely to be imaged compared to patients presenting with seizures (89.7% and 100% vs 34.4%, respectively). None of the neuroimaging studies showed acute hemorrhagic or ischemic strokes.

Conclusions:

Acute neurologic manifestations of Sturge-Weber syndrome frequently lead to urgent neuroimaging. In our cohort, there was no imaging evidence of acute hemorrhagic or ischemic strokes. In addition, emergent imaging in patients presenting with breakthrough seizures did not result in meaningful changes in management.
Selling Motherhood: Gendered Emotional Labor, Citizenly Discounting, and Alienation among China’s Migrant Domestic Workers
Authors: Fu Huiyan , Su Yihui , Ni Anni
Published: October 2018

The feminization of care migration in transnational contexts has received a great deal of attention. Scholars, however, have been slow to investigate a similar trend in intranational contexts. This article expands existing research on global care chains by examining the gendered emotional labor of migrant domestic workers pertaining to China’s intranational care chains. While the former often foregrounds “racial or ethnic discounting,” the latter is characterized by “citizenly discounting” whereby migrant domestic workers are subject to an overarching system of alienation, subordination, and exploitation owning to their second-class rural hùkŏu (household registration) status. Drawing on a participant-observation study of nannies, this article highlights how the intersection of gender and rural-urban citizenship is the key to grasping China’s migrant domestic workers’ experiences of extensive alienation at the nexus of work, family, and wider society. By delving into a particular set of political, economic, and cultural forces in the Chinese context, the article makes a distinctive contribution to a more nuanced and context-sensitive understanding of the interface of gender, emotional labor, and care migration.
Evaluation of the impact and flexural strength of PP/clay/CaCO3/MAPP ternary nanocomposites by application of full factorial design of experiment
Authors: Ayaz Mohsen
Published: October 2018

The purpose of this work is to investigate the impact and flexural strength of ternary nanocomposites based on polypropylene/nano-clay/nano-calcium carbonate (PP/clay/CaCO3) with an compatibilizer, namely, maleic anhydride grafted polypropylene (MAPP) using the design of experiment (DOE) method. A full factorial DOEs was used in order to evaluate the influence of nanoparticles clay (0, 3, and 6 wt%), CaCO3 (0, 15, and 30 wt%), and MAPP (2 and 4 wt%) on the impact and flexural strength of PP/clay/CaCO3/MAPP nanocomposites. Through desirability function, it was observed that desirable values of nanoparticles for the optimal combination of the impact and flexural strength were obtained by 3-wt% nano-clay, 15-wt% nano-CaCO3, and 4-wt% MAPP. The effectiveness of the proposed approach was demonstrated through confirmation tests at the optimal levels of parameters.
Leaving the Senior Civil Service – public service bargain and beyond: The case of Estonia
Authors: Rattus Reelika , Randma-Liiv Tiina
Published: October 2018

The article explores why apolitical public sector managers decide to or are forced to leave the civil service in the example of the Estonian Senior Civil Service. The article shows that the concept of public service bargain can help to understand and systematise the causes of leaving the Senior Civil Service. It is particularly useful in distinguishing between voluntary and involuntary turnover and in linking the turnover with political–administrative relations and loyalty issues. Since public service bargain does not specifically focus on voluntary exit, other approaches known from management literature are relevant for the operationalisation of voluntary turnover and complementing the public service bargain-based model for researching turnover of top executives. The empirical study maps the people who left the Estonian Senior Civil Service in 2009–2013 and analyses and systematises various causes of their departure on the basis of semi-structured interviews (70% response rate). The empirical study shows that the turnover of top executives can be considerable even without much direct political influence. It is found that job insecurity combined with the domination of individual unwritten public service bargains tends to lead to ambiguity in the perception of the roles of top executives, which in turn causes conflicts and dissatisfaction, materialising in high voluntary turnover.
Multivariate semi-continuous proportionally constrained two-part fixed effects models and applications
Authors: Xie Yaoguo , Zhang Zhengjun , Rathouz Paul J , Barrett Bruce P
Published: October 2018

Semi-continuous data, also known as zero-inflated continuous data, have a substantial portion of responses equal to a single value (typically 0) and a continuous, right-skewed distribution among the remaining positive values. For jointly modeling multivariate clustered semi-continuous responses, the covariate effects in the positive parts can be proportionally constrained to the covariate effects in the logistic part, yielding a multivariate two-part fixed effects model. It is shown that, both theoretically and experimentally, the proportionally constrained model is more efficient than the unconstrained model in terms of parameter estimation, and thus provides a deeper understanding of the data structure when the proportionality structure holds. A robust variance estimation method is also introduced and tested under various model mis-specified cases. The proposed model is applied to data from a randomized controlled trial evaluating potential preventive effects of meditation or exercise on duration and severity of acute respiratory infection illness. The new analysis infers that meditation not only has highly significant effects on reduction of acute respiratory infection severity and duration, but also has significant effects on preventing acute respiratory infection, which was not previously reported in the literature.
Widespread emergency department access block: a human rights issue in Australia?
Authors: Allison Stephen , Bastiampillai Tarun , O’Reilly Richard , Sharfstein Steven S , Castle David
Published: October 2018

Objective:

There are increasing demands on emergency psychiatrists with higher numbers of mental health presentations, and longer stays in emergency departments (EDs). Australia, like other English speaking countries, funds considerably lower numbers of psychiatric beds than average for Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries. Consequently, acute bed occupancy is high, and a bed is frequently unavailable when a person needs admission. Patients with serious mental illness can wait days in busy and overstimulating EDs, become agitated and assaultive, and then require chemical and physical restraint. All patients have a right to safe high quality care, but the paucity of beds deprives patients of this right. The Australasian College of Emergency Medicine recommends reporting ED access block to health ministers, and human rights and/or health rights commissioners, and recommends increased funding for inpatient psychiatric care, emergency mental health and after-hours community services, together with more alcohol and other drug programs.

Conclusions:

It is challenging for emergency physicians and psychiatrists to provide optimal care for acutely unwell patients who stay extended periods in the ED. Increasing the availability of inpatient care must be considered as part of a comprehensive solution for minimising ED lengths of stay in Australia.
The Direct and Indirect Impact of Gender Diversity in New Venture Teams on Innovation Performance
Authors: Dai Ye , Byun Gukdo , Ding Fangsheng
Published: October 2018

Women's interest and participation in entrepreneurship is growing. The limited and inconclusive findings on such growth have made it difficult to characterize its influence on new venture innovation performance. In addressing this issue, our study found a positive relationship between the gender diversity scores of new venture teams—reflecting the increased presence of women—and the innovation performance of new ventures. It also found the positive influence of gender diversity on (a) the relationship between the functional diversity of a venture team and its innovation performance and (b) the relationship between female employee presence and innovation performance.
Loss of Correction After Chevron Osteotomy for Hallux Valgus as a Function of Preoperative Deformity
Authors: Kaufmann Gerhard , Sinz Stefanie , Giesinger Johannes M. , Braito Matthias , Biedermann Rainer , Dammerer Dietmar
Published: October 2018

Background:

Recurrence is relatively common after surgical correction of hallux valgus. Multiple factors are discussed that could have an influence in the loss of correction. The aim of this study was to determine preoperative radiological factors with an influence on loss of correction after distal chevron osteotomy for hallux valgus.

Methods:

Five hundred twenty-four patients who underwent the correction of a hallux valgus by means of distal chevron osteotomy at our institution between 2002 and 2012 were included. We assessed weightbearing x-rays at 4 time points: preoperatively, postoperatively, and after 6 weeks and 3 months. We investigated the intermetatarsal angle (IMA), the hallux valgus angle (HVA), the distal metatarsal articular angle (DMAA), joint congruity, and the position of the sesamoids.

Results:

At all points of the survey, significant correction of the IMA and HVA was detected. The IMA improved from 12.9 (± 2.8) to 4.5 (± 2.4) degrees and the HVA from 27.5 (± 6.9) to 9.1 (± 5.3) degrees. Loss of correction was found in both HVA and IMA during follow-up with a mean of 4.5 and 1.9 degrees, respectively. Loss of correction showed a linear correlation with preoperative IMA and HVA, and a correlation between preoperative DMAA and sesamoid position.

Conclusion:

The chevron osteotomy showed significant correction for HVA, IMA, and DMAA. Preoperative deformity, in terms of IMA, HVA, DMAA, and sesamoid position, correlated with the loss of correction and could be assessed preoperatively for HVA and IMA. Loss of correction at 3 months persisted during the follow-up period.

Level of Evidence:

Level IV, retrospective case series.
Analytical and numerical analyses of neo-Hookean thin-wall composite spheres
Authors: Weil Gidon , deBotton Gal
Published: October 2018

Thin-wall composite spheres (TWCSs) are very common in both natural and artificial structures. Their response to mechanical loading was investigated in the past almost solely in the limit of infinitesimal deformations. We examine, within the framework of finite deformation elasticity, the mechanics of incompressible TWCSs with neo-Hookean core and shell phases subjected to general homogeneous displacement and traction boundary conditions. We derive explicit general forms for the displacement and the pressure fields in both phases in terms of a power series about the shear and the tension magnitudes and the shell volume fraction. The predictions of the analytical solutions are analyzed and compared with corresponding results of finite element simulations for TWCSs with different ratios between the phases shear moduli. In addition to an extension of the work of Weil and deBotton [22] from simple shear to general homogeneous boundary conditions, we modify the power series solution and provide a reliable solution for any combination of phases shear modulus. We demonstrate that a relatively small number of terms in the series is required for a good agreement with the numerical simulations up to a stretch ratio of 1.5 when considering the local fields, and up to a stretch ratio of 2 when considering the average fields. The analysis emphasizes the interaction between the shell and the core and reveals the different roles of the coating under different boundary conditions. We highlight interesting similarities and dissimilarities between the spatial distributions of the local stresses and the variations of the average stresses developing in TWCSs with stiff and soft shells, under displacement and traction boundary conditions.
Evaluation of corneal epithelial wound healing after penetrating keratoplasty in patients receiving a new matrix therapy agent (regenerating agent)
Authors: Jullienne Rémy , Garcin Thibaud , Crouzet Emmanuel , He Zhiguo , Renault Didier , Thuret Gilles , Gain Philippe
Published: October 2018

Objectives:

Complete epithelial wound healing is a milestone in early postoperative care after penetrating keratoplasty. The re-epithelialization rate after penetrating keratoplasty was measured in patients receiving a new matrix therapy agent (regenerating agent, Cacicol®) that mimics heparan sulphates.

Methods:

This was a prospective, open-label, uncontrolled, single-centre observational study. A total of 33 consecutive patients (33 eyes) who underwent an 8.25-mm diameter penetrating keratoplasty were treated with regenerating agent eye drops: one drop in the operating theatre immediately after graft, then on alternate days. Patients were divided into those at low risk (13 patients) and high risk (20 patients) of delayed wound healing, and follow-up was performed by digital slit lamp with fluorescein-dye testing repeated daily at a fixed time. Dye area was measured using ImageJ freeware. The main endpoint was epithelial healing after regenerating agent therapy.

Results:

The mean ± standard deviation time to complete healing for all patients was 2.7 ± 1.1 (median: 3, range: 1–6) days. This was obtained on Day 1 for 15% of patients, Day 2 for 33%, Day 3 for 88%, Day 4 for 94% and Day 6 for 100%. There was no significant difference between low- and high-risk patients. The area of epithelial defect decreased by a mean ± standard deviation of 75% ± 22% between Day 1 and Day 2, corresponding to a mean ± standard deviation wound-healing rate of 11.5 ± 6.5 mm2/D. There were no systemic or local side effects related to regenerating agent.

Conclusion:

These preliminary data suggest that regenerating agent could be a useful, non-invasive therapeutic approach in postoperative management of penetrating keratoplasty with the potential to accelerate re-epithelialization.
Imitating Pathologist Based Assessment With Interpretable and Context Based Neural Network Modeling of Histology Images
Authors: Srivastava Arunima , Kulkarni Chaitanya , Huang Kun , Parwani Anil , Mallick Parag , Machiraju Raghu
Published: October 2018

Convolutional neural networks (CNNs) have gained steady popularity as a tool to perform automatic classification of whole slide histology images. While CNNs have proven to be powerful classifiers in this context, they fail to explain this classification, as the network engineered features used for modeling and classification are ONLY interpretable by the CNNs themselves. This work aims at enhancing a traditional neural network model to perform histology image modeling, patient classification, and interpretation of the distinctive features identified by the network within the histology whole slide images (WSIs). We synthesize a workflow which (a) intelligently samples the training data by automatically selecting only image areas that display visible disease-relevant tissue state and (b) isolates regions most pertinent to the trained CNN prediction and translates them to observable and qualitative features such as color, intensity, cell and tissue morphology and texture. We use the Cancer Genome Atlas’s Breast Invasive Carcinoma (TCGA-BRCA) histology dataset to build a model predicting patient attributes (disease stage and node status) and the tumor proliferation challenge (TUPAC 2016) breast cancer histology image repository to help identify disease-relevant tissue state (mitotic activity). We find that our enhanced CNN based workflow both increased patient attribute predictive accuracy (~2% increase for disease stage and ~10% increase for node status) and experimentally proved that a data-driven CNN histology model predicting breast invasive carcinoma stages is highly sensitive to features such as color, cell size, and shape, granularity, and uniformity. This work summarizes the need for understanding the widely trusted models built using deep learning and adds a layer of biological context to a technique that functioned as a classification only approach till now.
The Cognitive Neuroscience of Design Creativity
Authors: Lazar Leslee
Published: October 2018

Design cognition is a human cognitive ability that is characterized by multi-faceted skills and competencies. This skill requires finding solutions for a vague problem, where the end point is not specified and the transformations from the problem state to the solution state are also flexible. Designers solve such tasks regularly, but the mental processes involved in such a skill are not known completely. Design research has involved empirical studies and theoretical modeling to understand the cognitive processes underlying this skill. In lab-based studies, a sub-class of problem-solving tasks called “ill-structured” tasks has been used to study the design process. However, the use of a cognitive neuroscience perspective has only been nascent. In this review, some defining features of design creativity will be elucidated and a few cognitive neuroscience studies of design creativity that shows the underlying brain networks will be highlighted. Results from these experiments using ill-structured tasks along with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) show that the brain networks underlying design creativity only partially overlap with brain networks underlying other kinds of creativity. This argues for studying design creativity as a unique subset of creativity using experiments that mimic the real-world design creative processes.
Made in Sweden: The translation of a European evaluation approach
Authors: Nordesjö Kettil
Published: October 2018

To understand how evaluation approaches change between contexts, they need to be studied in relation to their social, cultural, organizational and political contexts. The aim of the article is to describe and analyse how the European Union evaluation approach, ongoing evaluation, was translated in Swedish public administration. A case study shows how institutional entrepreneurs promote their evaluation norms of participatory evaluation and attach evaluation to a less dominant governance logic in the Swedish evaluation field. This raises questions about the role of the evaluator, evaluation terminology, and the unclear and weak borders of the evaluation field where evaluation approaches can be launched and translated with relative ease.
The subjective experience of power: Its implications for the maintenance of and resistance to power in relations among Jewish and Palestinian citizens of Israel
Authors: Ben David Yael
Published: October 2018

The current research sheds new light on the power dynamics between a national majority and minority in the context of inter-group conflict, specifically Jewish and Palestinian citizens of Israel. Drawing on Giddens, it broadens the dualistic approach to power suggested by the literature to demonstrate how the manifestation of power depends on the interpretation actors give to their social positioning in different life contexts. Drawing on 32 in-depth interviews with undergraduate students on their daily experience of power, four themes emerge reflecting the co-creation and alteration of power dynamics through reflexivity and agency: insecure power, ambivalent power, subversive power and internal power. The results provide empirical support for the role of agency and subjectivity in the manifestation of social power. The discussion explores the various ways in which these themes come into play in the socio-political context of Israel.
Perceptions and realities: The main sources of information for non-Muslim Australians about the religion of Islam and Muslim people
Authors: O’Donnell Kate , Ewart Jacqui , Walding Shannon
Published: October 2018

In the context that Australian journalists and the Australian public are largely ignorant of Islam and Muslims and where racism and Islamophobia are historically rooted and persistent, this study reports on where Australians source their information about Islam and Muslims. In this study, we find that while a sample of Australian journalists believe overall that 80% of the Australian public relies on the mainstream news media as a primary source of information about the Islamic faith and its followers, this is a significant overestimation. This study identifies that the mainstream news media is a primary source of information about the religion of Islam and Muslim people for around half of Australia’s non-Muslim population (49.27% and 45.89%, respectively). Muslim people, books, social media and family and friends are also important primary sources of information. In identifying the main sources of information about Islam and Muslims in Australia, this study answers the question posed by social geographer Kevin Dunn more than a decade ago. By comparing perceptions with reality, we find the mainstream news media are not as significant a source of information for non-Muslim Australians about Islam and Muslims as our sample of journalists believe them to be. This opens up the space for policymakers to look for new and targeted ways (beyond improving the ways the news media report stories about Islam and Muslims) to normalise Islam as a religion of peace and further work to combat entrenched Islamophobia, key among them are Muslim people.
The perceived importance of external ties and the performance of small owner-managed firms
Authors: Tretiakov Alexei , Bensemann Jo , Sanders John , Galloway Laura
Published: October 2018

The effects of perceived importance of external ties, a dimension of tie strength, on the performance of small owner-managed firms were investigated using data from a survey of the owners of small owner-managed firms in Scotland and New Zealand. Ties rated as highly important were found to promote growth in sales. In contrast, weak-in-importance ties were found to suppress growth in sales. The results support the core competence perspective on the configuration of external ties, suggesting that firms should focus on important external ties that contribute to their core competencies.
A novel fuzzy logic variable geometry turbocharger and exhaust gas recirculation control scheme for optimizing the performance and emissions of a diesel engine
Authors: Cheng Li , Dimitriou Pavlos , Wang William , Peng Jun , Aitouche Abdel
Published: October 2018

Variable geometry turbocharger and exhaust gas recirculation valves are widely installed on diesel engines to allow optimized control of intake air mass flow and exhaust gas recirculation ratio. The positions of variable geometry turbocharger vanes and exhaust gas recirculation valve are predominantly regulated by dual-loop proportional–integral–derivative controllers to achieve predefined set-points of intake air pressure and exhaust gas recirculation mass flow. The set-points are determined by extensive mapping of the intake air pressure and exhaust gas recirculation mass flow against various engine speeds and loads concerning engine performance and emissions. However, due to the inherent nonlinearities of diesel engines and the strong interferences between variable geometry turbocharger and exhaust gas recirculation, an extensive map of gains for the P, I, and D terms of the proportional–integral–derivative controllers is required to achieve desired control performance. The present simulation study proposes a novel fuzzy logic control scheme to determine appropriate positions of variable geometry turbocharger vanes and exhaust gas recirculation valve in real-time. Once determined, the actual positions of the vanes and valve are regulated by two local proportional–integral–derivative controllers. The fuzzy logic control rules are derived based on an understanding of the interactions among the variable geometry turbocharger, exhaust gas recirculation, and diesel engine. The results obtained from an experimentally validated one-dimensional transient diesel engine model showed that the proposed fuzzy logic control scheme is capable of efficiently optimizing variable geometry turbocharger and exhaust gas recirculation positions under transient engine operating conditions in real-time. Compared to the baseline proportional–integral–derivative controllers approach, both engine’s efficiency and total turbo efficiency have been improved by the proposed fuzzy logic control scheme while NOx and soot emissions have been significantly reduced by 34% and 82%, respectively.
Shifting the agency of remembering: Inventing the loyal Romani victim in the context of Austrian memory debates
Authors: Benedik Stefan
Published: October 2018

Many paradoxes characterise the case of Romani communities, who have been dubbed one of Europe’s most eminent ‘problems’. On the one hand, European states are increasingly acknowledging Romani people as a victim group of National Socialism and the Second World War while, on the other hand, politics and public debate continue to discriminate against contemporary Romani communities. As part of identity politics, Romani organisations have been highlighting their history of persecution, a process initiated at the time when the memory of National Socialism has become established as the core of European collective memory. This paper examines how narratives of a violent past have been integrated into Austrian ‘national memory’ and how this intersects with the construction of Romani victimhood history – often as a consequence of Romani organisation’s own efforts of telling their community’s history. I argue that the mainstreaming of Romani suffering is first due to a successful integration of Romani victims into the framework of a new understanding of ‘racially’ diverse Austrian victimhood. Second, I trace the role of individual protagonists within these processes of acknowledgment and highlight the relevance of gendered positions in developing a new racialised history of persecution.
The impact of extra-curricular activity on the student experience
Authors: Buckley Patrick , Lee Paul
Published: October 2018

Extra-curricular activities including clubs, fraternities and societies have been part of the fabric of higher level institutions since their origin. A significant body of educational research has investigated the impact of these activities on academic performance and the acquisition of discipline complementary skills and competencies. In the modern context, driven by forces such as marketization and massification, higher level educational institutions find themselves competing to attract students on the basis of the lived student experience. In this article, a large qualitative survey is used to capture data on the impact of extra-curricular activity on the lived student experience. In addition to supporting existing theories on the academic and skills acquisition effect of extra-curricular activities, the article contributes by identifying a wide range of additionalities to the student experience that participants attribute to their participation in extra-curricular activities.
Delivery of Cognitive Stimulation Therapy for people with dementia in an inpatient setting (innovative practice)
Authors: McAulay Jo , Streater Amy
Published: October 2018

Cognitive Stimulation Therapy is a 14-session group programme delivered over seven weeks, designed for people in the early to moderate stages of dementia, and typically delivered in a community setting. Less is known about its delivery and usefulness in an inpatient setting. Additional factors that impact on Cognitive Stimulation Therapy delivery in an inpatient setting included length of hospital stay, additional support needs of the patient and pre-group planning. Feedback suggested intermittent Cognitive Stimulation Therapy delivery in practice was a positive experience for both patients and staff. This supports the delivery of Cognitive Stimulation Therapy regardless of the potential limitations in an inpatient setting.
Examining symptom trajectories that predict worse outcomes in post-CABG patients
Authors: Tsai Ming-Fen , Tsay Shiow-Luan , Moser Debra , Huang Tsuey-Yuan , Tsai Feng-Chun
Published: October 2018

Background:

Coronary artery bypass grafting is one of the most common interventional revascularisation procedures used to treat coronary artery disease worldwide. With a wide variability in postoperative cardiac symptoms, identification of symptom trajectories during the 3-month postoperative recovery period may improve clinicians’ abilities to support symptom recovery.

Aims:

To identify distinct trajectories of cardiac symptoms seen over time in a cohort of patients during the 3-month post-coronary artery bypass grafting period, and determine clinical characteristics associated with different symptom trajectories postoperatively.

Methods:

A prospective trial used the cardiac symptom survey to determine patient symptoms at baseline prior to surgery, and at 1 week, 6 weeks and 3 months following coronary artery bypass grafting. A latent class growth model and multivariate logistic regression analyses were used.

Results:

Data were obtained from patients ( N=198) undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting in six medical centres of Taiwan, through patient medical records and interviews. Based on their frequency, trajectories were explored for the six most common postoperative symptoms including angina, dyspnoea, fatigue, depression, sleep problems and anxiety. We identified two to three distinct classes of trajectories for each symptom. Age, longer intensive care unit stay, fewer vessels bypassed, off-pump coronary artery bypass grafting, smoking history and lack of regular exercise were associated with worse symptom outcome trends over time.

Conclusions:

Using this unique trajectories-based research method, we are able to achieve a better understanding of symptom recovery patterns over time among coronary artery bypass grafting patients. Recognising risk factors and potential recovery patterns prior to surgery may allow healthcare providers to deliver targeted discharge planning and individualised care after coronary artery bypass grafting.