bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
NMR and EPR trapping of the active species in the ethylene polymerization and trimerization catalyst systems
Authors: Soshnikov I.E. , Semikolenova N.V. , Antonov A.A. , Bryliakov K.P. , Zakharov V.A. , Talsi E.P.
Published: February 2017

In this work, previously undetected intermediates of several practically promising catalyst systems for ethylene polymerization and trimerization are discussed. In particular, the activation of ethylene polymerization catalysts (1) LNiCl2 (L = 2,4,6-trimethyl- (N-5,6,7-trihydroquinolin-8-ylidene)phenylamine) with AlEt2Cl and AlMe2Cl, (2) activation of bis(imino)pyridine vanadium(III) chloride L1VIIICl3 (L1 = 2,6-(ArN=CMe)2C5H3N, Ar = 2,6-iPr2C6H3; 2,6-Me2C6H3; 2,4,6-Me3C6H2; 3,5- F2C6H3) with AlMe3/[Ph3C]+[B(C6F5)]4¯ and MAO, and (3) selective ethylene trimerization catalyst (FI)TiCl3 (FI = phenoxyimine ligand with an additional aryl-OCH3 donor) with MAO have been assessed by NMR and EPR spectroscopy. The nature of ion-pair intermediates – the closest precursors of the propagating species – has been established, and the major catalyst deactivation pathways are discussed.
Creation and Valuation of Instruments Compensating Lower Share Prices with the Help of Black–Scholes Formula
Authors: Zaremba Leszek
Published: February 2017

In this paper, we present a 1-period model of the Polish financial market from the view point of KGHM, the Polish largest listed company that suffered huge declines in share prices from 125 PLN in August 2015 to 60 PLN in January 2015. Our goal is to show how KGHM might create a portfolio (with practically zero cost), which would fully compensate the abovementioned declines. The methodology presented below may be equally well employed by many other listed companies and investment funds, as well. We create here a matrix model of the Polish financial market and employ the Black-Scholes formula to valuate portfolios compensating potential declines of KGHM’s shares prices. To give more insight to practitioners wishing to apply the results presented here to other listed companies, we distinguish two cases. In one of them, volatility of KGHM’s share prices is 20%, and in the other case it equals 33%.
Safety in a Manufacturing Company
Authors: Kopczewski Marian , Smal Tomasz
Published: February 2017

The safety systems include the functioning of the institutions of a state, central, and local government, businesses, and social organizations. Research in this discipline should contribute to the development of the theoretical foundations and systems of national and international security and operating systems in the area of technical safety. Technical safety engineering should deal with a design, build, operation, and decommissioning of technical measures in order to minimize the opportunities and the size of their negative impact on the environment, people, and the good of civilization. With this in mind, the main purpose of the research was to evaluate the safety of technical manufacturing company that uses a wide machine park. A plant manufacturing parts and components for automobiles was the audited company.
DNA methylation: gene expression regulation
Authors: Zmarzły Nikola , Wojdas Emilia , Skubis Aleksandra , Sikora Bartosz , Mazurek Urszula
Published: February 2017

Epigenetic modifications are responsible for the modulation of gene expression without affecting the nucleotide sequence. The observed changes in transcriptional activity of genes in tumor tissue compared to normal tissue, are often the result of DNA methylation within the promoter sequences of these genes. This modification by attaching methyl groups to cytosines within CpG islands results in silencing of transcriptional activity of the gene, which in the case of tumor suppressor genes is manifested by abnormal cell cycle, proliferation and excessive destabilization of the repair processes. Further studies of epigenetic modifications will allow a better understanding of mechanisms of their action, including the interdependence between DNA methylation and activity of proteins crucial to the structure of chromatin and gene activity. Wider knowledge of epigenetic mechanisms involved in the process of malignant transformation and pharmacological regulation of the degree of DNA methylation provides an opportunity to improve the therapeutic actions in the fight against cancer.
Methods for eradication of the biofilms formed by opportunistic pathogens using novel techniques – A review
Authors: Zabielska Julia , Tyfa Agnieszka , Kunicka-Styczyńska Alina
Published: February 2017

The inconvenient environmental conditions force microorganisms to colonize either abiotic surfaces or animal and plant tissues and, therefore, form more resistant structures – biofilms. The phenomenon of microbial adherence, opportunistic pathogens in particular, is of a great concern. Colonization of medical devices and biofilm formation on their surface, may lead to severe infections mainly in humans with impaired immune system. Although, current research consider various methods for prevention of microbial biofilms formation, still, once a biofilm is formed, its elimination is almost impossible. This study focuses on the overview of novel methods applied for eradication of mature opportunistic pathogens' biofilms. Among various techniques the following: cold plasma, electric field, ultrasounds, ozonated water treatment, phagotherapy, matrix targeting enzymes, bacteriocins, synthetic chemicals and natural origin compounds used for biofilm matrix disruption were briefly described.
MP estimation applied to platykurtic sets of geodetic observations
Authors: Wiśniewski Zbigniew
Published: February 2017

MPestimation is a method which concerns estimating of the location parameters when the probabilistic models of observations differ from the normal distributions in the kurtosis or asymmetry. The system of Pearson’s distributions is the probabilistic basis for the method. So far, such a method was applied and analyzed mostly for leptokurtic or mesokurtic distributions (Pearson’s distributions of types IV or VII), which predominate practical cases. The analyses of geodetic or astronomical observations show that we may also deal with sets which have moderate asymmetry or small negative excess kurtosis. Asymmetry might result from the influence of many small systematic errors, which were not eliminated during preprocessing of data. The excess kurtosis can be related with bigger or smaller (in relations to the Hagen hypothesis) frequency of occurrence of the elementary errors which are close to zero. Considering that fact, this paper focuses on the estimation with application of the Pearson platykurtic distributions of types I or II. The paper presents the solution of the corresponding optimization problem and its basic properties.

Although platykurtic distributions are rare in practice, it was an interesting issue to find out what results can be provided by MPestimation in the case of such observation distributions. The numerical tests which are presented in the paper are rather limited; however, they allow us to draw some general conclusions.
Possession of nuclear weapons – between legality and legitimization
Authors: Srogosz Tomasz
Published: February 2017

Recently in Russian policy there was a return to the Cold War practices, which include, inter alia, nuclear deterrence, and even threatening to use nuclear weapons. That policy, however, is carried out in the changed international space compared with the times of the Cold War. The period of detente in relations between world powers was dominated inter alia by discussion on the humanitarian intervention. Human rights, tied to the value of justice, become the most important component of international order. Thus, justice has become the value of the international legal order equivalent to peace. In such a reality, the legitimacy of nuclear weapons should be based not only on the deterrence, but also on the need to protect human rights, tied with justice. Possession of nuclear weapons per se is contrary to this value. This fact should be taken into account in the world powers’ policies. Banning nuclear weapons, in accordance with the Radbruch formula, should be a result of these policies.
The New European Network on Victims’ Rights
Authors: Gážiová Ivana , Kralik Jan
Published: February 2017

The Netherlands, Slovakia, France and Ireland are the States that came up with the initiative to establish a European Network on Victims’ Rights. This project is financed by Action grant of the European Commission and partially by Netherlands. The aim of this paper is to give general information about the main goals of the network and current work of Member States in the area of victims’ rights. The information is simply structured and composes of one main chapter and two subchapters. The first subchapter is divided into four paragraphs reflecting the framework of the network while the second one descriptively informs about the Council conclusions adopted during Netherlands’ presidency that confirmed the existence of the network.
Access to a Court in Matters Concerning Disputes of an Individual with the Public Administration in the Republic of Poland vs. the Standards of the Council of Europe
Authors: Wójcicka Ewa
Published: February 2017

This paper focuses specifically on the fundamental part of the right to a fair trial, namely access to a court. The aim of this article is an attempt to analyse the difference between the requirements of European standards and how they are reflected in Polish legislation. First of all, I am going to analyze basic European standards specified in Article 6(1) of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, Recommendation Rec(2004)20 on the judicial review of administrative acts and in the jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights. Then I will focus on selected aspects of the problem of judicial review of administrative acts specified in the Act of 30th August 2002 Law on Proceedings before Administrative Courts. I will discuss several specific topics from this field, which can be considered as crucial in relation to access to court, namely: definition of terms for access to justice by an individual, exhausting administrative remedies before judicial review, locus standi and legal aid.
Multi-Door Courthouse established through the European Mediation Directive?
Authors: Malacka Michal
Published: February 2017

The article deals with the systematical problem of an acceptance and impementation of foreign law instruments in EU, incoming from Anglo-American law system. Supporting partial methods of the ADR, European legislative is focusing on the mediation and using this method in civil procedure law, especially in family law matters. The practitioners have accepted the idea of mediation as a part of civil law procedure without analyzing or studying the real nature of this method or instrument. The study is looking into the problematics of the Multi-Door Courthouse model and comparing it with European situation in the member states. It is also trying to find the best possible future ways for the development in the area of mediation with the reflection of the results of the implementation of the European mediation directive.
The Council of Europe and Control System in Local Self-Government of the Slovak Republic
Authors: Baničová Katarína
Published: February 2017

The control system of the public administration of the Slovak Republic is regulated by several laws, on top of which stands the very Constitution of the Slovak Republic. The control activity is carried out by the authorities that are delegated to carry out checks directly from the Act, whose objective is to determine the objective status of the facts, and the management of financial management and other means of public investment. The main objective of the article was to analyze and present effectivity and function of internal control system in the individual municipality size categories in the Slovak Republic
A Brief Insight into Disinheritance
Authors: Talanda Adam , Talandová Iveta
Published: February 2017

The article briefly introduces current regulation of disinheritance in the Czech Civil Code. Firstly it deals with the notion and purpose of disinheritance, and consequently it describes reasons for disinheritance and ways of disinheritance, highlighting some interpretation difficulties in this field. .
Physical parameters of Fluvisols on flooded and non-flooded terraces
Authors: Kercheva Milena , Sokołowska Zofia , Hajnos Mieczysław , Skic Kamil , Shishkov Toma
Published: February 2017

The heterogeneity of soil physical properties of Fluvisols, lack of large pristine areas, and different moisture regimes on non-flooded and flooded terraces impede the possibility to find a soil profile which can serve as a baseline for estimating the impact of natural or anthropogenic factors on soil evolution. The aim of this study is to compare the pore size distribution of pristine Fluvisols on flooded and non-flooded terraces using the method of the soil water retention curve, mercury intrusion porosimetry, nitrogen adsorption isotherms, and water vapour sorption. The pore size distribution of humic horizons of pristine Fluvisols on the non-flooded terrace differs from pore size distribution of Fluvisols on the flooded terrace. The peaks of textural and structural pores are higher in the humic horizons under more humid conditions. The structural characteristics of subsoil horizons depend on soil texture and evolution stage. The peaks of textural pores at about 1 mm diminish with lowering of the soil organic content. Structureless horizons are characterized by uni-modal pore size distribution. Although the content of structural pores of the subsoil horizons of Fluvisols on the non-flooded terrace is low, these pores are represented by biopores, as the coefficient of filtration is moderately high. The difference between non-flooded and flooded profiles is well expressed by the available water storage, volume and mean radius of pores, obtained by mercury intrusion porosimetry and water desorption, which are higher in the surface horizons of frequently flooded Fluvisols.
Some physiological responses of wheat and bean to soil salinity at low matric suctions
Authors: Khatar Mahnaz , Mohammadi Mohammad Hossein , Shekari Farid
Published: February 2017

The effect of soil matric suction (2-33 kPa) and salinity (soil solution electrical conductivity 0.7-8 dS m−1for bean and 2-20 dS m−1for wheat) on some physiological characteristics of bean and wheat in a clay loam soil under greenhouse condition was investigated. The results showed that the leaf chlorophyll content index and potassium concentration decrease under salinity stress and increase with matric suction from 2 to 33 kPa suction for both plants. The wheat chlorophyll content index declines during the stress spell but bean chlorophyll content index remains nearly constant. The lowest values of the content of soluble sugars and the highest values of leaf proline content are observed at2 kPa matric suction (highest aeration stress) for bean and wheat. As matric suction increases from 2 to 6 kPa, the soluble sugars increases and proline content decreases significantly and then soluble sugars decreases and proline content increases until 10 kPa suction, and the soluble sugars remains nearly constant at the higher matric suctions for both plants. While the electrical conductivity effect on the soluble sugars is not significant, the values of proline content for both crop increase significantly with electrical conductivity. It was shown that the aeration stress can result in more considerable and rapid physiological responses, in comparison with salinity stress. There is a strong correlation between wheat and bean chlorophyll content index and potassium concentration under salinity and aeration stresses.
Properties of corn starch subjected hydrothermal modification
Authors: Gryszkin Artur , Zięba Tomasz , Kapelko-Żeberska Małgorzata
Published: February 2017

The objective of this study was to determine the effect of heating a water dispersion of corn starch to various temperatures, followed by its freezing and defrosting, on selected properties of re-formed starch pastes. A suspension of starch was heated to various temperatures ranging from 59 to 94°C, and afterwards frozen and defrosted. The differential scanning calorimetry (Mettler Toledo, 822E) thermal characteristics of starch pre-heated to temperatures not inducing complete pasting revealed transitions of: (I) retrograded amylopectin, (II) non-pasted starch, (III) amylose-lipid complexes, (IV) retrograded amylose, and (V) highly thermostable starch structures. The application of higher temperatures during heating caused disappearance of transitions II and V. The increase of pre-heating temperature induced firstly a decrease and then stabilization of the swelling power as well as a successive decrease in starch solubility. Pastes pre-heated to temperatures over 79°C contained large macroparticles that were increasing viscosity of the re-formed starch paste (their size was positively correlated with viscosity value).
Organic and inorganic fertilizer effect on soil CO2 flux, microbial biomass, and growth of Nigella sativa L.
Authors: Salehi Aliyeh , Fallah Seyfollah , Sourki Ali Abasi
Published: February 2017

Cattle manure has a high carbon/nitrogen ratio and may not decompose; therefore, full-dose application of urea fertilizer might improve biological properties by increasing manure decomposition. This study aimed to investigate the effect of combining cattle manure and urea fertilizer on soil CO2 flux, microbial biomass carbon, and dry matter accumulation during Nigella sativa L. (black cumin) growth under field conditions. The treatments were control, cattle manure, urea, different levels of split and full-dose integrated fertilizer. The results showed that integrated application of cattle manure and chemical fertilizer significantly increased microbial biomass carbon by 10%, soil organic carbon by 2.45%, total N by 3.27%, mineral N at the flowering stage by 7.57%, and CO2 flux by 9% over solitary urea application. Integrated application increased microbial biomass carbon by 10% over the solitary application and the full-dose application by 5% over the split application. The soil properties and growth parameters of N. sativa L. benefited more from the full-dose application than the split application of urea. Cattle manure combined with chemical fertilizer and the full-dose application of urea increased fertilizer efficiency and improved biological soil parameters and plant growth. This method decreased the cost of top dressing urea fertilizer and proved beneficial for the environment and medicinal plant health.
Total Infralevatorian Exenteration with Vulvectomy as Salvage Therapy in a Recurrent Irradiated Cervical Cancer with Pelvic Sidewall Involvement
Authors: Bécsi János , Szabó Béla , Kiss Szilárd Leó , Căpîlna Mihai Emil
Published: February 2017

Despite the available effective screening techniques, cervical cancer is the most common genital malignancy in Romania. In patients with isolated pelvic recurrence after radiotherapy, exenteration represents the only chance for curative treatment. We present the case of a 45-year-old patient with a massive pelvic tumour causing intensive, poorly controlled vaginal bleeding, bilateral hydronephrosis and chronic renal failure. She underwent total infralevatorian exenteration with vulvectomy. Postoperative recovery was uneventful, and she presented a good evolution in the two months following surgery. We consider pelvic exenteration as the last treatment option to cure irradiated pelvic tumour recurrences.
Patient and Sample Identification. Out of the Maze?
Authors: Lippi Giuseppe , Chiozza Laura , Mattiuzzi Camilla , Plebani Mario
Published: February 2017

Background: Patient and sample misidentification may cause significant harm or discomfort to the patients, especially when incorrect data is used for performing specific healthcare activities. It is hence obvious that efficient and quality care can only start from accurate patient identification. There are many opportunities for misidentification in healthcare and laboratory medicine, including homonymy, incorrect patient registration, reliance on wrong patient data, mistakes in order entry, collection of biological specimens from wrong patients, inappropriate sample labeling and inaccurate entry or erroneous transmission of test results through the laboratory information system. Many ongoing efforts are made to prevent this important healthcare problem, entailing streamlined strategies for identifying patients throughout the healthcare industry by means of traditional and innovative identifiers, as well as using technologic tools that may enhance both the quality and efficiency of blood tubes labeling. The aim of this article is to provide an overview about the liability of identification errors in healthcare, thus providing a pragmatic approach for diverging the so-called patient identification crisis.
Uterine artery Doppler pulsatility index at 11–38 weeks in ICSI pregnancies with egg donation
Authors: Inversetti Annalisa , Mandia Luca , Candiani Massimo , Cetin Irene , Larcher Alessandro , Savasi Valeria , Papaleo Enrico , Cavoretto Paolo
Published: February 2017

Background:

Uterine artery Doppler pulsatility index (UtA-PI) may be different in pregnancies with egg donation (ICSI-ED) as compared to conceptions with autologous intra-cytoplasmatic sperm injection (autologous ICSI) and to spontaneous conceptions (SC).

Methods:

One hundred and ninety-four pregnant women with different modes of conception (MC) were prospectively evaluated: 53 ICSI-ED, 36 autologous ICSI and 105 SC. To evaluate the effects of different MC on PI, multivariable linear regression (MLR) models predicting UtA-PI were fitted after adjustment for maternal age, body mass index, race, parity, smoking status and gestational age.

Results:

In the first trimester, at MLR, autologous ICSI was not associated with a significantly different UtA-PI [estimate (EST) 0.01; 95% confidence interval (CI) −0.19, 0.2; P=0.9] when compared to SC. Conversely, MC by ICSI-ED was associated with lower first trimester UtA-PI (EST −0.32; CI −0.55, −0.08; P=0.01) when compared to SC. At MLR, MC by autologous ICSI and by ICSI-ED were not associated with significant differences in the second and third trimester UtA-PI when compared to SC.

Conclusion:

ICSI-ED conception presented lower UtA-PI when compared to SC at 11+0–13+6 weeks but not at later assessments. Correction of UtA-PI measurement specifying the origin of oocyte may be useful in first trimester screening.
Study Regarding Intellectual Property Quality in Industry
Authors: Țîțu Mihail Aurel , Oprean Constantin
Published: February 2017

The purpose of this article is to highlight the current situation in the field of automotive stressing the importance of quality and innovation in order to create competitive advantage. The main conclusion of this study is that organizations in the field of automotive technology that have implemented quality systems and valorize the intangible assets resources recorded an obvious success.
Exploring Acceptance Towards Environmental Sustainability of Distance Education in Malaysia
Authors: Harizan Siti Haslina Md , Hilmi Mohd. Faiz , Atan Hanafi
Published: February 2017

Global warming has been among the important focus in higher educational sector worldwide. However, distance education has not been gaining sufficient attention in environmental sustainability studies of higher educational field. The overlooked dimension of sustainability in delivering courses through distance education mode has triggered a need for further understanding, in the way distance education could be acknowledged as an environmentally sustainable learning option by reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The study attempted to explore the acceptance of distance education as environmentally sustainable option among distance learners who were currently enrolled in distance education programmes in public universities located within the northern region of Malaysia. The results found that the students expressed their acceptance in the favourable manner from cognitive, affective, and conative aspects. The findings are expected to broaden the sustainability attributes of distance education and to benefit higher educational policy makers, universities’ administrators, and public at large by providing evidences for environmental sustainability of distance education.
Crystal structure of 1-(4,4-dimethyl-2,6-dithioxo-1,3,5-triazinan-1-yl)-3-(diethylaminocarbonyl)thiourea, C11H20N6OS3
Authors: Hussien Nasry Jassim , Yusoff Siti Fairus M. , El-Hiti Gamal A. , Farina Yang , Al-Jeboori Mohamad J. , Yousif Emad
Published: February 2017

C11H20N6OS3, monoclinic, P21/c (no. 14), a = 10.0196(17) Å, b = 13.416(2) Å, c = 23.441(5) Å, β = 100.658(5)°, V = 1752.7(5) Å3, Z = 4, R
gt(F) = 0.0558, wR
ref(F
2) = 0.1462, T = 303(2) K.
Crisis Communication in a New World
Authors: Falkheimer Jesper , Heide Mats
Published: February 2017

Crisis communication is a growing field of research and practice. A weakness in the traditional research field is the lack of theoretical development and the isolated sender and mass communication focus. In the present paper, we challenge traditional research by focusing on the contemporary cultural and ethnic diversity in society from an audience-oriented media perspective. In the paper, we review earlier research on multicultural crisis communication. The discussion is based on secondary data on multicultural media use in Sweden and an Internet analysis focused on dialogue and community building. All together, the review and secondary data show that persons of foreign origin in Sweden have high access to ICT. This is an argument for directing crisis communication not only through traditional mass media, but also through new media. This is not only because of the simple reach of these channels, but also because of the increase in the quality and dialogue potential of these “great good places” (Oldenburg, 1999).
Normative Media Research
Authors: Nyre Lars
Published: February 2017

The article enquires about the role of researchers in an era of increasingly competitive innovation in the media industry. I argue that research-driven change in the mass media is possible, and that there should be more of it in the future. More democratic participation in mass media is the issue that most urgently needs to be resolved, and in Part II I will point out a possible strategy of reformation in the field. The article is a form of meta-theory or ‘theory of science’, and it zooms in on the normative attitude of the social researcher towards the larger society. The first part is a history of normativity in modern American and European social science from the 1920s onwards, with a focus on media studies. It sets the background for a framework for instructive media research, that is, research in which a normative goal is pursued with all the tools that social research can legitimately apply. I present three sectors of the media that can be directly and indirectly controlled by the researcher: the media’s technical platforms, their editorial procedures, and citizens’ participation in the media.
Playful Persuasion
Authors: Smith Jonas Heide , Just Sine Nørholm
Published: February 2017

The use of video games for advertising purposes is persuasive communication which directly involves the recipient in the construction of an argument. This form is becoming increasingly common, and the present article explores the phenomenon of game-based advertising. We begin by discussing the increased reliance on participatory and digital rhetoric. We then proceed to examine game-based persuasion in light of rhetorical theory, and we propose an analytical model for such games which is applied to three sample games. The analytical model takes into account the degree to which the game makes a self-contained argument, the degree to which the product or service is integrated into the game, and whether the game goal and learning goal overlap. Finally, we discuss perspectives for the integration of communication studies and game studies.
Introverted Locals or World Citizens?
Authors: Elvestad Eiri
Published: February 2017

Claiming that interest in local vs. foreign news is one way of measuring orientation towards local and greater society, this paper utilizes a Norwegian survey with questions about interest in news to identify groups with different orientations. The study builds on Merton’s (1949) local/cosmopolitan dichotomy, but takes this further by claiming that rather than two, there are four different ways of orienting oneself towards local and greater society on the basis of local/foreign news interest. The author suggests that a categorizing of individuals into either ‘locals’, ‘cosmopolitans’, ‘local cosmopolitans’ or the ‘disconnected’ is a more fruitful way of dealing with this matter. The results show that gender, age, education and ties to one’s domicile may help explain which type of individual constitutes each of the four categories. Comparing traditional media with the Internet, the study shows that the level of interest in news on the Internet is generally lower, but that the patterns tied to the traditional media are transferred relatively unchanged to the Internet.
Mega-Sporting Events and the Media in Attention Economies
Authors: Nylund Mats
Published: February 2017

The present article examines the IAAF World Championships as a commercialized mega-sporting event and an expression of the contemporary experience industry. The focus of the empirical analysis is on the national and international press coverage of the World Championships in Helsinki, Finland, 2005. Eleven Finnish and six foreign newspapers were analysed. Finnish pre-Championship publicity saw the games mostly as a tool for achieving international media attention and economic profit. The coverage of the international press was strikingly similar. The newspapers focussed mainly on the sporting events and their perspective was strongly national – perfectly in line with traditional sports journalism. This finding challenges the belief expressed in Finnish newspapers and by proponents of theattention economythat mega-events are powerful tools for urban marketing.
New Narrative Depths?
Authors: Lavik Erlend
Published: February 2017

The article aims to tease out an implicit, possibly even instinctive, assumption about why big-budget blockbuster storylines come up short compared to other kinds of culturally sanctioned narratives. Briefly, the assumption is that there is a distinct difference between stories that are simply a pretext for a series of isolated attractions and stories that are guided by some greater predefined purpose or guiding idea. If we look more closely at it, this presumption throws up some surprising and paradoxical findings. My hypothesis is that this line of reasoning has tended to seep into the debate about classical and postclassical Hollywood cinema. The article argues that we should not take this assumption for granted, and that it has confused the debate about historical changes in Hollywood films. However, by restating the opposition between blockbuster narratives and more prestigious story-types in different terms, we can study blockbuster cinema from a more productive perspective than has been the case so far.
Self-Reflection
Authors: Vaage Margrethe Bruun
Published: February 2017

Idiosyncratic responses are more strictly personal responses to fiction film that vary across individual spectators. In philosophy of film, idiosyncratic responses are often deemed inappropriate, unwarranted and unintended by the film. One type of idiosyncratic response is when empathy with a character triggers the spectator to reflect on his own real-life issues. Self-reflection can be triggered by egoistic drift, where the spectator starts imagining himself in the character’s shoes, by re-experiencing memories, or by unfamiliar experiences that draw the spectator’s attention. Film may facilitate self-reflection by slowing down narrative development and making the narrative indeterminate. Such scenes do make idiosyncratic responses, such as self-reflection, appropriate and intended. Fiction film is a safe context for the spectator to reflect on personal issues, as it also affords him with distancing techniques if the reflection becomes too painful or unwanted. The fictional context further encourages self-reflection in response to empathy, as the spectator is relieved from real-life moral obligations to help the other.
What are the Dimensions of Online Satisfaction?
Authors: Bobâlcă Claudia , Ţugulea Oana
Published: February 2017

The purpose of the research is to identify the factors affecting online satisfaction. As a research method, we applied a quantitative survey based on a questionnaire. The sample consists of 532, students at Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, aged between 19-26 years, who buy online various products from the Internet. In order to identify the dimensions of online satisfaction, we used exploratory factor analysis with SPSS 17.0, with Principal Components as extraction type and Varimax as rotation method. Nine dimensions of online satisfaction were identified, namely: products corresponding to the online description, good price, comfort, easily accessible information, personal data security, good design, support, personalization, and website awareness.
Individual Pension Funds and Capital Market Development in Turkey
Authors: Bayar Yilmaz
Published: February 2017

Beginning with the 1980s, when the sustainability of the public pension systems became endangedered, many countries have developed their individual pension plans and/or occupational pension plans in order to supersede or support their public pension systems,. This study examines the impact of individual pension funds on the development of both debt securities market and stock market in Turkey during the period October 2006-May 2015, using Hatemi (2008) cointegration test and Toda and Yamamoto (1995) causality test with monthly data. We found that, in the long run, the private pension funds had positive impact on both development of debt securities market and stock market. Furthermore, causality appears to exist between the market for private pension funds, the debt securities market and the stock market.
Scoutmaster Jan Poplewski – An Example of Attributing Financial Crime to Opponents of the Communist Regime
Authors: Kuświk Bartosz
Published: February 2017

The article describes a failed attempt to attribute financial crime – embezzlement of the money belonging to the Greater Poland Headquarters of the Local Council of the Polish Scouting and Guiding Association – to scoutmaster Jan Poplewski. However, from the very beginning, the security services were interested in his anti-systemic activity, i.e. inspiring illegal activities among young scouts in the Stalinist period. This story serves as an example for exploring the underresearched problem of attributing various crimes to the opponents of the system, in order to discredit them and use this fact for propaganda purposes. The scale of this problem is impossible to estimate at present, but sometimes it is possible to describe individual cases – for example the case of scoutmaster Jan Poplewski.
Tourism studies on Łódź and its metropolitan area
Authors: Liszewski Stanisław
Published: February 2017

This paper is an overview, and its aim is to identify published research works on tourism in Łódź and around the city as well as the tourism trips of the city’s inhabitants. This target allowed around 100 articles to be gathered which have been divided into eight thematic groups and analysed for merit. Their names are the titles of subchapters: the city’s tourism resources, land use planning, tourism space, the tourism activity of the citizens of Łódź, the tourism product – tourism development strategies, and tourism research of surrounding areas in the metropolitan area of Łódź. In the final part, the author divides the research into stages leading up to an explanation of the current development of research on Łódź and its metropolitan area and then suggests further research directions.
Museums of Łódź as an element of tourism space and the connection between museums and the city’s tourism image
Authors: Krakowiak Beata
Published: February 2017

This article deals with the museum potential of Łódź. The first sections describe the kinds and significance of museums, their location in the city and the attractiveness of their collections, premises and organized events. The following sections describe the significance of museums in regard to attendance and the city’s tourism image.
Travel agencies in Łódź at the beginning of the 21st century: their origins, types and distribution
Authors: Latosińska Jolanta
Published: February 2017

The article presents a continuation of research on the distribution of travel agencies in Łódź, carried out in the mid-1990s, 2006 and 2010 by academics from the Institute of Urban and Tourism Geography. Observations on Łódź travel agencies over the last 25 years lead to the conclusion that it is a dynamic phenomenon. Agencies appear and disappear, change their names and locations, as well as their aims and range of activity. The paper presents a short historical outline of travel agency development in Łódź, a classification of agencies based on aims and range of activity, as well as their distribution within city space. The conclusions concern certain limitations and threats to the further development of Łódź travel agencies resulting from external (formal) and internal causes.
Łódź leisure time space as perceived by liceum students and members of the ‘Universities of the Third Age’
Authors: Duda Michał
Published: February 2017

The article is a summary of research into the perception of leisure time space, conducted in 2014 among Liceum students (aged 16-19) and members of the ‘Universities of the Third Age’ (U3A) in Łódź. The author compared perceptions of the idea of leisure time by both of these groups, studied how they spent it and described the factors which have a significant influence. Next, he analysed different approaches to the urban space of Łódź as well as comparing them to the spatial range and the types of visited places and events.
Synthesis, structural characterization, and fluorescence of a Cd(II) coordination polymer with N-donor ligands
Authors: Kuai Hai-Wei , Xia Jing-Jing , Zhu Xiao-Hong , Chen Jing
Published: February 2017

The hydrothermal reaction of CdSO4 with 2,5-di(1H-imidazol-4-yl)thiophene (L) in the presence of ammonium hydroxide at 100°C gives rise to a new complex [Cd(L)(SO4)]
n
(1). Complex 1 has been characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffraction, IR spectroscopy, and elemental and thermogravimetric analyses. It crystallizes in the monoclinic system with the space group C2/c and shows a 2D network structure. Complex 1 can emit fluorescence.
Effects of Hyperventilation on Repeated Pedaling Sprint Performance: Short vs. Long Intervention Duration
Authors: Sakamoto Akihiro , Naito Hisashi , Chow Chin-Moi
Published: February 2017

Sakamoto, A, Naito, H, and Chow, C-M. Effects of hyperventilation on repeated pedaling sprint performance: short vs. long intervention duration. J Strength Cond Res 32(1): 170–180, 2018—Previously, hyperventilation (HV)-induced respiratory alkalosis, implemented during the last 30 seconds of each 60-second recovery that separated repeated pedaling sprints, has been shown to attenuate performance decrement. The present study investigated whether the ergogenic effects of HV would hold if the HV duration was shortened or extended. Seventeen power-trained athletes performed 10 seconds × 10 sets of standing pedaling sprints on a cycle ergometer, with a 60-second interset recovery and the load (kp) set at 0.075 × body mass, under 3 breathing conditions: control, HV of 15 seconds (HVshort), and HV of 45 seconds (HVlong). Subjects breathed spontaneously during each 60-second recovery for the control condition. Under HVshort and HVlong conditions, subjects hyperventilated at 60 breaths·min−1 with near-maximum tidal volume during the last 15 or 45 seconds, respectively, of each recovery period. Peak and mean pedaling power outputs (POpeak and POmean) were documented for each sprint set to compare performance decrements between conditions. No significant condition effect or condition × time interaction was found for POpeak and POmean. The lack of ergogenic effects with HVlong may be ascribed to a complex interaction between the positive (augmented buffering effects) and negative effects of HV (decreased aerobic energy metabolism and exaggerated discomfort sensation of increased ventilatory work). For HVshort, the implemented duration may have been too short to yield positive physiological effects. A practical implication is that ergogenic effects may be impaired when HV is too short or too long, with the duration of around 30 seconds being the target for this exercise type.
Energetic Demands of Interchange and Full-Match Rugby League Players
Authors: Cummins Cloe J. , Gray Adrian J. , Shorter Kathleen A. , Halaki Mark , Orr Rhonda
Published: February 2017

Cummins, CJ, Gray, AJ, Shorter, KA, Halaki, M, and Orr, R. Energetic demands of interchange and full-match rugby league players. J Strength Cond Res 32(12): 3456–3464, 2018—The purpose of this study was to describe and compare the metabolic demands of rugby league for interchange and full-match players in relation to positional groups. Eighteen elite rugby league players were recruited. A time-motion model was used to estimate the energy expenditure and metabolic demands of rugby league match-play using Global Positioning System (GPS) technology. This approach uses players' GPS velocity-time curves to examine running velocity. Players were categorized into positional groups (outside backs, adjustables, wide-running, and hit-up forwards) and then further categorized into full-match or interchange players. Compared with their full-match counterparts, interchange wide-running forwards expended greater energy (43.1 ± 6.1 vs. 28.6 ± 7.5 kJ·kg−1, p ≤ 0.001, effect size [ES] = −2.38) and produced a higher anaerobic index (p = 0.016, ES = 0.56) and mean power (7.4%, p = 0.003, ES = 0.66) per match. Full-match adjustables expended 94.8% more energy (p ≤ 0.001, ES = −2.3) and performed more moderate accelerations (10.1%, p = 0.014, ES = −0.57) and decelerations (7.6%, p = 0.017, ES = −0.8), than their interchange counterparts. Outside backs did not interchange and hit-up forwards rarely (n = 2) played an entire match. Differing metabolic demands were identified for interchange and full-match players across positional groups, suggesting position-specific conditioning drills are required to model the energetic demands of match-play.
System for Evaluating Powerlifting and Other Multievent Performances
Authors: Bishop Phillip A. , Williams Tyler D. , Heldman Alex N. , Vanderburgh Paul M.
Published: February 2017

Bishop, PA, Williams, TD, Heldman, AN, and Vanderburgh, PM. System for evaluating powerlifting and other multievent performances. J Strength Cond Res 32(1): 201–204, 2018—Currently, the sport of powerlifting discriminates against bench press scores and uses an empirical equation which is very difficult to update to determine the best lifter within sex. The purpose of this study was to provide a simple and statistically sound method for evaluating powerlifting performance which could also be used with other multievent sports. Data were collected from a large public database on the top 50 (men) or the top 30 (women) individual raw competition scores in each weight class for each of the 3 powerlifting lifts. Mean and SDs were then calculated for each lift and weight class by sex. Powerlifting performance was evaluated by the sum of the 3 z-scores for the 3 lifts divided by 3 (the highest score wins). The z-scores reflect a dimensionless number which can be used to evaluate each lift and the total of the 3 lifts across weight classes and between sexes. Although the mean and SDs should be relatively stable, this computation is transparent and can be readily updated as lifters improve. This system overcomes the bias against bench press and many of the measurement challenges in evaluating athletes in multievent sports, in multiple weight divisions, and between sexes. These findings can benefit coaches and athletes by allowing simpler evaluations of performance and improvement.
The Effect of Standard Strength vs. Contrast Strength Training on the Development of Sprint, Agility, Repeated Change of Direction, and Jump in Junior Male Soccer Players
Authors: Hammami Mehréz , Negra Yassine , Shephard Roy J. , Chelly Mohamed Souhaiel
Published: February 2017

Hammami, M, Negra, Y, Shephard, RJ, and Chelly, MS. The effect of standard strength vs. contrast strength training on the development of sprint, agility, repeated change of direction, and jump in junior male soccer players. J Strength Cond Res 31(4): 901–912, 2017—The aim was to compare the impact of 2 differing strength training (ST) programs on the athletic performance of junior male soccer players at a critical phase during their competitive season. Participants aged 16.0 ± 0.5 years were randomly assigned between control (C, n = 12), standard ST (n = 16), and contrast strength training (CST, n = 16), each performed twice a week. Athletic performance was assessed before and after the intervention using 8 tests: 40-m sprint, 4 × 5-m sprint (S4 × 5), 9-3-6-3-9 m sprint with 180° turns (S180°), 9-3-6-3-9 m sprint with backward and forward running (SBF), repeated shuttle sprint ability (RSSA), repeated change of direction (RCOD), squat jump (SJ), and countermovement jump (CMJ). The control group's (CG) performance tended to improve in some tests and decrease in others, but these changes were not statistically significant. Both training programs enhanced all sprint performances relative to controls (p ≤ 0.05). The strength training group (SG) and the CST group (CSG) increased significantly in S180°, SBF, and S4 × 5 relative to CG, although the S4 × 5 also increased in CSG relative to SG (p ≤ 0.05). No intergroup difference of RSSA performance was observed. The RCOD parameters increased significantly in CSG relative to both SG and CG (p ≤ 0.05). The SJ and CMJ height increased significantly in both experimental groups (p < 0.000). We conclude that during the competitive season, some measures of athletic performance in male soccer players were increased more by 8 weeks of CST than by ST.
Dissociated Time Course of Recovery Between Strength and Power After Isoinertial Resistance Loading in Rugby Union Players
Authors: Kennedy Rodney A. , Drake David
Published: February 2017

Kennedy, RA and Drake, D. Dissociated time course of recovery between strength and power after isoinertial resistance loading in rugby union players. J Strength Cond Res 32(3): 748–755, 2018—There is a substantial amount of research on the responses to isometric and eccentric loading. However, only a paucity of literature exists on the responses to isoinertial loading, especially in trained athletic populations using realistic loading protocols. The purpose of this study was to examine the acute neuromuscular response to a bout of isoinertial resistance loading in elite rugby players. Seventeen male (age: 19.5 ± 2.3 years) rugby union players performed a conventional maximal isoinertial resistance loading protocol. Countermovement jump (CMJ) and maximal voluntary isometric contraction (MVC) squat performance were measured on 3 occasions: at baseline, immediately post, and 48 hour post. The results indicated that the decrease in MVC (9.7%) is greater than or comparable with the CMJ output variables (4.2–10.3%), immediately postexercise. Although isometric strength had demonstrated a full recovery at 48 hour post, many of the key CMJ output variables were still impaired (p ≤ 0.05). Similar findings were observed in the normalized CMJ curves. Complete recovery of the ability to rapidly produced force may require more than 48 hours in many athletes. Individual responses should, therefore, be monitored to help plan acute and chronic training loads. It is recommended that future fatigue studies should incorporate temporal phase analyses to consider the power-, force-, velocity-, and displacement-time curves.