bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Impact of linear correlation on construction project performance using stochastic linear scheduling
Authors: Eiris Pereira Ricardo , Flood Ian
Published: April 2017

Background

In the construction industry, the productivity of all trades is directly impacted by uncertainty and variability. For repetitive projects, smooth work flow of productive resources is necessary to minimize or eliminate interruptions and idle time with the objective of reducing costs. An ideal or near optimal solution requires careful planning of the sequence, timing and resource allocations for each activity. Earlier research has demonstrated that uncertainty in the duration of repeated activities can have a significant impact on what is determined to be the optimum project plan. This suggests that correlation in the duration of repeated activities (where durations are stochastic) may also be important in determining the most favorable plan.

Methods

This study assesses the significance of correlation in this respect, using a Linear Scheduling framework for modeling repetitive construction work. Numerical and graphical results are used in a case study to evaluate and compare the optimal solution derived for both deterministic and stochastic environments. For the stochastic environment, a range of levels of correlation are considered using linear correlation between immediate successor repetitions of an activity.

Results

The results provide insight into the effects of different degrees of correlation on the expected project duration, cost, crew and equipment idle times and interruptions. The correlation level has effects that translate into performance tradeoffs depending on the initial plan assumptions applied to the activities.

Conclusions

The impact of full correlation on the optimality of a project plan was found, on average, to introduce idle time to crews equal to 7% of their active time, and to cause avoidable delays to the completion of a project equal to 12% of the project duration. The authors believe these inefficiencies justify further investigation of the impact of correlation on construction projects, including the development of more sophisticated models of correlation.
Does medical school research productivity predict a resident's research productivity during residency?
Authors: Kohlert Scott , Zuccaro Laura , McLean Laurie , Macdonald Kristian
Published: April 2017

Background

Research productivity is an important component of the CanMEDS Scholar role and is an accreditation requirement of Canadian Otolaryngology training programs. Our objective was to determine if an association exists between publication rates before and during Otolaryngology residency.

Methods

We obtained the names for all certified Canadian Otolaryngologists who graduated between 1998 and 2013 inclusive, and conducted a Medline search for all of their publications. Otolaryngologists were subgrouped based on year of residency graduation and the number of articles published pre-residency and during residency (0 or ≥1). Chi-squared analyses were used to evaluate whether publications pre-residency and year of graduation were associated with publications during residency.

Results

We obtained data for 312 Canadian Otolaryngologists. Of those 312 graduates, 46 (14.7%) had no identifiable publications on PubMed and were excluded from the final data analysis. Otolaryngology residents had a mean 0.65 (95% CI 0.50-0.80) publications before residency and 3.35 (95% CI 2.90-3.80) publications during residency. Between 1998 and 2013, mean publication rates before and during residency both increased significantly ( R2 = 0.594 and R2 = 0.759, respectively), whereas publication rates after residency graduation has stagnated ( R2 = 0.023). The odds of publishing during residency was 5.85 times higher (95% CI 2.69-12.71) if a resident published prior to residency ( p < 0.0001). The Spearman correlation coefficient between publications before and during residency is 0.472 ( p < 0.0001).

Conclusion

Residents who publish at least one paper before residency are nearly six times as likely to publish during residency than those who did not publish before residency. These findings may help guide Otolaryngology program selection committees in ranking the best CaRMS candidates.
An evaluation of Emergency Management of Severe Burn (EMSB) course in Bangladesh: a strategic direction
Authors: Biswas Animesh , Rahman Fazlur , Maitz Peter , Baset Kamran Ul , Hossain Jahangir , Mashreky Saidur Rahman
Published: April 2017

Background

Burn is one of the major public health problems in Bangladesh. Specialized personnel and technologies are required, however, in many cases they are not readily available. Taking the situation into account, Interplast Australia and New Zealand, Australia & New Zealand Burn Association (ANZBA), and Centre for Injury Prevention and Research, Bangladesh (CIPRB) initiated Emergency Management of Severe Burn (EMSB) training programme for Bangladeshi physicians in 2008 to help improving their burn management skill. The study was designed to evaluate the effect of EMSB programme in Bangladesh.

Methods

Both qualitative and quantitative methods were adopted. A cross-sectional survey was conducted to obtain quantitative information from 38 randomly selected EMSB-trained doctors among 380 trained physicians based on a five year database of EMSB (2008-2012). In-depth interviews (IDIs) and focus group discussion (FGD) were used as data collection techniques to get information.

Results

A total of 32 participants completed the interview. It was found that 87.5% (n=28) doctors were using their skill in burn management that they learnt from the EMSB course. About 43.8% (n=14) doctors felt that the course largely helped improve their confidence. Majority (56.2%, n=18) of doctors stated EMSB is essential for the Bangladeshi doctors to learn better management of burns. Qualitative findings show that the courses were organized successfully with an excellent coordination, maintaining same quality and standard as running anywhere in the world. For its effectiveness, the course has been recommended to train graduate nurses and junior doctors from the periphery of the country.

Conclusions

EMSB has already created a large doctor community who are able to effectively manage burn patients. It also has proven its indispensability for learning burn management skill. The EMSB established a platform to serve the burn victims and reduce the burden of injuries in Bangladesh.
Fair Play: A Study of Scientific Workforce Trainers’ Experience Playing an Educational Video Game about Racial Bias
Authors: Kaatz Anna , Carnes Molly , Gutierrez Belinda , Savoy Julia , Samuel Clem , Filut Amarette , Pribbenow Christine Maidl
Published: April 2017

Explicit racial bias has decreased in the United States, but racial stereotypes still exist and conspire in multiple ways to perpetuate the underparticipation of Blacks in science careers. Capitalizing on the potential effectiveness of role-playing video games to promote the type of active learning required to increase awareness of and reduce subtle racial bias, we developed the video game Fair Play, in which players take on the role of Jamal, a Black male graduate student in science, who experiences discrimination in his PhD program. We describe a mixed-methods evaluation of the experience of scientific workforce trainers who played Fair Play at the National Institutes of Health Division of Training Workforce Development and Diversity program directors’ meeting in 2013 (n = 47; 76% female, n = 34; 53% nonwhite, n = 26). The evaluation findings suggest that Fair Play can promote perspective taking and increase bias literacy, which are steps toward reducing racial bias and affording Blacks equal opportunities to excel in science.
Conceptual Elements: A Detailed Framework to Support and Assess Student Learning of Biology Core Concepts
Authors: Cary Tawnya , Branchaw Janet
Published: April 2017

The Vision and Change in Undergraduate Biology Education: Call to Action report has inspired and supported a nationwide movement to restructure undergraduate biology curricula to address overarching disciplinary concepts and competencies. The report outlines the concepts and competencies generally but does not provide a detailed framework to guide the development of the learning outcomes, instructional materials, and assessment instruments needed to create a reformed biology curriculum. In this essay, we present a detailed Vision and Change core concept framework that articulates key components that transcend subdisciplines and scales for each overarching biological concept, the Conceptual Elements (CE) Framework. The CE Framework was developed using a grassroots approach of iterative revision and incorporates feedback from more than 60 biologists and undergraduate biology educators from across the United States. The final validation step resulted in strong national consensus, with greater than 92% of responders agreeing that each core concept list was ready for use by the biological sciences community, as determined by scientific accuracy and completeness. In addition, we describe in detail how educators and departments can use the CE Framework to guide and document reformation of individual courses as well as entire curricula.
Shot-domain deblending using least-squares inversion
Authors: Zu Shaohuan , Zhou Hui , Li Qingqing , Chen Hanming , Zhang Qingchen , Mao Weijian , Chen Yangkang
Published: April 2017

Simultaneous source acquisition, which allows a temporal overlap between shot records, has significant advantages to improve data quality (e.g., denser shooting) and reduce acquisition cost (e.g., efficient wide-azimuth shooting). We have developed a novel shot-domain deblending approach for a wide-azimuth simultaneous shooting survey based on an inversion scheme. The inverse problem is formulated by introducing two convolution operators that can respectively destruct the signal and interference and is solved by a conjugate-gradient algorithm in the least-squares sense. Our approach breaks down the limit that source separation can only be implemented in some domains other than the shot domain based on the incoherency principle. Our shot-domain approach does not require the random dithering time; thus, it is very flexible to use in a wide-azimuth simultaneous shooting survey. Three numerically blended synthetic examples were developed to demonstrate the excellent performance of our method. The feasibility has been further validated via a field-data example that is numerically blended from two realistic marine towed streamers.
Women's Suffrage, the Anti-Chinese Campaigns, and Gendered Ideals in Sonora, Mexico, 1917–1925
Authors: Augustine-Adams Kif
Published: April 2017

Sonoran women who organized anti-Chinese auxiliaries in the immediate postrevolutionary years participated in Mexican women's movement into the public sphere from a more constrained role in the private spaces of home and church. While a particular ideal of womanhood imposed on women a duty to defend country, race, and gender—increasingly in the public sphere—the lack of suffrage constrained women's political participation. At least two Sonoran women, María de Jesús Váldez and Emélida Carrillo, imagined the vote for women, a vision in which women's suffrage depended on and was instrumental to racial hierarchy and discrimination against Chinese. As leaders of anti-Chinese committees, chineras, pelonas, voters in newspaper contests, and Independence Day Queens, Sonoran women acted both within and against evolving notions of ideal Mexican womanhood, an ideal that was gendered, racialized, and classist. Women's anti-Chinese activism in Sonora complicates the story of women's enfranchisement in Sonora.
“Land to the Original Owners”: Rethinking the Indigenous Politics of the Bolivian Agrarian Reform
Authors: Soliz Carmen
Published: April 2017

When analyzing the effects of the 1952 Bolivian Revolution in the countryside, scholars have highlighted the political role of the colonos (tenants) and the extended program of land redistribution of large estates that started soon after the government decreed the agrarian reform. None of these studies have looked at the distinct political agenda led by comunarios—members of independent Indian communities—who had lost their lands to latifundio expansion. Uneasy with the government agenda that proclaimed land for those who work it, they petitioned restitution of their communal property rights, proclaiming “land to the original owners.” Revisionist scholars in the 1980s and 1990s, critical of the revolution, argued that the nationalist party eroded communal property rights. This article demonstrates that comunario political action after the revolution not only succeeded in reshaping the government agrarian agenda but also used the new legislation to regain lands lost to hacienda landlords since the late nineteenth century.
Regulation of myogenesis by environmental hypoxia
Authors: Beaudry Michèle , Hidalgo Magdalena , Launay Thierry , Bello Valérie , Darribère Thierry
Published: April 2017

In aerobic organisms, oxygen is a critical factor for tissue and organ morphogenesis from embryonic development throughout the adult life. It regulates various intracellular pathways involved in cellular metabolism, proliferation, cell survival and fate. Organisms or tissues rapidly respond to changes in oxygen availability by activating complex signalling networks, which culminate in the control of mRNA translation and/or gene expression. This Commentary presents the effects of hypoxia during embryonic development, myoblasts and satellite cell proliferation and differentiation in vertebrates. We also outline the relationship between Notch, Wnt and growth factor signalling pathways, as well as the post-transcriptional regulation of myogenesis under conditions of hypoxia.
Human prostate luminal cell differentiation requires NOTCH3 induction by p38-MAPK and MYC
Authors: Frank Sander B. , Berger Penny L. , Ljungman Mats , Miranti Cindy K.
Published: April 2017

Many pathways dysregulated in prostate cancer are also involved in epithelial differentiation. To better understand prostate tumor initiation, we sought to investigate specific genes and mechanisms required for normal basal to luminal cell differentiation. Utilizing human prostate basal epithelial cells and an in vitro differentiation model, we tested the hypothesis that regulation of NOTCH3 by the p38 MAPK family (hereafter p38-MAPK), via MYC, is required for luminal differentiation. Inhibition (SB202190 and BIRB796) or knockdown of p38α (also known as MAPK14) and/or p38δ (also known as MAPK13) prevented proper differentiation. Additionally, treatment with a γ-secretase inhibitor (RO4929097) or knockdown of NOTCH1 and/or NOTCH3 greatly impaired differentiation and caused luminal cell death. Constitutive p38-MAPK activation through MKK6(CA) increased NOTCH3 (but not NOTCH1) mRNA and protein levels, which was diminished upon MYC inhibition (10058-F4 and JQ1) or knockdown. Furthermore, we validated two NOTCH3 enhancer elements through a combination of enhancer (e)RNA detection (BruUV-seq) and luciferase reporter assays. Finally, we found that the NOTCH3 mRNA half-life increased during differentiation or upon acute p38-MAPK activation. These results reveal a new connection between p38-MAPK, MYC and NOTCH signaling, demonstrate two mechanisms of NOTCH3 regulation and provide evidence for NOTCH3 involvement in prostate luminal cell differentiation.
Transient mechanical strain promotes the maturation of invadopodia and enhances cancer cell invasion in vitro
Authors: Gasparski Alexander N. , Ozarkar Snehal , Beningo Karen A.
Published: April 2017

Cancer cell invasion is influenced by various biomechanical forces found within the microenvironment. We have previously found that invasion is enhanced in fibrosarcoma cells when transient mechanical stimulation is applied within an in vitro mechano-invasion assay. This enhancement of invasion is dependent on cofilin, a known regulator of invadopodia maturation. Invadopodia are actin-rich structures present in invasive cancer cells that are enzymatically active and degrade the surrounding extracellular matrix to facilitate invasion. In this study, we examine changes in gene expression in response to tugging on matrix fibers. Interestingly we find that integrin β3 expression is down-regulated and leads to an increase in cofilin activity, as evidenced by a reduction in its Ser-3 phosphorylation levels. As a result, invadopodia lengthen and have increased enzymatic activity, indicating that transient mechanical stimulation promotes the maturation of invadopodia leading to increased levels of cell invasion. Our results are unique in defining an invasive mechanism specific to the invasive process of cancer cells that is triggered by tugging forces in the microenvironment as opposed to rigidity, compression or stretch forces.
ELNAIS meets EASIN: distribution of marine alien species in Greece using EASIN mapping services and ELNAIS spatial data
Authors: KATSANEVAKIS S. , ZENETOS A. , POURSANIDIS D. , NUNES A.L. , DERIU I. , BOGUCARSKIS K. , CARDOSO A.C.
Published: April 2017

The European Alien Species Information Network (EASIN) was created with the aim to provide easy access to accurate information on alien species in Europe. EASIN allows the retrieval of spatial information from existing online data providers in order to produce integrated georeferenced distribution maps of alien species in Europe. In November 2012, a new data provider, the Ellenic Network on Aquatic Invasive Species (ELNAIS), joined EASIN; this has significantly increased the available georeferenced information on marine/estuarine alien species in Greece. Here, we use maps created by EASIN to show differences in patterns of distribution in the Greek Seas for the most abundant Phyla of marine alien species - Mollusca, Arthropoda, Chordata and Annelida. We also show that the two main pathways of introduction of marine alien species (Lessepsian migration and Shipping) are related to different patterns of species spatial distribution in Greece. Overall, the tools provided by EASIN can greatly aid scientists and policy makers in obtaining high quality information on marine alien species in Greece, especially after the association with ELNAIS.
Predictably Angry—Facial Cues Provide a Credible Signal of Destructive Behavior
Authors: van Leeuwen Boris , Noussair Charles N. , Offerman Theo , Suetens Sigrid , van Veelen Matthijs , van de Ven Jeroen
Published: April 2017

Evolutionary explanations of anger as a commitment device hinge on two key assumptions. The first is that it is predictable, ex ante, whether someone will get angry when feeling that he or she has been badly treated. The second is that anger is associated with destructive behavior. We test the validity of these two assumptions. We collected photos of responders in an ultimatum game before they were informed about the game that they would be playing, and we filmed responders with webcams during play. We then showed pairs of photos consisting of one responder who rejected and one responder who accepted (a low offer) to an independent group of observers. We find that observers are better than chance at detecting who rejected the low offer; they do 10% better than random guessing would. We also find that anger at receiving a low offer is associated with rejection.

Data and the online appendix are available at https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2017.2727 .

This paper was accepted by Uri Gneezy, behavioral economics.
An Exact Algorithm for the Fixed Charge Transportation Problem Based on Matching Source and Sink Patterns
Authors: Mingozzi Aristide , Roberti Roberto
Published: April 2017

This paper describes an exact algorithm for the fixed charge transportation problem based on a new integer programming formulation that involves two sets of variables representing flow patterns from sources to sinks and from sinks to sources. The formulation states to select a pattern for each source and each sink and to match the corresponding flows. The linear relaxation of this new formulation is enforced by adding a pseudo-polynomial number of equations that are shown to contain, as special cases, different valid inequalities recently proposed for the problem. The resulting lower bound dominates the lower bounds proposed in the literature. Such a lower bound is embedded into an exact branch-and-cut-and-price algorithm. Computational results on benchmark instances show that the proposed algorithm is several times faster than the state-of-the-art exact methods and could solve all open instances. New harder instances with up to 120 sources and 120 sinks were solved to optimality.

The online appendix is available at https://doi.org/10.1287/trsc.2017.0742 .
Changes in the Shelf Life Parameters of Dietary Supplement During Storage
Authors: Pawar Kanika , Thompkinson D. K
Published: April 2017

A dietary supplement containing multifunctional ingredient sources was formulated and optimized for management of diabetes. The formulated dietary supplement comprised of milk fat and groundnut oil (90:10), whey protein concentrate, skim milk powder and sodium caseinate (50:25:25) and resistant starch and maltodextrin (70:30). The feasibility of the formulated dietary supplement in terms of physico-chemical, microbiological and sensory attributes was evaluated during storage period. The formulated supplement was found to have 4.37, 15.93, 10.15, 3.39 and 66.15 percent moisture, protein, fat, ash and carbohydrate respectively. It was observed that there was slight increase in moisture, free fatty acid, thiobarbituric acid and insolubility index while a decrease in dispersibility and sensory attributes (color and appearance, flavor, overall acceptability) during the storage period. However, the dietary supplement stored at room temperature indicated non-significant changes in all physico-chemical, microbiological and sensory parameters throughout the storage period of 180 days. Thus, dietary supplement prepared had better acceptability for a period of six months.
Assessment of Salinity and Fluoride in Groundwater of Semi-Arid Region of Punjab, India
Authors: Krishan Gopal , Rao M. S , Kumar C. P , Kumar Sudhir , Loyal R. S , Gill G.S , Semwal Prabhat
Published: April 2017

Groundwater is the major source of drinking water in Southwestern semi-arid region of Punjab, India which is now facing severe salinity and fluoride (F-) problems. A study was carried out in the Bathinda district of southwest semi-arid region of Punjab to assess the salinity and F- concentrations. Groundwater samples from 21 locations were analyzed, and 59% were found to exceed the permissible electrical conductivity (EC) limit of 1500 µS/cm1. Fluoride concentrations exceeded the WHO (2008)1 permissible limit of 1.50 mg/L in 69% of the samples which may significantly affect human health by causing fluorosis. The increase in groundwater levels leading to high evaporation which caused an accumulation of salts and further resulted in increase in EC. The increased F- concentration is mainly due to rock-water interactions which led to fluorite dissolution.
Healthcare Waste Management: The Current Issue in Menellik II Referral Hospital, Ethiopia
Authors: Debalkie Desta , Kumie Abera
Published: April 2017

Healthcare wastes generated in Hospitals from medical activities have not given sufficient attention. In developing countries, healthcare wastes are still handled and disposed indiscriminately creating an immense threat to the public health and the environment. This situation is much worse in Ethiopia where there is paucity of convincing evidence about healthcare waste generation rate and management system. A crossectional study was conducted in Menellik II hospital to evaluate the healthcare waste management system. Primary data on the healthcare waste management system was collected using observational checklist. Key informant interview guide was also employed on 11 selected informants to assess waste management practice and analyzed by thematic framework. The results revealed that there was no segregation of healthcare waste by type at the point of generation and disinfection of infectious waste before disposal. The main HCW treatment and disposal mechanism was incineration using low temperature, single chamber incinerator; open burning; burring in to amputation pit and open dumping on municipal dumping site as well as on the hospital back yard. Furthermore, there was negligence, attitudinal problem and low level of awareness about safe healthcare waste management. To diminish the risk of healthcare waste on public health and environment, a cost effective interventions include providing better medical waste management facilities, adherence to national regulatory and rising awareness of all concerned need to adopt in the hospital.
Assessment of Groundwater Quality of Agra District for the Irrigation Purpose
Authors: Kumar Vinod , Singh Surjeet , Krishan Gopal
Published: April 2017

Groundwater quality of Agra district has been assessed considering twelve water quality parameters viz. pH, electrical conductivity (EC), total dissolved solid (TDS), chloride (Clˉ), bicarbonate (HCO3ˉ), sulfate (SO4²ˉ), silicon (Si), iron (Fe), aluminium (Al), calcium (Ca⁺⁺), magnesium (Mg⁺⁺) and sodium (Na⁺). Data on groundwater quality of fifteen blocks of the Agra district were collected for nine years (2006-2014) from the Ground Water Department, Government of Uttar Pradesh. The data are investigated using Wilcox and Piper diagrams with the help of Aquachem 2011.1 software. The assessment on suitability of groundwater quality for the irrigation purpose is done using sodium percentage (Na%), Sodium Absorption Ratio (SAR) and Residual Sodium Carbonate (RSC) for all the blocks. The results show that groundwater of various blocks of Agra district is of Na⁺- Clˉ, Ca2⁺- Na⁺- HCO3ˉ, Ca²+ - Mg²+ - Clˉ, Ca²+ - HCO3ˉ, Ca²+ - Clˉ, Na⁺- CIˉ, Ca²+ - Mg²+ - Clˉ - SO4²ˉ and Ca²+ - Na+ - HCO3ˉ type. It is also found that the groundwater quality of the blocks Barauli Ahir, Fatehapur Sikari, Saiyan, Achhnera, Shamsabad, Khandouli, Pinahat, Jaitpur Kalan and Bah falls under very good to medium category and can be used for the irrigation purpose. However, the groundwater quality for the blocks Bichpuri, Akola, Fatehabad, Khairagarh, Etmadpur and Jagner falls under Medium to very bad category and hence cannot be used for the irrigation purpose. The outcome of the study would be helpful to the farmers, policy makers and water management authorities in planning and management of irrigation water.
Water Quality Investigation by Physicochemical Parameters of Satluj River (Himachal Pradesh, India)
Authors: Sharma Navendu , Walia Yogesh
Published: April 2017

Present investigation was carried out on Satluj river in Himachal Pradesh for the analysis of important physical and chemical water quality parameters during November, 2015 to February, 2016. Parameters such as turbidity, total alkalinity, pH, conductivity, magnesium hardness, biological oxygen demand (BOD), chemical oxygen demand (COD), dissolved carbon dioxide, total hardness, chloride, phosphate, nitrate and calciumwere analyzed from five sampling stations i.e. First Sampling Station (SS-1) – Khab, Kinnaur, Himachal Pradesh; Second Sampling Station (SS-2) – Wangtoo, Near dam site of Karcham Wangtoo Hydroelectric Plant, Kinnaur, Himachal Pradesh;Third Sampling Station (SS-3) – Bayal at the Rampur city, Shimla, Himachal Pradesh; Fourth Sampling Station (SS-4) - Kol dam, Bilaspur, Himachal Pradesh and Fifth Sampling Station (SS-5) - Wajipur Kalan, Ludhiana, Punjab in the study area. The analyses were carried out according to APHA, 2012 procedures. The analysis of data reveals that turbidity, chemical oxygen demand, biological oxygen demand and chlorides were found to be higher than the acceptable limit prescribed by Bureau of Indian standards (BIS), WHO standards. Higher values of these parameters reveal that the pollution in Satluj river is due to siltation, domestic & municipal sewage, industrial sewage and surface run-off that effect the water quality directly or indirectly.
Definição de uma faixa pluviométrica crítica para deflagração de movimentos de terra em taludes rodoviários localizados no trecho da serra do mar da rodovia BR-376/PR
Authors: Victorino Mariana Meza , Sestrem Liamara Paglia , Kormann Alessander C. M.
Published: April 2017

Este artigo apresenta a metodologia empregada para a definição de uma faixa pluviométrica crítica para deflagra- ção de escorregamentos de terra nos taludes rodoviários da rodovia BR-376, no trecho da Serra do Mar Paranaense. A construção do modelo proposto partiu do entendimento e compilação da intensidade e duração tanto de eventos pluviométricos que resultaram em processos instabilizantes na região como daqueles que historicamente não deflagraram danos às encostas. A relação entre pluviometria e ocorrência de escorregamentos proposta representa uma importante ferramenta para criação sistemas de alerta e desenvolvimento de um plano de mitigação de movimentos de terra para o local. Sua aplicação torna-se mais eficiente se associada à estações pluviométricas capazes de processar dados em tempo real, possibilitando assim a emissão de alertas com o objetivo de se tomar decisões em termos de mobilização de equipes, interrupção ou desvio preventivo do tráfego ou controle de velocidade.
Impact on post partum amenorrhoea beyond breastfeeding
Authors: Shukla A. K. , Tiwari A. K. , Yadava R. C.
Published: April 2017

Citing various studies Bongaarts (1980) has concluded that breastfeeding is the principal determinant of post partum amenorrhoea (PPA) and unrestricted breastfeeding is associated with lower fertility. On the other hand many researchers have shown opposite views by saying that other factors are also responsible in affecting the duration of PPA. In this paper, we have investigated the relationship between the two duration variables viz. PPA and breastfeeding utilizing data of NFHS-2. For this purpose, we have controlled the duration of breastfeeding and then investigated whether distribution of PPA duration shows similar pattern in different situations or it varies with the situations. This can help in deciding whether PPA duration is mainly affected by breastfeeding or some other factors are also operating in shaping its distribution. In this context, we show that even after controlling the duration of breastfeeding (keeping breastfeeding at least six months) the percentage of females having PPA duration less than four months, shows large variation according to caste, educational level, standard of living index (SLI) and body mass index (BMI) of females. If breastfeeding would have been the only principal determinant of duration of PPA, this percentage should have remained almost constant! This shows that some other factors beyond breastfeeding are responsible for shaping the distribution of PPA duration of a female.
Digital marketing: a new tool for international education
Authors: Fierro Isidro , Gavilanez Jihna , Cardona Arbelaez Diego Alonso
Published: April 2017

In a digital age, International Education has undergone several changes. Digital platforms have eased the way students can access to academic information. Therefore, the education industry has implemented tools to effectively adapt business to students’ needs. Digital Marketing and its components have been emerging in Interna- tional Education to improve its business practices. Therefore, institutions have been encouraged to promote these mechanisms and adopt them into their corporate structures. The use of online strategies is an optimal channel to attract students. Digi- tal marketing has turned into the ultimate tool to proactively excel in the competition. To show the results of this deductive research paper, an example of the company Big Choice Group will examine the causes and consequences of implementing Digital Marketing in the International Education industry. This paper will present evidence with an analysis of a model on how a mul- tinational has obtained positive results with the implementation of digital strategies.
Autologous Pericardial Patch Repair for Papillary Fibroelastoma on an Aortic Valve Leaflet
Authors: Sakata Tomoki , Nakaya Mitsuru , Otsu Masayoshi , Sunazawa Toru , Wakabayashi Yutaka
Published: April 2017

A 50-year-old man with no history of cardiovascular disease was referred to our hospital because of an abnormal electrocardiogram. Echocardiograms and computed tomograms revealed a 9-mm mass on the underside of an aortic valve leaflet. We chose surgical treatment, to prevent embolic events. The tumor's appearance and intraoperative frozen section were consistent with myxoma. We resected the tumor and its attachment, including the free margin of the aortic valve leaflet, and repaired the defect with use of a glutaraldehyde-treated autologous pericardial patch. The postoperative histopathologic diagnosis was papillary fibroelastoma. Six months later, echocardiograms showed mild aortic regurgitation and no recurrence of the aortic valve mass.

Papillary fibroelastoma and myxoma can be difficult to distinguish intraoperatively, yet the diagnosis has considerable influence on the surgical strategy, including whether valve-sparing excision is an option. Therefore, it is necessary to at least suspect both entities if the tumor characteristics are unusual. This case is instructive for surgeons and pathologists.
Tumor Blood Vessels and Vasculogenic Mimicry – Current Knowledge and Searching for New Cellular/Molecular Targets of Anti-Angiogenic Therapy
Authors: Knopik-Skrocka Agnieszka , Kręplewska Patrycja , Jarmołowska-Jurczyszyn Donata
Published: April 2017

Blood vessel formation in tumor is defined as tumor angiogenesis. So far, the most known its mechanism is sprouting, which means formation of blood vessels from existing ones, as a result of the proliferation and migration of endothelial cells. The main mitogenic factor of these cells is vascular endothelial growth factor VEGF, acting by VEGFR-2 receptors. Recent studies have provided knowledge about the ability of tumors to form vessel-like structures. The phenomenon was called vascular mimicry. Tumor cells show a high plasticity and they can undergo differentiation to the ones with phenotype similar to endothelial cells. Each of the known tumor angiogenesis mechanisms is a result of many different factors and cell cooperation in tumor microenvironment. Tumor ability to the heterogeneous vascularization forces developing of complex, anti-angiogenic therapy directed to different molecular and cellular targets. Therapies, used so far, often lead to drug-induced hypoxia, which increases tumor cell aggressiveness and metastasis.
An analysis and comparison of two German thrust-fencing manuscripts
Authors: Noort Reinier van , Schäfer Jan
Published: April 2017

In this contribution, we will discuss two German fencing manuscripts - Mscr.Dresd.C.13 (SLUB Dresden) and Add MS 17533 (BL London). Both manuscripts present texts on thrust-fencing based on the teachings of Salvator Fabris. The dedication of manuscript C13 was signed by the famous fencing author Johann Georg Pascha. The author of one of the texts contained in the 17533 manuscript is named H.A.V..

A textual analysis has been performed on these two books, and then the contents of the works have been compared. This comparison shows that C13 presents a largely identical text to the main treatises contained in 17533, the most significant difference being certain additions in C13, which Pascha also discusses in his dedication. Based on our analysis, both C13 and 17533 appear to present copies of an original text. We further hypothesize that H.A.V., the author of this original text, was Heinrich von und zum Velde, the fencing master of Johann Joachim Hynitzsch.
The variability of protein structure with respect to the hydrophobic core
Authors: Banach Mateusz , Wiśniowski Zdzisław , Kalinowska Barbara , Konieczny Leszek , Roterman Irena
Published: April 2017

The application of the fuzzy oil drop model to the analysis of protein structure is shown using two proteins. The selection of these two examples is due to their opposite character. Two proteins were selected representing very high order and very high disorder with respect to the organized uni-central hydrophobic core in proteins (one centrally localized concentration of high hydrophobicity). These two cases are to show examples of the large spectrum of variability of local organization of the hydrophobic core in proteins. The importance of the observation presented in this paper is significant with respect to large sets of proteins discussed in separate publications.
Circulating cell-free microRNAs as clinical cancer biomarkers
Authors: Armand-Labit Virginie , Pradines Anne
Published: April 2017

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are non-coding small RNAs that are master regulators of genic expression and consequently of many cellular processes. But their expression is often deregulated in human tumors leading to cancer development. Recently miRNAs were discovered in body fluids (serum, plasma and others) and their levels have often been reported to be altered in patients. Circulating miRNAs became one of the most promising biomarkers in oncology for early diagnosis, prognosis and therapeutic response prediction. Here we describe the origins and roles of miRNAs, and summarize the most recent studies focusing on their usefulness as cancer biomarkers in lung, breast, colon, prostate, ovary cancers and melanoma. Lastly, we describe the main methodologies related to miRNA detection, which should be standardized for their use in clinical practice.
Degradation of dimethyl phthalate esters by a filamentous fungus Aspergillus versicolor isolated from deep-sea sediments
Authors: Wang Jing-Wen , Xu Wei , Zhong Tian-Hua , He Gao-Yang , Luo Zhu-Hua
Published: April 2017

Dimethyl phthalate esters (DMPEs), which belong to phthalate esters (PAEs), are widely distributed environmental pollutants with endocrine-disrupting toxicity. The present study focused on a filamentous fungus capable of degrading DMPEs isolated from deep-sea sediments of the Indian Ocean at a water depth of 3300 m using an enrichment culture technique. The filamentous fungus was identified as
Nato Fuori Posto: Exploring Placelessness in Dean Serravalle’s “The Buried Tree”
Authors: Agostinelli Gianluca
Published: April 2017

Building on the seminal scholarship of humanistic geographer, Edward Relph, this paper explores the postmodern notion of placelessness in Canadian-Italian literature. The author argues that placelessness can afford bi-cultural writers, and their literary protagonists, a degree of productive peripherality that works to deconstruct and undercut the authoritative dynamic of a culturally dominant place. Working with the concept of placelessness, the author analyzes, critically, “The Buried Tree,” a short story composed by Canadian-Italian author, Dean Serravalle, to suggest that the metaphysical state is not one of precarity and dearth but, rather, one of purposeful resistance to the traditional, often oppressive notions of cultural hybridity. While Serravalle’s text focalizes the strong senses of home and cultural rooting as fundamental markers of ethnic identity, placelessness, a space associated primarily with exclusion, can offer refuge and escape for the protagonost, Michele, who seeks both ethnic dissociation from the familial traditions into which he is born, and detachment from his innate, immigrant history. By exploring Michele’s identity crisis, Serravalle seems to challenge the traditional narrative of lifelong, oppositional pluridimensionality, and posits placelessness as a productive, and perhaps necessary, personal state to establish, rather than to reclaim, one’s cultural roots.
The Intervening Role of Competitiveness on the Relationship Between Sustainability and Tourism Performance: A Research on European Countries
Authors: Özyurt Paşa Mustafa , Kantarcı Kemal
Published: April 2017

Being green and being an economically successful and competitive destination has been the core topic in the sustainable development literature in recent years. The link between sustainability and competitiveness in the market is fairly important to study in the tourism industry in order to support and encourage decision makers and stakeholders in their decisions. In this sense, this study has two aims. First aim is to cluster European countries based on their sustainability scores reported in World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Index. Second aim is to reveal the intervening role of competitiveness on the relationship between sustainability and tourism performance for European countries. We employed a K-means cluster analysis and several multiple regression analyses. Analyses results revealed three clusters for European countries. Another finding postulated that competitiveness of these countries have been influenced by their level of sustainability. Our final finding posits that tourism performance of these countries in terms of tourist arrivals and tourism receipts has been found to be impacted by the level of tourism competitiveness.
Effects of Remittances on Rural and Regional Poverty in the Republic of Serbia
Authors: Peković Drinka
Published: April 2017

This paper examines an effect the remittances have on poverty alleviation of rural households and regions in which exist a large number of the emigrants among population. Remittances represent a significant part of additional income of the household mostly used for consumption and improvement of the living standard. Using data from Living Standards Measurement Survey 2007, an impact of the remittances on the poverty index, depth of poverty and poverty severity in the Republic of Serbia is estimated. Due to limitation of data, counterfactual household consumption is estimated in conditions of remittances absence, where the last is treated as exogenous transfer of money. The results show that remittances have a larger impact to poverty of rural households, especially to the depth and severity of poverty. According to the regions, remittances have the largest impact to the poverty level in East Serbia, but these effects on poverty depth and severity are not statistically significant. The smallest changes in the depth and severity of poverty are noticed in Sumadija.
Integrated AHP-TOPSIS Method for the Assessment of Health Management Information Systems Efficiency
Authors: Rađenović Žarko , Veselinović Ivana
Published: April 2017

The aim of this paper is to analyse and estimate the efficiency of health information systems in the provision of health care services. The evaluation of health information systems is conducted in the case of three most widely used softwares in the electronic health care. This evaluation is based on multi-criteria analysis of the health information systems efficiency using the AHP-TOPSIS method. This method, based on common attributes and their respective values for all three software solutions, individually determines the best rated software solution. Top rated software solution of electronic health care is not necessarily the best for the implementation and development, given the fact that each health care organisation has its own characteristics. Functional and evolutionary-minded hardware and software applicative infrastructure contributes to the consistency of electronic health concept that all system users provides a comfortable software solutions, which ultimately leads to the timely and quick medical services in real time.
Policy Trilemma in India: Exchange Rate Stability, Independent Monetary Policy and Capital Account Openness
Authors: Majumder Sayantan Bandhu , Nag Ranjanendra Narayan
Published: April 2017

This paper aims to investigate the situation of policy trilemma in India. Analysing the quarterly data from 1991 to 2015, we find that though the trilemma constraint is binding in the long run, there is ample evidence of short-run deviations from the constraint. Intervention in the foreign exchange market by the Reserve bank of India has successfully helped to relax this constraint. The policy mix has changed over this period – the degree of capital account openness has gradually increased, mainly at the cost of exchange rate stability. We further examine the determinants and the macroeconomic effects of the trilemma policy configuration. We find that the trilemma efficiency depends on the financial stress, financial development, intervention by the Central bank and the liquidity in the economy. Higher monetary policy independence helps to reduce the inflation rate while exchange rate stability and capital account openness are associated with the higher growth rate and the larger output gap.
Are You Too Successful to Digitalize? How to Fight Innovation Blindness
Authors: Neus Andreas , Buder Fabian , Galdino Fernando
Published: April 2017

Digital transformation requires a digital mindset and new approaches to dealing with both decision risk and decision speed. Well-entrenched companies seem to hold all the assets needed to adapt and keep succeeding, but sometimes they don’t seem to adequately react to a disruptive threat; instead, they show symptoms of innovation blindness. They might overestimate their digital skills or their learning occurs too slowly and resources are being wasted. Deep expertise that used to be an asset turns into a liability because companies are stuck in old mental models.
A few things can be done proactively to avoid major pitfalls in the digitalization of a business. Facts that are taken for granted need to be challenged and checked against reality to identify strategic failure in time. Whenever somebody assumes that something is “surely” true, a company’s alarm bells should go off. Moreover, top management needs to check if their digital projects not only scratch the surface but that they grasp the essence of what makes them successful: creating new added value, dramatically increasing speed and ease of use, reducing complexity, and lowering costs substantially. Also, a new approach to innovation, such as design thinking, encourages rapid prototyping and a fast-failure culture.
Mathematical Modeling of Liquid Slag Layer Fluctuation and Slag Droplets Entrainment in a Continuous Casting Mold Based on VOF-LES Method
Authors: Zhao Peng , Li Qiang , Kuang Shi Bo , Zou Zongshu
Published: April 2017

The slag behaviors, directly relating with the qualities of the final cast products, are influenced by the transient surface flow of liquid steel in a continuous casting mold. A one-half scale model is used to investigate the slag behaviors and their droplets entrainment. The model based on Volume of Fluid (VOF) multiphase coupled with Large Eddy Simulation (LES) is established to further illuminate the phenomena of the liquid oil layer fluctuation, the slag “eye” regions, and the slag entrainment observed in water experiment. The effects of casting speeds on the slag behaviors and their entrained droplets are investigated. The results show that the fluctuation of the oil layer is influenced by the transient flow. The calculations for the oil layer profile, the accumulation, and protrusions of oil layer are consistent with the water experiment. The asymmetry of the slag “eye” regions is also influenced by the asymmetry of free surface and transient turbulent flow. The “eye” regions near the narrow wall show distinct asymmetric change at different casting speeds. At a lower casting speed, the slag “eye” regions change irregularly and display the alternate process of open and collapse at the two sides of the narrow walls of the model. While at a relative higher casting speed, the slag layer gathers toward the nozzle, and the slag “eye” regions gradually grow and always open. The simulation model can reveal that the mechanism of the slag entrainment includes two main modes: the cutting or dragging mode and shear layer instability. The average diameter and amount of the entrained droplets are calculated through the UDF codes of ANSYS FLUENT software, and the size distribution of the entrained droplets is also counted. When the casting speed is lower, the dominant diameters of the entrained droplets range between 2 and 3 mm. With casting speed increase, the distribution of the droplets becomes wider, and there is a gradually increase in the percentage of larger droplets with a size of 4–6 mm.