bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Student Activists or Student Anarchists? South Africa’s Contemporary Student Protests Reviewed
Authors: Rapatsa Mashele
Published: February 2018

Just over twenty-three years ago, the right to strike or protest received an explicit constitutional entrenchment and thus, legal protection. This would progressively empower citizens, including students, to protest against any infringement or deprivation of their rights or entitlements, and poor service delivery by any stakeholder in the institutions of learning, the government or private sector even. Today, South Africa is inundated with multiplicity of nationwide protests, most of which have been accompanied by appalling levels of violence, anarchy and criminality. Unexpectedly, students have had their share in such protests, and it could be argued, they have been an inspiration to various communities. Hence, this article proffers a critical reflection of the conduct of students during protests at the institutions of higher learning. The article seeks to understand and or explain variables that motivate students to vandalise property or antagonise those that opt to be passive or non-participants of such protests. In comparison to variables identified concerning the 1976 student protests, which were ideologically well grounded, the article attempts to describe contemporary students’ thinking towards protests and why vandalism and anarchism have become, not only conventional, but so intensely socialised. The article adopts content analysis method, and employs crowd theory and collective behaviour approach as tools of analysis. It is asserted that lack of ideological strategy underpinning South Africa’s unending revolution, which is needed to inform students’ struggles, is responsible for pervasive tendencies of vandalism and destruction of property during student protests.
Can Confirmation Measures Reflect Statistically Sound Dependencies in Data? The Concordance-based Assessment
Authors: Susmaga Robert , Szczęch Izabela
Published: February 2018

The paper considers particular interestingness measures, called confirmation measures (also known as Bayesian confirmation measures), used for the evaluation of “if evidence, then hypothesis” rules. The agreement of such measures with a statistically sound (significant) dependency between the evidence and the hypothesis in data is thoroughly investigated. The popular confirmation measures were not defined to possess such form of agreement. However, in error-prone environments, potential lack of agreement may lead to undesired effects, e.g. when a measure indicates either strong confirmation or strong disconfirmation, while in fact there is only weak dependency between the evidence and the hypothesis. In order to detect and prevent such situations, the paper employs a coefficient allowing to assess the level of dependency between the evidence and the hypothesis in data, and introduces a method of quantifying the level of agreement (referred to as a concordance) between this coefficient and the measure being analysed. The concordance is characterized and visualised using specialized histograms, scatter-plots, etc. Moreover, risk-related interpretations of the concordance are introduced. Using a set of 12 confirmation measures, the paper presents experiments designed to establish the actual concordance as well as other useful characteristics of the measures.
White and beige adipocytes: are they metabolically distinct?
Authors: Sepa-Kishi Diane M. , Ceddia Rolando B.
Published: February 2018

The white adipose tissue (WAT) exhibits great plasticity and can undergo “browning” and acquire features of the brown adipose tissue (BAT), which takes place following cold exposure, chronic endurance exercise or β3-adrenergic stimulation. WAT that underwent browning is characterized by the presence of “beige” adipocytes, which are morphologically similar to brown adipocytes, express uncoupling protein 1 (UCP1) and are considered thermogenically competent. Thus, inducing a BAT-like phenotype in the WAT could promote energy dissipation within this depot, reducing the availability of substrate that would otherwise be stored in the WAT. Importantly, BAT in humans only represents a small proportion of total body mass, which limits the thermogenic capacity of this tissue. Therefore, browning of the WAT could significantly expand the energy-dissipating capacity of the organism and be of therapeutic value in the treatment of metabolic diseases. However, the question remains as to whether WAT indeed changes its metabolic profile from an essentially fat storage/release compartment to an energy dissipating compartment that functions much like BAT. Here, we discuss the differences with respect to thermogenic capacity and metabolic characteristics between white and beige adipocytes to determine whether the latter cells indeed significantly enhance their capacity to dissipate energy through UCP1-mediated mitochondrial uncoupling or by the activation of alternative UCP1-independent futile cycles.
The effect of lncRNA HOTAIR on chemoresistance of ovarian cancer through regulation of HOXA7
Authors: Liu Siwei , Lei Huajiang , Luo Fangyuan , Li Yilin , Xie Lan
Published: February 2018

This study aimed at investigating the biological functions of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) hox transcript antisense intergenic RNA (HOTAIR) in resistant ovarian cancer cells, exploring the regulation effect of HOTAIR on HOXA7, and investigating their influence on the chemosensitivity of ovarian cancer cells. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) was applied for the verification of HOTAIR expression in resistant and sensitive groups. How HOTAIR downregulation affected cell proliferation, migration and invasion, and apoptosis were determined using the MTT assay and the colony formation assay, the Transwell assay and flow cytometry analysis, respectively. Immunohistochemistry was used to inspect the protein expression of HOXA7 in resistant and sensitive ovarian cancer tissues. The regulation relationship between HOTAIR and HOXA7 was investigated by qRT-PCR and Western blot. The effect of HOTAIR and HOXA7 on tumor growth was confirmed by the tumor xenograft model of nude mice. By knocking down HOXA7, HOTAIR downregulation restrained the ovarian cancer deterioration in functional experiments. Silencing of HOTAIR and HOXA7 could effectively inhibit tumor growth and increase chemosensitivity of ovarian tumors in nude mice. Downregulation of HOTAIR negatively affected the survival and activity of resistant ovarian cancer cells, and suppressed the expression of HOXA7. Silencing of HOTAIR and HOXA7 could increase the chemosensitivity of ovarian cancer cells, thus suppressing tumor development.
Psychometric evaluation of the revised Sense of Humor Scale and the construction of a parallel form
Authors: Ruch Willibald , Heintz Sonja
Published: February 2018

McGhee (1996, Health, healing and the amuse system: Humor as survival training. Dubuque: Kendall/Hunt; 1999, Health, healing and the amuse system: Humor as survival training (3rd edition). Dubuque: Kendall/Hunt) proposed a model of the sense of humor including the six “humor skills” of enjoyment of humor, laughter, verbal humor, finding humor in everyday life, laughing at yourself, and humor under stress, measured with the Sense of Humor Scale (SHS). The purpose of the present study is to evaluate the psychometric properties of the SHS (revised version from 1999) and to develop a parallel form of the SHS to double the amount of items for each humor skill. Combing these two forms should yield reliable and factorially valid scales of the six humor skills. Participants in two online studies (n=315 and 542) completed the SHS and its parallel form, along with measures of various outcomes. The psychometric properties of the SHS were of mixed quality, and those of the parallel form were uniformly good. The parallel-test reliability was sufficiently high to regard the two scales as parallel versions. Combining the two measures resulted in reliable and distinguishable scales of the six humor skills. All humor skills correlated positively with humor-related attitude and mood, cheerfulness, and life satisfaction. Importantly, they spanned different dimensions of the sense of humor, underscoring the usefulness of each humor skill.
Development and Characterization of a Novel Ecofriendly Biodegradable Whey Protein Concentrate Film with nano-SiO2
Authors: Hassannia-Kolaee Mahbobeh , Shahabi-Ghahfarrokhi Iman , Hassannia-Kolaee Maryam
Published: February 2018

Nowadays, researchers have attracted to substitute petroleum-based materials by biopolymers due to limitation of petroleum resources and environmental concerns. Nano-fillers were used to reduce some drawbacks of biopolymers as packaging materials. Nanocomposite films composed of 5 % (wt% dry base) whey protein concentrate (WPC), 30 % glycerol, (1 %, 3 %, and 5 %) nano-SiO2 (NS). The films were prepared by solution casting method. Tensile strength of WPC/NS nanocomposites increased around 50 % compared to WPC by increasing NS content up to 3 %. While elongation at break (EB) decreased around 20 % compared to WPC, simultaneously. But at high NS content (5 %), EB decreased to 17.93 %. Sensibility of WPC/NS nanocomposites film to water and water vapor permeability was decreased with increasing NS content up to 3 %. NS content was an effective factor on the color properties of the films. SEM micrographs revealed uniform distribution of NS into polymer matrix at low NS content. Consequently, crystallinity and thermal properties of the film were improved by adding NS content as compared to WPC film. It seems NS can improve some drawbacks of WPC such as mechanical weakness, hydrophilic properties as a packaging material and allowing the development of biodegradable bionanocomposite.
Non-Linear Demand in a Linear Town
Authors: Torshizi Mohammad , Fulton Murray E. , Gray Richard S.
Published: February 2018

In Hotelling’s linear town model characteristics are implicitly assumed to be related in such a way that preferences for them can be mapped into a one-dimensional town. This results in perfectly correlated willingness to pay levels. Many differentiated products, however, embody characteristics that are functionally at least somewhat unrelated to other characteristics. This paper makes the implicit assumption of perfectly correlated preferences in the original Hotelling model explicit, and examine the implications of this assumption for the economics of competition. We develop a simple theoretical model to show that shape of the demand curve for differentiated products depends on distribution of consumers’ preferences, which is determined by the nature of the relationship between the corresponding characteristics. Misrepresentation of correlated preferences in differentiated product models impacts demand elasticity and can result in unreliable outcomes. This issue is particularly important in agricultural and food markets where many factors such as expectations about weather and information on social media can impact consumer ranking of one product versus another in ways that are not fully observable or measurable by the researcher.
Investigating the changes in amino acid values in premature infants: a pilot study
Authors: Yang Yuqi , Yu Bin , Long Wei , Wang Huaiyan , Wang Ying , Chen Yunjuan
Published: February 2018

Background:

The objective of the study was to investigate the changes in amino acid (AAs) values in premature infants.

Methods:

A total of 2159 premature and/or low birth weight infants were recruited for this study. They were divided into three groups: premature infants with normal birth weight (G1), simple low birth weight infants (G2) and premature combined with low birth weight infants (G3). The tandem mass spectrometry technique was used to detect the levels of 11 AAs in neonatal blood.

Results:

Compared with normal babies, there were eight and five AAs that significantly changed in G1 and G2, respectively. It was worth noting that the changes greatly exacerbated when the babies were both premature and of low birth weight. All the levels of AAs demonstrated significant changes in G3 compared with the normal control group (G4). With the increase in gestational age, the AAs in premature infants tended to the levels in normal newborns. Meanwhile, there was a correlation between AAs and birth weight. Four AAs significantly changed with the increase in body weight. Among normal newborns, the levels of AAs in girls were significantly higher than in boys. However, if the newborns were premature or had low birth weight, the differences between AA values and sexual distinction would decrease. In the end, we established the specific reference ranges of AAs for premature and/or low birth weight infants.

Conclusions:

There were significant differences in AAs in the premature and/or low birth weight infants. Gestational age and birth weight were two important factors inflecting the AAs metabolism.
Riesgo marítimo, astrología y devoción en Roma
Authors: Nuño Antón Alvar
Published: February 2018

It is generally assumed that the religiosity of sailors in ancient Rome was nourished by an atavistic fear of the sea. This paper suggests that individual motivations varied. In the concrete case of vessel owners, shippers and traders, astrology and votive offerings were cultural dispositives to reduce risk perception and to stimulate merchant activity complementary to the fiscal stimuli to protect the costs of wreck in case of „force majeure“.
Fast and Robust Orientation of Cryo-Electron
Microscopy Images
Authors: Xu Guoliang , Wang Xia , Li Ming , Jing Zhucui
Published: February 2018

We present an efficient and reliable algorithm for determining the orientations of noisy images
obtained fromprojections of a three-dimensional object. Based on the linear relationship among the common
line vectors in one image plane, we construct a sparse matrix, and show that the coordinates of the common
line vectors are the eigenvectors of the matrix with respect to the eigenvalue 1. The projection directions and
in-plane rotation angles can be determined fromthese coordinates. A robust computation method of common
lines in the real space using aweighted cross-correlation function is proposed to increase the robustness of the
algorithm against the noise. A small number of good leading images, which have the maximal dissimilarity,
are used to increase the reliability of orientations and improve the efficiency for determining the orientations
of all the images. Numerical experiments show that the proposed algorithm is effective and efficient.
Crystal structure of dimethylammonium bis(naphthalene-2,3-diolato)borate, C22H20BNO4
Authors: Tombul Mustafa , Güven Kutalmış , Bulut Adnan , Svoboda Ingrid , Fuess Hartmut
Published: February 2018

C22H20BNO4, monoclinic, C2/c (no. 15), a = 32.303(4) Å, b = 8.2703(6) Å, c = 7.3876(6) Å, β = 92.889(8)°, V = 1971.1(3) Å3, Z = 4, R
gt(F) = 0.0978, wR
ref(F
2) = 0.2063, T = 298 K.
Control panel and indicators for production control in building projects
Authors: Orihuela Pablo , Pacheco Santiago , Orihuela Jorge
Published: February 2018

In general, every project should have indicators that monitor compliance with established goals. In con­struction projects, there are a large number of indicators proposed by many researchers; however, an analysis of the state of the art shows a frequent confusion between Result, Process and Leading Indicators. This paper, which is an extended version of the paper sub­mitted by the same authors at the Creative Construction Conference 2017 and published in Procedia Engineering (DOI: 10.1016/j.proeng.2017.07.230), presents a proposal of these three types of indicators for the design, supply and assembly phases of housing projects. Thus, all project stakeholders can have a control panel that will monitor if an indicator exceeds the limits, thereby allowing taking corrective actions in a timely and effective manner.
Imported anthropogenic bacteria may survive the Antarctic winter and introduce new genes into local bacterial communities
Authors: Brat Kristian , Sedlacek Ivo , Sevcikova Alena , Merta Zdenek , Laska Kamil , Sevcik Pavel
Published: February 2018

We studied dynamic changes in anthropogenic bacterial communities at a summer-operated Czech research base (theMendelResearch Station) in the Antarctic during 2012 and 2013. We observed an increase in total numbers of detected bacteria between the beginning and the end of each stay in the Antarctic. In the first series of samples, bacteria ofBacillussp. predominated. Surprisingly, high numbers of Gram-positive cocci and coliforms were found (including opportunistic human pathogens), although the conditions for bacterial life were unfavourable (Antarctic winter). In the second series of samples, coliforms and Gram-positive cocci predominated. Dangerous human pathogens were also detected.Yersinia enterocoliticawas identified as serotype O:9. Antibiotic susceptibility testing showed medium-to-high resistance rates to ampicillin, cefalotin, cefuroxime, amoxicillin-clavulanate and gentamicin in Enterobacteriaceae. 16S rRNA sequencing showed high rates of accordance between nucleotide sequences among the tested strains. Three conclusions were drawn: (1) Number of anthropogenic bacteria were able to survive the harsh conditions of the Antarctic winter (inside and outside the polar station). Under certain circumstances (e.g.impaired immunity), the surviving bacteria might pose a health risk to the participants of future expeditions or to other visitors to the base. (2) The bacteria released into the outer environment might have impacts on local ecosystems. (3) New characteristics (e.g.resistance to antibiotics) may be introduced into local bacterial communities.
Methodology of Dynamic Monitoring of Structures in the Vicinity of Hydrotechnical Works – Selected Case Studies
Authors: Wyjadłowski Marek
Published: February 2018

The constant development of geotechnical technologies imposes the necessity of monitoring techniques to provide a proper quality and the safe execution of geotechnical works. Several monitoring methods enable the preliminary design of work process and current control of hydrotechnical works (pile driving, sheet piling, ground improvement methods). Wave parameter measurements and/or continuous histogram recording of shocks and vibrations and its dynamic impact on engineering structures in the close vicinity of the building site enable the modification of the technology parameters, such as vibrator frequency or hammer drop height. Many examples of practical applications have already been published and provide a basis for the formulation of guidelines, for work on the following sites. In the current work the author’s experience gained during sheet piling works for the reconstruction of City Channel in Wrocław (Poland) was presented. The examples chosen describe ways of proceedings in the case of new and old residential buildings where the concrete or masonry walls were exposed to vibrations and in the case of the hydrotechnical structures (sluices, bridges).
The Collis Procedure and the Acquired Short Esophagus
Authors: Radovanovic Dragce , Pavlovic Mladen , Canovic Dragan , Lazic Dejan , Cvetkovic Aleksandar , Spasic Marko , Stojanovic Bojan , Milosevic Bojan
Published: February 2018

One of the most intriguing problems in modern esophageal surgery is the acquired short esophagus. While some authors recognize this entity, others deny its existence. There is a consensus about types of the short esophagus, its etiology and pathophysiology. Definitive diagnosis can be established only intraoperatively. There are a few surgical procedures for this problem, and most frequently is used Collis gastroplasty with fundoplication. In this review we emphasize recent literature data and further perspectives of the Collis procedure.
Does Lewis basicity correlate with catalytic performance in zerovalent group 8 complexes?
Authors: Braunschweig Holger , Brunecker Carina , Dewhurst Rian D. , Schneider Christoph
Published: February 2018

A set of 18 zerovalent group 8 metal complexes of the form [ML
n
(CO)5−

n
] (M=Fe, Ru, Os; L=neutral donor; n=0–2) were screened for their catalytic performance in aldehyde hydrosilylation and olefin hydroboration reactions. Although none of the untested catalysts were found to perform better than the previously-published complex [Fe(CO)4(IMes)] (IMes=1,3-Dimesityliidazol-2-ylidene), the results suggest that the Lewis basicity of the metal complex does not play a critical role in the catalysis of these two reactions.
Bong's Song
Authors: Gorbman Claudia
Published: February 2018

Bong Joon-ho's Okja (2017) hops across genres and moods. Part Lassie Come Home (Fred M. Wilcox, 1943) with a girl and her giant pig instead of a boy and his loyal dog; part Brazil (Terry Gilliam, 1985), also a comic and nightmarish sci-fi; part Capitalism, a Love Story (Michael Moore, 2009) for its lessons in greed, with Tilda Swinton playing twin heads of a transnational biotech corporation; it pleads a serious case for animal rights and vegetarianism as well. Bong has an eccentric genius for songs and scoring, few other living directors make musical choices that are as boldly unconventional. Bong goes musically hog wild in this pig movie. When the apotheosis arrives halfway through the film, it is with a song: John Denver's “Annie's Song.” Almost every review of Okja mentions this outlandish pairing of music and visuals. Bong has frequently employed songs cleverly in his films, but never in as deep and many-layered way as in Okja. Gorman pursues Bong's particular use of songs in his oeuvre to unearth other surprises, and notes that there is a still deeper auteurist vein to be mined for further insight on how “Annie's Song” works in Okja.
Growth Hormone Research Society perspective on biomarkers of GH action in children and adults
Authors: Johannsson Gudmundur , Bidlingmaier Martin , Biller Beverly M K , Boguszewski Margaret , Casanueva Felipe F , Chanson Philippe , Clayton Peter E , Choong Catherine S , Clemmons David , Dattani Mehul , Frystyk Jan , Ho Ken , Hoffman Andrew R , Horikawa Reiko , Juul Anders , Kopchick John J , Luo Xiaoping , Neggers Sebastian , Netchine Irene , Olsson Daniel S , Radovick Sally , Rosenfeld Ron , Ross Richard J , Schilbach Katharina , Solberg Paulo , Strasburger Christian , Trainer Peter , Yuen Kevin C J , Wickstrom Kerstin , Jorgensen Jens O L , _ _
Published: February 2018

Objective

The Growth Hormone Research Society (GRS) convened a Workshop in 2017 to evaluate clinical endpoints, surrogate endpoints and biomarkers during GH treatment of children and adults and in patients with acromegaly.

Participants

GRS invited 34 international experts including clinicians, basic scientists, a regulatory scientist and physicians from the pharmaceutical industry.

Evidence

Current literature was reviewed and expert opinion was utilized to establish the state of the art and identify current gaps and unmet needs.

Consensus process

Following plenary presentations, breakout groups discussed questions framed by the planning committee. The attendees re-convened after each breakout session to share the group reports. A writing team compiled the breakout session reports into a document that was subsequently discussed and revised by participants. This was edited further and circulated for final review after the meeting. Participants from pharmaceutical companies were not part of the writing process.

Conclusions

The clinical endpoint in paediatric GH treatment is adult height with height velocity as a surrogate endpoint. Increased life expectancy is the ideal but unfeasible clinical endpoint of GH treatment in adult GH-deficient patients (GHDA) and in patients with acromegaly. The pragmatic clinical endpoints in GHDA include normalization of body composition and quality of life, whereas symptom relief and reversal of comorbidities are used in acromegaly. Serum IGF-I is widely used as a biomarker, even though it correlates weakly with clinical endpoints in GH treatment, whereas in acromegaly, normalization of IGF-I may be related to improvement in mortality. There is an unmet need for novel biomarkers that capture the pleiotropic actions of GH in relation to GH treatment and in patients with acromegaly.
Decreasing mortality and changes in treatment patterns in patients with acromegaly from a nationwide study
Authors: Esposito Daniela , Ragnarsson Oskar , Granfeldt Daniel , Marlow Tom , Johannsson Gudmundur , Olsson Daniel S
Published: February 2018

Context

New therapeutic strategies have developed for the management of acromegaly over recent decades. Whether this has improved mortality has not been fully elucidated.

Objective

The primary aim was to investigate mortality in a nationwide unselected cohort of patients with acromegaly. Secondary analyses included time trends in mortality and treatment patterns.

Design

A total of 1089 patients with acromegaly were identified in Swedish National Health Registries between 1987 and 2013. To analyse time trends, the cohort was divided into three periods (1987–1995, 1996–2004 and 2005–2013) based on the year of diagnosis.

Main outcome measures

Using the Swedish population as reference, standardized mortality ratios (SMRs) were calculated with 95% confidence intervals (CIs).

Results

Overall SMR was 2.79 (95% CI: 2.43–3.15) with 232 observed and 83 expected deaths. Mortality was mainly related to circulatory diseases (SMR: 2.95, 95% CI: 2.35–3.55), including ischemic heart disease (2.00, 1.35–2.66) and cerebrovascular disease (3.99, 2.42–5.55) and malignancy (1.76, 1.27–2.26). Mortality decreased over time, with an SMR of 3.45 (2.87–4.02) and 1.86 (1.04–2.67) during the first and last time period, respectively (P = .015). During the same time periods, the frequency of pituitary surgery increased from 58% to 72% (P < 0.001) and the prevalence of hypopituitarism decreased from 41% to 23% (P < 0.001).

Conclusions

Excess mortality was found in this nationwide cohort of patients with acromegaly, mainly related to circulatory and malignant diseases. Although still high, mortality significantly declined over time. This could be explained by the more frequent use of pituitary surgery, decreased prevalence of hypopituitarism and the availability of new medical treatment options.
Cerebral Function and Perfusion during Cardiopulmonary Bypass: A Plea for a Multimodal Monitoring Approach
Authors: Thudium Marcus , Heinze Ingo , Ellerkmann Richard K , Hilbert Tobias
Published: February 2018

Background: Postoperative neurological injury still represents a major cause of morbidity after cardiac surgery. Our objective was to compare the limits as well as advantages of routine monitoring tools for the detection of cerebral function and perfusion deficits during cardiopulmonary bypass in a daily clinical setting.Methods: Adult patients undergoing elective cardiac surgery with use of cardiopulmonary bypass were included. Patients received monitoring comprising Bispectral Index (BIS), Near Infrared Spectroscopy (NIRS) and assessment of middle cerebral artery flow velocity (MCAV) using transcranial Doppler (TCD) sonography. Measurements were taken after anesthesia induction (at baseline) and every 10 minutes during aortic cross-clamping. Relative deviation from baseline values was calculated. Values were compared with predefined, generally accepted threshold values identifying patients at risk for cerebral functional and perfusion deficits.Results: 30 consecutive patients were included into data analysis. Compared to NIRS as well as BIS monitoring, there was a wide interindividual variability in relative MCAV values for the whole cohort (median 0.9, range 0.39-2.19). Out of 229 measurements in total, 82 BIS but only 30 NIRS and 12 TCD values were lying outside predefined limits. TCD monitoring identified two patients with disturbed cerebral autoregulation, while NIRS remained unremarkable. The latter was significantly associated with systemic hemoglobin levels. Finally, patients with relative MCAV values >1.0 had a higher risk of developing postoperative delirium.Conclusion: Our findings reveal inherent technical limitations of each individual monitoring component, such as high interindividual variability (TCD), low spatial resolution (NIRS), or interaction with anesthetics (BIS). We therefore argue for a multimodal neuromonitoring that combines several qualities. Such approach would help reducing these limitations while individual components complement each other, thus providing more patient safety during cardiac surgery. Furthermore, such an approach would be easily applicable in a routine clinical setting.
Female Meiosis: Synapsis, Recombination, and Segregation in Drosophila melanogaster
Authors: Hughes Stacie E , Miller Danny E , Miller Angela L , Hawley R Scott
Published: February 2018

A century of genetic studies of the meiotic process in Drosophila melanogaster females has been greatly augmented by both modern molecular biology and major advances in cytology. These approaches, and the findings they have allowed, are the subject of this review. Specifically, these efforts have revealed that meiotic pairing in Drosophila females is not an extension of somatic pairing, but rather occurs by a poorly understood process during premeiotic mitoses. This process of meiotic pairing requires the function of several components of the synaptonemal complex (SC). When fully assembled, the SC also plays a critical role in maintaining homolog synapsis and in facilitating the maturation of double-strand breaks (DSBs) into mature crossover (CO) events. Considerable progress has been made in elucidating not only the structure, function, and assembly of the SC, but also the proteins that facilitate the formation and repair of DSBs into both COs and noncrossovers (NCOs). The events that control the decision to mature a DSB as either a CO or an NCO, as well as determining which of the two CO pathways (class I or class II) might be employed, are also being characterized by genetic and genomic approaches. These advances allow a reconsideration of meiotic phenomena such as interference and the centromere effect, which were previously described only by genetic studies. In delineating the mechanisms by which the oocyte controls the number and position of COs, it becomes possible to understand the role of CO position in ensuring the proper orientation of homologs on the first meiotic spindle. Studies of bivalent orientation have occurred in the context of numerous investigations into the assembly, structure, and function of the first meiotic spindle. Additionally, studies have examined the mechanisms ensuring the segregation of chromosomes that have failed to undergo crossing over.
The Odd Log-Logistic Dagum Distribution: Properties and Applications
Authors: Domma Filippo , Eftekharian Abbas , Afify Ahmed , Alizadeh Morad , Ghosh Indranil
Published: February 2018

This paper introduces a new four-parameter lifetime model called the odd log-logistic Dagum distribution. The new model has the advantage of being capable of modeling various shapes of aging and failure criteria. We derive some structural properties of the model odd log-logistic Dagum such as order statistics and incomplete moments. The maximum likelihood method is used to estimate the model parameters. Simulation results to assess the performance of the maximum likelihood estimation are discussed. We prove empirically the importance and flexibility of the new model in modeling real data.
Investigation of minor psychiatric symptoms in patients with chronic kidney disease on hemodialysis treatment
Authors: Rangel Silva Caio Henrique , Cítero Vanessa de Albuquerque , Coqueiro Daniel Pereira , Honorato Noemi Peres
Published: February 2018

AIMS: To identify the sociodemographic characteristics and the presence of minor symptoms of anxiety and depression in patients on hemodialysis.METHODS: Cross-sectional study, carried out in the hemodialysis units of the Santas Casas de Misericórdia in Marília and Tupã, São Paulo state, Brazil, with 65 hemodialytic patients, ranging from 20 to 86 years. Initially, the mental state of the participants was evaluated in order to ensure they had conditions to understand the research objectives and to respond to the evaluation instruments. Following, the subjects answered to the socio-demographic and clinical questionnaire and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. The data were organized using relative and absolute frequencies for the categorical variables, and measures of central tendency and dispersion for the quantitative variables. In order to compare the mean scores according to the studied variables, unpaired Student's t test and Analysis of Variance were used in addition to Mann Whitney U-Test and Kruskal-Wallis test when the distribution did not present normality. The adopted level of significance was 5% (p<0.05).RESULTS: The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale for minor symptoms identified 42 patients with anxiety and 45 with depression. The anxiety mean scores were statistically higher in the female (10.23±4.51) than in the male (8.32±3.68) patients (p=0.034). Patients aged 31 to 41 years and 42 to 52 years had higher depression scores (12.20±1.48 and 11.16±2.50 respectively) when compared to patients aged over 52 years (9.23±3.63) and aged 20 to 30 years (5.50±2.12) (p=0.017). Patients who underwent psychotherapeutic treatment had lower scores of anxiety (1.00±1.41) compared to those who had already undergone psychotherapeutic treatment and those had never been under treatment (9.27±3.92 and 12.75±3.40 respectively) (p=0.020).CONCLUSIONS: According to the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, women had higher anxiety mean scores than men. The lowest scores for anxiety and depression were present in the younger and older age groups of women, and those who underwent psychotherapy presented even lower scores. Clinical management in psychotherapy can be a positive contribution to ease the symptoms of anxiety and depression, improving the patients' ability to cope with hemodialysis.
Meeting Kristoff
Authors: Mirza Kamran M.
Published: February 2018

This unique narrative offers a moving story about the power of pathology and the joys of the pathologist.
Effect of temperature on the strength of lime-stabilised fly ash
Authors: Pani Aparupa , Singh Suresh Prasad
Published: February 2018

Class F fly ash cannot be used alone as a construction material due to its low self-cementing properties. This paper reports the compaction characteristics, strength properties and microstructure of lime-amended fly ash with varying lime content from 0 to 12%. The effects of the curing temperature on the strength and microstructure of the lime-amended fly ash are studied at different curing periods varying from 0 to 60 d and with the curing temperature varying from 10 to 90°C. The test results showed that an increase in either lime content, curing period or temperature increases the unconfined compressive strength (U CS) and California bearing ratio (C BR) values. It also influences the formation type and amount of hydration products. Lower-temperature-cured specimens show a continuous improvement in strength with curing age, whereas the strength of high-temperature-cured specimens stabilises much earlier. The mineralogical study established crystalline phases of calcium aluminium silicate and aluminosilicate with the presence of ettringite, which imparts higher strength.
Improved performance of geosynthetics enhanced ballast: laboratory and numerical studies
Authors: Ngo Ngoc Trung , Indraratna Buddhima , Ferreira Fernanda Bessa , Rujikiatkamjorn Cholachat
Published: February 2018

Ballasted rail tracks form one of the most important worldwide transportation modes in terms of traffic tonnage, serving the needs of bulk freight and passenger movement. High impact and cyclic loads can cause a significant deformation leading to poor track geometry. In order to mitigate these problems, the concept of the inclusion of geosynthetics in rail tracks is introduced. This paper presents the current state-of-the-art knowledge of rail track geomechanics, including results obtained from laboratory testing, field investigations and numerical modelling to study the load–deformation behaviour of ballast improved by geosynthetics. The shear stress–strain and deformation behaviour of geosynthetic-reinforced ballast are investigated in the laboratory using a large-scale direct shear test device, a track process simulation apparatus and a drop-weight impact testing equipment. Computational modelling using the discrete-element method is employed to simulate geosynthetic-reinforced ballasted tracks, capturing the discrete nature of ballast aggregates when subjected to various types of loading and boundary conditions. Discrete-element modelling is also used to conduct micromechanical analysis at the interface between ballast and geogrid, providing further insight into the behaviour of ballast subjected to cyclic loadings. These results provide promising approaches to incorporate into existing track design routines catering for future high-speed trains and heavier heavy hauls.
Sticking it out: how influence and inclusion motivate women to stay in civil engineering
Authors: Smith Nicola E. , Costello Seosamh B. , Wilkinson Suzanne
Published: February 2018

This study advances current knowledge of what influences women to leave engineering, and what affects their advancement in the engineering profession. We know that engineering continues to be a male-dominated profession, with the low numbers of women in engineering resulting from a combination of few women entering the profession and high numbers of women leaving the industry. This study uses interviews with 13 women who currently work within the civil engineering profession in New Zealand, and have at least 10 years of experience in the industry, to analyse the factors that might contribute to women leaving, or wanting to leave, the profession, as well as factors contributing to their advancement and job satisfaction. The findings of this study indicate that women associate influence with positive work experiences and that exclusive work environments contribute to an intent to leave.
State-of-the-practice of constructed bridges in Korea
Authors: Jung Woo-Tai , Kim Yail J. , Kang Jae-Yoon , Park Jong-Sup
Published: February 2018

This paper presents the state-of-the-practice of constructed bridges in Korea, focusing on historical development, performance and recent achievements in rehabilitation technologies. The most commonly erected bridge types and trends over the last 100 years are identified. Dramatic changes occurred in the 1960s, when significant economic development in Korea began, evidenced by the replacement of traditional reinforced concrete T-girder bridges with prestressed concrete I-girder bridges. High-performance systems, such as preflex bridges, were introduced in the 1990s. The evolution of rehabilitation techniques indicates that engineers have sought more durable materials for more functional structural systems and have employed these to extend the longevity of constructed bridges. State-of-the-art strengthening techniques are discussed, with potential applications, and a case study is detailed. Suggestions are provided to advance bridge technologies.
Bazı tıbbi ve aromatik bitkilerde thripslerle (Thysanoptera) birlikte saptanan avcı böcek türleri
Authors: ATAKAN Ekrem , PEHLİVAN Serkan
Published: February 2018

Thripsler (Thysanoptera) Çukurova’da değişik
ürünlerde ekonomik düzeyde zarara sebep olabilen türlerdir. Thrips türlerinin
bazıları konukçusu olan bitkilerde beslenme yoluyla verdikleri zarara ilave
olarak virus hastalığı taşıyarak da sorun olmaktadır. Tıbbi ve aromatik
bitkiler üzerinde saptanan Thrips ve faydalı türleri ile önemleri konusunda
bilgiler bulunmamaktadır. Bu amaçla çalışma 2013-2014 yıllarında Adana ilinde
Çukurova Üniversitesi Balcalı kampüsünde doğal olarak yetişen bazı tıbbi ve
aromatik bitkiler üzerinde yürütülmüştür. Dokuz familyaya bağlı 13 bitki türü
örneklenmiştir. Çalışma sonucunda Aeolothripidae, Phlaeothripidae ve Thripidae
familyalarından 11 Thysanoptera türü saptanmıştır. Çalışmada çoğunlukla
Anthocoridae (Hemiptera) türleri olmak üzere 6 avcı böcek türü kaydedilmiştir.
Zararlı thrips türleri içerisinde en yaygın Thrips
tabaci Lindeman (%33.85); avcı türlerden ise Orius niger (Wolff) (%68.66) saptanmıştır. Örnekleme yapılan
bitkiler arasında Lantana camara
(Mine çalısı) bitkisinin çok sayıda zararlı ve faydalı türe konukçuluk ettiği
belirlenmiştir. Ocimum basilicum
(Fesleğen), Salvia spledens (Ateş çiçeği),
Hibiscus syriacus (Ağaçhatmi) ve Abelia grandiflora (Kelebek çalısı)
üzerinde zararlı thrips türü bulunamamıştır. O. basilicum üzerinde çoğunlukla avcı Orius türleri kaydedilmiştir. O.basilicum
zararlı thripsler için muhtemelen uzaklaştırıcı etki gösterirken, Orius spp.’yi cezbetmektedir. Örneklenen
bitkiler üzerinde thrips veya diğer zararlı böceklerden kaynaklanan herhangi
bir zarar görülmemiştir. Bu durumun avcı böceklerden kaynaklandığı düşünülmektedir.
Ocimum basilicum ekolojik tıbbi ve
aromatik bitki yetiştiriciliği dahil farklı ürün gruplarında avcı böcekleri
destekleyen banker bitki olarak değerlendirilebilir.
Breakout Session: How Networking on Campus Can Increase Copyright Education. Presented by Rebel Cummings-Sauls, Director of Center for the Advancement of the Digital Scholarship (CADS), Kansas State University Library and Rachel Miles, Digital Scholarship Librarian, Kansas State University Library.
Authors: Li Yuan
Published: February 2018

As online academic interactions continue to become more complex in the digital age, interaction with online copyrighted content inevitably increases. As a result, university faculty, researchers, students, and staff have a responsibility to understand how to legally reuse content to avoid copyright infringement incidents. However, campus community members are often unaware of how copyright pertains to their online activities and the potential risks involved in their misuse. The session presented by librarians Rachel Miles and Rebel Cummings-Sauls discussed their networking and collaboration efforts on campus to extend copyright education to a wider community at Kansas State University, including outreach, education, and consultation from the Center for the Advancement of the Digital Scholarship (CADS). During the session, a hands-on practice was also provided for audiences to identify the common partners on campus and to create partner webs for their own institutions.
Making Copyright a "Go Sign": Collaboration on Copyright Education, Advocacy and Creation at Princeton
Authors: Li Yuan
Published: February 2018

Copyright issues impact daily life in academic in teaching, learning, and research. Copyright is most often seen as a stop sign due to the lack of knowledge of copyright. This negative view of copyright could hinder the learning potential and limit possibilities in teaching and research. Lack of knowledge of copyright also could lead to misconduct, or even worse, a law-suit. In the past two years, we have made a series of efforts at Princeton to improve the campus’ knowledge about copyright and to change the view of copyright from negative to positive through collaboration among campus partners, primarily the general council and the library. This poster shows programs and initiatives on copyright education, advocacy and creation from collaboration at Princeton.
Teaching an Invisible Subject: How are we Educating Faculty about Copyright?
Authors: Zerkee Jennifer
Published: February 2018

Copyright can be an invisible issue for instructors because infringement or improper use of copyright-protected material will not impede teaching. Copyright law is nuanced and open to interpretation; it is not always clear whether a particular action is compliant or not. This poster will share the results of the presenter’s Canada-wide survey of university copyright administrators, exploring institutions’ provision of copyright education to instructors. The presenter found more questions rather than answers as a result of the survey. Most respondents do no assessment of their copyright instruction, and instead are comfortable relying on experience, questions from faculty, and anecdotal evidence to form an impression of instructors’ familiarity with copyright rules. Is informal appraisal adequate for ensuring that libraries and copyright offices are fulfilling their responsibility to encourage and enable the confident and lawful use of copyright-protected material? What other evidence could be gathered to inform copyright administrators’ efforts? This poster will encourage participants to think about copyright education at their institutions, will share the results of the survey, including approaches being taken by universities across Canada, and will share Simon Fraser University's approaches to instructor education
MELD Protocol 5 - Post-processing Pipeline v1
Authors: Adler Sophie , Whitaker Kirstie , Wagstyl Konrad
Published: February 2018

The MELD Project is an international collaboration aiming to create open-access, robust and generalisable tools for FCD detection. To this end, we will train a neural network classifier on MRI features from FCD patients from multiple centres worldwide. Protocol 5 provides instructionsfor post-processing FreeSurfer reconstructions to create final feature matrices.
Teorías del reconocimiento en las sentencias de la Corte Constitucional: Derechos sexuales y reproductivos de personas en situación de discapacidad
Authors: Gomez Muñoz Jesica Paola
Published: February 2018

Este artículo muestra como el surgimiento de la Corte Constitucional permitió consagrar un escenario de protección especial para las personas en situación de discapacidad, siendo así como este órgano ha consagrado desde su primera sentencia sobre discapacidad del año 1992, hasta el día de hoy, un catálogo amplio de garantías a favor de esta comunidad. Sin embargo, la exigencia de derechos sexuales y reproductivos, más allá de la función reproductora, continúa percibiéndose como un tema silenciado. El objetivo de este artículo es analizar críticamente la labor adelantada por el máximo órgano constitucional en el campo de los disability studies
Risk of Pseudotumor Cerebri Syndrome (PTCS) with hormonal contraceptive use
Authors: Sodhi Mohit , Sheldon Claire A. , Carleton Bruce , Etminan Mahyar
Published: February 2018

Background: Hormonal contraceptives (HC), one of the most prescribed classes of medication in women, have been linked with pseudotumor cerebri syndrome (PTCS). To date, no large epidemiologic study has examined this association.Methods: A case-control study using the IMS LifeLink Pharmetrics Plus database was conducted. Cases had an ICD-9-CM code for benign intracranial hypertension as well as a procedural code for a CT or MRI and a code for lumbar puncture procedure within 15 days of the PTCS code. Controls were selected from the cohort using density-based sampling.Results: From a cohort of 9,053,240 subjects, there were 288 cases of PTCS corresponding to 2,880 controls. The adjusted RRs for two or more prescriptions of oral combined contraceptive was 0.62 (95% confidence interval 0.39-0.99). RRs for overall HC use was 0.91 (95% CI 0.39-2.12) for one prescription of HCs and 0.69 (95% CI 0.45-1.05) for two or more prescriptions. The RRs for one and two or more prescriptions of progestin only HCs were 0.75 (95% CI 0.08-7.46) and 1.06 (95% CI 0.42-2.69), respectively.Conclusions: Overall HC use does not have a significant effect on incidence of PTCS, however harm associated with progestin-only contraceptives cannot be excluded.