bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Приватизация бунта: “вторая жизнь” раннесоветского монтажа [Privatization of a riot: “Second life” of the early Soviet montage]
Authors: Кукулин [Kukulin] Илья [Ilya]
Published: December 2013

Privatization of a riot: “Second life” of the early Soviet montage. This paper deals with montage in the broad sense of the term: it is discussed not as a principle of film editing, but as an aesthetic method based on the contrasting combination of elements; in the case of literary narrative, montage can be defined as a contrasting parataxis. Being understood in that sense, montage became an international “grand style” of the post-WWI epoch. In the Soviet Union this new method had many ideological connotations. It represented history (the historical process as such) as creative and cruel violence. Otherwise, art montage was a method of designing the utopian vision. The following development of montage in Russian culture could be defined as a change of its semantic. It was expelled from the Socialist Realism mainstream (excluding poster graphics), but survived in unofficial art of the 1940s and became postutopian. During the “Thaw” period (the late 1950s to the early 1960s) montage methods could indicate the connection of an author with the Soviet or Western European avant-garde of the 1920s. The reconsideration of those methods followed two different ways: imitation of the “resurrection of revolutionary impulses” or deconstruction of Soviet historical and social imagination – also with the tools of montage. This very intensive dialogue with the aesthetic tradition of the 1920s came to an end at the beginning of the 1970s. The authors of uncensored art and literature in that period polemicized not with the 1920s, but with the 1960s. The “living” translation of the early Soviet montage aesthetics has been settled.
Optimal Contracts for Outsourcing of Repair and Restoration Services
Authors: Jain Nitish , Hasija Sameer , Popescu Dana G.
Published: December 2013

Outsourcing of equipment repair and restoration is commonly practiced by firms in many industries. The operational performance of equipment is determined by joint decisions of the firm (client) and the service provider (vendor). Although some decisions are verifiable and thus directly contractible, many decisions are not. The result is a double-sided moral hazard environment in which each party has incentives to free ride on the other's effort. A performance-based contract allows the client to align the incentives of the vendor, but it also exposes the vendor to stochastic earnings and thereby creates disincentives to make first-best decisions. To capture these issues, we develop a novel principal-agent model by integrating elements of the machine repairman model and a stochastic financial distress model within the double-sided moral hazard framework. We apply our model to solve the client's problem of designing the optimal performance-based contract. We find that the client can attain the first-best profit by restricting the search space to only two classes of performance-based contract structures: linear and tiered. We show that the linear contract structure has limited ability in attaining the first-best outcome, contingent on the vendor's exogenous characteristics. In contrast, the tiered contract structure enables the client to attain the first-best outcome regardless of vendor characteristics. Our results provide normative insights on the role of contract structures in eliminating any loss due to double-sided moral hazard or to the vendor's financial concerns. These results also provide theoretical support for the extensive use of tiered contracts observed in practice.
Multivalued Decision Diagrams for Sequencing Problems
Authors: Cire Andre A. , van Hoeve Willem-Jan
Published: December 2013

Sequencing problems are among the most prominent problems studied in operations research, with primary application in, e.g., scheduling and routing. We propose a novel approach to solving generic sequencing problems using multivalued decision diagrams (MDDs). Because an MDD representation may grow exponentially large, we apply MDDs of limited size as a discrete relaxation to the problem. We show that MDDs can be used to represent a wide range of sequencing problems with various side constraints and objective functions, and we demonstrate how MDDs can be added to existing constraint-based scheduling systems. Our computational results indicate that the additional inference obtained by our MDDs can speed up a state-of-the art solver by several orders of magnitude, for a range of different problem classes.
A Simulation-Based Optimization Framework for Urban Transportation Problems
Authors: Osorio Carolina , Bierlaire Michel
Published: December 2013

This paper proposes a simulation-based optimization (SO) method that enables the efficient use of complex stochastic urban traffic simulators to address various transportation problems. It presents a metamodel that integrates information from a simulator with an analytical queueing network model. The proposed metamodel combines a general-purpose component (a quadratic polynomial), which provides a detailed local approximation, with a physical component (the analytical queueing network model), which provides tractable analytical and global information. This combination leads to an SO framework that is computationally efficient and suitable for complex problems with very tight computational budgets.

We integrate this metamodel within a derivative-free trust region algorithm. We evaluate the performance of this method considering a traffic signal control problem for the Swiss city of Lausanne, different demand scenarios, and tight computational budgets. The method leads to well-performing signal plans. It leads to reduced, as well as more reliable, average travel times.
Worst-Case-Expectation Approach to Optimization Under Uncertainty
Authors: Shapiro Alexander , Tekaya Wajdi , Soares Murilo Pereira , da Costa Joari Paulo
Published: December 2013

In this paper we discuss multistage programming with the data process subject to uncertainty. We consider a situation where the data process can be naturally separated into two components: one can be modeled as a random process, with a specified probability distribution, and the other one can be treated from a robust (worst-case) point of view. We formulate this in a time consistent way and derive the corresponding dynamic programming equations. To solve the obtained multistage problem, we develop a variant of the stochastic dual dynamic programming method. We give a general description of the algorithm and present computational studies related to planning of the Brazilian interconnected power system.
Corporate Social Responsibility, Customer Orientation, and the Job Performance of Frontline Employees
Authors: Korschun Daniel , Bhattacharya C.B. , Swain Scott D.
Published: December 2013

This study examines frontline employee responses to corporate social responsibility (CSR) using a multisourced data set at a Global 500 financial services company. The authors find that frontline employees identify with the organization (i.e., organizational identification) and with customers (i.e., employee–customer identification) as a function of how much the employees perceive management and customers (respectively) to support the company's CSR activities. However, these respective effects are stronger among employees for whom CSR is already tied to their sense of self (i.e., CSR importance to the employee). In addition, both organizational identification and employee–customer identification are related to supervisor-rated job performance; however, only the effect of employee–customer identification is mediated by customer orientation, suggesting that these two targets of identification manifest through distinct mechanisms. The research empirically addresses the open questions of whether and when CSR can yield observable changes in employee behavior and alerts researchers to a novel target of identification for frontline employees.
Price Number Relationships and Deal Processing Fluency: The Effects of Approximation Sequences and Number Multiples
Authors: Coulter Keith S. , Roggeveen Anne L.
Published: December 2013

This research investigates how the relationships among pieces of numerical information in a price promotional offer (i.e., regular price, sale price, absolute discount, and relative discount) affect deal processing fluency. Across four studies (including a field study involving purchase data collected from an online group-buying website), the authors show that when the numbers constitute an approximation sequence or are multiples of one another, deal processing fluency is increased, which influences deal liking and ultimately has an impact on consumers’ price promotion predilection. In addition, this article demonstrates that when consumers are not highly motivated to process numerical information, they may choose deals that offer less economic value but feature a combination of numbers that they can more fluently process. This research has important implications for the type of numerical information marketers should include in price promotional offers.
Selective Actions of Novel Allosteric Modulators Reveal Functional Heteromers of Metabotropic Glutamate Receptors in the CNS
Authors: Yin Shen , Noetzel Meredith J. , Johnson Kari A. , Zamorano Rocio , Jalan-Sakrikar Nidhi , Gregory Karen J. , Conn P. Jeffrey , Niswender Colleen M.
Published: December 2013

Metabotropic glutamate (mGlu) receptors play important roles in regulating CNS function and are known to function as obligatory dimers. Although recent studies have suggested heterodimeric assembly of mGlu receptorsin vitro, the demonstration that distinct mGlu receptor proteins can form heterodimers or hetero-complexes with other mGlu subunits in native tissues, such as neurons, has not been shown. Using biochemical and pharmacological approaches, we demonstrate here that mGlu2and mGlu4form a hetero-complex in native rat and mouse tissues which exhibits a distinct pharmacological profile. These data greatly extend our current understanding of mGlu receptor interaction and function and provide compelling evidence that mGlu receptors can function as heteromers in intact brain circuits.
Intravenous Transplants of Human Adipose-Derived Stem Cell Protect the Brain from Traumatic Brain Injury-Induced Neurodegeneration and Motor and Cognitive Impairments: Cell Graft Biodistribution and Soluble Factors in Young and Aged Rats
Authors: Tajiri Naoki , Acosta Sandra A. , Shahaduzzaman Md , Ishikawa Hiroto , Shinozuka Kazutaka , Pabon Mibel , Hernandez-Ontiveros Diana , Kim Dae Won , Metcalf Christopher , Staples Meaghan , Dailey Travis , Vasconcellos Julie , Franyuti Giorgio , Gould Lisa , Patel Niketa , Cooper Denise , Kaneko Yuji , Borlongan Cesar V. , Bickford Paula C.
Published: December 2013

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) survivors exhibit motor and cognitive symptoms from the primary injury that can become aggravated over time because of secondary cell death. In the presentin vivostudy, we examined the beneficial effects of human adipose-derived stem cells (hADSCs) in a controlled cortical impact model of mild TBI using young (6 months) and aged (20 months) F344 rats. Animals were transplanted intravenously with 4 × 106hADSCs (Tx), conditioned media (CM), or vehicle (unconditioned media) at 3 h after TBI. Significant amelioration of motor and cognitive functions was revealed in young, but not aged, Tx and CM groups. Fluorescent imagingin vivoandex vivorevealed 1,1′ dioactadecyl-3-3-3′,3′-tetramethylindotricarbocyanine iodide-labeled hADSCs in peripheral organs and brain after TBI. Spatiotemporal deposition of hADSCs differed between young and aged rats, most notably reduced migration to the aged spleen. Significant reduction in cortical damage and hippocampal cell loss was observed in both Tx and CM groups in young rats, whereas less neuroprotection was detected in the aged rats and mainly in the Tx group but not the CM group. CM harvested from hADSCs with silencing of either NEAT1 (nuclear enriched abundant transcript 1) or MALAT1 (metastasis associated lung adenocarcinoma transcript 1), long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) known to play a role in gene expression, lost the efficacy in our model. Altogether, hADSCs are promising therapeutic cells for TBI, and lncRNAs in the secretome is an important mechanism of cell therapy. Furthermore, hADSCs showed reduced efficacy in aged rats, which may in part result from decreased homing of the cells to the spleen.
MicroRNA-132 Is Enriched in Developing Axons, Locally Regulates Rasa1 mRNA, and Promotes Axon Extension
Authors: Hancock Melissa L. , Preitner Nicolas , Quan Jie , Flanagan John G.
Published: December 2013

Developing axons can locally synthesize proteins, with roles in axon growth, guidance, and regeneration, but the mechanisms that regulate axonal mRNA translation are not well understood. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are important regulators of translation but have still been little characterized in developing axons. Here we study mouse dorsal root ganglion (DRG) axons and show that their extension is impaired by conditional deficiency of the miRNA-processing enzyme Dicerin vitroandin vivo. A screen for axonal localization identifies a specific set of miRNAs preferentially enriched within the developing axon. High axonal expression and preferential localization were observed for miR-132, a miRNA previously known for roles in dendrites and dysregulation in major neurologic diseases. miR-132 knockdown reduced extension of cultured DRG axons, whereas overexpression increased extension. Mechanistically, miR-132 regulated the mRNA for the Ras GTPase activator Rasa1, a novel target in neuronal function. Moreover, miR-132 regulation of Rasa1 translation was seen in severed axons, demonstrating miRNA function locally within the axon. miR-132 expression in DRGs peaked in the period of maximum axon growthin vivo, consistent with its effect on axon growth, and suggesting a role as a developmental timer. Together, these findings identify miR-132 as a positive regulator of developing axon extension, acting through repression ofRasa1mRNA, in a mechanism that operates locally within the axon.
LMO4 Is Essential for Paraventricular Hypothalamic Neuronal Activity and Calcium Channel Expression to Prevent Hyperphagia
Authors: Zaman Tariq , Zhou Xun , Pandey Nihar R. , Qin Zhaohong , Keyhanian Kianoosh , Wen Kendall , Courtney Ryan D. , Stewart Alexandre F.R. , Chen Hsiao-Huei
Published: December 2013

The dramatic increase in the prevalence of obesity reflects a lack of progress in combating one of the most serious health problems of this century. Recent studies have improved our understanding of the appetitive network by focusing on the paraventricular hypothalamus (PVH), a key region responsible for the homeostatic balance of food intake. Here we show that mice with PVH-specific ablation of LIM domain only 4 (Lmo4) become rapidly obese when fed regular chow due to hyperphagia rather than to reduced energy expenditure. Brain slice recording of LMO4-deficient PVH neurons showed reduced basal cellular excitability together with reduced voltage-activated Ca2+currents. Real-time PCR quantification revealed that LMO4 regulates the expression of Ca2+channels (Cacna1h,Cacna1e) that underlie neuronal excitability. By increasing neuronal activity using designer receptors exclusively activated by designer drugs technology, we could suppress food intake of PVH-specific LMO4-deficient mice. Together, these results demonstrate that reduced neural activity in LMO4-deficient PVH neurons accounts for hyperphagia. Thus, maintaining PVH activity is important to prevent hyperphagia-induced obesity.
Training-Induced Changes in Inhibitory Control Network Activity
Authors: Berkman Elliot T. , Kahn Lauren E. , Merchant Junaid S.
Published: December 2013

Despite extensive research on inhibitory control (IC) and its neural systems, the questions of whether IC can be improved with training and how the associated neural systems change are understudied. Behavioral evidence suggests that performance on IC tasks improves with training but that these gains do not transfer to other tasks, and almost nothing is known about how activation in IC-related brain regions changes with training. Human participants were randomly assigned to receive IC training (N= 30) on an adaptive version of the stop-signal task (SST) or an active sham-training (N= 30) during 10 sessions across 3 weeks. Neural activation during the SST before and after training was assessed in both groups using functional magnetic resonance imaging. Performance on the SST improved significantly more in the training group than in the control group. The pattern of neuroimaging results was consistent with a proactive control model such that activity in key parts of the IC network shifted earlier in time within the trial, becoming associated with cues that anticipated the upcoming need for IC. Specifically, activity in the inferior frontal gyrus decreased during the implementation of control (i.e., stopping) and increased during cues that preceded the implementation of IC from pretraining to post-training. Also, steeper behavioral improvement in the training group correlated with activation increases during the cue phase and decreases during implementation in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. These results are the first to uncover the neural pathways for training-related improvements in IC and can explain previous null findings of IC training transfer.
Myosin Light Chain Kinase Accelerates Vesicle Endocytosis at the Calyx of Held Synapse
Authors: Yue Hai-Yuan , Xu Jianhua
Published: December 2013

Neuronal activity triggers endocytosis at synaptic terminals to retrieve efficiently the exocytosed vesicle membrane, ensuring the membrane homeostasis of active zones and the continuous supply of releasable vesicles. The kinetics of endocytosis depends on Ca2+and calmodulin which, as a versatile signal pathway, can activate a broad spectrum of downstream targets, including myosin light chain kinase (MLCK). MLCK is known to regulate vesicle trafficking and synaptic transmission, but whether this kinase regulates vesicle endocytosis at synapses remains elusive. We investigated this issue at the rat calyx of Held synapse, where previous studies using whole-cell membrane capacitance measurement have characterized two common forms of Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent endocytosis, i.e., slow clathrin-dependent endocytosis and rapid endocytosis. Acute inhibition of MLCK with pharmacological agents was found to slow down the kinetics of both slow and rapid forms of endocytosis at calyces. Similar impairment of endocytosis occurred when blocking myosin II, a motor protein that can be phosphorylated upon MLCK activation. The inhibition of endocytosis was not accompanied by a change in Ca2+channel current. Combined inhibition of MLCK and calmodulin did not induce synergistic inhibition of endocytosis. Together, our results suggest that activation of MLCK accelerates both slow and rapid forms of vesicle endocytosis at nerve terminals, likely by functioning downstream of Ca2+/calmodulin.
Optogenetic Activation of Excitatory Premotor Interneurons Is Sufficient to Generate Coordinated Locomotor Activity in Larval Zebrafish
Authors: Ljunggren Emma Eklöf , Haupt Sabine , Ausborn Jessica , Ampatzis Konstantinos , El Manira Abdeljabbar
Published: December 2013

Neural networks in the spinal cord can generate locomotion in the absence of rhythmic input from higher brain structures or sensory feedback because they contain an intrinsic source of excitation. However, the molecular identity of the spinal interneurons underlying the excitatory drive within the locomotor circuit has remained unclear. Using optogenetics, we show that activation of a molecularly defined class of ipsilateral premotor interneurons elicits locomotion. These interneurons represent the excitatory module of the locomotor networks and are sufficient to produce a coordinated swimming pattern in zebrafish. They correspond to the V2a interneuron class and express the transcription factor Chx10. They produce sufficient excitatory drive within the spinal networks to generate coordinated locomotor activity. Therefore, our results define the V2a interneurons as the excitatory module within the spinal locomotor networks that is sufficient to initiate and maintain locomotor activity.
O-GlcNAcylation of AMPA Receptor GluA2 Is Associated with a Novel Form of Long-Term Depression at Hippocampal Synapses
Authors: Taylor Erica W. , Wang Kai , Nelson Amy R. , Bredemann Teruko M. , Fraser Kyle B. , Clinton Sarah M. , Puckett Rosemary , Marchase Richard B. , Chatham John C. , McMahon Lori L.
Published: December 2013

Serine phosphorylation of AMPA receptor (AMPAR) subunits GluA1 and GluA2 modulates AMPAR trafficking during long-term changes in strength of hippocampal excitatory transmission required for normal learning and memory. The post-translational addition and removal of O-linked β-N-acetylglucosamine (O-GlcNAc) also occurs on serine residues. This, together with the high expression of the enzymes O-GlcNAc transferase (OGT) and β-N-acetylglucosamindase (O-GlcNAcase), suggests a potential role for O-GlcNAcylation in modifying synaptic efficacy and cognition. Furthermore, because key synaptic proteins are O-GlcNAcylated, this modification may be as important to brain function as phosphorylation, yet its physiological significance remains unknown. We report that acutely increasing O-GlcNAcylation in Sprague Dawley rat hippocampal slices induces an NMDA receptor and protein kinase C-independent long-term depression (LTD) at hippocampal CA3–CA1 synapses (O-GcNAc LTD). This LTD requires AMPAR GluA2 subunits, which we demonstrate are O-GlcNAcylated. Increasing O-GlcNAcylation interferes with long-term potentiation, and in hippocampal behavioral assays, it prevents novel object recognition and placement without affecting contextual fear conditioning. Our findings provide evidence that O-GlcNAcylation dynamically modulates hippocampal synaptic function and learning and memory, and suggest that altered O-GlcNAc levels could underlie cognitive dysfunction in neurological diseases.
Intraventricular Hemorrhage and Neurodevelopmental Outcomes in Extreme Preterm Infants
Authors: Bolisetty Srinivas , Dhawan Anjali , Abdel-Latif Mohamed , Bajuk Barbara , Stack Jacqueline , Oei Ju-Lee , Lui Kei ,   on behalf of the New South Wales and Australian Capital Territory Neonatal Intensive Care Units’ Data Collection
Published: December 2013

OBJECTIVE:

Not many large studies have reported the true impact of lower-grade intraventricular hemorrhages in preterm infants. We studied the neurodevelopmental outcomes of extremely preterm infants in relation to the severity of intraventricular hemorrhage.

METHODS:

A regional cohort study of infants born at 23 to 28 weeks’ gestation and admitted to a NICU between 1998 and 2004. Primary outcome measure was moderate to severe neurosensory impairment at 2 to 3 years’ corrected age defined as developmental delay (developmental quotient >2 SD below the mean), cerebral palsy, bilateral deafness, or bilateral blindness.

RESULTS:

Of the 1472 survivors assessed, infants with grade III–IV intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH; n = 93) had higher rates of developmental delay (17.5%), cerebral palsy (30%), deafness (8.6%), and blindness (2.2%). Grade I–II IVH infants (n = 336) also had increased rates of neurosensory impairment (22% vs 12.1%), developmental delay (7.8% vs 3.4%), cerebral palsy (10.4% vs 6.5%), and deafness (6.0% vs 2.3%) compared with the no IVH group (n = 1043). After exclusion of 40 infants with late ultrasound findings (periventricular leukomalacia, porencephaly, ventricular enlargement), isolated grade I–II IVH (n = 296) had increased rates of moderate-severe neurosensory impairment (18.6% vs 12.1%). Isolated grade I–II IVH was also independently associated with a higher risk of neurosensory impairment (adjusted odds ratio 1.73, 95% confidence interval 1.22–2.46).

CONCLUSIONS:

Grade I–II IVH, even with no documented white matter injury or other late ultrasound abnormalities, is associated with adverse neurodevelopmental outcomes in extremely preterm infants.
Postnatal Head Growth in Preterm Infants: A Randomized Controlled Parenteral Nutrition Study
Authors: Morgan Colin , McGowan Patrick , Herwitker Shakeel , Hart Anna E. , Turner Mark A.
Published: December 2013

BACKGROUND:

Early postnatal head growth failure is well recognized in very preterm infants (VPIs). This coincides with the characteristic nutritional deficits that occur in these parenteral nutrition (PN) dependent infants in the first month of life. Head circumference (HC) is correlated with brain volume and later neurodevelopmental outcome. We hypothesized that a Standardized, Concentrated With Added Macronutrients Parenteral (SCAMP) nutrition regimen would improve early head growth. The aim was to compare the change in HC (ΔHC) and HC SD score (ΔSDS) achieved at day 28 in VPIs randomly assigned to receive SCAMP nutrition or a control standardized, concentrated PN regimen.

METHODS:

Control PN (10% glucose, 2.8 g/kg per day protein/lipid) was started within 6 hours of birth. VPIs (birth weight <1200 g; gestation <29 weeks) were randomly assigned to either start SCAMP (12% glucose, 3.8 g/kg per day protein/lipid) or remain on the control regimen. HC was measured weekly. Actual daily nutritional intake data were collected for days 1 to 28.

RESULTS:

There were no differences in demographic data between SCAMP (n = 74) and control (n = 76) groups. Comparing cumulative 28-day intakes, the SCAMP group received 11% more protein and 7% more energy. The SCAMP group had a greater ΔHC at 28 days (P < .001). The difference between the means (95% confidence interval) for ΔHC was 5 mm (2 to 8), and ΔSDS was 0.37 (0.17 to 0.58). HC differences are still apparent at 36 weeks’ corrected gestational age.

CONCLUSIONS:

Early postnatal head growth failure in VPIs can be ameliorated by optimizing PN.
Use of White Blood Cell Count and Negative Appendectomy Rate
Authors: Bates Maria F. , Khander Amrin , Steigman Shaun A. , Tracy Thomas F. , Luks Francois I.
Published: December 2013

BACKGROUND:

Despite increased utilization of laboratory, radiologic imaging, and scoring systems, negative appendectomy (NA) rates in children remain above 3% nationwide. We reviewed the clinical data of patients undergoing appendectomy to further reduce our NA rate.

METHODS:

A retrospective review was conducted of all appendectomies performed for suspected appendicitis at a tertiary children’s hospital during a 42-month period. Preoperative clinical, laboratory, and radiographic data were collected. Variables absent or normal in more than half of NAs were further analyzed. Receiver operating characteristic curves were constructed for continuous variables by using appropriate cutoff points to determine sensitivity and false-positive rates. The results were validated by analyzing the 12 months immediately after the establishment of these rules.

RESULTS:

Of 847 appendectomies performed, 22 (2.6%) had a pathologically normal appendix. The only variables found to be normal in more than half of NAs were white blood cell (WBC) count (89%) and neutrophil count (79%). A receiver operating characteristic curve indicates that using WBC cutoffs of 9000 and 8000 per µL yielded sensitivities of 92% and 95%, respectively, and reduction in NA rates by 77% and 36%, respectively. Results observed in the subsequent 12 months confirmed these expected sensitivities and specificities.

CONCLUSIONS:

Absence of an elevated WBC count is a risk factor for NA. Withholding appendectomy for WBC counts <9000 and 8000 per µL reduces the NA rate to 0.6% and 1.2%, respectively. Missed true appendicitis in patients with normal WBC counts can be mitigated by a trial of observation in those presenting with early symptom onset.
Respiratory Support in Preterm Infants at Birth
Authors:   COMMITTEE ON FETUS AND NEWBORN, Papile Lu-Ann , Baley Jill E. , Benitz William , Cummings James , Eichenwald Eric , Kumar Praveen , Tan Rosemarie C. , Wang Kasper S.
Published: December 2013

Current practice guidelines recommend administration of surfactant at or soon after birth in preterm infants with respiratory distress syndrome. However, recent multicenter randomized controlled trials indicate that early use of continuous positive airway pressure with subsequent selective surfactant administration in extremely preterm infants results in lower rates of bronchopulmonary dysplasia/death when compared with treatment with prophylactic or early surfactant therapy. Continuous positive airway pressure started at or soon after birth with subsequent selective surfactant administration may be considered as an alternative to routine intubation with prophylactic or early surfactant administration in preterm infants.
Biological therapy in idiopathic inflammatory myopathies
Authors: Bodoki Levente , Nagy-Vincze Melinda , Griger Zoltán , Péter Andrea , András Csilla , Dankó Katalin
Published: December 2013

Idiopathic inflammatory myopathies are systemic, immune-mediated diseases characterized by proximal, symmetrical, progressive muscle weakness. The aim of this work is to give an overview of the biological therapy used in the treatment of idiopathic inflammatory myopathies. The authors also focus on novel results in the therapy directed against the B- and T-cells. They emphasize the importance of new trials in these diseases which may lead to the introduction of novel therapeutic options in these disorders. Orv. Hetil., 2014, 155(1), 3–10.
Comparison of the results of laparotomy and laparoscopic surgery in patients with Crohn’s disease
Authors: Horváth Gyula , Simonka Zsolt , Lázár György
Published: December 2013

Introduction: Crohn’s disease is an inflammatory bowel disease which may affect different parts of the gastrointestinal tract. Aim: To compare retrospectively the results of laparotomy and laparoscopic surgery performed in patients with Crohn’s disease between January 1, 2005 and October 31, 2012 in the Department of Surgery, University of Szeged, Hungary. Method: Patients were divided into two groups based on the types of surgery; 103 patients underwent laparotomy and 30 patients had laparoscopic surgery programmed. 22 patients had 24 primary acute interventions. Results: The mean age was significantly lower in the laparoscopic surgery group (p = 0.042). The laparoscopic iliocoecal resections have been found significantly shorter than laparotomies (p = 0.033). When iliocoecal resection was performed the operation time was significantly longer (p = 0.033) while hospitalization time (p = 0.025) and intensive care unit treatment time (p<0.001) were shorter and the bowel passage also started earlier in the laparoscopic group as compared to the laparotomy group. Conclusions: Laparoscopic surgery results in smaller surgical trauma, better cosmetic outcome, shorter hospitalization time and not higher complication- and morbidity-rate as well as shorter operation time in certain cases. However, it requires more qualified surgical team and the operation expenses are higher. Orv. Hetil., 2014, 155(1), 24–29.
Wernicke encephalopathy accompanying linitis plastica
Authors: Soós Zsuzsanna , Salamon Mónika , Oláh Roland , Czégeni Anna , Salamon Ferenc , Folyovich András , Winkler Gábor
Published: December 2013

Wernicke encephalopathy (or Wernicke–Korsakoff encephalopathy) is a rarely diagnosed neurological disorder, which is caused by vitamin B1 deficiency. In the classical form it is characterized by a typical triad (confusion, oculomotor disturbance and ataxia), however, in the majority of the cases only confusion is present. It can be frequently observed in subjects with chronic alcohol consumption, but it may accompany different pathological states of which end stage malignant diseases are the most importants, where confusion may have different backgrounds. The authors present the case of an old male patient with advanced gastric cancer recognised and treated vitamin B1 deficiency, and they draw attention to difficulties of the diagnosis of Wernicke’s disease. Orv. Hetil., 2014, 155(1), 30–33.
‘I'm a nurse and I have the responsibility’
Authors: Lassen Inger
Published: December 2013

This article explores the interplay of human and non human actors in a Danish hospital setting in which corporate and individual stakeholder identities are negotiated, contested or aligned with the common goal of providing good health care. Viewing the hospital as a network of stakeholders, and following Luoma-Aho and Paloviita (2010), I subscribe to the argument that non-human agency has been given too little attention in stakeholder literature. From this point of departure I discuss the complexities of nonhuman agency, bringing together aspects of Latour's Actor Network Theory (ANT) and Halliday's Grammatical Metaphor Theory. I subsequently combine ANT and Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL) Theory (specifically, Grammatical Metaphor Theory, Transitivity analysis, and Mood and Modality) in analyses of selected data in an empirical case study of a hospital in Denmark. In the analyses I focus on the complex nature of non-human agency as construed in printed materials and interviews with nursing staff in one of the hospital wards. I discuss how non-human stakeholders might influence the construal of identity among nursing staff and conclude with reflections on the role played by non-human stakeholders in a healthcare sector increasingly governed by private-sector management instruments.
Health and social care professionals entering academia
Authors: Donohue Jim , Coffin Caroline
Published: December 2013

The first year university Health and Social Care course examined here introduces students from diverse backgrounds into the academic discourse of health and social care in the UK (see Northedge 2003). The course providers were concerned about students’ written engagement in these discourses, and invited academic literacy specialists to work with them. Using Systemic Functional Linguistics-based genre analysis (Martin and Rose 2007, 2008), the genres of assignment tasks were mapped. This confirmed that there was a correlation between the grades awarded to students, the organization of their assignment texts, and how they moved between abstract HSC concepts and case study details. Ways of enhancing assignment design, guidance and feedback were suggested. However, interviews with students revealed variations in students’ ways of using language and of thinking that influenced how they interpreted and applied assignment design, guidance and feedback. It is proposed that responding to such ‘semantic variation’ among students can further enhance students’ access to the academic discourses of HSC.
Applying systemic functional linguistics
Authors: Forey Gail , Lam Marvin
Published: December 2013

Outsourcing of customer and other services to developing countries is a significant aspect of global commercial activity, and an area of explosive employment growth in many locations, such as India and the Philippines. The present paper investigates what is meant by the term ‘quality’ and the language choices made by Customer Service Representatives (CSRs) in outbound credit collection calls. The data is based on a case study undertaken in a call centre in the Philippines. We focus specifically on an analysis of authentic calls and how the language choices relate to calls being assessed within the industry as ‘good’, ‘average’ and ‘poor’. The analysis of the transcribed data revealed that the speech functions and the choice of ‘Mood’ – i.e. whether a clause is a declarative, interrogative or imperative – were important features of the call, and that these choices were related to the assessment of calls being labelled as ‘good’ or ‘poor’ calls. An understanding of what a ‘good’ call looks like can help inform the quality assurance and training practices within the industry.
Modern departures in fire severity and area vary by forest type, Sierra Nevada and southern Cascades, California, USA
Authors: Mallek Chris , Safford Hugh , Viers Joshua , Miller Jay
Published: December 2013

Acute changes in ecological disturbance regimes can have major consequences for ecosystems and biota, including humans, living within them. Human suppression of fire in the western United States over the last century has caused notable changes to many ecosystems, especially in lower elevation, semiarid forest types dominated historically by fire tolerant taxa likePinusandQuercus. Recent increases in fire activity in western US forests have highlighted the need for restoration of ecological structure and function, but management targets for restoration in different forest types remain uncertain. Working in the forests of eastern California, we evaluated the direction and magnitude of change in burned area and fire severity between the period prior to Euro‐American settlement (∼1500–1850) and the “modern” period (1984–2009). We compared total annual area burned; proportional area burned at low‐moderate severity and high severity; and annual area burned at low‐moderate severity and high severity between the two time periods in seven forest types. We also examined modern trends in fire area and severity. We found that modern rates of burning are far below presettlement levels for all forest types. However, there were major differences between low to middle elevation forests and high elevation forests regarding the components of this departure. Low and middle elevation forests are currently burning at much higher severities than during the presettlement period, and the departure in fire area is overwhelmingly expressed in the low to moderate severity categories; in these forest types, mean annual area of high severity fire is not notably different between the modern and presettlement periods. In higher elevation forests on the other hand, the modern departure in fire area is expressed equally across fire severity categories. Our results underline the critical need for forest and fire restoration in the study area, especially in low and middle elevation forests adapted to frequent, low severity fire. Expanded management of naturally ignited fires for resource benefit is clearly needed, but in many parts of our study area, strategic reduction of forest fuels will likely be necessary before large‐scale restoration of fire becomes ecologically, politically, and financially feasible.
The impact of large animal extinctions on nutrient fluxes in early river valley civilizations
Authors: Doughty Christopher E. , Wolf Adam , Malhi Yadvinder
Published: December 2013

Urbanization began independently in four river valley civilizations ∼3,500–5,000 years before the present (ybp) in fertile river valleys that originally had free‐ranging large animals, including elephants, that eventually went locally extinct. Such large animals are disproportionally important in the lateral spread of nutrients away from nutrient concentration gradients common near floodplains, and the local extinction of the animals would have reduced this flow of nutrients into surrounding regions. Prior to the use of manure as a fertilizer, this natural spread of nutrients would have increased productivity and food yield, and its absence would have immediately decreased fertility to regions outside the floodplains. Here we calculate this changing nutrient flux using a “random walk” model and estimate that phosphorus (P) concentrations in the vegetation were reduced by >40% outside the floodplain following the loss of these animals and the process could take between 840 and 6,800 years depending on the region and the model parameters used. In the short term, we hypothesize that the decreased fertility may have reduced food yields and driven early agriculturalists from the outer regions away from rivers towards the more fertile floodplains. In the long term, yield and populations in outer regions would have decreased, constraining the potential growth of these civilizations, thus demonstrating how the loss of a key ecosystem service could have important repercussions for humanity that continue over thousands of years.
Design Evolution of Drilling Tools To Mitigate Vibrations
Authors: Bailey J.R.. R. , Elsborg C.C.. C. , James R.W.. W. , Pastusek P.E.. E. , Prim M.T.. T. , Watson W.W.. W.
Published: December 2013

The development of modeling methods to characterize the relative vibration tendency of alternative bottomhole assemblies (BHAs) has enabled deliberate tool redesign to reduce vibrations. To achieve the greatest benefit, tool redesign is most effective if applied early in the tool-design cycle in which important configuration parameters are most easily adjusted. This paper outlines several design issues to resolve so that future generations of tools have inherently lower vibration levels.

The use of multiple special-purpose tools [such as logging tools, rotary-steerable assemblies, and ream-while-drilling (RWD) tools] generates significant constraints on BHA-configuration options. A redesign methodology to achieve lower vibration indices can be used to investigate modified components, dimensions, and configurations to select the best BHA configuration for specific drilling-operating conditions.

Case studies are used to investigate BHA designs with flex stabilizers above rotary-steerable tools. The flex stabilizer is composed of a stabilizer with a smaller-diameter connecting flex sub to facilitate rotary-steerable directional objectives. It is typically wired for tool signals and is frequently run by vendors. In one case study, the spacing below a reamer is evaluated, and drilling data are compared with other assemblies in the same formation. In this example, the spacer provides an increase in the distance between contact points, to allow both the stabilizer and the reamer to seek the centerline with less interference. Another case study evaluates changing contact locations in the BHA by swapping the order of logging tools, resulting in different borehole-contact positions. Finally, a theoretical modeling study illustrates how changing BHA components and dimensions affects the vibration indices.

The operator has field experience with BHA redesign that has directly led to significant improvement in drilling performance. The benefits include a higher rate of penetration (ROP), a longer time on the bottom, less wear of drilling-tool components, and a reduced frequency of trips.
Comparative analyses of thermodynamic properties assessments, performed by geometric models: Application to the Ni-Bi-Zn system
Authors: Gandova V. , Vassilev G.
Published: December 2013

The thermochemical properties of metals and alloys are essential for the
chemists to invent and improve metallurgical and materials? design processes.
However, the properties of multicomponent systems are still scarcely known
due to experimental difficulties and the large number of related systems.
Thus, the modelling of some thermodynamic properties would be advantageous
when experimental data are missing. Considering mentioned facts, geometric
models to estimate some thermodynamic properties for the liquid phase of the
Ni-Bi-Zn systems. The calculations have been performed in a wide temperature
range (1000-2000 K). Ternary interaction parameters for the liquid phase
allowing molar Gibbs excess energy calculation have been determined.
Application of sacrificial coatings and effect of composition on Al-Al3Ni ultrafine eutectic formation
Authors: Celko L. , Klakurková L. , Smetana B. , Slámecka K. , Zaludová M. , Hui D. , Svejcar J.
Published: December 2013

This paper introduces an unconventional method designed for forming
hypereutectic alloys via coating deposition onto the substrate surface and
subsequent heat treatment of such systems. The coating was produced from 99.7
wt% nickel powder by means of high velocity oxyfuel (HVOF) spraying onto the
surface of 99.999 wt% aluminium sheet. The specimens were manufactured
immediately after the spraying. Specimens were heat-treated using a
differential thermal analysis (DTA) apparatus up to a temperature of 900?C
and then cooled down to the room temperature in an argon atmosphere with
constant heating and cooling rates, under which the NiAl3 intermetallic phase
formed within the initial substrate. Two different alloy microstructures
consisting of a coarse eutectic and an ultrafine well-dispersed eutectic were
produced. The formation processes and resultant microstructures were studied
by means of differential thermal analysis, metallography, scanning electron
microscopy, energy dispersive microanalysis, and image analysis techniques.
The influence of the residual copper on the pipes steel hot plasticity according to environmental requirements
Authors: Rusănescu C.O. , Rusănescu M.
Published: December 2013

Considering the importance of gaseous and/or liquid fuels impact on the
environment, the resistance of pipelines at hot plastic deformation is
important. Therefore, in order to avoid or reduce any adverse impact on the
environment, the influence of residual copper on hot deformability of steel
pipes was investigated in this paper. The negative copper influence was
experimentally proved using torsion deformation at temperatures above 1000o,
under the air and argon atmosphere. The samples were heated and then deformed
at different temperatures with constant deformation rate. Also, structural
analysis of investigated materials was done, using metallographic and SEM
analysis.
Solidification of Fe19Cr2.9C2V alloy
Authors: Filipovic Mirjana , Kamberovic Zeljko , Korac Marija
Published: December 2013

The addition of 2% V affects the solidification process and changes the
transformation characteristics of austenite in hypoeutectic white cast iron
containing 19% Cr and 2.9% C. DTA analysis reveals that vanadium reduces the
solidification temperature interval in tested alloy. The narrowing of the
solidification temperature interval and the formation of vanadium carbides
favours the appearance of a finer structure. Also, the phases volume fraction
changes, i.e. the primary ?-phase fraction decreases and the amount of M7C3
carbide increases. Changes in conditions of solidification, as a result of
adding vanadium to Fe-Cr-C white iron, influence the change in composition of
austenite, which manifests itself in the form of different degrees of
transformation of austenite.
QSPR study on the gas/particle partition coefficient of PCBs by using molecular distance-edge vector index
Authors: Jiao Long , Wang Xiaofei , Hua LI. , Wang Yunxia
Published: December 2013

The quantitative structure property relationship (QSPR) for gas/particle
partition coefficient, Kp, of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) was
investigated. Molecular distance-edge vector (MDEV) index was used as the
structural descriptor of PCBs. The quantitative relationship between the
MDEV index and log Kp was modeled by multivariate linear regression (MLR)
and artificial neural network (ANN) respectively. Leave one out cross
validation and external validation were carried out to assess the prediction
ability of the developed models. When the MLR method is used, the root mean
square relative error (RMSRE) of prediction for leave one out cross
validation and external validation is 4.72 and 8.62 respectively. When the
ANN method is employed, the prediction RMSRE of leave one out cross
validation and external validation is 3.87 and 7.47 respectively. It is
demonstrated that the developed models are practicable for predicting the Kp
of PCBs. The MDEV index is shown to be quantitatively related to the Kp of
PCBs.