bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
La pobreza y las políticas sociales en México. Intervención de los albergues infantiles en Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua / The poverty and social policies in Mexico. Intervention of children's shelter in Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua
Authors: Ángel Mejía Liliana , Castillo Viveros Nemesio
Published: January 2017

Este artículo tiene la finalidad de analizar las políticas y los programas sociales que se han desarrollado en México a través de los últimos sesenta años, ya que existen poblaciones que se encuentran en pobreza y vulnerabilidad, por lo que requieren la atención del Estado. Aunque se llevan a cabo programas sociales, estos no han sido suficientes para combatir la pobreza, así que las organizaciones de la sociedad civil juegan un papel importante en los diferentes contextos. En este caso, se analizan y se reflexionan las aportaciones de la mesa de albergues en Ciudad Juárez, quienes contribuyen en el cuidado de la infancia en situaciones de vulnerabilidad, vinculados con el Sistema para el Desarrollo Integral de la Familia.
Espiritualidad y cuidado de enfermería / Spirituality and nursing care
Authors: Ortega Jiménez Marcela , Ojeda Vargas Ma. Guadalupe , Ortiz Domínguez Adriana , Guerrero Castañeda Raúl Fernando
Published: January 2017

El ser humano a lo largo de su vida tiene necesidades que repercuten en su bienestar espiritual, estabilidad interna y, por lo tanto, el cuidado de su salud. El objetivo del presente estudio fue analizar el concepto de espiritualidad como característica esencial del cuidado de enfermería mediante la revisión de literatura. En dicho análisis se identificaron múltiples definiciones que fueron agrupadas en tres perspectivas: la perspectiva de origen intrínseco, la perspectiva religiosa y la perspectiva existencial. En conclusión, para otorgar el cuidado apropiado es necesario comprender a la persona como un ser que tiene una mente, un cuerpo y un espíritu, y percibir a la salud como la unidad armónica de estos tres.
Modelo de análisis de apropiación tecnológica en profesores virtuales / Analysis model of technological appropriation in virtual teachers
Authors: Ortiz Cortés Manuel , Peña Estrada Claudia Cintya
Published: January 2017

Este artículo se fundamenta en el campo de la comunicación y se apoya en la administración para generar una matriz heurística sustentada en un modelo de análisis de apropiación tecnológica aplicable a profesores virtuales. El modelo tiene una base teórica-práctica y está constituido por dos dimensiones: la primera describe los factores externos a la práctica docente y la segunda los factores personales relativos a dicha práctica. Los hallazgos señalan que la relación entre ambiente externo e interno tienen impacto en el proceso de apropiación tecnológica; los profesores estudiados se podrían categorizar entre la Apropiación intermitente y la Apropiación confirmada del modelo. Lo anterior porque los profesores se identifican como profesores virtuales, pero la relación entre educación a distancia y educación presencial  aún produce tensiones en la práctica docente; el nivel de uso de las TIC es alto y el perfil de los docentes da prioridad a un liderazgo democrático basado en el aprendizaje constructivista, sin embargo, la generación de productos académico-profesionales se da más de forma individual que colectiva. Además, no existe una confianza en las tecnologías para potencializar las relaciones sociales y la construcción de la identidad del profesor virtual atraviesa una crisis de credibilidad debido al escepticismo en torno a la modalidad.
Niveles de asimilación económica del estado de Guerrero
Authors: García Castro Neftalí , Villerías Salinas Salvador , Tello Almaguer Pedro Vidal
Published: January 2017

Este trabajo tiene como objetivo central exponer la configuración del estado de Guerrero, con base en la teoría de la asimilación económica y la tipificación probabilística. Esta propuesta teórico-metodológica de la geografía económica coadyuva a la interpretación de la relación que guardan los componentes sociales, económicos y físicos, en un espacio particular. La metodología empleada es fundamental para la construcción de tipologías que compendian el comportamiento de los indicadores seleccionados, con la finalidad de ponderar desproporciones territoriales, las cuales son interpretadas a la luz de los escenarios socio-territoriales reconocidos por los postulados de la asimilación económica. Este artículo revela once niveles que dan cuenta de un proceso de asimilación económica significativo en aquellas demarcaciones que contienen centros turísticos consolidados (Acapulco e Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo), función política-administrativa (Chilpancingo), un papel notable en el abastecimiento regional de bienes y servicios o aquellos que reportan actividades agropecuarias con rendimientos considerables.
Las asociaciones profesionales y de defensa de los Derechos Humanos ante la violencia contra los periodistas en México: Análisis de los informes publicados sobre el tema de 1999 al 2015
Authors: Gallur Santorum Santiago
Published: January 2017

En los años 1983 y 1984 se comenzaron a llevar a cabo diversas investigaciones sobre los asesinatos de periodistas en México. Estas investigaciones presentan características particulares que las hacen únicas. El presente artículo se centra en el análisis de la elaboración de dichos informes para comprender todos los factores involucrados. El principal objetivo de este análisis es ofrecer un mapa de todos los factores, variables y características presentes en los informes sobre el tema, publicados entre 1999 y 2015. Los principales resultados obtenidos señalan que no hay un criterio uniforme y homogéneo en el estudio de la problemática señalada, por lo que cada una de las 21 organizaciones y asociaciones analizadas investigan utilizando diversas metodologías, perspectivas, planteamientos teóricos, periodos temporales, universos de estudio y hasta subtemas completamente distintos. Así, esta falta de criterio común condiciona tanto el estudio del fenómeno como la forma en la que es abordado, entendido y explicado, así como los mismos resultados obtenidos.
Calidad de la democracia electoral en Chihuahua en el proceso 2010 / Quality of electoral democracy in Chihuahua in the 2010 process
Authors: Sarabia Ríos Cecilia , Rodríguez Alonso Jesús Alberto
Published: January 2017

Debido a la importancia de las elecciones, este documento analiza la calidad de la democracia electoral en el Estado de Chihuahua durante la elección de Gobernador del Estado, en el año 2010.El análisis se fundamenta la aplicación de una matriz para evaluar la calidad de la democracia en las elecciones compuesta por cinco subdimensiones: 1) desempeño del organismo operador de las elecciones, 2) desempeño del árbitro electoral, 3) desempeño de los partidos políticos, 4) acceso a la información y 5) legitimidad electoral. Cada subdimensión se compone por varios indicadores que, basándose en fuentes de información  especializada, se expresan en forma numérica -1 (baja calidad), 2 (calidad  media) y 3 (alta calidad)-, y cuyo promedio hace referencia al nivel general o global de la democracia electoral.Bajo este parámetro, se concluye que en el estado de Chihuahua se desarrolló un proceso con una calidad democrática de nivel medio.
México, corrupción organizacional institucionalizada: un estudio de caso / Mexico, institutionalized organizational corruption: a case study
Authors: Guerrero Sánchez Pablo , Pérez Álvarez Luis
Published: January 2017

El presente trabajo expone las razones que desde la perspectiva organizacional explican por qué en México no se han logrado implementar mecanismos de desarrollo en los principales temas sociales, económicos, políticos, educativos, científicos, de justicia, de gobierno y de salud, a nivel federal, estatal y municipal. Debido a distintos intereses (Banfield, 1975) y a la corrupción —que “existe en los tres niveles, [siendo] la más grave la federal… mientras que la de la policía es percibida como la más común, seguida de la de los diputados, y en menor grado la de las organizaciones privadas” (Morris, 2003, p. 678)—, existe una relación entre los compromisos, los actores y el gobierno, a partir tanto de la formación de cierta cultura (Xioajing, 2010) como de valores que se da entre sujetos que cultivan el hábito de la corrupción dentro de las organizaciones. Esto ha ocasionado que las instituciones en México sean débiles y que no se puedan establecer los mecanismos adecuados para la fundamentación de organizaciones e instituciones formales que regulen los temas sustantivos del país.
Spectrophotometrical study of antioxidant standards interacting with 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl radical
Authors:   University of El Oued, VTRS Laboratory, PO Box 789, 39000, El Oued, Algeria, Lanez Touhami , Henni Meriem ,   University of El Oued, VTRS Laboratory, PO Box 789, 39000, El Oued, Algeria
Published: January 2017

This work aims to study the interaction of four well known antioxidant standards with 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl radical (DPPH•) using spectrophotometric assays. The binding parameters like binding constant and binding free energy of the free and DPPH• bound forms were determined. The determination is based upon the decrease in absorbance of the electronic absorption spectrum of an acetonitrile solution of DPPH• in the presence of gradually increasing amount of antioxidant standards.
Catalytic Activity of Binary and Triple Systems Based on Redox Inactive Metal Compound, LiSt and Additives of Monodentate Ligands-Modifiers: DMF, HMPA and PhOH, in Selective Ethylbenzene Oxidation with Dioxygen
Authors:   Emanuel Institute of Biochemical Physics, Russian Academy of Sciences, 4, Kosygin St., 119334 Moscow, Russia, Matienko Ludmila , Mosolova Larisa ,   Emanuel Institute of Biochemical Physics, Russian Academy of Sciences, 4, Kosygin St., 119334 Moscow, Russia, Binyukov Vladimir ,   Emanuel Institute of Biochemical Physics, Russian Academy of Sciences, 4, Kosygin St., 119334 Moscow, Russia, Zaikov Gennady ,   Emanuel Institute of Biochemical Physics, Russian Academy of Sciences, 4, Kosygin St., 119334 Moscow, Russia
Published: January 2017

Mechanism of catalysis with binary and triple catalytic systems based on redox inactive metal (lithium) compound {LiSt+L2} and {LiSt+L2+PhOH} (L2=DMF or HMPA), in the selective ethylbenzene oxidation by dioxygen into -phenylethyl hydroperoxide is researched. The results are compared with catalysis by nickel-lithium triple system {NiII(acac)2+LiSt+PhOH} in selective ethylbenzene oxidation to PEH. The role of H-bonding in mechanism of catalysis is discussed. The possibility of the stable supramolecular nanostructures formation on the basis of triple systems, {LiSt+L2+PhOH}, due to intermolecular H-bonds, is researched with the AFM method.
Deranged Vaginas: Pussy Riot's Feminist Hermeneutics
Authors: Tuttle Tara
Published: January 2017

The exposed members of Pussy Riot became symbols of the disruptive power of revolutionary art in a climate of repression upon their arrests following their performance at the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour, yet the controversy of their conviction and imprisonment overshadowed the very message for which they were sentenced. Close inspection of their lyrics and court statements reveals Pussy Riot's deliberate, consistent, and sophisticated engagement with feminist hermeneutics in their public opposition to the leadership and policies of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill I. In addition to protesting Putin, Pussy Riot's performances, court statements, and letters from prison critique the entanglement of church and state and their sexist, hierarchical structures by employing an egalitarian praxis of scriptural interpretation and feminist theory.
Reconfiguring Dástán Tradition as a Commemorative Narrative of Power Structures, Charismatic Leadership, and Sainthood in North India
Authors: Shirazi Quratulain
Published: January 2017

This study will relocate the connection between the Dástán tradition, the Muslim Sufi tradition, and the chain of transmission of knowledge existent in the pre-colonial and the pre-partition religio-political domains in North India. It will investigate the workings of Persian, Turco-Mongolian, and Indian cultural values converging in the oral and the textual tradition of Dástán. It will also investigate the connection between communal memory, traditional forms of oral discourse, and its transcription and expression in Dástán. This analysis of Dástán tradition is different from previous studies as they primarily focused on its oral history, the shift from Persian to Urdu and South Asian settings, and the transcription and printing of Dástán in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. This study will analyze Dástán through the spectacle of the transcultural tradition, the shifting social paradigms, and the power domains that preceded, coexisted with, and followed the Dástán tradition. It will reinterpret the meaning of the story of Amir Hamza within those shifting paradigms, which reflected the transition from an era of the Muslim domination (or Muslim Imperialism) to British Imperialism and colonial India. The study will explain how the storytellers in Dástán import various themes and structural devices from the wider cultural complex of the Islamic world; they also indigenized and transformed those foreign cultural themes and values according to the popular Muslim sensibility in the urban quarters of north Indian. This article will resolve some historiographical issues using the data as well as arguments from South Asian history, transcultural values, and literatures from the diverse cultural compost of the Islamic world.
Souls, the Final Frontier: Human Intuitions of Mind inStar Trek
Authors: Simpson William
Published: January 2017

In this article, the author investigates the religiously resonant nature of aspects of certain narratives within the popular science fiction mythology of Star Trek as well as the implications of the religiosity implicit in that mythology. Drawing on literature from social and evolutionary psychology as well as popular culture studies, the author claims that various Star Trek series both explicitly and implicitly utilize the religiously resonant concept of the soul. The use of the soul as a narrative device relies on most humans' psychological tendencies toward essentialist thinking and offline social reasoning. The author argues that by narratively affirming the idea of souls, Star Trek narratives occasionally constitute religiously resonant fantasy as opposed to depicting a fully rationalist and non-religious human future, as some anti-religionists argue.
The Salvific Power of Friendship, Memory, and Time in Augustine's Confessions and in the Revived Doctor Who
Authors: Birkel Michael
Published: January 2017

Augustine of Hippo (354–430) is widely recognized historically as being the most influential theologian in Western Christianity. Doctor Who is a vastly popular current British television series in which an alien known as “the Doctor” roams all of time and space yet has a special fondness for the human species and regularly saves the planet. While some of the devoted followers of either of these individuals may be surprised at the thought of profound commonalities between the two, a thoughtful comparison points to shared convictions on the sacred nature of friendship or companionship. Both Augustine and the Doctor reflect on the power of memory and its relationship to the mystery of time. For each of them, memory can open a path to redemptive possibilities.
The Evolution ofPlanet of the Apes:Science, Religion, and 1960s Cinema
Authors: Chambers Amy C.
Published: January 2017

Planet of the Apes confronts and exposes both anti-authoritarian and politically conservative attitudes to religion and its relationship to advances in science in the United States at the end of the 1960s. The film explicitly questions religion and its position within government, scientific advancement, and education while simultaneously existing as an artefact of the Judeo-Christian infused culture of post-war United States and post-censorship Hollywood. This article uses the lens of science and religion to analyze the under-researched Planet of the Apes and the transformation of its scientific narrative throughout the film's production, dissemination, and reception history from novel, to script, to screen.
The History of Religions Read as Fantasy: On the Construction of (Religious) Ambiguity in the Television ShowLost
Authors: Johannsen Dirk , Kirsch Anja
Published: January 2017

With its intricate “mythology,” the ABC drama series Lost invites a wide range of religious interpretations. Starting off as a survivor drama, the show evolves into a fantastic epic, in which the pilot episode's initial question “Where are we?” triggers reflections such as “where do we come from, where are we going, and what are we” and is finally passed on to the world religions. Against the backdrop of Tzvetan Todorov's and Marianne Wünsch's work on the fantastic, we translate literary scholar Wolfgang Iser's aesthetic response theory into a tool for analyzing narrative structures of contemporary supernatural fiction. Taking storytelling and reception culture into account, this piece shows how Lost uses the enactment of religion(s) to perpetuate structural ambiguity concerning the series' genre. We identify the narrative devices used to create generic indeterminacy both in content and form of the Lost narrative. With this ambiguity reverberating on the religious traditions referred to, Lost suggests the history of religions as an extradiegetic analogue of the literary fantastic.
Reading the Bible in Sleepy Hollow
Authors: Wiggins Steve A.
Published: January 2017

The first season of the Fox network's television show Sleepy Hollow is based on a biblical premise. This article explores how the Bible is portrayed in the series, through the lens of iconic books. It is argued that what makes books iconic is their power to “save” (“salvation”). In the case of the Bible in Sleepy Hollow, this involves representing the Bible as a grimoire. This representation only becomes clear as the use of the Bible throughout the season is surveyed in its role as a performative text.
Pain and the Cinesthetic Subject in Black Swan
Authors: Christiansen Steen Ledet
Published: January 2017

Darren Aronofsky’s Black Swan (2010) produces a cinesthetic subject that articulates issues of gendered violence but at the same time also opens up space for producing a new subject outside of biopower. Tracing the production of pain as a way of feeling gendered violence rather than simply understanding it, the article also argues that Nina Sawyer’s transformation is an act of subversive becoming. Pain is produced by the film’s formal properties, pulling us along as viewers, and producing new modes of sensing biopower’s cultural techniques and subjugation of bodies. At the same time, pain becomes a path to a new mode of being.
Embodying Counter-Public Space and Performing Queer Culture: The Inaugural Scottish Queer International Film Festival 2015
Authors: Macleod Allison
Published: January 2017

As I enter the Centre for Contemporary Arts (CCA) in Glasgow for the opening night of the Scottish Queer International Film Festival (SQIFF), two giant pink poodles (actually festival volunteers dressed as characters from the festival’s opening film, Dyke Hard [Bitte Andersson, 2014]), greet me enthusiastically. They gesture me toward the CCA Theatre where a sold-out crowd has assembled for the festival’s opening screening of the Swedish lesbian fiction film Dyke Hard. The plastic chairs we sit on are closely packed together to maximize audience space, and yet even as I bang elbows with those on either side of me and feel my knees pressed up against the seat in front of me, the excited and jovial mood of the surrounding crowd overcomes immediate feelings of physical discomfort.
Endgame: The Genesis of More’s The Sadness of Christ
Authors:   Seymour Baker House
Published: January 2017

This paper locates the genesis of More’s The Sadness of Christ to his understanding that by late spring, 1535 he faced martyrdom. It tracks the striking shift in both genre and dominant metaphor from the Dialogue of Comfort to the Tristitia, and uses More’s letters (and a return to the legal and political maneuvers of his case) to provide a helpful telemetry in accounting for those shifts. Additionally, it argues that because More chose to interpret his situation in terms of Christ’s struggle in Gethsemane, he saw his martyrdom as part of the timeless Christian struggle to bear faithful witness. The Sadness becomes a dialogue between reason and fear as it traces the final working out of More’s decision to suffer death for his conscience and his record of that process as his last gift to those who would follow.
L’ Utopia de Thomas More et le Millénarisme
Authors: Lacroix Jean-Yves
Published: January 2017

Si l’utopie peut, généralement, être rapprochée du millénarisme, l’Utopia de Thomas More permet cependant de distinguer clairement les différences d’orientation. Utopie est une république créée et gouvernée par des hommes qui, comme partout sur terre, peuvent être malades ou méchants, la perfection de ses institutions se mesurant en conséquence au progrès qu’elles rendent possible. Le caractère oblique de l’écriture de More, en empêchant que l’on prenne ses descriptions de façon programmatique, libère en ce sens les recherches humanistes. Si le Ciel est un prolongement possible de la cité terrestre parfaite, l’ouverture utopique tient alors, plus généralement, à la promotion de toute action humaine conduite en raison et pour le bonheur.
The Contrasting Political Philosophies of More and Machiavelli
Authors: Cro Stelio
Published: January 2017

More and Machiavelli looked at the same reality from the perspective of their classical background. But for More as for Erasmus and other members of their circle, historical perception included the role of divine Providence in human affairs, capable of manifestations not always evident to human reason, but comprehensible from a Christian perspective. Erasmus’ Education of a Christian Prince and some of the discussions in Book One of Utopia are evidence of a view of Christian values in political matters. More and Machiavelli differed in their use of classical sources. To More, classicism meant a tradition of moral standards that could enhance a Christian education and a Christian governance. In modern political theories, whereas More has become a point of reference of a statesman’s action coherent with his religious beliefs, Machiavelli is a constant reminder of the need for moral and religious principles in order to avoid authoritarian and demagogic governments.
Thomas More and the Defense of Images in the Dialogue Concerning Heresies
Authors: Schildgen Brenda Deen
Published: January 2017

Thomas More’s Dialogue Concerning Heresies (1529) argues against iconoclasm in the context of Reformation attacks against the role of art in pious practices. In probing the biblical prohibitions against “idols” and not against images, he follows a long tradition of defense of images in Catholic religious practice. Repeating the Byzantine councils that had debated the image issue and Gregory the Great’s sixth-century letters to the Bishop of Marseilles, he distinguishes between worship and veneration to argue that devotion to images is not idolatry. His unique contribution is to argue against “sola scriptura” by proposing that images and words are both signs.
Géographie et cartographie fictionnelles dans l’Utopie (1516) de Thomas More
Authors: Du Verger Jean
Published: January 2017

The philosophical and political aspects of Utopia have often shadowed the geographical and cartographical dimension of More’s work. Thus, I will try to shed light on this aspect of the book in order to lay emphasis on the links fostered between knowledge and space during the Renaissance.

I shall try to show how More’s opusculum aureum, which is fraught with cartographical references, reifies what Germain Marc’hadour terms a “fictional archipelago” (“The Catalan World Atlas” (c. 1375) by Abraham Cresques ; Zuane Pizzigano’s portolano chart (1423); Martin Benhaim’s globe (1492); Martin Waldseemüller’s Cosmographiae Introductio (1507); Claudius Ptolemy’s Geographia (1513) ; Benedetto Bordone’s Isolario (1528) ; Diogo Ribeiro’s world map (1529) ; the Grand Insulaire et Pilotage (c.1586) by André Thevet).

I will, therefore, uncover the narrative strategies used by Thomas More in a text which lies on a complex network of geographical and cartographical references.

Finally, I will examine the way in which the frontispiece of the editio princeps of 1516, as well as the frontispiece of the third edition published by Froben at Basle in 1518, clearly highlight the geographical and cartographical aspect of More’s narrative.
Du père aux enfants: les apostilles bolognaises des Progymnasmata de Thomas More
Authors: Maranini Anna
Published: January 2017

An interesting original edition has been discovered in the Bologna Library, containing the Progymnasmata Thomae Mori et Guilielmi Lilii. These Progymnasmata open with the Epigrammata clarissimi disertissimique viri Thomae Mori Britanni, pleraque e Graecis versa which were integrated in Thomas More’s De optimo reipublicae statu deque nova insula Utopia from the Basel editions of 1518 and 1520 (princeps 1516: Libellus vere aureus nec minus salutaris quam festiuus de optimo reip. statu, deque nova insula Utopiae, [Lovanii], Arte Th. Martini, 1516). The pages containing the Progymnasmata also contain a copy of a 1518 edition of Utopia owned by the Bolognese Ulisse Aldrovandi (1522–1605) which was incorporated into the volume of the University of Bologna Library referenced A.V. Tab.I.H.I. 33/1-3. On this excerptum (today referenced A.V. Tab.I.H.I. 33/2) an ancient anonymous hand has written a few very interesting marginalia. Their analysis allows us to propose new hypotheses concerning the Progymnasmata, their origin and the entourage of the More family.
Thomas More and Shakespeare: A Proposal for Furthering an Inquiry
Authors: Alvis John E.
Published: January 2017

The affinities linking as well as differences dividing the thought of Thomas More and the thought of Shakespeare deserve our attention for the light such comparative scrutiny casts upon each man’s position with respect to issues of their time and in regard to questions continually beckoning to be thought through once more. Their mutual concerns include moral cultivation, statesmanship, the character of regimes in health and in disorder, the nature of law divine and human, the relation that should be established between Church and State. An inquiry into both More’s explicitly conveyed arguments together with Shakespeare’s largely implicit course of reasoning should begin by noting their apparent agreement upon moral and civil concerns. Yet such an investigation should proceed to matters bearing upon faith and reason, issues it appears are viewed differently by the two thinkers. Of particular interest the divergence that comes to sight in comparing More’s dedication to preserving independence of church from civil authority with Shakespeare’s apparent endorsement of a Tudor Erastian settlement. 1

1 By the phrase here employed I mean to denote in a general way the doctrine of church submission to civil authority put forward by Thomas Erastus, the Swiss theologian who wrote in the latter half of the sixteenth century. His name becomes (though not during More’s life) synonymous with the view that the political sovereign possesses authority to prescribe doctrines of faith and modes of worship to those subject to that sovereign’s jurisdiction. In associating this doctrine, as I do subsequently, with caesaropapism, I am aware that the Erastian need not embrace all the tenets of the caesaropapist.
Fatum, Fortuna et Providence Divine : les croyances païennes à l’épreuve de la foi chrétienne
Authors: Bore Isabelle
Published: January 2017

Starting from the analysis of three English poems, “Pageant Verses”, “Fortune Verses” and “Lewes the Lost Lover”, we show that Thomas More has always been interested in human fate. Very early in his literary career, he opposed pagan godheads such as Fatum or Fortuna and divine providence at work within the Christian faith. If the portrait of Fatum and Fortuna is drawn precisely in the English Poems, - these are two tyrannical, sly godheads who subject men to their whims, the portrait of Divine Providence is hardly sketched. We have to turn towards prose works to see it emerging. Contrary to Fatum and Fortuna who rule the lives of men unpredictably, divine providence gives them the opportunity to be integrated into a history whose alpha and omega is God. This perspective given to men thanks to the history of salvation and the history of peoples is a way for them to escape from their mortal condition. As he makes incompletion and progression the heart of his work, Thomas More shows that divine providence is an opening promised by God to men. Moreover, as men are left free to choose the ways that will lead them to this last step, divine providence gives them the opportunity to develop their humanity fully.
Artificial Neural Network-Based Constitutive Relationship of Inconel 718 Superalloy Construction and Its Application in Accuracy Improvement of Numerical Simulation
Authors: Lv Junya , Ren Huiyu , Gao Kai
Published: January 2017

The application of accurate constitutive relationship in finite element simulation would significantly contribute to accurate simulation results, which play critical roles in process design and optimization. In this investigation, the true stress-strain data of an Inconel 718 superalloy were obtained from a series of isothermal compression tests conducted in a wide temperature range of 1153–1353 K and strain rate range of 0.01–10 s−1 on a Gleeble 3500 testing machine (DSI, St. Paul, DE, USA). Then the constitutive relationship was modeled by an optimally-constructed and well-trained back-propagation artificial neural network (ANN). The evaluation of the ANN model revealed that it has admirable performance in characterizing and predicting the flow behaviors of Inconel 718 superalloy. Consequently, the developed ANN model was used to predict abundant stress-strain data beyond the limited experimental conditions and construct the continuous mapping relationship for temperature, strain rate, strain and stress. Finally, the constructed ANN was implanted in a finite element solver though the interface of “URPFLO” subroutine to simulate the isothermal compression tests. The results show that the integration of finite element method with ANN model can significantly promote the accuracy improvement of numerical simulations for hot forming processes.
Use of Combined Observational- and Model-Derived Photochemical Indicators to Assess the O3-NOx-VOC System Sensitivity in Urban Areas
Authors: Carrillo-Torres Edson , Hernández-Paniagua Iván , Mendoza Alberto
Published: January 2017

Tropospheric levels of O3 have historically exceeded the official annual Mexican standards within the Monterrey Metropolitan Area (MMA) in NE Mexico. High-frequency and high-precision measurements of tropospheric O3, NOy, NO2, NO, CO, SO2, PM10 and PM2.5 were made at the Obispado monitoring site near the downtown MMA from September 2012 to August 2013. The seasonal cycles of O3 and NOy are driven by changes in meteorology and to a lesser extent by variations in primary emissions. The NOy levels were positively correlated with O3 precursors and inversely correlated with O3 and wind speed. Recorded data were used to assess the O3-Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC)-NOx system’s sensitivity through an observational-based approach. The photochemical indicator O3/NOy was derived from measured data during the enhanced O3 production period (12:00–18:00 Central Daylight Time (CDT), GMT-0500). The O3/NOy ratios calculated for this time period showed that the O3 production within the MMA is VOC sensitive. A box model simulation of production rates of HNO3 (PHNO3) and total peroxides (Pperox) carried out for O3 episodes in fall and spring confirmed the VOC sensitivity within the MMA environment. No significant differences were observed in O3/NOy from weekdays to weekends or for PHNO3/Pperox ratios, confirming the limiting role of VOCs in O3 production within the MMA. The ratified photochemical regime observed may allow the environmental authorities to revise and verify the current policies for air quality control within the MMA.
Test Method for Thermal Characterization of Li-Ion Cells and Verification of Cooling Concepts
Authors: Christen Rouven , Rizzo Gerhard , Gadola Alfred , Stöck Max
Published: January 2017

Temperature gradients, thermal cycling and temperatures outside the optimal operation range can have a significant influence on the reliability and lifetime of Li-ion battery cells. Therefore, it is essential for the developer of large-scale battery systems to know the thermal characteristics, such as heat source location, heat capacity and thermal conductivity, of a single cell in order to design appropriate cooling measures. This paper describes an advanced test facility, which allows not only an estimation of the thermal properties of a battery cell, but also the verification of proposed cooling strategies in operation. To do this, an active measuring unit consisting of a temperature and heat flux density sensor and a Peltier element was developed. These temperature/heat flux sensing (THFS) units are uniformly arranged around a battery cell with a spatial resolution of 25 mm. Consequently, the temperature or heat flux density can be controlled individually, thus forming regions with constant temperature (cooling) or zero heat flux (insulation). This test setup covers the whole development loop from thermal characterization to the design and verification of the proposed cooling strategy.
Investigation of the Influence of the As-Grown ZnO Nanorods and Applied Potentials on an Electrochemical Sensor for In-Vitro Glucose Monitoring
Authors: Marie Mohammed , Manasreh Omar
Published: January 2017

The influence of the as-grown zinc oxide nanorods (ZnO NRs) on the fabricated electrochemical sensor for in vitro glucose monitoring were investigated. A direct growth of ZnO NRs was performed on the Si/SiO2/Au electrode, using hydrothermal and sol-gel techniques at low temperatures. The structure, consisting of a Si/SiO2/Au/GOx/Nafion membrane, was considered as a baseline, and it was tested under several applied potential 0.1–0.8 V. The immobilized working electrode, with GOx and a nafion membrane, was characterized amperometrically using a source meter Keithely 2410, and an electrochemical impedance Gamry potentiostat. The sensor exhibited the following: a high sensitivity of ~0.468 mA/cm2 mM, a low detection limit in the order of 166.6 µM, and a fast and sharp response time of around 2 s. The highest sensitivity and the lowest limit of detection were obtained at 0.4 volt, after the growth of ZnO NRs. The highest net sensitivity was obtained after subtracting the sensitivity of the baseline, and it was in the order of 0.315 mA/cm2·mM. The device was tested with a range of glucose concentrations from 1–10 mM, showing a linear line from 3–8 mM, and the device was saturated after exceeding high concentrations of glucose. Such devices can be used for in vitro glucose monitoring, since glucose changes can be accurately detected.
Exploring the Case for a Global Alliance for Medical Diagnostics Initiative
Authors: Mugambi Melissa , Palamountain Kara , Gallarda Jim , Drain Paul
Published: January 2017

In recent years, the private and public sectors have increased investments in medical diagnostics for low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Despite these investments, numerous barriers prevent the adoption of existing diagnostics and discourage the development and introduction of new diagnostics in LMICs. In the late 1990s, the global vaccine community had similar challenges, as vaccine coverage rates stagnated and the introduction of new vaccines was viewed as a distraction to delivering existing vaccines. To address these challenges, the international community came together and formed the Global Alliance for Vaccines Initiative (GAVI). Sixteen years after the formation of GAVI, we see evidence of a healthier global vaccine landscape. We discuss how GAVI’s four guiding principles (product, health systems strengthening, financing and market shaping) might apply to the advancement of medical diagnostics in LMICs. We present arguments for the international community and existing organizations to establish a Global Alliance for Medical Diagnostics Initiative (GAMDI).
On Wasserstein Two-Sample Testing and Related Families of Nonparametric Tests
Authors: Ramdas Aaditya , Trillos Nicolás , Cuturi Marco
Published: January 2017

Nonparametric two-sample or homogeneity testing is a decision theoretic problem that involves identifying differences between two random variables without making parametric assumptions about their underlying distributions. The literature is old and rich, with a wide variety of statistics having being designed and analyzed, both for the unidimensional and the multivariate setting. In this short survey, we focus on test statistics that involve the Wasserstein distance. Using an entropic smoothing of the Wasserstein distance, we connect these to very different tests including multivariate methods involving energy statistics and kernel based maximum mean discrepancy and univariate methods like the Kolmogorov–Smirnov test, probability or quantile (PP/QQ) plots and receiver operating characteristic or ordinal dominance (ROC/ODC) curves. Some observations are implicit in the literature, while others seem to have not been noticed thus far. Given nonparametric two-sample testing’s classical and continued importance, we aim to provide useful connections for theorists and practitioners familiar with one subset of methods but not others.
Information Geometric Approach to Recursive Update in Nonlinear Filtering
Authors: Li Yubo , Cheng Yongqiang , Li Xiang , Hua Xiaoqiang , Qin Yuliang
Published: January 2017

The measurement update stage in the nonlinear filtering is considered in the viewpoint of information geometry, and the filtered state is considered as an optimization estimation in parameter space has been corresponded with the iteration in the statistical manifold, then a recursive method is proposed in this paper. This method is derived based on the natural gradient descent on the statistical manifold, which constructed by the posterior probability density function (PDF) of state conditional on the measurement. The derivation procedure is processing in the geometric viewpoint, and gives a geometric interpretation for the iteration update. Besides, the proposed method can be seen as an extended for the Kalman filter and its variants. For the one step in our proposed method, it is identical to the Extended Kalman filter (EKF) in the nonlinear case, while traditional Kalman filter in the linear case. Benefited from the natural gradient descent used in the update stage, our proposed method performs better than the existing methods, and the results have showed in the numerical experiments.
Soil Microbial Communities in Natural and Managed Cloud Montane Forests
Authors: Chang Ed-Haun , Tian Guanglong , Chiu Chih-Yu
Published: January 2017

Forest management often results in changes in soil microbial communities. To understand how forest management can change microbial communities, we studied soil microbial abundance and community structure in a natural Chamaecyparis (NCP) forest, a disturbed Chamaecyparis (DCP) forest, a secondary (regenerated) Chamaecyparis (SCP) forest and a secondary (reforested) Cryptomeria (SCD) forest. We analyzed soil microbial abundance by measuring phospholipid fatty acids (PLFAs) and microbial community structure by denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) in the studied forest soils. The content of the soil PLFA fungal biomarker decreased from NCP to SCP, DCP and SCD forest soils, associated with the degree of disturbance of forest management. The ratio of soil Gram positive–to-negative bacteria and the stress index (16:1ω7t to 16:1ω7c) increased from NCP to SCP and DCP soils; thus, disturbed forests except for SCD showed increased soil microbial stress. Principal component analysis of soil microbial groups by PLFAs separated the four forest soils into three clusters: NCP, DCP and SCP, and SCD soil. The DGGE analysis showed no difference in the microbial community structure for NCP, DCP and SCP soils, but the community structure differed between SCD and the three other forest soils. In cloud montane forests, disturbance due to forest management had only a slight influence on the soil microbial community, whereas reforestation with different species largely changed the soil microbial community structure.
Sibling sRNA RyfA1 Influences Shigella dysenteriae Pathogenesis
Authors: Fris Megan , Broach William , Klim Sarah , Coschigano Peter , Carroll Ronan , Caswell Clayton , Murphy Erin
Published: January 2017

Small regulatory RNAs (sRNAs) of Shigella dysenteriae and other pathogens are vital for the regulation of virulence-associated genes and processes. Here, we characterize RyfA1, one member of a sibling pair of sRNAs produced by S. dysenteriae. Unlike its nearly identical sibling molecule, RyfA2, predicted to be encoded almost exclusively by non-pathogenic species, the presence of a gene encoding RyfA1, or a RyfA1-like molecule, is strongly correlated with virulence in a variety of enteropathogens. In S. dysenteriae, the overproduction of RyfA1 negatively impacts the virulence-associated process of cell-to-cell spread as well as the expression of ompC, a gene encoding a major outer membrane protein important for the pathogenesis of Shigella. Interestingly, the production of RyfA1 is controlled by a second sRNA, here termed RyfB1, the first incidence of one regulatory small RNA controlling another in S. dysenteriae or any Shigella species.
Urban Place and Health Equity: Critical Issues and Practices
Authors: Corburn Jason
Published: January 2017

Urban places and health equity are two of the most challenging concepts for 21st century environmental health. More people live in cities than at any other time in human history and health inequities are increasing. Health inequities are avoidable differences in the social, environmental and political conditions that shape morbidity and mortality, and disproportionately burden the poor, racial, ethnic and religious minorities and migrants. By linking urban place and health inequities, research and action brings into sharp relief the challenges of achieving urban environmental justice. This article briefly reviews the complex definitions of urban places and how they can shape health equity in cities. I suggest that a more relational or integrated approach to defining urban places and acting on health equity can complement other approaches and improve the ability of public health to meet 21st century challenges. I close with suggestions for research and practice that might focus environmental public health on healthy urban place making. The practices include community driven map making, Health in All Policies (HiAP), promoting urban ecosystem services for health, and participatory and integrated approaches to urban slum upgrading. I conclude that if the global community is serious about the sustainable development goals (SDGs), greater attention must be paid to understanding and acting to improve urban places, living conditions and the social and economic conditions that can promote health equity.
Influence of Knee Immobilization on Chondrocyte Apoptosis and Histological Features of the Anterior Cruciate Ligament Insertion and Articular Cartilage in Rabbits
Authors: Mutsuzaki Hirotaka , Nakajima Hiromi , Wadano Yasuyoshi , Furuhata Syogo , Sakane Masataka
Published: January 2017

This study examined the influence of immobilization on chondrocyte apoptosis and histological features of the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) insertion and knee articular cartilage in rabbits. Forty-eight male Japanese white rabbits were assigned to an immobilization (n = 24) or sham (n = 24) group. Rabbits in the immobilization group underwent complete unilateral surgical knee immobilization and rabbits in the sham group underwent a sham surgery. The average thickness of the glycosaminoglycan (GAG) stained red area by safranin O staining, the chondrocyte apoptosis rate and the chondrocyte proliferation rate in the cartilage layer in the ACL insertion and the articular cartilage of the medial tibial condyle were measured at one, two, four and eight weeks in six animals from each group. In the ACL insertion, the chondrocyte apoptosis rate was higher in the immobilization group than in the sham group at two and eight weeks after surgery (p < 0.05). The chondrocyte proliferation rate gradually decreased from two weeks to eight weeks in the immobilization group. The GAG layer was thinner in the immobilization group than in the sham group at two, four and eight weeks after surgery (p < 0.05). In the articular cartilage, the chondrocyte apoptosis rate in the immobilization group was higher than in the sham group at four and eight weeks after surgery (p < 0.05). The GAG layer was significantly thinner in the immobilization group than that in the sham group at four and eight weeks after surgery (p < 0.05). Knee immobilization significantly increased chondrocyte apoptosis at two and eight weeks after surgery in the ACL insertion and at four and eight weeks after surgery in the articular cartilage of the medial tibial condyle, and decreased GAG layer thickness from two to eight weeks after surgery in the ACL insertion and from four to eight weeks after surgery in the articular cartilage.
Mechanisms by Which B Cells and Regulatory T Cells Influence Development of Murine Organ-Specific Autoimmune Diseases
Authors: Ellis Jason , Braley-Mullen Helen
Published: January 2017

Experiments with B cell-deficient (B−/−) mice indicate that a number of autoimmune diseases require B cells in addition to T cells for their development. Using B−/− Non-obese diabetic (NOD) and NOD.H-2h4 mice, we demonstrated that development of spontaneous autoimmune thyroiditis (SAT), Sjogren’s syndrome and diabetes do not develop in B−/− mice, whereas all three diseases develop in B cell-positive wild-type (WT) mice. B cells are required early in life, since reconstitution of adult mice with B cells or autoantibodies did not restore their ability to develop disease. B cells function as important antigen presenting cells (APC) to initiate activation of autoreactive CD4+ effector T cells. If B cells are absent or greatly reduced in number, other APC will present the antigen, such that Treg are preferentially activated and effector T cells are not activated. In these situations, B−/− or B cell-depleted mice develop the autoimmune disease when T regulatory cells (Treg) are transiently depleted. This review focuses on how B cells influence Treg activation and function, and briefly considers factors that influence the effectiveness of B cell depletion for treatment of autoimmune diseases.