bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Ensemble Forecast Uncertainty of the 1 December 2011 Wasatch Windstorm
Authors: Lawson John , Horel John
Published: September 2015

A downslope windstorm on 1 December 2011 led to considerable damage along a narrow 50-km swath at the western base of the Wasatch Mountains in northern Utah. Operational forecasts issued by the Salt Lake City National Weather Service Forecast Office provided accurate guidance for the event at 1–2-day lead times, partially based on locally generated high-resolution numerical forecasts. Forecasters highlighted the possibility of the windstorm 4 days in advance. To address the apparent reduced uncertainty for this windstorm, three 11-member three-domain ensemble forecasts were initialized at 0000 UTC 25 November, 0000 UTC 27 November, and 0000 UTC 29 November 2011 using the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) Model with initial and boundary conditions supplied by Global Ensemble Forecast System Reforecast, version 2 (GEFS/R2). Eight of the 11 ensemble members from the 29 November 2011 forecast (60 h before the windstorm) generated a strong, localized windstorm with outliers arising from reduced cross-barrier flow. Analysis of kinetic energy error growth suggests that the reduced uncertainty of 60-h forecasts was not primarily a result of the underdispersion of GEFS/R2 initial and boundary conditions but was related to a regional reduction in error growth in midtropospheric flow upstream of northern Utah. The ensemble initialized 2 days earlier (27 November, 108 h before the windstorm) contains fewer members that generate strong windstorms, while no members generate a windstorm in the ensemble initialized on 25 November (156 h prior). This sudden increase in uncertainty with forecast lead time results from the sensitivity of the ensemble solutions to the lateral boundary conditions imposed by the GEFS/R2 between 0000 UTC 29 November and 0000 UTC 30 November.
Community Benefits or Community Bribes? An Experimental Analysis of Strategies for Managing Community Perceptions of Bribery Surrounding the Siting of Renewable Energy Projects
Authors: Walker Benjamin J.A. , Russel Duncan , Kurz Tim
Published: September 2015

The provision of financial incentives to local communities by energy developers has attracted cynicism across many localities, with some suggesting such community benefits are akin to “bribery.” The current study used an experimental design embedded within a community postal survey to explore whether potentially damaging effects of bribery rhetoric upon local support for a wind farm can be overcome through (a) portraying community benefits as a policy requirement (rather than a discretionary gesture by developers), and/or (b) the deployment of different discursive strategies by developers to manage their stake in the outcome of the project. Participants told about community benefits as being a policy requirement showed significantly higher support for the wind farm, an effect that was mediated by heightened perceptions of individually and collectively favorable outcomes from the development. We discuss our results in relation to their implications for government policy approaches to promoting renewable energy supply.
Impact of Microcalcifications on Risk of Malignancy in Thyroid Nodules with Indeterminate or Benign Cytology
Authors: Brophy Catherine , Stewart James , O’Donovan Neil , McCarthy Julie , Murphy Matthew , Sheahan Patrick
Published: September 2015

Objective

Adverse sonographic features such as microcalcification may predict increased likelihood of malignant cytology by fine‐needle aspiration and, accordingly, increased risk of malignant histology. Our objective was to study the predictive value of microcalcifications and other sonographic features for malignancy among thyroid nodules with benign or indeterminate cytology.

Study Design

Case series with chart review.

Setting

Academic teaching hospital.

Subjects

Patients (N = 769) with 858 thyroid nodules undergoing 1142 ultrasound fine‐needle aspirations; 411 cases had surgical correlation.

Methods

Sonographic features predictive of malignancy were correlated with malignancy as determined by histology. Incidental malignancies occurring outside the index nodule were discounted.

Results

Cytology was inadequate (87 cases), benign (518), indeterminate (210), and malignant (44). In 32 cases, initial benign cytology was upgraded to a higher‐risk category after repeat ultrasound fine‐needle aspiration. Microcalcification (P =. 001) and irregular margins (P =. 04) were significantly predictive of malignant cytology. Among surgical cases, microcalcification (P <. 001) and irregular margins (P =. 04) were significantly predictive of malignant histology; 170 patients with initial benign cytology and 161 with indeterminate cytology underwent surgery. Microcalcification was significantly associated with malignancy among cases with indeterminate cytology (P =. 04) but not among cases with benign cytology (P =. 23); however, only 13 of 33 cases with benign cytology and microcalcifications underwent surgery.

Conclusion

Presence of microcalcification increases the risk of malignancy in thyroid nodules with indeterminate cytology and may thus aid in selection of cases for surgery.
What Is the Role of Manual Preference in Hand-Digit Mapping During Finger Counting? A Study in a Large Sample of Right- and Left-Handers
Authors: Zago Laure , Badets Arnaud
Published: September 2015

The goal of the present study was to test whether there is a relationship between manual preference and hand-digit mapping in 369 French adults with similar numbers of right- and left-handers. Manual laterality was evaluated with the finger tapping test to evaluate hand motor asymmetry, and the Edinburgh handedness inventory was used to assess manual preference strength (MPS) and direction. Participants were asked to spontaneously “count on their fingers from 1 to 10” without indications concerning the hand(s) to be used. The results indicated that both MPS and hand motor asymmetry affect the hand-starting preference for counting. Left-handers with a strong left-hand preference (sLH) or left-hand motor asymmetry largely started to count with their left hand (left-starter), while right-handers with a strong right-hand preference (sRH) or right-hand motor asymmetry largely started to count with their right hand (right-starter). Notably, individuals with weak MPS did not show a hand-starting preference. These findings demonstrated that manual laterality contributes to finger counting directionality. Lastly, the results showed a higher proportion of sLH left-starter individuals compared with sRH right-starters, indicating an asymmetric bias of MPS on hand-starting preference. We hypothesize that the higher proportion of sLH left-starters could be explained by the congruence between left-to-right hand-digit mapping and left-to-right mental number line representation that has been largely reported in the literature. Taken together, these results indicate that finger-counting habits integrate biological and cultural information.
Ce que les émotions font faire aux professionnels du droit: Jalons pour une approche praxéologique des expressions émotionnelles dans la sphère judiciaire
Authors: Colemans Julie
Published: September 2015

This article offers some areas for consideration when seeking to understand the emotional dimensions of legal action. Beginning with the lessons of ethnomethodology, it suggests grasping emotions praxeologically, that is, as a practical accomplishment, in order to describe how emotional expressions are perceived and interpreted publicly and in context. Emotions thus appear as practical supports for coordination and understanding in interactional sequences.
Post-Revolution Egypt
Authors: Buckner Britton S. , Buckner Ellen B.
Published: September 2015

The 2011 Arab Spring swept across the Middle East creating profound instability in Egypt, a country already challenged with poverty and internal pressures. To respond to this crisis, Catholic Relief Services led a community-based program called “Egypt Works” that included community improvement projects and psychosocial support. Following implementation, program outcomes were analyzed using the middle-range theory of adaptation to situational life events, based on the Roy adaptation model. The comprehensive, community-based approach facilitated adaptation, serving as a model for applying theory in post-crisis environments.
Preserving the Non-Instrumentality of Summer Camp
Authors: Baumann Steven L.
Published: September 2015

After a brief consideration of the types of camps, this introduction questions what is the most beneficial aspect of a two week summer day camp for children living in disadvantaged circumstances or struggling in school? Is it a formal educational program or professional-lead therapeutic activities or the provision of an opportunity for children to play with peers in a relaxed, scenic and supportive place? The introduction suggests that being with peers living with similar circumstances or challenges while being in a scenic place with supportive staff and having the opportunity to play may provide such children with a greater good.
Developing Leaders from “Seeming Opposites”
Authors: Ortiz Mario R.
Published: September 2015

The development of nurse leaders arises out of nursing and knowledge from other disciplines. In this column, Dr. McBride shares her experiences as a nurse leader and takes a view of leadership that makes the “tensions” of apparent “opposites” explicit to provide clarity within leading-following situations.
Nothing Happens by Accident, or Does It? A Low Prior for Randomness Does Not Explain Belief in Conspiracy Theories
Authors: Dieguez Sebastian , Wagner-Egger Pascal , Gauvrit Nicolas
Published: September 2015

Belief in conspiracy theories has often been associated with a biased perception of randomness, akin to a nothing-happens-by-accident heuristic. Indeed, a low prior for randomness (i.e., believing that randomness is a priori unlikely) could plausibly explain the tendency to believe that a planned deception lies behind many events, as well as the tendency to perceive meaningful information in scattered and irrelevant details; both of these tendencies are traits diagnostic of conspiracist ideation. In three studies, we investigated this hypothesis and failed to find the predicted association between low prior for randomness and conspiracist ideation, even when randomness was explicitly opposed to malevolent human intervention. Conspiracy believers’ and nonbelievers’ perceptions of randomness were not only indistinguishable from each other but also accurate compared with the normative view arising from the algorithmic information framework. Thus, the motto “nothing happens by accident,” taken at face value, does not explain belief in conspiracy theories.
Professional Practice and Ethical Issues Related to Physical Restraint and Seclusion in Schools
Authors: Scheuermann Brenda , Peterson Reece , Ryan Joseph B. , Billingsley Glenna
Published: September 2015

Use of physical restraint and seclusion procedures in schools continues to be controversial, and foster proposals for federal and state legislation and regulation. Despite much discussion about what policies are needed, there has been little discussion about the professional practice issues and the ethical issues related to these practices. The purpose of this report is to present six clusters of professional practice and ethical issues that have not heretofore been specifically identified. To do so, we will examine the codes of professional practice and ethics of organizations representing educators who work with students with severe behavioral challenges. To illustrate these issues, we use real-world case examples from media stories and official reports about problems resulting from restraint and seclusion. Although individuals may disagree regarding decisions about these ethical issues, these questions should be a part of any policy discussion related to professional practice regarding these issues, and they have rarely been addressed in the restraint and seclusion policy debate. In addition, they are also questions that must be examined by all professional educators for them to assure adherence to the professional practice and ethical codes for their field.
Anisotropic damage modeling of concrete materials
Authors: Desmorat Rodrigue
Published: September 2015

An anisotropic damage model is proposed for concrete materials. As required by thermodynamics a single damage variable, tensorial, is considered for any loading: as a state variable it represents the micro-cracking pattern whatever the loading sign. Damage anisotropy is used to model the strong dissymmetry tension/compression.The Ladevèze damage variable H = (1 − D)− 1/2 is introduced within a deviatoric/hydrostatic split. An original shear-bulk coupling is derived, in accordance with numerical discrete element computations. The sought property of gradual stress softening, with a tail in stress–strain diagram, is obtained. Stress triaxiality is used to enhance the performance of Mazars criterion and therefore of the full anisotropic damage model in bicompression.
State Law and Policy Related to Twice-Exceptional Learners
Authors: Roberts Julia Link , Pereira Nielsen , Knotts J. Dusteen
Published: September 2015

Legislation and policy lead to action. In the absence of law or policy, situations are addressed on a case-by-case basis or they are sometimes ignored. Legislation and policy become extremely important when they relate to groups that have traditionally been marginalized, such as students with disabilities or students with gifts and talents, and they can help guarantee or increase access to services for students from those groups. Because legislation and policy focus on students with disabilities at the federal and state levels, schools usually plan to meet the needs of these students. However, gifted and talented education is not mandated at the federal level, and mandates and funding are limited or nonexistent at the state level. Only recently have twice-exceptional learners been acknowledged in law or policy.
A 2e Parent’s Journey
Authors: Brownstein Michelle
Published: September 2015

I have four children, three of whom are twice exceptional in the context of the new Community of Practice (2e CoP) definition highlighted in this issue. I share a personal story of a parent’s journey in persistence, partnerships, and the provision of unconditional love.
Special Education Coordinator
Authors: Satterley Donna
Published: September 2015

As a special education coordinator of students with learning disabilities, I come into contact quite frequently with students who are considered twice exceptional. My role is to provide support to teachers on how to best meet the needs of the students with special needs in my school district. It is imperative that collaboration occurs between special education, general education, and gifted education teachers to identify the strengths and weaknesses of each child and continue to advocate for students . If each student has the right to a free, appropriate public education, this collaboration is vital to ensure that 2e students get what is appropriate, not just what is acceptable or adequate.
Affective stress responses during leisure time: Validity evaluation of a modified version of the Stress-Energy Questionnaire
Authors: Hadžibajramović Emina , Ahlborg Gunnar , Håkansson Carita , Lundgren-Nilsson Åsa , Grimby-Ekman Anna
Published: September 2015

Background: Psychosocial stress at work is one of the most important factors behind increasing sick-leave rates. In addition to work stressors, it is important to account for non-work-related stressors when assessing stress responses. In this study, a modified version of the Stress-Energy Questionnaire (SEQ), the SEQ during leisure time (SEQ-LT) was introduced for assessing the affective stress response during leisure time. The aim of this study was to investigate the internal construct validity of the SEQ-LT. A second aim was to define the cut-off points for the scales, which could indicate high and low levels of leisure-time stress and energy, respectively. Methods: Internal construct validity of the SEQ-LT was evaluated using a Rasch analysis. We examined the unidimensionality and other psychometric properties of the scale by the fit to the Rasch model. A criterion-based approach was used for classification into high and low stress/energy levels. Results: The psychometric properties of the stress and energy scales of the SEQ-LT were satisfactory, having accommodated for local dependency. The cut-off point for low stress was proposed to be in the interval between 2.45 and 3.02 on the Rasch metric score; while for high stress, it was between 3.65 and 3.90. The suggested cut-off points for the low and high energy levels were values between 1.73–1.97 and 2.66–3.08, respectively. Conclusions: The stress and energy scale of the SEQ-LT satisfied the measurement criteria defined by the Rasch analysis and it provided a useful tool for non-work-related assessment of stress responses. We provide guidelines on how to interpret the scale values.
Socio-demographic and behavioral variation in barriers to leisure-time physical activity
Authors: Borodulin Katja , Sipilä Noora , Rahkonen Ossi , Leino-Arjas Päivi , Kestilä Laura , Jousilahti Pekka , Prättälä Ritva
Published: September 2015

Introduction: We examined the socio-demographic and behavioral determinants of perceived barriers to leisure-time physical activity (LTPA) in a population-based sample of working-aged adults. Methods: Data comprised the National FINRISK 2002 Study, a population-based health examination study. Analyses were restricted to those aged 25–64 years and who perceived that their amount of LTPA did not reach sufficient levels. They reported barriers to LTPA, defined as a lack of time, motivation and lack of companionship to be active with, as well as high expenses. Age, education, household income, employment status, family type, physical activity, smoking and body mass index (BMI) were included as explanatory variables. Results: Lack of time was the most frequent barrier. Each barrier was explained by a different set of factors that also varied between genders. The strongest and most systematic associations with the barriers were found for age, employment status and family type. Lack of time was less often reported as a barrier among the unemployed, singles without children and older people. Lacking motivation as a barrier was most common among singles without children. High expenses as a barrier was more often reported by the unemployed, and less often reported in the highest income group. Conclusions: When considering actions to promote LTPA, there is not one single solution, because the perceived barriers vary by population subgroups.
High infant mortality rate, high total fertility rate and very low female literacy in selected African countries
Authors: Susuman A. Sathiya , Chialepeh Wilson N. , Bado Aristide , Lailulo Yishak
Published: September 2015

Aim: This study focused on the top 10 selected African countries with key interventions such as high infant mortality rate, high total fertility rate and female literacy rate. Methods: The World Bank’s 2013 data were used. Descriptive analyses were performed. Results: Findings show that Sierra Leone (107.2), Angola (102) and Central Africa Republic (96.1) reported the highest infant mortality rate per 1000 live births. The total fertility rates in Niger (7.6), Mali (6.8) and Somalia (6.6) were higher than other comparable countries. Conclusions: Health care service providers need to pay more attention during pregnancy periods, improve number of field visits, identify pregnant women and promote 100% antenatal care. If this is done practically, these countries will reduce and ultimately eliminate infant mortality.
Healthy life years in old age: Swedish development 1980–2010 according to different health indicators
Authors: Lagergren Mårten , Johnell Kristina , Schön Pär , Danielsson Maria
Published: September 2015

Aims: To investigate the development of healthy life expectancy from 65 years (HLE65) in Sweden in the period 1980 and 2010 by using two different health indicators: self-rated health and the global activity limitation indicator (GALI). Methods: Sources of data for the HLE computations were Swedish national mortality statistics and the nationwide Swedish Survey of Living Conditions (SSLC), which have been conducted biennially by Statistics Sweden since 1974. We used the Sullivan method for calculations of HLE. A decomposition into mortality and disability effect has been made in accordance with the method devised by Nusselder. Results: Life expectancy at age 65 (LE65) increased by 3.1 years for women and 4.0 years for men from 1980/85 to 2006/11. Regardless of which health measure investigated – self-rated health or GALI – HLE65 increased between the periods 1980/85 to 2006/2011 more rapidly than LE65 and as a consequence the years with bad self-rated health and years with activity limitations decreased. These increases as well as the decreases were significant ( p<0.05). Conclusions: The Swedish LE65 and HLE65 development, as judged by the SSLC study, are compatible with the postponement hypothesis and there is even a clear tendency for compression. Thus, the years with bad self-rated health and years with activity limitations are postponed to a higher age and the number of those years have decreased. From this respect, the Swedish development looks positive. The need of old age care in 2010 would have been much higher if it had been expansion – not postponement – of bad self-rated health and years with activity limitations during the time period.
Reported and enacted actions: Moving beyond reported speech and related concepts
Authors: Good Jeffrey S
Published: September 2015

This article examines not only how events are verbally reported in everyday and institutional storytelling episodes, but also how the actions witnessed are enacted by participants. This is particularly important to not only the believability of what occurred and is being discussed (e.g. the US court of law), but also how ordinary audience members react to stories and how they believe the truthfulness of them. As is seen in data analyzed from multiple sources, the way in which something is both reported and (re)enacted has major implications for not only the telling of stories, but what we know about the world around us. Questions about the idea of ‘direct reported actions’ are also considered.
The Culture Wars Redux? The Polarization of Social and Political Attitudes in Turkey
Authors: Kaya Yunus , Sunar Lutfi
Published: September 2015

This study assesses whether social and political attitudes became polarized in Turkish society between 1990 and 2011. In recent years, many in academia and the public debate have claimed that Turkish society has become increasingly polarized between conservatives and secularists. Following the methods used to assess the “culture war” debate in the United States, this study uses data from the World Value Surveys and the European Value Surveys to determine the validity of the above hypothesis and assesses the impact of religion and Islamist politics on social and political attitudes. Our analyses of four areas (namely, family and sexuality, gender roles, democracy, and economic and social justice) reveal that there is no evidence of increasing polarization during this period. Although the individuals who voted for secular-oriented political parties were slightly more tolerant toward abortion, divorce, and homosexuality than the individuals who voted for religiously oriented political parties, the differences between the two groups were minimal and did not increase over time. Interestingly, we found some evidence for rising conservatism, especially in the 1990s. Overall, Turkish society became less accepting of abortion and divorce between 1990 and 2011, although support for women’s participation in the labor force increased in the same period.
Perceptions of Future Career Family Flexibility as a Deterrent from Majoring in STEM
Authors: Valentino Lauren , Moller Stephanie , Stearns Elizabeth , Mickelson Roslyn
Published: September 2015

Research on the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) “pipeline” has charted the loss of potential STEM talent throughout students’ secondary and postsecondary trajectories. One source of STEM talent loss that has been commonly suggested throughout the literature is the lack of family friendly flexibility in STEM careers. This explanation has been offered as a reason why women are underrepresented in the STEM fields. We test this thesis using original survey data collected from 3,229 college students at each of the 16 North Carolina public universities. Our results indicate that a concern for the potential inflexibility of one’s future career is associated with a decreased likelihood of majoring in the “hard” STEM fields (physical sciences, engineering, and mathematics). However, we did not find gender differences in this effect, suggesting that men and women who are concerned with the family flexibility of their future career are equally likely to be deterred from STEM.
Analysis of superhydrophobic material performance based on molecular dynamics simulations
Authors: Yan J. , Liu G. , Wang T. , Zhao J. , Ding Y. , Chen N.
Published: September 2015

Hydrophobicity of materials is governed by both surface chemical property and geometrical microstructure. Currently, hydrophobic materials are mainly researched and prepared by trial and error, and the hydrophobic property could not be predicted theoretically. This paper proposes using molecular dynamics simulation method to simulate the microscopic wettability of the materials and guide the preparation of the materials. Carboxylic acid modified cupric oxide superhydrophobic material was chosen as the studied material, and the influence of hydrophobic property was analysed by changing the carbon atom number and the coverage of carboxylic molecular chains. The results of the simulation were verified by experiments, and simulation and experiments showed good agreement. The results show that, within a certain range, the chain length and hydrophobicity of the material were positively correlated, and when the carbon chain length reached a certain point, hydrophobicity no longer increased. The coverage of carboxylic molecular chains affected its hydrophobic property too. In the Wenzel state, the contact angle increases with the increasing of the coverage. In the Cassie state, the hydrophobicity can be improved by reducing the coverage appropriately.
Targeted sequencing identifies patients with preclinical MDS at high risk of disease progression
Authors: Cargo Catherine A. , Rowbotham Nicola , Evans Paul A. , Barrans Sharon L. , Bowen David T. , Crouch Simon , Jack Andrew S.
Published: September 2015

Key Points

The mutational profile of patients with preclinical MDS is distinct from that reported in healthy individuals. In the absence of morphologic disease, mutational analysis can predict those patients at high risk of disease progression.
Development of an international scale of socio-economic position based on household assets
Authors: Townend John , Minelli Cosetta , Harrabi Imed , Obaseki Daniel O. , El-Rhazi Karima , Patel Jaymini , Burney Peter
Published: September 2015

Background

The importance of studying associations between socio-economic position and health has often been highlighted. Previous studies have linked the prevalence and severity of lung disease with national wealth and with socio-economic position within some countries but there has been no systematic evaluation of the association between lung function and poverty at the individual level on a global scale. The BOLD study has collected data on lung function for individuals in a wide range of countries, however a barrier to relating this to personal socio-economic position is the need for a suitable measure to compare individuals within and between countries. In this paper we test a method for assessing socio-economic position based on the scalability of a set of durable assets (Mokken scaling), and compare its usefulness across countries of varying gross national income per capita.

Results

Ten out of 15 candidate asset questions included in the questionnaire were found to form a Mokken type scale closely associated with GNI per capita (Spearman’s rank rs = 0.91, p = 0.002). The same set of assets conformed to a scale in 7 out of the 8 countries, the remaining country being Saudi Arabia where most respondents owned most of the assets. There was good consistency in the rank ordering of ownership of the assets in the different countries (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.96). Scores on the Mokken scale were highly correlated with scores developed using principal component analysis (rs = 0.977).

Conclusions

Mokken scaling is a potentially valuable tool for uncovering links between disease and socio-economic position within and between countries. It provides an alternative to currently used methods such as principal component analysis for combining personal asset data to give an indication of individuals’ relative wealth. Relative strengths of the Mokken scale method were considered to be ease of interpretation, adaptability for comparison with other datasets, and reliability of imputation for even quite large proportions of missing values.
Stability and convergence of a new composite implicit iterative sequence in Banach spaces
Authors: Yang Liping , Kong Weiming
Published: September 2015

The purpose of this paper is to study stability and strong convergence of asymptotically pseudocontractive mappings by using a new composite implicit iteration process in an arbitrary real Banach space. The results in this paper improve and extend the corresponding results in the literature.
Microseismic rupture propagation imaging
Authors: Folesky Jonas , Kummerow Joern , Shapiro Serge A.
Published: September 2015

We have developed a method for tracing the rupture propagation of microseismic events. We referred to it as microseismic rupture propagation imaging (MRPI), which is an adaptation of the back projection technique from global seismology. Hence, we shifted back recorded waveforms to a grid of possible source locations and obtained a coherent phase stack that migrated according to the migration of the rupture front. Using synthetic ruptures and the corresponding waveforms obtained by finite-difference modeling, we tested the viability of the approach for a reservoir model with the properties and geometry of the monitoring system of the Basel-1 geothermal reservoir. First, we found that an estimation of the rupture location, orientation, direction, and length was feasible in this environment. The method was then applied to the four largest events ([Formula: see text]) recorded at the Basel-1 reservoir. We found that the obtained rupture lengths and orientations were reasonably consistent with independent estimates from seismic moments, stress drops, and fault-plane solutions. MRPI allowed us to solve the ambiguity between the actual fault plane and the auxiliary plane. The derived fault planes and rupture directions for the three best-determined events indicated that the failure process was directed preferentially from the periphery toward the injection source. This agreed with the observation that hypocenters of large-magnitude-induced events tend to occur on the edges of the stimulated volume. The results also corroborated the recently proposed idea that induced events were more probable to occur on preexisting faults if the potential rupture surface lay within the stimulated volume.
Is this a brain which I see before me? Modeling human neural development with pluripotent stem cells
Authors: Suzuki Ikuo K. , Vanderhaeghen Pierre
Published: September 2015

The human brain is arguably the most complex structure among living organisms. However, the specific mechanisms leading to this complexity remain incompletely understood, primarily because of the poor experimental accessibility of the human embryonic brain. Over recent years, technologies based on pluripotent stem cells (PSCs) have been developed to generate neural cells of various types. While the translational potential of PSC technologies for disease modeling and/or cell replacement therapies is usually put forward as a rationale for their utility, they are also opening novel windows for direct observation and experimentation of the basic mechanisms of human brain development. PSC-based studies have revealed that a number of cardinal features of neural ontogenesis are remarkably conserved in human models, which can be studied in a reductionist fashion. They have also revealed species-specific features, which constitute attractive lines of investigation to elucidate the mechanisms underlying the development of the human brain, and its link with evolution.
The advancement of human pluripotent stem cell-derived therapies into the clinic
Authors: Thies R. Scott , Murry Charles E.
Published: September 2015

Human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) offer many potential applications for drug screening and ‘disease in a dish’ assay capabilities. However, a more ambitious goal is to develop cell therapeutics using hPSCs to generate and replace somatic cells that are lost as a result of disease or injury. This Spotlight article will describe the state of progress of some of the hPSC-derived therapeutics that offer the most promise for clinical use. Lessons from developmental biology have been instrumental in identifying signaling molecules that can guide these differentiation processes in vitro, and will be described in the context of these cell therapy programs.
Mechanical Properties of Self-Compacting Concrete with Different Mineral Aditives After High Temperature Exposure
Authors: Rukavina Marija Jelcic , Bjegovic Dubravka , Gabrijel Ivan
Published: September 2015

This paper presents an experimental research on the performance of high-strength selfcompacting concrete (SCC) with different mineral additives after exposure to high temperatures of up to 600°C. For this purpose, four SCC mixtures were studied: one reference and three mixtures where the Portland cement was replaced with mineral additive (fly ash, metakaolin and limestone) in certain proportions. After natural cooling in the furnace, compressive strength and static modulus of elasticity were determined and compared to results obtained from other studies and those provided in EN 1992-1-2 and EN 1994-1-2 for normal-vibrated concrete. Additionally, acoustic emission (AE) parameters during compression test of heated and unheated specimens were also obtained which showed good non-destructive tool for identifying exposure temperature of the concrete needed for the assessment of concrete structures after fire.
Addressing Key Challenges in Intangible Cultural Heritage Education
Authors: Dagnino Francesca Maria , Ott Michela , Pozzi Francesca
Published: September 2015

The paper draws on the i-Treasures EU project which adopts cutting-edge sensors and ICT technologies to sustain Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) learning and transmission. It highlights how some of the main educational challenges that are characteristic of this peculiar field have been addressed in the project by relying on consolidated Technology Enhanced Learning (TEL) practices and related tools. In particular, it focuses on pedagogical planning as a means to sustain the design, deployment and sharing of educational interventions, which are suitable and effective from the viewpoint of contents, structure and learning /teaching methodologies.
The ICR1000 UK exome series: a resource of gene variation in an outbred population
Authors: Ruark Elise , Münz Márton , Renwick Anthony , Clarke Matthew , Ramsay Emma , Hanks Sandra , Mahamdallie Shazia , Elliott Anna , Seal Sheila , Strydom Ann , Gerton Lunter , Rahman Nazneen
Published: September 2015

To enhance knowledge of gene variation in outbred populations, and to provide a dataset with utility in research and clinical genomics, we performed exome sequencing of 1,000 UK individuals from the general population and applied a high-quality analysis pipeline that includes high sensitivity and specificity for indel detection. Each UK individual has, on average, 21,978 gene variants including 160 rare (0.1%) variants not present in any other individual in the series. These data provide a baseline expectation for gene variation in an outbred population. Summary data of all 295,391 variants we detected are included here and the individual exome sequences are available from the European Genome-phenome Archive as the ICR1000 UK exome series. Furthermore, samples and other phenotype and experimental data for these individuals are obtainable through application to the 1958 Birth Cohort committee.
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in girls. Co-occurring psychopathology. Sex differences in clinical manifestation
Authors: Rynkiewicz Agnieszka , Łucka Izabela
Published: September 2015

Cel

Głównym celem pracy jest określenie różnic pomiędzy kliniczną manifestacją zaburzeń ze spektrum autyzmu u dziewcząt i chłopców.

Metoda

Grupę badaną stanowiło 15 dziewcząt i 16 chłopców, z diagnozą autyzmu lub zespołu Aspergera, w wieku młodzieńczym, oraz ich rodzice. Adolescentów badano testem ADOS (Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule, polskiej wersji narzędzia obserwacyjnego do diagnozowania autyzmu) porównując wyniki algorytmów ADOS i ADOS-2, który obowiązuje po rewizji narzędzia. Z rodzicami przeprowadzono ustrukturyzowany wywiad, wypełnili oni kwestionariusz AQ (Autism Quotient), ASAS (Australijską Skalę dla Zespołu Aspergera), oraz GQ-ASC (Kwestionariusz dla dziewcząt ze spektrum autyzmu). Przeanalizowano dokumentację medyczną badanych. Wyniki opracowano za pomocą metod statystycznych.

Wyniki

Pacjentów badano Modułem 4 ADOS uzyskując w grupie z ASD statystycznie znaczące różnice wyników w części gestów i komunikacji werbalnej. Wyniki średnie w AQ dla ASD dziewcząt i ASD chłopców wynosiły odpowiednio (M = 33.0 i M = 30.9), ASAS (M = 57% i M = 61%). ASD dziewczęta były częściej aniżeli ASD chłopcy hospitalizowane psychiatrycznie (60% vs. 31%), częściej przyjmowały leki antydepresyjne (67% vs. 31%), anksjolityki (20% vs. 6%), leki normotymiczne (40% vs. 19%). ASD chłopcy częściej aniżeli ASD dziewczęta przyjmowali leki psychotropowe (50% vs. 47%) oraz psychostymulanty (44% vs. 20%).

Wnioski

ASD dziewczęta znajdują się w grupie podwyższonego ryzyka wyniku poza spektrum autyzmu według klasyfikacji ADOS lub ADOS-2, podczas gdy wywiad oraz obraz kliniczny pacjentek potwierdza ASD. Dane kliniczne sugerują, iż profil sensoryczny ASD dziewcząt jest bardziej zaburzony niż ASD chłopców. Częściej występują u nich stany lękowe, depresja, myśli samobójcze, oraz hospitalizacje psychiatryczne zaś u ASD chłopców ADHD, OCD i tiki.
Decompositions into products of idempotents
Authors: Alahmadi A. , Jain S. , Leroy Andre , Sathaye A.
Published: September 2015

The purpose of this note is two-fold: (1) to study when quasi-Euclidean rings, regular rings and regular separative rings have the property (â) that each right (left) singular element is a product of idempotents, and (2) to consider the question: âwhen is a singular nonnegative square matrix a product of nonnegative idempotent matrices?â The importance of the class of quasi- Euclidean rings in connection with the property (â) is given by the first three authors and T.Y. Lam [Journal of Algebra, 406:154â170, 2014], where it is shown that every singular matrix over a right and left quasi-Euclidean domain is a product of idempotents, generalizing the results of J. A Erdos [Glasgow Mathematical Journal, 8: 118â122, 1967] for matrices over fields and that of T. J. Laffey [Linear and Multilinear Algebra, 14:309â314, 1983] for matrices over commutative Euclidean domains. We have shown in this paper that quasi-Euclidean rings appear among many interesting classes of rings and hence they are in abundance. We analyze the properties of triangular matrix rings and upper triangular matrices with respect to the decomposition into product of idempotents and show, in particular, that nonnegative nilpotent matrices are products of nonnegative idempotent matrices. We study as to when each singular matrix is a product of idempotents in special classes of rings. Regarding the second question for nonnegative matrices, bounds are obtained for a rank one nonnegative matrix to be a product of two idempotent matrices. It is shown that every nonnegative matrix of rank one is a product of three nonnegative idempotent matrices. For matrices of higher orders, we show that some power of a group monotone matrix is a product of idempotent matrices.
Defining the friendly Other: A case study of the public reception of Finnish films in Sweden
Authors: Lehtisalo Anneli
Published: September 2015

This article discusses the relations between Swedish and Finnish film cultures adopting a historical cross-cultural reception framework. The cinema season 1937−1938 in Stockholm, when five Finnish films – an exceptional number – premiered, was a significant turning point for the import of Finnish films. The films aroused interest, and all of them were reviewed in the newspapers. The case illustrates how notions of both national cinema and national hierarchies are formed within transnational processes, which take place in networks encompassing different countries and cultures. Swedish journalists regarded Finnish cinema as backward compared to Swedish cinema, but as evolving: despite their primitiveness, Finnish films expressed authenticity and artistic ambition, even to a greater extent than Swedish films of the time. Through evaluations, comparisons and the construction of hierarchies, Swedish film journalists not only defined Finnish cinema but also presented ideas about Swedish and Nordic cinema.
Multiple adaptation processes: The case of Alexander Ahndoril’s The Director and its predecessors in feature film, television documentary and popular print media
Authors: Koskinen Maaret
Published: September 2015

It is well known that the novel by Alexander Ahndoril, Regissören/The Director (2006/2008), partially adapts Ingmar Bergman’s film Nattvardsgästerna/The Communicants (1963). It is less well known that the novel also adapts a television documentary about the shoot of The Communicants made in 1962 for Swedish public television by Vilgot Sjöman. In Ahndoril’s novel, then, the transfer moves from Bergman’s film and Sjöman’s documentary to the novel, in contrast to conventional adaptation practice, which moves in the opposite direction. Furthermore, besides moving images, other media have been adapted in Ahndoril’s novel, for example, feature stories in Swedish women’s magazines on Bergman and then-wife Käbi Laretei’s domestic life. Finally, Bergman’s journals have also been adapted, not from the original source text, however, but as represented in academic publications. In sum, Ahndoril’s novel is the result of a multiple adaptation process, involving not only moving images in the form of an art-film feature and a television documentary, but also still photography, popular print media and an academic publication. As such the novel also points towards a broader cultural adaptation process.
The valley of electronics: Relations between the creation of a school and the building of a successful industrial cluster in Brazil
Authors: Costa Hélio Lemes , Torkomian Ana Lúcia Vitale
Published: September 2015

The municipality of Santa Rita do Sapucaí, located in Brazilian state of Minas Gerais, has only 37,000 inhabitants and a tradition of decades in agricultural production. In 1959, a technical school in the electronics field was founded in this city, being the first one in Latin America and the seventh in the world. The valley where the city lies began to change its character, development pattern and even its personality. In the 1970s a few small businesses were created inside school laboratories, becoming an industrial cluster in 1985, when the city mayor started a marketing campaign, naming the city as the Valley of Electronics. The changes began to attract more students, researchers and entrepreneurs from all around the country and abroad. Currently there are almost 150 companies in electronics and telecommunication fields, which employ nearly one-third of the population and produce $1.7 billion in revenue every year. This article presents a case study conducted in this cluster, presenting the analysis of relationships between firms, schools and the local and federal government and how they do business among themselves and with foreign markets; the exchange of knowledge between companies, educational and research institutes, the management and institutional support in the cluster; and how R&D is financed by private and public capital. The final section presents the considerations about the central role of education in strengthening the development and sustainability of the Valley of Electronics.
An investigation into the key determinants of university–industry links in Algeria
Authors: Boutifour Zohra , Saad Mohammed , Guermat Cherif
Published: September 2015

The role of higher education institutions (HEIs) in developing the innovative capacity of societies is well recognized. As the main producers of knowledge, they contribute directly and indirectly to economic growth. Yet, little is known on the engagement of universities in developing countries with their social and economic environment. This article adopts a quantitative approach to identify the main factors affecting the role of Algerian HEIs in promoting and cooperating with their economic and social environment.
A comparison of Adomian decomposition method and RK4 algorithm on Volterra integro differential equations of 2nd kind
Authors: M.C Kekana , M.Y Shatalov , S.P Moshokoa
Published: September 2015

In this paper, Volterra Integro differential equations are solved using the Adomian decomposition method. The solutions are obtained in form of infinite series and compared to Runge-Kutta4 algorithm. The technique is described and illustrated with examples; numerical results are also presented graphically. The software used in this study is mathematica10.
Two species of the genus Acinetospora (Ectocarpales, Phaeophyceae) from Japan: A. filamentosa comb. nov. and A. asiatica sp. nov.
Authors: Yaegashi Kousuke , Yamagishi Yukimasa , Uwai Shinya , Abe Tsuyoshi , Eria Santiañez Wilfred John , Kogame Kazuhiro
Published: September 2015

The brown algal genus Acinetospora is characterised by sparsely branched uniseriate filaments, scattered meristematic zones, short laterals (“crampons”) and scattered reproductive organs. The morphology and life history of the generitype A. crinita have been studied repeatedly, and accounts of the species’ highly varied reproductive patterns were assumed to be due to the presence of multiple taxa that were reported under this name. Herein, we attempt to contribute to the taxonomy of the genus by conducting morphological and culture studies on 33 Acinetospora samples collected from Japan. We recognised two Acinetospora species and propose to name them A. filamentosa comb. nov. and A. asiatica sp. nov. These two species are distinguished from A. crinita by the absence of monosporangia and plurilocular acinetosporangia/megasporangia. Acinetospora filamentosa and A. asiatica have similar vegetative morphologies but possess different reproductive patterns. The former forms unilocular sporangia on erect filaments and both unilocular sporangia and plurilocular zoidangia on prostrate filaments, while the latter forms plurilocular zoidangia only on both erect and prostrate filaments. Molecular analyses based on rbcL and cox1 genes supported independence of these species.