bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Effects of cynicism on empowerment in organizations
Authors: Yıldırım Fatih , Kayapalı Yıldırım Seda
Published: December 2016

Organizations are obliged to change fast, and even to be the ones that initiate change in order to survive in this ever-evolving and improving global world. Employee empowerment is considered one of the newest and main weapons against national and international threats towards an organization’s survival, and it provides improved alternative ways to reach organizational goals, accomplishing tasks, and providing better services to customers. Organizations should place an importance on this strong competitive tool and utilize the qualities of employee empowerment.Organizational cynicism can result in a decrease in positive attitudes and behaviors such as job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and organizational citizenship behavior. It can also result in an increase of negative tendencies such as intentions to quit the job, and other counterproductive behaviors. Therefore, organizational cynicism can create an obstacle for employee empowerment.This study examines the relationships between affective and behavioral sub-dimensions of organizational cynicism, and the meaning of employee empowerment and autonomy sub-dimensions in a branch of a bank. According to the results, meaningful and negative relationship was determined between affective cynicism and meaning sub-dimension, and behavioral cynicism and autonomy sub-dimension.
Detoxifying enzyme studies on cotton leafhopper, Amrasca biguttula biguttula (Ishida), resistance to neonicotinoid insecticides in field populations in Karnataka, India
Authors: Halappa Banakar , Patil Rajashekar K.
Published: December 2016

The cotton leafhopper (Amrasca biguttula biguttula Ishida) is considered to be an alarming insect pest causing both quantitative and qualitative loss in cotton. In situ bioassay studies were done and the role of detoxifying enzymes in conferring resistance to neonicotinoid groups of insecticides in low (MUD), medium (DVG), high (HVR) and very high (GLB) pesticide usage areas of Karnataka were determined. Bioassay studies showed that imidacloprid, thiamethoxam, acetamiprid, thiacloprid and clothianidin registered varying levels of resistance for all the locations studied. The resistance ratio was high in imidacloprid (3.35, 8.57, 9.15 and 12.27 fold respectively) and the lowest in dinoferuran (1.86, 5.13, 6.71 and 9.88 fold respectively). Furthermore, the enzyme activity ratio (glutathione-S-transferase) was relatively greater, and corresponded to the higher LC50values of neonicotinoids for very high, high, medium and low pesticide usage areas. Our study suggested that the higher activity of the detoxifying enzyme in the resistance population of cotton leafhopper apparently has a significant role in endowing resistance to neonicotinoid groups of insecticides. However, this study recommends using neonicotinoids in cotton growing areas with caution.
Characterization of the phenylalanine ammonia lyase gene from the rubber tree (Hevea brasiliensis Müll. Arg.) and differential response during Rigidoporus microporus infection
Authors: Sangsil Porntip , Nualsri Charassri , Woraathasin Natthakorn , Nakkanong Korakot
Published: December 2016

Phenylalanine ammonia lyase (PAL) is a specific branch point enzyme of primary and secondary metabolism. It plays a key role in plant development and defense mechanisms. Phenylalanine ammonia lyase from Hevea brasiliensis (HbPAL) presented a complete open reading frame (ORF) of 2,145 bp with 721 encoded amino acids. The sequence alignment indicated that the amino acid sequence of HbPAL shared a high identity with PAL genes found in other plants. Phylogenetic tree analysis indicated that HbPAL was more closely related to PALs in Manihot esculenta and Jatropha curcas than to those from other plants. Transcription pattern analysis indicated that HbPAL was constitutively expressed in all tissues examined, most highly in young leaves. The HbPAL gene was evaluated by quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) after infection with Rigidoporus microporus at 0, 12, 24, 48, 72 and 96 hours post inoculation. The expression patterns of the PAL gene differed among the three rubber clones used in the study. The transcription level of the white root rot disease tolerant clone, PB5/51 increased sharply during the latter stages of infection, while it was relatively subdued in the white root rot disease susceptible clones, RRIM600 and BPM24. These results suggest that the HbPAL gene may play a role in the molecular defense response of H. brasiliensis to pathogen attack and could be used as a selection criterion for disease tolerance.
Multiple resistance to acetolactate synthase (ALS)- and acetyl-coenzyme A carboxylase (ACCase)-inhibiting herbicides in black-grass (Alopecurus myosuroides Huds.) populations from Poland
Authors: Adamczewski Kazimierz , Kierzek Roman , Matysiak Kinga
Published: December 2016

Alopecurus myosuroides seeds were sampled from 32 winter wheat fields from 2010 to 2014. Resistance to herbicides was detected in 17 A. myosuroides populations. In addition to single resistance to herbicides, cross-resistance and multiple resistance to acetolactate synthase (ALS)- and acetyl-coenzyme A carboxylase (ACCase)-inhibiting herbicides were found. Application of sulfometuron and imazapyr was unable to control some of the resistant biotypes in this study. This result implies that resistance in these populations is due to a target site mechanism. The A. myosuroides biotypes resistant to ACCase-inhibiting herbicides varied in their responses to derivatives of aryloxy-phenoxy-propionic acid (FOPs), cyclohexanediones (DIMs) and phenylpyrazolines (DENs). Resistant biotypes of A. myosuroides that could not be controlled with fenoxaprop-P-ethyl (FOP) and pinoxaden (DEN) were controlled with clethodim (DIM).
Occurrence and distribution of nematodes in rice fields in Guilan province, Iran and the first record of Mylonchulus polonicus (Stefanski, 1915) Cobb, 1917 (Nematoda: Mononchina)
Authors: Shahabi Soheila , Kheiri Ahmad , Rakhshandehroo Farshad , Jamali Salar
Published: December 2016

The distribution of nematodes was studied in rice fields in Guilan province, Iran, from 2014 to 2016. Nematode biodiversity of 250 soil and root samples was examined. Thirty nematode species were identified morphologically, including plant parasites, microbivores and mycetophagous and predator species. Molecular techniques were also used for further identification of three plant parasitic species. Indicators of population were also estimated. Spiral nematodes (Helicotylenchus crenacauda Sher, 1966 and H. digitiformis Ivanova, 1967) and stunt nematode (Tylenchorhynchus agri) were the predominant parasitic species identified. Among other species, three mononchid species were identified namely Mononchus aquaticus, Mylonchulus sigmaturus and M. polonicus. The species M. polonicus was found and reported in Iran for the first time. The two plant parasitic species T. agri and Xiphinema index were reported in association with rice in Iran for the first time. To evaluate the distribution and incidence of Aphelenchoides besseyi (rice white-tip nematode) in different regions of Guilan province, a total of 255 fresh seed samples were collected/inspected, of which, about 40% of them were infested with A. besseyi. Of the 16 studied counties, the highest percentage of infected seeds came from fields around the city of Astara (69.2%) and the second highest infection was observed near the city of Anzali (60%).
Microstructural, modal and geochemical changes as a result of granodiorite mylonitisation – a case study from the Rolovská shear zone (Čierna hora Mts, Western Carpathians, Slovakia)
Authors: Farkašovský Roman , Bónová Katarína , Košuth Marián
Published: December 2016

Strong tectonic remobilisation and shear zone development are typical features of the easternmost part of the Veporicum tectonic unit in the Western Carpathians. The granodiorite mylonites in the area of the Rolovská shear zone (Čierna hora Mts) underwent a complex polystage evolution during the Hercynian and Alpine orogenies. Deformation during the latter reached greenschist facies under metamorphic conditions. Mylonites are macroscopically foliated rocks with a stretching lineation and shear bands. Structurally different mylonite types, ranging from protomylonites to ulramylonites with typical grainsize reduction from the margins towards the shear zone centre, have been assessed. The modal mineralogy of the different mylonite types changes considerably. Typical is a progressive decrease in feldspar content and simultaneously the quartz and white mica content increases from protomylonites towards the most strongly deformed ultramylonites. The deformation had a brittle character in less deformed rocks and a ductile one in more deformed tectonites. Obvious chemical changes occur in mesomylonites and ultramylonites. During mylonitisation, the original biotite granodiorite was depleted of Mg, Fe, Na, Ca and Ba, while K, Rb and mainly Si increased considerably. Other (major and trace) elements reflect erratic behaviour due to lateral mobility. Chemical changes indicate the breakdown and subsequent recrystallisation of biotite and feldspars and, in turn, the crystallisation of albite and sericite. REE decrease in ultramylonites due to the breakup of accessory minerals during deformation and alteration.
Soft-sediment deformation structures in cores from lacustrine slurry deposits of the Late Triassic Yanchang Fm. (central China)
Authors: Yang Renchao , Loon A.J. (Tom) van , Yin Wei , Fan Aiping , Han Zuozhen
Published: December 2016

The fine-grained autochthonous sedimentation in the deep part of a Late Triassic lake was frequently interrupted by gravity-induced mass flows. Some of these mass flows were so rich in water that they must have represented slurries. This can be deduced from the soft-sediment deformation structures that abound in cores from these lacustrine deposits which constitute the Yanchang Fm., which is present in the Ordos Basin (central China).

The flows and the resulting SSDS were probably triggered by earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, shear stress of gravity flows, and/or the sudden release of overburden-induced excess pore-fluid pressure. The tectonically active setting, the depositional slope and the high sedimentation rate facilitated the development of soft-sediment deformations, which consist mainly of load casts and associated structures such as pseudonodules and flame structures. Sediments with such deformations were occasionally eroded by slurries and became embedded in their deposits.
Dating the Morasko meteorite fall by natural thermoluminescence of the fusion crust
Authors: Fedorowicz Stanisław , Stankowski Wojciech T. J.
Published: December 2016

The date of fall of the Morasko iron meteorite was determined by means of thermoluminescence measurements of the fusion crust and related local materials. Three small pieces, commonly referred to as ‘shrapnel’, were used. The results obtained are 4.5-5.0 ka, which is in good agreement with previous estimates of 4-6 ka on the basis of radiometric, do-simetric and palynological methods.
Evidence for naturalization of the American mink (Neovison vison) in Friuli Venezia Giulia, NE Italy
Authors: Iordan Francesca , Lapini Luca , Pavanello Marco , Polednik Lukas , Rieppi Cristina
Published: December 2016

The American mink (
Body temperature and microhabitat use in the hibernating Japanese dormouse (Glirulus japonicus)
Authors: Iwabuchi Manami , Minato Shusaku , Aiba Haruka , Morita Tetsuo
Published: December 2016

This study investigated the little known winter ecology of Japanese dormice by monitoring body temperature patterns and winter activity in captive and free-living animals. Before onset of hibernation, animals exhibited a transitional phase characterized by frequent bouts of daily torpor. During hibernation itself, dormice aroused periodically from torpor but never foraged during arousals. Torpor bout duration tended to be shorter around the beginning and end of the hibernation period than during the intervening mid-hibernation period. In a further radio-tracking study of two free-living dormice, both were observed to construct a shallow underground hibernaculum at a depth of 1–5 cm and to enter hibernation alone. One individual left the nest after it was disturbed, while the other dormouse stayed in its nest and continued hibernating normally, exhibiting periodic arousal but never feeding or moving from the hibernaculum. These first detailed observations of hibernation in Japanese dormice are in good accordance with previous studies of European dormouse species.
Growth Effects of Cross-border Mergers and Acquisitions in European Transition Countries
Authors: Zvezdanović Lobanova Jelena , Kračun Davorin , Kavkler Alenka
Published: December 2016

This paper deals with the economic effect of cross-border mergers and acquisitions on GDP per capita in European transition countries for the 2000- 2014 period. Our analysis shows that cross-border mergers and acquisitions have a negative effect on GDP per capita in the current period, whereas their lagged level positively impacts output performance. We found that transition countries characterized by a higher quality of institutional setting have achieved a positive impact on GDP per capita.
An Analysis of Interaction Effects of China–South Korea and China– Australia FTAs and the Expanding TPP
Authors: Yuhong Sun , Yifei Mu , Yang Jun
Published: December 2016

On 5 October 2015, the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP) led by the U.S. was signed. Already, 12 countries1 have joined the agreement, but China has not. Thus, lots of research has focused on the negative effect of the TPP on China’s foreign trade. On the other hand, China is moving forward in its own efforts to establish bilateral free trade agreements (FTAs) and free trade zones. In June 2015, China-South Korea and China-Australia signed bilateral FTAs which went into effect in December 2015. Several questions were raised: Since South Korea and Australia are the major trade partners in the Pacific area and the bilateral FTAs will be effective before the TPP, will these FTAs’ positive effects on China’s foreign trade offset some of the negative effects of the TPP? If China and the U.S. adopted a competitive trade policy, which countries would benefit? If China and the U.S. adopted a cooperative trade policy, how would the trade value and economic welfare change? This paper simulates and analyses the mutual effects of China-South Korea and China-Australia FTAs and the enlarging TPP using the computable general equilibrium model. The major conclusions drawn suggest that China-South Korea and China-Australia FTAs will significantly offset the TPP’s negative effect on China’s foreign trade. If China is not included, the U.S. economic benefit from the TPP will be limited. The economic welfare for a country like Australia, which joined both the bilateral FTA and the TPP, will be increased the most. In the long run, China joining the TPP would be the most beneficial decision for its national interest. However, if the TPP cannot be approved by the US congress, the U.S.’s economic indicators and export would be decreasing sharply. China’s economy and export will benefit from FTAs.
The Panel VAR Approach to Modelling the Housing Wealth Effect: Evidence from selected European post-transition economies
Authors: Čeh Časni Anita , Dumičić Ksenija , Tica Josip
Published: December 2016

Following Friedman’s permanent income hypothesis and Ando and Modigliani’s lifecycle hypothesis, this paper empirically studies the role of house prices and income in determining the dynamic behaviour of consumption in selected European post-transition economies using the panel vector autoregression (PVAR) approach and quarterly data covering the period from the first quarter of 2002 until the second quarter of 2012. With the shocks being recognized using the customary recursive identification scheme, we found that the response of personal consumption to the housing wealth shock is initially positive, but short lived.
Challenges in Estimating Population Impacts of Alcohol's Harm to others
Authors: Rossow Ingeborg , Ramstedt Mats
Published: December 2016

Background

There is a renewed interest in alcohol's harm to others (AHTO), and survey studies in the general population are often used to estimate the extent of harm, to address the severity and variety of harms, and to identify the victims of such harm. While cross-sectional survey studies are attractive in several respects, they also entail several methodological challenges.

Aim

We discuss some of these issues, paying particular attention to the problems of causal attribution, transferability, survey data collection and range of harms.

Conclusions

We offer some suggestions for study design to enhance causal inferences from studies examining alcohol's harm to others.
How does Older People's Drinking Appear in the Daily Work of Home Care Professionals?
Authors: Koivula Riitta , Tigerstedt Christoffer , Vilkko Anni , Kuussaari Kristiina , Pajala Satu
Published: December 2016

Aims

In this article the authors ask how the alcohol use of elderly home care clients affects the daily work of home care professionals and how the professionals act to support the drinking client.

Methods

Semi-structured interviews with 10 home care professionals were conducted from December 2014 to February 2015 in the Helsinki metropolitan area of Finland. Everyday situations during home visits related to the clients' alcohol use were analysed according to modalities of agency of the home care professionals.

Results

The results focus on three themes raised in the interviews: supporting life management of the client, the lack of qualifications in tackling clients' drinking and the need for multi-professional collaboration. Intoxicated clients complicated the home care nurses' work and obstructed the implementation of recommendations set out to guide the professionals' operations. Care work with alcohol-using clients was particularly demanding, and the professionals were concerned about not having enough training in how to encounter elderly clients' drinking. Multi-professional collaboration with substance abuse services and emergency department personnel was called for to remedy this problem.

Conclusions

More extensive and detailed research is needed for a better picture of how clients' drinking influences home care nurses' working conditions and what kind of skills nurses need in different alcohol-related situations. Such research would have the potential to benefit clients and improve the well-being of the employees.
Multiple Religious Belonging after Religion: Theorising Strategic Religious Participation in a Shared Religious Landscape as a Chinese Model
Authors: Hedges Paul
Published: December 2016

It is argued that the concept of Multiple Religious Belonging as normally conceived relies upon a problematic construction of “religion” which can be expressed as the World Religions Paradigm. This relies upon a modern Western Protestant bias as to how “religion” should be understood. It is argued that religion can be understood otherwise, and looking at the Chinese context an argument is made that participation in different religious traditions relies upon a very different construct from Multiple Religious Belonging via the World Religions Paradigm model. This is termed Strategic Religious Participation in a Shared Religious Landscape. It considers the way that Chinese religiosity does not have fixed borders in the same way as the World Religions Paradigm suggests. Indeed, asking whether there is Multiple Religious Belonging in traditional Chinese thought seems to misconstrue the situation. A final reflection asks whether this new paradigm, of Strategic Religious Participation in a Shared Religious Landscape, may be appropriate to look at the contemporary Western context amongst a number of religious “nones”. Although no definitive answer is given to this question, the issue highlights that the World Religions Paradigm which shapes our sense of Multiple Religious Belonging may need to be rethought within different contexts.
Topics of Controversy: An Empirical Analysis of Web Censorship Lists
Authors: Weinberg Zachary , Sharif Mahmood , Szurdi Janos , Christin Nicolas
Published: December 2016

Studies of Internet censorship rely on an experimental technique called probing. From a client within each country under investigation, the experimenter attempts to access network resources that are suspected to be censored, and records what happens. The set of resources to be probed is a crucial, but often neglected, element of the experimental design.

We analyze the content and longevity of 758,191 webpages drawn from 22 different probe lists, of which 15 are alleged to be actual blacklists of censored webpages in particular countries, three were compiled using a priori criteria for selecting pages with an elevated chance of being censored, and four are controls. We find that the lists have very little overlap in terms of specific pages. Mechanically assigning a topic to each page, however, reveals common themes, and suggests that handcurated probe lists may be neglecting certain frequently censored topics. We also find that pages on controversial topics tend to have much shorter lifetimes than pages on uncontroversial topics. Hence, probe lists need to be continuously updated to be useful.

To carry out this analysis, we have developed automated infrastructure for collecting snapshots of webpages, weeding out irrelevant material (e.g. site “boilerplate” and parked domains), translating text, assigning topics, and detecting topic changes. The system scales to hundreds of thousands of pages collected.
PHI: Path-Hidden Lightweight Anonymity Protocol at Network Layer
Authors: Chen Chen , Perrig Adrian
Published: December 2016

We identify two vulnerabilities for existing highspeed network-layer anonymity protocols, such as LAP and Dovetail. First, the header formats of LAP and Dovetail leak path information, reducing the anonymity-set size when an adversary launches topological attacks. Second, ASes can launch session hijacking attacks to deanonymize destinations. HORNET addresses these problems but incurs additional bandwidth overhead and latency.

In this paper, we propose PHI, a Path-HIdden lightweight anonymity protocol that solves both challenges while maintaining the same level of efficiency as LAP and Dovetail. We present an efficient packet header format that hides path information and a new back-off setup method that is compatible with current and future network architectures. Our experiments demonstrate that PHI expands anonymity sets of LAP and Dovetail by over 30x and reaches 120 Gbps forwarding speed on a commodity software router.
Are you The One to Share? Secret Transfer with Access Structure
Authors: Zhao Yongjun , Chow Sherman S.M.
Published: December 2016

Sharing information to others is common nowadays, but the question is with whom to share. To address this problem, we propose the notion of secret transfer with access structure (STAS). STAS is a twoparty computation protocol that enables the server to transfer a secret to a client who satisfies the prescribed access structure. In this paper, we focus on threshold secret transfer (TST), which is STAS for threshold policy and can be made more expressive by using linear secret sharing. TST enables a number of applications including a simple construction of oblivious transfer (OT) with threshold access control, and (a variant of) threshold private set intersection (t-PSI), which are the first of their kinds in the literature to the best of our knowledge. The underlying primitive of STAS is a variant of OT, which we call OT for a sparse array. We provide two constructions which are inspired by state-of-the-art PSI techniques including oblivious polynomial evaluation (OPE) and garbled Bloom filter (GBF). The OPEbased construction is secure in the malicious model, while the GBF-based one is more efficient. We implemented the latter one and showed its performance in applications such as privacy-preserving matchmaking.
Toward a Greenish Nuclear Fuel Cycle: Ionic Liquids as Solvents for Spent Nuclear Fuel Reprocessing and Other Decontamination Processes for Contaminated Metal Waste
Authors: Straka Martin
Published: December 2016

The final disposition of spent nuclear fuel (SNF) is an area that requires innovative solutions. The use of ionic liquids (ILs) has been examined as one means to remediate SNF in a variety of different chemical environments and with different chemical starting materials. The effectiveness of various ILs for SNF reprocessing, as well as the reaction chemistry that occurs in them, is discussed.
New Urban Economic Agents: A Comparative Analysis of High-Performance New Entrepreneurs
Authors: Kourtit Karima , Nijkamp Peter , Suzuki Soushi
Published: December 2016

Migrants are often the carriers of new skills and original abilities. This study focuses on the importance of ‘new urban entrepreneurship’ - in particular, ethnic or migrant business firms - as a major driver of creative and urban dynamics and economic vitality in urban agglomerations. The paper offers a general account of both backgrounds and socio-economic implications of migrant entrepreneurship in large agglomerations and highlights the socio-economic heterogeneity in motivation and performance among different groups of migrant entrepreneurs. This demographic- cultural diversity prompts intriguing questions about differences in business performance among distinct groups of migrant entrepreneurs, even in the same ethnic group. In the paper, a recently developed and amended version of data envelopment analysis (DEA), viz. super-efficiency, is presented and applied to a group of Moroccan entrepreneurs in four large cities in the Netherlands. The main research aim is (i) to identify the best-performing firms (so-called ‘entrepreneurial heroes’) from a broad management and business perspective, while (ii) the background of our findings are more thoroughly analysed. The paper ends with some general concluding remarks on urban business strategies.
Urban / Rural Hybrids: The Urbanisation of Former Suburbs (Urfsurbs)
Authors: Kühne Olaf
Published: December 2016

In pace with changing social developments, cities undergo regular processes of transformation. Thus, following a temporary preference for suburban living, the inner city has for some years now been enjoying a residential renaissance. A further, as yet little noticed, trend is the urbanisation of former suburbs. Encompassing urbanisation and gentrification processes found in the inner-ring suburbs, this entails a breaking of established dichotomies and the development of hybrid phenomena that can be encapsulated in the acronym URFSURBS: ‘urbanisation of former suburbs’. Focusing on examples from Southern California and Greater Paris, this article places these developments in context and outlines their implications for future research.
Chief Development Tendencies, Structural Changes and Innovativeness of the Industrial and Service Sectors in Poland
Authors: Dominiak Joanna , Rachwał Tomasz
Published: December 2016

The goal of this article is to determine regularities concerning structural changes in the industrial and service sectors in Poland in the light of trends observable in the development of the world and national economies. The analysis embraces Poland in the years of the socio-economic transformation, but because of access to comparable data it focuses mainly on the years 2000-2014. Use is made of measures commonly applied in economic geography (employment, gross value added) and indicators based on them (mainly the structure and dynamics of change). First, the change in the role of the industrial and service sectors in the Polish economy as compared with other EU states is analysed in the light of the theoretical conceptions presented in the literature. Examined next are changes in the internal structure of the sectors and in the level of their innovativeness. The research showed there to be only slight changes in the role of the two sectors over the study period. Changes in the structure of the industrial sector tend towards its modernisation, which can signal steps taken for re-industrialisation.
Problems of the Creation of Territorial Complexes on the World Diamond Market
Authors: Pototskaya Tatyana Ivanovna
Published: December 2016

The main focus of the paper is on one of the most significant issues of economic geography nowadays, namely ways of an efficient distribution of facilities on the basis of inter-industry complexity (on the example of the diamond industry). The description of the formation of the complex branch of the diamond industry is carried out in several stages: determining the cause of inter-sectoral cooperation in the diamond industry; investigating territorial features of the complex that belongs to ABA, the most important of which is the difficulty of forming the WPK national (country) level; defining a cluster as the main form of territorial complexity characteristic of ABK (its types and causes of formation, characteristics of each cluster); and drawing conclusions about the appropriate degree of territorial concentration of various activities under the ABA type of market for which they are characterised. Special attention is paid to the identification and examination of territorial complexity types in the diamond complex in Russia.
Berlin As a Creative Field: Deconstructing the Role of the Urban Context in Creative Production
Authors: Copercini Marco
Published: December 2016

The relation between creative activities and the cities in which they are concentrated is that of mutual influence and dependence. This kind of dynamics is well described by the concept of the creative field by Scott (2006, 2008, 2010, 2014). According to this concept, there is a shared relational context among creative actors in a given place, as well as between them and the local socio-economic-institutional context. Consequently, the economic profile and innovation capacity of a city are determined by the main sectors based there. In this paper, I discuss the role of the creative field in developing the relation between the city of Berlin and creative actors of the fashion design sector, as well as elements of the creative field that are considered relevant by fashion designers in their creative work. This perspective allows the underscoring of some relevant drivers that have made Berlin one of the most relevant places for fashion design in Germany and the whole of Europe. This research has been supported by administrative data from the period 1990-2015, along with personal interviews in the fashion design sector. Shown are not only the existing relations between the urban context and the creative activities of designers, but also how the development of the creative field of the city might be influenced. Consequently, the creative work of fashion designers and their location decisions have to be considered in relation to the creative field as a dynamic combination of variable elements that influence, and are influenced by, each other.
Personal Networks on the Labour Market: Who Finds a Job in the Creative Sector in Poznań?
Authors: Męczyński Michał
Published: December 2016

The spread of urban policies based on a set of standardised ‘creative city’ strategies has been criticised on a number of counts. In Scott’s (2006: 11) view, focusing just on “creating a high-quality urban environment, rich in cultural amenities and conducive to diversity in local social life” is too limited. He points out that the relationship between the presence of creative people and the development of a city is far more complex. The research undertaken as part of the European ACRE project (Accommodating Creative Knowledge: Competitiveness of Metropolitan Regions within the Enlarged Union) has revealed that access to a diversity of creative-labour-market opportunities is vital to both attract and retain talent in the longer term. Accessible and inclusive networks of creative workers are also vital, but their importance is often overlooked. The functionality of such networks has a huge impact on the possibility of finding a new job, and can be particularly important for lowering entry barriers for newcomers in creative occupations. Here, these issues are explored on the basis of a research conducted among managers of creative firms and international creative-class migrants in Poznań (Poland). This city has recently experienced major economic restructuring and a shift from the manufacturing industry towards a more creative and knowledge-based one.
The Border as a Resource for the Development of Borderland: A Comparative Analysis of Two Polish Urban Centres at the External Border of the European Union
Authors: Studzińska Dominika , Domaniewski Stanisław
Published: December 2016

The entry into force of the Agreement between the Republic of Poland and the Russian Federation on visa- free movement in 2012 caused an increase in border permeability, and hence a sudden increase in border crossings. The border which used to divide the neighbouring states started linking them instead. Crossing the border became part of the everyday life of local communities. Actors on both sides benefited from the commercial services of the other country. For Kaliningrad citizens, border-crossing points became gates to Europe, and for Poles, a resource improving the quality of life via petty trade. The aim of this article is to compare two border cities: Braniewo, a town located in the immediate vicinity of the border-crossing point, and Tri-City, which has become a new border centre after the introduction of small border traffic. Two viewpoints on the effect of local border traffic are presented. The first is the perspective of a typical border city. The other is that of the effect of an increase in border permeability on a major urban centre - Tri-City.
A giant solid cystic inferior fourth ventricle subependymoma – Case report and literature review
Authors: Giovani A. , Bucur Narcisa , Gheorghiu Ana , Papadopol Lena , Gorgan R.M.
Published: December 2016

Subependymomas are a rare subtype of ependymomas, slow growing WHO grade I tumors that develop either intracranial from the subependymal glial precursor cells layer of the ventricles or intramedullary. These tumors originate in the undifferentiated Subependymal layer of cells that can become either ependymocytes or astrocytes. Most of the subependymomas are located inside the fourth ventricle (50-60%). We reviewed the case of a 40 years old woman with a giant solid cystic fourth ventricle ependymoma. The patient underwent total resection of the tumor through a subociipital transvermian approach. We discussed the characteristics of these benign tumors and reviewed the literature on this subject and concluded that total resection is the treatment of choice for symptomatic Subependymomas localized in posterior fossa.
Spontaneous regression of a lumbar disc herniation: case report
Authors: Mostarchid Brahim El , Mandour Cherkaoui , Abdelilah El Azami El Hassani
Published: December 2016

Lumbar disc herniation is a common disease that induces back pain and radicular pain. Some cases require conservative treatment or at times relived spontaneously. Spontaneous regression of disc herniation is an atypical clinical presentation, and it has been recognized with the advancement of recent advances in imaging techniques. We present a 35-year-old woman presented a spontaneous regression of a lumbar disc herniation with good outcome after intensive physical therapy program. Spontaneous regression of disc herniation is thought to occur via an inflammatory reaction with molecular mechanisms of phagocytic processes.
Neuropsychiatric presentations of pediatrics brain tumors: cases series
Authors: Khairkar Praveen , Kakani Anand , Agrawal Amit
Published: December 2016

Brain tumors constitute the second most common tumors in the pediatric age group after the leukemias. Symptoms and signs depend on growth rate of tumor, its location in the central nervous system, the extent of peri-tumoral vasogenic edema and the age of the child. Most common neuropsychiatric problems reported in children with brain tumor(s) include adjustment problems, anxiety disorder, neurocognitive deficits and depressive disorder as reported by very few case reports and isolated observational data. To the best of our knowledge no similar data or reports are as yet published from India on the similar lines. We wish to report case series of neuropsychiatric presentations in different types of brain tumors observed at our rural tertiary care multi-speciality hospital.
Intrasphenoidal Rathke’s Cleft Cyst: Case presentation and review of the literature
Authors: Kocaman Umit , Yilmaz Muhammet Bahadir , Yilmaz Hakan
Published: December 2016

Rathke’s cleft cyst is a benign lesion of embryological origin with sellarsuprasellar localization. It is found in 12-33% of normal pituitary glands in autopsy series. Although it is mostly asymptomatic, it can cause symptoms by compressing surrounding neural and pituitary tissues. The most common symptoms are endocrine problems, visual problems and headache. Uncommonly, the lesion can present with apoplexy. It is rarely reported outside sellar-suprasellar sites, such as the cerebellopontine angle, prepontine cistern, and intrasphenoidal locations. We present an intrasphenoidal Rathke’s cleft cyst found during investigation of a headache and operated on. We discussed the case with literature review and two similar reported cases.
Mapping of the North-Eastern Part of Kozłowicka Buried Valley Based on Geoelectrical Data
Authors: Topolewska Sylwia , Stępień Marcin , Kowalczyk Sebastian
Published: December 2016

The paper is aiming to determinate the extent of the north eastern arm of Kozłowicka buried valley on the grounds of own re search by means of electrical resistivity tomography- ERT and avail able archival researches. On the Hydro-geological map of Poland, Żyrardów sheet (Felter and Nowicki, 1998a, b) Kozłowicka buried valley was differentiated as an individual hydro-geological unit. The results of the anal y sis show that the ex tent of the structure, defined by its up per boundary, differs significantly from the one suggested on the sheet of Hydrogeological map of Poland. Since there was no data avail able in the north eastern part of the dis cussed arm of Kozłowicka buried valley, the northern boundary was defined only based on avail able geoelectrical sounding profiles (Czerwiñska, 1988; Topolewska, 2015). In order to confirm suggested solution, geoelectrical re search by means of electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) was con ducted. The measurements were per formed along 3 pro files located in the area of interest. The authors would like to point out the need of the us age of ERT in map ping and studying buried structures that might be ground water reservoirs. As a result, one obtains quasi-continuous image of electrical resistivity of the subsurface. Due to the contrast of electrical properties of sediments, it is possible to determine upper and bottom surfaces of buried structures, formed within glacial deposits.
The Influence of Natural Climatic Factors on the Geomechanical Properties of Siliceous Lime Stones from Kazimierz Dolny (Poland)
Authors: Pinińska Joanna , Bobrowska Alicja , Łukasiak Dominik
Published: December 2016

Based on the example opoka, stone architecture of Kazimierz Dolny, modern research methods were applied to an anal y sis of geomechanical qualities of this special rock, selected very efficiently by medieval, local builders. Owing to theirs skill and the qualities of the chosen material, fortifications, religious and residential buildings have been preserved in good condition to the present day. It was analysed what factors of the opoka aging are the most responsible for their destruction resistance in the long time scale. The results of studies indicate that opokas have an in creased ability to reduce the uni axial compression strength due to the impact of cycling freezing and thermal shock. This observation shows that opokas are characterized by a high resistance to humidity.
Variability of Cation-Exchange Capacity (CEC) of Fen Peats in Vertical Profiles from Eastern and Central Poland in Relation to Function of Peatlands as Natural Geological Barriers
Authors: Rydelek Paweł , Bąkowska Anna , Zawrzykraj Piotr
Published: December 2016

An analysis of cation-exchange capacity(CEC) variability of peats is presented in vertical pro files from eastern and central Po land. CEC values were com pared with ash con tent (Ac), pH and CaCO3 content. Eight peatlands were selected for re search in the fol lowingareas: War saw Plateau (2 objects), Siedlce Plateau (2 objects), Lubartów Plateau (2 objects), Nałęczów Table land (1 object) and Dobrohusk Depression (1 object). The peatlands represented a fen peat type of similar botanic compositions of sediments, but they differed in the area, peat thickness and drain age conditions. Characteristic regular i ties in CEC variability were noted in the peatlands and there were three types of CEC variability in vertical pro files. Carbonate peats (types 1 and 2) had the high est pH and definitely the high est values of CEC. In vertical pro files, there was also a zonation, but the regularities similar to non-carbonate peats were not observed. Different distribution of phys i cal and chem i cal parameters were establishedin vertical pro files in partly drained peatlands (with a muck layer on top) with non-carbonate peats (type 3) and there were three distinct zones in vertical pro files, with different Ac and CEC. Determination of the vertical CEC variability and other phys i cal and chem i cal parameters in peatlands made it possible to distinguish zones with potentially most beneficial isolation conditions.
Of soundscapes, talkathons and shopaholics: On the status of a new type of formative in English (and beyond)
Authors: Callies Marcus
Published: December 2016

This paper investigates a new type of formative in English that frequently gives rise to a productive word-formation process. Three questions that have been discussed controversially in previous research will be addressed: What is the origin of these formatives? What type of morpheme do they represent? What type of word-formation process are they involved in? The paper argues that the secretion, productive use and subsequent lexicalization of these formatives is a recent development in English word-formation that presents challenges to morphological theory and grammaticalization. In addition, data from other languages suggest that processes of language contact are related to the emergence of this new formative in languages other than English.
Unorderly ordinals. On suppletion and related issues of ordinals in Europe and Mesoamerica
Authors: Stolz Thomas , Robbers Maja
Published: December 2016

This paper compares the role played by suppletion and a selection of other morphological form-function mismatches in the paradigms of ordinal numerals in the languages of Europe and Mesoamerica. The focus is on identifying the similarities and dissimilarities of those properties which are typical of the two (macro-)regions. The paradigmatic relations of ordinals are looked at in horizontal and vertical perspective. It is argued that suppletivefirstis a cross-linguistically autonomous phenomenon whereas suppletivesecondmarks an areal preference of a sizable group of languages in Europe. In addition to proper suppletion of stems, there are also combinations of suppletion and derivation. Furthermore, it is shown that in the absence of stem suppletion, certain ordinals of a paradigm may reflect construction types which differ from that of the bulk of the other members of the same paradigm and thus contribute to the heterogeneity of the paradigm.
Reliability and Risk Acceptance Criteria for Civil Engineering Structures
Authors: Diamantidis Dimitris , Holický Milan , Sýkora Miroslav
Published: December 2016

The specification of risk and reliability acceptance criteria is a key issue of reliability verifications of new and existing structures. Current target reliability levels in standards appear to have considerable scatter. Critical review of risk acceptance approaches to societal, economic and environmental risk indicates that an optimal design strategy is mostly dominated by economic aspects while human safety aspects need to be verified only in special cases. It is recommended to specify the target levels considering economic optimisation and the marginal life-saving costs principle, as both these approaches take into account the failure consequences and costs of safety measures.
Decisive Factors of Contemporary Urban Economy
Authors: Endel Stanislav , Wernerová Eva , Kuda František
Published: December 2016

Urban economy is a field which is currently not too reflected among the professional public. However, it is a significant criterion for the planning of future urban development. The representatives of each domicile should be interested in what resources are invested into the development and operation of their municipality. Suitably applied tools and regulations can control urban development and the overall financial operation of a town, and make operations more efficient. This article tries to point out the main factors which presently substantially negatively impact the overall urban economy of municipalities.
Stochastic Sensitivity Analysis of Cylindrical Shell
Authors: Grzywiński Maksym
Published: December 2016

The paper deals with some chosen aspects of stochastic sensitivity structural analysis and its application in the engineering practice. The main aim of the study is to provide the generalized stochastic perturbation technique based on classical Taylor expansion with a single random variable. The study is illustrated by numerical results concerning an industrial thin shell structure modeled as a 3-D structure.
Snap-Through of the Very Shallow Shell with Initial Imperfection
Authors: Havran Jozef , Psotný Martin
Published: December 2016

Elastic shallow shell of translation subjected to the external pressure is analysed in the paper numerically by FEM. Nonlinear equilibrium paths are calculated for the different boundary conditions. Special attention is paid to the influence of initial imperfection on the limit load level of fundamental load-displacement path of nonlinear analysis. ANSYS system was used for analysis, arclength method was chosen for obtain fundamental load-displacement path of solution.
Effect of the Length of Traffic Flow Records on the Estimate of a Bridge Service Life
Authors: Krejsa Jan , Sykora Miroslav
Published: December 2016

The service life of bridges is significantly affected by fatigue of used material induced by heavy vehicles. Therefore, precise determination of the vehicle weight is of crucial importance for the calculation of fatigue damage and the prediction of the bridge serviceability. This paper investigates accuracy of the determination of fatigue depending on the length of traffic flow recording. The presented data were obtained from the measurements carried out on a bridge of the Prague Highway Ring. The analysis reveals that the optimal length of traffic recording is about 30 days.
Reliability Assessment of Quick Closing Valves in Hydroeletric Power Plant
Authors: Marková Jana , Jung Karel
Published: December 2016

The assessment of existing components of power producing facilities is based on probabilistic methods of the theory of reliability provided in Eurocodes and ISO standards. An example of quickclosing valves in a selected hydroelectric power plant indicates the assessment of reliability and the prediction of the remaining working life of a structural component for the considered model of corrosion.