bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Procesos anatécticos (LP-HT) y heterogeneidad litológica en el Complejo Migmatítico de Mindelo (NW Portugal)
Authors: Areias M. , Ribeiro M. A. , Santos J. F. , Dória A.
Published: December 2014

El Complejo Migmatítico de Mindelo aflora en la zona costera de Portugal al norte de Oporto y se compone de un conjunto de litologías migmatíticas y graníticas. Las relaciones de campo, petrografía, geoquímica y las características isotópicas de las diferentes litologías permiten inferir la secuencia de procesos anatécticos que dio lugar a su típica heterogeneidad litológica. La composición química e isotópica de la secuencia metasedimentaria del Complejo Esquisto-Grauváquico es idéntica a la de las metatexitas, lo que sugiere que sea el protolito de las litologías del Complejo de Mindelo. La fusión se ha producido en varios niveles estructurales y por lo tanto en diferentes condiciones de presión y temperatura, dando lugar a rocas con características específicas: i) en niveles relativamente superficiales ( < 3,5 kbar), las metatexitas se forman principalmente por fusión parcial húmeda seguida de fusión incongruente de biotita produciendo cordierita peritéctica, cuarzo, plagioclasa y cantidades menores de feldespato potásico. Los leucogranitos y venas de leucogranito son consecuencia de la migración de leucosomas. En niveles ligeramente más profundas la tasa de fusión es superior, lo que conduce a la formación de diatexitas y de granitos de dos micas que intruyen a las metatexitas. Este material se eleva en la corteza e incorpora abundantes xenolitas formando un cuerpo granítico muy heterogéneo. La turmalinización de leucogranitos, granitos de dos micas, migmatitas y metasedimentos tuvo lugar en condiciones subsolidus, asociada a aplitas/pegmatitas que cortan al resto de litologías. Una última entrada de fluidos acuosos condujo a la moscovitización de metatexitas, granitoides y metasedimentos. La migmatización comenzó después de la fase de engrosamiento cortical de la Orogenia Varisca y estuvo activa durante la siguiente etapa de deformación y cizalla. Los pulsos de diferentes fluidos que afectaron el Complejo Migmatítico de Mindelo probablemente están relacionados con el emplazamiento de los cuerpos graníticos sin y tardi -D3.
El Complejo Migmatítico de Mindelo representa un ejemplo de migmatitas formadas en condiciones de baja presión e ilustra algunas de las reacciones que implican la fusión de rocas pelíticas en alto grado y sus alteraciones minerales posteriores debido a la infiltración de diferentes tipos de fluidos.
Collaborative Network Learning in Manufacturing
Authors: Quik Wee Hock , Wright Nevan J. , Rashid Ammar , Herjanto Halimin
Published: December 2014

This study aims to investigate the antecedents of collaborative networked learning (CNL), to develop an integrative CNL framework and to bridge the gap between theory and praxis in manufacturing. It provides a holistic perspective of CNL within the complexity of the manufacturing environment, including empirical investigation using survey questionnaires. The findings and discussions draw upon socio-technical systems (STS) theory, and present the theoretical context and interpretations through the lens of manufacturing employees.

Results of the study show the existence of significant positive influences of organizational support, promotive interactions, positive interdependence, internal-external learning, perceived effectiveness and perceived usefulness of CNL among manufacturing employees. The study offers a basis for empirical validity for measuring CNL in organizational learning, knowledge and information sharing in manufacturing.
Mistakes as Shadow Capital in Human Ventures
Authors: Koumpis Adamantios
Published: December 2014

In the paper we present different approaches related to the conceptualisation of mistakes from the literature and situate them with a given methodological framework by Bourdieu. We also draw analogies with the notion of shadow capital and the relevance of applying reflexive learning as a practical means to deal with mistakes in the corporate environment.
Brand Trust in Offline and Online Environments
Authors: Bowen Gordon , Bowen Richard
Published: December 2014

Social media operates in the online environment, and the challenge is to enhance the end-user experience. The chapter asserts that the consumer experience and behaviour in the online (e.g. e-commerce) and offline environments have some commonality with social media. Building a successful brand online is a prerequisite for success, but fundamental to trusting brand beliefs is the ability to create trust and by extension commitment. The trust-commitment relationship is fundamental to brand building and to influence end-user intentional behaviour. This relationship is enhanced by physical means (website design [aesthetics], website functionality [privacy and security]); although these are important factors alone, they do not guarantee a pleasant online experience. Online firms like social media need to create social interaction on the website to communicate affective involvement. Online effectiveness leads to positive behavioural intention and continual repeat usage via attitudinal formation.
What Social Media Marketing Content Is Best to Engage Consumers?
Authors: Dhaoui Chedia
Published: December 2014

The aim of this chapter is to investigate and empirically validate the factors contributing to consumer engagement on social media, particularly on Facebook brand pages. Using a dataset of marketing content posted on the top 100 Food and Beverage brand pages on Facebook, a qualitative study, based on an interpretive approach, has been carried out to identify the various content themes used in highly engaging posts. The results of this research demonstrate that there is a different causal impact of several content themes on consumer engagement constructs. The findings of this study permit one to better understand the determinants of consumer engagement related to the marketing content posted on Facebook brand pages and provide brand managers with valuable guidance on how to design and implement effective social media marketing strategies generating consumer engagement.
Social Media and Customer Retention
Authors: Stokinger Ellen , Ozuem Wilson
Published: December 2014

Social media has become an integrated part of everyday life, but its entry into the luxury goods industry has been far from easy. The use of social media in the luxury beauty industry has caused many heated debates as it is seen as a form of interference in the exclusivity of luxury brands by limiting the physical and sensual contact between brand and customer. The purpose of this chapter is to provide some insights into how social media impacts the cosmetics industry. Further, the authors provide evidence that the effective application of social media in the luxury beauty industry could lead to wider market share and customer retention. The chapter concludes with some strategies that practitioners and researchers can adopt to develop effective marketing communication strategies using social media platforms.
Defining the Role of Social Media as a Contemporary Local Area Marketing Technique in Franchising
Authors: Webster Geoffrey , Hume Margee
Published: December 2014

Literature on Local Area Marketing (LAM) and social media engagement techniques for franchise businesses is scant, with Direct and Online Marketing the primary focus. It is important for franchise businesses to have a qualified understanding of social media to integrate its use as a LAM technique in their business. Problems facing franchise businesses include confusion over how social media functions within local area marketing strategy, a unified perception over how social media can be used to develop their business, and the lack of a basic theoretical model for social media engagement and LAM guidelines. This chapter examines the role of social media in LAM. It explores the franchise business attitude on new technology adoption including the use of social media. It presents a coordinated framework for the application of social media to increase awareness and enhance franchise business success, providing an important contribution to the franchise industry sector.
Mobile Phone Purchases and the Consumer Decision-Making Process
Authors: Hardwick Jialin , Delarue Lauriane , Ardley Barry , Taylor Nick
Published: December 2014

Facebook has been one of the popular Social Networking Sites (SNS) in recent years. With an increasing number of consumer groups using SNS, an understanding of consumer attitudes and behaviour towards its advertising becomes useful for businesses, in particular for those mobile phone companies that encounter consumer tastes in favouring technologically innovative products. Furthermore, greater attention needs to be paid to the function of online advertising in influencing the purchasing process. The study in this chapter contributes to our understanding of consumer behaviour towards SNS advertising. The differing behavioural segments identified show that Facebook advertising impacts the pre-purchase stages of the consumer decision-making process in mobile phone purchasing. Furthermore, the findings show that whilst social networking amongst peers is recognized as a key determinant of online engagement formal networking enabled by technical mechanisms on Facebook can be another key reason for using the site.
“My Turn,” Women's Goals and Motivations in a Diploma Program
Authors: Drago-Severson Eleanor
Published: December 2014

This research was part of a larger, mixed-methods study, funded by the National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy, which examined the learning and change experiences of 41 learners in three ABE/ESOL programs. This paper examines a Polaroid diploma program with a focus on women workers, employing gender (relational) and constructive-developmental theory to frame their learning experiences. Data for this paper focuses on analysis of 224 qualitative interviews, focus groups, and developmental assessments. Three emergent themes regarding women's motivation emerged: practical benefits, the importance of timing, and leadership aspirations. This paper presents how these women describe and understand their learning motivations from both a qualitative and developmental perspective. This investigation informs understanding of women's motivations for learning, and suggests how individual ways of knowing inform such motivation.
Racializing the Discourse of Adult Education
Authors: Brookfield Stephen
Published: December 2014

Adult education scholarship has been racialized through the lens of Eurocentric theory and research. Theoretical paradigms such as Africentrism struggle to gain academic legitimacy as discourses of transformative learning, critical thinking and self-direction - all grounded in the European Enlightenment tradition of the individual pursuit of rational self-knowledge - hold sway. This article reviews the way that repressive tolerance serves to broaden the field of adult education by including racially based perspectives on adult learning, yet simultaneously ensures that they are always seen as an exotic alternative to what is clearly the mainstream Eurocentric perspective. It reviews the way that discourses of criticality can be reinterpreted from the perspective of the African American lifeworld and explores in detail the work of Lucius T. Outlaw Jr. and Cornel West. Both scholars draw partly from the tradition of European critical theory in their attempts to use its central analytical categories (such as alienation, lifeworld, objectification and hegemony) to understand the African American experience. The piece ends with a consideration of how the dominant Eurocentric perspective in adult education can be critiques and challenged.
An Honor to Train
Authors: Schmidt Steven
Published: December 2014

One's identity is often closely tied to one's profession. It is one of the first questions typically asked when meeting someone new. It is often how we introduce ourselves and often included in introductory-type information when asked. The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine the professional identity of civilian (non-enlisted) U.S. Army trainers. Professional identity is a dynamic concept; developed and refined by a professional's interaction with the environment and with reflection and examination of that interaction. To examine the concept, participants in this study were asked to describe what it meant to them to be trainers for the Army. Results indicate that Army trainers have a strong connection to the Army and are a deep commitment to their students; many of whom are soldiers. Training soldiers for potentially dangerous missions motivates these trainers to provide quality instruction to their learners. Based on study findings, conclusions were drawn, and implications for researchers and practitioners in the field of human resource development (HRD) were presented.
Measures for Cloud Computing Effectiveness Assessment
Authors: Yarlikas Serdar , Bilgen Semih
Published: December 2014

For the Cloud Computing Effectiveness Assessment Model (CCEAM) that was recently proposed, a set of operationally and objectively defined measures are presented. The model incorporating these measures is validated by case studies carried out in five companies from four different categories of involvement with cloud computing. It is shown in the context of the case studies that CCEAM is applicable for assessing cloud computing strengths and weaknesses of organizations.
Understanding and Modeling Context in Data Integration
Authors: Sabados William T. , Delugach Harry S.
Published: December 2014

The pragmatic context of information is a fundamental characteristic that is not often formally addressed in data integration. This paper discusses the challenges of modeling the multiple contexts at play in data integration. A simple data integration context modeling framework is introduced that we believe addresses important issues of representing a pragmatic context. It allows for multiple data sources from similar domains to be brought together without having to designate one as the “true” semantics. An example is provided showing how this approach supports integration efforts.
Efficient Anonymous Identity-Based Broadcast Encryption without Random Oracles
Authors: Li Xie , Yanli Ren
Published: December 2014

Broadcast encryption provides a method of secure multi-receiver communications, where a broadcaster can encrypt a message for a set S of users who are listening to a broadcast channel. Most identity-based broadcast encryption (IBBE) schemes are not anonymous, which means the attacker can obtain the identities of all receivers from the ciphertext. In this paper, the authors propose an efficient anonymous IBBE scheme in bilinear groups of prime order, where any attacker cannot get the identities of the receivers from the ciphertext. The scheme has constant size ciphertext and achieves adaptive security based on the asymmetric decisional bilinear Diffie-Hellman Exponent (DBDHE) assumption without random oracles. The proposed scheme improves efficiency and security of anonymous IBBE schemes simultaneously.
GPU-Based MPEG-2 to Secure Scalable Video Transcoding
Authors: Shang Yueyun , Ye Dengpan , Wei Zhuo , Xie Yajuan
Published: December 2014

Most of the high definition video content are still produced in a single-layer MPEG-2 format. Multiple-layers Scalable Video Coding (SVC) offers a minor penalty in rate-distortion efficiency when compared to single-layer coding MPEG-2. A scaled version of the original SVC bitstream can easily be extracted by dropping layers from the bitstream. This paper proposes a parallel transcoder from MPEG-2 to SVC video with Graphics Processing Unit (GPU), named PTSVC. The objective of the transcoder is to migrate MPEG-2 format video to SVC format video such that clients with different network bandwidth and terminal devices can seamlessly access video content. Meanwhile, the transcoded SVC videos are encrypted such that only authorized users can access corresponding SVC layers. Using various scalabilities SVC test sequences, experimental results on TM5 and JSVM indicate that PTSVC is a higher efficient transcoding system compared with previous systems and only causes little quality loss.
Infusing Innovation in the Policy Analysis and Evaluation Phases of the Policy Cycle
Authors: Markaki Ourania , Kokkinakos Panagiotis , Koussouris Sotirios , Psarras John , Lee Habin , Löhe Martin , Glikman Yuri
Published: December 2014

This paper introduces an innovative approach for more factual, evidence-based and accountable policy analysis and evaluation, based on open public data, prosperity indicators, fuzzy cognitive maps and argumentation technology. The approach is inspired by the Policy Compass FP7 project and assumes to make better use of Europe's open public data resources, so as to enable both the lay public and domain experts to create, apply, annotate, share and discuss progress metrics and causal models of policies. The aim is to empower stakeholders in assessing the governments' course of actions and contribute in transforming government structures to a more participatory and democratic form. The paper attempts to make a rather complete and comprehensive statement for policy analysis and evaluation, as it provides a thorough description of the proposed approach, including both its theoretical framework and technical approach, as well as a series of indicative use case scenarios and anticipated benefits. The paper concludes with relevant implementation concerns as well as future plans for the validation of the approach and its benefits.
LiveCity
Authors: Metelmann Camilla , Metelmann Bibiana , Wendt Michael , Meissner Konrad , von der Heyden Martin
Published: December 2014

The goal of emergency medicine is to treat time-critical diseases and conditions to reduce morbidity and mortality. The improvement of emergency medicine is an important topic for governments worldwide. A common problem is the inevitable lack of support by emergency doctors, when paramedics need their assistance at the emergency site but are without an emergency doctor. Video-communication in real time from the emergency site to an emergency doctor, offers an opportunity to enhance the quality of emergency medicine. The core piece of this study is a video camera system called “LiveCity camera”, enabling real-time high quality video connection of paramedics and emergency doctors. The impact of video communication on emergency medicine is clearly appreciated among providers, based upon the extent of agreement that has been stated in this study´s questionnaire by doctors and paramedics. This study is part of the FP7-European Union funded research project “LiveCity” (Grant Agreement No. 297291).
Internet Regulation and Online Censorship
Authors: Koumartzis Nikolaos , Veglis Andreas
Published: December 2014

This paper explores the development of Internet regulation policies worldwide since the birth of the World Wide Web, describes the advantages and disadvantages of the main filtering methods in use today, and presents two of the most important Internet Regulation Systems (IRS) implemented in authoritarian regimes and Western democracies around the globe. Moreover, the authors propose the conduction of well-designed surveys worldwide in order to measure Internet User's opinion and use such results as a starting point for developing a fair “Internet Regulation System” (fair IRS) in the future. Last, the authors introduce a new online tool for conducting related surveys, www.WebObserver.net project.
Real-Time Predictive Analytics for Sepsis Level and Therapeutic Plans in Intensive Care Medicine
Authors: Gonçalves João M. C. , Portela Filipe , Santos Manuel F. , Silva Álvaro , Machado José , Abelha António , Rua Fernando
Published: December 2014

Optimal treatments for patients with microbiological problems depend significantly on the ability of the attending physicians to predict sepsis level. A set of Data Mining (DM) models has been developed using forecasting techniques and classification models to aid decision making by physicians about the appropriate, and most effective, therapeutic plan to adopt in specific situations. A combination of Decision Trees, Support Vector Machines and Naïve Bayes classifier were being used to generate the DM models. Confusion Matrix, including associated metrics, and Cross-validation were used to evaluate the models. Associated metrics used to identify the most relevant measures to predict sepsis level and treatment procedures include the analysis of the total error rate, sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy measures. The data used in DM models were collected at the Intensive Care Unit of the Centro Hospitalar do Porto, in Oporto, Portugal. Encapsulated within a supervised learning context, classification models were applied to predict sepsis level and direct the therapeutic plan for patients with sepsis. This work concludes that it was possible to predict sepsis level (2nd and 3rd) with great accuracy (accuracy: 100%), but not for the therapeutic plan (best accuracy level: 62.8%).
Video Production and Video Tutorials in Professional Health Education
Authors: Dias Raquel da Luz , Moraes Márcia Cristina , Leite Leticia Lopes
Published: December 2014

Motivated by the significant increase in the presence of mobile devices in the classroom and the opportunity to use these resources to improve and streamline the process of teaching and learning, this paper proposes a pedagogical use of mobile technologies, specifically, tablets in the class. The proposal was developed under LabsMóveis, a subproject of the LabTEAR Project, and applied in an undergraduate program of the Health area. The use of tablets in the University classroom contributed to the expansion of general and specific cognitive abilities, stimulating creativity and leadership for the learners, while enhancing their initiatives to solve problems.
Building a Natural Disaster Risk Index for Supply Chain Operations
Authors: Liao Kun , Bayazit Ozden , Wang Fang
Published: December 2014

Risk for an organization is associated with uncertainties in all areas of its operations. As firms move toward global sourcing, supply chain risk increases dramatically, which is linked to lower financial performance and market value. One major type of supply chain risk is disruptions caused by natural or man-made disasters. In this paper, major factors causing supply chain disruptions are identified based on resource dependency theory and contingency theory. As a result of the study, a comprehensive supply chain risk index for natural disasters is proposed by including two major factors (i.e. location and single source). Actions are suggested for supply chain managers to lower disruption risks within a supply chain when they use the risk index as a measure.
Sourcing Decision in a Multi-Period Model under Demand and Supply Uncertainty
Authors: Bagchi Shantanu Shankar , Bhattacharya Sourabh
Published: December 2014

Determining the optimum number of suppliers and the optimum quantities to order from each of them is a critical problem for any supply chain. This paper has mathematically arrived at conditions to identify the appropriate sourcing strategy in a multi-period scenario for a stochastic supply and a stochastic demand environment. It has also obtained the total order quantity, optimum number of suppliers and order allocation to each of the suppliers under both uncertain demand and supply in the multiple-period context. Through a numerical analysis this work could bring interesting managerial insights about the sourcing strategies.
The Effect of Total Quality Management on Innovation Performance with Mediator Role of Organizational Learning
Authors: Nikabadi Mohsen Shafiei , Hoseini Seyed Ahmad Mohammadi , Zangouri Saeed
Published: December 2014

The main objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of Total Quality Management (TQM) on innovation performance with the mediator role of organizational learning in ABBAND Mazandaran manufacturing and industrial Company. The research design was descriptive and correlation and specifically is based on structural equation model. The study population was all supervisors and employees of ABBAND Mazandaran manufacturing and industrial Company. For measuring variables of research, three questionnaires were used based on the Likert 5 options range and the questionnaires were distributed among 220 supervisors and employees of ABBAND Mazandaran Company. Content validity of the three questionnaires was carried out by a number of experts and management professionals and the reliability of TQM, Learning Organization and innovation performance questionnaires was determined by Cronbach's alpha coefficient as 0.96, 0.82, and 0.94, respectively. The results showed that there is a causal relationship between TQM, learning organization and innovation performance. Also, organizational learning mediates the effect of TQM on innovation performance.
The Role of Social Media in Higher Education, the Use of Social Media as a Communicative Agent and Their Subsequent Effects to the Learning Process of Students
Authors: Chatzicharalampous Katerina
Published: December 2014

In recent years Social Media have penetrated in all aspects of society in various ways. Higher education has also been a recipient of this penetration. This paper explores what is the impact of Social Media in the spectrum of education and specifically what are its implications in the specific field. The examination is provided through the presentation of reports that have been contacted on the issue, following a discussion and presenting the possible positive and negative effects of such a use in or outside the classroom area.
Political Attitudes on the Dutch Electronic Patient Record
Authors: Mouw Evert
Published: December 2014

In the Netherlands, the introduction of a nationwide electronic patient record (EPR) infrastructure was rejected in 2011 after a heated political debate. Such debate is influenced by the political attitudes of politicians and voters, such as their trust in governments. The objective is to explore the relation between political attitudes of individuals and the priority they give to health privacy. The method is from a new survey that was developed; the Health Privacy and Political Attitudes Survey. The survey is as compatible as possible with a few well-known surveys. With 218 respondents enough data was collected for a first explorative study. Little correlations were found between political attitudes and the individual's priorisation of health privacy or their trust in a nationwide EPR. In general, most respondents valued their health privacy highly and trust in a nationwide EPR was low, irrespective of their political affiliation or their political attitudes. One exception were respondents with authoritarian attitudes. Such individuals had, on average, more trust in (government regulated) electronic records. More trust in the law correlates with less fear for problems with the EPR. Interestingly, higher educated and older respondents have, on average, the same level of trust in the EPR as others but are more apt to act when they distrust the system (opt-out). In general, political attitudes and one's trust in electronic patient records (EPRs) are not strongly related, but individuals who score high on authoritarian attitudes and trust in the law are more likely to also trust EPRs. Still, nearly everybody places a high value on health privacy, so EPR providers should be careful in this regard.
Consumer Attitudes toward Online Shopping
Authors: Nabot Ahmad , Garaj Vanja , Balachandran Wamadeva
Published: December 2014

In the era of the diffusion of e-commerce and its services offered to the consumers over the Internet, the Internet is commonly used by both consumers and businesses to buy and sell their goods and services worldwide. This study focuses on the factors influencing customers' decisions and attitudes toward adopting online shopping in Jordan. The study found that online shopping in Jordan is still not very common, due to challenges and barriers that affect the diffusion of online shopping: delivery barriers, such as the lack of prepared transportation and mapping infrastructure, lack of reliable delivery system for delivering bought goods to the customers caused by the lack of postcode system; and lack of knowledge and awareness about the benefits of e-commerce among retailers and consumers. A structured questionnaire was distributed among 50 participants (university students, employees/professionals etc.), and then the collected data were analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences Version 18.02 (SPSS). The results show that attitudes toward online shopping and intention to shop online were affected by lack of human resources, such as low level of experience in using the Internet and shopping websites for shopping, lack of developed IT infrastructure, trust in e-retailers, and online payment and delivery service concerns. However, Jordanian consumers are willing to adopt and recommend online shopping for others as an alternative way for shopping.
Prospect and Potential of Green Jobs towards Green Economy in Bangladesh
Authors: Bahauddin Khalid Md. , Iftakhar Nayma
Published: December 2014

The prospects and potential of green jobs in Bangladesh are huge. There are many potential sectors such as renewable energy, buildings and construction, transportation, basic industries, agriculture, and forestry, etc., are the priority areas for the future green job market. In 2009, numbers of approximate green jobs were 748,701 while it increased in 2010 which was about 811,268. It is true the green jobs sector is growing in Bangladesh, but there are also challenges that need to be overcome to accelerate growth. This paper tried to investigate the outlook and potential of green jobs in Bangladesh as well as also make recommendation some ideologies, basic principles as well as reform of policy mechanism to promote and develop of green jobs in Bangladesh.
Biochemical adaptations in middle-distance runners: an assessment of blood and anthropometric parameters
Authors: Di Majo Danila , Schiera Gabriella , Contrò Valentina , Armeli Elena Joana , Giaccone Marcello , Giammanco Marco , Traina Marcello , Palma Antonio , Proia Patrizia
Published: December 2014

In order to understand the mechanism underlying the physiological adaptation of purely aerobic workout, we investigated the effect of 2 months of training on nine males (17-22 year-old) middle distance running agonistic athletes. Blood sample was collected in the morning to analyze: hematological parameters, lipid profile, liver function enzymes [glutamate oxaloacetate transaminase, glutamate pyruvate transaminase, gamma-glutamyl transferase (γ-GT)] and skeletal and myocardial markers of muscle damage [creatin kinase (CK) and creatin kinase MB (CK-MB)]. Endurance training, as it implies high oxygen consumption, should increase reactive oxygen species, but it has been shown that exercise leads to increased activation of antioxidant defenses. In fact, serum levels of γ-GT enzyme and total CK were not increased. On the other hand, a statistical significant reduction of CKMB has been observed. There were not variations in hematological parameters. As far as the anthropometric value is concerned, after two months of training there was a change in weight (P<0.0001). Finally, any oxidative and biological stress was highlighted in the middle distance runners but, since this is a preliminary study, it would be of interest to replicate the study on a larger sample.
Five brave pagan women in the work of Tertullian
Authors: Dircksen Marianne R. , Britz Beate
Published: December 2014

Historical exempla have been employed as a rhetorical stratagem since the 8th century BCE. The Christian apologist Tertullian, who received thorough training in rhetoric, was familiar with this device. Lucretia, Cleopatra, Dido, ‘the wife of Hasdrubal’ and Leaena also appear in the works of Roman authors as typical examples of bravery. In his Ad Martyres (4), Tertullian groups together all five as fine examples of bravery when facing death. Four of the examples appear in his Ad Nationes (1.18) and two in the Liber Apologeticus (50). Both the Ad Nationes and the Liber Apologeticus were written in defence of the Christians. In Tertullian’s De exhortatione castitatis (13.3) and the De Monogamia (17), Lucretia and Dido are referred to as exempla of chastity and monogamy. The first four paragraphs preceding the analysis of these texts provide the context and contain background information on the Christian apologists, a short biography of Tertullian,a few remarks on the use of history as a rhetorical tool and a discussion on the place of these women in ancient pagan literature. The investigation of Tertullian’s use of the exempla to bolster his argument reveals how he adapted these stock examples of pagan women to fit the Christian context, and illustrates how and why ancient rhetoric became part of Christian literary tradition.Vyf dapper heidense vroue in die werk van Tertullianus. Historiese exempla word al sedertdie agtste eeu v.C. as ’n retoriese strategie benut. Die Christen apologeet, Tertullianus, wat ’n grondige opleiding in retoriek ontvang het, was vertroud met hierdie tegniek. Lucretia, Cleopatra, Dido, ‘Hasdrubal se vrou’ en Leaena kom ook in die werke van Romeinse outeurs voor as tipiese voorbeelde van dapperheid. In sy Ad Martyres (4) groepeer Tertullianus al vyf saam as goeie voorbeelde van dapperheid in die aangesig van die dood. Vier van die voorbeelde kom in die Ad Nationes (1.18) voor en twee in sy Liber Apologeticus (50). Albei hierdie werke is geskryf om die Christene te verdedig. In Tertullianus se De exhortatione castitatis (13.3) en die De Monogamia (17) word na Lucretia en Dido as voorbeelde van kuisheid en monogamie verwys. Die eerste vier paragrawe wat die analise voorafgaan, gee die konteks en bevat agtergrondinligting oor die Christen apologete, ’n kort biografie van Tertullianus, ’n paar opmerkings oor die gebruik van geskiedenis as retoriese instrument en ’n bespreking van die plek van die vyf vroue in antieke heidense letterkunde. Die ondersoek na Tertullianus se gebruik van hierdie exempla om sy argument te versterk, dui aan dat hy die standaardvoorbeelde van heidense vroue aangepas het om by die Christelike konteks te pas, en illustreer hoe en waarom antieke retoriek deel van die Christelike literêre tradisie geword het.
An analysis of blood pressure measurement in a primary care hospital in Swaziland
Authors: Mlawanda Ganizani , Pather Michael , Govender Srini
Published: December 2014

Background: Measurement of blood pressure (BP) is done poorly because of both human and machine errors.Aim: To assess the difference between BP recorded in a pragmatic way and that recorded using standard guidelines; to assess differences between wrist- and mercury sphygmomanometerbased readings; and to assess the impact on clinical decision-making.Setting: Royal Swaziland Sugar Corporation Mhlume hospital, Swaziland.Method: After obtaining consent, BP was measured in a pragmatic way by a nurse practitioner who made treatment decisions. Thereafter, patients had their BP re-assessed using standard guidelines by mercury (gold standard) and wrist sphygmomanometer.Results: The prevalence of hypertension was 25%. The mean systolic BP was 143 mmHg (pragmatic) and 133 mmHg (standard) using a mercury sphygmomanometer; and 140 mmHg for standard BP assessed using wrist device. The mean diastolic BP was 90 mmHg, 87 mmHg and 91 mmHg for pragmatic, standard mercury and wrist, respectively. Bland Altman analyses showed that pragmatic and standard BP measurements were different and could not be interchanged clinically.Treatment decisions between those based on pragmatic BP and standard BP agreed in 83.3% of cases, whilst 16.7% of participants had their treatment outcomes misclassified. A total of 19.5% of patients were started erroneously on anti-hypertensive therapy based on pragmatic BP.Conclusion: Clinicians need to revert to basic good clinical practice and measure BP more accurately in order to avoid unnecessary additional costs and morbidity associated within correct treatment resulting from disease misclassification. Contrary to existing research,wrist devices need to be used with caution.
Knowledge, attitude and practice regarding lifestyle modification in type 2 diabetic patients
Authors: Okonta Henry I. , Ikombele John B. , Ogunbanjo Gboyega A.
Published: December 2014

Background: The number of persons suffering from type 2 diabetes mellitus continues to rise worldwide and causes significant morbidity and mortality, especially in the developing world. Behaviour change and adoption of healthy lifestyle habits help to prevent or slow down the complications of type 2 diabetes mellitus. However, the knowledge and practice of healthy lifestyles in many diabetic patients have been inadequate. Aim: This study sought to establish the knowledge, attitude and practice regarding lifestyle modification amongst type 2 diabetic patients. Setting: The diabetic clinic of Mamelodi hospital, Pretoria, Gauteng Province, South Africa. Methods: A cross-sectional study was done using a structured questionnaire amongst 217 type 2 diabetic patients seen at the diabetic clinic of Mamelodi hospital. Baseline characteristics of the participants were obtained and their knowledge, attitude and practice regarding lifestyle modification were assessed. Results: Of the 217 participants, 154 (71%) were obese and 15 (7%) were morbidly obese. The majority of respondents (92.2%) had poor knowledge of the benefits of exercise, weight loss and a healthy diet. What is interesting is that the majority (97.7%) demonstrated bad practices in relation to lifestyle modifications, although over four-fifths (84.3%) had a positive attitude toward healthy lifestyle modifications. Conclusion: Despite the positive attitudes of respondents toward healthy lifestyle modifications, the knowledge and practice regarding lifestyle modifications amongst type 2 diabetes mellitus participants seen at Mamelodi hospital were generally poor.
Intramedullary spinal masses: A pictorial essay
Authors: Bezuidenhout Abraham Fourie , Lipsitz Jared M. , Du Plessis Anne-Marie
Published: December 2014

This pictorial essay provides a classification system for the most common intramedullaryspinal masses and describes distinguishing imaging features that will aid the radiologist inproviding a relevant differential diagnosis to guide further management.
Reporting of diagnostic accuracy studies in radiology
Authors: Ochodo Eleanor A.
Published: December 2014

No abstract available.
Complete rupture of the long head of the biceps tendon and the distal biceps tendon
Authors: Oberholzer Pieter J.
Published: December 2014

The most common injury to the biceps muscle is rupture of the long head of the biceps tendon. A tear can occur proximally, distally or at the musculotendinous junction. Two cases are discussed, in both of which the patients felt a sudden sharp pain in the upper arm, at the shoulder and elbow respectively, and presented with a biceps muscle bump (Popeye deformity).
Musculoskeletal radiology in South Africa
Authors: De Villiers Richard
Published: December 2014

No abstract available.
CARAT-GxG: CUDA-Accelerated Regression Analysis Toolkit for Large-Scale Gene–Gene Interaction with GPU Computing System
Authors: Lee Sungyoung , Kwon Min-Seok , Park Taesung
Published: December 2014

In genome-wide association studies (GWAS), regression analysis has been most commonly used to establish an association between a phenotype and genetic variants, such as single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP). However, most applications of regression analysis have been restricted to the investigation of single marker because of the large computational burden. Thus, there have been limited applications of regression analysis to multiple SNPs, including gene–gene interaction (GGI) in large-scale GWAS data. In order to overcome this limitation, we propose CARAT-GxG, a GPU computing system-oriented toolkit, for performing regression analysis with GGI using CUDA (compute unified device architecture). Compared to other methods, CARAT-GxG achieved almost 700-fold execution speed and delivered highly reliable results through our GPU-specific optimization techniques. In addition, it was possible to achieve almost-linear speed acceleration with the application of a GPU computing system, which is implemented by the TORQUE Resource Manager. We expect that CARAT-GxG will enable large-scale regression analysis with GGI for GWAS data.
The Schwarz Lemma at the Boundary of the Egg Domain Bp1,p2 in ℂn
Authors: Tang Xiaomin , Liu Taishun
Published: December 2014

Let be an egg domain in ℂn. In this paper, we first characterize the Kobayashi metric on and then establish a new type of classical boundary Schwarz lemma at for holomorphic self-mappings of ), where .
Perspectives on Modelling BIM-enabled Estimating Practices
Authors: Olatunji Oluwole Alfred , Sher Willy
Published: December 2014

BIM-enabled estimating processes do not replace or provide a substitute for the traditional approaches used in the architecture, engineering and construction industries. This paper explores the impact of BIM on these traditional processes.  It identifies differences between the approaches used with BIM and other conventional methods, and between the various construction professionals that prepare estimates. We interviewed 17 construction professionals from client organizations, contracting organizations, consulting practices and specialist-project firms. Our analyses highlight several logical relationships between estimating processes and BIM attributes. Estimators need to respond to the challenges BIM poses to traditional estimating practices. BIM-enabled estimating circumvents long-established conventions and traditional approaches, and focuses on data management.  Consideration needs to be given to the model data required for estimating, to the means by which these data may be harnessed when exported, to the means by which the integrity of model data are protected, to the creation and management of tools that work effectively and efficiently in multi-disciplinary settings, and to approaches that narrow the gap between virtual reality and actual reality.  Areas for future research are also identified in the paper.
Rare temperature histories and cirrus ice number density in a parcel and a one-dimensional model
Authors: Murphy D. M.
Published: December 2014

Abstract. A parcel and a one-dimensional model are used to investigate the temperature dependence of ice crystal number density. The number of ice crystals initially formed in a cold cirrus cloud is very sensitive to the nucleation mechanism and the detailed history of cooling rates during nucleation. A possible small spread in the homogeneous freezing threshold due to varying particle composition is identified as a sensitive nucleation parameter. In a parcel model, the slow growth rate of ice crystals at low temperatures inherently leads to a strong increase in ice number density at low temperatures. This temperature dependence is not observed. The model temperature dependence occurs for a wide range of assumptions and for either homogeneous or, less strongly, heterogeneous freezing. However, the parcel model also shows that random temperature fluctuations result in an extremely wide range of ice number densities. A one-dimensional model is used to show that the rare temperature trajectories resulting in the lowest number densities are disproportionately important. Low number density ice crystals sediment and influence a large volume of air. When such fall streaks are included, the ice number becomes less sensitive to the details of nucleation than it is in a parcel model. The one-dimensional simulations have a more realistic temperature dependence than the parcel mode. The one-dimensional model also produces layers with vertical dimensions of meters even if the temperature forcing has a much broader vertical wavelength. Unlike warm clouds, cirrus clouds are frequently surrounded by supersaturated air. Sedimentation through supersaturated air increases the importance of any process that produces small numbers of ice crystals. This paper emphasizes the relatively rare temperature trajectories that produce the fewest crystals. Other processes are heterogeneous nucleation, sedimentation from the very bottom of clouds, annealing of disordered to hexagonal ice, and entrainment.
An improved dust emission model – Part 1: Model description and comparison against measurements
Authors: Kok J. F. , Mahowald N. M. , Fratini G. , Gillies J. A. , Ishizuka M. , Leys J. F. , Mikami M. , Park M.-S. , Park S.-U. , Van Pelt R. S. , Zobeck T. M.
Published: December 2014

Abstract. Simulations of the dust cycle and its interactions with the changing Earth system are hindered by the empirical nature of dust emission parameterizations in weather and climate models. Here we take a step towards improving dust cycle simulations by using a combination of theory and numerical simulations to derive a physically based dust emission parameterization. Our parameterization is straightforward to implement into large-scale models, as it depends only on the wind friction velocity and the soil's threshold friction velocity. Moreover, it accounts for two processes missing from most existing parameterizations: a soil's increased ability to produce dust under saltation bombardment as it becomes more erodible, and the increased scaling of the dust flux with wind speed as a soil becomes less erodible. Our treatment of both these processes is supported by a compilation of quality-controlled vertical dust flux measurements. Furthermore, our scheme reproduces this measurement compilation with substantially less error than the existing dust flux parameterizations we were able to compare against. A critical insight from both our theory and the measurement compilation is that dust fluxes are substantially more sensitive to the soil's threshold friction velocity than most current schemes account for.
Examining the major contributors and controlling factors of ozone production in a rural area of the Yangtze River Delta region during harvest season
Authors: Pan X. , Kanaya Y. , Tanimoto H. , Inomata S. , Wang Z. , Kudo S. , Uno I.
Published: December 2014

Abstract. Open biomass burning (OBB) has been reported to emit substantial amounts of non-methane hydrocarbons (NMHCs), and the mixing of OBB with urban plumes could exacerbate regional ozone (O3) pollution. In the present study, an observational field campaign was performed in a rural area at the edge of Yangtze River Delta region (YRDR) during harvest season when intensive open burning of wheat residues was observed. The O3 production rate at the site was calculated using a photochemical box model (Regional Atmospheric Chemical Mechanism, Version 2) constrained by real-time ambient measurements (e.g., O3, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), the sum of NO2 + NO (NOx), J values). During the period impacted by OBB, the O3 concentration frequently exceeded 100 ppbv. Analysis showed that the net O3 production was pronounced, in particular when the site was characterized by a prevailing southerly wind that also brought substantial amounts of NOx emitted from urban areas. At these times, the maximum rate of O3 production was 20 ppbv h−1 with potential production rate of 102 ppbv on a daily basis. The O3 production at the site was typically VOC-sensitive in the morning because NOx dominated the plumes. However, in the afternoon, conditions became NOx-sensitive due to the rapid photochemical consumption of NOx in the production of O3. A positive matrix factorization analysis indicated that solvent usage and OBB were the primary contributors to the mass fraction of ambient NMHCs observed at the study site, and were responsible for 35 and 23% of the total O3 production, respectively. The preferential presence of NOx in the morning inhibited net O3 production; meanwhile O3 built up in the afternoon due to a decrease in NOx concentrations. These results indicated that a joint effort in the regulation of solvent (aromatics) usage and OBB, as well as NOx from on-road vehicle exhaust may be effective in eliminating high-O3 pollution risk in the rural areas of the YRDR.