bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Agile product engineering through continuous validation in PGE – Product Generation Engineering
Authors: Albers Albert , Behrendt Matthias , Klingler Simon , Reiß Nicolas , Bursac Nikola
Published: May 2017

Most products are developed in generations. This needs to be considered with regard to development methods and processes to make existing knowledge available to achieve increased efficiency. To realize this, the approach of PGE – product generation engineering – is formulated. Product generation engineering is understood as the development of products based on reference products (precursor or competitor products). The subsystems are either adapted to the new product generation by means of carryover or they are newly developed based on shape variation or principle variation. Validation is considered as the central activity in the product engineering process and is a major challenge, especially for complex mechatronic systems. Therefore, it is important to understand validation as an ongoing activity during product development. The pull principle of validation describes the definition and development of validation activities, including models and validation environments based on specific validation objectives. In order to have effectiveness within validation of subsystems, it is necessary to map the interactions with the overall system, namely the super-system. The relevant subsystems can be connected under consideration of functional and energetic aspects by means of virtual, physical or mixed virtual–physical modeling applied by the holistic IPEK-X-in-the-Loop approach within the integrated Product engineering Model (iPeM).
Geometric results on linear actions of reductive Lie groups for applications to homogeneous dynamics
Authors: RICHARD RODOLPHE , SHAH NIMISH A.
Published: May 2017

Several problems in number theory when reformulated in terms of homogenous dynamics involve study of limiting distributions of translates of algebraically defined measures on orbits of reductive groups. The general non-divergence and linearization techniques, in view of Ratner’s measure classification for unipotent flows, reduce such problems to dynamical questions about linear actions of reductive groups on finite-dimensional vector spaces. This article provides general results which resolve these linear dynamical questions in terms of natural group theoretic or geometric conditions.
Self-similar hyperbolicity
Authors: ARTIGUE ALFONSO
Published: May 2017

In this paper we consider expansive homeomorphisms of compact spaces with a hyperbolic metric presenting a self-similar behavior on stable and unstable sets. Several applications are given related to Hausdorff dimension, entropy, intrinsically ergodic measures and the transitivity of expansive homeomorphisms with canonical coordinates.
Disinfectant Susceptibility Profiling of Glutaraldehyde-Resistant Nontuberculous Mycobacteria
Authors: Burgess Winona , Margolis Alyssa , Gibbs Sara , Duarte Rafael Silva , Jackson Mary
Published: May 2017

OBJECTIVE

Activated alkaline glutaraldehyde (GTA) remains one of the most widely used high-level disinfectants worldwide. However, several reports have highlighted the potential for nontuberculous mycobacteria to develop high-level resistance to this product. Because aldehyde resistance may lead to cross-resistance to other biocides, we investigated the susceptibility profile of GTA-resistantMycobacterium chelonaeandM. abscessusisolates to various disinfectant chemistries.

METHODS

High-level disinfectants commonly used in the reprocessing of endoscopes and other heat-sensitive, semicritical medical equipment, including different formulations of aldehyde-based products and oxidizing agents, were tested against 10 slow- and fast-growing, GTA-susceptible and GTA-resistant,Mycobacteriumisolates in suspension tests and carrier tests at different temperatures.

RESULTS

While peracetic acid– and hydrogen peroxide–based disinfectants (S40, Resert XL, Reliance DG) efficiently killed all of theMycobacteriumisolates, GTA- and ortho-phthalaldehyde-based products (ie, Cidex, Aldahol, Cidex OPA) showed variable efficacy against GTA-resistant strains despite the ability of some formulations (Aldahol) to overcome the resistance of some of these isolates, especially when the temperature was increased from 20°C to 25°C.

CONCLUSIONS

Application permitting, oxidizing chemistries may provide a safe alternative to aldehyde-based products, particularly in GTA-resistant mycobacterial outbreaks.

Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol2017;38:784–791
Anaesthesia for electroconvulsive therapy – new tricks for old drugs: a systematic review
Authors: Stripp Tobias Kvist , Jorgensen Martin Balslev , Olsen Niels Vidiendal
Published: May 2017

Objective

The objective of this review is to investigate existing literature in order to delineate whether the use of anaesthesia and timing of seizure induction in a new and optimised way may improve the efficacy of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT).

Methods

PubMed/MEDLINE was searched for existing literature, last search on 24 June 2015. Relevant clinical studies on human subjects involving choice of anaesthetic, ventilation and bispectral index (BIS) monitoring in the ECT setting were considered. The references of relevant studies were likewise considered.

Results

Propofol yields the shortest seizures, etomidate and ketamine the longest. Etomidate and ketamine+propofol 1 : 1 seems to yield the seizures with best quality. Seizure quality is improved when induction of ECT is delayed until the effect of the anaesthetic has waned – possibly monitored with BIS values. Manual hyperventilation with 100% O2may increase the pO2/pCO2-ratio, which may be correlated with better seizure quality.

Conclusion

Etomidate or a 1 : 1 ketamine and propofol combination may be the best method to achieve general anaesthesia in the ECT setting. There is a need for large randomised prospective studies comparing the effect of methohexital, thiopental, propofol, ketamine, propofol+ketamine 1 : 1 and etomidate in the ECT treatment of major depressed patients. These studies should investigate safety and side effects, and most importantly have antidepressant efficacy and cognitive side effects as outcome measures instead of seizure quality.
EMBEDDINGS AND -ENVELOPES OF EXACT OPERATOR SYSTEMS
Authors: LUTHRA PREETI , KUMAR AJAY
Published: May 2017

We prove a necessary and sufficient condition for embeddability of an operator system into ${\mathcal{O}}_{2}$. Using Kirchberg’s theorems on a tensor product of ${\mathcal{O}}_{2}$ and ${\mathcal{O}}_{\infty }$, we establish results on their operator system counterparts ${\mathcal{S}}_{2}$ and ${\mathcal{S}}_{\infty }$. Applications of the results, including some examples describing $C^{\ast }$-envelopes of operator systems, are also discussed.
ON THE EXISTENCE OF -MAXIMAL SPACELIKE HYPERSURFACES IN CERTAIN WEIGHTED MANIFOLDS
Authors: OLIVEIRA ARLANDSON M. S. , DE LIMA HENRIQUE F.
Published: May 2017

We apply a mean-value inequality for positive subsolutions of the $f$-heat operator, obtained from a Sobolev embedding, to prove a nonexistence result concerning complete noncompact $f$-maximal spacelike hypersurfaces in a class of weighted Lorentzian manifolds. Furthermore, we establish a new Calabi–Bernstein result for complete noncompact maximal spacelike hypersurfaces in a Lorentzian product space.
The microbial community of the gut differs between piglets fed sow milk, milk replacer or bovine colostrum
Authors: Poulsen Ann-Sofie R. , de Jonge Nadieh , Sugiharto Sugiharto , Nielsen Jeppe L. , Lauridsen Charlotte , Canibe Nuria
Published: May 2017

The aim of this study was to characterise the gut microbiota composition of piglets fed bovine colostrum (BC), milk replacer (MR) or sow milk (SM) in the post-weaning period. Piglets (n36), 23-d old, were randomly allocated to the three diets. Faecal samples were collected at 23, 25, 27 and 30 d of age. Digesta from the stomach, ileum, caecum and mid-colon was collected at 30 d of age. Bacterial DNA from all samples was subjected to amplicon sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene. Bacterial enumerations by culture and SCFA analysis were conducted as well. BC-piglets had the highest abundance ofLactococcusin the stomach (P<0·0001) and ileal (P<0·0001) digesta, whereas SM-piglets had the highest abundance ofLactobacillusin the stomach digesta (P<0·0001). MR-piglets had a high abundance of Enterobacteriaceae in the ileal digesta (P<0·0001) and a higher number of haemolytic bacteria in ileal (P=0·0002) and mid-colon (P=0·001) digesta than SM-piglets. BC-piglets showed the highest colonic concentration of iso-butyric and iso-valeric acid (P=0·02). Sequencing and culture showed that MR-piglets were colonised by a higher number of Enterobacteriaceae, whereas the gut microbiota of BC-piglets was characterised by a change in lactic acid bacteria genera when compared with SM-piglets. We conclude that especially the ileal microbiota of BC-piglets had a closer resemblance to that of SM-piglets in regard to the abundance of potential enteric pathogens than did MR-piglets. The results indicate that BC may be a useful substitute for regular milk replacers, and as a feeding supplement in the immediate post-weaning period.
Bread making technology influences postprandial glucose response: a review of the clinical evidence
Authors: Stamataki Nikoleta S. , Yanni Amalia E. , Karathanos Vaios T.
Published: May 2017

Lowering postprandial glucose and insulin responses may have significant beneficial implications for prevention and treatment of metabolic disorders. Bread is a staple food consumed worldwide in a daily basis, and the use of different baking technologies may modify the glucose and insulin response. The aim of this review was to critically record the human studies examining the application of different bread making processes on postprandial glucose and insulin response to bread. Literature is rich of results which show that the use of sourdough fermentation instead of leavening with Saccharomyces cerevisiae is able to modulate glucose response to bread, whereas evidence regarding its efficacy on lowering postprandial insulin response is less clear. The presence of organic acids is possibly involved, but the exact mechanism of action is still to be confirmed. The reviewed data also revealed that the alteration of other processing conditions (method of cooking, proofing period, partial baking freezing technology) can effectively decrease postprandial glucose response to bread, by influencing physical structure and retrogradation of starch. The development of healthier bread products that benefit postprandial metabolic responses is crucial and suggested baking conditions can be used by the bread industry for the promotion of public health.
Transfer of Economic Power in Corporate Calcutta, 1950–1970
Authors: Roy Tirthankar
Published: May 2017

Between 1950 and 1970, the ownership of some of the largest business conglomerates in India changed from British to Indian hands. Almost without exception, the firms formerly under the management of British conglomerates saw bankruptcy, nationalization, relative decline in corporate ranking, and on rare occasions, reinvention of identity. In Indian business history scholarship, this episode is underresearched, even though hypotheses on the transfer-cum-decline exist. Combining a new source, legal documents, with conventional ones, this article revisits the episode and suggests revisions to current hypotheses.
Response of rice production to climate change based on self-adaptation in Fujian Province
Authors: JIANG M. , SHI C. L. , LIU Y. , JIN Z. Q.
Published: May 2017

Climate change has greatly affected agricultural production, and will lead to further changes in cropping system, varietal type and cultivation techniques for each region. The potential effects of climate change on rice production in Fujian Province, China, were explored in the current study with CERES-Rice model and climate-change scenarios, based on the self-adaptation of rice production. The results indicated that simulated yields of early rice in the double-rice region in south-eastern Fujian under scenarios A2, B2 and A1B increased by 15·9, 18·0 and 19·2%, respectively, and correspondingly those of late rice increased by 9·2, 7·4 and 7·4% when self-adaptation adjustment was considered, compared to scenarios without that consideration. In the double-rice region in north-western Fujian, simulated yields of early rice increased by 21·2, 20·5 and 18·9% and those of late rice by 14·7, 14·8 and 7·2% under scenarios A2, B2 and A1B, respectively, when self-adaptation was considered, compared to without consideration. Similar results were obtained for the single-rice region in the mountain areas of north-western Fujian, correspondingly increasing by 4·9, 5·0 and 2·9% when self-adaptation was considered compared to when it was not. In this single-rice region, double rice might be grown in the future at the Changting site under scenarios A1 and B2. When the self-adaptation adjustment was considered, the simulated overall output of rice crops in Fujian under scenarios A2, B2 and A1B increased by 5·9, 5·2 and 5·1%, respectively. Thus, more optimistic results were obtained when the self-adaptation ability of rice production was considered.
Vocal fold paresis – a debilitating and underdiagnosed condition
Authors: Harris G , O'Meara C , Pemberton C , Rough J , Darveniza P , Tisch S , Cole I
Published: May 2017

Objectives:

To review the clinical signs of vocal fold paresis on laryngeal videostroboscopy, to quantify its impact on patients’ quality of life and to confirm the benefit of laryngeal electromyography in its diagnosis.

Methods:

Twenty-nine vocal fold paresis patients were referred for laryngeal electromyography. Voice Handicap Index 10 results were compared to 43 patients diagnosed with vocal fold paralysis. Laryngeal videostroboscopy analysis was conducted to determine side of paresis.

Results:

Blinded laryngeal electromyography confirmed vocal fold paresis in 92.6 per cent of cases, with vocal fold lag being the most common diagnostic sign. The laryngology team accurately predicted side of paresis in 76 per cent of cases. Total Voice Handicap Index 10 responses were not significantly different between vocal fold paralysis and vocal fold paresis groups (26.08 ± 0.21 and 22.93 ± 0.17, respectively).

Conclusion:

Vocal fold paresis has a significant impact on quality of life. This study shows that laryngeal electromyography is an important diagnostic tool. Patients with persisting dysphonia and apparently normal vocal fold movement, who fail to respond to appropriate speech therapy, should be investigated for a diagnosis of vocal fold paresis.
New records of gelatinous zooplankton from an oceanic island in the Eastern Tropical Pacific
Authors: Corrales-Ugalde Marco , Quesada Andrés J. , Naranjo-Elizondo Beatriz , Cortés Jorge
Published: May 2017

Gelatinous zooplankton are an abundant and diverse group of animals in the pelagic environment. However, knowledge of species diversity and spatial distributions, as well as their ecological role, is scarce. We present information of epi- and mesopelagic gelatinous zooplankton recorded by the ‘DeepSee’ submersible between 2006 and 2012 at Isla del Coco (Cocos Island), Costa Rica, an oceanic island in the Eastern Tropical Pacific. Two species of scyphomedusae, three species of hydromedusae, two genera of siphonophores, and two species of ctenophores were observed in the videos, at depths between 50 and 400 m. None of these species had been previously recorded in the waters around the island. Furthermore, except for the jellyfish Pelagia noctiluca and a siphonophore in the genus Praya, all are new records for Costa Rican waters. This study also includes the first record of the cnidarians Modeeria rotunda, Solmissus sp., Halitrephes maasi and Apolemia spp., and the ctenophore Thalassocalyce inconstans in the Eastern Tropical Pacific. We show that surveys in regions with little information about gelatinous zooplankton may broaden our knowledge of their natural history and may result in new records of gelatinous species.
Acquisition of prosodic focus marking by English, French, and German three-, four-, five- and six-year-olds
Authors: SZENDRŐI KRISZTA , BERNARD CARLINE , BERGER FRAUKE , GERVAIN JUDIT , HÖHLE BARBARA
Published: May 2017

Previous research on young children's knowledge of prosodic focus marking has revealed an apparent paradox, with comprehension appearing to lag behind production. Comprehension of prosodic focus is difficult to study experimentally due to its subtle and ambiguous contribution to pragmatic meaning. We designed a novel comprehension task, which revealed that three- to six-year-old children show adult-like comprehension of the prosodic marking of subject and object focus. Our findings thus support the view that production does not precede comprehension in the acquisition of focus. We tested participants speaking English, German, and French. All three languages allow prosodic subject and object focus marking, but use additional syntactic marking to varying degrees (English: dispreferred; German: possible; French preferred). French participants produced fewer subject marked responses than English participants. We found no other cross-linguistic differences. Participants interpreted prosodic focus marking similarly and in an adult-like fashion in all three languages.
Local 𝔪-adic constancy of F-pure thresholds and test ideals
Authors: HERNÁNDEZ DANIEL J. , NÚÑEZ-BETANCOURT LUIS , WITT EMILY E.
Published: May 2017

In this paper, we consider a corollary of the ACC conjecture for F-pure thresholds. Specifically, we show that the F-pure threshold (and more generally, the test ideals) associated to a polynomial with an isolated singularity are locally constant in the 𝔪-adic topology of the corresponding local ring. As a by-product of our methods, we also describe a simple algorithm for computing all of the F-jumping numbers and test ideals associated to an arbitrary polynomial over an F-finite field.
Manumission on the Land: Slaves, Masters, and Magistrates in Eighteenth-Century Mompox (Colombia)
Authors: Pérez Morales Edgardo
Published: May 2017

In the mid-1700s, the town of Mompox flourished in the Spanish viceroyalty of the New Kingdom of Granada, today part of the Republic of Colombia. Built on the banks of the northern Magdalena River, an important waterway connecting the Andean interior with the Caribbean Sea, Mompox constantly buzzed with travelers and trade alike. Mompox was home to a community of merchants who profited handsomely from both legal trade and smuggling, their networks reaching places as far away as Lima in Peru and Cádiz in Spain. These merchants were frequently also slaveholders and landowners. On haciendas outside of town, slaves cultivated the land and tended large herds of cattle. They gathered wood and resins and hunted for game and jaguars (panthera onca) that preyed on livestock. Along with free people of color, slaves also worked as artisans, journeymen, and oarsmen on boats transporting goods and people up and down the river (see Figure 1).
Determinants of neonatal brain-derived neurotrophic factor and association with child development
Authors: Ghassabian Akhgar , Sundaram Rajeshwari , Chahal Nikhita , McLain Alexander C. , Bell Erin , Lawrence David A. , Yeung Edwina H.
Published: May 2017

Using a population-based birth cohort in upstate New York (2008–2010), we examined the determinants of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) measured in newborn dried blood spots (n= 2,637). We also examined the association between neonatal BDNF and children's development. The cohort was initially designed to examine the influence of infertility treatment on child development but found no impact. Mothers rated children's development in five domains repeatedly through age 3 years. Socioeconomic and maternal lifestyle determinants of BDNF were examined using multivariable linear regression models. Generalized linear mixed models estimated odds ratios for neonatal BDNF in relation to failing a developmental domain. Smoking and drinking in pregnancy, nulliparity, non-White ethnicity/race, and prepregnancy obesity were associated with lower neonatal BDNF. Neonatal BDNF was not associated with failure for developmental domains; however, there was an interaction between BDNF and preterm birth. In preterm infants, a higher BDNF was associated with lower odds of failing any developmental domains, after adjusting for confounders and infertility treatment. This result was particularly significant for failure in communication. Our findings suggest that BDNF levels in neonates may be impacted by maternal lifestyle characteristics. More specifically, lower neonatal BDNF might be an early marker of aberrant neurodevelopment in preterm infants.
Congenital left ventricular diverticulum
Authors: Morales-Quispe Jorge A. , Aguilar Cristian , Ganiku-Furujen Maria
Published: May 2017

Congenital diverticulum of the left ventricle is a rare cardiac malformation usually associated with midline thoraco-abdominal defects and other congenital cardiac malformations.
Emergency Physician Disaster Deployment: Issues to Consider and a Model Policy
Authors: Kahn Christopher A. , Koenig Kristi L. , Schultz Carl H.
Published: May 2017

Disaster responders are frequently emergency physicians (EPs). Effective response is enhanced by the strong support of home institutions and clear policies for backfill of regular duties. A group of disaster medicine responders and researchers worked with an academic department of emergency medicine to create a policy that addresses concerns of deploying physicians, colleagues remaining at the home institution, and administrators. This article describes the process and content of this policy development work.

KahnCA, KoenigKL, SchultzCH. Emergency physician disaster deployment: issues to consider and a model policy. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2017;32(4):462–464.
When is a Cardiac Arrest Non-Cardiac?
Authors: Carter Ryan M. , Cone David C.
Published: May 2017

Introduction

While the overall survival rate for out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) is low, ranging from 5%-10%, several characteristics have been shown to decrease mortality, such as presence of bystander cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), witnessed vs unwitnessed events, and favorable initial rhythm (VF/VT). More recently, studies have shown that modified CPR algorithms, such as chest-compression only or cardio-cerebral resuscitation, can further increase survival rates in OHCA. Most of these studies have included only OHCA patients with “presumed cardiac etiology,” on the assumption that airway management is of lesser impact than chest compressions in these patients. However, prehospital personnel often lack objective and consistent criteria to assess whether an OHCA is of cardiac or non-cardiac etiology.

Hypothesis/Problem

The relative proportions of cardiac vs non-cardiac etiology in published data sets of OHCA in the peer-reviewed literature were examined in order to assess the variability of prehospital clinical etiology assessment.

Methods

A Medline (US National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health; Bethesda, Maryland USA) search was performed using the subject headings “OHCA” and “Emergency Medical Services” (EMS). Studies were included if they reported prevalence of cardiac etiology among OHCA in the entire patient sample, or in all arms of a comparison study. Studies that either did not report etiology of OHCA, or that excluded all cardiac or non-cardiac etiologies prior to reporting clinical data, were excluded.

Results

Twenty-four studies were identified, containing 27 datasets of OHCA which reported the prevalence of presumed cardiac vs non-cardiac etiology. These 27 datasets were drawn from 15 different countries. The prevalence of cardiac etiology among OHCA ranged from 50% to 91%. No obvious patterns were found regarding database size, year of publication, or global region (continent) of origin.

Conclusions:

There exists significant variation in published rates of cardiac etiology among OHCAs. While some of this variation likely reflects different actual rates of cardiac etiologies in the sampled populations, varying definitions of cardiac etiology among prehospital personnel or varying implementation of existing definitions may also play a role. Different proportions of cardiac vs non-cardiac etiology of OHCA in a sample could result in entirely different interpretations of data. A more specific consensus definition of cardiac etiology than that which currently exists in the Utstein template may provide better guidance to prehospital personnel and EMS researchers in the future.

CarterRM, ConeDC. When is a cardiac arrest non-cardiac?Prehosp Disaster Med. 2017;32(5):523–527.
Women, Infants and Children (WIC) Program redemptions at California farmers’ markets: making the program work for farmers and participants
Authors: Saitone Tina L. , McLaughlin Patrick W.
Published: May 2017

Many states including California allow fruit and vegetable checks (FVCs) issued by the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) Program to be redeemed at farmers’ markets. Despite the potential of the FVC program to increase the revenue of participating farmers and to provide fresh, locally grown fruits and vegetables to WIC participants, analysis of data for California shows that redemptions of FVCs at farmers’ markets have to date been miniscule. We study the barriers to use of FVCs at farmers’ markets and consider strategies for expanding both farmer and WIC client participation in the farmers’ market program. Our methodology involved design, implementation and analysis of surveys of both farmers’ market managers and farmer vendors who participate in the program and analysis of the behavior of WIC participants through California WIC program redemption data. One major factor limiting redemptions in California is that relatively few farmers’ markets currently accept FVCs and both market managers and farmers report that the authorization process is onerous. WIC participants who shopped at authorized markets more fully utilized the fixed-dollar value of their voucher, compared with participants who shopped at other authorized WIC vendors. Nevertheless, participants who visited a farmers’ market are unlikely to return. The study concludes with suggested pathways to increase WIC participant utilization of farmers’ markets.
The efficiency of the local health systems: investigating the roles of health administrations and health care providers
Authors: Anselmi Laura , Lagarde Mylène , Hanson Kara
Published: May 2017

The analysis of efficiency in health care has largely focussed either on individual health care providers, or on sub-national health systems conceived as a unique decision-making unit. However, in hierarchically organized national health services, two separate entities are responsible for turning financial resources into services at the local level: health administrations and health care providers. Their separate roles and the one of health administrations in particular have not been explicitly considered in efficiency analysis. We applied stochastic frontier analysis to district-level panel data from Mozambique (2008-2011) to assess district efficiency in delivering outpatient care. We first assessed the efficiency of the whole district considered as an individual decision-making unit, and then we assessed separately the efficiency of health administrations and health care providers within the same district. We found that on average only 73% of the outpatient consultations deliverable using available inputs were realized, with large differences in performance across districts. Individual districts performed differently in administrative or health care delivery functions. On average, a reduction of administrative inefficiency by 10 percentage points, for a given expenditure would increase by 0.2% the volume of services delivered per thousand population per year. Identifying and targeting the specific drivers of administrative inefficiencies can contribute to increase service.
Health equality, social justice and the poverty of autonomy
Authors: Newdick Christopher
Published: May 2017

How does the concept of autonomy assist public responses to ‘lifestyle’ diseases? Autonomy is fundamental to bioethics, but its emphasis on self-determination and individuality hardly supports public health policies to eat and drink less and take more exercise. Autonomy rejects a ‘nanny’ state. Yet, the cost of non-communicable diseases is increasing to individuals personally and to public health systems generally. Health care systems are under mounting and unsustainable pressure. What is the proper responsibility of individuals, governments and corporate interests working within a global trading environment? When public health care resources are unlikely to increase, we cannot afford to be so diffident to the cost of avoidable diseases.
Private provision of public goods via crowdfunding
Authors: HUDIK MAREK , CHOVANCULIAK ROBERT
Published: May 2017

For various reasons, governments sometimes fail to provide public goods. Private provision of such goods might then be used if it succeeds in overcoming three main problems: high organization costs, the assurance problem, and the free-rider problem. We argue that technologies that enable crowdfunding – the method of funding projects by raising small amounts of money from a large number of people via the internet – have enabled these problems to be overcome more readily. Such technology has lowered organization costs and enabled the employment of more efficient mechanisms to reduce the assurance and free-rider problems. To illustrate these effects, we present two case studies of private provision of public goods via crowdfunding: police services in Rockridge in Oakland, California, and the Ukraine Army.
The moral dimensions of the employment relationship: institutional implications
Authors: LOPES HELENA
Published: May 2017

The paper builds an integrative framework of the moral dimensions of the employment relationship by linking the core specificities of the employment relationship, i.e. the meaningfulness of work, its relational components, the incompleteness of the labour contract and its authority character, to the four moral motives identified by the Moral Foundations Theory, namely care, fairness/reciprocity, in-group/loyalty and authority. We show that due acknowledgement of the moral dimensions of the employment relationship entails making institutional transformations, namely strengthening rather than discarding employment law and reforming corporate law. Recognizing these moral dimensions would epitomize a radical break with mainstream economics and neo-liberal thought.
Gender and the (In)divisibility of Contested Sacred Places: The Case of Women for the Temple
Authors: Ben Shitrit Lihi
Published: May 2017

Contested sacred sites, over which different religious groups assert claims to exclusivity, have drawn scholarly attention to the spatial interaction between religion and politics. However, the gendered dimensions of inter-communal religious-political disputes over sacred space, and women's roles in these site-specific conflicts, have been largely neglected. Using a case study of Orthodox Jewish women's activism for access to Temple Mount al-Haram al-Sharif, this article demonstrates how attention to gender and to women's engagement in inter-communal conflict over sacred places can illuminate unique intra-communal processes that aim to make a contested sacred site increasingly indivisible for parties to the conflict.
Planar high rejection dual band-notch UWB antenna with X & Ku-bands wireless applications
Authors: Sharma Manish , Awasthi Yogendra Kumar , Singh Himanshu
Published: May 2017

In this paper, a vase-shaped monopole antenna is presented for dual band notch (WiMAX IEEE802.16 3.30–3.80 GHz with C-band 3.80–4.20 GHz and WLAN IEEE802.11a/h/j/n 5.15–5.35 GHz, 5.25–5.35 GHz, 5.47–5.725 GHz, 5.725–5.825 GHz) UWB and other wireless services (close range radar: 8–12 GHz in X-band & satellite communication: 12–18 GHz in Ku-band). Measured VSWR of proposed antenna shows a high band-rejection for WiMAX along with C-band with VSWR = 25.33 at 3.77 GHz and WLAN with VSWR = 6.0 at 5.64 GHz is achieved by cutting two C-shaped slots on the radiating patch. Designed antenna covers a wide usable fractional bandwidth 160% (2.58–20.39 GHz). Furthermore, the measured gain of antenna is relatively stable across the impedance bandwidth except band-notched. In addition, antenna offers omni-directional pattern, reasonably small 20 × 20 × 0.787 mm3and easy to construct structure.
A miniaturized dual-band ZOR antenna using epsilon negative transmission line loading
Authors: Gupta Ashish , Chaudhary Raghvendra Kumar
Published: May 2017

A miniaturized dual-band CPW-fed metamaterial antenna is presented and developed in this paper. Zeroth-order mode is originated by realizing open-ended composite right/left-handed transmission line. A dual split ring resonator is introduced to obtain another mode. The antenna is operated in the frequency region 1.60–1.64 and 2.76–2.79 GHz. Shunt inductance is offered by means of thin stripline connecting ground planes. It is demonstrated that by applying metamaterial loading (thin stripline) proposed antenna is capable to achieve 51.9% miniaturization with respect to the antenna without metamaterial loading. The presented antenna has an electrical size of 0.162 λ0 × 0.108 λ0 × 0.008 λ0 at f0 = 1.62 GHz. The antenna exhibits simulated gain of 1.05 and 2.59 dB in the broadside directions at 1.62 and 2.78 GHz, respectively. Beside that this antenna offers dipolar-type pattern and omnidirectional pattern in the xz-and yz-planes respectively at both bands, which is beneficial to be used in modern wireless applications. The design methodology of the proposed antenna is described with the help of current distributions and parametric analysis.
Microwave dielectrometry as a tool for the characterization of blood cell membrane activity for in vitro diagnostics
Authors: Arkhypova Kateryna , Krasov Pavlo , Fisun Anatolii , Nosatov Andriy , Lychko Volodymyr , Malakhov Volodymyr
Published: May 2017

This paper deals with the concept of microliter sensing of human blood samples by waveguide dielectrometry at microwave frequency (39.5 GHz). The methods, research protocol, and basic results derived from the permittivity measurements are presented. Here we summarize the results of our 5-year research on developing a multidisciplinary approach to the characterization of erythrocytes dielectric response, in parallel with biochemical studies of their receptor-membrane activity, within the scope of a case–control study for in vitro diagnostics of acute and chronic neurological conditions.
A CPW-fed uniplanar dual-band tri-polarization diversity antenna based on PIN diode for the wireless communication
Authors: Li Haixiong , Gong Yunlong , Zhang Jiakai , Ding Jun , Guo Chenjiang
Published: May 2017

In this paper, a coplanar waveguide (CPW)-fed dual-band uniplanar tri-polarization reconfigurable antenna based on the PIN diode switch is proposed. The proposed antenna can be reconfigured between the linear polarization (LP) and the circular polarization (CP) mode, including both the right-handed circular polarization and left-handed circular polarization simultaneously within the dual operating bands. The central frequencies of the bands are 2.63 and 4.42 GHz, respectively, and the overlapped operating bandwidth is 17.8 and 3.40%. The proposed reconfigurable antenna is a closed-slot antenna fed by the CPW transmission line and the reconfigurable mechanism is to regulate the T-shaped driven stub through switching the PIN diodes on and off. The scattering parameters, axial ratio, radiation pattern, gain, and the radiation efficiency of the proposed antenna are all investigated in the following. The optimized antenna has been fabricated to experimental test, the simulated and the measured results agree well with each other. The lower frequency band of the proposed antenna covers the 2.40 GHz WLAN specification and the upper band can be used for the 5 G communication (4.40–4.50 GHz); therefore it is suitable to be applied in the mobile wireless communication.
Developmental toxicant exposure in a mouse model of Alzheimer’s disease induces differential sex-associated microglial activation and increased susceptibility to amyloid accumulation
Authors: vonderEmbse A. N. , Hu Q. , DeWitt J. C.
Published: May 2017

As the resident macrophage of the central nervous system, microglia are thought to contribute to Alzheimer’s disease (AD) pathology through lack of neuroprotection. The role of immune dysfunction in AD may be due to disruption of regulatory signals for the activation of microglia that may occur early in development. We hypothesized that early toxicant exposure would systematically activate microglia, possibly reversing the pathological severity of AD. Offspring of a triple transgenic murine model for AD (3×TgAD) were exposed to a model neurotoxicant, lead acetate, from postnatal days (PND) 5–10. Our results indicated that female mice exposed to Pb had a greater and earlier incidence of amyloid burden within the hippocampus, coinciding with decreased markers of microglial activation at PND 50. Pb-exposed males had increased microglial activation at PND 50, as evidence by CD11b expression and microglial abundance, with no significant increase in amyloid burden at that time. There was greater amyloid burden at PND 90 and 180 in both male and female mice exposed to Pb compared with control. Together, these data suggest that activated microglia are neuroprotective against amyloid accumulation early in AD pathology, and that early exposure to Pb could increase susceptibility to later-life neurodegeneration. Likewise, females may be more susceptible to early-life microglial damage, and, subsequently, AD. Further investigation into the sex biased mechanisms by which microglial activation is altered by an early-life immune insult will provide critical insight into the temporal susceptibility of the developing neuroimmune system and its potential role in AD etiopathology.
The quality of mental health literacy measurement tools evaluating the stigma of mental illness: a systematic review
Authors: Wei Y. , McGrath P. , Hayden J. , Kutcher S.
Published: May 2017

Aims.

Stigma of mental illness is a significant barrier to receiving mental health care. However, measurement tools evaluating stigma of mental illness have not been systematically assessed for their quality. We conducted a systematic review to critically appraise the methodological quality of studies assessing psychometrics of stigma measurement tools and determined the level of evidence of overall quality of psychometric properties of included tools.

Methods.

We searched PubMed, PsycINFO, EMBASE, CINAHL, the Cochrane Library and ERIC databases for eligible studies. We conducted risk-of-bias analysis with the Consensus-based Standards for the Selection of Health Measurement Instruments checklist, rating studies as excellent, good, fair or poor. We further rated the level of evidence of the overall quality of psychometric properties, combining the study quality and quality of each psychometric property, as: strong, moderate, limited, conflicting or unknown.

Results.

We identified 117 studies evaluating psychometric properties of 101 tools. The quality of specific studies varied, with ratings of: excellent (n = 5); good (mostly on internal consistency (n = 67)); fair (mostly on structural validity, n = 89 and construct validity, n = 85); and poor (mostly on internal consistency, n = 36). The overall quality of psychometric properties also varied from: strong (mostly content validity, n = 3), moderate (mostly internal consistency, n = 55), limited (mostly structural validity, n = 55 and construct validity, n = 46), conflicting (mostly test–retest reliability, n = 9) and unknown (mostly internal consistency, n = 36).

Conclusions.

We identified 12 tools demonstrating limited evidence or above for (+, ++, +++) all their properties, 69 tools reaching these levels of evidence for some of their properties, and 20 tools that did not meet the minimum level of evidence for all of their properties. We note that further research on stigma tool development is needed to ensure appropriate application.
Coping with stigma and discrimination: evidence from mental health service users in England
Authors: Isaksson A. , Corker E. , Cotney J. , Hamilton S. , Pinfold V. , Rose D. , Rüsch N. , Henderson C. , Thornicroft G. , Evans-Lacko S.
Published: May 2017

Aims.

Mental health stigma and discrimination are significant problems. Common coping orientations include: concealing mental health problems, challenging others and educating others. We describe the use of common stigma coping orientations and explain variations within a sample of English mental health service users.

Methods.

Cross-sectional survey data were collected as part of the Viewpoint survey of mental health service users’ experiences of discrimination (n = 3005). Linear regression analyses were carried out to identify factors associated with the three stigma coping orientations.

Results.

The most common coping orientation was to conceal mental health problems (73%), which was strongly associated with anticipated discrimination. Only 51% ever challenged others because of discriminating behaviour, this being related to experienced discrimination, but also to higher confidence to tackle stigma.

Conclusions.

Although stigma coping orientations vary by context, individuals often choose to conceal problems, which is associated with greater anticipated and experienced discrimination and less confidence to challenge stigma. The direction of this association requires further investigation.
The Elusive Search for Evidence: Evgenii Khaldei’s Budapest Ghetto, Images of Rape, and Soviet Holocaust Photography
Authors: Shneer David
Published: May 2017

I began studying Soviet photography in the early 2000s. To be more specific, I began studying Soviet photographers, most of whom had “Jewish” written on their internal passports, as I sought to understand how it was possible that a large number of photographers creating images of World War II were members of an ethnic group that was soon to be persecuted by the highest levels of the state. I ended up uncovering the social history of Soviet Jews and their relationship to photography, as I also explored how their training in the 1920s and 1930s shaped the photographs they took during World War II.
Dissimulation and Memory in Early Modern Poland-Lithuania: the Art of Forgetting
Authors: Ivanova Maria , Viise Michelle R.
Published: May 2017

The most well-known practitioner of dissimulation among early modern Christians of the Eastern Rite is Meletii Smotryts'kyi (ca. 1577–1633), the Orthodox archbishop of Polatsk (in modern-day Belarus), who was suspected of being a Uniate for several years before he was openly charged with apostasy during a council of the Orthodox hierarchy of Poland-Lithuania in August of 1628. For the previous year Smotryts'kyi had lived a double life, outwardly an Orthodox archbishop but secretly a Uniate, having formally accepted the Union with Rome on July 6, 1627. In this period of clandestine Uniatism and the years leading up to it, during which he flirted with conversion, Smotryts'kyi fulfilled his official duties, playing a leading role in Orthodox synods and risking exposure that would bring public disgrace and even physical harm. Smotryts'kyi had a positive reason for keeping his conversion secret: he argued that the Congregation of the Holy Office of the Inquisition should allow him to remain in office as an Orthodox bishop so that he might convene a council of the Orthodox hierarchy and elite and, “received as a schismatic [an Orthodox], would be able to set forth and to explain the twofold causes of the present discord of the Church & and to cause doubt for them in the schismatic faith (through the reasons that had taught him himself that there was no contradiction in thing [essence], only in words, between the holy Greek and Latin fathers).” Smotryts'kyi concluded his request for secrecy by comparing his situation with that of Jesuits engaged in mission work with non-Christians: “Wherefore, indeed, if the fathers of the Society of Jesus and the other priests in India can live with the heathens in secular habit, this should cause no one scandal, especially since, with God’s help, we will hope for the much greater fruit of holy Union from his hidden Catholicism & than if he were now known by all.”
From All Sides: Interdisciplinary Knowledge, Scientific Collaboration, and the Soviet Criminological Laboratories of the 1920s
Authors: Pinnow Kenneth M.
Published: May 2017

The erosion of boundaries was a common motif in descriptions of Soviet life during the 1920s. It provided a powerful way of signifying the different rules in operation after the Bolshevik Revolution. Soviet criminal science was a microcosm of this larger change in thought and practice. Mikhail Nikolaevich Gernet, the jurist and criminologist, was particularly fond of using the imagery of prerevolutionary boundaries and their post-revolutionary destruction to describe developments in his field. Under the autocracy, he claimed, scientists were kept away from criminals and their site of containment—the prison. It was, Gernet noted with a degree of dark humor, rather easy to gain entry to a Tsarist prison cell as a political activist, but not as a researcher, who was met at the prison door with the sign: “Entrance to outsiders is strictly prohibited.” In sharp contrast, Soviet scientists were invited into the prisons and given direct access to the inmates. Gernet wrote: “The possibility for us to go right up to living criminals first appeared under Soviet power; until then, we only saw them in the courtroom and behind prison bars, and were not given the opportunity to get near them.”
Social Media and EuroMaidan: A Review Essay
Authors: MacDuffee Metzger Megan , Tucker Joshua A.
Published: May 2017

As more than a billion people had done previously, on November 21, 2013, Ukrainian journalist and activist Mustafa Nayem wrote a Facebook post; this post, however, would have a much larger impact on subsequent political developments than most that had preceded it. Frustrated with President Viktor Yanukovych’s decision not to sign a long-promised association agreement with the European Union, Nayem asked others who shared his frustration to comment on his post. Even more importantly, Nayem wrote that if the post received at least 1000 comments from people willing to join him, they should all go to Independence Square to protest. And indeed they did: starting with just a few thousand people, the protests would swell to be the largest since Ukraine’s independence, particularly after police used force against protesters at the end of November 2013. Eventually, these protests led to the resignation of the government, the exile of the former president, and indirectly to the secession of Crimea and the ongoing conflict in the eastern part of the country.