bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Prospects of open government data (OGD) in facilitating the economic diversification of GCC region
Authors: Saxena Stuti
Published: June 2017

Purpose

As the ongoing oil prices’ crisis is emerging as a major cause of concern for the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region, the constituent governments are attempting at undertaking measures of economic diversification to attain long-term sustainability. The author posits that open government data (OGD) has a significant role to play in facilitating the economic turnaround of the GCC region, given that OGD promotes innovation and economic growth besides providing avenues for collaboration and participation among different stakeholders.

Design/methodology/approach

Following a structured literature review, the paper scans literature on OGD followed by providing a typology of countries on the basis of their OGD-adherence (“laggard”, “caged”, “forerunner” and “champ”). This is followed by a discussion on the ongoing oil prices’ crisis, and evidentiary support is lent by examples from the OGD portals of each of the six GCC countries (Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates) to provide indicators as to how a robust OGD implementation may support their economic diversification objectives.

Findings

Although the present OGD framework of the GCC is relatively weak, it is asserted that OGD has immense potential in facilitating the economic diversification initiatives of the GCC countries. Therefore, the GCC needs to strategize upon institutionalization of their OGD initiatives for realizing their “vision” and goals of economic diversification to result in an economic turnaround effectively.

Originality/value

Besides providing a typology of countries as OGD-adherents and categorizing GCC as “forerunner(s)” on the basis of the typology, the originality of the study lies in its attempt to answer the research question: “what is the role of the OGD in facilitating the economic diversification of the GCC?” Conceding that the research on OGD in the GCC context is few and far between, the present study is a significant contribution to the extant literature pertaining to the roll-out of OGD in developing countries.
Perceptions of online degrees in library science across the Arab world
Authors: Chebl Charla , El Rayess Maroun
Published: June 2017

Purpose

This research paper aims to present a specific outline of the library decision makers’ perceptions and the hiring patterns and acceptability of online library science degree holders in academic libraries across the Arab world. It also investigates whether such degrees compare favorably with traditional degrees or not.

Design/methodology/approach

This study data were collected using an online questionnaire, which was sent out to 74 library managers in academic libraries across the Arab world. The libraries were selected from theQS stars Worldwide University Ranking for the Arab Region 2015, which ranks the Arab world’s top 100 universities.

Findings

The findings reveal no significant relationship between the hiring decision of library managers and the degree type, whether earned through traditional education or online. The analysis notes different factors influencing the hiring practices and acceptability of online library science degree holders, the most influential factors being candidate skills, accreditation of programs and candidate experiences.

Originality/value

To date, no study has investigated whether employers in academic libraries across the Arab world perceive online library science graduate degrees “less than” or “equal to” those obtained through traditional education. This study will contribute to the literature on the acceptance of online degrees in general and in the library science field in particular. The study is a significant contribution to knowledge for students, job seekers and employers alike.
A quantitative framework for testing the resilience of Islamic finance portfolios under IFSB and Basel capital rules
Authors: Aydın Nadi Serhan
Published: June 2017

Purpose

This paper aims to introduce a model-based stress-testing methodology for Islamic finance products. The importance of stress testing was indeed clearly underlined by the adverse developments in the global finance industry. One of the key takeaways was the need to strengthen the coverage of the capital framework. Cognisant of this fact, Basel III encapsulates provisions to enhance the financial sector’s ability to withstand shocks arising from possible stress events, thereby reducing adverse spillovers into the real economy. Similarly, the Islamic Financial Services Board requires Islamic financial institutions to run stress tests as part of capital planning.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors perform thorough backtests on Islamic and conventional portfolios under widely used risk models, which are characterised by an underlying conditional volatility framework and distribution, to identify the most suitable risk model specification. Associated with an appropriate initial shock and estimation window size, the paper also conducts a model-based stress test to examine whether the stress losses estimated by the selected models compare favourably to the historical shocks.

Findings

The results suggest that the model-based framework, when combined with an appropriate risk model and distribution, can successfully reproduce past stress periods. The conditional empirical risk model is the most effective one in both long and short portfolio cases – particularly when combined with a long-enough estimation window. The relative performance of normal vs heavy-tailed distributions and symmetric vs asymmetric risk models, on the other hand, is highly dependent on whether the portfolio is long or short. Finally, the authors find that the Islamic portfolio is generally associated with lower historical stress losses as compared to the conventional portfolio.

Originality/value

The model-based framework eliminates some of the key problems associated with traditional scenario-based approaches and is easily adaptable to Islamic finance.
Adult safeguarding in Wales: one step in the right direction
Authors: Williams John
Published: June 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to consider the background to the recent changes to adult safeguarding in Wales as a result of the new measures introduced by the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014 and discuss their potential impact.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper relies on a range of material including reports published by the Law Commission, the National Assembly for Wales and other public bodies. It also refers to academic and practitioner material in journals and government guidance.

Findings

Although the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014 introduced many changes in adult safeguarding in Wales, not least the duty to make enquiries, it does not take the opportunity to include statutory powers of barring and removal. The introduction of Adult Protection and Support Orders (APSOs) is a cautious step forward – perhaps it is too cautious. More research in needed on the different approaches across the UK.

Research limitations/implications

At the time of publication, the full effect of the new legislation has not been seen. Local authorities and others are coming to terms with the new provisions. No data on the impact of the new legislation are yet available. The paper identifies future research evaluating the working of the different approaches to safeguarding within the UK.

Practical implications

For practitioners, the new legislation provides opportunities to rethink the approach to safeguarding. The lower threshold for referrals will mean an increase in caseloads and the need to react to both low- and high-risk cases. For authorised officers, the practical issues identified relate to the circumstances in which an APSO may be sought and what can be put in place to protect the adult at risk once the order has been used.

Social implications

For those who experience abuse or neglect, the new legislation provides additional support when compared to the POVA process. The duty to make enquiries and the duty to report will hopefully strengthen protection and, with a lower threshold for referral, enable more preventative work to be done at an earlier stage. Whether the new APSO will make a difference remains to be seen.

Originality/value

As this is new legislation, there is very little analysis of the implications of the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014 in relation to safeguarding. This paper presents an overview and, in places, a critical analysis of the new safeguarding duties.
Assessing brand equity in the luxury wine market by exploiting tastemaker scores
Authors: Blair Amanda J. , Atanasova Christina , Pitt Leyland , Chan Anthony , Wallstrom Åsa
Published: June 2017

Purpose

Calculating brand equity, the price differential that a branded product is able to charge compared to an unbranded equivalent, often suffers from a lack of a means to truly determine equivalence. Luxury wines have the benefit of an established measure of equivalency – the Parker score. Robert Parker’s influence as a tastemaker provides a point of comparison across brands. This study looks at brand equity of Bordeaux classified growth wines considering château brands, growths and vintages to illustrate the intangible value for the consumer.

Design/methodology/approach

Using price and wine-specific data from Wine-Searcher.com, an online database and search engine, an initial sample of 393 wines with Parker scores ranging from 72 to 100 is presented. A subset of perfect wines, with 100-point Parker scores, is also reviewed focusing on the great vintage of 2009.

Findings

The results indicate that brand equity in the luxury wine market exists. Not only is this true for the brand of a specific château, but there is also equity associated with the vintage and the growth.

Practical implications

This offers practical implications for brand managers in positioning their wines.

Originality/value

An analysis of luxury wines supports the financial perspective on brand equity, especially when there is a viable means of determining equivalence, such as the Parker score.
Europe – Still between the Superpowers
Authors: Cox Michael
Published: June 2017

In a famous study published in 1978, the American diplomat Anton DePorte argued – controversially – that a Europe held in frozen check between the superpowers was the only sound basis upon which the continent could find peace. The ending of the bloc system in Europe between 1989 and 1991 put paid to this dystopian vision. Indeed, within only a few years, many writers were even beginning to suggest that the new united Europe might one day become a superpower in its own right. As we now know, this early wave of unbridled optimism has given way to an altogether more downbeat mood. In this article, it shall be argued that the prevalent pessimism about Europe is not just a function of what has been occurring within Europe itself. It is also a reflection of the fact that the international order, which during the 1990s seemed to be so benign, has become much less so over the past 15 years. A close examination of Europe's relationships with the three great powers the United States, China and Russia indeed suggests that the world is likely to become more, rather than less, difficult for Europe as it moves forward into the 21st century. Testing times lie ahead.
Corticosterone influences gerbil (Meriones unguiculatus) prostatic morphophysiology and alters its proliferation and apoptosis rates
Authors: Antoniassi Julia Quilles , Fochi Ricardo Alexandre , Góes Rejane Maira , Vilamaior Patricia Simone Leite , Taboga Sebastião Roberto
Published: June 2017

Glucocorticoids (GCs) are hormones that are widely used in medicine; but although side effects are generally recognised, little is known about the precise mechanisms that is implicated in many of these side effects. Furthermore, GCs are highly correlated with stress and behaviour disorders. This study evaluated the effects of the glucocorticoid corticosterone on the ventral prostate of the Mongolian gerbil. Male gerbils (Meriones unguiculatus) (n = 5) received intraperitoneal injections of saline or corticosterone in doses of 0.5 mg/kg/day and 1.5 mg/kg/day for 5 days; while some of the animals were killed immediately after the treatment, the others were killed 5 days after the treatment period. The data show that corticosterone influences the structure and functionality of this organ. This hormone has anti‐proliferative and anti‐apoptotic properties in the prostate. In addition, the frequencies of the androgen (AR), oestrogen (ERα, ERβ) and glucocorticoid (GR) receptors changed. The frequencies of AR, GR and ERβ decreased in the Ct1/5 group; in the groups with rest period, the frequencies of GR increased and ERβ decreased in the epithelium. Changes in the proliferative index, apoptotic index and receptor activity may have contributed to the emergence of prostatic morphological alterations, such as the presence of cellular debris and inflammatory cells. Different doses of corticosterone had variable effects on the prostate, with a higher dose showing subtler effects and a lower dose showing more striking effects. The corticosterone effects on nuclear receptors were reverted or attenuated after a rest period, which was not observed for proliferation and apoptosis. In summary, we have demonstrated that corticosterone might influence the prostatic morphophysiology and that these changes may be linked in some way to the altered receptor distribution.
Rapid high‐T decompression recorded by Archean granulites in the northern Wyoming Province: Insights from petrological modelling
Authors: Guevara Victor E. , Caddick Mark J. , Dragovic Besim
Published: June 2017

This study places new constraints on the pressure–temperature (P–T) path and duration of high‐temperature (HT) metamorphism recorded by Archean granulite facies metasedimentary rocks from the northern Wyoming Province in the eastern Beartooth Mountains, MT and WY, USA. These rocks exist as m‐ to km‐scale xenoliths within a c. 2.8 Ga calc‐alkaline granitoid batholith. Different interpretations of the timing of HT metamorphism relative to batholith intrusion in previous works have led to ambiguity over the mechanism by which these rocks were heated (i.e. batholith intrusion v. a later, cryptic event). The P–T path recorded by these rocks and the duration of this path may be indicative of the heating mechanism but are not currently well constrained. Here, we combine phase equilibria thermobarometry and diffusion modelling of major element zonation in garnet in order to constrain the P–T path of HT metamorphism and the durations of different parts of this path. It is shown that these rocks record a tight, clockwise P–T path characterized by near‐isobaric heating at ~6.5–7 kbar to ˜770–800°C, HT decompression to ~6 kbar, 780–800°C, followed by limited decompression while cooling. Diffusion modelling of major element zonation in garnet suggests that HT decompression was brief (likely <1 Ma), and that cooling rates following this decompression were on the order of 10–100°C/Ma. Substantial changes in apparent thermal gradient along this P–T path indicate that the rocks record a significant but short‐lived thermal anomaly that occurred in the Wyoming mid‐crust in the Late Archean.
Overexpression and cosuppression of xylem‐related genes in an early xylem differentiation stage‐specific manner by the AtTED4 promoter
Authors: Endo Satoshi , Iwamoto Kuninori , Fukuda Hiroo
Published: June 2017

Tissue‐specific overexpression of useful genes, which we can design according to their cause‐and‐effect relationships, often gives valuable gain‐of‐function phenotypes. To develop genetic tools in woody biomass engineering, we produced a collection of Arabidopsis lines that possess chimeric genes of a promoter of an early xylem differentiation stage‐specific gene, Arabidopsis Tracheary Element Differentiation‐related 4 (AtTED4) and late xylem development‐associated genes, many of which are uncharacterized. The AtTED4 promoter directed the expected expression of transgenes in developing vascular tissues from young to mature stage. Of T2 lines examined, 42%, 49% and 9% were judged as lines with the nonrepeat type insertion, the simple repeat type insertion and the other repeat type insertion of transgenes. In 174 T3 lines, overexpression lines were confirmed for 37 genes, whereas only cosuppression lines were produced for eight genes. The AtTED4 promoter activity was high enough to overexpress a wide range of genes over wild‐type expression levels, even though the wild‐type expression is much higher than AtTED4 expression for several genes. As a typical example, we investigated phenotypes of pAtTED4::At5g60490 plants, in which both overexpression and cosuppression lines were included. Overexpression but not cosuppression lines showed accelerated xylem development, suggesting the positive role of At5g60490 in xylem development. Taken together, this study provides valuable results about behaviours of various genes expressed under an early xylem‐specific promoter and about usefulness of their lines as genetic tools in woody biomass engineering.
The effect of treatment time, dialysis frequency, and ultrafiltration rate on intradialytic hypotension
Authors: Aronoff George R.
Published: June 2017

Dialysis treatment time, the frequency of dialysis treatments, and the rate of fluid ultrafiltration—each impacts the incidence of intradialytic hypotension. These factors influence blood pressure independently and together. The strongest evidence supports that rapid ultrafiltration increases the likelihood of intradialytic hypotension and that combined strategies leading to a reduction in ultrafiltration rate have the greatest impact on reducing intradialytic hypotension. A practical approach to avoiding the effects of ultrafiltration on systemic hemodynamics would be to set a maximum ultrafiltration rate needed to achieve the desired fluid removal and vary the duration of the treatment to achieve that target volume. Randomized, controlled clinical trials of such strategies are warranted.
Treatment strategies for chronic osteomyelitis in low‐ and middle‐income countries: systematic review
Authors: Geurts J. , Hohnen A. , Vranken T. , Moh P.
Published: June 2017

Objectives

To identify a standard treatment regime or highly successful procedure for chronic osteomyelitis in low‐ and middle‐income countries.

Methods

Systematic review following PRISMA guidelines.

Results

The initial search resulted in 102 studies of which nine met the inclusion criteria and were analysed qualitatively. The included studies involved 1173 patients from Africa and Asia. All patients were diagnosed with chronic osteomyelitis. Surgical and antibiotic treatment regimens differed substantially. No better judgement than moderate risk of selection bias could be made due to the study designs.

Conclusions

The evidence is not sufficiently robust to identify the most effective treatment, or to even allow a recommendation of the best suitable treatment of chronic osteomyelitis in low‐income countries.
Capturing the radical ion-pair intermediate in DNA guanine oxidation
Authors: Jie Jialong , Liu Kunhui , Wu Lidan , Zhao Hongmei , Song Di , Su Hongmei
Published: June 2017

The key radical ion-pair transient in DNA guanine oxidation is directly observed at low temperature by time-resolved spectroscopy.
HIV virions sense plasma membrane heterogeneity for cell entry
Authors: Yang Sung-Tae , Kreutzberger Alex J. B. , Kiessling Volker , Ganser-Pornillos Barbie K. , White Judith M. , Tamm Lukas K.
Published: June 2017

HIV virions target co-receptors and fuse at ordered/disordered domain boundaries in cholesterol-rich plasma membranes.
Selective targeting of primary and secondary nucleation pathways in Aβ42 aggregation using a rational antibody scanning method
Authors: Aprile Francesco A. , Sormanni Pietro , Perni Michele , Arosio Paolo , Linse Sara , Knowles Tuomas P. J. , Dobson Christopher M. , Vendruscolo Michele
Published: June 2017

A rational approach enables the almost complete suppression of nucleation events in Aβ42 aggregation using designed antibodies.
Genome Sequence of a Novel HIV-1 Circulating Recombinant Form (CRF77_cpx) Identified among Blood Donors in Malaysia
Authors: Tee Kok Keng , Bon Abdul Hamid , Chow Wei Zhen , Ng Kim Tien , Chan Kok Gan , Kamarulzaman Adeeba , Busch Michael P. , Takebe Yutaka
Published: June 2017

We report here the first HIV-1 circulating recombinant form (CRF) complex identified among the blood donors in Malaysia. The CRF77_cpx mosaic genome consists of parental subtypes B′, C, and CRF01_AE and is structurally related to CRF07_BC. The identification of CRF77_cpx underlines the genetic complexity and mobility of HIV-1 among the blood donors.
Draft Genome Sequence of Anoxybacillus ayderensis Strain MT-Cab (
Firmicutes
)
Authors: Thiel Vera , Tank Marcus , Tomsho Lynn P. , Burhans Richard , Gay Scott E. , Hamilton Trinity L. , Schuster Stephan C. , Bryant Donald A.
Published: June 2017

The draft genome of the Gram-positive spore-forming
Anoxybacillus ayderensis
strain MT-Cab (
Firmicutes
), isolated from an enrichment culture of
Chloracidobacterium thermophilum
, was sequenced and comprises 2,577,015 bp in 92 contigs. The draft genome is predicted to consist of 2,699 protein-coding genes, 73 tRNA-coding genes, and an estimated 8 rRNA operons.
Draft Genome Sequences of Two Janthinobacterium lividum Strains, Isolated from Pristine Groundwater Collected from the Oak Ridge Field Research Center
Authors: Wu Xiaoqin , Deutschbauer Adam M. , Kazakov Alexey E. , Wetmore Kelly M. , Cwick Bryson A. , Walker Robert M. , Novichkov Pavel S. , Arkin Adam P. , Chakraborty Romy
Published: June 2017

We present here the draft genome sequences of two
Janthinobacterium lividum
strains, GW456P and GW458P, isolated from groundwater samples collected from a background site at the Oak Ridge Field Research Center. Production of a purple pigment by these two strains was observed when grown on diluted (1/10) LB agar plates.
Draft Genome Sequence of Lactobacillus curvatus FLEC03, a Meat-Borne Isolate from Beef Carpaccio Packaged in a Modified Atmosphere
Authors: Terán Lucrecia C. , Coeuret Gwendoline , Raya Raúl , Champomier-Vergès Marie-Christine , Chaillou Stéphane
Published: June 2017

In this study, we present the draft genome sequence for
Lactobacillus curvatus
FLEC03. This strain was isolated from beef carpaccio packaged in a modified atmosphere. The draft genome will contribute to understanding the role of
L. curvatus
strains in food products (fermentation, biopreservation, or spoilage) through comparative genomics with other strains.
The 2015 upper gastrointestinal “Be Clear on Cancer” campaign: its impact on gastroenterology services and malignant and premalignant diagnoses
Authors: Siau Keith , Yew Andrew Chong , Hingley Samantha , Rees James , Trudgill Nigel John , Veitch Andrew M , Fisher Neil C
Published: June 2017

Objective

To assess the impact of the upper gastrointestinal ‘Be Clear on Cancer’ campaign launched by Public Health England between January and February 2015 on open-access gastroscopy referrals, incidence of target diagnoses (oesophagogastric cancer and Barrett’s oesophagus), cancer staging at presentation, 1-year survival and cost per additional diagnosis.

Design

We performed a retrospective study of patients referred for 2-week-wait (2WW), open-access endoscopy 3 months following the campaign with diagnoses, endoscopic findings, staging and 12-month survival compared with data from corresponding months in 2014.

Setting

Three adjacent National Health Service trusts in the West Midlands with a combined population of 1.34 million in 2015.

Results

2WW open-access referrals increased by 48% (95% CI 1.35 to 1.61, p<0.001). The proportion of target diagnoses fell from 6.7% to 6.1% (p=0.62). There were no significant overall increases in target diagnoses (OR 1.35, 95% CI 0.95 to 1.92, p=0.11) or cancer (OR 1.30, 95% CI 0.80 to 2.07, p=0.36). There was no change in tumour, node, metastasis (TNM) staging for oesophageal or gastric cancer. Overall 1-year survival did not alter significantly (HR 1.10, 95% CI 0.56 to 2.19, p=0.76).

Discussion

The ‘Be Clear on Cancer’ campaign led to a 48% increase in demand for 2WW gastroscopies but did not significantly affect the incidence of target diagnoses, cancer staging or 1-year survival.
Developing teaching to improve the wellbeing of future vets
Authors: Armitage‐Chan Elizabeth
Published: June 2017

Some people are under the impression that developing the educational experience of students at the Royal Veterinary College doesn't make you a ‘real vet’. Here, Elizabeth Armitage‐Chan explains how her role helps future vets gain in confidence and competence
Schooling improves critical swimming performance in zebrafish (Danio rerio)
Authors: Wiwchar Logan D. , Gilbert Matthew J.H. , Kasurak Ashley V. , Tierney Keith B.
Published: June 2017

The critical swimming performance (Ucrit) of fish has typically been measured on individuals given a step-based test that ends in fatigue. Many of the fish given this test naturally travel in schools; a concern is that the Ucrittest underestimates the natural performance of schooling fish, as there are hydrodynamic benefits to schooling. We addressed whether Ucritwas improved by schooling by giving zebrafish (Danio rerio) Ucrittests individually or in groups of three, five, or ten. We found that fish swam faster in schools and that schools grew more cohesive as flow speed increased. The increased Ucritowed to a greater number of fish swimming longer at lower speeds. In support of this, fish with the greatest Ucrittended to have lower lactate and greater expression of citrate synthase. Our results indicate that Ucritmay increase when fish are tested in groups and that this may relate to energy savings, as well as differences in individual physiology.
Design of Optimal CMOS Analog Amplifier Circuits Using a Hybrid Evolutionary Optimization Technique
Authors: De Bishnu Prasad , Maji Kanchan Baran , Kar Rajib , Mandal Durbadal , Ghoshal Sakti Prasad
Published: June 2017

This paper proposes an efficient design technique for two commonly used VLSI circuits, namely, CMOS current mirror load-based differential amplifier circuit and CMOS two-stage operational amplifier. The hybrid evolutionary method utilized for these optimal designs is random particle swarm optimization with differential evolution (RPSODE). Random PSO utilizes the weighted particles for monitoring the search directions. DE is a robust evolutionary technique. It has demonstrated an exclusive performance for the optimization problems which are continuous and global but suffers from the uncertainty issues. PSO is a robust optimization method but suffers from sub-optimality problem. This paper effectively hybridizes the random PSO and DE to remove the limitations related to both the techniques individually. In this paper, RPSODE is employed to optimize the sizes of the MOS transistors to reduce the overall area taken by the circuit while satisfying the design constraints. The results obtained from RPSODE technique are validated in SPICE environment. SPICE-based simulation results justify that RPSODE is a much better technique than other formerly reported methods for the designs of the above mentioned circuits in terms of MOS area, gain, power dissipation, etc.
Visual Classification of Furniture Styles
Authors: Hu Zhenhen , Wen Yonggang , Liu Luoqi , Jiang Jianguo , Hong Richang , Wang Meng , Yan Shuicheng
Published: June 2017

Furniture style describes the discriminative appearance characteristics of furniture. It plays an important role in real-world indoor decoration. In this article, we explore the furniture style features and study the problem of furniture style classification. Differing from traditional object classification, furniture style classification aims at classifying different furniture in terms of the “style” that describes its appearance (e.g., American style, Gothic style, Rococo style, etc.) rather than the “kind” that is more related to its functional structure (e.g., bed, desk, etc.). To pursue efficient furniture style features, we construct a novel dataset of furniture styles that contains 16 common style categories and implement three strategies with respect to two categories of classification, that is, handcrafted classification and learning-based classification. First, we follow the typical image classification pipeline to extract the handcrafted features and train the classifier by support vector machine. Then we use the convolutional neural network to extract learning-based features from training images. To obtain comprehensive furniture style features, we finally combine the handcrafted image classification pipeline and the learning-based network. We experimentally evaluate the performances of handcrafted features and learning-based features of each strategy, and the results show the superiority of learning-based features and also the comprehensiveness of handcrafted features.
Recognizing Human Actions with Outlier Frames by Observation Filtering and Completion
Authors: Lin Shih-Yao , Lin Yen-Yu , Chen Chu-Song , Hung Yi-Ping
Published: June 2017

This article addresses the problem of recognizing
partially observed
human actions. Videos of actions acquired in the real world often contain corrupt frames caused by various factors. These frames may appear irregularly, and make the actions only partially observed. They change the appearance of actions and degrade the performance of pretrained recognition systems. In this article, we propose an approach to address the corrupt-frame problem without knowing their locations and durations in advance. The proposed approach includes two key components:
outlier filtering
and
observation completion
. The former identifies and filters out unobserved frames, and the latter fills up the filtered parts by retrieving coherent alternatives from training data.
Hidden Conditional Random Fields
(HCRFs) are then used to recognize the filtered and completed actions. Our approach has been evaluated on three datasets, which contain both fully observed actions and partially observed actions with either real or synthetic corrupt frames. The experimental results show that our approach performs favorably against the other state-of-the-art methods, especially when corrupt frames are present.
Mago
Authors: Chen Ke-Yu , Shah Rahul C. , Huang Jonathan , Nachman Lama
Published: June 2017

In this paper, we introduce Mago, a novel system that can infer a person's mode of transport (MOT) using the Hall-effect magnetic sensor and accelerometer present in most smart devices. When a vehicle is moving, the motions of its mechanical components such as the wheels, transmission and the differential distort the earth's magnetic field. The magnetic field is distorted corresponding to the vehicle structure (e.g., bike chain or car transmission system), which manifests itself as a strong signal for sensing a person's transportation modality. We utilize this magnetic signal combined with the accelerometer and design a robust algorithm for the MOT detection. In particular, our system extracts frame-based features from the sensor data and can run in nearly real-time with only a few seconds of delay. We evaluated Mago using over 70 hours of daily commute data from 7 participants and the leave-one-out analysis of our cross-user, cross-device model reports an average accuracy of 94.4% among seven classes (stationary, bus, bike, car, train, light rail and scooter). Besides MOT, our system is able to reliably differentiate the phone's in-car position at an average accuracy of 92.9%. We believe Mago could potentially benefit many contextually-aware applications that require MOT detection such as a digital personal assistant or a life coaching application.
Introduction to Special Issue on the Best Papers from KDD 2016
Authors: Aggarwal Charu C.
Published: June 2017

This issue contains the best papers from the ACM KDD Conference 2016. As is customary at KDD, special issue papers are invited only from the research track. The top-ranked papers from the KDD 2016 conference are included in this issue. This issue contains a total of six articles, which are from different areas of data mining. A brief description of these articles is also provided in this article.
Mani-Pull-Action
Authors: LEite Luis , Orvalho Veronica
Published: June 2017

The human hand dexterity provides a natural and rich interface for computer interaction. Technologies for tracking hand and finger motion are now accessible and can be used with a minimum computation power for the manipulation of virtual puppets in real-time. However creating an intuitive hand-based motion con- trol interface presents problems such as, mapping the hand to an object that demands more degrees of freedom or to assign gestures that are difficult to memorize or to execute. We propose an ergonomic hand- mapping model for digital puppetry, based on the human hand anatomy and biomechanics, adapting tradi- tional puppetry methods. A cinematic virtual puppetry application was developed supporting distinct in- teraction styles based on the hand dexterity skills. An experiment using the Leap Motion controller was conducted to evaluate the hand mapping feasibility. The participants considered that the proposed interface provides a good level of directness. Furthermore, a custom interface for smartphones was combined with the application to extend the puppet manipulation and show control operations.
Noninvasive Assessment of Oxygen Extraction Fraction in Chronic Ischemia Using Quantitative Susceptibility Mapping at 7 Tesla
Authors: Uwano Ikuko , Kudo Kohsuke , Sato Ryota , Ogasawara Kuniaki , Kameda Hiroyuki , Nomura Jun-ichi , Mori Futoshi , Yamashita Fumio , Ito Kenji , Yoshioka Kunihiro , Sasaki Makoto
Published: June 2017

Background and Purpose—

The oxygen extraction fraction (OEF) is an effective metric to evaluate metabolic reserve in chronic ischemia. However, OEF is considered to be accurately measured only when using positron emission tomography (PET). Thus, we investigated whether OEF maps generated by magnetic resonance quantitative susceptibility mapping (QSM) at 7 Tesla enabled detection of OEF changes when compared with those obtained with PET.

Methods—

Forty-one patients with chronic stenosis/occlusion of the unilateral internal carotid artery or middle cerebral artery were examined using 7 Tesla-MRI and PET scanners. QSM images were obtained from 3-dimensional T2*-weighted images, using a multiple dipole-inversion algorithm. OEF maps were generated based on susceptibility differences between venous structures and brain tissues on QSM images. OEF ratios of the ipsilateral middle cerebral artery territory against the contralateral side were calculated on the QSM-OEF and PET-OEF images, using an anatomic template.

Results—

The OEF ratio in the middle cerebral artery territory showed significant correlations between QSM-OEF and PET-OEF maps (
r
=0.69;
P
<0.001), especially in patients with a substantial increase in the PET-OEF ratio of 1.09 (
r
=0.79;
P
=0.004), although showing significant systematic biases for the agreements. An increased QSM-OEF ratio of >1.09, as determined by receiver operating characteristic analysis, showed a sensitivity and specificity of 0.82 and 0.86, respectively, for the substantial increase in the PET-OEF ratio. Absolute QSM-OEF values were significantly correlated with PET-OEF values in the patients with increased PET-OEF.

Conclusions—

OEF ratios on QSM-OEF images at 7 Tesla showed a good correlation with those on PET-OEF images in patients with unilateral steno-occlusive internal carotid artery/middle cerebral artery lesions, suggesting that noninvasive OEF measurement by MRI can be a substitute for PET.
A new species of Neblinagena Spangler from Kukenán tepui and DNA barcoding of Neblinagena and related genera (Coleoptera: Elmidae)
Authors: ČIAMPOR FEDOR Jr , ČIAMPOROVÁ-ZAŤOVIČOVÁ ZUZANA , KODADA JÁN
Published: June 2017

We describe here a new species of the genus Neblinagena Spangler, 1985 from the foothills of the Kukenán tepui (Venezuela). Neblinagena mira sp. n. occurs sympatrically with Neblinagena doylei Kodada & Jäch, 1999, from which it differs mainly in the shape of thorax, shorter setae around eyes, pointed apices of elytra and shape of the male genitalia. We describe also the larva of the new species, which is the first description of a larva in the genus. Larva was assigned to the adults of N. mira sp. n. using mtDNA barcodes. Molecular data were also used to estimate relationships of the new species with congeneric larvae from Auyán tepui, N. doylei and related Larainae genera.
A new genus and new species of freshwater crab (Decapoda: Brachyura: Potamidae Ortmann, 1896) from Yunnan Province, China
Authors: CHU KELIN , ZHOU LIJUN , SUN HONGYING
Published: June 2017

A new genus Arquatopotamon gen. n. of the family Potamidae Ortmann, 1896, is established and a new species, Arquatopotamon jizushanense sp. n. from Yunnan Province, China is described. The new genus is established based on the distinctive distal part of the male first gonopod, with arched-shaped subterminal and terminal segments (in mesioventral view) and female gonopores (vulvae) on thoracic sternites 5/6 and a combination of characters including the carapace and male telson, while it is similar to the five known genera in Yunnan Province and adjacent area, Tenuipotamon Dai, 1990, Pararanguna Dai & Chen, 1985, Trichopotamon Dai & Chen, 1985, Potamiscus Alcock, 1909 and Aparapotamon Dai & Chen, 1985, in having a third maxilliped exopod without a flagellum. Present molecular data based on a barcoding marker of 16S rDNA provide strong support for the genus as being new.
Palliative Care Development in Africa: Lessons From Uganda and Kenya
Authors: Fraser Brooke A. , Powell Richard A. , Mwangi-Powell Faith N. , Namisango Eve , Hannon Breffni , Zimmermann Camilla , Rodin Gary
Published: June 2017

Purpose

Despite increased access to palliative care in Africa, there remains substantial unmet need. We examined the impact of approaches to promoting the development of palliative care in two African countries, Uganda and Kenya, and considered how these and other strategies could be applied more broadly.

Methods

This study reviews published data on development approaches to palliative care in Uganda and Kenya across five domains: education and training, access to opioids, public and professional attitudes, integration into national health systems, and research. These countries were chosen because they are African leaders in palliative care, in which successful approaches to palliative care development have been used.

Results

Both countries have implemented strategies across all five domains to develop palliative care. In both countries, successes in these endeavors seem to be related to efforts to integrate palliative care into the national health system and educational curricula, the training of health care providers in opioid treatment, and the inclusion of community providers in palliative care planning and implementation. Research in palliative care is the least well-developed domain in both countries.

Conclusion

A multidimensional approach to development of palliative care across all domains, with concerted action at the policy, provider, and community level, can improve access to palliative care in African countries.
Cancer and Race: What They Tell Us about the Emerging Focus of Health Equity
Authors: Wailoo Keith
Published: June 2017

This article examines the history of concepts and frames (such as “equity” or “disparities”) and how these frames have guided public policies and explanations about differences in health across the population. Considering the emblematic case of cancer, which has stimulated long and heated debate over social, economic, and biological causes, the article argues that the vocabularies of health reform are both semantic and also deeply political—framing different reform agendas. The article describes the evolving US debate over the biological, social, or environmental origins of differential cancer mortality along lines of social difference and race, tracing important shifts and reversal over time. Through this analysis, the article explains how and why equity concerns have figured (sometimes implicitly, sometimes explicitly) in health reform discussions, often in tension with other frames. It examines how Americans have used these frameworks to justify different kinds of action and inaction, concluding with a discussion of how these frameworks of “disparities” and “equity” should be understood today in scientific, political, and policy discourse.1
How the ACA Addressed Health Equity and What Repeal Would Mean
Authors: Grogan Colleen M.
Published: June 2017

This commentary reviews the many different ways the Affordable Care Act (ACA) explicitly and implicitly attempted to improve health equity, and then assesses how the Republican proposal to repeal and replace the ACA (the proposed American Health Care Act) would impact efforts to improve health equity. Although the American health care system still had a long way to go to achieve health equity, it may be argued that the ACA was a major step forward in creating new programs and regulations that had the potential to improve health equity. In stark contrast, Trumpcare makes no mention of health equity as a goal and—if passed—would result in an increase in health inequity. It would shamefully represent the first time in modern US history that a major federal health reform bill would actually move us further away from creating more equal access to health care coverage and toward reduced health equity.
ЭКСТРЕМАЛЬНЫЕ СУБКУЛЬТУРЫ: ТЕОРЕТИКО-МЕТОДОЛОГИЧЕСКИЕ АСПЕКТЫ ИССЛЕДОВАНИЯ
Authors: Shulgin Alexander Sergeevich
Published: June 2017

Цель. Состоит в теоретическом анализе феномена экстремальности и социализирующей функции экстремальных субкультур в современном обществе.Методы и методология проведения работы. Использованы идеи социокультурного, интеракционистского, феноменологического и социопсихологического подходов.Результаты. Произведена конкретизация проблемы в контексте определения социокультурных оснований экстрима. Определено понятие экстремальной субкультуры в качестве единицы, простейшего системного образования, отвечающего за актуализацию и репрезентацию экстремальности на культурном и социальном уровне.Область применения результатов. Результаты исследования могут использоваться в научной и практической сфере, а также расширить научные знания о социокультурных основаниях и формах проявления экстрима в современном обществе.
СОВОКУПНЫЙ ПРОФЕССИОНАЛЬНЫЙ ИМИДЖ
Authors: Tsvetkova Elena Alexandrovna , Prokhorova Marina Vyacheslavovna , Skobeleva Ekaterina Ivanovna
Published: June 2017

В статье обосновывается теоретико-практическая целесообразность использования в социологической и междисциплинарной теории имиджа понятия «совокупный профессиональный имидж», что актуально в условиях превращение имиджа в ценность и актуальную форму коммуникативной компетенции в структуре современной профессиональной культуры.Теоретическая значимость данной работы заключается в доказательстве на базе систематизации ряда положений отечественной теории имиджа структурно-функциональной симметрии содержания принципа профессионализма и совокупного профессионального имиджа.Практическая направленность полученных в исследовании результатов связана с возможностями их применения в практике формирования профессионально-имиджевой компетенции специалистов. Цель была достигнута через решение следующих задач:1. Обоснован онтологический потенциал принципа профессионализма в качестве основы формулировки понятия «совокупный профессиональный имидж».2. Выявлена логика формирования, а также представлена характеристика структурных элементов совокупного профессионального имиджа и их внутрисистемных связей.3. Сформулировано содержание и выделены функциональные задачи персонального профессионального имиджа.
Contents
Authors: AMS Editorial
Published: June 2017

Research papers

Technical paper
Adverse childhood experiences and health outcomes in Wales
Authors: Fernandez Sharon
Published: June 2017

A recent Welsh survey showed a strong link between adverse childhood experiences and poor physical and mental health, chronic disease, and lower educational achievement—the bread and butter of health visitors' work, says Sharon Fernandez.
Reanimating creolization through pop culture: Yasmin Ahmad’s inter-Asian audio-visual integration
Authors: Bernards Brian
Published: June 2017

As one of the most critically celebrated and analysed Malaysian auteurs, Yasmin Ahmad (1959−2009) addressed the complicated postcolonial politics of Malaysia’s multiculturalism in her six feature films. This article examines the relationship between her cinematic imagination of Malaysian multiculturalism and her frequent inter-Asian pop culture referencing. These references initiate on-screen crosscultural dialogues that upend ethnic, gender and class stereotypes. Aestheticizing experiences of partial intelligibility, Yasmin’s audio-visual integration of multilingualism reanimates historical creolization as unanticipated intimacies suppressed by Malaysia’s postcolonial multiculturalism. Questioning popular interpretations of her characters’ relationships as ‘interracial’, this reanimation of creolization does not celebrate the coalescence of an overarching Malaysian or Asian identity (or cinema), but rather proposes more affectionate modes of re-conceptualizing crosscultural relations and initiating neighbourly dialogue.
A new catalyst for aldol condensation reactions
Authors: Hassan Yusuf , Klein Rosa , Kaye Perry T.
Published: June 2017

A new manganese complex was synthesised incorporating 1,2-diaminobenzene linked ketopinic acid scaffold, and successfully utilised as catalyst in the aldol condensation reactions of benzaldehyde with various aliphatic ketones to obtain products with excellent yield of >99 %.
Parallel patterns determination in solving cyclic flow shop problem with setups
Authors: Bożejko Wojciech , Chaczko Zenon , Uchroński Mariusz , Wodecki Mieczysław
Published: June 2017

The subject of this work is the new idea of blocks for the cyclic flow shop problem with setup times, using multiple patterns with different sizes determined for each machine constituting optimal schedule of cities for the traveling salesman problem (TSP). We propose to take advantage of the Intel Xeon Phi parallel computing environment during so-called ’blocks’ determination basing on patterns, in effect significantly improving the quality of obtained results.