bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The policy implications of the relationship between energy consumption, energy intensity and economic growth in Ghana
Authors: Aboagye Solomon
Published: December 2017

The 19739/74 and 1979/1980 oil price shocks coupled with the unreliability of its supply as against the ever‐increasing demand for energy‐based inputs, further reinforced the stern implications that energy may have on economic development reducing energy intensity is often advocated as a way to ensure efficient utilisation of energy resources and minimising the adverse effects of its shortage on economic development. Using the annual time series data set spanning 1981–2014 this study examined, in Ghana where energy crises continue to immense adverse effects on the economy, the relationships between energy consumption and economic growth at the one hand, and that between energy intensity and economic growth on the other hand within the standard Environmental Kuznets Curve framework. In Autoregressive Distributed Lagged model estimation, there was strong evidence of the existence of a valid long‐run relationship between energy consumption and economic growth as well as energy intensity and economic growth.
Factors that drive energy use in Africa: panel data evidence from selected Sub‐Sahara African countries
Authors: Kolawole Aisha , Adesola Sola , De Vita Glauco
Published: December 2017

Sub‐Saharan African (SSA) countries need adequate energy to achieve socio‐economic growth and development. According to recent statistics, only 30 per cent of the entire population have access to power, making the region the highest in the world with people without access to electricity. This is in sharp contrast with the abundant energy resources available, which could be harnessed to provide the needed energy. The purpose of this study is to identify and analyse the determinants of aggregate energy demand in SSA. Reliable secondary macroeconomic and energy data were collected from publicly available and widely used databases. The study uses a panel cointegration technique to examine the determinants of energy demand in SSA, over the period from 1980 to 2014, for selected countries in the region. Our results reveal that income is the predominant factor behind the increase in energy demand in SSA, with the highest elasticity. Furthermore, energy demand in SSA conforms to a priori expectations of a negative price elasticity. The results are in line with the theory of demand. Significantly, we also find that urbanisation an important role for energy demand. Stringent energy conservation policy and other recommendations flow from the findings.
Survival and prognostic factors for patients with melanoma brain metastases in the era of modern systemic therapy
Authors: Tio Martin , Wang Xuan , Carlino Matteo S. , Shivalingam Brindha , Fogarty Gerald B. , Guminski Alexander D. , Lo Serigne , Hong Angela M. , Menzies Alexander M. , Long Georgina V.
Published: December 2017

Historically, the prognosis of patients with melanoma brain metastases is poor, with median overall survival (OS) of 4‐6 months. Little is known ofOSin the era of modern systemic therapies and local therapy with stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) or surgery. Patients diagnosed with melanoma brain metastases at Melanoma Institute Australia from January 2011 to December 2014 were included.OSand prognostic factors were analysed using Cox regression and Kaplan‐Meier survival analyses.355 patients were included. The medianOSwas 7.1 months (95% confidence interval [CI] 6.0‐8.1). MedianOSdiffered by treatment modality: systemic therapy andSRSand/or surgery 14.9 months (95%CI10.7‐19.0),SRSand/or surgery with or without whole brain radiotherapy (WBRT) 6.4 months (95%CI5.4‐7.5), systemic therapy 5.4 months (95%CI3.1‐7.7), systemic therapy andWBRT5.2 months (95%CI4.1‐6.4),WBRT4.4 months (95%CI2.4‐6.3), and best supportive care 1.8 months (95%CI1.2‐2.3).OSfor patients with melanoma brain metastases appears improved in the modern era, particularly for patients who are candidates for systemic therapy withSRSand/or surgery.
Cold plasma: a potential new method to manage postharvest diseases caused by fungal plant pathogens
Authors: Siddique S. S. , Hardy G. E. St. J. , Bayliss K. L.
Published: December 2017

Development of alternative, chemical‐free approaches for control of postharvest fungi on a commercial scale has become a challenge for plant pathologists in recent years. Although there are several established techniques such as heat that are used as postharvest treatments, they often have disadvantages, including alteration of food quality due to physiological responses to the treatment, or environmental pollution. A promising new postharvest treatment is cold plasma, which is a gas‐derived mix of atoms, excited molecules and charged particles. Cold plasma has no known adverse effects on fresh produce or the environment. It is an established technology in the medical field and has been demonstrated to successfully control bacterial pathogens that cause food safety issues. This review focuses on the potential of cold plasma technology for postharvest disease control, especially those caused by fungi. An overview of plasma generation systems is provided, and in vivo and in vitro research is reviewed to consider benefits, limitations and research gaps in the context of cold plasma as a potential method for controlling postharvest fungal pathogens. Finally, recommendations are provided for the application of this technology in commercial facilities.
Progress toward Pay Equity in State Governments?
Authors: Lewis Gregory B. , Boyd Jonathan , Pathak Rahul
Published: December 2017

Are state governments fulfilling their responsibilities to be model employers of women and minorities? Using U.S. Census Bureau data on individual employees from 1980 to 2015, this article looks at how much progress state governments have made toward eliminating racial and gender pay differences. It examines whether differences in education, age/experience, citizenship, English ability, hours worked, and occupation explain the pay differences. Patterns and explanations vary substantially by group, but state governments are doing a better job than private firms of closing pay gaps on almost every measure.
Smart specialization in regional innovation systems: a quadruple helix perspective
Authors: Höglund Linda , Linton Gabriel
Published: December 2017

This article explores Robotdalen, a smart specialization initiative in the region of Mälardalen, Sweden, and its impact on regional innovation systems (RIS). The Robotdalen initiative, with the goal to create a regional center for robotics, was established based on the triple helix innovation systems model of industry, university, and government interaction. This paper aims to understand the dynamic interactions of the smart specialization strategy in relation to the RIS. It also includes the perspective of the fourth helix, which contains civil society and users. To date, there has been a scarcity of research which explores the challenges of quadruple helix models from a micro perspective to understand their complexity. To address this, a single case study approach is taken, which includes a longitudinal perspective of 10 years (2007–2016). The analysis includes micro activities explored from a strategizing perspective. The research contributes by identifying three strategic practices that have evolved over time for Robotdalen. It also presents an empirical operationalization of the fourth helix, as well discusses the arrival of the fourth helix perspective.
On the teaching of ecological restoration in Brazil: an analysis of postgraduate courses
Authors: Sansevero Jerônimo B. B. , Alonso Jorge M. , Booth Micael C. , Bueno Mateus M. , Carvalho Lucas S. , Clemente Nicoló , Foesch Meri Diana S. , Mateus Felipe A. , Valcarcel Ricardo
Published: December 2017

Several ambitious restoration targets have been set for recovering degraded ecosystems in Brazil (21 million hectares with a legal deficit of native vegetation). The development of scientific knowledge and skilled professionals is necessary to meet this demand and is fundamental for achieving success in medium‐ and long‐term restoration. In this study, we describe the availability and profile of postgraduate courses on ecological restoration in Brazil. We surveyed 272 postgraduate programs, comprising six specific areas of concentration (forestry, soil sciences, botany, environmental engineering, ecology, and environmental science). We analyzed all selected courses in terms of location, approach (economic, social, and legal), and restoration techniques. Only 27% of the postgraduate programs analyzed offer ecological restoration courses, and 49% of these are offered in the southeast region of the country. Regions covered by nonforest ecosystems, such as Pampas, Caatinga, and Pantanal, were poorly represented. Legal aspects were considered in 51% of the courses, whereas social and economic approaches were only considered in 2.7 and 11% of the courses, respectively. Seedling planting (85%) and nucleation (68%) were the most frequently cited techniques of active restoration, and passive restoration was mentioned in 63% of the courses. Our findings highlight the need for increasing postgraduate courses in areas with nonforest ecosystems, especially due to a lack of knowledge about restoration of these areas. The incorporation of economic and social approaches is highly recommended, considering the importance of these attributes in achieving success in large‐scale restoration initiatives.
Construction of a Dose–Illness Relationship via Modeling Morbidity and Application to Risk Assessment of Wastewater Reuse
Authors: Gao Tingting , Chen Rong , Liu Yanzheng , Wang Xiaochang C. , Li Yuyou
Published: December 2017

A disease burden (DB) evaluation for environmental pathogens is generally performed using disability‐adjusted life years with the aim of providing a quantitative assessment of the health hazard caused by pathogens. A critical step in the preparation for this evaluation is the estimation of morbidity between exposure and disease occurrence. In this study, the method of a traditional dose–response analysis was first reviewed, and then a combination of the theoretical basis of a “single‐hit” and an “infection‐illness” model was performed by incorporating two critical factors: the “infective coefficient” and “infection duration.” This allowed a dose–morbidity model to be built for direct use in DB calculations. In addition, human experimental data for typical intestinal pathogens were obtained for model validation, and the results indicated that the model was well fitted and could be further used for morbidity estimation. On this basis, a real case of a water reuse project was selected for model application, and the morbidity as well as the DB caused by intestinal pathogens during water reuse was evaluated. The results show that the DB attributed to Enteroviruses was significant, while that for enteric bacteria was negligible. Therefore, water treatment technology should be further improved to reduce the exposure risk of Enteroviruses. Since road flushing was identified as the major exposure route, human contact with reclaimed water through this pathway should be limited. The methodology proposed for model construction not only makes up for missing data of morbidity during risk evaluation, but is also necessary to quantify the maximum possible DB.
Investigating the influence of intraindividual changes in perceived stress symptoms on injury risk in soccer
Authors: Clement D. , Ivarsson A. , Tranaeus U. , Johnson U. , Stenling A.
Published: December 2017

Research has shown that high levels of stress and stress responsivity can increase the risk of injuries. However, most of the research that has supported this notion has focused on between‐person relationships, ignoring the relationships at the within‐person level. As a result, the objective of this study was to investigate if within‐person changes in perceived stress symptoms over a 1‐month time period could predict injury rates during the subsequent 3 months. A prospective design with two measurement points (Time 1—at the beginning of the season and Time 2—1 month into the season) was utilized. A total of 121 competitive soccer players (85 males and 36 females; Mage = 18.39, SD = 3.08) from Sweden and the United States completed the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (KPDS) and a demographic sheet at Time 1. The KPDS was also completed at Time 2, and all acute injuries that occurred during the subsequent 3‐month period were recorded. A Bayesian latent change scores model was used to determine whether within‐person changes in stress symptoms could predict the risk of injury. Results revealed that there was a credible positive effect of changes in stress symptoms on injury rates, indicating that an increase in reported stress symptoms was related to an increased risk for injury. This finding highlights the importance of creating caring and supportive sporting environments and relationships and teaching stress management techniques, especially during the earlier portion of competitive seasons, to possibly reduce the occurrence of injuries.
Knowing What We Are Getting: Evaluating Scientific Research on the International Space Station*
Authors: Bianco William , Schmidt Eric
Published: December 2017

The debate over the value of the International Space Station has overlooked a fundamental question: What is the station's contribution to scientific knowledge? We address this question using a multivariate analysis of publication and patent data from station experiments. We find a relatively high probability that ISS experiments with PIs drawn from outside NASA will yield refereed publications and, furthermore, that these experiments have nonnegligible probabilities of finding publication in high‐impact journals or producing government patents. However, technology demonstrations and experiments with all‐NASA PIs have much weaker track records. These results highlight the complexities inherent to constructing a compelling case for science onboard the ISS or for crewed spaceflight in general.
Selling Priorities in Space Science: The Power of Scientific Community Consensus
Authors: Alexander Joseph
Published: December 2017

Objective

This article examines the characteristics of the decadal strategy surveys in the space sciences that have made them so successful, the ways in which that success has been manifested, and the extent to which the process might be adopted by other scientific fields.

Methods

The research draws on available documents (including both contemporary and archival records as well as the author.s personal notes for the period 1980.2012). A key aspect of the research utilizes interviews with approximately 50 current and former government officials and nongovernment scientists who played key roles in the decadal survey process from the 1970s to the present.

Results

There is probably no space science advisory product that has earned the attention and reputation, year after year, or had an impact to rival that of the National Research Council decadal science strategy surveys. Both government officials and members of the scientific community view those advisory studies as the premier mechanisms for gaining insight into strategic priorities for their fields.

Conclusions

The success of the decadal surveys in selling priorities for the space sciences to both the executive branch and Congress has been mainly due to four factors: (1) broad community participation and consensus, (2) a foundation built on fundamental scientific goals, (3) translation of the goals into rank‐ordered program priorities, and (4) consideration of strategic approaches for dealing with unforeseen problems. Other agencies and scientific communities outside the space sciences would need to be willing and able to commit the time, energy, and resources to embrace all four attributes if they wish to successfully adopt the decadal survey process.
NASA's Quest for Human Spaceflight Popular Appeal*
Authors: Launius Roger D.
Published: December 2017

Objective

Analyze NASA's efforts to “sell” both its mission and its successes from its origins in 1958 to the present.

Methods

Use public opinion polling and qualitative sources to establish change over time.

Results

Study suggests that NASA's public support was less important than most have previously asserted, and that the overall activities of NASA have been advanced by a small base of supporters, challenged by a small group of opponents, and sustained by a larger number of people who accept a status quo in space exploration.

Conclusion

A general public lack of support for expending many dollars on spaceflight has been a fundamental reality of NASA since its beginning. It is not changing, and probably not changeable, in the predictive future. Accordingly, NASA's quest for human spaceflight's popular appeal remains an elusive goal.
Kidney transplantation and waitlist mortality rates among candidates registered as willing to accept a hepatitis C infected kidney
Authors: Shelton Brittany A. , Sawinski Deirdre , Mehta Shikha , Reed Rhiannon D. , MacLennan Paul A. , Locke Jayme E.
Published: December 2017

Background

HCV‐infected (HCV+) ESRD patients derive significant survival benefit from kidney transplantation (KT) over remaining on dialysis. Given high mortality rates on dialysis and the unique ability to accept HCV+ and HCV‐ donor kidneys, understanding their access to KT is essential.

Methods

Three thousand nine hundred and sixty‐three adult kidney‐only candidates reported as willing to accept an HCV+ kidney from 2008 to 2014 were identified and assumed to be HCV+. Time‐at‐risk began at date of listing. Cumulative incidence of transplant and waitlist mortality were assessed using competing risks, and separate mixed effects Cox proportional hazards models were used to examine waitlist mortality and transplantation rates. All models were adjusted for candidate demographic and clinical characteristics with a random effect for listing organ procurement organization with nested listing center.

Results

HCV+ candidates were commonly older (>50 years: 82.6%), African American (52.8%), and male (73.6%). Five years after listing, 35.5% of candidates were transplanted with an HCV+ donor kidney, 9.7% transplanted with an HCV‐ donor kidney, and 23.6% died on the waitlist. Overall transplant rates exceeded waitlist mortality rates (22.69 vs 11.45 per 100 person‐years [PY]), largely driven by transplantation with HCV+ donor kidneys. Utilization of HCV+ donor kidneys was associated with increased transplantation rate (17.72 per 100 PY), while rate of transplant with HCV‐ donor kidneys was much lower (4.97 per 100 PY) than waitlist mortality (11.45 per 100 PY).

Conclusion

In light of effective HCV therapies, it may be prudent to institute strategies to decrease waiting time and waitlist mortality for HCV+ candidates by increasing utilization of HCV+ donor kidneys.
Reviewer Acknowledgements
Authors: Gibbs Nikki
Published: December 2017

Applied Economics and Finance (AEF) would like to acknowledge the following reviewers for their assistance with peer review of manuscripts for this issue. Many authors, regardless of whether AEF publishes their work, appreciate the helpful feedback provided by the reviewers. Their comments and suggestions were of great help to the authors in improving the quality of their papers. Each of the reviewers listed below returned at least one review for this issue.Reviewers for Volume 5, Number 1Aaron Morey, University of Melbourne, AustraliaAli Massoud, Sohag University, EgyptAndrey Kudryavtsev, The Max Stern Yezreel Valley Academic College, IsraelAyoub Taha Sidahmed, SIU, SudanDilshodjon Rakhmonov, Tashkent State University of Economics, UzbekistanDyah Wulan Sari, Airlangga University, IndonesiaErdal Gumus, Eskisehir Osmangazi University, TurkeyHe Nie, Jinan University, ChinaHichem Maraghni, University of Taibah, TunisiaIan McFarlane, University of Reading, UKIbrahim Baghdadi, Lebanese University, LebanonIgor Matyushenko, School of Foreign Economic Relations and Touristic Business, UkraineJolita Vveinhardt, Lithuanian Sports University, LithuaniaKembo Bwana, College of Business Education, TanzaniaLuca Giordano, IOSCO (International Organization of Securities Commissions), ItalyMagdalena Radulescu, University of Pitesti, RomaniaMagdalena Zioło, University of Szczecin, PolandMahmoud Mohammed Sabra, Al Azhar University-Gaza, PalestineMarco Muscettola, Independent Researcher-Credit Risk Manager, ItalyMohammed Al-Mahish, King Faisal University, Saudi ArabiaMojeed Idowu John Odumeso-Jimoh, Noble Integrated Resources & Management, NigeriaNuno Crespo, ISCTE-IUL, PortugalOlena Sokolovska, Research Institute of Fiscal Policy, State Fiscal Service of Ukraine, UkrainePatrycja Kowalczyk-Rolczynska, Wroclaw University of Economics, PolandRamona Orastean, Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu, RomaniaRomeo Victor Ionescu, Dunarea de Jos University, RomaniaSteven V. Cates, Kaplan University, USASzabolcs Blazsek, Universidad Francisco Marroquín, GuatemalaTaro Abe, Nagoya Gakuin University, JapanVictoria Cociug, Academy of Sciences of Moldova, MoldovaWing-Keung Wong, Asia University, TaiwanY. Saidi, M’sila University, AlgeriaZi-Yi Guo, Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., USA
Improved Model for Calculating Instantaneous Efficiency of Flat-Plate Solar Thermal Collector
Authors: Ibrahim Oussama , Fardoun Farouk , Younes Rafic , Ibrahim Mohamad
Published: December 2017

The performance of a flat-plate solar collector is usually assessed by its efficiency. This efficiency is normally defined on a steady-state basis, which makes it difficult to correctly track the instantaneous performance of the collector in various case-studies. Accordingly, this paper proposes an improved definition of instantaneous efficiency of a flat-plate solar collector used as a part of a solar water heating system. Using a predeveloped model by the authors for such a system, the proposed efficiency-definition is examined and compared with the conventional one for specific case studies. The results show that the improved definition of efficiency records reasonable values, i.e., no over-range values are observed contrast to the case of conventional efficiency-definition. Furthermore, this suggested efficiency approximately coincides with the conventional one at a wide range of time, as long as the system is operating in the so-called trans-steady-state phase or when the system is off-operational provided that the instantaneous rate of heat stored in the heat transfer fluid (HTF) is less than or equal to zero. As a result, the improved efficiency-definition yields more realistic results in reflecting the performance of a flat-plate collector in an active solar water heating system and is recommended to be used.
Nusselt Numbers for Poiseuille Flow Over Isoflux Parallel Ridges for Arbitrary Meniscus Curvature
Authors: Game Simon , Hodes Marc , Kirk Toby , Papageorgiou Demetrios T.
Published: December 2017

We numerically compute Nusselt numbers for laminar, hydrodynamically, and thermally fully developed Poiseuille flow of liquid in the Cassie state through a parallel plate-geometry microchannel symmetrically textured by a periodic array of isoflux ridges oriented parallel to the flow. Our computations are performed using an efficient, multiple domain, Chebyshev collocation (spectral) method. The Nusselt numbers are a function of the solid fraction of the ridges, channel height to ridge pitch ratio, and protrusion angle of menisci. Significantly, our results span the entire range of these geometrical parameters. We quantify the accuracy of two asymptotic results for Nusselt numbers corresponding to small meniscus curvature, by direct comparison against the present results. The first comparison is with the exact solution of the dual series equations resulting from a small boundary perturbation (Kirk et al., 2017, “Nusselt Numbers for Poiseuille Flow Over Isoflux Parallel Ridges Accounting for Meniscus Curvature,” J. Fluid Mech., 811, pp. 315–349). The second comparison is with the asymptotic limit of this solution for large channel height to ridge pitch ratio.
Installed Performance Assessment of an Array of Distributed Propulsors Ingesting Boundary Layer Flow
Authors: Goldberg Chana , Nalianda Devaiah , Laskaridis Panagiotis , Pilidis Pericles
Published: December 2017

Conventional propulsion systems are typically represented as uninstalled systems to suit the simple separation between airframe and engine in a podded configuration. However, boundary layer ingesting systems are inherently integrated, and require a different perspective for performance analysis. Simulations of boundary layer ingesting propulsions systems must represent the change in inlet flow characteristics, which result from different local flow conditions. In addition, a suitable accounting system is required to split the airframe forces from the propulsion system forces. The research assesses the performance of a conceptual vehicle, which applies a boundary layer ingesting propulsion system—NASA's N3-X blended wing body aircraft—as a case study. The performance of the aircraft's distributed propulsor array is assessed using a performance method, which accounts for installation terms resulting from the boundary layer ingesting nature of the system. A “thrust split” option is considered, which splits the source of thrust between the aircraft's main turbojet engines and the distributed propulsor array. An optimum thrust split (TS) for a specific fuel consumption at design point (DP) is found to occur for a TS value of 94.1%. In comparison, the optimum TS with respect to fuel consumption for the design 7500 nmi mission is found to be 93.6%, leading to a 1.5% fuel saving for the configuration considered.
Intelligibility of bandpass filtered speech: The effect of filter types
Authors: Amir Noam , Kishon-Rabin Liat
Published: December 2017

Many studies have examined the contribution of different spectral bands to speech intelligibility, measuring recognition scores of filtered speech stimuli. For a given filter bandwidth, the influence of filter properties on such experiments has been studied mainly with respect to transition band slopes. The objective of the present study was to determine whether nominal transition band slope is a sufficient characterization of filter properties. Several types of filters, both finite impulse response and infinite impulse response types were examined in three experiments to determine if details of the transition band behavior, as well as group delay properties, had any influence on recognition scores. The results of a total of 72 participants showed that for 1/3 octave passbands, differences between filters having the same nominal transition band slopes, but of different types, were large and statistically significant. Linearity of phase response, however, did not influence the results. Further experiments using passband widths of 1/2 and 2/3 octaves revealed that only for the latter the difference in recognition scores between filter types ceased to be significant. These results have important implications for studies which involve filtered speech as well as models that employ different types of filters to emulate peripheral auditory processing.
Reliability, Validity, and Sensitivity of a Novel Smartphone-Based Eccentric Hamstring Strength Test in Professional Football Players
Authors: Lee Justin W.Y. , Cai Ming-Jing , Yung Patrick S.H. , Chan Kai-Ming
Published: December 2017

Purpose: To evaluate the test–retest reliability, sensitivity, and concurrent validity of a smartphone-based method for assessing eccentric hamstring strength among male professional football players. Methods: A total of 25 healthy male professional football players performed the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) Nordic break-point test, hamstring fatigue protocol, and isokinetic hamstring strength test. The CUHK Nordic break-point test is based on a Nordic hamstring exercise. The Nordic break-point angle was defined as the maximum point where the participant could no longer support the weight of his body against gravity. The criterion for the sensitivity test was the presprinting and postsprinting difference of the Nordic break-point angle with a hamstring fatigue protocol. The hamstring fatigue protocol consists of 12 repetitions of the 30-m sprint with 30-s recoveries between sprints. Hamstring peak torque of the isokinetic hamstring strength test was used as the criterion for validity. Results: A high test–retest reliability (intraclass correlation coefficient = .94; 95% confidence interval, .82–.98) was found in the Nordic break-point angle measurements. The Nordic break-point angle significantly correlated with isokinetic hamstring peak torques at eccentric action of 30°/s (r = .88, r2 = .77, P < .001). The minimal detectable difference was 8.03°. The sensitivity of the measure was good enough that a significance difference (effect size = 0.70, P < .001) was found between presprinting and postsprinting values. Conclusion: The CUHK Nordic break-point test is a simple, portable, quick smartphone-based method to provide reliable and accurate eccentric hamstring strength measures among male professional football players.
Development of a theoretical framework of factors affecting patient safety incident reporting: a theoretical review of the literature
Authors: Archer Stephanie , Hull Louise , Soukup Tayana , Mayer Erik , Athanasiou Thanos , Sevdalis Nick , Darzi Ara
Published: December 2017

Objectives

The development and implementation of incident reporting systems within healthcare continues to be a fundamental strategy to reduce preventable patient harm and improve the quality and safety of healthcare. We sought to identify factors contributing to patient safety incident reporting.

Design

To facilitate improvements in incident reporting, a theoretical framework, encompassing factors that act as barriers and enablers ofreporting, was developed. Embase, Ovid MEDLINE(R) and PsycINFO were searched to identify relevant articles published between January 1980 and May 2014. A comprehensive search strategy including MeSH terms and keywords was developed to identify relevant articles. Data were extracted by three independent researchers; to ensure the accuracy of data extraction, all studies eligible for inclusion were rescreened by two reviewers.

Results

The literature search identified 3049 potentially eligible articles; of these, 110 articles, including >29 726 participants, met the inclusion criteria. In total, 748 barriers were identified (frequency count) across the 110 articles. In comparison, 372 facilitators to incident reporting and 118 negative cases were identified. The top two barriers cited were fear of adverse consequences (161, representing 21.52% of barriers) and process and systems of reporting (110, representing 14.71% of barriers). In comparison, the top two facilitators were organisational (97, representing 26.08% of facilitators) and process and systems of reporting (75, representing 20.16% of facilitators).

Conclusion

A wide range of factors contributing to engagement in incident reporting exist. Efforts that address the current tendency to under-report must consider the full range of factors in order to develop interventions as well as a strategic policy approach for improvement.
On the definition and K-theory realization of a modular functor
Authors: Kriz Igor , Lai Luhang
Published: December 2017

We present a definition of a (super)-modular functor which includes certain interesting cases that previous definitions do not allow. We also introduce a notion of topological twisting of a modular functor, and construct formally a realization by a 2-dimensional topological field theory valued in twisted [Formula: see text]-modules. We discuss, among other things, the [Formula: see text]-supersymmetric minimal models from the point of view of this formalism.
Muon pair production in radiative decays of heavy quarkonia
Authors: Luchinsky A. V.
Published: December 2017

Muon pair production in exclusive radiative decays [Formula: see text], [Formula: see text] is considered. We present numerical values of the branching fractions and distributions over various kinematical variables.
Community detection in complex networks using link prediction
Authors: Cheng Hui-Min , Ning Yi-Zi , Yin Zhao , Yan Chao , Liu Xin , Zhang Zhong-Yuan
Published: December 2017

Community detection and link prediction are both of great significance in network analysis, which provide very valuable insights into topological structures of the network from different perspectives. In this paper, we propose a novel community detection algorithm with inclusion of link prediction, motivated by the question whether link prediction can be devoted to improving the accuracy of community partition. For link prediction, we propose two novel indices to compute the similarity between each pair of nodes, one of which aims to add missing links, and the other tries to remove spurious edges. Extensive experiments are conducted on benchmark data sets, and the results of our proposed algorithm are compared with two classes of baselines. In conclusion, our proposed algorithm is competitive, revealing that link prediction does improve the precision of community detection.
Dispersion of gravitational waves in cold spherical interstellar medium
Authors: Barta Dániel , Vasúth Mátyás
Published: December 2017

We investigate the propagation of locally plane, small-amplitude, monochromatic gravitational waves (GWs) through cold compressible interstellar gas in order to provide a more accurate picture of expected waveforms for direct detection. The quasi-isothermal gas is concentrated in a spherical symmetric cloud held together by self-gravitation. Gravitational waves can be treated as linearized perturbations on the background inner Schwarzschild spacetime. The perturbed quantities lead to the field equations governing the gas dynamics and describe the interaction of gravitational waves with matter. We have shown that the transport equation of these amplitudes provides numerical solutions for the frequency-alteration. The decrease in frequency is driven by the energy dissipating process of GW–matter interactions. The decrease is significantly smaller than the magnitude of the original frequency and too small to be detectable by present second-generation and planned third-generation detectors. It exhibits a power-law relationship between original and decreased frequencies. The frequency deviation was examined particularly for the transient signal GW150914.
BASIC TOPOLOGICAL STRUCTURE OF FAST BASINS
Authors: BARNSLEY MICHAEL F. , LEŚNIAK KRZYSZTOF , RYPKA MIROSLAV
Published: December 2017

We define fractal continuations and the fast basin of the IFS and investigate which properties they inherit from the attractor. Some illustrated examples are provided.
Label-free imaging of small lipid droplets by femtosecond-stimulated Raman scattering microscopy
Authors: D'Arco Annalisa , Ferrara Maria Antonietta , Indolfi Maurizio , Tufano Vitaliano , Sirleto Luigi
Published: December 2017

In this paper, the implementation and main realization issues of a stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) microscope, obtained by the integration of a femtosecond SRS spectroscopy set-up with an optical microscope equipped with a scanning unit, are described. In order to characterize capabilities and limitations of SRS microscope, the optical resolution is measured and validation tests on polystyrene beads imaging are reported. In addition, taking account of strength of SRS vibrational contrast, label-free imaging of small biological structures, as such as lipid droplets (LDs), in adipocyte cells is carried out. The visualization of small LDs, with dimensions comparable to the optical lateral resolution of our system, is demonstrated.
Three-wave superluminal vector optical solitons in a seven-level atomic system
Authors: Li Bin , Qi Yihong , Niu Yueping , Gong Shangqing
Published: December 2017

We investigate generation of three-wave coupled superluminal vector optical solitons in an active-Raman-gain (ARG) seven-level atomic system. By solving the probability amplitude equations, the linear, nonlinear and dispersion of the optical properties are analyzed for the three probe fields, which show that the dispersion effects of the probe fields can be well balanced by self-phase and cross-phase modulation of the Kerr nonlinearities and the gain can be well suppressed under certain conditions. Therefore, three-wave coupled optical vector solitons with superluminal propagating group velocity can be formed in the system. Moreover, this atomic system allows the existence of various types of three-wave superluminal vector solitons by adjusting the system parameters. We also give real parameters of 87Rb atoms for generating three-wave superluminal vector solitons, which may provide reference for experiments.
On a selection problem for small noise perturbation in the multidimensional case
Authors: Pilipenko Andrey , Proske Frank Norbert
Published: December 2017

The problem on identification of a limit of an ordinary differential equation with discontinuous drift that perturbed by a zero-noise is considered in multidimensional case. This problem is a classical subject of stochastic analysis, see, for example, [6, 29, 11, 20]. However the multidimensional case was poorly investigated. We assume that the drift coefficient has a jump discontinuity along a hyperplane and is Lipschitz continuous in the upper and lower half-spaces. It appears that the behavior of the limit process depends on signs of the normal component of the drift at the upper and lower half-spaces in a neighborhood of the hyperplane, all cases are considered.
A study on the aromaticity and ring currents of dithienopyridines and dithienobenzene
Authors: Yun Bi Xiao , Kerim Ablikim
Published: December 2017

The global aromaticity of dithienopyridine and dithienobenzene isomers was investigated using the topological resonance energy (TRE) and percentage topological resonance energy (%TRE) methods. The effect of variations in the positions of sulfur and nitrogen atoms on [Formula: see text]-electron delocalization is analyzed. The local aromaticity of these isomers is described based on the bond resonance energy (BRE) and circuit resonance energy (CRE) methods. Our BRE and CRE results show that structure of the central six-membered rings has a strong effect on global aromaticity. The aromaticity of these dithienopyridine isomers is enhanced when a complete pyridine unit exists in their middle ring structure, while the aromaticity of the dithienobenzene isomers is enhanced when a complete benzene unit exists in their middle ring structure. For dithienopyridines, our results obtained using the TRE method correlate well with the Bird aromaticity index as reported in the literature. Our ring-current results show that all these compounds are diatropic systems.
Computational studies of the Mn4/Ca cluster in photosystem II
Authors: Baituti Bernard
Published: December 2017

Computational chemistry with the data from more detailed X-ray diffraction (XRD) oxygen evolving complex (OEC) structure has been used extensively of late in exploring the mechanisms of water oxidation in the OEC. The study reported in this paper involves density functional theory (DFT) calculations to investigate whether the data are in agreement with the four manganese ions in the OEC, being organized as a ‘3[Formula: see text]1’ (trimer plus one) model [Gatt et al. Angewandte Chemie International Edition, 51, 12025–12028, 2012; Petrie et al. Chemistry - A European Journal, 21, 6780–6792, 2015; Terrett et al. Chemical Communications, 50, 3187–3190, 2014] or ‘dimer of dimers’ model. [Terrett et al. Journal of Inorganic Biochemistry, 162, 178–189, 2016]. The data analysis method used involves quantum chemical DFT calculations on relevant models of the OEC cluster. DFT calculations were performed using both the so-called ‘open’ and ‘closed’ forms [Terrett et al. Journal of Inorganic Biochemistry, 162, 178–189, 2016] of the S2OEC structure models with total spin ([Formula: see text]) 1/2, 7/2, 9/2 and 15/2 within the MnIIIMnIVMnIIIMnIII‘low’ oxidation paradigm to examine exchange coupling within the OEC cluster. The results show that the [Formula: see text]-coupling in the ‘closed’ form: [Formula: see text][Formula: see text]cm[Formula: see text], [Formula: see text][Formula: see text]cm[Formula: see text], [Formula: see text][Formula: see text]cm[Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text]–[Formula: see text][Formula: see text]cm[Formula: see text]. In the ‘closed’ form, [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] represent the two largest exchange interactions within the manganese cluster, whereas [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] are small and almost net cancel. The magnetic coupling between the four Mn ions is close to ‘dimer of dimers’, with both dimers anti-ferromagnetically coupled internally and with weak inter-dimer net coupling.
Catalytic and inhibiting effect of amino acids on the porphyrin metallation reactions
Authors: Mamardashvili Galina M. , Zhdanova Daria Yu. , Mamardashvili Nugzar Zh. , Koifman Oskar I. , Dehaen Wim
Published: December 2017

In the present work, using the interaction of tetra-(4-sulfophenyl)porphyrin with copper(II) chloride as an example, it has been shown how different amino acid additives (glycine, valine, leucine and tryptophan) catalyze or inhibit the formation of Cu-porphyrin as a function of the chemical environment (borate buffer (pH7.4), DMSO) and the concentration of the additive. It has been demonstrated that the type of amino acid affects the complexation reaction rate. Possible mechanisms of metalloporphyrin formation and the ways of their acceleration are discussed.
Finite Element Analysis of Cylindrical Inclusions in Polycrystalline Nickel Alloys
Authors: Bonifaz E. A. , Alban A. , Czekanski A.
Published: December 2017

Inspired by nanotubes, a 3D finite element model was developed to simulate the influence of cylindrical inclusions on the polycrystalline mechanical behavior of Nickel alloys. A dislocation based strain hardening model, constructed in the so-called Kocks–Mecking framework, is used as the main strategy for the constitutive modeling of individual bulk grains. To determine the influence of the inclusions distribution, the direction of applied load and the size of the matrix phase on the inelastic stress–strain distribution, the digital microstructure code DREAM.3D was coupled to ABAQUS[Formula: see text] finite element code through a MatLab[Formula: see text] program. Four affordable computational representative volume elements (RVEs) meshes of two different edge sizes and two different inclusion distributions were tested to investigate the relation between micro and macro deformation and stress variables. The virtual specimens, subjected to continuous monotonic strain loading conditions, were constrained with random periodic boundary conditions. The difference in crystallographic orientation, which evolves in the process of straining, and the incompatibility of deformation between neighboring grains were accounted for by the introduction of single crystal averaged Taylor factors, single crystal Young’s modulus, single phase elastic modulus and the evolution of geometrically necessary dislocation density. The effects of single crystal Young’s modulus, inclusion distribution and direction of the applied load upon the aggregate local response are clearly observed. Results demonstrate a strong dependence of flow stress and plastic strain on phase type, Young’s modulus values and direction of the applied load, but slightly on matrix grain size. The stress–strain curve extension and the variation in the elastic limit of the individual inclusions depend on the inclusion-matrix Young’s modulus difference and applied load direction. The difference in curve extension and the difference in elastic limit decrease as the Young’s modulus of the single crystal inclusion approach the Young’s modulus of the matrix majoritary phase, while the resistance to flow increases when the applied load is perpendicular to the inclusion longitudinal axis.
Declarative Framework for Semantical Interpretations of Structured Information — An Applicative Approach
Authors: Haar Stefan , Perchy Salim , Valencia Frank
Published: December 2017

We study the applicability of declarative models to encode and describe structured information by means of semantics. Specifically, we introduce D-SPACES, an implementation of constraint systems with space and extrusion operators. Constraint systems are algebraic models that allow for a semantic language-like representation of information in systems where the concept of space is a primary structural feature. We mainly give this information an epistemic or temporal interpretation and consider various agents as entities acting upon it. D-SPACES is coded as a c++ library providing implementations of constraint systems, space functions and extrusion functions. The interfaces to access each implementation are minimal and thoroughly documented. D-SPACES also provides property-checking methods as well as an implementation of a specific type of constraint systems (a boolean algebra). This last implementation serves as an entry point for quick access and proof of concept when using these models. Finally, we show the applicability of this framework with two examples; a scenario in the form of a social network where users post their beliefs and utter their opinions, and a semantical interpretation of a logical language to express time behaviors and properties.
Content-Based Classification of Sensitive Tweets
Authors: Wang Qiaozhi , Bhandal Jaisneet , Huang Shu , Luo Bo
Published: December 2017

Online Social Networks (OSNs), such as Facebook and Twitter, provide open platforms for users to easily share their statuses, opinions, and ideas, ranging from personal experiences/activities to breaking news. With the increasing popularity of online social networks and the explosion of blog and microblog messages, we have observed large amounts of potentially sensitive or private messages being published to OSNs inadvertently or voluntarily. The owners of these messages may become vulnerable to online stalkers or adversaries, especially considering that many online social network platforms (e.g. Twitter) provide open access to the public, including unregistered users and search engine bots. Studies show that users often regret posting sensitive or private messages. However, it is very difficult to completely erase such messages from the Internet, especially when the messages have been indexed by the search engines or forwarded (e.g. re-tweet in Twitter) by other users.

Therefore, it is critical to identify messages that reveal private/sensitive information, and warn users before they post the messages to the public. However, the definition of sensitive information is subjective and different from user to user. For example, some users may feel comfortable sharing political opinions, while others do not. To develop a privacy protection mechanism that is customizable to fit the needs of diverse audiences, it is essential to accurately and automatically classify potentially sensitive messages into topic categories, such as health, politics, family, relationship, religion, etc. In this paper, we make the first attempt to classify sensitive tweets into 13 pre-defined topic categories. In particular, we model the semantic content of tweets with term distribution features as well as users’ topic-preferences based on personal tweet history. We also add domain-specific features, i.e. domain knowledge, to improve classification performance. Experiments show that our method can boost classification accuracy compared with the well-known Bag-of-Words and TF-IDF methods. a