bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Diagnosing alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency: the first step in precision medicine
Authors: Hersh Craig P.
Published: November 2017

Severe alpha-1 antitrypsin (AAT) deficiency is one of the most common serious genetic diseases in adults of European descent. Individuals with AAT deficiency have a greatly increased risk for emphysema and liver disease. Other manifestations include bronchiectasis, necrotizing panniculitis and granulomatosis with polyangiitis. Despite the frequency and potential severity, AAT deficiency remains under-recognized, and there is often a delay in diagnosis. This review will focus on three recent updates that should serve to encourage testing and diagnosis of AAT deficiency: first, the publication of a randomized clinical trial demonstrating the efficacy of intravenous augmentation therapy in slowing the progression of emphysema in AAT deficiency; second, the mounting evidence showing an increased risk of lung disease in heterozygous PI MZ genotype carriers; last, the recent publication of a clinical practice guideline, outlining diagnosis and management. Though it has been recognized for more than fifty years, AAT deficiency exemplifies the modern paradigm of precision medicine, with a diagnostic test that identifies a genetic subtype of a heterogeneous disease, leading to a targeted treatment.
Research of Emotional and Psychological State of Schoolchildren of Tomsk Region
Authors: Ашурова Наталья , Ashurova Natalia , Замятина Оксана , Zamyatina Oxana , Илюхин Борис , Ilyukhin Boris , Пивоварова Анна , Pivovarova Anna , Сербина Наталья , Serbina Natalia
Published: November 2017

In the framework of annual regional education quality monitoring in schools was a questionnaire survey of all students fourth grade of Tomsk region, the main aim of survey is to determine emotional and psychological state of students in diff erent situations of educational process.Within this work defi nition of the term “psychological climate” concerning the school students, who are in the educational organization and at home, has been studied and considered. Students were asked to complete a questionnaire describing diff erent situations, attitude to which it was necessary to evaluate, selecting one of the drawings refl ecting the emotional state: fun, sorrow, sadness. Survey of fourth-graders of Tomsk region was conducted by a continuous method, i.e. on all fourth-graders of the Tomsk region (10,942 people). As result of research, it was found out that emotional and psychological state of fourth-graders of Tomsk region is estimated as positive in diff erent situations. However, several problem factors of social and psychological climate, which has been created by participants of the educational relations, have been revealed.
School Educational Standards and Metadisciplinarity: Plans, Realities and Risks of Innovation
Authors: Синельников И. , Sinel'nikov I.
Published: November 2017

The article is devoted to the actual problem of updating of Russian school education — the issue of the formation of universal cognitive skills, communication skills and self-regulation. The process of introducing innovation is analyzed from the point of view of the current world trends in the development of education, from the perspective of the evolution of the approaches presented in the Russian school educational standards of 2004 and 2009-2012, in the context of emerging problems and potential threats — risks.
Adaptive Partition-Based Level Decomposition Methods for Solving Two-Stage Stochastic Programs with Fixed Recourse
Authors: van Ackooij Wim , de Oliveira Welington , Song Yongjia
Published: November 2017

We present a computational study of several strategies to solve two-stage stochastic linear programs by integrating the adaptive partition-based approach with level decomposition. A partition-based formulation is a relaxation of the original stochastic program, obtained by aggregating variables and constraints according to a scenario partition. Partition refinements are guided by the optimal second-stage dual vectors computed at certain first-stage solutions. The proposed approaches rely on the level decomposition with on-demand accuracy to dynamically adjust partitions until an optimal solution is found. Numerical experiments on a large set of test problems including instances with up to one hundred thousand scenarios show the effectiveness of the proposed approaches.

The online supplement is available at https://doi.org/10.1287/ijoc.2017.0765 .
INFORMATION-ANALYTICAL LEARNING MANAGEMENT SYSTEM OF UNIVERSITIES
Authors: Tryus Y. , Stetsenko I. , Herasymenko I. , Hrytsenko V.
Published: November 2017

We consider conceptual approaches to creation of information systems, learning management school, which uses modern methods of decision-making and simulational modeling,web-technologies. The main criteria for the selection of development tools of the system are:openness, free of charge, easy to use and independence from system software and hardware. The chosen technology and the system itself satisfies such requirements as: focus on national and international standards in the field of higher education, adherence to service-oriented architecture,ensuring stable operation with a large number of users, support for a clear division of user rights to obtain and change information resources, software modularity the final product and its ability to integrate into the corporate information system of the university.
INVOLVING STUDENTS IN DESTINING AND DEVELOPING OF ELECTRONIC EDUCATIONAL ENVIRONMENTS IN PHYSICS AS A WAY OF THEIR PERSONALITYORIENTED TRAINING FOR METHODICAL ACTIVITY
Authors: Sharko V.
Published: November 2017

The article reveals the possibilities of training of future teachers of Physics for methodical activity by involving them in destining and developing of electronic information&communication educational environments (EICEE) in school course in Physics.The author defines priority trends of teacher’s activity in teaching of Physics from the standpoint of the competence approach to measuring of physical education quality. They are characterized according to modern requirements. The main types of learners’ activities in Physics(theoretical material acquisition, solving various types of physical problems, making physical experiment confuction, the research carryng out) are represented in the context of the competence approach to organization of educational process. The author reveals the essence and structure of the notion “electronic information&communication educational environment” according to normative and didactic requirements. Integrated model of technology of personality-oriented training of future teachers of Physics for methodical activity is suggested. An algorithm of teacher’s and student’s actions for destining and developing of electronic information&communication educational environment as a type of teacher’s methodical activity is given. The advantages of personality-oriented technology of professional training of future teachers of Physics from the standpoint of individual, activity and competence approaches are defined.
REALIZATION OF VISUAL TECHNIQUE DIDACTIC APPROACH IN ALGORITHMIC TRAINING OF STUDENTS THROUGH INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES OF EDUCATIONAL ENVIRONMENT
Authors: Voloshynov S. , Osipova N.
Published: November 2017

The article examines the development of visual learning theory, states functions of accuracy and peculiarities of visual technique realization in modern studying process, it defines the concept of “Visual learning environment” and didactic role of interactive and multimedia visualization processes. Authors examine the problem of determination of cognitive visualization potential in algorithmic training of students through information and communication technologies of educational environment. This article specifies functions of visual aids use and implementation features of the specified principle in modern educational process and proves the didactic role of interactive multimedia visualization process that stimulates cognitive activity of student and activates perceptive mechanism of teaching information. It analyzes problem of cognitive visualization potential capacity of training of future marine personnel using informational communicative educational environment.
THE CHENGE OF PARADIGM OF PRIMARY CLASSES TEACHERS TREINING IN CONDITIONS OF INFORMATION SOCIETY DEVELOPMENT
Authors: Kushnir N. , Vinnyk T.
Published: November 2017

The emergence and wide dissemination of new digital technologies in all spheres of life significantly changes the structure of the labor market (there are new profession change dramatically professional activities) and the requirements of employers (the ability to learn independently throughout the life, to evaluate critically information, team work becomes more important, Maturity than a specific set of knowledge and skills). At the same time, today's children live in crowded information space, which highlights the issue of formation of information culture of their bases from an early age and quality of development needed for successful self-realization in the information society. This leads to changes in the entire education system, in particular the training of future elementary school teachers. A retrospective analysis of the use of information and communication technologies in education confirms the occurrence of such technologies for the development of children. Analysis of practice of training of future elementary school teachers shows the insufficient level of awareness of modern ICT capabilities, which are mainly used to support the traditional educational process, not the implementation of new learning approaches. The article analyzes the impact of the development of modern information and communication technologies for education in the context of professional training of future elementary school teachers.
DISTANCE LEARNING TECHNOLOGIES IN FORMATION OF PROFESSIONAL TRAINING OF FUTURE ENGLISH TEACHER
Authors: Gnedkova O.
Published: November 2017

Due to the global informatization of society and the process of involving information and communication technologies (ICT) in all areas of human activity, including the educational process of high school the problem of new model construction of process of future highly qualified and competitive professionals training is raised. In conditions of Ukraine integration into the European educational space, the significant changes in professional training of teachers in higher education institutions are taken place. ICT and distance learning technologies are implemented in learning process. However, this process causes many difficulties in students and teachers, for example, the lack of guidance on the implementation of ICT and distance learning technologies in the learning process and not enough formed skills and abilities of teachers and students to use ICT and distance learning technologies in professional activity. These problems negatively affect on the quality of future specialists training, including teachers of foreign language (English). To increase the quality of English teachers training there is a need to introduce distance learning technologies in language learning process, at study the discipline “Practical English Course”. On the base of analysis of psychological and educational literature in future English teachers training, the results of international studies and methodological literature of distance learning the practical implementation of distance learning technologies in educational process of training of English teachers of Kherson State University was presented.
COMPUTER SCIENCE IN THE EDUCATION OF UKRAINE: FORMATION PROSPECTS
Authors: Shakotko V.
Published: November 2017

The article deals with the formation of computer science as science and school subject as well in the system of education in Ukraine taking into consideration the development tendencies of this science in the world. The introduction of the notion« information technology», «computer science» and «informatics science» into the science, their correlation and the peculiarities of subject sphere determination are analyzed through the historical aspect. The author considers the points of view concerning determination morphology basis of computer science, its aims and content. A comparative analysis of school and higher educational establishment computer science content since the beginning of introduction this subject into the curriculum till nowadays is conducted. The author examines the recommendations of the International communities ( UNESCO International Congress «Education and computer science» (Moscow, 1996) , Computer science Principles International Conference FIS (Beijing, 2010), International Summit ISSI « Information society at the cross-roads » (Vienna,2015 ))concerning aims and the computer science content in the educational systems of different countries and analyzes world tendencies reflection towards content of computer science teacher training at the Ukrainian higher educational establishments . The necessity of inserting amendments into the structure of academic discipline «computer science» at the higher educational establishments is substantiated.
Retos y situaciones de una economía cambiante frente a fenómenos económicos.
Authors: Ortiz Ramírez José Fernando
Published: November 2017

La revista Finanzas y Política Económica ha tenido el privilegio de trabajar con autores de diferentes lugares del mundo, quienes han venido desarrollando investigaciones y cuyas colaboraciones a la disciplina económica han dejado un aprendizaje sustancial para los lectores y estudiosos de las temáticas publicadas en los diferentes números.En las últimas décadas, los ciclos económicos y políticos han estado fuera de sincronización y han puesto de manifiesto problemas de recesión. La generalización de las consultas populares mineras en Colombia —que podrían generar un impacto fiscal y afectar las finanzas de la nación—, la proliferación de mercados emergentes en América, Europa y Asia y el colapso del precio del petróleo —aunque sigue siendo vital para economías de países que dependen de estos recursos— son situaciones, entre muchas otras, que evidencian una economía cambiante. Por un lado, políticos populistas ganan credibilidad y prometen economías más prósperas y, por otro, la Reserva Federal de Estados Unidos continúa con la tendencia de subir las tasas de interés. ¿Cuáles serán los efectos de estos fenómenos? Son retos y situaciones que no terminan ahí; por ello, dada la trayectoria y las cambiantes tendencias de la ciencia económica con sus diversas temáticas en los ámbitos nacional e internacional, en este número se presentan temas que contribuyen a la comprensión de estos movimientos económicos y políticos en el escenario mundial.
Physiological characterization of SUB1 trait in rice under subsequent submergence and re-aeration with interaction of chemical elicitors
Authors: Sarkar Bipul , De Arnab Kumar , Adak M K
Published: November 2017

In the present study, the sensitivity of two chemical elicitors: polyamine (PA) and salicylic (SA) acid were exercised for submergence sensitivity in Swarna Sub1A rice variety. Under 5 days of submergence, the antioxidation responses were more distinguished in plants against control. Along with the anti-oxidation modules, significant changes in biomolecule loss were registered through lipid and protein oxidation by 1.91 and 1.46 -fold respectively. PA and SA treated plants were the reliever to recover the membrane potential. Total carbohydrate and reducing sugars were varied under submergence by down regulation of 36.66 and 44.44% as compared to control. This was also supported by regulation of ?-amylase activity under submergence that also recovered significantly with PA and SA treatments against submergence. In association with carbohydrate metabolism, Under submergence Swarna Sub1A recorded to be prone with oxidative stress through O2.- (1.55 fold) and peroxide (1.70-fold) over-accumulation but recovered as PA and SA applied. In both cases, sustenance of non-enzymatic anti-oxidant like total carotenoid and lycopene content were also contributory through down-regulation. The enzymatic anti-oxidation paths like SOD, GPX, CAT and GR were regulated by 11.11, 19.54, 13.65, 10.03% declined respectively and thoroughly discussed with reference to PA and SA interactions.
Adaptabilidade e estabilidade fenotípica de genótipos de cebola em regiões produtoras do Estado de São Paulo
Authors: Santos Gilmara Mabel , Da Silva Acioly Thiago Machado , Banzatto David Ariovaldo , Braz Leila Trevizan
Published: November 2017

Com o objetivo de avaliar a produtividade, adaptabilidade e estabilidade fenotípica de genótipos de cebola em regiões produtoras, foram conduzidos doze experimentos em Monte Alto e São José do Rio Pardo-SP. O delineamento experimental adotado foi em blocos casualizados, com dez genótipos (Granex 33, Régia, Serrana, XP 3021, XP 6803, XP 8418, Mercedes, Princesa, Superex e RX 6010) e três repetições. Dos ambientes avaliados apenas cinco foram considerados favoráveis para todos os genótipos. A ‘Superex’ apresentou a maior massa fresca de bulbos, conseqüentemente maior produtividade, indicando adaptabilidade favorável à maioria dos ambientes estudados. Foi confirmado que os genótipos RX 6010, XP 3021 e Serrana são pouco sensíveis à melhoria ambiental, com adaptação à ambientes desfavoráveis. Os genótipos Mercedes, XP 6803 e Princesa apresentaram comportamento instável e imprevisível, e o modelo linear de Eberhart & Russell (1966) não foi adequado para a maioria dos genótipos, que apresentaram r2 inferiores a 0,80.
Utilização de alimento industrializado por duas espécies de passeriformes (Furnarius rufus e Turdus rufiventris) em ambiente urbano
Authors: Miyasaki Dayane Mayumi , Carrano Eduardo , Fischer Marta Luciane
Published: November 2017

A interferência humana no comportamento de aves sinantrópicas deve ser considerada nos debates a respeito do bem-estar da fauna urbana. Assim, objetivou-se avaliar comparativamente forrageamento de Furnarius rufus e Turdus rufiventris no Campus Curitiba da Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Paraná, no período de novembro de 2012 a novembro de 2013 em duas etapas: análise do consumo parental na fase pré-oviposição e consumo de alimento na fase de cuidado parental. Os alimentos consumidos por adultos de ambas as espécies na fase pré-oviposição, se constituíram preferencialmente de insetos e restos de alimentos de diversas origens, deixados pelos frequentadores do Campus. Enquanto que na fase de cuidado parental, ambas as espécies, se alimentaram preferencialmente de alimentos industrializados, contudo, levaram ao ninho insetos e minhocas. Esse resultado evidencia que embora as aves adultas aprendam a usar recursos alternativos de maior valor energético, exibem comportamento instintivo ao alimentar os filhotes preferindo alimentos naturais, mesmo diante da alta disponibilidade de alimentos industrializados.
The Determination of Kinetic Parameters of Transformer Oil and its Blends by Thermal Analysis
Authors: Dukhi Veresha , Bissessur Ajay , Ngila Catherine Jane , Ijumba Nelson Mutatina
Published: November 2017

The insulation of transformer oil comprise of two practices: paper and dielectric fluid (such as mineral transformer oil). Ageing of these oils occur mainly by thermal, electrical and oxidative stresses. This paper describes the determination of kinetic parameters of a naphthenic based transformer oil and its blends based on the Ozawa, Flynn and Wall (OFW) and Kissinger models using data obtained from thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and differential scanning calorimetric (DSC), plots. Virgin oil and its blends were analysed from an initial temperature range of 20-25 ºC to 300 ºC at temperature ramps of 1, 2, 4, 6, 8 and 10 ºC min-1. The OFW method in conjunction with TGA data was used to calculate the apparent decomposition activation energies at each of the selected weight loss (% conversion or α) values. The activation energies at 10% weight loss were found to be 57.0, 63.7 and 69.3 kJ mol-1 for BHT-B (virgin oil-2,6-di-tert-butyl-4-methylphenol blends), DBP-B (virgin oil-2,6-di-tert-butylphenol blends) and VO (virgin transformer oil), respectively. However using this method the activation energy (Ea) of the oils showed no significant difference between virgin oil and its blends. DSC curves revealed that the decomposition reaction was exothermic in nature. From DSC data the activation energy was determined using two separate models: OFW and Kissinger models. Decomposition activation energy obtained from DSC data showed no significant difference when applied to these two models. Dissipation factor tests showed superior results for the blends when compared to those of virgin transformer oil. However, the blends showed substantial reductions in their dielectric breakdown voltage. The implication of the reduced breakdown voltage is that the blends show poorer dielectric strength in comparison to virgin transformer oil.
Degradation studies of organic acids in commercially packed fruit juices: A reverse phase high performance liquid chromatographic approach
Authors: Raghav Ruchika , Yadav Nisha , Tyagi Gunjan , Jangir Deepak K. , Mehrotra Ranjana , Ganesan R. , Rajagopal E.S.
Published: November 2017

Organic acids are important constituents of fruit juices. They render tartness, flavour and specific taste to fruit juices. Shelf life and stability of fruit juices are important factors, which determine their nutritional quality and freshness. In this view, the effect of storage on the concentration of organic acids in commercially packed fruit juices is studied by reverse phase high performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC). Ten packed fruit juices from two different brands are stored at 30°C for 24, 48 and 72 hours. A reverse phase high performance liquid chromatographic method is used to determine the concentration of oxalic, tartaric, malic, ascorbic and citric acid in the fruit juices during storage. The chromatographic analysis of organic acids is carried out using mobile phase 0.5% (w/v) ammonium dihydrogen orthophosphate buffer (pH 2.8) on C18 column with UV-Vis detector. The results show that the concentration of organic acids generally decreases in juices under study with the increase in storage time. All the fruit juices belonging to tropicana brand underwent less organic acid degradation in comparison to juices of real brand. Orange fruit juice is found to be least stable among the juices under study, after the span of 72 hours. Amongst all the organic acids under investigation minimum stability is shown by ascorbic acid followed by malic and citric acid.
An elliptic system with logarithmic nonlinearity
Authors: Alves Claudianor , Moussaoui Abdelkrim , Tavares Leandro
Published: November 2017

In the present paper, we study the existence of solutions for some classes of
singular systems involving the

Δ

p
⁢

(
x
)

{\Delta_{p(x)}}

and

Δ

q
⁢

(
x
)

{\Delta_{q(x)}}

Laplacian operators. The approach is based on bifurcation theory and the sub-supersolution method for systems of quasilinear equations involving
singular terms.
Long-Term Care: Is There Crowding Out of Informal Care, Private Insurance as Well as Saving?
Authors: Zweifel Peter , Courbage Christophe
Published: November 2017

Publicly provided long-term care (LTC) insurance with means-tested benefits is suspected to crowd out either private LTC insurance (Brown and Finkelstein 2008. The Interaction of Public and Private Insurance: Medicaid and the Long-Term Care Insurance Market. American Economic Review 98(3):1083–102), private saving (Gruber and Yelowitz 1999. Public Health Insurance and Private Saving. Journal of Political Economy 107(6):1249–74; Sloan and Norton 1997. Adverse Selection, Bequests, Crowding Out, and Private Demand for Insurance: Evidence from the Long-term Care Insurance Market. Journal of Risk and Uncertainty 15:201–19), or informal care (Pauly 1990. The Rational Non-purchase of Long-term Care Insurance. Journal of Political Economy 95:153–68; Zweifel and Strüwe 1998. Long-term Care Insurance in a Two-generation Model. Journal of Risk and Insurance 65(1):13–32). This contribution predicts crowding-out effects for both private LTC insurance and informal care on the one hand and private saving and informal care on the other. These effects result from the interaction of a parent who decides about private LTC insurance before retirement and the amount of saving in retirement and a caregiver who decides about effort devoted to informal care. Some of the predictions are tested using a recent survey from China.
A Macroeconomic Model of Imperfect Competition with Patent Licensing
Authors: Hsieh Hui-ting , Lai Ching-chong , Chen Kuan-jen
Published: November 2017

This paper sets up an imperfectly competitive macroeconomic model that features the strategic interaction between the patent-holding firm and licensees, and uses it to analyze the relevant macro-variables under various licensing arrangements. Some main findings emerge from the analysis. First, the equilibrium aggregate output and aggregate consumption under fixed-fee and royalty licensing regimes are always greater than those under the no licensing regime. Moreover, the equilibrium aggregate output and consumption under the fixed-fee licensing regime are always greater than those under the royalty licensing regime. Second, with the higher (lower) technology level the patent holder prefers the fixed-fee (royalty) contract. Third, welfare could be improved through technology transfer, and the level of welfare under the fixed-fee licensing regime is higher than that under the royalty licensing regime. Lastly, this paper discusses some extensions of the baseline model.
Chemical Reaction Effect upon Gas–Liquid Interfacial Area in a Bubble Column Reactor
Authors: Blanco Antonio , García-Abuín Alicia , Gómez-Díaz Diego , Navaza Jose M.
Published: November 2017

This work analyses the influence of different experimental conditions over important hydrodynamic parameters of a bubble column reactor, such as bubble size distribution, gas hold-up and the gas–liquid interfacial area. The influence of gas flow-rate (18–40 L h–1) and reagent concentration (0–0.5 mol L–1) in the liquid phase upon these hydrodynamic parameters have been studied. The influence of experiment time must also be taken into account due to non-steady-state regime. Under these considerations, the chemical absorption rate changes throughout time, and it produces important changes upon the global absorption process, due to modifications in the gas–liquid interfacial area. The presence of a fast reaction in the liquid bulk has the highest influence upon interfacial area.
Response Surface Modeling for Optimization of Textural and Color Characteristics of Dried Grapes
Authors: Alizadeh Bahaabad Ghodsieh , Gharibzahedi Seyed Mohammad Taghi , Esmaiili Mohsen , Alizadeh Mohammad
Published: November 2017

This study presents the optimization of pre-drying treatment and storage conditions on textural and color properties of dried grapes using a response surface methodology – central composite rotatable design. Effects of three variables, potassium carbonate concentration (K2CO3, 5.98–11.02%), storage temperature (3.18–36.82°C), and relative humidity (RH, 6.96–91.04%), were evaluated. The response variables were defined as the rupture force, deformation, and Hunter L, a, and b values of dried grapes. Second-order empirical relationships with high R
2 (>0.96) values between the responses and independent variables were derived. Results also showed that the K2CO3 concentration and temperature were the most significant factors influencing the studied textural and color characteristics, respectively. The overall optimum region resulted in the desirable characteristics was predicted at a combined level of 9.27% K2CO3 concentration, 4°C storage temperature, and 67.34% RH. Under these conditions, the corresponding predicted response values for the rupture force, deformation, and Hunter L, a, and b values of dried grapes were 2.15 N, 2.53 mm, 28.54, 3.25, and 9.74, respectively. The predicted values thus obtained were close to the actual values indicating suitability of the models.
Evaluation of Chemical, Biochemical and Microbiological Quality in Tomato Using Multivariate Analysis
Authors: Sobratee Nafiisa , Workneh Tilahun S.
Published: November 2017

Tomato quality is determined by metabolite content which is governed by post-harvest physiological changes. A 30-day full factorial experiment investigated pre-packaging, disinfection and storage temperatures on 18 different biochemical, microbiological, enzymatic and subjective quality attributes of tomato quality. Principal component analysis revealed associations among the variables such as PC1 (28.85%): coliform/enzymatic softening; PC2 (21.52%): free sugars/sweetness; and PC3 (18.20%): sucrose hydrolysis/microbial spoilage/defense metabolites. Discriminant analysis showed that some specific parameters were highly significant (P<0.001) in determining quality changes in relation to the washing procedures and storage temperature. The prominence of ascorbic acid was observed in the equations which discriminate mostly on the basis of microbial deterioration. Further works in this respect entail fine-tuning through model verification of the equations. Multivariate analysis techniques are, therefore, recommended in studies whereby understanding of the phenomenon driving the post-harvest system’s dynamics has to be understood through diverse interrelated metabolic parameters.
Hot Air Drying Characteristics of Sukkari Date (Phoenix dactylifera L.) and Effects of Drying Condition on Fruit Color and Texture
Authors: Al-Awaadh Alhussein M. , Hassan Bakri H. , Ahmed Khaled M. A.
Published: November 2017

Convective hot air drying was used to dry date fruits at different air temperatures and velocities. The kinetics of drying was evaluated by 10 common models. The fruit color and texture were examined before and after drying. Drying time increased as both drying temperature and air velocity decreased. Best fits to the experimental data were provided by the Midilli and Kucuk model, followed by the logarithmic, two-term exponential, and Henderson–Pabis models. Drying affected the fruit color and texture. To minimize such changes, the range of drying temperature and air velocity should be 60–70°C and 2 m/s, respectively.
Steve Cheung as Teacher
Authors: Umbeck John
Published: November 2017

It was 1968 and I was studying economics with Armen Alchian at UCLA. It was my first year as a graduate student and Armen was teaching the Microeconomics course to all the first year grad students. While I had an undergraduate degree in economics, Armen was the first professor I had that made it fun and fascinating. To him, economics was the science of human behavior and not a bunch of mathematical mechanisms called a market. In the middle of this year, my military draft number was up and I was called to join the U.S. Army. However, my draft board gave me the choice of Army or college teaching. I asked Armen for some help and he wrote letters for me to various colleges, including California State College in San Luis Obispo. With only my masters degree, I was offered the job at Cal Poly and taught there for 3 years, until I was too old to be drafted into the military. I called Armen and told him I wanted to return to graduate school but I did not want to live again in Los Angeles. Where should I go? Without any hesitation, Armen said, “Go to the University of Washington and follow Steve Cheung wherever he goes. Take every course he teaches and listen carefully to everything he says.”
Steven Cheung and Coasian Economics: A Personal Reflection
Authors: Wang Ning
Published: November 2017

It is an intimidating challenge, both emotionally and intellectually, to write something of enough worth to celebrate the 80th birthday of Steven Cheung and to honor the memory of Professor Ronald Coase. Both are serious scholars. Coase was a devoted scholar; nothing interested him other than academics. Steve has much wider interests, ranging from photography, calligraphy, to art collection. Nonetheless, both are adamant reformers and determined to change economics. They have set an intimidating standard.
The Contractual Nature of the City
Authors: Lu Qian
Published: November 2017

Urbanization is a process in which separated and dispersed property rights become concentrated in a specific location. This process involves a large volume of contracts to redefine and rearrange various property rights, producing various and high transaction costs. Efficient urbanization implies the reduction of these costs. This paper studies how efficient urbanization reduces transaction costs in the real world, based on a series of contracts rather than the coercive power. Specifically, this paper shows that Jiaolong Co. built a city by being a central contractor, which acquired planning rights by contract, and signed a series of tax sharing contracts with government, farmers, tenants, and business enterprises. These contractual arrangements greatly reduced the transaction costs and promoted the development.
The Assembly of Rents
Authors: Wong Kwok C.
Published: November 2017

There are fixed costs in production. One has to assemble rents earned in production lines to cover them. There are also fixed costs in consumption. Consumers assemble surpluses to cover them. In either case, rent assemblage could either be a quantity solution, a quality solution, or a combination of both. Once a fixed cost is committed by contract, it becomes historical. Yet compared to the option of paying this fixed cost all over again, increasing those quantities or qualities, which do not further increase this fixed cost, is less costly. The Law of Demand therefore implies the quality and/or the quantity solutions. The quality solution, as provided by the Alchian-Allen Theorem, is but a special case: where an increase in quality is the only viable solution under some specific real world constraints.
Killing Civilians as an Inferior Input in a Rational Choice Model of Genocide and Mass Killing
Authors: Anderton Charles H.
Published: November 2017

This article presents a rational choice model of a regime’s incentive to allocate resources to fighting rebels and killing civilians when facing an internal threat to its political or territorial control. Assuming that intentional violence against civilians is an inferior input and fighting rebels is subject to increasing marginal returns, three weak state conditions – anocracy, new state status, and low income – increase civilian atrocities within the model. Also, two other risk factors for mass atrocities – discrimination and Cold War conditions – can be seen as “price reducers” for killing civilians, thus increasing the quantity demanded for civilian atrocities in the model. The modeling exercises show how intentional violence against civilians can be viewed through an economic lens of optimal choice and how rational choice theory provides a parsimonious way to theorize and generate empirically testable hypotheses about risk factors for genocide and mass killing.
Climate Change and Cross-State Islamist Terrorism in Nigeria
Authors: Price Gregory N. , Elu Juliet U.
Published: November 2017

This paper considers if increases in temperature and decreases in rain associated with climate change are a potential driver of Islamist terrorism across states in Nigeria. With state-level Islamist terrorism event, temperature, rainfall and sociodemographic data for Nigeria, we estimate latent variable and count data specifications of the relationship between the number of Islamist terrorism events and climactic variation in temperature and rainfall motivated by how the psychological costs of conflict can be decreased by increases in outdoor ambient temperature and decreases in rainfall. Our parameter estimates reveal that increases in temperature and decreases in rainfall increase the likelihood of Islamist terrorism in Nigeria. This suggests that global warming and reduced rainfall induced by climate change are potential drivers of terrorism in Sub-Saharan Africa, and policy interventions designed to abate anthropogenic climate change can reduce violent conflict that is harmful for economic growth and development.
Causal Apportionment of Tort Liability: An Efficient Approach
Authors: Acciarri Hugo A. , Tohmé Fernando , Castellano Andrea
Published: November 2017

Mainstream economic analysis of Tort Law assumes that efficiency cannot be formally assured by allocating liability according to causal apportioning. In this paper we will present some ways to escape from the full scope of this claim. We start by reviewing the standard conception of causality in the economic analysis of Tort Law, to show how some underlying assumptions influence the currently held view on the relation between causal apportioning and efficiency. Then, we revisit those assumptions to see how plausible they actually are. In the light of this discussion we introduce an alternative framework of causal reasoning in Tort Law. We will show how our model yields a way of allocating liability in terms of a causal apportioning rule. The outcomes obtained through this procedure are closer to efficiency than those prescribed by the mainstream.
Reframing the New Deal: The Past and Future of American Labor and the Law
Authors: Cowie Jefferson
Published: November 2017

This Article reinterprets the period from 1935 to 1973 as a “long exception” to the sustained pattern of legal hostility to labor organizing in the United States. While the National Labor Relations Act (Wagner Act) and the broader New Deal were once regarded as secure solutions to the “labor question” in America, in retrospect they only offered a partial, temporary, and extraordinary respite from state and corporate opposition to the collective interests of working people. The decades from the thirties through the seventies witnessed the rise and fall of union density as well as the fall and rise of inequality that stands out in contrast to the rest of American history since the industrial revolution. However, because of the extraordinary circumstances of that era (which are connected to important sociopolitical variables including the economic emergency, immigration, the state, unions, individualism, and cultural politics), the New Deal serves as a poor historical metaphor for those interested in labor’s revival. The circumstances that created the New Deal are unlikely to be repeated, thus the future of labor organizing and the law will look more like the deep and difficult past of American history prior to the 1930s than like the “modern” age of organizing and collective bargaining.
Organizing Workers in Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Mexico: The Authoritarian-Corporatist Legacy and Old Institutional Designs in a New Context
Authors: Bensusán Graciela
Published: November 2017

In what way do the corporatist and authoritarian legacies that modelled some Latin American labor institutions influence the opportunities for and restrictions on organizing workers in a new context? To what extent did institutional designs, together with other economic and political factors, influence the characteristics that currently distinguish the union organizations in the countries of the region? Taking into consideration the existence of a broader debate about the consequences of globalization and political democratization for unions, the contribution of historical institutionalism and previous research, in this Article I compare the institutional and organizational dynamics of unions in four countries with authoritarian legacies and corporatist traditions (Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Mexico). The Article argues that in spite of these shared traditions, the differences in the institutional designs — which have scarcely been considered in the specialized literature — have historically imposed distinctive features on the associational power of workers and unions. These features not only persist to the present day, but also translate into dissimilar trajectories of the labor movement and opportunities for organizing workers in the last decade.
The Untamed Politics of Urban Informality: “Gray Space” and Struggles for Recognition in an African City
Authors: Lindell Ilda , Ampaire Christine
Published: November 2017

This Article examines the ways in which market vendors in Kampala, Uganda, responded to plans to redevelop their markets through the concession of long-term leases to private investors. These plans met with massive resistance from the marketers, with significant outcomes. The Article uncovers how the marketers actively negotiated a “gray space” between legality and illegality and creatively used the law, with a view to asserting themselves as the legitimate rulers of their markets. It shows how the marketers engaged in highly diverse modalities of struggle, stretching across the legal/illegal boundary. They organized in multiple configurations which were flexible, hybrid and mutant in character, rather than being fixed in particular organizational categories. In their struggles, the marketers engaged in shifting alliances and with a disparate range of political allies. Their politics were fluid, untamed and pragmatic, but also contradictory and fractured. This flexibility and pragmatism enabled them to navigate a complex political landscape and to make instrumental use of a generally unfavorable legal environment
Active Industrial Citizenship of Domestic Workers: Lessons Learned from Unionizing Attempts in Israel and the United Kingdom
Authors: Albin Einat , Mantouvalou Virginia
Published: November 2017

In this Article we offer a new conceptualization of industrial citizenship, which is sensitive to gender and migration status. Our conceptualization builds on the theoretical distinction between active and passive citizenship and the analyses of active industrial citizenship. We suggest that active industrial citizenship should be detached from the old and influential tradition of trade unionism that is connected with the public/private divide. Our proposed conceptualization leads to attaching value to activities related to ethics of care and to the pursuit of legal status, which should be seen as forms of activism. The discussion focuses on organizing domestic workers. We argue that this new conceptualization of active industrial citizenship leads to the recognition of domestic workers as active industrial citizens, rather than passive victims of abuse. It also transforms the way we view organizational forms within the labor market, making it possible to appreciate on an equal basis membership in trade unions and participation in NGOs and other civil society organizations, thereby building cooperation as well as taking part in other aspects of public life. We ground our argument on theoretical literature as well as a qualitative study, a series of interviews with key trade union and NGO actors with expertise in organizing and supporting domestic workers in Israel and the United Kingdom.
The Last Shall Be First: Aesthetics and Politics in Black Film and Media
Authors: Gates Racquel
Published: November 2017

There has been a shift away from formal and textual analysis in the field of film and media studies. These methodologies are seen as passé, “old school,” or even overly simplistic (and no doubt some of this work may warrant these critiques). Yet, I suspect that, as with the celebration of style in Moonlight (Barry Jenkins, 2016), here, too, other politics are at play. In some ways, to reject formal analysis is to subconsciously reject the earlier era of film studies that treated the study of black film (and eventually television) as marginal or inconsequential. In other ways, this move away from formal analysis is also an acknowledgement of the incredibly rich and multifaceted terrain that black representations cover: the critical study of industrial practices, labor, and global strategies—to list some of the most popular topics in the field right now—are all essential to any understanding of the complicated subject of black film and media.

Questions of style, though, cannot be separated from questions of politics. Aesthetics bear the indelible imprint of racial ideologies. This is tricky territory, then, and requires scholars to tread carefully. The celebration of certain “beautiful” aesthetics can serve to reinforce an established taste politics that has traditionally dictated an aesthetic marginalization and degradation for people of color throughout the history of the medium. I intend these questions as provocations rather than condemnations. I am not suggesting that high-quality images are simply indicators of whiteness or that low-quality ones are inherently more authentic for representing blackness. On the contrary, I am fascinated by the power that style holds, especially as it pertains to the black image, and how the implementation of that style can form a powerful critique of the film and television industries' longtime racism. At the same time, I want a more rigorous, thoughtful, critical interrogation of how these images come to be, what they signify, and how they train viewers to read race in ways that extend beyond narrative. In proposing an emphasis on aesthetic and formal analysis, I am suggesting, not a “return” to traditional film studies approaches, but instead, a study of black images that was never “there” in the first place.
Modernism as Postnationalist Politics:
Authors: Morshed Adnan
Published: November 2017

After completing architectural studies in the United States in 1952, Muzharul Islam returned home to Pakistan to find the country embroiled in acrimonious politics of national identity. The young architect began his design career in the midst of bitterly divided notions of national origin and destiny, and his architectural work reflected this political debate. In Modernism as Postnationalist Politics: Muzharul Islam's Faculty of Fine Arts (1953–56), Adnan Morshed argues that Islam's Faculty of Fine Arts at Shahbagh, Dhaka, embodied his need to articulate a national identity based on the secular humanist ethos of Bengal, rather than on an Islamic religious foundation. With this iconoclastic building, Islam sought to achieve two distinctive goals: to introduce the aesthetic tenets of modern architecture to East Pakistan and to reject all references to colonial-era Indo-Saracenic architecture. The Faculty's modernism hinges on Islam's dual commitment to a secular Bengali character and universal humanity.
Farmers’ preference for improved grasses and legume forage species in six mixed farming system districts of southern region of Ethiopia
Authors: Abera Mergia , Berhanu Tekleyohannes
Published: November 2017

Participatory on-farm evaluation of improved forage crops was conducted in six mixed farming system districts of Southern Ethiopia with the objective to identify farmers preferred forage crops (legumes and grasses). Two annual forage legumes (Vigna unguiculata L. (cow pea) and Lablab purpureus (L.), two perennial legumes (Medicago sativa (L.) (alfalfa) and Desmodium intortum (Mill.) Urb. (green-leaf)), and three perennial grasses (Chloris gayana Knuth (Rhodes grass) and two Pennisetum purpureum Schumach (elephant grass) accessions (No.16800 and 16798)) were evaluated in the study. The major farmers’ criteria considered in the evaluation of forage species were vegetative growth, herbage yield, tillering, protection of soil erosion, palatability, perfor- mance under dry weather conditions, performance in marginal area under low input management, multipurpose use (conservation and soil fertility) and fast growing condition. The study showed that elephant grass accession No. 16798, 16800 and Chloris gayana
adapted well and farmers preferred them for their higher herbage yield, vegetative growth, tillering ability and drought resistance. Even though the annual forage legumes Lablab purpureus and Vigna unguiculata were superior in their forage yield, the farmers preferred the perennial forage legumes (Desmodium intortum and Medicago sativa) mainly for their performance under dry weather condi- tion due to their longer growth period. Therefore, the consideration of farmers’ preference for forage crops is crucial for increased adoption of improved forage crops in the region.