bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Anti-climactic: Investigating how late adolescents perceive and deal with orgasm difficulty in the context of their intimate relationships
Authors: Cormier Lauren A. , O'Sullivan Lucia F.
Published: July 2018

There is a long history of survey research indicating high rates of orgasm difficulties among adults. We sought to investigate how male and female heterosexual late adolescents perceive difficulties with orgasm, whether gender differences were apparent, and how they tried to resolve these difficulties (if at all). We conducted semi-structured interviews with 53 heterosexual male and female adolescents, aged 18–21 years. Interviews were guided around the question of when sex was not as good as they thought it should be, with subsequent open-ended probes questioning them about specific difficulties around sex, including difficulty having, reaching, or timing orgasm, their feelings about these difficulties, and any efforts they took to resolve these difficulties. The majority (71%) of young women and a third (33%) of young men reported having difficulty reaching orgasm in partnered sex, whereas 38% of men also reported ejaculating too quickly. Themes that emerged included reports of not being taught about pleasure in school or at home, that sex was completed after the male partners' orgasm, and some participants resorting to faking orgasm when feeling that they were taking too long. Resolution of orgasm difficulty tended to occur in the context of communicative relationships for both the young men and women in the sample. The results of the study provide insight into issues with orgasm for young people specifically, and the role of communication in sexual problem-solving, which may be applied in sexual health education contexts, including online forums.
Between Resistance and the State
Authors: Lotem Itay
Published: July 2018

Between 1998 and 2006, the memory of slavery in France developed from a marginalized issue into a priority of the state. This article examines the process in which community activists and state actors interacted with and against one another to integrate remembrance and the commemoration of slavery and its abolitions into a Republican national narrative. It focuses on a series of actions from the protests against the 150th anniversary of the abolition of slavery in 1998 to the creation of the 10 May National Memorial Day to Slavery and Its Abolitions in 2006. Basing its analysis on oral history interviews and various publications, this article argues that “memory activists”—and particularly new anti-racist groups—mobilized the memory of slavery to address issues of community identity and resistance within the context of twenty-first-century republicanism. In so doing, they articulated a new kind of black identity in France.
«Семь песен» на стихи Е. Кульман Р. Шумана: стилевые и образно-смысловые аспекты
Authors: Oleinikova Yuliia
Published: July 2018

В статье рассмотрены интонационные и образно-смысловые особенности одного из последних вокальных циклов Р. Шумана, репрезентирующие связь творчества композитора со  стилистикой немецкого бидермайера.Ключевые слова: вокальный цикл, бидермайер, романтизм, поэзия Е. Кульман, камерно-вокальное творчество Р. Шумана.
Насилля і суб’єкт в сучасній аудіовізуальній культурі
Authors: Skoryk Adriana
Published: July 2018

Використовування «театру жорстокості» у візуальних сучасних мистецтвах, зокрема, на телебаченні – це трансгресивний жест, намагання стерти межі між мистецтвом та життям, вихід поза межі людського завдяки інтроверсії, особливого погляду всередину себе, щоб знайти там свою справжню сутність. Образи катастрофічних видовищ, руїн та ін., діють як спосіб репрезентувати знайоме незнайоме, як один з найбільш ефективних візуальних засобів включення пам’яті як мнемотичного знаку. В мотиві руїни відомі елементи реального ніби стираються, прогалини в цих стертих місцях стимулюють механізми відтворення образу в уяві, які тісно пов’язані з функціонуванням процесу отримання насолоди від образу, від його впізнавання в незнайомому.Ключові слова: ідея, жорстокість, інтроверсії, викривленість, метод, реальність, візуалізація, функціонування.
Смысловое наполнение концепта «память» в современной музыковедческой поэтике
Authors: Marik Valeriya
Published: July 2018

В статье приводится обзор существующих в гуманитарной науке теорий памяти, раскрываются особенности искусствоведческой и культурологической трактовок данного явления. Категория и феномен памяти в трактовке А. Самойленко выступает как одна из основных и наиболее важных концептуальных составляющих современного музыкознания. В концепте «память» в музыке, по мнению исследователя, актуализируется «память понимания» (творческая память), которая отвечает самым высоким художественным смысловым интенциям и способствует их реализации. Ключевые слова: концепт «память», смысл, уровни/типы памяти, семантическая память, творческая память, диалог, катарсис.
Статистичне оцінювання структури сільськогосподарської діяльності підприємств: вплив зональності
Authors: Kobylynska Т. V.
Published: July 2018

У дослідженні представлено аналіз природно-економічних зон України. Визначено загальні тенденції сільськогосподарської діяльності підприємств. Залежно від природно-економічних особливостей проведено статистичне оцінювання сільськогосподарського виробництва за природно-економічними зонами: Степом, Лісостепом, Поліссям. Встановлено, що провідне місце у сільськогосподарському виробництві в Україні у 2016 році належало зоні Лісостепу. На основі статистичних даних за 2012–2016 рр. вивчено динаміку сільськогосподарського виробництва, визначено його середній обсяг та середньорічну зміну.
Консолідований звіт про управління. Новації управлінської практики звітування
Authors: Bezverkhiy K. V. , Panteleev V. P.
Published: July 2018

Консолідований звіт про управління є новим явищем в практиці звітування в Україні, що обумовлено прийняттям змін до Закону України “Про бухгалтерський облік та фінансову звітність в Україні”. Консолідований звіт про управління призначений для виведення інформаційного забезпечення групи підприємств на якісно новий рівень. Результати проведеного дослідження забезпечують базу для гармонізації звітності в Україні зі стандартами ЄС. Вони рекомендуються для застосуванням на всіх групах підприємств України в різних секторах економіки, які повинні будуть складати консолідований звіт про управління.
Методологічна основа обліково-аналітичного забезпечення формування звітності сільськогосподарських підприємств про сталий розвиток
Authors: Sokil О. H.
Published: July 2018

У статті проаналізовано світові тенденції підготовки звітності з корпоративної відповідальності сільськогосподарськими підприємствами. Запропоновано три варіанти звітів про сталий розвиток сільськогосподарського підприємства: звіт про сталий розвиток; альтернативний звіт; розширений фінансовий звіт. Розроблено матрицю оцінки рівня обліково-аналітичного забезпечення сталого розвитку сільськогосподарського підприємства, яка ілюструє вплив (сильний, суттєвий, незначний, відсутній) десяти аспектів сталого розвитку на рівень обліково-аналітичного забезпечення процесу формування фінансових результатів та їх відображення у звітності про сталий розвиток. Побудовано дерево рішень для визначення варіантів звітності про сталий розвиток залежно від розміру сільськогосподарських підприємств, їх самоідентифікації і усвідомлення впливу на еко-соціальне середовище.
Information Support for the Land Registration: Directions for Upgrading of Statistical Reporting
Authors: Nechyporuk N. V.
Published: July 2018

Decentralization of power and rapid expansion of local self-governance in Ukraine, gradual extension of property forms and rights for land use determine the need for gradual reformation of the processes involved in land records and respective presentation of data in financial and statistical reports of business entities. The article is devoted to elaboration is issues relating to statistical recording of transactions with land resources. Results of the study show the decreasing number of forms of statistical reports on land resources. A comparative assessment of the forms of statistical and administrative reports for recording quantitative data on lands is made. Use of statistical reports on land resources and administrative reports on quantitative data on lands lays the grounds for monitoring of land use relations in Ukraine. Common and distinctive features of the statistical and administrative reports are found out by the results of the comparative analysis. The pressing issues in collecting statistical data on land market and land relations are outlined: the need in filing the data on the land value depending on land size, land owners and users, purpose of land; the need for filing the data on contracts for land purchase and sale and sale price (except for agricultural lands, due to the existing moratorium on their sales); the filing of data on the rental value of 1 acre of land by location, quality and purpose of land. The need for filing the statistical data on quality status and use of land recourses in business entities’ operation is demonstrated. Recommendations on improving statistical reports on land resources through introducing the annual statistical form “The Report on Land Status and Effectiveness of Land Use” are given. If applied, the proposed report will enable for build the integrated databases on quantity and quality of land resources.
A Review of Foreign Experiences in Implementing Budget Policy in Inter-Budgetary Relations
Authors: Zaichko I. V.
Published: July 2018

The article investigates the theoretical and methodological framework of foreign experiences in implementing budget policy in inter-budgetary relations. It is demonstrated that the model of inter-budgetary relations, existing in Ukraine, does not contribute in creating necessary incentives for local governments to ensure appropriate management of budgets. The situation can be improved only by harmonizing the reform of inter-budgetary relations with the general logic of change in regional relations. It is demonstrated that the use of income differentiation method depends on the structural basis of the budget system, which is determined by the organization of the State. While in unitary countries taxes are most often split with fixed rates and allowances to national taxes, in federal countries distribution of income between budgets is used. As foreign experiences show, while in federal countries optimal mobilization and socially oriented spending of budget funds requires a long time, in unitary countries it can be possibly done in a relatively short time, but it needs clearly defined social goals and ways to achieve them.

In the budgetary practice of Ukraine two methods of budget regulation are used: (i) deductions from national taxes and incomes collected on local budget territories; (ii) fixed financial assistance to local budgets in form of budget transfers. The advantages of the first method are balancing of local budgets by use of flexible revenue sources, local governments’ concern with full mobilization of not only local revenue sources, but also national taxes, the responsibility of local financial authorities for timely and complete receipt of national taxes. Budget regulation does not exclude the possibility of using budget transfers. The review of foreign experiences in local budgeting shows that the budget regulation instruments practiced in unitary countries would be useful for Ukraine.
Participative Management: A Model for Governance of Territorial Communities
Authors: Semianovskyi V. M.
Published: July 2018

Principles of participative management have been commonly used in the contemporary management. This involves decentralization and democratization of management, various forms of employees’ engagement in the organization’s management. The participative management ideas, if practiced, can offer the key to building an effective management system and motivating business entities to a complex organization, and it can be a feasible model for organization of governance within the local self-governance system.  

Participative management is based on recognition of mutual interests of all the members of an organization, thus integrating these interests and increasing the employees’ concern with labor results. It can exist in various forms, of which the main ones are income-sharing, profit-sharing, equity-sharing and participation in management. Each form of participative management can be implemented separately, but the highest effect can result from their combination (the synergy effect).

Participative management has already been widely used by many business organizations in Europe and elsewhere. Participative management, therefore, is one of the advanced management methods involves decentralization and democratization of management, participation of employees in management, effective utilization of human resources for their development and the development of the organization’s system. Participative management can change and reinforce the employee’s motivation system. Yet, the participation does not diminish the rights and responsibilities of managers.  

Principles of participative management are more and more often used in public governance as a model for governance within the local self-governance system. However, practical use of participative management tools still requires detailed theoretical studies.

Because participative management principles and tools have only been at introductory phase now, they require theoretical elaborations and practical experiences especially. High effectiveness of participative management can be achieved only in established and capable territorial communities, when the collective intellect and collective interest of all the members of a territorial community is engaged in governance processes.
Audit Services on the ICO Market: Opportunities and Prospects
Authors: Redchenko K. І.
Published: July 2018

Initial Coin Offering (ICO) has been one of the most popular ways of raising funds for investment projects and start-ups in the latest years. This generates demand for audit services intended to provide independent assessment of blockchain projects and consult emitting companies on ICO marketing issues. However, auditors demonstrate professional caution, expecting for reactions of regulators and for the establishment of clear rules on circulation of crypto currencies.

The objective of the study is to review the existing practice of audit services at the ICO market and substantiate the risk-oriented approach to assessment of ICO projects.

It is found out that applications of the blockchain technology open up two main prospective areas for auditors. The first one involves applications of blockchain in recording systems, thus offering new opportunities for getting confidence or executing coordinated procedures concerning financial reports of clients. The second one involves creating new services addressed to companies either applying blockchain technologies or operating in markets of crypto currencies and related financial instruments.

The ICO market has featured the rapidly growing numbers of failures of emitting companies to fulfill their obligations and frauds, which makes the need for independent audit services even more pronounced. The entrance of audit firms in a risky, but attractive segment of “token” economy is, therefore, just a matter of time. The most promising activities related with blockchain technologies and ICO are audit of smart contracts, consulting in issues of token emission and investment, operation with crypto currencies and other financial instruments inherent in the virtual economy.
Main Illusions about the Audit Market in Ukraine
Authors: Redko O. Yu.
Published: July 2018

The term “market of audit services” or “audit market” is often used in course of legislative work, scientific discussions or professional communications. But the semantic meaning of this term is interpreted differently, giving rise to misunderstanding among the discussion participants as well as the broader public. Given the permanent market reforms implemented in Ukraine, the treatment of audit as a market of professional services needs to be in a way clarified. 

This article is devoted to the criteria by which the audit is recognized in Ukraine as a market of professional services. It covers essential issues such as pricing of audit works and services, market entry for new auditors, self-regulation of the profession, quality of audit services.  

Problems of the Ukrainian audit are critically addressed by the author in the context of the requirements of the International Standards of Auditing and the foundations of the Law of Ukraine “On Audit of Financial Reporting and Audit Activities”. It is stated that the contemporary Ukrainian audit is differentiated into the two unequal groups: the so called large business entities in audit and the other business entities in audit. This differentiation is accompanied by attempts of the former group to monopolize the market of professional services and price dumping by the latter group. One of the key author’s arguments is the illusiveness of the quality of audit in Ukraine, first and foremost the existing system of audit control. According to the author, this can bring to naught all the novelties of legal regulation of audit in Ukraine.     

Apart from the statements of facts, the article contains concrete, although polemic, propositions of the author concerning implementation of the new Law of Ukraine “On Audit of Financial Reporting and Audit Activities”.
EFEKTIVITAS MODEL PELATIHAN PARENTING AUTISME BERBASIS MEDIA VIDEO
Authors: Purnomo Edi , Wijayanto Putut
Published: July 2018

This research aims to; (1) to know the effectiveness of video-based autism parenting training implementation in improving the cognitive skills of trainees; (2) obtaining information about learners' response towards video-based autism parenting training. The method used in this research is Pre-Experimental Design method with One Groups Pretest-Posttest Design, that is research design by pretest before training and posttest after training. The results show that video-based autism parenting training is very effective to improve the cognitive skills of trainees in terms of parenting for autism. The conclusions of this research are: (1) Video-based autism parenting training proven effective in improving cognitive skill of trainees. (2) the trainee's response to the training model based on instructional video media showed a positive response. The results of this research are useful to be implemented in similar training in the future. AbstrakPenelitian ini bertujuan untuk; (1) mengetahui efektivitas pelaksanaan pelatihan parenting autisme berbasis media video dalam meningkatkan keterampilan kognitif peserta pelatihan; (2) memperoleh informasi mengenai respon pebelajar terhadap pelatihan parenting autisme berbasis media video. Metode yang digunakan dalam penelitian ini adalah metode Pre-Experimental Design dengan One Groups Pretest-Posttest Design, yaitu desain penelitian yang terdapat pretes sebelum diberi perlakuan dan postes setelah diberi perlakuan. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa pelatihan parenting autisme berbasis media video sangat efektif untuk meningkatkan keterampilan kognitif peserta pelatihan dalam hal parenting autisme. Kesimpulan dari penelitian ini, yaitu: (1) Pelatihan parenting autisme berbasis media video terbukti efektif meningkatkan keterampilan kognitif peserta pelatihan. (2) respon peserta pelatihan terhadap model pelatihan berbasis media video pembelajaran menunjukkan respon positif.
A Weighted Histogram-Based Tone Mapping Algorithm for CT Images
Authors: Völgyes David , Martinsen Anne Catrine Trægde , Stray-Pedersen Arne , Waaler Dag , Pedersen Marius
Published: July 2018

Computed Tomography (CT) images have a high dynamic range, which makes visualization challenging. Histogram equalization methods either use spatially invariant weights or limited kernel size due to the complexity of pairwise contribution calculation. We present a weighted histogram equalization-based tone mapping algorithm which utilizes Fast Fourier Transform for distance-dependent contribution calculation and distance-based weights. The weights follow power-law without distance-based cut-off. The resulting images have good local contrast without noticeable artefacts. The results are compared to eight popular tone mapping operators.
Are They Buying It? United States Consumers’ Changing Attitudes toward More Humanely Raised Meat, Eggs, and Dairy
Authors: Spain C. , Freund Daisy , Mohan-Gibbons Heather , Meadow Robert , Beacham Laurie
Published: July 2018

This survey research sampled 1000 US (United States) consumers of meat, eggs, and dairy on their attitudes towards the welfare of farm animals and the willingness to pay for products with trustworthy welfare certifications. Most respondents (70%) reported paying attention to labels that indicate how the animals were raised and 78% believed there should be an objective third party to ensure farm animal welfare. The weighted average of the marginal willingness to pay for products raised under a trustworthy welfare certification was $0.79 for eggs (a 32% premium) and $0.96 for 1 lb. of chicken breast (a 48% premium). In addition, 57% of respondents reported they would be likely to choose a restaurant because it serves welfare-certified animal products and are also willing to pay ≥$5.00 extra per entrée. These findings suggest that many US consumers, particularly millennials, would be willing to seek out higher welfare products if they trust the label claims.
Strength, Permeability, and Freeze-Thaw Durability of Pervious Concrete with Different Aggregate Sizes, Porosities, and Water-Binder Ratios
Authors: Liu Hanbing , Luo Guobao , Wei Haibin , Yu Han
Published: July 2018

Pervious concrete (PC), as an environmental friendly material, can be very important in solving urban problems and mitigating the impact of climate change; i.e., flooding, urban heat island phenomena, and groundwater decline. The objective of this research is to evaluate the strength, permeability, and freeze-thaw durability of PC with different aggregate sizes, porosities, and water-binder ratios. The orthogonal experiment method is employed in the study and nine experiments are conducted. The compressive strength, flexural strength, permeability coefficient, porosity, density, and freeze-thaw durability of PC mixtures are tested. Range analysis and variance analysis are carried out to analyze the collected data and estimate the influence of aggregate size, porosity, and water-binder ratio on PC properties. The results indicate that porosity is the most important factor determining the properties of PC. High porosity results in better permeability, but negatively affects the mechanical strength and freeze-thaw durability. PC of 15% porosity can obtain high compressive strength in excess of 20 MPa and favorable freeze-thaw durability of 80 cycles without sacrificing excessive permeability. Aggregate size also has a significant effect on freeze-thaw durability and mechanical strength. Small aggregate size is advantageous for PC properties. PC with 4.75–9.5 mm coarse aggregate presents excellent freeze-thaw durability. The influence of the water-binder ratio on PC properties is not as significant as that of aggregate size and porosity. An optimal mix ratio is required to trade-off between permeability, mechanical strength, and freeze-thaw durability.
Factors Affecting the Effectiveness of Bioelectrochemical System Applications: Data Synthesis and Meta-Analysis
Authors: Li Simeng , Chen Gang
Published: July 2018

Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) and microbial electrolysis cells (MECs) are promising bioelectrochemical systems (BESs) for simultaneous wastewater treatment and energy/resource recovery. Unlike conventional fuel cells that are based on stable chemical reactions, these BESs are sensitive to environmental and operating conditions, such as temperature, pH, external resistance, etc. Substrate type, electrode material, and reactor configuration are also important factors affecting power generation in MFCs and hydrogen production in MECs. In order to discuss the influence of these above factors on the performance of MFCs and MECs, this study analyzes published data via data synthesis and meta-analysis. The results revealed that domestic wastewater would be more suitable for treatment using MFCs or MECs, due to their lower toxicity for anode biofilms compared to swine wastewater and landfill leachate. The optimal temperature was 25–35 °C, optimal pH was 6–7, and optimal external resistance was 100–1000 Ω. Although systems using carbon cloth as the electrodes demonstrated better performance (due to carbon cloth’s large surface area for microbial growth), the high prices of this material and other existing carbonaceous materials make it inappropriate for practical applications. To scale up and commercialize MFCs and MECs in the future, enhanced system performance and stability are needed, and could be possibly achieved with improved system designs.
Solvothermal Synthesis, Crystal Structure, and Characterization of a Heterometallic Iodoplumbate
Authors: Fan Le-Qing , Zhu Xiao-Tong
Published: July 2018

The design and synthesis of heterometallic iodoplumbates have attracted much interest due to the diverse structures and significant physical properties. A Pb/CuI/I heterometallic iodoplumbate, [PbCu2I4(bipy)]n (1) (bipy = 2,2′-bipyridine), has been synthesized by solvothermal reaction of PbI2, Cu(NO3)2, bipy, and HI, and characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffraction, powder X-ray diffraction, and thermogravimetric analysis. This compound exhibits one-dimensional neutral structure, which is built upon the linkages of Pb/I chains, Cu/I chains, and Cu(bipy) units. The yellow compound has an optical bandgap of 2.32 eV and shows fluorescent emission at 610 nm which is assigned to iodide-to-copper charge transfer.
Information Geometry of Nonlinear Stochastic Systems
Authors: Hollerbach Rainer , Dimanche Donovan , Kim Eun-jin
Published: July 2018

We elucidate the effect of different deterministic nonlinear forces on geometric structure of stochastic processes by investigating the transient relaxation of initial PDFs of a stochastic variable x under forces proportional to -xn (n=3,5,7) and different strength D of δ-correlated stochastic noise. We identify the three main stages consisting of nondiffusive evolution, quasi-linear Gaussian evolution and settling into stationary PDFs. The strength of stochastic noise is shown to play a crucial role in determining these timescales as well as the peak amplitude and width of PDFs. From time-evolution of PDFs, we compute the rate of information change for a given initial PDF and uniquely determine the information length L(t) as a function of time that represents the number of different statistical states that a system evolves through in time. We identify a robust geodesic (where the information changes at a constant rate) in the initial stage, and map out geometric structure of an attractor as L(t→∞)∝μm, where μ is the position of an initial Gaussian PDF. The scaling exponent m increases with n, and also varies with D (although to a lesser extent). Our results highlight ubiquitous power-laws and multi-scalings of information geometry due to nonlinear interaction.
Strengths and Weaknesses of Existing Building Green Retrofits: Case Study of a LEED EBOM Gold Project
Authors: Sun Xiaonuan , Gou Zhonghua , Lu Yi , Tao Yiqi
Published: July 2018

This study investigated the process of existing building green retrofits through examining a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design for Existing Building: Operations and Maintenance (LEED EBOM) Gold project. The project demonstrated a standard green retrofit process for existing buildings, which includes energy auditing, building performance simulation, and measurement and verification. In this project, four energy conservation measures were applied to improve energy performance: light-emitting diode (LED) lighting, window films, green roofs, and chilled water plant upgrading and optimization. The expected energy saving was 30% after the retrofit; while the actual energy saving was 16%. The error of building performance simulation was one of uncertainties in this retrofit project. Occupancy conditions might be the main reason for this uncertainty. Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats were identified and discussed for the green retrofit. The research results could be used to optimize the existing building retrofit process for better energy performance.
A Practical Formulation for Ex-Ante Scheduling of Energy and Reserve in Renewable-Dominated Power Systems: Case Study of the Iberian Peninsula
Authors: Carrión Miguel , Zárate-Miñano Rafael , Domínguez Ruth
Published: July 2018

Scheduling energy and reserve in power systems with a large number of intermittent units is a challenging problem. Traditionally, the reserve requirements are assigned after clearing the day-ahead energy market using ad hoc rules or solving computationally intense mathematical programming problems to co-optimize energy and reserve. While the former approach often leads to costly oversized reserve provisions, the computational time required by the latter makes it generally incompatible with the daily power system operational practices. This paper proposes an alternative deterministic formulation for computing the energy and reserve scheduling, considering the uncertainty of the demand and the intermittent power production in such a way that the resulting problem requires a lower number of constraints and variables than stochastic programming-based formulations. The performance of the proposed formulation has been compared with respect to two standard stochastic programming formulations in a small-size power system. Finally, a realistic case study based on the Iberian Peninsula power system has been solved and discussed.
Shifts in Growing Season of Tropical Deciduous Forests as Driven by El Niño and La Niña during 2001–2016
Authors: Diem Phan Kieu , Pimple Uday , Sitthi Asamaporn , Varnakovida Pariwate , Tanaka Katsunori , Pungkul Sukan , Leadprathom Kumron , LeClerc Monique Y. , Chidthaisong Amnat
Published: July 2018

This study investigated the spatiotemporal dynamics of tropical deciduous forest including dry dipterocarp forest (DDF) and mixed deciduous forest (MDF) and its phenological changes in responses to El Niño and La Niña during 2001–2016. Based on time series of Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) extracted from Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), the start of growing season (SOS), the end of growing season (EOS), and length of growing season (LOS) were derived. In absence of climatic fluctuation, the SOS of DDF commonly started on 106 ± 7 DOY, delayed to 132 DOY in El Niño year (2010) and advanced to 87 DOY in La Niña year (2011). Thus, there was a delay of about 19 to 33 days in El Niño and an earlier onset of about 13 to 27 days in La Niña year. The SOS of MDF started almost same time as of DDF on the 107 ± 7 DOY during the neutral years and delayed to 127 DOY during El Niño, advanced to 92 DOY in La Niña year. The SOS of MDF was delayed by about 12 to 28 days in El Niño and was earlier about 8 to 22 days in La Niña. Corresponding to these shifts in SOS and LOS of both DDF and MDF were also induced by the El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO).
Increasing Probability of Heat-Related Mortality in a Mediterranean City Due to Urban Warming
Authors: Pyrgou Andri , Santamouris Mat
Published: July 2018

Extreme temperatures impose thermal stress on human health, resulting in increased hospitalizations and mortality rate. We investigated the circulatory and respiratory causes of death for the years 2007 to 2014 inclusive for the urban and rural areas of Nicosia, Cyprus under urban heatwave and non-heatwave conditions. Heatwaves were defined as four or more consecutive days with mean urban daily temperature over the 90th percentile threshold temperature of the eight investigated years. Lag period of adverse health effects was found to be up to three days following the occurrence of high temperatures. The relative risk (RR) for mortality rate under heatwave and non-heatwave conditions was found taking in consideration the lag period. The results showed the increase of mortality risk particularly for men of ages 65–69 (RR = 2.38) and women of ages 65–74 (around RR = 2.54) in the urban area, showing that women were more vulnerable to heat extremities. High temperatures were also associated with high ozone concentrations, but they did not impose an excess risk factor, as they did not reach extreme values. This analysis highlights the importance of preparing for potential heat related health impacts even in Cyprus, which is an island with frequent heatwaves.
Translation of the Child and Adolescent HARDSHIP (Headache-Attributed Restriction, Disability, Social Handicap and Impaired Participation) Questionnaire into the Lithuanian Language and Validation of Its HRQoL (Headache-Related Quality of Life) Scale
Authors: Genc Diana , Zaborskis Apolinaras , Vaičienė-Magistris Nerija
Published: July 2018

Recently developed and originally published in English, the Child and Adolescent HARDSHIP (headache-attributed restriction, disability, social handicap and impaired participation) questionnaire is valid and acceptable for the global assessment of the burden of headache in children and adolescents. The present study aimed to translate, adapt and validate a Lithuanian version of this questionnaire. A total of 22 volunteers from 7 to 17 years of age completed the questionnaire with 24 h test-retest and a representative sample of 2505 schoolchildren of the same age participated in the main study. Test-retest reliability of the HRQoL (Headache Related Quality of Life) scale in the translated questionnaire showed substantial agreement (kappa: 0.604). Reliability and validity of the translated HRQoL scale were acceptable (Cronbach’s alpha: 0.749; test-retest kappa: 0.604, test for discriminant validity demonstrated that quality of life decreased by severity of headache). Factorial analysis revealed the two-dimensional structure of the HRQoL scale with indices of good model fit to the collected data. A total of 92.2% of the surveyed children had experienced headache in their lifetime, 74.2% during the last year. Girls and older children experienced headache more often than participants from the other groups. The translated Lithuanian version of the questionnaire seems to be a valid, feasible and acceptable instrument to measure the extent of the burden of headache in large populations.
Age, Period, and Cohort Effects on Suicide Mortality in South Korea, 1992–2015
Authors: Park Soonjoo , Song Yeong-Jun , Kim Jinseob , Ki Myung , Shin Ji-Yeon , Kwon Young-Man , Lim Jiseun
Published: July 2018

Although the effects of age, period, and cohort (APC) on suicide are important, previous work in this area may have been invalid because of an identification problem. We analyzed these effects under three different scenarios to identify vulnerable groups and thus overcame the identification problem. We extracted the annual numbers of suicides from the National Death Register of Korea (1992–2015) and estimated the APC effects. The annual average suicide rates in 1992–2015 were 31.5 and 14.7 per 100,000 males and females, respectively. The APC effects on suicide were similar in both sexes. The age effect was clearly higher in older subjects, in contrast to the minimal changes apparent during earlier adulthood. The birth cohort effect showed an inverted U shape; a higher cohort effect was evident in females born in the early 1980s when period drift was larger than 3.7%/year. Period effect increased sharply during the early 1990s and 2000s. We found that elderly and young females may be at a particularly high risk of suicide in Korea.
The Effect of an Automated Phone Warning and Health Advisory System on Adaptation to High Heat Episodes and Health Services Use in Vulnerable Groups—Evidence from a Randomized Controlled Study
Authors: Mehiriz Kaddour , Gosselin Pierre , Tardif Isabelle , Lemieux Marc-André
Published: July 2018

Automated phone warning systems are increasingly used by public health authorities to protect the population from the adverse effects of extreme heat but little is known about their performance. To fill this gap, this article reports the result of a study on the impact of an automated phone heat warning system on adaptation behaviours and health services use. A sample of 1328 individuals vulnerable to heat was constituted for this purpose and participants were randomly assigned to treatment and control groups. The day before a heat episode, a phone heat warning was sent to the treatment group. Data were obtained through two surveys before and one survey after the heat warning issuance. The results show that members of the treatment group were more aware of how to protect themselves from heat and more likely to adopt the recommended behaviours. Moreover, a much smaller proportion of women in this group used the health-care system compared to the control group. Thus, the exposure to an automated phone warning seems to improve the adaptation to heat and reduce the use of health services by some important at-risk groups. This method can thus be used to complement public health interventions aimed at reducing heat-related health risks.
Drift-Aware Monocular Localization Based on a Pre-Constructed Dense 3D Map in Indoor Environments
Authors: Feng Guanyuan , Ma Lin , Tan Xuezhi , Qin Danyang
Published: July 2018

Recently, monocular localization has attracted increased attention due to its application to indoor navigation and augmented reality. In this paper, a drift-aware monocular localization system that performs global and local localization is presented based on a pre-constructed dense three-dimensional (3D) map. In global localization, a pixel-distance weighted least squares algorithm is investigated for calculating the absolute scale for the epipolar constraint. To reduce the accumulative errors that are caused by the relative position estimation, a map interaction-based drift detection method is introduced in local localization, and the drift distance is computed by the proposed line model-based maximum likelihood estimation sample consensus (MLESAC) algorithm. The line model contains a fitted line segment and some visual feature points, which are used to seek inliers of the estimated feature points for drift detection. Taking advantage of the drift detection method, the monocular localization system switches between the global and local localization modes, which effectively keeps the position errors within an expected range. The performance of the proposed monocular localization system is evaluated on typical indoor scenes, and experimental results show that compared with the existing localization methods, the accuracy improvement rates of the absolute position estimation and the relative position estimation are at least 30.09% and 65.59%, respectively.
Molecular Mapping of QTLs for Heat Tolerance in Chickpea
Authors: Paul Pronob J. , Samineni Srinivasan , Thudi Mahendar , Sajja Sobhan B. , Rathore Abhishek , Das Roma R. , Khan Aamir W. , Chaturvedi Sushil K. , Lavanya Gera Roopa , Varshney Rajeev. K. , Gaur Pooran M.
Published: July 2018

Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.), a cool-season legume, is increasingly affected by heat-stress at reproductive stage due to changes in global climatic conditions and cropping systems. Identifying quantitative trait loci (QTLs) for heat tolerance may facilitate breeding for heat tolerant varieties. The present study was aimed at identifying QTLs associated with heat tolerance in chickpea using 292 F8-9 recombinant inbred lines (RILs) developed from the cross ICC 4567 (heat sensitive) × ICC 15614 (heat tolerant). Phenotyping of RILs was undertaken for two heat-stress (late sown) and one non-stress (normal sown) environments. A genetic map spanning 529.11 cM and comprising 271 genotyping by sequencing (GBS) based single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers was constructed. Composite interval mapping (CIM) analysis revealed two consistent genomic regions harbouring four QTLs each on CaLG05 and CaLG06. Four major QTLs for number of filled pods per plot (FPod), total number of seeds per plot (TS), grain yield per plot (GY) and % pod setting (%PodSet), located in the CaLG05 genomic region, were found to have cumulative phenotypic variation of above 50%. Nineteen pairs of epistatic QTLs showed significant epistatic effect, and non-significant QTL × environment interaction effect, except for harvest index (HI) and biomass (BM). A total of 25 putative candidate genes for heat-stress were identified in the two major genomic regions. This is the first report on QTLs for heat-stress response in chickpea. The markers linked to the above mentioned four major QTLs can facilitate marker-assisted breeding for heat tolerance in chickpea.
Gene Suppression of Transketolase-Like Protein 1 (TKTL1) Sensitizes Glioma Cells to Hypoxia and Ionizing Radiation
Authors: Heller Sonja , Maurer Gabriele D. , Wanka Christina , Hofmann Ute , Luger Anna-Luisa , Bruns Ines , Steinbach Joachim P. , Rieger Johannes
Published: July 2018

In several tumor entities, transketolase-like protein 1 (TKTL1) has been suggested to promote the nonoxidative part of the pentose phosphate pathway (PPP) and thereby to contribute to a malignant phenotype. However, its role in glioma biology has only been sparsely documented. In the present in vitro study using LNT-229 glioma cells, we analyzed the impact of TKTL1 gene suppression on basic metabolic parameters and on survival following oxygen restriction and ionizing radiation. TKTL1 was induced by hypoxia and by hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α). Knockdown of TKTL1 via shRNA increased the cells’ demand for glucose, decreased flux through the PPP and promoted cell death under hypoxic conditions. Following irradiation, suppression of TKTL1 expression resulted in elevated levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and reduced clonogenic survival. In summary, our results indicate a role of TKTL1 in the adaptation of tumor cells to oxygen deprivation and in the acquisition of radioresistance. Further studies are necessary to examine whether strategies that antagonize TKTL1 function will be able to restore the sensitivity of glioma cells towards irradiation and antiangiogenic therapies in the more complex in vivo environment.
Identification of WRKY Gene Family from Dimocarpus longan and Its Expression Analysis during Flower Induction and Abiotic Stress Responses
Authors: Jue Dengwei , Sang Xuelian , Liu Liqin , Shu Bo , Wang Yicheng , Liu Chengming , Xie Jianghui , Shi Shengyou
Published: July 2018

Longan is an important fruit tree in the subtropical region of Southeast Asia and Australia. However, its blooming and its yield are susceptible to stresses such as droughts, high salinity, and high and low temperature. To date, the molecular mechanisms of abiotic stress tolerance and flower induction in longan have not been elucidated. WRKY transcription factors (TFs), which have been studied in various plant species, play important regulatory roles in plant growth, development, and responses to stresses. However, there is no report about WRKYs in longan. In this study, we identified 55 WRKY genes with the conserved WRKY domain and zinc finger motif in the longan genome. Based on the structural features of WRKY proteins and topology of the phylogenetic tree, the longan WRKY (DlWRKY) family was classified into three major groups (I–III) and five subgroups (IIa–IIe) in group II. Tissue expression analysis showed that 25 DlWRKYs were highly expressed in almost all organs, suggesting that these genes may be important for plant growth and organ development in longan. Comparative RNA-seq and qRT-PCR-based gene expression analysis revealed that 18 DlWRKY genes showed a specific expression during three stages of flower induction in “Sijimi” (“SJ”), which exhibited the “perpetual flowering” (PF) habit, indicating that these 18 DlWRKY genes may be involved in the flower induction and the genetic control of the perpetual flowering trait in longan. Furthermore, the RT-qPCR analysis illustrated the significant variation of 27, 18, 15, 17, 27, and 23 DlWRKY genes under SA (Salicylic acid), MeJA (Methyl Jasmonate), heat, cold, drought, or high salinity treatment, respectively, implicating that they might be stress- or hormone-responsive genes. In summary, we systematically and comprehensively analyzed the structure, evolution, and expression pattern of the DlWRKY genes. The results presented here increase our understanding of the WRKY family in fruit trees and provide a basis for the further elucidation of the biological function of DlWRKY genes in longan.
Evaluation of BMP-2 Enhances the Osteoblast Differentiation of Human Amnion Mesenchymal Stem Cells Seeded on Nano-Hydroxyapatite/Collagen/Poly(l-Lactide)
Authors: Wu Shuhong , Xiao Zhili , Song Jinlin , Li Min , Li Wenhua
Published: July 2018

Background: The aim of this study is to evaluate the effects of recombinant human bone morphogenetic protein 2 (rhBMP-2), human amnion mesenchymal stem cells (hAMSCs), and nanohydroxyapatite/collagen/poly(l-lactide) (nHAC/PLA) in tissue engineering to provide potential approaches for periodontal bone regeneration. Methods: hAMSCs were isolated from discarded amniotic membrane samples and cultured in vitro. Alkaline phosphatase (ALP) staining and alizarin red staining were performed to evaluate the osteoblast (OB) differentiation ability of hAMSCs. Three groups were divided: the experimental group (cells transfected with pcDNA3.1-rhBMP-2), the blank group (cells without gene transfection), and the control group (cells transfected with empty plasmid). RT-PCR and western blot were used to examine whether rhBMP-2 has been successfully expressed. 3-(4,5)-dimethylthiahiazol(-z-y1)-3,5-di-phenytetrazo-liumromide assay (MTT) was done to detect the effect of rhBMP-2 on hAMSCs seeded on nHAC/PLA. ALP activity, mineral formation assay, calcium, phosphate and osteocalcin (OCN) content, and OCN and RUNX2 expression of hAMSCs were detected to evaluate osteogenic differentiation capability of rhBMP-2 on hAMSCs seeded on nHAC/PLA. Results: hAMSCs exhibited intense ALP staining, obvious calcium deposition, and mineralization nodules, and rhBMP-2 were highly expressed in the experimental group. The proliferation of the hAMSCs with rhBMP-2 on nHAC/PLA was significantly higher than the cells without rhBMP-2, and the cells all increased in a time-dependent manner. rhBMP-2 significantly increased the OCN and phosphate content, mineral formation, ALP activity, osteogenic biomarkers OCN, and Runx2, and decreased calcium content in hAMSCs seeded on the nHAC/PLA scaffold. Conclusions: This finding demonstrated that hAMSCs has an ideal OB differentiation ability. rhBMP-2 facilitates the proliferation and osteogenesis of hAMSCs. The nHAC/PLA could act as a good scaffold for hAMSCs seeding, proliferation, and osteogenic differentiation. The application of rhBMP-2, nHAC/PLA, and hAMSCs in tissue engineering may offer promising possibilities for periodontal bone regeneration.