bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Localization from semantic observations via the matrix permanent
Authors: Atanasov Nikolay , Zhu Menglong , Daniilidis Kostas , Pappas George J.
Published: October 2015

Most approaches to robot localization rely on low-level geometric features such as points, lines, and planes. In this paper, we use object recognition to obtain semantic information from the robot’s sensors and consider the task of localizing the robot within a prior map of landmarks, which are annotated with semantic labels. As object recognition algorithms miss detections and produce false alarms, correct data association between the detections and the landmarks on the map is central to the semantic localization problem. Instead of the traditional vector-based representation, we propose a sensor model, which encodes the semantic observations via random finite sets and enables a unified treatment of missed detections, false alarms, and data association. Our second contribution is to reduce the problem of computing the likelihood of a set-valued observation to the problem of computing a matrix permanent. It is this crucial transformation that allows us to solve the semantic localization problem with a polynomial-time approximation to the set-based Bayes filter. Finally, we address the active semantic localization problem, in which the observer’s trajectory is planned in order to improve the accuracy and efficiency of the localization process. The performance of our approach is demonstrated in simulation and in real environments using deformable-part-model-based object detectors. Robust global localization from semantic observations is demonstrated for a mobile robot, for the Project Tango phone, and on the KITTI visual odometry dataset. Comparisons are made with the traditional lidar-based geometric Monte Carlo localization.
Breaking the bundle of rights: Conservation easements and the legal geographies of individuating nature
Authors: Kay Kelly
Published: October 2015

This paper bridges critical legal geography and geographical work on neoliberal natures to illustrate the vital role that US law has played in reimagining the values of nature as divisible from their supporting contexts and the spatial outcomes of this “individuation.” The development and widespread use of conservation easements by nonprofit land trust groups serves as a precedent-setting case study. I review the two major pieces of enabling legislation: the Uniform Conservation Easement Act, and the addition of Section 170(h) to the federal tax code, to argue that these legal changes mark a pivotal moment of reregulation that has been significant for regularizing the separation of conservation values from their socio-ecological contexts. Finally, I offer three examples of the spatial manifestations of the legal foundations of conservation easements: shifting geographies of conservation prompted by highest and best use valuation and tax deductibility, an altered public/private divide in protected areas, and the creation of new spaces of accumulation, through the use of easement law by entrepreneurial forest carbon firms.
Defining tafoni
Authors: Groom Kaelin M. , Allen Casey D. , Mol Lisa , Paradise Thomas R. , Hall Kevin
Published: October 2015

Cavernous rock decay processes represent a global phenomenon, ubiquitous to all environments, with the viewable-in-landscape form usually being the final descriptor (e.g. “alveoli”), sometimes alluding to the specific decay process (e.g. “pitting”), other times not (e.g. “honeycombing”). Yet, definitive terminology remains inconsistent, usually owing to variability in dimension, morphometry, distribution, and/or academic lineage. This lack of an established lexicon limits scientific collaboration and can generate scientific bias. With no official consensus on appropriate distinctions, researchers and scientists must either be familiar with all the possible terminology, or know the apparent distinction between “forms”—which can seem arbitrary and, even more frustrating, often differs from researcher to researcher, scientist to scientist. This article reviews the historical and contemporary progression of scientific inquiry into this decay—and, arguably, erosional—feature to identify lexical inconsistencies and promote a singular unifying term for future scholars. Ultimately, the authors support using “tafoni” (singular: “tafone”) as the non-scalar universal term—the form created by numerous processes involved in cavernous decay features—and strongly suggest researchers adopt the same vernacular in order to promote collaboration.
Prejudice, Exclusion, and Economic Disadvantage
Authors: Kelley Jonathan , Evans M.D.R.
Published: October 2015

A central hypothesis about discrimination is that prejudice forces the stigmatized into low-paying, undesirable jobs. Prejudice clearly leads to exclusion. But surprisingly, evidence linking exclusion to disadvantage is mixed. We address this issue theoretically, providing a formal rational choice model combining arguments from sociology (on prejudice) and economics (on competition). Our theory suggests that economic organization is crucial. In economies dominated by monopoly, oligarchy, tradition, or government, prejudice may reduce some workers’ pay, and a disadvantageous secondary labor market may emerge. By contrast, in competitive free markets, exclusionary discrimination often occurs but does not reduce workers’ pay, nor does it induce a disadvantageous secondary labor market. Our theory suggests the conventional analytic approach to discrimination is misguided: Exclusion does not necessarily imply disadvantage; a shortfall in pay does not necessarily imply that the lower paid worker is disadvantaged; and analysis should focus on the overall subjective well-being or utility derived from a job, not on pay alone.
Clock-Controlled Regulation of the Acute Effects of Norepinephrine on Chick Pineal Melatonin Rhythms
Authors: Li Ye , Cassone Vincent M.
Published: October 2015

The chicken pineal gland synthesizes and releases melatonin rhythmically in light/dark (LD) cycles, with high melatonin levels during the dark phase, and in constant darkness (DD) for several cycles before it gradually damps to arrhythmicity in DD. Daily administration of norepinephrine (NE) in vivo and in vitro prevents the damping and restores the melatonin rhythm. To investigate the role of the circadian clock on melatonin rhythm damping and of its restoration by NE, the effects of NE administration at different phases of the melatonin cycle revealed a robust rhythm in NE sensitivity in which NE efficacy in increasing melatonin amplitude peaked in late subjective night and early subjective day, suggesting a clock underlying NE sensitivity. However, NE itself had no effect on circadian phase or period of the melatonin rhythms. Transcriptional analyses indicated that even though the rhythm of melatonin output damped to arrhythmicity, messenger RNA (mRNA) encoding clock genes gper2, gper3, gBmal1, gclock, gcry1, and gcry2; enzymes associated with melatonin biosynthesis; and enzymes involved in cyclic nucleotide signaling remained robustly rhythmic. Of these, only gADCY1 (adenylate cyclase 1) and gPDE4D (cAMP-specific 3′,5′-cyclic phosphodiesterase 4D) were affected by NE administration at the mRNA levels, and only ADCY1 was affected at the protein level. The data strongly suggest that damping of the melatonin rhythm in the chick pineal gland occurs at the posttranscriptional level and that a major role of the clock is to regulate pinealocytes’ sensitivity to neuronal input from the brain.
Numerical methods for calculating the response of a deterministic and stochastically excited Duffing oscillator
Authors: Hawes David H , Langley Robin S
Published: October 2015

When compared to independent harmonic or stochastic excitation, there exist relatively few methods to model the response of non-linear systems to a combination of deterministic and stochastic vibration despite the likelihood of harmonic oscillations containing noise in realistic applications. This paper uses the Duffing oscillator to illustrate how the joint probability density function (JPDF) of the displacement and velocity responds to this form of excitation. Monte Carlo simulations were performed to generate the JPDF which was observed, in general, to spread around the trajectory that would be observed if only deterministic excitation was present. In the deterministic chaotic case, the JPDF is known to be a diffuse chaotic attractor when noise is present. This paper assesses the ability of a useful class of methods, global weighted residual methods, to produce the geometrically complex JPDF responses produced from harmonic and white noise excitation. A technique using a JPDF in the form of a Gram–Charlier type C series was found to produce accurate results, although the method fails due to ill-conditioning as the shape of the JPDF required by the dynamics becomes too complex.
Reliability-based design optimization of an automotive structure using a variable uncertainty
Authors: Lim Woochul , Jang Junyong , Kim Shinyu , Lee Tae Hee , Kim Jungho , Lee Kyungwon , Lee Changkun , Kim Yongsuk
Published: October 2015

Reliability-based design optimization is an optimization technique based on the stochastic approach. Many studies using this approach assume the uncertainty in the design variable to be constant. However, when the uncertainty depends on the values of the design variable, this assumption results in the wrong conclusions. Therefore, the uncertainty should be considered as a variable in reliability-based design optimization. The uncertainty in the thickness during optimization, such as the tolerance, had been assumed to be a constant in automotive structures. However, in practice, the tolerance of the thickness depends on the nominal thickness. Hence, in this paper, reliability-based design optimization of an automotive structure such as an engine cradle and a body-in-white with a variable uncertainty is carried out. General Motors Korea provides the tolerance guide which defines the dependence between the nominal thickness and the tolerance. The information is adopted to define the variable uncertainty. Thus, the variable uncertainty can modify the uncertainty with respect to the design point, resulting in an accurate reliability estimation. Finally, reliability-based design optimization with a variable uncertainty is performed using the Akaike information criterion method which determines the fittest distribution of the performance based on the maximum likelihood estimation of the candidate distributions. Consequently, the automotive structures are optimized to reduce the mass while still satisfying the target reliabilities of the performances when considering a variable uncertainty.
Experimental characterisation of railway wheel squeal occurring in large-radius curves
Authors: Fourie Daniël J , Gräbe Petrus J , Heyns P Stephan , Fröhling Robert D
Published: October 2015

Tonal squeal noise (i.e. the high-amplitude singing of a railway wheel with pure tone components) is emitted by some trailing inner wagon wheels on heavy haul trains traversing 1000 m radius curves on the iron ore export line in South Africa. Field measurements have shown that the trailing inner wheels that squeal are subject to predominantly longitudinal creepage with little-to-no lateral creepage. The longitudinal creepage acting at the contact of the squealing wheels exceeds 1%, which supports the likelihood of creep saturation and subsequent squealing due to unsteady longitudinal creepage in the large-radius curves. Experimental modal analysis of the wheel types identified to be relevant to squeal has revealed that for each unstable frequency, two eigenmodes are likely to be important: one that has a large mode shape component at the wheel–rail contact in the circumferential direction and another that has a large mode shape component at the wheel–rail contact in the radial direction. A frictional self-excitation mechanism based on mode-coupling is favoured as being responsible for squeal excited in large-radius curves.
Computational fluid dynamics as a means of assessing the influence of aerodynamic forces on the mean contact force acting on a pantograph
Authors: Carnevale Marco , Facchinetti Alan , Maggiori Luca , Rocchi Daniele
Published: October 2015

This paper discusses the possibility of using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) to assess the influence of aerodynamic forces (aerodynamic uplift) on the mean contact force acting between a pantograph and the contact wire. The analysis consists of experimental tests and CFD simulations, performed in both wind tunnel and on-track scenarios. A method for the computation of the aerodynamic uplift and for the assessment of the contact force imbalance between the leading and trailing collectors is proposed. The method is based on the virtual work principle, and exploits both the numerical forces resulting from CFD analysis, and the Jacobian terms obtained from a kinematic analysis of the pantograph. The proposed model takes into account stationary phenomena, and it is fully validated by means of experimental results.
Experimental research on a rotary-valved air-breathing pulse detonation engine
Authors: Wu Yu-Wen , Han Qi-Xiang , Zhao Wei
Published: October 2015

An experimental research on flame acceleration and deflagration-to-detonation transition (DDT) in an air-breathing pulse detonation engine was performed. The inner diameter of the detonation tube and pulse detonation engine overall length were 8.6 cm and 155 cm, respectively. A rotary-valve configuration was developed to control air-filling process. The stability and effectiveness of the rotary valve was investigated. Also, a control system was employed to support valve rotating, fuel supply and ignition timing accurately. Utilizing air as oxidizer as well as purge gas and kerosene as fuel, multi-cycle detonations in pulse detonation engine were conducted. Three DDT enhancement devices were used to examine their impacts on transition to detonation. Pressure transducers and ionization probes were used to measure pressures and flame velocities, respectively. This rotary-valved pulse detonation engine was capable of detonating fuel-air mixtures that successive detonations at 15 and 20 Hz were observed. By utilizing three DDT enhancement devices, the detonability of kerosene-air mixtures is remarkably promoted. The effectiveness of geometry shape of DDT enhancement approaches is investigated. The results represent that when DDT enhancement devices geometry shape as well as ignition frequency vary, the pressure and flame velocity, overpressure value and flame regime are different.
Perspectives on expedited partner therapy for chlamydia: a survey of health care providers
Authors: Rosenfeld EA , Marx J , Terry MA , Stall R , Flatt J , Borrero S , Miller E
Published: October 2015

There is a lack of research on health care providers’ use of and perspectives on expedited partner therapy in a state where expedited partner therapy is not prohibited or explicitly allowed. The aim of our study was to understand if and how health care providers use expedited partner therapy, if specific demographic factors and knowledge contribute to increased use of expedited partner therapy, and to describe barriers and facilitators to the use of expedited partner therapy in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. A convenience sample of 112 health care providers from diverse disciplines who treat young women at risk for chlamydia completed an online survey. About 11% of health care providers used expedited partner therapy consistently. Those who self-reported that they were knowledgeable about expedited partner therapy were more likely to use expedited partner therapy (73% vs. 49%, p = .009) as were those who said no or were unsure about their institution’s guidelines for expedited partner therapy (35% vs. 22%, p = 0.01) (62% vs. 57%, p = 0.01). The most commonly reported facilitator of expedited partner therapy was having clear legal guidelines (86%). This study finds that in a setting where expedited partner therapy is not expressly permitted, health care providers still use the practice but also experience barriers that limit uptake. Legislation expressly endorsing expedited partner therapy in the state and in medical institutions is needed to increase expedited partner therapy use.
Microaggressions, Injustices, and Racial Identity
Authors: Isom Deena
Published: October 2015

Inspired by the recent theory of African American offending and the lack of race-centered concepts in criminological literature, I aim to answer four general research questions: (a) Do criminal justice injustices impact African Americans differently than other forms of racism? (b) Do different emotional states increase African Americans’ likelihood of offending? (c) Does having a positive racial identity buffer against the negative effects of racial discrimination? and (d) Do the effects of racial discrimination and racial identity vary between African American males and females? Using a subsample of African American youth and young adults from the Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods data, I find microaggressions and criminal justice injustices independently predict serious and violent offending. Anger and depression likewise serve as independent predictors, though anger suppresses the effects of depression when considered simultaneously. Racial identity also moderately buffers the negative effects of overall discrimination. The present analysis, however, finds no significant gender differences in the above processes. This study provides a firm empirical foundation for the theory of African American offending and other race-based approaches to understanding crime. Implications for future investigations are discussed.
Transforming Attitudes About Transgender Employee Rights
Authors: Rudin Joel , Yang Yang , Ruane Sinead , Ross Linda , Farro Andrea , Billing Tejinder
Published: October 2015

Transgender employees may suffer from discrimination due to transphobia. This article evaluates a pedagogical intervention designed to reduce the transphobia of North American undergraduate business students. Participants were enrolled in an organizational behavior course. They resolved a simulated dispute between coworkers over accommodating the bathroom choices of a transgender employee. Answers were classified as demonstrating inclusion, compliance, or hostility with the inclusive response being the establishment of gender-neutral restrooms and the hostile response being refusal to accept the transgender employee’s bathroom choice. In the first year, 194 students completed the exercise with no advance preparation, while in the second year, 221 students performed the same task after reading a brief article about transgender employees. Results suggest that the intervention was effective as the inclusive response was most popular in the second year even though it had been least popular in the first year. Complete success was not attained, as one sixth of the students in the second year chose hostile responses. Implications for research, teaching, and practice are discussed.
Characteristics of Illinois School Districts That Employ School Nurses
Authors: Searing Lisabeth M. , Guenette Molly
Published: October 2015

Research indicates that school nursing services are cost-effective, but the National Association of School Nurses estimates that 25% of schools do not have a school nurse (SN). The purpose of this study was to identify the characteristics of Illinois school districts that employed SNs. This was a secondary data analysis of Illinois School Report Card system data as well as data obtained from district websites regarding SNs. Employment of an SN was determined for 95% of the 862 existing districts. Binary logistic regression analysis found that district size was the largest significant predictor of employment of an SN. Other factors included the type of district and diversity of the teaching staff as well as the percentage of students receiving special education services or with limited English proficiency. These findings indicate where to focus advocacy and policy efforts to encourage employment of SNs.
Pilot Study to Test the Effectiveness of Different Financial Incentives to Improve Medication Adherence
Authors: Garza Kimberly B. , Owensby Justin K. , Braxton Lloyd Kimberly , Wood Elizabeth A. , Hansen Richard A.
Published: October 2015

Background: Medication nonadherence affects health care costs, morbidity, and mortality. Concepts from behavioral economics can guide the development of interventions to improve medication adherence. Objective: To measure the relative effectiveness of 2 behavioral economic-based incentive structures to improve medication adherence. Methods: This randomized controlled trial compared adherence among participants taking antihypertensive or antihyperlipidemic medications randomized to usual care (UC), guaranteed pay-out (GPO) incentives, or lottery incentives. Daily adherence was measured over a 90-day period using electronic caps (Medication Event Monitoring System [MEMS]). The GPO group received $30 up-front in a virtual account, with $0.50 deducted for each missed dose. Lottery group participants were eligible for a weekly $50 drawing, but only if they had taken their medication as prescribed all week. An electronic survey assessed self-reported adherence. Statistical analysis included descriptive statistics, paired t tests, ANOVA, and Pearson’s correlations. Results: In all, 36 participants were randomized (UC, n = 11; GPO, n = 14; lottery, n = 11). Mean percentage (±SD) of days adherent during the incentive period was highest in the lottery group (96% ± 5%), followed by the GPO group (94% ± 9%) and the UC group (94% ± 9%). There were no statistically significant differences among groups ( P > 0.05). MEMS-measured adherence was not significantly correlated with a patient’s self-reported adherence ( P > 0.05) at baseline but was correlated at 90-day follow-up ( P < 0.001). Conclusions: Although no statistically significant differences in adherence were demonstrated in this small sample of highly adherent participants, larger studies in a more diverse population or with other medications might show otherwise.
Inconsistency in the Reporting of Adverse Events in Total Ankle Arthroplasty
Authors: Mercer Jeff , Penner Murray , Wing Kevin , Younger Alastair S. E.
Published: October 2015

Background:

Systems for classifying complications have been proposed for many surgical subspecialties. The goal of this systematic review was to analyze the number and frequency of different terms used to identify complications in total ankle arthroplasty. We hypothesized that this terminology would be highly variable, supporting a need for a standardized system of reporting.

Methods:

Studies that met predefined inclusion/exclusion criteria were analyzed to identify terminology used to describe adverse events. All terms were then tabulated and quantified with regard to diversity and frequency of use across all included studies. Terms were also grouped into 10 categories, and the number of reported occurrences of each adverse event was calculated. A reporting tool was then developed.

Results:

Of 572 unique terms used to describe adverse outcomes in 117 studies, 55.9% (320/572) were used in only a single study. The category that was most frequently reported was revision surgery, with 86% of papers reporting on this event using 115 different terms. Other categories included “additional non-revision surgeries” (74% of papers, 93 terms), “loosening/osteolysis” (63% of papers, 86 terms), “fractures” (60% of papers, 53 terms), “wound problems” (52% of papers, 27 terms), “infection” (52% of papers, 27 terms), “implant problems” (50% of papers, 57 terms), “soft tissue injuries” (31% of papers, 30 terms), “heterotopic ossification” (22% of papers, 17 terms), and “pain” (18% of papers, 11 terms).

Conclusion:

The reporting of complications and adverse outcomes for total ankle arthroplasty was highly variable. This lack of consistency impedes the accurate reporting and interpretation of data required for the development of cohesive, evidence-based treatment guidelines for end-stage ankle arthritis. Standardized reporting tools are urgently needed. This study presents a prototype worksheet for the standardized assessment and reporting of adverse events.

Level of Evidence:

Level-III, decision analyses, systematic review of Level III studies and above.
Prolonged Infusions of Low-Dose Thrombolytics in Elderly Patients With Prosthetic Heart Valve Thrombosis
Authors: Gündüz Sabahattin , Özkan Mehmet , Yesin Mahmut , Kalçık Macit , Gürsoy Mustafa Ozan , Karakoyun Süleyman , Astarcıoğlu Mehmet Ali , Aykan Ahmet Çağrı , Gökdeniz Tayyar , Biteker Murat , Duran Nilüfer Ekşi , Yıldız Mustafa
Published: October 2015

Background:

The outcomes of thrombolytic therapy (TT) in elderly patients with prosthetic valve thrombosis (PVT) have not been evaluated previously. We investigated the outcomes of low-dose and slow infusion TT strategies in elderly patients with PVT.

Methods:

Twenty-seven (19 female) patients aged ≥65 years (median: 70 years, range: 65-82 years) were treated with repeated TT agents for PVT. The TT regimens included 24-hour infusion of 1.5 million units of streptokinase in 2 patients, 6-hour infusion of 25 mg recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (t-PA) in 12 patients, and 25-hour infusion of 25 mg t-PA in 13 patients. Treatment success and adverse event rates were assessed.

Results:

The initial and cumulative success rates were 40.7% and 85.2%, respectively. Adverse events occurred in 6 (22.2%) patients including 4 (14.8%) major (1 death, 1 rethrombosis, and 2 failed TT) and 2 (7.4%) minor (1 transient ischemic attack and 1 access site hematoma) events. Higher thrombus burden (thrombus area ≥1.1 cm2 by receiver operating characteristics analysis, sensitivity: 83.3%, specificity: 85%, area under the curve: 0.86, P = .008) and New York Heart Association class (0% vs 15.4% vs 25% vs 100% for classes I-IV, respectively, P = .02) predicted adverse events. By multiple variable analysis, thrombus area was the only independent predictor of adverse events (odds ratio: 13.8, 95% confidence interval: 1.02-185, P = .04).

Conclusion:

Slow infusion of low doses of TT agents (mostly t-PA) with repetition is successful and safe in elderly patients with PVT. However, excessive thrombus burden may predict adverse events.
Same Events, Different Stories
Authors: Du Ying Roselyn
Published: October 2015

One hundred and eight newspaper accounts of events of the Arab Spring were analyzed in an attempt to define how the events and the accompanying Internet censorship were framed in the news coverage in mainland China compared with that in Hong Kong and Taiwan. The newspapers in all three media markets were found to have constructed their coverage within the ideological boundaries prevailing in their respective markets. This resulted in differing news stories about the same event or the same issue. News framing was analyzed in terms of news perspective and favorability toward the protesters or the government. Framing of Internet censorship reporting was also analyzed. The results show significant differences in coverage among the three markets. The frames employed in the coverage are interpreted in terms of the markets’ ideological differences and differences in press freedom. The reasons for these differences and theoretical implications are explored.
Routine proteinuria monitoring for bevacizumab in patients with gynecologic malignancies
Authors: Lee Catherine S , Alwan Laura M , Sun Xiaocui , McLean Katherine A , Urban Renata R
Published: October 2015

Background

Proteinuria leading to nephrotic syndrome is a rare adverse event arising from treatment with bevacizumab. There is limited evidence to guide the frequency and appropriate test for monitoring for proteinuria. The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence and severity of proteinuria during bevacizumab administration to patients with gynecologic malignancies, and to evaluate risk factors associated with this toxicity; a secondary objective was to evaluate the cost of routine proteinuria monitoring to assess for opportunities of cost containment that could change clinical practice.

Methods

A retrospective chart review was performed at an academic gynecologic oncology clinic. Women over 18 years of age with a diagnosed gynecologic malignancy were evaluated for the development of proteinuria while receiving bevacizumab treatment as measured by a urine protein-to-creatinine ratio. Patient and disease-specific risk factors were evaluated using logistic regression to determine correlations of risk factors to development of proteinuria. Cost assessment was performed using institution-specific data for urine laboratory tests.

Results

Eighty-nine patients were identified, and the overall prevalence of proteinuria of any grade was 35%. The mean number of bevacizumab cycles was 13 (2–64 cycles). The majority of patients experienced grade 1 proteinuria (70%, 62 patients). Grade 3 proteinuria was observed in two patients (2%). There was a trend toward increased bevacizumab cycles associated with increased grade proteinuria ( p = 0.053), however there were no factors significantly associated with the development of proteinuria as measured by urine protein-to-creatinine ratio.

Conclusion

Monitoring of urine protein-to-creatinine ratios with each cycle may be unnecessary due to the low prevalence of grade 3 proteinuria observed. Additionally, urine protein-to-creatinine ratios may not provide adequate assessment of proteinuria toxicity associated with bevacizumab therapy. Potential cost savings opportunities for the institution can be realized with a cost-reductive monitoring algorithm that will utilize less costly laboratory techniques for patients at high risk of developing proteinuria.
“Domesticating” the City
Authors: Mandich Giuliana , Cuzzocrea Valentina
Published: October 2015

The aim of this article is to rethink the analysis of urban life and the practices involving the use of urban space. To that end, we focus on the value that such practices have for social enquiry by employing the concept of domestication, which was originally elaborated by Silverstone in the field of media and technology scholarship. Specifically, the potential value of such usage is to embed practices that produce space in the complexity of the everyday culture of families, and to enable an analysis of urban space in its dual articulation in both public and private culture. A discussion of how the concept has been applied in a study of how parents in a small Italian city include urban space in the domestic sphere offers an empirical substratum to our argument.
Progranulin genetic polymorphisms influence progression of disability and relapse recovery in multiple sclerosis
Authors: Vercellino Marco , Fenoglio Chiara , Galimberti Daniela , Mattioda Alessandra , Chiavazza Carlotta , Binello Eleonora , Pinessi Lorenzo , Giobbe Dario , Scarpini Elio , Cavalla Paola
Published: October 2015

Background:

Progranulin ( GRN) is a multifunctional protein involved in inflammation and repair, and also a neurotrophic factor critical for neuronal survival. Progranulin is strongly expressed in multiple sclerosis (MS) brains by macrophages and microglia.

Methods:

In this study we evaluated GRN genetic variability in 400 MS patients, in correlation with clinical variables such as disease severity and relapse recovery. We also evaluated serum progranulin levels in the different groups of GRN variants carriers.

Results:

We found that incomplete recovery after a relapse is correlated with an increased frequency of the rs9897526 A allele (odds ratio (OR) 4.367, p = 0.005). A more severe disease course (Multiple Sclerosis Severity Score > 5) is correlated with an increased frequency of the rs9897526 A allele (OR 1.886, p = 0.002) and of the rs5848 T allele (OR 1.580, p = 0.019). Carriers of the variants associated with a more severe disease course (rs9897526 A, rs5848 T) have significantly lower levels of circulating progranulin (80.5 ± 9.1 ng/mL vs. 165.7 ng/mL, p = 0.01).

Conclusion:

GRN genetic polymorphisms likely influence disease course and relapse recovery in MS.
‘Eating disorders are not about food, they’re about life’: Client perspectives on anorexia nervosa treatment
Authors: Rance Nicola , Moller Naomi P , Clarke Victoria
Published: October 2015

Poor success rates and high levels of dropout are common features in the treatment of anorexia nervosa. Using semi-structured interviews, this study elicited the views of 12 women who were recovered, or in recovery, for anorexia nervosa and had received treatment. Results derived from a thematic analysis revealed the women’s high degree of dissatisfaction with treatment and their perception that the treatment system is overly focused on, and driven by, food and weight. In contrast, what the women really wanted was to be seen and treated as a ‘whole person’ and to have a ‘real’ relationship with their therapist.
Combating childhood obesity
Authors: Nnyanzi Lawrence Achilles
Published: October 2015

The aim of this study was to explore the reactions of children aged 10–11 years towards being weighed and measured and subsequently told their correct weight as part of the National Child Measurement Programme (NCMP). The study was undertaken in primary schools in a Primary Care Trust (PCT) in the North East of England, UK. One-to-one semi-structured interviews were conducted post-NCMP measurement (and the feedback) with a sample of 21 children, aged 10–11 years, conveniently sampled from the primary schools in the PCT. Findings from the study indicate that the NCMP, especially the weight feedback letter caused annoyance, panic and worry among children who were indicated to have weight problems and oversensitised all children about weight issues, regardless of their weight category. The NCMP is a potentially useful ‘wake-up call’ to the fact that something needs to be done for children identified to be overweight or obese but needs to be delivered with a sensitivity to the impact of the news on the child.
Indoor air particulate matter exposure of commuter bus passengers in Istanbul, Turkey
Authors: Keskin S Sinan , Dilmac Elif
Published: October 2015

Commuter buses are in very common use in Istanbul, the most crowded city in Turkey, for inner city passenger transportation. People in commuter buses are prone to substances mainly originated from traffic related activities on streets. Scientific studies indicate that air pollutants create problems on respiratory and cardiovascular health. The objective of this study was to determine particulate matter (PM) mass concentrations and their elemental compositions in indoor air environments of commuter buses serving in Istanbul. In this context, two commuter bus lines that can represent the general traffic density in Istanbul were selected as study location. Indoor air PM10 and PM2.5 samplings were performed in the buses serving on these lines under routine traffic conditions and while passengers were in the buses. Measurements indicated that the concentrations were well above the guidelines values given by the WHO and European air quality standards while they were below the short term and above the long term guidelines values of Air Quality Directives of Turkey at the time of the measurements. The measured elemental concentrations were below the limit value for Pb and target values for As, Cd, and Ni given by the European Air Quality Standards for Total Suspended Particulates (TSP). Results obtained for old technology commuter buses emphasize the benefits of air conditioned and tightly isolated new buses for better indoor air quality on PM concentrations.
Beyond the Quantified Self: Thematic exploration of a dataistic paradigm
Authors: Ruckenstein Minna , Pantzar Mika
Published: October 2015

This article investigates the metaphor of the Quantified Self (QS) as it is presented in the magazine Wired (2008–2012). Four interrelated themes—transparency, optimization, feedback loop, and biohacking—are identified as formative in defining a new numerical self and promoting a dataist paradigm. Wired captures certain interests and desires with the QS metaphor, while ignoring and downplaying others, suggesting that the QS positions self-tracking devices and applications as interfaces that energize technological engagements, thereby pushing us to rethink life in a data-driven manner. The thematic analysis of the QS is treated as a schematic aid for raising critical questions about self-quantification, for instance, detecting the merging of epistemological claims, technological devices, and market-making efforts. From this perspective, another definition of the QS emerges: a knowledge system that remains flexible in its aims and can be used as a resource for epistemological inquiry and in the formation of alternative paradigms.
Morris dancers, matriarchs and paperbacks: Doing the village in contemporary Britain
Authors: Goodwin-Hawkins Bryonny
Published: October 2015

To call a place rural is to categorize it as a particular kind of place and, often, to presume that particular kinds of being innately occur there. Over the past 20 years, however, trends in British rural studies have problematized easy ascription; this article is an ethnographic contribution within those trends. If it is no longer adequate to read the rural as a container for being, then, as I contend here, rurality can be explored anew through doing. I draw upon David Matless’s (1994) frame of ‘doing the village’ representationally, and amplify it to include concepts of place as representational and relational. I thus use ‘doing’ to read the multiple ways in which diverse residents in a Northern England village engage with both their real locality and with nationally shared rural imaginings.
Liberating Speculation: Art, the Currency of Capitalism and the Death of Currencies
Authors: Balaskas Bill
Published: October 2015

Speculation constitutes one of the major structural components of Data Capitalism, as well as one of the most important factors that led to the global financial crisis of 2007–2008. Since the outbreak of the crisis, several artists have been aiming to propose through their work alternatives to the dominant capitalist model, thus adopting the role of ‘speculators’. In the 55th Venice Bienniale of 2013, Greek artist Stefanos Tsivopoulos presented a multi-part installation that addressed this volatile socioeconomic context by focusing on the role of currencies and the falsification of value that lies at the core of money’s nature. This article proposes a basic theoretical framework within which we could locate not only Tsivopoulos’s practice, but also the work of other politically and socially engaged artists who are interested in the exploration of alternative economic systems.
The Trader’s Voice: Rick Santelli’s Tea Party Rant
Authors: Connor JD
Published: October 2015

This essay explores the micro-origins of the Tea Party movement, focusing on Rick Santelli’s February 2009 ‘rant’ at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. Contrary to populist readings of the movement and its later anti-Obamacare positions, a close reading of the rhetorical and media contexts of the rant demonstrates that its origins lay in a defense of unregulated, untaxed derivative securities. The particular configuration of the HDTV image and viralizable video content contributed to both the power of the rant and the erasure of its particular context.
Cuts to Beck’s novel Currency
Authors: Beck Sarah
Published: October 2015

This is an excerpt from Sarah Beck’s novel Currency. Created as a gift of thanks to the late Kurt Vonnegut, Currency is a humorous story about money, art, fakes and sea pirates. The novel is Sarah’s self-reflexive take on social economic exchanges both within and without the art world. Currency is an odd document – it seeks true interdisciplinarity not just between mediums but in the search for a plurality of possible ways to express and to approach artistic research. Chapter-by-chapter, the self-reflexive narrative guides the reader through musings on the experience of the creation of ephemeral artworks using colloquial language, illustrations, jokes and parables. Written as her master’s thesis, Sarah was obliged to attach an academic explanation, which she has maintained as the last part of her book. Art is a hell of a commodity, and Currency is a hell of a book. Visit sarahbeck.com for more information about Currency and her artistic practice.
Revitalizing Debates around Collective Action and Democracy: A Conversation between Oliver Ressler and Bruce Barber
Authors: Ressler Oliver , Barber Bruce
Published: October 2015

This text is the result of a discussion conducted via email between Oliver Ressler and Bruce Barber during March 2014. The topics were wide ranging and focused upon material presented by Ressler in his invited lecture at NSCAD University as part of the Public Lecture series. Key topics explored in the conversation include Austrian politics, art and activism, interventionism, collaboration, operative and engaged art practice, the ‘coming community’ (Agamben), ‘Dark Matter’ of the art world (Sholette) and specific projects: Robbery (2008), The Bull Laid Bear (2008) What Is Democracy? (2011), and We Have a Situation Here (2011).
Class War on Wonga
Authors: Chong Derrick
Published: October 2015

UK activist group Class War’s ‘WAR ON wonga’ campaign is viewed via Boltanski and Chiapello’s critique of capitalism – The New Spirit of Capitalism (2005[1999]) – namely as a form of social critique. Wonga has emerged as the UK’s leading payday loan company since it was founded in 2007, and should be recognized as a product of the culture of financialization. Class War’s campaign is a response to the linkage between inequality and entrepreneurial capitalism. As an example of entrepreneurial capitalism, the possibility of free enterprise, Wonga’s self-description as an ‘innovative digital company’ makes directly wealthy the founding entrepreneurs and their current venture capital partners. Yet the economic success of Wonga also represents a growing inequality in a society of unprecedented wealth. Given the UK perspective, the long shadow of Thatcher informs this essay, as does the criminalization of debt during the Victorian period.
Contemporary Greek Art in Times of Crisis: Cuts and Changes
Authors: Tsiara Syrago
Published: October 2015

This essay addresses the issue of cuts in the cultural sector in Greece during the last five years and its consequences on the sustainability of artistic production, institutional survival and emerging forms of collaboration, self-management and art in public space. It describes new practices and strategies of cultural institutions and the relationship between the private and public spheres. Long-term artistic projects, such as the Athens and Thessaloniki Biennale, public museums like the State Museum of Contemporary Art, private organizations and artist initiatives are discussed in the context of crisis.
The Cultural Body’s Death by a Thousand Cuts: Why Society Is No Longer a Body and Why It Can Be Cut to Pieces
Authors: Aceti Lanfranco
Published: October 2015

This essay explores the British, Russian and Greek pavilions at the 55th Venice Biennale in 2013 and a marginal event that took place at the foundation Prada di Ca’ Corner della Regina during a visit to the exhibition opening of the 56th Venice Biennale in 2015. The author examines the relationships between art, money and power as indicators of the tensions of post-democracy, post-citizenship and the increasingly fraught representations of the cultural and social body. The Inhalt (latent content), in an Adornian aesthetic interpretation, is a tool by which to understand the contemporary dismantling of society and the concurrence of art in the sanctioned representations of the body politic. The ‘cut’ becomes the definition and defining element of a contemporary Heideggerian Seinsfrage (the Being), creating the premise for an aesthetic and social discourse that is based on mutilation of the cultural and social body and a re-feudalization of democratic societies.
The Cuts Have Been Made: What Now? A Look into Current Impressions and Future Developments
Authors: Aceti Lanfranco
Published: October 2015

This themed issue poses questions concerning financial cuts and their impact on contemporary society and the arts. It presents a collection of perspectives, in particular from Greece, in order to examine artistic and aesthetic practices. It explores how society is being transformed into a post-democracy and how citizens are becoming post-citizens. These transformations will have implications in the redefinition of both post-democracy and post-citizenship as two oppositional forces, which may no longer be reconcilable and could lead to insurrectional and repressive politics. The role that art plays and will play in shaping these discourses by presenting alternative imaginaries to the narratives of the body politic will have to be evaluated in a context of aesthetic concurrence and conspiracy of art. But if the artists are transformed into post-citizens – it may be safe to assume that as post-artists their contributions will be more free – or totally freed – from the restraints and bonds of national and supranational institutions, leading de facto to the production of counter narratives and imaginaries that will be perceived by the post-democracies’ body politic as insurrectional art.
Risk imposition and freedom
Authors: Ferretti Maria P
Published: October 2015

Various authors hold that what is wrong with risk imposition is that being at risk diminishes the opportunities available to an agent. Arguably, even when risk does not result in material or psychological damages, it still represents a setback in terms of some legitimate interests. However, it remains to be specified what those interests are. This article argues that risk imposition represents a diminishment of overall freedom. Freedom will be characterized in empirical terms, as the range of unimpeded actions available to an agent. After briefly outlining the main characteristics of overall freedom as defended by Hillel Steiner and Ian Carter, the article shows that this notion is able to capture many of our intuitions about when and how risk imposition disadvantages an agent, without reference to welfare indicators. The article argues that if this non-welfarist perspective can be defended, then it would be easier to approach a number of applied questions about risk, including the questions of when risk imposition is permissible or legitimate, in which ways risk can be an object of distributive justice and how one can be compensated for being subject to a risk.
Density-based motion
Authors: Etemadpour Ronak , Forbes Angus Graeme
Published: October 2015

A common strategy for encoding multidimensional data for visual analysis is to use dimensionality reduction techniques that project data from higher dimensions onto a lower-dimensional space. This article examines the use of motion to retain an accurate representation of the point density of clusters that might otherwise be lost when a multidimensional dataset is projected into a two-dimensional space. Specifically, we consider different types of density-based motion, where the magnitude of the motion is directly related to the density of the clusters. We investigate how users interpret motion in two-dimensional scatterplots and whether or not they are able to effectively interpret the point density of the clusters through motion. We conducted a series of user studies with both synthetic and real-world datasets to explore how motion can help users in completing various multidimensional data analysis tasks. Our findings indicate that for some tasks, motion outperforms the static scatterplots; circular path motions in particular give significantly better results compared to the other motions. We also found that users were easily able to distinguish clusters with different densities as long the magnitudes of motion were above a particular threshold. Our results indicate that incorporating density-based motion into visualization analytics systems effectively enables the exploration and analysis of multidimensional datasets.