bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Characterization and Evaluation of Mobile CrowdSensing Performance and Energy Indicators
Authors: Pinciroli Riccardo , Distefano Salvatore
Published: May 2017

Mobile Crowdsensing (MCS) is a contribution-based paradigm involving mobiles in pervasive application deployment and operation, pushed by the evergrowing and widespread dissemination of personal devices. Nevertheless, MCS is still lacking of some key features to become a disruptive paradigm. Among others, control on performance and reliability, mainly due to the contribution churning. For mitigating the impact of churning, several policies such as redundancy, over-provisioning and checkpointing can be adopted but, to properly design and evaluate such policies, specific techniques and tools are required.

This paper attempts to fill this gap by proposing a new technique for the evaluation of relevant performance and energy figures of merit for MCS systems. It allows to get insightson them from three different perspectives: end users, contributors and service providers. Based on queuing networks (QN), the proposed technique relaxes the assumptions of existing solutions allowing a stochastic characterization of underlying phenomena through general, non exponential distributions. To cope with the contribution churning it extends the QN semantics of a service station with variablenumber of servers, implementing proper mechanisms to manage the memory issues thus arising in the underlying process. This way, a preliminary validation of the proposed QN model against an analytic one and an in depth investigation also considering checkpointing have been performed through a case study.
Cervical vagus nerve stimulation augments spontaneous discharge in second- and higher-order sensory neurons in the rat nucleus of the solitary tract
Authors: Beaumont Eric , Campbell Regenia P. , Andresen Michael C. , Scofield Stephanie , Singh Krishna , Libbus Imad , KenKnight Bruce H. , Snyder Logan , Cantrell Nathan
Published: May 2017

Vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) currently treats patients with drug-resistant epilepsy, depression, and heart failure. The mild intensities used in chronic VNS suggest that primary visceral afferents and central nervous system activation are involved. Here, we measured the activity of neurons in the nucleus of the solitary tract (NTS) in anesthetized rats using clinically styled VNS. Our chief findings indicate that VNS at threshold bradycardic intensity activated NTS neuron discharge in one-third of NTS neurons. This VNS directly activated only myelinated vagal afferents projecting to second-order NTS neurons. Most VNS-induced activity in NTS, however, was unsynchronized to vagal stimuli. Thus, VNS activated unsynchronized activity in NTS neurons that were second order to vagal afferent C-fibers as well as higher-order NTS neurons only polysynaptically activated by the vagus. Overall, cardiovascular-sensitive and -insensitive NTS neurons were similarly activated by VNS: 3/4 neurons with monosynaptic vagal A-fiber afferents, 6/42 neurons with monosynaptic vagal C-fiber afferents, and 16/21 polysynaptic NTS neurons. Provocatively, vagal A-fibers indirectly activated C-fiber neurons during VNS. Elevated spontaneous spiking was quantitatively much higher than synchronized activity and extended well into the periods of nonstimulation. Surprisingly, many polysynaptic NTS neurons responded to half the bradycardic intensity used in clinical studies, indicating that a subset of myelinated vagal afferents is sufficient to evoke VNS indirect activation. Our study uncovered a myelinated vagal afferent drive that indirectly activates NTS neurons and thus central pathways beyond NTS and support reconsideration of brain contributions of vagal afferents underpinning of therapeutic impacts.

NEW & NOTEWORTHY Acute vagus nerve stimulation elevated activity in neurons located in the medial nucleus of the solitary tract. Such stimuli directly activated only myelinated vagal afferents but indirectly activated a subpopulation of second- and higher-order neurons, suggesting that afferent mechanisms and central neuron activation may be responsible for vagus nerve stimulation efficacy.
Noninvasive evaluation of left ventricular elastance according to pressure-volume curves modeling in arterial hypertension
Authors: Bonnet Benjamin , Jourdan Franck , du Cailar Guilhem , Fesler Pierre
Published: May 2017

End-systolic left ventricular (LV) elastance ( Ees) has been previously calculated and validated invasively using LV pressure-volume (P-V) loops. Noninvasive methods have been proposed, but clinical application remains complex. The aims of the present study were to 1) estimate Ees according to modeling of the LV P-V curve during ejection (“ejection P-V curve” method) and validate our method with existing published LV P-V loop data and 2) test the clinical applicability of noninvasively detecting a difference in Ees between normotensive and hypertensive subjects. On the basis of the ejection P-V curve and a linear relationship between elastance and time during ejection, we used a nonlinear least-squares method to fit the pressure waveform. We then computed the slope and intercept of time-varying elastance as well as the volume intercept (V0). As a validation, 22 P-V loops obtained from previous invasive studies were digitized and analyzed using the ejection P-V curve method. To test clinical applicability, ejection P-V curves were obtained from 33 hypertensive subjects and 32 normotensive subjects with carotid tonometry and real-time three-dimensional echocardiography during the same procedure. A good univariate relationship ( r2 = 0.92, P < 0.005) and good limits of agreement were found between the invasive calculation of Ees and our new proposed ejection P-V curve method. In hypertensive patients, an increase in arterial elastance ( Ea) was compensated by a parallel increase in Ees without change in Ea/ Ees. In addition, the clinical reproducibility of our method was similar to that of another noninvasive method. In conclusion, Ees and V0 can be estimated noninvasively from modeling of the P-V curve during ejection. This approach was found to be reproducible and sensitive enough to detect an expected increase in LV contractility in hypertensive patients. Because of its noninvasive nature, this methodology may have clinical implications in various disease states.

NEW & NOTEWORTHY The use of real-time three-dimensional echocardiography-derived left ventricular volumes in conjunction with carotid tonometry was found to be reproducible and sensitive enough to detect expected differences in left ventricular elastance in arterial hypertension. Because of its noninvasive nature, this methodology may have clinical implications in various disease states.
Molecular effects of exercise training in patients with cardiovascular disease: focus on skeletal muscle, endothelium, and myocardium
Authors: Adams Volker , Reich Bernhard , Uhlemann Madlen , Niebauer Josef
Published: May 2017

For decades, we have known that exercise training exerts beneficial effects on the human body, and clear evidence is available that a higher fitness level is associated with a lower incidence of suffering premature cardiovascular death. Despite this knowledge, it took some time to also incorporate physical exercise training into the treatment plan for patients with cardiovascular disease (CVD). In recent years, in addition to continuous exercise training, further training modalities such as high-intensity interval training and pyramid training have been introduced for coronary artery disease patients. The beneficial effect for patients with CVD is clearly documented, and during the last years, we have also started to understand the molecular mechanisms occurring in the skeletal muscle (limb muscle and diaphragm) and endothelium, two systems contributing to exercise intolerance in these patients. In the present review, we describe the effects of the different training modalities in CVD and summarize the molecular effects mainly in the skeletal muscle and cardiovascular system.
Disease Stage–Dependent Changes in Cardiac Contractile Performance and Oxygen Utilization Underlie Reduced Myocardial Efficiency in Human Inherited Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy
Authors: Güçlü Ahmet , Knaapen Paul , Harms Hendrik J. , Parbhudayal Rahana Y. , Michels Michelle , Lammertsma Adriaan A. , van Rossum Albert C. , Germans Tjeerd , van der Velden Jolanda
Published: May 2017

Background—

Reduced myocardial efficiency represents a target for therapy in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy although therapeutic benefit may depend on disease stage. Here, we determined disease stage–dependent changes in myocardial efficiency and effects of myectomy surgery.

Methods and Results—

Myocardial external efficiency (MEE) was determined in 27 asymptomatic mutation carriers (genotype positive/phenotype negative), 10 patients with hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy (HOCM), 10 patients with aortic valve stenosis, and 14 healthy individuals using [
11
C]-acetate positron emission tomography and cardiovascular magnetic resonance imaging. Follow-up measurements were performed in HOCM and aortic valve stenosis patients 4 months after surgery. External work did not differ in HOCM compared with controls, whereas myocardial oxygen consumption was lower in HOCM. Because of a higher cardiac mass, total cardiac oxygen consumption was significantly higher in HOCM than in controls and genotype positive/phenotype negative. MEE was significantly lower in genotype positive/phenotype negative than in controls (28±6% versus 42±6%) and was further decreased in HOCM (22±5%). In contrast to patients with aortic valve stenosis, MEE was not improved in patients with HOCM after surgery, which was explained by opposite changes in the septum (decrease) and lateral (increase) wall.

Conclusions—

Different mechanisms underlie reduced MEE at the early and advanced stage of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. The initial increase and subsequent reduction in myocardial oxygen consumption during disease progression indicates that energy deficiency is a primary mutation-related event, whereas mechanisms secondary to disease remodeling underlie low MEE in HOCM. Our data highlight that the benefit of therapies to improve energetic status of the heart may vary depending on the disease stage and that treatment should be initiated before cardiac remodeling.
Effect of Long-Term Metformin and Lifestyle in the Diabetes Prevention Program and Its Outcome Study on Coronary Artery Calcium
Authors: Goldberg Ronald B. , Aroda Vanita R. , Bluemke David A. , Barrett-Connor Elizabeth , Budoff Matthew , Crandall Jill P. , Dabelea Dana , Horton Edward S. , Mather Kieren J. , Orchard Trevor J. , Schade David , Watson Karol , Temprosa Marinella
Published: May 2017

Background:

Despite the reduced incidence of coronary heart disease with intensive risk factor management, people with diabetes mellitus and prediabetes remain at increased coronary heart disease risk. Diabetes prevention interventions may be needed to reduce coronary heart disease risk. This approach was examined in the DPP (Diabetes Prevention Program) and the DPPOS (Diabetes Prevention Program Outcome Study), a long-term intervention study in 3234 subjects with prediabetes (mean±SD age, 64±10 years) that showed reduced diabetes risk with lifestyle and metformin compared with placebo over 3.2 years.

Methods:

The DPPOS offered periodic group lifestyle sessions to all participants and continued metformin in the originally randomized metformin group. Subclinical atherosclerosis was assessed in 2029 participants with coronary artery calcium (CAC) measurements after an average of 14 years of follow-up. The CAC scores were analyzed continuously as CAC severity and categorically as CAC presence (CAC score >0) and reported separately in men and women.

Results:

There were no CAC differences between lifestyle and placebo intervention groups in either sex. CAC severity and presence were significantly lower among men in the metformin versus the placebo group (age-adjusted mean CAC severity, 39.5 versus 66.9 Agatston units,
P
=0.04; CAC presence, 75% versus 84%,
P
=0.02), but no metformin effect was seen in women. In multivariate analysis, the metformin effect in men was not influenced by demographic, anthropometric, or metabolic factors; by the development of diabetes mellitus; or by use/nonuse of statin therapy.

Conclusions:

Metformin may protect against coronary atherosclerosis in prediabetes and early diabetes mellitus among men.

Clinical Trial Registration:

URL:
http://www.clinicaltrials.gov
. Unique identifier: NCT00038727.
Long‐Term Outcomes of Patients With Mediastinal Radiation–Associated Severe Aortic Stenosis and Subsequent Surgical Aortic Valve Replacement: A Matched Cohort Study
Authors: Donnellan Eoin , Masri Ahmad , Johnston Douglas R. , Pettersson Gosta B. , Rodriguez L. Leonardo , Popovic Zoran B. , Roselli Eric E. , Smedira Nicholas G. , Svensson Lars G. , Griffin Brian P. , Desai Milind Y.
Published: May 2017

Background

Cardiac disease after mediastinal radiotherapy for thoracic malignancy (
chest radiotherapy [XRT]
) often manifests as progressive aortic stenosis. In patients with
XRT
‐induced severe
aortic stenosis
undergoing surgical aortic valve replacement (
SAVR
), we sought to: (1) study long‐term survival and compare these patients with a matched cohort undergoing
SAVR
during the same time frame; and (2) identify potential predictors of long‐term mortality.

Methods and Results

We studied patients with symptomatic severe
aortic stenosis
undergoing
SAVR
at our institution, of which there were 172 mediastinal
XRT
patients (63±13 years, 62% women) matched in a 1:1 fashion (based on age, sex, time of surgery, and
aortic valve
area) with 172 non‐
XRT
patients (comparison group). Baseline clinical and postoperative data were obtained. Society of Thoracic Surgeons score was calculated and mortality was recorded. In the
XRT
group, the median
Society of Thoracic Surgeons
score was 4% (interquartile range 2–13), while mean left ventricular ejection fraction, left ventricular stroke volume index, and mean
aortic valve
gradient were 54±11%, 38±14 mL/m
2
, and 39±11 mm Hg, respectively. In the entire cohort, 27% and 34% of patients underwent concomitant coronary artery bypass grafting and aortic surgery at the time of
SAVR
, respectively. Thirty‐day/in‐hospital deaths occurred in 4 (2%)
patients in the XRT
group and 0 patients in the comparison group. At 6±3 years of follow‐up, on matched group analysis, there were 95 (28%) deaths (83 [48%] in
the XRT
group versus 12 [7%] in the comparison group (log‐rank 89,
P
<0.001). On multivariable Cox survival analysis, in the whole cohort, higher
Society of Thoracic Surgeons
score (hazard ratio, 1.14; 95% CI, 1.03–1.26) and mediastinal
XRT
(
hazard ratio,
8.12; 95% CI, 4.26–15.64) were associated with increased longer‐term mortality (both
P
<0.01).

Conclusions

In patients with severe
aortic stenosis
undergoing
SAVR
, patients with prior mediastinal
XRT
have significantly worse longer‐term survival versus a matched cohort.
Resistant Atherosclerosis
Authors: Spence J. David , Solo Karla
Published: May 2017

Background and Purpose—

Recent studies indicate that patients with lower levels of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) have greater regression of coronary plaque. In 2002, we found that carotid plaque progression doubled cardiovascular risk. In 2003, we therefore implemented a new approach, treating arteries instead of risk factors. Since then, we have seen many patients with carotid plaque progression despite very low levels of LDL-C, suggesting other causes of atherosclerosis. We studied the relationship of achieved LDL-C and change in LDL-C to progression/regression of atherosclerosis, before and after 2003.

Methods—

All 4512 patients in our clinic database with at least 2 measurements of LDL-C and carotid total plaque area approximately a year apart and complete data for analyses (n=2025 before and 2487 after December 31, 2003) were included in the study.

Results—

Baseline total plaque area was significantly higher after 2003 (129.56±134.32 versus 113.33±121.52 mm
2
;
P
<0.0001), and plaque progression was significantly less after 2003 (2.94±37.11 versus 12.62±43.24 mm
2
;
P
<0.0001). Many patients with LDL-C <1.8 mm had plaque progression (47.5%), and change in LDL-C was not correlated with plaque progression/regression. Increasing age and serum creatinine contributed to resistant atherosclerosis.

Conclusions—

Many patients have Resistant Atherosclerosis, failing to achieve regression of atherosclerosis despite low levels of LDL-C. Instead of relying on LDL-C, measuring plaque burden may be a more useful way of assessing individual response to therapy, particularly in resistant atherosclerosis.
Reply to Commentaries on “Are People Born to be Believers, or are Gods Born to be Believed?”
Authors: Shook John R.
Published: May 2017

The four commentaries on my article “Are People Born to be Believers, or are Gods Born to be Believed?” only indirectly address my main argument that god-belief is not an innate (natural, normal, and so on) capacity of all humanity. Although scientific disciplines dispute criteria for innate biological functions, there remains little scien-tific evidence of an inherent capacity to our species for getting acquainted with any deity. Theologies looking to science may hope that the right sort of god best fits the right sort of brain. Methodologies for scientifically studying religion should not be in-fluenced by such normative presumptions.
On Naturalness, Innateness, and God-beliefs: A Reply to Shook
Authors: Barrett Justin L.
Published: May 2017

Shook (2017) argues that if god-beliefs are “innate,” one is obligated to be skeptical about them by virtue of their mutually incompatible plurality and nativist origin. Second, Shook suggests that even if god-beliefs are not innate, it is still epistemically vicious to believe in gods. Shook also raises concerns about using theology to motivate or interpret scientific inquiry. This response essay clarifies the character of the theories offered in the cognitive science of religion (csr), including rejecting that innateness of god-beliefs is a common view. Shook’s primary claims are then evaluated with the conclusion that they are not adequately argued or substantiated.
WGNE Intercomparison of Tropical Cyclone Forecasts by Operational NWP Models: A Quarter Century and Beyond
Authors: Yamaguchi Munehiko , Ishida Junichi , Sato Hitoshi , Nakagawa Masayuki
Published: May 2017

Tropical cyclone (TC) track forecasts of operational numerical weather prediction (NWP) models have been compared and verified by the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) under an intercomparison project of the Working Group on Numerical Experimentation (WGNE) since 1991. This intercomparison has promoted validation of the global models in the tropics and subtropics. The results have demonstrated a steady increase in the global models’ ability to predict TC positions over the past quarter century.

The intercomparison study started from verification for TCs in the western North Pacific basin with three global models. Up to the present date, the verification has been extended to all ocean basins where TCs regularly occur, and 12 global models participated in the project. In recent years, the project has been extended to include verification of intensity forecasts and forecasts by regional models.

This intercomparison project has seen a significant improvement in TC track forecasts, both globally and in each TC basin. In the western North Pacific, for example, we have succeeded in obtaining an approximately 2.5-day lead-time improvement. The project has also demonstrated the benefits of multicenter track forecasts (i.e., consensus forecasts). Finally, the paper considers future challenges to TC track forecasting by NWP models that have been identified at the World Meteorological Organization’s (WMO’s) Eighth International Workshop on Tropical Cyclones (IWTC-8). We discuss the priorities and key issues in further improving the accuracy of TC track forecasts, reducing cases of large position errors, and enhancing the use of ensemble information.
Power, Wealth, and Satisfaction
Authors: Sample Susan G.
Published: May 2017

Power transition theory (PTT) has had a progressive research program for more than half a century. In spite of this, one of its key concepts, satisfaction, has remained undertheorized. A compelling theory explaining why growth would make some states dissatisfied in the context of power transitions and others satisfied has not been articulated. It is argued here that satisfaction must be theorized at two levels of analysis: the global and the dyadic. The key to distinguishing satisfied versus dissatisfied states at the global level lies in specifically differentiating between the structural effects of changing power and the satisfying effect of increasing wealth. At the dyadic level, conflict over territory creates a perfect storm of state dissatisfaction. The study develops a theoretical framework for a multilevel understanding of satisfaction and its impact and tests it across politically relevant dyads from 1950 to 2001. The evidence strongly supports the hypotheses.
IGF-1 Mediates EphrinB1 Activation in Regulating Tertiary Dentin Formation
Authors: Matsumura S. , Quispe-Salcedo A. , Schiller C.M. , Shin J.S. , Locke B.M. , Yakar S. , Shimizu E.
Published: May 2017

Eph receptors belong to a subfamily of receptor tyrosine kinases that are activated by membrane-spanning ligands called ephrins. Previously, we demonstrated that the ephrinB1-EphB2 interaction regulates odontogenic/osteogenic differentiation from dental pulp cells (DPCs) in vitro. The goal of this study was to identify the molecular mechanisms regulated by the EphB2/ephrinB1 system that govern tertiary dentin formation in vitro and in vivo. During tooth development, ephrinB1, and EphB2 were expressed in preodontoblast and odontoblasts at postnatal day 4. EphrinB1 was continuously expressed in odontoblasts and odontoblastic processes until the completion of tooth eruption. In addition, ephrinB1 was expressed in odontoblastic processes 2 wk following tooth injury without pulp exposure, whereas EphB2 was expressed in the center of pulp niches but not odontoblasts. In a model of tooth injury with pulp exposure, ephrinB1 was strongly expressed in odontoblasts 4 wk postinjury. In vitro studies with human and mouse DPCs treated with calcium hydroxide (CH) or mineral trioxide aggregate (MTA) showed an increased expression of insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1). Experiments using several inhibitors of IGF-1 receptor signaling revealed that inhibiting the Ras/Raf-1/MAPK pathway inhibited EphB2 expression, and inhibiting the PI3K/Akt/mTOR pathway specifically inhibited ephrinB1 gene expression. Tooth injury in mice with odontoblast-specific IGF-1 receptor ablation exhibited a reduced tertiary dentin volume, mineral density, and ephrinB1 expression 4 wk following injury. We conclude that the IGF-1/ephrinB1 axis plays significant roles in the early stages of tooth injury. Further research is needed to fully understand the potential of targeting ephrinB1 as a regenerative pulp therapy.
Working Hours Mismatch, Macroeconomic Changes, and Mental Well-being in Europe
Authors: De Moortel Deborah , Thévenon Olivier , De Witte Hans , Vanroelen Christophe
Published: May 2017

This study explores the association between involuntarily working less or more than the standard workweek and poor mental well-being, and whether this relationship is dependent upon (changing) national-level unemployment and gross domestic product growth rates. Data from the European Social Survey Round 2 (2004–2005) and Round 5 (2010) were analyzed. The sample included 16,224 male and 16,184 female employees. Mental well-being was assessed by the World Health Organization Well-being Index. Three-level linear multilevel modeling was used to account for clustering of employees within research years and countries. Working involuntary long hours was positively associated with poor mental well-being for men. For women, working voluntary long, involuntary long, and involuntary short hours were positively associated with poor mental well-being. The mental well-being of women working voluntary and involuntary long hours was negatively influenced by deteriorating economic conditions. This study suggests women are more vulnerable to the effects of long working hours and working hours mismatch on mental well-being, especially during difficult economic periods.
Statistical Speech Segmentation in Tone Languages: The Role of Lexical Tones
Authors: Gómez David M. , Mok Peggy , Ordin Mikhail , Mehler Jacques , Nespor Marina
Published: May 2017

Research has demonstrated distinct roles for consonants and vowels in speech processing. For example, consonants have been shown to support lexical processes, such as the segmentation of speech based on transitional probabilities (TPs), more effectively than vowels. Theory and data so far, however, have considered only non-tone languages, that is to say, languages that lack contrastive lexical tones. In the present work, we provide a first investigation of the role of consonants and vowels in statistical speech segmentation by native speakers of Cantonese, as well as assessing how tones modulate the processing of vowels. Results show that Cantonese speakers are unable to use statistical cues carried by consonants for segmentation, but they can use cues carried by vowels. This difference becomes more evident when considering tone-bearing vowels. Additional data from speakers of Russian and Mandarin suggest that the ability of Cantonese speakers to segment streams with statistical cues carried by tone-bearing vowels extends to other tone languages, but is much reduced in speakers of non-tone languages.
‘To Try and Gain an Advantage for My Team’: Homophobic and Homosexually Themed Chanting among English Football Fans
Authors: Magrath Rory
Published: May 2017

Association football (soccer) fans are becoming increasingly liberal in their attitudes towards homosexuality. However, the continued presence of homosexually themed chanting – normally interpreted as evidence of homophobia by footballing authorities – has received little academic attention. Through 30 semi-structured interviews with 30 male football fans of various English football clubs, this article uses McCormack’s model of homosexually themed language to investigate the prevalence, triggers and interpretation of this chanting. It highlights that, despite unanimous acceptance of homosexuality, all but five participants engaged in homosexually themed chanting. This was predominantly facilitated by the nature of sporting competition and matches involving rival clubs. Alongside a variety of perceived weaknesses, fans interpreted these chants as a way of attempting to benefit one’s team. Accordingly, this research highlights a discursive gap between fans’ inclusive attitudes and their practice of chanting homosexually themed language inside football stadia.
Reframing knowledge in colonization: Plebeians and municipalities in the environmental expertise of the Spanish Atlantic
Authors: Candiani Vera S
Published: May 2017

Promoting a better understanding of the phenomenon of colonization and its connection with environmental knowledge and technology, this article proposes a reframing of research agendas to take into account the municipal character of colonization in the Hispanic realm and to ask new questions. Questions should address what human–ecosystem relations, and the ways of knowing and techniques for transforming the physical realm, can tell us about colonization itself; who the historical agents involved were, and what these actors knew, learned, and did in their environments. Using the Basin of Mexico’s drainage and the agency of commoners, this article proposes that colonization depends on the massive deployment and generation of tacit knowledge about how to harness matter, energy, and time for the reproduction of human societies; the quotidian appropriation and reworking of autochthonous knowledge, techniques, and technology by the colonizing groups; the collaboration of the local populations in whom these are vested; and the agency of commoners with practical skills, environmental knowledge, and technological savvy derived from and honed in the realm of material production. In the Ibero-American realm, these agents were primarily commoners with skills in agropastoral production and the building trades; race, ethnicity, language, and gender were secondary conditions.
A ‘Boy's Own’ boy zone: The making of fascist men in Emilio De Martino's children's sporting novels
Authors: Martin Simon
Published: May 2017

Sports editor of the Corriere della Sera, Emilio De Martino was one of Fascist Italy's most vitriolic sports journalists and prolific authors of sporting fiction. Analysis of his three novels for children published from 1941 to 1943 will consider how his works contributed, first, to the regime's attempt to forge and reinvent both real and imagined traditions through literature, and, second, to Fascism's drive to create a virile, physically and mentally strong youth. Offering a new perspective on Fascism's investment in and exploitation of sport, this article will reveal how a variety of the regime's policies, ideals, myths and goals were propagated and transmitted through fictional stories and adventures. The increasingly radical content and narratives will also show the regime's growing frustration at society's failure to respond to its mobilisation campaigns and increasing desperation following Italy's disastrous entry into the Second World War. Rather than hastening the maturity of young people to create a warrior race ready to risk all for the regime, Fascism's use of ‘Boy's Own’ heroes and fantasy space will be seen to have contributed to the illusion of strength that young Italians could not match and readiness that the regime could not offer.
‘With envious eyes’: Rabbit-poaching and class conflict in H. G. Wells’s The Time Machine and The Island of Doctor Moreau
Authors: Collinge James T.
Published: May 2017

Allusions to rabbits and poaching recur throughout H. G. Wells's work. In spite of the frequency with which they appear, these motifs remain overlooked within scholarly criticism. This article, by analysing Wells's representations of rabbit-poaching, first considers how nineteenth-century histories of industrialisation and game-crime shape his science fiction. It then explores the contradictory nature of these representations, which both demonise and sympathise with the figure of the rabbit-poacher, providing further insight into the class confusion that recent criticism perceives to characterise Wells's writing in this period.
To Provide and Protect: Gendering Money in Ukrainian Households
Authors: Anderson Nadina L.
Published: May 2017

In this article, I advance a theory of gendered money and demonstrate how couples give special symbolic meaning to men’s money in domestic exchanges. Unlike previous perspectives on gender and money such as resource theories and gender performance, this framework acknowledges money as a prop and tool that couples use to construct gender boundaries and signal normalcy in the marital relationship. Integrating concepts from economic sociology with Hochschild’s insights on the symbolism of domestic labor, I find that Ukrainians use money as a token and symbol of value, not as a commodity with which to obtain desired outcomes. Drawing on in-depth interviews with 56 married and cohabiting individuals, I discover that couples subvert market meanings of money to enact a Soviet-style gender ideology. By spending men’s money on “necessary” items and avoiding accessing women’s money in the household, couples construct men’s money as both visible and valuable while rendering women’s money non-fungible. These practices highlight the primacy of culture and ideology over relative income, and can help explain the reproduction of male privilege in the household, despite gains in women’s employment and earnings.
Family Firms and Compliance: Reconciling the Conflicting Predictions Within the Socioemotional Wealth Perspective
Authors: Kabbach de Castro Luiz Ricardo , Aguilera Ruth V. , Crespí-Cladera Rafel
Published: May 2017

We draw on the socioemotional wealth perspective to examine the influence of family ownership on firms’ noncompliance with corporate governance codes. Our results yield an inverted U-shaped effect of family ownership on noncompliance. While the family influence and control dimension leads to high levels of noncompliance, socioworthiness stemming from image and reputation dimension lessens noncompliance. In the presence of potential agency conflict, the control dimension prevails over reputation, even in countries with strong governance institutions. Our findings have critical implications for family business theory, for governance policy making and also for better understanding corporate governance in family firms.
Development and validation of a subject-specific finite element model of the functional spinal unit to predict vertebral strength
Authors: Lee Chu-Hee , Landham Priyan R , Eastell Richard , Adams Michael A , Dolan Patricia , Yang Lang
Published: May 2017

Finite element models of an isolated vertebral body cannot accurately predict compressive strength of the spinal column because, in life, compressive load is variably distributed across the vertebral body and neural arch. The purpose of this study was to develop and validate a patient-specific finite element model of a functional spinal unit, and then use the model to predict vertebral strength from medical images. A total of 16 cadaveric functional spinal units were scanned and then tested mechanically in bending and compression to generate a vertebral wedge fracture. Before testing, an image processing and finite element analysis framework (SpineVox-Pro), developed previously in MATLAB using ANSYS APDL, was used to generate a subject-specific finite element model with eight-node hexahedral elements. Transversely isotropic linear-elastic material properties were assigned to vertebrae, and simple homogeneous linear-elastic properties were assigned to the intervertebral disc. Forward bending loading conditions were applied to simulate manual handling. Results showed that vertebral strengths measured by experiment were positively correlated with strengths predicted by the functional spinal unit finite element model with von Mises or Drucker–Prager failure criteria ( R2 = 0.80–0.87), with areal bone mineral density measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry ( R2 = 0.54) and with volumetric bone mineral density from quantitative computed tomography ( R2 = 0.79). Large-displacement non-linear analyses on all specimens did not improve predictions. We conclude that subject-specific finite element models of a functional spinal unit have potential to estimate the vertebral strength better than bone mineral density alone.
Choosing, Doing, and Controlling: Implicit Sense of Agency Over Somatosensory Events
Authors: Borhani Khatereh , Beck Brianna , Haggard Patrick
Published: May 2017

Sense of agency—a feeling of control over one’s actions and their outcomes—might include at least two components: free choice over which outcome to pursue and motoric control over the action causing the outcome. We orthogonally manipulated locus of outcome choice (free or instructed choice) and motoric control (active or passive movement), while measuring the perceived temporal attraction between actions and outcomes ( temporal binding) as an implicit marker of agency. Participants also rated stimulus intensity so that we could measure sensory attenuation, another possible implicit marker of agency. Actions caused higher or lower levels of either painful heat or mild electrotactile stimulation. We found that both motoric control and outcome choice contributed to outcome binding. Moreover, free choice, relative to instructed choice, attenuated the perceived magnitude of high-intensity outcomes, but only when participants made an active movement. Thus, choosing, not just doing, influences temporal binding and sensory attenuation, though in different ways. Our results show that these implicit measures of agency are sensitive to both voluntary motor commands and instrumental control over action outcomes.
Does One Year of Schooling Improve Children’s Cognitive Control and Alter Associated Brain Activation?
Authors: Brod Garvin , Bunge Silvia A. , Shing Yee Lee
Published: May 2017

The “5-to-7-year shift” refers to the remarkable improvements observed in children’s cognitive abilities during this age range, particularly in their ability to exert control over their attention and behavior—that is, their executive functioning. As this shift coincides with school entry, the extent to which it is driven by brain maturation or by exposure to formal schooling is unclear. In this longitudinal study, we followed 5-year-olds born close to the official cutoff date for entry into first grade and compared those who subsequently entered first grade that year with those who remained in kindergarten, which is more play oriented. The first graders made larger improvements in accuracy on an executive-function test over the year than did the kindergartners. In an independent functional MRI task, we found that the first graders, compared with the kindergartners, exhibited a greater increase in activation of right posterior parietal cortex, a region previously implicated in sustained attention; increased activation in this region was correlated with the improvement in accuracy. These results reveal how the environmental context of formal schooling shapes brain mechanisms underlying improved focus on cognitively demanding tasks.
Model validation and selection for personalized medicine using dynamic-weighted ordinary least squares
Authors: Wallace Michael P , Moodie Erica EM , Stephens David A
Published: May 2017

Model assessment is a standard component of statistical analysis, but it has received relatively little attention within the dynamic treatment regime literature. In this paper, we focus on the dynamic-weighted ordinary least squares approach to optimal dynamic treatment regime estimation, introducing how its double-robustness property may be leveraged for model assessment, and how quasilikelihood may be used for model selection. These ideas are demonstrated through simulation studies, as well as through application to data from the sequenced treatment alternatives to relieve depression study.
Magneto-dynamic analysis of sandwiches composed of a thin viscoelastic-magnetorheological layer
Authors: Irazu Leire , Elejabarrieta Maria Jesus
Published: May 2017

This study’s relevance lies in the possibility of obtaining a smart sandwich structure with controllable dynamic properties, without compromising the main characteristics of conventional thin viscoelastic sandwiches. The proposed sandwich is composed of a micron-size viscoelastic-magnetorheological layer, which is obtained by adding spherical iron particles to a viscoelastic layer. Thin sandwiches with identical base layers and a viscoelastic core, with and without magnetic particles, are fabricated. Both the viscoelastic sandwich structure and viscoelastic-magnetorheological sandwich structure are experimentally characterised by a forced vibration test with resonance in a bandwidth between 0 and 1 kHz. This work analyses the influence of adding iron particles to obtain a smart thin sandwich. In addition, the vibrational response of the viscoelastic-magnetorheological sandwich structure under an external partial magnetic field, and the controllability of its dynamic properties by means of the magnetic field intensity and position, are studied.
Squeeze-strengthening of magnetorheological fluids (part 2): Simultaneous squeeze–shear at high speeds
Authors: Lucking Bigué Jean-Philippe , Charron François , Plante Jean-Sébastien
Published: May 2017

The first part of this study demonstrated that magnetorheological fluid undergoes squeeze-strengthening in pure squeeze conditions that promote filtration. This behavior, however, is greatly reduced when shear deformation is superimposed onto the squeezing motion. In order to understand this phenomenon and achieve high yield stresses at high rotational velocities, the second part of this study conducts a thorough experimental characterization of magnetorheological fluid behavior under combined squeeze–shear. After demonstrating that a von Mises yield criterion is applicable to magnetorheological fluid, this criterion is included in the Péclet number, derived in the first part of this study, and used to predict filtration in magnetorheological fluid submitted to simultaneous squeeze–shear. Results show squeeze-strengthening is well predicted in squeeze-dominant flows but gradually delayed in shear-dominant flows. In such conditions, a better prediction is provided by a modified Péclet number, which also takes into account the evolution of the magnetorheological fluid microstructure through the squeeze-to-shear-rate ratio. This ratio is also found to dictate the linear relation between shear stress and compressive force when squeeze-strengthening is observed. Based on the provided understanding, high yield stresses (>1000 kPa) are obtained at high rotational velocities (200 r/min) by maximizing the filtration phenomenon in order to achieve squeeze-strengthening at high compression velocities (5 mm/s).
Hepatitis C Virus Resistance Testing in Genotype 1: The Changing Role in Clinical Utility
Authors: Molino Suzanne , Martin Michelle T.
Published: May 2017

Objective: To review the role and utility of baseline resistance testing with currently available and pipeline genotype 1 hepatitis C virus (HCV) treatment. Data Sources: Authors reviewed liver meeting abstracts for data on currently-available and pipeline genotype 1 retreatment regimens from January 1, 2015, to March 23, 2017. Additional trials were identified from a review of clinicaltrials.gov using the pipeline medication names. Study Selection and Data Extraction: Authors identified reports of current and pipeline genotype 1 retreatment regimens. Seven references were clinical study results presented at the meetings of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases and the European Association for the Study of the Liver, and 2 studies were from clinicaltrials.gov . Data Synthesis: Retreatment trial data of currently available salvage regimens indicate that baseline NS5A resistance-associated substitutions (RASs) may decrease sustained virological response (SVR) rates when retreating with ledipasvir/sofosbuvir but are not affected when using elbasvir/grazoprevir + sofosbuvir + ribavirin, paritaprevir/ritonavir/ombitasvir + dasabuvir + sofosbuvir, or sofosbuvir/velpatasvir + ribavirin. Pipeline data indicate that baseline NS5A RASs do not affect SVR rates when retreating with sofosbuvir/velpatasvir/voxilaprevir or glecaprevir/pibrentasvir. Conclusions: Baseline resistance testing was used for decisional support for 3 clinical scenarios in patients with HCV genotype 1 infection at the time of manuscript submission. Pending the approval of 2 new direct-acting antiviral regimens in the third quarter of 2017, the rapidly evolving HCV treatment guidelines will likely reflect a decreased clinical utility for resistance testing.
The gendering power of genres: How female Scandinavian crime fiction writers experience professional authorship
Authors: Alacovska Ana
Published: May 2017

This article introduces the notion of genre as an analytical category for the study of gender inequality in creative work. Research on gender and creative labour typically identifies external, systemic and structural causes for gender inequality in media industries. In contrast, I argue that genres, by virtue of their internal, structural and discursive patterning, play a constitutive role in regulating media producers’ gendered professional identities, shaping their struggle for recognition and structuring their economic sustainability. Rather than being merely outcomes of production processes, genres shape gender inequality: They possess gendering power that influences how media producers work, think and feel. Gendering and gendered genre norms that privilege ‘masculine’ over ‘female’ values are so hard-wired in occupational practice and professional codes of conduct that the genre itself becomes a control and boundary ascription mechanism that implicitly governs, sustains and reproduces gendered identity formation, career aspirations and biographical standing. Drawing on in-depth interviews with female producers of Scandinavian crime fiction, globally branded as Nordic Noir, I examine how female writers in Denmark have coped with and experienced the gendering effect of the genre in which they work and to which they are financially beholden. I also tease out the ways in which crime fiction, a masculine genre, causes anxiety of authorship and affects female producers’ identity and boundary work. This focus on the gendering power of genres may potentially help us understand the gender disparities in media industries – disparities that endure despite efforts at policing fair access and equal opportunity.
Securing benefits for local communities from international visitors to the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park
Authors: Dikgang Johane , Muchapondwa Edwin , Stage Jesper
Published: May 2017

This article estimates the visitation demand function for Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park (KTP) in order to determine the scope for raising fees charged to international tourists in order to fund revenue-sharing schemes for local communities. International and Southern African Development Community tourists account for approximately 25% and 2% of the total number of visitors to South African national parks, with domestic visitors making up the remaining portion. Although small, the South African international tourism market is mature and accounts for a disproportionately large share (around 42%) of net revenue. To estimate visitation demand at the KTP and three other national parks, random effects Tobit Model was used. Using the estimated elasticities, the revenue-maximizing daily conservation fee was computed to be R1 131.94 (US$144.20) for KTP, which can be compared with the R180 (US$22.93) currently charged. Furthermore, the study also demonstrated that there is a possibility of raising fees at the other three parks. Sharing conservation revenue with communities surrounding parks could demonstrate the link between ecotourism and local communities’ economic development and promote a positive view of land restitution involving national parks.
Public Health Genomics (PHG): From Scientific Considerations to Ethical Integration
Authors: Farmer Yanick , Godard Béatrice
Published: May 2017

Recent advances in our understanding of the human genome have raised high hopes for the creation of personalized medicine able to predict diseases well before they occur, or that will lead to individualized and therefore more effective treatments. This possibility of a more accurate science of the prevention and surveillance of disease also illuminates the field of public health, where the translation of genomic knowledge could provide tools enhancing the capacity of public health authorities to promote health and prevent diseases. But beyond scientific considerations, the use of genomics in public health research and interventions gives rise to several ethical and social issues of great importance. Considering the impact that PHG could have on the future of public health while still paying attention to the uncertainty surrounding the use of genomic databases for the benefit of populations, this article seeks to explore the promise of genomics in public health and the ethical issues that emerge from its application.