bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Impact of Irrigation over the California Central Valley on Regional Climate
Authors: Yang Zhao , Dominguez Francina , Zeng Xubin , Hu Huancui , Gupta Hoshin , Yang Ben
Published: February 2017

Irrigation, while being an important anthropogenic factor affecting the local to regional water cycle, is not typically represented in regional climate models. An irrigation scheme is incorporated into the Noah land surface scheme of the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) Model that has a calibrated convective parameterization and a tracer package is used to tag and track water vapor. To assess the impact of irrigation over the California Central Valley (CCV) on the regional climate of the U.S. Southwest, simulations are run (for three dry and three wet years) both with and without the irrigation scheme. Incorporation of the irrigation scheme resulted in simulated surface air temperature and humidity that were closer to observations, decreased depth of the planetary boundary layer over the CCV, and increased convective available potential energy. The result was an overall increase in precipitation over the Sierra Nevada range and the Colorado River basin during the summer. Water vapor rising from the irrigated region mainly moved northeastward and contributed to precipitation in Nevada and Idaho. Specifically, the results indicate increased precipitation on the windward side of the Sierra Nevada and over the Colorado River basin. The former is possibly linked to a sea-breeze-type circulation near the CCV, while the latter is likely associated with a wave pattern related to latent heat release over the moisture transport belt.
Denunciation and Social Control
Authors: Bergemann Patrick
Published: February 2017

It has long been observed that centralized social control requires some level of cooperation from the populace. Without such assistance, control agents are unable to acquire the local knowledge necessary to locate and prosecute deviants. Yet why citizens cooperate with authorities, especially in the most repressive regimes, remains a puzzle. This article develops two models of such cooperation: in the first, authorities actively use incentives to elicit denunciations from the populace, through either coercion or the promise of rewards. In the second, authorities passively gain access to local negative networks, as individuals denounce to harm others whom they dislike and to gain relative to them. Using internal variation in the early years of the Spanish Inquisition (1486 to 1502) and Romanov Russia (1613 to 1649), I demonstrate the differing effects of each model on patterns of denunciations. Paradoxically, social control is most effective when authorities provide individuals maximum freedom to direct its coercive power.
Primary Immunization of Human Papillomavirus Vaccine in the Pediatric Population: What Is the Verdict Now?
Authors: Jones Aubrey N. , Bartlett Jenna W. , Bates Rebecca A. , So Tsz-Yin
Published: February 2017

The safety and efficacy of a 2-dose series for the human papillomavirus vaccines rather than a 3-dose series in older children has not been well defined. This article reviews the literature summarizing the use of all 3 HPV vaccines (2vHPV, 4vHPV, 9vHPV) as a 2-dose series for females and 4vHPV and 9vHPV for males younger than 15 years. Six prospective trials evaluating immunogenicity of a 2-dose series of 2vHPV and/or 4vHPV, as well as an ongoing prospective clinical trial for 9vHPV, are discussed. The 2-dose series with Gardasil 9® in both males and females ages 9 to 14 years appears to be the most widely accepted recommendation. The exact time schedule between the 2 vaccines varies among studies, but it seems that they should be separated by 6 to 12 months. Federal and world-wide organizations’ (ie, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Food and Drug Administration, and World Health Organization) opinions and recommendations on the appropriate scheduling of the vaccines are also highlighted.
Food Insecurity, Weight Status, and Perceived Nutritional and Exercise Barriers in an Urban Youth Population
Authors: Baer Tamara E. , Scherer Emily A. , Richmond Tracy K. , Fleegler Eric W. , Hassan Areej
Published: February 2017

Food insecurity and overweight/obesity coexist among youth; however, evidence for their association has been mixed. Our objectives were to assess the association between (1) level of food security and weight classification and (2) food insecurity and perceived nutritional and exercise barriers in an urban youth population. Patients aged 15 to 25 years completed a US Department of Agriculture Food Security Survey. Chi-square, Kruskal-Wallis tests, and logistic regression models controlling for age and gender assessed the association between food security level, weight classification, and perceived barriers. Among 376 patients, 122 (32%) were food insecure and 221 (59%) were overweight/obese. There were no significant associations between food security level and weight classification. In adjusted analyses, participants with very low food insecurity reported significantly greater odds of 3 nutritional barriers compared to participants with high food security. Food-insecure youth were more likely to report nutritional barriers, which may lead to overweight/obesity over time.
Between the plot and plantation: Parahuman ecologies in Fred D’Aguiar’s Children of Paradise
Authors: Fehskens Erin M.
Published: February 2017

In this article I argue that Children of Paradise (2014), Fred D’Aguiar’s novelization of the final months of Jonestown, draws different spatializations of political oppression together and situates critique and resistance to that oppression in a parahuman ecology, a concept that develops out of a combination of vital materialist discourse and the writings of Wilson Harris and Édouard Glissant. Jonestown is the name popularly given to the Peoples Temple, an American cult led by Jim Jones that ended in a horrific mass suicide event in the Guyanese rainforest in 1978. Unlike previous narratives and studies on the group, the Jonestown of Children of Paradise takes on the contours of the Caribbean plantation and plot in its obsessive and oppressive control over the lives and labours of its population and its narrative of liberation from and resistance to external forces. Critique and resistance to these power structures emerge at the intersection of politics and ecology to produce an ecologically-inflected parahuman community. This community is represented in particular by the unusually compassionate relationship that develops between Adam, a silverback gorilla caged at the centre of Jonestown’s commune space, and Trina, a young girl who lives in the commune with her mother. As Adam and Trina engage each other and their relationship with the rainforest more intensely, they create a potentially alternative mode of living for those wishing to escape the confines of the commune and, symbolically, the horrors of the plantation.
Experimental and numerical investigations of compression stability of stiffened composite panel with ply interleaving
Authors: Geng Xiaoliang , Ji Fanfan , Wang Jiu , Dou Wang , Wang Peiyan , Yue Zhufeng
Published: February 2017

A novel composite layup technique (ply interleaving) is proposed to satisfy the extraordinary needs in aircraft structure design. Buckling experiments and corresponding simulations with different configurations are carried out to study the mechanical properties of the stiffened panel with this ply layout and get a suitable numerical prediction method. A ply-by-ply-based modeling technique is applied to characterize the real discontinuity in each ply. Additionally, the relationship between the macroscopic buckling and damage evolution is investigated by the comparative analyses of experiments and simulations. The investigations show the following results: the panel with ply interleaving has a considerable anti-buckling capability besides its flexible layout; both adhesive layer damage and lamina damage should be included in the simulation for obtaining reliable solution; the panel would buckle while adhesive layer damage occurs between stiffeners and skin, which initiates firstly in the ply interleaving zone and then expands to the surrounding area; internal damage of each ply also originates around discontinuities then develops rapidly, leading to the panel failure. The prediction results of buckling and failure show good agreements with the experimental results, so the suggested simulation technique is verified to be an effective method to study the mechanical behavior of the composite plate with preset discontinuities.
Assessments on the mechanical behaviour of a monolithic composite structure instrumented with a monitoring patch
Authors: Torres Mauricio , Collombet Francis , Douchin Bernard , Crouzeix Laurent , Grunevald Yves-Henri
Published: February 2017

In this paper, the monitoring patch is evaluated as an alternative instrumentation technique for aircraft-type composite structures, by means of the Multi-Instrumented Technological Evaluator. In this case, the goal is to evaluate the strength and failure modes of a carbon-epoxy composite plate with two drop-offs instrumented with a monitoring patch. With the aid of finite element models, the testing of the plate under combined loads is analysed to have a first numerical approach of its behaviour. Then, the experimental campaign is accomplished by testing the plate with multi-instrumentation devices and techniques such as strain gauges and digital image correlation. A correct calculation/test correlation is achieved by comparing the strain values calculated by the finite element model and the experimental strain data acquired by gauges and digital image correlation. The results confronted provide a first evidence to quantify the influence of the monitoring patch on the mechanical performance of the composite plate. Therefore, it could be employed in the near future as instrumentation technique on large composite structures.
Tool-part interaction in composites microwave curing: Experimental investigation and analysis
Authors: Li Nanya , Li Yingguang , Wu Xiaochun , Hao Xiaozhong
Published: February 2017

The tool-part interaction of composite materials during microwave curing is different from conventional thermal heating, mainly because of the rapid and selective heating mechanism of microwave. Novel measurement and analysis approaches of microwave curing induced tool-part shear stresses were established and verified in this article. The optical fiber sensors were placed in the groove of tool surface to measure the strain values, which were converted to the tool-part shear stresses. A comprehensive friction coefficient was calculated by the shear stresses, and it was presented by considering the thermal expansion mismatch of composite/tool and the chemical shrinkage of resin. In order to validate the accuracy of model, the shape dimension of microwave cured scaling down leading edge of the composite part was measured to compare with simulation model. The results exhibited that the presented model can significantly decrease the prediction error of composite deformation compared with other methods during microwave curing.
Experimental characterization of the pore size distribution in fibrous reinforcements of composite materials
Authors: Bonnard Beliny , Causse Philippe , Trochu François
Published: February 2017

This study uses capillary flow porometry to investigate the porous structure of engineering fabrics used in high-performance polymer composites. This technique consists of applying air pressure to a previously wetted sample to progressively expel the liquid from the pores. A porometry testing device commonly employed to characterize filtration media was used as the principal tool for this investigation. Four types of fibrous fabrics made of glass and carbon fibers with different textile architectures have been experimentally characterized with a through-thickness setup. This allowed obtaining the pore size distribution inside the tested material. In all the cases studied, the porometry technique was able to detect in a reproducible way a bimodal pore size distribution reflecting the presence of both micropores (inside the fiber yarns) and mesopores (between the yarns). Moreover, experimental results indicate that the method can be used to study the influence of the textile pattern on the pore size distribution. Overall, the study shows that capillary flow porometry can give valuable information on the dual scale structure of fibrous reinforcements, which plays a critical role during the impregnation stage of Liquid Composite Molding processes. Because of its simplicity and speed of execution, the proposed approach appears to be a promising way to complement other sophisticated techniques already used for composites such as microscopy and X-ray microtomography.
Bone Density and Clinical Periodontal Attachment in Postmenopausal Women: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Authors: Penoni D.C. , Fidalgo T.K.S. , Torres S.R. , Varela V.M. , Masterson D. , Leão A.T.T. , Maia L.C.
Published: February 2017

Osteoporosis is a systemic skeletal disease characterized by low bone mineral density (BMD) and has been considered a risk factor for periodontal disease. The aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to verify the scientific evidence for the association of periodontal attachment loss with low BMD in postmenopausal women. A systematic search of the literature was performed in databases until August 2016, in accordance with Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) guidelines. Eligibility criteria included studies that compared clinical attachment loss (CAL) between postmenopausal women with low and normal BMD. Studies using similar methodology, with lower and higher risk of bias, were pooled into 3 different meta-analyses to compare CAL among women with normal BMD, osteoporosis, and osteopenia. In the first meta-analysis, mean CAL was compared among groups. In the other 2 meta-analyses, the mean percentages of sites with CAL ≥4 mm and ≥6 mm were respectively compared among groups. From 792 unique citations, 26 articles were selected for the qualitative synthesis. Eleven of the studies were appraised as presenting low risk of bias, and the association between low BMD and CAL was observed in 10 of these studies. Thirteen cross-sectional articles were included in the meta-analysis for osteoporosis and 9 in the osteopenia analysis. Women with low BMD presented greater mean CAL than those with normal BMD (osteoporosis = 0.34 mm [95% confidence interval (CI), 0.20–0.49], P < 0.001; osteopenia = 0.07 mm [95% CI, 0.01–0.13], P = 0.02). Only studies with lower risk of bias were available for the analysis of CAL severity. Women with low BMD presented more severe attachment loss, represented as mean percentage of sites with CAL ≥4 mm (osteoporosis = 3.04 [95% CI, 1.23–4.85], P = 0.001; osteopenia = 1.74 [95% CI, 0.36–3.12], P = 0.01) and CAL ≥6 mm (osteoporosis = 5.07 [95% CI, 2.74–7.40], P < 0.001). This systematic review and meta-analysis indicates that postmenopausal women with osteoporosis or osteopenia may exhibit greater CAL compared with women with normal BMD.
Canaries in a coal-mine? What the killings of journalists tell us about future repression
Authors: Gohdes Anita R , Carey Sabine C
Published: February 2017

An independent press that is free from government censorship is regarded as instrumental to ensuring human rights protection. Yet governments across the globe often target journalists when their reports seem to offend them or contradict their policies. Can the government’s infringements of the rights of journalists tell us anything about its wider human rights agenda? The killing of a journalist is a sign of deteriorating respect for human rights. If a government orders the killing of a journalist, it is willing to use extreme measures to eliminate the threat posed by the uncontrolled flow of information. If non-state actors murder journalists, it reflects insecurity, which can lead to a backlash by the government, again triggering state-sponsored repression. To test the argument whether the killing of journalists is a precursor to increasing repression, we introduce a new global dataset on killings of journalists between 2002 and 2013 that uses three different sources that track such events across the world. The new data show that mostly local journalists are targeted and that in most cases the perpetrators remain unconfirmed. Particularly in countries with limited repression, human rights conditions are likely to deteriorate in the two years following the killing of a journalist. When journalists are killed, human rights conditions are unlikely to improve where standard models of human rights would expect an improvement. Our research underlines the importance of taking the treatment of journalists seriously, not only because failure to do so endangers their lives and limits our understanding of events on the ground, but also because their physical safety is an important precursor of more repression in the future.
Simulation-based mine extraction sequencing with chance constrained risk tolerance
Authors: Kumral Mustafa , Sari Yuksel Asli
Published: February 2017

Technical and financial uncertainties present significant risks to the profitability and efficiency of mining operations. Unexpected realizations (e.g., price or grade) may result in catastrophic consequences. This phenomenon forces mining industries to use probabilistic decision-making tools to assess, mitigate, and manage the risks associated with these uncertainties. In this context, mining operations need robust schedules, which are insensitive to market changes and/or unexpected grade realizations. The mine production scheduling problem consists of three sub-problems: extraction sequencing (timing), ore-waste discrimination (classification) and production rates (utilization). The solutions to these problems are generated under significant parameter uncertainties. This paper proposes an extraction sequencing approach in which the net present value of a mining project is, for a given risk tolerance, maximized and the actual risk tolerance is then verified through Monte-Carlo simulations. The risk tolerance is a measure of uncertainty and that secures the project net present value with a given probability. Risk tolerance is derived through the use of standard deviations of block economic values in the medium of multiple grade and economic images of orebody. The proposed approach is demonstrated on a case study using gold mine data. The results of the case study show that the proposed approach, combining chance-constrained programming and Monte-Carlo simulation, can be used to solve the mine extraction sequencing problem in an uncertain financial and technical environment.
Modeling and simulation of furnace pulse firing improvements using fuzzy control
Authors: Cadena-Ramírez Alejandro , Favela-Contreras Antonio , Dieck-Assad Graciano
Published: February 2017

Pulse firing offers significant process and productivity benefits, such as improved temperature uniformity and high heat transfer rates to the product load through maximum system turndown and utilizes the system’s burners at their most efficient firing rates. However, overshoot and undershoot is unavoidable. To minimize these effects, the system operates the burner at an enhanced turndown rate. Faster cycle rates improve temperature uniformity but reduce equipment lifetime. Therefore, a tradeoff exists between furnace temperature uniformity and the cycle rate used by the pulse firing control.

This paper proposes models and simulates an advanced technique that improves temperature uniformity while decreasing the cycle time used by the pulse firing control. This provides reliable, safe furnace operating conditions, thereby extending the lifetime of the equipment. After an analysis of a furnace’s combustion system that utilizes the pulse firing method to control the heat demand of the furnace, non-linearities were found in the combustion system. To improve the performance of the temperature control, an error-driven function was coupled to the control strategy to compensate the signal error fed to a proportional–integral–derivative controller. The error-driven function was implemented using a fuzzy system, which improved the temperature uniformity and allowed a 60% duty cycle reduction in comparison with similar combustion systems.
Innovation strategy choices in the urban economy
Authors: Herstad Sverre J
Published: February 2017

This paper analyses how the innovation strategies of individual firms reflect the density, diversity and international connectivity of their urban locations. It makes three contributions. Theoretically, it argues that observed strategies reflect a series of inter-related choices, and that each may be influenced differently by the knowledge dynamics of firms’ locations. Empirically, it uses Norwegian Community Innovation Survey data to demonstrate how firms in the Capital are less inclined to engage in innovation activities, but also more likely to commit strongly once engaged, than are comparable firms located elsewhere. Methodologically, it illustrates how the results of sequential regressions on inter-related strategy choices differ from those obtained using a more conventional estimation strategy. Implications for innovation policy and research are drawn.
Merger & Acquisition and Capital Expenditure in Health Care
Authors: Ouyang Wenjing , Hilsenrath Peter E.
Published: February 2017

Investment, especially through merger and acquisition (M&A), is a leading topic of concern among health care managers. In addition, the implications of this activity for organization and market concentration are of great interest to policy makers. Using a sample of 2256 firm-year observations in the health care industry during the period from 1985 to 2011, this article provides novel evidence that managers learn from financial markets in making capital expenditure (CAPEX) and M&A investment decisions. Within the industry, managers in the Drugs subsector are most likely to do so, whereas managers in the Medical Equipment and Supplies are least likely to do so. We find informative stock prices improve firm financial performance. This article highlights the importance of financial markets for real economic activity in the health care industry.
The Political Impact of Chilean New Song in Exile
Authors: McSherry J. Patrice
Published: February 2017

The musical movement known as Chilean New Song became a key mobilizing force in politics in the 1960s and early 1970s in Chile, inspiring, uniting, and motivating people in a common cause and articulating the dreams and hopes of masses of people for progressive social change. Similarly, the New Song movement in exile, after the 1973 coup, helped to generate and sustain the support and solidarity of Chilean exiles and foreign nationals around the world, speaking about the repression in Chile, communicating the ideals of the popular movements, and inspiring and strengthening solidarity movements in many countries.

El movimiento musical conocido como la Nueva Canción Chilena fue una fuerza movilizadora clave en las luchas políticas de los años 60 y principios de los 70 en Chile. Sirvió como fuente de inspiración para unir a la gente en una causa común y para articular los sueños y las esperanzas de un cambio social progresista de las masas del pueblo. De igual manera, en el exilio, después del golpe de 1973, el movimiento ayudó a generar y sostener el apoyo y la solidaridad de los exiliados chilenos y de los extranjeros alrededor del mundo, ofreciendo testimonio sobre la represión en Chile, dándole voz a los ideales de los movimientos populares y fortaleciendo los movimientos de solidaridad en muchos países.
From Water Engineers to Financial Engineering: Water Provision in Australia’s East Coast Capital Cities, 1945-2015
Authors: O’Hanlon Seamus , Spearritt Peter
Published: February 2017

This article analyzes the provision of urban water in Australia’s three east coast capital cities—Sydney, Brisbane, and Melbourne—from the big dams of the post–World War II years to recently completed desalination plants. We trace how major statutory authorities and their engineers built up both their organizations and their water storage and distribution assets in the Fordist 1950s and 1960s, before these bodies were restructured under the guise of neoliberal notions of accountability and profitability. In their quest to break apart the key institutional pillars of the mid-twentieth-century city, some Leftist critics of the Fordist state may have inadvertently sown the seeds of the neoliberal city of the early twenty-first century. We conclude that the new market-driven organizations are just as interested in their own survival as were their predecessors, and demonstrate even less trust in the general public’s knowledge and practice around water use and conservation.
Exploratory Item Classification Via Spectral Graph Clustering
Authors: Chen Yunxiao , Li Xiaoou , Liu Jingchen , Xu Gongjun , Ying Zhiliang
Published: February 2017

Large-scale assessments are supported by a large item pool. An important task in test development is to assign items into scales that measure different characteristics of individuals, and a popular approach is cluster analysis of items. Classical methods in cluster analysis, such as the hierarchical clustering, K-means method, and latent-class analysis, often induce a high computational overhead and have difficulty handling missing data, especially in the presence of high-dimensional responses. In this article, the authors propose a spectral clustering algorithm for exploratory item cluster analysis. The method is computationally efficient, effective for data with missing or incomplete responses, easy to implement, and often outperforms traditional clustering algorithms in the context of high dimensionality. The spectral clustering algorithm is based on graph theory, a branch of mathematics that studies the properties of graphs. The algorithm first constructs a graph of items, characterizing the similarity structure among items. It then extracts item clusters based on the graphical structure, grouping similar items together. The proposed method is evaluated through simulations and an application to the revised Eysenck Personality Questionnaire.
Experiential Learning, Bargaining Power, and Exclusivity in Technology Licensing
Authors: Khoury Theodore A. , Pleggenkuhle-Miles Erin G. , Walter Jorge
Published: February 2017

Licensing has become the central form of interfirm technology transfer and commercialization in the market for inventions. However, despite the large representation and growth of this business model, the resolution of key contractual provisions is still regarded as idiosyncratic, and little is known about how experience with prior relationships or bargaining power position affects contract outcomes. In an attempt to further understand how these transactions unfold, we present and test a theoretical framework disentangling experience benefits and transaction costs associated with licensors’ prior involvement in out- versus in-licensing deals and how they affect the important, yet contentious, contractual provision of nonexclusivity. Drawing on transaction cost, experiential learning, and bargaining power theories, we develop new insights explaining when licensors are likely to realize nonexclusive contracts as a function of their prior licensing deals, and when bargaining power moderates the relationships between prior deals and nonexclusivity. Leveraging a 27-year sample of bioscience licensing transactions, this study reveals the dynamic tension between the benefits and transaction costs arising from prior interfirm collaborations, and how a firm’s history of collaborations, alongside its bargaining power position, influences contractual outcomes.
The Micropolitics of Legitimacy
Authors: Clayman Steven E.
Published: February 2017

When journalists elicit opinion and policy pronouncements from politicians, this engages a two-dimensional struggle over (1) where the politician stands on the issue in question and (2) the legitimacy of that position. Using data drawn from broadcast news interviews and news conferences, this paper anatomizes the key features of political positioning questions and their responses, and documents a tension surrounding relatively marginal or extreme views that tend to be treated cautiously by politicians but are pursued vigorously by journalists. The findings shed light on how politicians balance appeals to centrist and partisan viewers, how journalists police the boundaries of mainstream politics, and how both parties contribute to a process of legitimation that enacts and at times modifies the parameters of the sociopolitical mainstream.
Social Identity and the Linguistic Intergroup Bias: Exploring the Role of Ethnic Identification in the Context of Intergroup Relations Between Hong Kong and Mainland China
Authors: Chan Michael
Published: February 2017

Two survey experiments examined how linguistic intergroup bias (LIB) varies according to ethnic identification within a homogenous ethnic group (Hong Kong citizens). Study 1 showed that Hong Kong citizens who identified as “Hongkonger” used more abstract expressions to describe prosocial behaviors of the in-group (Hong Kong citizen) and antisocial behaviors of the out-group (Mainland Chinese); those who identified as “Chinese” exhibited less LIB. Study 2 found similar results for a context based on location of behaviour (in Hong Kong vs. in China) rather than the nationality of the protagonist. The combined evidence suggests that LIB can have an important intragroup as well as intergroup dimension.
Exploring the role of the romantic relationship context in weight loss
Authors: Dailey René M.
Published: February 2017

For individuals losing weight who are cohabiting with their romantic partners, weight loss is pursued within a relational context. To better understand the role of romantic partners, 44 individuals from a Southwestern city in the U.S. who were actively trying to lose weight were interviewed about the current and desired role of their partner in their weight loss. Responses were transcribed and qualitatively analyzed. Themes specifically pertinent to the romantic relationship that facilitated or hindered weight loss were identified. Three major themes emerged, each with subthemes. Factors that facilitated weight loss were having a team effort in pursuing the weight loss goals, partners being accommodating to dietary and schedule changes, and the provision of logistical help (e.g., childcare). Obstacles presented by the interdependent nature of romantic relationships included partners having opposing perspectives on weight loss, partners’ negative comments about themselves, and difficulties in balancing the weight loss goals with the needs of the relationship. Complicating support from partners, some participants gave mixed messages about the desired support from their partners as well as inconsistent reactions to partner support. The findings highlight that theory and intervention programs need to consider the complexity of losing weight in this interdependent, relational context.
Safety pharmacology of acute MDMA administration in healthy subjects
Authors: Vizeli Patrick , Liechti Matthias E
Published: February 2017

3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA; ecstasy) is being investigated in MDMA-assisted psychotherapy. The present study characterized the safety pharmacology of single-dose administrations of MDMA (75 or 125 mg) using data from nine double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover studies performed in the same laboratory in a total of 166 healthy subjects. The duration of the subjective effects was 4.2 ± 1.3 h (range: 1.4–8.2 h). The 125 mg dose of MDMA produced greater ‘good drug effect’ ratings than 75 mg. MDMA produced moderate and transient ‘bad drug effect’ ratings, which were greater in women than in men. MDMA increased systolic blood pressure to >160 mmHg, heart rate >100 beats/min, and body temperature >38°C in 33%, 29% and 19% of the subjects, respectively. These proportions of subjects with hypertension (>160 mmHg), tachycardia, and body temperature >38°C were all significantly greater after 125 mg MDMA compared with the 75 mg dose. Acute and subacute adverse effects of MDMA as assessed by the List of Complaints were dose-dependent and more frequent in females. MDMA did not affect liver or kidney function at EOS 29 ± 22 days after use. No serious adverse events occurred. In conclusion, MDMA produced predominantly acute positive subjective drug effects. Bad subjective drug effects and other adverse effects were significantly more common in women. MDMA administration was overall safe in physically and psychiatrically healthy subjects and in a medical setting. However, the risks of MDMA are likely higher in patients with cardiovascular disease and remain to be investigated in patients with psychiatric disorders.
Sense of Community, Sense of Community Responsibility, and Public Service Motivation as Predictors of Employee Well-Being and Engagement in Public Service Organizations
Authors: Boyd Neil , Nowell Branda , Yang Zheng , Hano Mary Clare
Published: February 2017

Public management scholars have suggested that employee motivation can be accentuated by organizational cultures and contexts. One of the most researched topics in this regard is the concept of public service motivation (PSM). Research shows that PSM works to direct applicants toward public service careers and, once hired, can be linked to motivated activity within public-sector organizations. Similarly, like PSM, a sense of community (SOC) and a sense of community responsibility (SOC-R) have also been posited to act as powerful predictors of employee well-being and engagement. The present study demonstrates that SOC-R is a more powerful predictor of employee engagement compared with PSM and SOC. Concurrently, SOC more strongly predicts employee well-being compared with PSM and SOC-R. The findings bring additional light and clarification to the predictive power of PSM on employee perceptions and behavior, and they demonstrate that community experiences have utility in public service settings.
EFESTS: Educational finite element software for truss structure – Part 3: Geometrically nonlinear static analysis
Authors: Zuo Wenjie , Huang Ke , Cheng Fei
Published: February 2017

This article covers the modeling, formulation, solution, and software development of the geometrically nonlinear static finite element method of truss structure. Firstly, we summarize the total Lagrange bar elment formulation, which includes the tangent stiffness matrix and the internal force vector. Secondly, static class diagrams and dynamic sequence diagrams assist students in designing software architecture. Thirdly, the analytical example of the 2-bar truss structure and the numerical example of the 10-bar truss structure are presented to promote students’ understanding of geometrically nonlinear finite element theory and application. Finally, the developed software is free for educational research and can be downloaded from the website: http://mach.jlu.edu.cn/hb_images/xygk/xssz_sz_js.php?id=395 .
Urban political ecology III
Authors: Heynen Nik
Published: February 2017

Given the ongoing importance of nature in the city, better grappling with the gendering and queering of urban political ecology offers important insights that collectively provides important political possibilities. The cross-currents of feminist political ecology, queer ecology, queer urbanism and more general contributions to feminist urban geography create critical opportunities to expand UPE’s horizons toward more egalitarian and praxis-centered prospects. These intellectual threads in conversation with the broader Marxist roots of UPE, and other second-generation variants, including what I have previously called abolition ecology, combine to at once show the ongoing promises of heterodox UPE and at the same time contribute more broadly beyond the realm of UPE.
Understanding the impact of air power
Authors: Allen Susan Hannah , Martinez Machain Carla
Published: February 2017

With a lower risk of casualties and a high degree of precision, air power is an attractive foreign policy tool to powerful states that have increasingly relied upon it in recent years. This paper presents newly collected data on uses and effectiveness of air power in interstate wars from 1914 to 2003. The dataset provides more complete and comparable cases that can be useful in answering questions of not only the coercive effectiveness of air power, but also of the decision to use air power in conflict, of ethical concerns arising from the use of air power, and of the interaction of air power with other military and foreign policy tools. In addition to introducing the dataset and discussing trends in the data, a preliminary empirical application is provided, re-examining the relationship between strategy and air power effectiveness.
Carbachol Induces Phase-dependent Phase Shifts of Per1 Transcription Rhythms in Cultured Suprachiasmatic Nucleus Slices
Authors: Dojo Kumiko , Yamaguchi Yoshiaki , Fustin Jean-Michel , Doi Masao , Kobayashi Masaki , Okamura Hitoshi
Published: February 2017

Among nonphotic stimulants, a classic cholinergic agonist, carbachol, is known to have a strong and unique phase-resetting effect on the circadian clock: Intracerebroventricular carbachol treatment causes phase delays during the subjective early night and phase advances in the subjective late night, but the effects of this drug on the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) in vivo and in vitro are still controversial. In the present study, we succeeded in reproducing the biphasic phase-shifting effect of carbachol on clock gene expression in organotypic SCN slices prepared from mice carrying a Per1-promoter fused luciferase gene ( Per1-luc). Since this biphasic effect of carbachol in Per1-luc SCN was prevented by atropine but not by mecamylamine, we concluded that these phase shifts were muscarinic receptor–dependent. Next, we analyzed the expression of muscarinic receptors in the SCN by in situ hybridization and found that M3 and M4 subtypes were expressed in SCN cells. These signals appeared neonatally and reached adult levels at postnatal day 10. Together, these findings suggest that carbachol has a phase-dependent phase-shifting effect on the SCN clock through muscarinic receptor subtypes expressed in the SCN.
Daily Cycles in Body Temperature in a Songbird Change with Photoperiod and Are Weakly Circadian
Authors: Dawson Alistair
Published: February 2017

Although it is well known that body temperature (Tb) is higher during the day in diurnal birds than at night, no data are available regarding exactly how Tb varies during a 24-h period, how this differs under different photoperiods, and how it responds to a change in photoperiod. This study used implanted temperature loggers in starlings ( Sturnus vulgaris) to address these questions. The duration of elevated Tb was directly related to photoperiod, but the amplitude of the daily cycle was significantly greater under shorter photoperiods. Under all photoperiods, Tb started to increase before dawn and continued to increase after dawn; there was no sudden change associated with dawn. In contrast, Tb decreased immediately and rapidly at dusk (significantly by 15 min). The daily cycle in Tb rapidly adjusted to a change in photoperiod. Following an acute increase in photoperiod, Tb increased immediately at the new earlier dawn but did not decrease until the new later dusk. Following a decrease in photoperiod, Tb did not increase after the time of the missed dawn; it only increased after the new later dawn. It decreased at the new earlier dusk. Following transfer to constant darkness, there was a moderate increase in Tb around the missed dawn, but then Tb gradually decreased before the missed dusk to lower values than during the previous night. The results suggest that the daily cycle in Tb is weakly circadian and may be entrained by dusk rather than dawn.
Nonthermal Laser Combined With a Lymph Drainage System for Noninvasive Body Circumference Reduction
Authors: Lo Emily , Jackson Robert F. , Silverton John S. , Roche Gregory C. , Shanks Steven
Published: February 2017

A nonthermal laser device is approved for noninvasive body circumference reduction and temporary improvement in the appearance of cellulite. Another noninvasive device based on the principle of manual lymph drainage is approved for body circumference reduction and improving the appearance of cellulite. This pilot study evaluated the effectiveness of combining these treatments for reducing body circumference. Healthy men and women (N = 27), 22 to 70 years of age with a body mass index of 25 to 40 kg/m2, inclusive, seeking to improve the appearance of their waist, hips, and upper abdomen, were enrolled. The laser device consists of 6 independent, variable frequency lasers emitting a 532-nm green light with a mean power output of 17 mW (Erchonia Verjú Laser System; Erchonia Corporation, Melbourne, Florida). The lymphatic drainage system is a pressure therapy intended for body contouring and cellulite reduction applications and for reducing edema (Green PRESS 8 Lymphatic Drainage System; Iskra Medical, Podnart, Slovenia). Participants received 12 treatments, one every 3 to 4 days over a 6-week period. Each session included a 30-minute nonthermal laser treatment (15 minutes each to front and back) followed by a 30-minute treatment with the lymphatic drainage system. To evaluate comparability of the combined devices treatment with the nonthermal laser treatment, individual study success for the nonthermal laser alone was a 3.0-inch (7.62 cm) decrease in combined baseline hips, waist, and upper abdomen circumference at the end of the study. A 50% increase in combined hips-waist-upper abdomen circumference measurement following combined treatments was considered a clinically meaningful improvement over the use of nonthermal laser alone. Individual study success was achieved by 17 participants (63.0%), exceeding the preestablished overall study success criteria of 60% in comparison with nonthermal laser treatment alone. The mean (SD) combined body circumference decreased from 112.3 (13.7) inches at baseline to 108.5 (13.8) inches at the end of the study, a mean decrease of 3.9 (2.7) inches ( P < .0001). One-way analysis of variance tests for changes in total body circumference measures at weeks 4, 8, and 12 were significantly less than baseline (for each, P < .01); however, the study failed to achieve a 50% decrease in combined hips-waist-upper abdomen circumference measurement following application of combined treatments versus nonthermal laser alone. Additional treatment with a manual lymphatic drainage system does not improve the effectiveness of a nonthermal 532-nm green laser for reducing hips, waist, and upper abdomen circumference.
Knowledge Hierarchy of Social Work and Gender Studies in Spain
Authors: Agrela Romero Belén , Morales Villena Amalia
Published: February 2017

This article explores the gendered nature of social work and some of the consequences this has in academia, research, and professional practice in Spain. The authors examine the connections between social work and gender studies in academia in Spain, reflecting on the position these disciplines occupy in the current hierarchy of knowledge and the knowledge production system. The impact of the university reforms under the European Union’s (EU) Bologna plan is analyzed in the context of the commercialization of knowledge. The obstacles that prevent the value of these disciplines from being recognized are discussed, linking the academic dimension to the professional dimension and also illustrating how today’s situations of social exclusion require further research and specialized training in social work and gender.
Advocates’ Experiences With Media and the Impact of Media on Human Trafficking Advocacy
Authors: Houston-Kolnik Jaclyn D. , Soibatian Christina , Shattell Mona M.
Published: February 2017

The present qualitative study explores advocates’ opinions of misinformation about human trafficking in the media and describes advocates’ strategies to counter the misinformation presented by the media. Thus, 15 advocates who work against human trafficking in Chicago-based nonprofit organizations participated in semistructured interviews about their opinions and strategies. Data were analyzed using thematic content analysis. The present study identifies specific misperceptions of human trafficking in the media, highlights advocates’ opinions of this misinformation, and discusses advocates’ strategies to counteract inaccurate media, adding support to the role of media advocacy. Advocates note how media images shape and perpetuate stereotypes of trafficking through glamorizing sex work and sensationalizing stories that are most often international depictions of trafficking. Advocates report media generally shares only a piece of the story, simplifying the stories of survivors and the issue of human trafficking. Advocates critique media perpetuating these misperceptions for how they may contribute to policies and programs which fail to address structural factors that create vulnerabilities to be trafficked and the multisystem needs of survivors. However, advocates also note misperceptions can be counteracted by producing sensitive, informed media through social platforms. Advocates share their strategies counteracting misinformation through engaging in informative conversations, utilizing social media to educate, and promoting media messages of survivor agency. Research, clinical, and policy implications are also discussed. The present study emphasizes the importance of decision makers and service providers being critical consumers of media and to assess how media portrayals may (or may not) inform their understanding and response to the issue.
Breaking the Intergenerational Cycle: Partner Violence, Child–Parent Attachment, and Children’s Aggressive Behaviors
Authors: Juan Shao-Chiu , Washington Heather M. , Kurlychek Megan C.
Published: February 2017

The link between exposure to violence in the home and children’s later exhibition of violent behaviors is well documented in the criminological literature. To date, most research on partner violence (PV) and children’s welfare has focused on adolescent outcomes. As such, we know little about how PV affects the behavior of the youngest, and perhaps most vulnerable population of children who have been exposed to PV. Our understanding of the PV–child behavior association is also limited because extant research has focused less attention on identifying risk factors that explain and modify the link between exposure to PV and children’s behavior. We use data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study, a five-wave longitudinal study of U.S.-born children ( N = 2,896) and structural equation modeling (SEM), to explore the impact of PV exposure on later aggressive behaviors. We extend the literature on PV exposure and childhood aggression in three ways: (a) We focus on young children’s behavioral outcomes; (b) we identify child–parent attachment as a potential moderator of the PV–childhood aggression relationship; and (c) we investigate variation in the effect of PV exposure on children’s aggressive behavior by children’s attachment to parents. Findings support our hypotheses that exposure to PV during first 3 years of life is associated with increased aggression at age 5 and age 9. We find that the effect of PV on aggression at age 9 is fully mediated through the parent–child attachment. Contrary to our expectations, we do not find evidence of a strong parent–child attachment moderating the impact of PV exposure on children’s aggressive behavior.