bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Is the US Public Corporation in Trouble?
Authors: Kahle Kathleen M. , Stulz René M.
Published: July 2017

We examine the current state of the US public corporation and how it has evolved over the last 40 years. After falling by 50 percent since its peak in 1997, the number of public corporations is now smaller than 40 years ago. These corporations are now much larger and over the last twenty years have become much older; they invest differently, as the average firm invests more in R&D than it spends on capital expenditures; and compared to the 1990s, the ratio of investment to assets is lower, especially for large firms. Public firms have record high cash holdings and, in most recent years, the average firm has more cash than long-term debt. Measuring profitability by the ratio of earnings to assets, the average firm is less profitable, but that is driven by smaller firms. Earnings of public firms have become more concentrated—the top 200 firms in profits earn as much as all public firms combined. Firms' total payouts to shareholders as a percent of earnings are at record levels. Possible explanations for the current state of the public corporation include a decrease in the net benefits of being a public company, changes in financial intermediation, technological change, globalization, and consolidation through mergers.
Natural killer cells in herpesvirus infections
Authors: Münz Christian , Chijioke Obinna
Published: July 2017

Natural killer (NK) cells are potent innate cytotoxic lymphocytes for the destruction of infected and transformed cells. Although they were originally considered to be ready-made assassins after their hematopoietic development, it has recently become clear that their activity is regulated by mechanisms such as repertoire composition, licensing, priming, and adaptive memory-like differentiation. Some of these mechanisms are influenced by infectious disease agents, including herpesviruses. In this review, we will compare expansion, stimulation, and effector functions of NK cell populations after infections with β- and γ1-herpesviruses because, though closely related, these pathogens seem to drive completely opposite NK cell responses. The discussed findings suggest that different NK cell subsets expand and perform protective functions during infectious diseases and might be used diagnostically to predict resistance to the causative pathogens as well as treat them by adoptive transfer of the respective populations.
A geo-coded inventory of anophelines in the Afrotropical Region south of the Sahara: 1898-2016
Authors: Kyalo David , Amratia Punam , Mundia Clara W. , Mbogo Charles M. , Coetzee Maureen , Snow Robert W.
Published: July 2017

Background: Understanding the distribution of anopheline vectors of malaria is an important prelude to the design of national malaria control and elimination programmes. A single, geo-coded continental inventory of anophelines using all available published and unpublished data has not been undertaken since the 1960s.

Methods: We have searched African, European and World Health Organization archives to identify unpublished reports on anopheline surveys in 48 sub-Saharan Africa countries. This search was supplemented by identification of reports that formed part of post-graduate theses, conference abstracts, regional insecticide resistance databases and more traditional bibliographic searches of peer-reviewed literature. Finally, a check was made against two recent repositories of dominant malaria vector species locations (circa2,500). Each report was used to extract information on the survey dates, village locations (geo-coded to provide a longitude and latitude), sampling methods, species identification methods and all anopheline species found present during the survey. Survey records were collapsed to a single site over time.   

Results: The search strategy took years and resulted in 13,331 unique, geo-coded survey locations of anopheline vector occurrence between 1898 and 2016. A total of 12,204 (92%) sites reported the presence of 10 dominant vector species/sibling species; 4,473 (37%) of these sites were sampled since 2005. 4,442 (33%) sites reported at least one of 13 possible secondary vector species; 1,107 (25%) of these sites were sampled since 2005. Distributions of dominant and secondary vectors conform to previous descriptions of the ecological ranges of these vectors.

Conclusion: We have assembled the largest ever geo-coded database of anophelines in Africa, representing a legacy dataset for future updating and identification of knowledge gaps at national levels. The geo-coded database is available onHarvard Dataverseas a reference source for African national malaria control programmes planning their future control and elimination strategies.
Tensiones y conflictos por agua en el boom inmobiliario de Tecámac, México
Authors: Ibarra García María Verónica
Published: July 2017

Las tensiones y conflictos por los usos divergentes del agua en el municipio de Tecámac serán analizados en este artículo. Este estudio se realiza desde la geografía crítica con base en la articulación de diversas escalas en lo local. De este modo, ubica la producción del espacio como eje rector de análisis, haciendo énfasis en los megaproyectos de lógica neoliberal. El estudio se realizó utilizando fuentes primarias y secundarias. Se consideran a los actores políticos y económicos hegemónicos en sus intentos y concreción de despojo del agua en clave de segunda naturaleza; también, se identifican a los actores contrahegemónicos que resisten el despojo. Entre estos actores se encuentran los habitantes originarios, quienes —organizados en un Sistema de Agua Potable de Tecámac (SAPT) de base comunitaria, ahora constituido en Asociación Civil (A.C.)— se han opuesto a los intentos de despojo por parte del Ayuntamiento, encabezado por Aarón Urbina Bedolla. Además, se presenta a los nuevos pobladores de los recientes fraccionamientos habitacionales que han emprendido acciones legales contra las empresas inmobiliarias y el Ayuntamiento por incumplimiento en el abasto de agua.
Análisis del programa Mi Casa Mi Vida en Córdoba y São Paulo
Authors: Saccucci Erika
Published: July 2017

El presente trabajo se enmarca en un proyecto de investigación más amplio, resultado de un convenio entre la UCC y la UNIFESP. Se ha propuesto realizar un análisis de la configuración de la ciudad de São Paulo y la ciudad de Córdoba a partir de la aplicación del programa Mi Casa Mi Vida. El programa cobra relevancia por dos aspectos principales: por una parte, el amplio alcance que ha tenido la política en ambas ciudades, y por otra, en tanto políticas públicas permiten ver cómo operan los diversos dispositivos en la sociedad ya que, en su contenido cristalizan y (re) configuran relaciones sociales y, por ende, las territorialidades. Se ha sostenido la hipótesis de que estas políticas habitacionales destinadas a los sectores populares, lejos están de perseguir la garantía de un derecho a aquellas porciones de la población relegadas históricamente. Por el contrario, deben ser analizadas a la luz de las estructuras económicas de cada país, las demandas y necesidades del capital y las nuevas tendencias urbanas recomendadas por los organismos internacionales que se consolidaron como las instituciones crediticias de las mismas. De esta manera, se ha llegado a la conclusión que estas políticas públicas no pueden sino ser analizadas en el contexto económico de cada país en tanto han sido diseñadas como dispositivos de reactivación económica y sus particularidades de diseño asumen sentido a partir de las necesidades del capital inmobiliario-financiero respectivamente.
Tegucigalpa a través de los conflictos por la primacía urbana en Honduras, s. XVIII-XX
Authors: Navarrete Calix Daniela
Published: July 2017

El presente es un estudio con enfoque histórico-cronológico de larga duración que busca responder a la cuestión sobre el impacto que generaron y generan los conflictos por la primacía urbana en Honduras. Este concepto, propio de la geografía urbana, se articula transversalmente con los eventos que manifestaron esa conflictividad, a saber: cambios en la jerarquía urbana, en las relaciones socio-históricas, ciclos de economía y la evolución de los transportes. Para ello bordaremos tres momentos claves de la conflictividad: la lucha por la restitución de la Alcaldía Mayor de Tegucigalpa durante el Régimen de Intendencias (1788-1812), la pugna por convertirse en la capital del país en el proceso de invención del Estado-Nación (1821-1880) y la dicotomía urbana ante San Pedro Sula (1920-1990). Esta última, epicentro de los proyectos económicos liberales y neoliberales del país.
Comunicación urbana: antecedentes y configuración de líneas de investigación en América Latina y España
Authors: Cuesta Óscar , Mélendez Sandra
Published: July 2017

El presente artículo expone los resultados de revisión documental sobre comunicación urbana y comunicación y ciudad de América Latina y España, realizada con el objetivo de identificar los abordajes teóricos y las propuestas de líneas de investigación para el estudio de este campo. Los resultados encontrados comprenden la relación comunicación–ciudad-lo urbano desde categorías transversales de estudio como el lenguaje, el discurso, los medios de comunicación y las interacciones sociales, a través de procesos de representación, mediación espacial, apropiación simbólica, mercantilización, transformación urbana, participación ciudadana y expresión de sentidos. En conclusión, desde perspectivas como la sociológica, la política, la cultura, la económica, la humana y la tecnológica se ha podido consolidar en veinticinco años una nutrida variedad de líneas de investigación que ratifican la comunicación urbana como un campo de estudio multidisciplinar que contribuye ampliamente en los debates sobre los problemas que trae consigo el crecimiento de las ciudades.
El nacimiento de un nuevo barrio: El caso del Conjunto Urbano Padre Mugica en la ciudad de Buenos Aires y sus impactos sobre las estructuras de oportunidades de sus habitantes
Authors: Najman Mercedes
Published: July 2017

El presente artículo busca aportar reflexiones acerca de los efectos sobre la inclusión social y el acceso al goce de las externalidades positivas de la ciudad que producen las “nuevas” políticas de hábitat implementadas en Argentina en el período denominado neo-desarrollista. El programa que impulsó la construcción del Conjunto Urbano Padre Mugica representa un caso paradigmático mediante el cual observar los impactos del Estado a través de programas orientados a la inclusiónsocial por medio de acciones destinadas a solucionar el déficit habitacional y laboral. El análisis de este caso particular a través de su diseño, gestión e implementación, nos ha permitido problematizar la existencia de un quiebre entre la lógica de las políticas de vivienda social tradicionales frente a las nuevas, así como comprender algunos de sus efectos sobre el territorio y sobre los niveles de bienestar e integración social de los hogares destinatarios.
Conflictos de apropiación de residuos reciclables e innovaciones socioinstitucionales en Lima
Authors: Rateau Mélanie
Published: July 2017

Durante muchos años, las políticas públicas de manejo de los residuos desarrollaban acciones de represión hacia los actores del reciclaje informal. En Perú, desde la Ley del Reciclador del 2009, las políticas públicas se posicionan en favor de un reciclaje inclusivo, mediante la integración de los recicladores. Movilizando los conceptos de innovación socio-institucional y apropiación deresiduos reciclables, el objetivo de este artículo es sustentar que las modalidades de implementación de la Ley conducen a la creación de modelos de gestión de residuos reciclables innovadores que permiten mitigar el conflicto del acceso a estos residuos entre recicladores formales, pero al mismo tiempo, este conflicto se desplaza desde el conjunto de los recicladores hacia generar una rivalidad entre formales e informales. Se destaca que, gracias a las innovaciones socio-institucionales, el nuevo interés institucional para el recojo selectivo no conduce a la creación de un conflicto de apropiación entre el servicio público de gestión y la lógica mercantil de reciclaje, como pudo haber sido.
Are health visiting and school nursing in crisis?
Authors: Glasper Alan
Published: July 2017

Emeritus Professor Alan Glasper, from the University of Southampton, discusses a report from the Royal College of Nursing on the significant decline in the number of school nurses and health visitors
Understanding the challenges to vascular access in an ageing population
Authors: Gabriel Janice
Published: July 2017

At the beginning of the 21st century, one in five of UK residents can expect to see their 100th birthday and one in four people are aged 60 years or older. The UK has an ageing population. With older age comes an increasing variety of comorbidities that have an impact not only on an individual's quality of life but also on healthcare resources. Older people account for a rapidly rising cohort of individuals admitted to hospital, often with complex needs, and this can require achieving venous access. Venepuncture and cannulation are the most commonly performed invasive procedures in health care today. This article aims to increase awareness of vascular access challenges in older patients so the potential for complications relating to venepuncture, cannulation and infusion therapy can be minimised, thereby improving their overall quality of care. The article will look at the healthcare challenges facing the older population, and the importance of a holistic approach to assess their vascular access needs to deliver optimum care.
Preventing bloodstream infection in IV therapy
Authors: Hugill Kevin
Published: July 2017

Healthcare-associated infections (HAI) are one cause of preventable harm to patients, and are a clinical, political and economic concern. Vascular access, via a peripheral or central vascular device, is a routine experience for most patients receiving hospital care and is increasingly commonplace in health care at home. Because it is so common, ensuring safe vascular access is an essential focus for all health professionals. All vascular access procedures are invasive, regardless of patient group, therapeutic rationale, the device used, route and site of insertion and particular technique. As such there are inherent risks of patient harm. Many of these risks are well known and include issues such as infiltration, extravasation, phlebitis and pain. Of particular importance is the relationship between intravenous (IV) therapy and infection and how best to prevent HAI, specifically in relation to IV therapy, bloodstream infections, catheter-related bloodstream infections and central-line associated blood stream infections. This article considers the interrelationship between IV therapy bloodstream infections and measures to prevent HAI and summarises key principles in this ongoing endeavour.
The Effect of Climate Change on the Distribution and Incidence of Uk Parasitic Disease
Authors: Wright Ian
Published: July 2017

While the prevalence of some UK parasites such as Toxocara spp. remains fairly constant despite fluctuations in climate, some other parasites are heavily dependent on mild, humid conditions to feed and reproduce. Recent mild winters and wet summers in the UK have benefitted three parasites in particular. Angiostrongylus vasorum has continued to spread across the UK with increased distribution and numbers of infected foxes, numbers of flea infestations appear to have increased in domestic cats and dogs, and Ixodes spp. tick numbers have increased with a longer seasonal period of activity. Veterinary professionals need to be aware of these changes in distribution and increased risk of disease transmission to domestic pets. This article discusses these changes and how they should inform advice given to clients.
Feline Hyperthyroidism and the Importance of Effective Client Communication
Authors: Druce Kelly
Published: July 2017

Effective client communication is a widely discussed topic and one of great importance. Clients should be fully informed when making decisions regarding treatment for their pets. With nurses taking greater responsibility for delivery of such information, it is essential that they are able to convey current and non-bias information and discuss clearly all possible treatment options.

Feline hyperthyroidism is a common disease seen in veterinary practice and diagnosis can be complicated. With multiple treatment options available nurses involved in the care of these patients must feel confident that they can advise clients on the advantages and potential draw backs of each treatment and support clients to make informed decisions.

This article will explore the clinical signs of feline hyperthyroidism, methods of obtaining an accurate diagnosis and the treatment options currently available. The importance of effective communication in regards to the disease will be highlighted throughout.
Acute Hepatopathy and Coagulopathy in the Canine: A Nursing Care Report
Authors: Rushent Andrew
Published: July 2017

This nursing care report discusses the treatment and management of acute hepatopathy and secondary coagulopathy in the canine as well as the impact this case had on the development of the author's nursing ability. The patient, a nine-year-old Labrador Retriever, was referred for treatment after an episode of vomiting followed by collapse during a walk with their owner. On presentation the patient was tachycardic, tachypnoeic with absent peripheral pulses. After haematological and biochemical analysis of the patient's blood, the clinical team implemented a medical care plan based on two differential diagnoses; xylitol poisoning or leptospirosis. The nursing team delivered an intensive care regimen including extensive patient monitoring, environmental modification, assisted feeding and blood transfusion with strict adherence to barrier nursing protocols. Fortunately, due to the dedicated efforts of the clinical team, the patient successfully recovered and was returned to their family in good health.
Enrichment for Indoor Cats
Authors: Bourne Debra
Published: July 2017

Cats kept indoors should be provided with various types of enrichment, including resting and hiding places, social interaction, scents, sounds, toys and chasing games. Feeding-based enrichment is often neglected but should be central and can be used for feeding much of the daily ration, if introduced correctly.
Peri-talar re-alignment osteotomy for joint preservation in asymmetrical ankle osteoarthritis
Authors: Yi Young , Lee Woochun
Published: July 2017

Various types of re-alignment surgery are used to preserve the ankle joint in cases of intermediate ankle arthritis with partial joint space narrowing. The short-term and mid-term results after re-alignment surgery are promising, with substantial post-operative pain relief and functional improvement that is reflected by high rates of patient satisfaction. In this context, re-alignment surgery can preserve the joint and reduce the pathological load that acts on the affected area. Good clinical and radiological outcomes can be achieved in asymmetrical ankle osteoarthritis by understanding the specific deformities and appropriate indications for different surgical techniques.

Cite this article: EFORT Open Rev 2017;2:324-331. DOI: 10.1302/2058-5241.2.160021
Performance management in the voluntary sector – responding to complexity
Authors: Lowe Toby
Published: July 2017

This paper reviews the rise of new public management approaches to performance management in the voluntary sector and argues that outcome-based performance management – the dominant paradigm for performance management in the sector – fails to respond to the complex nature of voluntary sector challenges and activity. The paper argues that we need a new paradigm for performance management, which focuses on learning and improvement of practice, not on accountability for outcomes.
Nhimbe/ilima performance as peace-building activity: An ethnographic enquiry
Authors: Makumbirofa Ruth
Published: July 2017

Performance-based processes can play a cultural role in interrogating socio-political and economic dimensions of conflict within communities. In this article, elements of Nhimbe/ilima performances are analysed and used to demonstrate how the cultural practice was appropriated into a theatre for development project addressing a conflict that was essentially a struggle for resources. This was achieved through creating artistic processes which used the Nhimbe/ilima practice within a sociopolitical and economic framework. In subjects such as peace building, it is essential to use the vast potential of performance to empower people with skills, to enable them to, and to create opportunities for them to practice conflict resolution. Peace building is hardly an abstract practice. Rather people learn to coexist and they can be empowered to do so by participating in performance based activity. Furthermore, peace building processes should also take into cognisance peoples’ indigenous knowledge systems and modes of communication so that interventions are meaningful and acceptable to them. The study also demonstrates how building upon people’s cultural heritage ensures continuity, fosters self-sufficiency and sustainability.
Of Palestine and other things: The spectre of untranslated songs in Elia Suleiman’s The Time that Remains
Authors: Al-Mahadin Salam
Published: July 2017

This article has its origins in a more ambitious project tackling instances of screen dialogues that remain unsubtitled, rendering them incomprehensible to viewers from foreign linguistic communities. Palestinian director Elia Suleiman’s The Time that Remains (2009) was intended to take up a modest section of a few paragraphs elaborating on the function of tarab songs in mediating the affective-discursive modalities of the film, but the narrative resisted the oppressive – and deeply regulated – confinements of a representational analysis. Rather than receding to the background, the songs seemed to insert themselves along ruptures transcending the pure discursivity of the soundtrack, giving rise to a question that forms the thrust of the article: what affective-discursive function do these songs serve and how much meaning is lost by failing to subtitle them for the benefit of non-Arab audience? Drawing upon insights from affective-discursive theories, Deleuzian approaches to cinema and Heideggerian insights into the nature of understanding, what follows is an investigation of the relationship between cinema and translation, specifically how subtitles merit examination as a unique form of praxis. I shall argue that songs and some objects in films interpellate viewers on both representational and non-representational planes of meaning-construction that often gets lost in audio-visual translation.
Soma-conceptual choreographic strategies in Boris Charmatz’s enfant
Authors: Hildebrandt Antje
Published: July 2017

This article explores the sociocultural and political potential of touch-based somatic practices in relation to a performance by French conceptual choreographer Boris Charmatz entitled enfant (child) from 2011. By doing so it aims to bring together two seemingly incommensurable approaches to choreography: somatic and conceptual practices of dance. enfant is a piece for ten to 26 children (between the age of 6–12), nine professional adult dancers and two machines. The first half of the piece sees the adults manipulating the children, who seem to be asleep, in a doll-like fashion. Though some of the images are visually beautiful and virtuous, there is a sinister tone to the choreography. The piece explores the sensitivities and anxieties around the politics of touching children, addressing social taboos as the children seem vulnerable and helpless at first. As the piece progresses the tables turn, the children awake and start to play and manipulate the adults in a joyful explosion of activity, energy and power. In this article I’m interested in examining how somatic practices, as essentially the ‘undoing’ of learned behaviour, can be extended beyond the body of the individual to the collective and/or social body. Ultimately it questions what the status of children in our society is and how touch-based somatic practices can embody a critique of social, cultural and political norms in the twenty-first century.
The exact extreme value distribution – applied study
Authors: Fayomi Aisha , Qutb Neamat , Al-Beladi Ohoud
Published: July 2017

Extreme value theory is used to develop models for describing the distribution of extreme events. Exact extreme value or compound distri-bution which is based on the theory of the maximum of random variables of random numbers is one of the most important models that are applicable in various situations, for instance of interest, it uses partial duration series (PDF) data to analyze extreme hydrological. As part of our earlier study, the parameters of this model were estimated by two methods, maximum likelihood (ML) and Bayesian- based on non-informative and informative priors. Moreover, a comparative study using simulated data showed that the Bayesian based on informative prior is the best estimation method. In this paper, a real data set taken from records of the largest daily rainfall data of Jeddah city in Saudi Arabia is used to fit the model when the parameters are estimated by Bayesian method. A comparative applied study indicates that the exact extreme value model under Bayesian estimates (BE) of its parameters provides appropriate fit for this data set and it is more applicable than the same model when the parameters are estimated by ML method and other three classical extreme value models.
Inserção profissional docente no ensino superior
Authors: Oliveira Tatiana Pinheiro de , Cruz Giseli Barreto da
Published: July 2017

O artigo apresenta os resultados de uma pesquisa desenvolvida com 15 professores ingressantes no período de 2012 a 2015 na Faculdade de Educação de uma universidade pública localizada no Estado do Rio de Janeiro, com o objetivo de investigar o processo de inserção profissional e de constituição da identidade docente, assim como analisar as concepções sobre formação para a docência no ensino superior. A pesquisa utilizou uma abordagem qualitativa para privilegiar a compreensão do objeto a partir da perspectiva dos próprios sujeitos investigados, sendo a entrevista semiestruturada a estratégia preferencial de recolhimento das informações. Com apoio em Huberman, Formosinho, Marcelo, Vaillant, Dubar, Pimenta, Almeida e Anastasiou, foram analisados aspectos referentes à inserção, à identidade docente, à cultura institucional e aos percursos formativos. Os resultados evidenciam a importância de políticas de formação docente para o ensino superior, com especial atenção para o processo de inserção profissional em instituição pública com dedicação exclusiva, oferecendo importantes pistas para a elaboração de princípios e/ou diretrizes de formação voltados para a indução profissional, através da criação, implementação e avaliação de programas institucionais de acompanhamento de professores.
Familienfreundlichkeit für Väter?
Authors: Liebig Brigitte , Peitz Martina , Kron Christian
Published: July 2017

Maßnahmen zur Vereinbarkeit von beruflichen und familiären Aufgaben gelten als wichtiges Instrument einer fortschrittlichen Personalpolitik. Doch inwieweit gelingt es familienbewussten Betrieben heute, auch Väter einzubinden, und welche Herausforderungen sind mit diesem Anspruch verknüpft? Diesen Fragen widmet sich der Beitrag am Beispiel einer Studie zu neun ausgewiesen familienbewussten Unternehmen und Verwaltungen der Schweiz.
Does Job Satisfaction Increase Sales and Customer Satisfaction? Evidence from Retail Banking in South Korea
Authors: Gil Ricard , Kim Myongjin , Koo Inhyouk
Published: July 2017

This paper estimates the causal relationship between job satisfaction and worker productivity. Using personnel records from a retail bank in South Korea, we show that branch productivity is positively associated to average job satisfaction, but negatively to its standard deviation. We address endogeneity concerns using IV strategies and find that while higher job satisfaction may increase short term productivity through sales to existing customers, excessive sales to existing customers may hurt customer satisfaction and willingness to recommend in the long run. Our findings suggest that average job satisfaction and its dispersion are equally important to understand worker productivity.
Various glycolysis inhibitor-containing tubes for glucose measurement cannot be used interchangeably due to clinically unacceptable biases between them
Authors: Saracevic Andrea , Dukic Lora , Juricic Gordana , Milevoj Kopcinovic Lara , Mirosevic Gorana , Simundic Ana-Maria
Published: July 2017

Background:

The aim of our study was to determine the difference between glucose concentration measured 30 min after venipuncture in ice-chilled heparin plasma sample and all currently available citrate buffer-containing tubes (Greiner Glucomedics, Greiner FC Mix and Sarstedt GlucoEXACT) and still widely used sodium fluoride/potassium oxalate (NaF/Kox) tubes from Greiner.

Methods:

Blood was collected from 20 healthy volunteers and 20 patients with diabetes into LiH, NaF/KOx, Glucomedics, FC mix and GlucoEXACT tubes. Glucose was measured within 30 min from blood sampling in duplicate on the Architect c8000 analyzer. Mean biases between all tube types were calculated and compared to the recommended criteria (1.95%). Additionally, glucose concentrations measured in all five tube types were compared using the Friedman test.

Results:

In the entire studied population, glucose concentrations measured in Glucomedics, FC mix and GlucoEXACT were higher (7.3%, 3.2% and 2.0%, respectively) than in the ice-chilled LiH tubes. When all glycolysis inhibitor-containing tubes were compared, Glucomedics tubes significantly differed from GlucoEXACT and FC mix tubes (biases −4.9% and 4.0%, respectively). In addition, there was a significant difference between the NaF/KOx tube and Glucomedics, as well as FC mix tubes (biases 7.1% and 3.0%, respectively).

Conclusions:

Glucose concentrations measured in recommended ice-chilled lithium heparin- and citrate buffer-containing tubes are not comparable. Significant biases exist between various glycolysis inhibitor-containing tubes; therefore, they cannot be used interchangeably.
Why is the Iura Novit Curia Principle not Applied Yet in English Law?
Authors: Cavallini Cesare
Published: July 2017

This article adopts a comparative approach to map a global context for the fundamentals of civil justice. In view of the acknowledged incomplete role of the EU regulatory framework in this respect, the article aims to discuss whether it would be useful and how it would be possible to find a shared space for civil justice, starting from the role of the judge to «find the law» as well as the notorious and universally recognised principle of «
Formation of Non-metallic Inclusions of Si-killed Stainless Steel during GOR Refining Process
Authors: Li Liu-yi , Cheng Guo-guang , Hu Bin , Wang Cheng-shun , Qian Guo-yu
Published: July 2017

The formation mechanism of inclusions in Si-killed 304 stainless steel was studied by industrial experiments during GOR refining process and thermodynamic calculations. A lager number of CaO-SiO2-MgO-Al2O3-MnO-CrOx liquid spherical inclusions with different size (from 1 μm to 22 μm) had been found after deoxidization of FeSi alloy in 10 minutes. The calculation result of FactSage 6.3 software assisted in confirming that the inclusions in size of less than 5 μm that had less than 30 % CaO mainly came from the deoxidation of FeSi alloy with Ca and Al. The inclusions in size of more than 5 μm that had more than 30 % CaO mainly came from the modification of involved slag droplets through the oxidation of Si and Al and the collision with deoxidation-type inclusions, and the degree of change was bigger for smaller inclusions. The MgO in slag and refractory was reduced by Si and Al in steel, which leaded to the unceasingly increase of Mg content in steel. Subsequently, SiO2, MnO and CrOx in inclusion were reduced by Mg, which resulted in the increase of MgO content in inclusion and the degree of increase of MgO content was greater for the larger size of inclusions.
Austrian Constitutional Court: The Constitutionality of Restrictions on Nullity Appeals in Law of Criminal Procedure
Authors: Gärner Christoph
Published: July 2017

The limitation of nullity appeals to cases of ‘serious concerns regarding the correctness of the facts’ on which the lower court based upon its decision is in conformity with constitutional law. It does not violate the procedural safeguards protected by Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights or the right to equal protection under the law protected by Article 7 of the Austrian Federal Constitutional Law. Despite the restrictive application in the jurisprudence of the Supreme Court of Austria, the limitation is proportionate und thus constitutional, as such limitations only apply to rulings by a penal of lay judges.
Life satisfaction and its relationship with spiritual well-being and religious practice in Iranian adolescent girls
Authors: Sharajabad Fariba Alizadeh , Mohammad-Alizadeh Charandabi Sakineh , Mirghafourvand Mojgan
Published: July 2017

Introduction

During recent years, special attention has been given to spiritual well-being and religious practice in the field of health. This study aimed to determine the predictors of life satisfaction among adolescent girls in Tabriz, Iran, 2015.

Materials and methods

This cross-sectional study was conducted on 520 female students studying in high schools who were selected using the cluster sampling method. Data collection was carried out through the questionnaires of socio-demographic characteristics, spiritual well-being (SWBS), religious practice (Arcury and colleagues) and life satisfaction (SWLS). Multivariate linear regression model was used for data analysis.

Results

The mean score of life satisfaction was 22.0 (SD: 6.0) from the attainable score of 5–35. The mean score (SD) of spiritual well-being was 90.2 (16.2), ranging from 20 to 120. The mean score of the religious practice was 32.1 (10.5) out of the achievable score range of 0–60. Multivariate linear regression analysis showed that existential well-being and sufficiency of income for expenses were predictors of life satisfaction and they explained 41.8% of the variance in the life satisfaction score.

Conclusion

The findings of the present study confirm the importance of existential well-being and a modifiable variable (sufficiency of income) in the life satisfaction. Thus, it is necessary to provide strategies to promote spirituality and improve the income status for improving adolescents’ life satisfaction.
Determinants of caregiving burden and quality of life of informal caregivers of African stroke survivors: literature review
Authors: Badaru Umaru M. , Ogwumike Omoyemi O. , Adeniyi Ade F. , Nelson Ekechukwu E.
Published: July 2017

Background:

The involvement of informal caregivers (CGs) in the provision of care for stroke survivors always ensures the success of stroke rehabilitation.

Aims:

The aim of this review was to find the determinants of caregiving burden and quality of life (QOL) of CGs of African stroke survivors.

Methods:

The literature was searched in Google Scholar and PUBMED, AJOL and Cochrane Databases using selected search strategies without date restriction.

Results:

A total of eight African studies met the inclusion criteria. There were more female stroke CGs (55.6%) than their male counterparts. The determinants of CG QOL were duration and burden of caregiving, the CG’s age and functional status of the stroke survivors. The determinants of caregiving burden were functional status of stroke survivors and having intimate relationship with them.

Conclusion:

Impairment of physical function in African stroke survivors was the consistent determinant of increased caregiving burden and deterioration of CG QOL. CG education and training is needed in order to enhance their ability to cope effectively with the burden of providing care to stroke survivors who have impairment of physical function and this may help to improve CG QOL.
Comparison of Different Physical Technique-Assisted Alkali Methods for the Extraction of Rice Bran Protein and its Characterizations
Authors: Sun Li-Hui , Lv Shi-Wen , He Lei-Yu
Published: July 2017

Ultrasonic, homogenization and microwave were used to assist alkali extraction of rice bran protein, respectively, and the characterizations of rice bran protein were also evaluated. The results of this study showed that the highest extraction yield of protein reached 57.89 % by using ultrasonic-assisted alkali method (U-AM), while only it was 43.74 % by microwave-assisted alkali method (M-AM). Both U-AM and homogenization-assisted alkali methods (H-AM) could effectively improve some properties of proteins such as oil absorption capacity, emulsion stability and foaming capacity, and the effects of ultrasonic were better than those of homogenization. However, protein solubility, water absorption capacity, emulsifying activity and foaming stability were subject to different degrees of impairments by using various physical technique-assisted alkali methods (AMs). Moreover, physical processing also has exhibited appreciable influence on sulfhydryl and disulfide bond contents. Taking all these factors into consideration, ultrasonic-assisted alkali method was a potential method for the extraction of rice bran protein.
Effect of coseismic and postseismic deformation on homogeneous and layered half-space and spherical analysis: Model simulation of the 2006 Java, Indonesia, tsunami earthquake
Authors: Gunawan Endra , Meilano Irwan , Hanifa Nuraini Rahma , Widiyantoro Sri
Published: July 2017

We simulate surface displacements calculated on homogeneous and layered half-space and spherical models as applied to the coseismic and postseismic (afterslip and viscoelastic relaxation) of the 2006 Java tsunami earthquake. Our analysis of coseismic and afterslip deformation suggests that the homogeneous half-space model generates a much broader displacement effect than the layered half-space and spherical models. Also, though the result for surface displacements is similar for the layered half-space and spherical models, noticeable displacements still occurred on top of the coseismic fault patches. Our displacement result in afterslip modeling suggests that significant displacements occurred on top of the main afterslip fault patches, differing from the viscoelastic relaxation model, which has displacements in the front region of coseismic fault patches. We propose this characteristic as one of the important features differentiating a postseismic deformation signal from afterslip and viscoelastic relaxation detected by geodetic data.
An Efficient Compound Image Compression Using Optimal Discrete Wavelet Transform and Run Length Encoding Techniques
Authors: Sundara Rajan Priya Vasanth , Fred A. Lenin
Published: July 2017

Reduction in file size leads to reduction in the number of bits required to store it. When data is compressed, it must be decompressed into its original form bit for bit. Compound images are defined as images that contain a combination of text, natural (photo) images and graphic images. Here, compression is the process of reducing the amount of data required to represent information. Image compression is done on the basis of various loss and lossless compression algorithms. This research work deals with the preprocessing and transformations used to compress a compound image to produce a high compression ratio (CR), less compression time and so on. In the compression process the images are considered for preprocessing and discrete wavelet transform with adaptive particle swarm optimization process. The purpose of this optimization technique is to optimize the wavelet coefficient in Harr wavelet for improving the CR value. In the image compression process, run length coding is used to compress the compound images. Based on this technique, it produces minimum CR and less computation time of compound images.
International Students’ Information Needs and Seeking Behaviours throughout the Settlement Stages
Authors: Yoon JungWon , Chung EunKyung
Published: July 2017

For international students who need to settle down to new environments, the information they use in their everyday life plays an important role. This study is aimed at understanding international students’ information needs and information-seeking behaviours within their campus and everyday life, throughout the settlement stages. An interview survey, which asked about international students’ information behaviours for critical incidents during three settlement stages, was conducted. At the pre-arrival and settlement stages, most of the international students’ information needs were related to their daily rather than their academic or campus life, and people (relatives/friends) in the United States and the Internet were their main sources of information. As they began to settle down, their information needs and sources of information became diverse; social media use was especially noticeable after they settled down. At the pre-arrival stage, their information needs were broad, and their satisfaction with Internet search experiences was relatively low. However, as they settled down in the United States, their information needs became specific, and they felt more confident with search experiences. In order to support international students’ success in meeting academic goals, it seems that it is necessary to provide them with everyday life information that could help them settle down and adjust to a new country.
Relations between Privacy Behaviors and Social Capital on Facebook
Authors: Gonen Sivan , Aharony Noa
Published: July 2017

Based on the premises of Social Exchange theory, we set out to explore the nature of the relationships between users’ privacy behaviors and social capital on Facebook to determine whether decreasing user privacy contributes to achieving more social capital and, if so, how that mechanism of exchange works. The research was conducted with 140 Israeli Facebook users via questionnaires. A quantitative analysis employing the statistical package SPSS was carried out. Four privacy behaviors were measured, reflecting users’ privacy “investments”: friend selectivity, number of friends, privacy control settings and personal information exposure. User benefit from the network was assessed using two variables: bonding and bridging social capital. Privacy was found to be associated with social capital in a complex way which includes mediation effects, supporting the concept of balance and regulation between privacy behaviors. Privacy has some sway over the creation of social capital in online social networks, as part of a complex model of balance and adjustment. This study’s results suggest possible future applications by online social network designers and users.
Magneto-optical response in bimetallic metamaterials
Authors: Atmatzakis Evangelos , Papasimakis Nikitas , Fedotov Vassili , Vienne Guillaume , Zheludev Nikolay I.
Published: July 2017

We demonstrate resonant Faraday polarization rotation in plasmonic arrays of bimetallic nano-ring resonators consisting of Au and Ni sections. This metamaterial design allows the optimization of the trade-off between the enhancement of magneto-optical effects and plasmonic dissipation. Nickel sections corresponding to as little as ~6% of the total surface of the metamaterial result in magneto-optically induced polarization rotation equal to that of a continuous nickel film. Such bimetallic metamaterials can be used in compact magnetic sensors, active plasmonic components, and integrated photonic circuits.
Reversible thermochromic response based on photonic crystal structure in butterfly wing
Authors: Wang Wanlin , Wang Guo Ping , Zhang Wang , Zhang Di
Published: July 2017

Subtle responsive properties can be achieved by the photonic crystal (PC) nanostructures of butterfly based on thermal expansion effect. The studies focused on making the sample visually distinct. However, the response is restricted by limited thermal expansion coefficients. We herein report a new class of reversible thermochromic response achieved by controlling the ambient refractive index in butterfly PC structure. The photonic ethanol-filled nanoarchitecture sample is simply assembled by sealing liquid ethanol filling Papilio ulysses butterfly wing. Volatile ethanol is used to modulate the ambient refractive index. The sample is sealed with glasses to ensure reversibility. Liquid ethanol filling butterfly wing demonstrated significant allochroic response to ambient refractive index, which can be controlled by the liquefaction and vaporization of ethanol. This design is capable of converting thermal energy into visual color signals. The mechanism of this distinct response is simulated and proven by band theory. The response properties are performed with different filled chemicals and different structure parameters. Thus, the reversible thermochromic response design might have potential use in the fields such as detection, photonic switch, displays, and so forth.
Selection rule engineering of forbidden transitions of a hydrogen atom near a nanogap
Authors: Kim Hyunyoung Y. , Kim Daisik S.
Published: July 2017

We perform an analytical study on the allowance of forbidden transitions for a hydrogen atom placed near line dipole sources, mimicking light emanating from a one-dimensional metallic nanogap. It is shown that the rapid variation of the electric field vector, inevitable in the near zone, completely breaks the selection rule of Δl=±1. While the forbidden transitions between spherically symmetric S states, such as 2S to 1S or 3S to 1S (Δl=0), are rather robust against selection rule breakage, Δl=±2 transitions such as between 3D and 1S or 3D and 2S states are very vulnerable to the spatial variation of the perturbing electric field. Transitions between 2S and 3D states are enhanced by many orders of magnitude, aided by the quadratic nature of both the perturbing Hamiltonian and D wavefunctions. The forbidden dipole moment, which approaches one Bohr radius times the electric charge in the vicinity of the gap, can be written in a simple closed form owing to the one-dimensional nature of our gap. With large enough effective volume together with the symmetric nature of the excited state wavefunctions, our work paves way towards atomic physics application of infinitely long nanogaps.
Effect of the meso-structure on the strain concentration of carbon-carbon composites with drilling hole
Authors: Yin Tiantian , Li Xiaofeng , Wang Yu , He Linghui , Gong Xinglong
Published: July 2017

In this work, the influence of fiber/matrix meso-structure on the strain concentration of three-dimensional (3D) reinforced carbon-carbon composites with a drilling hole is discussed by experimental and numerical ways. The full-field digital image correlation (DIC) method is adopted to obtain the strain field of the experimental specimens, and the meso-FEM model with the consistent meso-structure of the experimental specimens is established to reveal the main deformation and damage mechanism. The results show that the strain concentration appeared off the location of ±90° hole tips, which is different with homogeneous material. Furthermore, the shear bands are observed and located on the region between the cut fiber yarn and the adjacent uncut one. The peculiarities are found connecting with the meso-structure. Moreover, the damage locations obtained from the meso-model show good agreements with the experimental fracture path, thereby, the analyses are verified.