bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Effect of Electrical Stimulation on Fruit Body Formation in Cultivating Mushrooms
Authors: Takaki Koichi , Yoshida Kohei , Saito Tatsuya , Kusaka Tomohiro , Yamaguchi Ryo , Takahashi Kyusuke , Sakamoto Yuichi
Published: February 2014

The effect of high-voltage electrical stimulation on fruit body formation in cultivating mushrooms was evaluated using a compact pulsed power generator designed and based on an inductive energy storage system. An output voltage from 50 to 130 kV with a 100 ns pulse width was used as the electrical stimulation to determine the optimum amplitude. The pulsed high voltage was applied to a sawdust-based substrate of Lyophyllum decastes and natural logs hosting Lentinula edodes, Pholiota nameko, and Naematoloma sublateritium. The experimental results showed that the fruit body formation of mushrooms increased 1.3–2.0 times in terms of the total weight. The accumulated yield of Lentinula edodes for four cultivation seasons was improved from 160 to 320 g by applying voltages of 50 or 100 kV. However, the yield was decreased from 320 to 240 g upon increasing the applied voltage from 100 to 130 kV. The yield of the other types of mushrooms showed tendencies similar to those of Lentinula edodes when voltage was applied. An optimal voltage was confirmed for efficient fruit body induction. The hypha activity was evaluated by the amount of hydrophobin release, which was mainly observed before the fruit body formation. The hydrophobin release decreased for three hours after stimulation. However, the hydrophobin release from the vegetative hyphae increased 2.3 times one day after the stimulation.
Barclay, A.W. and Brand-Miller, J. The Australian Paradox: A Substantial Decline in Sugars Intake over the Same Timeframe that Overweight and Obesity Have Increased. Nutrients 2011, 3, 491-504
Authors: Barclay Alan , Brand-Miller Jennie
Published: February 2014

We have found three inadvertent errors in our paper published in Nutrients [1].  On page 498, text line 8, the words in brackets “~600 g per person per year, Figure 6” should be amended to “~600 g per person, Figure 6”.  On page 500, text line 17, some words were missing. The amended sentence reads “Food industry data indicate that per capita sales of low calorie (non-nutritively sweetened) beverages doubled from 1994 to 2006 while market share of nutritively sweetened beverages decreased by 10% points.”  On page 502, line 2, the words “increasing by 300%” should be amended to “increasing 3-fold”. These changes have no material impact on the conclusions of our paper. We apologize to our readers. [...]
Interleukin 28B Genotype and Insulin Resistance in Chronic Hepatitis C Patients
Authors: Degasperi Elisabetta , Valenti Luca , Aghemo Alessio , De Francesco Raffaele , Rumi Mariagrazia , Soffredini Roberta , Donnici Lorena , Cheroni Cristina , Fargion Silvia , Zanoni Valeria , Orsi Emanuela , Colombo Massimo
Published: February 2014

Background

In patients with chronic HCV infection, an association between IL28B genotype and insulin-resistance (IR), known predictors of sustained virological response (SVR) to pegylated interferon (PEG-IFN) and ribavirin (RBV) therapy, has been reported. The aim of this study was to investigate the association of IR and IL28B genotype in two cohorts of well-characterized HCV patients.

Methods

A total of 480 non-diabetic HCV patients were analysed: 391 patients who received PEG-IFN/RBV in the MIST study and 89 previously reported patients followed at a metabolic liver diseases centre (Division of Internal Medicine, Fondazione IRCCS Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Milan, Italy). All were tested for IL28B rs12979860 single nucleotide polymorphism by real-time PCR and had IR measured by HOMA-IR. Staging of liver disease through liver biopsy was available for all patients.

Results

Overall, 164 patients (34%) were IL28B CC. Mean HOMA-IR values (±sd) did not differ according to IL28B genotype, being respectively 1.14 ±0.79 in CC versus 1.14 ±0.78 in CT/TT ( P=1.0) in the first, and 2.4 ±1.0 versus 2.5 ±1.0 (P=0.7) in the second cohort. HOMA-IR>2 was not associated with IL28B genotype: 16/132 (12%) CC versus 31/259 (12%) CT/TT ( P=1.0) in the first cohort and 16/32 (50%) versus 37/57 (65%; P=0.18) in the second. This held true also when using different HOMA cutoffs (>2.5, >3.0, >3.5 and >4.0). In the MIST cohort, HOMA-IR>2 did not influence treatment outcome, SVR rates being 28/47 (60%) in HOMA-IR>2 versus 214/344 (62%) in HOMA-IR≤2 ( P=0.8). IL28B genotype was a strong predictor of SVR: 84% (111/132) in CC versus 51% (131/259) in CT/TT patients ( P <0.0001).

Conclusions

In two cohorts of non-diabetic HCV patients where IL28B genotype predicted treatment outcome, we found no association between IL28B genotype and HOMA-IR.
Association between Systemic Inflammation and Obstructive Sleep Apnea in Men with or at Risk for HIV Infection
Authors: Brigham Emily P , Patil Susheel P , Jacobson Lisa P , Margolick Joseph B , Godfrey Rebecca , Johnson Jacquett , Johnson-Hill Lisette M , Reynolds Sandra , Schwartz Alan R , Smith Philip L , Brown Todd T
Published: February 2014

Background

We sought to determine whether markers of systemic inflammation are associated with the presence of moderate/severe obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and whether this association differs based on HIV and HIV treatment status.

Methods

HIV-uninfected men (HIV-; n=60), HIV-infected men receiving HAART (HIV+/HAART; n=58) and HIV-infected men not receiving HAART (HIV+/no HAART; n=41) underwent polysomnograpy and measurement of plasma levels of tumour necrosis factor (TNF)-α, soluble TNF-α receptors I and II (sTNFRI and sTNFRII) and interleukin (IL)-6. The relationship between moderate/severe OSA (respiratory disturbance index ≥15 apnea/hypopnea events/h) and inflammatory markers was assessed with multivariable regression models.

Results

Compared with the HIV- men, HIV+/HAART men and HIV+/no HAART men had higher levels of TNF-α>, sTNFRI and sTNFRII, independent of age, race, smoking status, obstructive lung disease (OLD) and body mass index (BMI). Moderate/severe OSA was present in 48% of the sample (HIV- 57%; HIV+/HAART 41%; HIV+/no HAART 44%). Among the HIV+/no HAART men, but not in the other groups, TNF-α, sTNFRII and IL-6 levels were higher in those with moderate/severe OSA compared to men with no/mild OSA after adjustment for age, race, smoking status, OLD and BMI. Within this group, the association of high TNF-α concentrations with moderate/ severe OSA was also independent of CD4+ T-cell count and plasma HIV RNA concentration.

Conclusions

Compared with HIV+/HAART men and HIV-men, markers of systemic inflammation were higher in HIV+/no HAART men. In these men, TNF-α was significantly related to OSA, independent of HIV-related covariates.
Shigellemia in a post renal transplant patient: a case report and literature review
Authors: Appannanavar Suma B , Goyal Kapil , Garg Rajkumar , Ray Pallab , Rathi Manish , Taneja Neelam
Published: February 2014

Shigellemia is a complication of shigellosis that occurs generally in malnourished children. In adults, shigellemia is usually seen in immunocompromised individuals. Here we report the first case of shigellemia in a renal transplant patient from India. The patient had history of diarrhea, which was treated symptomatically. Subsequently, the patient developed high-grade fever and blood culture was positive for Shigellaflexneri. Recovery was uneventful after the initiation of antimicrobial therapy. In a country like India with high prevalence of shigellosis, screening for Shigella in the pre-transplant period may minimize the morbidity and prolonged hospital stay associated with the complication of septicemia.
Twenty years of hantavirus pulmonary syndrome in Brazil: a review of epidemiological and clinical aspects
Authors: Pinto Junior Vitor Laerte , Hamidad Amani Moura , Albuquerque Filho Dalcy de Oliveira , Dos Santos Vitorino Modesto
Published: February 2014

Hantavirus infection is transmitted to humans by wild rodents and the most common clinical form in Brazil is the Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome (HPS). The first serological evidence of the disease was identified in 1990, in Recife, Pernambuco State, and later in 1993 in Juquitiba, State of São Paulo. Since then there has been a progressive increase in case notification in all regions of the country. The clinical aspects of the disease in Brazil are characterized by a prodromal phase, with nonspecific signs and symptoms of an acute febrile illness. After about three days, respiratory distress develops, accompanied by dry cough that turns progressively productive, evolving to dyspnea and respiratory failure with cardiogenic shock. Although the majority of patients receive hospital care in intensive care therapy units, case-fatality rate in Brazil ranges from 33% to 100% depending on the region. Besides it has to be added the problem of differential diagnosis with other prevalent diseases in the country, like dengue and leptospirosis. Questions about the impact of uncontrolled urbanization and other environmental changes caused by human action have been raised. Due to increasing incidence and high case-fatality, there is an urge to respond to such questions to recommend preventative measures. This article aims to review the main acquisitions in clinical and epidemiological knowledge about HPS in Brazil in the last twenty years.
Investigation of a food-borne Salmonella Oranienburg outbreak in a Mexican prison
Authors: Vázquez-Garcidueñas Ma. Soledad , Romero-Pérez Nallely Lizbeth , Figueroa-Aguilar Gloria Alicia , Jaime-Sánchez Juan Luis , Vázquez-Marrufo Gerardo
Published: February 2014

Introduction: Gastroenteritis outbreaks in prisons represent a public health risk worldwide. Identifying and characterizing the etiological agents of gastroenteritis outbreaks in prisons is important for implementing effective prevention and infection control measures. We present the first studied case of a gastroenteritis outbreak in a Mexican prison. Methodology: Rectal swab samples were obtained from affected inmates. Standard microbiological techniques were used for isolating Salmonella enterica. Isolates were typed by PCR assays of DNA repetitive elements (ERIC, BOX, REP) and RAPD. Antibiotic resistance profiles were performed by the Kirby-Bauer method. Results: S. enterica serotype Oranienburg was responsible for the outbreak affecting 150 inmates. All patients presented diarrhea, and 70% of them also presented vomiting, with no fatal cases. The origin of the outbreak was undetermined due to the difficulty of gathering epidemiological information, but was likely the result of consumption of shrimp broth or a cantaloupe melon beverage. REP, BOX, and ERIC analyses of 26 serotype Oranienburg strains resulted in Simpson discrimination index (D) values of 0, 0.5507, and 0.5661, respectively. The D values from DG93-RAPD analyses and from the combined ERIC-BOX-DG93 markers were 0.7753 and 0.6092, respectively. All strains showed multiresistance to antibiotics. Conclusions: This is the only studied case of a gastroenteritis outbreak in a Mexican prison, and of the first such outbreak caused by serotype Oranienburg. The combined ERIC, BOX, and RAPD markers adequately assessed the genotype diversity of analyzed strains. Penitentiary personnel or inmates involved in outbreaks might spread multiresistant strains outside of the facility.
IL-6 and IFNγ are elevated in severe mumps cases: a study of 960 mumps patients in China
Authors: Wang Wen , Zhu Yueke , Wu Hao , Jiao Yanmei , Halm-Lutterodt Nicholas Van , Li Wei
Published: February 2014

Introduction: Mumps is a common infectious disease. Epidemics of mumps are reported globally every year and represent a threat to public health, especially in China and other developing countries. Methodology: Clinical and laboratory findings of 960 mumps patients admitted to Beijing You’an Hospital, China, between January 2010 and December 2012 were collected and analyzed. Patients with isolated complication were selected and grouped as aseptic meningitis/encephalitis (AME) patients (n = 156) and Orchitis patients (n = 72). One hundred and fifty patients without complication were grouped as control. Levels of T cell subtypes and 8 serum cytokines were also tested. Results: Majority of mumps patients were male (76.3%) and younger than 17 years old (76.2%). AME was complicated in 41.6% of mumps cases, and orchitis was in 21.3% (64.7% were left-sided). Unvacinated patients had more chance to have AME or orchitis (p = 0.034 and 0.027). The rates of AME and orchitis in mumps patients rapidly increased during the last three years. No laboratory findings were associated with AME or orchitis (all p > 0.05). Serum IL-10 level was elevated in almost all patients. IL-6 and IFNγ levels were correlated with AME (p = 0.025 and p = 0.018). Their levels peaked at day one after admission, and started to decline thereafter. Conclusions: This study suggests that the incidence of serious complications has become more common in recent years, moreover IL-6 and IFNγ may possibly be used as early serum markers for identifying patients with risk of developing complications in mumps.
Hepatitis E virus infection results in acute graft failure after liver transplantation: a case report
Authors: Liu Xiangyan , Shen Tian , Wang Zhuoyi , Zhuang Li , Zhang Wei , Yu Jun , Wu Jian , Zheng Shusen
Published: February 2014

Hepatitis E virus (HEV) infection in most individuals is known as a self-limiting, acute, icteric hepatitis, but evidence shows HEV is responsible for choric hepatitis and rapid progressed liver cirrhosis in immuno-compromised patients. We present the case of a patient whose diagnosis of acute graft failure was due to a HEV infection 7 years after his first liver transplantation because of Wilson’s disease. The process showed severe jaundice with fatigue, poor appetite and continually rising serum aminopherase. The blood serum was found positive for the anti-HEV IgG antibody but negative for anti-HEV IgM or other infections. Cholangiole cholestasis was detected in graft biopsy. Triple hepato-protective drugs (Transmetil, Polyene Phosphatidylcholine, and Compound Ammonium Glycyrrhetate S) alongside five times Artificial Liver Support System (ALSS) did not improve the patient’s condition, but the total bilirubin level rose to more than 900umol/L. So re-transplantation was performed. Blood testing shows normal liver enzymes and bilirubin with persisting anti-HEV IgG antibody positive at the 3-month follow-up.
Three cases of cutaneous myiasis caused by Cordylobia rodhaini
Authors: Veraldi Stefano , Serini Stefano Maria , Suss Luciano
Published: February 2014

Cordylobia sp. is a fly belonging to the Calliphoridae family. Three species of Cordylobia are known: C. anthropophaga, C. rodhaini and C. ruandae. The C. rodhaini Gedoelst 1909 lives in Sub-Saharan Africa, especially in rain forest areas. Usual hosts are rodents and antelopes. Humans are accidentally infested. Myiasis caused by C. rodhaini has been very rarely reported in the literature. We present three cases of C. rodhaini myiasis acquired in Ethiopia and Uganda.
Emergence of vanA vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium in a hospital in Porto Alegre, South Brazil
Authors: Resende Mariah , Caierão Juliana , Prates Juliana Gil , Narvaez Gabriel Azambuja , Dias Cícero Armídio Gomes , D'Azevedo Pedro Alves
Published: February 2014

Introduction: In Porto Alegre (South Brazil), since the first VRE isolation in 2000 until the middle of the last decade, the epidemiology of enterococcal infections presented the peculiarity that, as opposed to other regions of the country, almost all VRE were E. faecalis. The aim of this study was to investigate the microbiological and epidemiological characteristics of a VRE outbreak that occurred between August 2010 and September 2011 in Porto Alegre, South Brazil. Methodology: Twenty-nine isolates from inpatients of Mãe de Deus Hospital that were identified and characterized for their susceptibility profile, vancomycin genotype, presence of esp gene, biofilm production, and clonal relationship were collected.  Patients’ records were reviewed for clinical information. Results: All isolates were identified as vancomycin/ampicillin resistant E. faecium carrying the vanA gene. Almost all were susceptible to gentamicin and streptomycin. Most patients died and were associated with a hemodialysis unit stay. All but the first isolate were clustered in a main clone. Conclusions: An important change in vancomycin-resistant enterococci was observed. Studies like this are necessary to monitor the dissemination of VRE, especially of some individual clones.
La formación de capital social en los ejidos mexicanos. Decisiones sobre las tierras tras el artículo 27 de la reforma constitucional
Authors: Rentería Garita Cristina , Delgado-Serrano María del Mar
Published: February 2014

Los ejidos mexicanos son complejas estructuras de propiedad colectiva de la tierra, desarrolladas por el Estado post-revolucionario (1915-1992). El éxito de algunos de estos ejidos ha estado basado en los lazos de confianza entre los campesinos. A principios de los noventa, la liberalización económica y la reforma del Artículo 27 Constitucional en 1992, favorecieron una reorganización de las estructuras del Estado que dirigían el ejido y la reaparición de estrategias individuales de tenencia de la tierra. El ejido de La Antigua (Veracruz) presenta la particularidad de que un 71% de los ejidatarios reaccionaron antes este escenario adoptando el régimen de dominio pleno de tenencia de la tierra. Este trabajo tiene como objetivo analizar la conexión entre esta situación y i) el capital social diacrónico existente en este ejido y ii) el papel de las estructuras e instituciones nacionales en la generación o destrucción de la confianza en los ejidos. El análisis de historias particulares de este ejido ayuda a comparar las estrategias anteriores a la formación ejidal con las devenidas tras la reforma del Artículo 27. Se llega a la conclusión de que la ineficiente coordinación de los niveles micro, meso y macro del Estado, ha generado desconfianza y hecho que los ejidatarios actúen de manera individualista.
Movilidad ocupacional en Chile 2001-2009. ¿Desigualdad de ingresos con igualdad de oportunidades?
Authors: Espinoza Vicente , Núñez Javier
Published: February 2014

El diagnóstico de la sociedad chilena como "desigual pero fluida" (Torche 2005) que caracteriza la visión actual de la movilidad social fue contrastado con datos de la Encuesta Nacional de Estratificación Social (ENES) aplicada en 2009, lo cual permite apreciar la evolución de la movilidad social intergeneracional a lo largo de la década. El artículo modela las pautas de movilidad ocupacional replicando el modelo de fluidez constante de Erikson y Goldthorpe (1992), así como su adaptación a Chile por Torche. Los resultados que se presentan discrepan de los obtenidos por él pues nuestro análisis muestra mayor rigidez en el régimen de movilidad, especialmente por el peso de las barreras jerárquicas y sectoriales. Dado el peso de la jerarquía y la superposición de ésta con las barreras sectoriales se explora un modelo de movilidad “vertical”, el cual proporciona un ajuste satisfactorio en ambas muestras. Finalmente el artículo explora la asociación entre la dimensión vertical y los ingresos de los grupos ocupacionales. Estos hallazgos abren una nueva agenda de investigación respecto a las oportunidades que ofrece la sociedad chilena a sus integrantes.
Resentimiento fiscal. Una propuesta de mecanismo explicativo de la relación entre la edad y la moral fiscal
Authors: Llacer Toni
Published: February 2014

El presente artículo trata de micro-fundamentar una de las evidencias más sólidas de la literatura sobre moral fiscal, a saber, que los jóvenes tienden a manifestar una mayor tolerancia ante el fraude tributario que las personas de los demás grupos de edad. Basándose en varias fuentes de datos, el estudio muestra que la evolución de la moral fiscal de los asalariados catalanes sigue un patrón análogo al tipo impositivo que soportan a lo largo de los años. Para explicar este hecho se propone un mecanismo de racionalización llamado “resentimiento fiscal”. Tal mecanismo resulta novedoso en la medida en que tiene en consideración las diferentes oportunidades de evasión de los contribuyentes, así como aspectos emocionales y de naturaleza adaptativa, presentando de este modo un “grano más fino” en la explicación de la moral fiscal que las habituales investigaciones en la materia.
Mentiras, inconsistencias y ambivalencias. Teoría de la acción y análisis de discurso
Authors: Martín Criado Enrique
Published: February 2014

Muchas prácticas de análisis de discurso parten de dos supuestos: a) la conducta está más determinada por la cultura interiorizada que por la situación; b) el discurso expresa los elementos culturales —actitudes, valores, etc.— que guían la acción. Frente a ello, se defiende que estamos sometidos a múltiples constricciones, a menudo contradictorias, que determinan nuestra acción independientemente de nuestras creencias. Ello provoca que no seamos coherentes, que hagamos y digamos cosas distintas en diferentes situaciones y que adaptemos nuestros discursos y creencias a nuestras prácticas para justificarlas, manipulando estratégicamente la reserva de recursos culturales disponibles. Tener esto en cuenta lleva a centrar el análisis de discurso en el componente estratégico de los discursos y en sus incoherencias y contradicciones.
La atención a la dependencia como motor de desarrollo económico
Authors: Díaz Díaz Belén
Published: February 2014

El envejecimiento de la población en la mayoría de los países desarrollados marca la necesidad de establecer políticas de actuación que garanticen la atención a dicha población. Para ello, se debe desterrar la idea de que los recursos destinados a la dependencia son un gasto, considerarlos como una inversión que contribuye al desarrollo económico y que puede cuantificarse en términos de impacto en la generación de empleo y riqueza. Este estudio analiza el impacto económico del conjunto de centros de atención a la dependencia (tanto residenciales como de atención diurna) en la región de Cantabria (España), así como del Servicio de Ayuda a Domicilio. De manera directa, la atención a la dependencia genera 24 empleos por cada millón de euros invertido por la Administración en el sector. Si incluimos el impacto indirecto e inducido, esta generación de empleo se eleva a 36, con el consiguiente efecto sobre la producción, el consumo y la recaudación de impuestos.
Debate sobre el modelo organizativo académico. Del modelo gremial al modelo colaborativo
Authors: Pasamar Susana
Published: February 2014

No disponible
Blending Green with Lean - Incorporating Best-of-the-Breed Practices to Formulate an Optimum Global Supply Chain Management Framework
Authors: Joshi Sudhanshu , Sharma Manu
Published: February 2014

This chapter identifies potential areas in which firms can integrate green into current business practices based on the existing literature. An extensive literature review was conducted to examine research and practice with respect to the concurrent implementation of green, lean, and global supply chain strategies. The applied literature analysis identifies that lean not only serves as a catalyst but is also synergistic for green. Lean is beneficial for green practices, and the implementation of green practices, in turn, also has a positive influence on existing global business practices (Dües, Tan, & Tim, 2013). The chapter provides an assessment of existing academic research on the relationship and links between lean and green supply chain management practices. Existing explanatory frameworks are explored and discussed, primarily based on objectives including: (a) identification processes where lean practices are synergized with a go-green philosophy of business, (b) advocating green practices as an essential element in the lean value chain, and (c) developing a green-lean framework based on existing literature for competitive advantage for business firms.
Interoperable Process Engineering System for Collaborative Optimization of Product Life-Cycle
Authors: Armijo Alberto , Sorli Mikel
Published: February 2014

Most of the industrial organizations, including SMEs, need to quickly react and adapt to the changing market conditions imposed by globalization, such as new sustainability directives or new type of customers. The fulfillment of these requirements on time is a must so as to remain competitive in the global markets. Since data management information systems are already present in almost all the corpus of industrial enterprises as custom developments or standard PLM solutions, the natural technical evolution that aims to provide an effective answer to these changing market conditions comprises the shifting from a data management perspective towards a process management view. Hence, the challenge is how to manage business processes that build upon existing information systems so as to encourage business agility, efficiency, and interoperability. The proposed approach roots on the Business Process Management (BPM) discipline and leverages process optimization through the systematic modeling and reengineering of business processes accompanied by supporting interoperable and configurable eco-services, which are conceived as sustainability-aware services designed to optimize some aspects of the product life-cycle through eco-constraints management.
A Case for Enterprise Interoperability in Healthcare IT
Authors: Yuksel Mustafa , Dogac Asuman , Taskin Cebrail , Yalcinkaya Anil
Published: February 2014

The PHR systems need to be integrated with a wide variety of healthcare IT systems including EHRs, electronic medical devices, and clinical decision support services to get their full benefit. It is not possible to sustain the integration of PHRs with other healthcare IT systems in a proprietary way; this integration has to be achieved by exploiting the promising interoperability standards and profiles. This chapter provides a survey and analysis of the interoperability standards and profiles that can be used to integrate PHRs with a variety of healthcare applications and medical data resources, including EHR systems to enable access of a patient to his own medical data generated by healthcare professionals; personal medical devices to obtain the patient’s instant physiological status; and the clinical decision support services for patient-physician shared decision making.
Evolving Verifiable Causal Mechanisms through Governometrics to Study Critical Policy Issues
Authors: Sharma Sangeeta
Published: February 2014

This chapter addresses the elemental aspect of statistical application, which is of paramount importance in evolving testable causal mechanisms to study the critical policy issues. The Governometrics that help us in unfolding the complexities of policy making and governance can be applied both at the primitive and advanced levels of application of quantitative and qualitative methods. This chapter only touches the primitive level application. It is a normative analysis to help the policy analysts in understanding issues that can have cascading impact in society due to failure in identifying right policy priorities. Three techniques, QCA, PCA, and SPSS (IBM), include many other techniques that can be tested statistically to resolve the difficult policy conundrums. These techniques have relevance to the governmental arena as important tools for policy research. The discussion is built up on the basis of need to study any administrative and policy issue by identifying the provable causal relationships. Both the qualitative and quantitative methods have inherent significance; hence, the scientific analysis to understand the basics of policy dynamics is of profound value.
Effects of Alcohol Policy on Population Variables and Control Measures
Authors: Kisusu R. W. , Kalimangʼasi N. , Macha N. , Mzungu J. L.
Published: February 2014

This case study of Dodoma Municipal Council focuses on the application of statistical tools to establish Population Variables (PVs) affected by alcohol and suggested control measures. The establishment relied on primary data involving a sample size of 156 respondents selected through purposive sampling and analyzed by cross-tabs and Chi-square. The analysis found alcohol policy affects mostly the lower-educated population, small householders and youths, and these were significant at 0.029, 0.002, and 0.006 levels, respectively. The inferences drawn shows within PVs, alcohol reduces students’ performances, influences separation of families, and increases poverty in the households, and all were significant at 0.003, 0.028, and 0.003, respectively. The findings conclude that alcohol affects all PVs, which consequently ends up deteriorating welfare. Therefore, to combat alcohol, the chapter recommends usage policy legal measures and educating the masses on the effect of alcohol.
Pragmatism in Making Policies
Authors: Vyas Parag K.
Published: February 2014

The Indian economy is one of the largest in emerging and developing scenarios. The contribution of gems and jewellery amounts to one-fifth of the total economy. This sector has one of the largest unorganized workforces in the country and is a major source of employment to a large number of people. The formulation of policies gains significance and demands statistical tools as philosophical debates often are inconclusive. The problem becomes more severe if quantification and inferential exactitude is a must. The nature of the gems and jewellery business, especially in India, is very secretive, and the use of language is highly elliptical, where it is very difficult to get any useful information or correct answers to the most basic questions. Diverse variables are difficult to place as well as correlate, and factors influencing an aspect may be very different than the perceived ones. This chapter explores the domain for the purpose of pragmatic policies that can be readily adopted by the government as well as by the industry.
Development Management
Authors: Sharma Snigdha
Published: February 2014

This chapter explores the correlation between variables such as “atma sanyam” (self restraint), “vivek” (wisdom), and “vikas” (development) of a country. It proves that spirituality, inner self development, increases work performance, thereby increasing the “development,” where the development of the inner self is the output of “sanyam” and “vivek.” If an individual has the input of “sanyam” and “vivek,” then his innerself is developed, and if he is performing every activity meaningfully, then his nation has the ensured progress that is S+W = D. The other equation, S=W=D, automatically gets its shape as “sanyam” leads to “vivek.” “Vivek” leads to development, meaning S=W=D. Thus, the authors assert that “sanyam” is the best input and independent variable that affects “vivek” and “development.”
Recognised Creativity
Authors: Musial Monika , Kauppinen Antti , Puhakka Vesa
Published: February 2014

This chapter explores the importance of acknowledging the creativity and creative work of individuals in creative industries. This phenomenon is investigated from three different perspectives: social-psychological, social and flow of experience, and third drive. The third drive, as a part of a new operating system, is seen as the most important factor in the work of creative individuals. This study examines four empirical cases from the computer games industry from three different geographical regions: Finland, the UK, and Poland. In addition, the authors analyse a stand-up comedian from the United States. Based on these cases, this study concludes that intrinsic drive and the need to be creative are the critical motivations of creative individuals when a new product is developed or a new creative company is founded. Additionally, this study reveals that acknowledgment for creative work is the reason why creative individuals do what they do. This study examines the paradox between creative/artistic work and business interests by analysing creative processes and the social needs of creative individuals. The authors explain how this happens through social media and express how academics may find creative spaces inspiring when teaching the principles of creative industries.
Leveraging New Media as Social Capital for Diversity Officers
Authors: Cotton Kindra , Green Denise O’Neil
Published: February 2014

While most have grasped how to utilize social media in their personal lives, very few have been able to bridge the gap in leveraging new media effectively to enhance their careers. This chapter is a how-to guide for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) professionals seeking to use social media to carve a niche in the social networking arena. The purpose of this chapter is to highlight how EDI professionals can benefit from utilizing new media marketing tools to position themselves as subject-matter experts and use this authority to create engaged communities surrounding the topics of equity, diversity, and inclusion in higher education. A current review of new media technologies and emerging strategies starts the chapter. It continues with further details on the steps needed to develop and implement a successful social media marketing strategy. The chapter concludes with how to turn plans into actionable steps and includes a social media marketing planning worksheet.
Teaching Students about Online Professionalism
Authors: Lancaster Thomas
Published: February 2014

Many students appear to be continually connected to social media sites such as Facebook. Such social media sites can be pervasive in nature. The use of these sites through mobile devices often extends into the classroom, sometimes to the detriment of scheduled teaching activities. Further, many students do not seem to be aware of the negative effect that ill-considered information placed on social media sites can have towards their future employment. This chapter reviews the positives and negatives of social media as it relates to the future employability of students. Due to the changing nature of this field, the chapter is largely presented from practical experience, rather than a traditional academic research-led approach. Much of the focus is on the ways that students can present themselves online in a manner which should encourage employers to offer students jobs and placement opportunities. The chapter reviews a number of the major Websites where students should establish professional profiles. It also looks at the overall need for students to establish a professional presence online and show that they are a desirable employee. The chapter concludes by looking at the challenges involved with integrating the teaching of employability through social media into existing teaching. A number of research areas for further consideration are also presented.
The Utilization of Online Boundaries
Authors: Luartz Lewis A.
Published: February 2014

This chapter investigates how online social networking services function and correlate with social capital, and how this affects higher education and civic engagement. First, the authors examine how individuals utilize Facebook to communicate with others strategically to build and maintain social ties. They argue that limiting in-person interaction time and multitasking increases the amount of individuals with whom any one individual can communicate during any given time. The authors then introduce direct and indirect boundaries and demonstrate how they restrict specific types of information while building extensive trust-based network ties. The authors follow this discussion by modeling the online world, offline world, and world of higher education using these boundaries. Finally, they claim that the distinction between low and high social capital communities may be blurring due to advent of online social networking, so it is necessary to develop new means of measuring social capital and boundaries.
Social Media for Knowledge Workers
Authors: Maulana Ikbal
Published: February 2014

This chapter explores social media for knowledge workers. Social media enables people to connect with others beyond their physical social circle. Constraints of space and time, as well as class boundaries, can easily be overcome by the use of social media. Socializing through social media is not merely the virtual version of physical socialization. It allows for different kinds of social interactions. The preservation of expression allows asynchronous communication and learning what others have written, which in turn shows one their interests and identities. The mostly simple and short messages cannot, however, accommodate the sophisticated information, which knowledge workers usually create and exchange at work. Social media is designed to be simple to use so that anyone with access to the Internet can use it. Many users become addicted to social media such that they cannot resist wasting their productive time. However, despite its limitations and potential for distraction, social media can be beneficial for knowledge workers. It may not be a good source of Know-What and Know-Why, but it can provide us with abundant and rich information of Know-Who. The uniqueness and specialty of Know-Who gained from social media is that it contains personal information, which in physical company only close friends possess. It allows us to develop social bonds with people who are difficult to reach through conventional media. It also enables us to develop our identity and makes us more easily discoverable by potential partners or employers.
Cross-Culture Management
Authors: Nguyen Lam D. , Lee Kuo-Hao , Mujtaba Bahaudin G. , Ruijs Alexander
Published: February 2014

Human capital plays an important role and acts as a strategic resource that helps firms achieve strategic competitiveness. In the global business context, understanding the expectations and behaviors of employees in different cultures is paramount for international and multicultural organizations to succeed. This paper examines the task and relationship orientations as well as the work overload stress perception of people in the low-context culture of the Netherlands and in the high-context culture of Vietnam. As a result of the analysis of 396 responses, some significant differences were found between the two samples. It appears that Vietnamese have significantly higher scores on task, relationship and stress orientations than Dutch respondents. While gender is a significant factor in task and relationship orientations, it did not demonstrate any differences in the stress perceptions of these respondents. In this paper, literature on Dutch and Vietnamese cultures is presented along with practical application, suggestions and implications for future studies.
Correctness of Self-Stabilizing Algorithms Under the Dolev Model When Adapted to Composite Atomicity Models
Authors: Chen Chih-Yuan , Wang Cheng-Pin , Huang Tetz C. , Lin Ji-Cherng
Published: February 2014

In this paper, the authors first clarify that it is not a trivial matter whether or not a self-stabilizing algorithm under the Dolev model, when adapted to a composite atomicity model, is also self-stabilizing. Then the authors employ a particular “simulation” approach to show that if a self-stabilizing algorithm under the Dolev model has one of two certain forms, then it is also self-stabilizing when adapted to one of the composite atomicity models, the fair daemon model. Since most existing self-stabilizing algorithms under the Dolev model have the above-mentioned forms, the authors’ results imply that they are all self-stabilizing when adapted to the fair daemon model.
Fractal Top for Contractive and Non-Contractive Transformations
Authors: Jain Sarika , Singh S. L. , Mishra S. N.
Published: February 2014

Barnsley (2006) introduced the notion of a fractal top, which is an addressing function for the set attractor of an Iterated Function System (IFS). A fractal top is analogous to a set attractor as it is the fixed point of a contractive transformation. However, the definition of IFS is extended so that it works on the colour component as well as the spatial part of a picture. They can be used to colour-render pictures produced by fractal top and stealing colours from a natural picture. Barnsley has used the one-step feed- back process to compute the fractal top. In this paper, the authors introduce a two-step feedback process to compute fractal top for contractive and non-contractive transformations.
The Value of Quantitative EEG Measures in the Early Diagnosis of Alzheimer’s Disease
Authors: Tanaka Hideaki
Published: February 2014

There is growing interest in the discovery of clinically useful, robust biomarkers for Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and pre-AD; the ability to accurately diagnose AD or to predict conversion from a preclinical state to AD would aid in both prevention and early intervention. This study aimed to evaluate the usefulness of a statistical assessment of cortical activity using electroencephalograms (EEGs) with normative data and the ability of such an assessment to contribute to the diagnosis of AD. 15 patients with AD and 8 patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) were studied. Eyes-closed resting EEGs were digitally recorded at 200 Hz from 20 electrodes placed according to the international 10/20 system on the scalp, and 20 artifact-free EEG epochs lasting 2.56 ms were selected. Each EEG epoch was down-sampled to 100 Hz and matched to the normal data sets. The selected EEGs from each subject were analyzed by standardized Low Resolution Electromagnetic Tomography (sLORETA) and statistically compared with the age-matched normal data sets at all frequencies. This procedure resulted in cortical z values for each EEG frequency with 0.39 Hz frequency resolution for each subject. Some of the AD and MCI patients presented a peak of negative z value around 20 Hz, revealing hypoactivity of the parahippocampal gyrus and the insula in the sLORETA cortical image. In addition, severe cases of AD showed decreased parietal activation. These results were in agreement with evidence from statistical neuroimaging using MRI/SPECT. Submission of normal EEG data sets to sLORETA might be useful for the detection of diagnostic and predictive markers of AD and MCI in individual patients.
A Multiscale Computational Model of Chemotactic Axon Guidance
Authors: Aletti Giacomo , Causin Paola , Naldi Giovanni , Semplice Matteo
Published: February 2014

In the development of the nervous system, the migration of neurons driven by chemotactic cues has been known since a long time to play a key role. In this mechanism, the axonal projections of neurons detect very small differences in extracellular ligand concentration across the tiny section of their distal part, the growth cone. The internal transduction of the signal performed by the growth cone leads to cytoskeleton rearrangement and biased cell motility. A mathematical model of neuron migration provides hints of the nature of this process, which is only partially known to biologists and is characterized by a complex coupling of microscopic and macroscopic phenomena. This chapter focuses on the tight connection between growth cone directional sensing as the result of the information collected by several transmembrane receptors, a microscopic phenomenon, and its motility, a macroscopic outcome. The biophysical hypothesis investigated is the role played by the biased re-localization of ligand-bound receptors on the membrane, actively convected by growing microtubules. The results of the numerical simulations quantify the positive feedback exerted by the receptor redistribution, assessing its importance in the neural guidance mechanism.
Single Nucleotide Polymorphism and its Application in Mapping Loci Involved in Developing Human Diseases and Traits
Authors: Ji Rui-Ru
Published: February 2014

Common diseases or traits in humans are often influenced by complex interactions among multiple genes as well as environmental and lifestyle factors rather than being attributable to a genetic variation within a single gene. Identification of genes that confer disease susceptibility can be facilitated by studying DNA markers such as single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) associated with a disease trait. Genome-wide association approaches offers a systematic analysis of the association of hundreds of thousands of SNPs with a quantitative complex trait. This method has been successfully applied to a wide variety of common human diseases and traits, and has generated valuable findings that have improved the understanding of the genetic basis of many complex traits. This article outlines the general mapping process and methods, highlights the success stories, and describes some limitations and challenges that lie ahead.
Domain Specific Custom Search for Quicker Information Retrieval
Authors: Saha Tushar Kanti , Ali A. B. M. Shawkat
Published: February 2014

Recently researchers are using Google scholar widely to find out the research articles and the relevant experts in their domain. But it is unable to find out all experts in a relevant research area from a specific country by a quick search. Basically the custom search technique is not available in the current Google scholar’s setup. The authors have combined custom search with domain-specific search and named as domain specific custom search in this research. First time this research introduces a domain specific custom search technique using new search methodology called n-paged-m-items partial crawling algorithm. This algorithm is a real-time faster crawling algorithm due to the partial crawling technique. It does not store anything in the database, which can be shown later on to the user. The proposed algorithm is implemented on a new domain scholar.google.com to find out the scholars or experts quickly. Finally the authors observe the better performance of the proposed algorithm comparing with Google scholar.
Archetypal Personalized Recommender System for Mobile Phone Users
Authors: Ojokoh B. A. , Omisore M. O. , Samuel O. W. , Eno U. I.
Published: February 2014

The process of mobile phone selection, for several reasons, depends on a number of common individual features possessed by the manufacturers. The recent advance in these products’ functionalities is identified as a key factor for the growing number of brands and models that compete in its fierce market and thus leads to the problem of product selection. Product comparisons, as a result, are becoming more difficult thus favoring the use of computer-based decision systems to assist consumers in scouting for information on mobile products that can best satisfy their needs. This study proposes an archetypal personalized recommender system that can intelligently mine information about the features of mobile phones and provides professional services to potential buyers. Consumer preferences and product features are technically expressed with the aid of Triangular Fuzzy Numbers while Fuzzy Near Compactness is employed to measure the feature-need similarities in order to recommend optimal products that best satisfy the needs. Finally, an experimental study is performed to examine the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed system.