bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A Novel Space-Time-Speed Method for Increasing the Passing Capacity with Safety Guaranteed of Railway Station
Authors: Wang Junfeng , Yu Yang , Kang Renwei , Wang Jungang
Published: February 2017

A method for improving the passing capacity of a station without adding any track and equipment is proposed in this paper. In the process of handling train routes, by transforming the existing fixed train-approaching locking section into a variable mode, the route locking time is shortened and in-station resource consumption is reduced. This approach improves the capacity of the station. At the same time, delay of the train can be quickly returned to normal. A method of variable train-approaching locking section is discussed; a mathematical model for increasing station passing capacity is shown. Comparison between the impact of a variable train-approaching locking section and a fixed mode on the station passing capacity is shown.
The Influence of Oblique Angle Forced Exercise in Surgically Destabilized Stifle Joints Is Synergistic with Bone, but Antagonistic with Cartilage in an Ovine Model of Osteoarthritis
Authors: Hill Rachel J. , Mason Holly M. , Yeip Gavin , Merchant Samer S. , Olsen Aaron L. , Stott Rusty D. , Van Wettere Arnaud J. , Bressel Eadric , Mason Jeffrey B.
Published: February 2017

Large animal models of osteoarthritis are a necessary testing ground for FDA approval of human medicine applications. Sheep models have advantages over other available large animals, but development and progression of osteoarthritis in sheep is exceedingly slow, which handicaps progress in development of potential treatments. We combined oblique angle forced exercise to increase stress on the stifle, with surgical destabilization to hasten the development of osteoarthritis in ewes. Methods for early detection of clinical signs included radiography, urine, and serum biomarker assays and gait analysis and ex vivo we used microcomputed tomography and macroscopic joint analysis. Our model was able to produce clinically detectable signs of osteoarthritis in a relatively short period (14 weeks). Changes in bone were highly correlated between microcomputed tomography and radiographic analysis and changes in cartilage correlated well between urinary glycosaminoglycan levels and serum aggrecanase analyses. Exercise improved the negative effects of destabilization in bone but exacerbated the negative effects of destabilization in cartilage. These observations suggest that we may need to consider treatments for bone and cartilage separately. These results represent an improved large animal model of osteoarthritis with rapid onset of disease and superior detection of bone and soft tissue changes.
A Simulation Study on Hypothetical Ebola Virus Transmission in India Using Spatiotemporal Epidemiological Modeler (STEM): A Way towards Precision Public Health
Authors: Sau Arkaprabha
Published: February 2017

Background. Precision public health is a state-of-the-art concept in public health research and its application in health care. Application of information technology in field of epidemiology paves the way to its transformation to digital epidemiology. A geospatial epidemiological model was simulated to estimate the spread of Ebola virus disease after a hypothetical outbreak in India. Methods. It was a simulation study based on SEIR (Susceptible-Exposed-Infectious-Recovered) compartmental model. Simulation was done in Spatiotemporal Epidemiological Modeler (STEM). Epidemiological profile of Ebola virus, that transmitted throughout the Sierra Leon in 2014–2016, was fitted into the SEIR deterministic compartment model designed for India. Result. Spatiotemporal distribution of EVD exposed, infectious, and recovered population at 4-month interval represented by different figures. It is estimated that if no intervention is taken to stop the spread, within 2 years, almost half of the country will be effected by EVD and cumulative number of exposed individuals, infectious persons, and deaths will be 106947760, 30651674, and 18391005, respectively. Conclusion. Precision public health may play the key role to achieve the health related targets in the Sustainable Development Goals. Policy makers, public health specialists, and data scientists need to put their hands together to make precision public health a reality.
Bending Angle Prediction Model Based on BPNN‐Spline in Air Bending Springback Process
Authors: Guo Zhefeng , Tang Wencheng
Published: February 2017

In order to rapidly and accurately predict the springback bending angle in V‐die air bending process, a springback bending angle prediction model on the combination of error back propagation neural network and spline function (BPNN‐Spline) is presented in this study. An orthogonal experimental sample set for training BPNN‐Spline is obtained by finite element simulation. Through the analysis of network structure, the BPNN‐Spline black box function of bending angle prediction is established, and the advantage of BPNN‐Spline is discussed in comparison with traditional BPNN. The results show a close agreement with simulated and experimental results by application examples, which means that the BPNN‐Spline model in this study has higher prediction accuracy and better applicable ability. Therefore, it could be adopted in a numerical control bending machine system.
Hepatoprotective Effects of Antrodia cinnamomea: The Modulation of Oxidative Stress Signaling in a Mouse Model of Alcohol‐Induced Acute Liver Injury
Authors: Liu Yange , Wang Juan , Li Lanzhou , Hu Wenji , Qu Yidi , Ding Yipei , Meng Lina , Teng Lirong , Wang Di
Published: February 2017

In the present study, the components of A. cinnamomea (AC) mycelia were systematically analyzed. Subsequently, its hepatoprotective effects and the underlying mechanisms were explored using a mouse model of acute alcohol‐induced liver injury. AC contained 25 types of fatty acid, 16 types of amino acid, 3 types of nucleotide, and 8 types of mineral. The hepatoprotective effects were observed after 2 weeks of AC treatment at doses of 75 mg/kg, 225 mg/kg, and 675 mg/kg in the mouse model. These effects were indicated by the changes in the levels of aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase, several oxidation‐related factors, and inflammatory cytokines in serum and/or liver samples. AC reduced the incidence rate of necrosis, inflammatory infiltration, fatty droplets formation, and cell apoptosis in liver detecting via histological and TUNEL assay. In addition, AC reduced the expression of cleaved caspase‐3, ‐8, and ‐9 and the levels of phosphor‐protein kinase B (Akt) and phosphor‐nuclear factor‐κB (NF‐κB) in the liver samples. Collectively, AC‐mediated hepatoprotective effects in a mouse model of acute alcohol‐induced liver injury are the result of reduction in oxidative stress. This may be associated with Akt/NF‐κB signaling. These results provide valuable evidence to support the use of A. cinnamomea as a functional food and/or medicine.
Incidence and Predictors of Antiretroviral Treatment Modification in HIV-Infected Adults: A Brazilian Historical Cohort from 2001 to 2010
Authors: Penna Braga Letícia , Pinto Mendicino Cássia Cristina , Reis Edna Afonso , Carmo Ricardo Andrade , Menezes de Pádua Cristiane
Published: February 2017

This study estimated the incidence of and time to first antiretroviral therapy (ART) modification. This longitudinal analysis comprised a sample of 236 patients from three HIV/AIDS referral centers in Belo Horizonte, Brazil—part of a major historical cohort. Inclusion criteria were as follows: having been treatment-naive patient ≥18 years old who initiated ART between 2001 and 2005 in these three referral centers. The main endpoint was time to first ART modification. Patients were followed up for five years, covering the period 2001–2010, during which time Pearson’s chi-square test was performed to compare ART modification between groups. Kaplan-Meier inverse survival curves were employed to describe the probability of ART modification and Cox proportional hazard regression was used to estimate the adjusted hazard ratio (aHR) of ART modification. Among 247 patients from the major cohort, 236 were eligible. Median follow-up time was 37.2 months and the contribution in person-months was 7,615.4 months. A total of 108 (45.8%) patients had their ART regimen modified at least once (incidence rate: 1.42 per 100 person-months). Adverse drug reactions were the main reason for ART modification. Women (aHR = 1.62; p=0.022) and patients on protease inhibitor- (PI-) based regimens (aHR = 2.70; p<0.001) were at higher risk of ART modification.
Cournot and Bertrand Competition in the Software Industry
Authors: Fanti Luciano , Buccella Domenico
Published: February 2017

In a software industry based on a platform firm and two firms producing differentiated applications complementary to the platform, we investigate the effects on profits and welfare of the choice of different contracts (price versus quantity) by the application firms. In contrast to the traditional result, (1) equilibrium profits are higher under Cournot or Bertrand competition depending upon the degree of complementarity between platform and application producers as well as the degree of substitutability between applications; (2) the social welfare may be higher under Cournot when the application products are highly substitutable.
Ontogenetic Shifts in Brain Organization in the Bluespotted Stingray Neotrygon kuhlii (Chondrichthyes: Dasyatidae)
Authors: Lisney Thomas J. , Yopak Kara E. , Camilieri-Asch Victoria , Collin Shaun P.
Published: February 2017

Fishes exhibit lifelong neurogenesis and continual brain growth. One consequence of this continual growth is that the nervous system has the potential to respond with enhanced plasticity to changes in ecological conditions that occur during ontogeny. The life histories of many teleost fishes are composed of a series of distinct stages that are characterized by shifts in diet, habitat, and behavior. In many cases, these shifts correlate with changes in overall brain growth and brain organization, possibly reflecting the relative importance of different senses and locomotor performance imposed by the new ecological niches they encounter throughout life. Chondrichthyan (cartilaginous) fishes also undergo ontogenetic shifts in habitat, movement patterns, diet, and behavior, but very little is known about any corresponding shifts in the size and organization of their brains. Here, we investigated postparturition ontogenetic changes in brain-body size scaling, the allometric scaling of seven major brain areas (olfactory bulbs, telencephalon, diencephalon, optic tectum, tegmentum, cerebellum, and medulla oblongata) relative to the rest of the brain, and cerebellar foliation in a chondrichthyan, i.e., the bluespotted stingray Neotrygon kuhlii. We also investigated the unusual morphological asymmetry of the cerebellum in this and other batoids. As in teleosts, the brain continues to grow throughout life, with a period of rapid initial growth relative to body size, before slowing considerably at the onset of sexual maturity. The olfactory bulbs and the cerebellum scale with positive allometry relative to the rest of the brain, whereas the other five brain areas scale with varying degrees of negative allometry. None of the major brain areas showed the stage-specific differences in rates of growth often found in teleosts. Cerebellar foliation also increases at a faster rate than overall brain growth. We speculate that changes in the olfactory bulbs and cerebellum could reflect increased olfactory and locomotor capabilities, which may be associated with ontogenetic shifts in diet, habitat use, and activity patterns, as well as shifts in behavior that occur with the onset of sexual maturity. The frequency distributions of the three cerebellar morphologies exhibited in this species best fit a 2:1:1 (right-sided:left-sided:intermediate) distribution, mirroring previous findings for another stingray species.
Measuring Fatigue Using the Multidimensional Fatigue Inventory-20: A Questionable Factor Structure in Haemodialysis Patients
Authors: Chilcot Joseph , Guirguis Ayman , Friedli Karin , Almond Michael , Davenport Andrew , Day Clara , Wellsted David , Farrington Ken
Published: February 2017

Background/Aims: Fatigue is recognised as a common and burdensome symptom among dialysis patients. A growing body of research is devoted to understanding fatigue in advanced kidney disease, yet its measurement is challenging within this context. Our aim was to evaluate the factor structure underlying the multidimensional fatigue inventory (MFI-20) and to examine its associations with clinical factors and mood. Methods: Data was evaluated for confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) from the screening phase of a multicentre randomised placebo-controlled trial of sertraline in haemodialysis (HD) patients. Four hundred seventy patients completed the MFI-20, which purports to measure 5 components of fatigue (general fatigue, mental fatigue, physical fatigue, reduced motivation and reduced activity). CFA models were evaluated in MPlus 7.3 using the robust maximum likelihood (MLR) estimation. Results: The evaluation of the original 5 factors revealed low internal reliability for the general factor and reduced activity, and high intercorrelations between all sum scores. CFA revealed poor model fit for the original 5-factor MFI-20 model (confirmatory fit index = 0.738; Tucker-Lewis index = 0.689; root mean squared error of approximation = 0.101). Alternative models, including 1, 3 and bi-factor models all demonstrated poor fit to the data. No reliable factor model was confirmed prohibiting the examination of factors associated with fatigue. Conclusions: We were not able to confirm the factor structure of the MFI-20 in a large sample of HD patients. Certain items may lack suitable face validity in this context.
Risk of Ischemic Stroke and Transient Ischemic Attack Is Increased up to 90 Days after Non-Carotid and Non-Cardiac Surgery
Authors: Grau Armin J. , Eicke Martin , Burmeister Christoph , Hardt Roland , Schmitt Eberhard , Dienlin Sieghard
Published: February 2017

Background: The risk of stroke after cardiac and carotid surgery is well established. In contrast, stroke risk in association with non-cardiac and non-carotid surgery and its time course are insufficiently known. We investigated the prevalence of recent and planned surgery among patients with stroke and transient ischemic attack (TIA), time dependency of stroke risk, stroke etiology, and interruption of antithrombotic medication in association with surgery. Methods: Data on type and date of surgery and similar interventions within the last year or planned for the next 2 weeks were anonymously collected together with demographic data, vascular risk factors, stroke severity, handicap before stroke and stroke etiology within a state-wide, mandatory, hospital-based acute stroke care quality monitoring project (Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany) for 1 year (2010). Results: Non-carotid and non-cardiothoracic surgery was reported as performed within 1 year before the index event or as planned for the next 2 weeks thereafter in 532 out of 12,120 patients with ischemic stroke/TIA (4.4%). Compared to 91-365 days before stroke/TIA as reference period, risk of cerebral ischemia (per day analysis) was increased for surgery within 61-90 days before ischemia (rate ratio 2.0, 95% CI 1.5-2.8) and continuously increased along shorter intervals between stroke and surgery (31-60 days: rate ratio 3.6, 95% CI 2.9-4.5; 15-30 days: rate ratio 8.2, 95% CI 6.7-10.1; 8-14 days: rate ratio 13.2, 95% CI 10.3-16.8; 4-7 days: rate ratio 16.5, 95% CI 12.2-22.1) peaking at an interval of 1-3 days before ischemia (rate ratio 34.0, 95% CI 26.9-42.8). On the day of surgery, rate ratio was 14.8 (95% CI 7.8-27.9) and for planned surgery it was 2.7 (95% CI 1.8-4.0). Results were similar for first-ever and for recurrent ischemic stroke. Perioperative stroke/TIA was positively associated with atrial fibrillation and cardioembolic stroke etiology, higher mortality, more severe neurological deficits at discharge, and longer hospital stay; and it was inversely associated with microangiopathic etiology and discharge at home. In 34.5% of patients with recent/planned surgery, prior antithrombotic or anticoagulant medication had been interrupted. Conclusions: Recent or planned surgery imposes a considerable short-term stroke risk particularly by cardioembolism with cessation of medication as an important contributor. Stroke after surgery is associated with poor outcome and high mortality. Better strategies to reduce the burden of perioperative stroke are urgently required.
Music and Its Double: The Immaculate (And Not-So-Immaculate) Conceptions of No Collective
Authors: Eikman Cody
Published: February 2017

The problem of the double has explicitly haunted music since John Cage declared music to be part of theatre. In Immaculate Conception, No Collective explored this doubling by creating a doppelgänger ensemble that acted as a copy of the musicians of the group ensemble mise-en. This tactic foregrounded the theatrical dimensions of music, while the context surrounding the performance itself highlighted the problematic entanglement of original and double (between “experimental” and “contemporary”) in the social sphere of new music.
Chicken Tumours and a Fishy Revenge: Evidence for Emotional Content Bias in the Cumulative Recall of Urban Legends
Authors: Stubbersfield Joseph M. , Tehrani Jamshid J. , Flynn Emma G.
Published: February 2017

This study used urban legends to examine the effects of a cognitive bias for content which evokes higher levels of emotion on cumulative recall. As with previous research into content biases, a linear transmission chain design was used. One-hundred and twenty participants, aged 16–52, were asked to read and then recall urban legends that provoked both high levels and low levels of emotion and were both positively and negatively valenced. The product of this recall was presented to the next participant in a chain of three generations. A significant effect of emotion level on transmission fidelity was found with high emotion legends being recalled with significantly greater accuracy than low emotion legends. The emotional valence of a legend was found not to have any effect on cumulative recall; thus emotional biases in recall go beyond disgust and can incorporate other emotions such as amusement, interest and surprise. This study is the first to examine an emotion bias in cultural transmission as a general phenomenon without focusing on the emotion of disgust.
Transforming Celebrity Objects: Implications for an Account of Psychological Contagion
Authors: Marchak Kristan A. , Hall D. Geoffrey
Published: February 2017

The celebrity effect is the well-documented phenomenon in which people ascribe an enhanced worth to artefacts owned by famous individuals. This effect has been attributed to a belief in psychological contagion, the transmission of a person’s essence to an object via contact. We examined people’s judgments of the persisting worth of celebrity-owned artefacts following transformations of their parts/material and found that the celebrity effect was evident only for post-transformation artefacts that were composed of parts/material that had direct physical contact with the celebrity. Insofar as the celebrity effect arises from psychological contagion, the findings suggest that the essence imparted to a celebrity-owned artefact is conceived as akin to a residue deposited in/on the object rather than a germ capable of spreading in an indirect manner to new parts/material added to the object. The results illuminate the nature of psychological contagion and offer insight into how best to preserve the value of historically important artefacts.
Beyond Language Shift: Spatial Cognition among the Ixcatecs in Mexico
Authors: Adamou Evangelia , Shen Xingjia Rachel
Published: February 2017

Recently there has been a renewed interest surrounding the role that language plays in the shaping of cognition based on the study of spatial relations with a particular attention to Mesoamerican languages. Since Brown and Levinson (1993), several studies have shown that speakers of Mesoamerican languages largely prefer non-egocentric strategies in the solution of nonverbal tasks and that this preference strongly aligns to the spatial expressions found in these languages. Moreover, it has been argued that contact with Spanish increases the use of egocentric responses. This paper engages in this discussion with new evidence from a Mexican community which has shifted from a Mesoamerican language, Ixcatec, to Spanish during the twentieth century. It presents three studies consisting of nonverbal, memorization tasks, conducted with a total of 52 monolingual Spanish speakers from the community of Santa María Ixcatlán. According to the neo-Whorfian approach, the residents of Santa María Ixcatlán should strongly favour the Spanish-related egocentric responses. Against this assumption, however, our study shows that the geocentric responses are predominant among the Ixcatecs. This result clearly indicates that frames of reference are culturally-defined and do not disappear in case of language shift but persist in cognitive representations among the members of a stable, rural community.
Not Just Dead Meat: An Evolutionary Account of Corpse Treatment in Mortuary Rituals
Authors: White Claire , Marin Maya , Fessler Daniel M.T.
Published: February 2017

Comparing mortuary rituals across 57 representative cultures extracted from the Human Relations Area Files, this paper demonstrates that kin of the deceased engage in behaviours to prepare the deceased for disposal that entail close and often prolonged contact with the contaminating corpse. At first glance, such practices are costly and lack obvious payoffs. Building on prior functionalist approaches, we present an explanation of corpse treatment that takes account of the unique adaptive challenges entailed by the death of a loved one. We propose that intimate contact with the corpse provides the bereaved with extensive veridical cues of death, thereby facilitating acceleration of a grieving process that serves to recategorize the deceased as no longer a relationship partner, opening the door to relationship replacement and a return to social functioning. The benefits of exposure to such cues are tempered by the costs of exposure to cues of disease risk, a balance that in part explains the relative rarity of highly invasive mortuary practices that exacerbate the latter factor. We conclude by discussing implications of our model for contemporary mortuary practices in the developed world.
The Mnemonic of Intuitive Ontology Violation is not the Distinctiveness Effect: Evidence from a Broad Age Spectrum of Persons in the uk and China during a Free-Recall Task
Authors: Gregory Justin P. , Greenway Tyler S.
Published: February 2017

The typical formulation of Pascal Boyer’s counterintuitiveness theory asserts that concepts violating intuitive ontological-category structures are more memorable. However, Boyer’s (2001) original claim centred on the transmission advantages of counter-ontological representations that were cultural. Nevertheless, subsequent studies focused on the recall of novel counterintuitive representations, and an “alternative account” of the memorability of counterintuitive concepts has emerged resembling the distinctiveness effect. Yet, experimental evidence shows that familiar concepts have memorability advantages over novel ones. This investigation of these pan-cultural transmission biases used a large age-representative sample (13–86 years;N= 365) in theukand China. Results were analysed byhlm, with familiarity, counterintuitiveness, and delay as 2-level fixed factors, and age as a covariate. No support was revealed for the typical formulation of the hypothesis — however, a significant age effect and interaction of familiarity × counterintuitiveness were found.
Terminal-instar larval morphology and systematics of Eulophidae and Eupelmidae species (Hymenoptera, Chalcidoidea) parasitoids of gall wasps (Hymenoptera, Cynipidae) communities from Europe
Authors: Gómez Jose F. , Jose Luis Nieves-Aldrey
Published: February 2017

As part of a wider study on the morphology and systematics of the terminal-instar larvae of Chalcidoidea parasitoids of gall wasps (Hym., Cynipidae) in Europe, a comparative study of the larval morphology of three species of Eulophidae, Aprostocetus eurytomae (Nees), Aulogymnus skianeuros (Ratzeburg) and Dichatomus acerinus Förster; and three species of Eupelmidae, Eupelmus aseculatus (Kalina), E. cerris Förster and E. microzonus Förster is presented. The studied taxa are key components of the communities associated with different galls on herbs, shrubs and oaks in different ecosystems of Mediterranean area. Main characters of interest found on the studied species were larval body shape, head capsule structure, mouthparts, mandibles and chaetotaxy pattern of body and head. Diagnostic characters of the families and species are described and illustrated for the first time with scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Information on the biology of each species is discussed and illustrated with photographs, including new rearing records.
Trifolium kurdistanicum (Trifolieae, Fabaceae), a new species of Trifolium sect. Trifolium from Iran
Authors: YOUSEFI SOMAYEH , SAEIDI HOJJATOLLAH , MAROOFI HOSEIN , ASSADI MOSTAFA , GHADERI HIVA
Published: February 2017

Trifolium kurdistanicum, a new species of Trifolium sect. Trifolium from Kurdistan Province, west of Iran is described. It grows at high altitude on subalpine regions with steep slopes and shallow soil. The new species is morphologically close to T. longidentatum and can be considered as a member of the subsect. Ochroleuca. Trifolium kurdistanicum is characterized by large, multiple and branched stems, less than half of the stipule length adnate to the petiole, inflorescences without bracts, calyx with 3-nerved lower and 1-nerved upper teeth and all slightly longer than the tube, calyx nearly half the length of corolla, flowers violet or rarely white and seeds reniform.
A new species of Reissantia (Celastraceae) from coastal Karnataka, India
Authors: PAGE NAVENDU V. , SRIVASTAV MANSA , RAO RAMACHANDRA G.
Published: February 2017

Reissantia N. Hallé (1958: 466) is a small but widespread genus distributed in the Old World tropics of Africa and Indo-Malaya (Ramamurthy and Naithani, 2000). Members of Reissantia are climbing, scandent or erect shrubs with decussate leaves. They are characterised by small flowers borne in dichotomous cymes or panicles with accessory branches, small calyx and corolla with imbricate aestivation, inconspicuous disc that is mostly fused with the ovary, 3 stamens inserted at the base of the carpel, 3-locular ovary and 3-fascicled capsular fruit with seeds that have a basal membranous wing.
Semi-Automatic Elemental Identification of Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectra Using Wavelength Similarity Coefficient
Authors: Rosas-Román Igancio , Meneses-Nava Marco A. , Barbosa-García Oracio , Maldonado Jose L.
Published: February 2017

This work proposes a method to perform elemental identification on plasmas produced using the laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) technique. The method is based on the preservation of the relative relevance of the spectral line emission intensities, which is lost during the parametric correlation procedure, by the introduction of a similitude coefficient called wavelength similarity coefficient. Furthermore, it was shown that for identification purposes, a simplified plasma model is sufficient to predict adequately the relative emission intensities in LIBS plasmas. As a result, it is possible to automatically identify the species with high emission signals, while trace detection is also possible by relaxing search conditions, although manual refinement is still required.
Driver Movement Patterns Indicate Distraction and Engagement
Authors: Radwin Robert G. , Lee John D. , Akkas Oguz
Published: February 2017

Objective

This research considers how driver movements in video clips of naturalistic driving are related to observer subjective ratings of distraction and engagement behaviors.

Background

Naturalistic driving video provides a unique window into driver behavior unmatched by crash data, roadside observations, or driving simulator experiments. However, manually coding many thousands of hours of video is impractical. An objective method is needed to identify driver behaviors suggestive of distracted or disengaged driving for automated computer vision analysis to access this rich source of data.

Method

Visual analog scales ranging from 0 to 10 were created, and observers rated their perception of driver distraction and engagement behaviors from selected naturalistic driving videos. Driver kinematics time series were extracted from frame-by-frame coding of driver motions, including head rotation, head flexion/extension, and hands on/off the steering wheel.

Results

The ratings were consistent among participants. A statistical model predicting average ratings from the kinematic features accounted for 54% of distraction rating variance and 50% of engagement rating variance.

Conclusion

Rated distraction behavior was positively related to the magnitude of head rotation and fraction of time the hands were off the wheel. Rated engagement behavior was positively related to the variation of head rotation and negatively related to the fraction of time the hands were off the wheel.

Application

If automated computer vision can code simple kinematic features, such as driver head and hand movements, then large-volume naturalistic driving videos could be automatically analyzed to identify instances when drivers were distracted or disengaged.
Immigration and the welfare state: A cross-regional analysis of European welfare attitudes
Authors: Eger Maureen A , Breznau Nate
Published: February 2017

A growing body of research connects diversity to anti-welfare attitudes and lower levels of social welfare expenditure, yet most evidence comes from analyses of US states or comparisons of the United States to Europe. Comparative analyses of European nation-states, however, yield little evidence that immigration – measured at the country-level – reduces support for national welfare state programs. This is not surprising, given that research suggests that the impact of diversity occurs at smaller, sub-national geographic units. Therefore, in this article, we test the hypothesis that immigration undermines welfare attitudes by assessing the impact of immigration measured at the regional-level on individual-level support for redistribution, a comprehensive welfare state, and immigrants’ social rights. To do this, we combine data from the European Social Survey with a unique regional dataset compiled from national censuses, Eurostat, and the European Election Database (13 countries, 114 regions, and 23,213 individuals). Utilizing multilevel modeling, we find a negative relationship between regional percent foreign-born and support for redistribution as well as between regional percent foreign-born and support for a comprehensive welfare state. Objective immigration, however, does not increase opposition to immigrants’ social rights (i.e. welfare chauvinism). We discuss the implications of these results and conclude that traditional welfare state attitudes and welfare chauvinism are distinct phenomena that should not be conflated in future research.
Case study of enquiry-based learning designed for rotating magnetic fields in electric machinery course
Authors: Huijuan Liu , Zhenyang Zhang , Tengfei Song
Published: February 2017

This paper describes a case study of enquiry-based learning to teach problem solving, innovation, group working, and presentation skills for electrical engineering students in electric machinery course at Beijing Jiaotong University. The research project is designed by teachers and students go through three processes: project-based teaching and learning, problem-based derivation and simulation, and enquiry-based presentation. The multidiscipline project is innovated to meet the requirements of engineering education while keeping its traditional effectiveness in driving students to apply knowledge to practice and problem solving. The feedback from students shows positive support for the innovations.
Insight into bubble nucleation at high-pressure drop rate
Authors: Tammaro Daniele , Iannace Salvatore , Di Maio Ernesto
Published: February 2017

This paper presents insight in bubble nucleation in polymer foaming with physical blowing agent using a batch foaming technique. In our experiments the bubble nucleation is triggered by a sudden pressure drop that causes the supersaturation in the polymer gas solution. In fact, the pressure drop rate is an important process variable since it plays a role in both bubble nucleation and growth. Herein, we investigated very high pressure drop rates, and confirmed the great importance of the pressure drop rate as foaming process variable. The results show that the number of nucleated bubbles increases of one order of magnitude and the foam density is reduced if the pressure drop rate is increased from 50 to 500 MPa/s. Interestingly, the number of nucleated bubble increases linearly in a bi-logarithmic scale as function of pressure drop rate at all the investigated temperatures. Moreover, in the current paper, it is discussed how talc used as nucleating agent plays a role in cooperation with pressure drop rate on bubble nucleation at different foaming temperatures.
Transferring Violence? Mafia Killings in Nontraditional Areas
Authors: Moro Francesco N. , Sberna Salvatore
Published: February 2017

Violence is a key means used by organized crime to assert its control over territory and business. A widespread view is that violence is bound to take place also in the new territories where mafia groups migrate. In this article, we maintain that this view overlooks two important factors. First, criminal organizations acting in nontraditional areas face a structure of constraints and opportunities that do not generally favor the adoption of violence as a successful organizational strategy. Second, we show that violence, when it takes place, results from the transfer of conflicts that have their roots in the territories of origin of criminal groups. Local conditions play a mediating role in shaping violence in the new territories. We provide empirical support for these statements through the quantitative analysis of the violence perpetrated by mafia groups in Italy in the period between 1983 and 2013.
Children’s Sense of Control as a Determinant of Adult Health: Causation, Mediation, and Spuriousness
Authors: Oi Katsuya , Alwin Duane F.
Published: February 2017

Previous research suggests higher levels of education instill a greater sense of internal control that promotes health in adulthood. We propose that the sense of control has its origins in early childhood and that prior research has possibly misattributed a mediational role to sense of control in adulthood. Using a conceptual framework that includes these early influences, we employ data from the 1970 British Cohort Study ( N = 9,855), examining the extent to which the association between education and adult health is spurious due to these early childhood factors. We find that the internal sense of control as assessed in childhood and adolescence has profound influences on both education and health in early adulthood and that a substantial portion of the latter association is spurious. We conclude that the sense of control is an important health-related factor originating early in life, influencing both health and education later in adulthood.
Estimation of body surface area in the musk shrew (Suncus murinus): a small animal for testing chemotherapy-induced emesis
Authors: Eiseman Julie L , Sciullo Michael , Wang Hong , Beumer Jan H , Horn Charles C
Published: February 2017

Several cancer chemotherapies cause nausea and vomiting, which can be dose-limiting. Musk shrews are used as preclinical models for chemotherapy-induced emesis and for antiemetic effectiveness. Unlike rats and mice, shrews possess a vomiting reflex and demonstrate an emetic profile similar to humans, including acute and delayed phases. As with most animals, dosing of shrews is based on body weight, while translation of such doses to clinically equivalent exposure requires doses based on body surface area. In the current study body surface area in musk shrews was directly assessed to determine the Meeh constant (Km) conversion factor (female = 9.97, male = 9.10), allowing estimation of body surface area based on body weight. These parameters can be used to determine dosing strategies for shrew studies that model human drug exposures, particularly for investigating the emetic liability of cancer chemotherapeutic agents.
State of the art in vivo imaging techniques for laboratory animals
Authors: Lauber David Tibor , Fülöp András , Kovács Tibor , Szigeti Krisztián , Máthé Domokos , Szijártó Attila
Published: February 2017

In recent decades, imaging devices have become indispensable tools in the basic sciences, in preclinical research and in modern drug development. The rapidly evolving high-resolution in vivo imaging technologies provide a unique opportunity for studying biological processes of living organisms in real time on a molecular level. State of the art small-animal imaging modalities provide non-invasive images rich in quantitative anatomical and functional information, which renders longitudinal studies possible allowing precise monitoring of disease progression and response to therapy in models of different diseases. The number of animals in a scientific investigation can be substantially reduced using imaging techniques, which is in full compliance with the ethical endeavours for the 3R (reduction, refinement, replacement) policies formulated by Russell and Burch; furthermore, biological variability can be alleviated, as each animal serves as its own control. The most suitable and commonly used imaging modalities for in vivo small-animal imaging are optical imaging (OI), ultrasonography (US), computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and finally the methods of nuclear medicine: positron emission tomography (PET) and single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT).
Death following ceftazidime-induced Kounis syndrome
Authors: Kitulwatte IDG , Gangahawatte S , Perera ULMS , Edirisinghe PAS
Published: February 2017

Kounis syndrome, also known as allergic myocardial infarction or allergic angina syndrome, coincides with chest pain and allergic reactions. It involves the activation of interrelated inflammatory cells following allergic, anaphylactic or anaphylactoid insults. We report a case of Kounis syndrome complicated by an injection of ceftazidime. A 52-year-old man developed shortness of breath and hypotension, leading to immediate unconsciousness, after a ceftazidime injection. Despite intensive care management, he showed no improvement and died approximately 19 h after ceftazidime administration. Autopsy showed massive laryngeal oedema, mucous plugging and collapsed lungs. An ImmunoCAP tryptase assay showed the tryptase level in an autopsy sample to be 118 µg/L (normal < 11.4 µg/L). Microscopy of the myocardium showed cellular infiltration preceding myocardial necrosis. These findings support the pathophysiological theory of Kounis syndrome, with cellular infiltration proposed as the cause of myocardial injury rather than an effect related to the healing process.
Observing peers develops practice, changes culture
Authors: Reilly Kathleen A.
Published: February 2017

Teachers are too rarely supported in investing in the shared inquiry, embedded professional learning, and collaborative culture building that peer observation cycles facilitate. But teachers can disrupt these patterns by opening their doors to colleagues and engaging with them in critical reflection, dialogue, and shared innovation. In this article, the author reveals how a group of aspiring teacher leaders initially resist conducting peer observations, a required assessment in a master’s course, and how this same group is won over after they have experienced the value of the practice.
Design principles for new systems of assessment
Authors: Shepard Lorrie A. , Penuel William R. , Davidson Kristen L.
Published: February 2017

The Every Student Succeeds Act grants states new flexibility to create more balanced assessment systems with a greater role for formative assessment. Drawing on lessons learned over three decades of research and reform, we argue that state and local leaders should take the lead in designing new assessments guided by two core principles: First, make assessments coherent with rich curriculum and instruction; second, ground this integration of curriculum, instruction, and embedded assessments in equity-focused research on learning.
The power of reflective action to build teacher efficacy
Authors: Awkard Tiffany
Published: February 2017

Teachers can regain their sense of efficacy if school leaders engage them in a systematic process, the Reflective Action Protocol, of reflecting on their classroom expectations and practices, making adjustments, and taking careful note of improvements in student learning. This process asks instructionally focused questions that push teachers to recognize their own personal biases, give an honest appraisal of their own effect on students, and consider new ways of teaching. By grounding the discussion in close observations of classroom practices and their effects on learning, school leaders can build teacher efficacy and can move teachers to pursue specific priorities that meet the needs of all students. But school leaders must make a serious commitment to a cyclical process of observing teachers, providing immediate, specific feedback, and focusing on the connection among teacher planning, instruction, and their effect on student learning.
Improve governance for charters
Authors: Finn Chester E. , Manno Bruno V. , Wright Brandon L.
Published: February 2017

With 25 years of experience, the charter sector has had enough time to experience a host of unanticipated and unresolved problems related to the complex ways in which charter school governance relates to school leadership. The time has come for the sector to revisit some fundamental decisions about how charter schools and networks are governed, both to tighten arrangements that are excessively loose and to encourage further innovation. The future of chartering should not be a linear extension of the past. If we left some problems unsolved in 1991 (or had no idea that they would become problems), that is no reason not to take stock of things as they stand today and to set matters right before moving forward. This article is based on the authors’ book, Charter Schools at the Crossroads: Predicaments, Paradoxes, Possibilities (Harvard Education Press, 2016).
The Editor’s Note
Authors: Richardson Joan
Published: February 2017

In the wake of the recent election, countless Americans have become determined to play a more active role in political life. For those interested in speaking out on issues related to public education, key strategies include identifying credible news sources, finding allies, reaching out to state representatives and local school board members, and holding officials accountable for their decisions.
Local congregations: Engaging neighbors of other faiths
Authors: Medley A. Roy
Published: February 2017

When I was growing up in rural north Georgia in the 1950s and 60s, religious diversity meant there might be a Pentecostal church tucked in among the Baptist and Methodist churches. Today, congregations typically do not live in communities in which religious diversity is so narrowly experienced. Diversity no longer even signals that there are Protestant, Pentecostal, Catholic, and Jewish houses of worship present. The increase in the scope of diversity in almost every community means there are representatives of various non-Abrahamic religions present as well. Members of these different faith expressions live together in community, send their children to the same public schools, participate in local civic events, and serve one another as physicians, pharmacists, teachers, restauranteurs, hoteliers, and retailers. In short, people of diverse religions live, work, and worship in close proximity. How, then, do they form community in which the social fabric of the city, county, or state in which they live, and ultimately that of the nation, is strengthened by a commitment to the common good that secures for all the blessings of security, peace, and justice? In this multi-religious context, how are Christian congregations enhancing rather than hindering the building of community in diversity?
Quantitative Data Analysis—In the Graduate Curriculum
Authors: Albers Michael J.
Published: February 2017

A quantitative research study collects numerical data that must be analyzed to help draw the study’s conclusions. Teaching quantitative data analysis is not teaching number crunching, but teaching a way of critical thinking for how to analyze the data. The goal of data analysis is to reveal the underlying patterns, trends, and relationships of a study’s contextual situation. Learning data analysis is not learning how to use statistical tests to crunch numbers but is, instead, how to use those statistical tests as a tool to draw valid conclusions from the data. Three major pedagogical goals that must be taught as part of learning quantitative data analysis are the following: (a) determining what questions to ask during all phases of a data analysis, (b) recognizing how to judge the relevance of potential questions, and (c) deciding how to understand the deep-level relationships within the data.
Black South African caregivers’ understanding and responses to their children with autism spectrum disorder symptoms: a qualitative study
Authors: Mthombeni Zinhle Cynthia , Nwoye Augustine
Published: February 2017

The purpose of this study was to investigate Black South African caregivers’ understanding and approaches to securing a cure for their children with autistic spectrum disorder symptoms. Qualitative data were collected focusing on exploring caregivers’ narratives. A purposive sampling technique was used to draw study participants who were of Black South African background and had a child with a diagnosis of an autistic spectrum disorder. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the data collected and to give analytical meaning to the narratives. The results yielded four dominant themes regarding the level of caregivers’ understanding of autistic spectrum disorder and the options they followed in searching for the cure of their children’s illness. The study drew attention to the feelings of frustration experienced by caregivers in their discovery that the use of both indigenous and Western approaches to autistic spectrum disorder symptoms yielded little benefits. Given these findings, a number of recommendations were made to improve policy and practice in the mental health treatment of children with autistic spectrum disorder symptoms among Black South African clients.
Soft Information in Loan Agreements
Authors: Bozanic Zahn , Cheng Lin , Zach Tzachi
Published: February 2017

In this study, we seek to understand whether soft information conveyed by contracting language found in private loan agreements is informative regarding borrower risk. We proxy for credit-risk-relevant soft information using Loughran and McDonald’s uncertainty measure. We first examine initial contract terms and find that, incremental to traditional summary measures of credit risk, increased contractual uncertainty is associated with higher initial loan spreads and a greater likelihood of using dynamic and performance-pricing covenants. We then turn to examine realized credit risk over the life of the loan and find that increased uncertainty is associated with a higher likelihood of future loan downgrades and loan amendments. We corroborate our results on the risk relevance of soft information by showing that the bid-ask spreads of loans trading on the secondary loan market are increasing in uncertainty. Overall, the evidence we provide is consistent with embedded linguistic cues in loan agreements publicly revealing the credit risk assessments of privately informed lenders.