bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Social Networking Sites Continuance: An Application of Extended Theory of Planned Behaviour
Authors: Rajput Himanshu
Published: September 2016

Social networking sites (SNSs) have become popular in India with the proliferation of Internet. SNSs have gained the interests of academicians and researchers. The current study is an endeavor to understand the continuance of social networking sites in India. The study applies an extended version of theory of planned behavior. Additional factors privacy concerns and habits were incorporated into the standard theory of planned behaviour. A survey was conducted in a Central University in India. Overall, data was collected from 150 respondents. PLS-SEM was used to test the proposed model. All the hypotheses except the moderating role of habits between intentions and continued use of social networking sites, were supported by the results. Habits were found to affect continued use of social networking sites indirectly through continued intentions.
Innovative Product Management Driving Enhanced Customer Experience Management (CEM)
Authors: Dutta Niladri Shekhar
Published: September 2016

Customer Experience Management (CEM) has been a buzzword in both demand and supply side dynamics of the Telecom value chain. However emphasis is being given around CEM, it never feels just enough! Telecom ISPs are looking to generate more awareness of revenue generation and realization, so that it not only is about the increase of top line but also about consolidation of various products and services, almost being an aggregator at one stage to deliver with the help of a single service delivery platform. In other words, what is commonly known as VAS-Value added services in the industry. The key to this is real innovation, of newer ideas and productizing these concepts to market. For innovative product management, Telcos are opting to look for value added services, value added delivery as well as enhanced business models and operational frameworks. This is primarily done to carve out an innovation which leads to a differentiator non-existent in the market. A very common, yet unique one such concept can be the Balanced Scorecard perspective and mapping these different perspectives into various domains of a Telecom business. These are obviously very common in present days and widely used by all Telcos to arrive at a definitive decision for any strategic cause. It can be mapped to perspectives ranging from financial, customer-centricity and orientation, internal process management, functionality & delivery, lastly internal learning & growth. We need to understand the context of innovation of products & services under all of these above perspectives. This will give us immense clarity in creating such a differentiated offering to render enhanced Customer experience for better sustainability and thus thriving on market competition. Each layer of a Telco enterprise set up follows specific blueprint, whether its the business or operations or technology. This will ensure that all company strategies which are focused towards creating and delivering differentiated offerings and delivery are being realized appropriately hence the delta of perception versus reality is minimized to a great extent. This would definitely increase customer experience in all possible forms. Product life cycle management which forms the heart of CEM, should be certainly driven by cost of sale as well as price of product. Both of these parameters should be populated through a Balanced scorecard from a financial perspective to decide on a go-no go decision for concepts to be marketed in a Telco. These need to be realized through specific derivatives of business processes following best practices to ensure enhanced customer experience and better delivery of services to the end customer. Perhaps, the most important
Wawelskie ceremoniały wielkoczwartkowe z XVI wieku
Authors: Fedorowicz Szymon
Published: September 2016

The two liturgical codexes of the first half of the 16th century, preserved in the cathedral archives in Krakow and presented above, are nearly identical in their contents. They both refer to the same Maundy Thursday episcopal celebration, for which they contain identical formulas. The more essential difference lies only in the amount of rubrics, which when set together, don’t reveal any discrepancies in celebrating particular rites.However the books differ almost in everything as far as their external appearance is concerned, that is: their size, cover, edition, „breaking text”, writing and decoration. Owing to the great number of peculiar rubricistic information both ceremonials constitute a precious source for reconstructing the Maundy Thursday liturgy of the past, which apart from the Mass of the Last Supper contained the rites of blessing of the oil of the sick, the oil of catechumens and the chrism.
Liturgia godzin w Liber officialis Amalariusza z Metzu
Authors: Frontczak Bogusława
Published: September 2016

The paper analyzes the 9th century liturgy of the hours on the basis of the Liber officialis by Amalarius of Metz. The main issue is focused on reconstruction of order and prayers that may be found there. In each hour described by the author of the Liber officialis it is possible to find identical elements: explanation of prayer time, listing psalms, verses or other prayers, aim of each prayer and behavior of priest and congregation. Amalarius gave to all mentioned elements the allegorical interpretation.
„Nie dopuść, abyśmy ulegli pokusie” – od Pisma Świętego do codziennej liturgii i modlitwy
Authors: Salm Antoni
Published: September 2016

As the result of a biblical revival, the Polish text of the petition of the Lord’s Prayer in the Bible (Matt 6 : 13 and Luke 11 : 4) was changed from “Lead us not into temptation” to “Do not allow us to give into temptation”, which was also included in the Lectionary. This text is correct in respect to theology and language, and it is waiting for its place in the Eucharistic liturgy and daily prayer.
Geneza i historia fermentum
Authors: Mieczkowski Janusz
Published: September 2016

Since the priests who serve the titles cannot be with the Pope at his solemn Sunday mass, he sends to each of them a particle of the bread which he has just consecrated, and this particle is called fermentum. It is carried by acolytes in linen bags to the churches inside the city, and when the celebrant receives it he places it in the chalice. This unites his mass with that of the pope. Introduction of this custom is attributed by Liber Pontificalis (VI century) to Miltiades (311–314) and to Siricius (384–399). Such fermentum disappeared in the VII century, surviving only in the case of a stational mass celebrated in the absence of a pope by a priest or bishop, and for the mass celebrated by priests in their own churches on Holy Saturday. The custom of such fermentum lasted in Rome to the VIII or IX century. At this time appeared a new custom – sancta. It was the fragment reserved from the Eucharist consecrated at the last mass in that church, and brought to the altar at the introit (or offertory) to symbolize the perpetual identity of the sacrifice offered in the Eucharist, was placed in the chalice to partake. The longest, to the XIII or XIV century, fermentum survived in the holy orders bishops, priests and consecrated maids.
Wkład kapłanów zakonnych w kształtowanie się liturgicznego kultu Serca Jezusa
Authors: Mocydlarz Włodzimierz
Published: September 2016

Contribution by many religious priests (Benedictines, Cistercians, Dominicans, Franciscans and Jesuits) to the devotion of Sacred Heart has improved its theological roots. The article lists priests who conducted the study of Biblical and patristic sources of the cult of Sacred Heart. Their prayer, meditation and contemplation deepened the truth of the Gospel and Tradition. The worship of Sacred Heart is rooted in the Word of God and in it’s Patristic interpretation, but it’s theological development and the intervention of God through Marguerite Marie Alacoque brought to the approval of the cult by the Church.
Problem autorstwa melodii polskiego Te Deum milenijnego. Spojrzenie retrospektywne i aktualne wyniki badań
Authors: Drewniak Janusz
Published: September 2016

The millennium hymn Te Deum has been known and sung in Poland for over forty years. The author of this dissertation presents the complicated circumstances revolving around the creation of this hymn. The inspiration were incorrect notes about the composer of the hymn, which had been published in song-books. In past years it lead people to believe that Te Deum was composed by the priest Antoni Chlondowski. The author, who based his research on that of Maria Wacholc, opposed the idea that the priest Chlondowski had composed the hymn. This article presents analysis of the composing style and the biography of the priest Chlondowski, which contradict his authorship. Next, in the following part of this article the author presented some facts which helped him to find the authentic composers. According to the author of this dissertation the authentic composers of Te Deum were Józef Furmanik and Franciszek Wesołowski. The aim of this article is to emphasize the necessity of the correction of the mistaken information about the composer in the song-books which will be published in the future.This article has the following structure: Te Deum in the history of the Catholic Church; Polish language version of Te Deum used in the liturgy in the XXth century; Polish millennium Te Deum; The controversy around the authorship of the priest Antoni Chlondowski; The controversy around the authorship of Franciszek Wesołowski; The authentic composers – Józef Furmanik and Franciszek Wesołowski.
Do CEO Succession and Succession Planning Affect Stakeholders' Perceptions of Financial Reporting Risk? Evidence from Audit Fees
Authors: Bills Kenneth L. , Lisic Ling Lei , Seidel Timothy A.
Published: September 2016

In this paper, we examine how CEO succession and succession planning affect perceptions of financial reporting risk among stakeholders who are responsible for and oversee firms' financial reporting (e.g., auditors, management, and audit committees). Management succession introduces uncertainty about firms' future operations, financial policies, and potential motivation for earnings management, which we predict elevates the perceived risk of financial reporting improprieties. Consistent with this prediction, we find that audit fees are higher for firms with new CEOs. Importantly, however, we note that careful CEO succession planning (i.e., promoting an “heir apparent”) attenuates perceptions of higher risk, as evidenced by a lack of an audit pricing adjustment. These results are robust to several alternative specifications and analyses designed to mitigate the concern that the association between audit fees and CEO succession and succession planning is driven by factors leading to the CEO change. We also show that audit fee increases dissipate over time as the new, non-heir CEO stays longer at the firm, reinforcing the inference that audit fees increase in response to the uncertainty surrounding a new CEO. Additionally, we do not find evidence of a deterioration in audit quality with new CEOs, independent of the succession plan.

JEL Classifications: G30; M12; M41; M42.
Do Investors Perceive Low Risk When Earnings are Smooth Relative to the Volatility of Operating Cash Flows? Discerning Opportunity and Incentive to Report Smooth Earnings
Authors: Erickson Devon , Hewitt Max , Maines Laureen A.
Published: September 2016

A fundamental accounting question is whether investors perceive low risk when earnings are smooth relative to the volatility of operating cash flows. We conduct two experiments to examine this question. Absent additional information concerning the likelihood of earnings management, our first experiment finds that investors give managers the benefit of the doubt and perceive low risk when earnings are relatively smooth. Given this finding, our second experiment examines whether additional information that supports investors' suspicions of earnings management affects investors' risk judgments when earnings are relatively smooth. We find that investors no longer give managers the benefit of the doubt when additional information suggests that managers have either the opportunity or the incentive to report smooth earnings. Our study provides important insights to the literature concerning both “whether” and “when” relatively smooth earnings affect investors' risk judgments.

Data Availability: Contact the authors.
What Happened to Speed?: Scheduled Speeds and Travel Times of North American Passenger Trains, 1965 to 2015
Authors: Allen John G. , Levinson Herbert S.
Published: September 2016

Most larger North American railroads provided intercity passenger service until the 1970s, when the industry experienced a difficult restructuring period. During that decade, the U.S. and Canadian federal governments took responsibility for intercity passenger trains while financially troubled railroads (especially in the U.S. Northeast and Midwest) were downgrading lines and deferring maintenance. Although railroads returned to financial health in the 1980s and 1990s largely because of deregulation, track capacity was substantially reduced compared with the 1960s level, and most lines were optimized for freight service rather than passenger service. To assess the effects of these changes on scheduled travel times and speeds, intercity passenger timetables for specific routes were examined for selected years between 1965 and 2015. Although certain long-distance routes were scheduled for noticeably slower speeds in 2015 than in 1965, other scheduled speeds decreased only marginally. On long-distance routes and in corridors outside the northeastern United States, track capacity reductions, freight train interference, or both seem to have placed downward pressure on scheduled speeds. Scheduled speeds have increased, or at worst, decreased slightly on lines that have received substantial investment. Massive federal investment in the Northeast Corridor since the 1970s has resulted in considerably faster schedules.
Permeability at higher temperature for development of heat-resist magnetic sensor
Authors: Honmyo Katsufumi , Kikuchi Hiroaki
Published: September 2016

To develop magnetic sensors operating at high temperatures, we evaluated the magnetic parameters of several soft magnetic materials. Although NiFe is a most competent candidate for a magnetic field sensor at room temperature, it is ineffective at higher temperature (above 400°C). On the other hand, Fe based alloy can be expected as a candidate material having a high permeability at higher temperatures due to high Curie temperature. Especially, FeSi steel is most expected to be utilized to a magnetic sensor operating at high temperatures.
The implementation of microwave methods for dielectric constant of blood phantoms assessment
Authors: Faktorová Dagmar , Luptáková Eva
Published: September 2016

The article is directed on detection of changes of blood phantom permittivity, which can begin by insertion of substances defining a diseased condition in living organism. It is based on assumption that the structure of the blood phantom is possible to specify analytically more exactly than the structure of blood with more difficulty controllable ingredients in living organism. For that purpose blood phantoms were created ant their permittivity were compared with the permittivity of living organism blood. For that purpose microwave frequencies which are suitable to interact selectively with dielectric substances differing with content of different ingredients on the used microwave signal. Application methods were adopted in accordance with the kind of the material and the manner of microwave frequencies application. The evaluation methods of the measured values were also used with regard to these values.
Stabilization of repulsive-type magnetic levitation system using superconducting magnetic bearing
Authors: Murakami Iwanori , Shimada Takeru , Kobayashi Yasuhiro , Mori Hayato , Ando Yoshinori
Published: September 2016

In this report, a stabilization method for a repulsive-type magnetic levitation system using a superconducting magnetic bearing is proposed. A repulsive-type magnetic levitation system can generate a large levitation force. However, this system is unstable since there is no horizontal stabilization and moment of force without control. Incidentally, a high-temperature (high-Tc) superconducting magnetic bearing can always stabilize levitation without control. Moreover, it is possible to cancel the unstable force of repulsive-type magnetic levitation by increasing the rigidity of the high-Tc superconducting bearing. In this study, the unstable force of repulsive-type magnetic levitation was stabilized by combining these two methods. In addition, the levitation system generated a large levitation force.
Stress excited electrical dipole model for electromagnetic emission induced in fractured rock
Authors: Han Jinhui , Huang Songling , Zhao Wei , Wang Shen
Published: September 2016

Electromagnetic emission signal induced in fractured rocks has a wide frequency band, and the change in signal amplitude is very severe. In this paper, based on the analysis of the stress change at the crack tip, the stress excited electrical dipole (SEED) model had been established. Then the self-expanding destructive experiments were carried out by different rocks. The simulation results based on the model had been indicated that the intensity of the signal is closely related to the variation of the stress near the crack tip. The frequency of the signal is not only related to the mode of the crack, but also the material properties.
Examination of inspecting method of opposite side defect in steel plate using AC and DC magnetic field
Authors: Fujii Akira , Adachi Toshiki , Gotoh Yuji
Published: September 2016

In the inspection of the steel wall of the tank in the petrochemical plant etc., it is necessary to detect the opposite side defect from the surface of the steel wall. In this paper, the electromagnetic inspection method using alternating (ac) and static (dc) magnetic field is proposed. And, this method is investigated by verification experiment and 3-D nonlinear finite-element method (FEM) taking account of hysteresis(minor loop) and eddy current. It is shown that the detection of opposite side defect is possible by the differential permeability of minor loop of which the position on the hysteresis loop is affected by the existence of defect.
Recursive principal component analysis with forgetting factor for operational modal analysis of linear time-varying system
Authors: Guan Wei , Wang Cheng , Chen D.S. , Luo Xiangyu , Su F.F.
Published: September 2016

To update the model on-line and track the changing instantaneous modal shapes and modal frequencies of slow time-varying systems under unobservable random excitation operating conditions, a novel time-domain on-line operational modal analysis (OMA) algorithm based on recursive principal component analysis (RPCA) with forgetting factor is addressed. The algorithm is to update the covariance matrix with forgetting factor, and eigenvalues and eigenvectors tokened system properties are acquired. Finally, numerical simulations with three-degree-of-freedom system with time-varying mass are used to illustrate this method.
Hybrid excited synchronous machine with flux control possibility
Authors: Di Barba Paolo , Mognaschi Maria Evelina , Bonislawski Michal , Palka Ryszard , Paplicki Piotr , Piotuch Rafal , Wardach Marcin
Published: September 2016

The paper presents simulation and experimental results of an Electric Controlled Permanent Magnet Synchronous (ECPMS) machine that offers an extended magnetic field control capability. This makes it suitable for battery electric vehicle drives. Rotor, stator and additional direct current supplied coil of the machine have been analyzed in detail. Control and power supply systems of the machine have been presented. Influence of the additional excitation on the machine performance has also been discussed.
Fully 3D geometrical calibration for an X-ray grating-based imaging system
Authors: Chen Mianyi , Yang Qingsong , Cong Wenxiang , Wei Biao , Wang Ge
Published: September 2016

The Precision of geometric parameters is the key requirement for grating-based phase-contrast CT and attenuation-based CT in cone-beam geometry. By extending our fan-beam geometric calibration work via Locally Linear Embedding (LLE) into the cone-beam case, here we calibrate the geometric parameters of our in-house phase-contrast CT system with attenuation projection data. Numerical and experimental studies show that the LLE-based calibration method is feasible to calibrate 8 parameters of the cone-beam geometry that improves reconstruction quality significantly.
Robust low-dose dynamic cerebral perfusion CT image restoration via coupled dictionary learning scheme
Authors: Tian Xiumei , Zeng Dong , Zhang Shanli , Huang Jing , Zhang Hua , He Ji , Lu Lijun , Xi Weiwen , Ma Jianhua , Bian Zhaoying
Published: September 2016

Dynamic cerebral perfusion x-ray computed tomography (PCT) imaging has been advocated to quantitatively and qualitatively assess hemodynamic parameters in the diagnosis of acute stroke or chronic cerebrovascular diseases. However, the associated radiation dose is a significant concern to patients due to its dynamic scan protocol. To address this issue, in this paper we propose an image restoration method by utilizing coupled dictionary learning (CDL) scheme to yield clinically acceptable PCT images with low-dose data acquisition. Specifically, in the present CDL scheme, the 2D background information from the average of the baseline time frames of low-dose unenhanced CT images and the 3D enhancement information from normal-dose sequential cerebral PCT images are exploited to train the dictionary atoms respectively. After getting the two trained dictionaries, we couple them to represent the desired PCT images as spatio-temporal prior in objective function construction. Finally, the low-dose dynamic cerebral PCT images are restored by using a general DL image processing. To get a robust solution, the objective function is solved by using a modified dictionary learning based image restoration algorithm. The experimental results on clinical data show that the present method can yield more accurate kinetic enhanced details and diagnostic hemodynamic parameter maps than the state-of-the-art methods.
A fast method based on NESTA to accurately reconstruct CT image from highly undersampled projection measurements
Authors: He Zhijie , Qiao Quanbang , Li Jun , Huang Meiping , Zhu Shouping , Huang Liyu
Published: September 2016

BACKGROUND: The CT image reconstruction algorithm based compressed sensing (CS) can be formulated as an optimization problem that minimizes the total-variation (TV) term constrained by the data fidelity and image nonnegativity. There are a lot of solutions to this problem, but the computational efficiency and reconstructed image quality of these methods still need to be improved.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate a faster and more accurate mathematical algorithm to settle TV term minimization problem of CT image reconstruction.

METHOD: A Nesterov’s algorithm (NESTA) is a fast and accurate algorithm for solving TV minimization problem, which can be ascribed to the use of most notably Nesterov’s smoothing technique and a subtle averaging of sequences of iterates, which has been shown to improve the convergence properties of standard gradient-descent algorithms. In order to demonstrate the superior performance of NESTA on computational efficiency and image quality, a comparison with Simultaneous Algebraic Reconstruction Technique-TV (SART-TV) and Split-Bregman (SpBr) algorithm is made using a digital phantom study and two physical phantom studies from highly undersampled projection measurements.

RESULTS: With only 25% of conventional full-scan dose and, NESTA method reduces the average CT number error from 51.76HU to 9.98HU on Shepp-Logan phantom and reduces the average CT number error from 50.13HU to 0.32HU on Catphan 600 phantom. On an anthropomorphic head phantom, the average CT number error is reduced from 84.21HU to 1.01HU in the central uniform area.

CONCLUSIONS: To the best of our knowledge this is the first work that apply the NESTA method into CT reconstruction based CS. Research shows that this method is of great potential, further studies and optimization are necessary.
Representation, Relation and ‘Empêchement’: Aesthetic Affinities in Beckett's Dialogues with Georges Duthuit
Authors: Lawrence Tim
Published: September 2016

This essay examines Samuel Beckett's correspondence with Georges Duthuit between 1948 and 1950, the period when Duthuit edited Transition with Beckett's close involvement. By contrast to most discussions of Beckett's relationship with Duthuit, the essay focuses on Duthuit's perspective in these exchanges. It argues that Duthuit's assimilation of philosophical perspectives, especially those given in Maurice Merleau-Ponty's Phénomenologie de la perception and Maurice Blanchot's Thomas l'obscur, were influential for Beckett's own thinking about aesthetics. This thinking is present in Three Dialogues with Georges Duthuit (1949), which I argue draws on Duthuit's side of the exchanges more positively than is typically assumed, and I trace how Duthuit's letters to Beckett actively respond to a theory of ‘empêchement’ – a resistance to representation – expressed in Beckett's earlier art criticism. Moreover, the essay argues that Duthuit's monograph Les Fauves, and its translation as The Fauvist Painters supervised by Beckett, bear the traces of Duthuit's exchanges with Beckett, and foreshadow the particularity of Beckett's visual aesthetic in mature prose such as L'Innommable. In this essay, I therefore add to the material challenging the ’siege in the room’ narrative of Beckett as an isolated writer during the post-war period, and also suggest that translation, criticism and correspondence offered a way for both men to work through and engage with specific philosophical ideas subtly present in Beckett's post-war writing.
‘Let What Happens Happen’: The Whitelaw Archive
Authors: Pattie David
Published: September 2016

This article examines the archival material donated by the estate of Billie Whitelaw to the University of Reading, after the actor's death. The material sheds light on the actress' approach to Beckett's plays, and illuminates the nature of the working relationship between Whitelaw and Beckett. However, the material is also of interest because it sheds light on a series of questions raised by Jonathan Heron and Nicholas Johnson in the recent performance edition of Journal of Beckett Studies (JOBS 23.1). These questions concern the nature of genetic labour in the archive, as related to performance. In other parts of the archive, genetic labour aims to uncover the stages through which a piece of writing attained its published (or abandoned) form. In the theatre, the process of rehearsal is itself a process of genetic labour, which aims to interrogate, not the author's preferred version of the text, but the version agreed by a number of artists working in collaboration. In the theatre, the question of the actor's performative intention, and the labour through which that intention is realised, is an important part of any archival exploration. The Whitelaw archive is valuable, this article argues, because it enables us to trace the formation of a particular approach to Beckett's texts, undertaken through a process of genetic labour on the texts themselves, rather than on the character or situation that the texts suggest.
Design of Cold-Formed Steel Screw Connections with Gypsum Sheathing at Ambient and Elevated Temperatures
Authors: Chen Wei , Ye Jihong , Chen Tao
Published: September 2016

Load-bearing cold-formed steel (CFS) walls sheathed with double layers of gypsum plasterboard on both sides have demonstrated good fire resistance and attracted increasing interest for use in mid-rise CFS structures. As the main connection method, screw connections between CFS and gypsum sheathing play an important role in both the structural design and fire resistance of this wall system. However, studies on the mechanical behavior of screw connections with double-layer gypsum sheathing are still limited. In this study, 200 monotonic tests of screw connections with single- or double-layer gypsum sheathing at both ambient and elevated temperatures were conducted. The failure of screw connections with double-layer gypsum sheathing in shear was different from that of single-layer gypsum sheathing connections at ambient temperature, and it could be described as the breaking of the loaded sheathing edge combined with significant screw tilting and the loaded sheathing edge flexing fracture. However, the screw tilting and flexing fracture of the loaded sheathing edge gradually disappear at elevated temperatures. In addition, the influence of the loaded edge distance, double-layer sheathing and elevated temperatures is discussed in detail with clear conclusions. A unified design formula for the shear strength of screw connections with gypsum sheathing is proposed for ambient and elevated temperatures with adequate accuracy. A simplified load–displacement model with the post-peak branch is developed to evaluate the load–displacement response of screw connections with gypsum sheathing at ambient and elevated temperatures.
Black Heart Detection in White Radish by Hyperspectral Transmittance Imaging Combined with Chemometric Analysis and a Successive Projections Algorithm
Authors: Song Dajie , Song Lijun , Sun Ye , Hu Pengcheng , Tu Kang , Pan Leiqing , Yang Hongwei , Huang Min
Published: September 2016

Radishes with black hearts will lose edible value and cause food safety problems, so it is important to detect and remove the defective ones before processing and consumption. A hyperspectral transmittance imaging system with 420 wavelengths was developed to capture images from white radishes. A successive-projections algorithm (SPA) was applied with 10 wavelengths selected to distinguish defective radishes with black hearts from normal samples. Pearson linear correlation coefficients were calculated to further refine the set of wavelengths with 4 wavelengths determined. Four chemometric classifiers were developed for classification of normal and defective radishes, using 420, 10 and 4 wavelengths as input variables. The overall classifying accuracy based on the four classifiers were 95.6%–100%. The highest classification with 100% was obtained with a back propagation artificial neural network (BPANN) for both calibration and prediction using 420 and 10 wavelengths. Overall accuracies of 98.4% and 97.8% were obtained for calibration and prediction, respectively, with Fisher's linear discriminant analysis (FLDA) based on 4 wavelengths, and was better than the other three classifiers. This indicated that the developed hyperspectral transmittance imaging was suitable for black heart detection in white radishes with the optimal wavelengths, which has potential for fast on-line discrimination before food processing or reaching storage shelves.
Flexible Carbon Aerogels
Authors: Schwan Marina , Ratke Lorenz
Published: September 2016

Carbon aerogels are highly porous materials with a large inner surface area. Due to their high electrical conductivity they are excellent electrode materials in supercapacitors. Their brittleness, however, imposes certain limitations in terms of applicability. In that context, novel carbon aerogels with varying degree of flexibility have been developed. These highly porous, light aerogels are characterized by a high surface area and possess pore structures in the micrometer range, allowing for a reversible deformation of the aerogel network. A high ratio of pore size to particle size was found to be crucial for high flexibility. For dynamic microstructural analysis, compression tests were performed in-situ within a scanning electron microscope allowing us to directly visualize the microstructural flexibility of an aerogel. The flexible carbon aerogels were found to withstand between 15% and 30% of uniaxial compression in a reversible fashion. These findings might stimulate further research and new application fields directed towards flexible supercapacitors and batteries.
Antibiotic Treatment in End-of-Life Cancer Patients—A Retrospective Observational Study at a Palliative Care Center in Sweden
Authors: Helde-Frankling Maria , Bergqvist Jenny , Bergman Peter , Björkhem-Bergman Linda
Published: September 2016

Background: The aim of this study was to elucidate whether palliative cancer patients benefit from antibiotic treatment in the last two weeks of life when an infection is suspected. Method: We reviewed medical records from 160 deceased palliative cancer patients that had been included in previous studies on vitamin D and infections. Patients treated with antibiotics during the last two weeks of life were identified and net effects of treatment (symptom relief) and possible adverse events were extracted from medical records. Results: Seventy-nine patients (49%) had been treated with antibiotics during the last two weeks in life. In 37% (n = 29), the treatment resulted in evident symptom relief and among these 50% had a positive bacterial culture, 43% had a negative culture and in 7% no culture was taken. Among the patients with no or unknown effect of antibiotics, 50% had a positive culture. When the indication for antibiotic treatment was to avoid or treat sepsis, symptom relief was achieved in 50% of the patients (n = 19). Only 4% (n = 3) of the patients experienced adverse events of the treatment (diarrhea, nausea). Conclusions: Treating infections with antibiotics in the last weeks of life may improve the quality of life for palliative cancer patients, especially if sepsis is suspected or confirmed. According to our results, the beneficial effects outweigh the potentially negative outcomes.
Meridional and Zonal Wavenumber Dependence in Tracer Flux in Rossby Waves
Authors: Balasuriya Sanjeeva
Published: September 2016

Eddy-driven jets are of importance in the ocean and atmosphere, and to a first approximation are governed by Rossby wave dynamics. This study addresses the time-dependent flux of fluid and a passive tracer between such a jet and an adjacent eddy, with specific regard to determining zonal and meridional wavenumber dependence. The flux amplitude in wavenumber space is obtained, which is easily computable for a given jet geometry, speed and latitude, and which provides instant information on the wavenumbers of the Rossby waves which maximize the flux. This new tool enables the quick determination of which modes are most influential in imparting fluid exchange, which in the long term will homogenize the tracer concentration between the eddy and the jet. The results are validated by computing backward- and forward-time finite-time Lyapunov exponent fields, and also stable and unstable manifolds; the intermingling of these entities defines the region of chaotic transport between the eddy and the jet. The relationship of all of these to the time-varying transport flux between the eddy and the jet is carefully elucidated. The flux quantification presented here works for general time-dependence, whether or not lobes (intersection regions between stable and unstable manifolds) are present in the mixing region, and is therefore also easily computable for wave packets consisting of infinitely many wavenumbers.
Flaring γ-Ray Emission from High Redshift Blazars
Authors: Orienti Monica , D’Ammando Filippo , Giroletti Marcello , Finke Justin , Dallacasa Daniele
Published: September 2016

High redshift blazars are among the most powerful objects in the Universe. Although they represent a significant fraction of the extragalactic hard X-ray sky, they are not commonly detected in γ-rays. High redshift ( z > 2 ) objects represent < 10 per cent of the active galactic nuclei (AGN) population observed by Fermi so far, and γ-ray flaring activity from these sources is even more uncommon. The characterization of the radio-to-γ-ray properties of high redshift blazars represents a powerful tool for the study of the energetics of such extreme objects and the Extragalactic Background Light. This contribution will present results of multi-band campaigns, from radio to γ-rays, on PKS 0836+710, PKS 2149−306, and TXS 0536+145. The latter is the highest redshift detection of a flaring γ-ray blazar so far. At the peaks of their respective flares these sources reached an apparent isotropic gamma-ray luminosity of about 10 50 erg·s − 1 , which is comparable with the luminosity observed from the most powerful blazars. The physical properties derived from the multi-wavelength observations of these sources are then compared with those shown by the high redshift population.
Perceived Relative Harm of Selected Cigarettes and Non-Cigarette Tobacco Products—A Study of Young People from a Socio-Economically Disadvantaged Rural Area in Poland
Authors: Kaleta Dorota , Polanska Kinga , Bak-Romaniszyn Leokadia , Wojtysiak Piotr
Published: September 2016

The perceived health risk of recently introduced nicotine and tobacco products may influence both their uptake and continued use. The aim of the study was to assess how adolescents rate relative harmfulness of slim and menthol cigarettes, water pipes, e-cigarettes, and smokeless tobacco compared to regular cigarettes. Cross-sectional survey data from students aged 13–19 years from Piotrkowski district, Poland were analyzed. Among the sample of 4050 students, 3552 respondents completed anonymous, confidential, self-administered questionnaire adapted from the Global Youth Tobacco Survey (GYTS). The study results indicate that the students perceived slim cigarettes and menthol cigarettes as less harmful, which is in line with the message created by tobacco companies. On the other hand, less popular products such as water pipes and smokeless tobacco were considered as more harmful. The current study indicates insufficient and misleading perception of harmfulness of different tobacco/nicotine products available on the Polish market. Simultaneously, there is insufficient countrywide public health education in this matter. Preventive measures are necessary to discourage young people from smoking uptake and to ensure that potential consumers can, based on objective data, make informed decisions about cigarettes and non-cigarette tobacco products.
A Combination of Stop-and-Go and Electro-Tricycle Laser Scanning Systems for Rural Cadastral Surveys
Authors: Zhong Liang , Liu Pengfei , Wang Liuzhao , Wei Zhanying , Guan Haiyan , Yu Yongtao
Published: September 2016

Over the past decade, land-based laser scanning technologies have been actively studied and implemented, in response to the need for detailed three-dimensional (3D) data about our rural and urban environment for topographic mapping, cadastral mapping, and other street-level features, which are difficult and time consuming to measure by other instruments. For rural areas in China, the complex terrain and poor planning limit the applicability of this advanced technology. To improve the efficiency of rural surveys, we present two SSW (Shoushi and SiWei) laser scanning systems for rapid topographic mapping: stop-and-go and electro-tricycle laser scanning systems. The objective of this paper is to evaluate whether laser scanning data collected by the developed SSW systems meet the accuracy requirements for rural homestead mapping. We investigated the performance of the two laser scanning systems on Ma’anshan Village, a small, typical village in Hubei Province, China. To obtain full coverage of the village, we fused the stop-and-go and electro-tricycle laser scanning data. The performance of the developed SSW systems is described by the results of building contours extracted from the fused data against the established building vector map.
Regulation of Translocator Protein 18 kDa (TSPO) Expression in Rat and Human Male Germ Cells
Authors: Manku Gurpreet , Culty Martine
Published: September 2016

Translocator protein 18 kDa (TSPO) is a high affinity cholesterol- and drug-binding protein highly expressed in steroidogenic cells, such as Leydig cells, where it plays a role in cholesterol mitochondrial transport. We have previously shown that TSPO is expressed in postnatal day 3 rat gonocytes, precursors of spermatogonial stem cells. Gonocytes undergo regulated phases of proliferation and migration, followed by retinoic acid (RA)-induced differentiation. Understanding these processes is important since their disruption may lead to the formation of carcinoma in situ, a precursor of testicular germ cell tumors (TGCTs). Previously, we showed that TSPO ligands do not regulate gonocyte proliferation. In the present study, we found that TSPO expression is downregulated in differentiating gonocytes. Similarly, in F9 embryonal carcinoma cells, a mouse TGCT cell line with embryonic stem cell properties, there is a significant decrease in TSPO expression during RA-induced differentiation. Silencing TSPO expression in gonocytes increased the stimulatory effect of RA on the expression of the differentiation marker Stra8, suggesting that TSPO exerts a repressive role on differentiation. Furthermore, in normal human testes, TSPO was located not only in Leydig cells, but also in discrete spermatogenic phases such as the forming acrosome of round spermatids. By contrast, seminomas, the most common type of TGCT, presented high levels of TSPO mRNA. TSPO protein was expressed in the cytoplasmic compartment of seminoma cells, identified by their nuclear expression of the transcription factors OCT4 and AP2G. Thus, TSPO appears to be tightly regulated during germ cell differentiation, and to be deregulated in seminomas, suggesting a role in germ cell development and pathology.
Serum Calcium and the Risk of Breast Cancer: Findings from the Swedish AMORIS Study and a Meta-Analysis of Prospective Studies
Authors: Wulaningsih Wahyu , Sagoo Harkiran , Hamza Mustafa , Melvin Jennifer , Holmberg Lars , Garmo Hans , Malmström Håkan , Lambe Mats , Hammar Niklas , Walldius Göran , Jungner Ingmar , Van Hemelrijck Mieke
Published: September 2016

To investigate the association between serum calcium and risk of breast cancer using a large cohort and a systematic review with meta-analysis. From the Swedish Apolipoprotein Mortality Risk (AMORIS) Study we included 229,674 women who had baseline measurements of serum total calcium and albumin. Multivariable Cox regression was used to assess the association between total and albumin-corrected calcium and breast cancer risk. For the systematic review, an electronic search of MEDLINE and EMBASE databases was performed to identify other prospective cohorts assessing the relationship between serum calcium and breast cancer risk. We pooled the results of our AMORIS cohort with other eligible studies in a meta-analysis using a random effects model. I2 test was used to assess heterogeneity. In the AMORIS study, 10,863 women were diagnosed with breast cancer (mean follow-up: 19 years). We found an inverse association between total serum calcium and breast cancer when comparing the fourth quartile to the first quartile (HR: 0.94, 95% CI: 0.88–0.99, p value for trend 0.04) and similar results using albumin-corrected calcium. In the systematic review, we identified another two prospective cohorts evaluating pre-diagnostic serum total calcium and breast cancer. Combining these studies and our findings in AMORIS in a meta-analysis showed a protective effect of serum calcium against breast cancer, with a summary RR of 0.80 (95% CI: 0.66–0.97). No substantial heterogeneity was observed. Our findings in AMORIS and the meta-analysis support an inverse association between serum calcium and breast cancer risk, which warrants mechanistic investigations.
Escaping Antiangiogenic Therapy: Strategies Employed by Cancer Cells
Authors: Pinto Mauricio , Sotomayor Paula , Carrasco-Avino Gonzalo , Corvalan Alejandro , Owen Gareth
Published: September 2016

Tumor angiogenesis is widely recognized as one of the “hallmarks of cancer”. Consequently, during the last decades the development and testing of commercial angiogenic inhibitors has been a central focus for both basic and clinical cancer research. While antiangiogenic drugs are now incorporated into standard clinical practice, as with all cancer therapies, tumors can eventually become resistant by employing a variety of strategies to receive nutrients and oxygen in the event of therapeutic assault. Herein, we concentrate and review in detail three of the principal mechanisms of antiangiogenic therapy escape: (1) upregulation of compensatory/alternative pathways for angiogenesis; (2) vasculogenic mimicry; and (3) vessel co-option. We suggest that an understanding of how a cancer cell adapts to antiangiogenic therapy may also parallel the mechanisms employed in the bourgeoning tumor and isolated metastatic cells delivering responsible for residual disease. Finally, we speculate on strategies to adapt antiangiogenic therapy for future clinical uses.
Inositol Polyphosphate Kinases, Fungal Virulence and Drug Discovery
Authors: Li Cecilia , Lev Sophie , Saiardi Adolfo , Desmarini Desmarini , Sorrell Tania , Djordjevic Julianne
Published: September 2016

Opportunistic fungi are a major cause of morbidity and mortality world-wide, particularly in immunocompromised individuals. Developing new treatments to combat invasive fungal disease is challenging given that fungal and mammalian host cells are eukaryotic, with similar organization and physiology. Even therapies targeting unique fungal cell features have limitations and drug resistance is emerging. New approaches to the development of antifungal drugs are therefore needed urgently. Cryptococcus neoformans, the commonest cause of fungal meningitis worldwide, is an accepted model for studying fungal pathogenicity and driving drug discovery. We recently characterized a phospholipase C (Plc1)-dependent pathway in C. neoformans comprising of sequentially-acting inositol polyphosphate kinases (IPK), which are involved in synthesizing inositol polyphosphates (IP). We also showed that the pathway is essential for fungal cellular function and pathogenicity. The IP products of the pathway are structurally diverse, each consisting of an inositol ring, with phosphate (P) and pyrophosphate (PP) groups covalently attached at different positions. This review focuses on (1) the characterization of the Plc1/IPK pathway in C. neoformans; (2) the identification of PP-IP5 (IP7) as the most crucial IP species for fungal fitness and virulence in a mouse model of fungal infection; and (3) why IPK enzymes represent suitable candidates for drug development.
Evidence Supporting the Uptake and Genomic Incorporation of Environmental DNA in the “Ancient Asexual” Bdelloid Rotifer Philodina roseola
Authors: Bininda-Emonds Olaf , Hinz Claus , Ahlrichs Wilko
Published: September 2016

Increasing evidence suggests that bdelloid rotifers regularly undergo horizontal gene transfer, apparently as a surrogate mechanism of genetic exchange in the absence of true sexual reproduction, in part because of their ability to withstand desiccation. We provide empirical support for this latter hypothesis using the bdelloid Philodina roseola, which we demonstrate to readily internalize environmental DNA in contrast to a representative monogonont rotifer (Brachionus rubens), which, like other monogononts, is facultative sexual and cannot withstand desiccation. In addition, environmental DNA that was more similar to the host DNA was retained more often and for a longer period of time. Indirect evidence (increased variance in the reproductive output of the untreated F1 generation) suggests that environmental DNA can be incorporated into the genome during desiccation and is thus heritable. Our observed fitness effects agree with sexual theory and also occurred when the animals were desiccated in groups (thereby acting as DNA donors), but not individually, indicating the mechanism could occur in nature. Thus, although DNA uptake and its genomic incorporation appears proximally related to anhydrobiosis in bdelloids, it might also facilitate accidental genetic exchange with closely related taxa, thereby maintaining higher levels of genetic diversity than is otherwise expected for this group of “ancient asexuals”.