bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Comparative building performance evaluation of a ‘sustainable’ community centre and a public library building
Authors: Gupta R , Kapsali M , Gregg M
Published: June 2017

This paper uses a forensic building performance evaluation approach to undertake a comparative evaluation of the in-use energy and environmental performance data (collected over two years) of two civic buildings located in Southeast England – a small community centre (<1000 m2) and a medium-sized public library building (∼4500 m2), which are designed to high sustainability standards (EPC A rating) and low heating demand met by on-site low/zero carbon technologies. Although both buildings achieved measured air-permeability rates of ∼5 m3/h.m2, they encountered similar issues related to poor documentation of ‘as-built’ drawings, poor handover and guidance, problems with integrating and maintaining new technologies (heat pumps, biomass boilers and solar thermal), lack of calibration of sub-meters, and issues with automatic window controls. However, the actual annual energy use of the community centre is similar to the design prediction, while it is almost double the prediction in the case of the library building. This is because the community centre management team overcame some of the issues through their continuous engagement and interest in the building’s performance, whereas the management team of the Library building failed to engage with energy management, resulting in disuse of the biomass boiler and solar thermal system.

Practical application: Comparative building performance evaluation (BPE) systematically reveals the similarities and differences in the actual energy and environmental performance of two ‘sustainable’ civic buildings. Careful management of heating and electricity loads, good occupant control over the indoor environment and high performance of low-carbon technologies in the Community Centre results in the building performing better than good practice benchmark. Regular changes in facility management (FM) staff result in inadequate energy management and control over heating, ventilation and lighting, that undermines occupant comfort and leads to excessive energy use in the library building. For civic buildings to perform as designed, it is vital that metering, sub-metering and controls are set up, commissioned and used properly by the FM team. Design teams should ensure that easy-to-understand user guides are made available before handover for FM and occupants.
Do discussions in like-minded groups necessarily lead to more extreme opinions? Deliberative democracy and group polarization
Authors: Strandberg Kim , Himmelroos Staffan , Grönlund Kimmo
Published: June 2017

In today’s society, we can easily connect with people who share our ideas and interests. A problem with this development is that political reasoning in like-minded groups easily becomes lop-sided since there is little reason to critically examine information that everyone seems to agree with. Hence, there is a tendency for groups to become more extreme than the initial inclination of its members. We designed an experiment to test whether introducing deliberative norms in like-minded discussions can alleviate such group polarization. Based on their attitudes toward a linguistic minority, participants were divided into a positive and a negative opinion enclave. Within the two enclaves, the participants were randomly assigned to group discussions either with or without deliberative norms. Both face-to-face and online discussions were arranged. We found that free discussion without rules led to group polarization in like-minded groups, whereas polarization could be avoided in groups with deliberative norms.
Emboli and cognitive state in surgical vs. transcatheter aortic valve replacement
Authors: Friedman Tom , Cohen Oved , Ziser Avishai , Kerner Arthur , Bitton-Worms Keren , Bolotin Gil
Published: June 2017

Background

Neurologic complications and neurocognitive impairment due to cerebral emboli are common following heart surgery. This study aimed to compare the number of emboli detected in the middle cerebral artery in open aortic valve replacement, apical and femoral transcatheter aortic valve replacement, and also to test for an association between the number of emboli captured in each procedure and changes in the patient’s cognitive state.

Methods

Forty-four patients were enrolled in the study, 36 of whom were included in the final analyses: 14 underwent open aortic valve replacement, 2 had femoral transcatheter aortic valve replacement, and 10 had apical transcatheter aortic valve replacement. The number of emboli was detected by middle cerebral artery intraoperative transcranial Doppler ultrasound. The day before the elective surgery and 6–12 weeks later, all patients underwent neurocognitive evaluations by the Mini-Mental State Examination; the difference was tested for an association with the number of emboli.

Results

Open aortic valve replacement resulted in a significantly greater number of emboli (8555, range 2999–12489) than apical (1962, range 521–3850) or femoral (1220, range 948–1946) transcatheter approaches ( p = 0.003). Both transcatheter approaches yielded a comparable amount of emboli ( p = 0.798). No significant association was observed between the change in Mini-Mental State Examination score and the mean number of emboli ( r = 0.026; p = 0.907).

Conclusions

Compared to transcatheter aortic valve replacement, more cerebral emboli are detected during surgical aortic valve replacement; however, this does not appear to adversely affect a patient’s cognitive state.
Debiasing Health-Related Judgments and Decision Making: A Systematic Review
Authors: Ludolph Ramona , Schulz Peter J.
Published: June 2017

Background. Being confronted with uncertainty in the context of health-related judgments and decision making can give rise to the occurrence of systematic biases. These biases may detrimentally affect lay persons and health experts alike. Debiasing aims at mitigating these negative effects by eliminating or reducing the biases. However, little is known about its effectiveness. This study seeks to systematically review the research on health-related debiasing to identify new opportunities and challenges for successful debiasing strategies. Methods. A systematic search resulted in 2748 abstracts eligible for screening. Sixty-eight articles reporting 87 relevant studies met the predefined inclusion criteria and were categorized and analyzed with regard to content and quality. All steps were undertaken independently by 2 reviewers, and inconsistencies were resolved through discussion. Results. The majority of debiasing interventions ( n = 60) was at least partially successful. Optimistic biases ( n = 25), framing effects ( n = 14), and base rate neglects ( n = 10) were the main targets of debiasing efforts. Cognitive strategies ( n = 36) such as “consider-the-opposite” and technological interventions ( n = 33) such as visual aids were mainly tested. Thirteen studies aimed at debiasing health care professionals’ judgments, while 74 interventions addressed the general population. Studies’ methodological quality ranged from 26.2% to 92.9%, with an average rating of 68.7%. Discussion. In the past, the usefulness of debiasing was often debated. Yet most of the interventions reviewed here are found to be effective, pointing to the utility of debiasing in the health context. In particular, technological strategies offer a novel opportunity to pursue large-scale debiasing outside the laboratory. The need to strengthen the transfer of debiasing interventions to real-life settings and a lack of conceptual rigor are identified as the main challenges requiring further research.
Funnel libraries for real-time robust feedback motion planning
Authors: Majumdar Anirudha , Tedrake Russ
Published: June 2017

We consider the problem of generating motion plans for a robot that are guaranteed to succeed despite uncertainty in the environment, parametric model uncertainty, and disturbances. Furthermore, we consider scenarios where these plans must be generated in real time, because constraints such as obstacles in the environment may not be known until they are perceived (with a noisy sensor) at runtime. Our approach is to pre-compute a library of “funnels” along different maneuvers of the system that the state is guaranteed to remain within (despite bounded disturbances) when the feedback controller corresponding to the maneuver is executed. We leverage powerful computational machinery from convex optimization (sums-of-squares programming in particular) to compute these funnels. The resulting funnel library is then used to sequentially compose motion plans at runtime while ensuring the safety of the robot. A major advantage of the work presented here is that by explicitly taking into account the effect of uncertainty, the robot can evaluate motion plans based on how vulnerable they are to disturbances.

We demonstrate and validate our method using extensive hardware experiments on a small fixed-wing airplane avoiding obstacles at high speed (~12 mph), along with thorough simulation experiments of ground vehicle and quadrotor models navigating through cluttered environments. To our knowledge, these demonstrations constitute one of the first examples of provably safe and robust control for robotic systems with complex nonlinear dynamics that need to plan in real time in environments with complex geometric constraints.
Assessment of dominant factors affecting the fracture toughness of polymer/clay nanocomposites using finite element method
Authors: Montazeri A , Kamrava S , Yeganeh MHH
Published: June 2017

The present work is dedicated to the numerical investigation of the influence of clay volume fraction and orientation on the crack growth, and thus, fracture toughness of polymer/clay nanocomposites. Several samples containing different amounts of clay nanofillers are examined using finite element method. It is revealed that there exists a correlation between the clay contents and fracture toughness of these nanocomposites. Additionally, particular attention is also given to incorporate the dispersion level of clay platelets in the base polymer. Accordingly, a dispersion quantification technique is employed. The results demonstrate that while increasing the clay volume fraction can postpone the crack growth, this phenomenon is highly dependent on the dispersion level and arrangement of clay platelets near the crack tip simultaneously.
Chains of Power and Their Representation
Authors: Reed Isaac Ariail
Published: June 2017

Power is the ability to send and bind someone else to act on one’s behalf, a relation that depends upon habits of interpretation. For persons attempting to complete projects, power involves communicating with, recruiting, and controlling subordinates and confronting those who are not in such a relationship of recruitment. This leads to a basic theoretical vocabulary about power players and their projects—a model of rector, actor, and other. As multiple relations of sending and binding become mutually implicated, chains of power—understood as simultaneously social and symbolic—emerge. The vocabulary presented for analyzing power is developed with reference to a series of instances, including the exploitation of labor and police violence. Finally, the paper analyzes a case study of an imperial encounter on the American frontier and examines therein a shift in how political power was represented, with implications for the sociology of transitions to modernity.
Puzzling in Sociology: On Doing and Undoing Theoretical Puzzles
Authors: Mears Ashley
Published: June 2017

One typical way to motivate a sociological argument is to present the research question as a puzzle. Unlike in physical sciences, sociologists work backward to construct theoretical puzzles from their data. Sociologists risk puzzling for puzzles’ sake, and in so doing, they reify categories and concepts that are not necessary or useful to their empirical material at hand. This essay examines mostly qualitative sociologists’ conventions for puzzling and suggests alternatives rooted in thick description of empirics.
Incorporating social sensors, cyber-physical system nodes, and smart products for personalized production in a social manufacturing environment
Authors: Ding Kai , Jiang Pingyu
Published: June 2017

As manufacturing industry heads toward the socialization and mass individualization, customer requirements have become personalized and dynamic. Socialized manufacturing resources spring up in different finer-grained market segments to provide various manufacturing services for customers. To facilitate the mass business collaboration, these resources and customers need to be cyber-physical-social interconnected. This article proposes a cyber-physical-social system for the personalized product production in a social manufacturing environment, which incorporates social sensors in the human end, cyber-physical system nodes in the machine end, and smart products in the product end for social interaction and distributed production control. The three-layer framework of cyber-physical-social system and three-stage interaction scenarios are discussed. The multi-role distributed production control mechanism is studied to enhance the agility, responsiveness, flexibility, and coordination capability of the cyber-physical-social system–enabled personalized product production system. Cyber-physical-social system leverages the global cyber-physical-social convergence and the local regional autonomy for the personalized product production. It is expected that this article will contribute to the research areas of industry 4.0-based manufacturing mode innovation and intelligent production process control.
Nonlinear longitudinal forced vibration of a rod undergoing finite strain
Authors: Soleimani Roody Batool , Fotuhi Ali R , Jalili Mohammad M
Published: June 2017

Rods are one of significant engineering’s structures and vibration analysis of a rod because of extended application of it in engineering is very important. Due to large amplitude or to excitations at frequencies close to their resonance frequencies, these structural elements can experience large amplitude, hence nonlinear vibration. Therefore, understanding of longitudinal nonlinear vibration of rods with different boundary conditions and large amplitude is very useful to reach an appropriate designing. In this paper, vibration of a rod with different boundary conditions undergoing finite strain, without simplification in strain–displacement equation, is investigated. For obtaining governing equation, Green–Lagrange strain, structural damping and Hamilton principle are used and then Galerkin method is employed to convert nonlinear partial differential equation to nonlinear ordinary differential equation. In spite of many papers that only use of cubic term for nonlinearity, the governing equation has quadratic and cubic terms. At the first, free vibration equations are solved with multiple time scales method and for verifying the accuracy of this method, the results are compared with results of Runge–Kutta numerical method, which have good accuracy. Then, forced vibration is investigated in the cases of primary resonance and hard excitation including sub-harmonic and super-harmonic resonances. Analytical expressions for frequency responses are derived, and the effects of different parameters including nonlinear coefficients, damping coefficient and external excitation are discussed.
Attenuated post-exercise heart rate recovery in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus: the role of disease severity and beta-blocker treatment
Authors: Bienias P , Ciurzyński M , Chrzanowska A , Dudzik-Niewiadomska I , Irzyk K , Oleszek K , Kalińska-Bienias A , Kisiel B , Tłustochowicz W , Pruszczyk P
Published: June 2017

Objective

Sinus tachycardia is frequently reported in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), while there are limited data on post-exercise ability to slow heart rate (i.e. heart rate recovery, HRR) in this group of patients.

Methods

We studied consecutive 70 patients with SLE and 30 healthy controls. All examined individuals underwent detailed clinical examination, echocardiography, Holter monitoring with heart rate variability and treadmill stress test using Bruce’s protocol. HRR values were calculated as the difference between maximum HR during exercise and HR at the first (HRR1) and third (HRR3) minute of rest. Individuals with coronary artery disease, diabetes mellitus and suspected pulmonary hypertension were excluded from further analysis ( n = 15).

Results

Fifty-five SLE patients were eligible for this study: aged 41.5 ± 12.4 years, 87.3% women, SLICC/ACR-DI score 3.58 ± 1.85. In the SLE group 36.4% patients received beta-blockers, usually for previously detected sinus tachycardia and/or arterial hypertension. Mean HRR1 (36.9 ± 12.6 vs 49.5 ± 18.6, p = 0.0004) and HRR3 (55.5 ± 14.3 vs 69.2 ± 16.4, p = 0.0001) were significantly lower in SLE than in healthy individuals. Significantly negative correlations between SLICC/ACR-DI score and HRR1 ( r = –0.299, p = 0.01), HRR3 ( r = –0.361, p = 0.001) and exercise capacity ( r = –0.422, p < 0.0001) were revealed. Additionally, beta-blocker treatment was also revealed to alter significantly HRR1, HRR3 and exercise capacity in SLE.

Conclusion

Patients with SLE are characterized by attenuated HRR after exercise. In our study impaired HRR was associated with disease severity and beta-blocker treatment and probably with disease duration. The use of HRR assessment in SLE can be used as an additional marker of cardiac autonomic nervous system dysfunction.
Comparative effectiveness of rituximab relative to IFN-β or glatiramer acetate in relapsing-remitting MS from the Swedish MS registry
Authors: Spelman Tim , Frisell Thomas , Piehl Fredrik , Hillert Jan
Published: June 2017

Objective:

To compare treatment effectiveness and persistence in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis patients who initiated rituximab versus glatiramer acetate (GA) or interferon-beta (IFN-β).

Methods:

A total of 461 patients from the Swedish MS registry in the rituximab arm were propensity score matched on a 1:2 basis with 922 patients from the IFN-β/GA comparator, between April 2005 and November 2015. Annualised relapse rate (ARR) was compared using the Poisson method. A marginal Cox model was used to analyse time to first relapse, 3-month confirmed disability progression and treatment discontinuation in the matched sample. A signed-rank test was used to compare Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) change from baseline.

Results:

Rituximab was associated with a reduction in ARR (0.003; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.001, 0.009) relative to IFN-β/GA (0.026; 95% CI = 0.020, 0.033) ( p < 0.001). Rituximab was associated with an 87% reduction in the relapse rate (hazard ratio (HR) = 0.13; 95% CI = 0.04, 0.41) and an 85% reduction in the discontinuation rate (HR = 0.15; 95% CI = 0.11, 0.20) relative to IFN-β/GA. EDSS regression from baseline was greater in the rituximab group at 12 and 24 months.

Conclusion:

Rituximab appears to be superior to first-generation disease-modifying treatments (DMTs) with respect to relapse control and tolerability, whereas superiority on disability outcomes is less clear.
Implementation of telehealth is associated with improved timeliness to kidney transplant waitlist evaluation
Authors: Forbes Rachel C , Broman Kristy Kummerow , Johnson Tommy B , Rybacki Diane B , Hannah Gillis Angela E , Hagemann Williams Margarethe , Shaffer David , Feurer Irene D , Hale Douglas A
Published: June 2017

Introduction

The United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) National Transplant Program has made efforts to improve access by introducing Web-based referrals and telehealth. The aims of this study were to describe the programmatic implementation and evaluate the effectiveness of new technology on the timeliness to kidney transplant evaluation at a VA medical centre.

Methods

Between 1 January 2009 and 31 May 2016, 835 patients were approved for evaluation. Monthly data were summarized as: number of applications, median days to evaluation, and median percentage of evaluations that occurred within 30 days. Temporal trends were analysed using non-parametric comparisons of medians between three eras: Pre Web-based submission, Web-based submission, and Web-based submission with videoconference (VC) telehealth.

Results

The number of applications did not vary between eras ( p = 0.353). The median time to evaluation and the median percentage of patients with appointments within 30 days improved significantly in the Web-based submission with VC era when compared with the Web-based and Pre Web-based eras (37 vs. 260 and 116 days, respectively, p < 0.001; 100% vs. 8% and 0%, respectively, p < 0.001).

Discussion

We have been able to markedly improve the timeliness to kidney transplant waitlist evaluation with the addition of telehealth.
“La beauté est dans la rue”: Four reasons (or perhaps five) to study crowds
Authors: Reicher Stephen
Published: June 2017

In this paper, I argue that the study of crowds provides important lessons for social psychology in four key areas. First, it reveals the political influences which shaped and continue to shape the questions we ask and the answers we provide. Second, it demonstrates the importance of a methodological strategy which attends to real-world phenomena and the ability of theory to make sense of them. Third, it generates new theoretical insights and conceptual paradigms which have relevance to social psychology in general. Fourth, it provides new insights into the way that the social relations which constitute everyday social reality are created, consolidated, and changed. In sum, I suggest that the crowd is uniquely fertile ground in which to investigate the subject matter of social psychology.
Robust fibre optic sensor arrays for monitoring early-age performance of mass-produced concrete sleepers
Authors: Butler Liam J , Xu Jinlong , He Ping , Gibbons Niamh , Dirar Samir , Middleton Campbell R , Elshafie Mohammed ZEB
Published: June 2017

This study investigates integrating fibre optic sensing technology into the production process of concrete railway sleepers. Robust fibre Bragg grating strain and temperature sensor arrays were developed specifically for this application and were designed for long-term monitoring of sleeper performance. The sensors were used to monitor sleeper production and to help gain a deeper understanding of their early-age behaviour which can highly influence long-term performance. In total, 12 sleepers were instrumented and strain data were collected during the entire manufacturing process including concrete casting and curing, prestressing strand detensioning and qualification testing. Following the production process, sleepers were stored temporarily and monitored for 4 months until being placed in service. The monitoring results highlight the intrinsic variability in strain development among identical sleepers, despite high levels of production quality control. Using prestress loss as a quality control indicator, the integrated sensing system demonstrated that sleepers were performing within Eurocode-based design limits prior to being placed in service. A three-dimensional nonlinear finite element model was developed to provide additional insight into the sleepers’ early-age behaviour. Based on the fibre Bragg grating–calibrated finite element model, more realistic estimates for the creep coefficient were provided and found to be 48% of the Eurocode-predicted values.
Is Disgust Proneness Associated With Anxiety and Related Disorders? A Qualitative Review and Meta-Analysis of Group Comparison and Correlational Studies
Authors: Olatunji Bunmi O. , Armstrong Thomas , Elwood Lisa
Published: June 2017

Research suggests that disgust may be linked to the etiology of some anxiety-related disorders. The present investigation reviews this literature and employs separate meta-analyses of clinical group comparison and correlational studies to examine the association between disgust proneness and anxiety-related disorder symptoms. Meta-analysis of 43 group comparison studies revealed those high in anxiety disorder symptoms reported significantly more disgust proneness than those low in anxiety symptoms. Although this effect was not moderated by clinical versus analogue studies or type of disorder, larger group differences were observed for those high in anxiety symptoms associated with contagion concerns compared to those high in anxiety symptoms not associated with contagion concerns. Similarly, meta-analysis of correlational data across 83 samples revealed moderate associations between disgust proneness and anxiety-related disorder symptoms. Moderator analysis revealed that the association between disgust proneness and anxiety-related disorder symptoms was especially robust for anxiety symptoms associated with contagion concerns. After controlling for measures of negative affect, disgust proneness continued to be moderately correlated with anxiety-related disorder symptoms. However, negative affect was no longer significantly associated with symptoms of anxiety-related disorders when controlling for disgust proneness. The implications of these findings are discussed in the context of a novel transdiagnostic model.
Predictors of post-traumatic stress disorder following critical illness: A mixed methods study
Authors: Battle Ceri E , James Karen , Bromfield Tom , Temblett Paul
Published: June 2017

Purpose

Post-traumatic stress disorder has been reported in survivors of critical illness. The aim of this study was to investigate the predictors of post-traumatic stress disorder in survivors of critical illness.

Materials and methods

Patients attending the intensive care unit (ICU) follow-up clinic completed the UK-Post-Traumatic Stress Syndrome 14-Questions Inventory and data was collected from their medical records. Predictors investigated included age, gender, Apache II score, ICU length of stay, pre-illness psychopathology; delirium and benzodiazepine administration during ICU stay and delusional memories of the ICU stay following discharge.

Results

A total of 198 patients participated, with 54 (27%) patients suffering with post-traumatic stress disorder. On multivariable logistic regression, the significant predictors of post-traumatic stress disorder were younger age, lower Apache II score, pre-illness psychopathology and delirium during the ICU stay.

Conclusions

The predictors of post-traumatic stress disorder in this study concur with previous research however a lower Apache II score has not been previously reported.
New Enhancements for the Exact Solution of the Vehicle Routing Problem with Time Windows
Authors: Pecin Diego , Contardo Claudio , Desaulniers Guy , Uchoa Eduardo
Published: June 2017

The vehicle routing problem with time windows (VRPTW) consists of finding least-cost vehicle routes to satisfy the demands of customers that can be visited within specific time windows. We introduce two enhancements for the exact solution of the VRPTW by branch-price-and-cut (BPC). First, we develop a sharper form of the limited-memory subset-row inequalities by representing the memory as an arc subset rather than a node subset. Second, from the elementary inequalities introduced by Balas in 1977, we derive a family of inequalities that dominate them. These enhancements are embedded into an exact BPC algorithm that includes state-of-the-art features such as bidirectional labeling, decremental state-space relaxation, completion bounds, variable fixing, and route enumeration. Computational results show that these enhancements are particularly effective for the most difficult instances and that our BPC algorithm can solve all 56 Solomon instances with 100 customers and 51 of 60 Gehring and Homberger instances with 200 customers.
Doses de nitrogênio no crescimento de Calceolaria x herbeohybrida em vaso
Authors: Winhelmann Mara Cíntia , Grzeça Gislaine Taís , Paris Priscila , Tedesco Marília , Palolazzi Joana , Avrella Eduarda Demari , Fior Claudimar Sidnei , Schafer Gilmar
Published: June 2017

Calceolaria x herbeohybrida Voss (pocketbook plant, calceolaria) is an herbaceous perennial and floriferous species that can be grown in pots or beds. Nitrogen is usually the most required nutrient, being necessary to conduct studies in order to provide useful information for agronomic practices. Thus, this study aimed to evaluate nitrogen doses in the growth of Calceolaria x herbeohybrida in pots. Initially, assorted and pelleted calceolaria seeds were sow in multicellular trays containing a commercial substrate based on peat and kept in a floating irrigation system in a protected environment. At the greenhouse, seedlings with four true leaves were transplanted into 1 L pots containing the same substrate and a drip irrigation system. The treatments consisted of different nitrogen doses (0.0, 0.5, 1.0, 2.0 or 4.0 g of N L-1) applied weekly using ammonium nitrate as source. Fertilization with P and K was also done, and all treatments received de same dose. At the end of the experimental period, shoot length, leaf area, shoot and root dry matter, number of buds and flowers, chlorophyll a, b and total chlorophyll were evaluated. The experimental design was completely randomized with four replications and five plants per plot. The data were treated with ANOVA and the means were treated with regression analysis using the SigmaPlot 11.0 software. There was no survival of plants at the highest N dose (4.0 g L-1). Shoot length showed a quadratic behavior, with a maximum point at 1.25 g L-1, where plants reached 13.3 cm. There was a similar behavior for the variable leaf area, with the highest point at 1.24 g L-1. Shoot dry mass presented the maximum point at a dose of 1.20 g L-1, resulting in 4.21 g of dry matter. Regarding root dry matter, no equation could be adjusted. For the variable number of buds and flowers, the highest point was at a dose of 1.20 g L-1, with 35.86 buds and flowers per plant. For chlorophyll a, b and total chlorophyll, the maximum point was at 1.5 g L-1. The ideal nitrogen dose is between 1.2 and 1.5 g L-1 for most variables.
La comisión histórica el conflicto del conflicto en Colombia: la construcción de visiones del rol de las fuerzas armadas de Colombia en el conflicto y sus efectos en las relaciones cívico militares
Authors: Torrijos-R Vicente , Arévalo-Ramírez Walter
Published: June 2017

Reconociendo la relevancia que tienen las comisiones históricas en el diseño de las relaciones cívico-militares en escenarios de posconflicto, el documento identifica las diferentes posturas que el informe de la Comisión Histórica en Colombia contiene respecto al rol de las Fuerzas Militares en el conflicto, evidencia sus consecuencias y narrativas y resalta las posibilidades y preocupaciones que pueden derivarse de narrativas que condenen a las Fuerzas Militares y afecten su capital simbólico y su legitimidad
Brasil's geopolitical lever in the shaping of the South American regional and global politics
Authors: Salgado-Espinoza Raúl
Published: June 2017

Los estados BRICS (Brasil, Rusia, India, China y Suráfrica) como potencias emergentes se han posicionado como los actores internacionales que lideran regionalmente y conjuntamente están retando al liderazgo unilateral del planeta. Este artículo argumenta que el prospecto de ser un estado de los BRICS corrobora a cada nación para proyectarse como un world political player. Pero, esto puede torpedear la proyección de posesionarse como líder regional como en el caso brasilero en la región suramericana. Otros factores como la influencia de las economías, aspectos políticos y militares extra-regionales podrían contribuir en el decline y posiblemente en el constreñimiento de la consolidación de Brasil como líder de la región. Para ilustrar esta propuesta este artículo hace uso del modelo geopolítico de Modelski que ayuda a explicar la emergencia y caída de potencias mundiales. La propuesta de este modelo está combinado con elementos de la teoría de posicionamiento, Positioning Theory. La evidencia está compuesta de un conjunto de datos cualitativos y se emplea análisis cualitativo de contenido para la interpretación de la data
Long-QT syndrome-associated caveolin-3 mutations differentially regulate the hyperpolarization-activated cyclic nucleotide gated channel 4
Authors: Motloch LJ , Larbig R , Darabi T , Reda S , Motloch KA , Wernly B , Lichtenauer M , Gebing T , Schwaiger A , Zagidullin N , Wolny M , Hoppe UC
Published: June 2017

Background

Caveolin-3 (cav-3) mutations are linked to the long-QT syndrome (LQTS) causing distinct clinical symptoms. Hyperpolarization-activated cyclic nucleotide channel 4 (HCN4) underlies the pacemaker current If. It associates with cav-3 and both form a macromolecular complex.

Methods

To examine the effects of human LQTS-associated cav-3 mutations on HCN4-channel function, HEK293-cells were cotransfected with HCN4 and wild-type (WT) cav-3 or a LQTS-associated cav-3 mutant (T78M, A85T, S141R, or F97C). HCN4 currents were recorded using the whole-cell patch-clamp technique.

Results

WT cav-3 significantly decreased HCN4 current density and shifted midpoint of activation into negative direction. HCN4 current properties were differentially modulated by LQTS-associated cav-3 mutations. When compared with WT cav-3, A85T, F97C, and T78M did not alter the specific effect of cav-3, but S141R significantly increased HCN4 current density. Compared with WT cav-3, no significant modifications of voltage dependence of steady-state activation curves were observed. However, while WT cav-3 alone had no significant effect on HCN4 current activation, all LQTS-associated cav-3 mutations significantly accelerated HCN4 activation kinetics.

Conclusions

Our results indicate that HCN4 channel function is modulated by cav-3. LQTS-associated mutations of cav-3 differentially influence pacemaker current properties indicating a pathophysiological role in clinical manifestations.
Spontaneous otoacoustic emission recordings during contralateral pure-tone activation of medial olivocochlear reflex
Authors: Bulut E , Öztürk L
Published: June 2017

We hypothesized that cochlear frequency discrimination occurs through medial olivocochlear efferent (MOCE)-induced alterations in outer hair cell (OHC) electromotility, which is independent from basilar membrane traveling waves. After obtaining informed consent, volunteers with normal hearing (n = 10; mean age: 20.6 ± 1.2 years) and patients with unilateral deafness (n = 10; mean age: 30.2 ± 17.9 years) or bilateral deafness (n = 8; mean age: 30.7 ± 13.8 years) underwent a complete physical and audiological examination, and audiological tests including transient evoked otoacoustic emission and spontaneous otoacoustic emission (TEOAE and SOAE, respectively). SOAE recordings were performed during contralateral pure-tone stimuli at 1 and 3 kHz. SOAE recordings in the presence of contralateral pure-tone stimuli showed frequency-specific activation out of the initial frequency range of SOAE responses. Basilar membrane motion during pure-tone stimulation results from OHC activation by means of MOCE neurons rather than from a traveling wave. Eventually, frequency-specific responses obtained from SOAEs suggested that OHC electromotility may be responsible for frequency discrimination of the cochlea independently from basilar membrane motion.
Ground-freezing experience on the east side access Northern Boulevard crossing, New York
Authors: Schmall Paul , Dawson Andrew
Published: June 2017

A brief review is given of ground-freezing technology as a means of providing groundwater cut-off and temporary structural support in weak ground for transportation tunnelling and shaft-sinking operations. Then, detailed coverage of a particular case history is reported in variable soils in Queens, New York, NY, USA. As part of the upgrading of rail access from Long Island into Manhattan, a tunnel was required that necessitated a frozen arch structure under a ‘live’ roadway and rail lines. The installation, development and performance of the frozen zone are described. At two small locations, groundwater continued to flow through the line of the frozen arch, as the heat in the newly arrived groundwater was greater than the capacity of the ground-freezing technique to remove that heat, thereby preventing final ‘closure’ by the frozen soil at those points. The remedial works to overcome these difficulties are described. Some conclusions are drawn concerning the reasons when and why these localised unfrozen ‘windows’ can be anticipated in freeze zones and about the requirements for remedial solutions.
Crossborder jurisdiction and assistance in insolvency: The position in Malaysia and Singapore
Authors: Omar Paul
Published: June 2017

Malaysia and Singapore are members of the common law family and have 'inherited' their company and insolvency law from models in use in the United Kingdom with influences from Australia. It is the purpose of this article to outline the law in relation to cross-border insolvency, particularly the winding up of foreign companies, the co-operation provisions in bankruptcy and insolvency as well as more recent moves to redevelop insolvency through UNCITRAL and Asian Development Bank initiatives.
Artikel 2 (3) van die wet op testamente: 'n Praktiese probleem by Litigasie
Authors: Jamneck J
Published: June 2017

When considering applications in terms of section 2(3) of the Wills Act 7 of 1953, one is confronted with the practical problem that a document may be accepted as a will in terms of section 2(3) but from the facts it may appear that the deceased may not have had the necessary testamentary capacity or free will to make a will. One option to approach this problem would be for the respondent in a section 2(3) application to bring a counter-application on the grounds of the deceased’s lack of capacity or his lack of free will. Another option would be to consider the deceased’s capacity before considering the section 2(3) requirements, but one cannot consider capacity before one has a valid will, and the court’s interpretation of section 2(3) in Bekker v Naudé 2003 5 SA 173 (CC) prevents this route. A third option would be for the court to mero motu consider the deceased’s capacity to make a will when faced with a section 2(3) application. This approach would be in accordance with public policy. If all of these approaches are unsatisfactory, the legislature should consider an amendment to the Act.
Beyond Public Particpation: The disjuncture between South Africa's Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Law and Sustainable Development
Authors: Murombo T
Published: June 2017

One of the key strategies for achieving sustainable development is the use of the process of evaluating the potential environmental impacts of development activities. The procedure of environmental impact assessment (EIA) implements the principle of integration which lies at the core of the concept of sustainable development by providing a process through which potential social, economic and environmental impacts of activities are scrutinised and planned for. Sustainable development may not be achieved without sustained and legally mandated efforts to ensure that development planning is participatory.

 

The processes of public participation play a crucial role in ensuring the integration of the socio-economic impacts of a project into the environmental decision-making processes. Public participation is not the only process, nor does the process always ensure the achievement of sustainable development. Nevertheless, decisions that engage the public have the propensity to lead to sustainable development. The public participation provisions in South Africa’s EIA regulations promulgated under the National Environmental Management Act 107 of 1998 show a disjuncture between the idea of public participation and the notion of sustainable development. The provisions do not create a framework for informed participation and leave a wide discretion to environmental assessment practitioners (EAPs) regarding the form which participation should assume. In order for environmental law, specifically EIA laws, to be effective as tools to promote sustainable development the laws must, among other things, provide for effective public participation. The judiciary must also aid in the process by giving content to the legal provisions on public participation in the EIA process.
The Judiciary as a Bastion of the Legal order in Challenging Times
Authors: Van Zyl Deon
Published: June 2017

In recent times the judiciary has been under almost constant fire as a result of certain controversial events involving the courts and individual judges. This has given rise to uncalled for, and frequently unwarranted, publicity of an extremely adverse and negative nature. Despite the fact that only a relatively small number of judges has been involved, the bench as a whole has been affected and even severely tainted by this activity. Public confidence in the courts has been eroded and the independence of the judiciary has come under serious threat.
Die Impak en Grondwetlikheid van die Reg om te Staak met Betrekking tot Noodsaaklike Dienste – 'n Vergelykende Studie
Authors: Deacon HJ , Cilliers PQ
Published: June 2017

This article critically considers the application of and necessity for the right to strike, especially regarding employees that are employed in an essential service. The South African position is examined and compared to other countries around the world, but the focus is mainly on the United Kingdom.

The article shows that South Africa's current labour legislation (especially regarding essential services) is in theory good, but that it is applied and enforced poorly in spite of the provisions contained in the Labour Relations Act and the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa 1996. This became evident in the 2007 public workers' strike in which many essential services employees took part.

The United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, India, France and Kenya all have different ways of dealing with strikes and essential services. Some of these countries' approaches are similar to South Africa's, but in each there is some difference that could be useful in the South African situation. Through these comparisons it becomes clear that the right to strike is important in many countries around the world, but that each country's essential services (or services that can be classified as essential) are equally important. Every country places at the very least some limitation on the right of essential services employees to strike.In conclusion this article states that the South African Labour Law is not perfect and can be improved by means of comparison. This improvement is of vital importance to the lives, health and personal safety of every individual in the country.
Judging Under a Bill of Rights
Authors: Harms Louis TC
Published: June 2017

We are pleased to publish here, as an oratio, the Ebsworth Memorial Lecture delivered by Mr Justice Louis Harms in February 2007.  In his lecture he addressed a range of contentious issues regarding the challenges of judging under a (new) Bill of Rights and he inter alia raises, "without answering, the question of whether a bill of rights should reflect existing societal values or whether it should create them."  He also spoke candidly of judicial activism, verbosity emanating from the bench, the judiciary and the separation of powers and (in-)consistency in constitutional adjudication.  Among his conclusions he states that a Bill of Rights "is supposed to remove arbitrariness, not only of legislation but also of adjudication."
The Interaction between the Debt Relief Measures in the National Credit Act 24 of 2005 and Aspects of Insolvency Law
Authors: Van Heerden C , Boraine A
Published: June 2017

The National Credit Act 34 of 2005 (the 'NCA') aims at promoting responsibility in the credit market by encouraging responsible borrowing, avoidance of over-indebtedness and the fulfilment of financial obligations by consumers, and at discouraging reckless credit granting by credit providers and contractual default by consumers. Although a further aim is to address over-indebtedness by debt review, for instance, this mechanism is based on the principle of satisfaction of the consumer's responsible financial obligations in full. In a recent judgment, Ex parte Ford 2009 (3) SA 376 (WCC), the court has thus refused to grant a sequestration order following an application for voluntary surrender since the bulk of the debt was credit agreements regulated by the NCA. The fact that the debtor-applicant did not apply for debt review in terms of the NCA of 2005 before applying for voluntary surrender played a significant role in the court's decision not to grant the order. This article thus considers the impact of the debt relief remedies in the NCA on insolvency law. In particular it is an attempt to provide some answers to the question if the Insolvency Act 24 of 1936 (hereafter the 'Insolvency Act') is in conflict with the previously stated principle of the NCA, namely full satisfaction of all responsible financial obligations by an over-indebted consumer. It also considers the concepts of over-indebtedness and reckless credit and their related debt relief remedies when considering applications for voluntary surrender or compulsory sequestration in terms of the Insolvency Act.
USE OF RESVERATROL IN CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASES PREVENTION: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW
Authors: Góes Gabriela Marujo , Fraga Amanda Silva , Teixeira Ladeia Ana Marice
Published: June 2017

Resveratrol, a polyphenolic compound found in blackberry and red wine, has properties that prevent the development of atherosclerosis, and therefore, cardiovascular disease. The aim of this study was, through a systematic review, to assess whether resveratrol reduces the incidence of cardiovascular events and improves inflammation and endothelial dysfunction in individuals at risk. Searches were conducted in databases such as LILACS, PubMed,SCIELO and selected randomized controlled trials in humans, including the use of resveratrol in the prevention of cardiovascular events or in the improvement of inflammation and endothelial function. The final sample consisted of 10 items. Of the four studies that analyzed the flow-mediated dilatation of the brachial artery, all showed significant improvement in endothelial function after the use of resveratrol, compared with placebo.In the 7 studies that evaluated subclinical inflammation, there were differences, 3 studies showed significant decreases in the values of TNF-α, 2 showed significant changes in plasma levels of C-reactive protein and interleukin 6 (IL-6), while 1 didn't showed changes in TNF-α and IL-6. In conclusion, resveratrol is capable of improving endothelial function when compared with placebo. However, it was not possible to infer an improvement or not in the parameters concerning endothelial inflammation, since the data extracted from the studies were insufficient. Moreover, it was not possible to evaluate the use of resveratrol in the improvement of survival, infarction or reduction in mortality, since there were no records in the literature of randomized controlled trials that analyzed the effect of resveratrol use on clinical outcomes in humans.