bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A ‘Diplomatic Republic of Europe’? Explaining role conceptions in EU foreign policy
Authors: Chelotti Nicola
Published: November 2014

Using an original database of 138 questionnaires, the article explores how national officials perceive their role when participating in European Union (EU) foreign policy committees. It first shows that they systematically assume not only intergovernmental but also supranational role conceptions: a good number of diplomats understand EU foreign policy as a collective political project with the objective to craft a common European policy. The article then investigates some scope conditions. If the overall picture is complex and heterogeneous, it reveals that socializing activities occur in this policy field. More specifically, the number of years spent in Brussels is a relatively strong predictor of a supranational attitude. At the same time, diplomats’ conceptions are formed also outside EU contexts: the structure and the pro-European opinions of the national polity affect the formation of a diplomat’s orientation. Remarkably, member states’ military power is a weak and non-significant variable in all the models tested.
Scale Reliability Evaluation With Heterogeneous Populations
Authors: Raykov Tenko , Marcoulides George A.
Published: November 2014

A latent variable modeling approach for scale reliability evaluation in heterogeneous populations is discussed. The method can be used for point and interval estimation of reliability of multicomponent measuring instruments in populations representing mixtures of an unknown number of latent classes or subpopulations. The procedure is helpful also for evaluation of possible between-class reliability differences as well as of within-class reliability coefficients. The estimation approach can similarly be used in empirical settings with known class membership when distinct populations are investigated, their number is known beforehand and membership in them is observed for the studied subjects, or alternatively in settings where only the number of latent classes is known. A modification and extension of the method for evaluation of maximal reliability or coefficient alpha in heterogeneous populations are also outlined. The discussed procedure is illustrated with numerical data.
Employing People With Disabilities in the Taiwanese Workplace
Authors: Huang I-Chun , Chen Roy K.
Published: November 2014

This study aimed to explore the experiences of employers who had long-term experiences with employing people with disabilities in Taiwan. In-depth qualitative interviews were adopted as the main data collection instrument. The participants included 12 Taiwanese employers in the private enterprise sector with 2 or more years of experience hiring employees with disabilities beyond the required employment quota enacted by the Taiwanese government. The results identified four main reasons that led to hiring, including personal experience relating to people with disabilities, economic concerns, charitable perspectives, and policy implications. Although the employers were highly willing to collaborate with vocational rehabilitation systems, their needs for services rendered differed in the distinct employment processes. Employers expressed greater concern about the employability of applicants with disabilities during the recruitment and selection process than during the placement and accommodation stages. Barriers to career advancement for individuals with disabilities were indicated. This study underscores the importance of demand-driven employment strategies and highlights the need to gain insights into the experiences of employers who actually work with people with disabilities. The implications of the findings for rehabilitation practitioners are discussed.
The Representation of Minority, Female, and Non-Traditional STEM Majors in the Online Environment at Community Colleges
Authors: Wladis Claire , Hachey Alyse C. , Conway Katherine M.
Published: November 2014

Using data from more than 2,000 community college science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) majors in the National Postsecondary Student Aid Study, this research investigates how ethnicity, gender, non-traditional student risk factors, academic preparation, socio-economic status, and English-as-second-language/citizenship status relate to online course enrollment patterns. Even after controlling for other factors, Blacks and Hispanics (Black and Hispanic men, in particular) were significantly underrepresented in online courses, women were significantly overrepresented, and students with non-traditional student risk factors (delayed enrollment, no high school diploma, part-time enrollment, financially independent, have dependents, single-parent status, and working full-time) were significantly more likely to enroll online. However, although ethnicity, gender, and non-traditional factors were all important predictors for both 2- and 4-year STEM majors, at community colleges, ethnicity and gender were more important predictors of online enrollment than non-traditional characteristics, which is the opposite pattern observed at 4-year colleges.
Same-Sex Marriage Attitudes During the Transition to Early Adulthood
Authors: Smith Jonathan F. N.
Published: November 2014

Increasing support for same-sex marriage (SSM) is often explained as a consequence of rising tolerance of homosexuality across successive generations. This article argues that higher levels of SSM support among young people is also linked to their own emerging plans for couple and family formation. Panel data from 1,836 young Australians participating in the Social Futures and Life Pathways Project was used to analyze change in SSM attitudes between late adolescence (2008, aged 14/15 years) and early adulthood (2013, aged 19/20 years). During this period, the sample became less religious, more expectant of unmarried cohabitation, and more approving of SSM. Being male, living in outside a major city, not living with both biological parents, and being more religious were all associated with lower SSM support. Young people’s views on this issue developed in ways that were indicative of distinct (i.e., traditional vs. pragmatic) orientations toward intimate relationships formed earlier in adolescence.
Women’s Artistic Gymnastics in Australia and New Zealand
Authors: Kerr Roslyn , Barker-Ruchti Natalie
Published: November 2014

This article relates the Australian and New Zealand women’s artistic gymnastics governance systems to the micro-level conduct of coaches, gymnasts, and parents. Two ethnographic studies conducted in these countries examined how gymnasts, parents, and coaches reacted to and produced training realities. We employ a Foucauldian perspective of consumption to analyze the data. The results demonstrate different types of consumer mentalities. In Australia, where governance is driven by pressure to return investment, coaches, gymnasts, and parents disciplined their selves and consumption to fulfill prescribed expectations. In New Zealand, where gymnastics does not receive financial support and thus the National Sporting Organisation cannot prescribe particular performance results, gymnasts and parents negotiated their consumption.
Getting Free
Authors: Colás Yago
Published: November 2014

I employ Marshall Berman’s and Stephen Kern’s cultural analyses of modernity in late 19th-and early 20th-century Europe and the United States to examine basketball’s invention, rules, and technical and institutional development. This yields two overlapping images of basketball. First, I situate basketball within the broader context of 19th-century modernization, where, as an effect of and response to modernization, I view it as a specimen of 19th-century modernism. Second, zooming in to this first image of basketball as a 19th-century modernism, I examine basketball as a semi-autonomous modern world of its own. Within this world, I identify the appearance of a new subject—the basketball player—who engaged and transformed the spatio-temporal experiences of modernity by inventing artistic “varieties of basketball modernism,” which achieved significant popularity in the American cultural landscape of the first half of the 20th century. I therefore also track the consolidation of an institutional network—the “modern basketball state”—arising to control the basketball player’s creativity and capitalize on the sport’s popularity, and I critique the myth the modern basketball state generated to obscure its own real history and to promote the belief that the sport could not exist without it.
The Myth of the Politics of Regret
Authors: Toth Mano
Published: November 2014

This article argues for the need to think about the politics of regret more critically, within academia and beyond. The politics of regret here refers to the process through which the representation of past events comes to be dominated by apologetic voices in the public discourse. A brief overview of the most prominent previous attempts to make sense of the phenomenon shows why it is vital to strengthen the critical perspective on the issue. I assume that, in practice, the politics of regret almost always makes use of simplified representations of historical events that constitute images of the self and of wider society; as such, it should be properly understood as mythical. For this reason, I argue that the critical (scholarly and social) approach to the politics of regret should be based on a more general ethical framework with regard to myths that simultaneously acknowledges the right to existence of all interpretations of the past (including political regret) and challenges the exclusionary characteristics of mythologies.
A new approach for the correction of stress–strain curves after necking in metals
Authors: Majzoobi Gholam-Hossain , Fariba Farzad , Pipelzadeh Mohammad K , Hardy Stephen J
Published: November 2014

The true stress–strain curve has a significant role in the analysis of deformation in theoretical plasticity and numerical simulations. Because of the triaxial state of stress in the neck zone, the relationship that is normally obtained from the engineering stress–strain curve is no longer valid and must be corrected. Various correction techniques have been proposed and can be found in the literature. In this study, a new semi analytical approach for the correction of the stress–strain curve for circular cross-section specimens (axisymmetric) is introduced and a relation for a correction factor is derived based on the theory of plasticity. The relation requires only a few experimental surface strain measurements which can easily be made using an image processing technique. In the new method, the neck zone is divided into a number of thin walled toroidal elements. The algorithm for the correction factor is obtained in terms of the initial specimen radius, the neck radius and the z-strain on the neck surface. In this work, the true stress–strain curve, that is obtained using the image processing, follows a power law trend before the onset of necking and a linear trend after necking. However, the method is not limited by the trend of the stress–strain curve and can accommodate any trend describing the stress–strain relationship. The proposed approach is compared with methods proposed by Bridgman–Leroy, Bridgman, Davidenkov and Spiridonova, Siebel and Schwaigere and also numerical simulations. The number of simplifying assumptions in the present work is less than that of the Bridgman approach and some of the other methods.
Gender influences headache characteristics with increasing age in migraine patients
Authors: Bolay Hayrunnisa , Ozge Aynur , Saginc Petek , Orekici Gulhan , Uludüz Derya , Yalın Osman , Siva Aksel , Bıçakçı Şebnem , Karakurum Başak , Öztürk Musa
Published: November 2014

Background and aims

Migraine headache is one of the most common primary headache disorders and is three times more prevalent in women than in men, especially during the reproductive ages. The neurobiological basis of the female dominance has been partly established. The present study aimed to investigate the effect of gender on the headache manifestations in migraine patients.

Methods

The study group consisted of 2082 adult patients from five different hospitals’ tertiary care-based headache clinics. The relationship between headache characteristics and gender was evaluated in migraine with aura (MwA) and migraine without aura (MwoA). The duration, severity, frequency of headache and associated symptoms were evaluated in both genders and age-dependent variations and analyzed in two subgroups.

Results

Women with migraine were prone to significantly longer duration and intensity of headache attacks. Nausea, phonophobia and photophobia were more prevalent in women. Median headache duration was also longer in women than in men in MwA ( p = 0.013) and MwoA ( p < 0.001). Median headache intensity was higher in women than in men in MwA ( p = 0.010) and MwoA ( p = 0.009). The frequency of nausea was significantly higher in women than in men in MwA ( p = 0.049). Throbbing headache quality and associated features (nausea, photophobia, and phonophobia) were significantly more frequent in women than in men in MwoA. The gender impact varied across age groups and significant changes were seen in female migraineurs after age 30. No age-dependent variation was observed in male migraineurs.

Conclusion

Gender has an influence on the characteristics of the headache as well as on the associated symptoms in migraine patients, and this impact varies across the age groups, particularly in women.
Is the Use of Oral Contraceptives Associated With Operatively Treated Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injury?
Authors: Rahr-Wagner Lene , Thillemann Theis Muncholm , Mehnert Frank , Pedersen Alma Becic , Lind Martin
Published: November 2014

Background:

The incidence of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries is 2 to 9 times higher in women than in men. In addition, in vitro studies have demonstrated that ACL is an estrogen target tissue, and some studies have therefore suggested a protective association between oral contraceptives (OC) and the likelihood of sustaining ACL injury.

Hypothesis:

There is a protective association between OC use and the likelihood of operatively treated ACL injury.

Study Design:

Case-control study; Level of evidence, 3.

Methods:

The study population included 4497 women with an operatively treated ACL injury registered in the Danish Knee Ligament Reconstruction Registry for the 2005 to 2011 period and 8858 age-matched controls with no ACL injury. The study evaluated exposure to OC use at the time of ACL injury (index date) and in the 5 previous years (“ever user”) or no OC use (“never user”). Ever users were further classified as either new users (patients who redeemed their first prescription within the first year before the index date), long-term users (redeemed additional prescriptions 1 to 5 years before the index date), or recent users (redeemed their most recent prescription >1 year before the index date). Finally, a dose-response analysis of OC use was performed. Conditional logistic regression was used to calculate the relative risk (RR) with a 95% CI of sustaining an operatively treated ACL injury according to OC use.

Results:

The adjusted RR associating OC with ACL injury was 0.82 (95% CI, 0.75-0.90) between ever users and never users. Furthermore, there was a decreased RR of sustaining ACL injury of 0.80 (95% CI, 0.74-0.91) in long-term users and 0.81 (95% CI, 0.72-0.89) in recent users. Using OC for more than 4 years did not seem to alter the likelihood of sustaining an operatively treated ACL injury.

Conclusion:

This population-based pharmacoepidemiological study including 13,355 women indicates that a protective association exists between OC use and the likelihood of sustaining an operatively treated ACL injury. Although this study does indicate a protective association of OC use, OC should not be used as a prophylactic measure before additional clinical studies have further clarified the biological and causal association between OC use and the likelihood of sustaining operatively treated ACL injury.
Effects of T-2 mycotoxin on in vitro development and chromatin status of mouse embryos in preimplantation stages
Authors: Somoskői Bence , Kovács Melinda , Cseh Sándor
Published: November 2014

T-2 toxin is a mycotoxin produced by phytopathogenic fungi of the Fusarium genus and has many well-studied deleterious effects on mammalian cells and reproductive tract. Despite the wide scale studies, the effects on preimplantation stage embryos are lacking. The aim of our study was to investigate the impact of T-2 on the cleavage stage of mouse embryos with regard to development to blastocysts and nuclear chromatin status.

Six-weeks-old BDF1 female mice were superovulated and placed together overnight with mature males. Zygotes were flushed 20 h after human chorionic gonadotropin injection and divided randomly into treated (supplemented with 0.5, 0.75, and 1 ng/ml T-2) and nontreated (control) groups. Embryos were cultured in vitro for 96 h. Developmental stage was evaluated in the 72nd- and 96th-h for assessment of development dynamics. At the end of culture period, blastocysts from treated and control groups with normal morphology were selected for nuclear chromatin analysis. Blastocysts were categorized (grade A, B, and C) depending on the proportion of blasomeres with micronuclei and/or lobulated nuclei.

Our data show significant decrease in the proportions of blastocysts in the 0.75 and 1 ng/ml toxin-supplemented groups compared with the control group. Blastocyst rate did not differ in embryos treated with 0.5 ng/ml T-2 but 24 h delay was found in blastocoel formation in all the treated groups. Only grade A (21.1%) and B (78.9%) blastocysts were found in low-toxin-contaminated group similar to the control ones (50–50%). Grade C embryos appeared in the 0.75 ng/ml (10%) treated group and the rate increased significantly (33.3%) in the highest contaminated group.

T-2 mycotoxin has a harmful effect on early embryo development which results in decreased blastocyst proportion, delayed blastulation, and increased rate of chromatin damage.
Assessing Infant Feeding Attitudes of Expectant Women in a Provincial Population in Canada
Authors: Twells Laurie K. , Midodzi William K. , Ludlow Valerie , Murphy-Goodridge Janet , Burrage Lorraine , Gill Nicole , Halfyard Beth , Schiff Rebecca , Newhook Leigh Anne
Published: November 2014

Background:

Maternal attitudes to infant feeding are predictive of intent and initiation of breastfeeding.

Objectives:

The Iowa Infant Feeding Attitude Scale (IIFAS) has not been validated in the Canadian population. This study was conducted in Newfoundland and Labrador, a Canadian province with low breastfeeding rates. Objectives were to assess the reliability and validity of the IIFAS in expectant mothers; to compare attitudes to infant feeding in urban and rural areas; and to examine whether attitudes are associated with intent to breastfeed.

Methods:

The IIFAS assessment tool was administered to 793 pregnant women. Differences in the total IIFAS scores were compared between urban and rural areas. Reliability and validity analysis was conducted on the IIFAS. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) of the IIFAS was assessed against mother’s intent to breastfeed.

Results:

The mean ± SD of the total IIFAS score of the overall sample was 64.0 ± 10.4. There were no significant differences in attitudes between urban (63.9 ± 10.5) and rural (64.4 ± 9.9) populations. There were significant differences in total IIFAS scores between women who intend to breastfeed (67.3 ± 8.3) and those who do not (51.6 ± 7.7), regardless of population region. The high value of the area under the curve (AUC) of the ROC (AUC = 0.92) demonstrates excellent ability of the IIFAS to predict intent to breastfeed. The internal consistency of the IIFAS was strong, with a Cronbach’s alpha greater than .80 in the overall sample.

Conclusion:

The IIFAS examined in this provincial population provides a valid and reliable assessment of maternal attitudes toward infant feeding. This tool could be used to identify mothers less likely to breastfeed and to inform health promotion programs.
Cabin crew collectivism: labour process and the roots of mobilization
Authors: Taylor Phil , Moore Sian
Published: November 2014

The protracted dispute (2009–11) between British Airways and BASSA (British Airways Stewards and Stewardesses Association) was notable for the strength of collective action by cabin crew. In-depth interviews reveal collectivism rooted in the labour process and highlight the key agency of BASSA in effectively articulating worker interests. This data emphasizes crews’ relative autonomy, sustained by unionate on-board Cabin Service Directors who have defended the frontier of control against managerial incursions. Periodic attempts to re-configure the labour process, driven by cost cutting imperatives in an increasingly competitive airline industry, eroded crews’ organizational loyalties. When BA imposed radical changes to contracts and working arrangements, BASSA successfully mobilized its membership. The article contributes to labour process analysis by emphasizing the collective dimensions to emotional labour, restoring the ‘missing subject’, but also articulating the interconnections between labour process and mobilization and the role unions can play in providing the organizational and ideological resources to legitimate worker interest.
More than one decade with development of common-rail diesel engine management systems: a literature review on modelling, control, estimation and calibration
Authors: Nikzadfar Kamyar , Shamekhi Amir H
Published: November 2014

Diesel engines are becoming more popular owing to their low fuel consumption and low emissions. The performance and emissions of diesel engines are strictly influenced by the injection pattern and the induced air quality. Utilization of diesel engines with mechatronic systems together with the advent of common-rail injection systems, which promotes the flexibility of injection control, has further increased diesel engine favourability and decreased the level of relevant emissions and noise. Development of mechatronic systems is a hierarchical procedure; in particular, in the case of common-rail diesel engine control, the extent and diversity of involved topics lead to a complex multi-stage development procedure. Many research studies have been carried out, thereby providing much literature in this field, which addresses different aspects of the development procedure for diesel engine management systems. Investigation of the existing literature will help researchers in the field to obtain a better understanding of the whole development procedure of diesel engine management systems and to make them familiar with new trends, state-of-the-art technologies and research fields. In this article, the control strategy development of common-rail diesel engine management systems is considered using the existing literature, i.e. the related literature was collected and categorized into the five main categories of modelling, sensitivity analysis, controller design, estimation and calibration. A brief description of every category followed by the relevant literature is given in the paper, and the common methods as well as the state-of-the-art techniques are discussed in each section. Finally, the strengths and weaknesses of the existing methods and the potential for further advancement are mentioned for each stage of the development of the engine management system, and a road map for the development of a common-rail diesel engine management system is presented.
Awareness, Knowledge and Misconceptions about Some Reproductive Health Issues among the Married Couples in High-risk States of India
Authors: Das Arindam , Srivastava H.C. , Kumar Ajeet
Published: November 2014

In India, the HIV/AIDS epidemic represents one of the most serious public health problems. According to National AIDS Control Organization, about half of the new infections occur among persons below 25. More than 80 per cent of the total infections are transmitted through sexual intercourse. Importantly, the infection is growing faster among the married. What makes youth more vulnerable to HIV/AIDS? Most evidence suggests that knowledge about HIV/AIDS is low among youth. Knowledge about the modes of transmission is considered to be the only means of prevention against this disease. The objective of this article is to study awareness, knowledge and misconception regarding RTI/STI and HIV/AIDS among the married couples in high-risk states of India. Data for this paper have been obtained from the Rapid Household Survey under Reproductive and Child Health Survey, Round II, during 2002–04. The states of Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Manipur, Nagaland and Tamil Nadu were purposively selected for the analysis; except Gujarat all these states were in the category of high risk. A total of 82,596 married couples were considered for the study. A bi-variate technique was used for the analysis. In addition, a knowledge index was computed as a summary measure of knowledge and misconception. It was categorized into Low, Medium and High Knowledge. The analysis revealed that in Tamil Nadu around 33 per cent husbands and 27 per cent wives had high knowledge regarding HIV/AIDS. In contrast, in Gujarat 8 per cent husbands and 6 per cent wives had high knowledge. Further, the analysis illustrated the gap of knowledge between husbands and wives.
Toward a Set of Internationally Applicable Indicators for Measuring University Internationalization Performance
Authors: Gao Yuan
Published: November 2014

This article emphasizes the urgent demand for measurements of university internationalization and proposes a new approach to develop a set of internationally applicable indicators for measuring university internationalization performance. The article looks into existing instruments developed for assessing university internationalization, particularly focusing on the methodological aspects. By examining the weaknesses of current instruments, a new approach for developing indicators for university internationalization has been proposed in the study. The new approach highlights the method for developing indicators, people who should be engaged in the process and the steps should be followed in indicator development. The study also provides a conceptual framework of university internationalization for developing the indicator set. Suggestions for further work are made at the end of the article.
Child Maltreatment Among U.S. Air Force Parents Deployed in Support of Operation Iraqi Freedom/Operation Enduring Freedom
Authors: Rabenhorst Mandy M. , McCarthy Randy J. , Thomsen Cynthia J. , Milner Joel S. , Travis Wendy J. , Colasanti Marie P.
Published: November 2014

This study examined child maltreatment perpetration among 99,697 active-duty U.S. Air Force parents who completed a combat deployment. Using the deploying parent as the unit of analysis, we analyzed whether child maltreatment rates increased postdeployement relative to predeployment. These analyses extend previous research that used aggregate data and extend our previous work that used data from the same period but used the victim as the unit of analysis and included only deploying parents who engaged in child maltreatment. In this study, 2% ( n = 1,746) of deploying parents perpetrated child maltreatment during the study period. Although no overall differences were found in child maltreatment rates postdeployment compared to predeployment, several maltreatment-related characteristics qualified this finding. Rates for emotional abuse and mild maltreatment were lower following deployment, whereas child maltreatment rates for severe maltreatment were higher following deployment. The finding that rates of severe child maltreatment, including incidents involving alcohol use, were higher postdeployment suggests a need for additional support services for parents following their return from combat deployment, with a focus on returning parents who have an alcohol use problem.
A review of a novel, Bruton’s tyrosine kinase inhibitor, ibrutinib
Authors: Lee Chung-Shien , Rattu Mohammad A , Kim Sara S
Published: November 2014

Ibrutinib, a Bruton’s kinase inhibitor, was granted an accelerated approval by the US Food and Drug Administration in November, 2013, for the treatment of relapsed or refractory mantle cell lymphoma and subsequently for the treatment of relapsed refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia in February, 2014. In the pivotal phase 2 study of 111 patients with relapsed or refractory mantle cell lymphoma, the overall response rate in patients who received ibrutinib 560 mg daily was 68%. The median progression-free survival was 13.9 months, and the overall survival was 58% at 18 months. In a recently published phase 3 trial (RESONATE) that compared ibrutinib and ofatumumab for the treatment of relapsed and refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia or small lymphocytic lymphoma, ibrutinib at the daily dosage of 420 mg demonstrated a significantly higher overall response rate (43% in ibrutinib vs. 4% in ofatumumab) and a significantly improved overall survival at 12 months (90% ibrutinib vs. 81% ofatumumab). Similar clinical benefits were shown regardless of del (17 p). Ibrutinib was well tolerated, and dose-limiting toxicity was not observed. Ibrutinib has shown durable remission, improved progression-free survival and overall survival, and favorable safety profile in indolent B-cell lymphoid malignancies. Ibrutinib, as a monotherapy, is an effective treatment modality as a salvage therapy for treatment of mantle cell lymphoma and chronic lymphocytic leukemia / small lymphocytic lymphoma, particularly in older patients (age ≥70 years) who are not a candidate for intensive chemotherapy and/or those with del (17 p). In patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia and del (17 p), the current practice guideline recommends ibrutinib as an upfront treatment option. Current on-going trials will further define its role as upfront therapy and/or as a combination therapy in indolent B-cell lymphoid malignancies.
Defining the visual adaptation field for mesopic photometry: How does a high-luminance source affect peripheral adaptation?
Authors: Uchida T , Ohno Y
Published: November 2014

CIE 191:2010 recommends a mesopic photometry system in which the luminous efficiency function is determined from the adaptation luminance. However, it cannot be practically implemented because the adaptation field used to determine the adaptation luminance is not defined. Surrounding luminance effect is a key factor in defining the adaptation field. Vision experiments have been conducted to measure the surrounding luminance effect on peripheral adaptation state with a point source at various intensities placed at different positions. The results reveal that the effect can be described as veiling luminance and that the magnitude of the effect is larger than that of the foveal veiling luminance. A model for the peripheral veiling luminance proposed by Stiles and Crawford in 1937 shows the best prediction for the surrounding luminance effect.
A light-emitting diode headlamp for motorcycles based on freeform micro-lenses
Authors: Li XF , Li Y , Dong JY , Chen GD , Liang C , Ge P
Published: November 2014

We propose a light-emitting diode headlamp for motorcycles based on freeform micro-lenses. The freeform micro-lenses include a collimator and micro-lens structures. The rays emitted by the light-emitting diode source are first collimated and then redistributed by the microstructures. We make a point by point relationship between the light-emitting diode source and the target plane according to Economic Commission for Europe Regulation R113 revision 2. Simulation results show that the light pattern of our proposed headlamp could satisfy the requirements of the regulation. Illuminance on the test points, lines, and zones can fully meet the Economic Commission for Europe Regulation. The optical efficiency of our proposed headlamp could reach up to 90%, which is much higher than the traditional design.
Exposing the “Wellbeing Gap” Between American Men and Women: Revelations From the Sociology of Emotion Surveys
Authors: Patulny Roger
Published: November 2014

Population surveys of emotion offer great potential to understand subjective wellbeing, though most do not reveal how emotions other than happiness and satisfaction impact on daily lives. This article presents a case study analysis of data from Kahneman and Krueger’s (2006) Princeton Time and Affect Survey to demonstrate that the choice of emotions or affects measured in surveys does matter in determining wellbeing in contexts such as those in which gender plays an important role. It finds that that tiredness and interest (excluded from Kahneman and Krueger’s wellbeing construct) comprise a large part of American women’s but not men’s unpleasant education, unpaid housework, and childcare. The article concludes by suggesting that the most appropriate method for establishing a “minimum” set of emotions is to conduct survey-based “audits” of emotions experienced in daily activities.
Reducing Prejudice Across Cultures via Social Tuning
Authors: Skorinko Jeanine L. M. , Lun Janetta , Sinclair Stacey , Marotta Satia A. , Calanchini Jimmy , Paris Melissa H.
Published: November 2014

This research examines whether culture influences the extent to which people’s attitudes tune toward others’ egalitarian beliefs. Hong Kong Chinese, but not American, participants were less prejudiced, explicitly and implicitly, toward homosexuals when they interacted with a person who appeared to hold egalitarian views as opposed to neutral views (Experiment 1). In Experiments 2 and 3, cultural concepts were manipulated. Americans and Hong Kong Chinese who were primed with a collectivist mind-set showed less explicit and implicit prejudice when the experimenter was thought to endorse egalitarian views than when no views were conveyed. Such differences were not found when both cultural groups were primed with an individualist mind-set. These findings suggest that cultural value orientations can help mitigate prejudice.
Yucca-derived synthesis of gold nanomaterial and their catalytic potential
Authors: Krishnamurthy Sneha , Esterle Andrea , Sharma Nilesh C , Sahi Shivendra V
Published: November 2014

AuNPs ranging in 20 to 300 nm size were synthesized at a room temperature using Yucca filamentosa leaf extract. Diverse nanomaterial morphologies were obtained by varying the extract concentration, reaction pH, and temperature. While low volumes of extract (0.25 and 0.5 mL) induced the formation of microscale Au sheets with edge length greater than 1 μm, high volumes yielded spherical particles ranging from 20 to 200 nm. Varying pH of the solution significantly influenced the particle shape with the production of largely spherical particles at pH 5 to 6 and truncated triangles at pH 2. Separation of multidimensional nanostructures was achieved using a novel method of sucrose density gradient centrifugation. The catalytic function of Yucca-derived AuNPs was demonstrated by degradation of a wastewater dye: methylene blue using spectrophotometric measurements over time. Treatment with Au nanosheets and spheres demonstrated methylene blue degradation approximately 100% greater than the activity in control at 60 min.
Neuromorphic crossbar circuit with nanoscale filamentary-switching binary memristors for speech recognition
Authors: Truong Son Ngoc , Ham Seok-Jin , Min Kyeong-Sik
Published: November 2014

In this paper, a neuromorphic crossbar circuit with binary memristors is proposed for speech recognition. The binary memristors which are based on filamentary-switching mechanism can be found more popularly and are easy to be fabricated than analog memristors that are rare in materials and need a more complicated fabrication process. Thus, we develop a neuromorphic crossbar circuit using filamentary-switching binary memristors not using interface-switching analog memristors. The proposed binary memristor crossbar can recognize five vowels with 4-bit 64 input channels. The proposed crossbar is tested by 2,500 speech samples and verified to be able to recognize 89.2% of the tested samples. From the statistical simulation, the recognition rate of the binary memristor crossbar is estimated to be degraded very little from 89.2% to 80%, though the percentage variation in memristance is increased very much from 0% to 15%. In contrast, the analog memristor crossbar loses its recognition rate significantly from 96% to 9% for the same percentage variation in memristance.
Age and ultra-marathon performance - 50 to 1,000 km distances from 1969 – 2012
Authors: Romer Tobias , Rüst Christoph Alexander , Zingg Matthias Alexander , Rosemann Thomas , Knechtle Beat
Published: November 2014

We investigated age and performance in distance-limited ultra-marathons held from 50 km to 1,000 km. Age of peak running speed and running speed of the fastest competitors from 1969 to 2012 in 50 km, 100 km, 200 km and 1,000 km ultra-marathons were analyzed using analysis of variance and multi-level regression analyses. The ages of the ten fastest women ever were 40 ± 4 yrs (50 km), 34 ± 7 yrs (100 km), 42 ± 6 yrs (200 km), and 41 ± 5 yrs (1,000 km). The ages were significantly different between 100 km and 200 km and between 100 km and 1,000 km. For men, the ages of the ten fastest ever were 34 ± 6 yrs (50 km), 32 ± 4 yrs (100 km), 44 ± 4 yrs (200 km), and 47 ± 9 yrs (1,000 km). The ages were significantly younger in 50 km compared to 100 km and 200 km and also significantly younger in 100 km compared to 200 km and 1,000 km. The age of the annual ten fastest women decreased in 50 km from 39 ± 8 yrs (1988) to 32 ± 4 yrs (2012) and in men from 35 ± 5 yrs (1977) to 33 ± 5 yrs (2012). In 100 km events, the age of peak running speed of the annual ten fastest women and men remained stable at 34.9 ± 3.2 and 34.5 ± 2.5 yrs, respectively. Peak running speed of top ten runners increased in 50 km and 100 km in women (10.6 ± 1.0 to 15.3 ± 0.7 km/h and 7.3 ± 1.5 to 13.0 ± 0.2 km/h, respectively) and men (14.3 ± 1.2 to 17.5 ± 0.6 km/h and 10.2 ± 1.2 to 15.1 ± 0.2 km/h, respectively). In 200 km and 1,000 km, running speed remained unchanged. In summary, the best male 1,000 km ultra-marathoners were ~15 yrs older than the best male 100 km ultra-marathoners and the best female 1,000 km ultra-marathoners were ~7 yrs older than the best female 100 km ultra-marathoners. The age of the fastest 50 km ultra-marathoners decreased across years whereas it remained unchanged in 100 km ultra-marathoners. These findings may help athletes and coaches to plan an ultra-marathoner’s career. Future studies are needed on the mechanisms by which the fastest runners in the long ultra-marathons tend to be older than those in shorter ultra-marathons.
Metabolic syndrome in premenopausal and postmenopausal women with type 2 diabetes: loss of protective effects of premenopausal status
Authors: Nakhjavani Manouchehr , Imani Mehrnaz , Larry Mehrdad , Aghajani-Nargesi Arash , Morteza Afsaneh , Esteghamati Alireza
Published: November 2014

Background

Diabetes is probably responsible for worsening of metabolic syndrome (MetS)components. The aim of the present study was to compare the components of MetS between premenopausal and postmenopausal women with type 2 diabetes (T2DM).

Method

In this cross sectional study, we studied 639 women with T2DM that were divided in pre-menopausal (n = 221) and post-menopausal (n = 418) group. They were selected from participants of a diabetes clinic and assessed for MetS and its components. All MetS components were evaluated to follow age and duration of diabetes adjusted according to the ATP III criteria.

Results

The mean ages of pre-menopausal and post-menopausal were 43.33 ± 0.47 and 60.35 ± 0.38 years, respectively. MetS was defined for 88.3% of total subjects (87.5% and 87.7% in pre-menopausal and post-menopausal women with T2DM respectively). Systolic blood pressure (SBP) and waist circumference (WC) were significantly higher in post-menopausal women with T2DM in comparison with pre-menopausal ones. There were no significant differences in triglyceride (T.G) level, diastolic blood pressure (DBP) and high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) between the two groups. Myocardial infarction (MI) occurred in 1% total subjects (1.3% and 1.8%) in pre-menopausal and post-menopausal women with T2DM, respectively (p = 0.21).

Conclusion

Worsening of MetS and its components except for SBP and waist circumference has been shown in pre-menopausal women with T2DM similar to post-menopausal ones. The observed differences may be explained by increasing age. With respect to increasing of myocardial infarction in premenopausal subjects, we suggest that diabetes can abolish the protective effects of premenopausal status for MetS and MI.
Experimental design and signal selection for construction of a robot control system based on EEG signals
Authors: Yoshioka Masataka , Zhu Chi , Imamura Kazuyuki , Wang Feng , Yu Haoyong , Duan Feng , Yan Yuling
Published: November 2014

Aiming to develop an noninvasive BMI control system with EEG (electroencephalogram) signals to control external devices such as prostheses and robots for rehabilitation and/or power support, four different tasks corresponding to different brain excitation degrees are designed. Their EEG spectra are analyzed with short-time fast Fourier transform (STFFT), and their features of mu and beta rhythms corresponding to the different tasks are extracted. The extracted features are used to control a one-joint robot arm and their corresponding results are compared. The results show that the EEG signal when a subject is holding a weight is comparatively more stable than the EEG signals in other tasks such as motor imagery. This implies an effective way for power assist by EEG signals.
Human neural stem cells rapidly ameliorate symptomatic inflammation in early-stage ischemic-reperfusion cerebral injury
Authors: Huang Lei , Wong Sunnie , Snyder Evan Y , Hamblin Milton H , Lee Jean-Pyo
Published: November 2014

Introduction

Clinically, a good deal of injury from stroke results from ischemic-reperfusion. There is a loss of cerebral parenchyma and its associated cells, disruption of neuronal connections, compromise of the blood-brain barrier, and inflammation. We tested whether exogenously engrafted human neural stem cells could migrate rapidly and extensively to damaged regions, following transplantation into a neurogenic site where migration cues are already underway during stroke onset, then counteract a number of these pathological processes.

Methods

One day post-injury, we injected human neural stem cells (hNSCs) into the ipsilesional hippocampus of a mouse model of stroke with middle cerebral artery occlusion to induce focal ischemia followed by reperfusion (MCAO/R). The time frame for hNSC transplantation corresponded to upregulation of endogenous proinflammatory cytokines. We examined the effect of hNSC transplantation on pathological processes and behavioral dysfunction 48 hours post-injury.

Results

Twenty-four hours after transplantation, engrafted hNSCs had migrated extensively to the lesion, and infarct volume was reduced relative to MCAO/R controls. The behavioral deficits seen in MCAO/R controls were also significantly improved. Given this rapid response, we hypothesized that the mechanisms underlying therapeutic activity were anti-inflammatory rather than due to cell replacement. In support of this idea, in hNSC-transplanted mice we observed reduced microglial activation, decreased expression of proinflammatory factors (tumor necrosis factor-α, interleukin (IL)-6, IL-1β, monocyte chemotactic protein-1, macrophage inflammatory protein-1α) and adhesion molecules (intercellular adhesion molecule-1, vascular cell adhesion molecule-1), and amelioration of blood-brain barrier damage.

Conclusions

While long-term effects of engrafted hNSCs on the amelioration of ischemic stroke-induced behavioral dysfunction in a rodent model have been reported, our study is the first to show rapid, beneficial impacts on behavioral function (within 24 hours) upon early delivery of hNSCs into the hippocampus.
microRNA-378 promotes mesenchymal stem cell survival and vascularization under hypoxic–ischemic conditions in vitro
Authors: Xing Yue , Hou Jingying , Guo Tianzhu , Zheng Shaoxin , Zhou Changqing , Huang Hui , Chen Yuyang , Sun Kan , Zhong Tingting , Wang Jingfeng , Li Honghao , Wang Tong
Published: November 2014

Introduction

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) transplantation has been demonstrated to be an effective strategy for the treatment of cardiovascular disease. However, the low survival rate of MSCs at local diseased tissue reduces the therapeutic efficacy. We therefore investigated the influence of MicroRNA-378 (miR-378) transfection on MSCs survival and vascularization under hypoxic-ischemic condition in vitro.

Methods

MSCs were isolated from bone marrow of Sprague–Dawley rats and cultured in vitro. The third passage of MSCs were divided into the miR-378 group and control group. For the miR-378 group, cells were transfected with miR-378 mimic. Both groups experienced exposure to hypoxia (1% O2) and serum deprivation for 24 hours, using normoxia (20% O2) as a negative control during the process. After 24 hours of reoxygenation (20% O2), cell proliferation and apoptosis were evaluated. Expressions of apoptosis and angiogenesis related genes were detected. Both groups were further co-cultured with human umbilical vein endothelial cells to promote vascular differentiation for another 6 hours. Vascular density was assessed thereafter.

Results

Compared with the control group, MSCs transfected with miR-378 showed more rapid growth. Their proliferation rates were much higher at 72 h and 96 h under hypoxic condition (257.33% versus 246.67%, P <0.01; 406.84% versus 365.39%, P <0.05). Cell apoptosis percentage in the miR-378 group was significantly declined under normoxic and hypoxic condition (0.30 ± 0.10% versus 0.50 ± 0.10%, P <0.05; 0.60 ± 0.40% versus 1.70 ± 0.20%, P <0.01). The miR-378 group formed a larger number of vascular branches on matrigel. BCL2 level was decreased accompanied with an upregulated expression of BAX in the two experimental groups under the hypoxic environment. BAX expression was reduced in the miR-378 group under the hypoxic environment. In the miR-378 group, there was a decreased expression of tumor necrosis factor-α on protein level and a reduction of TUSC-2 under normoxic environment. Their expressions were both downregulated under hypoxic environment. For the angiogenesis related genes, enhanced expressions of vascular endothelial growth factorα, platelet derived growth factor-β and transforming growth factor-β1 could be detected both in normoxic and hypoxic-ischemic conditions.

Conclusion

MiR-378 transfection could effectively promote MSCs survival and vascularization under hypoxic-ischemic condition in vitro.