bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Fuel carbon pathway in the first cranking cycle of a gasoline direct injection engine
Authors: Rodríguez J Felipe , Cheng Wai K
Published: October 2015

The fuel carbon pathway for the cold-start first cranking cycle in a gasoline direct injection engine is characterized quantitatively. The engine is fired for a single cycle in one cylinder at a specified cranking speed and at a coolant temperature of 20 °C. The fuel carbon is accounted for from measurements of the exhaust carbon (CO2, CO, and hydrocarbon). The remaining carbon is assumed to go into the oil and crankcase. The parameters studied are the amount of injected fuel, the injection timing, the intake pressure, the injection pressure, and the cranking speed. Substantial fuel enrichment is needed to produce stable combustion in the first cycle, with significant residual fuel that goes into preparing the mixture of the second cycle and into the oil and crankcase. The first cycle hydrocarbon emissions as a fraction of the fuel are not sensitive to the fuel enrichment, the manifold absolute pressure, and the injection pressure.
Poethics? The Use of Biblical Hebrew Poetry in Ethical Reflection on the Old Testament
Authors: Boda Mark J.
Published: October 2015

This study traces the history of scholarship in the discipline of Old Testament ethics in the Anglo-American tradition over the past century, focusing on the use of poetry and poetic texts throughout this period. It identifies James Muilenburg as a key figure who paved the way for greater sensitivity to the role that Hebrew poetic texts can play within ethical reflection, not merely in terms of their ethical themes, but more importantly, in terms of their poetic form.
Trauma Theory and Biblical Studies
Authors: Garber David G.
Published: October 2015

Since the early 2000s, several scholars have explored the use of trauma theory as an interpretive lens to understand some of the most difficult and painful texts in the Bible. The use of trauma theory does not constitute a method of interpretation but a frame of reference that, when coupled with other methodologies (e.g., psychology, post-structuralism, post-colonialism, refugee studies, etc.), can yield innovative results. While trauma theory has proven useful in the study of exilic texts in particular, scholars have ventured beyond the narrower concern of exilic literature, investigating the use of trauma theory for other portions of the Hebrew Bible and New Testament. The impact of trauma is a significant component of the human condition that lies beneath the production of a wide variety of biblical texts.
Bridging the Gap
Authors: DeSante Christopher D. , Perry Brittany N.
Published: October 2015

Previous work has shown that context influences the political participation rates of certain minority groups. However, few have tested exactly what drives this relationship. In this article, we assess one possible mechanism: the effect of co-ethnic population size on the acquisition of political knowledge. Our argument is that ethnic context helps condition information acquisition among co-ethnics, which, in turn, affects political engagement. Focusing on Latinos, we show that co-ethnic population size in a county matters and importantly, that as the Latino population increases, political information gaps between citizens and non-citizens decrease considerably. Finally, we show similar results regarding levels of political interest and discuss how both knowledge and interest may condition behavior.
Labor Unions and Race-conscious Housing in the Postwar Bay Area
Authors: Botein Hilary
Published: October 2015

This article examines two racially integrated labor union-sponsored housing cooperatives developed in the San Francisco Bay Area in the 1950s and 1960s. The projects offer examples of small-scale alternative paths to postwar suburbanization and inner-city decline. St. Francis Square, in the Western Addition neighborhood of San Francisco, was sponsored by the International Longshoremen’s and Warehousemen’s Union. Sunnyhills, in the newly incorporated town of Milpitas in Santa Clara County, was sponsored by the United Automobile Workers. The projects illustrate how the postwar strategies of growth liberalism and the urban growth machine, which facilitated private investment and racial segregation in the service of economic development, simultaneously expanded and checked municipal and labor union priorities.
The Difficulty of Prevention
Authors: Johnston Craig A. , Vaughan Elizabeth , Moreno Jennette P.
Published: October 2015

Behavioral medicine provides insight in to the problem of injury prevention. Society often views unintentional injuries as only an accident when in reality many accident-related injuries are preventable. However, barriers to behavioral change in injury prevention exist for both patients (eg, inconvenience, perceived risk–benefit ratio) and health care providers (eg, feeling of badgering nonadherent patients, patient misinformation). To overcome barriers, the article discusses strategies for health care providers to address injury prevention such as choosing active over passive strategies, informing patients of predictable injury-prone circumstances, and individualizing patient risks.
Contact dermatitis
Authors: Ahmed Sara
Published: October 2015

Contact dermatitis is a disorder in which an eczematous reaction occurs in response to exposure to an external agent. This stimulus may act as an irritant, by having a direct noxious effect on the skin, or an allergen, where a type-4 T-cell-mediated hypersensitivity reaction occurs. Both reactions produce an inflammatory response in the skin, resulting in erythema and sometimes vesiculation followed by dryness, lichenification and fissuring. The irritant and allergic types of contact dermatitis can co-exist, so a good history with exploration of occupation and recreational factors is necessary. This article discusses the presentation of contact dermatitis and possible causative factors, and then outlines suitable investigations and management strategies.
The Relation Between Compassionate Love and Prejudice
Authors: Sinclair Lisa , Fehr Beverley , Wang Wan , Regehr Elise
Published: October 2015

Recently, there has been an increase in prejudice toward some groups such as immigrants. In response, governments and citizens have called for compassion. In four studies, we tested the hypothesis that people who are high in compassionate love would express less prejudice than those who are low. We found that people high in compassionate love had more positive attitudes toward out-groups, including immigrants. The relation between compassionate love and prejudice toward immigrants was mediated by inclusion of out-group members in the self. An experiment provided evidence of a causal link between compassionate love and prejudice toward immigrants. Finally, people high in compassionate love were less likely to discriminate against immigrants in a budget cutting exercise and more likely to volunteer to help them. Empathy did not account for our results. We conclude that compassionate love holds promise as a positive pathway to prejudice reduction.
Association of socioeconomic status with diagnosis, treatment and control of hypertension in diabetic hypertensive individuals in Bangladesh: a population-based cross-sectional study
Authors: Rahman Mosiur , H Syed Emdadul , Islam Md. Jahirul , Mostofa Md. Golam , Saadat Khandakar ASM
Published: October 2015

Objectives

This study aimed to examine if socioeconomic status could affect the likelihood of diagnosis, treatment and control of hypertension in diabetic hypertensive individuals.

Design

Cross-sectional nationally representative study.

Settings

Bangladesh.

Participants

This paper used data from the 2011 Bangladesh Demographic Health Survey. The analyses were based on the responses of 339 diabetes hypertensive individuals.

Main outcome measures

Diagnosis, treatment and control of hypertension.

Results

The age-adjusted prevalence of hypertension in diabetes individuals was 38.4% in the study population. Among diabetic hypertensive subjects only 65.7% had been diagnosed, 58.4% were receiving treatment and 42% controlled their hypertension. Individuals from high socioeconomic status (AOR 2.60; 95% CI 1.16–5.83) had an increased likelihood of reporting diagnosis of hypertension. Individuals from medium (AOR 2.22; 95% CI 1.11–4.46) and high socioeconomic status (AOR 3.47; 95% CI 1.59–7.58) had increased chance of receiving treatment. In addition, individuals belonging to high socioeconomic status (AOR 2.53; 95% CI 1.14–5.63) were more likely to report of controlling hypertension.

Conclusions

This study indicated that hypertension is more prevalent among diabetic patients. Furthermore, diabetic hypertensive patients from the low socioeconomic status group are also less likely to be diagnosed and also less likely to receive treatment for hypertension. In addition, diabetic hypertensive patients from the low socioeconomic status were less likely to control hypertension compared with an individual belonging to the high socioeconomic status group. This reduced likelihood of receiving proper treatment will lead to a rapid increase in the prevalence of macrovascular and microvascular diseases among diabetic hypertensive patients.
Youth, Social Media, and Cyberbullying Among Australian Youth: “Sick Friends”
Authors: Nilan Pam , Burgess Haley , Hobbs Mitchell , Threadgold Steven , Alexander Wendy
Published: October 2015

Cyberbullying is a relatively recent phenomenon that can have significant consequences for young people’s wellbeing due to the specific technological affordances of social media. To date, research into cyberbullying has been largely quantitative; thus, it often elides the complexity of the issue. Moreover, most studies have been “top down,” excluding young people’s views. Our qualitative research findings suggest that young people engage in cyberbullying to accrue social benefits over peers and to manage social pressures and anxiety, while cultural conventions in gender performance see girls engage differently in cyberbullying. We conclude that cyberbullying, like offline bullying, is a socially constructed behavior that provides both pleasure and pain.
Pulmonary gas conducting interstitial pathway
Authors: Bense László , Eklund Gunnar , Jorulf Håkan , Farkas Árpád , Eden-Strindberg Jerker , Gennser Mikael , Jókay Ágnes , Krebsz Ádám
Published: October 2015

In spite of the growing efforts oriented towards revealing different aspects of emphysema, the persistence of the emphysematous or emphysema-like changes (ELCs) is not explored yet in the open literature. In this study we demonstrate the persistence of an ELC for 22 years in a spontaneous pneumothorax (SP) patient which indicates a hitherto unknown gas supply to the ELC. For this purpose we used high resolution computed tomography (HRCT) images processed into three-dimensional (3D) geometry. By the same token, not only a long persistence but also the volume increase of this ELC between 2002 and 2010 was demonstrated. The 3D geometry visualized an aerated interstitial structure between the sites of supposed gas leakage at the wall of the third generation airways and the ELC. This potential gas conducting interstitial pathway is not a continuation and has neither the form nor the structure of a bronchus. The finding suggests that in this patient the intrabronchial gas passes through the bronchial wall and via a gas conducting interstitial pathway reaches the ELC. Despite the availability of the presently employed techniques for at least 15 years, such case and phenomenon have not been described previously. The retrieval of the patient suggests that the findings could be relevant for a considerable proportion of the population.
Exploring Health Insurance Status and Emergency Department Utilization
Authors: Agarwal Parul , Bias Thomas K. , Vasile Emily , Moore Louise , Davis Stephen , Davidov Danielle
Published: October 2015

Emergency department (ED) use, by both insured and uninsured, leads to significant health care costs in the United States. While frequent ED use is often attributed to the uninsured, there is some evidence that insured populations also report utilizing the ED when otherwise preventable or nonurgent. We conducted in-person surveys of patients visiting the ED at a large research hospital and examined the differences in their characteristics based on the health insurance status. While less than the uninsured, insured individuals still report barriers to access to care outside the ED that include lack of access to another health care facility and unavailability of a doctor’s office or clinic.
C-reactive protein enhances murine antibody–mediated transfusion-related acute lung injury
Authors: Kapur Rick , Kim Michael , Shanmugabhavananthan Shanjeevan , Liu Jonathan , Li Yuan , Semple John W.
Published: October 2015

Key Points

CRP enhances antibody-mediated lung damage when infused into TRALI-resistant mice. CRP and TRALI-inducing antibodies generate a synergistic increase in MIP-2 production and pulmonary neutrophil accumulation in vivo.
Some fixed point theorems for generalized contractive mappings in complete metric spaces
Authors: Hussain Nawab , Parvaneh Vahid , Samet Bessem , Vetro Calogero
Published: October 2015

We introduce new concepts of generalized contractive and generalized α-Suzuki type contractive mappings. Then, we obtain sufficient conditions for the existence of a fixed point of these classes of mappings on complete metric spaces and b-complete b-metric spaces. Our results extend the theorems of Ćirić, Chatterjea, Kannan and Reich.
Accuracy of proactive case finding for mental disorders by
community informants in Nepal
Authors: Jordans Mark J. D. , Kohrt Brandon A. , Luitel Nagendra P. , Komproe Ivan H. , Lund Crick
Published: October 2015

Background

Accurate detection of persons in need of mental healthcare is crucial to
reduce the treatment gap between psychiatric burden and service use in
low- and middle-income (LAMI) countries.

Aims

To evaluate the accuracy of a community-based proactive case-finding
strategy (Community Informant Detection Tool, CIDT), involving pictorial
vignettes, designed to initiate pathways for mental health treatment in
primary care settings.

Method

Community informants using the CIDT identified screen positive
(n = 110) and negative persons (n =
85). Participants were then administered the Composite International
Diagnostic Interview (CIDI).

Results

The CIDT has a positive predictive value of 0.64 (0.68 for adults only)
and a negative predictive value of 0.93 (0.91 for adults only).

Conclusions

The CIDT has promising detection properties for psychiatric caseness.
Further research should investigate its potential to increase demand for,
and access to, mental health services.
Comparision of how old age psychiatry and general adult psychiatry services meet the needs of elderly people with functional mental illness: Cross-sectional survey
Authors: Abdul-Hamid Walid Khalid , Lewis-Cole Kelly , Holloway Frank , Silverman Ann Marisa
Published: October 2015

Background

There is little research evidence as to whether general adult psychiatry or old age psychiatry should look after old people with enduring mental illness.

Aims

To compare the extent to which general adult and old age psychiatric services meet the needs of older people with enduring mental illness.

Method

A total of 74 elderly patients with functional psychiatric disorders were identified by reviewing the notes of patients over the age of 60 living in a defined inner urban catchment area. Data were collected on the morbidity and needs of the sample. Needs were assessed using the Elderly Psychiatric Needs Schedule (EPNS).

Results

The participants in contact with old age psychiatry had significantly fewer unmet needs compared with those in contact with general adult psychiatry (2.8v.5.6,t= 2.2,P<0.03). Total needs were not significantly different between those managed by old age and general adult services (8.0v.6.5 respectively,t= 1.2,P= 0.2).

Conclusions

This study found that old age psychiatry services were better placed to meet the needs of elderly people with mental illness. This finding supports the need for a separate old age psychiatry service.
Development of the REFOCUS intervention to increase mental health team support for personal recovery
Authors: Slade Mike , Bird Victoria , Boutillier Clair Le , Farkas Marianne , Grey Barbara , Larsen John , Leamy Mary , Oades Lindsay , Williams Julie
Published: October 2015

Background

There is an emerging evidence base about best practice in supporting recovery. This is usually framed in relation to general principles, and specific pro-recovery interventions are lacking.

Aims

To develop a theoretically based and empirically defensible new pro-recovery manualised intervention – called the REFOCUS intervention.

Method

Seven systematic and two narrative reviews were undertaken. Identified evidence gaps were addressed in three qualitative studies. The findings were synthesised to produce the REFOCUS intervention, manual and model.

Results

The REFOCUS intervention comprises two components: recovery-promoting relationships and working practices. Approaches to supporting relationships comprise coaching skills training for staff, developing a shared team understanding of recovery, exploring staff values, a Partnership Project with people who use the service and raising patient expectations. Working practices comprise the following: understanding values and treatment preferences; assessing strengths; and supporting goal-striving. The REFOCUS model describes the causal pathway from the REFOCUS intervention to improved recovery.

Conclusions

The REFOCUS intervention is an empirically supported pro-recovery intervention for use in mental health services. It will be evaluated in a multisite cluster randomised controlled trial (ISRCTN02507940).
Incidence of antipsychotic use in relation to diagnosis of
Alzheimer's disease among community-dwelling persons
Authors: Koponen Marjaana , Tolppanen Anna-Maija , Taipale Heidi , Tanskanen Antti , Tiihonen Jari , Johnell Kristina , Fastbom Johan , Ahonen Riitta , Hartikainen Sirpa
Published: October 2015

Background

Behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia are frequently treated
with antipsychotics.

Aims

To determine the incidence of antipsychotic use in relation to diagnosis
of Alzheimer's disease.

Method

Cohort of all community-dwellers in Finland diagnosed with Alzheimer's
disease in 2005 and matched controls. All antipsychotics dispensed
between 1995 and 2009 were extracted from the Finnish National
Prescription Register.

Results

Altogether 1996/6087 (32.8%) persons with Alzheimer's disease initiated
antipsychotic use. The incidence of antipsychotic use was fivefold among
persons with Alzheimer's disease compared with controls, started to
increase 2–3 years before diagnosis and was highest during the first 6
months after diagnosis.

Conclusions

A distinct increase in antipsychotic initiations occurs in the same time
window as Alzheimer's disease diagnosis.
Thyroid Hormone Receptor α Plays an Essential Role in Male Skeletal Muscle Myoblast Proliferation, Differentiation, and Response to Injury
Authors: Milanesi Anna , Lee Jang-Won , Kim Nam-Ho , Liu Yan-Yun , Yang An , Sedrakyan Sargis , Kahng Andrew , Cervantes Vanessa , Tripuraneni Nikita , Cheng Sheue-yann , Perin Laura , Brent Gregory A.
Published: October 2015

Thyroid hormone plays an essential role in myogenesis, the process required for skeletal muscle development and repair, although the mechanisms have not been established. Skeletal muscle develops from the fusion of precursor myoblasts into myofibers. We have used the C2C12 skeletal muscle myoblast cell line, primary myoblasts, and mouse models of resistance to thyroid hormone (RTH) α and β, to determine the role of thyroid hormone in the regulation of myoblast differentiation. T3, which activates thyroid hormone receptor (TR) α and β, increased myoblast differentiation whereas GC1, a selective TRβ agonist, was minimally effective. Genetic approaches confirmed that TRα plays an important role in normal myoblast proliferation and differentiation and acts through the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway. Myoblasts with TRα knockdown, or derived from RTH-TRα PV (a frame-shift mutation) mice, displayed reduced proliferation and myogenic differentiation. Moreover, skeletal muscle from the TRα1PV mutant mouse had impaired in vivo regeneration after injury. RTH-TRβ PV mutant mouse model skeletal muscle and derived primary myoblasts did not have altered proliferation, myogenic differentiation, or response to injury when compared with control. In conclusion, TRα plays an essential role in myoblast homeostasis and provides a potential therapeutic target to enhance skeletal muscle regeneration.
The Settler Unchained
Authors: Young Alex Trimble
Published: October 2015

This article argues that the phrase “monopoly of violence,” which circulates in so many contemporary academic critiques of the liberal state, is not adequate to describe the nature of violence deployed by settler colonial societies against indigenous and racialized bodies. Settler colonialism depends on a mode of popular sovereignty that serves primarily as a diffusion of the necropolitical power of the colonizing polity rather than as a check on the tyranny of the state. Through a consideration of an assemblage of unlikely contemporary objects—Glenn Beck's 2013 keynote address to the National Rifle Association, Antonio Negri's monograph Insurgencies: Constituent Power and the Modern State, and Quentin Tarantino's film Django Unchained—it explores how European and Euro-American imaginings of constituent power can serve to reinforce settler colonial political traditions rather than offer an alternative.
National Drag
Authors: Goldmark Matthew
Published: October 2015

This essay analyzes season 1 of the reality television series RuPaul's Drag Race to argue that the program presents drag as a path for upward mobility in the contemporary United States. At the same time, it demonstrates how language—in particular Spanish—troubles the program's official narrative of gay integration made possible by self-fashioning. In the first section, it describes Drag Race's ambivalence around race, class, gender presentation, and sexuality through an analysis of the show's humor and slogans. It then discusses two contestants who are framed as “outsides to the nation” by the program to show how Drag Race's unmarked English proficiency requirement unravels the fantasy of an equal opportunity United States. This analysis of language in Drag Race shows how national and transnational inequalities continue to be a drag on narratives of gay progress.
Between Irony and Belief
Authors: Cruz-Malavé Arnaldo M.
Published: October 2015

In the 1960s, camp's ironic register expanded to many of the decade's cultural and artistic discourses, becoming hegemonic in historical accounts. This essay examines the response of two queer diasporic Puerto Rican artists, the filmmaker José Rodríguez-Soltero and the drag performer “superstar” Mario Montez, who were members of New York's artistic underground, to such an expansion. While Puerto Rican and Latino migrants to the city were associated in the works of underground artists with a seamlessly unfractured culture of fervor and belief that often made their cultural practices illegible as “art,” queer diasporic Puerto Rican artists, who were the product of multiple colonial and metropolitan displacements, promoted an aesthetics of mediation that combined calculation with surrender, and self-conscious dismantling of cinematic and artistic conventions with exaltation and belief. The essay further examines the recent comeback of Montez in contemporary queer debates on camp, failure, and shame in light of this diasporic aesthetics.
Forces of Faith
Authors: Van Doorn Niels
Published: October 2015

This essay examines what it means for queer subjects to cultivate a concern for their lives and the lives of others in the face of debilitating circumstances, when these efforts are maintained through religious practices and attachments. Taking cues from a small yet growing strand of social science research that has investigated the role of religion and “spirituality” in queer people's everyday lives, I explore how the experience of a divine presence informs queer practices of self-formation and how religious faith becomes implicated in marginalized world-making projects. Drawing on fieldwork conducted at an African American Pentecostal church led by a gay and same-gender-loving clergy, I offer a detailed study of how the gatherings and events at the church make available a mode of truth telling that activates capacities embedded in a transformative process of governing oneself and others. The essay concludes with two interconnected claims: first, rather than direct attention away from the world, religious experience helps queers of faith—many of whom are queers of color—achieve the consistency and courage they need to recalibrate their lives so that they can conduct themselves more forcefully in this world, thereby expanding their agency and capacity for flourishing in an impoverished city; second, despite queer theory's investment in secular modes of critique and analysis, the realm of the religious and the sacred provides many queers of color with a resource for developing the kind of critical attitude modernist scholars have conventionally associated with the sphere of secular thought and action.
Mesenchymal Hox6 function is required for pancreatic endocrine cell differentiation
Authors: Larsen Brian M. , Hrycaj Steven M. , Newman Micaleah , Li Ye , Wellik Deneen M.
Published: October 2015

Despite significant advances in our understanding of pancreatic endocrine cell development, the function of the pancreatic mesodermal niche in this process is poorly understood. Here we report a novel role for Hox6 genes in pancreatic organogenesis. Hox6 genes are expressed exclusively in the mesoderm of the developing pancreas. Genetic loss of all three Hox6 paralogs (Hoxa6, Hoxb6, Hoxc6) leads to a dramatic loss of endoderm-derived endocrine cells including insulin-secreting beta cells, as well as mild delays and disruptions in pancreas branching and exocrine differentiation. Ngn3-expressing pan-endocrine progenitor cells are specified normally in Hox6 mutant pancreata, but fail to mature into hormone-producing cells. Reduced expression of Wnt5a is observed in mutant pancreatic mesenchyme, leading to subsequent loss of expression of critical Wnt inhibitors Sfrp3 and Dkk1 in endocrine progenitor cells. These results reveal a key role for Hox6 genes in establishing Wnt mesenchymal/epithelial crosstalk in pancreatic development.
Localized control of oxidized RNA
Authors: Zhan Yu , Dhaliwal James , Adjibade Pauline , Uniacke James , Mazroui Rachid , Zerges William
Published: October 2015

The oxidation of biological molecules by reactive oxygen species can render them inactive or toxic. This includes the oxidation of RNA, which appears to underlie detrimental effects of oxidative stress, aging, and certain neurodegenerative diseases. Here we investigate the management of oxidized RNA in the chloroplast of the green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. Our results of immunofluorescence microscopy reveal oxidized RNA (with 8-hydroxyguanine) localized in the pyrenoid, a chloroplast microcompartment where CO2 is assimilated by the Calvin cycle enzyme Rubisco. Results of genetic analyses support a requirement for the Rubisco large subunit, but not Rubisco, in the management of oxidized RNA. An RBCL pool that could carry out such a ‘moonlighting’ function is revealed by results of biochemical fractionation experiments. We also show that human (HeLa) cells localize oxidized RNA to cytoplasmic foci which are distinct from stress granules, processing bodies, and mitochondria. Our results suggest that the compartmentalization of oxidized RNA management is a general phenomenon and therefore has some fundamental significance
Publications in PubMed on Ebola and the 2014 outbreak
Authors: Ballabeni Andrea , Boggio Andrea
Published: October 2015

In this research note we examine the biomedical publication output about Ebola in 2014. We show that the volume of publications has dramatically increased in the past year. In 2014 there have been over 888 publications with ‘ebola’ or ‘ebolavirus’ in the title, approximately 13 times the volume of publication of 2013. The rise reflects an impressive growth starting in the month of August, concomitant with or following the surge in infections, deaths and coverage in news and social media. Though non-research articles have been the major contributors to this growth, there has been a substantial increase in original research articles too, including many papers of basic science. The United States has been the country with the highest number of research articles, followed by Canada and the United Kingdom. We present a comprehensive set of charts and facts that, by describing the volumes and nature of publications in 2014, show how the scientific community has responded to the Ebola outbreak and how it might respond to future similar global threats and media events. This information will assist scholars and policymakers in their efforts to improve scientific research policies with the goal of maximizing both public health and knowledge advancement.
DREAMTools: a Python package for scoring collaborative challenges
Authors: Cokelaer Thomas , Bansal Mukesh , Bare Christopher , Bilal Erhan , Bot Brian M. , Chaibub Neto Elias , Eduati Federica , Gönen Mehmet , Hill Steven M. , Hoff Bruce , Karr Jonathan R. , Küffner Robert , Menden Michael P. , Meyer Pablo , Norel Raquel , Pratap Abhishek , Prill Robert J. , Weirauch Matthew T. , Costello James C. , Stolovitzky Gustavo , Saez-Rodriguez Julio
Published: October 2015

DREAM challenges are community competitions designed to advance computational methods and address fundamental questions in system biology and translational medicine. Each challenge asks participants to develop and apply computational methods to either predict unobserved outcomes or to identify unknown model parameters given a set of training data. Computational methods are evaluated using an automated scoring metric, scores are posted to a public leaderboard, and methods are published to facilitate community discussions on how to build improved methods. By engaging participants from a wide range of science and engineering backgrounds, DREAM challenges can comparatively evaluate a wide range of statistical, machine learning, and biophysical methods. Here, we describe DREAMTools, a Python package for evaluating DREAM challenge scoring metrics. DREAMTools provides a command line interface that enables researchers to test new methods on past challenges, as well as a framework for scoring new challenges. As of September 2015, DREAMTools includes more than 80% of completed DREAM challenges. DREAMTools complements the data, metadata, and software tools available at the DREAM website http://dreamchallenges.org and on the Synapse platform https://www.synapse.org.

Availability: DREAMTools is a Python package. Releases and documentation are available at http://pypi.python.org/pypi/dreamtools. The source code is available at http://github.com/dreamtools.
AnalogExplorer2 – Stereochemistry sensitive graphical analysis of large analog series
Authors: Hu Ye , Zhang Bijun , Vogt Martin , Bajorath Jürgen
Published: October 2015

AnalogExplorer is a computational methodology for the extraction and organization of series of structural analogs from compound data sets and their graphical analysis. The method is suitable for the analysis of large analog series originating from lead optimization programs. Herein we report AnalogExplorer2 designed to explicitly take stereochemical information during graphical analysis into account and describe a freely available deposition of the original AnalogExplorer program, AnalogExplorer2, and exemplary compound sets to illustrate their use.
THE VARIANCE AND TREND OF INTEREST RATE – CASE OF COMMERCIAL BANKS IN KOSOVO
Authors: Spahija Fidane
Published: October 2015

Today’s debate on the interest rate is characterized by three key issues: the interest rate as a phenomenon, the interest rate as a product of factors (dependent variable), and the interest rate as a policy instrument (independent variable). In this article, the variance in interest rates, as the dependent variable, comes in two statistical sizes: the variance and trend. The interest rates include the price of loans and deposits. The analysis of interest rates on deposits and loan is conducted for non-financial corporation and family economy. This study looks into a statistical analysis, to highlight the variance and trends of interest rates for the period 2004-2013, for deposits and loans in commercial banks in Kosovo. The interest rate is observed at various levels. Is it high, medium or low? Does it explain growth trends, keep constant, or reduce? The trend is observed whether commercial banks maintain, reduce, or increase the interest rate in response to the policy that follows the Central Bank of Kosovo. The data obtained will help to determine the impact of interest rate in the service sector, investment, consumption, and unemployment.
OPTIMIZATION OF POSTAL ROUTES BY GENETIC ALGORITHM FOR SOLVING THE MULTIPLE TRAVELING SALESMAN PROBLEM
Authors: Macík Martin , Štefunko Jozef
Published: October 2015

High level of competition on postal market increases demands on reliability of postal services and lowering of transport costs. This can be achieved by optimizing the routing of postal vehicles. The article discusses the possibilities of such optimization by using graph theory. It describes basic methods of finding optimal routes using a graph. The approach, used in this article, assesses the possibility of applying meta-heuristic solution to the traveling salesman problem in the postal sector. Simulation of methods described has been applied on a regional postal network. Results showed that the software used proves to be sufficiently functional for the field of postal transport networks.
PERSONAL FINANCE MANAGEMENT IN POLAND FROM 2004-2013
Authors: Musiał Marta
Published: October 2015

This article describes the state of household finance management in Poland. The analysis consists of three basic elements of household finance, such as income and expenditure of Polish households, savings and investments of Polish households, and Polish households debt. The presented data represent the time period from 2004 to 2013. The data came from reports of National Central Bank in Poland and Central Statistical Office in Poland. Based on the presented data, it can be said that the situation of Polish household has improved during the analyzed period. Moreover, Polish household characterized risk aversion decision by saving their money mostly in the form of bank deposit or cash.
IMPORTANCE OF PATENT AND INNOVATION IN EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS
Authors: Al Kassiri Mario , Čorejová Tatiana
Published: October 2015

This articles discusses the importance of converting knowledge into realizable output, which can subsequently be patented. Patenting, in itself, is already the result of a completed and difficult process. The importance of patenting is not only advantageous for the author patent, but also for the whole society and knowledge-based economy. In this article, we explain not only the effect of patenting on the economy as a whole, along with its advantages, but also possible acceleration in process of patenting. Universities rely on the important aspect of innovation and patenting, whereas innovation and patenting alone support the economic growth. Lack of projects covering patenting process may cause less outputs of innovation. Projects which support the development of innovation and start-ups have big potential in reducing unemployment and increasing the motivation of new foreign investors.
THE YOUNG GENERATION’S ATTITUDE TOWARD RETIREMENT
Authors: Przyłuska-Schmitt Judyta
Published: October 2015

This article aims to show the attitudes of young people towards insurers and insurance services offered on the Web. This relates to a number of questions. Does the quality of an insurance offer influence insurance awareness and reflect the demand for retirement? To what extent do social problems of pension systems affect the need for an additional pension among young people? Are life insurance companies trusted?The article uses the results of studies conducted by the Insurance Institute of the University of Applied Sciences in Cologne, and the German Audit Bureau of Circulations (IVW) for the “retirement security sales campaign” and the Social Diagnosis 2013.
PEDAGOGICAL EDUCATION IN RUSSIA: CHALLENGES, PROSPECTS, AND QUALITY ASSURANCE
Authors: Kulikovskaya Irina , Andrienko Anna
Published: October 2015

The development of education and science is a priority for Russian state policy. Global trends define the main goals of the Russian higher school modernization. However, these also identify the need to overcome a number of contradictions in Russia’s national higher-education system. Pedagogical, or teacher-training, education is of special importance in the development of the entire educational system in the country. Quality education at all steps – preschool, primary, secondary (general and professional) and higher – depends mainly on the quality of pedagogical education. The modern market of educational services recognizes high quality of education and competences of students as the only advantage point for an academic institution over its competitors. Quality is the only universal commodity in the world market that increases the value of all other goods and services. The authors refer to the category of quality management in relation to higher pedagogical education, and describe the key principles of the system of quality assurance applied at Southern Federal University.
LITERARY TEXT AS A SOURCE FOR UNDERSTANDING CONFLICTS IN CONTEMPORARY REALITY (POLITICAL VIOLENCE AND TERRORISM)
Authors: Voronchenko Tatiana , Kovrizhnykh Olesya , Fyodorova Ekaterina
Published: October 2015

Political violence in the modern world is developing in many ways and in forms that are more radical than ever before. In the second half of the last century, and the start of this current one, the ethno-social conflicts (terrorism being the most extreme) have been one of the most pressing global issues of our time.Various aspects of ethno-social conflict, with terrorism as an extreme form of political violence, are now the subject of artistic interpretation for contemporary authors. The study of literary text for understanding conflicts in the contemporary reality is significant, since writers consider certain factual material in their works. These writers strive to emphasize and describe personal and social layers of ethno-social conflicts, to reveal their peculiarities and consequences.This study compiles a theoretical framework for the study of literary text as a source for understanding the conflicts of contemporary reality. It uses a complex approach that provides a profound analysis of causes and effects, and the nature and content of political and ethno-social conflicts, including the principles of political studies and comparative literature.The authors of this present study conclude that the great concern of the world’s writers about ethno-social issues and conflicts is the inter-ethnic and inter-cultural contradictions that closely connect to the crisis of multiculturalism in the USA and Western Europe. Contemporary writers focus on themes, like the islamization of Europe, inter-confessional conflicts, total changes in inter-ethnic relations, fragmentation of the single universal cultural space, and social and cultural transformation leading to conflicts. Examples include Andrei Volos’ Maskavskaya Mecca, and Elena Chudinova’s The Mosque of Notre Dame. Some authors ponder over the terrorism as an extremist reaction to social injustice or inner personal, cultural, and religious contradictions, as seen in John Updike’s Terrorist and Don DeLillo’s Falling Man.
SOME ASPECTS OF AGILE APPROACH IN PRAXIS
Authors: Kniežová Jaroslava
Published: October 2015

In modern times, competitiveness in the market depends on having a good information system. The companies developing and supplying information systems are in competition too, and having an effective system of delivery is critical for obtaining lucrative offers. Therefore, the software development companies continuously try to improve their development process to supply the product in a short time and with high quality. The agile approach potentially shortens this time and is very often used. This approach has almost replaced the traditional process. More and more companies implement agile approach in these times to be competitive in the software development market and hasten product delivering.The traditional and agile approaches differ in certain perspectives. Hence, the question arises as to whether the agile approach is the best for the software development company in every case. This article contains a comparison of these two approaches, as well as a case study relating to the agile approach in a real software development company, which had previously used the traditional approach. The article also describes situation where replacing the traditional approach with agile would improve results.
ENERGY PARAMETERS OF KAZAKHSTAN-AMERICAN RELATIONS: GEOPOLITICAL AND INTERNATIONALLY LEGAL ASPECTS
Authors: Almadiyev Bekbolat Bakbergenovich
Published: October 2015

The strategic partnership of the Republic of Kazakhstan with the US of America contains a key vector in the form of the American Kazakhstan’s energetic diplomacy and external policy. This is due to geo-political, geo-economic, geo-strategic, resource and energy, and military policies. Because of the experience gained from the partnership, this bilateral relationship continues to demonstrate progressive development and contributes towards expanding cooperation with other countries of North, Central, and Latin America. This is important in the context of the dynamic development of the fuel and energy complex of Kazakhstan country, and export of Kazakhstan`s energy resources through regional and global markets.
LABELING OPTIONS FOR POSTAL SHIPMENTS BY PASSIVE RFID TECHNOLOGY
Authors: Maslák Ondrej , Andrisková Ivana
Published: October 2015

This article discusses the topic of labeling postal shipments by passive radio frequency identification (RFID) tags. Every delivery company needs to have all necessary information for every single postal shipment package it carries. Shipment package labeling is essential for processing and tracking the postal shipments along its delivery process. Using RFID technology for the process brings advantages in more efficient delivery and data collection along with regular information updates of shipment status across complete delivery chain.In this article, we focused on the problem of logical log of key shipment package information into EPC memory of the RFID smart label. We have taken into account the National postal administrator and its current system of shipment labeling. In the end, we presented a design for conversion of contemporary labeling using bar codes into labeling using RFID tags.
RESEARCH OF PLUM DRYING PROCESS
Authors: Kurmanov Nurlan , Shingissov Azret , Kantureyeva Gulzhan , Nurseitova Zeinep , Tolysbaev Baurzhan , Shingisova Gulzhanat
Published: October 2015

In this study, the drying kinetics of a domestic plum cultivar were examined in a laboratory scale hot-air dryer, SHS-80, at an air velocity of 0.65m s-1 and within the air temperature range of 45 – 75 0С. It was found that the whole fruit dried the best. Also, the study  assessed the influence of the drying method on the quality of the domestic plum cultivar. Dried fruits were assessed for sensory parameters and ascorbic acid content. Studies have shown thatthe proposed method of drying, yields a higher absorbic acid content for the dried product  than the conventional approach.
THE LIMITING STORAGE LIFE OF PERISHABLES DURING JOINT TRANSPORTATION
Authors: Kurmanov Nurlan , Tolysbayev Baurzhan , Abilmazhinov Yermek
Published: October 2015

The article presents the research results of the optimal storage period for perishable products, which require specific thermal and temperature-humidity conditions, during joint transportation. A new classification to group perishable products that are subject to joint transportation by moisture and water activity is proposed. The calculations show that perishable goods during joint transportation need the following optimal parameters: an air temperature of the cargo space of −5 to 0 °C, relative humidity of 75 – 95%, and storage life of no more than 10 days while in transit.
SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION
Authors: Zilincan Jakub
Published: October 2015

Search engine optimization techniques, often shortened to “SEO,” should lead to first positions in organic search results. Some optimization techniques do not change over time, yet still form the basis for SEO. However, as the Internet and web design evolves dynamically, new optimization techniques flourish and flop. Thus, we looked at the most important factors that can help to improve positioning in search results. It is important to emphasize that none of the techniques can guarantee high ranking because search engines have sophisticated algorithms, which measure the quality of webpages and derive their position in search results from it. Next, we introduced and examined the object of the optimization, which is a particular website. This web site was created for the sole purpose of implementing and testing all the main SEO techniques. The main objective of this article was to determine whether search engine optimization increases ranking of website in search results and subsequently leads to higher traffic. This research question is supported by testing and verification of results. The last part of our article concludes the research results and proposes further recommendations.
Looking forward to the challenges yet to come
Authors: Reyes Selina
Published: October 2015

Selena Reyes looks back at her final management placement and over her 3-year nursing degree as she prepares to start her career as a staff nurse
The role of the NHS Litigation Authority in England
Authors: Tingle John
Published: October 2015

John Tingle discusses the latest annual report and accounts from the NHIS Litigation Authority, which shows how it has dealt with cases brought against the NHS for clinical negligence and other legal matters. The context of clinical-negligence litigation is explored in this report, along with other themes and challenges for NHS organisations.
ISC in women following urogynaecologic surgery
Authors: Bardsley Alison
Published: October 2015

Urinary retention is a common problem for women following surgery, and a significant complication for those who have undergone urogynaecologic surgery, with prevalence estimated between 2.5% and 24% ( Dorflinger and Monga, 2001 ). Postoperative urinary retention (POUR) can lead to bladder distention, causing altered bladder function, urinary tract infections and poor surgical outcomes. Intermittent self-catheterisation (ISC) for women is generally considered preferable to indwelling catheterisation wherever possible. This article explores the role of ISC for women following surgery.
Oral health advice for patients with orthodontic appliances
Authors: Macpherson Patricia
Published: October 2015

This article discusses the oral health implications for patients who undergo orthodontic treatment and how the dental nurse can help
Writing for publication. Part 2: structure and interest
Authors: Fowler John
Published: October 2015

This series is aimed at dental nurses who want to develop their skills and share some of their knowledge or experience with other dental practitioners by writing an article for professional publication