bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Bereaved Mothers and Masculine Queens: The Political Use of Maternal Grief in 1–2 Kings
Authors: Quine Cat 
Published: August 2020

AbstractRecent research demonstrates that maternal grief functions paradigmatically to epitomize despair and sorrow in the Hebrew Bible. These literary uses of maternal grief reinforce the stereotype of womanhood, defined by devotion to children and anguish at their loss. In 1–2 Kings, narratives about unnamed bereaved mothers are used politically to create a contrast with named biblical queens who lose their sons but never grieve for them. Although 1–2 Kings names the queen mothers alongside the male rulers, these mothers have no agency or when they do, they act more like men than women. Neo-Assyrian inscriptions attest the masculinity of royal female power, and this article argues that conceptions of royal female power in Judah were similar. By contrasting the masculine queens with stereotyped “real men” and “real women,” traditional gender performances literarily overcome the institution of queenship. While the queens are polemicized, unnamed mothers emerge as the female heroes of Kings. Royal female power is demoted beneath reproductive ability and emotional responses to children, while the gender fluidity of royal power is circumscribed.
Restructuring of ultra-thin branches in multi-nucleated silicon nanowires
Authors: Lee Youjin V. , Meng Lingyuan , Ostroff Eleanor , Tian Bozhi 
Published: August 2020

Abstract
The synthetic tunability of semiconductor nanowires has enabled researchers to apply these materials in a variety of applications from energy harvesting to biological stimulation. One of the most intensely researched areas is the synthesis of branched nanowires, or nano-tree structures, owing to their high surface area. In this paper, we present a synthetic protocol that enables the growth of ultra-thin nanowire branches on a primary nanowire. Specifically, the method yields tightly distributed branches, whose locality is unique to our method. We furthermore induce the transformation of these branches into spheroidal superstructures. We explain how an Ostwald ripening-like mechanism can account for such a transformation. We suggest how our method can expand the synthetic toolset of branched nanowires, thus enabling the development of applications.
Absent Peacein Colombia: A Study of Transition Discourses in Former Combatants
Authors: Arboleda-Ariza Juan Carlos , Prosser Bravo Gabriel , Mora-Gámez Fredy 
Published: August 2020

AbstractThe Colombian State and subversive groups have made attempts to build peace by the establishment of accords since the 1980s. Recently, the signature of a peace accord by former president Santos and the FARC-EP leadership in 2016, has come along with changes in the interpretative frameworks of the conflict and the emergence of new institutions, forms of subjectivity and collective meanings around peace. Nowadays, Colombia is in the transition from being a country at war to a peaceful nation. In this transition, the discourse of victims and state representatives about peace and conflict are predominant in the literature. This article characterizes the simultaneously coexisting discourses about peace and conflict in former combatants. We conducted a discourse analysis of 19 semi-structured interviews with former members of paramilitaries and guerrillas. The results are clustered into two categories:absent peace, in which peace is seen as the lack of something that was missed and lost; andthe indefinite war, where peace can be hardly imagined due to the permanence of conflict and longevity of violence. The overlooked angle of the narratives of combatants about peace and conflict is discussed, and the findings are suggested as potential guidelines to navigate displaced and divergent accounts of peace and conflict in transition societies.
COVID-19, Security Threats and Public Opinions
Authors: Bove Vincenzo , Di Leo Riccardo 
Published: August 2020

Abstract
Throughout the coronavirus outbreak, politicians and commentators have often adopted a war-like rhetoric, invoking a language more often associated to terrorist violence, rather than epidemics. Although COVID-19 represents primarily a public health emergency, not inflicted by human agency, there are similarities in the type and scope of regulations governments have introduced to tackle the virus and to respond to terrorist attacks. In this article, we first ask what we can learn from the extant studies on the attitudinal and emotional consequences of terrorism, relating it to recent research on public opinions in the wake of COVID-19, in order to better understand and predict how the pandemic will influence public sentiments. We then analyze how attitudes can shift when a critical event not only threatens the population of a country as a whole, but directly affects its political leader. Leveraging recently released survey data, we show how the announcement of Angela Merkel’s quarantine significantly dampened the trust in and the credibility of her government, although this effect was short-lived.
Influences of interface structure on tribological properties of engineering polymer blends: a review
Authors: Chen Song , Wei Lei , Cheng Bingxue , Jin Yongliang , Duan Haitao 
Published: August 2020

Abstract
Polymer blends have been widely used as tribological materials for replacements of traditional metals and ceramics. Polymer blends consist of the reinforced phase, the matrix phase and interfaces between reinforced and matrix phase. Although the interface structure of polymer blends is usually small in size, it is one of the key factors for deciding the physical and tribological properties of polymer blends. Thus, this review highlights the most recent trends in the field of influences of interface structure on tribological properties of engineering polymer blends. Emphasis is given to the improvement methods of interfacial compatibility of polymer blends and the behavior variation of interface structure during friction process.
Evaluation of delay in time to adjuvant chemotherapy after HIPEC and its impact on oncological outcome in advanced epithelial ovarian cancer
Authors: Somashekhar S.P. , Ramya Y. , Ashwin K.R. , Shabber S.Z. , Ahuja V.K. , Amit R. , Rohit K.C. 
Published: August 2020

AbstractObejectivesOptimal cytoreductive surgery (CRS), followed by adjuvant chemotherapy, is a major predictor of oncological outcome in patients with advanced epithelial ovarian carcinoma (EOC). It is not clear if a delayed start of adjuvant chemotherapy negatively impacts on the oncological outcome.MethodsProspective registry study on 75 patients treated with CRS and hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC). Adjuvant chemotherapy was started within 42 days in 41 patients (55%), later on in 34 patients (45%). Multivariate analyses of preoperative factors were done on survival outcome. Outcomes were recurrence-free survival (RFS) and overall survival (OS).ResultsThere was no difference in RFS after early introduction (median 35 months) vs. late introduction of chemotherapy (median 32 months), p = 0.17. Median OS in patients with late introduction of chemotherapy was 46 months and was not yet reached in early introduction group.ConclusionsIn this exploratory study in a small group of women with advanced EOC, starting adjuvant chemotherapy more than 6 weeks after CRS and HIPEC did not deteriorate significantly RFS or OS. Well-designed clinical studies are still needed to evaluate the interplay of HIPEC and the point of time of postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy in this indication.
Anosmia: a missing link in the neuroimmunology of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)
Authors: Yazdanpanah Niloufar , Saghazadeh Amene , Rezaei Nima 
Published: August 2020

Abstract
Just before 2020 began, a novel coronavirus, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), brought for humans a potentially fatal disease known as coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The world has thoroughly been affected by COVID-19, while there has been little progress towards understanding the pathogenesis of COVID-19. Patients with a severe phenotype of disease and those who died from the disease have shown hyperinflammation and were more likely to develop neurological manifestations, linking the clinical disease with neuroimmunological features. Anosmia frequently occurs early in the course of COVID-19. The prevalence of anosmia would be influenced by self-diagnosis as well as self-misdiagnosis in patients with COVID-19. Despite this, the association between anosmia and COVID-19 has been a hope for research, aiming to understand the pathogenesis of COVID-19. Studies have suggested differently probable mechanisms for the development of anosmia in COVID-19, including olfactory cleft syndrome, postviral anosmia syndrome, cytokine storm, direct damage of olfactory sensory neurons, and impairment of the olfactory perception center in the brain. Thus, the observation of anosmia would direct us to find the pathogenesis of COVID-19 in the central nervous system, and this is consistent with numerous neurological manifestations related to COVID-19. Like other neurotropic viruses, SARS-CoV-2 might be able to enter the central nervous system via the olfactory epithelium and induce innate immune responses at the site of entry. Viral replication in the nonneural olfactory cells indirectly causes damage to the olfactory receptor nerves, and as a consequence, anosmia occurs. Further studies are required to investigate the neuroimmunology of COVID-19 in relation to anosmia.
Goodness-of-fit test for skew normality based on energy statistics
Authors: Opperman Logan , Ning Wei 
Published: August 2020

Abstract
In this paper, we propose a goodness-of-fit test based on the energy statistic for skew normality. Simulations indicate that
the Type-I error of the proposed test can be controlled reasonably well for given nominal levels. Power comparisons to other existing methods
under different settings show the advantage of the proposed test. Such a test is applied to two real data sets to illustrate the testing procedure.
Accuracy and sensitivity of different Bayesian methods for genomic prediction using simulation and real data
Authors: Foroutaifar Saheb 
Published: August 2020

Abstract
The main objectives of this study were to compare the prediction accuracy of different Bayesian methods for traits with a wide range of genetic architecture using simulation and real data and to assess the sensitivity of these methods to the violation of their assumptions. For the simulation study, different scenarios were implemented based on two traits with low or high heritability and different numbers of QTL and the distribution of their effects. For real data analysis, a German Holstein dataset for milk fat percentage, milk yield, and somatic cell score was used. The simulation results showed that, with the exception of the Bayes R, the other methods were sensitive to changes in the number of QTLs and distribution of QTL effects. Having a distribution of QTL effects, similar to what different Bayesian methods assume for estimating marker effects, did not improve their prediction accuracy. The Bayes B method gave higher or equal accuracy rather than the rest. The real data analysis showed that similar to scenarios with a large number of QTLs in the simulation, there was no difference between the accuracies of the different methods for any of the traits.
On the Gradient Lenition of Spanish Voiced Obstruents: A Look at Onset Clusters
Authors: Tetzloff Katerina A. 
Published: August 2020

Abstract
Spanish voiced obstruents are traditionally described as having a stop allophone [b, d, g] and a lenited allophone [β, ð, ɣ]. Despite this binary classification, acoustic data has shown that this variation is continuous or gradient depending on the preceding linguistic context. The goal of this paper is to investigate how the following linguistic context affects the degree of Spanish voiced obstruent lenition. Specifically, this paper reports an acoustic investigation of Spanish voiced obstruent lenition in onset cluster contexts. Nine native Spanish speakers were recorded reading Spanish-like nonce words that included a singleton voiced obstruent or an onset cluster consisting of a voiced obstruent plus [ɾ] or [l]. The relative intensity and the duration of these segments were measured and compared with linear mixed-effects regressions. In line with past work, the results show that the voiced obstruents are the most lenited in intervocalic contexts. However, Spanish voiced obstruents are significantly less lenited when followed by [ɾ] in a complex onset; when followed by [l] in a complex onset, the degree of lenition is much more variable. These results provide further support for the gradient lenition of Spanish voiced obstruents, rather than a dichotomous distribution of stops versus lenited variants.
Fast maximum likelihood estimation of parameters for square root and Bessel processes
Authors: Fergusson Kevin 
Published: August 2020

Abstract
Explicit formulae for maximum likelihood estimates of the parameters of square root processes and Bessel processes and first and second order approximate sufficient statistics are supplied. Applications of the estimation formulae to simulated interest rate and index time series are supplied, demonstrating the accuracy of the approximations and the extreme speed-up in estimation time. This significantly improved run time for parameter estimation has many applications where ex-ante forecasts are required frequently and immediately, such as in hedging interest rate, index and volatility derivatives based on such models, as well as modelling credit risk, mortality rates, population size and voting behaviour.
Learning for infinitely divisible GARCH models in option pricing
Authors: Zhu Fumin , Bianchi Michele Leonardo , Kim Young Shin , Fabozzi Frank J. , Wu Hengyu 
Published: August 2020

Abstract
This paper studies the option valuation problem of non-Gaussian and asymmetric GARCH models from a state-space structure perspective. Assuming innovations following an infinitely divisible distribution, we apply different estimation methods including filtering and learning approaches. We then investigate the performance in pricing S&P 500 index short-term options after obtaining a proper change of measure. We find that the sequential Bayesian learning approach (SBLA) significantly and robustly decreases the option pricing errors. Our theoretical and empirical findings also suggest that, when stock returns are non-Gaussian distributed, their innovations under the risk-neutral measure may present more non-normality, exhibit higher volatility, and have a stronger leverage effect than under the physical measure.
The Role of Civil Society Organisations in the Slovenian Welfare System during the Transition Period after 1990
Authors: Rakar Tatjana , Kolarič Zinka 
Published: August 2020

AbstractThe authors examine the development of the civil society sector in Slovenia and its role in the country’s welfare system. They emphasise the ‘boom’ in the growth of civil society organisations, notably in the legal form of associations during the 1980s and 1990s. They argue that although civil society organisations rapidly proliferated at this time, they did not become more professionalised or financially stable. In the 1990s, a relationship of complementarity between the public/state and civil society sectors was established in Slovenia’s welfare system, though civil society organisations exerted little influence on public policies directed towards the provision of social protection and other contributions to people’s welfare.
A Nation of Joiners. Volunteer Firefighters and Slovenian Nation- and State-Building from Below
Authors: Kladnik Ana 
Published: August 2020

AbstractChallenging the received view that the Western world is the authentic cradle of associations, with the United States often epitomised as the ‘nation of joiners’, this article interprets voluntary associations in East Central Europe (ECE) as variations from the Western model. New studies on associational life in ECE suggest that well-established theoretical dichotomies like state-non-state or governmental-civil need to be overcome and argue that voluntary associations always actively interacted with the political context and contributed to shaping it. The article revisits these theses by focusing on the role of volunteer fire departments, which in ECE have existed almost uninterruptedly since the mid-19th century. It focuses on the period of double transition in Slovenia around 1990—to a democratic system and to an independent Slovenian state—and argues that the volunteer firefighters were able to negotiate the inevitable changes also because they were recognised as associations of Slovene national substance.
Shifting Resources, Shifting Forms. Spontaneous Solidarity, Virtual Voluntarism and the Legacy of Radne Akcije in Postsocialist Serbia
Authors: Matthiesen Anna 
Published: August 2020

AbstractVoluntarism is typically understood as action taken by individuals who voluntarily join collectives or take action to contribute in some way to social welfare. Voluntaristic forms vary widely depending on social context; however, a theme in recent sociological work is the possible withering away of voluntary practices in the forms that have previously existed. In this article, the author considers how the legacy of radne akcije, the working campaigns once coordinated by the Yugoslav state, is used to frame recent episodes of voluntarism, including the efforts of volunteers during the 2014 floods in Serbia, and charitable donations via SMS. She argues that previous forms of voluntaristic praxis have been fundamentally transformed following a shift in the fiscal and social resources of the state. However, while novel forms of voluntaristic practice and organization reflect the state’s present neoliberal ethos, participants remain wedded to a rhetoric echoing the past socialist collective dynamic.
Depression im Spitzensport als gesellschaftliche Konstruktion: Beobachtungen aus Sicht der soziologischen Systemtheorie
Authors: Kühnle Felix 
Published: August 2020

ZusammenfassungDie Forschung über Depressionen im Spitzensport wird bislang von Sportpsychologinnen und Sportpsychiatern dominiert. Gesellschaftstheoretische Perspektiven, die über die soziale Konstruiertheit des Gegenstands aufklären, sind demgegenüber deutlich unterrepräsentiert. Unter Rückgriff auf die soziologische Systemtheorie entwickelt der vorliegende Beitrag verschiedene Sichtweisen auf das gesellschaftliche Reden über die Depression im Spitzensport. Auf diesem Weg wird nicht nur der Beobachtungsrelativität des Phänomens Rechnung getragen. Vor allem werden die Unschärfen, blinden Flecken und Reflexionsdefizite offengelegt, die mit dem weitgehenden Fehlen komplex gebauter Theorien im gesellschaftlichen Diskurs über das Thema einhergehen.
Electromechanical modelling of piezoelectric vibration energy harvester with a novel dynamic magnifier
Authors: Kote Suresh , Krishnapillai Shankar , Chandramohan Sujatha 
Published: August 2020

Abstract
In piezoelectric energy harvesting devices, the relative displacement between the two ends of the harvester beam decides the output power from the piezoelectric patch. A novel four bar mechanism with a helical spring is used as a dynamic magnifier to improve the relative displacement and thereby the output power from the harvester. This dynamic magnifier is placed between the base excitation location and the composite harvester beam to form two degrees of freedom (2DOF) piezoelectric energy harvester. Electromechanical coupled analytical equations for the voltage and output power are derived using a lumped electromechanical model. The model is developed assuming linear transverse vibrations of the harvester. A dynamic magnifier is fabricated for the required frequency range and the suitable dimensions of the harvester beam are estimated using commercially available software. Experiments are conducted for base excitation amplitude of 0.05 mm and the performance of the proposed 2DOF harvester is studied for the output voltage and power. The proposed 2DOF harvester has shown 110 % improvement in output power in first mode and 270 % improvement in second mode compared to the conventional single degree of freedom (SDOF) cantilevered harvester for given identical input conditions. The measured frequencies and output power are validated with analytical solutions and are found to be in good agreement. Further, the effect of mass ratio, stiffness ratio and base excitation amplitude on the output voltage and power is investigated using analytical expressions.
TBS preanalytical phase working group survey study – preanalytical phase in coagulation laboratories
Authors: Senes Mehmet , Bercik Inal Berrin , Benli Aksungar Fehime , Cinaroglu Ipek , Eker Pinar , Sonmez Cigdem , Aykal Guzin , Hakligor Aylin , Gumus Alper , Orhan Bagnu , Gucel Funda , Yilmaz Canan , Coskun Cihan , Taneli Fatma , Colak Ayfer , Yucel Dogan 
Published: August 2020

Abstract

Objectives
Preanalytical phase quality, which begins with a request for testing and continues with patient preparation, sample collection, transport, processing and storage, is essential for coagulation tests. The Turkish Biochemical Society Preanalytical Phase Working Group created a survey to evaluate the preanalytical phase practices for coagulation laboratories in our country.

Methods
The survey consisted of a total of 26 questions and included almost all steps of the preanalytical phase.

Results
Fifty-four laboratory specialists have participated in the study. The survey results showed that participants have different practices for most stages of the preanalytical phase for coagulation tests.

Conclusion
According to the survey results, a national guideline may help standardisation of the preanalytical phase for coagulation tests in our country and increasing training in this respect would contribute to achieving accurate test results.
Relationship between renal tubulointerstitial fibrosis and serum prolidase enzyme activity
Authors: Eser Baris , Dogan Ibrahim , Komut Erdal , Koyuncu Sumeyra , Aydemir Nihal , Colak Aysel , Akgun Hulya , Kayadibi Huseyin 
Published: August 2020

Abstract

Objectives
The severity of interstitial fibrosis/tubular atrophy (IFTA) is the most important determinant of the irreversible progression of chronic kidney disease (CKD). Prolidase is the key enzyme in collagen turnover and is associated with an extracellular matrix increase. We aimed to evaluate the relationship between the presence and degree of IFTA and serum prolidase enzyme activity (SPEA) in patients undergoing a renal biopsy.

Methods
This cross-sectional study included 56 patients who underwent a renal biopsy (30 males; mean age 45.3 ± 16.8 years) and also 54 healthy volunteers (21 males; mean age 42.7 ± 8.2 years). IFTA scoring was performed on the basis of percentage of IFTA presence in renal biopsy tissues (1=<10%; 2=10–24%; 3=25–50%; 4=>50%). SPEA was measured by spectrophotometric method.

Results
The proteinuria and SPEA levels of the patients were significantly higher than the controls (p<0.001 and p<0.001, respectively). SPEA decreased significantly when the IFTA score increased (p<0.002). In the correlation analysis, the IFTA score was negatively correlated with SPEA (rs=−0.461, p<0.001), and positively correlated with proteinuria (rs=0.274, p=0.041).

Conclusion
These findings suggest that increased collagen turnover decreases over time concerning the progression of renal fibrosis. Monitoring of SPEA level may useful as a biomarker for early determination of CKD progression and severity.