bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
The performance of employee buy-out: The case of Algeria
Authors: Boutifour Zohra , Miraoui Abdelkrim 
Published: December 2016

Abstract
The aim of this article is to show how, in a developing country, employees can improve the performance of their companies. Its objective is to verify the extent to which employee buyers of privatized companies can take up the challenge to succeed in their enterprise. This change takes place both during the crucial start-up business phase and the change from the public to the private sector in a constraining environment (no fiscal or entrepreneurial accompaniment, difficulty of access to bank credits, disloyal market, buyers untrained in shareholding, etc.). In contrast, in developed countries, the financial and fiscal environment plays an important role in the success of this type of operation. Out of 73 employee buy-outs (EBOs), we targeted 59 EBOs implanted in Algeria. The study found that the first third of these EBOs were closed and/or sold to third parties, the second third were in difficulty and the last third had achieved a remarkable growth in their economic and financial performance during the first five years. The results of this research indicate that, in a binding and complex system, entrepreneurial management can guarantee improvement in economic and financial performance on the one side and job satisfaction of employees on the other.
Cracking the complexity code of charities
Authors: Lacasse Richard-Marc , Lambert Berthe 
Published: December 2016

Abstract
North American charity ventures collect donations for the needy or suffering. Few studies have analysed philanthropic ventures and altruistic promoters. In the charity industry, donors mandate intermediaries (agents) to transfer donations to beneficiairies. One of the underlying assumptions of agency theory is that agents attempt to maximize their personal welfare and compensation; this behaviour may not always be in the best interests of beneficiairies. What is the typical business model of a charitable organization? Is there a monitoring process? What is the social return on investment? The complex patterns of inter-stakeholder relationships, both good and bad, are scrutinized. The research threads it way into the ‘complexity code’ of charities via archival data and forensic science data. This article also deciphers the altruism of agents via a new behavioural matrix. To conclude, a complexity-aware monitoring process is submitted. Thus, the article sheds new light on the complexity of charities and proposes directions for future research.
Suárez Lastra, M. C. Galindo Pérez y M. Murata (2016), Bicicletas para la ciudad: Una propuesta metodológica para el diagnóstico y la planeación de infraestructura ciclista, Instituto de Geografía, UNAM, (Colección: Geografía para el siglo XXI, ...
Authors: Trejo Albuerne Adriana Lucía 
Published: December 2016

<p class="p1">Suárez Lastra, M. C. Galindo Pérez y M. Murata (2016), Bicicletas para la ciudad: Una propuesta metodológica para el diagnóstico y la planeación de infraestructura ciclista, Instituto de Geografía, <span class="s1">UNAM</span>, (Colección: Geografía para el siglo <span class="s1">XXI</span>, Serie: Libros de Investigación, núm. 17) México, 159 p., <span class="s1">ISBN </span>978-607-02-7602-6</p>
Religion and mysticism in poems of Şeref Hanım<p>Şeref Hanım’ın şiirlerinde din ve tasavvuf
Authors: Ertek Morkoç Yasemin 
Published: December 2016

Şeref Hanım (Lady Seref) (1809-1861) lived at the first half of the 19th century during when Tanzimat Literature had started to outmaneuver Divan Literature and had made its weight felt. She is an exceptional female divan poet who managed to make a distinguished name for her within the tradition of Classical Turkish Literature. She has a large-scale divan in which she added up all her poems written in almost all styles and types of verse. Religious – mystical components at the major parts of her poems attract the attention. Divan of the poetess, who was a maulawi in essence and had sympathy in the effective sects of that period, such as Qadiriyya and Rifai, presents an extensive material on this subject. Sincere, truthful, courageous, and loud-voiced explanandum that was used by Şeref Hanım while stating aforementioned content is also remarkable. In this study, we aimed to examine the religious – mystical components, motifs, personalities and the manner of handling them that we determined within the poems of Şeref Hanım. Herewith, we aimed to enlighten projection of religion and mysticism phenomena which are the leading fundamental supplying sources of Classical Turkish Literature within work of a female divan poet. ÖzetŞeref Hanım (1809-1861), Tanzimat edebiyatının divan edebiyatına üstünlük sağlamaya başladığı, ağırlığını hissettirdiği 19.yüzyılın ilk yarısında yaşamıştır. Klasik Türk edebiyatı geleneği içinde adından söz ettirmeyi başarmış, nadir kadın divan şairlerinden biridir. Hemen her nazım biçimi ve türünde yazdığı şiirlerini bir arada topladığı hacimli bir divanı vardır.Şiirlerinin büyük bir kısmında dinî-tasavvufî unsurlar göze çarpmaktadır. Esas itibarıyla Mevlevi olan ve döneminde etkili Kadirilik, Rıfailik gibi tarikatlara da sempati duyduğu bilinen şairenin divanı, bu konuda elimize geniş bir malzeme sunmaktadır. Şeref Hanım’ın söz konusu içeriği şiirlerinde dile getirirken kullandığı içten, samimi, yürekli ve gür sesli ifade biçimi ayrıca dikkat çekicidir. Çalışmamızda Şeref Hanım’ın şiirlerinde tespit ettiğimiz dinî-tasavvufî unsurları, motifleri, şahsiyetleri ve bunların ele alınış biçimlerini incelemeyi amaçladık. Bu vesileyle Klasik Türk edebiyatının beslendiği temel kaynakların başında gelen din ve tasavvuf olgusunun bir kadın divan şairinin eserindeki izdüşümünü açıklığa kavuşturmayı hedefledik.
Analysis and Design of a Linear Digital Programmable Gain Amplifier in a 0.13 µm SiGe BiCMOS technology
Authors: Du Xuan-Quang , Knobloch Anselm , Grözing Markus , Buck Matthias , Berroth Manfred 
Published: December 2016

AbstractThis paper presents the analysis and the design of a fully-differential digital programmable gain amplifier (PGA) in a 0.13 µm BiCMOS technology. The PGA has a gain control range of 31 dB with 1 dB gain step size and consumes 284 mW from a 3.6 V power supply. At a maximum gain of 25 dB, the PGA exhibits a 3-dB bandwidth of 10.1 GHz. The measured gain error for all 32 possible gain settings is between –0.19/+0.46 dB at 1 GHz. Up to 13 GHz the third harmonic distortion
Stability and aggregation propensity do not fully account for the association of various germline variable domain gene segments with light chain amyloidosis
Authors: Garay Sánchez Sergio A. , Rodríguez Álvarez Francisco Javier , Zavala-Padilla Guadalupe , Mejia-Cristobal Luz María , Cruz-Rangel Armando , Costas Miguel , Fernández Velasco D. Alejandro , Melendez-Zajgla Jorge , del Pozo-Yauner Luis 
Published: December 2016

Abstract
Variable domain (VL) gene segments exhibit variable tendencies to be associated with light chain amyloidosis (AL). While few of them are very frequent in AL and give rise to most of the amyloidogenic light chains compiled at the sequence databases, other are rarely found among the AL cases. To analyze to which extent these tendencies depend on folding stability and aggregation propensity of the germline VL protein, we characterized VL proteins encoded by four AL-associated germline gene segments and one not associated to AL. We found that the AL-associated germline rVL proteins differ widely in conformational stability and propensity to in vitro amyloid aggregation. While in vitro the amyloid formation kinetics of these proteins correlate well with their folding stabilities, the folding stability does not clearly correlate with their germline’s frequencies in AL. We conclude that the association of the VL genes segments to amyloidosis is not determined solely by the folding stability and aggregation propensity of the germline VL protein. Other factors, such as the frequencies of destabilizing mutations and susceptibility to proteolysis, must play a role in determining the light chain amyloidogenicity.
Plasmin(ogen) serves as a favorable biomarker for prediction of survival in advanced high-grade serous ovarian cancer
Authors: Zhao Shuo , Dorn Julia , Napieralski Rudolf , Walch Axel , Diersch Sandra , Kotzsch Matthias , Ahmed Nancy , Hooper John D. , Kiechle Marion , Schmitt Manfred , Magdolen Viktor 
Published: December 2016

Abstract
In serous ovarian cancer, the clinical relevance of tumor cell-expressed plasmin(ogen) (PLG) has not yet been evaluated. Due to its proteolytic activity, plasmin supports tumorigenesis, however, angiostatin(-like) fragments, derived from PLG, can also function as potent anti-tumorigenic factors. In the present study, we assessed PLG protein expression in 103 cases of advanced high-grade serous ovarian cancer (FIGO III/IV) by immunohistochemistry (IHC). In 70/103 cases, positive staining of tumor cells was observed. In univariate Cox regression analysis, PLG staining was positively associated with prolonged overall survival (OS) [hazard ratio (HR)=0.59, p=0.026] of the patients. In multivariable analysis, PLG, together with residual tumor mass, remained a statistically significant independent prognostic marker (HR=0.49, p=0.009). In another small patient cohort (n=29), we assessed mRNA expression levels of PLG by quantitative PCR. Here, elevated PLG mRNA levels were also significantly associated with prolonged OS of patients (Kaplan-Meier analysis; p=0.001). This finding was validated by in silico analysis of a microarray data set (n=398) from The Cancer Genome Atlas (Kaplan-Meier analysis; p=0.031). In summary, these data indicate that elevated PLG expression represents a favorable prognostic biomarker in advanced (FIGO III/IV) high-grade serous ovarian cancer.
Robot-assisted post-stroke motion rehabilitation in upper extremities: a survey
Authors: Huang Xianwei , Naghdy Fazel , Naghdy Golshah , Du Haiping , Todd Catherine 
Published: December 2016

AbstractRecent neurological research indicates that the impaired motor skills of post-stroke patients can be enhanced and possibly restored through task-oriented repetitive training. This is due to neuroplasticity – the ability of the brain to change through adulthood. Various rehabilitation processes have been developed to take advantage of neuroplasticity to retrain neural pathways and restore or improve motor skills lost as a result of stroke or spinal cord injuries (SCI). Research in this area over the last few decades has resulted in a better understanding of the dynamics of rehabilitation in post-stroke patients and development of auxiliary devices and tools to induce repeated targeted body movements. With the growing number of stroke rehabilitation therapies, the application of robotics within the rehabilitation process has received much attention. As such, numerous mechanical and robot-assisted upper limb and hand function training devices have been proposed. A systematic review of robotic-assisted upper extremity (UE) motion rehabilitation therapies was carried out in this study. The strengths and limitations of each method and its effectiveness in arm and hand function recovery were evaluated. The study provides a comparative analysis of the latest developments and trends in this field, and assists in identifying research gaps and potential future work.
The learning curve of laparoscopic holecystectomy in general surgery resident training: old age of the patient may be a risk factor?
Authors: Ferrarese Alessia , Gentile Valentina , Bindi Marco , Rivelli Matteo , Cumbo Jacopo , Solej Mario , Enrico Stefano , Martino Valter 
Published: December 2016

Abstract
A well-designed learning curve is essential for the acquisition of laparoscopic skills: but, are there risk factors that can derail the surgical method? From a review of the current literature on the learning curve in laparoscopic surgery, we identified learning curve components in video laparoscopic cholecystectomy; we suggest a learning curve model that can be applied to assess the progress of general surgical residents as they learn and master the stages of video laparoscopic cholecystectomy regardless of type of patient.
Electronic databases were interrogated to better define the terms “surgeon”, “specialized surgeon”, and “specialist surgeon”; we surveyed the literature on surgical residency programs outside Italy to identify learning curve components, influential factors, the importance of tutoring, and the role of reference centers in residency education in surgery. From the definition of acceptable error, self-efficacy, and error classification, we devised a learning curve model that may be applied to training surgical residents in video laparoscopic cholecystectomy.
Based on the criteria culled from the literature, the three surgeon categories (general, specialized, and specialist) are distinguished by years of experience, case volume, and error rate; the patients were distinguished for years and characteristics. The training model was constructed as a series of key learning steps in video laparoscopic cholecystectomy. Potential errors were identified and the difficulty of each step was graded using operation-specific characteristics. On completion of each procedure, error checklist scores on procedure-specific performance are tallied to track the learning curve and obtain performance indices of measurement that chart the trainee’s progress.
Conclusions. The concept of the learning curve in general surgery is disputed. The use of learning steps may enable the resident surgical trainee to acquire video laparoscopic cholecystectomy skills proportional to the instructor’s ability, the trainee’s own skills, and the safety of the surgical environment. There were no patient characteristics that can derail the methods. With this training scheme, resident trainees may be provided the opportunity to develop their intrinsic capabilities without the loss of basic technical skills.
Anomalous forward scattering of gain-assisted dielectric shell-coated metallic core spherical particles
Authors: Shen Fei , An Ning , Tao Yifei , Zhou Hongping , Jiang Zhaoneng , Guo Zhongyi 
Published: December 2016

Abstract
We have investigated the scattering properties of an individual core-shell nanoparticle using the Mie theory, which can be tuned to support both electric and magnetic modes simultaneously. In general, the suppression of forward scattering can be realized by the second Kerker condition. Here, a novel mechanism has to be adopted to explain zero-forward scattering, which originates from the complex interactions between dipolar and quadrupolar modes. However, for lossy and lossless core-shell spherical nanoparticles, zero-forward scattering can never be achieved because the real parts of Mie expansion coefficients are always positive. By adding proper gain in dielectric shell, zero-forward scattering can be found at certain incident wavelengths, which means that all electric and magnetic responses in Mie scattering can be counteracted totally in the forward direction. In addition, if the absolute values of dipolar and quadrupolar terms are in the same order of magnitude, the local scattering minimum and maximum can be produced away from the forward and backward directions due to the interacting effect between the dipolar and quadrupolar terms. Furthermore, by adding suitable gain in shell, super-forward scattering can also be realized at certain incident wavelengths. We also demonstrated that anomalously weak scattering or superscattering could be obtained for the core-shell nanoparticles with suitable gain in shell. In particular, for such a choice of suitable gain in shell, we can obtain zero-forward scattering and anomalously weak scattering at the same wavelength as well as super-forward scattering at another wavelength. These features may provide new opportunities for cloaking, plasmonic lasers, optical antennas, and so on.
Synthesis of Group B Streptococcus type III polysaccharide fragments for evaluation of their interactions with monoclonal antibodies
Authors: Cattaneo Vittorio , Carboni Filippo , Oldrini Davide , Ricco Riccardo De , Donadio Nunzio , Ros Immaculada Margarit Y , Berti Francesco , Adamo Roberto 
Published: December 2016

Abstract

Group B Streptococcus type III (GBSIII) is the most relevant serotype among GBS strains causing infections and the potential of its capsular polysaccharide conjugated to a protein carrier as vaccine is well documented. Polysaccharide from GBSIII (PSIII) can form helical structures in solution where negatively charged sialic acid residues would be disposed externally providing stabilization to the helix. A peculiar high affinity to specific monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) has been reported for PSIII, and fragments of diverse size bind to mAbs in a length dependent manner. These data have been rationalized in terms of conformational epitopes that would be formed by fragments with >4 saccharidic repeating units. Saturation Transfer Difference NMR experiments have demonstrated that the sialic acid residue is not involved in antibody recognition. However the molecular basis of the interaction between PSIII and mAbs has not been fully elucidated. An important prerequisite to achieve this would be the availability of the three possible sugar sequences representing the pentasaccharide PSIII repeating unit. Herein we established a [2+3] convergent approach leading to these three pentasaccharides (1–3) with the end terminal sugar bearing a linker for possible conjugation. The PSIII fragments were coupled to the genetically detoxified diphtheria toxin CRM197 to prove by ELISA that the three pentasaccharides are recognized by polyclonal anti-PSIII serum. The presence of the branching formed by a Glc residue β-(1→6) linked to GlcNAc was proven an important motif for antibody recognition.
Stem cell culture on polyvinyl alcohol hydrogels having different elasticity and immobilized with ECM-derived oligopeptides
Authors: Muduli Saradaprasan , Chen Li-Hua , Li Meng-Pei , Heish Zhao-wen , Liu Cheng-Hui , Kumar Suresh , Alarfaj Abdullah A. , Munusamy Murugan A. , Benelli Giovanni , Murugan Kadarkarai , Wang Han-Chow , Chen Da-Chung , Hsu Shih-Tien , Chang Shih-Chang , Higuchi Akon 
Published: December 2016

Abstract
The physical characteristics of cell culture materials, such as their elasticity, affect stem cell fate with respect to cell proliferation and differentiation. We systematically investigated the morphologies and characteristics of several stem cell types, including human amniotic-derived stem cells, human hematopoietic stem cells, human induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells, and embryonic stem (ES) cells on poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) hydrogels immobilized with and without extracellular matrix-derived oligopeptide. Human ES cells did not adhere well to soft PVA hydrogels immobilized with oligovitronectin, whereas they did adhere well to PVA hydrogel dishes with elasticities greater than 15 kPa. These results indicate that biomaterials such as PVA hydrogels should be designed to possess minimum elasticity to facilitate human ES cell attachment. PVA hydrogels immobilized with and without extracellular matrix-derived oligopeptides are excellent candidates of cell culture biomaterials for investigations into how cell culture biomaterial elasticity affects stem cell culture and differentiation.
A medium-centered model of communication
Authors: Elleström Lars 
Published: December 2016

AbstractThe aim of this article is to form a new communication model, which is centered on the intermediate stage of communication, here called medium. The model is intended to be irreducible, to highlight the essential communication entities and their interrelations, and potentially to cover all conceivable kinds of communication of meaning. It is designed to clearly account for both verbal and nonverbal meaning, the different roles played by minds and bodies in communication, and the relation between presemiotic and semiotic media features. As a result, the model also pinpoints fundamental obstacles for communication located in media products themselves, and demonstrates how Shannon’s model of transmission of computable data can be incorporated in a model of human communication of meaning.
Kultursensibler Umgang mit religiösen Klienten in der Psychotherapie
Authors: Freund Henning 
Published: December 2016

Zusammenfassung
Nach Clifford Geertz (1987) können Religionen auch als kulturelle Systeme betrachtet werden. So können Modelle und Interventionen aus der transkulturellen Psychologie für einen kultursensiblen Umgang mit religiösen Klienten in der Psychotherapie hilfreich sein. Eine Würdigung von deren unterschiedlichen kulturellen Selbstkonfigurationen (Kirmeyer 2007) und Akkulturationsstrategien (Berry 1997) erleichtert therapeutische Prozesse. Als wichtige kultursensible Kompetenz wird der selbstreflektierte und unsicherheitstolerierende Umgang des Therapeuten mit unvertrauten religiösen Welten diskutiert und anhand von drei Behandlungsbeispielen im Rahmen (sub-)kultureller Religionsgemeinschaften illustriert.
First Principle DFT Study of Electric Field Effects on the Characteristics of Bilayer Graphene
Authors: Sabzyan Hassan , Sadeghpour Narges 
Published: December 2016

Abstract
First principle density functional theory methods, local density and Perdew-Burke-Ernzerhof generalized gradient approximations with Goedecker pseudopotential (LDA-G & PBE-G), are used to study the electric field effects on the binding energy and atomic charges of bilayer graphene (BLG) at the Γ point of the Brillouin zone based on two types of unit cells (α and β) containing n
C=8–32 carbon atoms. Results show that application of electric fields of 4–24 V/nm strengths reduces the binding energies and induces charge transfer between the two layers. The transferred charge increases almost linearly with the strength of the electric field for all sizes of the two types of unit cells. Furthermore, the charge transfer calculated with the α-type unit cells is more sensitive to the electric field strength. The calculated field-dependent contour plots of the differential charge densities of the two layers show details of charge density redistribution under the influence of the electric field.
Improving the Identification of Phenotypic Abnormalities and Sexual Dimorphism in Mice When Studying Rare Event Categorical Characteristics
Authors: Karp Natasha A , Heller Ruth , Yaacoby Shay , White Jacqueline K , Benjamini Yoav 
Published: December 2016

AbstractBiological research frequently involves the study of phenotyping data. Many of these studies focus on rare event categorical data, and functional genomics studies typically study the presence or absence of an abnormal phenotype. With the growing interest in the role of sex, there is a need to assess the phenotype for sexual dimorphism. The identification of abnormal phenotypes for downstream research is challenged by the small sample size, the rare event nature, and the multiple testing problem, as many variables are monitored simultaneously. Here, we develop a statistical pipeline to assess statistical and biological significance while managing the multiple testing problem. We propose a two-step pipeline to initially assess for a treatment effect, in our case example genotype, and then test for an interaction with sex. We compare multiple statistical methods and use simulations to investigate the control of the type-one error rate and power. To maximize the power while addressing the multiple testing issue, we implement filters to remove data sets where the hypotheses to be tested cannot achieve significance. A motivating case study utilizing a large scale high-throughput mouse phenotyping data set from the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute Mouse Genetics Project, where the treatment is a gene ablation, demonstrates the benefits of the new pipeline on the downstream biological calls.