bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Heterogeneous investors and trading platforms competition
Authors: Oriol Nathalie , Rufini Alexandra , Torre Dominique 
Published: June 2015

Purpose
– The purpose of this paper is to consider competition’s issues between European market firms, such as Euronext, and multilateral trading facilities, following Markets in Financial Instruments Directive’s enforcement. This new domestic competition is adding to the existing international competition among financial centers. While diversification of local trading services can improve the international competitiveness of a financial center, the fragmentation of order flows can harm its attractiveness.

Design/methodology/approach
– The theoretical setting analyzes the interaction between heterogeneous who experiment network externalities, and heterogeneous local trading services providers (alternative platforms and incumbent) in an international context. The authors compare two forms of organizations of the market: a consolidated market, and a fragmented market with alternative platforms – in both cases, in competition with a foreign universe.

Findings
– The results of this study point out the importance of the trade-off between diversification and externalities. With alternative platforms entry, enhanced competition decreases fees and redistributes informed investors between the foreign market and the domestic one. The increase of domestic platforms’ number then has more complex effects on externalities (of information and liquidity). When the liquidity externalities are low, the diversification of financial platforms increases the number of investors on domestic centers. When liquidity externalities are not negligible, despite the decrease of fees, this same diversification orientates more informed investors to the foreign center.

Originality/value
– This model is the first to analyze jointly the internal and international competition of trading platforms with heterogeneous investors.
Experiencing a domestic fire: an overview of key findings from a post incident research programme
Authors: Clark Andrew , Smith Jessica 
Published: June 2015

Purpose
– The purpose of this paper is to report on a research project investigating people’s experiences of domestic fires in a Northern UK city region. Although there is much research exploring behaviours during fire incidents and identifying who, where and (to a lesser extent) why, fires occur, there is little understanding of people’s experiences of domestic fires. This includes how individuals come to reflect on and understand the incident; how they articulate how events unfolded leading up to, during and immediately post incident; and how experiencing an incident may influence an individual’s perception of fire risk or the possibility of him or her experiencing a further fire. This paper contributes to this understanding by providing an overview of key findings from a recent empirical research project.

Design/methodology/approach
– A participative, qualitative research design was developed in which Community Safety Advisors (CSAs) were trained in data collection and analysis techniques. CSAs undertook interviews with 72 individuals who had experienced a non-fatal domestic fire incident between 2012 and 2013. The interviews were transcribed and analysed by the authors in consultation with CSAs through a series of “action research” and “participative data analysis” workshops and events.

Findings
– The authors report on key findings from the study with respect to how people recollect the fire incident; their understanding of why it occurred and what could have been done to prevent it; and their reflections on how the incident may (or may not) have influenced their current views on fire and fire risk.

Research limitations/implications
– The research has a number of implications for research and policy. This includes greater understanding for the role of narrative data in understanding fire incidents and post incident reflections, as well as recognising the potential for fire and rescue services to widen their research and analysis agendas. Analysis also identifies the importance of clear communication in prevention strategies, including with respect to communicating the causes of fire and the “get out-stay out” message.

Originality/value
– The authors believe the research project to be one of the first, internationally, to record qualitative experiences of domestic fires and situate these experiences within a broader framework of fire risk. In presenting an overview of the findings here, the intention is to promote our learning to other researchers and practitioners in the fire-risk sector and beyond.
Moral conversations and askesis as tools for change within youth justice
Authors: Manders Gary 
Published: June 2015

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of moral conversations (MCs) within the context of youth justice as a potential resource for the process of change towards desisting from crime among a group of young offenders. It is centred on engagement with the perceptions and values of youth offenders in seeking to engage and work effectively with them, to consider in what ways the art of MCs and using askesis or practice to develop oneself can enable or constrain young people in their endeavours.Design/methodology/approach– Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 40 young offenders to ascertain their beliefs and values in relation to their attitude to offending.Findings– The research found that an examination of an individual’s worldview through a MC enables practitioners to identify the potential and motivation for change. It can identify both the enablers and barriers to change, and elicit a young person’s real attitudes to offending. Crucially, the research found that through this process individuals can begin to think more about the possibility of transformation and the steps needed to modify their offending behaviour, in order to move away from crime and to begin to implement an alternative future.Research limitations/implications– The research is based on a small sample of 40 young offenders. However, the findings suggest that further research should be conducted in this area.Social implications– The research raises questions about how the issue of beliefs and values in relation to young offenders is navigated within the youth justice system.Originality/value– The research examines an area of research that is often neglected and which has previously received little attention. The findings are of interest for academics and practitioners concerned with recidivism and the factors that contribute to changes in behaviour for young offenders.
Sorting Out the Health Risk in California's State‐Based Marketplace
Authors: Bindman Andrew B. , Hulett Denis , Gilmer Todd P. , Bertko John 
Published: June 2015

ObjectiveTo characterize the health risk of enrollees in California's state‐based insurance marketplace (Covered California) by metal tier, region, month of enrollment, and plan.Data Source/Study Setting2014 Open‐enrollment data from Covered California linked with 2012 hospitalization and emergency department (ED) visit records from statewide all‐payer administrative databases.Data Collection/Extraction MethodsChronic Illness and Disability Payment System (CDPS) health risk scores derived from an individual's age and sex from the enrollment file and the diagnoses captured in the hospitalization and ED records. CDPS scores were standardized by setting the average to 1.00.Principal FindingsAmong the 1,286,089 enrollees, 120,573 (9.4 percent) had at least one ED visit and/or a hospitalization in 2012. Higher risk enrollees chose plans with greater actuarial value. The standardized CDPS health risk score was 11 percent higher in the first month of enrollment (1.08; 99 percent CI: 1.07–1.09) than the last month (0.97; 99 percent CI: 0.97–0.97). Four of the 12 plans enrolled 91 percent of individuals; their average health risk scores were each within 3 percent of the marketplace's statewide average.ConclusionsProviding health plans with a means to assess the health risk of their year 1 enrollees allowed them to anticipate whether they would receive or contribute payments to a risk‐adjustment pool. After receiving these findings as a part of their negotiations with Covered California, health plans covering the majority of enrollees decreased their initially proposed 2015 rates, saving consumers tens of millions of dollars in potential premiums.
Country Life: Agricultural Technologies and the Emergence of New Rural Subjectivities
Authors: Bear Christopher , Holloway Lewis 
Published: June 2015

AbstractRural areas have long been spaces of technological experimentation, development and resistance. In the UK, this is especially true in the post‐second world war era of productivist food regimes, characterised by moves to intensification. The technologies that have developed have variously aimed to increase yields, automate previously manual tasks, and create new forms of life. This review focuses on the relationships between agricultural technologies and rural lives. While there has been considerable media emphasis on the material modification, and creation, of new rural lives through emerging genetic technologies, the review highlights the role of technologies in co‐producing new rural subjectivities. It does this through exploring relationships between agricultural technologies and gender, changing approaches to understanding and intervening in animal lives, and how automation shifts responsibility for productive work on farms. In each of these instances, even ostensibly mundane technologies can significantly affect what it is to be a farmer, a farm advisor or a farm animal. However, the review cautions against technological determinism, drawing on recent work from Science and Technology Studies to show that technologies do not simply reconfigure lives but are themselves transformed by the actors and activities with which they are connected. The review ends by suggesting avenues for future research.
Electrical Energy Storage Hardware-in-the-Loop Simulation of a Hybrid Electric Diesel and Electric Only Locomotive
Authors: Cleary Timothy , Ballew Brent 
Published: June 2015

Hardware-in-the-Loop (HIL) testing allows for scaled to full-scale evaluation of components without constructing full-scale vehicle prototypes. HIL is also a rapid means of performance evaluation of difficult to model components, in real-time simulation with up to full-scale components providing their own response in place of a model. HIL also provides a working tool for control algorithm refinements prior to full system integration. In hybrid and electric locomotive applications this is particularly important while choosing the battery chemistry and sizing the energy storage system. Energy storage HIL testing permits optimal sizing of battery power and energy density along with management algorithm tuning. In general, HIL provides insight into optimal locomotive powertrain design.
After the development of full EV and HEV locomotive models, battery component models were replaced with real-time interfaces to lead carbon and lithium cobalt batteries, which validated the battery models and helped tune vehicle controllers for direct application onto the vehicle platform.
Simulation of Longitudinal Train Dynamics: Case Studies Using the Train Energy and Dynamics Simulator (TEDS)
Authors: Stewart Monique F. , Punwani S. K. (John) , Andersen David R. , Booth Graydon F. , Singh Som P. , Prabhakaran Anand 
Published: June 2015

Longitudinal dynamics influence several measures of train performance, including schedules and energy efficiency, stopping distances, run-in/run-out forces, etc. Therefore, an effective set of tools for studying longitudinal dynamics is essential to improving the safety and performance of train operations. Train Energy and Dynamics Simulator (TEDS) is a state-of-the-art software program designed and developed by the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), for studying and simulating train safety and performance, and can be used for modeling train performance under a wide variety of equipment, track, and operating configurations [1].
Several case studies and real-world applications of TEDS, including the investigation of multiple train make-up and train handling related derailments, a study of train stopping distances, evaluations of the safety benefits of Electronically Controlled Pneumatic (ECP) brakes, Distributed Power operations, and a study of alternate train handling methodologies are described in this paper. These studies demonstrate the effectiveness of using the appropriate simulation tools to quantify and enhance a better understanding of train dynamics, and the resultant safety benefits.
Side Impact Testing and Analyses of Unpressurized Tank Cars
Authors: Kirkpatrick Steven W. , MacNeill Robert A. , Gonzalez Francisco , Rakoczy Przemyslaw 
Published: June 2015

There has been significant research in recent years to analyze and improve the impact behavior and puncture resistance of railroad tank cars. Ultimately, the results of this work will be used by the Government regulatory agencies in the United States and Canada to establish performance-based testing requirements and to develop methods to evaluate the crashworthiness and structural integrity of different tank car designs.
This paper describes results of recent side impact testing and corresponding analyses using detailed finite element analyses (FEA). The test and analyses were performed to evaluate the side impact puncture performance of DOT-111 tank cars. The tank car was filled with water to approximately 97 percent of the volume. The tank was then sealed but not pressurized. The tank car was impacted at the Transportation Technology Center, Inc. by a 297,125-pound ram car with 12-by 12-inch ram head fitted to the ram car impacted the tank center.
The analyses were on overall good agreement with the measured impact response. The lading was found to play a more significant role in the impact response than in previous testing and analyses of pressure tank cars. This is not surprising considering the reduced structural stiffness of the tanks compared to thicker pressure tank cars and the reduced effective stiffness from the initially unpressurized tank at impact. The smaller outage volume also contributes to a dramatic increase in the tank pressure as the dent formation reduces the tank volume and compresses the contents of the tank.
Hazmat Routing: Safety and Security Challenges
Authors: Gordon Gary A. , Young Richard R. 
Published: June 2015

The railroad industry is being challenged by recent state regulations requiring the disclosure of routing information of trains carrying hazardous materials (hazmat) to the general public. While there is a need to know, the dissemination of such information is contrary to both industry practice and Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) rules. The conundrum is that there needs to be disclosure to first responders, law enforcement, fusion centers and the like to ensure the security and safety of the public.
This paper addresses the rules regulating the movement and handling of hazmat, to include toxic inhalation hazard (TIH) material; government demands, particularly those at the state level to release the routes, commodities, and quantities to the general public; and the operational impacts and risks that could result. It then explores the security of how hazmat train routing information can be safeguarded while ensuring that first responders and affected communities have what is needed to address the risks and be able to effectively respond to incidents. The overlaps and conflicts found in the rules and regulations of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and the Pipeline and Hazardous Material Safety Administration (PHMSA) are also addressed.
A rapid noninvasive characterization of CT x‐ray sources
Authors: Randazzo Matt , Tambasco Mauro 
Published: June 2015

Purpose:The aim of this study is to generate spatially varying half value layers (HVLs) that can be used to construct virtual equivalent source models of computed tomography (CT) x‐ray sources for use in Monte Carlo CT dose computations.Methods:To measure the spatially varying HVLs, the authors combined a cylindrical HVL measurement technique with the characterization of bowtie filter relative attenuation (COBRA) geometry. An apparatus given the name “HVL Jig” was fabricated to accurately position a real‐time dosimeter off‐isocenter while surrounded by concentric cylindrical aluminum filters (CAFs). In this geometry, each projection of the rotating x‐ray tube is filtered by an identical amount of high‐purity (type 1100 H‐14) aluminum while the stationary radiation dose probe records an air kerma rate versus time waveform. The CAFs were progressively nested to acquire exposure data at increasing filtrations to calculate the HVL. Using this dose waveform and known setup geometry, each timestamp was related to its corresponding fan angle. Data were acquired using axial CT protocols (i.e., rotating tube and stationary patient table) at energies of 80, 100, and 120 kVp on a single CT scanner. These measurements were validated against the more laborious conventional step‐and‐shoot approach (stationary x‐ray tube).Results:At each energy, HVL data points from the COBRA‐cylinder technique were fit to a trendline and compared with the conventional approach. The average relative difference in HVL between the two techniques was 1.3%. There was a systematic overestimation in HVL due to scatter contamination.Conclusions:The described method is a novel, rapid, accurate, and noninvasive approach that allows one to acquire the spatially varying fluence and HVL data using a single experimental setup in a minimum of three scans. These measurements can be used to characterize the CT beam in terms of the angle‐dependent fluence and energy spectra along the bowtie filter direction, which can serve as input for accurate CT dose computations.
Endothelial Cell Toxicity of Vancomycin Infusion Combined with Other Antibiotics
Authors: Drouet Maryline , Chai Feng , Barthélémy Christine , Lebuffe Gilles , Debaene Bertrand , Décaudin Bertrand , Odou Pascal 
Published: June 2015

ABSTRACT
French guidelines recommend central intravenous (i.v.) infusion for high concentrations of vancomycin, but peripheral intravenous (p.i.v.) infusion is often preferred in intensive care units. Vancomycin infusion has been implicated in cases of phlebitis, with endothelial toxicity depending on the drug concentration and the duration of the infusion. Vancomycin is frequently infused in combination with other i.v. antibiotics through the same administrative Y site, but the local toxicity of such combinations has been poorly evaluated. Such an assessment could improve vancomycin infusion procedures in hospitals. Human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) were challenged with clinical doses of vancomycin over 24 h with or without other i.v. antibiotics. Cell death was measured with the alamarBlue test. We observed an excess cellular death rate without any synergistic effect but dependent on the numbers of combined infusions when vancomycin and erythromycin or gentamicin were infused through the same Y site. Incompatibility between vancomycin and piperacillin-tazobactam was not observed in our study, and rinsing the cells between the two antibiotic infusions did not reduce endothelial toxicity. No endothelial toxicity of imipenem-cilastatin was observed when combined with vancomycin. p.i.v. vancomycin infusion in combination with other medications requires new recommendations to prevent phlebitis, including limiting coinfusion on the same line, reducing the infusion rate, and choosing an intermittent infusion method. Further studies need to be carried out to explore other drug combinations in long-term vancomycin p.i.v. therapy so as to gain insight into the mechanisms of drug incompatibility under multidrug infusion conditions.
The Staphylococcus aureus Protein-Coding Gene
gdpS
Modulates
sarS
Expression via mRNA-mRNA Interaction
Authors: Chen Chuan , Zhang Xu , Shang Fei , Sun Haipeng , Sun Baolin , Xue Ting 
Published: June 2015

ABSTRACT

Staphylococcus aureus
is an important Gram-positive pathogen responsible for numerous diseases ranging from localized skin infections to life-threatening systemic infections. The virulence of
S. aureus
is essentially determined by a wide spectrum of factors, including cell wall-associated proteins and secreted toxins that are precisely controlled in response to environmental changes. GGDEF domain protein from
Staphylococcus
(GdpS) is the only conserved staphylococcal GGDEF domain protein that is involved not in c-di-GMP synthesis but in the virulence regulation of
S. aureus
NCTC8325. Our previous study showed that the inactivation of
gdpS
generates an extensive change of virulence factors together with, in particular, a major Spa (protein A) surface protein. As reported,
sarS
is a direct positive regulator of
spa
. The decreased transcript levels of
sarS
in the
gdpS
mutant compared with the parental NCTC8325 strain suggest that
gdpS
affects
spa
through interaction with
sarS
. In this study, site mutation and complementary experiments showed that the translation product of
gdpS
was not involved in the regulation of transcript levels of
sarS
. We found that
gdpS
functioned through direct RNA-RNA base pairing with the 5′ untranslated region (5′UTR) of
sarS
mRNA and that a putative 18-nucleotide region played a significant role in the regulatory process. Furthermore, the mRNA half-life analysis of
sarS
in the
gdpS
mutant showed that
gdpS
positively regulates the mRNA levels of
sarS
by contributing to the stabilization of
sarS
mRNA, suggesting that
gdpS
mRNA may regulate
spa
expression in an RNA-dependent pathway.
Diversity of Cyclic Di-GMP-Binding Proteins and Mechanisms
Authors: Chou Shan-Ho , Galperin Michael Y. 
Published: June 2015

ABSTRACT
Cyclic di-GMP (c-di-GMP) synthetases and hydrolases (GGDEF, EAL, and HD-GYP domains) can be readily identified in bacterial genome sequences by using standard bioinformatic tools. In contrast, identification of c-di-GMP receptors remains a difficult task, and the current list of experimentally characterized c-di-GMP-binding proteins is likely incomplete. Several classes of c-di-GMP-binding proteins have been structurally characterized; for some others, the binding sites have been identified; and for several potential c-di-GMP receptors, the binding sites remain to be determined. We present here a comparative structural analysis of c-di-GMP-protein complexes that aims to discern the common themes in the binding mechanisms that allow c-di-GMP receptors to bind it with (sub)micromolar affinities despite the 1,000-fold excess of GTP. The available structures show that most receptors use their Arg and Asp/Glu residues to bind c-di-GMP monomers, dimers, or tetramers with stacked guanine bases. The only exception is the EAL domains that bind c-di-GMP monomers in an extended conformation. We show that in c-di-GMP-binding signature motifs, Arg residues bind to the O-6 and N-7 atoms at the Hoogsteen edge of the guanine base, while Asp/Glu residues bind the N-1 and N-2 atoms at its Watson-Crick edge. In addition, Arg residues participate in stacking interactions with the guanine bases of c-di-GMP and the aromatic rings of Tyr and Phe residues. This may account for the presence of Arg residues in the active sites of every receptor protein that binds stacked c-di-GMP. We also discuss the implications of these structural data for the improved understanding of the c-di-GMP signaling mechanisms.