bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Some convergence results for multivalued quasi-nonexpansive mappings in $\operatorname{CAT}(\kappa)$ spaces
Authors: Wan Li-Li 
Published: January 2015

AbstractIn this paper, we prove some strong and △-convergence theorems for a finite family of multivalued quasi-nonexpansive mappings satisfying condition $(E)$
(
E
)
in $\operatorname{CAT}(\kappa)$
CAT
(
κ
)
spaces. Our results extend the corresponding results of Abkar and Eslamian (Nonlinear Anal. 75:1895-1903, 2012), Panyanak (Fixed Point Theory Appl. 2014:1, 2014), Shahzad and Zegeye (Nonlinear Anal. 71:838-844, 2009) and many others.
Visualization requirements of engineers for risk assessment of embankment dams
Authors: Kasireddy Varun , Ergan Semiha , Akinci Burcu , Gulgec Nur Sila 
Published: January 2015

Abstract
Background
Aging infrastructure in the US has gained quite a bit of attention in the past decade. Being one type of a critical infrastructure, embankment dams in the US require significant investment to upgrade the deteriorated parts. Due to limited budgets, understanding the behavior of structures over time through risk assessment is essential to prioritize dams. During the risk assessment for embankment dams, engineers utilize current and historical data from the design, construction, and operation phases of these structures. The challenge is that during risk assessment, various engineers from different disciplines (e.g., geotechnical, hydraulics) come together, and how they would like to visualize the available datasets changes based on the discipline-specific analyses they need to perform. The objective of this research study is to understand the discipline-specific visualization needs of engineers from US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) who are involved in risk assessment of embankment dams when they deal with large set of data accumulated since the inception of dams.

Methods
The requirements were identified through a three-phased research approach including interviews with engineers who are regularly involved in risk assessment processes, a card game and review of standards and published work on risk assessment of embankment dams.

Results
This paper provides the findings of research conducted with engineers coming from different disciplines within USACE. Findings comprise discipline-specific visualization requirements of engineers for viewing large datasets, containing static data (e.g. design information) and time-series data (e.g. piezometer data, monument measurements etc.), accumulated since the inception of dams.

Conclusions
The findings suggest that the visualization of the dam layout, components and geometry within 3D settings overlaid with sensor data (which could be queried based on engineers’ discipline-specific needs) and data analytics results provide a better flexibility to engineers to understand the risk associated with potential failure modes.
Feeding interactions in an assemblage of terrestrial carnivores in central Mexico
Authors: Gómez-Ortiz Yuriana , Monroy-Vilchis Octavio , Mendoza-Martínez Germán D 
Published: January 2015

AbstractBackgroundWe evaluated the strategies of resources partitioning among species, dietary overlap and niche breadth in an assemblage of carnivores integrated by top predators (Puma concolorandPanthera onca) and mesopredators (Leopardus pardalis,Leopardus wiedii,Puma yagouaroundi,Nasua naricaandUrocyon cinereoargenteus). The aim of this study was to investigate the mechanisms explaining the coexistence among species at a temperate zone in central Mexico.ResultsWe collected 259 scats of carnivores and identified 45 food items. The analysis showed the common consumption of mammals in the assemblage, and the correspondence analysis showed three guilds: 1) top predators associated with the use of medium-sized mammals and the exclusive consumption of large mammals, 2) carnivore mesopredators associated with the consumption of small mammals and birds and 3) omnivore mesopredators associated with the consumption of arthropods and plants. The dietary overlap analysis indicated a low overlap between guilds and a high overlap within them. Top predators were specialist foragers, whilst the carnivore mesopredators showed generalist consumption.ConclusionsThe coexistence in this carnivore assemblage seems to be related to body size, morphology and prey segregation because such characteristics suggest the presence of three guilds. We observed high dietary overlap within guilds and resource partitioning between guilds.
Metformin Reverts the Secretion of CXCL8 Induced by TNF-α in Primary Cultures of Human Thyroid Cells: An Additional Indirect Anti-Tumor Effect of the Drug
Authors: Rotondi Mario , Coperchini Francesca , Pignatti Patrizia , Magri Flavia , Chiovato Luca 
Published: January 2015

Context:
Metformin displays both direct and indirect anti-tumor effects. CXCL8 is a crucial downstream mediator of Nuclear-Factor-κB signaling related to the growth and progression of thyroid cancers. Targeting CXCL8 results in prolonged survival and reduced metastatic spread in in-vivo animal models of thyroid tumors.

Objective:
This study aimed to evaluate whether metformin inhibits the secretion of CXCL8 induced by Tumor-Necrosis-Factor-α (TNF-α) in primary cultures of normal and tumor human thyroid cells as well as in thyroid cancer cell lines.

Methods:
Normal human thyrocytes, papillary thyroid cancer cells, and thyroid cancer cell lines (TPC-1 and BCPAP) were stimulated with TNF-α (10 ng/mL) alone or in combination with metformin (0.01, 0.1, 1, 2.5, 5, and 10mM). CXCL8 levels were measured in the cell supernatants after 24 hours.

Results:
Metformin significantly and dose-dependently inhibited the TNF-α-induced CXCL8 secretion in both normal thyrocytes (ANOVA: F = 42.04; P &lt; .0001) and papillary thyroid cancer cells (ANOVA: F = 21.691; P &lt; .0001) but not in TPC-1 and BCPAP cell lines.

Conclusion:
Metformin inhibits the TNF-α-induced CXCL8 secretion in primary cultures of normal thyroid cells and differentiated thyroid cancer cells at least of the most frequent poorly aggressive phenotype. The recruitment of neutrophils within the thyroid gland is a crucial metastasis-promoting factor, and it depends on the amount of CXCL8 produced by both tumor cells and by the more abundant normal thyroid cells exposed to TNF-α. Thus, the here-reported inhibiting effect of metformin on TNF-α-induced CXCL8 secretion could be considered as a further indirect anticancer property of the drug.
Case Report: Persistent erectile dysfunction in a man with prolactinoma
Authors: Badal Justin , Ramasamy Ranjith , Hakky Tariq , Chandrashekar Aravind , Lipshultz Larry 
Published: January 2015

Erectile dysfunction has been explored as a condition secondary to elevated prolactin; however, the mechanisms by which elevated prolactin levels cause erectile dysfunction have not yet been clearly established. We here present a patient with a history of prolactinoma who suffered from persistent erectile dysfunction despite testosterone supplementation and pharmacological and surgical treatment for the prolactinoma. Patients who have had both prolactinemia and erectile dysfunction have been reported in the literature, but we find no report of a patient with persistent erectile dysfunction in the setting of testosterone supplementation and persistent hyperprolactinemia refractory to treatment. This case provides evidence supporting the idea that suppression of erectile function occurs in both the central and peripheral nervous systems independent of the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis.
ISCB Ebola Award for Important Future Research on the Computational Biology of Ebola Virus
Authors: Karp Peter D. , Berger Bonnie , Kovats Diane E. , Lengauer Thomas , Linial Michal , Sabeti Pardis , Hide Winston , Rost Burkhard 
Published: January 2015

Speed is of the essence in combating Ebola; thus, computational approaches should form a significant component of Ebola research. As for the development of any modern drug, computational biology is uniquely positioned to contribute through comparative analysis of the genome sequences of Ebola strains as well as 3-D protein modeling. Other computational approaches to Ebola may include large-scale docking studies of Ebola proteins with human proteins and with small-molecule libraries, computational modeling of the spread of the virus, computational mining of the Ebola literature, and creation of a curated Ebola database.Taken together, such computational efforts could significantly accelerate traditional scientific approaches. In recognition of the need for important and immediate solutions from the field of computational biology against Ebola, the International Society for Computational Biology (ISCB) announces a prize for an important computational advance in fighting the Ebola virus. ISCB will confer the ISCB Fight against Ebola Award, along with a prize of US$2,000, at its July 2016 annual meeting (ISCB Intelligent Systems for Molecular Biology (ISMB) 2016, Orlando, Florida).
Competing with Privacy
Authors: Casadesus-Masanell Ramon , Hervas-Drane Andres 
Published: January 2015

We analyze the implications of consumer privacy for competition in the marketplace. Firms compete for consumer information and derive revenues both from consumer purchases as well as from disclosing consumer information in a secondary market. Consumers choose which firm to patronize and how much personal information to provide it with. We show that firms maximize profits by focusing on a single revenue source and competing at the extensive rather than the intensive margin, outperforming competitors by attracting a larger customer base. We also show that competition drives the provision of services with a low level of consumer information disclosure (high level of privacy), but higher competition intensity in the marketplace need not improve privacy when consumers exhibit low willingness to pay. Our findings are relevant to the business models of Internet firms and contribute to inform the regulatory debate on consumer privacy. This paper was accepted by Bruno Cassiman, business strategy.
The Asset-Pricing Implications of Government Economic Policy Uncertainty
Authors: Brogaard Jonathan , Detzel Andrew 
Published: January 2015

Using the news-based measure of Baker et al. [Baker SR, Bloom N, Davis SJ (2013) Measuring economic policy uncertainty. Working paper, Stanford University, Stanford, CA] to capture economic policy uncertainty (EPU) in the United States, we find that EPU positively forecasts log excess market returns. An increase of one standard deviation in EPU is associated with a 1.5% increase in forecasted three-month abnormal returns (6.1% annualized). Furthermore, innovations in EPU earn a significant negative risk premium in the Fama–French 25 size–momentum portfolios. Among the Fama–French 25 portfolios formed on size and momentum returns, the portfolio with the greatest EPU beta underperforms the portfolio with the lowest EPU beta by 5.53% per annum, controlling for exposure to the Carhart four factors as well as implied and realized volatility. These findings suggest that EPU is an economically important risk factor for equities. This paper was accepted by Wei Jiang, finance.
Intertemporal Price Discrimination: Structure and Computation of Optimal Policies
Authors: Besbes Omar , Lobel Ilan 
Published: January 2015

We study a firm’s optimal pricing policy under commitment. The firm’s objective is to maximize its long-term average revenue given a steady arrival of strategic customers. In particular, customers arrive over time, are strategic in timing their purchases, and are heterogeneous along two dimensions: their valuation for the firm’s product and their willingness to wait before purchasing or leaving. The customers' patience and valuation may be correlated in an arbitrary fashion. For this general formulation, we prove that the firm may restrict attention to cyclic pricing policies, which have length, at most, twice the maximum willingness to wait of the customer population. To efficiently compute optimal policies, we develop a dynamic programming approach that uses a novel state space that is general, capable of handling arbitrary problem primitives, and that generalizes to finite horizon problems with nonstationary parameters. We analyze the class of monotone pricing policies and establish their suboptimality in general. Optimal policies are, in a typical scenario, characterized by nested sales, where the firm offers partial discounts throughout each cycle, offers a significant discount halfway through the cycle, and holds its largest discount at the end of the cycle. We further establish a form of equivalence between the problem of pricing for a stream of heterogeneous strategic customers and pricing for a pool of heterogeneous customers who may stockpile units of the product. This paper was accepted by Yossi Aviv, operations management.
Waiting Patiently: An Empirical Study of Queue Abandonment in an Emergency Department
Authors: Batt Robert J. , Terwiesch Christian 
Published: January 2015

We study queue abandonment from a hospital emergency department. We show that abandonment is influenced by the queue length and the observable queue flows during the waiting exposure, even after controlling for wait time. For example, observing an additional person in the queue or an additional arrival to the queue leads to an increase in abandonment probability equivalent to a 25-minute or 5-minute increase in wait time, respectively. We also show that patients are sensitive to being “jumped” in the line and that patients respond differently to people more sick and less sick moving through the system. This customer response to visual queue elements is not currently accounted for in most queuing models. Additionally, to the extent the visual queue information is misleading or does not lead to the desired behavior, managers have an opportunity to intervene by altering what information is available to waiting customers.This paper was accepted by Yossi Aviv, operations management.
Shopping for Information? Diversification and the Network of Industries
Authors: Anjos Fernando , Fracassi Cesare 
Published: January 2015

We propose and test a view of corporate diversification as a strategy that exploits internal information markets, by bringing together information that is scattered across the economy. First, we construct an interindustry network using input-output data, to proxy for the economy’s information structure. Second, we introduce a new measure of conglomerate informational advantage, named “excess centrality,” which captures how much more central conglomerates are relative to specialized firms operating in the same industries. We find that high-excess-centrality conglomerates have greater value, and produce more and better patents. Consistent with the internal-information-markets view, we also show that excess centrality has a greater effect in industries covered by fewer analysts and in industries where soft information is important. This paper was accepted by Gustavo Manso, finance.
Naiveté, Projection Bias, and Habit Formation in Gym Attendance
Authors: Acland Dan , Levy Matthew R. 
Published: January 2015

We implement a gym-attendance incentive intervention and elicit subjects' predictions of their postintervention attendance. We find that subjects greatly overpredict future attendance, which we interpret as evidence of partial naiveté with respect to present bias. We find a significant postintervention attendance increase, which we interpret as habit formation, and which subjects appear not to predict ex ante. These results are consistent with a model of projection bias with respect to habit formation. Neither the intervention incentives, nor the small posttreatment incentives involved in our elicitation mechanism, appear to crowd out existing intrinsic motivation. The combination of naiveté and projection bias in gym attendance can help to explain limited take-up of commitment devices by dynamically inconsistent agents, and points to new forms of contracts. Alternative explanations of our results are discussed. Data, as supplemental material, are available at http://dx.doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2014.2091 . This paper was accepted by Uri Gneezy, behavioral economics.
Remanufacturing, Third-Party Competition, and Consumers' Perceived Value of New Products
Authors: Agrawal Vishal V. , Atasu Atalay , van Ittersum Koert 
Published: January 2015

In this paper, we investigate whether and how the presence of remanufactured products and the identity of the remanufacturer influence the perceived value of new products through a series of behavioral experiments. Our results demonstrate that the presence of products remanufactured and sold by the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) can reduce the perceived value of new products by up to 8%. However, the presence of third-party-remanufactured products can increase the perceived value of new products by up to 7%. These results suggest that deterring third-party competition via preemptive remanufacturing may reduce profits, whereas the presence of third-party competition may actually be beneficial for an OEM. This paper was accepted by Serguei Netessine, operations management.
Accuracy of ultrasound-guided intra-articular injections in guinea pig knees
Authors: Vázquez-Portalatín N. , Breur G. J. , Panitch A. , Goergen C. J. 
Published: January 2015

Objective Dunkin Hartley guinea pigs, a commonly used animal model of osteoarthritis, were used to determine if high frequency ultrasound can ensure intra-articular injections are accurately positioned in the knee joint. Methods A high-resolution small animal ultrasound system with a 40 MHz transducer was used for image-guided injections. A total of 36 guinea pigs were anaesthetised with isoflurane and placed on a heated stage. Sterile needles were inserted directly into the knee joint medially, while the transducer was placed on the lateral surface, allowing the femur, tibia and fat pad to be visualised in the images. B-mode cine loops were acquired during 100 µl. We assessed our ability to visualise 1) important anatomical landmarks, 2) the needle and 3) anatomical changes due to the injection. Results From the ultrasound images, we were able to visualise clearly the movement of anatomical landmarks in 75% of the injections. The majority of these showed separation of the fat pad (67.1%), suggesting the injections were correctly delivered in the joint space. We also observed dorsal joint expansion (23%) and patellar tendon movement (10%) in a smaller subset of injections. Conclusion The results demonstrate that this image-guided technique can be used to visualise the location of an intra-articular injection in the joints of guinea pigs. Future studies using an ultrasound-guided approach could help improve the injection accuracy in a variety of anatomical locations and animal models, in the hope of developing anti-arthritic therapies. Cite this article: Bone Joint Res 2015;4:1–5.
Cultural harmonization in East Asia: Adaptation of Hana yori dango / Boys Over Flowers
Authors: Yasumoto Seiko 
Published: January 2015

Abstract
In the domain of popular culture since the 1990s, Japanese media has increasingly crossed regional and international borders. There has been appropriation, adaptation and remaking of many of these media products into different formats, such as manga, anime, TV drama, films and games. Products, when traded and remade across geographical boundaries, have a multidimensional aspect and potentially contribute to an evolving cultural re-engagement between Japan and Asia. This article analyses, within a sociocultural context, the significant textual and cultural elements of the iconic Japanese manga, Hana yori dango / Boys Over Flowers. Firstly, it explores how the originating manga has been adapted into TV drama formats through the process of remaking, in Japan, Korea and Taiwan. Secondly, it examines the differentiation of textual and cultural content in the three countries; and, finally, it measures audience reception within a distinct fan group. Survey questionnaires and focus group interviews are used to collate the audience reception of the texts. The article argues that the media trade, through products like Hana yori dango, is contributing to the enhancement of regional intercultural understanding beyond regional historical antipathy. The article further argues that the influence of media trade and Japanese popular culture is contributing in a positive manner to the idea of regional ‘harmony’, rather than hybridism, with the retention in Japan, Korea and Taiwan of inherent cultural values.
The Taiwan Yueqin Folk Music Festival
Authors: Hlavaty Benjamin 
Published: January 2015

Abstract
The yueqin is a traditional stringed instrument found in East Asian and South East Asian countries. Taiwan yueqins come in various shapes with different timbres and numbers of strings. The Taiwan yueqin minyao xiehui / Taiwan Yueqin Folk Music Association, a group run by Taiwan pop-folk music icon Chen Ming-chang, annually holds Taiwan yueqin minyao ji / Taiwan Yueqin Folk Music Festival, a music festival promoting yueqin songs sung in Taiyu, the language that while is not the official language of what is still known as the Republic of China, is the native language of the Hoklo ethnic majority. Since 2012, the festival has been held held indoors in the Beitou Hot Springs Museum, a building that was constructed during the Japanese colonial period (1895–1945). Also since 2012, the festival is not purely performed by Hoklo Taiwanese. Having been introduced to an aspiring student of shamisen master Kazuo Shibutani by his own student in 2009, Chen Ming-chang now invites Shibutani and his troupe to Taiwan to perform alongside him.
Reviews
Authors: Promkhuntong Wikanda , Baehrisch Eunju 
Published: January 2015

Abstract
Popular Culture Co-Productions and Collaborations in East and Southeast Asia, Nissim Otmazgin And Eyal Ben-Ari (eds) (2013) Singapore and Kyoto: NUS Press in association with Kyoto University Press, 276 pp., ISBN 9784876983568 (paperback), £26.95
Korean Horror Cinema, Alison Peirse And Daniel Martin (eds) (2013) Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 256 pp. ISBN 9780748643097 (paperback), £19.99
Qianwei (‘avant-garde’) art in reform-era China: Divergence, reversal and the persistence of (subjective) realism
Authors: Gladston Paul 
Published: January 2015

Abstract
In this article attention will be drawn to ways in which so-called ‘qianwei’ (literally, ‘avant-garde’) Chinese art of the 1980s and early 1990s can be understood to diverge from and/or reverse positions, trajectories and intentions conventionally associated with the work of the European and North American politicized avant-gardes. It shall also be argued that those divergences and reversals are informed in part by the persistence of subjective realist approaches to artistic representation within the People’s Republic of China that not only differ in intent from the western avant-garde’s signature anti-aesthetic and anti-realist use of collage-montage, but also related postmodernist framings of contemporary art as a focus for the critical deconstruction of supposedly authoritative meanings.