bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Ochronotic Arthropathy: Two Case Reports from a Developing Country
Authors: Rathore Farooq A. , Ayaz Saeed B. , Mansoor Sahibzada N.
Published: February 2016

Alkaptonuria is a rare inborn error of metabolism, which is classified as an orphan disease. It is due to the lack of an enzyme homogentisate 1,2-dioxygenase, which results in an accumulation of homogentisic acid in different areas of the body, including sclera, skin, cardiac valves, articular cartilage of the large joints and intervertebral disks. We present two cases of alkaptonuria resulting in ochronotic arthropathy with advanced secondary generalized osteoarthritis, intervertebral disk calcifications, skin and scleral pigmentation. In these case reports, both patients had symptoms for >10 years before being diagnosed. Conservative management in the form of high-dose ascorbic acid, exercises, and gait aids was offered to both of them, which resulted in some symptomatic improvement in the first case, while the second case was lost to follow-up. Alkaptonuria is a rare disease, and although it does not clearly impact mortality, early diagnosis may improve the quality of life.
Actions of groups of homeomorphisms on one-manifolds
Authors: Militon Emmanuel
Published: February 2016

In this article, we describe all the group morphisms from the group of compactly supported homeomorphisms isotopic to the identity of a manifold to the group of homeomorphisms of the real line or of the circle.
An infinitely generated virtual cohomology group for noncocompact arithmetic groups over function fields
Authors: Wortman Kevin
Published: February 2016

Let

{\bf G} (\mathcal{O}_S)

be a noncocompact irreducible arithmetic group over a global function field

K

of characteristic

p

, and let

\Gamma

be a finite-index, residually

p

-finite subgroup of

{\bf G}(\mathcal{O}_S)

. We show that the cohomology of

\Gamma

in the dimension of its associated Euclidean building with coefficients in the field of

p

elements is infinite.
A nonamenable finitely presented group of piecewise projective homeomorphisms
Authors: Lodha Yash , Moore Justin Tatch
Published: February 2016

In this article we will describe a finitely presented subgroup of the group of piecewise projective homeomorphisms of the real projective line. This in particular provides a new example of a finitely presented group which is nonamenable and yet does not contain a nonabelian free subgroup. It is in fact the first such example which is torsion free. We will also develop a means for representing the elements of the group by labeled tree diagrams in a manner which closely parallels Richard Thompson’s group

F

.
Product-quotient surfaces: new invariants and algorithms
Authors: Bauer Ingrid , Pignatelli Roberto
Published: February 2016

In this article we suggest a new approach to the systematic, computer-aided construction and to the classification of product-quotient surfaces, introducing a new invariant, the integer

\gamma

, which depends only on the singularities of the quotient model

X = (C_1 \times C_2)/G

. It turns out that

\gamma

is related to the codimension of the subspace of

H^{1,1}

generated by algebraic curves coming from the construction (i.e., the classes of the two fibers and the Hirzebruch-Jung strings arising from the minimal resolution of singularities of

X

).

Profiting from this new insight we developed and implemented an algorithm in the computer algebra program MAGMA which constructs all regular product-quotient surfaces with given values of

\gamma

and geometric genus. Being far better than the previous algorithms, we are able to construct a substantial number of new regular product-quotient surfaces of geometric genus zero. We prove that only two of these are of general type, raising the number of known families of product-quotient surfaces of general type with genus zero to 75. This gives evidence to the conjecture that there is an effective bound

\Gamma (p_g,q) \geq \gamma

(cf. Conjecture 4.5).

Finally we introduce a duality among product-quotient surfaces and prove that the dual surface of a surface of geometric genus zero has maximal Picard number, thus providing several new examples of surfaces with maximal Picard number.
The dense amalgam of metric compacta and topological characterization of boundaries of free products of groups
Authors: Świątkowski Jacek
Published: February 2016

We introduce and study the operation, called
dense amalgam
, which to any tuple

X_1,\dots, X_k

of non-empty compact metric spaces associates some disconnected perfect compact metric space, denoted

\widetilde{\sqcup} (X_1, \dots, X_k)

, in which there are many appropriately distributed copies of the spaces

X_1, \dots, X_k

. We then show that, in various settings, the ideal boundary of the free product of groups is homeomorphic to the dense amalgam of boundaries of the factors. We give also related more general results for graphs of groups with finite edge groups. We justify these results by referring to a convenient characterization of dense amalgams, in terms of a list of properties, which we also provide in the paper. As another application, we show that the boundary of a Coxeter group which has infinitely many ends, and which is not virtually free, is the dense amalgam of the boundaries of its maximal 1-ended special subgroups.
Environmental Determinants of the Distribution of Chagas Disease Vector Triatoma dimidiata in Colombia
Authors: Parra-Henao Gabriel , Quirós-Gómez Oscar , Jaramillo-O Nicolas , Cardona Ángela Segura
Published: February 2016

Triatoma dimidiata (Hemiptera: Reduviidae) is a secondary vector of Trypanosoma cruzi in Colombia and represents an important epidemiological risk mainly in the central and oriental regions of the country where it occupies sylvatic, peridomestic, and intradomestic ecotopes, and because of this complex distribution, its distribution and abundance could be conditioned by environmental factors. In this work, we explored the relationship between T. dimidiata distribution and environmental factors in the northwest, northeast, and central zones of Colombia and developed predictive models of infestation in the country. The associations between the presence of T. dimidiata and environmental variables were studied using logistic regression models and ecological niche modeling for a sample of villages in Colombia. The analysis was based on the information collected in field about the presence of T. dimidiata and the environmental data for each village extracted from remote sensing images. The presence of Triatoma dimidiata (Latreille, 1811) was found to be significantly associated with the maximum vegetation index, minimum land surface temperature (LST), and the digital elevation for the statistical model. Temperature seasonality, annual precipitation, and vegetation index were the variables that most influenced the ecological niche model of T. dimidiata distribution. The logistic regression model showed a good fit and predicted suitable habitats in the Andean and Caribbean regions, which agrees with the known distribution of the species, but predicted suitable habitats in the Pacific and Orinoco regions proposing new areas of research. Improved models to predict suitable habitats for T. dimidiata hold promise for spatial targeting of integrated vector management.
Population Density, Poor Sanitation, and Enteric Infections in Nueva Santa Rosa, Guatemala
Authors: Jarquin Claudia , Arnold Benjamin F. , Muñoz Fredy , Lopez Beatriz , Cuéllar Victoria M. , Thornton Andrew , Patel Jaymin , Reyes Lisette , Roy Sharon L. , Bryan Joe P. , McCracken John P. , Colford John M.
Published: February 2016

Poor sanitation could pose greater risk for enteric pathogen transmission at higher human population densities because of greater potential for pathogens to infect new hosts through environmentally mediated and person-to-person transmission. We hypothesized that incidence and prevalence of diarrhea, enteric protozoans, and soil-transmitted helminth infections would be higher in high-population-density areas compared with low-population-density areas, and that poor sanitation would pose greater risk for these enteric infections at high density compared with low density. We tested our hypotheses using 6 years of clinic-based diarrhea surveillance (2007–2013) including 4,360 geolocated diarrhea cases tested for 13 pathogens and a 2010 cross-sectional survey that measured environmental exposures from 204 households (920 people) and tested 701 stool specimens for enteric parasites. We found that population density was not a key determinant of enteric infection nor a strong effect modifier of risk posed by poor household sanitation in this setting.
Drivers Dexterity: George Osodi’s Oeuvre on Safety on the Nigerian Road
Authors: Graves Nelson P.
Published: February 2016

This paper attempted a reading of the Nigerian condition using the censure of images culled from an exhibition by the Nigerian photographer George Osodi. Drawing attention to the shapes of the images and imageries that constitute the profile of the condition of a major infrastructure, the road and transportation, I have employed these as vestigial to a narrative that embodies diverse contexts. These inflect the identity and history of the Nigerian nation in general. Using the photographic image as the censure on which the fleeting memoriam of the discourse of the day to day lives of the real people of Nigeria an essay ensues: “Art makes the experiences of time spatially perceptible by forcing what is ever fleeting into the calm framework of a symbol” (Beat Wyss, 1998) Reflecting, therefore, on the consequent rhetoric’s inherent in the linguistic/pictorial/cultural turn and the techniques deployed by the photographer to affect presence , I have engaged a reading of the existentialist world view that has shaped the mentality of the real people, hence their conditions of life in contrast to that of the privileged few; in the utilisation of a derelict infrastructure. The image is, therefore, utilised as the symbolic scaffolding that holds the story. The symbols inflect an identity and history. In furtherance of the employment of symbols, I have drawn attention to the place of the photo and the phono-centric images as invaluable synergy in the actualisation of a synchronic analysis. Drawing attention to the ‘pains of others’ this essay explores what is to be done.Keywords: G.O’s oeuvre, driver’s dexterity, shapes/images, “the real people”
Industrial Design: Aesthetical Dynamics and Visual Alphabetization of Material Culture – Redefined
Authors: Obasuyi Osa-Francis Efe
Published: February 2016

The emergence of industrial Design and Designers in postmodern Europe obviously changed the Aesthetical Dynamics and visual redefinition, reordering or the visual alphabetization of the man-made environment and material culture forever. Hence the need and trust for this paper. The focus of the paper is an attempt at broadly describing or defining what visual Alphabetization means which could be put thus: Visual alphabetization is that skilful ability of the designer to carefully and logically arranged the visual elements or design elements (in a given product) like colour, material, form, branding, or the degree of the play of light and shade or lighting to generate maximum visual impact, in its uniqueness and differentiation from other products. In the body of the paper it was established that, Visual alphabetization represents that ability of the designer to come away from the Notion that a “Loud design” is “Good design”. Rather nowadays there is a reordering of thinking of the contemporary designer that have begun to explore or look out for designing objects that recede from our attention, rather than attract or command/demand attention. From its findings, the paper recommends the application of contemporary techniques and material in products design which would create that almost “ghost-like” feeling about any given product that in effect will exhibit such mystique that seems to draw/drag the consumer /user to that subtle allure of the products structure and obscurity all at once but in a much less forceful manner.Keywords:  Aesthetic differentiation, Cultural Dialectics, Ephemeral, Mimesis, Man-made/Built Environment, Visual Alphabetization
Historical Analysis of Vocational Education in Western Nigeria, 1930s-1960s
Authors: Oladejo Mutiat Titilope , Suberu Jimoh
Published: February 2016

This paper examined the evolution and development of vocational education in Nigeria. It is explained as a process towards the attainment of industrialization and entrepreneurship in Nigeria. Before the 1930s, there was little focus on the dissemination of vocational education for development in Nigeria. The findings revealed that training schemes were basically instituted to train manpower to facilitate exportation and generate revenue for the colonial government in Nigeria. The areas of vocational education covered are; agricultural education, textile training, domestic science education, secretarial and management education and so on. The conception of vocational education here is concerned about the types of training given to Nigerians and its impact on sustainable self-employment and industrialization in the postcolonial era. The work adopted a historical approach by using primary and secondary sources.The primary sources were archival materials from the National Archives Ibadan (NAI). The secondary sources are texts related to education and development in Nigeria. It was concluded that modernization is important to improve vocational education for development in Nigeria.Keywords: Vocational education, Development, Training, Education, Entrepreneurship
Rainfall Characteristics at Makurdi, North–Central Nigeria II
Authors: Agada BI , Obi ME , Ali A
Published: February 2016

Rainfall characteristics were evaluated in Makurdi in the Guinea Savanna agroclimatic belt of Nigeria. Pluviograhic rainfall data were collected for the period 1985 to 1987. The mean Annual rainfall was 1140mm.The highest rainfall amount per storm event was 71.7mm while the highest six- minute rainfall intensity was 240mmh-1. The mean monthly Kinetic energy (E) using the Wischmeier and Smith (1978) equation ranged from 2.0 to 84.1MJha-1 whereas the value ranged from 2.5 to 128.0MJha-1 using Kowal and Kassam (1976) equation (designated Ek).Conventional rainfall erosivity used for evaluation were the EI30, K.E > 25 and AIm. The ranges of monthly erosivity based on these indices were 24 to 406 MJ.mmha-1h-1, 0.7 to 9.0MJha-1 and 270 to 4280 mm2h-1 respectively. Following Obi and Salako (1995) additional indices, namely, E(A), EkI30, EkIm ,E(A)I30 and EkAIm were evaluated. Mean monthly erosivity values ranges based on these indices were 18 to 471 MJ.mmha-1h-1, 31 to 595 MJ.mmha-1h-1, 76 to 1594 MJ.mmha-1h-1, 218 to 26992 MJ.mmha-1h-1 and 527 to 67293 MJ.mmha-1h-1 respectively. The findings enable better understanding of the rainfall effects on soil erosion in the region. The generally high erosivity values are pointers to the compelling need for soil protective covers in particular and the integration of other serious conservation measures as key strategies for sustainable production in the agro-ecological zone.Keywords: Rainfall, Eosivity, USLE
Climate Change and Infectious Diseases in Funtua Local Government Area of Katsina State, Nigeria
Authors: Abaje IB , Abdullahi N , Jeje OG
Published: February 2016

This study examines the impact of climate change on the prevalence of cholera and malaria in Funtua Local Government Area of Katsina state. Monthly and  annual trends of climatic data (temperature and rainfall) and infectious diseases (cholera and malaria) from 1985-2014 were analyzed and plotted in order to determine the degree of congruence between the climatic data and the prevalence of cholera and malaria in the study area. Linear trend line equation was used in determining the monthly and annual changes in both temperature and rainfall, and the prevalence of cholera and malaria. The result revealed that as the rainfall and temperature is increasing from 1985 to 2014, likewise the occurrences of cholera and malaria diseases kept on increasing. The highest occurrences of cholera and malaria cases were recorded in 2013 and 2014, while the months of July, August, September and October recorded the highest occurrence of both malaria and cholera with a single peak in August. Further findings revealed that the yearly occurrence of the diseases for the months of July, August, September and October has been increasing from 1985 to 2014. The study recommends that people should avoid drinking water directly from ponds and rivers without been treated, and government should sink bore holes in rural communities in order to reduce the risk of cholera. Treated mosquito nets should be provided in order to reduce the risk of malaria and the monthly sanitation program should be encouraged and intensified.Keywords: cholera, malaria, rainfall, temperature, trends
Developing Entrepreneurial Skills in Female Pre-Service Chemistry Educators through Science Education: A Path to Women Empowerment in Nigeria
Authors: Igboegwu Ekene Nonyem
Published: February 2016

The study investigated the development of entrepreneurial skills in female pre-service chemistry educators of south-east colleges of education in Nigeria through science education. This study involved only the south east colleges of education. The study employed a descriptive survey design. Simple random sampling by balloting with replacement was used to select 90 final year degree and NCE female pre-service chemistry educators drawn from three South East colleges of education involved in degree programmes. The instrument for data collections was a 41-item structured questionnaire developed by the researchers. The instrument was validated and an internal consistency was calculated using Cronbach alpha and found to be 0.88. Three research questions and two hypotheses guided the study. Data were analyzed using mean and standard deviation to answer the research questions while z-test was used to test the null hypotheses at 0.05 alpha level. The result from the study showed that female pre-service chemistry educators in southeast colleges of education were not exposed to entrepreneurial skills in science education; poor funding, inadequate science laboratories, lack of materials and equipment were among the hindrances in the acquisition of entrepreneurial skills in science education programmes. Strategies to empower the female pre-service chemistry educators’ acquisition of entrepreneurial skills in science education programmes so as to eradicate poverty and improve national development by being self-reliant were suggested. Based on the findings, recommendations were made which include among others that: entrepreneurial skills should be incorporated into science education curricular and also fund should be provided to the colleges of education by the government to procure facilities and materials for teaching entrepreneurial skills incorporated into science education programmes.
Lessons Learned in Designing and Implementing a Computer-Adaptive Test for English
Authors: Burston Jack , Neophytou Maro
Published: February 2016

This paper describes the lessons learned in designing and implementing a computer-adaptive test (CAT) for English. The early identification of students with weak L2 English proficiency is of critical importance in university settings that have compulsory English language course graduation requirements. The most efficient means of diagnosing the L2 English ability of incoming students is by means of a computer-based test since such evaluation can be administered quickly, automatically corrected, and the outcome known as soon as the test is completed. While the option of using a commercial CAT is available to institutions with the ability to pay substantial annual fees, or the means of passing these expenses on to their students, language instructors without these resources can only avail themselves of the advantages of CAT evaluation by creating their own tests.  As is demonstrated by the E-CAT project described in this paper, this is a viable alternative even for those lacking any computer programing expertise.  However, language teaching experience and testing expertise are critical to such an undertaking, which requires considerable effort and, above all, collaborative teamwork to succeed. A number of practical skills are also required. Firstly, the operation of a CAT authoring programme must be learned. Once this is done, test makers must master the art of creating a question database and assigning difficulty levels to test items. Lastly, if multimedia resources are to be exploited in a CAT, test creators need to be able to locate suitable copyright-free resources and re-edit them as needed.
Impact of iPod Touch-Supported Repeated Reading on the English Oral Reading Fluency of L2 students with Specific Learning Difficulties
Authors: Papadima-Sophocleous Salomi , Charalambous Marina
Published: February 2016

In recent years the use of new technologies has been extensively explored in different aspects of language learning pedagogy. The objective of this research was to investigate the impact Repeated Reading activity, supported by iPod Touch could have on the English Oral Reading Fluency (ORF) of second language university students with Special Learning Difficulties (SpLD) at Cyprus University of Technology. As part of their university courses, students have two compulsory English courses. Due to their SpLD and low level of language competence, the eight participants enrolled in the English programme for students with SpLD. This programme is based on the phonological approach and the research done in methods dealing with dyslexia (Shaywitz et al., 2004). After being introduced to the iPod-supported Repeated Reading activity, students worked independently for 8 weeks. They listened and replicated three recorded texts performed by native speakers, using Voice Memo. Texts were based on specific phonetic rules the students had to master. Students recorded their best performance of each text reading, using DropVox. Curriculum-Based Measurement, adapted by Rasinski (2004), was used to measure students’ automaticity (speed and accuracy), and an adapted version of Zutell and Rasinksi’s (1991) Multidimensional Framework to measure prosodic features of fluency. A phonemic accuracy scale was developed and used to assess students’ performance related to specific phonemes students had difficulty with. Data analysis revealed that the independent out-of-class use of Repeated Reading, supported by iPod Touch technology helped in increasing students’ automaticity, improving their prosodic features of fluency, including that of specific phonemes.
Sensitivity of nitrate aerosols to ammonia emissions and to nitrate chemistry: implications for present and future nitrate optical depth
Authors: Paulot F. , Ginoux P. , Cooke W. F. , Donner L. J. , Fan S. , Lin M.-Y. , Mao J. , Naik V. , Horowitz L. W.
Published: February 2016

Abstract. We update and evaluate the treatment of nitrate aerosols in the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory (GFDL) atmospheric model (AM3). Accounting for the radiative effects of nitrate aerosols generally improves the simulated aerosol optical depth, although nitrate concentrations at the surface are biased high. This bias can be reduced by increasing the deposition of nitrate to account for the near-surface volatilization of ammonium nitrate or by neglecting the heterogeneous production of nitric acid to account for the inhibition of N2O5 reactive uptake at high nitrate concentrations. Globally, uncertainties in these processes can impact the simulated nitrate optical depth by up to 25 %, much more than the impact of uncertainties in the seasonality of ammonia emissions (6 %) or in the uptake of nitric acid on dust (13 %). Our best estimate for fine nitrate optical depth at 550 nm in 2010 is 0.006 (0.005–0.008). In wintertime, nitrate aerosols are simulated to account for over 30 % of the aerosol optical depth over western Europe and North America. Simulated nitrate optical depth increases by less than 30 % (0.0061–0.010) in response to projected changes in anthropogenic emissions from 2010 to 2050 (e.g., −40 % for SO2 and +38 % for ammonia). This increase is primarily driven by greater concentrations of nitrate in the free troposphere, while surface nitrate concentrations decrease in the midlatitudes following lower concentrations of nitric acid. With the projected increase of ammonia emissions, we show that better constraints on the vertical distribution of ammonia (e.g., convective transport and biomass burning injection) and on the sources and sinks of nitric acid (e.g., heterogeneous reaction on dust) are needed to improve estimates of future nitrate optical depth.
Variability in climate and productivity during the Paleocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum in the western Tethys (Forada section)
Authors: Giusberti L. , Boscolo Galazzo F. , Thomas E.
Published: February 2016

Abstract. The Forada section (northeastern Italy) provides a continuous, expanded deep-sea record of the Paleocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM) in the central-western Tethys. We combine a new, high-resolution, benthic foraminiferal assemblage record with published calcareous plankton, mineralogical and biomarker data to document climatic and environmental changes across the PETM, highlighting the benthic foraminiferal extinction event (BEE). The onset of the PETM, occurring  ∼ 30 kyr after a precursor event, is marked by a thin, black, barren clay layer, possibly representing a brief pulse of anoxia and carbonate dissolution. The BEE occurred within the 10 cm interval including this layer. During the first 3.5 kyr of the PETM, several agglutinated recolonizing taxa show rapid species turnover, indicating a highly unstable, CaCO3-corrosive environment. Calcareous taxa reappeared after this interval, and the next  ∼9 kyr were characterized by rapid alternation of peaks in abundance of various calcareous and agglutinated recolonizers. These observations suggest that synergistic stressors, including deepwater CaCO3 corrosiveness, low oxygenation, and high environmental instability caused the extinction. Combined faunal and biomarker data (BIT index, higher plant n-alkane average chain length) and the high abundance of the mineral chlorite suggest that erosion and weathering increased strongly at the onset of the PETM, due to an overall wet climate with invigorated hydrological cycle, which led to storm flood events carrying massive sediment discharge into the Belluno Basin. This interval was followed by the core of the PETM, characterized by four precessionally paced cycles in CaCO3 %, hematite %, δ13C, abundant occurrence of opportunistic benthic foraminiferal taxa, and calcareous nannofossil and planktonic foraminiferal taxa typical of high-productivity environments, radiolarians, and lower δDn-alkanes. We interpret these cycles as reflecting alternation between an overall arid climate, characterized by strong winds and intense upwelling, and an overall humid climate, with abundant rains and high sediment delivery (including refractory organic carbon) from land. Precessionally paced marl–limestone couplets occur throughout the recovery interval of the carbon isotope excursion (CIE) and up to 10 m above it, suggesting that these wet–dry cycles persisted, though at declining intensity, after the peak PETM. Enhanced climate extremes at mid-latitudes might have been a direct response to the massive CO2 input in the ocean atmosphere system at the Paleocene–Eocene transition, and may have had a primary role in restoring the Earth system to steady state.
Advantages of using a fast urban canopy model as compared to a full mesoscale model to simulate the urban heat island of Barcelona
Authors: García-Díez M. , Lauwaet D. , Hooyberghs H. , Ballester J. , De Ridder K. , Rodó X.
Published: February 2016

Abstract. As most of the population lives in urban environments, the simulation of the urban climate has become a key problem in the framework of the climate change impact assessment. However, the high computational power required by these simulations is a severe limitation. Here we present a study on the performance of a Urban Climate Model (UrbClim), designed to be several orders of magnitude faster than a full-fledge mesoscale model. The simulations are validated with station data and with land surface temperature observations retrieved by satellites. To explore the advantages of using a simple model like UrbClim, the results are compared with a simulation carried out with a state-of-the-art mesoscale model, the Weather Research and Forecasting model, using an Urban Canopy model. The effect of using different driving data is explored too, by using both relatively low resolution reanalysis data (70 km) and a higher resolution forecast model (15 km). The results show that, generally, the performance of the simple model is comparable to or better than the mesoscale model. The exception are the winds and the day-to-day correlation in the reanalysis driven run, but these problems disappear when taking the boundary conditions from the higher resolution forecast model.
A representation of the configurations and evolution of metamorphic mechanisms
Authors: Zhang W. , Ding X. , Liu J.
Published: February 2016

Abstract. Metamorphic mechanisms are members of the class of mechanisms that are able to change their configurations sequentially to meet different requirements. The paper introduces a comprehensive symbolic matrix representation for characterizing the topology of one of these mechanisms in a single configuration using general information concerning links and joints. Furthermore, a matrix representation of an original metamorphic mechanism that has the ability to evolve is proposed by uniting the matrices representing all of the mechanism's possible configurations. The representation of metamorphic kinematic joints is developed in accordance with the variation laws of these mechanisms. By introducing the joint variation matrices derived from generalized operations on the related symbolic adjacency matrices, evolutionary relationships between mechanisms in adjacent configurations and the original metmaorphic mechanism are made distinctly. Examples are provided to demonstrate the validation of the method.
Critical analysis of the relations between the velocities of elastic waves and effective anisotropy of ice polycrystals
Authors: Maurel A. , Mercier J.-F. , Montagnat M.
Published: February 2016

Abstract. Sonic logging measurements in ice core boreholes allow for the determination of the velocities of the elastic waves used as a proxy for the variation of ice polycrystal anisotropy due to the texture (or fabric) evolution with depth. This needs an inversion from the velocities deduced from the measured times of flight and the anisotropy of the ice polycrystal where the elastic waves have propagated. A classical model used in glaciology is based on the so-called velocity, or slowness, average method. Namely the elastic velocities in a polycrystal are calculated considering the average of the velocities, or the average of the slownesses, along the ray path from the emitter to the receiver of the logger. There are several pitfalls in this approach and it is the scope of the present paper to illustrate them and to propose a consistent inversion procedure. This is done by deriving the phase velocities in the effective medium obtained by averaging the elastic tensor.
Insects and the city: what island biogeography tells us about insect conservation in urban areas
Authors: Fattorini S.
Published: February 2016

Abstract. Habitat fragmentation caused by urbanization is considered a prominent threat to biodiversity. Urban development creates a mosaic of natural fragments which can be occupied by organisms able to survive in small spaces. These fragments are a set of habitat islands separated by less suitable non-native habitats. Because of their isolation, communities of urban green spaces can be investigated using hypotheses developed in island biogeography. The "equilibrium theory of island biogeography" (ETIB) allows the formulation of some predictions about how various characteristics of green spaces (such as their area, shape, level of isolation, environmental heterogeneity, age) should influence species richness. Many studies found support for ETIB predictions, but results varied considerably according to the species' sensitivity to patch size, matrix characteristics, and history of the city. In some cases ETIB predictions were falsified. These contrasting results warn against making generalizations on conservation strategies only based on ETIB models. On the other hand, the ETIB may represent a useful framework for urban conservation, especially for small animals like insects, if the roles of other factors, such as the surrounding landscape, the specific needs of the species under study, and the history of the urbanization process, are taken into account.
“A Certain Tourelle on London Wall … Was Granted … for Him to Inhabit the Same”: London Anchorites and the City Wall
Authors: Dowding Clare M.
Published: February 2016

In common with many other medieval English towns and cities, London contained a large number of churches in a relatively small area, and as in many other locations, many of these churches hosted hermits and anchorites at various times. However, what has not often been noted is that many of these anchorholds and hermitages were located on or near the enclosing city wall or its gates and that the period during which there was an anchoritic presence somewhere on the boundary of the City of London covered almost 350 years. It can therefore be argued that as well as a ring of stone, throughout the medieval period there was also a ring of prayer surrounding the city and that even those who had not taken formal vows were thus part of an enclosed community.
Rewriting Liminal Geographies: Crusader Sermons, the Katherine Group, and the Scribe of MS Bodley 34
Authors: Kim Dorothy
Published: February 2016

Much of the Katherine Group's critical history has centered on its West Midlands regionalism and dialect. This article disrupts this regional focus to think more internationally. What is this manuscript's place among the more international events and religious trends sweeping continental Europe in relation to the Crusades? This article will focus on crusader sermons and their connection to the Katherine Group in order to reframe the reading of the manuscript. The author evaluates the Katherine Group's participation in international crusading rhetoric and how it performs an imaginative version of “geopiety.” The author also examines the scribal note at St. Juliana's end and how it directly borrows from a popular circulating crusader sermon. This English text is casting itself as part of an international genre fixated on a different geography—the eastern Mediterranean—that highlights the geographic and generic liminality of these texts.
Intersections of Courtly Romance and the Anchoritic Tradition: Chevelere Assigne and Ancrene Wisse
Authors: Chewning Susannah Mary
Published: February 2016

The literature produced during the Middle English period in England is varied and diverse. It is held together, in part, by language, though dialect and regional differences do contribute to the diversity. However, the audience of these works, whether they are secular romances or devotional treatises, would have been similar; in fact, there would have been much overlap. This essay addresses two Middle English works—Chevelere Assigne, a chivalric romance, and Ancrene Wisse, an anchoritic treatise—arguing that there is a great deal more shared by the two works (and genres) than just language. Positing that both works might have been read by the same audience—anchorites pre- and post-enclosure—I will argue that anchoritic texts echo the metaphors and themes of chivalric romance, particularly those associated with maternity, language, and gender. Drawing on the works themselves, shared imagery, and shared representations of motherhood, desire, and the natural world, I will offer an explanation of the shared aspects of these genres as part of the diverse and complex culture of the early Middle Ages.
An Experiment in “Neurohistory”: Reading Emotions in Aelred's De Institutione Inclusarum (Rule for a Recluse)
Authors: Bourke Julia
Published: February 2016

This article is a case study in the methodology of “neurohistory,” combining a traditional cultural historical approach to anchoritic guidance writing with the discipline of modern neuroscience. It focuses on the guide De Institutione Inclusarum (ca. 1160) by the Cistercian Aelred of Rievaulx. The essay begins with an explanation of “devotional reading,” in which texts provide meditative scripts for the reader. Following an overview of the text, one meditation on caritas prescribed by Aelred is examined in detail and compared with the meditations used in modern neuroscientific studies of compassion and empathy. The article then addresses the drawbacks and common criticisms of this methodology, before indicating possible areas of future research.
Cooperation in New Product Development
Authors: Leithold Nick , Haase Heiko , Lautenschläger Arndt
Published: February 2016

This study analyses the drivers and impact of cooperation with external partners in the new product development (NPD) of small technology-based firms (STBFs). The authors used a mixed-method research design, carrying out 49 semi-structured, face-to-face interviews with STBFs in Germany. For data analysis, inter-coder agreement, content analysis, descriptive categorizations and contingency tables using Bayesian probabilities were applied. The authors found that STBFs predominantly cooperated with universities, non-university research institutions or laboratories, other enterprises and public agencies. Resource shortages in NPD were frequent among the STBFs in the study and, when faced with such shortages, STBFs had a higher propensity to cooperate with external partners. More specifically, qualification deficits were the most prominent cooperation driver. Furthermore, cooperation with external partners had a positive influence on the innovation success of STBFs. Several theoretical and practical implications are presented.
Determinants of SME Exporting
Authors: Pickernell David , Jones Paul , Thompson Piers , Packham Gary
Published: February 2016

This study offers insights into determinants of SME exporting according to the characteristics of exporting firms and their resources, thus contributing to a limited literature. The dataset comprised 4,838 respondents from a survey of the UK Federation of Small Businesses. The dependent variable used was two-category (‘do not export’ and ‘export’), allowing a binary logistic multiple regression approach to be used, with separate binomial (logit) regression equations generated for the complete sample and then for different firm age groupings, allowing relationships between exporting and each individual independent variable to be determined whilst holding all other independent variables in the equation constant. The results show that determinants of SME exporting include industry sector, age and the characteristics of the SME owner-manager, along with the firms' available resources, including the human capital of the owner-manager, use of technology and intellectual property. While an innovation focus was consistently found to be positively linked to exporting, a growth focus was not. These results inform both practice and policy, as the exporting activity of SMEs remains closely linked to economic development policy.
An Alternative Format for the Elevator Pitch
Authors: McCollough Michael A. , Devezer Berna , Tanner George
Published: February 2016

The elevator pitch exercise is a staple of most university entrepreneurship programmes. The premise is that someone is in an elevator (lift) with a potential investor and has only the time of the ride to make a pitch and secure a follow-up appointment. In the most typical pitch format, students stand in front of judges and deliver a memorized one- to two-minute proposal. This empirical research examines the strength of a new format for the elevator pitch: the reception format. Data collected from this new format are compared to the traditional one to establish the superiority of the reception format.
Creative Destruction in the Future
Authors: Conway Clifford
Published: February 2016

‘Internet Review’ provides critical commentary on entrepreneurship, small business and innovation information on the Web.
Los 170 años de los Manuscritos económico-filosóficos de Marx
Authors: Editor El
Published: February 2016

No abstract available.  Realidad: Revista de Ciencias Sociales y Humanidades No.140, 2014: 155
Marx no era marxista-leninista
Authors: Ribera Ricardo
Published: February 2016

No abstract available.  Realidad: Revista de Ciencias Sociales y Humanidades No.140, 2014: 185-211
Análisis de “colegios invisibles” en la teología de la liberación: las vinculaciones de Ignacio Ellacuría
Authors: Paredes Héctor Alejandro
Published: February 2016

No abstract available.  Realidad: Revista de Ciencias Sociales y Humanidades No.140, 2014: 247-274
Nietzsche como crítico de la sociedad moderna
Authors: Romero Cuevas José Manuel
Published: February 2016

No abstract available.  Realidad: Revista de Ciencias Sociales y Humanidades No.140, 2014: 275-291
La educación prometida. Retos educativos para el periodo 2014-2019
Authors: Martin Pauline , Antonio Victoria Julián
Published: February 2016

No abstract available.  Realidad: Revista de Ciencias Sociales y Humanidades No.140, 2014: 293-319
Sobre los Cursos Universitarios de Xavier Zubiri
Authors: Samour Héctor
Published: February 2016

No abstract available.Realidad: Revista de Ciencias Sociales y Humanidades No.141, 2014: 339-362
Contribución empírica al debate teórico sobre el origen de la crisis capitalista desde distintas perspectivas
Authors: Gavidia Francisco , Magaña José , Méndez Karla , Montenegro Beatriz
Published: February 2016

No abstract available.Realidad: Revista de Ciencias Sociales y Humanidades No.141, 2014: 399-436
“T. W. Adorno y el jazz: un apagón intelectual”
Authors: Ramón Catalán José
Published: February 2016

No abstract available.
Realidad: Revista de Ciencias Sociales y Humanidades No.141, 2014: 477-490
Radicalización del pensamiento crítico y de la praxis teológico-teologal de Ignacio Ellacuría en 1985-1986
Authors: Alvarado Jorge Luis
Published: February 2016

This paper is intended to show that in 1985 a radical inflexion took place in the critical thinking of Ignacio Ellacuría, which was evident in his essay “Liberating Function of Philosophy”, and that this radicalization is also evident in the acceleration of his public life and in the political crescendo of what he called the “proseguimiento” (following and continuation) of the historical project of Jesus of Nazareth.Realidad: Revista de Ciencias Sociales y Humanidades No.142, 2014: 505-520
Ellacuría y Foucault en los márgenes
Authors: Banazak Gregory A.
Published: February 2016

No abstract available.Realidad: Revista de Ciencias Sociales y Humanidades No.142, 2014: 535-548
Política y economía en la América Latina de hoy
Authors: Villacorta Carmen Elena
Published: February 2016

No abstract available.   Realidad: Revista de Ciencias Sociales y Humanidades No.142, 2014: 549-559
Liberación, desideologización, y derechos humanos, categorías para una apología de la autonomía de las mujeres
Authors: Meléndez Cartagena Mirian Irene
Published: February 2016

No abstract available.Realidad: Revista de Ciencias Sociales y Humanidades No.142, 2014: 577-583
Historización del concepto de Salud Mental desde los aportes de Ignacio Ellacuría
Authors: Chacón Serrano Fernando
Published: February 2016

No abstract available.Realidad: Revista de Ciencias Sociales y Humanidades No.142, 2014: 585-591
El lado europeo de lo maravilloso
Authors: Chavarría Emilio Delgado
Published: February 2016

This essay explores who are the ideal recipients of the literature work of Cuban writer, Alejo Carpentier. Through the analysis of space configuration in his texts, and its links between the aesthetics principles of magic realism, it is concluded that the main recipients are the intellectuals. The essay is a first attempt to study the discourse of Alejo Carpentier, particularly with regard to the kind of audience he is intended that in the essay is named the reader.Realidad: Revista de Ciencias Sociales y Humanidades No.142, 2014: 605-635
Structural insights into the mechanism of activation of the TRPV1 channel by a membrane-bound tarantula toxin
Authors: Bae Chanhyung , Anselmi Claudio , Kalia Jeet , Jara-Oseguera Andres , Schwieters Charles D , Krepkiy Dmitriy , Won Lee Chul , Kim Eun-Hee , Kim Jae Il , Faraldo-Gómez José D , Swartz Kenton J
Published: February 2016

Venom toxins are invaluable tools for exploring the structure and mechanisms of ion channels. Here, we solve the structure of double-knot toxin (DkTx), a tarantula toxin that activates the heat-activated TRPV1 channel. We also provide improved structures of TRPV1 with and without the toxin bound, and investigate the interactions of DkTx with the channel and membranes. We find that DkTx binds to the outer edge of the external pore of TRPV1 in a counterclockwise configuration, using a limited protein-protein interface and inserting hydrophobic residues into the bilayer. We also show that DkTx partitions naturally into membranes, with the two lobes exhibiting opposing energetics for membrane partitioning and channel activation. Finally, we find that the toxin disrupts a cluster of hydrophobic residues behind the selectivity filter that are critical for channel activation. Collectively, our findings reveal a novel mode of toxin-channel recognition that has important implications for the mechanism of thermosensation.
Actual defect observation results of an extreme-ultraviolet blank mask by coherent diffraction imaging
Authors: Harada Tetsuo , Hashimoto Hiraku , Amano Tsuyoshi , Kinoshita Hiroo , Watanabe Takeo
Published: February 2016

Extreme-ultraviolet (EUV) lithography poses a number of challenges, one of which is the production of a defect-free mask. To observe the defects on an EUV mask in a quantitative phase image, we have developed a microcoherent EUV scatterometry microscope. The intensity and phase images of the defects are reconstructed using ptychography. We observe four actual defects on an EUV blank mask using the microscope. The reconstructed shapes of the actual defects correspond well to those measured by atomic force microscopy (AFM). Our microscope should therefore function as an essential review tool in characterizing defects.
Extraction of contact resistance and channel parameters from the electrical characteristics of a single bottom-gate/top-contact organic transistor
Authors: Takagaki Shunsuke , Yamada Hirofumi , Noda Kei
Published: February 2016

A parameter extraction procedure for staggered-type organic field-effect transistors (OFETs), in which only the electrical characteristics of a single device are needed, was newly considered. The existing differential method and the transition voltage method for evaluating contact and channel parameters in OFETs were complementarily combined. The calibration of the total resistance between the source and the drain was also incorporated to compensate discrepancies in the total resistances calculated from output and transfer characteristics, caused by the existence of nonignorable contact resistance and carrier traps. By using our proposed method, gate-voltage-dependent contact resistance and channel mobility in the linear regime were evaluated for bottom-gate/top-contact pentacene thin-film transistors, and the channel-length dependence of these parameters was investigated. A series of results of parameter extraction confirm the validity of our proposed method, which is advantageous in avoiding the influences of characteristic variations that are frequently observed in practical OFET devices.