bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Crystal structure of an HIV assembly and maturation switch
Authors: Wagner Jonathan M , Zadrozny Kaneil K , Chrustowicz Jakub , Purdy Michael D , Yeager Mark , Ganser-Pornillos Barbie K , Pornillos Owen
Published: July 2016

Virus assembly and maturation proceed through the programmed operation of molecular switches, which trigger both local and global structural rearrangements to produce infectious particles. HIV-1 contains an assembly and maturation switch that spans the C-terminal domain (CTD) of the capsid (CA) region and the first spacer peptide (SP1) of the precursor structural protein, Gag. The crystal structure of the CTD-SP1 Gag fragment is a goblet-shaped hexamer in which the cup comprises the CTD and an ensuing type II β-turn, and the stem comprises a 6-helix bundle. The β-turn is critical for immature virus assembly and the 6-helix bundle regulates proteolysis during maturation. This bipartite character explains why the SP1 spacer is a critical element of HIV-1 Gag but is not a universal property of retroviruses. Our results also indicate that HIV-1 maturation inhibitors suppress unfolding of the CA-SP1 junction and thereby delay access of the viral protease to its substrate.
Density functional study for crystalline structures and electronic properties of Si1−
xSnx binary alloys
Authors: Nagae Yuki , Kurosawa Masashi , Shibayama Shigehisa , Araidai Masaaki , Sakashita Mitsuo , Nakatsuka Osamu , Shiraishi Kenji , Zaima Shigeaki
Published: July 2016

We have carried out density functional theory (DFT) calculation for Si1−

x
Sn
x
alloy and investigated the effect of the displacement of Si and Sn atoms with strain relaxation on the lattice constant and E–
k
dispersion. We calculated the formation probabilities for all atomic configurations of Si1−

x
Sn
x
according to the Boltzmann distribution. The average lattice constant and E–
k
dispersion were weighted by the formation probability of each configuration of Si1−

x
Sn
x
. We estimated the displacement of Si and Sn atoms from the initial tetrahedral site in the Si1−

x
Sn
x
unit cell considering structural relaxation under hydrostatic pressure, and we found that the breaking of the degenerated electronic levels of the valence band edge could be caused by the breaking of the tetrahedral symmetry. We also calculated the E–
k
dispersion of the Si1−

x
Sn
x
alloy by the DFT+U method and found that a Sn content above 50% would be required for the indirect–direct transition.
Effects of multi-context information recorded at different regions in holographic polymer-dispersed liquid crystal on optical reconfiguration
Authors: Ogiwara Akifumi , Watanabe Minoru
Published: July 2016

A holographic polymer-dispersed liquid crystal (HPDLC) memory to record multi-context information for an optically reconfigurable gate array is formed by constructing a laser illumination system to implement successive laser exposures at different small regions in a glass cell filled with LC composites. The context pattern arrangements for circuit information are designed in a 3 × 3 in.2 photomask by electron beam lithography, and they are recorded as laser interference patterns at nine regions separated in an HPDLC sample by a laser interferometer composed of movable pinhole and photomask plates placed on motorized stages. The multi-context information reconstructed from the different regions in the HPDLC is written to a photodiode array in a gate-array VLSI by switching only the position of laser irradiation using the displacement of the pinhole plate under the control of a personal computer (PC). The effects of multi-context information recorded at different regions in the HPDLC on optical reconfiguration are discussed in terms of the optical system composed of ORGA VLSI and HPDLC memory. The internal structures in the HPDLC memory formed by multi-context recording are investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) observation, and the configurations composed of LC and polymer phases are revealed at various regions in the HPDLC memory.
Characterization of a biofilm-formingShigella flexneriphenotype due to deficiency in Hep biosynthesis
Authors: Xu Dan , Zhang Wei , Zhang Bing , Liao Chongbing , Shao Yongping
Published: July 2016

Deficiency in biosynthesis of inner core of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) rendered a characteristic biofilm-forming phenotype inE.coli. The pathological implications of this new phenotype inShigella flexneri, a highly contagious enteric Gram-negative bacteria that is closely related toE.coli, were investigated in this study. The ΔrfaC(also referred aswaaC) mutant, with incomplete inner core of LPS due to deficiency in Hep biosynthesis, was characteristic of strong biofilm formation ability and exhibited much more pronounced adhesiveness and invasiveness to human epithelial cells than the parental strain and other LPS mutants, which also showed distinct pattern of F-actin recruitment. Failure to cause keratoconjunctivitis and colonize in the intestine in guinea pigs revealed that the fitness gain on host adhesion resulted from biofilm formation is not sufficient to offset the loss of fitness on survivability caused by LPS deletion. Our study suggests a clear positive relationship between increased surface hydrophobicity and adhesiveness ofShigella flexneri, which should be put into consideration of virulence ofShigella, especially when therapeutic strategy targeting the core oligosaccharide (OS) is considered an alternative to deal with bacterial antibiotics-resistance.
Comparison of buckwheat, red clover, and purple tansy as potential surrogate plants for use in semi-field pesticide risk assessments withBombus impatiens
Authors: Gradish Angela E. , Cutler G. Christopher , Frewin Andrew J. , Scott-Dupree Cynthia D.
Published: July 2016

Background.Bumble bees (Bombusspp.) are important wild and managed pollinators. There is increased interest in incorporating data on bumble bees into risk assessments for pesticides, but standardized methods for assessing hazards of pesticides in semi-field and field settings have not yet been established for bumble bees. During semi-field studies, colonies are caged with pesticide-treated flowering surrogate plants, which must be attractive to foragers to ensure colony exposure to the test compound, and must produce an ample nectar and pollen to sustain colonies during testing. However, it is not known which plant(s) are suitable for use in semi-field studies with bumble bees.

Materials and Methods.We comparedB. impatiensforaging activity and colony development on small plots of flowering buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum, var. common), red clover (Trifolium pratense), and purple tansy (Phacelia tanacetifolia) under semi-field conditions to assess their suitability as surrogate plants for pesticide risk assessment studies with bumble bees. We also compared the growth characteristics and input requirements of each plant type.

Results.All three plant types generally established and grew well. Red clover and purple tansy experienced significant weed pressure and/or insect pest damage. In contrast, pest pressure was extremely low in buckwheat. Overall,B. impatiensforaging activity was significantly greater on buckwheat plots than red clover or purple tansy, but plant type had no effect on number of individuals produced per colony or colony weight.

Discussion.Because of the consistently high foraging activity and successful colony development observed on buckwheat plots, combined with its favourable growth characteristics and low maintenance requirements, we recommend buckwheat as a surrogate plant for use in semi-field pesticide toxicity assessments withB. impatiens.
Los nuevos profesionales de las Ciencias Sociales de la Universidad Católica de Temuco
Authors: Mercado Cerroni Claudia Karina
Published: July 2016

Discurso de despedida pronunciado a nombre de los  nuevos titulados en la Ceremonia de Titulación de la Facultad de Ciencias Sociales de la Universidad Católica de Temuco
 
Claudia Mercado Cerroni
Sábado 28 de marzo 2015
Commentary: Knowledge is power, and power needs knowledge
Authors: Sulkunen Pekka
Published: July 2016

Sulkunen, P. (2016). Commentary: Knowledge is power, and power needs knowledge. The International Journal Of Alcohol And Drug Research, 5(1), 11-12. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.7895/ijadr.v5i1.225In the years 2011–2015 I served on the expert committee of the foundation called ERAB, now a public charity, funded by the Brewers of Europe. Our task was to review grant applications to deliver half a million euros per year to research on alcohol consumption. There was no detectable indication that the proposals were biased to please the brewers, and certainly the decisions were not. However, things changed in 2015, when the Secretary General of the Brewers of Europe requested on behalf of the funders that 40% of the grant money should go to research aiming at “a better understanding of the effects of moderate beer consumption on the behaviour and health of individuals and society.” This was unacceptable to all experts on the committee, and the Chair of the Board of ERAB resigned in protest. After a battle between the Brewers and the expert committee, the formulation laid down was “more research on beer.” I could not accept this either, arguing that any external criteria beyond the quality of the proposals undermined the scientific integrity of the selecting experts.
Sources of funding as an influence on alcohol studies
Authors: Room Robin
Published: July 2016

Room, R. (2016). Sources of funding as an influence on alcohol studies. The International Journal Of Alcohol And Drug Research, 5(1), 15-16. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.7895/ijadr.v5i1.231When I first read Thomas Kuhn’s (1962) seminal work, shortly after its first publication, I was awakened to the historical evidence that even the “hardest” science is a human construction deeply influenced by the social order and the conceptual traditions in which the scientist works. On the other hand, as constructivism took hold in sociology, I realized I was a “soft” constructivist, willing to acknowledge that our conceptual and other constructions face some limits from the physical world and its operating rules (Room, 1984). But in fields like ours, the constraints are quite broad, so that what constitutes alcohol social science—what its research questions are, and how it approaches them—has varied a great deal over the last century or so, and varies considerably among the societies which have been willing to fund such research. I remember discovering that temperance-oriented survey studies, when they turned attention at all beyond the boundary between drinker and abstainer, focused only on frequency of drinking, ignoring amount per occasion (Lindgren, 1973)— a pattern found also in drug war–era drug surveys. What we collect as material for study and what we focus on in analyzing it are deeply influenced by our intellectual and cultural-political heritage and environment.
How should we define, document, and prevent conflicts of interest in alcohol research?
Authors: Babor Thomas F.
Published: July 2016

Babor, T. (2016). How should we define, document, and prevent conflicts of interest in alcohol research?. The International Journal Of Alcohol And Drug Research, 5(1), 5-7. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.7895/ijadr.v5i1.232Aims: Conflicts of interest (COIs) in science and medicine have come under increasing scrutiny in recent years. This article reviews definitions of COI, as well as measures used to document, prevent, and manage COIs.Findings: The positive association between COIs and the outcomes of research has been documented in a substantial body of research covering a variety of fields, including addiction research. Attempts to address COIs include funding declarations, voluntary bans of receipt of industry funding, and ethical analyses.Conclusions: To protect the scientific integrity of the alcohol field from further influence from commercial and other competing interests, reasonable and consistent reporting procedures are needed at a minimum. Direct funding from major transnational alcohol producers involves major reputational and ethical risks that may require more stringent measures by professional societies, university administrators, and journal editors.
O público e o privado na apropriação do espaço na zona costeira da Amazônia brasileira: o caso da Ilha do Atalaia, estado do Pará
Authors: Souza Geisa Bethânia Nogueira de , Rocha Gilberto de Miranda , Vasconcellos Sobrinho Mário
Published: July 2016

O artigo analisa a apropriação do espaço por atores públicos e privados na zona costeira da Amazônia brasileira. De forma particular, o trabalho examina o uso e a apropriação do território que compõe a Ilha do Atalaia, localizada no município de Salinópolis, estado do Pará. Esta ilha concentra uma diversidade de práticas socioespaciais que marcam complexas relações de reprodução espacial desenvolvidas por atores sociais de diferentes interesses e expressão de poder. Metodologicamente, a pesquisa da qual este artigo é derivado foi baseada em análise documental, observação, entrevistas semiestruturadas com atores locais e profissionais especializados e construção de carta-imagem e mapa. O trabalho demonstra que o processo de ocupação sem os devidos cuidados legais repercute em consequências materializadas no uso irregular e privativo do espaço, o que contraria a concepção de uso público das ilhas costeiras.
Degradation of polyurethane coating materials from liquefied wheat straw for controlled release fertilizers
Authors: Lu Panfang , Zhang Yanfei , Jia Cong , Li Yufeng , Zhang Min , Mao Zhiquan
Published: July 2016

Polyurethane (PU) was synthesized by liquefied wheat straw and isocyanates for controlled release fertilizers (CRFs). CRFs coated by PU were buried in soil for 12 months. The degradation degree and mechanism of PU coating materials were observed by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), Atomic Force Microscope (AFM), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and Fourier transform infra‐red spectroscopy (FTIR). Significant microscopic morphology of PU exhibited many small chips or stereovision holes caused by biodegradation or hydrolytic degradation due to the presence of natural polymer wheat straw. AFM results depicted the plane and height topography changes of PU before and after 12 months burial time, showing the swelling morphology of buried PU. TGA and FTIR results confirmed the disintegration of PU polymer due to the presence of isocyanates monomers in the PU12. XPS revealed an accumulation of biofilm on the surface of buried PU, providing the evidence of biodegradation mechanism. Pot experiment indicated the resin residual coating has a positive effect on soil quality. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2016, 133, 44021.
Boronate Affinity–Molecularly Imprinted Biocompatible Probe: An Alternative for Specific Glucose Monitoring
Authors: Chen Guosheng , Qiu Junlang , Fang Xu'an , Xu Jianqiao , Cai Siying , Chen Qing , Liu Yan , Zhu Fang , Ouyang Gangfeng
Published: July 2016

A biocompatible probe for specific glucose recognition is based on photoinitiated boronate affinity–molecular imprinted polymers (BA‐MIPs). The unique pre‐self‐assembly between glucose and boronic acids creates glucose‐specific memory cavities in the BA‐MIPs coating. As a result, the binding constant toward glucose was enhanced by three orders of magnitude. The BA‐MIPs probe was applied to glucose determination in serum and urine and implanted into plant tissues for low‐destructive and long‐term in vivo continuous glucose monitoring.
An energy‐aware virtual machine scheduling method for service QoS enhancement in clouds over big data
Authors: Dou Wanchun , Xu Xiaolong , Meng Shunmei , Zhang Xuyun , Hu Chunhua , Yu Shui , Yang Jian
Published: July 2016

Because of the strong demands of physical resources of big data, it is an effective and efficient way to store and process big data in clouds, as cloud computing allows on‐demand resource provisioning. With the increasing requirements for the resources provisioned by cloud platforms, the Quality of Service (QoS) of cloud services for big data management is becoming significantly important. Big data has the character of sparseness, which leads to frequent data accessing and processing, and thereby causes huge amount of energy consumption. Energy cost plays a key role in determining the price of a service and should be treated as a first‐class citizen as other QoS metrics, because energy saving services can achieve cheaper service prices and environmentally friendly solutions. However, it is still a challenge to efficiently schedule Virtual Machines (VMs) for service QoS enhancement in an energy‐aware manner. In this paper, we propose an energy‐aware dynamic VM scheduling method for QoS enhancement in clouds over big data to address the above challenge. Specifically, the method consists of two main VM migration phases where computation tasks are migrated to servers with lower energy consumption or higher performance to reduce service prices and execution time. Extensive experimental evaluation demonstrates the effectiveness and efficiency of our method. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
An Embodiment Perspective on Number–Space Mapping in 3.5‐Year‐Old Dutch Children
Authors: van 't Noordende Jaccoline E. , Volman M(Chiel). J. M. , Leseman Paul P. M. , Kroesbergen Evelyn H.
Published: July 2016

Previous research suggests that block adding, subtracting and counting direction are early forms of number–space mapping. In this study, an embodiment perspective on these skills was taken. Embodiment theory assumes that cognition emerges through sensory–motor interaction with the environment. In line with this assumption, it was investigated if counting and adding/subtracting direction in young children is related to the hand they use during task performance. Forty‐eight 3.5‐year‐old children completed a block adding, subtracting and counting task. They had to add and remove a block from a row of three blocks and count a row of five blocks. Adding, subtracting and counting direction were related to the hand the children used for task performance. Most children who used their right hand added, removed and started counting the blocks at the right side of the row. Most children who used their left hand added, removed and started counting the blocks at the left side of the row. It can be concluded that number–space mapping, as measured by direction of adding, subtracting and counting blocks, in young children is embodied: It is not fixed, but is related to the situation. © 2016 The Authors Infant and Child Development Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
On the treatments of heterogeneities and periodic boundary conditions for isogeometric homogenization analysis
Authors: Matsubara Seishiro , Nishi Shin‐Nosuke , Terada Kenjiro
Published: July 2016

The treatments of heterogeneities and periodic boundary conditions are explored to properly perform isogeometric analysis (IGA) based on NURBS basis functions in solving homogenization problems for heterogeneous media with omni‐directional periodicity and composite plates with in‐plane periodicity. Because the treatment of the combination of different materials in IGA models is not trivial especially for periodicity constraints, the first priority is to clearly specify points at issue in the numerical modeling, or equivalently mesh generation, for IG homogenization analysis (IGHA). The most awkward, but important issue is how to generate patches for NURBS representation of the geometry of a rectangular parallelepiped unit cell to realize appropriate deformations in consideration of the convex‐hull property of IGA. The issue arises from the introduction of overlapped control points located at angular points in the heterogeneous unit cell, which must satisfy multiple point constraint (MPC) conditions associated with periodic boundary conditions (PBCs). Although two measures may be conceivable, we suggest the use of multiple patches along with double MPC that imposes PBCs and the continuity conditions between different patches simultaneously. Several numerical examples of numerical material and plate tests are presented to demonstrate the validity of the proposed strategy of IG modeling for IGHA. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Atmospheric Pressure Radio‐Frequency DBD Deposition of Dense Silicon Dioxide Thin Film
Authors: Bazinette Rémy , Paillol Jean , Lelièvre Jean‐François , Massines Françoise
Published: July 2016

Radio‐frequency (RF) homogeneous dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) is compared to low frequency glow DBD to make silicon oxide from Ar/NH3/SiH4. RF‐DBD is a more powerful discharge, and the growth rate is not limited by precursor dissociation rate but by powder formation. Powders are not deposited in the plasma zone but in the post‐discharge due to their trapping by the electric field. Modulation of the RF‐DBD is a useful solution to avoid powder formation. Powders are systematically avoided if the plasma energy during time on stays below 750 µJ. RF‐DBD modulation also increases the growth rate twofold compare to continuous RF. The optimum growth rate without powder corresponds to a short Ton to limit precursor dissociation, a long Toff to enhance diffusion and a fast repeat frequency to increase deposition rate.
Grin and Bear It?: Employees' Use of Surface Acting During Co‐worker Conflict
Authors: Nixon Ashley E. , Bruk‐Lee Valentina , Spector Paul E.
Published: July 2016

Using survey data from 459 employed individuals, the conditional indirect effects of three types of interpersonal conflict at work on strains and performance through surface acting were tested. Results indicated that task, relationship and non‐task organizational conflict were positively related to depressive and physical symptoms and negatively related to performance. Task conflict had a significantly weaker association with employee outcomes than either relationship or non‐task organizational conflict. Surface acting negatively related to all types of conflict, although it had a weaker association with relationship conflict than task or non‐task organizational conflict. Support was found for moderated mediation relationships whereby surface acting mediated the associations between all types of conflict with depressive symptoms, as well as the association between relationship and non‐task organizational conflict with physical symptoms, when conflict was infrequent. Surface acting also mediated the associations between all types of conflict and performance when conflict was frequent. Future research directions are discussed that can advance our theoretical understanding of how emotional labour and interpersonal conflict interact to affect employees, as well as further our ability to improve employee well‐being and organizational functioning. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Be going to and will: talking about the future using embodied experience
Authors: TYLER ANDREA , JAN HANA
Published: July 2016

abstract

English speakers expressing futurity have the choice of two primary verb forms, will or be going to (BGT). Previous studies establish that BGT has multiple meanings not associated with will. Langacker (1987) rejected a metaphoric analysis of BGT (time is motion) as inadequate and offered a binary feature analysis. Brisard (2001) expanded on this analysis and argued that manipulating the configurations of binary features explains the semantic differences between will and BGT. However, Brisard’s analysis overlooks the semantic overlap among will, BGT, and the simple present. Moreover, it does not provide a framework that treats will and BGT as part of the larger English modal verb system. Finally, it lacks a persuasive explanation of how the meanings associated with will versus BGT arose. We address these gaps by proposing a polysemy-based explanation that emphasizes invited inferences (e.g., Bybee, Perkins, & Pagliuca, 1994) and embodied experience; a particularly novel aspect of the analysis is that all the meanings of BGT are related straightforwardly to components of the human walk cycle. Further, we argue that the shared future meaning of will and BGT represent inter-lexical polysemy (Evans, 2015b), thus providing additional evidence for the Theory of Lexical Concepts and Cognitive Models (LCCM).
Genetic variation and combining abilities for vigour and yield in a recurrent selection programme for cacao
Authors: PADI F. K. , OFORI A. , ARTHUR A.
Published: July 2016

The low genetic diversity of cacao germplasm collections in West Africa is often cited as a limitation to further yield improvement of the crop in its major production countries. Twelve clones obtained from first cycle selection for yield and clones available in international genebanks were tested for their combining ability for key agronomic traits by using these as males in crosses with five female clones available in the Seed Gardens in Ghana. Progenies obtained from a North Carolina II (NC II) mating design and standard varieties were planted at two sites that contrast in terms of soil fertility, rainfall total and distribution. Fifty-eight progenies obtained from the 5 × 12 incomplete NC II mating design and six other progenies, of which two were standard varieties, were evaluated at the more favourable location. At the less favourable location, 44 progenies of the NC II mating design and 20 other progenies, including the two standard varieties, were planted. A randomized complete block design with four replications was used at both locations. Progenies with PA 7 as female parent had better seedling survival at the location with poorer production conditions. Low levels of genetic diversity among female clones at 86 single nucleotide polymorphism loci was reflected in larger standard errors for the additive variance due to female parents relative to that due to male parents. Non-additive genetic effects were much larger than the corresponding additive variance components for all traits at each of the two locations. Average yields over the fourth and fifth years after planting ranged from 0·23 to 1·29 t/ha/year. The standard varieties were not among the best progenies for seedling vigour, yield or yield efficiency (yield per unit trunk cross-sectional area (TCSA) per year). Narrow-sense heritability estimates were higher for three estimates of tree vigour (estimated as increase in TCSA) than for yield traits. Heritability for yield efficiency was a moderate ofh2= 0·5 ± 0·23. The study indicates that further yield increments are attainable by selecting and crossing among the early cacao introductions into West Africa.
Austria, the Writing of History, and the Search for European Identity
Authors: Geary Patrick J.
Published: July 2016

In his address to the International Author's Congress held in Paris in 1935, Robert Musil—who claimed to have always held himself back from politics because, in his words, like hygiene, he had no talent for it—attempted to describe the problem of being an Austrian writer. A German author, he suggested, is unproblematically German in his writings. But an Austrian writer, he said, was in a more problematic situation. “My Austrian homeland expects from its poets that they be more or less poets of the Austrian homeland, and there are the creators of cultural history who make of show of demonstrating that an Austrian poet has always been something other as a German one.” It is perhaps the fate of Austria to have a surfeit of Kulturgeschichtskonstrukteure, of intellectuals who feel a need to build a cultural history of Austria and to project it into a distant past, and this largely in the face of the overwhelming reality that a unified cultural history of Austria is impossible, unlike, some might think, that of ancient nations such as Germany, France, or Italy.
The Austrian Empire, German Nationalism, and the Rhine Crisis of 1840
Authors: Šedivý Miroslav
Published: July 2016

The Rhine Crisis of 1840 has traditionally been understood as an important moment in the rise of German nationalism, when France's appeals for conquests on the Rhine were answered by the Germans in a negative way, surprising in its strength and extent. The defense of this “most German river” united people from various parts of the German Confederation as well as the various social classes, and support for the defense of the Rhine became a matter of national duty and honor. According to widespread opinion still shared by the majority of historians, the Rhine Crisis (Rheinkrise) was a national experience of crucial importance that transformed German nationalism into a mass and more aggressive movement.
Austrian Festival Missions after 1918: The Vienna Music Festival and the Long Shadow of Salzburg
Authors: Burri Michael
Published: July 2016

Rising from the ruins of a post-1918 Austria shed of its monarchical leadership and much of its former territory, the Salzburg Festival acquired a symbolic authority during the First Austrian Republic that continues to ensure its privileged place in Austrian politics and culture to this day. At the core of this privileged place are two signature legacies that, while grounded in the festival's prewar history, fortified a particular agenda of the Second Austrian Republic in defining Austrian history and national identity in the decades following World War II. The first, as expressed in 1919 by the festival's most articulate cofounder, Hugo von Hofmannsthal, is that with its Salzburg setting, the festival should be understood as situated in the “heart of the heart of Europe,” a place where the antitheses of Central European geography (German and Slavic, German and Italian), social class (commoner and elite), and aesthetic genre (dramatic theater and opera) encounter one another only to be dissolved through transcendence in an “organic unity.”
From Potemkin Village to the Estrangement of Vision: Baroque Culture and Modernity in Austria before and after 1918
Authors: Rampley Matthew
Published: July 2016

The artistic and cultural life of Austria after World War I has often been presented in a gloomy light. As one contributor to a recent multivolume history of Austrian art commented, “the era between the two world wars is for long periods a time of indecision and fragmentation, of stagnation and loss of orientation … the 20 years of the First Republic of 1918–1938 did not provide a unified or convincing image.” For many this sense of disorientation and stagnation is symbolized poignantly by the deaths in 1918 of three leading creative figures of the modern period, Otto Wagner, Gustav Klimt, and Egon Schiele, two of whom succumbed to the influenza epidemic of that year. According to this view, war not only led to the collapse of the Habsburg monarchy (and a dramatic political caesura), it also caused or, at the very least coincided with, a profound interruption to artistic life and brought Vienna's cultural preeminence in central Europe to an end. The inhabitants of the newly constituted Austrian Republic were forced to contend with significant challenges as to how they might relate to the recent past. On the one hand, some—including, most famously, Stefan Zweig—sought refuge in a twilight world of nostalgic memory; others, such as Adolf Loos, used the events of 1918 as the opportunity to advance a distinctively modernist agenda that sought to create maximum distance from the Habsburg monarchy.
Quasi-alternating links with small determinant
Authors: LIDMAN TYE , SIVEK STEVEN
Published: July 2016

Quasi-alternating links of determinant 1, 2, 3 and 5 were previously classified by Greene and Teragaito, who showed that the only such links are two-bridge. In this paper, we extend this result by showing that all quasi-alternating links of determinant at most 7 are connected sums of two-bridge links, which is optimal since there are quasi-alternating links not of this form for all larger determinants. We achieve this by studying their branched double covers and characterising distance-one surgeries between lens spaces of small order, leading to a classification of formal L-spaces with order at most 7.
Changes in carbon storage with land management promoted by payment for ecosystem services
Authors: BREMER LEAH L. , FARLEY KATHLEEN A. , CHADWICK OLIVER A. , HARDEN CAROL P.
Published: July 2016

Andean grasslands (páramos) are highly valued for their role in regional water supply as well as for their biodiversity and large soil carbon stocks. Several Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES) programmes promote either afforestation or alteration of traditional burning regimes under the assumption that these land management strategies will maximize páramo ecosystem services, including carbon storage. However, knowledge of the effects of incentivized land uses is limited. In an evaluation of how afforestation and elimination of burning affect carbon storage at a site in southern Ecuador, we found the highest above-ground biomass carbon levels at afforested sites (99.3–122.0 t C ha−1), while grassland sites reached 23.9 t C ha−1after 45 years of burn exclusion. Soil carbon storage from 0–20 cm was high across all sites (172.8–201.9 t C ha−1), but was significantly lower with afforestation than with burn exclusion. These findings suggest that, although afforestation is generally favoured when carbon is the primary ecosystem service of interest, grasslands with infrequent burning have important potential as a land management strategy when both above-ground biomass and soil carbon are considered. These results are relevant to the development and adaptation of PES programmes focused on carbon as well as those focused on multiple ecosystem services.
Analytical Expressions of risks Involved in General Insurance
Authors: Philipson C.
Published: July 2016

The following comments on the papers written in English, French and German under Subject IVA and published in Trans. XVth. International Congress of Actuaries 1957, formed the basis of an address by Mr. C. Philipson, Sweden, on Thursday 17th October, to the members of Astin in New York.

Let sn be the maximum value of si and tn the minimum value of the angular coefficient of the straight line connecting the point (si, Ai) with point (1, 1), when i takes the values 1, 2 … n and the point (si, Ai) is taken to mean the vertex of the convex curve representing the generating function of the ith favourable risk. In a portfolio of m + n independent risks—where m are unfavourable and n favourable—Franckx finds that the superior limit of the probability that the aggregate amount of claims shall not exceed k can be written

, where Im is taken to mean the product of the generating functions for the m unfavourable risks.

Speaking of the theory of risk as first given by Filip Lundberg and developed by Cramér and the Scandinavian School he writes:

“Cela n'empêche qu'il y a encore un monde entre la théorie et la pratique et que les actuaires n'auront la partie gagnée que dans la mesure ou leurs travaux seront suffissamment simples que pour qu'ils soient et compréhensibles et directement utilisables”.
Recherches sur les gros sinistres en R. C. Automobile France 1948–1955
Authors: Depoid P. , Duchez E.
Published: July 2016

Il a été créé en France, en 1948, dans le cadre de l'Association Générale des Sociétés d'Assurances contre les Accidents, un pool dénommé „Section de Réassurance Mutuelle” ayant pour objet la réassurance en mutualité, en excédent de sinistres, des risques de Responsabilité Civile Automobile, de Responsabilité Civile Générale et d'Accidents du Travail.

Le seuil au dela duquel les sinistres ont été répartis en mutualité a été:

Etaient réassurés par la Section tous les sinistres survenus en France, Afrique du Nord, Union Française et Belgique, mais la part relative aux risques assurés hors de la France métropolitaine était faible.

Nous n'avons tenu compte dans la présente étude que des sinistres de Responsabilité Civile Automobile supérieurs à:

L'adhésion à ce pool était libre. A titre d'indication le tableau ci-après donne par année les encaissements globaux en France et Algérie de toutes les Sociétés d'Assurances pratiquant l'Assurance Automobile. (Rapport annuel de la Direction des Assurances) et le montant des primes Auto et R.C. diverses ayant servi de base au calcul de la cotisation des Sociétés adhérentes à la Section de Réassurance Mutuelle.
A practical application of credibility to experience rating plans for hospitalization and medical-surgical insurance
Authors: Kormes Mark
Published: July 2016

This paper describes a rather simple application of credibility which was used to develop experience rating plans for Blue Cross and Blue Shield organizations in the United States. These are non-profit corporations which provide prepaid coverage for the cost of hospitalization and medical-surgical care. The benefits are in many instances full service benefits so that there is no additional cost to the subscribing member.

While coverage is being granted to individual applicants, the bulk of the unterwriting is composed of groups, that is employees of a given commercial entity. Since the plans are voluntary and, in many instances, the employer either acts only as collecting agent for his employees or else pays only a fraction of the premium, certain minimum participation percentages have been established to prevent anti-selection.

Because of the competion of Insurance Companies which have concentrated their efforts on larger and more profitable groups (especially those where the employer pays all of the premiums) it was early recognized that a uniform or “community” rate will result in a gradual loss of groups with good experience thereby requiring substantial increases in the average rates. The original program of experience rating which the author has developed for the Massachusetts Blue Cross in 1949 has been since adopted “mutatis mutandis” by a number of other Blue Cross and Blue Shield organizations.
Panorama 1970 des assurances de Roumanie Particularites et tendances
Authors: Cosmoiu Aurel
Published: July 2016

Lorsque le secrétaire du Comité d'organisation du IXe colloque „ASTIN” — Randers 1970 — le Dr. Paul Johansen, a pris l'initiative d'inviter, dès septembre 1969, les participants roumains aux travaux du VIIIe colloque „ASTIN” de Sopot, de présenter à Randers „un rapport sur le système national d'assurances”, la manière même dont il en a suggéré le thème prouve qu'il avait nettement conscience qu'une simple présentation des assurances pour les personnes, les biens et la responsabilité civile d'un pays serait insuffisamment éloquente si toutes ces assurances n'étaient englobées dans un cadre plus vaste, autrement dit si elles n'étaient pas rendues vivantes dans l'ensemble général des formes que l'idée d'assurance adopte au sein de la vie de la société respective. On sait que, déjà au XIXe siècle, du tronc plus ancien des assurances individuelles, se sont détachées les assurances sociales qui, en se développant vertigineusement, ont obtenu de longue date un statut et un profil propres, tout en acquérant entre temps la prépondérance en matière d'assurances pour les personnes et en conditionnant de manière décisive ce secteur des assurances.

Ce n'est qu'en présentant les assurances dans ce vaste cadre que l'on peut avoir une image adéquate de la manière dont les assurances sont utilisées afin de protéger les habitants d'un pays.

Par ailleurs, la présentation du champ tout entier d'action de l'idée d'assurance est également exigée par un intérêt scientifique. Car ce n'est que dans une semblable vaste perspective que l'on peut élucider de manière satisfaisante des processus déjà consommés, des processus en cours, ainsi que la tendance au renouvellement qui se manifeste au sein de l'évolution des assurances.

Etant donné, d'ailleurs, les conditions existant en Roumanie, même si nous voulions procéder à une présentation exclusive des assurances individuelles, cette tentative rencontrerait de graves difficultés et ne pourrait aboutir sans de substantielles amputations.
The Negative Exponential Distribution and Average Excess Claim Size
Authors: Taylor G. C.
Published: July 2016

Consider a claim size distribution with complementary d.f. H(.). Let E(x) denote the average claim payment under a policy subject to this claim size d.f. but with a deductible of x. That is

where E is the expectation operator and X is the random variable claim size before application of the excess.

It is well-known—see Benktander and Segerdahl (1960, p. 630)—that:

It was shown by them that E(x) is a constant for all x ≥ o if and only if the claim size d.f. is negative exponential:

This property of the negative exponential distribution is closely related to the fact that it is the only distribution with constant failure rate. See Kaufmann (1969, pp. 20-22).

The constancy of average excess claim size with varying deductible can be useful in practice. For example, if the distribution of motor vehicle (property damage) claim sizes can be assumed roughly exponential, which will often be reasonable, then a variation in the deductible will not induce any variation in the average size of claims paid by the insurer, i.e. after application of the deductible. This will be a particularly useful piece of information if for example one is examining trends in average claim size over a period during which a change in deductible occurred.
Early Models Describing the Fire Insurance Risk
Authors: Johansen Paul
Published: July 2016

It has been known for generations that the fire risk rate increases with the size of the insured object in a similar way as the death rate increases with the age.

Professor d'Addario and other Italian mathematicians have shown that statistical data often can be graduated by the formulas where S denotes the sum insured:

In 1940, d'Addario) in a practical case found the values α = 0.78, β = 0.44. In 1956, Blandin and Depoid have used the same formulas. Although these formulas in practical cases often lead to good approximations, one can hardly say that a proper mathematical or physical model describing the behaviour of fires lies behind.

About 1950, I worked with the statistics of a group of Danish fire insurance companies, in particular covering farm buildings. This investigation was organized by Gunnar Benktander. Our data confirmed the increase of the fire risk rate with the size of the buildings.

In one special group: Farm houses with thatched roofs, this increase was so important that the risk premium was approximately proportionate to the square of the sum insured. The statistics fully justified the tariffing and we tried to construct a model describing and explaining the observed facts.

The risk group in question was characterized by the overwhelming importance of total or practically total losses. Only a few per cent of the damages went to minor fires. When a fire breaks out in such a building, and reaches a certain slight extent, then it is not possible to save the building from total destruction. With sufficient approximation, we may say that only total losses occur (as in life assurance).
Considérations sur les Modèles d'Avant Projet Pour Classes de Tarif
Authors: Franckx Ed.
Published: July 2016

L'assurance est un jeu. Le rôle principal de l'actuaire est d'aider l'assureur à „trouver son adversaire”. En assurance-vie, le risque est défini par la table de mortalité et l'assuré est trouvé quant il déclare son âge et son état de santé. En assurance non life, la question n'est pas aussi simple. Mais la pratique commerciale a introduit la notion de classe du tarif. Les risques qui appartiennent à une classe de tarif n'appartiennent pas à une classe homogène, mais les conséquences d'un sinistre sont comparables au sens du calcul des probalités. La valeur moyenne d'un sinistre résultant de la classe de tarif est statistiquement stable. Ce qui fondamentalement a garanti le fonctionnement de l'assurance non life est l'application de la loi des grands nombres. La régularité statistique sera toujours l'élément de classement et de décision. Nous considérons donc la classe de tarif comme étant l'élément primaire du risk-business, même si la valeur moyenne d'un sinistre varie dans le temps.

Etablir un modèle est toujours une approximation plus au moins bien réussie de la réalité. Le problème de la représentation d'un risque couvert par un contrat d'assurance ou un ensemble de contrats (réassurance) est un problème théorique. Autre chose est le problème de l'efficacité c'est-à-dire la possibilité d'effectuer des calculs pratiques. Le modèle gaussien de la loi des erreurs de mesure n'est pas théoriquement exact, mais il permet les calculs de compensation. Le modèle de Dodson en assurance-vie est une première approximation de la réalité mais il permet à l'actuaire d'effectuer ses tarifications.
Optimal Reinsurance and Dividend Payment Strategies
Authors: Pechlivanides Pantelis M.
Published: July 2016

This paper presents a normative model for the sequential reinsurance and dividend-payment problem of the Insurance Company (I.C.). Optimal strategies are found in closed form for a class of utility functions. In some sense the model studied can be viewed as an adaptation of Hakansson's investment-consumption model of the individual [3] or a generalization of Frisque's model for the dynamic management of an I.C. [2].

In Section 2 the model is formulated as a discrete time dynamic programming problem. The objective of the I.C. is assumed to be maximization of the expected utility of the dividend streams paid to stock/policy-holders (s/p-holders). The initial reserves level is assumed to be known. The premiums to be collected in each period for selling policies are known in advance. The losses due to claims from policy-holders are random variables independent from period to period. In each period the I.C. must decide on the portion of the reserves to be paid as dividends and on the form and level of reinsurance with a reinsurer that quotes prices for any contract.

Optimal strategies in closed form are found in Section 3 when the utility function of the I.C. is given by the discounted sum of one-period utilities of dividends; and when the one-period utilities belong to the linear risk-tolerance class, which is given by: (la) u(x) = (ax + b)c+1/a(c + 1); ax + b > o, ac < o. (Ib) u(x) = log(ax + b); ax + b > o. (II) u(x) = — eγx; γ > o.
On a Form of Automobile Liability Insurance with a Prepaid Discount
Authors: Ottaviani Riccardo
Published: July 2016

Recently two types of insurance policy covering automobile liability have become available. With this kind of policy, the insured party receives a prepaid discount on the annual premium; however, he must make an additional payment to the insurer on first report of an accident.

We shall examine only one of these two types of policy, since the second is very similar to the first.

On stipulation of the contract, the insured party pays a premium equal to 78 percent of that currently in force for complete coverage, depending on the various limits. However, at the same time at which the insured reports his first accident in the course of the year (and only in this case), he must make an additional payment equal to 35 percent of the premium due in the case of complete coverage. This additional payment, considered as a deposit, is repaid to the insured party if the accident has no follow up within four months; however, it may be requested again by the insurer if the case is subsequently reopened and leads to payment of damages. This additional payment will thus become a part of the premium only in the case of payment of damages for the first accident reported.

In this way, the premium paid by the insured is equal to 78 percent or to 113 percent of the current premium, depending on whether or not the insured reports accidents.