bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A contemporary medicolegal analysis of perioperative vision loss from 2007 to 2016
Authors: Du Amy , Saba Ramsey , Brovman Ethan Y. , Greenberg Penny , Urman Richard D.
Published: October 2019

Introduction

Perioperative vision loss (POVL) is a rare but catastrophic event. Closed claim databases are useful for investigating risk factors of POVL to help guide practices in risk mitigation and risk management strategies.

Methods

We retrospectively analyzed the Controlled Risk Insurance Company (CRICO) Comparative Benchmarking System database for perioperative nerve injuries from when claims were closed between 2007 and 2016. We then extracted, deidentified, and analyzed all the POVL cases.

Results

Of 53 nerve injury claims closed between 2007 and 2016, we found 9 pertaining to POVL. Of these 9 cases, 100% resulted in permanent injury, 76% were associated with spine surgery, 89% of the patients were positioned prone intraoperatively, 67% were noted to have improper or missing documentation, and 56% of the patients claimed they were not informed of the risk of vision loss during preoperative consenting. Four of the 9 cases were settled, with a mean settlement amount of $906,250 (standard deviation, ± $745,647).

Conclusions

POVL often results in permanent injury with costly burden on the health care system. Risk reduction strategies need to be instituted on the provider and system level, involving a multidisciplinary health care team to develop and execute clinical protocols and patient communication strategies that will help prevent POVL.
Wildfire burnt area patterns and trends in Western Mediterranean Europe via the application of a concentration index
Authors: Royé Dominic , Tedim Fantina , Martin‐Vide Javier , Salis Michele , Vendrell Jordi , Lovreglio Raffaella , Bouillon Christophe , Leone Vittorio
Published: October 2019

The most widely used metrics to characterize wildfire regime and estimate the impact of wildfires are total burnt area (BA) and the number of fire events (FE). However, these are insufficient to analyse the threat to society of a new fire regime characterized by a higher occurrence of very large events. To overcome this weakness, we propose the use of a Concentration Index (CIB) which makes it possible to identify spatio‐temporal patterns. The frequency distribution of BA follows a negative exponential distribution almost everywhere, in which a small minority of FE is responsible of the majority of BA. In this article, the spatio‐temporal behaviour of BA is analysed in Western Mediterranean Europe, with particular focus on Portugal, Spain, France and Italy, using data from the European Forest Fire Information System and national wildfire databases. This is the first time that the CI has been applied to wildfire events. This research shows that, in most Mediterranean European countries, the amount of BA is increasingly related with a lower number of fires. The spatio‐temporal distribution of CIBshows high variability in all of the countries analysed in Europe. Portugal and Spain show increasing significant trends of CIB+ 7.6% (p‐value = 0.001) and + 1.3% per decade (p‐value = 0.003). Statistically significant correlations for Portugal, Spain and Italy are also found between the annual CIBand several teleconnection indices. The application of the CIBdemonstrates its discriminatory ability, which is a key point in detecting vulnerable areas and temporal trends under climate change.
Fillers as Heaters for Photothermal Polymerization upon NIR Light
Authors: Bonardi Aude heloise , Bonardi Fabrice , Dumur Frédéric , Gigmes Didier , Fouassier Jean Pierre , Lalevée Jacques
Published: October 2019

Photo‐induced thermal polymerization upon near‐infrared (NIR) light irradiation has been reported in the literature. In this approach, a component able to convert the NIR light into heat must be used in combination with a thermal initiator to initiate the free‐radical polymerization of (meth)acrylates. In recent studies, some absorbers have been presented as very efficient heat generators (called heaters). In the present work, different fillers are investigated as heaters and compared to organic NIR absorbers. An alkoxyamine (e.g., BlocBuilder‐MA) is used as thermal initiator and is dissociated by the heat generated by the NIR photoexcitation of the fillers. In the present work, several fillers are examined: graphene oxide, graphene nanoplatelets, multi‐walled carbon nanotubes, and silicon carbide. Due to the energy of the photon delivered, NIR light curing is challenging but offers several advantages compared to visible light. The most interesting feature is the deeper penetration of the light inside the photocurable resin, enabling the polymerization of thick samples. Parallel to this, incorporation of fillers in resins allows unique access to composites through photothermal polymerization of (meth)acrylates. Three different wavelengths of irradiation have been studied: 785, 940, and 1064 nm.
A 60‐GHz variable gain amplifier with low phase and OP1dB variation
Authors: Byeon Chul Woo , Park Chul Soon
Published: October 2019

This article presents a 60 GHz variable gain amplifier (VGA) with a low phase and output 1‐dB gain compression point (OP1dB) variation for phased‐array applications. The VGA employs a two‐stage modified current‐steering cascode. Implemented in 0.18‐μm SiGe BiCMOS technology, the VGA has a gain control range of 20.4 dB with a maximum gain of 17.7 dB at 60 GHz. The OP1dB variation is only 2.3 dB for all gain states at 60 GHz with a DC power consumption of 50 mW, and the measured phase variation is less than 4.8° at 57 to 66 GHz.
Radar‐based climatology of damaging hailstorms in Brisbane and Sydney, Australia
Authors: Warren Robert A. , Ramsay Hamish A. , Siems Steven T. , Manton Michael J. , Peter Justin R. , Protat Alain , Pillalamarri Anu
Published: October 2019

Severe hailstorms represent some of Australia's most costly natural disasters. In particular, the densely populated east‐coast cities of Brisbane and Sydney have both been impacted by events that individually produced over AU$1 billion in insured losses. In this study, the frequency of damaging hailstorms in these regions is assessed over an eight‐year period using single‐polarisation radar observations. Reflectivity data from multiple radars are carefully calibrated and merged to produce daily grids of MESH (the maximum expected size of hail) at 1 km spatial resolution. Neighbourhood contingency tables are then used to define an optimal MESH threshold for identifying damaging hail events. This analysis makes use of a unique insurance dataset, comprising building‐scale exposure and claim data over a multi‐year period. Overall, damaging hailstorms occur on an average of 26 and 32 days per year in the Brisbane and Sydney regions, respectively. The actual cities of Brisbane and Sydney both experience about five damaging hailstorms annually. In both regions, the highest hail frequencies occur along the coastal slopes of the Great Dividing Range, with more localised maxima highlighting the potential role of mesoscale circulations in storm initiation and intensification. For Brisbane, the seasonal cycle shows a pronounced peak in December, while in Sydney hail frequencies are high throughout the warm season (November–March). This difference reflects the distinct seasonal cycles of convective instability in the two regions. Consistent with previous studies, the combination of CAPE and deep‐layer shear is found to provide reasonable discrimination of environments conducive to severe hailstorms.
A Facile Microwave Assisted TEMPO/NaOCl/Oxone (KHSO5) Mediated Micron Cellulose Oxidation Procedure: Preparation of Two Nano TEMPO‐Cellulose Forms
Authors: Dachavaram Soma Shekar , Moore John P. , Bommagani Shobanbabu , Penthala Narsimha R. , Calahan Julie L. , Delaney Sean P. , Munson Eric J. , Batta‐Mpouma Joseph , Kim Jin‐Woo , Hestekin Jamie A. , Crooks Peter A.
Published: October 2019

An efficient and rapid method is established for micron cellulose (1, 20 microns) oxidation utilizing Oxone (KHSO5) in combination with 2,2,6,6‐tetramethylpiperidinyl‐1‐oxyl (TEMPO) and NaOCl in aqueous NaHCO3 solution (pH 7.5 to 8.5) under microwave irradiation. This method affords two different forms of nano TEMPO‐cellulose, that is, a water‐insoluble form (Form‐I, 14 nm) and a water‐soluble form (Form‐II, 8 nm). Cellulose oxidation utilizing this Oxone methodology has advantages over other methodologies, which include low cost and formation of two nano TEMPO‐cellulose forms over a rapid reaction time utilizing microwave irradiation conditions. TEMPO‐cellulose forms are characterized by FT‐IR, NMR, solid state 13C‐NMR, and by elemental analysis. The TEMPO‐cellulose forms morphology is studied by scanning electron microscopy analysis. The average fiber width and length of TEMPO‐cellulose materials are determined in nanometer range by transmission electron microscopy analysis and the surface charge is identified by zeta potential.
Investigation of flexural and shear behaviors of biaxial voided slabs containing steel cages
Authors: Amoushahi Khouzani Mohsen , Zeynalian Mehran , Hashemi Mahmoud , Mostofinejad Davood , Farahbod Farhang
Published: October 2019

In some of biaxial voided slabs, spherical or ellipsoidal plastic balls enclosed in steel cages are used to eliminate ineffective concrete. To investigate the bending and shear behavior of this system, five full‐scale specimens were cast including two bending specimens for investigating bending capacity and cracking distribution as well as three shear specimens used to study the shear capacity, cracking distribution, and concrete casting effect on the shear behavior. Moreover, the effects of the steel cage rods were studied on the bending and shear capacity. It was found that while both solid and biaxial voided specimens exhibited almost similar failure mode, both the bending and shear capacity of biaxial voided specimens were affected by the steel cages. In contrast, the voided specimens exhibited a significantly lower shear capacity than the solid ones while the different concrete casting methods had no effects on the capacity and behavior of biaxial voided specimens. Finally, a comparison was made with experimental results and ACI 318‐14, MC 2010, and Eurocode 2 recommendations.
Mechanisms of secretion and spreading of pathological tau protein
Authors: Brunello Cecilia A. , Merezhko Maria , Uronen Riikka-Liisa , Huttunen Henri J.
Published: October 2019

Accumulation of misfolded and aggregated forms of tau protein in the brain is a neuropathological hallmark of tauopathies, such as Alzheimer’s disease and frontotemporal lobar degeneration. Tau aggregates have the ability to transfer from one cell to another and to induce templated misfolding and aggregation of healthy tau molecules in previously healthy cells, thereby propagating tau pathology across different brain areas in a prion-like manner. The molecular mechanisms involved in cell-to-cell transfer of tau aggregates are diverse, not mutually exclusive and only partially understood. Intracellular accumulation of misfolded tau induces several mechanisms that aim to reduce the cellular burden of aggregated proteins and also promote secretion of tau aggregates. However, tau may also be released from cells physiologically unrelated to protein aggregation. Tau secretion involves multiple vesicular and non-vesicle-mediated pathways, including secretion directly through the plasma membrane. Consequently, extracellular tau can be found in various forms, both as a free protein and in vesicles, such as exosomes and ectosomes. Once in the extracellular space, tau aggregates can be internalized by neighboring cells, both neurons and glial cells, via endocytic, pinocytic and phagocytic mechanisms. Importantly, accumulating evidence suggests that prion-like propagation of misfolding protein pathology could provide a general mechanism for disease progression in tauopathies and other related neurodegenerative diseases. Here, we review the recent literature on cellular mechanisms involved in cell-to-cell transfer of tau, with a particular focus in tau secretion.
Jump performance in male and female football players
Authors: Arundale Amelia J. H. , Kvist Joanna , Hägglund Martin , Fältström Anne
Published: October 2019

Purpose

To examine differences between men and women football players in clinically feasible jumping measures.

Methods

Female football players (N = 46, ages 16–25) were matched based on age, training frequency, and playing position with 46 male players. All players performed the tuck jump and drop vertical jump (DVJ). DVJ was assessed quantitatively for valgus knee motion and probability of a high peak knee abduction moment (pKAM), as well as sagittal plane hip, knee, and ankle angles, and qualitatively with visual assessment of the player’s knees upon landing; graded as good, reduced, or poor control.

Result

Women had higher total tuck jump scores (5 ± 2) (more technique flaws), than men (3 ± 2, P < 0.01). The quantitative analysis of the DVJ found that men had greater asymmetries between limbs, but women landed bilaterally in more knee valgus (interaction P = 0.04, main effect of sex P = 0.02). There was no difference in pKAM (interaction n.s.). Women also landed in less hip flexion (P = 0.01) and ankle dorsiflexion (P = 0.01) than men. The qualitative DVJ analysis found that more women (48%) had poor knee control compared to men (11%, P < 0.01).

Conclusions

The results indicate that women perform worse on the tuck jump assessment than men. The results support previous findings that women land in more knee valgus than men, but also found that men may have larger asymmetries in knee valgus. These results from clinically feasible measures provide some suggestions for clinicians to consider during ACL reconstruction rehabilitation to enhance performance.
Sulfide oxidation in deep Baltic Sea sediments upon oxygenation and colonization by macrofauna
Authors: Bonaglia Stefano , Marzocchi Ugo , Ekeroth Nils , Brüchert Volker , Blomqvist Sven , Hall Per O. J.
Published: October 2019

Coastal and shelf sediments affected by transient or long-term bottom water anoxia and sulfidic conditions undergo drastic changes in macrofauna communities and abundances. This study investigates how early colonization by two macrofaunal functional traits (epifauna vs. infauna) affects oxygen, sulfide, and pH dynamics in anoxic sediment upon recent bottom water oxygenation. Large mesocosms (area 900 cm2) with 150-m-deep Baltic Sea soft sediments were exposed to three treatments: (1) no animals; (2) addition of 170 polychaetes (Marenzelleria arctia); (3) addition of 181 amphipods (Monoporeia affinis). Porewater chemistry was investigated repeatedly by microsensor profiling over a period of 65 days. Colonization by macrofauna did not significantly deepen penetration of oxygen compared to the animal-free sediment. Bioturbation by M. affinis increased the volume of the oxidized, sulfide-free sediment by 66% compared to the animal-free control already after 13 days of incubation. By the end of the experiment M. affinis and M. arctia increased the oxidized sediment volume by 87 and 35%, respectively. Higher efficiency of epifaunal amphipods in removing hydrogen sulfide than deep-burrowing polychaetes is likely due to more substantial re-oxidation of manganese and/or nitrogen compounds associated with amphipod mixing activity. Our results thus indicate that early colonization of different functional groups might have important implications for the later colonization by benthic macrofauna, meiofauna and microbial communities that benefit from oxidized and sulfide-free sediments.
Mouse model of the human serotonin transporter-linked polymorphic region
Authors: Piszczek Lukasz , Memoli Simone , Raggioli Angelo , Viosca José , Rientjes Jeanette , Hublitz Philip , Czaban Weronika , Wyrzykowska Anna , Gross Cornelius
Published: October 2019

Genetic factors play a significant role in risk for mood and anxiety disorders. Polymorphisms in genes that regulate the brain monoamine systems, such as catabolic enzymes and transporters, are attractive candidates for being risk factors for emotional disorders given the weight of evidence implicating monoamines involvement in these conditions. Several common genetic variants have been identified in the human serotonin transporter (5-HTT) gene, including a repetitive sequence located in the promoter region of the locus called the serotonin transporter-linked polymorphic region (5-HTT-LPR). This polymorphism has been associated with a number of mental traits in both humans and primates, including depression, neuroticism, and harm avoidance. Some, but not all, studies found a link between the polymorphism and 5-HTT levels, leaving open the question of whether the polymorphism affects risk for mental traits via changes in 5-HTT expression. To investigate the impact of the polymorphism on gene expression, serotonin homeostasis, and behavioral traits, we set out to develop a mouse model of the human 5-HTT-LPR. Here we describe the creation and characterization of a set of mouse lines with single-copy human transgenes carrying the short and long 5-HTT-LPR variants. Although we were not able to detect differences in expression between the short and long variants, we encountered several technical issues concerning the design of our humanized mice that are likely to have influenced our findings. Our study serves as a cautionary note for future studies aimed at studying human transgene regulation in the context of the living mouse.
On Total Regularity of Mixed Graphs with Order Close to the Moore Bound
Authors: Tuite James , Erskine Grahame
Published: October 2019

The undirected degree/diameter and degree/girth problems and their directed analogues have been studied for many decades in the search for efficient network topologies. Recently such questions have received much attention in the setting of mixed graphs, i.e. networks that admit both undirectededgesand directedarcs. The degree/diameter problem for mixed graphs asks for the largest possible order of a network with diameterk, maximum undirected degree$$\le r$$≤rand maximum directed out-degree$$\le z$$≤z. Similarly one can search for the smallest possiblek-geodetic mixed graphs with minimum undirected degree$$\ge r$$≥rand minimum directed out-degree$$\ge z$$≥z. A simple counting argument reveals the existence of a natural bound, theMoore bound, on the order of such graphs; a graph that meets this limit is amixed Moore graph. Mixed Moore graphs can exist only for$$k = 2$$k=2and even in this case it is known that they are extremely rare. It is therefore of interest to search for graphs with order one away from the Moore bound. Such graphs must be out-regular; a much more difficult question is whether they must be totally regular. For$$k = 2$$k=2, we answer this question in the affirmative, thereby resolving an open problem stated in a recent paper of López and Miret. We also present partial results for largerk. We finally put these results to practical use by proving the uniqueness of a 2-geodetic mixed graph with order exceeding the Moore bound by one.
Radiomics for diagnosis of dual-phenotype hepatocellular carcinoma using Gd-EOB-DTPA-enhanced MRI and patient prognosis
Authors: Huang Xialing , Long Liling , Wei Jieqin , Li Yajuan , Xia Yuwei , Zuo Panli , Chai Xiangfei
Published: October 2019

Purpose

To describe the clinical characteristics and outcomes of patients with dual-phenotype hepatocellular carcinoma (DPHCC) and investigate the use of radiomics to establish an image-based signature for preoperative differential diagnosis.

Methods

This study included 50 patients with a postoperative pathological diagnosis of DPHCC (observation group) and 50 patients with CK7- and CK19-negative HCC (control group) who attended our hospital between January 2015 and December 2018. All patients underwent Gd-EOB-DTPA-enhanced MRI within 1 month before surgery. Arterial phase (AP), portal venous phase (PVP), delayed phase (DP) and hepatobiliary phase (HBP) images were transferred into a radiomics platform. Volumes of interest covered the whole tumor. The dimensionality of the radiomics features were reduced using LASSO. Four classifiers, including multi-layer perceptron (MLP), support vector machines (SVM), logistic regression (LR) and K-nearest neighbor (KNN) were used to distinguish DPHCC from CK7- and CK19-negative HCC. Kaplan–Meier survival analysis was used to assess 1-year disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) in the observation and control groups.

Results

The best preoperative diagnostic power for DPHCC will likely be derived from a combination of different phases and classifiers. The sensitivity, specificity and accuracy of LR in PVP (0.740, 0.780, 0.766), DP (0.893, 0.700, 0.798), HBP (0.800, 0.720, 0.756) and MLP in PVP (0.880, 0.720, 0.798) were better performance. The 1-year DFS and OS of the patients in the observation group were 69% and 78%, respectively. The 1-year DFS and OS of the patients in the control group were 83% and 85%, respectively. Kaplan–Meier survival analysis showed no statistical difference in DFS and OS between groups (P = 0.231 and 0.326), but DFS and OS were numerically lower in patients with DPHCC.

Conclusion

The radiomics features extracted from Gd-EOB-DTPA-enhanced MR images can be used to diagnose preoperative DPHCC. DPHCC is more likely to recur and cause death than HCC, suggesting that active postoperative management of patients with DPHCC is required.
Regional and gender differences in population-based oral health insurance data
Authors: Stamm Tanja , Ritschl Valentin , Platzer Alexander , Omara Maisa , Mosor Erika , Reichardt Berthold , Schmitl Lina , Behanova Martina , Bekes Katrin
Published: October 2019

Objective

Early dental monitoring contributes substantially to good oral health in children. However, little is known on whether children from different geographical regions and gender are equally reached with current preventive and curative oral health strategies. The aim of our study therefore was to explore regional and gender differences in a population-based oral health dataset of Austrian children up to the age of 14.

Materials and methods

We extracted the first electronically available health insurance data of children aged up to 14 years on dental services within a 4-year observation period in Austria and performed a separate analysis in up to 6-year-old children. In addition, we used a smaller randomly selected sample dataset of 3000 children as the large numbers would result in significant, but very small effects.

Results

In a total of 130,895 children, of whom 77,173 children (59%) were up to the age of six, we detected an east-west gradient: The eastern regions of Austria showed an older age at first contact and a higher number of dental services. A child aged up to 6 years who needed more than four dental services had a likelihood of 40% to be from Vienna, Austria’s capital city located in the east. The smaller random sample did not show significant gender differences.

Conclusions

Even in regions with a high density of dentists, such as Vienna, we obviously did not reach young children in the same extent as in other regions.

Clinical relevance

Stratified interventions could be developed to overcome regional inequalities.
Long-Term Steady-State Dry Boreal Forest in the Face of Disturbance
Authors: Carcaillet Christopher , Desponts Mireille , Robin Vincent , Bergeron Yves
Published: October 2019

We used bioproxies from paleosoils buried within two aeolian dunes to test hypotheses concerning the origin of dry sandy boreal forests in Canada. These forests are dominated today byPinus banksianaLamb. One hypothesis is that too frequent Holocene stand-replacing fires would have transformed the original vegetation through extirpation of susceptible species to fire in water stress habitat. Alternatively, the ecosystem would have not changed since the dunes stabilized enough to support forest establishment. The vegetation composition and richness were determined by identification of charcoal and macroremains and radiocarbon dating for the chronology. Both sites revealed a similar history covering 6400 years. Half of the charcoal layers were less than 2500 years old in both sites, indicating that they had been subjected to the same fire history. Data indicated a stable plant composition and richness, although the percentage ofPinusdecreased slightly over 4000 years (decreasing rate 1% per century). The fungusCenococcum geophilumwas consistently present, with a stochastic abundance. The vegetation grew under natural fire conditions and soil dryness since 6000 years. The ecosystem was probably not stressed by late-Holocene fires or climate changes, as the multi-millennial steady state reveals a resistant and resilient ecosystem.
Risky Alcohol Consumption and Associated Health Behaviour Among HIV-Positive and HIV-Negative Patients in a UK Sexual Health and HIV Clinic: A Cross-Sectional Questionnaire Study
Authors: Suonpera Emmi , Matthews Rebecca , Milinkovic Ana , Arenas-Pinto Alejandro
Published: October 2019

Alcohol misuse has been associated with negative consequences among HIV-positive patients. Data on real prevalence of risky alcohol consumption among the HIV-positive population in the UK are lacking. A cross-sectional questionnaire study using standardised validated instruments among HIV-positive (n = 227) and HIV-negative (n = 69) patients was performed. The prevalence of risky alcohol consumption (AUDIT) and associations with depressive symptoms (PHQ-9), problematic drug use (DUDIT), adherence to ART (CASE Adherence Index), sexual behaviour and demographic characteristics were assessed among both patient groups independently. A quarter (25.1%) of HIV-positive patients and 36.1% of HIV-negative patients reported risky alcohol consumption (AUDIT-score ≥ 8). In the multivariable analysis among HIV-positive patients depressive symptoms (p = 0.03) and problematic drug use (p = 0.007) were associated with risky alcohol consumption. Among HIV-negative patients these associations were not present. Risky alcohol consumption among HIV-positive patients is prevalent, and together with depressive symptoms and problematic drug use, may influence HIV-disease progression and patients’ wellbeing.
Human ageing as a dynamic, emergent and malleable process: from disease-oriented to health-oriented approaches
Authors: Chmielewski Piotr Paweł
Published: October 2019

Over the decades, biogerontology has matured as a scientific discipline. Currently, a number of theoretical frameworks are available to researchers when interpreting empirical data. Despite the great progress that has been made, a comprehensive understanding of biological processes that shape ageing is lacking. Senescence is a dynamic, plastic and highly complex metaphenomenon whose aetiology remains unclear. The paucity of information notwithstanding, some researchers promote ‘anti-ageing’ drugs and formulae every now and again. The rationale behind this concept is that ageing can be reduced to a mixture of biochemical reactions. Furthermore, the distinction between ageing and disease has been questioned on the grounds that ageing is the root of age-related diseases. It has been claimed that disease-oriented approaches can help delay ageing and prevent age-related diseases. Although these methods seem incongruous from an evolutionary standpoint, they become popular amongst the public. Moreover, if ageing is classified as a disease, this situation is likely to be exacerbated. Therefore, it is important to recognise the limitations of these reductionist and disease-oriented approaches. Only holistic and evidence-based strategies might be useful in slowing down ageing and preventing age-related diseases in the future.
A Note on the Issue of Cohesiveness in Canonical Models
Authors: Pascucci Matteo
Published: October 2019

In their presentation of canonical models for normal systems of modal logic, Hughes and Cresswell observe that some of these models are based on a frame which can be also thought of as a collection of two or more isolated frames; they call such frames ‘non-cohesive’. The problem of checking whether the canonical model of a given system is cohesive is still rather unexplored and no general decision procedure is available. The main contribution of this article consists in introducing a method which is sufficient to show that canonical models of some relevant classes of normal monomodal and bimodal systems are always non-cohesive.
Production of selectable marker gene-free Cavendish banana (Musa spp.) using a steroid-inducible recombinase platform
Authors: Kleidon Jennifer , Brinin Anthony , Paul Jean-Yves , Harding Robert , Dale James , Dugdale Benjamin
Published: October 2019

Genetic improvement of commercially accepted banana cultivars is strongly reliant on the ability to introduce genes that encode important agro-traits such as disease resistance. In most cases this can only be achieved using a transgenic approach. Public and regulatory acceptance of these events would greatly increase with “clean” single copy integration events free of the selectable marker gene and extraneous vector backbone. This would also allow for the successive addition of new genes and traits as they become available. In this study, we used the pMarker Free 1 (pMF1) vector containing the green fluorescent protein (gfp) reporter gene to assess the effectiveness of steroid-inducible recombination and positive/negative dual selection to regenerate transgenic Cavendish banana plants that were potentially free of the selectable marker gene. By examining the interaction of two different Agrobacterium strains with two different cultivars of Cavendish banana, namely Williams and Grand Naine, we describe a transformation and regeneration strategy that successfully produced marker-free, single transgene copy, gfp-expressing events. The system will provide a useful means of serially improving banana into the future.
Isotopic composition of precipitation in Poland: a 44-year record
Authors: Duliński Marek , Różański Kazimierz , Pierchała Anna , Gorczyca Zbigniew , Marzec Michał
Published: October 2019

Isotopic composition of precipitation (2H/1H and18O/16O isotope ratios, tritium content) is nowadays widely used in numerous applications of environmental isotopes—most notably in hydrology, climatology and biogeochemistry. Here we present a long record (44 years) of stable isotope composition and tritium content in monthly precipitation available for the Krakow station (southern Poland). Krakow is the only site in Poland for which long-term record of the isotopic composition of monthly precipitation is available. The tritium data are discussed here in the context of generally declining levels of bomb tritium in the global atmosphere and growing influence of technogenic emissions of this isotope. Two aspects of temporal variability of stable isotope composition of precipitation collected in Krakow are discussed here: (i) seasonality and (ii) interannual changes of δ18O and δ2H signal. Whereas the seasonality of stable isotope signal is generated mainly by seasonally varying the degree of rainout of air masses bringing moisture from the source regions (subtropical Atlantic Ocean) to the centre of the European continent, the North Atlantic Oscillation seems to govern interannual changes of δ18O and δ2H on the decadal timescale. Progressing warming of the local atmosphere, in the order of 1.8 °C in the past four decades, leaves its imprint in stable isotope signal measured in Krakow precipitation; the slope of isotope–temperature relationship is in the order of 0.50‰/°C for δ18O and 3.5‰/°C for δ2H.
The Reflection Map and Infinitesimal Deformations of Sphere Mappings
Authors: Reiter Michael
Published: October 2019

The reflection map introduced by D’Angelo is applied to deduce simpler descriptions of nondegeneracy conditions for sphere maps and to the study of infinitesimal deformations of sphere maps. It is shown that the dimension of the space of infinitesimal deformations of a nondegenerate sphere map is bounded from above by the explicitly computed dimension of the space of infinitesimal deformations of the homogeneous sphere map. Moreover a characterization of the homogeneous sphere map in terms of infinitesimal deformations is provided.
Notes on Mucuna (Leguminosae: Papilionoideae) in Thailand: fruits of M. oligoplax re-assessed, and a revised key to species with lamellate fruits
Authors: Wilmot-Dear C. M. , Hopkins H. C. F. , Leeratiwong C.
Published: October 2019

Fruiting material of a Mucuna from Peninsular Thailand with distinctive lamellae proved to be conspecific with M. oligoplax, which was previously thought to have fruit almost lacking lamellae. A revised description and a distribution map for M. oligoplax are presented. This finding also necessitates revision of the key to Mucuna species from the Asian mainland with lamellate pods.
An initial evaluation framework for the design and operational use of maritime STAMP-based safety management systems
Authors: Valdez Banda Osiris A. , Goerlandt Floris , Salokannel Johanna , van Gelder Pieter H. A. J. M.
Published: October 2019

A safety management system (SMS) is the common means used by organizations to assess organizational performance with respect to the safety and well-being of people, property and the natural ecosystem. A SMS provides confidence to diverse stakeholders that organizational safety is at an appropriate level and fulfils the applicable regulatory standards. As a multifaceted system for organizational safety assessment, ensurance and assurance, the evaluation of the design and operational use of SMS is a complex process. An evaluation needs to provide evidence about how well the design and operation of an SMS complies with applicable standards and how well the methods used in the SMS implementation support the organizational policies and practical work. In the maritime domain, SMS is broadly applied. However, there are few theoretically rooted SMS design approaches, and there is a lack of frameworks to evaluate how well the SMS is designed and how effectively it operates. This paper proposes an initial evaluation framework for the design and operational use of a maritime SMS design approach based on Systems-Theoretic Accident Model and Processes (STAMP), realist evaluation and Bayesian Networks. This framework is applied for a case study of vessel traffic services (VTS) Finland to test its relevance and ability to guide the SMS design. The experiences gained in the case study, and the related discussion on the framework, can guide further research in this area. Ultimately, the work can be used as a basis for developing maritime SMS auditing processes, based on specific theoretical and methodological approaches.
Enhanced Catalytic Activity of Gold@Polydopamine Nanoreactors with Multi-compartment Structure Under NIR Irradiation
Authors: Mei Shilin , Kochovski Zdravko , Roa Rafael , Gu Sasa , Xu Xiaohui , Yu Hongtao , Dzubiella Joachim , Ballauff Matthias , Lu Yan
Published: October 2019

Photothermal conversion (PTC) nanostructures have great potential for applications in many fields, and therefore, they have attracted tremendous attention. However, the construction of a PTC nanoreactor with multi-compartment structure to achieve the combination of unique chemical properties and structural feature is still challenging due to the synthetic difficulties. Herein, we designed and synthesized a catalytically active, PTC gold (Au)@polydopamine (PDA) nanoreactor driven by infrared irradiation using assembled PS-b-P2VP nanosphere as soft template. The particles exhibit multi-compartment structure which is revealed by 3D electron tomography characterization technique. They feature permeable shells with tunable shell thickness. Full kinetics for the reduction reaction of 4-nitrophenol has been investigated using these particles as nanoreactors and compared with other reported systems. Notably, a remarkable acceleration of the catalytic reaction upon near-infrared irradiation is demonstrated, which reveals for the first time the importance of the synergistic effect of photothermal conversion and complex inner structure to the kinetics of the catalytic reduction. The ease of synthesis and fresh insights into catalysis will promote a new platform for novel nanoreactor studies.
Understanding unconventional preprocessors in deep convolutional neural networks for face identification
Authors: Olisah Chollette C. , Smith Lyndon
Published: October 2019

Deep convolutional neural networks have achieved huge successes in application domains like object and face recognition. The performance gain is attributed to different facets of the network architecture such as: depth of the convolutional layers, activation function, pooling, batch normalization, forward and back propagation and many more. However, very little emphasis is made on the preprocessor’s module of the network. Therefore, in this paper, the network’s preprocessing module is varied across different preprocessing approaches while keeping constant other facets of the deep network architecture, to investigate the contribution preprocessing makes to the network. Commonly used preprocessors are the data augmentation and normalization and are termed conventional preprocessors. Others are termed the unconventional preprocessors, they are: color space converters; grey-level resolution preprocessors; full-based and plane-based image quantization, Gaussian blur, illumination normalization and insensitive feature preprocessors. To achieve fixed network parameters, CNNs with transfer learning is employed. The aim is to transfer knowledge from the high-level feature vectors of the Inception-V3 network to offline preprocessed LFW target data; and features is trained using the SoftMax classifier for face identification. The experiments show that the discriminative capability of the deep networks can be improved by preprocessing RGB data with some of the unconventional preprocessors before feeding it to the CNNs. However, for best performance, the right setup of preprocessed data with augmentation and/or normalization is required. Summarily, preprocessing data before it is fed to the deep network is found to increase the homogeneity of neighborhood pixels even at reduced bit depth which serves for better storage efficiency.
Modeling of Energy Efficiency of a Turboprop Engine using Ant Colony Optimisation
Authors: Piskin A. , Baklacioglu T. , Turan O. , Aydin H.
Published: October 2019

Exergy efficiency can be used as an objective function in order to improve systems efficiency. Thus, the most efficient regions for the operation parameters can be searched easily. Exergy efficiency data of a turboprop engine’s components that have been calculated using basic engine parameters in the previous studies are modeled using cubic spline curve fitting methodology. Spline curves are on the two dimensional plane, where x axis is the input parameter and y axis is the exergy efficiency of the component. A spline curve is defined by the points subject to arbitrary selection of number and position. Initially positions of the points are located with two different methods and then in order to obtain better accuracy point positions are improved by ‘Ant colony’ and ‘Goldsection’ optimisation methods. Sum of Squares of the errors between the fitted value and data value was used as the fitness function. Least square error of 5 × 10−9is assumed as acceptable accuracy which yields to a minimum R = 0.9998 linear correlation coefficient. In the optimisation step, independent engine variable versus calculated engine performance parameters were checked against spline fitted values. Improvement of the fitness function is observed as the number of fitting points is increased. Ant colony optimisation in engine exergy efficiency parametric modeling is a new approach in authors’ point of view.
Muslim Personal Laws and the Accommodation of Minorities: The Need to Better Balance Individual Rights and Group Autonomy in Singapore
Authors: Abdul Rahman Noor Aisha
Published: October 2019

The accommodation of religious personal law systems is an issue that has arisen in many countries with significant Muslim minorities. The types of accommodations can range from direct incorporation into the state legal system to mere recognition of religious tribunals as private organs. Different forms of accommodation raise different types of legal, social, and political issues. Focusing on the case of Singapore, I examine one form of accommodation which entails the direct incorporation of this law regulating marriage, divorce, and inheritance for Muslims into the state system. Administered by the Administration of the Muslim Law Act, 1966, the Muslim law binds Muslims unless they abjure Islam. The resulting pluralistic legal system is deemed necessary to realize the aspirations of and give respect to the Muslim minority community, the majority of whom are constitutionally acknowledged as indigenous to the country. This Article examines the ramifications of this arrangement on the rights and well-being of members of this community in the context of change. It argues that, while giving autonomy to the community to determine its personal law and advancing group accommodation, the arrangement denies individuals the right to their choice of law, a problem exacerbated by traditionalism and the lack of democratic process in this domain. Consequently, the Muslim law pales in comparison to the civil law for non-Muslims. The rise of religious resurgence since the 1970s has but compounded the problem. How the system can accommodate the Muslim personal law without compromising the rights of individual Muslims is also discussed.
A Double Conflict of Laws: The Emergence of an EU “Staatskirchenrecht”?
Authors: Tischbirek Alexander
Published: October 2019

The law on state-church relations is no longer exclusively a national concern of the EU Member States. Despite supposedly strict neutrality clauses in the primary law of the EU and rigid statements—inter alia—by the German Federal Constitutional Court, it is safe to assume the formation of a supranational EU law on religion, which also touches upon the status of the churches and religious associations. This becomes obvious when state-church relations in Europe are reconstructed as a double conflict of laws that comprises interlocked conflicts between ecclesiastical law and worldly law, as well as between EU law and national law. Within the triangular relationship of these different legal spheres, EU law steers state-church relations towards the non-discrimination principle. The controversy in German law on religion between the proponents of a collective, institutionalist understanding (classic “Staatskirchenrecht”) and advocates of a rather fundamental rights-centered, individualist reading of the Constitution (“Religionsverfassungsrecht”) hence needs to be reconsidered. EU law calls for including yet a third paradigm into the debate: Equality.
A Tale of Two (Diverse) Countries: Religious Diversity in Canada and Singapore
Authors: Jamal Arif A. , Sheng Jie Daniel Wong
Published: October 2019

Both Canada and Singapore express support for—and have the reality of being—multi-cultural, multi-ethnic, and multi-religious; and both jurisdictions have an avowed commitment to the freedom of religion. Yet, this commitment expresses itself in different ways in these two contexts. Although both the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and the Singaporean Constitution guarantee the freedom of religion, juridical definitions of what this freedom means may differ quite profoundly.

This Article explores and analyzes these two different environments that nonetheless share important features. We argue that the approaches of Singapore and Canada do not fall simply into the categories of being “liberal” or “illiberal,” but instead invite reflection and reconsideration on the concepts of pluralism, secularism, and liberalism in interesting ways. This Article thus highlights the significance of contextual factors in understanding the ways in which religious diversity is dealt with, particularly in Canada and Singapore, but also more generally.
Smokers who do not quit: Can the precaution adoption process model help identify hard-core smokers?
Authors: Buchanan Tanya , Magee Christopher A. , Kelly Peter J.
Published: October 2019

Introduction

Hard-core smokers have been identified as a potential public health challenge. The trans-theoretical model lacks the specificity to identify hard-core smokers. The precaution adoption process model (PAPM) is a stage-based behaviour change model which includes ‘no intent to quit’ as a distinct stage and so may be useful in identifying hard-core smokers.

Aims

The aim of this study was to apply the PAPM to a community based sample of smokers to determine whether it provides a useful approach to identifying hard-core smokers.

Methods

We surveyed smokers in Australia who were recruited through social media and an online data collection agency.

Results

The sample included 336 current smokers, 11.9% were in Stage 4 of the PAPM – i.e. had decided not to quit. Stage 4 smokers are more resistant to quitting and marked by their similarities to hard-core smokers. This is further amplified when addressing Stage 4 smokers with no previous quit attempt.

Conclusions

Stage 4 smokers with no previous quit attempts are aligned with a hard-core smoker profile with higher levels of nicotine dependence, greater cigarette consumption and low socio-economic status. Further research is required to determine if PAPM is a valid predictive model for identifying hard-core smokers in clinical practice.
Modeling Grape Price Dynamics in Mendoza: Lessons for Policymakers
Authors: Puga German , Fogarty James , Hailu Atakelty , Gennari Alejandro
Published: October 2019

Mendoza is the main wine-producing province of Argentina, and the government is currently implementing a range of policies that seek to improve grape grower profitability, including a vineyard replanting program. This study uses a dataset of all grape sales recorded in Mendoza from 2007 to 2018, totaling 90,910 observations, to investigate the determinants of grape prices. Key findings include: smaller volume transactions receive lower-average prices per kilogram sold; the discount for cash payments is higher in less-profitable regions; and the effect of wine stock levels on prices is substantial for all varieties. Long-run predicted prices are also estimated for each variety, and region; and these results suggest that policymakers should review some of the varieties currently used in the vineyard replanting program. (JEL Classifications: Q12, Q13, Q18)
Campaign finance legislation and the supply-side of the revolving door
Authors: Weschle Simon
Published: October 2019

Existing research on the revolving door examines why employers hire former politicians. I complement this demand-side approach by demonstrating the importance of the supply-side. In particular, I argue that one important institutional factor that shapes politicians' willingness to leave office for a private sector job is campaign finance legislation. Less restrictive rules increase campaign spending for incumbents, which makes revolving door employment less attractive. Empirically, I use novel data from the US states and a difference-in-differences design to show that the exogenous removal of campaign finance legislation throughCitizens Unitedreduced the probability that incumbents left office to work as lobbyists. The supply-side approach provides insights into comparative differences in the prevalence of the revolving door.