bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Fuel for Life: Domestic Cooking Fuels and Women’s Health in Rural China
Authors: Nie Peng , Sousa-Poza Alfonso , Xue Jianhong
Published: August 2016

Background: There is evidence that household air pollution is associated with poor health in China, and that this form of air pollution may even be more of a health concern in China than the much-publicized outdoor air pollution. However, there is little empirical evidence on the relationship between household air pollution and health in China based on nationally representative and longitudinal data. This study examines the association between the type of domestic cooking fuel and the health of women aged ≥16 in rural China. Methods: Using longitudinal and biomarker data from the China Family Panel Studies (n = 12,901) and the China Health and Nutrition Survey (n = 15,539), we investigate the impact of three major domestic cooking fuels (wood/straw, coal, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG)) on health status using both cross-sectional and panel approaches. Results: Compared to women whose households cook with dirty fuels like wood/straw, women whose households cook with cleaner fuels like LPG have a significantly lower probability of chronic or acute diseases and are more likely to report better health. Cooking with domestic coal instead of wood or straw is also associated with elevated levels of having certain risks (such as systolic blood pressure) related to cardiovascular diseases. Conclusions: Our study provides evidence that using cleaner fuels like LPG is associated with better health among women in rural China, suggesting that the shift from dirty fuels to cleaner choices may be associated with improved health outcomes.
Concern about Workplace Violence and Its Risk Factors in Chinese Township Hospitals: A Cross-Sectional Study
Authors: Xing Kai , Zhang Xue , Jiao Mingli , Cui Yu , Lu Yan , Liu Jinghua , Zhang Jingjing , Zhao Yuchong , Zhao Yanming , Li Ye , Liang Libo , Kang Zheng , Wu Qunhong , Yin Mei
Published: August 2016

Workplace violence in Chinese township hospitals is a major public health problem. We identified the risk factors of healthcare workers’ worry about experiencing workplace violence in 90 Chinese township hospitals and determined specific measures for differing stages of violence (based on crisis management theory). Participants were 440 general practitioners and 398 general nurses from Heilongjiang Province, China (response rate 84.6%). One hundred and six (12.6%) respondents reported being physically attacked in their workplace in the previous 12 months. Regarding psychological violence, the most common type reported was verbal abuse (46.0%). While most (85.2%) respondents had some degree of worry about suffering violence, 22.1% were worried or very worried. Ordinal regression analysis revealed that being ≤35 years of age, having a lower educational level, having less work experience, and working night shifts were all associated with worry about workplace violence. Furthermore, those without experience of such violence were more likely to worry about it. Respondents’ suggested measures for controlling violence included “widening channels on medical dispute solutions,” “improving doctor-patient communication,” and “advocating for respect for medical workers via the media.” Results suggest the target factors for reducing healthcare workers’ worry by according to the type of education and training and possible measures for limiting workplace violence in township hospitals.
Moisture Absorption/Desorption Effects on Flexural Property of Glass-Fiber-Reinforced Polyester Laminates: Three-Point Bending Test and Coupled Hygro-Mechanical Finite Element Analysis
Authors: Jiang Xu , Song Jie , Qiang Xuhong , Kolstein Henk , Bijlaard Frans
Published: August 2016

Influence of moisture absorption/desorption on the flexural properties of Glass-fibre-reinforced polymer (GFRP) laminates was experimentally investigated under hot/wet aging environments. To characterize mechanical degradation, three-point bending tests were performed following the ASTM test standard (ASTM D790-10A). The flexural properties of dry (0% Mt/M∞), moisture unsaturated (30% Mt/M∞ and 50% Mt/M∞) and moisture saturated (100% Mt/M∞) specimens at both 20 and 40 °C test temperatures were compared. One cycle of moisture absorption-desorption process was considered in this study to investigate the mechanical degradation scale and the permanent damage of GFRP laminates induced by moisture diffusion. Experimental results confirm that the combination of moisture and temperature effects sincerely deteriorates the flexural properties of GFRP laminates, on both strength and stiffness. Furthermore, the reducing percentage of flexural strength is found much larger than that of E-modulus. Unrecoverable losses of E-modulus (15.0%) and flexural strength (16.4%) for the GFRP laminates experiencing one cycle of moisture absorption/desorption process are evident at the test temperature of 40 °C, but not for the case of 20 °C test temperature. Moreover, a coupled hygro-mechanical Finite Element (FE) model was developed to characterize the mechanical behaviors of GFRP laminates at different moisture absorption/desorption stages, and the modeling method was subsequently validated with flexural test results.
Optimized Synthesis According to One-Step Process of a Biobased Thermoplastic Polyacetal Derived from Isosorbide
Authors: Hammami Nadia , Jarroux Nathalie , Robitzer Mike , Majdoub Mustapha , Habas Jean-Pierre
Published: August 2016

This paper describes both the synthesis and characterization of a biobased and non-aromatic polyacetal produced from the reaction between isosorbide and methylene chloride. The reaction was conducted in an aprotic dipolar and harmless solvent using a one-step, fast and economical procedure. The chemical composition of this polymer was investigated using Nuclear Magnetic Resonance and Fourier Transform Infra-Red spectroscopies. The molecular weights were examined by size exclusion chromatography and MALDI-TOF spectrometry. The synthesis conditions (concentration, mixing speed, solvent nature, stoichiometry, addition mode of one reactan) were found to strongly influence both polymer architecture and reaction yield. Under moderated stirring conditions, the polyacetal was characterized by a larger amount of macro-cycles. Inversely, under higher intensity mixing and with an excess of methylene chloride, it was mainly composed of linear chains. In this latter case, the polymeric material presented an amorphous morphology with a glass transition temperature (Tg) close to 55 °C. Its degradation temperature was evaluated to be close to 215 °C using thermogravimetry according to multi-ramp methodology. The chemical approach and the physicochemical properties are valuable in comparison with that characteristic of other isosorbide-based polyacetals.
Spatio-Temporal Proximity Characteristics in 3D μ-Printing via Multi-Photon Absorption
Authors: Waller Erik , Von Freymann Georg
Published: August 2016

One of the major challenges in high-resolution μ-printing is the cross-talk between features written in close proximity—the proximity effect. This effect prevents, e.g., gratings with periods below a few hundred nanometers. Surprisingly, the dependence of this effect on space and time has not thoroughly been investigated. Here, we present a spatial-light-modulator based method to dynamically measure the strength of the proximity effect on length and timescales typical to μ-printing. The proximity strength is compared in various photo resists. The results indicate that molecular diffusion strongly contributes to the proximity effect.
Design and Fabrication of a Differential Electrostatic Accelerometer for Space-Station Testing of the Equivalence Principle
Authors: Han Fengtian , Liu Tianyi , Li Linlin , Wu Qiuping
Published: August 2016

The differential electrostatic space accelerometer is an equivalence principle (EP) experiment instrument proposed to operate onboard China’s space station in the 2020s. It is designed to compare the spin-spin interaction between two rotating extended bodies and the Earth to a precision of 10−12, which is five orders of magnitude better than terrestrial experiment results to date. To achieve the targeted test accuracy, the sensitive space accelerometer will use the very soft space environment provided by a quasi-drag-free floating capsule and long-time observation of the free-fall mass motion for integration of the measurements over 20 orbits. In this work, we describe the design and capability of the differential accelerometer to test weak space acceleration. Modeling and simulation results of the electrostatic suspension and electrostatic motor are presented based on attainable space microgravity condition. Noise evaluation shows that the electrostatic actuation and residual non-gravitational acceleration are two major noise sources. The evaluated differential acceleration noise is 1.01 × 10−9 m/s2/Hz1/2 at the NEP signal frequency of 0.182 mHz, by neglecting small acceleration disturbances. The preliminary work on development of the first instrument prototype is introduced for on-ground technological assessments. This development has already confirmed several crucial fabrication processes and measurement techniques and it will open the way to the construction of the final differential space accelerometer.
Human Behavior Analysis by Means of Multimodal Context Mining
Authors: Banos Oresti , Villalonga Claudia , Bang Jaehun , Hur Taeho , Kang Donguk , Park Sangbeom , Huynh-The Thien , Le-Ba Vui , Amin Muhammad , Razzaq Muhammad , Khan Wahajat , Hong Choong , Lee Sungyoung
Published: August 2016

There is sufficient evidence proving the impact that negative lifestyle choices have on people’s health and wellness. Changing unhealthy behaviours requires raising people’s self-awareness and also providing healthcare experts with a thorough and continuous description of the user’s conduct. Several monitoring techniques have been proposed in the past to track users’ behaviour; however, these approaches are either subjective and prone to misreporting, such as questionnaires, or only focus on a specific component of context, such as activity counters. This work presents an innovative multimodal context mining framework to inspect and infer human behaviour in a more holistic fashion. The proposed approach extends beyond the state-of-the-art, since it not only explores a sole type of context, but also combines diverse levels of context in an integral manner. Namely, low-level contexts, including activities, emotions and locations, are identified from heterogeneous sensory data through machine learning techniques. Low-level contexts are combined using ontological mechanisms to derive a more abstract representation of the user’s context, here referred to as high-level context. An initial implementation of the proposed framework supporting real-time context identification is also presented. The developed system is evaluated for various realistic scenarios making use of a novel multimodal context open dataset and data on-the-go, demonstrating prominent context-aware capabilities at both low and high levels.
Vertical Corner Feature Based Precise Vehicle Localization Using 3D LIDAR in Urban Area
Authors: Im Jun-Hyuck , Im Sung-Hyuck , Jee Gyu-In
Published: August 2016

Tall buildings are concentrated in urban areas. The outer walls of buildings are vertically erected to the ground and almost flat. Therefore, the vertical corners that meet the vertical planes are present everywhere in urban areas. These corners act as convenient landmarks, which can be extracted by using the light detection and ranging (LIDAR) sensor. A vertical corner feature based precise vehicle localization method is proposed in this paper and implemented using 3D LIDAR (Velodyne HDL-32E). The vehicle motion is predicted by accumulating the pose increment output from the iterative closest point (ICP) algorithm based on the geometric relations between the scan data of the 3D LIDAR. The vertical corner is extracted using the proposed corner extraction method. The vehicle position is then corrected by matching the prebuilt corner map with the extracted corner. The experiment was carried out in the Gangnam area of Seoul, South Korea. In the experimental results, the maximum horizontal position error is about 0.46 m and the 2D Root Mean Square (RMS) horizontal error is about 0.138 m.
A Multi-Robot Sense-Act Approach to Lead to a Proper Acting in Environmental Incidents
Authors: Conesa-Muñoz Jesús , Valente João , Del Cerro Jaime , Barrientos Antonio , Ribeiro Angela
Published: August 2016

Many environmental incidents affect large areas, often in rough terrain constrained by natural obstacles, which makes intervention difficult. New technologies, such as unmanned aerial vehicles, may help address this issue due to their suitability to reach and easily cover large areas. Thus, unmanned aerial vehicles may be used to inspect the terrain and make a first assessment of the affected areas; however, nowadays they do not have the capability to act. On the other hand, ground vehicles rely on enough power to perform the intervention but exhibit more mobility constraints. This paper proposes a multi-robot sense-act system, composed of aerial and ground vehicles. This combination allows performing autonomous tasks in large outdoor areas by integrating both types of platforms in a fully automated manner. Aerial units are used to easily obtain relevant data from the environment and ground units use this information to carry out interventions more efficiently. This paper describes the platforms and sensors required by this multi-robot sense-act system as well as proposes a software system to automatically handle the workflow for any generic environmental task. The proposed system has proved to be suitable to reduce the amount of herbicide applied in agricultural treatments. Although herbicides are very polluting, they are massively deployed on complete agricultural fields to remove weeds. Nevertheless, the amount of herbicide required for treatment is radically reduced when it is accurately applied on patches by the proposed multi-robot system. Thus, the aerial units were employed to scout the crop and build an accurate weed distribution map which was subsequently used to plan the task of the ground units. The whole workflow was executed in a fully autonomous way, without human intervention except when required by Spanish law due to safety reasons.
Decision-Making and Sustainable Drainage: Design and Scale
Authors: Charlesworth Susanne , Warwick Frank , Lashford Craig
Published: August 2016

Sustainable Drainage (SuDS) improves water quality, reduces runoff water quantity, increases amenity and biodiversity benefits, and can also mitigate and adapt to climate change. However, an optimal solution has to be designed to be fit for purpose. Most research concentrates on individual devices, but the focus of this paper is on a full management train, showing the scale-related decision-making process in its design with reference to the city of Coventry, a local government authority in central England. It illustrates this with a large scale site-specific model which identifies the SuDS devices suitable for the area and also at the smaller scale, in order to achieve greenfield runoff rates. A method to create a series of maps using geographical information is shown, to indicate feasible locations for SuDS devices across the local government authority area. Applying the larger scale maps, a management train was designed for a smaller-scale regeneration site using MicroDrainage® software to control runoff at greenfield rates. The generated maps were constructed to provide initial guidance to local government on suitable SuDS at individual sites in a planning area. At all scales, the decision about which device to select was complex and influenced by a range of factors, with slightly different problems encountered. There was overall agreement between large and small scale models.
E-Procurement Utilisation in the Maintenance Repair and Overhaul (MRO) Supply Chain by SMEs in India
Authors: Basak Munmun , Guha Indranil
Published: August 2016

Due to the significant contribution in output, exports and employment, the Small and Medium enterprises (SEMs) play a critical role in the Indian economic structure. In this study a three dimensional; namely information, transactional and strategic decision making perspectives of the e-procurement functionalities are investigated. A cross-sectional survey is used as the methodology for the data collection. After a systematic analysis it was found that in the MRO industry the MSEMs used the e-procurement system mainly for purchasing, communication and transactional purposes. However, strategic utilisation of the e-procurement for the optimisation of SCM process in the MRO industry in India is still in its nascent stage. The results are limited to its sample size due to the size of the MRO and its MSEMs industry. Thereafter, success factors and performance of the e-procurement in these MSEMs is also studied to analyse the utilisation of e-procurement in detail.
Gliocyte and synapse analyses in cerebral ganglia of the Chinese mitten crab, Eriocheir sinensis: ultrastructural study
Authors: Zhang H. , Yu P. , Zhong S. , Ge T. , Peng S. , Zhou Z. , Guo X.
Published: August 2016

The Chinese mitten crab Eriocheir sinensis is an economically important aquatic species in China. Many studies on gene structure, breeding, and diseases of the crab have been reported. However, knowledge about the organization of the nerve system of the crab remains largely unknown. To study the ultrastructure of the cerebral ganglia of E. sinensis and to compare the histological findings regarding the nerve systems of crustaceans, the cerebral ganglia were observed by transmission electron microscopy. The results showed that four types of gliocytes, including type I, II, III, and IV gliocytes were located in the cerebral ganglia. In addition, three types of synapses were present in the cerebral ganglia, including unidirectional synapses, bidirectional synapses, and combined type synapses.Â
Extraction of Honey Polyphenols: Method Development and Evidence of Cis Isomerization ubertas Academica
Authors: Istasse Thibaut , Jacquet Nicolas , Berchem Thomas , Haubruge Eric , Nguyen Bach Kim , Richel Aurore
Published: August 2016

Honey polyphenols have been studied with the objective of relating honeys to their floral sources. Initially synthesized by plant, these polyphenols can be found in the plant's nectar, which are collected by bees, which convert the nectar into honey. Consequently, polyphenols constitute minor components of honey. The development of a solid-phase extraction method for honey polyphenols is presented in this study. The technique employs Amberlite XAD-2 adsorbent and was tested on monofloral honeys from six different plants: acacia, chestnut, eucalyptus, thyme, sunflower, and wild carrot. Analyses were performed using high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with UV detection and mass spectrometry. Several phenolic acids and flavonoids were identified: caffeic and p-coumaric acids, quercetin, kaempferol, naringenin, chrysin, and pinocembrin. Generally, the quantity of a given polyphenol in the honey was around 0.2 mg/100 g of honey, except for chestnut honey, which contained around 3.0 mg of p-coumaric acid/100 g of honey. Analyses highlighted significant formation of cis isomers for phenolic acids during the extraction despite protection from light.
Izvori temeljnih principov vede fengshui skozi pojem korelativne kozmologije
Authors: ZIMA Matej
Published: August 2016

V članku obravnavam osnovne prvine kitajske vede fengshui 风水, ki se je razvila iz specifično kitajskih tehnično-magičnih praks. Zahodni tehničnih viri se pri raziskavi vede feng shui kažejo kot nezadostni, zato se posvečam klasičnim kitajskim izvorom te vede. Tem sledim zlasti skozi prevladujoči diskurz korelativne kozmologije iz dinastije Han, ko nastane tudi predhodnica vede fengshui – veda kanyu 堪舆. Fengshui v obdobju Šestih dinastij ter dinastijah Sui, Tang in Song doživi svoj razcvet, zlasti pa se takrat začne pojavljati prva prava fengshui literatura, ki jo v okviru »izumljanja tradicije« proizvajajo konfucijanski izobraženci. V dinastijah Yuan in Ming, ki tem tokovom bolj ali manj sledita, se fengshui že popularizira in postane del množične kulture. V dinastiji Qing poleg obravnavanja kulturnega pojava vede fengshui znotraj leposlovja opazimo tudi prve spremembe njenih praks, ki so plod zahodnih znanosti.
The Logic of “Mutual Transmission” in Huayan and Zen Buddhist Philosophy – Toward the Logic of Co-existence in a Globalized World
Authors: HASHI Hisaki
Published: August 2016

Is it true that in the history of East Asian cultures there was less “philosophy”, less “logic” and “rationality” before the process of modernization began in the nineteenth century? A number of scholars of East Asian Studies believe this is a form of prejudice. For example, Nishida Kitarō stated that in East Asian cultures there is another form of logic, which can be called the “logicus spiritus” (心の論理). This article examines the essential parts of this logic with regard to Huayan and Zen Buddhist philosophy, and is thus an effort at comparative philosophy.
Modeling Slope Environmental Lapse Rate (SELR) of temperature
in the monsoon glacio-hydrological regime of the Himalaya
Authors: Thayyen Renoj J. , Dimri Ashok P.
Published: August 2016

Abstract. Moisture, temperature and precipitation interplay forced through the orographic processes sustain and regulate the Himalayan cryospheric system. However, factors influencing the Slope Environmental Lapse Rate (SELR) of temperature along the Himalayan mountain slopes and an appropriate modeling solution remains a key knowledge gap. Present study evaulates the SELR variations in the monsoon regime of the Himalaya and proposes a modeling solution for the valley scale SELR assessment. SELR of selected station pairs in the Sutlej and Beas basins ranging between 662 m a.s.l. to 3130 m a.s.l. and that of Garhwal Himalaya ranging between 2540 m a.s.l. and 3763 m a.s.l. were assessed in this study. Study suggests moisture- temperature interplay is forcing the seasonal as well as elevation depended variability of SELR. SELR constrianed to the nival- glacier regime is found to be comparable with the saturated adiabatic lapse rate (SALR) and lower than the valley scale SELR. Moisture influx to the region, during Indian summer monsoon (ISM) is found to be lowering the seasonal valley scale SELR to SALR levels during July and August months. Highest valley scale SELR was observed in the months of April, May and June, which susequently lowered to the SALR level with the influx of monsoon moisture. This seasonal variability of SELR is found to be closly linked with the variations in the local lifting condensation levels (LCL). Inter-annual variations in SELR of the nival-glacier regime is found to be significant while that of the valley scale SELR is more stable. Hence, it is proposed to use the valley scale SELR for glacier melt/runoff studies. We propose a simple model for deriving the valley scale SELR of monsoon regime using a derivative of the Clausius–Clapeyron relationship. SELR modeling solution is achieved by deriving separate monthly SELR indices from one of the station pairs in the Beas basin from 1986–1990 and sucessfully applied for other select station pairs in Sutlej and Garhwal basins as well as for different time periods. This work emphasis that the arbitary use of temperature lapse rate is extremely untenable in the Himalayan region and significant further research is required to build data and concepts for a comphrehensive atmospheric model valid across the glacio-hydrologic regimes of the Himalaya.
Preditores da Síndrome de Burnout em Trabalhadores da Saúde no Contexto Hospitalar
Authors: Monteiro Janine Kieling , Carlotto Mary Sandra
Published: August 2016

Esta pesquisa buscou identificar preditores sócios demográficos e laborais das dimensões de Burnout em 182 trabalhadores da saúde no contexto hospitalar. Foi utilizado um questionário, o Maslach Burnout Inventory e a Escala de Avaliação do Contexto do Trabalho. Na análise dos dados empregou--se a análise de regressão múltipla. Considerar a profissão estressante foi a variável de maior poder explicativo para as dimensões de Exaustão Emocional e baixa Realização Profissional. Como variáveis preditoras da Despersonalização destacaram-se condições negativas de trabalho, estresse no atendimento ao paciente e sexo masculino. O perfil de risco para Burnout foi constituído de profissionais com maior escolaridade; tempo de profissão; que percebem profissão, condições de trabalho, escala de trabalho, tipo e quantidade de pacientes como fatores estressantes.
Efeitos de uma Intervenção Analítico-comportamental com Casal de Namorados
Authors: Bolsoni-Silva Alessandra Turini , Nogueira Sária Cristina , Santos de Carvalho Larissa Helena Zani
Published: August 2016

Estudar o relacionamento conjugal e a avaliação da efetividade de intervenções com casais pode promover as habilidades de comunicação, afeto e resolução de problemas. Pesquisas com casais de namorados na literatura são incipientes e acredita-se que ampliar tais comportamentos pode ajudar esses casais. O presente estudo de caso avalia uma intervenção (quatro sessões de avaliação e dez sessões de grupo) com um casal de namorados num delineamento de sujeito único, considerando medidas de linha de base, pré-teste, pós-teste e seguimento, combinado com medidas processuais de expectativa e satisfação com o procedimento conduzido. Os resultados demonstram satisfação com o tratamento, generalização para outros relacionamentos e melhoria do relacionamento em comunicação, afeto e resolução de problemas. Discute-se implicações para a prevenção e futuras pesquisas.
Direct Observation: Assessing Orthopaedic Trainee Competence in the Ambulatory Setting
Authors: Phillips Donna P. , Zuckerman Joseph D. , Kalet Adina , Egol Kenneth A.
Published: August 2016

The Accreditation Council of Graduate Medical Education requires that residency programs teach and assess trainees in six core competencies. Assessments are imperative to determine trainee competence and to ensure that excellent care is provided to all patients. A structured, direct observation program is feasible for assessing nontechnical core competencies and providing trainees with immediate constructive feedback. Direct observation of residents in the outpatient setting by trained faculty allows assessment of each core competency. Checklists are used to document residents’ basic communication skills, clinical reasoning, physical examination methods, and medical record keeping. Faculty concerns regarding residents’ professionalism, medical knowledge, fatigue, or ability to self-assess are tracked. Serial observations allow for the reinforcement and/or monitoring of skills and attitudes identified as needing improvement. Residents who require additional coaching are identified early in training. Progress in educational milestones is recorded, allowing an individualized educational program that ensures that future orthopaedic surgeons excel across all domains of medical and surgical competence.
Electron heating enhancement due to plasma series resonance in a capacitively coupled RF discharge: Electrical modeling and comparison to experimental measurements
Authors: Cao Minglu , Lu Yijia , Cheng Jia , Ji Linhong
Published: August 2016

The electron heating enhancement due to the self-excitation of the plasma series resonance in capacitively coupled plasmas is revisited by a combination of an equivalent circuit model and experiments. To improve the model accuracy, measured voltage waveforms at the powered electrode are used instead of prescribing a sinusoidal voltage supply in series with a bias capacitance. The results calculated from the electrical model are consistent with the experimental measurements performed by a Langmuir probe with verification of a microwave interferometer, at pressures of 0.2 and 0.3 Torr. High harmonics occurring in the discharge currents agree with observations in previous research. The nonlinear plasma series resonance effect is found to have a notable contribution to both ohmic and stochastic heating evaluated by the electron heating efficiencies.
Phytoremediation of petroleum hydrocarbons-contaminated soil using Desmodium incanum DC., Fabaceae
Authors: Kitamura Rafael Shinji Akiyama , Maranho Leila Teresinha
Published: August 2016

The current research aimed to investigate both the tolerance and the phytoremediation potential of Desmodium incanum DC. on petroleum-contaminated soil. There were analyzed D. incanum seeds germination, surviving, growth and development cultivated at different contaminants concentrations as well as the pollutant degradation rate by gas chromatography and rhizosphere community. The experiment was carried out on a greenhouse containing non-contaminated soil (NCS), vegetated contaminated soil (VCS) and non-vegetated contaminated soil (NVCS) at the following petroleum concentrations (petroleum per of dry soil): 50 g kg-1 and 100 g kg-1. The experiments were performed during 90 days. The germination was more evident as it was observed higher petroleum concentrations. After 90 days, the surviving rate of the both groups 100%, and the soil samples were extracted and analyzed by gas chromatography. The VCS (100 g kg-1) group growth was reduced when compared to the NVCS (100 g kg-1). The petroleum influenced the morph anatomy and development of the plant. Significant increases in the total area, cortical and central cylinder of the roots in the contamination presence. The plant provided the development of larger amounts of microorganisms in the rhizosphere zone, and higher petroleum compounds degradation, confirming their potential phytoremediation for soils contaminated by petroleum.
New information on the Wukongopteridae (Pterosauria) revealed by a new specimen from the Jurassic of China
Authors: Cheng Xin , Jiang Shunxing , Wang Xiaolin , Kellner Alexander W.A.
Published: August 2016

The Wukongopteridae is an important pterosaur group discovered from Yanliao Biota, because it combines character states seen in non-pterodactyloid and pterodactyloid pterosaurs. So far, the Wukongopteridae contains three genera:Wukongopterus,DarwinopterusandKunpengopterus; representing five species. Here we report on a new specimen, IVPP V 17959, that can be undoubtedly referred to the Wukongopteridae based on the presence of a confluent nasoantorbital fenestra, elongated cervical vertebrae (convergent with Pterodactyloidea) and a long tail enclosed by rod-like bony extensions of the zygapophyses. Traits distinguishing this new specimen from other wukongopterid pterosaurs include a premaxilla with a low ossified anterodorsal crest, a nasal bearing the most elongated process known in the Wukongopteridae, and a lacrimal that has a foramen in its middle portion. The new kind of premaxillary crest preserved in IVPP V 17959 suggests that the presence or absence of a premaxillary crest might be an interspecific feature within the Wukongopteridae. A phylogenetic analysis including all wukongopterid pterosaurs recovers IVPP V 17959 in a polytomy withWukongopterusand the species ofDarwinopterus, havingKunpengopterusin a more basal position. The postcranial skeleton of IVPP V 17959 has ontogenetically mature characteristics including a completely fused scapula and coracoid, fused proximal and distal carpal series, and an ossified extensor tendon process of the first wing phalanx, allowing its classification as ontogenetic stage five. Furthermore, the atlas and axis are separated in IVPP V 17959, which indicates that these two bones probably are not fused in skeletally mature wukongopterid individuals.
Is it safe to nest near conspicuous neighbours? Spatial patterns in predation risk associated with the density of American Golden-Plover nests
Authors: Giroux Marie-Andrée , Trottier-Paquet Myriam , Bêty Joël , Lamarre Vincent , Lecomte Nicolas
Published: August 2016

Predation is one of the main factors explaining nesting mortality in most bird species. Birds can avoid nest predation or reduce predation pressure by breeding at higher latitude, showing anti-predator behaviour, selecting nest sites protected from predators, and nesting in association with protective species. American Golden-Plovers (Pluvialis dominica) defend their territory by using various warning and distraction behaviours displayed at varying levels of intensity (hereafter “conspicuous behaviour”), as well as more aggressive behaviours such as aerial attacks, but only in some populations. Such antipredator behaviour has the potential to repel predators and thus benefit the neighbouring nests by decreasing their predation risk. Yet, conspicuous behaviour could also attract predators by signalling the presence of a nest. To test for the existence of a protective effect associated with the conspicuous antipredator behaviour of American Golden-Plovers, we studied the influence of proximity to plover nests on predation risk of artificial nests on Igloolik Island (Nunavut, Canada) in July 2014. We predicted that the predation risk of artificial nests would decrease with proximity to and density of plover nests. We monitored 18 plover nests and set 35 artificial nests at 30, 50, 100, 200, and 500 m from seven of those plover nests. We found that the predation risk of artificial nests increases with the density of active plover nests. We also found a significant negative effect of the distance to the nearest active protector nest on predation risk of artificial nests. Understanding how the composition and structure of shorebird communities generate spatial patterns in predation risks represents a key step to better understand the importance of these species of conservation concern in tundra food webs.
Vegemite Beer: yeast extract spreads as nutrient supplements to promote fermentation
Authors: Kerr Edward D. , Schulz Benjamin L.
Published: August 2016

Vegemite is an iconic Australian food spread made from spent brewers’ yeast extract, which has been reported to be used as an ingredient in illegal home brewing. In this study, we tested the utility of Vegemite and the similar spread Marmite in promoting fermentation. We could not culture microorganisms from either Vegemite or Marmite, consistent with these food-grade spreads being essentially sterile. To test if the addition of Vegemite or Marmite could assist in fermentation when additional viable yeast was also present, solutions containing glucose and a range of concentrations of either Vegemite or Marmite were inoculated with brewers’ yeast. No fermentation occurred in any condition without addition of extra brewer’s yeast. Fermentation did not occur when yeast was inoculated into solutions containing only glucose, but progressed efficiently with when Vegemite or Marmite was also added. Gas Chromatography confirmed that ethanol was present at ∼3% v/v post-fermentation in all samples which contained glucose, Vegemite or Marmite, and brewers’ yeast. Trace amounts of methanol were also detected. Mass spectrometry proteomics identified abundant intracellular yeast proteins and barley proteins in Vegemite and Marmite, and abundant secreted yeast proteins from actively growing yeast in those samples to which extra brewers’ yeast had been added. We estimate that the real-world cost of home brewed “Vegemite Beer” would be very low. Our results show that Vegemite or other yeast extract spreads could provide cheap and readily available sources of nutrient supplementation to increase the efficiency of fermentation in home brewing or other settings.
Host–pathogen interactions of nontypeable Haemophilus influenzae: from commensal to pathogen
Authors: Duell Benjamin Luke , Su Yu‐Ching , Riesbeck Kristian
Published: August 2016

Nontypeable Haemophilus influenzae (NTHi) is a commensal microbe often isolated from the upper and lower respiratory tract. This bacterial species can cause sinusitis, acute otitis media in preschool children, exacerbations in patients suffering from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, as well as conjunctivitis and bacteremia. Since the introduction of a vaccine against H. influenzae serotype b in the 1990s, the burden of H. influenzae‐related infections has been increasingly dominated by NTHi. Understanding the ability of NTHi to cause infection is currently an expanding area of study. NTHi is able to exert differential binding to the host tissue through the use of a broad range of adhesins. NTHi survival in the host is multifaceted, that is, using virulence factors involved in complement resistance, biofilm, modified immunoglobulin responses, and, finally, formation and utilization of host proteins as a secondary strategy of increasing the adhesive ability.
Resolving the mesospheric nighttime 4.3 µm emission puzzle: Laboratory demonstration of new mechanism for OH(υ) relaxation
Authors: Kalogerakis Konstantinos S. , Matsiev Daniel , Sharma Ramesh D. , Wintersteiner Peter P.
Published: August 2016

We report laboratory results that support a recently proposed mechanism for relaxation of highly vibrationally excited hydroxyl radical by ground‐state oxygen atoms (Sharma et al., GRL 42, 4639–4647 (2015)). According to this mechanism, which eventually leads to an enhancement of nocturnal 4.3 µm CO2 emissions in the mesosphere, the deactivation of OH(high υ) by O(3P) involves a fast, spin‐allowed, multiquantum vibration‐to‐electronic (V‐E) energy transfer process generating O(1D). We present laser‐based experiments that demonstrate these energy transfer processes in action and discuss some implications of the new mechanism for mesospheric OH. These developments represent a breakthrough addressing the long‐standing problem of unacceptably large discrepancies between models and observations of the nocturnal mesospheric 4.3 µm emission.
Diagnosing United States hurricane landfall risk: An alternative to count‐based methodologies
Authors: Staehling Erica M. , Truchelut Ryan E.
Published: August 2016

Assessing hurricane landfall risk is of immense public utility, yet extant methods of diagnosing annual tropical cyclone (TC) activity demonstrate no skill in diagnosing U.S. hurricane landfalls. Atlantic TC count itself has limited skill, explaining less than 20% of interannual variance in landfall incidence. Using extended landfall activity and reanalysis data sets, we employed empirical Poisson modeling to produce a landfall diagnostic index (LDI), incorporating spatially and temporally averaged upper level divergence, relative sea surface temperature, meridional wind, and zonal shear vorticity. LDI captures 31% of interannual variability of U.S. hurricane landfalls and offers physical insight into why indices that successfully capture TC activity fail to diagnose landfalls: there is inherent tension between conditions likely to steer hurricanes toward the U.S. and conditions favorable for TC development. Given this tension, attempting to diagnose, predict, or understand TC count is inadequate for quantifying societal impacts due to landfalling hurricanes.
Time and mode of exhumation of the Cordillera Blanca batholith (Peruvian Andes)
Authors: Margirier Audrey , Audin Laurence , Robert Xavier , Herman Frédéric , Ganne Jérôme , Schwartz Stéphane
Published: August 2016

The Cordillera Blanca batholith (12–5 Myr) forms the highest Peruvian summits and builds the footwall of the Cordillera Blanca normal fault (CBNF). Even if several models have been proposed, the processes driving both the exhumation of the Cordillera Blanca and extensional deformation along the CBNF are still debated. Here we quantify the emplacement depth and exhumation of the batholith of the northern Peru arc from the late Miocene to present. Based on a compilation of crystallization ages and new thermobarometry data in the Cordillera Blanca batholith, we propose that the batholith was emplaced at a depth of ~3 km in successive sills from 14 to 5 Ma. By contrast, the younger rocks exposed at the surface were emplaced the deepest (i.e., ~6 km) and are located close to the CBNF, suggesting post 5 Ma tilting. Furthermore, a formal inversion of the thermochronologic data indicates an increase of the exhumation rates in the Cordillera Blanca during the Quaternary. The higher predicted exhumation rates correlate with areas of high relief, both in the northern and central part of the Cordillera Blanca, suggesting that Quaternary valley carving by glaciations have a significant impact on the latest stage of the Cordillera Blanca exhumation (2–0 Ma).
A Unified Approach for the Enantioselective Synthesis of the Brominated Chamigrene Sesquiterpenes
Authors: Burckle Alexander J. , Vasilev Vasil H. , Burns Noah Z.
Published: August 2016

The brominated chamigrene sesquiterpenes constitute a large subclass of bromocyclohexane‐containing natural products, yet no general enantioselective strategy for the synthesis of these small molecules exists. Herein we report a general strategy for accessing this family of secondary metabolites, including the enantioselective synthesis of (−)‐α‐ and (−)‐ent‐β‐bromochamigrene, (−)‐dactylone, and (+)‐aplydactone. Access to these molecules is enabled by a stereospecific bromopolyene cyclization initiated by the solvolysis of an enantiomerically enriched vicinal bromochloride.
Sonderlösungen bei der brandschutztechnischen Bewertung von Konstruktionsdetails
Authors: Upmeyer Jens , Nause Peter
Published: August 2016

In bestehenden Gebäuden, aber auch bei Neubauten, können Bauteile oder Konstruktionsdetails hinsichtlich ihrer Feuerwiderstandsfähigkeit sehr oft nicht nach den eingeführten technischen Baubestimmungen bewertet werden. Für die Bewertung derartiger Bauteile oder Konstruktionsdetails existieren keine Regelwerke, da genau diese Ausführungsdetails nicht durch zertifizierte Prüfstellen geprüft bzw. in allgemeinen bauaufsichtlichen Verwendbarkeitsnachweisen geregelt worden sind. Allerdings können die Bauteile und Konstruktionsdetails sehr oft z. B. durch die Auswertung von Brandversuchen, in Anlehnung an DIN 4102‐4, anhand von ähnlichen Verwendbarkeitsnachweisen oder durch pragmatische Überlegungen in Feuerwiderstandsklassen eingestuft werden. Zur Absicherung der Bewertungsergebnisse werden seit der bauaufsichtlichen Einführung der Brandschutz‐Eurocodes immer öfter Ingenieurmethoden des Brandschutzes auf der Grundlage dieser Eurocodes in Form von Heißbemessungen durchgeführt. Im Rahmen dieses Beitrags werden Methoden und Möglichkeiten der brandschutztechnischen Bewertung der Bauteile und Konstruktionsdetails vorgestellt. Die Vorgehensweise beim Nachweis einschließlich der Dimensionierung von gegebenenfalls erforderlichen Ertüchtigungsmaßnahmen wird durch Anwendungsbeispiele aus der Praxis erläutert. Dabei werden die verschiedenen Werkstoffe Stahl, Beton und Holz auch in Verbindung mit verschiedenen Brandschutzprodukten behandelt. Der Beitrag soll die Möglichkeiten der Bewertung von Bauteilen und Konstruktionsdetails mit Brandschutzanforderungen einschließlich ihrer Ertüchtigungsmaßnahmen insbesondere auch im Bestand verdeutlichen.
Analyzing the Adaption of Different Adsorption Models for Describing the Shale Gas Adsorption Law
Authors: Wang Zhouhua , Li Yun , Guo Ping , Meng Weijie
Published: August 2016

The adsorption capacity of a shale gas reservoir is mainly determined by the isothermal adsorption experiment. In this study, the building conditions and performances of seven single‐component and five multi‐component adsorption models were compared and analyzed. The results show that most shale gas reservoir adsorption characteristics obey those of type I on the macroscopic scale. The adsorption isotherms of single components can be described by the Langmuir‐Freundlich, Langmuir, and Toth models. The revised Langmuir, extended Langmuir, and the loading ratio correlation (LRC) models can be applied to binary‐component mixtures; and the extended Langmuir and LRC models perform best for shale gas. The obtained results might have an important promoting effect for modeling the shortage of shale gas.
Periodic Operation with Modulation of Inlet Concentration and Flow Rate. Part I: Nonisothermal Continuous Stirred‐Tank Reactor
Authors: Nikolić Daliborka , Seidel‐Morgenstern Andreas , Petkovska Menka
Published: August 2016

The nonlinear frequency response (NFR) method, which is an analytical, fast, and easy method for evaluating the performance of forced periodically operated chemical reactors, was used to investigate possible improvements to a nonisothermal continuous stirred tank reactor (CSTR) when inlet concentration and/or flow rate is periodically modulated. The product yield corresponding to periodic operation is defined, expressions for its estimation, based on the NFR method, are derived, and it is used to evaluate the performance improvements due to periodic operation. Part I considers the general nonisothermal case. In Part II, these results are applied to an adiabatic CSTR and used to evaluate possible improvements for the case of the hydrolysis reaction of acetic anhydride.
Gender differences in the effect of grief reactions and burnout on emotional distress among clinical oncologists
Authors: Granek Leeat , Krzyzanowska Monika K. , Nakash Ora , Cohen Michal , Ariad Samuel , Barbera Lisa , Levy Rotem , Ben‐David Merav
Published: August 2016

BACKGROUND

The current study was conducted to examine gender differences in the effect of grief reactions and burnout on emotional distress among clinical oncologists.

METHODS

The participants included a convenience sample of 178 oncologists from Israel (52 of whom were women) and Canada (48 of whom were women). Oncologists completed a questionnaire package that included a sociodemographic survey, the General Health Questionnaire, a burnout measure, and the Adult Oncologists Grief Questionnaire. To examine the effect of grief reactions and burnout on emotional distress while controlling for country and past depression within each gender, 2 hierarchical linear regression analyses were computed.

RESULTS

Female oncologists reported significantly more grief responses to patient death (mean, 47.72 [standard deviation (SD), 8.71] and mean, 44.53 [SD, 9.19], respectively), more emotional distress (mean, 12.41 [SD, 4.36] and mean, 10.64 [SD, 3.99], respectively), and more burnout (mean, 2.59 [SD, 1.69] and mean, 1.84 [SD, 1.5], respectively). For both genders, higher levels of grief reactions were associated with greater emotional distress among those who reported high levels of burnout (P<.001). However, for men, the association between grief reactions and emotional distress also was documented at moderate levels of burnout (P<.001).

CONCLUSIONS

Patient death is a regular part of clinical oncology. It is essential that oncologists be able to cope effectively with this aspect of their work. The findings of the current study highlight the need to take into account the cumulative stressors that oncologists contend with when designing supportive interventions. Gender differences in burnout, reactions to patient death, and emotional distress need to be addressed to ensure the best quality of life for oncologists and the best quality of care for their patients. Cancer 2016;122:3705‐14. © 2016 American Cancer Society.