bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Bi-clausal sluicing approach to dislocation copying in Cantonese
Authors: Cheung Lawrence Yam-Leung
Published: December 2015

This article discusses a variant of Cantonese dislocation structures known as “dislocation copying” wherein a (non-)constituent string of the host clause gets copied at the right edge. Unlike some previous proposals, it is argued that the relationship between the host clause and the dislocated string cannot be explained purely on pragmatic grounds. Rather, a syntactic account is necessary to explain the dislocated string’s sensitivity to structure. Adopting bi-clausal analysis, we propose that dislocation copying involves the fronting of a remnant containing an elided XP to the left periphery of the second clause, followed by the sluicing of the remainder of the clause. It is argued that the dislocation string gives rise to contrastive/emphasis interpretation. We have also compared similar dislocations in Dutch, German, Japanese and Korean with Cantonese. The findings suggest that sluicing in a bi-clausal structure is common to all of these dislocation structures. The typological variation arises mainly from the different types of phrasal fronting that feed sluicing.
Variation across university genres in seven disciplines
Authors: Parodi Giovanni
Published: December 2015

This paper focuses on the identification of academic written genres from two corpora of reading material in Spanish that undergraduate and graduate university students are assigned in order to access specialized information across seven disciplines, namely Biotechnology, Chemistry, Economics, History, Linguistics, Literature and Physics. A group of 31 genres were identified across the discourses of the disciplines under study. Among the most frequent genres, “Textbook”, “Research Article”, and “Disciplinary Text”, were identified. Contrasting reading material, the importance of the “Research Article” is highly relevant, as it was the only genre that emerged in all seven disciplines. What I am proposing is that, regarding generic variation, there are clear-cut differences in the academic discourse of disciplines pertaining to Social Sciences and Humanities (SS&H) and Basic Sciences (BS), as it has been initially proposed (Parodi 2010a, 2014). However, the findings show that Economics academic discourse is closer to BS in terms of genre constitution.
Subjective definitions of spirituality and religion
Authors: Altmeyer Stefan , Klein Constantin , Keller Barbara , Silver Christopher F. , Hood Ralph W. , Streib Heinz
Published: December 2015

This paper shows how corpus methods can be usefully employed in the field of psychology of religion in triangulation with other empirical instruments. Current international surveys mirror an on-going transformation in subjective meanings in religious discourse cumulating in the question: what do people actually mean when they describe themselves as spiritual, religious or neither? The paper presents results of a cross-cultural study with 1,886 participants in the US and Germany. The thematic goal is to explore subjective understandings by examining personal definitions ofreligionandspirituality. Methodologically, the study shows how the key word procedure can be used to compare the semantic profile of subjective concepts between different languages and cultures by contrasting them to standard language and by using socio-biographical context variables to build contrasting sub-corpora. To control the in-equivalence of existing reference corpora in terms of size and design a so-called reference control corpus (RCC) is introduced.
The evolution and development of human cooperation
Authors: Amici Federica
Published: December 2015

Humans have attained an unparalleled level of sophistication when engaging in collaborative and cooperative activities. Remarkably, the skills and motivation to engage in complex forms of collaboration and cooperation seem to emerge early on during infancy and childhood. In this paper, I extensively review the literature on the evolution and development of human cooperation, emphasizing important aspects of inter-cultural variation in collaborative and cooperative behaviour. This will not only allow us to confront the different evolutionary scenarios in which cooperation may have emerged, but will especially provide the reader with a first orientation in the abundant literature on human cooperation.
Interacting to remember at multiple timescales
Authors: Bietti Lucas M. , Sutton John
Published: December 2015

Everyday joint remembering, from family remembering around the dinner table to team remembering in the operating theatre, relies on the successful interweaving of multiple cognitive, bodily, social and material resources, anchored in specific cultural ecosystems. Such systems for joint remembering in social interactions are composed of processes unfolding over multiple but complementary timescales, which we distinguish for analytic purposes so as better to study their interanimation in practice: (i) faster, lower-levelcoordination processesof behavioral matching and interactional synchrony occurring at timescale t1; (ii) mid-rangecollaborative processeswhich re-evoke past experiences in groups, unfolding at timescale t2; (iii)cooperative processesinvolved in the transmission of memories over longer periods occurring at timescale t3; and (iv)cultural processesand practices operating within distributed socio-cognitive networks over evolutionary and historical timeframes, unfolding at timescale t4. In this paper we survey studies of how the processes operating across these overlapping and complementary timescales constitute joint remembering in social interactions. We describe coordination, collaboration, cooperation, and culture as complementary aspects of interacting to remember, which we consider as a complex phenomenon unfolding over multiple timescales (t1, t2, t3, t4).
Coordination in language
Authors: Cowley Stephen J. , Vork Steffensen Sune
Published: December 2015

Temporality underpins how living systems coordinate and function. Unlike measures that use mathematical conventions, lived temporalities grant functional cohesion to organisms-in-the-world. In foxtail grasses, for example, self-maintenance meshes endogenous processes with exogenous rhythms. In embrained animals, temporalities can contribute to learning. And cowbirds coordinate in a soundscape that includes conspecifics: social learning allows them to connect copulating with past events such that females exert ‘long-distance’ control over male singing. Using Howard Pattee’s work, we compare the foxtail’s self-maintenance, gender-based cowbird learning and how humans manage multi-scalar activity. We argue that, while all living things coordinate, temporal ranging is typical of vertebrates. As primates, humans too use temporal ranging – they can draw on social learning, anticipate winter and manage coordinated action. However language behaviour (or languaging) grants new control over the scales of time. People connect the impersonal to lived experience in narratives, as they draw on autobiography and enact cultural practices. Humans become singular individuals who use temporal experience to manage affect, relationships, beliefs, fictions, and knowledge. Individual subjectivity permits collaborative and competitive activity based on linking events with quite different histories. As a result, alone of the vertebrates, we claim that humans becometime-rangers.
Insights into coordination, collaboration, and cooperation from the behavioral and cognitive sciences
Authors: Cienki Alan
Published: December 2015

The study of coordination, collaboration, and cooperation brings to the fore a number of questions concerning the cognitive status of the various forms of behaviors that are involved. In this article, we will briefly consider coordination, collaboration, and cooperation in terms of their respective time courses and how they relate to such topics as intentionality, consciousness, role perspective, mental models, and mental simulation. Taken together, the study of coordination, collaboration, and cooperation provides a rich area for interaction between the behavioral and cognitive sciences.
Pushed output in a multi-stage dictogloss task
Authors: Basterrechea María
Published: December 2015

The present study set out to determine how learners’ written production would affect their noticing and production of a specific language form (the English 3rd person singular present tense marker -s) upon receiving relevant input subsequently, in an attempt to contribute to the ongoing debate about how production affects noticing of linguistic forms. One hundred and eighteen (118) English-as-a-Foreign-Language (EFL) learners (age range 15–6) in two educational contexts (Content and Language Integrated Learning and mainstream EFL) carried out a multi-stage dictogloss task. They followed the usual steps in this type of task (listen and jot down key words, text reconstruction). Then the experimental group (EG) listened to the text once again and compared it with their reconstructed version of the original passage. Their production of the target feature was compared to that of a control group (CG) who did not receive input after their own reconstruction. Results showed that the difference between the EG and the CG in the amount of instances of the target feature produced in the dictogloss task did not reach statistical significance. In other words, the act of producing and subsequent exposure to relevant input did not affect the noticing and production of the morpheme under study. In addition, no interaction between the pushed output condition and the educational context was found.
“Factive” parenthetical clauses?
Authors: Gentens Caroline
Published: December 2015

Regrethas traditionally been regarded as a “true factive” predicate that always presupposes the truth of its complement and cannot occur in parenthetical clauses (Hooper 1975). In the light of earlier observations thatI regretandI regret to sayhave acquired non-factive uses (Heyvaert and Cuyckens 2010), this paper presents a synchronic analysis of the discourse contexts in whichI regretandI regret to sayoccur as parenthetical clauses, and co-occur not with factive complements, but with reported utterances. From a diachronic point of view, the article describes howregret-clauses came to function as illocution modifiers to a reported utterance after the emergence of various types ofto-infinitival complements following the predicate. The article deviates from the traditional view that factive complements are limited to presupposed true complements as expressed in gerunds orthat-clauses. Instead, it broadens the concept of factivity to include presupposed non-epistemic complements and complements realized asto-infinitives.
Interrelationships between Time and Space in English and French discourse
Authors: Demagny Annie-Claude
Published: December 2015

This paper explores the expression of temporal boundaries in narrative discourse drawing on cartoon-elicited productions which narrate caused and/or voluntary motion events involving four types of paths. We hypothesise that the way speakers express temporal boundaries depends on the “framing” of their first language (Talmy 2000). We therefore examine productions by speakers of L1 French (V-framed language), L1 English (S-framed) and English learners of L2 French at three levels of proficiency. Productions may include aSetting sectionand aMain event. Findings show that each speaker group has its own mode of expressing temporal and spatial boundaries. The choice in L1 French depends on Path type, but not in L1 English. English learners of L2 French pattern more like L1 French speakers for verbal morphology, but their expression of space is nearly similar to their L1 English. The discussion highlights implications of this linguistic framing type for L2 acquisition.
The underpinnings of a composite measure for automatic term extraction
Authors: Periñán-Pascual Carlos
Published: December 2015

The corpus-based identification of those lexical units which serve to describe a given specialized domain usually becomes a complex task, where an analysis oriented to the frequency of words and the likelihood of lexical associations is often ineffective. The goal of this article is to demonstrate that a user-adjustable composite metric such as SRC can accommodate to the diversity of domain-specific glossaries to be constructed from small- and medium-sized specialized corpora of non-structured texts. Unlike for most of the research in automatic term extraction, where single metrics are usually combined indiscriminately to produce the best results, SRC is grounded on the theoretical principles of salience, relevance and cohesion, which have been rationally implemented in the three components of this metric.
Understanding the physics of ELM pacing via vertical kicks in JET in view of ITER
Authors: de la Luna E. , Chapman I.T. , Rimini F. , Lomas P.J. , Saibene G. , Koechl F. , Sartori R. , Saarelma S. , Albanese R. , Flanagan J. , Maviglia F. , Parail V. , Sips A.C.C. , Solano E.R.
Published: December 2015

Experiments on JET, with both the previous carbon wall (JET-C) and the new Be/W wall (JET-ILW), have demonstrated the efficacy of using a fast vertical plasma motion (known as vertical kicks in JET) for active ELM control. In this paper we report on a series of experiments that have been recently conducted in JET-ILW with the goal of further improving the physics understanding of the processes governing the triggering of ELMs via vertical kicks. This is a necessary step to confidently extrapolate this ELM control method to ITER. Experiments have shown that ELMs can be reliably triggered provided a minimum vertical plasma displacement and velocity is imposed. The magnitude of the minimum displacement depends on the plasma parameters, being smaller for higher pedestal temperatures and lower collisionalities, which is encouraging in view of ITER. Modelling and stability analysis suggest that a localized current density induced by the vertical plasma movement close to the separatrix plays a major role in the ELM triggering mechanism, which is consistent with the experimental observations. The implications of these results for the extrapolation of this ELM control scheme to ITER are discussed.
Simulation study of NBI heating in the time-evolving and multi-ion-species plasmas of LHD
Authors: Yamaguchi H. , Murakami S.
Published: December 2015

Numerical simulations of neutral beam injection (NBI) heating in the time-evolving and multi-ion-species plasma in the large helical device (LHD) are performed. Two typical impurity species in the high-

experiment plasma, helium and carbon, are considered. The birth simulation using the HFREYA code has shown that the fast ion birth increases with the carbon impurity fraction in the tangential and perpendicular NBI heating cases. The GNET-TD code is used to simulate the slowing down of the fast ions, taking into account the plasma time evolution, impurity collisions and guiding-centre motion in the three-dimensional magnetic configuration. It is found that the fast ion confinement is deteriorated by the pitch-angle scattering with carbon ions, nevertheless the total heat deposition of the tangential NBI increases with the carbon fraction in the simulation of steady-state plasma. The time-dependent simulation with the carbon pellet injection has shown the deformation of the fast ion distribution function and an increase in the heat depositions after the carbon pellet injection. It has also been shown that the steady-state simulations underestimate the heat deposition in the core region right after the pellet injection.
Application of symbolic regression to the derivation of scaling laws for tokamak energy confinement time in terms of dimensionless quantities
Authors: Murari A. , Peluso E. , Lungaroni M. , Gelfusa M. , Gaudio P.
Published: December 2015

In many scientific applications, it is important to investigate how certain properties scale with the parameters of the systems. The experimental studies of scalings have traditionally been addressed with log regression, which limits the results to power laws and to theoretical and not data-driven dimensionless quantities. This has also been the case in nuclear fusion, in which the scaling of the energy confinement time is a crucial aspect in understanding the physics of transport and in the design of future devices. Traditionally two main assumptions are at the basis of the most widely accepted empirical scaling laws for the confinement time: (a) the dimensionless variables used are the ones derived from the symmetries of the Vlasov equation; (b) the final scalings have the mathematical form of power laws. In this paper, it is shown how symbolic regression (SR), implemented with genetic programming (GP) techniques, can be used to test these hypotheses. Neither assumption is confirmed by the available data of the multi-machine International Tokamak Physics Activity (ITPA) of validated tokamak discharges. The statistically soundest expressions are not power laws and cannot be formulated in terms of the traditional dimensionless quantities. The consequences of the data-driven scaling laws obtained are both practical and theoretical: the confinement time for the ITER can be significantly shorter than foreseen by power laws and different dimensionless variables should be considered for theoretical investigations. On the other hand, higher quality databases should be built to reduce the uncertainties in the extrapolations. It is also worth emphasising that the proposed methodology is fully general and therefore can be applied to any field of science.
Application of transfer entropy to causality detection and synchronization experiments in tokamaks
Authors: Murari A. , Peluso E. , Gelfusa M. , Garzotti L. , Frigione D. , Lungaroni M. , Pisano F. , Gaudio P.
Published: December 2015

Determination of causal-effect relationships can be a difficult task even in the analysis of time series. This is particularly true in the case of complex, nonlinear systems affected by significant levels of noise. Causality can be modelled as a flow of information between systems, allowing to better predict the behaviour of a phenomenon on the basis of the knowledge of the one causing it. Therefore, information theoretic tools, such as the transfer entropy, have been used in various disciplines to quantify the causal relationship between events. In this paper, Transfer Entropy is applied to determining the information relationship between various phenomena in Tokamaks. The proposed approach provides unique insight about information causality in difficult situations, such as the link between sawteeth and ELMs and ELM pacing experiments. The application to the determination of disruption causes, and therefore to the classification of disruption types, looks also very promising. The obtained results indicate that the proposed method can provide a quantitative and statistically sound criterion to address the causal-effect relationships in various difficult and ambiguous situations if the data is of sufficient quality.
Improved error estimates for splitting methods applied to highly-oscillatory nonlinear Schrödinger equations
Authors: Chartier Philippe , Méhats Florian , Thalhammer Mechthild , Zhang Yong
Published: December 2015

In this work, the error behavior of operator splitting methods is analyzed for highly-oscillatory differential equations. The scope of applications includes time-dependent nonlinear Schrödinger equations, where the evolution operator associated with the principal linear part is highly-oscillatory and periodic in time. In a first step, a known convergence result for the second-order Strang splitting method applied to the cubic Schrödinger equation is adapted to a wider class of nonlinearities. In a second step, the dependence of the global error on the decisive parameter

0
>
ε
>

>
1

0 > \varepsilon >\!\!> 1

, defining the length of the period, is examined. The main result states that, compared to established error estimates, the Strang splitting method is more accurate by a factor 

ε
\varepsilon

, provided that the time stepsize is chosen as an integer fraction of the period. This improved error behavior over a time interval of fixed length, which is independent of the period, is due to an averaging effect. The extension of the convergence result to higher-order splitting methods and numerical illustrations complement the investigations.
On 3–braid knots of finite concordance order
Authors: Lisca Paolo
Published: December 2015

We study 3–braid knots of finite smooth concordance order. A corollary of our main result is that a chiral 3–braid knot of finite concordance order is ribbon.
A Randomized Controlled Trial of Mentoring Interventions for Underrepresented Minorities
Authors: Lewis Vivian , Martina Camille A. , McDermott Michael P. , Trief Paula M. , Goodman Steven R. , Morse Gene D. , LaGuardia Jennifer G. , Sharp Daryl , Ryan Richard M.
Published: December 2015

Purpose

To conduct a randomized controlled trial to evaluate the effects of different mentoring interventions on the basic psychological need satisfaction of underrepresented minorities and women in academia.

Method

Participants were 150 mentor/protégé dyads from three academic medical centers and eight other colleges and universities in western and central New York, randomized from 2010 to 2013 into mentor training (using principles of self-determination theory); peer mentoring for protégés; mentor training and peer mentoring for protégés combined; or control/usual practice. Protégé participants were graduate students, fellows, and junior faculty who were from underrepresented groups based on race, ethnicity, gender, or disability.

The primary analysis was a comparison of intervention effects on changes in protégés’ satisfaction of their basic psychological needs (competence, autonomy, and relatedness) with their mentor. They completed a well-validated, online questionnaire every two months for one year.

Results

There was no significant effect at the end of one year of either mentor training or peer mentoring on protégés’ psychological basic need satisfaction with mentor specifically or at work in general. Exploratory analyses showed a significant effect of the mentor-based intervention on the protégés’ overall psychological need satisfaction with their mentor at two months, the time point closest to completing mentor training.

Conclusions

This randomized controlled trial showed a potential short-term effect of mentor training on changing basic psychological need satisfaction of underrepresented scholars with their mentors. Despite the lack of sustained effect of either mentor training or peer mentoring, these short-term changes suggest feasibility and potential for future study.
The inhibitive properties of Nopal slime on the corrosion of steel in chloride-contaminated mortar
Authors: Martinez-Molina Wilfrido , Torres-Acosta Andres , Hernández-Leos Rosalba , Alonso-Guzman Elia , Mendoza-Pérez Itzel , Martinez-Peña Itandehui
Published: December 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to determine if a type of cactus mucilage, Opuntia ficus-indica (OFI), may act as a corrosion inhibitor for carbon steel in cement-based materials (mortar) exposed to chloride-laden environment.

Design/methodology/approach

– Mortar prisms, reinforced with carbon steel rods, were immersed in sodium chloride (NaCl) solution for five wet – dry cycles. The experimentation included electrochemical monitoring (corrosion potential, Ecorr, and polarization resistance, Rp) of carbon steel during the time of exposure until corrosion-induced cracking appeared at the mortar surface. Crack survey on the mortar prisms was performed. Carbon steel rods were retrieved from the mortar after crack survey and steel mass loss at the end of the experimental period was estimated. A comparison between the different mixtures was also performed.

Findings

– OFI mucilage did perform as a corrosion inhibitor of steel in chloride contaminated mortar.

Research limitations/implications

– The experimental program needs to be corroborated in concrete specimens with typical dimensions. The surface oxide/hydroxide formation of the carbon steel in contact with the OFI mucilage is still unknown; thus, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) analyses are needed.

Practical implications

– OFI mucilage is a suitable natural product that can be used to increase durability of concrete structures not only in countries where OFI cactus is produced, but also in many other countries where this plant is considered a plague.

Originality/value

– The new information obtained from this paper is the innovative use of a by-product of this cactus plant for construction industry applications.
Preserving the value of highway maintenance equipment against roadway deicers: a case study and preliminary cost benefit analysis
Authors: Shi Xianming , Hansen Greg , Mills Monty , Jungwirth Scott , Zhang Yan
Published: December 2015

Purpose

– This paper aims to report the best practices of deicer corrosion control adopted by the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) to preserve the performance, reliability and value of its highway maintenance equipment assets.

Design/methodology/approach

– To enable quantitative analyses, data were collected from a site visit to WSDOT, as well as from a survey of maintenance practitioners from various transportation agencies. The direct costs related to equipment corrosion aggravated by the exposure to roadway deicers were analyzed, along with the direct benefits of mitigating such corrosion, using WSDOT as a case study. In addition, the same preliminary cost benefit analysis was conducted for an “average” Department of Transportation in a northern climate.

Findings

– Both cases show a highly favorable benefit-to-cost ratio for enhanced investment in controlling the risk of deicer corrosion.

Research limitations/implications

– It has not yet been possible to confirm this compelling argument because the analysis is partly based on assumptions instead of fully based on actual data.

Practical implications

– This work highlights the need to collect the relevant data such that future analysis and sensitivity analysis can be substantiated with actual data on costs and benefits. It concludes with a few suggestions for implementation.

Originality/value

– Many components in highway maintenance equipment fleet are at the risk of metallic corrosion, which is exacerbated in service environments where roadway deicers have been applied. This work lays the foundation for future research into this important issue.
Corrosion – inhibiting properties of molybdenum-containing pigments in coatings
Authors: Hájková Tereza , Kalendova Andrea
Published: December 2015

Purpose

– This paper aims to synthesise anticorrosion pigments containing molybdenum for paints intended for corrosion protection of metals.

Design/methodology/approach

– The anticorrosion pigments were prepared by high-temperature solid-state synthesis from the appropriate oxides, carbonates and calcium metasilicate. Stoichiometric molybdates and core-shell molybdates with a non-isometric particle shape containing Ca, Sr, Zn, Mg and Fe were synthesised. The pigments were examined by X-ray diffraction analysis and scanning electron microscopy. Paints based on an epoxy resin and containing the substances at a pigment volume concentration of 10 volume per cent were prepared. The paints were subjected to physico-mechanical tests and to tests in corrosion atmospheres. The corrosion test results were compared to those of the paint with a commercial pigment, which is used in many industrial applications.

Findings

– The molybdate structure of each pigment prepared was elucidated. The core-shell molybdates exhibit a non-isometric particle shape. The pigments prepared were found to impart a very good anticorrosion efficiency to the paints. A high anticorrosion efficiency was found with the pigments Fe2(MoO4)3 and Fe2(MoO4)3/CaSiO3 and with Mg and Zn molybdates.

Practical implications

– The pigments can be used for the formulation of paints intended for the corrosion protection of metals. The pigments also improve the paints’ physical properties.

Originality/value

– The use of the pigments in anticorrosion paints for the protection of metals is new. The benefits include the use and the procedure of synthesis of the anticorrosion pigments which are free from heavy metals and are acceptable from the aspect of environmental protection. Moreover, the core-shell molybdates, whose high efficiency is comparable to that of the stoichiometric molybdates, have lower molybdenum contents.
Unpacking the link between entrepreneurialism and employability
Authors: Bell Robin
Published: December 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between students’ entrepreneurial attitudes and traits and their classification of employment six months after university graduation. It aims to identify what specific attitudes and traits of entrepreneurial graduates are linked to employability in a professional or managerial field.

Design/methodology/approach

– The research adopts a quantitative approach to measure the entrepreneurial drive of final-year undergraduate business school students and regresses this measurement against the employment level of the same students six months after their graduation. The employment classification of each respondent was classified as “professional/managerial” or “non-professional/non-managerial”, in line with the Standard Occupational Classification 2010.

Findings

– The research found that both proactive disposition and achievement motivation were statistically linked to the likelihood of graduates being employed in a professional or managerial position six months after graduation.

Originality/value

– This research goes beyond existing literature linking entrepreneurship to employability to quantitatively examine what specific attitudes and traits can be linked to employability in recent graduates. By identifying the aspects of entrepreneurialism that have a relationship with employability, more information is available for educators who are designing entrepreneurial education programmes and allows for greater focus on aspects that may be of greatest benefit to all students.
Mas5, a homologue of bacterial DnaJ, is indispensable for the host infection and environmental adaptation of a filamentous fungal insect pathogen
Authors: Wang Jie , Ying Sheng‐Hua , Hu Yue , Feng Ming‐Guang
Published: December 2015

Mas5, a yeast heat shock protein classified to the Hsp40 group, is homologous to bacterial archetype DnaJ but functionally unexplored in filamentous fungi. Here we identify a Mas5 homologue (46.86 kDa) in Beauveria bassiana and show its indispensability for host infection and environmental adaptation of the fungal insect pathogen. The deletion of mas5 caused severe defects in aerial conidiation, conidial germination and submerged blastospore production (mimic to host haemocoel). The deletion mutant lost 100% virulence to Galleria mellonella larvae through normal cuticular penetration (topical inoculation) and 50% through cuticle‐bypassing infection (intrahaemocoel injection). It formed no blastospore in vivo after inoculation or only a very few after injection. Its extracellular (cuticle degrading) enzymes and virulence‐relating Pr1 proteases were 62% and 32% less active respectively. It became more sensitive to high osmolarity, oxidation, cell‐wall perturbation, heat shock and UV‐B irradiation. These concurred with reduced contents of intracellular mannitol and trehalose, decreased activities of antioxidant enzymes, impaired cell walls and suppressed transcripts of stress‐responsive and virulence‐relating genes. All the changes were restored by targeted mas5 complementation. All together, Mas5 is indispensable for the in vitro and in vivo life cycle of B. bassiana by targeting many sets of enzymes/proteins at transcriptional and post‐transcriptional levels.
Serobactins‐mediated iron acquisition systems optimize competitive fitness of Herbaspirillum seropedicae inside rice plants
Authors: Rosconi Federico , Trovero María F. , de Souza Emanuel M. , Fabiano Elena
Published: December 2015

Herbaspirillum seropedicae Z67 is a diazotrophic endophyte able to colonize the interior of many economically relevant crops such as rice, wheat, corn and sorghum. Under iron‐deficient conditions, this organism secretes serobactins, a suite of lipopetide siderophores. The role of siderophores in the interaction between endophytes and their plant hosts are not well understood. In this work, we aimed to determine the importance of serobactins‐mediated iron acquisition systems in the interaction of H. seropedicae with rice plants. First we provide evidence, by using a combination of genome analysis, proteomic and genetic studies, that the Hsero_2345 gene encodes a TonB‐dependent receptor involved in iron–serobactin complex internalization when iron bioavailability is low. Our results show that survival of the Hsero_2345 mutant inside rice plants was not significantly different from that of the wild‐type strain. However, when plants were co‐inoculated at equal ratios with the wild‐type strain and with a double mutant defective in serobactins synthesis and internalization, recovery of mutant was significantly impaired after 8 days post‐inoculation. These results demonstrate that serobactins‐mediated iron acquisition contributes to competitive fitness of H. seropedicae inside host plants.
On assumptions behind estimates of abundance from counts at multiple sites
Authors: Knape Jonas , Korner‐Nievergelt Fränzi
Published: December 2015

Count data of animals observed from multiple sites are commonly used to study variation in abundance across space and time. Because some individuals typically go undetected in such surveys, count data alone have traditionally been thought to not contain information about absolute abundance. In a recent paper, we showed that estimates of absolute abundance using single‐visit methods with covariates (Sólymos, et  al. Environmetrics, 2012, 23, 197 ) can be biased arbitrarily low if the link function used for detection probability is mis‐specified. Sólymos & Lele (Methods in Ecology and Evolution, 2015, in press) argue that this is not a relevant issue in practice.

We discuss the implications of the assumptions necessary for estimating abundance from the single‐visit model and clarify and extend results in Knape & Korner‐Nievergelt (Methods in Ecology and Evolution, 2015, 6, 298). We also discuss assumptions of the Dail‐Madsen model.

We show that for the single‐visit model a partially scaled link function which covers the full range from 0 to 1 leads to the same scaling issue as the scaled link function used in Knape & Korner‐Nievergelt (2015) which only covers a restricted range.

We argue that there is essentially no information about absolute abundance contained in single‐visit count data. Additional more direct data on detection probabilities is required to robustly estimate absolute abundances.
Identification of the G protein‐coupled estrogen receptor (GPER) in human prostate: expression site of the estrogen receptor in the benign and neoplastic gland
Authors: Rago V. , Romeo F. , Giordano F. , Ferraro A. , Carpino A.
Published: December 2015

Estrogens are involved in growth, differentiation and pathogenesis of human prostate through the mediation of the classical estrogen receptors ERα and ERβ. The G protein‐coupled estrogen receptor (GPER) is a ‘novel’ mediator of estrogen signaling which has been recently recognized in some human reproductive tissues, but its expression in the prostate gland is still unknown. Here, we investigated GPER in benign (from 5 patients) and neoplastic prostatic tissues (from 50 patients) by immunohistochemical analysis and Western blotting. Normal areas of benign prostates revealed a strong GPER immunoreactivity in the basal epithelial cells while luminal epithelial cells were unreactive and stromal cells were weakly immunostained. GPER was also immunolocalized in adenocarcinoma samples but the immunoreactivity of tumoral areas decreased from Gleason pattern 2 to Gleason pattern 4. Furthermore, a strong GPER immunostaining was also revealed in cells of pre‐neoplastic lesions (high‐grade prostatic intra‐epithelial neoplasia). Western blot analysis of benign and tumor protein extracts showed the presence of a ~42 kDa band, consistent with the GPER molecular weight. An increase in both pAkt and p cAMP‐response‐binding protein (pCREB) levels was also observed in poorly differentiated PCa samples. Finally, this work identified GPER in the epithelial basal cells of benign human prostate, with a different localization with respect to the classical estrogen receptors. Furthermore, the expression of GPER in prostatic adenocarcinoma cells was also observed but with a modulation of the immunoreactivity according to tumor cell arrangements.
Long‐term survival in women with borderline ovarian tumors: a population‐based survey of borderline ovarian tumors in Sweden 1960–2007
Authors: Kalapotharakos Grigorios , Högberg Thomas , Bergfeldt Kjell , Borgfeldt Christer
Published: December 2015

Introduction

We conducted an evaluation of incidence and survival of women with borderline ovarian tumors in Sweden.

Material and methods

All women diagnosed with borderline ovarian tumor in the Swedish Cancer Register 1960–2007 (n = 6252) combined with follow up in the Swedish Death Registry to 1 July 2009 were included. Estimation of age‐standardized relative survival rate according to time periods for diagnosis.

Results

The incidence of borderline ovarian tumors increased during the study period, with a steep increase during the 1980s. The age standardized 5‐year relative survival including all borderline tumors diagnosed 2000–07 was 97% (95% CI 92–99%). In women aged ≤64 years, the 10‐year relative survival related to age at diagnosis of borderline tumors ranged from 95 to 98% and was 89% in women aged 65–74 years. In a multivariable analysis including age and decade of diagnosis relative survival for every decade increased. The 10‐year relative survival in women with mucinous and serous borderline tumors did not differ significantly (p = 0.121).

Conclusions

Results of the present study are reassuring about long‐term survival in women with borderline ovarian tumors. The age‐standardized relative survival rate increased across time periods for diagnosis. There was no difference in long‐term survival between mucinous and serous borderline ovarian tumors.
Improvement of plasma adiponectin, leptin and C‐reactive protein concentrations by orlistat: a systematic review and meta‐analysis
Authors: Derosa Giuseppe , Maffioli Pamela , Sahebkar Amirhossein
Published: December 2015

Aims

To conduct a systematic review and meta‐analysis of relevant randomized clinical trials (RCTs) to ascertain the effect size of orlistat in modulating plasma levels of adipokines, ghrelin and C‐reactive protein (CRP).

Methods

Medline, SCOPUS, Web of Science and Google Scholar databases were searched. A random‐effects model and the generic inverse variance method were used for quantitative data synthesis. Heterogeneity was quantitatively assessed using I2 index. Sensitivity analyses were conducted using the one‐study remove approach. Random‐effects meta‐regression was performed using unrestricted maximum likelihood method to evaluate the impact of duration of treatment, percentage change in body mass index (BMI) and baseline BMI values as potential confounders of the estimated effect size.

Results

Meta‐analysis suggested a significant increase in plasma levels of adiponectin [weighted mean difference (WMD): 19.18%, 95% confidence interval (CI): 5.80, 32.57, p = 0.005] and significant reductions in plasma levels of leptin (WMD: −13.24%, 95% CI: −20.69, −5.78, p = 0.001) and CRP (WMD: −11.52%, 95% CI: −16.55, −6.49, p < 0.001) following treatment with orlistat. In meta‐regression, changes in plasma concentrations of adiponectin, leptin and CRP were associated with duration of treatment, but not with either change in BMI or baseline BMI values.

Conclusion

Orlistat is effective in increasing plasma concentrations of adiponectin and decreasing those of leptin and CRP.
Macro‐ and micro‐sedimentology of a modern melt‐out till – Matanuska Glacier, Alaska, USA
Authors: Larson Grahame J. , Menzies John , Lawson Daniel E. , Evenson Edward B. , Hopkins Nathan R.
Published: December 2015

The macro‐ and micro‐sedimentology of a supraglacial melt‐out till forming at the Matanuska Glacier was examined in relationship to the properties of the stratified basal zone ice and debris from which it is originating. In situ melting of the basal ice has produced a laminated to bedded diamicton consisting mainly of silt. Macroscopic properties include: discontinuous laminae and beds; lenses of sand, silt aggregates and open‐work gravel; deformed and elongate clasts of clay; widely dispersed pebbles and cobbles, those that are prolate usually with their long axes subparallel to parallel to the bedding. Evidence for deformation is absent except for localized bending of beds over or under rock clasts. Microscopic properties are a unique element of this work and include: discontinuous lineations; silt to granule size laminae; prolate coarse sand and rock fragments commonly with their long axis subparallel to bedding; subangular to subrounded irregular shaped clay clasts often appearing as bands; sorted and unsorted silt to granule size horizons, sometimes disrupted by pore‐water pathways. Limited deformation occurs around rock clasts and thicker parts of lamina. This study shows that in situ melting of debris‐rich basal ice can produce a laminated and bedded diamicton that inherits and thereby preserves stratified basal ice properties. Production and preservation of supraglacial melt‐out till require in situ melting of a stagnant, debris‐rich basal ice source with a low relief surface that becomes buried by a thick, stable, insulating cover of ice‐marginal sediment. Also required are a slow melt rate and adequate drainage to minimize pore‐water pressures in the till and overlying sediment cover to maintain stability and uninterrupted deposition. Many modern and ancient hummocky moraines down glacier of subglacial overdeepenings probably meet these process criteria and their common occurrence suggests that both modern and pre‐modern supraglacial melt‐out tills may be more common than previously thought.
Glacial landscape evolution in the Uummannaq region, West Greenland
Authors: Lane Timothy P. , Roberts David H. , Ó Cofaigh Colm , Rea Brice R. , Vieli Andreas
Published: December 2015

The Uummannaq region is a mosaic of glacial landsystems, consistent with hypothesized landscape distribution resulting from variations in subglacial thermal regime. The region is dominated by selective linear erosion that has spatially and altitudinally partitioned the landscape. Low altitude areas are dominated by glacial scour and higher elevations are dominated by plateaux or mountain valley and cirque glaciers. The appearance and nature of each landscape type varies locally with altitude and latitude, as a function of bedrock geology and average glacial conditions. Selective linear erosion has been a primary control on landscape distribution throughout Uummannaq, leading to plateau formation and the growth of a coalescent fjord system in the Uummannaq region. This has allowed the development of the Uummannaq ice stream's (UIS) onset zone during glacial periods. Fjord development has been enhanced by a downstream change in geology to less‐resistant lithologies, increasing erosional efficiency and allowing a single glacial channel to develop, encouraging glacier convergence and the initiation of ice streaming. The landscape has been affected by several periods of regional uplift from 33 Ma to present, and has been subject to subsequent fluvial and glacial erosion. Uplift has removed surfaces from the impact of widespread warm‐based glaciation, leaving them as relict landsurfaces. The result of this is a regional altitude‐dependent continuum of glacial modification, with extreme differences in erosion between high and low elevation surfaces. This study indicates that processes of long‐term uplift, glacial erosion/protection and spatial variability in erosion intensity have produced a highly partitioned landscape.
Late Quaternary loess deposition in the southern Chaiwopu Basin of the northern Chinese Tian Shan foreland and its palaeoclimatic implications
Authors: Lu Honghua , Xu Yidi , Niu Ying , Wang Zhen , Wang Hui , Zhao Junxiang , Zhang Weiguo , Zheng Xiangmin
Published: December 2015

The piedmont aeolian sediment in Central Asia is has been widely used for Quaternary palaeoclimatic reconstructions. Here we present detailed sedimentological and rock magnetic investigations on 188 samples from the ~9.4‐m‐thick Urumqi River section (URS) in the southern Chaiwopu Basin of the northern Chinese Tian Shan foreland. Optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating constrains the time‐span of the URS loess sedimentation from c. 28 to c. 6.8 ka. This chronology implies that the onset of the URS loess sedimentation is approximately synchronous with the Shangwangfeng Glaciation (MIS 2) in the headwaters of the Urumqi River. Analyses of sediment grain size and rock magnetic parameters indicate that sediment grain‐size composition controls magnetic properties of the URS loess, i.e. the wind intensity model, distinct from the pedogenic model interpreting the variations in magnetic properties of the loess in the Chinese Loess Plateau (CLP). Overall, the variations in sediment grain size and magnetic properties throughout the URS indicate that the present study area was dominated by a climate of strengthened wind associated with gradually intensified aridity during the latest Pleistocene. In contrast, the intensity of aridity and coldness during the early Holocene gradually became relatively weakened.