bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Moving Low-Carbon Construction Industry in Jiangsu Province: Evidence from Decomposition and Decoupling Models
Authors: Li Rongrong , Jiang Rui
Published: June 2017

The carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions caused by the global construction industry account for 36% of the world’s total carbon emissions, and 50% of China’s total carbon emissions. The carbon emissions from Jiangsu Province’s construction industry account for approximately 16% of the total emissions of the Chinese construction industry. Taking the construction industry in Jiangsu Province as our study object, therefore, this paper introduces the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) carbon emission accounting method as a means to measure the total CO2 emissions of the Jiangsu Province construction industry. Specifically, we examine the period from 2005 to 2013. Based on the Tapio decoupling model, we analyze the decoupling state between the CO2 emissions of the construction industry in Jiangsu Province and the province’s economic growth. Our paper also employs the Logarithmic Mean Divisia Index (LMDI) approach, in order to conduct a decomposition analysis of those factors that influenced the changes in the level of CO2 emissions during the studied period. According to the results of our research, during the period from 2005 to 2013, the CO2 emission levels caused by the construction industry in Jiangsu Province experienced a significant increase. The cumulative total CO2 emissions reached 402.85 million tons. During most of the years covered by our study, an expansive negative decoupling state existed between the level of CO2 emissions and the output value of Jiangsu’s construction industry. These periods were interspersed with either a weak decoupling state in some years or a strong decoupling state in other years. The indirect carbon emission intensity effect and the industry scale effect were the main factors influencing the increases in the construction industry’s CO2 emissions. At the conclusion of our paper, we put forward policy suggestions, with the objective of promoting the de-carbonization of the construction industry in Jiangsu Province.
Antenatal Practices Ineffective at Prevention of Plasmodium falciparum Malaria during Pregnancy in a Sub-Saharan Africa Region, Nigeria
Authors: Aguzie Ifeanyi Oscar Ndimkaoha , Ivoke Njoku , Onyishi Grace C. , Okoye Ikem C.
Published: June 2017

Pregnancy-associated malaria (PAM) is a major public health concern constituting a serious risk to the pregnant woman, her foetus, and newborn. Management of cases and prevention rely partly on effective and efficient antenatal services. This study examined the effectiveness of antenatal service provision in a major district hospital in sub-Saharan Africa at preventing PAM. A cross-sectional hospital based study design aided by questionnaire was used. Malaria diagnosis was by microscopy. Overall prevalence of PAM was 50.7% (38/75). Mean Plasmodium falciparum density was (112.89 ± standard error of mean, 22.90) × 103/µL red blood cell (RBC). P. falciparum prevalence was not significantly dependent on gravidity, parity, trimester, age, and BMI status of the women (p > 0.05). Difference in P. falciparum density per µL RBC in primigravidae (268.13 ± 58.23) × 103 vs. secundi- (92.14 ± 4.72) × 103 vs. multigravidae (65.22 ± 20.17) × 103; and in nulliparous (225.00 ± 48.25) × 103 vs. primiparous (26.25 ± 8.26) × 103 vs. multiparous (67.50 ± 20.97) × 103 was significant (p < 0.05). Majority of attendees were at 3rd trimester at time of first antenatal visit. Prevalence of malaria parasitaemia in the first-time (48.6%), and multiple-time (52.6%) antenatal attendees was not significantly different (χ2 = 0.119, p = 0.730). The higher prevalence of malaria among bed net owners (69.6% vs. 42.9%, χ2 = 2.575, p = 0.109, OR = 3.048 (95% CI 0.765–12.135)) and users (66.7% vs. 33.3%, χ2 = 2.517, p = 0.113, OR = 4.000 (95% CI 0.693–23.089)) at multiple antenatal visits vs. first timers was not significant. None of the pregnant women examined used malaria preventive chemotherapy. Antenatal services at the hospital were not effective at preventing PAM. Holistic reviews reflecting recommendations made here can be adopted for effective service delivery.
Impact of Institutional Change on Irrigation Management: A Case Study from Southern Uzbekistan
Authors: Djumaboev Kakhramon , Hamidov Ahmad , Anarbekov Oyture , Gafurov Zafar , Tussupova Kamshat
Published: June 2017

The rapidly growing population in Uzbekistan has put massive pressure on limited water resources, resulting in frequent water shortages. Irrigation is by far the major water use. Improving irrigation water use through the institutional change of establishing water consumer associations (WCAs) has been identified as a way to increase agricultural production and meet the food demand in the area. However, most WCAs are not fully able to organize collective action or generate sufficient funds to carry out their responsibilities. This study investigated the water-resource-related challenges faced by WCAs and local farmers in Kashkadarya Province in Uzbekistan, using semi-structured expert interviews and focus group discussions. The resulting data were analyzed using qualitative analysis software (Atlas.ti). The results indicated that outdated infrastructure, poor governance, and farmers’ non-payment of irrigation service fees hamper sustainable water management. Greater trust and communication within the WCAs would make an important contribution to effective collective action and to the long-term sustainability of local associations.
Characterising Bedrock Aquifer Systems in Korea Using Paired Water-Level Monitoring Data
Authors: Lee Jae Min , Woo Nam C. , Lee Chan-Jin , Yoo Keunje
Published: June 2017

This study focused on characterising aquifer systems based on water-level changes observed systematically at 159 paired groundwater monitoring wells throughout Korea. Using spectral analysis, principal component analysis (PCA), and cross-correlation analysis with linear regression, aquifer conditions were identified from the comparison of water-level changes in shallow alluvial and deep bedrock monitoring wells. The spectral analysis could identify the aquifer conditions (i.e., unconfined, semi-confined and confined) of 58.5% of bedrock wells and 42.8% of alluvial wells: 93 and 68 wells out of 159 wells, respectively. Even among the bedrock wells, 50 wells (53.7%) exhibited characteristics of the unconfined condition, implying significant vulnerability of the aquifer to contaminants from the land surface and shallow depths. It appears to be better approach for deep bedrock aquifers than shallow alluvial aquifers. However, significant portions of the water-level changes remained unclear for categorising aquifer conditions due to disturbances in data continuity. For different aquifer conditions, PCA could show typical pattern and factor scores of principal components. Principal component 1 due to wet-and-dry seasonal changes and water-level response time was dominant covering about 55% of total variances of each aquifer conditions, implying the usefulness of supplementary method of aquifer characterisation. Cross-correlation and time-lag analysis in the water-level responses to precipitations clearly show how the water levels in shallow and deep wells correspond in time scale. No significant differences in time-lags was found between shallow and deep wells. However, clear time-lags were found to be increasing from unconfined to confined conditions: from 1.47 to 2.75 days and from 1.78 to 2.75 days for both shallow alluvial and deep bedrock wells, respectively. In combination of various statistical methods, three types of water-level fluctuation patterns were identified from the water-level pairs: Type I of identical aquifer systems (77.8%), Type II of the different aquifer systems with different recharge flow paths (9.5%), and Type III of unmatched aquifer system pairs and correlations (12.7%). Type I and II could be used as verification of aquifer condition in the paired monitoring system. However, Type III shows the complexity of water-level fluctuation in different aquifer conditions. This study showed that confined or not-confined conditions are not directly related to the depth of wells in the aquifer. Therefore, the utilisation of groundwater as a water-supply source should be carefully designed, tested for its hydrogeologic conditions, and managed to ensure sustainable quantity and quality.
Effects of Coordinated Operation of Weirs and Reservoirs on the Water Quality of the Geum River
Authors: Ahn Jung , Jung Kang , Shin Dongseok
Published: June 2017

Multifunctional weirs can be used to maintain water supply during dry seasons and to improve downstream water quality during drought conditions through discharge based on retained flux. Sixteen multifunctional weirs were recently constructed in four river systems as part of the Four Rivers Restoration Project. In this study, three multifunctional weirs in the Geum River Basin were investigated to analyze the environmental effects of multifunctional weir operation on downstream flow. To determine seasonal vulnerability to drought, the basin was evaluated using the Palmer Drought Severity Index (PDSI). Furthermore, the downstream flow regime and the effect on water quality improvement of a coordinated dam–multifunctional weir operation controlled by: (a) a rainfall–runoff model; (b) a reservoir optimization model; and (c) a water quality model, were examined. A runoff estimate at each major location in the Geum River Basin was performed using the water quality model, and examined variation in downstream water quality depending on the operational scenario of each irrigation facility such as dams and weirs. Although the water quality was improved by the coordinated operation of the dams and weirs, when the discharged water quality is poor, the downstream water quality is not improved. Therefore, it is necessary to first improve the discharged water quality on the lower Geum River. Improvement of the water quality of main stream in the Geum River is important, but water quality from tributaries should also be improved. By applying the estimated runoff data to the reservoir optimization model, these scenarios will be utilized as basic parameters for assessing the optimal operation of the river.
Risk Analysis of Reservoir Operations Considering Short-Term Flood Control and Long-Term Water Supply: A Case Study for the Da-Han Creek Basin in Taiwan
Authors: Cheng Wen-Ming , Huang Chien-Lin , Hsu Nien-Sheng , Wei Chih-Chiang
Published: June 2017

This study applies an integrated methodology to assess short-term over-levee risk and long-term water shortage risk in the Da-Han Creek basin, which is the most important flood control and water storage system in northern Taiwan. An optimization model for reservoir flood control and water supply is adopted, to determine reservoir releases based on synthetic inflow hydrographs during typhoons, which are generated by Monte Carlo simulations. The release is then used to calculate the water level at a downstream control point using a novel developed back-propagation neural network-based model, to reduce computational complexity and achieve automatic-efficient risk evaluation. The calculated downstream water levels and final reservoir water levels after a typhoon event are used to evaluate the mapped over-levee risk and water shortage risk, respectively. The results showed that the different upper limit settings for the reservoir have a significant influence on the variation of 1.19 × 10−5% to 75.6% of the water shortage risk. This occurs because of the insufficient inflow and narrow storage capacity of the Shih-Men Reservoir during drought periods. However, the upper limit settings have a minor influence (with a variation of only 0.149% to 0.157%) on the over-levee risk in typhoon periods, because of the high protection standards for the downstream embankment.
Apparent ‘sufficiently similar’ degemination in Catalan is due to coalescence
Authors: Bakovic Eric
Published: June 2017

Cameron et al. (2010) and Fruehwald & Gorman (2011) present the pattern of homorganic consonant cluster reduction in Catalan as a challenge to Baković’s (2005) theory of antigemination, which predicts that any feature ignored in the determination of consonant identity for the purposes of antigemination in a given language must independently assimilate in that language. I argue that the pattern in Catalan is not a counterexample to this prediction if the reduction process is analyzed as coalescence, following Wheeler (2005), rather than as deletion.
The role of scale structure in the interpretation of contrariety in no-DPs
Authors: Szekely Rachel
Published: June 2017

Contrary meaning is commonly analyzed as a pragmatic strengthening of contradictory sentence negation. This paper derives the contrary meaning found in no-DPs in predicate position (e.g. "John is no fool") through the analysis of no as negation that operates on the scale contributed by the predicate nominal expression.
The distribution and variation of non-coordinated pronoun case forms in English
Authors: Lemon Tyler Jacob Bui
Published: June 2017

This paper investigates case preferences for English pronouns in non-coordinated environments subject to variation: in isolation and after not, with following numeral, PP, and NP modifiers, in than and as comparatives, and as the foci of it-clefts. It uses an acceptability judgment experiment (Mechanical Turk) and corpus study (COCA) to investigate these preferences and presents an Optimality Theory-style analysis based on their results that models structural case assignment (case from an external head), default case, and prescriptivism as competing constraints. This model captures case preferences and their relative strengths and provides one possible explanation for the variation attested in these environments.
‘Grandmas’ in debate: A first-person story told in Taiwan’s presidential debate as a rhetorical device and public reactions to its credibility
Authors: Wang Ping-Hsuan
Published: June 2017

This study examines data from a 2016 presidential debate in Taiwan to explore the use of first-person narrative in political discourse as a rhetorical device, and how public reactions to its credibility are influenced by the narrative’s context. While previous studies of political debate discourse (e.g. Kuo 2001) investigate, for example, the use of “constructed dialogue” (Tannen 2007), there is a lack of studies focusing on first-person narrative in political debates. Using three-level positioning as outlined by Bamberg (1997), I analyze a narrative featuring a grandma character told by presidential candidate Eric Chu, also comparing it to another candidate James Soong’s “grandma narrative.” I argue that the context places constraints on the effects of their narratives. Whereas Chu’s narrative, a traditional Labovian first-person story, is widely ridiculed with memes for its lack of credibility, Soong’s narrative, a habitual narrative, receives little attention.The analysis shows how Chu’s narrative serves his rhetorical purposes and suggests why the public doubts its credibility. At level 1 (characters positioned vis-à-vis one another), Chu presents himself as non-agentive with constructed dialogue, thereby excusing an earlier decision he made -- failing to keep his promise to finish his term as a mayor. At level 2 (speaker positioned to audience), he switches from Mandarin to Taiwanese, a local dialect, which can be seen as an appeal to his current audience. At level 3 (identity claims locally instantiated), the grandma character draws on the archetype of elderly women in Taiwanese culture, fundamental to national economic growth, while his description of praying at a temple casts him against the local tradition of religious practices in Taiwan. The study helps fill the knowledge gap regarding first-person narrative in political discourse, while highlighting the context in which political narratives are embedded and contributing to understanding positioning in Taiwanese public discourse.
Excrescent stops in American English
Authors: Feldscher Cara , Durvasula Karthik
Published: June 2017

This study investigates whether excrescence is phonological epenthesis or articulatory overlap by investigating whether a prosodic domain boundary intervening between the nasal and the fricative affects insertion. Articulatory overlap effects are expected to remain constant across the board, whereas phonological epenthesis is expected to be targeted for domain-final lengthening. The duration results are that neither excrescence nor underlying segments are affected by domain-final lengthening, but excrescent closure is significantly shorter than underlying closure. The short segments support an articulatory overlap hypothesis, but the lack of final lengthening opens up new questions for further research.
Reconstructing sociolinguistic variation
Authors: Kantarovich Jessica , Grenoble Lenore A.
Published: June 2017

In this paper we illustrate a methodology for reconstructing language ininteraction from literary texts, demonstrating how they can serve as documentation ofspeech when primary linguistic material is unavailable. A careful incorporation offacts from literary dialect not only informs grammatical reconstruction in situationswith little to no documentation, but also allows for the reconstruction of thesociolinguistic use of a language, an oft-overlooked aspect of linguisticreconstruction. Literary dialogue is often one of the only attestations of regionalvarieties of a language with a very salient standard dialect, where no primary sourcesare available. Odessan Russian (OdR), a moribund dialect of Russian, serves as a casestudy. OdR grew out of intensive language contact and differs from most othervarieties of Russian, with substrate inﬂuences from Yiddish, Ukrainian, and Polish,and lexical borrowing from other languages. The only records of "spoken" OdR arefound in ﬁctional narrative. An analysis of works from several prominent Odessanwriters, including Isaak Babel and Ze'ev Jabotinsky, reveals considerable variationamong speakers of OdR; careful tracking of this variation shows how it wasdistributed among different social groups, and suggests how it may have beendeployed to index and acknowledge different social roles.
Building superlatives from property concept expressions
Authors: Menon Mythili
Published: June 2017

Although the relative versus absolute ambiguity in superlatives is well established, there is no consensus regarding how the comparison classes which gives rise to these ambiguities are determined. Two factors, the LF syntax of –est and focus, have been said to determine the comparison classes. In this paper, I provide novel data from Malayalam, a language without adjectives, which require both a movement theory of superlatives and focus to derive the readings.
What is in the neighborhood of a tonal syllable? Evidence from auditory lexical decision in Mandarin Chinese
Authors: Yao Yao , Sharma Bhamini
Published: June 2017

Phonological neighborhood effects have been found in spoken word recognition, word production and phonetic variation (Gahl, Yao, & Johnson, 2012; Luce & Pisoni, 1998; Vitevitch, 2002). Overall, words from dense neighborhoods are harder to recognize but easier to produce. However, most previous studies have focused on English, while evidence suggests that these effects may not generalize cross-linguistically due to language-specific configurations of the lexicon (Michael S Vitevitch & Stamer, 2006, 2009). In the current study, we investigate the effects of phonological neighborhoods in Mandarin Chinese, which has a vastly different lexicon structure from that of English. Results from an auditory lexical decision experiment showed that phonological neighborhood density and neighbor frequency (defined by the one-phoneme/tone difference rule) are predictive of the speed and accuracy of lexical decision. Homophone density also has a facilitative effect on the accuracy of lexical decision. The implications of the current findings are discussed in the framework of the lexicon model proposed by Zhou & Marslen-Wilson (1994, 2009).
The Union of Conjunction and Disjunction: The Case of and/or
Authors: Woo Brent
Published: June 2017

And/or is a coordinator in English that has virtually never been remarked on in the syntactic literature on coordination. I present a new empirical survey of and/or, supported by naturally-occurring examples from several English corpora. I examine the basic distribution of and/or, and its interaction with collective predicates, relational modifiers with an internal reading, anaphors, ‘respectively’, semantic contradiction, quantifiers, and gapping with negation. Based on the distribution across corpora and its syntactic behavior, I argue that and/or is a completely lexicalized coordinator in productive use, and conclude that the constraints on the syntactic distribution of and/or are a union of the set of constraints on and and or.
Two types of states: A cross-linguistic study of change-of-state verb roots
Authors: Beavers John , Everdell Michael , Jerro Kyle , Kauhanen Henri , Koontz-Garboden Andrew , LeBovidge Elise , Nichols Stephen
Published: June 2017

Event structural theories decompose verb meanings into an event template and idiosyncratic root. Many mainstream theories assume a bifurcation in the kinds of entailments contributed by roots and templates, in particular that lexical entailments of change of an individual in change-of-state verbs are only introduced by templates, not roots. We argue against such theories by comparing Levin's(1993) non-deadjectival vs. deadjectival change-of-state verb roots (e.g. crack vs. red roots). A broad-scale typological study reveals that red-type roots tend to have simple (e.g. non-deverbal) stative forms, but crack-type roots do not. Semantic studies of Kakataibo and English show that terms built on crack-type roots always entail change, while terms based on red-type roots may not. We thus suggest that crack-type roots entail change-of-state, contra Bifurcation.
Minangkabau -i: A locative, transitivizing, iterative, adversative suffix
Authors: Fortin Catherine R , Brodkin Daniel
Published: June 2017

Minangkabau, a Malayo-Polynesian (Austronesian) language of Sumatra, displays a small but complicated system of verbal morphology resembling those of its near, better-described relatives Indonesian and Malay. In these languages, the verbal morphemes are multifunctional, and fully characterizing their meanings and uses has proven challenging. We present our findings on -i, which previous literature frequently characterizes as a type of applicative. We identify four distinct productive functions of -i, not all applicative: adding a locative object, transitivizing non-verbal roots, adding iterative/intensive aspects, and imputing adversative readings. Adversative -i has not previously been identified in the literature, and is unattested in Indonesian.
How speakers select synthetic and analytic forms of English comparatives: An experimental study
Authors: Enzinna Naomi
Published: June 2017

This research examines the influence of prosodic shape, token frequency, and recency on comparative form preferences in English. To examine this, participants completed an unprimed and a primed forced-choice acceptability-judgment task. While the unprimed study’s results show that comparative form selection is largely influenced by an adjective’s prosodic shape and token frequency, the primed study shows that recency also plays a role in comparative form selection. More specifically, when primed with a synthetic comparative, participants were less likely to choose the comparative form that the adjective typically occurs in. These results are paralleled by the reaction time results, suggesting that recency of a synthetic comparative may cause either a facilitatory or inhibitory effect when selecting a comparative form.
VIP: Vortex Image Processing Package for High-contrast Direct Imaging
Authors: Gomez Gonzalez Carlos Alberto , Wertz Olivier , Absil Olivier , Christiaens Valentin , Defrère Denis , Mawet Dimitri , Milli Julien , Absil Pierre-Antoine , Van Droogenbroeck Marc , Cantalloube Faustine , Hinz Philip M. , Skemer Andrew J. , Karlsson Mikael , Surdej Jean
Published: June 2017

We present the Vortex Image Processing (VIP) library, a python package dedicated to astronomical high-contrast imaging. Our package relies on the extensive python stack of scientific libraries and aims to provide a flexible framework for high-contrast data and image processing. In this paper, we describe the capabilities of VIP related to processing image sequences acquired using the angular differential imaging (ADI) observing technique. VIP implements functionalities for building high-contrast data processing pipelines, encompassing pre- and post-processing algorithms, potential source position and flux estimation, and sensitivity curve generation. Among the reference point-spread function subtraction techniques for ADI post-processing, VIP includes several flavors of principal component analysis (PCA) based algorithms, such as annular PCA and incremental PCA algorithms capable of processing big datacubes (of several gigabytes) on a computer with limited memory. Also, we present a novel ADI algorithm based on non-negative matrix factorization, which comes from the same family of low-rank matrix approximations as PCA and provides fairly similar results. We showcase the ADI capabilities of the VIP library using a deep sequence on HR 8799 taken with the LBTI/LMIRCam and its recently commissioned L-band vortex coronagraph. Using VIP, we investigated the presence of additional companions around HR 8799 and did not find any significant additional point source beyond the four known planets. VIP is available at http://github.com/vortex-exoplanet/VIP and is accompanied with Jupyter notebook tutorials illustrating the main functionalities of the library.
A Method for Improving Galactic Cepheid Reddenings and Distances
Authors: Madore Barry F. , Freedman Wendy L. , Moak Sandy
Published: June 2017

We present a new photometric method by which improved high-precision reddenings and true distance moduli can be determined to individual Galactic Cepheids once distance measurements are available. We illustrate that the relative positioning of stars in the Cepheid period–luminosity (PL) relation (Leavitt law) is preserved as a function of wavelength. This information then provides a powerful constraint for determining reddenings to individual Cepheids, as well as their distances. As a first step, we apply this method to the 59 Cepheids in the compilation of Fouqué et al. Updated reddenings, distance moduli (or parallaxes), and absolute magnitudes in seven (optical through near-infrared) bands are given. From these intrinsic quantities, multiwavelength PL and color–color relations are derived. We find that the V-band period–luminosity–color relation has an rms scatter of only 0.06 mag, so that individual Cepheid distances can be measured to 3%, compared with dispersions of 6 to 13% for the one-parameter K through B PL relations, respectively. This method will be especially useful in conjunction with the new accurate parallax sample upcoming from Gaia.
Parsec-scale Obscuring Accretion Disk with Large-Scale Magnetic Field in AGNs
Authors: Dorodnitsyn A. , Kallman T.
Published: June 2017

A magnetic field dragged from the galactic disk, along with inflowing gas, can provide vertical support to the geometrically and optically thick pc-scale torus in AGNs. Using the Soloviev solution initially developed for Tokamaks, we derive an analytical model for a rotating torus that is supported and confined by a magnetic field. We further perform three-dimensional magneto-hydrodynamic simulations of X-ray irradiated, pc-scale, magnetized tori. We follow the time evolution and compare models that adopt initial conditions derived from our analytic model with simulations in which the initial magnetic flux is entirely contained within the gas torus. Numerical simulations demonstrate that the initial conditions based on the analytic solution produce a longer-lived torus that produces obscuration that is generally consistent with observed constraints.
Particle Acceleration in Mildly Relativistic Shearing Flows: The Interplay of Systematic and Stochastic Effects, and the Origin of the Extended High-energy Emission in AGN Jets
Authors: Liu Ruo-Yu , Rieger F. M. , Aharonian F. A.
Published: June 2017

The origin of the extended X-ray emission in the large-scale jets of active galactic nuclei (AGNs) poses challenges to conventional models of acceleration and emission. Although electron synchrotron radiation is considered the most feasible radiation mechanism, the formation of the continuous large-scale X-ray structure remains an open issue. As astrophysical jets are expected to exhibit some turbulence and shearing motion, we here investigate the potential of shearing flows to facilitate an extended acceleration of particles and evaluate its impact on the resultant particle distribution. Our treatment incorporates systematic shear and stochastic second-order Fermi effects. We show that for typical parameters applicable to large-scale AGN jets, stochastic second-order Fermi acceleration, which always accompanies shear particle acceleration, can play an important role in facilitating the whole process of particle energization. We study the time-dependent evolution of the resultant particle distribution in the presence of second-order Fermi acceleration, shear acceleration, and synchrotron losses using a simple Fokker–Planck approach and provide illustrations for the possible emergence of a complex (multicomponent) particle energy distribution with different spectral branches. We present examples for typical parameters applicable to large-scale AGN jets, indicating the relevance of the underlying processes for understanding the extended X-ray emission and the origin of ultrahigh-energy cosmic rays.
The Polarization Signature of Photospheric Magnetic Fields in 3D MHD Simulations and Observations at Disk Center
Authors: Beck C. , Fabbian D. , Rezaei R. , Puschmann K. G.
Published: June 2017

Before using three-dimensional (3D) magnetohydrodynamical (MHD) simulations of the solar photosphere in the determination of elemental abundances, one has to ensure that the correct amount of magnetic flux is present in the simulations. The presence of magnetic flux modifies the thermal structure of the solar photosphere, which affects abundance determinations and the solar spectral irradiance. The amount of magnetic flux in the solar photosphere also constrains any possible heating in the outer solar atmosphere through magnetic reconnection. We compare the polarization signals in disk-center observations of the solar photosphere in quiet-Sun regions with those in Stokes spectra computed on the basis of 3D MHD simulations having average magnetic flux densities of about 20, 56, 112, and 224 G. This approach allows us to find the simulation run that best matches the observations. The observations were taken with the Hinode SpectroPolarimeter (SP), the Tenerife Infrared Polarimeter (TIP), the Polarimetric Littrow Spectrograph (POLIS), and the GREGOR Fabry–Pèrot Interferometer (GFPI), respectively. We determine characteristic quantities of full Stokes profiles in a few photospheric spectral lines in the visible (630 nm) and near-infrared (1083 and 1565 nm). We find that the appearance of abnormal granulation in intensity maps of degraded simulations can be traced back to an initially regular granulation pattern with numerous bright points in the intergranular lanes before the spatial degradation. The linear polarization signals in the simulations are almost exclusively related to canopies of strong magnetic flux concentrations and not to transient events of magnetic flux emergence. We find that the average vertical magnetic flux density in the simulation should be less than 50 G to reproduce the observed polarization signals in the quiet-Sun internetwork. A value of about 35 G gives the best match across the SP, TIP, POLIS, and GFPI observations.
Search for GeV Counterparts to Fast Radio Bursts with Fermi
Authors: Xi Shao-Qiang , Tam Pak-Hin Thomas , Peng Fang-Kun , Wang Xiang-Yu
Published: June 2017

The non-repeating fast radio bursts (FRBs) could arise from catastrophic stellar explosions or magnetar giant flares, so relativistic blast waves might be produced in these events. Motivated by this, we search here for GeV counterparts to all non-repeating FRBs with the Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT), including FRB 131104 that is claimed to be possibly associated with a γ-ray transient candidate detected by the Swift Burst Alert Telescope. FRB 131104 enters the field of view of LAT

after the burst time, so we are only able to search for the GeV afterglow emission during this period, but no significant GeV emission is detected. we also perform a search for GeV emissions from other FRBs, but no significant GeV emissions are detected either. Upper limit fluences in the range of

are obtained, and then the upper limits of the isotropic blast-wave kinetic energy of about

are inferred under certain assumptions. Although the current limits on the isotropic blast-wave energy are not sufficiently stringent to rule out the connection between FRBs and GRB-like transients, future more sensitive observations with Fermi or Imaging Atmospheric Cherenkov Telescopes might be able to constrain the connection.
Veelfasettige rekonstruksie van ’n ontglippende persoonlikheid
Authors: Viljoen Hein
Published: June 2017

No abstract available.
Doing More With Less: A Centralized Model for Fellowship Program Coordination
Authors: Patel Twinkle , Schwan Katharina , Hoover Sara , O'Hollaren Allison , Sadat Suria , Siu Andrea , Bains Taranjit , van Schaik Sandrijn
Published: June 2017

Background 

Pediatrics fellowship programs typically are small, embedded in divisions, and vary in their approach to education. Program coordination usually falls to division administrators who operate in silos despite common requirements across programs, creating redundancy and inefficiency.

Objective 

We examined the feasibility, acceptability, and impact of a centralized administrative model for pediatrics fellowship support at a large university-based institution.

Methods 

In 2014, administrative support for the pediatrics fellowships at the University of California, San Francisco, was restructured from a model with division-level support to a centralized model. In the new model, a team of 6 full-time administrators supports 19 fellowship programs with a total of 80 fellows. The fellowship support team consists of 3 program coordinators, a data coordinator, a human resource coordinator, a team manager, and a faculty advisor. The team meets twice a month to discuss program issues and innovative ideas. Quarterly meetings are held with all coordinators and directors to discuss changes across fellowships and foster further collaboration. We surveyed program directors to examine the acceptability of the model and assessed its impact on finances and turnover.

Results 

Of 19 eligible fellowship program directors, 15 (79%) completed the survey. The majority indicated that the new administrative model was “better” or “much better” than the prior model. The new model resulted in decreased costs (an estimated $250,000 per year in salary support) and lower staff turnover.

Conclusions 

Centralization of fellowship administration is feasible and offers substantial benefits for all stakeholders involved.
Eliminating Residents Increases the Cost of Care
Authors: DeMarco Deborah M. , Forster Richard , Gakis Thomas , Finberg Robert W.
Published: June 2017

Background 

Academic health centers are facing a potential reduction in Medicare financing for graduate medical education (GME). Both the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission and the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform (Deficit Commission) have suggested cutting approximately half the funding that teaching hospitals receive for indirect medical education. Because of the effort that goes into teaching trainees, who are only transient employees, hospital executives often see teaching programs as a drain on resources.

Objective 

In light of the possibility of a Medicare cut to GME programs, we undertook an analysis to assess the financial risk of training programs to our institution and the possibility of saving money by reducing resident positions.

Methods 

The chief administrative officer, in collaboration with the hospital chief financial officer, performed a financial analysis to examine the possibility of decreasing costs by reducing residency programs at the University of Massachusetts Memorial Medical Center.

Results 

Despite the real costs of our training programs, the analysis demonstrated that GME programs have a positive impact on hospital finances.

Conclusions 

Reducing or eliminating GME programs would have a negative impact on our hospital's bottom line.
Implementation of Scribes in an Academic Emergency Department: The Resident Perspective
Authors: Ou Evan , Mulcare Mary , Clark Sunday , Sharma Rahul
Published: June 2017

Background 

Medical scribes have been shown to improve emergency department (ED) throughput, physician productivity metrics, and patient satisfaction by fulfilling primary documentation and nonclinical functions. Little research has been done to date to study the effect of implementing a scribe program in a residency setting.

Objective 

Our goal was to investigate emergency medicine residents' perception of their educational experience, including interactions with faculty, before and after the implementation of an ED scribe program.

Methods 

We used a pre-post design to assess residents' perceptions of their educational experience before and after implementation of the scribe program. Residents at a large, urban academic medical center with an Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education–accredited, 4-year emergency medicine residency program were surveyed during August 2015 (prior to the implementation of the scribe program) and April 2016 (6 months after implementation).

Results 

Residents reported improved educational experiences with statistically significant changes in the following areas: increased interaction with faculty due to fewer documentation requirements (P = .012); more face-to-face teaching with faculty (P < .001); increased faculty supervision for procedures (P = .016); and a decrease of delays in patient disposition due to incomplete documentation (P = .029).

Conclusions 

Implementation of an ED scribe program in an urban 4-year emergency medicine residency program led to improvements in residents' perceptions of their education.
Debate in EFL Classroom
Authors: Želježič Mirjana
Published: June 2017

Relying primarily on the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) and The National EFL Syllabus, this paper focuses on the highest ranking goals within formal foreign language (L2) education: the development of communicative competence (which the communicative paradigm regards as the most important goal of contemporary language teaching), and of critical thinking (CT) ability, which is widely recognised as the main general education goal. It also points to some of the discrepancies generated by tensions between the fact that language is a social and cultural phenomenon that exists and evolves only through interaction with others, and individual-student-centred pedagogical practices of teaching (and assessment) – which jeopardise the validity of these practices. Next, it links the official educational goals to the cultivation of oral interaction (rather than oral production) in argumentative discursive practices in general and in structured debate formats in particular, which are proposed as an effective pedagogical method for developing CT skills and oral interactional competence in argumentative discursive events, especially on B2+ levels.
Testing audiovisual comprehension tasks with questions embedded in videos as subtitles: a pilot multimethod study
Authors: Casañ Núñez Juan Carlos
Published: June 2017

Listening, watching, reading and writing simultaneously in a foreign language is very complex. This paper is part of wider research which explores the use of audiovisual comprehension questions imprinted in the video image in the form of subtitles and synchronized with the relevant fragments for the purpose of language learning and testing. Compared to viewings where the comprehension activity is available only on paper, this innovative methodology may provide some benefits. Among them, it could reduce the conflict in visual attention between watching the video and completing the task, by spatially and temporally approximating the questions and the relevant fragments. The technique is seen as especially beneficial for students with a low proficiency language level.

The main objectives of this study were to investigate if embedded questions had an impact on SFL students’ audiovisual comprehension test performance and to find out what examinees thought about them. A multimethod design (Morse, 2003) involving the sequential collection of three quantitative datasets was employed. A total of 41 learners of Spanish as a foreign language (SFL) participated in the study (22 in the control group and 19 in the experimental one). Informants were selected by non-probabilistic sampling. The results showed that imprinted questions did not have any effect on test performance. Test-takers’ attitudes towards this methodology were positive. Globally, students in the experimental group agreed that the embedded questions helped them to complete the tasks. Furthermore, most of them were in favour of having the questions imprinted in the video in the audiovisual comprehension test of the final exam. These opinions are in line with those obtained in previous studies that looked into experts’, SFL students’ and SFL teachers’ views about this methodology (Casañ Núñez, 2015a, 2016a, in press-b). On the whole, these studies suggest that this technique has potential benefits for FL learning and testing. Finally, the limitations of the study are discussed and some directions for future research are proposed.
Electronic Cigarette: A Savior or a Lure?
Authors: Awan Kamran Habib
Published: June 2017

How to cite this article

Awan KH, Hegde R. Electronic Cigarette: A Savior or a Lure? World J Dent 2017;8(3):155-156.
Clinical and Functional Outcomes of Implant Prostheses in Fibula Free Flaps
Authors: Jain Ashish R
Published: June 2017

Introduction

Functional reconstruction of jaw defects due to surgical resection is a challenge in maxillofacial surgery. The fibula free flap in combination with dental implants has exhibited growing popularity for such reconstructions. This study aimed at evaluating the clinical and functional outcome of dental implants inserted in fibula free flaps and dental implants used for orofacial reconstruction following ablation of tumors.

Materials and methods

A clinical follow-up study of 10 patients was conducted after oral surgery, who received vascularized fibula bone grafts and endosseous implants for functional jaw reconstruction during a 12-year period. The follow-up protocol included a clinical examination and radiological evaluation and interview using a questionnaire. Information on postoperative recovery after the surgical reconstruction phase and implant placement, type of diet, swallowing problems, speech intelligibility, lip competence, and perceived facial appearance was collected and analyzed.

Results

The survival rate of fibula free flap was 100%. The survival and success rates of implants placed in the fibula flaps at the end of the follow-up period were 100 and 94% respectively.

Conclusion

Implants placed in fibula bone grafts have been shown to integrate normally. Surgical reconstruction with vascularized fibula bone grafts followed by placement of dental implants after jaw resection can provide good clinical and functional outcomes for oral rehabilitation with a prosthesis.

How to cite this article

A riga P, N arayanan V, J ain A R, Philip JM, Nathan S. Clinical and Functional Outcomes of Implant Prostheses in Fibula Free Flaps. World J Dent 2017;8(3):171-176.
Synergistic Effects of Growth Factor, Bone Graft, and Resorbable Barrier Membrane in Management of Dehiscence and Fenestration of Dental Implants
Authors: Verma Umesh P
Published: June 2017

Aim

The present study was primarily designed to evaluate the outcome of guided bone graft regeneration in peri-implant defects by combining recombinant human platelet-derived growth factor-BB (rhPDGF-BB) and granules of beta-tricalcium phosphate (B-TCP) mounted by resorbable biomesh membrane. Secondary objective was to determine the value of resorbable barrier membrane to improve the efficacy of the growth factormediated regeneration.

Materials and methods

A randomized controlled study comprised 14 participants (8 males and 6 females, mean age 37 years, range 19—55 years), in which a total of 15 implants (10 in maxilla and 5 in the mandible) were placed. Fifteen implant sites were randomly divided by picking a code into three groups: Test group I (n = 5) ß-TCP + rhPDGF (0.3 mg/mL) + biomesh, test group II (n = 5) ß-TCP + rhPDGF, and control (n = 5) ß-TCP + biomesh. The experimental site was examined clinically for the gingival status and radiographically for the bone status.

Results

Statistically significant difference in preoperative and postoperative measurements was observed for test groups I and II in all the parameters except width; in contrast, there was no significant difference observed for the control group from baseline to 5 months postoperatively. On intergroup comparison, statistically significant difference was observed between test group I vs control group and test group II vs control group, but it was not significant between test groups I and II, which was further confirmed using global performance scale score.

Conclusion

It concluded that rhPDGF-BB and ß-TCP mounted by resorbable biomesh membrane played a synergistic role in the management of peri-implant defects.

Clinical significance

Bone regenerated using ß-TCP with rhPDGF-BB in the reversal of peri-implant defects.

How to cite this article

Arora R, Verma UP, Dixit J, Lal N. Synergistic Effects of Growth Factor, Bone Graft, and Resorbable Barrier Membrane in Management of Dehiscence and Fenestration of Dental Implants. World J Dent 2017;8(3):177-182.