bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Living with CHD: quality of life (QOL) in early adult life
Authors: Areias Maria E. G. , Pinto Catarina I. , Vieira Patrícia F. , Castro Marta , Freitas Isabela , Sarmento Sofia , Matos Samantha , Viana Victor , Areias José C.
Published: August 2014

Aims

The aim of this study was to assess the quality of life, psychiatric morbidity, and the psychosocial adjustment of adolescents and young adults with CHD, and determine which variables play a role in buffering stress and promoting resilience and which ones have a detrimental effect; and to investigate the situation on school performance and failures, social and family support, physical limitations, and body image of these patients.

Methods

The study enrolled 137 CHD patients (79 male), with age ranging from 12 to 26 years old (M=17.60±3.450 years). The patients were interviewed regarding social support, family educational style, self-image, demographic information, and physical limitations. They responded to questions in a standardised psychiatric interview (SADS-L) and completed self-reported questionnaires for the assessment of quality of life (WHOQOL-BREF) and psychosocial adjustment (YSR/ASR).

Results

We found a 19.7% lifetime prevalence of psychopathology in our patients (27.6% in female and 13.9% in male). Of them, 48% had retentions in school (M=1.61 year±0.82). The perception of quality of life in CHD patients is better compared with the Portuguese population in the social relationships and environmental dimensions. However, it is worse in complex forms of CHD than in moderate-to-mild ones, in cyanotic versus acyanotic patients, in moderate-to-severe versus mild residual lesions, in patients submitted versus those not submitted to surgery, in patients with versus without physical limitations, and patients who have need for medication versus those who do not. Social support is very important in improving quality of life of patients in all dimensions as well as academic performance.

Conclusions

Female patients and patients with poor academic performance and poor social support have worse psychosocial adjustment and perception of quality of life.
Clinical Characteristics of the Inhabitants of an Internally Displaced Persons Camp in Brazzaville, Republic of Congo After the Arms Dump Blast on March 4, 2012
Authors: Roggen Inge , van Berlaer Gerlant , Gijs Geert , Hubloue Ives
Published: August 2014

Background

On March 4, 2012, an arms dump exploded in a densely populated area in Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo. At least 250 people were killed, 2,500 wounded, and 13,800 left homeless, of which 5,000 were relocated to a newly constructed internally displaced person (IDP) camp.

Aim

To describe the medical complaints of persons presenting to the IDP camp for medical evaluation.

Patients and Methods

All patients seen and treated by the Belgian First Aid and Support Team (B-FAST) in the IDP camp on March 10 and 11, 2012 were included. A unique number, age, gender, and inventory of complaints were registered on standard World Health Organization (WHO) forms.

Results

Out of 245 presenting patients, 242 files were processed. One in two patients were minors (<18 years-old), the male/female ratio was 50/50 in minors and 28/72 in adults; median (range) age in minors was three years (0-17) and for adults was 32.5 years (18-68). Twenty percent of the children were determined to be malnourished. Signs and symptoms related to infectious diseases were present in 75% of minors and 53% of adults. Trauma was present in 12% of minors and 21% of adults.

Conclusions

One week following the disaster event, after people had relocated to IDP camps, infectious diseases became the predominate reason for seeking medical evaluation. Less than one in five people presenting to the medical post had injuries directly related to the event. Demographic data showed that around 50% of people in the IDP camp presenting for medical care were children, of which one in five was malnourished.

RoggenI,van BerlaerG,GijsG,HubloueI.Clinical characteristics of the inhabitants of an internally displaced persons camp in Brazzaville, Republic of Congo after the arms dump blast on March 4, 2012.Prehosp Disaster Med.2014;29(5):1-5.
Dietary n-6 PUFA, carbohydrate:protein ratio and change in body weight and waist circumference: a follow-up study
Authors: Jakobsen Marianne U , Madsen Lise , Dethlefsen Claus , Due Karen M , Halkjær Jytte , Sørensen Thorkild IA , Kristiansen Karsten , Overvad Kim
Published: August 2014

Objective

To investigate the association between the intake of n-6 PUFA and subsequent change in body weight and waist circumference at different levels of the carbohydrate:protein ratio.

Design

Follow-up study with anthropometric measurements at recruitment and on average 5·3 years later. Dietary intake was determined at recruitment by using an FFQ that was designed for the study and validated. We applied linear regression models with 5-year change in weight or waist circumference as outcome and including a two-way interaction term between n-6 PUFA and carbohydrate intakes, lower-order terms, protein intake, long-chain n-3 PUFA intake and other potential confounders. Due to adjustment for intake of protein, levels of carbohydrate indirectly reflect levels of the carbohydrate:protein ratio.

Setting

Diet, Cancer and Health follow-up study, Denmark.

Subjects

Women and men (n 29 152) aged 55 years.

Results

For a high intake of n-6 PUFA (6·9 % of energy) v. a low intake of n-6 PUFA (3·4 % of energy), the difference in 5-year weight change was −189·7 g (95 % CI −636·8, 257·4 g) at a low carbohydrate:protein ratio and −86·7 g (95 % CI −502·9, 329·6 g) at a high carbohydrate:protein ratio; the differences in 5-year waist circumference change were 0·26 cm (95 % CI −0·47, 0·98 cm) and −0·52 cm (95 % CI −1·19, 0·15 cm), respectively. Inclusion of the dietary glycaemic index did not change the results.

Conclusions

No consistent associations between the intake of n-6 PUFA and change in body weight or waist circumference at different levels of the carbohydrate:protein ratio were observed.
Diet quality is associated with measures of body fat in adolescents from Otago, New Zealand
Authors: Wong Jyh Eiin , Parnell Winsome R , Howe Anna S , Lubransky Alexandra C , Black Katherine E , Skidmore Paula ML
Published: August 2014

Objective

To examine the potential associations between diet quality and multiple measures of body composition in a sample of New Zealand adolescents aged 14–18 years.

Design

Cross-sectional survey of eleven high schools in Otago, New Zealand. Each participant completed an online FFQ and a New Zealand Diet Quality Index for Adolescents (NZDQI-A) score was calculated based on variety and adequacy of intake for five major food groups. Besides height and waist circumference measurements, body composition was assessed using segmental bio-impedance analysis. Generalized estimating equations were used to examine associations between diet quality and body composition in models adjusted for sex, age, ethnicity and socio-economic status.

Setting

High schools in Otago, New Zealand.

Subjects

High-school students (n 681, 56 % male, mean age 16·1 (sd 1·5) years) participating in the Otago School Students Lifestyle Survey Two.

Results

Higher NZDQI-A scores were significantly associated with lower body fat percentage (β=−0·19; 95 % CI −0·35, −0·04; P=0·014), fat-to-lean mass ratio (β=−0·26; 95 % CI −0·46, −0·05; P=0·016) and lower fat mass index (β=−0·23; 95 % CI −0·45, −0·004; P=0·046) after multivariate adjustment. No association was found between NZDQI-A and BMI, waist circumference or waist-to-height ratio.

Conclusions

Diet quality, as measured by NZDQI-A, was associated only with measures of body fat, not measures of overall body size. Measures specific to body fat should be used for more accurate ascertainment of body composition in examining the diet–body composition associations in this age group.
The Judgement Machine: Markets, Internet Technologies and Policies in Commercial Sex
Authors: Pettinger Lynne
Published: August 2014

The judgements and valuations made on Internet review sites are part of contemporary consumer culture. This article considers what such sites do in the market for commercial sex. It contributes to policy discussions in two ways. Firstly, it considers how the infrastructure and mechanisms of the web enables organising, searching and reporting of consumer experience, and hence how web reviews mediate commercial markets. It thereby draws links between social policies that concern the Internet and those that relate to sex work. Secondly, it explores how sex review sites mediate the field of commercial sex and discusses some of the potential insights for policy audiences. Policies directed at the regulation of this market will benefit from clear recognition of what customers understand their actions to be and how they participate in the construction of norms about commercial sex.
Professional Indemnity Insurance
Authors: Hooker N. D. , Pryor L. M.
Published: August 2014

Recent years have seen many changes affecting the market for professional indemnity insurance. The law is changing, widening the scope of liability. The insurance market is changing, with more mutuals and captives being formed. The price and availability of insurance are changing, too.

The internationalization of professional firms has introduced new problems, with claims being brought in the jurisdiction perceived as most favourable to the claimant. The broadening range of services offered by individual firms, and the consequent growth of truly multidisciplinary firms, can only make the situation more complex.

Like many other insurance markets, the market for professional indemnity insurance is cyclical. In the two or three years following 1984 most premiums more than doubled in real terms, and deductibles rose significantly. At the same time capacity fell. The result of all this change is that professionals are considering their indemnity insurance needs in a new light. The main reason for buying insurance is to provide a smooth cash flow. This need has not been met in the recent past.

We therefore believe that now is an appropriate time for the attention of actuaries to be drawn to professional indemnity insurance.
Monitoring Stroke Progression: In Vivo Imaging of Cortical Perfusion, Blood—Brain Barrier Permeability and Cellular Damage in the Rat Photothrombosis Model
Authors: Schoknecht Karl , Prager Ofer , Vazana Udi , Kamintsky Lyn , Harhausen Denise , Zille Marietta , Figge Lena , Chassidim Yoash , Schellenberger Eyk , Kovács Richard , Heinemann Uwe , Friedman Alon
Published: August 2014

Focal cerebral ischemia is among the main causes of death and disability worldwide. The ischemic core often progresses, invading the peri-ischemic brain; however, assessing the propensity of the peri-ischemic brain to undergo secondary damage, understanding the underlying mechanisms, and adjusting treatment accordingly remain clinically unmet challenges. A significant hallmark of the peri-ischemic brain is dysfunction of the blood-brain barrier (BBB), yet the role of disturbed vascular permeability in stroke progression is unclear. Here we describe a longitudinal in vivo fluorescence imaging approach for the evaluation of cortical perfusion, BBB dysfunction, free radical formation and cellular injury using the photothrombosis vascular occlusion model in male Sprague Dawley rats. Blood-brain barrier dysfunction propagated within the peri-ischemic brain in the first hours after photothrombosis and was associated with free radical formation and cellular injury. Inhibiting free radical signaling significantly reduced progressive cellular damage after photothrombosis, with no significant effect on blood flow and BBB permeability. Our approach allows a dynamic follow-up of cellular events and their response to therapeutics in the acutely injured cerebral cortex.
Ion density deviations in polyelectrolyte microcapsules: influence on biosensors
Authors: Tang Qiyun , Denton Alan R.
Published: August 2014

A charged polyelectrolyte shell induces deviations of local ion concentrations, affecting performance of microcapsules with encapsulated ion-sensitive dyes as biosensors.
The iso-VAPOL ligand: synthesis, solid-state structure and its evaluation as a BOROX catalyst
Authors: Gupta Anil K. , Zhang Xin , Staples Richard J. , Wulff William D.
Published: August 2014

The iso-VAPOL ligand is just as effective as VAPOL in the catalytic asymmetric synthesis of aziridines at one-tenth the cost.
Effect of preparation methods on the activity of VOx/CeO2 catalysts for the selective catalytic reduction of NOx with NH3
Authors: Lian Zhihua , Liu Fudong , He Hong
Published: August 2014

VOx/CeO2 catalysts prepared by a homogeneous precipitation method exhibited high NOx conversion and strong SO2 resistance in NH3-SCR reaction.
Tuning the color and photostability of perylene diimides inside polymer nanoparticles: towards biodegradable substitutes of quantum dots
Authors: Trofymchuk Kateryna , Reisch Andreas , Shulov Ievgen , Mély Yves , Klymchenko Andrey S.
Published: August 2014

The color, brightness and photostability of fluorescent polymer nanoparticles can be tuned by controlling aggregation of encapsulated perylene diimide dyes.
Hydroxyl PAMAM dendrimer-based gene vectors for transgene delivery to human retinal pigment epithelial cells
Authors: Mastorakos Panagiotis , Kambhampati Siva P. , Mishra Manoj K. , Wu Tony , Song Eric , Hanes Justin , Kannan Rangaramanujam M.
Published: August 2014

Hydroxyl PAMAM dendrimer-based gene vectors with tailored surface characteristics demonstrate improved cell uptake and transfection of human RPE cells.
A histone demethylase inhibitor, methylstat, inhibits angiogenesis in vitro and in vivo
Authors: Cho Yumi , Kim Ki Hyun , Cho Yoon Sun , Xu Wenqing , Wang Xiang , Kwon Ho Jeong
Published: August 2014

Histone methylation has been highlighted in the regulation of gene expression. Methylstat, a Jumonji C domain containing histone demethylase inhibitor, inhibitedin vitroandin vivoangiogenesis at nontoxic dose. Collectively, methylstat could be a promising chemical probe for addressing its role in angiogenesis
Effective sensing of RDX via instant and selective detection of ketone vapors
Authors: Hu Zhichao , Tan Kui , Lustig William P. , Wang Hao , Zhao Yonggang , Zheng Chong , Banerjee Debasis , Emge Thomas J. , Chabal Yves J. , Li Jing
Published: August 2014

Sensing a cyclic ketone frequently used as a solvent in the production of plastic explosives allows us to rapidly and effectively detect RDX. We explain the effects of the electron and energy transfer processes on the fluorescence response of a sensory material in this study.
Direct synthesis of 3D hollow porous graphene balls from coal tar pitch for high performance supercapacitors
Authors: He Xiaojun , Zhang Hebao , Zhang Hao , Li Xiaojing , Xiao Nan , Qiu Jieshan
Published: August 2014

A simple and effective method for direct synthesis of hollow porous graphene balls (HPGBs) for high performance supercapacitors.
Three-dimensional porous graphene/polyaniline composites for high-rate electrochemical capacitors
Authors: Zhou Qinqin , Li Yingru , Huang Liang , Li Chun , Shi Gaoquan
Published: August 2014

Three-dimensional porous composites of reduced graphene oxide and polyaniline prepared by electro-codeposition exhibited much higher areal specific capacitances and greatly improved rate capability compared with those of their individual components.
Apport de l’hypnose médicale aux traitements d’ODF
Authors: Simonnet Garcia Marie-Hélène
Published: August 2014

L’hypnose fait son retour dans toutes les disciplines médicales. Mais dans un monde où chacun souhaite tout contrôler, tout maîtriser, il est utile de savoir que l’hypnose est un processus dynamique qu’on ne peut vous imposer, une réalité psychique, mise en évidence aujourd’hui par l’imagerie cérébrale. Elle n’est nullement une prise de pouvoir. C’est un outil de plus pour passer de l’inconfort au confort, très utile pour la prévention de l’épuisement professionnel, et de plus en plus nécessaire pour soigner sans perdre d’énergie et sans gâcher notre précieux temps. L’hypnose médicale est un véritable atout pour proposer une orthodontie confortable et gagner en sérénité. Simple et très rapide à mettre en œuvre pour réaliser des empreintes de qualité, des poses de bagues confortables, sur un patient totalement immobile. Les traitements d’orthodontie nécessitent coopération et motivation; redonnons confiance et envie à nos patients avec l’hypnose médicale.
Mandibular Fractures in Iraq: An Epidemiological Study
Authors: Bede Salwan
Published: August 2014

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the epidemiological characteristics of the mandibular fractures relating to gender, age, the etiology of injury, and the rendered treatment modalities and complications. The data of the patients who sustained mandibular fractures were retrieved and were analyzed retrospectively, and based on these data a descriptive analysis was conducted. A total of 112 patients were included in this study; the most common cause was road traffic accidents (RTAs) followed by assaults and missile injuries. The most frequently involved age group was 11 to 20 years, treatment modalities included conservative, closed reduction and indirect fixation, and open reduction and internal fixation (ORIF) in 11.6, 79.5, and 8.9% of the cases, respectively. Most of the major complications were injury related. This study showed RTAs to be the most frequent cause followed by assaults, it also showed that a high percentage of assault victims were females mainly of low socioeconomic status. Another distinguishing feature in this study was the high incidence of missile injuries in the form of bullets and blasts. Closed reduction still has an important role in the treatment of fractures of mandible especially when the necessary equipments for ORIF are not readily available. A higher complication rate was observed in patients diagnosed with multiple and comminuted fractures as well as those caused by violence in the form of missile and assault injuries.
High field electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy under ultrahigh vacuum conditions—A multipurpose machine to study paramagnetic species on well defined single crystal surfaces
Authors: Rocker J. , Cornu D. , Kieseritzky E. , Seiler A. , Bondarchuk O. , Hänsel-Ziegler W. , Risse T. , Freund H.-J.
Published: August 2014

A new ultrahigh vacuum (UHV) electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectrometer operating at 94 GHz to investigate paramagnetic centers on single crystal surfaces is described. It is particularly designed to study paramagnetic centers on well-defined model catalysts using epitaxial thin oxide films grown on metal single crystals. The EPR setup is based on a commercial Bruker E600 spectrometer, which is adapted to ultrahigh vacuum conditions using a home made Fabry Perot resonator. The key idea of the resonator is to use the planar metal single crystal required to grow the single crystalline oxide films as one of the mirrors of the resonator. EPR spectroscopy is solely sensitive to paramagnetic species, which are typically minority species in such a system. Hence, additional experimental characterization tools are required to allow for a comprehensive investigation of the surface. The apparatus includes a preparation chamber hosting equipment, which is required to prepare supported model catalysts. In addition, surface characterization tools such as low energy electron diffraction (LEED)/Auger spectroscopy, temperature programmed desorption (TPD), and infrared reflection absorption spectroscopy (IRAS) are available to characterize the surfaces. A second chamber used to perform EPR spectroscopy at 94 GHz has a room temperature scanning tunneling microscope attached to it, which allows for real space structural characterization. The heart of the UHV adaptation of the EPR experiment is the sealing of the Fabry-Perot resonator against atmosphere. To this end it is possible to use a thin sapphire window glued to the backside of the coupling orifice of the Fabry Perot resonator. With the help of a variety of stabilization measures reducing vibrations as well as thermal drift it is possible to accumulate data for a time span, which is for low temperature measurements only limited by the amount of liquid helium. Test measurements show that the system can detect paramagnetic species with a density of approximately 5 × 1011 spins/cm2, which is comparable to the limit obtained for the presently available UHV-EPR spectrometer operating at 10 GHz (X-band). Investigation of electron trapped centers in MgO(001) films shows that the increased resolution offered by the experiments at W-band allows to identify new paramagnetic species, that cannot be differentiated with the currently available methodology.
Flexible semi-transparent organic spin valve based on bathocuproine
Authors: Sun Xiangnan , Bedoya-Pinto Amilcar , Llopis Roger , Casanova Fèlix , Hueso Luis E.
Published: August 2014

Organic semiconductors are attractive materials for advanced spintronic applications due to their long spin lifetimes and, simultaneously, their mechanical flexibility. With the aim of combining these advantages in a single device, we report on the fabrication and properties of a mechanically flexible bathocuproine-based spin valve. This organic spin device shows great stability on both electrical and magneto-transport properties upon mechanical bending at different radius (up to r = 5 mm), while featuring long-lasting endurance (on bending over 50 times). The room-temperature magnetoresistance ratio reaches up to 3.5%, and is notably preserved under air atmosphere. The observation of spin transport at room-temperature, combined with the outstanding mechanical properties and air stability, highlights the potential of bathocuproine-based spin devices towards applications.
Modeling of hysteretic Schottky diode-like conduction in Pt/BiFeO3/SrRuO3 switches
Authors: Miranda E. , Jiménez D. , Tsurumaki-Fukuchi A. , Blasco J. , Yamada H. , Suñé J. , Sawa A.
Published: August 2014

The hysteresis current-voltage (I-V) loops in Pt/BiFeO3/SrRuO3 structures are simulated using a Schottky diode-like conduction model with sigmoidally varying parameters, including series resistance correction and barrier lowering. The evolution of the system is represented by a vector in a 3D parameter space describing a closed trajectory with stationary states. It is shown that the hysteretic behavior is not only the result of a Schottky barrier height (SBH) variation arising from the BiFeO3 polarization reversal but also a consequence of the potential drop distribution across the device. The SBH modulation is found to be remarkably lower (<0.07 eV) than previously reported (>0.5 eV). It is also shown that the p-type semiconducting nature of BiFeO3 can explain the large ideality factors (>6) required to simulate the I-V curves as well as the highly asymmetric set and reset voltages (4.7 V and −1.9 V) exhibited by our devices.
All quantum dot mode-locked semiconductor disk laser emitting at 655 nm
Authors: Bek R. , Kersteen G. , Kahle H. , Schwarzbäck T. , Jetter M. , Michler P.
Published: August 2014

We present a semiconductor disk laser mode-locked by a semiconductor saturable absorber mirror (SESAM) with emission in the red spectral range. Both the gain and the absorber structure are fabricated by metal-organic vapor-phase epitaxy in an anti-resonant design using quantum dots as active material. A v-shaped cavity is used to tightly focus onto the SESAM, producing pulses with a duration of about 1 ps at a repetition rate of 852 MHz.
Carbon nanotube dispersed conductive network for microbial fuel cells
Authors: Matsumoto S. , Yamanaka K. , Ogikubo H. , Akasaka H. , Ohtake N.
Published: August 2014

Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) are promising devices for capturing biomass energy. Although they have recently attracted considerable attention, their power densities are too low for practical use. Increasing their electrode surface area is a key factor for improving the performance of MFC. Carbon nanotubes (CNTs), which have excellent electrical conductivity and extremely high specific surface area, are promising materials for electrodes. However, CNTs are insoluble in aqueous solution because of their strong intertube van der Waals interactions, which make practical use of CNTs difficult. In this study, we revealed that CNTs have a strong interaction with Saccharomyces cerevisiae cells. CNTs attach to the cells and are dispersed in a mixture of water and S. cerevisiae, forming a three-dimensional CNT conductive network. Compared with a conventional two-dimensional electrode, such as carbon paper, the three-dimensional conductive network has a much larger surface area. By applying this conductive network to MFCs as an anode electrode, power density is increased to 176 μW/cm2, which is approximately 25-fold higher than that in the case without CNTs addition. Maximum current density is also increased to approximately 8-fold higher. These results suggest that three-dimensional CNT conductive network contributes to improve the performance of MFC by increasing surface area.
Potential advantages of highly mycotrophic foraging for the establishment of early successional pioneer plants on sand
Authors: Höpfner Ingo , Friede Martina , Unger Stephan , Beyschlag Wolfram
Published: August 2014

Adaptive traits ensuring efficient nutrient acquisition, such as extensive fine root systems, are crucial for establishment of pioneer plants on bare sand. Some successful pioneer species of temperate, European sand ecosystems are characterised as obligate mycorrhizals, thus likely substituting fine roots with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF). However, it is not clear whether AM fungal-mediated acquisition of scarce and immobile nutrients such as phosphorus (P) is an advantageous strategy on bare sand over foraging via roots. We compared the foraging performance of three obligately mycorrhizal forbs and two facultatively mycorrhizal grasses, regarding the influence of AMF on their capacity to acquire P from bare sand. Comparison of mycorrhizal and non-mycorrhizal individuals revealed a markedly higher AM fungal-dependency for P acquisition and growth in the forbs than in the grasses. Periodical soil core sampling, allowing for assessment of root and hyphal growth rates, revealed hyphal growth to markedly enlarge the total absorptive surface area (SA) in the forbs, but not in the grasses. Correlations between SA growth and P depletion suggest an AM fungal-induced enhanced capacity for rapid soil P exploitation in the forbs. Our study showed that AM fungal-mediated foraging may be an advantageous strategy over root-mediated foraging in sand pioneer plants.
Climate and very large wildland fires in the contiguous western USA
Authors: Stavros E. Natasha , Abatzoglou John , Larkin Narasimhan K. , McKenzie Donald , Steel E. Ashley
Published: August 2014

Very large wildfires can cause significant economic and environmental damage, including destruction of homes, adverse air quality, firefighting costs and even loss of life. We examine how climate is associated with very large wildland fires (VLWFs ≥50000 acres, or ~20234ha) in the western contiguous USA. We used composite records of climate and fire to investigate the spatial and temporal variability of VLWF–climatic relationships. Results showed quantifiable fire weather leading up and up to 3 weeks post VLWF discovery, thus providing predictors of the probability that VLWF occurrence in a given week. Models were created for eight National Interagency Fire Center Geographic Area Coordination Centers (GACCs). Accuracy was good (AUC>0.80) for all models, but significant fire weather predictors of VLWFs vary by GACC, suggesting that broad-scale ecological mechanisms associated with wildfires also vary across regions. These mechanisms are very similar to those found by previous analyses of annual area burned, but this analysis provides a means for anticipating VLWFs specifically and thereby the timing of substantial area burned within a given year, thus providing a quantifiable justification for proactive fire management practices to mitigate the risk and associated damage of VLWFs.
Weight watching in burrows: variation in body condition in pygmy bluetongue lizards
Authors: Shamiminoori Leili , Fenner Aaron L. , Bull C. Michael
Published: August 2014

The pygmy bluetongue lizard, Tiliqua adelaidensis, is an endangered scincid lizard that occurs in remnants of natural grasslands in the mid-north of South Australia. We assessed the factors affecting body condition of male and female lizards, using body size residuals as an index, over five sampling years. We included sex, phenotypic (patterned or plain morphs), temporal (sampling year and activity period within year), and climatic factors in our analyses. The results indicated that sampling year and activity period within the year were the two most important factors influencing variation in body condition of both male and female lizards over the period of the study. There were similar trends when we considered males and females separately. However, when prepartum and postpartum females were analysed separately, sampling year did not affect their body condition. None of the analyses showed any significant effect of phenotype on body condition. Winter–spring rainfall was positively correlated with body condition of females in the prepartum period, but showed no significant effect on mean body condition of any other grouping of adult lizards, nor a consistent direction of correlation among the different subsets of adult lizards that we considered. The substantial annual variations in the body condition of lizards, although of uncertain cause, provide important information for conservation managers who monitor persisting populations of this endangered species.
The sociology of translation and its “activist turn”
Authors: Wolf Michaela
Published: August 2014

The last few years have seen a great increase in works on what has been labeled a “sociological turn” in translation studies. This turn has particularly taught us to sharpen our “sociological eye” on the various agencies and agents involved in any translation procedure, and more specifically in the textual factors operating in the translation process. In this paper I will discuss the conditions underlying the “sociological turn” and examine both its limitations and its potential, with particular attention to the translator’s habitus as elaborated in sociology and in translation studies. My focus will be on the political factors which in recent years have contributed to molding the habitus, not least in the domain of “translation and activism,” where new codes of reference have been created for translatorial activity that also pose searching questions for Western concepts of translation and their social implications, ultimately triggering what might be called an “activist turn.”
Italy’s other Mafia
Authors: Caliendo Giuditta
Published: August 2014

Following its translation into more than thirty languages, Roberto Saviano’s non-fiction novel Gomorrah [Gomorra], has unveiled to a vast number of readers across the globe the endless saga of Naples’ crime syndicate, the Camorra (from which the book’s title derives its bitter play on words). Literary critics and reviewers in the UK and in the U.S. have widely acclaimed Saviano’s talent in depicting the corruption plaguing Naples’ gloomy and degraded hinterland, although the sociocultural context portrayed in Gomorrah is naturally distant from the repertoire of the target culture: the text is widely populated by culture-bound concepts and implicit meanings, which further complicates the translation process. Through a contrastive analysis of the Italian and English versions of the exposé, this study explores the strategies employed in translating the voices and deeds of Naples’ mobsters, as well as the socioeconomic setting of the Camorra. With reference to types of non-equivalence between the two language versions, this article investigates to what extent the English translation contributes to the identity-building process of the Camorra as a separate and far more deadly criminal organization vis-à-vis the Sicilian Mafia.
Power in face-to-face interpreting events
Authors: Mason Ian , Ren Wen
Published: August 2014

The traditional view holds that professional interpreters should be transparent, invisible, passive, neutral, and detached, a view reiterated and reinforced in the prescribed interpreters’ codes of conduct of national and international professional organizations. Such an idealized role construct, however, is from time to time deconstructed in real-life face-to-face interpreting events. In this paper, face-to-face interpreting is seen as a three-way communicative event in which the interpreter is a co-constructor of the interaction and can therefore be a powerful figure. From the perspective of interpreting as a socially-situated activity, the paper adopts Michel Foucault’s concept of power, defining it not as the traditionally dominating force to monopolize, control, or rule, but as a kind of strategy, disposition, maneuver, tactic, or technique, functioning in a network of relations. Although interpreters often lack institutional power, they may be equipped with power within the exchange as a result of their bilingual and bicultural expertise. They may exercise this power by adopting various verbal and non-verbal strategies to negotiate, coordinate, check, and balance power relations. This can be specifically manifested in interpreters’ social action as co-interlocutors, empowerment figures, or in the adoption of a non-neutral stance. Examples are cited from authentic interpreting events to analyze interpreters’ power-at-work, focusing on their verbal and non-verbal behaviors, in particular, their positioning and gaze.
Subordination in purpose clauses
Authors: Peltola Rea
Published: August 2014

This paper investigates the variation between the indicative and conditional moods in purpose clauses in Finnish. It is argued that the use of the conditional mood can be explained by focusing on the intentional aspect of purpose relations. Due to its semantic origins, the Finnish conditional explicitly marks that the event coded by the purpose clause falls under the scope of the intentional space constructed in the main clause. By comparison, the indicative contributes to the chronological organization of events, highlighting the consequential aspect of a purpose relation. This analysis suggests that the Finnish conditional resembles the subjunctive in how it functions in purpose clauses, drawing a parallel with the French subjunctive. Subjunctive moods mark interclausal relations, as they call upon the interlocutor to interpret the event in the mental space that has been or will be constructed in the surrounding discourse.
On the contextual conceptualization of joka relative clauses in Finnish
Authors: Visapää Laura
Published: August 2014

Studies on relative clauses commonly distinguish between two types of relative clauses: restrictive and non-restrictive. Research suggests that the restrictive relative clauses are subordinate and thus tightly connected to their main clause. Non-restrictive relative clauses, on the other hand, could often be replaced by a co-ordinating conjunction or by two independent clauses. Consequently, their status as subordinate constructions is called into question: they are categorized as non-subordinate relative constructions – or at least as being less subordinate than restrictive relative clauses. This article discusses the usefulness of the notions restrictive and non-restrictive relative clause in the description of Finnish data. Finnish joka clauses seem to be instantiating only one construction type, and its function as either restrictive or non-restrictive depends on contextual factors. However, analyzing relative clauses as merely just one construction type has theoretical implications for the research on subordination. If the same grammatical construction can have subordinate and non-subordinate functions only depending on the context it is used in, the question of what subordination is primarily becomes a matter of dynamic conceptualization. This article suggests that the Finnish joka construction is neither subordinate nor non-subordinate, but that it has construal potentials that are evoked in complex ways in the real contexts of use.
Development of the Estonian conjunction kuna ‘while; because’ during the 20th century
Authors: Plado Helen
Published: August 2014

The change from temporal to cause is one of the well-known grammaticalization paths. This article analyses the change in the Estonian conjunction kuna, ‘while; as, because’ from temporal to causal one as well as the attitude of the Estonian language planners towards this change. This change has mainly taken place during the twentieth century. The end of the nineteenth century and the beginning of the twentieth century witnessed the prevailing use of the temporal use of kuna. However, during the latter part of the 20th century the use of kuna began to shift, and the use of causal kuna began to dominate. As an intermediary stage between the temporal and causal usages, kuna was used as an adversative temporal conjunction. The impact of this shift in usage of kuna as a causal conjunction has also slightly changed the use of other Estonian causal conjunctions. Initially, Estonian language planners adopted a strict attitude towards the change of kuna, but language planning could not halt this change. For example, editors continued to cross out the causal use of kuna, but they could not increase the temporal use, and this usage of the conjunction hardly appears in the written texts of the 1970s. However, the change was finally accepted in the 1990s.
The order of adverbials of time and place in Old English
Authors: Chrambach Susanne
Published: August 2014

Syntactic analyses of adverbials in Present Day English describe a tendency for adverbials of place to precede adverbials of time in clusters. This paper investigates whether this preferred order of the adverbials of place and time was already established in Old English. Based on an analysis of the York-Toronto-Helsinki Parsed Corpus of Old English Prose, it first of all shows that Old English adverbials indeed display a preferred order of occurrence in clusters. This order is the reverse of the one found in Present Day English, namely time-before-place. In a second step, the paper investigates which factors might motivate that order. Potentially influential factors are investigated individually as well as in a multifactorial analysis with the help of a binary logistic regression.
The demise of a preterite-present verb
Authors: Wojtyś Anna
Published: August 2014

The group of Old English preterite-present verbs, originally comprising twelve items, was considerably reduced so that only six have survived to the present day. The present paper focuses on the fate of the verb unnan ‘grant’, with an attempt to account for its disappearance from the language. Because of its meaning, in Old English unnan was mainly employed in legal documents, especially wills. It was also attested in religious writings in the context of God. In Early Middle English, the lack of legal texts produced in the vernacular resulted in a considerable decrease in the verb frequency. In religious context unnan was still occasionally found, although the reference to God’s grants was more likely expressed with other verbs. Thus, the study shows that the drop in the frequency of unnan and its subsequent elimination was mainly due to the shortage of English legal texts and the competition with native synonyms.
Vowels before /r/ in the history of English
Authors: Hickey Raymond
Published: August 2014

In the past few centuries vowels before historic /r/ have gone through many changes in different varieties of English, including non-rhotic forms which lost syllable-final /r/ in the eighteenth or early nineteenth centuries. These changes can be grouped into two major types. The first is characterized by the collapse of a front/back distinction for short-mid vowels (the NURSE-TERM merger) which holds for all supraregional forms of English, bar those in Scotland where, in addition, the vowel in BIRD may retain a front, high quality. The loss of distinctiveness for these vowels is attributed to the rhotacisation of the entire syllable nucleus which is something which must have happened before the loss of /r/ which led to non-rhotic varieties. The second type of change involves the merger of two formerly distinct pre-rhotic vowels to one, as in the HORSE-HOARSE and the POOR-POUR mergers. There are further subtypes to the merger development, e.g. merger through diphthong smoothing as in the TOWER-TYRE merger. Finally, there are pre-rhotic mergers which involve more than two elements, e.g. the MARY-MERRY-MARRY which depend on the loss of both qualitative and quantitative distinctions.
“Pained the eye and stunned the ear”
Authors: Anderwald Lieselotte
Published: August 2014

My paper is a close analysis of prescriptive comments on the progressive passive over the course of the nineteenth century, based on my collection of 258 nineteenth-century grammar books. I investigate how the progressive passive was evaluated, which language ideologies were involved, and what the criticism can tell us about the construction (and its users) in return. Linking these comments to corpus studies of the rise of the progressive passive, my paper shows that the extreme salience of this construction (to grammar writers) can be explained by referring to its perceived complexity, its text-type sensitivity, and the social status of its users. The singular status of the progressive passive as the “most hated” construction of English is also compared to other constructions that did not attract the same degree of venomous comments.
Watching as-clauses in Late Modern English
Authors: Broccias Cristiano
Published: August 2014

Eventive percepts can be expressed not only by means of non-finite complements, either with an infinitive or a participle (e.g. She watched his hand trace/tracing the words), but also by means of hypotactic integration with or without a direct object (e.g. She watched his hand as it traced the words, She watched as it traced the words). In this paper, I mainly investigate the diachronic development of the relation between these two strategies in the case of the verb watch and the subordinator as in Late Modern English. However, the history of other options such as the use of eventive nominals and adjectives (e.g. She watched the setting of the sun, She watched the setting sun) and small clauses (e.g. He watched her out of sight) is also considered. The historical analysis, carried out mainly using the 400 million word Corpus of Historical American English (COHA), reveals a shift from more nominal to more clausal strategies in the expression of eventive percepts. The non-finite complement option, especially in its infinitive variant, and the hypotactic integration strategy without a direct object, emerged as the preferred options by the end of the last century. The paper concludes with some speculations as to why such changes have taken place.
The subjunctive mood in Philippine English
Authors: Collins Peter , Borlongan Ariane Macalinga , Lim Joo-Hyuk , Yao Xinyue
Published: August 2014

American English has been observed to be leading the way in the revival of the (mandative) subjunctive, leaving behind British English and its postcolonial “children”. Drawing on data from two sets of corpora, sampled in the 1960s and the 1990s, this paper examines the extent to which Philippine English, a distinctively American-rooted variety, has been following American patterns in its use of the subjunctive (both the mandative and the hypothetical were-subjunctive). Some of the findings reflect the historical exonormative dependence of Philippine English on its American “parent” (notably, its continuing preference for the subjunctive over should-periphrasis, and its dispreference for the indicative, in mandative constructions), while others reflect its evolutionary progression towards endonormative stability (for example its disregard for American maintenance of the traditional formality connotations of the mandative subjunctive, and for the American preference for subjunctive were over indicative was in subordinate counterfactual clauses).
Revisiting a millennium of migrations
Authors: Chamson Emil
Published: August 2014

While historical records attest to continual and intense migrations to Britain from the Low Countries over a period of roughly a thousand years, our knowledge of the linguistic consequences of this contact – i.e. the impact of Dutch, Frisian, and the Low German dialects on English – remains sketchy. One main reason is inherent, i.e. due the similarities of the languages involved. Another is extrinsic: the nature of the contact, at once commonplace and elusive, has meant that discussions of the history of English frequently pass over this area, favoring the big players and the exotics. This article highlights the history of migrations from the Low Countries to England, focusing on events and conditions that provided a context for lexical influence and indeed made it very likely. Examples from the English Dialect Dictionary illustrate the inclusion of dialectal evidence when exploring foreign influence on English.
 or : A dilemma of the Middle English scribal practice
Authors: Welna Jerzy
Published: August 2014

The paper discusses the spread of the spelling variation 〈 u: o〉 in Middle English in all localized texts from the Innsbruck Corpus (Markus 2008). The present author’s aim is to determine the distribution of the replacement of 〈u〉 by 〈o〉 in the Corpus texts in order to reveal a temporal and regional conditioning of the change. The study covers eight high-frequency items (HUNDRED, HUNGER, HONEY, NUN, SOME, SUMMER, SUN, SON), five of which have restored the original grapheme 〈u〉. The examination of the above corpus has revealed the lack of a consistent universal rule governing the replacement of 〈u〉 by 〈o〉 in the graphically obscure contexts of the postvocalic graphemes 〈m, n〉. The earliest 〈o〉 spellings in the prose corpus belong to the westerly areas of England (Hali Meidenhad, Hali Maidhad, Ancrene Riwle), but the later selection of either traditional 〈u〉 (HUNDRED, HUNGER) or innovative 〈o〉 (HONEY, SON) appears to have been determined by the East Midland and London usage.
Bacterial fluoride resistance, Fluc channels, and the weak acid accumulation effect
Authors: Ji Chunhui , Stockbridge Randy B. , Miller Christopher
Published: August 2014

Fluoride ion (F−) is a ubiquitous environmental threat to microorganisms, which have evolved a family of highly selective “Fluc” F− channels that export this inhibitory anion from their cytoplasm. It is unclear, however, how a thermodynamically passive mechanism like an ion channel can protect against high concentrations of external F−. We monitored external F− concentrations in Escherichia coli suspensions and showed that, in bacteria lacking Fluc, F− accumulates when the external medium is acidified, as a predicted function of the transmembrane pH gradient. This weak acid accumulation effect, which results from the high pKa (3.4) and membrane permeability of HF, is abolished by Fluc channels. We also found that, although bacterial growth is inhibited by high concentrations of F−, bacteria can withstand cytoplasmic F− at levels a hundred times higher than those that inhibit proliferation, resuming growth when the F− challenge is removed.