bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Struggle to Liberate a Nascent Nation from the Corrupt Native Ruling Class and Create a Distinctive Postcolonial Identity: A Case Study of Chinua Achebe’s A Man of the People
Authors: Islam Momtajul
Published: October 2019

This paper investigates Achebe’s portrayal of postcolonial African society in his postcolonial novel A Man of the People with its societal struggles. A newly emerged native middle class played a somehow contradictory role as a social element in two different phases of colonialism, that is, colonial and postcolonial Africa. Initially, their discontent with the governance of colonial powers was principally voiced by this native class. However, the same social class reigned over these nascent African countries after independence. This privileged section of postcolonial native society replaced the ‘European’ masters in the native political power equation and kept intact the traumatic master-slave narrative of the colonial period. This research addresses the question of how Achebe is astounded by the degree of corruption, treachery and pretence of native politicians who governed the postcolonial African nations. It further expands on how Achebe, in this novel, puts in a conscious effort to create a distinctive African identity by eradicating these socio-political ills that were prevalent in postcolonial native society. A Man of the People depicts the disturbing influence of colonial experience on native people in postcolonial period and this paper aims to show how Achebe skilfully puts forward his belief in the role of national intelligentsia in the development of a new nation, as he thinks that it can significantly help in putting an end to this suppression of common men by creating a unique African identity across the world. Achebe’s belief that mass uprisings by native intellectuals could be the best way to free native countries of the postcolonial era from dishonest native politicians has been a major finding in this research paper, as this novel transpires.
Exploring the Riddle of Curious George: A Thematic Study
Authors: Vijaya Veena
Published: October 2019

Children’s literature has created versatile and popular characters since its inception. These characters produced a nostalgic and overwhelming presence through their actions, behaviors and unique identities on readers’ minds. This paper probes into a complex notion of the identity of a popular character in children’s literature, Curious George. Various authors and critics have tried to focus on different aspects of George’s personality. The scope of this paper is to explore the versatile and multifaceted features of George’s character, and to make an association between the character and its creators, H. A. Rey and Margaret Rey. The eventful life of the childless authors, who lived in a war-inflicted world, moving from one place to another, and seeking a final refuge in United States, is carefully analyzed and investigated in detail. The hilarious role played by George as a savior, to redeem them physically and psychologically, is adequately traced. Through the various Curious George series, the character of George is deeply examined and his relation to the ‘Man with the Yellow Hat’ has been interpreted from an oriental and postcolonial perspective. The enigma or riddle behind the true nature of George continually makes him one of the most beloved characters in the field of children’s literature. Observed and analyzed in the light of war-affected world, during which he was created, George provides the potential to survive in any conflict –riven situation internally or externally. His multiple personalities of an animal, child, prisoner, Orient and African provides various facets that keeps his identity in a flux.
A Foucauldian-Shakespearean Reading of the Twin Motifs of Love and Madness in Malcolm Bradbury’s Eating People Is Wrong
Authors: Friji Noureddine
Published: October 2019

Undertaking a careful examination of Malcolm Bradbury’s academic novel Eating People Is Wrong (1959) by drawing on Michel Foucault’s Madness and Civilization (1965) and on William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, this paper’s author argues that some individuals, capitalizing on the old-established connection between love and madness, choose to act insane to win others’ sympathy and affections and that their strategy may not always live up to their expectations. The strategy itself, it will be clear, is a reflection of their social superiors’ desire to punish or banish them, of the universal antipathy towards the mad, and of the proclivity for maltreating them. The author also aims to prove that madness is not always the inevitable result of unreciprocated love and that it may as well be brought about by a loveless life. The paper concludes that madness, be it real or sham, never ceases to preoccupy us and that no matter how hard we try to extend sympathy to the mad, they generally continue to occupy the bottom of the social hierarchy. In addition to the foregoing thematic pursuits, it is also hoped that the reader will be given a helpful insight into the academic novel subgenre, which deserves to gain more ascendancy in the literary scene.
Examining the influence of picture format on children’s naming responses
Authors: Martínez Naroa , Matute Helena
Published: October 2019

Digital photography has facilitated the use of more ecological stimuli than line drawings as experimental stimuli. However, there is lack of evidence regarding the effect of the picture format on children’s naming agreement. The present work investigated whether the format of presentation of the pictures (line drawing or photograph) affects naming task performance in children. Two naming task experiments are reported using 106 concepts depicted both as a photograph and as a matched drawing delineated directly from the photograph. Thirty-eight and thirty-four Spanish-speaking children from 8 to 10 years old participated in Experiment 1 and Experiment 2, respectively. We examined name agreement measures (Hindex, percentage of modal name, and alternative responses) and subjective scales (familiarity and visual complexity). The results revealed a significant main effect of format in all of the variables except for familiarity, indicating better name agreement indices and higher visual complexity values for the photograph format than for the line drawing format. Additionally, line drawings were more likely to produce alternative incorrect names. The implications of these findings for psychoeducational research and practice are discussed.
Variation of 13C and 15N enrichments in different plant components of labeled winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)
Authors: Sun Zhaoan , Wu Shuxia , Zhu Biao , Zhang Yiwen , Bol Roland , Chen Qing , Meng Fanqiao
Published: October 2019

Information on the homogeneity and distribution of 13carbon (13C) and nitrogen (15N) labeling in winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) is limited. We conducted a dual labeling experiment to evaluate the variability of 13C and 15N enrichment in aboveground parts of labeled winter wheat plants. Labeling with 13C and 15N was performed on non-nitrogen fertilized (−N) and nitrogen fertilized (+N, 250 kg N ha−1) plants at the elongation and grain filling stages. Aboveground parts of wheat were destructively sampled at 28 days after labeling. As winter wheat growth progressed, δ13C values of wheat ears increased significantly, whereas those of leaves and stems decreased significantly. At the elongation stage, N addition tended to reduce the aboveground δ13C values through dilution of C uptake. At the two stages, upper (newly developed) leaves were more highly enriched with 13C compared with that of lower (aged) leaves. Variability between individual wheat plants and among pots at the grain filling stage was smaller than that at the elongation stage, especially for the −N treatment. Compared with those of 13C labeling, differences in 15N excess between aboveground components (leaves and stems) under 15N labeling conditions were much smaller. We conclude that non-N fertilization and labeling at the grain filling stage may produce more uniformly 13C-labeled wheat materials, whereas the materials were more highly 13C-enriched at the elongation stage, although the δ13C values were more variable. The 15N-enriched straw tissues via urea fertilization were more uniformly labeled at the grain filling stage compared with that at the elongation stage.
Effect of Hypoxia on the Induction of Premature Cellular Senescence in the Cells of Periodontium during Orthodontic Tooth Loading
Authors: Younis Luay Thanoon , Bahnasi Faisal Ismail Elsayed , Rahman Aida Nur Ashikin Abd , Hassan Mohamed Ibrahim Abu
Published: October 2019

During orthodontic treatment, application of forces to move the teeth within the dento-alveolar complex is associated with structural and biological tissues changes. One of the main changes is hypoxia which is due to the compression of blood vessels resulting in insufficient oxygenation of the tissues. On orthodontic loading, hypoxia causes irreversible cell cycle arrest (or so called cellular senescence) and apoptosis of the tissue cells around the teeth especially on the compression zone. Excessive hypoxia, in turn leads to a massive, an inevitable and detrimental destruction of tissues supporting the tooth such as remarkable root resorption. This mini-review is highlighting the effect of orthodontic force in inducing a local hypoxic environment and its consequences in causing cells death of the periodontal cells.
Accelerating the Screening of Perovskite Compositions for Photovoltaic Applications through High‐Throughput Inkjet Printing
Authors: Chen Shi , Zhang Lihua , Yan Lijia , Xiang Xiaodong , Zhao Xingzhong , Yang Shihe , Xu Baomin
Published: October 2019

The exploration and optimization of numerous mixed perovskite compositions are causing a strong demand for high‐throughput synthesis. Nevertheless high‐throughput fabrication of perovskite films with representative film properties, which can efficiently screen the perovskite compositions for photovoltaic applications, has rarely been explored. A high‐throughput inkjet printing approach that can automatically fabricate perovskite films with various compositions with high reproducibility and high speed is developed. The automatic sequential printing of four precursors forms 25 mixed films in a fast and reproducible manner. The obtained bandgaps, photoluminescence (PL) peak positions, and PL lifetimes allow for the efficient screening of perovskite compositions for photovoltaic applications. To exemplify this concept, among 25 tested films, two compositions CH3NH3PbBr0.75I2.25 (MA) and (HC(NH2)2)0.75(CH3NH3)0.25PbBr0.75I2.25 (FA0.75MA0.25) with a long (237 ns) and short (49.0 ns) PL lifetime, respectively, are screened out for device investigations. As expected, the MA‐based device exhibits a much higher efficiency (19.0%) than that (15.3%) of the FA0.75MA0.25 counterpart. This efficiency improvement is mainly ascribed to a smaller dark saturate current density, a lower level of energetic disorder, more efficient charge transfer and decreased charge recombination losses, which are consistent with the much longer PL lifetime in the database.
Macromolecular crowding effects on transcription and translation are regulated by free magnesium ion
Authors: Ge Xumeng , Xu Jianfeng
Published: October 2019

Cell‐free metabolic engineering is an emerging and promising alternative platform for the production of fuels and chemicals. In recent years, macromolecular crowding effect, which is an important function in living cells but ignored in cell‐free systems, has been transferred to cell‐free protein synthesis (CFPS). However, inhibitory effects of crowding agents on CFPS were frequently observed, and the mechanism is unclear. In this study, free Mg2+ was found to be a key factor that can regulate the macromolecular crowding effect on in vitro transcription, in vitro translation, and coupled transcript/translation. Addition of crowding agents (20% of Ficoll‐70 or Ficoll‐400) enhanced in vitro transcription at an index of free Mg2+ concentration (IFMC) below 2 mM but inhibited the transcription when the IFMC was higher than 2 mM. Similarly, Ficoll‐400 enhanced in vitro translation and coupled transcription/translation at a lower IFMC (0.1–2 mM) and inhibited the reactions at higher IFMC (>2 mM). Based on the results, CFPS systems could be further optimized by adjusting the content of crowding agents and the IFMC. Besides, the results also indicate that macromolecular crowding effect is important for maintaining the efficiency of in vivo transcription and translation which occur at a low intracellular IFMC (<1 mM).
Lignocellulosic biomass from agro‐industrial residues in South America: current developments and perspectives
Authors: Magalhães Antonio Irineudo , de Carvalho Júlio Cesar , de Melo Pereira Gilberto Vinícius , Karp Susan Grace , Câmara Marcela Candido , Medina Jesus David Coral , Soccol Carlos Ricardo
Published: October 2019

South America is a pivotal supplier of agricultural commodities for a growing world population. This large‐scale production generates a substantial amount of lignocellulosic residue. Inadequate disposal of this material can lead to putrefaction and leaching, and can attract insects and rodents. Solid residues can be treated by incineration or composting – both causing greenhouse gas emissions. Biotransformation of lignocellulosic residues into valuable products has been proposed as a more sophisticated alternative to burning. However, pretreatment steps are necessary to obtain fermentable sugars for biological or thermochemical transformation into value‐added products. In this review, we noted trends in lignocellulosic biomass generation and potential uses, with special attention to the procedures necessary for the generation of fermented products and bio‐oil. This survey pointed out that sugarcane bagasse, cereal straws, bananas, and oil‐palm biomass can generate about 900 million tonnes of biomass by 2025. Based on production data from several researchers it was estimated that these raw materials have the potential for annual production of more than 550 million tonnes of fermentable sugars (i.e., glucose and xylose), 670 million tonnes of bio‐oil, or 4000 TWh of thermal energy. We describe procedures and strategies for the conversion of these residues to produce higher value‐added biomolecules and to promote more sustainable application of lignocellulosic biomass © 2019 Society of Chemical Industry and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Assessment of the Location of Pt Nanoparticles in Pt/zeolite Y/γ‐Al2O3 Composite Catalysts
Authors: Oenema Jogchum , Hofmann Jan P. , Hensen Emiel J. M. , Zečević Jovana , de Jong Krijn P.
Published: October 2019

The location of Pt nanoparticles was studied in Pt/zeolite Y/γ‐Al2O3 composite catalysts prepared by H2PtCl6 ⋅ 6H2O (CPA) or Pt(NH3)4(NO3)2 (PTA) as Pt precursors. The aim of this study is to validate findings from Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) by using characterization techniques that sample larger amounts of catalyst per measurement. Quantitative X‐ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) showed that the catalyst prepared with CPA led to a significantly higher Pt/Al atomic ratio than the catalyst prepared with PTA confirming that the 1‐2 nm sized Pt nanoparticles in the former catalyst were located on the open and mesoporous γ‐Al2O3 component, whereas they were located in the micropores of zeolite Y in the latter. By using infrared spectroscopy, a shift in the absorption band maximum of CO chemisorbed on Pt nanoparticles was observed, which can be attributed to a difference in electronic properties depending on the support of the Pt nanoparticles. Finally, model hydrogenation experiments were performed using β‐phenylcinnamaldehyde, a reactant molecule with low diffusivity in zeolite Y micropores, resulting in a 5 times higher activity for the catalyst prepared by CPA compared to PTA. The combined use of these characterization techniques allow us to draw more robust conclusions on the ability to control the location of Pt nanoparticles by using either CPA or PTA as precursors in zeolite/γ‐Al2O3 composite catalyst materials.
Longitudinal analysis of a secondary BRCA2 mutation using digital droplet PCR
Authors: Khalique Saira , Pettitt Stephen J , Kelly Ger , Tunariu Nina , Natrajan Rachael , Banerjee Susana , Lord Christopher J
Published: October 2019

Development of resistance to platinum and poly(ADP‐ribose) polymerase inhibitors via secondary BRCA gene mutations that restore functional homologous recombination has been observed in a number of cancer types. Here we report a case of somatic BRCA2 mutation in a patient with high grade serous ovarian carcinoma. A secondary mutation predicted to restore the BRCA2 open reading frame was detected at low frequency (2.3%) in whole exome sequencing of a peritoneal biopsy at disease progression after treatment that included carboplatin and olaparib. We used digital droplet PCR (ddPCR) to verify the presence and frequency of this mutation in the biopsy sample at progression and also used this approach to assess the presence of the secondary mutation in preceding biopsies at diagnosis and first relapse. We found no evidence for the secondary mutation being present prior to the final progression biopsy, suggesting that this mutation was acquired late in the course of treatment. ddPCR provides a sensitive and specific technique to investigate the presence of low frequency mutations in a time series of biopsies.
Paradoxical psoriasis induced by TNF‐α blockade shows immunological features typical of the early phase of psoriasis development
Authors: Fania Luca , Morelli Martina , Scarponi Claudia , Mercurio Laura , Scopelliti Fernanda , Cattani Caterina , Scaglione Giovanni Luca , Tonanzi Tiziano , Pilla Maria Antonietta , Pagnanelli Gianluca , Mazzanti Cinzia , Girolomoni Giampiero , Cavani Andrea , Madonna Stefania , Albanesi Cristina
Published: October 2019

Immunomodulation with anti‐TNF‐α is highly effective in the treatment of various immune‐mediated inflammatory diseases, including hidradenitis suppurativa (HS). However, this may be responsible for unexpected paradoxical psoriasiform reactions. The pathogenic mechanisms underlying the induction of these events are not clear, even though the involvement of innate immune responses driven by plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDC) has been described. In addition, the genetic predisposition to psoriasis of patients could be determinant. In this study, we investigated the immunological and genetic profiles of three HS patients without psoriasis who developed paradoxical psoriasiform reactions following anti‐TNF‐α therapy with adalimumab. We found that paradoxical psoriasiform skin reactions show immunological features common to the early phases of psoriasis development, characterized by cellular players of innate immunity, such as pDC, neutrophils, mast cells, macrophages, and monocytes. In addition, IFN‐β and IFN‐α2a, two type I IFNs typical of early psoriasis, were highly expressed in paradoxical skin reactions. Concomitantly, other innate immunity molecules, such as the catheledicin LL37 and lymphotoxin (LT)‐α and LT‐β were overproduced. Interestingly, these innate immunity molecules were abundantly expressed by keratinocytes, in addition to the inflammatory infiltrate. In contrast to classical psoriasis, psoriasiform lesions of HS patients showed a reduced number of IFN‐γ and TNF‐α‐releasing T lymphocytes. On the contrary, IL‐22 immunoreactivity was significantly augmented together with the IL‐36γ staining in leukocytes infiltrating the dermis. Finally, we found that all HS patients with paradoxical reactions carried allelic variants in genes predisposing to psoriasis. Among them, SNPs in ERAP1, NFKBIZ, and TNFAIP genes and in the HLA‐C genomic region were found.
Dipolar and Quadrupolar Luminophores Based on 1,8‐Dimethylcarbazole−Triazine Conjugates for High‐Efficiency Blue Thermally Activated Delayed Fluorescence OLEDs
Authors: Min Hyukgi , Park In Seob , Yasuda Takuma
Published: October 2019

As one of the three primary colors indispensable for full‐color displays, the development of blue emitters is of great importance and still a difficult challenge for organic light‐emitting diodes (OLEDs). Blue organic emitters exhibiting thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) are anticipated to be promising materials as they have the potential to achieve high electroluminescence (EL) efficiencies and suitable color purity. In this paper, highly efficient blue TADF emitters combining 1,8‐dimethylcarbazole as a weak donor (D) unit with a triazine‐based acceptor (A) core are reported. Unlike unsubstituted carbazole, 1,8‐dimethylcarbazole can effectively induce intermolecular twisting between the D‐A linkages, thus enhancing the TADF properties. Moreover, a quadrupolar D‐A‐D‐type blue TADF emitter exhibits superior photo‐ and electroluminescence (EL) properties compared to a dipolar D‐A‐type counterpart. TADF‐OLEDs based on the D‐A‐D‐type emitter featuring the 1,8‐dimethylcarbazole−triazine conjugates display a brilliant blue EL emission and furnish a maximum external EL quantum efficiency as high as 21.2 % with CIE color coordinates of (0.16, 0.27).
A Phthalocyanine‐Based Glutathione‐Activated Photosensitizer with a Ferrocenyl Boron Dipyrromethene Dark Quencher for Photodynamic Therapy
Authors: Shi Wen‐Jing , Ng Dennis K. P. , Zhao Shirui , Lo Pui‐Chi
Published: October 2019

The front cover artwork is provided by the Dennis K. P. Ng group from the Chinese University of Hong Kong, and the Pui‐Chi Lo group from the City University of Hong Kong. The image illustrates the activation of a phthalocyanine‐based photosensitizer through cleavage of the disulfide linker by intracellular glutathione (GSH) and separation from the ferrocenyl boron dipyrromethene‐based dark quencher. Read the full text of the Article at 10.1002/cptc.201900115.
An efficient implementation of low‐power approximate compressor–based multiplier for cognitive communication systems
Authors: R.P. Meenaakshi Sundhari
Published: October 2019

Image compression is significant for resourceful transmission and storage of images. The multimedia data like image, audio, and videos are uploaded in the Internet through telecommunication networks. Actual image size plays when page utilization is higher. So image compression standard joint photographic experts group (JPEG) is used for storing images in a compressed format. The quality of JPEG is that it yields little loss in quality using high compression ratios. Multiplier and adder play a major hardware resource in JPEG compression. To reduce this, hardware complexity here proposed a compressor‐based multiplier to increase the performance of JPEG standard as well as reducing the logic resources. This architecture is going to be implemented in CYCLONE IV FPGA with 512 × 512 and 640 × 480 resolutions of images.
A probability distribution function for investigating node infection and removal times
Authors: Tafazzoli Tala , Sadeghiyan Babak
Published: October 2019

Considering the important issue of computer infections by worms spread via networks, the theme of source identification has been a prominent research field that aims at investigating infection propagation including acquiring knowledge about the infection and the node removal times when a worm infection happens. This information helps in identifying the patient zero in the worm attack and may be used by computer forensic investigators and network administrators to spot the culprits and to identify related network vulnerabilities. In this paper, we tackle this problem by developing new probabilistic models based on Bayesian networks. We learn a probability distribution to calculate, at every time step, the probability that each node is infected by a scanning worm, using historical data and features extracted from the network and application layers. With the mentioned probability distribution, the node infection status can be inferred using feature values at each time step. We propose a four‐step method to investigate the time of infection and removal of each node probabilistically. First, features are extracted and derived from network traffic data. There are no suitable training and test datasets publicly available for our tests; therefore, we developed the training and test datasets using simulations of the Code Red II worm. Second, a prior model is built using training data. Third, the probabilistic model is built by the estimation of distribution algorithm. Fourth, the infection probability of nodes is inferred given the probability distribution and feature values at each time step. It has already been shown that the number of infectious nodes can be probabilistically approximated backward in time through the stochastic Back‐to‐Origin Markov model. We combine our first model with the prior stochastic Back‐to‐Origin Markov model to develop our second model. To evaluate our first and second models, we conducted experiments that show that these models can pinpoint the source node and the infection time of nodes with acceptable accuracy. It should be noted that our method could be employed with other propagating worm types including ransomware worms.
Sex is determined by XY chromosomes across the radiation of dioeciousNepenthespitcher plants
Authors: Scharmann Mathias , Grafe T. Ulmar , Metali Faizah , Widmer Alex
Published: October 2019

Species with separate sexes (dioecy) are a minority among flowering plants, but dioecy has evolved multiple times independently in their history. The sex-determination system and sex-linked genomic regions are currently identified in a limited number of dioecious plants only. Here, we study the sex-determination system in a genus of dioecious plants that lack heteromorphic sex chromosomes and are not amenable to controlled breeding: Nepenthes pitcher plants. We genotyped wild populations of flowering males and females of three Nepenthes taxa using ddRAD-seq and sequenced a male inflorescence transcriptome. We developed a statistical tool (privacy rarefaction) to distinguish true sex specificity from stochastic noise in read coverage of sequencing data from wild populations and identified male-specific loci and XY-patterned single nucleotide polymorphsims (SNPs) in all three Nepenthes taxa, suggesting the presence of homomorphic XY sex chromosomes. The male-specific region of the Y chromosome showed little conservation among the three taxa, except for the essential pollen development gene DYT1 that was confirmed as male specific by PCR in additional Nepenthes taxa. Hence, dioecy and part of the male-specific region of the Nepenthes Y-chromosomes likely have a single evolutionary origin.
Anthropogenic noise in US national parks – sources and spatial extent
Authors: Buxton Rachel T , McKenna Megan F , Mennitt Daniel , Brown Emma , Fristrup Kurt , Crooks Kevin R , Angeloni Lisa M , Wittemyer George
Published: October 2019

In an era of unprecedented environmental change, US national parks are refuges of natural ecosystems and facilitate connections between humans and nature. However, anthropogenic noise is an increasingly pervasive threat in these parks. To diagnose noise levels and sources, we analyzed thousands of hours of acoustic recordings collected across park units and summarized results from continental‐scale sound models. We found that anthropogenic noise was audible in 37% of park recordings, and that parks with high road density and those in close proximity to large airports experienced a greater number of noise events. The most common noise sources were aircraft and road vehicles, but, when present, trains and watercraft generated the loudest noise levels. Sound models show that anthropogenic noise caused a tenfold increase in median sound levels in 36% of parks, and loud areas were often localized. Our analysis identifies situations where noise management would yield the greatest benefits to park visitors and wildlife.
Enzymatic synthesis of vanillin and related catalytic mechanism
Authors: Liu Hai‐Min , Zou Yong , Yao Chuang‐Yu , Yang Zhen
Published: October 2019

There has been an increasing demand for bio vanillin for a variety of applications. Although vanillin production using biotechnological methods based on microbial fermentation has been extensively explored, the use of isolated enzymes for vanillin synthesis has not yet attracted much attention. Lipoxygenase (LOX) is an iron‐containing dioxygenase well known for catalysing the hydroperoxidation of polyunsaturated fatty acids and esters. Its newly discovered ability to catalyse the oxidative cleavage of isoeugenol to vanillin offers a promising solution for synthesizing bio vanillin. In this study, soybean LOX was used as the catalyst for vanillin synthesis. The reaction was optimised by examining the effects of pH, temperature, substrate concentration, and enzyme dosage. By investigating the impact of various additives, including two denaturants, seven chelators, six surfactants, 10 organic solvents, eight deep eutectic solvents, and 13 natural deep eutectic solvents, it was found that denaturants (urea and guanidine) and some chelators (e.g. ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid, EDTA) are effective in improving synthetic yields, by up to 133 and 406%, respectively, relative to the additive‐free reaction system. Two free‐radical catalytic mechanisms were proposed to explain the new activity of the enzyme for vanillin synthesis.
Research on pipe materials for tunnel drainage by the ÖBB Task Force Drainage
Authors: Schachinger Tobias , Arbeiter Florian J. , Eichinger Stefanie , Saliger Florian
Published: October 2019

Due to the additional tunnels that are currently under design or construction, drainage maintenance costs are expected to rise significantly over the next few years. An increased amount of maintenance will also be necessary due to older drainage pipes damaged during intensive cleaning and flushing. To counter these problems, an internal task force for drainage pipes has been installed within the ÖBB. Together with research institutions from several fields of science, projects are being carried out to find ways to decrease the overall maintenance effort. Topics include screening of possible rehabilitation methods for damaged pipes, and investigation of currently used materials with regard to their mechanical suitability. A multi‐disciplinary research topic has also been initiated to investigate the potential of material modifications with the goal to decrease overall precipitation in drainage pipes and associated maintenance. First results on modified materials already show potential to decrease calcite precipitation.
Case study on the maintenance of various anchored retaining walls in the Austrian high‐speed road network
Authors: Stadlbauer Jakob , Antony Christoph
Published: October 2019

Anchored retaining structures demand detailed preliminary investigations for appropriate and economic repair and upgrading. However, due to the complex constraints and insufficient data basis, it is often necessary to investigate the basis for the design of repair works in advance. The article described two anchored constructions. The first is a bored pile wall to dowel a slope. In addition to the repair of corrosion damage to the strand anchors, repair of the uphill drainage system is an essential part of the refurbishment concept. The second example is a retaining structure about 40 years old, in which several rod anchors show corrosion to their heads. Since there is a lack of information about the ground conditions for the assessment of structural safety and design of repair works, additional investigation boreholes were drilled.
Innovative NATM solutions for major subway stations in North America – An overview of recent developments and project case histories
Authors: Laubbichler Jürgen , Schwind Thomas , Karner Christian , Gakis Angelos
Published: October 2019

Since the first mined subway stations were constructed in Washington, DC in the mid‐80s, European engineers and construction professionals have been promoting the benefits of the conventional tunneling method for major urban infrastructure projects throughout North America. In recent years, significant advances have been made in the use of numerical design tools, innovative construction approaches, fiber reinforced shotcrete mixes and the increased use of robotics and laser‐scanning equipment. This article provides an overview of key technologies and innovations applied on recent projects, including Chinatown Station in San Francisco; Parliament, Lyon and Rideau Stations in Ottawa; and Laird, Avenue and Oakwood Stations in Toronto.
Technical and logistical challenges of the construction of the Museumsinsel Station in Berlin
Authors: Schmeiser Josef , Hoppe Peter , Theiss Reinhold
Published: October 2019

The closing of the gap in line U5 of the Berlin underground completes the missing connection between the Alexanderplatz and Brandenburger Tor stations. The existing line U5 currently ends at the Alexanderplatz. With the closure of the gap, the existing tunnels at the Berliner Roten Rathaus will be connected to the Brandenburger Tor station on the line U55. The project includes the construction of three new underground stations and two single‐track tunnels connecting them, which are being tunnelling by shield machines. The new alignment thus passes deep under the city, under the River Spree, the new Berliner Schloss and the Spreekanal as well as running along beneath the street Unter den Linden to the Brandenburger Tor. The construction activities are taking place right in the centre of Berlin and the particular local conditions are a logistical and technical challenge.
Feuerbach and Bad Cannstatt Tunnels – special requirements of the inner‐city Location and difficult geotechnical Conditions
Authors: Lienhart Christoph , Chiaverio Flavio , Rauscher Wolfgang , Kurtz Matthias
Published: October 2019

The Feuerbach and Bad Cannstatt Tunnels on the Stuttgart 21 project are two central elements of the future Stuttgart inner‐city rail node. Due to the central location in the middle of Stuttgart, there are particular requirements for construction operations and logistics. These effects are additionally reinforced by the very difficult geological and geotechnical conditions in the valley of Stuttgart: very changeable strengths of the prevailing formations of the gypsum Keuper, sometimes with shallow overburden with dense building and roads above. The tunnel also passes through sections with anhydrite content, which tends to swell on contact with water. In this paper, both the challenges of the inner‐city location are described and the methods and solutions used to counter an impairment of structural safety and serviceability in the anhydrite sections.
Using queue to signal quality in primary care: The need for further empirical investigation
Authors: Srivatsa Srinivas S. , Marathe Rahul R.
Published: October 2019

In recent times, signalling quality via queues for generic services has received significant attention. However, the literature till date on primary care services has focussed on the optimal speed‐quality trade‐off to ensure higher service times and lower waiting times for the patients. Borrowing from the queue management literature on generic services, we aim to understand whether the hypothesis that queue is a signal of physician's quality is reasonable. Based on theoretical arguments, we justify the need to investigate this hypothesis on queue acting as a signal of quality in primary care. Although we conjecture that the queue length on arrival may act as a signal of quality, the waiting experienced after joining the queue is still considered expensive.
Epidemiological evidence that common HPV types may be common because of their ability to evade immune surveillance: Results from the Women's Interagency HIV study
Authors: Castle Philip E. , Burk Robert D. , Massad Leslie S. , Eltoum Isam‐Eldin , Hall Charles B. , Hessol Nancy A. , Anastos Kathryn , Xie Xianhong , Minkoff Howard , Xue Xiaonan , D'Souza Gypsyamber , Flowers Lisa , Colie Christine , Rahangdale Lisa , Fischl Margaret A. , Palefsky Joel M. , Strickler Howard D.
Published: October 2019

Infection by human papillomavirus (HPV) type 16, the most oncogenic HPV type, was found to be the least affected by HIV‐status and CD4 count of any of the approximately 13 oncogenic HPV types. This relative independence from host immune status has been interpreted as evidence that HPV16 may have an innate ability to avoid the effects of immunosurveillance. However, the impact of immune status on other individual HPV types has not been carefully assessed. We studied type‐specific HPV infection in a cohort of 2,470 HIV‐positive (HIV[+]) and 895 HIV‐negative (HIV[−]) women. Semi‐annually collected cervicovaginal lavages were tested for >40 HPV types. HPV type‐specific prevalence ratios (PRs), incidence and clearance hazard ratios (HRs), were calculated by contrasting HPV types detected in HIV[+] women with CD4 < 200 to HIV[−] women. HPV71 and HPV16 prevalence had the weakest associations with HIV‐status/CD4 count of any HPV, according to PRs. No correlations between PRs and HPV phylogeny or oncogenicity were observed. Instead, higher HPV type‐specific prevalence in HIV[−] women correlated with lower PRs (ρ = −0.59; p = 0.0001). An alternative (quadratic model) statistical approach (PHIV+ = a*PHIV− + b*PHIV−2; R2 = 0.894) found similar associations (p = 0.0005). In summary, the most prevalent HPV types in HIV[−] women were the types most independent from host immune status. These results suggest that common HPV types in HIV[−] women may have a greater ability to avoid immune surveillance than other types, which may help explain why they are common.
Influence of tropical cyclones on the 100‐year return period wave height—A study based on 39‐year long ERA5 reanalysis data
Authors: Naseef T. Muhammed , Kumar V. Sanil
Published: October 2019

Various engineering activities in a coastal and offshore environment require detailed assessment about the probable extreme wave characteristics in its lifetime to prevent human as well as property loss. The accurate estimation of wave height with a 100‐year return period not only contribute to the level of protection but also the scale of investments. In this study, significant wave height return levels for a northwestern Bay of Bengal location are estimated using extreme value models; generalized extreme value (GEV) and generalized Pareto distribution (GPD). Both block maxima and initial distribution methods are used in the GEV and GPD incorporated with peak over threshold (POT) series. The study is based on the European Centre for Medium‐Range Weather Forecasts ERA5 reanalysis hourly data at 0.25° × 0.25° spatial resolution from 1979 to 2017. The GPD estimates show that the return levels do not follow prevailing seasonality over the location since the return levels greatly depend upon the extreme events and most of the extreme events are during the northeast monsoon season (October–January). The POT with October–January data gives 9.08 m as 100‐year return level, and corresponding Indian southwest monsoon (June–September) return level is only 5.41 m. When different block periods ranging from 15 to 39 years are considered, the 50‐year return levels range from 5.12 to 8.67 m for GEV with annual maxima. The influence of tropical cyclones (TCs) on return levels are examined considering different case studies, and the results show that the strength of a TC alters the return levels more significantly than the number of TCs in the observation. The 100‐year return level decreases by ~30% when wave height during the two cyclones; Phailin and Hudhud are removed from the data set.
Influence of the South Asian high‐intensity variability on the persistent heavy rainfall and heat waves in Asian monsoon regions
Authors: Shang Wei , Ren Xuejuan , Duan Keqin , Zhao Chengwu
Published: October 2019

This study investigates the modulation of the South Asian high's (SAH) intensity variation on the persistent heavy rainfall (PHR) and heat wave (HW) events over the Asian summer monsoon regions during summer 1979–2013. The first mode of an empirical orthogonal function (EOF) analysis performed on standardized subseasonal anomalies at 200‐hPa geopotential height over the SAH's main body (20°–5°N, 35°–110°E), reveals the intensity variation of the SAH with a 10–40‐day periodicity. The strengthening (weakening) of the SAH's main body is accompanied by negative (positive) outgoing longwave radiation (OLR) anomalies and more (less) anomalous rainfall over the Indian subcontinent, southern foot of Tibetan Plateau (TP) and subtropical East Asia. Using different thresholds, the proportion for modest PHR events is approximately 30% and can reach up to 40–50% for extreme PHR events during the strong phase of SAH. About 20% of modest PHR events and only 10% of extreme PHR events occur under the weak phase of SAH, suggesting that SAH has a more significant impact on the occurrence of extreme PHR events over the south and East Asian regions. In contrast, HW events associated with strong SAH account for approximately 5–10% whereas an increased occurrence of HW events is observed during the weak phase of SAH with a ratio up to 15–20%. A much more intensified updraft flow, enhanced cross‐equatorial moisture flux and western North Pacific moisture flux is accompanied with strong SAH, which provide favourable conditions for occurrence of extreme PHR events, leading to less surface solar radiation anomalies. The mirror image is seen in the weak SAH phase, contributing to the decrease of extreme PHR events and increase of HW events. The above analysis indicates that the SAH provides significant modulation and impact on extreme rainfall and temperature events over the Asian monsoon regions on subseasonal timescale.
Polarizing rain types linked to June drought in the Korean peninsula over last 20 years
Authors: Song Hwan‐Jin , Sohn Byung‐Ju
Published: October 2019

We observe a notable decreasing trend of June rainfall over the Korean peninsula in recent 20 years. This drought condition is found to be linked to the polarizing trend of rainfall intensity; more non‐rain and drizzle‐like rain, less moderate‐intensity rain, and more heavy rain events. Overall, the June drought over the Korean peninsula is found to be associated with less occurring moderate‐intensity rain. This feature is interpreted as that the dominant warm‐type heavy rain systems with a medium storm height tends to be less frequent while cold‐type heavy rains characterized by taller storm become more frequent during last 20 years. The northwestward expansion of the North Pacific high in June appears to weaken the continuous moisture supply to the Korean peninsula, which is a main element of forming the warm‐type heavy rain there.
Climate futures for Western Nepal based on regional climate models in the CORDEX‐SA
Authors: Dhaubanjar Sanita , Prasad Pandey Vishnu , Bharati Luna
Published: October 2019

With the objective to provide a basis for regional climate models (RCMs) selection and ensemble generation for climate impact assessments, we perform the first ever analysis of climate projections for Western Nepal from 19 RCMs in the Coordinated Regional Downscaling Experiment for South Asia (CORDEX‐SA). Using the climate futures (CF) framework, projected changes in annual total precipitation and average minimum/maximum temperature from the RCMs are classified into 18 CF matrices for two representative concentration pathways (RCPs: 4.5/8.5), three future time frames (2021–2045/2046–2070/2071–2095), three geographic regions (mountains/hills/plains) and three representative CF (low‐risk/consensus/high‐risk). Ten plausible CF scenario ensembles were identified to assess future water availability in Karnali basin, the headwaters of the Ganges. Comparison of projections for the three regions with literature shows that spatial disaggregation possible using RCMs is important, as local values are often higher with higher variability than values for South Asia. Characterization of future climate using raw and bias‐corrected data shows that RCM projections vary most between mountain and Tarai plains with increasing divergence for higher future and RCPs. Warmer temperatures, prolonged monsoon and sporadic rain events even in drier months are likely across all regions. Highest fluctuations in precipitation are projected for the hills and plains while highest changes in temperature are projected for the mountains. Trends in change in annual average discharge for the scenarios vary across the basin with both precipitation and temperature change influencing the hydrological cycle. CF matrices provide an accessible and simplified basis to systematically generate application‐specific plausible climate scenario ensembles from all available RCMs for a rigorous impact assessment.
Elucidating food web structure of the Poyang Lake ecosystem using amino acid nitrogen isotopes and Bayesian mixing model
Authors: Zhang Zhongyi , Tian Jing , Cao Yansheng , Zheng Nengjian , Zhao Jingjing , Xiao Hongwei , Guo Wei , Zhu Renguo , Xiao Huayun
Published: October 2019

Compound‐specific isotope analysis of amino acids (CSIA‐AA) is regarded as a more advanced method of unraveling food web connections than the traditional bulk isotope approach. One of the most important assumptions of the CSIA‐AA approach is that the initial offset (β) between glutamate and phenylalanine in primary producers should remain unchanged. However, the considerable difference in β values between algae (+3.4‰) and vascular plants (−8.0‰) raises concern regarding the application of the CSIA‐AA approach for complex ecosystems that depend on both resources. In the present study, a Bayesian mixing model was used to estimate the individual contribution of basal dietary resources to each consumer of Poyang Lake, and then, the β was reevaluated to adapt to the assimilation of the individual primary producer for each consumer specimen. In general, the contributions of vascular plant‐derived resources to most consumers are consistent with their feeding behaviors. The smaller contribution of vascular plants to planktivorous fish (usually less than 20%) is biologically expected because of their feeding ecology. Using this strategy, we successfully obtained realistic trophic positions (TP) of consumers in Poyang Lake, which are significantly different from traditional TPalgae or TPvascular. For instance, the TP value of grass carp (2.04) was consistent with the feeding behavior of this fish, i.e., they primarily feed on vascular hydrophytes. Therefore, the combination of the CSIA‐AA and Bayesian mixing model provides a better understanding of food web structures, even in a complex freshwater ecosystem.