bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Impact of Price-Cost Competitiveness Factors on Economic Growth
Authors: Baranová Veronika
Published: July 2013

The aim of this study is to verify the assumption that price-cost competitiveness factors affect long-term economic growth in the sample countries. This analysis is based on the neoclassical growth model extended by human capital. Furthermore, variables reflecting the cost-competitiveness and cost-effective real exchange rate and unit labor costs were added to the model. The default is a panel regression methodology and related methods of data analysis. The sample consists of EU member states that meet the requirement of a small open economy and membership in the OECD. On the basis of this criterion, the following countries were selected: Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Ireland, Hungary, Netherlands, Austria, Slovenia and the Slovak Republic. Annual frequency in the time frame 1999-2010 is the reference period. This is shown by the analysis results in the case that the selected sample of countries with affordable cost factors appears to be significant. The selected indicators of competitiveness can be one of the prominent factors that influence economic growth in developed countries, yet they are not a fully sufficient and comprehensive source of growth factors in terms of competitiveness.
Analysis of football player’s motion in view of fractional calculus
Authors: Couceiro Micael , Clemente Filipe , Martins Fernando
Published: July 2013

Accurately retrieving the position of football players over time may lay the foundations for a whole series of possible new performance metrics for coaches and assistants. Despite the recent developments of automatic tracking systems, the misclassification problem (i.e., misleading a given player by another) still exists and requires human operators as final evaluators. This paper proposes an adaptive fractional calculus (FC) approach to improve the accuracy of tracking methods by estimating the position of players based on their trajectory so far. One half-time of an official football match was used to evaluate the accuracy of the proposed approach under different sampling periods of 250, 500 and 1000 ms. Moreover, the performance of the FC approach was compared with position-based and velocity-based methods. The experimental evaluation shows that the FC method presents a high classification accuracy for small sampling periods. Such results suggest that fractional dynamics may fit the trajectory of football players, thus being useful to increase the autonomy of tracking systems.
The Role of Marketing in Corporations within the Post Communist Context: Perceptions of Marketing Managers in Czech Corporations
Authors: Karlíček Miroslav , Chytková Zuzana , Fischer Jakub
Published: July 2013

The influence of marketing department in corporations tends to be limited, as it usually plays a rather tactical and narrow role. It is often primarily concerned with marketing communications whereas it lacks involvement with other crucial marketing activities such as brand strategy and positioning, new product development or pricing. This state is relatively well documented in the US literature. However, not much is known about the role of marketing departments in corporations within the post communist context. This study proves that situation in Czech corporations is consistent with the US reality. With the exception of companies operating in the FMCG sector, marketing department is typically not the most powerful force in the Czech corporations and its involvement with strategic and non-communication marketing activities is typically relatively low.
Determinants of Customer Satisfaction in Fast Food Industry A Study of Fast Food Restaurants Peshawar Pakistan
Authors: Khan Shahzad , Hussain Syed Majid , Yaqoob Fahad
Published: July 2013

This research is focused to find what are the key success factors for fast food industry in region of Peshawar Pakistan. Fast food concepts developed very rapidly in last few years in Peshawar region. The failure or success of a fast food industry based on some factors like Promotion, Service quality, Customer expectations, Brand, Physical Environment, Price, and Taste of the product. To find which of these factors has greater influence on consumer satisfaction, four fast food restaurants customers were targeted randomly. These four restaurants were KFC, CHIEF, ARBAIN CHICK, and PIZZA HUT. The data collected from the customers of these restaurants. The data collected from customers of these restaurants when the customers were in restaurants for refreshment. Total number of customers who were targeted was 120. From each restaurant 30 customers were targeted on availability basis. On the basis of their responses multiple regression and correlation test was applied. Findings of the study shows that service quality and brand are the key factors for satisfaction in fast food industry in Peshawar Pakistan.
Poeci polscy doby humanizmu wobec Rzymu / Polish Poets of the Age of Humanism and Rome
Authors: Nowicka-Jeżowa Alina
Published: July 2013

Based on earlier research, and especially Tadeusz Ulewicz’s landmark study Iter Romano- -Italicum Polonorum, or the Intellectual and Cultural Links between Poland and Italy in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance (1999) this article examines the influence of Rome - in its role as the Holy See and a centre of learning and the arts - on Poland’s culture in the 15th and 16th century as well as on the activities of Polish churchmen, scholars and writers who came to the Eternal City. The aim of the article is to trace the role of the emerging Humanist themes and attitudes on the shape of the cultural exchange in question. It appears that the Roman connection was a major factor in the history of Polish Humanism - its inner development, its transformations, and the ideological and artistic choices made by the successive generations of the Polish elite. In the 15th century the Roman inspirations helped to initiate the Humanist impulse in Poland, while in the 16th century they stimulated greater diversity and a search for one’s own way of development. In the post-Tridentine epoch they became a potent element of the Poland’s new cultural formation. Against the background of these generalizations, the article presents the cultural profiles of four poets, Mikołaj of Hussów, Klemens Janicjusz, Jan Kochanowski, and Mikołaj Sęp Szarzyński. They symbolize the four phases of the Polish Humanist tradition, which draw their distinctive identities from looking up to the Roman model
Panów na chłopy uskarżanie się / „The Landlords’ Complaints Against Peasants ”: A Text Found in the MS Collection of the Diocesan Library at Sandomierz Attests The Enduring Popularity of the Medieval Satire Against Cunning Peasants
Authors: Trościński Grzegorz
Published: July 2013

This article deals with a hitherto unknown text from the late 16th or early 17th century titled „The Landlords’ complaints against peasants”, found by the writer in a volume which belonged to the Franciscan (Bernardine) convent at Radom and is now kept at the Diocesan Library at Sandomierz (MS L 1684). That the poem, reprinted in the article, is a literary offspring of the medieval anti-peasant verse „A Satire on Lazy Peasants” is indicated by the a number of semantic and lexical traits as well its rhyme scheme. However, its line of descent is not direct. It is indebted to (or, represents a textual variant of) another contemporary poem called „A Description of the knavish and artful character of the peasant hard set against his lord”, found in St Petersburg by Aleksander Brückner. „The Landlords’ complaints against peasants” is the only poem physically available in a MS from the legacy of the medieval „Satire on Lazy Peasants”. In the Franciscan MS it faces „A Peasant Lament against the Landlords”, a poem which can also be found in a Czartoryski Library manuscript. Finally, a text quoted in one of the footnotes contains another, hitherto unknown variant of the „Peasant Lament” from 1629.
Kilka szczegółów do biografii Władysława wężyka i życia na Śląsku (nieznany list Władysława wężyka z roku 1847) / An Annex to the Biography of Władysław Wężyk and a Materiały i Notatki. Glimpse into Polish Cultural Life in Silesia (Wężyk’s Newly Found Letter from the Year 1847)
Authors: Dambek Zofia
Published: July 2013

Władysłsw Wężyk was a noted 19th-century Polish writer, best known for his travelogue Travels to the Ancient World (1842). This article presents a newly found letter from his correspondence with Father Hieronim Kajsiewicz, CR. Dated 1847, the letter reveals a handful of hitherto unknown facts from Wężyk’s life, eg. his contacts with the Resurrectionist community, his reasons for disengaging himself from underground national-liberation activities, and the name he chose for his Confirmation ceremony. The letter also contains his observations and comments on Polish literary and cultural life in Silesia.
Adolescent Masculinity in an Age of Decreased Homohysteria
Authors: Anderson Eric
Published: July 2013

Adolescent masculinity in the 1980s was marked by the need to distance oneself from the specter of “the fag.” In this homohysteric culture, compulsory heterosexuality and high rates of anti-gay sentiment necessitated that adolescent boys distance themselves from anything associated with femininity. It was this zeitgeist that brought Connell’s hegemonic masculinity theory to the vanguard of masculine studies. However, homohysteria has diminished among adolescents today. Accordingly, in this article, I foreground research extracts from multiple ethnographies on groups of 16-year-old adolescent boys in order to contextualize the repeated and consistent data I find throughout both the United States and the United Kingdom. In explaining how the diminishment of homohysteria promotes a “One-Direction” culture of inclusive and highly feminized masculinities, I suggest that new social theories are required.
Memory, imagination, and belonging across generations
Authors: Haukanes Haldis , Trnka Susanna
Published: July 2013

The last two decades have witnessed a phenomenal expansion of scholarly work on collective memory. Simultaneously, increasing anthropological attention is being paid to collective visions of the future, albeit through a range of disparate literatures on topics including development, modernity and risk, the imagination, and, perhaps ironically, nostalgia. In this introduction to this special section, we bring together analyses of postsocialist visions of pasts and futures to shed light upon the cultural scripts and social processes through which different temporal visions are ascribed collective meaning, employed in the creation of shared and personal identities, and used to galvanize social and political action.
Precarious lives?
Authors: Haukanes Haldis
Published: July 2013

Framed by questions concerning the normal biography and its distortion in late modernity, this article examines the biographical narratives of two different generations of Czechs. Through a parallel analysis of retrospective and future-oriented imaginations of life, the article explores the extent to which the two generations' narratives are structured along the expectations implicated in the normal biography and the kinds of disturbances to the “normal“ pattern that surface in these accounts. Moreover, it explores intergenerational dynamics by examining the narratives' generational tropes and the level of generational reflexivity they display. I argue that while their key tropes of narration have changed substantially, people of both generations share an adherence to the normal biography as well as a lack of interest in placing their own biography in relation to the history of the nation.
Fabrication and Catalytic Activity of Thermally Stable Gold Nanoparticles on Ultrastable Y (USY) Zeolites
Authors: Sanada Takashi , Murakami Chika , Góra-Marek Kinga , Iida Keiko , Katada Naonobu , Okumura Kazu
Published: July 2013

Au was deposited on ultrastable Y (USY) zeolites using an ion-exchange method. Up to 5.5 wt% Au was introduced into the NH4-form of USY zeolites. In contrast, deposition of Au hardly took place on the H- and Na-forms of Y-type zeolites, NH4-forms of mordenite, and ZSM-5. Treatment of the Au-loaded USY zeolite in a H2 atmosphere, afforded Au0 nanoparticles. These particles were thermally stable even at 973 K, where their mean particle diameter was 3.7 nm. In contrast, highly aggregated Au particles were observed after thermal treatment at temperatures lower than 523 K, followed by storage in air for a month. The resulting particle sizes were in good correlation with the IR band intensity of the adsorbed CO and the catalytic activity of Au in the aerobic oxidation of benzyl alcohol. The Au nanoparticles showed highest activity when the Au/USY zeolite was thermally treated at 673–973 K. A negligible deactivation was observed after repeating the reaction at least 12 times. In the case of Au/TiO2 catalyst prepared by the deposition-precipitation method, the highest activity was observed at 573 K, which was lower than the temperature used for the Au/USY zeolites. This study demonstrated the potential use of the NH4-form of USY zeolites for supporting Au.
A Multi-Camera System for Bioluminescence Tomography in Preclinical Oncology Research
Authors: Lewis Matthew , Richer Edmond , Slavine Nikolai , Kodibagkar Vikram , Soesbe Todd , Antich Peter , Mason Ralph
Published: July 2013

Bioluminescent imaging (BLI) of cells expressing luciferase is a valuable noninvasive technique for investigating molecular events and tumor dynamics in the living animal. Current usage is often limited to planar imaging, but tomographic imaging can enhance the usefulness of this technique in quantitative biomedical studies by allowing accurate determination of tumor size and attribution of the emitted light to a specific organ or tissue. Bioluminescence tomography based on a single camera with source rotation or mirrors to provide additional views has previously been reported. We report here in vivo studies using a novel approach with multiple rotating cameras that, when combined with image reconstruction software, provides the desired representation of point source metastases and other small lesions. Comparison with MRI validated the ability to detect lung tumor colonization in mouse lung.
Novel Hybrid Virtual Screening Protocol Based on Molecular Docking and Structure-Based Pharmacophore for Discovery of Methionyl-tRNA Synthetase Inhibitors as Antibacterial Agents
Authors: Liu Chi , He Gu , Jiang Qinglin , Han Bo , Peng Cheng
Published: July 2013

Methione tRNA synthetase (MetRS) is an essential enzyme involved in protein biosynthesis in all living organisms and is a potential antibacterial target. In the current study, the structure-based pharmacophore (SBP)-guided method has been suggested to generate a comprehensive pharmacophore of MetRS based on fourteen crystal structures of MetRS-inhibitor complexes. In this investigation, a hybrid protocol of a virtual screening method, comprised of pharmacophore model-based virtual screening (PBVS), rigid and flexible docking-based virtual screenings (DBVS), is used for retrieving new MetRS inhibitors from commercially available chemical databases. This hybrid virtual screening approach was then applied to screen the Specs (202,408 compounds) database, a structurally diverse chemical database. Fifteen hit compounds were selected from the final hits and shifted to experimental studies. These results may provide important information for further research of novel MetRS inhibitors as antibacterial agents.
Identification of MicroRNA 395a in 24-Epibrassinolide-Regulated Root Growth of Arabidopsis thaliana Using MicroRNA Arrays
Authors: Lin Li-Ling , Wu Chia-Chi , Huang Hsuan-Cheng , Chen Huai-Ju , Hsieh Hsu-Liang , Juan Hsueh-Fen
Published: July 2013

Brassinosteroids (BRs) are endogenous plant hormones and are essential for normal plant growth and development. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) of Arabidopsis thaliana are involved in mediating cell proliferation in leaves, stress tolerance, and root development. The specifics of BR mechanisms involving miRNAs are unknown. Using customized miRNA array analysis, we identified miRNAs from A. thaliana ecotype Columbia (Col-0) regulated by 24-epibrassinolide (EBR, a highly active BR). We found that miR395a was significantly up-regulated by EBR treatment and validated its expression under these conditions. miR395a was over expressed in leaf veins and root tissues in EBR-treated miR395a promoter::GUS plants. We integrated bioinformatics methods and publicly available DNA microarray data to predict potential targets of miR395a. GUN5—a multifunctional protein involved in plant metabolic functions such as chlorophyll synthesis and the abscisic acid (ABA) pathway—was identified as a possible target. ABI4 and ABI5, both genes positively regulated by ABA, were down-regulated by EBR treatment. In summary, our results suggest that EBR regulates seedling development and root growth of A. thaliana through miR395a by suppressing GUN5 expression and its downstream signal transduction.
Anti-Candida Targets and Cytotoxicity of Casuarinin Isolated from Plinia cauliflora Leaves in a Bioactivity-Guided Study
Authors: Souza-Moreira Tatiana , Severi Juliana , Lee Keunsook , Preechasuth Kanya , Santos Emerson , Gow Neil , Munro Carol , Vilegas Wagner , Pietro Rosemeire
Published: July 2013

In addition to the bio-guided investigation of the antifungal activity of Plinia cauliflora leaves against different Candida species, the major aim of the present study was the search for targets on the fungal cell. The most active antifungal fraction was purified by chromatography and characterized by NMR and mass spectrometry. The antifungal activity was evaluated against five Candida strains according to referenced guidelines. Cytotoxicity against fibroblast cells was determined. The likely targets of Candida albicans cells were assessed through interactions with ergosterol and cell wall composition, porosity and architecture. The chemical major component within the most active antifungal fraction of P. cauliflora leaves identified was the hydrolysable tannin casuarinin. The cytotoxic concentration was higher than the antifungal one. The first indication of plant target on cellular integrity was suggested by the antifungal activity ameliorated when using an osmotic support. The most important target for the tannin fraction studied was suggested by ultrastructural analysis of yeast cell walls revealing a denser mannan outer layer and wall porosity reduced. It is possible to imply that P. cauliflora targeted the C. albicans cell wall inducing some changes in the architecture, notably the outer glycoprotein layer, affecting the cell wall porosity without alteration of the polysaccharide or protein level.
Gérer les contradictions du droit « par le bas »
Authors: Mainsant Gwénaëlle
Published: July 2013

À partir du cas des politiques de la prostitution, l’article analyse la manière dont un changement d’action publique (la loi pour la sécurité intérieure) est interprété par la profession chargée de son opérationnalisation (la police). Quand l’introduction d’un nouvel instrument juridique ( law in the book) exacerbe les contradictions du droit (la prostituée est à la fois victime de proxénétisme et coupable de racolage) et que la création d’un nouveau segment professionnel chargé de sa mise en œuvre bouleverse le dispositif policier, c’est au niveau des pratiques policières de contrôle de la prostitution que se redéfinit le droit ( law in action ). L’analyse des phases successives de mise en œuvre d’une politique publique montre que, sur le court terme, la logique politique (la lutte contre le racolage) l’emporte et bouleverse le système des segments professionnels mais que, sur le moyen terme, les logiques professionnelles (la prééminence de l’enquête de proxénétisme) reprennent le dessus.
Devenir victime de la traite
Authors: Jakšić Milena
Published: July 2013

Comment les victimes de la traite, appréhendées comme coupables d’infractions de racolage ou de séjour irrégulier, parviennent-elles à accéder au statut d’ayant droit et à faire reconnaître la réalité des violences qu’elles ont subies ? L’objet de cet article est de saisir ce passage en resituant la « carrière » des victimes de la traite dans leur rapport aux instances chargées de leur protection et/ou contrôle : services de police, chargés de leur identification ; associations d’aide et de soutien aux prostituées responsables de leur prise en charge sociale ; tribunaux où sont jugées les affaires de proxénétisme aggravé. En restituant les différentes étapes d’un parcours de victime dans son rapport aux institutions, cet article entend apporter sa contribution à la sociologie du travail juridico-bureaucratique de catégorisation des personnes dépourvues des ressources nécessaires pour défendre leurs droits.
Le pouvoir de dire « je »
Authors: Marty Éric , Béja Alice , Fœssel Michaël , Mongin Olivier
Published: July 2013

La littérature permet d’aborder les questions philosophiques et politiques sans renoncer à l’affirmation de la subjectivité, qui se manifeste dans l’écriture. C’est ce qui a poussé Éric Marty à s’intéresser à Gide, Char ou Barthes, et à analyser, dans son dernier livre, la manière dont les intellectuels des années 1970 (Klossowski, Bataille, Blanchot, Lacan, Deleuze, Barthes) ont abordé les œuvres de Sade, et ce que leurs relectures du « divin marquis » révèlent de leur vision du xx e siècle.
Tours et détours d'Édouard Glissant
Authors: Lauro Raphaël
Published: July 2013

Poète du Tout-monde, Édouard Glissant, Antillais ayant fait ses études de philosophie à Paris, a voulu très tôt se défaire du regard de l’Autre, de ce regard de l’Occident qui figeait les choses en essences éternelles, sans pour autant renoncer au dialogue. Penseur de l’archipel et de la créolisation, il décale le regard et le verbe, s’érigeant contre le fantasme de l’Un pour donner à voir un monde mouvant, en perpétuel « tremblement ».
La mise en ordre de l'économie domestique
Authors: Perrin-Heredia Ana
Published: July 2013

À partir d’une enquête ethnographique menée au sein d’une « zone urbaine sensible », cet article analyse la manière dont se fabrique, au concret, l’ordre économique domestique. Il questionne plus particulièrement la façon dont des conditions institutionnelles ambivalentes (cognitives, normatives et instrumentales) se répercutent dans les pratiques professionnelles des street level bureaucrats chargés de mettre en œuvre, au niveau local, l’action publique de lutte contre le surendettement. Il apparaît alors, paradoxalement, qu’en dépit d’un cadre institutionnel lâche, l’étiquetage de la déviance économique se réalise de façon relativement homogène et univoque.
Le DRH au cœur de la crise économique : rôles revendiqués et attentes pour demain
Authors: Sanséau Pierre-Yves , Matmati Mohammed , Calamel Ludivine
Published: July 2013

La crise économique et financière amorcée en 2008 a eu un impact marqué sur les entreprises et leurs acteurs. Dans cette recherche, nous étudions, à travers la perception de 110 DRH d’entreprises implantées en France, l’évolution de la fonction RH et les nouveaux rôles du DRH qui se sont manifestés et à venir en période de sortie de crise. Les résultats soulignent des rôles perçus valorisés et valorisants à la fois pour la fonction RH et pour les DRH, qui vont dans le sens des approches normatives de GRH.
Study on the Distributed Detection System for Digital TV Signal Based on Prognostic and Health Management
Authors: Luo Rongliang , Zheng Xinyuan , Zheng Xinyuan
Published: July 2013

With continuous further development of cable television technology, the integrating and intelligent degree of digital TV network increases constantly. And people are paying more and more attention to issues such as the stability, reliability, maintainability, security, detectability, life cycle cost, etc. which may provide favorable conditions for the generation and development of prognostic and health management (PHM) of the network equipment. In this paper, the background knowledge of the distributed digital TV signals detection system was illustrated simply at first, and then the basic concept, function and current situation of PHM were introduced. On that basis, the system design of PHM was reflected from system structure and functional component by aiming at realizing this project. In the end, the equipment health examination module has been designed specifically from the operating principle, module composition, function realizing process and decision-making support.
An Intrusion Detection Algorithm based on D-S theory and Rough Set
Authors: Wang Lifang , Zhang Shuhai
Published: July 2013

Intrusion detection system is a kind of network security system which can alarm suspicious transmission or take active response measures when it real-time monitors network transmission and discovers suspicious transmission. But intrusion detection system has many problems such as wrong detection of intrusions, missed intrusions, poor real-time performance. In order to improve the performance of intrusion detection system, this paper proposes an intrusion detection algorithm based on D-S theory and Rough Set. The algorithm uses the attribute reduction algorithm in rough set to eliminate redundant attributes, form the simplest attributes set, overcome the traditional D-S theory relying on expert knowledge to provide evidence and makes each evidence body mutual independence. So it improves the evidence synthesis efficiency, shortens the evidence synthesis time and reduces the conflict phenomenon of evidence synthesis. On this basis, the paper builds an intrusion detection model based on D-S theory and rough set, and the experimental results demonstrate that the model has higher detection rate and lower false detection rate.
Analysis of the Deadbeat Control Algorithm for Photovoltaic Grid Connected Inverter Output Current
Authors: Guo Jia , Li Zhigang , Du Yong , Cui Chunyan
Published: July 2013

Photovoltaic grid connected inverter is the core interface device in the photovoltaic power generation system to grid. The power quality of photovoltaic power generation system is affect by the waveform of output sinusoidal AC current directly. In this paper, current deadbeat control algorithm and a two-stage photovoltaic grid-connected inverter control strategy are proposed by analyzing the derivation of a photovoltaic grid-connected inverter. According to the grid connected Photovoltaic system features, a set of three-phase Photovoltaic grid connected inverter is designed, which rated power is 15 kW. The deadbeat control algorithm is introduced, based on the analysis of photovoltaic grid connected inverter topology, grid connected voltage, current, power, and the current waveform distortion rate. The deadbeat control algorithm is effective to control the three phase inverter output current through the system simulation and analysis.
Vehicle Detection and Tracking at Night in Video Surveillance
Authors: Tian Qing , Zhang Long , Wei Yun , Zhao Wenhua , Fei Weiwei
Published: July 2013

This Many detection and tracking methods are able to detect and track vehicle motion reliably in the daytime. However, vehicle detection and tracking in video surveillance at night remain very important problems that the vehicle signatures have low contrast against the background. Traditional methods based on the analysis of the difference between successive frames and a background frame can not work. This paper presents a method for vehicle detection and tracking at night in video surveillance. The method uses Histograms of Oriented Gradients (HOG) features to extract features, and then uses Support Vector Machine (SVM) to recognize the object. In tracking phase, we use Kalman filter to track the object. As shown in experiments, the algorithm can exactly detect and track moving vehicles in video surveillance at night.
Application of Digital Image Processing Technology in Interferometer
Authors: Zhou Yu Shu , Zhang Geng , Li Jia
Published: July 2013

For the history of the development of digital image processing and the content of the involved. Departure from the point of view of the advantages and development trends of digital image processing technology, and digital image processing technology in the specific application of the interferometer made ??a certain degree of analysis. In this paper, digital image processing technology in wide range of applications and significance of the interferometer, made ??some research , expect these research and analysis, for development of digital image processing technology and its further development in the interferometer, to have certain reference and guidance significance.
The Detection Data of Mammary Carcinoma Processing Method Based on the Improved HHT
Authors: Han Ling Zhong , Han Zhongming
Published: July 2013

This paper presents a new algorithm for the analysis of spectral properties of signal of BRATUMASS (Breast tumor microwave sensor system) using the wavelet packet transform (WPT) and the Hilbert-Huang transform (HHT). A wavelet subspace algorithm combined with the empirical mode decomposition (EMD) is introduced to create subdivided intrinsic mode functions (IMFs) and a cross-correlation analysis is applied to remove pseudo-spectral components. The algorithm proposed by this paper is able to correctly identify spectral patterns of our signal.
Contrasting differences in identity and agency between narrative and autopoietic systems
Authors: Buitendag Nico
Published: July 2013

The article aims at contrasting the autopoietic understanding of an individual and her or his actions as described by Niklas Luhmann with Paul Ricoeur’s notion of narrative identity, focusing on people as legal subjects. The article assumes that when legal subjects necessitate ethical engagement and evaluation, the law could cease to deal with problems in a mere legalistic fashion but is allowed the freedom to appeal to norms of justice external to itself as in other natural law theories. Through narrative identity the deeds of role players are to be understood in greater complexity than what a self-referential legal system is comfortable in dealing with.
Clinical Evaluation of Abiraterone in the Treatment of Metastatic Prostate Cancer
Authors: Goyal Jatinder , Antonarakis Emmanuel S.
Published: July 2013

Treatment of castration-resistant prostate cancer remains an area of unmet medical need. Evidence suggests that this entity continues to be driven by androgens and androgen receptor (AR) signaling. Abiraterone acetate, a pregnenolone derivative, is an oral selective and irreversible inhibitor of the key steroidogenic enzyme CYP17. It possesses dual 17-α hydroxylase and C17,20-lyase blocking activity, the result of which is decreased gonadal and extra-gonadal androgen synthesis. Abiraterone was first approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2011 following the demonstration of superior survival compared with placebo in the post-docetaxel population. Since that time, more evidence has been generated from preclinical studies and clinical trials which have considerably enhanced our understanding of this complex disease. In this paper, we review the development of abiraterone acetate, its pharmacological characteristics, and its effects on the androgen-AR signaling axis, along with the combined experience from clinical trials. We also discuss some of the ongoing trials using this agent, as well as potential mechanisms of abiraterone resistance, novel biomarker development, and future directions using AR-directed therapies.
Neurologic Melioidosis
Authors: Deuble Martin , Aquilina Chloe , Norton Robert
Published: July 2013

Melioidosis is an important cause of morbidity and mortality in northern Australia and Southeast Asia. Diagnosis is best made by isolation of Burkholderia pseudomallei from clinical specimens. A variety of clinical presentations are described, including neurologic disease. The aim of this study was to review admissions with confirmed neurologic melioidosis to a regional hospital in a region to which melioidosis is endemic during 1995–2011. There were 12 culture-confirmed cases of neurologic melioidosis, of which two were detected by analysis of cerebrospinal fluid. Four of these cases were in children. Significant clinical features were fever, headache, and ataxia. Common changes on magnetic resonance imaging T2-weighted scans included ring-enhancing lesions and leptomeningeal enhancement. There were four deaths and an additional four patients had significant long-term neurologic sequelae. When considering the etiology of undifferentiated neurologic disease, an awareness of the possibility of neurologic melioidosis is important in disease-endemic regions.
Serum Levels of Neopterin during Antimicrobial Treatment for Mycobacterium ulcerans Infection
Authors: de Zeeuw Janine , Duggirala Sridevi , Nienhuis Willemien A. , Abass K. Mohammed , Tuah Wilson , Omansen Till F. , van der Werf Tjip S. , Stienstra Ymkje
Published: July 2013

Neopterin is closely associated with activation of the cellular immune system. Neopterin levels differed between controls and patients with Buruli ulcer disease. No differences between patients with or without paradoxical responses were observed. Therefore, neopterin has no value in detecting paradoxical responses among patients with limited Buruli ulcer disease. Neopterin levels were lower in patients receiving clarithromycin. This finding might indicate a slower cellular immune recovery, with possible consequences in future therapy with clarithromycin.
Aerosol measurements at a high elevation site: composition, size, and cloud condensation nuclei activity
Authors: Friedman B. , Zelenyuk A. , Beránek J. , Kulkarni G. , Pekour M. , Hallar A. G. , McCubbin I. B. , Thornton J. A. , Cziczo D. J.
Published: July 2013

Abstract. Measurements of cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) concentrations, single particle composition and size distributions at a high-elevation research site from March 2011 are presented. The temporal evolution of detailed single particle composition is compared with changes in CCN activation on four days, two of which include new particle formation and growth events. Sulfate-containing particles dominated the single particle composition by number; biomass burning particles, sea salt particles, and particles containing organic components also were present. CCN activation largely followed the behavior of the sulfate-containing particle types; biomass burning particle types also likely contained hygroscopic material that impacted CCN activation. Newly formed particles also may contribute to CCN activation at higher supersaturation conditions. Derived aerosol hygroscopicity parameters from the size distribution and CCN concentration measurements are within the range of previous reports of remote continental kappa values.
Long-term measurements of aerosols and carbon monoxide at the ZOTTO tall tower to characterize polluted and pristine air in the Siberian Taiga
Authors: Chi X. , Winderlich J. , Mayer J.-C. , Panov A. V. , Heimann M. , Birmili W. , Heintzenberg J. , Cheng Y. , Andreae M. O.
Published: July 2013

Abstract. Siberia is one of few background regions in the Northern Hemisphere where the atmosphere may sometimes approach pristine conditions. We present the time series of aerosol and carbon monoxide (CO) measurements between September~2006 and December 2010 at the Zotino Tall Tower Observatory (ZOTTO) in Central Siberia (61° N; 90° E). We investigate the seasonal, weekly and diurnal variations of aerosol properties (including absorption and scattering coefficients and derived parameters, like equivalent black carbon (BCe), Ångström exponent, single scattering albedo, and backscattering ratio) and the CO mixing ratios. Criteria were established to distinguish polluted and near-pristine air masses and characterize them separately. Depending on the season, 15–47% of the sampling time at ZOTTO was representative of a clean atmosphere. The summer pristine data indicates that primary biogenic and/or secondary organic aerosol formation are quite strong particle sources in the Siberian Taiga. The summer seasons 2007–2008 are dominated by an Aitken mode of 80 nm size, whereas the summer 2009 with prevailing easterly winds produced aerosols in the accumulation mode around 200 nm size. We found these differences mainly related to air temperature, in parallel with production rates of biogenic volatile organic compounds (VOC). In winter, the footprint and aerosol size distribution (with a peak at 160 nm) of the clean background air are characteristic for aged aerosols from anthropogenic sources at great distances from ZOTTO and diluted biofuel burning emissions from heating. The wintertime polluted air originates from the large cities to the south and southwest of the site; these aerosols have a dominant mode around 100 nm, and the Δ BCe/Δ CO ratio of 7–11 ng m−3 ppb−1 suggests dominant contributions from coal and biofuel burning for heating. During summer, anthropogenic emissions are the dominant contributor to the pollution aerosols at ZOTTO, while only 12% of the polluted events are classified as biomass burning dominated, but then often associated with extremely high CO concentrations and aerosol absorption coefficients. Two biomass-burning case studies revealed different Δ BCe/Δ CO ratios from different fire types, with the agricultural fires in April 2008 yielding a very high ratio of 21 ng m−3 ppb−1. Overall, we find that anthropogenic sources dominate the aerosol population at our site most of the time, even during nominally clean episodes in winter, and that near-pristine conditions are encountered only episodically in the growing season.
Validation of FORMOSAT-3/COSMIC level 2 "atmPrf" global temperature data in the stratosphere
Authors: Das U. , Pan C. J.
Published: July 2013

Abstract. GPS radio occultations by Formosa Satellite mission-3/Constellation Observing System for Meteorology, Ionosphere, and Climate (FORMOSAT-3/COSMIC) provide refractivity profiles, which are processed real-time to give profiles of temperature and water vapour in the lower atmosphere and electron density in the upper atmosphere. The new "atmPrf" (atmospheric profile) product gives temperature from surface to 0.2 hPa (~60 km). This is a dry temperature data product that does not include relative humidity in the inversion process and hence is reliable at and above the tropopause (>100 hPa) and erroneous in the troposphere (<100 hPa). In the current study we compare the COSMIC "atmPrf" data during December 2010 to November 2011 with other satellite (SABER/TIMED and MLS/Aura) temperatures from 50 to 0.2 hPa and reanalysis (NCEP, ERA-Interim and UKMO) outputs at 100, 10, 1 and 0.5 hPa pressure levels. The satellite comparisons show that the observed median differences are most likely produced due to the biases in the retrievals of SABER and MLS. When compared to reanalysis outputs, COSMIC seasonal means match NCEP and ECMWF seasonal mean temperatures very well, especially at 100 and 10 hPa. Comparison with radiosonde measured temperatures over Taipei (25° N, 121.5° E) in the lower altitudes also show very small differences. We conclude from this study that with the new COSMIC dry temperature retrievals obtained from radio occultations of GPS, there is a 20 km extension of reliable data in the middle atmosphere. "atmPrf" data are of good quality and provide reliable and unprecedentedly large number of profiles at greater temporal and spatial resolutions for further studies and investigations of the middle atmosphere up to 1 hPa, i.e., approximately up to the stratopause.
Fluid simulations of non-resonant anisotropic ion heating
Authors: Laveder D. , Passot T. , Sulem P. L.
Published: July 2013

Abstract. The finite Larmor radius (FLR)-Landau fluid model, which extends the usual anisotropic magnetohydrodynamics to magnetized collisionless plasmas by retaining linear Landau damping and finite Larmor radius corrections down to the sub-ionic scales in the quasi-transverse directions, is used to study the non-resonant heating of the plasma by randomly driven Alfvén waves. One-dimensional numerical simulations, free from any artificial dissipation, are used to analyze the influence on the thermal dynamics, of the beta parameter and of the separation between the driving and the ion scales. While the gyrotropic heat fluxes play a dominant role when the plasma is driven at large scales, leading to a parallel heating of the ions by Landau damping, a different regime develops when the driving acts at scales comparable to the ion Larmor radius. Perpendicular heating and parallel cooling of the ions are then observed, an effect that is mostly due to the work of the non-gyrotropic pressure force and that can be viewed as the fluid signature of the so-called stochastic heating. A partial characterization of the plasma by global quantities (such as the magnetic compressibility and the density-magnetic field correlations that provide information on the dominant type of waves) is also presented. The enhancement of the parallel electron heating by a higher level of fast magnetosonic waves is in particular pointed out.
Thunderstorm incidence in southeastern Brazil estimated from different data sources
Authors:   O. Pinto Jr., Naccarato K. P. , Pinto I. R. C. A.
Published: July 2013

Abstract. This paper describes a comparative analysis of the thunderstorm incidence in southeastern Brazil obtained from thunderstorm days observed at two different epochs (from 1910 to 1951 and from 1971 to 1984) and from lightning data provided by the Brazilian lightning location system RINDAT (from 1999 to 2006) and the Lightning Imaging Sensor (LIS) on board the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite (from 1998 to 2010). The results are interpreted in terms of the main synoptic patterns associated with thunderstorm activity in this region, indicating that the prevailing synoptic pattern associated with thunderstorm activity is the occurrence of frontal systems and their modulation by the South Atlantic Convergence Zone (SACZ) and topography. Evidence of urban effects is also found. The results are also discussed in the context of practical applications involving their use in the Brazilian lightning protection standards, suggesting that the present version of the Brazilian standards should be revised incorporating RINDAT and LIS data. Finally, the results are important to improve our knowledge about the limitations of the different techniques used to record the thunderstorm activity and support future climatic studies.
Sensitivity of pelagic CaCO3 dissolution to ocean acidification in an ocean biogeochemical model
Authors: Regenberg A. , Schneider B. , Gangstø R.
Published: July 2013

Abstract. In ocean biogeochemical models pelagic CaCO3 dissolution is usually calculated as R = k * Sn, where k is the dissolution rate constant transforming S, the degree of (under-) saturation of seawater with respect to CaCO3, into a time dependent rate R, and n is the reaction rate order. Generally, there are two ways to define the saturation state of seawater with respect to CaCO3: (1) Δ[CO32−], which reflects the difference between the in-situ carbonate ion concentration and the saturation concentration, and (2) Ω, which is approximated by the ratio of in-situ carbonate ion concentration over the saturation concentration. Although describing the same phenomenon, the deviation from equilibrium, both expressions are not equally applicable for the calculation of CaCO3 dissolution in the ocean across pressure gradients, as they differ in their sensitivity to ocean acidification (change of [CO32−]) over depth. In the present study we use a marine biogeochemical model to test the sensitivity of pelagic CaCO3 dissolution to ocean acidification (1–4 × CO2 + stabilization), exploring the possible parameter space for CaCO3 dissolution kinetics as given in the literature. We find that at the millennial time scale there is a wide range of CaCO3 particle flux attenuation into the ocean interior (e.g. a reduction of −55 to −85% at 1000 m depth), which means that there are significant differences in the impact on particle ballasting, depending on the kinetic expression applied.
Consistency of the multi-model CMIP5/PMIP3-past1000 ensemble
Authors: Bothe O. , Jungclaus J. H. , Zanchettin D.
Published: July 2013

Abstract. We present an assessment of the probabilistic and climatological consistency of the CMIP5/PMIP3 ensemble simulations for the last millennium relative to proxy-based reconstructions under the paradigm of a statistically indistinguishable ensemble. We evaluate whether simulations and reconstructions are compatible realizations of the unknown past climate evolution. A lack of consistency is diagnosed in surface air temperature data for the Pacific, European and North Atlantic regions. On the other hand, indications are found that temperature signals partially agree in the western tropical Pacific, the subtropical North Pacific and the South Atlantic. Deviations from consistency may change between sub-periods, and they may include pronounced opposite biases in different sub-periods. These distributional inconsistencies originate mainly from differences in multi-centennial to millennial trends. Since the data uncertainties are only weakly constrained, the frequent over-dispersive distributional relations prevent the formal rejection of consistency of the simulation ensemble.
Rogue waves, rogue events and extreme wave kinematics in spatio-temporal fields of simulated sea states
Authors: Sergeeva A. , Slunyaev A.
Published: July 2013

Abstract. An approach to the extensive study of rogue wave occurrence in numerical simulations is presented. As a result of numerical simulations of the unidirectional wave evolution, spatio-temporal fields of wave data of the size 20 min × 10 km are obtained with high resolution in time and space and are used for statistical analysis with the focus on extreme waves. Having the exhaustive information on the wave evolution enables us to capture the detailed picture of individual rogue waves; to detect intermittent rogue wave events, which last for a significantly longer time, and hence, to depict the portrait of a rogue wave. Due to the benefit of having full-wave data, the question of relation between extreme wave kinematics and extremely high waves is discussed in the statistical sense.
Kóot para promover la investigación museológica y otras áreas del conocimiento cultural
Authors: Loucel José Mouricio
Published: July 2013

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5377/koot.v0i2.1147 Revista de Museología "Kóot" No.2 2010: i-ii
A manera de presentación
Authors: Rivas Ramón D.
Published: July 2013

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5377/koot.v0i2.1148Revista de Museología "Kóot" No.2 2010: 5-8
Del descubrimiento de América: Los “tesoros” llevados a España después del primer viaje
Authors: López Nuila Jaime Alberto
Published: July 2013

Cristóbal Colón informa a la Corona Española de su descubrimiento de “Las Indias”, afirmando que aquellas Comunidades que ahora conoce y que habitaban las Antillas en la época del 1492, apenas alcanzaban un desarrollo comparable al Neolítico Superior de la Europa de entonces. Investigaciones Arqueológicas comprueban luego, en épocas modernas, que las Antillas, todas, fueron originalmente pobladas, probablemente siglos antes del descubrimiento, y en forma gradual, por pueblos diversos provenientes de las Cuencas de los ríos Orinoco, en Venezuela, y Xingu y Tapajos en las Guayanas, pertenecientes a los muchos grupos aborígenes de la parte Noreste del Continente Sud Americano. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5377/koot.v0i2.1151 Revista de Museología "Kóot" No.2 2010: 37-44