bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Jewish Orthodoxy in Scotland
Authors: Holtschneider Hannah
Published: May 2020

This book analyses the religious aspects of Jewish acculturation to Scotland through a transnational perspective on migration, focused through an examination of Jewish religious leadership and authority in the international context of Anglophone Jewish history in the first three decades of the twentieth century. Focusing on British Jewish history in the first half of the twentieth century, and on the biography of one significant actor in a so-called ‘provincial’ Jewish community, this monograph explores the development of a central feature of British Jewish religious history: power relations within Jewish religious institutions, and particularly relations between the assumed centre (London) and the ‘provinces’ at a time of massive demographic and cultural change. With immigration stagnating and immigrants now poised to stay rather than seeing Britain as a staging post in their journey west, Jewish communities had to come to terms with the majority of their congregants being first generation immigrants, and to deal with the resulting cultural conflicts amongst the migrants and with those resident Jews whose families had acculturated and anglicised one or more generations previously. Salis Daiches’s life journey (1880-1945) highlights central aspects of the processes of adjustment in communities across the United Kingdom from the perspective of the ‘provincial periphery’. Competing religious ideologies in the early twentieth century are a crucial element in the history of British Jewry, rather than a transient social phenomenon. Religion as performed, taught, and thought about at a local level by ‘religious professionals’ is a vehicle for the exploration of the migration.
Epilogue
Authors: Holtschneider Hannah
Published: May 2020

The book concludes by articulating the significance of the attention to local history for our study of national and international themes of migration. Complementing works which address the lives of individuals and congregations across the Anglophone world, the conclusion demonstrates that there is scope for further investigation of migrant rabbis, in particular. Jewish religious functionaries have, as yet, rarely been understood as a group of people whose migration westwards might shed light on transnational networks of authority. Adam Mendelsohn’s work on the middle of the nineteenth century and rabbis who migrated to various parts of the Anglophone world is pioneering in this regard. It is hoped that Jewish Orthodoxy in Scotland may give rise to other studies investigating the careers of others who graduated from the Hildesheimer Rabbinical Seminary before World War I and made their lives in the West.
Narrative Humanism
Authors: Moss-Wellington Wyatt
Published: May 2020

How can stories function as expressions of kindness to others, and how might the narratives we live by then affect our behaviour in the world? Is there such a thing as a ‘humanistic drama’? This book attempts to clarify the narrative conditions of humanism, asking how we can use stories to complicate our understanding of others, and questioning the ethics and efficacy of attempts to represent human social complexity in fiction. With case studies of films like Parenthood (1989), Junebug (2005), Little Miss Sunshine (2006) and The Kids Are All Right (2010), this original study synthesises leading discourses on media and cognition, evolutionary anthropology, literature and film analysis into a new theory of the storytelling instinct.
Foundational Functions of Fiction
Authors: Moss-Wellington Wyatt
Published: May 2020

Part II is pivotal and substantial, demonstrating the uses of humanist inquiry at the level of narrative theory. It reveals how the concerns of narrative humanism can be situated alongside concepts developed in contemporary media theory, cognitive film studies, literary Darwinism, anthropology, social psychology and philosophy. This chapter introduces the concept of social narratology: a catalogue of the various social functions that story provides throughout our lives, and the way a humanist might use this knowledge to both understand and to create stories of ethical substance.
Digging Out Characters: Elizabeth von Arnim in Virginia
Authors: Marshall Ann Herndon
Published: May 2020

During both world wars, Elizabeth von Arnim sought sanctuary in Albemarle County, Virginia. The country house, Clover Fields, left its mark on her war novel Christine. She struggled with her own grief as she wrote of Christine’s trials. The war experience underlying the novel comes into clearer focus when compared with the writing of two contemporaries who were equally affected by the First World War, Katherine Mansfield and Vera Brittain. On her second visit to Virginia at age 73, she was again an exile, this time from home in France. As in 1917, she was angry at the American reluctance to enter the war. Preoccupied with her dog Billy, she found a perfect landlady and developed a fascination with Virginia author Amélie Rives. The resemblance of a Charlottesville man to her long-dead husband Henning evoked nostalgia for her days in Prussia and allowed her to reconcile with Henning’s ghost in a way reminiscent of Fanny Skeffington’s late equanimity.
Poetry
Authors: Powles Nina
Published: May 2020

‘It was only when she came out of the tunnel into the moonlight or by the sea or into a thunderstorm that she really felt herself.’

Katherine Mansfield, ‘The Daughters of the Late Colonel’ (1921)

She would teach me how to apply winged eyeliner in a moving vehicle....
Of Bliss and Blushing: Cities and Affect in Katherine Mansfield and Jean Rhys
Authors: Thacker Andrew
Published: May 2020

This paper explores the significance of Katherine Mansfield and Jean Rhys as colonial outsiders in the modernist metropolis of Paris. The paper draws upon a number of ideas from contemporary affect theory (such as work on the idea of shame) to present an original account of how, in texts such as ‘Je ne parle pas français’ and ‘Feuille d’Album’ (Mansfield) and Quartet (Rhys), both writers responded, in differing ways, to the moods of the modernist spaces of the city. It also discusses the importance of their engagement with the cultural institutions of modernism in Paris, such as that of Sylvia Beach’s bookshop, Shakespeare and Company, and explores their shared connections to the French writer Francis Carco.
Craft and Other Metaphors
Authors: Trott Adriel M.
Published: May 2020

This chapter examines Aristotle’s numerous uses of analogies to craft in his account of generation to argue that Aristotle uses these analogies to explain specific aporiai rather than to assign nature a structure of craft. The tool analogy explains how semen takes over the form from the male parent, but Aristotle’s use of further analogies such as building points to how the semen’s formal activity is like the act of building, an activity of animating, which itself animates the embryo. Aristotle’s account of the tool in other contexts points to how semen does the work of the male parent’s soul while enabling the generation of a new being with its own soul. Other images such as the earth and sun, the rennet, and the good householder, in the last part of the chapter, point to other models that Aristotle offers for explaining the work of semen specifically and generation in general.
Introduction: Defining the Magic—Why Stanley Cavell?
Authors: Shaw Dan
Published: May 2020

Sounding the central theme of the power of film to inspire belief and assuage skepticism, the introduction summarizes the chapters that follow, focusing on Cavell’s claim that what the movies do best is convince us that life is indeed worth living, restoring our faith in the wellsprings of human value.
Comedies of Remarriage and the Transfiguration of the Commonplace
Authors: Shaw Dan
Published: May 2020

Romantic comedies have a difficult task before them, restoring our faith in a love that lasts. The sub-genre of the comedies of remarriage do this best of all rom-coms, by showing a divorced or alienated couple coming back together despite their difficulties. This furthers the myth that love conquers all, and that some couples were made for each other, with the distinct help of scintillating and hilarious conversation. This chapter analyses Cavell’s paradigm in his reading of The Philadelphia Story and demonstrates its contemporary relevance by applying it to one of the more philosophical of films of this century, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.
How the Unknown Woman Finds her Voice in Contesting Tears
Authors: Shaw Dan
Published: May 2020

While comedies of remarriage feature women becoming who they are within the sanctity of marriage, Cavell recognized what he called the Hollywood Melodrama of the Unknown Woman as celebrating independent unmarried women coming into their own by forsaking a spouse as necessary to do so. Both types of women pursue Emersonian perfectionism in their own unique stories, which Cavell argues are more liberating than regressive. An analysis of Now, Voyager precedes reflections on why Cavell did not include The Heiress as another one of his unknown women , The chapter concludes with a discussion of their respective attitudes towards the past, and whether they have overcome what Nietzsche called “the spirit of revenge”.
Lockean Liberalism and Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
Authors: Shaw Dan
Published: May 2020

Skepticism about Congress is, of course, nothing new, though it may be at its height in Trump’s America. John Locke’s theory of a workable democracy as involving three branches of government, two of which must be directly responsive to the consent of the governed, is stirringly championed in one of Frank Capra’s most moving films, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. Jefferson Smith’s use of the filibuster to block a graft ridden deficiency bill shows how effective Congressional institutions can actually be.
Monstrosity and Philosophy
Authors: Del Lucchese Filippo
Published: May 2020

This volume is the first systematic investigation into the concept of monstrosity in ancient philosophy and culture. The Author suggests that far from being a peripheral problem, monstrosity is one of the main conceptual challenges for every philosophical system. Ancient authors explores metaphysics, ontology, theology, politics attempting to respond to the threat presented by the radical alterity of monstrous manifestations, both in nature and in thought. Does order come from, and put an end to, chaos or is chaos the monstrous destiny of any supposed order? Is monstrosity a positive sign of the divine or is it its negation and perversion? Does everything, in nature have a meaning and a purpose and, if so, what is the purpose of monsters? Is monstrosity what we call the lowest level of nature's reassuring hierarchy or does it, more threateningly, speak about the absence of such a hierarchy and the illusion of axiology? These are only some of the questions that ancient authors discussed across the centuries, from the early mythical cosmogonies, through the classic and hellenistic period, up to late antiquity and early Christianism. This book offers a fundamental reading not only of the different answers to these questions, but also of the reasons why and the manners in which they have been asked in different cultural and intellectual contexts.
The Pre-Platonic Philosophers
Authors: Del Lucchese Filippo
Published: May 2020

This chapter examines Empedocles’s idea of monstrosity in the early generation of life, when the earth spontaneously produces all sort of monstrous beings, only some of which will survive and generate viable forms of life. Empedocles intends to establish the norms of life on the process of generation and selection of monstrosities. Nature is not an artist that shapes normal life after many unsuccessful attempts. Empedocles rather sees Nature itself as the successful result of spontaneuous events that create limits and boundaries for viable life. The other major philosopher of the pre-Platonic period is Democritus. I explore his materialism and its relationship with necessity and chance. Atomists have been accused of paradoxically grounding their universe on both necessity and chance. I show that the paradox, however, is only such from the Aristotelian perspective, which aims at establishing teleology as the highest form of causality, in particular in the biological realm. Through the idea of monstrosity, Democritus grounds its atomism on the concept of the spontaneous formation of life. Beyond Empedocles, Democritus flattens even further the material ontology of nature, grounding it on the epigenetical production of normal and mostrous life alike. Through a reading of the agonistic process of life formation, monstrosity becomes the antidote to teleology.
‘Efficient Market Ideology’
Authors: Bryant Jan
Published: May 2020

This chapter delves into the economic ideologies that were promoted by Milton Friedman and the Chicago School in the latter decades of the 20th century. The financial imperative of the period was based on a false logic: that wealth will trickle down from the very wealthy to eventually advantage all of society. This has led instead to greater inequality between the wealthy and the poor. It has also resulted in the weakening of unionism and precarious working conditions driven by a trend in casualisation. A response to the intensifying effects of capitalism, Guy Debord and the situationists repeatedly updated their ‘spectacle theory’ over many decades, which also included their theory of ‘recuperation’ to address the resilience of capitalism. Various Post War art movements tried to defeat recuperation of their work by the market, but eventually deciding that it was a fruitless enterprise (Ian Burn). If today, all areas of political, social and cultural life are valued only in relation to a financial return, then for art to function as an effective critical political aesthetic today, the economic context needs to be placed under scrutiny. [184]
Encounters from the Twentieth Century: Introduction
Authors: Bryant Jan
Published: May 2020

The disappointments that flowed from the squashing of the student uprisings in 1968 is discussed as a way to underline a rupture in progressive thinking in the latter years of last century. Of particular concern for Marxists was a loss of faith in the proletariat as the revolutionary subject. It introduces three case studies that form the content of the next chapters, each revealing intellectual differences which became apparent the post 1968 era: (1) Paolo Pasolini and Italo Calvino; (2) Henri Lefebvre and Maurice Blanchot; and (3) the political aesthetic of Neue Slowenische Kunst (NSK). The aim is to offer detailed encounters between left thinkers, not only to reveal a clash of approaches to resisting forms of power, but to offer an alternative for understanding how recent intellectual history has informed contemporary political aesthetics. It is also a way to avoid restaging another history of art, or received canon, to offer instead a non-totalising picture of history. [157]
Tender Ties: Elizabeth Bowen and Habit
Authors: Maude Ulrika
Published: May 2020

This chapter compares Bowen’s depictions of habit to contemporary psychological discourses and its presentation in other works (by, for example, Samuel Beckett), The significance of objects, places and habits in Bowen’s work, she argues, reveals how the narratives present objects and places as so integral to the self that they acquire near sentience, with the capacity to console, pierce or wound. Although Bowen’s ‘characters fasten their fears and desires’ onto objects (Inglesby 312-13), it shows that the objects also have a hold over these emotions, as if they have scarred her characters, leaving their own inscriptions on the nerves and the senses. Bowen’s writing seems to suggest that we bury our intentions in objects, which, although they exist externally, exist for us only to the extent to which they arouse in us volitions, thoughts or emotions.
‘Some Really Raging Peculiarity’: Female Fetishism in The Little Girls
Authors: Smith Patricia Juliana
Published: May 2020

This chapter shows that many of Bowen’s female characters have curious relationships with inanimate objects, endowing them with special powers or personal attributes. The pattern of these relations, in which certain objects obtain an unusual significance to their possessors, even, in some cases, to the extent of being preferred over relationships with other people, is obvious in Bowen’s works, yet it eludes the usual definitions of fetishism. Critics attempting to theorize female fetishism have tended to rely on paradigms articulated by Freud (ie erotic) or Marx (ie consumerist). Neither of these constructs, however, adequately describe the relationships with objects that possess overwhelming importance to many of Bowen’s characters and, through these attachments, lead often lead to perverse consequences. Recently, however, German theorist Hartmut Böhme has postulated that fetishism is an entirely European concept, one crucial to our understanding of Modernism. Using Böhme’s axioms of fetishism and Modernism as well as insights from anthropological and theological sources, this chapter explores female characters’ ‘object relations’ (not necessarily in the Freudian sense of the term) in Bowen’s works.
IMAGING DIAGNOSTICS OF COMBUSTION INSTABILITY IN PREMIXED SWIRLING COMBUSTION
Authors: Yang Yao , Wang Gaofeng , Fang Yuanqi , Xia YIfan , Zhong Liang
Published: May 2020

An experimental study on combustion instability is presented with focus on propane-air premixed swirling flames. Swirling flames under self-excited oscillation are studied by imaging of visible light and OH* chemiluminescence filter under several typical conditions. The dynamical characteristics of swirling flames were analysed by Dynamic Mode Decomposition (DMD) method. Three types of unstable modes in the combustor system were observed, which correspond to typical acoustic resonant modes (LF mode, C1/4 mode and P1/2 mode) of the combustor system. The combustion instability is in the longitudinal mode. Furthermore, the structure of downstream hot burnt gas under stable combustion and unstable combustion is studied by imaging of visible light and near-infrared light. Results show that there is a significant difference in the downstream flow under stable combustion and unstable combustion. The DMD spectrum of the flame and the downstream hot burnt gas obtained is the same, which is close to the characteristic frequency of acoustic pressure captured by the microphone signal. The visible light and near-infrared light imaging observation method adopted in this paper provides a new imaging method for the investigation of thermo-acoustic instability.
Image Resolution Enhancement of Highly Compressively Sensed CT/PET Signals
Authors: Malczewski Krzysztof
Published: May 2020

One of the most challenging aspects of medical modalities such as Computed Tomography (CT) as well hybrid techniques such as CT/PET (Computed Tomography/Positron emission tomography) and PET/MRI is finding a balance between examination time, radiation dose, and image quality. The need for a dense sampling grid is associated with two major factors: image resolution enhancement, which leads to a strengthening of human perception, and image features interpretation. All these aspects make an unsupervised image processing much easier. The presented algorithm employs super-resolution-reconstruction with high accuracy motion fields’ estimation at its core for Computed Tomography/Positron Emission Tomography (CT/PET) images enhancement. The suggested method starts with processing compressively sensed input signals. This paper shows that it is possible to achieve higher image resolution while keeping the same radiation dose. The purpose of this paper is to propose a highly effective CT/PET image reconstruction strategy, allowing for simultaneous resolution enhancing and scanning time minimisation. The algorithm aims to overcome two major obstacles—image resolution limitation and algorithm reconstruction time efficiency-by combining a highly-sparse Ridgelet analysis based sampling pattern as well as PET signal sensing with super-resolution (SR) image enhancement. Due to the diverse nature of Computed Tomography, the applied Ridgelet analysis arguing its usability turned out to be efficient in reducing acquisition times in regard to maintaining satisfying scan quality. This paper presents a super-resolution image enhancement algorithm designed for handling highly sensitively compressed hybrid CT/PET scanners raw data. The presented technique allows for improving image resolution while reducing motion artefacts and keeping scanning times at pretty low levels.
Agricultural Land Price Convergence: Evidence from Polish Provinces
Authors: Tomal Mateusz , Gumieniak Agata
Published: May 2020

This research deals with the problem of agricultural land market efficiency using the spatial market integration concept as well as the present value (PV) model. Empirically, it aims to test the convergence of agricultural land prices across Polish provinces. In order to check the law of one price (LOP), good-quality, medium-quality and bad-quality land sales markets are examined separately. Furthermore, this study is complemented by an analysis of the drivers behind agricultural land price convergence. The main method of testing price convergence is the log t regression. The latter was performed in two configurations, i.e., based on trend components of time series extracted using the Hodrick–Prescott filter and the Hamilton filter. Additionally, traditional β- and σ-convergence tests were applied. The obtained results indicated that agricultural land prices tend to converge in relative terms, which means that the provinces share a common long-run growth path. This finding and estimates of traditional convergence tests prove the increasing integration in the agricultural land market in Poland. There is no evidence, however, to support the conclusion that the absolute version of the long-run LOP holds. Moreover, using dynamic fixed effects models, it was identified that for good-, medium- and bad-quality land prices almost the same drivers of convergence apply. The only differences concern the strength of the influence of independent variables on prices of farmland of various types. Additionally, bad-quality land prices are the only ones which are affected by livestock density. Furthermore, estimates of the present value model finally confirmed that the agricultural land sales market in Poland cannot be considered as efficient.
Grain Endogenous Selenium and Moderate Salt Stress Work as Synergic Elicitors in the Enrichment of Bioactive Compounds in Maize Sprouts
Authors: Benincasa Paolo , D’Amato Roberto , Falcinelli Beatrice , Troni Elisabetta , Fontanella Maria Chiara , Frusciante Sarah , Guiducci Marcello , Beone Gian Maria , Businelli Daniela , Diretto Gianfranco
Published: May 2020

Salt stress and selenium are known to elicitate the production of plant secondary metabolites with antioxidant properties. On this basis, maize grains obtained from mother plants fertilized or not fertilized with selenium were sprouted at different levels of salinity (0, 25, and 50 mM NaCl) to evaluate the effects on the sprout yield, inorganic and organic Se species, minerals, and secondary metabolites, as revealed by a metabolomics analysis. Grain endogenous selenium (135 mg kg−1 vs. 0.19 mg kg−1 of the non-enriched grain) and salinity affected the sprout yield and composition, with salinity having the greatest effect on secondary metabolites. Most of the Se in sprouts was in an inorganic form, despite Se-enriched grains only containing organic Se. Some synergic effect was observed between Se and salinity. The best combination was obtained with Se-enriched grains sprouted at 25 mM NaCl, since this provided a good yield (not lower than in the untreated control), while sprout shoots were enriched in selenocystine and pro-nutritional semipolar compounds with antioxidant properties. Therefore, using grains from Se-fertilized crops and sprouting them under mild salt stress might represent a promising technique for improving the nutritional value of sprouts.
Breeding Alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) Adapted to Subtropical Agroecosystems
Authors: Acharya Janam P. , Lopez Yolanda , Gouveia Beatriz Tome , de Bem Oliveira Ivone , Resende Marcio F. R. , Muñoz Patricio R. , Rios Esteban F.
Published: May 2020

Alfalfa is planted in more than 30 million hectares worldwide, but despite its popularity in temperate regions, it is not widely grown in subtropical agroecosystems. It is critical to improve alfalfa for such regions, considering current predictions of global warming and the increasing demands for animal-based products. In this study, we examined the diversity present in subtropical alfalfa germplasm and reported genetic parameters for forage production. An initial screening was performed from 2014 to 2016, evaluating 121 populations from different subtropical origins. Then, a breeding population was created by crossing selected plants, resulting in 145 full-sib and 36 half-sib families, which were planted in a row-column design with augmented representation of three controls (‘Bulldog805′, ‘FL99′ and ‘UF2015′). Dry matter yield (DMY), canopy height (AH), and percentage blooming (BLOOM) were measured across several harvests. Moderate narrow-sense heritability and high genetic correlations between consecutive harvests were estimated for all traits. The breeding line UF2015 produced higher DMY than FL99 and Bulldog805, and it could be a candidate cultivar release. Several families produced higher DMY than all checks, and they can be utilized to develop high yielding and adapted alfalfa cultivars for subtropical agroecosystems.
Orchard Spray Study: A Prediction Model of Droplet Deposition States on Leaf Surfaces
Authors: Li Jun , Cui Huajun , Ma Yakun , Xun Lu , Li Zhiqiang , Yang Zhou , Lu Huazhong
Published: May 2020

During air-assisted spraying operations in orchards, the interaction between the droplets and the target leaves has a decisive influence on the retention of the droplets on the leaves and the final deposition state. Based on the observation of the final deposition effect of the droplets in the spray test, the retention state of the droplets on the leaves is divided into three categories: uniform distribution (hereinafter referred to as uniform), accumulation, and loss. During the initial interaction between the droplets and the leaves, the adhesion or sliding state of the droplets has an important influence on the final deposition state of the droplets, which is determined by the target leaf adhesion work in this paper. Based on obtaining the characteristic parameters of the leaf surface, a theoretical model of adhesion work related to parameters such as the contact angle, rough factor, and initial tilt angle of the leaf is established. Afterward, through the connection of the droplet coverage on the macro level, the establishment of the deposition state model of the droplet group on the leaf is completed. By conducting the experiment test based on the Box-Behnken design of response surface methodology (RSM), the droplet deposition states under the influence of the spray distance, fan outlet wind speed and droplet size were studied and compared with the predicted values. The test results show that the prediction accuracies of the three states of uniform, accumulation, and loss were 87.5%, 80%, and 100%, respectively. The results of the study indicate that the established prediction model can effectively predict the deposition states of droplets on leaves and provide a reference for the selection of spray operation parameters.
Use of Propylene-Glycol as a Cosolvent for GnRH in Synchronization of Estrus and Ovulation in Sheep
Authors: Santos-Jimenez Zurisaday , Guillen-Gargallo Sara , Encinas Teresa , Berlinguer Fiammetta , Veliz-Deras Francisco G. , Martinez-Ros Paula , Gonzalez-Bulnes Antonio
Published: May 2020

The foreseen shortage of eCG for estrus synchronization in sheep makes necessary the development of alternative protocols. The aim of the present work was to evaluate the reproductive response of sheep in breeding season to the administration of GnRH using propylene-glycol as a cosolvent and the subcutaneous route for slowing and extending the release of GnRH, as well as the most adequate timing for such administration. In the present study, protocols based on a short-term CIDR treatment and a single subcutaneous dose of GnRH in propylene-glycol at 36 h after CIDR removal induced a similar ovarian response to protocols based on administration of eCG at CIDR removal or intramuscular GnRH in distilled water at 56 h after. In such protocol, 80% of the animals developed estrus in a narrow timing (75% between 36 and 48 h after CIDR removal), and all of them also ovulated in a narrow window (87.5% between 72 and 76 h after CIDR removal, with 62.5% between 72 and 76 h) and showed a similar ovulation rate and plasma progesterone concentrations at the induced estrous cycle. Hence, administration of GnRH in propylene-glycol may constitute an alternative to traditional protocols based on the administration of eCG.
The Israeli Phage Bank (IPB)
Authors: Yerushalmy Ortal , Khalifa Leron , Gold Naama , Rakov Chani , Alkalay-Oren Sivan , Adler Karen , Ben-Porat Shira , Kraitman Reut , Gronovich Niv , Shulamit Ginat Kerem , Abdalrhman Mohanad , Coppenhagen-Glazer Shunit , Nir-Paz Ran , Hazan Ronen
Published: May 2020

A key element in phage therapy is the establishment of large phage collections, termed herein “banks”, where many well-characterized phages, ready to be used in the clinic, are stored. These phage banks serve for both research and clinical purposes. Phage banks are also a key element in clinical phage microbiology, the prior treatment matching of phages and antibiotics to specific bacterial targets. A worldwide network of phage banks can promote a phage-based solution for any isolated bacteria. Herein, we describe the Israeli Phage Bank (IPB) established in the Hebrew University, Jerusalem, which currently has over 300 phages matching 16 bacteria, mainly pathogens. The phage bank is constantly isolating new phages and developing methods for phage isolation and characterization. The information on the phages and bacteria stored in the bank is available online.
Ensemble Model Based on Stacked Long Short-Term Memory Model for Cycle Life Prediction of Lithium–Ion Batteries
Authors: Wang Fu-Kwun , Huang Chang-Yi , Mamo Tadele
Published: May 2020

To meet the target value of cycle life, it is necessary to accurately assess the lithium–ion capacity degradation in the battery management system. We present an ensemble model based on the stacked long short-term memory (SLSTM), which is used to predict the capacity cycle life of lithium–ion batteries. The ensemble model combines LSTM with attention and gradient boosted regression (GBR) models to improve prediction accuracy, where these individual prediction values are used as input to the SLSTM model. Among 13 cells, single and multiple cells were used as the training set to verify the performance of the proposed model. In seven single-cell experiments, 70% of the data were used for model training, and the rest of the data were used for model validation. In the second experiment, one cell or two cells were used for model training, and other cells were used as test data. The results show that the proposed method is superior to individual and traditional integrated learning models. We used Monte Carlo dropout techniques to estimate variance and obtain prediction intervals. In the second experiment, the average absolute percentage errors for GBR, LSTM with attention, and the proposed model are 28.6580, 1.7813, and 1.5789, respectively.
Practical Submodule Capacitor Sizing for Modular Multilevel Converter Considering Grid Faults
Authors: Yin Zhijian , Qiu Huan , Yang Yongheng , Tang Yi , Wang Huai
Published: May 2020

Submodule (SM) capacitors are key elements in the modular multilevel converter (MMC), the design of which influences the entire system performance. In practical cases, SM capacitor sizing must consider the abnormal system operation (e.g., grid faults). In order to find a clear design boundary for SM capacitors, a practical capacitor sizing method is presented for the first time in this paper, considering the grid-fault-ride-through operation of the MMC, impact of MMC control system, and aging mechanism of capacitors. The SM capacitor rated voltage, capacitance, ESR, thermal resistance, and lifetime can be decided to ensure reliable operations of the MMC during grid faults. The effectiveness of the proposed method has been verified through experimental tests on a down-scale MMC system.
Different Resorptive Patterns of Two Avulsed and Replanted Upper Central Incisors Based on Scanning Electron Microscopy and Stereomicroscopic Analysis: A Case Report
Authors: Mazur Marta , Marasca Roberto , Ottolenghi Livia , Vozza Iole , Covello Francesco , Zupancich Andrea , Cristiani Emanuela , Nava Alessia
Published: May 2020

Dental trauma resulting in permanent tooth avulsion commonly affects the young population. The prognosis of replantation after avulsion depends on the natural history of inflammatory and replacement resorption. Several risk factors for type and onset of external resorption have been defined. This case study describes different resorptive patterns observed in two upper central incisors belonging to a single individual, avulsed in the same moment, and replanted after thirty-six hours of dry storage. The roots were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy and stereomicroscope imaging, to obtain an in-depth analysis of the resorptive pattern. The aim of this report is to: (i) underline the high variability in the incidence of root resorption after replantation across and within types of teeth and resorption; and (ii) underline the possible concurrence of different factors affecting the onset and type of resorptive pattern. In conclusion, an unpredictable pattern of resorption may account for the poor prognosis when teeth are replanted outside the current recommendations.
Assessment of the RACPC Performance under Diffuse Radiation for Use in BIPV System
Authors: Foster Stephania , Muhammad-Sukki Firdaus , Ramirez-Iniguez Roberto , Raine Daria Freier , Deciga-Gusi Jose , Abu-Bakar Siti Hawa , Bani Nurul Aini , Munir Abu Bakar , Mas’ud Abdullahi Abubakar , Ardila-Rey Jorge Alfredo
Published: May 2020

In the last four decades there has been a significant increase in solar photovoltaic (PV) capacity, which makes solar one of the most promising renewable energy sources. Following this trend, solar power would become the world’s largest source of electricity by 2050. Building Integrated Photovoltaic (BIPV) systems, in which conventional materials can be replaced with PV panels that become an integral part of the building, can be enhanced with concentrating photovoltaic (CPV) systems. In order to increase the cost efficiency of a BIPV system, an optical concentrator can be used to replace expensive PV material with a lower cost option, whilst increasing the electrical output through the concentration of solar power. A concentrator called rotationally asymmetrical compound parabolic concentrator (RACPC) was analysed in this work under diffuse light conditions. Software simulations and experimental work were carried out to determine the optical concentration gain of the concentrator. Results from this work show that, under diffuse light, the RACPC has an optical concentration gain of 2.12. The experimental work showed a value of 2.20, which confirms the results with only a 3.8% difference.
Authentication of a Painting by Nicolae Grigorescu Using Modern Multi-Analytical Methods
Authors: Tanasa Petru Ovidiu , Sandu Ion , Vasilache Viorica , Sandu Ioan Gabriel , Negru Ioan Cristinel , Sandu Andrei Victor
Published: May 2020

The paper presents the expertise of authenticating a painting by Nicolae Grigorescu through the involvement of multi-analytical techniques, in order to identify and evaluate some archaeometric and chemometric characteristics of the pictorial materials and of the support, used in determining the age. The painting is made with oil colors on pressed cardboard, with preparation based on chalk powder and animal glue. The painting presents two elements as being counterfeit, which have attracted suspicions, namely the signature of the author (presenting a semi-transparent covering veil), and, on the back, a writing of dating, performed by a very controversial art historian. The investigation was carried out by direct analysis with magnification devices, in reflected UV (ultraviolet), VIS (visible), and NIR (near- infrared) light, and by OM, SEM-EDX, and μ-FTIR. The results showed that the painting is authentic and belongs to Nicolae Grigorescu, and the dating established previously by Amelia Pavel through the writing on the back is certain.
A Hybrid Adversarial Attack for Different Application Scenarios
Authors: Du Xiaohu , Yu Jie , Yi Zibo , Li Shasha , Ma Jun , Tan Yusong , Wu Qinbo
Published: May 2020

Adversarial attack against natural language has been a hot topic in the field of artificial intelligence security in recent years. It is mainly to study the methods and implementation of generating adversarial examples. The purpose is to better deal with the vulnerability and security of deep learning systems. According to whether the attacker understands the deep learning model structure, the adversarial attack is divided into black-box attack and white-box attack. In this paper, we propose a hybrid adversarial attack for different application scenarios. Firstly, we propose a novel black-box attack method of generating adversarial examples to trick the word-level sentiment classifier, which is based on differential evolution (DE) algorithm to generate semantically and syntactically similar adversarial examples. Compared with existing genetic algorithm based adversarial attacks, our algorithm can achieve a higher attack success rate while maintaining a lower word replacement rate. At the 10% word substitution threshold, we have increased the attack success rate from 58.5% to 63%. Secondly, when we understand the model architecture and parameters, etc., we propose a white-box attack with gradient-based perturbation against the same sentiment classifier. In this attack, we use a Euclidean distance and cosine distance combined metric to find the most semantically and syntactically similar substitution, and we introduce the coefficient of variation (CV) factor to control the dispersion of the modified words in the adversarial examples. More dispersed modifications can increase human imperceptibility and text readability. Compared with the existing global attack, our attack can increase the attack success rate and make modification positions in generated examples more dispersed. We’ve increased the global search success rate from 75.8% to 85.8%. Finally, we can deal with different application scenarios by using these two attack methods, that is, whether we understand the internal structure and parameters of the model, we can all generate good adversarial examples.
Regression Equations for Estimating Landslide-Triggering Factors Using Soil Characteristics
Authors: Kim Kyeong-Su , Kim Man-Il , Lee Moon-Se , Hwang Eui-Soon
Published: May 2020

Landslides, which often occur on natural slopes of mountainous areas and artificial slopes around urban areas during summer in South Korea, are mostly caused by localized heavy rainfalls and typhoons. A survey was conducted, and the characteristics of landslide occurrences in different geological conditions—in this case, granite soils in Sangju area and gneiss soils in Yangu area—were analyzed. Soil characteristics in the landslide and non-landslide areas and the surroundings of each geological condition were also evaluated. Triggering factors, namely permeability coefficients (k), shear strength with cohesion (c), and internal friction angle (φ) of soils that are closely linked to landslides around weathered soil layers were extracted based on the examined characteristics and a statistics method. The study used regression analysis to formulate equations to estimate the permeability coefficients and shear strength. Ultimately, the permeability coefficients showed significant results in terms of void ratio (e), the effective size of grains (D10), and uniformity coefficient (cu), while shear strength correlated with the proportion of fine-grained soil (Fines), uniformity coefficient (cu), degree of saturation (S), dry weight density (rd), and void ratio (e).
Self-Adaptation of a Heterogeneous Swarm of Mobile Robots to a Covered Area
Authors: Zelenka Ján , Kasanický Tomáš , Bundzel Marek , Andoga Rudolf
Published: May 2020

An original swarm-based method for coordination of groups of mobile robots with a focus on the self-organization and self-adaptation of the groups is presented in this paper. The method is a nature-inspired decentralized algorithm that uses artificial pheromone marks and enables the cooperation of different types of independent reactive agents that operate in the air, on the ground, or in the water. The advantages of our solution include scalability, adaptability, and robustness. The algorithm worked with variable numbers of agents in the groups. It was resistant against failures of the individual robots. A transportation control algorithm that ensured the spreading of different types of agents across exploration space with different types of environments was introduced and tested. We established that our swarm control algorithm was able to successfully control three basic behaviors: space exploration, population management, and transportation. The behaviors were able to run simultaneously, and space exploration (the main goal) was never stopped or interrupted. All these features combined in a single algorithmic package represent a framework for future development of swarm-based agent systems applicable in a broad scope of environments. The results confirmed that the algorithm can be applied to monitoring, surveillance, patrolling, or search and rescue tasks.
Towards Model Synchronization for Consistency Management of Mechatronic Systems
Authors: Berriche Aroua , Mhenni Faïda , Mlika Abdelfattah , Choley Jean-Yves
Published: May 2020

The development of a mechatronic system involves different designers having various viewpoints on the overall system to handle its complexity. Consequently, multiple models are created from a variety of domains such as mechanical, electronic, and software engineering. These models use different formalisms, modeling languages, and tools to address specific concerns. The major challenge of this approach is to identify and solve any potential inconsistency between models in order to minimize costs and development time before the verification and validation phases. This paper proposes a new collaborative methodology to maintain consistency between different engineering disciplines at an early stage of the development cycle of mechatronic systems based on Model-Based Engineering (MBE). We apply a model synchronization approach to actively check for model consistency in a continuous way during the multidisciplinary design process. As a novel contribution of this paper, we demonstrate how model transformation techniques can be employed; firstly, to abstract various engineering models in a common formalism based on graph theory and, secondly, to update models with appropriate changes evaluated by a project manager. We also show how to detect the differences automatically, and we discuss where designer decisions are essential.
Radioactivity in Calabrian (Southern Italy) Wild Boar Meat
Authors: Caridi Francesco , D’Agostino Maurizio , Belvedere Alberto
Published: May 2020

The production chain for game meat is specific and differs from the production chain of meat from domestic livestock. Wild boar meat is a foodstuff consumed in Italy. Wild boars are considered as a reservoir of environmental radionuclides, and the accumulation of radioisotopes can pose a radiological hazard. 40K and 137Cs activity concentrations were measured through HPGe gamma spectrometry in wild boar meat samples, coming from six hygiene points representative of the entire district of Reggio Calabria, South Italy. Experimental values were found to be in the range of (91 ± 11) Bq kg−1 to (117 ± 14) Bq kg−1 for 40K and of (0.09 ± 0.03) Bq kg−1 to (1.61 ± 0.24) Bq kg−1 for 137Cs, respectively. Any possible radiological risk for the population was also estimated. Obtained values are in the range of 2.66 µSv a−1 to 4.00 µSv a−1, much lower than the recommended level for the public (1 mSv a−1).
Synagogue Objects Related to Charity on Shabbat: Shnoder-Signs and Shnoder-Books in the Hungarian Lands
Authors: Bányai Viktória , Komoróczy Szonja Ráhel
Published: May 2020

In Ashkenazi Jewish communities, it is customary to promise a donation to charitable causes after being called up to the Torah on Shabbat and on holidays—there is even a Yiddish term for it: shnodern. In our article, we will look at various synagogue objects related to this type of charity, focusing on Hungarian lands. First, we will look at signs and plaques, affixed to the bimah, which mention possible purposes for the charity. Second, since it is forbidden to make a note of, let alone fulfill the promise of a charitable donation on Shabbat, we will look at objects that show ways that these donations were recorded.
Field Survey on Concentration and Emission of Dust in Different Types of Poultry Houses of South Korea
Authors: Kim Ki Youn , Ko Han Jong
Published: May 2020

The dust generated from poultry houses has an adverse effect on farmers and poultry in terms of hygiene and welfare problems. However, there is little information on concentration and emission of dust derived from poultry houses located in South Korea. An objective of this study is to provide fundamental data regarding particulate matters generated from the poultry houses situated in South Korea. A total 27 poultry houses, including nine broiler houses, nine layer houses, and nine layer houses with feces conveyors were surveyed. Dust was measured by gravimetric methods. Emission of dust was calculated by multiplying the mean concentration (mg/m3) measured at the center of the poultry house by the ventilation rate (m3 h−1). Mean indoor concentrations of total and respirable dust in poultry houses were 4.39 (SD: 2.38) mg/m3 and 2.33 (SD: 2.21) mg/m3, respectively. Mean emission rates based on area and rearing number were estimated as 3.04 (±1.64) mg head−1 h−1 and 57.48 (±24.66) mg m−2 h−1 for total dust and 2.34 (±1.27) mg head−1 h−1 and 26.80 (±10.81) mg m−2 h−1 for respirable dust, respectively. The distribution of total and respirable dust between indoor concentration and emission rate was a similar pattern, regardless of type of poultry house. Among types of poultry house, the broiler house showed the highest levels of indoor concentration and emission rate, followed by the layer house with feces conveyor belt, and the caged layer house. In terms of seasonal aspect, indoor concentrations of total and respirable dust were highest in winter and lowest in summer, and their emission rates were the opposite at all the poultry houses. In spring and autumn, both indoor concentration and emission rate were moderate, and there was no significant difference between spring and autumn. It was assumed that the levels of indoor concentration and emission rate of dust generated from poultry houses were determined mainly by use of bedding material and ventilation rate among various environmental agents.