bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Gulag After Stalin
Authors: Hardy Jeffrey S.
Published: May 2017

This book reveals how the vast Soviet penal system was reimagined and reformed in the wake of Stalin's death. The text argues that penal reform in the 1950s was a serious endeavor intended to transform the Gulag into a humane institution that re-educated criminals into honest Soviet citizens. Under the leadership of Minister of Internal Affairs Nikolai Dudorov, a Khrushchev appointee, this drive to change the Gulag into a “progressive” system where criminals were reformed through a combination of education, vocational training, leniency, sport, labor, cultural programs, and self-governance was both sincere and at least partially effective. The new vision for the Gulag faced many obstacles. Re-education proved difficult to quantify, a serious liability in a statistics-obsessed state. The entrenched habits of Gulag officials and the prisoner-guard power dynamic mitigated the effect of the post-Stalin reforms. And the Soviet public never fully accepted the new policies of leniency and the humane treatment of criminals. In the late 1950s, they joined with a coalition of party officials, criminologists, procurators, newspaper reporters, and some penal administrators to rally around the slogan “The camp is not a resort” and succeeded in re-imposing harsher conditions for inmates. By the mid-1960s the Soviet Gulag had emerged as a hybrid system forged from the old Stalinist system, the vision promoted by Khrushchev and others in the mid-1950s, and the ensuing counter-reform movement. This new penal equilibrium largely persisted until the fall of the Soviet Union.
A Gulag Without Stalin
Authors: Hardy Jeffrey S.
Published: May 2017

This introductory chapter provides an overview of the book's main themes. This book argues that the post-Stalin leadership, having inherited a massive, inefficient, violent, and corrupt penal system, engaged in a serious and substantive reforming effort bent on transforming the Soviet Gulag both quantitatively and qualitatively. In order to make proper sense of Khrushchev-era reforms in the penal sector, this book places them within three broader narratives. First, they were just one part, albeit a very important and lasting part, of an extensive reformist program instituted by Stalin's heirs and Khrushchev in particular. Second, they were part of a global postwar penal transition toward rehabilitation and greater leniency and respect for inmates. Finally, Khrushchev's Gulag should be understood within the broader context of Soviet crime and punishment, particularly in relation to the Stalin-era Gulag.
Restructuring the Penal Empire
Authors: Hardy Jeffrey S.
Published: May 2017

This chapter discusses the impact of Stalin's death on 5 March 1953 on the Gulag. Stalin's passing, the ensuing power struggle, and the existing reformist tendencies within the Gulag all contributed to the substantive reforms that would quickly and permanently alter the Soviet penal system. By 1960 the Gulag empire would be drastically reduced in size and economic importance. Its organizational structure would be decentralized to a significant degree. Reeducation as opposed to labor extraction would be proclaimed the top priority of the Gulag. Ultimately, the reforms of 1953–60 were just as monumental in terms of transforming the Soviet penal system as those of 1930–37. In many respects, in fact, they worked to roll back the reforms of the 1930s, which in general had made the penal system larger, more economically focused, and deadlier.
Reorienting the Aims of Imprisonment
Authors: Hardy Jeffrey S.
Published: May 2017

This chapter discusses how the three aims of the Gulag—economics, reeducation, and control—were restructured in the post-Stalin era. During the 1950s, the three aims of the Gulag were debated heavily at multiple levels within the penal apparatus. The orientation of change in this period was decidedly toward reeducation, with a smaller but growing movement toward increased control, but in the end a lasting commitment toward reeducation was only partially realized. Whether for lack of alternative indicators of reeducation or because of the continued emphasis on plan fulfillment, the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MVD) in 1958 and 1960 reaffirmed the principle of rewarding its Gulag officials according to production figures alone.
A Khrushchevian Synthesis
Authors: Hardy Jeffrey S.
Published: May 2017

This chapter discusses the late Soviet penal system. The early to mid-1960s was an era of idealism in the Soviet Union, fueled by rising standards of living, increased productivity, new scientific discoveries, and technological advances. There was genuine euphoria on a national scale. However, this euphoria ultimately did not translate into the penal sphere. Prisons were not closed; colonies of various regimen levels persisted; a new corps of hyperqualified personnel was not recruited; and crime remained a perpetual and serious thorn in the side of the communist vision. The Gulag did not fade away into oblivion, but remained a testament to the failure of Soviet socialism in achieving a more harmonious society.
Coda
Authors: Lavezzo Kathy
Published: May 2017

This book has investigated the antisemitism at work in English texts, showing that such texts contain offensive fantasies about a supposed “Jewish” menace that stand in tension with counternarratives about an English Christian reliance on, desire for, and similitude to the “Jewish” materialisms Christianity claims to reject. Representations of the accommodated Jew thus reveal both an offensive politics of rejection and an ideological embrace of the Jew as a tool for accommodating the English to their messy urban materialisms. This coda discusses the implications of the book's findings for later English images of the Jew as they appear in Charles Dickens's novel Oliver Twist. It argues that Oliver Twist complicates received notions of the Jewish house through the juxtaposition of scenes of locking, containment, and enclosure with the portrayal of unwieldy and transgressive flows, circulations, and currents. It also considers how interaction with Jews prompts a reform in Dickens, leading him to offer an account that radically departs from the antisemitic images of Oliver Twist.
Counterpreservation
Authors: Sandler Daniela
Published: May 2017

In Berlin, decrepit structures do not always denote urban blight. Decayed buildings are incorporated into everyday life as residences, exhibition spaces, shops, offices, and as leisure space. As nodes of public dialogue, they serve as platforms for dissenting views about the future and past of Berlin. This book introduces the concept of counter-preservation as a way to understand this intentional appropriation of decrepitude. The embrace of decay is a sign of Berlin's iconoclastic rebelliousness, but it has also been incorporated into the mainstream economy of tourism and development as part of the city's countercultural cachet. It presents the possibilities and shortcomings of counter-preservation as a dynamic force in Berlin and as a potential concept for other cities. Counter-preservation is part of Berlin's fabric: in the city's famed Hausprojekte (living projects) such as the Køpi, Tuntenhaus, and KA 86; in cultural centers such as the Haus Schwarzenberg, the Schokoladen, and the legendary, now defunct Tacheles; in memorials and museums; and even in commerce and residences. The appropriation of ruins is a way of carving out affordable spaces for housing, work, and cultural activities. It is also a visual statement against gentrification, and a complex representation of history, with the marks of different periods—the nineteenth century, World War II, postwar division, unification—on display for all to see. Counter-preservation exemplifies an everyday urbanism in which citizens shape private and public spaces with their own hands, but it also influences more formal designs, such as the Topography of Terror, the Berlin Wall Memorial, and Daniel Libeskind's unbuilt redevelopment proposal for a site peppered with ruins of Nazi barracks. By featuring these examples, the book questions conventional notions of architectural authorship and points toward the value of participatory environments.
Living Projects
Authors: Sandler Daniela
Published: May 2017

This chapter focuses on Hausprojekte, or “living projects.” Hausprojekte are the most prolific category of counterpreservation, in terms of number of examples. They embrace and deploy architectural decay for sociopolitical goals related to affordable housing, diversity, and personal experimentation. In this chapter, Hausprojekte are examined through the focused discussion of two case studies: the KA 86 and Tuntenhaus (both in the same building), and the Køpi. It considers both Hausprojekte in the plural—as a broad social movement that illuminates important aspects of counterpreservation—and the singularity of each case study. The chapter also aims to highlight the roles these case studies play in shaping urban spaces and debates.
The Power of Systems
Authors: Rindzeviciute Egle
Published: May 2017

This book introduces readers to one of the best-kept secrets of the Cold War: the International Institute of Applied Systems Analysis, an international think tank established by the U.S. and Soviet governments to advance scientific collaboration. From 1972 until the late 1980s IIASA in Austria was one of the very few permanent platforms where policy scientists from both sides of the Cold War divide could work together to articulate and solve world problems. This think tank was a rare zone of freedom, communication, and negotiation, where leading Soviet scientists could try out their innovative ideas, benefit from access to Western literature, and develop social networks, thus paving the way for some of the key science and policy breakthroughs of the twentieth century. Ambitious diplomatic, scientific, and organizational strategies were employed to make this arena for cooperation work for global change. Under the umbrella of the systems approach, East-West scientists co-produced computer simulations of the long-term world future and the anthropogenic impact on the environment, using global modeling to explore the possible effects of climate change and nuclear winter. Their concern with global issues also became a vehicle for transformation inside the Soviet Union. The book shows how computer modeling, cybernetics, and the systems approach challenged Soviet governance by undermining the linear notions of control on which Soviet governance was based and creating new objects and techniques of government.
Cities as Political Targets
Authors: Goldsmith William W.
Published: May 2017

This chapter discusses austerity, which causes significant urban damage, directly and indirectly. Austerians—especially those who make key decisions in banks, corporations, the federal administration, Congress, and the courts—sometimes have cities in mind as they make policy, but usually not. If they do make the connection, they may aim to punish cities. They surely do not regard fiscal and economic policy as part of “urban policy.” Indeed, austerity was imposed not to resolve the fiscal crisis, nor to aid financial institutions to recover their losses, nor to earmark funds for building social capital or offering services. Yet austerity policies do constitute “upstream” flows that can flood cities and swamp their options. Austerity thus needs to be incorporated into discussions and actions on urban policy.
Troubled City Schools
Authors: Goldsmith William W.
Published: May 2017

This chapter focuses on city schools. City schools in the United States are failing. Evidently, school policy ought to be of central concern for those concerned with cities, since not only do nearly all children attend schools close to home, but in addition, the schools are for the most part governed and funded locally. Unless city schools are repaired, other aspects of city life will continue to slide downhill. This city-school problem, a crucial piece of urban affairs, will not be solved with city resources and city politics alone. The national government and the states need to do better budgeting, improve regulations, and provide open-minded support.
Drug-War Politics
Authors: Goldsmith William W.
Published: May 2017

This chapter examines drug-war politics. While many politicians have benefited from supporting the drug war, growing numbers of influential persons express opposition. While private firms may benefit handsomely from provisioning the war, state governments have become more cautious, sensitive to budgetary pressures. Among supporters for drug-law reform, nearly all endorse a policy known as harm reduction; many call for decriminalization, and growing numbers advocate legalization. Indeed, pressures for drug-law and prison-regime reforms have increased and spread since the turn of the twenty-first century. Numerous state referenda, legislative moves, and court rulings have liberalized marijuana restrictions, allowing medical prescriptions and in some cases recreational use. Legislatures have also reduced penalties for use of many drugs and have lessened some of the racial bias. Nevertheless, the drug war remains a major and damaging element of urban policy, with key supporters.
Composing the Volk
Authors: Hochman Erin R.
Published: May 2017

This chapter looks at cultural commemorations for the anniversaries of the deaths of Ludwig van Beethoven in 1927, Franz Schubert in 1928, Walther von der Vogelweide in 1930, and Johann Wolfgang von Goethe in 1932. It explores how Germans and Austrians used these festivals to stage a transborder German community in the interwar period. They hoped that a focus on culture, rather than politics, would help them overcome the sociopolitical fragmentation of the interwar years. At first glance, these cultural celebrations appeared to bridge the numerous divisions running through both societies, as people from various social and political backgrounds wanted to honor these German cultural heroes. Nonetheless, political fights broke out among participants as they interpreted the lives and impact of these cultural figures according to their own divergent worldviews. By investigating these disagreements, this chapter underscores the numerous understandings of Germanness in the Weimar era.
Anschluss before Hitler
Authors: Hochman Erin R.
Published: May 2017

This chapter examines the politics of the most prominent Anschluss organization of the era, the Österreichisch-Deutscher Volksbund (Austro-German People's League). Marketing itself as a “nonpartisan” association, the Volksbund included the supporters and opponents of democracy, Jews and anti-Semites, Catholics and Protestants, blue-collar workers and the middle classes. Focusing on the association's activities, this chapter investigates how these disparate groups could collaborate even as they were riven by political battles that emerged both within and about the association. It also explores the radical changes that affected the association after the 1933 Nazi seizure of power, thereby highlighting the fact that there was no straight line between 1918 and 1938.
Conclusion
Authors: Hochman Erin R.
Published: May 2017

This concluding chapter discusses the subsequent Nazi appropriation of the Anschluss and briefly recounts the differences between the republican and Nazi ideas about an Anschluss and nationalism. It expands on the republican use of großdeutsch nationalism: in allowing diverse groups to participate in a national community that was compatible with a democratic and pluralistic society, großdeutsch nationalism became a critical aspect in republicans' energetic attempts to legitimize the embattled republics. While it is true that republicans on both sides of the Austro-German border were never able to convince the political right that they were loyal Germans or that parliamentary democracy was a German form of government, the chapter argues that their inability to do so does not mean that their attempts to create a democratic and peaceful großdeutsch nationalism should be dismissed.
Staging Secrets
Authors: Loos Tamara
Published: May 2017

This chapter examines the context wherein Prince Prisdang Chumsai (1852–1935) had thrived and was ultimately exiled from. It also discusses Prince Prisdang's “silence”—in particular the reason, which he had pointedly removed from his autobiography, for his falling out of favor with Siam and its favorite monarch, King Chulalongkorn (r. 1868–1910). In addition, the chapter also explores the relative silence on Prince Prisdang's life and contributions to history in general, as he has only received marginal attention from historians despite his achievements, and despite his own efforts to demonstrate his own historicity by publishing his autobiography. Though turning to Buddhism in his later years, Prisdang did not write about his life as a series of mistakes from which he learned clear-cut Buddhist lessons. Instead, he wrote about what he did for Siam that changed its history and why he should be, but has not been, acknowledged for it.
Bangkok
Authors: Loos Tamara
Published: May 2017

This chapter speculates on the “incident” which had led to the rift between Prince Prisdang and King Chulalongkorn. It focuses on two particular incidents: one involving a man named Mom Jao Pan and another involving Khunying Si (hereafter “Si” or “Phi Si,” which means elder sibling), the widow of the brother of Prisdang's dear friend from London, Jamuen Saraphai (Joem Saeng-Chuto; hereafter “Surasak”). The Mom Jao Pan incident came to a head in May 1887, and the rumors regarding Si arose by June 1887. Although Prisdang's published autobiography suggests that his suicide attempt was a consequence of the king's repossession of the Phumnithet property, which relates directly to the Mom Jao Pan incident, his letters suggest it was rumors about an affair with Si that drove him to raise a gun to his head.
Colonial Southeast Asia
Authors: Loos Tamara
Published: May 2017

This chapter covers the first years of Prisdang's exile, exploring his conflicts—both internal and external—during this period. An abiding patriot, he sought desperately to return to his native country, but only if the king would consent to hear his side of the story. Yet he not only penned a searing critique of King Chulalongkorn and his method of rule but presented it to British colonial officials in 1891. He defended himself as a “political refugee” because of his expression of views that contradicted those of King Chulalongkorn and the system of patronage that dominated politics in Siam. Was he a traitor, a patriot, a monarchist, or an opportunist? Regardless of one's interpretation, Prisdang caused friction between Siam and colonial governments everywhere he went in exile, even when he tried to eschew his royal and diplomatic identity and go underground in disguise as a commoner.
On Roman Religion
Authors: Rüpke Jörg
Published: May 2017

Was religious practice in ancient Rome cultic and hostile to individual expression? Or was there, rather, considerable latitude for individual initiative and creativity? This book demonstrates that it was a lived religion with individual appropriations evident at the heart of such rituals as praying, dedicating, making vows, and reading. The book dismantles previous approaches that depicted religious practice as uniform and static. Juxtaposing very different, strategic, and even subversive forms of individuality with traditions, their normative claims, and their institutional protections, this text highlights the dynamic character of Rome's religious institutions and traditions. In the view expressed in this book, lived ancient religion is as much about variations or even outright deviance as it is about attempts and failures to establish or change rules and roles and to communicate them via priesthoods, practices related to images or classified as magic, and literary practices. The text analyzes observations of religious experience by contemporary authors including Propertius, Ovid, and the author of the “Shepherd of Hermas.” These authors, in very different ways, reflect on individual appropriation of religion among their contemporaries, and they offer these reflections to their readership or audiences. The book also concentrates on the ways in which literary texts and inscriptions informed the practice of rituals.
Individual Decision and Social Order
Authors: Rüpke Jörg
Published: May 2017

This chapter looks at examples of individual interpretations of traditional priestly roles from the third until the first century BC. There was innovative behavior not only on the part of the plebeian Pontifices Maximi; among the patricians, there were also individuals who interpret a priestly role not in the traditional way but as a specifically religious role. Both case types demonstrate highly individual behavior. It seems that the actors intended to problematize the relationship between their priestly and political offices or to privilege a specific religious obligation over a political role. In each case, they did this by asserting the obligation of perfect religious performance. Basic, however, to these individual attempts to further develop given roles was a shared conviction: the religious framework of the Roman polity was to be provided by its patrician members in particular.
Smoking Bans and Shop Floor Resistance during the Early Twentieth Century
Authors: Wood Gregory
Published: May 2017

This chapter explores early-twentieth-century employers' opposition to smoking in the workplace, focusing on a case study of smoking practices and shop floor disputes at the Hammermill Paper Company in Erie, Pennsylvania, during the long, hot summer of 1915. Uniquely detailed reports of working conditions and workers' behaviors in this large mass-production factory, written by a pair of curious labor spies, documented nicely the ongoing efforts of many workers to circumvent the company's prohibition of smoking. In response to the refusal of management to allow smoking, workers improvised an assortment of surreptitious strategies that would allow them to smoke at work and enjoy time away from their jobs. As the Hammermill case illustrates, the wide extent of worker subversion made the no-smoking rule a dead letter, much to the constant frustration of management and the spies themselves.
Immigrants and Electoral Politics
Authors: Brown Heath
Published: May 2017

This book addresses an important set of questions about the current state and future trajectory of U.S. politics in the midst of increasing racial and ethnic diversity. The book's analysis of voting behavior among the newest segment of the American electorate is especially timely. This book captures the reader's attention not only for the importance of the questions at stake but because of the book's perspective in considering in detail immigrant-serving nonprofit organizations and their role in electoral politics.
The Precarious Position of Immigrants
Authors: Brown Heath
Published: May 2017

This chapter explores the demographic shifts that took place between 2000 and 2012, which saw the composition of immigrants in the United States change greatly. Despite growing in number over the last three decades, immigrants have participated in politics at lower levels than other U.S. citizens. This chapter examines the gap in immigrant voting with the help of important findings from political behavior and political sociology research. This literature shows how varied immigrant politics are in the United States and also suggests why nonprofit engagement in elections should draw more attention. The chapter also examines how political institutions, especially nonprofit organizations, have advanced and sometimes slowed immigrant voting.
Bases of Credit
Authors: Bytheway Simon James , Metzler Mark
Published: May 2017

This introductory chapter provides a background of central banks. A century ago, when the Federal Reserve System was first established in the United States, central banks based their own creation of money and credit on their holdings of gold. These two institutional practices—central banking, and the use of gold as monetary reserves—were the bases of the world's first truly globalized credit system. This global system was originally centered in London, with the Bank of England at the center of the center. Today, the actions of central banks continue to move economies, perhaps even more than they did a century ago. Gold-backed currencies are a thing of the past, but central banks nonetheless remain the biggest owners of gold, while gold markets seem to have an ongoing monetary significance.
Postwar Alignment
Authors: Bytheway Simon James , Metzler Mark
Published: May 2017

This chapter focuses on the alignment of Japanese, American, and British central bank policies after the First World War. The gold convertibility of national currencies had been suspended during the war. Prices in each of the three countries doubled, while the purchasing power of gold also declined substantially. The restoration of gold-based monetary systems now seemed to demand deflation and austerity. The “restoration” period that began in 1919 signified the beginning of a historic increase in the purchasing power of gold. Ultimately, during the 1930s, the purchasing power of gold would reach the highest levels since the sixteenth century. Deflation and austerity were thus integral to the program of central bank cooperation, which people understand as the world's first internationally coordinated monetary policy.
Private Networks and the Public Interest
Authors: Bytheway Simon James , Metzler Mark
Published: May 2017

This concluding chapter examines the hierarchical nature of the markets in capital, which constitute the peak markets of the world capitalist system. It also reconsiders the central-bank connections between Tokyo, London, and New York as vital inner links within a larger set of world-city geographies. In a century of violent changes, these “capital city” geographies have been remarkably persistent. The great Tokyo bubble of 1989–90 was the greatest yet of its kind, but it now seems relatively modest next to the New York and London bubbles of 2007–8. Each of these “capital city” bubbles showed a mix of classic and novel features. Each also revealed, again, the centrality of the central banks themselves.
Mourning in America
Authors: McIvor David W.
Published: May 2017

Recent years have brought public mourning to the heart of American politics, as exemplified by the spread and power of the Black Lives Matter movement, which has gained force through its identification of pervasive social injustices with individual losses. The deaths of Sandra Bland, Michael Brown, Freddie Gray, Trayvon Martin, Tamir Rice, Walter Scott, and so many others have brought private grief into the public sphere. The rhetoric and iconography of mourning has been noteworthy in Black Lives Matter protests, but this text argues that we have paid too little attention to the nature of social mourning—its relationship to private grief, its practices, and its pathologies and democratic possibilities. The book addresses significant and urgent questions about how citizens can mourn traumatic events and enduring injustices in their communities. The book offers a framework for analyzing the politics of mourning, drawing from psychoanalysis, Greek tragedy, and scholarly discourses on truth and reconciliation. This book connects these literatures to ongoing activism surrounding racial injustice, and it contextualizes Black Lives Matter in the broader politics of grief and recognition. The text also examines recent, grassroots-organized truth and reconciliation processes such as the Greensboro Truth and Reconciliation Commission (2004–006), which provided a public examination of the Greensboro Massacre of 1979—a deadly incident involving local members of the Communist Workers Party and the Ku Klux Klan.
A Splintering and Shattering Activity
Authors: McIvor David W.
Published: May 2017

This chapter examines the nettlesome politics of reconciliation from within the framework of public mourning developed over the preceding chapters. Like many interpreters of the politics of reconciliation, it focuses primarily on the South African experience. Not only has the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission become the most widely surveyed and scrutinized reconciliation process, it has also become exemplary for communities seeking an extrajudicial “rejoinder” to traumatic events in their past, such as Greensboro. South Africa's transition from apartheid rule in the 1990s is commonly seen as the paradigmatic case of how societies torn by deep and seemingly intractable conflicts can account for or in some respect come to terms with a violent past and all the ways in which the present has been shaped by that past.
Introduction
Authors: Gaposchkin M. Cecilia
Published: May 2017

This introductory chapter provides an overview of the book's main themes. This book is about the invisible weapon of war, i.e., the prayers and liturgical rituals that were part of the battle for the faith. It tells the story of the greatest collective religious undertaking of the Middle Ages, putting front and center the ways in which Latin Christians communicated their ideas and aspirations for crusade to God through liturgy, how liturgy was deployed in crusading, and how liturgy absorbed the ideals or priorities of crusading. The hope is that, in bringing this material together as it relates to crusading, in trying to connect the evidence of liturgy and prayer found in medieval liturgical books with the larger narrative of crusading, in looking systematically and chronologically at the rites and texts that were deployed for the success of crusading and during the crusades themselves, we can understand something important about the culture of holy war in the Middle Ages.
Preliminaries
Authors: Gaposchkin M. Cecilia
Published: May 2017

This study seeks to bring together two areas of historical inquiry—on the crusades and on the liturgy—each of which has its own received narratives, specialized debates, and technical vocabularies. The following pages offer two mini-essays designed for readers who might wish an introduction to or overview of either of these areas as it relates to this book. The first offers a short discussion of crusades to the Levant with the aim of reviewing the main events and introducing the principal sources that will recur in this book. The second offers an overview of the various types of sources (that is, types of books) used in the discussion of the liturgy and some of the liturgical terms that recur herein. Neither is argumentative, and neither is comprehensive. The hope is to assure a shared vocabulary with readers....
Chemical mass transport between fluid fine tailings and the overlying water cover of an oil sands end pit lake
Authors: Dompierre Kathryn A. , Barbour S. Lee , North Rebecca L. , Carey Sean K. , Lindsay Matthew B. J.
Published: May 2017

Fluid fine tailings (FFT) are a principal by‐product of the bitumen extraction process at oil sands mines. Base Mine Lake (BML)—the first full‐scale demonstration oil sands end pit lake (EPL)—contains approximately 1.9 × 108 m3 of FFT stored under a water cover within a decommissioned mine pit. Chemical mass transfer from the FFT to the water cover can occur via two key processes: (1) advection‐dispersion driven by tailings settlement; and (2) FFT disturbance due to fluid movement in the water cover. Dissolved chloride (Cl) was used to evaluate the water cover mass balance and to track mass transport within the underlying FFT based on field sampling and numerical modeling. Results indicated that FFT was the dominant Cl source to the water cover and that the FFT is exhibiting a transient advection‐dispersion mass transport regime with intermittent disturbance near the FFT‐water interface. The advective pore water flux was estimated by the mass balance to be 0.002 m3 m−2 d−1, which represents 0.73 m of FFT settlement per year. However, the FFT pore water Cl concentrations and corresponding mass transport simulations indicated that advection rates and disturbance depths vary between sample locations. The disturbance depth was estimated to vary with location between 0.75 and 0.95 m. This investigation provides valuable insight for assessing the geochemical evolution of the water cover and performance of EPLs as an oil sands reclamation strategy.
Comparison of wildfire smoke estimation methods and associations with cardiopulmonary‐related hospital admissions
Authors: Gan Ryan W. , Ford Bonne , Lassman William , Pfister Gabriele , Vaidyanathan Ambarish , Fischer Emily , Volckens John , Pierce Jeffrey R. , Magzamen Sheryl
Published: May 2017

Climate forecasts predict an increase in frequency and intensity of wildfires. Associations between health outcomes and population exposure to smoke from Washington 2012 wildfires were compared using surface monitors, chemical‐weather models, and a novel method blending three exposure information sources. The association between smoke particulate matter ≤2.5 μm in diameter (PM2.5) and cardiopulmonary hospital admissions occurring in Washington from 1 July to 31 October 2012 was evaluated using a time‐stratified case‐crossover design. Hospital admissions aggregated by ZIP code were linked with population‐weighted daily average concentrations of smoke PM2.5 estimated using three distinct methods: a simulation with the Weather Research and Forecasting with Chemistry (WRF‐Chem) model, a kriged interpolation of PM2.5 measurements from surface monitors, and a geographically weighted ridge regression (GWR) that blended inputs from WRF‐Chem, satellite observations of aerosol optical depth, and kriged PM2.5. A 10 μg/m3 increase in GWR smoke PM2.5 was associated with an 8% increased risk in asthma‐related hospital admissions (odds ratio (OR): 1.076, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.019–1.136); other smoke estimation methods yielded similar results. However, point estimates for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) differed by smoke PM2.5 exposure method: a 10 μg/m3 increase using GWR was significantly associated with increased risk of COPD (OR: 1.084, 95%CI: 1.026–1.145) and not significant using WRF‐Chem (OR: 0.986, 95%CI: 0.931–1.045). The magnitude (OR) and uncertainty (95%CI) of associations between smoke PM2.5 and hospital admissions were dependent on estimation method used and outcome evaluated. Choice of smoke exposure estimation method used can impact the overall conclusion of the study.
The robustness of future changes in Northern Hemisphere blocking: A large ensemble projection with multiple sea surface temperature patterns
Authors: Matsueda Mio , Endo Hirokazu
Published: May 2017

Future changes in the frequency of Northern Hemisphere blocking are investigated via large ensemble simulations using a 60 km mesh atmospheric general circulation model prescribed with six future sea surface temperature patterns derived from state‐of‐the‐art climate models under a 4 K warmer climate. Our simulations depict the frequency of wintertime blocking decreasing from 16.6% ± 0.7% to 13.1% ± 2.1% in the Euro‐Atlantic sector and from 17.4% ± 0.7% to 14.8% ± 2.4% in the Pacific sector. This decline in frequency is seen to affect Euro‐Atlantic blocking of all durations and Pacific blocking of more than 15 days' duration. During summer, our simulations not only exhibit a robust decrease (from 10.7% ± 0.4% to 7.6% ± 0.7%) in the Euro‐Atlantic blocking frequency but also show that the magnitude of this decrease is smaller for longer‐lived blocking. In contrast, the Pacific blocking frequency either does not change or increases slightly, particularly for events of 15–29 days' duration.
Early Events in the Ethylene Biosynthetic Pathway – Regulation of the Pools of Methionine andS‐Adenosylmethionine
Authors: Bürstenbinder Katharina , Sauter Margret
Published: May 2017

Ethylene is synthesized fromS‐adenosylmethionine (SAM), an activated form of methionine (Met). Continuous supply of SAM and hence of Met is necessary for the maintenance of prolonged ethylene synthesis, especially when it occurs at high rates. Met can be replenished throughde novosynthesis and through the Yang cycle, which recycles 5′‐methylthioadenosine (MTA), the by‐product of ethylene synthesis, to Met. This chapter summarizes the pathways and regulation of Met and SAM syntheses with a particular focus on the regulation by ethylene. While the Yang cycle was discovered about three decades ago, not all of the respective genes have yet been identified in any one plant to date. In rice, one of the genes encoding acireductone dioxygenase (ARD) is under immediate control of ethylene whereas inArabidopsisno known Yang cycle gene is regulated by ethylene, likely reflecting species‐specific requirements for ethylene production during development and stress adaptation. The molecular mechanisms by which ethylene synthesis and Met/SAM production are coordinated still await discovery. As ethylene synthesis is a major means to control ethylene levels, unravelling these mechanisms is certainly of interest.
Ethylene and Fruit Ripening
Authors: Pech Jean‐Claude , Purgatto Eduardo , Bouzayen Mondher , Latché Alain
Published: May 2017

The ripening of fleshy fruit is a developmentally regulated process unique to plants during which the majority of the sensory quality attributes are elaborated including aroma, flavour, texture and nutritional compounds. In climacteric fruit, the plant hormone ethylene is the key regulator of the ripening process as exemplified by the dramatic inhibition of fruit ripening that results from the down‐expression ofACC(1‐amino‐cyclopropane‐1‐carboxylic acid)synthaseandACC oxidasegenes involved in ethylene biosynthesis. By contrast, the ripening of non‐climacteric fruit is not dependent on ethylene but rather on cues of unknown nature though ethylene may contribute at least partly to the control of some aspects of the ripening process. The expression of the ripening‐associated genes is regulated by a network of signalling pathways among which ethylene perception and transduction play a primary role. Building on the knowledge gained on theArabidopsis thalianamodel system, the importance of ethylene signalling in fruit ripening has been extensively studied. This chapter summarizes the present knowledge on the role of ethylene in fruit ripening and addresses the molecular mechanisms involved in ethylene perception and responses. It also highlights recent advances and prospects on the means by which the ethylene transduction pathway leads to diversified physiological responses and how ethylene signalling interacts with other hormones to activate the expression of ripening‐related genes. While this review mostly refers to the tomato as major model for fruit research, it also gives insight on the ripening process in other fruit species, including non‐climacteric types.
Ethylene: Multi‐Tasker in Plant–Attacker Interactions
Authors: Van der Ent Sjoerd , Pieterse Corné M.J.
Published: May 2017

In the past decades, the role of ethylene in the regulation of plant responses to biotic stress has been intensively studied. Analyses of plant genotypes that are impaired in ethylene biosynthesis, perception or signalling revealed an important role for ethylene in the primary response to pathogen attack. In addition, ethylene has been demonstrated to fulfil a key function in the control of systemic immune responses that are induced by beneficial micro‐organisms. Although the importance of ethylene in the regulation of plant immune responses is evident, its role in stimulating disease resistance or susceptibility appears to depend greatly on the plant–attacker combination. Whereas in many studies ethylene was demonstrated to facilitate disease resistance or tolerance, in other studies ethylene was shown to support pathogen infection. Recent advances in defence‐signalling research have revealed that ethylene plays an important role in modulating interactions between defence‐signalling pathways that are regulated by either salicylic acid (SA) or jasmonic acid (JA). By functioning as a modulator of these important defence‐regulatory pathways, ethylene may play a decisive positive or negative role in the final outcome of the immune response of a plant.
The Morphology and Development of Lycophytes
Authors: Ambrose Barbara A.
Published: May 2017

During the Carboniferous Period around 350 million years ago, lycophytes dominated the landscape, comprising about 50% of the world's flora. Today, however, lycophytes are mostly inconspicuous plants, representing only about 0.5% of the flora. Studying the morphology of the lycophytes is integral to our understanding of land plant evolution and development because the lycophytes are sister to all other vascular plants. They represent an evolutionary lineage that has been distinct from other vascular plants, a lineage that has evolved growth forms and organs analogous to vascular plants and other organs that are homologous to those found in their sister group. As such, they provide a fascinating comparison for evolutionary developmental studies. The overall morphology of the lycophytes is relatively simple, with the sporophyte body composed of root, stem, microphyll, and sporangium. Three families comprise the present‐day lycophytes: (1) Lycopodiaceae, (2) Isoetaceae, and (3) Selaginellaceae. Their unifying feature is the presence of a single sporangium per leaf, and this sporangium is located on the adaxial side of the leaf. Here, I briefly discuss the morphology and development of key lycophyte structures including meristems, sporangia, microphylls, rhizophores, and ligules.
Evolutionary Morphology of Ferns (Monilophytes)
Authors: Schneider Harald
Published: May 2017

Throughout its long history, concepts of plant morphology have been mainly developed by studying seed plants, in particular angiosperms. This chapter provides an overview to the morphology of ferns by exploring the evolutionary background of the early diversification of ferns, by discussing the main structures and organs of ferns, and finally by exploring our current knowledge of fern genomics and evolutionary developmental biology. Horsetails (Equisetopsida) and whisk ferns (Psilotales) are treated as part of the fern lineage. Throughout the chapter, I employ a process‐oriented approach, which combines the process orientation of the Arberian Fuzzy Morphology with the process orientation of Darwinian evolution as reflected in current phylogenetics.
Genomics, Adaptation, and the Evolution of Plant Form
Authors: Shepard Kristen
Published: May 2017

A central question in the evolution of plant development is to understand how modifications of plant form contribute to adaptation within a species. Molecular population genomics and quantitative genetics offer complementary tools for answering this question. Quantitative trait locus mapping identifies genetic variation that underlies variation in plant form, while analyses of nucleotide diversity illuminate the evolutionary history of developmentally relevant genes. By combining these tools with developmental genetic characterization of natural sequence variants and with ecological experiments that test adaptive hypotheses, recent studies have begun to tease apart the genetic basis of adaptation. This chapter includes an overview of genome‐wide mapping and population genomic methods, as well as case studies detailing the application of these techniques in root development, plant domestication, phytochrome‐mediated phenotypic variation, and regulation of flowering time.
Highly Selective Adsorbent and Photacatalytic Material for Industrial Wastewater Treatment
Authors: Binas Vassilios , Philippidis Aggelos , Zachopoulos Apostolos , Kiriakidis George
Published: May 2017

Advanced multifunctional sponge‐type materials are obtained following chemical treatment of a Visible Light Photocatalyst (VLP) with an alkali aqueous solution under selected conditions. The resulting multifunctional material is fully characterized by XRD, SEM/EDX, TEM, FT‐IR, RAMAN, and UV‐Vis. It is found that the resulting material has high affinity to cationic dyes such as methylene blue (MB) and rhodamine 6G (Rh6G) and, thus may be employed as an environmental selective adsorbant for industrial wastewaters consisted of different mixtures of anionic and cationic dyes. On the other hand, this “sponge” like material if activated under visible light irradiation exhibits high photocatalytic activity for the decomposition of methylene blue in a solid state.
Peptide‐Functionalized Fluorescent Particles for In Situ Detection of Nitric Oxide via Peroxynitrite‐Mediated Nitration
Authors: Chang Jason Y. H. , Chow Lesley W. , Dismuke W. Michael , Ethier C. Ross , Stevens Molly M. , Stamer W. Daniel , Overby Darryl R.
Published: May 2017

Nitric oxide (NO) is a free radical signaling molecule that plays a crucial role in modulating physiological homeostasis across multiple biological systems. NO dysregulation is linked to the pathogenesis of multiple diseases; therefore, its quantification is important for understanding pathophysiological processes. The detection of NO is challenging, typically limited by its reactive nature and short half‐life. Additionally, the presence of interfering analytes and accessibility to biological fluids in the native tissues make the measurement technically challenging and often unreliable. Here, a bio‐inspired peptide‐based NO sensor is developed, which detects NO‐derived oxidants, predominately peroxynitrite‐mediated nitration of tyrosine residues. It is demonstrated that these peptide‐based NO sensors can detect peroxynitrite‐mediated nitration in response to physiological shear stress by endothelial cells in vitro. Using the peptide‐conjugated fluorescent particle immunoassay, peroxynitrite‐mediated nitration activity with a detection limit of ≈100 × 10−9m is detected. This study envisions that the NO detection platform can be applied to a multitude of applications including monitoring of NO activity in healthy and diseased tissues, localized detection of NO production of specific cells, and cell‐based/therapeutic screening of peroxynitrite levels to monitor pronitroxidative stress in biological samples.
Ultrahigh‐Conductivity Polymer Hydrogels with Arbitrary Structures
Authors: Yao Bowen , Wang Haiyan , Zhou Qinqin , Wu Mingmao , Zhang Miao , Li Chun , Shi Gaoquan
Published: May 2017

A poly(3,4‐ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(4‐styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) hydrogel is prepared by thermal treatment of a commercial PEDOT:PSS (PH1000) suspension in 0.1 mol L−1 sulfuric acid followed by partially removing its PSS component with concentrated sulfuric acid. This hydrogel has a low solid content of 4% (by weight) and an extremely high conductivity of 880 S m−1. It can be fabricated into different shapes such as films, fibers, and columns with arbitrary sizes for practical applications. A highly conductive and mechanically strong porous fiber is prepared by drying PEDOT:PSS hydrogel fiber to fabricate a current‐collector‐free solid‐state flexible supercapacitor. This fiber supercapacitor delivers a volumetric capacitance as high as 202 F cm−3 at 0.54 A cm−3 with an extraordinary high‐rate performance. It also shows excellent electrochemical stability and high flexibility, promising for the application as wearable energy‐storage devices.
Imaging Nanoscale Morphology of Semiconducting Polymer Films with Photoemission Electron Microscopy
Authors: Neff Andreas , Niefind Falk , Abel Bernd , Mannsfeld Stefan C. B. , Siefermann Katrin R.
Published: May 2017

Photoemission electron microscopy in combination with polarized laser light is presented as a tool permitting direct imaging of polymer‐chain orientation and local degree of order in semicrystalline samples of semiconducting polymers, a promising class of materials for future electronics. The key advantages of this imaging tool are its nondestructive and fast measurements, straightforward data analysis, the low complexity of sample preparation, and the possibility of performing measurements on a broad variety of technologically relevant substrates. The high spatial resolution of the microscope provides insights into the nanoscale morphology, which is relevant for the material's performance in electronic devices.