bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Wheat Carbon Dioxide Responses in Space Simulations Conducted at the Chinese Lunar Palace‐1
Authors: Dong Chen , Shao Lingzhi , Wang Minjuan , Liu Guanghui , Liu Hui , Xie Beizhen , Li Bowei , Fu Yuming , Liu Hong
Published: October 2015

Since the industrial revolution, anthropogenic activities, such as fossil fuel use and deforestation, have caused a dramatic increase in the atmospheric CO2 concentration. To understand how the growth and development in cereal crops may respond to elevated CO2, it is necessary to determine if the leaves of crops grown in a closed artificial ecosystem have a fully developed photosynthetic apparatus and whether or not photosynthesis in these leaves is more responsive to an elevated CO2 concentration. To address this issue, we evaluated the response of the photosynthetic characteristics, antioxidant capacity, and water use efficiency of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) under four CO2 concentrations (500, 1000, 3000, and 5000 ppm) for 3 d in Lunar Palace‐1, which is the first bioregenerative life support system developed in China. The results showed that wheat cultivated at 1000 ppm from vegetative growth to maturity was characterized by more appropriate relative water content, membrane stability index, photosynthetic rate, chlorophyll concentration, and antioxidant capacity, which was more beneficial to growth and development in a closed artificial environment. There were significant effects with increased CO2 concentration on the effective quantum yield of PSII and photosynthetic electron transport of wheat plants. Furthermore, elevated CO2 controlled the transpiration rate, which enhanced water use efficiency. During ripening, wheat aging may be accelerated by elevated CO2, which promotes grain growth and maturing.
Resilience of Coastal Transportation Networks Faced with Extreme Climatic Events
Authors: Testa Alexandra C. , Furtado Mark N. , Alipour Alice
Published: October 2015

Infrastructure systems, especially those including civil infrastructure (e.g., transportation networks, water distribution systems, and power transmission lines) are inarguably critical to the everyday functions of society. The ability of an infrastructure system to withstand, to adapt to, and to recover rapidly from extreme events is paramount in the ability to serve users. The effects of historical climatic events have resulted in a growing concern for preparedness against such hazards, specifically in coastal communities. The continuing function of society and its economy relies heavily on an accessible transportation network. Roads, highways, railroads, ports, and airports make up a complex infrastructure vital for the travel of goods and people. Extreme events of climatic source that disturb the transportation network affect all aspects of daily life, both directly and indirectly. To estimate the resilience of coastal transportation networks to extreme events, topological graph properties are measured as the nodes and links of a network are removed to simulate failures and closures due to extreme climatic events. The transportation network of the New York City metropolitan area, the most populous and crucial urban area in the United States, was chosen as a case study. The presented approach provides a tool for transportation agencies to identify the most critical sections of the network and to establish pre-event hazard mitigation strategies or to plan for postevent recovery actions with the goal of increasing the resiliency and decreasing the down time of transportation networks.
Multimodal Transit Connectivity for Flexibility in Extreme Events
Authors: Zimmerman Rae , Restrepo Carlos E. , Sellers Joshua , Amirapu Arundathi , Pearson T. R. , Kates Hannah B.
Published: October 2015

Transportation services and their networks are vital in providing users with flexibility under both normal and extreme conditions. The availability of alternatives is essential in emergencies to provide critical support services for evacuation and supplies, yet disasters often impair transportation's ability to provide these services. In the populous and dense New York and New Jersey area, weather disasters often set records, have occurred historically, and are expected to recur. Vulnerabilities particularly affect disadvantaged populations. Multimodal connectivity for rail and bus transit is evaluated for New York City and several northeastern New Jersey cities for passenger flexibility and risk reduction in emergencies. The U.S. Department of Transportation's Intermodal Passenger Connectivity Database is evaluated as a general multimodal connectivity context. For rail transit stations, bus counts are computed for each station for buses stopping within a 0.1-mi radius; this requirement reflects the needs of less mobile users. Geographic information systems are used for database construction for statistical analysis with publicly available transit and census databases. The New York City statistical analyses of census tracts within which stations are located show variable bus connectivity for different stations and suggest availability by poverty level. A subanalysis for New York City's terminus stations shows greater bus connectivity and different transit activity characteristics. Results provide ways of operationalizing connectivity for transit resilience as critical infrastructure. Methods can be extended to other areas. Recommendations for flexibility in terms of passenger multimodality are provided.
Estimating Serving Sizes for Healthier and Unhealthier Versions of Food According to Canada’s Food Guide
Authors: Parikh Sina , Hamadeh Mazen J. , Kuk Jennifer L.
Published: October 2015

Purpose: Canada’s Food Guide (CFG) defines food serving sizes and recommends a specific number of servings from each of the 4 food groups. However, there is no differentiation in serving sizes for different versions of foods that may differ in nutritional value.

Methods: Participants (n = 20) estimated serving sizes of “healthier” and “unhealthier” versions of milk, bread, cereal, potatoes, chicken, fish, and juice and reported the amount normally consumed in 1 sitting.

Results: Participants estimated unhealthier servings of cereal and juice to be smaller than healthier servings, but estimated unhealthier servings of chicken to be larger than healthier versions (P < 0.05). There were no differences for bread, milk, potatoes, and fish. Accordingly, estimated servings of juice (P < 0.01) had more calories than the unhealthier orange drink. There were no caloric differences for cereal (P = 0.12), but an estimated serving of bran flakes had more fat and fibre than frosted flakes cereal.

Conclusions: In contrast with CFG, which does not account for different versions of food, certain unhealthier foods were estimated to be smaller or larger than the healthier versions. However, both healthy and unhealthy serving sizes still tended to be larger than what is prescribed in CFG. Thus, better education or revision of serving sizes in future editions of CFG may warrant consideration.
Development and Initial Reliability Testing of NAK-50+: A Nutrition Attitude and Knowledge Questionnaire for Adults 50+ Years of Age
Authors: Ducak Kate , Keller Heather
Published: October 2015

Purpose: Few questionnaires to test nutrition knowledge and attitudes of older adults living independently in the community have been developed and tested to assess self-management tools such as Nutri-eSCREEN and other education programs. This study is a first step in the development of a questionnaire designed to evaluate the nutrition knowledge and attitudes of independent older adults (NAK-50+).

Methods: The steps involved in this study were: (i) drafting initial questions based on the content of the Nutri-eSCREEN education material, (ii) using cognitive interviewing to determine if these questions were understandable and relevant (n = 9 adults ≥50 years of age), and (iii) completing test–retest reliability in a convenient community sample (n = 60 adults ≥50 years of age). Intra-class coefficients (ICC) and kappa were used to determine reliability.

Results: A 33-item questionnaire resulted from this development and analysis. ICC for the total score was 0.68 indicating good agreement and thus initial reliability.

Conclusions: NAK-50+ is a face valid and reliable questionnaire that assesses nutrition knowledge and attitudes in independent adults aged ≥50 years. Further work to determine construct validity and to refine the questionnaire is warranted. Availability of the questionnaire for this age group will support rigorous evaluation of education and self-management interventions for this segment of the population.
Correlation between angiographic transit times and neurological status on admission in patients with aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage
Authors: Ivanov Alexander , Linninger Andreas , Hsu Chih-Yang , Amin-Hanjani Sepideh , Aletich Victor A. , Charbel Fady T. , Alaraj Ali
Published: October 2015

OBJECT

The use of digital subtraction angiography (DSA) for semiquantitative cerebral blood flow(CBF) assessment is a new technique. The aim of this study was to determine whether patients with aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH) with higher Hunt and Hess grades also had higher angiographic contrast transit times (TTs) than patients with lower grades.

METHODS

A cohort of 30 patients with aSAH and 10 patients without aSAH was included. Relevant clinical information was collected. A method to measure DSA TTs by color-coding reconstructions from DSA contrast-intensity images was applied. Regions of interest (ROIs) were chosen over major cerebral vessels. The estimated TTs included time-to-peak from 0% to 100% (TTP0–100), TTP from 25% to 100% (TTP25–100), and TT from 100% to 10% (TT100–10) contrast intensities. Statistical analysis was used to compare TTs between Group A (Hunt and Hess Grade I-II), Group B (Hunt and Hess Grade III-IV), and the control group. The correlation coefficient was calculated between different ROIs in aSAH groups.

RESULTS

There was no difference in demographic factors between Group A (n = 10), Group B (n = 20), and the control group (n = 10). There was a strong correlation in all TTs between ROIs in the middle cerebral artery (M1, M2) and anterior cerebral artery (A1, A2). There was a statistically significant difference between Groups A and B in all TT parameters for ROIs. TT100–10 values in the control group were significantly lower than the values in Group B.

CONCLUSIONS

The DSA TTs showed significant correlation with Hunt and Hess grades. TT delays appear to be independent of increased intracranial pressure and may be an indicator of decreased CBF in patients with a higher Hunt and Hess grade. This method may serve as an indirect technique to assess relative CBF in the angiography suite.
Use of neuropathic pain questionnaires in predicting persistent postoperative neuropathic pain following lumbar discectomy for radiculopathy
Authors: Shamji Mohammed F. , Shcharinsky Alina
Published: October 2015

OBJECT

Failed-back surgery syndrome has been historically used to describe extremity neuropathic pain in lumbar disease despite structurally corrective spinal surgery. It is unclear whether specific preoperative pain characteristics can help determine which patients may be susceptible to such postoperative disabling symptoms.

METHODS

This prospective study analyzed surgical microdiscectomy patients treated for lumbar, degenerative, painful radiculopathy. Clinical parameters included general demographics, preoperative and postoperative clinical examination status, self-reported pain and disability scores, and neuropathic pain scores. The screening tests for neuropathic pain were the Douleur Neuropathique 4 and Leeds Assessment of Neuropathic Symptoms and Signs, with correlation tested for ordinal score and screen positivity. Multiple logistic regression analysis was used to define predictors of postoperative symptomatology.

RESULTS

Twelve percent of the 250 patients with radiculopathy who underwent microdiscectomy experienced persistent postoperative neuropathic pain (PPNP) with only modest, if any, relief of leg pain. The condition was highly associated with abnormal preoperative screen results for neuropathic pain, but not sex, smoking status, or preoperative pain severity (α = 0.05). Good correlation was seen between the 2 screening tests used in this study for both absolute ordinal score (Spearman ρ = 0.84; p < 0.001) and the threshold for terming the patient as having neuropathic pain features (Spearman ρ = 0.48; p < 0.001). Younger age at treatment also correlated with a higher likelihood of developing PPNP (p = 0.03).

CONCLUSIONS

This population exhibited a low overall frequency of PPNP. Higher neuropathic pain screening scores correlated strongly with likelihood of significant postoperative leg pain. Further work is required to develop more accurate prognostication tools for radiculopathy patients undergoing structural spinal surgery.
Standardizing ICU management of pediatric traumatic brain injury is associated with improved outcomes at discharge
Authors: O’Lynnger Thomas M. , Shannon Chevis N. , Le Truc M. , Greeno Amber , Chung Dai , Lamb Fred S. , Wellons John C.
Published: October 2015

OBJECT

The goal of critical care in treating traumatic brain injury (TBI) is to reduce secondary brain injury by limiting cerebral ischemia and optimizing cerebral blood flow. The authors compared short-term outcomes as defined by discharge disposition and Glasgow Outcome Scale scores in children with TBI before and after the implementation of a protocol that standardized decision-making and interventions among neurosurgeons and pediatric intensivists.

METHODS

The authors performed a retrospective pre- and postprotocol study of 128 pediatric patients with severe TBI, as defined by Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) scores < 8, admitted to a tertiary care center pediatric critical care unit between April 1, 2008, and May 31, 2014. The preprotocol group included 99 patients, and the postprotocol group included 29 patients. The primary outcome of interest was discharge disposition before and after protocol implementation, which took place on April 1, 2013. Ordered logistic regression was used to assess outcomes while accounting for injury severity and clinical parameters. Favorable discharge disposition included discharge home. Unfavorable discharge disposition included discharge to an inpatient facility or death.

RESULTS

Demographics were similar between the treatment periods, as was injury severity as assessed by GCS score (mean 5.43 preprotocol, mean 5.28 postprotocol; p = 0.67). The ordered logistic regression model demonstrated an odds ratio of 4.0 of increasingly favorable outcome in the postprotocol cohort (p = 0.007). Prior to protocol implementation, 63 patients (64%) had unfavorable discharge disposition and 36 patients (36%) had favorable discharge disposition. After protocol implementation, 9 patients (31%) had unfavorable disposition, while 20 patients (69%) had favorable disposition (p = 0.002). In the preprotocol group, 31 patients (31%) died while 6 patients (21%) died after protocol implementation (p = 0.04).

CONCLUSIONS

Discharge disposition and mortality rates in pediatric patients with severe TBI improved after implementation of a standardized protocol among caregivers based on best-practice guidelines.
‘A Legal Limited Monarchy’: Scottish Constitutionalism in the Union of Crowns, 1603–1707
Authors: Bowie Karin
Published: October 2015

After the formation of the British composite monarchy in 1603, a distinctive pattern of Scottish constitutionalism emerged in which a desire to maintain the Scottish realm and church encouraged an emphasis on the limitation of the monarch by fundamental law, guaranteed by oaths. The Covenanters attempted to use the National Covenant and the 1651 coronation to force the king to maintain the Presbyterian church as defined by law. Restoration royalists emphasised the untrammelled power of the king, but in the Revolution of 1688-89, the Claim of Right was presented with the oath of accession as a set of conditions designed to re-establish the Scottish realm as a ‘legal limited monarchy’ with a Presbyterian church. Reforms in 1640-41, 1689-90 and 1703-4 placed statutory constraints on the royal prerogative. The making of the union relied on a reassertion of monarchical sovereignty, though Presbyterian unionists ensured that the new British monarch would be required to swear to uphold the church as established by law.
Finding Supported Paths in Heterogeneous Networks
Authors: Fertin Guillaume , Komusiewicz Christian , Mohamed-Babou Hafedh , Rusu Irena
Published: October 2015

Subnetwork mining is an essential issue in the analysis of biological, social and communication networks. Recent applications require the simultaneous mining of several networks on the same or a similar vertex set. That is, one searches for subnetworks fulfilling different properties in each input network. We study the case that the input consists of a directed graph D and an undirected graph G on the same vertex set, and the sought pattern is a path P in D whose vertex set induces a connected subgraph of G. In this context, three concrete problems arise, depending on whether the existence of P is questioned or whether the length of P is to be optimized: in that case, one can search for a longest path or (maybe less intuitively) a shortest one. These problems have immediate applications in biological networks and predictable applications in social, information and communication networks. We study the classic and parameterized complexity of the problem, thus identifying polynomial and NP-complete cases, as well as fixed-parameter tractable and W[1]-hard cases. We also propose two enumeration algorithms that we evaluate on synthetic and biological data.
B Cell Help by CD1d-Rectricted NKT Cells
Authors: Clerici Livia , Casorati Giulia , Dellabona Paolo
Published: October 2015

B cell activation and antibody production against foreign antigens is a central step of host defense. This is achieved via highly regulated multi-phase processes that involve a variety of cells of both innate and adaptive arms of the immune system. MHC class II-restricted CD4+ T cells specific for peptide antigens, which acquire professional follicular B cell helper functions, have been long recognized as key players in this process. Recent data, however, challenge this paradigm by showing the existence of other helper cell types. CD1d restricted NKT cells specific for lipid antigens are one such new player and can coopt bona fide follicular helper phenotypes. Their role in helping antigen-specific B cell response to protein antigens, as well as to the so called “help-less” antigens that cannot be recognized by T follicular helper cells, is being increasingly elucidated, highlighting their potential pathophysiological impact on the immune response, as well as on the design of improved vaccine formulations.
Yang–Baxter Equations, Computational Methods and Applications
Authors: Nichita Florin
Published: October 2015

Computational methods are an important tool for solving the Yang–Baxter equations (in small dimensions), for classifying (unifying) structures and for solving related problems. This paper is an account of some of the latest developments on the Yang–Baxter equation, its set-theoretical version and its applications. We construct new set-theoretical solutions for the Yang–Baxter equation. Unification theories and other results are proposed or proven.
The Environmental Design of Working Spaces in Equatorial Highlands Zones: The Case of Bogotá
Authors: Gonçalves Joana , Fernández Juan
Published: October 2015

Recent empirical investigations have indicated that the majority of occupants in office buildings would appreciate contact with the external environment, especially in cities where the climate is mild for part of the year. Supported by the possibilities of adaptive thermal models, the design of naturally ventilated buildings has been elaborated since the decade of 1990s. More communal areas rather than private ones are demanded due to the importance of social interaction and knowledge transfer among employees. In this context, this paper investigates the possibility of daylight and thermal comfort in naturally ventilated working environments, located in cities of mild climatic conditions, by redefining the parameters of a façade’s design and exploring coupling strategies with the outdoors. For this purpose, the city of Bogotá (Latitude 4°7′ N), in Colombia, a place with great potential for passive strategies, is taken as the geographic context of this research, which is supported by fieldwork with occupants of 37 office buildings and analytical work. The survey revealed that being close to a window is valued by the majority. Furthermore, 50% would like to have informal areas and outdoor spaces attached to their working environments. In additithe analytical studies showed how the combination of a set of environmental design strategies, including a schedule for coupling and decoupling of indoor spaces with the outdoors and a variation of occupancy density, made thermal comfort possible in free running working spaces in Bogotá.
Reactive Planning of Autonomous Vehicles for Traffic Scenarios
Authors: Kala Rahul , Warwick Kevin
Published: October 2015

Autonomous vehicles operate in real time traffic scenarios and aim to reach their destination from their source in the most efficient manner possible. Research in mobile robotics provides a variety of sophisticated means with which to plan the path of these vehicles. Conversely professional human drivers usually drive using instinctive means, which enables them to reach their goal almost optimally whilst still obeying all traffic laws. In this paper we propose the use of fuzzy logic for novel motion planning. The planner is generated using an evolutionary algorithm which resembles the learning stage of professional drivers. Whether to overtake or not, is a decision which affects one’s driving and the decision is made using some deliberation. We further extend the approach to perform decision making regarding overtaking for all vehicles. Further we coordinate the motion of the vehicles at a traffic crossing to avoid any potential jam or collision. Experimental results prove that by using this approach we have been able to make the vehicles move in an optimal manner in a variety of scenarios.
Determination of Enhanced Oil Recovery Candidate Fields in the Volga-Ural Oil and Gas Region Territory
Authors: Turbakov Mikhail , Shcherbakov Аleksandr
Published: October 2015

Most of the current Russian oil production comes from mature fields. The application of enhanced oil recovery methods on oil fields increases recovery efficiency. This article presents an analysis of the increased field development efficiency methods of the Volga-Ural oil and gas region, which allows the full and efficient development of last-stage fields with unconventional reserves and production stabilization. The selection of the optimum method for a given field is a complex procedure consisting of many stages, from collecting data about the field, through more advanced data interpretation, to working out a detailed proposal for the most efficient extraction method. In this article the instantaneous and average annual growth above wells average was taken as a performance criterion for enhanced oil recovery methods. Based on the performed analysis, it follows that candidate wells for enhanced oil recovery method use must meet the I group parameters (high values of the remaining recoverable reserves and improved reservoir properties, low water cut, obtained oil rate increase). In order to assess the possible increase in production rate after enhanced oil recovery methods hydrodynamic modeling of radial drilling, acid treatment and water-alternated-gas injection for two oil fields of the Volga-Ural oil and gas region were performed.
A Journey across Multidirectional Connections: Linda Grant’s The Cast Iron Shore
Authors: Pellicer-Ortín Silvia
Published: October 2015

Among the numerous groups that have negotiated their fragmented identities through various literary practices in the last few decades, the Jewish collective has come to symbolize the epitome of diaspora and homelessness. In particular, British-Jewish writers have recently started to reconstruct their fragmented memories through writing. This is an extremely interesting phenomenon in the case of those Jewish women who are fiercely struggling to find some sense of personhood as Jewish, British, female, immigrant subjects. Linda Grant’s novel The Cast Iron Shore will be analyzed so as to unveil the narrative mechanisms through which many of the identity tensions experienced by contemporary Jewish women are exhibited. The different stages in the main character’s journey will be examined by drawing on theories on the construction of Jewish identity and femininity, and by applying the model of multidirectional memory fostered by various contemporary thinkers such as Michael Rothberg, Stef Craps, Max Silverman, and Bryan Cheyette. The main claim to be demonstrated is that this narration links the (hi)stories of oppression and racism endured both by the Jewish and the Black communities in order to make the protagonist encounter the Other, develop her mature political self, and liberate her mind from rigid religious, patriarchal, and racial stereotypes. The Cast Iron Shore becomes, then, a successful attempt to demonstrate that the (hi)stories of displacement endured by divergent communities during the twentieth century are connected, and it is the establishment of these connections that can help contemporary Jewish subjects to claim new notions of their personhood in the public sphere.
Association of the C-Reactive Protein Gene (CRP) rs1205 C>T Polymorphism with Aortic Valve Calcification in Patients with Aortic Stenosis
Authors: Wypasek Ewa , Potaczek Daniel , Undas Anetta
Published: October 2015

Elevation in C-reactive protein (CRP) levels have been shown in patients with aortic valve stenosis (AS). Minor allele of the CRP gene (CRP) rs1205 C>T polymorphism has been associated with lower plasma CRP concentrations in cohorts of healthy and atherosclerotic patients. Considering the existing similarities between atherosclerosis and AS, we examined the effect of CRP rs1205 C>T polymorphism on the AS severity. Three hundred consecutive Caucasian patients diagnosed with AS were genotyped for the rs1205 C>T polymorphism using the TaqMan assay. Severity of the AS was assessed using transthoracic echocardiography. The degree of calcification was analyzed semi-quantitatively. Carriers of the rs1205 T allele were characterized by elevated serum CRP levels (2.53 (1.51–3.96) vs. 1.68 (0.98–2.90) mg/L, p < 0.001) and a higher proportion of the severe aortic valve calcification (70.4% vs. 55.1%, p = 0.01) compared with major homozygotes. The effect of CRP rs1205 polymorphism on CRP levels is opposite in AS-affected than in unaffected subjects, suggesting existence of a disease-specific molecular regulatory mechanism. Furthermore, rs1205 variant allele predisposes to larger aortic valve calcification, potentially being a novel genetic risk marker of disease progression.
Effects of Rearing Density on Survival, Growth, and Development of the Ladybird Coleomegilla maculata in Culture
Authors: Riddick Eric , Wu Zhixin
Published: October 2015

Our research focuses on developing techniques to rear ladybird beetles (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae). We evaluated the effects of rearing density on survival, growth, and development of Coleomegilla maculata. The hypothesis that a low to moderate rearing density has limited or no effects on survival and development was tested. C. maculata first instars were reared to pupae at a density of 1, 5, 10, 15, or 20 individuals per arena (2.5 cm high, 9.0 cm diameter, and 159 cm3 volume) and fed powdered brine shrimp (Artemia franciscana) eggs. More larvae survived at the 1 and 5 densities, but no differences were detected between the 10, 15, or 20 densities. Median survival rate was at least 90% for larvae and 100% for pupae at the 10, 15, and 20 densities. Development time, body weight, and sex ratio were unaffected by rearing density. Overall, this study suggests that C. maculata larvae can be reared successfully at a density of 20 larvae/159 cm3 (≈ 0.126 larvae/cm3) in containers provisioned with powdered A. franciscana eggs. Scaling-up the size of containers, and C. maculata density in these containers, should be possible.
Rice Husk Ash to Stabilize Heavy Metals Contained in Municipal Solid Waste Incineration Fly Ash: First Results by Applying New Pre-treatment Technology
Authors: Benassi Laura , Franchi Federica , Catina Daniele , Cioffi Flavio , Rodella Nicola , Borgese Laura , Pasquali Michela , Depero Laura , Bontempi Elza
Published: October 2015

A new technology was recently developed for municipal solid waste incineration (MSWI) fly ash stabilization, based on the employment of all waste and byproduct materials. In particular, the proposed method is based on the use of amorphous silica contained in rice husk ash (RHA), an agricultural byproduct material (COSMOS-RICE project). The obtained final inert can be applied in several applications to produce “green composites”. In this work, for the first time, a process for pre-treatment of rice husk, before its use in the stabilization of heavy metals, based on the employment of Instant Pressure Drop technology (DIC) was tested. The aim of this work is to verify the influence of the pre-treatment on the efficiency on heavy metals stabilization in the COSMOS-RICE technology. DIC technique is based on a thermomechanical effect induced by an abrupt transition from high steam pressure to a vacuum, to produce changes in the material. Two different DIC pre-treatments were selected and thermal annealing at different temperatures were performed on rice husk. The resulting RHAs were employed to obtain COSMOS-RICE samples, and the stabilization procedure was tested on the MSWI fly ash. In the frame of this work, some thermal treatments were also realized in O2-limiting conditions, to test the effect of charcoal obtained from RHA on the stabilization procedure. The results of this work show that the application of DIC technology into existing treatment cycles of some waste materials should be investigated in more details to offer the possibility to stabilize and reuse waste.
Macrolactone Nuiapolide, Isolated from a Hawaiian Marine Cyanobacterium, Exhibits Anti-Chemotactic Activity
Authors: Mori Shogo , Williams Howard , Cagle Davey , Karanovich Kristopher , Horgen F. , III Roger , Watanabe Coran
Published: October 2015

A new bioactive macrolactone, nuiapolide (1) was identified from a marine cyanobacterium collected off the coast of Niihau, near Lehua Rock. The natural product exhibits anti-chemotactic activity at concentrations as low as 1.3 μM against Jurkat cells, cancerous T lymphocytes, and induces a G2/M phase cell cycle shift. Structural characterization of the natural product revealed the compound to be a 40-membered macrolactone with nine hydroxyl functional groups and a rare tert-butyl carbinol residue.
Analysis of Mycosporine-Like Amino Acids in Selected Algae and Cyanobacteria by Hydrophilic Interaction Liquid Chromatography and a Novel MAA from the Red Alga Catenella repens
Authors: Hartmann Anja , Becker Kathrin , Karsten Ulf , Remias Daniel , Ganzera Markus
Published: October 2015

Mycosporine-like amino acids (MAAs), a group of small secondary metabolites found in algae, cyanobacteria, lichens and fungi, have become ecologically and pharmacologically relevant because of their pronounced UV-absorbing and photo-protective potential. Their analytical characterization is generally achieved by reversed phase HPLC and the compounds are often quantified based on molar extinction coefficients. As an alternative approach, in our study a fully validated hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography (HILIC) method is presented. It enables the precise quantification of several analytes with adequate retention times in a single run, and can be coupled directly to MS. Excellent linear correlation coefficients (R2 > 0.9991) were obtained, with limit of detection (LOD) values ranging from 0.16 to 0.43 µg/mL. Furthermore, the assay was found to be accurate (recovery rates from 89.8% to 104.1%) and precise (intra-day precision: 5.6%, inter-day precision ≤6.6%). Several algae were assayed for their content of known MAAs like porphyra-334, shinorine, and palythine. Liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) data indicated a novel compound in some of them, which could be isolated from the marine species Catenella repens and structurally elucidated by nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR) as (E)-3-hydroxy-2-((5-hydroxy-5-(hydroxymethyl)-2-methoxy-3-((2-sulfoethyl)amino)cyclohex-2-en-1-ylidene)amino) propanoic acid, a novel MAA called catenelline.
Characterization of Deformation Behavior of Individual Grains in Polycrystalline Cu-Al-Mn Superelastic Alloy Using White X-ray Microbeam Diffraction
Authors: Kwon Eui , Sato Shigeo , Fujieda Shun , Shinoda Kozo , Kainuma Ryosuke , Kajiwara Kentaro , Sato Masugu , Suzuki Shigeru
Published: October 2015

White X-ray microbeam diffraction was applied to investigate the microscopic deformation behavior of individual grains in a Cu-Al-Mn superelastic alloy. Strain/stresses were measured in situ at different positions in several grains having different orientations during a tensile test. The results indicated inhomogeneous stress distribution, both at the granular and intragranular scale. Strain/stress evolution showed reversible phenomena during the superelastic behavior of the tensile sample, probably because of the reversible martensitic transformation. However, strain recovery of the sample was incomplete due to the residual martensite, which results in the formation of local compressive residual stresses at grain boundary regions.
Excessively High Vapor Pressure of Al-based Amorphous Alloys
Authors: Jeong Jae , Lee Sung , Jeon Je-Beom , Kim Suk
Published: October 2015

Aluminum-based amorphous alloys exhibited an abnormally high vapor pressure at their approximate glass transition temperatures. The vapor pressure was confirmed by the formation of Al nanocrystallites from condensation, which was attributed to weight loss of the amorphous alloys. The amount of weight loss varied with the amorphous alloy compositions and was inversely proportional to their glass-forming ability. The vapor pressure of the amorphous alloys around 573 K was close to the vapor pressure of crystalline Al near its melting temperature, 873 K. Our results strongly suggest the possibility of fabricating nanocrystallites or thin films by evaporation at low temperatures.
Fluorescent Sensor for PH Monitoring Based on an i-Motif- – Switching Aptamer Containing a Tricyclic Cytosine Analogue (tC)
Authors: Bielecka Patrycja , Juskowiak Bernard
Published: October 2015

There are cytosine-rich regions in the genome that bind protons with high specificity. Thus protonated C-rich sequence may undergo folding to tetraplex structures called i-motifs. Therefore, one can regard such specific C-rich oligonucleotides as aptamers that recognize protons and undergo conformational transitions. Proper labeling of the aptamer with a fluorescent tag constitutes a platform to construct a pH-sensitive aptasensor. Since the hemiprotonated C-C+ base pairs are responsible for the folded tetraplex structure of i-motif, we decided to substitute one of cytosines in an aptamer sequence with its fluorescent analogue, 1,3-diaza-2-oxophenothiazine (tC). In this paper we report on three tC-modified fluorescent probes that contain RET related sequences as a proton recognizing aptamer. Results of the circular dichroism (CD), UV absorption melting experiments, and steady-state fluorescence measurements of these tC-modified i-motif probes are presented and discussed. The pH-induced i-motif formation by the probes resulted in fluorescence quenching of tC fluorophore. Efficiency of quenching was related to the pH variations. Suitability of the sensor for monitoring pH changes was also demonstrated.
Optimizing Water Allocation under Uncertain System Conditions in Alfeios River Basin (Greece), Part A: Two-Stage Stochastic Programming Model with Deterministic Boundary Intervals
Authors: Bekri Eleni , Disse Markus , Yannopoulos Panayotis
Published: October 2015

The enactment of the Water Framework Directive, constituting the basis of the European water policy, introduced various challenges and complexities for water resources management. River basins are exposed to a plethora of environmental stresses, resulting in degradation of their quantitative and qualitative status. This led to the reduction of clean available water, increasing competition among water users and imposing the need for optimal water allocation for each river unit. In most countries (including those in the Mediterranean), water resources management is characterized by lack of effective operational strategies combined with the absence of permanent measuring systems and low financial means, hampering the implementation of efficient river monitoring. Therefore, water resources management is indicated by high uncertainty and by imprecise and limited data, which may be easily approximated through estimates of intervals. In the present work, optimal water allocation under uncertain system conditions is undertaken for the Alfeios River Basin (Greece) based on an inexact two-stage stochastic programming methodology developed by Huang and Loucks (2000). It combines ordinary two-stage stochastic programming with uncertainties expressed as deterministic boundary intervals. Stable intervals for optimized water allocation targets and probabilistic water allocation and shortages are estimated under a baseline scenario and four water and agricultural policy future scenarios.
Register-Specific Morphophonological Constructions in Japanese
Authors: Akita Kimi
Published: October 2015

This paper argues that the idea of Construction Morpho(phono)logy (henceforth CM) in the sense of Booij (2010) works well in the analysis of many register-specific expressions in Japanese. Japanese is often (unofficially) said to be morpho-syntactically “less constructional” than languages like English. This kind of remark seems to stem in part from the apparent rarity of constructional template-based innovation like the one cited in (1a), in which the otherwise intransitive verb sneeze occurs in a transitive sentence frame with the help of the well-known “caused-motion construction” given in (1b). What seems to be its Japanese equivalent is clearly ungrammatical, as shown in (1c).

1a. Fred sneezed the napkin off the table. (Goldberg 1995:156)
1b. The caused-motion construction in English (Goldberg 1995:152)

syntax: [SUBJ [V OBJ OBL]]
 semantics: ‘X CAUSE Y to MOVE z’

1c. *Hureddo-ga teeburu-kara napukin-o kusyami-si-ta.

F-NOM table-from napkin-ACC sneeze-do-PST
 ‘Fred sneezed the napkin off the table.’

In this study, however, it will be shown that the language has a rich constructional architecture at least at the word level.
Bilingual Complex Verbs: So what’s new about them?
Authors: Chatterjee Tridha
Published: October 2015

In this paper I describe bilingual complex verb constructions in Bengali-English bilingual speech. Bilingual complex verbs have been shown to consist of two parts, the first element being either a verbal or nominal element from the nonnative language of the bilingual speaker and the second element being a helping verb or dummy verb from the native language of the bilingual speaker. The verbal or nominal element from the non-native language provides semantics to the construction and the helping verb of the native language bears inflections of tense, person, number, aspect (Romaine 1986, Muysken 2000, Backus 1996, Annamalai 1971, 1989). I describe a type of Bengali-English bilingual complex verb which is different from the bilingual complex verbs that have been shown to occur in other codeswitched Indian varieties. I show that besides having a two-word complex verb, as has been shown in the literature so far, bilingual complex verbs of Bengali-English also have a three-part construction where the third element is a verb that adds to the meaning of these constructions and affects their aktionsart (aspectual properties). I further show that monolingual Bengali complex verbs directly contribute to the rise of these bilingual complex verbs.
Verbal Reduplication and Grammaticalization: A Study of Mandarin VV-kan and V-kankan Constructions
Authors: Cheng Yi-Yang
Published: October 2015

The present study investigates two constructions in Mandarin — VV-kan and V-kankan— which show an interesting formal asymmetry in the distribution of verbal reduplication and kan ‘see’, but denote the same meaning ‘try … and find out’.
Compiling sonority scales with obstruent vowels
Authors: Faytak Matthew
Published: October 2015

It has been argued that languages systematically license syllabicity to all segment classes more sonorous than the least sonorous syllabic segment in that language (Blevins 1995).1 The syllabic segments found in American English exemplify this arrangement, which results in a contiguous zone of segment classes that can be licensed syllabicity (the permitted nuclei). Since sonority scales have been argued to be ranked with input from acoustic parameters such as intensity (Parker 2008), this could be taken to mean that all languages permit syllabicity in segments falling within a given range for an acoustic parameter. In this paper, I introduce obstruent vowels, phonetic obstruents that behave phonologically as permitted nuclei, and argue that they form a major exception to these generalizations, given their frequent separation from the contiguous range of other permitted nuclei in a given language.
Languages are Wealth: The Sprachbund as Linguistic Capital
Authors: Friedman Victor A.
Published: October 2015

No abstract available.
Relative importance of phonation cues in White Hmong tone perception
Authors: Garellek Marc , Keating Patricia , Esposito Christina M.
Published: October 2015

The study investigates the importance of phonation cues in White Hmong  tone identification.
Differential Object Marking in Turkic and Persian as a Contact Phenomenon
Authors: Key Greg
Published: October 2015

Despite the absence of genetic affiliation, Turkish (SW Turkic) and Persian (SW Iranian) have nearly identical differential object marking patterns. Herein it is proposed that this is due in part to contact between Persian and Azerbaijanian, which is closely related to Turkish, and that Iranian Azerbaijan is an isogloss for this feature. The tableau of evidence is a large puzzle only a few pieces of which have been filled in. In this work, I present several of those pieces. Part 1 contains synchronic evidence of object marking patterns in various languages both inside and outside the proposed isogloss, while Part 2 contains the result of a study comparing object marking in Old Anatolian Turkish and Classical Persian manuscripts.
Reconstruction of Proto-Kampa Verbal Morphology
Authors: Lawrence Aimee
Published: October 2015

In this paper, I adopt a fine-grained approach to reconstruction, reconstructing a number of verbal morphemes for the Kampan branch (a small branch of Arawak). I intend to identify easily-reconstructable morphemes and suggest a preliminary path of development for morphemes that are less transparent.
Lexical Effects in Phonemic Neutralization in Taiwan Mandarin
Authors: Li Ying-Shing
Published: October 2015

Colloquial Taiwan Mandarin has deviated from Guoyu [National language] or Standard Chinese in pronunciation, vocabulary, and even syntax. Such changes come from the linguistic contact with Taiwan Southern Min or natural diachronic linguistic drift (Kubler, 1985; Tung, 1994; Tsao, 2000). This new form of Taiwan Mandarin has become a lingua franca among speakers of the different backgrounds in Taiwan and a creole for new generations to acquire as their mother tongue (Her, 2009). One of the most noticeable segmental changes in Taiwan Mandarin is the merging of alveolar sibilants [ts, tsh, s] and retroflex sibilants [tʂ, tʂh, ʂ]. The other one in Taiwan Mandarin is the neutralization of alveolar nasal coda [n] and velar nasal coda [ŋ].
Future Reference in Hungarian
Authors: Palffy-Muhoray Nicole
Published: October 2015

This paper provides a semantic analysis of future-referring expressions in Hungarian in which the available interpretations of such expressions follow from the interaction of their temporal properties with the aspectual properties of Hungarian predicates.
Le « miroir » de la comparaison internationale. Politiques et mises en scène des chiffres sur l’éducation dans la « société de la connaissance »
Authors: Tréhin-Lalanne Rémi
Published: October 2015

Cet article étudie le rôle des chiffres dans la « nouvelle gouvernance » européenne à travers l’analyse ethnographique d’une conférence internationale sur la comparaison des systèmes éducatifs. Le modèle de comparaison promu lors de cette rencontre est marqué par le recours exclusif aux outils de quantification, élaborés conjointement par des bureaux d’études, des administrations nationales et des institutions supranationales, principalement l’UNESCO, l’OCDE et la commission Européenne. Le recours aux chiffres et leur force d’imposition sont ainsi étudiés dans leur triple dimension : technique, normative et symbolique.
La politisation par l’intime
Authors: Muxel Anne
Published: October 2015

Les modalités des discussions politiques, de leurs contenus, et de leurs arbitrages, dans les relations interpersonnelles sont peu connues dans la sociologie électorale française. Qui parle de politique et avec qui ? Quels sont les sujets qui fâchent ? Dit-on pour qui l’on vote ? Cette étude de la parole politique dans l’espace privé de la vie de famille, du couple, et de l’amitié, éclaire certains mécanismes de politisation des individus dans et par l’intime, ainsi que des phénomènes révélateurs de la dimension affective de toute existence politique. Elle s’appuie sur un matériau empirique élaboré à partir d’enquêtes quantitatives menées auprès d’échantillons représentatifs de la population française, et notamment sur une enquête inédite conduite au Cevipof dédiée à l’exploration des liens entre politique, affectivité et intimité.
Vers un modèle de democratié chrétienne ?
Authors: Invernizzi Accetti Carlo
Published: October 2015

Cet article vise à montrer l’utilité heuristique d’un idéal-type de « démocratie chrétienne » pour comprendre comment sont structurés les rapports entre politique et religion au sein du traité qui fonde et régit actuellement le fonctionnement de l’Union européenne. La première partie est consacrée à une reconstruction de cet idéal-type de « démocratie chrétienne », mettant en relief sa spécificité par rapport aux notions de « laïcité » et de « sécularisme ». La deuxième partie offre ensuite une relecture du traité de Lisbonne à la lumière de ces trois notions, soulignant les éléments qui concordent avec la première et qui remettent donc en cause le fait que l’Union européenne puisse être adéquatement décrite comme « laïque » ou « séculière ».
Proposal of Subcontractors' Evaluation Methodology after the Realisation of the Construction Project
Authors: Mečár Pavel
Published: October 2015

This article describes the proposal for subcontractor evaluation methodology after the realisation phase of a construction project. It deals with the importance and benefits of this evaluation for construction companies. The article includes a draft of the subcontractors' database – as a source of information for the subcontractor tender. The described proposal for evaluation will serve as the basis for the design of the software application which is mentioned in the conclusion. The described application will accelerate and automate the subcontractors' evaluation process and will form the basis for the development of other follow-up systems for subcontract management and control. The result of the proposed evaluation is exact (quantified) and therefore suitable for direct application in a multi-criteria evaluation of subcontractors' offers.