bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Főnévi többes szám a németben
Authors: Scheibl György
Published: December 2019

A többes számú főnévi inflexió a német nyelvben formai és szemantikai szem­pontból is változatos képet mutat. Kontrasztív nyelvészeti/tipológiai szem­pontból külön figyelmet érdemel (i) analitikus és (ii) agglutináló jellege, (iii) polifunkcionalitása és (iv) markergazdagsága. A főnévi többes szám jelölése a németben analitikusan, azaz az NP egyéb konstituensein, de agglutináló jellegű inflexiós markerekkel magán a főnéven is történhet. A markerek poli­funkcionalitása abban áll, hogy a főnévtől/NP-től függően lehetnek szemanti­kailag üres jelölők, többes számú információ hordozói, vagy értelmezhetők deklinációs osztályjelölőként is. Ez utóbbi szerepük összefügg a többes számú inflexió markergazdagságával. A dolgozat ezt a négy jellemzőt mutatja be a hagyományos leíró német nyelvtan eszköztárával.
Kérdéses világaink
Authors: Alberti Gábor , Dóla Mónika , Kárpáti Eszter , Kleiber Judit , Szeteli Anna , Viszket Anita
Published: December 2019

Kiindulópontunk Maleczki (2006; 2007) formális szemantikai elmélete az azonosító és az információs fókuszról (É. Kiss 1998), valamint az ennek kapcsán vizsgált kérdés–válasz-alternatívákról. Megoldásának faktorhalmazokon alapuló lényegét kiterjeszthetőnek tartjuk egy olyan kognitív pragmaszemantikai elemzéssé, amelyben a kommunikáló felek tudásának/vélekedésének, vágyainak/érdekeinek és szándékainak az információállapotukon belüli "világocskái" is figyelembe vétetnek. A tanulmány kiemelt tézise, hogy a kiegészítendő kérdések intenzionális profilja megegyezik az eldöntendőkével; a különbségek egyfajta kurzorbeállításnak tulajdoníthatóak.
A metaforikus nyelvhasználat szerepe a terápiás történetmondásban
Authors: Ivaskó Lívia , Papp Melinda
Published: December 2019

Írásunk célja, hogy rövid betekintést adjon a metaforikus nyelvhasználat azon felfogásába, mely a terápiás történetmondásra mint speciális osztenzív visel­kedésre tekint. Amellett érvelünk, hogy ezek az osztenzív viselkedésként jelle­mezhető szituációk lehetőséget adnak arra, hogy a kulturálisan releváns rep­rezentációk megoszthatóak lehessenek a kliensekkel annak érdekében, hogy általuk olyan információk birtokába juthassanak, melyek segíthetik őket. A me­taforikus nyelvhasználat ebben a felfogásban úgy értelmezhető, mint a tör­ténetmondáson alapuló terápiás diskurzus funkcióinak egy sajátos eszköze.
Adatok és adatforrások integrációja a pragmatikai kutatásban
Authors: Nagy C. Katalin , Németh Zsuzsanna , Németh T. Enikő
Published: December 2019

A tanulmány különböző adatforrások integrációját vizsgálja a szinkrón és a történeti pragmatika kutatási gyakorlatában. A nyelvhasználat tanulmányozá­sának e két, meghatározóan korpuszalapú területén készített esettanulmá­nyainkban amellett érvelünk, hogy a hagyományosan korpuszadatoknak tekintett információk valójában integrált adatforrásból származó plauzibilis kijelentések, továbbá hogy a pragmatika kutatási módszerei között a gyakor­latban elmosódnak a határok. A tanulmány konklúziója, hogy még az elsőd­legesen korpuszon alapuló kutatási folyamatokban is számos, különböző for­rásból származó információt integrálunk. Következésképpen a korpusz nem tekinthető kizárólagos adatforrásnak, hiszen további forrásokkal egészül ki, úgymint pl. a kutató nyelvi intuíciója, a korábbi kutatások eredményei, a kutatás elméleti kerete és számos következtetés.
The effect of managers’ power on employees’ entrepreneurship: an empirical study in the public offices of Iran
Authors: Mahbobkhah Farhad
Published: December 2019

Objectives: The aim of this paper is to examine the effect of managers’ power on employees’ entrepreneurship in the public offices by using five dimensions of power (Coercive, expert, legitimate, referent, and reward)  to give constructive suggestions for situation improvement through identifying powers affecting employees' entrepreneurship.

Design/Methodology/Approach: Considering the research objective, it is an applied study, and regarding data collection and the data analysis method, it is a descriptive-correlational study which has analyzed data through structural equations modeling with partial least squares (PLS) approach. Data were collected using two questionnaires including managers’ power and employees’ entrepreneurship. A sample of 600 employees was selected from the public offices of Iran. Data were analyzed using structural equation modeling and Amos software.

Results: The finding revealed that reward power, referent power, expert power and legitimate power had a positive and significant effect on employees’ entrepreneurship, but the coercive power had not significant effect on it.

Limitations: Among limitations of the current research are the big size of the statistical population that made it difficult to collect data, as well as the existence of different cultures in the statistical population which could partly affect the results of the research.

Practical implications: Research findings can be used to improve the entrepreneurship of employees in government organization.

Originality/value: Authors confirm that the current research and its results are genuine and have been published nowhere so far. The proposed structural model in the current research can be used in government departments and improve the entrepreneurship status of employees in the organization.
Contingent Valuation of Lake Rawapening as a Source of Drinking Water
Authors: Irawan Evi
Published: December 2019

The aim of this study is to estimate willingness to pay (WTP) of local residents, by applying the contingent valuation method as a surcharge on their water bill, for a given improvement of lake ecosystem for ensuring the sustainability of freshwater supply in term quantity and quality as demanded by public water utility. The survey was conducted in Semarang regency involving 116 respondents in three villages that received clean water services from Lake Rawapening.  The mean of WTP was estimated to be 6,055.54 rupiahs (0.433 US$) per month for each household, approximately equivalent to 9.26% of the average monthly water bill of the households. The results revealed that younger and educated respondents, households with higher income and with fewer members were, on average, were willing to pay more. This study also demonstrated that households’ ownership of groundwater wells was a hindering factor for contributing to improving lake’s ecosystem. The results of this study can assist decision-makers to understand the public demand for improved Lake Rawapening ecosystem and to formulate better environmental policies.
Economics of the Broken Window Theory
Authors: Berg Nathan , Kim Jeong-Yoo
Published: December 2019

In this paper, we argue that there is strategic complementarity in criminal behavior. Strategic complementarity arises because the apprehension probability that affects the crime rate depends on the crime rate itself. The natural consequence is the possible multiplicity of the equilibrium crime rate. The actual crime rate is realized by the self-fulfilling nature of the crime rate. Our analysis provides an economic rationalization of the broken window theory as the result of strategic complementarity and self-fulfilling crime rates. Regardless of how effective polices prescribed by the broken window theory are (e.g. removing graffiti, reducing trash in the street, and repairing broken windows), our model demonstrates the theory’s important contribution of introducing to the economics of crime the idea of belief-based deterrence. We also show that the equilibrium crime rate is stable whenever the broken window policy targets the lowest among multiple equilibrium crime rates.
The superposition operator in the space of functions continuous and converging at infinity on the real half-axis
Authors: Rzepka Beata , Ścibisz Justyna
Published: December 2019

We will consider the so-called superposition operator in the space CC(ℝ+) of real functions defined, continuous on the real half-axis ℝ+ and converging to finite limits at infinity.

We will assume that the function f = f(t, x) generating the mentioned superposition operator is locally uniformly continuous with respect to the variable x uniformly for t ∈ ℝ+. Moreover, we require that the function t → f(t, x) satisfies the Cauchy condition at infinity uniformly with respect to the variable x. Under the above indicated assumptions a few properties of the superposition operator in question are derived. Examples illustrating our considerations will be included.
Pseudo almost periodic solutions for a class of differential equation with delays depending on state
Authors: Zhao Hou Yu
Published: December 2019

In this paper, the exponential dichotomy, and Tikhonov and Banach fixed point theorems are used to study the existence and uniqueness of pseudo almost periodic solutions of a class of iterative functional differential equations of the form

$$\begin{array}{} \displaystyle x'(t)=\sum_{n=1}^k\sum_{l=1}^\infty C_{l, n}(t)(x^{[n]}(t))^l+G(t), \end{array}$$

wherex[n](t) denotesnth iterate ofx(t).
Fiscal policy and the output costs of sovereign default
Authors: Durán Leyre Gómez-Oliveros , Niemann Stefan , Pichler Paul
Published: December 2019

We introduce fiscal policy into a sovereign debt model with endogenous default costs and examine the implications for the determination of the output costs of default. We find that the quantitative properties of the output costs of default, and their dependence on primitives such as the elasticity of labor supply, are distinctly different depending on the margin of fiscal adjustment. The consideration of fiscal policy thus has potentially important implications for the quantitative properties of models of sovereign debt and default.
First record of Acanthosiphonia echinata (Rhodomelaceae, Rhodophyta) in the Mediterranean Sea, molecular and morphological characterization
Authors: Wolf Marion A. , Buosi Alessandro , Sfriso Adriano
Published: December 2019

In this study we report the first finding of the red algaAcanthosiphonia echinatain the Mediterranean Sea. Specimens were identified using the DNA barcoding method and, in particular, the plastidialrbcL and the mitochondrial COI-5P markers. This species has been considered to be restricted to the western Atlantic and was reported in blooms from North Carolina to South Carolina. In 2015 the introduction of this species in Southeast Asia (Indonesia) was reported. Probably this taxon was introduced in the Mediterranean Sea from Indonesian populations associated with seaweed farming activities or hull fouling, via the western Atlantic-Mediterranean-Indonesia ship route.
Evaluating the need for free glycerol blanking for serum triglyceride measurements at Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital
Authors: van Heerden Carla , Magwete Agnes , Mabuza Dineo
Published: December 2019

Background

The accurate and precise measurement of triglycerides is important due to the adverse effects associated with hypertriglyceridaemia. Most laboratory methods are based on enzymatic hydrolysis of triglycerides with measurement of the total glycerol. An elevated free glycerol concentration may result in overestimation of triglyceride concentrations. The removal of free glycerol by blanking may therefore be of clinical importance. The aim of this study was to compare the glycerol blanking and non-glycerol blanking triglyceride methods.

Methods

This was a method comparison study of 1518 samples from both in-patients and out-patients at Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital. Triglycerides were measured in each sample using both the blanking and the non-blanking methods. Analytical performance was assessed based on the National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP) goals. Clinical impact was assessed according to the NCEP Adult Treatment Program III (ATP III) risk classification.

Results

The method median was significantly higher in the non-blanking compared to the blanking method (1.33 vs. 1.12 mmol/L, p < 0.0001) in all patients. The average bias was above the total allowable error of 15% across all groups. There was a significant change in NCEP ATP III risk classification, with fewer patients classified as normal (67.6% vs. 74.6%, p < 0.0001) with the non-blanking method compared to the blanking method.

Conclusions

There was a significant error when glycerol blanking for triglyceride determination was not performed. The non-blanking triglyceride method overestimates triglyceride concentrations. This does not only exceed analytical performance goals, but also impacts on patient categorisation and clinical decision making in all patients.
A comparative study of the crystal structures of 2-(4-(2-(4-(3-chlorophenyl)pipera -zinyl)ethyl) benzyl)isoindoline-1,3-dione by synchrotron radiation X-ray powder diffraction and single-crystal X-ray diffraction
Authors: Zhou Jin-Hui , Shi Mao-Jian , Ding Lin , ShangGuan Guo-Qiang , Xu Jun
Published: December 2019

The crystal structures of the title compound, C27H26ClN3O2, were established by single-crystal X-ray diffraction and synchrotron radiation X-ray powder diffraction. The simulated annealing approach and rigid-body Rietveld refinement were applied to the structure solution from powder data. Direct methods and full-matrix least-squares techniques were used to solve and refine the crystal structure from single-crystal data. The title compound crystallized in space group P
$\bar{1}$
with lattice parameters a=17.396(7) Å, b= 10.010(4) Å, c=6.833(3) Å, α=77.345(12) °, β= 93.534(6) °, γ=97.210(9) °, unit-cell volume V= 1151.0(2) Å3, Z=2 from powder data, and in space group P $\bar{1}$with lattice parameters α=82.485(2) °, β= 86.5110(10) °, γ=77.518(2) °, a=6.8159(6) Å, b= 10.0003(9) Å, c=17.4140(15) Å, unit-cell volume V =1148.3(2) Å3, Z=2 from single-crystal data. No detectable impurities were observed.
Subsidence is determined in the heart of the Central Valley using Post Processed Static and Precise Point Positioning techniques
Authors: Facio Y. , Berber M.
Published: December 2019

Post Processed Static (PPS) and Precise Point Positioning (PPP) techniques are not new; however, they have been refined over the decades. As such, today these techniques are offered online via GPS (Global Positioning System) data processing services. In this study, one Post Processed Static (OPUS) and one Precise Point Positioning (CSRS-PPP) technique is used to process 24 h GPS data for a CORS (Continuously Operating Reference Stations) station (P565) duration of year 2016. By analyzing the results sent by these two online services, subsidence is determined for the location of CORS station, P565, as 3–4 cm for the entire year of 2016. In addition, precision of these two techniques is determined as ∼2 cm. Accuracy of PPS and PPP results is 0.46 cm and 1.21 cm, respectively. Additionally, these two techniques are compared and variations between them is determined as 2.5 cm.
Deploying Plural Drug Policies after the ‘War on Drugs’: A Geographical Perspective
Authors: Hall Tim
Published: December 2019

There is a growing consensus that acknowledges the failings of the prohibitionist ‘war on drugs’ model of international drug policy. Concomitant drug policy reform literatures have been characterized by the advocacy of policy pluralism, experimentation, evidence gathering/evaluation and the avoidance of drug fetishization. This paper builds upon these literatures and explores some of the complexities of drug policy pluralization, including challenges associated with drug policy asymmetries and repatriation and the, largely unexplored, potentials of deploying drug policies in combination. It argues that the drug policy reform literature has tended to favour evaluation of policy alternatives over discussion of their geographical deployment under a more plural international policy regime. It considers models to inform the deployment of plural drug policies. Conceptually this paper draws on geographical literatures and attempts to rethink drug markets and drug policy reform in geographically sensitive, regional and relational ways, highlighting scalar and relational challenges to drug policy pluralization. It concludes by outlining an extensive set of research priorities that speak directly to the challenges identified through this geographical lens.
Onset of pituitary hormone deficiencies in optic nerve hypoplasia: a temporal trend analysis of 32 children at Mayo Clinic
Authors: Wadams Heather D. , Gupta Nidhi , Novotny Paul , Tebben Peter J.
Published: December 2019

Background

The objective of this study was to evaluate the age at onset and frequency of individual pituitary hormone deficiencies (PHDs) in optic nerve hypoplasia (ONH).

Methods

We performed a retrospective chart review of patients ≤21 years of age evaluated between 1996 and 2014. Patients were included if they had: (1) ONH diagnosed by an ophthalmologist and/or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), (2) documentation of pituitary hormone function on at least two separate occasions and (3) at least one PHD documented or a midline abnormality of the brain on MRI.

Results

Thirty-two patients (18 females, 14 males) were included (median age, 8 years [range, 1.1–21.0 years]). All patients had ONH (bilateral, n = 31; unilateral, n = 1) and at least one midline abnormality of the brain. At least one PHD was present in 75% of patients (n = 24). The remaining 25% of patients (n = 8) did not develop any PHD at least until the last follow-up (<2–8.6 years of follow-up), despite the presence of ONH and a midline abnormality of the brain. The median age (years) at diagnosis of antidiuretic hormone (ADH), thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) and growth hormone (GH) deficiencies was 0.5, 0.6, 0.7 and 1.6, respectively. Twenty-three percent of all PHDs were identified during the neonatal period, 56% by 12 months and 72% by 36 months of age. The latest age at diagnosis of GH, ACTH and TSH deficiencies was 9.6, 9.9 and 12.6 years, respectively.

Conclusions

The majority of the PHDs in ONH develop within the first 3 years of life. We propose evaluation for endocrinopathies at the time of diagnosis of ONH, with repeat assessment for new deficiencies every 3–4 months until age 3 years and at least semi-annually until growth and puberty are complete.
Verdinglichung und Zerstörung. Günther Anders und der Begriff der Geschichte im Jahr 1941
Authors: Pollmann Anna
Published: December 2019

The article discusses the transformation of the concept of History as it can be traced in the writings of Günther Anders. Anders is primarily known as a critique of modern technology specifically of the atomic bomb, which made him a mentor for the first anti-nuclear movement in West-Germany in the late 1950s. His historical thinking was therefore mainly perceived in its post-historic and apocalyptic dimensions. A closer look at his earlier writings reveals not only that his questioning of the modern concept of History began long before the “ontological cesura” of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The article discusses two unpublished philosophical manuscripts as well as passages from his Californian diaries, both dating from 1940/41 and focussing the concept of progress. To follow his thoughts from two different angles – historical philosophical inquiry (however fragmented) and the literary form of his diary – gives us insight in his specific methodology of writing coined “Gelegenheitsphilosophie”. This specific form between “journalism and metaphysics” enables Anders to review abstract philosophical concepts on the basis of everyday observation. In the crucial year 1941 Anders reviews progress-thought from the perspective of a Hollywood film studio, raising questions of tradition, authenticity and technological progress in cultural production.
Die Kreatur und Walter Benjamins Periodika-Netzwerk der 20er Jahre. Neue Zugänge der Zeitschriftenforschung
Authors: Frank Gustav
Published: December 2019

Die Publizistik hat erfolgreich ihre Auffassung durchgesetzt, dass „die Diskussion einer wie auch immer gearteten ‚Zeitschriftentheorie‘“ „wenig ergiebig“ sei, woraus sich auch der schmale, auf die Inhaltsanalyse beschränkte Werkzeugkasten der Zeitschriftenforschung erklärt (dazu historisch fundierte Ergänzungsvorschläge unter Abschnitt 9 und 10). Nach einer Einführung in die Zeitschrift Die Kreatur (Abschnitt 1) scheint es deshalb nötig, das theoretische Objekt – Voraussetzung jeglicher Forschungspraxis – ‚Zeitschriften‘ vorab in aller gebotenen Kürze (Abschnitt 2–4) historisch-systematisch zu skizzieren. Die Kreatur kann dann als eine der Zeitschriften im Rahmen zeitgenössischer Format-Optionen (Abschnitt 5–8) in Netzwerken wie dem um Walter Benjamin situiert werden (Abschnitt 11–13).
Ein „Zusammengehen ohne Zusammenkommen“. Der Entstehungsprozess des intellektuellen Netzwerkes um die Zeitschrift Die Kreatur
Authors: Rosso Enrico
Published: December 2019

This research article aims to deliver an analytical representation of the intellectual environment of the culture journal Die Kreatur (1926–1930), a religious-dialogical quarterly edited by Martin Buber, Joseph Wittig, and Viktor von Weizsäcker and enlivened by some of the most prominent figures of German-Jewish interwar culture (among others W. Benjamin, H. S. Bergman, E. Rosenstock-Huessy, F. Rosenzweig, E. Simon, and L. Strauss). Building on a recognition of the problematic relationship between the dialogical model claimed in the programmatic foreword of the journal and the group narratives enacted by its key contributors, the study attempts to outline the formation process of the intellectual plexus of the journal and to provide a differentiated analysis of its singular constituents via a sociologically informed framework. The representation of the intellectual network of Die Kreatur in accordance with the model of a “circle of circles” provides insight into the elusive dialectic of interaction and divergence that determines the relations between the main actors of the journal and thus contributes to unfold the interplay of biographical intersections and conceptual synergies, as well as incongruities, frictions, and contradictory instances that determines its editorial and philosophical profile.
Surface-plasmon-polariton-driven narrow-linewidth magneto-optics in Ni nanodisk arrays
Authors: Freire-Fernández Francisco , Kataja Mikko , van Dijken Sebastiaan
Published: December 2019

The field of magnetoplasmonics exploits interactions between light and magnetic matter at the nanoscale for light manipulation and resonant magneto-optics. One of the great challenges of this field is overcoming optical losses in magnetic metals. Here, we exploit surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) excited at the interface of an SiO2/Au bilayer to induce strong magneto-optical responses on the Ni nanodisks of a periodic array. Using a reference system made of Au nanodisks, we show that optical losses in Ni hardly broaden the linewidth of SPP-driven magneto-optical signals. Loss mitigation is attained because the free electrons in the Ni nanodisks are driven into forced oscillations away from their plasmon resonance. By varying the SiO2 layer thickness and lattice constant of the Ni nanodisk array, we demonstrate tailoring of intense magneto-optical Kerr effects with a spectral linewidth down to ~25 nm. Our results provide important hints on how to circumvent optical losses and enhance magneto-optical signals via the design of off-resonance magnetoplasmonic driving mechanisms.
Crystal structure of bis(3-chloro-N-(1-(pyrazin-2-yl)ethylidene)benzohydrazonato-k3
N,N′,O)nickel(II), C26H20N8O2Cl2Ni
Authors: Hao Zhen-Li , Huang Cun-Han
Published: December 2019

C26H20N8O2Cl2Ni, orthorhombic, Pbcn (no. 60), a = 11.737(10) Å, b = 9.309(8) Å, c = 23.72(2) Å, V = 2592(4) Å3, Z = 4, R
gt(F) = 0.0361, wR
ref(F
2) = 0.0934, T = 296 K.
Low temperature redetermination of the crystal structure of catena-poly[[tri-4-fluorobenzyltin(IV)]μ2-pyridine-4-carboxylato-κ2
N:O], {C27H22F3NO2Sn}n
Authors: Lo Kong Mun , Lee See Mun , Tiekink Edward R.T.
Published: December 2019

C27H22F3NO2Sn, monoclinic, P21/n (no. 14), a = 8.7913(2) Å, b = 19.0856(5) Å, c = 13.9417(4) Å, β = 91.017(2)°, V = 2338.87(11) Å3, Z = 4, R
gt(F) = 0.0324, wR
ref(F
2) = 0.0873, T = 100(2) K.
Synapses: Multitasking Global Players in the Brain
Authors: Lübke Joachim H. R. , Rollenhagen Astrid
Published: December 2019

Synapses are key elements in the communication between neurons in any given network of the normal adult, developmental and pathologically altered brain. Synapses are composed of nearly the same structural subelements: a presynaptic terminal containing mitochondria with an ultrastructurally visible density at the pre- and postsynaptic apposition zone. The presynaptic density is composed of a cocktail of various synaptic proteins involved in the binding, priming and docking of synaptic vesicles inducing synaptic transmission. Individual presynaptic terminals (synaptic boutons) contain a couple of hundred up to thousands of synaptic vesicles. The pre- and postsynaptic densities are separated by a synaptic cleft. The postsynaptic density, also containing various synaptic proteins and more importantly various neurotransmitter receptors and their subunits specifically composed and arranged at individual synaptic complexes, reside at the target structures of the presynaptic boutons that could be somata, dendrites, spines or initial segments of axons.

Beside the importance of the network in which synapses are integrated, their individual structural composition critically determines the dynamic properties within a given connection or the computations of the entire network, in particular, the number, size and shape of the active zone, the structural equivalent to a functional neurotransmitter release site, together with the size and organization of the three functionally defined pools of synaptic vesicles, namely the readily releasable, the recycling and the resting pool, are important structural subelements governing the ‘behavior’ of synaptic complexes within a given network such as the cortical column.

In the late last century, neuroscientists started to generate quantitative 3D-models of synaptic boutons and their target structures that is one possible way to correlate structure with function, thus allowing reliable predictions about their function. The re-introduction of electron microscopy (EM) as an important tool achieved by modern high-end, high-resolution transmission-EM, focused ion beam scanning-EM, CRYO-EM and EM-tomography have enormously improved our knowledge about the synaptic organization of the brain not only in various animal species, but also allowed new insights in the ‘microcosms’ of the human brain in health and disease.
Stereocomplex electrospun fibers from high molecular weight of poly(L-lactic acid) and poly(D-lactic acid)
Authors: Maleki Homa , Barani Hossein
Published: December 2019

The stereocomplex formation is a promising method to improve the properties of poly(lactide) (PLA)-based products due to the strong interaction of the side-by-side arrangement of the molecular chains. Recently, electrospinning method has been applied to prepare PLA stereocomplex, which is more convenient. The objective of the current study is to make stereocomplexed PLA nanofibers using electrospinning method and compare their properties and structures with pure poly(l-lactide) (PLLA) fibers. The stereocomplexed fibers were electrospun from a blend solution of high molecular weight PLLA and poly(d-lactide) (1:1 ratio). The morphology of the obtained electrospun fibers was examined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). Differential scanning calorimetry was applied to study their thermal properties and crystallinity. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) test was conducted on the samples to characterize their chemical properties. The SEM and AFM images indicated that smooth uniform fibers with a cylindrical structure were produced. Besides, the FTIR results and thermal properties confirmed that only stereocomplex crystallites formed in the resulting fibers via the electrospinning method.
On the minimum reactant concentration required to prepare Au/M core-shell nanoparticles by the one-pot microemulsion route
Authors: Tojo C. , Buceta D. , López-Quintela M. A.
Published: December 2019

The minimum reactant concentration required to synthesize Au/M (M = Ag, Pt, Pd, Ru …) core-shell nanoparticles by the one-pot microemulsion route was calculated by a simulation model under different synthesis conditions. This minimum concentration was proved to depend on the reduction potential of the slower metal M and on the rigidity of the surfactant film composing the microemulsion. Model results were tested by comparing with Au/M nanoparticles taken from literature. In all cases, experimental data obey model predictions. From this agreement, one can conclude that the smaller the standard potential of the slower reduction metal, the lower the minimum concentration needed to obtain core-shell nanoparticles. In addition, the higher the surfactant flexibility, the higher the minimum concentration to synthesize metal segregated nanoparticles. Model prediction allows to quantify which is the best value of concentration to prepare different pairs of core-shell Au/M nanoparticles in terms of nature of M metal in the couple and microemulsion composition. This outlook may become an advanced tool for fine-tuning Au/M nanostructures.

Graphical Abstract:
Synthesis and characterization of graphene quantum dots
Authors: Kundu Sumana , Pillai Vijayamohanan K.
Published: December 2019

Conventional inorganic semiconductor quantum dots (QDs) have numerous applications ranging from energy harvesting to optoelectronic and bio-sensing devices primarily due to their unique size and shape tunable band-gap and also surface functionalization capability and consequently, have received significant interest in the last few decades. However, the high market cost of these QDs, on the order of thousands of USD/g and toxicity limit their practical utility in many industrial applications. In this context, graphene quantum dot (GQD), a nanocarbon material and a new entrant in the quantum-confined semiconductors could be a promising alternative to the conventional toxic QDs due to its potential tunability in optical and electronic properties and film processing capability for realizing many of the applications. Variation in optical as well as electronic properties as a function of size, shape, doping and functionalization would be discussed with relevant theoretical backgrounds along with available experimental results and limitations. The review deals with various methods available so far towards the synthesis of GQDs along with special emphasis on characterization techniques starting from spectroscopic, optical and microscopic techniques along with their the working principles, and advantages and limitations. Finally, we will comment on the environmental impact and toxicity limitations of these GQDs and their hybrid nanomaterials to facilitate their future prospects.

Graphical Abstract:

Structure of doped, functionalized and hybrid GQDs
Us Presidents’ Political Discourse Analysis: George W. Bush and Barack Obama. A Pragmatics Approach
Authors: Tarish Abbas Hussein
Published: December 2019

An examination of the political discourse of presidents establishes an understanding of the factors that influence word choice and communication. Most notably, the context provided by presidents in their political discourse conveys the meaning intended by the speeches, which then influences the way the public reacts to what they have to say. Through knowledge of these factors, linguists can develop a more comprehensive understanding of the relationship between language and the perceptions of American presidents by both Americans and non-Americans. The purpose of this paper is to examine the political discourse of two American presidents – George W. Bush and Barack Obama – in order to identify the overall message intended by their speeches and the factors that influence their discourse.
Sanierungsverantwortung von Geschäftsleitern
Authors: Korch Stefan
Published: December 2019

Die Restrukturierungsrichtlinie erfreut sich großer Aufmerksamkeit in der insolvenzrechtlichen Diskussion. Im gesellschaftsrechtlichen Schrifttum wird sie bisher kaum erörtert. Das überrascht schon deshalb, weil ihre Auswirkungen auf das Gesellschaftsrecht beträchtlich sein könnten. Die zentrale Regelung findet sich in Art. 19 der Richtlinie, der sich ausschließlich den Pflichten der Geschäftsleiter in der Krise widmet. Sie gibt dem nationalen Gesetzgeber auf, sicherzustellen, dass die Geschäftsleiter während der drohenden Insolvenz die Interessen der Gläubiger, Anteilseigner sowie sonstiger Interessenträger gebührend berücksichtigen und den Bestand des Unternehmens nicht gefährden. Damit wird die Diskussion zum Unternehmensinteresse um eine europarechtliche Komponente erweitert und das Pflichtenkorsett in der Krise enger geschnürt. Die Einpassung in das nationale Gesellschaftsrecht wirft Folgefragen für die Geschäftsleiterhaftung, die Weisungsgebundenheit der GmbH-Geschäftsführer sowie die Rolle der Geschäftsleiter während der Restrukturierung auf. Zugleich gibt die Richtlinie den Geschäftsleitern in der Krise zusätzliche Instrumente in die Hand und bricht so den bisherigen Entscheidungsdualismus zwischen außergerichtlicher Sanierung und Insolvenzantragstellung auf.
Structural diversity in Cd(NCS)2-3-cyanopyridine coordination compounds: synthesis, crystal structures and thermal properties
Authors: Jochim Aleksej , Jess Inke , Näther Christian
Published: December 2019

Five new compounds with the compositions [Cd(NCS)2(3-cyanopyridine)2]
n
 · 3-cyanopyridine (1), [Cd(NCS)2(3-cyanopyridine)2]
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 · 1/3 3-cyanopyridine (2), [Cd(NCS)2(3-cyanopyridine)2]
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(3), {[Cd(NCS)2]2(3-cyanopyridine)3}
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(4), and {[Cd(NCS)2]3(3-cyanopyridine)4}
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(5) have been obtained by the reaction of Cd(NCS)2 with 3-cyanopyridine in different solvents. While large amounts of compounds 1–4 could be prepared as powders, only a few single crystals of 5 were accidently obtained. Thermoanalytical investigations have shown that 4 could also be obtained by annealing of 1 or 2 and that under slightly different conditions 5 could be obtained as part of a mixture with 4. The crystal structures of all compounds can be divided in two sets of compounds. Compounds 1, 2 and 3 consist of chains in which the Cd cations show three different coordination environments and in which the coligands are only terminally bonded. In the structures of 4 and 5 similar chains are observed, which are connected into layers via some of the 3-cyanopyridine coligands.
Alone Again Tonight: Russian Doll
Authors: Kessler Sarah
Published: December 2019

Russian Doll is a show about two people who are “dying all the time” in every sense of the phrase. As co-protagonists Nadia Vulvokov (Natasha Lyonne) and Alan Zaveri (Charlie Barnett) each fight grueling emotional battles, they also literally die, expiring and respawning over and over again like characters in a videogame. When Nadia and Alan meet and discover that they're dying at the same time, they become uneasy partners in trying to game the loop that dominates their lives—or rather their deaths. In foregrounding the interracial, (mostly) platonic, queer-tinged connection that results from entrapping two survivors of distinct historical and psychological traumas in a recursive loop, Russian Doll evokes what José Muñoz called “brown feeling”—an affectively and politically depressive position that holds a transformative potential. It is, in fact, Russian Doll's enactment of the depressive position that makes the show so uplifting despite its devastating subject matter.
Cine-Agora Africana: Meditating on the Fiftieth Anniversary of FESPACO
Authors: Sanogo Aboubakar
Published: December 2019

To mark the 50th anniversary of the Pan African Film Festival of Ouagadougou (FESPACO), Aboubakar Sanogo presents a sweeping survey of the festival's history, influence, and future directions. He notes the festival's function as a home for African filmmakers and cinema, as a space for cultural encounters, as a library and archive of debates on African cinema, and as a barometer of health or lack thereof of the various national film industries on the continent. After reviewing this year's selection of films, which reflect ever-present concerns over memory, the geopolitical, and the effects of powerful external forces, Sanogo concludes that FESPACO faces formidable challenges to its self-renewal, including its mandate to define the values of African cinema and present them to the world.
Marceline Loridan-Ivens: A Posthumous Interview
Authors: Dupont Joan
Published: December 2019

Marceline Loridan-Ivens may be best known for her scene-stealing participation in Jean Rouch and Edgar Morin's cinema verité classic, Chronicle of a Summer (1961). However, as FQ contributing editor Joan Dupont makes manifestly clear in her evocative appreciation, Loridan-Ivens was a true force of nature; an actress, director, and writer who remained creatively active and productive throughout her long life. She was also a Holocaust survivor, who returned to her experiences in the camps through her writing and filmmaking but found a way for her trauma to coexist with an irrepressible zest for life. Through interviews with over eight of Loridan-Ivens closest friends and family members, Dupont creates a multiperspectival portrait of Loridan-Ivens, including her years of close collaboration with her life partner, director Joris Ivens.
Cineando
Authors: Betancourt Manuel
Published: December 2019

For his debut column, new FQ contributing editor Manuel Betancourt examines three recent Mexican films—Las niñas bien (The Good Girls, Alejandra Márquez Abella, 2018), Esto no es Berlín (This Is Not Berlin, Hari Sama, 2019), and Museo (Alonso Ruiz Palacios, 2018)—that trace the changing social and economic forces that fractured Mexico during the 1980s. Focusing on characters and stories that are seldom at the heart of historical chronicles, these narratives anchor revisionist approaches that lead audiences to the margins: to take women's experiences seriously, to find value in queer radical thinking, and to question colonial discourse, all the while pushing back against any kind of monolithic understanding of Mexican state discourse.
Elsewhere
Authors: Qureshi Bilal
Published: December 2019

FQ columnist Bilal Qureshi compares two seemingly similar summer movies: Gurinder Chadha's Blinded by the Light and Danny Boyle's Yesterday, both of which feature music-obsessed South Asian male leads. However, while Boyle's film adopts a race-blind perspective, promoting a vision (or fantasy) of a multiracial Britain of friendships and intimacy, in Blinded by the Light, Chadha pushes her long-standing interest in race and multiculturalism beyond the feel-good sensibilities of her earlier hit, Bend it Like Beckham. Instead, Qureshi argues, Chadha has made a subversively political film, bristling with an urgent plea for empathy, inspired by the blinding xenophobia of Brexit.
History Calling: Decolonizing Cinema at New York's Film Forum
Authors: Berthe Jamie
Published: December 2019

Beginning in late May and unfolding over the course of nearly three weeks, New York's Film Forum's series, “The Hour of Liberation: Decolonizing Cinema, 1966-1981,” provided a stunningly expansive program of Third Cinema titles. In this review, Jamie Berthe addresses the historical and contemporary relevance of the films while focusing in particular on the often overlooked role that women played during these years, both as filmmakers and historical actors, as well as on the importance of the issue of indigenous land rights within the anticolonial film archive.
Julia Reichert and the Work of Telling Working-Class Stories
Authors: Aufderheide Patricia
Published: December 2019

This examination of the career of Julia Reichert-a three-time Oscar nominee, the recipient of two lifetime achievement awards, and the subject of a retrospective at the Museum of Modern Art in 2019-follows the trajectory of her oeuvre, which intertwines social commitment and aesthetic concern. Reichert's work is a rare example of U.S. working-class film art made about working-class people. Her career parallels the evolution of a genre of socially-committed documentary in the U.S.
Toronto 2019: From Budapest to the Zeitgeist
Authors: Rich B. Ruby
Published: December 2019

FQ Editor B. Ruby Rich reviews the offerings at the 2019 Toronto Film Festival, the first under the new leadership of Cameron Bailey and Joana Vicente. Avoiding Hollywood's tentpole films and Oscar buzz, Rich instead hunts down films presenting subtle studies of human behavior, in most cases with the help of subtitles. From the latest efforts from established art-house favorites Pedro Almodovar, Oliver Assayas, and Elia Suleiman, to discoveries such as the Romanian documentary Colectiv (Alexander Nanau, 2019) and the Brazilian director Karim Aïnouz's A Vida Invisível (The Invisible Life of Eurídice Gusmão, 2019), Rich finds ample reassurance of film's emotive power and ability to provide a moral compass in challenging times.
Women and Employment in Tunisia
Authors: Moghadam Valentine M.
Published: December 2019

Tunisia's legacy of “state feminism” and its strong civil society—including human rights, labor, and women's rights organizations—have placed Tunisian women in advance of their Arab sisters, and women are present across an array of professions and occupations. Still, most Tunisian women remain outside the labor force, face precarious forms of employment, or are unemployed. This article examines women's employment patterns, problems, and prospects in the light of an untoward economic environment, conservative social norms, and feminist advocacy. Drawing on interview and documentary data, and informed by feminist political economy and institutionalism, it highlights the importance of institutional supports for working mothers and improved work conditions to encourage more female economic participation and stronger labor-force attachment and thus to weaken patriarchal attitudes and values. The paper points to the need for both class-based and gender-based policies with respect to women's economic participation and rights.
Implications of the Politics of Caste and Class for Child Poverty in India
Authors: Daoud Adel , Nandy Shailen
Published: December 2019

Understanding the politics of caste, corruption, and wealth is essential for combating poverty in India. However, relatively few studies have systematically analyzed how these factors explain patterns of poverty combining state-level indicators with household and child-level outcomes. Focusing on child poverty as an outcome measure, this paper tests the explanatory potency of John Harriss's typology of state government political regimes, Transparency International India's measures of state corruption, and state-level wealth. Using data on 120,988 children from the third National Family Health Survey (2005–2006) and multilevel models, we find that Harriss's typology of state regimes better explains child poverty differences between states than Transparency International India's corruption index. States whose political regimes are historically dominated by upper-caste groups tend to have an adverse effect on poor children of lower castes, compared to states dominated by lower-caste groups. This adverse effect is amplified in wealthier states.
Seed germination in tailings cake and cake-reclamation substrate mixtures with oil sands process water
Authors: Omari Kwadwo , Pinno Bradley D.
Published: December 2019

We investigated the germination of 13 species commonly used in oil sands mining reclamation of boreal forest as influenced by substrate type (potting soil, tailings cake and mixtures of cake-sand, cake-peat and cake-forest floor mineral mix (FFMM)) and water quality (0, 50 and 100% oil sands process water). Germination responses clustered into three groups with trees and graminoids exhibiting the highest germination (84-99%), followed by shrubs and forbs with intermediate germination (46-69%), and the native forb species, Chamerion angustifolium, Achillea millefolium and Galium boreale, with the lowest germination (7-18%). Among substrates, potting soil supported the highest germination (69%), followed by cake mixed with peat (64%) or FFMM (63%), cake-sand (60%) and cake (57%). Concentrations of ions, e.g. sodium and chloride, were higher in cake and cake-sand than in cake-peat or cake-FFMM suggesting that mixing cake with FFMM or peat can alleviate salt stress and encourage germination. Process water had little or no effect on germination especially on cake and cake amendments possibly due to the high ionic content of these substrates. There were major differences in germination response among species. Trees and graminoids may be well suited for reclaiming oil sands tailings whereas native forbs may perform poorly when used for revegetating tailings.
Pancreatic alpha-cell mass across adult human lifespan
Authors: Moin Abu Saleh Md , Cory Megan , Gurlo Tatyana , Saisho Yoshifumi , Rizza Robert A , Butler Peter C , Butler Alexandra E
Published: December 2019

Aim

To establish pancreatic alpha-cell mass in lean, non-diabetic humans over the adult lifespan, performed as a follow-up study to beta-cell mass across the adult human lifespan.

Methods

We examined human pancreatic autopsy tissue from 66 lean, non-diabetic individuals aged from 30 to 102 years, grouped into deciles: 3rd (30–39 years), 4th (40–49 years), 5th (50–59 years), 6th (60–69 years), 7th (70–79 years), 8th (80–89 years) and 9th deciles (90+ years). Sections of pancreas were immunostained for glucagon and analyzed for fractional alpha-cell area. Population-based pancreatic volume data were used to calculate alpha-cell mass.

Results

With advanced age, the exocrine pancreas undergoes atrophy demonstrated by increased fat area (as % exocrine area) (0.05 ± 0.01 vs 1.6 ± 0.7% fat area of total exocrine pancreas, 3rd vs 9th decile, P < 0.05). Consequently, islet density increases with age (2.7 ± 0.4 vs 10.5 ± 3.3 islets/mm2, 3rd vs 9th decile, P < 0.05). Alpha-cell fractional area increases with advanced age (0.34 ± 0.05% vs 0.73 ± 0.26%, 3rd vs 9th decile, P < 0.05). However, alpha-cell mass remains constant at ~190 mg throughout the adult lifespan in lean, non-diabetic humans. Within islets, alpha-cell distribution between mantle and core is unchanged across deciles (1862 ± 220 vs 1945 ± 200 vs 1948 ± 139 alpha cells in islet mantle/mm2, 3rd vs 6th vs 9th decile, P = 0.93 and 1912 ± 442 vs 1449 ± 123 vs 1514 ± 168 alpha cells in islet core/mm2, 3rd vs 6th vs 9th decile, P = 0.47), suggesting that human islets retain their structural organization in the setting of age-related exocrine atrophy.

Conclusions

Consistent with our previous findings for beta-cell mass, alpha-cell mass remains constant in humans, even with advanced age. Pancreatic endocrine cells are much more robustly preserved than exocrine cells in aged humans, and islets maintain their structural integrity throughout life.