bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Are Municipalities Creatures of the Provinces?
Authors: Magnusson Warren
Published: December 2016

This article challenges the standard idea that municipalities are creatures of the provinces, and suggests instead that they embody one of the major principles of a free and democratic society, the right of local self-government. Municipalities are political authorities of a different sort, which may coexist with the state but are not strictly part of it. Local self-government is a practice rooted in everyday life, and there is more to it than just having municipal authorities. Canadians have yet to have a proper debate about the constitutional implications of giving appropriate recognition to this practice.
From Beverage to Drug: Alcohol and Other Drugs in 1960s and 1970s Canada
Authors: Marquis Greg
Published: December 2016

In the 1960s, influenced by the single distribution of consumption model, Canadian alcohol experts broadened their notions of alcohol problems beyond the individual “alcoholic” or “problem drinker.” They also attempted to place greater emphasis on prevention as opposed to treatment of alcohol problems. The Department of National Health and Welfare, Ontario’s Addiction Research Foundation, other provincial alcohol and drug commissions, academics and the treatment community responded to the “drug crisis” of the late 1960s and early 1970s with the argument that ethanol was society’s most damaging drug. The intent was to garner more resources for substance abuse prevention and treatment and to de-stigmatize the use of illegal drugs. This essay examines the background and genesis of the “alcohol and other drugs” movement, which was recognized by the LeDain Commission, and assesses its long-term impact on public health.
Athens and Jerusalem? A Critique of the Relationship Between Philosophy and Religion in George Grant’s Thought
Authors: Angus Ian
Published: December 2016

The teleology of George Grant’s thought was towards Christian Platonism. Such a synthesis of Platonic philosophy and Christian religion is utilized in his critique of contemporary society through the concept of tradition. Such a concept of tradition is based on grace, which is understood as the placing of humans within a moral order that is not of our own making. The relationship between philosophy and religion is formulated in Grant’s writing in five ways. The most important is in the comparison of Socrates and Jesus as the two originating figures of Western civilization. A critical analysis of this comparison shows that it is one-sided and that philosophy does not make an independent contribution to Grant’s thought comparable to that of Christianity. In conclusion, the possibility of such an independent contribution of philosophy is demonstrated and it is suggested that such a contribution may not require supplementation by Christian religion.
A Reading Spectacle for the Nation: The CBC and “Canada Reads”
Authors: Fuller Danielle , Sedo DeNel Rehberg
Published: December 2016

CBC Radio One’s “Canada Reads,” which aims to select a work of Canadian literature “that all of Canada should read together,” was first broadcast as a network special in 2002. This essay undertakes an ideological analysis of the cultural work that “Canada Reads” performs, focussing on the first three series and drawing upon original interviews with the show’s producers, listeners, and cultural workers. The authors conceptualize the show as both a mass reading event and a media spectacle that reinforces the “blockbuster culture” of contemporary Canadian literary publishing. They also contend that the model of nation “imagined” by the content of “Canada Reads” is problematically, if predictably, conservative (bilingual and uncritically multicultural); however, the authors position this ideological limitation against the potential for creative resistance produced by the show’s multiple modes of delivery.
From Bags and Boxes to Searchable Digital Collections at the Dalhousie University Archives
Authors: Harvey Kathryn
Published: December 2016

Archives provide an important service in the preservation of our heritage, but the core archival processes involved in making literary papers accessible are essentially invisible to researchers. This essay outlines issues relating to archival appraisal, arrangement, and description because these processes directly affect the organization and subsequent interpretation of archival materials. What materials have archival value? How does an archivist respect original order while ensuring organized access? To what extent can and should finding aids as well as facsimiles of documents be made available in digital format? Discussion of these questions is illustrated with examples from Dalhousie University Archives and Special Collections’ literary holdings, which include the papers of William R. Bird, Frank Parker Day, Thomas Head Raddall, and Budge Wilson.
The Archives of Pat (and Roy) Lowther
Authors: Wiesenthal Christine
Published: December 2016

The main, private repository of the late West Coast poet, activist, and arts administrator Pat Lowther (1935-1975) raises both significant concerns and questions for biographers, researchers, and theorists of the archive—questions and concerns that are, to some degree, inextricably linked to the history of Roy Armstrong Lowther, the husband who murdered Pat Lowther (and who both “recycled” and introduced as courtroom “evidence” some of her papers during the criminal investigation into her death). After presenting a brief overview of the nature and scope of these archival materials, this essay will trace some of the pragmatic and theoretical implications—ethical, legal, political, and hermeneutic—of working with Pat Lowther’s literary remains. Special attention will be given to outlining how the papers of Pat (and Roy) Lowther re-articulate theoretical accounts of certain “internal contradiction[s]” structuring the archive: how they lay bare tensions between archival “conservation" and “destruction”; and how they quite literally underscore the relevance of the archive as both a site of law and of the law’s “suspension” (Derrida 1995, 19; Grimm 2003, 110).
Ambivalence and Intertextuality in Marian Engel’s The Glassy Sea: What the Archives Reveal
Authors: Kavanagh Afra
Published: December 2016

The Marian Engel Archive at McMaster University is a rich resource that yields new insights into Marian Engel’s work. A study of the several available drafts of The Glassy Sea reveals that Engel made significant changes to the epigraph, the title, and the form of her developing novel. This essay notes the changes Engel made to her intertexts and points to the increasing subtlety with which Engel dealt with women’s ambivalent relationship to traditional discourses such as religion and language.
“Civilization Had Given Him a Vote”: Citizenship and the Ballot in Sara Jeannette Duncan’s The Imperialist
Authors: Tough David
Published: December 2016

This essay offers a reading of Sara Jeannette Duncan’s The Imperialist as a novel of citizenship. At the centre of this reading is the enfranchisement of the Moneida Indians, whose uncomprehending abuse of the ballot is contrasted by Duncan with the depth of political feeling in Lorne Murchison to produce a critique of electoral politics—and, arguably, an implicit argument for female suffrage. By critically engaging with the novel’s presentation of character and of historical events, the essay builds on existing scholarship on The Imperialist to make a case for the centrality of its political argument.
Peyote on the Prairies: Religion, Scientists, and Native-Newcomer Relations in Western Canada
Authors: Dyck Erika , Bradford Tolly
Published: December 2016

In October 1956, a peyote ceremony took place at the Red Pheasant reserve in Saskatchewan. Organized by the Native American Church, the ceremony featured the use of peyote, a psychedelic substance from a cactus traditionally found in Mexico. Its use among Canadian Native peoples in the first half of the twentieth century had signalled concerns about American influences, but by the 1950s the issue escalated into a debate about spirituality, medicine, and Native-newcomer relations. The federal government by this time had embraced an ethos of multiculturalism, which meant that some officials tolerated the peyote ceremony as a legitimate Indigenous ritual. Local authorities, however, regarded peyotism as an abusive and dangerous ceremony and sought to criminalize its practice. The ensuing conflicts over how to handle the rise of peyotism on the Prairies forms the basis of this study. This essay unpacks this complex set of debates by explaining how various players—scientists, journalists, Native participants, police, and government officials- interpreted peyotism. The authors suggest that the peyote ceremony tested the limits of the federal government’s shift towards treating Aboriginal Canadians as immigrants.
The Totemic Art of Small-Town Canada
Authors: Stymeist David
Published: December 2016

The monumental statues of the Canadian small town are a well-recognized folk art form. Communally sponsored and constructed, town monuments announce the presence of a local social system and are the symbolic expression of some key aspect of a settlement’s social life. Stylistically diverse and varied in subject, they speak of nature, history, ethnicity, economic activity, the regional origins of townspeople, and the achievements of residents. In some sense sacred, town monuments may commemorate an ancestral pioneer population or venerate a cultural heritage, a prized articulation with the land, or a characteristic occupation. More than mere tourist attractions, town monuments make perceptible an intangible set of social relations and are sites for various community events and celebrations. Proclamations of identity are encoded in town monuments, and the structure of signs that results from the creation of each is ultimately a system of totemic representation. Collectively, town monuments facilitate the appreciation of local difference along with a concomitant recognition of the shared presence of community and have come to establish thereby a contemporary form of totemism.
La construction des domaines temporel et spirituel dans la poésie de Louis Riel
Authors: Rheault Sylvain
Published: December 2016

On a beaucoup étudié Louis Riel en tant qu’homme politique, mais encore peu en tant qu’homme de lettres. En fait, ce n’est que depuis la parution en 1985 du volume 4 des Écrits complets de Louis Riel, sous la direction de Glen Campbell, que les chercheurs ont accès à l’ensemble de l’œuvre poétique du fondateur du Manitoba. L’intérêt d’étudier les écrits poétiques de Riel réside surtout dans le caractère unique d’un univers poétique où coexistent et s’affrontent un domaine temporel et un domaine spirituel. Le premier s’inspire de la dure réalité vécue par le peuple métis ainsi que des problèmes personnels de Louis Riel. Le domaine spirituel, quant à lui, se construit à partir des traditions catholiques. Ainsi, le poète travaille à donner un caractère légitime à sa vocation de prophète en s’appropriant certaines des caractéristiques de la prêtrise.
W.J. Eccles: The Young Historian,1951-63
Authors: Miquelon Dale
Published: December 2016

W.J. Eccles’s Frontenac: The Courtier Governor (1959) and his article “The History of New France According to Francis Parkman” (1961) established his reputation as a fearsome iconoclast. The myth of the heroic governor and the reputation of his nineteenth-century champion did not survive intact. Less dramatic but equally important was Eccles’s exposition of French policy for the development of Canada in the seventeenth century, which he labelled Jean-Baptiste Colbert’s “compact colony policy,” a policy of limiting Canada’s geographical extent Eccles made this idea, long-buried in his Master of Arts thesis (1951), the theme of his book Canada under Louis XIV (1964) in the Canadian Centenary Series. The division between volumes 3 and 4 reflects Eccles’s belief that from 1701 a new policy of continental imperialism replaced Colbert’s old policy. Letters between Eccles and his editors, W.L. Morton and D.G. Creighton, reveal his struggle to include sections on economic and social history in a series decidedly narrative in structure. Canadian history writing was at a crossroads. Eccles was largely responsible for the rebirth of New France history in English. His influence was also felt among French-language historians, engaged in their own struggle to release history from a nineteenth-century embrace.
Draught, Development, and Discourse: The Northern Ontario Draught Beer Monopoly, 1972-92
Authors: White Daryl
Published: December 2016

From 1942 to 1992, Northern Ontario’s draught beer market was shielded from outside competition. For 30 years, this was done by a gentlemen’s agreement among brewers, but in 1972, the Ontario government took the extraordinary step of enforcing a legal monopoly for what was then the only brewer in the region, Doran’s Northern Breweries. Changes in Ontario’s political economy and consumer attitudes towards regulation over the next 20 years undermined the monopoly and brought it to an end in 1992. An examination of this regulatory protection for Doran’s offers an adjustment and extension to our current view of liquor control in Ontario. Existing Ontario studies have not examined the producer’s role in the regulatory discourse and the consequent themes of corporate citizenship, economic development, and respect for free enterprise.
Reproductive Autonomy and the Evolving Family in the Supreme Court of Canada: Implications for Assisted Reproductive Technologies
Authors: Snow Dave
Published: December 2016

After the introduction of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, litigation has become a successful strategy to affect long-term policy change concerning reproductive and LGBT rights. This essay analyzes leading Supreme Court of Canada decisions, and finds that the court has moved from a conservative to a liberal position on two issues: expanding the concept of reproductive autonomy, and redefining the family, particularly in cases involving LGBT rights. Through a combination of value change, interest group formation, and institutional venue shifting, the last three decades have largely been a winning streak for social liberals in the Canadian courts. This winning streak could continue into the field of assisted reproductive technologies. In particular, existing jurisprudence could be used to aid a court challenge to Canada’s prohibitions on payment for sperm, ova, and surrogacy—all of which restrict reproductive autonomy and, by implication, non-traditional family formation.
“More Than Two Is a Crowd”: Mononormativity and Gross Indecency in the Criminal Code, 1981-82
Authors: Hooper Thomas
Published: December 2016

In 1969, the Trudeau Liberals partially decriminalized homosexuality by allowing homosexual acts to take place provided that only two people were present. The idea that only two people could be present stems from the concept of mononormativity, or in other words, the idea that sexual relations are acceptable when only two people take part, preferably within the confines of a monogamous relationship. This essay examines the role of mononormativity in shaping the debate over Bill C-53, a proposed reform to the Criminal Code in 1982, which would have removed the “only two person” requirement of the code’s exception clause that regulated homosexual sex. Fully galvanized in the wake of the 1981 Toronto bathhouse raids, members of the Right to Privacy Committee carried the message of “We Demand” gay activists from 1971: that these provisions of the Criminal Code needed to be repealed. C-53 failed to pass because while Canadian society was willing to accept a limited decriminalization of homosexuality, it was not willing to accept any further breaches to heteronormative, monogamous sexual behaviour.
Consuming Sexual Liberation: Gay Business, Politics, and Toronto’s Barracks Bathhouse Raids
Authors: Nash Catherine J.
Published: December 2016

On 9 December 1978, the Toronto police raided the Barracks Bathhouse. The Barracks owners and several employees were charged with allegedly keeping a common bawdy house and a number of attendees were charged with related morals offenses. This essay argues that the Barracks raid marks a significant moment in gay activism in Canada as it brought together two largely antithetical groups, gay businessmen and activists, and, in the process, reworked understandings of gay bathhouses as important community institutions in the Toronto context. Second, the Barracks events also need to be positioned within a larger set of processes ultimately resulting in a reimagining of the nature of gay “institutions” within the gay “ghetto” as a central and important location for gay and lesbian political, economic, and social life.
Reading the “St. Louis Whirligig”: Hockey, Masculinity, and Aging in Paul Quarrington’s King Leary
Authors: Jamieson Sara
Published: December 2016

Paul Quarrington’s novel King Leary utilizes a late-life perspective in a way that questions prevailing ideals of masculinity in the culture of Canadian hockey. Leary’s reminiscences of his past athletic prowess betray an abiding appreciation for forms of bodily movement associated with the feminized spheres of figure skating and dance, complicating his attempts to narrate a stable identity that conforms to the ideal of the tough, aggressive hockey player. Leary’s ongoing affinity with these forms of movement suggests the possibility of sustaining his identity as an athlete into old age in a way that departs from his customary drive to dominate others. Foregrounding the body as an important site of identity in late life, the text challenges persistent cultural narratives of aging—particularly when accompanied by dementia—as a loss of self.
A “Unifying Influence on Our Nation”: Making and Remaking the Meaning of Terry Fox
Authors: Ellison Jenny
Published: December 2016

Just months before his death in June 1981, Fitness and Amateur Sport Canada (FAS) announced the first annual Terry Fox Marathon of Hope Day. This announcement built on widespread interest in commemorating Terry Fox. During and after his run, English Canadians wrote letters to politicians and newspapers suggesting that celebrating Terry Fox could be a way to bring the nation together and to recognize a person emblematic of values deemed Canadian: toughness, masculinity, courage, and ability. This essay examines the claim that Terry Fox united Canada in 1980-81 and argues that Fox was not the unifying figure that many made him out to be. Instead, he was a more complicated and contradictory icon than such narratives imply. Considering Terry Fox in the context of national unity, ability/disability, masculinity, and character reveals that there was no singular way of understanding the runner or the Marathon of Hope when he was still alive. Over time, different meanings have been attached to Terry Fox. Fox’s story has been made and remade. It speaks to patterns of historical memory, and regional and linguistic differences that are a part of the Canadian story.
The superior fovea triangle approach: a novel safe entry zone to the brainstem
Authors: Yagmurlu Kaan , Kalani M. Yashar S. , Preul Mark C. , Spetzler Robert F.
Published: December 2016

The authors describe a safe entry zone, the superior fovea triangle, on the floor of the fourth ventricle for resection of deep dorsal pontine lesions at the level of the facial colliculus. Clinical data from a patient undergoing a suboccipital telovelar transsuperior fovea triangle approach to a deep pontine cavernous malformation were reviewed and supplemented with 6 formalin-fixed adult human brainstem and 2 silicone-injected adult human cadaveric heads using the fiber dissection technique to illustrate the utility of this novel safe entry zone. The superior fovea has a triangular shape that is an important landmark for the motor nucleus of the trigeminal, abducens, and facial nerves. The inferior half of the superior fovea triangle may be incised to remove deep dorsal pontine lesions through the floor of the fourth ventricle. The superior fovea triangle may be used as a safe entry zone for dorsally located lesions at the level of the facial colliculus.
Mesenteric ischemia following the correction of adult spinal deformity: case report
Authors: Khanna Krishn , Berven Sigurd H.
Published: December 2016

Vascular complications are an important adverse event that can be associated with spinal reconstructive surgery. Direct injury of vessels, or indirect traction or compression of vessels, can cause both arterial and venous injury. Indirect compression of the mesenteric vessels is a well-recognized complication of bracing and surgical care of children with spinal deformity (superior mesenteric artery syndrome), but the complication is not common or well recognized in the adult population with spinal deformity. The purpose of this case report is to detail the case of postoperative mesenteric ischemia in a 63-year-old man in whom a posterior approach was used to perform spinal deformity correction. Preoperatively, the patient had had significant lumbar hypolordosis. The reconstructive surgery with the use of posterior-based osteotomies resulted in a shortening of the posterior column of the spine but a relative lengthening of structures anterior to the spine. The significant lordosis achieved by the surgery led to an acute worsening of the mesenteric stenosis suffered by the patient. He required a vascular surgery intervention to restore perfusion to the bowel. Recognition of severe vasculopathy is important in anticipating potential postoperative vascular insufficiency. This case report will inform surgeons and clinicians to have a higher index of suspicion for the exacerbation of vascular insufficiency, including mesenteric pathology, in patients undergoing surgery that involves significant realignment of the spine. Preoperative recognition of vascular insufficiency and treatment of symptomatic disease may limit the occurrence of postoperative vascular complications in spinal reconstructive surgery.
Central nervous system filariasis masquerading as a glioma: case report
Authors: Shrivastava Adesh , Arora Prateek , Khare Akriti , Goel Garima , Kapoor Neelkamal
Published: December 2016

Filariasis, an endemic zoonosis in the Southeast Asia region, has been reported to affect various organs as well as the central nervous system (CNS). Inflammatory reactions mimicking those from neoplastic lesions clinically and radiologically have been reported in the breast and urinary bladder. To date, a CNS manifestation of filarial infestation has been reported in the form of meningoencephalitis. The authors here present an interesting case of a young man presenting in status epilepticus, which on radiological evaluation appeared to be a glioma. However, postoperative histopathological examination changed the provisional diagnosis to a filarial infection of the CNS mimicking a primary CNS neoplasm.
Clinical relevance of anterior cerebral artery asymmetry in aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage
Authors: Jabbarli Ramazan , Reinhard Matthias , Roelz Roland , Kaier Klaus , Weyerbrock Astrid , Taschner Christian , Scheiwe Christian , Shah Mukesch
Published: December 2016

OBJECTIVE

An asymmetry of the A1 segments (A1SA) of the anterior cerebral arteries (ACAs) is an assumed risk factor for the development of anterior communicating artery aneurysms (ACoAAs). It is unknown whether A1SA is also clinically relevant after aneurysm rupture. The authors of this study investigated the impact of A1SA on the clinical course and outcome of patients with aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH).

METHODS

The authors retrospectively analyzed data on consecutive SAH patients treated at their institution between January 2005 and December 2012. The occurrence and severity of cerebral infarctions in the ACA territories were evaluated on follow-up CT scans up to 6 weeks after SAH. Moreover, the risk for an unfavorable outcome (defined as > 3 points on the modified Rankin Scale) at 6 months after SAH was assessed.

RESULTS

A total of 594 patients were included in the final analysis. An A1SA was identified on digital subtraction angiography studies from 127 patients (21.4%) and was strongly associated with ACoAA (p < 0.0001, OR 13.7). An A1SA independently correlated with the occurrence of ACA infarction in patients with ACoAA (p = 0.047) and in those without an ACoAA (p = 0.015). Among patients undergoing ACoAA coiling, A1SA was independently associated with the severity of ACA infarction (p = 0.023) and unfavorable functional outcome (p = 0.045, OR = 2.4).

CONCLUSIONS

An A1SA is a common anatomical variation in SAH patients and is strongly associated with ACoAA. Moreover, the presence of A1SA independently increases the likelihood of ACA infarction. In SAH patients undergoing ACoAA coiling, A1SA carries the risk for severe ACA infarction and thus an unfavorable outcome.

Clinical trial registration no.: DRKS00005486 (http://www.drks.de/)
Expression profile of long noncoding RNAs in human cerebral aneurysms: a microarray analysis
Authors: Li Hao , Yue Haiyan , Hao Yajing , Li Haowen , Wang Shuo , Yu Lanbing , Zhang Dong , Cao Yong , Zhao Jizong
Published: December 2016

OBJECTIVE

The pathogenesis of cerebral aneurysms (CAs) remains largely unknown. Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) were reported recently to play crucial roles in many physiological and biological processes. Here, the authors compared the gene-expression profiles of CAs and their control arteries to investigate the potential functions of lncRNAs in the formation of CAs.

METHODS

A prospective case-control study was designed to identify the changes in expression of lncRNAs and mRNAs between 12 saccular CA samples (case group) and 12 paired superficial temporal artery samples (control group). Microarray analysis was performed to investigate the expression of lncRNAs and messenger RNAs (mRNAs), and reverse-transcription quantitative polymerase chain reaction was used to validate the microarray analysis findings. Then, an lncRNA target-prediction program and gene ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analyses were applied to explore potential lncRNA functions.

RESULTS

A comparison between the case and control groups revealed that 1518 lncRNAs and 2545 mRNAs were expressed differentially. By using target-prediction program analysis, the authors constructed a complex network consisting of 2786 matched lncRNA-mRNA pairs, in which ine1 mRNA was potentially targeted by one to tens of lncRNAs, and vice versa. The results of further gene ontology and KEGG pathway analyses indicated that lncRNAs were involved mainly in regulating immune/inflammatory processes/pathways and vascular smooth muscle contraction, both of which are known to have crucial pathobiological relevance in terms of CA formation.

CONCLUSIONS

By comparing CAs with their control arteries, the authors created an expression profile of lncRNAs in CAs and propose here their possible roles in the pathogenesis of CAs. The results of this study provide novel insight into the mechanisms of CA pathogenesis and shed light on developing new therapeutic intervention for CAs in the future.
3-Tesla MRI in patients with fully implanted deep brain stimulation devices: a preliminary study in 10 patients
Authors: Sammartino Francesco , Krishna Vibhor , Sankar Tejas , Fisico Jason , Kalia Suneil K. , Hodaie Mojgan , Kucharczyk Walter , Mikulis David J. , Crawley Adrian , Lozano Andres M.
Published: December 2016

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study was to evaluate the safety of 3-T MRI in patients with implanted deep brain stimulation (DBS) systems.

METHODS

This study was performed in 2 phases. In an initial phantom study, a Lucite phantom filled with tissue-mimicking gel was assembled. The system was equipped with a single DBS electrode connected to an internal pulse generator. The tip of the electrode was coupled to a fiber optic thermometer with a temperature resolution of 0.1°C. Both anatomical (T1- and T2-weighted) and functional MRI sequences were tested. A temperature change within 2°C from baseline was considered safe. After findings from the phantom study suggested safety, 10 patients with implanted DBS systems targeting various brain areas provided informed consent and underwent 3-T MRI using the same imaging sequences. Detailed neurological evaluations and internal pulse generator interrogations were performed before and after imaging.

RESULTS

During phantom testing, the maximum temperature increase was registered using the T2-weighted sequence. The maximal temperature changes at the tip of the DBS electrode were < 1°C for all sequences tested. In all patients, adequate images were obtained with structural imaging, although a significant artifact from lead connectors interfered with functional imaging quality. No heating, warmth, or adverse neurological effects were observed.

CONCLUSIONS

To the authors' knowledge, this was the first study to assess the clinical safety of 3-T MRI in patients with a fully implanted DBS system (electrodes, extensions, and pulse generator). It provided preliminary data that will allow further examination and assessment of the safety of 3-T imaging studies in patients with implanted DBS systems. The authors cannot advocate widespread use of this type of imaging in patients with DBS implants until more safety data are obtained.
Theoretical Study of the Kinetics and Mechanism of the Thermal Decomposition of 3-Oxetanone in the Gas Phase
Authors: Khavani Mohammad , Karimi Javad
Published: December 2016

The kinetics and mechanism of the thermal decomposition reaction of 3-oxetanone in the gas phase were studied using quantum chemical calculations. The major products of this reaction are formaldehyde, ketene, carbon monoxide, ethylene oxide, ethylene and methyl radical. Formaldehyde, ketene, carbon monoxide and ethylene oxide are the initial decomposition products and other species are the products of ethylene oxide decomposition. The results of B3LYP and QCISD(T) calculations reveal that thermal decomposition of 3-oxetanone to ethylene oxide and carbon monoxide is more probable than to formaldehyde and ketene from an energy viewpoint. Moreover, quantum theory of atoms in molecules and natural bond orbital analysis indicate that 3-oxetanone decomposition to formaldehyde, ketene, carbon monoxide and ethylene occurs via a concerted mechanism and bonds that are involved in the transition states have a covalent character. Moreover, the calculated changes in bond lengths in the transition states reveal that bond breaking and new bond formation occur asynchronously in a concerted mechanism.
Search for antimatter and dark matter and precision studies of cosmic ray fluxes on the International Space Station. AMS experiment. Results of four-year exposure
Authors: Galaktionov Yu V
Published: December 2016

The results of cosmic rays studies obtained in the AMS experiment in 2011–2015 on the International Space Station are discussed. Research on the energy spectra of electrons and positrons at TeV energies and precision measurements of fluxes were performed. The growth of the positron fraction with energy was observed. Proton and helium spectra were also obtained. A review of theoretical models with possible explanations of the observed phenomena is presented.
Which, When, and How: Hierarchical Clustering with Human–Machine Cooperation
Authors: Zheng Huanyang , Wu Jie
Published: December 2016

Human–Machine Cooperations (HMCs) can balance the advantages and disadvantages of human computation (accurate but costly) and machine computation (cheap but inaccurate). This paper studies HMCs in agglomerative hierarchical clusterings, where the machine can ask the human some questions. The human will return the answers to the machine, and the machine will use these answers to correct errors in its current clustering results. We are interested in the machine’s strategy on handling the question operations, in terms of three problems: (1) Which question should the machine ask? (2) When should the machine ask the question (early or late)? (3) How does the machine adjust the clustering result, if the machine’s mistake is found by the human? Based on the insights of these problems, an efficient algorithm is proposed with five implementation variations. Experiments on image clusterings show that the proposed algorithm can improve the clustering accuracy with few question operations.
MR Damper Controlled Vibration Absorber for Enhanced Mitigation of Harmonic Vibrations
Authors: Weber Felix , Distl Hans , Fischer Sebastian , Braun Christian
Published: December 2016

This paper describes a semi-active vibration absorber (SVA) concept based on a real-time controlled magnetorheological damper (MR-SVA) for the enhanced mitigation of structural vibrations due to harmonic disturbing forces. The force of the MR damper is controlled in real-time to generate the frequency and damping controls according to the behaviour of the undamped vibration absorber for the actual frequency of vibration. As stiffness and damping emulations in semi-active actuators are coupled quantities the control is formulated to prioritize the frequency control by the controlled stiffness. The control algorithm is augmented by a stiffness correction method ensuring precise frequency control when the desired control force is constrained by the semi-active restriction and residual force of the MR damper. The force tracking task is solved by a model-based feed forward with feedback correction. The MR-SVA is numerically and experimentally validated for the primary structure with nominal eigenfrequency and when de-tuning of −10%, −5%, +5% and +10% is present. Both validations demonstrate that the MR-SVA improves the vibration reduction in the primary structure by up to 55% compared to the passive tuned mass damper (TMD). Furthermore, it is shown that the MR-SVA with only 80% of tuned mass leads to approximately the same enhanced performance while the associated increased relative motion amplitude of the tuned mass is more than compensated be the reduced dimensions of the mass. Therefore, the MR-SVA is an appropriate solution for the mitigation of tall buildings where the pendulum mass can be up to several thousands of metric tonnes and space for the pendulum damper is limited.
Project Risk Management: Challenge Established Practice
Authors: Klakegg Ole
Published: December 2016

The idea behind this Special Issue is based on the observation that project risk management is presented as a key knowledge area in project management and has become an important skill for updated project managers [1,2].[...]
Multidisciplinary Design Optimization of a Swash-Plate Axial Piston Pump
Authors: Liu Guangjun , Zhou Zhaocheng , Qian Xin , Wu Xiaofeng , Pang Weihai
Published: December 2016

This work proposes an MDO (multidisciplinary design optimization) procedure for a swash-plate axial piston pump based on co-simulation and integrated optimization. The integrated hydraulic-mechanical model of the pump is built to reflect its actual performance, and a hydraulic-mechanical co-simulation is conducted through data exchange between different domains. The flow ripple of the pump is optimized by using a MDO procedure. A CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) simulation of the pump’s flow field is done, which shows that the hydrodynamic shock of the pump is improved after optimization. To verify the MDO effect, an experimental system is established to test the optimized piston pump. Experimental results show that the simulated and experimental curves are similar. The flow ripple is improved by the MDO procedure. The peak of the pressure curve is lower than before optimization, and the pressure pulsation is reduced by 0.21 MPa, which shows that the pressure pulsation is improved with the decreasing of the flow ripple. Comparing the experimental and simulation results shows that MDO method is effective and feasible in the optimization design of the pump.
Automatic Taxonomic Classification of Fish Based on Their Acoustic Signals
Authors: Noda Juan , Travieso Carlos , Sánchez-Rodríguez David
Published: December 2016

Fish as well as birds, mammals, insects and other animals are capable of emitting sounds for diverse purposes, which can be recorded through microphone sensors. Although fish vocalizations have been known for a long time, they have been poorly studied and applied in their taxonomic classification. This work presents a novel approach for automatic remote acoustic identification of fish through their acoustic signals by applying pattern recognition techniques. The sound signals are preprocessed and automatically segmented to extract each call from the background noise. Then, the calls are parameterized using Linear and Mel Frequency Cepstral Coefficients (LFCC and MFCC), Shannon Entropy (SE) and Syllable Length (SL), yielding useful information for the classification phase. In our experiments, 102 different fish species have been successfully identified with three widely used machine learning algorithms: K-Nearest Neighbors (KNN), Random Forest (RF) and Support Vector Machine (SVM). Experimental results show an average classification accuracy of 95.24%, 93.56% and 95.58%, respectively.
PSO-Based Voltage Control Strategy for Loadability Enhancement in Smart Power Grids
Authors: Su Heng-Yi , Hsu Yu-Liang , Chen Yi-Chung
Published: December 2016

This paper proposes a new voltage control methodology using the particle swarm optimization (PSO) technique for smart grid loadability enhancement. The goal of this paper is to achieve reliable and efficient voltage profile/stability regulation in power grids. This methodology is based on the decouple power flow equations and the worst-case design technique. Specifically, the secondary voltage control (SVC) problem is formulated as an L-infinity norm minimization problem which considers overall load voltage deviations in electrical power systems as an objective model, and the PSO technique is employed to determine a robust control action which aims to improve voltage profile and to enlarge transmission grid loadability by optimal coordinated control of VAR sources. The methodology was successfully tested on several IEEE benchmark systems.
Wavelength Selection for Detection of Slight Bruises on Pears Based on Hyperspectral Imaging
Authors: Jiang Hao , Zhang Chu , He Yong , Chen Xinxin , Liu Fei , Liu Yande
Published: December 2016

Hyperspectral imaging technology was employed to detect slight bruises on Korla pears. The spectral data of 60 bruised samples and 60 normal samples were collected by a hyperspectral imaging system. To select the characteristic wavelengths for detection, several chemometrics methods were used on the raw spectra. Firstly, principal component analysis (PCA) was conducted on the spectra ranging from 420 to 1000 nm of all samples. Considering that the reliability of the first two PCs was more than 90%, five characteristic wavelengths (472, 544, 655, 688 and 967 nm) were selected by the loading plot of PC1 and PC2. Then, each of the wavelength variables was considered as an independent classifier for bruised/normal classification, and all classifiers were evaluated by the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis. Two wavelengths (472 and 967 nm) with the highest values under the curve (0.992 and 0.980) were finally selected for modeling. The classifying model was built by partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) and the bruised/normal classification accuracy of the modeling set (45 damaged samples and 45 normal samples) and prediction set (15 damaged samples and 15 normal samples) was 98.9% and 100%, respectively, which is similar to that of the PLS-DA model based on the whole spectral range. The result shows that it is feasible to select characteristic wavelengths for the detection of slight bruises on pears by the methods combining the PCA and ROC analysis. This study can lay a foundation for the development of an online detection system for slight bruise detection on pears.
Effect of the Impact of Chemical and Environmental Factors on the Durability of the High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) Geogrid in a Sanitary Landfill
Authors: Kiersnowska Agnieszka , Koda Eugeniusz , Fabianowski Wojciech , Kawalec Jacek
Published: December 2016

A high density polyethylene (HDPE) uniaxial geogrid was exhumed after twenty years of service in a sanitary landfill, and its properties were examined. A geogrid installed in a landfill is exposed to mechanical and chemical factors (e.g., a wide pH range and high temperatures), as well as different weather conditions. This paper presents the results of physical and mechanical analyses of virgin and aged HDPE geogrid samples. Structural changes observed by differential scanning calorimetry and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) spectroscopy correlate with the mechanical properties of the aged geogrid. The mechanical properties were found to have changed only slightly. In the FT-IR spectrum of the topmost layer of the aged geogrid samples, no significant changes were observed compared to the spectrum of the top layer of the virgin samples. This indicates the strong chemical resistance of the HDPE material, which is able to withstand environmental conditions for at least 20 years of service in a landfill.
Land Use Regression Modeling of PM2.5 Concentrations at Optimized Spatial Scales
Authors: Zhai Liang , Zou Bin , Fang Xin , Luo Yanqing , Wan Neng , Li Shuang
Published: December 2016

Though land use regression (LUR) models have been widely utilized to simulate air pollution distribution, unclear spatial scale effects of contributing characteristic variables usually make results study-specific. In this study, LUR models for PM2.5 in Houston Metropolitan Area, US were developed under scales of 100 m, 300 m, 500 m, 800 m, and 1000–5000 m with intervals of 500 m by employing the idea of statistically optimized analysis. Results show that the annual average PM2.5 concentration in Houston was significantly influenced by area ratios of open space urban and medium intensity urban at a 100 m scale, as well as of high intensity urban at a 500 m scale, whose correlation coefficients valued −0.64, 0.72, and 0.56, respectively. The fitting degree of LUR model at the optimized spatial scale (adj. R2 = 0.78) is obviously better than those at any other unified spatial scales (adj. R2 ranging from 0.19 to 0.65). Differences of PM2.5 concentrations produced by LUR models with best-, moderate-, weakest fitting degree, as well as ordinary kriging were evident, while the LUR model achieved the best cross-validation accuracy at the optimized spatial scale. Results suggested that statistical based optimized spatial scales of characteristic variables might possibly ensure the performance of LUR models in mapping PM2.5 distribution.
Saccharomyces cerevisiae in the Production of Whisk(e)y
Authors: Walker Graeme , Hill Annie
Published: December 2016

Whisk(e)y is a major global distilled spirit beverage. Whiskies are produced from cereal starches that are saccharified, fermented and distilled prior to spirit maturation. The strain of Saccharomyces cerevisiae employed in whisky fermentations is crucially important not only in terms of ethanol yields, but also for production of minor yeast metabolites which collectively contribute to development of spirit flavour and aroma characteristics. Distillers must therefore pay very careful attention to the strain of yeast exploited to ensure consistency of fermentation performance and spirit congener profiles. In the Scotch whisky industry, initiatives to address sustainability issues facing the industry (for example, reduced energy and water usage) have resulted in a growing awareness regarding criteria for selecting new distilling yeasts with improved efficiency. For example, there is now a desire for Scotch whisky distilling yeasts to perform under more challenging conditions such as high gravity wort fermentations. This article highlights the important roles of S. cerevisiae strains in whisky production (with particular emphasis on Scotch) and describes key fermentation performance attributes sought in distiller’s yeast, such as high alcohol yields, stress tolerance and desirable congener profiles. We hope that the information herein will be useful for whisky producers and yeast suppliers in selecting new distilling strains of S. cerevisiae, and for the scientific community to stimulate further research in this area.
Finite Element Simulation and Additive Manufacturing of Stiffness-Matched NiTi Fixation Hardware for Mandibular Reconstruction Surgery
Authors: Jahadakbar Ahmadreza , Shayesteh Moghaddam Narges , Amerinatanzi Amirhesam , Dean David , Karaca Haluk , Elahinia Mohammad
Published: December 2016

Process parameters and post-processing heat treatment techniques have been developed to produce both shape memory and superelastic NiTi using Additive Manufacturing. By introducing engineered porosity, the stiffness of NiTi can be tuned to the level closely matching cortical bone. Using additively manufactured porous superelastic NiTi, we have proposed the use of patient-specific, stiffness-matched fixation hardware, for mandible skeletal reconstructive surgery. Currently, Ti-6Al-4V is the most commonly used material for skeletal fixation devices. Although this material offers more than sufficient strength for immobilization during the bone healing process, the high stiffness of Ti-6Al-4V implants can cause stress shielding. In this paper, we present a study of mandibular reconstruction that uses a dry cadaver mandible to validate our geometric and biomechanical design and fabrication (i.e., 3D printing) of NiTi skeletal fixation hardware. Based on the reference-dried mandible, we have developed a Finite Element model to evaluate the performance of the proposed fixation. Our results show a closer-to-normal stress distribution and an enhanced contact pressure at the bone graft interface than would be in the case with Ti-6Al-4V off-the-shelf fixation hardware. The porous fixation plates used in this study were fabricated by selective laser melting.
A Brief History of Research on Mitotic Mechanisms
Authors: McIntosh J. , Hays Thomas
Published: December 2016

This chapter describes in summary form some of the most important research on chromosome segregation, from the discovery and naming of mitosis in the nineteenth century until around 1990. It gives both historical and scientific background for the nine chapters that follow, each of which provides an up-to-date review of a specific aspect of mitotic mechanism. Here, we trace the fruits of each new technology that allowed a deeper understanding of mitosis and its underlying mechanisms. We describe how light microscopy, including phase, polarization, and fluorescence optics, provided descriptive information about mitotic events and also enabled important experimentation on mitotic functions, such as the dynamics of spindle fibers and the forces generated for chromosome movement. We describe studies by electron microscopy, including quantitative work with serial section reconstructions. We review early results from spindle biochemistry and genetics, coupled to molecular biology, as these methods allowed scholars to identify key molecular components of mitotic mechanisms. We also review hypotheses about mitotic mechanisms whose testing led to a deeper understanding of this fundamental biological event. Our goal is to provide modern scientists with an appreciation of the work that has laid the foundations for their current work and interests.