bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Η βυζαντινή οικογένεια των Αγιοθεοδωριτών (Ι): Νικόλαος Αγιοθεοδωρίτης, Πανιερώτατος Μητροπολίτης Αθηνών και Υπέρτιμος
Authors: ΜΑΔΑΡΙΑΓΑ Ελισάβετ
Published: November 2014

THE BYZANTINE FAMILY OF THE HAGIOTHEODORITES (I): NIKOLAOS HAGIOTHEODORITES, ALL-HOLIEST METROPOLITAN OF ATHENS AND HYPERTIMOS

The present article consists in a prosopographical study on Nikolaos Hagiotheodorites. Nikolaos, didaskalos tou evangeliou, maistor ton rhetoron and metropolitan of Athens (1160/66-1175), was one of the most prominent scholars under the service of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Constantinople. His brother Michael acted as a Logothetes tou dromou (1166-1180) and mesazon in the court of Manuel I Comnenus. Both of them are the most renowned members of the Hagiotheodorites family. Nikolaos Hagiotheodorites was the typical busy public figure of his time. Having initially a succesful church career, he then accomplished an impressive professional activity by combining many secular and ecclesiastical offices.
Η βυζαντινή πολεµική τακτική εναντίον των Φράγκων κατά τον 13ο αιώνα και η µάχη του Tagliacozzo
Authors: ΚΑΝΕΛΛΟΠΟΥΛΟΣ Νικόλαος Σ. , ΛΕΚΕΑ Ιωάννα Κ.
Published: November 2014

ΒYZANTINE BATTLE TACTICS AGAINST THE FRANKS IN THE 13th CENTURY AND THE BATTLE OF TACLIACOZZO
In 1268 Charles I of Anjou (1266-1285) confronted the army of Conradin (1254-1268) in Tagliacozzo, achieving a victory that established his position in Sicily. The prince of Morea William II of Villehardouin (1246-1278), took part in the battle with 400 knights levied from the principality. The Chronicle of the Morea attributes the victory of Charles I to William II’s advice to fight using similar tactics applied by the Byzantines and the Turks in the Greek mainland. The prince had acquired important experience of the war conditions in Morea and Greece before the battle of Tagliacozzo fighting against the Byzantines. Hereof, it is possible that William II took advantage of this experience and played an important role in the positive outcome of the battle, even though not as crucial as the Chronicle tries to ascribe to him. On the other hand, it is proven by close examination of other Byzantine and western sources of the period that the battle description of the Chronicle is an authentic testimony of the Byzantine battle tactics exercised against the Franks during the 13th century and especially the way these tactics were seen through the eyes of the latter.
Βιβλιοκρισία του: Α. ΜΑΡΚΟΠΟΥΛΟΣ (επιμ.), Τέσσερα κείμενα για την ποίηση του Συμεών του Νέου Θεολόγου
Authors: LAUXTERMANN Marc D.
Published: November 2014

παρουσίαση του τόμου Δοκίμια για τον Συμεών Νέο Θεολόγο
Βιβλιοκρισία του: ΣΠ. Ν. ΤΡΩΙΑΝΟΣ, Οι Νεαρές Λέοντος Ϛ´ του Σοφού. Προλεγόμενα, κείμενο, απόδοση στη νεοελληνική, ευρετήρια και επίμετρο
Authors: ΑΝΤΩΝΟΠΟΥΛΟΥ Θεοδώρα
Published: November 2014

Review of S.N. Troianos' book on the Novels of the Emperor Leo VI (Introduction, Greek text, Modern Greek translation).
The perception of difference and the differences of perception: The image of the Norman invaders in southern Italy in contemporary western medieval and Byzantine sources
Authors: TOUNTA Eleni
Published: November 2014

The paper examines the image of the Norman invaders in southern Italy in contemporary western medieval and Byzantine sources. The comparative method and the methodology of linguistic and literary criticism are equally applied. The interest is focussed on the conceptual notions that defined the perception of the Norman invaders by medieval men and, consequently, their cultural representation. In this way, mentalities and social values are revealed, and, thus, historians investigating political developments are offered a research tool for medieval historical sources.
Οι "Κατηχήσεις" του Μιχαήλ Χωνιάτη. Χρονολόγηση και ιστορική προσέγγιση
Authors: ΜΑΥΡΟΜΜΑΤΗ Καλλιόπη
Published: November 2014

THE CATECHISMS OF MICHAEL CHONIATES. DATING AND HISTORICAL APPROACH 

 

The Catechisms of Michael Choniates, archbishop of Athens, are included in Spyridon Lampros’ Archive, who first studied the sources in 1906 and transcribed the texts from the manuscript Mosquensis Synodalis 218 (olim 230) and 219 (olim 262). Although he prepared a critical edition, he did not proceed with publishing. Eventually, his work has been digitized and the researcher can visit the Archive online through the website of the Laboratory of Digital Recording of the Public and Private Life of the Byzantines of the University of Athens (http://lamprosarcheio.arch.uoa.gr).  

The Catechisms are mainly, yet not exclusively, works of religious ethics; they also address the socioeconomic issues of the city of Athens at the end of the 12th century, and thus can be used as a supplementary source for this period. Indeed, the Catechisms offer a comprehensive account of the burdens endured by the Athenians, caused by the exploitative activities of state tax officers, usurers and pirates. On a different perspective, Choniates argues how adverse social conditions, such as poverty, immigration, and land tresspassing, modulate the social fabric and interpersonal relations. Although many of these issues are omitted or very briefly mentioned in other texts, they are clarified in the Catechisms.
Hierarchies and fractals: ecclesiastical revenues as indicator for the distribution of relative demographic and economic potential within the cities and regions of the Late Byzantine Empire in the early 14th century
Authors: PREISER-KAPELLER Johannes , MITSIOU Ekaterini
Published: November 2014

Until now the source material has made it impossible to reconstruct the distribution of economic power and population within the Late Byzantine Empire on a large scale. Our new analysis of a list of financial contributions from 1324, which includes those from 33 bishoprics and the Patriarchate of Constantinople, connects this data with the economic performance of the respective town and its hinterland; we demonstrate that the distribution of contributions shows characteristics which are typical for settlement hierarchies and therefore can be used to create the first models for the relative distribution of demographic and economic potential in the Byzantine Empire at this time.
Jihād and Crusade: Byzantine positions towards the notions of "holy war"
Authors: STOURAITIS Ioannis
Published: November 2014

 The current study aims to re-approach the issue of holy war in Byzantium by exploring Byzantine attitudes towards the ideology of the Crusade in the period 1096-1024. The starting-point of the study is the comparison of Byzantine reactions towards the ideology of jihād, which date in the period before the Crusades, with the Byzantine reactions towards the Crusade during the twelfth and the beginning of the thirteenth centuries. The main part of the paper focuses on the exploration of Byzantine attitudes towards the two main Latin ideas that made the Crusade a notion of holy war, the ideas of deus vult and remissio peccatorum. 
Θεραπείες ασθενειών με ζωϊκής προελεύσεως ύλες στα βυζαντινά ιατρικά κείμενα. Συμβολή στην μελέτη των αντιλήψεων για τις ασθένειες και τις θεραπείες τους στο Βυζάντιο
Authors: ΧΡΟΝΗ Μαρία
Published: November 2014

TREATMENT OF DISEASES WITH ANIMAL ORIGIN MATERIALS IN BYZANTINE MEDICAL TEXTS: CONTRIBUTION TO THE STUDY OF CONCEPTIONS ABOUT DISEASES AND THERAPIES IN BYZANTIUM 

Byzantine doctors generally dealt with several issues of human health, following the patterns of the ancient Greek physicians and in particular Hippocrates, Dioskourides and Galen. One of the most important issues included in their texts is diet and its relation to health. As a result, a basic category of byzantine medical texts are nutritional manuals. The authors refer to nutritional value of foods, and the medicinal properties of each food, because they consider that there is a direct interaction between food and a proportion of the four fluids (χυμοί) of the human organism, according to ancient Greek medical concepts: blood, phlegm yellow bile and black bile. Disruption of the proportion of fluids (χυμοί) in the human organism is considered as primarily responsible for the appearance of malfunctions and disease. On the contrary, a balanced ratio of fluids is crucial for maintaining good health. Animal products are frequently mentioned in byzantine medical texts, either as dietary items, or as pharmaceutical preparations for the prevention and treatment of several diseases.   In the present study suggested remedies of diseases with the use of animal products are mentioned analytically, as recorded in the texts of byzantine physicians. In an addendum diseases are described as they are recorded in the texts, aiming at a comparatively studying their appellation both in Byzantine and Modern medicine.
Working memory training shows immediate and long-term effects on cognitive performance in children
Authors: Pugin Fiona , Metz Andreas J. , Stauffer Madlaina , Wolf Martin , Jenni Oskar G. , Huber Reto
Published: November 2014

Working memory is important for mental reasoning and learning processes. Several studies in adults and school-age children have shown performance improvement in cognitive tests after working memory training. Our aim was to examine not only immediate but also long-term effects of intensive working memory training on cognitive performance tests in children. Fourteen healthy male subjects between 10 and 16 years trained a visuospatial n-back task over 3 weeks (30 min daily), while 15 individuals of the same age range served as a passive control group. Significant differences in immediate (after 3 weeks of training) and long-term effects (after 2-6 months) in an auditory n-back task were observed compared to controls (2.5 fold immediate and 4.7 fold long-term increase in the training group compared to the controls). The improvement was more pronounced in subjects who improved their performance during the training. Other cognitive functions (matrices test and Stroop task) did not change when comparing the training group to the control group. We conclude that visuospatial working memory training in children boosts performance in similar memory tasks such as the auditory n-back task. The sustained performance improvement several months after the training supports the effectiveness of the training.
Russia’s Lighting Engineering Products: Energy Saving and Energy Efficiency Issues
Authors: Байнева  , Bayneva I. , Байнев  , Baynev V.
Published: November 2014

Issues of energy-saving and energy efficiency in the lighting engineering

industry of Russia are discussed. Comparative analysis of modern light sources

is presented and their role in energy-saving technologies is examined with

particular emphasize put on a series of new energy-efficient luminous tube

lamps of T5 type.
Basic Forms of Hotel Management Arrangements: Advantages and Drawbacks
Authors: Моргунова  , Morgunova Yelyena
Published: November 2014

Hotel business seems to have tremendous development potential in Russia. Meanwhile, competitiveness of hotel business depends heavily on how well management process is organized. The paper analyzes the basic forms of organizing the process of hotel management and considers each form in terms of its advantages and drawbacks. The basic algorithm for arranging more productive relationships with a hotel operator at the stages of hotel designing and construction is presented.
Irakli Andronicus: the greatest art of improvisation
Authors: Егоренко Ольга , Egorenko Olga
Published: November 2014

The main directions of creativity of famous Soviet writer, literary critic, broadcaster Irakli Luarsabovich Andronicus are considered in the article. The art of the story master, Irakli Andronicus made an invaluable contribution to the Soviet culture.
Tourism as a cultural phenomenon: morphological aspect
Authors: Соколова Марина , Sokolova Marina
Published: November 2014

The article considers tourism as a cultural phenomenon in its morphological aspects. Examines manifestations of tourism in the material and spiritual forms of culture. When lighting the contribution of tourism to the material culture the attention is drawn to all the main areas of its production and technological activities: agriculture, buildings, equipment, transport, communications and technology. Agritourism is provided as a multi-example.

Spiritual form of culture within the tourism perspective is revealed primarily through the category of «knowledge.» On concrete examples

explores how tourism af ects its acquisition and accumulation. At the same time takes into account all the essential areas of knowledge: practical, scientif c, religious, gaming and mythological. It’s shown how tourism is implemented in the main tasks of the culture, such as the creation of artif cial habitat and transmission of cultural inheritance.

It is proved that tourism is an incentive for the development and creation of many new features that form artif cial (cultural) human habitat. Sending the same social inheritance is the most evidently made in the cultural, educational and religious tourism. Much attention is paid to the functions of culture, which f nd their refraction in tourism: epistemological, regulatory, adaptive, semiotic and axiological. But the most complete disclosure of the work is the communicative function. Its example examines the role of tourism in cross-cultural communication. Expanding the types of culture, correlating with the main areas of public life, it is indicated how a tourist, who faces manifestations of dif erent culture can change his mental and behavioral paradigms.

In process of levels of culture analysis (vital, specialized and full cultures) it’s revealed that specialized level tourism but mostly empathic levels of culture act as a powerful factor in the humanization of culture. Given the importance of tourism as a cultural phenomenon.
Memorial museum in the cultural space of the region.
Authors: Ватаман Власта , Vataman Vlasta
Published: November 2014

The article discusses the peculiarities of memorial museum of art using example of activity of House Museum of B.M. Kustodiev (Astrakhan). We paid special attention to the main museum function fulf llment at the region area and its signif cance to tourism development. The article also presents information about forming of the integral inside museum space.
Automating Data Abstraction in a Quality Improvement Platform for Surgical and
Interventional Procedures
Authors: Yetisgen Meliha , Klassen Prescott , Tarczy-Hornoch Peter
Published: November 2014

Objective: This paper describes a text processing system designed to automate the
manual data abstraction process in a quality improvement (QI) program. The Surgical Care
and Outcomes Assessment Program (SCOAP) is a clinician-led, statewide performance
benchmarking QI platform for surgical and interventional procedures. The data elements
abstracted as part of this program cover a wide range of clinical information from
patient medical history to details of surgical interventions.Methods: Statistical and
rule-based extractors were developed to automatically abstract data elements. A
preprocessing pipeline was created to chunk free-text notes into its sections,
sentences, and tokens. The information extracted in this preprocessing step was used by
the statistical and rule-based extractors as features.Findings: Performance results for
25 extractors (14 statistical, 11 rule based) are presented. The average f1-scores for
11 rule-based extractors and 14 statistical extractors are 0.785
(min=0.576,max=0.931,std-dev=0.113) and 0.812 (min=0.571,max=0.993,std-dev=0.135)
respectively.Discussion: Our error analysis revealed that most extraction errors were
due either to data imbalance in the data set or the way the gold standard had been
created.Conclusion: As future work, more experiments will be conducted with a more
comprehensive data set from multiple institutions contributing to the QI
project.
Avaliação das preferências dos consumidores de pescado do estado do Tocantins através de pesquisa de campo realizada no seminário Caiu na Rede é Lucro
Authors: Flores Roberto Manolio Valladão , Chicrala Patricia Mochiaro , Soares Simone Santos
Published: November 2014

Due to the large growth of the fishery sector in recent years and the strong upward trend of production and consumption for the future, it is necessary to cover a gap in the literature on fish consumption and evaluate consumer preferences. For this, the present study aims to identify these preferences to the state of Tocantins, in northern Brazil, conducting field research in the national seminar " Caiu na Rede é Lucro". The event was promoted by the system FAET/SENAR (Federação da Agricultura e Pecuária do Estado do Tocantins), Palmas, capital of the state of Tocantins and it was part of the works of Faet for the Year of the Multiplication of the Fish. The seminar was attended by approximately 300 people and some of these professionals work in fishing or aquaculture. Besides these professionals, the event also featured many interested in this subject and regular consumers of fish. To collect the desired data, a questionnaire was delivered to all participants of the seminar. As a result, the species of fish preferred for consumption were peacock bass and snapper. The study also investigated about the preferences of conservation, presentation and local purchase of fish. Fresh fish was the way of conservation chosen by most people. About presentation, the whole fish was the preferred form. With respect to local purchasing, market was the alternative more pointed as used by consumers.
Differential Expression of Inflammation-related Genes after Intense Exercise
Authors: Kimsa Magdalena C. , Strzalka-Mrozik Barbara , Kimsa Malgorzata W. , Gola Joanna , Kochanska-Dziurowicz Aleksandra , Zebrowska Aleksandra , Mazurek Urszula
Published: November 2014

The present study focused on the identification of the difference in expression of inflammation-related genes after intense exercise by oligonucleotide microarray methods. This may finally lead to an improved understanding of underlying cellular and molecular mechanism of the immunological alterations in response to exercises. The study group consisted of three healthy road cyclists. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were collected pre-exercise, immediately post-exercise and after 15 min of recovery. The analysis of the expression profile of genes related to the inflammation was performed in PBMCs using HG-U133A oligonucleotide microarrays. 4 genes were found to be regulated by more than 2.0-fold (IL1R2, IL2RB, IL8, IL8RB). Venn diagram indicated that only one of differentially expressed genes (TXLNA) remains the same in each comparison. The balance of both pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines after exercise seems to be important for athletes. Optimal inflammatory and immune response may help optimize exercise regimes, link physical activity with health and diagnose or prevent athletes from overtraining.
Missed Lipoma of the Spermatic Cord
Authors: Yener Oktay , Demir M. , Yiğitbaşı R. , Yilmaz A.
Published: November 2014

The aim of the research was to determine the incidence, significance, and anatomy of spermatic cord and round ligament lipomas. Between 2000 and 2010 we evaluated 969 consecutive patients with 1,070 indirect inguinal hernias, who underwent open repair.  A total of 22 lipomas of the spermatic cord or round ligament were identified and resected in 22 patients. No neoplastic changes confirmed in histopathologic examinations of the specimens were reported. Lipomas of the cord and round ligament occur with a considerable incidence. We believe that even if there is no peritoneal sac, the herniation of extraperitoneal fat through the inguinal canal should be counted as an inguinal hernia, and it requires adequate treatment.
A Comparison between Transcutaneous and Total Serum Bilirubin in Healthy-term Greek Neonates with Clinical Jaundice
Authors: Neocleous Charalambos , Adramerina Alkistis , Limnaios Stefanos , Symeonidis Symeon , Spanou Chrysoula , Malakozi Marina , Mpampalis Evangelos
Published: November 2014

The accuracy of transcutaneous bilirubin meters has been assessed in newborns from various ethnic backgrounds. However, there are limited data on Greek newborns. Our study examined the accuracy of transcutaneous bilirubin measurements in clinically jaundiced healthy-term Greek newborns, using total serum bilirubin as the reference standard, in order to re-evaluate our local guidelines about neonatal jaundice. Clinically jaundiced newborns requiring total serum bilirubin level estimation were recruited prospectively. 368 pairs of total serum bilirubin/transcutaneous bilirubin measurements were taken in 222 newborns, using a direct spectrophotometric device and the BiliCheck device, respectively. The level of agreement between the obtained transcutaneous bilirubin and total serum bilirubin values was assessed. Our data were analysed using the Stata/SE 12.0 (StataCorp LP, USA) statistical programme. The mean (± SD) TSB was 225.4 ± 25.4 μmol/l and the mean (± SD) TcB was 237.9 ± 21.0 μmol/l. The correlation between the values was poor (Pearson’s correlation coefficient 0.439; Lin’s concordance coefficient 0.377 [95% CI 0.301 to 0.453]; P<0.001). The Bland-Altman analysis demonstrated that transcutaneous bilirubin measurements tended to overestimate the total serum bilirubin value (mean difference 12.5 ± 24.9 μmol/l), with wide 95% limits of agreement (–36.2 μmol/l to 61.3 μmol/l). Transcutaneous bilirubin values did not correlate well with total serum bilirubin values, being often imprecise in predicting the actual total serum bilirubin levels. This permits us to continue estimating total serum bilirubin in clinically jaundiced newborns according to our local guidelines, in order to safely decide the appropriate care plan.
Effect of Amphetamine on Adult Male and Female Rats Prenatally Exposed to Methamphetamine
Authors: Šlamberová Romana , Macúchová Eva , Nohejlová Kateryna , Štofková Andrea , Jurčovičová Jana
Published: November 2014

The aim of the present study was to examine the cross-sensitization induced by prenatal methamphetamine (MA) exposure to adult amphetamine (AMP) treatment in male and female rats. Rat mothers received a daily injection of MA (5 mg/kg) or saline throughout the gestation period. Adult male and female offspring (prenatally MA- or saline-exposed) were administered with AMP (5 mg/kg) or saline (1 ml/kg) in adulthood. Behaviour in unknown environment was examined in open field test (Laboras), active drug-seeking behaviour in conditioned place preference test (CPP), spatial memory in the Morris water maze (MWM), and levels of corticosterone (CORT) were analyzed by enzyme immunoassay (EIA). Our data demonstrate that in Laboras test, AMP treatment in adulthood increased general locomotion (time and distance travelled) regardless of the prenatal exposure and sex, while AMP increased exploratory activity (rearing) only in prenatally MA-exposed animals. AMP induced sensitization only in male rats, but not in females when tested drug-seeking behaviour in the CPP test. In the spatial memory MWM test, AMP worsened the performance only in females, but not in males. On the other hand, males swam faster after chronic AMP treatment regardless of the prenatal drug exposure. EIA analysis of CORT levels demonstrated higher level in females in all measurement settings. In males, prenatal MA exposure and chronic adult AMP treatment decreased CORT levels. Thus, our data demonstrated that adult AMP treatment affects behaviour of adult rats, their spatial memory and stress response in sex-specific manner. The effect is also influenced by prenatal drug exposure.
Acalculous Cholecystitis or Biliary Dyskinesia for Epstein-Barr Virus Gallbladder Involvement?
Authors: Fretzayas Andrew , Moustaki Maria , Attilakos Achilleas , Brozou Triantafillia , Nicolaidou Polyxeni
Published: November 2014

We present two patients with Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection related to gallbladder involvement. Such an association is already known as EBV induced acalculous cholecystitis, diagnosed on the basis of ultrasonographic findings. In our patients, radioisotopic cholescintigraphy was also performed and it showed that gallbladder was visualized in both patients in contrast to that what can be observed in cases of cholecystitis. However, the value of ejection fraction was compatible with biliary dyskinesia. We, therefore, consider that impaired gallbladder contractility in EBV infection cases may actually represent biliary dyskinesia and not acalculous cholecystitis taking into account the radioisotopic findings and the self limited course of the disorder.
Treatment of a Superficial Mycosis by Low-temperature Plasma: A Case Report
Authors: Švarcová Michaela , Julák Jaroslav , Hubka Vít , Soušková Hana , Scholtz Vladimír
Published: November 2014

A case of dermatomycosis caused by zoophilic strain of Trichophyton interdigitale was treated by low-temperature plasma produced by direct current (DC) cometary discharge. The shortening of skin lesion persistence along with suppression of subjective discomfort and etiological agent was observed.
The Myth of Plato’s Socratic Period
Authors: Gerson Lloyd
Published: November 2014

A hypothesis first proposed in the nineteenth century has since the middle of the twentieth century been approaching mythical status. It is the hypothesis that in the course of Plato’s philosophical ‘development’, he passed through a ‘Socratic period’ in which he was principally devoted to representing the philosophy of the historical Socrates rather than his own. This Socratic philosophy is found in the so-called early dialogues and is sometimes called ‘Socratic intellectualism’. According to the myth, Plato only developed and wrote down his own philosophical position in the middle and late dialogues. In this paper, I challenge the myth, arguing that there is no external evidence to support the initial hypothesis and significant evidence for rejecting it. In fact, Plato was probably in some sense a proponent of Pythagoreanism and a ‘two-world metaphysics’ well before he wrote anything. The claim that, external evidence notwithstanding, the early dialogues actually contain a philosophical position substantially different from that of later dialogues is also unfounded. Although Plato’s thought continually developed within the context of ongoing Academic discussions, nowhere in any of the dialogues is Plato’s ‘otherworldy’ revisionist philosophy absent.
Opportunities and limitations in applying coevolution-derived contacts to protein structure prediction
Authors: Tetchner Stuart , Kosciolek Tomasz , Jones David T.
Published: November 2014

The prospect of identifying contacts in protein structures purely from aligned protein sequences has lured researchers for a long time, but progress has been modest until recently. Here, we reviewed the most successful methods for identifying structural contacts from sequence and how these methods differ and made an initial assessment of the overlap of predicted contacts by alternative approaches. We then discussed the limitations of these methods and possibilities for future development and highlighted the recent applications of contacts in tertiary structure prediction, identifying the residues at the interfaces of protein-protein interactions, and the use of these methods in disentangling alternative conformational states. Finally, we identified the current challenges in the field of contact prediction, concentrating on the limitations imposed by available data, dependencies on the sequence alignments, and possible future developments.
Exact methods for lattice protein models
Authors: Mann Martin , Backofen Rolf
Published: November 2014

Lattice protein models are well-studied abstractions of globular proteins. By discretizing the structure space and simplifying the energy model over regular proteins, they enable detailed studies of protein structure formation and evolution. However, even in the simplest lattice protein models, the prediction of optimal structures is computationally difficult. Therefore, often, heuristic approaches are applied to find such conformations. Commonly, heuristic methods find only locally optimal solutions. Nevertheless, there exist methods that guarantee to predict globally optimal structures. Currently, only one such exact approach is publicly available, namely the constraint-based protein structure prediction method and variants. Here, we review exact approaches and derived methods. We discuss fundamental concepts like hydrophobic core construction and their use in optimal structure prediction, as well as possible applications like combinations of different energy models.
Smotifs as structural local descriptors of supersecondary elements: classification, completeness and applications
Authors: Bonet Jaume , Fiser Andras , Oliva Baldo , Fernandez-Fuentes Narcis
Published: November 2014

Protein structures are made up of periodic and aperiodic structural elements (i.e., α-helices, β-strands and loops). Despite the apparent lack of regular structure, loops have specific conformations and play a central role in the folding, dynamics, and function of proteins. In this article, we reviewed our previous works in the study of protein loops as local supersecondary structural motifs or Smotifs. We reexamined our works about the structural classification of loops (ArchDB) and its application to loop structure prediction (ArchPRED), including the assessment of the limits of knowledge-based loop structure prediction methods. We finalized this article by focusing on the modular nature of proteins and how the concept of Smotifs provides a convenient and practical approach to decompose proteins into strings of concatenated Smotifs and how can this be used in computational protein design and protein structure prediction.
Protecting the petroleum industry: renewed government aid to fossil fuel producers
Authors: Lin Kun-Chin
Published: November 2014

The dual pressures of the global economic crisis in 2008 and high crude prices through the subsequent recovery period have prompted oil-producing countries to adopt a wide range of protectionist measures including subsidies in all forms and trade and investment restrictions. Focusing on fiscal and industrial policy adjustments in the UK and the People's Republic of China since 2008, this paper argues that both governments have sought an increase in tax contributions from the corporate sector in exchange for intensified, targeted support for specific capital investments that will address the challenges of overall decline in domestic oil production and new field exploration and oil recovery opportunities. These novel “rent-sharing” schemes – inadequately captured in recent academic debates over precise measurements of fuel subsidies – raise concerns for fair competition in the upstream market and politicians’ long-term commitment to the transitioning of energy mix toward green and renewable sources.
Do WTO rules preclude industrial policy? Evidence from the global economic crisis
Authors: Aggarwal Vinod K. , Evenett Simon J.
Published: November 2014

The creation of the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 1995 was a landmark in the development of the liberal international economic order. Yet the global economic crisis of 2008 put the spotlight on the longstanding question whether WTO membership limited the policy choices of governments coping with distress. This Special Issue ofBusiness and Politicsuses the crisis as a “stress test” for evaluating the prominent thesis that multilateral trade rules presently impose sharp limits on national industrial policies. The evidence from a wide range of sectoral and national contexts suggests that the WTO's ability to constrain member governments’ use of industrial policy is highly exaggerated. As we argue in this introductory essay, and as the studies in this Issue show, assertions of the WTO's strength do not reflect the incomplete and contested nature of its accords and the imperatives of policymaking in an era when many governments simultaneously intervene in national economies.
DigiBib IntrOX
Authors: Baron Christine
Published: November 2014

Relevante Literatur in unterschiedlichsten bibliothekarischen Katalogen und Datenbanken zu finden, scheint vielen Anwendern heute zu kompliziert. Ein wesentlicher Grund, weshalb heute Discovery-Services und Begriffe wie One-Stop-Shop im Bibliothekswesen in aller Munde geführt werden. Diese neuen Angebote vereinfachen den Einstieg in die wissenschaftliche Recherche. Dies mit dem Ziel, den Benutzer an seine Bibliothek zu binden bzw. ihn von den großen Suchmaschinen als primären Informationsbrokern zurückzugewinnen. Das Bibliotheksportal DigiBib verfolgt das Ziel, dem Benutzer alle Angebote der Bibliothek unter einer einheitlichen Oberfläche in einem Dienstleistungsbündel anzubieten, schon seit vielen Jahren. Deshalb war es nur konsequent, die neuen Technologien zu nutzen, um die DigiBib zu einem Discovery-Service mit den gewohnten OPAC-Funktionalitäten auszubauen. Dieser Artikel beschreibt und berichtet über Teilmodule des Systems und die Umsetzung des Ausgangsprojekts zu DigiBib IntrOX.
Fachreferat 2020: from collections to connections
Authors: Tappenbeck Inka
Published: November 2014

Ausgehend von einem Rückblick auf die Entstehung und Entwicklung des Fachreferats erläutert der Beitrag, welche Kenntnisse und Fähigkeiten Fachreferenten zukünftig benötigen, um Lehrende und vor allem Forschende in einer sich immer mehr zur eScience entwickelnden Wissenschaft kompetent im Umgang mit Daten und Informationen unterstützen zu können. Dabei wird deutlich, dass dieser bereits mehrfach totgesagte Aufgabenbereich derzeit die Chance hat, neue Bedeutung zu gewinnen. Ob das gelingt, hängt in erster Linie von der Bereitschaft ab, die neuen Herausforderungen anzunehmen und sich dabei auch von einigen traditionellen Sichtweisen auf das Aufgabengebiet des Fachreferenten zu verabschieden.
Peptide-based vectors: recent developments
Authors: Cerrato Carmine Pasquale , Lehto Tõnis , Langel Ülo
Published: November 2014

Peptides and peptide-cargo complexes have been used for drug delivery and gene therapy. One of the most used delivery vectors are cell-penetrating peptides, due to their ability to be taken up by a variety of cell types and deliver a large variety of cargoes through the cell membrane with low cytotoxicity. In vitro and in vivo studies have shown their possibility and full effectiveness to deliver oligonucleotides, plasmid DNA, small interfering RNAs, antibodies, and drugs. We report in this review some of the latest strategies for peptide-mediated delivery of nucleic acids. It focuses on peptide-based vectors for therapeutic molecules and on nucleic acid delivery. In addition, we discuss recent applications and clinical trials.
C-terminal binding proteins: central players in development and disease
Authors: Stankiewicz Trisha R. , Gray Josie J. , Winter Aimee N. , Linseman Daniel A.
Published: November 2014

C-terminal binding proteins (CtBPs) were initially identified as binding partners for the E1A-transforming proteins. Although the invertebrate genome encodes one CtBP protein, two CtBPs (CtBP1 and CtBP2) are encoded by the vertebrate genome and perform both unique and duplicative functions. CtBP1 and CtBP2 are closely related and act as transcriptional corepressors when activated by nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide binding to their dehydrogenase domains. CtBPs exert transcriptional repression primarily via recruitment of a corepressor complex to DNA that consists of histone deacetylases (HDACs) and histone methyltransferases, although CtBPs can also repress transcription through HDAC-independent mechanisms. More recent studies have demonstrated a critical function for CtBPs in the transcriptional repression of pro-apoptotic genes such as Bax, Puma, Bik, and Noxa. Nonetheless, although recent efforts have characterized the essential involvement of CtBPs in promoting cellular survival, the dysregulation of CtBPs in both neurodegenerative disease and cancers remains to be fully elucidated.
Load-Tolerant, High-Efficiency Self-Powered Energy Harvesting Scheme Using a Nonlinear Approach
Authors: Lallart Mickaël , Richard Claude , Li Yang , Wu Yi-Chieh , Guyomar Daniel
Published: November 2014

Small-scale energy harvesting has become a particularly hot topic for replacing batteries in autonomous or nomad systems. In particular, vibration energy harvesting using piezoelectric elements has experienced a significant amount of research over the last decade as vibrations are widely available in many environments and as piezoelectric materials can be easily embedded. However, the energy scavenging abilities of such systems are still limited and are very sensitive to the connected load. The purpose of this paper is to expose a new approach based on synchronous switching on resistive load, which allows both a significant enhancement of the energy harvesting capabilities as well as a high tolerance to a change of the impedance of the connected system, especially in the low value region. It is theoretically and experimentally shown that such an approach permits increasing the energy harvesting abilities by a factor 4 compared to classical DC energy harvesting approach. Furthermore, the self-powering possibility and automatic load adaptation of the proposed method is experimentally discussed, showing the realistic viability of the technique.
A Theory of Fairness in Trade
Authors: James Aaron
Published: November 2014

A theory of fairness in international trade should answer at least three questions. What, at the basic level, are we to assess as fair or unfair in the trade context? What sort of fairness issue does this basic subject of assessment raise? And, what moral principles must be fulfilled if trade is to be fair in the relevant sense? This discussion presents answers to these questions that derive from a “constructivist” methodology inspired by John Rawls and the social contract tradition.
Development and characterization of homo, co and terpolyimides based on BPDA, BTDA, 6FDA and ODA with low dielectric constant
Authors: Purushothaman Revathi , Bilal I. Mohammed
Published: November 2014

Polyimides are a sophisticated family of materials, which cover an exhaustive range of high performance polymers and find applications from aerospace to microelectronics. Microelectronic applications demand low dielectric constant and high performance. Aromatic terpolyimides were synthesized by reacting 3,3′,4,4′-biphenyl tetracarboxylic dianhydride (BPDA), 3,3′,4,4′-benzophenone tetracarboxylic dianhydride (BTDA) and 4,4′-(hexafluoroisopropylidene) diphthalic anhydride (6FDA) with 4,4′-oxydianiline (ODA) by thermal imidization with the view to decrease their dielectric constant without compromising thermal properties and mechanical properties compared to their homo and copolyimides. They were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). Their FTIR spectra established formation of polyimide by the characteristic vibrations at 1375 cm-1 (C-N stretch) and 1113 cm-1 (imide ring deformation). The TGA results showed decomposition of imides at about 515°C. The glass transition temperature (Tg) of the polymers varied from 261°C to 281°C. The XRD spectrum of BPDA/BTDA/6FDA-ODA, which contained 50% of 6FDA, showed a broadened envelope with a peak at 16.8° (2θ), illustrating a semicrystalline nature. Incorporation of 6FDA, with a bulky bridging group into the backbone of BPDA/6FDA-ODA and BPDA/BTDA/6FDA-ODA (0.25:0.25:0.5::1) caused a decrease in the dielectric constant (2.13 and 2.38, respectively). Such polyimides can find application in microelectronics such as flexible printed circuits and tape automated bonding applications.
Mechanical and morphological properties of high density polyethylene and polylactide blends
Authors: Madhu Gaurav , Bhunia Haripada , Bajpai Pramod K. , Chaudhary Veena
Published: November 2014

Polyblend films were prepared from high-density polyethylene (HDPE) and poly(l-lactic acid) (PLLA) up to 20% PLLA by the melt blending method in an extrusion mixer with post-extrusion blown film attachment. The 80/20 (HDPE/PLLA) blend was compatibilized with maleic anhydride grafted polyethylene (PE-g-MA) in varying ratios [up to 8 parts per hundred of resin (phr)]. Tensile properties of the films were evaluated to obtain optimized composition for packaging applications of both non-compatibilized and compatibilized blends. The compositions HDPE80 (80% HDPE and 20% PLLA) and HD80C4 (80% HDPE, 20% PLLA and 4 phr compatibilizer) were found to be optimum for packaging applications. However, better tensile strength (at yield) and elongation (at break) of 80/20 (HDPE/PLLA) blend were noticed in the presence of PE-g-MA. Further, thermal properties and morphologies of these blends were evaluated. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) study revealed that blending does not much affect the crystalline melting point of HDPE and PLLA, but heat of fusion of 80/20 (HDPE/PLLA) blend was decreased as compared to that of neat HDPE. Spectroscopy studies showed evidence of the introduction of some new groups in the blends and gaining compatibility in the presence of PE-g-MA. The compatibilizer influenced the morphology of the blends, as apparent from scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and supported by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR).
Krustenbildung, ein schützender und zerstörender Vorgang: eine Fallstudie am "Reials Col.legis" (16. Jahrhundert, Katalanien, Spanien) / Patination as a Constructive and Destructive Process: The Case of "Reials Col.legis" (16th Century, Catalonia, Spain).
Authors: Garcia-Vallès M. , Vendrell-Saz M. , Molerà J.
Published: November 2014

The "Reials Col.legis de Sant Jaume i Sant Maties" (Tortosa, Catalonia) is one of the masteφieces of the Renaissance style and was built in the 16th century with dolostones and calcarenites relatively well preserved and which are coated by an orange to black continuous patina. By studying samples obtained from different rock substrate and orientations the building stones and the layers forming the patina have been characterized by using several techniques (XRD, SEM/EDS, optical microscopy). The data obtained allowed us to establish a common sequence for this patina which consists of two layers: one micritic and one gypsum-rich layer in which, occasionally, there is bioactivity present living in and on the patina and the underlying rock. An hypothesis of the development of the layers of the patina is proposed on the basis of their mineralogical and petrographical features.
Einfluss des Feuchtigkeitsgehaltes auf das kapillare Saugen / Influence of Moisture Content on Capillary Suction
Authors: Primi P. , Wittmann F.H.
Published: November 2014

Some surface treatments such as hydrophobing and realcalisation rely on capillary suction as the driving force. In this context, the critical admissible moisture content must be known. The porous structure of a series of different building materials has been characterized. The porosity and pore size distribution has been determined on 3 different types of autoclaved aerated concrete (AAC), on samples made of hardened cement paste with 3 different water-cement ratios, on natural sandstone and on burned brick. The sorption isotherm and at each equilibrium moisture content the remaining capillary suction has been measured on identical specimens. It can be shown that capillary suction of materials with a coarse porous structure such as sandstone or burnt brick depends slightly only on the moisture content Capillary suction of hardened cement paste with a fine porous system, in contrast, is drastically diminished with increasing moisture content and reaches negligible values near 100 % RH. Results presented in this contribution allow us to fix a critical admissible moisture content for different building materials. At the same time, building materials can be identified for which the moisture content has to be carefully controlled before surface treatment is to be applied It must be mentioned, however, that in critical cases the moisture profile must be determined up to the intended depth of the treatment instead of the surface moisture content.
Umweltverträglichkeit von Betonzusatzmitteln / Environmental Impact of Superplasticizers
Authors: Galli R. , Kiayias G.
Published: November 2014

A chemical risk assessment for the use of concrete admixtures was performed for the case of naphthalene sulfonate condensate (NS) which is a widely used supeφlastizicer. As a result of its use as a concrete admixture, NS and its degradation products in condensed naphthalene sulfonates can be emitted into the environment. In relation to other products such as detergents, the emissions of NS are classified as very low. The most important emissions of NS originate during its production and during the washing of concrete mixers when the wastewater is allowed to enter the sewers. Future emissions of naphthalene sulfonates are predicted for the case of storage/disposal of concrete waste, or the use of NS-containing concrete waste in road construction. The predicted concentrations of NS and naphthalene sulfonates in Switzerland (either on the regional or local scale) are expected to be below the predicted no-effect concentrations (PNEC values or "safe" concentrations).
Income Elasticity and the Gender Gap: A Challenging MDG for the MENA Countries
Authors: Emara Noha M.F.
Published: November 2014

The gender equality target is still considered one of the most challenging goals for most Middle East and North African (MENA) Countries. Using panel least square with regional dummies (LSDV) for 22 MENA countries over the period 1990–2007, the study concludes that with less than 5 years for the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) to be concluded, a significant acceleration in economic growth is required for the MENA countries to achieve the gender goal if these countries depended solely on economic growth. As a policy implication, the increase in economic growth in the MENA countries needs to be complemented with other factors boosting the achievability of the gender equality such as the government spending on education, infrastructure, and encouragement of international trade. All three factors proved to have a statistical significant and important impact on closing the gender gap.
Editorial on Future Jet Technologies
Authors: Gal-Or Benjamin
Published: November 2014

The jet engine is the prime flight controller in post-stall flight domains where conventional flight control fails, or when the engine prevents catastrophes in training, combat, loss of all airframe hydraulics (the engine retains its own hydraulics), loss of one engine, pilot errors, icing on the wings, landing gear and runway issues in takeoff and landing and in bad-whether recoveries. The scientific term for this revolutionary technology is “jet-steering”, and in engineering practice – “thrust vectoring”, or “TV”.

Jet-Steering in advanced fighter aircraft designs is integrated with stealth technology. The resulting classified Thrust-Vectoring-Stealth (“TVS”) technology has generated a second jet-revolution by which all Air-&-Sea-Propulsion Science and R&D are now being reassessed.

Classified

One, and perhaps a key conclusion presented here, means that both

Mobile telecommunication of safe links between flyers and combat drones (“UCAVs”) at increasingly deep penetrations into remote, congested areas, can gradually be purchased-developed-deployed and then operated by extant cader of tens of thousands

We also provide 26 references [17–43] to a different, unclassified technology that enhances TV-induced

Expected benefits include anti-terror recoveries from emergencies, like forced landing on unprepared runways or highways, or recoveries from all airframe-hydraulics-outs, asymmetric ice on wings, landing gear catastrophes, and recoveries from pilot errors and bad-whether incidents [Rule 9(7)].