bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Do varied dietary omega-6 to omega-3 ratios affect the performance, nutrient digestibility, immune status and faecal microbiota of weaner pigs?
Authors: Upadhaya Santi D. , Yun Hyeok Min , Lee Kwang Young , Kim In Ho
Published: December 2017

The present study tested the hypothesis that altering the ratio of omega-6 (n-6) to omega-3 (n-3) fatty acids (FAs) in the diet will improve growth performance, nutrient digestibility and blood parameters of weaner pigs. In total, 90 crossbred weaner pigs ((Yorkshire × Landrace) × Duroc, 28 days old), with an average bodyweight (BW) of 6.53 ± 0.71 kg were used in a 6-week experiment. Pigs were blocked on the basis of BW and sex and randomly allotted to one of three dietary treatments (5 pigs per pen (2 barrows and 3 gilts); 6 pens per treatment). Treatments consisted of plant-derived n-6 and n-3 FAs (15:1, 10:1 and 5:1). The experimental period was divided into three phases: Phase 1; 28–35 days of age, Phase 2; 36- 49 days of age and Phase 3; 50–70 days of age. Supplementation of varied n-6:n-3 FA ratios in the diet of weaned pigs showed linear increases (P < 0.05) in BW and average daily gain during Phases 1 and 2. The feed:gain ratios reduced linearly (P < 0.05) during Phase 1 and tended to reduce (P = 0.08) during Phase 2 as the ratio of n-6:n-3 FA decreased from 15:1 to 5:1. However, the overall performance of weaners was not affected by the n-6:n-3 FA ratio. Dry matter and nitrogen (N) digestibility increased linearly (P < 0.05) and energy digestibility tended (P = 0.089) to increase linearly with the reduction of n-6:n-3 FA ratio from 15:1 to 5:1 during Week 3 and, in Week 6, dry-matter digestibility increased (P < 0.05) linearly, whereas energy digestibility tended to increase with a decreasing n-6:n-3 FA ratio in the diet. The high-density lipid cholesterol showed a significant (P < 0.05) linear increase at Week 3 and a tendency to increase at Week 6, but no significant effects on other serum lipids were observed. The dietary n-6:n-3 FA ratio did not have a significant effect on white blood cell, lymphocyte, immunoglobulin G and tumour necrosis factor-α concentrations or faecal microbial counts. In conclusion, the reduction of n-6:n-3 FA ratio from 15:1 to 5:1 in the diet did not affect the overall performance of weaning pigs. However, it showed a positive effect on the growth performance of pigs during Phases 1 and 2.
Sheep and goat browsing a tropical deciduous forest during the rainy season: why does similar plant species consumption result in different nutrient intake?
Authors: Ventura-Cordero J. , González-Pech P. G. , Torres-Acosta J. F. J. , Sandoval-Castro C. A. , Tun-Garrido J.
Published: December 2017

During the rainy season, the tropical deciduous forest (TDF) supposedly represents an abundance of biomass for sheep and goats. Nevertheless, quantitative estimations of feed intake during the rainy season are lacking. This study investigated the feeding behaviour of sheep and goats in a TDF in Mexico and quantified their nutrient intake during the rainy season. Plant species (PS) consumed, size and weight of bites, and nutritional quality were determined by continuous bite monitoring through direct observation. Adult ewes (n = 3) and goats (n = 3) were observed in their grazing circuits (4 h/day) for 12 days during the rainy season. Sheep and goats consumed 61 PS and performed a similar median number of bites (1751 vs 2053 bites/day, respectively; P > 0.05). Although they shared 52.5% of the PS consumed, only seven PS contributed most of the dry matter intake (DMI) for sheep (96.7%) or goats (90.5%). Sheep consumed more grass than goats (79.8% vs 48.3% of their DMI, respectively), whereas goats ate more shrubs than sheep (30.0% vs 7.6% of their DMI, respectively). The diet ingested by goats included more polyphenols (P < 0.05) and a higher frequency of larger and heavier bites than sheep (P < 0.05). Sheep reached 61.3% and 57.7% of their metabolisable energy and crude protein maintenance requirements. Similarly, goats covered 63.3% of their metabolisable energy and 108.2% of crude protein requirement. Although the main ration of sheep and goats was composed of similar PS, their different feeding behaviour resulted in different macronutrient consumption.
Selected reaction monitoring approach for validating peptide biomarkers
Authors: Wang Qing , Zhang Ming , Tomita Tyler , Vogelstein Joshua T. , Zhou Shibin , Papadopoulos Nickolas , Kinzler Kenneth W. , Vogelstein Bert
Published: December 2017

Significance

With the advent of advanced proteomic technologies, a unique generation of plasma biomarkers is likely to arise in the foreseeable future. One of the fundamental practical problems in developing such biomarkers for clinical use is the lack of a high-throughput, robust, and reproducible system for validating candidate biomarkers. Here, we report the development of a system that is suitable for validating a large number of candidate biomarkers in a quantitative and massively parallel manner. In addition to describing this system [called sequential analysis of fractionated eluates by selected reaction monitoring (SAFE-SRM)], we have used it to discover a peptide biomarker for ovarian cancer that may prove to have clinical value.
Intercultural translation and indigenous articulation in higher education
Authors: Borge Janetti Gabriela
Published: December 2017

Intercultural translation is a salient feature of communicative interactions in multilingual institutional spaces. This article draws on a concept of intercultural translation that functions as a linguistically radical strategy through which other ways of knowing and being are introduced, with particular emphasis on institutions, multilingualism, and less-translated languages. It describes the modes in which indigenous actors used intercultural translation to modify Mexico’s institutional tutoring program in higher education. It focuses on the selective appropriation of words and meanings, the standardization of concepts, and the configuring of an intercultural frame of reference, whereby members of an intercultural Mexican university introduced the Yucatec Maya wordiknalas a hybrid educational system. In sum, the article posits intercultural translation as a critical communicative practice ubiquitous to the dynamics of language in socio-cultural spaces.
The nomenclature of storms in Arabic
Authors: Thawabteh Mohammad Ahmad
Published: December 2017

This article deals with the naming of ecology-related objects in Arabic, as illustrated in the naming of the snowstorms “Storm Huda”, “Storm Jana” and “Storm Zina” which whipped through the Middle East countries on January 6 and February 19, 2015 respectively. The article analyses a corpus of headlines taken from four online newspapers and one news agency, examines the strong connotative values of the snowstorm names, and discusses their relations to translation. The findings of the study show a consensus amongst journalists and meteorologists in Palestine, Jordan, Syria and Saudi Arabia to avoid Arabicisation and opt instead for a full adaptation of foreign storm names in line with the poetics of the receiving culture, one seemingly infused with several echoes from Arab-Islamic culture and particularly the Qur’an. The meticulous care in their choice of words is fully compatible with the perceived target language (TL) audience belonging to Arab-Islamic culture, one with little affinity to English culture.
Making sense of neural machine translation
Authors: Forcada Mikel L.
Published: December 2017

The last few years have witnessed a surge in the interest of a new machine translation paradigm: neural machine translation (NMT). Neural machine translation is starting to displace its corpus-based predecessor, statistical machine translation (SMT). In this paper, I introduce NMT, and explain in detail, without the mathematical complexity, how neural machine translation systems work, how they are trained, and their main differences with SMT systems. The paper will try to decipher NMT jargon such as “distributed representations”, “deep learning”, “word embeddings”, “vectors”, “layers”, “weights”, “encoder”, “decoder”, and “attention”, and build upon these concepts, so that individual translators and professionals working for the translation industry as well as students and academics in translation studies can make sense of this new technology and know what to expect from it. Aspects such as how NMT output differs from SMT, and the hardware and software requirements of NMT, both at training time and at run time, on the translation industry, will be discussed.
Locating foci of translation on Wikipedia
Authors: Shuttleworth Mark
Published: December 2017

In spite of its highly multilingual nature, it is generally accepted that most Wikipedia content is the product of original writing rather than being translated from another language version of the encyclopaedia. Wikipedia represents what is almost a complete, self-contained but vast research ecosystem; however, an unusual initial challenge for the researcher is to identify the primary data for a specific research project. The main aim of this paper is to make a number of proposals towards a possible methodology for discovering where the main foci of this new type of collaborative translation are located. Significant methods for this include the use of the encyclopaedia’s list-based structure and of different features of page anatomy. The article also aims to outline specific topics for research and, during the discussion, offers some initial findings of its own, using Russian and Chinese to English translation as its main sources of examples.
PnuT uses a facilitated diffusion mechanism for thiamine uptake
Authors: Jaehme Michael , Singh Rajkumar , Garaeva Alisa A. , Duurkens Ria H. , Slotboom Dirk-Jan
Published: December 2017

Membrane transporters of the bacterial pyridine nucleotide uptake (Pnu) family mediate the uptake of various B-type vitamins. For example, the PnuT transporters have specificity for vitamin B1 (thiamine). It has been hypothesized that Pnu transporters are facilitators that allow passive transport of the vitamin substrate across the membrane. Metabolic trapping by phosphorylation would then lead to accumulation of the transported substrates in the cytoplasm. However, experimental evidence for such a transport mechanism is lacking. Here, to determine the mechanism of thiamine transport, we purify PnuTSw from Shewanella woodyi and reconstitute it in liposomes to determine substrate binding and transport properties. We show that the electrochemical gradient of thiamine solely determines the direction of transport, consistent with a facilitated diffusion mechanism. Further, PnuTSw can bind and transport thiamine as well as the thiamine analogues pyrithiamine and oxythiamine, but does not recognize the phosphorylated derivatives thiamine monophosphate and thiamine pyrophosphate as substrates, consistent with a metabolic trapping mechanism. Guided by the crystal structure of the homologous nicotinamide riboside transporter PnuC, we perform mutagenesis experiments, which reveal residues involved in substrate binding and gating. The facilitated diffusion mechanism of transport used by PnuTSw contrasts sharply with the active transport mechanisms used by other bacterial thiamine transporters.
On the semisimplicity of the cyclotomic quiver Hecke algebra of type 𝐶
Authors: Speyer Liron
Published: December 2017

We provide criteria for the cyclotomic quiver Hecke algebras of type

C
C

to be semisimple. In the semisimple case, we construct the irreducible modules.
Negotiating Identity: Israel, Apartheid, and the United Nations, 1949–1952
Authors: Giladi Rotem
Published: December 2017

Orthodox historiographies on Israel’s early policies in ‘black’ Africa and its relations with ‘white’ South Africa commonly, if disjointedly, assert that the state’s Jewish identity had played, in the early 1960s, a key role in Israel’s participation in the international ‘struggle against apartheid’. Revisiting this assertion, I examine Israel’s involvement in early United Nations debates on South Africa’s race policies. I trace the making of Israel’s position on South Africa’s treatment of persons of Indian origins in preparation for the 1950 General Assembly; present Israel’s voting praxis in that session; and demonstrate the persistence of both position and praxis in the 1952 Assembly session where apartheid first appeared on the UN agenda. Against the grain of existing accounts, I argue first that, on Africa, Israel’s multilateral diplomacy preceded its bilateral diplomacy; Israel’s encounter with Africa began not in the early 1960s but with its 1949 UN admission, compelling its envoys to vote and reflect on African and colonial questions, including apartheid. Secondly, I demonstrate that Israel approached apartheid with equivocation; at the UN, its diplomats devised and acted on a formula allowing them, in their words, ‘to have our cake and eat it’—even if, on the whole, Israel’s diplomatic praxis was far more progressive than that of Western states. Thirdly, I demonstrate how Jewish identity, constructed through the prism of Israel’s foundational ideology, affected such equivocation: it defined Israel’s dilemma on apartheid but, at the same time, also offered a route out of that conundrum. Finally, I illustrate that the elasticity of Jewish identity displayed by Israel’s envoys drew on sensibilities that were often formed in South Africa itself by their own previous encounters with racially-managed society and, later, with apartheid.
High spectral resolution observations of HNC3 and HCCNC in the L1544 pre-stellar core
Authors: Vastel C , Kawaguchi K , Quénard D , Ohishi M , Lefloch B , Bachiller R , Müller H S P
Published: December 2017

HCCNC and HNC3 are less commonly found isomers of cyanoacetylene, HC3N, a molecule that is widely found in diverse astronomical sources. We want to know if HNC3 is present in sources other than the dark cloud TMC-1 and how its abundance is relative to that of related molecules. We used the Astrochemical Studies At IRAM unbiased spectral survey at IRAM 30 m towards the prototypical pre-stellar core L1544 to search for HNC3 and HCCNC which are by-product of the HC3NH+ recombination, previously detected in this source. We performed a combined analysis of published HNC3 microwave rest frequencies with thus far unpublished millimetre data because of issues with available rest frequency predictions. We determined new spectroscopic parameters for HNC3, produced new predictions and detected it towards L1544. We used a gas–grain chemical modelling to predict the abundances of N-species and compare with the observations. The modelled abundances are consistent with the observations, considering a late stage of the evolution of the pre-stellar core. However, the calculated abundance of HNC3 was found 5–10 times higher than the observed one. The HC3N, HNC3, and HCCNC versus HC3NH+ ratios are compared in the TMC-1 dark cloud and the L1544 pre-stellar core.
In Vivo Endothelial Cell Density Decline in the Early Postoperative Phase After Descemet Membrane Endothelial Keratoplasty
Authors: Miron Alina , Bruinsma Marieke , Ham Lisanne , Schaal Sontje-Chiao , Baydoun Lamis , Dapena Isabel , Oellerich Silke , Melles Gerrit R. J.
Published: December 2017

Purpose:

To evaluate endothelial cell density (ECD) in the first 6 months after Descemet membrane endothelial keratoplasty (DMEK) by eliminating method error as a confounding variable.

Methods:

From 24 DMEK eyes operated for Fuchs endothelial corneal dystrophy, from which specular microscopy images could be taken at 1 day and 6 months postoperatively, ECD values were compared between these 2 time points.

Results:

Using the 1-day ECD measurement as baseline, mean ECD decreased from 1913 (±326) cells/mm2 to 1524 (±393) cells/mm2 at 6 months, a decline of −18 (±19)%. With the 1-week ECD as baseline [1658 (±395) cells/mm2], the decline at 6 months was −6 (±19)% and when using preoperative ECD as baseline [2521 (±122) cells/mm2], the decline was −39 (±16)% at 6 months.

Conclusions:

After DMEK, ECD shows an in vivo decline of 18% from 1 day to 6 months postoperatively, with a sharp 13% drop in the first week, and a slower decrease thereafter. The remaining difference of 20% from preoperative ECD values may be attributed to a measurement error in the eye bank with an overestimation of the graft's viable endothelial cell population and/or intraoperative trauma to the graft.
Effect of Inhalation Aromatherapy on Procedural Pain and Anxiety After Needle Insertion Into an Implantable Central Venous Port Catheter
Authors: Yayla Ezgi Mutluay , Ozdemir Leyla
Published: December 2017

Background

Needle insertion into an implantable central venous port catheter may lead to procedural pain and anxiety in cancer patients.

Objective

The aim of this study was to determine the effects of inhalation aromatherapy on procedural pain and anxiety after needle insertion into an implantable central venous port catheter.

Methods

This study included 123 cancer patients who were scheduled to undergo chemotherapy. Patients were randomly assigned to either the lavender group (n = 41), the eucalyptus group (n = 41), or a control group (n = 41). Participants in the intervention groups inhaled 3 drops of essential oil for 3 minutes before needle insertion into an implantable venous port catheter. Patients in the control group received no intervention before needle insertion. Data were collected using the visual analog scale (VAS) and State Anxiety Inventory.

Results

The average VAS scores of the lavender group were significantly lower than those of the control group (P < .05). There were no significant differences in the average VAS scores between the eucalyptus group and the control group (P > .05). In addition, the average State Anxiety Inventory scores of the lavender group, the eucalyptus group, and the control group were not significantly different (P > .05).

Conclusion

Inhalation aromatherapy with lavender may be an effective technique to relieve pain related to needle insertion into an implantable central venous port catheter.

Implications for Practice

Inhalation aromatherapy with lavender oil may be useful in the management of procedural pain levels during needle procedure. However, further randomized controlled trials are needed to validate this study.
Creating a Research Agenda and Setting Research Priorities for Clinical Nurse Specialists
Authors: Foster Jan , Bautista Cynthia , Ellstrom Kathleen , Kalowes Peggy , Manning Jennifer , Pasek Tracy Ann
Published: December 2017

Purpose/Objectives:

The purpose of this article is to describe the evolution and results of the process for establishing a research agenda and identification of research priorities for clinical nurse specialists, approved by the National Association of Clinical Nurse Specialists (NACNS) membership and sanctioned by the NACNS Board of Directors.

Description of the Project/Program:

Development of the research agenda and identification of the priorities were an iterative process and involved a review of the literature; input from multiple stakeholders, including individuals with expertise in conducting research serving as task force members, and NACNS members; and feedback from national board members.

Outcome:

A research agenda, which is to provide an enduring research platform, was established and research priorities, which are to be applied in the immediate future, were identified as a result of this process.

Conclusion:

Development of a research agenda and identification of research priorities are a key method of fulfilling the mission and goals of NACNS. The process and outcomes are described in this article.
“It Just Is What It Is”
Authors: Skrastins Olivia , Fletcher Paula C.
Published: December 2017

Purpose:

This study aimed to explore the lived experiences of women diagnosed with inflammatory bowel disease and/or irritable bowel syndrome enrolled in postsecondary education.

Methods:

Nine women aged 18 to 26 years participated in this study. Data collection consisted of an informed consent form, a background questionnaire, and a semistructured one-on-one interview. This interview explored the lived experiences of these individuals regarding perceived positive and negative effects of living with these conditions.

Results:

Salient themes that emerged from the data were (1) “It can add to my life,” (2) “Why me?: My condition runs my life,” and (3) “I’m doing the best I can with what I have.” Themes 1 and 2, the themes addressed in this article, were subdivided into (1) change in perception of self, condition, and others and (2) healthy lifestyle and (1) unpredictability and inconsistencies of inflammatory bowel disease/irritable bowel syndrome, (2) lack of understanding, and (3) the inconvenience of inflammatory bowel disease/irritable bowel syndrome, respectively. All participants expressed both positive and negative effects of living with their conditions.

Conclusion:

Community health nurses should be aware of the positive and negative effects of living with these conditions to help build relationships and assist with condition management. Other implications are discussed.
RIFRAF: a frame-resolving consensus algorithm
Authors: Eren Kemal , Murrell Ben
Published: December 2017

Motivation

Protein coding genes can be studied using long-read next generation sequencing. However, high rates of indel sequencing errors are problematic, corrupting the reading frame. Even the consensus of multiple independent sequence reads retains indel errors. To solve this problem, we introduce RIFRAF, a sequence consensus algorithm that takes a set of error-prone reads and a reference sequence and infers an accurate in-frame consensus. RIFRAF uses a novel structure, analogous to a two-layer hidden Markov model: the consensus is optimized to maximize alignment scores with both the set of noisy reads and with a reference. The template-to-reads component of the model encodes the preponderance of indels, and is sensitive to the per-base quality scores, giving greater weight to more accurate bases. The reference-to-template component of the model penalizes frame-destroying indels. A local search algorithm proceeds in stages to find the best consensus sequence for both objectives.

Results

Using Pacific Biosciences SMRT sequences of NL4-3 env, we compare our approach to other consensus and frame correction methods. RIFRAF consistently finds a consensus sequence that is more accurate and in-frame, especially with small numbers of reads. It was able to perfectly reconstruct over 80% of consensus sequences from as few as three reads, whereas the best alternative required twice as many. RIFRAF is able to achieve these results and keep the consensus in-frame even with a distantly related reference sequence. Moreover, unlike other frame correction methods, RIFRAF can detect and keep true indels while removing erroneous ones.

Availability

RIFRAF is implemented in Julia, and source code is publicly available at https://github.com/MurrellGroup/Rifraf.jl

Contact

bmurrell@ucsd.edu
Assessing the Landscape of U.S. Postdoctoral Salaries
Authors: Athanasiadou Rodoniki , Bankston Adriana , Carlisle McKenzie , Niziolek Carrie , McDowell Gary
Published: December 2017

Purpose

Postdocs make up a significant portion of the biomedical workforce. However, data about the postdoctoral position are generally scarce, including salary data. The purpose of this study was to request, obtain and interpret actual salaries, and the associated job titles, for postdocs at U.S. public institutions.

Methodology

Freedom of Information Act Requests were submitted to U.S. public institutions estimated to have at least 300 postdocs according to the National Science Foundation’s Survey of Graduate Students and Postdocs. Salaries and job titles of postdoctoral employees as of December 1st, 2016 were requested.

Findings

Salaries and job titles for over 13,000 postdocs at 52 public U.S. institutions and 1 private institution around the date of December 1st, 2016 were received, and individual postdoc names were also received for approximately 7,000 postdocs. This study shows evidence of gender-related salary discrepancies, a significant influence of job title description on postdoc salary, and a complex relationship between salaries and the level of institutional NIH funding.

Value

These results provide insights into the ability of institutions to collate actual payroll-type data related to their postdocs, highlighting difficulties faced in tracking, and reporting data on this population. Ultimately, these types of efforts, aimed at increasing transparency, may lead to improved tracking and support for postdocs at all U.S. institutions.
Phylogenomics places orphan protistan lineages in a novel eukaryotic super-group
Authors: Brown Matthew W. , Heiss Aaron , Kamikawa Ryoma , Inagaki Yuji , Yabuki Akinori , Tice Alexander K , Shiratori Takashi , Ishida Ken-ichiro , Hashimoto Tetsuo , Simpson Alastair G.B. , Roger Andrew J.
Published: December 2017

Recent phylogenetic analyses position certain ‘orphan’ protist lineages deep in the tree of eukaryotic life, but their exact placements are poorly resolved. We conducted phylogenomic analyses that incorporate deeply sequenced transcriptomes from representatives of collodictyonids (diphylleids), rigifilids, Mantamonas and ancyromonads (planomonads). Analyses of 351 genes, using site-heterogeneous mixture models, strongly support a novel supergroup-level clade that includes collodictyonids, rigifilids and Mantamonas, which we name ‘CRuMs’. Further, they robustly place CRuMs as the closest branch to Amorphea (including animals and fungi). Ancyromonads are strongly inferred to be more distantly related to Amorphea than are CRuMs. They emerge either as sister to malawimonads, or as a separate deeper branch. CRuMs and ancyromonads represent two distinct major groups that branch deeply on the lineage that includes animals, near the most commonly inferred root of the eukaryote tree. This makes both groups crucial in examinations of the deepest-level history of extant eukaryotes.
In silico and in vitro screening of FDA-approved drugs for potential repurposing against tuberculosis
Authors: Brindha Sridharan , Sundaramurthi Jagadish Chandrabose , Vincent Savariar , Velmurugan Devadasan , Gnanadoss John Joel
Published: December 2017

Motivation

Repurposing of known drugs to newer clinical conditions is a promising avenue for finding novel therapeutic applications for tuberculosis.

Methods

We performed docking-based virtual screening for 1554 known drugs against two of the potential drug targets, namely trpD and coaA of M. tuberculosis. In the first round of in silico screening we used rigid docking using Glide and AutoDock Vina. We subjected the consistently ranked drugs for induced-fit docking by these tools against the same target proteins. We performed luciferase reporter phage (LRP) assay to determine the biological activity of five selected drugs against M. tuberculosis.

Results

We observed lymecycline and cefpodoxime to be active against drug susceptible and drug resistant strains of M. tuberculosis. In addition, lymecycline and cefpodoxime showed synergistic activity with rifampin and isoniazid against M. tuberculosis.

Conclusion

Our results suggest that lymecycline and cefpodoxime have potential to be repurposed for the treatment of tuberculosis.
Reassessing the evolution of strigolactone synthesis and signalling
Authors: Walker Catriona , Bennett Tom
Published: December 2017

Strigolactones (SLs) are an important class of carotenoid-derived signalling molecule in plants, which function both as exogenous signals in the rhizosphere, and as endogenous plant hormones. In flowering plants, SLs are synthesized by a core pathway of four enzymes, and are perceived by the DWARF14 (D14) receptor, leading to degradation of SMAX1-LIKE7 (SMXL7) target proteins in a manner dependent on the SCFMAX2 ubiquitin ligase. The evolutionary history of SLs is poorly understood, and it is not clear whether SL synthesis and signalling are present in all land plant lineages, nor when these traits evolved. We have utilized recently-generated genomic and transcriptomic sequences from across the land plant clade to resolve the origin of each known component of SL synthesis and signalling. We show that all enzymes in the core SL synthesis pathway originated at or before the base of land plants, consistent with the previously observed distribution of SLs themselves in land plant lineages. We also show that the late-acting enzyme LATERAL BRANCHING OXIDOREDUCTASE (LBO) is considerably more ancient than previously thought. We perform a detailed phylogenetic analysis of SMXL proteins, and show that specific SL target proteins only arose in flowering plants. We also assess diversity and protein structure in the SMXL family, identifying several previously unknown clades. Overall, our results suggest that SL synthesis is much more ancient than canonical SL signalling, consistent with the idea that SLs first evolved as rhizosphere signals, and were only recruited much later as hormonal signals.
Dimensions of distance
Authors: Nonkenge Babalwa , Luiz John Manuel
Published: December 2017

Purpose

This paper aims to examine how distance manifests in terms of air passenger transport links between countries and focuses on the 48 countries of sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). It asks to what extent do existing flight connections reflect economic relations between countries, and if so, do they represent past, current or future relations? It asks whether the impact of distance is similar for all countries and at different stages of development.

Design/methodology/approach

Passenger flight connection data were extracted to generate map images and flight frequencies to observe interrelationships between different locations and to observe emerging patterns. The paper uses ESRI’s ArcGIS software to visualise all these data into maps.

Findings

SSA is poorly connected both intra- and inter-continentally. Cultural and historical ties dominate and elements of historical determinism appear within flight connections in SSA reflecting the biases associated with colonialism. Larger economies in SSA are less dependent on these past ties, and their flight connections reveal a greater level of diversity and interests. SSA has generally been slow to develop flight routings to the new emerging markets.

Originality/value

Its contribution lies not only in examining these flight patterns for an under-researched region but also in aiding future work on SSA and its integration into the global economy and international business networks. It argues that whilst distance matters, how it matters varies.
Integration of African firms into global value chains
Authors: You Weimu , Salmi Asta , Kauppi Katri
Published: December 2017

Purpose

This paper aims to analyze the roles that African suppliers play in global value chains and the strategies that foreign firms adopt to integrate African firms into their supply chains.

Design/methodology/approach

The empirical research of this paper is based on a multiple case study and on interview data of foreign buyers and their entry into African supply markets: five Finnish companies and five Chinese companies were interviewed in 2014-2015.

Findings

The authors find that Finnish firms make relatively small investments and start sourcing operations on a small scale, whereas Chinese firms are running large infrastructural projects, relying on local sourcing. African firms typically only play modest roles with little value capture in the chain, supplying raw materials and simple products. The African infrastructural and cultural context makes it challenging for foreign firms to provide local suppliers with more strategic roles in their chains, thus hindering integration of local firms into global value chains.

Originality/value

This paper is one of the first to offer a comparison of Finnish (Western) and Chinese (other emerging economy) firms’ sourcing from Africa and provides understanding of the role of African suppliers in current value chains. The authors offer a qualitative exploration of why companies invest in African suppliers and of the scope of African presence in global value chains.
Work-life boundary management styles of women entrepreneurs in Ethiopia – “choice” or imposition?
Authors: Gudeta Konjit Hailu , van Engen Marloes L.
Published: December 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore the work-life boundary management experiences and challenges women entrepreneurs face in combining their work-life responsibilities.

Design/methodology/approach

In-depth interviews were conducted with 31 women entrepreneurs in Ethiopia using a grounded theory approach to investigate how they manage the boundaries between their work-life roles, the challenges they face and how these challenges affect their boundary management experiences.

Findings

Integration, as a work-life boundary management strategy, is imposed on women as a result of normative expectations on women to shoulder care and household responsibilities, as well as to fulfil societal roles and obligations. In addition, challenges related to managing employees at home and at work frequently require women to combine work and life roles, forcing them to integrate even more.

Practical implications

The findings of this study underline the need to recognise the work-life interface challenges faced by women entrepreneurs and to develop programmes and hands-on training to help them adopt work-life boundary management tactics. In addition, it is hoped that the findings will inform policies and women entrepreneurship development programmes designed by the government, development partners and other stakeholders.

Originality/value

This paper contributes to the work-family literature by highlighting the contextual and environmental factors imposing work-family boundary management styles on women entrepreneurs in the Sub-Saharan country of Ethiopia.
Modelling multiples identity types through agency: Part 3 – mindsets and the Trump election
Authors: Di Fatta Davide , Yolles Maurice
Published: December 2017

Purpose

Building on theory in Part 2 of this paper, a relationship is developed between the strategic multiple identities considered there. Personality analytic pathologies arise when these identities are not consistent. This theory is then examined using the mindset agency theory (MAT) developed in Part 2 of the paper. Two classes of MAT models exist: a three-trait (MAT3T) and a five-trait (MAT5T). The former centres on personality traits, while the latter includes traits that are external to the personality. These are then applied to a case study of Donald Trump’s US election campaign.

Design/methodology/approach

By applying MAT3T and MAT5T to the Trump election campaign, personal and public identities are analysed using content analysis of his narratives.

Findings

Of the strategic identities, data can be accessed for two, and measured qualitatively using mindset theory, these indicating the likelihood of a personality with pathologies. It is found that Trump MAT3T and MAT5T take different values, suggesting that he has an analytical pathology in his political agency.

Originality/value

There is not currently any coherent dynamic theory of multiple identities able to provide measures indicative of personality pathologies.
Reductionism ad absurdum
Authors: Nizami Lance
Published: December 2017

Purpose

Neuroscientists act as proxies for implied anthropomorphic signal-processing beings within the brain, Homunculi. The latter examine the arriving neuronal spike-trains to infer internal and external states. But a Homunculus needs a brain of its own, to coordinate its capabilities – a brain that necessarily contains a Homunculus and so on indefinitely. Such infinity is impossible – and in well-cited papers, Attneave and later Dennett claim to eliminate it. How do their approaches differ and do they (in fact) obviate the Homunculi?

Design/methodology/approach

The Attneave and Dennett approaches are carefully scrutinized. To Attneave, Homunculi are effectively “decision-making” neurons that control behaviors. Attneave presumes that Homunculi, when successively nested, become successively “stupider”, limiting their numbers by diminishing their responsibilities. Dennett likewise postulates neuronal Homunculi that become “stupider” – but brain-wards, where greater sophistication might have been expected.

Findings

Attneave’s argument is Reductionist and it simply assumes-away the Homuncular infinity. Dennett’s scheme, which evidently derives from Attneave’s, ultimately involves the same mistakes. Attneave and Dennett fail, because they attempt to reduce intentionality to non-intentionality.

Research limitations/implications

Homunculus has been successively recognized over the centuries by philosophers, psychologists and (some) neuroscientists as a crucial conundrum of cognitive science. It still is.

Practical implications

Cognitive-science researchers need to recognize that Reductionist explanations of cognition may actually devolve to Homunculi, rather than eliminating them.

Originality/value

Two notable Reductionist arguments against the infinity of Homunculi are proven wrong. In their place, a non-Reductionist treatment of the mind, “Emergence”, is discussed as a means of rendering Homunculi irrelevant.
Early Archean spherule layers from the Barberton Greenstone Belt, South Africa: Mineralogy and geochemistry of the spherule beds in the CT3 drill core
Authors: Ozdemir Seda , Schulz Toni , Koeberl Christian , Reimold Wolf Uwe , Mohr‐Westheide Tanja , Hoehnel Desiree , Schmitt Ralf Thomas
Published: November 2017

Little is known about the Hadean and the Archean impact record on Earth. In the CT3 drill core from the Fig Tree Group of the northern Barberton Greenstone Belt, 17 spherule layer intersections occur, which, provide an outstanding new opportunity to gain insights into meteorite bombardment of the early Earth. CT3 spherules, as primary features, mostly exhibit textural patterns similar to those of the other Barberton spherule layers, but locally mineralogical and chemical compositional differences are observed, likely as a result of various degrees of alteration. The observed mineralogy of the spherule layers is of secondary origin and comprises K‐feldspar, phyllosilicates, carbonates, sulfides, and oxides, with the exception of secondary Ni‐Cr spinel that is of primary origin. Our petrographic investigations suggest alteration by K‐metasomatism, sericitization, silicification, and carbonatization. Siderophile element contents of bulk samples show significant enrichments in Ni (up to 2 wt%) and Ir (up to ~3 ppm), similar to previously studied Archean spherule layers. These values are indicative of the presence of a meteoritic component. On the other hand, lithophile and chalcophile element abundances indicate hydrothermal overprint on the CT3 samples; this may also have influenced the redistribution of the meteoritic component(s). Last, we group the CT3 spherule layers, which occur in three intervals (A, B, and C), according to their petrographic and geochemical features, which indicate evidence for at least three distinct impact events before tectonic overprint that affected the original deposits.
Annular Khovanov homology and knotted Schur–Weyl representations
Authors: Grigsby J. Elisenda , Licata Anthony M. , Wehrli Stephan M.
Published: November 2017

Let $\mathbb{L}\subset A\times I$ be a link in a thickened annulus. We show that its sutured annular Khovanov homology carries an action of $\mathfrak{sl}_{2}(\wedge )$, the exterior current algebra of $\mathfrak{sl}_{2}$. When $\mathbb{L}$ is an $m$-framed $n$-cable of a knot $K\subset S^{3}$, its sutured annular Khovanov homology carries a commuting action of the symmetric group $\mathfrak{S}_{n}$. One therefore obtains a ‘knotted’ Schur–Weyl representation that agrees with classical $\mathfrak{sl}_{2}$ Schur–Weyl duality when $K$ is the Seifert-framed unknot.
Patching and the -adic Langlands program for
Authors: Caraiani Ana , Emerton Matthew , Gee Toby , Geraghty David , Paškūnas Vytautas , Shin Sug Woo
Published: December 2017

We present a new construction of the $p$-adic local Langlands correspondence for $\operatorname{GL}_{2}(\mathbb{Q}_{p})$ via the patching method of Taylor–Wiles and Kisin. This construction sheds light on the relationship between the various other approaches to both the local and the global aspects of the $p$-adic Langlands program; in particular, it gives a new proof of many cases of the second author’s local–global compatibility theorem and relaxes a hypothesis on the local mod $p$ representation in that theorem.
Research on the Performance of Flat-Box Photovoltaic/Thermal Collector With Cooling Channels
Authors: Heng Zhang , Haowen Liu , Haiping Chen , Xinxin Guo , Kai Liang , Pengbo Yao
Published: December 2017

Photovoltaic/thermal (PV/T) collector is a novel collector which incorporates photovoltaic power generation and low-temperature heat utilization of solar energy. In this paper, a three-dimensional (3D) physical model of flat-box PV/T collector is established in the cfd software. The effects of different tube heights, flow rates, inlet temperature, wind speed, and ambient temperature were tested. By analyzing and comparing the simulated and experimental results, the relative errors of the thermal efficiency between the simulated and experimental values are smaller than those of the electric efficiency. According to the experiment, when the water flow is 210 L/h, the average outlet temperature is 37.598 °C, and the thermal and electric efficiencies are 52.524% and 10.064%, respectively.
Extending Substitution Limits of a Diesel–Natural Gas Dual Fuel Engine
Authors: Mitchell Robert H. , Olsen Daniel B.
Published: December 2017

New drilling techniques have increased availability and decreased costs of oil and gas. The decreased costs have caused an increase in drilling activity. The well sites have a large power demand that is typically met by diesel engines for the drilling derrick, fracking pumps, and electrical power. Dual fuel retrofit kits are being increasingly used at well sites to reduce operating costs and the amount of fuel trucked in to the site. Natural gas (NG) is cheaper compared to diesel and can be delivered to the site by the pipeline limiting the disturbance to surrounding communities due to diesel truck loads. The purpose of this work is to examine the performance of a typical dual fuel retrofit kit commissioned for field operation on a 6.8 L tier II diesel engine. After the baseline commissioning, the mechanisms limiting further substitution were clearly identified as engine knock similar to end gas auto-ignition in spark-ignited engines and governor instability. Two methods are examined for their ability to increase substitution limits by adjusting the start of injection timing (SOI) and the intake air manifold temperature. Retarding the SOI is able to delay the onset of knock at high loads and therefore increase the substitution level by around 4% at full load. At high loads, lowering the air manifold temperature is able to increase the substitution levels by around 10%. Preheating the intake air was able to increase low load substitution levels by 10% as well.
Application of an Analytical Model for Simulating Hydraulic Systems Containing Internal Lines With Turbulent Flow
Authors: Hullender David A. , Snyder Natalie N. , Gans Jan C.
Published: December 2017

It is not uncommon for simulation models for the dynamics of hydraulic systems to contain fluid lines with turbulent flow. This paper demonstrates applications of an analytical model for pressure transients in lines with turbulent flow for lines with boundary conditions defined by hydraulic components such as pumps, valves, actuators, and restrictions; the model can be simplified for cases of laminar flow. The equations for conducting simulations with time varying inputs and for calculating eigenvalues of systems in which fluid lines are internal components are formulated. For an example demonstrating application of the equations, the model is used to simulate and optimize the performance of a hydraulic fracking system which involves the pumping of large volumes of water with additives through pipes under turbulent flow conditions into rock fissures. Specifically, the model is used to generate the frequency response of the flow transients in the pipe resulting from pump flow pulsations. This frequency response is then used to compute the eigenvalues of the system. The model is then used to conduct time domain simulations to determine the potential flow amplifications into rock fissures associated with pulsing the flow from the pump at the resonant frequency of the pressure transients in the pipe. The results reveal flow amplifications into the fissures of up to 22 times depending on the pulse shape of the input flow, the Reynolds number of the mean flow, the fluid properties of the slurry, and the length and diameter of the pipe.
Experimental Verification of Slipper Spinning Motion in Axial Piston Pumps
Authors: Chao Qun , Zhang Junhui , Wang Qiannan , Xu Bing , Chen Yuan
Published: December 2017

As one of the micro motions of slipper in axial piston pumps, the slipper spinning motion has a significant effect on the lubrication characteristics of slipper/swash plate interface. However, no experimental investigations on the slipper spin were available in previous studies. The aim of this work is to design a novel test rig to measure the slipper spinning speed. A detailed description of this test rig will be given followed by a sample result of the slipper spinning motion. Also, a simulation model considering the slipper spin will be developed to investigate the effects of the spinning motion on the slipper performance. It can be concluded that the slipper spinning motion does exist during pump operation, which is helpful to prevent the slipper from further tilting motion.
Risk-Based Comparative Study of Fluid Power Pitch Concepts
Authors: Liniger Jesper , Pedersen Henrik C. , Soltani Mohsen
Published: December 2017

Proper functioning of the pitch system is essential to both normal operation and safety critical shut down of modern multi megawatt wind turbines. Several studies on field failure rates for such turbines show that pitch systems are a major contributor to failures which entails an increased risk. Thus, more reliable and safe concepts are needed. A review of patents and patent applications covering fluid power pitch concepts, reveals that many propose closed-type hydraulic systems. This paper proposes a closed-type concept with a bootstrap reservoir. In contrary to a conventional system where a common supply delivers to cylinder drives mounted at each blade, the concept using bootstraps are fully contained in the rotating hub and act as standalone actuators. Clear advantages of such systems are a reduction of high pressure leakage paths, but in turn more components are used for each supply circuit. To allow for comparison, this paper deals with a risk-based analysis of these two types of pitch concepts. The risk-based analysis is conducted according to a qualitative failure analysis method which is verified against recent field failure data for hydraulic pitch systems. The method combines Fault Tree Analysis and Failure Mode and Effect Criticality Analysis in a systematic framework that lowers the bias issues normally encountered for qualitative studies. Under the assumption of similar components, the results indicate an equal risk of the two concepts. A decreased reliability is seen for the bootstrap concept due to additional components in the supply circuit compared to the conventional system. It is noted that careful selection of high reliable pumps and relief valves may significantly reduce risk and increase reliability of the bootstrap concept.