bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Predator‐prey interactions in selected slow and fast developing females of a ladybird,Propylea dissecta
Authors: Siddiqui Arshi , Omkar  , Mishra Geetanjali
Published: October 2015

Development rate polymorphism describes the scenario in which individuals exhibit distinct differences in their rate of development resulting in slow and fast developers even from the same clutch of eggs. Previously we showed that in ladybird,Propylea dissectafast developers have higher foraging and predation rates than slow developers. But correlation between foraging efficacies with reproductive output of female remains unexplored. We selected slow and fast developmental rate for 15 generations in aP. dissectaand assessed female functional response and numerical response by using varying prey biomasses (A. pisum). We evaluated predatory parameters: prey consumption, attack rate, handling time, and the reproductive measures: number of eggs laid, egg, and body biomass conversion efficiencies. Overall, both group ofP. dissectashowed increased prey biomasses curvilinear for consumption rate demonstrating the physiological capacity of foraging for food are mutually exclusive behaviors (i.e., Holling's Type‐II functional response). Consumption rate and proportion of prey consumed was higher, and prey handling time was shorter, in experimental fast developers. However, prey attack rate was higher in experimental slow developers. The functional response of experimental fast developers got elevated whereas got depressed for control slow‐fast developers. Our results suggest that slow developers may perform better at low prey biomass than fast developers due to their high attack rate whereas high density prey may favour fast developers due to their shorter prey handling time and higher consumption rates. This study is first attempt to evaluate predatory responses of experimentally selected lines of slow and fast developers.J. Exp. Zool. 323A: 745–756, 2015. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Countermeasures Against the Strategic Use of Evidence Technique: Effects on Suspects' Strategies
Authors: Luke Timothy J. , Hartwig Maria , Shamash Benjamin , Granhag Pär Anders
Published: October 2015

As the Strategic Use of Evidence (SUE) technique becomes more widely taught to practitioners, it is important to investigate possible countermeasures to the technique. It is possible that guilty suspects who are aware of the SUE technique will employ forthcoming verbal strategies to make themselves appear innocent. Mock suspects committed a richly detailed simulated transgression (or a benign analogue) and were interviewed about their activities. Prior to questioning, some suspects received information about SUE tactics the interviewer was likely to use. Guilty suspects who were informed about the SUE technique employed more verbally forthcoming strategies than their uninformed counterparts. Guilty suspects who were given SUE information also reported planning for the interview in different ways. However, guilty‐informed suspects did not become as forthcoming as innocent suspects overall. In sum, it appears that information about the SUE technique induces guilty suspects to alter their strategies, but only to a relatively small degree.Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
A non‐conformal FETI‐like domain decomposition approach of FE‐BI‐MLFMA for 3‐D electromagnetic scattering/radiation problems
Authors: Gao Hong‐Wei , Yang Ming‐Lin , Sheng Xin‐Qing
Published: October 2015

A non‐conformal finite element tearing and interconnecting‐like (FETI‐like) domain decomposition approach (DDA) of the hybrid finite element–boundary integral–multilevel fast multipole algorithm (FE‐BI‐MLFMA) is presented by integrating a series efficient techniques for computing electromagnetic scattering/radiation problems. The Robin transmission condition is employed to cement the non‐conformal meshes on the interconnected surfaces between the interior and exterior regions and between sub‐domains in the interior region. The FETI‐like technique is applied to reduce the FE‐BI matrix equation. Furthermore, a preconditioner is constructed to accelerate the convergent speed of this non‐conformal FETI‐like DDA. The numerical performance of the presented non‐conformal FETI‐like DDA‐FE‐BI‐MLFMA is studied for scattering/radiation problems. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Critical assessment of “critical” liquid chromatography of block copolymers
Authors: Berek Dušan
Published: October 2015

Brief elucidation is presented of potential difficulties the researcher can face in the course of the molecular characterization of block copolymers with help of liquid chromatography under critical conditions. The impediments include the demanding identification of critical conditions, the limited area of applicable polymer molar mass, the high sensitivity of critical conditions toward minute changes in experimental conditions including changes in the interactivity of the column packing, extensive band broadening, limited sample recovery, pressure effects, detection problems, coelution of block copolymers with their noninteractive parent homopolymers, possible effect of the noninteracting chains of block copolymers on the behavior of the interacting blocks, and role of preferential solvation of macromolecules in mixed solvents. These matters may complicate proper data evaluation and challenge the exactness of results obtained. Special attention is paid to the so far neglected phenomena of preferential solvation, which may affect not only detection of block copolymers but also their retention. The latter occurrence is demonstrated by the behavior of both poly(methyl methacrylate)s eluted from bare silica gel in a mixed eluent tetrahydrofuran plus toluene and polystyrenes eluted from silica gel C18 bonded phase with the mobile phase of tetrahydrofuran/n‐hexane.
Allium vegetables and upper aerodigestive tract cancers: a meta‐analysis of observational studies
Authors: Guercio Valentina , Turati Federica , La Vecchia Carlo , Galeone Carlotta , Tavani Alessandra
Published: October 2015

Scope

To provide updated quantitative overall estimations of the relation between total allium, garlic, and onion intake on the risk of cancer of the upper aerodigestive tract (UADT).

Methods and results

We combined data of published observational studies (21 case–control and four cohort studies), using a meta‐analytic approach and random effects models. The overall relative risks (RR) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for the squamous cell carcinoma of the UADT were 0.79 (95% CI 0.56–1.11) for total allium, 0.74 (95% CI 0.57–0.95) for garlic, and 0.72 (95% CI 0.57–0.91) for onion for the highest versus the lowest consumption. The inverse relation was apparently stronger in case–control studies (RR 0.56, 95% CI 0.38–0.83 for total allium), in Chinese studies (RR 0.67, 95% CI 0.45–0.98 for garlic intake), and for esophageal than for head and neck cancers. Apparently, there was no relation between allium vegetable intake and adenocarcinoma of the esophagus.

Conclusion

We found a moderate inverse association between allium vegetable intake and the risk of squamous cell carcinoma of the UADT in case–control studies. The relation was unclear in cohort studies and for adenocarcinoma of the esophagus.
A structure‐preserving doubling algorithm for Lur'e equations
Authors: Poloni Federico , Reis Timo
Published: October 2015

We introduce a numerical method for the numerical solution of theLur'e equations, a system of matrix equations that arises, for instance, in linear‐quadratic infinite time horizon optimal control. We focus on small‐scale, dense problems. Via a Cayley transformation, the problem is transformed to the discrete‐time case, and the structural infinite eigenvalues of the associated matrix pencil are deflated. The deflated problem is associated with a symplectic pencil with several Jordan blocks of eigenvalue 1 and even size, which arise from the nontrivial Kronecker chains at infinity of the original problem. For the solution of this modified problem, we use thestructure‐preserving doubling algorithm. Implementation issues such as the choice of the parameterγin the Cayley transform are discussed. The most interesting feature of this method, with respect to the competing approaches, is the absence of arbitrary rank decisions, which may be ill‐posed and numerically troublesome. The numerical examples presented confirm the effectiveness of this method. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
The Lost Tribes of Israel – and the Genesis of Christianity in Fiji: Missionary Notions of Fijian Origin from 1835 to Cession and Beyond
Authors: Newland Lynda
Published: October 2015

The idea that certain iTaukei (formerly ‘Fijian’) clans are descended from the Jews, particularly through a Lost Tribe of Israel, is very strong among some contemporary clans and church groups in Fiji. The importance of the Lost Tribes was reinforced in the 1987 coups, when it formed part of the political rhetoric of the coup leader, Sitiveni Rabuka, who was also a lay preacher of the Methodist Church. In order to understand such claims, I review the historical record from 1835 to Cession in 1874 to evaluate when the idea of the Lost Tribes began to be used and, more broadly, the extent to which Christianity was the language for engagement and/or resistance between missionaries and Fijians. At the same time, I explore the developing missionary discourses and their relationship with newly emerging ideas about the science of origins. The evidence indicates that, as certain ideas became routinised around the time of Cession, Christianity and science together provided a grammar that enabled many Fijians to strongly identify with the Old Testament.
Variation of poly(vinylidene fluoride) morphology due to radial cold flow in a flexible pipe
Authors: Aquino Fabio , Stribeck Almut , Li Xuke , Zeinolebadi Ahmad , Buchner Stefan , Santoro Gonzalo
Published: October 2015

A subsea flexible pipe containing isotropic poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) layers is subjected to rapid decompression after being put in pressurized equilibrium with a fluid containing supercritical CO2. The PVDF layers have flowed radially into gaps of adjacent metallic coils forming whitened noses. Microbeam small‐angle X‐ray scattering (SAXS) scanning reveals a considerable morphological gradient in the polymer layers. PVDF layers (inner: wear, outer: barrier) in two zones (undamaged and damaged) are scanned. Far from noses and damage zone, the samples are isotropic without voids. Their morphological parameters are determined and compared to virgin material. Approaching the noses, the structure turns into highly oriented microfibrils perpendicular to the local flow into the gaps. Here, voids extend parallel to the microfibrils. At edges of the metallic structure, they turn more perpendicular to the layer. Crystallite orientation extends out to both sides of the whitened nose regions, but in the undamaged samples, tilting of the orientation direction and void‐formation are restricted to the white regions: successive mechanisms of cold drawing are mapped into space. Under the damaged spot, voids and crystallite orientation extend through the entire layer. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 55:2869–2877, 2015. © 2015 Society of Plastics Engineers
Temperature and pH dual‐sensitive polyaspartamide derivatives for antitumor drug delivery
Authors: Ma Yingying , Zhang Guangyan , Li Lingjuan , Yu Huan , Liu Jia , Wang Chaoqun , Chu Yanfeng , Zhuo Renxi , Jiang Xulin
Published: October 2015

The pH‐sensitive tertiary amino groups were introduced to synthesize temperature and pH dual‐sensitive degradable polyaspartamide derivatives (phe/DEAE‐g‐PHPA) containing pendant aromatic structures and ionizable tertiary amino groups. The thermo/pH‐responsive behavior of phe/DEAE‐g‐PHPA polymer can be tuned by adjusting the graft copolymer composition. Due to the pH sensitivity of the phe/DEAE‐g‐PHPA‐g‐mPEG polymer with hydrophilic long PEG chain, the micelles and the anticancer drug‐loaded micelles were prepared by a quick pH‐changing method without using toxic organic solvent. The obtained polymeric micelles, paclitaxel‐loaded micelles and doxorubicin‐loaded micelles were stable under physiological conditions. Both the drug‐loaded micelles showed much faster release at pH 5 than at pH 7.4. The doxorubicin‐loaded micelles showed obvious and better anticancer activity against both HepG2 and HeLa cells than free doxorubicin. Thus these nontoxic, dual thermo‐ and pH‐sensitive phe/DEAE‐g‐PHPA‐g‐mPEG micelles may be a promising anticancer drug delivery system. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2016, 54, 879–888
Ethylene/1‐heptene copolymers as interesting alternatives to 1‐octene‐based LLDPE: Molecular structure and physical properties
Authors: Ndiripo Anthony , Joubert Dawid , Pasch Harald
Published: October 2015

Classical linear low density polyethylenes (LLDPEs) are copolymers of ethylene and 1‐octene or 1‐hexene, respectively. In the past, other 1‐olefins have been tested as comonomers but the resulting LLDPEs were never commercialized as large scale products. The present study focuses on the use of 1‐heptene as an interesting comonomer for the synthesis of LLDPE. For a comparison of the molecular structure and the physical properties of 1‐heptene‐ and 1‐octene‐based LLDPEs, five Ziegler–Natta LLDPEs of varying comonomer contents based on 1‐heptene and 1‐octene, respectively, were acquired and analysed using advanced methods. The comonomer contents of the resins were between 0.35 and 6.4 mol %. Crystallization‐based techniques revealed similar bimodal distributions that are due to the formation of copolymer and polyethylene homopolymer fractions. The compositional distribution of the copolymers was studied by high‐temperature (HT) HPLC and HT‐2D‐LC. The analytical results indicate similar chemical heterogeneities and molar mass distributions of the two sets of LLDPE up to a comonomer content of 3 mol %. Similar to the molecular structure, the physical properties of the materials are quite similar. At comonomer contents of ≥3 mol % differences between the two sets of samples are seen that are attributed to differences in the abilities of 1‐heptene and 1‐octene in disrupting the crystal arrangements of the polymer chains in solid state. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2016, 54, 962–975
Antenna‐height‐dependent delay spread model under indoor stair environment for small cell deployment in future mobile communications
Authors: Yu Yu , Liu Yang , Lu Wen‐jun , Zhu Hong‐bo
Published: October 2015

A novel measurement‐based antenna‐height‐dependent statistical root‐mean‐square (RMS) delay spread model under indoor stair environment is proposed. In this model, the RMS delay spread is described as a log‐normal random variable with antenna‐height‐dependent parameters in both line‐of‐sight (LOS) and the non‐LOS (NLOS) areas. The environmental independence of the RMS delay spread distribution is shown first. Then, the parameters of the proposed model are extracted using least‐squares and maximum likelihood estimation. The accuracy of the proposed model is verified by the extensive measured data, and the mean values of the RMS delay spread are compared with those in other related works. Finally, the interdependence of RMS delay spread and the coherence bandwidth is investigated. The proposed model can be applied to the physical layer designs of small cells in future 5G and ubiquitous mobile communication systems. © 2015 Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
A new hybrid state estimation based on pseudo‐voltage measurements
Authors: Rakpenthai Chawasak , Uatrongjit Sermsak
Published: October 2015

This paper presents a new hybrid state estimation method based on the concept of pseudo‐voltage measurements for a power system containing both conventional and synchronizing phasor measurements. Actual measurement data is employed to calculate the magnitude and phase of the pseudo‐voltage. In the proposed formulation, the measurement matrix describing the relations between the measured data and the state variables contains only 0 or 1. Then the state estimation problem is formulated based on the weighted least‐squares criterion, and its solution can be obtained without using iterative procedures. Comparisons with previous hybrid state estimation methods have been performed on IEEE 14‐bus, 57‐bus, and 118‐bus systems. Numerical experimental results indicate that the proposed approach yields solutions of comparable accuracy with other methods but with shorter computation times. Moreover, the proposed method also provides superior results in the presence of bad data. © 2015 Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Real‐time calculation of power system bus voltage using a hybrid approach combining the Newton–Raphson method and dynamic programming
Authors: Huang Wei‐Tzer , Yao Kai‐Chao , Wu Chun‐Ching
Published: October 2015

The calculation of the magnitudes and phase angles of the bus voltage is a challenging task in real‐time applications for power systems. Voltage profile, which denotes the present conditions of a power system, is determined by executing the traditional AC power flow program or by searching the supervisory control and data acquisition system. The AC power flow program is not suitable for several real‐time applications, such as contingency analysis and security control calculations, because of its complexity and convergence problems. Fast computation is the major concern in such applications. In this paper, a new method based on sensitivity factors, referred to as Jacobian‐based distribution factors (JBDFs), is proposed for calculating the magnitudes and phase angles of bus voltages. This method requires setting up JBDFs and deriving optimal solution paths of bus voltage for non‐swing buses through dynamic programming under base‐case loading conditions. Under real‐time conditions, the proposed method initially calculates real and reactive power line flows via JBDFs, and then computes the voltage magnitudes and phase angles of non‐swing buses through the derived optimal solution paths. The excellence of the proposed hybrid calculation method is verified by IEEE test systems. Simulation results demonstrate that the proposed method exhibits fast computation and high accuracy. Thus, the method is suitable for real‐time applications. © 2015 Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Cost/environmentally compromised dispatch for cascaded hydrothermal system using artificial bee colony algorithm
Authors: Moorthy V. , Sangameswararaju P. , Viswanatharao J. , Ganesan S. , Subramanian S.
Published: October 2015

This paper evaluates the robustness of the artificial bee colony (ABC) algorithm while allocating optimal power generation in a hydrothermal power system at the level of minimum fuel cost and minimum pollutant emission impacts on the environment subjected to physical and technical constraints. The hydrothermal scheduling (HTS) is devised in a bi‐objective framework so as to optimize both objectives of fuel cost and emission release, individually and simultaneously subjected to a verity of intricate equality and inequality constraints. Initially, all feasible solutions are obtained through random search, and then the ABC algorithm is used for the exploration and exploitation processes together in the search space, thereby discovering the optimal hourly schedule of power generation in the hydrothermal system. Meanwhile, a dependent hydro‐discharge computation handles the equality constraints; especially, the reservoir end volume and slack thermal generating unit for each sub‐interval handle the power balance equality constraint. The performance of the proposed approach is illustrated on a multi‐chain interconnected hydrothermal power system with due consideration of the water transport delay between connected reservoirs and transmission loss of system load. The results obtained from the proposed technique are compared with those of other techniques. The results demonstrate that the ABC algorithm is feasible and efficient for solving the HTS problem. © 2015 Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Magnet shape optimization of five‐phase surface‐mounted permanent magnet machine to improve torque performance based on equivalent permanent magnet method
Authors: Kang Huilin , Zhou Libing , Wang Jin , Peng Xi , Ling Zaixun
Published: October 2015

This paper studies the magnet shape optimization of a five‐phase surface‐mounted permanent magnet (PM) machine to improve its torque performance. First, a sinusoidal PM with third and fifth harmonics (sine + third + fifth PM) is presented to enhance the torque. An equivalent PM method is then proposed to avoid the complicated interface conditions between PM and the air gap, making the derivation of torques with magnet shapes using 2‐D analytical models possible. Besides, the influence of PM edge thickness on torque improvement is considered. Moreover, under the condition that the copper losses of machines with different magnet shapes are kept unchanged, optimal harmonics of sinusoidal PM with third harmonic (sine + third PM) and sine + third + fifth PM are analytically derived. Finite element (FE) analysis is performed to validate the equivalent PM method and analytical results. Finally, machines with sine + third PM, sine + third + fifth PM and conventional (without shaping) PM are comparatively studied using nonlinear FE analysis and the experimental results of machine with sine + third + fifth PM are presented, verifying the effectiveness of the analytical optimization of magnet shape. © 2015 Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Fictitious reference iterative tuning considering input saturation
Authors: Wakasa Yuji , Adachi Shojiro
Published: October 2015

This letter presents a simple control method that can alleviate the influence of input saturation by the so‐called fictitious reference iterative tuning and anti‐windup proportional–integral–derivative (PID) control architecture. The effectiveness of the presented method is demonstrated through experiments with a DC motor control system. © 2015 Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Studies on properties of the xylan-binding domain and linker sequence of xylanase XynG1-1 from Paenibacillus campinasensis G1-1
Authors: Liu Yihan , Huang Lin , Li Weiguo , Guo Wei , Zheng Hongchen , Wang Jianling , Lu Fuping
Published: October 2015

Xylanase XynG1-1 from Paenibacillus campinasensis G1-1 consists of a catalytic domain (CD), a family 6_36 carbohydrate-binding module which is a xylan-binding domain (XBD), and a linker sequence (LS) between them. The structure of XynG1-3 from Bacillus pumilus G1-3 consists only of a CD. To investigate the functions and properties of the XBD and LS of XynG1-1, two truncated forms (XynG1-1CDL, XynG1-1CD) and three fusion derivatives (XynG1-3CDL, XynG1-3CDX and XynG1-3CDLX) were constructed and biochemically characterized. The optimum conditions for the catalytic activity of mutants of XynG1-1 and XynG1-3 were 60 °C and pH 7.0, and 55 °C and pH 8.0, respectively, the same as for the corresponding wild-type enzymes. XynGs with an XBD were stable over a broad temperature (30–80 °C) and pH range (4.0–11.0), respectively, on incubation for 3 h. Kinetic parameters (K  m, k  cat, k  cat/K  m) of XynGs were determined with soluble birchwood xylan and insoluble oat spelt xylan as substrates. XynGs with the XBD showed better affinities toward, and more efficient catalysis of hydrolysis of the insoluble substrate. The XBD had positive effects on thermostability and pH stability and a crucial function in the ability of the enzyme to bind and hydrolyze insoluble substrate. The LS had little effect on the overall stability of the xylanase and no relationship with affinities for soluble and insoluble substrates or catalytic efficiency.
Fill in the blanks: developing critical appraisal skills
Authors: Hibbs Stephen P.
Published: October 2015

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Annie Higgins 1957–2014
Authors: Kadi Wadad
Published: October 2015

Annie Campbell Higgins was born and raised in the Chicago area. After receiving a BA in geography from Northwestern University, she entered the University of Chicago's Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations (NELC) in 1988 and graduated with a PhD in Islamic thought in 2001, having been awarded the prestigious Stuart Tave Award in the Humanities. During this period, she taught Arabic language and several Middle Eastern subjects at the University of Chicago, Loyola University, the University of Illinois in Chicago, the College of William and Mary, and the University of Florida. After graduation she held tenure-track positions in Arabic literature and language at Wayne State University and then at the College of Charleston. The key to Annie's academic career was her love of and commitment to the study of Arabic language and culture. Even before entering NELC, she had spent a year in Egypt (1985–86) studying Arabic and making a point of mixing with Egyptians, learning about their culture and speaking their dialect with enthusiasm.
Turkey's Islamists: Accidental Democrats
Authors: Başkan Birol
Published: October 2015

When it was founded in 2001, the current ruling party in Turkey, the Justice and Development Party (JDP), unequivocally declared its commitment to democracy and secularism (JDP 2014). Nevertheless, the party's implementation of reforms aimed at strengthening Turkey's democracy after coming to power in 2002 surprised many observers because the JDP's top leaders had been known Islamists. The speed and dedication with which the government introduced and implemented laws aimed at “European-style normalization” even impressed the EU, leading to the historic decision of 17 December 2004 to open negotiations with Turkey for full membership (Kirişҫi 2004). Such commitment seemed to be a rarity and therefore did not escape the attention of scholars either. It led to the publication of several academic works, four of which are the subject of this review essay.
SAUDI PETRODOLLARS, SPIRITUAL CAPITAL, AND THE ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY OF MEDINA: A WAHHABI MISSIONARY PROJECT IN TRANSNATIONAL PERSPECTIVE
Authors: Farquhar Michael
Published: October 2015

While the idea that Saudi Arabia has functioned as a beacon of ultraconservative religious influence since the 1970s oil boom is commonplace, the modalities of this influence have rarely been seriously interrogated. As a window onto this issue, this article considers the history of the Islamic University of Medina, an influential Wahhabi missionary project with global ambitions. It pays particular attention to the role played by non-Saudi staff, who for long periods made up a majority of the university's faculty. Previous accounts of migrants working in Saudi religious educational institutions have tended to focus on the contested question of their contribution to the rise of politically activist modes of Islamism within the kingdom. In contrast, the account offered here draws on the concept of spiritual capital to argue that they also played an important part in legitimizing the expansion of the Wahhabi mission to diverse Muslim communities around the world.
WOMEN'S VISIBILITY IN PETITIONS FROM GREATER SYRIA DURING THE LATE OTTOMAN PERIOD
Authors: Zachs Fruma , Ben-Bassat Yuval
Published: October 2015

This article focuses on petitions by Ottoman women from Greater Syria during the late Ottoman era. After offering a general overview of women's petitions in the Ottoman Empire, it explores changes in women's petitions between 1865 and 1919 through several case studies. The article then discusses women's “double-voiced” petitions following the empire's defeat in World War I, particularly those submitted to the King-Crane Commission. The concept of “double-voiced” petitions, or speaking in a voice that reflects both a dominant and a muted discourse, is extended here from the genre of literary fiction to Ottoman women's petitions. We argue that in Greater Syria double-voiced petitions only began to appear with the empire's collapse, when women both participated in national struggles and strove to protect their rights as women in their own societies.
Norms, Narratives, and Scholarship on the Armenian Genocide
Authors: Dixon Jennifer M.
Published: October 2015

Analyzing the politics of the past in the context of the Armenian Genocide reveals an evolving interplay between international norms, official narratives, and broader discourses. This short essay explores three aspects of these interrelationships. First, I draw on my own research to highlight the ways in which changes in Turkey's narrative of the genocide—typically referred to in official discourse assözde Ermeni sorunu(the so-called Armenian question), or more recently as1915 olayları(the events of 1915)—have to some extent paralleled shifts in the meaning and salience of the norm against genocide. Second, I note key ways in which the Turkish state's official discourse has shaped public understandings—within and, to a lesser extent, outside Turkey—of the nature of the violence against Ottoman Armenians. Third, I suggest that in influencing public understandings of the relationship between this event and the concept of genocide, Turkey's official narrative has the potential to affect understandings of the meaning of genocide more generally.
The nature of anhedonia and avolition in patients with first-episode schizophrenia
Authors: Lui S. S. Y. , Liu A. C. Y. , Chui W. W. H. , Li Z. , Geng F. , Wang Y. , Heerey E. A. , Cheung E. F. C. , Chan R. C. K.
Published: October 2015

Background

Patients with schizophrenia have intact ability to experience emotion, but empirical evidence suggests that they fail to translate emotional salience into effortful behaviour. Previous research in patients with chronic schizophrenia suggests that working memory is important in integrating emotion and behaviour. This study aimed to examine avolition and anhedonia in patients with first-episode schizophrenia and clarify the role of working memory in emotion–behaviour coupling.

Method

We recruited 72 participants with first-episode schizophrenia and 61 healthy controls, and used a validated emotion-inducing behavioural paradigm to measure participants' affective experiences and how experienced emotion coupled with behaviour. Participants were given the opportunity to expend effort to increase or decrease their exposure to emotion-inducing photographs. Participants with schizophrenia having poor working memory were compared with those with intact working memory in their liking and emotion–behaviour coupling.

Results

Patients with first-episode schizophrenia experienced intact ‘in-the-moment’ emotion, but their emotion was less predictive of the effort expended, compared with controls. The emotion–behaviour coupling was significantly weaker in patients with schizophrenia with poor working memory than in those with intact working memory. However, compared with controls, patients with intact working also showed substantial emotion–behaviour decoupling.

Conclusions

Our findings provide strong evidence for emotion–behaviour decoupling in first-episode schizophrenia. Although working memory deficits contribute to defective translation of liking into effortful behaviour, schizophrenia alone affects emotion–behaviour coupling.
Kα emission and secondary electrons in femtosecond laser target interactions
Authors: Nardi Eran , Zinamon Zeev , Maron Yitzhak
Published: October 2015

This paper deals with the contribution of secondary electron emission, produced during the slowing down of fast electrons, on the intensity and temporal shape of the generated Kα pulse. The problem is treated in a general manner emphasizing laser–plasma interactions, where it was suggested in the literature that these electrons could play an important role on the temporal duration. Here, we make use of a hybrid model which includes secondary emission in conjunction with the continuous slowing down approximation (CSDA). The results are compared with those obtained from a simple CSDA calculation, with no detailed accounting of secondary emission and without straggling. Secondary electrons were calculated to contribute up to an additional 20% to the total Kα yield and in the case of monoenergetic electron beams in thick targets also to influence the temporal shape. The pulse duration is not affected in a significant manner by the secondary electrons.
A DE BRUIJN'S IDENTITY FOR DEPENDENT RANDOM VARIABLES BASED ON COPULA THEORY
Authors: Khoolenjani Nayereh Bagheri , Alamatsaz Mohammad Hossein
Published: October 2015

De Bruijn's identity shows a link between two fundamental concepts in information theory: entropy and Fisher information. In the literature, De Bruijn's identity has been stated under the assumption of independence between input signal and an additive noise. However, in the real world, the noise could be highly dependent on the main signal. The main aim of this paper is, firstly, to extend De bruijn's identity for signal-dependent noise channels and, secondly, to study how Stein and heat identities are related to De bruijn's identity. Thus, new versions of De Bruijn's identity are introduced in the case when input signal and additive noise are dependent and are jointly distributed according to Archimedean and Gaussian copulas. It is shown that in this generalized model, the derivatives of the differential entropy can be expressed in terms of a function of Fisher information. Our finding enfolds the conventional De Bruijn's identity as some remarks. Then, the equivalence among the new De Bruijn-type identity, Stein's identity and heat equation identity is established. The paper concludes with an application of the developed results in information theory.
Divide and conquer: the formation and functional dynamics of the Modern Englishing-clause network
Authors: FONTEYN LAUREN , VAN DE POL NIKKI
Published: October 2015

The present article offers a corpus-based analysis of the diachronic development of the usage profiles of three adverbial non-finite clauses in Modern English: the free adjunct, the verbal gerund and the absolute construction. By treating present-participial adverbial clauses and adverbial gerunds as part of a single adverbialing-clause network, this article sheds new light on the different semantic and functional-pragmatic factors motivating the formal variation within theing-clause network. By means of two mixed-model logistic regression analyses, we determine the relative impact of the independent variables of adverbial semantics, position, degree of coreference and length on the language user's choice in (i) whether or not to include augmentation (syndesis) and (ii) whether or not to include an overt subject in the adverbialing-clause. The resulting picture is one of an emerging adverbialing-clause network in which the internal variation is determined by principles of processing complexity.
THE NON-COMMUTATIVE KHINTCHINE INEQUALITIES FOR
Authors: Pisier Gilles , Ricard Éric
Published: October 2015

We give a proof of the Khintchine inequalities in non-commutative $L_{p}$-spaces for all $0<p<1$. These new inequalities are valid for the Rademacher functions or Gaussian random variables, but also for more general sequences, for example, for the analogues of such random variables in free probability. We also prove a factorization for operators from a Hilbert space to a non-commutative $L_{p}$-space, which is new for $0<p<1$. We end by showing that Mazur maps are Hölder on semifinite von Neumann algebras.
Parenting in the face of childhood life-threatening conditions: The ordinary in the context of the extraordinary
Authors: Mooney-Doyle Kim , Deatrick Janet A.
Published: October 2015

Objective:

Uncovering what it means to be a parent during the extraordinary time of a child's life-threatening condition (LTC) is important for understanding family goals, decision making, and the work of parenting within this context.

Method:

Qualitative descriptive methods were employed to describe the everyday experience of parenting both children who have an LTC and their healthy siblings.

Results:

Some 31 parents of 28 children with an LTC who have healthy siblings participated in our study. Four themes emerged from the data that describe a parental desire to maintain emotional connection with all of their children, how parents use cues from their children to know them better and develop parenting strategies, how parents change as a result of caring for a child with an LTC, and how they strive to decrease suffering for all of their children.

Significance of results:

The findings of our study have implications for clinical practice, family-focused research, and health policy pertaining to families of children with life-threatening conditions.
Comparing counseling and dignity therapies in home care patients: A pilot study
Authors: Rudilla David , Galiana Laura , Oliver Amparo , Barreto Pilar
Published: October 2015

Objective:

Several studies have successfully tested psychosocial interventions in palliative care patients. Counseling is the technique most often employed. Dignity therapy (DT) has recently emerged as a tool that can be utilized to address patients' needs at the end of life. The aims of our study were to examine the effects of DT and counseling and to offer useful information that could be put into practice to better meet patients' needs.

Method:

We developed a pilot randomized controlled trial at the Home Care Unit of the General University Hospital of Valencia (Spain). Some 70 patients were assigned to two therapy groups. The measurement instruments employed included the Patient Dignity Inventory (PDI), the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), the Brief Resilient Coping Scale (BRCS), the GES Questionnaire, the Duke–UNC-11 Functional Social Support Questionnaire, and two items from the EORTC Quality of Life C30 Questionnaire (EORTC–QLQ–C30).

Results:

The results of repeated-measures t tests showed statistically significant differences with respect to the dimensions of dignity, anxiety, spirituality, and quality of life for both groups. However, depression increased in the DT group after the intervention, and there were no differences with respect to resilience. Therapy in the counseling group did not negatively affect depression, and resilience did improve. When post-intervention differences between groups were calculated, statistically significant differences in anxiety were found, with lower scores in the counseling group (t(68) = –2.341, p = 0.022, d = 0.560).

Significance of Results:

Our study provided evidence for the efficacy of dignity therapy and counseling in improving the well-being of palliative home care patients, and it found better results in the counseling therapy group with respect to depression, resilience, and anxiety.
Unpacking the principle of humanity: Tensions and implications
Authors: Fast Larissa
Published: October 2015

Humanity is at once the most universally and uncritically accepted humanitarian principle. It is not, however, without controversy. This article defines the principle of humanity and then explores its inherent tensions, related to universality and particularism, inclusion and exclusion, and equality and inequality. The article concludes with a call to operationalize and concretize humanity through three sets of transformative practices and everyday actions. Together these embody the relational nature of humanity, and suggest ways forward in reforming humanitarianism.
Monoklonale Gammopathie in der hausärztlichen Praxis: diagnostische Abklärung und Therapie des Plasmazell-Myeloms
Authors: Fuchs Ivo , Gerber Bernhard , Samaras Panagiotis
Published: October 2015

Zusammenfassung. Eine monoklonale Gammopathie ist ein häufiger Befund in der hausärztlichen Praxis. Die aktive Suche einer Paraproteinämie empfiehlt sich bei Verdacht auf eine maligne Neoplasie, bei Hinweisen auf eine Organschädigung (z.B. Anämie, Niereninsuffizienz), Infektneigung oder unerklärte Fatiguesymptomatik. Insbesondere das Plasmazell-Myelom stellt eine wichtige Differenzialdiagnose mit weit reichenden diagnostischen und therapeutischen Konsequenzen für den Patienten dar. Das Plasmazell-Myelom ist nach wie vor als eine nicht heilbare Erkrankung anzusehen, wobei durch die Entwicklung moderner Medikamente und die Kombination verschiedener Behandlungen für die meisten Patienten die Prognose wesentlich verbessert werden konnte.
Seismic Signals Reveal Changes in Water Release from Glaciers
Authors: Stanley Sarah
Published: October 2015

Seismometers could help scientists monitor elusive fluctuations in water discharge from glaciers that flow into the ocean.
Water desalination with a single-layer MoS2 nanopore
Authors: Heiranian Mohammad , Farimani Amir Barati , Aluru Narayana R.
Published: October 2015

Efficient desalination of water continues to be a problem facing the society. Advances in nanotechnology have led to the development of a variety of nanoporous membranes for water purification. Here we show, by performing molecular dynamics simulations, that a nanopore in a single-layer molybdenum disulfide can effectively reject ions and allow transport of water at a high rate. More than 88% of ions are rejected by membranes having pore areas ranging from 20 to 60 Å2. Water flux is found to be two to five orders of magnitude greater than that of other known nanoporous membranes. Pore chemistry is shown to play a significant role in modulating the water flux. Pores with only molybdenum atoms on their edges lead to higher fluxes, which are ∼70% greater than that of graphene nanopores. These observations are explained by permeation coefficients, energy barriers, water density and velocity distributions in the pores.
Biofilm-associated bacterial amyloids dampen inflammation in the gut: oral treatment with curli fibres reduces the severity of hapten-induced colitis in mice
Authors: Oppong Gertrude O , Rapsinski Glenn J , Tursi Sarah A , Biesecker Steven G , Klein-Szanto Andres J P , Goulian Mark , McCauley Christine , Healy Catherine , Wilson R Paul , Tükel Cagla
Published: October 2015

Background/objectives:

A disruption of epithelial barrier function can lead to intestinal inflammation. Toll-like receptor (TLR) 2 activation by microbial products promotes intestinal epithelial integrity and overall gut health. Several bacterial species, including enteric bacteria, actively produce amyloid proteins as a part of their biofilms. Recognition of amyloid fibres found in enteric biofilms, termed curli, by the Toll-like receptor (TLR)2/1 complex reinforces barrier function. Here, we investigated the effect of purified curli fibres on inflammation in a mouse model of acute colitis.

Methods:

Bone marrow–derived macrophages as well as lamina propria cells were treated with curli fibres of both pathogenic Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium and commensal Escherichia coli Nissle 1917 biofilms. Mice were given 0.1 or 0.4 mg of purified curli orally 1 day post administration of 1% 2,4,6-trinitrobenzene sulphonic acid (TNBS) enema. Histopathological analysis was performed on distal colonic tissue taken 6 days post TNBS enema. RNA extracted from colonic tissue was subjected to RT-PCR.

Results:

Here we show that curli fibres of both pathogenic and commensal bacteria are recognised by TLR2 leading to the production of IL-10, immunomodulatory cytokine of intestinal homeostasis. Treatment of mice with a single dose of curli heightens transcript levels of Il10 in the colon and ameliorates the disease pathology in TNBS-induced colitis. Curli treatment is comparable to the treatment with anti-tumour necrosis factor alpha (anti-TNFα) antibodies, a treatment known to reduce the severity of acute colitis in humans and mice.

Conclusion:

These results suggest that the bacterial amyloids had a role in helping to maintain immune homeostasis in the intestinal mucosa via the TLR2/IL-10 axis. Furthermore, bacterial amyloids may be a potential candidate therapeutic to treat intestinal inflammatory disorders owing to their remarkable immunomodulatory activity.
Diversity and distribution of lichen-associated fungi in the Ny-Ålesund Region (Svalbard, High Arctic) as revealed by 454 pyrosequencing
Authors: Zhang Tao , Wei Xin-Li , Zhang Yu-Qin , Liu Hong-Yu , Yu Li-Yan
Published: October 2015

This study assessed the diversity and distribution of fungal communities associated with seven lichen species in the Ny-Ålesund Region (Svalbard, High Arctic) using Roche 454 pyrosequencing with fungal-specific primers targeting the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region of the ribosomal rRNA gene. Lichen-associated fungal communities showed high diversity, with a total of 42,259 reads belonging to 370 operational taxonomic units (OTUs) being found. Of these OTUs, 294 belonged to Ascomycota, 54 to Basidiomycota, 2 to Zygomycota and 20 to unknown fungi. Leotiomycetes, Dothideomycetes and Eurotiomycetes were the major classes, whereas the dominant orders were Helotiales, Capnodiales and Chaetothyriales. Interestingly, most fungal OTUs were closely related to fungi from various habitats (e.g., soil, rock, plant tissues) in the Arctic, Antarctic and alpine regions, which suggests that living in association with lichen thalli may be a transient stage of life cycle for these fungi and that long-distance dispersal may be important to the fungi in the Arctic. In addition, host-related factors shaped the lichen-associated fungal communities in this region. Taken together, these results suggest that lichens thalli act as reservoirs of diverse fungi from various niches, which may improve our understanding of fungal evolution and ecology in the Arctic.
Enhanced regeneration and functional recovery after spinal root avulsion by manipulation of the proteoglycan receptor PTPσ
Authors: Li Heng , Wong Connie , Li Wen , Ruven Carolin , He Liumin , Wu Xiaoli , Lang Bradley T. , Silver Jerry , Wu Wutian
Published: October 2015

Following root avulsion, spinal nerves are physically disconnected from the spinal cord. Severe motoneuron death and inefficient axon regeneration often result in devastating motor dysfunction. Newly formed axons need to extend through inhibitory scar tissue at the CNS-PNS transitional zone before entering into a pro-regenerative peripheral nerve trajectory. CSPGs are dominant suppressors in scar tissue and exert inhibition via neuronal receptors including PTPσ. Previously, a small peptide memetic of the PTPσ wedge region named ISP (Intracellular Sigma Peptide) was generated and its capabilities to target PTPσ and relieve CSPG inhibition were validated. Here, we demonstrate that after ventral root avulsion and immediate re-implantation, modulation of PTPσ by systemic delivery of ISP remarkably enhanced regeneration. ISP treatment reduced motoneuron death, increased the number of axons regenerating across scar tissue, rebuilt healthy neuromuscular junctions and enhanced motor functional recovery. Our study shows that modulation of PTPσ is a potential therapeutic strategy for root avulsion.